“I can’t believe we’re going through with this.”

“It’s what we wanted for so long.”

Grey didn’t know where he was or how he ended up here, nor did he have the compulsion to find out. Hearing those voices speak, he felt drawn to them; like a moth to a flame.

“What we’re doing is wrong...”

He recognized the the voice that spoke. It was a woman’s voice, yet as it talked it sounded almost scattered, giving it an unnatural echo like cadence that made it difficult to place where he knew it from.

“It’s okay.”  the other voice assured her, this one a man speaking in the same distorted manner. “This concerns only us.”

“I trust you.” the woman said in return.  

He was able to place the voice now. It was Amelia, he was sure of it. Yet the other voice… while Grey didn’t recognize it as anyone he knew something about it felt familiar.

Images appeared reflecting the speakers, yet not fully, they were two silhouettes projected into an empty white void. One was the image of man, whose head was turned upward as he stared at the other, a woman of great stature matching the size of a giant, kneeling in front of the tiny man.

“I promise.”  the man began. “To love you wholly and truly in this world and the next.”

The giant woman leaned in closer.

“I promise, to love you wholly and truly in this world and next.” she repeated.

“With God as our witness,” the man continued

“and The Wandering Woman’s blessing,” Amelia’s voice followed.

“may our love be eternal.” they said together.

The silhouetted woman lowered her head as the two embraced in a kiss, sanctifying their romantic ritual. The world around Grey began to change, as their figures melted and the once white expanse faded into a dark red horizon.

“Please no...” a voice called from behind, a voice Grey knew immediately.

“Nia!?” Grey turned around. There was nothing.

“no… you can’t… not like...”

This time it wasn’t Nia’s voice her heard, but another woman’s voice. One Grey knew just as well.

“Jule?”

“this… this can’t be happening...” once more in Amelia’s voice.

In the horizon a dark shape began to gather. The silhouette of the woman could be seen again, holding and embracing a small object in her hand.

“I… I will always remember our vows…” the figure wept, this time in a combination of voices. “I’ll see you again in a different life...”

Grey was hit with an indescribable feeling upon hearing those words. He had heard them before… but from where he couldn’t recall. As he tried to remember where he might have heard them, the world around him shifted once more, dark clouds forming in the reddened sky as they stretched out in the distance like a coming storm. The storm took shape, filling the sky as violent winds picked up. The clouds formed into a shape that could only vaguely be made out, a shape that almost resembled a person, but whose all feature remained obscured by the darkness of the storm.

A voice rang out from the sky, the voice of a man as scattered and distorted as the rest, but boomed like thunder as if shaking the heavens. But this voice was not alone, speaking with it was a second voice, that of woman could be heard. It spoke softly, as if trying to hide itself yet even under the thunderous roars of the first, it’s presence remained all too clear. Unlike the voices from before these two did not speak in unison, instead the softer feminine voice would lead, speaking words that the male’s would echo as if being guided. Together they shared a message,

“To be cast into the void,

And exist with no end.

Until your final words,

are said to him again.”

The wind suddenly picked up, spreading the clouds into this world’s sky until that was all there was left. Everywhere he turned Grey could only see the darkness of this black sky, leaving him isolated and alone as the wind beat against him in the empty void. Just as Grey curled up, hoping to protect himself from the violent gales, they ceased. It was silent, eerily so and in this brief silence Grey once more heard a voice. It was the feminine voice from just moments before, the quiet one that lead the thunderous male as it spoke. It spoke again, this time to him, and unlike everything else he had heard before it did not speak in a distorted manner, instead it sounded crisp and close, almost as if it was speaking in his ear.

“...so you’ve come to make good on your promise... Prince...”

...

Grey’s eyes shot open as his nostrils were assaulted with the smell of manure. He sat up slowly, his body ached and clothes stuck to his skin, a residual effect of being submerged in beer the previous night. It was then that Grey remembered everything he had undergone at the inn, yet where he was  or how he had gotten here he couldn’t recall. Taking in his surroundings Grey noticed that everywhere he looked he was surrounded by these strange tall blade like plants that emerged directly from the ground.

Where was he?

Rising to his feet, Grey clutched his stomach as it let out a small groan. He was starving, having had very little to eat over the last few days. As Grey began pondering on his next action, a sudden gust of air was pulled up around him. Intensely he turned his head upward and widened his eyes as he saw what hung above. .

Grey‘s heart skipped a beat as he saw the wide open maw stretching over him in the sky, layered rows of flat teeth lining the sides as they drew ever closer. Quickly Grey dropped to his stomach just as the teeth clamped shut above him, uprooting the blade like plants from the ground. As the muzzle of the mouth pulled away, sucking the green plants inside, Grey was speechless at the beast that loomed overhead. It was a cow.

Grey had heard rumors of cows the size of buildings being found in the giant lands, but most hunters dismissed these as just stories that  veterans told to mess with recruits. Seeing the mountain like bovine before him though Grey was left unsure of what to think.

Watching the creature lazily chew away at the vegetation, Grey began to realize that the plants that grew around looked like grass. Very large, and very tall grass. As the cow chewed absentmindedly, Grey found he couldn’t do much else besides gaze up at the creature in awe. Suddenly it stopped chewing. Lowering its head again, Grey jumped back as he found himself standing before the beast’s large open pink nostrils.

“Easy there.” Grey said trying his best to not freak out.

The cow eyed him for a moment, sucking in a strong gust of air into its nose before breathing it back out over him. It’s mouth began to open and for a moment Grey was afraid that it was coming for him, but instead the creature let out a low moo, it’s breath nearly knocking him over as it rose it’s head back into the sky and began walking away.

Grey stood completely frozen, petrified from what he had just seen. That's when he heard what sounded like laughter.

Looking the way the laughter was coming from, Grey saw a large field of corn that stood even higher than any of the grass that surrounded him. In fact where he stood the corn stalks seemed to tower into the sky, much higher than even most giants stoods. Within the gargantuan cornfield-standing on the a leaf-Grey spied a man, hootin’ and hollering from his perch above.

“Looks like Ol’Betsy decided to pass you by today. Ya’ sure are lucky stranger.” the man called down in a thick countryside accent.

“Excuse me?”

“Oh yeah she's a beast alright!” he shouted back. “You know I had a cousin once who passed out in that there field after a hefty night of boozin’. I tell you he was so far gone that  when Betsy came a’grazin’ the next day he got caught up in the rest of her chewin’. Poor soul was probably so far gone he didn’t even wake up in time to notice. God rest his soul.”

Grey remained in shock.

“What's the matter, cow got your tongue?”

Okay...

“I’m sorry.” Grey began. “I think i’m a little lost.”

The man scratched his beard, all while giving Grey a good look over.

“Ooooohhhh.” he said. “Your not from round these parts are ya’?”

“No, I’m not.” Grey responded bluntly.

“Well you should have just said so, come on out of that grazin’ grass and let's talk.”

Grey took a moment to look at the tall grass that surrounded him before pushing his way towards the edge of the cornfield. Once through, Grey stepped onto a large patch of fertilized dirt and looking up found the man sitting in wait on a high up corn leaf. This was the first good look Grey got of him. The man was wearing green clothes, or maybe they were plants weaved together to resemble clothing. His hands, knees, feet and face were covered in dirt, and he had long messy brown hair and beard that had probably never been groomed. Something about the man seemed feral and crazy but Grey remained calm. He wasn’t sure how this man got out here, but he was a survivor by the looks of it. Being stuck in the middle of giant territory this fellow human might be his best chance at staying alive.

“I see you got yourself some fancy armor.” the man called down. “You one of them hunter folk?”

“Umm yeah... sorta. You know about The Hunters?”

“Oooh yeah, I meet your kind from time to time. You seem a little lost? They tell you nothin’ before sending ya’ out here?”

By the man’s tone it appeared he was a little skeptical of Grey’s ignorance.  

“Oh yeah, well you see I was captured.” Grey answered quickly. “Captured by a giant. They took me back here and I managed to get away so… here I am.”

“Hmm. Well sounds like you’ve had yourself a bit of a rough patch. Don’t worry thought, i’ll show you round these parts.”

“Wait before you do… who are you and… what are you doing out here?”

The man gave Grey a queer looked.

“Well i’m Jedediah, I don’t quite understand what you mean though by ‘doin’ out here’.”

“Well Jedediah, I’m just confused on why your so far out here in giant territory. I’m also a little put off by how big everything looks.”

“OH!” Jedediah exclaimed. “I forget you city folk ain’t too bright and don’t know nothin’ bout the country life. Well I live out here!”

“Live?”

“Yup. Born and raised. My family has lived out in these here fields for generations.”

“Really?” Grey said taken aback. ”Why?”

“Why not? We ain’t the only ones of course. Plenty people live here, plenty of food and stuff to drink. By the smell of ya’ I can tell you already found that detail out for yourself.”

Grey paused, lifting his arm to smell and quickly realizing how heavily he stunk of beer.

“As for why stuff is so big? That's cause of them giants. I mean think about it, the’re so big they need big cows and pigs and gardens in order to keep themselves fed. You didn’t think all they ate was humans didya?”

Grey was silent, partially because he secretly kinda did.

“Well how did all of this get so big?”

“It’s always been this big!” Jedediah said besides himself. “Boy you sure are dull aren’t ya’? My gran always told me that them giants planted a small little person sized cow into the ground until one day POP! Big ol’ cows sprouted from the ground, ready for milkin’ and butcherin’’”

“Excuse me?”

“Yup.” he boasted proudly. “Like magic.”

“I’m clearly dealing with an expert.”

“Listen, magic cow plants aside, I’m in need of a little help.”

“Now that’s sellin’ yourself short, you need lots of it.” he said.

Grey decided it was best to ignore that comment.

“Anyway.” he continued. “Can you help point me in the right direction?”

“Surin’ can.” he said. “Where ya’ goin’?”

“I…” Grey paused. “don’t know...” He was lost.

With Jule missing, no leads on Amelia, and having turned his back on The Hunters, Grey had no idea where to go. At the sametime staying around in the giant countryside wasn’t an appealing idea. Giants were everywhere and that made things dangerous, yet seeing how this man-as crazy and shaggy as he appeared-was able to survive then maybe he could learn a thing or two about surviving himself.

A sharp groan in his stomach reminded Grey that he had not eaten in quite some time. The first thing he needed to do if he was going to survive was learn where to find food.

“Hey, mind if I ask you something?” Grey asked.

The man looked at him oddly, tilting his head like a curious animal.

“I suppose you can try?” he answered coyly.

Again Grey decided it was best to ignore that.

“Where do you get food around here?”

“Are ya’ hungry?”

“A little bit...”

“We’ll if your looking for meat you’ll have to risk going to the city like all the other city snatchers, but out here we have a simpler approach. Come on i’ll show ya’!”

Crouching low on the top of the leaf, Jedidiah leapt off, landing firmly with his feet in the dirt almost directly in front of Grey. Caught off guard Grey took a couple staggered steps back, as Jedidiah stared him directly in the eyes.

“Follow me!” he said gleefully as he turned and began marching in the other direction.

I have a bad feeling about this Grey.

While still cautious of the man Grey knew his options were limited. As his hunger pained him, Grey decided that so long as Jedidiah could lead him to food, he would have to trust him. For better or for worse.

…

Grey followed the man through the field of grass nearly losing sight of him a few times as his green attire blended into the surrounding leaves. Having abandoned his hunter’s cloak in order to escape, Grey felt exposed as he stuck out in the foliage. The green mesh like patterns on the cloak would have been perfect for blending into terrain like this. Even still, without the cloak the grass was tall enough that if a giant were to show up all Grey would have to do was keep low to hopefully avoid detection.

Eventually the grass dispersed as Grey laid eyes on the largest garden he had ever seen. Vegetables the likes of tomatoes, cabbages, squash, and pumpkins grew on its surface, each bigger than he could have imagined. Wandering beneath the thick green canopy of rising tomato plants Grey marveled as just how much food must be growing here. In the distance Grey could see what looked to be the leaves of budding potato plants and carrots. With the amount of food this garden had available it could easily feed an entire village for months, let alone a single person.

Jedidah sprang forth in front of Grey, grabbing the stalk of a large tomato plant before climbing it with little effort as he stepped out onto a spiraling stem. He positioned himself right underneath a nice plump tomato before tearing his fingers into the fruit and letting the juice wash over his hand. Pulling out a chunk Jedidah bit into it as tomato juice ran down into his messy beard.

“Well what are ya’ waitin’ for?” he said as he eyed Grey from above. “Dig in!”

Grey looked around speechless at the array of vegetables before him.

“What… what's good to eat?”

“Anything you can get yer hands on. Boy you city folk are slow.” he said before taking another bite of ripe tomato.

Grey looked above at the canopy of tomatoes that surrounded Jedidah. He could try climbing the stem, mimicking Jedidiah’s actions but Grey doubted even he could match such a feat as easily, at least not without having the crazed man taunt him the entire time. While keeping the option open Grey looked to the rest of the garden. The large squash plants and pumpkins looked appealing but their skins appeared too thick, making it difficult to get through without a decent blade on hand.

Deciding to wander around the immediate area Grey searched for other options the garden presented. Grey found what he was looking for in a pile of large red berries that sat in the middle of a small dirt clearing. By the looks of these berries they appeared to be practically identical to raspberries, except much like everything else a lot large. Usually Grey would have been hesitant about eating berries off the ground, but with how big they were there remained entire sections of the fruit not touching by the dirt and looked suitable to eat.

Feeling his stomach guide him Grey approached the pile hoping to simply pull a pod out of one of the top berries, however his eagerness to eat he had acted too hastily as the one of the berries was tugged free from the top and avalanches down besides him.

“Well that was inconvenient, at least I wasn’t...”

Suddenly Grey heard a snapping sound.

“...and that's not good.”

Like jaws closing in around him, the dirt surrounding the berry pile collapses inward, revealing thin wooden posts resembling the bars of a cage. In fact a cage was exactly what it was. The wooden trap snapped shut, as the ground began to settle and Grey suddenly found himself trapped behind wood bars.

“Uhhh, Jedidiah!” Grey cried out. “This is bad!”

Jedidiah slid down from a tomato stem with one hand while still holding onto a piece of tomato in the other. He approached the trap cautiously before making his way to where Grey stood. He eyed him from the other side of the bars before taking another bite of tomato. He continued to stand silently, chewing wetly as he made eye contact with Grey who waited silently for him to say something. Jedidiah opened his mouth again as if to speak, only to take another bite, juice running down the side of his face.

“Well?!” Grey exclaimed as he gestured to the trap he was in.

“You’ve gone and got yourself in a real tight mess.” he finally responded.

“I can see that, the question is how do I get out?”

Jedidiah shrugged before taking another large bite of his tomato. Grey hit his head against the bars in frustration. Despite the man’s difficult nature Grey was sure there was a way to escape. The trap didn’t seem all that stable, he was certain that if they worked together they could be able to bend a bar just enough for him to slip through. He just had to get Jedidiah to go along with him and...

Suddenly Jedidiah stood alert as he tilted his head to the sky.

“Ya hear that?” he said quietly.

“No...” Grey answered in concern. “What do-”

“Okay ma’ I’ll go grab some from the garden.” Grey suddenly heard the voice of a young woman say.

Starting to panic now Grey pulled at the wooden bars hoping to get them to budge with no success.

“Well ain’t that just a shame.” Jedidiah said as he turned to flee.

“Hey wait!” Grey cried out. “If you just pull this bar here it should be enough to get through.”

The man stopped for a moment and looked back at him.

“Sorry fella but this is how life works out here. Eat or be eaten.” he turned again to run but hesitated, and for a moment Gray hoped that he had had a change of heart. Jedidiah looked at Grey before saying, “When you see my cousin in heaven, just let him know the family sends our love.” and like that he was gone.

Grey paced back and forth, taking a few deep breaths as the sound of soft footsteps drew closer. He was fine, he just had to stay calm. He was practically a pro of escaping situations like this. He just had keep calm and ride it out one wave at a time. In fact things were even better than normal, he could use magic. He still didn’t quite understand how it worked, or what he was capable of but he had actually managed to use it in his escape last night. He was certain that if it came down to it he could use it again.

As the footsteps became louder and a shadow was cast over the garden, Grey had managed to calm himself. It would be easy, just like every other giant he had dealt with up to this point, except now he had an ace up his sleeve if things got out of hands. He just needed to play it cool for now.

Grey watched as the shadow loomed over head, the sun obscured by the giant as it knelt before the garden. As the giant leaned in to harvest her vegetables Grey was able to catch a quick glimpses of her through the cage. As her voice indicated she was young, Grey placed her anywhere from seventeen to twenty by the looks of her. She wore simple clothes, one that Grey would expect of a farmer to wear and her hair appeared to be a dark sandy blonde color, much like his own hair… or rather how it used to be? He couldn’t be sure anymore.

The giant reached into the garden, pulling tomatoes from their stems as she turned them over to check before placing them in a large wicker basket she had placed to the side. Eventually she grabbed the tomato that Jedidiah had been eating from, turning it over before letting down a deep sigh.

“Blasted humans, gettin’ in our garden again.” the giant said before discarding the tomato. “One of these days I oughta...”

Suddenly she paused. Grey looked up to see she was eyeing the direction of his cage. At first she seemed confused before leaning in closer and looking directly at him in surprise.

“We’ll I’ll be, looks like it actually caught one.”

Taking a deep breath, Grey took a moment to collect himself.  

“Showtime.”

The giant woman reached down, lifting the wooden cage from the top as she brought it to her face. Putting on his best smile-all while trying to keep his balance-Grey greeted the giant.

“Hello, my name’s Grey and I can assure you that this is all one big misunderstanding.” he said trying to come across as polite.

The girl narrowed her eyes as she shook the cage, resulting Grey to falling backwards.

“Misunderstanding my backside, you got a lotta nerve stealin’ from us. With the difficult season we’ve been havin’ you’ve really been a thorn in my family's side lately.”

Getting back to his feet Grey forced another weak smile as he tried to respond.

“I’m sorry to hear that. You see i’m not actually from around these parts so-”

The cage shook again as Grey fell back once more, the giants positioning the cage under her arm and weighing it against her hip as she carried it.

“Ah well.” she said having obviously ignoring every he was trying to say. “I’m sure ma’ will appreciate a little surprise to go with supper tonight.”

Getting back to her feet, the giant rose giving Grey a fair view of the garden. Grey sat on the floor of the cage as the giant made her way back to a small cottage not but a few feet away. He took this time to grab a pod off one of the berries and eat it, hoping to at least quell his stomach if nothing else.

“Looks like this conversation will just have to wait till dinner.”