Far away to the south, a lonely inn sat on a dusty hot road stretching across the empty plains of Ruokan. It was almost deserted, the only occasional patrons being travelling traders who journeyed across the plains, carrying their goods in wagons. In a shadowy corner of the inn, however, sat a man who was there almost every day. He was a surly, evil-looking man who never spoke to anyone else, not even when ordering another drink. One of his legs was amputated below the knee and the other was clearly broken, since it was bent at an uncomfortable angle, and he could only walk around with difficulty using a crutch. His left arm was broken too, bound to his body in a crude sling, but his right arm still worked perfectly. This was made clear to the handful of unfortunates who had decided to start a quarrel with the man, only to find themselves being run through by a sword, which had been concealed under his dirty robes. Eventually, everyone who visited the inn knew to avoid the man, and could only speculate as to who he was – or who he had been.
But, on one otherwise unremarkable day, an odd-looking old man in a red robe happened to visit the inn. He had a long black beard which contrasted with his pale, wrinkled skin, and his eyes appeared to have a faint yellow gleam in them. He also refused to give his name or say where he was from, but he was friendly enough and he seemed more-or-less harmless. Most likely a hermit who wanders around the plains, who only came by to remind himself what civilization was like. So thought the innkeeper and the other customers. But the old man had only one thing that interested him – the crippled man who sat in the corner. He approached this, despite the warnings of the innkeeper, and addressed him.
“You there – I know you!” the old man said, without a trace of fear in his voice. “I’ve seen you before, yes I have! You’re that outlaw, aren’t you? Bargar? You used to be feared throughout the lands to the north. Even the king left you alone!”
The man called Bargar glared at the strange old man, with a look that clearly suggested murder was on his mind. Within seconds, he’d pull his sword from underneath his robes, hurl it across the table and end the life of this strange fellow who somehow knew his real name. But the old man was quick-witted, and as he kept on talking, Bargar decided to let him live just a bit longer.
“Oh yes, you can’t deny it, can you?” the old man went on. “You have the look of a killer, a man who can end a life without batting an eye. I know all about you – you had me trapped in one of your cells once, long ago, when you and your army of thugs still commanded the respect of all the other brigands in the forests of Elgon.”
“Is that so?” Bargar spat, his patience growing thin. Behind the old man, the other patrons had already begun to make a surreptitious exit from the inn, knowing what was to come. “Then how is it you’re standing before me now, hmm? Seems I made a mistake in not ending your life when I had a chance!”
“Perhaps, but you would have failed. I am a conjuror, you see – not the kind you see in travelling fairs, mind you, but one who works with real magic. Shalmat is my name, and escaping from your little fortress wasn’t too difficult for one as skilled as I am.”
“Skilled? We’ll see about that!”
As quickly as he spoke, Bargar flung his sword straight at the mysterious visitor. Had the old man been lying, he’d have been impaled and killed instantly, so powerful was his throw. But the sword simply passed through him as though he were made of smoke. Bargar gasped, only to see what had looked like a patch of shadow on the wall move forward and assume the shape of the same old man, unharmed and still very much alive.
“Do you doubt me now?” Shalmat challenged him. “Now you have no weapon, bandit, and I can kill you in turn! But I did not come here to kill you, for I am not a killer as you are. Come with me, and I will restore you to your full strength and make you the most fearsome warrior who ever strode these lands. Then you can help me achieve my goals.”
“What goals would that be, may I ask?” Bargar said, barely managing to sound polite. “You’ll forgive me if I don’t believe you at once... ‘conjuror’. But I can think of no reason to let myself become your servant, not even to heal my legs and arm.”
“Oh, I think you’ll agree to help me, from what I know of you. You see, I desire to take possession of the old castle of the giants, Vandan. Its vaults and cellars hold many treasures and secrets, some magical and some not, accumulated over the centuries that the giants of long ago pillaged and terrorized the lands of men. Those items are what I want, but unfortunately there is a problem. You see, the castle has a new tenant – a young princess who also happens to be a giant…the last giant who still lives.”
“Valerie,” Bargar swore under his breath as he said the name. Then he faced the old man again and said out loud. “Very well, conjuror, I’ll help you get rid of her. But I want two things in return. First, the return of my old fortress, or a stronger one, and a group of loyal, obedient men who will fight for me, like I used to have. Second, I want to have the use of any weapons you may find in the vaults beneath the giant castle. You can keep all the treasure and anything else you find, but I must have powerful weapons if I am to be feared again. Do we have a deal?”
Shalmat didn’t reply immediately, nor did he make mention of the fact that Bargar had actually made three demands, instead of two. However, eventually he nodded his head, stepped forward and offered his hand to the crippled outlaw. Bargar refused his offer of help, though, and arduously stood up on his own, using his crutch and the chair for support. Then he half-walked, half-stumbled forward and lay his hand down on the old man’s shoulder.
“Lead the way, friend,” he said, in a manner not sounding all that friendly. “Show me how I can help you kill this giant menace.”
They walked out of the inn, to the astonishment of those others who were present. Bargar needed no further encouragement: he owed his entire downfall solely to Valerie. After capturing Prince Alban of Elgon and intending to ransom him to his father for a fortune, his plans were ruined by the sudden appearance outside his stronghold of a colossal maiden, who demanded that he release Alban and all of his other captives. Naturally, he refused, after which she had made short work of his followers, before coming face-to-face with him as he stood on top of his fortress’s highest turret. He could’ve surrendered to her then and agreed to her demands, but he had remained defiant and continued to insult her, so she had dispatched him with a flick of her finger. That was the last thing Bargar remembered, before waking up and finding himself lying in a heap of branches and leaves deep in the forest, and in almost unbearable pain.
From then on, merely staying alive had been a massive struggle. He had lost three of his limbs, his strength and skill in combat and his followers, who he assumed had all scattered in the aftermath of Valerie’s attack. But he was still alive, and he had slowly and agonizingly made his way south, getting as far away as he could from that infernal girl. He had managed to get enough money to live by, by pretending to be a beggar sitting by the roadside and stabbing anyone who came close enough with the intention of giving him alms. But it was no life for a man used to living with power and prestige, and he could no longer satisfy all of his cruel desires. But if this old conjuror was as powerful as he’d boasted, perhaps Bargar could have his revenge yet. He swore that he wouldn’t rest until Princess Valerie’s head was removed from her shoulders, by whatever means it would take.
Meanwhile, everything was calm and peaceful in the town of Rismark, apart from the sound of new houses being built. Valerie herself was busy helping wherever she could, which at the moment was at the site of new building that was to be the town’s school. She had had the idea of decorating the grounds with giant-sized flowers from the castle’s garden – roses, lilies and tulips. These flowers were as tall as trees to the human inhabitants of Rismark, but much more colourful and striking to behold. Valerie planted them in neat rows stretching out from the school building, which brought both shade and a dash of prettiness to the town. Clad in a plain dress and sturdy boots, the young giantess resembled a peasant girl more than she did a princess, but she knew that it wouldn’t be wise to come dressed in a fancy gown and ballroom slippers when she had work like this to do.
She had also struck up a friendship with a woman named Alenia, who had been a healer in the village of Troian, north of Elgon. But she had been forced to flee her home when many of the villagers had begun accusing her of using black magic in her healing practices, despite the fact that they themselves benefited from her skills. Though she was skilled in creating potions and ointments with powerful healing effects, Alenia didn’t consider herself to be a full-fledged practitioner of the mystical arts. She had no desire to stay in Troian and be tried as a sorceress, which would have most likely led to her execution, so she left her home in the middle of the night and fled, first to Elgon and then, upon hearing the rumours that were flying around concerning the giant princess, to Vandan.
Now she was standing beneath a row of flowers fifty feet in height, speaking to a young woman over three times taller still, who wanted nothing more than to know about her and the knowledge she had. In her fifty-three years of life, Alenia had never found herself in circumstances that were anything like this.
“There, that’s the last one,” Valerie said, as she flattened the soil around the rose that she’d just planted. “If they’re well-watered and looked after, these flowers should grow just as beautifully here as they do in my garden.”
She lay her open hand just in front of Alenia and asked her to step into it (after apologizing for how dirty it was). Then she stood up to her full height, carrying the older woman carefully in her palm. Alenia had to admit to herself that the view from 150 feet above the ground was astonishing. The houses of the village, including the newly-built schoolhouse, looked like little doll’s houses scattered among the oversized flowers, which looked like an ordinary flowerbed from up here. The people walking around on the ground below were barely recognizable, which made her realize just how much care Valerie always took when she was walking around in the village, to avoid stepping on anyone.
“It’s wonderful, Your Highness!” she told Valerie, who was smiling down at her. “When I first heard of this place – well, I never thought it would look like this. But I’m happy that it does.”
“Oh, this is just the beginning!” Valerie assured her confidently. “More and more people will come and settle here, and Rismark will keep on growing. Twenty years from now, mark my words, and we’ll have a city here that will rival Elgon in size. You will scarcely be able to recognize it, if you could go there right now.”
“I hope you’re right, Princess Valerie, but you’ll have to forgive me if I don’t share your optimism. You are still young, and when you’ve seen as much of life as I have, you’ll know that there’s never any good without some bad creeping in as well. Sooner or later, there’ll be problems cropping up, unfortunately.”
“Oh, I’ve seen enough bad things to last me the rest of my years, believe me! What I saw during my childhood…the things my family did to humans, and what they tried to force me to do…no, I don’t want to talk about any of that right now. Yes, of course there’ll be problems in the future, and challenges to face, but I won’t give up trying to create a home and a refuge here, for any and all who have no other place to live, and no-one to take care of them.”
“That’s a noble ideal to have, Princess, but, if you don’t mind me saying so, I do wonder if you’re not being too big-hearted here. Why, just yesterday, I overheard some men right here in the street outside my home talking about me. They were discussing how inappropriate it was that a woman – me, that is – should be allowed to work as a healer, and how it would be better if a man were in that position here.”
“Well, what do you want me to do about it – chase them out of town?” Valerie said, laughing. When she saw that Alenia didn’t think it was that funny as well, she continued:
“I’m not going to forbid people from coming to live here just because their opinions are backwards and disagreeable, Alenia. Now, if any of them were to threaten you or demand that you stop your work, like they did to you in that place you came from, then that’s another matter, and you can count on me to deal with that. But, when it comes to the sort of thing that you described, the best course of action is to teach people how wrong they are. Once they see for themselves how skilled and competent you are in your art, they’ll quickly change their tune. Remind me to tell you about when Alban and I first met sometime – he wasn’t all that different from the men you just described, believe it or not. But I taught him a thing or two…hey, speaking about teaching, we’d best start finding suitable people to teach at our new school, don’t you think?”
“Yes, Your Highness…not that I know anyone here all that well already. But I’ll look around and see if I can find…”
“Actually, I was thinking of you,” Valerie interjected. “I’ve been hearing lots of good things about you, Alenia – you see, people here are already beginning to accept us women in new roles other than what they are used to – and I think you’ll be the ideal candidate to teach the young of Rismark about your knowledge. Not just healing and medicine, but about plants and animals, which I know you have a lot of knowledge of, and how we men and women can best make use of the natural world around us.”
“That…this is a huge honour, Your Highness,” Alenia answered, feeling more than a bit overwhelmed by Valerie’s confidence in her and her abilities. “But I don’t know if I’m ready for such a responsibility…I mean, I’ve never taught anyone my skills before. I don’t even know if I can!”
“That’s only because you’ve never met anyone who’s willing to listen before, but that’s no longer the case, is it? You can do it, Alenia, I believe that fully. I won’t force you into such a role, though. You’ll have to choose it on your own. Take a few days and think about it. There’s no hurry, our schoolhouse still needs to be completed and furnished, and of course we’ll need to find additional teachers as well. There may not be all that many children in Rismark at the moment, but that’ll change before you know it. You’ll see!”
She carefully set the older woman on the ground at her feet and said goodbye. Valerie didn’t share Alenia’s doubts – everything she’d seen up to now had convinced her that her idea of creating a haven for people here would work. Even the soldiers in the service of Alban’s father, King Mildar, who had spent many weeks harassing and waylaying people who were migrating to Vandan, had been heard of less and less in recent days. No doubt the fact the Mildar’s younger brother, Monar, who had been a lot more popular among the soldiers than Mildar ever was, had come over to her side had something to do with it. But even human soldiers hadn’t been a big problem for Valerie to overcome. Most soldiers only knew how to fight, she’d found out, and when faced with a foe many times larger and more powerful than themselves, they usually either surrendered on the spot or ran off in a state of confusion. She never took revenge on the soldiers, however, and merely taunted them as they fled back to Elgon. Some, however, were so impressed by her great size – and her gentle nature – that they decided to abandon the service of the king whom they despised and come and live in Vandan, among the people they’d been ordered to treat as enemies.
On the way back to the castle, Valerie did in fact run into a column of soldiers. These, however, were young men from the village of Rismark who were eager to join the newly-formed company of castle guards. Alban, seeing that most of them were youthful and inexperienced, had decided to train them himself in the art of fighting. To help with this task, he relied on a young fellow named Ansur, who had been a lieutenant in Mildar’s army before deciding to join Alban instead. The group of about two dozen men had just been on a long march into the countryside and back, to build up their stamina, and Valerie thought they looked pretty much worn-out as they came marching back along the dusty road. She decided they needed a little reward. She stood in the road in front of them, effectively blocking their route. Alban, who was leading the group, looked up at her towering figure and waved.
“Did you have a good time today, darling?” she asked him, amused by the gaping expressions of the soldiers-in-training as they stared up at her. Most of them – and the rest of the villagers, in fact – were still really uncomfortable in her presence, no matter how sweetly she behaved towards them. But she knew it was to be expected, given her gargantuan size.
“Yes, it was a very successful day, I think,” Alban answered. “The cadets are really starting to get a feel for the kind of strenuous conditions that they might have to face in battle someday. Isn’t that right, soldiers of Vandan?”
A cheer arose from the company of soldiers, but it sounded rather feeble and half-hearted, and Valerie did her best to suppress a giggle.
“Why don’t you and your brave little soldiers come inside the castle, and I’ll give you all some cool, refreshing lemonade?” she suggested. “I made it myself just yesterday, from the lemon-tree that grows in our little courtyard. Come on, I’ll even carry you all the last little bit of the way!”
Before Alban could either accept or refuse her offer, she knelt down, the impact of her knees causing the ground to quiver. With one hand, she lifted up the fabric of her dress, forming a little pouch just below her hips. Then, with just four scoops of her other hand, she swept up the whole troop of soldiers and dropped them carefully into this hollow. They lay there in a pile, some of them crying out in distress, before realizing that Valerie was just playing a little joke on them and they weren’t in any actual danger. After putting Alban on her shoulder, as usual, she stood up and continued on to her castle, carrying twenty-five young men carefully in a fold of her skirt. She really did enjoy being a giantess sometimes, Valerie thought to herself.