Henry wandered through the woodlands, no plan in mind. It was late morning, the sun bright and the day growing warmer, the treetops providing ample shade. The songbirds wouldn’t leave the quiet alone, incessant in their erratic chorus of chirping and tweeting. Henry pushed past the underbrush. He had jumped up a giant-sized tree towering over the normal ones and hadn't been able to see mountains in the distance. The teleportation must have sent him quite a way. Velvet Rowfield had been too late to cancel the teleportation, instead making it unstable. Henry doubted these woods had been the Charmer’s intended location, and if it were, the three should have arrived together. Henry sighed. Finding his friends became secondary now; he had to know where the hell he’d ended up himself.

He wandered for a good hour, swatting insects away and even picking a tick off his ankle. A sound reached him, different than that of the woodlife that had gone on for the past hour. A chiming, or tinkling, if you will, of bells, and as he moved towards it the metallic clang became clearer. He saw the trees clear up ahead, scaling a small rise, and beyond it was a lake with a tract of grass beside it. Cows were grazing, wearing bells which clanked occasionally as they moved about, their tails twirling happily. "There has to be human settlements nearby," Henry muttered.

Henry dove into the lake, a cold surge of life invigorating him. It would help somewhat against the scent of the servant’s feet, though after the past week of being cooked in Ada’s pussy and sprayed on by her cum, trampled by her feet, and then being mashed by the servant’s feet, Henry needed a good soapy bath to feel proper again. But the water did well in the meantime. When he rose up from the lake with a deep breath, the cows stared at him, lazily chewing grass. Henry swam towards the grassy shore, somewhat to its side and not too near the cows. His feet could feel stones, and he stood with water up to his breast.

“Excuse me,” a girl’s voice said. She stood at the rear of the herd, a blonde youth, wearing a plain brown skirt and poncho with a long neckerchief hanging over her front.  She took a few steps forward but didn’t go too near the lakeside. “Who are you?” The girl had her hair tied into one long braid, thrown over her shoulder.

“Umm. My name is Henry. You could say I’m lost. Could I ask you where we are?”

“We’re close to Kelter, a human village.” She pointed down a broad stretch behind her between the trees and without underbrush, just sparse grass left from the cows’ perpetual trampling. “I’m from there. How are you lost in Gintessa, without…” She had trouble finding the right words.

“Without falling prey to the giants?”

“Yeah.”

“Long bloody story. Thing is, I’m from Humius.” Henry studied her reaction.

Her brows came together in confusion. “All the way from Humius? How’s that even possible?”

Henry’s heart sank. The teleportation likely put him farther from the border. “How far are we talking?”

“Maybe ten days on a wagon? A giant’s wagon, that is.”

“Goddamnit. East or west?”

“East.”

Henry had to laugh. “This just keeps getting better.”

“How did you end up here?”

Henry sighed, hands slapping the water in frustration. “I don’t know how to answer that. Me and my friends did something stupid, one thing led to the other. A lot of magic involved. Now I’m separated from them.”

“Oh.” Although far from a detailed answer, the involvement of magic did seem to grant her some understanding. There was a lot of variance in that. “Is your magic strong?”

“I have my arts, but it depends on what you mean by strong.”

“Having your arts definitely means strong.” Henry should know better than her what passed as strong, but the last several days had muddled his mind. Part of it was humility, but most of it was from the recent week. After being toyed with the way he had, he couldn’t call himself strong without feeling like a liar or without the massive asterisk of being so within human context, which meant nothing in Gintessa.

“By the way, any chance there are clothes around?” Henry said. “I’m naked, you see.”

“Oh. Umm.” She looked around with intention, then picked a rolled-up blanket she'd thrown aside. “I bring this in case it rains.”

Henry chuckled, shading his eyes towards the sunny skies. “Rain.”

She returned a polite smile. “The clouds can surprise around here.” Nearing the waterfront, she tossed the roll towards him, and Henry caught it. The girl turned around, letting Henry emerge from the water, unrolling the blanket and tying it around his waist so it hung to his ankles like a makeshift robe. “You said there’s a human village around? And what’s your name?”

“I’m Elly. The village is called Kelter.”

“What do you mean by human village? This is Gintessa. Any chance we can go there?” She led the way through the broad path made by the cows’ hooves.

“Ah, you mean like that. No, we’re not very free. We give a lot of our crops to the giants. There are enchantments to make our food fill their stomach as it would be their size, so human produce is still important to them. Is it true that in Humius, people are free?”

“Freer than here, certainly. Although giants, not offgiants, can come in and act superior, they can’t do whatever they want. There are giant guards to keep order if it gets bad. As much as they hate to admit it, they depend on us for their population, so our well-being has to be respected to some level.”

“Why don't they have that respect everywhere? Where do they draw the line?”

“Humius is where they draw it. Sons of bitches can’t be too kind for some reason.”

Elly chuckled. They left the grassy plot and were under trees again. Henry watched the cows.

“It’s alright to leave them?”

“They know their way home.”

Henry nodded. Elly seemed near his age, and, behind her, he found himself staring at her braid fixedly, her hips, her feet wearing those wooden sandals. Ada, the thug kidnapping Rennard and Milton, all these offgiants with the ramifications on their neck had been like her once. His peer, standing eye to eye, a respectful offer of her blanket, conversing on the goings of life. Where did it go wrong? Was it just the spiteful humans who were turned into offgiants, or did something happen when they were turned, or after?  Perhaps the change of humans standing beside them, shoulder to shoulder, to dolls roaming around their feet, produced a cold distance, made it harder for them to show empathy. Henry didn’t know, but from the brief interaction with Elly, she seemed a harmless and kind girl, yet he watched those sandaled feet and imagined them hovering above him as this massive sole canvas, and that she towered above him. How different could that Elly really be?

“You said they depend on ‘us’ for population,” Elly said, a dejected voice. “But it’s mostly us, the girls, that they take and transform.”

“A human can impregnate a giant.”

“But it’s hard and rare, they mostly transform instead of mate. In Kelter, there aren’t many girls left. I’m fifteen, you see.” Her eyes were downcast. “I think they’ll come by any time. The people in the village talk to me like I’m ill and on deathbed, soon to be gone.”

“They can’t be taking all the girls?”

“They take the ones they consider pretty.”

Henry nodded. “Yeah, I’ve heard that. Then they claim they're superior and that our women are ‘ugly’ compared to them. What a dumb breed. Who is it that comes by and ‘takes’ girls, from your village specifically?”

“Our village is in a larger province owned by Lady Leylee Richwood. She’s not part of the Grey Rhinos, but she’s friendly with them, talks and deals with them. I assume you know the Rhinos, or maybe not if you're from Humius.”

A spark lit up in Henry. “I was going to mention it myself. My two friends, they were taken by this Rhino commander, called the Charmer. Do you know anything about her?”

“The Charmer?” She was agape, which did not bode well. “I don’t think you’ll see your friends again.”

“That just can’t be true.”

“Unless you go and get captured with them.”

Henry remembered how the Charmer moved between various locations through teleportation, how elusive and powerful she was. “Is there anywhere, anyone, to turn to for help?”

“I guess you could join the kingdom’s efforts to fight the Rhinos, but I don’t know if you’d be considered powerful enough.”

Henry knew the answer would be no. Only the most elite of the human mages belonged there.

“You should rest first,” Elly said. “I’ll tell my father. Are you hungry?”

“I am. Thank you, Elly.” Their path gained more straightness, not as wild and unclear anymore. There were ramifications, nearing areas where people regularly walked, with signposts even. Henry could see houses, roofs of straw and walls of whitewashed stones. It was rather sparse and spacious, plenty of clear areas, most likely for the occasional giants passing through. There was no point building too many fences and tight roads, for the giants would rather trample over the annoying parts than pay heed, a message that the humans must adapt to the giants’ needs.

At the entrance stood a group of younger boys, who bowed respectfully to Elly but turned a nasty scowl to Henry. “Who’s he, madam?”

“I found him at the lake. He’s lost, it seems.”

“Lost?” They looked at one another with a skepticism as if she'd claimed Henry had dropped from the skies. It was unfeasible to be freely wandering about as a human in Gintessa. “Just like that?”

Henry was getting tired of repeating the line. “It’s a long story. But I was with two of my friends from Humius, and we got separated.” Henry thought that would draw curious glances, make him look exotic to be from so far away, giving them an eagerness to hear more. And while this happened for a few, the prominent person who spoke, along a few taller ones beside him, the oldest among the bunch of kids, searched their memories for some reason.

“Hey, Peter,” one of them said to the oldest, twenty or so years old. “What about the news they came with this morning?”

The oldest, named Peter, studied Henry. “Bald…” he muttered, probing eyes moving down his bare torso. “Hilda, did you find him naked?”

“He was naked in the lake, yes. Why?”

“Your two friends,” Peter said, eyes on Henry, “does one of them have red and long hair, with fiery magic, and the other able to construe magical ropes?”

Henry didn’t know if answering the question was harmful or not. But his hesitation invited them to make assumptions, and Henry decided to be frank. “Yes, those were the two friends I came with. How do you know this?”

“It’s got to be bloody him!” one of the younger ones shouted. “Peter, it’s him, no chance it isn’t him.”

“You have to leave.” Peter’s voice wouldn’t allow anything else.

“What is this?” Henry said, turning to Elly, and her returned confusion was reassuring, letting him know he wasn’t alone.

“Peter, what is this?” Elly said.

“Listen, I’m not being expelled by a bunch of goddamn kids pretending to stand guard,” Henry said. “Get someone older over here, or explain something.”

“I’ll explain. News arrived this morning. They caught an offgiant running from a western farm, just at the border to the Charmer’s mountains. Her eyes were bleeding, blinded partially, and she claimed three humans did this to her. Humans from Humius, and she described all three of you, and you seem to be a perfect match. The news erupted over all of Gintessa. Both the kingdom and the Rhinos are in search of these humans. The Rhinos contacted our Lady, Madam Leylee Richwood, asking for her help. She’s set her hounds out for you. They’ll find you, and we don’t want them finding you here, thinking we helped you. Clear off.”

The giant with bloody eyes they found must have been Ada. Henry stood speechless, for he had awaited insults and exaggerated caution against outsiders, but not such a good and proper reply. They weren’t belligered kids. They had every reason to cast him out.

Henry turned to leave, but Elly took his arm. “Wait. Peter. When was this? How don’t I know?”

“The news are as fresh as this morning, miss. I implore you, it’s for our best. They’ll punish all of us, not if, but when the Lady’s hounds track him here and find him in our houses. Better they catch him out there, alone as when you found him.”

Elly turned to him. “I’m sorry, Henry. But if the hounds are after you, there’s no helping it. Leave.”

Henry had a lingering stare, wanting to ask about these goddamn hounds, more about this story, but those impatient eyes weren’t eager to answer him, they were eager for him to turn and leave. So he did. Not from where he’d come, but another angle through the woods, walking and walking, for half an hour till it opened up to rolling hills of grass where sheep and goat grazed, and there he lay down and stared at the skies where the sun wasn’t.

Apparently he was wanted, currently hunted. Apparently there was an inveitability to this hunted status, spoken of as if these hounds would find him as certainly as there would be future sunrises. Henry sighed. He had to laugh. “It just keeps getting worse, doesn’t it?” he said to no one. “At least the weather’s nice. And hey, I’m not completely naked. Got myself a blanket.” He lay there for some time, perhaps an hour, and then he heard someone clear their throat.

It was Elly standing there, holding a bowl of stew and a cup of water.

“You’re just too kind,” Henry said.

Her smile was lukewarm. She approached him, sat beside him and handed him the bowl and cup, the containers made of earthenware. Elly tucked her knees in against her, straightening her skirt. “I asked more about this story, if you’d like to know.”

“Gods please,” Henry said, slurping the stew, feeling a piece of asparagus and mushroom.

“The offgiant was almost blind, her eyes bleeding. They used healing magic, but could only return partial function. So she can see, but not well. She said human workers had run from her farm and that she was out to find them, but they’d sought shelter with rogue mages from Humius who attacked her, blinded her, tried to kill her, but she narrowly escaped.”

Henry’s fingers clenched around the yellow cup. “Lying bitch. She captured us, was taking us eastwards to sell us to slavers.” He breathed out, taking a sip of water. “Sorry, continue.”

“Humans from Humius coming in and almost killing a giant, you can see how seriously this is taken, so it’s apparently spread rapidly across Gintessa. They keep a tight watch on humans, to suddenly learn there’s a trio no one’s heard of who almost killed a giant, it scares them. So everyone’s searching for you, the kingdom for their own reasons, the Rhinos for theirs. Punishment for hurting that giant, to recruit you, I don’t know what the reason is. But the Rhinos want you. They should already have two of your friends, from what you said. So now you’re the only one left. Since there’s no idea where to look, they went to Lady Leylee Richwood. Her hounds can track anyone down. They’re currently hunting you. And her manor is close. It shouldn’t take long.”

“These hounds,” Henry said, finishing the last gulp of the stew. “What are they? Giant-sized dogs?”

“Umm, no. It’s hard to explain. When they turn humans into giants, the process is very… flexible. You can shape them somewhat, make them more determined, kind, dumber.”

“That is incredibly advanced magic,” Henry said. “So much it’s barely talked about.”

“But Lady Leylee Richwood has access to that. Her hounds are, well, giants who behave like dogs. They walk and run on all four like dogs, they’re dumb and can’t talk. They have a scarily accurate ability to track things based off one whiff of your scent, and they’re fast. It’s said that if you’re a human in the east and her hounds have your scent, you might as well walk to Lady Richwood’s manor and turn yourself in. The hounds are specifically good against mages. Mages who can beat giants can still lose to them.”

“Any more good news?” Henry said, forcing a grin. There was a silence. Henry resigned to his fate. He lost the will to get up and not surrender as they had so often done along this journey. And Elly didn’t go further on about these hounds, sparing him of the details. He’d know soon enough.

Elly broke the quiet at last. “You… You must be very strong, if you almost killed a giant.”

Henry made a farting noise with his mouth. “Pure fucking luck. My friend got a one-in-a-million shot. Otherwise, she was fucking us for hours, figutatively and literally. She was toying with us, dominating us in the most embarrassing ways you can ever imagine. She reduced us to things. We weren’t humans, but things. That’s why I was naked when you found me, she took off our clothes and did things with us you can’t even imagine.”

Elly blushed, hand over her mouth. “Oh.”

“Sorry.” He put the bowl and cup aside. “Thanks, was delicious.” He cleared his throat. “Feels good to have gotten that rant out. Back there, those boys respected you awfully much. Are you someone important?”

“They’re scared of me.”

“Huh? Why?”

“Any day, I could be taken away by Madam Richwood’s guards, and I’ll be made large. It’s not unusual for them to train you when you become an offgiant, to push you away from your human past and make you embrace a new identity. The normal way is they take you to where you grew up, to the people you knew, and they…” She tried not to weep.

“I understand. One day, you could come towering over them, and they don’t want to breed any vengeance in you.”

“Exactly. But it just makes it worse, you know? I wish they treated me worse in Kelter, made me the most spiteful wench there ever was, cast me out and hated me, for maybe then I could find pleasure in taking vengeance. Instead it’ll be remorse, heartbreak. My father even lays out plans of how we’re going to do it. He told me, if the day comes, I should march up to him without hesitation and step on him.” Elly flexed her toes, fingers tracing the lines of her sandals. “My close ones telling me how to hurt them, to convince the giants I’m one of them. And that’s if I’m lucky. Those hounds… One of them was girl I knew, from Kelter. I saw her a month ago, running past these fields on all four, with a blank, stupid expression on her, unable to speak a word, like an animal.”

“God, I hate these fucks. Listen, Elly, one day, they’re going to pay. Not Lady Richwood specifically, not the Rhinos, but every goddamn giant is going to pay for how they treat us. Don’t ask me how, don’t ask me when. I’m just letting you know. And you said my friends are done for because they were captured by the Charmer. Well, I’ll tell you that you haven’t met Milton and, especially, Rennard. We made that one giant pay. Was it luck? Perhaps. But I think about the journey we took since we left Humius, and honestly, I’m feeling proud. Our perseverance, our problem-solving, always looking ahead, always making something happen. God bless Rennard, that man especially. You know, as false as that bitch Ada’s story was, the apprehension it spread among the giants is accurate. They should be scared. Because there truly is three humans who have entered Gintessa who will not just stand by and take it.”