[Aylwen Dreamsong]

“Who shot that arrow?” Anuion cried, and shot a venomous expression at his companions. He ignored the rampaging giant, who was moving slowly enough to not pose a threat for at least the next few seconds.

Jadae, after having pulled the arrow carelessly from her calf and towards the back of her knee, could barely walk. With only the spear wound she could hop along at a steady rate, but the new wound to the same leg sent her to the floor after trying to take a step. The smith collapsed under her leg, sending enormous pain through her veins. Jack caught her though, and with hurried thanks Jadae accepted the support from the man. She slung her arm around his shoulder and tried to hop on her left leg.

“Well?” Anuion screamed again, as the threat of the huge giant became greater. The company shrugged; Anuion was the only one who had brought a bow with him, and he hadn’t raised his weapon.

A great crash rang through the damp air of the library chamber, sending chills down everyone’s spines. The giant lifted his sword arm, and with a great sweeping motion of his hand, sent a large bookcase flying the intruders’ way. Every parchment on the shelf went bursting into an infinite amount of pieces, turning into an off-white dust that showered the group as they ducked from the flying shelf. The shelf soared over the group, and shattered into simple rifts of timber as it hit the chamber wall.

“I think it’s safe to get leaving now,” Arethin called over the thunderous noise of the giant. Everyone in the group nodded in agreement, save for Anuion.

“We can’t leave the elf here!” Anuion cried, and turned towards the place where the woman had fallen. Anuion’s conscience was eating him inside, and he couldn’t leave the helpless wounded to death by the seemingly unstoppable giant Elf-Lord.

“Anuion, we have to get out of here!” Jadae retorted, though she was hardly one to do something about it. Anuion shook his head, and pointed to a stairway at the end of one isle of books.

“Distract the giant, or get out of here!” Anuion’s voice was stern and certain; he knew what he was going to do, and he wouldn’t leave without the woman of his kind. Without another word, Anuion sprinted off towards a desk piled with parchment and books. He jumped up onto the desk, and clambered, however gracefully, onto a bookshelf nearby. Just above his reach was the railing of the upper balcony.

“How did I know he was going to do that?” Jack wondered rhetorically, and then shifted to face Arethin while keeping Jadae standing at the same time. Arethin was coughing, or perhaps choking, on something when the two went to face him. The man went to touch his side, but his hands retracted speedily as soon as he let the hand rest on the broken ribs.

“Ari! Hands above your head, remember? Breathe!” Jadae cried, wanting to help the man, but unable to move from her spot. Before Jadae could speak again, the giant let loose on another bookshelf, this time the shelf that Anuion had made into his perch. The Elf leapt from the spot, and grasped the rail of the upper balcony, letting his upper body slam against the cool stone.

“We have to do something about this giant,” Arethin commented when he had regained his breath. Jack nodded, and both men looked to Jadae. “We need to distract it. We need bait.”

Jadae’s eyes widened.

“Did you see the way the statue went after Anuion like that?” Jack asked Jadae, and the girl gulped as she nodded. “We’ll come back for you, I promise. We just need you to sit and wait.”

“Sounds like fun,” Jadae replied sarcastically. Getting turned into jelly by a giant Elven statue was not her idea of fun. Jadae agreed though, and Jack carefully set her down in the central reading area of the library. Then, the two men ran off to the right, leaving Jadae sitting alone, waiting for the statue thing.

Anuion, meanwhile, had managed to pull himself up onto the upper balcony. He crouched next to the elf that had been so loyal to her home. Anuion lifted the woman, cradling her in his arms. He examined the arrow and the wound, and carefully wheedled the arrow out of the elf’s flesh. Resolving to cover the wound when he had ample time, Anuion darted back over to the edge of the balcony. He decided not to be risky when someone else’s life was in his hands, so he turned away from that direction and when out the way Crystwen had come in. There were two hallways, one going right and the other going left. Remembering that the staircase was towards his left, and hoping not to get too far away from his companions, Anuion ran through the right hallway, into another living chamber. It was much like the one he and Jack had seen earlier, but it was a different one.

Jack and Arethin ran behind a bookshelf, and began to debate on what to do.

“Have we got any rope?” Arethin asked, and Jack shook his head. “We’ve got candles, our weapons, and anything else we’ve got in our packs. No rope.”

“I knew we’d be needing rope. I should’ve brought some. Nonetheless, we should get this thing confused.” Arethin began as a plan began to form.

“What have you got in mind?”

Arethin grinned, and pulled out three candles, and the metal and rock used to light them. They lit two, and, using a strip of cloth from Jack’s tunic, tied the last candle and the lighters together. Going towards the edge of the bookshelf, they poked their heads over the side, catching a glimpse of Jadae. She hugged her left knee, which was bent so she could lean her chin on it, while her right leg laid awkwardly askew.

Arethin threw the package of candle and lighter at Jadae, and the pack clumsily hit her in the head. Jadae turned quickly, and shot a questioning look at her friends. Arethin beckoned for Jack to run to the opposing bookshelf across the central reading center, and then waited as Jack did so.

Jack ran to the other end of his bookshelf, just as the giant rumbled out into the circling center. The giant turned to Jadae, and lifted its stone sword. Arethin screamed something or another, and the giant looked away from Jadae. Jack did the same, and then ran from one end of his bookshelf to the other, holding the candle high above the heights of his shelf. Jadae joined in, lighting her candle and crawling this way and that as the men ran up and down their lanes, then around the circular center.

The giant started to spin in circles as it tried to keep up with each one of its prey. When it started going too quickly, the giant lost it’s delicate balance. After a few minutes of chaos from the three humans, the giant came swinging downward, however slowly. Jack ran towards the center, and he easily picked up Jadae as he and Arethin made a mad dash for the staircase.

[ April 19, 2003: Message edited by: Aylwen Dreamsong ]

[ April 20, 2003: Message edited by: Aylwen Dreamsong ]