Atop a low hill Brand sat astride his horse and gazed out over the plains just a short way South and West from Halted Stream Camp. Gigantic mammoths moved ponderously near a small pond that lay at the bottom of the low hill. He could see two Giants also moving about their camp that was also on the water's edge, and it reminded him of a recent event.
He'd been prospecting for iron or corundum ore, and his search had taken him across the river and upstream from Riverwood. It was a perfect day, with a slight overcast and the air was not chill. He'd had no horse at the time, so he'd warily walked through a wooded area keeping his eyes open for wolves and anything else that might be hiding behind a tree or in a stand of brush. Nothing has assaulted him, and he'd emerged into a clear area where he caught sight of a small shack ahead of him, and an old woman working in her garden.
Looking forward to a chat, Brand had hailed the old woman with a hearty greeting as he'd trotted forward toward the shack. At his shout, she turned and watched him approach with a slightly suspicious eye.
Just as Brand reached her garden area, a huge wolf ran out of the woods and leaped for his throat with a snarl, and despite his preoccupation with that, Brand had thought he saw something... something huge ...moving out there in a shadowy part of the forest. The old woman raised her hands and with a gesture, covered the wolf with a gout of flame, as Brand raised his mace and shield and swung with deadly effect. The wolf had time for one sharp cry of pain and then it was dead, but... the old woman turned and faced the forest.
With a hasty cry she charged into the shadowy wooded area, and to brand's amazement, attacked a gigantic Spriggan! Momentarily frozen with with the sight, Brand stood with mouth agape and watched as the old woman ran up to the spriggan with heavy waves of flame bursting from her hands, and then... the Spriggan swung a club, and the old woman shot into the air. Higher and higher she went, and Brand watched in awe as she dwindled to a tiny dark speck against the gray sky.
As the tiny speck began to fall, Brand could feel the ground shake with huge running footsteps that were getting way too close. He'd realized that he'd better start moving, and quickly. The Spriggan was almost on him as he'd turned and ran around the shack to a point where he could quickly scrabble his down a fairly high cliff. The ground just behind him shook with the force of a blow from the Spriggan's club, and the wind of it's passing blew him nearly off of the high rock face.
Fortunately, it seemed the Spriggan was not in the mood for rock climbing, and after a few minutes had wandered away back into the forest. Brand explored the shabby cabin, and wondered who the old woman had been and why she lived out here all alone. Near the head of her bed he saw a trap door, but it was locked and he thought perhaps he would return another day to see what was down there, but he hadn't returned.
Now as he sat his horse near Whiterun, he wondered... What if the giant matron Sriggan were female Giants? He'd never seen a female giant, nor met anybody who claimed too (except for some wild accounts by not-so-credible drunks of mad love trysts in dark forests). The thought made him snicker, as he speculated as to what the child of such a union might look like.
After a moment, he gave Stupid Horse a slight kick in the flanks, and rode on toward his goal. Redoran's Retreat and a bandit chief with a price on his head waited patiently for Brand's arrival. Shouldn't keep them waiting, eh?
» Wed May 11, 2016 1:46 pm 
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Well,that's Vilkas for you, don't know whether to smack him or kiss him, lol, but I still like him. Potema's place is nasty! Good update, I'll be anxious to see what Jensa gets into on her own, hehe.
Good read!!
