58. Come the Giants

Kinch returns to Galva, Yorbez, and Norrigal, briefly reporting before they press east and south along the trail. They pass cairns, a carved elephant, and a wooden henge, losing sight of the lagging musicians. Signs grow grim when they find a donkey smashed, two dead giants, and a saffron-robed man flattened—revealed as a tattooed Assassin-Adept, likely part of the Guild’s plan to spirit Infanta Mireya across the border.

Before they can process it, a thrown log strikes Norrigal, snapping both legs and knocking her senseless. Three giants close in. Galva points out a cave, but Kinch refuses to abandon Norrigal; Galva commits to fight, mounting her clockwork horse, while Yorbez readies her blade and Kinch nocks arrows. They charge to draw the giants off the road and away from Norrigal.

As the giants engage, the trailing musicians arrive: Gorbol’s cornemuse, Nazh’s pipe, and Bizh’s drum fall into the giants’ cadence, then slow it, magically drowsing their movements. Taking advantage, Kinch blinds the flail-wielding giant and, with Galva and Yorbez cutting his legs, helps bring him down. Kinch then climbs the axe-bearer and opens his neck, narrowly avoiding the slow-falling corpse and blood spray.

The female giant uproots a dead tree and shoves it onto the clustered musicians. The impact crushes them; their clothing lies empty as Gorbol and Bizh become mice, Bizh dying moments later. With the spell broken, the giant regains speed and scatters Galva and Yorbez with kicked debris. Kinch pins her eye with arrows, giving Galva and Yorbez the opening to finish her.

As calm returns, Kinch offers thanks to the war gods and turns his worry back to Norrigal, alive but gravely injured. The scene confirms Guild involvement and a likely smuggling route for Mireya, but her fate remains unresolved.