It was very early in the morning and Hellrien was supposed to meet Burwod by the West Gate. She only knew that she needed to pass another test. There was no certainty that the tests and training would end there. Hellrien figured that Burwod only wanted some results to report back to Dorvairse.
Hellrien didn't see Burwod anywhere near the stables, so she wandered outside and found him leaning on the wall by the right side of the gate.
”Good morning, Hellrien.”
”Morning, sir. I'm here - ready and without a major hangover!” Hellrien smirked.
”Good. You are going to to slay a giant today - are you up for the task?”
”A giant? Me? If you say so - I mean sure, I guess.”
”Go get a horse. We will ride to Adso's Camp. From there we will have a long walk ahead of us.”
It took some effort to wake the cranky stablemaster up, but finally she got herself a sprightly gelding and they were on their way. From Adso's Camp Burwod lead Hellrien quite a distance on foot along the road towards Shire. Somewhere near Buckland he turned off the road and they started climbing a hillside towards north. When they reached the top of the hill, Burwod stopped for a moment.
”These are the Brandy Hills. Many dangerous beings dwell here, so be careful. See that forest over there?” Burwod pointed towards the softwood tree line far in the horizon. ”That's our destination over there.”
After trekking through a long line of sloping, grassy hills they had to wade and swim across a river before they reached the woods. It was still dark, almost pitch black in the forest but Burwod seemed to know the area well. On several occasions he stopped and peered around him, as if listening to something. The forest was full of strange snaps and noises that made Hellrien's skin crawl. She felt like she was being watched. On several occasions she imagined seeing gleaming eyes staring at her from the darkness.
Forest terror! They were strangers here, and the forest hated them, it wanted them dead. The forest...
Nonsense! Hellrien grew angry with herself. It was just a forest, and there was nothing out there they couldn't handle between the two of them.
”It should be here somewhere...”, Burwod said in a low tone.
They kept roaming through the woods and shrubs. Hellrien had lost her sense of direction by now - on her own she would never find her way out of these woods. Suddenly Burwod asked:
”Do you think it's wise - to face an enemy without knowing what you're up against?”
Hellrien stared at Burwod's back, mouth agape. What did he mean? They were going to find and kill a giant, right? And while Hellrien had never seen a giant before, she imagined it couldn't be that difficult. Surely, if Burwod believed she wasn't up for the task, he wouldn't be taking her there in the first place? It was just some big, clumsy thug. Hellrien had been taught well in how to fight against opponents bigger than herself.
”Well”, she mused, ”I survived Ranesora's combat training, so how hard can it be?”
”The giant is much worse than Ranesora. It doesn't know when to stop.”
”Sounds exactly like Ranesora to me.”
Burwod stopped and hushed. ”It's there - can you see it?”
Hellrien squinted into the distance. There was a fire there - surrounded by what seemed to be some kind of ancient ruin.
”Follow me, and don't make a sound.”
The ruin was built atop a small knoll. Burwod and Hellrien crept to the bottom of the hill, keeping below the wind so the giant couldn't pick up their scent. Hellrien could see it now, crouched over the huge campfire it had built to itself. Valar, it was huge! A lot bigger Hellrien had imagined. Fear started creeping up Hellrien's spine when she stared at the monstrosity. How in the bloody ashes was she supposed to beat that? Was Burwod out of his bloody mind?
”Are you sure you can win?” Burwod whispered. There was something peculiar about his tone when he asked that. Did he think she was scared, was that it? Was he expecting her to give up, to tell him that she doesn't think she can beat it? And then, back to the Stronghold in shame. 'Sorry, Hellrien, you did very well for a time but in the end of the day you're not quite a warrior material. But we have always use for experienced kitchen staff...'
Hellrien gritted her teeth. No bloody way! She had not come this far for nothing!
”I can take it”, she said, sounding a lot more confident than what she felt inside. ”It's just a big dumb brute. The bigger they are, the harder they fall, right?”
”If it turns out to be too hard for you to handle, I'm not able to help you out this time”, Burwod warned.
Hellrien ground her teeth even harder. Well, dammit! If that's how it was going to be...
”I'm ready”, she almost snapped. ”Just say the word.”
But Burwod didn't say anything. A minute went by. What in the bloody ashes was he waiting for? Suddenly all the tension and rage that had been building up inside Hellrien erupted like a volcano.
”To Mordor with it!” she snapped, bounced up and ran up the knoll, already loading her bow. ”You stupid ox, eat this!”
She released the arrow. It hit the target. The giant let out a terrifying roar of pain and rage - but more rage than pain. The arrow didn't seem to hurt it more than a sting from an angry wasp. It grabbed a huge boulder prom a pile next to it and hurled it across the air towards Hellrien at terrifying speed.
She was able to dodge the boulder almost completely, but it grazed her left arm enough to send her flying like a ragdoll! Sprawled on the dais, stunned, her bow lost somewhere, she could see through a cloud of red mist how the giant was grabbing another boulder to finish her off. Mustering all strength she had left, Hellrien managed to clamber up on her feet and charge towards the giant, unsheathing her greatsword while still running.
All of Hellrien's attention was focused on the giant. It lifted it's foot and tried to stomp her with it, surprisingly fast. Hellrien dodged, and the giant growled angrily.
She circled around the giant as fast as she could. The greatsword swung surprisingly in the air. The giant's bushy brows pulled together. It suddenly took a step and swung it's fist down fiercely. Hellrien jumped backwards and dodged the punch easily, but the impact made the whole ground tremble. The giant roared furiously.
Hellrien kept circling the giant. It lurched heavily and attacked again. A swinging left hook, another swing and then it's right fist came down like a sledgehammer. Hellrien jumped out of reach again, but the fist brushed her shoulder.
The giant raged, mouth frothing. It had not yet landed a single decent hit on Hellrien. She kept circling it with light feet and swinging the sword around in the air. Finally her opportunity came. She dove down and to the side to duck a fierce swinging blow and swung with her sword at the same time. With a thud the blade sunk to it's side. Fast as lightning Hellrien jumped away, feet stiff like a cat, and the stomp of gargatuan foot that was meant to crush her missed by inches. Again the floor trembled.
Hellrien kept circling it and dodged a series of ferocious attacks. The last punch she coudn't dodge completely. It hit her upper arm and flew her down on the ground. The giant rushed forward, but Hellrien jumped up and got out of the way, shaking her left arm. The muscle ached diabolically. The giant was now in a frenzy, it kept charging over and over again and soon Hellrien got another chance. It had not yet managed to turn around after a missed swing when Hellrien thrust her sword with both hands to it's kidneys so hard she thought her hands were going to break. The giant took a lurching step forward, spun around and attacked Hellrien again. She was feeling panic creeping up on her. Could nothing stop this goliath? Then she saw her opponent's gleaming eyes and realized she had wounded it. Hellrien's dark features distorted into a nasty grimace. The giant's movements were clumsier now! It lured Hellrien into a careless attack that almost ended her life. A swinging blade cut it's neck, but not deep enough. Hellrien saw the humongous foot coming at her and managed to turn and throw herself partially out of the way so the kick didn't land with all force, but still it hit her hip and flew her yards away. Fear of death filled her heart when she realized both her feet were numb and unresponsive - she couldn't get up! The giant burst into a hoarse, roaring laughter and rushed towards her. There was nothing she could do now - she was as good as dead! Feebly she pointed the sword at the giant, gritted her teeth and shut her eyes when the huge foot came down...
There was a humongous crash, and once again the ground shook. But there was no pain, nothing! Was she dead now? Had the impact killed her instantly? Was that why she had felt nothing? Hellrien cracked her eyes cautiously.
The giant was lying down next to the fire, limp and lifeless in a pool of blood. Hellrien turned her head and saw Burwod towering over her, swiping the blade of his sword clean of blood. There seemed to be some concern in his voice when he asked:
”Are you all right?”
Hellrien winced. Sensation was coming back to her feet, and with it a hellish pain that throbbed and sent hot flashes throughout her body.
”I'll survive”, she said, looking at Burwod, then at the dead giant. ”I guess it's a 'fail' then?”
Burwod barked a laugh, amused that Hellrien's first though after near-death experience was her performance in the test. ”Do I need to carry you?”
Hellrien shook her head. ”I'll be all right, just... help me up.”
Burwod examined her quickly, making sure she had not broken anything. She was badly bruised and would walk with a limp for a few days, but no bones were broken.
Burwod helped her to a nearby ledge. Beneath them was a vertiginous fall to a rushing river far below. Before them opened a magnificent view of the Brandy Hills. The sun had just started to come up, painting the clouds above with red and orange hues.
”Do you know what the point of this test was?” Burwod asked.
Hellrien looked down. The rock face seemed to stretch forever into the abyss before it met the roaring river below. It was starting to sink in. 'Reckless', her mother always used to tell her. 'You need to learn to think before plunging head first into things.' And not that long ago, Ranesora: 'Reckless. Slipshod. Slapdash. You hold great promise as a fighter, but your greatest weakness is your lack of forethought and consideration in anything you do. It'll kill you one day.'
”I never stood a chance against it, did I?” Hellrien asked Burwod. He only shrugged. ”So it's a 'fail' then after all? Back to the basic training?” she carried on, harping for an answer.
Burwod shook his head. ”Not at all. I will recommend your promotion to a Novice rank. That means your basic training is over, and you will be eligible to receive missions.”
”Really? You mean that?”
”Yes. Your journey is just beginning. But you must remember the lesson you received today, and learn from it. A true fighter never rides into battle unprepared, without knowing what they're up against.”
”I will! I promise! Thank you, Burwod! I promise I won't let you down!”
Burwod smiled. ”Now... we need to get you a horse. Come on. Let's get back to Bree.”
