K and K 21
Little by little they watched the four Cloud Giants walk through the town and only stop when they came across the first citizen of the town that had been turned to stone. They stopped there for a moment before the first two walked on past to a larger group stone statues. Some of them saw the first two while the rest saw the last two topple over the stone statue and watched it shatter into a million pieces. The Cloud Giants chuckled a little then walked on.
Katherine slapped a hand over her mouth to keep from crying out in horror. They had just killed that person permanently, provided there was a way to turn them back into flesh. She kept her ring working, went around the corner, and followed them to the other two. It was there that she joined up with Jenny and Javi who were standing side by side. Neither noticed her as they took peeks at the Giants.
Katherine could just make out that they were talking. "He's complaining about not having any control over the Gorgons," Jenny told Javi and Katherine at the same time, not that she knew she had done so. "The other one is reminding him of the process to create them," Jenny added. "The first one wants to know how to recall the Gorgons back here and on the road toward Silverymoon," Jenny translated. "He can't," she continued.
Javi was staring at Jenny as was Katherine. "A good Concubine knows as many languages as possible. Though I'll admit I never thought Cloud Giant was ever going to be a useful language, but I had a chance to learn it so I did," Jenny said as she shrugged her shoulders. She didn't bother to explain how she knew their language but not what they looked like.
It was then that all four of the Cloud Giants' heads turned their direction. "Uh oh!" Javi whispered softly and ducked back behind the building where they were. Suddenly Jenny's movements had their interest as she popped several of her buttons, dropped her shoes onto the ground, then took a deep breath. She stepped out and found all four Cloud Giants just a few yards away from her.
Neither Javi or Katherine could see what she was doing since that would have meant exposing themselves. However Rick, who found himself all alone, had a decent view of her actions. Jenny was speaking in a language that Rick didn't understand but it was a match for what the Cloud Giants were speaking. He also had no problem seeing that what they were looking at were not Jenny's eyes. 'God, are all men the same?' he wondered.
Jenny had their attention as she talked to them, or more accurately her breasts had their attention. But as Rick watched it looked like an argument was starting and Jenny was waving her hands and talking. Only one of the Cloud Giants was doing the talking now. Suddenly Jenny smacked him in the chest then turned and walked away while the Cloud Giant looked shocked then yelled something back. Jenny simply made a gesture that to Rick resembled her giving him the finger. That had two of the Cloud Giants laughing while the one doing the talking turned on them causing them to shut-up.
They were still grouped nicely and had no weapons out so Rick took a risk. He yanked the largest red ball off of his necklace, said a silent prayer, and threw it. It landed perfectly, right in the middle of them, and blew up in a massively aggressive, short-lived fireball. Two of them actually had their clothes catch fire which had them slapping at their clothes to put the fires out. The other two drew their swords and started looking around. However, by then even Jenny was not to be seen.
The sound of the explosion had gotten Storm and Dapper to come charging out of the stables where they had been left and told to stay. They immediately started barking, issuing a warning to their owners and friends. That gave Rick the time to pull the next largest red ball and throw it which resulted in another large but short-lived fireball which engulfed all of them.
Lanie did her part and cast Summon Monster II and got a fire beetle that immediately attacked and missed its target badly. It gave Katherine an idea so she cast Summon Nature's Ally I and got another wolf just like Dapper to attack but it missed its target as well. The two Cloud Giants that had weapons out had a chance to each swing at what was close and killed both of them in a single swipe, partially slicing each of them in half.
The combat got the four of them to stay close to each other allowing Rick to throw yet another large red ball that blew up nicely in a brief fireball. By now all four of them were looking a little burnt; it also got them to spread out farther, diminishing the damage another fireball could do.
It wasn't until two arrows from Javi bounced off their armor that the Cloud Giants spotted anyone, getting the two with swords out to run his direction. Javi was forced to drop his bow, activate his shoes, and hold his position.
Katherine cast another Summon Nature's Ally I and got another wolf. Her wolves were nothing to the Cloud Giants but she was hoping it would at least keep them busy. Unfortunately, just like last time her wolf missed badly and was cut in half when one of them unsheathed his sword and took a single swing.
Javi was starting to worry as those two had just about reached him when suddenly something he could barely see, like it was made of clouds or maybe a shadow of something, suddenly showed up and grappled with one of them causing the other one to stop and look to help his friend. However as he did so Kevin showed up and shoved his dagger deep up the Cloud Giant's ass since he was that tall in relationship to Kevin. The Cloud Giant cried out in pain and fell to the ground.
Javi was grateful for the distraction. He took a short step then swung thrice, striking one of the Cloud Giant's legs each time. It was the first time Javi felt the power his belt provided him with the amplification of his boots. Javi's three swings literally removed the Cloud Giant's leg from his body, causing him to fall while still in the grip of his assailant.
Lanie, who was still hiding, saw something that drew her attention. What she saw was the three story tall tower briefly look different. It had a door facing in her direction with at least one window on each level. Then it went back to looking like a solid stone tower. But she was too busy to do anything about it. She pointed her new wand of Summon Monster III and a Bison appeared which charged one of the Cloud Giants hitting him low in his leg. The result was a lot less than she hoped for. In one swing of the Cloud Giant's sword, it was struck in twain lying dead on the ground. "SHIT!" Lanie exclaimed, hurrying back to hiding behind her building.
What she didn't realize was that she had given her position away and had attracted the attention of one of the Cloud Giants who was coming her way. He had just started moving toward her when there was a sudden extraordinarily resounding thunder clap that rattled everything. It was accompanied by a lightning bolt that when it cleared, revealed an even larger Cloud Giant with a beard who was both weaponless and without armor. "ENOUGH!" he roared. His voice was almost enough to burst ear drums.
"Father, these humans..." however he was interrupted. "SILENCE!" he thundered out the word causing everyone to be mute. "You two are a disgrace and a disappointment. I knew you were hurting when your mother left us, I just never expected this of you," he said as he shook his head. "I don't know what you've been told Father but these humans..." He was quickly silenced when his father backhanded him causing him to tumble backward, falling to the ground. "The humans I sent with your sister have told me nothing, however your sister's silence now makes sense to me," he bellowed at his sons.
"I had the gem studied and found that it was fake. I allowed you to expose yourselves and your intentions. Your actions alone have condemned you both." They watched him point after a wave of his arm and saw a very tall mirror suddenly appear. "You two are banished for as long as I live. You will step through the mirror into one of the 666 layers of the Abyss," he commanded them.
"Father, you know that would be certain death!" one of them protested. They were Cloud Giants and would be completely surrounded by Demons in every direction. "You can step through and take your chances or you can be judged for your actions," he informed them as he waved his arm again. Suddenly a very large metal monster was standing there. Hearing his sons suck in a sudden breath told all of them that whatever it was, it was greatly feared. "CHOOSE...NOW!" he demanded glaring at them.
They both looked at each other and shook their heads. Stepping through was probably not actually sudden death. More than likely they would be captured and tortured for fun until they finally died, weeks if not months later. "Very well, accept your judgment," he intoned. And he motioned to the humanoid-looking metal man who walked over to each of his sons, touched each one, then disappeared.
What he left behind was a normal Skunk and a normal Porcupine, both of which vanished in a tiny puff of smoke. What they didn't know was that they were teleported in opposite directions for hundreds of miles, never to see each other or their family ever again.
"HERMAGE, my thanks for your involvement. I owe you," the elder Cloud Giant called out but received no reply, not that he was expecting one. "As for you, I thank you for all you have done for my family and my loyal daughter. Speak of two things and they are yours," he promised and looked at each of the group.
"All of the occupants of this town were turned to stone because of your sons," Katherine spoke up first since what happened was hurting her heart. "How do you know it was my sons? Where is your proof?" he challenged her. "Gorgons are Magical Beasts and this is the second time we have encountered them. The first was escorting your daughter into Silverymoon. It is possible that she could have been turned to stone in the attack. Gorgons have to be made, they are not natural to nature," Rick informed him since he had read about them.
They watched what he was thinking play over his face till finally he reached behind him and threw a bag at Katherine. "Sprinkle a pinch on each person and it will restore them," he informed her as she opened the diminutive bag finding three small jars inside it. "Thank you," Katherine breathed, clutching the bag to her chest. Life instead of worse than death. Lifeless stone till they were too broken to bring back to life.
"We need something to house all of us in our travels. Something to keep the weather out and keep us safe. Something that can be easily transported," Rick asked trying to think of something that would benefit the group.
The elder Cloud Giant paused, thinking before reaching behind his back and throwing something to Rick who caught it. "I will contact my daughter and inform her of the actions that took place here." In another thunderclap with a bolt of lightning he was gone.
"And who is this Hermage?" Lanie questioned but got nothing back from the others. Katherine looked at everyone and started walking toward the statues with the bag of cure in her hands. Rick meanwhile opened his bag and found a note explaining what it was he held.
Daern's Camouflaged Instant Tent - It is 20 feet square with a never-ending fire pit in the center with a smoke hole in the top. It comes with eight cots and space for supplies. It is always temperate within and is resistant to fire, acid, and electricity. It is immune to the effects of cold.
It looked like a simple piece of fabric that was folded into a triangle.
"I think Guri had us stay in something like this on the way to Silverymoon," Rick told everyone but Katherine who was by now too far away so she didn't hear him.
They stayed in the Inn for free as did their horses and wolves until the morning after the Cloud Giants' confrontation. They were owed it for saving every member of the town that had been turned to stone. Katherine even had a few pinches left, not many but a few. Say five or six perhaps if she was careful.
There was a group of city members waiting for them at the exit leading back to Silverymoon. "Our town would be dead and us with it without you. While it was the Gorgons which did this to us we have little to offer as our thanks. However what we can offer is the written deed to several adjacent pieces of land in our little town. It is yours to do with as you please. Perhaps one day in the future you will decide to retire and live out your lives here." And he handed over the scroll that held the written documentation. They now had a home, or could have, if they chose. "May your gods smile on you everywhere you go and for all the good deeds that you do."
"Who is Hermage?" Rick asked since the Cloud Giant had mentioned him. "We know not that name, he is not someone who lives here," they were answered. Still Rick took a look at the tower that remained unchanged. Guri had told them the person inside would be able to talk to her father. Yet there was no way in and no one had seen him. But where had that one spell on one of the Cloud Giants that Javi and even Lanie had talked about come from? That spell was far too powerful for even him though he found out this morning that he now understood some of the spells in his book that he hadn't before.
Lanie and even Katherine hadn't as yet confessed that they too had gained access to more powerful spells that their gods had granted them.
Rick took a quick peek at their land before mounting his horse. One of the sites was the burnt out area of the Silversmith's shop while the other two were adjacent to each other with one being next to the Silversmith. It meant that they could tear down what was there and build new if they chose. Rick had no idea what it was worth if it was sold, however he liked the idea of them having a home to come to even if one of the buildings had been gutted by a fire.
Rick held up the scroll. "Thank you, we'll talk and perhaps one day you'll find out what we have decided," he declared and walked his horse like the others were doing. The town of Relfrin just didn't have the money to buy what they had taken from the caravan.
They met again at the switchbacks down the mountain that lead into Silverymoon. "If we take these things back to Silverymoon the people that sent out the caravan are going to want it all back," Rick pointed out an obvious problem to collecting any money from the sale of the goods. "Twithley is large enough however if we're right the Gorgons went that way," Rick reminded them somberly. There was possibly great risk in going that way.
It was then that Katherine slapped a hand over her mouth and looked pained. "OH NO! I forgot about them!" she said sorrowfully. She took out the last jar of powder that she had and opened it to look inside. "I don't have enough for all of them. How am I suppose to choose who lives and who dies?" Katherine had never felt this kind of pain before. "They're not dead as your power has demonstrated. They're just stone till they can cured," Rick countered. "Meaning we have time to find more," Katherine said hopefully looking at all of them expectantly. "Silverymoon is the most likely place to find more, though it will cost us...most likely a great deal," he informed her.
She really didn't want to choose and even if they went to Silverymoon they might not make the money necessary to buy more powder. Katherine agonized over the decision that looked like was hers to make. "Fine. We sell the goods first then go back to Silverymoon." Inspiration struck and she began counting. "Six people, six horses." She tried to remember. "I've got maybe 6 uses left. Are there six stone horses at the bottom? One for each of us? If we walk it'll take us weeks while riding will only take days," Katherine shared what she was thinking.
"Three maybe four days down fully loaded and two days back up if there are enough horses. We could transfer everything back to the pack animals giving our horses a rest," Rick said thoughtfully. Katherine moaned. It meant using all the powder she had on animals instead of people and there was no guarantee they would find more. However, she didn't have enough for all of the people either.
"Alright. We use what remains on six horses then transfer it all back and head back up and into town to sell it all. Afterward we'll turn around and head back to Silverymoon," Katherine agreed wearily as she caved in since it sounded like the best choice in the long run. "This better work," she whispered to herself. She would never going to forgive herself if it failed.
As Rick had estimated it took them four days to walk the horses down the mountain always unloading them each day only to load them all back up again the following morning. Once they reached the stone caravan late in the day Rick set up their tent in seconds. They unpacked their horses and Katherine sprinkled her powder over 6 pack mules and realized that she had some flakes left. She thought for a moment and shook the bag over one of the guard dogs.
They tied all the horses and mules in place while Katherine went out to set her traps. While she was gone they used the horse feed from the caravan wagons to feed them all including the guard dog who appeared to be well trained and actually listened to what Javi told it to do. Neither Storm nor Dapper were overly enamored with the guard dog and mostly kept their distance doing their best to ignore him.
The humans slept inside while all of the animals slept outside. Come morning they found two of her traps with something in them, so the wolves got fresh meat that they wouldn't get for the next 2 days or hadn't for the last 4 days for that matter. Loading up the mules was actually easier partly due to practice and they started up the hill back into the town of Relfrin.
They spent the night in Relfrin for free once more as did all of their animals even if their number had doubled. It was only four days into town by horse, even though they couldn't go very fast because of the pack mules. However they were only three days out when they ran across still another caravan, this one headed for Silverymoon that was all stone. "DAMN IT!" Katherine screamed in anger as she rested her forehead up against yet another stone animal. She blinked back tears as she searched her bag for all three jars and picked a horse at random and emptied each one by banging it against the stone. "Please let this work," she prayed.
Katherine watched the stone go away from the top down where she had tapped the container until it reach the feet where she found one foot that was still stone. "NO! It's just one foot. COME ON!" she cried. Inspiration struck and she poured a little water into each jar, covered them again and shook them hard. Then she poured all three jars over that one foot and watched it turn from stone into a hoof. She jumped up and screamed, "YES!" Katherine wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him. "Hi handsome lad. You are one lucky boy," she crooned and rested her head up against his neck.
Rick, Lanie, and Katherine each cast Detect Magic and took everything they found which was a lot like what they had found last time. Nothing looked special nor overly powerful. Still magic items were worth money so they made space for all of it even if that meant carrying it themselves.
They were expecting to enter Twithley where they had attended the magic auction previously. Much to their surprise they found Jenny putting on a wig to cover up her blonde hair. "I'm not exactly going to be welcomed into this town with open arms," she informed them. When she had left Silverymoon to move on to perhaps find greener pastures this town wasn't on her list to return to.
"Here wear some of my clothes, they'll help hide you," Kevin offered then handed over some of his clothes. His pants were too long requiring her to turn the legs up and the tunic was still too big even with her chest size, though it did help hide her feminine assets. Lanie and Katherine silently thanked their god for that since her breasts were not out on display so prominently anymore.
It took the rest of the day to find a buyer or two for what they had. They dragged themselves absolutely bone-tired into their rooms for the night. Still they each profited, including Jenny since she had done her part by distracting them. Everyone earned 3,700 gold pieces just for the magic items, though they had kept all of the potions. Each person put on a bandolier that held 9 potions except for Jenny would couldn't wear it because of her chest size. In the end only Javi and Lanie had one empty slot for a potion now.
They garnered 11,042 gold pieces each along with a few silver pieces from the items the first caravan was carrying. Then they rushed back out to the second caravan to collect everything they could carry on their pack mules and went back into town. They each earned 7,423 gold pieces and a few silver pieces for that caravan.
Rick went asking about dust that would turn stone into flesh but found no one knew anything about such an item. He did find two scrolls that held the spell Stone to Flesh in them. However once the scroll was used it was gone. Each cost 1,650 gold pieces so for 3,300 gold pieces they could turn two people back into living. "Seriously!?" Katherine couldn't believe it. Even if they had enough scrolls they didn't have the money to buy them for every stone statue they knew about.
"Can we go back to that Cloud Giant and get more?" Katherine queried. "After all it was his sons that are the cause of all this," she pointed out. "And did he sound like a person who gave a..." Rick was cut off by Katherine. "There has to be something we can do," she replied in anguish. Being made of stone was no way to live.
"There's Guri," Lanie suggested and got Katherine's and Rick's heads to snap her direction. "That one caravan came from Silverymoon; maybe who sent them would be willing to pay to have them converted back into flesh," Javi added which had all of them smiling. They now had something to try so they got back on their horses. They picked up their pack mules, all 7 of them, their one guard dog, then left for Relfrin again.
"At the rate we keep going to Relfrin we may just have to build a house there. A mansion maybe with hot and cold running water," Rick mused as Katherine looked at him. "Oh, yes please!" she said. Katherine had gotten so that she loved hot showers as much as Kate did.
"Give me your money and wait here with the others. I'll be right back." Rick held out his hand and waited for her to hand over all her money. She was all set to question why, when he spurred his horse and took off at a run. "DAPPER, go with him! Guard Rick!" Katherine commanded him and grinned as she watched him take off running trying to catch up to the horse that was practically flying down the road.
It was easily an hour before Rick and Dapper came running back. "They didn't have one but were betting that Silverymoon would have one," Rick told them. "Have what?" Katherine asked as Rick handed back her money. "It's called a Lyre of Building. It's a stringed instrument that when played for an hour, magically produces in 30 minutes 100 humans laboring for three days. So long as you don't play it for over an hour, you can use it each day," he explained.
"One hundred people for three days in just 30 minutes and we can do it twice each day?" Katherine asked in amazement. "Do we need to supply materials?" she asked seeing a potential flaw and watched as Rick shook his head. "We'll still need everything that goes into the house. But if we had one we might be done building in just weeks. A month or two at most depending on the size," Rick replied, happy that all of his reading was coming in handy.
They got on the road. Katherine was sure they could use some of their pack animals to haul wagons or carts that would hold beds, furniture, and other things. "This might actually work," Katherine whispered to herself and wondered what Kate would say about it. But if she was right they wouldn't be changing places for much longer unless they stayed in the other person's world for longer periods of time. Months maybe instead of weeks.
She was actually glad she was still there since that hopefully meant Kate was waiting until she made it to the next house. "I wonder what it will look like," Katherine mused. The prison had been nice inside, but it was still a prison.
On their stop at Relfrin again which was once more free, they all walked over to their three parcels of land inside the town. All three parcels faced the tower with no doors and no windows. "What does Guri know that we don't?" Lanie whispered so softly that all of them just barely heard her.
"There has to be a way in. No one lives in a building that doesn't have at least one door. And what about windows? How do you let the sun in or get fresh air?" Javi asked, perplexed by this thing. "Not there one day and there the next sounds like a Wizard who's likely equal in power with my father," Rick commented offhandedly. His words got Katherine thinking. 'Of course his father would have been a Wizard if he was going to teach his son to be one too!' Katherine was ready to slap herself.
"A Magical way in?" Katherine wondered. "Most likely," Rick agreed but then Katherine walked up to it just to touch it since none of them had till now. "It feels like stone," she remarked as she worked her hands everywhere she could reach. There was only a couple of inches between the tower and the wall it was embedded into. "What do you think boy?" Katherine looks down at Dapper who simply sniffed, uninterested in the thing.
"Wait, do that again," Javi said. He thought he saw something. "All of it from one side to the other," he explained as he saw the questioning look on Katherine's face. Still she started all over again until Javi had her stop. "There, right there!" he said excitedly. Javi pointed at the space she was standing in. "Right there, kick the dirt, try and make a mess. Dig a hole with your boot or something," he told her.
Katherine began kicking the ground and was sending dirt flying. "Anyone else see that?" Javi asked as Rick nodded and said, "I'll be damned!" Katherine stopped, looked down, and saw nothing. "Do that again, only over there," Rick asked her and they watched her kick up a dirt storm. When she stopped and looked down she saw the small hole she had dug using just her boots.
"Why isn't there another hole over there?" Katherine looked between the two spaces and then at Rick since he was the Wizard. "It's an illusion," he replied then continued, "It hides everything. We can't see the hole you made and we likely can't see the door or the windows." He was impressed. He had read a few things about them, but to actually see one...that was spectacular! "This is powerful magic. You said it felt like stone everywhere?" he inquired, getting Katherine to nod. "So even if it's a wooden door you feel stone like the rest of the tower, hiding the entrance," Rick pointed out to the others.
"How do we get in? I can't pick the lock if it's even got one if I can't at least feel it," Kevin grumbled in annoyance.
"Can you open up, we only want to talk. Guri said you had a way to talk to her father the Cloud Giant," Rick yelled and they waited. "Maybe he doesn't want company," Javi offered. "Maybe he's just shy," Jenny countered and began taking off her clothes. Her clothes since after leaving the town she had given Kevin back his clothes. She was soon down to just her panties and bra. Lanie and Katherine noticed that she was seriously beautiful and had a body they both wished they had.
The men, Kevin included, were staring with their mouths hanging open. Jenny reached out to close his mouth since she was standing next to him. "Maybe later," she said smiling at him then turned her attention back to the tower. "Open the door, please," Jenny asked as she struck a pose and adjusted her breasts inside her bra. When nothing happened after a few minutes she said, "I may have over done it. He might be unconscious." Jenny thought maybe she should have just exposed a shapely leg instead of giving him almost everything. She put her clothes back on and looked around not seeing any of the towns people. She was thankful for that.
"We can't get in and he or they won't come out," Rick remarked as he finally recovered from the view Jenny had given all of them. 'Where are you Kate? I'm not going to last much longer.' Katherine was Kate at least in looks. Now Jenny had gotten his blood moving and what he wanted to do was have sex with her. However he wasn't going to cheat on her with Katherine. Even if it was her, sort of. 'This is so complicated,' he thought, frustrated almost beyond measure.
Still Jenny gave it another shot and when she stopped she was beginning to get upset. No red blooded man had ever ignored her like that. "Maybe he's gay or..." she was forced to stop talking when Kevin kissed her then he suddenly stopped. "Sorry, I didn't mean...I mean I did, I just shouldn't..." Kevin ceased speaking before he dug his hole any deeper. Jenny watched his blush rush up from his neck and overtake his face. She thought Kevin was handsome enough and his stammering was cute. All the men she had ever encountered were Alpha Male types, so sure of themselves and what they wanted and were entitled to, and she fit into what they thought they were entitled to. She had been forced to defend herself and ended up drugging and stealing from more than a few of them. Kevin was different and she found it endearing.
Kevin didn't know what hit him when suddenly Jenny grabbed him and kissed him soundly. She knew how to kiss and gave him one of her best. When she broke from the kiss and just looked at him, the look on his face made her smile. Kevin was special somehow and she was going to find out why. Plus she suddenly had more money than she made in the last few months and all she had done was proposition a Cloud Giant.
"Gay or not, it would appear that he or they aren't coming out. Maybe Guri can fill us in," Rick suggested and they gathered up their things when they were ready to leave in the morning and headed down the mountain.
It was on the third day that they went past the caravan they had first encountered; nothing looked like it had changed. It took another uneventful three days to reach Silverymoon. They put their horses and mules in the same stable as last time and Storm and Dapper stayed there also. They chose the same inn as before but ended up with different rooms. Unfortunately they weren't next to each other this time.
Jenny was smiling widely at what she saw. She hadn't stayed in an inn this nice in quite a while. When she found out about a hot bath she was naked, wrapped up in a towel, and down the hall almost instantly. Lanie and Katherine were not unaffected by what she did as she left them standing there with their mouths hanging open. "I want her body; I don't want to be her. I just want her body," Lanie said as she finally recovered and watched Katherine nod in agreement.
Katherine was soon pouring out a spice into another set of pony kegs. Three weeks from now and they would have even more money.
The day after their arrival they went to the gate and asked for Guri the Cloud Giant and waited somewhat impatiently.