A battlefield of dead and rotting littered the landscape. One clan against another, so many of them dead and left to rot on the fields. Flies congregated among the dead. It was a place of decay and festering disease. As such, we had to walk all the way around the battlefield, in a kind of stunned silence, far from the stench. The wind blew an unfortunate direction and it was midday. I almost wretched. Lola held a kerchief to her nose, eyes watering against the smell and we picked up the pace until we were back on the narrow trail.

"What do you think that battlefield was about?" Lola asked.

I didn't need to. I had been being assaulted by visions of it since I clapped eyes on it. Every breath, every glance at a crow feasting on a lifeless body. Every weapon left to rust in the sun.

Elyvia said, "They were all Uthgardt. Shame they weren't Zhents. Guessing just two tribes opposed about something. They aren't big on honoring the dead of the other side they were fighting."

It was hard to tell, without picking through the bodies, whose side had been on what. Tattered banners in the mud, broken and trampled.

It had been a territory dispute alright, and a dispute about the future. Those opposed to the stone giants' insanity, and those not. The dispute had come to blows, then to a pitched battle. It didn't really matter who had won, not really, but by my visions and the broken bones, the giants had joined the fighting, and I did not need to wonder how that had worked out.

Toward evening as we looked for a place to camp, we heard the clash of weapons, but a monstrous sound. Entirely too loud. It could be the acoustics of the hills and mountains, but I was uncertain, as we curiously moved toward it.

As we crested the hill, I could only stare in awe.

A frost giant, radiating cold, did battle with a smoking fire giant. Blade against hammer. Fire to melt the frost. And it was spring and growing warmer with the season. Wordless, we watched from a distance as the titans dueled, awestruck by their might.

The frost giant got a good blow to the fire giant's head with the pommel of his sword. The fire giant, stunned, reeled back, giving the other an opening for his sword. The freezing blade plunged right into the fire giant. The flames cooled and it fell to the earth, sending a rumble up the hill that frightened our horses and shook the trees. We had to calm the beasts, watched the frost giant pick up the massive hammer and test the weight.

Terese hesitated, then said, "I'm going to go talk to him."

I stared. "Are you mad?"
But she had already started down the hill. Cursing, I went after her.

She called out to the frost giant. "Well met."

He looked around, then peered at us. I was humbled by his massive size, terribly aware of how easily he could step on us and end us. He said, "Well met, small ones." He frowned. "You are not Uthgardt. Why are you so far from your towns?"

Terese said, "We are from Loudwater. We're delegates, come to talk to the stone giants about peace."

He shook his head. "You will find no peace to be had where you seek it." He knelt down to talk to us, but I got the idea that it was also because he was wounded in the battle, and taking a breather. "The stone giant Kayalithica, who leads them, hears strange whispers from the stone. Stonebones urging her to retake Ostoria." He shook his head. "It's madness."

Lola leaned toward me and whispered, "Ostoria is the name the giants used for this area, back when it was theirs."

Terese said, "Do you think there is any way to dissuade her?"

"She views it as a holy calling." He shook his head. "There are others who oppose her views, but nonetheless, she has made herself the stone giants' leader."

Elyvia frowned. "What about Stonebones? He is supposed to be a gentle deity."

The giant nodded. Frosty snowflakes drifted down around him, melting as soon as they touched the ground. "The Ordining is broken. The king has disappeared. And all is chaos. I go to the shrine of the All-Father, to ask the oracle for answers."

Terese's face brightened. "Where is it?"

"With your small legs, child, it would take you many moons to reach it."

My temporary hope deflated. "Oh, I would have liked to meet another oracle."

Terese sighed. "We are on a mission from Loudwater. We cannot delay that much."

Lola nodded. "They only gave us two weeks, before they were going to presume us dead and let Andrews handle it."

The giant did not ask about these personal things, so far beneath its observance. "It is time that I am off, but I will tell you where the shrine is, should you wish to see it for yourself."

Lola grabbed a map from her pack, and listened intently to the giant's directions. He showed her where it was, squinting at her map. We said our goodbyes and the giant moved on. In only a few strides, it was well away from us, headed north and east.

He was barely out of sight before we, as one, were going through the dead fire giants' enormous pockets. A necklace made of silver bars, a bar of platinum in a pocket, a gold ring we needed three of us to pry off without a bonesaw.

It was a repulsive display of greed, and we all should have been ashamed of ourselves, but—well, something else would just loot it out here. And he wasn't using it. We might as well benefit. We stuffed the items into packs to hide them from view, in case of passing thieves.

#

Mid-morning light played off the thick mists in Deadstone Cleft. From the ridge, we could not see into the valley for the fog, but it was impossible to miss, in the overcast day, the patrolling roc. I watched it, a little in awe. Elyvia pointed out a place in the landscape that she suspected was a cavern. An alternate destination would be the waterfall, which promised a pool—not based on any nonsense about secret entrances behind a waterfall, but because camps tended to congregate around water sources.

We opted for the cave, and tried to use the fog cover and dense tree cover against the roc, timing its flight pattern to our descent. There was one area, between the tree line and the fog, that was a bit dicey, but we made it as the great creature began its turn, slipping into the mists. We had to stay close together, using a rope in single file to keep us from wandering. Lola giggled about this, a little nervously, saying that "this is how they did it when I was a wee thing".

We were all worried about the roc. It was noon by the time we reached the cave, but Elyvia knew forests well, and even if she was insufferable, she was good at navigating. We remained quiet, and passed, from what I could tell, unseen and without issue.

We left the horses in the mist, on tethers, and followed the trail up to the cave. It looked well-used, sturdy, and wide enough to be comfortable. There was not a guard posted at the entrance and we could not see within. Lola picked up a pebble and created a light before we ventured inside. Terese glanced back at the horses. "Hope they'll be all right."

"Just a quick meeting," I said.

She nodded and we walked inside, a little nervous. It was like walking right into an enemy fort. We went down a long empty corridor with a high carved ceiling. The floor was smooth and wide, and there was mild decoration along it, the way a house might have decorative molding. We rounded a corner and through an egress, we saw a large domed chamber with a high vaulted ceiling.

A stone giant, hairless as a Thayan and gray, had his back to us, busily carving some scene into the wall.

Terese glanced at us, then took a breath. She strode forward, making no move to halt the sound of her clinking armor. She said, "Excuse me. Sir."

The giant turned abruptly. He said something, but none of us knew what it was. None of us spoke giant.

When all of us looked at one another, hoping someone could try to communicate, Terese tried to speak slowly. "We are from Loudwater. We come to discuss terms."

The stone giant seemed frustrated at our lack of understanding now, and his voice was raised.

I grimaced. What had been that giant queen's name? I said, "Kayalithica?"

That, the creature understood, but it asked us what sounded like a question, and none of us could answer, because we could not understand.

The situation seemed hopelessly sliding out of control when a bobbing torch jogged down another passage. An out of breath Uthgardt warrior raised the torch aloft, looked to all of us. She made a face. "You aren't Uthgardt." A few other warriors were behind her. They grimaced when they saw me. I flinched and stepped back, but there was no helping what I was. They were afraid of me. She spat. "You're townsfolk." She said it like a curse.

Terese was ever-patient. "Yes. We are from Loudwater. We come on behalf of the town, to discuss terms. We do not wish a war with the stone giants and the Uthgardt."

"Rightly so." She hesitated, all the same, then said something to the giant, who still seemed irritated by our presence. They had a small back and forth, then seemed to come to an understanding. The giant sneered at us, then headed past the tribesmen, down the hall in the dark. The warrior said, "Well. Best not linger in the entry hall. You can wait back here for Kayalithica, if she'll see you." We hesitated, then followed her in. The Uthgardt fell in around us, less an honor guard, and more like prison guards. The woman went on, "You will be respectful, if you want to live to scurry back to your stinking town. And warn them of the doom to come." This made the tribal warriors grin. My heart felt heavy.

The next room, down the hall, had a couple branching pathways, and seemed to be a gathering place of sorts for the Uthgardt. A few other warriors sat around fires, telling stories or having a laugh, all of which fell silent when they saw us.

The woman left us in an empty space, well away from the other halls.

There was a firepit, and Terese got a fire going. The light was comforting. It was hard to tell time down here, but Lola had to renew her light spell once, so she estimated we had been waiting for nearly an hour before, with little fanfare, a large female giant emerged from the eastern hall. The Uthgardt were immediately reverent, and she said something to them. They immediately vacated through the north hall. She approached us. She was dressed modestly, her stone ornaments intricately carved but not gilded or bejeweled in a way that was flashy or to display wealth. She exuded a quiet kind of power, as if she needed no token to remind others of her station. She was hairless, and by her stance, her brow could have borne a crown, but it would have only detracted from her regal manner.

She was utterly convinced that she was the Chosen One.

She said, in Common, though slowly and precisely, "I am Kayalithica, shaman of the stone giants. You come seeking audience with me."

I wasn't sure if she had kept us waiting intentionally, or if she was so far down in the tunnels that it had taken this long to reach us. Terese said, "Yes. We are representatives from Loudwater, on behalf of Lady Moonfire."

"I know of this place in the Land of Dreams. It too will be purged as we cleanse the Dream, to reclaim our lands, and allow our people to dream once more in peace. But first we will rid the land of the blight of the place known as Orlbar. And then the rest shall follow their fate or depart their cities for the wilds."

She was entirely mad.

Terese was stunned to silence, but luckily, Elyvia jumped in, "My lady, what has Orlbar done that so displeased you?"

A faint twitch. "They have delved deep into the mines and disturbed the sacred stones of this place. They have further defiled ruins that should be left untouched."

Elyvia pressed, "The Banenites trouble you?"

"I care not for their gods, but for their deeds." She brushed the matter aside with a flick of her wrist. She was so enormously tall and muscular that I had no doubt the gesture could have broken the bones of a common man. "For their past deeds, for their defilement of the land, they will suffer. And die. And we will break Orlbar until no trace of it remains."

Completely insane.

I said, "What if we convince them to stop?"

"If they will abandon the town and succumb to its destruction, they will be permitted to live." She cared not for it beyond this. "I have studied the calendars of the World of Dreams, and by your reckoning, we will attack by the First of Flamerule, as the beginning of my ascension to claim my place in the Ordining, as Stonebones guides me."

"Stonebones wants you to ascend?" Lola said with a gasp.

"It is so," she said. "Our god has foretold it. I have seen it. It is my destiny to ascend, and the stone giants' destiny to wrest control of the Ordining. It is our time. I will restore the balance of the Ordining, and I will carve out this world for my people once more."

Lola said, "If you don't mind me asking, my lady, how did you come to be the Chosen of Stonebones?"

This was a story she clearly enjoyed telling, and she told it with pride. "Stonebones had been silent and we did not hear the stones speaking to us. All was quiet, yet still I kept the faith. I happened upon a stone, and there I heard the voice of the god, and it spoke to me of destiny and greatness, and showed me a path to victory."

Without actually communicating with each other, we all came to the same conclusion: We needed to leave.

I said, "But you will wait and give time for us to evacuate Orlbar?"

"Yes. But it will be crushed nonetheless, for their deeds. However, should you decide to aid me, open their gates on the day of the battle. Aid me against the Zhentarim. Then I will richly reward your loyalty."

"We must take this news to Loudwater," Terese said, stiff-backed. "Thank you, Your Grace." She bowed.

The rest of us did the same, stiffly.

Kayalithica observed us the way a bored cat observed a few flies it might pounce on in time. "You have my leave to go. You will remain unmolested in my valley, but go swiftly."

We bowed again and tried not to run from her presence.

We said not one word to one another until we were out of the valley again, toward nightfall. We set up camp with minimal speaking, and only by the comforting light of a fire, the knowledge that we were alone, did any of us feel comfortable to discuss what we had learned.

Terese said, "The First of Flamerule." Her lip curled. "I would be content to let these giants and Zhents kill each other."

It was incredibly shortsighted. I struggled to articulate what seemed so clear to me, but while I was grasping for words, Elyvia said, "It sounds like a win-win to me, if we can convince Loudwater to break terms with Orlbar."

I pinched the bridge of my nose. "Kayalithica said, quite plainly, that she intends to wipe out all the towns in the area. That includes Loudwater."

Elyvia shrugged. "So we let them fight, then we kill the victor."

Reyne. I shook my head. "If we let half the army die because of religious differences, we're fighting giants with half an army."

Elyvia snorted. "Religious differences?"

Terese sighed. "Valac. They're evil."

I shot to my feet, unable to stay still. "You keep saying that, but you never say why. What does it matter? We don't want the giants destroying Shining Falls or Loudwater, do we? Better to crush them in Orlbar."

Elyvia turned from me to the other three. "We just convince Loudwater to abandon the Zhentarim on the day of the battle, open the doors, and let in the Uthgardt."

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Giving up, I turned from their talk to stalk into the wood. I didn't go far, just beyond the campsite and the firelight. My back thumped against a tree. I practically shook with rage and frustration. They were people. How could they talk so casually about leaving people to die? About betraying Loudwater's allies?

I had my temper tantrum alone for only a few minutes, before my sympathy overcame it. They would not admit it, but the Zhentarim and the Banites scared them. They didn't want them as neighbors. They all agreed that Kayalithica was entirely mad, that there wasn't a way to dissuade her, or they would have tried harder in the cavern. There was no placating her by offering tribute or land either, for her entire goal was to purge the land of our towns. They didn't know what to do about Kayalithica, but they saw a simple solution to getting rid of the Zhentarim so that was what they wanted to do.

I came back. Lola said, "You all right, Valac?"

"Peachy," I said. But I appreciated her asking, even if I wasn't about to bring up why I was so upset. It wasn't worth getting into an argument with them, and I knew it would only devolve into me insisting what we were planning was wrong, and them insisting I was wrong to think that way.

But all I could think of was how hard Reyne fought to protect Bryn Shandor.

It was so easy to forget the horrible things he had done.