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Damion and the others arrived at the meeting spot the following afternoon after encountering no more obstacles to slow their progress. The chosen meeting place was a secluded clearing that was well hidden from prying eyes. Dozens of centaurs armed with long bows were gathered together in groups, while numerous childlike Alena and beautiful nude wood nymphs milled about, making preparations for the upcoming battle.
“Oh my!” Sly exclaimed in surprised pleasure as one of the unclothed nymphs scampered over and kissed him soundly on his scruffy face. She giggled at him in a brainless fashion, then pranced away happily. The lushly endowed creature was almost completely indistinguishable from a normal human, except for the slight greenish cast to her bare skin that allowed her to blend perfectly into the undergrowth of the forest.
Sly leered at the prancing creature with wide, appreciative eyes.
Dar rolled his eyes. “Put your tongue back in your mouth! They are innocent creatures of whim!”
The little man's smile grew wider. “Aye. So innocent!” His voice was dreamy.
“So, what is thy plan?” Layi inquired, looking around at the busy campsite.
“I figure we'll wait until just after sunset tomorrow to attack. Once all the guards posted around the camp have been neutralized, we'll wait until the goblins and dragonspawn have bedded down, then begin sweeping the camp with arrows. Let's try to take out as many of them as we can before they even know what’s happening. Hit them from all sides, then when they try to attempt a counterattack, we will have everyone fade back into the forest. That should cause enough of a distraction to allow me to slip into the cavern unnoticed.”
“What about the wall of stone surrounding the camp?”
“I’ll take down that wall.” Damion reassured them grimly.
“That’s when we’ll set loose the giants.” Dar grinned evilly.
“What about the slaves?” Kariah's face was concerned. “There were hundreds of them in the clearing! They are innocents! We cannot leave them to be slaughtered by those creatures!”
“Where did Kaviel get so many slaves?” Sly asked with a frown.
“Kaviel’s foul minions brought them when they arrived in the forest.” Kytra explained, her expression sad. “They wert undoubtedly taken prisoner as the creatures made their way from the mountains.”
“That’s terrible!” Kariah cried in a horrified voice. “Why would they do such a thing?”
“Kaviel doth need slaves to help build his new center of power." Layi explained. “Goblins and dragonspawn know nothing of building, and I'm confident they wouldst make terrible workers.”
Damion growled a deep, rumbling growl. “That’s just one more thing Kaviel will pay for once a get my hands on him!” The thought of forcing an innocent person into slavery enraged him.
"Well, whatever we do, we will need to be sure that it doesn't endanger the slaves." The young elf maiden declared firmly.
Damion was quiet for several moments. “This changes things a bit, but it may work out to our advantage. I’m pretty sure that the slaves will join in the battle if they were released.”
“I know that I'd be ready to fight if someone forced me into slavery!” Garth declared fiercely.
“That is most reassuring.” Layi stated. “There art quite a few dwarves among the slaves.”
“What?” The sturdy dwarf roared in outrage. “Dwarves? Forced to work as slaves? Unthinkable!” He was trembling in fury.
“Calm yourself.” Damion cautioned. “Let’s worry about one thing at a time. We don't want to get ahead ourselves.” He looked at Dar. “Do you think you can sneak in and release the slaves once the attack begins?”
Dar nodded confidently. “Aye, I can do it.”
“And I will help.” Garth declared his face set.
“And I as well.” Sly volunteered.
Everyone was silent for several moments. The enormity of the battle they were about to undertake was lying heavily upon every one of their shoulders. It had been many months since their journey began, and now they could finally see the end of their trials.
“That’s it then.” Damion decided. “K’thar and Layi will lead their archers and the harpies in their attack, then, once the confusion is at its peak, Dar, Sly and Garth will slip in and free the slaves while I make my way into the dragon's cavern.”
"It sounds good,” Sly murmured quietly. “but things seldom go as planned. Let's hope that nothing unforeseen happens.”
They made camp in the clearing that night, and spent their spare time finishing their final preparations for the upcoming battle. Everyone watched in amusement as Sly was immediately swarmed by several of the nude wood nymphs, who seemed to find him quite appealing. His face was flaming red beneath his shaggy beard as they showered him with kisses, but he made no attempt to shun their advances.
There was a tense moment as several giants appeared from the darkness, moving with a catlike stealth that was astonishing of creatures of such size and girth. They each stood about twelve feet tall, with massive shoulders and thickly-muscled arms that hung low to the ground. Their dark, swarthy skin was covered in red hair, and their apelike faces revealed little intelligence.
Damion leapt to his feet and joined K'thar and Layi to block the enormous creatures from advancing further. He watched warily, ready to act as Layi trotted up to the lead giant without fear.
“Hold, fierce one.” She ordered firmly.
The lead beast, a monstrous brute, stepped forward, his pink little eyes gazing around the camp. “Me Crush!” He snarled in a grating voice. “Come fight! Kill lizards! Kill goblins!” It pounded an enormous fist against the ground fiercely. “Fight!” The other giants roared in approval, and begin pounding the ground like their leader.
“It is good that thou hast come to fight.” Layi said in a placating tone, trying to calm the excited beast. “The battle wilt begin tomorrow night. Thou wilt await our signal before attacking.”
The huge brute ignored her. Instead it focused on Damion, gazing at him with assessing eyes. It pushed Layi aside roughly, and stepped up to face him.
“Oh, this can't be good!” Sly groaned, jumping to his feet.
The giant leaned in close, bringing its apelike face close to Damion's, who refused to back down even an inch. “You human!” It growled menacingly. “Big! Ugly!”
“Who are you calling ugly?” Damion snarled back, causing the giant to flinch back in surprise.
It recovered quickly, and then snarled in rage. “I smash you, human!”
It reached out with a huge hand and tried to grasp Damion by his throat, but he was ready for the attack, and quickly ducked under its snatching hand and grasped a thick log from a nearby stack of firewood. The giant snarled in rage, and took another swipe at his head. He ducked quickly, then delivered a stunning blow to the creature's midsection with his makeshift club, doubling it over, the wind whooshing from its lungs. He slipped behind the gasping creature, and landed a well-placed kick to the back of its knee, sending it sprawling to the ground. It roared, trying to struggle to its feet, but Damion delivered a devastating blow with the club, catching the beast hard in the temple as it tried to rise. It slumped back to the ground, knocked completely senseless.
The other giants all looked stunned, staring down at their fallen leader with uncomprehending eyes. The enormous creatures took one last look at Damion, then grabbed their leader and dragged it back into the dark forest.
“Well done!” K'thar applauded. “I hath never seen anyone face down a giant, let alone force an entire clan to back down in fear!”
Damion shrugged, then tossed the log aside. “It’s all in the wrist.” He returned to Kariah’s side and sat down.
The young elf maiden grasped his hand tightly and smiled. “Is there anything that you cannot do?” She asked him with wide, adoring eyes.
He frowned, remembering his inability to stop the dragon from snatching her.
They were suddenl
y interrupted as a beautiful bare-breasted wood nymph leapt into Damion's lap and threw her arms around his neck, kissing him fiercely.
“Hey!” Kariah exclaimed angrily. “He’s mine! Go find your own man!” She grabbed Damion’s arm possessively.
The wood nymph giggled mischievously, releasing her grip on Damion, then slid over into Kariah's lap. She grasped the surprised elf maiden and kissed her passionately, then leapt back to her feet and scampered back off into the forest, still giggling brainlessly.
They watched her disappear in stunned silence, then looked at one another, and burst out laughing.
Dar wandered over towards them wearing a large grin. “Strange creatures, wood nymphs.” He commented, watching with amusement as the couple began to blush in embarrassment. “They have a very little intelligence, and absolutely no morals. They are ruled by their appetites.” He grinned at Kariah. “And they have some strange appetites!” He glanced over at Sly, who was still surrounded by a number of the nude wood nymphs, and laughed. “As Sly is discovering first hand!”