The Giant's Graveyard
By Mark Finnemore
Copyright 2011 Mark Finnemore
*******
"I need three small ships, Old Dog. They must be shallow of draft, just large enough to hold two catapults and crew, and they need to be as sturdy as you can build them. And I need them as soon as possible -- three weeks would suit me well."
"Oh, and I'll be more than happy to fill your order," the shipbuilder said without looking up from the crate that served as his desk. "And for not one copper queen more than I'd charge anyone else making such an outrageous request."
There was a silence then, filled only by the shuffle of papers echoing through the warehouse as the shipbuilder continued his work.
"I am embarking on an adventure that will bring great wealth into this city -- and into your pocket."
"So, you have no money then?" The shipbuilder finally looked up at the young woman standing before him. She made a good attempt at looking serious and businesslike, but an aura of childish mischief rolled off of her like the smell of fish rolled off the sea. "That's what you mean to say, isn't it, Kelsey?"
Kelsey waved her arms to encompass the mostly empty warehouse. "Forgive me for being blunt, but you do not look very busy"
"That's because ships are very expensive to build, and few have enough money these days to repair the ships they already have, let alone build new ones."
Kelsey smiled. "Ah, but that will all change! After my expedition is successful, coin will flow through this town like water flows over Tyver falls. And everyone will want a ship built by Mullen -- the greatest shipbuilder in the realm!"
Mullen coughed out a laugh. "You are gracious with your praise, Kelsey! But this all sounds familiar to my ears. What happened to the ship I gave you when last you were spouting the virtues of my shipbuilding, and charming me with promises of riches to come after that expedition proved a success?"
Mullen pulled on a long, grey mustache and squinted his eyes in concentration. "Ah ha! Yes, I remember now." He snapped his fingers in triumph. "You were going to slay the giant. And then, with the giant dead, Titan's Narrows would be open to shipping, merchants would pass back and forth at will, and riches would flow into town just like water flows over Tyver falls. And, of course, everyone would want a ship built by Mullen -- the greatest shipbuilder in the realm."
Mullen shook his head sadly. "What became of that ship, Kelsey? And what became of her crew?"
Kelsey slammed her fist down on Mullen's desk, overturning a bottle of ink onto his stack of papers. "You know well what happened -- do not throw that into my face! They were my friends as well as my crew. I did not wish for any of it to happen, but it did. They knew the risks, and they accepted them freely for a chance at reward, and, more importantly, for a chance at history."
Mullen held up his hands. "Forgive me, Kelsey, I did not mean to make light of the tragedy. I had friends aboard as well. Aye, if I were but younger I'd have been mightily tempted to come along as well. But my point is: ships are expensive. As are lives."
Mullen blew out a long, tired sigh through his grey mustache. "It was a strain to give you but one ship; now you come asking for three! And even if I could somehow provide you with ships -- which I can't -- you'd have to find crews."
"I already have the crews; it is ships I need." Kelsey moved around the desk to help Mullen clean the ink from his desk. "I ask this as a blood-favor, Uncle -- do not make me beg."
"Ah, Kelsey, if I could do it I would. But the last ship I gave you out of blood considerations. Now. . . ." Mullen spread his callused hands to encompass the warehouse as Kelsey had done earlier. "As you said, it is not so busy in the shipbuilding trade, and I am not so rich that I can give away three ships."
"I do not ask you to give them away, Uncle. I will pay for them, as I will pay for the first. I just cannot pay right now."
"I believe you, Kelsey, and I know that if you couldn't pay you would gladly work the debt off." Mullen grasped Kelsey by the shoulders and put her at arm's length. "Aye, you've grown into a fine woman, Kelsey, headstrong as your father, and with your mother's charm -- when it suits you! Your father would've been proud, I know that as sure as I know you worry your mother sick with your adventures."
Mullen released his niece, turned, and threw up his hands. "But I just cannot do it, Lass! I don't have the coin to even begin. I'd need lumber and nails and caulking. . . . I don't have enough supplies to make the repairs to keep me in business, let alone build three ships with little prospect of payment."
"What if I gave you enough to get supplies, would you consider it then?"
Mullen turned and eyed his niece through bushy grey eyebrows. "I'd start today, Lass. But where would you get such a sum?"
Kelsey smiled, a mischievous grin that Mullen remembered well from her childhood.
"Sean, come show my Uncle what we've found!"
A stout sailor trudged in, his face red and his knotted arms straining. He set down a chest between Kelsey and Mullen. Kelsey opened it to reveal a gleaming heap of gold and silver coin.
Mullen's eyes widened. "Where did you get all this? You haven't taken up pirating, have you?"
Kelsey's grin broadened. "As you said, Uncle, I have my mother's charm when it suits me. And as you can well imagine, all the merchants in our fair city and its neighbors can see the profit of opening a safe passage through Titan's Narrows."
"Okeasaen's beard, Lass!" Mullen threw up his arms in disbelief. "Not the giant again! Didn't you learn your lesson last time? Don't you understand that the giant can't be killed?"
"Everything can be killed, Uncle, it's just a matter of--"
"No one's killed the demon in over seventy years of trying -- including you!"
"But I have a plan."
"You had a plan last time, fool woman! And forgive me for bringing it up, but that plan failed."
"But this time--"
"What? What can you try that hasn't already been tried?"
"In my last attempt I discovered the giant's weakness," Kelsey said. "A flaw that will lead to his defeat. He is a simple beast for all his strength and cunning, and I have a simple plan to defeat him."
"If it's so simple, why hasn't anyone tried it before now?"
"Because if they had, Uncle, he'd already be dead."
Mullen coughed out a reluctant laugh. "So, what is your simple plan then?"
Kelsey wagged a finger at her uncle. "I cannot say, for although I trust you more than any other, ears are large on the docks and mouths even larger. Someone might find out my plan and cash in on my genius before I'm able to set out. Assuming I can find someone to provide me with ships that is."
Mullen bent and sifted his fingers through the chest of coins. "Humph! Mostly silver and copper after I get through the thin layer of gold on top. I might've figured. You've always had a habit of gilding the truth."
Mullen straightened and twisted the kinks out of his back with a grimace. "I'll build you two ships and two ships only. And not because I've got any faith in your plan, but because I don't want you going down the docks to that crook Seamus, who'll take your money and send you out to face the giant in a pair of leaky scows that'll likely sink just as you make deep water.
"And on one condition, Lass," Mullen said, halting the smile emerging on Kelsey's face. "You have to take me with you!"
#
Kelsey and Mullen paced around the four catapults that had finally arrived, two spear-hurlers and two stone-throwers, one each for each of the two ships. Then they walked across the yard to where thick oaken boards were placed, backed by bales of hay. Imbedded in the splintered wood was a pair of arrows, shafts as thick as a strong man's wrist.
"Impressive m
achines, sure enough," Mullen said. "But will it be enough?"
"No doubt about it, Uncle." Kelsey grabbed Mullen's arm and steered him back toward the warehouse, away from the ears of the growing crowd.
"Why two stone-throwers in addition to the spears? Why not four spear-hurlers? Legend has it that the stone aren't very effective against the giant."
"All part of the plan, Uncle."
"And are they accurate at a greater range than the giant?"
Kelsey turned to ensure no one was following. "Of course they are, Uncle. What good would they be if we couldn't out-range the beast?"
"Forgive an old man his doubts, but does that even matter? Remember the story of Captain Redmond? He figured he'd just stay out of the giant's range and lob in spears with his catapults."
"Yes, I remember, Uncle, but--"
"Yes, but it seems the giant wasn't as stupid as Redmond thought," Mullen interrupted. "The giant's rocks fell short, but the ships' spears were prickling his hide. Wasn't long before the pain taught the beast to stay in his cave until the ships came into his range."
"Yes, yes, Uncle, I know the story well. Now shouldn't we get back to work before the giant dies of old age?"
"We can work and talk," Mullen said. "I think it'll do us good to hear the whole story."
Kelsey groaned and recited the next part of the tale quickly, before her uncle could speak, hoping to be done with it. "So there was a stalemate between them, the giant refusing to leave his cave and Redmond refusing to sail his ships into the narrows. After a week of the standoff, Redmond ventured one of his four ships as bait to entice the giant out while the remaining three rained artillery from afar. The giant accepted the offering, smashed the lone vessel with a single boulder, and retreated back into hiding before he could be properly slain."
Kelsey paused for a breath and pointed a slim finger at her uncle. "But the giant had been sorely injured, and lay in his cave nursing grievous wounds."
"Or so Redmond thought," Mullen interrupted. "But when he ordered a landing party ashore to slay the dying giant, they never returned. Redmond -- sure that the giant must now be very near his end -- ordered another band ashore to finish the job. But the crew was not as confident of the giant's ill health, and they set Redmond adrift in a boat instead, and turned the ships toward home."
Mullen shook his head. "But the giant was not as hurt as believed, nor as fearful of water as legend said, for he splashed out after the abandoned captain and devoured him while the crews looked on in horror."
Mullen looked his niece in the eye. "Now tell me: what good are catapults if the giant won't come out of his cave unless our ships are in his range?"
"Ah, I can't tell you the plan, remember!" Kelsey glanced around the warehouse as if it were full of spies, a slight grin on her face. "You're not thinking of staying behind, are you Uncle?"
"Oh, I'll be there, Lass. I don't have many years left anyway; I might as well see what you've got in mind."
"Songs will be sung about you, Uncle, just like King Filbert The Brave."
"Humph!" Mullen blew out his mustache. "Songs are sung about poor Captain Redmond as well."
#
It was a fair morning when the ships were finally ready to sail. Kelsey ran her hand along the stem-post of one of the ships, and frowned when her fingers reached the figurehead, a gift from the wood-carver's guild. It was her own likeness, her hair blown back by the breeze and a trident grasped in hand. It bore strong resemblance to the statue of Okeasaen in the town square; Kelsey prayed the stormy-tempered god took no offense.
Kelsey's meek protests hadn't deterred the crew from lashing the carvings to the stem of each ship. She liked them of course, who wouldn't, her brave likeness leading the way to history and song. But the honor was premature at best, blasphemous and ill-omened at worst.
And hadn't she thought her last plan infallible too? And hadn't she left half of her crew buried in the giant's graveyard?
"Why'd you have me build the ship's holds so large if you're only filling them with rotted old ship timbers?"
Kelsey jerked at the sound of Mullen's voice, and took a splinter in the finger as she guiltily pulled her hand away from the figurehead. "Ballast."
"Ballast, my arse! Is your plan to build new ships at sea after the giant destroys these two?"
"Uncle, you know our deal: I let you come along and you don't ask questions."
Mullen threw up his hands and stalked off.
"Better you don't know the plan," Kelsey told her uncle's departing back. "Then none can accuse you of agreeing to it if it fails."
And none can take credit but you if it succeeds, a voice in her head whispered back.
#
It was a half-day's easy sail to Titan's Narrows, and two hours of daylight remained when they came into sight of the giant's lair. A murmur ran about the crews at sight of the cavern's dark maw; a silence invaded when the breeze blew out the stench of moldering death.
Men who'd grown up with the reek of fish guts leaned out over the rails and emptied their stomachs. Kelsey's own gut roiled, and her mind swam with memories of her last voyage, with the knowledge that some of that foul odor was her last crew. She swallowed back hard and concentrated on the task at hand.
The wrecks of scores of ships littered the shallows, their shattered timbers like fractured rib bones jutting out of the sandbars -- sandbars that made Titan's Narrows dangerous enough even without a giant. A large ship, a merchant's ship, had only one channel deep enough to allow passage through the narrows. And that channel was guarded by the giant.
The giant's range was well-marked by broken ship timbers, a spiky wooden arc, that when crossed, meant death for every ship that had ever entered. Some wandered in mistakenly and became stuck on sandbars, easy targets for the giant's deadly barrage. Others entered with conquest on their minds, and ended up no better off.
Kelsey's eyes went to the broken ruin of her last vessel, beached on a sand bar and littered with gull droppings.
"There's no shame in reconsidering, Lass," Mullen whispered.
Kelsey shook her head. "It's too late to turn back."
"It's never too late to alter your course,” Mullen said. “Not until your ship has run aground."
“You read my mind, Uncle!” Kelsey smiled at Mullen and then ordered her two vessels beached on sandbars just beyond the last skeletal ships that marked the giant's range. "Anchor them down fast. I want no rolling."
After the ships were grounded, Kelsey extended her looking glass. The beach leapt into view. Piles of boulders lined the sand, ammunition for the giant. It was unfortunate how long it took to reload a catapult, when the giant had only to pick up another rock and throw it. A small ship -- ships the size of Kelsey's -- would be lucky to still be afloat after two of those stones struck.
Kelsey's last vessel had taken two hits, and remained above water only because she had been pushed onto a sandbar. Kelsey had got off a shot from each of her two catapults first, and both had found their target. The giant's first throw missed, but after that the rolling of the ship and the giant's deadly aim made reloading the catapults impossible. The giant's next two throws struck dead-on, and it was over.
Kelsey swept the looking glass to the cave entrance, where a loose jumble of dirt and rocks balanced above and around the dark hole, the result of the giant's mining for ammunition to stack at the water's edge. It was an impressive opening, fifteen paces wide and just as high, large enough to sail both ships in side-by-side with masts up and room to spare. But the giant had to hunch over and squeeze through before standing to its full height, as tall as the four-story lighthouse at Ship-Breaker’s Point.
Kelsey dropped the looking glass and raised a shell horn to her lips. A low, mournful cry sounded, followed by a brief moment of silence. And then panic.
"By the gods -- he's bigger than the ship!"
"It's hideous!"
There were splashes as more than one crewman leapt overboard and
swam to nowhere other than away from the beach.
"Hold, men!" Kelsey called. "Hold."
The giant did not emerge fully from its lair, but only stuck out its head. It was man-like in appearance, though many times larger, the brows pronounced and the eyes sunk in shadows. Dirty, matted hair covered its body, though there were bare patches where scabby skin showed, like an old dog suffering badly from the mange.
The giant, seeing the vessels were outside the farthest wrecks that marked its range, answered the call of the horn with a bellowing roar and then pulled its head back into the cave.
"See, the giant is not stupid," Kelsey shouted into the silence left by the giant's roar. "So it is a good thing that we are smart!"
A good thing also that it would be over, one way or the other, before midday tomorrow, she thought. There was enough to keep the crew busy until then, with little time for regrets or thoughts of turning back.
#
They worked throughout the night, ensuring the ships were anchored fast, checking and rechecking the catapults, and unloading the old timbers from the holds of the two ships.
The next morning's rising sun cast a bloody hue over the channel as Kelsey's horn sounded again, scattering gulls from their perches on the wrecked timbers of dead ships.
The giant stuck its head out into the daylight and responded to the horn's call. He saw the two ships within the arc of shattered ships, within his range, and he rushed out onto the beach to add two more vessels to his graveyard.
The giant was as tall as seven men and as wide as a barn; the crewmen gaped in horror as he strode out onto the beach. Kelsey's sharp commands woke them from their stupor.
Before the giant could reach his pile of rocks, a smooth oval stone, bigger than a man's head, arced toward him from a catapult. Another stone followed. The giant twisted and the first stone sailed over his broad shoulder, striking above the cave entrance and spraying rock and gravel. The second stone missed as well and also landed above the lair, setting loose a few larger boulders to cascade down into the entrance.
The giant heaved his first stone as Kelsey shouted to reload the stone-throwers and launch the spears. As soon as the giant's stone left his hand, he was hoisting another. The first fell short with a splash that sent waves toward the ships. The second struck open water only a few paces farther.