Chapter 108 - Distractions

Zeke peered down the exposed airshaft and felt a rush of warm air. “Do you think we’ll fit?” he asked, extremely aware of just how narrow the space was. He didn’t think of himself as claustrophobic, but those close confines definitely sent a shudder up his spine. He wasn’t afraid. Just uncomfortable.

Yeah, that’s it. Uncomfortable, he thought, standing to his full height.

“Probably not,” Abby said. Then, she peered back at Pudge. “Definitely not the furball. I’m pretty sure I can fit, though.”

“You’re not going in there by yourself,” Zeke said, anticipating her plan.

“She won’t be alone,” said the undead girl who’d been standing beside him. At times, it was easy to lose track of her because she stood so remarkably still. Or maybe it was the fact that she didn’t need to breathe, another unsettling product of her transformation.

Massaging the back of his neck, he said, “That’s only a little better. Look – I trust both of you. You’re capable. I just don’t like us splitting up.”

“And what’s your suggestion?” Abby asked, her hands on her hips. “Let me guess – charge in through the front and murder everything in your way?”

He let out a chagrined cough before saying, “Uh…it’s worked before?”

Abby raised her finger to object, but then thought better of it. After a second, she said, “This is different, and you know it. Those aren’t a bunch of drachnids down there.”

“You kind of said the same thing about the drachnids, except it was trolls,” he pointed out. Certainly, from an objective standpoint, he knew the Jotuns were more powerful than the other creatures he’d fought so far. They weren’t monsters, for one, and that meant they probably had a slew of benefits just from their race alone. However, since being reborn, he’d yet to come up against something he couldn’t beat. That gave him plenty of confidence in fighting the frost giants.

“Jotuns aren’t trolls,” Talia pointed out. “Nor are they drachnids. Or any other monster. They’re people, but stronger. A lot stronger.”

“Fine,” he said. “How do we want to do this, then? I’m not going to stand out here twiddling my thumbs while you two go down there to rescue Tucker. For one, I’m not patient enough. For another, I don’t think it’ll work. Remember, you have to get out somehow, and if I can’t fit through that airshaft, then Tucker definitely can’t. He’s practically a giant himself.”

“Well,” Abby said with a small smile. “How long would it take you to make some of those rocks you used back in Nightweb Ravine? And can you make them any more powerful?”

Zeke returned her grin with one of his own. “You know what? Give me an hour, and I can make a dozen or so,” he answered.

He’d grown a lot since their time in that spider-infested canyon, and he’d given quite a bit of thought to how they could’ve done better. More than once, he’d chastised himself for not preparing the battlefield more thoroughly, and in retrospect, he and Abby probably shouldn’t have split up. In the end, it had worked out fine, but that was more due to his immense stats and his ability to heal himself via [Life Leech] than to any tactical superiority. If he’d taken a little more time with his runic rocks, things might have gone significantly better. So, in the intervening months, he’d invested quite a bit of his time into studying the book of runes Abby had given him as well as thinking about ways to improve upon the runes he’d used with the rocks. The results weren’t that impressive, but he was pleased with the progress all the same. More than that, he’d told Abby multiple times that he'd love a chance to really test them out. Usually, she responded with an eyeroll and a mutter about “boys and their explosives,” but it seemed that she’d been listening all along.

“What do you want me to do with them, though?” he asked.

She said, “I want you to do what you do best. Cause chaos and mayhem.”

“You want me to be a distraction,” he stated, his mind grabbing ahold of her plan.

Abby nodded. “Get as far as away as you can, and start throwing rocks at the gate,” she said. “Get their attention. Then, take off.”

“And what am I supposed to do with them once they’re following me?” he asked. “They don’t seem like the giving-up types.”

Abby told him. Of course, he didn’t like it. Splitting up, even for a short amount of time was a bad idea, so far as he was concerned. However, short of a full, frontal assault, he didn’t really know how else they could rescue Tucker. When he expressed his problems, Abby once again suggested that they could leave the alchemist to his fate. After all, his capture was the result of his own actions. He’d wronged the Jotuns. That was his choice. And given the vehemence with which Tucker had defended his actions, he’d probably make the same choice again, if he had the chance. So, was it really so wrong to let him reap the consequences of his actions?

In most cases, Zeke would’ve agreed. He wasn’t some white knight hell-bent on saving the day. Certainly, if he saw a wrong, he felt compelled to right it. And he wouldn’t stand idly by while monsters – humans, creatures, or otherwise – murdered innocents. However, if someone picked a fight, he wouldn’t save them from their own stupidity, which was precisely what Tucker had done.

There were only two things keeping Zeke from abandoning the big man altogether. First, Tucker had acted in an effort to save the people who would’ve otherwise been victimized by the Jotuns. According to both Talia and Abby, the villages in the northern part of the Red Wastes usually had enough warning to evacuate before the Jotuns were upon them, but even so, there were still plenty of casualties to lay at the frost giants’ feet. Tucker had done what he’d done to prevent those meaningless deaths. Zeke couldn’t imagine rewarding such a selfless act with abandonment.

Second, and perhaps more importantly, Tucker was a part of his group. He hadn’t been with them for very long, just a few weeks while they’d traversed the mountains, but that short time had cemented him as Zeke’s responsibility. No one had given him the responsibility of protecting his comrades, but Zeke endeavored to do so all the same. Anything else, and he would’ve felt like a coward.

After Abby suggested abandonment once again, Zeke said, “No, Abby. Just no. We’re not going to leave him, no matter how many times you suggest it. Tucker is one of us. I’d do the same for you, Talia, or Pudge. What kind of people would we be if we abandoned him, just because it was difficult?”

“Bad people,” supplied Talia, sounding almost innocent, despite her rasping voice and unsettling countenance.

“Exactly,” Zeke said. “So, if this is the best plan we’ve got, then fine. I’m in. Just…just try to be careful.”

Abby gave him a curious look, then cocked her head as she said, “If anybody needs to be careful, it’s you, big guy. You’re going to have a horde of frost giants on your tail, or didn’t you remember?”

“I’ll be fine,” he said, though a twinge of fear coursed through him. He’d seen Gerd, the frost giantess up close, and despite the fact that she towered over him, she had been something of a runt. But as imposing as a small army of the creatures were, he was still confident in his abilities. He just needed to keep reminding himself of that fact.

“I know,” Abby said. “So, how long?”

Running his hand through his hair, Zeke said, “I don’t know. Give me two hours to enchant the rocks. Another hour to get into position. I’ll be ready to start chucking them then.”

Abby glanced up at the sun, which hung high in the sky. “That’ll work. We’ll wait until the first explosion, and then we’ll shimmy down that airshaft, find Tucker, then get out. Hopefully, we won’t even have to fight.”

“Unlikely,” interjected Talia.

“Yeah, yeah – I know,” Abby agreed. “Wishful thinking, I guess. But between us, we should be okay. And once we free Tucker…well, we can only hope he’ll be in a condition to help us escape. Or at least not slow us down.”

“A lot of uncertainty,” Zeke remarked.

“So, the same as always?” she asked, flashing another smile his way. It was an act. Zeke knew her well enough to recognize that she was trying to cover up her fear with nonchalance and confidence. But he wasn’t so naïve that he thought it was okay to point that out.

So, just shook his head, saying, “Yeah. We really need to get better at planning. But whatever. Not going to help us right now, is it? And we’re on a timer, so I’d better get to it.”

Abby looked at him, then stood on her toes and kissed him. It was little more than a peck on his lips, but it made him feel a little better about everything. “Just be safe,” she said. Then, she gave a half roll of her eyes, “Stupid thing to say. There’s nothing safe about what we’re about to do. But you know what I mean.”

“I do,” he said, wrapping his arms around her and hugging her tightly. Then, he whispered, “If you can’t get him free, it’s okay. I won’t blame you. If it comes down to you or him, save yourself. Or Talia.”

Abby didn’t say anything, but he knew she heard him. He could only hope that she would follow his wishes. Certainly, he wanted to rescue Tucker, but not at Abby’s – or even Talia’s – expense. If there was a choice to be made between them, Zeke knew precisely which way he would go.

After a few more awkward moments, Zeke parted ways with the two women and went in search of appropriate rocks. Luckily, the mountainside was littered with rocky debris, so his search went by quickly enough, and within a half hour, he had almost fifty fist-sized rocks in his spatial storage.

Then, he started his long hike to an appropriate position. All the while, he mentally went over all the alterations to the runes he’d been contemplating since using the rocks for the first time in Nightweb Ravine. Most of them were little tweaks. A sharper symbol here, a slightly different glyph there, or even a few omitted lines – all in the pursuit of improved efficiency.  However, he had also added a single glyph that, according to the book Abby had given him, would increase the rocks’ power consumption, thus improving their yield. So, by the time he reached his destination – a high cliff overlooking the gates of Hvitgard, which was almost three miles away – he had a pretty concrete plan for what he was going to do.

Sitting crosslegged, Zeke got to work. One after another, he applied the appropriate rune; it took all of his concentration, so, luckily, he had Pudge to watch his back. It also took a little longer than he expected. However, after a little less than two hours, he finally enchanted the last one. Mentally, he looked at the pile of rocks in his spatial storage and felt a sense of pride. It was one thing to unravel curses but creating things with his artisan’s path brought with it a satisfaction all its own. More than that, he felt like he’d made significant progress in his knowledge. Perhaps, one day, he could progress past middle novice in his artisan path. What would he be capable of then? What wonders could he create?

He stood, flexing his shoulders and stretching his throwing arm. Once upon a time, barely a day had gone by when Zeke didn’t throw a baseball. It was a motion as natural as breathing for him – enough that, when he was unable to do it after the car accident that had ruined his elbow, he’d been lost. But standing on that cliff, he realized that it had been months since he’d thrown anything, and he didn’t miss it at all. Whatever drive he’d felt for baseball had been replaced by the life-and-death struggle to get stronger, to conquer this new world and learn its secrets. It wasn’t the progress he’d envisioned, but it was progress all the same.

Once he was ready, Zeke took a familiar stance, summoned an enchanted rock from his storage, and, without further ado, took a crow-hop and threw it with all his might. Despite the fact that the gates of Hvitgard were three miles distant, Zeke soon realized that he’d overshot his target. The rock sailed through the air, and a couple of seconds later, thunder rolled through the valley as an explosion of force rocked a mountainside five miles distant.

“Wow,” he muttered, squinting to see if he could see where the rock had hit. His vision had improved quite a bit since coming to the Radiant Isles, but even so, he’d met his match.

Too far, thought Pudge, who was sitting next to him.

“Yeah, thanks buddy,” Zeke mumbled. “Wouldn’t have known that without your comment.”

You are welcome, came Pudge’s smug reply.

Zeke ignored his sarcastic companion and adjusted his aim before tossing another rock. This one hit a lot closer to his intended target, though it still hit about five-hundred yards off the mark. However, after the next one, which hit much, much closer, Zeke’s efforts were rewarded when a troop of Jotuns poured from the gates. From this distance, they looked like blue-skinned toy soldiers, but the fact that they were more than ant-sized just proved how physically imposing they really were.

Zeke continued to throw the rocks, eventually landing a direct hit. The unlucky Jotun was thrown from his feet, and his nearby comrades stumbled amidst the billowing cloud of dust and rock. However, Zeke’s suspicions were soon confirmed when the giant staggered back to his feet, apparently unharmed. His rocks just weren’t strong enough to really hurt the Jotuns.

But that was okay. His job wasn’t to hurt or kill them. Instead, he was the distraction. So, with determination in his eyes, Zeke continued to pelt the group with rocks. Even as he did, more and more of the giants erupted from the gates, and eventually, they all started running towards him.

“Alright, buddy,” Zeke said. “Time’s up. Now, we run.”

Hate running, Pudge whined. Fight.

“If we fight, we die,” Zeke stated. “But maybe we’ll pick off one or two along the way. Now, c’mon.”

Without waiting for the bear’s reply, Zeke took off, angling in the appropriate direction. As he ran, he was keenly aware of just how quickly the Jotuns were likely to catch up. Their long legs and sure feet seemed tailor-made for the mountains, and he knew it wouldn’t be long before they overtook him. Hopefully, the plan would work. Otherwise, he’d have to fight, and after seeing the veritable army of giants – and the ineffectiveness of his rocks – Zeke didn’t like his chances.

Pushing those thoughts from his mind, he concentrated on putting one foot in front of the other as he sprinted through the craggy landscape.