Fridwulfa

The two boys stood huddled in the shadows, looking down on the sight before them with awe. Although a heavy curtain mist and rain obscured their vision, there could be no mistaking the heart-stopping bellows and roars that rang out every so often, nor the huge forms moving in the valley. Giants.

Ralph pushed a damp forelock out of his eyes, wiping away the rain water that was dripping on his face. His cousin, a long-legged boy twice his size, laughed at him.

"What're yeh doing that fer, Ralphie? It'll jest get in yer eyes a'gin." Ralph grinned.

"Aww, Joe, I couldn't see nothing w' all tha' water on my face," he explained. The older boy smiled indulgently, then put a finger to his lips, head turning as his ears caught a change in the rumblings below.

"Hush now, they're meetin' down there! Look, Ralphie!" He flung a hand out, pointing.

Ralph looked, and his eyes beheld a strange sight. The giants were meeting, an event that few humans ever witnessed. Even the history books only had one or two vague references to the scene now unfolding itself in the murky soup of fog. He gazed, transfixed. Beside him, his cousin whispered in his ear.

"That one there, the big guy they're all linin' up in front of - see him?" Ralph nodded; even with the rain, the giant was impossible to miss. He probably was around 25 feet high when standing; now, sitting down, he resembled some huge unshapely boulder, 10 feet tall. His enormous head was covered with an unkempt tangle of dark brown hair. As the boys watched, he lifted one massive hand and scratched at it, raking fingers the size of sausages through the coarse mat of hair.

"I reckon he's the Gurg," Joe said softly. Ralph thought he had misheard; he glanced at his cousin questioningly.

"The wha'?" he whispered. Joe repeated himself, using that strange guttural word again.

"The Gurg. That's what they call their leader." Ralph looked at him in astonishment.

"How do you know all this?" he asked, amazed. Joe shrugged modestly.

"Jes' picked it up," he answered succinctly. He straightened, peering out through the mist. " 'ang on, Ralph, looks like they're bringing out a prisoner or sommat!"

Ralph refocused his attention on the giant camp. Sure enough, here came a group of giants, about ten or so; apparently, two were leading another giant, bound and hobbled with ropes that were easily twice as much around as Ralph's arm. The others seemed to be guarding or escorting them. They reached the larger, sitting giant - the Gurg, Ralph reminded himself hastily - and threw the prisoner on the ground in front of him. Ralph squinted, putting his hands around his eyes like makeshift binoculars, then caught his breath in surprise.

"Crikey! Joe, it's a girl!"

Now that the giant guards had stepped back, they could see the prisoner clearly. She was indeed a girl; a long braid hanging down her back and a rather prominent bosom, currently heaving with emotion, declared her gender.

Joe looked her over casually and remarked, "Yep, that's a female. Don't see many o' those. Wonder what she did that's gotten 'em all riled up?"

Ralph was stung by his cousin's air of indifference, but he said nothing, keeping his eyes glued on the giantess. One of the giants who had been escorting/guarding her stepped forward; he bellowed, waving his arms in broad sweeping motions as he moaned and grunted and roared. Apparently, he was telling the Gurg his grievance against the giantess, or perhaps he was defending her; Ralph couldn't tell. He tore his eyes away long enough to see if his cousin understood. As if he read Ralph's mind, Joe began translating the giant's words in a fast, low voice. Ralph was once again caught unawares. How can he speak their language? he thought. Soon though, he was immersed in the mesmerizing tale the giant was telling, too spellbound to wonder at his cousin's abilities.

" 'We found her by the sacred stones,'" Joe translated. " 'We have never seen her before, but Griswelda'"- here, the giant speaking gestured to another female, a tall, menacing looking giantess - " 'saw her sleeping on the altar. O Gurg, she had defiled the stones with her body, her moon blood. And, even worse, Gurg, she had this!'" With this last statement, the giant reached within one of the filthy rags he was wearing and withdrew a small object, holding it high. The giants assembled around them roared and gasped; even the Gurg seemed taken aback. He sprang to his feet and, throwing his head back, roared furiously, gnashing his teeth and stomping. The other giants followed suit, all screaming with rage and working themselves into a frenzy. White faced, Ralph exchanged a frightened look with Joe - the object that had upset the giants so much was a wand.

Suddenly, the giants stopped and silence fell. The Gurg sat down again, growling, and pointed to the captive giantess. He barked an order, it seemed; his voice was curt, sharp. Joe wet his lips and started translating again.

"He told her to explain herself," he said, not looking at Ralph. The giantess rose to her feet with a quiet dignity and began to speak. Her voice was rich and melodious, in contrast to the coarse shouts of the giants holding her prisoner. As she spoke, her hands moved with a surprising grace for one so large.

" 'My name is Fridwulfa, Gurg, and this is my tale. My people have lived in peace for years in the northern mountains, yet we were driven out of our homes by many wizards and witches. They descended upon us like wolves one morning, without warning, killing and maiming all they encountered. Our elders deemed it unwise to fight back; instead, we fled quickly, carrying our wounded with us. We set up camp in another place, far from our first home, assuming that we would be safe now that we had appeased the wizards. Little did we know, they would not be satisfied with taking our homes! They hunted us, and again attacked, this time in the darkest hour of the night.'" She bowed her head in sorrow before continuing, speaking softly and mournfully. " ' My people are all dead. I was the only one who escaped.'" She lifted her head and looked directly at the Gurg. " 'Forgive me, Gurg, for I meant no disrespect. I did not know those stones were sacred, else I would not have slept upon them. Please -'" The Gurg cut her off.

" 'Why were you carrying a wand?'" he demanded. Ralph looked over at Joe, his excitement rising. Perhaps now they would learn why this mysterious giantess was carrying a wizard's tool...Joe was tense, listening alertly to catch Fridwulfa's next words. They never had a chance to hear what she was about to say.

Behind them, an awful, earsplitting roar rang out, seeming to shake the very stones around them. Ralph instinctively clapped his hands over his ears; Joe sprang up and pulled out his wand. A giant loomed over them menacingly. He howled again furiously; from the corner of his eye, he saw with dread that the Gurg and the giants around him had leapt to their feet and were also bellowing. Then, Joe seized him, wrenching his arm.

"Let's go, Ralph! RUN!" He hurtled off across the rocks at full speed, hand clamped on Ralph's wrist like a vise. Ralph struggled to keep up; with his shorter legs, he had to clamber around or over boulders that Joe cleared at a single bound. His cousin risked a glance over his shoulder at the giants fast approaching, grunted, and increased his speed, practically dragging Ralph with him. Ralph stumbled and tripped, crying out as he fell. Joe hauled him back upright.

"Ralph! Are you ok - come on!" He cast a fearful look behind him. Ralph stood, then collapsed again, face white with pain.

"Joe! I think me ankle's broken-" he gasped, starting to cry. "Joe..."

"Don't worry, Ralphie, we'll get outta this mess somehow," his cousin said. His face lit up as he thought of something. "O'course! The Portkey!"

Ralph felt a glimmer of hope. Earlier that day, Joe had charmed a necklace to become a Portkey that would return them home in case they were in trouble. Well, they were in trouble now... "Hurry, Joe!" he urged. His cousin was searching his pockets feverishly.

"Ah, no, I must have dropped it! I can't find it!" He turned his pockets out, finding a small knife and a large amount of lint, but no portkey. Desperate, he squared his shoulders and brandished his wand, standing in front of Ralph to face the giants. "This is it, I guess, Ralphie!"

Ralph was horrified. "Joe, no! Don't give up, I'm sure it's here somewhere!" He looked around frantically, willing the gleam of gold to show. And yes - incredibly - there it was! Draped over a rock and glittering in the faint light, the necklace lay just beyond Ralph's groping fingers. "It's there! Joe, it's over there!" His cousin swung around, eyes skittering wildly over the rocks.

"Where?" he shouted. Ralph pointed; Joe saw it and pointed his wand. "Accio necklace!" he screamed, jumping backwards as a huge hand swept within inches of his head. Time seemed to slow as the necklace sailed through the air towards the two boys. We're not going to make it, Ralph thought despairingly. The giants were upon them, rage emanating from every pore of their bodies, and the Portkey was falling so slowly...

The nearest giant drew back his hand to strike, black eyes glinting with fury. To Ralph's surprise, he spoke English.

"Wizards...Begone!" he thundered. Ralph cowered, expecting to have his brains dashed out in the next minute. Just then, Joe gave a yell and grabbed Ralph by the hair. He felt a tugging somewhere behind his belly button before getting whisked away.

Ralph opened his eyes slowly. He was lying on the floor in his bedroom; Joe lay beside him, still clutching his cousin's hair with one hand. The charmed necklace dangled from his other fist. For a few moments, they simply lay in silence, panting. Then, Ralph raised his head and grinned.

"Let's do that again," he said. Joe stared at him, then groaned.