“It has been peaceful,” Gar agreed. “I think we could even begin traveling by daylight.”
The words sent alarm through Alea, but kindled a longing too—to be able to see more than a few yards ahead! To see an enemy that might be coming! But caution prevailed. “There are still the dog packs and the pig herds.”
“The dogs find us by night, too,” Dirk reminded.
“Strange that the hunters didn’t.” Alea frowned. “We’ve only seen three bands, setting out on the day’s patrol or pitching camp, and they never looked our way.”
“Something else on their minds, no doubt.”
Alea glanced at him suspiciously; his tone was too casual. But there was no way he could have anything to do with the minds of Midgarders, so she let it pass. “You mean any band coming this far north won’t be looking for us?”
“Not likely,” Gar agreed. “Don’t mistake me—we’ll have to be even more watchful than we have been—but I think we can start traveling by daylight. We’ll have to, if we want to march more than four hours a night.”
“True,” Alea said reluctantly. “We’ll have to slumber when the sun does.”
“We’ll have to shift our sleeping schedule bit by bit,” Gar said. “We’ve been awake six hours, to judge by the stars, so let’s nap for an hour or two, then walk till mid-afternoon and see how long we can sleep,”
“That could work,” Alea admitted, “but we’ll be starting very early tomorrow.”
They rested for a while, eating a light meal, then set off again—but they had only been walking a few hours when they met the giant band.
9
There were eight of them, and two of the giants were balancing the ends of a pole on their shoulders. Slung from that pole was an ox. Each giant carried a bow or spear in addition to the axe at his or her waist.
“Run!” Alea caught Gar’s arm.
“Oh, I think we’re far enough north that there’s no danger of their mistaking us for spies,” Gar said easily. “We have come into the North Country, haven’t we?”
That brought Alea up short. “If you’re right about our having come more than three hundred miles, yes.” She wasn’t sure, actually, but she’d heard that the border of Midgard was three hundred miles or so to the north of her village.
“Well, we’ve met giants before, and they were peaceable enough—as long as we were. You’re right, though, it might be better for you to stay hidden until we’re sure.” Gar started to angle toward the giants.
Resentment flared into anger, and for a few seconds, Alea glared at Gar’s retreating back with pure hatred. How dare he make her feel so small! She ran, caught up with him, and snapped, “If you’re not afraid of them, neither am I!”
The warmth and admiration of the look he gave her quelled the hatred utterly. “You have courage, Alea, and that’s more important than being fearless.”
She managed to glare at him anyway, uncertain whether or not she was being complimented. “You seem awfully sure that they won’t try to kill us!”
“Not quite sure,” Gar replied, “but if what you’ve told me about the North Country is true, I think they’ll at least be civil.”
“So it will be my fault if they attack?” Alea demanded. “Oh, no. It will still be my fault.” Gar grinned. “After all, you would never be as foolish as I.”
Alea had to work to keep the resentment and anger going. Then she had to work to keep her fear from showing, as they came onto the same trackway as the giants.
By the gods, they were huge! But when they saw the travelers wading out of the grass onto their road, they halted, and the two bearers laid the dead ox beside the track. No one drew an axe, but every right hand rested on a belt by the axehead, and every left hand moved bow or spear a little to the fore.
“Hail!” Gar held up a palm, imitating the giants’ accent as well as he could. “May your road be smooth!”
“May your road be soft,” a woman in the front rank of the giants said. By her gray hair and lined face, they could see she was the oldest present. “Where are you bound, strangers?”
“To Nibelheim,” Gar answered. “We dare not cross Midgard to go there. I am Gar, and this woman is Alea.” Alea stared. A woman, be spokesman for a hunting band? “Have we come into the North Country?” Gar asked.
“You have indeed.” The giant frowned. “Do you not know where you are?”
“No, for we’ve never been here before, and have only rumors to guide us,” Gar said. “What lies before us?”
“Moor with outcrops of woodlands, and a broad river,” the Jotun said.
“There is a ford a day’s journey north of this track,” one of the men informed them.
“We heard a dog pack in the distance,” a younger woman added. “They did not come near us, though.”
“I don’t wonder at that,” Alea muttered.
“But why do you not dare go through Midgard?” the spokeswoman asked. “Are you renegades?”
“You could call us that,”, Gar said slowly. “We are escaped slaves, who dare not go back.”
“Too tall for the Midgarders, eh?” The woman nodded. “We’ve heard of that. You don’t look much taller than most Midgarders to me, but I hear they have very little patience with a few extra inches.”
“Oh, you may be sure of that,” Alea said, her voice almost a whisper.
The giant woman’s gaze focused on her, frowning, and Alea felt her blood go cold. “What did you say, lass?” the woman asked.
“I said, ‘You may be sure of that,’ ” Alea answered more loudly, “and I’m a grown woman, not a lass!”
“Gently,” Gar hissed. “Don’t start something I can’t finish.” But the giant woman inclined her head in grave apology. “Your pardon, young woman. To us, all Midgarders look much the same, and you’re young enough that I couldn’t say whether you were fifteen or thirty.”
Alea could only stare, thunderstruck by such courtesy in a person of authority.
Gar’s elbow in her ribs jarred her out of her trance. “Accept her apology,” he muttered.
Alea gave herself a shake. “Your pardon for my sharpness, Great One—and I thank you for your courtesy.”
The woman smiled gently. “Call me by name—I am Riara. You sound as though you’re not used to it.”
“I’m not,” Alea said shortly. Then the desire for sheer fairness made her jerk her head toward Gar. “Except in him. His name is Gar, and I’m Alea.”
Gar looked down at her, pleasantly surprised, and might have said something if the giant woman hadn’t spoken first. “A pleasant meeting, Gar and Alea.” Riara’s face creased with a smile. Then caution returned as she asked, “Why do you wish to go to Nibelheim?”
Gar turned back to her. “We have spoken with giants, and found that most of what the Midgarders teach their children about your folk is false. Now we wish to talk with dwarves, and learn if there is any measure of truth in that set of tales.”
“Well, we do not know the tales, so we cannot judge of that for you,” the giant woman said, frowning.
“We know the dwarves, though,” one of the men said. “They are as good a folk as we, though their ways are not ours.”
“Still, you have the right of it in that you must see for yourselves,” a third giant said. “Beware, though, for the dwarves will.”
“Will beware of us?” Gar nodded. “Well, they might, if they have fought the Midgarders as long as you have.”
“You do not sound like a Midgarder, though.” The older woman eyed him with suspicion.