Ahead, Teldin saw what appeared to be a break in the forest leading to open air. He took another look behind and saw that none of the gnomes had fallen down-a miracle if there ever was one. The giant was now closer still, each stride sweeping over the forest floor with ponderous ease.
Teldin looked ahead again. Aelfred and two unusually quick gnomes had broken out of the tree line into the open space. Moments later, the rest of the gnomes and Gomja poured out of the forest behind them, with Teldin at the rear. The titanic humanoid was only five hundred feet back and still gaining with each earth-shaking step.
For some reason, Teldin noticed, the huge giff was slowing down now and looking up into the sky, as if searching for something. Teldin had no time to find out what it was. He knew the whole group had but seconds left before the monstrous creature was upon them. Far ahead, across a long stretch of bumpy ground, Teldin noticed a vast, whorled spire, which he recognized as the megafauna's horn. Somewhere at the top of the horn was the fal, but the horn itself was still several miles away. There was no way to get to it in time to escape the colossus.
Teldin slowed down and shouted out at the top of his lungs. "Split up and run for the horn! It can't catch us all!"
The gnomes paid no attention to him, as they were already running off in different directions in their awful panic. Teldin turned around, facing back toward the forest. As he did, the colossus broke through the tree line and strode out into the open with broad, slow steps that shook the ground at Teldin's feet. The behemoth's monstrous spear was clutched tightly in its wagon-sized fists. It was perhaps three hundred feet away.
"Teldin!" The roaring voice was Gomja's. He turned and saw the giff motioning for Teldin to run to him. The giff was off to one side, maybe two hundred feet away.
Something moved in the sky behind the giff. To Teldin's astonishment, the object appeared to be a large green butterfly, swooping down toward the tall grass of the field. He recognized it as a small spelljamming ship of some kind. Something about it looked familiar.
"Run, sir!" Gomja roared out, pointing to the green butterfly behind him as it approached and slowed down to hover in the air, a man's height above the ground. "Run for that ship!"
Teldin stared in amazement, then looked behind him and saw the humanoid giant was moving again-toward him. It was raising its tree-trunk spear. The giant's two huge, dark eyes squinted beneath beetled brows, sizing Teldin up and appearing to mark him as a worthy target.
Teldin backpedaled, forgetting about Gomja and the green ship. Maybe if I move fast to one side just as he's thrusting down, he thought, I can get out of the way. He looks too slow to do any harm. I can't outrun him, but I can sure dance around him.
Fate apparently decided to test that theory. The giant thrust with the log, seemingly in slow motion. Teldin bolted, not waiting to see if the giant's aim was true. There was a rush of wind, then an earth-shaking crash as the spear slammed into the ground to Teldin's left. The tree trunk sank more than twenty feet into the earth, flinging a fountain of soil and stone into the air. Teldin threw his hands in front of his face and dropped the crossbow, almost stumbling over it as he ran.
A long shadow passed over him. He heard the sudden whistling of wind from a large, fast-moving object, and he dived to the ground to roll and escape it. Could the giant have thrown something else-at him, too? He didn't want to wait and find out.
"Sir!" Gomja bawled again. "This way!"
Teldin scrambled to his feet and looked back. The giff ran toward him, his huge girth swaying. Gomja waved a pistol in one hand, heedless of the colossus's presence. "Go to the ship!" he bellowed urgently. "They want to help you! Go to the ship!" The green butterfly came on behind him, trailing by a dozen yards.
The colossus roared, its booming voice almost deafening Teldin as it washed out all other sounds. A long shadow passed over the ground near him again-this time heading for the giant. Teldin began running from the giant again, but had enough time to look back once over his shoulder.
The Perilous Halibut had arrived. In his momentary glimpse of it, Teldin saw that the ship was flying straight for the titan's head.
Something caught Teldin's foot and he stumbled and fell forward into the grass, knocking the wind out of him. He got to his feet, his lungs full of knives, and at that moment he heard the colossus scream. The sound was an awful, roaring cry that went on and on. When he heard it, Teldin felt a sudden pity for the creature. It sounded almost like a huge human child who had been badly hurt.
Teldin looked back as he continued to run. The giant had clapped both hands over the right side of its face and stood in place. Huge, jagged teeth showed in its loose-lipped mouth. Circling around from behind the behemoth came the Perilous Halibut. It looked different now. After a moment, Teldin realized that the ship was missing its long, drooping tail fin. "Sir! Sir! Stop!" Still clutching his pistol, Gomja was lumbering along behind Teldin. The giff was obviously winded and near collapse. The green butterfly, revealing a wingspan of fifty feet, continued to drift on behind him.
Teldin saw that the giant wasn't about to attack while it was holding its injured face. He slowed just enough to shout back. "Who's in that thing? What's going on?"
"Let… them… explain!" Gomja shouted, gasping for breath. "Let… them…"
Without warning, the green butterfly sped up, rocketing toward the running giff. With a simple twist as it flew, a movement Teldin knew could not have been accidental, the ship turned so that the lower edge of one wing swept the giffs feet out from beneath him. Gomja fell, arms flailing. The ship shot over him and came directly at Teldin.
Instinctively, Teldin threw himself to the ground. The green butterfly flew over him a moment later, the lower edges of its wings scything through the tall grass. When Teldin got to his knees, he saw that the ship had come to an abrupt halt only twenty feet in front of him. Uncertain of which way to run, Teldin got up in a crouch.
A door in the green ship opened as it hovered, revealing a small, cramped cargo bay. Two silver-armored figures stood within it, each clutching a short stick of wood in one hand that was kept pointed at Teldin.
"You can get aboard of your own will, or with our assistance," said one of the silver-armored beings with an Elvish accent. "The former would be less troublesome."
"Who are you?" Teldin shouted, still backing up. "What in the name of the gods are you doing?"
"The colossus is moving!" yelled someone farther back in the ship, in Elvish. "Take him now!"
The two silver warriors raised their wands and chanted a phrase in unison.
Teldin felt a mad rush of panic, raising his hands to shield his face.
Suddenly, time slowed down.
The cloak! he thought, then leaped to his right as fast as possible. As he moved, he had a momentary glimpse of two long gray beams of light flicker out from the wands through the spot where he'd once stood.
How in the Abyss did the elves find me? he wondered. The answer was obvious: Gomja. But how did they set that up? flow? He ran through the tall grass, which was now stiffer and more resistant to his passing. He saw the colossus to one side, in the act of taking a huge step toward him; it moved with infinite slowness now. Teldin saw Aelfred running slowly toward him in the distance, a crossbow in one hand and his red face registering his effort.
Teldin tried to think as he ran. Too much was happening all at once. He had to keep away from the giant and avoid the elves' butterfly ship at the same time. He needed a weapon, but he had nothing that would make any difference.