Trouble in the Land of Dwarves
Chapter 4
The Giant
Chrysolis flew low over the
Renegade forest with Prince Nathan on her
back, searching for Princess Nataleigh. The
forest looked like a sea of green leaves as
they flew above it. Nathan was beginning
to wonder if they would ever find his sister
in all these trees.
�Oh, Chrysolis!
Why didn�t I think of looking in that magic
mirror a little closer?� Nathan was upset
with himself. �It would have only taken a
minute longer to find out exactly where
Nataleigh was instead of all this flying
around while she�s in trouble!�
�Don�t worry, Nathan!� Chrysolis
soothed. �We�ll find her!�
�But
how? This wood is gigantic!� Suddenly,
something caught his eye below. �Wait!
Did you see that?�
Chrysolis
pulled up and hovered in the air just above
the tallest trees. �See what? I don�t see
anything.�
Nathan pointed with
his lance. �Right there! I saw someone
walking through the forest below us!
Maybe they know where we can find
Nataleigh.�
At that moment, a
blur of grey and white feathers burst from
the trees under them and flew like an arrow
right at Prince Nathan. It was a giant hawk
with huge talons that could rip right through
Nathan�s armor if they hit him!
The bird was so quick that Chrysolis
could not react fast enough to stop it. It
streaked past the dragon�s claws and
slammed right into Nathan�s shield. He
lifted it up just in time to block the attack,
but the force of the blow knocked it out of
his hand and sent him tumbling off the
dragon�s back!
A heartbeat
later, he felt himself falling through the
branches of the trees below. Closing his
eyes, he waited to hit the ground. �This is
going to hurt.� He thought to
himself.
But then he felt
something snatch him right out of the air
and heard thunderous laughter echoing
through his helmet. He opened his eyes and
found himself nose to nose with a squinty
eyed giant. The brute was bald and had
only one large, flat tooth in his mouth
which stuck out from his fat, bottom lip like
a huge marshmallow cube. He held Nathan
in one huge hand so tightly that Nathan felt
his armor nearly denting like a soda
can.
�Haw, Haw, Haw!� The
giant bellowed. �What have we got here?
A little man in a tin suit.�
The
large hawk landed on the giant�s other hand.
He praised it. �Good job, Weggio. He
didn�t even know what hit him.�
Nathan tried to call Chrysolis for help,
but as he started to yell, the giant squeezed
him harder so he couldn�t
breathe.
�No, No, little man.
No callin� yer pet dragon!�
The
giant looked up into the sky quickly and
then looked back at his hawk. �Keep it
busy, Weggio!� He watched as the huge
bird launched skyward and then he began to
move.
Nathan could hear
the thunderous footsteps as the
muscle-bound brute crashed through the
trees, his big arms swinging at his sides.
Nathan�s head nearly hit the ground several
times as he was swung forward and
backward. The giant�s legs were so stubby
and his bare feet so large, that he would
have to jump over bushes and logs often,
using his arms to swing his mountainous
body like a gorilla. Each time he landed,
the earth would shake and leaves would fall
from the trees like rain.
There was
no sign of the hawk, and Nathan wondered
what had happened to Chrysolis. Why
wasn�t she flying to his rescue? He knew
she would if she could. �Maybe she�s
chasing that nasty bird.� Nathan thought.
�I hope she catches it and roasts it for
dinner!�
After some time, the
giant stopped and Nathan noticed that they
were at the edge of the woods. Ahead of
them stood a tall mountain with large rocks
all the way up the side of it. The mountain
top was not white with snow like Mount
Ivory, but black and covered in the shadow
of storm clouds.
The giant held
Prince Nathan up again and glowered at
him. �Now you behave, you hear? I�m
gonna put you on my back so I can climb
these rocks. You better hang on or you�ll
fall and be smashen on these rocks and we
both be in trouble, you got it?�
Nathan barely had time to nod before
the giant tossed him over his shoulder like a
rag doll and began to climb the rock slope.
The prince held on for dear life as the giant
bounded from boulder to boulder and the
ground dropped away below
them.
Nathan wished he could
turn and look behind. He still hoped to see
Chrysolis coming out of the sky like a
purple streak of lightning to rescue him, but
he was beginning to worry that that might
not happen. He found himself wondering
where this giant was taking him and who he
was going to meet when he got there. It
didn�t look good.
And what
about his sister? Who was going to rescue
her? He had failed to find her and he had
no idea what kind of trouble she was facing.
Chapter 5
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