Grunthar was the spiritual leader of his clan, the hero of many hunts, and the slayer of Alyexum, the Beholder. Fleet of foot for his size, and as stealthily as one of his race could possibly move, Grunthar stalked through the wood at a hastened pace. The sound of an excited animal and the smell of its fear made his heart quicken. He could hear a human female trying to calm her horse to no avail. Scanning the area for others of the horrid race, the Cloud Giant Shaman saw no other humans. His heightened sense of smell told him this lone female and her unruly horse were the only living creatures larger than a mouse for miles.
Moments later Grunthar came within sight of the odd pair. The horse was whinnying and kicking its forelegs continuously at the human. At first the giant suspected a pit of snakes to be in the area. But again, he neither saw nor smelled the dangerous creatures.
"The hysterical beast must be insane. Surely, this shall be an easy kill.", he thought as he silently laughed and congratulated himself on this good fortune. The Cloud Giant Shaman knew he should maintain his advantage of surprise. Thus he moved cautiously, staying to the wood near the path the woman was on and using the noise from the hysterical beast of burden to cover any sound of his movement. All this time the horse would not let the female come close, constantly kicking and trying to bite the human.
At optimum range, and still from the cover of the wood, Grunthar cast several spells at the unsuspecting female. His first cast was meant to dispel any magical protection the human may have had. As a precautionary measure, he quickly cast a second Dispel, just in case the first failed. His next cast, if successful, would root the woman to the spot. Grunthar was giggling silently...he loved to ensnare the comparatively diminutive creatures this way. His next cast would silence the human, thus eliminating her ability to cast upon him, if indeed she had that power, which he seriously doubted.
The Cloud Giant Shaman, hero of many hunts, slayer of Alyexum, stood in
shocked silence as he watched his barrage of spells land as expected, but have no effect on the human female. The human turned a wrathful gaze upon Grunthar; the beast of burden bolted into the wood and disappeared.
"No matter", thought the Shaman, "No single human female can stand against the mighty Grunthar!" And so the giant drew his flail and, taking a few lumbering steps, was towering above her.
Slash, zip, whoosh...Grunthar's flail buzzed through the air. Sharpened spikes on dual chains heaved from a flanged handle should have split the female's head open in short order. But with every attempt the female parried, or dodged, or ducked his mighty blows. Finally, the mighty Grunthar landed a devastating blow!
The human fell hard, only to stand moments later. Then, with the most hideous face of evil the giant had ever seen, the seemingly uninjured woman thrust both hands out toward the Shaman. A bolt of electrical energy struck Grunthar and launched him a few feet off the ground, and ten feet back.
The tree Grunthar landed against shattered into splinters. With a grunt he hefted his immense girth, belted his flail, and charged the woman. Another bolt of electrical energy hit the Shaman in the left shoulder, then a third hit him square in the chest. Grunthar stumbled backward and fell, causing a tremor as he landed. Breathing heavily and trying to withstand great pain, the Cloud Giant Shaman was still able to muster the strength and presence of mind to use his magical ability against the deadly human. Intoning the words necessary, he grabbed the feisty female as the magic flowed from his hands. The spell should have caused a serious wound where he touched her. Instead, it fizzled and dissipated leaving only the likes of faerie dust slowly floating to the ground. Using the last of his spells, he stepped back, summoned a magical hammer, and hurled it at the human. It bounced off her unarmored ribs leaving no damage whatsoever.
Grunthar knew he was defeated. His only chance now lay in his speed. The 24-foot tall giant fled the battlefield as fast as he could. He watched as the world around him slowed when the fourth lightning bolt hit him in the back. As the look of horror on his face formed in a surreal slowness, he watched that fourth bolt emerge through his stomach, leaving a gaping wound from which blood flowed freely. Eyes blinking slowly, Grunthar could hear his heart beating, could hear his labored breath inside his head. And then, the Cloud Giant Shaman, spiritual leader of his clan, hero of many hunts, slayer of Alyexum the Beholder, fell to the earth with a quake like that of a mighty fallen oak.
* * * * * * * *
Blackness, a void, nothingness....this was all Grunthar's senses could perceive. Slowly, consciousness came back to the giant, and with it came the pain. Groaning in agony, the Shaman drew the attention of every human coming along the same path the deadly female had traveled. Karamiran and Sagx found the prone figure of Grunthar quickly. Soon came Devin Tir,S0L Shugar, and Ob1knohbe, followed by Ncoll69, Sylverion, and Glaeros. Grunthar was muttering something to himself over and over saying, "...just stopped...never touch her...".
The humans all took pity on the giant; the Drow were skeptical as
Grunthar told his tale of how and why he lay near death. Devin Tir said sadly, "I can bind your wounds, Shaman, but I cannot put the blood that has been lost back in your body." Grunthar, with barely a whisper, said,
"Please...", as he motioned toward each of the humans' weapons. S0L Shugar said vehemently, "No! We cannot do it this way!", and knelt down beside the huge Shaman.
Intoning only a few words, S0L Shugar placed her hands on Grunthar's chest. And with neither a bang, nor a whimper, the mighty Grunthar, spiritual leader of his clan, hero of many hunts, slayer of Alyexum, the Beholder, breathed a long last sigh, and closed his eyes forever, as the others went off to find the mysterious and deadly female.