Giant Country

[Eileen the Crow]

The mountains were a far more pleasant bit of terrain than the icy, frozen ocean that he had just traversed. The ground was more stable, there were better handholds, if he slipped and fell he'd just slide around and maybe fall down a small chasm rather than plunging through brittle ice and drowning in freezing cold water...well the place still wasn't safe, it wasn't safe by any stretch of the imagination, but it was safer. For what that was worth at least. Still it was rather invigorating, the air was crisp, and rocks, cliffs, and mountainsides often provided some shelter, albeit temporary, from the whirling, rushing blizzards. So far though he hadn't seen much of...well anything, the place was eerily empty, nothing but the Chosen Undead, the rock, the ice, and the whirling, whipping winds. He knew there had to be something in this place, something somewhere, whether it be dragon, human, giant or lord, he just had to find it, and so he kept going. He wasn't worried about food or shelter, as long as he could just find a small little cleft between rocks, or a small little chasm with a ledge, his undead form could get all the rest and relaxation it actually needed, which wasn't much. It was far from comfortable, but it was workable.

Hours passed, he had been traveling for a good four or five hours by his reckoning, although to be honest he couldn't be exactly sure, it was just his best guess, for all he knew he'd been moving through the mountains for two hours or two days...okay well he would notice if night fell, he was sure of that. Night had not fallen, ergo it hadn't been a full day, he knew that much at least. So he kept traveling, for the most part he kept low. He moved between the mountains, going along the shallow slopes and valleys, very, very small valleys, that went through the bottoms of the mountains. At times he went through narrow cliff walls, and at times things were almost pleasant, snow drowned forestry. It was a beautiful and tranquil thing at times, and he found himself actually relaxing, they were the first moments of true tranquility and relaxation in what felt like forever, what seemed like an eternity. He was rather enjoying his time in these mountains, so quiet, so peaceful...and then the boulders started to fall.

[Eileen the Crow]

The first boulder thundered down just a few feet away from him. It was large, about half as tall as the Chosen himself was and just as wide! It hit with a thunderous crash, making the ground shake and tremble. The Chosen stumbled from it, his eyes widening as he strove to keep his feet. His head lifted and darted about, trying to spot the attacker through the trees, if it was an attacker and not a landslide. Then, a second rock crashed into the ground, just behind the Chosen, and this time the impact did knock him down, falling forward as he grunted in shock. Yet, he couldn't afford to stay still, he realized that immediately, ages of instinct and practice had him surging to his feet, and then full on sprinting forward through the trees! That proved wise, as more boulders fell from the heavens, smashing through trees and branches as the Chosen Undead made his mad dash. He cleared the trees quickly, and was fully released to the swirling, dashing blizzards, tugging at the cloth that overlaid his armor. Yet, above him, on the slopes above the hills, were barely distinguishable figures, larger than a human, far larger in fact, and throwing the boulders that thundered into the forest. Those were the attackers, but it seemed that however they had spotted him moving through the trees, they hadn't been able to see him emerge from them, he just had to travel up, try to get up there quickly...but he didn't exactly have much time.

One of the giants made a gesture, catching the dull gleam of his plate mail down at the bottom of the hilly slope, and then the boulders came down again. They weren't arcing towards him now, they were rolling, being sent thundering down the hill, the mountains forming a stark backdrop as the assault continued. The Chosen drew his sword as he ran forward, and began to weave to the side. He darted past one, feeling it roll past him, almost brushing against his breastplate, and then he wove right to avoid the next, he was rocketing up the slope at a good clip though, although the giants were still a good dozen or so meters away. He could see them better now, and their was something off about them. They were easily as tall as the giants of Lordran, but they just seemed...off, their skin was tinged blue, and they just seemed oddly different, dressed in furred armor and clothing as they tumbled the boulders down. Yet, the Chosen Undead skillfully avoided the rolled boulders, he had dodged more difficult obstacles in his time, and for that same strange reason with the glaciers he just felt faster and more agile than he had before! Eventually the three figures, yes three of them, stopped the rolling of boulders, to heft different weapons instead. Two clubs, and a giant stone axe, what great fun those looked like! Yet, the Chosen still did not back down, with sunlight straight sword in his right hand, and the shield of the Silver Knights in his left, he charged!

His charge was not one for blind attack though, he charged forward, and then ducked, diving below the swing of one of the clubs. He rolled past and landed on one knee and a foot, before he pushed off, moving left into another roll as the axe of the third slammed into the ice covered hillside. The second, the other with the club, was not in a position to strike, but the first one was recovering to bring his club around yet again, but the Chosen Undead did not hesitate! Battle was a familiar experience with him, an intimate exchange of blows, attacks and defenses between a group of combatants, and in his life he had proven time and time again his experience and ability in this great dance! The club was being swung around in a low, horizontal sweep, but the Chosen darted in close, until the fur covered leg of the giant was right in front of him, thick and tall, he could probably fit in that leg, make a sleeping bag out of the skin around it. His head was just below the hips of the giant, but he was tall enough for his own purposes. His right hand swung in, the straight sword coming around in a neat, shining arc towards the back of the giant's knee! The sunlight sword cut true, digging into the delicate tendons and ligaments. The giant let out a bellow of pain as the sword cut through cloth and flesh, sliding through and then clear as the knee collapsed. The giant fell down with a thunderous crash, catching himself on his arms, but at that point one of his comrades was there to help!

A fuzzy, fur lined boot was rushing towards him, a quick attack for a giant, but one that would hurt considerably, that foot could break the Chosen's ribs! He didn't have the time to dodge, trying would either fail, or get his legs caught instead of his ribs, so he took the smaller blow. He shifted, and the silver knight shield came up. He had fought the giants of Lordran and knew that this shield wouldn't stop a full on impact from one of those beings, but it would mitigate the damage, and better to take the damage on his shield and get sent flying, then to break his ribs or legs and also get sent flying! The foot came in to get him away from the other giant, it hit his shield square, and the force sent the Chosen Hurtling backwards! He skidded past the top of the hill, and fell down to the slope, tumbling end over end from it. It was a painful impact, but the shield had kept anything from breaking and in all honesty, the Chosen had taken far worse in his time! Oddly enough it felt like he hadn't taken quite as much damage as he was used to taking from such a desperate, sudden defense. The giants though were not about to let him go, the one with the severed hamstring was still up there, unsurprisingly, but the other two, wielding club and axe respectively came sprinting down the hillside, waving their weapons above their head as they pursued the Chosen Undead, who hefted his shield and sword. The battle wasn't done yet!

[Eileen the Crow]

The three charged each other, two giants and one metal covered undead, club and axe against sword and shield, brawn versus speed, dexterity versus brute force! The Chosen Undead hurtled up the slope, sprinting up towards the bellowing giants that had set themselves in his path. The one with the axe had pulled ahead of his comrade, and his axe came swooping down. The Chosen though was prepared for that, and he ducked, leaning forward in a crouching dash, his sword going left across his body. The axe whisked over his head, bringing up a hard draft to go with the raging blizzard around them, but that was all, and the Chosen ran past, and then spun, his sword licking out towards the back of this giant's leg, seeking to hamstring him like his companion! Unfortunately, his aim wasn't quite as pitch perfect this time, as the blade sliced into the giant's calf, just half a foot below where his knee stood, nearly up to the Chosen Undead's chest. It still cut into the white furred legging, and bore into the muscle, creating a shallow gash in the giant and drawing forth a pained, loud bellow of anger, but it did not have the crippling effect that the Chosen had been going for.

Alas he did not have time to go for another strike, as the club wielding giant that had run down with him brought his own club down, going for a hard smash on the Chosen's poor head, threatening to crush the armored warrior into paste. Fortunately he had not forgotten about this second opponent and dove to the right, rolling across the slope as the club smashed into the ice covered hillside, creating a small impact crater from the sheer force and weight that lay behind that massive club. His roll ended with him landing on his feet, but as he stood up, the axe wielder had straightened and came around, bringing his axe towards the undead. Acting fast, his silver lined shield came up, and he took the broad axe blade straight onto his shield. The impact hit hard, and he felt some of it transmit to his hand, a hard, solid blow, but an axe was easier to block than a club, although he did go sliding back up the slope, nearly losing his balance, but, through care and quick reflexes, he kept his feet, ready to meet the next charge of the two giants! A charge that was quick in coming. The club wielder was up to him, and brought his club in a sweep, bringing it very low across the slope of the hillside to try and stop the constant ducking the sword wielder had used to such great effectiveness against his larger opponents. However, the Chosen still had another avenue with which to avoid this attack.

He dashed to his right, and went into a roll, this took him up near the giant's legs. He rolled, and once again his effective grasp of combat rolling brought him to a crouch on his feet, and from there he lashed out. The Sunlight Straight Sword went out in a hard, sharp thrust. The dully glimmering point lanced forward, and struck true. It hit the side of the giant's right knee, pushing in hard and bringing a bellow of pain as that knee buckled from the steel sliding into the joint. Yet, he couldn't afford to stay there, the giant was falling forward. Almost immediately after sliding nearly a foot of steel into and through the back of the knee, the Chosen pulled it back and then sprang forward, rolling between the giant's legs, feeling the fur leggings scrape the sides of his armor as the giant fell forward with a heavy, massive crash. The corpse knew though that that hadn't taken him out, he might be able to push himself back up in time, and unfortunately he didn't have the time to inflict a fatal blow, his comrade was still up and ready, with that heavy stone axe in hand. As the swordsman expected, the giant was nearly upon him, one hand lashing out to try and backhand him away from the fallen giant, not about to risk hitting his ally with that big axe. Once again, the Undead brought his shield around and took the impact hard on that, sending him flying once again.

This time though he did not skid easily to a stop, it sent him down the slope, and along it, and he hit at a different angle than before. Perhaps that hard slap had hit him in a way he was not prepared for, or perhaps it was just a particularly slick bit of ice hidden beneath the snow. Either way, he landed, and his right foot slipped out from under him as he slid, and he fell onto his back with a hard, pained grunt, sliding down along the hill like some great, metal sled. He got turned around, but wasn't able to halt his slide until he reached the bottom, bumping gently into a tree, snow covering his visor as he quickly sat up. The giants were not right on his tail, he would be able to feel or at least hear their heavy, stomping footsteps, so he had at least a few moments before they were on him. So he quickly sat up and shook his head, clearing out the snow. Then he stood up and looked to the hill, to see the axe wielder trying to help his comrade up to his feet. Hefting his shield, and quickly looking down at his sword to make sure the tip hadn't snapped off or something similarly terrible, he started back up the hill, the giants had not been finished off yet!

[Eileen the Crow]

The second club wielder was in a very precarious position as the Chosen Undead advanced on the giant warriors again. With his joint damaged and pierced like that he was limping, and on the icy, snow covered slope of a hill? That was a most precarious way to stand and hold oneself for sure, he would not be much of a threat in this battle. However, the axe wielder was angry, he was still strong, and he had likely grown wise to the Chosen's tricks by now, or he thought he was at least. Naturally the axe wielding giant easily pulled ahead of his limping comrade, his axe clutched in his hands as he brought it to the side and then around in a low sweep to once again try and keep the Chosen Undead from rolling. So, instead he hopped backwards. The axe skimmed just in front of his armored knees, as he slid across the icy slope, barely keeping his balance, before he rushed forward. He nearly slid again, but he got in close, and his blade lashed out, cutting towards the inside of the giant's right leg. It bit down above the slash from before, and this time, he hit the back of the knee. The giant let out a bellow of surprise and pain, he had swung lower than was perhaps wise to keep the undead from rolling into the swing and past the stone blade, but he had not been expecting the Chosen to hop backwards, to take a back step.

Now, he was tumbling forward, toppling onto one knee, his hand going to rest on the ground, but the Undead had already charged through the giant's legs. His limping comrade was just behind him, having finally managed to catch up, but he was not prepared for the metal clad swordsman. The Chosen undead rushed him, and the giant lifted his club to bring it around in a smashing blow, trying to take a step back at the same time, and the Chosen just sprinted through. Rather than slashing and keeping him in range, he lifted that grooved, silver shield, and slammed into the giant's injured leg! Much as he suspected, the giant let out a bellow and that limb buckled, sliding across the ice and breaking his footing. He bellowed and slid downwards, his club swinging wide of the armored undead, as he fell to his back. The ice cracked beneath him as he slid back into the trees, but the walking corpse had already turned back around to run back towards the axe wielder. Said unfortunate giant was only just getting up to his one good foot, when the straight sword thrust towards the back of his leg, his left leg. The steel tip slammed into that joint, and pierced it. Another roar of pain came from the giant as he fell to his knees, his hands going to keep himself from sliding down, but that probably would have been the better move for him. With him stable the Chosen dashed around the giant's right, and brought his sword around, pushing it into the giant's side, easily reached with the giant on all fours. A loud gasp of air, like a gale of wind, burst from dark blue lips as the sword slid deep into his body, impaling him. The undead pushed it deep, pushed it into the hilt and twisted, shifting before he pulled free, just in time for the giant to desperately bring an arm back to smash into him.

The corpse this time, did not get his shield up in time, and took it straight on the chest. All the air in his lungs escaped him as he hurtled backwards, landing hard onto the icy, snowy slope, before sliding the whole way back down, to hit one of the trees once again. Fortunately, not where the club wielder had slid down, yet the Chosen didn't delay in standing back up, shaking the shivering cold. He was sure that ribs would have been broken but...while he could feel a bruise forming, while his breastplate was dented he...felt mostly fine. Had he grown tougher in addition to the small speed boost? He must have, otherwise he would have been in a great agony from fractured ribs! It was something to remember, but definitely not taken advantage of. So, he took care of his surroundings, the frost giant he had stabbed in the side was not dead yet, seriously injured, and bleeding from a wound to the side, unable to even stand thanks to two damaged knees, but not dead, his friend, with the club, was standing up, looking towards the Chosen murderously, and there was still that third up at the top, what he was doing the Chosen was not sure. Either way he moved towards the club wielder, stepping through the snow towards him, sword and shield still firmly in hand! The club came up, and the Chosen darted to the left, into the trees, avoiding the smashing club, which sent up a spray of snow. The impact was still enough to make him stumble but not enough to stop him from stepping back around the tree and once again neatly cutting the other knee and sending him forward onto his hands and knees. The giant tried to swing his arms around, but he just slammed into the tree, while the Chosen came around again, and for this giant, his sword swung up towards the throat, and blood sprayed across the snow.

The body crumpled, falling to the ground limply as the lifeblood fled the giant, and the Chosen walked past the corpse. He had killed giant, human, undead and dragon in his time, one more death was not something to linger over, instead he advanced on the fallen axewielder, who attempted to scoot away. Yet, the Chosen blocked a swipe from his hand on his shield, sliding back, before he then rushed forward, and went into a slide, sliding under another bat, before he twisted and brought that straight sword around, slamming it into the giant's head, and that body crumpled. The swordsman stood up, and then advanced up the hill...and the third one was gone. Oh he hadn't vanished, there was a clear trail through the snow and ice, leading...somewhere, but the question is did the Chosen Undead try to track him down, or leave him? Well, the blizzard was still strong, odds were he wouldn't have much time before the trail vanished...it was better to continue on his way. If the giant had friends well...they'd probably find him, no point worrying about it now. So, he sheathed his sword, and continued onwards, deeper into the mountains.