17 The Fire Giant
A carriage pulled by five tired horses entered a small village.
The man and the woman in the passenger seat pulled the horses to a stop at a stable.
A stable hand came out to greet them and the two talked for a while. Then the stable hand followed the man to the carriage were there was five saddles and a two backpacks and three chests. "Would you be interested in buying all or any of these saddles as well as the horses and carriage?" Caith said to the stable hand.
"Honestly sir," said the short impish man.
"I would have to ask the boss man, but he's not gonna wake up for at least another hour." He said looking at the sliver of a sun in the horizon.
"Well then, I will pay you for watching the horses and carriage." Caith said handing the man 5 gold coins. The stable hand looked at his hand in shock, he had never been handed this much money before.
"Sir, holding your horses here only would costs a few silver pieces," he said looking up at the man.
"Just make sure they are well taken care of a it's been a long journey and this one," he said pointing to the bay horse in the group. "Kept getting pebbles in it foot, I had to keep stopping and dig them out. There might need to see a ferrier."
The stablehand nodded with a serious look in his eyes and began unhitching the horses from the carriage.
Caith helped Sionna down from the carriage and reached into the carriage. Pulling out a smaller bag he gave it to her and she put it on. Then he pulled a larger bag out and threw it over his shoulder before grabbing one of the chests.
Sionna gave the stablehand an awkward smile and followed after Caith who was headed into the village.
"Where are we going?" She asked trotting next to him. Her little legs working hard to keep up with him.
"The black smith," he said making a left turn at a street corner.
"How do you know where it is? You didn't ask the stablehand for directions?" She questioned him as headed in a certain direction.
"I can feel the fire magic," he said not elaborating to Sionna. She crinkled her pale forehead and furrowed her red eyebrows.
Finally they arrived at a large structure that had a black smiths shop.
The entire building was shaped like a giant dome with a chimney sticking out of the middle of it. She wondered if he could just see over all the other buildings and see this strange structure. Maybe he was just pulling her leg about the fire magic thing.
The door was massive and when Caith opened it he didn't have to duck his head to enter the building.
Inside stood a towering figure, even larger then Caith. He had dark black skin that contrasted with the bright burning light of fire.
He held a hammer in one hand that he was about to drive down on a piece of metal. He pounded the piece of metal marking sparks fly and Sionna couldn't help but be amazed at his sheer strength.
Caith and Sionna watched the man for a while until he set his hammer down and turned to them.
"Welcome brother!" He said approaching Caith and wrapping him in a hug. Caith almost dropped the chest in the giant's embrace.
"The fire told me you were coming, I and I could feel your energy like a cold breeze in the dark of night," he then looked at the woman next to him. And he crouched down to her level looking into her fierce green eyes.
"You must be his wife," he said with some confusion in his voice looking at the ring on her finger that matched Caith's.
"Anyone who marries a giant is family in my eyes," he said with brightness in his golden eyes and gave her a friendly hug.
'Does this mean Caith is a giant?' She asked herself looking at the man next to her with icy blue eyes. 'He was certainly tall but not by giant standards.' Her mind clouded with thoughts she almost forgot about the giant in front of her.
"Thank you," she squeaked out, still slightly intimated by the giant man who was so gentile.
"Did you guys elope? Your love is still very new and barely there. It's surprising you guys already tied the knot." At the giants words Sionna coughed while trying to gain control over her thoughts and emotions.
'Does this man have the power to tell when people have feelings for each other?' She thought watching him address Caith.
"I am here because I am in need of a weapon," Caith finally said to the giant in front of him.
"Awh," he said rubbing his chin. "Tell me brother, why go to be then? If you want a weapon you should go to a dwarf. I do not believe in violence and I will not contribute to it." He said turning back to the fire and looking into it intently.
"Umuriro, my intentions are not violent in nature, these weapons are only a mean of defense." Caith spoke while placing the chest on a table near the wall.
"Very bad people are after us, I am not sure if you heard of the Keeper."
At his words Umuriro turned and looked at Caith with narrow golden eyes.
"Is that why you both have her mark?" He asked even though the marks were covered.
"How do you know all of this?" Sionna finally spoke up feeling extremely confused.
Umuriro looked at the fire as if it was telling him something important and then turned to her crouching down again so that they could see eye to eye.
"I am a fire giant, from a young age I was taught how to understand and control fire. Most people miss understand it, they think fire is destruction. Yet fire is life itself, look up into the sky. What do you see? A ball of fire, it gives us life without it we would not be here. Now look at the ground below you. You see earth, but what is bellow that? Fire, it is the core of our planet." He turned one of his palms upward and a small flame appeared in his palm.
"Fire magic is not something I can explain to you in a few minutes if you have no understanding of it. So let me show you." Sionna looked into the flames and could clearly see a figure formed from the flames.
