Asher grabbed Leah and they hid away in an alcove right before the giants came around the corner. One was a male with a great white beard and pale blue skin, the other was female, standing easily five feet shorter than the male. Asher cursed his luck at the sight of a second one.
The group had definitely over prepared for one frost giant, but adding a second one into the mix was more than likely too much for them to handle unless Asher gained a significant power boost. He had learned how to sap energy from living beings to an extent, but that only went so far and it also didn't work all the time. He had attempted it with the drake he fought, but it had failed.
By his guess, it would be more successful if he was able to fully overpower whatever creature he was attempting it on. If his theory was correct, it wouldn't work on the giants. The booming footsteps went past Asher, with Leah shuddering in fear. He knew she could sense it too, they were very powerful. Much more than the drakes they had fought.
It would take a combined effort of the entire group to topple one of these things. Asher didn't know how they were going to bring down two of them, especially since they appeared inseparable. Wherever the male went, his companion followed close behind. They weren't going to make it easy by any means.
The giants inspected where the traps had been cut and the male grunted at his mate, then gestured towards the outside. As soon as the female started walking out, Asher's heart dropped. He hoped the group had enough sense to move away from the entrance before setting up camp.
Once he heard the sounds of fighting, he knew they didn't. Asher stated, "I guess we're going in," to Leah. They bolted towards the sound of fighting and saw most of the group being gathered up in a large basket. Asher already could guess what they intended to do with everyone.
Killian was the only one still fighting with the giantess, swinging his great sword one handed. Even with the tough hide that the creatures possessed, Killian had strength well beyond the norm. He sliced through their skin and blood spilled out onto the snow. Asher was right behind, superheating his blade and slashing through several spots.
They only had moments before the male came along and found them fighting his mate. Asher hoped to have killed the giant they were already engaged in combat with, by then. That didn't happen. Asher heard booming footsteps getting louder. He ducked below a fist that had been aimed at him.
He could tell the giantess wasn't in good shape, Leah looked to be almost frozen in place watching the male in a full sprint towards the group. Asher slipped away, seeing no way to win a direct confrontation with the giants. He had wounded the giantess badly enough that she had a limp.
Once the two giants had teamed up, the rest of Asher's group was gathered up and tossed in a massive basket. Asher witnessed everyone trying to break out of the basket, but as soon as they attempted that, the male reached in and Asher's heart sunk until he saw it had grabbed one of Killian's men and bit him in half. Asher was just thankful it wasn't Leah or even Willow. After the entire group was bathed in blood and gore, they calmed down.
Asher took in a deep breath and tried to collect his thoughts. He knew this was bad, he couldn't fight both the giants by himself. He would be killed for sure if he attempted it. There was no obvious solution that he could see. Even if he managed to kill one of them, he didn't know if the strength he gained from that would be enough. It didn't seem to grant him all the strength of whatever he killed, more so just a fraction of it. Otherwise he would have ended up a lot more power by now.
Asher rubbed his temples, trying to think of how to deal with the issue at hand. He had a thought and summoned his goblin. At the least, even if his minion was killed, it would serve as a distraction for now. He hoped it wouldn't come to that, but the goblin was expendable. His group was not.
Asher navigated past the traps that the giants had laid out everywhere. The silver sheen of wire flashed vividly in front of his keen eyesight. Years of thievery were coming into play as well. He crept silently through the icy tunnels, the walls were unnaturally smooth from the work of the expert artisans that resided inside.
Asher came to a large domed room, lit up blue with the color of the ice. There was a large bonfire lit in the center with some of the cows from town being turned over it. The huge basket that held Asher's companions was laid down on the ground. They had all sat down and accepted their fate other than Leah.
Asher could hear her whispering to the rest of the group, "Asher will come through for us, he always has before."
Asher whispered under his breath, having heard the whole conversation with his enhanced hearing, "I'm coming for you Leah, don't you worry."
Killian's remaining follower defiantly replied, "He ran out at the first sign of trouble, he is a coward. I doubt he even went to get reinforcements from the guild."
Asher narrowed his eyes at that comment and tried to control his anger. He was actively attempting to save the group and his name was being drug through the dirt before he even had a chance to do anything. Killian spoke shortly after, reprimanding his follower, "There were two Frost giants, how was he meant to help when we struggled with just one? He did the smart thing and he left while he had a chance. Ethan was eaten for our attempt to escape. Not that it's likely that our fate is going to be any better," Killian lamented.
Asher began to ignore the banter between everyone and navigated higher into the room. There was a ledge high up that appeared to be a spice rack. Asher hid between the canisters that were almost as tall as he was. All of a sudden, a bell went off and the male giant took off. Asher gave out a command for his goblin to flee back to where it came from.
After that, Asher got to work. The female had been left behind because she wasn't walking very well after some of the injuries she had sustained from the group. She was laying in a gigantic hammock type bed, resting. Asher knew he would only have one chance to take her out once it came down to it.
First, he made his way to the basket. As he approached, several of his companion's eyes lit up. Killian's follower began to speak and took a slap to the back of the head. Killian whispered harshly, "Quiet, don't alert the other one."
Asher got to work, pulling out his lockpicking kit. The lock was fairly advanced for creatures in the wild, but Asher had dealt with master crafted locks before. Within seconds, there was a satisfying click. He noted there was treasure close by, but he ignored it due to the pressing matter that he didn't want to fight two giants at once again.
"Hide somewhere," Asher ordered. Killian and Leah guided everyone into a secluded area while Asher began climbing the room to sit beside the giant's head. He rubbed his hands nervously at first, even hearing the snoring from the creature.
His blade slid out of its scabbard silently and he called on every ounce of strength in his body for one powerful blow. There was an outline of raw energy that flowed out from the blade over two feet past the tip of the sword. A glow emitted from it and the giantess opened her eyes right as Asher swung.
The moment Asher swung, the giantess reached out to block the hit and her fingers were lopped off from the heat of the energy being formed into almost a solid substance. Asher's blade sunk deep into her neck and blood poured everywhere. The giant thrashed in pain, but it was no use. Even as Asher reached the end of his stamina, it was too late for the giantess, as her lifeblood spilled out onto the ground. The issue was, even though it was a fatal blow, Asher was exhausted from that one attack.
One backhanded slap launched Asher across the room, crashing him into the icy wall. His body was broken in several places by the strength of that one direct blow. He saw blood pooling around him as he laid there. There was one sound that he heard that was music to his ears past the burning pain throughout his body. It was a dying gasp of air.
Asher felt his body mending itself as a huge surge of power coursed through his body like nothing he'd ever felt before. At the same time, he felt a stabbing pain that he knew wasn't physical. As soon as he healed, he muttered, "Oh no," as he realized what that feeling was. His goblin had been dealt with. As soon as the giant found his dead mate, Asher knew they would have the fight of their lives.
Asher could feel his blood going cold as the special abilities of the frost giantess were absorbed into his body along with another feeling he couldn't quite place. He had finished taking in all of the power just as he felt a rumbling feeling. It was the male coming back from killing Asher's goblin. Everyone else trembled in fear, remembering the incredible strength of the creature. Asher had a newfound confidence as he had the strength of the giantess flowing in him. He could practically feel every cell in his body vibrating with power.
Killian was the first to call the rest of the group into action, "We get one more chance at this," he shouted. "If we don't kill this thing now, it very well may be the end of us!"
Leah drew a bow from a literal treasure trove beside the giant basket and readied a shot. She had no idea what the weapon was capable of, but she knew her aim with a bow was incredible. Killian grabbed a wavy great sword known as a flamberge, and immediately discovered it's magical power of fire. Flames enveloped the blade and jutted out several feet past the tip. Willow had grabbed a pair of gauntlets and a spear with a long blade on the end, shaped almost like a leaf. Asher noted that she was extending her power of hardening into the blade, giving the metal a bluish sheen.
Asher bolted towards the group and grabbed a gauntlet out of the pile. It was made of mythril with almost a bluish tint to it and an emerald was set in the center. There were no fingers in the gauntlet, covering only the hand and forearm. Asher could tell it was special, there was a type of energy about it that he couldn't explain. He had no time to test it out though, as the huge frost giant emerged into the room. It immediately went to check on it's mate and Asher motioned for the group to move in.
Killian was the first to strike, attempting to hamstring the giant with one superheated strike. The blade dug deep into the bluish flesh, almost dropping the giant to its knees. A large burst of flames erupted from the sword as Leah drew the string on her newfound bow and let loose. There was a burst of light and the sound of thunder erupted in the room while Willow slashed her long bladed spear into the frost giant's leg at the same time.
The beast let out a deafening roar and Asher rushed in as it swung one giant fist towards the group. Asher thrust his gauntlet covered fist forward to meet the frost giant's and there was a surge of power that went through the room, knocking the rest of the group over. Asher felt his arm go numb from the impact and as the feeling returned, he could feel a chaotic rush of energy immediately enveloping his hand and was looking for any way possible to get rid of it. The creature let out a mighty blast of frost breath, covering the room other than those directly behind Asher who was already throwing a maelstrom of flame to combat the cold.
The fire was losing to the frost giant who was a master of cold magic. Asher felt he could probably survive the attack, but his companions could not. There was no way he could survive a direct confrontation with the giant either, he had the luck of the giantess already being weakened while he hit her with the element of surprise. He would have no such opportunity with the male.
Another flash of light streaked past Asher, followed by thunder. It was enough to distract the giant and Asher capitalized on it, rushing in close and releasing every bit of raw energy caught in the gauntlet into the gigantic creature. It wasn't enough to kill the beast, but it had definitely wounded it. Asher saw blood dripping out of the giant's mouth. If he could manage one more hit like that, the fight would be over.
The giant, not understanding what was going on despite being the one who crafted the gauntlet, swung a mighty fist once again. Asher met it with almost equal force, with his arm still going somewhat numb from the impact. The giant was moving extremely slowly, giving Asher the impression it had to be at the end of it's life at that moment. As it slumped into a corner, breathing heavily, Asher approached it. He whispered to it, "You've fought well, but you will only serve to strengthen me now."
The giant replied with slow and labored words, "I only wanted to take care of her."
Asher's heart sank as he realized what that meant. The giants were actually intelligent enough to communicate with humans, they hadn't actually killed anyone until they had raided the tunnels with intent to kill the beasts.
Asher somberly stated, "I am sorry, we did not know. I hope you find less evil in the next life." At that moment, Asher shoved his fist through the giant's chest and released a burst of energy killing the creature immediately. Asher collected his share of the treasure from the cave, but in his eyes it hadn't been worth it.
The group traveled back to the guild with their fair share of gold and enchanted artifacts to sell or use. Killian's follower didn't say a word to Asher until they were close to the city. "I thought you had left us back there, but that wasn't the case at all. Forgive me for my insolence, and accept my pledge of allegiance to you," the man said.
Asher raised an eyebrow and looked to Killian for an answer who just shrugged. Asher looked the man over for a few moments. He was skinny in build and bald, with no real notable facial features. Asher could already tell the man was far from noble birth, considering most of the nobles were conventionally attractive as the norm instead of as an exception. "I guess I could use another member for the group," Asher said nonchalantly. He had other plans that didn't involve the guild itself, and those plans required more people under his command. With the addition of one more person, that made four in his party overall. There was one thing to clear up before that, "What is your name anyway? I never even bothered to listen to it before."
The man said, "Timothy. My brother Ethan was killed by the frost giant that you slew."
"So you have no ties besides to Killian," Asher mused.
"None whatsoever. I am at rank C as well, so I can help to do jobs for your group and we can all advance," Timothy rambled quickly.
Asher sighed as he realized he had one more person to deal with directly. His group was growing quickly and he didn't necessarily like it, but it would be helpful when he went to create a faction of his own. Everyone in the party collected their payment and Asher told Timothy where they usually met up to plan missions.
After that, they all split up. Asher followed what almost felt like a scent trail through the wasteland. He had no fear whatsoever travelling through, he had grown leaps and bounds above most of what would normally be wandering through Winterhaven.
He found a crushed humanoid beast in the snow with a shadowy essence hovering above it. Asher walked close to it and it shot directly towards him and he felt completely invigorated. It felt as though a part of him was complete again. The power the goblin had taken from him had been reabsorbed into his body, along with a great amount of energy that the goblin itself had taken in. Asher hadn't even thought about the goblin strengthening itself in the process of killing monsters. A wicked smile crossed Asher's face as he thought about the possibilities ahead of him.