"Run, Mena!" The older woman yelled to her daughter. Hella watched in horror as the stone behemoth launched itself into the clearing. It had rumbled down the hill and into the clearing they just entered. The small family didn't even have the time to sit down to rest, or start a small meal before they continued the hunt. The tides hadn't been particularly good to them this year, and when that happened, they had to hunt to make up the difference.
Hella liked to stay outside the walls of any city or town, as she felt more at home among the trees and dark forests. Her youth had been spent in such forests further south with her parents, and now she traveled with her husband, and adopted daughter, Mena.
"Where did this thing come from?" She asked herself. She had no real answer either. She launched another arrow at the stone golem, but knew it would be ineffective. The hunter's camp had been abandoned for decades, and any shelter they could hole up in had long since crumbled to rot and ruin. Not that logs would stop something ten feet tall and thicker then any oak tree.
Mena, her daughter, had just seen her twelfth winter, but she was far from defenseless. Hella had trained her in the use of a bow the last few winters, and her eye almost as deadly as her mother.
"I won't leave you!" Her dark hair flowed down her back, her face streaked with dirt and sweat, and she stood her ground not far away. They had tried to outrun it, but for something so large and heavy, it moved incredibly fast. They heard a growl to their side. Mena smiled widely.
"Father!" A large man covered in metal plates and leather rushed at the lumbering behemoth and struck his ax against its stone skin. He had only left them a few minutes ago, intent on the wood they needed for a fire.
The result was what you would have expected. The giant stone golem didn't look like it had been human at one time, or carved by human hands. It was just a large pile of stones that formed a body, with long heavy limbs. How it was held together, he couldn't even remotely begin to guess.
"I need a hammer! The ax won't do any damage!" He grunted and jumped backwards as it swung its large stone arm in his direction. It deflected off the metal plates, but Banus felt it nonetheless as he was thrown.
"Neither can I!" Hella tried again and again, but the arrows only bounced off, or shattered. She even tried to aim at the normal weak points on any enemy. The neck, the head, eyes, or leg joints. Nothing but broken equipment.
"Can we outrun it?" Hella shook her head.
"Its like a stone rolling downhill! It keeps picking up speed the longer it runs!" Her daughter saw someone just in behind the towering golem.
"Momma? Who's that?" Hella followed her girl's finger, and felt her face drain of warmth.
"Its a child." She whispered. "Banus!" The golem sensed the boy and turned its attention to him.
The boy gurgled and laughed as he walked unsteadily towards the creature, and he laughed delightedly as it turned towards him. His tattered clothes were nothing more then rags wound about his body, but he didn't have any baby fat on him at all. He was nothing but skin and bones.
"Stone Man!" He yelled and laughed again. He was completely oblivious to any danger. Just like any other toddler not familiar with the big wide world around him.
"That poor child!" Banus said, and knew he had no chance to reach him. The golem felt neither bow or blade on its stone body so there was no chance to redirect its attention. Mena gulped as the behemoth swung its right limb in an overhead attack, and saw the child disappear from sight.
"Momma? Is he dead?" Hella closed her eyes for only a few seconds, and held her hand over her belly. She knew what it felt like to lose a child.
"Yes, Mena." She looked intensely at Banus. "If we don't find a way, we'll all be dead!"
"My ax doesn't even make a dent, Hella! How are we going to.....beat...that thing?" His words got lower and lower as he spoke, his eyes glued to the now still golem.
The boy stood on top of its shoulders, and held a small glowing stone in his hand.
"Stone Man!" He laughed and gurgled as the golem fell apart. He hopped off the crumbled pile of stone, and rolled while he laughed like a child who was at play. He stopped when he reached Hella's feet, and looked up at her from his back. He reached up with his arms, at which point, Hella felt something tug at that empty place within her. She smiled, and reached down to pick him up.
"Soft." He said. His eyes closed while she held him gently in her arms. Mena looked up at him, a scowl on her face.
"Banus, what is he?" She asked quietly. The big man shrugged his shoulders.
"I don't know, Hella, but he saved our lives. Lets keep it quiet for now, okay?" He reached out and pulled the small glowing rock from the child's hand. "There's probably a bounty on this thing. We should turn it in. Get a small place to sleep, and some food." She lifted her eyes, which had a familiar look in them.
"Split the bounty?" He nodded.
"As we always do, Hella. I think four ways this time. Little Mena got off a few shots too, if I'm not mistaken." Mena lost her scowl and smiled.
"Thanks, father. I tried. How did he hurt it when we couldn't?"
"The stone is the core, I think. I have no idea how he knew that though." He looked at Hella. "Should we look for his parents?" Hella clutched the boy to her chest, and looked at him in displeasure.
"Look how thin he is! They let him wander out here alone, with no homes for miles around, and he hasn't eaten in a while either!" She growled slightly. "Look at these rags! If we do find them, it won't be to return him to their not so tender care!" Banus held up his hands and backed away slightly. Never get between a mother and her child, even if they had only just met.
"Alright, Hella. But what is his name? What do we call him?" She smiled down at his sleeping face and smiled.
"What's the old word for stone, Mena?" She asked softly. She thought for a moment.
"Kivi?" Hella nodded.
"Good girl. His name will be Kivi. A son of the stone." He snuggled in to her chest, and sighed as her soft hug held him close. "Sleep well, little Kivi." Mena felt the stir of jealousy when her adoptive mother kissed Kivi's cheek.
"Eeek!" Mena squealed. Banus laughed heartily as he lifted her up into his arms and placed her on his right shoulder.
"Don't be jealous, Mena. She can't carry you around like that anymore, and she misses it." Hella glared at him. "Um, yes, shall we get back to camp? We can set off first thing in the morning for the closest town. I'm sure either the steward at the keep, or the guild will pay well for this little stone."
"That's more then I expected, Banus." Hella looked at him closely. He nodded.
"Yeah. The guild was either the source of it, or wants the source of its power. They also want us to keep it quiet." He looked at the heavy bag in his hand again. "Gold has a habit of doing just that." She turned away, unable to block the disquiet in her heart.
"Whatever. Lets just get a place secured so we can settle in for the winter. If we can get a few jobs this winter, or get in some hunting, we should be fine without too much bother. Its been a while since we could say that." Banus nodded.
"Aye, you're right there. Go to the inn and check with the owner. I'll look about town and see if I can find something that will work." As he started to turn away, he looked back. "Outside the walls, right?" She nodded.
"Ever since....well, walls may look safe, but they can also be a cage." Mena tugged on her sleeve after Banus left.
"Momma? Are we gonna be okay?" When her daughter took on that small girl tone, it tugged at Hella's strings. She wrapped an arm about her shoulders, and sighed softly.
"Yes, we are, Mena. Thanks to your new brother, I think we're going to be okay." Mena frowned, looked at the only one she competed with for her mother's affection, and sighed heavily. He did save them, and the stone he ripped out of the golem had provided lots of gold for them.
She wanted to be angry with him, but the good that came their way because of him made that difficult.
"Kivi, be silent. We're trying to hunt a deer for food." He was strapped to Hella's back while Mena gave him dark looks for gurgling and playing with her hair.
"Food?" He said, then he pointed. "There. Deer." Hella turned her head in the direction he pointed, and her mouth fell open. A large deer, probably an older buck that was close to weakening, and having his herd taken from him by a younger and stronger buck, walked into the clearing.
"I don't believe it." She said quietly. "Now don't move, Kivi." He gurgled again.
"Deer for momma." She frowned slightly, and he touched her shoulder with the flat of his hand. "Wait." She took a long slow breath, and sure enough, the deer turned side on to them.
"Its going to run, mom!" Mena said urgently.
"No, momma. Wait." She nodded, and waited. The deer turned towards them again, walked to within fifty yards, and turned side on again. "Deer for momma." She lifted her bow and aimed for the heart. It was the cleanest shot in the sweet spot she's ever had.
"Good momma. Kivi tired." Just before his eyes closed, Mena could have sworn she saw steel gray eyes turn blue.
"Lets finish off this cartload of wood, Hella. We can come out again once the snow stops." Mena watched as her mother lifted her eyes from the log she dragged. She always studied the speaker before she replied, but Mena wasn't sure why.
"Agreed. It will snow for the next few days, but we have enough wood for a couple of weeks." She looked around the clearing, and frowned. "Where is Kivi?" Mena opened her eyes wide and looked around her.
"He's gone? He was just here." She spoke quietly, then looked up at her mother's thunderous look. She was in a pile of it now, and for that, her anger for her brother grew.
"Its so cold!" A young woman said softly as she tried to warm herself at an outside brazier. It provided light for those on the way into the town, but for a homeless woman, it provided essential heat. She even had to sometimes touch the hot metal to drive the cold out of her hands. She needed her hands to catch any small animals she came across. While not appetizing to those within the town, food was food to her.
"Pbbttt!" She looked around quickly when she heard a strange noise. A young boy emerged from the bushes not far away. He walked unsteadily along the roadway, and right towards her.
"Who are you?" She asked, curious, but cautious. Children also meant parents not far away, and she didn't want to tangle with anyone right now. Her nature prodded her to consider the cold and the child, who must be at least as cold as she was.
"Yay! Pretty eyes!" Her mouth dropped open in surprise, and watched as the child stumbled towards her. He wrapped his arms around her legs, and to her utter horror, he climbed her like she was a tree. He held on to tattered fabric and pulled himself upwards until he was right in her bosom. He smiled up at her. "You cold." She frowned, but those baby blue eyes changed to a steel grey, and she felt a warmth surge through her body.
"Kivi! There you are!" She watched as an enormously tall woman darted out onto the roadway, quickly appraised her, and saw that Kivi was in her arms. She stopped and frowned. "Who have you found, Kivi?" He gurgled delightedly, and his eyes went back to a baby blue.
"Girl cold!" He snuggled in to her chest and held firmly onto her ragged shirt. He sighed softly as he inhaled her scent, and her arms encircled him protectively. "Like smell." Hella smiled softly, and appraised her again. Her large dark brown eyes that were far too large for a normal human, along with slightly pointed ears, and thick copper colored hair that clung closely to her head and neck, told her all she needed to know.
This girl was of the Mirri.
"Here you go. This should fill your belly." The large man put a warm bowl in her hands, but she had a hard time holding on to it. The cold still seeped from her limbs, but that was not the only reason. Small gentle hands ran through the hair on the back of her head and down her neck.
"Pretty fur." Then he gurgled again, and laid his head against the back of her neck. "Girl cold." As soon as his fingers touched her neck, another surge of warmth flowed through her. "Girl hungry. Girl eat." He sighed softly, and snuggled in close. "Kivi tired." Banus kept his thoughts to himself, but his wife was not so silent.
"Kivi has taken a liking to you." She said gently. She looked up at her fearfully. "What is your name, child?" She closed her eyes.
"Jaana." Hella cocked her head, and the expected question came at her.
"You're of the Mirri." It felt like an accusation, but there was no malice in her tone. "Eat your stew, and please, stop looking at me like that. I won't hurt you." She slowly sipped at the stew with a wooden bowled spoon, and glanced left and right while she ate. She stopped when the big man stood up again.
"Tell me who hurt you, Jaana, and they won't live to see another day, but please! Please, stop looking at us with those looks! We won't hurt you." He said, and lowered his tone slowly. It did hurt him to feel that fearful gaze upon him, but the other look was unexpected. Kivi lifted his head and looked up at him. Then he growled.
"Kivi?" Hella looked at him in surprise.
"Be nice." He said, then lowered his head again. "Jaana hurt."
"How did he know?" She asked cautiously. Hella gently pulled the tattered shirt away from bruised and damaged flesh, and simmered with rage.
"I'm not sure myself. That child surprises me at every turn." She slowly cleaned her wounds, and bandaged them as gently as she could. "Who whipped you, Jaana?" The girl turned quickly, and fearfully.
"I.....I didn't do anything wrong! I was only picking up apples that had already fallen off the trees! I was starving!" Hella grimaced, while Banus tried hard to get his anger under control.
"And so they whipped you for stealing." She lowered her eyes and nodded. "I see. Who was it?"
"A guard. Said he had to make an example." Hella finished bandaging her wounds, then looked at her husband with only a glance, but it told him all he needed to know. Find the one who hurt this girl, and make him regret the day he was born.
"This shirt has seen better days. Let me see. I think there is a shop in the town that sells clothing." Jaana turned her head to look up at her.
"I don't have any coins." Hella smiled gently.
"As if I couldn't see that from your clothes, child. Don't worry. Things will work out. Can you use a bow or sword? I know the Mirri are naturally gifted when it comes to the bow."
"I'm only half Mirri, and I don't have a bow." Kivi picked up his head from the blanket he had curled up on.
"We'll have to do something about that." Hella turned and looked at her son when he yelled.
"Red Rock! Red Rock!"
"Is this what he means?" Jaana asked as she guided Hella to a broken cliff face. She clutched the wool poncho to her neck to stay warm as the wind still bit her hard. She was used to the cold, but not the kindness shown to her.
The cliff was stained with streaks of red, gold and copper, which brought a wide smile from Kivi.
"Red rock! Red rock!" He jumped out of Hella's arms with little regard for how he would land, flopped awkwardly onto his bottom, rolled to the side, and popped up like nothing had happened. He ran over to the cliff face, ran his hands along the surface, and smiled.
"Father!" Banus smiled. "Stick!" Banus looked around in amusement, then found a small twig. Kivi growled. "No! Big stick!" He chuckled.
"Alright, son, just a minute." He walked from his place, swung his ax at a young sapling and took off a limb. "Don't know what.....shattered stone! What are you doing?" He watched as his son placed his hands onto the cliff, closed his eyes, and began to pull something from the stone. Kivi then took a large lump of red rock, dropped a small piece of golden metal that came out of the cliff with it, and held the branch and rock together.
"Its....steel!" Hella's mouth dropped open as she watched, then looked down into steel grey eyes.
"Momma! Bow!"
"Father? This came out with the metal." Banus took the piece of metal from Mena, and shook his head.
"How was he able to do this?" He mused quietly. He handed the metal to Hella, and pointed to Jaana. She understood immediately. It was so the girl would no longer be destitute.
Then they watched Kivi for nearly an hour, unsure, and slightly frightened. He molded the metal into the rough shape of a bow, then ran his hands over Hella's bow, and frowned. He picked up his bow, and shook his head.
"Heavy." He clipped one end shorter, then ran his hands over the length of the steel, stretched it to thin out the metal, curled an end, pinched around the handle, and reshaped it over and over. Banus was speechless, but Mena was not.
"No Kivi! Too thick there! It needs to be thinner so it can flex!" Kivi frowned, ran his hand over Hella's bow, then his own. Then he gurgled and nodded.
"Mena smart!" He reshaped it, and almost an hour to the minute after he began, that crudely shaped bow took on a mastersmith's form. Hella quickly went through her belongings and found a bowstring she kept as a spare. The leather was still supple, and would easily last for the whole season, even if it was used every day.
"Momma!" His eyes opened wide. "Momma got string!" He handed her the bow and watched as she fit, and adjusted the length of leather cord, then tried to bend it. Her eyes focused, and she had to put a bit more power into bending the metal then she thought she would.
"The strength is amazing, Kivi." She said softly, and let the loop fall into place. Then she released the bend and felt it go taut. "Here." Kivi shook his head.
"For Jaana!" Hella smiled.
"I know, son, but I think you should give it to her." He smiled, held out his hands, then walked unsteadily over to the young and shocked Mirri girl. Hella couldn't help but notice that he wobbled more with each step.
"Jaana! Jaana's bow!" He held it out, and watched the tears roll down her cheeks. He smiled shyly, as she reached out for it. "Jaana take bow." His words began to trail off, and as they watched him fall to his bottom, he spoke again. "Kivi tired."
"She won't leave his side." Banus said quietly. Hella smiled softly.
"That is the first real nice thing anyone has ever done for her, I bet. I think she needs some clothes though. Mena?" She looked up at her mother. "We need to go into town, don't you think?" Mena bit her bottom lip, and hid her frustration. She was used to being the center of attention, so it was quite a difficult time for her.
She not only had to share her family with Kivi, but also with Janna now. Considering what she had just seen, and the damage done to the poor girl's body, she found it difficult to justify her anger, and selfishness.
Still, she couldn't just dismiss it either.
"I....." Her mother gripped her shoulder.
"Be kind, Mena." Her mother's voice was firm. "I've given you lots of love, and have never stopped. If you can't share your family with those who have none, how can I be sure you've learned anything from me?" Mena lowered her eyes.
"Sorry, momma." She lifted her eyes, and they sparked with her barely hidden anger. "Lets go shopping for Jaana today."
"The only time she's left his side is when she needed to relieve herself. Other then that, she held him while she ate, and she even gently dribbled broth into his mouth."
"Has he woken up yet?"
"A few times, but only barely. That metal trick sapped his strength." Hella leaned back into her husband's front. It wasn't often that she let herself soften around others, but she always had a yearning for his touch.
"Jaana?" She lifted her head when she heard her name. "We'll try out that bow of yours tomorrow. See how balanced he made it." She smiled, then blushed.
"If its unbalanced, he can fix it." The blush was unexpected, but the confidence in her son's ability was just as surprising. "Why do you seem so familiar, metal man?" She asked.
"Not metal man, Jaana." She looked at Hella. "Son of the Stone." Her eyes popped wide open, then looked down at Kivi. Her surprise was slowly replaced by one of awe.
"Kivi." She whispered. "The Mirri word for stone."
Are you him? Are you the lost Stone King, Kivi? The King of all the tribes of the Elukka? Have you come home at last?
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