To Free a Giant

By Phillip C Brown

The earth will never be the same again.
Prior to the previous end of the world Tresia is saved from certain death by Aberaif, a handsome giant. Now she is desperate to set him free from a life of cruel slavery. But she is fast running out of time before she has to go away and marry her fiancé. Will her greedy patriarch or attacking tyrannosaurs prevent Tresia from freeing Aberaif? Find out in this heartwarming and witty story.

Phillip C Brown's debut novel is an adventure that transports you back to the world before the flood: where it never rains, people live for hundreds of years and dinosaurs coexsisted with man.
What readers are saying:
Very entertaining, I'm struggling to put it down - Nadia
Easy enjoyable read - Rob

• Language: English
• Publisher: Phillip C Brown
• Release date: Apr 25, 2020
• ISBN: 9780463608999

Book preview

 To Free a Giant

 Phillip C Brown

Published by Phillip Brown at Smashwords.

Copyright 2018 Phillip Brown

 © All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except in the case of a reviewer, who may quote brief passages embodied in critical articles or in a review. Trademarked names may appear throughout this book. Rather than use a trademark symbol with every occurrence of a trademarked name, names are used in an editorial fashion, with no intention of infringement of the respective owner’s trademark. The information in this book is distributed on an as is basis, without warranty. Although every precaution has been taken in the preparation of this work, neither the author nor the publisher shall have any liability to any person or entity with respect to any loss or damage caused or alleged to be caused directly or indirectly by the information contained in this book.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Acknowledgements

Danielle Hawkins thank you so much for all your input and suggestions.

Table of Contents

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About the Author. 1

Many years before The Flood:

01

Never again! Tresia made a promise to herself as her teeth chattered uncontrollably. The hay surrounding her scratched against her legs, midriff and arms; any bit of exposed skin. She moved some of it in a rather futile attempt to eke out more warmth. It was absolutely frigid but at least with the hay she was able to just keep warm enough to continue. From her itchy hay cocoon she glanced upward and groaned. The fire needed stoking and the bellows needed pumping in order to keep her balloon aloft and upward bound. She fumbled through the hay with her left hand until she found a lump of firewood, with her right hand she grabbed a wooden pole and used it to open the door of the furnace. Gritting her teeth she leaped up; the bone numbing cold hit her with a shock, causing her to gasp. Quickly she threw the log of wood on the fire, staying standing just long enough to pump twice on the bellows before diving back into the hay again. Once there she clumsily closed the door of the furnace with her pole while shivering to try to warm up again.

She was sure that she was now the highest anyone on earth had ever been, and also certainly the coldest as well; except, of course, for her last trip. Her previous attempt to reach the Awai had been thwarted by the cold at about two thirds of the way up, she was completely caught off guard that time.  Her drinking water had just started to freeze when she could bear it no more and had to come down; it was the first time she, or anyone else on earth, had ever experienced ice. Tresia wondered if this was what the Awai was made of and she was hoping her visit would tell her this for sure. This time she had bought hay with her to keep warm. Her drinking water was stowed near to the fire so it would not freeze; not that she was prepared to brave the cold to drink it. She also brought a bowl of water with her in the basket. She had watched it carefully as the balloon ascended. It was fascinating to watch the solid layer of ice form on the surface, she even broke some off and sucked on it, enjoying the sensation of ice melting in her mouth. After that she had watched with interest as the rest of the water froze solid.

She looked up to survey the grey paper canopy above her and felt a sense of pride and satisfaction. It had taken a lot of effort to build this balloon and it was working a treat. Hot air balloons were a recent invention; plans for them had travelled all around the world and many had been built so people could fly. But until now no one was crazy enough to go so high. The drab colour did bother her a little, maybe she would stain it. Yes, red - she thought after surveying the colour of her outfit, that would look much better, a big red balloon.

She had come up to this altitude in order to be the first person on Earth to survey the Awai up close. The Awai was a crystalline dome surrounding the whole planet. From the ground it looked like a wafer thin sheet of glass in the sky. Tresia hoped her visit would unravel some of the mysteries of the Awai, she had been fascinated by the Awai since she was a small child. Once she had seen a hot air balloon she just had to make one to take her up to the top of the sky, and now she was almost there!

Through a slot in the basket she looked down to the ground far below, she could see north across the territory of Caffan, way below her. She could just make out the town of Newbsrus where she lived. Caffan was pioneered by her great, great, great, great, great grandfather, Cenok a few hundred years ago. Lifespans were very much longer in those days, so Elder Cenok still dictated much of what happened in the land; far too much so, according to some murmurings she had heard recently. The basket slowly rotated to the east and her eyes followed the great Galya River as it flowed out to the Naldim Sea. Caffan was a territory within the large land of Laramidia. It was a day's journey via a river boat from Caffan to the coast. As the basket rotated more she found herself looking south across the vast Galya Jungle. Way in the distance were the hills of the province of Tsaegar; the only way to get there was to go back to the coast and then inland again. The jungle was impenetrable for travelling, in fact it was to be avoided at all costs.

She calculated that she had drifted a lot further than she had anticipated as she was now close to the edge of the jungle. She had a plan for that, she had made some fireworks, metal tubes filled with black powder strapped to the side of her circular basket. The basket was constructed from wood from the Parisienne tree: strong, light, and flexible. She was sure the fireworks would help guide her way down. She realised that they would not be enough to get her all the way home, but they should be enough to get her back close to civilization; she had seen a village nearby. At least she was sure that her fireworks would take her away from the jungle, which was the main thing. Anyway, she would worry about that on the return journey.

Adjusting her hay so she could reach the rim of the basket, she then looked up to admire the magnificent crystalline Awai. The Awai was an enigma, to most people it was just always there and they took it for granted. But Tresia had always been curious about it and wanted to know more. Lots of people had theories about what it was. Some said it was a diamond layer encapsulating the whole universe. Legend stated that it was solid water, it was even referred to by some as the ‘waters above’. But for a people with no knowledge of ice that was a concept too difficult for them to fathom. She compared her bowl of ice with the Awai - yes it looked to be the same; she was now sure that it was made of solid water. With that revelation she felt the elation of having made a significant discovery.

She was enraptured by the beauty of the Awai, she was so close she could almost reach out and touch it, but not quite. Beyond the frozen dome she could see the sky was no longer blue but was a black colour; most strange - she thought. She wondered what the air was like on the other side of the Awai. It even occurred to her that maybe there was no air; that all the air was trapped underneath the Awai. If there was no air, then just what was on the other side? -Tresia puzzled, there were still too many questions. Her resolve to never come back again quickly faded away with all the discoveries that still needed to be made. She sucked in a deep breath of air in order to crudely analyse it with her nose and lungs. The atmosphere up by the Awai seemed much the same as down on the surface, except definitely colder. She also noticed her lips felt dry and parched, perhaps the air was drier up here too. The altitude also seemed to have no effect on how her balloon flew.

She marvelled as the ice curved with the curvature of the earth. As the Awai glistened in the sunlight she wondered how thick it was.  From the ground it looked very thin, but from here she could tell it was actually quite thick. She would have to think of how she could get close enough to touch it next time. She wondered if she could redesign her balloon so she could get to the top of it. That way she could actually touch the Awai and maybe get a sample of it. Perhaps she could even figure out a way to determine how thick it was?

Aside from the composition of the Awai she had made some other discoveries this voyage. She had confirmed the Earth was indeed round; this was already a well-known fact, although many people did not believe it. She had also ascertained that the sun was on the far side of the Awai. There was much debate as to whether the sun, moon & stars were inside the Awai or out. With the sun being outside she was sure the moon and stars would also be on the far side too; but she would need to come back at night some time, just to confirm. She felt that for every discovery she had made though there were two more questions to ask.

Tresia wished there would be someone at home who would share her excitement of these discoveries and ponder the mysteries with; alas everyone she knew thought she was just a crazy kid. It annoyed her being dismissed like that. She was now nearly nineteen, yet even that morning her mother had scolded her, You have no business in the sky or trying to understand nature. It was a sentiment many shared, particularly the devout folk, as if somehow unravelling the mysteries of earth would disprove the creation stories!

She decided that what she had found would warrant the long voyage to the city of Artris to discuss it with the scholars there. They should be fascinated by this. The previous year she had accompanied her father on a business trip there. It was there she had first seen a hot air balloon. Reaching her hand to just below her neck she felt her necklace. It was an emerald carved into a clover, which grew abundantly in the fields around Artris. A memento from her trip. She wondered how she might get there. Young women did not safely travel alone; her dad's business trip was not a roaring success so he was not planning to go back. 

Whilst she was thinking about these things the top of her balloon gently bumped into the Awai and rested there for a moment. The heat of the air inside the balloon melted the surface of the ice, this moisture soaked through the paper of the balloon. Tresia saw the damp patch and got so excited, yes this confirmed that the Awai was made of super cold solid water. Her joy did not last long, she suddenly realised that paper getting wet wasn't ideal. That can’t be good, she murmured to herself as she pulled on a rope that let some of the hot air out of the balloon so it would start to descend. But it was too late, the wet paper quickly blew a large hole out the top, deflating the balloon quickly. Tresia screamed as the basket fell, plummeting to the ground.

It took several minutes to fall from that height to the ground. Most of the first minute was spent with Tresia lying in the hay on the bottom of the basket, facing upwards, bracing her feet and arms against the sides, screaming as the basket spun around and around falling beneath the deflated balloon. She soon began to realise the futility of this exercise and looked up to assess the situation. The fire was roaring with the air now rushing through it, the extra fine mesh designed to contain any sparks was at least keeping it contained away from the balloon. The balloon was semi limp but it was slowing the fall down somewhat. Tresia thought that if she could get rid of a lot of the weight then maybe it would slow her fall down. She started rummaging through the hay to throw everything inside the basket away: her bowl of ice, spare food, unused fuel for the fire, spare black powder to recharge her fireworks. The only thing not to go overboard was her docking rope and a knife.

She tied a loop around her chest with the rope, a task she found not very easy with cold hands. She then looked up to survey the balloon. At its base was a big metal hoop used to keep the paper of the balloon away from the fire. Clutching tight to the ropes between the basket and balloon she stood up and reached up towards the hoop, it was just out of reach. Shimmying up the rope further was difficult with the basket still spinning madly. It took three nervous attempts to place the rope but she finally managed to loop the end of the rope over the hoop and that was quickly tied in another knot. She removed her drinking water container from its holder beside the fire and that also went over the side; as soon as she did she wondered if pouring it over the fire would have being better. Next she pulled out the knife and began working on the lashings that held the furnace in place. She nearly burnt her hands because the fire was still roaring but she managed to free the firebox and push it overboard.

The ground was closer now, whilst she was still dropping fast she felt that getting rid of that weight had somewhat slowed the fall. Tresia hesitated, not sure whether to cut the basket away or not. Cutting it away would slow the descent more, but having it there might help protect her on the landing. In the end the decision was made for her. As the firebox fell away from the basket the flames licked the wick of one of her ‘fireworks’. She had planned to carefully position them before lighting to help guide her decent. But this one was still tied in the storage position on the side of the basket.

As the firework erupted it spun the basket even more wildly around, Tresia screamed in panic as she was thrown off balance and out the side of the basket. The rope around her chest tightened and saved her from free falling. As she swung by the rope hanging under the hoop she wildly grabbed back at the erratically spinning basket. On her second attempt, she managed to grab the basket and haul herself back inside. As she did she noticed that the basket was on fire. Dizzy from all the spinning, Tresia reached down and managed to pick up the knife, which in all the chaos had found its way onto the floor of the basket. Furiously she worked on the eight ropes that held the basket in place. By the time the first firework had burnt itself out the whole basket was well alight and her other fireworks were burning causing even more turmoil.

Finally the last rope was cut and the burning basket dropped away into the jungle below. Her knife fell away with it as she reached to grip the hoop tightly with both hands. Instantly with the extra weight gone and only Tresia’s slender frame under the balloon she felt the balloon slow its decent and even fill up with some more air. Tresia now was the world's first ever parachutist, although still falling quite fast she was sure the landing would be soft enough. Her relief was very short lived. As the burning basket fell away the final firework ignited and dislodged from the basket, flying towards the balloon. The firework hit the balloon near the base and started a small fire. She looked up in despair as the fire started to slowly spread over the canopy, the ground was close, would it hold up until she got there?

 Soon a green blur rushed past her, she had reached the tree tops. The balloon caught on the top of a Parisienne tree and started to tear before lurching to a halt. She looked down and could see the ground still way below her, looking back up she could see that mere shreds of burning paper held her suspended, it would not hold for long! The light wood and fine leaves of the tree were also beginning to catch on fire. A vine hung just out of her reach, she tried a couple of times to reach the vine to no avail. Finally she started to swing towards it. On the first swing it was still just too far away, on the second swing the balloon tore just as she grabbed the vine. She screamed while clutching the vine. The ground rushed up to greet her when finally the vine tightened up and broke her fall somewhat, but she still hit the ground hard. There was a sharp pain in her left foot as she landed in a bush.

Tresia crawled out of the bush and just lay on the jungle floor with her eyes closed for a moment, relieved to be alive but grimacing with the pain in her foot. Apart from her left foot she was relatively unscathed. After a few moments Tresia opened her eyes and looked around her. A new sense of dread spread over her.

Oh crud, the Jungle, she whispered.

02

Aberaif's muscles bulged and the sweat poured off him as he lowered a post onto the ground. 

Raif, we got some high stuff we need a hand with, Stevit, a fellow slave, was requesting his help.

No problem.

Aberaif examined the stake Stevit was looking to lower. He towered above his companion and was able to easily reach the upper lashing, which was still tied. I’ll just untie this for you.

Cheers mate.

Aberaif pretended to fumble the knot briefly, the knot stayed tied tight. "Hang on, I'll have to get a knife off one of the screws," he said using the slaves’ derogatory term for the slave drivers.

Aberaif jogged over to Wilfor, the head slave driver. Sir, I can't untie a knot, I need your knife.

The amount of cord we get is monitored, Wilfor informed him as he handed him the folding blade. He then said slowly, emphasising each word, DO NOT CUT TOO MUCH!

Aberaif grinned on receiving the instructions. Aberaif quickly cut the first knot, whistling a merry tune as he worked. He then went along cutting all the high knots for the next section of the wall they were dismantling.

As Wilfor collected his knife back again, Nihliz the new assistant slave driver was confused, I thought you told him not to cut the lashings.

No, I told him not to cut too much.

But he cut everything?

Well, we only have one giant, it would take all day if he had to untie all the high knots.

So why not tell him just to cut everything?

Well, that would be considered as me being wasteful with the cord.

Nihliz was still puzzled, What’s the difference?

Well this way, I get to say I told him not to cut the cord, and he gets to say I told him he could cut it. The magical circle of blame.

Circle of blame?

Yeah, that way no one gets in trouble. The more people in the circle the better; in hindsight I should have got you to give the instructions to the giant.

It was Nihliz’s third day as an assistant slave driver and he was puzzled. He pondered and tried to comprehend the wisdom he had just received as he looked up into the clear blue sky; the thin Awai shimmering in the sun. High above the nearby jungle he noticed the falling balloon.

Whoa, look at that! he shouted.

Everyone stopped what they were doing and turned to see the spinning deflated balloon. The basket was burning below it with the fireworks throwing it all over the place. Between the burning basket and the balloon they could clearly make out a figure desperately trying to cut the basket away.

A loud ruckus erupted from the group of slaves, they were enraptured by the unfolding tragedy. They cheered convivially about the fact that someone rich enough to afford such a stupid luxury as a hot air balloon would meet their fate though such folly. They gave a loud Woo-hoo as the person managed to free the basket and an even greater cheer as the firework shot from the basket to the balloon. At first it looked like the rocket had not harmed the balloon but then they saw the flames at the base of the balloon. Which slowly started to engulf the balloon, just before it disappeared out of sight.

Great, that's just great! Wilfor said annoyed, he did not enjoy the show.

Do you know the pilot? Nihliz asked.

No; well she is a distant cousin, but I never met her. Direct heir to Elder Cenok. Never has to work and she gets to fritter money around on hot air balloons and other mad capers.

Well the hot air ballooning didn’t go so well for her.

No, it didn’t. I am also a descendant of Elder Cenok. Except I have to work for the grumpy old fart. No doubt he will be upset by her tragic demise and find a way of making our lives even more miserable.

We should go and look for her! Nihliz assertively stated.

What into the jungle? Wilfor hated the jungle; he had to work on the edge of it and that was bad enough. Don’t be silly. There is no point, no one could survive that.

The slaves also discussed the crash amongst themselves.

Wow; what a way to go exclaimed Octe, a slave with a head of grey hair and a thick grey beard. No one knew exactly how old he was, not even Octe, he was somewhere in his eighth century though. The other slaves looked up to him as leader.

Yeah, if we were supposed to fly, we would have wings, Dougly, another slave, stated.

Aberaif reached down and grabbed the pint sized Dougly and boosted him high above his head, I can make you fly.

Arrrgh, Raif, Put me down!

Hey, Wilfor shouted, whilst ringing a small bell. Put him down, giant. Remember last time you raised him off the ground! Wilfor reached for his whip.

Oh yeah, Aberaif murmured as he lowered his comrade.

Now enough slacking, get back to work.

The slaves groaned as they started back working dismantling the wall.

Fregwit, another older slave moved close to Octe and whispered, Octe, what about the capsicums? That balloon fell pretty close to them.

Octe frowned, realising Fregwit’s concern. Slaves were not allowed capsicums, which were well known for both their healing and relaxation properties. That of course did not stop them and they had a few crops of them growing nearby. No one ever dared to go into the jungle, so they were safe from discovery. It was easy to tend the plants when they were doing their usual job of clearing the jungle. Whilst the slave drivers were busy one or two would slip off and cultivate their crop. But now they were working in the open it was trickier. Still Octe was worried about the burning basket falling on them and decided he needed to check them. He would need a diversion so he could slip away.

He whispered back to Fregwit. Can you keep the screws busy?

Fregwit looked across at Wilfor and his new assistant. He grinned as he replied, With pleasure. But it will be easier without the giant.

Right, he’ll have to come with me then whispered Octe, quietly perplexed because it would be harder to slip away unnoticed with a giant in tow.

A few minutes later Wilfor looked back across at his slaves and couldn’t believe his eyes. Instead of dismantling the wall the slaves were now putting it back up again. He turned to Nihliz, They are playing us again; let's sort this out.

What on earth are you doing? he shouted.

Building the wall! Fregwit replied loudly.

But you were only just pulling it down! Wilfor said, exasperated. Last week we built the new wall. This week we are pulling the old one down, he explained further.

Are you sure? I’m positive we are building this wall! The jungle wall to keep the jungle creatures from eating the crops and worrying the animals. replied Fregwit.

Yes, it’s a JUNGLE wall, look! pointing to the recently cleared area, don’t you remember clearing that piece of jungle. That makes this piece of wall redundant. Hence we are tearing it down to use the wood again later!

Oh, that’s right Sir, Fregwit replied, right you are, so we are pulling this wall down?

Wilfor just shook his head, You expect me to believe that you all just forgot what you were doing? What are you really up to?

Sir, Fregwit continued, it's just one day we are building the wall the next day we are destroying the wall, a man can get confused.

Nimm, another slave, then piped up, I told you we were meant to be tearing it down. Fregwit, you’re such a half-witted moron!

What did you call me? came Fregwit’s fast reply, come here and say that to my face, you ugly maggot.

Nimm came right up to Fregwit and put his face inches from Fregwit’s before repeating, I said you're a half-witted…..

He did