“Behave, codger,” Peluthe scolded.

The old man toddled toward Jason. “We’ll have to butcher a herd of deer just to feed this behemoth.” He tapped Jason with a gnarled cane.

“Be kind, Jep,” Deloa said, moving between the old man and Jason. She smiled up at Jason with wide eyes.

“Don’t you start getting ideas about kissing giants,” the old man hollered, using the cane to pat Deloa on the rump. “We don’t have a ladder tall enough.”

Peluthe, Saul, and Ulrun burst out laughing. Jason covered a smirk. Deloa looked scandalized.

The small front door opened, and two little men entered. “Evening, Peluthe,” one of them said, rubbing his palms together.

“Out of here, you two,” Peluthe cried, hustling over to the door. “I realize everybody in town wants to dine with our visitor, but we don’t have enough as it is. Spread the word.”

Dejected, the two men retreated out the door. Peluthe locked it behind them.

Over at the immense fireplace, in front of a huge cauldron, Laila tended a pot on a small bed of coals and ash. “Find a seat,” she invited.

The little people gathered around a low table. Moving a chair out of the way, Jason sat on the floor, putting himself at about the proper height.

“Perhaps you would be more comfortable at the big table,” Peluthe suggested.

“I’m not that large,” Jason said. “Plus, I would miss all the conversation.”

Laila carried the pot over, and Deloa walked with her, spooning stew into the wooden bowls on the table. They served Jason first, then worked their way around. Retta collected tough, dark rolls into a pan and offered one to every guest. The little women served themselves last. Once they took a seat, everyone began to eat.

“This is good,” Jason said. The thick, meaty broth was loaded with chopped vegetables.

“It better be,” the codger griped. “Grew those carrots myself. Best in town. Which gives me an idea.” He turned to Peluthe. “What do you say we throw a harness on this great brute and let him plow my field?”

“That is enough, codger,” Peluthe admonished, then turned to Jason. “Forgive him.”

The codger was shaking silently with laughter.

“No problem,” Jason said, after swallowing another mouthful of stew.

Jason remained hungry after finishing his stew, but pretended to be fully satisfied when he complimented the meal.

“Why, thank you,” Retta replied. She glanced at Peluthe. “At least some people in the world still have manners.”

“Oh, yes, very fine work,” Peluthe mumbled.

From the westward windows, golden light streamed in: the final rays of the setting sun. “How far before I reach the northern coast of the peninsula?” Jason asked.

Peluthe squinted. “With those long legs, not more than two days. That about right, codger?”

The old man grunted. “If he fell over, his head would be halfway there.”

“Of course, I give you my word to keep your secret,” Jason said.

The little people shared sidelong glances.

“Secret?” Peluthe said.

“That the giants have abandoned these woods,” Jason clarified.

“Oh, yes, that secret.” Peluthe glanced up at the windows. “You know, we have another secret. A bigger one. Retta, close the shutters.”

Retta snatched up a pole and moved about the room, using it to secure the shutters. The last ones she closed covered the westward windows. “The sun is almost gone,” she said.

“Right,” Peluthe agreed. He winked at Jason. “Ready for a shocker?”

Each of the little people rose from his chair and collected a coarse, brown blanket from a folded pile beneath the huge table. Most of their knowing eyes remained on Jason as they began wrapping themselves in the blankets. Jason stood up and backed a few steps away, concerned by the peculiar change in attitude. He did not trust the new atmosphere in the room. Their bearings seemed suddenly menacing. Beneath the large blankets, the little people appeared to be disrobing.

As one, the little people dropped to their knees. They clenched their teeth and tightened their fists. A couple of them groaned.

“Are you all right?” Jason asked, growing distressed.

“Be right with you,” Peluthe gasped.

Their small bodies began to swell. As the expansion became more pronounced, they all commenced moaning and crying out. After a slow start, the growth came rapidly. A few staggered to their feet, now the height of regular people. Peluthe and Retta shot up taller than Jason. And the growth continued.

Hoping he was not too late, Jason shrugged on his backpack and dashed for the front door. The little door in the base of the larger one had been locked with a key. He slammed his shoulder against it, but the portal would not give. A large hand caught Jason by the shoulder, hurling him to the floor. Eight feet tall and still growing, Peluthe blocked access to the door. Grimacing and coughing, Peluthe doubled over as his body inflated more.

Panicked, Jason turned in a circle. There were no other doors. The windows were out of reach and shuttered. The stairs to the second floor were now guarded by Deloa and Saul, whose sweaty bodies continued to thicken and grow taller. Jason could now tell that the blankets were actually large tunics.

Jason rushed to the huge fireplace, dodged past the fading coals of the small cooking fire, and raced around the great cauldron. The stones at the rear of the fireplace were rough and fitted imperfectly, offering abundant handholds. A hasty glance over his shoulder revealed the former little people wracked by a final onslaught of painful expansion, completing their transformation into powerful giants. The codger stood up. Jason was no longer much higher than his waist.

With speed born from desperation, Jason scaled the soot-blackened stones, certain that a horrible death awaited if he missed a handhold and fell. After reaching the dark throat of the chimney, Jason climbed higher, unsure how far up the giants could reach.

“He’s getting away!” boomed a mighty voice.

“After him, you dunce,” called someone else.

The chimney narrowed as he scrambled higher. Jason did not believe the giants could follow him. He heard the cauldron being dragged out of the way.

“Prongs!” spat a voice directly below him. “He climbs like a lizard!”

“Grab him!”

Jason heard hands scuffing against stone not far below his feet.

“I can’t reach.”

“Well, climb, you oaf!”