"Is this seat taken?" I ask but one of the many downtrodden folk at this now ruined cafe. It's not clear if it's the owners working the kitchen and that, but, things are going on as normal as they can be. The old man looks up from his cracked cup of tea on a chipped plate and nods with a slight smile.
Funnily enough, the biscuits he has are in better shape and they're crumbling.
"Feel free, can't say no to a bit of comfort these days." he lets out with a face that's changing to something straighter. Deader.
"How come someone of your age is still here? I'd imagine at your age you'd have found a seat on any of the airships or spiral-trains quite easily." I ask, pointing out the advantage that comes with old age in these trying times. He shakes his head and moves a shaking hand to his cup of tea. A sip wets his lips and his sleeve pats his eyes down.
"No, I... I made sure my boy and his family could get out first. I've lived my life, not a whole lot of time left for me anyway." he answers and I frown at how lonely this old man must be feeling right now. He flicks open a pocket watch to look at something other than the time. Whatever the contents of the picture, he gives it a quick, affectionate kiss and puts the ticking device back.
"We're past the times of needing to sacrifice our elderly for survival. We left such misery behind a long time ago." I point out, recalling the historical detail a lot of the institutions like to drill into our heads these days. Well, back over in the Seven-Peaks Union of Jherikra, anyway. Home treats the long ago millennia with such freshness.
"Are we? Look around, all of us would not look out of place in one of Undwote's care homes." he tells me and I look around to see the truth of his words. He's quite right, everyone here at the tables is wrinkled, bending in on themselves or in need of help from someone else. I might as well be a spry and energetic teenager compared to them all. Though, amusingly, I may be older than some of them depending on whose magic reserves are greater.
"I suppose it's nice to think most of the people here are as noble as you." I remark and he shrugs, taking another sip of tea.
"I wouldn't go that far, just making up for any wrongs I've yet to right. I know we're not all still here because we chose to be. Some were just too slow, some were abandoned intentionally and some... Well, some have spent all their lives here and want it to end here." he explains as my eyes fall on a selection of tower viewers. This little old place is either built on what remains of the mountain's long-vanished peak or a pile of bricks. Either way, it presents a clear view of the great darkness in the distance.
Even without the aid of such devices, I can see it bobble up and down. If I focus enough, I can hear the land cry out in pain with each footfall the giant makes. I'm no witch, far from it, but we can all feel it. The difference in the air, the sense of foreboding dread as the magic of the world vanishes in that direction.
The breeze from the Dragon Coast just hasn't quite been feeling the same as of late...
"So how about you, smooth skin?" the old man asks, his tea cup now seemingly empty. My eyes watch some rubbish catch on the air and my attention goes back to him.
"Hm?" I go, my mind not set up right to answer such a simple question.
"How come you are still here?" he asks and I think carefully as I cannot really be answering this with any actual honesty. Why I am still here is because of the orders I have been given by the highest authority in the land. Only second to His Lunar Majesty, high up in the comfort of the Finger's Reach Palace. Probably the only place in the world taller than that giant.
"Guess I just don't want to leave before my employees. Don't think it would rest easy on my soul to know I slipped out at the first chance. Especially when my entire complex is now one big community centre for them." I falsify, putting something together that makes sense to me given my circumstances so far.
"What sort of business do you run?" he asks, his interest peeked slightly.
"I have the joyous wonder of managing a newstablet printer and distributor." I answer and his mouth opens a little, a name on his tongue.
"The... The one from... What was it... Oh, damn my age. Oh, right, the one on Gibblereds' Street?" he asks and I shake my head, much to his chuckling amusement.
"No, my building is up on the other side of the city, by the New Air-Docks and the North-End Spiral-Train Station." I answer, his chuckles only growing.
"Ah, then I've never read your print, sorry. I like my news to be a bit more local." he explains, his hand leaning his empty cup forward. It is, in fact, still empty.
"Same city and floor of it not enough?" I ask, joining in with his laughter as he continues to shake his head.
"Unfortunately not, but, I best be going back inside now. Whoever's taken over the cafe isn't interested in the usual fees so it's free cake and tea for me!" he cheers, his creaky old form making him groan in slight pain. I offer a hand but he refuses and heads on his way back indoors. Watching him walk, I note what is all over the floor amidst the debris and spilt rubbish.
Coins.
Clicking my tongue, I get up and get to picking at the ground like a man-sized bird. Coins of all values fill out my palm and then my pockets so I can fill out the hand again. Straightening myself out with a whistle, I turn back towards the tower viewers. Walking on over, I sort out some of the coins under the assumption of what it might take.
"Well, well, look at me!" I huff in amusement as I have exactly what I need to get things going.
Slotting the first coin in almost, I stop halfway and double-check the timings I have to work with. Damn machines and their tourist wallet-draining capabilities! I just want to look at the giant that will kill us all. Is that so much to ask for?
Huffing away what joy there is in my system, I let my brow set and get to focusing on the end. The giant is far clearer a sight now, grim in all its aspects and most certainly how it makes my heart quiver. Up above, the sky roars and I peek away to watch the trails of a short-handed bomber group. They stay far and wide of the giant's mysterious power and deploy their load.
"Ugh, here they go again!"
"If you useless government types are going to put the effort in, put some real effort in!"
"Oh, if only you lot knew..." I remark quietly under my breath as I try to catch sight of the bombs and rockets. What is going on isn't an attempt to kill the giant, it's just one step towards figuring out what can. It might not be fairly obvious to these civilian types but, as a member of the secret services, I need to know. I may not be in the most dangerous of spy jobs, but, I can still catch sight of tests and developments.
After all, any good army likes to advertise itself to its potential manpower. As the saying goes, boys never grow up, their toys just get bigger. Wisdom may clean up the mind to the dangers of the job and what can be expected, but, we all love a good explosion. Especially in times like this when that one good one may save the lives of everyone...
Unfortunately, these bombs do not hold that longed-for detonation. Whatever the finer details of it are, I can't quite see, all I know is that the giant remains and it's getting closer. Almost as if to emphasise that point, the final mountain between it and the Great Valley, as it's called, starts to fall. It seems alright at first, but, it falls apart like a sugar clump.
The giant is still a fair few days away, even with its scale, but, now it's in clear view of the city. A lot of noise suddenly erupts behind me and it doesn't take long for the balconies and streets to fill. We miserable many still within the city now have our first clear view of the greatest terror since water rushed between the mountains. What was once a teeming attraction for nature lovers, tourists, the rich and their surface plots and farms starts to vanish.
Each jogging stride the giant makes turns more and more of the land into dunes. Clueless animals watch with cautionary curiosity and their willingness to watch costs them their lives. So many birds fill out the sky and many fall, bursting into puffs of dust. While the Great Valley might be clear of human life at this point, this natural wonder is bountiful beyond us. And soon, it will be gone.
Once this distance has been crossed, this city will be next and all of us too should the Gnomon abandon us. Help is on the way, I have assurances but... Seeing the giant in person now for the first time. It hits differently compared to all the photos, sketches and paintings I've seen up to this point.
"I guess there's only one thing we can really call you, isn't there?" I comment, finding myself with the need to wax something out to ease the tightness in my chest.
A dark form made in the image of deceased man, a skeleton larger than so much else in the world. Draped in tattered cloth of much the same hue, it bellows like the grandest of flags on still, dry air. In its right hand, a longsword of an almost incomprehensible length. My eyes focus on its closest stride as the sands erupt like a boot stomping into a puddle.
Whatever vile power this giant has, its touch is not required, it's further reaching than its full arm span. The giant stops and seems to evoke its ponderous nature. It twists and turns like its remembering a path only for it to settle back onto us. The sword reaches so high into the sky that I cannot see its tip and it bellows.
The bellows...
The tables behind start to rattle, the coins in my pocket shake and what is within the tower viewer jingle. People grab on for dear life and shuffle away like the rodents and pests we are compared to this thing. Many start to leave like they've just remembered something, others whimper and go back into hiding. Steeling myself, I straighten out my clothes and move away from the sightseeing device.
The giant starts to move again, its shift to a walking pace buying us precious time. Time we must use wisely and so, noting this god-given grace, I get going. Leaving behind my plucked up coins, I allow those who wish to look their doom in the eye the chance. I myself have and I have no intention of ever allowing myself to do so again.
My life is fraught with danger as a spy, every conversation must be thoughtful and an act must always be kept up. I am both in need of a concealed firearm for my safety but if I use it, I am in more danger than ever. Every day and every night is one of professional paranoia and meticulous behaviour that must be done to ensure I see the next morning. And yet, nothing I have lived through compares to that sight.
That sight of the giant who will kill us all, black it is in aspect and Death shall it be called.