All at once, the air turned much cooler. Lightning forked across the southwestern hill country and thunder rumbled, louder and closer to the flash of light. The two players set aside their instruments as a gust of wind blew across the ground, sending a swirl of dust and cook-fire smoke high. At that moment, a dark, bulky man in leathers came into the open light, followed closely by a youth of perhaps seventeen years. The older man carried a strung bow in one hand and a drawn sword in the other-unusual in a peaceful village.His face, normally expressionless, was set and grim. Yerik wove between the suddenly stilled dancers, the old woman right on his heels.

“Lharis, Lhors, what is it?” the headman demanded in a lowvoice. Lharis held a finger against his mouth and made a warning glance at the gathered villagers. His son Lhors was pale to the lips. Lharis beckoned urgently, drawing Yerik and his mother under their porch.

“Giants,” he murmured. “We were crossing the fallow ridge atsunset to get help bringing in the kill, and we saw two giants, hulking brutes twice my height and breadth at least. I don’t think they saw us. They wereangling away from here, north and west, but they seemed curious and interested in what they saw. We had to go to ground for some time until we were certain they’d left.”

Lhors swallowed. His two thrusting spears clattered together.

“We’d better ready for an attack,” the retired warrior addedevenly.

“Ready? Attack? Against-?” Yerik’s voice broke.

The other man nodded firmly. “Hold together, man. It’s notimpossible. We’ve a few who can use bow or spears. Find them, and warn them tomove quietly but quickly to fetch their arms. Meanwhile, you get everyone else out of sight and kept quiet.” He glanced over at Gran. “See that those fires areput out. With luck, the creatures aren’t after this village, and they may notknow exactly where it is.”

He didn’t believe that last, Gran realized, her own mouthdry. “If we tell people what the threat is, everyone will panic,” she said.