Jon was looking at the approaching party of one very tall woman and three huge animals. "Those are large and very curious-looking animals."
"Leave it to you to focus on the cows and not on the girl."
"I knew you'd focus on the girl."
"I am, and that's a very large and interesting girl."
As the parties neared each other, the true size of the girl and the cows became more apparent. Signe would always be thought of as 'a big girl' to any smallfolk who saw her, even though her own people varied between ten and fifty feet tall. Here, she towered over everyone, just shy of twelve feet tall. If she'd been the size of a normal human, she'd be described as having long legs, a thin waist, and an ample chest. Her face could be described as more handsome than beautiful. Her bright blue eyes and pale skin gave her a serious look, especially when she wasn't smiling. And she wasn't smiling now. Her mother had wanted her to undo her long hair and decorate it with ribbons in the traditional manner of a young Jotun maiden looking for a husband. She'd refused, knowing how much trouble unbound hair would be on the long trip south. Instead, she opted for the traditional style of the Valkyrie companies, with a braid at each side of her face and a long braid down her back. She let those hang loose as she had no helmet to tuck them into.
Likewise, she had braided the oxen's manes and tails. If they had to travel to the barbaric southlands, they were going to look their best. Like her, their hair was white, shading from pure white on the tails and head to a pale cream on their legs. Normally, the thick hair on their heads, resembling Scottish Highland cattle, was loose and thick. Signe had braided it carefully, adding some of the ribbons her mother had insisted she take with her. Each also had a large blue ribbon on its tail. The oxen were holding up well so far in the heat, considering they were used to the more comforting cold winds of the far north, but she was worried about them. It had been unnerving for all four of them to have to deal with the unfrozen stream. It hadn't even had a crust of ice. Snowdrifts were non-existent, showing the bare green and browns of the southlands. Raul and his wives appreciated the abundant fodder. There was so much food here, she knew she'd have to walk them each day to keep them from getting so fat they looked like fuzzy igloos.
She wondered at the reason for the five smallfolk who were walking towards her. They'd come from the town where work filled the air with dust and noise. To the north, she could see the towers of some large building. Her father's maps said to go that way, but she was unsure and had debated asking for directions. This made it convenient for her. Fewer steps in this unnatural heat was something all of them would appreciate. When the smallfolk were a hundred feet away, she yelled to them. That gave them time to get out of her way or make their intentions known. If they didn't move, she'd go around them. This land was so flat, she wondered why they even built roads.
"Hello, small people! I am taking my fine oxen to the market in Sedgewick. Would you be kind enough to point me in the correct direction? The poor things are tired and need to rest."
The five smallfolk paused, muttered things she couldn't hear, and came closer while one yelled back to her. "It's the north road, miss. A few miles and you'll go through a gap in the hills that's mostly blocked by a large keep. Sedgewick is ten miles past that. Is there a reason to go there, or someone you are looking for?"
"Yes, to both of your questions. Thank you for the directions." She led Raul off the road, cutting the corner and saving a little time.
"Might I inquire who you are looking for?"
Smallfolk were always so curious. "You can, but that is my business, and theirs. Thank you for the directions."
They talked, and four of them turned back for the town; the other jogged to meet her. "I'm going that way myself and don't mind walking with you. I'm guessing you're looking for the Butcher?"
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"I am not taking my fine animals to be butchered, no. Please don't say things like that around them. Raul is very sensitive, and his wives will stomp you flat if you make him upset."
"Sorry about that. My apologies to both you and Raul and Raul's wives." He was jogging beside her as her long legs took her up the road to Rowan Keep. "I think you should stop and we should talk for a moment. I'm worried about your bull."
Signe stopped and looked at the man. He was large and well muscled, for a smallfolk, and no danger to her. Not with three oxen, each many times his size.
"I am Signe Brogdatter. This is Raul, the best bull of my father's herd. It's rude for a man, of any size, to talk to an unmarried girl without introducing himself, especially if accosting her on an open highway like some bandit. If you want to talk, first name yourself, as a polite person should do."
Jorges scratched his beard. "Ah, right. Apologies again. I should know better. I'm Jorges. I work in the town you're going to. Ozzie is a friend of mine. I think that I met your father, actually, the day after the big battle where he lost his leg."
"Truly? And what part did you play in the battle?" He wore no armor and had no weapons on him. Many people might claim they were part of a winning battle after the fact. A mercenary's daughter liked to have details, sifting warriors from braggarts.
Jorges paused a moment, then shrugged. If he was going to get trampled by an oversized milkmaid and a herd of elephant-sized cattle, he should probably just get it out of the way. "I built the catapults that launched the fire and killed the two Jotun your father was with. Aimed one myself." He seemed to brace for her reaction and was totally unprepared for her smile.
"Oh, the builder? He spoke of you. He was very impressed by that attack. So impressed that he would like to avoid battles with those machines again. He's going to add a clause to his contract from now on. Usually, he catches the rocks people throw at him and tosses them back. But you can't do that with fire. Maybe if he carried a bucket to catch the fire? I suggested that to him. You probably wouldn't like a bucket of fire thrown back at you."
"Hmm, now that you mention it, no, I wouldn't."
"Tell me why you came to talk to me, builder, if you know my father and know of his debt of an ox to the Butcher of Sedgewick."
Jorges pointed at the large building ahead. "That's a legion fortress with a lot of weapons, some of which can throw fire. Winter declared war on the Empire, and those boys might get nervous when they see you. I'm worried about Raul. It would be a shame for Ozzy not to get his new ox. I think it would be better if you traveled with me until we were past Rowan Keep. I can signal them that you're just another regular person visiting Sedgewick."
"Well, I'm sure Raul would thank you for your concern, but why would the Emperor's little soldiers listen to you?"
He pointed to the huge fortress she could now see as they came over the rise. Her father certainly wasn't going to be able to step over or climb those walls. And as Jorges had said, several catapults and ballistas were aware of them, and rotating in their direction as men yelled to each other.
"They'll listen to me because I built that pile of rocks from the ground up, and the road that goes through it, and the weapons on its walls." His voice was much stronger than it had been before, and full of pride.
She reconsidered the man walking beside her, who came only a little higher than her waist. "I accept all of your apologies, builder Jorges, and I accept your offer to escort me, Raul, and his wives to Sedgewick. We don't want to make any of the Emperor's soldiers nervous. They may be getting paid to fight winter, but I'm not getting paid to fight them."
She knew her Father would be mortified at the thought.