Kari's Catch

         I came from a long line of swordsmen and warriors, with a lineage that could be traced back to the barbarian clans of old. Much was expected of me. To prove myself as an adventurer, I decided to travel to the Forgotten Lands beyond the Siocan Mountains. No one had ever journeyed into that fabled realm of treasures and returned.
         I bought a horse and rode to the base of the mountains. After getting some supplies in the town there, I continued on my path. The people there told me that I was a fool to go to the Forgotten Lands. None of them had ever gone there, but they all agreed that only death awaited me.
         After a hard two days of travel, I came to the summit of the peak of the towering mountain. Beyond, I could only see a sea of trees stretching to the horizon. I knew it would be tough going, but I would not baulk at the perilous quest before me.
         Once in the forest, I followed the path, one hand always on my sword’s hilt. The stories of the Forgotten Lands I had heard since childhood, which were vague but terrifying, made me jumpy. I stopped and partially drew my blade for every strange noise that emanated from the shadowy brush beyond the road. I knew it was foolish, but who knew what creatures populated this bizarre place?
         After several hours of traveling, the ground began to shake suddenly. The horse reared and neighed in fright. A second later, another quake, even stronger this time, knocked me to the ground. In steady rhythm , one more mighty tremor shook the earth beneath me. There was a moment of eerie silence as the horse calmed down. I slowly got to my feet, unsure of what was happening...
         I realized that during the quakes that it had suddenly gotten much darker. I looked up to see something I will never forget. I saw two monolithic towers of flesh, rising from either side of me, that stretched far over the trees. Directly above me, the two towers met. They were connected by what looked to be a piece of cloth the size of a building and the towers were encircled at the top with such material. After a long moment of bewilderment, I realized that the towers were legs.
         I yelled out in surprise and the giant structure began to move, causing more earthquakes. Before I could get to the horse, something wrapped around my body. The air rushed past my face as I was quickly raised high into the air, still trapped in the vice-like grip.
         As I recovered, I found that I was staring into the face of a beautiful giant maiden. She looked to be about 19. She had massive blue eyes, which were looking me over curiously, and long, blonde hair. She wore a green skirt and a small top that showed off her cleavage, as well as metal bracers and shoulder guards. At her side hung a great sword, which must have been a mile long. The forest below only came half way up to her knees. The hand which she held me in brought me closer to her face and she smiled.
         “YES!” she shouted, almost deafening me.  Noticing my discomfort, she spoke more quietly. “I’ve never caught one of you little travelers before. How exciting!”
         I tried desperately to break free of her grip, but it was hopeless.
      “All of my friends have already caught people like you," she explained. "I can’t wait to show you to them..." She licked her lips in anticipation. "They say your kind are delicious.”
         At that last word, I panicked and began struggling more. She grabbed the back of my tunic with the index finger and thumb of her other hand and suspended me in front of her colossal mouth. A long, pink tongue emerged from within and ran up the length of your body, coating me in warm, sticky saliva. The girl closed her eyes. “Mmmm. You DO taste good.”
         She raised me over her head. She tilted her head back and opened her mouth wide. I looked below into her cavernous maw. “Don’t do this!
         She giggled and lowered me back in front of her face. “I was just kidding. I can’t eat you BEFORE I take you back to the village.”
         Thinking quickly, I drew your sword and stabbed upward, striking her index finger. She let go of me and I plummeted through the air before landing softly after a short drop. The girl yelped in pain and sucked on the finger I had stabbed. The wound was a mere pinprick to her.
         I was not sure of where I was until I looked at the soft, warm surface beneath me. I had landed on her right breast. I looked up. The girl was glaring down angrily at me. I had to dive out of the way to avoid being snatched up in one of her hands again, but I ended up falling off of her breast and into her cleavage. Luckily, I managed to squeeze through to the bottom as the girl tried to fish me out. “STAY STILL!”
         When I came out the bottom of the tunnel, I began falling, until I grabbed onto the bottom of her top. I could see that I was still hundreds of feet in the air. The girl was still searching her cleavage, trying to find me.
         I let go of the top and slid down her flat stomach until grabbing the waistband of her skirt. I continued climbing down the skirt as the girl realized she had lost me. She knelt down to scour the ground for me, which allowed me to make a jump to the treetops safely.
         The drop was still far, but I managed to break my fall and climb down the trees to the ground. The girl was directly over me, searching the forest on her hands and knees. I quickly found my way to the path. I ran to my horse, who was severely spooked. I calmed it down and I started riding back to the mountains.
           The giant girl saw me riding down the path. She stood up to her full height. I didn’t take the time to look back. I only cared about escaping.
         A gigantic foot in a sandal came crashing down in front of me, blocking the road. I quickly turned around and raced the other way before her other foot blocked my path. I decided to go off the road and into the dense forest, where she couldn’t see me so easily.
         “WHERE ARE YOU?” she called in a playful, singsong voice. She was treating this as if it were a game!
          I heard the thunderous sound of metal scraping metal. An instant later, a whooshing of air tore through the trees over my head. I looked around me, never slowing the pace of the horse, and saw that the upper halves of all the trees around me had been cut off. I looked back to see the girl brandishing her blade. “FOUND YOU!” 
         She reached out to grapple me, but my horse was fast enough to avoid her grasping hand. I rode out of the area her sword had cut, the treetops once again hiding me.
         The girl, becoming frustrated, began hacking at the trees. She suddenly stopped as someone called, “Hey! What are you doing, Kari?”
          Two more giant girls were approaching from the north. One was a redhead with fair skin and freckles. She wore a wide strip of leather across her chest to cover herself. The other had black hair and green eyes. She wore a very plain dress made of red fabric over a leather corset.  The girl, who they called Kari, sheathed her sword. “I found a Little Person, but he got away. Please help me find him.”
         The ground was shaking violently as the three giants began stomping around, searching for me. After I had covered almost a mile, a titanic barefoot slammed down beside me, flattening a dozen trees. The shock of the movement threw me from my horse. The frightened horse ran away and I was left with no escape.
         From high above, the heavenly face of the redheaded giantess gazed down at me. She raised her foot in the air and called, “I'VE FOUND HIM!” She then brought her foot down gently.  It knocked me over and pinned me to the ground.
         The other two girls came near and the redhead picked me up. She plucked the sword and scabbard from my belt and dropped them to the earth far below. “He looks like a soldier,” she said. “Their meat’s usually tough.”
         The black haired one brought her head close to me. “No, he’s too young for that. I think he’s just an adventurer.” She snatched me out of the redhead’s head and examined me as I lay on her palm.
         Kari stepped forward. “Don't forget that I found him.”
         The black haired girl looked disappointed. “You’re right. He’s yours…but can I carry him to the village?”
         “Sure,” said Kari cheerfully.
         The black haired girl set me down in between her breasts and pushed me down until only my head was exposed. Because of her corset, I was trapped between the mountains of flesh, unable to move. The girls began to walk north, giving me a bumpy ride.
          After an hour, we arrived at a giant village. The buildings were primitive tents made from tremendous animal hides. All the other inhabitants of the town also seemed to be giantesses.
         Kari took me from the black haired girl and began to show me to all the women in the village. Including the three girls, there were twelve people in the village. Finally, Kari showed me to her mother, who looked like her but she was substantially taller.
         “I finally caught one, Mama,” she said proudly as she held me out in her hand.
         “That’s good, honey,” Kari’s mother said. “Your rite of passage is complete. And you’re just in time for dinner." Her eyes lowered to me and she smiled warmly. “I've always found that little people add a very agreeable flavor to soup.”
         Her mother poured a ladleful of hot broth into Kari’s bowl. She picked me up and dropped me into the liquid. It wasn’t hot enough to burn me, but it was uncomfortably warm. The moment I had been dreading came as she slowly raised the bowl to her lips.
         My world began to tilt as the soup began flowing into her mouth. I tried to swim against the fierce current, but the bowl began to tilt even more. I was swept past her lips and into the darkness beyond. In one big gulp, she finished the last of the soup and swallowed me whole.
         Kari licked her lips greedily and rubbed her belly. Here I am now, trapped in her stomach, waiting to be digested. I can’t help but think that I found the adventure I was after. Unfortunately, it came to a strange and unexpected end.