Quinn the Spider

        “And you’re sure this will work? What’appens if it doesn’t?” asked Levin, his eyes wide and white with fear. “We don’t know how strong this creature is, we’ave never set a trap this big before.”
        “It will work.” Quinn was growing tired of Levin’s cowardice, he had been like this all afternoon.  
        “You keep sayin that, but we’ave never done anyfing like this before. We’unt deer and boar, not bloody giants.” Levin could barely hold his axe.
        “What do you suggest we do? Hide in our homes and wait for the giant to crush us with its monstrous hands? Do you find that to be a suitable end to your life Levin? We cannot cower in fear when are home is threatened, you will do your part to protect it.”  Quinn was trying to strike courage into this craven that he had been partnered with. It was almost dusk.

 When the old trader had come to Stump not a day go , a small few had begun to make preparations for what they thought was imminent danger, one of them was Quinn. The villagers had quarrelled incessantly but came to no end. Quinn had sat quietly thinking whilst the others argued whether it was better to hide or run. None thought about standing and fighting, he thought that outrageous. He had stayed sitting silently, drowning out the noise with his thoughts. He knew there would be a way to trap the giant and its beast, but until he was sure of a how to do so he would remain silent.
       The quarrelling had come to an end, by then the few that had started preparations had grown into many, almost all the men in the village had come to voice their thoughts. They had discussed late into the night. Some wanted to flee, others wanted to hide in their homes.
    Unsure about what to do they had decided to keep men on lookout for the night and informed the villagers that they should have their horses ready and their things packed, ready to flee. They would make their final decision come dawn.
   Men from the village were given torches and sent to where the village boundaries met the forest to watch for the oncoming danger, Quinn was among them. He was on lookout alone, he preferred it that way. Still fixated on trapping the giant he paced back and forth in frustration, unsure of how to trap such a large and powerful creature. He stopped for a moment to calm himself. He looked for the moon, but could not find it. He looked up through the trees but could not see an inch of sky. Quinn had forgotten how tall and thick the trees in the forest were. Tall, thick and heavy...we could use them. He had it. Not even a giant could stop one these if it were to fall, we will use the trees to trap the giant. He knew it would be the only thing heavy enough to trap the creatures. He left his watch to round up as many men that were willing and able to trap these beasts, and kill them.

  There were more than Quinn had expected. It only took minutes for the entire village to become aware of the supposed plans for a trap, and once they knew they flooded to the centre where Quinn was explaining his preparations. Quinn already had many in his favour but there were still those that were unsure.
         “What if the creatures overpower the trap?” asked a worried village elder.
         “My father used to tell me stories about the men of industry that built our great cities. They used the giants to tear down the trees, but only the biggest and strongest giants were able to take them down and even then they had to work in groups to tear one of these trees from their roots.” Quinn knew these stories were true, there was not a waking moment in his father life where he had ever heard him tell a lie.
        “And we are supposed to go forth with this plan based on your fathers stories?” asked one of village hunters.
 Quinn wanted to put an end to this bickering as quickly as possible. He knew exactly what to say, “Stump has been rooted in this forest for more years than any of us can count. We all know the stories of this village, stories of beasts in the woods and evil clans that meant to push our relatives from their homes. Yet we are still here. When they were faced with the same test they stood for their village and its people. Trapping this giant will be out story. We will not fail.” He had said enough. The villagers roared in agreement. That was easy, Quinn could not help but smile.

    They had worked through the rest of the night and until the middle of the next day to prepare the trap. The trees that stood on either side of the trader route were just as big and tall as those deeper in the wood and would serve sufficiently for the trap. The trap was set a few hundred feet down the trader route, the same direction the naked trader has come from. Quinn assumed that if the giant was to come from anywhere, it would be here. They had selected a portion along the route to set the trap , where the trees looked heaviest. Along either side of the route the villagers had joined dozens of chains and ropes from one tree to another, similar to that of a giant spider web. Two giant webs stood parallel on either side of the route, meshed with branches and leaves. One was smaller and would fall first, and one was larger and would fall second, layering the two webs atop each other and atop the giant. The villagers had partially cut the trees and supported them with ropes and bars so that, when needed, they would fall when the giant was in place. There we men in place to set off the trap, men with spears and axes to kill the creatures once they were trapped and men placed deeper in the wood to signal for the giants approach. All were hidden, all were quite, and all were waiting. The giant will never see it coming, thought Quinn as he stood ready and waiting with the cowardly Levin. And indeed, the innocent Torek and Brillo who were only moments away were completely unaware of what lay ahead. It was almost dusk.