A long time ago in the lands near Achastia, there was a poor farmboy named Jahak. He lived in the countryside on a small farm with his elderly mother and a beautiful slave girl who had been captured by Jahak’s father who in his day had been a feared raider and slaver. Life was hard for the family, ever since Jahak’s father had been killed while away on a raid. The farm was poor, the soil stony and barren and the family was soon reduced to destitution.
One day, Jahak’s mother came to him and said, “Jahak, there is no future for you here on this poor farm. You should take our slave girl to the Dungeons of Achastia and with the money you get from selling her, buy weapons and armor and become a raider like your father. Then you may find your fortune.” Jahak did as his mother bid, and tied an old rope around the neck of their slave girl and led her away from the farm and down the road leading to Achastia.
However, on the way Jahak came across an old man, resting under a tree. The old man bid Jahak come and sit with him and tell him his name. And when Jahak had told the old man his story and how he was to be a raider, the old man replied “Well, if you are to be a raider, you must be skilled in arms. Tell me, can you shoot a bow, straight and true?” And Jahak nodded and said he had learned as a young lad hunting game among the hills.
“I was a raider once in my youth. And though I am now old and poor and have no slave girl to warm my bed, I still have my fine bow and arrows.” The old man said, bringing forth a bow and a quiver of arrows. “I shall make a wager with you. You just string my old bow and select any three arrows you like.” And saying this, he rose to his feet and went to the tree. Jahak picked up the bow and saw it was a fine bent bow of horn and he found three arrows that were straight and true. And when he had picked them out, he saw that the old man had gone to a branch of the tree and from it hunt three large iron hoops, like those which form a barrel.
“Here is my wager…” The old man told him. “If you can put an arrow through all three hoops from thirty paces, you may have whatever you like from possessions, even that fine bow which would serve a raider well. But if your three arrows are loosed and you have not done this, I shall take your pretty slave girl to keep me company and warm my bed.”
The young slave girl was not at all pleased at the thought of being given to this old, poor beggar to be his concubine, but Jahak, seeing the size of his targets merely laughed. “This will be an easy task.” He said, and marked out his thirty paces. And when he had taken his mark and sighted the targets, he took the first arrow and knocked it, drawing the bow back. Yet the moment he had let it fly, the old man whispered a magic word and the iron hoops suddenly shrunk so they would not have fit round a reed-shaft, for these were magic size-changing rings, something that was a wonder even in those days.
Once Jahak’s first arrow had sped past the rings, missing all three and stuck, quivering, in the trunk of the mighty oak, the old man whispered a different word and the rings returned to their original size. “I say!” The old man mocked, “If you shoot twice more like that, your pretty slave shall be mine!” And he stood nearer to her, leering at the dismayed slave girl.
Taking his second arrow, Jahak drew and shot as quickly as he could, hoping to put it through before the rings could change again, but as fast as he shot, the old man was just as quick, saying the magic word to make the rings shrink, so no archer however skilled could have but missed. And once the arrow was passed,he then spoke the other command to make the rings grow large again.
In despair, Jahak nocked his third and final arrow, certain he would lose his slave and his fortune to the old man’s trickery. However, fortune was yet with him. Standing, unwillingly, near to the old man, the beautiful slave girl had overheard the command words, despite how softly he’d whispered. Having no desire to end up his concubine, she waited until Jahak had loosed the final arrow. A third time, the old man whispered his magic word to make the rings shrink, but as soon as he had done so she shouted the other as loud as she could, so that the rings became bigger then the tree itself and even a blind archer could not have failed to pass an arrow through all three. Seeing this, the old man cursed and tore his clothes and pulled at his beard, but he had lost the wager.
“As agreed…” The old man said, “You’ve won your wager. Choose what your prize is to be.”
“I shall take these rings.” Jahak said, handing the bow back to the dismayed old raider. “Though I know not how they shall help me find my fortune, at the least, it shall stop you from defrauding other poor travelers of their meager belongings with their trickery.” And saying the magic words, which the slave girl relayed to him, he shrunk the rings back down. Once, he hung around her neck for a collar, while the other two he hung from his belt. And so, taking her rope up once more, Jahak continued on his way.
Now, in the hills which lay between them and the Dungeons of Achastia there lived three giantesses; three sisters who had come from a distant land and made their lair in a large cave, high in the cliffs where no one could reach them. And from this place of safety, they watched the valley below and whenever they saw soldiers, they went to their cave and hid, but whenever they saw travelers, they climbed down the cliff and attacked them. Some they extorted for riches and goods, others they chased and beat and many they killed and ate, as the fancy took them. And so up and through the hills came Jahak and his slave.
Perched on the cliff high above, watching the valley that morning was the youngest of the three giant sisters. Her name was Gudra and she was a fiercesome sight, standing as high as five men standing on each other foot to shoulder, broad and strong. Around her head was a fiery mane of red hair and her walnut skin was thick and bore scars from past run ins with armed men, all of whom she’d slain. The only things more frightening then her were her sisters, Ogra and Tigrun.
Seeing the travelers coming up the valley, and seeing they were but a boy and a bound slave girl, Gudra leapt to her feet and snatched up her club. “Sisters!” She cried in a voice which shook the cliffs. “Come quickly! Here are two tasty morsels for us to make our breakfast!” And she leapt down the cliff, followed close behind by her two sisters.
Down below, Jahak and the slave girl saw the giantesses coming, but there was no chance of them fleeing. In less then a dozen strides, the three terrible figures stood around the pair, brandishing clubs fashioned from the trunks of full grown oaks and eyeing them up, deciding how two travelers would best make a meal for three hungry giantesses.
It was this delay which saved their lives, for while the three were debating who would eat well of dainty slave girl and who would make a snack of farm boy and who would go hungry until the next band of travelers came along, Jahak had an idea. Whispering the magic word, hetook the iron ring off his slave’s neck and got on his knees, holding it up.
“Mighty and terrible giantesses!” Jahak cried in a loud voice. “We are but humble travelers, but if you merely spare our lives, we offer you these magic necklaces as tribute to your beauty and power! You see, these are magic necklaces, which will change to fit whomever wears them!”
Seeing this meager offer, Ogra, the eldest, sneered. “What do we need with iron necklaces?”
“Oh great Mistress!” Jahak replied, thinking quickly. “These rings do not merely change in size, but fit themselves to the wearer in every way. As you can see, when worn by a humble slave or carried by a mere peasant boy the ring is but plain iron, but I am sure if the three of you were to don them, they would transform themselves into the finest jeweled necklaces ever seen!”
This intrigued the three giantesses, who in an instant demanded the rings. Jahak grew the rings large enough to fit over the giants’ heads and soon all three had taken up one of the rings and had it around her neck. They stood a moment, waiting for the black iron to change into jeweled gold. In that moment, Jahak whispered the word again and the rings began to shrink. Before they giantesses could get them off, they were too small to do so and began to choke them. Terrified, the giantesses demanded he remove the rings at once.
“I will spare you.” He said, “But only if you agree to serve me, from now on.” And saying this, he made the rings grow bigger, but only so they no longer choked the three sisters. Tug as they might, they could not get the rings off and with but a word, Jahak could cause them to shrink again and so choke them once more. Seeing they had no choice, the giantesses got onto their knees and bowed, swearing to serve him as slaves in exchange for sparing their lives. And so the party continued on their way to the Dungeons of Achastia where would begin the legend of the great and mighty raider: Jahak the Giant Slaver. And further adventures are yet to be told...