THE BOILING CAULDRON

He came back to oneself when he felt an intense heat envelop him and a kind of smoke burned his face and nostrils. He opened his eyes, but his sight was blurred. He closed his eyes again and opened them. It was there that he saw a man walking upside down. He thought he was dreaming at first, but when he lifted his head to examine the place he was standing, he realized that his own feet were above him. He quickly noticed the knot in his ankles and realized he was hanging upside down, next to large wild geese, wild boars and other animals. A few long branches of fragrant leaves swayed in the breeze beside him. The large grimy room and insufficiently lit by daylight, sheltered a great heat which came from the large fire installed in a large hole dug in the ground at a good distance from Ragnar and above which sat a huge boiling cauldron carried by three enormous stones. A stifling vapor rose in the large room each time heavy scum overflowed and flowed into the glowing fire. Large bowls, ladles and a few knives were piled up and scattered over large wooden slabs. Below the roof hung skulls and bones of big game, but also a horizontal wooden bar from which hung huge knives, some of which were the size of the boy and others were even larger. He realized he was in a kitchen of giants.

Before he could scan the whole room, the man was already coming back, making sort of growls. Ragnar closed his eyes and stood still. The man approached him and sniffed him. A strong breath hit the boy's face and a strong smell of rotting washed over him as the man muttered indistinct words before his face with a hoarse voice. The boy remained still but he held his breath and clenched his jaws so as not to vomit. When the man passed to the boar that was hanging next to Ragnar to examine him, the boy quickly opened his eyes to see up close the one whose figure he had only seen before. What he saw horrified him.

Four arms away from his tiny head was a gigantic wrinkled face with large yellowish eyes, half—drooping cheeks, sparse with warts, and uplifted by an imposing nose that energetically sniffed the lifeless body of a great elk also suspended.

The giant tugged at the knot in the elk's paws to untie it. He placed the animal on the large wooden slab, then picked up a huge knife. The animal reacted and seemed to move. He raised his knife and the tip of the blade fell so violently on the beast's neck that the large knife sank into the table. The huge rusty blade slashed through the flesh and blood spurts out. The giant pressed down on the knife to get the tip of the blade out of the table and to cut off the head of the elk. The animal gave a few final twitches. The colossus immediately began to peel off the skin of the beast. A pool of blood flooded the wooden slab which served as a table and smeared the knife, as well as his hands. He scratched his face several times with his bloodstained fingers, staining his long, greasy brown hair as it fell on both sides of his face; then it was the turn of the hairy left shoulder and then the right armpit.

Ragnar watched the spectacle without making any noise. He then wasted no time. He started to wriggle and rock back and forth as he shook his feet to loosen his ties. He took advantage of the precarious shelter afforded him by a branch of fragrant leaves. However, the bump on his back did not help him. It reduced his movements and limited his action.

The colossus’s attention was focused on his task, he raised and violently brought down his huge knife to butcher the animal and break its bones. He didn't notice Ragnar's movements.

When the boy managed to free one of his legs, the giant had already finished emptying and skinning the elk. A stench filled the room as he began to wring out the giblets in a huge wooden bucket. The colossus cried out in rage with his hoarse voice. A ragged girl walked into the kitchen and carried in front of her a bucket of water a little too heavy for her. She was barely younger than Ragnar.

She joined the giant who leaned over her and shouted words at her that Ragnar could not understand. The girl turned her face away, closed her eyes and timidly rested the back of her hand on her right ear to protect herself from the colossus' big postilions and his cries. The giant moved away and walked towards the cauldron, and began to rekindle the fire by gripping a trunk suspended above him to keep his balance as he leaned with all his weight on a bellows, pressing his right foot on it.

The girl crouched down immediately after the reprimand and began to mop the fouled and bloodied ground with a large, sleeveless bone scythe. She quickly filled a bucket, which she got up to go and empty. One of the fragrant leaf branches hanging next to Ragnar dropped a large twig. The little girl turned to pick it up. She looked up at the branch and her gaze met Ragnar's. The latter instinctively closed his eyes. Then he half—opened one eye. The girl was still staring at him. A small smile spread over her dirty little face. She turned hastily and left before the giant returned to the large wooden plaque where the pieces of the moose were still covered with flies. The boy briefly noticed the iron chain at the girl's ankles.

The giant picked up the pieces of meat which he went to pour into the boiling cauldron on the fire, then returned and forcefully tore off a branch of fragrant leaves beside Ragnar. The boy was jostled by it, along with other hanging things that began to move back and forth. The boy took the opportunity to rock back and forth even more, wriggle and loosen the tie of his still—held foot. He had previously reattached his released leg to his second leg to maintain the illusion that he was still firmly held in place by his ties.

The little girl came back into the room with her bucket and crouched down again to continue her chore. She glanced at Ragnar who was looking at her with half—closed eyes. The giant was now vigorously chopping the leaf branch he had torn off with another knife. He made such a noise with his heavy blade as he tried  to finely cut the leaf branch to pieces.

The little girl plunged her hand into the bucket that still contained a mudslide and pulled out a small iron tool, rounded at one end and sharp at the other. She wedged the sharp part against the knuckle of the big link of her iron tie and at the same time as the giant was  making noise while chopping his leaves, she began to strike forcefully on her tool with a stone picked up behind her. The big link knuckle was already enough wide apart before she started. The boy thought to himself that she must have started damaging her ties a long time ago.

Ragnar also rushed his movements and released his second leg. He pulled on his leg so hard that as his leg freed, the large branch of fragrant leaves that hung beside him and that summarily hided him came loose. It fell on the large wooden plaque, then on the floor next to the little girl.

The giant immediately stopped chopping the leaf branch. He suspended his gesture and kept his knife in the air, then instinctively turned his head towards the branch that had just fallen to the ground. In a slow movement, he followed the branch's falling path until his bulging eyes fell on Ragnar who had forgotten to close his owns. The little boy had also interrupted his gesture and the grimace of his clenched jaws spoke about his willingness to proceed discreetly. Too late! He was discovered.

The boy stared at the giant for a little moment during which time seemed to stand still. The Colossus still held his huge knife in the air and stared at it with his large yellowish eyes, now bloodshot. A huge vein was pounding in his sweaty temple and the left corner of his lower lip was noticeably shaking. His brow furrowed, his nose turned up, and his jaw clenched in anger. The tension was obvious.

The young girl was until then out of the field of vision of the giant who had his back to her. She had also stopped knocking on the thick link of her rusty ties, just as the branch hanging beside Ragnar fell and the giant freezed. She watched for a brief moment the nervous exchange of looks between the boy and the giant. Then the next moment she struck with her stone one last heavy blow at the tool she held firmly against the knuckle of the link in her chain. The link split open. But the noise caught the attention of the giant who turned to her. She jumped up and started to run towards the cauldron. The colossus keeping his eyes on the girl threw with his hand holding the knife, a blind blow at the still hanging Ragnar, and was already walking towards the girl. The blade of his knife froze in the bar on which the boy was suspended.

The latter hastened to drop into the void to dodge the blow. His hands were still tied behind his back. He fell violently and with all his weight on the handle of the knife that had been used to skin the elk. It had been laid after use in a large bowl placed under the bar of the hanging game which included Ragnar. The boy fell heavily, back first, on the handle of the huge knife. He rolled over and bumped his head against a big cup next to the bowl.

The knife swung and levered when the boy fell heavily with all his weight on the handle. It flew off in a quick rotary motion and froze deep in the giant's hairy back, who let out a big and long hoarse cry of pain.

The girl ran to the cauldron, which she passed. But she quickly swept away with her left foot a large piece of wood fixed under the cauldron and which seemed to share the weight of the pot with the three stones of the hearth. A crackle of one of the stones was immediately heard. It escaped the giant who had been stabbed and suffered the martyr. The girl climbed onto the large wooden plaque on which the giant cut up the elk. She didn’t get there without effort. She had to run up on a huge broom placed on the floor next to the cauldron and against the large wooden plate. Once on the large wooden plaque, she climbed higher on three shelves attached to the wall, on which rested loosely small knives, bowls and ladles. She was now a little above the ailing and threatening giant who was spinning fiercely on himself as he sent his long arms behind his back to try to pull the blade out of it. The girl then proceeded to push and dump on the giant all the objects that were cluttering the top shelf. Using her feet and hands, she relentlessly pushed on the giant's skull cups, small forks, spikes, ladles that contained rainwater. A pitchfork slid into the giant's right shoulder, who bawled even louder. He was protecting his head now and couldn't focus on the knife behind his back.

Ragnar, who had recovered from his fall, had followed the girl's entire journey in the room. He didn't have time to show that he was impressed. The tormented and even more irritated giant walked over to the wooden plaque he was standing on, then while still screaming, he raised his huge left hand and tried to bring it down on Ragnar. The boy quickly rolled over and dodged the hard blow of the colossus, who then leaned this hand on the wooden plaque to send his other hand in the direction of the shelf where the girl was. Forks and spikes which had the boy's size continued to rain down from the shelf of the  little stalker of giant, who occasionally jumped over the hand of the now attacking giant. A big and long spike dug into the back of the left hand of the giant. He laid it on the wooden plaque after his last failed attack on the boy and leaned on it to attack the girl who was perched high up. The giant let out another loud cry of pain. A "small" knife of the boy's size sank into the wood just in front of Ragnar who saw it in time and barely stopped to avoid the blade. The young boy lifted his head and looked harshly at the girl who shruged, before continuing her fierce battle against the giant. The boy could see that the girl was not afraid. She even seemed amused. He quickly approached the edge of the knife and rubbed on it the ties of his hands. These yielded. Ragnar quickly scanned the kitchen.

He ran to the wall where he had spotted a long chain hanging down to the wooden plaque. He climbed on the links of the chain that held one of the many bars hanged from the roof and to which hung all kinds of tools, utensils and animal bones. Once he climbed the chain and reached his other end, he hoisted himself up on the horizontal bar which it was holding and with his arms outstretched to keep his balance while jumping over the handles of the knives hanging from the bar. He walked quickly all along the wooden bar to reach on the other side the knot of another rope which was hung under the roof and held the bar in its horizontal position. Ragnar held the rope tight with one hand, and with the other, he tugged at the large knot, who detached and freed the horizontal bar. The bar fell and with it all the huge knives and bones that hung on it. One of the knives dug into the giant's left calf, who cried out again. The colossus knelt to remove the knife stuck in his calf. The girl took the opportunity to quickly go down to a lower shelf and push spikes and forks towards the back of the colossus now exposed. The latter found himself on all fours after the impact of many  blades on his back and raised his head with a shrill cry like a wolf to the moon.

Ragnar hastily pulled up the rope he was holding after he dropped the hanging bar and spotted among the hanging objects the longest and broadest animal spine that still had long, curved and sharp ribs. He swung several times to reach the huge carcass and hoisted himself up on it with a little effort. He glanced quickly below him and to the ground, he saw the giant who was on all fours, being tortured by the girl and crying to death. The colossus was right in the middle of the room, below the gigantic spine on which the little hunchback stood proudly. The latter sat down on the carcass and held the knot for a moment as he watched the girl who quickly and deftly descended from the shelves. As she put her feet on the large wooden plaque, she looked up at the boy who was perched a few arms from the roof.

Ragnar met the girl's gaze, smiled, then gritted his teeth before tugging on the rope which hung the carcass from the roof. The heavy carcass fell in free fall with the boy who had sat in it and also weighed heavily on it as he clung to it.

When the monstrous skeleton reached the back of the giant who was crawling on all fours towards the exit, the long and sharp ribs clinging to the skeleton sank into the giant's flesh who sagged. Some of the ribs crossed the giant right through. The colossus had sprawled out and was in agony, breathing heavily.

On impact, Ragnar was thrown violently and landed against big buckets set beside the wall. He had stood up, staggering and leaned against the wall. Blood was running profusely from his nose, trickling down his mouth and smearing his tunic. His forehead also bore a large bloody gash. The girl, who had come down from the large wooden plaque, had joined him and put her arm under his to support him and keep him from collapsing. The little hunchback made a small gesture of victory, raising his fist and frowning. He was muffling small sounds of pain and could not speak. The girl accompanied him to the huge disproportionate opening that acted as a door for the giant. He leaned against the wall again to catch his breath.

The giant, crushed to the ground and letting a pool of blood escape from his mouth and nose, watched them walk away with empty eyes. He stretched out his right arm limply as if to grab them, but they were out of his reach.

A loud crack was heard from the side of the cauldron. The two children instinctively turned. The two stones which had been intact until then had just cracked after having supported the weight of the cauldron for a long time with the first which had already cracked after the intervention of the girl. She stared at Ragnar and smiled. She then picked the boy up and they left the kitchen. A little moment later, the cauldron collapsed with a thud, and all the boiling and gooey sauce spilled onto the lying colossus's head and body, before flooding the room.