Let My People Go [Cloudkicker Plot]

[Die]

The sun hung high in the noon sky over the beautiful capital city of Acattopa in the Ciudadela Queendom, baking the land in the strange southern climate. The city streets were bustling with activity with vendors in the Farmer's Market shouting out to passerbys and advertising their produce in the daily attempt at making some money. That was not the only sort of trade going on though. Past the clusters of lush greenery, white buildings, fountains, and the Fisherman's Market, were the docks. Large crates and cages were stacked about neatly, some of them occupied with living beings.

Slavery was still legal here. One such pirate crew had managed to ambush, overpower, and capture several Fishmen to be sold off as slaves to the farms or to the Arena as gladiators. Though those Fishmen would be fortunate enough to encounter one of their own as their savior, and the pirates who had captured them, on the receiving end of his blade. Two massive blue hands clamped onto the docks as something hauled itself out of the water. The blue hands were attached to some inordinately large arms, followed by a whole blue Fishman. He clambered onto the docks, placing his left hand on his right shoulder and rotating his right arm. "Waaahhh...That was some swim. I knew that ship would lead me to a nice island." the Fishman said slowly with his deep baritone voice as he smiled at nothing.

He slowly looked around him, getting a nice mental picture of the docks and the area beyond that. The gill slits on his neck closed up as his lungs took in the oxygen from the air. "Pssst...hey, brother," a voice whispered through the cage nearest to him. "Mind helping us out?"

Gyunei looked around for a few seconds for the source of the voice, only to realize that it was right in front of him. "Oh hey. How'd you end up in there? You didn't get into trouble with the humans, did you?" he asked.

"Nonono!" hissed the Flounder Fishman. "We were out gathering fish for our families. But we got ambushed and overtaken. Now they're gonna sell us off as slaves to the farms or the pits. You've gotta bail us ou-"

But before he could finish his words, the sounds of running footsteps beat a rhythm into Gyunei's head as several large and gritty-looking men surrounded the would-be slaves and Gyunei. "Well lookee 'ere. Another one o' dem fishyfreaks wants to join his brothers. Dis 'ere one looks like a large 'un. We might make a killin' on dis 'un." said one of the men, who appeared to be the captain of the crew.

"Come on guyyyyyyyysssssss..." said Gyunei slowly. "Can't you just sell off one of your own? I'm sure they'd enjoy a pretty girl like you."

"W-wutchu say, dog?" stammered the captain. "You did not jus' say dat. I'm gonna make you eat dem words! Git 'em boys!"

At once all five pirates rushed towards the massive Megalodon Fishman, Gyunei Devjaro. Quickly he reached behind him and grabbed the massive sword that had been tied behind his back and drew the blade. He flipped it over and grabbed it with the other hand, adopting a two-handed grip. He took a step forward, planting both feet firmly on the ground, and swung the blade across, all within a few seconds. The flat side of the blade caught all five of the pirates, swatting them across the docks into some barrels and crates of fish and squid as if they were nothing. They had been stunned temporarily. Gyunei turned back towards the flounder Fishman. "Hold on there. I'll get you guys out. I want you to dive as deep as you can, and swim as fast away from here as you can. Got it?"

"G-got it!" yelped the flouder Fishman. Gyunei stepped back from the cage and swung the massive Zankantou across at all of the cages of Fishman, which all flew apart in pieces, spraying bars and splinters everywhere. The newly freed Fishmen immediately took off for the water and started swimming away at great speeds. Gyunei breathed a sigh of relief, just as the group of pirates he had dealt with showed up again.

"You sonuvabitch! How could yeh lettem' git away!? Yer gunna pay!" spat the captain.

Gyunei's smile had grown tighter to the point where his eyes had become very squinty. A visible twitch had formed on his left brow. As a display of strength, Gyunei held the Zankantou out to the side with one hand, and plunged it into the wooden walkway of the docks. The tip of the blade broke right through as the sword sank into the water, stopped by the bottom of the shallow waters. A little over quarter of the sword along with the hilt stuck up next to Gyunei's leg. The pirate captain gulped and turn-tailed, running off in fear along with the rest of his goons. Gyunei breathed another sigh of relief and pulled the Zankantou out of the water and put it back in the harness strapped to his back. "Whewwwww...good riddance. Those guys were beginning to get on my nerves. Hehehe." Gyunei said to himself. The commotion had already started to attract more attention, so the blue giant Fishman started off away from the docks, working his way deeper into the capital city.

[paradoxpanda]

“Ladies and Gents, You today have the privilege of witnessing a grand spectacle, a true test of mettle. On the one side, we have 50 of our towns finest Dockworkers, all of them strapping lads. And on the other, we have but single wee lass. Well, maybe not as wee as the lads would be hopin’ she’d be” The announcer paused, letting the onlookers chuckle. The man was portly and balding, thick tuffs of red hair clumped to the side of his head. His mouth was wide as his face, flapping up and down as he spoke, his belly jiggling with such a ferocity that one would think he had a dictionary’s worth of words inside him all boiling to get out. “A Challenge has been put down, that this one lass can out drink all 50 of our men. 50! Truly a staggering feat. But who really will come out” “Get On with it!”

The Giantess snapped, having found her patience with the barkeeper having run out. All she’d wanted was a few drinks, not some huge spectacle. Yet that’s what it seems to have turned into. Sure, she may have let it slip that she was the best drinker in Eblaf, But she hadn’t expected such a rousing response from the locals. Honor wouldn’t have allowed her to step down, and so, here she was. The lines had been drawn. Her, against the fifty gathered men. Before the towering woman we’re five tankard of ale, matching in quantity to the 5 tankards split among the fifty men. All she had to do was finish her’s before the men finished there’s. Simple. “Hope you boys wont need to get back to work soon. Your not going to be standing for much longer” Tyra said with a smirk. Truth be told, the wager added on was nice. Loser pays for all the winners drinks. And given how much was about to be swallowed up, that was a nice bargin. “Alright then Lads, Lass. Enough gumflappin. On the count of three, start sucking down yer drinks. 1….2….3”

Tyra whipped the last few drops from her lips. They’d put up a surprisingly good show. She was a tad disappointed with the taste of the ale, it left a foul spongy tang on her teeth. Nothing like the good stuff she was used to. Probably watered down to, since she didn’t feel a buzz. “Well, I warned you this would happen” She said with a shrug “You better finish up your drinks or they’ll just go to waste”. Raising up, the giantess stretched her back out, working out the knot that had worked its way into the deep muscle from sitting around for too long. Towering far above the streets below, and a good head and shoulders over the buildings, she had a clear view of the city around her. It was always such a novel sensation, to be in a tiny landscape with such tiny people. She had to consciously remind herself that it wasn’t the people who we’re tiny, but herself who was large. Growing up amongst Giants had that effect of setting a persons sense of scale to a size well above the average.

Taking slow, deliberate strides, Tyra moved down the streets, giving the crowds ample opportunity to clear aside so she could move. She was also accompanied by another new sensation, that of being an outsider. An aura of silence seemed to follow around her, deafening any conversations in her wake, leaving only hushed whispers. It was not a pleasant sensation exactly, and one she wished she could do without.

Judging from the time, Tyra recalled that there had been word of a gladiatorial special taking place not to far off. Now, Some would call it cheating to enter, given her stature. Indeed, she expected no real challengers to approach. But perhaps a few would do battle with enough fight to quicken her heart. For such a tiny race, she found humans had a great deal of courage and strength tucked away inside them. And, so long as she gave the opponents a chance to surrender, Tyra felt that it would not be overly unkind to take arms against them.

Stepping over one of the squatter buildings, Tyra began moving towards the edge of town. At her size, it would likely be faster to go around the outskirts of the city and then reenter closer to the arena, than try and cut through the streets and have to continue to wait for the people. With slow deliberate strides, the Giantess made her way forward.

[Die]

As the Fishman continued on his way towards the center of the city, he began to attract more and more attention. Wary eyes glared at him as people nervously shuffled out of his way. It was rather unfortunate that such a beautiful city was populated by humans prejudiced against his kind. seen as inhuman in their eyes. Then again, practically every human was the same. Gyunei resigned himself to this fact, and it was a fact that apparently would not change for years to come. "Man...tough crowd..." he said to himself. It was a shame really, Gyunei would have loved it on the island.

Gyunei continued on his travel towards the center of the city. The smell of food from several restaurants made a horrible truth terribly clear. A deep, thunderous growl escaped from his stomach. By now, everyone's eyes were fixed on him, as though he had kicked someone's puppy. He looked around at everyone, with an expression of false confusion on his face. "Hehehe...sorry guys...Guess I'm pretty hungry. Go about your business folks." He really needed to find some food. Gyunei reached into his pockets to see how much he had for food. For a Fishman as large as he was, an inordinate amount of food was needed, and he was unsure whether or not he could afford that much.

After a few seconds of groping about in his pockets, Gyunei everted his pockets. A small sigh of dust escaped them. He had nothing. "Aw maaaaaaaaannnnnnn...I gots no monies..." he said as he looked down dejected. Where would he find money, or more importantly, free food? He continued on, trying to find some way he could satiate his monstrous appetite. Little did he know, he would find his way soon enough. The the loud, rumbling footsteps of a passing giantess caught his attention, as well as everyone else near him who seemed to forget the presence of the giant Fishman. Even for someone several times his size, she was quite the attractive beauty, and he could not stop staring at her as she passed on by towards the southern side of the city. Even with all the buildings, Gyunei could make out what looked like a massive amphitheater of sorts.

With her gone, everyone seemed to resume staring at him instead, even a little boy in front of him handing out some form of flyer. Intrigued, Gyunei picked up a flyer, thanking the boy and patting him on the head with a hand more than large enough to wrap around his head and continued on, reading it. It was some advertisement for a fighting tournament at the amphitheater on the south side of the city, sponsored by the Queen herself. There was to be a massive banquet thrown in honor of the participants and the Queen herself. The bottom of the flyer promised some sort of big reward for the winner of the tournament. Needless to say, Gyunei was in. Anything that had a massive banquet meant that there would be an endless stream of food for that night, and he was ready to satisfy his massive appetite then and there, and even make off with whatever grand prize the Queen promised. Gyunei looked around for the right direction in which to head for the tournament. Upon remembering that the giantess was heading towards the amphitheater, Gyunei turned and followed off after her, as it was easy to follow her since she towered over the buildings.

[paradoxpanda]

Even with the detour around the edge of the town, it till took Tyra a while to reach the arena. This was mostly due to the crowds growing thicker and thicker as she approached the stadium, the incoming masses causing the streets to swell and overflow with the citizens of the queendom. A few times she had to backtrack and try and different approach, after getting stranded amid especially thick groups. Her talents when it came to navigating through the currents and Sholes of the open ocean we’re of little help against the living tide of humans which scampered about underfoot.

Eventually, she did manage to reach the stadium, and after circling its outer structure, found the gladiators entrance. Along the back wall was an encampment, a vacant lot which seemed to have been converted to a staging area for the arena games. Scatted about we’re tents and pavilions, the smell of cooking meets indicating that there was an ample supply of food for the contestants. Nearer the stadium itself was a line for registration, which is where she headed. Taking a spot, and rather unhappily noting the looks of dread on the contestants, she waited for her turn. A few of the people in line ahead of her stepped out and retreated, probably not wanting to risk tangling with a giant in the ring. Luckily the rest held their nerve, which meant she’d have at least a few opponents to trade blows with.

After signing in and receiving her lot for the bracket, the giantess moved to distance herself somewhat from the rest, finding enough space where she could sit, after grabbing a handful of fresh fish from the dining area. While only a few mouthfuls, it did wonders to restore her stamina, which had been steadily slipping away in her struggle to avoid stomping on any of the citizens. As she was resting, a few large men approached her, to which she direct her attention down at them. “Hail Fellows, well met”

“Hiya tots” The formost gentlemen said, the smell of rotting garbage strong on him even at this distance “Tough gal like you, seems a surewin for this. Why you wasting your time here?” He wrung his hands infront of him “It’s the money right, you after the big prize? Well, what if you could make ten times that? See, my friends here, we got a wager goin on with some of the up and ups right? Well, if you took a dive in the third round, we’d be makin more money than we know what to do with, ya see? Maybe we throw some of that beli your way?”

Tyra nodded, thoughtfully “So, you want me to let the opponent win in the third round” She said. “SHH! Not so loud, you wanna get us cought?” The Giantess shook her head, her hair tumbling about her head “No no, of course not.” “So we gotta deal then, right?”

Standing to her feet, Tyra looked down on the three, her brow narrowed and her eyes fierce “Now, I don’t believe I said that. I only don’t want you three getting caught. That’d be to easy for slime like you.” She stuck her foot forward, knocking the front man over, and then pinning him under her toes. Tyra pressed down, hard enough that he’d feel it . And she felt him squirm “You fools have made a very bad gamble, thinking that my honor could be bought by something so crud as money.” She pressed down harder. The swindler cried out, mixing obscenities with apologies. His two companions we’re already gone, run off. “I suggest you take your leave now, Sir. I have no time to scrape scum like you out from the bottom of my shoes”

Releasing the pressure, Tyra glared at the man, daring him to say anything. He got the message and took off running. She was gladdened somewhat that she hadn’t left any damage that he couldn’t make use of his legs.

It was a short time after this that the tournament proper started. Her first match went by without a fight, the man forfeiting as soon as he saw who his opponent was. Disappointed, Tyra was forced to go back and wait for her next turn. Tall as she was, she couldn’t see over the edge of the stadium, nor could she look down through the viewing holes along the bottom. As such, she lacked the opportunity to view her competition. Certainly some of the other fights sounded good. Hopefully with the lesser opponents weeded out, she’d have better luck on her next round.

When the time came to step again into the arena, Tyra Saw that her opponent this time was a barrel shaped man, his head tiny compared to his massive shoulders. And, she was glad to see, his jaw was with determination. “You Aint so big” He taunted, flexing his muscles. “I’ve picked bigger fighters out of my teeth!” The crowd roared, eating up the mans words. Tyra shrugged “Well then, I hope I can give you a good fight” She laughed, cracking her knuckles. Already she felt her blood starting to quicken in her vains, looking forward to a good match. “Im Gonna crush you into nothing, then grind that nothing into dust.” Bellowed the man, his voice booming. Tyra wasn’t entirely sure what he ment by that, but as the starting whistle sounded, she didn’t care either. “Alright you Bitch, come get Som-Uh oh”

The stadium shook as Tyra’s fist slammed into the ground, missing the suddenly silent barrel chested man. “Quick on your feet, arnt you” She said with a smirk, pulling back for another blow. Despite all his boasting only a moment prior, the fighter had no words, instead leaping up, climbing onto Tyra’s leg. “Ha! Cant hit me here without hurting yourself! I’ve rendered your strength into NOTHING”

Tyra rolled her eyes, and flicked him off as one would a gnat. “Really, that’s your plan then? Climb me like a mountain?” She didn’t give him time to answer, as she brought her hand down to slap him out of the air before he could hit the ground or open his big mouth again. “Guess what? Some mountains fight back”. He was knocked out before he even hit the ground.

After that, the wait till the third round was shorter, since many competitors had already been eliminated. The sun was beginning to drop down towards the horizon when Tyra heard her name called, signaling the start of the third round. Hefting her ax up, she strode into the ring, Mentally preying to the gods of Eblaf for someone, anyone, to put up a good fight.

[Die]

((Sorry for taking so long to get back into posting.))

Upon a closer look, it seemed as though the giantess was circling around the outside of the big city, avoiding the streets and anyone traveling on them. Wanting to get there soon in case they were selling any food, Gyunei simply cut through the center of town, not really caring for the eyes that stared at him due to his Fishman blood and size.

Upon reaching the entrance area of the massive white arena, Gyunei was directed to quite a long sign-up line. Upon standing at the back of the line, quite a few of would-be contestants looked up at the looming blue figure before shuffling out and away from the line. Gyunei merely chuckled slightly nervously as they walked away skittishly. After signing himself up for the tournament and being placed in a bracket, Gyunei was directed all the way around back of the arena to a very large staging area. Even from the entrance, he could smell delicious food, and lots of it. It had gotten to the point where he started drooling on his way around back.

Once he reached around back, the sight of food caused him to take off like a rocket. Although, halfway in his mad dash which made him look like someone who had survived a long famine, he realized again that he had no money, and slowed down. However, he perked up again after seeing the rather large and obvious sign that said it was free food courtesy of the queen herself. With that last hindrance out of the way, Gyunei finished his rush to the massive food table and set off devouring the delicious meat, perhaps even frightening off even more contestants at the savagery he exhibited. Though within a few minutes, and with more than half the food gone, Gyunei's monstrous appetite was finally sated.

With the end of his meal came a small opening ceremony to start off the tournament. With the passing of a few fights came Gyunei's first for the tournament. He was up against a rather scrawny-appearing swordsman. His seemingly weak and wiry frame contained a single hidden surprise in speed, as he took off blazing towards the gigantic Fishman with a flurry of slashes. For a second it looked as if it was going to be an entertaining fight, but it was cut disappointingly short with a single punch thrown by Gyunei that broke the attack and the opponent's jaw at the same time. Gyunei had not even put much thought into the attack, he was more or less thinking about how well the giantess was faring for her part of the tournament. It was very rare to see a giantess outside of Elbaf, since he had mostly just seen male giants.

The next few fights Gyunei had fought went by pretty quickly. However, his next fight would be quite different. The Fishman heard rumors of a giantess being pitted against a Fishman in an upcoming fight. If they were true, Gyunei would finally have a good fight on his hands. The massive Fishman walked back out onto the battlefield, awaiting the giantess he was supposedly to fight.

[paradoxpanda]

The Crowd roared cheers and whistles crying out from the spectators, engulfing Tyra’s ears as she strode into the arena for her third match. The enthusiasm of the onlookers had only increased as the number of contestants dwindled, matching the raising strength of those who remained. Her opponent was already awaiting her, standing on the opposite end of the stadium.

He was a fishman that much was clear, though Tyra found herself unable to place his exact type, something which irked at her. Having been raised at sea with fishing net in hand, she’d seen countless variations on aquatic creatures great and small. Yet whatever manner of fish he was, it was foreign to her. At best, she gathered that he was some manner of shark, but that was all. The second note was that he was indeed a large specimen, standing well above the usual size, his head topping just above the giantess knee height. Thirdly was his weapon, which was even larger than he himself was, and by no small margin.

Tyra felt her lips creeping into a grin. This one looked promising. To all appearances, he was leagues above the previous brawlers. With any luck, the fight would more than make up the time spent waiting for the match to start.

“Hail Fellow, Well met” She called, excitement on her voice. “I wish you luck”. Reaching over her shoulder, Tyra clasped her fingers around the handle of her weapon, feeling the familiar weight of her ax as she pulled it loose from its bindings, raising it over head, and bringing the weapon down, its head resting on the sandy floor of the stadium.

The signal to begin was almost immediately drowned out as the Giantess let loose a mighty war cry, both hands seizing the handle of her weapon, the mighty ax springing to life as she swung it forward, the very air trembling as the blade came crashing towards her opponent. On her face was no anger or hate, just the opposite. She was clearly having a ball.