Free The Eternal Flame by T. A. Barron Page B

The creature’s tongue licked the lips of his snout, while his immense hairy arms reached toward the young man. Even if Tamwyn had been standing, this monster would have towered over him, much like a tree over a fallen branch.
    Indeed, the giant creature did resemble a tree—one covered with shaggy brown hair instead of leaves. His one enormous leg, as thick as an oak, furthered this impression. As did his burly, branchlike arms. Only the two dark eyes above his snout, glinting mysteriously, seemed to belong to a different sort of being.
    Just then the monster roared, a wrathful blast of sound that flattened the grass. The pair of drumalings who had been pursuing Tamwyn had already stopped short when they saw the hairy giant. Now they turned and hurried away, their roots slamming against the ground.
    Meanwhile, the huge beast’s hands, each with seven long fingers, opened toward Tamwyn. He knew that in another instant they would close around his neck or crush his skull. There wasn’t time to grab his dagger or his staff, let alone try to escape.
    I’m sorry, Elli. So very—
    The long fingers reached him. But instead of wrapping around his neck or his skull, they grabbed his shoulders—and lifted him straight up into the air. Tamwyn struggled, trying with all his might to wriggle free before the creature could eat him. From the size of that snout, it would take only a few bites. Yet as hard as he tried to break free, he only felt the fingers’ grip tighten.
    The hunchbacked giant studied him, dark eyes gleaming. Then, just as Tamwyn expected to see the jaws open wide, he saw instead the creature’s lips curl into a quite human expression of puzzlement. At the same time, Tamwyn suddenly heard the creature’s thoughts, spoken in a rich bass voice.
    Well now, Palimyst. What have you collected today?
    Although he had long grown accustomed to hearing the thoughts of other kinds of beings, and understanding their languages, Tamwyn wasn’t at all sure that he’d heard correctly. Collected ? What does that mean ?
    The creature’s puzzlement seemed to deepen. Then, in a deep, rolling growl, it spoke directly to Tamwyn. “You arrrrre an intelligent one, I rrrrrealize that now. Yet neverrrrr have I seen the likes of you beforrrrre.”
    Without warning, the hairy beast released his grip on Tamwyn’s shoulders. The young man dropped back to the ground, landing with a thud on the grass. Tamwyn groaned as the torch pole jammed into his back. But he swiftly rolled to the side and bounced to his feet, ready to run away at any sign of hostility.
    “What—I mean, who—are you?” Tamwyn asked, growling in the language of this strange giant.
    A deep, bubbling growl filled the air, which Tamwyn sensed was really a kind of laughter. “That is the verrrrry question I have forrrrr you, my little two-leggerrrrr! Yet since you arrrrre, I suspect, a visitorrrrr to this rrrrrealm, I shall answerrrrr yourrrrr question firrrrrst.”
    With a sweep of an immense arm, he declared, “I am Palimyst, of the Taliwonn people. A crrrrraftsman I am—and also a collectorrrrr.”
    Still a bit nervous about that term, Tamwyn asked, “And just what do you collect?”
    “One question at a time, little one.” Palimyst bent his broad leg briefly, then straightened up again—what Tamwyn guessed was a bow of greeting. “Welcome to Holosarrrrr, ourrrrr name forrrrr this land. It means the lowest rrrrrealm, since we arrrrre the bottommost brrrrranch on the Grrrrreat Trrrrree.”
    Tamwyn gave his own version of a bow. “My name is Tamwyn Eopia, a human. And I come from a realm even lower than yours: a root of this very Tree.”
    Palimyst started at this news, taking a small hop backward. “A rrrrrealm of the rrrrroots? You speak the trrrrruth, Tamwyn Eopia?”
    “I do.”
    “Small as you arrrrre, you have climbed so verrrrry high?”
    “I have.” Tamwyn’s gaze lifted to the rocky ridge above them, and then higher, to the bright lights in the