The two men began climbing the staircase, Drake in front, holding the sword raised, ready for any menace. Euro was behind, looking back, his bill hawk axe in the right hand, the raven perched on his left shoulder.
Drake looked down. "The steps are becoming softer, one by one", he said.
"Yes, like mud" remarked Edulcore, looking at his boots sinking in the steps.
And then, all of a sudden, the whole stair collapsed into sand. Euro and the bird took flight instantly, while Drake had the reflex to grasp a narrow overhang from the wall, and remained hanging from there, the sword still in the other hand.
The cloud of sand, before falling on the ground, took shape again, this time like a colossal living statue, made of hard rock. The gigantic hand of the being was closing over Drake, that on his part was trying desperately to defend himself with the sword.
Euro landed over the stretched arm of the giant, and began hammering it with the bill-hawk axe, to no avail.
"Ed, fly away! Fly away!" shouted Drake, as the other hand of the monster, an earth elemental like Nip called it, was ready to slap and smash Ed. He fled at the last moment, when the hand hit the other arm of the giant in a cloud of dust and debris.
As drake jumped over the arm, climbing toward the back of the neck, Ed landed over the monster head, and started again to hit it with the bill-hawk. He was hammering like mad, with the only result of breacking the steel of the axe. "Merda!" he shouted, and then kneeled over, desperate. But then, he noticed that his own drops of sweat, falling on the surface of the rock, where making wisp of smoke andminuscular holes.
Ed smiled, and dove to the ground, where his presence awoke again the water elemental. The mass of water exploded out of the pool, like a geyser able to follow the complex flight path of Ed.
The raven followed his master example, and began to fly in convoluted circles, followed by another constantly changing water tentacle.
And then, at some point, from opposite direction, the two flying beings headed toward one of the leg of the giant, changing direction only at the last moment to avoid impact. the same was not for the water tentacles, that impacted heavily over the rock hard leg.
A big cloud of vapor filled the room. Ed and the raven rocketed up, and the Italian was able to take Drake at mid air as the monster crumbled down below him, vanishing in the water pool.
As the two Vanguardians landed safely over a balcony, the dust clouds settled down, reveling how the two elementals nullified one the other becoming embraced for eternity into a mass of slime.
"A literal giant with clay feet, Ed!" observed Drake.
Ed just snorted, seeing that the corridor, the only way the had to move away, had a big brazier on the opposite end.
