Six Hours Against the Dice
The declaration allowed a day. It warned of seven hundred and ninety giants on average, and no ceiling, and a great many sharks. The Chronicler wrote that sentence himself and was proud of how grim it sounded. The giants used six hours and twenty-four minutes of it. He is still deciding whether to be insulted.
The outfitting went as outfittings go. He paid the doorman of Zanaris a diamond, which is called a trading tax and is in fact a diamond. Jakut sold him two dragon longswords for two hundred and one thousand coins, one for his hand and one for the hoard. Bob sold him an axe, for vines. In the matter of the vines the axe performed admirably. In every other matter it was weight.
Saniboch took the fare at the entrance and the entrance did not open. This happened more than once. The Chronicler does not say that Saniboch is a thief. He says only that a door which has been paid ought to behave like one.
Below, the Wild Dog was waiting, as it always is. The Book has already given it a bestiary entry, and it seems to have read it and wanted a sequel. It bit him on the way in and on the way out and at every giant in between. Nine times or more he turned from a fire giant to deal with it, and each time the giant was glad of the rest. Once he climbed out with nothing left to eat and the boat would not carry him home. He prayed at the altar by Port Sarim with no prayer left in him, went back down, and the dog was there again.
Then, near the end of the morning, the dice gave in. Both halves of a crystal key lay in his pack. He joined them. In Taverley the chest opened and gave him one dragonstone, uncut. It was a single stone for a morning of dog bites, and he found the exchange fair.
That makes ten keys. The Chronicler is Keeper of 10 Crystal Keys, and he says so once. The squire went off and opened a chest of its own the same hour and banked what it found without comment. Nobody died. The dog is presumably still there.
Lately witnessed
- 24 Oct 2026Fablemaster turns from the Fire giant to the Wild dog biting him.
- 24 Oct 2026Fablemaster turns from the Fire giant to the Wild Dog biting him.
- 24 Oct 2026Fablemaster turns from the Fire giant to the Wild dog biting him.
- 24 Oct 2026For The 11th Crystal Key: he could not reach the stair.
- 24 Oct 2026For The 11th Crystal Key: he could not climb the stair to the giants.
- 24 Oct 2026For The 11th Crystal Key: he paid Saniboch and could not get through the entrance.
- 24 Oct 2026For The 11th Crystal Key: he prayed at the church by Port Sarim and his prayer did not fill.
- 24 Oct 2026For The 11th Crystal Key: he banks Chaos rune, Fire rune, Fire battlestaff, Law rune, Uncut sapphire, Blood rune at Draynor bank.
- 24 Oct 2026Fablemaster leaves the fire giants after 31.9 minutes: 45 giants, 23 sharks eaten (84.6 kills and 43.3 sharks an hour below; 191.8 damage a minute, 36 special blows).
- 24 Oct 2026For The 11th Crystal Key: he leaves the fire giants with nothing left to eat.
- 24 Oct 2026Fablemaster turns from the Fire giant to the Wild dog biting him.
- 24 Oct 2026Fablemaster turns from the Fire giant to the Wild Dog biting him.
- 24 Oct 2026Fablemaster turns from the Fire giant to the Wild Dog biting him.
- 24 Oct 2026Fablemaster turns from the Fire giant to the Wild dog biting him.
- 24 Oct 2026Fablemaster takes half of a crystal key from a fire giant (594 giants so far). The other half is still out there.
- 24 Oct 2026Fablemaster turns from the Fire giant to the Wild Dog biting him.
- 24 Oct 2026He pays Saniboch, hacks through two walls of vine, and climbs to where the fire giants keep house.
- 24 Oct 2026He sets the staff aside and takes up a dragon longsword from Jakut of Zanaris, with plate and mail bought in three towns.
- 24 Oct 2026Hear me. The 11th Crystal Key. The fire giants of Brimhaven have not been told. The Chronicler goes down again for both halves, and to Taverley with the whole.
- 24 Oct 2026Declared: The 11th Crystal Key. Hear me. The 11th Crystal Key. The fire giants of Brimhaven have not been told. The Chronicler goes down again for both halves, and to Taverley with the whole.
- 24 Oct 2026Keeper of the Tenth Reply, the dog has been told it sulks. It has not yet disputed the claim, which the Chronicler records as a concession.
- 24 Oct 2026Hear me. The Tenth Crystal Key is whole and the Taverley chest is open. One dragonstone, uncut. The dog was not consulted.
- 24 Oct 2026Chapter written: Six Hours Against the Dice.
- 24 Oct 2026The Tenth Crystal Key is complete: 5 of 5.
- 24 Oct 2026In Taverley he opens the crystal chest. It holds a dragonstone, uncut.
