The morning came, sweeping a new coldness across the land. There was something about this morning, the way the wind wrapped around them, the way the clouds parted to reveal the blue-silver of the heavens, the way Entalia wrapped herself around Adam and rested her head against his.

“Entalia, please…” Adam sighed. He had started to become used to Entalia’s antics, though they still bothered him. “I’ll be careful whenever you drink from now on.”

“How hurtful,” Entalia replied, slipping away from him. “Do you believe I’m doing this because I’m drunk?”

“Yeah?” Adam replied. What else could be the reason.

Entalia looked at him for a long while. “Oh, you’re one of those.”

“One of those?”

“You’re like fresh snow waiting to be treaded upon.”

Adam narrowed his eyes, unsure of what she meant by that. Entalia smiled, the same smile which hid her thoughts from him. He shook his head at her and then turned away from her, walking towards the giants and the rest of the group.

“Are you ready to leave?” Greffenhelm turned to Adam, bowing his head to look down at the half-elf.

“I’m ready.” Adam nodded.

Greffenhelm turned to Entalia, sharing a nod with her, before he turned. “Bring the tri-horns,” Greffenhelm called out, his voice booming across the mountain, reaching out a hand to command his soldiers.

Then a gentle cry crept through the air before it flooded the outpost. Greffenhelm turned to the dwarf, who was currently trying to soothe the crying child. Redboulder looked up to Greffenhelm, who bowed his head apologetically.

As Redboulder soothed the child, Adam’s ears twitched as he heard the heavy thumping in the distance. He turned to see a group of large creatures approaching, a pair of them pulling a carriage each. They were huge creatures, larger than any frost giant, with hunched backs, a long tail, an open fan atop its skull, and three horns peeking out of its head.

“Is that a god damn triceratops?” Adam whispered.

“What?” Ylra asked.

“Nothing.”

“The carriages will provide you warmth, and they will be quicker than moving on foot.” Greffenhelm motioned with an arm to allow them to climb into a carriage. Rojer, Elowen, Redboulder and Ylra entered a carriage. Adam was about to enter when Entalia dragged him away to another. As she shut the door, a giant gauntleted fist stopped it as Greffenhelm intruded inside. Adam nodded towards the giant, quickly slinking away to one of the seats.

The inside of the carriage held two small lanterns on either sides, gently illuminating the inside. The wood was dark grey, though the blankets were coloured with a myriad of colours. Yellows, reds, pinks, purples, oranges, all melted together with the blankets, providing a stark contrast to the dull whites, greys and blues that he was so used to seeing everywhere. The inside was so large that four giants could fit comfortably within it.

Adam looked out the window to see the other triceratops, or the tri-horns as they called them, flanking alongside them. A giant soldier climbed on top of each one, wielding large spears as they began to move. The carriage shifted from side to side slightly as they moved before it stabilised.

The landscape was still white, grey and blue as it passed by. No longer could they hear the drone of the wind, but the gently tapping of it against the carriage provided them with a low hum, like a gentle opera.

“I see Silvarakken is interested in you,” Greffelhelm said, looking to Adam. “What is your story?”

Silverrakken? “I’m just Adam. No real story.”

“You’re a bronze ranked adventurer.”

“Yes,” Adam replied. “I am.”

“Yet, there is something more to you.” Greffelhelm narrowed his eyes at the half-elf.

“Hands off,” Entalia said, leaning back into her seat. “He’s mine.”

“I am not interested in taking him from you, even if you possess something of our Prince.”

“He’s worth a lot more than a greatsword.”

Adam looked between the two of them. He wasn’t sure how he felt about being treated like an object, but he also didn’t mind that a beautiful woman like Entalia was being so possessive.

‘You really are like fresh snow,’ Bandlor said, looking straight up at Adam from his chest.

‘Shut up.’ Adam blushed.

The journey to the city hadn’t taken too long. They had taken a quick break to eat within their carriages, though Adam wondered why they didn’t continue on their way as they ate. It felt a little past noon by the time they arrived. Greffenhelm allowed Entalia and Adam to step out first, and as Adam’s boots crunched against the soft snow, he looked out in wonder.

There were still atop the mountain, but they looked out into the distance to see a giant city underneath them. There were thousands of buildings, each made of rock, ice, or snow. To their side, embedded within the mountain, was a set of steps leading a set of pillars, which continue into the tunnel and the building, though Adam couldn’t see inside of it.

The group trekked down the mountain towards the city, following the path down the side of the mountain, until it finally came to a large set of gates. The gates shook as they opened for them, a giant pulling some rope to allow them to open.

Standing some metres away were seven giants, four men and three women. Each were topless, only wearing thick furs over their waists, going down to their knees. They were painted all over with tattoos of certain runes. Some of them wore chain belts, whilst others had the skull of some kind of beast around their waist.

One man stood ahead of the rest, and he was the only one who wore anything above his waist, a metal chain painted blue and purple. His beard was thick, covered with all kinds of trinkets, and at his back was a large great-sword.

“Welcome home, Greffenhelm,” the giant with the painted chain said, stepping forward to clasp Greffenhelm’s forearm.

“Not for long, Chief.” Greffenhelm shook the Chief’s arm and then the six giants flanked around the group as Greffenhelm motioned an arm. “The Chief will take you to where you’ll stay, I must inform the Prince of my duty.”

The Chief stepped forward to look over the entire party. “I am Chief Joti, son of Aksak.” He bowed his head. “I greet you, Lady Sansant.”

“I hear your greeting, great Chief,” Elowen replied.

“Allow me to lead you to your resting chambers.” Joti turned, trekking through the city. The homes were all clustered towards the centre of the city, though separated into four quadrants with giant roads between.

Their resting chambers were a single large building, raised up from the ground by three large steps so the building lay higher than the rest. It was made of rock, and the inside was a large room filled with plush blankets and pillows of all manner of colours.

“I will take you to the Prince once I have been called,” Joti said. With that, he left, allowing them to unpack their belongings in peace. The six others remained behind, standing outside.

Adam examined the walls. One wall was covered in runes from the ceiling to the floor, and though they abruptly stopped on the second wall about two thirds down. Ylra stepped beside him, her eyes scanning the runes.

“Can you read them?” Adam asked.

“They’re in giant,” she said, nodding her head. “The language has barely changed, so it’s very easy to read even for me.” She brushed a hand along a set of runes. “The treaty,” she whispered.

“The treaty?” Adam asked.

“This is the name of the treaty which was signed between the Sansant and the giants long ago.”

Adam stared at the runes, though he couldn’t make heads or tails out of them. They were definitely dwarven in nature, though they were slightly different. Some of the runes had been shortened, others had changed entirely so he could barely recognise them.

“Why is the giant language so similar to dwarven?” Adam asked.

Ylra turned to look at him, raising her brow. “Do you know dwarven?” she asked.

“A little.” Adam was fluent in it, but he hadn’t yet revealed that to her.

“The dwarves brought smithing to the giants, and the giants shared their runes of power to the dwarves, who then turned the runes into a language. Some of their gods cross over, and the way they smith are very similar as well.”

Adam raised his brows. “I did not know that.”

“Not many do,” she replied. “Others believe it to be a fairy tale, but it is the history of their people. Some giants consider dwarves their enemies, like the Mu’dai, but most giants are neutral to dwarves. Individual tribes might have alliances with some clans, but otherwise they leave each other alone.”

“What about their culture?” Adam asked.

“Many of their rules and laws crossover. Dwarves have similar laws to the edicts of the giants, though they are much harsher with allowing someone to claim safety under them. Smithing is another similarity, giants have great smithing capabilities, especially the Fyr’dai. Then of course there’s the more obvious similarity.”

“Their height?” Adam joked.

“Their beards.” Ylra smiled.

“That was my second guess.” Adam chuckled. “I did notice that they liked to have beards.”

“It’s not a matter of like, but a matter of not cutting your beard. They feel no need for it. Some enjoy the fashion that comes with their long beards.”

“Maybe I should grow out a beard.”

Ylra narrowed her eyes at him in such a suspicious way that Adam raised his brows in alarm. She shook her head and then walked back to Elowen and the others. Entalia brushed Adam’s hair.

“You speak of such queer things, I can’t help but want to eat you up.” She grinned wide, revealing her pearly white teeth.

“First theft and now cannibalism,” Adam joked.

Adam placed his items to one side before the door was opened and a giant held out a pair of arms covered with heavy cloaks.

“These will keep you warm within our walls,” he said.

Adam looked to Elowen and the others to see they were removing their armour. Adam decided to follow suit, and so did Entalia. Each of them grabbed one of the heavy cloaks, each colourful in their own way. Adam wrapped the yellow cloak around him, and it was as though he was wearing the sun with how warm he was.

“Whoa!” Adam exclaimed in surprise. “I didn’t expect it to be so warm.” The cold was being forced away from him.

“I have never experienced the giant’s magic before, but it’s as amazing as I’ve heard.” Ylra smiled as she wrapped her purple cloak around herself.

“It’s a little too warm for my taste,” Entalia said, leaving her cloak on the ground, laying her armour on top of it.

Joti appeared moments later. “The Prince has asked if you would like to eat first, or if you’d like to meet him?” His eyes were fixed on Elowen, who he had denoted to be the leader of the group.

“I’d like to meet with the Prince, if it is no bother.” Elowen stared back at Joti, who bowed his head.

“Please, follow me.”

The group stepped out to find themselves surrounded by giants, who were trying to catch a glimpse of the strangers. The six giants who had been with the Chief, followed around them, creating a barrier between the strangers and the rest of the giants.

Almost every adult giant was topless, save for those who wore armour, or those that were pregnant. The children walked around in shorts, and some of them wore boots whilst others were barefoot. They seemed to be quite nimble, as a few were climbing up buildings to get a better look.

Joti led them out to the building with the steps the pillars. The steps were large, though the smaller folk like humans and elves could manage, the giants taking them two at a time comfortably.

They entered a hallway, which was lit on each wall every few metres. The hallway led further into the tunnel for a long way, about two hundred metres before there was a set of giant thrones, each raised up, with a man sitting on the closest throne.

He wore heavy furs, white in colour, wrapping around him from head to toe. He also wore a crown atop his head, though it wasn’t made from silver or gold, but rather the same metal with the veins through it. He held a large staff with one hand, though it looked a little like a warhammer with how heavy the top of it looked. It was made of clear ice, though there was a pulsing within it, and it was carved with various runes. Runes seemed to be everywhere here.

He was slightly greyer than the other frost giants he had seen, with runes tattooed all over him. No, not tattooed, some of them were carved into his skin, as those along his face distorted it. His eyes were a piercing blue and silver, much more vibrant than any other giant. Around his neck was a heavy chain amulet, with the symbol of an angry face.

As they approached, they noticed there were also several other thrones all lined up on either side of the hall. There was a frost giant man who sat on one, at his side was a large great-axe. He wore a similar outfit to the other, though his chest was bare. His eyes were glued to the party with a glare.

Joti stopped ahead of them and turned to them. He bowed his head and then took his place to a throne on the other side, so the Prince was now flanked by what seemed to be two Chiefs. Adam concluded the other one was also his son, who was not actually glaring at the party, but Entalia.

“Little Aksak,” Entalia said, raising her head to look up at the frost giant on the throne. “You really have grown old.”

“You watch your tongue, thief!” The frost giant to their right stood up, grabbing his great-axe.

“Nice axe, boy,” Entalia said, smiling at him.

“Sit down, Gutt.” Joti remained seated, but his eyes remained on his brother.

“Don’t talk to me like that, little brother,” Gutt stepped down.

“You should listen to me,” Entalia said. “I put your father on his ass when he was twice the man you are.”

“You should watch your mouth bitch, before I-” Gutt froze and turned. Adam turned to follow his gaze to see Aksak raise his staff. He slammed it into the ground and it echoed through the hall and out into the city. The cry of a child followed, filling the halls and then into the city.

“Sit down,” came the gravelly voice of the old, wisened Prince.