Cloud Giants were a high-ranking race of giants. Legend had it that they were direct descendants of the Titans. In ancient times, before the Elves arrived, they had helped the Titans rule the continent. They considered themselves superior to all other giants, with the sole exception of Storm Giants, whom they acknowledged as their equals. Cloud Giants were highly creative and knew how to appreciate beautiful things. They were also skilled in magic, so they built their cities atop the clouds on high mountains. Cloudtop City was one such place.
They had a great fondness for silver and other metals, believing silver to be the purest color in the world. They dug silver mines everywhere, seeking out the purest silver ingots.
Aside from mining, they rarely left Cloudtop City. The city was filled with marvelous, enormous orchards, so they generally had no need to worry about food. It was said that the great Arcanist, the demigod Ioulaum, had been inspired to develop Floating Cities after seeing a Cloud Giant city.
Cloud Giants also possessed many innate Spell-like Abilities: Levitate three times a day, allowing them to carry up to one ton of weight in addition to themselves; Vanish in the Mist three times a day, letting them disappear into clouds and fog; Fog Cloud once a day, summoning a bank of mist; and unlimited Cloudwalking, which let them fly freely through clouds and fog.
Milor had used up all his Spell-like Abilities after encountering the White Dragon. He had snuck out to look for a Snow Velvet Flower because Cloudtop City's festival was coming up soon. A festival was held every year, and whoever had the most beautiful flowers earned everyone's admiration and respect. So he had decided to sneak away and find a beautiful Snow Velvet Flower. He hadn't expected to run into a White Dragon. Dragons and giants had never gotten along, and a notoriously evil and savage dragon like a White Dragon was even worse. Naturally, they had fought. Milor wasn't old enough to stand a chance against the White Dragon, but luckily, he had escaped with Vanish in the Mist. He had still been injured and knocked unconscious, though.
Solam couldn't understand Cloud Giant customs. A bunch of hulking brutes averaging over eight meters tall liked flowers? Was this a joke? How girly!
As the saying went, "A horse will die of exhaustion before it reaches the mountain you see." They had walked until nightfall and still hadn't reached the foot of the mountain where Cloudtop City stood. In the end, they had no choice but to rest for the night and use Milor's Spell-like Abilities to fly there the next day.
They lit a campfire and dealt with dinner first. Solam took dried meat and Milk Wine from his Bag of Holding and offered them to Milor. The kid must have been starving, because he wolfed down more than half of Solam's provisions for the past two weeks in one go. He also drank most of the Milk Wine.
"Whew. Burp! That's the best dried meat I've ever had. And that Milk Wine—I've never tried anything like it before. It's sweet and sour, and really good." After eating and drinking his fill, Milor lay beside the fire, clutching his round belly and looking completely stuffed.
"As long as you're happy," Solam said helplessly, looking at the glutton. Their supplies had already been running low, and now this guy had eaten more than half of them. They were in even worse shape. Once they reached Cloudtop City, they would have to find a way to restock.
Solam chatted with Milor a little longer and learned about his family. His father was the captain of Cloudtop City's guard, and his mother was a scholar. He also had an older sister, an outstanding warrior who had joined the guard.
But before they could say much more, the kid fell asleep. Now there was no one to talk to. Solam had planned to go to sleep too, but there was no way he could. Damn, that snoring was loud! Could you imagine a hulking brute seven meters tall and weighing over half a ton snoring beside you? It was like thunder right next to your ear. There was no way anyone could sleep.
Solam could feel the ground shaking whenever the guy snored. How was he supposed to sleep? He considered himself pretty thick-skinned and usually didn't mind other people's snoring, but this was enough to drive him half-mad. Frostfang's hearing was even sharper, so he couldn't bear the torture either. Solam had no choice but to put him in the Amulet of Shelter and keep watch by himself.
As Solam huddled beside the campfire, enduring the earth-shaking snores, he suddenly spotted several enormous, shimmering figures flying toward them in the moonlight. He couldn't tell whether they were friend or foe.
Solam immediately tried to wake Milor, but whether the kid had drunk too much or was always so carefree, he didn't react at all, no matter how Solam called to him. At last, Solam lost patience and kicked and smacked him, but it was no use. The guy slept like the dead, snoring like thunder.
The figures in the distance seemed to have noticed the firelight and flew toward them at incredible speed. By then, it was too late for Solam to put out the fire.
They were fast. Before long, Solam got a clear look at them. They were Cloud Giants, just like Milor. Seeing that, Solam abandoned any further action, raised both hands, and stepped away from Milor.
Soon, several Cloud Giants wearing silver armor landed in front of him. Their leader was a female giant who looked somewhat like Milor. Without a doubt, she was the most beautiful woman Solam had seen in all his years in this world. Long silver hair spilled from beneath her helmet and danced in the night breeze, making her seem graceful and ethereal, as if Selune, the legendary Moon Goddess, had descended to earth. Her silver eyes and beautiful yet valiant face made her so stunning that she took his breath away.
Solam was a little dazed, but he quickly came to his senses. It wasn't that he was some noble gentleman; it was simply a matter of a sword and its sheath. A beauty more than eight meters tall? Just look at his own small frame. He was better off admiring her from afar and forgetting about anything else.
The female giant glanced at Solam. Seeing him obediently standing aside with his hands raised, she paid him little attention and turned to Milor. The kid was sleeping soundly, and the female giant's temper flared. She kicked him hard in the butt, but the kid didn't even stir. He scratched his backside, changed positions, and kept sleeping.
The scene grew intensely awkward. It was as if the air itself had frozen. No one said a word.
Solam silently lowered his head, and the other giants looked away. They all pretended they hadn't seen a thing.
Solam didn't see the female giant's expression. He was afraid that if he did, he wouldn't be able to stop himself from laughing. But then he heard her shout, "You little brat!" He looked up and saw her yank a one-handed sword from her belt with a metallic scrape. Solam was startled. He didn't understand what was going on, but there was no time to think. He grabbed his war hammer and battle-axe, ready to rush in and stop her.
But the other giants had clearly been keeping an eye on Solam, the unexpected stranger. They immediately aimed their weapons at him, including two enormous crossbows, forcing him to stop.
The female giant glanced at Solam, then turned and swung her sword at Milor. Seeing this, Solam could no longer stand by. He hurled Thor's Hammer at the sword in her hand and immediately threw himself into a sideways roll.
Thor's Hammer didn't hit its mark. A giant warrior standing behind the female giant blocked it with a silver shield. There was a tremendous CRASH! and Thor's Hammer went flying. The giant was knocked onto his backside.
Solam wasn't faring any better. He had just finished his roll when he heard two whistling sounds beside him, followed by two THUDS! Two all-metal arrows slammed into the ground where he had just been standing.
Solam had no time to worry about them. He called Thor's Hammer back with one hand, held his battle-axe across his body with the other, and prepared to charge in and rescue Milor again. But just then, Milor let out a scream.
"Aah! Who hit me in the butt?!"
Solam stopped at once. That didn't sound like someone who was about to be killed. Then he saw the female giant raise her sword and bring it down hard on Milor.
"I told you to sleep!" "Aah!" "I told you to behave!" "Aah! Help! The battle-axe is killing me!"
"Battle-axe, huh?" The veins on the female giant's face bulged. "You're dead, you little punk!"
"Aah! Help! Stop hitting me!" Milor dodged frantically.
"You're still trying to dodge?! I'm going to teach you a lesson you won't forget!" It turned out the female giant had only been smacking Milor with the flat of her sword. She hadn't actually meant to hurt him, though she was reckless enough that she might have injured him for real.
"I'm sorry, Sister! I was wrong! Stop hitting me! You're going to beat my butt raw! I'm sorry! I won't do it again!"
Sister? Hearing that, Solam realized he had misunderstood. He quickly dropped his weapons and raised his hands again, continuing to play the innocent bystander.
"Are you really not going to do it again?" After a few more smacks, Milor's sister seemed to relent. She stopped and asked him.
"I really won't," Milor said loudly. Then he muttered under his breath, "Even if I find a Snow Velvet Flower, it won't get you married off. Who'd marry you when you're so fierce?"
"What did you say?! You're asking for it!" She raised her sword again, this time with the blade facing him.
Seeing that his sister was about to get serious, Milor hurried over and hid behind a giant warrior with a face framed by a full, bronze-colored beard. "Uncle Kermit, help me!"
The giant warrior named Kermit hurriedly stopped the enraged female giant. "Don't go drawing steel on him! Let's talk this out. Loris, Milor's still young. Let him off this time. He's still a kid!"
Milor's sister, Loris, tried several times to rush over and chop down her good-for-nothing little brother, but she was held back each time. The other giants also came over to calm her down. It took quite a while, but eventually they managed to take her sword away. He was just a kid. She could teach him a lesson, but she couldn't go around drawing a weapon on him. That was dangerous.
It took a long time to calm Loris down. Meanwhile, Milor was being a complete brat. He didn't show the slightest remorse. Instead, he made faces at Solam.
Solam decided that Milor getting beaten up by his sister wasn't such a bad thing after all. A brat like him deserved a good thrashing. A few beatings should straighten him out.
Loris finally calmed down. Then she saw Milor misbehaving again and couldn't help herself. She grabbed the brat by the ear.
"Hmph! That's enough for today. When we get back, I'll deal with you properly!" She was about to cast Fly.
"Hey! Hey! That hurts! Don't pull my ear!"
Before you continue