Murderous Giants

A Story by SGvE

This is the tale of nine knights who make their way to slay murderous giants.

The group of nine armored knights made their way to the top of the ice covered mountain. Although their outward appearance of bravado would say otherwise, each were terrified. They were all told the tales of the murderous giants as young men, but it wasn’t until recently that the stories were found to be truthful. Some citizens had claimed to see large creatures roaming around at the top of this mountain. Several brave men attempted to see for themselves. They were never seen again. After hearing this, King Albert promptly sent out the group of knights to slay the evil creatures.

The men worked on patrolling the city, so the worst battle they’d ever been in was with a bear. None of them believed they were ready to fight face to face with a giant creature. Their usually overly confident state of mind was altered. One of the men was so badly shaken that halfway up he had slipped and fell of the side. The rest stopped and said a quick prayer, but knew that nothing could be done for the unfortunate knight. Not too much later, the men ran into a pack of wolves. Despite their thick armor, the wolves were able to badly injure two of the men badly enough to impair their movement. It could have been cowardice, or it could have been their understanding of the situation, but they all agreed that the two men were dead weight and would be left here. The six men continued up the mountain, with even more terror than before.

Soon, it began to rain. The already difficult path was impossible to continue on. The men stopped and huddled together and waited. After several hours it was clear that the rain wasn’t going to stop for a long while. The men took turns sleeping. The next morning the rain had finally stopped. Though the roads were dangerous, they had to continue. As they started to leave, they noticed that one knight was still sleeping. After checking on him, they came to the conclusion that he was not breathing. His blue skin made it obvious he died from frostbite. The men continued. The remaining men were cold, wet, tired, and scared. Their morale was abysmal. Before they walked a mile more, one man said that he wasn’t going to make it much longer, his skinny body wasn’t providing him with enough heat. He said that he couldn’t bare the torture and asked one to end his suffering. One pitying knight sliced his head off with one swing of his long sword. The four men hesitantly continued.

By now, the knights were only hours away from the top of the mountain. With their lack of food, water, and heat, their chances of survival were slim. They came to the conclusion that they needed water immediately, or they wouldn’t be able to battle even a small wolf. Half wanted to eat the snow for water, but the other half warned against it, because it would make them even colder. Desperate the two grabbed handfuls of the snow and ate them. They quickly regretted their decisions when their bodies weren’t able to provide enough heat. The two men died. The two knights looked at each other. They knew that they alone would not be able to slay any giant. One of the knights said that he would not continue and ran back down the mountain. Although the odds against him, the one knight continued and made it to the top of the mountain. The top wasn’t very large, maybe a mile. He searched the entire mountain and didn’t see any creature. The knight was happy because he did not have to battle a giant, but was upset that all the knights sacrificed their lives dying for a threat that never was. The knight made a fire and slept for several hours and then made his way back down to his horse, leaving his excessive armor behind. Halfway down, he saw that the knight who left him was lying dead on the ground. The soldier was able to make it back down the horse. He ate the fruit and berries in the bags they had brought on the horse and then made his way back to the king.

As he entered the town with his horse alone, the townspeople looked in awe. He was the survivor. The people applauded. They believed that he had slain the giant. Once he finally got to King Albert he asked the knight “Where are the rest of your brothers?”

The knight thought about how he would tell the King that there was no giant and that the soldiers died for nothing. Finally, the knight said “They died in our fight. The giants are gone. There is no threat and our town is safe.”

The lying knight’s tale was spread across the land. The lie made him and the rest of the knights appear brave and victorious. The lie might have made him and the other knights a hero, but the knight was burdened with the truth for the rest of his life.