Many centuries ago, there was a small village at the base of the mountains. In that village lived a clan of dwarves under the name of Delaidh. They were a strong folk, but they were also very hospitable. They would welcome any visitor with open arms, and they were called the friendliest dwarves ever.
One day, the dwarves were astonished to find a giant wandering at the edge of their city. He was crying tears so big they created puddles wherever they hit. Of course, the dwarves went towards the giant and asked him what was wrong.
“I was living with other dwarves, but then their village was attacked and destroyed. Now I am lonely again.” The giant sobbed louder.
“You can stay with us, nir giant.” said the patriarch of the Delaidh clan. “That way you will not be lonely.”
The giant sighed heavily. “Thank you, little ones. I would love to live here with such kind friends.” He then sat down on the ground, causing the earth to shake. “Most dwarves tell me to stay away. I am big and stupid and know little of the world, so I don’t understand why they are mean to me.”
“We will not be mean to you, nir giant.” the dwarves replied. “You are a good friend and we will help keep you safe.”
But one dwarf, a Dhoran Delaidh, was curious about what had happened to the dwarf village. “What happened to your old friends?”
The giant began to sob again, and Dhoran’s elders scolded him for being so rude to their guest.
The giant replied, “Many people came and broke their homes to pieces. It was very sad and I miss my friends.” He then sobbed so loudly that the dwarves’ ears rung.
So the giant lived at the edge of the village, where he was given food and water. Some of the dwarf children would play with him, and he would carefully put them on his shoulder so they could see the white peaks of the mountains.
Dhoran was not very convinced of the giant’s story, but the giant didn’t do anything suspicious. He spent some nights watching the giant while the rest of the village slept; still nothing. He volunteered to give the giant food to see if he would be greedy, but the giant took only what was offered and never complained.
One day, the village woke up to the sounds of loud cheering. Getting their clothes on and rushing outside, they saw the giant hugging another giant.
“Friends, look!” the giant shouted joyfully, “One of my friends survived the battle!” He gestured to the other giant.
The dwarves noticed that the other giant had several small gashes all over his legs and hands. Well, small for a giant; some of them were big enough that a dwarf could stick their head in them. A couple of priests began to tend to their wounds.
Dhoran grumbled, “We don’t have enough food to feed two giants. If we try to feed them until the winter, we’ll all starve.”
The giants began to look at each other sadly. “We have nowhere else to go, but if we must...”
The patriarch gave Dhoran a stern look and replied, “We will need you to help grow food for us and help us with some tasks, but we should manage. We’ve been through hardship before; we’ll survive this time too.”
So the giants helped make the dwarves’ mushroom jelly and helped grow grass to feed the dwarves’ cattle and helped build the dwarves’ buildings. They never complained about the work, and they always tried to be polite when talking with the dwarves.
Dhoran was still not convinced, and one day he asked the giants what had attacked the village. “Just so we could be prepared,” he claimed. They both gave each other a sad look and then the first one said, “We are big, and stupid, and know little of the world, but they were smaller than us.”
Thinking of the cruel goblins that once attacked the village when he was little, Dhoran asked if it was goblins. “Oh yes! That’s what they were called.” the giants replied. “They were very mean and they destroyed everything.”
Dhoran went away, but he thought it strange that goblins would destroy a stone building.
Later, Dhoran followed the giants as they helped build a stone wall. He noticed that the giants were using large chunks of rock that only they could move, not the smaller stones the dwarves carried. He asked the giants why they were using large chunks of rock.
“The gobleens (goblins?) ripped apart the big rocks, and we are big and stupid and know little of the ways of the world. Our hands were not made to make nice walls.” They then continued placing large rocks. Dhoran left them there, wondering why they would use stones only they could lift.
The next day, a dwarf wearing the clanmark of a nearby village wandered into town, scarred and wounded. He collapsed to the ground, and Dhoran and a priest found him there. The priest did his best, and due to the intervention of Mordarin, the dwarf was able to answer one question before he died.
Dhoran spoke up and asked, “What caused the death of your village?”
The dwarf whispered into Dhoran’s ear, “Giants! They came to our village crying, saying they were chased from their home. They helped make our jelly, grow our grass, build our walls and houses. They then ripped them apart in the night and crushed anyone who stayed.” Then the dwarf passed into the halls of his forebears.
The two were shocked and ran back to the village, but it was already too late. The two giants, having already ripped apart the walls, were already tearing into the village. They stomped and crushed hundreds of dwarves, and many of them were sent to the depths of Kaileild for their stupidity.
As the giants finished their job and Dhoran and the priest fled, the victors looked up to the sky and shouted:
"We may be big, and stupid, and know little of the ways of the world, but we do know more than you, dead ones!"
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