The Giant Amoung Us by Troy Denning is book two in The Twilight Giants trilogy.
And now that sanctuary is about to end.
The queen is trapped in a remote citadel, surrounded by giants, and the scout who would save her must now leave her and undertake a harrowing journey to summon help. Only, as the scout soon learns, the greatest danger to the queen is posed not from without, but from within.[1]Summary[]
Frost, hill, and fog giants converge on the keep of Earl Cuthbert. In response to a plea for aid, Princess Brianna Burdun travels there with the Winter Wolves led by Captain Selwyn. She brings Tavis Burdun, now her bodyguard sworn to kill her with a golden arrow if she is taken, and also Avner and Basil. On the way, they encounter Arlien of Gilthwit, a legendary country north of Hartwick, who is actually the ettin Julian and Arno in disguise as a human thanks to enchanted armor.
The giants lay siege to Cuthbert’s castle, forcing Tavis to go to Castle Hartwick to rally the Queen’s Guard. However, this was part of the giant’s plan. They caught Tavis in an ambush led by Gavoriel the stone giant, his son Odion, and a force of frost giants. The plan was to kill Tavis and have Julain and Arno kidnap Brianna, with the help of a magic potion that dulled her mind and made her suggestible, and a necklace of ice diamonds that suppressed her emotions. Avner discovers this plan, but flees the castle without notifying anyone.
Tavis kills Gavoriel, sends Odion back to the stone giants, and uses a magic mask given to him by Basil to impersonate Gavoriel, convincing the frost giant leader, a warrior named Hagamil and a shaman named Halflook who share a body, that Tavis is dead. Basil uncovers the story of the Twilight Spirit and the death of the giant’s progenitors, discovering Arlien’s true identity. Cuthbert does not believe Basil fully, but posts guards, preventing Julian and Arno from kidnapping Brianna as expected. They plan instead to attack the castle and abduct her in the process.
Tavis, with help from Avner and the traell people, kills Arno, but is badly wounded. Avner rides Graytusk the mammoth back to the Cuthbert castle, returning Tavis, but Arlien returns as well. Basil cures Brianna of the love potion Arlien fed her, and battle breaks out. In the battle, Selwyn and Cuthbert are slain, as the giants break into the castle, but Hagamil/Halflook are killed, Brianna and Tavis kill Julian using the golden arrow and his magic warhammer, the Queen’s Guard arrives thanks to Eamon Drake, a youth Tavis sent to help, the giants are driven back, and Brianna pledges her love to Tavis.
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