by Shawn Muller
“Unfair would be for us to attack you fully dressed in our battle armour, fully armed with weapons. Your small city would not last a full day under such an attack.”
“Probably. So why attack us at all?”
“You humans think it’s a rite of passage for us. It is not so. We have been observing your kind for generations. We feel a kinship with you. We are merely helping you with training, developing your talents and leaders to fully realise their potential, as has happened to you. But I sense that you are not for this land. No, you are a foreigner here, hence the wicked traps that befouled us.”
“So, your attacks are there to help us? Surely you could have chosen a less brutal and bloody way?” I asked.
“Perhaps, but it became a tradition for us, to see who would be able to find a worthy leader among your kind to make contact with. It seems that that honour has befallen on me.”
“Contact with us? Through fighting and losing like that? Your methods seem very illogical to say the least. Surely there is a more civilised way to make this contact?” I asked confused.
“Yes there probably is. Yet our shaman have dictated our conduct to you humans for many a generation. And in our illogical way, I have found a worthy advisory in you sir. And through you we will make peaceful contact and end these raids. Our training is now complete,” it explained.
“I find this hard to believe. It is true, I am a foreigner here, and I was led to believe that your kind are nothing but animals that enjoy the death and destruction you inflict on us. But here I am, holding a deep conversation with you, with you telling me that the raids can be ended? It seems too real to be true,” I said shaking my head.
“Believe me or not, it is the truth which I speak. Within the next week a much larger band of twenty trolls will embark on a raid, maybe sooner seeing as none of my band will return. I give you this warning in good faith. If I could meet with them they would not fight you, instead leave and report that the training has been completed.”
“I somehow doubt that the prince will just let you lose like that. Even though you are my prisoner, I have an obligation to the prince to protect his people,” I explained.
“How may I earn your trust then? I do not even know the name of my capturer. I am called Fremod, tenth son of Rodic, the King of all Trolls.”
I looked over the prone body of Fremod at Thackeray as he looked equally dumbstruck at me. If we had captured royalty, we may be knee deep in shit soon with the trolls.
“I see the shock and worry on your face. Please do not worry. We, the trolls know of the risks involved in coming here. I have lost two brothers through the years of raids here. We do not hold your kind responsible for those.”
“Right,” I replied dubiously. “My name is Bob and I am the captain of the Ghost Platoon, the ones responsible for your capture and the death of the other trolls on this raid,” I told Fremod.
“I am honoured Bob. Please tell your companion to move to the front of me, I wish to sit up and do not want to injure him.”
Thackeray quickly joined me, standing directly behind me while Fremod flexed his arm muscles a few times before giving the chain a violent jerk. The chains around his arms snapped, metal screeching as it was stretched beyond its limits. The chains around his ankles fell loose around him as he stretched his entire frame out on the floor, working out the knots that had started to form while being tied up. Just as quick as the snapping of the chains, he sat up and faced me, calmly crossed his legs and bowed low, head touching the floor. Men in various states of dress, burst through the doors, all carrying weapons. I held up a hand to tell them to wait.
“Bob, commander of The Ghost Platoon, I, Fremod the tenth son of Rodic the King of all Trolls, declare my life yours to use as you see fit. I will lay my life down in defence of yours and of your men’s. Accept my life as your own,” Fremod’s declaration, heard by all of Ghost Platoon, came as a deep shock to me.
“Fremod, I accept you, as an individual, not as a tool to use or a life to throw away. You are welcome to join us in the company. You will have to work as hard as everybody else here, probably harder to prove your loyalty to me, but I accept you.”
A few men dropped their weapons in astonishment.
“Going to need a lot of material to cover his arse,” was all I heard from Max, which caused us all to burst out laughing in relief.
Fremod sat up straight once more, a relieved look on his face as well. He turned towards the rest of the platoon and solemnly swore to them as well.
“My new-found brothers, accept my pledge to treat you as my own, to protect you as I would my own flesh and blood. I swear to you on my life, you are my new family,” he ended that by scratching his forearm open with a nail, drawing blood and holding it out for all to see.
I was the first to react. I drew my dagger and made a small cut on my forearm as well, and clasped Fremod’s arm, forearm to forearm. There and then the others followed, all cutting themselves and clasping Fremod’s arm, and each other’s arms. We were all now blood brothers.
“Sorry to interrupt this soppy sight, but you’re messing on the floor,” Hioki said holding out her forearm as well for us to shake.
Smiling at her supposed hard-arse attitude, we all shook her forearm as well. After that rather emotional event, we all got ready to go up to the feast hosted by the prince.
After a quick discussion, I decided to leave Fremod behind with Thackeray. The two seemed to have formed a quick friendship, probably due to Thackeray sharing his rum with Fremod and nobody else, but most likely because of the healing the wizard had performed on Fremod. I didn’t think that the prince and his commanders were quite ready to have a troll over for supper.
The feast dragged on for some time. We were all rather subdued while the lords and ladies were loud and jovial about the day’s events. Towards the end of the feast, I pulled Jeroch to one side and informed him of what had happened. He paled as I relayed the entire events to him, right down to the blood bonds we had made.
“I cannot believe this. The prince will be most unhappy with this development.”
“Then he is an idiot. This can end a stupid cycle of violence once and for all. That’s what he wants isn’t it? No more loss of life and potential to gain powerful allies?”
“We have too much bad blood between us and the trolls to forgive them, no matter their excuses,” Jeroch hissed through clenched teeth.
“With respect, sir, then you are an idiot too.” With that I brushed past him and headed back to the eating tables.
I had lost my appetite and not long after the conversation with Jeroch, I excused us and headed back to the HQ. On the way back, I called Farpae one side. I wanted to get his opinion on the whole scenario seeing as he had lost somebody close to him thanks to the trolls.
“Well, Bob, I don’t feel comfortable with us making peace with the trolls, but that’s just bad blood talking. It would make sense for us to finally declare a truce to end the bloodshed. But it would also take many years for all the fear and hatred to end as well. Whether or not the people would accept an end? I think they would. Whether or not they would accept a troll walking free in the streets? I don’t think they are ready for that. Fremod will cause issues and friction within the nobility, especially those who view you as a threat to them for whatever reason. I suggest we keep him hidden for a few days and let the prince decide what to do.”
I thanked him and walked my horse to the head of the platoon where I was lost deep in thought about all that was said.I tossed and turned and finally gave up sleeping. I threw on warm clothes and walked outside to see to the guards who were patrolling our HQ. The night was quiet, not a breath of wind and not a cloud in the sky. I looked over the lake, the moon reflecting its half-moon shape over the still waters. Life seemed so peaceful - often just an illusion nature showed us. Sometimes to tease us about how complicated we made our own lives.
With a sigh, I headed back to the barracks, my feet taking me to the training
hall without me realising it. I hesitated before the double doors, not wanting to disturb Fremod inside. Finally I knocked gently on the door. I heard movement within before I heard a whispered voice giving me permission to enter. I opened the door and quickly went in and closed the door before much of the warm air could escape into the cold night outside.
“I see you too could not sleep,” Fremod spoke first.
“Yep. I have too much on my mind to get any sleep.”
“It seems that my presence here is causing discomfort to you.”
“No, not your presence but the history between your people and the humans here,” I said sadly.
“I see. Too much bad blood is never easy to get rid of. I cannot say I blame the people if they would not accept me or peace with us.”
“It will be a problem yes, but one that will have to be faced sooner or later, much sooner than later. Before the next troll raids, before more blood is shed.”
“Wise words Bob. Tell me more about yourself, and where you come from?” He asked me after a short pause.
I spent the next few hours talking to Fremod about Earth and how Max, Titanius, Deez and I found us here on this strange world. Fremod listened to my story with rapt attention. I could tell that he was deeply intelligent - more a scholar than a fighter. But I could also tell that his loyalty to me, to the platoon as a whole was genuine. I had nothing to fear from him as he had nothing to fear from us.
Dawn broke, and with that the platoon went out for the morning jog followed by our daily exercise routine and a quick lap on the obstacle course.
Afterwards we joined Fremod in the dining hall for breakfast. It was a bit of a squeeze for him, but he sat on the floor, legs crossed once again. To our surprise, he was a vegetarian. Despite popular belief, King Trolls rarely ate meat, instead eating a rich diet of dairy products they got from mountain cattle, and a particular nut and berry that had a high protein content that they grew on vast farms well to the south of us in deep mountain valleys.
The same couldn’t be said for the other troll races, who loved the taste of meat, especially the poor Plains Trolls.
The debriefing afterwards, held in the training hall, was awkward at first. But Fremod contributed to the meeting and was helpful in spotting flaws. At the end of the session, near lunch time, I had a request from Prince Marcus to meet with him in his study as soon as possible. Steeling myself for a showdown with regards to Fremod, I made my way to him, leaving Max in charge of hand-to-hand combat practice.
“Please, Bob, do sit down.” Prince Marcus indicated to a chair opposite his table.
A servant poured wine from a beautifully crafted crystal decanter, which I accepted.
The servant was dismissed with a nod by the prince who waited until the study doors were closed.
“Jeroch informed me of your, new recruit, if I can put it that way.”
“Yes sir.”
“Tell me everything that happened after the battle,” the prince said.
I told him in detail all that was said and done, showing him the still-fresh cut on my arm as proof as well. He stood up from his desk and walked over to a window, hands clasped behind his back he looked out over the city.
“You have left me in a very difficult position,” he began. “On one hand you may have ended the raids, and far exceeded my expectation of your little venture. Never mind what your critics would say to that, probably choke on their wine at the very news,” he laughed.
“But, like Jeroch said there is a lot of bad blood. A lot of loved ones lost and property destroyed over many, many years for this just to be swept under the carpet. And now you have a troll, of all things, in your company, a bloody King Troll and their king’s son as well. It does complicate matters somewhat. But, as my father use to tell me often as a young boy, a ruler’s life is never easy nor fair, don’t expect it to be,” he turned to me and walked back to his desk where he fell heavily into his chair.
“This is what I propose to do. I will double the guards around your headquarters, with a company stationed within the palisade wall. The troll will be guarded at all times by your men. The slightest hint of trouble, it will be killed on the spot.”
I kept my gaze steady as he spoke further, not moving my eyes off of his.
“Until such time as he has proven he is no threat, those orders stand. Furthermore, I want your company, troll included, to meet with the next troll raiders on the beach itself. If what he says is true, then the raiders will turn around and leave peacefully. If not and they attack you and your new member turns on you, well, I think the punishment will be fitting.”
My jaw worked as I clenched my teeth at these orders, but orders were orders. If that’s what it took for everybody to believe Fremod like we did, then so be it.
“Is this understood, Captain Robert?” Prince Marcus asked, all friendship temporarily forgotten.
“Sir, yes sir,” I saluted him, agreeing to it, not that I had much choice.
I stood up, ready to leave, when Prince Marcus spoke gently to me.
“My friend, I believe you, but others in the courts do not. I know you will not fail me.”
Nodding my understanding, I left him and rode back slowly to the HQ. Once again, my mind raced in preparation for what was to come.
And there we were about a week later as Fremod had said, waiting on the shoreline of the island where the second, larger band of trolls would emerge from a dense fog. The lake’s water had frozen over quite thick by now, and heavy snow had fallen a few days ago. This did complicate matters a bit, as the snow would render our booby traps ineffective. I had Farpae lead a large workforce to clear most of the snow away from our killing grounds and where our main line of withdrawal would be, should things go pear-shaped for us today. Hopefully the thin layer of remaining snow would not interfere too much with our traps and plans.
I stood about twenty metres from the frozen lake’s edge, with Fremod directly behind me and Thackeray behind him - to my right stood Titanius and Carl, to my left Sandstone and Pebbles. The rest of the platoon was well hidden around us in camouflaged foxholes. Farpae was once again leading the battalion of heavy infantry. This time Smoothie and a small squad of mages were there to back him up together with more Scorpions.
“This fog isn’t natural,” Thackeray grumbled behind us.
“It is true. I feel the power of a shaman among the trolls,” Fremod agreed.
“Can you do something about it?” I asked Thackeray.
“I’ll try, never been any good with nature-related magic.”
I heard him start to mumble a spell under his breath while I tried to peer through the fog. The icy cold early morning air cut through me as u waited for something to happen.
We were dressed in our winter combat fatigues with a simple breastplate strapped to us under thick leather jackets lined with fur. We had opted for plain leather gloves, not too heavily padded as that would restrict us too much if it came to fighting. Fremod also wore combat fatigues, and a plain white woollen jersey. He never wore any boots, preferring to walk around barefoot, even though there was thick snow and ice all around. Hioki hadn’t been able to make him any armour yet as she was still trying to make ours. Instead he just strapped thick untreated, cow hide around his torso.
I was once again armed with my broadsword; the dwarves with their Lochaber axes; Carl with his double-bladed war axe; Titanius a huge, two-handed long sword; and Fremod with a modified maul, its handle as tall as I was and the hammer’s head itself a huge mass of iron which required four men to lift. He had it resting in front of him, the head on the floor and his hands crossed on the butt, seeming at rest, but I could hear his arm muscles flexing under the jersey. I left my sword sheathed as I didn’t want to give the impression of us waiting to attack them.
This was supposed to be the defining moment in history, where troll and man finally met and lived in peace. Time would tell if it would work, but first we had to make a successful first contact right here on th
e shore, with booby traps all around us and huge trolls with murderous intent in front of us.
“The best I can do is push the fog away from us and to stop if from coming on shore,” Thackeray said his voice strained.
“Thanks, I’m sure that it would do.” I replied.
I stood there in an eerie morning gloom, shivering as the icy wind blew straight through me, when I spotted faint shapes in distance, slowly moving towards us. Without warning, the fog bank disappeared to reveal a warm, sunny day, and the group of huge trolls approaching us. When they saw us, they halted in their tracks, not sure of what was before them. One troll pushed his way forward, turned to the others and seemed to say harsh things at them, gesturing towards us before walking rather quickly in our direction. He stopped a few metres before the beach, still standing on the ice, and looked at us with a cruel sneer. He spoke to Fremod in a deep, guttural language, his body language threatening. The rest of the group approached and stood farther back from him, two other trolls dared approach to stand side by side with the first troll, both looking at us with contempt.
