by Scott
“Come on, let's get going. I don't want to be hunting this thing in the dark,” Saeter said.
“I don’t want to hunt-ss it at all,” Blacknail muttered to himself.
But he walked up to where his master was standing and sniffed the ground. Sure enough, he could smell the troll. This was definitely where it had left the water. The hobgoblin didn't see a single visual sign though. He had no idea how Saeter had found it, and before he could ask, the grey-haired man was forging ahead.
The troll had headed through the trees and uphill. Pines and a scattering of other scraggly trees grew from a rocky upward slope. Large stones jutted out from the sides of the nearby hills, like cold grey bones from torn flesh.
The way was steep and difficult because the rocky ground made for treacherous footing. It came loose and crumbled under the bandits’ feet as they tried to make their way up. Soon, the climb took a toll on everyone, and they grew tired. Blacknail was the best off. His light, lanky build made the journey easier for him.
Saeter called for a stop when everyone started to show signs of exhaustion. Heavy wheezing filled the air as all the nearby bandits tried to suck down as much air as possible. As they had made their way up the hill, the trees had grown thinner and thinner, until mostly only bushes remained.
From where he had stopped to rest and sit on a rock, Blacknail heard movement from up above. He hissed in alarm and leapt to his feet. An image of a ferocious, bloody, clawed troll jumping on him from above popped into the hobgoblin’s mind. It would massacre them all in seconds!
A small shower of rocks rained down on Blacknail from the ledge above. They banged loudly against each other and threw up dust as they fell. As Blacknail jumped aside to avoid them, he got a better look at the ledge they had fallen from.
He felt a stab of fear in his chest when he noticed a creature staring at him. Two large, dangerous-looking horns rose from its head and curled back behind its ears. Its body was covered in grey hair, and it gazed at the bandits with narrowed, malevolent eyes. It even had a beardlike tuft of hair growing from its chin.
“Baaaah,” it growled angrily at the hobgoblin as it reared onto its back legs in challenge. Clearly the savage beast was hungry for human, and goblin, flesh.
It had four hooves like a horse but didn’t look quite as stupid, evil, and twisted. Blacknail slowly reached for his blade and began to slide it from its sheath. He intended to strike first and kill it before it could attack them, but Saeter walked up and placed a restraining hand on his shoulder.
“It's a wild goat, Blacknail. Relax. If you leave it alone, it’ll leave you alone,” Saeter said with a hint of amusement in his voice.
Blacknail let his sword slide back into its sheath, but he kept his eyes on the beast. It stared back, and their gazes met. Blacknail hissed, and the goat let out another challenging growl. Then, with what Blacknail would swear was a condescending look, the goat turned and bounded higher up the hill. Its hooves kicked up more rocks and sent them raining down over the bandits. Two smaller goats burst from the bushes nearby and joined the larger one, then they all disappeared up the hill together.
“That's good luck,” one of the bandits commented. “Rock goats and trolls are supposed to be enemies. Seeing them on a troll hunt is a sign of a god's blessing."
There were nods of agreement from most of the other men. Personally, Blacknail doubted any god or spirit would bless someone by sending them an angry goat.
“All right, enough lazing about. Time to get back to it,” Saeter called a few minutes later.
There were quite a few grunts and sighs as the bandits got back to their feet and continued on up the hill. As the ground began to level out, a few more evergreen trees appeared. Saeter held up a hand to signal a stop. Up ahead, past a grove of trees, a large pile of boulders and rocks rose from the ground. Blacknail noticed a large dark crevice on one side of it. Behind the rocks, the forest continued.
“I'm willing to bet good gold that's where our troll's lair is. The question is whether it’s in there right now,” Saeter whispered.
“There’s only one real way to find out, but before we go in there, I’d like to at least have a plan with a half-decent chance of working,” Georgius remarked.
“Fair enough.” Saeter put his knapsack down on a log and removed several long lengths of cord from it. Then he reached back into the bag and pulled out a bunch of wicked-looking barbed steel arrows. “We’ll go in all together. Mage boy here will be in the back. He’ll be lighting our way, and when we see the troll, he’ll turn the light up as high as possible and blind it. With our backs to him and with our eyes more used to the light, we should be able to see fine. While the beast’s blinded, our best archers will shoot it with these arrows.”
Georgius have him a skeptical look. He didn’t seem impressed by the plan, and Blacknail agreed with him. This strategy didn’t seem troll-proof enough.
“Trolls have hides tougher than good leather and their wounds don’t bleed properly, so they’re hard to put down. Arrows, even barbed ones, won’t do much,” Georgius said.
“True, but they don’t have to. The arrows will be tied by long ropes to climbing hooks. While the troll’s still distracted, another few men will find places in the cave to attach the hooks. That’ll lock it down and prevent it from attacking us. Then when it’s all tied up, we’ll go in for the kill,” Saeter explained.
“That sounds complicated and dangerous to me. What if the troll doesn’t do what you think it will?” someone replied uncertainly.
“Do you have a better plan?” Saeter asked harshly. “No? Then let’s get going.”
Saeter handed out the equipment, and once they had it all prepared, they headed over to the cave.
“Remind me to train you with a bow sometime,” Saeter told Blacknail as they moved.
All the bandits, except for Saeter, looked nervous. Their skin had gone pale, and Blacknail could tell they were sweating more by their scent. Every one of them had also drawn their weapons.
As they approached the dark mouth of the cave, Blacknail’s sense of smell was overwhelmed by the foul stench of rotten meat and troll body odor. It seeped from the cave so thickly, Blacknail almost thought he could taste it with his skin. He gagged, and he was quickly joined by several humans. One of them even vomited as he approached the cave mouth, and that did nothing to improve the smell.
Suddenly, the area grew brighter and the first few steps of the cave were stripped of shadows. Mahedium had activated his staff, and it blazed bright with pure white light.
No one entered the cave. Blacknail threw a questioning look at the man next to him.
“You first,” the man whispered.
“No, you,” Blacknail hissed back.
One of his companions pushed the man forward. He took a stumbling step but then turned and glared at the other man without going farther. Georgius sighed and stepped forward.
“Let’s get going,” he told the reluctant man in front as he poked him with his blade.
Together, the two of them took the first few steps into the cave mouth. A few seconds later, when neither of them was ripped apart, the other bandits and Blacknail followed. A long rough grey rock corridor extended before them and curved out of sight a few dozen feet away. Rows of short stalactites hung from the ceiling. The dirt floor was littered with bones and jagged rocks, but none of the rocks were nearly big enough for a troll to hide behind. It wasn’t there. Everyone let out a collective sigh of relief.
“It must be deeper in. Let’s go,” Saeter whispered.
The bandits slowly and reluctantly moved forward. Maybe it was just the heat and vile stench, but the cave felt humid and wet to Blacknail. He grew itchy, but he didn’t dare scratch himself. That would require use of one of his hands, and for him to lower his guard.
As they moved deeper underground, the air grew warmer and the troll’s kills fresher. Blood and gobs of flesh still littered the remains scattered all over the floor. Blacknail a
nd the others had to go out of their way not to step on them. It was an unpleasant distraction from the hobgoblin’s focus on not getting killed and eaten.
Up ahead, on a small ledge against one wall, a large mound of dark wet earth was piled. A small forest of mushrooms grew atop it. Crawling between the stems and colorful mushroom caps were the shiny forms of harvesters. They were apparently more common out here in the wild than in the sewers, where men trained goblins to remove them.
The mage’s radiant staff almost made the bugs glow as their carapaces split the light and reflected it back in a rainbow of colors. The mouse-sized bugs were busy carrying around dirt and other less pleasant things. Every once in a while, one would appear from, or disappear into, small holes in the wall.
As the bandits advanced through the twisted rock tunnel, the hobgoblin saw several other harvester farms where the bugs were growing their mushrooms. They seemed to be thriving in the troll’s lair, where there was abundant food and the beast scared away other animals.
Blacknail’s thoughts were interrupted by a loud, sinister growl that echoed through the cave. The walls of the cavern almost seemed to vibrate as the sound washed over them. The man beside Blacknail stiffened in fear. The hobgoblin jumped as he felt a hand against his back. He risked a quick look back to see that it was Saeter’s. His master was giving him a disapproving look, and Blacknail realized he had been unconsciously backing up. The hobgoblin gave his master a nervous smile, then sighed and took a few, very small, steps forward.
The previous growl from deeper in the cave was joined by a deep, thundering roar. Blacknail hissed in pain as the loud noise stung his ears. Then an explosion of footsteps was heard from around the corner before the troll charged into view—headed right toward the bandits.
The charging massive beast’s eyes blazed with hate and mindless hunger as it regarded the small, weak creatures that had dared intrude upon its home. It opened its mouth to reveal jagged yellow teeth and the full length of its humongous fangs. Its dripping jaws seemed to grow ever larger and fill Blacknail’s vision as the green juggernaut descended upon them.
Chapter 28
“Oh shit,” someone mumbled in horror.
Before anyone could react, the troll had already closed over half the distance between itself and the bandits. Any second now, it would tear through them like a sharp knife through cloth, but with a lot more blood flying everywhere.
Then the cavern was drowned in light as Mahedium unleashed his magic. It was so bright, the edges of Blacknail’s vision whitened until they seemed foggy.
The effect on the troll was impressive. It screamed horribly as it brought its claws up to shield its face. It tried to continue its charge, but it tripped over a large rock, then smashed into one of the cavern walls. Rocks were sent flying, and the entire cave seemed to shudder from the impact. Most of the bandits were still too terrified or stunned to move, but not Saeter.
“Attack now, and stick to the plan!” he yelled as he shot an arrow into one of the troll’s legs.
At his master’s command, Blacknail burst into a sprint past the fallen troll and deeper into the cave. The arrow Saeter had shot was tied to a climbing hook in Blacknail’s hand. By this point, it was clear to the hobgoblin that his survival depended on the plan working.
The troll didn’t stay down long. Hissing and growling, it pulled itself to its feet. The green hairy behemoth seemed to fill the cave and tower over the humans as it rose.
Off to one side, Blacknail spotted a solid-looking rock protruding from the floor. He grabbed it and slid to a stop. Working quickly, he pulled the rope tight, wrapped it around the rock a few times, then attached the hook.
By this time, Saeter’s men had sprung into action. The other archers were loosing their arrows, and Saeter was lining up his second shot. Other bandits were busy finding places to hook lines. Several ropes already led from the troll to the floor or walls.
To keep the beast distracted, three bandits moved in with swords and threatened it, but they kept well out of reach of the troll’s deadly claws. The blinded and enraged troll swiped at them as it stumbled forward, but they managed to avoid its distracted strikes.
As new arrows hit their marks, the troll slowed and began to thrash and pull on the lines entrapping it. More arrows sank into its hide, but it would take far more than a few hooks and ropes to hold its massive bulk.
Blacknail was the only individual who had managed to make it past the troll. The other bandits who were supposed to have joined him had all frozen in fear until it was too late. That meant most of the lines only stopped the troll from moving backward toward the hobgoblin. Blacknail was glad to see that this didn’t seem to be a priority for the troll; it seemed determined to reach the humans in front of it. To prevent that from happening, several of the bandits tossed lines past the troll and over to the hobgoblin. Blacknail rushed around to find solid places to attach them.
Saeter and the others had to retreat several times in order to keep the troll from reaching them. Several lines broke or were ripped free by the beast as it pressed its furious assault forward. Eventually though, the troll ground to a halt as the lines Blacknail was securing arrested its movement. Blinded and confused, it roared in pained frustration. The archers weren’t taking any chances though, and they didn’t let up their barrage until they had used up every arrow.
“I wish we had some proper spears. Swords are really not the tool for this.” Saeter swore as he discarded his bow and drew his blade.
The other bandits did the same and began to encircle the troll. Blacknail unsheathed his own sword but decided to stay back and out of the way, lest he get in the way. The beast growled and stared menacingly at its assailants, but it didn’t make any large movements. Every time it did more than sway slightly, several lines would go tight and pull painfully on the steel arrows embedded in its flesh.
“Don’t try to get too close. Start on its arms and work your way in,” Saeter warned everyone.
With that said, the men slipped around the ropes crisscrossing the cave and descended on the trapped troll. The beast screamed and shuddered as they began to hack at it from every direction at once. It couldn’t even move enough to avoid most of the attacks they rained down on it. Blacknail was surprised at how little blood was visible, even as the troll was cut again and again. Its wounds seemed to fill with some sort of thick yellowish-green fluid as soon as they were made.
The bandits continued their attack relentlessly. First, the screaming beast’s arms went limp and useless, then it sagged and dropped to its knees. Georgius moved in to deliver a powerful two-handed swing to the troll’s exposed neck. The troll saw him coming and hissed defiantly.
Blacknail didn’t like the look of the raw hatred in its eyes; it reminded him of the depths of his own berserk rage. Before he could yell a warning, the crippled troll lurched, then launched itself forward.
Arrows were ripped out of the green giant’s hide and lines snapped as the troll’s head shot forward and smashed into the unprepared Georgius. The impact of the headbutt sent him flying across the cave until he crashed into the wall. There was a loud smacking sound, then Georgius fell limply to the ground, revealing a bloody stain on the cavern wall. He didn’t get back up.
With one last half-hearted growl, the troll staggered and collapsed onto the ground. Its fall caused a loud thud and sent a wave of dust and grime through the cave. Blacknail and several other bandits had to shield their eyes for a second until the dust had blown past.
After examining the troll for a few moments, Saeter said, “It’s dead. Someone check on Georgius.”
“What if it’s faking it?” someone asked nervously.
“Trolls don’t play dead,” Saeter replied with a condescending sneer.
With that said, there was a collective sigh of relief, and the cave darkened as Mahedium dimmed the light of his staff.
Blacknail cautiously walked up to the dead troll. He nervously poked one of its big green fee
t a few times, then relaxed when nothing happened. Moving closer, he examined the beast. It really was somewhat similar to a hobgoblin, but it was bigger and much uglier. It obviously had none of the charm and intelligence he had. With a smug smirk, Blacknail scrambled onto the huge corpse and managed to stand tall on top of it. How many hobgoblins had ever slain trolls? Probably none! That would make him the first ever!
“The greatest hobgoblin-ss ever!” he bragged to himself triumphantly from his perch.
The hobgoblin heard a quiet chuckle and turned around to see Saeter smiling at him. His sudden movement made the corpse shift under him, and Blacknail was sent sprawling to the ground.
The cave was filled with chuckles as some of the other bandits couldn’t help but laugh. The thrill of victory had made Blacknail too giddy and lightheaded to be insulted. He just smiled back and took note of who was chuckling the hardest for later.
Things quickly sobered up though. The bandit that checked on Georgius pronounced him dead. His skull had been cracked open and his back was broken. The somber-faced bandits built the fallen outlaw a rock cairn outside, using loose rocks from the cave. Then after a quick moment of silence, they left him there and moved on. Theirs was a profession where death was commonplace.
A quick exploration of the cave revealed nothing but some trinkets and a few coins found on some of the troll’s victims. Blacknail claimed these; no one else wanted to dig through the grisly remains to get them.
The cave also went deeper than anyone was willing to explore. The troll’s lair ended, but there was a small lightless side passage. The passage started with a steep drop so deep, even Mahedium’s staff couldn’t pierce the darkness of its depths. All his white light revealed was the sharp rocks that made up the sides of the shaft itself. When a cautious Blacknail started sniffing around it, his master stopped him.
“Careful, Blacknail, don’t get too close,” Saeter warned him while he warily observed the opening. “Unless I’m very mistaken, that leads down into the dark roads, and you really don’t want to go down there. It’s a strange place full of stranger beasts, and it’s very easy to get trapped down there.”
