#DraalxOC

[sorceress-coffee]

Party Monster - Adventures in the Library Sciences

AO3 Link   Phase 2 - Chapter 27 - Episode 21

Jim’s POV

The guys and I headed back to Trollmarket, feeling better now that we found River and were able to go through some insane scenarios planning for Angor Rot.

“So, are we kicking your uncle out or?” Toby trailed off, pissed his adopted sister had been so upset over something Garridan may have said.

I sighed pulling out the Horngazel as we entered the canal, “Sorry Tobes, River asked him to come down here. She’s not making him leave after bad news and a panic attack. He’s still our best shot in fighting Angor Rot.”

“Not to mention he has experience dealing with the Janus Order, the changelings working with Strickler.” Draal pointed out, checking the phone Eemeli had gotten him, keeping an eye out in case River needed an escape from girls’ night.

Toby pouted slightly, crossing his arms over his chest as I opened the portal to Trollmarket. ��Fine, do I get to meet the guy then? Might have a few choice words for this Garridan guy.”

I rolled my eyes, a smile tugging at the corner of my lips, “You’ll have all night to get to know ‘Uncle Gary,’” I snickered, thinking back to how dad and mom used to call him. We headed down to Rot-Guts to see if they might have something that could help us get the ring.

Draal knocked on the doors with his prosthetic, huffing as the two trolls began to argue about who spoke with the customers again. “This is going to take longer than a night.”

“Excuse me. Mr. Rot and Gut?” I called out to the trolls, trying to get one of their attention. “Do you guys have a ring remover spell of anything?”

Rot’s window opened as he peered down at us. “You want a ring,” he paused thinking over my question, “remover? Hmm, let’s see.” His eye left the window as he began searching through items behind the large cavern door. “Ring, ring… Oh, here it is!” He cheered as his eye returned to the window.

“That’s Ringworm remover, ya glork,” Gut’s window snapped open, glaring up at Rot’s window.

“What about a magical super magnet?” Toby asked.

“Oh!” Gut disappeared, “Definitely got one of those!”

“What’s the catch?” Draal muttered, shaking his head at Rot and Gut’s antics.

“Doesn’t work great,” Gut piped up again, “Just grabs snails.

“And there it is,” Draal rolled his eyes.

“I’m afraid our colleagues here won’t be of much use if you do not know what you’re looking for.” Blinky’s voice cut in.

Turning we saw Blinky and Garridan’s human form walking up to us.

“We’ve got a Footswapper,” Rot piped up, “You can take his feet.” He chuckled at his own antics.

“Magical solutions are a delicate matter. You must be precise.” Blinky shook his head, knowing we wouldn’t get closer to getting the ring from Strickler this way.

“I suggest we search for a way to remove the Inferna Copula in another location,” Garridan suggested, eyeing Toby.

“Yes, we need to find the exact tool for the job at hand.” Blinky agreed, trying to keep us from getting something that could only end in disaster.

Gut’s yelp cut us off as we watched him and Rot try to find balance, Rot laughing as he joked about stealing Gut’s feet.

“So, where exactly do we find the right tool?” Toby asked, happy to still have his own feet.

Blinky grinned, pushing the teens ahead, Draal walking with Garridan. “I know just the place! Are you ready young wards, to embark on the greatest adventure?” Blinky asked as he guided us directly into his library.

“Oh, yeah!” Toby grinned, looking around for a clue as to where we were actually headed. “Where? Where?”

“The adventure of reading!” Blinky grinned, gesturing to the mountains of books that covered the floors of his library. “Hours upon hours of research awaits you!”

“I’d say run, but we actually need to find something,” Eemeli called from a corner of the library, surrounded by open books.

“Well, we sure walked into that one,” Toby sighed, looking over the stacks of books as he tried to figure out where to start. Blinky and Toby began to discuss his brother, Dictatious Maximum Galadrigal.

I wandered over to where Garridan was searching through some ancient-looking scrolls. “Any idea where we should actually start?” I asked, trying to break the glacier amount of ice that surround River and me when it came to our fathers.

Garridan seemed surprised when he looked up, tilting his head slightly in thought, reminding me of River when she was choosing color pallets for her artwork. “Honestly I could tell you where not to look before having an idea of where to look.” He sighed, rolling up one of the scrolls, “I didn’t realize you were able to read Trollish, however.”

“Oh, I can’t” I sighed, taking a seat and grabbing a random book to start on. “This little thing helps though,” I pulled out the amulet, a sky-blue light filtered over the pages as the Trollish script turned to English.

Garridan examined the change in script closely before poking at the amulet in my hand. “I didn’t know it could do that,” He paused, glancing at Toby as he flipped through a book. “What of your friend there?”

“Tobes can’t read Trollish, probably looking at the sketches to see if something jumps out, not literally I hope.” I sighed, skimming through the book I held.

Garridan was still looking over the amulet, seemingly lost in thought for the moment. “Your friend Claire, the one on your phone, said River is staying with her. Is she,” trailing off, uncertain if he should ask about her so soon after she stormed off.

I looked up to him, setting the book down. “She’s okay, better after having some time to calm down. Today was a lot for her.” I shrugged slightly.

He nodded, sighing as he sat back, peering over the scrolls. “I see, I’m glad she had you and her friends here.”

“Well, we’re not going anywhere,” I winced, realizing how loaded that comment was.

Garridan let out a heavier sigh, “You’re both angry, rightfully so.”

I looked up at him again, “Well, you both did kind of leave out of nowhere.” Glaring as I thought about it, tearing my eyes back to the books in front of me. “You dropped River off with our family when I was 3, two years later dad up and leaves in the middle of the night. How did you think we would react? Especially since neither of us should know what’s really going in this nightmare-fueled magic world?”

Garridan waited for me to finish my rant, collecting his thoughts. “Jim, I want you to know your father and I didn’t want to leave. In fact, we had been planning on keeping our families close while we raised you and River.” He sighed pulling out an old picture, three adults standing in front of my house, a 5-year-old River hugging Garridan’s leg while I was holding mom and dad’s hands, swinging between them.

“What happened?” I asked softly, carefully taking the picture from Garridan’s grasp.

“Bular happened,” Garridan explained, leaning back, almost as if he was putting himself in the memory. “Your father and I had no idea Trollmarket was located in Arcadia. James left the guard in search of the location where River and I would fall from our previous time in Camelot. In that time, he met your mother and the two of them settled down and had you.” He smiled softly before continuing. “When the time came, you were about two years old when River and I fell into Arcadia Oaks. James was able to bring us to Sylvina who sealed River’s magic so she would appear human. We lived peacefully in the suburbs of Arcadia for about a year. In which time, Bular and the other Changelings had found the location of Trollmarket and began their hunt.”

I looked up seeing a deep frown etched in his face as he thought back to the year he left.

“James and I knew that one would lead to the other, so we had to protect you both the only way we knew how,” He sighed softly, “we had to lead the changelings astray, keep them from connecting us to you and River.”

“Why didn’t you leave together?” I found the words falling from my mouth before I could process whether or not I wanted the answer.

“I was the distraction.” He spoke simply, pointing to my father’s face in the photo. “My presence sent a shockwave through the changeling community, having thought to have been dead after the battle of Killahead. Using that to our advantage, I led them on a ‘wild goose chase,’ so to speak, while your father ensured you and River were kept safe.”

“Why not take us with you? Isn’t Camelot hidden?” I asked quickly, they may have left to protect us but wouldn’t being with them make more sense?

“We didn’t know who we could trust,” Uncle Garridan sighed softly. “I’ve been gone for 900 years; I didn’t know who was loyal to Gunmar and who was loyal to Ganieda. If I had trusted the wrong person, well,” his teeth clenched tight at the thought. “You would have been eaten or trained as a changeling spy, and River would most likely be dead.”

I winced, realizing they really didn’t have any other option. Uncle Garridan and dad had tried to keep River and me as safe as possible. While I was still mad, it was more for mom’s sake than my own. “Think mom will ever know why he left?”

“Think you’ll ever tell her about being the Trollhunter?” He countered; both knowing neither would happen if we could help it. Mom deserved a normal life, not this chaotic mess.

We went back to studying the books and scrolls, trying to find any more information on Angor Rot, along with getting that damn ring from Strickler. As time passed, I realized Draal and Eemeli had wandered off, probably escaping the adventure of reading in favor of training or sleeping, Draal having to do that more often now that he was squishy.

“Book 26,” I groaned, slamming the offensive tome shut, “nothing! This last one was just a list of toe fungus. Fungi. Fungi!” I yelled exasperated that our search was getting nowhere quickly. “Whatever! I don’t care!”

Toby’s groan could be heard from a pile of books close to Garridan and me. “I’m still on book three.” He sighed out, rotating the book as he examined another sketch. “Can’t exactly read Trollish, so just been kinda looking at the pictures.”

“This is taking forever. Any luck, Blink?” I asked, scrubbing my face as exhaustion was winning over at the moment.

Blinky was leaning back in his chair, snoring softly as we all turned our gaze on the temporary human. He snapped back to focus as we called his name. “Excuse me.” He yawned, setting the book he had been trying to read down. “My zeal for the library science seems to be waning. Since I only have two eyes, reading makes them very tired, very fast.”

“Dude, you awake?” Toby asked as we realized Blinky didn’t look so great, exhausted being the best way to describe him at the moment. “You look terrible.”

Garridan nodded, closing his scrolls, “Still adjusting to living on a human schedule?”

“I can’t conceive why.” Blinky grouched, “I’ve met every one of my daily human needs, three meals a day, eight glasses of water, eight minutes of sleep,” he yawned out, dozing off again.

Uncle Garridan facepalmed, shaking his head slightly as Blinky listed off his major lack of sleep. “Hasn’t he been around humans long enough to know that’s incorrect?” “Oh, Blinky,” I groaned, uncertain how he could mess up that bad. “It’s eight hours of sleep!”

Blinky was out cold. Snoring as he hugged the book into his chest. Well, so much for the expert’s help tonight.

“And,” Toby sighed, looking to Garridan and me, “then there were… three?” He asked, realizing Draal and Eemeli had skipped out. “Your uncle’s right, how did Blinky think we only slept eight minutes? I mean, maybe River, but she lives on coffee, and ya know,” he shrugged, “she’s not exactly human.”

“You take a troll that barely needs to sleep, and suddenly you throw all these new needs and restrictions on him, he’s bound to get a couple of things wrong. How has he been functioning all this time?” Uncle Garridan asked, poking Blinky’s face.

“At this point, you guess is as good as ours,” I sighed turning back to the piles of books we barely made a dent in.

“I don’t know how many more books I can read before my brain melts.” Toby groaned, glaring at the pile as he grabbed a random book. “I think this book’s about reading books!” He yelped, looking over the sketches in shock.

I looked at the page he opened to, “Wait a sec.” I grinned, leaning over his shoulder as I looked over the sketch. “I think you found something.” I set the amulet on the book, watching as the Trollish script transformed to English. “A draught of Elix-lore allows thee to consume knowledge at a voracious pace.” I read the excerpt in the book.

“Won’t take Strickler’s ring off, but it could help speed things up.” Toby nodded, grinning at the thought of getting through the library faster. “I wonder if Rot-Gut has any.”

“Are you sure this is the best tool?” Uncle Garridan asked, peering over us to examine the book entry. “Keep in mind that this is a magical solution.”

“Seems all it does is allow us to get through reading faster, couldn’t hurt to try,” I sighed, nodded to Tobes. “Let’s see if they have any.”

Toby grinned, making sure to grab an extra stinky sock as we headed back to Rot-Guts. We quickly traded the foul garment for a bottle of Elix-lore. The shop trolls not even bothering to haggle with us this time around.

Holding up the potion with a grin, I showed it to Uncle Garridan. “See? Know what to look for and you can find the exact tool for the job!” Quoting Blinky from earlier, excited to get through all this reading finally.

“Oh! Give me some of that yum-yum juice,” Toby grinned, our willing guinea pig for the potion, not wanting to spend a second longer than necessary piled under these books. He grabbed the bottle, downing the contents quickly.

“Tobias, wait!” Garridan grabbed the bottle from him before he could down the entire bottle. A stern glare etched over his face as he stared Toby down.

“Kinda minty,” Toby noted, unfazed by Garridan. “With notes of,” he let out a burp. “Mold.”

Garridan shoved the bottle in my face, a note tied around the neck of the bottle, “Read that.” He snarled out, irritated at Tobes.

I read over the note, realizing quickly it was the instruction I let out a groan. “Toby! It says you’re only supposed to drink a drop of it. You drank half the bottle!” I yelped as Toby groaned, the potion not agreeing with him it seems.

“That is why we read the instruction before we use magic items,” Uncle Garridan scolded us.

“Jim. My insides are gurgling really weird.” Toby sat back against a pile of books.

“Do you feel,” I sighed worried how this was going to turn out, “hungry for knowledge?”

“Actually, “Toby pushed me back, “I feel like I’m gonna-” he began to heave, trying not to puke.

All of a sudden the book we had left open began to glow, the Trollish script floating off of the page and heading for Toby. I pulled Toby’s mouth open as the script began to bounce off of his lips. The entire book flowed directly into Toby’s mouth.

“Jim, am I wrong? Or did words just fly into my mouth? He asked, mouth still glowing from the magic.

“How do you feel?” I asked quickly, making sure he was okay.

“I feel as good as Grimbald the Grave must have felt at the Quibble of Quandry after besting a vicious Sloorbeast!” He burped, looking up at me confused. “Wait. What did I just say?”

“Seems the Elix-lore is working,” Garridan hummed, swatting away the script that had escaped from Toby’s burp. “Be careful though, he drank way too much of that potion.”

I nodded, picking up another book for Toby to try. “We’ll keep the pace slow, hopefully, that helps.” The words flew out of the book as soon as Toby opened his mouth, faster than the first book.

“Maddrux the Many triumphed in the battle of Doomscavern, defeating his greatest enemy. Himself.” Tobes summarized the book he had just eaten. “Hit me again!”

We continued like this for a while. The more books Toby ate, the faster he wanted to go. Uncle Garridan kept slowing us, trying to keep a disaster from unfolding.

He finally convinced us to take a small break and I went to check on Blinky sleeping, surrounded by the books we had already gone through. “Come on, Blinky. Wake up!” I tried shaking him, to no avail the troll was still out cold.

Gun Robot began to play from my phone. Grabbing it quickly I realized it was Claire. Hopefully, she and River could come back and help us stop Toby from destroying the library. All the books began to glow, words flying everywhere as the potion's effects grew stronger.

“Claire!” I yelped, finally answering. “I’m so glad you called. You and River gotta come to Trollmarket!” Cutting off as loud music blared through my speaker.

“No time, Jim.” She called out, trying to yell over the music on her side of the line. “You need to come here. NotEnrique’s out of control!”

“Out of control?” I winced, still shaking Blinky as I ducked under more flying words. “Sic River on him, he listens to her. Toby is gorging on magic troll words,” I tried to explain, keep Blink up as he began to fall over the books, “and turning into some kind of knowledge god!”

“More!” Toby yelled out, devouring the words as quickly as they flew from the books. “More knowledge!”

Garridan began swatting the words away, trying to slow Toby down as much as possible. Getting pelted from all directions as a mini-twister began to form.

“Jim! NotEnrique, my house!” Claire cried out, “I lost sight of River a while ago and I’ve tried everything!”

I sighed, knowing I couldn’t leave here while Blinky was unconscious and Toby was still gorging on magic words. “Claire, look, I know you can figure it out. I’m sorry but,” I yelped as the twister threw Garridan into one of the bookshelves. “I gotta go!”

I hung up, rushing to Toby quickly. “Okay, Tobes. We were supposed to be taking a break. You gotta be full by now, right?” I asked, hoping to slow him down even just slightly.

“No, James,” a distorted voice tore from Toby’s throat. “I am becoming a living archive. A codex of all troll history and arcana!” He grinned, waving his hands through the words as they continued to close in on us. “I am like Voltar the Voracious, who was born with two minds!” He snickered, “For all good that did him. Stepped on by a Thrall.” He cackled, the demised of the troll hilarious compared to the knowledge he had consumed so far.

He grabbed me by my shoulders, grinning like Blinky had when he drove the gyre. “Don’t you see, James? I already have the solution to our problem! To do something impossible, you must change what is possible.” The explanation is more cryptic than helpful so far. “The oldest known troll was 5,352 years old named Chokeenamaga.”

“Okay,” I tried getting him back on topic. “So, Tobes, how do we get the ring off Strickler?”

“The Kairosect will grant us all we need to get the Inferna Copula,” he grinned, slipping back into the potion fog. “Queethokpharlock.”

I grabbed his face, trying to keep his attention. “Hey, hey, focus. How do we get the Kairo thing?”

“You must return to Gatto’s Keep.” He announced, a far-off look returning to his eyes.

“Gatto?” I groaned, “Oh, great! Aren’t you already on hir crap list?” I asked, wincing at my choice of words.

“Bula-nok-chura-azu-zoth. Bula! Bula!” Toby began chanting, causing the mini word tornado to target him.

“Oh no,” I watched as even more script was torn from the ancient books surrounding us, heading for Toby’s mouth. Seeing them charge upwards before diving right for Toby, I jumped between the magic words and him, trying to stop the madness before Toby became some weird knowledge god.

“All right, Tobes. We got what we’re looking for, so let’s chill, okay?” I tried to reason with him. “We’ll get some fresh air. Splash of water.”

“There are more important endeavors!” The distorted voice fully takes over Toby’s speech, “I must know all!”

Toby began to chant again, “The great Warg age enters the seventh blood moon. The Draknagoth will arise! Moonlight will rise to defeat the eclipse!” A loud gurgle cut him off, Toby trying to hold everything in.

Burping, a magic word flew from his mouth. Toby grabbed it, popping it back into his mouth as he tried to continue on his knowledge tirade. “Nope. The parallels of the universe! All its answers have become so clear! The secret of life is,” another burp cutting him off, Toby holding a hand over his mouth to keep the words from slipping out. “Nope, nope, nope.” Shaking his head slightly as he tried to continue, “the secret of life is,”  he heaved, magic words shooting out of his mouth as he fell back.

He sat up, dizzy from the magic and throwing up. “The meaning is… nope.” Turning to throw up more of the glowing script.

I winced as this continued for a few minutes, Toby still trying to explain the meaning of life between throwing up. Not getting anywhere in his monologue. He shot back past the pile of books Blinky was sleeping under, waking the squishy troll from his nap.

Blinky sniffed, head popping out from the pile as his nose wrinkled. “Ah! Elix-lore,” he glowered, pulling himself from the bile.

Garridan groaned, rising from the bookshelf he had been thrown into, Troll form out and towering over us. “I hate that damned potion.”

Ignoring the grouchy adults, I ran over to Tobes, still laying back as the last few words slipped from his mouth. “Tobes? You okay?”

Blinky joined us, examining Toby. “What is two plus two?”

Still out of it, Toby began counting on fingers before breaking down in giggles. “Awesome sauce!”

Sighing in relief at having the normal Toby back, I helped him up to his feet. “Glad you’re back to normal.”

“About the only thing that is,” Garridan grunted, examining the damage we had done to the library.

“Yes,” Blinky sighed, surveying the disaster himself. “My library on the other hand…”

“Sorry,” Tobes piped up, waving the last of the words away from him. “I’ll clean it up.”

“No, no,” Blinky shook his head, smirking at Garridan. “It’s all recoverable. Rot-Gut’s probably has a little something to put it right.”

“No!” Toby and I cried out in unison, never wanting to use another stupid magic troll item again.

As we were cleaning, Eemeli’s troll form had returned carrying a fully shifted River on his back, Draal walking calmly next to them as River broke down giggling at the sight of the library. Looks like we still had quite the night ahead of us. At least River was cheerful.

[draalxdeadlyyy]

a drawing i made of my oc aruna and her himbo bf draal the deadly <3

[sorceress-coffee]

Party Monster

AO3 Link   Phase 2 - Chapter 26 - Episode 21

The forge seemed to glow as Jim and I trained. Daylight cutting through magic-filled bubbles. The past Trollhunters stressed that Jim needed training against multiple opponents, and Blinky came up with using my bubbles as a safe training exercise.

I focused my magic on creating and moving the bubbles to chase Jim. Mana control was key here, creating the bubbles was the easy part, sending them after Jim took a little while to figure out. I had to feel as if I was the one chasing him, air moving past me, and the feel of hitting his armor when the bubble burst. If I was able to hit the armor the Bubble stained the metal blue or orange, if Daylight cut through my bubbles, some of the staining would vanish, this allowed Blinky and Draal to assess where Jim was letting his guard down and how to amend his form in battle.

“River!” Jim screeched as I created an air tunnel, sending the bubbles after him in a mini-tornado, “Now you’re just being mean!”

“Never know what Angor Rot will try,” I laughed out, trying to come up with the weirdest scenarios Jim might have to fight his way through. “Never know, he might have more magic than the Shadow Staff and those golems!”

Jim glared over his shoulder before a spark of mischief came to life, smirking, he quickly dodged the bubble twister, running around the perimeter of the forge and heading directly for Blinky, Draal, and I.

Draal stiffened realizing what Jim was planning, he lined up with Blinky so when Jim ran past, Blinky was doused in blue and orange magic.

I doubled over, laughing hard as Blinky stuttered looking over his now colorful form. The rest of the bubbles burst as I lost my concentration, little fireworks of orange and blue lighting the forge as they dissipated.

Disgruntled, Blinky tried wiping the colors off, “Very amusing Master Jim. Using your opponent’s attacks on their allies is a good strategy, though neither one would be standing still on the battlefield.”

Draal snickered, wiping off what little magic had hit him while using Blinky as a shield. “Gotta admit, looks better than your fleshbag form.”

Jim laughed, letting the armor disappear as we all settled back into the forge. “Hey, if I can avoid River’s crazy attacks, I think I’ll be able to prepare for anything.”

I shrugged, flicking my hand out towards Blinky, dispelling the magic from his skin and clothes. “Sorry Blink, orange really isn’t your color.”

“So, this is how the Trollhunter trains?” A voice from the bridge called out.

My head snapped to the exit of the forge, spotting Eemeli and Eri followed by a troll, no, a changeling, the same one in the locket resting under the chest plate of my armor. Garridan had returned with them.

Jim quickly sobered, standing in line with me as we watched them enter the forge. I could feel the tension building in him as Garridan slowly approached us, eyeing Draal and Blinky. Eemeli and Eri stayed near the exit, watching on as the Changeling General observed us, waiting.

“Garridan,” I choked out, I may have asked for his help, but after all these years I still wasn’t sure how to react to seeing him again.

A small smile broke over his face as he shifted into his human form, finally stopping in front of Jim and me, “If it wasn’t for your eyes, you could pass for your mother.”

“You actually came,” Jim began, like myself, he was unsure how to continue.

“Angor Rot has been set free, and he’s hunting you both,” Garridan’s smile quickly fell to a frown, “and you’re preparing with bubbles?”

My jaw clenched tight, that’s really the first thing he says? Draal saw the shift in my demeanor and quickly stood to my left, prosthetic hand clasping my shoulder carefully, explaining the training. “Training with multiple opponents or projectiles.”

“And the tornado?” Garridan asked, having seen Jim use it to attack Blinky.

“Considering we have little to no knowledge of Trolls let alone what Angor Rot is capable of? Better be prepared.” Jim ground out.

“I’m working on mana control since,” the words seemed to tumble from my mouth, I felt an odd need to explain my antics to this Changeling in front of me. Regardless of him being my father, he hadn’t raised me and I didn’t owe him an explanation, so why was I anxious about it.

“Interesting use of your magic,” He nodded to me, unsure himself of how to continue, “I was told your trainers were trolls. Are these the human friends the hunter spoke of?”

“Eemeli,” I glared at my father, “Eemeli told you about our friends then?”

Tilting his head slightly, Garridan seemed a little surprised at my correction, “Yes, Eemeli spoke of your friends and training on our way here. He mentioned that few changelings and humans were allowed in Trollmarket.”

I nodded stiffly, “Draal,” I gestured to him on my left, “and Blinky, are trolls, they were unfortunately doused in potions from Gatto’s Keep, this being the result.”

Garridan tilted his head towards Draal, eyeing him as I spoke of our first quest for the Triumbric Stones. “Draal, son of Kanjigar?”

Draal’s prosthetic left my shoulder, holding his hand out to Garridan, “Yes, my father was the previous Trollhunter.”

Garridan eyed the hand before glancing between Draal and myself, waiting.

Folding my arms over my chest, directly looking in his eyes I chose to rip the bandage off, “Draal is my mate.”

Pausing at the information, we could see the gears turning as Garridan took in my stance as well as my words, “I see,” finally taking Draal’s hand to shake, “I remember you from Dwoza, a strong match.”

Draal seemed to relax a little, “The battle of Killahead, you lead the Changelings along with Moonlight.”

Garridan smirked, something about the statement amused him, “Yes, Moonlight. It’s been a long time since the changelings have heard that name. Though I’m sure you two have other questions,” he deflected, turning to Jim and me.

“I can think of a few,” Jim spoke, sarcasm dripping in from his anger at both of our dads.

“Why don’t we start with my age?” I asked, Jim’s tension bleeding into my own. “As far as I know I’m 19, the locket you sent is over 900 years old, so you can imagine my confusion.”

“Hmm, you’re not far off. You’d be in your mid-30s now.” Garridan answered, only feeding my confusion.

“How is that possible?” I asked, irritated at having more questions than answers again.

“You don’t remember,” it wasn’t a question, Garridan seemed to realize just how in the dark I truly was.

“Considering my first memory is you leaving me with Uncle Jim and Aunt Barbara? No, I don’t remember.”

Humming in consideration, Garridan asked, “Do you know the magic Merlin specialized in?”

“Harnessing daylight? I’ve been told his family is the only ones with that ability.” I asked, confused how daylight would have anything to do with my age.

“No, that is true, but Merlin specialized in Time Magic,” Garridan began to explain, a painful sigh escaping him, “During the battle of Killahead, the Eldritch Queen attacked, Merlin and Ganieda were left to fight her. She,” he ground his teeth, “her attack hit Ganieda, Moonlight arrived and magic clashed. When you add the magic of four powerful beings together, unpredictable chaos ensues. There was a tear, so to speak, between the battle, and Arcadia. The Eldritch Queen tried to distract Merlin by sending you through the tear, I followed after you.”

I paled, thinking back to the nightmares of falling from the clouds and the visions the pixies conjured, dad’s troll form holding me tight as we fell through the sky. “That wasn’t a hallucination, it was a memory,” I whispered, eyes burning as a splitting pain ran through my head. I doubled over clutching my head, the memories from the final fight, the Eldritch Queen’s magic ripping through my mother, her form breaking as cracks of gold shattered her. “She died.”

Garridan knelt in front of me, holding my shoulders tight. “She was felled that night, yes.”

Tears began to fall as I ripped myself from his grip. I felt the air shift and found myself running up the crystal stairs to the exit of the Trollmarket. Not stopping to pull out the horngazel, I flashed to the canal and kept going, gold and green flooded my vision as the fight dominated my mind. A burst of orange startled me, stopping just short of running into Claire’s front door. I scrubbed at my face trying to pull myself together as I could hear arguing coming from inside.

The door tore open, Claire facing someone in the house as she spoke, “See, there’s no one here!”

“Check again, sponge face,” NotEnrique snorted, seeing my disheveled state caused him to clamp up quickly.

Claire about jumped out of her skin when she finally turned and saw me there, “River!” Taking in the tear stains down my face she pulled me into the house, “What happened? You look miserable.”

“I… my…” I couldn’t find the words as she guided me to the sofa, pulling me down with her.

“Take your time,” she spoke softly, holding my hands tight. NotEnrique disappeared into the kitchen, the sound of him rifling through the fridge grounding my thoughts.

“Eemeli found my dad,” I finally got out, squeezing Claire’s hands carefully. “He’s here.”

“Are you okay?” Claire stiffened, unsure if I was upset over his presence or something he said.

“Don’t know, everything got fuzzy, couldn’t tell where I was.” I sighed, the tears finally stopping, I pulled a hand from her grip as I scrubbed at my face again. “We didn’t talk much but, what we did talk of,” I trailed off, if I said it aloud it felt final.

“It’s okay, you don’t have to tell me.” She smiled softly, pulling her phone out. “You guys were supposed to come over anyway, do you want me to cancel it before girls’ night? I can let Jim know you’re here, or not.”

I shook my head quickly, “We need a plan to get that damn ring from Strickler. This,” I gestured to myself, “this needs to wait.” At this point, I wasn’t sure who I was telling, Claire or myself.

“Okay,” Claire dialed Jim’s number quickly. When he answered I could make out the panic in his voice but the words were jumbled as other voices began speaking over each other. Claire sighed, rolling her eyes at the phone, “She’s here, in one piece,” I could hear Draal’s worried voice cut through. “She’s okay for now, still wants to plan with you, Jim, and Toby tonight, after that I’m keeping her here for girls’ night.” Another pause as Jim’s voice took over the conversation. “See you soon.” She hung up quickly, leaving no room for the others to argue.

“That sounded chaotic,” I chipped in, eyeing her phone.

“Blinky said Draal and Jim tore through Trollmarket trying to find you. Garridan, your dad, is staying back with Blinky to help them research the Triumbric Stones and give them insight into Angor Rot. Jim and Draal are going to pick up Toby on their way over.”

I nodded slowly, wincing as I could hear Vendel’s lecture about Draal and Jim causing havoc in Trollmarket to look for me. “Thanks, Claire.”

“You sure you’re alright, from their reactions it sounds like it was pretty bad,” She frowned, putting her phone away as we waited for the boys.

I pulled out the locket from my shirt, holding it tight, “My mom, she died in the Battle of Killahead, I was there.”

“You remember seeing it happen,” She stated peering at the locket.

My knuckles turned white as I tightened my grip, “Yeah, the memory is still blurry but it’s there, I just,” sighing out, I finally eased my grip, “I guess with finding out about my parents, I had hoped she was still around.”

I found myself engulfed in a tight hug; Claire’s grip would’ve been painful had she been hugging a human. “You don’t have to explain, just know we’re here for you. I’m here for you.” She smiled softly, pulling away.

Smiling myself, I nodded, grateful that Claire knew about Jim and me, having another friend outside of the trolls and Toby to speak with.

The boys tumbled into the house as NotEnrique threw the door open, laughing as they hit the floor. “What ya’ tryin’ to do? Take out the door?”

Jim huffed, currently at the bottom of the pile, “haha, NotEnrique, where is she?”

“If you mean me, I’m right here,” I quipped, eyeing the pile as Draal, Toby, and Jim began to detangle themselves.

“How did you get out of Trollmarket?” Jim asked, passing my bag over once he was standing, “You left the horngazel.”

Taking the bag, I paused, staring at the key to Trollmarket in thought, “I, uh… teleported I think?”

“I thought you couldn’t do that between the barrier?” Draal asked, knowing I hit the wall instead of making it into the underground city before.

“Leveled up?” I asked, unsure myself. “Don’t know, just kept running.”

He nodded, dropping the subject. He knew if I said I didn’t know how I did it, I meant it. “So, we’re trying to figure out how to get the Inferna Copula from Strickler?”

Time seemed to rush by as Claire herded us up to her room. We kept going over different situations and scenarios, each one more ridiculous than the next.  “Quick, cut off his hand!” Claire yelped.

“Wait!” I snapped, grabbing the others' attention, “we can’t cut his hand off.”

“Yeah!” Toby piped in, “If you chop his hand off, you chop your mom’s hand off!”

Jim groaned, head falling into his hands, “Right, Angor Rot’s binding spell. We aren’t ready at all.”

“Yeah, the closest one is River and she’s more liable to blow up a wall.” Toby snickered.

“Hey, it’s the wall or your face, take your pick,” I snarked, whacking him with a collapsed Midnight.

Claire sighed, getting us back on topic, “Angor Rot said if you don’t get the ring, he’s coming back for you.”

Toby chuckled, “We’ll figure it out,” he grinned as we all got up to head downstairs with the sunset. “It’s not like we don’t have a secret city under our feet filled with crazy troll magic!”

Draal shook his head, “Magic you don’t know how to use,” he snickered at Toby, bringing him back down to reality.

Jim smiled, shaking his head at Toby, “You could always come back with us,” he spoke to Claire and me.

“Sorry, having a girlss’ night with Mary and Darci, gotta keep up appearances,” she grinned.

“Oooh, I like a good pillow fight,” Toby grinned, Jim slapping a hand over his mouth before he could say anything else.

“We’ll see you tomorrow,” I smirked, kissing Draal’s cheek before the guys took off. “Training with pillows?” I snickered at Claire.

She burst into laughter as closed the door, “Not likely, we’d have to talk Mary into it,” she was cut off by the blender turning on in the kitchen. “What is that monster up to?”

Laughing as I followed her stomping form, I asked “Smoothies?”

“New recipe,” NotEnrique called out, grinning at us as he added another sock.

“Just because my parents are gone, doesn’t give you free run of the house. Darci and Mary are on their way.”

“Oh, come on! I’m tired of playing crib rat!” NotEnrique snarled, downing the contents of the blender, “I’m the one puttin’ my neck on the line sidin’ with you against Gunmar, and for what? Come on, I’m way more fun than a couple of fleshbags!”

Sighing, I started picking up the mess NotEnrique had made in the kitchen, unsure about stepping in the argument between him and Claire. It escalated pretty quickly as she snatched NotEnrique up by the scruff and took him upstairs, both still arguing the entire time.

Claire came back down after a while muttering ‘I hate you,’ as we cleaned the kitchen, disposing of the foul concoction in the blender.

Once we finished cleaning, she sighed, sitting at the counter while I leaned against it across from her, “Want to talk about it?” I asked, seeing the conflict running across her face.

“Why did Enrique have to be taken? Why do I have to deal with that, that,” She threw her hands out towards the stairs, irritated.

“Monster?” I asked, feeling the sting from her comment about NotEnrique earlier, pushing it aside, knowing Claire was just frustrated with him.

“I,” She winced at the word, “just, I know if he up and left my parents would freak out, but having to deal with him?”

“You miss Enrique, and having NotEnrique around is just emphasizing he’s missing,” Frowning, I understood why she was so agitated.

“Are we ever going to get him back?” Claire softly spoke, staring at her clasped hands.

I walked around the island, hugging her from the side, careful not to crush her. “If I have to go into the Darklands myself to get him. Jim promised we’d find him, and if anyone can save him, we can. All of us together.” Smiling softly as she seemed to calm at my answer.

“Right, we just need to focus on getting the ring, if we can do that, we can storm the Darklands,” she chuckled, perking up a bit, knowing Jim and I would do everything in our power to help her and Enrique.

“Don’t touch me scruff,” screeched out from the sound system in the living room, the bass causing the walls to vibrate.

“What the heck?!” Claire cried out, both of us running to find NotEnrique playing a mixtape, drink in hand.

“Hey, how do I turn the subwoofers up on this thing?” He asked, ignoring Claire’s glare.

“My friends are going to be here any minute! Baby up and get back in your crib!” She snapped, cutting off at the doorbell, “Now.” She ground out, going to the front door, expecting Mary and Darci, “Hey ladies,” she greeted, though no one was there.

“I’ve got it!” NotEnrique called, slipping past me into the kitchen and opening the back door, all sorts of Trolls began piling into the house, the music turning up quickly as a party broke out around us.

“You’re not having a party!” Claire growled, storming over to NotEnrique.

He grinned, sipping on the bright green mix drink, “From the looks of it, I am. What time are yer friends showin' up?”

Claire paled, running out of the kitchen and trying to make it up the stairs on her phone, most likely calling Mary and Darci to call off girls’ night.

I sighed trying to avoid getting shoved by the trolls still filing into the house, getting to the counter where NotEnrique was hosting. “This isn’t going to end well,” I spoke, having to raise my voice as someone figured out the subwoofers, increasing the music volume drastically.

“Yeah, but it’s fun watching sponge face panic!” He cackled, handing me a new drink, this one bright pink, “Quagawumps brought this, might be more to yer taste!”

Frowning slightly, I took the drink as he jumped off, going to talk to a group of trolls setting up a bathtub in the living room. Sipping at the drink it tasted oddly of strawberries and pomegranate, though once it hit my throat there was an obvious burning.

I wondered around the party, meeting a bunch of new trolls. Some trolls I had seen in Trollmarket, some of the species I had never seen at all. Things began to get a little hazy as I finished off the pink drink, another Quagawump tossing me a bright orange drink this time. Citrus flavor exploded in my mouth as I tasted the new drink. I could feel a dull burning in my eyes as the glamor from the collar dropped, my Trollish features coming out. The Quagawumps and the trolls from Trollmarket seemed to ease once the glamour dropped, getting more excited as I joined in their games.

“Horns?!” Claire’s voice screeched through the haze I felt. “Since when did you have horns?”

I tilted my head in confusion as I realized she was talking to me, “What are you talking about?” Reaching up my hand brushed against something hard protruding from the crown of my head, “Oh, shit.” It was all I could think of, reaction numbed from the haze spreading through my veins.

Claire threw her hands up, running after NotEnrique again as Arrrgh, Draal, and Eemeli showed up. “Thank goodness, you’re here!”

Arrrgh greeted her but quickly walked off, going after the tub full of Glug; Draal and Eemeli quickly finding me but cheering as Arrrgh downed the entire tub worth of liquid, letting out a loud roar as more drinks were passed around.

“Having fun without out us?” Eemeli snickered, downing the glass he was given, knocking it in cheers with Draal’s after.

“Your glamour dropped,” Draal gestured, eyeing the new additions on top of my head.

“Cool, right?” I laughed, relaxing fully once they arrived, the panic I had once felt about shifting into a troll was either numbed at the moment or non-existent. “What’s next? Growth spurt?” I snickered, raising my glass from the top of my head to about 7ft high. “Maybe a tail!” I double over, laughing at the thought of trying to hide a tail.

Draal smiled, seeming to be fine with how I was taking the changes, “I could see the height change, don’t know bout a tail though.” He snickered, grabbing more drinks as a troll changed the music, everyone jumping to the beat.

Arrrgh grabbed my hand, spinning me as we danced. The music, drinks, and cheers seemed to blur. At one point we ended up around a table playing ‘spin the gnome.’ I cackled when Eemeli’s spin landed on Draal and they both started gagging at the thought, both downing glasses of Glug over kissing.

“River!” Claire yelled over the music, trying to pull me from the game, “We need to get them out of here! Mary and Darci are here!”

“Awesome!” I yelled back, my mind too fuzzy to realize that was a bad thing, “They’re gonna have so much fun!” I cheered, the trolls around me breaking into a chant as they began to set up a punching game.

“Get in this!” Eemeli yelled, pulling me back into the crowd as Arrrgh punched a troll, the baby swing wrapped around his head pulling him right back into Arrrgh’s fist, knocking him out.

“My turn!” I yelled, skin fully turning dark blue as Arrrgh and I lined up with each other. Draal raised his glass, counting down. Once he dropped the glass, Arrrgh and I ran full force at each other, tilting our heads down, horns met horns stopping us both in our tracks. I grinned, an orange glow filling the lines running along my limbs as I poured magic into them, I pushed forward and Arrrgh began slipping back.

Before we could keep going, Claire broke us off, lecturing on how we both should know better, pausing slightly as she took in my form. “Go look in a mirror, maybe you’ll sober up.” She ground out, grabbing the baby swing from the passed-out troll before disappearing again.

I snicked at Arrrgh before running to the bathroom, might as well follow orders. I paused at the image before me. A troll, no, changeling, the sclera was off, was staring back. Dark blue stone skin, dark horns, black mane surrounding the face, sky blue eyes surrounded by red and orange sclera. Looking down where my hands gripped the sink, dark blue stone where flesh had been met my eyes, little lines seemingly carved into the stone filled with orange as my magic pulsed. “Oh shit,” I gasped out, realizing what had unnerved Claire. I had shifted, standing back I whacked my head on the light fixture, realizing why Draal had joked about my height, I was already getting taller.

Draal paused at the doorway, watching my expression in the mirror silently. He seemed calm enough, this was going to happen eventually, right?

“So, this is new,” finally finding my voice, I turned to face him, the haze still holding onto my mind. “What ya think?” I grinned, spinning around.

He chuckled, setting the drinks down, “I think the Quagawumps made really strong drinks.”

I snicked, leaning against him as we finally walked out of the bathroom, grinning like idiots. “I’ve got horns,” I doubled over, bursting out in full laughter, Draal easily supporting me as we tried to make our way through the party.

The music stopped dead as red and blue lights filled the window, sirens filling the dead air as every troll and changeling froze.

“We know you’re having an awesome party in there, but we’re havin' to shut ya down,” A familiar voice called from outside.

Eemeli found Draal and I, “Run!” He yelled jarring everyone into motion, as we began to disperse, trying to get out of the house as fast as possible. Eemeli shifted, Draal helping him to get me on his back when I couldn’t keep up, not used to my new form at all, they took off out the back door, running for Trollmarket.

All three of us were cheering and laughing as we barreled into the canal with the other trolls, running off to find somewhere else to party in the market. Draal and Eemeli broke off from the group, heading to Blinky’s library.

I burst into laughter at the state the boys were in, books were thrown everywhere, Toby and Jim cleaning while Blinky and Garridan were discussing something over a book. “The hell happened here?”

Toby turned to snark, his jaw dropping at the sight of us, “Whaaaa?” His mouth opened and closed.

“What in Gorgus happened?” Blinky began to fret, rushing towards us, “Lady River?” He asked, making sure it was actually me.

Snickering, I flashed from Eemeli’s back to one of the seats, “Present and dizzy!”

Jim’s wide eyes were hilarious as everything became a bit blurrier. “What happened? Was it Angor?”

“Bright pink Quagawump drinks!” I grinned, spinning in the chair, “Trolls know how to party!”

“NotEnrique actually threw a party?! Oh no, what about Claire’s friends?” Jim asked, grabbing my shoulders, trying to keep me focused.

“No idea never saw Mary or Darci,” Eemeli answered, “Everyone took off when the ‘cops’ showed up,” he snickered, using air quotes when he said ‘cops.’

“The po-po showed up?” Toby asked, bouncing as he wanted to ask about the party.

“If NotEnrique works for them!” I laughed, leaning my head on Jim’s shoulder, starting to tire out.

“You can shift?” Garridan’s voice cut through, all laughter dying out.

I glanced up over Jim’s shoulder, shrugging slightly, “Nope, this is new.”

“Did they give you any other drinks?” He asked, voice going stern.

I pointed at his blurry figure, giving my best glare. “Oh no you don’t,” I growled out, “You don’t get to leave for 15 years and come back to play dad. I had fun, so what?”

Draal shook his head heading over to me, “Love, what did you drink before you changed?” He asked softly, sobering up quicker than I was.

Pouting, I thought back to the drinks the Quagawumps kept handing out. “Orange, I think. It was very bright.”

“Grave sand mixers,” Garridan groaned, rubbing his temples, still a bit shocked at my outburst. “That’s the cause for the change.”

“They dug up a body?!” I shrieked, freaked out hugging Draal tight.

Blinky shook his head, “No, no. Vendel explained that Grave Sand was something Changelings used to help them ‘shake off’ their human form.”

“Except it’s dangerous if you don’t know how to use it,” Eemeli growled out, irritated that the Quagawumps would be using something like that in their drinks.

“Quagawumps know how to brew grave sand into other things, they usually use them at parties,” Garridan spoke up, “The change won’t be permanent, especially with the collar’s glamour.”

I rolled my eyes, Draal keeping me upright as I leaned into him, the blur slowly fading as the drinks wear off. “So, this is what I’m supposed to look like?”

Garridan nodded, eyeing the orange glow of my markings, “Though that is different, you’re magic used to be blue.”

“It seemed to change when she absorbed magic from the Heartstone,” Blinky explained, examining my new troll form as well, prodding carefully at the lines. “Anything burning?”

I opened my mouth to respond before pausing, tilting my head in thought, “No… my eyes don’t even burn.”

“Looks like fully shifting allowed the stone to develop,” Blinky nodded, letting go of the arm he was looking over.

Gun Robot 3 filled the room as Jim’s phone went off, “Claire!” I yelped, the nights' events fully coming back to me, “Oh no, Darci and Mary!”

Jim quickly answered the phone putting her on speaker, “Hey, are you okay?”

Claire’s voice filled the library, “NotEnrique was able to shut down the party, Mary and Darci never saw the trolls so I think they’re good, though now they think I’m dating some college guy. Any word on River? Last I saw her and Arrrgh were locking horns.”

Jim looked at me confused, “Draal and Eemeli brought her to Trollmarket, don’t know when she’ll be leaving at this point.”

“Still blue?” Claire asked, finding the entire situation hilarious now that the risk of Mary and Darci finding out about trolls was gone.

“Still blue,” I groaned, rubbing my head where Arrrgh and I were competing. “Sorry Claire, if a troll tries handing me something bright to drink, blast it away.”

“I’ll keep that in mind!” She laughed, “Everything here has been taken care of, I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Jim ended the call with Claire, turning to face me again. “Who won?”

That cause everyone to burst out laughing again, the rest of the night’s haze from exhaustion.

[sorceress-coffee]

I'm hoping to have chapter 26 up tonight! It was ready yesterday but the wifi was down at the hotel I was staying in. As soon as I get to my next stop I'll be uploading the chapter!

[sorceress-coffee]

River of Arcadia ToC

Phase 1

Chapter 1 - Becoming Part 1           Ao3 River of Arcadia

Chapter 2 - Becoming Part 2

Chapter 3 - Wherefore Art Thou, Witch (Revised)

Chapter 4 - Gnome Your Enemy, Courting Hazards

Chapter 5 - Waka Chaka

Chapter 6 - Win or Lose

Chapter 7 - To Catch a Changeling

Chapter 8 - Adventures in Trollsitting

Chapter 9 - Bittersweet Sixteen

Chapter 10 - Young Atlas

Chapter 11 - Recipe for Disaster

Chapter 12 - Claire and Present Danger

Chapter 13 - The Battle of Two Bridges

Chapter 14 - Of History and Kisses

Chapter 15 - Girls’ Night In

Chapter 16 Boys Night In

Chapter 17 A Father’s Gift

Chapter 18 Dragons Fall and Serpents Rise

Phase 2

Chapter 19 Return of the Trollhunters

Chapter 20 Mudslinging

Chapter 21 Roaming Fees May Apply

Chapter 22 Trolls’ Day in the Sun

Chapter 23 The Shattered King

Chapter 24 Air Heads

Chapter 25 Where Is My Mind?

Chapter 26 Party Monster

Chapter 27 Party Monster - Adventures in the Library Sciences

Chapter 28 It’s About Time

Chapter 29 Wingmen

Chapter 30 Angor Management

Chapter 31 A Night to Remember

Chapter 32 Something Rotten This Way Comes

Chapter 33 Shadows of Rage

Phase 3

Chapter 34 Escape from the Darklands

Chapter 35 Skullcrusher’s Lair, Drowning in Hope

Chapter 36 Grand Theft Otto

Chapter 37 KanjigAAARRRGGHH!!! & Homecoming

Chapter 38 Hiss Hiss Bang Bang

Artwork

Blinded River

River and Eri

Painted Draal

Spoilers for Chapter 17

Pen Sketch of Draal

Pen Sketch of Troll River

River and Draal WIP

Family Portrait - Colored Pencil

Pebble and Noodle - line art

Troll River - 1000 Hits!

Human Draal

Other

ToA Undercover Boss - Otto

[sorceress-coffee]

River of Arcadia UPDATE

I recently started a new job and I'll be in training for a while. Since its 40+ hours a week I'm trying to figure out a schedule to keep writing! I'll update later on once I figure this out.

ROA has not, and will not be forgotten! I may have to post shorter chapters or in multiple parts for a while.

Thank you for all the support! 💙🖤

[sorceress-coffee]

I'll be updating River of Arcadia this weekend!

[sorceress-coffee]

Draal and River WIP! Next up is working on a background but I’ll start on that after Chapter 18 goes up!

[sorceress-coffee]

The Trolls’ Day in the Sun

AO3 Link Phase 2 - Chapter 22

Jim and I decided that the best person to ask about Draal’s sudden transformation would be Vendel. As soon as Draal woke up, we got him into slippers, which was more of I fight than I expected, covered him in blankets, and dragged him to Trollmarket.

“Do you want to incite a panic?” He growled out, keeping out of the sun. If he turned to stone in this form, he’d never hear the end of it.

“Vendel is the only troll who might have some semblance of an idea as to why you’re a human now,” I reasoned, taking out the horngazel to open the portal.

“Not to mention we can’t exactly leave you at the house, we don’t know if anything else will happen,” Jim sighed, leading us down into the market.

We quickly avoided curious stares, dragging Draal to the Heartstone. Jim paused as we passed the forge, “You two get to Vendel. River, I think we need to have a word with the council.”

I nodded, rushing Draal into Vendel’s study, interrupting his reading.

“River? What in blazes has you so agitated?” Vendel asked, setting his scrolls down eyeing the blanket-covered form next to me.

“Well,” I trailed off. With a sigh, I pulled the blanket from Draal’s head.

Vendel jumped back before letting out a snarl. “Oh, no! Not another one! I let the pudgy one stay for moral support, the female because she has potential, and your changelings because you keep an eye on them, but another human?!”

“Really, you old goat?” Draal snarled, catching Vendel off guard, “Not like I’m happy about being a fleshbag either.”

“Vendel, it’s Draal,” I winced as Vendel’s jaw dropped, “We were hoping you might know how this happened?”

Vendel took a moment to recover before directing Draal to a stone slab. As he began to poke and prod at Draal, I took a seat, feeling the void pull me from my body.

When I opened my eyes, Jim was being shown our trip to Gatto’s keep. “He found the Birthstone,” one of the previous Trollhunters spoke.

“He thinks he can kill Gunmar?” Another cackled.

“We told him he couldn’t” Snarled a third.

“Silence!” Kanjigar cut through the memory to Jim and me.

Jim glared, angered that the Trollhunters lied to him about being able to kill Gunmar. “You said it was impossible to kill Gunmar, but we found a way. You’re either a lousy council or a worse liar.”

Kanjigar grit his teeth, “We needed to deter you from making a grave mistake. You were lucky to obtain the Birthstone, but the journey will only grow more treacherous from here onward.”

I snorted, shaking my head, “How is killing Gunmar a grave mistake? Isn’t that what the Trollhunter was designed to do? Protect our worlds from him?”

“And, with all due respect,” Jim huffed, “you said a Trollhunter should only work alone, but if it weren’t for my friends, I wouldn’t even have the first stone.”

“If it weren’t for your incessant need to pull people into your fight, my son wouldn’t be a human,” Kanjigar growled.

I pulled Jim back, snarling at Kanjigar, “For everything Draal’s told me about you, making Trollhunting personal was never mentioned.”

Kanjigar snapped his mouth shut at my words, sighing as the other spirits began to bombard us. “They won’t listen! They mock us! What’s the point of council?”

“If you insist on risking the lives of everyone you care about, I advise you to listen to reason!” Kanjigar scolded, waving the other spirits away.

“Jim!” Arrrgh voice cut through the void, “Jim!”

“Your friends, they seek you.” Kanjigar’s eyes drifted off for a moment, “There is trouble in Trollmarket. An intruder! Go!”

“An intruder?” Jim asked, concerned, “How’d he get in?”

“Go!” Kanjigar yelled, forcing us from the Void.

I crashed into my body, hearing the panic and yelling from the market. Without pausing, I sprung up, flashing out to the market as Jim came running with Arrrgh, donning the armor.

“Hey, stop!” Jim called out as the group who caught the intruder began threatening him. “Let him go!” He ordered glaring at the troll holding him.

The troll snarled at Jim, holding the ropes tighter.

“I’m the Trollhunter. I’ll deal with it. Let him go.” Jim glared back at the troll.

I stood next to him, eyes glowing blue as I forced my sclera to change, making the Troll jump back a bit. He eyed Arrrgh behind us before letting go of the rope, dropping the intruder.

Jim summoned Daylight, cutting the bag open, causing a middle-aged human male to pop out of the sack. “Oh. Thank you, Jim.”

Jim jumped back, confused. Arrrgh reared up on his hind legs, growling at the intruder. Realizing who it was, I covered my mouth, trying to keep my laughter at bay.

Jim pulled Daylight on him, “How did you get past Trollmarket’s barrier and how do you know my name?” He asked, glaring down the human.

“Master Jim, it’s me, Blinky.” The human spoke, staring down Daylight.

“No. He lies,” Arrrgh growled. I shook my head, whacking Arrrgh’s arm, still shaking from laughter.

“I can prove it. Your mother is Barbara Lake. Your best friend is Tobia Domzalski. Your father disappeared when you were five. Your sister, Lady River, is the daughter of Lady Ganieda and Garridan the changeling.” This little bit of information caused the Trolls around as to gasp, eyeing me closely as they debated the truth of his statement.

“Spy,” Arrrgh snarled, pulling me between his arms incase the Troll got any ideas. Jim lifted Daylight to the human’s neck, backing him away from us.

“And we just replaced the ignition on your Vespa last week,” the human began to panic.

“Did Strickler put you up to this? You’re working for him, aren’t you?” Jim asked. “How did you get in here? I won’t ask again.”

I flashed between Jim and the human, grabbing Jim’s shoulder to push him back, laughter finally escaping, “It’s like Draal!” I gasped out, leaning on Jim’s shoulder as I broke into a giggle fit.

“I do not appreciate your tone of voice, Master Jim. Is this the way you address an errant stranger in need?” Blinky asked from behind me. “And you knew the entire time, Lady River! I expected more from you two.” He crossed his arms over his chest as Arrrgh came up behind Jim, staring at Blinky confused.

“Blinky?” Jim asked, realizing he was in the same situation as Draal. He circled the Troll turned human in shock. “You look terrible!”

Bliny sighed as Arrrgh began to poke at him, chuckling at his squishiness. “Squishy.”

Among other things, my considerable companion,” Blinky pouted as Jim lifted his arm.

I circled Blinky, “We should probably get you to Vendel too.”

“Too?” Blinky asked as we headed for the Heartstone.

I snorted as we entered the study, Vendel was fitting Draal with a much smaller prosthetic as we entered. “Take a look for yourself.”

“Draal?!” Blinky shout at the other humanoid in Vendel’s study. “What in Gorgus’ name is going on?!”

“I am at a complete and utter loss,” Vendel glared, eyeing Blinky’s human form. “Though whatever happened it seems to either be spreading or you were exposed to the same enchantment.”

“Is there anything you can do for them?” I asked, seeing Draal’s growing agitation at being stuck in a fleshbag body.

“I can turn wolftoads into willowbait, and willowbait into wolftoads, but this?” He gestured between Blinky and Draal, he began poking at Blinky’s face. “What nonsense have you stumbled into now, Blinkous?”

He slapped Vendel’s hand away, “Nothing unusual.”

“Eaten by Gatto,” Arrrgh called out, playing with a helmet he found stored on one of Vendel’s shelves.

Vendel grabbed Blinky’s head, scolding him. “You went into Gatto’s Keep?” He took a deep breath, glaring over us, “Just what kind of INSANITY possessed you?!” He snarled.

“It was my decision,” Jim defended, “We went for the Birthstone.”

“Draal and I had the unfortunate experience of being swallowed by the slubberdegullion and drenched by numerous potions and,” Blinky cut off as Vendel dropped him, jumping from the stone table as he came to a realization, “Oh, my Gorgus!” He cried out, “That must be the explanation for our transformation!”

“Looks like it wasn’t allergies then,” I sighed, helping Draal with the final adjustments of his new prosthetic while Vendel went on a tirade.

“And why would you venture,” He began to ask, looming over Blinky.

“To complete the Triumbric Stones,” Jim stated, Blinky immediately covered his mouth. Jim pulled it down, rolling his eyes at his mentor antics. “So we can destroy Gunmar and save Claire’s brother.”

Blinky quickly backed away, hiding against Arrrgh as we all braced for Vendel’s wrath. “Vendel mad?” Arrrgh asked, wanting to get it over with.

“MAD would be a significant improvement!” He yelled, slamming his fist on the stone slab. “The Trollhunter is to protect Trollmarket, not risk his life chasing stones from fairy tales.”

I pulled the Birthstone from my satchel, tossing it to Jim. Jim quickly placed it on the slab where Vendel hit causing him to break off of his rant to gasp in awe.

Using his magnifying glass, Vendel began to exam the stone, “Oh, my… Gunmar’s birthstone. The legends are true!” He carefully picked it up with forceps, rotating it slowly before pulling back, storing it in the satchel on his belt. “This stays here, safe from your bumbling hands.”

“Hey!” I pouted, “You’re the one who taught me how to handle gemstones, and I’m the one who’s been holding on to it.”

“You went to Gatto’s keep, with your blood you’re lucky he didn’t add you to his collection!” Vendel snapped, leaving no room for argument as Gatto had tried to do just that.

“Speaking of hands,” Blinky interrupted our argument, “uh, when am I going to get my other two back?” Vendel approached him, shaking his head. “It could be days, weeks! It’s impossible to know when an enchantment of this severity will wear off.”

“Well,” Blinky sighed, whacking Vendel’s hand away as he tried to prod at him again. “What shall we do until then?”

“I can’t imagine the other Trolls being too happy to have us around right now,” Draal snarled testing his hand out, nodding once the movement felt right.

“It’s your choice,” Vendel shrugged, smirking down at them. “Stay here for me to poke and prod, or enjoy your day in the sun.” He sneered, turning back to his scrolls, “For as long as it lasts.”

We quickly gathered ourselves, heading up to the canals. The trolls recognized Draal due to the similar prosthetic, some tried to rile him up, but as soon as my eyes flashed with fire, they backed down quickly. Arrrgh escorted us up to the canal exit, opening the portal.

Jim and I walked out first as Blinky and Draal paused in the shadows with Arrrgh. “You ready?” Jim asked, smiling at there hesitation. “Don’t worry, it’s not gonna hurt.”

Arrrgh sighed, nudging Blinky, worried about whether or not he would get hurt in the sun, even as a fleshling. Blinky sighed, turning to Arrrgh, “I’m sorry you won’t be joining me on this adventure, my friend.”

Arrrgh smiled, nodding to Blinky as he nudged him towards Jim and me.

Jim pulled Blinky out as I pulled Draal. Arrrgh covered his eyes, not wanting to see them turn to stone. As soon as they both entered the sunlight the shut their eyes tight, waiting for death.

“There you go.” Jim grinned as they slowly opened their eyes.

“See? Neither of you turned to stone!” I cheered, hugging Draal as his eyes adjusted to the daylight.

Blinky ran out from the bridge, staring at the sun. I shook my head, knowing exactly what was going to happen. I waved to Arrrgh as we headed out of the canal, having to chase after Blinky.

“He’s a little too happy about this,” Draal eyed Blinky, unsure how he could be so excited about being a human.

“It’s a learning experience, you know how much he loves those,” I teased, elbowing Draal’s ribs.

He winced, grabbing his side. “Fleshbags are too soft.”

“I’ve seen the surface so many times, but never like this.” Blinky grinned as we made it up to the bridge. It’s so beautiful!” He backed into the street as a car drove by, the person threw a soda can at his head as he swerved to miss Blinky.

Blinky laughed picking up the can, as we tried to pull him out of the street. “What a kind gesture. Thank you, stranger!” He waved to the car. “I was in need of a snack.”

“No, no, Blinky, wait!” Jim tried to stop him as Blinky bit down on the can.

Wincing, he pulled the can from his mouth, confused. “Well, that does not taste very good anymore.”

Jim pulled Blinky back to the sidewalk as another car drove by, honking at us.

“Why don’t we head home and get some food, we could all use something to eat,” I giggled, taking the can from Blinky before he tried to eat it again.

“If cans are no longer edible, I’m assuming that there will more things we can’t eat?” Draal asked, eyeing the can.

I nodded, texting Eemeli and NotEnrique, “Exactly, things like rocks, coal, socks, metal,” I trailed off, “You know what, just ask first. That’ll be your safest bet.” Draal nodded, keeping close as we walked.

Eemeli pulled up as we reached the house. Grinning at us, he burst out laughing looking between Draal and Blinky, NotEnrique popping his head from the bag. “Oh, this is rich!” Eemeli snorted as we headed inside.

Draal growled, glaring at the Changelings. “Why are they here?” He asked, irritated at being made fun of.

“I asked Eemeli to bring you some clothes. Sweatpants and slippers aren’t going to long.” I smiled, taking the bag Eemeli offered up. “Find something in here to change into while we get some food together.”

Draal, grumbled, nodding his thanks to Eemeli as he took the bag, heading to the downstairs bathroom to change.

Eemeli snickered, “Okay, seeing you all couple-y with a human is unnerving.”

“Agreed!” NotEnrique barked out, laughing at Draal and Blinky.

Jim and I headed into the kitchen, scrounging up leftovers for everyone, “Really?” I asked, reheating the pizza. “Just feels like Draal,” I shrugged.

Eemeli shook his head, “How does the Noodle feel about her Pebble going on fleshy?”

“Not sure, she’s been knocked out since Gatto’s Keep. I think the heat exhausted her.” I explained reaching into my hoodie to scratch softly over her scales.

NotEnrique hopped up into the seat, playing with the scrub brush. “She’s an ice-based familiar, course the heats gonna get to ‘er.”

Blinky smiled, eating the pizza as soon as I pulled it from the microwave, ignoring the burning in his mouth, “She will be fine, a little rest will do her good. Perhaps she’ll be less of a grouchy serpent when she awakens.”

Jim shook his head, passing Blinky a glass of water to cool his tongue off. “Take it easy Blink. You can hurt yourself with food.”

“We’re that fragile now?” Came Draal’s disgruntled voice as he entered the kitchen. He looked college-ready in a simple white t-shirt and jeans, tied together with a letterman jacket.

“Ironic colors,” I rolled my eyes, realizing Eemeli somehow got his hands on an Arcadia High wrestling jacket.

“Strickler gave it to me, part of the undercover bit,” Eemeli smirked, “Never did well in human wrestling thought, too many rules.

I rolled my eyes, hugging Draal as he settled at the counter, “We’re, well, humans aren’t really that fragile, it’s just if you eat food that’s too hot it can melt your skin and it takes a few days to heal.”

“Humans can heal from melting? Fascinating!” Blinky grinned as he began to rifle through the fridge. “There’s so much I haven’t seen of your world. So much I want to do!” He passed some pizza and items from the fridge to Draal.

“Human food,” Draal huffed, “We couldn’t have don’t the taco truck?” He sniffed at the food, trying the pizza first. Grinning, he began stuffing the rest of the pizza in his face, “Never mind!”

“Well, we can count pizza on our new take out list,” I giggled, swiping a piece from the tray.

“I’ve never cared much for human food, but,” Blinky unloaded an entire box of cereal into his mouth, “but the flavor!”

“I guess things taste different for Trolls, huh?” Jim asked, watching Blinky and Draal in awe as they devoured everything in sight.

“They’ll have to eat more often too now,” Eemeli explained, “At least three times a day, and not so much at once.”

“Why is that?” Draal asked, eating a freshly made bowl of popcorn.

“Trolls get sustenance and energy from the Heartstone, eating for us is more celebratory, humans on the other hand get energy from food, water, and sleep. Coffee if you need a boost.” Eemeli went over quickly, giving Blinky and Draal a crash course so they can function. “You use up energy as you do things during the day so you have to replenish that energy.”

“Is that why you eat all the time?” Blinky asked, turning to me.

“Well yeah, even I run off of food,” I paused, realizing that since I wasn’t human, that might not be the case, “Do I?”

Draal shrugged, pushing the popcorn bowl between us. I smiled, sharing with him.

“If only I had two more hands to eat faster,” Blinky sighed, dismayed at only have two hands now. “What do you call this cuisine?” He asked Jim, holding up the empty Tupperware that once had lasagna in it.

“Uh, leftovers?” Jim winced, in shock at the rate Bliny and Draal could empty the kitchen.

“I can’t even look at you!” NotEnrique laughed, still hanging out in the sink. Using a wooden spoon to gesture at Blinky. “Your whole body is like an old sausage left on the grill too long.”

Blinky huffed, setting his next food victim down, “Very amusing.” He glared at NotEnrique, “Who invited him?”

“It’s boring sittin’ round the crib all day.” NotEnrique huffed, “When River let us know about that change, I didn’t know it was into a fat, balding, hot fudge sundae!”

“Oh, and what are your opinions on Draal human form?!” Blinky scowled, yanking the spoon from NotEnrique.

“Oh, no. I’m not stupid enough to fall for that!” Notenrique snarled, “If I go insulting Moonlight’s mate, I’m gonna get a lance through the gut,” he huffed, crossing his arms over his chest.

A grumble sounded from Blinky’s stomach, alerting a new problem. “I think my stomach is trying to communicate with me.”

NotEnrique grinned, heading over to Blinky, grabbing a cup to listen to his stomach. “That ain’t your stomach, pal.” He snickered, poking at Blinky’s abdomen. “After eating a buffet like that, that fleshy inner tube of a body is about to spring a leak.”

“Ah,” Blinky began to panic, realizing what NotEnrique meant. “Oh, dear!” He cried out, running up the stairs to the second-floor bathroom quickly.

“At least he’s bathroom trained,” Eemeli laughed, watching Blinky run into the wall before making it up the stairs.

A car door slammed outside, alerting the rest of us to mom’s return from work. “Mom!” I jumped up, throwing the Tupperware into the dishwasher, and cleaning up the leftover food.

Draal ran for the door, pausing, “Do I, uh, have to hide now?” He asked, realizing he was human.

Jim grabbed NotEnrique, trying to shove him in the fridge, “You don’t, but he does!” He snapped.

Eemeli and Draal quickly stepped in, helping me clean up Blinky’s mess.

Mom opened the door as Blinky returned from the upstairs bathroom.

“I have to say, indoor plumbing is the most remarkable,” He trailed off, as mom walked in.

Gasping, mom backed into the door. “I don’t care what you’re doing, but if you’re not out of my house in five seconds, I have an orange belt in Krav Maga, and I will not hesitate to use it!” She threatened, glaring him down.

“Oh, no,” I yelped realizing what was about to happen.

Blinky tried to explain why he was here as mom snapped, going after his soft targets. As she kicked him to the ground, Eemeli helped Jim shove NotEnrique into the fridge, slamming the door on him.

“Blinky!” Jim jumped up, going to stop mom. “Mom, stop! He’s with us!” Jim stepped between them.

I ran to crouch by Blinky, checking over where mom had hit him. Adding a little magic as I helped him sit up. “Mr. Blinky, are you okay?”

“Kids? He’s? Oh!” Mom gasped, “Wait, what? I’m sorry, who are you?” She asked, helping me get Blinky to his feet.

“This is Mr. Blinky,” Jim tried to explain, unsure of what would keep mom from flipping out right now.

“What have they done now?” Mom asked, exasperated.

“No, no, no. They’re not in any Trouble, Dr. Lake. I’m here to… assist!” He grinned, nodding to himself.

“Yeah,” Jim grinned, trying to find a plausible story “He’s our, uh, guidance counselor from school.”

“Mr. Blinky came over to check on everyone, Dr. Lake, and to meet with you and Draal here,” Eemeli stepped in, greeting mom easily as she was used to him coming around.

“Since when do guidance counselors make house calls? Wait, who’s Draal?” She asked, quickly spotting Draal walk in behind Eemeli.

“Mr. Blinky is new, mom!” I chimed in quickly, elbowing Eemeli in the ribs.

“Mr. Strickler just brought him in,” Jim finished up, standing on my other side, keeping mom from possibly attacking Draal as she had with Blinky.

Blinky cleared his throat, pulling mom’s attention back to him, “Do you mind if we speak alone?” He directed her to the dining room quickly, leaving us in the sitting room.

“When I first introduced to your kids, I never met anyone like them. They were scared, vulnerable, filled with questions and doubts. This led to them acting out. Both have experienced having a father walk out of their lives. River experienced this twice. It’s a traumatic experience enough on their own but at their tender ages.” Blinky sighed, glancing at Jim freaking out behind mom. “Toby and Claire have been supporting young Jim, through the play, camping trips, and late-night walks. Though a couple of the walks didn’t turn out well.” He sighed, referring to us breaking into the museum. “And Eemeli and Draal have been there for River. I’ve seen a significant improvement in River as her relationship with Draal has developed.”

I sunk on the couch, holding Draal's hand tight as I waited for mom to explode. I hope Blink knew what he was doing.

“Relationship?” Mom asked, confused seeing as she’s never met Draal before.

“Indeed, he is her boyfriend, after all,” Blinky explained, smiling at my stiff form. Holding his hand up to keep mom on task, he continued, “Since she began dating Draal, I’ve taken note that she’s opened up quite a bit. I’ve seen her smile, laugh, making friends in school. She even had… what do you call it?” He paused, tapping the table in thought, “Ah, yes! A girls’ night!”

Mom smiled softly, glancing back as Draal nudged me, making sure I was okay with everything Blinky was discussing. I smiled, leaning against his shoulder, glad he was able to be around for this.

“Dr. Lake, you have raised young River, but I know that her biological parents are somewhat of a mystery.” Blinky sighed, “The gift, the one from her father. It seems to have caused her a bit of shock. She’s started looking for him, and Jim and her friends have been supporting her.”

Mom sighed, getting up quickly. She headed for Jim and me, hugging us tightly. “If you needed to talk to someone…”

“Well,” Jim sighed, holding her hand. “You’re kind of always working.”

“That’s what this is about?” She asked, worried that had caused this, “The trouble you’ve been getting into and the late nights and the strange behavior?”

“The letter,” Jim smiled softly, shrugging a bit, “I wasn’t sure how to tell you, and I had to tell someone.”

“And I don’t like talking about things that, bring up the memories, but I knew I had to,” I sighed, grip tightening around Draal’s prosthetic.

“Mr. Blinky has helped us through a lot of stuff.” Jim smiled, finishing for both of us.

Mom hugged us tightly again, only pulling away to look at Draal, “You must be Draal then? How long has this been going on?” She directed to me.

“Months?” I sat back from the hug, smiling at Draal, “A few months now. The timing never worked out,” I shrugged, looking back to mom. “Draal’s a year older. He’s normally away at school, but he makes time to visit. We haven’t been able to work out a time that you were off to introduce you two.” I explained, hoping she wouldn’t be upset.

Mom smiled softly, looking between us. “You can make her smile, not many people have been able to do that.” She shook his metal hand in greeting, not even flinching at it. “It’s good to finally meet you.”

“Likewise, Dr. Lake,” Draal smiled, careful of his grip on mom’s hand. “I apologize for not being able to get out here sooner.”

Mom shook her head, “Nonsense. Are you staying long?”

“I’m, uh,” Draal looked to me, trying to remember terms I used for school, “on break.” He decided, lifting his prosthetic, “Recovery break.”

Mom’s eyes widened, realizing it must have happened recently, “Then I insist you stay here. I’m a doctor, after all. If you need anything, please don’t hesitate to ask.” She smiled before finally turning back to me. “Why didn’t you tell me you wanted to know about your parents?”

I went from happy that mom was insisting Draal stay here, to wincing in an instant, “I,” sighing I took her hand staring at the locket around my wrist. “I didn’t think there would be anything to find, until dad’s gift that is. I just, I don’t know. It just doesn’t seem real.”

Mom hugged me tight, petting my hair back. “If you want to find them, I will help. They’re your birth parents, and I know how important family is to you.” She pulled back as Toby and Claire burst through the back door.

“Is it true?” Claire asked, running in, “Is it really true?” She stopped dead in her tracks in the kitchen, seeing all of us, including mom.

“We came as soon as we… Oh! Hi, Dr. L.” Toby greeted, eyes going directly to Draal and Blinky after jaw-dropping as he approached them.

“So, it is true,” Claire grinned, before looking down at a nonexistent watch, “you really can make it here from the school in under ten minutes.”

“Awesome sauce!” Toby chimed in, pulling at Blinky’s face.

While mom was distracted writing down her phone number for Mr. Blinky, the fridge burst opened. Judging by Claire’s panic, NotEnrique fell out of the fridge.

“Uh,” Jim pushed Toby off of Blinky, “we were just introducing mom to Mr. Blinky, our guidance counselor.”

“And to Draal,” I smiled, kicking Toby away before he could pounce on him.

“Good to see you again,” Claire greeted while holding a shivering Enrique.

Mom almost dropped the slip of paper she was handing to Blinky as looked from Claire to the door, positive she didn’t have Enrique when she came in with Toby.

“Do we mind if we borrow your kids and Mr. Blinky?” Claire asked.

“We’re burning sunlight, Dr. L. You know what I mean?” Toby snickered, excited to take the trolls turned human out during the day.

“Oh, yes, of course. Go,” mom smiled, shooing everyone from the house quickly, stopping me on our way out. “I expect to see you, Jim, and Draal home at a decent hour.” She smiled, kissing the top of my head before sending me out and stopping Jim behind me.

Draal sighed in relief next to me, finally letting himself relax, “Your mother is terrifying, I see where you get it from.”

“Just figuring that out now?” I smirked, holding his hand as I watched Claire toss NotEnrique, “You okay with her knowing that you’re staying here?”

“Probably better than sneaking around, this way she’ll know I’m at the house and won’t freak out.” Draal chuckled, finding it odd that he won’t have to stay in the basement.

“What now guys? It’s your big day!” Toby grinned, hopping off the porch.

“There’s only so much time and so much to do!” Blink began to rant, listing off everything he wanted to try as a human, driving seemed to be the thing he was most excited for.

“Well, the day is almost over,” Claire smiled, interrupting his rant, “but I know just the place. It’s a little bit of a hike, but well worth it.”

“Sounds like a plan then, you guys have fun,” Eemeli waved us off, “I have a changeling to keep an eye one.” He smirked, heading back into town.

“That’s ironic,” Draal snorted as we headed out into the woods.

“What? Witch hunter turned changeling spy?” I snickered, “I see what you mean.”

“I’m just glad Eemeli and NotEnrique are on our side,” Jim spoke up, “Will he be fine though? Strickler has that troll assassin running around.”

“I’ve met changeling’s with Eemeli’s type of training before, Master Jim.” Blinky grasped his shoulder as they walked, “If anyone can avoid a troll assassin it will be him.”

Claire smiled, leading us up to the top of a hill, “Almost there.”

“Who voted for hiking?” Toby asked, trailing behind us. “I thought we were supposed to be doing cool outdoor activities.”

Claire kicked some recycling out of the way as we made it to a clearing at the top. “Looks like someone had a party.

Blinky picked up a glass bottle, sniffing it, “Its, uh, charming.”

Jim shook his head, “No, Blink. She means this,” He turned Blinky to face the sunset.

Blinky and Draal both made their way to the cliff edge, watching the sunset it awe as the sky changed from blue to pink, fading into a dark purple around the silhouette of the city.

“This is breathtaking,” Blinky sighed out, almost walking off the cliff. Jim grabbed the back of his collar, keeping him from walking off.

“You can see this every day?” Draal asked, taking a seat with me further down.

I nodded, leaning against him, watching the sky. “Yeah, but it’s better watching it together.”

Draal hummed, thinking over his day so far, “River, do you want to find your parents?” He asked since Blinky’s counseling was the first time it was brought up.

I sighed, opening the locket, “I’m not sure,” I admitted, tracing the portrait. “I have more questions than ever before, and I know my father would have answers but,” I trailed off, uncertain how I felt about it.

Draal smooshed his face against my cheek, chuckling when he could feel my smile. “If you decide to look for him, then I will help. Fleshy or not.”

I closed the locket, smiling as I kissed him. I could always count on Draal to help me smile.

Claire’s screams pulled us apart as we jumped into action. A golem made of shattered glass climbed out of the recycling bin.

“Another golem?” Blinky shouted as we ran over.

I pulled midnight out, “Why is it glass?” I asked Jim.

“You said it was made of mud!” Toby yelled as the shattered wine bottle approached us.

“Well, there’s four of us and only one of him,” Jim glared the golem down as he summoned his armor. “Flank him!”

“Jim, I think we need a recount!” I yelled out as another golem approached from behind us.

A third quickly joined in. They surrounded us as Jim and I ended up back to back. Currently the only fleshlings with weapons.

I poured my magic into the Heartstone belt, summoning my armor as a golem swiped for me, only landing a blow to a metal bracer.

“Jim, what do we do?” Claire asked as she asked, trying to keep away from the glass.

“I don’t know, last time there was a weird doll in it!” Jim explained quickly, pushing Claire behind him as the golems drew closer.

“An animus totem. We must rip them from out of the beast’s hearts and destroy them.” Blinky explained as we were cornered.

“You mean, I gotta put my hand in that thing?” Toby screech, staring at the jagged glass, threatening to flay his skin.

“Stand back, friends. They are no match for the rocky fists of justice!” Blinky cheered as he rushed for one of the golems. As his hand made contact, he screamed, pulling it back. “Sharp things!”

“Did you forget you’re a human?” Draal snapped, grabbing a large stick and attack another golem.

Claire threw rocks at the golems, breaking their limbs off as Toby used a trashcan lid as a shield.

Jim and I kept cutting them down, but the golems regenerated much faster than the mud golem at school had. “We need to hit one hard and fast against the totem. Grab everything you can get your hands on and attack!” Jim instructed.

Claire and Draal attacked with large branches. Blinky found every rock her could and pelted the golems. Toby tried throwing a boulder way too heavy form him, he ended up with smaller rocks. A golem slammed into Jim, throwing him into a tree.

Toby and I quickly ganged up on the golem that attacked Jim. I flashed above it, lunging midnight straight down through its head as Toby used two smaller sticks to hack at it from the front. Midnight shattered the totem as it pierced the ground.

“He’s getting away!” Jim called out, chasing after the troll we saw at school.

“Jim!” I yelled after him, worried about him going off on his own.

“River, go after him!” Draal shouted as Claire took down the second golem.

Nodding I took off running through the forest, he couldn’t have gone too far yet. As I teleported through the woods, I could hear chanting. I followed it to a clearing where the troll assassin held Jim in some sort of trap.

“Next time we meet, hunter, Daylight will be mine to command.” The assassin sneered.

I teleport behind him, snarling, “Command this!” I snapped, lunging forward with Midnight.

The troll turned, using his staff to block, smirking down at me. “Interesting, in this form, you look just like your mother.” Grinning, his hand shot out, grabbing the collar around my neck.

I could feel my magic drain from the collar to the troll holding it. Yelping as the burning sensation took over. My troll-like features quickly showing through the glamour.

The troll chuckled, draining the magic from my collar as he pulled me forward, studying the changes. “Ah, now there you are Sunshine,” He sneered, gold eyes boring into my firelit orbs.

The name stuck something in me, forcing me into my mind as memories began to overwhelm me. Running through grand hallways, my mothering chasing after me. A woman in gold scooping me up, ‘careful Sunshine, we can’t let the king see you.’ Emerald eyes and a kind smile clouded my vision.

“The,” I gasped, ripping myself from the troll, “the lady in gold?” I held my head. A castle courtyard took my vision next as the troll circled me. A boy in blue singing lullabies as green and gold magic clashed around us. There was something warm. A blanket? No, it moved. A cat? I think it was a cat or was it a familiar?

“Memories are so fragile, how long have yours been locked away I wonder?” The troll grinned as he pulled me from the memory, a small blade held just above the collar against my throat. “What is this?” The troll snarled as he tried to move, gold magic cuffing his wrist.

I fell back from the blades, staring at the magic. The lady in gold? How could she do this? “Gana?” I gasped out, feeling the familiarity of the magic, but there was something off about it.

“You’re starting to remember her,” The troll pulled back, the magic vanishing as he did. “It seems the Pale Lady wishes to spare your life. I wonder how long that will last?” He growled, opening a portal of shadows using the staff. “Child, I am Angor Rot. If the Eldritch Queen wants you alive, then I will stall my hunt for your head. The hunter, however, I’ll be back for his.” He snarled, fading into the shadows.

“Jim!” Claire yelled out as Angor Rot disappeared.

“He’s in a stasis trap. Don’t touch the stones,” Blinky instructed as he jumped into the trap, knocking Jim out of it.

Draal found me on the ground, staring at the spot Angor had been standing. “River!” He rushed over, kneeling next to me and checking for injuries. “What happened?”

“Master Jim,” Blinky gasped out, pulling my eyes to Jim, half his face had glowing marks etched into his skin. “The golems,” he sighed kneeling next to Jim. “they were a distraction.”

“What does it mean?” Claire asked, the markings worrying her.

“The sigil of Angor Rot,” Blinky frowned, eyeing the sigil. “Master Jim, I fear you have been marked for a fate worse than death.

Jim shook his head as the mark faded. “River?” He turned to face me and Draal, having heard everything. “What did you see?”

I slowly lowered my hands from my head, not realizing I was still holding my hair tight. Shakily, I settled my hands in my lap staring at the locket. “My family,” whispered out, feeling weak as the collar pulled magic from me to power the glamour again. “There were more people and magic.”

Draal held my hands, steadying them as I recalled everything. “Take your time.”

Nodding, I closed my eyes. “I was running through a castle. Mom was chasing after me,” my brow furrowed as I focused on her face. “She looks terrified.”

“A castle?” Blinky asked, curious about the memories.

“The lady in gold is there, she called me Sunshine.” I frowned, focusing on her before shifting to the memory of the boy. “There’s a boy singing, I’m hugging his familiar,” I began nodding off, focusing on the lullaby. “My brother has a lute,” I yawned, leaning against Draal.

“What about the Pale Lady?” Jim asked, hoping I had a memory of her.

“The Pale Lady?!” Blinky shrieked, startling me enough to clear the drowsiness. “You saw the Pale Lady?!”

“I’m not sure, the name doesn’t stand out to me,” I sighed, dropping my head into my hands as I tried to think of a connection.

“Angor attacked River while she was stuck in a memory,” Jim began to explain, kneeling next to me. “He went to cut her throat and a weird golden light froze him in place. When River snapped out of the memory, he told her that the Pale Lady, wanted her alive.”

Draal snarled, pulling me close. “Over my stone body! I’ll tear that witch limb from limb!”

Jim frowned at Blinky and Draal’s reactions, “Who’s the Pale Lady and why does Draal want to kill her?”

Blinky sighed, hesitating for a moment, “She’s the Eldritch Queen, the one who, according to the only legend I could find on Lady Ganieda, killed her.”

[sorceress-coffee]

Can you spot the difference? Spoilers for the next chapter of River of Arcadia!

[sorceress-coffee]

Line art for a later piece. Draal and Eirwen don't exactly get along at first.

[sorceress-coffee]

Roaming Fees May Apply

AO3 Link - Phase 2 Chapter 21

River P.O.V. Health class with Coach Lawrence was going as well as to be expected. We were currently on the digestive system and Steve was having a field day with poop jokes. I will never understand the mind of teenage boys, or just Steve, it could just be Steve.

Toby was sitting behind Jim and Claire behind me as we explained what happened before the spirit rally. “So, the reason you were late and covered in dirt was that you were fighting a ‘mud monster’?” Claire asked, leaning forward on her desk.

I leaned back slightly, taking notes as we talked. “Eri said it was a ‘golem,’ a totem made the dirt come to life.” I slipped my hand into my hoodie pocket, stroking over Eri’s fins as she snoozed.

“And there was some gnarly troll watching you two? Talk about creepy,” Toby shuddered.

“I know.” Jim groaned, leaning over the back of his chair. “It was like he was studying us.”

Coach finally got to the part in our lesson where food travels through the intestines and exits the ‘back door,’ as he so awkwardly put it. At this point, he’s just fueling Steve’s jokes.

“What are you going to do?” Claire asked us, worried about this new troll.

“I haven’t figured that out yet,” Jim replied as Steve’s jokes were getting worse.

“I’d like to ‘gas’ a question!” Steve snickered, causing the classroom to burst into laughter.

“Watch it Palchuck,” Coach warned, he hated having to teach health as it was, Steve’s jokes were just going to make this worse for everyone.

“This is serious!” Steve chuckled as he tried to get more jokes out.

Jim rolled his eyes, having enough of Steve’s antics, “Hey, why don’t you shut your hole, Steve?” He groaned, dropping his head in his hands as he realized what he just said.

I snickered at Jim’s slip up, while I didn’t find digestive jokes all that funny, Jim unintentionally feeding the fire was.

“Oh, that’s it. That’s it, jokers!” Coach yelled, fed up with the jokes. “Both of you, principal’s office, now!” He ground out, pointing from the boys to the door.

Jim and Steve got up quickly, heading out the door. Jim was glaring at Steve’s back while he continued to joke as they left.

“This isn’t going to end well,” I sighed, watching them leave.

“Leave it to Steve to put Jim in Strickler’s hands,” Toby huffed out, “So, what was the creepy troll like? How could he be out during the day?”

I shrugged, tuning Coach out for the rest of the lesson. “Not sure, the totem was buried in the middle of the field, in the sun. We only saw him in the shadows though. He had holes all over his stone flesh and gold eyes.” I recounted, making a quick sketch of the troll my notes, showing it to Claire and Toby.

“Again, that’s just creepy,” Toby cringed, trying to shake the picture out of his mind.

“Aren’t some trolls immune to sunlight?” Claire asked, having read ‘A Brief Recapitulation of Troll Lore’ Vol 1 through 47.

“As far as I know it’s just Stalklings, but Blinky said they’re one of very few who are,” I shrugged as the bell ring, dismissing school for the day.

The three of us packed up quickly, deciding to wait for Eemeli and Jim by the lockers.

“So, possible daytime Trollhunting, along with quests to find the stones!” Toby cheered, excited over being able to go on quests.

“That’s assuming we can decipher Bodus’ riddle,” Claire pointed out, waving to Darci and Mary as they headed home.

“It gives us three very vague locations, but Blinky has been working non-stop to figure it out,” I leaned against my locker as Eemeli showed up.

“I just saw Steve and Jim heading out of Strickler’s office and, honestly, I’ve never seen Steve look so scared.” Eemeli snickered.

Jim huffed as he joined us, pulling his books from his locker. “Let’s go. If I see Strickler again I might pull Daylight on him in front of everyone.”

We quickly left to keep Jim from killing our principal today. Whatever happened between them set Jim on edge. “You okay?” I asked as we reached the canal, heading to the portal for Trollmarket.

Jim sighed, pulling out the horngazel, “I should have pulled Daylight on him right then and there.”

“Steve would have gone bananas,” Claire argued, knowing it was more important to hide right now.

“More so then what he was when you two left,” Eemeli chimed in, smirking at the image of a panicked Steve running out of Strickler’s office.

“It’s probably good you waited,” Toby interjected, “I imagine murdering your principal looks pretty bad on your college application.”

“I’ll just have to wait and get him alone,” Jim shrugged.

I felt a chill run through my spine as Claire and I jumped, turning to look over the canal. “What was that?” I asked, reaching into my pocket to see if Eri was messing around with her ice, only to find her snoring.

“What’s wrong?” Jim asked, looking between Claire and me.

“You felt it too?” I asked, noticing Claire was on high alert too.

“Just- I just got a weird feeling.” Claire surveyed the area, eyes straining as she stared at the bridge further down the canal. I followed her line of sight, but we were too far to make out anything.

“I get those all the time, it’s usually after the school lunch,” Toby joked as Jim opened the portal to Trollmarket.

Eemeli sniffed the air, letting out a huff, “If there’s something out there it’s upwind, I can’t catch a scent.”

“Let’s get inside, whatever it is, I don’t like it,” I instructed, making sure we grabbed out things.

Once the portal was opened, Jim grabbed his bag and we headed in quickly, “Come on, Blinky said he had something urgent he wanted to tell us.”

Claire paused, looking over to the bridge once more. I grasped her shoulder, smiling as we headed in. “We’ll figure it out, for now, we’ll be safe in here.”

Draal met with us at the bottom of the crystal stairs, grinning as we entered, “Finally, Blinkous has been driving me mad!”

“How many books did he throw are your head?” I smirked, pulling a page off one of his horns.

“Stopped counting after seven. Would’ve pounded him to the ground if this wasn’t so important,” He sneered, shaking his head as we headed for the library.

“Sorry Draal, I know Blinky can be a lot to handle when he gets hyper-focused on something,” Jim apologized, patting Draal’s shoulder as we drew near.

“Do not worry Trollhunter, unless he consumes more coffee, then be very worried.” Draal huffed, ushering us in quickly, staying far behind us to avoid more books being thrown at him.

Arrrgh grinned at us as we entered, holding stacks of books as Blinky ran around him, sifting through more shelves and throwing the books in random directions. He’s definitely had more coffee.

Blinky’s steps halted as he saw us, he grabbed a book at the bottom of the stack Arrrgh was holding and slammed it on the table. “I’ve spent night poring over the legend of the stones, decoding its hidden meanings. Endless, sleepless nights!” Blinky began, on a caffeine high.

“The Triumbric stones!” Jim grinned tossing his bag on the table as we all gathered close to see what Blinky found. “You found something?”

Blinky nodded, grinning at Jim’s excitement. “At first, I combed every library for insights, but there is nothing written. Rumors say they are tied to Gunmar’s life force. So, I searched for stones that would have significance to his past!” Blinky declared as Arrrgh dropped another book from the pile he was holding onto the table.

“Birthstone,” he said, nodding to the book as Blinky began rifling through the pages.

“Indeed. Such as Gunmar’s Birthstone.” Blinky agreed.

“Like how my birthstone is Topaz?” I asked, knowing it was a stretch that Blinky would be referring to birthstones, it was a human construct after all.

“You were born from crystals?” Blinky asked, surprised, “Ah, blue topaz, that would explain a lot.” He concluded his thought, making me more confused.

“No, it’s something humans do. Each month has a specific gemstone associated with it, River’s happens to be topaz for November,” Claire explained.

“Ah yes! That is an ancient tradition, I believe the stones are different depending on where you are in the world,” Blinky nodded, opening the book to show us what he meant.

“Isn’t that a Heartstone?” Jim asked, “Is that why his ‘birthstone’ is so powerful?”

“Long ago, trolls lived underground, blissfully unaware of humankind above.” Blinky began, finding the pages he needed. “Inevitably, our world collided. Trolls and humans each wanted the world as their own and fought for it. Blood was shed, and our first Heartstone rotted from within.” He sighed, flipping through the pages to show us how darkness consumed the Heartstone. “And from it, Gunmar was born.”

“Wait, you’re telling us that Gunmar was conceived by war and death?” I asked, shocked at the picture of a full-grown Gunmar shattering the crystal from the inside out. “Are all trolls born from a stone?”

Draal nodded, leaning over my shoulder as he examined the picture. “The first troll born from a rotted stone,” he snarled.

“Indeed,” Blinky nodded, setting the book aside.

“Birthstone, okay,” Jim sighed, wrapping his mind around Gunmar’s existence. “Where would we find that?”

“Don’t we have three locations to try?” Eemeli asked, flipping back and forth through the pages of Gunmar’s birth, sneering at the pictures.

“Birthstone gone,” Arrrgh explained, putting the scattered books away.

“It was plundered before any good could come from it,” Blinky sighed “but Eemeli is right. This passage, ‘Three forces Elemental thou must seek in marshland, caverns deep, and mountain’s peak,” He grinned, “Which is elusive, but the clue,” he began as we cut him off.

“Is hidden in the final stanza – ‘mountains peak.’ It’s so obvious!” Claire cheered, “The stone is hidden in a mountain!” The boys all stared at her, shocked at how quickly she put two and two together. “Sorry. I’m a riddle dork.”

“That leaves a lot of mountains for us to check,” I sighed, wondering how we could narrow this down.

“Yeah, um, I’m not getting it,” Toby spoke up, confused about how we got to our answer.

“Gatto’s Keep,” Blinky opened another book, showing us a picture of a mountain encircled with a sketch that oddly resembled the Amulet. “is a vault of the greatest treasured untold. Treasures too powerful for the underworld to possess. Treasures kept locked up by Gatto himself.” Blinky explained, “Treasure like-“

“The Birthstone!” Jim exclaimed, interrupting Blinky again.

“So, this Gatto has the stone that will help us get Enrique back?” Claire asked Blinky.

“If I could just finish a thought,” Blinky tried.

“Even if he has it, how do we know he’ll give it to us?” I asked, tracing the sketch behind the mountain.

“We don’t, but I know of Gatto, everything has a price,” Eemeli sighed, not fond of going to Gatto’s keep.

“When do we leave?” Claire asked, grinning in anticipation knowing this would get us one step closer to saving Enrique.

“Wait, this sounds like a quest.” Toby’s face split into a grin, the kind he usually got when we decided to eat at Stuart’s Taco Truck. “This is a quest!” He cheered, hooking his arms around Claire and Jim’s necks, hugging them tightly. “Guys, we’re going on our first official Trollhunters quest!” He cheered.

“All of us?” Draal rose a brow ridge at Toby’s excitement.

“Dealings with Gatto are always uncertain, the more people that come, the more likely it is that we’ll have something he wants.” Eemeli explained, “If not, well, few make it out of Gatto’s keep alive.”

“So, we all go, it’ll increase the odds that he’ll find something interesting enough that we keep out heads.” I nodded, agreeing with Eemeli since he seemed to have experience dealing with this Gatto.

Blinky nodded, “Pack your bags. There’s more to see in this world than you know.” He grinned ushering us out of the library. “We will meet here tonight and head out to Gatto’s keep.”

Jim, Toby, and I ran home through the sewers quickly, excited at the thought of going on a quest, and the prospect of finding something to help defeat Gunmar. “Pack anything you might need, and anything that might catch Gatto’s attention,” I instructed as we entered the basement.

Toby ran home as mom pulled into the driveway. Jim and I took off upstairs, packing quickly. I searched through my room for anything that Gatto might want, unspeakable treasures weren’t exactly in high supply in a nineteen-year-old’s room. My eyes landed on the last small crystal made of my magic. I smiled softly picking it up, tracing over the spikes and ridges that resemble Draal’s back.

“You’ve got that stupid look on your face again.” Eri’s voice chimed in slipping out from the pocket of my hoodie, she coiled around my neck to keep eye level with me.

“What stupid look?” I huffed, rolling my eyes at her.

“The one you get when something reminds you of Pebble,” She snickered, looking down at the crystal in my hands. “Ooh, shiny,” she slowly slid down my arm, bopping the crystal with her nose. When her scale made contact, the crystal began to glow with excess magic. Eri quickly absorbed the magic, causing the scales of her underbelly to turn a darker shade of blue.

“I brought it home because it looked like Draal.” I stuck my tongue out at her, just happy she wasn’t trying to eat it.

She huffed, pulling away from the crystal, “It does look like Pebble.” She dove into the sleeve of my hoodie, making her way back up to my shoulders. “What are you doing with it? Taking it to Gatto?”

I nodded, packing the crystal, “Eemeli said everything in Gatto’s keep has a price, I figured maybe a stone of condensed magic would be enticing.” I shrugged, quieting down quickly as I heard mom and Jim arguing in his room. Eri his in my hood as I grabbed my backpack, walking out to see what was going on.

“Okay, well. You can ground me when I get back.” Jim pulled his bag from mom as he walked out of his room.

Mom frowned at me as Jim left, “Should I even try grounding you?” She asked.

I winced, watching Jim’s back as he headed out the door. “Out of the two of us, Jim’s more likely to follow rules,” I said, repeating the one thing every adult has told me entire life.

Sighing, mom hugged me tight, “Just, keep each other safe. For me?”

Nodding against her shoulder I hugged her tight, running out of the house as soon as she let go. I couldn’t stand seeing her upset, especially at Jim and me. “Let’s go,” I walked past Jim quickly, meeting up with Toby.

Once Jim joined us, we headed off for Trollmarket, Claire and Eemeli would be meeting us in the Canal.

“Is she okay?” Jim asked as he and I trailed behind Toby.

“She’s upset. With both of us,” I sighed, grasping his shoulder tightly. “All she asks is that we keep each other safe.” I smiled softly.

Jim nodded, calming down as we met up with Claire and Eemeli, heading into Trollmarket. We made a beeline for Blinky’s library where he, Arrrgh, and Draal were waiting for us.

“This way younglings!” Blinky grinned, leading us further into Trollmarket than we had ever been.

“Whoa. You’ve never taken us this far before,” Toby spoke as he ran from rock formation to rock formation, analyzing our new surroundings.

“Because out here, Tobias, there is no protection,” Blinky explained from the back of our group. “Beyond the barriers of Trollmarket lie unforgiving realms, ripe with lawlessness.” He grinned, moving to the head of the group as we entered an alcove lit by a neon sign of the Heartstone, ‘Gyre’ written underneath in Trollish. “We’re here! Did everyone come prepared?”

Jim nodded, sifting through his bag, “Yeah, I’ve got my flashlight, horngazel, amulet,” he began listing off.

Claire pulled her backpack forward, “I’ve got a first-aid kit, matches,” she trailed off going through all her camping gear.

“Brought argyle socks and cat fur from the groomers.” Eemeli shrugged.

“And I got tacos!” Toby grinned pulling out a taco truck taco, “Extra spicy!” At Jim and Claire’s confused glance he pouted, “What? I get hungry on a quest.” He defended.

“And you, River?” Blinky asked, ignoring Toby’s outburst.

I pulled out the crystal from my bag, showing him, “Other than the big one in the Heartstone this is the last crystal I made. I figured if Gatto collects rare and powerful items, this might catch his eye, and be enough to trade the Birthstone for.” I explained, carefully setting it back in my bag.

“That this isn’t going to explode right?” Toby asked, stepping behind Jim quickly.

Eri huffed, sticking her head out of my hoodie to flick her tongue out at Toby in annoyance, “As long as she wears the collar and I’m here you’ll be safe. From that rock at least.”

Draal smirked at Eri, “What is Gatto wants the Noodle?” He asks, trying to rile her up.

Eri hissed at him as I scratched the top of her head, “Then I pull midnight out and we get the Birthstone the hard way.”

Eemeli laughed, poking Eri’s nose, “Gatto likes treasure, if he in danger from anyone it’s the shiny obsessed noodle.”

Blinky shook his head, gesturing for Arrrgh to open the doorway. “Enough bickering, we’re wasting time.”

Arrrgh groaned, reluctantly opening the door.

“What’s wrong, wingman?” Toby asked, worried about Arrrgh’s reaction.

“Hate gyre.” Arrrgh huffed out as we headed inside.

“What’s a ‘gyre’?” Toby asked, hesitantly walking through the doorway. If Arrrgh wasn’t excited about this, should they be?

“Come with me and prepare to be amazed!” Blinky grinned ushering us to a round platform.

The platform began to glow as we approached it. Once Jim stood at the edge it sprung into action, the entire platform rotated to reveal a vehicle made of several metal rings.

“I’m guessing that’s the gyre?” I asked Draal, as we headed towards the staircase.

Toby ran up the stairs quickly, marveling at the machine in front of him. “That’s the coolest troll-y trolley I’ve ever seen!”

“Gyre,” Arrrgh winced, hesitating as he stepped onto the platform.

“Yes,” Blinky grinned. “A gyre. Our kind’s quickest form of transportation.” Blinky explained as he ushered us onto the gyre. Arrrgh sat with Jim, Claire, and Toby. Draal held onto the side as the ring closed us off from exiting.

Eemeli shifted into his troll form, sinking his claws into the side of the gyre. “This beats flying any day.”

Blinky began to pull levers explaining how trolls traveled using a vast network of subterranean sewers that connect every corner of the world.

I eyed Draal and Eemeli as they braced themselves. “Should we be holding on to something?” Draal quickly held onto me as a dangerous glint flashed through Blinky’s eyes, causing Eri to coil as tight as she could around the collar.

“Wait,” Jim called out, realizing what Blinky was saying, “Gatto isn’t in Arcadia?”

Blinky laughed, “Of course not!” He pulled a level retracting the stairs. “He lives under what you humans call Argentina.” Pulling the last lever, the gyre began to spin rapidly around us.

“This isn’t going to end well,” I quickly held on tight to Draal’s arm, keeping my head down so my jaw was covering Eri.

“Let’s burn some tunnel!” Blinky shouted, slamming the giant button on the panel.

The gyre shot off fast than any airplane should go, let alone a tunnel-locked vehicle with no seatbelts. Blinky’s mad laughter and screams were the only things I could here as shapes and colors flew by. Nothing was discernable due to our speed. We could have passed Gunmar and not even notice.

We were shot forward as the gyre fell quickly. Toby, Jim, Claire, and Arrrgh were suspended in the air. Eemeli sunk his claws deeper into the metal of the gyre. Draal’s prosthetic was holding onto the gyre ring so tight, it had thoroughly dented the metal. I clutched Eri tight as Draal kept me from flying off, making sure we all got to Gatto’s Keep.

We came to a sudden stop, everyone as thrown forward hitting the floor of the gyre hard. Everyone except that mad troll who drove us here!

“A new record!” Blinky cheered as he exited the gyre.

I teleported myself and Eri onto the ground, falling onto my rear as I tried to get my bearings again. Everything was still spinning, I felt like I could hear colors.

Toby ran past Blinky and me as he found a rock to puke behind. He might regret eating those tacos before the ride.

Arrrgh ran off the gyre, yelling in Blinky’s face as he passed him, “Hate gyre!”

“Was that so bad?” Blinky asked, thinking Toby, Arrrgh, and myself were overreacting.

“Yes. Yes, it was,” Jim answered as he and Claire stepped off the stairs.

Draal and Eemeli exited after. Draal snarled at Blinky, “You are not driving home.” He walked over to me, setting me on my shoulder so we could continue while the dizziness faded.

“Agreed,” Eemeli growled, shaking off the tension of holding onto the gyre.

“Out of curiosity,” Jim began as we headed further into the mountain. “Have any of you met this Gatto?”

“I’ve dealt with him indirectly, but I’ve never actually met the troll,” Eemeli spoke, falling into step with Draal.

“Uh, no, Master Jim,” Blinky answered for Arrrgh and himself. “In fact, I’ve done everything in my power to avoid him.”

“That doesn’t sound good,” I sighed, laying my head against Draal’s horns, willing the dizziness to go away.

“Very few ever return from his keep. So,” Blinky sighed out.

“Stay close,” Arrrgh finished for him, warning the teens.

Toby groaned, crying out “It’s so hot. Why is it so hot?”

“Because we’re in a volcano, aren’t we?” Claire asked.

“We’re what?!” I yelped out, snapping my head up, everything was red and spinning. I groaned screwing my eyes closed again, “Nope, it sounds like apples.”

Draal sighed, patting my over so I was leaning on his horn again. “Keep your eyes closed till you adjust.”

“Welcome to Ojos del Salado, the home of Gatto,” Blinky’s voice called out ahead of me. At least I think that’s ahead of me.

“‘Ojos del Salado’? Well, that’s not gonna be good for my mobile plan.” Toby sighed out.

“How are we going to explain that to mom?” I asked in what I thought was Jim’s general direction.

“Satellite glitch?” He asked from the opposite direction.

Draal came to a stope as Blinky spoke up again, talking to someone about getting an audience with Gatto. I could hear a few grunts and we began to move again. I slowly opened my eyes, trying to see if the world was still spinning. Everything seemed to be fixed in place now, however, there was a lot more lava than I was prepared for.

“Those aren’t apples!” I yelped, clinging to Draal’s horns tight as he and the others were climbing some sort of scaffolding.

Eri hissed, pulling closer to me as the heat increased, “Too warm, need to cool off.” She slithered from around my neck, into my backpack. Using her ice breath, she sealed herself inside to cool down. As an ice-based familiar, this probably wasn’t the healthiest place for her to be.

Once we reached the top, Draal sat me on my feet. I began looking around, trying to find Gatto. “Isn’t he supposed to be here?”

“Are you serious?” Toby cried out, exhausted from the climb.

“Okay, where’s Gatto? They said he’d be here!” Jim exclaimed, irritated that Gatto wasn’t there after climbing the entire way up here.

“Gatto’s a real butt-snack,” Toby glared.

The mountain began to shake around us as a voice echoed through the volcano, “Who has awakened Gatto?”

“Oh, no!” Toby’s face fell in horror, “I am so sorry I called you a butt-snack.”

I turned, looking up as the mountain was moving. I grabbed Jim’s shoulder tight as he pulled out the Amulet, “F-Found him.”

“A human Trollhunter? How interesting,” The volcano, Gatto spoke, his eyes glowing with lava as he peered down over us.

Jim yelped, turning to face the giant head quickly.

“Trolls can get this big?!” I whispered yelled to Draal. First, I learn Trolls are literally born from rocks, now I’m learning that some can be the size of a mountain!

“How unique.” Gatto called out, eyeing our group, “A witch? I have spoken with one of your kind in over 10 centuries.” He laughed as shock overtook our group. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”

“We’ve, uh,” Jim cleared his throat, putting the Amulet back in his pocket, “sorry, we’ve come for, um.” He stuttered, trying to calm his nerves.

A troll wearing a metal mask approached with a wheelbarrow full of rocks. Gatto’s mouth opened and a magma covered tongue swiped over the scaffolding pulling the wheelbarrow and the troll into his mouth, eating both.

Toby jumped, pulling on Arrrgh’s arm, “Did he just eat a troll?” He cried out, shocked at what we just saw.

“You must excuse me,” Gatto apologized, “I never talk business without something to eat. Go on,” he urged Jim to continue.

“We need, uh,” Jim tried again, looking over the giant troll face, “we need the Birthstone.”

Gatto began to laugh, “The Birthstone of Gunmar. Very powerful. Why should I give it to you?”

“Because we are going to destroy him,” Jim declared, refusing to back down.

“Why do I care?” Gatto chuckled, “Why should I give it to you?” He asked again, steam billowing out his mouth.

“He’s negotiating, Master Jim,” Blinky called out quickly.

I took a step next to Jim, pulling the crystal out of my backpack. “How about a trade? One magic stone for another?” I asked, holding it out to him.

Gatto’s eyes widened at the sight of the crystal, “Concentrated daylight? This is from you?” He asked quickly.

I nodded, “I formed it with my magic.”

Gatto hummed, shaking the scaffolding, “It is, almost enough.”

“What do you want then?” Jim asked.

Gatto grinned, “That gem, and the answer to a little riddle.”

“That’s all?” Toby called out, voice laced with relief, “I thought Claire was a goner.”

“Answer it correctly, the Birthstone is yours,” Gatto explained. “Answer it incorrectly, I eat you all.”

“Eat?” Claire gasped out, “Did he say ‘eat.’”

“Yes, humans.” Gatto slurped, drooling lava, “I hear they have a gamey taste. And the little witch, if you hold daylight, then Merlin’s blood runs through you. You will make a fine addition to my keep.”

Draal snarled, pulling me further away from Gatto’s mouth. “This isn’t right.”

“Think Eirwen would give him brain freeze?” Eemeli asked, growling at Gatto’s deal.

“He said ‘eat’.” Toby fainted.

Blinky grabbed Jim’s shoulder, “Master Jim, we must not enter into this binding agreement. I’m beginning to catch on why so few trolls ever leave this domicile.” He tried to rationalize.

“We’ll play,” Jim announced, shocking us all.

“Are you insane?!” I snarled, head snapping to Jim. “He wants to eat us!”

Jim helped Toby up as he came to, “Look, we need it to save Claire’s brother and, besides, she’s good at riddles.”

“Not ‘bet-our-lives’ good!” Claire snapped.

“You’re a straight-A student!” Jim argued.

“When do we got to ‘riddles’ class?” She asked.

Blink grinned, stepping between them, “Ah, I am savvy with words.” He turned to face Gatto, pointing at the giant troll head. “Gatto, do your worst. Riddle away.”

“He’s literally asking for it,” I groaned, staying between Arrrgh and Draal.

“What begins and has no end, and ends all that which begins?” Gatto asked, smirking down at us.

Blinky’s face fell, “I have absolutely no idea. Those words mean nothing. Indecipherable!” He began to panic.

We all quickly began working through the riddle. Each calling out different answers as our panic grew.

“Ten more seconds,” Gatto informed us.

“You didn’t tell us we’re on the clock!” Blinky yelled, even more agitated.

“Tick-tock, tick-tock. Five more seconds.” Gatto began to count down.

“You know this. You have to know this or we’re gonna die!” Jim grabbed Claire’s shoulder, begging for an answer.

Gatto called times up as Claire shouted the answer, “Death! Death is the answer!”

Gatto was stunned for a moment, “What? No one has ever answered that before.” He sneered. Our cheering was short-lived as he continued, “And lived to tell about it.” The troll miners closed in on us, using axes to corral us. Blinky, Draal, and Toby were slowly moving closer to Gatto’s mouth.

“You were never going to give it to us!” Blinky yelled out, “You horde treasure only to lure those into your literal trap!”

“Oh, come now. A mountain has to eat you know.” Gatto grinned as we were separated further.

“Yeah, well a mountain doesn’t have to eat us!” Eemeli snarled, pushing me behind him as the guards drew closer.

Jim summoned the armor, pulling Daylight out on the troll miner. I activated midnight, getting ready to fight our way out of here.

Draal, Blinky, and Toby were pushed back into Gatto’s mouth, and he ate them.

“Hold on!” Jim yelled, trying to catch them.

I watched as Gatto’s mouth snapped close. I could feel something in my mind snap. “You,” I snarled, as the burning sensation of magic overtook my senses. “You ate my MATE!” I screamed, forcing magic into my throat. The sheer volume knocking several miner-trolls off the scaffolding and causing Gatto’s face to crack.

Eemeli rushed over to me, trying to get me to calm down, “They’ll be okay! Remember Coach’s lesson? We can get them out!” He tried grabbing my arm only to let out a yelp, ripping his hand away as his palm burned.

My magic slowed hearing Eemeli in pain, the collar forcing the changes back. “I’m so sorry!” I cried out, grabbing my head tight as I tried to focus.

Eemeli grabbed the Heartstone belt, pulling me out of the way as trolls began to chase us. “I’m alright, just focus on controlling it!”

Jim sliced through the trolls, clearing a path for everyone as we headed down. He paused as his phone played the gun robot theme, Toby’s ringtone. “They’re alright!” He cried out in relief, turning to me, “They found Gatto’s keep, they’re looking for the Birthstone.”

Grabbing Midnight, I flashed behind him, blocking the axe of a troll sneaking upon him. “Okay,” my jaw tightened as I twisted the staff, slicing up the troll’s abdomen, turning them into stone. “They’re alive, that’s good.”

Jim went to grab my shoulder but Eemeli caught his hand, “I wouldn’t do that yet.”

Nodding Jim rushed forward as we continued to cut through the trolls, reaching fewer and fewer as we drew closer to the bottom of the scaffolding. Pausing to catch our breath, Gatto reached out with his massive hand, trying to crush us as more trolls gave chase. We took off quickly, Gatto’s troll getting crushed instead of us.

As his hand drew near again, I pulled the crystal from my backpack. Focusing on control, I pushed enough magic to start the detonation process. Turning quickly, I tossed the crystal into the air and used Midnight to bat it, sending it straight into Gatto’s hand.

The crystal exploded on impact, shattering a good chunk of the mountain’s palm. The cavern began to shudder as Gatto roared in pain, pulling his arm away from us. We continued our descent, trying to keep steady as everything shook around us.

Draal’s P.O.V.

“I’ll cover the charges!” Blinky yelled at the fleshbag, Tobias.

“We need to find a way out!” I snarled as an explosion went off above us.

“That sounds like a pissed off River,” Toby shrank back, quickly texting Jim.

We quickly began to rifle through piles of treasure, trying to find the Birthstone. Gatto’s stomach began to shake causing the lava acid to slowly rise.

“Forgot the Birthstone, we must make haste!” Blinky called to us, heading back to Gatto’s esophagus, “We can’t possibly climb out of here. I’m afraid we are without an exit.”

“Blinky, there may be another way,” Toby piped up, watching the lava rise in thought, “and neither one of you is going to like it.” He looked between Blinky and me, then pointed to the lava acid. “If this is his stomach, then there must be a ‘back door’ too.”

“Back door?” I asked, not liking where this was going.

“Oh no,” Blinky’s face fell, coming to the same conclusion. “No, no, no, no, no!”

Toby grabbed a barrel, throwing it into the acid. “If we upset the stomach, we may have a chance to be passed through.”

“I’d rather die in a stomach than go out through a- an alternative route!” Blinky shuddered.

“Well, I have a mate to get back to, so grab everything you can, and throw it in.” I snarled, shoving a box at him. We began throwing everything in sight into the lava, causing it to rise faster as the stomach trembled.

Blinky and I made it to a shelf filled with vials and potions. Quickly, we grabbed as many vials as we could and tossed them into the lava. As the bottles shattered, the contents were set aflame, the explosion threw Blinky and me back.

“Are you two okay?” Toby asked, rushing to us.

I coughed as Blinky tried to speak, his voice coming out in a high-pitched squeak. “I’m okay, I’m okay. Sounds like it was helium-based” He hit his chest, throwing his voice back to normal. “I’m glad that wasn’t permanent.”

A dark purple glow caught our sight, “Toby!” I pointed to the pile of gold he had been sifting through when we first fell into Gatto’s keep.

“Is that,” he trailed off, rushing to the pile and pulling out the glowing stone.

“The Birthstone!” Blinky cheered. As he celebrated, I pulled him and the fleshbag back to the esophagus, the lava rising higher.

“It’s not working! We need more, something that will really upset his stomach.” Toby explained, but there wasn’t anything else in sight to toss into the lava.

“We must move!” Blinky yelled out, a stone slab slowly floating towards us as the lava rose.

“We can use that, Draal,” Toby pointed the slab. Nodding, I tightened my hold on the town and jumped for it. The landing was a little awkward as the slab wobbled on top of the lava.

“Now what?” I asked as we floated away from the esophagus, we’d be dead before we floated back in that direction.

“We’re not gonna get out of here, are we?” Toby asked as I sat him and Blinky on the stone slab, looking for a way out.

“I fear we are doomed! And that this will be our final,” Blinky trailed off as Toby began rapidly stuffing tacos in his face.

“What?” Toby glared at us as we stared. “I’m stress-eating. Don’t judge!”

“Tobias, your tacos!” Blinky cheered, trying to grab his backpack

“My tacos?” Toby glared, moving around me as he tried to dodge Blinky. “Are you crazy? What are my tacos gonna do?”

“Tobias, I’ve had your tacos. I know what they do to the insides of a troll.” Blinky declared.

I grabbed Toby by the backpack, allowing Blinky to grab the bag of tacos. As soon as he grabbed them, he tossed them into the lava.

“No!” Toby cried out, “Those were Diablo Maximus!”

I winced, knowing exactly what was about to happen. Leaning down, I anchored the prosthetic as the cavern began to shake.

“Oh, dear.” Blinky braced for the ride. “And that’s the one.”

The lava began to quickly drain as the stone slab followed. “Blink! The back door is open!” Toby yelled over the rushing lava.

“I hate to repeat myself, but it might be apropos. Let’s burn some tunnel!” Blinky yelled, holding onto the slab tight as we were shot down into a tunnel.

Toby pulled out his phone, trying to contact the others, hold onto the Birthstone, and stay on the slab at once. I grabbed him quickly, keeping him steady as he texted Jim to head to the gyre.

River’s P.O.V.

The trolls had disappeared by the time we made it off the scaffolding.

“Where did the rest of the tolls go?” Claire asked as the cavern appeared to be deserted.

Lava shot up around the rocky path, the entire cavern trembling. “I think they knew this place was gonna blow!” Jim yelled watching as lava spilled from the cracks in the walls. Toby’s ringtone chimed shifting Jim’s attention.

“What did he say?” I asked, keeping an eye on the lava streams closest to us.

“Okay, Toby says they’re gonna go out the back door.” Jim read of, confusion lacing his voice. “What’s the back door.

Eemeli burst out laughing, the stress of almost getting eaten, and the hilarity of the situation finally made him snap. “Steve’s not gonna have anything over Toby after this!”

I groaned, realizing what they meant, “Because that’s not traumatizing,” I grit out.

“There they are!” Claire shouted as a slab shot out from a tunnel. Toby, Blinky, and Draal riding the lava wave towards us.

“Start it up! Start it up!” Blinky shrieked as the slab hit the stone, the three of them running for the gyre cave.

We quickly ran to the gyre. Arrrgh tossed Jim and Claire up. Eemeli easily climbing up himself. I stopped next to Arrrgh, watching the doorway for the guys. As they ran in, Draal threw Toby to Arrrgh who then tossed him on board. Blinky was thrown next, and Draal quickly grabbed me, jumping into the gyre.

“Leave it to me!” Blink yelled, pulling levers and pushing buttons as fast as his four arms would allow. “You infernal piece of agh! Arrrgh!” He yelled, unable to start up the gyre himself.

Arrrgh nodded, heading to the back of the gyre, he grabbed the ring. Quickly pulling it down to jumpstart the gyre, he climbed on, holding Jim, Claire, and Toby tight as Blinky launched us down the tunnel faster than our trip out here.

Once we finally made it back to Heartstone Trollmarket, we took our time finding our legs, trying to get off the infernal piece of scrap metal called a gyre.

Exhausted, singed, and some of us technically digested, we made our way to the troll bar, falling into a table for some much-needed rest.

“I vote we never do that again,” Toby groaned, laying his head on the stone table.

“Never,” Blinky agreed.

I sat next to Draal, holding his hand tight. Still shaken from seeing him and the others get eaten. “You three ever do something like that again, I’m ripping the troll open and killing you myself.” I snarled.

Draal nuzzled the top of my head, “I don’t think we plan on that happening again. Speaking of ripping trolls open, what exploded?” Draal asked, referring to the explosion he, Toby, and Blinky heard inside Gatto’s stomach.

Eemeli snickered, ruffling my hair as he took a seat, “That would have been this one. Kept Gatto from crushing us.”

Eri popped her head out of my backpack, nuzzling under my chin, “Pebble’s crystal went bye-bye, but so did most of Gatto’s hand.”

“I knew it!” Toby jumped up, pointing at me, “I knew you were pissed off!”

“I just watched my mate, mentor, and friend get eaten by a giant troll, who then tried to crush us multiple times while we were fighting off his minions. He’s lucky all he lost was his hand.” I grit out, eyes burning as my sclera flashed.

Draal hummed, nodding to Toby’s bag. “If we hadn’t had been… eaten, we never would have found Gatto’s keep.”

Toby grinned pulling out a glowing purple stone. My Heartstone belt hummed as the stone was placed on the table. “I’m guessing that’s it?”

“Never in my wildest dream did I dare think I would see such a sight,” Blinky spoke, awed by the stone.

Toby glared at the stone, sitting back, “I’m never gonna look at food the same way again.”

Blinky shuddered, pulling away from the stone, “Indeed.” He grinned looking over the table at everyone present, “We were all quite the intrepid heroes today, but a special accolade to you, fair Claire, master of riddles.”

“It was a team effort,” Claire smiled, “Besides, we still have two more stones to find,” she pointed out quickly. “The next ones might not be so easy.”

“Easy? We were eaten!” Toby cried out, terrified of what could be worse.

Blinky stopped Toby’s rant quickly, wanting to keep their adventure from all of Trollmarket. “Tobias! The less said about our escape, the better.”

“Just think of the moniker we would receive is the trolls found out about it,” Draal huffed, annoyed at the situation as much as Blinky and Toby.

“Gorgus forbid we are remembered for that in the history books,” Blinky shuddered before sneezing, smoke coming off of him.

Draal’s nose began to twitch as Toby began to tease Blinky. He ended up sneezing so hard his face hit the table.

“Draal!” I jumped, checking where he hit, “Are you two okay?”

“We’ll be fine,” Blinky waved off the groups' worry. “Seems we may be allergic to something in Gatto’s belly. But nothing a good night’s rest won’t fix,” He reasoned, sneezing roughly.

“We should let you rest then,” I smiled, standing from the table. “We could all use a good night’s sleep.”

Draal nodded standing with me as, Toby, Claire, Jim, and Eemeli following us out of Trollmarket. We separated outside of the canal, Eemeli escorted Claire home since his place was close to hers’ and the rest us headed home to the cul-de-sac.

As we drew near to home, we spotted Strickler’s car outside of the house. Jim summoned the armor immediately at the sight.

Draal snarled, heading for the sewer entrance, “I’ll go through the basement.”

I nodded to Draal, Toby quickly ran off to his house, watching out of the window as I teleported Jim and myself into the car. As Strickler left, we watched him, staying in the shadows of the car until mom closed the door.

As he entered the car, Strickler smirked, adjusting the rearview mirror to see us. “Young Atlas, and the lady Mordred, is that,” Jim cut him off, summoning Daylight.

“If I ever see you near her again,” Jim threatened. Hands clenching the hilt of his sword.

“I expected this time would come,” Strickler smirked, eyeing us through the mirror.

“Oh, yeah?” Jim asked, sliding Daylight closer to Stickler’s neck. “Give me one good reason not to do away with you right now.” I spat through gritted teeth.

“Did you happen to spot my companion watching you the other day?” Stickler sneered at our reflections. “He’s my assassin with… how should I put this?”

I snarled, realizing Strickler was toying with us, my eyes burned, sclera turning to fire as my irises glowed bright blue.

“Enchanting abilities,” He finished, eyes widening as he caught sight of my eyes, “And it seems he was correct about you, young Changeling.”

Jim tilted Daylight enough to block my eyes from Strickler’s view, glaring at him. “That was you? What do you mean by ‘enchanting’?” He asked quickly, trying to keep Strickler on point.

Strickler’s eyes shifted back to Jim when they cut from mine, “He entwined your mother’s fate with mine.” He explained, eyeing the blade. “Any harm you do to me will be done to your mother,” he sneered, sliding his finger against the blade, just enough to cut himself.

A crash from the house pulled my attention. Jim and I could see mom holding her hand, having dropped whatever dished she was putting away in shock at the cut.

“What strange magic.” Stickler grinned, tending to the cut, “What happens to me happens to her.”

I snarled, hands clutching the passenger seat in front of me, burning through the leather.

“You two have hurt your mother enough. So, what will it be?” He smirked, watching the smoke as the leather melted in my grasp.

Jim’s hands trembled around the hilt of Daylight before he dismissed the blade. “River.”

Jaw tightening, I forced my hands to cool as I grabbed Jim’s hand, teleporting us out of the car.

“What are we going to do?” Jim asked as we watched Strickler drive away.

“Find out what that troll did and reverse the magic. If it’s a spell, there’s a counter,” I sighed, feeling the exhaustion from our mission and Strickler’s antics settle over us. “Come on,” I headed inside as Jim trailed behind slowly. We parted, him heading up to his bed, and me heading down to Draal.

Making sure mom was still upstairs, I slipped into the basement, heading down the stairs. “I swear, if anyone else tries to pull something tonight, I’m moving into the abyss of Trollmarket.” I snarled.

“Um, you might want to sleep upstairs then,” Draal voice carried over.

Frowning as I turned to his voice, I stopped short. That was not Draal. A HUMAN male was standing in the middle of the basement, wrapped in blankets from the nest. My brain felt as if it short-circuited. Snarling I pulled Midnight out, holding it to the stranger’s neck. “5 seconds. Explain or I run you through. Who are you?”

The human’s brow furrowed before he kicked a large bronze object out from under the blanket. “As cute as you are being overprotective and cranky is, I’d rather find some pants.”

I blinked, Midnight deactivation as the human spoke in Draal’s voice. Looking down at the object I could see it was Draal’s prosthetic. “Oh no,” my head snapped up, finally taking in the human.

He still managed to tower over me, even as he shrank into the blanket. His bronze flesh a drastic change from the sapphire hued stone flesh I was used to. His hair seemed to make up for the lack of blue skin, short turquoise and sapphire locks trailed into a close-cut beard. His eyes, however, were familiar. The same fiery gold orbs studied me as my brain caught up with my eyes.

“Draal?” I dropped Midnight, rushing to him quickly. “Oh, no” I grabbed his face, turning it from side to side, “How did this happen? What happened? Does it hurt?” I shot off questions as fast as my mind came up with them.

Draal stood to his full height to pull away from my grasp, unable to bat my hands away as his left hand was holding the blanket tight. “If your grasp tightens anymore, you might break something.,” he teased, before looking down at the blanket. “You wouldn’t happen to have any pants, would you?”

I squeaked, pulling back, “I’ll ask Jim!” I almost screeched, flashing up to Jim’s room, falling onto his sleeping form. “Wake up!” I grabbed Jim by the shoulder, shaking him quickly.

Jim shot up in bed, armor activating in his panic, “River?!” He grabbed my hands, keeping me from shaking him further. “What wrong? Are you okay? Is it troll assassin?”

“I need pants!” Was all I could yell out in my panic.

Jim blinked, staring at me like I’ve lost my mind, “Okay, I know today was stressful, but did you break something up there?” He asked, tapping my temple.

“Not me, me. I need them for Draal.” I huffed, whacking his hand from my head.

“Draal has pants, well shorts,” Jim stated, still confused.

“Do we have anything left from your uncle James?” I asked, hopping off of Jim’s bed.

“Dad?” He asked, armor dissipating as he calmed from the shock of me waking up. “River, what’s going on?”

I grabbed his arm, flashing us back down to the basement where a human Draal was waiting. “That’s what’s wrong. Do we have any or no?”

Jim yelped, covering my eyes quickly, “Why is there a man, wearing a blanket, in yours and Draal’s room?” He squeaked out.

“Hello to you too, Fleshbag,” Draal huffed out, sitting on the nest.

“Draal?!” Jim cried out, dropping his hands from my face.

“Shocking, I know. Now, about those pants?” I asked again, pushing Jim’s jaw up as it dropped.

“Attic,” Was all he could get out as he grabbed my shoulder. I nodded, teleporting us up to the attic. Once inside, Jim quickly ran to some boxes in the back corner, tearing through them. “How did this happen? Are you sure it’s Draal?”

“Yes I’m sure, he wouldn’t be moving around the room freely if I didn’t think so,” I stated, catching clothes as Jim threw them over his shoulder, quickly finding a few things that might fit our newest human.

Exhausted, we used the old fashion way of exiting the attic, using the ladder. With sweatpants and a t-shirt in hand, I quickly headed down the basement, Jim choosing to process things on his own for now.

Draal huffed as he came over to the stair, “You’re exhausted,” he stated, allowing me further into the room to set the clothes down.

“And you’re a human, sort of,” I sighed, shaking my head. “Will you need help?”

He shook his head, “I’ll manage, I do with my normal clothes,” he chuckled.

Turning around, I waited for him to changed, too tired to run up the stairs or teleport.

Draal grumbled behind me, curing in Trollish at the ‘stupid strings’ until I heard him flop on the nest “Alright, the fleshy clothing is on,” he mumbled out.

I turned to see him face down in the nest, on the verge of passing out. “Looks like I’m not the only one who’s exhausted,” I teased, climbing in the nest with him. This was going to take some getting used to. “Do you have any idea what caused this?”

Draal mumbled about thinking in the morning before his breathing turned to snores. Giggling, I grabbed the blankets and tucked us both in. We would find the answers in the morning.

[sorceress-coffee]

1000 hits! As of this morning on Archive of Our Own River of Arcadia hit 1001 hits! Thank you so much for everyone that took their time out to read my fanfic!

Here is a special spoiler for later on the the series, I present to you: River's Troll Form! This was so much fun to work on! I can't wait to update the next chapters!

[sorceress-coffee]

One Blue girl

Pretty obvious who she is 😊

[sorceress-coffee]

The Battle of Two Bridges

AO3 Link

As consciousness returned slowly, I could make out a soft beeping, playing to a steady rhythm above my head. Another soft rhythm playing to my right. I tried to sit up, only to be pushed back slowly onto the bed. When did I get home?

“You need to take it slow; you were burnt pretty bad.” A voice called out.

My eyes opened to a room shrouded in darkness, the blurred form of Claire was the one who had pushed me back. Shifting my head to the right I could see Jim in a hospital bed hooked up to a few machines, the heart monitor had been the soft beeping. “What happened?” I croaked, trying to get up again.

Claire sighed, helping me sit up gently, moving the back of the hospital bed into a sitting position. “Do you remember anything?” She asked, handing me a glass of water.

Taking it, I nodded slowly before gulping it down. My entire body felt like it was burnt raw. “Goblins in the woods… Jim’s amulet was fake. Burning…” I trailed off glancing at Claire’s hands that had been bandaged. “You tried to help. Then, Jim’s armor.” I finished, frowning at her bandages. “I’m so sorry Claire.”

Claire smiled softly, waving it off. “They’re not that bad, minor compared to whatever happened to you.” She explained, gesturing to my arms covered in bandages, I could feel more around my torso and legs as well. “You started to glow when Jim called for the amulet. It must’ve been painful.” She sighed, “Jim finished off the goblins and then a pink monster- troll- attacked us. I ran to get help, by the time we got back both you and Jim were unconscious. My dad called for ambulances and you were rushed here.” She explained, watching Jim’s chest slowly rise and fall with his steady breaths.

I smiled softly, shifting my arm to hold her hand. “Thank you.” Looking over the bandages I groaned, “Think there’s a way we can explain this without telling everyone about Trolls?” I asked, knowing it wasn’t possible.

Claire frowned, looking over both our bandages, “Not sure, I told them we were attacked by animals in the woods, but I couldn’t place what they were. It won’t account for the burns though.” She explained. “So, what is going on? Jim is kind of obvious, magic armor equals magic destiny, but what about you?”

Sighing, I reached out my hand, summoning Midnight in a flash of light. “It’s magic,” I held out the collapsed weapon for her to take. “I’ve been studying in Trollmarket.” I shrugged.

Claire’s eyes widened, taking the weapon carefully. “Can anyone learn?” She asked quickly, keeping her excitement down as to not wake Jim.

I paused, thinking over what Vendel has taught me so far. “Not entirely sure. Vendel, my teacher, said I was born with magic. Blinky, Jim’s trainer, has mentioned that Jim doesn’t have magic in his blood. So, I guess if someone had magic in their bloodline, they could learn magic?” I explained, not too sure how it worked myself.

She nodded, tracing the crystal veining in thought. “So, you’re a mage, Jim is a ‘Trollhunter,’ is that what I saw in your basement?” She asked before turning bright red, realizing she admitted to breaking into our house.

Laughing softly, I nodded, “That was Draal, he protects our home when Jim has to go on missions.” I explained. “The basement is his room.”

Claire’s jaw dropped, “Wait. Draal, as in your boyfriend? That Draal? The one that gave Jim advice for the kissing scene?” She asked quickly, sitting on the edge of her seat.

My face burned scarlet, remembering my slip up when Jim was wearing the Grit-Shaka, “Yeah, that’s my Draal.” I told her, rubbing the back of my neck, “Sorry about that by the way.”

Claire shook her head quickly. “No, no, I just… You’re dating a Troll?” She asked confused. “Isn’t that difficult as a human?”

“Well, I’m not a human, so I’ve got that going for me,” I explained, hoping she wouldn’t freak out on me. “Sorcerers, Wizards, Witches, whatever you want to call it, have the appearance of a human, but they’re made of magic and are more Troll-like than Human-like.”

Claire nodded slowly, processing my explanation, “So, exactly how are you different besides the whole magic thing?” She asked, setting Midnight next to my covered legs.

I hummed, collecting my thoughts, “I don’t know much honestly, this is still new to me. I do know I’m more durable, I’ll age extremely slow like I’ll be centuries old and still young. There are also different magic abilities from wizard to wizard. I can wield daylight, which is only carried in Merlin’s bloodline. I can enhance my physical strength, heal, and teleport as well.” I sighed, realizing I knew next to nothing about wizards. “Look, Vendel would be better at answering your questions, I’ve only known for a couple of months now.”

Claire nodded, “Does that mean I get to go to Trollmarket?” She asked, a hopeful glint in her eye.

I laughed softly and nodded. “Why not? Jim takes Toby already. I’m sure one more fleshbag won’t cause too much excitement.”

Claire giggled at the use of ‘Fleshbag,’ “Is that what they call us?”

“Oh yes, and you will hear it a lot,” I confirmed with a grin.

Claire smiled before looking over my bandages again, “So, if you can heal, why haven’t you tried to?”

I winced looking down, the pain our conversation had dulled being pulled to the front of my mind. “It would be suspicious if I came in with burns and they mysteriously disappeared overnight,” I explained, holding out my hands to her, palm up. “Hands.” I nodded to her own bandaged ones.

Claire glanced at her hands before carefully setting them in mine. I smiled softly and began the healing incantation, eyes, and palms glowing a soft blue as warmth spread to Claire’s hands, healing the burns under her bandages. I dropped my hands after, smiling. “That should do it.”

Claire was eyeing her hands, stretching them out slowly. She jumped out of her chair when she realized the pain was gone. “That’s amazing!” She exclaimed, covering her mouth quickly and glancing at Jim.

I smiled at Jim, still resting quietly. “Nomura did a number on him…” I trailed off, “I’ll be able to heal us when we get discharged.” I told Claire, trying to dispel her worries.

She smiled softly as the rain began to pour outside. “I’ll leave you two to rest, it’s been a long night. Thank you for your help.” I smiled, waving her off as she left for home.

Jim awoke as the world began moving with the morning, rain still pelting our hospital room window. Holding his head, he slowly sat up. “Did a bus hit me?” He asked, trying to focus.

“Nah, just Nomura,” I spoke up, snickering when Jim jumped at my voice.

His eyes locked onto my frame, focusing slowly, “What the hell happened to you?” He asked, noting all the bandages.

I shrugged, “Something to do with the amulet I think, other than that, no clue. How’s your head?” I asked worried Nomura may have done actual damage.

“Fuzzy, sound hurts a bit, but at least it’s still attached,” he tried to joke, using the remote to raise the head of his hospital bed. His phone lighting up on the table between our beds. He picked it up frowning at a single missed call and voice mail.

“What’s up?” I asked at his confused stare. Trying to get a peek of his phone screen.

“Voice mail, from Strickler,” He replied, showing me the screen.

I tensed seeing the teacher’s contact on the voice mail. “I don’t like this.”

Jim let out a sigh, eyeing his phone, “Nomura said I had to open the bridge, they can’t do it without me.” He explained that was the only reason he hadn’t been killed last night.

I nodded to his phone, “Shouldn’t you listen?”

He nodding, starting the voicemail on speaker, Blinky’s voice coming from the phone. “Master Jim,” Blinky sounded stressed on the other line, Jim and I exchanged a look of panic, “you must listen to me very carefully.” He paused for a moment, “They have captured me and you to come to the Bridge, “he trailed off, sighing before his voice continued, “alone.” I twisted on the bed, throwing my legs to hang over the edge, trying to get up as I stared at Jim’s phone. Jim held a hand up trying to get me to stop, listening to the voice mail intently. “Don’t come! It’s a trap!” He yelled out! “River Ee-” his voice became muffled.

“Give me that!” Strickler snarled out, having taken the phone from Blinky. “It appears things have grown awkward, Mr. Lake.” He began, Blinky’s muffled protests fading out. “Meet me in the alley beside the theater if you ever want to see your friend again.”

We could hear a crash as Blinky’s voice cut through again, “Don’t open the Bridge! Under no circumstan-” and the voice mail cut off.

Jim and I stared at the phone, trying to process everything that was said. “They have Blinky,” was all Jim could get out at the moment.

I carefully got up, walking over to him slowly. Jim shifter over so there was room for me to sit with him on the bed. I climbed in, minding the bandages covering most of my limbs. “He’s going to be okay. We’ll figure something out Jim.” I tried to comfort him, mind spinning over all the details.

Jim held my hand, careful of the burns, he replayed the voice mail, over and over again. Focusing on different parts each time until Toby knocked on the door.

Toby walked in, frowning at the extend of mine and Jim’s injuries. “Are you two alright? You look like someone just died.” He said, standing next to Jim.

Jim sighed, playing the voice mail for Toby. “I’ve listened to it a hundred times now, and I still don’t know what to do.” He said, throwing his phone down onto the bed.

“You don’t have to do this alone. You’ve got Arrrgh, Draal, River, and me.” Toby explained, trying to help Jim.

“They said I had to be alone.” Jim snapped. “If I’m not, what do you think they’ll do to Blinky?” He asked.

“Blinky made it clear. ‘Under no circumstances.’” Toby tried to defend.

Jim squeezed my hand glaring at his phone. “Enough friends have gotten hurt because of me. River’s covered in burns because the amulet was stolen. No more.” Jim told him.

“Really? Because Strickler was the one who stole it right? We also have no idea if that’s why, whatever happened in the woods, happened.” I argued back, pulling his hand to look at me. “People aren’t getting hurt because of you. They’re getting hurt because of Gunmar.” I snapped.

Toby sighed, pulling something out of his bag, “Well, Jim, It's your call. You’re the Trollhunter.” He handed the amulet to Jim. “Here. I picked it up in the woods after you two were dragged away. I thought since we all found it together, we’d always be in this together.” He pointed out to Jim.

Mom came walking into the room with a clipboard, smiling at us. “Hello, Toby.” She greeted.

“Hey, Dr. Lake,” Toby greeted as Jim hid the amulet. “I was just leaving, they’re all yours.” He said, running around Mom quickly. “Can you believe it? Coyotes!” He asked, running out the door.

Mom closed the hospital curtain, walking back over to us. “You both have good friends; one even stayed all night.” She smiled, sitting with us.

“Yeah, there’s really no one like Toby.” Jim chuckled, adjusting in the bed.

I snickered; Jim had no idea how much Claire cared about him.

Mom smiled at me before addressing Jim again. “Actually, it was a girl. She said her name was Claire,” she explained, checking over Jim’s scratches.

Jim’s eyes widened as he glanced to me, I only shrugged back causing him to let out a flustered laugh.

Mom looked between us before sighing, “I want you to talk to me and I expect to hear the truth.” She told us, voice going stern. “What were you doing in the woods?” She asked us.

Jim glanced at me before thinking of what Toby had said, “Well,” He started, “Claire thought she heard her brother crying in the woods, so we went in.”

“And something attacked us. They looked like weird dogs, so we thought it might be coyotes.” I finished, trying to be convincing.

“The truth.” Mom ground out. “Your scratches,” She turned to me, gesturing to the bandages, “you have burns. Those weren’t from coyotes.” She pulled up Jim’s scratched arm, glancing at the scratches again.

“I swear! You can ask Claire.” Jim tried again, pulling his arm out of her grasp.

I winced, shifting away when he brushed against my burnt leg. Mom frowned seeing I was still in pain. “Stop lying to me!” She snapped, checking my bandages. “You both come home from school covered in bruises, sneak out in the middle of the night, get arrested for a silly Chubby Tracker?” She asked, standing from the bed.

“I know you’re angry but!” Jim tried again, mom grabbing our hands quickly, carefully holding mine.

“Angry? I’m not angry and I’m long past worried. I’m terrified.” She explained. Holding our hands close as she continued. “You’re young and you think you’re invincible, but one of these days, you’re gonna… find out you’re not. We all do,” she sighed out, staring at our clasped hands. “Please, tell me what is happening to my kids.” She pleaded, looking between us.

When Jim looked away, mom pulled back to take out the letter he had written before his fight with Draal. I winced at the memory, glad to see the letter was still closed. “Jim’s letter?” I asked her.

Mom nodded, looking up to Jim. “I found this in a cookbook.” She explained, holding it out to Jim.

“It’s… Still sealed.” Jim noted, looking from the letter to mom.

“Whatever is happening, whatever it is you’re afraid to say, I want you to tell me, face to face,” She explained, reaching out to hold Jim’s face. “There was a time when you used to share everything with me. Both of you did.”

Jim smiled softly before looking away, frowning at the hospital bed. We both knew this was something we wanted to protect her from. I sighed, clasping my hands in my lap, keeping my eyes locked on them as mom turned her attention on me.

“Fine,” Mom finally spoke, getting up to grab her clipboard, back facing us. “If that’s the way you feel, your doctor has discharged you both. Mr. Lake, help get Ms. Wyllt home,” She instructed, waking from the room quickly.

I winced, grabbing Jim’s hand as the door shut behind mom. “Jim, I know we want to protect her, but won’t this be worse?” I asked, worried about how worried mom will be from now on.

“We can’t risk her getting involved, Toby’s just as involved as we are, and now Claire knows too.” He sighed, getting up and grabbing out stuff. “The fewer people that know, the better. Besides, if mom did know, you think she’d just let us keep going to Trollmarket? Let us fight Bular and Changelings?” He asked as he helped me up, getting us out of the hospital as soon as possible.

“Alright, I’ll concede on that one,” I huffed, wincing as we took a cab home due to the rain.

Once we were home, Jim helped me up the steps and into the house where Draal was pacing. Spotting us, he rushed over, carefully assessing the bandages. “What happened? The Toby said you had been attacked last night saving the Claire.” He asked quickly.

Jim smiled softly, letting Draal take over helping me into the house. “We’re not exactly sure. The goblins were after Claire, we found out that the amulet was a fake, I called the real one to me, I think River reacted to it too, her magic went crazy, and then Nomura tried to kidnap me.” He babbled on, trying to get us much information out in one breath as possible.

Draal’s jaw tightened at the mention of my magic getting out of hand, sneering when Jim mentioned Nomura trying to kidnap him. “Impure.” He ground out, looking down over my bandages. “Why did your magic ‘go crazy’?” he asked, helping me sit on the kitchen counter as Jim began looking for something.

“I’m not entirely sure, but I think it had to do with whatever Jim did to summon the amulet,” I explained before starting the healing incantation, a soft glow covering my arms, torso, and legs.

Draal turned to Jim, frowning. “That shouldn’t have been possible. If the amulet is stolen, it shouldn’t be able to make it’s way back to you.”

Jim nodded, pausing in his search, “Blinky mentioned that when Chompsky stole it, I wasn’t able to summon it then, why was I able to now?” He asked, worried.

I hummed softly as the glow fade, burns now healed. “Well, Merlin made it, made because I share his blood?” I asked, “I mean if I can use daylight, and the sword and armor are made of daylight…” I trailed off as Draal and Jim both turned to me.

Draal thought it over, “Blinky may know, or Vendel.” He suggested.

Jim sighed, taking out his phone. “Blinky’s been captured by Strickler, I have to go help him.”

Draal’s jaw dropped, turning to Jim. “How do we know that?” Jim played the voicemail for him, waiting to see his reaction. As Blinky’s messaged played, Draal tensed staring at the phone. “Play it again,” he instructed. Jim started it over again.

Blinky’s voice filled the kitchen again, “They have captured me and you to come to the Bridge… alone. Don’t come! It’s a trap! River Ee-”

“There!” Draal snapped, “What was he saying to River?” He asked Jim.

I frowned, listening close to the message again. Focusing on the muffled parts, “It almost sounds like,” I trailed off, eyes going wide. “It’s Eemeli.”

Jim frowned at the phone, “Does that mean they have him too? Why would they take him?”

“What’s the plan?” I asked Jim, knowing we were going after Blinky and Eemeli.

“Your plan,” He stated, searching through the kitchen again. “Well, your goblin plan.” He clarified.

“The Chubby Tracker?” I asked grinning.

“Yup, I’ll go meet with Strickler while you two get Arrrgh and Toby, you’ll track my location, and once you’re certain we are at the bridge, you’ll bust in and help me get Blinky and Eemeli back.” Jim grinned up at Draal and me.

Draal snarled, “I don’t understand. Why do you need to go it alone?” He asked Jim, worried for him.

“Because this is the only way it will work. You have to trust me on this, Draal. Jim answered, searching through the cabinets.

Draal sighed, leaning against the counter next to me. “I trust you, but I also fear for you.” Crossing his arms over his chest, he continued. “You are walking into a den of death. For What? Blinky?” He asked. Worried for Jim’s safety.

“I’d do the same for you,” Jim responded right away, causing all fight to leave Draal instantly, finally locating the Chubby Tracker. “Just get Toby and Arrrgh. Be ready.” Jim told him, pausing before leaving to look back at Draal. “If anything goes wrong, if it means anything, I hope you’re the next Trollhunter.” He said before taking off into the rain.

Draal sighed as we watched Jim leave, “And I hope it won’t come to that.” He spoke softly. I hugged his arm, watching Jim disappear in the rain.

“Let’s go, we should start tacking him,” I said pulling Draal over to Toby’s house quickly.

“River! Draal!” Toby greeted as we piled into Nana’s garage. “Where’s Jimbo?” He asked, worried he took off alone.

“We need you to track the Chubby Tracker,” I explained Jim’s plan quickly to Toby and Arrrgh. “Wherever he ends up, we need to be ready to fight.”

Toby nodded quickly, handing me his phone to keep an eye on as he grabbed somethings to make armor out of, Arrrgh helping him reach a platter. “So, we track Jim, bust in, fight Bular and Changelings, rescue Blinky, and make it out in time for Jim’s play!” He rattled off, grabbing his phone and taping it to the platter, strapping that to his chest. He finally grabbed an old pot and a baseball bat. “Ready to go!” He grinned up at us.

I nodded, looking at the phone strapped to the board, “They’re moving from the alley! Let’s go.” Summoning Midnight, we took off into the city, thankful it was raining heavily, and that no one was out during the storm.

Toby continued to update us on Jim’s movements as we headed into town. We paused near the park gazebo, waiting for the tracker to update. “Uh… I don’t know if this is right,” Toby spoke up, gaining all of our attention.

“What’s going on, Tobes?” I asked quickly, worried the app wasn’t registering.

Toby turned to show me his screen, “If that’s where the bridge is, then wouldn’t that mean they moved it back?” He asked, pinching at the screen to zoom in on Jim’s location.

“They took it back to the museum!” I hissed out, taking off quickly, Draal running on all fours next to me. Arrrgh lifted Toby onto his back as he caught up with me. We avoided what little traffic has gathered and entered the museum quietly.

I motioned for the guys to silent, waving them along as I made my way to the roped-off section the bridge had been residing in. As we neared the plastic curtains, we could hear several voices, most notable were Jim’s and Blinky’s.

“Oh, Master Jim, why did you not heed my warning?” Blinky asked, trying to sound like a stern parent only to come off as worried sick that Jim had shown.

“You promised we’d build that Vespa together. Remember.” Came Jim’s voice, I could hear him hesitate for a moment, “Where is Eemeli? Let them go,” He demanded.

I could hear Bular chuckle at that, “Still in the dark?” He asked Jim, the sound of his sword unsheathing. “Open the Bridge. I will not ask again.”

I could barely make out NotEnrique’s voice as Jim’s steps drifted further from the plastic curtains. Blinky began to yell at Jim, trying to get him to run away, not to risk releasing Gunmar for his safety. “Master Jim! One Troll’s life isn’t worth the risk! Think about Trollmarket! Your friends! Your family” He yelled.

I frowned hearing Blinky’s words. “One troll,” I mumbled out, something didn’t feel right. What had Bular meant by still in the dark?

Draal nudged me when I began to mumble, worry evident on his face. He tilted his head to the side in a silent question.

I drew closer to him, keeping my voice as low as possible, “Blinky said we’d be risking everything for ‘One Troll,’ he never mentioned Eemeli or a human being kept here. Something is wrong,” I spoke quickly, eyeing the plastic.

Draal’s jaw tightened and I could see gears turning in his head, he thought of something. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to know, Eemeli could be held somewhere else, left for dead, or Bular could’ve eaten him. I gripped Draal’s arm tight, trying to reign in my panic. Draal, nuzzled his nose against my cheek, helping me calm as our attention was ripped back to the curtain, the tracker sounding off on Jim’s arm.

Nomura’s voice cut in with a sneer, “He’s wearing a tracking device. You said the Trollhunter was alone!”

Jim’s voice cut out over the others, “Not Trollhunter. Trollhunters!” He yelled out as Arrrgh tore down the plastic curtain.

Toby was positioned in front of us, bat raised to the ceiling. “I am Toby! Grandson of Nana! Fan of hard rock!” Announced, similar to how Vendel greeting him when they first met. He tapped his phone and soft Jazz began to fill the room.

As everyone was distracted by the Jazz music, I glanced around the room quickly, trying to assess the fight ahead. Blinky was hanging upside down near the bridge, he seemed to be in once piece, and very confused over Toby’s choice in music. Bular was looking between Jim and our group, a single sword drawn for the moment as he tried to wrap his head around the music. Jim was standing in front of Bular on some scaffolding, which could be dangerous if it got knocked over. Strickler and Nomura were positioned directly in front of us, Strickler I would have to keep an eye one, I’ve never seen him in a fight. NotEnrique was perched behind them, sneering at our group until he locked eyes with me, his sneer quickly falling to a frown.

In front of the bridge opening, next to the scaffolding back, was a large ruby-colored Troll, or Changeling, that I’ve never seen before. Our eyes locked, and a twisted grin split his face as the music finally changed to Papa Skull. Jim summoned his armor as Bular yelled for our death.

Draal took off with a roar and Bular cut down, aiming for Jim’s head. Daylight barely stopped Bular’s blade as Draal spun up the scaffolding, slamming into Bular, claiming his opponent for the time being. We broke off quickly as the changelings and goblins recovered from Draal’s rampage. The goblins began to swarm Jim, Arrrgh and Nomura were locked in combat, and Toby went for Strickler’s Gronk-nuks before going to cut Blinky down. NotEnrique was attacking the goblins acting as if it was an accident.

The ruby changeling came charging after me, that twisted smile never leaving his face. I activated Midnight as he drew near, using my teleportation spell, I was behind him in a flash of light. He hesitated the moment I disappeared. Using the opening it granted, I charged Midnight with enough magic to stun Draal, and launched at his back, piercing his left shoulder.

The changeling snarled but otherwise seemed unaffected by the attack as he grabbed Midnight from his shoulder, yanking it out roughly. His grin grew as he turned to face me, holding Midnight out of reach. “I was hoping we’d get to fight again. I wasn’t allowed to break you before.” He snarled out.

My blood froze at the sound of his voice, Eemeli’s thick accent penetrated the troll-like gravel. Eemeli was a changeling, that’s why he had taken the Troll news so well. I took a step back, trying to steel myself. Eemeli was not a friend right now, he was an enemy who helped kidnap Blinky. My jaw tightened as I bared my teeth at him, “Who’s next? Should I expect Coach Lawrence?” I snarled at him, holding my left hand out as Midnight tore from his grasp, returning to me.

Eemeli and I were circling each other now, he seemed to be satisfied with taunting me at the moment. “Coach? No, he you don’t have to worry about. Did you honestly have no idea? Some random foreigner moves to your city, your school, as you’re looking for Changelings, doesn’t freak out about Trolls, and is quick to join your little hunting party.” He smirked, “and the little Witch is oh so happy for him to join. To be honest, pissing your mate off was fun.”

I growled, realizing Eemeli had been scenting me to distract Draal. “The more changelings I meet, the more I realize Jim and Draal may have been right,” I spoke, alluding to the fight Eemeli had witnessed between Draal and me.

Pain flashed across his face before he let out a roar, charging after me again. “What does a witch know about us?” He yelled, slamming his horned head into my torso, knocking me back.

I yelped, rolling over as soon as my back hit the floor, getting up quickly. “I know you weren’t born a Changeling,” I growled back as he charged again. This time, I was ready. I hooked Midnight’s blade on one of his horns, using all my modified strength to throw him back against the bridge. “I know a witch created the process of turning Trolls into Changelings.”

Bular and Draal smashed through the lower half of the scaffolding, it to fall towards Eemeli and me. I froze, wanting to help Eemeli and knowing I should just move. I heard Eemeli yell out as he ran into me full force, throwing of us out of the way. He snarled, getting up, falling back into a fighting stance.

I sat up, shocked that he ended up helping me instead, I frowned watching him. I could see he was fighting himself, making himself continue the fight. “and I’m sorry. I’m sorry you were taken so young. I’m sorry a Witch tortured you, changed you. I’m sorry Gunmar has control. I’m so sorry Eemeli.” I told him, flipping Midnight blade down and impaling the ground. This wasn’t a fight I could finish. “Changeling or human, I hope you’re still Eemeli,” I told him, standing up to face him as Strickler used Jim to open the Bridge.

I quickly grabbed Midnight’s staff as the portal opened, pulling debris in quickly. Eemeli’s claws sunk into the floor keeping him grounded. I looked past him and into the portal, color draining from my face as I could make out Gunmar’s from on the other side. My eyes began to burn bright as my magic responded to the Amulet, I let out a pained scream as my grip tightened on Midnight. The Amulet was pulling magic from me, quickening the process of opening the bridge.

NotEnrique climbed up the side of the Bridge to the Amulet, trying to pull it out. The magic began seemed to electrocute him before he shot off onto the balcony of the museum. Draal let out a deafening roar as he abandoned his fight with Nomura and ran for the bridge. Quickly climbing up to the Amulet he began to pry it out, yelling as the magic began to burn him.

At his yells, my eyes snapped open in time to see Nomura attack him, trying to pull him away from the Amulet. I forced my magic towards the Amulet, the resulting overflow slammed into Nomura, throwing her off of Draal, next to Eemeli and me.

As the portal began to pull her in, she snarled, catching my ankle and sinking her claws into my flesh. I shrieked as her claws tore through my flesh, letting of Midnight as the pain of having my skin flayed overtook my senses. Nomura released my ankle now that I was being pulled toward the portal along with her.

I could faintly hear someone yell my name as red overtook my vision. Suddenly I was sent rolling across the floor. Eemeli had moved to save me again. He slammed into me with such force that it sent both of rolling until he crashed into one of the concrete pillars. Falling over me, he sunk his claws into the ground, keeping me pinned so I wouldn’t get pulled into the portal again.

As I saw Bular pull free from Arrrgh, a burning sensation surged through my skin as the Draal was encased in a blinding light, pulling the Amulet free. As soon as the Amulet had been pulled from the bridge, the residual magic exploded within the Bridge. Eemeli lowered himself to shield me as debris shot past us until only a pile of rubble remained. My eyes slowly returned to normal and the burning sensation calmed as the dust settled around us.

Eemeli slowly stood, helping me up to stand as he surveyed the damage. My eyes shot to Draal, he laid near the plastic curtain, his right arm had turned to stone, falling off his body. “Draal!” I screamed, flashing to him immediately. I forced magic into my palms, reciting the healing incantation, praying to anyone that he would be okay.

Jim slowly rose from the rubble of the bridge, “huh?” He paused, eyes landing on me, frantically pouring everything I had into the healing spell. “Draal!” He howled, running to us. He slowed near Draal’s arm as it crumbled, revealing the Amulet that had been in his palm. Jim let out a pained sigh as he picked up the Amulet. Both of us had been on the verge of tears as soon as we saw the state Draal was in.

A labored groan reeled us both in, hovering near Draal’s face, I held my breath, watching as he slowly opened his eyes. “I’d hand you the amulet, but,” he began, I cut him off hugging him as tight as I could.

Tears had started to roll off my cheeks like streamers. I pulled back just enough to kiss him, summoning all my worry, relief, and happiness that he was alive, and burning it into the kiss. Draal had been in shock at the move, recalling Jim’s explanation of kissing. He leaned into the kiss enough to return it, still unsure of anything other than smashing faces together, and too groggy from the explosion to try anything else.

Jim choked, startled by the sudden show of affection but chose not to comment on it as I pulled away from Draal. “You’re alive!” Was all he could get out, surprise, relief, and exhaustion overriding his brain at the moment.

Bular’s roar ripped through the moment. Blinky and Arrrgh were uncovering the sewer grate as a means of escape. “Master Jim, we must leave at once!” Blinky yelled to us.

“Help me, Arrrgh!” Jim asked, trying to get Draal on his feet, causing Draal to groan out in pain, still injured from the explosion.

Eemeli came up next to me and nodded to Draal in a silent question. I nodded quickly, “Please,” I asked. He slid Draal’s injured arm into his helping him up as Arrrgh rushed over, getting Draal back on his feet.

As Bular broke through the rubble we made our way to the sewer, rushing water filling the entire tunnel. “Oh, you gotta be kidding me!” Jim yelled at the water, looking around for another way out.

“No way! I’m not gonna jump in the sewer! There’s gotta be a chicken surprise down there! Maybe two!” Toby yelled, disgusted with our choice of exit.

I followed Arrrgh and Eemeli helping Draal over, pulling Midnight from the ground as we passed it. While the boys were arguing I looked back to see Bular getting out of the rubble. Without a second thought, or waiting for the boys to make up their minds, I jumped into the water. I used Midnight to light up the tunnel as the water pulled me further from the museum. Thrusting the blade deep into the concrete wall I was able to stop myself from being pulled further. Arrrgh noticed the light from Midnight and was able to ground himself near me. He caught Blinky and Draal and they were swept by, holding them tight. As Toby was hurtling past Arrrgh, he used his teeth to snag the bike tire holding the chest plate board, keeping Toby with us.

Eemeli wasn’t as heavy as Arrrgh and was pulled through the current quickly past them. I reached out, barely grabbing hold of his clawed hand. Once I stopped his movement, he was able to sink his claws in the concrete sewer, keeping him in place for the time being.

Jim careened past us, slipping through Toby’s hands. As Eemeli reached out for him, Bular slammed into Jim, sending them into a canal exit and out of sight. As soon as Jim disappeared, Arrrgh began slowly moving towards the canal exit, being careful not to let anyone go.

I tugged Eemeli’s arm to gain his attention as Arrrgh passed up. Inhuman or not, I was running out of air and needed to move, if I didn’t know if I could teleport far enough to get out of the sewer of if I had enough energy to try. Eemeli quickly turned to me, I nodded to his claws, stuck in the concrete, then down to Midnight, still impaled in the bottom of the sewer. Eemeli quickly caught on, grabbing my arm tight, his claws retracted until he was our combined arms’ length away, sinking them into the wall again. I pulled Midnight from the ground, waiting until the water couldn’t pull me further and impaled the blade into the floor again. Eemeli and I repeated, able to keep up with Arrrgh as we slowly made our way out of the canal.

As we breached the water, I gasped for air quickly. Eemeli was using his claws to climb out of the canal. Arrrgh had gotten Draal and Blinky up the slope of the canal when we surface. I tried to teleport onto the slope as the current pushed me past Eemeli, but it seemed that healing Draal had used most, if not all, of my energy. As Arrrgh was pushing Toby up the slope, he caught sight of my exhausted form slipping back under the water. With a snarl he shoved Toby to Blinky before launching himself after me, pulling me out of the water as he climbed the slope himself.

I gasped for air again, not realizing I had breathed in the water when I drifted under again. Two voiced were calling my name but Blinky’s cut through my daze, “Jim! Oh, no!” He bellowed, all six eyes trained on the bridge where Bular had Jim pinned, crushing him.

I felt, more than saw, as Jim’s ripped the amulet from the armor, impaling Bular with daylight as my body surged with heat, causing Arrrgh to drop me onto the slope as I had burned his arm, reacting to the surge in the Amulets magic.

Draal and Eemeli rushed over as the magic faded, both worried at the fall. Arrrgh grumbled, picking me up when it was safe. He nosed the top of my head gently, “Sorry, burning.” He apologized.

I waved him off, smiling to Draal and Eemeli with a thumbs up to let them know I was okay. “No big deal. I know how much that hurts.” I winced as the pain from this morning flashed in my mind.

We made it onto the bridge as Jim slowly pulled himself off the ledge, flopping onto the sidewalk, too tired to care.

Toby took off running to him, laughing in relief at seeing Jim. “You’re alive!” He exclaimed, tacking Jim in a hug.

“Master Jim!” Blinky yelled, appearing to be on the verge of tears as he hugged both boys tight with all four arms.

Arrrgh gently set me on feet when we reached them. “Happy,” was all he said as he lifted everyone in a group hug, effectively squishing Jim and me the most.

Jim groaned out a laugh, grinning, “Guys, I was almost squeezed to death. Ease up a little.” He spoke, though he was content with the hug.

I nodded, squished under Draal’s chin, “I would request breathing,” I told Arrrgh, happy everyone was alive, wincing at tonight’s ever-present burn in my lungs.

Arrrgh set us down gently, Toby was jumping with excitement, “I can’t believe it. You killed Bular, the son of Gunmar, man!” He shouted.

Draal took a deep breath, “My father has been avenged. Thank you, Trollhunter.” He smiled as Jim turned, patting Draal’s intact shoulder.

Jim turned to look over everyone, making sure there weren’t any more serious injuries. His eyes landed on Eemeli, awkwardly standing near Draal and I, in Troll form, “Wait, didn’t he attack us?” He asked, his attention cut between the goblins and Strickler during the fight.

I leaned against Draal, ankle still thrashed from Nomura’s claws, slowly letting the air fill my lungs as Eemeli fidgeted under everyone’s gaze. “That would be Eemeli,” I spoke up, Draal grumbled, pulling me closer to him. “He saved me twice tonight. More like three times.” I looked up at Draal, nuzzling under his chin.

Toby had his arms crossed, glaring at Eemeli, pissed off at being tricked by the Changeling. “Oh yeah? Does that makeup for him helping the others kidnap Blinky or, I don’t know, trying to kill all of us?” He shouted.

“No,” I looked to Eemeli, “as far as we know, he did help with Blinky’s kidnapping, and at first he seemed to be out for blood.” I grasped Toby’s shoulder, pulling him back to look at me. “But, when the scaffolding crashed down, he pulled me out of the way. When the bridge opened, Nomura was being pulled in, and she tore me away from Midnight, into the portal with her, if Eemeli hadn’t caught me, I’d be in the Darklands right now.” I sighed out, looking to Eemeli. “He could’ve left me in the sewer as well, I didn’t have enough energy to teleport out, but instead, he helped me get to the canal where Arrrgh could pull me out of the water.”

Blinky hesitated, looking between Eemeli and me before speaking, “Lady River, do you trust him then?” He asked, unsure of how to feel about Eemeli himself, after being hung upside down for so long.

I shook my head, frowning, “I trusted Eemeli as a human, and everything was an act. You,” I directed to Eemeli, “I don’t know yet. You helped me today, but after everything,” I gestured from Blinky, in regards to the kidnapping, Jim for forcing him into a situation that almost released Gunmar, and to Draal, for trying to distract and get between us. “It might be possible, but I don’t know how you’ll earn that trust again.” I finished.

Eemeli nodded, shifting back to his human form. Hesitating as he looked over the group, landing on me again, “You… apologized, it wasn’t you, so… why” He asked, still processing everything that happened during out fight.

I smiled softly, looking at my hands, “We don’t always have a choice in who we are, some more than others. I didn’t know of magic or the world of trolls until a couple of months ago. To find out about what I am, and what one of my kind can, and has done, to young trolls… it’s heartbreaking. I can’t imagine having your identity stripped from you and living under Gunmar’s rule.” I explained.

“Empathize,” Draal grunted out, recalling my use of the term when we spoke briefly of our parents.

Eemeli hung his head, trying to process everything, “Thank you, if you require a Changeling, well… you still have my number for the project.” He stated, running off quickly.

Blinky began to yell after him. “You can’t just leave!” He griped out.

Arrrgh held onto Blinky’s overall straps, keeping him from running Eemeli down, “Needs time.” He told the four-armed Troll. Said troll, huffing in annoyance.

Toby, having perked up when Eemeli decided to leave, grinned taking out his phone, “We destroyed the bridge and defeated Bular! And with minutes before your play starts!” His grin fell to horror, “Oh, no, the play!” He yelled out.

Jim jumped at the reminder, “The play! I almost forgot!” He groaned, hitting his head with an armored hand.

Blinky grinned, grasping Jim’s shoulder. “Hurry, Master Jim! Leave Killahead to us.” He gestured between Arrrgh and himself.

A growl from the bridge alerted us as Bular, quickly turning to stone, pulled himself up, over Toby. He raised both fists to strike Toby as his body turned to stone, the forward momentum kept the attack going. Arrrgh’s eye glowed, the whites turning black as the grooves in his body lit up. He rushed forward, covering Toby as he slammed his fist through Bular, shattering him.

As Arrrgh calmed, the glow faded. “Arrrgh, your oath…” Toby gasped out, still in shock from Bular’s attack.

Arrrgh glanced at his arm, shaking his head, “Your life more important. Not pet. Wingman.” He explained, holding his fist out to Toby with a grin.

Toby sniffled, bumping his knuckles with Arrrgh. “Ditto buddy,” He said, hugging his fist. Arrrgh picked Toby up so he could stand in his palm. “Now, let’s go take care of that bridge and make sure it never opens again,” Toby announced from his perch.

Blinky grinned, turning to Jim, “And, you, Master Jim,” He paused, giving Jim a proud smile. “The play must go on.” He shooed Jim and Toby off quickly so Jim would make call time. “Alright everyone, let's get back to the museum quickly.”

I laughed, shaking my head, “I’ll have to sit this one out, literally,” I pointed to my combat boot, caked in blood from Nomura’s claws.

Arrrgh lifted my up, careful not to jostle my ankle as he set me on Draal’s shoulder. “Get Vendel.”

Blinky nodded quickly, “Excellent idea Arrrgh! We’ll need help moving the Bridge, and you both can tend to your wounds.”

Draal winced at the thought of going back to Trollmarket, “I can’t,” he argued, glancing at my ankle, worried about the wound.

I scratched softly between his horns, hoping to ease some of his anxiety. “We just helped defeat the last Gumm-Gumm running free. If they try giving either of us shit, I’ll stab ‘em.” I told him. Grinning as I felt him chuckle.

Draal nodded to Blinky and Arrrgh, taking a Horngazle from Blinky, he headed back into the canal, staying out of the water as he drew the portal. I held on tight to his horns as he jumped through, landing awkwardly as he adjusted to only having a single arm.

As we headed down into the market, most Trolls had enough sense to stay out of way. A few whispered and jeered at Draal and his injury, but one snarl from me and they went running. “for however old these Trolls are, they act like middle schoolers.” I spoke up from my perch.

Draal chuckled, “How young would that make them?” He asked, unsure of when a human went to middle school.

I tapped my chin in thought, “Between 10 and 13 years old, usually.” I told him, snickering, “so, children, or whelps.”

Draal barked a laugh as we entered the Heartstone, heading to Vendel’s study. “If that were the case, they would have no control over their bowels.” He teased.

I smirked, hanging over his horns to look him in the eyes, “If we scared them bad enough, they wouldn’t have control over their bowls now.” I grinned, a wicked shine to my eyes.

A huffing Vendel pulled our attention back to the task at hand. He was standing in the doorway of his study, glaring us down. “What is going on out here?” He asked, before taking in our injuries. “You miss one lesson, and you return bloodied, exhausted, and you" he waved to Draal, "are missing an entire arm!” He lectured, exasperated with Draal and me instantly. “What did you do?” He ground out, all but shoving Draal into his study to care for our injuries.

“Well, first, we saved a kidnapped Blinky, disrupted the Changelings in Arcadia, Killahead Bridge exploded, that’s what hurt Draal, and we defeated Bular!” I counted on my fingers before sliding off of Draal’s shoulder. “Which reminds me, Blinky and Arrrgh need help clearing the remains of the Bridge. They’re at the museum.” I explained.

Vendel’s jaw continuously dropped lower during my explanation until he was staring at us, slack-jawed in disbelief, “Bular’s gone? We have the Bridge? And the Trollhunter?” He asked slowly, trying to recover from the shock.

I nodded, leaning against Draal’s arm. “Jim had a human event he had to run off to or he’d be here,” I reassured him.

This seemed to snap Vendel out of his stupor. He quickly pulled my thrashed boot from my injured foot. Cleaning the wounds in silence before wrapping them. He finally spoke up again as he moved on to smoothing Draal’s injured arm. “Then we have reason to celebrate! Once the Trollhunter returns from his human duties, of course!” He grinned, taking measurements of Draal’s arm. “We should have a prosthetic available that will fit…” He hummed in thought, calling in a troll to send out for the prosthetic and to tell others to head to the human museum.

Draal sighed in relief now that the jagged ends of his injured arm were smoothed out. I nuzzled against his shoulder, “How are you feeling?” I asked him softly, this was the first moment we had that we weren’t rushing to escape or get help.

Draal hummed softly, extending the stump, “Better now that it’s not stabbing me.” He turned, nuzzling the top of my head, “I have a feeling if not for your healing, I’d be in worse shape than I am.”

I frowned, thinking over what happened when the amulet was drawing on my magic. “I think I made it worse.” I sighed out, “The amulet was siphoning my magic while the bridge was activated like I was an extra battery for it.” I shuddered; ghosts of my magic being pulled from me was an unwelcome sensation.

Draal curled his arm around me, pulling me tighter to him. “Is that what happened last night? When you came home covered in burns?” He asked worried, still upset that he couldn’t do anything while Jim and I were stuck in the hospital.

“You what?!” Vendel cried out, walking in when Draal mentioned the burns. “Why were you burned?” He asked quickly, checking over to see if he had missed any injuries.

I sighed, curling tighter against Draal, “I think it had something to do with the amulet. Strickler stole it, and Jim was able to summon it. When he did, it was like my body was burning from the inside out. My veins lit up with magic, they were glowing! Is that another sorcerer thing?” I asked, confused about what was happening. Uneasy seeing how worried Vendel was.

Vendel frowned, examining the visible veins on my wrists. “No, I’ve never heard or read of a sorcerer who ‘lit up’ with magic… That’s a Trollish trait.” He explained, nodding to himself when he doesn’t find any more injuries. “You’re both exhausted. You should rest here for the time being.” He stated, allowing Draal and me to stay.

Draal nodded, keeping me close to him. “Thank you Vendel,” He spoke, finally letting the exhaustion sink in. His shoulders sagged, almost caging me in against his chest.

Vendel hummed, going about his study until a large orange troll walked in with a mechanical prosthetic arm. The Troll’s gawked at the sight of Draal curled around me on the stone table. Vendel took the arm quickly, shooing the Troll out before they could do or say anything. Vendel carried the arm to Draal’s stump, fitting the holding mechanism into his stone skin. Once the holding mechanism was properly adjusted, Vendel began to attach the arm. “Try lifting your arm,” he instructed to Draal, making minor adjustments until it moved fluidly. “Alright, try the hand and fingers.” Vendel went through adjustments, grip, and minor strength tests with Draal while I dozed off in his lap into the early morning.

Loud cheering erupted through Trollmarket, drawing closer to the Heartstone. I quickly shook off sleep, wondering if the news of Bular’s demise and taking the Bridge had spread through the market. I sat up, still on Draal’s lap as metal footsteps caught our attention.

Jim quickly ran into the study, excitement and relief crossing his face as he saw Draal and I were patched up. “How are you two holding up?” He asked quickly going to stand by Vendel as he and Draal finished adjusting the prosthetic arm.

Rubbing the last of the sleep from my face, I grinned at Jim, motioning to my ankle. “Patched up, I’ll heal it up the rest of the way once I get some more rest,” I explained. Nudging Draal’s jaw with a smirk.

Draal nodded to Jim, stretching out his new arm. “Banged up, but we’re breathing,” he chuckled. Getting up with me cradled in his stone arm, he nodded his head to the doorway. “Trollmarket is celebrating.”

Jim nodded quickly, “I know! It’s insane! Blinky, Arrrgh, and Toby are waiting for us at the bar. That is if you’re feeling up to celebrating.” Jim smiled knowing Draal and I had taken the most damage today.

Draal hummed, looking down at me for an answer. I smiled nodding to him, “I’ll be useless on a dance floor, but I could hang out to celebrate our victory.” I teased, kicking Jim’s shoulder with my uninjured foot.

Face splitting in a grin, Jim’s excitement returned immediately. He led us out of Vendel’s study and out to the bar. As we entered, the bar erupted in more cheers for all of us. Arrrgh waved us to their usual table, already filled with drinks, human and troll safe. Draal laughed, taking a seat next to Blinky keeping me on his lap.

Bagdwella lifted her mug to Jim, “All hail Jim! The Bular slayer!” She yelled out in a toast as shouts, and cheers of agreement surround us.

“Hey! Who wants tacos?” Toby yelled out, as he ran towards our table, shoving a taco in Draal’s prosthetic hand before running around to shove another in my hands. “Taco for you. Taco for you.” He called out, running back into the crowd of trolls, still dispensing tacos to everyone.

Draal laughed, throwing the taco in his mouth. “Mmm, taste like the ones from our ‘date’,” he chuckled.

I smirked, taking a bite of mine, “Yup! These are definitely from Stuart’s Taco Truck.” I grinned, eating quickly.

Blinky’s voice cut through my momentary food high, “Don’t let it go to your head, Master Jim. You still have training to do.” He instructed. “Hero’s forger is unforgiving to those who are not afraid.”

“Don’t forget midterms,” Jim laughed, glad to have some semblance of normalcy with Bular gone.

Vendel passed behind the boys, chuckling as he stopped, “Lighten up, Blinkous. Why do you always have to be such a grump?” He asked the six-eyed troll, his drinks were definitely taking effect. “We have the Bridge. Trollmarket is safe once again,” he cheered.

Blinky nodded, glancing at a distracted Jim, then to me, “But their teacher changeling is still at large.” He explained to Vendel, rightfully worried.

Vendel grinned, grasping Blinky’s shoulder. “I trust our Trollhunter can handle it,” he laughed. “He has an excellent trainer.” A warm smiled covered Blinky’s face at the compliment, turning a proud smile to Jim.

As the party died down and tacos ran out, Jim and Toby helped me hobble out to sit on the steps, overlooking the Heartstone to get a little quiet time.

“Well, you said you wanted adventure and something more.” Toby started, finishing off the last taco. “Did that amulet help you find it?” He asked Jim.

Jim hummed softly as he leaned back next to me, pulling the amulet out. “No,” he stated, causing Toby to choke.

“Really? No?” I asked as Toby recovered.

“You did.” Jim smiled at both of us.

Toby smiled, trying not to get teary. “I knew you needed me,” He laughed out.

Jim’s face grew stern as he leaned forward, staring out at the Heartstone. “I’m going to need you both now more than ever, Tobes.” He sighed, gripping the amulet tight. “I don’t know how, but we are gonna get Claire’s brother back.”

Toby’s Jaw dropped, “That place is huge, Jim! Enrique could be anywhere!” He said, throwing his arms out, gesturing the entirety of Trollmarket, as if I didn’t cover a fraction of the Darklands. “I wouldn’t even know where to start looking.” He sighed.

“Not to mention we’d be walking directly into Gunmar,” I spoke up, worried for Enrique now that NotEnrique was useless to the Gumm-gumms.

“We’ll figure it out,” Jim shrugged, smiling at us. “We always do.”

[sorceress-coffee]

WIP! Love how her eyes and hair came out!