Tale II:
To Go In Search of Trolls

"Is it dead?" said Lora, regarding the fallen troll with her hands on her hips.

Sticky flew close - but not too close - and prodded the troll gently with his typing wand. The troll's left leg twitched. This display was hardly necessary, though, for the troll's noisy breathing was enough to wake a dead elephant.

"No, only stunned," he said, retreating a short distance. To his surprise the elf-child leapt onto the troll's stomach and began searching its tatty vest and belt.

"What are you doing?" cried Sticky.

"Eew, there's fungus growing on it."

"That's what comes of living in a dark, damp cave, I expect."

"It doesn't smell very good either."

"Yes, well, again-"

"It doesn't have any gold," said Lora with a frown.

"It's probably hidden it in a hollow log or something. Please get down."

"All right." Lora hopped down. "We'll tie it up and make it tell us where its gold is when it wakes up."

Sticky stared at Lora as she took up her coils of vine. "Are you quite mad?"

"There's twenty-five percent in it for you."

Against his better judgement, Sticky said nothing more. He simply shook his head and helped with the knots. All the while he kept half an eye on the troll's business end, which coughed and gurgled now and then as they worked.

Ludicrous, he thought. Absolutely ludicrous.

When they'd finished, they stood back to eye their work. The troll's two filthy, muscular legs were bound at the ankles, and the arms were bound at the wrists with the wiry vine. It looked as effective as a wild boar hog-tied with string.

"Are you sure that vine will hold?"

"It's bindvine, of course it'll hold. You worry too much, Sticky."

"It's my survival instinct. I suppose you're too young to understand the importance of worrying. You've just conked a very large and very dangerous troll on the noggin, bound it, and committed yourself to coaxing from it the whereabouts of its gold. You should be worried."

Lora just frowned, and gave the troll a swift kick to the liver. The troll flinched, but remained comatose. "When's it going to wake up?" she said.

"You did hit it pretty hard - and often."

Lora sat on a nearby stone and propped her head on her hands. Sticky flitted over beside her, not keen on lingering so close to the troll, and took a moment to peer about the clearing. Presently, the ground-squirrel the troll had been harassing poked its head out of one of the myriad holes in the sod. It disappeared, only to reappear in a closer hole. It regarded Sticky with inquisitive eyes and sniffed the air. It clearly took him to be no threat. It shifted its gaze to the girl, and the club propped up beside her. It clearly thought this was a different matter, and disappeared down the hole again.

At last, however, it ventured out and scurried across the grass. It paused to eye the club once more, then continued towards the troll with some purpose in mind that Sticky could only guess at. Lora gave it a cursory glance as it entered her field of vision. It seemed to have second thoughts at this point, then it picked up speed and stopped just short of the troll.

Sticky and Lora both watched it now as it sniffed and pawed the air, and hopped over to the troll's feet. It sank its teeth deep into one of the troll's hideous toes, and tore savagely at the grey flesh. The troll stirred, then let out a gargantuan yell, fully regaining consciousness. The squirrel, having wreaked its revenge, spat a chunk of something green into the grass, and scurried off back to its hole.

"Why didn't I think of that?" said Lora, taking up her club. The troll was thrashing about now, making great angry noises that refused to be words. Lora leapt deftly upon its heaving barrel-chest, club raised above her head.

"Lay still, troll!" she cried. "I've bound you with elven bindvine: the more you struggle, the tighter the vine becomes until it cuts your bits off."

The troll ceased moving, with a defiant grunt of anger.

"What is dis?" it said, regarding Lora with confusion in its eyes.

"I am Lora-el-thanir, and you are my prisoner, troll."

The troll frowned, then set to chuckling, which grew to laughter that rocked its body. Lora had to fight to keep her footing.

"Why are you laughing?" she demanded.

"You, an elfling, have taken Gnorr prisoner? Gnorr the Outcaste, fallen at the hands of a mere half-pint and an imp?"

"Count yourself lucky you aren't dead, slayer of elf-kind!"

This sent the troll into another fit of laughter, until at last he had to restrain himself lest his hands and feet drop off.

"What d'you want with Gnorr?" he said at last. "He's slain neither elf nor imp. He roams the Badlands in peace and answers to no-one. Untie him and let him be."

"You may not have bothered the imps, or the elves, but what of the squirrel-folk; such as the one yonder?"

"Gnorr has to eat," said Gnorr with a shrug.

Lora's face contorted, but she seemed to be losing an inner battle to hate the wretched troll.

"Where is your gold hidden?" she said halfheartedly.

"Gold? Gnorr has no need for gold."

"You're lying!" said Lora, giving the troll a thump on the head with the club.

"Owwww! That hurts! Stop, stop!" Lora relented, and Gnorr opened his wincing eyes. "You don't fight fair, little one."

"Sure I do. I'm small, you're huge. I had to even things out a bit."

"Gnorr speaks the truth. But Gnorr knows where to find gold if tha's what you want."

Lora smiled. "No tricks, or I'll leave you here to turn into a rock when the sun comes up!"

"Gnorr swears! Untie him, and he will show you much gold."

Lora looked questioningly at Sticky.

"We can do worse than believe him," he said. "But take my advice for once, and stand well back and let me do the untying."

"All right, then, Stick."

"Sticky, if you please."

Lora retreated to the rock with her club slung casually across her shoulder. Sticky, with some apprehension, cut the vines from Gnorr's swollen ankles and wrists with his sharp little teeth, then dashed out of harm's reach. Gnorr stood up, flexed his arms and back, and shook his hair like a wet dog. He rubbed the sizeable lump on his head and looked warily at Lora's club, which the girl tightened her grip on. Gnorr glanced over at his own club, and Lora leapt in front of it.

"You won't have need of that, Gnorr."

"Yass, yass," said Gnorr. "But you can't take on the Fellthorn Trolls with that club of yours alone."

"We'll see. Lead the way, then."

Gnorr nodded, and began his Earth-shaking traversal of the glade. He growled viciously at the squirrel, which was watching them pass, and it scurried away down one of its holes.