Thorin ran.
He ran fast and hard, letting his instincts guide him through the forest. The long hours, the training day and night- it had all been for this, and now that training was all that stood between the young ranger and certain death.
Behind him, the troll thundered along, its long legs making up for the slower strides as it chased after Thorin- chased after the bone necklace the ranger boy wore draped across the back of his neck.
But Thorin couldn’t worry about that now, he could only worry about the route he had planned so carefully in his head. Turning right at the tree with the cut, turning left at the rock with the mark on it, and leaping over the log he’d marked with an errant branch. Every point brought him closer to his goal, and every step seemed to bring the troll closer to him!
Finally, with the troll’s grasp only inches from his throat, he hit the edge of the dry riverbank and leapt into the air. Green and brown were traded for sun-bleached white and grey stones as the ground fell away underneath him, and the dropoff at the river’s edge left him hurtling through the air. Despite the dropoff of several feet, he didn’t have time to stop and climb down, and could only hurl himself into the air and hope that he could make the landing.
When he came down, his foot slipped, but he managed to keep himself from falling by dropping into a shoulder roll on that side and come up running without losing any momentum.
It was a close thing too, for as he came up the troll exploded from the bushes in a mighty crash and landed where he’d been only moments before. The mighty beast was too single-minded to be concerned about the change in surroundings, and continued its mad rush at Thorin, but this time there was no series of obstacles to slow it down- it was a straight flat run to the other side of the river, and the troll had the advantage.
Still, seemingly heedless of his poor situation, Thorin ran. When he hit the thin wide trickle of a stream, he began jumping from rock to rock. Using each of the small boulders as a bridge to avoid the slowing grasp of the water, hopping his way across the water.
Of course, the troll didn’t care about getting wet, so it continued its rush after him as it hit water that just barely came up to its knees. It slowed the beast down, however, and that gave Thorin the moments he needed to get a head start as he rushed toward the forest cover of the far side.
But, instead of running, Thorin stopped on a rock halfway across the green water and turned to face his pursuer. In a single motion, his bow was in his hand, and an arrow, one of his last, was being drawn back.
He loosed it.
The arrow shot harmlessly over the troll’s head.
This caused the wading troll to pause for a moment, surprised by his prey’s sudden change of heart, but only a moment, and then the troll let out a roar and was rushing at him again like a charging bull.
There was little Thorin could do but dodge, and he did, jumping to another rock, and using the boulders as cover to slow his pursuer down. As long as he stayed ahead of the now-slowed troll, and kept the large rocks between them, he was out of the troll’s reach.
And then, the unexpected happened- as he was leaping between rocks, the troll scooped up a chunk of floating wood and threw it at him. The driftwood caught him just as he was landing, knocking him off the rock and sending him tumbling into the river.
Surprised, Thorin splashed around for a moment, and struggled to get his feet under him. When he finally did, a shadow loomed over him, and he was forced to dive aside as the trolls club-axe cleaved the water where he had been. Frantic, all Thorin could do was try to put one of the boulders between him and the troll, but now the troll was the one with the advantage, and it easily maneuvered around the smaller human to keep him from escaping.
Then the troll’s huge hand was gripping Thorin’s chest and hauling him from the water, pulling him out to slam him against one of the boulders. Thorin let out a cry of pain as he was pinned against the rock and for a moment the world went black, then it returned to blazing color as he found himself face to face with the troll.
Dripping, hurt. The two faced each other.
Thorin was surprised to find he wasn’t afraid. His heart was beating hard, but he didn’t feel fear- only determination. For once, he had done his job. For once, he had acted like a real leader. He thought of his father, and hoped that this final sacrifice would be enough.
The troll raised his club-axe, and Thorin turned his head and closed his eyes. As he did, he wondered whether the sound of thunder that rushed in his ears was the sound of his heart or…
Then he and the troll were both swallowed by a wall of water.

#

Thorin’s first sensation was the feeling of lips pressed against his.
Then his eyes shot open as he coughed and gasped for air, clutching at his throat. He remembered the thunder and the drowning blackness, and now… He was alive?
He looked over at Feena, who was kneeling next to him.
“You owe me,” she said, wiping her mouth with her arm and spitting.
Thorin rasped. “You owe me for being so damn slow. I told you to open the floodgates on the dam when you saw my arrow.”
Feena tapped her bandaged arm in the sling. “One hand, remember? It was stuck.”
After a moment, Thorin nodded. “Yeah. It’s okay. Good work.”
“You’re welcome.”
He looked around the riverbank, seeing only rocks and wood.
“Did you see it? Where is it?”
Feena shook her head. “I only found you. The water probably washed it downstream.”
Thorin pulled himself to his feet. “We’d better check.”
They found the troll a short time later, its green scaled chest heaving as the creature lay face-up in the shallow water at the river’s edge. Its club-axe was nowhere to be seen, and one of its arms was bent at an odd angle.
“It’s hurt,” Thorin said, watching the bruised and battered creature.
He heard a knife being drawn. “But it ain’t dead…yet.”
Thorin watched his teammate step forward, preparing to cut the creature’s throat. He couldn’t help feel sorry for it, and reached out to grab her arm.
“Maybe it will leave now,” he said. “It’s hurt. We should just let it go back.”
“Go back?!? Are you crazy?” Feena shook of his hand. “Who knows how many people this thing has killed? Look, if you can’t handle it, just go over there. I’ll do it.”
“No,” Thorin stood his ground, stepping between her and the troll. “It’s a living thing.” He doubted he was in any condition to stop Feena, but he felt he had to try. He was done letting her push him around. “We need to respect that.”
“It’s a killer,” Feena stared him down. “A killer, a monster, and a…”
“…a father.” Came another voice, and both of them turned around.
From the forest, Myra emerged, and behind the elfin girl a small troll dressed in rags followed.
“Or mother,” she continued. “This is Apple. It’s child.”
As Thorin and Feena watched, the young troll rushed past them to the larger one, kneeling down next to it and began to wail. The larger troll, awakened by the sound of the little one, opened its eyes and lifted a hand to stroke the arm of the wailing child.
“I found her in the human settlement,” Myra continued. “I believe they were using her as a slave.”
Thorin considered. “Maybe that’s why it came here. To get this child back. The other trolls are just trying to help this one get back its child. This was a rescue mission.”
“Trolls ain’t smart enough for that,” Feena commented, but Thorin shook his head.
“Yeah, well, looks like they are.”
Then there was the sound of wood cracking as the larger troll pulled itself to its feet, towering over the rangers. Holding the little one to its side, it looked down at the three, its lips pulling back to reveal snarling teeth.
“Put your knife away.” Thorin ordered Feena.
“But…”
“Do it.”
With a snarl of her own, Feena thrust the hunting knife back into its sheath at her hip.
Summoning his courage, Thorin stepped forward and pointed downstream, toward the Southlands.
“Go,” he said.
He doubted the troll understood his words, but it seemed to get his gesture, and then it took the little one’s hand and gave the humans a final snarl before it turned and left.
Watching it go, Thorin felt conflict in his heart.
Had he done the right thing? Trolls were trolls, and this one was clearly dangerous.
And yet, as he watched the display of parental love before him he couldn’t help thinking that maybe they weren’t so different from humans after all. So, maybe there might be hope yet.
Fatigue began to take him again, and he almost fell over, only staying up when Myra helped to steady him.
“Are you okay?” She asked, her large brown eyes filled with concern.
“Yeah,” he nodded. “I’ll be fine.”
And, for the first time today, he meant it.

FIN

Thorin was already regretting this.
He was standing alone in a clearing with the troll before him- so close he could hear the chuffs of air and see its nostrils flaring as its small black eyes peered at him, and then glanced warily around the clearing.
This troll was no fool, Thorin decided, then considered that foolish trolls were often dead long before they could reach the size this one had. He’d managed to stop the troll by just standing there alone with his bow ready- if he’d known it was this easy, he’d have done it before.
But his rest wasn’t long, and the troll began to stride toward him across the grassy space- necklace of bones tinkling as each step brought it several feet closer to Thorin until it was looming overtop of the young ranger. Then it stopped, and looked down at him, a slightly puzzled look in its eyes.
It’s wondering why I haven’t run, thought Thorin. I am too.
Then the Troll leaned in, and bared it’s teeth at him- a wave of hot, stinking breath blowing against his face. It hissed. A challenge? Or maybe a warning?
Either way, Thorin didn’t react, he just stood there, his bow ready to fire at the beast, and the two of them stared at each other.
Then the troll’s eyes went wide and it suddenly reared back, twisting around.
Thorin took this as his cue and began to back away, and the troll’s spinning revealed a smaller form was now attached to its back- Feena! Riding the bucking and twisting troll like a tiny child riding on her father’s back.
Thorin heard a torrent of swearing, and then saw the reckless girl drop to the ground and roll away. She waved the troll’s necklace in her hand, and shouted “I’ve got it! Shoot him! Shoot him!”
It had been Feena’s plan to distract the troll like this, and he hoped it worked. In a quick motion honed by long hours of practice, Thorin raised his bow, took aim at the troll, and fired. The troll was following the retreating Feena, so Thorin had a clear shot at the back of it’s huge knees, and despite their movement, he was sure he could score a hit.
But, as he watched, the arrow was again knocked aside by an invisible force.
The plan was a failure, the necklace wasn’t the talisman they’d hoped it was!
Even worse, as he watched, the Troll’s club-axe sliced the air where Feena’s head had been a moment before. In this kind of open area, the Troll was faster than they were!
Panicking, Thorin realized he had to do something and began to run after them. Slamming his bow onto the clip on his back, Thorin pulled out his knife, the only thing that seemed to work on this creature, and ran in. He thought maybe he could distract it- jab it in the back of the leg. But he feared this would be more like a mosquito bite than a critical blow.
Then the unthinkable happened- Feena was just a bit too slow and the club caught her shoulder. Her body was suddenly sent tumbling across the grass to where it lay- unmoving.
Every curse he knew went through Thorin’s head, but he knew that if he focused on her, he would only be assigning both of them to the funeral pyre. Instead, he let the adrenaline surge push him to run faster, and jumped over a rock to bring his hunting knife down into the troll’s calf as hard and deep as he could.
The troll screamed, this time in pain, and while the knife didn’t do much damage, it definitely got the creature’s attention. It swung around, Feena forgotten and those dark eyes now on Thorin.
Eyes filled with murderous rage.

#

Myra watched the farmers pack to leave.
It had been difficult to convince them at first, but her official ranger sigil and sincerity had broken through their prejudice. It also helped that someone had earlier reported hearing the sounds of warfare to the east where the main force of Rangers was engaging the trolls.
Then a noise caught her attention, and Myra turned to see a couple leading their crying child from a nearby house. They looked like tenant farmers, and their child was yelling up a storm.
Myra went over to them, and all three of them suddenly froze, the parents watching the elf with caution while the child stared at her in wonder. Myra leaned in to the open-mouthed child and said “Do not worry, little sister, it’s just for a little while. Until the storm passes, you need to be brave for your parents. Can you do that?”
It took a moment, but the little girl nodded her head.
“We’re sorry to trouble you, ranger.” Said the mother. “She’s just a stubborn child sometimes.”
Then the little girl looked up at her mother, “But Apple’s in the barn! What about Apple?”
“Apple will be fine,” her father told her. “You’ll see her when we come back.”
The child looked at Myra again, “Will you protect Apple?”
Myra nodded. “Of course I will. We rangers are sworn to protect everyone.”
At that, the girl’s mother began to shuffle her away, and the child waved at Myra as she left.
“You don’t need to worry,” said the father. “Apple will be fine. Don’t bother yourself with it. Really.”
Myra caught an odd tone in his voice, and couldn’t shake the feeling he was nervous about something the child had said.
“Of course,” Myra nodded. “The people of this settlement are my responsibility. The livestock are too difficult to move.”
Looking slightly relieved, the man said his thanks and left to join the parade of people heading north into the hills. But, there was something about the way he acted that bothered Myra, so once he was gone, she went to the barns behind the headman’s house.
Slipping inside the dusty building, she could hear the livestock moving around and grunting, and walked among the stalls. It was a normal barn, and the animals here were what one would expect to find in any farming settlement. As she walked past the pigs, she wondered which of them might be Apple- perhaps a piglet? That would be the thing a farmer’s child would worry about. Well, she’d do what she could to steer the troll clear of this place, if it came to it.
Then, as she was about to leave, her eyes fell on the final stall going wide with shock at what they saw.

#

Thorin leaned Feena against the tree- trying not to make anything worse.
“I’m okay,” the girl kept chanting, but it would have been more convincing if she didn’t keep coughing up blood.
“Let me check you over,” Thorin said, defaulting to his training. He had always been good at the medical side of the Ranger arts, and for once that might actually be useful. With gentle fingers, he poked and pressed the girl’s sides and arms, and then suddenly leaned forward and stuck his ear to her ample chest.
“H-hey!” Feena blushed, “W-what are you doing!”
“Be quiet and breath as deeply as you can,” he ordered and for a moment the only sound in the forest was that of the birds and insects. Then he said, “I think you broke a rib, but it’s not poking into your lung. You also broke your left arm and your shoulder, but I’m not sure how bad. The healers should be able to help, but we’ll need to get you home.”
Feena shook her head, “We can’t go home. The troll is still out there.”
Thorin frowned. She was right, their attack had done little but get Feena injured, and even he was lucky to have escaped the Troll’s wrath by hiding from it in the forest. After it couldn’t find him, it had scanned the skyline and then resumed its northeasterly course.
“There’s nothing we can do,” he declared. “That necklace wasn’t the source of its power, and we don’t know what is.”
“It’s the club,” said Feena with certainty. “It’s gotta be the club.” Then she paused, “Or its loincloth…or boots…” Listing off the only other two objects the troll had, “No, it’s gotta be the club.”
Thorin generally agreed, it did make sense to put protective war-magic on a club, especially for a species like a Troll, but… “It doesn’t matter, there’s nothing we can do. Myra’s at the settlement by now, and we’ve slowed it down. Our job is getting you home.”
Feena looked at him and then shook her head in disgust. “No wonder they call you Thorin Shaking-leaf,” she said. “Hastur was crazy to make you the leader of this team.”
Thorin, who was starting to rummage through his carry-pack, just nodded. “You’re right. I don’t know why he made me the leader. It’s not like I can do anything useful like you or Myra. I’m not a very good ranger.”
Feena nodded. “You got that right, if I was in charge…”
Suddenly Thorin’s head snapped up and he looked at her with sharp eyes. “If YOU were in charge? Feena, you WERE in charge! This was YOUR idea to attack in the first place. I’m not a bad leader because I suck at fighting- I’m a bad leader because I listened to YOU instead of following orders.”
The ranger girl stared at him, open mouthed. “I…” Was all she could manage.
“A good leader takes care of their team, and I screwed up.” Thorin said. “So now, let’s do the right thing and go home.”
Then Thorin went back to his pack, and found the map he was looking for. Unrolling the vellum scroll on the grass in front of them, he took a minute to figure out where they were, letting his finger slide across the map. He found the nearby mountain peaks, and then the place they had started and followed that up toward the settlement along the river, noting where they had likely encountered the troll.
They weren’t far from the settlement now, and he traced his finger along the river that ran just north of them until he came to… Thorin’s finger stopped, and he cocked his head in thought. Then he looked at the ranger girl, who was watching him carefully.
“Feena, do you still have that troll necklace?”
Feena blinked, and then reached into her side-pouch. “Yeah, I’m gonna show it to the kids when we get back. Watch ’em freak out.”
That made Thorin nod again. It was possible then. They could do it.
“Feena, I have a plan, but I’m going to need your help.”
“A plan to get us home?”
“A plan to stop the troll.”