(Continued from Ch 37, The Dungeon of Daelrath)

The Chronicles of Rapina
Chapter 38, Rampage of the Trolls


Once in the baron's sitting room, the captain drank deeply and told a harrowing tale.

"That's a sad story, Tarsus. I am so sorry about the Northern vindicator settlement, and this shows the trolls are getting more adventurous. Perhaps their campaign against the giants is going well this season. Their use of tunneling disturbs me, but it is not unprecedented. That is why Keep Daelrath sits atop an outcrop of stone. It also disturbs me that your sentries were taken out by stealth or spells, and only then did a hoard of hunger-crazed trolls come pouring into your sleeping encampment. What with the rattling, and the fact some of your men and horses seem to have been poisoned out of the blue, the exploding light and the fear that caused your horses to go out of control, I would say you faced a troll shaman," I had a bounty hunter kill a shaman lately, and I had hoped he was the only one, but I guess that was wishful thinking," the baron said.

"What is a troll shaman?" Captain Tarsus asked.

"They are primitive mage-priests. They have magic and brains, two things most groups of trolls lack. When you get one of them, you might as well double or triple the strength of trolls you are facing. You were lucky to have made it out of there with your lives. This is godforsaken, dangerous country," the baron said.

"I am charged with the conveyance of Brianna Barter back to Avengene, can I count on your assistance?" the Captain asked.

"In view of my new understanding of the priests of the vindicator compliments of reverend Vindictine, I will turn her over to you, but only under protest, and because in the missive to Avengene that fetched you hither, I said I would. I will never again extradite a young woman accused of a crime against one of these celibate priests, even if he was the Marquis' son. I do not believe she is guilty of anything but self-defense, and I cannot see how she can get a fair trial in Avengene when the man she killed was not only noble born, but a son of the lord of the land."

"Reverend Vindictine? how has he instructed you?" The captain looked confused.

The baron stood, walked over to the captain and drew his face within inches of the captain's, "Your filthy, celibate priest raped my daughter!" Daelrath growled.

Captain Tarsus gaped.

"He was still wet with her when I arrived on the scene. The two knights that had discovered him were holding their blades on him. He had been moved only enough to get his filthy meat out of my little girl," the baron said.

Captain Tarsus cleared his throat uncomfortably.

"I will no longer tolerate the clergy of the vindicator in my keep. This celibacy nonsense is against nature, and it warps a man, as Vindictine proved. Furthermore, you can take my daughter's governess with you when you leave. She is every bit as unnatural as that fiendish priest. She nags, she is insolent and if she were any stiffer she'd be a corpse.

I will thank the Marquis of Avengene to kindly refrain from helping me in the future. The help he has sent has proven to be a disaster, and I do not wish him to try to make it up to me. A simple apology and a promise to keep out of my affairs will be sufficient.

When you leave, I will give you a letter to Avengene about VinDICKtine. Do not expect a large escort from me. The trolls have been brisk of late and I cannot spare the men. We will give you an escort to the more Southerly vindicator settlement. You can camp there and recruit a few men to help you on your way back to Avengene. Make sure you tell those priests to stay away from my keep. They are no longer welcome here."

---

The group of riders left the cover of the forest and trotted through the frozen fields surrounding the second settlement of the vindicator. The stockade wall looked freshly built and impressive. Rapina's hands were shackled together behind her back, and a chain stretched beneath the girth of her horse from one manacled ankle to the other. Reverend Vindictine was similarly secured. Sergeant Titus of Avengene led the mounted party. Sir Coshus and Sir Stallart followed the sergeant. Governess Rhona rode behind the knights, and behind her rode captain Tarsus who led Rapina's horse. Behind Rapina rode Balard who led Vindictine's horse. Taking up the rear was Melden.

"The gate, sir, it's open," the sergeant observed.

"Can you see anyone?" Captain Tarsus asked.

"No sir, and I don't see a soul on the walls," the sergeant replied.

"Ready blades. Titus, ride in and take a look. Be careful," the captain ordered.

Titus rode into the walled settlement, and then returned to the group outside the gate a few minutes later. "They're all dead sir, and mostly eaten, but there are gnawed bones, entrails, clothing and that sort of thing strewn around. It looks like the trolls that got us a few nights ago were still hungry, sir."

"Any sign of trolls?" the captain asked.

"I didn't see anything living sir," Sergeant Titus said.

"We had better check for survivors. Balard, the prisoners, Rhona and I will stay here by the gate," the captain said.

About twenty minutes later, the warriors returned.

"Nothing but pieces of people, sir," Sergeant Titus said.

"The trolls are on the move," Sir Coshus observed. I've seen some bad years, and this one's warming up to be one of the worst. The giants must be doing poorly this year or serving as mercenaries for the orcs North of Avengene. Usually they keep the troll population down a bit. In any case Captain, my orders were to take you this far. If you ride hard, you should be able to get to a city in Avengene before nightfall when the trolls are active, or at least a settlement by afternoon."

"Thank you Sir Coshus. I will take it from here," the captain said.

It had been half an hour since the knights had left them, and the group was riding along a path through a forest of large fir trees. Sergeant Titus was still riding point. Rapina's horse was still being led by the captain, while governess Rhona, who seemed to enjoy scowling at her, led reverend Vindictine's horse. 

"Damned trolls! The captain handed the governess the reigns to Rapina's mare. Reverend, we have too many prisoners and not enough blades for a fight. I am going to release you on your own recognizance. If you bolt, I'll shoot you in the back with an arrow, understand?"

"Yes sir," Vindictine said.

"Good." The captain released the reverend and handed him a shortsword. "Keep an eye peeled for trolls."

About a half hour later, the group was riding through a thick area of forest. As they were going around a fallen tree, Vindictine cried out.

A green cloud briefly blossomed around the reverend. "Cough! Cough! Sir, I feel ill, horribly ill," Vindictine gasped.

The captain heard the sound of a rattle off in the distance. Damn it! Hurry, there are not enough of us to fight, we must ride! Captain Tarsus said.

From the other side of the fallen tree came the sergeant's voice, "Troll on me!"

Rapina could hear the troll's claws ripping the man's armor and rending his bones.

Captain Tarsus tossed the lead rope of Rapina's horse to governess Rhona and rode to help Titus with the troll.

"Yah!" The chopping of the captain's sword through troll flesh could be heard over the fallen tree. "Damn that was close. Titus is down, and I'm hit, but not bad. Reverend, can you heal?"

"Cough! I can try sir," the reverend sputtered.

As the reverend rode around the tree a roiling dark cloud erupted around his body. Rapina dared not even smile, but she has seen that cloud once before when Thane had been having his battle of sorcery with the troll shaman, only this spell was one Thane had cast.

By the time he got around the tree and could see the warriors, Vindictine was so ill he fell off his horse.

Rapina screamed and nearly fell off her horse as it bolted in a sudden surge of unnatural fear. Thankfully, the chain underneath the animal's barrel helped stabilize her. The beast was running as if the very hounds of hell were chasing it, and it was pulling the governess and her horse along with it.

"Shit!" Tarsus dragged Titus away from the flailing body of the troll and looked over at Vindictine writhing on the ground. "Help each other! The prisoner is escaping!

Tarsus remounted and turned his horse, and then suddenly it started galloping wildly. He couldn't control it!

"Hellfire! My mount's been ensorceled with fear!"

When the captain and his fear-crazed mount were out of sight, dirt fell aside and a cloud of blackness separated itself from beneath the fallen tree. Kent, the darkness-shrouded ghoul made quick work of the wounded sergeant and the writhing priest. Once they were paralyzed he cut their throats with the claws of a severed troll hand, then he picked up the decapitated troll's head and stuck it back on its body. That finished, he cracked a willow switch across the rump of the reverend's horse. The horse ran off. Kent dragged the reverend's corpse into the tunnel under the tree. There he began feasting.

Rapina heard rather than saw the arrow. One moment the governess was valiantly keeping up with Rapina's fear-crazed mount, the next moment she had fallen off her horse. Rapina lost sight of her shortly thereafter.

Arzeal crept up in his camouflage clothing and troll-foot boots. He cut the woman's throat with the claws of the severed hand of a troll, and then collected the small game blunt arrow he had used to crack her skull.

At last the fear spell wore off his mount and the captain turned the creature back in the direction from whence they had come. As he neared the fallen tree he saw sergeant Titus, or rather pieces of Sergeant Titus. The troll must have found its head, for it was devouring the sergeant. Captain Tarsus did not see reverend Vindictine at all.

"Treacherous priest!" He snarled.

The troll looked up from its meal and ran after the captain.

The mare Rapina was riding eventually snapped out of her fear. Not wishing to be anywhere near the trolls, Rapina was at a bit of a loss. Thane might be out there, or there might be a troll shaman with a spell similar to Thane's taint of death. She decided the only safe thing to do would be to ride for the keep and try to catch up with the knights before the trolls caught up with her.

Two hours later Rapina rode up behind the knights.

"Valkura, er Brianna? What in Virtusar's name are you doing here?" Sir Coshus asked.

"We found the trolls," Rapina said.

"Anyone else make it out?" Sir Coshus asked.

"I'm not sure," Rapina said. "The shaman cast a fear spell on my horse, I think. Last I saw Vindictine, who they freed a half hour after we left you, had been the victim of a disease spell and a troll had seriously wounded Sergeant Titus. Rhona had my reins for a while after my horse bolted, but she fell off her horse. That was two hours ago. If the trolls decide their meal wasn't big enough and track my mount, we could be in trouble.

"We could go back and check for survivors," Sir Coshus said.

"Yes, we could do that. How many trolls did you see?" Sir Stallart asked.

"Just one, but there had to have been another one, because the one that was fighting was not casting the spells," Rapina observed.

"At least two trolls, and if there were any survivors, either they are headed this way, or they are trying to make it to the nearest settlement in Avengene which from where you were was probably the better bet," Coshus said.

"Bah! Good riddance to the lot of them. With a troll shaman on the loose, we'd be lucky to find one of them alive, and we'd be lucky to keep our skins on our backs in the bargain," Sir Stallart said.

"I'm with you Stall-heart! Look at the bright side," Coshus said, patting Rapina's horse. "You got your little mare back, so you can stop grousing that the baron loaned her to the damned Avengenes."

"Stallart beamed. Right you are Cosh. You know I seem to recall that the baron told Captain Tarsus he would no longer be sending any young wenches accused of killing vindicator priests to Avengene. It appears his quarry has been lost."

"Gods know we could use more women at the keep. There sure are precious few of 'em. Cosh opened the shackles on Rapina's wrists. Unless Daelrath says otherwise, Valkura, you are a free woman." 

Rapina hugged Coshus.

---

It was just past dusk by the time the riders saw the lights of Keep Rath perched on its spar of rock and followed the winding road through the cemetery, up the hill and around to the gate.

For days, Rapina had wondered what had happened to Thane and Rames, but the troll attack earlier in the day suggested that they had been far from idle.

"Riders approaching flying the standard of Daelrath," hollered a gate guard. "It's Sir Coshus, Sir Stallart, Balard and Melden, milord."

Baron Daelrath held his daughter, "I am truly sorry Bruhnhilda, you are right, of course. The man she killed was no doubt a lecher of the first degree."

"And Lady Valkura on Stallart's mare milord," The gate guard added.

"Open the gate!" The Daelrath's ran down the stairs to meet the new arrivals. "By the gods my heart was weighted with a mountain of guilt, and now it is lifted! Well met, Valkura, by what miracle are you with us again?"

Rapina finished hugging the baron and held Bruhnhilda in her arms. She whispered softly into the girl's ear. "Thank you so much for saving me from your father's ill graces, and for ridding your barony of that cad Vindictine. Thank the gods he was twisted enough to reveal the true nature of such priests in a way even a warlord could understand."

As they embraced, Bruhnhilda whispered in return, "It was a poor excuse for having power, but I think it will serve as a foundation for something real. Daddy has new clothes in the making for me, and I am already learning the arts of war."

"Brianna, to what do I owe the pleasure?" Baron Daelrath asked. 

"Please call me Valkura, Baron Daelrath. I have no wish to be associated with a name the Avengenes have so blackened that every two-bit bounty hunter would like to cart me off to the mockery of a trial," Rapina said.

"I see your point, Valkura. Henceforth let it be known that I and my knights and loyal subjects shall strike that other name from our minds. No man or woman in this barony shall hold you responsible for self-defense called a murder because of a veteran lecher's august title. Listen well people, titles of nobility can be earned, but the true tragedy is that they cannot be lost when an ignoble nobleman abuses his august position.

Let us go to the mead hall! Mayhap there is a tail that you can tell?"

"It's a grisly one but one I'm sure milord needs to hear," Coshus said as the baron and knights went to the mead hall. Coshus sat on a table and spoke as the others listened, "Picked clean milord with only a bit of gore and gnawed bones left to mark the settlement's demise."

"Valkura, what of the escort that was taking you to that mockery of a trial for killing the noble lecher? I so regret having sent that missive to Avengene. Had it not been for Vindictine doing me the favor of showing his true colors, I would have been his fool until I had quite ruined my own daughter to rule Daelrath. Imagine it, a pampered noblewoman trying to rule a border barony like this one! She would have been forced to depend on some man to keep her like a caged bird, and I have a feeling that man would have come a-wooing from Avengene," the baron said.

"No doubt milord is correct," Rapina said. "After the knights left us at the destroyed settlement, we rode East towards Avengene. Vindictine was freed scarcely a half hour after we parted from the knights. As we detoured around an old downed tree that blocked the path, a troll attacked Sergeant Titus and wounded him. Simultaneously a poison cloud enveloped Vindictine.

Daelrath scowled as Rapina told of the reverend's release from his bonds, then grinned as she told of the spell that had been cast on him.

"Captain Tarsus rode around to help the sergeant and I think he was successful," Rapina continued. He called on the priest to come around and try to heal in spite of his condition. It was then that another spell hit the priest and he was in bad shape. Governess Rhona had inherited the charge of leading my horse, but it was struck by a fear spell and we bolted away from the others. I nearly fell off but the chain and my reflexes saved me. At some point I lost Rhona. I think she fell off her mount. After the mare I was riding calmed down, I tried to find the way back to the path. The mare seemed to know the way, and I was soon trotting by the destroyed settlement on my way to catch the knights. Thank the gods for that mare's powers of endurance."

"Stallart has quite an eye for horseflesh. It is well that you were not mounted on some lesser animal. I have much to think about, but you are weary from travel and drowning in road dust, milady. I will have a bath drawn for you, and this time I promise your possessions will multiply rather than diminish when you emerge from its waters," Daelrath said.

---

The following night just after dusk Rapina smiled as Bruhnhilda Daelrath demonstrated the simple moves and exercises Rapina had taught her in her first ever lesson in the rapier.

"Excellent, It is very good to see you have made a fine start Bruhnhilda. Virtusar has blessed us with another warrior. I will see that your training at arms continues, and perhaps even more importantly, you will learn the art of managing warriors and keeps under siege by trolls and other undesirables."

"A red light blinks at us from the graveyard milord," a guard announced.

Rapina smiled, "I think my master has caught up with me at last. Mayhap you wish to have a word with him milord Daelrath."

"Yes, I believe I should speak with him. Sir Coshus, have Valkura's things loaded in that skeleton horse beside the gate and meet me with a delegation of five trusted knights," Baron Daelrath said.

In the graveyard, the baron, Rapina and his six knights found three riders sitting skeletal horses. Rapina recognized Rames in his masked helmet and Roger with his scythe. Between them, Thane sat with his leather mask covering his mortancer's death mask.

Rapina rode forth and fell in beside Rames. Thane urged his skeletal horse ahead a length, as did the baron.

"Good eve, Lord Daelrath," Thane rasped. "I do hope the heads of the trolls Valkura provided brought you satisfaction. I regret not having sent you the head of the shaman, but there are still some things within it that I would like to dig out."

"Yes, I did appreciate the troll kills you made. It seems there has been a great deal of death in Daelrath since you arrived. I am surprised you have only the four servitors to protect your person."

"Indeed, I believe this is turning into a very active season for the trolls, but I do not fear for my safety in this place. Where could a servant of Mortaebius be more comfortable than among these fallen heroes?"

"Hail Mortaebius, champion of the dead, we the living entreat thee, bless these valiant, fallen heroes entombed within thy clay, and embrace them where they lay. Lest their lion hearts sense our direst fray; then call them forth to save the day," Rapina intoned.

Daelrath grimaced. "You could do that, couldn't you?"

"Like the dead, Mortaebius is content to slumber unless someone disturbs his rest. His church is benign and has coexisted on the best of terms with other faiths for centuries. Because death is creepy, Avengene and his vindicator hoard think they can single Mortabius' church out for the slaughter without turning other faiths against the vindicator. Were they to succeed, the forces of the vindicator would select another faith to murder, and another and so on until none were left to appose them. They have already cleaned their home territory of any serious competition," Kroz rasped.

"They are simply taking a slightly different tack outside Avengene. The mortuary business is a good and steady income, one the priests of the vindicator would love to have to enrich themselves. In addition, the church of Mortaebius is well known to make generous contributions to the war efforts of those allied faiths that are having trouble with conquering bullies like the vindicator. That is another reason we are dangerous to the vindicator. The church also keeps excellent records, and a friend within the church was able to compile this list."

Thane handed Daelrath a scroll of parchment.

Baron Daelrath squinted.

Thane chuckled raspingly and handed the Baron two mage lights currently glowing red, one on a heavy silver chain and the other on a delicate golden chain. "For you and your daughter."

"Oh, thank you sir. I see the scroll holds a list of addresses for what must be every temple of Virtusar in Clairmont," Baron Daelrath said.

"Your chaplain is a fine warrior, but I believe with your troll problem you will need a real priest. With those addresses you can keep writing temples until you locate one," Kroz rasped.

"I worry that my troll problem strikes at Avengene with uncanny accuracy," Baron Daelrath said.

"It is well the trolls have weeded your garden for you. A man of your integrity would never stoop to killing that many innocent people. Unfortunately, your neighbor to the East has replaced any integrity he might have had with the backstabbing blade of a rogue. He has not hesitated to use your integrity and sense of decency against you. With his marvelous faith, he can play both sides of the fence. The mask of goodness hides the face of evil. You will not strike the mask of goodness, but the face of evil will stab you in the back nonetheless."

"Damn him!" Daelrath snapped.

"I assure you Mortaebius knows where the dead lie, and if Evangeline is any indication, you have no need to worry that he will be damned. The Avengenes will carve an empire in the deepest pits of hell while living men believe they have risen to the highest clouds in heaven. This will be a dirty battle, and one to stain the soul. Yet if it is not fought, the lord of lies will rule the minds of all from behind the mask of goodness, and none will be the wiser," Thane rasped.

Now that is enough gravity for one night. I have reason to believe that your troll problem will not abate this season, and I would like to provide certain knowledge and assistance to help you to handle it. If you should fail to do so, I am sure Avengene would be happy to annex your holdings. Unfortunately, the King would probably let him since all he sees is whether or not there is strength enough to hold the border. I shall instruct Valkura in what you need to know and send her back here from time to time if that is satisfactory."

"Yes, if it's a heavy season, we will take any help we can get, and my men appreciate you apprentice," Baron Daelrath said.

"Good, she gets too little living company in my abode, and certainly there is no one her own age with whom she can talk. With Evangeline the gods placed a great burden on her shoulders. The minions of Mortaebius can do little to lighten her spirit. It is well she is a strong woman," Kroz rasped. 

"I and my daughter admire her strength. We of Daelrath will welcome her and her aid," the baron said.

"Good then, I shall send her back as soon as we have accumulated a supply of the items you will need to better defend against the trolls. For the present we shall pay our respects to the dead and then take our leave. Farewell, noble baron," Kroz rasped.

"Farewell servant of Mortaebius," the baron said.

---

When they had arrived in the large storeroom of the secret laboratory wing within the abode, Rapina wrinkled her nose at the great heaps of recently dead bodies stacked up on the floor. "Oh my goodness, where did these come from?" Rapina asked.

Thane took off the death mask and returned it to a pocket within his robes as his party exited the storeroom and headed to the lounge. The mortancer chuckled, "I'll bet you thought we were idle the whole time you were working in Daelrath."



"At first I did," Rapina admitted. Then I realized one of the spells that hit Vindictine looked suspiciously like your taint of death spell. I thought the tint of the cloud of poison was a bit different from when the troll shaman cast it too."

Thane chuckled, "As usual your powers of observation have not failed you, my dear. I noticed that my disease cloud spell looked similar to the shaman's poison spell, and the effects are really not so different."

"What were you doing while I was inside Daelrath?" Rapina asked.

"At first we were refining and testing my ideas for anti-troll weapons for Daelrath. I felt we needed something to offer them in order to cement any alliance you were able to strike up. We also listened to what was going on with you through Nordula's stone in your purse. Thankfully, I had the foresight to get a skeleton to wake me when you woke up. For that reason, I caught your conversation with Bruhnhilda. Once you were in the dungeon we considered trying to break you out, but it would have been very difficult and might have inflicted casualties on a potential ally. 

Instead we became quick studies at the art of troll handling. Did you know, if you cut a troll's leg off and let it grow back, that he will become voraciously hungry thereafter?" Thane chuckled. "Trolls in such a state will largely ignore undeads because they simply do not smell like good food. Heavy chains and shackles can hold a troll, and an arrow with an electric glyph shot into the troll's brain will stun it for a few minutes. A lightning glyph in the head will kill it however, so it is best to use lesser spells. While the courier took Daelrath's letter to Avengene, and the chosen of the vindicator prepared a party to collect you, we collected some trolls. We actually had occasion to save a party of giants, which was an ironic twist of fate, but more on that later.

Thanks to Lord Li'Yieraun we have a much larger pack of ghouls than we did formerly. We did the closer settlement first because that was where we felt the party from Avengene would camp. Kent and the ghouls dug the tunnels into the settlements. During the day Rames located the priests using a spy glass from the trees, and sent Edgar and Elizabetta to assassinate them just before the main attack at night. I played the troll shaman with the help of a skeleton to rattle the troll's rattle. With their priests out of the way, ghouls were sent to neutralize their warriors, and finally our trolls were released on the sleeping commoners and warriors from Avengene to go into their feeding frenzy where it would most benefit us. Because of the extra troops that had been sent to collect you, that battle was much closer. Luckily, we had more trolls for that first battle. For the second settlement, we only got the ones the Avengenes had beheaded in the first battle that we restored for the next battle.

Since I shrouded the ghouls in darkness and instructed them to use stealth, the loud voracious trolls got all the publicity from any witnesses. We took the bodies of the warriors and priests. Nevertheless, we spread some of their garments and entrails around for good measure. We put boots on the ghouls so that their footprints would be indistinguishable from the footprints of the human inhabitants of the settlements. Trolls are hard on skeletons, but since there really were not all that many trolls, and they were eating rather sloppily, we had more than enough gore to spread around in order to cover the fact of the missing bones. Kent and the ghouls got plenty to eat, and Kent's belly is now truly outstanding."

Rapina wrinkled her nose.

Thane chuckled. "I am so glad I caught that conversation between you and Bruhnhilda. Some of the things you said about the priest and the governess were quite thought provoking."

"To you?" Rapina asked as she entered the lounge and immediately flopped down on the couch. Rames sat at her feet and Thane Sat down in a comfortable chair across from Rapina's end of the couch.

"Indeed, you talked about the way they would lecture repetitiously, and about the guilt they would heap on others, in effect perpetually complaining that others were not living up to the unnatural standards of the vindicator. As you may remember, evil complainers are needed for a certain type of advanced animation I have yet to try. I am so excited!"

Rapina grinned, "You mean there is actually some use for their endless lecturing?" Rapina asked.

"Yes! The animation is called the moaning skeleton and it is quite a fine addition to any group of undeads," Thane beamed.

"Why, are they really tough?" Rapina asked.

"No, actually the reaving skeletons are much better warriors, but the moaning skeletons are superb when combined with reavers and more mundane skeletons and zombies. They are ideal for the second or third rank back," Thane said.

"Why is that?" Rapina asked.

Thane grinned like a child who had just received the best toy on the block. "Quite simply, the moaning skeletons moan. Their incessant ghostly moaning and complaining is immanently frightening. Those who oppose the moaning skeletons are oft driven to fall to their knees shaking with fear. As you can imagine, this puts them at a grave disadvantage in regards to attack and defense, thus the moaning skeletons and their undead allies can cut the quaking enemies down much more easily. They are excellent interspersed with other sorts of undead for general combat and breaking the charges of enemy troops, and I have several priests and the governess who should make perfect subjects!"

"Rapina giggled and shook her head. You and Rames have the strangest slant on dead bodies. I'm just glad I didn't have to kill any of them."

"Each of us has a special talent. The killing we can leave to Rames, the ghouls and the skeletons. The spells and animations I can do, and the initial diplomacy and wanton rutting we will leave to you." Thane smiled.

Rapina grinned and rolled her eyes.
-------

This ends, Rampage of the Trolls, chapter 38 of The Chronicles of Rapina.
The story continues in chapter 39, An Intellectual Giant.

Copyright 2001 by Rapina