“All right,” said Alex, relieved. He had worried he’d be sent back to Telous and not allowed to go on. “I know it was wrong to leave the camp,” he added quickly to cover the sound of his relief. “I just felt I had to.”
“This may seem a small punishment to you,” said Bregnest sternly. “However, it is a dishonor to lose your extra share. You do not know all the ways of adventurers yet, nor do you understand how much value we place on honor.”
“I may not understand,” Alex answered, standing up, “but I feel that I did what I had to do.”
“And it has turned out well,” Arconn added.
“Yes, yes it has,” admitted Bregnest with a slight smile. “So there will be no punishment other than what I have said. After all, few adventurers would take on a three-legged troll alone. You have proven your courage and worth this night, my friend.”
“Thank you,” said Alex, bowing to Bregnest.
“Arconn, bring the others here when they have found the horses,” said Bregnest, his eyes turning to the troll once more. “We should search the troll’s cave as a company.”
A
lex wiped the troll’s blood off his sword and sheathed it as he waited with Thrang and Bregnest. He felt tired and drained, but proud at having defeated
the troll.
The eastern sky was growing light when Arconn finally returned to the clearing, followed closely by the rest of the company. It seemed that Arconn had already told Alex’s story to the others, and they arrived, excited to see the frozen troll.
“Not a bad night’s work,” Skeld commented, looking at the troll and its missing leg. “Don’t see many like this one, do we?”
“Three legs,” said Tayo as he stood beside Bregnest.
“What do you mean? Isn’t that normal for trolls?” Alex asked.
Skeld burst into laughter and the others smiled as well. When Skeld regained control of himself, he looked at Alex. “Do you know about the birds and the bees?” he asked in a tone that made him sound like a schoolteacher.
“Yes,” Alex replied.
“Well, trolls don’t,” said Skeld, laughing madly again.
Alex looked to Thrang for an answer.
“Trolls aren’t like other creatures,” Thrang explained with a smile. “Trolls molt.”
“Molt?”
“They shed their skins, but not like a snake. When trolls molt, they divide into two different trolls.”
Alex looked at the other members of the company, thinking that this was a joke, but they all nodded in agreement with what Thrang had said.
“It’s in the handbook,” said Andy. “You should take more time to read it.”
“I suppose I should,” Alex admitted. He hadn’t even looked at the handbook since Arconn had given it to him.
“Now watch,” said Thrang, looking to the east. “You’ll see something that not many have.”
Alex and his companions watched as the sunlight moved to where they were standing in the clearing. Even Skeld became quiet as the light inched closer to the troll. When the first ray of sunlight touched the troll’s uplifted arm there was a sharp cracking sound, like ice splitting, and the troll’s skin and clothes changed from green and brown to light gray stone.
“That’s what happens to trolls caught in sunlight,” said Thrang in a satisfied tone.
“That’s incredible,” said Alex in amazement.
“Most adventurers know that sunlight will turn trolls to stone,” said Skeld, chuckling to himself. “But getting them into the sunlight—that’s the hard part.”
“Enough talk,” said Thrang. “Let’s see what it had in its pockets.”
They all gathered around the objects Thrang had retrieved in the darkness: a fair-sized iron key, a suitcase-sized coin purse, and half a dozen leather bags.
“The key will be to its cave,” said Thrang, handing it to Bregnest. “We’ll have to look for that.”
“And well worth looking for,” Arconn added.
“Let’s see now,” Thrang continued, opening the giant coin purse and pouring the contents onto the ground.
Alex gasped as the gold and silver coins spilled out at Thrang’s feet. He had never seen any treasure in his life and this pile seemed huge to him.
“Most trolls carry only a small part of their wealth with them,” said Tayo with a grim smile. “If this is a sign, the cave should hold a fair amount.”
“Let’s see what these might be,” said Thrang, reaching for one of the leather bags and untying the knotted cord that held it closed.
Thrang slipped his hand inside. Alex took a deep breath as Thrang pulled out a handful of large, dark red rubies. Out of the second bag, Thrang withdrew some incredibly green emeralds. The third bag contained more rubies, while the fourth and fifth bags were each full of shiny white diamonds. Alex couldn’t believe how much treasure the troll had been carrying.
“It seems our adventure has already made a profit,” said Skeld, slapping Alex on the back and smiling.
Thrang’s hands trembled with excitement as he untied the cords on the last bag. Alex watched him closely, wondering what new treasure this last bag would hold. Thrang looked into the bag for a moment, a puzzled look on his face. Then he held out his left hand and dumped the bag’s contents into it: a single golden ring set with a large black stone.
“Something special ’bout this,” said Thrang, looking at Bregnest. “No troll would carry a ring. Not unless it was something special.”
“That’s true,” Bregnest agreed. “So hear now what I say about the division of this treasure. As a single victor, Alex would normally have the honor of dividing this treasure as well as an extra share. Because of Alex’s punishment for leaving his post, I will divide this first treasure evenly between us, with one exception. This ring is unknown, but may have magical powers. According to our agreement, it belongs to Alex.” He looked sternly at Alex. “I would advise leaving it in its bag, however, until you find an oracle who can tell you exactly what it is.”
Thrang placed the ring back into the leather bag and handed it to Alex. He accepted the bag with a bow, but made no move to put it into his magic bag with his other belongings. Part of him wanted to look at the ring again, but he decided to follow Bregnest’s advice and kept the bag closed.
“I would say that these gems are an uncommon treasure, as trolls seldom carry gems with them. Though Alex has lost his extra share in this treasure, these should go to him for his victory over the troll,” said Bregnest with a smile. “He may choose to share them or to keep them for himself.”
“Share them, please,” said Alex as Thrang held out two of the bags to him. “It is only right that we share these.”
“You are most generous,” said Bregnest. “We will do as you ask. So then, eight equal shares and all odd numbers to the
victor.”
“To the victor,” six voices agreed.
Alex wasn’t sure what Bregnest meant by “to the victor” but he soon learned it meant that any items that couldn’t be divided into eight equal shares belonged to him. In the end, Alex received seven rubies, six emeralds, three diamonds, five gold coins, and two silver coins more than anyone else.
Once the treasure had been divided, Skeld said, “Let’s find the home of our stone friend. If he carried this much treasure with him, a fair hoard awaits us in his cave.”
Arconn took the lead, and they followed him across the clearing and up the hill beyond. The deep imprints of the troll’s leather boots had left a clear trail that was not difficult to follow.
“You’ve done a good night’s work,” said Thrang, walking next to Alex. “Even if the cave is empty, we’ve more than paid for our adventure with this treasure.”
Alex wondered if he should offer to pay Thrang back for the items he’d bought in Telous, but then he remembered Andy’s comments about dwarfs and their money and he decided to remain silent, at least until he understood a little more about dwarfs.
“An impressive first victory,” said Andy, coming up on Alex’s other side.
“I was lucky,” Alex replied.
“Lucky or not, it’s still remarkable,” Thrang commented.
Alex shook his head. “I was too angry and foolish to see the danger.”
“You may have been many things, but not foolish,” said Thrang in a serious tone. “You followed your instincts and did what your heart told you. And you used magic to defeat your enemy.”
“It was luck,” Alex insisted. “I really didn’t have time to think about it.”
“Luck is a good thing to have,” said Andy, as they climbed the hillside. “Maybe better than magic, in some ways.”
Alex considered what Thrang and Andy had said. He still had mixed feelings about magic, but he was glad that he had some luck.
The sun was well up when they came at last to a flat, open space on the side of the hill. Alex looked back down the path they had climbed, and he could see their tents far off in the morning light. He hoped Shahree was all right and had been able to shake off her fear from the night before.
“Going to take a bit of looking,” said Halfdan as they moved into the clearing. “Looks like this troll was careful.”
“What do you mean?” Alex questioned.
“Look at the ground,” said Tayo. “The troll’s tracks have vanished.”
Alex looked around the clearing and Tayo was right, the boot tracks they had followed up the hillside were nowhere to be seen.
“Its lair must be close,” said Skeld.
“Spread out,” said Bregnest. “Look for anything that seems out of place.”
Alex walked a few paces, but he didn’t have any idea what to look for. There were no boot prints leading to the troll’s lair, and as far as Alex could tell, this was just an open space on the hillside.
“A bit higher on the hillside would give the troll a better view of the land below,” said Halfdan.
They climbed up the hill, looking for any sign of the troll. Alex watched the ground, but there was nothing to see. He glanced around at his companions and saw that Thrang had stopped and was looking up at the branches of a tree.
“Here’s the door,” called Thrang, pointing at a moss-covered boulder that stood between two trees. “Better hidden than most troll’s lairs.”
“I don’t see a door,” said Alex as he looked at the boulder.
“That’s because you don’t know what you’re lookin’ for,” replied Thrang. “Look up at the branches. See how some of them have been broken off?”
“Yes,” replied Alex.
“Now, look at the boulder. What do you see?” Thrang questioned.
“It’s just a moss-covered boulder,” said Alex.
“Ah, but what side is the moss growing on?” Thrang asked.
“Um, the south side?” Alex guessed.
“Moss grows on the north side of boulders and trees,” said Thrang. “Or at least it does here in the north of Vargland.”
“So why is there moss on this boulder?” Alex questioned.
“Because the troll uses it to hide his door,” Thrang answered with a grunting laugh. “I’d guess the keyhole is hidden in the moss.”
“Stand ready,” Bregnest ordered, the key in his hand. “There may be another troll inside.”