The Troll Hunter - 12. The Hunter

CASSIEL

They were accosted by a dog on their way to the tower, the canine barking almost frantically though he made no effort to attack.

“What is it?” Theofrid asked, stepping up to the dog. “What are you trying to tell us?”

Cassiel frowned at the gnome, trying to figure out just how he got along so well with animals. Not that it mattered in the moment.

“Should we follow him?” the baron asked.

“I think so. Someone’s hurt,” Theofrid nodded.

“He’s a scraggly mutt, he probably hurt them himself,” Amiri scoffed.

“He looks somewhat cared for,” Valerie denied. “Probably someone’s hunting companion.”

Cassiel shrugged, moving after the dog. They were led off the old cobblestone road, Amiri and Valerie holding their weapons aloft as a precaution. The dog woofed loudly, running up a steep incline before vanishing behind some rocks. Cassiel followed warily, finding a dark skinned human sitting against a stone with a hand pressed against his thigh. The dog ran over to him, barks turning into whimpers as he sat beside the human.

“Whom you brought?” the man grunted, staring up at the group. “Get lost dog.”

His hand raised to strike the animal, but a lick brought it down low again as the man sighed. He stood up with a stagger, leaning precariously on a strung bow as blood soaked through his pants. Cassiel had no doubt the injury was agonizing, the way the blood soaked through his armour.

Gazing over the group, the man offered a strained scoff.

“Ekundayo,” he grunted, staring into Cassiel’s eyes with steel and fire.

“Tristian, can you help him?” Cassiel asked immediately, turning to the cleric.

Already the man was murmuring his prayer, a hand reaching for Ekundayo’s leg. An arm knocked it aside, the spell not discharging.

“Patched already. This wound not deadliest.”

He didn’t take his gaze from Cassiel, the magus shivering at the intensity, the pain he could see bubbling underneath.

“Cassiel,” he finally said. “I’m the baron of these lands. It is nice to meet you.

Ekundayo nodded.

“Ekun for decent ones. Are you decent?”

“Well enough, I hope,” Cassiel frowned, before introducing the rest of the group. “Your dog led us to you.”

Ekun threw a scowl at the dog.

“Not mine.”

He offered no other explanation, and Cassiel decided not to push it. Instead, the baron took a look around them, another question coming to mind.

“What are you doing here with an injury like that?”

“Sitting. Waiting.”

The man offered a strange smirk.

“Hunting.”

“What are you hunting?”

Ekun let out a sigh.

“Lured your interest. Didn’t mean to. Will start again. The name is Ekundayo, Ekun for decent ones. Used to be carpenter in Bristlehill village. Trolls came, killed everyone, left me. I will show them that was a mistake.”

For a moment, his eyes flashed, untold agony within his distant gaze.

“They all deserve death, Kargadd most of all. Rock troll. He led them.”

Ekun spat on the ground at the name.

“This wound is fresh,” Cassiel frowned.

“Been hunting trolls. Then they hunt back. This wound can’t stop hunt, only slow.”

“Are you aware the local trolls have stopped fearing fire? And have banded together with the kobolds?”

“No. Was not aware,” Ekun grunted. “Fire arrows not work anymore. Now know why. Had no chance here.”

He scowled at his injured leg pensively.

“We’re hunting the trolls too. Perhaps we can join together?” Cassiel mentioned.

“Aye. Will mark three places trolls been seen. Lair must be nearby. You have map?”

The magus nodded, pulling it out. Ekun marked two places, pointing toward the circle that marked Delgado’s missing whip.

“That is third. Do not go with big party, no stealth for hunt,” he warned.

“Valerie, head back to Ismenia and tell them we have found the lair,” Cassiel said, rolling the map up again. “Ekundayo, if you come with us, you will need to be healed. We cannot risk a member slowing us with an injury.”

The man’s jaw twitched, but he nodded as Valerie bowed. The fighter gathered her gear again, heading off toward the road as Cassiel turned his attention back to the group.

“We will explore the tower, make sure we mark any landmarks we can see, then head to the lair. It seems Delgado was right.”

“One more thing before we go. Troll feet tread this path often. Would like to wait here until they come,” Ekun added.

Cassiel looked around them, a slow nod following his examination.

“This is a good spot for an ambush. Very well.”

The next several hours were spent waiting for the trolls, the group silent and still around the road. Cassiel had to wonder if this was how bandits felt waiting for their prey. But they were better than bandits; they were ridding the land of evil.

Rain started pouring down, a sudden storm drenching them as they waited. And then night fell, and still they waited.

Finally, at long last, a trio of trolls appeared on the road, somewhat hard to see in the storm. Their stench was unmistakable however, and Cassiel launched an acid infused arrow at one’s back, Theofrid added a burning bolt that arced between two of the trolls. The gnome let out a quiet curse at the fire, but the two trolls he struck certainly felt the strike.

Ekun let out a loud warcry as he unleashed a veritable barrage of arrows, four missiles striking a distant troll in two waves. Each shot hit a vital target, an eye, the throat, a knee, the groin, yet the troll remained standing with a bellowing roar until Cassiel put acid in its gut.

The other two trolls fell to Theofrid’s fire and Amiri’s steel, and the group let out a grateful sigh that at least not every troll they faced was immune to flames.

“I thank you friend,” Ekun said, stepping toward the trolls.

The hunter made sure they were dead with a knife he dipped in some of the acid spilling from the third troll, before rising slowly.

“I will guide you to the tower. But there is little seen.”

THEOFRID

A dwarven puzzle, and a group of trapped hunters on a rock… the watchtower held too many issues and nowhere near enough answers. Theofrid was almost glad when they left it behind, but the next day of following narrow trails south, Ekundayo leading the way, did nothing to endear the lands to the gnome.

Finally they stopped, Theofrid letting out a grateful sigh as he hunkered down over a rock circleEkun had filled with branches and kindling. A coin flipped in the air, a murmur calling Gara to the gnome’s side. The fire erupted a moment later before dying down into a gentle crackle.

“Thank you Gara,” the gnome smiled, reaching for bits of meat from a deer Ekundayo had brought down earlier that day.

“You have spirit following you?” the hunter frowned, looking at the gnome.

“A friend,” Theofrid smiled fondly as the trees around them blew from the djinn’s exit. “See? She said hello.”

“I see nothing. Just spirit in the wind.”

The gnome shrugged, pulling a small flat pan out of his pack. Setting it carefully over the fire, he began working on dinner, a touch of honey softening the bread they carried while sausages sizzled in a bit of oil over the fire. Soon, the camp was filled with the smell of a hearty meal, and Theofrid could hear Amiri’s stomach growling ferociously from clear across the camp.

Linzi finished covering the camp in brush, making it harder for anyone to see them as they settled for the night, Tristian murmuring prayers of protection to Sarenrae as evening fell around them. Together, the group ate, Cassiel giving a quiet order for the night’s watch. Tomorrow they would go into battle, and they would all need their rest to survive the struggles ahead.

As the dinner was eaten and utensils cleared, Theofrid leaned back against a tree, a book in hand as he read through the dim evening light. Rock trolls were a serious threat, only sunlight could truly kill them. And if the troll lair was a proper home for the beasts, there would be no sun within. They would have to make their own.

“Lord Cassiel,” he called, the baron frowning.

Cassiel approached, his frown turning stern.

“I’m not sure how much more of this lord crap I will take from you, Treasurer Theofrid,” he scowled.

The gnome gulped, bowing his head.

“My apologies… Cassiel… it is still hard to overcome my habits.”

The half elf shrugged, waiting for Theofrid to continue.

“The troll we face. Ekundayo says he is a rock troll. We have no way to kill a rock troll,” the gnome said.

“And how does one kill a rock troll? You seem more knowledgeable than I about such things.”

“Sunlight. It is their fatal weakness,” Theofrid frowned. “Something even mindless brutes would be aware of, and by all appearances, this Kargadd is a leader of trolls, no mindless brute. He would be certain to avoid sunlight.”

“And it has to be sunlight? Torches won’t work?”

The magus sat down beside Theofrid, reading over the gnome’s shoulder as the book slid between them. The closeness stuck in Theofrid’s mind, and he shifted his body slightly, not sure if he was allowed to get close to the baron or not. Cassiel had already mentioned something about Kassil, and Theofrid knew not all races were as flighty as gnomes when it came to love. There was a chance he had already missed his mark, but fuck it, he could die tomorrow, and the gnome did not want to leave anything unsaid between him and Cassiel.

“I enjoyed sleeping with you.”

Cassiel nodded slowly, half listening as he studied the tome between them. Suddenly he froze, head turning toward Theofrid.

“Oh?”

The gnome gulped, but nodded, set on this course of action.

“I know you spoke of Regongar and Kassil, and I know I am nothing like either of them, but I just want to say that if you ever need company, I would love to provide mine.”

“And you’re telling me this now? Do you wish to share a bedroll with me tonight?” Cassiel frowned. “We can’t do anything but cuddle together; I am not willing to let the camp listen to us.”

Theofrid’s jaw dropped slightly, Cassiel chuckling quietly.

“Have I really surprised someone as worldly as you, Theofrid? I would have thought that more difficult. I would love your company tonight, and any other night you wish to share it with me. And if you decide you would rather share it with Regongar or Kassil, I urge you to do so. You are fae after all, and I would never want to trap you into any one relationship.”

“Are… are you reading my mind?” the gnome demanded.

“Hardly. I am just trying to lay out the terms of a relationship with me in a way that I believe would satisfy us both,” Cassiel shrugged. “Of course, if I missed something, I beg you to let me know. I would not want to see you unhappy, and while I’m not well versed in gnome culture, I have picked up a few tidbits over the years.”

The half elf chuckled lightly, leaning over the gnome as his eyes gazed down at Theofrid’s red and blue orbs.

“And if you are concerned that you are not enough to satisfy me, know that I enjoy variety. You are not alone in your pursuit of Kassil, but you also are a perfect break from the size and strength of a half orc. You would never have to compete with him for my affections.”

Theofrid swallowed tightly, staring up at his lord.

“Is… is this… purely physical? Or is there something more?” he whispered.

“There is as much as you wish there to be,” Cassiel smiled, head lowering slightly.

And Theofrid made his move then, leaning up to capture the larger man’s lips, his entire body thrumming with the union of their mouths. A large hand cupped around his head, fingers pulling him carefully closer as Cassiel sank into the kiss, the two adjusting their positions until they were comfortable together.