The Troll Hunter - 9. A Matter of Morals

CASSIEL

“Well this is a nice stretch of the horses’ legs,” Regongar smirked as they neared the location of Delgado’s house.

Forest surrounded them, the entire area covered with shade against the early summer sun. The absence of birds was a little unnerving, but understandable, if a mage lived nearby. Fireballs exploding at random would not make for a very pleasant living experience for birds or people.

Cassiel shrugged, dismounting from his horse.

“You and Amiri take point. Don’t go too fast, I was told there were traps around here to keep trolls away.”

“I can deal with a few traps,” Regongar said.

“No, you can let Linzi do her job while you do your job, okay? I know you’re used to doing everything, but that’s not how we work here. Now please, when you and Amiri are ready.”

“Pfft, I was born ready,” Amiri snorted. “Come on green man.”

The two took off on foot, the rest of the party falling in line as they made their way down a shoddy road. A few bandits strolled the woods, but they provided little trouble for the baron’s group.

What brought trouble was a letter on a corpse near one of the bandits. Cassiel’s eyes ran over it, the magus frowning deeply as Theofrid pulled a turquoise and gold brooch from the corpse.

“This is surprisingly fancy for a random corpse.”

“Merchant,” Cassiel corrected. “With a family. The brooch was for his wife, and apparently there’s a hodag lair to the west of here?”

“Alright. I’ve never fought a hodag before,” Amiri grinned.

“I wouldn’t expect to fight one soon either,” Cassiel said sternly. “Don’t get me wrong, you’ll be there when we kill it, but we have a missing child to find, and trolls to kill.”

He motioned for the group to get moving, Theofrid tucking the brooch into his bag. Turning onto another path, Tristan held up his hand, the party freezing as he pointed toward a small glint of metal in the dirt.

“I got this,” Linzi said, starting forward.

“No. We don’t want to disturb his traps if we can help it. They are keeping him safe after all,” Cassiel said. “Just make note of the traps and keep to the path.”

They continued onward, everyone making sure to keep to the road. A man was waiting for them at the end of the road, standing against a low wooden fence.

“Well if it isn’t the baron himself. Welcome, my lord. I didn’t think you would show up yourself. I am Bartholomew Delgado, a humble hermit, at your service,” the man said with a low bow.

“You were… expecting us?” Cassiel frowned.

“Oh, not at all. I just happened to see someone messing with one of my traps,” Delgado replied.

“I see. Are you aware that the local trolls have become immune to fire?”

“Really? No, I was not aware of that,” Delgado frowned. “That makes sense. It will take a while to switch all of my traps over to acid.”

His eyes closed, the mage letting out a low murmur.

“Ah, yes… I’m afraid we’ll have to speak later. A troll was just caught by one of my fire traps and was left unharmed. Perhaps you can help me bring it down? If I can study its corpse, perhaps I can find the reason behind the fire immunity.”

“Theofrid and I have already examined a few of them, but we were unable to find anything. But we will help you take down this troll,” Cassiel nodded. “Lead the way.”

Delgado bowed again, before making his way west, Cassiel following carefully to avoid several coins in the grass.

“Aren’t you afraid that someone will try to pick up the coins?”

“Not really. I have a sign telling people to stay on the road, and the coins let me know where the traps are. If they’re gone, no trap. If someone tries to grab a coin, their death is on them. And trolls can’t read, but the idea of something shiny sitting for the taking is generally enough to lure them in,” the mage replied, carefully stepping over a patch of grass.

There was a sudden whoosh of air and a tiny ball of flame hurled past them, erupting into a massive ring of flames that washed over a troll. Cassiel let out a yelp, arrow to his bow as Delgado began chanting protection spells. Regongar charged past the two with Amiri, the swordsmen hacking into the enraged troll as Linzi and Tristian began singing and chanting their own support.

Cassiel’s arrow caught the troll in the cheek, the beast bellowing in rage as acid ate at its flesh. A bolt of fire streaked past him, Theofrid letting out a muffled curse as his spell struck the troll with no noticeable effect. An ice spell followed, the troll slipping in a sudden grease as Amiri and Regongar fought to keep their balance.

“Watch your spells!” Regongar yelled almost gleefully as electricity erupted along his scimitar.

Lightning sparked over the troll’s body, the creature letting out a pained bellow as the half orc struck it with his blade. Another arrow caught the troll in the forehead, and the troll let out another roar as skin slowly melted away. Swaying from the impact, the beast fell heavily, face bubbling off as the acid did its job.

Delgado cut off a spell midcast, the mage wiping the tiniest bit of sweat off his forehead.

“Well, that was a fight,” the mage smirked. “It’s a good thing you brought acid.”

“Yeah,” Cassiel frowned, looking at the troll.

Delgado knelt beside the troll, searching its corpse with a spell.

“Ah, here we are. This brand right here is granting fire immunity. This is… more dangerous than I thought.”

He produced a large knife, sawing the thorny hammer brand off with a grimace.

“I’ll need to examine this. You should wait for me in my lab,” the mage said, tossing a large key to Cassiel.

The magus frowned as he caught the key, nodding slowly.

“We are grateful for any assistance you can provide. These trolls are menacing everyone,” he said.

The group backed away from the man, Linzi stopping them with a frown.

“Do you hear that? Someone is calling for help.”

Cassiel strained his ears, hearing distant yells. The half elf looked down at Linzi, a small smile on his lips.

“Good ears. Come on, we need to help whoever that is.”

Their feet moved through the wilderness until they reached the road again. Following it to another branch, the group travelled along a poorly marked path, not a single trap blocking their way.

“He… Help me…!”

Cassiel could hear him now, terror filling the man’s voice as he screamed. Finally they found the man, standing on a fallen tree with his eyes darting rapidly toward the ground all around him.

“Hey, what are you doing up the-”

“HELP!” the man screamed again, Cassiel wincing.

“We’re right here, you don’t have to keep shouting. Who are you?”

“Waine… Are… are you really there? You made it through the traps?”

“There aren’t any traps on the path here,” Cassiel frowned.

“No, I saw… I saw a man… lots of fire…”

Cassiel sighed quietly, looking at the group around him.

“I could knock him out. It would shut him up at least,” Amiri suggested.

“Or we could get him back to the road,” Theofrid said, frowning at the barbarian. “Violence isn’t the answer to everything.”

“But it just might be the answer here,” Cassiel muttered. “Waine, do you want to get back to the road in one piece?”

The human nodded rapidly.

“Then you better start running in that direction, and you better not stop, or Regongar is going to kick you so hard you fly to the road. Get moving.”

Waine stared at the magus in horror, his eyes flashing toward Regongar. The half orc sneered, his leg swinging as though he was warming it up. Letting out a sudden yelp, Waine took off, sprinting toward the road as the group jogged after him.

“Cassiel, why would you-” Tristian started, only for the baron to cut him off with a hand.

They reached the road safely, Waine panting breathlessly as he slowly realized he was unharmed.

“Wait… you knew there were no traps?”

“I told you there were no traps between us and the road,” Cassiel said.

“Then… then making me run…”

“If you walked, you would have second guessed every step. Panic made you less cautious about your steps, but you were safe the entire time. What are you doing here?”

“I got separated from my friend Lekken. I saw a coin, and tried to pick it up. The next thing I knew, I was flying and my feet were burning.”

Cassiel flinched, pulling out the letter he had found.

“Lekken’s dead. He bought a brooch for his wife. I think you should take it to her.”

Theofrid frowned, but pulled the jewelry out, handing it to the man.

“Dead? But… but he was… Oh horrible day… Pharasma save my soul,” Waine breathed, slumping heavily against a rock. “I… I suppose I’ll make my way back to Galt… and tell his family. Ketri is going to be devastated.”

Cassiel bowed his head slightly, giving the man his space. He motioned for the group to head back down the road to Delgado’s lab, not sure what more he could say.

THEOFRID

“Mitne.”

Flames erupted in Theofrid’s hand, casting light around the group as they descended into the wizard’s laboratory. The door swung shut behind them, throwing them into darkness, and the gnome tried to hold up his arm as high as it could go, his flames casting shadows over much of the staircase they were on.

“I’m not sure you’re the best torchbearer,” Cassiel frowned, holding out his bow. “Mitne.”

A glowing orb appeared on his weapon, the magus pushing forward as Theofrid released his spell with a mutter.

“I could have gotten Gara to hold it for me,” he said.

Not that Gara would have enjoyed dealing with a flame she wasn’t allowed to blow around. Following the group down the stairs, the gnome winced as a strong smell of rot struck them. Torches lit with arcane light as they reached the bottom of the stairs, a rustle hitting their ears.

“Borba…”

Theofrid’s gut plummeted at the sound, the gnome freezing as he listened to the heavy breathing of a troll.

“In there,” Cassiel said, pointing toward a cell door made of thick steel in the far wall.

The gnome moved forward with morbid curiosity, hands ready to cast acid the instant he was attacked. Peering into the cell, Theofrid let out a shuddering gasp, his eyes looking over a sickly troll curled up in the tiny cell. The beast was so thin, every single rib could be seen. Blood matted its body, various saws and knives on a nearby counter making it obvious what the troll was doing in the cell.

“Booorrrbaa…” the troll moaned weakly, its eyes staring blindly at the gnome as its nose quivered. “Enough… kill mee…”

A door opened suddenly, Theofrid leaping back as daylight shone down the steps. Delgado rushed down the stairs, a victorious look on his face.

“It was easier than I thought, just a simple fire protection spell. The issue was the way it was applied,” he announced with a grin as he approached the group. “It was stamped on with some sort of artifact, something that could create fireproofed trolls in massive numbers. Naturally, this could not have been done by trolls alone, a mage had to have their hand in this. For trolls to organize like this is unheard of, and I can only think of one target for a force this size. This is bad news.”

He pulled a wand out of his robes, handing it to Cassiel.

“Here, take this. It isn’t much, but you might need it if you plan to fight these beasts.”

“Before we go fighting anyone, explain what this troll is doing in your lab,” Cassiel said coldly.

Delgado’s eyes lit up, a beaming smile on his face.

“Ah, yes, this troll, he is the defining experiment of my career. You see, I’m looking into the regenerative property of trolls, in hopes of applying them to humans. Can you imagine if humans had the capabilities of trolls? Pain, mutilation, senility, even death, all gone.”

He frowned slightly at the look in Theofrid’s eyes, the gnome mirroring the baron.

“Oh… you’re not concerned with how I obtained the troll, are you? Don’t worry, I purchased him legally. I’m not out poaching the baron’s lands,” Delgado added.

“Lord Cassiel, we can’t let him continue this, it’s barbaric!” the gnome hissed.

“I assume you haven’t heard yet, but as of a month ago, an order went out through the barony that stated all slavery is illegal in my lands,” Cassiel said. “You are experimenting on a sentient being, causing him agonizing pain. More, he is not some sort of cattle to be bought and sold. I order you to set him free.”

“Set him free? So he can wander your lands to kill and eat your people as he pleases? You are insa-”

The mage faltered at the fiery glare in both Theofrid and Cassiel’s eyes. He took a deep breath, fingers curling into a tight ball as he ground his teeth.

“As you wish… my lord…”

Chanting in Draconic, the mage thrust out his hand, a hole opening in the cell’s floor. The troll fell with a sudden thud, the hole closing up again.

“There, he will find his way out through the tunnel under the lab. I hope you are happy with the results of your actions, my lord,” Delgado growled.

“The way he looked, he will likely die long before escaping any tunnel. It would have been merciful just to kill him,” Regongar noted.

“Life is still sacred, troll or not,” Tristian argued. “By giving this troll a chance to live, Cassiel has served Sarenrae well.”

The half orc grunted, shrugging in indifference. Theofrid frowned at the two, before motioning toward the exit.

“We will take our leave then,” Cassiel said quietly, a dangerous edge to his voice. “Do try to keep up with the laws of the barony. I know it is a new place, but ignorance is no reason to disobey the law.”

The group made their way out of the lab, Theofrid letting out a relieved breath as the rot of the lab was left behind.

“I want to find this tunnel,” Cassiel announced. “Theofrid, do you have any experience with underground structures?”

“Not much, it’s been a while since my delving days,” the gnome frowned. “We are on a slight hill, perhaps the tunnel would let out-”

“What tunnel?” Regongar smirked. “There is no tunnel, there never was. He just disposed of his problem in front of you. That troll was crushed to death by rock, and you didn’t even notice.”

“What are you talking about? We saw the spell open an entrance to the tunnel,” Theofrid snapped.

“You saw a spell move rock and create a hole before closing again. It’s how the Technic League disposes of dead slaves, to hide their trail.”

“I pray that you are wrong Regongar,” Tristian said quietly. “But my heart says that you are right. That man in there would not give up his prize so easily, not when he is afraid of retribution for his actions.”

“Either way, the troll is free of being tortured… so we did a good thing, right?” Linzi asked almost nervously.

“My point is there is no need to search for the tunnel. If it exists, great. If not, then the troll is dead. Either way, he followed your command and freed the troll. Does it matter if he also freed whatever soul it had from its body?” Regongar pointed out.

“Yes it matters,” Theofrid growled. “He knew the spirit of the order, he should have followed that over the letter!”

“I… I will give him the benefit of the doubt. Let’s go. I want nothing more to do with this place,” Cassiel sighed quietly, walking off toward where they had left their mounts.