The day of dread arrived faster than I imagined. That day of torture and rashness, a day that should have never been cast by the almighty Gods - the day after tomorrow.
What a fool... what a fool! I knew it was a bad idea the moment I spoke of it. Now, at the eave of my tribulation, I see my instinct for truth - it was a horrendous idea. What stupid justifications I made. I don't owe those boys, or myself for that matter, anything! But the oil was spilled; no putting it back in the canister now.
As I sat, leg trembling and fingers laced, I heard a knock at the door. Who could that be? I specifically told the villagers that I was not to be disturbed today. The little devils were enough, let alone -
"Good day, sir."
It was the devils! Knocking? Have they been bewitched? "What are you two doing?"
They looked at each other, confused. "Our parents said to be corporeal today and act like true gentlemen." The other nodded at that as if it was the wisest thing ever uttered.
"Corp - you mean cordial, boy?" They bobbed profusely - I sighed. "Alright, gentlemen, inside, now!"
They scurried inside like the squirrels they were. All efforts of cordialness forgotten to time. I was slightly relieved, in fact. Better for them to cause a ruckus, than for me to be worried constantly. They... frightened when they were quiet.
"Sir! Sir!" Tyke, the older and more rambunctious of the two, was jumping on my favorite sitting chair. "Can we begin right now?"
"Tyke! We were supposed to be corporeal today! Get down from sir's chair." Myke, the younger of the two, said. Tyke obliged, giggling. Myke turned to bow. The grin he gave me told me he was more happy to have made Tyke do something than to have followed the rules. A proper devil this one.
I sat in my chair before either of them got any more bright ideas. "Sit!" They did. Tyke opened his mouth. "Close!" He did. "Any interruptions will be swiftly punished!"
"But what if they are valid?" Myke raised his hand.
"Now, where did you learn that word, you little..." Myke grinned and I narrowed my eyes. "Fine! You may ask pertinent questions." They cocked their heads as if struck. "Important questions."
"Yes, sir!"
"Now... where were we... ah yes! Serje and Sylla had just slain a troll in their makeshift cave and were now braving the mountains in search of the elusive Ice Trolls...
"Couldn't you... melt the snow?" Sylla asked.
"Melt the snow?" Serje's tone was incredulous.
"Were you so traumatized by that lumbering beast that you've lost your hearing?"
Serje stopped in his icy tracks. "First, I was the one that slew the beast, no thanks to you." Sylla's eyes became so narrow that they almost slit Serje's throat. "S-second!" He continued, obviously shaken. "I-if we faw the snow -"
"- it will leave a smoke trail leading directly towards us. Really? I never thought of that."
"Then why -"
"I was just curious whether it's possible, dummy." She attempted to grab Serje's crotch but he jumped back. Sylla grinned. "So it is?"
"What's a crotch?" Myke asked. "And why did she want to grab it?"
"It's where the balls are!" Tyke laughed himself into a crouch.
Quite.
Serje thought for a second. "Not without producing smoke. Even the Eye emits a red trail. It's slight. But it can still be seen."
Sylla nodded. "That was what I was thinking, but I had forgotten the name of the thing."
"Why?" Serje asked. "You think our pace is not substantial?"
Sylla pierced her lips. "How did that beast know where we were? It broke into my cave, Serj. Are they following us? Or are we just too slow in their natural environment?"
The pair reached a ridge overlooking the majestic snowy Aido mountain valley. The valley connected all the mountains in the Aido region. It was largely unexplored due to its perilous nature. Until now, that is. Serje and Sylla exhaled in wonder as they observed the enormous landscape - doubt started to creep inside them. Their rations weren't infinite. And there would be more inferior trolls ready to clobber them. Not to mention they had no clue where to go.
"The valley is the obvious choice." Sylle pointed to a nearby descending slope. "It's connected with the entire mountain range."
"Maybe the Ice Trolls live in caves beneath the valley!" Serje tried but then winced at Sylla's expression.
"Your optimism knows no bounds." Sylla turned to look at the descending slope. "That looks steep, but it seems like the only way down."
"Sun is falling, would be better to seek shelter."
Sylla opened her mouth but her words never reached Serje. A wind unlike any they had experienced, howled with such force that it toppled the warrior off the cliff. Serje leaped to grab her, but his strength was nowhere near enough. Instead, as Sylla pulled in terror, they both fell into the ravine.
As they fall, they hugged. Serje tapped his ring and closed his eyes, expecting the worst. The pair felt the rocks and protrusions hit them as they fell - the crystals in Serje's pouch popping with each hit.
As they crashed on the icy ground the rest of Serje's crystal pouch exploded. The couple held each other tight, both breathing heavily, both feeling unbelievably lucky.
Sylla started kissing Serje's forehead. "You were right, love. Those crystals were a good idea."
"Well, they're all gone now..." Serje said, still stunned. "No more protection. And... we seem to have landed in the heart of the valley..."
Their thoughts halted, as growls and scrapes assaulted them from every direction.
They were surrounded by trolls on all sides.
🔴 Read the TWIN Anthology; a collection of unrelated stories with the same cast of characters.
🔵 Obligatory shout-out to the 🍕PIZZA🍕 gang, 🤙 gang. 🤙
Cover image source.
I hope you are having a fantastic day! And if not, don't threat! The sun always rises. 🙌
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