Fix the future by changing the past

a grave mistake

It didn’t take long for Toby to find himself wandering around the streets of Trollmarket, his body sore all over, not really lost but at the same time not really knowing where he was or where he was heading. As long as the Heartstone was in sight, he would be able to find his way back to the Forge. 

His posture was stiff, alert, yet his mind wasn’t all there. Why was that? Well, it probably had something to do with the killer troll bird that had placed a target on his back. Saying it that way wasn't really intimidating, sure, but the situation terrified the Trollhunter, especially since one of his teachers had almost died from one of those Stalklings, a creature that had sent the rest of his mentors in a frenzy the moment the information reached them. 

Turning a corner, Toby accidentally bumped into a fairly large, purplish blue troll with two spiralled horns on his head, causing him to abruptly turn to the smaller human with a huff. 

“S-sorry! I wasn’t looking where I was going!” Toby yelped, almost reflexibly, staring up at the troll he had accidentally bumped into. The troll’s brown eyes glinted under the shine of the neon lighting of the market, an eyebrow ridge raised in questioning. 

“Wasn’t really paying attention either…” Toby admitted with a small sheepish smile “A little distracted today…” And that definitely caught the troll’s attention, a small flicker of mischief in his eyes. 

“What seems to be on your mind, Trollhunter?” the troll offered, wanting to alleviate the boy from whatever mental burden he was carrying. And without a second thought being spared, Toby let out all the information. About the stalkling, the stress of cram-training, to his ever growing anxiety. If Jim had been there, he would have smacked the boy up-top the head for spilling such information to a random stranger, but Jim was not there to stop the stout teen. He just needed someone to listen to his concerns without having to send them into an all out panic.

Soon, the troll hummed, seemingly deep in thought as he rubbed his chin for a moment. "It seems like…" the troll started, giving out a small rumble-like noise as he watched the teen carefully. "It seems like you need a Grit-Shaka." 

"Grip-shake?" Toby asked, confusion evident on his face as he stared at the larger being. 

"Grit-Shaka. A totem used to ward off fears." The troll corrected, observing the gleam of hope in the teen’s eyes. "I believe, RotGut's might have one in stock." He hummed, causing the teen to groan in frustration, realising that he barely had anything to barter with. 

“Seems like I’ll be sockless for a while…” the teen mumbled, getting up from his seat before starting to run off, waving back a “thanks” to the large purplish blue troll before disappearing into the crowd. 

“RotGut’s… RotGut’s…” Toby mumbled, searching for the store, even asking around for some directions from passing trolls, eventually finding his way to an isolated shop with a large intimidating door. Hesitantly, Toby stared at the large door knocker, carefully using the handle to knock on the metal door. 

“Ailment or curse?” The large gem moved aside as an eyehole opened up to reveal a large blue eye surrounded by orange stone. 

Another door, lower down, opened as another blue eye appeared, this one surrounded by orange stone. “Oi, numbskull! I'm supposed to answer it!”

"But I already answered it." The first troll replied before both the doors closed and an argument started on the other side, leaving Toby to stand there confused as he waited for them to return.

Soon the argument stopped as the doors once again opened, this time the orange troll spoke up. "Welcome to RotGut's! How may we service you?" He asked, overly enthusiastic.