The Unknown Realm #4 (Waverly Stump and The 7 Realms)

XVIII

The cave continued to grow colder as minutes passed. Judson was the first to stir awake. He half rose and stared drowsily at the crack in the wall. There was a blurry image of something filling up the hole; something that blocked out the light from outside. He was not sure why he did not raise the alarm until the strange thing had dropped into the cave. His body froze when he blinked the sleep out of his eyes and realized that the intruding thing was a large, ugly arm. It reached down and collected Waverly as if it were simply picking up a piece of wood.

It was then Judson let out a yell.

Waverly's eyes shot open and a loud scream came out of her. She wriggled and struggled but whatever was holding on to her had a very secure grip.

"Jud!" She screamed as the hand retreated with her into the hole and out into the daylight.

The sun was blinding and obscured the giant from sight. It appeared to be nothing but a huge form with a round head. She continued to scream for Judson and he screamed her name in reply but she knew very well that he could not fit through the crack to come after her.

Giant footsteps sent vibrations through the creature's arms and into Waverly's teeth. She whimpered, screamed and yelled as her captor stomped off with her in his grip, ignorant of all the sounds she made. It brought her into a wider part of Water Rock that was not overtaken by fog. There were large spires on both sides of the wide field that went on and on until another cluster of vast rocks formed an open, continuous path. This was where the giant was headed. Waverly could not clearly make out much because of the slow swinging motion of the giant's hand. As it squeezed to pass through the path, she bashed her head against a rock and instantly fell unconscious.

When she woke up again, she was hanging upside down, bound by strong ropes from her shoulders to her shin. Below her was a boiling red river. It took a good number of seconds for her to realize that what she was seeing was actually a giant pot.

She was about to be cooked.

Wisps of steam rose from inside it and into her scalp. The discomfort of it was what woke her in the first place. She wriggled and suddenly felt the ropes loosen by a tad around her feet. Her whole body jerked downwards and she gasped in alarm. The knot had not been done properly.

"Go on ahead and wiggle wiggle some more." A thick masculine voice came. It spoke slowly but dangerously. "I'll cook you whether or not it's time for you to go in the soup."

Waverly craned her neck to look at the speaker but he was behind her. Besides, the searing heat underneath was unbearable and caused her eyes to sting and water. Her body jerked downwards again as the pole from which she dangled began to rotate. Her captor was rolling it around. When she finally came face to face with it, she realized it was troll. A big one.

"Who are you?" She asked.

Trolls were usually the smallest of all big humanoid monsters; although much taller than Quagmires, they were not as tall as giants. This troll though was the size of a young giant.

"Grigory." The troll rumbled in response.

"Let me go." Waverly groaned and squirmed again. She half screamed when she dropped a few inches downward and view of the boiling pot grew nearer.

"No. I have to broil and grill you until you're done and then put you in my delicious pot of soup." Grigory said.

"I am not beef." She snapped.

"I can see that." He humphed. "You're a pesky blood jar with a mouth on you. The other ones normally begged and cried for mercy."

"I am not the other ones you fish slime. Now cut me loose immediately." Waverly screamed. It angered her that she could not reach her blade and the heat below was beginning to burn into her skull. She could almost smell her own hair roasting.