Only The Beginning

I Told You Things

      "Now might be a good time to run." Olive said flatly as her eyes grew wider seeing the large creature rushing toward them. She reached out and grabbed Sebastian's arm, forcing him to turn and start running toward the path they came from ignoring the burning coming from her leg. Olive flinched as she heard the troll roar, resisting the urge to look back. The air above her moved and she instinctively ducked as the troll threw a boulder at the exit successfully closing off their only option out.

"Okay, plan C."

"Plan C!? What was plan B!?" Sebastian questioned

"Does it really matter now?"

"Well I think so! Considering I'm the only other person here! How can I not be included in the plan!?"

They began running to the other side of the room, "If you must know, I was planning on offering you up as a sacrifice while I made a break for it in hopes that I would come back in time with help."

"Merlin's beard Olive, now is not the time to be funny!" Sebastian pointed his wand at the ceiling, "Bombarda!" Rocks came crashing down hitting the troll in the head, slowing it down but not fully stopping it.

"Who said I was joking?" Olive laughed as Sebastian glared at her before throwing another curse at the troll.

"We need a real plan!" He called, exasperated, ducking another shard of stone as the troll stomped closer, its footsteps shaking the ground. Olive scanned the space frantically, her mind racing. The troll bellowed again, swiping a meaty fist at a pillar and sending debris raining down.

"Distraction! We need a distraction!" she shouted, clutching her wand. Her injured leg throbbed, but adrenaline pushed her forward.

Sebastian shot another spell, grazing the troll's arm and earning a furious howl. "If you've got an idea, now's the time!"

Olives' gaze darted to the far wall, cracks spiderwebbing outward from the troll's last rampage. "There! The wall- if we bring it down, maybe we can trap it-"

"No time for 'maybes'!" Sebastian interjected, already moving toward the wall. He glanced back at Olive, nodding.

Together, they raised their wands, voices echoing as they shouted, "Bombarda Maxima!" The wall groaned and split as dust and rubble exploded outward. For a moment, everything was chaos—stone, dust, the troll's enraged scream. Sebastian grabbed Olive's sleeve, dragging her aside as the wall buckled and collapsed, burying the troll beneath a mountain of rock.

Silence fell as the faint sound of loose stone crumbling faded. She leaned against a pillar, panting, and let out a breathless laugh. Sebastian shook dust from his hair, grinning as she wiped a streak of grit from her cheek, managing a crooked smile.

Sebastian let out a low chuckle, then glanced warily at the heap of rubble. For a heartbeat, neither moved, listening for some sign the troll might claw its way free. Only the hush of settling dust replied.

"Think it's really over?" he asked, voice quiet.

Olive nodded, though her heart still hammered. "I don't want to stick around long enough to find out." Sebastian held his hand out to take, pulling her to her feet, she winced as she put weight on her leg.

"You alright?"

"Yeah... Lets just get out of here." She dropped his hand and continued forward down the path that hadn't been destroyed, her hand gripping onto her wand with white knuckles.

As they trekked deeper into the cavern, she felt something shift in her stomach, the familiar surge of ancient magic. Olive allowed the feeling to guide her, taking them down twists and turns, Sebastian at this point knew not to question. They came to a clearing, another room full of shelves of books and bottles, lanterns hung on the walls and journal entries scattered throughout. This was another one of Isadora's hideouts.