Ebby Flint and the Sword of Sorrows (Book 1 in the Artis Trilogy)

Curiosity Killed The Cat

Chapter Three - Curiosity Killed The Cat

"Trolls," Naeri whispers beside me.

Speechless, I move a little closer, trying to get a better look at the creatures. They're skin is dark green, but that may just be from thick layer of dirt and tattered clothing covering them. Although the trolls are only as tall as toddler, they still look vicious. Giant holes cover their ears which droop all the way down to their chins. Their arms slide against the ground even though their standing up fully. Their hunchbacks seem to have extra lumps on them making them appear even larger. I turn to Naeri with large eyes,

"You look like you've never seen a troll before," she says.

"I don't think I can do this. This is too much. It can't be real. Trolls don't exist," I whisper, slowly moving back to where we came from.

"So, you were willing to believe talking cats existed, but trolls takes it too far," Naeri says quietly.

"Well...well, I don't know what to believe. I don't know. I just... I just want to go home." My breathing quickens, and my slow walk moves into a run. I sprint down the path we came from, away from the nasty trolls. I don't get too far when Naeri catches up to me.

"Hey, hey Ebby, calm down." She places her hands on my shoulders. "Listen, once we save your cat friend, I'll help you find a way home. I know what it's like to not be able to go home. I know it's terrible, so I'll help you find your way back."

My eyes fall to the ground. "I...okay. Okay, let's go save the goddamn cat."

Naeri smiles and a question forms on her lips. "I'm going to have to ask you about this God if we make it through this alive."

Naeri and I decided to wait till dark to save Bartholomew. She said that that's when the trolls go out to hunt, so only one of them will be left on watch. She also said that I don't need to worry about the cat till then because the trolls are probably saving him for a big feast when they get back. Somehow that only made me worry more.

We were waiting a little while away from the troll camp, but decided that it wouldn't be a good idea to start a fire because it would only attract the creatures living in the forest. I was leaning up against a fall tree, while Naeri was lying on the ground. Her curly hair took up a large amount of space on the ground, making it seem like she had her head on pillow. Her large knife lays beside her. Her eyes were locked on the dark sky. I followed her gaze up and noticed that I could see the big dipper. The constellation brought millions of questions to my mind. If I'm in a different world how am I able to see the same constellations I could see from earth? Is Artis even in the same galaxy as earth?

"Are you an alien?" I accidentally whisper aloud.

Naeri's eyes finally turn away from the sky and look over to mine. She has amused smile on her face. "Are you?"

"Okay, that's fair."

Naeri hops to her feet, then reaches down to pick up her knife. She slides it in to the loop on her pants. "I think it's about time we get this Siren to sing."

"Siren to what?" I ask, confused.

Naeri lends me a hand and pulls me to my feet. "You've never heard that saying before. It's like saying, let's get going, or something like that."

"Oh, kind of like, let's get this show own the road."

She looks at me confused. "I guess. Anyways, we better get going now. We only have a small amount of time to save that cat.

"Right, okay."

We head toward the troll camp. Naeri said that if we don't cause too much of a commotion she'll be able to take down the troll on guard by herself. I hope she's right because I don't think I'd be able to get within a meter of one of those monsters.