Father and Son

Chapter 3

After staying the day at Toby's, Jim returned to troll market just as the sun was setting, accompanied by Merlin, who had spent the day at the public library. It was strangely quiet, and Jim felt a sense of foreboding; Trollmarket was loud, crowded, and raucous, but it was never quiet. Jim ran down the stairs and gasped when he reached the bottom, shocked at what he found waiting for him.

Trollmarket looked as though it had been trampled by elephants; stalls were destroyed, and strange darts lay scattered everywhere. Jim picked one up and sniffed it, then dropped it as the strange smell filled his nostrils. Suddenly a loud crash echoed to Jim's right and he ran towards it, Merlin hefting his spear in anticipation of danger.

A short green troll lay half buried in rubble, breathing hard. Her eyes widened when she saw Jim and she held out a shaking hand, which Jim gripped with one hand while assessing how injured she was. Unfortunately as far as Jim could see the lower half of the troll's body was completely crushed, and he could see that she didn't have much time. Jim looked to Merlin, but the wizard shook his head; it was far too late for him to help, he could see the life leaving her every second.

"They... they took my children. They took everyone... please trollhunter, it is too late for me. Tell me you can save everyone else..." Jim helped her lay down more comfortable, seeing her eyelids flutter closed. "I promise that I will do everything I can, but I need to know who took them."

The troll nodded, fighting hard to stay awake. "Humans with dart guns, in huge numbers like a swarm. I could hear their trucks outside when they broke down the doors. There was... one man who lead the force... he seemed to enjoy it the most." Jim managed to coax a description of the man from her before she died in his arms, bristling with anger when he knew exactly who she was talking about. As Jim set her down, he turned to Merlin, face twisted with fury. "We have to move fast. I know who did this, the problem is finding him."

------------------------------------

Blinky woke up in a gray room with a single barred door and one darkened window, illuminated only by a small light bulb. As the historian sat up and looked around, he saw two smaller trolls in the room with him who were still asleep, but no one else. Blinky's heart seized with panic as he realized that Aargh was nowhere to be seen. The blue troll lurched to his feet and tried to open the door, frowning at his shaking hands and unstable legs. What was going on? Blinky's memory was still fuzzy, and it hurt to try and remember. For the moment, all that Blinky could hope for was that Jim was uncaptured and would find the trolls... before it was too late.