The Troll King (The Bowl of Souls Book 9) (7 page)

This got a snarl out of the Roo-Tan, but Edge merely cocked his head. “There has to be more to it than that. Qurl wasn’t wrong with what he said earlier. An army this small, whether they’re made up of demons or not, has no hope of being able to get past the Roo-Tan. If this gnome is as great a tactician as you say, then he’s well aware of that.”

“You’re right about that. He’s not planning on attacking the grove with this army alone,” Tarah said. “It’s not completely clear. I mean, there’s a lot of jumbled information in the tracks, but he’s planning on meeting up with a larger army later.”

“The Roo-Dan and the merpeople,” Jhonate said, her eyes growing wide in understanding. “They are bringing in a general to lead them.”

The Roo-Tan warriors mumbled, their expressions concerned, and Qurl said, “Is that what they’ve been waiting for?”

“It makes sense,” said Sir Edge, his gaze contemplative. “They’ve been gathering for months, amassing their strength, then nothing. The merpeople representative that Xedrion has been talking to could just be a distraction while they wait for this Aloysius to arrive.”

“We must tell my father right away,” Jhonate said. She focused on Tarah. “You must come with us. He will wish to speak with you.”

“
And there you go
,” said Grampa Rolf. He was standing in Gwyrtha’s saddle now, doing an awful parody of Cletus’ trick riding. “
See? I told you they’d listen if you gave ‘em enough mystery
.”

Tarah smiled. He was right. It was coming together. The Protector of the Grove would have to help her. After all the time she’d wasted following Aloysius around, she would finally have the resources to stop him.

“I have one more question before we leave, Miss Woodblade,” said Sir Edge.

She was feeling so good that she rattled off one of her old sayings in response. “That ain’t my name. Tarah Woodblade never misses.”

“Tarah, then,” he replied, a grin curling the corner of his mouth. “In your examination of these tracks, did you ever find any mention of the Stranger?”

Tarah blinked at him. How did he know about that? She hadn’t told anyone. Only the tracks of the demon leadership had mentioned anything about it and their thoughts hadn’t made sense. “Well . . . I have picked up a few thoughts here and there. I can’t say as I understand them.”

“
It’s best we stay out of that part of it
,” Grampa Rolf counseled. He raised a finger and said sagely, “
The Stranger’s business is none of our business
.”

Why
? Tarah asked, frowning at her grandfather’s apparition. It wasn’t the first time Rolf had said that. He used to say that when she was a child. It had never made sense to her. She wondered why Esmine had chosen that memory to regurgitate.

“What did these thoughts say?” Sir Edge pressed.

“There was mainly just a general excitement,” Tarah replied. “Aloysius had promised them control of the Stranger.”

“Shh! Don’t talk about the Stranger, Pretty Tarah,” Cletus said. The gnome warrior had been surprisingly quiet during the conversation, content to polish the various implements that he could attach to the ends of his chain. Now he stood, his tall frame hunched over as he wrung his hands with fear. “He will come to get us! He’ll take away our baby parts!”

“Nonsense, Cletus. The Stranger’s just a myth. He isn’t going to do anything to you,” Djeri said reassuringly, patting the gnome’s forearm. He looked at the rest of them. “Aloysius must be using the demons’ belief in the Stranger to get them to cooperate with him. Clever. I never would have thought of that.” He chuckled, an idea suddenly occurring to him. “Hey, maybe we can use that to our advantage. Once the demons learn he was lying, they’ll turn on him.”

Willum shook his head. “Sorry, Djeri. Theodore says the Stranger does exist. He’s just been in hiding.”

“I can confirm that,” Sir Edge added. “He’s most definitely not a myth. I met him yesterday. The Prophet took me to see him.”

“Just a minute-,” Tarah started.

“No way,” Djeri said to Sir Edge, his voice incredulous. “You met the Stranger? Here. In Malaroo.”

“I did,” Edge replied. “Not half a day’s ride from where we stand.”

“Did he have red eyes and big sharp teeth?” Cletus asked, then gasped, his face concerned. “Did he cut off your wee wee?”

“He most definitely did not!” Jhonate said. Qurl raised an eyebrow at her and her cheeks reddened. “I am certain he would have mentioned that sort of injury.”

“No, he didn’t,” Edge assured the gnome. “That part
is
a myth. As for how he looked, he was arrogant and a bit of a grump, but he looked human.”

“Oh! Good,” said the gnome warrior. There was still a hint of fear in his eyes. “But he’s not coming here?”

“No,” said Sir Edge. “It sounds to me like he has quite a bit of trouble on his hands elsewhere.”

“Okay, stop for a second!” Tarah said. “Someone tell me who the hell this Stranger is.”

None of our business,
repeated Grampa Rolf’s voice. He had disappeared from Gwyrtha’s saddle and now spoke in her mind only. Tarah didn’t know if his voice was coming from Esmine or her own twisted thoughts.

“I thought he was a crone’s tale,” Djeri replied. “Something dwarf mothers told their children to keep them in line.”

“Theodore says that he is one of the prophets, like John or the Dark Prophet,” said Willum. The young man looked excited, like he had just learned the answer to a question he’d had for a long time.

 “If he’s a prophet, then how come I’ve never heard of him?” Tarah asked. Though it was true she had been raised in the woods by her papa and grampa, she was well read. Tarah loved books and had purchased and read every book she could find, from adventure stories to histories. She prided herself in her breadth of knowledge.

“I don’t like him being called a prophet,” Djeri said with a look of disgust. “The Stranger is nothing like John.”

“Actually,” said Sir Edge. “When I was standing in front of him, I thought he was quite a bit like John. The difference between him and the others is that while the Dark Prophet tries to conquer and the Prophet actively guides his people, the Stranger hides. He sits in the shadows, manipulating the blood magic and demon races from afar, using his magic to control their fertility.”

“He’s lazy, is what Theodore says,” Willum said. “All he cares about is the balance, making sure that no one group of people becomes too strong. The demon races hate him for it.”

“Which is why this gnome warlord’s plan is so ingenious,” Edge said. He glanced back at Tarah. “You said that he plans to control the Stranger. How does he hope to accomplish this?”

“I don’t know,” Tarah replied with a shrug. “I can only see what someone’s thinking at the moment they leave a track and a clear track is hard to find when they’re in the middle of an army. It’s double hard with Aloysius, ‘cause he’s on horseback most of the day. I’ve been tracking him for weeks and all I get are snippets of his thoughts. Most of what I’ve learned comes from the demons and they don’t know much. Mostly they fantasize about torturing the Stranger.”

The named warrior scratched his head. “I suppose this means we should go and try to rescue him.”

“I don’t wanna go there,” Cletus pleaded, his lips spread wide in a grimace.

“The gnome’s right. Rescue the Stranger?” Djeri scoffed. “We should be applauding them. Let them beat the turds out of him for all I care. Maybe he’ll learn a lesson.”

 “I think you two are missing something,” said Willum. “We’re talking about one of the prophets. With that kind of power, he doesn’t need our help.”

“Yeah! Let’s don’t do it,” Cletus agreed.

“His powers have been taken away,” said Sir Edge. “The Prophet told him so. He’s vulnerable.” He sighed. “I think we should try. I was taken to the Stranger’s house for a reason. Maybe this is it.”

None of our business
, said Rolf’s voice again and Tarah spoke up. “I think the point is moot by now.”

“What do you mean?” Jhonate asked.

“Whatever was going to happen happened last night,” Tarah said. “That was their plan last I heard. I could check again. All I need are some tracks.”

“So it is over. He has either been captured already or he has escaped,” said Qurl, looking relieved that he didn’t need to get involved. “We should be getting back to Roo-Tan’lan. My father will decide if something needs to be done for this Stranger.”

“Qurl is correct,” said Jhonate to Sir Edge. “But perhaps we should let the Woodblade woman check some of this army’s tracks first. I wouldn’t mind seeing them myself.”

“My name is Tarah,” Tarah said. There was something about this Jhonate that rubbed her wrong. “Everyone knows I’m a woman.”

“Alright, Jhonate. We should . . .” Sir Edge’s eyes went suddenly distant. “We need to continue this conversation later. Deathclaw is under attack by a group of trolls.”

“Where is he?” Jhonate asked in surprise.

He closed his eyes and pointed to the east. “A few miles away.”

“Trolls this far from the swamps?” Qurl asked in surprise. “How many?”

“More than a dozen,” Edge replied. “He is acting like it’s not important, but their numbers are increasing. I need to go and help him out.”

“Let us go, then,” said Jhonate.

“I’ll come with you,” Willum said. “My axe needs some energy and troll blood should do the trick.”

“Alright. Fine,” Edge replied and Willum ran over to Alfred, climbing onto the warhorse’s saddle.

Gwyrtha padded up to the named warrior and presenting her flank, eager to get going. To Tarah’s surprise, the rogue horse grew in size, swelling until she was twice her previous size. Jhonate leapt up onto her back, sitting just behind the saddle, waiting for Sir Edge to join her.

He hesitated and turned towards Tarah and Djeri. “You two should stay here and pack up your camp. We’ll be back to take you to Roo-Tan’lan. Oh, and Jerry . . .”

The named warrior bent to whisper something into the dwarf’s ear. Then he mounted his rogue horse and bolted out of the camp, Willum galloping at his heels.

Qurl frowned after them, irritated that he hadn’t been invited. He signaled to two of his men, who approached him. “You two stay here with our guests until the rest of us return.” He nodded to Tarah and waved his arm, then he and the rest of the Roo-Tan warriors ran off in the direction Sir Edge had gone.

Tarah looked at Djeri and smiled. “Well, I think that went well.”

The dwarf was wearing a scowl. He motioned to the two Roo-Tan men that had stayed behind. “Why don’t you two put that fire out? We’ll get our things together.” Then he gripped Tarah’s arm and pulled her over to where Neddy stood. The mule was watching them with his highly intelligent eyes and Tarah wondered how much of their conversation he had understood.

“You know what Edge told me before he left?” Djeri asked, his voice an intense whisper and his human-like green eyes wide. “You want to know what he just whispered in my ear?”

“
That your armor was too shiny
?” Suggested Grampa Rolf, appearing next to a nearby tree. Making sarcastic remarks about Djeri was another of Esmine’s favorite things to do. The rogue horse didn’t like the fact that he was immune to her magic. Tarah was also suspicious that Esmine was jealous of how close she was to the dwarf.

“What did he say?” Tarah asked.

Djeri struggled to keep his voice down. “He said, ‘Have your girlfriend get some clothes on while we’re gone’.”

“
Ooh. I had a feeling he might have figured it out
,” said Grampa Rolf with a chuckle. He had taken a piece of wood and a knife out of his pocket and was whittling.

“He saw me?” Tarah’s cheeks colored. She had been so involved in the conversation with the others that she had almost forgotten she was naked under the illusion. “He hid it well. I didn’t even notice him check out . . . things.”

 “He couldn’t see through the illusion himself, but his rogue horse told him,” Djeri said.

“Oh,” she said. “I thought I’d gotten away with it.

“You thought you’d gotten a- . . .” The dwarf’s mouth worked as he tried to think of what to say next.