Three Kings (Book 3) (7 page)

Mind-numbing pain assailed him as his body jerked and twitched uncontrollably. His head felt as if it were splitting in two as those rushing to his side fought to keep him upright. Aches and pains replaced the spasms, and for a moment he was certain he would vomit, but then the sensation relented. Coughing, he blinked his eyes to clear the water residue that remained, and then it hit him.

Raising a hand before his eyes, not eye, he looked upon the thick fingers in wonder as he turned his aching body to see those other trolls who rushed to the aid of their failing king. Without reason, he recognized their faces and knew their names. He knew the roles they served among his people and a million other things. He could recall more than seven hundred years of life that was not his own, and there were multitudes of memories that felt both foreign and familiar. Gnak was inside the troll king. He had become the troll king. A wrinkled smile split his face as he turned to look upon the orc frozen stiff upon the ground just feet away.

Everything finally made sense. Trolls, it seemed, had problems when it came to temperature. When their bodies were cool their metabolism slowed nearly to a stop, allowing them to live incredibly long lives. But in order to perform tasks, like hunt, they needed to be able to move faster, and as such they warmed their bodies. They had several options for doing so, the easiest of which was simply standing in the sun, but this barely warmed them, especially in the cold climes of the highest reaches of the mountains. Like in their village, they often used fire to warm their blood and its effects could last for several hours, allowing them to perform scouting patrols, and gather some supplies. Their best option, and one considered holy to their people, was a recharge at the crystal where Gnak had first saw them. For reasons unknown even to the king, the stone was able to heat their insides in mere seconds and increase their metabolism to incredible levels that could be sustained for nearly a week. Though such increases, if regularly performed, were known to shorten the lives of trolls, they used its power to prepare for battles, large hunts before the winter, and other dire situations.

Hearing several of the trolls speaking, Gnak was surprised that he could understand their words and quickly joined in the conversation.

“I think the orc is dead,” said a troll Gnak recognized as Voolid. “We should burn him.”

“No,” Gnak replied, amazed at his ability to communicate so easily in the troll’s native language. “Leave me with the orc. I want to examine him.”

Immediately the trolls began to disperse without question. Theirs was a society of respect for their elders and as the oldest living of their kind, he was their king. As the longest lived he was considered the wisest, and his orders were not subject to question. He had led his people for nearly seventy years since his last elder had passed into the realm of the gods. Gnak knew everything there was to know about the troll.

He had four children, three males and a female, though two of the males were already dead. He knew that four offspring was a lot for a troll. Searching his memories he learned of the troll gods, and found that he knew about many gods. Even Ishanya. It seemed trolls never forgot a thing they learned, and histories were passed down verbally from one generation to the next. Gnak could recall a tale told to him by a troll more ancient than himself of a time when the gods walked among the men of Thurr. It told of the goddess Ishanya, rising to power and glory, only to abandon those who served her as they were slaughtered in a battle that included nearly every race. Now he knew why they called her the deceiver. Could it be true that his goddess was so twisted as to abandon those who loved her at their greatest time of need? No. Gnak knew it had to be a matter of perspective. Though the trolls were obviously more intelligent than he would have ever thought, their knowledge of the world was skewed by their distance from it.

Walking across the room, Gnak found that although his movements felt slow, his troll mind seemed pleased with his pace. Every one of his joints hurt, but even so he crouched down beside the body he had left behind. He had never before seen it quite like this. Sure he had peered in reflective surfaces, but never had he had an outsider’s vantage.

Though he was riddled with odd and deforming scars where his flesh had been burned and charred away, and his naught but bone fingers lay partially exposed through torn gloves, he was not appalled by what he saw. With one blank eye staring back at him in return, he inspected his body and found that he was proud of the specimen he had become. It was true, he was not the prettiest of his race, but just looking at himself, he was frightening, and that counted for something.

Turning slowly, he looked towards the door to assure himself that none peered in to see what it was he was doing. Then, focusing himself mentally, he lunged. Trembling as sweat poured from his body, Gnak blinked his eye several times and rolling he rose to his feet as he stretched his muscles with a sly grin. It felt good to be back in his
own
body. Checking inward, he was happy to find all as it should be, and Jen was there right where he had left her. He had what he had come for. The troll nation was his. All he needed to do now was figure out what to do with them.

Without enough information to make an informed decision he worked through everything he
did
know. From experimenting on desert foxes he knew a body could live at least a day without its essence. With that knowledge, he knew he would have to continually transfer back and forth between his own body and the body of the troll king in order to keep both alive. He could only hope that there were no risks involved in sustaining both bodies this way. This decision led him to another discovery. No matter what he did, he now had to do it with both bodies, as he could not leave either behind or it would die.

With his newfound knowledge, he began to formulate a plan that would take him back to his clan and the goblins who should be coming to meet with him. It had been many days since he left the camp, and only the gods knew what was ensuing in his absence. He hoped Pantak was keeping everything in order.

It was more than two hours when Gnak thought his plan was devised. He doubted the trolls would give him any trouble as they apparently were very loyal to their leader. No, the problem would be the return journey home.

“Jen. You talk Gnak?” he asked into the scorching air inside the stone and wood building.

“Yes, Gnak, I suppose I can,” she replied with a giggle that seemed to bounce around inside his head.

“Found trolls. Found better power. Ishanya give way to make all work. Gnak very happy.”

“That’s wonderful, Gnak, are the trolls under your command now?”

“Yes, Gnak take troll king body.
Is
troll king now.”

“Perfect! You didn’t have to kill anyone?”

“None die. Work good.”

“I bet Ishanya is very happy with you right now, Gnak. What will you do now?”

“Gnak take troll king back to camp. Must see many goblin kings. Make all understand. Make all work for Gnak.”

“Sounds like you have come very far, Gnak. I am so proud of you. Maybe soon you can take me home?”

“Gnak hope so. Learning much. Is good, Gnak think. Soon learn how bring back Jen.”

“I look forward to it, Gnak. Now get back to work,” she ordered in her bubbly voice.

“You have a lot to do.”

Gnak knew she was gone again without even speaking further. Her words had emboldened him and made him certain that he was on the right path. He knew what he needed to do, but he needed further knowledge of the troll people and a safer path down the mountain.

Rising, he walked about the odd building seeking the coolest place possible. It only took a few minutes to discover that the northernmost corner of the building had a small draught and cold air blew in, creating a semi comfortable zone within the building. Backing into the corner, Gnak lunged out of his body.

Gasping as he connected with the troll king, he found the experience much less unpleasant than the previous. It seemed that transferring from one body to another was getting easier. Oddly, this body felt cold, and so, following his newfound instincts, he stalked out of the building to round its walls to the nearest of the village’s fires.

Standing downwind of the monstrous blaze, he was blasted by heat as his body’s temperature began to climb. Looking around he noted that several trolls witnessed his presence, but all continued about their tasks. Winter was coming, and so high in the mountains it was likely that more snow would begin falling soon. There was much to be done.

Shaking his head, Gnak extracted himself from the troll’s line of thoughts. He had other things to worry about. It was a long and slow process, with so many years of memories stored in the king’s head, but over the next hours Gnak discovered what he needed to do.

If the troll statues surrounding the giant prism had not been enough evidence, Gnak’s newfound memories showed him that trolls were efficient in cutting and carving stone when the need arose. If winter was coming, they would need a source of heat to keep them warm so they could work at a reasonable pace. He knew just the place to start, and how to get them working.

Seeking more memories to use to his advantage, it took Gnak little time to find a better path down the mountains. It seemed the king of trolls was familiar with nearly every nook and cranny upon the mountainside, a fact that Gnak could easily put to use. It was time to act.

Pulling a horn from his belt, which was his only clothing, the king of trolls pressed the horn to his lips and blew. A deep resounding note echoed off the mountain faces to bound back upon itself again and again, as all the trolls ceased what they were doing and all turned in his direction. Slowly, to Gnak’s way of thinking, the trolls all began to move in his direction. He could not wait for all of them. Some would take hours to return from their hunts. Only some would have to be told of what he planned, they would see to it that his orders were spread among the people. Gnak liked the way trolls worked. Simple was good.

Night was again upon them as Gnak, in the king’s body, felt he had enough of his people gathered to issue his orders. Though several hundred had gathered around him, none talked or moved, each conserving their energy for whatever task their king required. Using the king’s memories to his advantage, he addressed them in a way that would be familiar to them, making gestures the king was known to make.

“My people, a great and terrible thing has happened to us this day. As most of you surely know by now, an orc was brought to our home and with him he bore a message,” Gnak began, enjoying the ease of the words. “The orc is the new leader of his nation, and he is sworn to a god who has shown him a vision. I believe his words to be true; however, before I could act on his words he fell ill. I see now that it is up to me to return him home as you would want the orcs to do the same for me if the roles were reversed. I will go to the orcs and return to them their king. I will meet with their clan leaders and discuss our future. With winter coming we have tasks that we perform year after year to ensure our survival, but this year will be different. A sign from the gods has been given and there are new tasks that need to be completed. There is little time. We must hurry or else risk insulting the gods and those who would be our allies in this endeavor.”

On Gnak went, describing that which he wanted the trolls to do. It seemed simple enough to translate what he saw in his vision of the city into words for the trolls to follow, and when he was done all ended just as he hoped. There were no questions. There were no cries of anger over the changes he was making. There was simple and unquestioning obedience. What he was asking for would be difficult and would require a lot of work from the trolls, but it would make life easier in the coming months.

His orders given, Gnak turned and left the congregation that was now dissipating to begin upon his tasks. Entering the large building where he had been brought as a captive, he walked to the back corner and, seizing up his orc body, he hefted it over a shoulder. Leaving the building, he stalked away from camp at a slow steady pace towards now familiar trails that would speed his descent.

CHAPTER SEVEN

With night upon him, Gnak lumbered down the mountain trails within the troll king’s body. Though his pace was somewhat slow, at least relative to his size, he stretched out his stride to its limit with each step. With gravity on his side, every step down the mountain propelled him at least twice the distance he would be able to cover with his orc legs. All in all, he supposed he moved at a decent pace considering he literally had to carry himself down the mountain.

It was strange to Gnak that the trails he followed were both new and familiar, as he made discoveries that he had seen hundreds of times before. Each bend in a trail was both a confirmation of his memory and a realization of someplace new. For hours he enjoyed it immensely, playing a game with himself where he would guess what lay around the next bend only to turn the corner and verify it. He was right every single time. It was as if he were psychic. Then again, for all basic understandings he supposed he could be, if he only took the time to peer at the world through the eyes of everyone he met.

The thought sent him reeling. What a wonderful way to learn all the secrets of the world. He could discover in mere minutes from the memories of those he met, what would take a lifetime to achieve in the natural manner. He could become the most knowledgeable leader in the world. Gnak set himself a new goal. He would not just gain a better understanding of the common tongue. No. He would master it, and every other language upon Thurr. He would learn the world over without leaving his home. He would know everything there was to know and he would use it to lead his people into a better future. Ishanya’s gifts were amazing.

It was several hours of daydreaming later when Gnak decided that he was far enough away from the troll village to be seen by prying eyes. He doubted any would follow him, but that did not mean that there were not others out upon the face of the mountain, hunting or gathering supplies. Assured of his security, he placed his orc body upon the ground and shifted into it with ease.