***********
Damion moved silently through the shadows while Snowfeather glided noiselessly overhead, silently guiding him to the hidden lair of the trolls. He followed the ghostly bird for less than a mile, then the huge owl dropped from the sky and landed a few hundred yards away from a large rock formation.
“The lair is on the far side of this formation.” Snowfeather informed him.
Damion purred his understanding. “Go ahead and return to the others. I can handle it from here.”
It took him several minutes of arguing to finally convince his familiar to follow his orders, then, finally, Snowfeather reluctantly agreed and disappeared into the night.
Damion sat for another moment in thought, then drew in his magic and shifted into the form of a tiny field mouse. He scampered through the shadows and carefully made his way around the rock formation until the mouth of the hidden lair came into view. Several trolls sat around a fire in a small clearing just outside of the well-concealed cavern, finishing off with appeared to be a long dead horse.
Damion had never seen a troll before, although he had seen several sketches of the brutish creatures in the books in Damarius's library. He immediately decided he liked them better on parchment.
They each stood well over eight feet in height, with a thick leathery hide that was covered in hideous-looking scars. Their faces resembled that of a pig's, with long gray snouts, and two great fangs that jutted up from their lower jaws. Their thin bodies were covered in diseased-looking patches of wiry black hair, and they had long razor-sharp claws at the tip of their long bony fingers. They each had a crudely made bow or a rusting sword that had undoubtedly been scavenged from some unlucky traveler that had been caught unaware. A few of the trolls even wore makeshift armor that had been crudely hammered out with a stone to fit their wiry frames.
After watching the trolls for several minutes without seeing any sign of the troll chieftain or the Dragon Sword, Damion decided to venture closer. He carefully slipped from shadow to shadow, unseen by the feasting trolls, and slipped inside of the cavern’s entrance. He followed it deep underground until he reached a large natural chamber deep beneath the surface of the rock formation. There were dozens more of the foul-smelling creatures gathered together in small groups about the chamber. The cavern was lit with several crude torches made from old discarded bones that had been wrapped with scraps of cloth and set aflame. The floor of the lair was littered with old bones, many of which, Damion recognized with revulsion, once belonged to humans.
A large throne made entirely of skulls had been erected against the far wall of the cavern chamber. Many of the skulls were human, while others had come from various animals. All had been decorated elaborately with gold, and many had large jewels set into the eye sockets. The chieftain of the trolls sat in the center of the gruesome throne, surveying its clan with an appraising eye. It was grossly fat when compared to the other trolls, with great rolls of blubber that hung over the sides of the throne. It was dressed in dingy robes that had been dyed in a dozen different colors, and it had several thick gold chains wrapped around its fat neck. Strapped to the troll’s tree trunk-like hip was an exquisitely crafted, elaborately decorated sword.
Damion knew instantly that it was the Dragon Sword by its hilt, which was intricately crafted in the image of a dragon in flight. His body trembled with excitement as he gazed at the fabled weapon. He could clearly see an empty setting in the pommel of the sword, obviously meant for a gem of incredible size.
He stared to scamper closer, his eyes locked on the marvelous weapon, but suddenly felt himself being lifted into the air by his tail. He twisted around and found a young troll cub, much smaller than the others, grasping his tail between two claw-tipped fingers.
It squealed happily, then opened its mouth, revealing dozens of sharp jagged teeth, and prepared to toss him down its throat. Damion thrashed about in a panic, trying to slip from its grasp, but couldn’t break loose of the troll cub’s grip.
A sudden grunting snort from the grossly fat troll chieftain froze the small cub in its tracks. It growled and snarled angrily at the cub, which flinched back and whimpered pitifully. The troll chieftain grunted once more, and the troll cub quickly scampered over and dropped Damion into the morbidly fat troll's lap. The cub then turned and disappeared into the shadows to pout about its lost meal.
The troll chieftain snatched a hold of Damion's tail as he tried to dart away, and lifted him to its mouth, drooling in hunger, then its eyes bulged in fear and disbelief as the mouse he held suddenly disappeared, only to be replaced by a large ferocious-looking panther.
In an instant, Damion had the troll chieftain by its fat neck, and with a surge of his powerful muscles, he ripped out the creature's throat. Hot green blood sprayed into his face and filled his mouth, causing him to gag uncontrollably. The troll chieftain thrashed feebly for a few seconds, then died with a trailing gurgle.
The other trolls just stared at him, dumbfounded by the huge cat's inexplicable appearance. Then they noticed their chieftain, who lay motionless atop its gruesome throne of skulls, covered in green blood. Realization suddenly dawned in their eyes, and one of the horrid creatures howled in fury.
Damion instantly shifted back into his own form and snatched the Dragon Sword from the dead troll chieftain's corpse, then turned back, prepared to fight his way out of the lair. He suddenly froze, finding his way blocked by nearly every troll in the clan. “Uh oh!”
The creatures all charged at once, roaring and screaming in fury, intent on ripping him to pieces for violating their lair and slaughtering their leader.
Instinctively, Damion drew in his magic and sent a ball of pure energy streaking across the room, striking the closest of the charging creatures full in the chest. The energy exploded in a tremendous blast which completely engulfed the entire cavern. The blast tossed Damion backwards, slamming him into the dead troll chieftain's throne, his bones rattled by the sheer force of the explosion.
He sat up in a slight daze and looked around, preparing to defend himself once more, but found it unnecessary. There wasn't much left of the trolls except for a few smoldering chunks of flesh that littered the cavern floor. The force of the explosion had blown the entire face of the rock formation into a fine dust, and opened the cavern to the night's sky.
He stumbled unsteadily to his feet, and brushed himself off. After taking a moment to catch his breath, he strapped the Dragon Sword to his waist, and carefully made his way from the open crater that was once the cavern. Once he reached level ground, he turned and looked back at the complete devastation that had once been the trolls’ lair. There was nothing recognizable left within a hundred-yard area, and fully half of the rock formation had been reduced to dust.
He shook his head, pondering what had just transpired. It had been many years since he had lost control of his magic. He had always kept his powers under tight control. Something had lent its own power to his without his knowledge, with devastating results.
He drew the Dragon Sword from its jeweled sheath and looked it over carefully. He could clearly feel a powerful aura of magic in the sword, and he suddenly understood what must have happened.
He glanced back once more at the smoking crater, then slowly set off to rejoin the others. He found them packed and anxiously awaiting his arrival. Storm snorted and pawed at the ground as the stallion sensed his master approaching, and everyone jumped as he stepped from the shadows and into the fire light, still covered in dust that had once been solid stone.
“Damion!” Kariah exclaimed, rushing to his side and throwing her arms around his waist in a fierce embrace. “I’m so relieved that you’re safe! I was terrified that something had happened to you!”
“What in the hell happened back there?” Sly asked, clearly shaken. “There was an earsplitting explosion that lit the entire sky, and the ground began to shake like there was an earthquake, then we began to get pelted by fist-sized stones that fell from sky!”
Damion waved off the question. “Let’s set up camp again, then I will explain everything.”
“What about the trolls?” Dar asked in confusion.
Damion snorted humorlessly. “They won't be a problem anymore.” He helped them unload the horses and relight the fire, then settled down against a large stone and unhooked the Dragon Sword from his belt. He gently placed on the ground before him, then looked to the others.
“The Dragon Sword!” Dar said breathlessly.
Damion nodded grimly. He quickly explained how he slipped inside of the cavern and found troll chieftain who carried the sword. “After I had killed the disgusting creature and grabbed the sword, I turned around and found that I was completely surrounded. I tried to use my magic to fight my way out, but… uh… something happened.”
“It must have been a pretty big something!” Garth grunted, stroking the tangles from his beard.
Damion scratched his head, sending up a puff of dust. “As far as I can tell, the sword somehow amplified my magic and.....” He shrugged. “I was lucky I survived.”
Kariah gasped, her face ghostly pale in the darkness.
“What happened to the trolls?” Sly asked curiously.
“There wasn't enough left of them to fill a small bucket.”
The scruffy little man gave a low whistle, and stared at the Dragon Sword in awe. “It sounds as if it has power of its own.”
“The sword was crafted to unlock and amplify the power of the Dragon Gem.” Dar theorized. “Perhaps it can also amplify other magic, as well.”
Damion nodded his agreement. “It makes sense. I'm usually able to keep my magic under strict control, but I was completely unprepared for what happened in the trolls’ lair.” He smiled maliciously. “This sword is exactly what we need to give us an advantage against Kaviel!”
“But we must also make sure he can't get his hands on it.” Sly cautioned. “If he were to somehow obtain this sword, there would be nothing that can stop him.”
“Then we’ll just have to make sure that he doesn't get his hands on it, now won’t we?” Damion stated firmly.
“What do we do now?” Kariah asked.
“Now we need to find the dragon’s lair.”
“That’s where I come in.” Dar stated. “Once we reach the Endless Forest, I’ll be able to lead us right to it.”
Sly yawned, then leaned back on his bedroll. “Then I suggest we all try to get some rest. It’s still a long way until we reach the forest, and we need to get an early start.”