The sheer unexpectedness of the appearance and subsequent attack of the troll froze Jaikus into immobility. However, such paralysis was short lived. Darting back, he escaped certain death as razor sharp claws raked the space he had occupied only a split-second before. And the creature kept coming.
He tried to draw his sword as he fled backward, but the terror produced by staring into the merciless eyes of the troll kept him from succeeding. Even though his hand was on the hilt, he couldn’t seem to draw it forth.
Then Reneeke was there.
Coming alongside his friend, sword drawn and shouting “Hyah!” to draw the creature’s attention, he allowed Jaikus time to back away unfettered. But in doing so, had become the focus of the troll’s attack.
Jaikus finally managed to free his sword as the creature’s claws shot forward in an attempt to ravage Reneeke’s flesh. But his friend had been too quick. Dodging backward, Reneeke simultaneously brought the blade down. To his surprise, the blow struck the thick, tough hide of the troll’s forearm and cleaved through to the bone. Yowling in pain and rage, the toll yanked its arm back, almost taking Reneeke’s sword with it in the process.
Spine now somewhat firmly back in place, and feeling that perhaps his undergarments might need a thorough cleansing when all was said and done, Jaikus charged forward. He hit the troll with a resounding blow to the side as it moved to attack Reneeke yet again. But for all the strength he put into it, the blade barely left a mark.
Jaikus’ lack of success was not lost upon Reneeke. “Get out of here, Jaik!” he shouted, as claws again shot forward bringing terrible, ripping pain. Unable to react swiftly enough, he was left with a shredded jerkin and furrows oozing blood from mid-breast to collarbone.
Though woefully outclassed, he wasn’t about to give up without a fight. Thrusting toward the creature’s face, he managed to score a hit dead center to the troll’s left eye. Four inches of blade sank into the optical cavity before the troll’s head jerked backward. A fraction of a second later, it let loose a scream so primal in its intensity, that it caused both lads to take a quick step backward.
Unwilling to disgrace the god of luck by refusing to take advantage of such a fortuitous blow, Reneeke turned, grabbed Jaikus by the shoulder, and shouted “Run!” as he propelled him away from the pain-ravaged beast.
In the hand of Reneeke, their single remaining, burning brand lit the way. The one Jaikus had carried lay somewhere upon the ground near where the troll first appeared. From behind, the troll’s outcry quickly turned from one of pain, to that of sheer, unadulterated, rage. It wasn’t long before they heard it crashing through the undergrowth in pursuit.
“Rene…”
“Just keep running, Jaik.”
Keeping to the densest parts of the Swamp, they were gradually able to put distance between them and the troll. Its great bulk was hindered by the thick growth of trees and brush through which they ran.
Even in the shadowed landscape, Reneeke had a fairly good ‘bump of direction.’ He directed their progress toward where he was certain Charka had said Reakla lay, only diverging where the lay of the land required. When they came to an area the moonlight revealed to be one of open water or deep, sucking muck, he would circumvent such obstacles before returning to the proper heading.
“It’s not gaining,” Jaikus said.
Reneeke nodded, then paused as they came to the edge of yet another scum-covered pond. Behind them, the sound of the troll’s pursuit could still be heard. “Get a pair of torches.”
“But, it’ll see us!” Jaikus exclaimed.
It was one thing to have a solitary brand that barely gave out much light. But to have two torches burning at full capacity, they would be a beacon announcing to every nearby creature that dinner had arrived.
That’s when Reneeke turned and revealed the deep scratches the troll’s attack had opened across his chest. As Jaikus gasped at the sight, Reneeke said, “I don’ think a little extra light is going to matter, Jaik. I’m sure he can track us by smell alone. At least with torches, we can find our way around these quagmires much more readily.”
“Right.” Quickly removing his pack, Jaikus produced two torches that he lit from the all but spent brand. Flaring to life, the torches brought their immediate area into full view.
“Perfect.” Then tossing the nearly exhausted brand to the ground, Reneeke took charge of one of the torches and searched for the optimal route around the pond before them. By the time Jaikus had his pack back in place, he had found the route. “This way.”
The short pause at the side of the pond had allowed the troll to gain ground. A cry from behind alerted them to its closer proximity.
Once around the pond, Reneeke led them forward along a span of dry ground between an all but dried up quagmire on their left, and a small pond to the right. The sound of the troll’s pursuit kept them moving faster through this unfamiliar territory than Reneeke was comfortable with. But still, better the unknown ahead, than the flesh-ripping, life-ending ‘known’ behind.
The strip of land soon turned into a full fledged expanse of dry, solid ground populated by a dense grove of trees having long since given up the ghost. Shadows danced ominously within the dead forest.
“We didn’t come this way,” Jaikus said. Glancing into the trees, then back toward the darkness concealing the approaching troll, he couldn’t decide which one frightened him most.
“No, that’s true, Jaik. But it looks like we’re going this way now.”
As he passed through the outer fringe of the treeline, Jaikus asked, “How’s the chest?”
“Stings something awful.”
“Use one of those healing potions Lady Kate gave us.”
Reneeke shook his head. “Save it for when we really need it. I can deal with it.”
Jaikus could hear the sound of pain in his friend’s voice. He worried that the wounds would become angry, as such wounds often did, if they weren’t taken care of soon. “Any idea how far we are from Reakla?”
“Not exactly. Hours, I would think. And that’s if we aren’t forced to double back.”
“Let’s hope not.” Doubling back would surely cause them to encounter their persistent adversary. He couldn’t understand why the troll was still pursuing them. Didn’t they ever give up?
The trees were an off-brown color, almost as if their pigment had gradually been leeched away. Not a leaf was left on any of the branches above, nor were any present upon the ground below. Farther up on the trunks, at a point where the torchlight faded away, the color looked to be bleached out altogether, not being much more than a pale white.
Nocturnal sounds that had accompanied them throughout their flight from the mossback’s knoll, gradually began fading away. The deeper within the forest of dead trees they progressed, the quieter the world around them became. Except, that was, for the intermittent roar of the troll, and the sound of its passage.
“I don’t like this place,” Jaikus said. Shadows produced by the torches created dark, ominous images amidst the trunks around them, fodder enough to fuel Jaikus’ overactive imagination. Ten minutes hadn’t passed before he began seeing fell beasts lurking to either side, beasts that only existed in his mind.
A demonic serpent turned out to be a fallen trunk. An ogre bearing a double-headed battle axe was revealed as nothing more than a misshapen tree. Get a grip on yourself, Jaik, he told himself. But such assurances had little effect in taming the wild thoughts that transformed shadows into fearful apparitions. He kept as close to Reneeke as he could.
Reneeke kept a furious pace. Alternating running with periods of walking, they were able to maintain their lead on the troll. When he unexpectedly came to an abrupt stop, Jaikus failed to notice in time and ran into his back.
As he rebounded off his friend, Jaikus gave a quick, “Sorry,” before seeing why it was that Reneeke had stopped. Not six feet from where they stood, a rivulet cut its way across their path. Wide enough to prevent either of them from a
ttempting to leap across, it effectively barred their way.
Then from out of the darkness behind them, came the sound of the troll’s roar, which only served to amplify the direness of their situation. It wasn’t close, but definitely closer than it had been.
Moving to the rivulet’s edge, Reneeke gestured along the bank to the right. “See if there’s a way across down that way,” he said. “I’ll check the other. Hurry.”
Jaikus looked toward the ominous shadows, imagination once again working overtime. “Down…there? By myself?” he asked nervously, but Reneeke was already moving off and failed to reply.
As if he wasn’t terrified enough, their ever present pursuer gave out with another roar. Their momentary pause along the water’s edge had allowed it to narrow the gap still further. If they didn’t ford this rivulet, and soon, the troll would soon be upon them.
Jaikus stiffened his resolve, and set forth along the bank of the rivulet. Thirty paces, he told himself. If a way hadn’t presented itself in that time, he would return. Counting his steps, he raced forward as quickly as he could.
At no point along the thirty-pace dash did the rivulet narrow to such an extent as would allow them to leap across. If anything, it grew wider. At thirty paces, Jaikus paused and held his torch high as he gave the area one last look. No fording opportunities presented themselves. Turning about, Jaikus began racing to rejoin Reneeke.
As he ran, Jaikus spotted the light from Reneeke’s torch through the trees and altered his course to intercept. “Find anything?” he asked as he came up behind his friend.
Reneeke glanced over his shoulder and said, “Maybe. You?”
Jaikus shook his head. “It only grew wider.” Sounds from deeper within the trees drew his fearful gaze. “What are we going to do?” Glancing back to Reneeke, he saw his friend pointing toward a sandbar some fifteen feet from shore.
“If we can get there, we can easily cross the rest of the way.” The span of water on the far side of the sandbar was less than five feet across.
“But I can’t leap from here to there.”
“You don’t have to,” replied Reneeke. He then drew Jaikus’ attention to a tree rising not far from the water’s edge. It was slightly askew and leaned in the general direction of the rivulet. “All we have to do is knock this tree over and walk across.”
Having grown up on a farm, Jaikus understood all too well the impossibility of what Reneeke was suggesting. “Can’t be done.”
“We have no choice.”
Just then, they heard the grunting of the troll followed by the snapping of a dead branch. They turned and looked in the direction of the sound. The beast couldn’t be more than a hundred feet away. “Then we fight.”
Jaikus blanched at the prospect of trading blows with the troll. Returning his attention to the tree, he asked, “So, how are we to get this down?”
Maybe it was his friend’s quick reversal on his stand for knocking over the tree, or maybe it was due to the tension and fatigue wracking his body, but Reneeke couldn’t help but grin. Drawing his sword, he said, “Lady Kate said there was an aura on this blade. It has already proven itself against troll-hide.” Then he stepped toward the askew tree. “Let’s see how well it does now.”
“You might break it.”
Reneeke shrugged. He handed Jaikus his torch then gripped the hilt with both hands. Raising the sword over his head, he said, “With or without it, we stand little chance against the troll.” Then, using every ounce of strength at his disposal, he swung the sword in a mighty slice.
The finely honed edge struck the trunk and bark went flying as it cleaved its way a solid six inches within the tree.
“Yes!” exclaimed Jaikus.
Reneeke worked the blade out and hacked again. This time, a wedge of wood fell away leaving a pie-shaped cavity. With a nod of his head, Reneeke directed Jaikus’ toward a low hanging branch on the rivulet side. “Give me a hand,” he said as he raised the sword.
The tree emitted a slight cracking noise as Jaikus took hold of the branch. When Reneeke struck the tree for the third time, he pulled downward on the branch with all his might. Loud popping and cracking noises came from the hacked area and the tree tilted even more precariously toward the water.
“Almost there,” Reneeke said as he drew his sword back for what he hoped would be the final blow required to topple the tree. But the blow never came. It was preempted by a loud crash heralding the arrival of the troll.
Seeing the two friends with their backs to the river, the creature snarled, then charged.
“Get that tree down!” Reneeke shouted as he turned to face the troll. With sword held before him, he started sidestepping away. “Come and get me!” The troll fixated on him, and followed.
Claws shot forward only to pass through empty space. Reneeke had anticipated the beast’s attack and moved accordingly. In his younger years, he had faced down his share of distempered creatures; bulls and the like. This troll wasn’t all that different. Sure it was bigger, stronger, and slightly more intelligent than animals found on a farm, but a beast, no matter how ferocious, was just a beast and would act accordingly.
After a second swipe that was just as ineffectual as the first, Reneeke glanced over toward where Jaikus was doing his utmost to bring that tree down. Grabbing the branch high up toward the trunk, Jaikus leaped up, tucked in his legs, and allowed his entire weight to drag on the branch.
There was a snap, and the branch broke.
Pain flared as his momentary, visual diversion cost him dearly. Talons ripped along the forearm wielding the sword. Simultaneously, the powerful hind legs of the troll launched the beast forward in a mighty leap.
Reneeke spun to the side to avoid the attack and struck out as the creature sailed past. The blade connected with the side of the troll’s head, leaving a deep, blood-spurting, furrow. He dodged back as the troll twisted in midair, coming to land facing him. It sprang again.
Unable to dart to safety, he instead dropped to the ground and allowed the beast to pass harmlessly over him. Once it was past, he quickly regained his feet and ran for all he was worth. A second later, the troll came to land and raced in pursuit.
Rising from where the snapping of the branch had left him, Jaikus glanced over to see Reneeke racing off into the dark of the forest with the troll in hot pursuit. “Get the tree!” he heard his friend shout as Reneeke disappeared from sight. Returning his gaze back to the tree, he saw where Reneeke had all but cut his way through.
One more cut! One more and the tree would have fallen. Wracked with indecision as to the best course of action, he heard Reneeke’s voice shout from out of the darkness, “Hurry!”
He considered using the rope in his pack to pull the tree down. And that would have been a viable solution had there been more shore between the tree and the water. But as it was, with the tree mere feet from the waterline, there wouldn’t be sufficient leverage to make a difference.
Then, another thought occurred to him, one that he was loath to attempt. Although, when an inarticulate cry from Reneeke split the silence, he knew the attempt must be made despite the risks. Jaikus knew that should he climb up the trunk far enough, his weight, coupled with the degree of the tree’s slant, would increase the pressure on the area hacked by Reneeke, and thus, bring it down. He dropped the two torches at the base of the slanted tree, steeled his resolve, and began to climb.
The climb was relatively easy as there were many limbs available for handholds. When he reached five feet from the ground, he felt the tree start to bow beneath his weight. At ten, the trunk below gave off popping and cracking sounds.
Almost there...
Moving another two feet along the trunk, he hopped. Driving his weight forcibly down upon the tree, he felt, as well as heard, the final crack as the tree gave way. Jaikus held onto the branches for dear life as the tree toppled. When it struck the rivulet, he was jarred loose and one hand inadvertently slipped into the water. At the same time, the upp
er reaches of the tree seemed to explode in a cloud of white when it came to land upon the sandbar.
Instantly, the water roiled, and pain flared as tiny teeth sought to rip and tear away his flesh. Jerking his hand from the water, he discovered four of the little, meat-eating fish had their teeth firmly attached to three of his fingers. It was painful removing them as their jaws refused to relinquish their bits of flesh. Once the last had been removed, Jaikus turned back toward the forest and yelled, “Now, Reneeke! The tree is down!”
Jaikus began making his way back along the trunk toward the shore, and the two torches still burning upon the ground. When he reached the end and hopped down, Reneeke still hadn’t appeared. Worried for his friend, he thought that perhaps Reneeke may have become turned around among the trees and couldn’t find his way back. He reclaimed the torches and climbed back up onto the trunk of the fallen tree where he began waving them about.
“Reneeke!” he shouted. “This way!”
Torches moved furiously for half a minute before Reneeke broke free from the trees. Jaikus jumped in elation at seeing his friend, but was cut short as Reneeke drew close and he got a good look at him. Streaks of blood created a grisly patchwork along the left side of his face, and his clothes were shredded in three places, testament to having endured the troll’s tender caresses.
Five paces behind him, came the troll.
“Get going, Jaik!” he yelled.
Jaikus turned about and was brought to a halt by the sight of glow-moths, hundreds of them, fluttering in and around the upper branches of the tree. The white cloud created when the tree struck the sandbar. It had been the glow-moths! The sandbar side of their tree-bridge was completely infested. And not only that, those closest to him were drawing nearer.
There wasn’t sufficient time to cover himself in the protective mesh that had worked so superbly in the past. What with death nipping at Reneeke’s heels, they had to press forward, and fast.
Jaikus held both torches in his left hand and began thrashing them about. He had just begun moving forward when small flares of flame erupted in midair as the business end of the torches set fire to flittering glow-moths.
Then all of a sudden, the tree beneath him shuddered as Reneeke leapt aboard and began following. It shuddered still further when the troll sought to follow, the branches proving to be a serious hindrance for it. Thrashing to and fro, the troll began snapping them away to clear a path.
“’Ware the water!” Jaikus shouted as more of the glow-moths became ready fodder for the flame. “It’s full of those fishes. And in case you hadn’t noticed, there’s a glow-moth infestation up ahead.”
“Less talk, more walk.”
The route through the branches was anything but simple, wending his way around branches, even having to precariously lean out over the water in order to bypass an exceptionally obstinate one. And all the time, there were the moths.
His twin torches moved rapidly to halt the forward progression of the barbed critters. More than once, he had to singe the outer area of a limb in order to clear a space that was covered in glow-moths so it could be used as a handhold.
He was a mere ten feet from the sandbar when the first glow-moth struck. As he was waving his torch to clear the air before him, he felt a piercing jab of fire in his left forearm. Crying out in shock at the unexpected severity of the pain, he quickly brought his right hand over to pull the stinger out. The barb at the end was reticent to release its grip, but a quick jerk pulled it free along with a small bit of skin.
“One got me!” he hollered back to Reneeke.
“Keep going!” urged his friend. The troll was still very much in pursuit.
Jaikus tried to disregard the pain as he continued torching glow-moths and moving forward.
Reneeke had moved to just behind him and wished his friend would move faster. Glancing back, he saw how the troll worked to clear a path not five feet farther back. The creature was gaining faster than Jaikus was progressing. Working on removing a rather thick and gnarled branch that the two humans had readily maneuvered around, the troll was for the moment, stalled. Retuning his attention to Jaikus and the dancing torchlight, he thought…If it wasn’t for the need to clear a path through the…
“Hang on a minute, Jaik.”
Jaikus came to a halt and felt Reneeke tug on his pack.
“I’m getting the mesh netting,” he explained.
Nodding, Jaikus continued weaving a fiery display in the air before him, torching moth after moth that then plummeted to the water below.
“Here.” Reneeke said as he draped Jaikus’ protective net over his friend’s head. “Keep it close or the limbs are going to snag it.” He paused a moment. Then as Jaikus was adjusting the mesh, said, “Hand me the torches.”
“Thanks.” Once the twin, burning brands were handed off to Reneeke, he was able to move the mesh into its proper, protective, position. That was when he saw twin streaks of fire sail over his head toward the sandbar.
“Are you mad?”
“They are drawn to the light, right?”
The two torches landed upon the surface of the sand some fifteen feet from the end of the tree. Almost immediately, glow-moths nearest the torches began moving toward the burning brands.
Jaikus nodded. “Yes.”
“Okay, then. Now, get moving!”
With the mesh netting pulled tightly about his upper extremities, Jaikus started moving forward. It was much easier to traverse the limbs with hands free of the torches. The netting, however, snagged on the limbs, but such inconvenience was a small price to pay for increased speed.
Reneeke took his own netting from his pack and settled it into place. The time taken to thus protect themselves allowed the troll to tear the limb from the tree and proceed forward. It was now almost within striking distance. Nimbly wending his way through the branches, Reneeke narrowly avoided the troll’s lethal claws and began widening the distance once again. Behind, the troll roared in frustrated anger as its larger girth prevented it from following with similar agility. Claws ripping into the limbs, it continued at a much slower pace.
The glow-moths were dispersing. Fluttering about, they seemed to be completely oblivious to the two net-shrouded humans as they winged along in their roundabout way toward the torches lying on the sandbar. No longer having to worry about imminent attack, Jaikus was able to increase his rate of progression through the limbs and quickly reached the sandbar. Reneeke hopped from the tree a moment later.
The troll continued to be mired in the more thickly woven branches of what had once been the treetop. Its strength and tenacity filled the air with sounds of snapping wood and sundered limbs.
Glow-moths filled the air about them. The greatest congregation was concentrated in the area illuminated by the torches' glow.
“Leave them,” Reneeke said when Jaikus moved toward the burning brands. “Let’s get out of here while we can.”
Jaikus nodded.
Reneeke took the lead as they crossed the narrow strip of the sandbar toward the far side. There, he took a running jump and easily cleared the narrow off-shoot of the rivulet. Jaikus followed with similar ease.
They paused but a moment to glance back at the troll. It had reached the end of the tree. Surrounding it was a cloud of glow-moths; and from the way its arms were flailing back and forth, the glow-moths were quite happy to makes its acquaintance.
In the dim shadows produced by the torchlight, they saw where a dozen or more had embedded their barbs within the creature. From its howls, it couldn’t have been a pleasurable experience.
“Come on.”
Breaking into a run, the two boys from Running Brook disappeared into the shadows, using what time the glow-moths may have provided to put as much distance between themselves and the troll as they could.
Chapter 15