comes!”
“We’ll stop it!” Mira’s face was bright and excited. Sandra looked at her in shock.
“Umm, sir, give me a moment with my squire…” Sandra grabbed Mira by the shoulder and dragged her away from the knot of the mayor’s men. “What?”
“What?”
“We’re not fighting a troll. We’re supposed to be finding the prince, remember?”
“I know. It’s just… I mean… is it right to save the prince’s life and condemn thousands of people to lives of terror and fear? If even one of them dies because of the troll, have we actually done any good?”
“…” Sandra considered Mira's words. They were logical. And likely to result in her going out and getting herself killed.
“Come on! One troll? You must be good enough to take on a lone troll.”
“I… think so.” Sandra considered what they’d learned in the guard. Trolls weren’t common in the kingdom, so the guards received only rudimentary training in how to deal with them.
“Well! It’s settled.”
“I… look, let’s see how long this is going to take first, okay?”
“Okay!” Mira clapped her hands in delight.
Sandra walked back over to the mayor, who had such a look of relief on his face that it was hard to describe. Maybe he really was just in a bad way.
“Sir, where does the troll lair?”
“Walking distance, about an hour out of town.”
“That close?”
“Yes.”
“Hmm.” Sandra considered that. She could be out there and back before night fell. “Alright. My squire will stay in town and resupply us, and I will head out to stop the troll. Deal?”
“Aren’t you going to inquire about the reward?”
“I… oh. Yes, I guess so. What’s the reward?”
“Five hundred gold.”
“Five… five hundred!?” It was bad bargaining style to look shocked at the suggested amount, but Sandra couldn’t help it. Five hundred was a lot.
“Not enough? I can…”
“No. Five hundred for one troll is fine.” Sandra imagined her eyes must look like saucers. “Five hundred is great.”
“I’m not coming with you?” Mira tugged on Sandra’s armor, and looked up at her with the saddest eyes…
“No. Not against a troll. You get feed and supplies so we can be ready to leave in the morning.”
“I…”
“I’m serious, it’s dangerous.”
“Fine.” Mira was about to pout about the circumstance, but then Sandra could see the wheels of thought turning behind her eyes.
“Miss? Your squire is welcome to come back and visit with my daughters while you’re away.” The mayor had a hopeful smile on his face when he said it. Apparently he thought this was part of the deal.
“Excellent. Do you have an alchemist in town?”
“Yes. Why?”
“I’ll need acid. And greek fire.”
“What?” The mayor looked confused. That explained why he was having so much trouble with just one troll.
“Trolls regenerate. If you hit them with anything other than fire or acid, they just get better again. Even if you cut their head off, it just slows them down.” Sandra paused for effect. “And makes them angry.”
“Well…”
“They’re afraid of it, too. The best strategy is to hit them with some greek fire, then strike while they’re trying to put it out. Take their head off to slow them down, cauterize the wound with fire or acid. Then they don’t get back up again.” Sandra tried to sound authoritative, as if she’d done it before. Her knowledge of fighting trolls extended basically to the lecture that she was giving just now, but it seemed like neither the mayor nor his guards had heard this information before. It really explained why they were getting so destroyed by the creature.
“Excellent! You should talk to the town alchemist. Tell him that I sent you, and I’ll reimburse him later.”
“Sure.”
“Great!” Mira clapped and tugged Sandra toward the exit. “If you hurry, you
“We’ll stop it!” Mira’s face was bright and excited. Sandra looked at her in shock.
“Umm, sir, give me a moment with my squire…” Sandra grabbed Mira by the shoulder and dragged her away from the knot of the mayor’s men. “What?”
“What?”
“We’re not fighting a troll. We’re supposed to be finding the prince, remember?”
“I know. It’s just… I mean… is it right to save the prince’s life and condemn thousands of people to lives of terror and fear? If even one of them dies because of the troll, have we actually done any good?”
“…” Sandra considered Mira's words. They were logical. And likely to result in her going out and getting herself killed.
“Come on! One troll? You must be good enough to take on a lone troll.”
“I… think so.” Sandra considered what they’d learned in the guard. Trolls weren’t common in the kingdom, so the guards received only rudimentary training in how to deal with them.
“Well! It’s settled.”
“I… look, let’s see how long this is going to take first, okay?”
“Okay!” Mira clapped her hands in delight.
Sandra walked back over to the mayor, who had such a look of relief on his face that it was hard to describe. Maybe he really was just in a bad way.
“Sir, where does the troll lair?”
“Walking distance, about an hour out of town.”
“That close?”
“Yes.”
“Hmm.” Sandra considered that. She could be out there and back before night fell. “Alright. My squire will stay in town and resupply us, and I will head out to stop the troll. Deal?”
“Aren’t you going to inquire about the reward?”
“I… oh. Yes, I guess so. What’s the reward?”
“Five hundred gold.”
“Five… five hundred!?” It was bad bargaining style to look shocked at the suggested amount, but Sandra couldn’t help it. Five hundred was a lot.
“Not enough? I can…”
“No. Five hundred for one troll is fine.” Sandra imagined her eyes must look like saucers. “Five hundred is great.”
“I’m not coming with you?” Mira tugged on Sandra’s armor, and looked up at her with the saddest eyes…
“No. Not against a troll. You get feed and supplies so we can be ready to leave in the morning.”
“I…”
“I’m serious, it’s dangerous.”
“Fine.” Mira was about to pout about the circumstance, but then Sandra could see the wheels of thought turning behind her eyes.
“Miss? Your squire is welcome to come back and visit with my daughters while you’re away.” The mayor had a hopeful smile on his face when he said it. Apparently he thought this was part of the deal.
“Excellent. Do you have an alchemist in town?”
“Yes. Why?”
“I’ll need acid. And greek fire.”
“What?” The mayor looked confused. That explained why he was having so much trouble with just one troll.
“Trolls regenerate. If you hit them with anything other than fire or acid, they just get better again. Even if you cut their head off, it just slows them down.” Sandra paused for effect. “And makes them angry.”
“Well…”
“They’re afraid of it, too. The best strategy is to hit them with some greek fire, then strike while they’re trying to put it out. Take their head off to slow them down, cauterize the wound with fire or acid. Then they don’t get back up again.” Sandra tried to sound authoritative, as if she’d done it before. Her knowledge of fighting trolls extended basically to the lecture that she was giving just now, but it seemed like neither the mayor nor his guards had heard this information before. It really explained why they were getting so destroyed by the creature.
“Excellent! You should talk to the town alchemist. Tell him that I sent you, and I’ll reimburse him later.”
“Sure.”
“Great!” Mira clapped and tugged Sandra toward the exit. “If you hurry, you
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