Act 7.
"So that is all you need from us?" asked Margaret.
"Absolutely." said Byron.
"There is only seven of them." said Margaret to the rest of them.
Linda sighed.
"But they are trolls." she said. "They each count as more than one person. Do you really want to go up against that?"
"I really don’t have anything that can help us out of this situation." said Mikako. "If he has anything, it might be worth doing what he asks."
Linda turned to Byron.
"What exactly is this spell you have?" she asked.
"I can’t tell it to you." he said. "You might just leave me here."
"Can you at least tell us what it does?" said Linda.
Byron thought about this question and answered.
"I can tell her." he said pointing to Mikako.
"All right." said Linda.
Byron moved over to Mikako and whispered in here ear. Her eyes widened and when he finished she turned to him.
"That is a risky proposition." she said.
"But it will definitely solve your problem."
"Mikako?" ventured Linda.
"It is risky, Champion." she said. "But it is better than what I had in mind. I think we can risk getting his remains."
"Very well, if you say so." said Linda.
She addressed Byron.
"Can you lead us to where your bones are?" she asked.
"Absolutely." he said. "And thank you. It will be good to get away from here. Some of my fellow spirits are rather a bore to talk to."
He lead the way down a tunnel.
"Mikako." said Linda as they walked. "Is Toukon close?"
"He has probably recovered by now. I can not tell if he is near. the aura of these mountains is stifling, but that means he will probably be having the same problem, which is to our advantage."
"If you feel any twinge at all, I want to know."
"Yes Champion." said Mikako.
Silently they followed Byron deeper into the mountains.
"You would think that a creature made of the shadows would not have so much trouble from them." thought Toukon to himself.
He had arrived at the mountain range only to realise that he was unable to find his prey. Or to be more specific he could not find his prey among the multitude of creatures and spirits that populated the area.
"This is ridiculous." he grumbled as he searched, finding creatures who could only hold one thought in their minds at a time, and that thought usually consisted of wanting to eat. Or finding spirits of warriors or mages or fools, all bemoaning their cursed fate, or talking to themselves as if mad.
"Can a spirit become mad?" he wondered.
He shook his head.
"No time to ponder that." he told himself. "Time is scarce. Just keep looking."
The others had followed Byron for quite some time. They had seen a few quick sightings of other spirits and twice they had to change tunnels to avoid other creatures. It was best to get to the conflict in the least tired state they could.
As they got closer they could here the shuffling of feet and grunting of the trolls.
Byron slowed down.
"They are just in that open area." he said pointing down the tunnel to where they could see the flicker of firelight.
"Wait here a moment." he said and vanished through the wall. He emerge a short time later.
"I was hoping to have good news for you but, unfortunately, everyone is home today."
"Come on." said Linda.
The three of them crept down the tunnel and looked into the area the trolls called home.
There were seven of them as Byron had said. Three of them were seated near the fire, one of those was stirring something in a battered old pot. Two were asleep against the wall and the two who seemed the biggest of the lot, were to busy arguing over something that none of them could see properly.
They pulled back into the tunnel.
"I’ll take on the two big ones." said Margaret before anyone else could say anything.
"Fine." said Linda. "I figured that much."
She turned to Mikako.
"Got anything that might help to cause confusion?" she asked.
"I think I can at least get the two sleeping ones to leave us alone, and that would also surprise the others as well."
"Great and that leaves me with just three others." said Linda.
Margaret giggled at the tone in Linda’s voice.
"Don’t worry." she told her. "They’re pretty small. They shouldn’t be any trouble for a great warrior like you."
"Thanks for the vote of confidence." she said in a voice that said otherwise.
They moved back to the opening.
Mikako began to whisper some words in her native tongue. Her hands sketched patterns in the air and as she said the last word she reached out towards the fire. She flicked her hand and two small columns of fire leapt from the pit and landed on the two sleeping figures. The two immediately went up in flames. Screaming they leapt up and began to bat the flames.
"What was that?" thought Toukon.
Some of the creatures had suddenly stopped worrying about food and were now frightened and thinking about fighting to save themselves.
He concentrated on that particular area.
"Ah. There you are." he said when he felt the mages presence. "Why would you go and do something as foolish as that?"
It did not matter, really. But if she died to quickly he could loose the magic. He would have to do something if she got into to much danger. But let her friends get themselves killed, and that could save him some trouble.
Before Linda could say anything, Margaret had moved and headed straight to the two in the rear. As she neared she saw what they were arguing over.
A massive club.
As one of them watch in stunned silence, the other wrested the club from his hands and swung at her.
She planted her feet and stopped the club with her hands.
Even though she was wearing her metal gauntlets, it stung a little.
The troll stared at her open mouthed.
Margaret smiled at him.
"Surprised you didn’t I?" She said. "How’s this?"
She dug her fingers into the club and ripped it out of the trolls hands. She flipped it around to grab the smaller end and jabbed it into the stomach of the closer troll.
He doubled over covering his stomach as he expelled air in a grunt. The other one recovered from his surprise and swung a clawed hand at her head. She dropped the club and ducked under. Stepping up to him she punched out with both her fists connecting with his chest. He flew back off his feet and slammed into the wall leaving a slight indent in the rock. She then swung back around to the other who was still winded and on his knees. She picked up the club and hit him on the back of the head. He slumped forward on the floor and did not move.
She looked around.
The other one she had thrown into the wall was also lying still. The two who had been on fire had run down another tunnel, she could still see the outline of fire as they grew smaller in the distance. she heard a distant splash.
Linda and Mikako had taken care of two of the three other opponents. They lay on the ground at their feet. Linda was threatening the other who seemed to be wavering in his resolve. She feigned an attack and he decided that running was a better idea. He ran down the same tunnel the other two had taken.
"That wasn’t too bad." said Margaret wiping dust off her hands.
"So you say." said Linda a little out of breath as she put her sword away.
She turned to Byron.
"Where are your bones?" she asked.
He pointed to the fire pit.
"There." he said. "They used them to make that. How humiliating."
"Then let’s get them and get out of here before these ones wake up or the others decide to come back." she said. "Besides, I don’t want to be in here too much longer. We don’t know when Toukon will find us."
"Quicker than you think." said Toukon.