Hello again everyone, I hope this story finds you well. A few notes regarding this tale:

It takes place after Like Father Like Son. If you don't read that one first you will be very confused. I have below a brief synopsis of important occurrences in that story, but I highly recommend you read it. It'll make much more sense if you do and smaller plot threads won't connect unless you read it.

Jim and friends discover that his father that left years ago did so because he's actually King Arthur, and has been pursued by Mordred for hundreds of years. Mordred is the son of Arthur and Morganna, but was raised by Merlin until he was abducted and twisted into a dark being by Morganna. In the meantime Jim's friends and family work together to create a changeling stone to allow him the ability to shift between human and troll form. They succeed.

Along with several changeling children coming to join New Trollmarket, Mordred is successfully freed from Morganna's magic and is living in Arcadia with Arthur, aka James Lake Sr. Toby and his grandmother moved to New Jersey as James is now in Arcadia and able to protect it, and Barbara and Strickler also moved to New Jersey together and were engaged to be married.

Again, you should really read it if you want to know what's going on. At any rate, please enjoy this shorter tale – I must also state that I do not, at this time, foresee integrating any plot points from 3 Below or Wizards unless they fit within the narrative I have planned. So if it turns out Toby is an alien as some muse or some such plot point, it won't feature in this narrative. That does include aliens in general; I don't see Aja or Krel featuring at all at this time, save for some minor passing reference.

Anyway, please enjoy the second tale in the cycle I'm spinning.

Brownie Bonanza

Chapter 1

The Difference a Few Months Make

She turned swiftly, shivering. "Who's there? I hear you!"

"The master of this castle. The one you trespass in." This reply made her draw up short, wary.

"I…I beg your pardon. I'm seeking my father, an old merchant man. Have you given hospitality to such a person? He hasn't come home and he was due yesterday, but his horse arrived!"

"He rots in my dungeon. He too trespassed in my home, and I suffer no disturbance in my solitude." The page turned. "You at least had reason. Begone and do not return or you won't find me so lenient."

"No! My father – he would never have come here unless he had to! The weather must have forced him to seek shelter and your home was the only place. Please, show mercy on him!" She fell to her knees, pleading. "We would never return, never disturb you again! He couldn't have known!"

He scoffed. "He has had the misfortune of seeing my face. I cannot let him leave and speak of me, or hunters will come daily to my door. Leave before you too see it and must join him. I will not-"

A distant curse broke Claire's focus. She straightened. "Darn it, I was really hitting my stride. What's going on out there?" Jim put down the script he'd been reading from and sighed.

"Guess they need more stonescale balm." He got out of the chair in the corner of his alcove and Claire stood, brushing her jeans off. "I can't believe how fast it moves. Blinky told me about it but he never mentioned how contagious it is, I've seen five new cases just this evening." He walked beside her, down toward Blinky's alcove. "Anyway, you're going to be a great Belle. You've got this stuff memorized perfectly.

Claire took his arm as they went. "I appreciate the vote of confidence. We've got three weeks until the play and the guy playing the beast hasn't been to the last two practices. I practice more with you than I do with him." She sighed. "Be honest, am I too shrill? I want to be vulnerable without being whiny."

"You sound great. Not too shrill." Claire relaxed when he smiled. "C'mon, you earned this role. You went up against college students and still got it!"

"Only four other girls tried out. But I'll take it." It was a little hard to be excited; it was purely volunteer work, not a professional production really. There wasn't any money to be made off of it, and the audience was going to be a bunch of kids. And yet the idea of playing Belle, giving kids a magical performance – maybe someone in the audience being impressed with an ingenue in a tiny charity play? – lit a fire in her heart.

The heartstone chamber smelled of lichen and herbs. Nomura sat beside the glowing rock in human form, chopping diligently at a fat, dark root. When she finished she pushed it aside and Toby dumped the slices into a battery operated food processor and reduced it to sludge. This he poured into no end of cheap plastic containers, slapping a lid on each one. "Thank you for coming to Itch Relief Central, y'all come back now." He handed a full container to NotEnrique, who was fiercely scratching at his diaper.

"Please don't scratch in public." Claire crouched sympathetically beside him and took out a pen, using one end to scrape between his shoulder blades. The changeling immediately sighed, eyes blissful.

"I can't stand this itching. Stonescale is bleeding awful." All along his back was an ashy, gray substance, almost like a fungus. It grew in wave patterns, looking a little like a crocodile's scales, and Claire winced. "I can't believe it takes two weeks to clear up."

"We didn't used to get it," said another troll, looking miserable. "It's this titchy heartstone, it barely keeps us awake let alone healthy…"

"Sod off, I'm not listening to more griping," another snapped. "It comes in spring every year, it's just a bad case this time."

NotEnrique picked up his container and glanced at Claire. "We ain't got any baby bathtubs, do we? It'd be good for dunking myself in this goop."

"No, but I'll help you with your back. Just your back," she added firmly.

"Thanks love, and no worries, I can handle everything else. Stubby arms is all." She opened the container and scooped up a handful of the cool, earthy liquid and slathered it on his back, bristling quietly at the grainy, chunky feeling of his stone skin. He sighed contentedly again. "You're an angel sis."

Back relieved, NotEnrique took off with the rest of the goop down the nearest tunnel. Jim had taken a place next to Nomura and was cutting a root with a quick, precise motion. "Looks like it's spreading faster than we thought it would." Jim looked worried. "I thought with the personal grooming tips we gave it might help curb the spread…"

"You told trolls to take baths more than once a week. I could have told you that wouldn't happen." Nomura passed another set of roots to Toby. "It'll pass. Yet another benefit of human form."

Claire wiped her hands off on her jeans. "How are Blinky and Aaarrrgghh? Have you seen them Toby?"

"Blinky's in his alcove researching other remedies and treatments, Aaarrrgghh is finding more funkus root." Toby yawned. "Wingman's got a little stonescale but he likes the hot springs, so he's actually pretty clean and keeping it in check."

Claire looked to Jim, watching him slice the roots. What a difference a few months had wrought.

The worst of winter was over and under the chill of the air was the promise of spring, of new buds and leaves. Even underground there was a stirring, and it wasn't just because everyone was itchy.

Jim had lost the pinched, pale look that had clung to him after his return to human form. His cheeks were flush with color, eyes bright, movements sure. Claire wasn't sure she'd ever get used to it, seeing him healthy and happy again – she hoped she didn't. Even now, looking at Jim made her marvel at what they'd managed to do together. Soon he'd turn seventeen and Claire fidgeted. She wanted to do something special, but Jim had never liked his birthday. Not since James had vanished.

But with James back in Arcadia and looking after Mordred, where did that leave things? A party didn't sound great, and with everyone so uncomfortable it probably wouldn't pan out. Claire helped Toby pour the substance into the containers. "I don't suppose Merlin might be able to help out? He's been so good with potions to make the heartstone grow."

"Do my ears deceive me? Someone is saying I've been helpful?" The wizard approached carrying a duffel bag and wearing what amounted to sweatpants and a hoodie. "Unfortunately fixing troll maladies isn't my forte. I'd recommend Mordred but he's only really dealt with human injuries, not disease. Easing the symptoms is the best bet for now."

"Aw, look who's being helpful and offering good advice?" Merlin scowled at Toby who pointed at him and mouthed, "You are!" Toby moved another container over. "All joking aside, are you sure right now is a good time to go? Your studies have been hidden for hundreds of years. What are the chances somebody stumbles across one in the next month?"

"Not high. But the more artifacts and information we have available the better. Hence why I've been bringing some of the more useful artifacts from Morganna's studies where I find them. And now that the market is stable, it's as good a time as ever." Merlin adjusted the bag. "I'll be gone for about four weeks. I do have this…cell phone now." He pulled it out of his pocket and held it as if it were a dead fish. "You may call me if something happens. Or…text."

"Remember the tip list." He muttered something under his breath. "What do you do when someone does something kind for you?" Claire continued.

"Thank them. Don't take kindness for granted."

"And if a waiter or waitress is slow?"

"Be patient, they've got a lot of other things to balance."

Jim passed another set of chopped roots over. "And if you get into an emergency or see a crime where no one is in immediate danger?"

"I dial nine-one-one in the United States, nine-nine-nine in the UK and Ireland." Merlin tapped one foot. "I'll be going now. I'll take the gyre to Europe but I'll likely be traveling on foot or horse after that."

"Be safe. And taxis aren't too outrageous. Remember to convert the currency, I sent you a culture cues tips for politeness!" Claire watched him leave the room with concern, trying to think of a hundred different things the man ought to know before he headed out alone. "Think he'll be okay on his own?"

"You want to nanny the old guy? Besides, he's got magic. I put our contact info into his phone so if he gets into trouble he can in touch with us." Toby sealed the last container. "All right, I think we're good. For a while anyway." He rubbed his fingers, wincing. "Where's Merlin dumping the magical stuff anyway?"

"It's all locked in the same room as the magic items we salvaged from Heartstone Trollmarket. The last thing we need is something accidentally opening a cursed box or something." Jim stood and brushed his jeans off, stacking a few of the containers. "Dad keeps sending items they're finding, Draig loves to dig and snoop. He's on the lookout for the stones created by the previous Trollhunters, but anything is helpful."

"What about the Soothscryer? Any chance Draig can dig that out? It'd be cool to be able to tell Kanjigar and all the others face to face that Gunmar is O-U-T." Toby picked up several more containers and between the four of them they were able to carry all of them. "You think maybe…Draal would be there? He was a trainer for the Trollhunter, y'know?"

Jim slowed a little. "I hope so. Kanjigar might hate me – I wasn't able to protect him. And we weren't able to stop Gunmar and Angor Rot from getting the staff. I'd like to be able to apologize."

"I don't know, I think Draal would carry you around on his shoulders for killing Gunmar. He went out like a hero." Claire nudged Toby, nodding toward Nomura. Toby clammed up but the changeling shrugged.

"He was a decent troll. Kind of an idiot sometimes, but a lovable idiot." They reached the Troll Pub and packed the containers into the refrigerator. "How is your mother? She and Strickler just got back from their honeymoon." she continued, obviously looking for a new subject.

"Yeah, I'm avoiding their house right now. Since they're…you know…"

Jim cringed. "Well, you know what married people do." Nomura snickered. "It's not funny! I brought some breakfast by one morning and Strickler was shirtless. Shirtless! I can't even process the thought of my mom and Strickler…gah!" Nomura openly laughed. "They're married, they're happy, and that's all that matters."

"Well she's been in a good mood lately," Nomura said with a smirk. Jim glared at her. "Hey, your mind went there, I was just observing."

Toby stuck his tongue out. "Much as I'd love to think about my best friend's mom and history teacher excessively canoodling, I think I have to finish…four projects. Yep, four. High school is a lot harder when the teachers don't know you're busy protecting a civilization." He checked his phone. "Oop, gotta go anyway. Nana's doing a grocery trip and I gotta give the evil eye to the old guy on the bus that keeps hitting on her. I swear, once I get my license I'm gonna drive her everywhere. And Darci is staying with us this weekend, so I'm taking her to coffee." He blushed. "I sound like a grownup. Coffee date, y'know?"

Jim nodded and gave him one of the containers. "Just in case Dictatious gets the symptoms." Toby bowed and jogged for the exit. "Speaking of homework, I have to get to it as well."

Claire reluctantly checked her own phone. "And I've got work in an hour. I should probably get going. If you get hung up on Spanish I can help after I get off."

"Don't worry, I can handle most of it. Except the future – participle – conjugation…ninja-robot something." Jim scratched his head. "I think I just need to accept that I'm not good at spanish."

Claire tutted and gave him a quick kiss. "Tell you what, I'll give you something to translate by the time I get back. Te quiero cariño, y espero que tengas una buena noche ayudando a los trolls que pican."

Jim blinked. "I think I got the first part. It was 'I love you,' but the rest I'll have to work on." He pulled her close for a peck on the cheek. "Love you too. Have a good day." Claire waved goodbye and headed out, stuffing her script into her purse so she could read it on lunch break.

Gnome Chompsky was to blame for it all in retrospect.

The gnomes had no end of tunnels and grooves and tiny niches they slipped in and out of, barely avoiding the stomping feet of the trolls. Every gnome worth his hat could find a way into any room. And so it was when Sally lost her wedding ring off her plastic thigh, he mounted a search that would have impressed even the most cynical soul.

He hunted through the dollhouse they shared in the Domzalski household, under Toby's bed, and everywhere on the floor he could think of. Turning up no leads he moved the search to New Trollmarket, asking his fellow gnomes if they'd seen the previous item. None of them had, and Chompsky slowly shifted from searching in logical places to illogical ones in his panic.

He swam in the hot springs, checked under every dish, searched every pocket he could access. Nothing. He was nearly swallowed when he checked troll mouths as they snored, could have been crushed as he swept every inch of the tunnels he frequented. Zilch.

And so it was a very frazzled, haggard gnome that ignored the lock on the door containing magical artifacts and found another tunnel into it. Perhaps one of his friends had seen the ring and thought it a magical one? It did have a certain sparkle to it. Chompsky landed on a stack of books, most of them will dark magic runes on them, and climbed down.

Large crystals shimmered as he passed and stacked neatly nearby were several crates, and atop these was a carved wooden box. Chompsky paused to admire it – it had been handmade, and had deer and tiny creatures carved into it. He looked at the lock on it and cocked his head, muttering. Would someone have put the ring into the box? It seemed a sensible thing to do with such a lovely item.

If Chompsky had his wits about him, he would have realized the lock he broke was rusted and ancient, and the box couldn't have been opened if it fell apart so easily. He also would have realized opening a box in a sealed room to contain magical artifacts was very, very dangerous.

But none of this occurred to him before he popped the lid open and pushed it back on its hinges. There was nothing inside except what looked like a tiny white star, glowing prettily. Chompsky stared, transfixed.

Then the box exploded and a tidal wave of furry, tiny creatures no bigger than himself came flying out of the light as if they were fireworks. Chompsky yelped and ducked under the nearest book, cowering as the raucous cackles filled the room and the furry things bounced and leaped.

Yes, it was technically his fault. And he didn't find the ring either, so it was a bad day for him all around.

"Yeah, it's a lot of pages, but the gist is that total government control sucks." Darci prodded the book. "Oh, that's where Winston and Julia get it on."

Toby blinked and peered at the page. "Oh. Yep, that is what they are doing. And that's a form of rebellion, right? Fighting against the man, because the man is all about passion for the Party, not people, right?"

"You are correct sir." Darcy sipped at her coffee. Late afternoon under a coffee shop overhang was a lazy, lovely thing, and homework was about as interesting as a hangnail. And about as much fun. "So much of school is just knowing how to BS the system. I hate to say it, but if you know what the teachers want to hear you can just waffle through a paper without even thinking."

"I think only smart people can do that. I'm muddling along down here." Toby finished the page and sighed. "Caught up. Just in time to get another load this Monday. Oh well." He pushed his books into the bag at his feet. "What's up in Arcadia?"

"Not a ton. Dad's trying to keep the Creepslayerz reined in. But the school is abuzz for prom. The spring fling is in a couple months but now that we're juniors, prom is all anyone's talking about." Darci took another drink and Toby leaned toward her.

"Well Darci, would you do me the honor of being my date to prom?" He said it confidently but not with assumption – he knew she loved him, and he resolved to never take it for granted. She smiled at him.

"I will Toby D. Though you know you've got a ticket regardless, the school said it didn't matter if you transferred." Toby nodded – the school allowed an additional ticket purchase for each student that attended Arcadia Oaks High, mainly for those that dated outside their own school.

"Yeah. I was thinking about maybe asking Claire and Jim if they wanted to come along. If we can each get an extra ticket." Darci brightened at this.

"That's an awesome idea! And Mary's hunting for a date but she'll come too. Ask them when you get the chance." She touched his cheek affectionately. "You're such a sweetheart. I can take the couch you know, you don't have to give up your bed while I'm visiting."

"Milady, to offer my bed for your presence is an honor and a joy." Toby took her hand and gave her a fingers a kiss. They smelled of coffee and hand lotion. She smiled that certain, pleased, warm smile. "You're an angel, Darce. So tell me about the softball game. Did Coach Lawrence really get beaned in the head again?"

Strickler erased the whiteboard and scanned his students. "And that, students, is why hubris was considered one of the greatest flaws in Greek tradition. Odysseus was free and clear until he taunted Polyphemus, and his arrogance resulted in the long term destruction of his ships and crew."

Abriga put up her hand. "Did that really happen?"

"Not quite as the humans think it did. Polyphemus was actually a jotnar, not a cyclops. He was missing an eye so the confusion was easy for uneducated humans." The classroom was clean and bright, outfitted with no shortage of educational posters. Secondhand desks scrubbed clean provided seats for the children, and even if it was a far cry from the technologically forward high school he spent his days at, the sight of the children reading at their old desks with such interest made him proud. "Now I know everyone's excited to go off and play, but I have news regarding your crystal formation experiment." All of them sat up. Strickler ducked behind his desk and pulled out a tray. "Each of you had at least some rock candy form. And you can take part of it as a treat today. It's one of a few human foods that hold equal appeal to humans and trolls." They burst into cheers and he lifted a finger. "However! If anyone misbehaves or starts bouncing off the walls, that will be all they see of it!"

"Yes Mr. Strickler," they chorused. Strickler smiled to himself; in truth a few of their crystal formation experiments hadn't turned out, either not boiled long enough or tampered with too much to set. But the important thing was learning, and it had been easy to set up an extra bunch to grow so each of them had some candy. They wouldn't know the difference.

Walter Stricklander, making candy for a class of changeling children with his wife, Barbara Stricklander. What change a few months wrought.

Married life was…strange. But it was strange in the same was as an unexpected gift. He woke up most mornings to Barbara already being up and around, ready to go to work. Some days he woke to her still in her scrubs, her head against his shoulder, glasses falling off her face, hair wildly askew.

It was wonderful. He would kiss her and settle her in bed, take off her glasses, and go to put the coffee on. When she got up, bleary and rubbing her eyes, she would spot him and smile and Strickler would wonder why he had been so fortunate to end up where he was.

He couldn't even complain about her cooking. It was tolerable in his troll form, and she tried so darn hard. He was no great shake at cooking himself.

He handed the bags of candy to each child as they came up. They bid him cheerful farewells and as the last ones headed out he swapped to human form, appreciating the impunity from the stonescale outbreak. Barbara would come by later to help the children clean up and disinfect the market, and he privately felt proud that changelings were flexible enough to adapt to disease in a way that most trolls seemed unable to be. "Um, Mr. Strickler?" He caught Carina's eye, lingering against the door. The pink changeling looked embarrassed. "Would it be okay if I took more of the candy I made? It's not for me, I promise."

"Milagro's a little young for sugar." She shuffled her feet.

"It's not for him either. It's for…someone else. Not one of the other kids."

Strickler's brows rose. "Ah. Someone you fancy?"

"No! Well…I don't know. They're nice, that's all." She fiddled with the bag in her hands. "I can give them this instead, it's fine."

Strickler's heart softened. "It's all right Carina, I trust you. You can take the rest of what you made." She brightened and removed her pack from her shoulder, drawing out a clean, white paper bag. A bow was on it, and Strickler slipped the second bag of candy inside. "Good luck Carina. Remember, you're presenting first Monday evening. I look forward to your report on Deya."

"Thanks Mr. Strickler! Have a good weekend!" She ran out the door, dark hair flying behind her.

Carina was a sensible girl. She had to be to take care of her infant brother after the compound had been destroyed. But in matters of the heart she the same as any other kid. She knew that her chances were…zero. Okay, point-zero-zero-zero-one. Maybe. But it didn't change the fact that she wanted to give him a present.

She avoided the bigger trolls in the passages, trying not to be too obvious about it. Most of them understood – stonescale was the pits and it was common to see glowing balm on their arms or legs to keep the itching contained. Some even smiled as she passed. Even Grenus, who was neutral at best, nodded as she went on her way. He hadn't been bothering any of them and he hadn't said any more mean things about Jim, so she was willing to leave him alone if it made him happy.

She came to the alcove and took a deep breath. You're just giving him an early birthday present, she told herself. Be cool. Be calm. She peeked inside and knocked on the stone.

Jim's room was very different from how it had been when he was a troll. He had a bed now, not a cot – humans were soft and didn't deal well with such hard places to sleep – and clothes in a dresser since he didn't constantly wear the armor. He was sitting in the corner in a chair, lips pursed as he read a book, but he looked up and smiled at her. "Hi Carina. What's up?"

Her heart rate. Carina waved and entered the room, fighting the urge to run and hide. "We just got out of class. We were learning about Odysseus and the cyclops."

"Oh, cool. I'm doing the same thing." He looked sheepish. "You guys are really smart to already be reading that. Or I'm a remedial student, one or the other. Maybe both."

"We're not actually reading it yet, he's just telling us about history. We were talking about Homer and the values of the Greeks. Apparently 'hubris' is a big deal and a lot of their heroes died because of it." Carina shrugged. "I think it's a fancy word for pride."

"Gotcha. I'm having a grand old time reading the Odyssey." He turned the page. "Everything okay? The kids haven't gotten stonescale, have they?"

"We're okay, your mom is making sure we're healthy. And she's bringing more soap and stuff today." She checked her pack. "So, um, Jim. It's your birthday soon, right?"

"Yeah, three weeks. I'm getting old, seventeen." He said this jokingly and Carina felt inside her pack and withdrew the bag, hiding it behind her back and trying not be nonchalant. "Did you need something? You look like you've got something to say."

"Oh, I just…well, we made rock candy in class last week to learn about crystal formation and chemistry. It's like crystal but sweeter, Mr. Strickler said some humans like it a lot." She steeled her nerves and continued, "Um, I actually made extra. I thought…maybe…you'd like some? For your birthday." Bringing out the package, she offered it bashfully. She'd found blue ribbons in the craft bin for their art lessons with Nomura, and it had been a painstaking process to create the bow. It made the bag look festive.

Jim set the book aside. "Carina, that's really sweet of you! You made it yourself?" He accepted it as if he'd been given a precious gem. "Thank you, I'll try it after dinner." He offered her a friendly hug and Carina was glad he wasn't in troll form. He was cute as a human but she might have fainted, he was so tall and handsome as a troll. He smelled good – did all humans smell good? Maybe it was cologne. Or cinnamon, he cooked a lot.

Carina tried to keep the dopey grin off her face. "Are you going to do anything fun for your birthday?"

He released her and placed the gift reverently on his nightstand. "I don't know, it's been so busy. And I'm not much of a partier. Last year Blinky and the others planned a surprise and I almost had a heart attack." Jim headed for the entry. "And with the stonescale outbreak, I don't think anyone's in the mood to party anyway."

Following him, Carina kept a careful distance. "Do you need help handing out the itch relief or anything?"

"I appreciate the offer, but I'd rather you stay as far from anyone with stonescale as possible. I don't want you to catch it." She cheered internally – he was worried about her. Granted he did that for everyone, but still. "But if you'd like to pick up some soap for the kids' baths tonight that'd be great. We've got some left before Mom brings the next batch."

"Okay, sounds good." He led the way to Blinky's alcove. It was much neater than it had been before, boxes stacked in the corners and under the desk, most of his experiments on a single workbench. The troll was muttering and Jim paused.

"Blink? Something up?" The troll turned around and Carina fought a giggle – he had a giant, curly mustache drawn on his face in black marker and a soul patch under his lower lip. Jim put a hand to his mouth, stifling his own laughter. "Uh…you've got something on your face."

"Yes. I've noticed." The troll sounded cross. "I would like to know which of the gnomes thought it a good idea to sneak in while I was napping and draw on my face. This is permanent ink!" He rubbed at the stone. "I'll need a cleaner to get it off!"

"What makes you think it was a gnome?" Jim took a handkerchief from his pocket and gave it to Blinky. The troll pulled a bottle of liquid from a shelf and dabbed the cloth with it, swiping it over his face.

"Because I had locked the door to my sleeping quarters and it was still locked when I woke. Only gnomes could have slipped in." He gestured up toward the ceiling. "The holes in the system are a route for tiny miscreants!"

The marker came off and Jim frowned, climbing onto the workbench to examine the opening. "Hello? Anyone in there?" A chittering laugh reached the room and Carina blinked. Jim looked at Blinky slowly. "That…doesn't sound like a gnome." He climbed down, still looking up. "If someone's in there, please come out. You're not in trouble."

Blinky grunted. "Much."

Something immediately dropped from the opening and Carina hid behind Jim, feeling safer in spite of his skinny form. "What is it?" About four inches tall, it was brown and furry like a squirrel but it had the stone feet and hands of a troll. It had long, pointy ears and a clever, mousy nose with bright black eyes. A long, whiplike tail with a tuft of fur on the end swayed behind it.

Blinky's ire disappeared in place of fascination. "Why…it's a brownie!" He knelt to examine the tiny creature. "They haven't been sighted in centuries!"

"What's a brownie?" Jim asked. The tiny creature jabbered merrily and scratched behind its ear.

"Similar to gnomes, they're a small class of non-troll beings in the troll family. Mischievous little creatures, they're also known to be helpful and friendly. At least, before they all disappeared." Blinky frowned in thought. "I wonder where it came from?"

Jim hesitantly offered a hand to the tiny being, who sniffed his fingers and hopped into his palm. "Are you lost?" It shook its head and babbled again. "I'm sorry, I don't understand. Do you have any friends? Brownies, like you?" It nodded vigorously. "Well, I'm Jim. I'm the Trollhunter. Blinky is New Trollmarket's elder. And this is Carina, she's one of the people that lives here." She waved faintly and the creature waved back. "Do you need shelter? Can you find your friends so we can get an idea of how many of you there are?"

It nodded and put its stony paws to its mouth and let loose a shrill, piercing whistle. Jim looked up, and Carina heard what sounded like a huge current of water in a tight pipe, about to burst. "Uh, that sounds like a lot of-"

Hundreds of tiny, furry creatures came pouring out of the hole in a thick wave and soon they were waist deep in brownies, all cackling and giggling and chittering. Jim lifted Carina , as she was shorter and yelped when the things flooded around her. He let her clamber onto his back and looked around with wide eyes.

"Oh dear."

End of Chapter 1

I'm hardly the first person to make a Beauty and the Beast connection for our lovebirds, but I will say I've been thinking on this story for a month or two, so no other tales have inspired this particular plot thread.

Also, no previews in this story. Because.