Chapter Eleven
The next day the storm had moved on, and officials were coming back in to assess the damage. According to the radio, in the parts of the island where buildings and streets were built there was actually less than feared. The rain had not been as heavy as predicted, and while flooding did occur, it was not that bad.
Everyone who lived there had evacuated, so no lives were lost, the radio reported.
Ruby turned it off. "Should we go home, or stay and help?"
"I vote for going home," said Onyx, "We did what we came to do."
"But what about the clean up?" asked Amethyst.
"The locals have experience with it, and we don't. We're likely to just get in the way," said the dark troll.
"Yeah, that's true. And they can call us if they need us," Amethyst said.
"I'm kinda tired, anyway. I want to sleep in my own bed," said Topaz.
"It was a very tiring mission, and I would like to get back to school before the rest of the class catches up with me," said Sapphire.
"Only you would say something like that," said Ruby with a smile. "I vote going home too."
"Sandy, what about you?" asked Sapphire, "We can open a portal for you back to Ogre Island."
"No, thank you Sapphire-friend," he answered, "Dolphin-friend is waiting for me. I will stay a day or two longer for the seas to settle, then go."
"So we go home tomorrow morning," declared Ruby, and that settled it.
That afternoon they donated their remaining food to the clean-up effort, and reported to the local government. They were thanked, and let off the hook with helping.
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The house was returned to its closed up state and the barrier spell dropped. They all said goodbye to Sandstone, thanking him many times for his help.
"I am glad to do this," he said, "Not only for my friend Sapphire, but for my new friends and for the future of relations between ogres and trolls."
"Oh, while I'm thinking of it, here's my new address," said Sapphire, handing him a piece of waterproofed paper.
"Thank you, Sapphire-friend. I will write soon and tell you what I find when I get home," he said, putting it away very carefully.
"All right, I'll expect to hear from you soon," she answered.
"Goodbye, all!" he called, waving.
"Goodbye, Sandstone!" they called in unison.
The ogre turned and headed on down the path toward his home, and the troll girls watched him until he was out of sight.
"Everybody got everything?" asked Ruby somewhat later.
"Yep, all packed!" answered Topaz, gesturing at her pile of bags.
"Wait a sec- that's at least two more bags than what you brought, Tope," said Amethyst, "What's in the others?"
"Oh, just a few shells and things I found," the blond ditz answered. She opened one, and shells, fish, plants, a bottle of seawater, and other, less identifiable things spilled out. The stench was horrible.
"Topaz! How long has that stuff been in the sun?" asked Ruby, hand over her mouth.
The amber-eyed troll looked at the contents. "Just since yesterday morning!" She wrinkled her nose in distaste.
"Ugh! That's too long! You need to get rid of it!" said Sapphire.
"Ya think?" Topaz retorted. She tossed a bolt of magic, and the contents of two of the suitcases disappeared. "Oh, well, I was planning to redecorate my room with a tropical theme, but I guess not..."
"Let's go, before some giant crabs come looking for their babies," said Onyx.
"But I didn't take any more shells with crabs in them! I made sure!" protested Topaz.
"Let it go, Tope, let it go," said Onyx.
While Topaz pouted, Onyx and Sapphire worked together to open a portal back to Trollzopolis.
Sardonyx watched as a portal opened against the back wall of Obsidian's Spellz and the BFFL came in, lugging their cases.
"Hello, girls," she said, "How was the mission?"
"We stopped them," said Ruby.
"And gained an enemy at the same time," cautioned Onyx.
"An ogre magician named Rhodochrosite. He's powerful and evil," clarified Amethyst.
"With a lousy fashion sense," said Topaz.
"We'll have to watch out for him in future," added Sapphire.
"But for now the troll nation is safe, and it's all thanks to us!" said Ruby.
"Until next time, Ruby," said Onyx.
Ruby rolled her eyes. "Whatever. But our first mission by ourselves was a success!
"what's been going on here, Sardonyx?" asked Amethyst.
"Thanks to your heads up to the mayor's office, the police were able to head off a bomb threat," the older troll answered.
"A bomb threat?" asked Topaz, startled.
Sardonyx nodded. "But you won't hear about it on the news. I only know because I'm connected to the Ancients, and was asked to pass it along. They wanted me to say thank you."
"Let's go home, guys, we've got things to catch up on," said Sapphire, and headed for the door.
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Over the next few days, things settled out. Onyx wrote and filed a report with the Ancient Liaison Office and the company that built the tPhones. They were very pleased, and told the BFFL to keep them and use them.
Over in Ogreville the ones responsible for the riots were identified and arrested. The Ancient Liaison Office on Ogre Island kept watch, but no boat with Rhodochrosite aboard came into port. He was well known, so would have been spotted. He might have been lost at sea.
It was the weekend, and Sapphire sat in the living room, reading a book on the planetary system. Astronomy was a science she had never paid much attention to before, but now she found it fascinating. Even more so because it would be the main focus of the next semester of her major.
There was a knock at the door, and she had trouble tearing her eyes away from the book. But finally she went and answered it. To her surprise it was Jade.
"Oh, hi, come in!" said Sapphire, gesturing.
"Thanks," said Jade, and did so.
As they sat down, Sapphire asked, "What's up?"
Jade looked a bit embarrassed. "I've tried to get my research notes in order. Would you look them over, please?" She held out a manila envelope.
"Sure!" said Sapphire, taking it, "I promised I would."
"Thanks..." the green-haired girl looked at her new friend. "So, where've you been the last several days? I came over a couple of times, but you were never here."
Sapphire thought for a minute, then said "I'll tell you, but first you have to promise you will not tell anybody. Ever!"
The other held up her hand. "I swear it."
"Great! We try to keep a low profile, but I've been wanting to tell someone!" So Sapphire launched into the story of what had happened on Trollhiti and the secret they discovered.
Jade was duly impressed.
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Sapphire didn't see Jade again for a week, but she did read over the notes, and was duly impressed in her turn. There was a lot of thought and heart in the notes, and she thought Jade would make a great scientist. To think that Jade had let Coral dictate her life when she could have been pursuing her real passion. It made her sad.
She called and asked Jade to come over, which she did a few minutes later.
"I'm very favorably impressed with what you've done here," she said, "And since you're making such a late start, I want to make you an offer."
"What's that?" asked the other.
"Would you like to assist me in private research? It would give you hands-on experience, and you would have access to the equipment here for your own work," said the blue-haired troll.
Jade's eyes grew wide. "You- you really mean it? You think I'm good enough?"
"I certainly do. You have an eye for detail and a knack for thinking outside the box, as it were. It would be silly of me NOT to ask you," Sapphire said.
"YES! I ACCEPT!" said Jade, almost squealing. She stood up and took Sapphire's hands in her own. "Thank you again. Once more you change my life."
"Hey, this is just private research. No big deal. We may not get anything out of it but experience," protested Sapphire.
"It doesn't matter," said Jade, "Research is research. It's what I've always wanted to do. And now I have someone to do it with."
Sapphire grinned. "Jade Trollberger, I think this is the start of a very fruitful friendship."
The End
Next: "Trollzawa's Comet" Sapphire and Jade have a chance to use the Mt. Trollamar telescope, and make a discovery that could destroy every
civilization on the planet!