Previously: Toby, Claire, Darci and Mary follow Jim into Trollmarket. The Hero's Forge goes haywire and Jim is pulled into the Void.
Content warning for this chapter, because I know some people have strong feelings about their OTPs and NoTPs, and that this ship is controversial: Stricklake is implied. Jim suggests to Stricklander that Walt should flirt with/date Barbara. It's officially for the sake of a cover story Jim invents, and unofficially because Jim wants Stricklander to have personal incentive to keep Barbara alive once Gunmar takes over, as a backup in case Jim's request that she be spared isn't enough to save her.
"Jim?" Toby called. "JIM?"
"No Jim," rumbled the biggest troll, the one with the mossy fur.
"What do you mean, no Jim?" asked Claire. "There was definitely a Jim!"
"He has been summoned!" The troll with too many arms and eyes looked rapturous.
"Summoned where and why?" asked Darci. Mary frantically replayed her video of what happened, but the final flash of light was too bright to see where Jim had gone.
"Look around you, young humans." Four arms gestured at the palatial arena they were standing in. "This is the Hero's Forge; ancient, sacred proving ground for Trollhunters past, present, and future. The previous Trollhunters surround us –"
"Those aren't statues," Toby interrupted, assessing the rocky skin of the living trolls around him, "are they?"
"Indeed not."
"They train in an arena surrounded by the remains of dead Trollhunters?" said Claire. "That's … really brave, but also kind of ghoulish."
"As I was saying," and wow, a glare from six eyes was way more than three times as intimidating as a glare from two, "the previous Trollhunters surround us, and their spirits can give counsel to the current Trollhunter, in the Void."
"Void?" echoed Mary. "As in, like, total emptiness and nothingness? That kind of void?"
"And," added Darci, "are these friendly Casper-type ghosts we're talking about, or soul-sucking poltergeists?"
"They will not 'suck' his soul," said the pale, grumpy troll who had called them an infestation. "They will peer into it. No Trollhunter has yet been slain by the spirits of those who came before."
It looked like the Forge, only lit in blue and with constellations mapped on the ceiling. Jim summoned his sword. Wisps of blue light flickered and darted around him. They whispered things – cruel, taunting things.
"He is an Impure."
"He does not belong here."
"A mistake has been made …"
"Are you worthy?"
That voice was deepest and clearest. Jim turned to face it, barely in time to block a strike from an armoured troll holding a sword. The troll vanished when their blades met.
Jim switched forms. He could see more clearly now, and hear other whispers that had been mere hisses before. It was more of the same insults they'd said earlier.
"Deceitful …"
"Disgraceful!"
"Sacrilege!"
"Leave this place …"
He also heard a rush of air behind him and turned in time to catch the spectral troll rematerialize and attack him again.
Using the Sword of Daylight for leverage, Jim almost wrenched his opponent's sword out of their grasp before they disappeared once more.
He didn't turn in time to block the next attack. He was kicked from behind and fell on his stomach, sword clattering out of his hand. The mysterious teleporting troll appeared before him and took the blade, pointing it down at Jim.
"But …" But Blinky had told him, Jim and Draal had seen … "Only a Trollhunter can wield Daylight."
"We are Trollhunters!"
The stranger let go of Jim's sword and their own. Both weapons vanished.
The nose and nose ring on the troll before him were nearly identical to Draal's.
"… Kanjigar the Courageous?"
"James Lake Junior. Or so you claim."
Jim got to his feet, watching for another attack. "You were the voice from my amulet."
"Your amulet?" snarled one of the wisps, flashing in front of his face. Jim recoiled.
"Our amulet!"
"We are the Council of Elder Trollhunters," said Kanjigar. "This is the Void – a place between worlds, for the Trollhunter to receive counsel and guidance from those who came before. We've been watching you." Wow, was there anyone left who didn't fancy themselves as some kind of a spy? "And you are about to make a grave mistake. You cannot allow humans to become involved in your calling."
"I'm not killing a group of children for finding Trollmarket," said Jim sullenly. "I'll get an oath from them that they'll keep it secret."
"That is not the cause of our concern. You are considering allowing the humans to aid you in your mission to defend their world and ours."
You do know I was in the process of getting them out of Trollmarket when I had to come and deal with this instead, right?
"I considered it," Jim agreed. "It'd be easier to keep my cover in the human world if I have someone to make excuses for me."
"A Trollhunter must work alone."
"The humans involved themselves. I didn't invite them to follow me. I can ask them to keep quiet, but I can't ask them to ignore everything now that they know about it. Like you said, their world is in danger, too. If they want to protect it, they have a right to try."
"I understand better than you know, Changeling," said Kanjigar. "I had to distance myself from my son in order to keep him safe. If you bring those you care for into the fight, they will all suffer for it! The Trollhunter's duty is to stand between innocents and danger."
"You say that like you think I would just throw them to Bular."
Kanjigar huffed at that. A cloud appeared, with a scene playing on it like a spectral television. It showed Jim sending Toby and Nana Domzalski home after noticing Bular in his back yard.
"There are no secrets here."
More scenes played out – Jim stealing and hiding the bridge piece; Jim stealing and giving the Janus Order the first Heartstone shard; Jim and Toby watching Gnome Chompsky through the dollhouse window; Jim saving Draal from falling off the edge of the Hero's Forge.
"You don't have it in you to kill." Coming from Kanjigar, that sounded like a commendation and condemnation all at once.
"I've killed before." He took a guess at how to work the projection and held his hand out to it, picturing an unpleasant memory. The image of himself in the Crucible, young and nameless and with blood on his claws and mouth, did not appear. Either it could only show things that happened in the presence of the Amulet or Jim had misunderstood how it was activated. "We don't all get the chance to run that AAARRRGGHH did."
"But can you kill Bular?" Kanjigar asked him. "Many Trollhunters before you have tried and every one of us has failed. If you insist on involving these humans, then slaying Bular – and Gunmar – will eventually be the only way to protect them."
Jim switched and faced Kanjigar in humanoid form, where his ears and tail could not betray his feelings.
"Except you, or Merlin or whoever, gave me the amulet, and the amulet gives me status. Gunmar needs it, which means he needs me, which means I can ask for them to be spared."
There were hisses and roars of outrage from the wisps and another blinding flash of light. Jim was pushed back by the force of it and landed on his butt.
"JIMBO!"
Humans and trolls swarmed him. Toby helped him to his feet. Jim was grateful to have changed faces before being sent back.
"You're okay! You are okay, right? You disappeared!"
"Wow. So trolls and ghosts exist." Claire smoothed the hair that fell across her forehead. "What next? A Midsummer Night's Dream? Fairies?"
"Fairies? Preposterous," said Blinky. "Fairies lost the war to the pixies, centuries ago. What did they say, Master Jim?"
They all looked to him expectantly.
"… First, Kanjigar had a message for Draal," Jim lied.
Draal's eyes went wide and his jaw dropped before clenching. He leaned closer to Jim.
"He knows he hurt you when he pushed you away, trying to keep you safe from the whole Trollhunter thing. Hurting you is his biggest regret, other than dying. I mean, I assume other than dying. He didn't specify that part. Your father loves you a lot, and he's really proud you." Was that too sentimental? "He didn't start crying or anything, but it was a very moving speech."
Draal closed his eyes for a moment and pressed a closed fist to his heart. He gave a long, sad look to his father's remains. He nodded at Jim.
"The rest of it was that none of them are really happy I was chosen as the Trollhunter, and they're majorly displeased that a bunch more humans got into Trollmarket, so you four are going to have to swear an oath of secrecy before you leave."
"And I believe now is the time to discuss the human infestation," said Vendel.
They all cringed.
The trolls wanted the humans to leave and not come back. The humans wanted to come back. It was not a problem with an easy compromise.
Team Human 'won' when they pointed out that they had snuck in once and could probably do so again, so it would be easier for Team Troll to keep track of them if they were allowed to visit openly.
Jim was surprised no one on Team Troll had suggested magically-induced targeted amnesia, but he didn't have any evidence beyond fantasy literature that that was really a thing, so maybe it wasn't. He did not make the suggestion.
Then Blinky suggested, "For everyone's peace of mind, I suggest the humans each be tested with a gaggletack before they leave, to ensure none of them are Changelings."
It took all of Jim's training in stealth and deception to not react.
"There has been no Changeling activity for decades, Blinkous," said Vendel, sounding exasperated. Draal looked uncomfortable.
"Just as a precaution?" Blinky folded his hands beseechingly.
"I thought you said fairies weren't a thing," said Claire to Blinky, puzzled.
"I fail to see the relevance of that statement."
"… Isn't a Changeling a fairy baby swapped for a human one?"
"Ah, no. A Changeling is, well," Blinky looked side to side and lowered his voice conspiratorially. "In the Old World, Gumm-Gumms stole our young, and did something … unnatural, to change them."
"Nasty business," said AAARRRGGHH. "Very messy."
"Their purpose was to spy on the world above. For that purpose, they were disguised as humans. A gaggletack is a rare artifact that forces a Changeling to reveal their true form." Blinky smiled. "Of course, as perfectly normal humans, none of you would have any objection to touching such an artifact?"
"If it's rare, where are we going to find one?" asked Toby.
"RotGut's," said AAARRRGGHH.
Vendel left to attend to other matters. Blinky, AAARRRGGHH and Draal escorted the humans (and Changeling) to an apothecary shop tucked away in one of Trollmarket's less-trafficked neighbourhoods.
Jim did his best to keep his breathing steady and keep up his act of confidence. He was grateful for his habit of keeping his armour on at all times while in Trollmarket, which meant his current internal panic wouldn't set it off. And maybe, just maybe … it was a risk, but the armour might just help him keep his cover.
When Blinky knocked, a small door opened within the larger door. A single eye peeked out at them.
"Ailment or curse?"
Another door within the door popped open, revealing another eye, and a higher voice snapped at the deeper-voiced speaker, "Oi, numbskull, I'm supposed to answer it!"
"But I already did answer it."
"I deal with the customers, you handle the wizardry!"
"Hold a tick," the deep voice said to them, and both doors closed for a moment. The second mini-door opened again and the higher voice greeted them.
"Welcome to RotGut's. How may we service you?"
"Totem, my good troll," said Blinky. He switched to a conspiratorial mutter again. "We suspect one of these fleshbags may be a Changeling."
"You'll be needing a gaggletack, then," confirmed the deeper voice.
"Unfortunately, you see, we're running a bit short on those," said the higher voice. "Very hard to get."
"But I've got a bag of them right here?" protested the deeper voice.
"What in the world –?" The eye belonging to the higher-voiced troll glared at the eye belonging to the deeper-voiced troll. "If you'll excuse us for just one more moment!"
The mini-doors slammed shut again. They could hear the proprietors bickering.
"What are you doing? I'm trying to drive up the price over here."
"I thought we were trying to help these nice lads?"
A slot in the door opened and a heavy object shot out, hitting Toby in the chest.
"OW!"
Toby fell. Jim helped him up and – praying he was right, but acting while his head was down so no one else could actually see his face, just in case he was wrong – he picked up the gaggletack in his gauntleted hand.
He was right. The armour insulated him from the magic. Even if he had transformed without feeling it happen, he would be able to feel his tail.
"It's a … horseshoe," said Claire.
"Made of pure iron," said AAARRRGGHH.
"Why would you put such a precious thing on a horse's foot?" asked Blinky.
"Well, Tobes definitely touched it," said Jim, patting his friend's shoulder with the hand not holding the horseshoe. "Ladies?"
Claire took it from Jim and passed it to Darci, who passed it to Mary, who looked around and shrugged and passed it to the nearest troll, who happened to be Draal. Draal didn't have as many pockets or such large pockets at Blinky did, but there was some kind of pouch on his belt, and he tucked the gaggletack away.
"So, Jim," said Mary, as they climbed the crystal staircase back to the surface. "Is Mr Strickler in on this?"
How in the name of EVERYTHING did you figure THAT out?!
"Why would Mr Strickler be in on this?"
"He's always excusing you when you're late or miss class, no matter how lame your excuse is. It's because he knows the real reason, isn't it?"
"Uh – well – actually – the thing about that is – He's got a thing for my mom," Jim invented. "I get away with stuff in public because then he has an excuse to talk to her about his concerns." Jim forced a laugh.
"Does your mom know?"
"Of course not. If she notices me acting out, she figures it's to get her attention because I've got lingering abandonment issues from my dad, which are being exacerbated by her working all the time."
"No, I mean does she know Mr S likes her?"
"Oh. Maybe? She's never said anything, but, heh, it's not like I've asked her. I try not to think about it."
Jim chose not to divulge his encounter with the ghost Trollhunters to Stricklander, nor his close call with a gaggletack, but he did reveal that four human teens had found Trollmarket and might start poking around other Arcadian supernatural events and locales.
"Mary Wang, having an investigative personality, is probably our greatest concern. She asked if the reason you let me get away with things is because you know what's really going on, which I denied. But I … may have claimed the reason I'm your favourite student is actually because you want to date my mother." He ducked his head and tried not to flush. "Sorry. I panicked."
Stricklander blinked at Jim and said nothing.
"If you want to flirt with Dr Lake or something to give the appearance of truth to that lie, that's fine. It might actually be kind of helpful." Jim shrugged, and then added flippantly, "But of course, if you break her heart or push her past her comfort level, then for the sake of my cover as her son I'll have to end you."
"Truly you have the gallantry of Perseus."
"Usually when you bust out the Greek references, you call me Atlas."
"After Perseus slayed the Gorgon, he used the petrification abilities of her severed head to save his mother from an unwanted suitor."
"That seems unnecessarily complex. Considering Medusa's backstory, he could've just told her 'hey this guy is creeping on my mom' and she probably would've helped him willingly."
"Yes, well, the quest began before he knew, but you are likely correct. The Ancient Greeks used her likeness as a symbol of sanctuary on women's shelters."
Jim got up and stretched. "This has been informative, but I should go. I've got three lives to keep up now and I need to take care of the 'normal human' one for a while. Unless you'd like to persuade Señor Uhl to put off the Spanish test for a few days?"
"Go to class."
Stricklander spending time with Barbara might not actually be a terrible idea, Jim mused. She was a lovable woman. If Stricklander socialized with her, he would likely grow to care for her, and then he'd have a personal incentive to support Jim's bid for Barbara's protection after Gunmar's conquest.
He ought to find an excuse to save Mary as well, Jim supposed, if she ended up inspiring the plan that spared his mother's life. Claire and Darci as well, since they were such close friends.
Of course there was the 'breeding stock' option, but that was only a temporary solution, and if any of them were sterile it couldn't save them for even the fraction of their potential lifespan in which humans could reproduce.
Enrique might have some ideas for protecting the Nuñez family by now. If Claire spent a lot of time with her friends at her house, Enrique might know something that could help Jim spare the other girls, too.
The easiest way to check would be to babysit again. Would Claire trust him more as a babysitter, after the last successful sitting and now that she knew he was a 'magical protector of the innocent'? Or less, because she'd worry his duties as Trollhunter would call him away and leave Enrique unsupervised?
Of course, Enrique couldn't know Jim was the Trollhunter – didn't know, unless Claire let something slip where he could hear her – so that would be an additional complication. Jim needed to warn Claire not to say anything in front of her brother, without exposing his fellow Changeling's cover. Was Enrique old enough for his human guise to start talking? Maybe Jim could pass it off as not wanting to risk Enrique repeating suspicious words in front of the Nuñez parents.
Up next: The humans explore Trollmarket some more, and Draal moves into Jim's basement.
The first scene in this chapter was almost the last scene of the previous chapter, but I felt it would create false foreshadowing that the Ghost Council was going to try and kill Jim, and that particular red herring wouldn't have a very satisfying payoff since I wasn't going to do a big Jim-versus-Ghosts fight scene. It works for this chapter because there's not a week-long delay before you find out what really happens.
