James gripped the strap of his rucksack more tightly — he'd already lost one strap in a vicious tug-of-war with an ogre, and he was very reluctant to lose the other because it would simply make everything inconvenient.

To be fair, since the werewolves had attacked his carriage and overturned it, and he'd barely escaped with his life, life had been inconvenient in general. Thankfully he'd had the foresight to pack supplies, with a few extra things, thanks to his parents' careful packing tips for any journey. Except he'd gone a little overboard, and he should've tossed the excess baggage or given it to some poor, hapless stranger he'd met.

Why had he filled his rucksack to the brim, anyway? Now that he'd had the chance to think about it properly, he hadn't needed the sunhat or the robe. Since it was so heavy, the strap bit into his shoulder painfully and weighed it down. He couldn't even switch shoulders; when he'd tried one time, the rucksack had become even more cumbersome, due to the fact it kept swinging and hitting his arse.

Rather inconvenient.

In the distance, James could see a bridge, and he sighed. Bridges usually meant an encounter with a possessive bridge troll, and — yep, he could see one now, arms crossed and glaring as he approached.

James tried not to wrinkle his nose at the stench coming off the troll; would it kill trolls to bathe once in a while? Forget the pride issue and all, bathing was a basic necessity.

"How dare you approach my bridge," the troll snarled, showing its ugly yellow teeth. "For that, you must —"

"Yeah, answer a riddle, I know," James said, sighing, but it was worth the miffed expression on the troll's face. "Listen, I've traveled a long way, would it okay if I passed without answering the riddle?"

The troll spat, looking astonished, and reacted the same way every troll had that James had met during his journey. "You dare — everyone must answer a riddle, boy, unless you want to be eaten." The troll grinned. "I have not had a proper meal in days. You look a bit stringy, but you'll do."

James wasn't the least bit concerned. All he had to do was swing something sharp at the troll if he couldn't answer the riddle. "Fine, what's your riddle?"

The troll's grin widened. "What goes up but never comes down?"

"Your age." James snorted. "Please, one of your mates had the same riddle. Do you lot swap riddles, or…?"

Now the troll's smile faltered. "Same riddle? That's impossible, we all have different —"

"Well, good old Pete had the same riddle," said James, jerking his thumb over his shoulder. "He was the last troll I saw before you, might want to take it up with him."

"Oh, I will." The troll pounded his fist into his hand. "When we next meet to exchange riddles, I'll make sure he doesn't use mine ever again."

That sounded...ominous, and James decided to not question it. "So, can I pass? I answered your riddle."

"Fine," the troll grumbled, moving aside. "If you ever see Pete again —"

But James had already crossed the bridge and was out of earshot. "Thank you!" he called.

James was able to unload some of his extra baggage on a poverty-stricken family; in exchange, they kindly let him stay the night. Early, just as the sun peeked over the horizon, James slipped out of the home; he didn't want to overstay his welcome and he needed to get a move on.

After all, his home lay at the end of the path.

Two days later, he glimpsed a welcome sight, and all of his exhaustion seemed to vanish.

Breaking into a run, he slung his rucksack off his shoulder — oh, the relief — and he carried it by the handle.

He saw the door fly open and out stepped a woman. She had wavy, dark red hair and the biggest grin he'd ever seen on her face. She was holding a lantern and she set it down to open her arms.

He barreled into her arms, wrapping her in a tight hug, and breathed her in — he probably smelled like a troll, after days of traveling, and she was a saint for not commenting on it — and he murmured in her hair, "Honey, I'm home."

She giggled, releasing him just for a moment. Her expression rapidly transformed into worry. Touching the side of his face, she asked, "What happened? They wouldn't tell me anything — are you okay?"

"I'm fine," he promised. Now that he didn't have her to prop him up, exhaustion hit him like a wave crashing into the shore. He swayed and gripped the doorframe to steady himself. "Or I will be."

Her face softened. "Come inside and rest. As long as you're okay, the rest can wait."

821 words

Assignment 6 - Healer Studies - Task 10 - Levitation Sickness: Write about a long journey.