Blinky and AAARRRGGHH! led Jim, Barbara, Douxie, Claire, and NotEnrique to Trollmarket's nursery. They descended beneath the remains of the Heartstone and entered a room filled with crystals and luminescent rocks. Once, it would have been beautiful, filled with more colors than Jim could name.
When they reached the edge of the chamber, AAARRRGGHH! stopped, turned his back, and stood outside.
Blinky kept his eyes on the floor but stepped just inside. He clasped his four hands, face grim.
Of all the crystals and other stones in the nursery, only a few still sparked with life, casting eerie shadows through the dim room.
Each birthstone sat amidst its own nest of crystalized minerals—or they had until Gunmar shattered them. The nearest stone lay in four pieces, and the little troll within was now only a handful of rubble.
"That youngling was but a few years old," said Blinky, head bowed in respect for the slain.
Barbara took two steps in, covered a sob, and waited outside with AAARRRGGHH!
Douxie and NotEnrique stayed with Blinky. Both wore solemn faces.
Jim wove through the broken stones, careful not to step on them. The farther into the chamber he ventured, the harder it was not to cry. The newest stones were near the door, while older ones were further back, and each new youngling was more distinctly formed.
When Jim reached the back of the chamber, he found Claire, standing over a baby troll who had hatched before Gunmar slaughtered it.
In the dimness, the youngling's features were unclear, but from its back protruded the vague outline of tens of little, dull spikes.
The little one was cloven in two by Gunmar's Decimaar Blade. Its tiny hands had reached out to its killer moments before it died.
Claire kneeled. With utmost care, she held the murdered child's remains.
Jim went to his knees beside her and held them both as Claire mourned the little troll.
"Why did Gunmar do this?" she wailed. "He could have let them live. They weren't hurting anyone, and most of them would have hatched long after he took Trollmarket." Tears left damp patches on her dark leggings and skirt. "You poor thing." Her words turned into choking sobs.
Jim buried his face in Claire's shoulder to keep himself from breaking.
When Claire's tears dripped onto the dead stone, bits of rock crackled and scraped Jim's hand before clacking to the floor, and a dozen nubs dug into his palm.
Jim forgot to breathe as two inquisitive yellow eyes opened, and tiny, ash pink hands reached for Claire's face.
The murdered youngling settled into Claire's arms, whole and alive. Crumbled stone lay in a pile on her lap.
"Ma-ma?" The little voice echoed through the chamber.
Claire's racked sobs turned to cries of joy and wonder. "No, mijito." She wrapped the little one in a hug. "I'm not your mama, but maybe we can find her. Or your Papa."
Jim laid a kiss on Claire's cheek. "You brought him back," he whispered in her ear.
Claire leaned into him as the youngling reached for a lock of hair that had tugged free of its tie.
The baby batted the black strands and giggled. "Ma-ma."
"Let's go with tia—aunt."
The youngling nuzzled under Claire's chin. "Tee-uh."
"That's right. But I wish I knew your name, mijito."
The baby troll purred and curled up to sleep. Its spikes receded into its back.
Blinky, Barbara, and Douxie surrounded them.
"We heard a commotion—By Deya's Grace," said Blinky, mouth agape. "I thought none survived Gunmar's slaughter."
"None did," said Jim.
Barbara stroked the youngling's cheek with a finger.
"Mordrax's Miracles…" whispered Douxie. "It's like Kronisphere said."
NotEnrique approached, curious, but wary. He scuttled up behind Jim, jumped atop his shoulder and peered at the baby. "He's cute enough, I s'pose. Gonna have some horns on him when he gets older." NotEnrique pointed to four bumps on the baby's head.
A young troll, spikes on its back, four horns, rolled into a ball.
This was the troll he'd seen in Kronisphere.
"Let's get him back to Blinky's." Jim and Claire got up, careful not to wake the youngling.
NotEnrique rode on Jim's shoulder and kept sneaking glances at the baby as Blinky gathered four armfuls of minerals from the youngling's former nest.
"He will be famished when he wakes. Young trolls have voracious appetites," Blinky said. "We can gather more nourishment for him once we get him settled."
Jim helped Blinky arrange a bed for the youngling, and AAARRRGGHH! left to find more mineral crystals.
Dictatious complained the entire time. "That whelp will eat us out of house and home, Blinkous. Why did you bring it back here?"
"Because he is one of us, brother, and we will care for him as such."
Dictatious grumbled but didn't comment further.
When the youngling roused, he crawled out of Claire's arms toward the pile of crystals on Blinky's table.
To Jim's surprise, the baby already had a mouth full of teeth, and he happily chomped a handful of crystals before letting out an ear-rattling belch. As the baby ate, its skin shifted from grayish pink to a familiar shade of magenta.
Something Draal said, long before his death at the hands of Angor Rot and his poisoned dagger clicked.
"Claire… I think I know whose kid this is," Jim said.