Some action – at last!
Chapter VII
Something new. A brother has come. He sais Trollen are caged near here. He has heard the squeakers talk but they did not catch him. They make ready for war. The Eye goes to War and he no longer sees everywhere. His Eye is outside his gate. Here is something we can do. Ai, if this stench was not so bad we would have caught their smell. They are so near. Are you there Gloden? Do not hope Venny.
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The Eye has everyone beaten down so that they no longer know the power of their own bodies. Trollen can open that cage easily. I do not even need the claw. We are almost through. Not Kin. Not Trollen. "Aaarggnnggngh!" Outside things. Much bigger but these things are not Trollen.
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They started to fight us but the biggest of them stopped them and asked us if the war had started. We all stopped fighting. For a moment we were still. I told him we thought they were Trollen. "Hill Trolls" He said. "You stupid Cave Trolls are not to be trusted on your own. Where are yer keepers? Yer should be in the forges." Then he was suddenly angry and he shouted out "Hi! Trolls out! But it was the last words that came from his mouth. As quickly as we had stopped, we were fighting again. My brothers were filled with the power of the Firething. These were Blacklanders and they would risk death to kill them. "The Eye now has less 'Hill Troll' in his army." I said to my brothers and we laughed. They were not Trollen.
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A great noise is heard above. A great clanging noise. Like the axeboys would make with rams horns when they first fought the squeakers. They have heard our fight and are come to get us. We will not be taken for bullock. We will fight here.
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No one comes and the stench moves farther away. We hear pounding, we hear the clanging sound, we hear many beasts move but always away from here. We hear less.
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It took a long time but now we hear nothing. The Hillthing asked if war had started. It seems that it has. Now who will we fight? We will not fight in his war. But all the squeakers, the maggots are an army now. Just by numbers would they have us before we could really have our fill.
We must search for our kin. If they are caged, it may be that we can find them now that the maggots are fighting outside. We will try. Though we do not know the way.
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We just wander in these tunnels. We think we can smell kin but the stench is still strong. How did anyone know where they were going? The Eye told them. The maggots told them. How did the maggots know where they were going? There eyes are better I am guessing. Ah yes, Blagken has the scent. He is young. Yes, I smell it. "Go! Follow him!" Yes! Behind that great wall. "Hnnngng" It is a strong metal. But not as strong as the shiny stuff the axeboys dug for. Not as strong as the claw. The heat in there! Is there a Firething in there? I do not hear one. Their call is known to me. But the Heat! There are fires. Like the axeboys had. But not like this. This is huge. And Trollen! Kin! "Gloden! Fodden!" I call but I do not smell them. I do not hear them. I ask many, "Do you know my kin?"
There is great treachery here. Trollen chained to great bars that they turn and turn. We have killed all the maggots. Not enough. I would kill more for this terrible thing. They are weak and their hide is cut and scored. But they live. One sais she has heard of my boys or some boys on the Blackgate. That is where the whole army is. Other say they know of Trollen in the Granary. We will go there first. But we will go to the Blackgate as well. We will go where there is rumor of any Trollen. We will not leave any kin like this. Never.
We have fed them on the squeakers and they look better. They want to kill now. They want their vengeance. I feel their anger. Their hatred. We do not know where this Granary is so we must wander about as lost things in this tunnel again. Put Blagken to the front once more. He will find them I think.
We now kill everything we see. There are many of us and we only ever see a few maggots at a time. They are not enough to feed our vengeance. Blagken has a trail. He is quick, this boy. But he also fills me with grief. He would have been a friend to my Glorn. Oh Glorn. How will I tell your father. Even though I search for you, Gloden. I dread that time. Oh my Glorn.
We have found them. Again they are chained to great metal poles that they turn in an endless circle. Again their hides are torn and rent. Again we slay the maggots and again they are too few for our fury. We will wait till our brothers are strong again and then we must try the Blackgate.
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I have met with Forjer. He has been on the Blackgate. When he was younger. Now he is very old and they put him in the Granary when he could no longer open the Blackgate. He will take us there. Blagken will lead us too. He will tell us who comes this way before we meet them if we have not used up all our luck.
I march next after Blagken and Forjer But I lead this tribe now. They look to me and I will take them where they have need to go. To vengeance. To kill. To die. We do not gild our thoughts of triumph. Only to avenge and to take the chains off our brothers. We can feel the power of the Eye even though it does not look at us right now. When it does we will be crushed and the maggots will be too many but we will have our fill before we die.
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Blagken sais Orken are ahead. Many. His nose is good. I can catch the scent but he knows where they are. Forjer is going the other way. He is old and I guess he does not want to face the chains again. No. I am wrong. He has found the way to the Blackgate. Ai! The whiff of Ork is strong. We are near. "Here, Blagken, go with Forjer. Take this claw. It will tear the chains. Arjen, Bray, Jan. Go with them. We will stay here and kill the Orken." He has a fire that boy, he is a great Troll. The claw has made him strong. May be that he will lead after I die in this fight. Find my kin Bagken.
We feel the Eye. There, the army. Great numbers. "No, Kabber, The Eye tells you to kill the Westmen. Forget that. All of you. Remember your kin. Kill the Orken!"
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