Chapter 15

Wendell, Virginia, Tony, Burly, Blabberwort, and Bluebell sat in the lobby of the village's nicest inn. The innkeeper had brought them all out a cup of tea and left the teapot sitting on the table near them. The three trolls seemed to be having trouble getting a good grip on the tiny little teacups. The handles were too small for their huge fingers. Wendell finally had the innkeeper bring out some bigger cups for them.

When they first arrived there, Wendell had made Virginia and Tony explain the cause for their rude behavior to Barbara Peep.

"I suppose its because I still haven't gotten over how they had blamed Wolf for killing Sally. They never even gave him a fair trial." Virginia explained. Wendell nodded, he remembered. He had been gold for the first half of their stay here last time but he could still hear everything going on around him.

"From what I remember, you didn't exactly put up a good argument in the courtroom." Tony smiled but it disappeared right away when Virginia glared at him.

"Even if we did, they still had it rigged. They had sheep for the jurors and had filled the guilty pen with food. You know Wendell; you really ought to make sure something is done about that. That's not right, they need actual juries. People who could see both sides of the argument."

"You're right. When I get back to my castle, I'll see to it that someone is sent here to oversee it." Wendell took a sip of his tea. "But right now, we need to go over our plan of action. We know where Wolf is now. We need to decide how we're going to get him back. First, are we going to go tonight or tomorrow?"

"Tonight." Virginia answered immediately. Tony however, didn't seem to agree.

"I say tomorrow morning. We need a good night's rest; we may need all of our energy for the rescue. Let's stay here tonight, and then go first thing in the morning, before it gets to bright out."

"I don't want to wait any longer. Wolf could be hurt and needing our help." Virginia had been impatient before, but now she was just annoyed. Didn't her father want to get Wolf back?

Tony seemed to sense what she was thinking.

"Listen, I want Wolf back just as much as you do. But we wont be any help to him if we are too tired to fight. We've been traveling for two days straight. I think it would do us some good to get some sleep before rescuing him."

Wendell turned to the trolls.

"I agree with Antony, but what do you think?"

The trolls huddled up and quietly discussed the better option. It only took them about a minute before they sat back down.

"We think that we should wait until morning. But if we are to wait until then, we have to leave early. Like before the sun comes up." Bluebell was the one who stated their decision.

Virginia really hated this, but there was nothing she could do about it. She couldn't go off on her own to get him, because that would be too dangerous. Plus, she didn't think she could take on all three Peeps by herself.

"Alright, now that that is decided, how are we going to get Wolf out of there?" Wendell looked around at everyone waiting for an idea. He sighed. Apparently, he would need to be the one to come up with the plan. He did have some experience with this, after all, a King was required to know military tactics for war. He thought of all the different possible ways of getting Wolf.

"Ok, well, I've come up with a few different plans that might work. One, we could wait until they are out of the cabin and sneak in there and free Wolf. Two, we fight them and hope we win. We still don't know for sure if it's just the three Peeps. For all we know, there may be more people there. Three, we simply knock on the door and as soon as they open, seize them." Wendell paused. He looked around at everyone else for their reactions. Everyone just frowned.

Wendell frowned too. It may not be the best plans ever made, but at least he came up with some. Wendell watched as the three trolls huddled up again. He saw Burly search his pockets for something and pulled out a leather pouch.

"Nicey-Nice!" He grinned. The three trolls turned back to the others.

"We have a plan." Blabberwort stated proudly.

"Well? What is it?" Tony asked. He wasn't sure if he would like it. Trolls weren't the smartest creatures after all. But they were good when it came to fighting and torturing.

"Just what Wendell said. We knock on the door." Bluebell said this with a huge grin. He was obviously really proud of this. Tony didn't have time for this.

"Oh, I see! We just knock on the door and when they answer, all we do is ask very politely if they will hand Wolf over. What a brilliant plan! I bet you they'd even invite us in for a cup of tea to!" Tony couldn't hide the sarcasm in his voice even if he wanted to. The trolls just stared at him.

"Suck an Elf! I never thought of that. Do you think it will work?" Bluebell asked. It was evident that he meant it to. Wendell, Tony, and Virginia just stared at him dumbfounded.

"Go Suck an Elf Bluebell! He was just kidding. That wouldn't really work." Blabberwort seemed as though she were the smartest of the three. Bluebell still looked confused and Burly wasn't sure who he believed.

"Oh forget it!" Tony threw his arms up into the air.

"Wait a minute Antony." Wendell turned back to the trolls. "Was there anything else to your plan?"

"Oh, yes. When they open the door, we hit 'em with a bit of this." Burly held up the leather pouch so that they could all see it.

"What is it exactly?" Virginia asked.

"Troll dust." Burly grinned. It was a troll's most sacred weapon. The plan finally started to make since to the others.

Wendell went over it in his mind. It might just work. It was foolish and dangerous, but it would be the most effective. That way, the Peeps couldn't escape and they could have them thrown in jail. Wendell looked over at Virginia and Tony to see if they agreed.

"I think it will work. At least this way nobody will get hurt. As long as everything goes ok that is." Virginia had such a soft touch. She was unwilling to hurt even the Peeps, who had stolen Wolf. Tony agreed as well.

"Alright, it's decided then. We'll leave tomorrow right before sunrise. I suggest everyone get a good nights rest then." Wendell stood up. Everyone else followed.

The innkeeper showed then each to their own separate rooms. Once in his room, Wendell changed and got into his bed. The innkeeper had given him their best room in the inn. The bed wasn't as comfortable as his own back at the palace, but he didn't mind all that much. He could hear Tony already snoring in the room next to his. Wendell smiled. As he fell asleep, his mind was going over the possible outcomes for the next day's rescue.