Trolls
"Did mention that I have a splitting headache," Xander muttered carefully pulling himself into an upright position on the couch and gently massaging his temples.
"Did I ever tell you that you are giving me a headache with your incessant whining?" Cordelia sniped finishing the search through the book she had in front of her and slamming it shut.
"Only about fifty times in the past two hours," Xander retorted clutching his head in obvious pain. "So have we found anything yet? Or is the search for information on this hunter turning into a lost cause?"
"All I've found is a lot of dust," Cordelia answered before anyone else could find their voice.
"Didn't Anya mention something at one point about having a not-so-nice run-in with Kale when she was just learning to use her own powers?" Oz questioned his gaze lifting from the book he'd been perusing to focus briefly upon Giles.
"Very possibly, yes," Giles responded. It was his way of saying that he wasn't certain he had been involved in the pertinent conversation but that it was likely to have happened. "Oz, if you think Anya might have had dealings with Kale then her information would be useful I'm sure." He added glancing up from his own book to focus briefly on Oz as if to ask him to check into it as soon as possible.
"On it," Oz agreed pulling his cell-phone from his jacket pocket and checking his watch. If he was lucky Anya would still be at the magic shop and he wouldn't have to spend half an hour waiting for her to actually listen for the sound of her cell-phone. He stood and moved over to sit down next to Willow as she was surfing the web. "Anything useful about Kale on the web?" He questioned pulling up his contacts list and searching for Anya's number.
"No, I've found a couple of questionable sites that claim to have information though," Willow answered, computer screen flashing with the change of pages before it went dark briefly and came back up with a picture of something that resembled a cross between a bulldog and a giant. "Trolls, what is it with these websites and the fascination with trolls…geesh…"
"Okay that's just freaking creepy, " Cordelia stood up from her place at the table, her gaze moving between the picture that graced Willow's laptop screen and a page in the book she'd been looking through. "Same picture, and according to this, it's some undead troll like creature that if you say "troll" three times and have two pictures, it'll…"
"Cordelia!" Willow's face paled slightly and she slowly stood and backed away from the desk. "Cordelia! Drop the book! Oz!" She called realizing at that moment that he'd left the central working area to try and contact Anya. "Uhmm…Giles I think we might have a problem. I think…"
There standing in their midst was the creature from her laptop screen. "Geesh Will, can't you focus on the task at hand instead of…" Xander muttered pulling himself into a sitting position on the back of the couch even though the upright position left his head spinning and pounding violently. "We're looking for info on Kale not trying to summon trolls."
Glass shattered as the troll swung his hammer at the table, knocking the lamp into the floor and toppling the stack of books. "Uhm Giles, how do we banish a very angry troll?"
"Holy damn, I didn't realize this was an open invitation party." Oz muttered as the troll turned on him and began to swing its hammer and growl viciously.
"Shut the book, "Giles called skimming through the pages of one of the other volumes that had not been swept into the floor by the troll's anger. "The book must be shut for the banishing spell to work."
"Boy, do I wish Buffy was here, at least she could keep him distracted," Willow admitted barely dodging the broad strikes as the Troll did his level best to destroy the downstairs portion of the library and everything in it.
"I certainly hope this has nothing to do with Kale," Xander muttered barely getting out of the way as the troll struck the couch with his hammer. The weight of the blow punched a huge hole in the upholstery and sent Xander scrambling over the top to crouch behind it.
"I can't shut the book, I…I dropped it." Cordelia froze as the troll moved toward her, reaching out to snatch her by the wrist and sending her into a panicked, screaming fit.
"Cordelia! Calm down," Giles insisted moving into the center of the room, book in hand. The movement alone was enough to garner the troll's attention and the fact that Giles had a book in his hand only seemed to further anger the creature.
"Calm down?! Giles, you want me to calm down?!" She screeched the high pitch of her voice obviously further aggravating the troll. "When this," She stomped her foot and pointed one red-nailed finger in the direction of the troll. She turned briefly toward the others, her focus landing upon Giles, "Thing is trying to kill us?! Do you have some sort of psychological defect?"
"Be that as it may Cordelia, the situation does not require panic and if you don't calm down you're only going to get yourself or one of us killed," Giles insisted totally ignoring the suggestion that he was suffering from some sort of mental defect. He ducked as the troll swung the hammer, knocking the lamp into the floor and nearly yanking Cordelia off her feet as he pulled her closer.
"Do something!" She screeched pinching her nose with her free hand as the troll's dank, foul-scented breath reached her nostrils. "He's going to ruin my hair."
"Well geesh, the state of your hair would be the least of the worries at this point," Willow muttered her voice quivering slightly just from the sheer tension brought on by the situation. "It's not like it's going to matter if he decides to make you lunch, I mean...I don't think dead people worry about such things much…"
"Not funny, so not funny," She snapped beginning to pull against the troll's grip in an effort to free her wrist from its grasp. "I now know who I'm going to come back and haunt if I end up lunch and it's surely not going to be my hairdresser."
"Could you two focus on the stench in front of us and worry with the hairdresser haunting later. Someone is going to end up troll poop here and I'd rather it not be me." Xander insisted from his position behind the couch.
"Not very sociable, is he?" Oz questioned as he joined Xander behind the couch. He watched the troll as it quite literally fondled a now very panicked and grossed out Cordelia.
Xander's gaze shifted briefly to focus upon Oz, "Kinda like Spike when he forgets to take his valium." They both ducked as the troll again swung the hammer, the force of the blow punching a gaping hole in the back of the couch and sending slivers of wood raining down upon them, "Okay, okay, worse than Angelus on a good day. He's going to kill someone with that hammer, mark my words."
Oz nodded as he quietly peeked around the end of the couch. Realizing that Cordelia's screeching and futile attempt to free herself from the Troll's grasp had created a distraction, he quickly slid in behind the troll—putting himself within a few feet of the book that she had inadvertently dropped earlier.
"Maugg, let her go, she's of no use to you," Giles insisted taking a few steps forward in an effort to get close enough to enact the banishing spell the instant Oz was able to close the book.
"This thing has a name?" Cordelia screeched shivering in disgust as a stream of thick, slimy Troll drool ran down the back of her neck. "Eww, do something, I think I'm allergic to trolls."
"Yes, I'm afraid so, most Trolls have a name despite their normally foul disposition." Giles answered watching as Maugg moved forward slightly as if to accept some sort of challenge. "Let her go Maugg!"
Maugg pulled Cordelia closer and began to once again swing his hammer violently. Giles managed to duck the strike, the wind from the hammer whistling past his ear and making his hair ripple in response. "Hey ugly," Oz called from his position behind Maugg. He had managed to avoid the backswing and grab the still open book from the floor without being clobbered by the flailing hammer. "Look what I have…" He taunted holding the book where Maugg could see it as he turned to face Oz. "Giles, you best be ready with that banishing spell because I figure when I shut this book he's going to go medieval on whatever is close by."
"Just close the book. Everyone take refuge behind my desk, do it now." Giles instructed watching Oz as he taunted Maugg with the open book. As Oz had predicted, Maugg began to violently swing the hammer, taking out anything in his path, including one of the smaller shelves that had housed educational DVD's. He shoved Cordelia to the floor, his elbow slamming into the back of her head and then the middle of her back. As she collapsed, he lumbered forward barely avoiding stepping on her outstretched arm.
"Cordie!" Xander called using that moment to take action. He hopped over the top of the mangled couch, grabbed the back of her shirt and pulled her to safety behind Giles' desk. "You have such a way with people, it's a wonder you're still alive." He muttered sitting her down against the wall behind the desk. "You're not supposed to end up as poop on the bottom of his feet , you know?"
"Yes, potty mouth, I know," She muttered her words slurred slightly as it was obvious she had been dazed by the blows.
"Oz, the book!" Giles called as everyone else scrambled to safety, barely steering clear of the wildly swinging hammer and the still falling debris.
"Enjoy hell, Maugg!" Oz taunted, his expression turning a smile as he dodged a final swing before slamming the book shut and stepping back away from the now livid troll.
Gate of Satan, burning fire
Hear and obey my desire
Open wide your hall of blackened gloom
Reclaim your son which has entered this room.
Return Maugg the Troll to his prison of doom.
Close the portal that brought him here
And return this place to it's rightful cheer.
Giles had no sooner finished the incantation when there was a heated bluster of wind. The temperature in the room seemed to increase; the walls creaked and crackled with the heat. "I do hope that was the right spell." He muttered watching as Maugg's body was engulfed in a plume of sooty, red fire. Moments passed before there came a loud clap followed by a barely audible thud and Maugg was gone.
"Is it over? Is he…" Cordelia questioned pulling herself to her feet and staggering over only to nearly fall into Xander's arms.
"Yes I do believe he's gone, at least for now." Giles answered wiping the perspiration from his brow before setting the incantation book atop the table. "Well, at least he missed the laptop. I believe we have a slayer and her family to find so back to work."
"Back to work…uhm…yeah sure…." Willow stuttered turning a half whimsical, half unnerved expression on Giles as she moved to inspect the area where Maugg had been standing just minutes before. She bent down and picked up a small leather bound book from the floor. On it's cover was a felt medallion printed with what looked to be some sort of family crest. "Giles, I know this is not a part of this library so…if it didn't come from one of these shelves then it had to have come from Maugg but…" She held the book carefully as if she was afraid it might explode. "Does this crest mean anything to you?" She questioned as Giles and the others moved to surround her.
"The Crest of Kale," Giles answered taking the book from Willow and motioning for everyone to return to their places at the big table.