Toby regrets deciding they'll leave at midnight. He hates hearing his alarm after a full night's sleep, and it's even worse after only a few hours. Steve, already half out of his sleeping bag, shoots an arm out to unconsciously try to turn off the alarm. He only manages to hit Krel in the face. Krel hits him back, which is probably what alerts Steve to the fact it isn't his alarm or his room. Steve opens his eyes to glare at the ceiling but doesn't move to get up. Krel curls up tighter and makes a small noise of annoyance.
Toby yawns and stretches and slides out of bed. "Rise and shine, guys."
For good measure, he flips on the light of the room. Steve yelps and covers his eyes. "A little warning next time!"
"Nooo," moans Krel, rolling over in his sleeping bag and covering his face with all four arms.
"Yes," Toby says. "Come on. Trollmarket awaits."
"I don't want to go to Trollmarket," Krel mutters. "I want to sleep."
"You can sleep later," says Toby. "Come on, we're burning moonlight!"
Steve finally sits up and rubs his eyes. He jumps to his feet and almost falls, but Aaarrrgghh! reaches out to steady him. Steve pats him on the arm and stifles a yawn. He walks, half-asleep, out of the room. Toby hears water running down the hall, and then Steve returns with a glass of water. The front of his hair is wet, so Toby guesses he'd splashed water in his face to wake up.
"Alright, time to get up." Steve dumps the glass of water on Krel's head. The Akiridion shrieks and shoots into a sitting position, holding his sodden arms out. He glares at Steve, water dripping down his face.
"That was uncalled for," he says.
"Should've gotten up the first time," Steve retorts.
"I'm sure Aja will be glad to know you two are getting along just like brothers," says Toby. He flips his stealth-mode war-hammer in the air and catches it. "Go dry off or something, I have to change into my armour."
"You are the most annoying person I have ever met, and I grew up with Aja," grumbles Krel as he and Steve leave. Toby doesn't hear Steve's retort, but he's sure it's not the brightest comeback.
Putting on his Trollhunter armour always makes Toby miss Jim again. All this knight stuff is also making him miss Jim, partially because he knows Jim would know what to do. Out of all three of them, Toby's the veteran. He's been doing this longer than Steve, and way longer than Krel. He's not sure he's ready to be a – a mentor type or something. He's not doing a very good job at it.
He and Aaarrrgghh! meet the others downstairs. Steve is peeling off the wrapper of a granola bar while muttering, "You don't eat the wrapper, Krel, that's bad for you."
"Well, how was I supposed to know that?"
Steve rolls his eyes and shoves the granola bar back into Krel's hands. "Just – eat it like a normal person."
"I am not a 'normal person'," Krel points out. He takes a bite of the granola bar and his face lights up. "But that does taste better."
"You guys almost ready to go?" says Toby.
"Yep," says Steve. "So, what is this Trollmarket, anyway?"
"Oh, yeah, you and Eli never got to see it!" Toby realises. "It's only the awesomest place in the entire world."
"It really isn't," says Krel.
"It was," corrects Toby with a wince. "It got pretty destroyed, what with Gunmar's invasion and then the Eternal Night. Aaarrrgghh! and I are hoping Blinky's books are still kinda in one piece."
Steve gives a grim-faced nod. "And… what's this about zombies?"
"Yeah," says Krel. "What's a zombie?"
"Oh, right, that was after Vex threw you into the Deep," says Toby. "We got attacked by undead Gumm-Gumms. Um. We might run into those again."
"Klebtastic," mutters Krel.
"You can say that again," says Steve.
Krel makes a face. "Why?"
"No – it's just an expression."
"Oh. Well, it's a weird expression."
Steve sighs and peeks through the blinds into the front yard. They keep the blinds closed most of the time at Toby's house, just to be safe for Aaarrrgghh! when he's here during the day. Steve flinches back.
"She's waiting for us," he says.
"We'll leave through the back," says Toby.
They try to be as quiet as they can as they leave the house. Toby is careful to lock the door behind him, although he's not sure that would stop the Knight if she tried to get in. Despite their attempt at stealth, the Knight leaps over the fence into the backyard.
"Run!" Toby exclaims.
"Got you," says Aaarrrgghh!. He grabs each of them and tosses them onto his back, then takes off into the woods. He's faster than each of them would probably be on their own, and definitely faster than Toby. Steve and Krel both scream, and Krel hides his face in Aaarrrgghh!'s hair. At any other moment, when not in danger, Toby would find their reactions hilarious.
"To the canal!" Toby calls to his wingman. Aaarrrgghh! grunts an agreement. Toby clings on with one hand and fishes out the horngazel to be prepared. They don't have time to look for it once they get there.
Aaarrrgghh! comes to an abrupt stop under the bridge. Toby slides off and hands the horngazel to him to open the portal quicker. He turns – the Knight is skidding into the canal now.
"Go, go!" he yells. Aaarrrgghh! bounds through, and Toby is quick to follow. The portal closes just before the Knight can reach them, and Toby huffs in relief. Steve shakily climbs off Aaarrrgghh!'s back. Krel still hangs on to him with all four hands.
"Are we good?" asks Steve.
"Should be," says Toby hesitantly. "For a bit. Krel. We're safe."
Krel lifts his head and opens one eye. Then, realising they are, in fact, safe inside Trollmarket, he releases his grip and comes down, laughing awkwardly. He pats Aaarrrgghh!'s arm. "Uh, thank you for the ride."
"You're welcome," says Aaarrrgghh! with a wide grin.
"This is incredible," says Steve in awe. He takes a few steps onto the crystal staircase. "Aw, man, why haven't you brought me down here before?"
"Well, by the time we knew you knew about trolls, it was taken over by Gunmar," says Toby. "And then after that we were a little busy with the Morando issue."
Krel tightens his grip on his serrator. He looks awkward holding it with one hand in a brace. Steve catches this and grabs his own serrator out of his pocket. "So, like. The zombies. Are they the brain-eating kind?"
"I don't think so," says Toby. "But their breath stinks. And they're Gumm-Gumms. So keep your guard up."
Steve gulps and nods. They head down the stairs, and as they reach Trollmarket proper, Toby keeps an eye out for any weird movements. The last thing they want is to be caught off guard by an undead Gumm-Gumm.
Blinky's library is in as bad shape as the rest of Trollmarket. There are books scattered all over the mouldy, dirty floor. Toby picks one up and it's so soaked that it starts falling to mush in his hands.
"Ugh, fligshaag," mutters Krel.
"Try to find anything salvageable," says Toby. He picks out a book from one of the higher shelves that seems to be mostly in one piece and starts flipping through it, only to recognise that, oh, yeah, he can't read Trollish.
Aaarrrgghh! peers over his shoulder. "Cookbook."
Toby groans and tosses the book away. "Okay, so this might be harder than I thought. Man, I regret not learning Trollish when Jimbo and Claire did."
"Great, we can't read these," says Steve. "How are we supposed to find anything useful!?"
"Look at pictures?" Toby suggests. "If it looks wizard-y, bring it to Aaarrrgghh! and he'll tell you if it'll help us."
"Just so you know, I already hate this," says Steve.
Krel, holding a book upside-down over his head with his first set of arms, uses one of his lower arms to blindly pat Steve on the shoulder. He misses the first time and has to glance sideways to readjust. "You and me both."
Toby sighs. "Just try to find something."
Aaarrrgghh! chuckles. Toby knows exactly what he finds funny – oh, yeah, Toby's suddenly the responsible one – and glares at him before returning to searching. They have a lot of books to get through.
"I GIVE UP!"
Toby closes his eyes in frustration at Steve's yell. The thrown book sails over his head. Aaarrrgghh! catches it, glances over it, and drops it.
"We're never going to find anything in here!" Steve snaps. "These books are in worse condition than the old textbooks at school. There's no point!"
"Guys, come on," says Toby. "There's got to be something."
"Not here," says Krel. "Or, if there was, it's destroyed now. Steve is right, this was pointless."
Aaarrrgghh! rumbles thoughtfully. "Behind the Forge."
Steve gives him an incredulous glare. "What!?"
"Wait, the Hero's Forge?" says Toby. "Did Blinky keep books there?"
Aaarrrgghh! nods. "Some. Important books."
"Then there might be something there!" Toby exclaims. "And I bet those are in better condition. Come on, guys – we can't give up yet."
"We can, but you won't let us," mutters Krel.
Toby reasons they're cranky because it's the middle of the night. If it weren't, then Krel at least wouldn't complain so much. Toby hopes. If only Jimbo could see him now, being the responsible one. Toby mentally shudders at the very thought of it.
Toby hadn't paid much attention to the state of the Hero's Forge last time they were here. It makes him sad to see it like this, after so much time watching Jim train here and even training here himself. Krel seems wary and edges carefully around the footprints to activate the Soothscryer. For a second, Toby is half-tempted to see if Aaarrrgghh! or even Krel might be able to activate it and get Kanjigar's help, but he thinks better of it. At the very least, he does not want to tell Kanjigar that they lost Gaylen's core.
"Try to find some… secret entrance or something," says Toby. "Aaarrrgghh!, do you know where to look?"
Aaarrrgghh! shakes his head. "Sorry."
"That's alright, buddy," says Toby. They make their way to the wall. Toby wishes Blinky would have put a sign or something up. Well, maybe that was counterintuitive to the idea of a secret book hideaway. Why did Blinky even need a secret book hideaway? He runs his hands along the wall, hoping something will be uneven or weird. Unfortunately, everything is uneven because the walls are made of stone. Toby has no idea what he's going.
"Hey, I found a button!" Steve calls from across the Forge. Aaarrrgghh!'s brow lowers and he frowns, but Toby shrugs and starts across the forge to where Steve is. Krel does the way, jumping to one of the platforms and pulling himself up.
Toby sees Steve hit whatever button he's talking about and – wait.
"Wait," he says aloud as Steve walks over to them, clearly frustrated that no secret entrance has opened. "Isn't that–"
"Oh, no," says Aaarrrgghh!.
On cue, the Hero's Forge starts up, blades flying and platforms turning. Krel screams and scrambles to get a grip on the platform he's on, but he can't. Aaarrrgghh! catches him and puts him on his feet.
"Did I do that!?" Steve shrieks.
"YES! You did!" Toby yells. He grabs Steve's arm and leaps backwards. Aaarrrgghh! yanks Krel away just in time to avoid getting skewered by a falling axe. Another one comes down several feet behind them.
"This place is a death trap!" Krel cries.
"Yeah, kinda!" Toby agrees. He swings his war-hammer a couple of times and uses it to launch himself towards the button, only for something to come out of absolutely nowhere for him to fly into. He falls to the ground, dazed.
"Wingman!" yells Aaarrrgghh!.
Toby rubs his head and sits up. The room is spinning, but that will pass in a minute. Hopefully. If it doesn't, he might have a problem. Or a concussion. Which would be a problem. He shakes his head to clear it, which doesn't actually work, and calls, "I'm okay."
"Have idea!" Aaarrrgghh! calls back.
Toby trusts his friend. He doesn't need to hear more. "Well, then, go for it!"
Then he hears Krel screaming and looks up to see the Akiridion sailing overhead towards the button, much like Toby but a bit higher up. Toby's a bit jealous that it works for Krel and not him, then sympathetic when Krel hits the ground. At least he has the common sense to activate his serrator shield to break his fall, except he definitely did it with the wrong hand, before Toby can see him grimacing and shaking his braced wrist. Maybe Aaarrrgghh!'s idea wasn't the best idea after all.
"Press the button!" Toby shouts.
"What button?"
"THE ONLY BUTTON!"
"Okay, okay!" Krel shakes his head and pushes the button in. The Forge grinds to a stop. Toby leans back and sighs in relief. The dizziness has started to fade. He's not sure how Jim did this so often, and he's amazed and annoyed that the Forge even still works. Why couldn't it have been broken beyond any chance of turning on? That would make their lives so much easier.
Steve helps him to his feet when he and Aaarrrgghh! reach him, and they continue to Krel. Aaarrrgghh! gently pats Krel on the head. "Sorry."
"Don't throw me again, and you're forgiven," says Krel.
"Lightest," offers Aaarrrgghh!. "Easy to throw. Travel far."
"Just don't do it again."
"Okay."
"Every time I come here I get thrown," mumbles Krel. Aaarrrgghh! looks sheepish. Toby shakes his head.
"Alright," he says, "from now on, we don't press buttons without asking Aaarrrgghh! first."
Steve nods meekly, which is something Toby never imagined he'd see. Steve Palchuk? Meek?
"Got it," he replies.
They skirt around the edge of the Forge together this time, just in case. It still mostly just looks like a wall. Toby's beginning to wonder if there really is a hidden room, or if Aaarrrgghh! is remembering things wrong. Finally, Aaarrrgghh! stops and tilts his head with a hum.
"There's nothing here," says Steve, fists clenching in frustration.
"Looks like nothing," says Aaarrrgghh!. Then, he places his hand to the wall and it falls away, much like a portal into Trollmarket. He smiles. "Secret."
"There's not even a button! How were we supposed to find it?"
"Let it go, Steve," says Krel.
They walk into the dim room. It's pretty much only lit by Toby's helmet's light and Krel's natural glow. Toby wonders if they could convince Krel to go to sleep and hope he has one of his weird dreams and lights up like a spotlight again. Would that be rude? It probably would. He decides against it.
There aren't many books, which is a relief. Toby grabs one and flips through it. It doesn't have any pictures, so he hands it to Aaarrrgghh!, who shakes his head. Krel picks up another and turns it in several directions. Steve frowns, the low light highlighting the furrowing of his brow, and picks up another book.
"This one's in English," he says slowly. "A Brief Recapitulation of Wizard Lore. Hey! Wizards!"
"Seriously, wizards have one too?" Toby asks in disbelief.
Steve flips through it. "This thing's got history, spells, everything. I think this is what we're looking for."
"Great," says Krel. "Now can we leave? I feel like every time we come here, we almost die."
"Par for the course these days," reasons Toby.
"I don't know what that means."
"It means we're always almost dying." Steve snaps the book shut. "Let's get out of here and get some sleep, and we can bring this to Douxie in the morning."
"It is technically morning," says Krel.
"The real morning!"
He and Krel start bickering about the definition of morning as they leave. Toby tunes them out to keep an eye out for more zombie Gumm-Gumms. They've been lucky so far, and in Toby's experience, they've been too lucky. Sure, there's the mishap with the Hero's Forge, but they got out of that without even Krel getting injured. Getting ambushed by a zombie wouldn't be out of character for them in the slightest.
They don't get ambushed by a zombie. In fact, they make it all the way up the staircase. Sadly, their luck runs out the second Aaarrrgghh! opens the portal. Toby should have seen it coming. The Green Knight leaps through, landing a kick to Toby's chest and sending him stumbling back. Aaarrrgghh! roars and hits her away, but the portal closes and they're trapped. There's almost no way to buy one of them enough time to reopen the portal.
"Why can't we escape this crazy b–" Steve cuts off into a scream as he activates his serrator shield to block and attack from the Green Knight. Krel, who despite being incredibly smart can be incredibly dumb when it comes to fighting, runs at her with a holler, serrator sword drawn. She parries his blow and knocks his feet out from under him. He hits the ground with a grunt and activates his shield when the Knight brings her sword down at him.
Toby tries to think back to Nimue's lesson, but his brain's too scattered to focus right now, so he nods to Aaarrrgghh! instead. He launches Toby into the air, and Toby brings his hammer down at the Knight. He actually manages to hit her in the shoulder and send her stumbling sideways, off the stair she's on. Toby whoops as she has to regain her balance.
It doesn't take long. She charges at Steve. He panics and raises his sword to block her, but in the process he drops A Brief Recapitulation of Wizard Lore.
"The book!" Krel yelps. Before Toby can stop him, he leaps after the book – right over the edge of the stairs.
"Krel!" Toby dives and catches Krel by the foot. Krel hugs the book to his chest and stares at in terror at the drop. "Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, this is not good."
Toby is certain the Akiridion hadn't thought about the fact that a fall from here would kill him until he'd already jumped, and by then it was too late. While Toby's glad his friend isn't suicidal, unfortunately, this leaves both of them in a vulnerable position. Aaarrrgghh! tries to pull them up, but the Green Knight blocks him, standing between them and their friends and leaving them dangling.
Toby is holding onto the ledge with one hand and Krel with the other. He's not going to be able to hold on forever, or even much longer. The Green Knight brings her foot down hard on his hand, and he gnashes his teeth together against the pain. Now it's her heel holding him and Krel in place. If Aaarrrgghh! hits her away, Toby and Krel will fall to their deaths.
This is bad.
This is so, so bad.
"We're going to die!" Krel stammers hysterically. He's staring towards the ground, where they'll go splat in a few minutes if someone doesn't think of something. "I don't want to die!"
"No, no, no!" Steve exclaims. Toby manages to catch sight of him, and realises with horror the jock is injured, holding a hand to his side where red blooms on his blue shirt. The Knight must have gotten a hit. Toby can't tell how bad from here. This whole situation just keeps getting better and better, doesn't it?
An idea hits him.
"Krel!" Toby bites out. "Throw Steve the book!"
Krel meets his eyes. The poor boy looks terrified, so Toby has to hide his own terror so Krel thinks he knows what he's doing. Someone needs to know what they're doing, and if Toby has to pretend it's him, then fine. Krel nods, then swings to give himself the momentum to throw the book. Steve lunges and catches it.
"A spell, Steve!" Toby calls. "Cast a spell!"
"I don't know how!"
"Figure it out!"
Steve makes panicked noises as he flips through the book. The Knight looks impassive. Toby wonders if she's smiling behind her helmet, or if she's stony-face and unemotional. He isn't sure which he'd prefer. She grinds her foot into his hand, and he can't hold back the cry.
"Okay, okay!" Steve yells, voice breaking. He stutters out words in a language Toby doesn't recognise, then repeats them with more confidence, then finally yells them. What results is a concussive blast that knocks the Knight off the edge. She falls, but catches Krel's arm and jerks to a stop. Krel gasps, whether in shock or pain, Toby isn't sure. Aaarrrgghh! has leapt forward and caught Toby by the wrist before he and Krel and can fall to their dooms.
"Let go, let go!" Krel shakes his hand and uses the other three to try to pry her off of him. This finally works, and the Knight shrieks as she falls. She catches herself on a stair, and struggles to climb onto it. Aaarrrgghh! yanks Toby and Krel out and opens the portal.
"Go!" he thunders.
They stumble out of Trollmarket. The portal closes. The Green Knight is trapped. Toby falls to his knees, panting, and clutches his hand. Oh, he hopes nothing is broken. Steve and Krel both drop as well.
"Steve!" exclaims Krel as the jock wavers and nearly collapses completely to the ground. Toby's attention jerks to Steve in horror as Krel steadies him. "What – what is this red stuff?"
"It's blood, buttsnack," Steve snaps.
Krel's eyes widen. "Seklos and Gaylen."
"I'm okay," Steve says. "It's not deep. Just – a flesh wound."
"I think we all need to go see Dr. Lake," says Toby. Dr. L will know what to do, and how badly they're all hurt. He tries to flex his hand, but that hurts, so he decides against it. Krel might be hurt and not saying anything. Steve seems to be the worst off, bleeding from an injury Toby can't see with the dark and the blood on his shirt. "Thanks, Steve. For the save."
"Don't mention it," Steve mumbles, looking away.
"Come on," says Aaarrrgghh!. He scoops Steve into his arms. Steve makes a half-hearted attempt at a protest, and that alone worries Toby more than anything else. Steve would never stand to be carried normally. Toby stands, then helps Krel to his feet. He glances back at the blank concrete and shudders. Hopefully, that will hold her for a while. They can't afford to be attacked again any time soon.
"Well, the good news is, it's not that deep," Dr. Lake says as she looks over Steve's injury. He sits on the Lakes' counter awkwardly, shirt off so Dr. L can clean and fix up his wound. "I'd prefer you go to the hospital for stitches."
"I'd rather not," says Steve warily.
"I figured," says Dr. Lake. "I can take care of it. Toby? Krel? Why don't you go wait in the living room?"
"Why?" protests Krel.
Toby guides him away. "Trust me, we don't want to be in here is Dr. L is giving him stitches."
"What's stitches?"
"Not fun," says Toby. "Trust me, you don't want to know."
He sits Krel down on the couch, then sits next to him. The full moon's glow filters in through the blinds. It's cramped in the living room, what with the several cribs in there. Toby knows Strickler and Dr. Lake are trying to figure out how to get the babies adopted, but for now they've been taking care of most of them. And there's a lot of them. Somehow, the babies stay asleep. Toby doesn't know much about babies, but he knows that's a miracle.
"How's your hand?" Krel asks in a hushed voice.
"We'll see," says Toby. "I think I'm up next with Dr. L. Then you."
"I'm fine," says Krel. "Sore. That was scary."
"Yeah, man," Toby mumbles. "Has anyone ever told you you're stupid?"
Krel looks offended. "No one has ever said that to me in my entire life."
"Well, you are," says Toby. "In the same way Jim's stupid. You have to look before you leap. Literally."
Krel shrinks back. "We need the book."
"We could have gone downstairs for it," Toby points out. "The book would be okay from a fall like that. You'd be dead. Like, super dead. You know the pancakes Lucy makes? That'd be you."
"Thank you for that image," Krel says with a grimace.
"I like you better in non-pancake form," says Toby, just to try to drive the point home.
"I wouldn't be a pancake, anyway," says Krel. "I'd just be a core."
Toby frowns at him. "What do you mean?"
Krel puts a hand to his chest. "Akiridions can survive a lot. You saw my parents in the pod when they were almost completely fixed. When we first got to Earth, all we had was their cores. As long as our cores remain intact, we can survive almost anything."
"And… if they don't?"
"Then we're dead," says Krel bluntly. "A fall like that would probably do it. But I wouldn't be a pancake."
Toby thinks Krel might be trying to be reassuring, but it doesn't really help. Krel seems to sense that, and he lowers his hands to his lap and stares at them self-consciously.
"Well," says Toby shakily. "I'm just glad we're all okay."
"Relatively," says Krel.
"Relatively," Toby repeats in agreement.
They fall silent. A few moments later, Dr. Lake walks in with a thin smile. "Hey, Toby. Your turn."
Steve follows her. His torso is covered in gauze and bandages, and he looks paler than usual, but Toby knows Dr. L wouldn't let him go if he wasn't going to be okay. He lets Steve take his spot on the couch.
"You good?" he asks.
"Yep," Steve manages. "I never want stitches again, though."
"I still don't understand. What are stitches?"
Steve must tell him, because as Toby and Dr. Lake reach the kitchen, he hears Krel yell from the other room, "What!? That's barbaric!" This is of course followed by the crying of several babies. Toby can imagine Steve and Krel both panicking at this point.
Dr. Lake covers her hand with a mouth and laughs weakly. "I guess it would be barbaric to an alien."
"In his defence, I think he'd never seen blood in his life before coming to Earth," says Toby.
"Someone needs to get me a book on Akiridion medicine at the rate you're bringing that boy to me," she says, before switching back to doctor mode. "Alright. Let's see that hand of yours."
Toby's hand is not broken, much to his relief, just badly bruised. Toby is told to ice it regularly and elevate it, and he's told to use Advil for the pain. Krel is also fine. Some strain on his shoulder from the Knight grabbing him as she fell, but nothing that will even be sore in a few days. Steve is undoubtedly hurt the worst this time.
They drop their stuff off at Steve's place on the way to Douxie's. The Knight may be trapped, but they have no idea how long that will last. It's better to play it safe. They're early enough that Steve's mom and Coach are both asleep, much to Steve's relief. It gives him time to grab a new shirt. He disposes of his bloody one in a dumpster on the way to the magic shop.
Douxie is expecting them this time. He waves as they walk in.
"Morning, guys," he says.
"We trapped the Green Knight in Trollmarket," says Steve. "And we've had a terrible few hours, so I hope this book is worth it."
Toby pulls A Brief Recapitulation of Wizard Lore out of his backpack and offers it to Douxie. His eyes widen and he grabs it out Toby's hands to inspect it closer. "This has been lost for centuries!"
Toby laughs awkwardly. "Turns out Blinky had it in Trollmarket. Funny coincidence."
"Oh, my uncle is going to be thrilled when he finds out you brought this book," Douxie says. "And you trapped the Green Knight?"
"We almost died, but yeah," says Krel.
"This is fantastic news," Douxie exclaims. Then he looks between them in worry. "Are you guys okay?"
"Steve had to go through a human healing torture ritual," says Krel matter-of-factly. Douxie's eyebrows shoot up.
"He means stitches," says Steve before Douxie can interpret that badly. He glares at Krel. "I told you it's not torture."
"It sounds like torture," says Krel.
"Stitches, that's not good." Douxie eyes them anxiously, as if looking for blood on their clothes. He can't find it. "Well. I talked to my uncle, and he said he'd be happy to teach you magic."
"Oh, that's great news," exclaims Steve. "Cause, uh, when I used magic in Trollmarket it took me three tries to get it right."
"Still saved our lives," says Krel.
"I got lucky," says Steve sourly.
Douxie nods. "He did. Magic is dangerous. But all's well that ends well. You three are safe and the Green Knight is trapped."
"For now," says Toby.
"For now is better than not at all." Douxie tucks the book under his arm and smiles. "Come on. You look like you could use a good, hearty breakfast. We'll go out. On me."
Well. They can't say no to that.
As they leave the shop, Toby does a paranoid glance around the area just in case. He thinks the Green Knight won't get out any time soon, but he's been wrong about the safety of Trollmarket before. She'll be back. He only hopes he and his friends will be ready when she is.