"Ruby… I think we should go…" Weiss spoke hesitantly as she watched the man who'd taken them into what he'd called The Valley of Living Rock, traipse around the countless boulders with his reindeer. He was calling the objects by name and had even hugged two as he inquired about someone else who they assumed was an authority figure.
"Uh… yeah…" Ruby agreed as she stepped back, taking Weiss's hand, and in the process placing her other on her weapon. "Listen, Christoff. We're going to go… um…"
Ruby thought for a moment as she kept backing up with her partner, keeping her aura active just in case. When she felt nothing around them, she realized she hadn't finished her sentence.
"We'll just leave." Weiss finished the statement for her as the odd man stood up straight with one hand out asking them to wait. His mouth opened to say something but the voice that spoke didn't come from his mouth.
"Hey there cuties!" A female voice spoke excitedly from behind them, causing Ruby and Weiss to spin. Ruby had pulled out her weapon and Weiss's hand had landed on the hilt of her weapon as they took in the boulder like appearance of what they could only guess was some sort of golem.
"Um…" Ruby hesitated, wondering whether or not to pull the trigger her finger was gently squeezing.
"Don't hurt her!" Christoff shouted from behind them, but he didn't make a move to get closer.
For a moment, not one of the three people, golem or reindeer moved. Then the golem cocked her head to the side slowly as she evaluated the two girls in front of her.
"You're not from these parts, are you?" She asked rhetorically. "I'm Bulda. I'm a rock troll, and part of Christoff's family. It's nice to meet more of his friends."
Ruby relaxed, replacing her weapon on her back and Weiss dropped her hand from her weapon as she continued to evaluate the creature. It definitely matched the descriptions Christoff had given en route, but more literally than she'd imagined was possible.
"I'm Ruby, and this is Weiss. We're… looking for someone who can give us information." Ruby replied, gesturing to Weiss with a cock of her own head.
"It's alright guys, they got the two of us out of a tight spot. Right Sven?" Christoff asked aloud as the reindeer nodded emphatically.
Weiss kept her eyes trained on the creature, not trusting it enough to turn her back as Ruby turned to take in the rest of the rocks around Christoff.
"Uh… Weiss?" Ruby breathed as Weiss felt something in the ground, like a vibration. "You might want to see this."
Weiss turned and watched in awe as the dozens of rocks shook as they sprouted arms and legs, and then unfurled into more creatures like the one they'd just spoken to. There were all sorts from tall and relatively slim to short and fat, and they were all wearing some variation of crystal. Their faces all watched silently as the crowd slowly parted for a troll that seemed to have a cloak made from living grasses over its shoulders.
"I sensed you coming into this valley." It stated in a gravelly voice, forgoing its own introduction. "What is it that you seek."
"For starters, where are we?" Weiss spoke up, resting her hand on the hilt of her weapon again. She was uneasy with so many unknowns surrounding her.
"You are where you already know you are." He replied with a grin, knowing exactly the question that was asked.
"And can I just ask… where is that?" Ruby spoke politely, trying to keep Weiss from angering the countless rock monsters by being too short.
"In the mountains of Arendelle, of course." He replied shortly. "And where did you come from?"
"Atlas." Ruby replied again, squeezing Weiss's hand to ask her to remain silent. "I don't know how we got here though."
"Bulda, is the girl telling a truth?" The elder troll asked and Ruby watched as the troll carefully approached the girls. The troll took one of Ruby's hands in her own and closed her eyes.
"Yes. At least, their own truth." She spoke. "The darkness that masks them is only a by product of their previous environment."
"I see…" The troll grumbled as he ambled closer. "You girls fight the demons that now threaten our world, yes?"
"Um… I think?" Ruby asked in return, confused at the dialogue that had been exchanged.
"Even now the darkness threatens this mountain. Our magic seals will not hold for much longer, if they even remain intact. Should the last seal break, I fear that not only Arendelle, but the world will be lost to darkness." The troll spoke quickly and urgently. "What can you tell us about this plague?"
"They're creatures of grimm." Weiss broke her silence, catching on to what the troll was asking. "They are dangerous creatures that lack souls, and are the by product of pain and fear. They are common occurrences outside of major cites across Remnant…. Now… where are we?"
"You are not in your own world." The creature responded as it pulled a gem from it's neck and closed it's eyes as the crystal started to glow from within. "I see now, thanks to the shroud that covers you, that a rift has been torn between our worlds, and the curse that has plagued your world wishes to infect ours as well, but it cannot survive without the rift."
"Alright, so how do we get back to our own world? And how do we close off this… rift?" Ruby asked quickly, picking up that a critical mission needed their attention.
"That I cannot say. We will take a preventative measure and add additional seals around the mountain. Until the moon disappears from the sky, nothing shall leave this mountain." The elder troll turned to his charges. "You all know what to do."
The trolls dropped as one back into their balls of rock and then rolled away in different directions. The sight was a shocking one to the two huntresses who hadn't seen anything like that before.
"Do you think Elsa will be able to help?" Christoff asked the old troll after a moment of everyone remaining silent.
"The queen and her sister remain on the mountain." The troll replied. "They will be caught within the quarantine."
"What?!" Christoff almost shouted in astonishment. "But Elsa is the one who has the best chance at helping! She has the power to gather the human experts that might know something!"
"Christoff… what would you have me do?" The troll sighed, taking the man's hand and pulling him down to a kneel. "This darkness will destroy the country, if not the world if it is allowed to escape this mountain."
"Then let us get your queen." Ruby interjected as she drew her weapon and let it extend into it's scythe form. She pulled her hood up and rested her weapon across her shoulders as Weiss followed her, drawing her own weapon.
"It is too dangerous." The troll replied stubbornly. "The wards must be put in place."
"Can't you just give them a couple of hours?" Christoff asked pleadingly.
"I've already deferred this action too long, as the fates told of a boon that would be given to us in our time of need. These girls may be skilled at combating the so called creatures of grimm, but I will not trust the fate of our world to them." The troll replied harshly.
"Then don't give us time." Ruby replied, causing the troll to look on in astonishment. "If you can put up, what you call a ward, to keep the grimm on the mountain, then you can probably also take it down right?"
The troll nodded and Weiss picked up on the plan. The odds weren't very good, but provided the troll would be able to do it, Weiss felt confident that it wouldn't be the worst odds they'd ever faced.
"Take us to the edge of the ward. We'll go up the mountain and attempt to find your queen. Then we'll bring her back here and you can let down the ward for us to pass." Weiss finished Ruby's plan, earning a smirk from her partner.
"If you believe you can do this, then I will remain at the ward for two hours." The troll replied as it started hobbling quickly to the edge of the clearing. "Take this gem. It will glow brighter the closer you are to those that master the power it houses."
Ruby took the small diamond from the troll and noticed it had a very weak glow inside it.
"We'll be back." Ruby waved as she led Weiss past the troll and into the forest that would undoubtedly stretch up the mountain.
"We shall see." The troll replied as Christoff watched on with a troubled expression.
Ruby and Weiss continued walking for a few minutes before they heard the sound of someone following them. They turned to find Christoff with a rope around his shoulders, a small pick ax at his belt and a hatchet in his hand.
"What are you doing?" Weiss asked in surprise. "We don't need a liability."
"I know this mountain like the back of my hand." Christoff replied. "And I know the route that Elsa and Anna would take if they were heading to or from the Northern peaks. It's the best bet at finding them."
"Then you need to follow our directions if more grimm come along. The beowolves from before were easy targets, but anything stronger might pose an issue. I'm running low on ammunition too." Ruby replied darkly. "They'll try to kill all of us. And no offence, but you seem to be an easy target yourself."
"No offence taken." Christoff replied with a shrug. "So let's go."