Til the first rays light up the Dawn
"Okay, Mr. Strickler, take off your pants, please," Barbara said as she disinfected her hands. At the same time, she watched her patient out of the corner of her eye as he stood indecisively in the middle of the treatment room.
"Is that really necessary?" he asked with a hint of a smile, but while a casual tone resonated in his voice, it didn't fool her one bit. So, while nodding, she let a smile soften her serious expression to help him ease down before she took a new pair of gloves to put on. "Yes. Otherwise, I'm afraid I won't be able to get to the bite wounds on your legs to clean them."
"Very well..." Sighing, he undid his belt buckle and with some effort followed her instructions. But when he pulled a little too jerkily on one pant leg, a disturbing tearing sound was heard, followed by a pained hissing.
"Stop," Barbara exclaimed, quickly kneeling in front of him. And her suspicions were immediately confirmed when she tried to lift a small part of the brown scrap of cloth that framed the single bite wound on his right thigh.
"Hmm," she muttered, straightening up again. "Best sit down for now." Grabbing swabs and medical irrigation solution from the cabinet, she waited until he had sat down on the edge of the treatment table and removed his shoes. When he accidently ground the wounds on the undersides of his arms against his pants, he hissed again and Barbara winced empathetically.
"Put your legs up here, Mr. Strickler. I'm going to soak the fabric first so that it hopefully comes off without further problems. Meanwhile, we get to work on your arms."
And while she routinely set to work, he much more slowly peeled himself first out of his jacket and then pushed the sleeves of his sweater over his elbows. She almost asked him to take it off as well on the grounds that she would have to check his torso for further injuries, but for the moment it would probably do. And she could understand his non action. She knew many people who didn't find it easy to undress in front of doctors. Unfortunately, today's consumer society had led to the fact that most people had built up an uneasy relationship with their own bodies. Whether it was the same for Jim's teacher, she could only speculate. But his avoidance of any eye contact told her that he clearly felt uncomfortable with this situation.
"Would you mind telling me what was going on out there, Mr. Strickler?" she tried to engage him in conversation while distracting him from the pain. "I've heard something different from every patient so far. One spoke of dragons and Jesus in a shimmering blue full body robe. His brother started arguing with him right on this treatment table that it was more like demon-possessed chairs that suddenly came to life and flew through the air..." She shook her head and sighed.
While carefully cleaning the wounds on his arms, she noticed that they didn't look too bad.
"The wounds here are less severe than suspected. No torn layers of skin, no exposed blood vessels... Only the imprints of teeth are visible..." she quietly commented her inventory. "See?" she asked, pointing to the sore area on his left forearm. "Like either those weren't sharp teeth or the animal didn't bite properly. What exactly attacked you, Mr. Strickler?"
"Honestly, I can't even tell. It happened so fast and I was using my arms to protect my head when I fell."
"That was very quick thinking," she encouraged him. And this time he returned her smile, which in turn made her smile grow.
"I would guess that it was ravenous raccoons? But they didn't really look like ones. Maybe some related species? Zoology isn't my area of expertise, I'm afraid."
Nodding, she finished dressing his arms with bandages. "As good as new. Okay, now for your legs."
Thanks to the medical irrigation solution, it was now no longer a problem to free the edges of the wounds from the fabric of his pants. Nevertheless, Barbara worked slowly and carefully so that she could observe her patient from time to time out of the corner of her eye. Physical wound care was one thing, but it often quickly became apparent after a traumatic incident that people also needed psychological help to process what they had experienced. So far, Jim's teacher showed no signs of this, but until 10 minutes ago he had been busy getting his two students to the hospital. Barbara knew the condition when the head switched off all unimportant thoughts to fulfill a task and the body simply followed trained routines during great stress. But in the meantime, his breathing had calmed down and she suspected that during the pauses in conversation his head was again full of thoughts about the incident.
"Easy now," she said, helping himfree his legs from his pants without causing further injury.
Clearing his throat, he once more turned his head slightly away and Barbara put the destroyed fabric next to him.
"Well, you've already made it through the first part. The next one might sting a little during the cleaning. Unfortunately, these wounds don't look that good." Frowning, she bent closer over his right leg. "Hmm, I'll have to sew that one up. Tell me, Mr. Strickler, how are your immunizations? I would definitely recommend a rabies vaccination, especially since we don't know exactly what bit you."
"That's probably wise..." he pressed out between clenched teeth as Barbara started the procedure.
"We can keep talking if that helps you, Mr. Strickler. Do you have... Is there someone you want to call? Who can bring you a pair of pants?"
"Ah, no. I live alone. Does the hospital have a lost and found where I might be able to borrow something to wear?"
Nodding, she interrupted her work for a small moment to throw him a broad smile. "That's a very clever idea. We have. When we're done here, I'll ask a nurse to check for you."
"Thank you."
It became silent between them for several minutes. But the quietness was filled with contented silence and so Barbara concentrated without a guilty conscience on placing the stitches as gently as possible. Apparently she succeeded very well, because her patient showed neither by verbal expressions nor nonverbal reactions that he felt any pain.
'Maybe he's just used to needles...' her inner doctor's voice suddenly shot through her head. Before she could think about this subconsciously perceived idea, she was distracted by her patient.
"Would you do me a favor, Dr. Lake?" he suddenly asked. When she looked at him, he had a very healthy complexion.
"What is it?" she replied in a neutral tone, pleased with herself while inspecting the set stitches before bandaging them as well.
"I would be very grateful if Jim didn't find out about this. It would be awkward if my student found out that his mother saw me with my pants down, so to speak."
"Don't worry, Mr. Strickler. He won't hear anything from me. Doctor-patient confidentiality, you know. But other than this treatment right now, which I agree with you that he doesn't need to know about it, I don't think you need to keep this experience a secret. After all, you've done a great thing. You brought the two girls to safety, despite the fact that you yourself were injured. I find that very heroic."
"Ah, well…" he murmured, and this time she felt as if he was blushing.
Coughing, she quickly bent over the last wound and finished her work. Again, it became quiet in the treatment room, but this time it was somehow... different. But Barbara didn't allow herself to continue this thought. Her shift wasn't over yet and it would be highly unprofessional if she saw something different in his open and friendly face than her patient who had just been patched up by her!
But did she want to see something else in him?
'No!' she called herself to order and took off her gloves with more force than would have been necessary.
"How's Jim doing in school?" it slipped out off her mouth, but before she could take it back, his face had relaxed and there was a little smile at the corners of his mouth that immediately appealed to her.
"Doesn't he tell you?"
Oh great! Now he had to think she was a total failure as a mother. Embarrassed, she turned away and even as she considered how to give a halfway adequate answer, she quickly paged to her colleague from lost and found. Right after, she got a text that another doctor had already taken care of Miss Nuñez and Miss Scott in the meantime.
"Please pardon me, Dr. Lake."
"Huh?" Dumbfounded, she turned and looked at him questioningly.
"I can see you're uncomfortable with this subject. I'm well aware that I don't know much about you, except that you're a loving and hardworking woman and mother."
"Loving?"
Why did she suddenly have such a dry mouth?
'Barbara! Get a grip, girl. He's still your patient!'
With a small nod, he looked at her with his soft green eyes. She quickly turned away to disinfect her hands again. That saved her a moment from the sight of him. Not, however, from his words.
"Jim's behavior reflects his upbringing, Dr. Lake. Your boy is a genuinely helpful young man with diverse talents. I have no doubt he will do something great someday."
Turning to him, she wanted to thank him for his words. But then she saw a deeply thoughtful expression on his face. Sighing, Mr. Strickler looked out of the window.
"But, alas, I'm a little worried about him. He wasn't well this morning. I don't know if he was still feeling the after-effects of yesterday or something else-"
"What happened?" Immediately a guilty conscience gnawed at her, and she wondered why Jim hadn't called her if he wasn't feeling well.
"I had to send him to the school nurse with a headache. But... that's not even what worried me. He seemed like something was deeply bothering him. He wasn't acting like he usually did. Has someone in your family recently passed away, which could explain his behavior?"
Glancing at her watch, Barbara quickly calculated how long she had to work before her shift would end. Calling him now would accomplish nothing. Surely he and Toby had been asleep for quite some time.
"I'm sorry if I worried you. I-"
"No, no. I did ask about it, and-" Letting out a long sigh, she sat down on her chair and looked at him as if she wanted to ask him for something. What, she didn't know herself. "Nobody died and it's still a little while until his birthday… Jim never voiced it, but I suspect it's because of my work? It takes up so much of my time. If I had an office job, I'm sure a lot of things would be easier and I could be there more for him."
"But that kind of job wouldn't be for you, right?"
The deep understanding Barbara saw in his eyes left her speechless. After today, she could understand why Mr. Strickler was Jim's favorite teacher. This man was capable of deep empathy and gentleness. In addition, he was articulate and had a good and neat style. And-
A knock snapped Barbara back to reality. Embarrassed, she realized she had no idea how long she had just stared at him. But he, too, seemed to have been absorbed in the moment, if she correctly interpreted him clearing his throat and the small smile gracing his face.
Five minutes, a pair of pants and precautionary rabies vaccination later, it was time.
"Well, Mr. Strickler. I certainly don't have to tell you to take it easy on your leg. What doctors don't like at all are patients who mess up their sutures because of carelessness," she admonished him sternly, but couldn't help smiling while doing so. "Here, have a prescription for painkillers, should you need them. But if the wounds become infected, you'll have to come back immediately. Otherwise, I expect you back in two days to check on your injuries. Here is my number, should anything be wrong... You know, with your wounds or Jim..."
"Thank you." He took the prescription and the small extra piece of paper. "I will do as my doctor instructed," Mr. Strickler replied, and actually had the audacity to take his leave with a formal bow like her favorite protagonist from Pride and Prejudice.
Meanwhile, underneath them all…
He had already experienced many situations which had been very unpleasant for him. But this was different. No matter how nasty Steve or the other bullies had been during his school career so far, he had always known that they would never go to extremes. But when he watched Jim storm out of the Hero's Forge on that big troll, he was afraid. Afraid for his best friend, pretty much his only friend! Because this was no silly boyish prank. This was literally a matter of life and death! And as much as Toby had enjoyed Jim's recounting of this dream, because he himself had been strong and brave in it too, with a cool weapon and a beautiful girlfriend, he doubted it would be that easy. Just that this Bular attacked only one day after Jim found the Amulet showed Toby that this troll wasn't as stupid as he sounded in the stories.
This was reality.
With a groan, he dropped to his knees and clutched his stomach, which was rumbling uncomfortably. This must be how Jim surely had felt when he woke up with all those strange memories...
"Is everything all right, Tobias?"
Turning his gaze upward, he saw Blinky looking at him with a worried expression. He wondered if he would ever get used to the fact that this troll had six eyes. At this short distance, Toby didn't even know where to look in the troll's face.
As the uncomfortable feeling in his stomach moved up toward his neck, he shook his head. "You're asking me if everything is all right? What should be all right? Jim's out there with a sword and a nasty troll trying to rip his head off! How is he supposed to win against Bular? He doesn't know how to use a sword!"
"Are you sure?" another voice asked.
But when Toby turned around, this Vendel didn't look at him at all, but had his gaze fixed upon the exit through which Jim and Aaarrrgghh had disappeared.
When the old troll turned his head toward him, Toby's eyes grew wide. No matter how milky Vendel's eyes looked, he had an expression on his face that made it impossible to doubt that he had a razor-sharp mind!
With his hands clasped behind his back and his stride measured, he slowly approached Toby and his anxious feeling abruptly turned into a queasy one.
"Tell me, boy, who are you?"
"Tobias Domzalski, Toby for short," he began in an attempted strong-sounding voice. "Best friend of Jim's and president of the Arcadia Oaks High geology club. By the way, you have an impressive collection of gems and stones down here."
"So you are interested in the solid stuff that makes up the earth? That gives us trolls form and life?"
Toby was sure this was clearly an interrogation situation. But even though the head of Trollmarket was staring at him with anything but a friendly expression, a confident feeling was now spreading through Toby. He was going to ask him about the subject he had been interested in for over ten years? Please. He would gladly answer all the questions and ask some of his own at the same time. After all, when did he get the opportunity to acquire new knowledge at first hand than from trolls who, yes, were literally made of stones. Ha!
"Ask me anything you want, Vendel, sir." Grinning, he rose and put his fists on his hips confidently.
"Hmm... Blinky, show him the ceremony room. If he has to wait here, he might as well make himself useful and help you assemble Kanjigar's body until the Trollhunter is back from his first mission."
"Wait! His body... assemble?"
"As Aaarrrgghh and I have already explained to you, young Tobias, we trolls cannot go into the sun. Unfortunately, that's exactly what happened to Kanjigar. He petrified and then broke into countless pieces. Now it is our responsible duty to put him back together so that his body can take its rightful place next to his brothers and sisters of the former trollhunters," Blinky explained, pointing upward.
Following his gesture with his eyes, Toby saw the many stone statues on individual pedestals, some with peaceful, some with panicked expressions frozen in death.
"Are these all trollhunters?"
"Yes. Master Jim's predecessors. A line of heroism that reaches back to the age of Merlin Ambrosius in Camelot, master wizard and patron saint of all trolls who wear his Amulet. This, there, is the place of the final repose for Kanjigar the Courageous," he gestured to a free ledge. "But now come. There's really no better way to pass the time than devoting ourselves to Kanjigar's body until Master Jim returns."
Sighing, Toby trotted after the two trolls and watched with wide eyes as an opening formed in the stone wall to the right of the large gate, allowing a view into a new cavern.
"Whaaaaaaat? Where did that come from?" he asked incredulously, stepping past Blinky into the warmly lit cave, in the middle of which he saw the obvious remains of the former Trollhunter.
"Well, the Hero's Forge is many things. Not just an arena where all the trollhunters have trained so far. No, ceremonies are also held here, and social events."
Nodding slightly, Toby looked around curiously as Blinky continued, holding up a finger instructively. "Heartstone Trollmarket hides many secrets from first sight, and if you are patient and willing to learn, you will discover many of them with Master Jim, young Tobias. Here," sitting down next to him, he held out to Toby two small stones that were already on the pile that looked a little more sorted. "These two belong together. See how these two surfaces fit together perfectly? If you find any like that from the pile to your right, put them carefully with these ones. Draal will then glue them together."
"So like a puzzle. I can do that. I have to say I'm relieved that the pieces are so big. It would certainly be exhausting if Kanjigar had crumbled into tiny little sand crumbs."
"Oh that wouldn't happen. The magic inherent in us from hatching to petrification also ensures that our bodies remain intact after we pass away. In such a case as Kanjigar, it also keeps us together as best it can," Vendel explained in a slightly arrogant-sounding voice, and Toby's thoughts almost leapt into a vortex of body decay and putrefaction. But as exciting as the comparison between human and troll biology might seem to him, he took a mental step back. He could think about that later. Instead, he looked up and out into the Hero's Forge.
"Wouldn't it be good then if Draal worked with us? Not that I miss his unfriendliness," he mumbled before speaking louder again, "but where is he? I would have thought he'd come here with you too, after letting you know about us, Mr. Vendel, sir."
"We do not address each other with such human terms, young man. Vendel is quite sufficient. As for Draal," he looked again in the direction of the bridge across which Jim and Aaarrrgghh had stormed, "I am sure he will keep our new Trollhunter company."
While Toby's eyes widened at this news, Vendel smiled, and looking down at them both he then turned around. "Let's get to work, you two. I retire to my workshop."
"And we get to work here alone? How fair is that?" muttered Toby quietly. He didn't want any trouble, but this division of labor reminded him extremely of Steve, who always pushed his homework onto Eli. And he couldn't do anything about it, it just pissed him off!
To his bafflement, Blinky started laughing next to him.
"We may have an important part to play in this work, young Tobias. But it's Vendel who's making the glue that will get the individual pieces back into shape. So don't hold a grudge against him. Vendel is a very solitary guy who mostly stays away from the big crowd," he explained as he sat down on the other side so they both had more room to look at the stones in the big pile.
"Okay, but couldn't he have explained that when he's behaving like a teacher anyway? I mean, I get it. You're probably all really old, having fought with Deya and all, and have such an interpersonal thing that you just understand what the other person is saying."
Grinning, he pulled two pieces closer to him and held them against each other once more, examining them. When they were a perfect fit again, he very carefully slid them to the left, pleased to have already found a matching pair. He didn't notice that his counterpart was looking at him with wide eyes.
"What I'm getting at is that Jim and I are human. Young humans, and we're certainly going to need a lot of explaining to understand your world, Blinky. That's all I would ask of you. Because by the toughest granite in my collection, I'm more than willing to learn! And Jim..." Laughing, Toby shook his head, then grinned broadly as another pair fit together in his hands. "Well, you've seen him. Jim is already so into his role. More than I'd personally like and he's probably competent..."
Sighing, he looked up to see Blinky eyeing him with a thoughtful expression.
"Is everything... all right?" he asked the troll slowly, and when the latter stood up and beckoned him to join him as he left the chamber, Toby hurried to quickly run after him. The last thing he needed now was to get lost in this underground world.
"I thought we were supposed to be working on Kanjigar?"
"Mhm, mhm. Your choice of words got me thinking, though," Blinky replied, giving him that strange look again. With raised eyebrows, Toby returned his gaze, but the troll spoke no further. With quick steps they crossed the troll city and only when they stopped in front of a high gate in the middle of a stone wall, he turned again to Toby.
"This is RotGut's Apothecary. They have all kinds of items you can buy. Among other things, an object that I believe will bring Master Jim luck. Let me just talk to them for a minute."
"Of course, go right ahead." Rejoicing, Toby grinned all over his face. The night may get a good ending after all - lots of body parts puzzled together, a good luck charm for Jim... Now all that was left was for his friend to return unharmed. Or at least not too badly hurt.
And while he half-heartedly listened to the trolls, picking up unintelligible words like gaggle-something, Toby wondered how the next day would be. Something like a goblin attack wouldn't be easy to cover up. Especially not, since many people had to go to the hospital because of injuries. What would they do if the mayor imposed a curfew? That couldn't happen! Then the troll hunt would be over before it had really begun. And then a lot of policemen would surely be injured by Bular and the goblins! Although, Jim's and his house were close enough to the forest that they could certainly sneak out undetected. Only the canal was such an open area. What if there was a patrol right there when they tried to get under the bridge? What-
A clearing of a throat interrupted Toby's increasingly spinning thoughts and he looked up with a jolt. "Not that I want to interrupt your thoughts, young Tobias. Certainly they are of the utmost importance. But here is the talisman I meant."
Intrigued, Toby looked at what Blinky held out to him with an outstretched arm.
"Huh," it escaped his lips formed into a smile. "From the looks of it, our worlds are more similar in some ways than I thought, after all. Thanks, Blinky. I'll give Jim the horseshoe. They say they bring good luck in our world, too. At least if you hang them on the wall with the opening facing up, so the luck can't fall out."
He almost dropped the talisman, though, since it was so heavy. "I guess RotGut didn't have a lighter one, did they? But it's good to use as a dumbbell..." he muttered thoughtfully, lifting his right arm a few times as if he really wanted to train with it.
"Well, let's get back to our task," Blinky spoke, and to Toby it sounded as if the troll was relieved.
Hours of companionable togetherness passed, interrupted here and there by other trolls who joined them to help, but never stayed long. Toby suspected it was because of him. He couldn't blame them if they really weren't used to interacting with humans. And so, more than nudging him hesitantly or pressing on his hair with their hands, nothing else happened. Communication was another thing. He couldn't understand most of the trolls, which made speaking with them difficult and raised the question why Blinky, Aaarrrgghh, Vendel and also this Draal spoke English so fluently.
Sighing inwardly, after another troll had just left, from whom he hadn't understood a word, Toby mentally prepared himself to ask Jim for a few first words of the troll speech. He didn't dare ask Blinky about it, fearing that he would get stuck in an early morning language lesson! He had grown too tired for that by now too. According to his watch, they were approaching dawn and, meanwhile, he wasn't even happy anymore when the stones he picked up fit. He just wanted to close his eyes for a minute.
Under the soothing sounds of the stones, which Blinky tirelessly turned back and forth, he let himself be lulled and didn't even feel his consciousness drifting toward sleep.
He sat bold upright, with adrenaline shooting through his body, when his phone in his pocket played the tune of Jim's number nearly at full volume. With hasty and uncoordinated movements, he grabbed his phone and managed to press the right button.
"Jim?" he called out loudly. When he heard his friend's voice, a whole mountain fell from his heart! But when Jim spoke and asked him for something, he sounded like Toby felt - very tired… And like he was having trouble breathing! "Are you hurt?"
Yes.
"Does it have a healing effect?"
I don't know. But it's my hope that it will relieve pain from what is probably a cracked rib...
Staring at Blinky, he noticed he was turning pale. "You still out there?"
Yes.
That sounded much quieter, and there was no longer any thought of fatigue. Panicked, Toby jumped up and grabbed his school bag with his free hand.
Tobes?
"I'm here, Jimbo."
Please hurry... Mom will probably be in the hospital for a while longer... You'll find me in my bed.
Then the line went silent and Blinky approached him with a questioning expression.
"How's Master Jim?"
"Not well, I'm afraid. You wouldn't happen to be able to give us a small part of the Heartstone, would you?"
"Of the Heartstone?!" Blinky yelped indignantly and stared at Toby as if he had asked him for a part of his limbs.
"Please, Blinky," Toby begged. "Just a small one. I can't explain why now, but trust that Jim knows what he's doing. Please!"
For what felt like an eternity, the troll stared at him inscrutably, which was quickly becoming very uncomfortable with his six eyes! But then he sighed theatrically and put one of his hands in a side pocket of his pants. When he pulled it out again, a small oval orange glowing stone appeared which he held out to Toby.
"Guard it well, young Tobias. This stone is one of the last left from our old country, and it gave me strength on the long journey here to Trollmarket. It is my personal talisman... Also, you should be aware that Bular will be able to sense it when he is near you, once you are back on the surface."
"Okay," Toby slowly brought out with a queasy feeling while he stowed the small stone in the breast pocket of his shirt under his sweater before swallowing hard. But he didn't have time to be anxious now. Jim needed him! He knew he could be brave, and he would start now! "Thanks, Blinky."
Grabbing Jim's school bag as well, he walked with quick but not too quick steps toward the exit of the Hero's Forge. As much as he wanted to hurry, he couldn't make any mistakes now. Realistically, he was in absolutely no shape to run all the way home. But he had always been a passable endurance walker. He would be able to keep that up if he walked steadily, and then he would still have air left to help Jim and not be a ventilator case himself.
"Wait, Tobias," Blinky called him back after a few steps.
Turning back to him, the latter stood on the first step of the stairs to the other gate and waved at him.
"This way. This is a shortcut. I'll show you the way."
Nodding his thanks, Toby hurried to follow the troll and was back in the canal in record time. If he had had time, he would certainly have admired the bright colors with which the just rising sun painted the sky. But his only thought was to get to his friend as fast as his short feet would carry him.