((This is the chapter that held up this update for so long. But what can I say? I wanted to do the legendary, historic battle due justice!))

The general had been walking for quite some time. Without the stars and moon to gauge by, he could only guess but he thought it might have been a couple hours. The tunnels were dark, the only illumination being glowing stones set in Troll-made notches in the walls. Signs showed the recent passage of many Troll steps, but going the opposite direction from him. After this time, there would be little chance of further reinforcements until it was all said and done. If there was any more to come either they would arrive to find a celebration, or everything they had fought for destroyed. There could be no other outcomes, not for this battle.

And it wasn't his battle. He'd done his part to earn his release from the constant fighting when he'd delivered the plans and Deya had set him free. Yes, it was possible that if Gunmar won he would someday seek out his former lieutenant - it would take a Troll far less intelligent then the warlord to put the pieces together and link Deya's preparation for a supposedly surprise attack with a missing general, and he wasn't one to forget or forgive such slights. So it would be prudent for said general to put as much distance between himself and this place as he could, right?

So why were his steps hesitating, his gaze frequently turning back?

A silent tremor rumbled through the stone around him, more felt than heard. A powerful storm about to break with a fury of thunder and lightning, or the heavy steps of many Gumm-Gumms marching to war?

Faces flashed through his mind. Deya thanking him for his knowledge, then seeing him free. Kan-gee-gar willingly joining them on the ledge with seemingly no concern for the Gumm-Gumm so close, drinking from the bowl in demonstration. His blue-green, six eyed guide, who's spotted him so many times before and first opened the door to a new path.

With a low, determined grunt, the general turned and began returning at a quick pace. Tension was a thick perfume in the air, as much of a guide as anything else, and he let it lead him there.

It seemed that, despite his personal desires, there was still one more fight left in him.

ooooooooo

Blinkous sat by a cracking fire under the stars. Spread out around him were several papers and a couple closed books, with another opened in his lap. Though his eyes saw not a single word on the pages, it was certainly a believable appearance.

"What is all this?" asked Kanjigar with as casual a posture and little mouth movements as he could as he sat down on the ground next to his friend's area.

"Just trying to present a convincing front," the scholar discreetly replied in the same manner, smiling; no sense in a keen-eyed spy reading their lips and getting wind of the truth. "The books are just the more unimportant notes I've compiled, and the papers...are letters I wrote. To Dictatious."

"Letters?"

"I started them to keep him updated on my general condition, things I saw and what was happening. Without telling him anything too sensitive of course, just in case." He picked up one and looked at it fondly. "Sadly, I only was able to send the first few before it became too difficult. I always thought I'd give them to him when we next saw one another, for him to enjoy reading perhaps." He gave a short laugh. "I thought there would be little reason to fear they might be damaged in the battle; Dictatious already knows everything they say." Kanjigar reached over to part Blinkous' shoulder.

"I'm going to try and stay close," he said. "I'll give you as much breathing room as I can to get to the cavern." Blinkous briefly touched his bag sitting at his side.

"I believe when they come, I'll be ready, and I hope to take at least one of them down before they get me." He had six flares - nor necessarily lethal but capable of inflicting burns and blindness if he was lucky - plus one to be used as a part of Deya's plan, and the rare, very potent dwärkstones, which would explode when agitated. His plan was to try and get a few pre-emptive blows before they closed ranks with the Daylight warriors with two of them. The third...was a precaution against his life about to end. He'd at least take some with him.

They were silent for a bit, then glanced to the side as Deya joined them. She didn't linger long, just making it seem as if she was having a small word with her allies - in truth all she said was a quiet encouragement for them to maintain confidence and not to jump at shadows - before moving back to the bridge and examining part of its intricate carvings. Her own inclusion in the outside group came as little of a surprise; seeing her, ' unprepared,' would certainly be irresistible to Gunmar.

"Deya's plan is a good one," commented Blinkous. "I only hope I can get the signal into the air quick enough."

"You'll be fine," Kanjigar encouraged. "From here we'll be able to see them long before they can get to is." He grinned. "I admit, I'm eager to see the look on Gunmar's face when he realizes the surprise is ours to give!"

"Shhh!' Blinkous hissed, though he was laughing quietly as in his exuberance Kanjigar became a bit loud. The warrior just grinned.

They feel silent, and after a moment of pretending to look over his papers Blinkous looked around the camp. Some were eating, others were trending to weapons or armor upkeep, and a few were lightly sparring together. Everything looked perfectly normal. He hoped Gunmar would fall for it.

The time ticked by, so slowly for those in the Daylight camp. As previously arranged, every now and then one of the outside warriors wound head inside, then either return a few minutes later, just as if they been grabbing something to eat or performing some other task, or another would take their place. It was honestly a little amazing how many of their forces were good actors. Briefly Blinkous mused on the thought of after this is over if a Troll Theatre might be viable - then he noticed Kanjigar had tensed, very subtly. The warrior had been pretending to clean his blade, and though his hand still rubbed the cloth over the blade his eyes were glancing about. Trying to act casual the scholar leaned slightly over and unlatched his satchel, reaching in to feel the comforting presence of the flares and dwärkstones. His eyes met his friend's, and a quiet message passed between them: soon. All around the camp individuals heard or sensed whatever Kanjigar had, and tensions rose. Then, over it all, Blinkous heard of all things singing. Deya was seated with her back leaning against the bridge, eyes closed calmly as she sang a Troll song of home, peace, family, and hope. It washed over the waiting warriors like a wave, calming nerves and relaxing hearts and minds. Blinkous was surprised; he'd had no idea she could sing, and neither did his friend by the glance they shared. But the melody did it's work quite well -

-and a moment later the storm they'd been anticipating broke.

With a roaring battle cry signaling the charge, the Gumm-Gumm army poured into the valley. They crashed over narrow mountain passes that they shouldn't have known about, tumbled over boulders to make places to climb down, and from the Daylight Army's own entrance came even more, led by Gunmar himself with Bular right on his heels. Every one of them was roaring in fury and had weapons and teeth bared for blood.

Quickly the Daylight warriors scrambled up, falling back more towards the cavern and the bridge. Blinkous and Kanjigar also had jumped up, the warrior bringing his sword into a defensive position and moved in front of his scholar friend.

Blinkous for a moment was stunned almost motionless. There were so many of them! It was like an ebony wave - how could they stand against it? Then he realized that even over the sounds of the approaching horde Deya was still singing. She caught his eyes when he glanced her way and gestured with a hand, first down then up towards the air.

The flare! Blinkous gasped and reached into his bag. Deya's song built to a crescendo as he straightened, and then even as he raised it and Gunmar came within a step, Daylight came into the Trollhunter's hand and her voice lifted in a triumphant shout:

"Daylight breaks!"

The flare exploded in Blinkous' hand, flying into the starry sky to detonate in a vibrant purple light like a mini sun. In the next instant as those first defenders were beginning to engage with the Gumm-Gumms a call came from within the caverns, and the first phase of the trap sprang as those concealed warriors came out to join the fray, fully armed and ready.

"What is this?!" he heard Bular below in anger, even as he swung and cut down one Troll who challenged him. No one answered, of course, as right in front of the bridge Deya and Gunmar locked blades with everything they had.

In front of him Kanjigar was fending off two warriors at once, doing his best to keep his word to his friend. Seeing his heroics prompted Blinkous to not just stand there like a lump. His initial stupor had cost him the first moments of the battle and his plans to use the dwärkstones before the initial clash, but as he looked around he began to see opportunities present themselves to make them useful still.

A shake, a well-aimed throw, and a moment later a group of the Gumm-Gumms that had been cornering some of his allies found out the hard way that they should've kept at least some attention behind them.

From that moment on it became a rhythm of Blinkous maneuvering for an advantageous position to throw with Kanjigar moving with him to keep him defended. When he found opportunities, the scholar used his flares to distract the Gumm-Gumms and even got a lucky blow into one's eyes, making him scream in pain as he was blinded and giving the Daylight warriors engaged with him all the opening they needed.

The sheer chaos going on around them was shocking to Blinkous, never having been in the thick of battle like this. Even seeing his friend's bared aggression was a bit terrifying; he knew Kanjigar was a warrior, and had seem him sparring and watched him from afar in combat, but being this close where he could clearly hear each battle cry and grunt of pain really hammered it home what a 'warrior' really was. He was glad Kanjigar was the one defending him.

Sparring a glance when they found some breathing room, the scholar caught sight of the titanic struggle unfolding between Deya, Bular, and Gunmar. The two male Trolls were raining down strike after strike, three blades against one, forcing the female on the defensive. Yet though she was unable to retaliate neither could they, even with two-to-one odds, land a blow on her. It was nothing short of inspiring how she held her own. If only she could somehow get a moment to drive Gunmar, or both of them, beneath the bridge and activate it! Kanjigar seemed to be of like mind, as he looked over at Blinkous, then handily dispatched his present foe before whirling his sword in the air.

"To me! Break through to the Bridge!" With battle cries the nearest warriors able rallied around him. Blinkous was caught up in their wild, perhaps even desperate charge. Renewed shouts from the fringes gave indication that the 'patrols' had returned, bolstering the Daylight warriors and forcing the Gumm-Gumms to divide, and the scholar felt a surge of elation.

His joy came crashing down as Gunmar yelled himself, and a fresh wave of dark warriors came from over a ridge, even as Kanjigar and those he'd called collided with the ring of combatants that had formed around Gunmar, Bular, and Deya. And much to Blinkous' alarm, the Gumm-Gumm reinforcements touched down in the valley less than a dozen feet from them. It only took a moment for them to spot the goings on by the bridge, and they charged. Blinkous yelped and instinctively rolled to the side, narrowly dodging a slice with a blade. But he wasn't clear of danger yet as two pursued. Quite likely they'd seen he had no viable weapon at hand and thus made an easy target. For a few very tense seconds all Blinkous could think of was avoiding the deadly blades swinging for him. A glance told him that Kanjigar couldn't help him; pincered, he his band were fighting for their lives. A desperate dash for safety cost the scholar, a wound opening on the back of one shoulder and drawing a gasp of unaccustomed pain. He threw his back against the mountainside, a hand reaching in and gripping the dwärkstone. But even as he felt it's comforting solidarity pressed intro his palm he knew it wasn't an option. Yes, he'd take out many of the enemy, but there were also many allies who'd be caught in the blast. Grimacing at his odds, Blinkous let the potent weapon go and stopped briefly to grab the first thing that came to his hands; a blade far too large for him to wield effectively. But by Merlin he'd do some damage before the end!

Dictatious...I'll see you soon...

A sudden roaring startled Blinkous - and thankfully those who were threatening him as they paused - then a cluster of clashing Trolls scattered as a large Troll came charging into the fray. Blinkous gasped as he saw the other rise up to his full height, towing even over some of those fighting, green lines glowing in the dim firelight.

That's - the general?! The Gumm-Gumms closest cheered, recognizing one of their own, and Blinkous even heard Gunmar laugh.

"A bit late," the warlord sneered to Deya; his voice carrying well even over the fighting, "but I believe my general has just cut off any hope you had of retreat." The general roared again, then made his move.

He grabbed the back of the nearest Gumm-Gumm's armor in both hands and spun, his sheer strength and the momentum generated lifting the surprised, hapless warrior from his feet before he was released like a living projectile weapon. Screeching - there really was no other word for the sound that came from the Gumm-Gumm's mouth - the armor-clad Troll crashed into a cluster of his allies, knocking them over like they were children. This attack was closely followed-up by those powerful hands grappling with the next target and flipping him over into his back with a fist to the face immediately closing the glowing eyes. "What?!" Gunmar roared in shocked fury. A smug grin came across Deya's face, and though Blinkous couldn't hear what she said the warlord's expression of pure rage was quite satisfactory.

The moment passed, and those that had been targeting Blinkous resumed their aggressions. The scholar backed up further, taking a wild swing that utterly missed but at the very least showed his determination. Across the combatants the general and Blinkous shared a glance, and the general made a powerful charge towards them, lowering his head and shoulders in the last instant before contact was made. A few scattered, two were knocked stumbling away, and one ended up prone at the general's feet.

"Up!" the larger Troll growled, and the scholarwas quick to understand, climbing up the rocky wall behind him and to safety. His role as a combatant was for the moment over. Now the best way he could help his allies was to be safely out of the way.

"Traitor!" Bular bellowed at the general, and Gunmar jerked his head in the general's direction.

"Get him. I'll take care of the Trollhunter." Bular disengaged and with a single fell swing cleared the way between him and the general. From his vantage point Blinkous realized that they were a match for one another in size. Bular swung his blade, the general deflected with his forearms, causing sparks. He countered with a series of powerful punches, but Bular dodged or parried them. Everyone avoided this clash of titans, steering clear of them as they fought their own battles and by this the general pulled Bular away from his father and Deya.

Then Blinkous caught it. The moment Deya felt the rhythm of the battle shift, and took her opening. Her next swing rang loudly off of Gunmar's deadly blade, her first counter-attack.

Perhaps there was hope yet.

ooooooooo

The general grunted as Bular rained down blow after blow on him. The warlord's son was beyond furious, and it was told with every strike, every sneer, every spat insult.

"Traitor! I'll not kill you here - but I vow by the time I'm through you'll beg for death!"

The general didn't spare breath to reply. He had little doubt that Bular would make good on his increasingly-violent threats given the chance. That meant his only options were victory or death. He growled, having to twist to avoid a stray attack of opportunity from the side and narrowly turning what might have been a blinding slash to his eyes into a graze along his shoulder in the process, then as Bular came in with a chest-level strike lashed out with his fist in a blow off his own.

In truth, it was a lucky blow. The general's fist connected with Bular's wrist at such an angle that Bular was disarmed of one weapon, leaving him with only one to use; the stray blade vanished into the throng that was the two armies. Bular didn't seem perturbed by the circumstance, and kicked out in a move that caught the general by surprise. One knee buckled, and Bular pressed his advantage fiercely, coming in with an overhead chop. The general's hands came up quickly, instinctively, and one caught hold of the wrist holding the blade. The other tried to catch the opposite wrist, but missed its target, scrambling for any purchase and funding a grip on Bular's right horn.

"You - can't - win!" snarled Bular, bringing all his weight against the crouching general and putting his free hand to it as well, trying to break his grip and his will. "Surrender!"

"Never!" The general's low growl rose into a thunderous roar as he pushed back. For a moment they stained against one another, shaking with the force of their exertions...

CRACK!

The breaking sound was startling and sudden, echoing over the vale. A split second later Bular bellowed in pain, recoiling and clutching at his horn with his free hand. The advantage had shifted abruptly and terribly for the son of the warlord, and the general took a long stride forward, both fists raising to finish his foe.

A strange noise akin to a sudden rushing wind distracted him. Through the battle he couldn't see what was happening exactly, but the loud yell from the Daylight warriors told the tale enough, as did a call from Deya:

"Push them through!"

The general turned back towards Bular, but the Gumm-Gumm had fallen away from him, eyes wide in shock and denial, still clutching his horn, then before the general could close again turned and fled. The general took a couple steps after him, but the noise behind made him stop. The battle between them was over, and he'd given Bular a scar he'd not easily forget; it would take quite some time, centuries even, for his horn to even be close to what it once was. He looked down, opening his closed fiat as he did so to glance at the piece of horn he still held. Separate from Bular, it had already turned to stone. With a deep growl his fist clenched again, tightening until the horn shattered into pebbles and dust, then rounded on the remainder of the horde to put his strength to good use.

oooooooo

A small part of Blinkous felt he was fortunate, in a way. There were probably few present who were able to witness the struggle taking place between the Trollhunter and the Gumm-Gumm warlord. Deya had gone on the offensive at last, and she and Gunmar were trading swings almost blow for blow. Neither appeared to gain the upper hand for more than a moment, but from his vantage point above it all the scholar realized that Deya intended this. She was stepping with every swing and block, maneuvering and turning so that Gunmar was slowly being positioned with his back to Killahead Bridge. Using the battle as a distraction, she was preparing to spring her trap - all she needed was the right moment to act!

A sudden loud snap that he heard even over the sounds of battle jerked Blinkous' gaze away, and even as he found the source Bular's roar split the air.

"Bular!" Gunmar's head whipped to the side, towards his son, though the press between them was such that Blinkous doubted he could see what the scholar could: the general standing up even as Bular recoiled, the expression of shock and pain.

"Yaaah!" Deya shouted, Daylight lashing out to connect with Gunmar's head. His own horns protected him from what could have been a devastating wound but it dazed him. A swift kick knocked him back and down, and the warlord fell to his back beneath Killahead Bridge, mostly out of Blinkous' view. Deya paused, looking down at him - perhaps she said something? - then with a powerful leap she caught hold of the top of the Bridge, pulled the Amulet from her armor, and set it in its place. There was whooshing sound like rushing wind, a whirl of dark light and energy, and what of Gunmar Blinkous could see vanished, pulled into the Darklands hopefully never to return.

Blinkous couldn't help himself as he cheered aloud, nearly losing his grip as he impulsively threw up his hands; a small scramble and having four hands saved him from a painful fall.

"Push them through!" Deya yelled, and with answering cries her warriors responded. With every ounce of their strength they began herding, pushing, and battling the Gumm-Gumm warriors into the open gate. The first few, those who'd been closest, were caught unawares and went through easily. Finally the rest realized that their leaders were gone or had abandoned them and they were now in real danger of following Gunmar as well. Morale shattered, and all thoughts of fighting turned to panicked flight. Weapons were dropped as they simply ran for their lives to be chased by their foes. Deya wouldn't be able to keep the bridge open forever, and every Gumm-Gumm that escaped was one more enemy to cause trouble later. Even Blinkous found a way to assist in this: some Gumm-Gumms who thought to flee by scanning the mountain found their path thwarted by a detonation and a cascade of rocks knocking them back down. A dwärkstone would be far too dangerous to transport home, after all.

Finally, however, Deya came to the decision that it was time. She pulled the Amulet of Merlin free from its place and dropped back down, peering into the void for a bit longer as it closed. Blinkous couldn't help but wonder: could she see through it, from there? Could she see Gunmar, trapped now in the Darklands forever, the ultimate culmination of all her hard work and dedication?

Could she see the proof that she had saved them all?

That would be something the scholar would never know, but in truth it mattered little as the remaining Gumm-Gumms either escaped the Daylight warriors and quickly vanished into the night or were slain. Yes, there would be struggles against them in the future, no doubt. But now they would be scattered, leaderless, and even should one rise among them – even Bular himself – they would lack much of their previous power and ferocity.

It was over.

The thought shot through him like a cold splash of water in the face, almost too much to believe but yet there it was. Killahead Bridge had succeeded. Gunmar was gone. Deya had won.

It was over!

The tension that had perfumed the air before had left in its wake relief, deep, abiding relief.

Oooooooooooooo

The general looked around, rising up to his full height to better see the area. Most of Gunmar's warriors were gone or destroyed. Though there were their fair share of deceased as well, it was clear that the day belonged to Deya and her's.

It was over.

The thought was as baffling to him as anything had been. Over. Yes, Bular was still out there, and quite likely thirsting for his death. But he wouldn't be back for some time if he was at all smart (and 'smart' was something the son of Gunmar had in spades, when he wanted to be patient), so for the moment the general was beginning to wonder what he was to do next.

"Hey! There's one left!"

The call came from behind him, and he felt the tip of a sword prick threateningly against his back. The general gave a grim smile as he lowered back down, somehow having expected this in the back of his mind.

The tension once more rose, almost a palpable perfume in the air.