A few weeks later the four trolls decided that they were prepared for another go at public speaking. They spent time mapping out the local towns, deciding which to travel to first. In the end it was decided that, although they proved to be difficult, the first town they had already tried with would be a good choice. Not only was it small and dirty which prevented high bloods from coming but they now had a local in ranks with them; the Disciple. So it was that they packed food and money into a cart the other villagers had provided for them in preparation of their week long stay in this town.
As the sun set they set out, and roughly an hour later they pulled into the town. The moment they hit the wall of stench that seemed to border the town and they all cringed. With tears running down the Delarosa's face and the Psiioniic audibly choking, town regulars stared at them, some laughing.
"I don't remember it smelling this bad!" Disciple wheezed out, clutching her nose.
"Maybe it's not as bad inside… let's find the inn." Signless panted, the hair on the back of his neck standing up.
They parked their cart and handed the hoof beast to a caretaker. Then the four trolls entered the inn. Signless was only partly right; although the smell was diluted from outside the inside of the inn smelled musty and stale, almost just as bad as outside.
"I almost want to go back outside…" Psiioniic whispered to Disciple who chuckled in return.
"I would like a room for a few nights." The Dolorosa spoke to the innkeeper. The troll held out his hand and the Dolorosa placed some money in it. He then reached under the counter and handed her a rusty key. She thanked him and the trolls made their way back with their stuff to the room. It was in the back of the building and there was only one window that seemed to be stuck shut. No one was really sure if they wanted to open it anyway and mix the two awful smells, so it was a silent agreement that no one would mess with it. But its dirtiness let little light in, so soon the Dolorosa was scrubbing at it with a dry towel she found. The window was only smudged now.
"Mom, relax about the window." Signless directed her to the only bed in the room. "It's not going to get any better."
"I just wanted to shed a little light on the room." She said in protest, but she moved with him anyway and sat with her son on the bed. Disciple was perched on an empty bookcase across the room and Psiioniic was sitting on a small stool.
"Why don't we figure out how to shed light on this whole town?" Signless continued.
"The window seems easier." Psiioniic jeered.
"Well we aren't exactly here because it's easy." Disciple replied.
"Exactly," Signless answered. "And it wont get any easier either."
"When would you like to start?" Dolorosa directed to her son. He furrowed his brows in thought before answering.
"We have the opportunity to start today; we've gone over this countless times. Or we can rest a day and go over it again before we start tomorrow." He offered.
"I for one am tired of going over out plans, plus I don't think I'll be able to rest with this stink." Psiioniic made a waving motion near his nose and stuck out his forked tongue.
"The smell gets better, but I agree with Psiioniic. I think we're ready!" Disciple said with a smile.
"I suppose we should go out there then." Dolorosa said as they all stood and headed for the door.
And it was so that they gathered in the square where trolls did their shopping. This time they brought a crate for Signless to stand on as he addressed the crowd, but still they resisted.
"Oh look, the preacher is back to give his sermon!" An olive troll called out. Others laughed along with her before turning back to their shopping.
"Please, you must take a moment to listen to what he has to say! I have heard his call and changed my life, you must listen!" The Disciple called out. Some of her familiars turned to watch her.
"Where have you been, Disciple?" A female bronze troll called out. "Off with this lunatic?" She was one of the other dancers.
"He is not a lunatic! This man is an inspiration, a leader to us all. He is here to deliver the low bloods."
Some scoffed. But more seemed interested than before. Perhaps it was because of the Disciple, many were familiar with her. So they stopped to listen. Most of the square fell silent.
"You are all very aware of the way we are treated." Signless began. "We're trash, nothing more than the dirt beneath out feet; at least that's what the highbloods say. But what is it that truly makes us inferior? Do we not pity and hate? Do we not contribute to this world in some way? Is their only reason truly because the pigment of our blood may be slightly different than another's? Who is to say violet is better than jade?" The Dolorosa sliced her hand open with a knife and held it to the air. "Is it any less beautiful? And who is to say indigo is better than gold?" The Psiioniic does the same. "Or fuchsia better than olive." The Disciple joins the other two. "Is that what really matters? Blood?"
The crowd watches intently, mystified by what he has to say. They watched as the three trolls held their blood to the air, proud.
"It's not." Signless continues. "How is it that our race can be so divided by such a trivial thing? Perhaps my horns are smaller than yours, does that make you better? Perhaps my hair is wavier than yours, does that make me better? It doesn't. So why is blood so important? Why should blue bloods hold a place above bronze bloods? What I see before me is a group of strong trolls beaten down because of the way they were born. But when I close my eyes I see a world where we are all equal, were no one was better than someone else just because their blood was higher. And with your help, we can make that a reality. If we stand together and fight, then maybe someday, perhaps not even in our lifetime, we can live together in peace." The Signless concluded.
The reaction was completely different this time. Rather than laughing and pointing the crowd was cheering and clapping. Some waved hats, others whooped. There were still those that looked weary as if a high blood had heard the whole thing. The Signless felt elated, looking at all the trolls before him. He stepped down from the box and walked into the crowd. An elder held out his hand and shook it, thanking the Signless. Some trolls came up to talk to him or the Disciple, Psiioniic, and Dolorosa, and there were some trolls in the back glaring and sulking away. One of them came up to the Signless.
"You should not speak of such things or all of us will be dead."
"And all of us will be dead otherwise. I'd rather die freeing my people than die as a coward." He said sternly, grasping the troll's hands. The gold blooded troll only spat at his feet and hobbled away.
"You did wonderful!" Disciple hopped up to him, grasping his arm. "You really made an impact on this town." Her smile was beautiful.
"They wouldn't have even listened if it weren't for you." Signless grasped her hand, feeling something warm and wet. A glance down told him it was her blood. "Come now, we can celebrate later. We must get all of your hands fixed up." He guided her back to the Psiioniic and Dolorosa who were in a deep conversation with a small group of young trolls.
"Signless, these wonderful young ones would love to hear more from you." Dolorosa gestured to the group.
"Come to the inn before daybreak, we shall meet there." Signless said, placing a hand on the shoulder of a troll who couldn't have been but a sweep or two younger than he. They smiled and nodded before heading off to do their shopping.
"I'm so proud of you!" Dolorosa gushed, squeezing her son and placing a kiss on his forehead.
"Heh, thanks mom." He chuckled at her affection. The Psiioniic presumed to give him a light punch to the shoulder as his own way of congratulations. The Disciple even leaned up to give him a kiss on the cheek.
The reaction he felt to such a simple kiss was not passive, however. His mouth ran dry, his gut grew light, and his face became very very warm. Signless let out a small laugh, but it sounded more like a mix between a cough and a hiccup. With a knowing glance the Dolorosa lead them all back to the inn. "Come now, before all out hands become infected." She chirped as she guided them all back after the great day of success.
It was a few hours before sunrise and the Dolorosa and Psiioniic had gone out to do their share of shopping. Meanwhile back in the small room the Signless and Disciple sat together, her reading a book and him in deep thought. Signless glanced over to the girl, his first friend. The first thing he took in was her lips, black as night and currently held captive by her top row of teeth. Her eyes were hidden by raven hair that cascaded down her shoulders and back, which was slightly slouched. Signless recalled the way her hair had been when they first met, wild and matted with bits of leaves and twigs sticking out. Even now it was wild, but very much cleaner. Her horns peaked out at the top of the long hair and gave her the look of a meow beast, constantly on alert. The outfit she was wearing was made by his mother, dark and olive, the neckline coming down quite a ways exposing the grey flesh of her collarbone while simultaneously forming her looping symbol. A skirt wrapped around her legs, the ends shredded keeping that untamed look about her, the one you could never remove from her spirit. Striped leggings traveled down her long legs and her feet jiggled as she read through the lone book she found in a drawer. A hand raised, bandaged, and tossed a bit of hair behind her bare shoulder, revealing her eyes. They danced along the page, absorbing every word and sentence. The Signless couldn't look away from her now, she was absolutely beautiful.
Disciple glanced up at Signless, who was still staring at her. She smiled. "What is it?"
An innocent question enough, but the Signless could feel the emotion behind it. She had to have known he was staring at her for a while, there was no use denying it. So, rather than shying away he spoke to her. "You are just so beautiful." The words fell from his mouth, sweet and intoxicating.
Her heart gave a leap; honestly she wasn't expecting him to say any such thing. Disciple could feel her face grow warm; she was at a loss for words. "I-"
The door reopened and their attention shifted to their guests. It was the Psiioniic and Dolorosa along with the young trolls they had meet before. Signless invited them in and quickly offered them a place to sit, the moment between himself and the Disciple forgotten. But still he reached up to gingerly touch his cheek, the place she had kissed him as the sat in a circle. The Dolorosa passed out some bread she had purchased at the market and the eight of them began to converse. The four young trolls were polite, Psiioniic told them of his story and the Dolorosa of hers and the Signless'. Hours passed and the sun began to rise as they spoke of ideas and beliefs, right and wrong. A hand found its way to his, and the Signless didn't need to look to know it belonged to the Disciple. So he took hers in his and they sat that way all through the day with these new trolls, hand in hand.