So here's the thing. Eli really didn't plan to spend the evening hiding in a closet with Toby while monsters roamed the hallways of the school. I know, hard to believe, but he really didn't, despite his drive to find fantasy creatures.
After all he hoped he'd never have them hunt him down. He was a fan of more like, you know, a friendly chat or something, not full-on screaming screeching swords-swinging kind of hunt.
"Toby, are they still here?" he asked in a hoarse whisper, and the boy shushed him aggressively, without making a sound. Toby took out his phone and typed out something, shoving the screen in Eli's face.
«BE QUIET. THEY'LL HEAR.»
Fair enough, but terrifying.
«They're half-blind and they rely on sound, but they also see better at night than during the day so we're doomed anyway.»
Eli squinted, trying to sort out the new knowledge, but then something hit him. He pulled out his own phone and typed out a question that was now drilling inside his head.
«And how do you know this?»
Toby by no means appeared shocked or worried, only typed out his answer in sharp precise motions.
«You can ask all the questions you want if we get out alive.»
Outside the closet one of the monsters roared and smashed something. Sounded like metal so probably a locker.
Not good. Very not good.
If we get out alive…
«What if we won't get out alive? I want to die with this knowledge! What are these creatures? Why did they appear here?»
Toby sighed and took something out of his backpack. It was some sort of metal rod— AAAAAND IT UNRAVELED ITSELF INTO A BIG GLOWING HAMMER. WHAT.
«If worse comes to worst» Toby typed out with one hand, effortlessly twirling the big hammer in his other one, «I can fight. If it comes to that - run. I'll be fine.»
Eli nodded, still gaping in awe at the weird weapon. It was made of metal and stone, the main part being a huge orange gem for the hammerhead. The strong glow of the weapon slightly resembled the cool light emanating from the dark creatures outside.
Could there be a connection? He did seem to know about them…
A round of loud crushes sounded outside, seemingly coming closer and closer, and Eli dug himself into the shelf behind him, trying to make himself as small as possible.
God, he was going to die there, wasn't he?
He pressed his backpack closer to his chest, slipping the phone into the front pocket.
Toby held onto his hammer tighter and prepared to swing as the noises got louder and louder and—
The door flew off its hinges, and disappeared in red glow as if imploding into a small star, until there was nothing left of it. In front of the hole that was left by its disappearance stood a blue monster, a bit different looking than other ones.
Actually it was beating up the other ones.
The blue monster's hands glowed and the door reappeared in red glow, hitting an incoming stone monster square in the head with so much impact it flew backwards, out of his sight.
"JIM!" Toby yelled, sounding weirdly happy to see another monster, this time even stronger and apparently capable of doing magic. "What are you doing here!?"
The blue monster—Jim?—just laughed.
"Saving your butt, Tobes!" It hit another monster overhead and it crumbled. Then it cringed. "Aaand… this is my fault, so…" it made a face and went right back to beating up other monsters.
"Of course it is your fault," Toby muttered and moved to use the glowing hammer as an armrest.
They both watched in silence as 'Jim' worked its way through all the monsters, punching and kicking and using magic in red bursts of light. Eli felt about ready to pass out. That was too much weirdness to comprehend.
One of the monsters decided to run away, and Eli saw 'Jim' extend its hand and yell out "Vim extermina!". Seconds later the monster's head exploded.
Eli shuddered, touching his neck uneasily, a flash of intense fear passing through him as he imagined his own head exploding at the hands of the monster in front of him.
With a startling realisation he noticed that it was the last monster present. It has won, secured its victory in such a powerful display of strength, that Eli was left quivering in his shoes. He tried to back up, away from its vision, but to no avail as there was a cabinet behind him and no space to go. The furniture just made a noise as he pressed into it, and his breath hitched. All his instincts screamed to not let it see him, to escape or freeze. His body chose the second option. He couldn't move.
'Jim' turned around slowly, casually walked up to Toby and hugged him. With horror Eli saw the boy hug the monster back.
"Man, that was scary. Thanks for the save!" Toby was way too carefree about the situation. Couldn't he see that the danger hasn't yet passed? That there was a monster in front of them?
"No problem," the monster smiled, then its eyes slid over to where Eli stood. "And who's that?"
"Oh this is Eli Pepperjack! A friend," Toby said, smiling from ear to ear. Eli really didn't know how he could be so chipper while that thing stood in front of him so casually after absolutely destroying the other monsters. Couldn't he see how fast it was? How agile? How strong? It was horrifying.
"Well, we still have no-memory policy on this sort of thing, sorry," the beast said in an apologetic tone, and Toby frowned.
"Come on, can't he stay? He's a fan of the supernatural! I'm sure he'd be thrilled to learn more and he could be a valuable ally as a book-nerd. I bet he'd learn Trollish faster than you did!" Eli blanched at the way the whole thing was phrased. He didn't know where to even begin.
"No." The monster replied with a sigh. "Maybe later. I won't erase the memories, just… push them away for now. Deal?"
"Okay…" Toby pouted, but nodded. "Better not burn night, huh?"
"Better not burn night," the monster repeated and raised its hand towards Eli's head. He yelped, and tried to get away, but the thing just sighed and came up closer, gripping him tightly on one arm, not letting him escape, and touching his temple… surprisingly gently. "It won't hurt. I'm just going to erase your memories."
Eli didn't reply, just tried to stop his trembling to no avail.
But then suddenly there was a flash of red light and the monster hissed as if burned, dropping into a crouch.
Eli blinked. He… still had the memories so something wasn't right. He looked down on the beast and gasped, taken aback by its expression. It was one of awe.
"You have the spark…" it said, mouth hanging agape.
"The… the spark?" he managed to ask through his clenching throat at the same time as Toby jumped in the air, his hands raised.
"YOU HAVE THE SPARK!? That's amazing!" He came up closer and clasped his hand on Eli's shoulder. "That's amazing! Oh you're gonna love magic." This… made no sense. "Jim, what spark does he have?"
"Mental, duh." The monster shrugged and got up from the floor. "Couldn't push his memories around 'cause there's a natural barrier. It's pretty strong." It grunted, and dusted itself. "Well in that case…" The monster extended its hand and grinned at him, all teeth. "Hello, my name is Jim Lake Junior and I will be your guide to the worst day of your life."
Eli numbly shaked its hand, feeling the rough texture of a rock instead of skin. He had no doubt about this introduction being more of a premonition.
"E-Eli Pepperjack," he returned the introduction and forced a smile on his face. It was more of a grimace, really, but it seemed to appease the monster which was no longer frowning. "What is this spark you're talking about?" he asked, using all his bravery to do so.
"A spark to magic," Toby said simply, as if it was that understandable. "Your potential to do magic, if you will."
"Me?" he laughed, "And magic? I don't think that's going to happen."
"It isn't unless you'll have a teacher," the beast said, sounding serious. "I can become one if the need arises. But you can also just go on with your life not asking questions and not receiving answers. Your choice really." It shrugged again.
And then the weirdest thing happened.
Red glow encompassed the beast's entire being, and in a split second instead of a six-foot-something blue, horned stone monster, in front of him stood a boy his age, dressed in sports clothes.
Eli blinked. The sight in front of him hasn't changed.
"So, do you have questions?"
Eli nodded, feeling overwhelmed once again. What the heck…
"What are you…?" he whispered, trying to take a step back, but once again not managing it before bumping into the shelves.
"In most simple terms, a half-troll," Jim answered him, scratching his neck in thought. "It's a bit more complicated though, but you'd have to learn a bit more before I can tell you what exactly I am."
"Half-troll?" his mind whirred to life, "Troll as in stone monster that can't get into light?" Jim nodded curtly. "Oh man. Oh man, I'm not crazy. They do exist!"
"That they do, my friend, that they do," Toby was grinning excitedly once again. "How about we go to my house? We have so much to talk about!"
It was then that Eli realised that he's been in the school for far longer than usual. And he didn't even text his mom. Oh no. She was gonna be so mad…
"I… I'm, actually my mom is going to murder me if I don't get home soon and I'd prefer to keep my life, you know?" he laughed awkwardly, and saw Toby's shoulders fall in disappointment.
"Oh, do you think you'll be in trouble?" Jim asked, tone wary. "I can help with that," he paused, and then hastily added, "If you allow me."
"Oh yeah! Jimbo knows tons of useful spells! Surely there's one that will put your mom's mind at ease!"
"I don't know that many, Tobes," Jim rolled his(its?) eyes, "But yes, there should be something I can do to your mother that will make her, oh for example, sleep soundly without thinking about you for the day."
Eli's eyes widened. He could just… do that? Also was it a he? An it? Was the boy in front of him a monster he saw or not? Without the fear's knee-jerk response running his body Eli felt weirdly peaceful around this Jim. Protected even. He just had this sort of… aura. Still, it was terrifying to see him destroy monsters like it was nothing moments prior, and looking like that too. He was… scary. But not as a human. As a human he was just a dude.
"Al— Alright, then should we drop by my house first?" he asked, unease painting his words.
"Could you show me the address on a map?" Jim took out a phone out of his sweatpants pocket and opened a maps app. "I could teleport us there."
"Teleport?" His eyes went wide. What couldn't he do?
"Yeah. So… Where is it?" He turned his phone towards Eli and waited patiently as he input the address into the search bar. Eli pinpointed the location and Jim took it back. "Alright. Doable." He extended his hand and red-black tendrils started appearing in the air around it, spreading and spreading until what Eli was staring at was an oval of red darkness, tall enough that each of them could comfortably go through it. "Alright. Now get in." Eli gulped, he didn't want to be swallowed by darkness, thank you very much. He always envisioned portals as something one could look through and see the other side, not… that. "Hurry."
Before Eli could protest or suggest they just walk there, Toby grabbed him by the arm and in a surprising display of strength, yanked him forward until they were both failing through an endless darkness— Okay, not endless. It ended after around two seconds, but still, it was scary. He looked around. He was in front of his house, the street was empty, it was eerie. Seconds later he felt a presence come to stand besides him, and he turned around to see Jim waving his hand through air, effectively dispelling the portal from existence.
"Alright, let's go see your mom."
Eli just gulped.
"Young man, where have you been— And who is that?" his mother asked, bewildered, just then noticing Jim standing besides him.
"My name is Jim Lake Jr, madam," he said with a gentle voice, extending his hand.
Except the moment his mother took it, there was a burst of red and she froze, unmoving.
"Mom!" He ran up to her, and noticed her chest wasn't rising with breaths. "What have you done!?"
"She's in stasis," Jim replied casually. "Now I can do this," he reached towards her forehead and flicked it with a spark of light. "There, memory erased. And now…" he made a focused face, a tip of his tongue poking out between his lips, and touched her temples on both sides. "Now I can implement a fake memory of you coming home a few hours ago, and going to bed early…" He frowned then, and removed his hands. "Is it in character?"
"Make him go study instead," Toby suggested, and Jim nodded. He put his hands back on Eli's mother's temples and after another flash of light, removed them.
"And now the easiest part. Sequi. Go to sleep," he said, and the words seemed… electrised. Filled with static maybe. Just… inhumanly powerful for a couple of words. His mother took a shaky breath, nodded, and went in the direction of her bedroom. Eli watched as she went, worry mixing with awe and fear. If Jim could manipulate someone that easily… well, he was glad for the mental barrier. "Okay, shall we go to Toby's?"
"Yes, yes we shall!"
"I suppose yes?" As he said those words Jim opened another portal, this time not even having to consult the maps app. He was clearly familiar with Toby enough to do so. It was… suspicious. What business had Toby had with a stone monster like that? Trolls. Right. Trolls. That's gonna take getting used to. Trolls exist. They weren't just a figment of his imagination.
"Alright, let's go." This time Jim was the one to grab him by the arm and yank him through the portal. He supposed he'd have to get used to it too…
They ended up in Toby's room, and Jim quickly dispelled the portal before collapsing on the bed and making himself comfortable there.
"Okay where do I even start…" he sighed and looked at Toby.
"How about the part where you're finally allowed to come here!? I thought you can't do that or the end of the world starts!" Toby yelled excitedly, waving his hands around. Jim shot him a look. A very telling look. It looked very apologetic and guilty. "Uh-oh." Toby deflated. "You kickstarted the end of the world by coming here, didn't you."
"Yep," Jim stated matter of factly. "It is time for me to bring Gunmar to this world and defeat him."
"But Jim!"
"I know Tobes, I know…"
Eli looked between Jim and Toby, trying to wrap his head around the situation.
"Who's Gunmar?" he asked eventually when it became clear he wouldn't get an answer otherwise.
Jim looked at him and patted the space next to him on the bed with a clear intention of asking Eli to sit there. No thanks, he would rather stand.
"It's… a long tale. But in the most basic terms Gunmar is a big bad troll that's been terrorising the world for decades before being locked away in Darklands," he intoned dramatically. "He's also a father of Bular, a big bad troll that's here on the surface and who will probably try to kill me the moment he realises I'm here."
"Big bad troll is not a bad name for them. BBT sounds better than Gumm-Gumms at least," Toby mused aloud. Jim just sighed.
"Gumm-Gumms?"
"The trolls that attacked you tonight," Jim explained, grimacing. "They're bloodthirsty slaves of Gunmar. He can create them with his sword, and unfortunately for us he recently figured out how to duplicate them."
"Jim, what do you mean he recently figured out how to duplicate them," Toby asked, tone dangerously neutral.
"It means…" Jim grimaced even further, "That Barbara and I might have accidentally shown him copying magic enough times that he learnt how to do it… sorry?"
"Sorry? Sorry? It's not me who you have to apologise to but the entire troll and human race! Jimbo, what the heck?"
"Yeah, yeah, I know… Good news is they're weaker. Each clone is. And they can't exactly mass-produce them no matter what they do, so we're semi-safe."
"Yet they attacked us today," Toby pointed out, raising his finger and wagging it in the air. "Any idea why that happened?"
"Uh…" Jim's face looked like he knew exactly why that happened but would rather not say. "The clones can… TheycanusetheremainsofnaturalportalsmeandBarbaraleftbehind…" he nearly whispered.
"They can what!?" Toby was freaking out at this point.
"They can use the remains of the natural portals me and Barbara left behind!" Jim all but exploded. "We didn't expect it to happen but apparently they can. Good thing that Gunmar can't exactly clone himself or we would be doomed."
"So he still needs the Killahead bridge?" Toby asked, hope lacing his voice.
"Yes. Thankfully yes."
"Uh… Killahead bridge…?" Eli interrupted, and Jim sent him a weird look, before shaking it off.
"Right, it's a portal-bridge allowing access to Darklands. It's powered by the Amulet of Daylight."
"And—"
"And the Amulet of Daylight is an artefact created by three wizards in Medieval Camelot. Whoever holds it is the Trollhunter—a troll responsible for upkeep of peace, and fighting Bular and Gunmar."
"But you can still portal in there…?" he asked, trying to wrap his head around all the new information. "Why need the Kill-something bridge when you can just open a portal there?"
At that Jim smirked, "Oh you know, it's because there are only two people in the entire world who can portal there: me and my mother."
"And the copies of very dangerous trolls that you allowed to exist." Toby cut in with a sour expression.
"Hey!" Jim yelped, "They still can't open the portals by themselves, they have to rely on natural frequencies of ley lines to open up the portals for them in the places where me and Barbara cut through the veil between worlds. It's totally different than opening up a portal by themselves!"
"Still bad Jimbo, still bad." Toby sighed and splayed himself further on the beanbag. "When's the deadline?"
"The book of Ga-Huel only predicted some vague things. Nothing concrete." Jim rolled his eyes at nothing in particular and threw his head back. "It's not like it's very useful now. We'll be actively changing the future to fit us after all."
"What's…?"
"The book of Ga-Huel is a book that stores the past, the present and the future in it, showcasing the best and worst of every choice you have made or are going to make in the most vague way possible," Jim explained, moving to a sitting position. "It's currently in my father's possession."
"Is your father a troll?" slipped up before Eli could think if the question was insensitive or not.
Jim just laughed. "Yeah, a changeling. My biological father was one too, a fine polymorph. And before you ask, changelings are trolls that can take up the appearance of a human, polymorphs can take on the appearance of anyone."
"So you're… half polymorph?" At that Jim closed his eyes and breathed out evenly… and then in a burst of red magic he changed. Not into the blue monster from earlier, but into Toby. And then in another burst of magic the one sitting on the bed was a copy of Eli.
He was going to get an aneurysm at this point.
Thankfully in another burst of magic Jim was Jim, a human. Eli was infinitely thankful for that. He had enough mind breaking for one day.
"I think that answers your question."
"Sure does…"
"Man, it's always freaky when you do that," Toby laughed. "Have you managed to figure out partial transformation yet?"
"No…" Jim looked down. "It's still too hard."
"Hey, don't worry man, you'll get a hang of it soon!" Toby said vigorously. "After all who's gonna do it if not you?"
"Thanks, Tobes."
Eli kinda felt like he was intruding on something. Jim was an enigma, even with the explanations he's given him, and Eli had no clue what to do now that he's gotten (some) answers.
"Alright, it's late." Jim clasped his hands together and got up from the bed. "Let me portal you home, but first…" In a split of a second he was next to him, pressing his fingers to his forehead. "Sequi," Jim whispered and Eli felt something tug at his mind. Oh no. "You will not tell anyone anything about what we told you, not about trolls, not about me, not about the book of Ga-Huel, nothing."
"I won't," he wanted to say, but his tongue felt heavy. He just nodded.
"Good." Jim removed his fingers, satisfied. "Now let me get you home." He created a portal and stepped through it. Eli looked at Toby, who gave him an encouraging grin, and he stepped through the swirling mass of shadows too. He was in front of his house, at the same place as the last time. "I'll, uh, leave you to it," Jim said, scratching at the back of his head. "See you tomorrow."
"See you… tomorrow…?" Eli whispered, bewildered, but as he blinked, Jim disappeared, leaving nothing behind him, now even a spark of magic. "Huh." he said to himself, squinting at nothing in particular. That was a weird night. And he supposed this was going to just get weirder.