So many trolls had easily imagined that the Killahead battle would bring the end to the dark pages of their history. Perhaps, they kept believing in that even afterward.
Yet, Kanjigar had serious doubts about that statement. After all, Gunmar's banishment had become the beginning of one of the most dishonorable and disgusting periods in troll history.
Why couldn't they simply forget everything related to the Skullcrusher and continue living peacefully? But, no, soon enough, there was a need to check any single influential person for their possible connections to the Gumm-Gumm king.
The truth was that there had been barely a tribe or community that hadn't bought the peace for themselves after making some deal with Gunmar. Yes, Kanjigar never thought that it was wise to forget about actual collaborators, but to drag every single soul through the Tribunal's judgment? That had been certainly too much.
They were not able to gather the entire Tribunal at first - simply because too many of its members were among possible defendants. At first, it had been only Vendel as the leader of Dwoza, which basically brought the so-much-needed peace; Usurna as the queen of the tribe which had suffered the most from the Gunmar's forces; and Kanjigar himself as the one who proved his own honor many times. Everyone else had been deemed unworthy until proven innocent by the court.
However, Vendel surprisingly had pushed for the first Trollhunter inclusion, much to Usurna's chagrin. Kanjigar's word had been the final one, so Deya had become another member of the Tribunal. Still, it ended with four votes, which could provoke some conflicts during voting. That was why they had also included Blinkous Galadrigal - back then, it had happened because of his family connections as the six-eyed troll hadn't become a valuable member of Dwoza yet.
The warrior hoped that the court would be just a formality. Without the imminent danger of the Gumm-Gumm hordes, they had to rebuild destroyed settlements and move forward, not start another petty conflict. His expectations were blown into the smithereens soon enough.
Vendel was wise in his judgment, Deya tried her best at defending everyone, even Blinkous attempted to voice some reasonable thoughts, however, all of that paled in comparison to all the venom and scorn Usurna poured at every accused troll.
It was simply too much. Kanjigar could understand the possible reasons behind the Krubera's queen anger - her tribe had lost a good chunk of their younger generation after several Gumm-Gumm raids. However, it wasn't like other communities hadn't lost a lot themselves. Yes, separate pacts with Gunmar had been the cowardly act, but most had done those because of fear rather than in an attempt to get some influence for themselves.
Luckily, Usurna had been in the minority.
Or more like, she had been supposed to be in the minority. The Tribunal continued getting members after some of the accused were proved innocent. Kanjigar had expected them to be more sympathetic, but no, it had been quite the contrary. It was as if all of them were scared to be suspects once again, so they were ruthless and unreasonable.
And Usurna… Well, it had become clear soon enough that she was a true ringleader as all of the former accused were supporting her decision. It hadn't taken that long before the Krubera's queen word had turned into the final decision - she was basically deciding whom to execute, whom to banish and whom to spare.
So what was the point of gathering once again? Kanjigar certainly hated it with passion. At least, he wasn't the only one - Vendel and Blinky weren't too happy to be present as well. And Deya… Her expression was difficult to interpret.
Who was the poor soul to go through the merciless court today? The warrior hadn't even asked about that one - would there be any difference? Perhaps, it would be just another one of the chiefs who preferred to buy the safety for their tribe with some recruits to Gunmar's army. Their fate would depend on Usurna's mood apparently - sometimes Kanjigar couldn't tell how exactly that female decided who was guilty and who was innocent. He used to be a way better opinion about the Krubera queen.
The heavy approaching steps broke up his reverie. Kanjigar could see two brutes basically dragging a smaller troll - that one seemingly couldn't even walk properly. The reason for that was clear as a day - the Krubera guardians had definitely beaten them a lot, judging from multiple fresh injuries.
The brutes threw the accused before the Tribunal as if they were some piece of trash. Kanjigar had finally gotten a good look at them and gritted teeth as he had recognized the troll. Dark-green stone, not that big, around the average fleshbag size. Long white hair and fiery orange eyes. Without any doubt, that was Terrwan, the Errga tribe's chief.
Kanjigar had never known him good enough, even if they had met several times. Terrwan was simply not that sociable and had never been that eager to make any friends. That alone would have done him a great disservice as the chief had no good associates in Tribunal. The biggest problem, however, was the charges. Vendel had obviously realized it sooner than anyone else if his grim expression meant anything. And judging from Blinkous's hushed 'Great Gronka Morka', the troll scholar had connected the dots as well.
There would be no way the Tribunal would excuse that troll, no matter what kind of explanations they would hear. The court had been decided from the very start. No wonder that Krubera guardians had been that rough.
Even Terrwan himself apparently knew his own position - his eyes were indifferent, the typical gaze of one who had already accepted their fate. Still, he at least tried to preserve some honor as he forced himself to stand.
"Terrwan, son of Terrdass…" Usurna started grimly.
"Hold on this farce!" an irritated voice interrupted her at once. "Are all of you blind or something? The guy is barely standing! How long will you ignore that?"
Was it that weird that Deya had snapped? Most likely, she was the noblest troll present, especially knowing that everyone else decided to keep silent. Or, perhaps, it was simply because the Trollhunter had no idea why exactly the entire Tribunal pretended to be blind.
"If you haven't noticed, venerable Trollhunter, we deal with a criminal here," Usurna pointed out, barely hiding the venom. "The one deeply associated with the Skullcrusher and his kin, by the way. Should anyone present criticize the guards for letting out their emotions? They both lost their dear whelps during the Gumm-Gumm raid."
Some trolls yelled in approval. Deya shot them a dirty glare, clearly wanting to add something offensive, but stopped at the last second.
"Shouldn't the accused have a defender at least?" the Trollhunter asked instead. "Someone from his tribe, as far as I'm aware?"
The Krubera queen smirked dismissively:
"I seriously doubt - the entire tribe is as guilty as their leader."
Kanjigar frowned - this court was a blatant lynching. Terrwan was the one who would never get any forgiveness, even if he had done nothing.
"So, Terrwan, son of Terrdass," Usurna continued. "Will you answer some questions?"
"Yes," the troll replied curtly.
"Has Errga tribe ever assisted Gunmar?"
"Never," Terrwan scowled. "Everything the Skullcrusher has ever done goes against our principles and…"
The end of response drowned in the furious hum as the Tribunal started to whisper to each other.
"Liar!" someone roared furiously.
"Do you have no decency at all?" another yell joined the first one.
Usurna face turned darker.
"Let me paraphrase for you," she hissed in a lower tone. "Has your tribe ever made a pact with Gumm-Gumms?"
"There weren't any pacts," Terrwan answered coldly and glared at the crowd before another uproar started. "My predecessor's gave herself to Gunmar in exchange for Errga's safety."
Kanjigar could hear Vendel muttering something but could discern only 'what a fool'. The warrior couldn't help agreeing to that - the way that the accused troll had worded it basically had sealed his fate. If he had gone for something like 'Gunmar forced the previous chief to go to his side', the damage could have been lessened a lot.
"So, Aeterra the Adamant went to the Skullcrusher's side willingly," the Krubera queen summed up impatiently. "Would you remind all of us, what exactly was your relation to her?"
Kanjigar opened his mouth to reprimand Usurna a bit - the female troll was clearly going too far, but Terrwan's reply was faster:
"She was my aunt. And before there is another pointless question, yes, it makes Barverra the Atrocious my cousin."
The Errga chief was right to call it pointless - everyone present was well aware of the fact whose relative he was. In the end, it was the main reason why he was accused to start with.
Well, one noble soul didn't know a thing.
"Are we going to give sentences now only because someone just happened to have some nasty family members?" Deya yelled angrily. "What kind of bushigal is that?"
That was probably the best word to describe the ongoing madness, but it couldn't be otherwise. Too many trolls wanted some payback on the Herald of Doom, and as facing the daughter of Gunmar wasn't an option, they ganged up on her cousin instead. Besides, there was another factor that complicated matters even more, namely the Errga tribe's honor codex.
"I've heard that your father Terrdass threw himself into the sunlight after his sister had brought that abomination into this world," Usurna continued, totally ignoring Deya's outburst. "Quite a pity that the rest of tribe had no decency to follow suit…"
There were some approving whispers among the crowd. Disgracing the tribe with mothering one of the Gunmar's children was undoubtfully the highest offense for many, though, most likely, only Bular's mother's tribe would have to face the same kind of scorn. Well, if Gumm-Gumms hadn't wiped it out entirely.
"As for honorable Trollhunter, would anyone bother to inform her why exactly we cannot trust any Errga troll right now?" the Krubera queen added, obviously taunting Deya. "I can see a keeper of the knowledge present, so maybe a member of the respected Galadrigal family be so kind and explain?"
Blinkous gulped nervously when all the eyes shifted to him. The scholar wasn't used to all the attention - previously, he had been simply assisting Dictatious, yet now the entire responsibility fell to him.
"Um, Errga tribe has an outstanding camaraderie and appreciates bonds more than anything else. If one of theirs is ever in need, all of them will stand as one to help them," Blinky answered not too confidently.
"Exactly! I hope that everyone present has enough brains to put two and two together," Usurna continued smugly. "So the question is if Barverra is a member of your tribe."
"She's a Gumm-Gumm," Terrwan spat with some disgust. "No Errga would ever help one!"
"Interesting," the Krubera queen drawled with some faked curiosity. "So why has your entire tribe refused to hunt the Herald of Doom to clean your good name?"
Kanjigar had gritted his teeth. He knew about that incident good enough - some warriors allied forces to fight Barverra and requested some help from Errga, yet had gotten none. In the end, all those brave souls had fallen, and many blamed Terrwan for the lack of cooperation.
"Because we aren't oathbreakers," the accused troll uttered emotionlessly. "We promised Aunt Aeterra never to lay a finger on her child."
That was just a formality. Everyone had known about that response already - it was exactly the same as the one Terrwan had given previously. Repeating it was no different from accepting the guilt…
Kanjigar had found Deya after the court ended punching some trees not that far from Dwoza entrance.
"Trollhunter," he greeted her quietly.
"Have they executed the poor guy?" the female asked, letting her anger on another tree. "I left before the sentence - couldn't watch the farce anymore!"
"No, they went for banishment," Kanjigar sighed. "It's better not to anger Errga - they may be small, but if one of theirs is hurt, they can be worse than goblins…"
Deya chuckled unwittingly:
"Is that one even possible?"
The joke hadn't lasted for long as the grim atmosphere returned.
"Kanjigar, why are you here?" the Trollhunter asked at last. "And, please, don't try to give me some bushigal about ending here accidentally - you're probably not aware, but you suck in lies…"
She was surprisingly keen. Though was it that unexpected for someone who used to survive on her own?
"I wanted to apologize," the older troll said quietly. "Usurna has been outright rude today and…"
"Oh, come on! There's nothing new here," Deya interrupted him, trying to fake indifference, though some notes of bitterness still slipped. "Just locals reminding the dumb troll that she's just an outsider without any proper knowledge about how things work here! As if it was my own choice…"
"So you haven't remembered anything else?" Kanjigar asked carefully. That had to be a sore spot for her.
"I guess I should be grateful for recovering my true name and be content with that," the Trollhunter forced a chuckle. "But you know, I don't need your pity - I'm too old for comforting pats."
"You're still young," the warrior protested. "Around my son's age, I suppose… Though it seems that you're more mature than him mentally."
"You mean Draal?" Deya suddenly smiled. "He can be an ass, but he's far from being an immature whelp. At least, he knows how to say sorry when he's wrong."
"Who? Draal?" Kanjigar couldn't hide his surprise. "Last time I've checked, he was one of the most stubborn trolls in Dwoza!"
"Maybe you should try to talk to your son more," the female shrugged. "After the Killahead battle, he was one of the few who had apologized for treating me like a shit before…"
"Hadn't everyone apologized?"
"Nah, they just pretended nothing had ever happened," Deya waved dismissively. "The one they wronged was Callista, not Deya, the great hero. It was simply easier to convince themselves that those were two different trolls".
All of that was simply disgusting. Kanjigar had always thought that at least Dwoza had started to treat Deya better, even if other tribes were still unfriendly or outright hostile. Wasn't she the one who had liberated everyone from Gunmar's tyranny? Couldn't there be some more gratitude?
"Sometimes I wonder what the point in being the Trollhunter is," the female continued forlornly. "I've banished Big Horns, so what now? But then I see this way stronger enemy that will destroy us one day… We lack unity - and it'll bring a downfall one day. I have found the words to inspire Dwoza residents to fight by my side once, but right now I'm genuinely lost. There's no understanding, everyone tries to accuse each other, instead of rebuilding everything that was destroyed… At times, I just want to drop everything and go away. To be just Callista, someone without any need to carry this burden. I simply can't - and you know, why? Because I am the first one, and my responsibility to make the path for those who'll follow after me…"
Kanjigar wondered why he had a dream about those oldtimes when the wounds of Gunmar's rule had been still fresh, and Deya had been making her first steps as the Trollhunter. That was the dark period in history, but the current protector remembered that it had been the exact moment when his friendship with the sassy female started. They used to have so many talks and discussions later as well as occasional spars.
Kanjigar would never have imagined that all of that could end one day. Well, Deya had hinted many times that she had been only the first in the line of guardians, but the older warrior had always assumed that she would have retire of the old age eventually.
The first Trollhunter had fallen in a battle instead. It was quite an irony - she had survived the fight with the father, yet had lost to his son. However, her death hadn't been the end, no, it was just a beginning of a long story of successions for the Daylight amulet until it ended in her old friend's hands.
Kanjigar had sworn to continue on the road which Deya had started to pave. To look for understanding, for unity. The answer had to be somewhere. If only there was no need to think about less abstract enemies.
If some years ago someone had told him that things could become so complicated, Kanjigar most likely would simply take that as a tasteless joke. However, at the moment, the seasoned troll warrior felt really lost.
It was the Trollhunter's responsibility to protect his kind and, by extension humans, from the Gumm-Gumm menace. Well, the majority of work had been done already by Deya when she banished Gunmar and his army. There was still the matter of Bular, and he certainly had slaughtered too many of Kanjigar's predecessors to be taken lightly, however, there were chances to defeat the fearsome Butcher.
And then the Trollhunter just had to encounter Barverra the Atrocious herself. That fight in the forest kept haunting the troll warrior's mind - too many things made no sense both for him and any other resident of the Trollmarket he asked. The worst was that the Herald of Doom just disappeared altogether after that - eight years had passed already since that unexpected battle, yet Kanjigar was not able to find any trace of the devious female, even though Bular kept causing ruckus regularly.
Was all of that a part of some vile scheme with the son of Gunmar deliberately attracting too much attention as a diversion, while his sister acted from shadows? In any case, it was too suspicious to let it be.
With all of that in mind, the Trollhunter hoped for his kind to unite more and stop Gunmar's children for good. Alas, it seemed that trolls fell into their typical 'it's not my problem' mentality. Not that it was something new - tribes tended to be quite divided way before the Skullcrusher's birth, and that tendency was one of the main reasons why Gumm-Gumm hordes started to dominate. How could it be otherwise when Gunmar was basically picking on settlements one by one, and everyone else would either try to make separate pacts with him, ignore pleas for help, or outright start conflicts with someone else because of inner dislikes? If trolls acted as a united front from the very start, many deaths would be prevented.
Kanjigar hoped that the Killahead battle would change things drastically, but it was quite a delusion. It turned out that Deya, despite her accomplishment, was a too controversial figure for many. Some trolls simply refused to forget about the entire 'Callista the Calamity' deal. There was displeasure about her being the champion of their kind, and Kanjigar had heard too many nasty talks in lines of 'anyone could do that with that kind of amulet'.
The Troll Tribunal, the one holding the highest authority and assembled from representatives of different tribes and settlements, started to lose members right after Gunmar's banishment. Some fell victims to multiple courts as they hadn't been able to prove that there wasn't any close association with Gumm-Gumms. Some sentences were fair, some not that much. More traditionalist trolls left themselves, not being able to stomach the fact of the alliance with fleshbags. Some villages had refused to forgive humans for genocide and accused Deya of collaborationism and treachery.
Those had been the dark hours for the Troll Tribunal, yet it hadn't been the last time when it had lost representatives. Each new champion of Merlin had usually brought new discord between tribes, especially if their personality was questionable. Kanjigar still remembered the outburst surrounding Unkar the Unfortunate - the poor guy had no rest even after his horrible death as it had turned out to be the last straw for many.
'How can we trust the thing that keeps choosing random trolls?'
'As if the fleshbag wizard could create anything decent!'
'Chosen one? What nonsense!'
Those were only some of the opinions prevalent back then. There had been a lot of dissatisfaction and disappointment. Trolls who had a better opinion about humans had tried to stop that, but all the efforts had been in vain.
And then the amulet just had to choose Kanjigar himself. On the one hand, it was a huge honor and probably the way to reclaim some of the lost trust as he was well-respected among his kind. On the other, it had certainly brought some wedge between the troll warrior and his only son.
It was stupid to deny, but when it came to Draal, he was too overprotective and did his best to keep his child as far from danger as possible. And of course, it always led to the predictable outcome - his son wasn't some defenseless whelp, he also had a warrior's pride, so such approach insulted him greatly. It only had become worse since Kanjigar had been chosen as the Trollhunter. After all, that position involved too many dangers for both the one holding it and those around them.
The father just wished his son could understand that, but no, it seemed that Draal was obsessed with participating in every single dangerous thing. He had always been like that, since the day he made his first wobbly step as a small whelp. First, it had been simply getting into fights with gnomes or goblins, later, as decades had passed, Draal proceeded to challenging trolls, sometimes ones twice his size, not to mention all his attempts to go and battle some of Gumm-Gumms, totally ignoring his father's scolding.
Hell, Kanjigar remembered prohibiting his son to join the final battle with Gunmar's hordes, but he had still gone there. Yes, the younger warrior had helped a lot and proved himself capable, but it didn't change the fact that his father didn't want him to be in that kind of situation.
The Trollhunter was seriously happy that he had managed to keep the information about Barverra lurking somewhere in Arcadia from Draal - his eagerness to fight Bular was already a huge problem. Kanjigar could easily imagine his son trying to find the Herald of Doom, which would be playing right into her hand.
Because of that, the Trollhunter hoped to deal with both of Gunmar's children as soon as possible. When he had requested Vendel's help in gathering the Tribunal, the warrior hoped that many leaders would join the discussion, maybe even send some experienced fighters to help him in that quest.
The result was dubious, to put it kindly. Vendel hadn't managed to talk more than ten troll leaders into coming, and any request for reinforcements fell flat.
'Sorry, we cannot leave our tribe without protectors.'
'We haven't any good warriors.'
'Why do you think that Bular and Barverra are dangerous? Their side lost a long time ago.'
'Seriously, what can they do now?'
Was that a fake sense of safety? Inborn passiveness? Outright sabotage? Well, the last one was falling into the conspiracy field, something that no one but Blinkous would believe.
Whatever was the reason, the end result was the same. Nevertheless, Kanjigar simply had no right to ignore the danger to his kind, even if it meant fighting it alone.
Tonight he was going to go to the surface in the hope of finding any clues about Gunmar's children despite a horrible foreboding.
It wasn't supposed to turn out like that.
Barbara sighed heavily. How many times had she used an excuse of a supposed additional shift to fool Jim and sneak out? No, there were still plenty of those as the woman never refused to take over her colleagues' work when they asked. She needed to keep the image of a lone mother providing for her family herself (even though she had enough money to lead a luxurious life without any job).
Yet there weren't as many of those as her son thought - it just was too convenient to use as a fake explanation. And Jim believed without questioning or checking.
Probably the fate had some wicked sense of irony - otherwise, how had the supposed lie turned into the real thing? One of the doctors had gone down with some nasty virus, and now everyone expected Barbara to substitute him. Her reputation seriously turned against her this time.
Why had it happened right at the time, when the daughter of Gunmar planned her first attempt to ambush Kanjigar? All those last-minute changes only delayed the opening of the gates to the Darklands. They had no luxury of wasting time, yet one of the most fearsome trolls in existence simply got stuck with her fleshbag job for the night.
Well, she simply hoped that her brother wouldn't do anything reckless this time. The correct answer would be just to abolish the attempt and sit quietly. Hell, Bular could even go hunting, and his sister wouldn't care less. Anything but attacking the Trollhunter would be good.
Barbara had no doubts in her sibling's battle prowess - he was strong enough to defeat Kanjigar alone. The problem was that the amulet kept escaping, and killing its owner right now would bring another succession and a new champion to deal with. Or the current Trollhunter could escape and stay at the Trollmarket without leaving. Both would be just additional totally uncalled complications.
The woman seriously wished she could contact Bular somehow just to tell him to put everything on hold, but it was simply impossible with current circumstances. Well, she probably could do that while exposing her human aspect of life to Stricklander and the Janus Order, but that was simply out of the question. The mother would never put Jim's peaceful life in danger.
So everything that left was simply waiting while praying to higher powers that the entire night wouldn't hold any significant events...
The son of Gunmar totally hated things not going his way, and the last nine centuries had been full of that crap. He still couldn't get why everything had gone so wrong. His father was strong, ferocious, the true king meant for greatness. Bular was proud to be his son, to be a part of the glorious contest. There had been no actual threats or obstacles. Some opposition among trolls? That one had been growing weaker with each passing year thanks to the Skullcrusher's punishment to traitors and Barverra's plucking of any rebellious roots. Most of those with different views had been simply hiding, shivering in fear. Fleshbags? Those were just a joke, puny creatures not knowing their place, especially their king, who somehow had gotten the crazy idea of his right to do whatever he wanted without any consequences.
Gunmar had been so close to the total victory - with some final pushes fleshbags would have turned into the easy prey for the Gumm-Gumm hordes. He had even allied with that witch Morgana, who had promised him her full support and presented the troll overlord changelings - those wretched abominations, those impures.
Maybe that alliance had been the mistake that had led everything askew. Magical or not, fleshbag still remained fleshbag. Or maybe, the reason was entirely different.
Bular wondered where had that accursed Deya come from. He certainly had never heard about any warrior with that name before the Killahead Bridge battle. And the son of Gunmar wasn't the only one - even his fearsome sister, who was infamous for gathering much information about any possible threat, had no idea about the first Trollhunter.
It simply made no sense. How could a no-name troll defeat the Skullcrusher himself? Had that been because of the amulet? Yes, it should have been that one, there was no way to beat Gunmar without any magical cheating.
Bular genuinely hated that damned thing. If it was his decision, he would shatter it into thousand pieces. Well, maybe he would be allowed that after his father was released - they had to destroy such a dangerous weapon as soon as possible.
But the amulet and the Trollhunter weren't the only reasons for the Butcher's frustration. He had a lot against the Janus Order, especially its leader, and not only because of impure's disgusting nature. No, the main reason was Stricklander's attitude - Bular wasn't that dumb not to notice that the changeling used every opportunity to belittle him, but couldn't do a thing with that.
It had become slightly better when he had reunited with his sister, but the improvement wasn't that impressive. The son of Gunmar expected Barverra to kick the arrogant impure from that leading position and take over planning herself, but instead, she didn't show any interest in that.
She had changed too much, Bular could swear on that. He knew his half-sister too well, she used to enjoy full control and authority, as impressive and intimidating as their father. The current her was just an empty shell of the former glory - the son of Gunmar still remembered their first spar after the reunion and how disgustingly pathetic she had been back then. That had been nowhere near the level the Herald of Doom had possessed during her prime days when even enormous trolls had been scared of her name only. There should have been some good reason for that, yet it wasn't like she wished to share it with him.
Bular wondered why his sister didn't trust him more. He had told her everything about his time during those centuries, yet she had limited her story to few general phrases. She even refused to show him his nephew or tell the name of that kid. Shouldn't that one have been a natural step?
Had Barverra brought into the world a weak offspring or something? No, the only thought of that was ridiculous. A whelp of the Gunmar's line couldn't be weak. Bular was sure that his nephew was born with huge potential and limitless ferocity. It was just his mother being overprotective for no reason.
In any case, what was the point in thinking and making theories? That one had never been his forte. He was a brute, one with combat skill and a tendency to act first and think later.
Bular scowled - his sister promised to come tonight and try to lure the Trollhunter. He had been waiting for a while, but she wasn't in a hurry to appear. That was seriously infuriating - impure were close to restoring the Killahead bridge, they only needed to get the amulet, and Gunmar's era would start for sure. Yet now Barverra was stalling for whatever reason, disappointing her brother heavily. She shouldn't have had any excuse to be absent. Yes, she had her son, but was she sitting with him all the time or something? No whelp would be that defenseless to demand such care.
That simply got ridiculous. If that wasn't the daughter of Gunmar, everyone would have a right to accuse her of sabotaging the plan, but that was out of the question for the Herald of Doom. She was as loyal as Bular, so he could never suggest otherwise.
The black troll wondered if his sister actually had some additional secret plan she kept to herself. That wouldn't be anything new - centuries ago, the Herald of Doom had been acting independently, without asking Gunmar for permission or approval, and always bringing successful results. No wonder that she was the favorite child.
Bular envied that ability - he couldn't make any plans or act without command. Every time he did something himself, it was doomed to end in failure. Probably that was the main reason why his father's banishment crashed him so much, why he was that obsessed with Gunmar's return.
The dark prince had a suspicion that Barverra hadn't bothered at all during those nine centuries. She probably had led her own lifestyle (the one in hiding but not controlled by the past). His sister had even gotten a whelp. Not that Bular minded that. The Skullcrusher's line should have been continued in any case, so eventually, one of the siblings should have ended as a parent. Nevertheless, that was too early, his sister should have waited for a more appropriate time for that. Besides...
The troll's train of thought suddenly stopped abruptly, as he caught the scent of someone he knew well enough.
Kanjigar, the current Trollhunter. Why had he appeared now, when Barverra was not present despite all the promises? Not to mention that it happened after the protector of the Trollmarket had been keeping a low profile for months!
Bular contemplated for a second. How many times had he failed to retrieve the amulet by now? What was the point of killing all those Trollhunters if the end goal remained as unreachable as it had been at the very start? Maybe waiting would be the wisest decision, even though it was not his style at all...
On the other hand... Who knew when another opportunity like that would appear? Kanjigar could simply stay underground for some more months. Or, even worse, years. Barverra claimed that he was too noble to ignore someone else's call for help, but what if other trolls from the Trollmarket decided to hold him down?
No, he couldn't miss such a chance. It was now or never. Besides, Bular just hoped that his sister would appear at some point to assist him. She had promised after all...
No matter how much he tried, Kanjigar couldn't get rid of some sickening foreboding. Something horrible was going to happen. The warrior had no idea when, where or with whom, but it still made him worried.
Probably that was the main reason why the Trollhunter decided to go on patrol. After all, many dangers were lurking on the surface, be it Bular, Barverra, or even goblins. Any of them would have no regrets while attacking some unfortunate soul.
Kanjigar had made an oath a long time ago, the one to protect weak ones from any danger that would arise. How could he break that one and ignore pleas for help?
The Trollhunter always answers the call.
There were some of his predecessors who had been more selfish, so that rule wasn't the one they would have gladly followed, but the majority of them had been trolls with noble souls. Kanjigar didn't plan to tarnish the mantle he had inherited from them, even if it could put him in danger.
Draal had tried to join him on this night patrol, but like always, his father had pushed him away. The older troll was well aware that he kept widening the rift in his family, but...
He would willingly sacrifice his own life for the greater good; however, the one belonging to his son was not something he would ever throw away.
Their relationship had been seriously strained lately, to the point when it was impossible to have a normal conversation without starting an intense argument.
'One day I'll apologize,' that was the prevalent thought after Draal had gone away huffing in annoyance.
Kanjigar didn't know that his doom was already waiting for him in the form of the son of Gunmar. Bular ambushed him in the forest, taking the Trollhunter by surprise. Was that a new strategy? The troll protector felt genuinely impressed - he had already battled the infamous Butcher several times and could say that stealth wasn't among his strongest points. That one would just scream Barverra, but the vile female was nowhere in sight. Was she involved in planning this time?
Or maybe it was a different reason altogether. Maybe Kanjigar simply hadn't paid enough attention because of his inner turmoil. That would be a grave mistake. Too many trolls had lost their lives because of carelessness. And Bular wasn't the one to let it slide.
The Trollhunter had more than enough knowledge about the dark prince's battle style. As a seasoned warrior, he put a lot of effort into learning an enemy during their fights.
Some might have underestimated the son of Gunmar, but he was powerful and too dangerous as an enemy. Kanjigar hated to admit it, but he was able to have several clashes with Bular only because of some luck and timely retreat. Any time when the Gumm-Gumm prince went all out, the fight always turned into the dance with death itself.
However, right now, something was seriously off. It took the Trollhunter several seconds to realize what exactly. Bular may have been throwing his usual arrogant threats non-stop, but he definitely wasn't as motivated in landing proper hits as he was supposed to be.
No matter how crazy it sounded, but it was as if the black brute was stalling, trying to stretch the battle as much as possible. Kanjigar even noticed his enemy casting occasional glances at surrounding trees.
The realization hit him at once - it was a trap, and Bular was waiting for someone else to appear. Yes, it was ridiculous even to assume that someone with the dark prince's level of pride would fall low to rely on backstabbing and underhanded methods. On the other hand, desperation had forced even more honorable trolls to commit more disgracing atrocities.
But that meant that Kanjigar had no luxury of staying for too long and playing right into the enemy's hand. He needed to escape, preferably before any reinforcement came. It was the matter beyond the honorary battle. The amulet was on the stake.
Nevertheless, it wasn't like Bular was going to let his adversary retreat - every time the Trollhunter tried to take a step in any direction, he was met with furious swings of twin swords.
Now there was no place for any doubt - the black troll was keeping him on the same spot for whatever reason, leaving no openings for escape.
"So, almighty Bular the Vicious can only drag the fight right now?" Kanjigar asked mockingly, hoping that it would work. He had never been that good in taunting as his preference was a more serious approach to battles. Besides, an enraged troll opponent often got a bust in the offense even though the defense reduced heavily, so there was still some risk in that. Quite often, provoking an enemy wasn't worth all the effort, but at the moment there was no other choice.
Bular clenched his teeth and growled. There was no way that the Trollhunter knew, but the son of Gunmar was on the verge of losing even the semblance of self-control. A part of him still hoped for his sister's appearance so that he would be able to execute his part of the plan and just end everything.
Hell, the Gumm-Gumm prince was sure that it had been possible to finish his foe at least twice by this point. If Barverra was around instead of doing whatever stuff she decided to do this night, they would have secured the accursed amulet already. But no, she was failing to do even that, betraying his expectations once again.
Yet Father will never blame her.
And he had snapped - the mockery wasn't even that insulting, yet it turned out to be the literal last straw.
"DIE!" the almighty roar echoed through the forest as Bular ambushed his enemy. Unfortunately for him, that was exactly the thing Kanjigar expected, so the Trollhunter evaded easily and made a dash in the direction of the bridge.
The troll protector was in a hurry as he had noticed the rapidly lightening sky. The sunrise bringing doom to his kind was too close - he needed to get to the Trollmarket as fast as possible.
Bular abandoned all the reason the moment he had seen his foe fleeing. Barverra's plan had obviously failed, so what was the point of sticking to it, especially when the daughter of Gunmar didn't care enough to participate herself? He just needed to rip the amulet from Kanjigar. So what if similar actions had led to failure too many times? It just would work properly this time. All other attempts had failed only because of bad luck.
The pursue wasn't that long - the dark prince caught up to his enemy at the dry canal. Everything had gone great so far - Kanjigar clearly looked winded, panting heavily after the furious fight and rapid escape.
Bular took a step, crashing some fleshbag-related object under his foot - why were they throwing those around? - and growled threateningly, attacking the enemy.
"Yield, Kanjigar," he commanded. The victory was near, there was no way that the Trollhunter would escape from him this time.
Finally, after all those failed attempts, decades of waiting, hiding, and humiliation...
Yet Kanjigar just kept refusing to give up. He couldn't - not with all the things at stake. Gunmar's return would spell doom for all the trolls he protected. It wasn't like the Gumm-Gumm king was kind to those he considered traitors.
"A Trollhunter never yields. I'd rather die".
Was that useless bravery? An empty bravado? Deep inside, Kanjigar already suspected that he wouldn't come home this time.
That probably was it - the only most glorious battle any troll warrior wished to have, the one ending in worthy death. He would put his best in it - there would be no way he would give his adversary an easy victory.
In any case, it didn't matter to Bular - he had decided to kill this enemy a long time ago, much like any of his predecessors. He was even going to be benevolent as him finishing the Trollhunter in battle would at least let the troll protector save his face. The dark prince would allow him to have that kind of honor instead of more disgraceful capture and eventual execution.
"Terms accepted."
Bular ambushed with a yell, quite sure in his own victory, but it seemed there was a heavy miscalculation. Kanjigar was not going to let him have that win easily.
The Trollhunter was an experienced warrior, after all, it wasn't that impossible for him to get the upper hand and punch the foe sending him flying. The Gumm-Gumm definitely lost the momentum, falling to the ground on his back. In a second, Kanjigar was standing above him, pointing his sword at the dark troll.
"Your turn, Bular. Yield".
That was simply ridiculous - Barverra was certainly right when she told her brother the information about their enemy. Too chivalrous and too noble - the daughter of Gunmar brought up those two points as the supposed weaknesses, which could easily lead to downfall.
And that was true - any other troll would just go for Bular's head without any talks, and no one would dare to criticize such an approach. Yet Kanjigar kept wasting his chance to get rid of the extremely dangerous enemy. Was he hoping that the foe would have a change of heart or something?
And that chivalry played a cruel joke with him. Mother nature wasn't going to stop her daily routine, so the sun was rising like planned. A ray of light mercilessly scorched the Trollhunter's shoulder, giving Bular the opening for the counterattack.
The tables got turned once again as the Gumm-Gumm prince kicked the foe. His fearsome Daylight sword slid through the canal right into the sunlight. In a death battle losing a weapon was often the last and only unforgivable mistake. With a grunt, Kanjigar reached for the sword in a futile attempt to change the flow of the fight once again, but only got another nasty burn.
All of that was useless. Bular had already got the upper hand, and now there was also the sun to take into account. It seemed that the horrible foreboding earlier actually was about the Trollhunter's own demise.
No, that couldn't be the end, he would never go down in history as the last one holding his mantle and the one who failed the most important mission of keeping Gunmar from the destruction of the world. Kanjigar was going to fight as long as he had at least a tiny speck of strength.
Besides, it was not like only Bular's defeat could be counted as a good side's win. As long as there was another Trollhunter, as long as the fight continued, it would mean a better position for the following encounters. And Kanjigar... Well, in the end, he was simply one of the many, a soldier whose life could be sacrificed for the sake of a better future. Now he simply had to keep the amulet away from Bular's reach. There should have been the way for that, even in his current, not that great condition.
"There is nowhere left for you to run, Trollhunter," the son of Gunmar claimed confidently. "Give me the amulet".
This time there would be no failure. This time the dark prince would force the enemy to part with that accursed Daylight amulet and finally would get the key to open his father's prison. It would be his achievement. Not his sister's.
The Trollhunter ran up the canal - the underside of the bridge could be a good shelter against the sun. That would give some time to think and solve at least one immediate problem. The other one in the form of huge Gumm-Gumm, however, didn't plan to let him go, following closely and attacking fiercely once again. All previous small successes certainly had given him a lot of motivation to finish what he started no matter what.
That was a losing battle for Kanjigar. Soon enough, despite all the efforts, he lost his sword once again. The sunburns he had already were painful enough, and now Bular was forcing him under sunlight once again in some kind of sadistic glee.
"It all ends here," the dark troll laughed happily. That was his moment of triumph. How many times had he imagined this victory? The only thing left was ripping the amulet from the adversary's chest.
Or maybe he had lowered his guard too soon - Kanjigar managed to catch his arm and expose it to the sun as well. Loosening the defense had never been such a good idea, after all. The sudden pain forced Bular to draw back, clutching his burned arm. In the end, both trolls were equal when it came to the sunlight - it had no mercy for any of them.
Still, the son of Gunmar was in a way better situation - he had taken way less damage, and his current position gave him an advantage. No matter how many times the Trollhunter was putting his futile resistance, that was a checkmate situation for him.
"It's me or the sun. Either way, you're doomed," the dark prince voiced the conclusion they both had come to. Yet, the thoughts surrounding that one couldn't be more different.
Bular was already celebrating his victory, totally forgetting about all the previous failures. It just had to be different this time, there were no other trolls in close vicinity who would get the amulet by some kind of miracle. Or maybe he would be even luckier, and Kanjigar would give him that accursed artifact willingly. By this point, the black troll wasn't even against the idea of letting his enemy go in that case. Of course, if the person of question wished to continue living after such disgrace.
The Gumm-Gumm prince could already imagine bragging before his sister (oh, her expression would be so priceless) and then ripping apart Stricklander because... Because he could, and he would need another immediate reward. That one would do. They had no need in that bastard in any case.
The Trollhunter, on the other hand, already had come to terms with his inevitable death. Even with his battle experience, he couldn't see any way out of the current predicament. He couldn't even take the enemy with him to the grave, something that would, without any doubts, make the life of the entire Trollmarket easier and most likely put an end to any dark ambitions.
Kanjigar's mind trailed to Draal. His son would try to avenge the father's death for sure. What would happen next? Would he eventually meet his own demise in the process of revenge? Not to mention that many trolls were certain that Draal would become the next protector. He was the one with the best battle prowess around, after all.
Kanjigar didn't want that. It was an obviously selfish, unsightly, and ugly wish, but he prayed from the depth of his soul for someone else to become the next Trollhunter and prevent his only son from doing something reckless.
However, there was no troll he could think about as the worthy successor. The cold reason claimed his son to be the most capable one. Everyone else would be too old, too young, too cowardly, not a warrior at all, sticking to pacifistic ways and a whole bunch of other causes. It was a heavy burden to carry. Not any troll could do that.
There should be at least one. I'll leave everything to them.
Yes, that one was a bleak hope, but did it actually matter? Kanjigar had made his mind already, feeling an unusual serenity. He was going to accept the most painful death willingly, but there was no place for any fear or doubt.
"No," he started with newfound confidence. "The amulet will find the champion. We will stop you and your master. I may end, but the fight will not."
Was that the right decision? Wrong one? Perhaps, totally crazy and pointless? Maybe there was some other way? It was too late in any case, the point of no return had already been crossed.
Kanjigar took a step back off the bridge - right into the certain death. At least, he wouldn't give the enemy the privilege of finishing him. Besides, the Trollhunter got a glimpse of that sudden shock distorting Bular's face - and that one would let him rest in peace.
The battle would continue, it was definitely not the end...