No April Fool's jokes from me, so enjoy)))
Douxie's hope of having a peaceful night fell in pieces with Toby's call at the ungodly late hour. The wizard-in-training didn't get much from the teen's panicked explanation over the phone, so he suggested a meeting. In any case, it didn't seem like a trivial matter - and Archie and Zoe obviously shared his concerns.
Toby arrived at GDT Arcane Books surprisingly fast, panting and out of breath. Apparently, the poor boy had put his best into pedaling his bike as fast as possible.
"Are you without your best friend today?" Zoe asked in confusion after handing the teen some water. "I've thought you were joined at the hip or something…"
"Jimbo is stubborn for no reason," Toby complained. "Even if it may cost him his life!"
Douxie sighed. For whatever reason, Jim had gotten himself into the legit death match with one of the Trollmarket's locals. The worst thing was that there was no way out of that one.
"Why no one has warned him not to offend troll honor?" Archie inquired. "It's like the first thing you should know about trolls!"
Well, actually, that one was an exaggeration. Merlin's apprentice would say the first thing anyone learned about trolls would be their weakness against the sunlight and tendency to stay in dark places. The second one was obviously their food preferences, and their pride would come only after that. Though, of course, it was not the right time to argue about semantics.
"What is the point to cry over spilled milk now?" Toby frowned. "I just want Jim to be safe - is it much to ask?"
"He needs to win that battle then," Zoe nodded.
Douxie eyed his girlfriend carefully. He always knew she had a way worse time during Arthur's reign, however, that one had granted her some unique experience. The hedge witch had actually communicated with way more trolls than he could even imagine. If anyone had a good enough grasp on their culture, that would be her.
"So no chance for cancellation or some other loophole?" the wizard-in-training asked. Zoe knew some nuances, unlike him or even Archie, so her opinion was valuable.
"Unfortunately, no," the girl shook her head with a sigh. "If it was some kind of other dispute or misunderstanding, they could resolve it peacefully… But after challenging someone's honor? I've seen half-dead trolls crawling to have those!"
"Maybe, Jim can, I dunno, give up and apologize?" Toby butted in, looking at the witch hopefully.
"Are you nuts?" Zoe groaned. "That's instant death as the winner owns the life of the loser. Does that Draal look like someone who will spare your friend?"
The response to that one was clear as a day.
"What about running away and hiding?"
"And getting another enemy in addition to Gumm-Gumms?" Douxie sighed. "That will equal losing the entire Trollmarket as allies…"
No, in the worst-case scenario, the young man could consider that one. That would limit the good team to five members, and perhaps they would need to run away from Arcadia to win more time.
"Then some magic help? Haven't you guys dealt with trolls before?" the plump teen hadn't given up. Actually, the magic power-up would have been his first option. If only Jim hadn't refused that one!
"Nine hundred years ago, they said there were three rules when encountering a troll," Archie started slowly. "The first one - never go one on one. The second - make sure there's a sunlit spot in close vicinity. And the third - if there's any doubt in your chances to win, run… Why do you think Merlin created the amulet?"
Douxie glanced at his familiar, grateful for the explanation. No, of course, the Camelot knights had hunted and captured countless trolls, but most of those had been peaceful, too old, or too young. Any encounter with a Gumm-Gumm had often resulted in some injuries or casualties. The wizard-in-training seriously doubted that the battle with Draal could be any different from that.
"I refuse to believe that you magic folks haven't thought about possible ways to strengthen human bodies," Toby folded his arms stubbornly. "All the RPGs have that stuff!"
The teen had unwittingly opened a can of worms. Douxie noticed Zoe wincing - oh yeah, she had witnessed a more unsightly side of magic unlike him. Merlin at least had tried to shield his apprentice from some not-that-pleasant stuff.
"To grant someone an ability they haven't possessed before, you need to infuse their body with magic and violate their nature," Archie answered with a scowl, seeing that everyone else was reluctant to discuss the topic. "Remember changelings? It's something like that…"
The dragon deliberately avoided details - of course, he was conscious of everyone's feelings on the topic. Toby remained the only one oblivious, so was it weird that he kept asking unpleasant questions?
"Wait, so does it mean that it's possible to give a human the ability to turn into a troll? Like, reverse changeling?"
The plump teen probably hadn't even the slightest idea that magical research had actually been the one Morgana had used as a base for her own ritual for creating changelings.
After all, the confrontation between humans and trolls had never been a matter of several years, no, it had lasted for a long time, way before even Gunmar's birth. And, of course, countless sorcerers and witches had been trying to invent something to close the gap between a human and a troll.
Douxie had accidentally seen some records of those experiments in Merlin's study - and those had been as nasty as one would have imagined. The changes had been permanent, and in most cases, there had been only cons with no pros. The young man always did his best not to think about why his master would have possibly needed something like that. Yes, the old wizard had firmly believed in 'any price is acceptable as long as there's a victory' philosophy, but wasn't twisting someone's nature a line no one should have crossed?
"You can turn a human into a troll," Zoe replied, some displeasure and disgust evident in her tone. "But there's no way back… Would you do that to your best friend?"
She had seen such an experiment - Douxie could tell that for sure, judging from her body language. The hedge witch was a strong-willed person, so it was rare for her to share her unpleasant experiences. The wizard-in-training had not even the slightest doubt that the pink-haired girl would avoid elaborating.
Besides, that last question, directed at Toby… There was another dark part of her past, a memory she'd rather have buried for good. Had Zoe known someone who had undergone the vile ritual? Douxie seriously doubted she would ever tell it even to him…
Jim was lying on his bed examining the ceiling. Not that there was anything there he had never seen before. The teen simply needed some distraction - and, alas, nothing else had worked so far.
Tomorrow, he would have a battle with Draal. The one that could only end in the death of one of the opponents. That was just another side of the troll culture Jim knew nothing about. Well, he would have probably known if he had managed to read the book Blinky had given to him. The teen had kept delaying that one until it had been too late.
Though, would any knowledge have made any change? Somehow, Jim seriously doubted that.
He should probably have freaked out, panicked, or run around searching for a solution, yet somehow the Trollhunter remained relatively calm. Perhaps, it was because he simply couldn't imagine himself dying, even if it was more than possible in the current situation.
Jim sighed, remembering how he had parted ways with Toby. His best friend had insisted on getting some magical help from Douxie. Common sense told the lanky teen he should have done exactly that, yet…
Tonight, some other part of his soul had been dominant when it came to making decisions, and that one was deadset on not involving anyone in his fight with the son of Kanjigar. Apparently, it was the same one that had been more than happy to provoke Draal more.
Any other day, Jim would have tried his best in silencing it and most likely could have succeeded with the task, yet today those wishes had won over everything else.
Was it some kind of survival instinct? Or perhaps, the teen subconsciously felt that his aggressive side was more fit for the incoming battle?
Or maybe he simply didn't care about restraining it anymore, knowing that it was his last day in any case?
Jim could hear the door creaking downstairs. Apparently, Barbara had returned from another one of her shifts. Lately, her son failed to see any sense in those - they seemed so sporadic, with way more night ones. At times, he barely managed to talk to his mother beyond a single 'good morning' and 'goodbye'.
If he actually died tomorrow, who would have taken care of her? Who would tell her to stop working so hard?
For a second, Jim wondered if he should have gone downstairs and told Barbara everything.
She's willing to take a hit for my sake.
The memory of the conversation they had had some days ago resurfaced before he had managed to do a thing.
No, he couldn't tell the woman anything. Barbara would raise hell if she ever learned that her son would have a fight to the death with a skilled troll warrior. Or, more likely, challenge Draal to battle herself.
As if Jim could ever allow his mother to risk like that only because he had managed to screw royally with not learning how to organize a rematch spar without turning it into a legit deathmatch!
The teen groaned. There were so many things he wanted to tell his mother before it was too late. And not only her - there were others as well.
A sudden idea had crossed his mind. If he couldn't talk about those aloud, he could always write a letter for his close people to read afterward.
One for his mom - telling her to stop overworking herself to the bone and put more attention to her well-being. An easy recipe or two - Jim simply refused to think that Barbara was that hopeless when it came to cooking. A genuine wish for her to find some personal happiness, and well, probably have more kids. The teen smiled at the last thought, wondering how would it feel to be an elder brother - not that he could possibly learn it now.
One for Tobes - containing his genuine gratitude to his best friend for becoming a true bro to Jim. For sticking with him through thick and thin. For accepting even his not-that-great part. Not to mention that Toby had joined him in his crazy adventure involving trolls… Wait, no, it had never been just his, it had been theirs.
The lanky teen stopped writing for a second. Would Tobes still continue with the supernatural world after Jim's untimely demise? Should he have told him to stop and not to risk anymore?
No, he had no right to decide for his best friend. He should have respected his opinion. Whatever the way Toby would pick, Jim would never judge him for that.
Surprisingly, his closest circle was not that big. Though…
Yeah, there were more people he should have bid farewell to as well.
The teen started with the letter to Blinky and Aaarrrgghh, thanking them for believing in him and becoming his only true allies at the Trollmarket. He would be happy to know those guys better, despite their quirks. Unfortunately, the circumstances were definitely against that.
Jim wished Blinky to train some more talented Trollhunter in the future. He was a good mentor, after all, so his charges' failures shouldn't have discouraged him too much.
The next one was directed to Douxie, Zoe, and Archie. Jim apologized for causing them so much trouble - hadn't the magic team basically covered all the defense lines, protecting his dear people? And the teen somehow had managed to put all that hard work to waste.
Hopefully, the next time, they would find a more capable champion to support…
Claire…
Jim stopped once again, not sure what to write to his crush. He genuinely wished to confess his feelings, to find at least some closure in that regard, but… Writing all of that in a letter? No matter what words he picked up, it ended sounding ridiculously empty, cheesy and fake.
Perhaps, that kind of confession simply could work only in person.
Nevertheless, there was still something else he wished to tell her. Sure thing, not that long time ago, Jim had agreed with Douxie to keep Claire away from all the troll-related stuff. However…
Was it fair to lie to her?
The teen remembered the Latina's genuine awe when he had shown her some 'telekinesis'. Yep, the amulet had been right in smacking him for that. Jim should have just confessed that he was doing some monster-hunting as a part-time job or something. Most likely, Claire wouldn't even try to get into that one.
Oh, and shouldn't Jim have written something to Mr. Strickler? Wasn't the man his favourite teacher? Wasn't he also genuinely concerned for the teen's well-being?
Yet, no matter how many times Jim tried, he couldn't get even the slightest idea what to write about. His mind kept getting stuck right after 'Dear Mr. Strickler' every single time…
At the moment, Nomura knew only one thing for sure - namely, her own wish to kill Stricklander in the most painful and gruesome manner possible. That bastard surely had the nerve to sic her on a witch! Or was that girl a sorceress? The female was too pissed to think about semantics.
Her mind trailed back to the recent unfortunate events. Her superior had only mentioned that Claire Nunez was the Trollhunter's crush and some kind of friend or something, obviously not involved with the troll society in any manner.
Nomura gritted her teeth, feeling another spike of rage. How many times would she make the same mistake? No one should have trusted any information coming from any changeling, let alone that winged scheming bastard Stricklander!
If the female had done some additional research, she could have avoided being thrown out the window by an overwhelming magical force. And that one wasn't a pleasant experience, being akin to Bular's full-force punch.
Yet, instead, Nomura had simply come to the victim's house. Her plan had been peerless in theory. Picking a late hour. Whistling In the Hall of the Mountain King - that one always crept her enemies, reducing them to shivering mess, her perfect song of death. And then getting in, choking the girl without full strangulation, whispering words the assassin had picked up with utmost care. The next day the Trollhunter should have gotten the message, and as he hadn't been that close to the target, Nomura had crafted a nightmare that would go around in gossip and rumors.
That should have worked - but obviously not with a witch!
The changeling spat out some purple blood - she might have gotten no external damage due to her stony skin, but it hadn't helped at all with the internal one. The girl was dangerous enough, even if she apparently couldn't use her offensive magic at will or something like that. Was there any difference, though? Where was the guarantee that the young witch wouldn't master that one soon?
Nomura barged inside Stricklander's house, not caring if he wanted to see her there or if it could possibly compromise trollkind's existence. In the end, the Janus Order should have been capable of covering the minor ruckus she could cause after dealing with Bular's messes for years.
The female caught her superior by surprise - something that might have entertained her only a day ago, right now left no lasting impression. She was more eager to beat all the crap out of the winged bastard. Alas, there had never been an opportunity for that. The man was peerless when it came to covering his bases and building multi-layered defenses. Even if he hadn't expected Nomura's visit, he wasn't vulnerable at the moment.
The female changeling glanced over papers scattered on Stricklander's desk - was that another of his schemes? She didn't care about the stuff he was investigating in any case.
"Do you find it funny to send your allies into the outright death trap?" she hissed. Sure thing, the head of the Janus Order should have gathered the data on each one of his students. Why would he have picked up a witch for a target? Was it a part of his elaborate scheme to lure out the mysterious wizard? Nomura was sick and tired of being treated as a disposable pawn.
And - apparently, she had caught him by surprise for a second time in a row, no matter how much Walter tried to cover it with a fake indifference.
"I haven't known you're prone to overdramatizing," he shrugged. His eyes, however, told a whole another story. The man was at least interested, if not outright intrigued.
So, he had no idea. Nomura cursed herself, realizing that she had somehow lost a potential trump card. With all those mind games, it would have been so convenient to possess a piece of unique information. Yet she had been careless enough to reveal that Claire Nunez wasn't just a regular vulnerable target.
Stricklander wasn't a fool, he would connect the dots without any answer from her. And the man had already begun his guessing game:
"So, you've failed to scare the girl, haven't you? There was someone there to inflict enough damage for you to compare it to a death trap…"
That was the reason why Nomura hated her superior that much - he knew how to deduce more than enough information out of the tiniest scraps. That was a unique talent for sure.
"Was there an enemy waiting for an ambush there?" Walter continued musing aloud, watching intently for his aide's reaction. "Young Atlas doesn't possess that much manpower to cover all the possibilities… Besides, his team has applied a different strategy before… Wasn't it something involving protective barriers?"
As the female expected, the Head of the Janus Order kept crossing out the possibilities. Even if he got no exact answer, in the end, he would start investigating Claire Nunez just in case, so…
"Let me guess, whatever you encountered there, it had no connection to the Trollhunter whatsoever," Stricklander stated out of nowhere.
Nomura flinched unwittingly, basically confirming his guess. Apparently, it was pointless to hide it anymore.
"The girl is a witch or sorceress or some other kind of magic user," the female gritted her teeth. "Had no chance to ask… Though, probably an apprentice as she let me attack her before she threw me out of her window…"
She could swear there was a shadow of amusement in her superior's eyes. Did he actually find it funny?
"Lately, you keep underestimating your opponents… First, Young Atlas, now - the girl. Are you starting to lose your grip?" it sounded even slightly sympathetic, yet Nomura wasn't that naive to fall for that. It was a warning that no more failures were allowed.
"Though, a witch?" Stricklander continued. "Who could guess…"
So, despite knowing the girl in question, he hadn't suspected her connection to the supernatural world. Something wasn't adding - and the female changeling could swear that her superior was as confused about that part as herself.
Walter couldn't help denying that there had been some possible circumstances he had missed. Sure thing, he had a detailed data folder regarding each and every one of his students, always paying the utmost attention to any possible connection with the magic users' community. A bunch of wizards and sorcerers had never been against working or even openly supporting the Janus Order, yet securing some more possible allies would never hurt.
Claire actually didn't stand out in that regard. There wasn't any confirmed magic user among her direct ancestors he had found appropriate to check. Strickler could also have tried to trail it back several generations more, but a magic gift rarely was inherited from someone farther than great-grandparents.
Unless…
Yes, there could be that rare case he had once read about. Some distinguished magical families had invented a complicated ritual to preserve their gifts through generations when there was a possibility for those to diminish tremendously because of mixing with regular people. Thanks to that one, only a handful of descendants inherited a talent for sorcery, each possessing a tremendous potential.
If Claire Nunez was actually one of those, it might have created yet another complication in the future.
Any other time, it might have become a valuable discovery, yet right now there was no point in complicating an already messy situation with yet another wild factor. Sure thing, the girl in question was Young Atlas's crush, yet her connection to him should have been minimal. She was just a piece of some other, totally unrelated puzzle and…
No.
Walter mentally corrected himself at once. Some magic-using party had always been a part of the Trollhunter's team. There was a certain male wizard or sorcerer - the one both Nomura and Montgo had seen at the museum. That one should have had some connection to Jim, yet Strickler still had failed to pinpoint anyone fitting the description.
But what if he had been mistaken from the very beginning, and the mysterious person rather had a connection to someone close enough to the teen? After all, during his first days as Merlin's champion, Young Atlas had made more than enough mistakes, and his defense had been full of holes. It had drastically changed only after a certain point - meaning that someone had joined the teen and probably explained to him some basic rules.
Walter could imagine that the magic user had learned about the new Trollhunter from someone else. Could Claire have been the one to deliver the news? She might have possibly done so without understanding - the girl had seen the Daylight armor, after all. The scenario where she had mentioned that one to some close friend wasn't that far-fetched.
Somehow, Nomura had provided Stricklander with a solid lead. It would be foolish not to check that one. It was quite a pity that the History teacher had never attempted to charm the talented Latina and become her confidante. Would it be too late for that right now?
No, it would have been too risky to establish that kind of link at the moment, especially with both Barverra and his rivals monitoring each of his steps. The man cursed mentally - he had been careless enough, missing some valuable resources as a result.
His intuition told him that Nunez was a vital link to the fragment of the puzzle involving Jim's magical allies. The previous lead with GDT Arcane Books had left nowhere - the Janus Order had no records of that place being connected to the supernatural world.
Unfortunately, that never meant that the place in question wasn't suspicious. Yes, no records could imply being just a quirky human shop. However, it was also highly likely, that the Janus Order simply had never gotten involved with the bookstore. Or even worse - GDT Arcane Books could have sheltered someone with a peerless skill to cover their tracks. Wouldn't that description fit Jim's mysterious ally?
No, right now, getting to that person through Claire seemed to be the safest bet. If only Strickler had a way to monitor each and every one of her actions!
He mentally ran through the list of his goons stationed in Arcadia. No, no one was close to Nunez. Not to mention that their loyalty was rather dubious, to put it mildly, due to Barverra's scheming.
Walter desperately needed a spy, an insider, someone who could spend a good chunk of their life near the girl in question. He briefly considered calling Scaarbach, but, no, it was still too early to take out that trump card. Polymorphs were never a resource one could use carelessly, and a potential spy would always be in danger of being discovered and destroyed.
There had to be some other way to resolve the current standstill. Stricklander just needed to focus more - hadn't he managed to get away from way more problematic situations before? He simply could recall everything he knew to find some points that could click, and…
The man smirked as he had finally found something he could exploit. A perfect spy should be able to infiltrate Nunez's household. There was no need to involve any of his current goons - Walter simply needed a new one. And Claire just happened to have a brother of an appropriate age to work as a familiar.
Besides, planting a changeling into that family would cause no suspicions altogether. The Janus Order had always given preferences to influential families to expand their connection, and Councilwoman Nunez had been impressively successful in her political carrier.
The problem would be getting another changeling to his team at the current stage of the Killahead Restoration Project. Walter's rivals would definitely question that one unless there was some good excuse for that. Though… He could always fake some panic and mask planting a spy as a last-ditch attempt to get more goons. Yes, that could work. His rivals could easily believe in Stricklander being cornered. Barverra… She was arrogant, so underestimating her enemies wouldn't be that uncalled yet…
It was difficult to deny that some part of Walter wished her to see through his scheme because… Well, he had no idea why. Was he enjoying the battle of wits with the daughter of Gunmar that much? Did he actually like the feeling of walking along the edge?
Stricklander shrugged off the odd thought. In the end, he should have considered something else at the moment, for example, the reason for bringing another changeling from the Darklands. To do that, he would need approval from either the Skullcrusher or one of his children. And… Yes, that wouldn't be easy.
Bular was already on edge with too many hateful 'impures' around. His sister could say 'no' out of spite, though, perhaps, it would depend more on her mood. The only chance would be appealing to Gunmar himself…
And the last problem to solve was the means to execute the plan. No, of course, goblins knew their task perfectly. Stricklander could swear there were only less than a dozen times when they had failed to switch a kid. His worries concerned the logistics.
He deliberately needed a Fetch. He used to possess one, but those always had a limited amount of uses, tending to shatter at the most inconvenient moment. It was annoying as getting another one would be a labor of its own level.
Creating a dimensional crack was never a piece of cake, so Fetches had to be top-notch quality. You would need rare materials from all around the world, including those from outright deadly locations. And even getting those would lead nowhere unless there was a genius mystical craftsman who would agree to take a job.
Possessing a Fetch could propel any changeling up in the ranks of the Janus Order. After all, they would own a means to expand their influence as they could change who exactly to bring into the human society.
And, unfortunately, Stricklander missed that valuable trump card. On the other hand, he knew someone who had recently secured one.
Nomura got her guards up the second he turned to her. Well, she had always been a keen one, besides, you needed to be braindead not to consider possibilities. Most likely, his aide still had no idea what exactly to expect, but she was sure that the response would never be favorable for her.
"Nomura, you know, for my most trusted ally, you betray my expectations too often," Walter drawled. Blackmail - that could be the only approach with her right now. The female would cling to her Fetch as if it was her lifeline in any case. Parting ways with it to ensure her own survival - Strickler knew how to force her to follow that scenario.
"Have you ever considered that your plans suck?" Nomura spat back, still obviously irritated with her recent unfortunately encounter. "And don't try to shift the blame for our hideout being busted to me. We both know that goblins led the Trollhunter there!"
She would never give in easily when it came to her survival chances. The female wanted to continue living even if she had no raison d'etre. At times, Strickler genuinely marveled that ridiculous resilience. Unlike her, he had found his own goal and would do anything to reach it.
"Well, I have enough brains to avoid any bias," he shrugged indifferently. "Bular, on the other hand, may be interested in having a sparring partner to vent some of his stress. And I find your battle capabilities enough for that task - perhaps, you won't fail at least there…"
Walter could see her hands curling into fists. Of course, Nomura knew. It had been Stricklander's favorite way to get rid of useless pawns, after all. Bular never spared an opponent after a spar. Well, the winged changeling had stopped organizing those after Barverra's appearance, but…
He could always return to that habit - and his aide was well-aware of that.
"You won't dare…" she hissed, looking at her superior with a barely concealed hatred.
"And what other use you can provide?" he asked calmly, making sure that his whole posture emanated finality.
"I…" Nomura hesitated, obviously not that eager to reveal her trump card even now. Apparently, she still believed in some possibility of getting out without that one.
"I know about your efforts to acquire a certain object," Walter smirked. "Good job. I propose you give the Fetch to me - and I'll pretend that nothing's happened. Rather generous - don't you think so?"
Of course, she definitely disagreed, but the seed of hesitation was already there.
"Let me guess, you've planned to use it as a bargaining chip if Gunmar's kin decided to obliterate you," he continued. "Not that wise, I'd say… Proposing more changelings when both of them are already not that happy with our backup? That's trying to put down the fire with some gasoline…"
Nomura stayed silent, basically confirming Stricklander's suspicions.
"Or, perhaps, you consider changing allegiances?" he raised his eyebrows in fake disbelief. "Do you think that anyone else will be able to evaluate your skills and talents without trying to get rid of you? The Janus Order encourages backstabbing, but that one needs to promote you, otherwise…"
The man never elaborated the part after 'otherwise' - it was pointless. His aide knew the codex perfectly, including the fact that no one there appreciated losers.
The Fetch was already his, there was no doubt about that…