Welcome to Heartstone Trollmarket
Blinky had seen Kanjigar fight many times before. Oh, he had even fought at his side. With pride and sometimes still aching scars, he remembered all too well the bloody event described to the younglings today as the Great Rocky Mountain Troll War where they had to fight their way free to finally find their new home in the local heartstone cave. Granted, unlike the trolls who had been chosen as trollhunters so far, Blinkous Galadrigal may not have looked like the muscular warrior type, but when it really mattered, he could not only wield wise words, but also use something like a small horngazel as a weapon. And he had always been able to rely on his gut feeling so far. Like today! Because said feeling had led him to this post. And it had been a good feeling. Watching nearly since the beginning of the battle and full of confidence in the Trollhunter's abilities, Blinky had already come up with a speech on how he was going to tell his fellow trolls the glorious news of Kanjigar's victorious battle against Bular.
But then, from one moment to the next, everything went down the drain.
While his joyful grin quickly turned into a petrified grimace and his hands tightly clasped around the bars, Blinky was horrified to hear Kanjigar's sacrifice and see his body burst into a thousand chunks of stone.
"Oh no..." he whispered in the darkness of the round tunnel that led from the canal to the city's sewage system. With weak knees, he sat down, anxiously hoping that the Amulet would quickly rise to seek out the next trollhunter before Bular could snatch it away.
But, apparently, the sun had already risen high enough so that the Butcher could no longer reach the Amulet. Minutes stretched uncomfortably long, but eventually, Blinky heard the deafening roar of Bular and could just make out from his post that he was retreating.
And the Amulet hadn't yet moved.
What was going on? Could it have been damaged in the fight? But that was highly unlikely; after all, it had survived almost a millennium of perpetual brutal battles, and not once had the Amulet's inherent magic allowed it to get even a scratch! Well, theoretically, everything could be destroyed; after all, the original amulet had met this fate. But Merlin had assured them before the battle for Killahead that he had improved the original blueprint of his master and that his Amulet couldn't be destroyed by a troll.
And so Blinky was itching to analyze and solve the problem. But for that he would have to hold the Amulet in his hands and that was impossible. Just as Bular couldn't have stolen it then and there, Blinky couldn't reach it now because of the sunlight brightening the canal more and more.
So, Blinky had no other choice as to prepare himself for long hours of waiting.
"Great Gronka Morka, give me strength to persevere bravely here, so that I can get the Amulet before Gunmar's son when the shadows grow longer again." Blinky sighed and took his small notebook and a pen from his pocket to spend the time usefully...
The sun's hours hadn't yet reached their zenith when he was disturbed in formulating the events of the previous night by a screeching noise somewhere above him. Shortly thereafter, a human came into his field of vision and with bated breath, Blinky hoped that he wouldn't turn in his direction and discover him. But the latter seemed to be single-mindedly eyeing Kanjigar's remains.
"Oh no," he said for the second time in a few hours, wondering what he should do if this human - youngling! he realized flabbergasted when he saw his face as the boy circled the remains - would steal one or more of the pieces.
At that thought, a feeling awoke in Blinky's guts that he hadn't had in a long time - anger! He hadn't been able to save his brother from being kidnapped by the goblins in the great all-important battle, but he swore to himself then and there that he would go after this boy if he dared to get his hands on the Trollhunter's remains!
Remembering the abilities of the wild trolls, which had been his ancestors, he concentrated fully on this boy, memorized his features, clothes and figure, and then sucked the air into his lungs until the boy's scent reached him. He continued like this for several minutes, even closing his eyes to fully take in the scent. When he finally opened his eyes again, Blinky was sure without a doubt that he could find the boy and his home anywhere in the city.
But in the next second this certainty became unimportant. Because what he saw automatically made him move closer to the bars.
Kneeling in front of the remains, the boy stared up at the sky, holding a part of Kanjigar's face in his hands and- Was he crying?
This was... quite unexpected!
Even more unexpected was that a few moments later the Amulet apparently came to life! And the boy? He looked at the ancient artifact for a long time and treated Kanjigar's remains both with respect and as if he knew exactly what he was doing. Blinky could also tell that he was saying something, but by Gorgus, it was too quiet for Blinky to hear the words! He really would have liked to know what this young man was thinking. And what he-
For the next few seemingly endless minutes, Blinky could only stare!
James Lake, as this human was obviously named, was called by the Amulet. And-and just as obviously, he accepted the artifact...
Only when the boy's footsteps had long since faded away did Blinky's mind begin to realize what he had seen.
"It chose a human?"
Shaking his head in disbelief, Blinky packed up his writing utensils and retreated toward Trollmarket to tell Aarghaumont of this unexpected turn of events.
Yes, at first he would tell only his friend. Blinky didn't even want to imagine what Vendel would say about it, or even Draal!
"Oh, by Gorgus, how will Draal take it that his father was felled by Bular and the Amulet chose not him but a lanky human next," Blinky mused while scratching his chin.
Well, first of all, he would seek out the boy and tell him about the great responsibility he had taken on by accepting the Amulet. Now he was really glad that he had memorized the boy's scent so thoroughly.
Blinky only hoped that James Lake was also up to the task, otherwise problems would arise in the future...
Hours later, with Aarghaumont at his side, it didn't really take him long to track down the boy. For it turned out that he lived in the human housing estate in the forest right next to the canal.
"Blinky, you sure he is battle-tested?"
"Oh my friend, what else could he be? He doesn't look like much with those skinny arms and legs, but I showed you that video of the humans who can do martial arts, didn't I?"
"Hmm? "Marchal arts"?" Aaarrrgghh asked, looking questioningly at Blinky.
"It means fighting method and is a technique to defeat enemies and protect yourself from attacks," Blinky lectured his friend with a raised finger. "James Lake must have a black belt in several of these martial arts. Why else would the Amulet have chosen him?"
"Mmm," Aaarrrgghh grumbled thoughtfully, stopping as a house came into view.
"Ah! That must it be." Testily, Blinky sniffed the air again, then nodded delightedly. "Yes, most definitely. Here we are right, my friend."
But after they had crossed the fenced garden, quietly opened the door and got Aaarrrgghh through the small opening into the house with a rather loud crash, Blinky turned around to continue his search for the new Trollhunter - only to freeze at the sight of an unfamiliar boy which starred at them through the open door of the room they were in.
Looking over Blinky's head, Aaarrrgghh made a questioning face. "This one not skinny," he then stated and Blinky wondered for a second if they had somehow ended up in the wrong house after all.
At that moment, the boy opened his mouth, in which his teeth were covered with metallic additives, and began to scream.
"Oh dear!" Blinky winced as the boy added to his infernal screaming by extending his arm and pointing at them accusingly.
But then he heard quick footsteps from above them and as James Lake leapt over a railing and jumped in front of the sturdy boy, the armor formed around him and in the next second he had the Sword of Daylight raised against him and Aaarrrgghh!
For a solid five seconds, the four of them just stared at each other - well, three were starring and one was still screaming - but then Blinky's eyes lit up with excitement as his brain processed what he had just seen.
"Master Jim, how splendid! You're a natural," it burst out of him, and with open arms Blinky was about to approach the new Trollhunter. But although he had lowered his sword a bit and was no longer looking angry and ready to fight, his companion held him back. Aaarrrgghh obviously had something against letting Blinky run toward a potential danger.
But Blinky only had all his eyes for the fact that the boy reacted positively to the name Jim. So he had been right in assuming that Jim was short for James and the boy was probably called that. Once again, Blinky was proud of his research skills which he showed in an enormously wide grin.
Then the boy behind Master Jim fell silent, only to immediately shout loudly, "What are these things?"
"No things, young human, if you please," Blinky lectured him with a stern voice. Then he turned his gaze back to the Trollhunter and began his explanation. "Unbeknownst to your kind, there is a secret world, a vast civilization of trolls lurking beneath your very feet, hidden from view."
"Tr-Trolls?" that sturdy boy stammered.
"Trolls. Yes, trolls. I am known as Blinky and this is my good fellow Aaarrrggghhh."
"Three Rs," said Troll interjected with a smile and pointed up three fingers for them to see.
"And it is now your charge to protect them," Blinky said further to the new champion. "For you, Master Jim, are the Trollhunter. This honor was yours to accept and you did it with so much dignity I hadn't thought before any human being would be capable of."
And to Blinky's astonishment, Master Jim's friend's face lost even the last expression of fright. Instead, he shook his head and leaned toward Master Jim. His muttered, "That's really just like you told me," was just loud enough for Blinky to hear. Did their new Trollhunter already know more than Blinky suspected? Had the Amulet sent him visions, perhaps? But Blinky found it dangerous that he was sharing it with another human.
"Master Jim, why have you told your stout little friend about us?"
"Um, is that a problem?" the young man asked him with a grimace.
"Master Jim, we trolls have gone to great lengths to keep our existence secret from your kind, lest there be panic. Like your friend just showed us."
Said friend had obviously turned his attention to Aaarrrgghh now, at whom he stared wide-eyed, and examined him from top to bottom and back.
"He's like nine feet tall!" he muttered incredulous.
"It's all right, Tobes," Master Jim tried to calm him further down then. Looking to Blinky and Aaarrrgghh he said, "This is my best friend, Toby Domzalski."
"You haven't told me that he has six eyes! So this is all really real? For real? I am going to die?"
"Hardly. Your friend is the Trollhunter. His noble obligation is protective."
"Okay, give me a brief summary please," Master Jim asked in that moment, while he fixated his sword on the back of his chestplate and then pinched the bridge of his nose with a pained expression. "Who would I be protecting?"
"Us," Aaarrrgghh growled slightly, and Blinky happily complemented, "And mankind. From bad trolls. As well as goblins, gruesomes, and the occasional rogue gnome," he counted off on his fingers. "The mantle of Trollhunter is a sacred responsibility. One which has never been passed to a human before. This is a momentous occasion," Blinky spoke solemnly and leaned more and more toward Master Jim, looking at him with a broad smile after his explanation.
"Wait a moment. I have a question," chimed Master Jim's friend in.
"Speak, Theodore." Blinky nodded to him.
"It's Toby, actually. Or Tobias. If Jim's the first human Trollhunter, like you said, then who or what was the Trollhunter before him? And was he that chunk of stone pile in the canal Jim told me about?"
"The glorious mantle has been passed from troll to troll for hundreds of years. Kanjigar the Courageous was your predecessor, Master Jim, and yes, he was felled and smashed by a ruthless troll named Bular."
"Bular, what a name…" Toby shook his head. "And, if Bular could defeat Kanjigar," he mused, "then what's going to happen to Jim?"
"A most appropriate, if troubling, query. But I think Master Jim will be up to it. With his fighting skills and a little fine-tuning, he too will become a formidable Trollhunter." He beamed at them both.
"Wait, what? My fighting skills? You think I can do kung fu or something?"
"That's right. That's why the Amulet chose you, isn't it?"
"Uh... nope." Master Jim grimaced and Blinky's eyes widened. "I've never fought before, let alone held a sword."
But as he said this, he frowned and looked thoughtful for a moment, as if the young man didn't quite believe his words himself. But Blinky could find out more about that later. In order not to worry him unnecessarily, he quickly assured him of their help.
"Of course, we would never expect you to engage in battle without the proper training. Not at all."
"And how long does the training normally take?" Tobias interjected again and Blinky got the feeling that the boy would definitely prove to be Master Jim's appendage. Whether he thought that was good or not, Blinky didn't know himself at that moment. But to answer the question, he used all his fingers to calculate the average time in which the previous trollhunters had completed their training.
"Decades," he then said, earning an incredulous stare.
"But I don't have that long, do I?" Master Jim muttered, and Blinky had to agree with him.
"Unfortunately, Bular is very active in and around this town right now. Therefore, it won't be possible to avoid facing him soon. That's why it's immensely important that we start training immediately."
"Uh, it's a school night."
"I assure you, the relevance escapes me," Blinky answered, hoping for a more detailed explanation.
"Okay, listen, I know that I'm now responsible for the protection of more worlds I hadn't known about yesterday and that if I don't keep the balance evil trolls will come and wreak havoc. But I… need a little time to process all of this, and I have to be here when my mom comes home from work. Otherwise she'll freak out because I'm just 15! But maybe I could come around tomorrow after school? Where exactly do you live beneath us?"
And okay, one night more or less probably really didn't matter. Blinky hoped at least.
"Fine, fine. Then we shall begin your training tomorrow. Our home has an entrance directly under the bridge where you found the Amulet. But we cannot wait for you outside, because the sunlight turns us into stone and thus... well, kills us. When would be the end of your school?"
Thinking briefly, Master Jim gave him a time when he could be at the bridge, but was directly interrupted again by Tobias.
"But you do realize that I'm his sidekick? Every superhero has one, after all." The boy grinned, and he and Master Jim looked at each other conspiratorially, like, as if they had agreed on this outcome beforehand. "I'll definitely go with Jimbo!"
"So be it." Blinky sighed while Aaarrrgghh seemed to rejoice about that idea. He stepped around Blinky and took the few steps until he stood right next to young Tobias. Smiling blissfully, he then inhaled deeply.
But this didn't seem to please the boy.
"Stop sniffing me, giant troll dude!"
"Smell like cat," Aaarrrgghh defended his action.
"Uh, my nana has a Siamese?"
"Mmm, tasty."
"Don't say something like that. Mr. Meow Meow PI is very important to my nana and she would be very unhappy if something happened to him!"
"Too bad," grumbled Aaarrrgghh, looking sadly at the ground.
"Well, I think we'll be on our way. Come, Aaarrrgghh," Blinky said goodbye. But when Aaarrrgghh tried to push his way through the door, he again had trouble, as expected.
"Dude! You're just so incredibly tall!" Tobias chuckled, but then braced his back against Blinky's friend and tried to push.
With a sigh, Blinky looked around for something that could possibly help maneuver Aaarrrgghh out of the door. As he did so, his eyes fell on Master Jim, who at that moment led his armor disappear and leaned himself against the doorframe, staring at the Amulet with a serious expression on his face. Outwardly, the young man looked calm and collected, but Blinky did not miss the strange expression in his eyes. Was it uncertainty? Or pain? Blinky could understand that it was all too much at that moment. If it was already incomprehensible for the trolls that the Amulet had chosen a human being for the very first time, how should said human being then feel, who was thrown into a world which he would be able to leave again only with his death. And Blinky had also found out through his research that 15 was an age in which humans nowadays did not really trust their children with much. So it was not surprising that Master Jim was not exactly jumping for joy about his new obligation.
Blinky therefore decided at that moment not only to provide the necessary training for this young man, but also to support him emotionally. Clasping each of his four hands, he approached him again.
"Master Jim, if I may… Destiny is a gift. Some go their entire lives living existences of quiet desperation," he began to explain in a calm voice the wisdom that the previous trollhunters had taught him, "never learning the truth that what feels as though a burden pushing down upon our shoulders is actually a sense of purpose that lifts us to greater heights." And Blinky saw with satisfaction that his words had an effect - his new protégé not only listened to him attentively, even a small smile now on his face made him seem not so thoughtful anymore. "Never forget that fear is but the precursor to valor, that to strive and triumph in the face of fear is what it means to be a hero. Don't think, Master Jim. Become."
"Thank you, Blinky." Master Jim then sighed, and Blinky was surprised when the young man put a hand on his shoulder in a friendly gesture. "And don't worry, I know what I have to do. I'll be there tomorrow. We'll be there," he corrected himself, looking at Tobias with a smile.
At that moment, Aaarrrgghh fell through the door again with a loud thump, and with a satisfied nod, Blinky said goodbye to his protégé.
His satisfaction lasted until his friend and he reached the entrance under the bridge. At the sight of Kanjigar's remains, he stopped and sighed.
"I think it is time to tell Vendel and Draal about this, my friend."
Aaarrrgghh nodded silently and together they went through the portal, looking for the two trolls, and Blinky described what had happened in the battle.
Draal was understandably upset and demanded to know where the Amulet was. But Blinky did not want to reveal this information just yet.
"Someone from outside Trollmarket has been chosen to be the next Trollhunter. He has agreed to join us tomorrow afternoon for training. I will introduce him to you then."
"A troll from outside? I am curious to know who that is," Vendel spoke up. "Well then, I think it is time we bring Kanjigar home. You three will set this in motion while I announce this bad news to the rest of our brothers and sisters..."
And so Blinky spent a few more hours with the other two, bringing every single stony piece from the canal to the Hero's Forge. Draal was surprisingly quiet the whole time and didn't insist on knowing who the new Trollhunter was.
Only when all the pieces were safely stowed away did Blinky fall into his bed, having promised Draal his help in assembling the remains after the night was over.
But not only Blinky and Aaarrrgghh appeared hours later at the Hero's Forge, but also many others came to say goodbye to their previous Trollhunter, who had led them to their local home. Many tried to puzzle the stone pieces back together into limbs, while others provided food and brought glug to drink. And whenever two pieces fit together, they were given to Draal. For even though Kanjigar had been the Trollhunter of them all, he had been Draal's father, and as his son it was his job to reassemble him with the mixture that Vendel had concocted that very night especially for him.
And so the hours passed quickly until it was time to pick up Master Jim and young Tobias at the entrance.
And while the other trolls took a break and with united forces also pulled Draal to the tavern with the reasoning that he too had to take a break once in a while, since he had been the only one who had not allowed himself any sleep since his father had left for his last battle against Bular, Aaarrrgghh and Blinky made their way to the stairs.
But when they reached the stone entrance, they were faced with a problem.
"How do we know when Jim and Toby are on the other side?" Aaarrrgghh asked, and Blinky had to agree that it was a very valid question. But before he had to come up with a solution, the rock in front of them began to glow with the blue light of the Amulet and Blinky emitted a delighted, "Ha!"
He quickly drew the semicircle with the horngazel and opened the portal through which the two young humans stepped in, bringing their bikes with them.
"Right on time, Master Jim and young Tobias," Blinky greeted them and while Toby still gazed open-mouthed at the closing portal, Master Jim stepped toward the two trolls.
"That way, I suppose?" the young man asked with a warm smile, pointing to the area behind them, and Blinky nodded.
"Yes, this way, Master Jim. Young Tobias, if you may?"
"Huh?" this one asked as he turned to face them. "This is all so awesomesauce!" Toby stepped forward then, and the enthusiastic glint in his eye warmed Blinky's heart. He never thought he would meet human children on a friendly basis. This opened up a whole new world of possibilities! If all humans in this age now reacted so calmly to trolls, social life could be partially moved up from below again, after centuries of hiding.
"What does osomesoce mean?" Aaarrrgghh asked, while trying to breathe in the cat smell around the boy unobtrusively this time.
"I suppose it is a heightened expression of being excited about something?" Blinky asked in turn, raising his stony eyebrows.
"It sure is," Toby confirmed, giving Blinky a thumbs up.
"Ah, well, you just wait, young Tobias and Master Jim, until you see our home..." Blinky promised, and began leading the small group down the stairs.
Behind him he heard an excited "Woah" from young Tobias and chuckled quietly. For him, the staircase was nothing new, but he could well imagine that people found it interesting when they saw it lit up for the first time.
Realizing this for himself, he looked over his shoulder to the new Trollhunter. Master Jim was walking beside his friend, and except for a small smile, Blinky found no sign that this situation was new to him either. In fact, Master Jim had already been surprisingly calm yesterday for a young person taking on such an honorable office.
Then his thought from yesterday came back to him that it could be that the young man was already connected to the Amulet on a deeper level than Blinky suspected. And that it was showing him images from this world to prepare him as best as possible for what was to come because of him being human. Blinky had no idea if it were true, because despite having been helpful to several trollhunters as an advisor, trainer and strategist, they had never revealed anything about how the Amulet actually worked. But Blinky liked the idea.
"So, Blinky," Jim then interrupted his thoughts. "The title Trollhunter implies that I'll be hunting trolls. But I suppose that only applies to the evil ones?"
"Indeed, Master Jim. Our former Trollhunter Kanjigar was felled from one, Bular, a Gumm-Gumm."
"Gumm-Gumm? Sounds like bubblegum," Toby said with a chuckle.
"Oh, but Gumm-Gumms are the most fearsome of trolls."
"Scary ones," Aaarrrgghh added.
"Okay, but this Bular can't get into this cave here, right?"
"No, Master Jim," Blinky assured the young man and reached the end of the stairs first. "But it is no mere cave."
With a broad grin, he spread his arms and invited the boys to step closer, which they both promptly did.
"Behold our home, the world you are bound to protect. Welcome to Heartstone Trollmarket!"