Chapter VII: Langthorne Forest

The city of Wonder lies to the north, 50 leagues from Oscillith. The city was once surrounded by majestic forests and incessant rivers. But, the forests have diminished and the rivers drained; a large dam constructed upriver to blockade the flow of the river downstream as Diantre's minions moved in. They hacked, burned and fell the ancient trees that have stood for long; the rivers have ceased to exist as they made way for weapon-making facilities to provide weapons for Diantre's warmongering. The once beautiful and magical city of Wonder was no more. Diantre hired mercenaries --- trolls that reside in the surrounding lands and conquered the city of Wonder. Their leader was a man known as Thyezza, the "Steel Man." After the war, the trolls were given Langthorne forest in which they now reside in.





In order to reach Wonder from Oscillith, the Langthorne Forest was a necessary path to take. Few now venture into the forest for fear of being eaten by trolls which now infested the forest. Many have already fallen prey to these creatures, who prey on humans and after that, take their belongings as their own. Trolls are strong and brutal, but they are dumb, clumsy, slow, greedy and utterly gullible.

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Stone and Ragen made preparations to cross the forest and reach the city of Wonder. They didn't pack much, only some food and a pouch of water, as well as their weapons.

"We'll cross the forest tomorrow morning, hopefully we can reach Wonder by nightfall, or it'll be very dangerous to remain in the forest at night. Remember, follow me closely when we enter the forest. There are many side paths and you can get lost should you venture into one of those." Ragen said.

Stone nodded in agreement.

"I hope I've entrusted the city into good hands, Amezza, you are now the steward of Oscillith city. I know you can keep the city safe before I return." Ragen said to his hand-picked appointed leader.

"Rest assured, Sir, the city is in safe hands."

"Tonight we shall celebrate our victory!" Ragen smiled and said.

Let us head to The Moor."

A grand feast was held at the old tavern, a feast that was fit for a king, enough to last them for days. The men, now filled with a joyous spirit and ecstatic fervour, began singing and dancing in happiness. Stone and Ragen, however were worried. News of Oscillith's defeat would soon Diantre's ears, he would not let Oscillith fall so easily, an attack could come their way soon, and they would once again, be besieged as they were outnumbered. Stone and Ragen took sips of their beer and nibbled at the sumptous food that lay on the table. After a while, Ragen stood and began to speak, the men quietened down.

"Let us all celebrate this joyful day, where Oscillith is freed from the dark hand. But we may not celebrate for long, for an attack may be imminent and we would fall again. I wish to fight alongside everybody standing before me right now,, but alas, I have more pressing tasks to perform and I'll be leaving tomorrow morning. The sity will be under the custodian of Amezza. Obey his commands for he shall lead you all through these dark times while I am away. We must open up Oscillith, welcome all friends willing to fight against Diantre; send for aid. With these said, I toast you all." Ragen raised his mug.

"TOAST!!" The men returned the gesture in unison and drank in silence, their hearts heavy.

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A good night's rest.

"We should be going off now." Ragen said to Amezza.

"Good luck."

"And so to you." Ragen replied.

Stone and Ragen walked out of the city gate. The soft sun kissing their cheeks with its gentle rays. They felt light-hearted, happy that Oscillith can once again see light.

"Come, I'll race you to the Langthorne Forest." Ragen smiled and sped off, leaving a gale of wind and a trail of dust as he picked up speed.

After a while, they reached the entrance to the forest. The huge forest and ancient trees looked scary, their trunks bending downwards towards them. The branches and leaves looked like outstretched hands that were coming for them. Even in the day, the forest appeared dim and dark, few beams of wellow light penetrated the thick canopy, the ground was almost barren as the trees formed a blanket over the soft ground, littered with dead leaves from the countless trees growing within the forest. A small gate seprated them from the pathway that led to Wonder. The gate was rusty, one side left dangling as the gate broke of its rusty hinges. The pathway used to be walked by travellers, but now, it has become a deserted route.



The gate squeaked and croaked as Ragen pushed the gate open.

The leaves on a nearby tree rustled. "Who's there? Or is it the wind?" Stone thought to himself, his hand sub-consciously moving to his sword. Stone followed in.

The path was narrow. It appeared to be straight at first, but it soon disappeared into the darkness of the forest.

They continued to walk, occasionally, a squirrel or a rabbit greeted them. It was already noon, but the forest remained cool and damp.

They were already in the mid-section of the forest when suddenly, the pathway forked into 2.

"Huh? There should only be one route. Where does the other lead to?" Ragen asked, unable to believe what he saw.

Suddenly, a troll appeared behind Stone and swang his spiked steel club, aiming for Stone's head. Trolls have very thick and leathery skin, making it a formidable armour and one that cannot be pierced through easily. There is however, a soft spot on its body; that is, the area around his neck.

"Huh!" Stone ducked, dodging the deadly blow in time which would otherwise caused a huge pit in his skull. The club hit air. The troll, unable to stop the momentum of the swing, clubbered the deadly weapon into a large tree. The tree slanted a bit; but its trunk soon unable to withstand the tremendous force, fell with a loud thud on the soft ground. A second troll was looming in the trees. Seeing that his companion had missed, he emerged from his cover and swang his club towards Stone. This time, the club hit cleanly on Stone's abdomen. The tremendous force sent him flying several feet before the flying momentum was broken by the impact with a tree.

"Arh!" Stone picked himself, clutching the bloody wound on his abdomen. Stone was lucky, for the mithril armour defused most of the attack which would otherwise had claimed Stone's life. Ragen turned around, only to see Stone being hit. The attack continued, the troll now going for Stone's skull.

"Watch out!" Ragen shouted, a flying dagger leaving his hand as he spoke. The dagger glided through the air, hitting the troll on the neck. The attack stopped momentously. The troll stood still, his club still in mid-air. Ragen went forth and retrieved his dagger; the troll, already dead, fell to the ground.

The other troll that attacked Stone earlier was now furious at the sight of his friend's death. He lunged forward, his club aiming at Ragen. Reflexively, Ragen unsheathed his sword and raised it to fend from the attack. "Clank!" Ragen withstood the attack, but not after his feet sank into the soft earth below. Wincing from the pain, Stone stood up and circled behind the troll, sneaked up onto himand put his sword into the troll's back with all the might that he could conjour up. The troll fell and lay motionless on the floor.

Stone fell to his kness, his sword preventing him from falling to the ground.

"Are you all right?" Ragen asked.

"I'm hit bad, Ragen."

"This isn't right, Stone, trolls aren't supposed to move around in the daylight, much less attack humans."

"We'd better go. Come, I'll help you up."

Suddenly, 20 trolls appeared from the trees, surrounding them in a circle.



"What!?"

"We're trapped!" Stone said.

"Tie them up! Bring them to the cave!" The head of the pack of trolls ordered. The 2 men knew they had no other way of escape. They put down their weapons and raised their hands in surrender. 2 trolls came forth, tied them up and blindfolded them.

"Disarm them!" Thick rough hands searched Stone and Ragen, taking away all their blades.

"Move it!" A hand pushed against Stone.

"Stand up and move! A hand pushed against Stone.

They walked for some distance before reaching a large cavern and were pushed in roughly, their blindfolds now removed. It was dark, filthy and smelly, and the cavern was not very large. In one corner, lay a pile of skulls, neatly stacked up in a heap. In another corner, lay chests of looted gold and weapons of every kind, including theirs and the LightBringer Sword.

The pain now subsided a bit and the bleeding stopped.

"Stone, are you there? Are you alright?"

"I'm here... I think I've got a broken rib or two."

"Something seems to be amiss Stone. Trolls aren't that smart to organize an ambush like that. Haven't you noticed? It's as if somebody, or something taught them to do so. And this person or people, are out to kill us. Worst still, they might even be following us."

"You're right, Ragen. It all doesn't make sense. Remember the 20 men that were killed mysteriously? We still have no clue who this person is, it could be the same group..."

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It was already nightfall.

Stone and Ragen are still trapped in the small cave.

"You said trolls are dumb, didn't you?"

"Yes, they are."

"I've got a plan." Stone forced a painful smile.

"It's dinner time!" A troll walked into the cave, on orders of the head troll to take the 2 captives to the cauldron to be cooked.

"Hey!" Stone chimed.

"Hey! I have something for you. Look at the pendant on my chest. It's nice? Isn't it?"

The troll looked at the pendant on Stone's chest. It was emitting a faint blue light; the troll had never seen something like that before.

"You'll... Give me?" The troll asked.

"No, I can't, its very important to me. But I can let you touch it." Stone said. The troll was falling into his trap.

"But first, you must answer my questions."

The troll nodded.

Stone began.

"Who told you we were going through the forest?"

"Inoyue told us."

"Who is Inoyue?"

"He is the one who told us to tie you up and bring the both of you here."

"Who told him then, where did he get the information?"

"I saw him talking to a bear this morning."

"What? A bear?" Stone looked at Ragen.

The troll nodded.

"Alright, what did the bear say?"

"He told Inoyue that 2 men would be passing through the forest this morning and they would be good food for us. He told us to wait at the fork road. He even taught us how to ambush and capture the both of you."

"He is a good person. We are hungry, he teach us hunt for food and gave us gold." The troll continued speaking.

"He gave you gold?"

"Yes, lots of them."

"Can I touch it now?" The troll was getting impatient.

"One last question. Where is the bear now?"

"I don't know. He roams around the forest I think."

Stone's mind was thinking, and quickly, thinking of how he could make use of this fool to get out of the situation. At this moment, a streak of white light from the moon illuminated the pendant dangling over Stone's chest. It gave off a soft light. Stone said:

"Hey, Mister Troll, do you know that I'm the bear's friend? He communicates with me through this pendant. Look, he wants to speak with you." Stone nudged Ragen with his elbow. The troll now focussed all his attention on the pendant.

"I'm Mister Bear. These 2 people here are my friends, the ones that I told you about have already passed the forest. You all have missed them. Release them now." Ragen said.

The beam of light now gone, as the clouds moved over the moon.

The troll was mystified and confused now. He took the pendant from Stone and carefully observed it, shaking it and putting it close to his ears to listen for any more sounds. Stone laughed and said:

"The Bear only speaks when he wants to... So can you release us now? You wouldn't want to eat your friend's friend? Would you?" Stone asked.

The troll was now lost. He did not know whether Stone was telling the truth or not. Finally, he said, hand scratching his head:

"Perhaps you're friends of Mister Bear after all. Alright, I'll release you." The troll went over and untied the knots on their hands and legs.

"Can I have the pendant back? Mister Bear will try to communicate with me soon about the location of the 2 men. Perhaps then I'll tell you their whereabouts."

The troll nodded and handed over the pendant.

"Come on,let's go." Stone said, picking up his weapons and half the Sword of LightBringer.

"Goodbye Mister Troll." The troll waved back, utterly confused but convinced that he had done the right thing in releasing them. Picking up the tracks left behind by the trolls, they were able to find their way back to the forked road.



"That was close, had he not believed us, we'll be cooked meat tonight." Ragen said.

"Let's get out of here quick!"

Suddenly, 2 figures jumped down from a tree, their short knives now put on Stone's and Ragen's throats. They had nowhere to hide. Once again, they had to surrender. Stone sighed. Suddenly, they felt a heavy blow to their back of the necks and lost consciousness...