Page 13 of Ruins of Magic
Slowly, the troll bowed once more and then backed away into the depths of the cave.
“It’s nothing,” he said. “I thought I saw something.”
Leeric holstered his sword and urged them on.
“You’re certain?”
“I’m certain we are safe,” Arion told him.
“What did you see back there?” Valaria cornered Arion to ask when the first opportunity presented itself to do so.
He considered not telling her, but when he went to form the words, the truth spilled out instead. “A troll,” he whispered.
Her eyes widened. “Are you sure? I mean trolls aren’t known to be nice, and no one else saw anything there.”
“I’m positive. It was a troll. You can only see him if he shows himself to you and he said we didn’t need to fear him that he was on our side, whatever that means.”
“Why do you think he showed himself to you?”
He shrugged, unable to tell her that he was beginning to understand he may not be entirely human after all. It was starting to sink in that perhaps the zanzar was correct and druid blood did flow throughout his veins.
Arion struggled with how he felt about that. Learning to do magic was one thing. He had come to terms with that, but he had also been raised to recognize the evils of magic and why it needed to be controlled and handled by only a select few.
To be born of magic was an entirely different thing and it terrified him. He knew others had started to recognize it and call him out on it. He thought it was a mistake at first, but if it wasn’t? It could be dangerous if others found out about it. The use of magic was illegal in Gavalon for a reason and he could only hide behind his apprenticeship for so long.
There had not been much talk about it, but Arion knew there was no way that the black magic that had been used on the unicorns was an accident. He also knew that when the sorcerer was caught there would be grave consequences.
Since the cure for the plague on the unicorns was found it had been quiet in Gavalon.
“What did you see?” Garron asked, interrupting his thoughts.
“A troll,” Valaria said mater of-factly.
“No way! That’s so cool,” Garron exclaimed.
“What’s cool?” Leeric asked.
“When Arion stopped back in the cave, it was a troll.”
“A troll?” Leeric asked.
“What about a troll?” Taneth asked.
Arion groaned and glared at Valaria. He hadn’t wanted everyone to know what had happened, but it was too late for that now. “When we were back in the cave and I stopped, it was because there was a large troll in the cave.”
“Did he talk to you?” Taneth asked.
“Yes,” Arion confirmed.
“I suspected as much. Trolls are usually harmless to humans. I doubt we were in any danger,” Taneth added. “It is rare for them to show themselves like that though.”
Arion just nodded, hoping the conversation would end there.
He got his wish, and much of the remainder of the day was spent in silence. It wasn’t until later that evening when they decided to stop for the night that Valaria and Arion had a second alone to talk again.
She was fighting depression the further they journeyed. She tried to explain it to Arion, really believing he would understand, instead all they did was argue and it made her feel even worse about the entire situation.
“If you hate the guy that much, then why are traveling all this way to spend time with him?” Arion asked. He hated the topic in general, but it was weighing on him the closer they got to Chellgar. He knew they could extend the journey another two nights, but then what? The thought of seeing her with that man again made him want to roar with rage.
