The hunt party 3: Troll

Levis felt a surge of adrenaline as he decided to risk his life for the boar. He didn't bother to think of a plan, he just grabbed his daggers and ran into the cave, leaving Travis unconscious but safe behind him. He hoped that his friend would wake up soon and join him in the fight or better still escape to a safer place.

As he entered the dark and damp cave, he slowed down and scanned the surroundings. He spotted the troll in the far corner, gnawing on the boar's carcass. Levis was stunned by the sight of the creature. He had never encountered a troll before, only read about them in his grandfather's dusty books. But this troll was nothing like the ones he had imagined. Instead of having black-gray skin, horns, tusks, and black eyes, this troll was white as snow, with yellow eyes that glowed in the dark. And it was big, at least four or five times the size of a human but nothing close to what he had read.

Levis noticed that the cave was supported by wooden beams that looked rotten and infested by insects. Only one iron beam in the center seemed to hold the cave from collapsing. He wondered if he could use that to his advantage.

Meanwhile, the others who had witnessed the troll attack from the top of the valley had rushed to the village to alert the authorities. The two soldiers who were with them had used the highest level of enhancement spell to speed up their journey. They knew that Levis and Travis were in grave danger, and that the captain, Klaus, would not spare them if anything happened to these kids.

Levis had already devised a strategy in his mind by this time. He wanted to lure the troll into hitting the wooden beams, hoping that the cave would cave in and bury the beast. Then he would grab the boar's gallbladder and escape. He knew that he had no chance of killing the troll with his weapons. The troll was too strong and too tough.

He stepped out of the shadows and threw a rock at the troll's head. The troll ignored him, too busy with its meal. Levis threw another rock, and another, but the troll still didn't react. Levis cursed and took out his bow and arrows. He aimed a its left eye and hit his target, the troll roared in pain. It dropped the boar and picked up a massive club that was lying next to it. It glared at Levis with its remaining eye and charged at him.

Levis felt a wave of fear wash over him, but he also felt a fierce determination to get back the boar. He had hoped to draw the creature towards the wooden beams, to use its own brute force against it. But the troll was cunning, its yellow eyes gleaming with a malicious intelligence that belied its monstrous form. It avoided the beams, its focus solely on Levis, intent on trapping him, on ending this game of cat and mouse with a single, crushing blow.

The troll's swings were mighty, each whoosh of its club a deadly promise of destruction. Levis, however, danced away from each attack with the grace of a leaf caught in a tempest.

Panic fluttered in Levis' chest as he realized his plan was unraveling. Desperation clawed at his mind, urging him to find a new way to survive, to triumph. His gaze swept the cave, searching for salvation. There, amidst the remnants of a long-abandoned mine, was a cart laden with coal. An idea sparked within him, a last-ditch effort to turn the tide.

He sprinted towards the cart, his movements swift and silent. Climbing atop it, he nocked an arrow and let it fly, the string of his bow singing a deadly tune. The troll roared, its rage a palpable force that shook the very air. It swung its club with reckless abandon, aiming to obliterate the nuisance before it. The cart splintered under the assault, coal bursting into the air like a cloud of dark snow, obscuring the troll's vision.

Seizing the moment, Levis leaped towards the boar, his hands searching for the gallbladder, the key to his victory. But the troll was relentless. Its club whistled through the air, a hair's breadth from Levis' back. He dove aside, his heart thundering in his ears, knowing that there was no room left for evasion, no magic at his disposal to shield him from the troll's might.

The cave began to groan, a symphony of impending doom as the troll's strikes finally found the beams. Neither Levis nor the troll noticed the subtle shift, the stirrings of collapse. Outside, the soldiers, led by Meleona and Calvin, arrived at the mine's entrance, their faces etched with concern. They had come to rescue their comrades, to bring them back from the jaws of death.

Meleona quickly assessed Travis' condition, entrusting him to the care of the soldiers before plunging into the cave with Calvin and the others. They witnessed the cave's slow surrender to gravity, the beams groaning under the strain. They called out to Levis, a warning that split his focus for a fatal second.

The troll's club swung towards Levis' face, a blur of death. Instinctively, he raised his daggers, the only barrier between him and oblivion. The impact was colossal, sending him hurtling through the air to crash against the solitary metal beam. Pain exploded through his body, darkness creeping at the edges of his vision.

The cave's demise accelerated, boulders tumbling like the footsteps of giants. Calvin charged forward, his arms wrapping around Levis, dragging him from the maw of the collapsing cave. Unconsciousness claimed Levis, his arms broken, his body a testament to the ferocity of the battle.

Meleona's aim was true, her single shot finding its mark between the troll's eyes. The creature slumped, a baby troll felled by a warrior's precision. Meleona and Calvin exchanged a glance, both recognizing the youth of their foe, a sad echo of their days as soldiers.

Time was a luxury they could not afford as the cave gave its final, shuddering breath. They fled, leaving the boar behind, the cave sealing its secrets within. Meleona's thoughts lingered on the baby troll, its presence near the village an unsettling.

With Levis and the now-conscious Travis in tow, they made their way back to the village, the elk trailing behind them. The adventure had ended, but the questions it raised lingered, a puzzle for another day.