how to kill Gunmar?

The next day the students are gathered in the gym.

"The principal isn't feeling too well and is down with the flue, so he asked me to announce the students the faculty has nominated for spring King and Queen." The gym teacher says.

"Shannon Loghanen, Darci Scott and the last nominee is Mary Wang." he announces. Making the girls, especially Claire's friends cheer excitedly.

"You? I mean that's great." Claire says, surprised she wasn't nominated this year.

"And now for the boys. Steve Palchuk. Eli Pepperjack and finally Jim Lake Jr." The coach continues, while the students are cheering except for when Eli was nominated.

"Each of our nominees will compete in some competitions, starting with presenting a theme for the dance." The coach says finishing his speech.

"That's great, if you become King I'll be duke." Toby tells his best friend excited, while Jim feels overwhelmed with everything that's going on.

"What is this Spring King and Queen?" Wei, who was sitting behind Claire and her two best friends, asks the girl with her signature blue hairstreak.

"Do you live under a rock?" Mary asks shocked.

"Actually, that..." Wei says before Claire cuts him off, answering his earlier question, "they are like guest of honors at the dance."

"Hmm I see. And you two are amongst the competing contestants?" Wei asks, pointing at Claire's friend, sitting to either side of her.

"Yeah. Duh, are you slow or something?" Mary replies in her usual high and mighty attitude while she follows most of the students out of the gym.

"Hey, that wasn't very nice." Darci says, following after her.

"So? I don't know why Claire let's the weirdo hang around her anyways. You coming Claire?" Mary says loud enough so that Wei and Claire can still hear her.

"No thanks." Claire replies upset that Mary insulted Wei without any remorse.

"You should go, I won't fit in any time soon and you're bound to become the 'weirdo's friend' like this" Wei tells Claire with a fake smile, something she can see through easily, since Wei isn't that good at hiding his emotions.

"Look, I know you think that if I stay away from you, even at least at school, I'll have it easier... but that isn't true." She says.

"Claire... there is no upside to hanging out with me." Wei tells her, looking at her with doubtful eyes.

"You're wrong. You're nice and strong and well you try to be funny. And you're quite smart regarding how little you were taught." She compliments him.

"Even if all that is true. I'm a loner, I don't fit in anywhere and you're bound to get shunned for associating with me." He sighs, hoping to get his crush to realize that he's trying to protect her from her own idea of loyalty.

"That isn't true, your goblins accept you right?" She asks, showing him the heart necklace he gave her to prove a point.

"You couldn't be more wrong about that actually." Wei tells her in a bad mood.

"What?" She asks confused.

"The Goblins do accept me as their leader and they'd do anything for me... but the reason is, that they are afraid of me, terrified in fact." Wei explains.

"Why would they be afraid?" Claire asks.

"For a long time, before I was tasked with leading the Goblins, they were my only source of nourishment." Wei confesses.

"You ate them?" Claire asks disgusted at the thought.

"Yeah, that's also why I am able to transform the way I do, I have some Goblin blood flowing through me from the years of consuming them." Wei explains fearful that Claire will cut all ties with him, but believes that she should know the truth.

"If you ate them, why lead them?" She asks perplexed.

"My fathers sick idea." He shrugs, sitting down next to her.

"Well, that's the real relationship between me and the goblins and the reason why I protect them, I feel guilty for my past and know how it feels to be the weakest one around and get stepped on and want to protect them from that." Wei confesses.

"You, get stepped on? You're joking right?" Claire chuckles.

"I was a kid, growing up amongst brutal warriors made of stone and magic, what did you imagine my childhood was like?" He asks, looking at her quizzical.

"Sorry." She says, feeling stupid.

"Look Wei, I know you're telling me all this to get me to stay away from you for what you think my own good is, so let's cut right to it. Can I trust you?" She asks him, looking into his eyes.

"... yes." Wei tells her after a long pause.

"What's with the pause? You had me worried there for a moment." Claire asks.

"You can trust me. But you can't trust this me." Wei replies, taking out his mask and handing Claire the object.

"Why? What's the difference?" She asks, running jer delicate fingers over the marble like stone mask.

"When I use it, it's like even in this plane I can feel my fa... Gunmar influencing me, coaxing me, that's why I only use it in dire situations." Wei explains, putting away the mask when Claire hands it back to him.

"Well, either way. This you is more than enough in my opinion." Claire says, giving Wei a hug.

"So stop trying to push me away OK? This already isn't easy as it is, with you liking me and me liking Jim and all." Claire tells him with a tired sigh, breaking the hug.

"Sorry, you just already have so much to deal with, I thought distancing myself to lighten your social life would make things easier." Wei apologizes.

"I appreciate the thought, but even if you still feel like you don't belong, you're an important part of my life now." Claire tells him just before the bell rings.

"Oh, look at that, it seems we spend the whole break talking, huh?" Claire laughs, getting off from the bleachers and they head off to their next class.

|later that day - Blinky's home|

Arrrgh arrives back in the four-armed trolls house with Jim, while Blinky is rambling to himself, pacing around his home with Toby lying around in it and Claire is looking at a book with Wei, who helps her understand a few terms she hasn't learned yet.

"How long has he been like this?" Jim questions.

"Long time." Arrrgh answers.

"According to legend, only one scholar, the dishonorable Bodus, discovered a way to wound Gunmar." Blinky tells Jim.

But the troll hunters just told me there is no way, so how do you do it?" Jim asks and Wei's body tenses up, with him accidentally almost crushing his goblin, who he was petting.

"No one knows. Gunmar had Bodus and his students disposed off in the cruelest of ways. But this book. The final testimony of Bodus is the last surviving copy of his work. This is the key and I'm going to burn it." Blinky says, throwing the book on a stone workspace before lighting it on fire, keeping Toby, Claire and Jim away from the burning book. "Bodus was being hunted and knew he had to keep it secret." Blinky informs them.

"Did Blinky just destroy out only chance at defeating Gunmar?" Toby asks, looking at the pile of ashes sorrowfully.

"You don't understand, Bodus hid the secret within the book." Blinky tells the group, except for Wei, who's lazing around in a chair and blows away the charred ashes, leaving a message, which burned itself into the stone beneath.

"What does it say?" Jim questions.

"In darkest tide, when daylight darest wane, the Myrdinn Wylt obscoure shadows bane." Blinky reads.

"What does Myrdinn wrench mean?" Toby asks.

"It's an old name for Merlin." Wei chimes in from his seat.

"Three forces elemental thou must seek, in marshland, caverns deep and mountains peak." Blinky continues.

"Where worthy perish ye will prevail in night and eclipse all who quarry with thy might."

"Anyone else freaked out by this evil perish poem?" Toby asks.

"No, it says we can win, with shadow's bane." Jim says.

"It references to a weapon formed by three forces unhallowed. Of course, it must be the triumbic stones. Thee stones tied to Gunmar's lifeblood. If we can seek out these stones..."

"I can kill Gunmar." Jim says hopeful.

"We make the weapon and wham Gunmar is donemar." Toby agrees cheerfully.

The happy moment however is cut short when the five of them hear a loud chuckle from Wei and his Goblin.

"What?" Toby asks annoyed.

"All of you, you really have no idea what you're up against." Wei laughs, shaking his head.

"Oh yeah? If you know better, then how do we beat Gunmar?" Jim asks annoyed, summoning his armor and sword as he approaches Wei.

"There is your first mistake Jim. You can't 'beat' Gunmar. Either he gets killed or he enslaves and probably kills everyone." Wei explains.

"Meatbag right." Arrrgh agrees.

"Great, anymore wisdom you want to share?" Jim asks.

"Actually, yes. Before we head to the darkland you better know exactly why you're going Jim." Wei tells him.

"What do you mean?" Jim questions.

"Well, do you want to kill Gunmar or safe Enrique?" Wei asks.

"Because rescuing Claire's brother is easy enough. You open the door for me and keep it open until I return with Claire's brother. Killing Gunmar however, I'm afraid even with a power boost through your stones will be next to impossible. The only way I see is if we can somehow manage to boost my fighting strength, without me having to use the mask." Wei explains.

"What's so special about the mask?" Claire asks.

"It's carved from Gumar's flesh and blood, or rock and soul I guess." Wei informs the group, stunning them into silence.

"How is that possible?" Blinky asks shocked, inspecting the mask with Arrrgh.

"It's from my final test before being appointed the goblin general. Gunmar and I fought in hand to hand combat for almost a whole day, before I had proven myself to him, by breaking out this very piece of his body." Wei explains.

"So you can harm him." Jim says.

"I can... but I don't have enough firepower to finish him off, especially without the mask and while facing off against his blade." Wei explains.

"But as I said, if it's just about breaking out Enrique that's easy for me. You'd just have to manage to keep the portal open..." Wei tells them.

"That's great. We can go get him right now!" Claire shouts happily.

"Wait, the trollhunters all said I have to kill Gunmar or I won't be able to get back out." Jim says.

"Yeah, but they never said anything about Wei going." Claire shoots back.

"I... I just don't know. I mean I trust the former troll hunters more than I do Wei. He could be using us to break his father free." Jim says, pulling the group to the side.

"I vote for finding the stones first as well." Toby agrees.

"I'm sorry fair Claire, but I agree with them." Blinky says.

"Great, we have a way to get my brother but you want to wait." She groans disappointed.

"Claire. I promise you we will get your brother. But we have to be smart about it. You can't expect me to just open a way out for Gunmar." Jim says.

"Yeah, I know... but I trust Wei. He wouldn't do anything to endanger us." Claire tells them.

"Claire, I know you've spend much of your holidays with him, but what do you even know about him?" Jim questions.

"I know him better than I do you." Claire says sternly.

"Look, if you don't want to do it my way that's fine, so what's our play?" Wei asks them.