When The Sun Sets

The troll saw the mana rising from Sun's body and blanketing his sword until it glowed blue. The mana around the troll consolidated on the shield and its legs. Its muscles relaxed as the cold soothing mana penetrate through its coat and into its skin. The troll knows that if Sun pierces through its shield, it would be the end of it, so it focussed its attention on its legs. If the troll is fast enough, it could bash Sun with its shield before he could attack.

The ground shook around the troll's feet before breaking apart from the weight of its lead foot. Large chunks of the earth stuck out the snow as its foot dug into the ground. Suddenly, the mana around its leg dispersed.

The goblins behind the troll suddenly saw a large eruption from where the troll stood. Earth and snow rose so high that it surpassed the height of the surrounding buildings. The troll moved with incredible speed. The goblins could only see a blue blob of light travel towards Sun. But then, that blue ball of light stopped.

Sun used all the strength he had on his legs and jumped right before the troll could reach him. The troll stopped in its tracks after Sun jumped. It was caught off guard. The troll was sure Sun would try and challenge its attack because it could not hope to beat it with speed.

Sun's body rotated in the air. He used the moment to launch a devastating attack on the troll's back shoulders. The blue wave slashed through the coat and armor and revealed the stuffed padding of the gambeson. The troll turned its body with its shield in front, expecting to face Sun, but instead, the troll saw no one but snow.

The mana blast was so strong it changed the direction of Sun's fall. Instead of landing behind the troll, Sun landed right on the troll's blind spot. Sun saw this as a great opportunity. Sun gathered more mana around his blade and leaped forward. The troll saw a glimpse of Sun's body in the corner of its eyes and moved its shield to block the attack. Because Sun jumped, the troll knew he was going for his neck and raised its shield before Sun could swing his sword.

But the troll failed to see the distance between it and Sun. He only lunged forward to get closer faster. Attacking on the air is a challenging feat to accomplish. Unlike fighting on the ground, when someone jumps, they leave themselves vulnerable to attacks. It's only ever useful to surprise an enemy or to deliver a finishing blow. And Sun's body was exhausted after jumping over the troll and releasing a mighty swing. He barely has any energy left to fight. Sun's actual target was the troll's legs.

Sun pointed his sword towards the troll's knee. By using gravity, Sun thrust his sword through flesh and bones. Blood popped out of its legs and polluted the pristine white snow underneath. The sword's bright blue light shattered into small little pieces before fading in the air. Sun coughed out blood due to stress after he overexerted his body.

The troll's legs gave in from the pain and weight of its body. And with no hesitation, Sun climbed the top of the shield and grabbed hold of the strings attached on the helmet to untie them. After the experience of the shocking pain from its legs, the troll came back to its senses. Sun and the troll locked eyes, and Sun could see the searing hatred the troll has for him.

The troll threw its shield to the earth, hoping to shake off Sun, but he managed to jump over its head and land on its back. Sun used his long nails to stick between the knots to loosen them. After taking off the strings, Sun lifted the troll's helmet, revealing its ugly visage to the sky.

The troll gave out a desperate scream before its body turns into stone. Sun watched the troll's head harden before falling on the snow. His vision was getting blurry. Eventually, he closed his eyes as the world turned black as night. The gentle light from the sun blanketed his face as he sleeps peacefully on the snow.

Mari and the goblins ran towards Sun. Mari placed her hand on Sun's heart and felt his beating hearing through his chest. Tears burst out of Mari's eye and hugged Sun close to her. "Sun!" Someone yelled.

Mari looked over the distance and saw Sun's brothers. "Help me! Sun collapsed!" Mari called out to them.

"Stick, help me with the stretcher." Smoke said.

"Alright." Stick pulled one end, and Smoke held on the other.

"Get him on." Mari carried Sun over to them. "What happened to him?"

"Is this really Sun? Holy shit, he is taller and heavier."

"Something happened," Mari tried to answer"He,"

"It's fine," Smoke cut her off, "You can explain it to us later, but for we need to get as far away from the town as possible."

"Why?"

"The fire is getting out of control and is spreading."

Mari and the other goblins looked back and saw the fire grow more intense over the town. They were sure that the houses were too wet from the snow to burn, but it seems like they were wrong.

They carried Sun towards the edge of the forest where their tribe evacuated. They set up temporary tents for the night and wait out the fire. Despite their victory, the goblins were not happy because their homes were being consumed by the fire. They were hopeless, so they waited for the Chief to wake up and guide them.

Smoke and Stick carried Sun inside a blue tent set up by the caretakers for the brothers. Natasha was sitting next to Rock, who was unconscious after the battle. When she saw Mari with them, she jumped up and embraced her close to her bosom. "Natasha, I can't breath," Mari said.

"Sorry." Natasha let her free. "Cyrus and Anna are worried sick for you, and so are the other women and even Flute."

"What? What about Sun? What about Rock?"

"Don't worry. We'll take care of these two." Smoke said, and Stick gave a thumbs up in response.

The two left the tent, leaving the brothers alone.

"Now what?" Stick asked.

"I don't know?"

The two of them sat in the room. The silent atmosphere made the brothers more anxious. Sun has been unconscious before, but it was the first time Rock collapsed. Smoke could try and lead the tribe in Sun's absence, and Stick could take over Rock's followers, but with half of the town on fire and barely any goblins left, rebuilding seemed impossible. They need them now more than ever.

"Ah!" Suddenly Rock jumped off its bed and screamed. He reached for his buckler, put up his fist to guard his chest, and looked around him while being delirious. "Where the fuck is that fuck? Where he at?"

Smoke and Stick grabbed his arm and told him to calm down. "Why did you have to wake me up? I was about to get a very important answer." Smoke and Stick turned their head and saw Sun pushing himself up while rubbing his eyes.

"Sun! Rock! You had us fucking worried!" Stick yelled while hugging Rock and Sun.

"So, I'm not dead, right?" Rock asked.

"What's that?" Sun pointed at Rock's buckler.

"Oh, this." Rock gave the buckler to Sun. "Stick's follower found it."

"And Rock used it to beat the shit of the troll in the middle of town. He even used that blue stuff that Cala used." Smoke said.

Sun wasn't paying much attention as the three told their story. Sun was too distracted with the buckler. On it was words written in an unknown language that looked similar to the one he saw in his most recent dream before Rock's scream woke him up. Sun looked at his brothers and said in an urgent tone, "Where did you find this?"