*The company started riding south to Morcia*
*They needed to build an army to defeat Mallock the Malign*
Knight: "How are we supposed to defeat Mallock? His undead army is too powerful and so is his magic."
Aaram: "We need to find his weakness..."
Knight: "If he does have a weakness, which I doubt, it would be impossible to find."
Clone: "I've had many powerful enemies of mine own. You just need to send a drone to spy on them! Except you don't have drones, so never mind..."
Arantha: "We've sent many spies to their doom in the past but to no avail."
Knight: "That son of a troll!"
Jon: "I don't think interception is the best strategy here, we need to beat him at his own game; magic!"
Aarlam: "Together, me and Arantha have expertise but nothing to match him."
Knight: "Perhaps Archard could help. He's been practicing magic for millions of years"
Jon: "Archard?"
Knight: "He's the great wizard of Morcia."
Aarlam: "He's just a crazy forest-wanderer. He's too old!"
Jon: "And how old are you exactly?"
Aarlam: "...three-hundred and sixty two..."
Arantha: "That's young for an elf, even a half-elf, at that. I am five-hundred and twenty nine..."
Knight: "Anyways, even if we get Archard to help or not, we need an army. I would need permission first, of course, so I'll send a letter to Celest.."
Jon: "Good plan."
Arantha: "Indeed."
Aarlam: "We're going to need battle strategies for this battle as well..."
Arantha: "I actually have somewhat of a plan. First, we'll--"
Knight: "Shh... I think someone's following us."
Arantha: "I hear it too..."
Aarlam: "Any plan of action?"
Jon: "Turn and charge is always a legitimate strategy."
Aarlam: "Knight?"
Knight: "AH!!!"
*A Troll Warrior grabs Knight*
Jon: "Get him!"
*Aarlam leaps from his horse and punches the troll to the ground*
*The Troll gets up, throws his club at Aarlam, then runs away carrying Knight*
*Jon starts the horse and rushes towards the fleeting troll*
Arantha: "Stop, it's no use now."
Jon: "Well, I just hope Knight can fend for himself, then."
Clone: "He can. He's fought worse monsters along my side."
*The troll takes Sir Knight to a tunnel in a large mountain*
*Low chanting and out of tune singing echo through the tunnels*
*They pass a large gate heavily guarded by larger trolls*
*The room stank... you could barely even call it a room, it was more a cave... stalactites from which makeshift meat hooks hang menacingly. Knight was thrown violently against the wall and a thick wooden hatch was closed behind him. There he sat, face to face with his greatest enemy. The troll King- Ortnalic*
Knight: "Why did you capture me?"
Ortnalic: "Capture!? Such a harsh term for... ...obligatory summons..."
Knight: "Mallock got you to do this, didn't he?"
Ortnalic: "He didn't 'GET' me to do anything! It was merely a suggestion to apprehend a nuisance while our strategy is... ...unveiled."
*Ortnalic shoots a glance down at a fair-sized chest of diamonds and discreetly pushes it away, chuckling*
Knight: "Diamonds are but nothing when they come from the dirty hands of the dark wizard!"
Ortnalic: "Insolent fool!"
Knight: "Trolls are the real fools..."
Ortnalic: "You don't even know why you're here yet! Some great knight to assume the enemy just kidnaps them for no reason in the midst of a great war!"
Knight: "He must be afraid of my skill. I'm impressed."
Ortnalic: "...seriously? King dies, army is reduced, princess and friends are all alone in big empty castle.... You can't add that together?! Idiot! I give up."
*Ornalic swiftly leaves the room as knight realizes... the troll guards bring him to his feet. Knight is subdued!*
Knight: "Are you bringing me to be eaten?"
First Troll: "Silence, worm!"
Second Troll: "To your feet!"
*Knight gets up*
*As Knight stands, the second troll kicks dust up in the eyes of the first. Dazed, the first troll drops his weapon and the second quickly dispatches him, with a Morcian blade*
Hogar: "Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Hogar, Morcia's premier troll spy...."
Knight: "I was going to escape myself easily, but thank you anyways."
Hogar: "'Aright, 'aright... Just be grateful... We still need to get out of this fortress and you need me to do that."
*Hogar takes Knight by the shoulder and they traverse the long and dark innards of the fortified cave without suspicion. They reach an entrance, flooded with pale yet welcoming daylight*
Knight: "Are we returning to Aldendan by foot or by boat?"
Hogar: "We're not going back to Aldendan... too far... we need to act fast."
Knight: "Then where are we going to?"
Hogar: "Beeston... ...meet the elves and kill the Mallock."
Knight: "If we're going there, we have to go soon, I'm starting to hear the loud grunts of them."
Hogar: "'Eeyeah.... meet the elves and kill the Mallock... go there soon... loud... grunts... Okay. Hold on!"
*Knight obliges and jumps on the Troll's metal plated back. The troll starts to run, starting with a slow and rhythmic jog and gradually pounding along the ground on all fours. Suddenly, they burst out of the cave's entrance and coast down the misty, muddy mountainside*
Hogar: "Beeeeeeston... Beeston! Haw-haw-haw!"
Knight: "I much prefer riding a horse..."
*Within minutes, the troll and the knight are at the foot of the Beeston stronghold, welcomed by their friends, sharing the determination and fiery courage to finish the war that had been raging for many millennia.*