Aisling shrugged. “ThatI do not know. I rather doubt it because most trolls congregate in small units. They’re either solitary, or they may band together with one or two other trolls. But I’ve never seen a community of more than three.”
The cavern’s ceiling towered overhead, as tall as the rock wall outside was. But the chamber itself was shallow and long. The torch illuminated most of it, and we could tell there were no other trolls within.
On the floor of the cavern were three nests, formed of branches and twigs and what looked like ratty blankets. Piles of bones sat in the corners. I didn’t look too closely because I didn’t want to know just to whom those bones belonged.
A chest was against the back of the cavern. Next to the chest, we saw another opening, which made me nervous. I didn’t want any other creatures popping out to surprise us.
Aisling peeked through the entrance, then turned back to us.
“It leads to the edge of the mountain. It’s a narrow ledge, so I’m not sure how the trolls managed it, except there’s yet another ledge about four feet below the first. They could easily step down to that one and it looks a lot more stable. My guess is that this is their main exit. Then they walked along the lower ledge, slipping around the bend to a passage through the rock wall.”
I joined him and peeked out.
Indeed, I found myself looking over a massive drop spiraling down into a valley far below. There was another ledge about 4 feet down that was wider and easier to stand on, though I was surprised that it would hold the weight of three trolls. But in looking at the ledge and the lack of handholds, it occurred to me that the trolls had to be as nimble as mountain goats.
Andthatwas a scary thought. The ledge led back toward the bend, so Aisling was probably right about how the trolls got the drop on us.
Rupert and Sean were hunting through the bones, tossing out various pieces of jewelry, utensils, and blades. So the boneshadbelonged to travelers. Thornhold and Aisling began sorting through the chest. Meanwhile, I waited until Sean and Rupert were done, then gathered the bones together and spread them gently between two of the troll nests. Then, I took the contents of the third nest and scattered the branches and blankets over the other two, doing my best to bury the bones.
I wished I could think of something to say, but all I could think of was, “Rest in peace, and travel on to your next journey in life. We remember you, even if we don’t know who you were.”
Thornhold joined me, taking my hand and squeezing it. Aisling, Rupert, and Sean also joined us, and we stood in a circle, holding hands for a moment, letting the silence be our prayer. After that, we gathered up the treasure and returned to the wagon.
“We’ll divvy this up and we get home,” Magdala said. “You and your party helped us, so we’ll divide it evenly.”
And on that note, we moved to continue our journey.
CHAPTER 60: HOME SWEET ICY HOME
A little furtherbeyond the troll cave, we came to a fork in the road. The path went straight up the mountain, with a path veering to the right. Magdala called for a brief rest.
“This is where we turn off to our home. Come with us, and as I said, we’ll help you find a safer way through the mountains.”
I looked at the ascending path before us. It was getting steeper, although still navigable by wagon, but it looked like a brutal climb. On the other hand, the path to the right seemed to even out, perhaps not fully flat, but easier going than if we continued up through the pass.
“All right,” I said, glancing at the others. They nodded. “We’re grateful and we accept your invitation. How far until we reach your home?”
Aisling brushed the falling snow off his beard. “We’ll reach there by nightfall. That is, if we keep going. We don’t want to rest too long because there are far more dangerous creatures around here than just the mountain trolls. Whereas, if you were to continue up the pass, you’d definitely find ice giants and elementals to deal with as well.”
It sounded like six of one, half a dozen of the other. Alina handed out pieces of jerky to all of us, and we filled our waterbottles with packed snow, tucking them inside our cloaks. Our body heat would melt the snow as we went along.
The fork in the road led onto a plateau, and I was surprised to see pine trees lining the path on either side. The sight of the trees reassured me. While the barren peaks, covered in ice and snow, were beautiful, the starkness overwhelmed me after a while.
The road was still wide, wide enough for a wagon or even two to travel, and as we turned onto the road towards Magdala’s home, I felt an odd sense of relief. While the trees were short and bent by winds, they still gave me the feeling that we were in a winter wonderland, rather than attempting a death march towards the sky.
“Were you born here?” I asked.
Magdala shook her head. “I was born down in Tyrnis. When I was fifteen, I became betrothed to a woodcutter from the village of Kartellia. My parents refused to allow me to marry until I turned seventeen, so for two years both my fiancé and I worked and skimped and saved enough to begin our new life. By the time we married, we had managed to build a little home in Kartellia, and so we started out better than a lot of the young couples around here. I moved up to the village with him, and I saw my family once or twice a year until they moved on or died. There’s no one left from my family in Tyrnis now. My brothers moved away, or were killed, and my parents died long ago.”
“What about your children?” I asked, glancing over at Alina. “Will you move away from Kartellia?”
Alina shook her head. “Sean and I live in the house that Mother did when she first married.”
Rupert and Aisling mirrored her sentiments.
“This village is our home,” Aisling said. “We were born here, and we’ll die here.”
“As time went on, my husband and I managed to build a bigger house. I live there now, along with Aisling and Rupert. And I took in a young girl whose parents died several years back. She stays home and manages affairs while we’re trading down in Tyrnis. The poor girl can’t speak—she was frightened when she was young. She watched as an ice giant slaughtered her parents. She lucked out and managed to escape. Aisling found her. She’s very lucky, because if he hadn’t stumbled on her near the remains of her parents, she’d be dead by now.”
