Chapter 7: The Troll of Loris Bridge!

After several days of much-needed rest and relaxation, we started hearing rumors about a troll sleeping on Loris Bridge in Rainbow City.

This bridge was not only enormous and prestigious, but it also was the only official route connecting the Human and Elf Kingdoms. Since each kingdom was separated by water, bridges like this were critical for travel and trade.

It had already been a few days, and for some reason, no other parties had stepped up to handle it.

Whether it was laziness, indifference, or just a lack of motivation—I couldn’t say.

You might be wondering: why haven’t the knights dealt with it already?

Yeah… trust me, I’m right there with you.

Our taxpayer money is just going to the gnomes at this point.

The reward had increased from just a couple gold coin to 10 gold coin.

At this point, we’d already made enough to buy one horse — but this quest would give us enough for two. Which meant we could finally travel across kingdoms.

We met up to discuss.

“Ten gold? A sleeping troll? What are we waiting for? This is the most no-brainer decision we’ve ever had! Talos, you’re in, right?” Alva said.

I could tell Talos wasn’t his usual confident self. He was still a little bummed about his sword — understandably so.

We didn’t have any spare funds to get him a new one, since we’d all agreed to put everything toward horses. And honestly, up until now, we didn’t really need it.

"Of course," Talos replied. "But I’m just wondering how useful I’d be. The one time I can actually use my sword, this happens. I was thinking, Velara, maybe you could change it back?"

"I wish I could, but I’m not exactly an alchemist. Maybe my father can?"

"Nah, I wouldn’t want to burden him."

But you’re okay burdening me?

"You still have your shield and your strength. That’s all we’ll need. Like Alva said, it’s just a sleeping troll. It’ll be tough, but not impossible."

We all agreed to take on the troll and headed for the bridge. With each step, I grew more eager. This could finally get us the horses we needed so we’d never have to walk anywhere again.

If all went well, this would be our last quest on foot.

Several hours later, we arrived at the bridge—only to find a crowd already gathered.

Talos pushed through, muttering polite “excuse me”s and “sorry”s as we passed, but I couldn’t help overhearing the soft, doubtful, or snide remarks from onlookers.

It was clear they didn’t believe in us.

Near the front, a few knights stood guard, forming a perimeter in front of the troll.

That’s when I got my first look at him—an enormous, blue-haired creature with short tusks jutting from his lower jaw, sprawled lazily across the bridge, completely blocking the way.

The knights stared at us in confusion.

"We’re here to defeat the troll!" Talos said confidently.

One of the knights let out a chuckle.

"Listen, we understand the reward is tempting, but for your safety, we advise you let a more… experienced party handle this," another knight said.

How could they judge our experience so quickly? Did we really look that incompetent? Sure, we didn’t have horses or fancy gear, but that didn’t mean we couldn’t handle this. If anything, their doubt only made me more determined to prove them wrong.

I glanced at my party. They had the same fire in their eyes that I felt in mine.

"Knights, let them through," a voice called from the crowd behind us.

We turned to see the Governor of Rainbow City, Alan Ducott.

He had neatly styled brown hair and a trimmed mustache and goatee. He wore fancy attire—a tall top hat, a coat, a cravat with a brooch, and a patterned waistcoat. This was my first time seeing him in person.

"This bridge has been blocked for far too long. They’re a party—of course they know the risks. They trust each other, so I trust them. Let them through. Unless you’d prefer to go instead?"

The knights exchanged looks, then stepped aside to let us pass. We nodded to the governor and continued forward.

Whether he truly meant what he said or was simply eager to get trade moving again didn’t matter to me—I was grateful either way.

One thing I hadn’t considered until now was that every other quest we’d done had been just us, alone. This time, we had an audience. And that made the pressure so much heavier.

The troll’s snores grew louder and louder as we approached, and the stakes felt even more surreal than before.

Now, in the knights’ defense, how the troll managed to get here from the Beastarian Kingdom—on the opposite side of Runeveil—was a mystery. This was my first time seeing one outside the pages of a book. But if we could escape that fairy dimension, we could handle this.

“So… should we just try to push him off?” Talos asked.

“Let me try talking to him first. Sounds obvious, but maybe no one’s tried that.”

“Just in case, I’ll take point and brace behind my shield,” Talos offered.

“Alright. Alva, have your bow ready. Uri, stay on your toes.”

“Got it,” they both replied.

While he looked pretty intimidating from afar, his sleeping face looked much more innocent up close.

"Excuse me, troll. Why are you sleeping on this bridge?"

"Because me is tired," he said, eyes still closed.

Okay… maybe I needed to phrase that differently.

"Why are you sleeping on this bridge?"

"Because me can’t swim," he replied, this time cracking one eye open.

I gestured broadly at the greenery around us.

"You see all that land? Any of it could be your next sleeping spot. Sure, it’s not the Beastarian Kingdom, but I’m sure you could find something comfortable. But instead, you pick this bridge—the most important bridge for trade and travel between the Human and Elf Kingdoms. We need this bridge because—"

He started snoring again.

The audacity to fall asleep in the middle of my speech. The disrespect was crazy.

"Alright, guys, new plan!" I called, cracking my knuckles, with a new invigoration at his blatant dismissal of my words.

"Should we attack?" Alva asked, still readying his bow.

"Attacking now will do nothing. We don’t have the firepower to do real damage unless we make every arrow count," I said.

"Weak spots?" Alva asked.

"Exactly," I replied. "Even if we do defeat him, we’d still need to push him off the bridge, which is no easy feat on its own. But if we can force him awake and get him to stand, maybe we can make him trip himself. That would be much easier."

"Great, so step one is waking him up," Talos said.

Now that I knew talking wasn’t going to work, force seemed to be the only way to keep him awake.

“I’ve got a risky idea, but I think it could work. We need to physically force his eyes open. Uri, climb on him and pry one open. Alva, the second you have a clear shot, let your arrow fly. Talos, stay with us in case he tries to attack. I’ll be ready to heal anyone who needs it.”

“Sounds good,” Alva said with a nod.

“Uri, you ready?” I asked.

He took a deep breath. “Ready.”

Uri sprinted forward and leapt onto the troll’s head in one motion. The moment Uri yanked the troll’s eyelid open, Alva’s arrow flew, striking cleanly in the center of the eye.

“AHHH!” the troll roared, covering the eye with one massive hand.

“Now the other one!” I shouted.

Uri pried open the second eyelid, and Alva loosed another perfect shot straight into it.

“STOP!” the troll bellowed, clutching both eyes. “Get off me!” He shook his head violently, starting to rise to his full height.

Uri jumped off of him and met back with us.

“Who doing that?! Who hitting me?!” The troll yelled now furious and standing, towering over us.

Perfect. Stage one complete.

I stepped up to Uri and pressed my hands against his cloak and boots. A faint blue light spread across the fabric, the air between us turning crisp and cold.

“Frost Enchantment,” I said. “From now on, wherever you walk, frost will follow.”

Uri glanced down at his boots as a mist emanated off them. “Cool.”

“Yep. All you have to do is stay near his feet and behind him, but be careful yourself. Alva, keep firing — I’ll replenish your arrows if needed. Talos, keep him distracted by taunting him. We’re just buying Uri time. Once enough ice builds up, the troll will have no choice but to slip.”

As Uri made his way over, a frost trail followed him.

We all were finally in position.

This had to work.

“Huh? Who did that? Who?!” the troll bellowed again, still pawing at his eyes.

"I did! Come get me!" Talos taunted.

"Urgh!" the troll growled, slamming his fist into the ground beside Talos.

Stage two was officially underway.

Alva fired a volley of arrows, each one striking a different point on the troll’s massive hairy frame. Uri darted around his legs, leaving a spreading sheet of ice with every step. Talos shouted taunts as he dodged and blocked, keeping the troll’s focus locked on him and away from Uri entirely.

He was completely overwhelmed.

“Ahh, stop shooting me!” the troll shouted, suddenly swiveling toward Alva.

Uh oh.

“No!” Talos yelled.

The troll charged, winding up his left arm for a wide, brutal swipe.

“Alva, move!” I shouted, sprinting to get clear. But for some reason, Alva just stood there—frozen, as if his body couldn’t react now that he was finally the target.

Everything that followed unfolded in slow motion. The troll’s swing carved through the air toward Alva—only for Talos to leap in front of him, intercepting the blow. His shield met the troll’s strike with a ringing clash, not just blocking it, but parrying it with enough force to stagger the beast backward.

The troll stumbled, feet sliding on the slick frost Uri had laid down. He teetered at the edge, arms flailing wildly for balance.

Now was our chance.

“Push him off!” I yelled.

We surged forward together, throwing every ounce of strength into one final shove—sending him toppling over the edge.

“Nooo! Me can’t swim!” he roared on the way down.

“Me know! You should’ve listened to my speech!” I shouted after him.

The crowd erupted into cheers. That’s when I noticed a group of elves on the other side of the bridge. They’d witnessed the entire fight.

“Thank you, valiant party! I knew you could do it!” Governor Ducott said. “Here’s your reward.”

We received not only the promised 10 gold coin but an extra 5 on top — more than enough to buy Talos a high-quality sword.

“Thank you, Talos,” Alva whispered.

“See? You didn't even need the sword,” I said, nudging Talos.

I high-fived Uri as he made his way over to us.

“Ooo, still cold,” I said to myself.

"Great job, team!" Alva said, slinging his arms around our shoulders, presumably back to normal.

“Cheers to the…” the governor began.

“Talos Party,” Talos finished with a smile.

“Cheers to the Talos Party!” the crowd echoed.

And in that moment, for the first time ever, a crowd was cheering for us.

As the applause rang out across Loris Bridge, I realized this was only the beginning.

Now that we could finally buy horses, our real journey was truly about to begin.

End of Volume I