And not just our women and children; it seemed they had decided to try scouting with Trolls as well, as there were several Troll families in the group. We looked at each other. None of us could imagine what it would be like to live with Trolls. Trolls never lived with anyone else.
The column was proceeding slowly. I poked Aurich, who was next to me, “There’s your Sister,” I said.
“Where?” he whispered.
“There, near the front, with your Brother on her back.”
It was an odd column. The Spearmen were out on the edges, looking very warily up at the sky. The Spearwives were next, each of them carrying large loads, and most of them carrying children as well-- although Spearsiblings can walk long distances when very young, this terrain was horrible to walk on for non-Dwarves.
Then, inside of them came the Trolls: male, female, and children. All of them had their camouflage ‘on’, although the large burdens they carried made them still very visible. But they probably figured that anything that confused the Dragons was a good thing. And burdens could be dropped, of course.
Inside of them came the Dwarf wives and children. Aurich’s Sister was practically in front, with his Brother strapped to her back.
It was an enormous column, and well guarded. But I could tell from the demeanor that it had not been enough to keep the Dragons away. They pressed on quickly, and our Spearmen hurried out to meet them. I turned to Benedicta.
“bethQuirinus. Let us go down to the entrance and help them in.”
Many other boys came with us, so many that the men had us form an assembly line to pass things up instead of carrying them. Everyone was told to drop their burdens at the gate, and we sent them up and around to what we were calling ‘the assembly room’. I could hear the leaders directing tired families to quarters. We hadn’t known who was coming, except for our own families, so they had to make up the arrangements ‘on the fly’. Eventually everyone got settled in.
“Heinrich. Aurich, you others there!” We went over to where Georg, one of our leaders, was standing with his scroll, looking harassed. “I want you to go to each room, and tell them to send one from their party to the assembly room. Then you boys can help them bring their belongings to their room. Much of it is general supplies, and we will be storing that as soon as each family gets its belongings.
I hurried off. I had heard where the Trolls had been lodged, and I wanted to help them. I had seen plenty of Spearmen and Dwarves by now, but it had been a long time since I had seen Trolls. Perhaps I could make some new friends.
Benedicta and I stood in front of the first door and knocked. I didn’t have the heart to have her go off by herself. She looked very uncomfortable just being here.
“Sir,” I said, in Farmer, to the Troll standing in front of me, looking way up to do so. “Our leaders say to send one of your number with us and we will help you bring your things back here to your room.”
The Troll looked at me, and eventually said, “Thank you, young Dwarf, I will come myself.” He turned, said something in the muffled Troll language, came out into the hall, shut the door, and disappeared.
Benedicta and I stood and stared. I knew exactly where to look, and could ‘hear’ exactly where he was, but I could see nothing with my eyes. And I knew that Benedicta, and the other Spearmen, wouldn’t be able to see him at all.
“Sir,” I said, “If you would excuse me, it would be better if you didn’t do that. Some may not see you, and might bump into you, causing distress.”
“What?” he responded. “Oh. Sorry.” His body shifted back to the neutral white that Trolls normally wore indoors (or so I’d heard). “Just habit. Shall we go now?”
We really would need to raise the height of our corridors with Trolls and Spearmen wandering around. The poor man had to stoop to walk, and he found climbing up to the assembly room very difficult indeed.
But I didn’t find out much about the Trolls. At each room it was the same. I knocked, the Father came out, and we helped them back with their stuff, which they insisted we leave at the door. I never even got to see one of their kids, let alone invite them over.
When we finished, I realized I had another problem. I looked up Georg, “Sir. We are done helping people. I believe the last few families are getting their things right now.”
He looked very tired. “Good work. You can go back to your family now.” He went to turn away, but I stopped him.
“But, Sir, I don’t actually know where my family is.”
He turned and grinned, “So, just another lost visitor, eh? Just what I have been doing all day, directing people to one place or another. Let's see… your family is at 1AC5.”
“Thank you, Sir.”
I won’t dwell on my arrival home. We boys hate all that kissing and greeting stuff. But I was glad to see everyone, and Heidi was thrilled to see Benedicta. They had, in their odd way, formed a fast friendship, and I was sure they had missed each other. Not that Benedicta would have said so, of course.
But we didn’t really feel at home until Mother, after dinner, looked around and said, “So, we have it all to do again; all the carving and arranging of things. I hope that we aren’t going to do this every six months. First the boat, and then the wagon train, to say nothing of that tent…”
At least Mother was happy.
Island People
Island People is a young adult fantasy book centring on a young prince. The book starts with his kidnapping and follows his adventures as he not only escapes from his kidnapper but gains critical allies and friends.
The entire book is scheduled on Substack, and there are several sequels. This is a book I wrote years ago, so it is in a bit of a rough form. Critiques and comments are more than welcome, they are requested.
Thank you for reading Von’s Substack. I would love it if you commented! I love hearing from readers, especially critical comments. I would love to start more letter exchanges, so if there’s a subject you’re interested in, get writing and tag me!Thank you for reading Von’s Substack. I would love it if you commented! I love hearing from readers, especially critical comments. I would love to start more letter exchanges, so if there’s a subject you’re interested in, get writing and tag me!
Being ‘restacked’ and mentioned in ‘notes’ is very important for lesser-known stacks so… feel free! I’m semi-retired and write as a ministry (and for fun) so you don’t need to feel guilty you aren’t paying for anything, but if you enjoy my writing (even if you dramatically disagree with it), then restack, please! Or mention me in one of your own posts.
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Thanks again, God Bless, Soli Deo gloria,
Von