Trolls: Chapter 8

Darra dwelled in the past, oblivious of his surroundings. Pietre started imagining the escape as Darra continued narrating it. “We had to utilize the time at hand, while the trolls were guarding us. We could not get any information about the Irvathias and hoped that once we escaped we could find and get the help of Irvathias.” Darra thus narrated the events of the night.

Let us dive into Darra’s memories to visualize the escape.

Fruma came up with a plan and discussed it with his inmates in the prison, “Since we have the trolls guarding us, I would like to send Frauk and Magine to keep them occupied, while we can escape”. Frauk and Magine, the two dwarves exchanged uncomfortable looks. Frauk inquired, “And how do you thing we are going to do that?” Magine added “You are not planning on dressing us up as scapegoats, are you?” Fruma smiled and said, “No..no..I would want you to engage the trolls in a brilliant conversation; try to make a deal with them. I don’t know how you are going to do it, but work it out amongst yourselves.” He finished his sentence glancing towards the dwarves.

“Engage the trolls in a brilliant conversation? He must be mad. Well, the trolls are going to be weighing all the while whom they are going to eat first!” Whispered Magine to Frauk. He turned and looked at the trolls, tall as giants; with green fluid, greasy substance oozing from their mouths and one eyed they didn’t look like they could ever be engaged in “brilliant conversation”.

“While Frauk and Magine are engaging the trolls, and making a smart deal with them we should plan our escape from the cellar. I have the plan of the dungeons from the dwarves.” He showed the floor wherein he had drawn the dungeon plan with the help of a stone. “As per the plan, the dungeons have four exits; the one in the north east is the closest to our cellar. It is possible for us to escape using only this exit as the other exits are very far off. We need to make sure that we are not faced by any of the guards while we are escaping. We should plan our escape tonight.” All the creatures exchanged glances of fear.

“As soon as we get out of the cellar we have to move in an order. I will lead the group, followed by the animals, the dwarves and then Darra. In that case I can divert any other guards who are on the way. We need to do it tonight, since the goblins have a meeting with Schinda, we will be left to deal with dragons, giants and trolls who cannot perform any magic unlike the goblins.”

The Escape: Chapter 7

Pietre interrupted Darra, “But…how come some of you are here? Did you manage to escape from Schinda when she held you as prisoners?!” Darra continued his narration half amused at how interested Pietre had become. “A few of us had escaped from the prison. Schinda did not know of the powers possessed by the wizards and witches. The escape was one of the dreadful attempts we undertook. It still sends shivers down my spine to think of it.” Darra paused; Pietre thought she saw some tears rushing up the corner of Darra’s worn out eyes.

“We were held prisoners for over a week, and could not go through the torments we were subjected too. My father Fruma was considered as the greatest wizard of all ages. Soon the creatures began to seek his help for rescuing them. These creatures whom you see now and I were locked up in the same cellar with my father.

We planned for our escape day and night. My father could not perform magic with goblins guarding our cellar. We could not find means to escape from the prison. It was in one of the forest dungeons created by the dwarves. Schinda made sure that the dungeon was guarded by goblins, dragons spewing fire endlessly, giants and trolls. Fortunately, Schinda changed the guards of our particular cellar from goblins to trolls. She had some matters of importance to discuss with goblins and this seemed as an endless luck bestowed upon us, as you know that trolls are the most foolish creatures in existence. My father informed the cell inmates that since the prison was heavily guarded it would not be possible to save the inmates in other cellar and he could only save his companions who were locked up in the same cellar as him, such that we could escape to continue the heritage of brookeyn forest, and plan on the downfall of Schinda”.

The Defeat: Chapter 6

“She had soon an army of giants, trolls, dragons by her side. She was slowly bringing them under her influence. Schinda can spellbind a person who looks in to her eyes and can tune them to act as she wishes, but this influence, she could not enforce on all beings. Only creatures of weak, wicked and cruel nature could succumb to her enthrall. She tried creating hassles among the different groups, but could not since peace and love were strongly bonded amongst those living in the Brookeyn forest.”

“She then gathered the forces of goblins dwelling outside the forest. They soon succumbed to her wishes. Thus she had formed a huge army and was planning the downfall of the Brookeyn forest and its dwellers. However she had one key hindrance, the Irvathias. She soon found a way, the Irvathias had a secret meeting every full moon in the nearby mountains and hence would not be guarding the Brookeyn forest” At this instance, Darra paused. Pietre was growing impatient, and she wanted to know what had happened to the forest people. In vain, she tried not to show her impatience and curiosity, but curiosity won. Darra remained silent, as if in deep thought. Pietre stirred, trying to hint her need to know further. The eyes of the dwarves, elves, and other creatures were filled with deep sorrow. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity to Pietre, Darra continued; “This meeting of the Irvathias remained a secret, till date we have no idea so as to how Schinda came to know about it.”

“Schinda planned for an attack on the people of Brookeyn forest on a full moon day. It is said that the cunning goblins from other parts of the forest, under the spell of Schinda, worked day and night in tunnels to create swords and other weapons. On the fateful day, Schinda’s army attacked the Brookeyn forest. The inhabitants were caught unawares, but fought till their last breath. The fight took place for three days and in the end Schinda won. She has held the survivors as prisoners for ages, and still most of them are being subjected to torture in the dungeons of the Brookeyn forest”.

Schinda: Chapter 5

Pietre went and sat in the nearby chair, regretting her decision to stay back, but unable to resist the magnetic force of curiosity. Darra seized the opportunity to narrate the legend.

“You must have heard about the Brookeyn forest located up north from Thamika. Many years ago Brookeyn was a land of love, peace and happiness consisting of dwarves, elves, men, witches, wizards, and animals. They lived in unison. Each group had their own occupation, and was indulged in it without any turbulence from the other groups, everyone lived in peace.”

“Irvathias, white elephants with flying powers guarded the forest from outside forces and thus ensured the safety of the people living in it. Those were golden days; the forest was filled with life and color. There was many a foe who wanted to attack the forest and spoil the divine peace existing among the different groups. Their powers were nothing before the great Irvathias. There were riches beyond anyone’s imagination stored in the forest. Those were the hard earned luxuries of the groups dwelling in the forest.”

“The people in the forest were unaware of the foe living amongst them; deadliest creature Schinda, the most dreadful snake. Schinda was faking loyalty and love to the groups in the forest. She mastered magical spells from the wizards and witches. She wanted the treasures for herself. Schinda schemed for the downfall of the groups in the forest. She was gaining power. She visited the other deadliest creatures outside the Brookeyn forest such as the giants, trolls, dragons, and other creatures of which we do not speak off. She gathered their support. She lured them into attacking the Brookeyn forest and made them fantasize as the masters of vast treasures.”

The Mob: Chapter 4

"Appears like a mob, two to dozen will come out to nothing. Should not have stayed back at all”., thought Pietre. They almost reached the main door, and were about to push it open. “WAIT!! Not so fast" screamed Darra the wizard. Pietre was determined not to stop, she pushed the door, "No this cannot be happening!!" thought Pietre. She pushed the door with all her might but the door wouldn't budge. "We are trapped Aimy" whispered Pietre.

"WAIT!! Listen to me, we will not harm you. We want your Help!! Please ..." said Darra. Pietre was surprised and silently swore within herself that all this was a trap and she should not listen to them, but the pleading in the wizard's voice made her turn and face the crowd. She stood dumb folded at what she behold, there were more than fifteen dwarves, all reaching up to Pietre’s arms.

She could not stop gaping at the sight of the dwarves, she moved her gaze a little further and was even more astonished to see elves, rabbits, ravens, centaurs, wild dogs and an old witch. “This cannot be true!! I must be dreaming”, thought Pietre. The creatures were staring at Pietre and Aimy. Pietre was tall, fair with waist length hair; Aimy had golden hair and was looking angel like with her rosy cheeks filled with color and fear at the sight of these creatures.

“Please do not be afraid, we are not here to harm you, on the contrary we seek your help in relieving helpless bound creatures for ages!!”spoke Darra. Pietre kept staring at the wizard. Deep silence filled the room and everyone was waiting for Pietre to speak, Aimy was in the verge of tears.” Help…me??..b-but I-I do not understand??!!” Pietre found herself blurting out. “If you can sit for a while and be patient I can narrate to you the incidents of the past and the legend that was written a century ago” spoke Darra.

Little House: Chapter 3

Aimy felt better, Pietre went in search of a place where they could take rest. It was then that they came across the beautiful sight, a small house filled with lights. They felt so happy, and started running to the house throwing away all the fear they had. Only when they came near the house Pietre realized that they had to exercise caution and stopped her frantic footsteps. "What happened Pietre?!, come on let us get inside the house, it's getting cold here and I can hear wolves howling...I don’t like the sound of it..gives me creeps!!". " Yes we will go inside, but we need to be careful Aimy, we don’t know who is in the house, you wait here I will go near and have a look from outside" whispered Pietre.

As Pietre went near the house, she noticed a window open. She went near the window and slowly peeped inside, she could see a huge table loaded with dishes of fried chicken, turkey, spinach sandwiches, boiled potatoes and fruit salads. Aimy came near Pietre and at once forced her to get inside the house, "Pietre , come on let's go inside...I’m so hungry and the dishes are tempting...please do not hesitate...come on Pietre..come on in"...after a moment's hesitation Pietre went inside along with her younger sister and they both feasted upon the dishes. Hunger vanished their fears. After completing their dinner they found a cozy fireplace with small cots beside. They made themselves comfortable and were soon asleep.

Thud...thud...thud...Pietre woke up to the sound of heavy footsteps underground...Thud..thud...thud..the sound grew higher in volume and the footsteps seemed to be coming up. Pietre sensed danger, she shook Aimy awake. "Aimy , get up, we need to leave this place immediately"...

"I’m so tired ...I don’t want to go". "Aimy listen to me I can hear some footsteps coming up...and the sooner we leave the better". "Alright , let us go..." They started hurrying towards the main door, the footsteps grew louder, it appeared like there were nearly a dozen people.

Crossing boundaries: Chapter 2

"Pietre , GET UP!! "...shouted Mrs. Strutee. Pietre woke with a shock, she had the blurred remembrance of a dream wherein two dwarves were conversing. She shook her head with an effort to drop of the memory. The dwarves looked terrifying, she tried to recollect their appearances. One was short and his skin was fragile and scarred, the other one was taller compared to the first dwarf, but his eyes...yes his eyes, Pietre could not forget the fire which represented the anger in the dwarf's eyes. She neglected her fears and signs which screamed in her head the same words "LEAVE THE HOME, GET OUT OF THE FOREST", dreams rarely come true, especially dreams of dwarves, they did not exist at all.

Pietre and Aimy started exploring the forest. They were glad to hear the pleasant chirping of birds and feel the soft breeze . The trees looked healthy and happy and the various colors on the leaves gave a heavenly beauty and serenity to the forest. Pietre's spirits soon rose high and she cursed herself for having suspected some magical existence in the Narmug forest.

Pietre and Aimy found a fresh spring nearby and started playing there, soon they started chasing each other. They wandered deep inside the forest and entered the Thamika boundary. They were caught unaware when they saw a much much denser forest area, it was so dark that they would have sworn it was late night. The trees were thicker and the Sun lord's powers came to nothing in comparison to denseness of the trees, He kept fighting but in vain, his rays could not seep through the denseness, hence this part of the forest was in darkness.


Pietre was afraid to see the darkness in the morning, she tried to conceal it for fear that it might alarm her younger sister. Her immediate thought was to get back to home, so they started their detour only to find that they had lost their way. Pietre was hoping that she would find the way soon, but it appeared like a maze, they kept going in rounds only to find that every place looked similar and they could not distinguish. It kept growing darker and darker as night drew upon the day. Soon it became pitch dark and it looked like black ink was smudged over. "Let's take rest for a while Aimy...I can’t see anything in the darkness." Aimy started to weep, she was tired and hungry and they had been walking the entire day in search of their home. "I’m hungry and my legs are hurting, Pietre I want to go home, I want to see mama and papa". "Now, now Aimy..we are just lost, I will go and find a safe place for us to rest and in the morning we can easily find our way home....now there smile little mouse".