The massive creature pushed its way into the building, ducking through the hole to stand upright in the large room. Its eyes showed a sinister intelligence as it met Avdren's gaze. "Who. You?" It's garbled attempt at the common language caught the wizard off guard, and he studied it curiously.
"I'm Avdren. Who are you?" If he kept the beast talking, that was more time to form a plan. He forced himself to stand still, holding himself in a non-threatening posture, but ready to move at a moment's notice.
"I. Og'Nar. Lead. Littles." The troll watched him, seeming to size him up in turn. "You. Kill. Them. Now. Og'nar… kill. You."
"That's not fair, Og'nar. They attacked first. Took this place from humans. You had to know a human would come to take this place back." Avdren was struggling to remember the small bit he knew of trolls. They were fierce opponents, and if he let Og'nar catch him, the troll would rip him in half with ease.
"Humans kill many littles." The troll spread its arms and growled. "Og'nar get them to kill back." With a roar, the troll charged forward, its powerful arms poised to grab Avdren. He managed to duck and roll out of the way just in time to avoid the deadly claws. He slammed a blast of lightning into the troll as it careened by him, the impact charring the skin. Avdren came up in a half crouch as the troll slid to a stop on the stone floor and turned to look at him with a feral smile. Avdren watched with apprehension as the blackened skin over Og'nar's ribs began to shed away, revealing perfectly healthy skin underneath. Avdren swore, drawing his dagger. If lightning wasn't going to work, he would try steel. The troll decided not to charge again, instead stalking forward slowly. There was nowhere for Avdren to go, with the remaining goblins amassed outside the door and the broken wall. He foolishly glanced back to see just how many there were, and Og'nar charged again. Avdren was a bit too slow this time, and felt fire along his arm as the claws tore flesh. As the troll came to a halt again, Avdren lept for him, stabbing him in the back with lethal intent. Green blood sprayed from the wound, and Avdren stabbed again, and again. He opened several gaping wounds along the troll's spine, but Og'nar seemed not to notice. He pulled away and spun, snatching Avdren by the waist with both hands and lifting him into the air. Avdren yelled in pain and hacked at one of the wrists, managing to embed the knife in the bone. With the tendons severed, the claws went limp, and the young wizard slipped to the ground in a heap. He looked up to see Og'nar rip the knife from his wrist and toss it aside. The wound began to stitch together, flesh and muscle flowing back to mend the gap. Og'nar laughed, stomping toward Avdren.
The flicker of fire in the distance triggered a memory. Sitting at the table with Braeden and reading a book about various common monsters. With a flash of clarity, Avdren remembered, igniting a ball of fire in his hand as Og'nar reached for him. The sudden flame caused the troll to pause, and Avdren launched it at him. It struck with a pop and sizzle, the green skin igniting beneath. "You almost had me, Og'nar. Too bad I remembered about fire." Avdren skittered to the side and scooped up the knife, launching another ball of fire as the enraged troll turned to face him. Smoke poured off him, but his flesh refused to heal. The second ball of fire struck him in the shoulder, and the troll howled in pain, lashing out with his claws. Avdren ducked, darting in and slashing across the monster's belly. Intestines spilled out, and Og'nar clutched at his stomach, falling to his knees. With a spin, Avdren twisted around and slammed a point-blank fire bolt into the back of his head before stabbing through the troll's skull with the knife. He wrenched the blade back out and stepped back, watching his opponent fall to the floor with a resounding thud. When he turned to look back at the broken wall, the goblins were frozen in fear. He took a step toward them, and they scattered, screaming in fear. Avdren shook the gore from the blade of his knife and limped toward the door. As he sheathed the knife, he looked down at his shoulder. It burned, and the cuts seemed rather deep. He would need to get back to Beth and get bandages.
He heard the goblins continue to flee back into the forest as he trudged up the road toward where he had left the horse. He had apparently twisted his knee when he was dodging out of the troll's attacks, and it hurt terribly, but stretching it by walking seemed to help a bit. Beth knickered as he approached, and he moved over the rub her nose and scratch her chin. He found his pack and pulled out the bandages and a waterskin. He removed his shirt and cloak, washing off the cuts as best he could before wrapping them tightly in the clean cloth strips. With a sigh, he took a drink of the cool water and sank to the ground, resting against a tree. He had managed to win. Magic really did give him an upper hand, but he desperately needed more training. For now, though, he had to learn on the move. He pushed himself up and untied Beth, mounting up and pulling on his backpack. The thought of trying to eat anything right now caused his stomach to churn, so instead, he sipped more water and guided Beth down the road. He had to hop off once they got to the southern gate, and with effort, he managed to raise the portcullis, locking it open. "Maybe that will help the soldiers, if they ever return." He continued on with Beth, planning to stop in Goldenvale. He would need more supplies, and Beth could use a good brush.
Back in Agrenon, city life continued on after the fiasco with the soldiers had been mostly resolved. The wounded had been healed, and the reinforcements were due to arrive any day. Simon had been making sure to stop by Mildred's house to check on her with Avdren away. He knew she missed the boy, and he couldn't blame her. He did too. The weathered guardsman still couldn't bring himself to believe Avdren had anything to do with the goblin attack, no matter what some of the soldiers whispered about. With a heavy sigh, the guard captain pushed open the door to the guard headquarters, heading toward Geoff's office. The pair of them had to meet the reinforcements sent from Tenstone when they arrived, to confer with them on what the guard had learned about the garrison attack, and the search for the missing envoy. Geoff stood from the desk when Simon knocked. "Enter!" The commander's gruff voice echoed out into the hall, and Simon stepped inside, saluting. "Simon, good. I figured it was you. A messenger came in earlier and asked us to meet the soldiers by the gate. Guess they plan to leave for the garrison immediately. The troops here have already been sent over, so let's get going."
Simon nodded, "Of course, sir. If that is their wish." The pair of them left, heading through the streets toward one of the large gates. Simon let the commander lead the way, as he knew which gate they were heading to. He wondered why the soldiers would be in such a hurry, but decided it was more than likely just due to a desire to get the garrison back under friendly control. It didn't take long to reach the northwestern gate, and both guardsmen quickly found the surviving soldiers. The men were watching the road as a wave of riders approached the city gates. It looked to be nearly a hundred men, and the thunder of the approaching horse hooves was deafening. Simon raised an arm over his face to try and shield some of the dust as the cavalry slowed to a halt, the lead rider dismounting to approach. He raised a hand in greeting, and Geoff returned it, while Simon gave a salute.
"Gentlemen!" The soldier approached. "My name is Edrin, Knight of the Tenstone Army. Thank you for caring for my men." He gave a respectful bow. "I believe my messenger found you earlier. Would you be so kind as to answer a few questions for me, please? I'd like to know all I can about this supposed envoy, considering we reached out to Gilspen and were surprised to learn that no ambassadors had been sent. The description in the letter your man gave us did not inspire any sort of familiarity in any of the Gilspen nobles." Edrin looked between the two of them, raising an eyebrow in question.
"Frankly, Sir Edrin, that doesn't exactly surprise me," Geoff said quietly. "Investigations here turned up nothing besides a robbery on the same day. The thieves made off with quite a good amount of magical items and other trinkets. I am quite ashamed to say I think we had the wool pulled over our eyes." Simon nodded his assent and let out a sigh.
"I feel much the same. It would seem the man who came here pretending to be from Gilspen was a mage of some variation. He robbed the home and burnt it to the ground in the process." Simon said sadly. "Almost killed a kid in the process."
Edrin shook his head in disappointment. "I'm sorry to hear that. I think this may be a larger problem than you realize."