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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Calypso" data-source="post: 1556599" data-attributes="member: 16875">“A troll!” he thought.  Judging by its physical appearance, particularly the size, it must have been a swamp troll.  What it was doing here and what it was angry about, Kaelin did not know but he had no time to think about it now.  The troll stood well above Kaelin, blocking the passage to the cave.  It was large and dangerous, and between him and the way out.  The troll hesitated a moment at the sight of Kaelin, only because it did not expect to find the elf around the corner.  Unlike the troll, however, Kaelin did not hesitate and plunged his dagger straight into the troll’s chest.  The troll bellowed out in anger, swatting at the elf with its massive clawed hand, and Kaelin tumbled backwards taking the brunt of the hit.  The troll lunged forward for him, and Kaelin did everything he could to keep the beast from tearing him apart.  He kicked the troll in the knee and rolled to the side to avoid another swipe from the clawed hand.  His counter-attack had no effect on the troll beside to further enrage it and hasten its attacks.  Again the troll came toward Kaelin, the dagger still protruding from its chest.  Kaelin, on his back, saw an opportunity as the troll came for him and kicked out at the dagger.  His heel connected with the hilt, driving the blade in deeper into the troll’s chest.  The troll spouting slimy green blood from its wound yelled loudly, distracted for a short moment by the blade in his chest.  Kaelin took advantage of the chance and was up on his feet.He had to think fast if he was going to escape.  He had not seen any side passageways or other routes that might take him away from the troll.  His only options were to either head back down into the darkness or try to somehow get past the troll.  While his chances with the troll didn’t seem very good, they might be worse if he found himself trapped deeper down the cave.  He knew that trolls had regenerative abilities, so he was not likely to win this fight given the circumstances.  Since fighting was not an option, his remaining option was to try to slip past the troll.  He glanced up at the ceiling, noting a small stalactite forming approximately a foot up.  Scarcely a few seconds passed before the troll remembered that he was there and again came charging for him.  He leapt up, grabbing the stalactite and kicking out with his feet.  His feet connected with the troll’s face.  He lost his grip on the slippery rock and landed on the cave floor, but the troll was occupied with its potentially broken nose and Kaelin scrambled past it, through its legs.  He was up again and running along the passage way, the troll howling after him.  He tripped several times on the uneven rock, but pulled himself up as death was right behind him.  It wasn’t long before he came to a fork in the passage.  He paused a moment trying to remember from which side he had come.  He didn’t remember any side passages and thus did not really know which way to go.  How could he choose?  Both passages looked identical.  How could he not remember having come this way?  Perhaps he was had somehow come the wrong way back.  He paused a moment wishing he had left a trail.  He could hear the troll coming up the passage behind him, so he had to choose.  A voice in his head told him to go left, and everything inside him hoped it was correct, so he turned and continued along the left passage.He ran onward down the tunnel, his heart pounding in his ears.  After running for what seemed like forever, the sounds of the troll had faded out and the tunnel seemed to be getting lighter.  He could now feel a breeze as well and finally felt more confident that he had chosen the correct path.  He slowed his pace and took a deep breath in relief.  The passage behind him was quite save for the sounds of dripping water, so it seemed that he had escaped the troll.  He had heard that they weren’t good trackers, so with a bit of luck it had taken the other passage and lost him.  He tried to guess at the time and figured he had better be heading back.  He no longer had much of a desire to explore these caves now that he knew they were at least temporarily occupied.  As ready for a fight as he was, he also knew the troll was out of his league.  His father on occasion spoke of his travels in the marsh lands up north, which were heavily populated by the swamp trolls.  It was said that even the smallest bit of their body could regenerate and form a new troll, so every arm or leg or finger or toe that was swiped off of their body in attack would eventually turn into a full-grown troll.  Supposedly, that was how there got to be so many of them, though Kaelin did not entirely believe that.  After all, if there was no way to kill them, they likely would have overrun Silver Pine a long time ago.He continued down the tunnel thinking he would have to find out more about this troll that he had found.  If the tales about trolls’ regenerative properties were at all true, then is possible that this troll could pose a threat.  The problem would be now how to tell his father or the elders about this.  He was obligated to say something, but at the same time that would likely incur a severe punishment, as he would be questioned about how he found the troll.  He’d figure out something.  For now, it was best that he just get out of the caves and back before his mother returned.  He rounded a bend in the passage and relief when he saw daylight a few meters away.  Almost immediately his heart fell to his feet as he saw a large figure blocking his path.  For a brief moment he thought that his father had found his hiding spot, but at second glance he realized this was not an elf blocking his way.  “How…. how…?,” he stammered.  The troll snarled at him.  From behind him he heard a sound and turned to find another troll a few feet behind him, new flesh beginning to heal around the hilt of a dagger protruding from its chest.  “How….?,” he thought again.  He hadn’t heard the troll come up behind him, and trolls were not very stealthy creatures.  He had been lost in his thoughts, but still he thought he would have heard the troll coming up behind him.  Now he was in between two trolls, and in a lot more trouble.He turned again to the troll near the entrance, looking for any chance of an opening.  He was only a few meters away from the cave opening, but it looked like he would never again see his home.  In his head he could hear his mother scolding him for this last expedition.  He wouldn’t have thought disobeying her could have gotten him into this much trouble.  He looked back to the troll as it lunged forward, its clawed hands outstretched in front of it.  It snarled as it came for him and Kaelin thought this to be the last thing he saw.  For a split second, another form behind the troll took his focus from the beast, and next he knew, the troll had burst into a mass of flames.  It shrieked in agony and ran for the entrance to the cave.  Kaelin spun around to the other troll, which hesitated for a moment only before backing away.   Fire.  The trolls were vulnerable to fire.  He turned back to see a flaming heap collapse onto the passage floor before whipping around once more to see the empty spot where his original attacker had been.  A breeze came in through the entrance of the cave, carrying the stench of the burning troll with it, nearly causing him to vomit.  Holding his breath, he stumbled past the burning pile of flesh toward the cave entrance and the figure awaiting him.  He fell out of the cave into the light.  He looked up from the ground to see a displeased half-elf staring back down at him.  He was in a lot of trouble.</blockquote>

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