Should we invite him in to get warm? Tynian asked.
He isnt cold.
Its freezing, Ulath.
Thats why hes got fur. Trolls build fires for light, not heat. Why dont you go ahead and get started with breakfast? Hes not going to do anything until full daylight.
Its not my turn.
I have to keep watch.
I can keep watch as well as you can.
You wouldnt know what to look for, Tynian. Ulaths tone was reasonable. It usually was when he was talking his way out of doing the cooking.
The light grew gradually stronger. It was a process that is always strange. A man can be looking directly at a dark patch in the surrounding forest and suddenly realize that he can see trees and rocks and bushes where there had been only darkness before.
Tynian brought Ulath a plate of steaming ham and a chunk of leathery-crusted bread. Leave the ham on the spit, Ulath told him.
Tynian grunted, picked up his own plate, and joined his friend at the front edge of the rocky shelf. They sat and kept watch on the birch forest that ran down the steep slope beneath them as they ate.
There he is, Ulath said gravely, right beside that big rock.
Oh, yes, Tynian replied. I see him now. He blends right in, doesnt he?
Thats what being a Troll is all about, Tynian. Hes a part of the forest.
Sephrenia says that were distantly related to them.
Shes probably right. There arent really all that many differences between us and the Trolls. Theyre bigger, and they have a different diet is about all.
How long is this likely to take?
I have no idea. As far as I know, this has never happened before.
Whatll he do next?
As soon as hes sure we know hes there, hell probably try to communicate in some way.
Does he know that you speak Trollish?
He might. The Troll-Gods are acquainted with me, and they know that I run in the same pack with Sparhawk.
Thats an odd way to put it.
Im trying to think like a Troll. If I can get it right, I might be able to anticipate what hes going to do next.
Then the Troll shouted up the hill to them.
What did he say? Tynian asked nervously.
He wants to know what hes supposed to do. Hes very confused.
Hes confused? What about me?
Hes been told to meet us and take us to the Troll-Gods. He doesnt have any idea of our customs or the proper courtesies. Well have to guide him through this. Put your sword back in its sheath. Lets not make things any worse than they already are.
Ulath stood up, being careful not to move too fast. He raised his voice and called to the creature below in Trollish. Come to this child of Khwaj which we have made. We will take eat together and talk of what we must do.
What did you tell him?
I invited him to join us for breakfast.
You did what? You want a Troll thats no more than a few feet from you to start eating?
Its a precaution. It would be discourteous of him to kill us after hes taken food from us.
Discourteous? Thats a Troll out there, Ulath.
Just because hes a Troll doesnt mean that he has bad manners. Oh, I almost forgot. When he comes into camp, hell want to sniff us. Its polite to sniff him as well. He wont smell very nice, but do it anyway. Trolls do that so that theyll recognize each other if they ever meet again.
I think youre losing your mind.
Just follow my lead, and let me do the talking.
What else can I do, you clot? I dont speak Trollish, remember?
You dont? What an amazing thing. I thought every educated man spoke Trollish.
The Troll approached cautiously, moving smoothly up through the birch forest. He used his arms a great deal as he moved, grasping trees to pull himself along, moving with his whole body. He was about eight and a half feet tall and had glossy brown fur. His face was simian to a degree, though he did not have the protruding muzzle of most apes, and there was a glimmer of intelligence in his deep-sunk eyes. He came up onto the bench where the camp lay and then squatted, resting his forearms on his knees and keeping his paws in plain sight.
I have no club, he half-growled.
Ulath made some show of setting his axe aside and held out his empty hands. I have no club, he repeated the customary greeting. Undo your sword-belt, Tynian, he muttered. Lay it aside.
Tynian started to object, but decided against it.
The child of Khwaj you have made is good, the Troll said, pointing at their fire. Khwaj will be pleased.
It is good to please the Gods, Ulath replied.
The Troll suddenly banged his fist on the ground. This is not how it should be! he declared in an unhappy voice.
No, Ulath agreed, dropping down into a squat much like the Trolls. It is not. The Gods have their reasons for it, though. They have said we must not kill each other. They have also said we must not eat each other.
I have heard them say it. Could we have misunderstood them?
I think we have not.
Could it be that their minds are sick?
It is possible. We must still do as they tell us, though.
What are you two talking about? Tynian asked nervously.
Were discussing philosophy, Ulath shrugged.
Tynian stared at him.
Its fairly complex. It has to do with whether or not were morally obliged to obey the Gods if theyve gone crazy. Im saying that we are. Of course my positions a little tainted by self-interest in this particular situation.
Can it not speak! the Troll asked, pointing at Tynian. Are those bird-noises the only sounds it can make?
The bird-noises pass for speech among those of our kind. Will you take some of our eat with us?
The Troll looked appraisingly at their horses. Those? he asked.
No. Ulath shook his head. Those are the beasts which carry us.
Are your legs sick? Is that why you are so short?
No. The beasts can run faster than we can. They carry us when we want to go fast.
What kind of eat do you take?
Pig.
Pig is good. Deer is better.
Yes.
Yes.
Where is the pig? Is it dead? If it is still alive, I will kill it.
It is dead.
The Troll looked around. I do not see it.
We have only brought part of it. Ulath pointed at the large ham spitted over the fire.
Do you share your eat with the child of Khwaj?
Ulath decided not to explain the concept of cooking at that particular moment. Yes, he said. It is our custom.
Does it please Khwaj that you share your eat with his child?
It is our thought that it does. Ulath drew his dagger, lifted the spit from off the fire and sawed off a chunk of ham weighing perhaps three pounds.
Are your teeth sick? The Troll even sounded sympathetic. I had a sick tooth once. It caused me much hurt.
Our kind does not have sharp teeth, Ulath told him. Will you take some of our eat?
I will. The Troll rose to his feet and came to the fire, towering over them.
The eat has been near the child of Khwaj, Ulath warned. It is hot. It may cause hurt to your mouth.
I am called Bhlokw, the Troll introduced himself.
I am called Ulath.
U-lat? That is a strange thing to be called. Bhlokw pointed at Tynian. What is it called?
Tynian, Ulath replied.
Tin-in. That is stranger than U-lat.
The bird-noises of our speech make what we are called sound strange.
The Troll leaned forward and snuffled at the top of Ulaths head. Ulath suppressed a strong urge to shriek and run for the nearest tree. He politely sniffed at Bhlokws fur. The Troll actually didnt smell too bad. Then the monster and Tynian exchanged sniffs. Now I know you, Bhlokw said.
It is good that you do. Ulath held out the chunk of steaming ham.
Bhlokw took it from him and stuffed it into his mouth. Then he quickly spat it back out into his hand. Hot, he explained a little sheepishly.
We blow on it to make it cool so that we can eat it without causing hurt to our mouths, Ulath instructed.
Bhlokw blew noisily on the piece of ham for a while. Then he rammed it back into his mouth. He chewed reflectively for a moment. Then he swallowed. It is different, he said, diplomatically.
Then he sighed. I do not like this, U-lat, he confided unhappily. This is not how things should be.
No, Ulath agreed, It is not.
We should be killing each other. I have killed and eaten you man-things since you first came to the Troll-range. That is how things should be. It is my thought that the Gods are sick in their minds to make us do this. He sighed a hurricane sort of sigh. Your thought is right, though. We must do as they tell us to do. Someday their minds will get well. Then they will let us kill and eat each other again. He stood up abruptly. They want to see you. I will take you to them.
We will go with you.
They followed Bhlokw up into the mountains all that day and half of the next, and he led them finally to a snow-covered clearing where a fire burned in a large pit. The Troll-Gods were waiting for them there.
Aphrael came to us, the enormity that was Ghworg told them.
She said that she would do this, Ulath replied. She said that when things happened that we should know about, she would come to us and tell us.
She put her mouth on our faces. Ghworg seemed puzzled.
She does this. It gives her pleasure.
It was not painful, Ghworg conceded a bit dubiously, touching the cheek where Aphrael had kissed him.
What did he say? Tynian asked quietly.
Aphrael came here and talked with them, Ulath replied. She even kissed them a few times. You know Aphrael.
She actually kissed the Troll-Gods? Tynians face grew pale.
What did it say? Ghworg demanded.
It wanted me to say what you had said.
This is not good, Ulath-from-Thalesia. It should not talk to you in words we do not understand. What is its name?
It is called Tynian-from-Deira.
I will make it so that Tynian-from-Deira knows our speech.
Brace yourself, Ulath warned his friend.
What? Whats happening, Ulath?
Ghworgs going to teach you Trollish.
Now, wait a minute Then Tynian suddenly clapped his hands to the sides of his head, cried out and fell writhing into the snow. The paroxysm passed quickly, but Tynian was pale and shaking as he sat up, and his eyes were wild.
You are Tynian-from-Deira? Ghworg demanded in Trollish.
Y-yes. Tynians voice trembled as he replied.
Do you understand my words?
They are clear to me.
It is good. Do not speak the other kind of talk when you are near us. When you do, you make it so that we do not trust you.
I will remember that.
It is good that you will. Aphrael came to us. She told us that the one called Berit has been told not to go to the place Beresa. He has been told to go to the place Sepal instead. She said that you would understand what this means. He paused, frowning. Do you? he asked.