The Troll

A Story by Alex S. Foley

Trolls are usually portrayed as dumb brutes, but what if that wasn't the case?

The sword slashed at my head and I chuckled as it bounced off my rocky hide. The warrior tried again, this time slashing at my legs. He stepped back breathing hard as I stood there smiling, it may have looked freighting to him since I am troll.

‘Come on you beast fight me’ he shouted as he set himself in a defensive position.

‘You are no challenge to me, so why should I fight you?’ I walked away as he stood there perplexed by my unwillingness to engage in meaningless combat.

He screamed and charged my unprotected back. His sword slammed into my rocky hide again and bounced off without doing any damage. I turned around back handing him across the front of his helmet. I can move quickly for a creature my size and he was taken completely by surprise. His helmet was knocked off his head revealing the face of a young knight.

I laughed, ‘You are but a boy and so eager to die.’

‘I’ll slay you beast for killing my father.’

He swung his sword at me again, but this time I caught it in my hand. He grunted as he tried to pull it free and as I saw him put his full effort into it I left go. He ended up sprawled on the ground.

‘I would ask who your father was, but I don’t really collect the names of the men that come to slay me, I do collect their helmets.’ I pointed to a large stack of helmets outside of my cave.

He struggled to get up in the full plate armor he was wearing so I walked over and picked him up. I considered throwing him, but decided to set him on his feet. He looked around for his sword that he had dropped, but I snatched it up before he could get it. It was a good blade and I was a little sad as I bent it in half.

He snatched it from me as I held it out to him.

‘Go home and learn to fight before you come back boy.’

His head hung as he walked away. I walked over and picked up his helmet. It would make a good spittoon since he wasn’t worthy of my shrine to vanquished foes.