𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐆𝐔𝐀𝐑𝐃𝐈𝐀𝐍 𝐎𝐅 𝐓𝐑𝐎𝐋𝐋𝐇𝐔𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐒 [𝐣𝐢𝐦 𝐥𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐱 𝐨𝐜]

Chapter 9 | Trolls, Meet Human Trollhunter

Liz Walker POV

Liz reached the bottom of the stairs with Blinky as the boys continued to gaze out at the view. Standing beside Blinky, she finally voiced out her concern. "I have a bad feeling about this."

"You don't have to worry. Nothing has happened, Lady Liza. " Blinky assures her, looking up at the boys coming down the stairs. Glancing at the trolls mingling about, Liz mutters to herself. "Not yet."

"This is your home?" Jim asks in amazement, gesturing to the metropolis awaiting before him. Blinky replies. "Trollmarket is home and hearth and sanctuary for all good trolls."

"Including human," Blinky added, gesturing to Liz who stood in front with her back to them. Turning towards Trollmarket, Blinky leads the way beside Liz as the rest of the crew follows behind. "This way, my friends. There is much to see."

"Dang! And here I thought the only thing underneath our town was dirt and plumbing." Toby admits.

As they walk through the market, Liz could already sense trolls staring in their direction, noticing the human boys behind her trespassing nonchalantly through their domain. Gosh, she could feel their resentment from a mile away, though thankful that she was not the receiving end of it. If only looks could kill, they'd already been the walking dead.

Behind her, she hears Blinky giving them a warning. "Stay close. Besides our Guardian, no other human feet have ever graced the grounds of Trollmarket before."

"More humans?" A female troll questioned in shock. AAARRRGGHH stood behind the boys protectively. "Friends."

Walking ahead of the rest, Liz was holding her breath in anticipation, waiting for any signs of trolls attacking. She has no choice, but to intervene if it comes down to it. She has to defend the Trollhunter, even if the odds are against her. Could her night get any worse?

"So, your kind, you all live here? Even Liz?" Jim asks Blinky, glancing at Liz's walking figure ahead of him.

"Trolls travel from afar to our market to find comfort and remedies. You'll find most anything you need and sometimes you'll find what you never knew you needed." Blinky responded. "As for our Guardian, sadly, she no longer lives with us. She lives in the surface world as it should be amongst your kind. However, she often visits when she's able."

Liz continues to walk unflinching as she sees tiny gnomes scuttling around by her feet. They knew who she was and gave her distance. For fear or respect, Liz does not know. She hears a commotion behind her, but doesn't pay much attention, knowing the threat of gnomes were bare minimum. To her, that is.

She walks towards the Plaza, where the view of the Heartstone is most prominent. Toby gasps behind her in shock then hears his retreating steps as he runs back to get his friend. Standing at the front of the Plaza with her hand on the rock wall, Liz gazes at the spectacle as the rest of the crew come up beside her with Jim's and Toby's eyes staring out at the glowing Heartstone. AAARRRGGHH introduced the main power source of Trollmarket. "Heartstone."

Blinky comes up behind the boys. "The lifeforce of trollkind. The means that keeps us from crumbling to stone and the source of light and sustenance."

"Okay, that's totally the bomb," Toby remarks. Liz smiles warmly, happy to share the feeling she once had years ago when she first laid eyes on the Heartstone. However, that happy moment came to an end when a group of trolls shouts behind them, grabbing the crew's attention.

"What are they doing here?"

"More humans?"

"Fleshbag!"