Trollhunters: Tales of Arcadia

7: To catch a changeling

"Alright," Jim said. "Do your worst."

Toby threw a watermelon at him, which he sliced in half with his glowing blue sword. The entire watermelon disappeared.

"It slices!" Toby said.

"It dices!" Jim said.

"That was amazing!"

"What else do you got?"

Toby picked up a stack of newspapers. "You know, we probably should recycle these. On the other hand, shredding them is more fun! It's less environmentally conscious but more fun!"

He threw the newspapers at him and he sliced them and, just like the watermelon, the newspapers disappeared. "Home run!" Jim said.

"It's like a ticker-tape parade of awesome!"

Draal stepped out of the house. "What is this mockery?"

"Hey, Draal," Jim said. "Just working on some sword fighting skills."

"The sword of Daylight is not a toy to be played with. It is a hallowed obligation I have spent my entire life training to be worthy of."

"You want to take it for a spin?" he asked, holding up the sword. He handed it to him, and he took it. He held it up in the air and saw Kanjigar's reflection in the sword. He looked at it in surprise and the sword disappeared from his hands. It reappeared in Jim's hands. "Sorry," he said. "I forgot."

"If my destiny is not to hold the sword, Perhaps it is to teach you how to properly wield it."

He looked around and saw a lamp. He grabbed it and took the lampshade off it. He started swinging it like a sword. He was about to hit Jim but stopped just inches away from his head. "Your blade is but an extension of your body," Draal said. "And your body is an extension of your eyes. Mimic my movements, Trollhunter."

They held out their weapons to each other. Draal did a few fighting stances, with Jim mimicking his movements. They fought until night fell. Draal pushed him against the house. "That kinda hurt," Jim said.

"A real fighter is never predictable, Trollhunter. You have to expect the unexpected and learn to embody the armor. Force it to do what you want."

Jim looked at his armored hand and the amulet on his chest started glowing. His sword that was held by the hand that was pinned to the wall moved to his free hand. Draal smiled and let go of him.

Toby's phone started dinging. "Shoot," he said. "We're supposed to meet Blinky at the museum now."

Jim put his sword away. "We'll work on this more later, okay, Draal?"

He changed out of his armor and the two boys went to their bikes. "Let's go, Tobes!"

Draal was left standing in the backyard, holding the shadeless lamp. He looked at the lightbulb and bit it. He realized what he did and set the lamp down, putting the lampshade back on.

***

"Good, Blinky left the window open," Jim said, sneaking to the window of the museum. "I hope he took care of the cameras."

He and Toby climbed through the window. "It's true." Toby said. "You always return to the scene of the crime. They try to rehabilitate us, but the big house only made us better criminals."

"The goblins are all gone," Jim said.

Vendel was standing by a dress on display. "Ridiculous garment," He said, touching it with his staff. Jim and Toby ran into the room. "You're late," Blinky told them.