A QUEST FOR SOMETHING OR OTHER

Chapter Six - An Uneventful Stream

The next morning, the wind was calm, the sun was up and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. Except that one, right there, that looked a bit like a duck with a machete, but it wasn't doing any harm, unlike an actual duck with a machete which would be lethal. It could hack at your shins like a lumberjack. Anyway, our heroes were just boarding their canoe from a low pontoon behind the inn. Pumpkin was already sat at the back of the boat, rocking it side to side whilst John was trying to step aboard.

"So how long have we got this for?" John shouted up to the inn, to the innkeeper who was leaning out of a ground floor window.

"4 days!" She called back, throwing some murky liquid out of a bucket, and down into the water below, narrowly missing the canoe.

John finally managed to get both of his feet into the vessel and plonked down in a seat and so Pumpkin stopped rocking side to side. John picked up a wooden paddle and pushed themselves away from the pontoon.

"How are we supposed to complete this quest in four days?" He said, paddling to turn them around.

"Piece of piss" Said Pumpkin, picking up the other paddle from inside the boat, and putting it in the water, opposite side to John.

They paddled gently, being careful to avoid the wooden stilts holding up the buildings, towards the small gap in the land. At one point, Pumpkin stopped paddling, reached into his bag and pulled out a glass jar, leaving John to keep switching sides with his paddle, just to stop them from going in circles. Pumpkin leaned over the side a little and put the jar in the turdy water, filled it, then took it out and sealed it with a little lid.

"What are you doing that for?" Asked John, turning around.

"Looks like choccy milk" Smiled Pumpkin.

"Try it and find out if it tastes the same"

"Who knows, might come in useful" He said, sliding it back in his bag.

John rolled his eyes and faced the front. Yeah, cause I'm sure they'll be needing that water at some point. As they approached the gap, they began to wonder why they didn't just continue through the village on their merry way to Rocksma, now that Hilda wasn't stopping them with a single arm as a barrier. But oh well, down this little stream they went. We'll call it the scenic route.

The stream was maybe 3 canoes wide, high reeds on their left, and some earth to their right with some light gravel on the top. It looks a little like a cycling path, but without the cyclists, and not a cycling path. The water was calm, and the further away from Little Arsington they drifted, the less brown the water became.

"We could do some fishing soon" Said Pumpkin, looking into the water.

John stopped paddling and whipped out the map from his pocket.

"You can fish when we get further upstream, we'll make a camp tonight I think, just beyond those trees" Replied John.

***

The pair had been rowing for a couple of hours now and very little had changed, although they were getting a little tired. The stream had meandered a little with a few bends here and there, apparently there was a loop the loop too, but John had blinked and missed it. They hadn't seen anything suspicious or anything linking to their mission at hand, which was annoying.

"See anything yet?" Asked Pumpkin, who was clearly getting bored of this romantic boat ride.

John squinted his eyes and looked into the distance. They were coming up to some tree coverage, more willows dangling over the water, covering the sky from view.

"We might have to duck a little" he suggested.

The current picked up ever so slightly beneath them so Pumpkin pulled his paddle out of the water and placed it back in the canoe in front of him, having seen no point in wasting energy. John on the other hand, kept his in the water, checking the depth to avoid rocks or shallow water. As they drifted under the foliage, the light faded and their vision became weaker. Not completely blinded by the darkness, but it might as well have been night time now. Pumpkin looked behind him, watching the light fade.

"Onwards" He says.

***

A couple more miles down this uneventful stream, and Pumpkin had taken a nap, unknown to John. Suddenly, something caught his eye. A flicker, up ahead. The handoculars were doing nothing for him, but there was definitely a flicker of some sort. An orangey flicker. A fire like flicker. John's average intelligence knew that this was enough to deduce that that indeed, was a camp fire.

"Hey, there's something up ahead" He whispered, to no reply.

He looked over his shoulder, to find Pumpkin stretched out in a deep slumber. For God sake. He turned back to the front, and continued piloting the boat down stream, focused.

A few hundred feet away from the flicker, John put his paddle on the left side of the canoe, and gently manoeuvred the vessel into the earthy bank, being careful not to make too much noise. As the nose crawled onto the edge, John carefully rose to his feet and hopped out the canoe, picked up a bit of rope off the front, and pulled it on shore as best he could. Pumpkin seemingly undisturbed. John did begin to wonder if he had perhaps drunk some of his 'choccy milk' and kicked the bucket, but upon a quick inspection, saw the jar untouched in his bag, so went back to the snooze theory. He picked up his little bag and put his hands out in a way that you would if you were telling a dog to stay.

"Stay" He said quietly to Pumpkin, emphasised by the hands he couldn't see through closed eyelids.

John crouched down and began to walk quickly in the direction of the flicker. The closer he got, the more he thought he could hear voices, deep voices. But he couldn't understand a word they were saying. He took cover in a nearby bush and pushed his way through it. A human shrub he become, and that's when he could see it clearly. A troll, no, two trolls, sat around a camp fire, laughing.

"Trolls" John said to himself.

They were big and dark, with some brown leather garments, the occasional metal plate covering various points on their bodies. Not matching, which led John to the conclusion they made them themselves and weren't designer. There were a few of blankets too, made from what looked like several sacks sewn together, scattered on the floor behind them. The leftmost troll reached into a nearby bag on the floor, and pulled out...

"An Alligator!" Said Pumpkin.

John jumped a little. Pumpkin was now in the bush with him, looking in excitement. John less pleased.

"What? It's an Alligator" Pumpkin said, pointing.

"I know that" Said John under his breath. "What are you doing here, I thought you were asleep?"

"Went for a walk" He shrugged, rustling the bush a little (a shrugging shrubbery). "So it's trolls huh, eating the crocs?"

"I would think so as that is what is happening before our eyes"

"So what's the plan?" Pumpkin said quieter, rubbing his hands together.

"We are doing nothing yet" John replied, turning back to the trolls "Until we come up with a..."

He's interrupted by a look of realisation.

"What is it?" Asked Pumpkin.

"Where have they gone?..." He said, looking at the fire, which was now troll-less.

Suddenly, the bush disguise was lifted above the pair, who looked up to see two rather unhappy trolls looking down at them.

"The trolls?" Asked Pumpkin. "Well they're right there" He said, pointing.

"Yes Pumpkin. I can see that" Replied John.