Tales of the Crippled Troll

Descriptive Text

We were at the foot of the Dargal Pass when it - all 20 feet of it - burst into our encampment. The carnage was frightful, but we were a well disciplined lot, and lost not a moment in arming ourselves with fire. But it did not fear flames and was untouched by them. Indeed it broke off its slaughter, snatching up a torch, as well as the arm that bore it and the man connected to that arm, poking the whole at us mockingly. Whereupon Scar emerged behind it, his face a frightful mask of wrath. Our dark leader spat out what I knew to be a curse. This was followed with another fell Vistani enchantment which he had used often. The troll was struck blind and roared with fury. Scar signalled for a horse. This I fetched and received instructions to follow with hammers, chisels, wood and water. A sniping barrage led the thing far out into the scoured plain where the first rays of dawn turned it to stone. We were then set to work, at first hacking, and then shattering, by heating with fire and cooling with water, one end of the great block. A little before sunset we were ordered to return to our camp and to scatter the broken pieces as we went. A couple hours later our leader returned, looking entirely pleased with himself. I dared raise an inquiring eyebrow and he said: “I wished to know from it how it had laughed off the flames. And I wished it to know who had taken its legs.”

-Tales of the Crippled Troll, anonymous Darkonian work

Descriptive text contributed by cure to John W. Mangrum's Teeny Tiny Tales of Terror project (posted on the Fraternity of Shadows message board).

Description

Tales of the Crippled Troll is an anonymously authored Darkonian work consisting of a dozen short stories concerning the mayhem caused by, and the misadventures of, a mountain troll in south central Darkon that was maimed by a darkling and his band of brigands. The stories are in fact true taking place in the last decade. The work is quite useful to a prospective hunter of mountain trolls.