XIV - The New Acquaintance

                                    

                                          
Elli
                          
October 5, in the year of 8845, Reminis Calendar (RC) 
                          
Elli felt her boots landing on something soft.
                          
"Hey, stop that! My face..." Lukas' voice sounded muffle.

                          
"Oops, sorry." Elli's heart sank. She was stuck with Lukas, after all. She sat up but found herself sinking again — in a net — a fishing net — so big that it could've engulfed a truck.

                          
The net extended to a muddy looking pole. Wait a minute, it wasn't a pole. It was a foot, ten times bigger than that of an adult elephant. She wiped her hair away from her eyes, and wished she didn't do that, as what she saw nearly made her shriek.

                          
Lukas put a hand over her mouth and hurled her close to him. She could feel his body trembling as well. "Troll..." he whimpered.  After her fright had settled down, Elli realised Lukas could even shout and not be heard. The snore of the troll was covering up every noise they made. 

                          
"Where's your wand?" Elli whispered.

                          
Lukas rummaged his pocket, and the entire net shook under his action. "Where's my--"

                          
"I found it, there." Elli pointed to the river bank, where Lukas' wand was lying next to her sword. She stretched her arm but it was beyond reach. "Can't you call it to you?"

                          
"What, you think this is like whistling a dog to the owner? We can only do magic with our wand in hand. Let's just cut this thing up, quietly." 
                          
They brought their daggers out to cut the net and slip into the murky river, two feet below them. Apparently, the troll was a bad fisherman, and it seemed to have a very sweet slumber. 
                          
Well, almost...

                          
Just when the blades made contact with the net, the troll jerked up, and its body blocked the sun. Elli could still see its squirming belly though, as if there were ten babies fighting from within. For a moment, the troll opened its beady eyes and looked straight at the flabbergasted figures before it, which were crouching as still as they could. Elli thought of confronting the troll with her dagger, but she remembered her father saying that trolls had skin which common blade couldn't cut through. The fact that Lukas didn't take any actions confirmed her theory that trolls had skin which was repellent to common magic, too.

                          
The nostrils of the troll enlarged and reduced in size. 
                          
Elli and Lukas watched it for several tormenting seconds, hoping the troll didn't hear their throbbing hearts. Elli felt like she was meeting her future in-law, readied to get blasted. The troll brought its nose to them when a buzzing sound saved them. All of a sudden, a fly, stupider than the troll, flew around it and stopped at its chest. The troll smacked its wok-sized palm at the creature, leaving a tiny black stain on its brown loincloth. 
                          
Forgetting about Elli and Lukas, it rolled over the ground, thrice, and fell back to its slumber.
                          
The net was entangled in terrible knots due to the rolling. Lukas sat on top of Elli; his face portrayed a dizzy look. Elli pushed him away with a force so hard that it woke the troll again. This time, it definitely smelled something fishy. It brought the net up to its eyes, and it dangled like a frail goodie bag. The troll blinked at them and after five seconds, it let out a roar that could have made the thunder shy. Its tongue was grey, its breath stinker than the pig sty, causing birds of all kind to scatter in the sky. Hooking its dull eyes on them, the troll untangle the net, like unwrapping a present. It wasn't doing a good job. After several attempts, it became impatient. 
                          
Turning the net upside-down, the troll shook and shook and shook. Elli and Lukas fell out. As soon as the duo landed, they broke into a run, but the troll scooped them up. Its gigantic fingers swept Elli's jukebox to the ground. A fuzzy sound came from the speaker and then went silent as it smashed on the ground. Nervous, Elli bent over; stretching her hand to get the jukebox but the troll yanked her closer. It sneered at them, a combination of a stupid and an ugly sneer.