The hedgehog finally returned with a bunch of other hedgehogs after what felt like thousands of years.

He could no longer tell whether his legs were numb or not. That was how long he waited for the blond girl to come back. He even considered throwing in the towel and accept that this would be the end of him.

The hedgehogs turned into their human shapes and surrounded him from all directions. But his mind was a jumbled mess and his vision was blurry.

Even though help came and the hedgehog kept her promise, it seemed as though he was going to die, nonetheless.

Startled, he flung his eyes open. Someone poured ice-cold water on his face. The cold water seeped into his mouth and dripped down from the corners of his lips in the same second.

“Wake up, human! Don’t you think it’s too late for that, huh?”

It was that hedgehog girl speaking. She was the one who stirred him awake with the ice-cold water.

“Late for what, exactly!?”

“Dying, of course!”

Grunting, he did not know whether to thank her for saving his life or scream his head off and tell her to keep at bay. The only thing he felt right now was annoyance.

As if to egg him on purposely, she poured another round of icy water on his face.

“Enough! I said, enough! I’m awake! All right? Just… just stop pouring water on me!”

With a proud smile, she stepped away as some five or so wizards cut him free from the trap. When he finally touched the crisp grass, he looked over his shoulder and caught a glimpse of another group of wizards darting towards the large tree behind him.

Elise! She was passed out! Just… just what happened to her? The wizards carried her up and sprinted through the woods as fast as lightning, leaving no room for him to ask questions.

She was shivering, he noticed before they carried her away, was she sick? But where were they headed? This route didn’t lead to Lárhus, at least he thought so.

“They’re taking her to the Witches’ Lodge,” Brettlyn said, as if she could read his mind. “Don’t worry. It’s the only place in these woods where the trolls and other evil things cannot enter.”

He stumbled as soon as he tried to get up. What was wrong with his legs?

“Don’t try too hard, young man. It looks like you need more than luck to get back on your feet.”

A wizard with a pointy brown hat came forwards from nowhere. Hain knitted his brows. Where did the wizard come from? The stranger took off his pointy hat only to turn its pointy edge towards his paralysed legs.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

The edge morphed into a sharp needle and pierced his skin. Even so, he felt nothing but numbness. But as soon as the wizard withdrew the needle, a searing pain shot up and down his legs.

Hain leapt up from the throbbing pain and swore under gritted teeth. Couldn’t the wizard have warned him at the very least?

But instead of apologising, the wizard beamed wide as soon as their eyes met. Just what were these people? The words escaped from his lips before he could hinder them.

“Who… who are you people?”

“We’re the wizards and witches dwelling in this part of the woods. I am Grendel the Great. I protect this forest and have done so for many, many years. And who may you be?”

“I…” He gulped hard, the words refusing to slip from the tip of his tongue.

“An apprentice from Lárhus, perhaps?”

He nodded, adding, “And that girl’s a deity. I must bring her back—”

“I know who the girl is. She’s my beloved friend’s daughter,” he interrupted, smiling wide still. “But I asked who you were, didn’t I?”

Hain dropped his head, flustered. “I- I’m Hain…”

“Hain, you say?” The wizard briefly looked away as if a sudden thought took over his mind. “What a strange name! Mind, I haven’t heard this name for many… Never mind. Tell me, what happened to you? To Logan’s daughter?”

“We… saw something we shouldn’t. She, Elise… she ran after him! Then we met that- that troll! I told her not to go! I swear! But- but she wouldn’t listen! Then I got trapped and… and—”

“I see. But I can’t return you two to Logan just yet. Your friend needs rest. She’s gone through a lot. Her father shouldn’t see her in this poor condition. Do you… understand what I mean?”

“Y- yes, sir. I understand.”

Grendel gestured the two wizards behind him to help the boy navigate through the woods, while he lingered behind and thought things over.

Thousands of thoughts ran through his mind on an endless loop. Trolls? It did not make any sense!

He protected these woods for so long he no longer remembered how long, and not even once did he recall a time when the trolls trespassed into their territory and hunted for children – especially those from Lárhus.

He took over the Witches’ Lodge from his deceased father, who guarded the woods for just as many years. Yet he did not recall a single incident of trolls that hunted in this part of the forest. Ever.

Something was wrong. The trolls weren’t allowed to hunt here, in his territory. He wasn’t the one who came up with these rules. These were set by the Council of Deities in Salwodor.

It wasn’t like Trollemor to go against these rules, either. She knew better than anyone that breaking the rules for a fleeting moment was not worth her life or the lives of her children.

Moreover, she never rebelled quite like this before. Why would she? The last time he caught her children red-handed, he impaled their heads for all to see and ridicule. So, why…?

Something was utterly wrong, he just knew it, although he didn’t know the reason behind all this madness. He looked in the direction of the Witches’ Lodge with a determined look.

There was only one way to find out. He had to be patient and wait for Logan’s little girl to heal and tell him what was going on.

She escaped the trolls’ lair without even a single blemish on her skin. Her ailment came from poisoning, not torture or anything of that sort.

How did she escape? Even this was unheard of. No being kidnapped by the trolls ever returned alive, not to mention unharmed!

But this wasn’t a miracle. It was a bad omen. This wasn’t a simple fever, either. He could tell right away. That was why he couldn’t return her to Lárhus.

And most importantly, if the girl did not make it through the fever tonight, he’d have to prepare a raid and find out what was going on the hard way. That, of course, only if his old friend stayed away.

Logan wasn’t going to take this well. The moment words about his daughter’s kidnapping reached his ears, the trolls were not safe. No one and nothing got away from harming his one and only child.

He couldn’t let that happen.

Something wicked was going on behind their backs and it looked like Trollemor knew what it was. Before Logan got to her and slashed her head off, he had to stave the headmaster off and talk to Trollemor in person.

He had to.