“M-Troll?” I ask Talon as he is sitting there looking at me and watching the last of the retirees exit the hall.

“Modified Trolls are trolls that have been modified, most likely through the use of some type of magic or manipulation, to change what they are. The two you have seen are the green and white. The greens are more mindless and are controlled somehow by another, usually referred to as the commander. Strong, resistant to damage and pain, usually found in packs of three to five. Whites are usually used as a mount. Also, strong, resistant to damage and pain. Greens will be found grouped around a white. Groups of whites have not been spotted. All modified trolls are no longer weakened or harmed by the sun, but do not regenerate either.”

“I’m not sure how long people were out after you followed the m-trolls through the gate. A few were alert enough to tell us what you did, but still too disorientated to function properly. A team geared up and went in after the children. I am told that there was a short trail of sleeping children that lead up to a sleeping pile, with quite a few dead goblins along with three green m-trolls.”

Talon continues. “The children were gathered up along with some random items and weapons scattered about. You were not found and your tracks stopped in the midst of all of it. It was believed that you were taken. I lead another team to scout out what had become of you. When we heard fighting behind us, we had thought it was an attack on the gate. Rushing back, we found more dead and you standing in front of the gate yelling for Lilly.”

Leaning back and relaxing in his seat. “And here you are. Geared up like an adventurer yourself, but without a piece of magic on you. I’m sure there’s a story between that bed you were dragging and the chain around your wrist.” He opens his hand in front of me on the table, letting a couple of screws roll out like dice. “I found these. I saw where you cut the branches. I saw where you started to drag that bed. What I didn’t see, is where it came from, the tracks just started. Questionably similar to your tracks disappearing, if you were not taken.” He pauses and gauges my reaction.

Letting out a sigh, I start just after Jenn shooting the bow, with the goblin commander and biting my tongue. I explain how I was gathering the children until the goblins came and how they were betting on me. I tell him about Grut’s and him dragging out the sword, but I leave out everything about the ring and taking it off him. I only briefly go into fighting with the goblins and being hit by the white m-troll.

I don’t explain in any detail, but I do tell him that after being hit, I wake up back home in my bed. That I buy some equipment that I think would be useful. Chain myself to my bed, in case I’m dreaming or sleepwalking, so I don’t hurt anyone. Then waking back up here, this time in my bed. I stop there and say nothing else about what has occurred since I have been back.

Officer Trailbreaker is just sitting back, relaxed, contemplating what I said. He asks a couple of questions about the children and the dead. More I think to confirm the truth about what I am telling him, to what he knows happened. He seems to know or understand something he’s not saying. After a little more discussion between us, he says. “I’m going to ask if there is anyone here that can get you up to speed about life here. I will not tell them anything, that is your choice to share, or not.”

Getting up and walking towards the exit, I follow. Bart and a few others are waiting out front. Talon asks Bart if there might be any volunteers to help me out and get me up to speed. Bart looks over at me with an understanding look that I have to think that Talon has just told him what is going on with me.

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“Let’s get you settled in.” Bart says to me.

“I have to be getting back.” Talon says to me as the three of us get into the wagon.

There is silence as we head back over to where my bed was dropped off. It is only a few hundred feet away. I try to take notice of my surroundings, so I can find my way here again when I have to do it myself.

As Bart and myself are getting out, a rider is coming towards us. “Oh, gods.” I hear Talon exclaim under his breath as I look over at Bart who is grinning at something comical that I don’t understand. This is the first horse that I have seen here.

Talon walks a few feet in front of the wagon as the rider dismounts in a run before the horse can come to a complete stop. “It’s the Zealot!” The rider reports, coming to attention.

“Dammit! I knew it!” Talon takes the reins, turns the horse, and swings one leg over the saddle. The horse already starting to gallop. “Take the wagon! Alert the troops!” And Talon is galloping away as I notice he still has Grut’s sword on his back.

The rider doesn’t say a word to us. He gets into the wagon and speeds off following Talon.

Bart, still grinning, looks over at me. “Not all adventuring is in a dungeon. We need to get you out of that gear and over to the main grounds before we miss anything.”

I can see more activity happening as there are a few already starting to walk towards the main area. Bart is talking to me as he leads me inside.

“Might as well start getting you up to speed now while I show you where we put your bed. Can’t have you not knowing how to wipe your ass and having to feed ya.”

I look at him with a little surprise, he’s not shy about saying what’s on his mind.

Looking back at me, I guess he was expecting an answer. “You don’t know how to wipe your ass here do you?” he says with a bit of annoyance in his voice. “How far removed were you?” Turning back, he doesn’t wait for an answer and starts heading up the stairs to the second floor.

“We put your bed back in the corner room. This way you can have two views to look out of. You’re on the second floor because most of us don’t want to walk upstairs.” He grins at me again. “If you find something you like better, let me know, we can probably move you to it.

Coming to the room, we enter and it is a very nicely furnished two-bedroom apartment. A full kitchen and bath. A place where you would raise your family. My bed is already in the main bedroom and looking the room over, I notice that my bed has already been repaired. “Thank you,” I say to Bart as I examine the quality of the repair. The entire board has been replaced. Routed, stained, as if it had never happened. I find the replaced board standing in the corner.

Opening the closet, I find a few sets of clothes with matching shoes already waiting. “I’m going to need some help getting this off” I hold up the chain cuffed to my wrist.

“Cut, bent, lock, what do you need?” He asks.

“Lock opened please.”

“I’ll be right back, about 5 minutes.” He replies.

While he’s gone, I find that what I am wearing is loose enough or stretches enough, to get it all over and off without much issue. As I hang up the camouflage suit with the rest of my clothes I’m wearing, except for my underwear and socks, I realize that my ghillie suit, helmet, crossbow, and the rest of my gear are gone. As I finish up changing into what has been provided for me, I hear a knock and Bart coming back in.

“This is Jack” Bart introduces. “More what he does, than his name.”

I hold up my arm with the cuff for him to see.

“Different.” Jack says looking the cuffs over.

“The easiest way to open these without a key” I explain. “Is to put a small bent pin in here” I point to the keyhole. “And turn inwards.”

Jack pulls out a small pick that looks like something you clean your teeth with and quickly opens both locks.

“Thank you.” He says. “Not too often I see something different.”

Tossing the dog chain over on the bed, I push one of the cuff's ratchets close to show Jack how the cuffs are supposed to be used. “They are not supposed to be escape-proof. Just to hold someone long enough until they can be brought to a more secure location.” Holding a couple of fingers out, I ‘slap’ the cuff down on my fingers to show how they would lock onto a person's wrist. “This way you can secure one of their hands, using only one of your own, then the other. Most often securing both hands behind their back.” He is listening intently, soaking in all the information.

“The key is just a simple pin in the shape of an L” Holding up my thumb and index finger. “to push the latch out of the way.” I hand him the Hand Cuffs. “I’m sorry, I lost the key I had.”

Looking back and forth at me, the cuffs, and occasionally at Bart, Jack hesitantly takes them. “Are you giving these to me?” He asks.

“I am giving them to you.” I reply. “They didn’t work for what I was trying to use them for. You seem to like them. They are yours if you want.”

“Thank you, I appreciate the gift.” He says smiling, still examining the cuffs. Turning, he heads out the door. I wonder what Jack would think of those Brain Teaser Metal Wire puzzle toys or a Rubik’s cube.