As they walked through the town’s main plaza, many heads turned toward the trio. Some couldn’t believe their eyes upon seeing Evangelina.

“Thrundia…!”

Others were simply happy to see their chief.

“Thragnuk!!”

But most lingered on the last one, following behind them both.

“Thruk’lak…?”

Verity could clearly feel the many eyes on him, and to say that it made him uncomfortable was an understatement.

‘Ugh…this is why I never go outside…’

Soon, a small troll, which was Verity’s height, but was still small for a troll, came up to him. His hair and skin was much like Thragnuk’s, but his claws were much shorter and his body was nearly devoid of any markings. Verity wondered if they held any significance, or if it was just a coincidence.

“Thruk’lak, draz uk?” The young troll asked, stepping before Verity and blocking his path

Vertiy raised an eyebrow, startled by the troll, but even though the words were spoken in a language he did not understand, they rang familiar in his head.

‘draz uk? I know that one….Is he asking me who I am?’

It was a question he could answer, especially since he had received a troll name not long ago. The only problem was how to answer it. Verity’s vocabulary was still extremely limited, and besides ‘draz uk’, there was nothing he knew how to say. So, he pointed to himself. “Gorrak.” Then to the young troll. “D-draz uk?”

The young troll’s purple lips widened in a smile, and his yellow eyes sparkled with joy. “Gorrak!!” he exclaimed before pointing to himself. “Thragnar!”

‘Thragnar…’ Verity repeated in his mind.

Not sure how greetings were performed in this place, Verity smiled awkwardly and bowed, earning himself a confused expression from the troll, who replicated the motion nonetheless.

Thragnar then grabbed Verity’s hand and tried to drag him away to play, but before he could, Thragnuk stepped between the two, his face clearly showing signs of exasperation. “Forgive me, Gorrak. My son is… a curious one.”

“Oh… so that is your son.” Verity’s eyes darted between the two, and he waved his hand in the air. “It’s alright Thragnuk, really, I don't mind.”

Thragnuk sighed. “Thank you for your understanding, but Thragnar must learn manners. Give me but a moment to correct him.”

Verity could definitely see the resemblance now that they stood next to each other. Thragnar really was a miniature version of Thragnuk, even in their mannerisms.

As Thragnuk scolded his child for speaking to visitors without permission, Verity locked eyes with his master, who looked at him with a grin.

“Look at you, making friends already.” She said, a smugness in her voice.

Verity looked at the trolls around him, feeling conflicted. “Master,” he said.

A vein bulged on the side of Evangelina’s forehead. “I told you-”

“Before I came here, I was forced to kill goblins, and orcs.” Verity continued, paying her no mind, and making sure that Thragnuk could not hear. “I was under the impression that… all these creatures were ‘monsters’ and that they couldn’t really think, not like me at least….”

Verity could not lift his eyes from the different scenes before him, no different to what he’d see in a human town, and his master listened intently, an unreadable expression on her face.

“But now that I see all this, I’m starting to wonder if…”

Evangelina looked at him intently. She understood how he felt, but did not have the words to help him, so she stayed silent, and let him finish.

“.... I’m not sure what I’m trying to say, to be honest.” Verity sighed. “It’s just, you know…”

A booming voice resonated behind him. “Ha! Do you feel conflicted now that your prejudices are being challenged?”

“Sort of…”

Thragnuk’s lips curled in a smile, and he began walking, compelling both Evangelina and Verity to follow after him. “Among trolls, there is a saying ‘Grakk’tar thruk’lak, grakk’tar zu’ak nar’gor’ It means-”

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Evangelina interrupted. “Trusting a human is like trusting the suns not to rise.”

“Exactly! You really have been practicing, Thrundia!”

“Of course.” She said smugly

“You see, there was a time where I believed that saying to be true...” He then quickly glanced at Evangelina. “But I was proven wrong… more than once. So, what I want to say is-”

Verity sighed, longer this time. “...Yeah, I get the idea. There’s good and bad everywhere. I’m being naive.”

The troll chief laughed. “Haha! That’s right! Although, for you to ask yourself these questions does make you better than most humans, haha!!”

With a swift motion of his long arm, Thragnuk rubbed his hair backward, and turned to Evangelina. “In any case… I did say I’d discuss it over a meal, but it’d be a shame to spoil good food with serious matters, no?”

Evangelina sighed in relief internally and thanked the gods that he had brought it up. She had experienced how Thragnuk handled business when his stomach was full, or in the process of being full. To put it simply, he didn’t, and she would have had to wait a few hours, at least.

Evangelina wasted no time to grasp the opportunity. “The kid’s a planewalker, I need a spell to hide it.” She said casually.

“You’re just going to reveal it like that!?” Verity protested, nearly choking on his own saliva.

He was ignored, though.

Thragnuk glanced at Verity. “Zug-zug…That explains the strange smell on him.”

The troll chief had already suspected something of the sort from the moment he had laid eyes on the disciple of his sworn friend, Gorrak. His scent was unique, unlike that of other humans. It wasn’t exactly better, or worse, just…. Different, and different usually meant other-worlder, at least it did the last time he ran into one.

“But why the need for a spell? There’s no way to tell by simply looking at him, and he doesn’t look any different from other humans.”

Evangelina sighed. ‘Not like you’re the best at telling humans apart…’ She thought.

“Something happened, and there’s a high chance the Holy Order will get involved.” Her expression hardened. “I’m sure you’re familiar with… their ways.”

At those words, Thragnuk’s face became much more serious as well. It seemed that the Holy Order getting involved was no laughing matter, even for a troll who rarely interacted with human society. “I see… If it’s a priest of Terras then-”

Evangelina shook her head. “It’ll be a bishop, or in the worst-case scenario, an Archbishop..”

Thragnuk paused. “...Are you sure?”

“No…but it’s possible.” Evangelina replied with a shrug.

“Then I’ll need my wife’s help. Good thing we are headed to my lodgings.”

Hearing his master speak with the chief, Verity couldn’t help but be anxious. Wasn’t the Holy Order supposed to be some sort of religious group? How much power could they possibly hold? He’d seen this trope in novels before, but seriously, from the way the two talked about the Holy Order, they seemed more like a gang than anything.

He coughed, interrupting the conversation.“...Is the Holy Order really that bad?” He asked.

Evangelina chuckled, but there was no joy in it.

“...You have no idea.” She said with a somber expression that sent chills down Verity’s spine.

At last, after walking through the streets for a few more minutes, the three arrived at Thragnuk’s house. Like the other buildings of the town, it was made of stone and wood, though it was slightly bigger than the rest, perhaps because he was the chief.

The first thing Thragnuk did as he entered, was rush to another troll, presumably his wife, and embrace her. Her skin was of a deeper blue than Thragnuk’s and she was slightly shorter than him, though still incredibly imposing.

When she noticed Evangelina however, she pushed Thragnuk away, and grasped her hands firmly, an excited expression on her face.. “Thrundia!!” She exclaimed.

Evangelina smiled softly. “Zog grath, Grukla.”

The deep blue troll’s smile grew wider. “Zog grath! Zog grath!” Then, it looked as if she remembered something, and she stepped back. As if preparing herself, she took a deep breath, and closed her eyes.

When she deemed herself ready, her lips parted. “I… am Grukla..the S-Sharp. I am from the… black-haired troll… tribe, and...I…am… very strong!”

Evangelina’s eyes expanded slightly. “Grukla, that’s-”

“Wife! You are amazing! Grah znak brak!!”

Feeling it would fit the mood, Verity clapped, and although the trolls were not sure what exactly the gesture meant, they did the same, forcing Evangelina to join in. When the clapping was done, and the congratulations that were in order were given, Thragnnuk explained the matter with Verity to his wife, and she nodded pensively.

They both spoke in their language, so Verity did not understand anything. This meant that he could only wait for them to be done next to his master, who was also intently listening, and participating in the conversation.

Eventually, the three seemed to have come to a consensus, and Verity was ordered by Evangelina to remove his shirt. This time, Evangelinamade it clear he better not act like a prude maiden, lest he wanted to suffer the consequences.

Not wanting to find out what these ‘consequences’ were, Verity threw his gray tunic to the ground, and stood there, as the two trolls stared him down.

“Znuk Thruk’lak.” Grukla said, prompting Evangelina to muffle a laugh.

Seeing it from the corner of his eye, Verity made a note to ask what that meant later.

Grukla placed herself behind him, and Thragnuk in front of him. Both pressed their long nails on Verity’s skin, and simultaneously, they drew a circle. When they removed their nails, a thick, black circular series of characters appeared on Verity’s chest, and back, resembling the markings drawn all over the trolls.

‘Huh, so that’s how they’re done?’

Wasting no time, the two trolls then recited some sort of incantation, and the circles began to glow more intensely with each passing second. There was no pain, or even discomfort, but Verity did feel a strange sensation invade his body. It felt strange, but thankfully, it did not last long.

When the incantation was finished, both trolls took a moment to catch their breath, as it had drained a significant portion of their strength. Designing a spell that could go against the Holy Temple was no simple task, after all, even for them.

“It is done.” Thragnuk said with an unsteady voice. “Even an Archbishop will not be able to break this.”

Meanwhile, Evangelina helped Grukla reach one of the chairs as the latter tried to catch her breath. “Thank you, Thrak uk.” She said, bowing slightly.

Verity looked down at his chest. He did not feel any different, and he wasn’t sure if he was supposed to, but if anything, the marking did look cool.

‘I knew I'd look good with a tattoo.’

He’d take a picture of himself if he could.

Regaining his composure, Thragnuk threw his arms in the air and shouted. “DROK!!!!”

And soon after, the feast began.