"HEEROOEESS!" The creature yelled as it ripped a tree out of the earth and flung it at us, "I SHAALL DEESTROOY YOOU!" I flew sideways, quickly avoiding the tree while Invent and Prince ran the opposite way. Ice simply jumped forward landing lightly on his feet a mere inch from where the tree hit.
"Why is it talking like that? And why is it screaming!?" Prince demanded as he yanked his sword from its scabbard.
Ice dodged a swing from the massive creature as he answered, "It's a troll. They always shout and speak that way." He said this like it should have been obvious but...trolls didn't exist!! Yet here one was!
"Ok. How do we beat it?" I asked but Ice simply frowned before shaking his head, almost like he knew but didn't know...or maybe he didn't remember? I saw Invent take out her hammer and hit the trolls arm causing it to roar in pain or maybe anger?
"Well, we better think of something, or it'll kill us!" Prince snarled out as he dodged, rolled and then swung his sword, cutting into the troll's meaty leg.
"HEEROOEES DIIEE!" The troll roared and I had a crazy idea that hopefully was just crazy enough to work.
"I have an idea, guys!" I shouted.
"What is it?" Invent shouted back as she lunged sideways to avoid the troll's arm.
"I'm going to try tying it up and then," I quickly flew backward to avoid an arm, "I'll see if I've mastered the earth skill of engulfing."
"What's engulfing?" Prince asked.
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Ice answered, "It's an earth skill that causes the ground underneath something to...I guess devour would be the right word here...whatever is directly on top of it. Naturally fairies are immune to this particular skill since they can fly." I nodded in agreement with him.
"Ok but what about the rest of us?" Prince snapped, lashing with his sword.
"The magic wand should be able to help cause it to only devour your target." Kraken spoke from her position on a tree branch above my head. She then jumped onto my shoulder, "I'll help you use the wand to channel your magic." I nodded as I pulled the wand from my pocket where I stored it. Once it was out of my pocket it instantly grew to a staff sized weapon. It had intricate designs covering the entirety of it with a brilliant pure white jeweled orb on the top. I took a deep breath before I started. The jewel on the top of my wand turned pure green as vines sprouted from the ground and quickly wrapped around the trolls' legs. From its legs the vines slithered quickly up its body to wrap its arms together at its body. I didn't feel the least bit drained like I usually did when I attempted this spell. I then concentrated on the ground. Before long a low rumbling sound could be heard as the jewel glowed pure green. With a sound like lightning, the ground under the troll just caved in. The troll vanished within the ground, and I felt woozy seconds before I collapsed.
Prince caught me, "Flame! Are you alright!?"
I nodded as I mumbled, "Tired."
"Using your magic is always tiring...especially for the higher, more advanced spells." Kraken quietly said.
"The wand was designed to take some of the energy but not all of it. If the spell is a weak one, the wand can absorb the full amount so you will not use any of your own energy, but the more powerful spells will still take energy from you." Ice explained which was rare. His eyes seemed sad as he whispered to himself, "It was made in honor of someone a long time ago." I don't think he meant for us to hear that but none of us pressed him for more information. By now we had realized that Ice will tell us things when he deemed us ready to hear.
"I think we should take a break. It's almost dark out and Flame should rest a bit after doing that." Invent said and we all agreed, deciding to set up camp for the night when we found an empty cave.