—Maggie! Maggie, can you hear me?!

Belinda’s voice echoed inside her head, followed by a piercing, painful headache. She felt like throwing up; everything was moving.

It wasn’t only her head that was hurting. No, her whole body felt like one giant unending source of pain.

She wasn’t sure if she had momentarily lost consciousness, but before she knew it, she found herself collapsed against a wall, and she was sure the closest one was a few meters away from where she had been standing a moment before.

Move. Maggie, move!

“Wha—” She finally acknowledged Belinda screaming in her head and was just starting to ask what she was talking about, but as soon as the first word left her mouth, she felt a sharp pain coming from her chest, like she was being stabbed, and started coughing.

Then she saw it. Moving at full speed, the Troll was fast approaching.

“Oh—” crap.

In only a few seconds, it crossed the distance that separated it from its prey, charging with the full intention of smashing her against the wall with its shoulder.

Without stopping to think, Maggie threw herself to the side, just barely dodging the Troll’s advance at the last moment. The creature hit the wall where her body was moments before and exploded through the considerably thin stone, getting its arm stuck inside the cave’s hollow interior.

With an effort, she started pushing herself upwards, leaning on her knees, slowly getting back to a standing position. Her whole body was trembling, and she was surprised she could still move after that strike. She was positive she had broken at least a few ribs, considering that every movement and breath sent a spike of pain through her torso. It was hard to breathe, very hard, but she needed to finish this fight.

The Troll’s head, right arm, and part of its torso were still stuck in the crater it opened in the hollow wall; its body was too heavy and its movements too clumsy to quickly get out. It was pushing at it with its still free left hand, but it left a short moment where Maggie could act. Before it could move away, she seized the opportunity to call her book once again and tap her second to last copy of Burning Hands.

“Stay down… This time.” She pleaded, forcing her arms up in the direction of the Troll and releasing the spell’s flame. She felt the characteristic smell she now associated with burnt Troll and the creature bellowed in agony as its already damaged side was burnt down to a withered, blackened crisp; nearly crippling its arm and leg. It exploded the wall next to Maggie’s head, releasing its arm and freeing itself, roaring in fury.

Maggie cut the spell short and moved out of the way. It can still fight! she realized.

Its roar echoed through the cave’s walls as it turned to pounce towards her, but soon stumbled forward, falling to the ground; its damaged leg not being enough to support its weight.

The troll was slowed, but so was she, and she was sure if this became a fight of resilience, she would lose it. No, she needed to deal the killing blow first, and it needed to be done now!

Turning around, she forced herself to bolt towards the entrance of the cave. It was very painful to move, let alone run, but the Troll was getting up, and even though the creature’s leg was too damaged for it to run, it could still move, using its one good arm as support. Its reach was still greater than hers, and even with just one functioning arm, it would only need to land a good hit to kill her. She needed to put some distance from the creature and figure out a way to make sure her next strike would be the last.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

Without stopping moving, she reached for the ground and picked up the torch she had previously discarded at the beginning of the fight. Its fire was almost extinguished by now, but the strange source of its flame was still intact.

Reaching for the torch’s core, she pulled the tiny bright yellow sphere and grabbed it, wincing in pain as its heat crossed the protective layer of cloth she had tied around her hands and reached her skin. Considering how fire seemed to slowly seep through its surface, she figured it had to have some weird magic properties she could use, and quickly formulated a new plan.

“Okay… I have… A plan!” She exclaimed between breaths, worn down by both the exertion of all the running and dodging she had been doing so far and the pain from all her wounds.

I know. It is dangerous. Answered, Belinda.

“You… Really can… Read my mind. Can't you?” she asked. It’s kinda creepy.

Only when you think out loud. Which you always do.

“Whatever. I am… Going for it!”

Oh dear.

“Hey, mountain barbecue!” She shouted, trying to taunt the Troll, but wincing as her chest exploded in pain with the effort of raising her voice. “Come… At me!” She tried her best to ignore her body and ran towards it.

It looked back at Maggie, furious, but strangely quiet compared to its previous outbursts, making only a whining sound as air escaped its burnt throat. Its eyes and nose leaked the same green sap from its wounds and its face was contorted in a monstrous grimace, wiping out almost all semblances she could find to a humanoid creature.

The Troll let out one last roar and charged at her. It was clumsy, stumbling forward with its movements already affected by the damage it took, but it seemed fueled by pain, anger, and even desperation more than anything, and in only a few seconds, it was already in range to attack her.

As the troll was about to bring its arm down to hit her, she threw herself forward, passing through the narrow opening between its legs. She clumsily rolled on the ground and pushed her body upwards as fast as she could, feeling a strong pain emanating from her ribs as she got out of the floor.

Before the Troll could turn around to get to her, she jumped on its hunched back, grabbing at the plant life growing on its skin and climbing through the vines. The Troll started to panic and tried to reach for its back to take her out, but even though its arm was long, it was too thick, and its movements were too limited to reach her. She had her knife already in hand, but Maggie knew she couldn’t deal any real damage from its back, so pulling herself upwards, she reached its already burnt neck and face, —her real targets— and began furiously stabbing at it. With the Troll’s body already damaged, her knife was finally passing through its skin, going deeper into its flesh and coming out in bursts of green blood. She was finally able to deal some real direct damage to the creature.

But in her rage she got careless.

Without noticing, she had climbed all the way up to the creature’s reach, holding at its shoulder for balance. Quickly reaching up, the Troll closed its one still functioning arm around her hand and pulled her out of its back, dragging her close to its face, and then, with its hand encompassing the entirety of her arm, it squeezed, loudly snapping her bones in multiple places.

Maggie! Belinda called out as she screamed in excruciating pain.

Her vision went completely blurry with pain and she felt like passing out, but if she lost her consciousness here, it would be all over. She started waving her knife aimlessly in front of the Troll, in complete desperation as the creature was drawing her towards its face, opening its maw to bite her head off.

When she was less than a meter away from its face, she finally started putting her desperate plan in motion. Extending her only good arm, she stuck her hand inside the creature's mouth, forcing her knife upwards, between its teeth, and opening her hand slightly, to let the sphere fall down towards its throat.

“Hah… I got you now.” The Troll instinctively closed its mouth, to bite Maggie’s hand off, but her knife stuck between its multiple rows of teeth stopped its movement, It was still enough to start smashing her hand as the blade perforated its flesh down to the knife’s hilt, but preventing the creature from fully closing its mouth and cutting off her hand. “Burning… Hands!” She screamed, activating her last copy of the card, and a torrent of fire exploded outwards from her hand, stronger than any other she had used before.

Her hand and arm seemed fine with the heat; she could barely register it more than a mild warmth, but the protection seemed to gradually fade as her body went farther to its origin point, making it so that, even though she was in the opposite direction to the flames’ cone, she could barely bear the heat this time.

The flames went down the Troll’s throat, with fire forcing its way out of the cuts Maggie had done to its body. The creature started flailing wildly in desperation as the fire reached its stomach, and after a moment, Maggie felt the Troll’s body rumble as a small, localized explosion destroyed its torso, splitting it in half and sending her flying a few meters backwards as the creature lost its grasp on her.

As soon as her body bounced on the hard stone ground, Belinda called to her. Maggie? Maggie! Are you conscious?

Please don't tell me you passed out from pain.

Everything was silent. It felt like minutes, but it couldn’t really be more than a few seconds but was still enough to cause Belinda to start to think all their effort was in vain. Until, from Maggie’s collapsed form she started hearing groans of pain and coughing.

“Belinda…” she called, “Can I please use the Healy-thingy now? I am—and I can’t stress this enough— in a LOT of pain!”

Hearing Maggie’s voice, Belinda let out a big sigh of relief. It’s over now. They won. They survived, defeated the Troll, and finally won.

Do it. You are safe now.