After Bunny left towards her house, Jade, who had been hanging back in the distance, came up to Avery, “That was a good speech in there.” She told Avery, “I knew there was a reason they chose you to be leader.”
“I thought it was because they knew I was the only one who you’d listen to.” Avery joked, wanting to lighten the unease she was feeling.
Jade laughed, “You wish!” She gave Avery a light punch on the shoulder.
Avery laughed with Jade, and for a second her attempt at trying to make herself feel better had worked, but after the laughter died down Avery was left with the same pit in her stomach.
Jade, who had always been better at reading Avery’s moods and expressions than anyone else, said, “It was all true, you know, everything you said in there.”
“I know.” Avery said, and unlike what she had told Bunny, she believed what she had just told Jade.
When Avery reached her house, she was surprised to walk in and find the place empty. She walked into the kitchen and gazed out the back window over the sink. Through it, Avery saw her mother and sister out in the garden. Her mother was pulling up radishes and placing them in a basket, humming a light hearted tune. While three feet away from her, Cinder danced around a large leafy tree, surrounded by a circular patch of short mossy grass. She was playing chase with their two German Shepherds, Justice and King, as their old Great Dane, Bailey, lied down in the grass, sound asleep.
In the distance, Avery could see her father and another man working in the fields. Her father bent down, picked up a bit of dirt, showed it to the other man, said something to him, and then they both started laughing.
Avery watched as her family went about with their lives. Each one of them seemingly happy, enjoying their day and their work. They were completely unaware of what Avery was about to have to ride off and do, and Avery didn’t want it any other way. She didn’t want them worrying about her. More than anything, Avery wanted to be out there with them, but since she couldn’t have that, she was going to keep the image of them just as they were at that moment. She was going to keep that image and take it with her to Lilydale. She was going to blame the trolls for taking her away from that image, and she was going to make sure she beat the trolls, so that they wouldn’t be able to come to Havyn and try to kill and destroy that image.
Avery went upstairs and opened her closet. She grabbed a pair of dark brown leather pants, a tight fitting long sleeve white tunic that she tucked into her pants, a fitted dark brown leather vest, and thick black boots. She laced up her black leather arm gauntlets and stuck one of her daggers in on the inside of one. She buckled her oversized belt and stuck another petite dagger through it on one side and a larger sliver knife through it on the other side. She fastened up the leather bodice contraption Gumptin had given her to hold her sword and bow and arrows. When Avery had finished suiting up, she looked herself over in the mirror. Avery thought she looked ridiculous. She had spent her entire life striving for comfort and just trying to blend in, but here she was, staring at herself dressed in tight leather and loaded down with weapons.
“I’m sure I’d fit right in back home.” She said aloud, mockingly, doing a slight turn in the mirror.
As quickly as she could, Avery made her way down the stairs and out of her house, making sure none of her family saw her.
Jade was already waiting for Avery at the stables. She was leaning up against one of the hitching posts, dressed entirely in black leather, which made the silver of her weapons stand out like lights in the night. Her long black hair was pulled back in a tight ponytail. To Avery, Jade looked the part of a warrior. She looked dangerous, and mysterious, and like she might behead you just for looking at her the wrong way. Of course, the fact that she was munching down on a chocolate chip cookie and whistling an Ozzy Osbourne song took away a little of her mystique.
“You clean up nice.” Jade told Avery as she approached.
Avery smiled and told Jade, “Minus about ninety percent of the weapons, and you look like you do almost every day.”
Thomas and Pip had all of their horses saddled and ready by the time the girls had arrived. Pip brought Phantom out front and Avery strolled up to him. Phantom pranced around and stomped on the ground. He was a war horse, after all, and Avery could tell he knew something was happening, and he was excited about it. Phantom had on a black saddle that was just one shade lighter than the color of his coat. It had a white vine-like stitching pattern around the edges of it and sliver lightning bolt decorations on the corners. The bridle was black with the same white stitching and sliver bolts. Both were a far cry from the simple brown leather saddle and bridle Avery had been using during training.
“Thanks for getting him ready, Pip.” Avery told Pip, taking Phantom’s reins from him.
Pip exhaled sharply and waved his hand at Avery, “Oh, please,” Pip said, “ya know it’s me job, but even if it weren’t, I’d do it anyway. Ya do so much for everyone; ya don’t need to thank me.”
Avery had seen Pip almost every day since she had arrived on Orcatia. She had liked him right from the beginning, but after getting to know him more, she truly thought of him as a friend. He didn’t treat her like she was off limits or special like the rest of the villagers did, and Avery appreciated that.
“Thanks anyway.” She said, smiling at Pip.
Pip didn’t smile back, instead he said to Avery, “You be careful.”
Avery nodded and pip walked over to help Skylar who was having trouble tightening Dancer’s girth.
“Here is the map to Lilydale.” Gumptin spoke from behind Avery.
Avery turned around and took the map out of Gumptin’s outstretched hand. The map told Avery to take the Main Road, ride a mile past the path that led to the Ora Gateway, and then take the third road to the right, called the Harvest Road. Then, they were to ride on that road till they reached the first path to the left, marked with a marker that reads Lilydale. Gumptin had drawn a very precise map and made sure that it was easy enough to follow, but still, Avery knew riding on horseback through a forest, looking for small roads and paths, while heading towards a place they’ve never been before was not going to be a piece of cake.
Avery stood, waiting for Gumptin to give her some more instructions on how she should fight, or how she should lead, or what to do once they got there, but he said nothing. He just stood in front of her, head down, staring at the ground.
Eventually, right before Avery was about to give up waiting for him to speak and say something herself, Gumptin said, “Remember what you learned. You are a Protector. You are stronger than those trolls. You are stronger than you could even imagine.” He gave a little cough, “Remember I am proud of you all.”
Avery thought that was one of the nicest things Gumptin had ever said to her. She took a hold of one of Gumptin’s shoulders and said to him, “You’ve trained us like crazy. We’ll be alright.”
Gumptin reached up and patted her hand, and Avery could swear he looked like he was about to cry. Before he let any more emotion show, he hobbled over to stand next to Thomas near the stable and left Avery to finish getting Phantom ready.
There were three tie straps on Phantom’s saddle. One was for Avery’s whip, another was for extra arrows, and the third was for gear, such as bedding if they were on an extended ride. Since she didn’t have to worry about being gone overnight, Avery just tied on her whip and a quiver full of twenty extra arrows. When she had finished making sure everything was tied on and in order, Avery grabbed onto Phantom’s saddle and pulled herself up into it. Avery sat on top of Phantom and stroked his mane. She could sense his desire to run, but he stayed still, waiting for his master’s command.
All of the others were up and mounted, except for Bunny, who was having trouble with an excited Ajax. This wasn’t a surprise for any of them; Bunny always had trouble with Ajax not wanting to be ridden. Jade always joked that it was because Bunny was better with plants than she was with people and animals. Bunny pulled down
on Ajax’s reins, laid her hand on his head, and whispered in his ear. Whatever soothing things she whispered worked, because Ajax calmed down and let Bunny mount up.
When they were all ready with reins in hand, Avery glanced around at the girls she had grown up with and just hoped beyond hope that they were strong enough and lucky enough to make it through today, herself included. She let her eyes rest on Jade, and Jade gave her an ‘it’s now or never’ nod.
With a light tap of her heel, a click of her tongue, and a turn of the reins, Avery had Phantom galloping down the Main Road, followed closely by the rest of the protectors.
As Avery had expected, Gumptin’s map proved harder to follow than it looked. None of the girls had any idea how to judge distance while riding on top of a galloping horse. Once they had passed the path that led to the Ora Gateway, they had to slow their horses down to a trot just to make sure they didn’t pass the Harvest Road they had to turn down. While traveling down the Harvest Road, they literally had to slow their horses down to a walk so they wouldn’t miss the next tiny path they needed. Eventually, Avery spotted a small white wood sign, covered with clinging ivy, and the word ‘Lilydale’ carved into it.
The girls took the path, and since they didn’t have any more turns to watch out for, were now free to run their horses out at a full gallop. Avery knew full well the five mile trip to Lilydale had taken them much longer than it should have. She just hoped they weren’t too late.
Avery heard the screams before she was able to see the village. The path they were on curved slightly before opening up to the village. Avery pulled Phantom up to a stop before they reached the curve, making sure the trolls couldn’t see them coming. The rest of the protectors followed Avery’s lead and stopped their horses behind her.
Avery inched Phantom up slightly so that she could get a better view of the village. The end of the path was surrounded by large trees and tall forest growth, so Avery was only able to see straight into the village and not what was going on to the right or left. The village would have looked like a quaint farming village, spattered with straw houses and flower gardens, if it weren’t for the utter chaos engulfing it. A few of the homes and shops were on fire, leaving long trails of puffy gray smoke climbing up into the air. Villagers were running around in every direction. Women were screaming and clutching their children, trying to escape the violence. Men were carrying swords, pitch forks, axes, garden hoes, anything they could use as a weapon.
The smell of the trolls reached the protectors before they actually saw one of them. It was the most appalling scent Avery had ever come across in her entire life. She had experience dealing with horrible smells, like sick dogs, backed up outhouses during the Rodeo Day Festival, and teenage boys, but nothing could prepare her for this. It smelled like rotten eggs and dog crap being boiled in a large pot of vinegar. Avery had to cover her mouth to stop herself from retching. Behind her, Avery heard Jade gag, and Skylar slap her own hand hard across her nose and mouth.
“This cannot get any worse.” Sasha whispered in a nasal voice, her nose pinched between her two fingers.
Before Avery had a chance to tell Sasha that repulsive smells were the least of their problems, a monstrous troll at least ten feet tall and weighing a good thousand pounds, crossed their path three feet in front of them. It was the color of green swamp water with large brown warts dotted across his body. It had a large round bald head with pointy ears that stuck straight up and a large underbite displaying a row of misshapen teeth and two large bottom canines that reached up above his top lip. Its clothes were sweat stained and appeared about two sizes too small, leaving its flabby belly hanging out of its shirt and over its belt. As detestable as Avery had expected trolls to look, this one looked at least ten times worse. The most menacing thing about it was the five foot long blood stained club it was dragging around behind it.
As it passed in front of them, Phantom moved around on his front feet nervously. Avery pulled back on the reins and patted his neck to calm him. The last thing she wanted was for the troll to spot the five of them huddled together on horseback, three feet to the left of it.
The troll walked on without seeing them, and every one of the Protectors let out an audible sigh of relief.
The sight of the troll made Avery’s body clench up with fear, but as the screams of the villagers continued to ring through the air, Avery knew they couldn’t delay any longer. She turned around in her saddle to address the girls.
Avery tried to ignore the fear in the other’s faces as she told them, “Remember, that thing is nothing compared to what we are. We go in strong and hard. We can do this.” Avery pulled her sword out of the sheath strapped onto her back, “Are you ready?” She asked them.
The girls unsheathed their swords, and Avery took it as them saying yes.
Right before Avery turned back around in her saddle, Jade mouthed the words, ‘be careful’ to her. Avery nodded in response.
With a swift kick, Avery nudged Phantom into a run and straight into the heart of the village. Once there, she was able to get a complete picture of where exactly all the trolls were and what they were doing. Avery tried to close off her mind to the surreal shock and horror of the scenes she was witnessing. She told herself to focus solely on their purpose for being there, to stop the trolls from destroying the village.
The troll that had passed in front of the protectors was making its way over to the extensive fields of bright yellow Everlily flowers. Already in the fields were two more trolls. One was seven feet tall with muddy brown skin and white tufts of hair sticking out of his saucer sized ears. It was carrying a large torch and attempting to light the flower fields on fire. A group of villagers were unsuccessfully trying to attack the troll with pitch forks while another group of villagers stood behind them, carrying buckets of water, in case the troll managed to get the torch to the fields.
Another shorter troll, but twice as fat, stood in front of the troll with the torch, swinging a massive sword at any villager trying to assist the other villagers in stopping the troll with the torch. The troll swung his bulky sword at one man attempting to make a rush past the troll with a wood ax in his hand. The sword hit the man in his midsection, sending him flying backwards twenty feet, blood spurting out of him as he flew backwards, misting the ground in a red rain.
Two identical looking trolls, both six feet tall, a murky pea soup green color, with matching tattoos of dragon skulls on their shoulders, were walking from house to house, lighting the buildings on fire.
There was a sixth troll, bigger than all the rest, a good twelve feet tall and built like a truck, its hulking muscles looked like they were about ready to burst through its yellow-green skin. The troll was walking through the village, picking off any villager that got near its gigantic hands or oversized club. After smashing one villager under his horrible weapon, the troll threw his head back in the air and gave a deep throated howl that sent vibrations down the Protectors' bodies.
Just when Avery thought she had seen all that there was to see, a troll no bigger than Gumptin stepped out from behind a house a few feet in front of her. The troll was the same icky green color as the first troll. He had long pointy ears and a small upturned nose. He wore a tan colored tunic with brown cotton pants and a brown leather belt with a tiny sword sheath attached to it. One of his big toes stuck out from his worn out shoes. He was the only troll out of all of them that seemed to wear clothes that fit him, not to mention the only one that wore shoes. He held a sword the size of Avery’s forearm in front of him and moved his little body into an attack stance.
“We meet again, Protectors.” The little troll said in a high pitched voice that hardly sounded menacing.
“Who the hell are you?” Jade asked, from atop her horse, directly behind Avery.
“Shut your mouth ugly human!” The troll yelled at Jade, “You know exactly who I am. I am Beetlebat, your sworn enemy, leader of the troll armies, and the harbinger of your imminent death.”
&n
bsp; Jade scoffed, “The only way you’re gonna kill me is with your stench, you horrible little maggot bait.”
They didn’t have time for this. Avery dismissed the diminutive troll in front of her, turning Phantom around to face the other girls, “Bunny, Sasha, Skylar, you three go take care of the trolls by the fields. Jade, you got the ugly twins over there, torching everything. I’ll take Mr. Gigantic.”
The Protectors nodded, but before they could ride off to follow Avery’s orders, in a loud high pitch shout, Beetlebat screamed, “The Protectors are here!”
His voice carried farther than any of the protectors would have thought with him being so tiny. Every one of the trolls stopped what they were doing and looked over towards Beetlebat and the protectors.
“Kill them!” Beetlebat shouted again, “Grind their brains and bones into paste!”
The ground began to shake slightly as all six trolls began to make their way over to the protectors. Avery quickly shot down the panic aching to take over her entire body. The rest of the protectors froze as well, trying to fight their own panic.
“Now!” Avery shouted at the girls, “Plan still stands. Let’s go!”
Smacked back into the reality of the situation by Avery’s words, Sasha, Bunny, and Skylar, turned their horses and took off towards the three trolls making their way out of the flower fields.
Before Jade rode off to take on the twin trolls, she pointed her sword at Beetlebat, who stood on the ground grinning from ear to ear, “I’m gonna knock every one of those teeth out of your wormy little mouth, and then I’m gonna take my sword and chop off your annoying little head.” She told him.
Beetlebat countered, “I’d like to see you try it, pathetic weakling!” Although, he talked tough the smile had completely left his face, and what ugly green color he had in his face seemed to drain away.
“That’s a promise.” Jade said as she rode past him.
Instead of riding to meet her troll, Avery let him come to her. She got down off of Phantom and slapped him on his hind quarters, making sure he got out of the way.
The Protectors: Book 1 in the Protectors Saga Page 21