Dulior, the troll and the mountain elves

Dulior leaves his home to spend the winter high up in the mountains with the elves who live up there. A dangerous journey ahead

It usually was a long journey up the Bastile Peaks. A road of which the scenery varied depending on how high up you were. The mountain started like a prairie with green grass and wild animals. but as Dulior went up, step by step the signs of life disappeared one after the other. there were less and less animals; the goats, foxes and birds made way for more dangerous and sneaky creatures like spiders, snakes and other cold blooded animals. The fruit trees and green bushes changed for cacti, sand, rocks and dry leaves. Every year Dulior asked himself the same question: why did I decide to go up this mountain? but every year he did it anyway. He had a particularly hard time going up the mountain this time of the year. The winters there were harsh; the icy wind blew as if it tried to knock him off his feet. The snow numbed his toes despite the thick leather boots he was wearing. At that point anything that could warm him up was welcomed, even if he had to catch a live snake and risk being chocked to death when putting it around his neck, but then again snakes were cold blooded so they wouldn't even do the trick. He wasn't crazy, there was a good reason for him going up the Bastile peaks. His brothers; the mountain elves lived at the top of it. There wasn't in the whole of Arryig a better place to spend the winter. The folks were joyful and the food was warm and the drinks overflowed. He particularly looked forward to their morning porridge with fruits cooked in honey or the grilled chestnuts that were as big as a fist and as sweet as a berry. This trip was also a way to escape the boring winter with the other high elves, where the music was slow and the folks whispered to one another to express themselves. Dulior was so deep in thoughts about what he was going to eat once up there that he had failed to notice the dead tree shaking a few feet in front of him but especially the beasts pounding at it with both fists. It was a hungry troll, unsuccessfully trying to force a puma down the tree. The beast was at least ten feet tall, with hands and feet that could easily crush a dozen bodies. The troll roared with anger, making Dulior finally notice it in time. The troll grabbed the tree trunk with both hands and started shaking it. The puma, despite clawing at the branches for his life, lost grip and fell on the ground. luckily for the Puma, the snow was thick and it cushioned its fall. It slowly backed away, its body low to the ground keeping its eyes on the troll the whole time. Dulior stood still and picked up his sword. His numb fingers made it hard for him to keep a good grip on his weapon and he knew he wouldn't be fast enough with his almost frozen feet. Nevertheless as soon as the troll saw him, he would have to fight it. He couldn't hide because the troll would eventually sniff him out or he would freeze to death waiting out there nor he couldn't out run a troll in these conditions or any for that matter. The only option was to fight. Dulior stepped in front of the Puma.

"It's your lucky day" He said to the puma "Run!" he shouted at the feline. The puma ran away and disappeared in the white and icy background. The troll roared with rage, it started beating repeatedly at the ground with all its might before picking up a rock the size of a man and throwing it at Dulior. The elf dodge the rock, jumping out of its way. The trolls charged at full speed towards the elf. Dulior disabled by the cold failed to move out the way as fast as he normally would. The troll sent him flying and crashing against the cold rocks of the mountain. The troll stomped across to inspect Dulior's motionless body. It picked him up by the cape and raised him up high enough to take a bite at him. The troll's foul breath woke Dulior up just as his legs were about to be bitten off. He sank his sword in the troll's eye. The beast let go of Dulior who crashed down in the snow. The troll went into a rampage of pain and anger; banging and crushing everything in its way. Dulior stood up and took the time the troll was distracted to slap his own face to try and get some feeling back to it as well as jumping in place to try and warm up a little bit more. "Let's do this" he said and ran as fast as he could towards the troll. He jumped up on the troll's shoulder and swiftly grabbed his sword, he then took a few steps back after landing back on the ground. The troll was breathing heavily, the warmth from his breath formed large clouds. It growled with hate at Dulior. The elf took cautious steps, the snow crunched under his feet as he moved to the trolls blind spot. He hurried the pace and managed to hide and climb up a tree. The troll started sniffing around to find the elf. Dulior jumped down, his sword ready to be burried into the beast's other eye, but the wind making his cape flapping in the air gave his position away. The troll reacted fast enough and dodged Dulior before trying to crush him with his fists. Dulior rolled around to avoid the deadly blows from the troll. He made a cut on the troll's thigh with a swing of his sword as he rolled under the troll. Dulior then planted the sword again once behind the beast. The troll roared in pain and turned around so fast that Dulior lost grip of his sword. The troll took the sword off its back and snapped it in half. Green blood was dripping off its eye socket, thigh and lower back, staining the white snow with every step it took. The troll advanced towards Dulior, backing him against the wall. Has Dulior stepped back, he tried to look for any weapon to defend himself; a thick branch or a sharp stone, anything would have been good but the snow was too thick and hid whatever was on the ground. Dulior saw no option than to use his fists. He let out a scream of war and used the wall to project himself high enough to hit the beast in the face, where it was hurt. Dulior held on tight to its ear while beating at the bleeding eye socket. As he punched away at the trolls face, green blood splatterd all over him. The troll grabbed Dulior and held him against wall. The impact against the wall almost crushed Dulior. He tried in vain to fight the beast off but could barely move. He smelled the foul breath again as the troll breathed down heavily on him. The beast's only eye left looked at him with profound hate. "Go on! Kill me already!" Dulior screamed. The troll responded with a roar so loud that Dulior's ears were ringing. The troll looked at Dulior for a minute. "Go ahead" Dulior said fearlessly. The troll touched its bleeding eye then growled with a mounting rage, its breathing was heavier by the second. It attempted to bite Dulior's head off but before it could bite its teeth together, a large hammer knocked it on the side of the head. The troll let go of Dulior and went crashing on its side. A large elf stood there.

"You should know better than to fight trolls young prince" The elf said without taking his eyes off the troll.

"Calri!" Dulior exclaimed before noticing three more mountain elves behind Calri. All of them sported bushy beards, long hair and were as tall as one another. They wore animals' skins over their robust figures. The troll stood up holding the side of its face.

"You didn't do too bad I must admit" Calri said looking at the troll covered with blood. Calri widened his stance waiting for the troll. The enraged beast charged at him. Calri stooped down and moved to the side before smashing the troll's leg with his hammer. The troll went stumbling towards the other mountain elves where it was greeted with a boot to the face, sending it crashing on its back. The troll laid there, staring at the sky while his blood spilled and made its way through the snow and off the mountain like little streams.

"Filon, may I?" Dulior extended his hand towards one of the massive elves. A ginger one with freckles and a scar on his cheek. The giant elf tossed him a bow and arrow. Dulior stepped on top of the troll. The beast tried to roar but was too weak to do so, so it growled softly. Dulior looked down at it, stepping on its chest. He loaded the bow and pull the string as far as it could go. The troll stared at the sky once again, awaiting death. It was all over in less than a second as Dulior let go of the arrow, it pierced through the troll's skull, killing it instantly.

"First time I kill a troll" Dulior said unable to take his eyes off the dead beast.

"And I hope for your sake that you don't meet another one alone" Calri replied

"I could have killed it on my own if I wasn't so numb" Dulior said

"I know you could but still, they're rarely alone, you were lucky this time" Calri said

"Lets go now before night falls" Filon said. As they walked up the mountain, the scenery started changing again. It was like the mountain was coming back to life. The closer they were to the castle, the better the surroundings were as if the mountain purposly hid its beauty at that height, only for the brave to see. It was as cold as below, even colder but there wasn't any snow and dead plants. it was all green and flowery. The cloud were now below them like distant mist. The sky was of a pink and yellow shade as the sun started setting, a view they experienced before any other creatures since they were so high up. The top of the mountain was mostly flat, the castle sat in the middle of it all, surrounded by a circle of clear blue water that moved gently back and forth. Dulior could see the fishes swim peacefully, some occasionally jumping in the air and back in the water as he passed on the bridge. A series of horns were blown as they got close the massive doors of the castle and they opened almost immediately. The warmth that emanated from the castle as the doors opened was most welcome, Dulior closed his eyes for a second as the heat caressed his face. His nostrils filled with the smell of warm bred and crushed berries. Finally! he thought to himself.

"Welcome to Bastile young prince!" Calri said as they stepped in. The doors quickly closed behind them, making the cold weather a distant memory. "Lets get you some food you must be hungry" Calri said.

"I am famished" Dulior replied. They walked to another set of imposing doors. Two very intimadting elves were guarding them. The two guards saluted Dulior with a bow before pushing the doors open. They entered into a room filled with chatter and laughter. The lights were bright and the music played loudly but most importantly there was plenty of food. The mighty mountain elves, who were rarely under six feet tall, filled the long table with their striking physiques. Some had bushy beards, some were balled and other had wild long hair running down as far as the bottom of their backs. The only thing Dulior had in common with them was the pointy ears particular to elves. They all stopped what they were doing when they realised Dulior was in the room and they respectfully bowed to him.

"Lets feast!" Dulior shouted with excitement. They roared with excitement as Dulior joined the table. It was everything he remembered and dreamed of; The food in abundance, the folks as warm hearted as the inside of their castle but most importantly here he was treated like one of them not like a high elf.