Walter Strickler paced back and forth inside the old warehouse, routinely popping the cap off his pen and placing it back on again in anxiety. The large room he currently stood in was dank and smelled of rotting fish, a stench far too pungent for a delicate human nose. Water dripped from the ceiling, a result of last night's rain seeping through the broken roof tiles. The history teacher paused his pacing to check his pocket watch. It was produced from inside the fancy tweed jacket he wore in a swift flourish. They were late. Both of them.
Scoffing, Strickler resumed the mundane task of pacing the length of the large storage space. A few goblins rifled through nearby boxes, messing around with the contents. Strickler hated the creatures, but they were good as disposables.
More time passed and finally, something happened. A disgruntled looking Nomura staggered into view, her expression twisted into a sneer.
"You're late." Strickler admonished her.
"Don't patronise me Stricklander, I still have to keep up appearances. Sneaking away from my shift at the museum wasn't easy." She scowled at him.
"Some of us don't tarnish our true nature by engaging in the affairs of humans." A third voice rang out from behind a pile of crates.
Otto stepped into their line of sight, tilting his hat to both his fellow changelings in turn as a greeting.
Strickler raised his hand to Nomura to silence her oncoming rant and turned to Otto, "Did you bring it?"
"Yes, mein freund," The changeling reached into a suitcase he'd been carrying and produced a circular object, "The Fetch, as you requested. But I must ask, why do you need it?"
"I was just about ask the same damn question." Nomura chided.
"Very good. Now that I have both of your undivided attention, let us discuss business. I received word from Gladysgro that the mission to escort Bular to the Killahead Bridge did not go to plan. He was followed and pursued two trolls from Trollmarket who seemed to be on the prowl."
Otto and Nomura exchanged a mildly concerned glance.
"Gladysgro returned to the Janus Order last night and brought me some...rather unfortunate news," Strickler continued, "The trolls he'd been chasing were aided by some humans, Bular was slain. She didn't get a good look at them since she ran as soon as they showed up. But she returned to reconvene with the Prince and he had been killed."
"Humans? Helping trolls? Ridiculous," Nomura scoffed dismissively, "Unless we have traitors in our midst."
"Or they could've been wizards. I've heard rumours that there is an underground network of wizards living in Arcadia." Otto counteracted.
Strickler began to grow impatient. He clicked his pen cap off and on again, listening to the squabbling of the other two changelings. Eventually, he grew tired of their moaning and seized a nearby goblin off a crate, snapping its neck in his grasp. Nomura, Otto and the other goblins all ceased their activities and kept their eyes fixed on Strickler. Walter ran a hand down his face, annoyed.
"Regardless of what they were, Blinkous and Aarghaumont were aided by some humanoid creatures and Bular is still dead. This will not please the Skullcrusher. That is why you're here today, so we many discuss our plan of action. I propose we continue our work on the bridge and double our efforts searching for Merlin's amulet. However, we must employ the utmost caution, lest we suffer the same fate as Bular."
The others nodded quietly in agreement. Strickler tasked Nomura with keeping an eye out for any suspicious activity from any locals, whether it be magic, changeling or just your average run-of-the-mill human. Otto was told to continue smuggling the bridge parts to the museum so they could complete Killhead and usher in the Eternal Night.
Strickler on the other hand was going to investigate the site of Bular's demise.
"Oh, one more thing before you two are dismissed. The reason I require the Fetch is to recruit another into our ranks. A student of mine has been acting rather suspicious and whilst I don't believe him to be connected to this incident with Bular, I don't want to take any chances. He knows more than he's letting on, so I need someone to spy on him." Walt said.
"Why don't I watch him?" Nomura asked bluntly, referencing Strickler's instructions for her.
His eyes quickly flashed cat-like at her, a growl in his throat, "Don't question my authority Nomura. You are in a good position at the museum to watch for anyone skulking around the bridge. Leave the student to me."
Nomura rolled her emerald eyes and muttered something under her breath.
She slinked off as elegantly as a cat, disappearing into the shadows. Otto followed suit, nodding his hat at Strickler on his exit.
Walter shook his head and stared into the Fetch. A small rock flew out with a Trollish inscription on it.
"Hm, interesting..." He turned to Fragwa and held up the rock, "Look who it is...you know what to do. Be discreet and don't attract attention to yourself."
The head goblin barked a reply of acknowledgement and trotted off, with a group of goblins in tow.
Strickler smirked to himself, finally, he'd know what was going on with Jim Lake. The kid had been acting very strange the other day and whilst deep down he hoped he wasn't involved, the changeling couldn't help but shake the feeling that Jim was included in all of this somehow.
He sighed deeply as he approached his car. Fingers locked around the steering wheel. His foot pressed against the accelerator after he'd turned the engine on. The old hatchback whirred to life slowly, headlights flickering on, illuminating the way into the growing darkness up ahead as dusk rapidly came in, flooding the streets with a welcome night-time chill to combat the intensity of the heat from the day. The vehicle cruised down the road, soft jazz playing from its radio. Strickler put his mind at ease as his finger tapped the rhythm of the steady drum beat into the steering wheel. His nightly routine would commence once he got home. Get in, make dinner, feed his fish, grade some papers, plot the changeling uprising...all normal things to do on just another average Thursday.
Well, he was relaxed, lost in the music up until something ran into the centre of the road. Strickler panicked, hitting the brakes, causing the tires to screech. Silence perpetuated for a moment, with nothing but soft jazz and the sound of his own stunted breaths to be heard. Suddenly, a woman's fearful visage appeared at the passenger window.
"PLEASE! YOU HAVE TO LET ME IN! PLEASE! STRICKLANDER! PLEASE!" The woman pelted on the glass in a manic state.
Strickler was too stunned to speak. Gladysgro was hunched over the passenger side of his car in her human form, covered in crimson red blood that she'd smeared on the window. A roar rang out nearby, accompanied by the sound of fast approaching footsteps. Her eyes were full of horror and she yanked at the door handle and banged on the window harder. Walt shied away, locking the door. He slammed his foot down to speed off, only for something to all of a sudden launch out of the bushes, taking the bloodied woman with it over the top of his car bonnet. The car halted once more.
Strickler yelped, making momentary eye contact with the beast that had taken down his brethren. Two irises of feral emerald stared back, letting out a shocking glow. Markings down the beast's body illuminated the same green. It made direct eye contact with the teacher.
"S...trick...lerrrr..." A deep, guttural growl of a voice uttered.
That was it. Walt didn't even think twice. He floored it and sped off. What the heck was that thing? How did it know who he was?
Why did it look so familiar?
YOU ARE READING
For Whom The Bell Tolls (Trollhunters continuation/Evil Jim AU)
Fanfiction"Time unfolds differently, like a flower. The Trollhunter will know what to do." James Lake Jr. is close to losing his mind. Nearly being driven mad by repeatedly resetting the timelines to save his friends, to save Toby from an inevitable fate. N...
