Waltolomew Stricklander is one of the most respected members of the Janus order, a secret society of changelings. Many look towards Walt as a sort of leader, after all he was the one who has contributed to their cause the most, and is usually the one leading the charge to gain results.
He held up many faces, many occupations; teacher, friend, romantic interest, leader, supporter, mentor, the list could go on. For each scenario he would have had a foot ahead of their opponent. He was a very, very cunning man after all.
However, for the first time in centuries, the changeling held a face of concern, with a thoughtful glint in his eyes as he leaned his elbows on his desk. A cup of tea and empty containers by his side with Nomura seated across from him, awaiting his thoughts.
It wasn't long since he and Nomura had gone to speak with Jim. The containers, they learned, were filled with muffins, but not just any muffins; homemade traditional English muffins. Along with the muffins was a note, one like what he had received from the boy the first time he was given a container of food.
"Please consider, I know you'll make the right choice." Was what was written on the piece of parchment.
They both pondered in silence, trying to make up their minds about what had transpired. The boy had a wizard with him, and even involved his mother. There was no doubt that the boy had been truthful about what he said, Strickler knew a lie and Jim hadn't lied to them, he had meant every word.
"Well, Strickler?" Nomura asked after a while, taking a sip of her own tea.
"I know we shouldn't even entertain the thought," Strickler started, causing the Asian woman in front of him to raise an eyebrow. "But… something is telling me we should listen to the boy." He finished, risking a glance to his companion.
Nomura placed her cup down on the best with a sigh. "Truth be told… I was hoping you'd say that." And with that, their minds were made up.
---
It had been a couple of days since the meeting with the changelings. Jim had acquired permission to bring whoever he saw fit to be brought to Trollmarket, much to Blinky's surprise when he overheard Vendel talking to Jim.
Never before had Vendel trusted anyone, let alone a human, with such an honour. More questions piled up than answers he was finding. Blinky was determined to find those answers.
Meanwhile, Jim stood amongst his classmates next to Toby as they neared the museum, the hiding spot of the Killahead Bridge.
Strickler stood by Nomura, who were acting out their roles of history teacher and museum curator. Although they were really good actors, Jim couldn't help but notice the glances they would give him every now and again, as if watching for any sudden movements.
"I know contemporary media might lead you to believe European history is full of swords, sorcery, and scandal." Nomura said, waving her hands around to try and add a mysterious effect to what she was saying. "I assure you, the truth is far more interesting, and there's no better place to start than Renaissance Era pottery!" She continued with a really bright smile, earning a collective groan from the students minus Eli who let out a gasp of wonder, and Jim who stood there smiling at her.
Truth be told, he missed Nomura. He missed her rigorous training, her cackle whenever she got entertained, and especially her genuine smiles when she talked about her passion; the museum and all its displays. He had never known how truly interesting history was until he met Nomura. Yeah, sure he liked history as a class and subject, he was good at it. But, his interest peaked when Nomura would tell him about the more in depth side of the tales.
"Since we have limited time, Ms. Nomura," Strickler started, noticing the faces of his students. "Perhaps it's best if they explore the museum on their own. Don't you think?" He asked, earning a round of cheers from the present students before they all scattered, invading the museum. All but Jim, who slowly walked over to Nomura and Strickler.
"Have you thought about it?" Jim asked, hopeful.
Nomura crossed her arms and scanned the boy for any ill intentions. Finding none, she turned to her fellow changeling for his answer.
"Yes, and though I do not exactly know why, me and Nomura have decided to trust your word." Strickler said, pulling out his pen from his pocket and fidgeting with it. "For now…" he added.
Satisfied with their answer, Jim couldn't help but smile brightly before starting his walk towards the museum. With a pause, Jim turned around to look at the two changelings before speaking "Please come to the Arcane bookstore after school. We have to discuss a few things."
"Very well, Young Atlas." Strickler said, continuing to fidget with his fountain pen.
And with that, Jim beamed, leaving the two adults outside as he went in to find his best friend. Toby was talking with Claire next to the Renaissance Era clothing.
Carefully, Jim made his way over to them, gently tapping Toby's shoulder. "Hey, guys. What's up?"
Toby spun around quickly and grabbed Jim by the arms, forcing the taller teen to lean down to face his best friend.
"Eli just showed us some kind of green mush with arms and legs!" Toby whisper-yelled, causing Jim's eyes to go wide in realisation.
Crap, the goblin chase.
"D-do you think it's something related to… you know…?" Jim asked in a whisper just to keep up appearances, already knowing what the answer was.
"From what I remember, I think it's called a goblin. So yeah, definitely related to that." Claire said, surprising Jim even more before remembering that Claire had specifically asked to be taught more about these magical creatures so they wouldn't go in unprepared.
“Wait, goblins?” Jim asked, trying to sound surprised. “You mean, those creatures that group together and form huge nests if left alone long enough?” he said, trying to direct their attention to the fact that there was a possible nest somewhere close by. Even if he knew they were right in the center of one.
“Blinky did say ‘where there is one, there is many.’” Claire said, crossing her brows in deep thought.
“I think we should have Blinky and AARRRGGHH!! Properly inspect this later…” Toby said “y’know, just in case?” he added with a shrug.
“Ugh, I won’t be able to…” Claire groaned in annoyance “my parents are making me watch after Enrique because they have a fundraiser to attend…” she said, throwing her hands into the air before crossing them over her chest and hunching over in a pout.
The action only made Jim smile. He missed Claire. His Claire. It was so hard holding back the urge to hold her close and kiss her, especially with his ever growing troll instincts, which he learned before were super protective of his friends and family.
“Jim?” Toby’s voice called out to the taller teen, snapping him out of his thoughts with a very audible and confused “huh?” before looking towards his best friend, seeing a concerned face.
“I’ve called you five times, you sure you’re okay, dude?” Toby asked with a worried frown.
Nervously, Jim brushed the right side of his head where his growing horn should be, only to find nothing but hair (It was strange, he could feel his horns there but he couldn’t touch it with his hands), and instead brushed his hand through his hair. “Uh, yeah, sorry. Just lost in thought.” he decided to reply “what were you saying, Tobes?”
Toby only hummed, still slightly not believing his best friend’s words about being fine. “I was asking if you were going to join me?”
Jim sucked on the inside of his cheek. Great, He thought.
“Sorry, Tobes…” Jim apologised, knowing he wont be able to come due to the meeting he would hold with Nomura, Strickler, and Douxie. Some moral support he was. But hey! At least he was there for Toby when he got Furgolated! He had helped Toby “take care” of Gnome Chompsky, and even brought Toby along for classes so he wouldn’t miss anything.
“Maybe next time?” Jim said, giving Toby an apologetic smile. His heart ached seeing how his best friend’s face dropped when he said those words. Toby had wanted Jim to be there.
“Seems like me and Jim are both busy… sorry, Toby” Claire said, also looking very apologetic towards the shorter boy.
“That’s okay!” Toby said with a shrug and a small smile back at his friends, before he thought of something and grinned widely, revealing the sparkling metal braces of his teeth. “You know, I really wanted to go take a look at the rock collection at the museum! You two should probably take a look at those Renaissance Era clothing for some inspiration!” Toby said rather quickly, starting a small brisk walk towards the rock collection to leave Claire and Jim alone with each other.
“Tobes, wait!” Jim called out, managing to grab Toby by the arm. “Thanks for this, Tobes.” Jim started in a whisper, earning a very bright smile from Toby.
“Of course, man! What’s a wingman for?” the shorter boy said, gently nudging Jim with an elbow, earning him a light chuckle from the taller teen.
Jim gave it a thought for a moment, before speaking again. “Hey, if you do find a horde of Goblins…” he started again “try getting some kind of tracking device on it to lead us to the nest? Maybe?” he said with a shrug, offering the boy an option to take his word.
Toby took a moment to think about it, opening his mouth to protest before closing it again, gently rubbing his chin. “You know… you might be right! Thanks, Jimbo! You have the best ideas! First the dollhouse, now a tracker! Oh! I can use that new chubby tracker I bought!” with a bright smile, Toby left to give Jim and Claire some time alone.
“Wow,” Claire said walking up next to Jim. “What did you tell Toby?”
“Oh, just a thought I had that might help him if it is Goblins he’s dealing with....” Jim said, giving Claire a small smile before turning to look at the clothes on display. “You know… it would be really great if we could have clothes like these for the play…”
Claire only smiled and looked towards the dress inside the glass case. “I know, right?” she started with a deep sigh. “With our school budget, I'll end up doing the balcony scene in my bathrobe.”
Jim chuckled lightly, remembering the first time they had this very same conversation. “Hey, if anyone could pull it off,” Jim trailed off a bit to meet her gaze with a genuine smile. “it'd be you. You're the only one on stage who looks like they know what they're doing.”
His words brought a slight blush to her face, somehow knowing fully well that he actually meant what he said. Both teens turned around to lean against the balcony railing, Claire heaving out a heavy sigh as she looked down to the people below. “Tell that to my parents.” she started with a sad smile on her face. “The one time I get a B, what's their advice? Drop the play.”
Jim sighed lightly, getting closer to Claire to place a hand on her shoulder comfortingly. “Claire. I’ve seen you act out there. You’re a natural, it’s your calling! Heck, I would be stoked if I ever found something I could be so passionate about!” That was a half lie. It's true, he was very passionate about a lot of things, especially trollhunting. He knew that it was his calling, his destiny, yet because he didn't want to risk losing Toby again in this timeline, he didn't answer it. That was why he gave him the amulet after all, to keep him safe. Besides, the fight with Bellroc made him realise that, even without the amulet, he is still a trollhunter. And he will never forget that fact for as long as he lived.
“Wow! You're pretty passionate yourself, Mr. Guru.” Claire started giving him a light punch to the shoulder playfully. “What about you? What's calling you, Jim Lake Junior?” she asked with a smile, lifting her eyes to meet his.
“Well…” Jim started wringing his hands together in thought. “I haven’t really thought about that…” he said honestly. “I guess… cooking, maybe? But truth be told… ever since we started this adventure, I feel as though being here to help protect my friends is what I'm truly meant to do.” he brought his hand up to grab at his horn again only to be met by a scalp of hair, it was a habit he had fallen into when he first turned into a troll. He needed to stop, or at least reduce the amount of times he would do it in a day. Hopefully, it wasn’t too weird of a gesture.
Claire only looked at Jim with admiration and a small smile. “You really are the sweetest guy I know…” she said in a quiet whisper, something Jim managed to catch due to his ever slowly growing senses. He was just glad it hasn't affected his eyes yet, he was absolutely not prepared for all the new colors he would be seeing.
With lightly blushing faces, Jim continued to go through the museum with Claire, hand in hand as they talked about anything and anything that would pop up in their conversation. This was an accomplishment for Jim, he had been able to spend more time with Claire and not have to lie about trolls.
---
A doorbell rang as two people walked into the Arcane Bookstore. Two changelings.
Strickler and Nomura looked around, examining their surroundings for any traps. Instead, they were met with a black cat sitting on the front desk, grooming itself.
The two changelings stood there, waiting for something, or rather, someone to move or say anything. Fortunately for them, Jim walked in with Barbara behind her who was looking at everything in awe before her gaze landed on the two changelings.
"Barbara. Young Atlas." Strickler greeted with a mock bow.
Barbara watched the two changelings with a critical glare, taking note of any and all openings she could find just in case she had to defend her son. "Walt. Zelda." She greeted back, only earing a frustrated sigh from Jim and an eye roll.
"We came to have a meeting, not a stand off." Jim said, cutting through the formed silence.
With a sigh, Barbara looked at her son, gripping onto his shoulder. Strickler let out a quiet breath as he shook his head. "Young Atlas is correct. We are here to help make a plan."
"That's great then!" Douxie's voice came from behind one of the bookshelves that lined the walls of the store. "Glad you came to your senses, you two! My plan definitely won't work without you changelings!"
Nomura let out an unamused huff. "We only agreed to do this for now to see what you had in mind. If it isn't worth it we're leaving." She hissed out, her arms crossed over her chest.
"We know you're sticking your neck out there but doing this…" Jim started, walking over to Douxie. "That's why me and douxie have discussed it with Vendel." The younger teen said, walking closer to the changelings as he rummaged through his bag, pulling out two bigger than normal pendulum necklaces.
Strickler's eyes shot wide open staring at the crystals in Jim's hand. "Are those…?" He asked quietly, not wanting to bring his hopes up.
"What do you two say to being the first changelings to be welcomed to Trollmarket, eh?" Douxie said with a smirk, both hands on his hips.
Hesitantly, Strickler and Nomura each took a crystal. They looked at eachother, a silent conversation between the two. Now they really didn't have a reason not to trust Jim's words. After all, he had already managed to give them access to Trollmarket, if he managed that then there's no saying he won't be able to do good on his promise to them.
"What do you need us to do?" Strickler said, walking towards the other three in the room, his eyes glowing an eerie yellow and red.
---
Blinky and AARRRGGHH!! Returned to Trollmarket, after ensuring that Toby was safe within his home. Although trolls don't need much sleep, all the excitement of the night got to the multi-eyed troll's companion, who had gone home first. Blinky on the other hand was trying to figure out why there were so many goblins in Arcadia.
He must admit, Jim's idea about putting a tracking device on one of the creatures was a very ingenious move indeed. However, with so many goblins around, Toby must be trained harder.
With a sigh, Blinky made his way to the Heartstone, where he knew the elder troll Vendel would be. He had to tell the old troll.
"Vendel! Vendel!" Blinky called, knocking on the makeshift door of the domicile made out of Heartstone. Vendel, much to the older troll's annoyance, opened the door.
"Blinkous?" He asked, a stony brow raised. "What is the matter?"
"Goblins! Lots of them!" The shorter troll exclaimed, raising two hands in the air while the other two crossed in front of his chest.
"Of course there are goblins," Vendel started with an eye roll. "The human town is infested with them."
The lack of reaction only meant that Vendel already knew, or was being sarcastic and didn't pay the subject any mind. Blinky decided to go with the latter, knowing the old troll. "But, Vendel! The trollhunter won't be able to defend the town against all of them! He almost got himself eaten today! We must-" He said frantically before being cut off.
"I know, Blinkous." Vendel said with a sigh as the old troll rubbed his head to try and get rid of the forming headache. "My Intel already told me"
That made the trainer stare at Vendel, blinking all six of his eyes. "You knew?" He asked "wait, what Intel?" Blinky asked again.
With another sigh, Vendel took hold of the door, ready to close it. "Worry not, Blinkous." He started. "I already have a team to deal with that, but they'll need the location of the nest." And at that, Blinky beamed.
"Well, maybe the trollhunter, me, and AARRRGGHH!! Can go find that nest! Master Tobias already has a tracking device on one of the goblins!" He said happily.
"Very well… now I'd like to be left alone…" Vendel said just before he closed the door shut. Leaving a very dumbfounded Blinky right outside Heartstone.
The trainer stood there still trying to process the information that was given to him. Vendel already knew of the goblins? But no other troll has gone up to the surface in the last couple of days! Just who exactly is that Intel?
"Blinkous has left," Blinky heard Vendel say from inside. Someone was with him?
"Good, I don't want to involve them in the plan just yet." A younger, familiar voice spoke. Catching the six eyed troll's attention as he gently got closer to the door and placed his ear against it to listen in closer.
"Right, so here is our plan from here on." Another voice, also young, Blinky noted. "We know for a fact that the bridge is being built at the museum. Nomura will be in charge of the bridge’s completion status, and Strickler will be in charge of averting Bular’s attention away from us."
"What about the goblins?" A woman with a somewhat raspy voice asked with a hiss.
"Hopefully, if everything goes well, the trollhunter will discover their nest and they will be moved." The first voice confirmed.
"And you are sure this will work?" Asked Vendel.
"It has to." Another voice sounded, much more maturely. "We want the trollhunter to be in real danger."
Without listening any further, in his panicked state, Blinky ran away, back to his home, to AARRRGGHH!! He wouldn't allow whoever this was to endanger his charge.
===
A/N: Hey everyone! Sorry there wasn't much action in this chapter, however, this chapter is important to set down the foundations of some future drama!
Also, we don't exactly see where the trolls "live" so I'm just going to make the library as Blinky and AARRRGGHH's homes while the heartstone is Vendel's home.
Hope you all enjoyed this chapter!