"What is that?" A troll asked as someone scurried through Trollmarket.
"Is that a human?" Another asked.
"A human intruder!" Bagdwella said. "It stole my stockings! Call the Trollhunter!"
***
"Never in my wildest dreams did I dare think I'd ever see such a sight."
Jim was in the void. The Trollhunters before him were showing him the conversation between him his friends.
"It must be the Triumbric stones," Blinky said. "Three shards of legend tied to Gunmar's lifeblood."
"Because we're going to destroy him!" Jim said.
"He found the birthstone," A voice in the void said.
"He thinks he can kill Gunmar?"
"We told him he couldn't."
"Silence!" Kanjigar said.
"You said it was impossible to kill Gunmar," Jim told him. "But I found a way. You're either a lousy council or a worse liar."
"We needed to deter you from making a grave mistake," Kanjigar said. "You were lucky to obtain the birthstone. But the journey will only grow more treacherous from here onward."
"With all due respect, you said a Trollhunter should only work alone, but if it weren't for my friends, I wouldn't even have the first stone."
"The boy won't listen."
"He mocks us."
"What's the point in council?"
"If you insist on risking the lives of everyone you care about," Kanjigar said. "I advise you to listen to reason!"
"Trollhunter!" Draal could be heard from outside the void. "Trollhunter!"
"My son!" Kanjigar said. "He seeks you. There is trouble in Trollmarket. An intruder! Go!"
"An intruder? How did he get in?"
"Go!"
***
"We don't eat humans!"
"What if he's a changeling?"
The trolls surrounded a bag that hung from the ceiling. Something inside it was trying to get out.
"Hey, stop," Jim said, walking over to them. He had his armor on. "Let him go. I'm the Trollhunter. I'll deal with it. Let him go."
A troll let the bag down and it dropped to the ground. He opened the bag and a middle-aged man came out of it. He had brown hair, an equally large nose, and wore a leather jacket, jeans, and a light blue buttoned sweater. "Thank you, Jim." He smiled.
Jim held up his sword. "How did you get past Trollmarket's barrier and how do you know my name?"
"Master Jim," he said. "It's me, Blinky."
"No," Aaarrrgghh said. "He lies."
"Strike the fleshbag down," Draal said. "He's seen too much."
"I can prove it!" the man said. "Your mother is Barbara Lake. Your best friend is Tobias Domzalski. Your father disappeared when you were five."
"The changeling spy has studied you," Draal said.
"And we just replaced the ignition on your Vespa last week!"
"Did Strickler put you up to this?" Jim asked. "You're working for him, aren't you? How did you get in here? I won't ask again."
The man pushed the sword away from him. "I do not appreciate your tone of voice, Master Jim. Is this the way you address an errant stranger in need? I expect more from you."
"Blinky?" Jim stepped closer. "You look terrible."
Aaarrrgghh poked his stomach. "Squishy."
"Among other things, my considerable companion," Blinky said.
Draal sniffed him. "What sorcery is at work here?"
"Haven't the foggiest," Blinky said. "But there is one troll in Trollmarket who will know."
***
"I am at a complete and utter loss," Vendel said after studying Blinky for a few minutes. "I can turn wolftoads into willowbait, and willowbait into wolftoads, but this? What nonsense have you stumbled into now, Blinkous?"
"Nothing unusual," Blinky said.
"Eaten by Gatto," Aaarrrgghh said.
"You went to Gatto's keep?" Vendel asked. "Just what kind of insanity possessed you?"
"It was my decision," Jim said. "We went for the birthstone."
"And I had an unfortunate experience of being swallowed by that slubberdegullion," Blinky said. "And drenched by innumerous potions and—Oh, my Gorgus! That must be the explanation for my transformation!"
"And why would you venture--?" Vendel asked.
"To complete the Triumbric stones," Jim told him. Blinky covered his mouth and laughed. Jim took Blinky's hand away. "So, we can destroy Gunmar and save Claire's brother."
"Vendel mad?" Aaarrrgghh asked.
"Mad would be a significant improvement!" Vendel said. "The Trollhunter is supposed to protect the Trollmarket. Not risk his life chasing stones from fairy tales."
Jim took the purple birthstone out of his pocket and set it on the table in front of Vendel. He looked at it in surprise. "Gunmar's birthstone. The legends are true. This stays here, safe from your bumbling hands."
"Speaking of hands," Blinky said, "When am I going to get my other two back?"
"It could be days, weeks. It's impossible to know when an enchantment of this severity could wear off."
"Well, then, what shall I do until then?"
"It's your choice. Stay here for me to poke and prod or enjoy your day in the sun. For as long as it lasts."
***
Otto stood in Strickler's office with Angor behind him, sharpening something. "The Janus Order has sent me," Otto said. "They are starting to question your leadership."
Strickler threw a nearby goblin at him. He ducked right before it hit him. "They are worried," Otto said and then whispered. "You don't have everything in control."
"As long as his ring is on my finger," Strickler said, holding up his hand that had the ring. "I can control him."
"But how long will that finger be on your hand?" Angor asked from behind Otto.
"We have information to suggest the Trollhunter possesses the birthstone," Strickler said.
"They weren't supposed to know about that," Otto said. "I thought you burned the books."
"I did. But now, I know the path he seeks and can use this information to our tactical advantage."
"But what about the bigger picture?"
Strickler opened his pen and stuck the key through the keyhole. It opened, revealing the hidden room. "Eliminating the Trollhunter is but the first part of my machinations," Strickler said. "A new police chief in Bordeaux, a state senator in Boise, a news editor in Shanghai. All in the last month. The Janus Order is growing, infiltrating. Together, we are who were called 'impure' will one day control the world and the world won't even know it. Without Gunmar, there is a vacant throne for the taking."
"And who will fill it, mein Freund?"
Strickler stuck a pencil on the map before them and they went back to his desk. Angor ripped a stone off himself. "Did you just rip off a piece of your body?" Otto asked.
"Would you rather I rip off a piece of yours?" Angor asked, sharpening more stones with his sword.
"What are those for?" Otto asked.
"His friends," Angor said. "Time, I met with the hunter alone."
***
The portal to Trollmarket opened and Jim walked out. Blinky and Aaarrrgghh were still inside. "You ready?" Jim asked. "Don't worry, it's not gonna hurt."
He held out his hand and Blinky looked at Aaarrrgghh. "I'm sorry you won't be joining me on this adventure, my friend."
He took Jim's hand and hesitantly stepped out of the tunnel. He ran into the sun and closed his eyes, expecting to be burnt. When nothing happened, he opened his eyes. "There you go!" Jim smiled. "See? You're fine."
Blinky ran around and looked up at the sun. "It's so..." he covered his eyes. "Bright!"
"Yeah, well don't stare at it," Jim told him.
"Master Jim," he said. "I want to see more!"
He ran around outside and climbed up to the bridge. "I've seen the surface so many times, but never like this."
He saw the cars drive by on the road and the birds flying through the blue sky. "It's so...beautiful!"
He backed up into the road, barely getting hit by a car. The driver hit him with a can. "Get out of the road, freak!"
He picked up the can. "What a kind gesture. Thank you, stranger! I was in need of a snack."
"No, no, Blinky, wait," Jim said.
Blinky bit the can. "Well, that does not taste very good anymore."
Jim pulled him out of the road before he got hit by another car.
***
Blinky opened the fridge in Jim's house. "There's so much I want to do, so much I haven't seen!" he said, taking jars and boxes out of the fridge. "I've never cared much for human food, but...but the flavor! The texture!"
He was in Jim's kitchen with Jim, Draal, and Not-Enrique. "If only I had two more hands to eat faster," Blinky said. "What do you call this cuisine?"
"Leftovers?" Jim said.
"I can't even look at you!" Not-Enrique said. "Your whole body is like an old sausage left on the grill too long."
"Very amusing," Blinky said. "Who invited him?"
"It's boring sittin' round the crib all day," Not-Enrique said. "When I heard you changed, I didn't know it was into a fat, balding, hot fudge Sundae!" he laughed as Blinky poured whipped cream into his mouth.
"I didn't have time to tell you," Draal told Jim. "While you were seeking the stone, the changeling Stricklander dropped your mother off outside."
"Yeah, I know," he said. "I sorta caught him on the way out."
"But maybe you did not see, he...smushed faces with the Barbara."
"He what?"
"What is the word you used? Kissed? I should have struck him down."
"Yeah, you should have. I mean, no. No. He has a spell. If anyone hurts him, it hurts my mom. He's all over my mom. I can't lay a finger on him."
"He's trying to get under your skin, Trollhunter. Do not let him."
Blinky was looking at his reflection through a ladle "It's filled with glop, yet the exterior is so soft and squishy. How do they keep it all in?"
His stomach rumbled. "I think my stomach is trying to communicate with me."
"That ain't your stomach, pal," Not-Enrique said. "After eating a buffet like that, that fleshy inner tube of a body is about to spring a leak."
He ran out of the room and ran into a wall. "This is absurd," he said. "How can you function with only two eyes?"
He ran up the stairs and shut the door to the bathroom. "You didn't happen to overhear who Strickler brought back with him, did you?" Jim asked Draal. "Some troll with big horns and a weird staff, maybe?"
"Sorry," Draal said. "I do not know."
"Yeah, well, neither do we."
Jim heard Barbara pull up into the driveway. "My mom's home!" he said. "Everyone, hide!"
Draal hid in a closet and Jim picked up Not-Enrique. He heard Blinky upstairs. "Oh, no. Blinky!"
He tried putting Not-Enrique in the fridge, but he resisted. "Not with the leftovers!"
Blinky walked down the stairs right as Barbara walked. "I have to say," he said. "Indoor plumbing is the most remarkable..."
Barbara saw him and backed up into the door. "I don't care what you're doing," she said. "But if you're not out of my house in five seconds, I have an orange belt in Krav Maga, and I will not hesitate to use it."
"I can explain," Blinky said, "If you'll just allow me to—"
"Soft target."
She kicked him in the face and poked him in both of his eyes. "My eyes!" he said. "My two vulnerable eyes!"
Jim managed to push Not-Enrique into the fridge and closed the door. He ran over to Barbara and Blinky. "No more, please!" Blinky said. "No more, you violent woman!"
"Mom!" Jim said. "Wait! He's with me!"
"Jim?" she said. "He's...Oh! Wait, wait. What? I'm sorry, who are you?"
"He's..." Jim and Barbara helped him off the ground. "He's Mr. Blinky."
"Okay," Barbara said. "What has Jim done now?"
"No, no, no. Jim isn't in any trouble," Blinky said. "I'm here to...assist."
"Yeah," Jim said, "He's my...guidance counselor from my school."
"Since when do guidance counselors make house calls?" Barbara asked.
"I'm new," Blinky said.
"Principal Strickler just brought him in," Jim said.
Blinky cleared his throat. "Do you mind if we speak alone?"
He led Barbara into the living room. "When I was first introduced to your son, I'd never met anyone like him. He was scared, vulnerable, filled with questions. He was acting out. Having a father walk out on one's life is a traumatic experience enough."
Jim started shaking his head for him to stop. "But at his tender age," Blinky continued. He looked at Jim and Barbara turned around and Jim stopped making hand gestures.
"Sweetie," she said. "If you needed to talk to someone..."
"Well, you're kind of always working," he said.
"That's what this is about? The trouble you've been getting into and the late nights and the strange behavior?"
"The letter," he said. "I wasn't sure how to tell you, and I had to tell someone and Mr. Blinky's helped me through a lot of stuff."
"Mr. Blinky?"
"Bulgarian," Blinky said. "It's pronounced Blink-heh."
Barbara hugged Jim and looked at Blinky. "I really appreciate that, Mr. Blinky," she said.
"Blink-heh."
"And I'm sorry I kicked you earlier."
"The pain is tolerable."
"Well, if there's any help that I can be...You know what? I'm gonna write down my number. Please just call me anytime." She walked into the kitchen.
"You know I don't care about my father," Jim told Blinky.
"You do now," he said.
Barbara walked back into the room with a piece of paper. "If this helps Jim work out, you know, what he's...well, what we're going through, I just want to be supportive. Just let me know if there's anything I can do."
"Since you're a doctor," he said. "There has been an issue with my stomach." His stomach rumbled again. "There it goes again."
"Well—"
Claire and Toby ran in through the back door. "Is it true?" Claire asked. "Is it really true?"
"We came as soon as we—" Toby said. He saw Barbara. "Oh, hi, Dr. L,"
They looked at Blinky. "So, it is true," Claire said. "You really can get to here from school in under ten minutes."
Toby walked closer to Blinky. "Awesome sauce!"
Claire looked into the kitchen and saw the fridge door open, revealing a shivering Not-Enrique. Claire picked him up.
"I was just introducing my mother to Mr. Blinky," Jim told Toby. "Our guidance counselor."
"Nice to meet you—"
"Good to see you again," Claire said, holding the human form of Not-Enrique. He was really cold and shivering. Barbara looked at him. "Is he—"
"Do you mind if we borrow your son and Mr. Blinky?" Claire asked her.
"We're burning sunlight, Dr. L," Toby said. "You know what I mean?"
"Yes, of course," she said. "Go."
The five of them walked out of the house. "Honey," Barbra said to Jim. "Did Claire come in with that baby?"
"No, he just walked in here on his own and asked for a ride," he said. "Come on, mom."
When no one else was around, Claire threw Not-Enrique to the ground. "Come on!" she said. "Hurry home before mom and dad notice you're gone."
He changed back into his troll form and growled before jumping over to the Nunez's house.
lSo, what now, Blink?" Toby asked. "It's your big day!"
"There's only so much time and so much to do!" Blinky said. "I can brunch. I can picnic in the park. Sunbathe at the beach. And dare I say boogie board! And oh, my Gorgus! I can get behind the wheel of an automobile!"
"Well, the day is almost over," Claire said. "But I think I know just the place."
***
They started climbing up a hill. "Almost there," Claire said.
"Who voted for hiking?" Toby panted. "I thought we were supposed to be doing cool outdoor activities."
They looked down at all the empty bottles around them once they go to the top of the hill. "Looks like someone had a party," Claire said, kicking a bottle away.
Blinky picked one up. "It's...charming?"
"No," Jim said. "She means this."
"Doesn't get any better than this," Claire said.
Blinky got closer to the edge of the cliff and saw a beautiful sunset. "It's breathtaking," he said, looking at the pink sky and the buildings below them. "Words cannot describe."
He walked closer to the edge and Jim grabbed him before he fell off. "Yeah," he said. "Well, imagine if you had six eyes."
"So, your first day as a human is almost to a close," Toby said. "Anything else you want to do?"
"No," Blinky said. "Just this. If only Aaarrrgghh could be here too. I'm so anxious to tell him about all of our adventures. Thank you, Master Jim. Today was a day I will never forget. But I am, to be honest, I have to wonder how many days this will last. And this skin...I am still uncomfortable in it."
"Welcome to being a teenager," Toby said.
"Don't worry, Blink," Jim said. "Maybe now I can be the one to helps train you."
Angor was watching them from in the trees. He put in a carving just like the one he put in the golem into a nearby dumpster.
Jim sat down on a bench next to Claire. "This view is amazing," he said. "How did you hear about this place?"
"Logan brought me up here," she said. "To ask me out to the Spring Fling."
"Oh! He did? Well, are you—"
"I told him I was waiting for someone else to ask me."
She looked at him and he looked at the ground nervously. He awkwardly put his arm on the back of the bench. "Would you look at this?" Claire asked, picking up an empty bottle. "I hate it when people litter." She stood up. "Maybe I should...eh..."
She walked over to the dumpster and he covered his face with his hand. "Idiot..." he whispered.
"You blew it, man!" Toby said from behind him. "Claire Nunez wanted you to ask her to the dance and you stood there and did nothing."
"Even I think you...how did you say it?" Blinky asked. "Ah, yes. Blew it."
"What was I supposed to say?" Jim asked.
Claire screamed as a monster similar to the mud monster but made of bottles rose up from the dumpster.
"Another golem?" Blinky asked.
"I thought you said it was made of mud!" Toby said.
"Not glass!" Claire said.
"Well, there's four of us and only one of him," Jim said. His armor formed on him and his sword appeared in his hand. "Flank him!"
"Master Jim," Blinky said as another glass golem rose from another dumpster. "it appears we have another guest!"
Jim swung at them with his sword and Toby got poked in the back with the third one behind them. "Our flank was outflanked!"
"Jim, what do we do?" Claire asked.
"I don't know," he said. "Last time, there was a weird stone doll inside it."
"An animus totem," Blinky said. "We must rip them from out of the beasts' hearts and destroy them."
"You mean, I gotta put my hand in that thing?" Toby asked.
"Stand back, friends," Blinky said. "They are no match for the rocky fists of justice."
He punched a glass golem with his fist, only to be met with pain. "Sharp things!" Blinky said. "That was a sobering reminder."
Claire threw a rock at the golem's arm and it fell off. "Blinky, run!" she said.
His arm formed with the glass again and he turned to Claire. He knocked her to the ground and Blinky threw rocks at it. "Get away from her, you big, sparkly simpleton!"
It threw pieces of glass at him and he hid behind a tree. Claire and Toby started fighting it again, with Toby using a trash can lid as a shield. Jim knocked one of them over with his sword and stabbed it in the chest. It got up and pushed him away. "We need to hit one hard and fast to get the totem," Jim said. "Throw everything you can get your hands on."
The four of them scattered to get things they can throw at the golems. Toby struggled to pick up a rock the size of his head. He picked it up and looked at a golem. "Welcome to the rock show!"
He threw the rock at it, but it didn't get very far. "That looked a lot cooler in my head."
The four of them started throwing small rocks at the golems. Claire picked up a bat and started whacking one of the golems with it. Another golem knocked Jim and Toby to the ground. Jim fell into a tree. "Jim!" Toby said.
He grabbed a few sticks and started whacking the golem with them. Jim sat up and rubbed his head. He saw Angor watching them by the trees. Angor slowly went behind a tree. "He's getting away!" Jim said, but no one was listening. They were too busy fighting off the golems. Claire saw the totem in the golem she was fighting and knocked it out of its chest. She crushed it with her foot and the golem fell apart. Jim saw they had things under control and started running toward Angor.
"I am currently short of hands, Master Jim," Blinky said. He saw Jim running through the trees. "Master Jim!"
Jim ran through the trees as fast as he could, trying to find Angor rot. He ran into a clearing and saw Angor rot by a tree. He took out his sword and ran toward him. He ran farther into the clearing and was soon stopped by beams of yellow light around him. He was stuck in with his sword raised in the air. He couldn't move. Angor stepped closer to him and laughed. Jim tried speaking, but he couldn't. Muffled sounds were the only things coming out of his mouth. Angor pointed his staff at him and Jim's whole body was covered in darkness. Angor walked closer to him. "You've wandered into my web, my human hunter," he said. "I am Angor Rot, and I will be the last you see before you die."
***
"We need more rocks," Blinky said, throwing the last of his rocks at the golems.
"I'm down to pebbles!" Toby said. "Follow me!"
He and Claire ran into ta dumpster. Blinky was still fighting off the golems. Toby poked his head out of a dumpster to see a golem trying to get in. "Not you buddy!"
Toby climbed out of the dumpster and Claire closed the lid on the golem. "Trapping it inside," Blinky said. "Excellent stratagem, Tobias."
"Totally the plan," Toby said.
***
Jim tried speaking again, but still only muffled sounds came out. Angor shushed him. It's useless to speak." He traced his finger around the yellow beams, making yellow lines on Jim's face. "I've killed hunters in the past. But never a human one. Such curious game. I will not give the sweet release of death. Not yet. I will relish this hunt. Relax. Your friends won't help you now."
A yellow light came out of both of his hands.
***
Blinky ran away from a golem. He tripped and fell onto the ground. "Suddenly, I understand how vulnerable humans feel," he said. Before the golem could attack him, Toby and Claire pushed the dumpster toward him, smashing the golem against a tree. The totem fell out and Claire picked it up. "Got it!"
She ripped it out just as the third golem popped out of the dumpster.
***
Angor touched Jim's forehead with his staff and raised it in the air, speaking another language. He looked at Jim again. "Next time we meet, hunter, Daylight will be mine to command."
A portal appeared behind him and he walked through it just as Blinky, Claire, and Toby ran over to him. "He's in a stasis trap," Blinky said. "Don't touch the stones!"
He jumped in the air, through the yellow beams, and knocked Jim out of the trap. "Master Jim," Blinky said. "The golem!"
He turned around and saw the last glass golem walking over to them. Jim stood up and ran toward it. He sliced its chest and sliced the totem in half. He fell to the ground and looked up at his friends. "Jim," Toby said, pointing at the markings on the right side of Jim's face. "Your face."
He tried wiping it off, but it didn't work. "The golems..." Blinky said. "They were a distraction."
"What does it mean?" Claire asked.
"Thesigle Angor Rot. Master Jim, I fear you have been marked with a fate worsethan death."