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Authors: Matthew Reilly
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useful.”
Ko frowned. “Does that mean you have few females and many males?”
“Yes. That right.”
“Do the males compete for the females?”
“As Düm already say, trolls enjoy fighting. Dispute over she-troll just another reason to have fight. Yes, many fights over that.”
“I see,” Ko said darkly. “What about the smart trolls? I was under the impression that smaller trolls were quite clever and inventive.”
“This true. Wise trolls often smaller trolls, runt trolls. But now few of them. Some time ago troll kings begin to dislike wise trolls, because they often disagree with king, say king doing wrong thing. But king no want to look like fool so he sometimes throw troublesome wise troll off top of mountain. Many recent kings do this. Now king no longer disagreed with.”
“But without clever tribe members,” Ko said, “how does your society develop new ways of doing things?”
Düm shrugged again. “Trolls just keep doing things the way they always been done. Fight as have always fought. No need to farm, since trolls take tribute from humans. Düm not even know how to farm. Düm just know how to drag, drag food and water up dragging path. Senior trolls spend most days lazing and drinking and having death fights for sport.”
Ko didn’t speak for a long time.
Then he turned to face Düm.
“Is this what happened to the other troll tribes?” he asked.
“Düm not know. Düm just humble worker troll. But some draggers come to Troll Mountain from other failed tribes and, yes, them say same things happen in their tribes.”
Ko gazed out at Troll Mountain.
“Your race is dying and it doesn’t even know it,” he said softly. “Your very culture is killing you off. Within a generation or two, there will be no more trolls walking the earth.”
There was a short silence.
Then Düm nodded at Raf on the mountain.
“What about Master Raf? If trolls catch him, they be very angry. Very angry.”
Ko nodded. “All we can do now is keep an eye on him. But if our young friend is not back by morning, we must assume he has been captured.”
“And if he captured? Then what? Master Raf nice human. Save Düm’s life when no have to. Seem bad if he be left to die among trolls.”
“I’m inclined to agree with you,” Ko said. “There is something about that boy that I like a lot. He’s different from the other members of his tribe. He has a future while they do not. I would not like to see him meet a gruesome end.”
THE WINTER THRONE HALL
Chapter 15
After three hours of strenuous climbing, Raf arrived at the upper reaches of Troll Mountain.
Crawling over the lip, he slid up onto the flat stone floor of the open-air Winter Throne Hall and stood.
Raf’s jaw dropped.
It was an incredible space: wide and magnificent, even in the eerie darkness of the night. The smooth stone floor, polished to a dazzling sheen, reflected the silver glow of the moon. Four thick, colossal pillars held up the hall’s ceiling and, above that, the summit of the mountain.
In the middle of the space, rising on a many-stepped podium, was the king’s winter throne. Two long banners made of thick cloth hung from the roof behind the throne, framing it.
Raf noticed a single stairway that burrowed into the polished floor, leading down into the mountain. But there was no obvious staircase going up , giving access to the mountain’s summit. Perhaps there was a hidden stairway somewhere.
It didn’t matter. He wasn’t planning to use it anyway.
Raf dashed across the wide polished floor and quickly ascended the massive podium until he stood before the king’s winter throne.
(An inscription on it read, in the same ancient language Raf had seen on the monument: THE SEAT OF POWER OF THE NORTHERN GOVERNOR: ALL THAT CAN BE SEEN FROM HERE, HE GOVERNS IN THE NAME OF THE GLORIOUS EMPEROR [UNREADABLE], ALL HAIL HIM, RULER OF THE WORLD. )
Raf was about to grab hold of one of the banners that hung behind the throne and climb up
Ko frowned. “Does that mean you have few females and many males?”
“Yes. That right.”
“Do the males compete for the females?”
“As Düm already say, trolls enjoy fighting. Dispute over she-troll just another reason to have fight. Yes, many fights over that.”
“I see,” Ko said darkly. “What about the smart trolls? I was under the impression that smaller trolls were quite clever and inventive.”
“This true. Wise trolls often smaller trolls, runt trolls. But now few of them. Some time ago troll kings begin to dislike wise trolls, because they often disagree with king, say king doing wrong thing. But king no want to look like fool so he sometimes throw troublesome wise troll off top of mountain. Many recent kings do this. Now king no longer disagreed with.”
“But without clever tribe members,” Ko said, “how does your society develop new ways of doing things?”
Düm shrugged again. “Trolls just keep doing things the way they always been done. Fight as have always fought. No need to farm, since trolls take tribute from humans. Düm not even know how to farm. Düm just know how to drag, drag food and water up dragging path. Senior trolls spend most days lazing and drinking and having death fights for sport.”
Ko didn’t speak for a long time.
Then he turned to face Düm.
“Is this what happened to the other troll tribes?” he asked.
“Düm not know. Düm just humble worker troll. But some draggers come to Troll Mountain from other failed tribes and, yes, them say same things happen in their tribes.”
Ko gazed out at Troll Mountain.
“Your race is dying and it doesn’t even know it,” he said softly. “Your very culture is killing you off. Within a generation or two, there will be no more trolls walking the earth.”
There was a short silence.
Then Düm nodded at Raf on the mountain.
“What about Master Raf? If trolls catch him, they be very angry. Very angry.”
Ko nodded. “All we can do now is keep an eye on him. But if our young friend is not back by morning, we must assume he has been captured.”
“And if he captured? Then what? Master Raf nice human. Save Düm’s life when no have to. Seem bad if he be left to die among trolls.”
“I’m inclined to agree with you,” Ko said. “There is something about that boy that I like a lot. He’s different from the other members of his tribe. He has a future while they do not. I would not like to see him meet a gruesome end.”
THE WINTER THRONE HALL
Chapter 15
After three hours of strenuous climbing, Raf arrived at the upper reaches of Troll Mountain.
Crawling over the lip, he slid up onto the flat stone floor of the open-air Winter Throne Hall and stood.
Raf’s jaw dropped.
It was an incredible space: wide and magnificent, even in the eerie darkness of the night. The smooth stone floor, polished to a dazzling sheen, reflected the silver glow of the moon. Four thick, colossal pillars held up the hall’s ceiling and, above that, the summit of the mountain.
In the middle of the space, rising on a many-stepped podium, was the king’s winter throne. Two long banners made of thick cloth hung from the roof behind the throne, framing it.
Raf noticed a single stairway that burrowed into the polished floor, leading down into the mountain. But there was no obvious staircase going up , giving access to the mountain’s summit. Perhaps there was a hidden stairway somewhere.
It didn’t matter. He wasn’t planning to use it anyway.
Raf dashed across the wide polished floor and quickly ascended the massive podium until he stood before the king’s winter throne.
(An inscription on it read, in the same ancient language Raf had seen on the monument: THE SEAT OF POWER OF THE NORTHERN GOVERNOR: ALL THAT CAN BE SEEN FROM HERE, HE GOVERNS IN THE NAME OF THE GLORIOUS EMPEROR [UNREADABLE], ALL HAIL HIM, RULER OF THE WORLD. )
Raf was about to grab hold of one of the banners that hung behind the throne and climb up
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