The Horns of Kern

  *

  It had been a quiet evening in the castle. There had been no reports of raids. The storm had buried the kingdom under a foot of white, fluffy snow. Norman awoke, smiling as she thought about the speech her father had given her about roaming the tunnels. He had reminded her of all the terrible things that could befall her. She finally promised him not to venture into the tunnels alone. Her father had been tired enough that he did not catch the ‘alone’ at the end of their conversation.

  Today promised to be a boring day. Norman and Queen Emmaline were going to start going over the plans for her upcoming birthday ball. She had met her three prospective husbands four or five years previous. She did not care for any of them. One was a pompous idiot. One was arrogant and vain. The other prince was….she remembered his brown hair and blue eyes. His body, though youthful, displayed strong muscles. She shook her head. He would probably be cruel and ugly by now.

  She dressed and went downstairs to breakfast. As she entered the great hall, she was greeted by her mother. Standing next to her was a short, portly woman only as tall as her mother’s shoulders. It was Annah, the kingdom’s best seamstress. Much to Norman’s surprise, an elderly troll stood next to her mother on her other side. She reminded Norman of Winifred. Her hair was a little grayer and her skin a bit more wrinkled. She wondered if they were related.

  “Good morning, Daughter. You know Annah, and this is Lady Phoebe. She will be aiding Annah in the making of our gowns for the ball.” The queen was all smiles. Norman could tell that her mother was getting excited about the upcoming event. “We have picked out some material, Norman, and we need to know what you think of it. Annah has been kind enough to do some drawings of dresses for us. One of the dresses will look lovely on you.”

  Norman looked at the matronly troll. “Please forgive me for being so forward, Lady Phoebe. Are you related to Winifred of Tinker Hollow?”

  At first Phoebe looked very uncomfortable. She smiled. “Yes, Winifred is my younger sister. She is the best baker in the kingdom. Her worm cookies are delectable!”

  The queen and Annah raised their eyebrows. Emmaline had a quizzical look on her face. “Excuse me, Lady Phoebe, but did I hear you correctly say ‘worm cookies’?”

  Norman started laughing. “You have the same sense of humor as your nephew, Gertrude.” Then the other ladies laughed, too, all except Phoebe who had a confused look on her face.

  “We will meet you in the small annex room to the left of the foyer when you are finished with your breakfast.” Emmaline turned and headed to the other room with the two ladies scurrying behind her.

  Norman sighed as she watched the three ladies depart. She wished that she could forget all about her birthday. She walked over to the table where a pot of steaming tea awaited. Some cakes and tarts sat on a silver plate. She grabbed a tart and strolled to the kitchen where she found Harriet down on her hands and knees retrieving something from the floor. She hadn’t noticed Norman entering the room. “Good morning, Lady Harriet.”

  Norman startled Harriet. She stood up too quickly, banging her head on an opened drawer above her head. “Ouch!” Harriet grabbed her rolling pin and turned quickly. “Daughter, how man… “ she paused when she saw that it was the princess and lowered her weapon. “I am sorry, Princess. I did not know it was you. I was distracted. I have been suffering from a bad case of ‘pickups’ this morning.”

  “Don’t you mean hiccups, Lady Harriet?” Norman queried, with a confused look on her face.

  “No, dear girl, I really am suffering from the pickups. All morning long I have been dropping things, and it has turned into a bad case of the pickups. The symptoms range from sore knees to sore backs.” She reached for the crown of her head to feel the knot growing there. “You can also add headaches to that list of symptoms.” Harriet smiled wanly.

  Norman chuckled. “I am so sorry that you suffer from such a strange malady.” She walked over towards Harriet to see what she had been trying to pick up. “Oh my, I guess you really did drop a few things.” Norman went to her knees. “Come on, Harriet, the quicker we get this mess cleaned up the sooner I can savor one of your fantastic breakfasts.” Soon the floor was clean and Norman had her meal in front of her.

  Harriet sat down across from her with a cup of tea. “Did you hear about all of the stores spirited away last night down in the troll village? It seems that several groups of trolls broke into a good majority of the homes and stole their winter larders.”

  Norman’s eyes grew wide. She had just stuffed a sausage into her mouth and could not speak.

  “I guess one old troll nearly perished in the storm.” Harriet shook her head in disbelief.

  Norman finally cleared her mouth. “How did you come by this knowledge, Harriet?”

  “The old troll, Grunk of the Heathers, was going to deliver some more eggs this morning. He came by to tell me that there would be no eggs because his larder had been absconded with. Both of his neighbors had their stores stolen also. I had him come in and sit for a cup of tea and gave him some tarts. It seems that some of the trolls were carrying swords. He heard his neighbor say that she heard one of them mention a name, but I cannot bring it to mind right at the moment. Anyway, after they took everything, they headed with full carts up to the north over the river road towards the Kingdom of The Rains.”

  Norman wiped her mouth. “Does my father know of these happenings?”

  “I do not know if he does or not.” Harriet took a sip of tea. “Oh my, I remember that name now. It is Lemerich. I would love to be able to take my rolling pin to that scoundrel! Stealing stores at this time of year…” She shook her head once again in disbelief.

  Norman looked at Harriet and stood up. “Thank you for the breakfast and the information. I must go and fill my father in on the happenings in the troll village. Have a nice day, Harriet.” Norman turned to leave and heard a crash behind her. A voice from behind the table was murmuring something inaudible. Norman chuckled. “I do hope you get over your case of the pickups soon, Harriet.” Norman turned and left the kitchen. She liked Harriet. Norman had spent so much time with her learning to cook that she was almost like a second mother to her. She hastened her pace and soon found herself in the great hall. She heard voices out in the foyer and proceeded further. The voices were those of her father and Andre.

  Andre noticed the princess first. “Good morning, Princess.”

  Octavius turned, his voice laced with concern. “Good morning, Daughter. Your mother is waiting for you in the next room with Anna and a lady troll of whom I have not yet a chance to meet.”

  “Father, I have some bad news from the troll village. It has come to my attention that the whole village was raided last night and all of their winter stores were stolen.” Norman studied both of the men’s faces.

  “Where did you get this information, Daughter?” The king motioned Norman to come closer.

  “I was down in the kitchen talking to Harriet. A troll, whose name I cannot recall, had come by earlier to tell her that he had no eggs for her today. He said that the whole village had been looted of its stores.” Norman hesitated for a moment. “I do hope Gertrude and Winifred are alright.”

  Andre scowled. “So it was trolls that raided the one main storage area outside the village.”

  Norman looked at her father and Andre. “We had stores stolen, too?”

  “Yes, they overpowered the guards and took every last stitch of grain and dried fish we had. We will have to ration the winter stores if we cannot get aid from the neighboring kingdoms.” Octavius looked down at the floor with his hands clasped behind him.

  Norman looked directly at Andre. “Were the guards harmed in any way?”

  “I am afraid so. One received a severe laceration on his arm when he had a run-in with a troll brandishing a sword. The other one received a good knot on his head when he was jumped from behind. Both men are being looked after by the apothecary and his wife.”

  “Andre, please carry
out the orders I have given you. Remember, I want the other two storage areas heavily guarded. I will meet with the acting Grand Troll of the troll village to find out the best way to get stores to his people from our larders. Norman, I have filled you in on what I know, but please do not repeat anything we have spoken about. Andre, let me know at what time I might expect the Grand Troll, and see to it that the injured soldiers’ families have their needs met.”

  Andre bowed. “As you wish, Your Highness.” Andre turned and headed for the door.

  “Norman, where have you been? We have been waiting patiently for you.” The Queen came out of the little room off the foyer.

  Norman noticed just inside the doorway stood Gertrude’s Aunt Phoebe, who appeared to be listening to everything that was being said. “I am sorry, Mother, but I had to tell father something. It took longer than I thought. Please forgive me for being so tardy.”

  “Nothing to forgive, my dear daughter.” Emmaline grabbed her daughter by the hand and led her through the door into the small annex room. Norman looked at Phoebe as she passed. Phoebe looked away so as not to meet Norman’s gaze.

  Anna was standing next to mounds of different bolts of fabric. There were fine silks from far away lands and brocades of the finest quality and laces of such artistry that you had to stop what you were doing just to admire the work that went into them. Every color of the rainbow was represented. There were royal purples, deep, lustrous greens, gold colors and azure blues that rivaled the beauty of the clear morning skies.

  Norman didn’t usually like picking materials out for clothing. She had always trusted her mother’s judgment. For some reason, she found herself wanting to pick out fabric and a design for a dress. It definitely was a distraction from the events of the previous weeks. The morning flew by and soon it was lunch. Norman had picked out her dress design and the fabrics, but the queen was still trying to decide.

  The four ladies went into the dining area where they feasted on little ham sandwiches, carrots and a wonderful fruit-glazed pastry. Norman noticed how closely Phoebe listened in on the conversation, and how she had tried to steer the conversation towards last evening’s events in the troll village. Norman purposely interrupted her. She was sure she saw Phoebe scowl at her once. Norman thought it queer how different the two sisters were.

  Just as they were getting up to go back into the room, they heard some commotion coming from the front foyer. They all quickly walked to the entrance hall. There in front of them stood two guards holding onto a young troll.

  Andre stood behind them, then walked around in front of them. “I need to see the king”.

  Queen Emmaline looked at the young troll who was struggling with all of his might to regain some of his freedom. He was gagged and the bindings on his wrists looked secure. “What is the reason for this troll to be brought here, Andre?”

  Norman happened to glance over at Phoebe. Her face was ashen, and she was trembling like a child afraid of some imaginary danger. “Lady Phoebe, are you feeling all right?” Norman ushered her over to the nearby stairs to sit down.

  Andre looked at the queen. “I am sorry, Your Highness, but I am under strict orders from your husband not to divulge anything to anyone.”

  The young troll had stopped his struggling. He was gazing in Phoebe’s direction with a pleading look in his eyes. The Princess noticed this. Perhaps she was too suspicious of Phoebe. “Lady Phoebe, do you know who this young troll is?”

  Phoebe looked at the bound troll. “Nay, I can’t say that I have ever laid my eyes on the likes of him.” Her voice quivered.

  Queen Emmaline noticed how funny the matronly troll was acting. “Are you all right, Lady Phoebe? Each time I look at you, you appear paler than before.”

  Before Phoebe could answer the queen’s question, the king entered the foyer. “What is going on here?” Octavius then noticed the bound troll and the two guards restraining him.

  Andre stepped forward and walked over to the king. “May I have your ear for a moment, Your Highness?” The two departed to the great hall.

  Norman wished at that moment that she were a small mouse, and privy to what was being revealed in the next room. She looked down at Phoebe who was indeed turning paler and paler.

  Andre appeared at the door to the great hall. “Guards, bring in the prisoner. Ladies, the king has requested that you do not come into the hall.” With that, Andre turned and disappeared into the great hall.

  The queen looked rather perplexed by the king’s orders. She knew, however, not to go against her husband’s request. “Shall we go back in to the annex and finish picking out the material for my ball gown?” Emmaline looked at Anna, then to Phoebe. Phoebe was looking toward the door to the great hall. Tears were in her eyes. “Anna, I do believe we should let Lady Phoebe go home to rest. Her color is pale and she appears to be distraught.”

  Anna walked over to Phoebe. “Dear lady, please go home and rest. I will come to your village tomorrow with the chosen fabrics and the dress designs so you can start making the patterns.”

  Phoebe stood up on shaky legs. She kept looking towards the door into the adjoining room. It almost appeared that she was trying to hear what was going on in the room. Emmaline called to a page and he dashed over to her side. “Page, see that this poor-feeling troll gets back to her hovel safely.” The page donned a heavy cloak and brought over Phoebe’s cape and hat. He helped her put them on and the two walked out the door, arm in arm.

  The Queen turned to Anna. “She must be a very caring troll. She seemed so concerned about the troll they brought in.”

  A knock sounded at the door. The doorkeeper opened it, revealing a caped figure standing ready to knock on the door once again. Norman recognized the cape and hat immediately. “Gertrude, I was wondering if you would show up today.”

  Gertrude entered and took off his hat and bowed to the queen. “Good afternoon ladies. I beg your pardon, but I wish to speak to Norman, alone, if I may.”

  Queen Emmaline looked to Anna. “It appears that I will be picking out the fabric and pattern for my dress.”

  “I am sorry, Mother, but Gertrude would not come here during these troubled times just for a visit.” Norman looked to her mother with apologetic eyes. “You have always had good taste. I am sure whatever you choose will be elegant.”

  Emmaline smiled and winked at her daughter. “You are a bright child. Yes, I do have excellent taste.” With that said, the queen turned and started walking to the other room. “Come, Anna, we have some fabrics that need to be looked at.”

  Gertrude smiled as the queen departed. His expression became more serious, and he looked around to see if anyone else was listening. He saw the doorkeeper and a page. “Is there another room where we can speak privately?” He looked at Norman from under furrowed brows.

  “Yes, we can use the other annex room over this way.” Norman led the way into a small room within a few steps from where they had been standing. She closed the door behind them and turned the key. “That will keep us from being bothered. I know why you are here. Are you sure you want to talk to me and not my father?”

  A surprised look came across Gertrude’s face. “How do you know what I am here for?”

  “I heard about the troll village being robbed of all its stores. An old troll by the name of Grunk delivered the message to our cook this morning. He came by to tell her that he did not have any eggs for her because everything was stolen.” Norman looked at Gertrude to see how he reacted.

  “They did not get all of the stores. Whoever gave them the information about where to find the larders wasn’t very thorough. Most trolls have two larders - one cellar in the house and one outside the house. The larder outside is the largest and holds a majority of our winter needs. The trolls that did the looting should have known of this. Either they didn’t have time to raid the outside larders, or they simply forgot about them.” Gertrude shook his head. “Some of my fellow villagers who I spoke to this morning said that they di
dn’t recognize any of the trolls doing the looting. They have to be coming from another village. Old Grunk is getting senile. He has enough eggs down in his larder that he could feed the whole kingdom eggs for a week and he would still have a supply leftover.”

  Norman looked at Gertrude. “You did not hear about one of our main stores being sacked. Two guards were overcome by a group of trolls. One guard was cut by a troll wielding a sword. The other guard received a head injury. Father is over in the great hall right now, interrogating a young troll about your age. He was captured earlier. I suspect he was caught snooping around one of the other store houses.”

  “I saw my aunt in passing, coming here. She saw me but did not stop to talk. She looked off-color, too. I know she helps your seamstress with a lot of the castle work. Is she being worked too hard?” Gertrude watched as the expression on Norman’s face changed.

  “Your aunt started acting and looking strange right after they brought in the young troll. She said that she didn’t know him. However, I think she was lying.” Norman appeared to be deep in thought for a moment.

  “What are you thinking?” Gertrude asked, a little perplexed.

  “Didn’t you say that your cousins were troublemakers? Well, maybe they have gotten into trouble over their heads. Your aunt knew that troll, because it was your cousin.”

  “I know my cousins are troublemakers. However, I know that they are not stupid.” Gertrude shook his head. “I hope you are wrong, Norman.”

  Norman shook her head. “I don’t think so. There’s one way to find out. We will go see my father right now.” Norman walked over to the door and unlocked it. She grabbed Gertrude by the hand and together they walked into the great hall, unannounced.

  Octavius looked up from the chair he was sitting in and saw Norman. “Daughter, I thought I told you not to come into this room. Leave now!” At that moment, Octavius saw Gertrude. “Gertrude, I am sorry, but I can not talk to you at this time.”

  Gertrude noticed the figure of the troll sitting in a chair. “Octavius, I am sorry, too.” Without hesitation Gertrude walked over towards the king. He saw the face of the bound troll. “Hello, cousin, and what brings you to the castle?”

  “Your cousin?” Octavius was almost speechless. “You mean he is actually your cousin?”

  Gertrude looked at his cousin with utter disgust. “Unfortunately, this poor excuse for a troll is related to me through blood.” He turned to his cousin. “I am glad to see that the king has made you comfortable, Zeon. You are a disgrace to the family. Whatever punishment our king has in store for you, it is far too lenient.”

  Zeon had at first turned away from Gertrude. He glared at Gertrude, hatred in his eyes. “You say I am a disgrace to our family?! You really have some nerve cousin! You are the worst thing a troll could be! You are a human-lover!! May you rot in the ground with only the worms for company!”

  At first, Gertrude was taken aback by the viciousness of his cousin’s verbal attack. “You accuse me of being a human-lover, yet you do a human’s bidding. You probably are doing Toggart’s bidding, too. My father used to say to my mother that a troll who follows another all of his life is lost because he does not know how to find his own way. Now tell us who has led you to do these dastardly things against your own kind?”

  “I am not going to speak another word!” Zeon glared again at Gertrude.

  Gertrude knew that his cousin was a coward at heart. He turned towards Octavius and winked with the eye that was concealed from Zeon’s view. “I can tell, your Highness, that he is not going to say anything. He is definitely a troll of his word. I guess you will have to let the guards take him away and let them do what they must do.” Gertrude shook his head. “Whatever happened to that human you told me about…something about chopping off his hands?”

  Octavius, understanding what Gertrude was trying to do, shook his head. “Oh, that poor soul from last week? Such a pity, I gave him one more chance to confess to the thefts that he had done. However, he chose not to say anything. We just had to do what we had to do. Tsk....tsk, the apothecary said that the stumps where his hands once were are healing quite…” Octavius did not have a chance to finish as he was interrupted by Zeon’s wailings

  “Noooo... No! How will I eat and take care of my personal needs? You can’t do that to me! You wouldn’t!”

  Octavius walked over to the wall where some decorative swords were hanging and pulled one down from its resting place. He ran his finger down the blade of the sword, pretending to check the edge for sharpness. “How sad… This blade seems dull. OH! Look at the rust on the blade. That would cause a nasty infection, don’t you think so, Gertrude?”

  “Yes he would probably lose his arms, possibly his life.” Gertrude glanced over at Zeon with a fake look of horror on his face. “Surely you wouldn’t let him suffer once he was all swollen from the infection…”

  Zeon’s eyes were practically popping out of their sockets. Tears started flowing. “I will tell you everything. Please...! Please….don‘t cut off my hands!”

  Octavius looked down at the sword. “Oh dear, I was so looking forward to testing my skill with a blade today.”

  Gertrude was having trouble holding back his laughter. “If he doesn’t tell us the truth, you may still have a chance to lop of his hands.”

  “What say you troll? Are you going to talk?” Octavius leered at Zeon and once again ran his finger down the blade of the sword.

  “I will talk. I will talk.” Fear oozed from every word he uttered. Zeon was thoroughly scared out of his wits. “What do you want to know? I will tell you everything that I have knowledge of.”

  “Who is this person or troll that we have heard about by the name of ‘Lemerich’?” The King was still holding the sword, running his finger up and down the blade.

  “I have never heard of anyone named ‘Lemerich’.” Zeon was watching Octavius intently, and shifted nervously in his chair.

  ‘Krac-c-c-k!’ The blade of the sword split the small table in front of Zeon in half. Octavius looked at Norman and Gertrude and smiled. His eyes were opened wide in a mock sadistic grin. “Oh my! This sword is sharper than I thought...” The king looked at Zeon. “Who do you take your orders from, then?”

  Zeon was a pasty, putrid olive green and his eyes were bugging out of his head. Beads of perspiration rolled down his forehead. “I take my orders from Toggart, the Grand Troll of our village.”

  Gertrude’s anger blazed. It was now an ember glowing; waiting to erupt into a ravaging fire. “Toggart is no longer Grand Troll of our village! He was banished after fighting with me!”

  “He was forced to fight you. He said that you and Aunt Winifred are up to something evil and that you must be stopped. He said that if we helped him to regain the position of Grand Troll, he would reward us handsomely.”

  “Toggart has nothing to reward you with. He is using you to obtain power. After he is finished with your troublesome hide, he will probably reward you with a sword in your back. Toggart has always wanted more power and more control. Where is Toggart hiding?”

  “There is a huge cavern in the tunnel systems. Meade and I found it by accident. We were walking through the tunnels. I had to stop to pull a pebble from my boots and when I leaned against the wall, it crumbled. Meade entered first. He wasn’t watching where he was walking and tripped, falling onto a stalagmite. He broke his leg and suffered a deep gash on his left arm. I got him back to the camp, but they had to find an apothecary to set and splint his leg. Toggart knew that Goodly would not come to help, so he sent for Frack. My mother and father came, also.”

  Gertrude looked at Octavius. “I do not believe he is telling us the whole truth.”

  Octavius brought the tip of the blade to Zeon’s jugular. “You must not care if you lose your hands. My patience is wearing thin, troll! What is he lying about, Gertrude?”

  “My cousin knows who Lemerich is. When we went to explore one of the tunnels, we were about to enter, when we
heard voices. We hid from view and saw my aunt and uncle emerge from the tunnel with Modak. My aunt specifically told Modak to thank Lemerich for his help in taking care of her son.”

  “So…you have lied already! Guards! Take this troll away and cut off his hands! If he gives you too much trouble, dispose of him completely! I understand that ground-up bones are good for my roses.”

  “I will tell the truth...! I will tell the truth!” Zeon was sobbing. “I am sorry. I do not want to die!”

  Norman walked over to Zeon. “Tell me please, troll, was it you who pushed me into the roses some passings ago?”

  Zeon felt the point of the king’s sword on his throat. He looked at his three questioners. “Toggart made us do it. He thought that you would think that Gertrude was the one who had pushed you. Then your friendship would end as quickly as it had begun.”

  Norman looked at Zeon and the color in her face became red with anger. She felt like a child who had been bullied and lashed out as a child would.

  “Ouch! Why did you kick me?” Zeon screamed.

  “Because you deserved it…” Norman said nonchalantly. She felt so much better.

  Gertrude looked at Norman and smiled. He understood her feelings. He wanted to wallop his cousin so bad. He turned to Zeon. “Who is this ‘Lemerich’?”

  “He is the one giving the orders. He is a very vile person. If you do not do his bidding, he finds a way of making you do it. He blackmails everybody that he comes in contact with or promises them something that they want.” Zeon paused for a moment.

  “Do you know of a troll named ‘Smirch’?” Octavius finally lowered the sword down to his side.

  “Oh yes, I know Smirch. Toggart and Smirch are real good friends. They get together and discuss the orders from Lemerich, usually over a mug of boo-boo juice-laced blog. They also fight a lot.”

  “Do you know what their next plan is?” Gertrude sat down in a chair that he pulled up closer to his cousin.

  “Oh please, do not make me tell you that! I am sure Lemerich would have me killed.” Zeon looked beseechingly at Gertrude.

  “Well, look at it this way: how is Lemerich going to kill you if you are locked up in the dungeons of Glennmorley?!” Gertrude’s voice was oozing with impatience.

  Zeon appeared to be weighing the consequences of divulging the plans to the Gertrude, Norman and the king. He heaved a deep sigh. “Oh, I hope I don’t live to regret this...”

  “You will not live if you don’t tell us, troll!” Octavius was clearly losing his patience. He began running his finger up and down the blade of the sword again. “Oh dear, this blade is sharper than I thought. I seem to have cut myself. I am curious as to how you might bleed, troll.”

  “They plan on attacking your other storehouses tonight. I heard Smirch tell Toggart. Smirch has at least a hundred trolls and about twenty snow sledges. Lemerich is sending fifty of his men also. Lemerich knows that you will have additional men stationed around your other warehouses. He also figures that you would never suspect an attack the next night on all of the remaining storehouses.”

  “If you are lying about this, troll, I assure you that you will wish that I had killed you tonight…” Octavius’ brows were furrowed in anger. “Guards, take this troll down to the dungeon, free his bonds and see that he gets nourishment.” The guards picked Zeon up under his arms and carried him out.

  “Norman, I need your help. I need to have you go tell the Grand Troll of Gertrude’s village to keep all of his villagers in their homes tonight. I do not want to accidentally harm anyone who is not tangled up with this Smirch and Toggart… Toggart…why does that name keep surrounded by a haze in my memory?” Octavius shook his head. “Norman I wish you to stay in the troll village until I come for you. Gertrude, I need you by my side tonight. I do not know the ways of this Smirch or Toggart. Having your insight may be of enormous value to me. Will you fight by my side?”

  “Let me go and get my sword. I will accompany Norman to the village.” Gertrude stood up and turned to Norman. “You must tell Gillion not to tell anyone what is happening up here. Tell him to tell everyone that it is for their own safety. I do not want my aunt and uncle to know anything.”

  Norman nodded her head in understanding. “Gertrude, we can ride down to the village by horseback. It will be faster. Father, I will wait for you at Gertrude’s hovel. I will enjoy a cup of blog with Winifred.” She walked over to her father and gave him a kiss.” I love you. Please be careful…”

  “I love you too, daughter. You stay safe down in the village.” Octavius turned and headed for the rear entrance to the great hall.

  Chapter Six