A tall human glared down at the frog troll. “Of all the stupidity! How dare you go against my wishes! What ever possessed you to do what you did? If they suspected you of being behind their troubles, they are most assuredly positive of it now.” The tall figure paced back and forth, his anger rising with each step. He withdrew a dagger from a leather cinch around his waist. “I have been wanting to use this for a while, to see if the blade can slice through a thick green hide.”
Toggart cowered, rolling down onto the floor to escape the human’s reach. “I am sorry, Your Majesty. I did not mean to ruin your plans. I was trying to disrupt the meeting. They were electing a new Grand Frog Troll.”
“You idiot!! Your want for revenge is meaningless to me. Did I not promise you your precious title back after I had control of the five kingdoms? I have spent the last five years planning this. Every time I make a move, something goes wrong.” The man stopped, turned and looked at Toggart’s sniveling form on the floor. “Did you manage to find out what happened to Smirch?”
Toggart swallowed hard as his eyes studied the human and the knife he was wielding. “Smirch has not been seen. The young frog troll that was with him said that he had been drinking heavily. If he were that drunk, perhaps he got lost in the maze of tunnels or fell to his demise in one of the many chasms.”
“It would do my heart good to know that his ugly green carcass was worm food!” The human walked a little closer to Toggart. With a sudden shot of his hand, he grabbed Toggart by his beard and yanked him off his feet. The dagger came within inches of the frog troll’s eyes. The human leered down at him and Toggart could feel his angry breath. “You find out what happened to Smirch or, mark my word, you will not live to take your position as Grand Frog Troll!” With a sudden, swift move, the human cut through Toggart’s beard as if it were butter.
Toggart dropped down onto the floor. “Arghhh! My beard! You cut my beard!”
“You will lose more than a hank of beard, frog troll, if you don’t do as I say! Go! I find your kind repulsive. Leave me now…” Toggart stumbled to his feet and hopped away as quickly as possible, mumbling to himself as he fled.
The human turned to face a large gilded mirror, walking up to it and primping himself. “My, you are a handsome specimen of a man...” He flashed a lurid smile. A knock at the door brought a look of disgust to his youthful face. “Ah, it is you, Lemerich. Finally I will be talking to someone who has a brain. Come in.”
Lemerich, tall and slender, strolled into the room. “Your majesty, I wanted to let you know that I have successfully planted people in all the kingdoms. None of them hold allegiance to the kingdoms where I placed them. I have made sure that they will do our bidding by taking special care of their families while they are away.” A wicked smile spread from ear to ear.
“Well done, Lemerich. Did you, by any chance, find out anything about Smirch?” The human went over to a table and poured a glass of wine and handed it to him. He then poured another glass for himself. “Did you find out how Riley is doing in Glennmorley?”
“Smirch cannot be found. I have had frog trolls wandering the tunnels, looking for him. He has vanished into thin air. As for Samuels, I found out that he spent the night drinking with King Octavius, however no one has heard from him, and he, too, seems to have vanished.”
“Those worthless, green, slimy maggots! Why did I ever think that they would be of any help to me?” The human walked over to a chair and sat down. He motioned for Lemerich to take a seat. “How did all the raids go in the frog troll villages?”
“They went well, sire. We secured food from all of their larders and we have depleted the main stores in three of the five kingdoms.” Lemerich took a sip of his wine as he smirked. “We surprised King Octavius when we attacked his stores with a second column of men. Sadly, my bowmen missed Octavius. A frog troll took an arrow meant for him.”
“Good, one less repulsive, ugly frog troll to deal with! It has been a while since we last talked. I have found it difficult to get away from my parent’s prying eyes. It is too bad the snows came so early and ended the farm raids. What more have you to tell me?”
Lemerich smiled. “The frog troll that I have in place in the village of Awll tells me they elected a new Grand Frog Troll today.”
“This is not new knowledge to me. I know about this non-event. It seems that frog trolls hold this ‘Grand Frog Troll’ thing very high in their worthless hearts. Please tell me of something that I might care about.” The royal put his glass down and wiped his mouth with a dainty lace napkin.
“I have secured the invitations to Princess Norman’s Ball for three of my men. The scribe was hard to bribe, but he has a liking for gold.” Lemerich laughed. “Your plan is indeed ingenious, Your Majesty.”
“Of course it is! And I do not want it spoiled!” The human turned and scowled at Lemerich.
“The frog troll, Toggart, is an imbecile… He has already messed up a couple of my plans. I am glad that I had follow-up plans arranged. The night of the birthday ball shall be a memorable one, I am sure.”