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rosemaidenvixen · 1 month ago

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Between Daylight and Darkness

Chapter 15

Ao3

Toby tried to act as chill as possible. Which was really hard to do considering the circumstances.

Smoke billowed out of the cave behind them, trolls angrily shouting at each other deep within. Both steadily growing fainter behind him, feet dangling in the air as Blinky carried him away by the back of his shirt.

Impossible circumstances for anyone to play it cool, so Toby was actually doing a pretty good job thank you very much.

The one and only consolation here was that the others were all getting the same treatment as he was. The girls in Blinky’s three other hands, Mary and Claire frowning and Darci squirming a little. Even Jim had been picked up around the chestplate and was being carried along by AAARRRRGGHH. All the trolls milling the street stopping what they were doing to stare at them, then shifting their gazes to the still smoking cave with angry shouts pouring out of it.

It was only when the smoke was out of sight and the shouts had grown faint that Blinky set them all down on the cobblestone street. Folding both sets of arms, focusing and narrowing all six eyes in on them.

“I will be the first to admit, the majority of fault lies with Ilfin for trying to set up a distillery in the back of their uncle's apothecary with absolutely no experience, but when I say you are not to leave the sight of my six eyes. I mean, you are not to leave the sight of my six eyes!”

“How were we supposed to know the guy was trying to make moonshine?” Mary grumbled.

“Yeah it’s not our fault his set up fell apart with one tiny little poke," Toby added "Or that the tannery next door caught fire,”

Blinky groaned and pinched his snout “Ilfin’s poor life choices aside, you all need to stay where I can see you for the duration of today's expedition,”

Happy that they weren’t getting kicked out of the magical troll market for their accidental arson, Toby was quick to nod in agreement “Understood, will do,”

The others nodded and chorused their assent as well. Jim then raised a hand and cleared his throat “Hey, uh, AAARRRGGHH, can you put me down now?”

AAARRRGGHH let out a soft rumble before setting Jim on his feet next to the others, giving him a soft pat on the head as he did. Well probably soft for AAARRRGGHH, Jim actually stumbled a few steps.

“Now then,” Blinky began shooing them down the street “I believe your education would best be served by visiting Trollmarket’s famed metalworks district,”

Claire’s eyes sparkled “You mean like blacksmithing!?”

“Correct, as the largest hub of resources and home to many a skilled craftsman, the metalwork produced by Trollmarket is some of the finest on this side of the globe," Blinky started walking down the street again, gesturing for them to follow "I can think of no better place for youngsters to learn to appreciate trollish craft. However–” Blinky turned and narrowed all his eyes at them again “Our forges and smithys are powerful things and are not safe for the unpracticed, not even for other trolls. So. Do. Not. Get. Close.”

The memory of that Ilfin guy’s failed DIY attempt at distilling nearly exploding in their faces, not to mention their humiliating walk of shame right after after, fresh in his mind, Toby was all too quick to nod in agreement.

“Got it, look with your eyes and not your hands and don’t cross over the safety line,”

“Good,” Blinky said curtly.

They walked in silence, both to not irritate Blinky even further plus Toby was pretty sure their ears were all still ringing from the explosion. After following Blinky for a few more twists and turns, they ended up in a huge wide square full of trolls...sorting rocks?

“Behold the metalworks district!” Blinky threw all four arms wide “Where ores from the world over are processed, refined, and forged into every manner of item imaginable. Here one can witness their creation at every stage!" he voice dropped low "And if a single one of you moves more than a foot from my side, you will spend the remainder of this outing on top of AAARRRGGHH’s back,”

Getting a boost and a free ride didn’t…sound like a punishment, but the way Blinky said it it was clearly intended to be one, so maybe Blinky knew something he didn’t. Either way it was probably better to stick close if only so he didn’t get his face melted off.

“Let us begin here,” Blinky shepherded them through the square, weaving between the various rock piles and the trolls sorting them. All around them Trolls were either scooping up or dumping cartfuls of rocks onto large piles, where others trolls sorted them into various smaller piles. Some of the rocks looked similar in color and texture, but some of the piles had no rhyme or reason Toby could tell. One of the sorting trolls was even licking the rocks before setting them in their designated piles.

“Here is where the raw ore is sorted,” Blinky explained “Organized based on the raw metals it contains and their purity,”

Blinky pointed at a troll who was filling up a wheelbarrow with crumbly looking rust colored rocks "This fellow here is gathering up iron ore, most likely for the production of trollish steel,"

The iron gathering troll glanced up at them briefly and narrowed their eyes, seemingly trying to decide if they should care about their observers before ultimately deciding not to. Pushing their wheelbarrow down one of the side streets away from the square while Blinky nudged them along after.

"So what's the difference between trollish steel and like...human stuff?" Toby asked.

"Trollish steel shares the same basic composition as the human forged metal, an alloy of iron and carbon, however a few magical additions during the smelting process make it nigh impervious to tarnish and corrosion,"

"Magical!?" Claire's eyebrows shot up "What kind of magi--"

Abruptly Blinky spread all four arms wide, blocking them from entering the doorway the iron hauling troll had gone through.

"Stay close to me, we will enter and step immediately to the side keeping close to the wall, and above all else do not leave my side,"

The moonshine explosion fresh in his memory, Toby was quick to nod in agreement. Sticking close to Blinky as they headed in to--

A wall of heat smacked him in the face, making him stagger. It was like walking straight through an August afternoon sidewalk. He instantly started to sweat, eyes going watery. How hot did it have to be before he had to worry about his eyebrows spontaneously combusting--

A hand on his arm gently pulled him to the side, turning to see Blinky standing back against the wall, one arm each on him Mary, Darci, and Claire. Jim stepping through the doorway after them with AAARRRGGHH following behind. A loud rumble startled him, Toby turning to face the room proper, only to feel his jaw drop open in shock.

The room was huge, easily the size of the gymnasium at school. And right in the middle of it was a massive clay structure, the thing radiating the intense heat, a deep glow radiating out of the top. The best way Toby could describe it was like a cooling tower from a nuclear power plant, though Toby was pretty sure that wasn't what this was...probably. At least half a dozen trolls milled around the tower. Some climbed scaffolding lining the tower, tossing cartfuls of reddish rocks

Iron ore

In to the glowing top. Off to the side four trolls, two on each side, were pushing on some kind of see-saw looking mechanism built into the floor..

“This is the furnace where iron is refined, purified into usable metal," Blinky ushered them alongside the wall, edging around the chamber to avoid the worst of the heat "Some will be poured off to create cast iron materials," he lifted a hand from Darci's shoulder to point at a troll collecting molten metal in a bucket from where it trickled out of the base of the tower-- wait was that guy not even wearing gloves!?

"While the rest is processed into ingots for crafting into various alloys, including trollish steel,”

A gust of cool air hit Toby from behind and he found himself being pulled back out of another side door back into the non sweltering street.

"Oh man," Mary fanned herself with her hand "That was hot,"

Darci just shrugged "Meh, it was a dry heat,"

"Did you see that one guy handling molten metal with his bare hands!?" Toby let out a laugh, nudging Blinky with his elbow "Benefits of being made of rock I guess, I'll bet nothing burns you guys,"

Blinky started a bit, glancing over sharply at AAARRRGGHH, the two sharing a look.

Uh oh, Toby knew that look. That was not a good look.

After a brief period of uncomfortable silence Blinky cleared his throat "I apologize, something this critical to trollkind should have been one of the first things I educated you on,"

Jim frowned, stepping closer "What do you me--"

"Sunlight burns trolls, incinerates our living stone. Any troll unlucky enough to be caught exposed on the surface at sunrise faces certain death,"

A full five seconds of stunned silence followed Blinky's words as they all stared at him in open mouthed shock.

"So wait..." Jim said slowly "When I go out in the sun I don't..."

"And that more than anything is proof of your..." Blinky glanced around nervously and lowered his voice "...true nature,"

All of a sudden Blinky snapped upright and clapped both sets of hands together "Enough of such grim topics, on with the rest of the tour!"

Blinky herded them down the street and through another doorway, leading them into a space that was a lot smaller than the smelting room, but still quite big, easily the size of a warehouse. The space was packed with barrels, boxes, and baskets; running up and down the room and lining the walls. The contents of which had nothing in common that Toby could clock, ranging from sand to gemstones to various bits of metals-- wait were those bones!?

"Here is where some of the rarest forging materials are kept," Blinky gestured towards the room "Used to create various alloys and infuse forged products with mystical properties,"

"Mystical properties?" Claire asked, hurrying to Blinky's side "What kind of mystical properties?"

AAARRRGGHH raised a hand and pointed at a barrel filled with something iridescent and flaky "Hydra scales, make trollish steel impervious to rust,"

"Whoa really?" Darci's eyes went huge.

"Indeed," Blinky stepped up to AAARRRGGHH side "Hydra are fearsome beasts, native to what you humans call the 'old world', invasive and hardy. There will never be a shortage of them but bringing one down is no easy task. Just this barrel alone is easily more valuable than everything else in this storehouse,"

"I'm kind of surprised you guys just leave all this super valuable stuff out in the open," Jim said, leaning in to examine the scales.

"There is a guard posted," Blinky gave a wave to a bored looking troll sitting on a stool in the corner of the room, who gave a half hearted wave back.

"That combined with the threat of receiving a collective beating from every single smith in the market is enough to deter most thieves, now hydra scales are typically obtained through exchange with various hunting clans..."

Toby was about to head over and learn more about hydra hunting when Mary piped up.

“Hey Toby, check this out,”

He glanced over to see Mary kneeling in front of a basket full of clear, sparkling stones. Toby scurried over to her and knelt by her side, eager to check out the gemstones. They weren't completely raw, just from a single glance he could tell they'd been polished and had some basic cutting, but he'd have to run some tests to figure out what kind of gems they were--

The bored looking guard troll glanced up “Oh yeah those are the dud diamonds,”

Both of them went still in an instant, both of them slowly turning to look up at the guard troll.

Toby scrambled to his feet “Hang on did you say diamonds?”

“Yeah,” the troll scratched behind one of their horns “Such a pain, not a speck of power in them, and the guy who usually hauls them off is visiting her brother so now they have to sit around taking up space until she gets back,”

Mary glanced sharply up at him “Toby are these, like, dumpy rock diamonds or–”

“No…” Toby said awestruck, staring at the basket brimming with precious stones, some of them tiny as kernels of corn others the size of grapes “These…these are worth something,”

Sure they weren't as valuable as a completely cut diamonds, and Toby couldn’t really gauge the quality without any of his tools, plus he might have the basic knowledge but he wasn’t a gemologist. But all the ones he could see were clear and colorless as glass, and while he might not be a gemologist Toby knew that when it came to diamonds the clearer and less color the better. So even at his lowest estimate, just based on the size of some of them alone, they were looking at a big pile of cash here.

He snapped his gaze back over to the troll “Can we take them!?”

The troll jerked upright, bored expression slipping for the first time “You want em?”

“Y– yeah,” Mary said, moving to stand at Toby's side “You said your hauling gal is off, we can take care of them for you,”

The guard troll abruptly narrowed their eyes “You want them, they won’t be free,”

Toby’s throat tightened, of course it was too good to be true “How much then?” he only had about twenty bucks in cash on him, he didn't know what Mary had, but hopefully it would be enough for at least a few handfuls of--

The troll looked them both up and down “Your socks, both of them, from each of you. All four for the whole basket or no deal,”

Toby turned and shared a look with Mary. He was doing his best to not freak out, but he probably looked just as stoked as she did, and Mary looked like a kindergartner who’d been handed the keys to a candy store and told to go nuts.

Mary looked up at the guard troll, a wide grin splitting her face “Done,”

Toby tightened his belt for the third time since leaving the metalworks district. He was pretty sure the circulation was getting cut off but the heaviness in his pockets was still pulling his pants down. This combined with the chafing from his bare feet in his sneakers made the walk less than pleasant. And he knew Mary had to be in the same boat.

Note to self, next time they went shopping in Trollmarket, bring extra socks and a wagon, or at the very least a few tote bags.

As it was their load was slowing them down, but at least none of the others had noticed ye--

Jim glanced back "You guys doing ok?"

"Oh yeah we're fine," Mary bobbed her head up and down.

"Totally," Toby piped up, inwardly cringing at how nervous he sounded.

Jim raised an eyebrow but turned back around without saying anything.

As soon as his eyes were off them Toby and Mary shared a side eye. They weren't keeping the whole diamond thing a secret from the others per say....they'd just agreed to keep it to themselves until they'd figured out how much cash they would be getting out of it. Cash they would share! No way the two of them would make bank without cutting their friends in on the action. But no point in getting their hopes up when they weren't even sure how much money they'd get, best to tell them after it was already a done deal, preferably over a meal of the best burritos money could buy--

"Hey check this out guys," Claire peered over a side wall towards a lower street, the rest of them hurrying over and looking down with her.

At first Toby thought they were looking at a giant jungle gym, but after a few moments he realized it was a large cage, two trolls duking it out inside while a surrounding crowd cheered them on.

"Cool, troll MMA, totally awesomesauce,"

"Ah yes it is a truly heartwarming sight,"

Toby turned towards Blinky, seeing him staring down at the cagematch with a dreamy look on his face.

"There is nothing quite like seeing young trolls in love,"

"What? No way..." Toby turned back towards the cage match only to see that the two trolls had stopped pummeling each other and were now nuzzling each other's faces. Walking hand in hand out of the cage while the crowd cheered.

Oh, ok, guess they were.

"Is fighting in a cage match a normal dating thing for trolls?" Jim said slowly.

"On the contrary, cage matches are one of the oldest and most traditional forms of wedding among market trolls," Blinky stepped up to the wall alongside them "I am so thrilled fates aligned for you five to witness such a joyous occasion,"

Claire's gaze flicked back and forth between Blinky and the...apparent wedding party below "So besides the cage fighting, what else goes into troll weddings?"

Blinky tapped his chin thoughtfully "Marital customs vary across tribes, but most typically begin with some form of ceremonial combat, followed by the trolls involved declaring their oaths to each other before the family and communities, typically concluding with heavy feasting and celebration,"

Darci raised an eyebrow "Really? Seems kind of...violent,"

"On the contrary, ceremonial combat has been used in marriage ceremonies for centuries for both trolls involved to display their skill and what they provide to the partnership. Cage matches are traditional, but other forms of combat are popular as well. In fact for AAARRRGGHH and I's wedding we conducted a simple wrestling match,"

Two wires clicked in Toby's brain, making him do a double take "Back up, you guys are married?"

Blinky turned over his shoulder and looked back at AAARRRGGHH, soft smile on his face. AAARRRGGHH smiled back and lumbered closer.

"Indeed, AAARRRGGHH and I have been together for some years now," AAARRRGGHH leaned down and nuzzled him like a cat, a gesture that Blinky just as readily returned "In fact our marriage ceremony was the first conducted in Trollmarket, within the first few days of its founding,"

For a moment Toby could only blink at them in surprise. In the entire time he'd known them he'd never clocked Blinky and AAARRRGGHH as a couple couple. He was kind of still reeling from it. Of course gay people a lot of the times acted just like normal people. That plus Toby had no idea what 'normal' looked like for trolls, so maybe the lesson here was he shouldn't assume.

"So you guys were married with a wrestling match?" Jim glanced between Blinky and AAARRRGGHH "Seems a little...one sided,"

Blinky scowled and set both pairs of hands on his hips "I'll have you know I held my own exceedingly well and--"

All of a sudden AAARRRGGHH flopped over on his back with a loud thud, flapping his arms in the air in front of him "Ahhh, bested, defeated, have mercy..."

The five of them snickered while Blinky sputtered indignantly "AAARRRGGHH cease these theatrics at once and tell these whelps--"

Without warning AAARRRGGHH snatched him up against his chest and started nuzzling him with gusto, Blinky squawking and squirming in his arms.

"AAARRRGGHH! Compose yourself, not in front of the striplings!"

AAARRRGGH nipped his ear playfully "No, Blinky mine forever,"

He was still squirming, but a small smile cracked through Blinky's irritated look "Oh you insatiable scoundrel you..."

Staring at the scene unfolding in front of them Toby was torn, on one hand this was objectively kind of adorable, on the other, PDA man.

Eventually Blinky pulled himself free, smoothing back his disheveled hair while AAARRRGGHH pushed himself back upright "Well then the hour grows late, perhaps it is time to bring this expedition to a close..."

Toby wilted.

"But not before exploring the central corridor!" Blinky spun around and gestured for them to follow "Come along, including you AAARRRGGHH, you incorrigible rapscallion you,"

They followed Binky to a familiar street that Toby recognized as being close to the staircase. The street had to be at least three AAARRRGGHH's wide but it was still packed, trolls wandering in and out of the various shops buried in and built out of the bedrock. As far as Toby could tell there was no common factor between the stalls themselves. One had nothing but old staticy TVs, he was pretty sure that one was some kind of restaurant or food stand, the chisel tattoo booth was here, another had a neon sign of a dead cat...the less Toby knew about that one the better.

"The shops along Trollmarket's central corridor have no central unifying factor save for the fact their services are in high demand," Blinky said, gesturing to the booths around them with both left arms "This is the busiest segment of Trollmarket, all trolls who pass through, from pilgrims to wanderers, traverse this corridor,"

Blinky abruptly turned into a doorway carved into the rock. They followed and Toby found himself having to blink to adjust his eyes to the dimmer light. Glowing crystals hung in strands from the ceiling, along with plastic buckets and-- socks? Ok he was definately going to have to figure out what the deal was with trolls and socks. Along with various boxes and more buckets lining the floor and stacked on various shelves.

"This is Bagdwella's general store, if a troll needs it she has it,"

"Correct, and I am Bagdwella,"

A tall curvy troll stepped out from behind a counter in the corner. She was wearing a long dress with skull decals on the skirt. Hair hanging down and covering one of her eyes, the other narrowing in on Blinky. Unlike most trolls she didn't have any horns that Toby could see.

"And my shop is a place of commerce, not a workshop for whelps. So either buy something or leave,"

Blinky let out a sigh "Oh very well," he reached into his pocket and pulled out a slip of paper, handing it over to Bagdwella "Put me down for a full case of lightbulbs,"

Bagdwella looked over the piece of paper and gave an appreciative sniff before tucking it in her pocket "You may pursue my store, but remember you break it you bought it,

As she retreated Toby sided up to Blinky "Thanks for doing us this solid Blink,"

"Think nothing of it, AAARRRGGHH and I were running low on light bulbs anyways. Now as you said, examine with your eyes and not your hands and if you have any questions direct them to me,"

"Hey Blinky I've got a question," Darci waved him over.

Blinky hurried to her side "Yes?"

"I've been wondering about these lights," she gestured towards the glowing crystals swinging from the ceiling "Like, what are they? I see them everywhere around here,"

"Ah I can see why those would grab your attention. Those are crystal lanterns, the most ubiquitous light source for troll kind. Inert, noncombustible, and capable of holding a magical charge for weeks on end,"

""Magical? Really?" Claire perked up and walked over, Jim right on her heels.

"Yes! It is a rather deceptively basic enchantment, but without the charge from the hearthstone...."

Blinky launched into a lecture about magical crystal lanterns, Toby was about to go over and get in on that action. Because hell yeah magical geology, when a hiss in his ear stopped him.

"Psst, Toby," Mary whispered "I've been thinking about the diamonds..."

Toby glanced to either side, allowing Mary to pull him into the corner of the shop before he looked up at her "What about them? They aren't fully cut so we won't get as much for them, but I think I can find a few buyers,"

She shook her head "Not that! Ok maybe later we can go over that, but what if we get more?"

Now she had Toby's full attention, facing her directly and 100% tuning out Blinky's spiel "What do you mean more?"

"If diamonds aren't valuable to trolls what about rubies, emeralds, and sapphires?" her smile was wide and ecstatic, eyes sparkling "We could keep up with this trading and make a fortune!"

Toby knew he was staring at her like a slack jawed bug eyed idiot, but given that it was taking everything he had to not jump up and down and squeal like a valley girl stereotype he'd take that as a win.

Forget burritos with all the trimmings, Nana was retiring in Malibu!

"We should be able to pick up plenty of socks from Walmart on the cheap. I'm not sure how much the diamonds will go for but it'll definitely be a net gain on our part. Plus we can trade for other minerals to, like platinum and lithium,"

Mary nodded along eagerly "We'll have to figure out what kind of socks are the most valuable, wool or polyester,"

"And we can try and negotiate paying more to get fully cut gems, those are worth a lot more on the resale--"

"Do I hear a rival business being discussed in my shop?"

Both of them whirled to see Bagdwella standing right behind them, scowl on her face and arms folded across her chest.

Toby couldn't say anything, eyes nervously darting between Bagdwella and Mary, who had the same 'hand-in-the-cookie-jar' expression that Toby knew he had.

Oh man they'd stumbled into a troll cultural big no-no without even realizing it! Now they were going to be taken out back and get their hands worked over with hammers, or worse thrown in the sarlacc pit--

Bagdwella's single eye narrowed, then out of nowhere she smiled "If that's the case you'll want to discuss with the foragers guild, they're the ones who traverse the surface and supply Trollmarket with socks. They won't appreciate a new business undercutting theirs, but would welcome it if you began to trade directly with them. I would be all too happy to arrange a meeting and make some introductions,"

For a few seconds Toby was too stunned to react, just staring up at Bagdwella in shock.

"Does that arrangement not suit you?" Bagdwella said primly.

"That actually sounds really good..." Mary said slowly "But why would you help us, wouldn't we be...competition?"

Bagdwella let out a sharp laugh "Competition? Hardly. The foragers guild and I already have an understanding. I give them all sorts of inside hints and tips on where to locate the best forage, which in this situation is you, in return I have first pick of their best stock for my shop. Socks you trade with them are more than likely to fill my shelves,"

Toby nodded slowly "That...makes more sense,"

Bagdwella's grin widened, exposing a mouth full of sharp teeth "If you whelps are going to trade in Trollmarket, the first thing you should learn is that Bagdwella always comes out ahead,"

#tales of arcadia #trollhunters #jim lake jr #claire nuñez #toby domzalski #darci scott #mary wang #arcadia quintet #blinkous galadrigal #aaarrrgghh #big gay troll dads #rmvwrites #sunshine au #between daylight and darkness

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