Chapter 22: The Boy with the Shield, Part 1

In the shallows of a swamp not far from Shadefall, List's whip danced around her as she performed a neat backflip, getting clear of her enemy's attack and retaliating in a single motion. The leather, crackling with red lightning struck the thick hide of the troll she was fighting, opening a gash that closed up seconds later. List let out a growl, and pressed her assault until another charge from the monster forced her back again.

The swamp troll was easily ten feet tall, lankily built, with a distended belly and three arms, two of which grew from its right shoulder while what looked like a half formed second face decorated its swollen neck. Its oily green flesh glistened with sweat and muck, and one of its legs had an extra joint in it that meant it was constantly bent at an odd angle. Yet for how awkwardly it was constructed, the thing was fast and agile, and most infuriatingly, absolutely refused to go down.

From behind a weeping willow tree, Valerie finished prepping her next bolt, locked, loaded, and took aim. 

"Clear!"

At Valerie's shout, List jumped back, giving Valerie as clear a shot as possible. At the same time, Valerie loosed her shot. Sparks flew from her wristbow as the bolt, and the oils and gels applied to it, ignited in a brilliant orange blaze, and the flaming crossbolt seared straight through the creature's flesh. Even after it was gone, the flames persisted, licking at both the entrance and exit wounds.

The creature bellowed in pain, and for the first time in the fight, its wound didn't instantly close up. List and Valerie both shared a victorious smile, though it was short-lived as the troll spun to face Valerie.

"Oh no you don't!" List shouted. Her whip lashed out, wrapping around the troll's neck. "We're not finished with our—whoa!"

The troll, unbothered by the snare, charged, dragging List through the swamp muck with it. With her lone fire bolt spent, Valerie turned, scampering as high into the tree as she could. The troll barreled through her position, its clawed hand sweeping up after her and just barely missing her coattails.

Now drenched in filth, List staggered to her feet, pulling hard on her whip to try to at least get the troll's attention. It didn't work.

Standing back from the fight at a distance that would keep him from becoming the troll's target, but still close enough to be heard, Arden watched the fight unfold, his face placid and his hands resting on his cane as his charges battled for survival.

"A good effort, ladies," he said. "Your coordination is improving, and fire is, of course, the most straightforward way to negate most regenerative factors in an enemy's constitution. Now, can either of you tell me what mistake you made?"

Valerie jumped up to grab a higher branch as the troll leapt up after her, grabbing the branch she'd been standing on. It could climb. Of course it could climb.

"Agreeing to this apprentice shit?!" List snapped.

She uncoiled her whip from around the creature's neck, and instead used her weapon to slice through the branch it was clinging to, dropping it back to the swamp floor before it could reach Valerie. 

"Target selection," Arden provided, ignoring her. "The fire bolt was sound, but you failed to strike a point needed to maximize effectiveness. List, do you recall the pneumonic device I provided you two regarding trolls?"

"Is this really the time for this?!"

Valerie put several normal crossbolt's through the creature's lower back, briefly opening holes in it. With a crack of her whip, List sliced its gut completely open, partially spilling its innards before the skin began to close up around it, leaving them partially dangling out.

"Absolutely," Arden insisted. "There is no greater setting for imparting wisdom than life-threatening peril."

"Fucking—I don't know!" List said as she grabbed a fistful of troll intestines. 

She yanked hard as she dodged away from the creature's swipes, coming away with pieces of it still in her hands. The troll stumbled around behind her, the remains of his newly externalized organs regrowing into two separate digestive tracts. 

Spirits, she hated trolls. "If it's green, then it's mean. If it's red, we're all dead?"

"Not quite," Arden said as Valerie dropped onto the creature's back and jammed a knife straight down and into its skull. The main head's jaw went slack. The face in its neck roared in defiance, and the fight continued. "If it's red, take the head. If it's green, go between."

List came to a complete stop, staring at Arden even as Valerie was flung from the troll's back like a ragdoll. The hellborn girl cocked her head in utter confusion.

"What the fuck does 'go between' mean?!"

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Before she could get her answer, the troll swatted her across the swamp with its claws. She landed with a splash, bleeding from several slashes in her arm, her whip lost in the water. Her hair had fallen into her face, matted by sweat and swamp water, and she was breathing heavy. On the other side of the swamp, Valerie was on her hands and knees, coughing up the muddy water she'd accidentally inhaled in her own tumble. The troll was largely fine, if now even more malformed.

Arden sighed, deciding that the lesson had reached its end. Extending two fingers, he fired a lance of divine energy that speared the troll straight through the center of its chest. The creature lurched, briefly groped at the new hole in the center of its sternum, and then collapsed into the water, dead.

"'Go between,'" Arden explained, "refers to targeting the point between the two sides of the creature's body. Such an attack not only destroys a green troll's heart, but also the portion of its spine directly behind it. Fire, or other suitable means that stop regeneration, directed to that location inhibits any method a green troll has of healing itself."

"That . . ." List struggled to find words to adequately convey the mixture of anger and utter befuddlement she was feeling. "That's the worst fucking educational rhyme I've ever heard."

"It is pretty unintuitive," Valerie agreed.

For the first time that day, Arden displayed genuine concern. "Really? I thought it was quite straightforward. Perhaps we should revisit some of the other pneumonic devices I've given you for similar gaps."

"Oh joy," List muttered, briefly wondering why she'd ever agreed to this arrangement.

---

List remembered why she'd agreed to this arrangement when they returned to Shadefall, and were paid a full chest of scales for the troll's carcass. It wasn't a massive chest, only about the size of a modest jewelry box, but it was still a chest, and List was already imagining the hot meals, baths, and laundry service she'd be spending her share on. She might even have enough spare change to toss something to the bard who played in the Scaled Maiden on Fifthdays. He was cute, even if he only really knew three songs.

"Well, that was fun," List said. "I'd call that a good day's work, personally. Hey Valerie, do you think—"

"Not so fast," Arden said. "Valerie, if you could take these scales back to my room at the Maiden, you can consider your training done for the day. But I would like to speak with you, List. It's past time we had a deeper discussion about your powers."

"Do we have to do this today? Now?" List groaned. "I'm tired, dirty, and hungry. Not to mention still coming down from an adrenaline-high."

"Considering you've been dodging this training for multiple weeks now, yes," Arden said. "The food and bath will still be waiting for you when we're done, and as your teacher, this is not an aspect of your training I can allow you to neglect any longer than you already have."

"You really enjoy using that 'as your teacher' line," List said.

"It's an arrangement you agreed to."

"Don't remind me," List grumbled. She turned to Valerie. "Tell Kiva to have drinks ready when we get there. I'm going to need it."

"You'll be fine," Valerie said. "I'll see you both tonight."

She paused for a brief moment, thinking over hers and List's relationship and how it had evolved over the weeks since she'd officially become Arden's second apprentice. They'd both gotten considerably better at fighting alongside one another, and though they didn't spend all their time together—List was much more keen on enjoying the town than Valerie, who preferred to stay inside most nights—they did hang out often, even outside of training and studying. Truthfully, List was the main reason Valerie ever did anything but train or study.

They were friends by this point, surely. Valerie hadn't had a friend since before her parents died when she was a child, so she wasn't exactly sure where the boundary lay. But she was almost certain they'd crossed it.

And so, fairly sure it was appropriate, if not what she was outright supposed to do, she leaned in, giving List a hug.

The hellborn immediately stiffened in surprise, filling Valerie with a moment of panic that she'd gotten something wrong. But just before Valerie could pull away, somewhat awkwardly, List returned the hug.

"Yeah," List said. "See you."

They broke apart. Valerie straightened her posture, and carried their earnings off toward the Maiden. As she left, Arden placed a hand on List's shoulder and guided her off to the outskirts of town, where their preferred training grounds waited for them.

Meanwhile, in the shadows of an adjacent alleyway, a pair of figures debated which of the group to follow.

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