Aneth drew his heavy dark green cloak about him, over his Priest armor and hood, trudging along the small, winding path up the side of this gods forsaken mountain, towards a village that an unmarked signpost had pointed to. It could have been a trap, but, first of all, who in their right mind would voluntarily come here? There's little agriculture, it's freezing cold, the air is so thin you can't run for more than fifty feet without having to catch your breath. Second of all, merchants sell terrible-quality wares at exorbitant prices because the only other way to get it was to travel to a more industrious town. He sighed. He knew his master wouldn't approve of the appraisal of industry, but his master chose him for this mission and Aneth was seeing it through, so he had the right to bellyache and whine all he wanted.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
Nearly two weeks ago, in the wee hours near the dawn, Aneth was in a Tavern in Reajh, sleeping off some strong drink after a long few days of glorying in his Master's trade, the hunt, in the forests around the city. The closer he was to areas that shunned nature, the less he felt the euphoric effects of He Who Stalks' gifts, so drinking in the city was fairly common, as were the aftereffects of such actions in the morning.
What was uncommon was the thing sitting in the chair.
It was around four meters tall, totally covered in long, straight, dull light-green fur, looking almost comical sitting in the normal-sized chair, its arms hanging loosely at its sides, wrists resting on the floor. It's yellow eyes looked at Aneth, then around the room disapprovingly, ears flicking back and forth.
"Hi, Father" said Aneth, using the word as more of a title than the way one would refer to a parent
"Methinks you have begun to grow lacks in thy duties, mine Chosen"
Aneth rolled his eyes. They had done this dance before.
"My body's still mortal, Father, I have to rest every now and then"
"Indeed, but in perhaps in less of a...vile, blasphemous place, Chosen? Mayhaps I should reinstate the natural order in this place of defilement to discourage you from such actions again, hm?"
Aneth shrugged. It was an empty threat.
"Were you invited in?"
The God of the Hunt sniffed.
"Nay, child, I was forced to leave most of my power outside the wall of this...city" he spat the last word like an evil curse.
"So now that we've established that cities are evil, again-"
"You test my patience with your insolence, my child. You are my Favoured Son, and you have brought me great glory, but do not think you are so indispensable that you can insult me without...reprecussions"
Aneth held up a pacifying hand
"I'm sorry" he said earnestly, "I didn't mean to offend you. What is it you came here for, exactly? You didn't send me a letter attached to a falcon that almost killed me this time-"
"Ah yes, apologies, Talons-In-The-Shadows can be...a rambunctious sort"
"It's fine, but you came here in person, to Lux's domain, your anathema, to tell me...?"
"A troll is loose in the mountains"
Aneth blinked and let out a small laugh. The figure was unamused. It let him know by flicking him across the temple. It felt like he'd just been kicked by a donkey across the face
"The trolls mortals write of and hunt are not the true beings, they are simple animals, primates with exceptional intelligence and the ability to use mortal magics, which gives them certain human attributes, such as the ability to walk upright and limited speech"
Aneth blinked again
"You mean trolls are...magic monkey people?"
Glowing eyes fixed on him for a moment and the thing let out a low, rumbling chortle.
"Yes I suppose that is one way to perceive them"
"So what are the real things?"
It scowled in the distance.
"Scions of power, offspring twixt I and a human"
Aneth's mouth dropped open.
"They're...demigods?!"
It nodded, "Yes. Very powerful hunters, admirably dangerous, but they have no magic to speak of. All their powers are physical, and cannot be granted my shamanic gifts or skinchanging abilities. Still, they are strong enough to rip trees from their roots, and they have senses as developed as yours. Because I can't grant them my Gifts, they cannot become Priests or Disciples, so most remain in the woods, glorying in the hunt and honoring their father, but some choose to simply...lay waste. Destroy."
"So you want me to climb into those awful mountains, kill the semi-divine rampaging demigod and save all the little forest animals?" Aneth asked incredulously
"Essentially." The Long Man said "I've marked its range on your map, you'll have to locate its exact whereabouts yourself, child. Do not fail me, if you die there is none other in the Order that can accomplish this"
Then, like someone blew out a candle, it vanished. The sun had begun to peek over the horizon and Aneth drew the covers about him again, hoping sleep would come to him again before he had to leave.
It didn't.
\/\/\/\/\/\/\/
The cloak flapped about his ankles in the blizzard and he could barely make out the town gatekeeper standing on a small post just inside the gates
"Who goes there?"
"A weary traveler"
"What do you seek here, weary traveler?"
"Food, and rest" he paused, "And I'm here to help you with a bit of a troll issue you may be having?"
The gatekeeper stood stock still for a moment, then said
"It's no ordinary troll" he breathed "It's a frightful beastie. Its torn apart the landscape and killed three hunting parties. Some of the hardiest men in these mountains they were. It threw their bones back to us, over these walls," the hood moved back and forth "These old, wooden things can't keep out that thing, and it fears neither arrow nor blade nor engine of war, even if we had that last one. The mayor sent a missive to the surrounding towns and to the capitol for strong warriors with a hefty reward but few have made it up the mountain, and the last of the ones who did only arrived a few days ago and none have gone out yet because it makes its lair in a cave, a day's hike up and away from here"
"A day's hike?!" Aneth blurted
"Aye" confirmed the gatekeeper "It's a long way to the top if you want to stalk a troll, sonnie. But nevermind that now. The warriors were planning on leaving at dawns first light. Please, come in, grab yourself something to eat and something to drink at Beatie's Tavern and leave with them then"
Aneth nodded, and the gatekeeper cranked a lever on the side of his post and the gates opened slowly. Aneth nodded at the man and passed through the gates, hoping the drinks here weren't as subpar as everything else.
