[Estelyn Telcontar]

Andros and Taradan held their breath in consternated silence. Only when the tramping noise subsided did they dare to speak in whispers.

“A troll – so that is the solution to the riddle,” Andros said. “Now we know our foe, yet what can we do against him?”

Taradan answered, “Should we try to save your horse?”

“First we must escape,” answered his companion. He pushed at the boulder, and Taradan joined him, placing his shoulder against the huge stone and pushing with all his strength. It moved not an inch. They felt the surrounding rock surface in hopes that there would be some miraculous escape there, but the side of the mountain was solid.

Taradan stubbed his foot on a stone, wincing in pain. A thought came to him, and he picked the stone up, searched with his fingers in the dark for the crack between stone wall and boulder, and began pounding against the edge of the rock ledge. A piece of its shale-like surface split off; encouraged, he continued pounding. Andros heard what he was doing, searched for another stone and began pounding likewise.

Beads of sweat soon moistened their brows despite the cold, but they kept on in desperate determination. Aided after a time by the rays of the risen moon which peered through the cracks, they pounded on, losing all sense of time. Fortunately, the edge of the rock was not thick, and the opening grew ever wider. Taradan, the taller and thinner of the two, tried to squeeze through it and succeeded, yet it was still too narrow for Andros. They pounded from both sides, not caring about the noise they made, thinking only of escaping. Andros handed their packs out of the opening, then pushed himself through. They were free!

In the moonlight, they could easily see the tracks that the troll had made. As swiftly and silently as possible, they followed. It was not long before they saw the pale light of a fire flickering from a cave entrance. The smell of roasting meat told them that they were too late to save the horse. Now they could only try to get by the cave unseen and continue on the path over the mountain pass.

It was well for Taradan that Andros was an experienced woodsman. He led him through the brushes beside the path, finding their way without making undue noise. His throat constricted when he heard the chomping and chewing sounds from the cave, but he concentrated on his task and tried not to think of the fate of his horse. They dared hardly breathe until they had left the patch of reddish firelight behind them. Then they moved faster, beginning to run. In their relief at being out of the worst danger, they did not notice that the chomping sounds from the cave had ceased.