"Hey now! Is that yours?" Crods monster grin stretches wide and he pauses in his poking through the meat bag Cinnamon had passed him. Instead he points a dagger claw in my direction and I turn to look over my shoulder, back the way we came. Wondering if I misplaced one of the bags as we made our way over to the other side of the bridge.

"Pardon?" I ask seeing that I hadn't dropped or forgotten anything.

"The fairy. You ain't got it on a leash or nothing so I'm guessing its trained." Crod says while flinging his meat into the back of the cart carelessly, all his attention now focused on Kryst who is now standing on my shoulder. The creak of her tiny gauntlets loud in my ears. "Big one too. Tell you what, you toss it in with the deal and you don't even have to worry about fixing my fishing pole."

"Are you serious?" I boggle.

"Of course."

"I ain't for sale you slime sucking swine." Krysts anger is palpable. The hairs on the side of my neck rise with the crackle of ambient energy pouring off of her.

"Oh? It's a Gleam." Crod sucks his oversized teeth. "Just my luck."

"Wait!" I'm rocked back on my heel. "You can buy fairies? How? Why?"

Magitech + Bonus from Complementary Skills: Critical Fail!

Crod shrugs, " For Mana generation mostly, though some like to keep them as pets. Or..." he wiggles his eyebrows, "you know."

I have no idea what he means but he shoots me a 'guy nod' and smirk again then turns around and starts lowering a set of straps over his shoulders, connecting them to the guide poles of the large cart to leave his arms free.

"I was just gonna eat it. They are delicious after all."

"What?! You were going to eat her?" I knew this guy was bad news. I glance at Cinnamon expecting her to be appalled at his confession, but she is fixing a comfortable spot in the cart. "Cinnamon! Are you hearing this? He was talking about eating fairy's."

"Yeah, I know." She sticks out her tongue and make a blanched face. " Give me a nice carrot or turnip, thank you." Cinnamon shivers, "Eating meat. Yuck."

"Bah! You don't know what you are missing. They kinda taste like elf for the most part. Sweeter though. Like they're naturally marinated in honey wine." Crod touches his fingers to his lips and makes a smacking sound.

"What the hell! He eats people! How can you trust this dude?!"

"Oh, I don't. Well not like that. I mean Icky is a troll you know." Cinnamon says with a cute giggle. "I'm sure he would eat me too if given the chance."

"Yep. Gobble you right up." Crod burble laughs and makes a few air chomps in Cinnamons direction." She has a good head on her shoulders this one." He thumbs toward her with a claw, "But seriously, I don't just go around eating just anybody. Like shooting someone who don't deserve it, it's hardly civilized behavior. Wouldn't you say?" The passive aggressive statement and ugly smile Crod shoots my way says in no uncertain terms, he's still holding a bit of a grudge.

"Wait, I don't get it. So do you or do you not, eat fairys? Elves? Humans?" It feels like I'm the new guy at the gaming table and everyone around me is laughing at some shared inside joke from a past game session. And I hate it!

"Only if the opportunity presents itself. You know if some, poor drunk sap falls from the Skydock and the family can't afford the burial, well I'm willing to step in and take the body off their hands for a few gold. Everybody wins." He gives that grotesque monster smile, "Anyhow, you two climbing on or what? I'd like to get to town in time for The Drunken Wizard two copper drink deal."

"What the hell is happening?!" I all but scream. This monster was as nonchalant about his barbaric dining habits as he was about making it to high fantasy happy hour. And Cinnamon was condoning it!

"Brian? I don't understand. " Cinnamon ears lower. "Why are you so upset. I mean we haven't know each other for that long but," she tilts her head to the side. "I mean you ate that nasty Naga."

"That was... different." I shake my head refusing to acknowledge the similarity and any possible hypocrisy on my part. The thing was going to eat me after all.

"Oh... umm...Why?" Cinnamon continues to stare at me, a look of total incomprehension in those big brown eyes. Crod too is giving me a eye raised, quizzical, 'Yeah. C'mon, man.' expression.

A glance to Kryst and the sour look on her face confirms that she has my back though.

I can't fathom why Cinnamon is not more angry or upset about this. The more I think about it though, the more a strange perspective forms. Perhaps I'm the one out of line. Am I simply 'problem creating' here?

Still, I'm standing with my brain in gear and my tires spinning in the mud. I was trying to apply both real world and past game logic to the situation. Obviously this was some kind of strange norm in this world and if I was going to make any headway I needed to understand it.

"Listen, where I'm from, trolls and fairies are well... they aren't like here." I have a little internal chuckle at my non-politically correct faux pas. If I had said that aloud in the wrong circles back in the really, real word I'd have been all but lynched. And it is yet another sobering thought.

Back in my old life a simple slip of the tongue or view that could be deemed offensive to some might get you a verbal lashing, but here, it could mean the very real threat of a physical and potentially lethal confrontation.

I take a seat on the edge of the cart. "Tell you what. How about you fill me in on how things work here. Just pretend that I'm like, the naïve newcomer trope."

"Huh?" Cinnamon blinks.

"He is a weird one, Butter bunny." Crod burble laughs with grin then reaches into his bag of meat in the back of the cart, "But, I like him." Without a care he pops a monstrous handful of meaty chunks in his mouth, crunching through bone like butter.

************************

As the sun dims, washing the skyline in watercolor blend of orange and purples, the glow of three moons slowly begin to appear. When we had made camp last night I didn’t get a good look at the sky due to it being mostly hidden from view by the dense forest canopy. Now, with the deforestation of the roadway I have no such issue.

The first two moons are smaller, their light muted as if hidden behind a curtain of blue silk. The third though is a image of wonder.

An immense, shattered grey-white orb that reminds me of something from an old Hanna Barbara cartoon. Cracked in half the pieces hang in the evening sky, with broken stone and asteroids forming a glittering ring around its center.

We have only been clattering along in the back of the troll powered Crod cart for a few minutes, but my tired muscles haven't stopped thanking me for the decision to not walk the rest of the way to town out of spite towards Cinnamons monster friend.

"You see the same things that make us trolls such a frightening foe on the battlefield, like our ability to regenerate and what I've heard described as, and this is a term I'm particularly fond of by the way." Crod gives a wet chuckle, "Brutish strength. That also makes us particularly valuable in pretty much any workforce."

"See, compared to many of the other, well I guess what most would call monstrous humanoids," Cinnamon pauses, "No offence, Icky."

Crod shakes his head and smiles around a mouth of drool and torn meat, "None taken."

"Yes, umm, right, well trolls are actually quite reasonable creatures and those who decide to settle down amongst civilized folk are usually respectful enough of the rules and expectations of the society in which they have chosen to live."

"Or maybe they're simply more secretive about the savage practices they engage in behind closed doors." Kryst pipes in with a glare toward Crods back.

"In the wild these nasty buggers tend to settle down in old ancient structures that they restore and refurbish. Ruined fortresses, old temples, that sort of thing." Kryst continues, "They seem to be particularly attracted bridges that have fallen into disrepair."

"Bridges, huh?" I say. Seems the cliché holds true here at the very least. I wonder if they hold any sort of animosity toward Billy goats too. Especially ones of the 'gruff' variety.

"Personally I think they simply enjoy the fact that bridges make excellent ambush points, and being the inherently opportunistic thugs they are, many trolls charge travelers exorbitant tolls to cross over any bridges that ‘belong’ to them or their families." Kryst says. "Usually threatening violence or worse on any who dare refuse to pay."

"Yep." Crod bobs his head in a bizarre affirmation, not denying Krysts claims in the least, "So rather than attempt to slay or capture trolls who engage in, what I personally think is unfairly referred to as highwayman-like practices, many communities instead employ us as overseers and caretakers of their bridges and way castles. We're therefore allowed permanent residence within said structures and allowed to keep a portion of any tolls made too." Crod bobbles his head in what I assume is pride, "Redtree has had a bridge troll for generations."

I give a nod, "You had mentioned that there was another troll here before?" I ask.

"Yeah, ol' Slygo." Crod nods.

"Slygo was bridge troll here when I was a little kit." Cinnamon says.

"What happened to him." I ask, "You said that he had retired or something?"

"Not exactly." Cinnamon shakes her head. "Due to their hardy constitution and regenerative abilities, trolls are effectively immune to most diseases and toxins, so they have quite a long natural lifespan." Cinnamons ears perk a little and she gives a smile and pats a bottle on her hip, "It's one of the reasons troll blood is used in lots of healing based potion crafting too."

The thought causes my stomach to churn and I'm pretty sure I throw up a tad in my mouth.

Cinnamon glances to Crods back and then lowers her voice in what seems more a sign of respect that to keep Crod from overhearing. "But as they get older, their regeneration rapidly slows until finally they succumb to the most common of diseases. When this starts to happen many elderly trolls develop a kind of reckless, suicidal attitude."

"So we head out from home on our Deadwalk." Crod interrupts, "Looking for a worthy challenge so we can go down swinging rather than die some withering coward’s death."

A long pause draws out as the cart continues its squeaky journey.

"Alright, I suppose that explains a few things." I glance toward Kryst who is leaning against the side of the cart, then turn back toward Cinnamon, "But how can you be cool with slavery? Or with him eating fairys?"

"Slavery?" Cinnamons voice goes small and timid, her ears flattening. "What do you mean?"

Crod waves a claw dismissively, "You eat birds right? Like turkey or chicken. Maybe even keep them in a coop and farm their eggs. That's not considered slavery." Crod shrugs while he plods onward, "Same thing. I mean your average fairy is just an animal, no smarter than a pigeon."

"Huh?" I glance to Kryst.

"Unless they're a Gleam of course." He looks back at Kryst then adds with a condescending attitude, "Which I wouldn't eat without good reason."

"I'd like to see you try, ya fat, smelly oaf." Kryst says with unconcealed hostility.

"So, what's a Gleam?" I interject in an attempt to diffuse any more tension from increasing between the two of them.

Crod merely shrugs. "Smart fairy's."

"Pffft! Wrong!" Kryst crosses her arms defensively, "We are providence touched. A coalesced sliver of the Faewylde given form here on the mortal plane."

"What does that mean?" I ask.

"Trying to explain it to you won't do much good, I mean how would you explain a sunrise to a blind man? Or perhaps a better analogy a blind squirrel?"

"Well could you try for us?" Cinnamon says with a bright expression, her ears perking, "I would like to know too."

"Alright, fine." Kryst pushes away from the edge of the cart, "You two do know what Mana is right?"

"Sure." I say with pride."Well, umm... Mana is...uhh" Help me, Obi-Wan Kenobi. You're my only hope. "Well, it is this sort of Force... and it is what gives a Jed-- uhhh magic-user their power. It's an energy field created by all living things. It surrounds us and... penetrates us; it binds the galaxy together."

Kryst looks at me for a long moment then nods her head with a smirk. "Yeah. Actually that is pretty close. Nice summarization, Brian"

Thank you, Mr. Lucas.

"Anyway," she knits her tiny fingers together and holds them up for both Cinnamon and I to see, "The Mana of the material plane and the Nature of the Faewylde are closely intertwined. Fairy's are born from a kind of... precipitation between the connection of the two."

"Precipitation?" I raise an eyebrow. Perhaps we have a lost in translation situation happening here. "You sure that's the correct term that you're looking for?" I ask.

"Yes, it's exactly what I mean. Now don't interrupt. " Kryst looks around then flits over to Cinnamons bag and dives into it. Her small shapely butt sticks out as she roots around to pull out Cinnamons tin drinking cup and waterskin. She hefts the waterskin and unplugs it pouring some water into her hands.

"Think of your average fairy as a dew or raindrop of the Faewylde." Kryst captures a single large water droplet in her hand and drops it into the cup. "Well, a Gleam like myself would be a downpour." She then upends the skin, squirting out water until it fill the cup and overflows.

That still didn't really clear up much for me, or why it seemed to be alright to keep these 'dumb' fairys as some kind of slave or pet but I decide to leave the topic alone for the moment.

"Gosh, that's so interesting." Cinnamon coos. My Pop-pop has told me a little bit about fairy's. That they are really important for the environment. They help trees and plants grow, and pull life energy to areas that have weakend from time or clamity to heal the land. Things like that. I just know he would love to talk to you about that sort of stuff, Kryst."

"I doubt that, Butter bunny." Crod huffs.

"Huh? What do you mean, Icky?"

"Redtree always had a fair number of fairys. Drawn by the tree, I suppose. And there was a pretty strict limit to hunt and catch them because they were beneficial. But over the past few months they really started to flock. Wasn't too much longer after that the tree started getting sick." Crod says.

"What?! The Redtree is sick?" Kryst wings buzz furiously.

Crod gives a nod of affirmation, which sends a handful of flies scattering from his dirty mane of hair. "They say that with so many fairy's around they were sucking the life out of it or something."

"What a absolute load of crap!" Kryst says, an knife edge to her voice. "If anything those fairy's were trying to help Her."

"I'm just telling you what I've heard." Crod shrugs.

"What happened to them?" I ask.

"Most were caught and shipped out. For awhile there we had a real glut of them flying around." Crod licks his lips. "They were super cheap. I put on more than a bit of belly from that."

I shudder at the thought and see both Kryst and Cinnamon do the same.

"I think there's still a big load of them over on the Skydock. I tried to buy a few but they are an order for an airship."

"Is that why Pop-pop is here?" Cinnamon asks her bunny tail doing its cute double twitch. "Because of the fairys and the tree?"

"Yeah, he has been trying to figure out what was wrong. Didn't you know?" Crod asks.

Cinnamon shakes her head. "No. I just heard he had come here."

"I'm pretty sure that he was the one who told the council to suspend the fairy hunting limit and see that they were all rounded up." Crod says, "You know, to stop them draining any more Mana from the tree."

"Oh did he now?" The icy glare Kryst shoots at Cinnamon makes my blood run cold just from proximity.

"That can't be right." Cinnamons voice is meek. She nibbles her lip nervously and stares down into her hands, eyes darting, lost in some inner turmoil. Private thoughts shaking the view of her parental figure to its core.

Without thinking I reach out and place my hand on hers. She looks up and as our eyes meet I squeeze her hand in mine. She gives me the smallest of nods and turns to Kryst. Her voice strengthens with conviction.

"If Pop-pop did that he must have a really good reason. I'm sure of it" Cinnamon says, "He has always told me that there needs to be a balance, that we all have to live in harmony with nature."

"Well, you can ask him for yourself soon enough." Crod points ahead, "Welcome to Redtree."