heard. Still, that's what they call you there. Do you... What do you want done about it?" She seemed to think it would be something bad for some reason. It was clear from her face. He'd never been that great at reading faces, but he got it now for some unknown reason. She was definitely worried. Maybe he was gaining a new skill?
Tor shrugged though, and took her hand.
"Well, if he wants to be the Troll of Galasia, I can send him some gold and whatever supplies he needs for it. Update his magics for one thing. Get him a flying carriage if he doesn't have one. As long as he's just helping people I mean. I never really wanted to be a troll anyway. We can build him up with the name and make people think the plays where about him the whole time."
Trice just stared at him for a long while. Then, as if worried about him, chuckled just the tiniest bit.
"OK. I'll see to that for you then."
Chapter two
"What did you think I was going to do, have some guy I don't know killed? Freak out and go to war with Galasia because someone from there used a nick-name that someone gave me as a joke? Especially if this person is actually off doing good things..." Tor was a little amazed that Trice hadn't gotten that about him yet. They'd known each other for years after all.
The woman patted his shoulder and shook her head slowly.
"That's pretty much exactly what I expected. It's what everyone thought would happen at the palace. If you were any other nobleman it would be what happened almost exactly. At least having the man locked up, probably killed. War with Gala would be a little over the top just for this, but it could happen. Plus... Well, everyone knows you'll kill now, so it's throwing expectations out of joint. Two weeks ago you were the one that always solved things as non-violently as possible. You didn't even kill those Larval assassins, just took them prisoner. Today you might just slaughter whole cities if they do the wrong thing. I mean, I get the whole thing with Baron Diddles and Box, I really do. You were standing up for other people in each case. Making sure the innocent weren't abused. How many people actually know that about you though?" She stood, black velvet outfit with black boots making her look slightly stern for some reason. The little purple and red dragon amulet she wore, the one that moved but looked like it was trapped in a glass disk, waved at him though, seeming happy enough. It gave away her real mood, Tor figured, which wasn't half as serious as she was pretending.
"No they just saw you walk out for a fist fight that no one really thought you could win, even if you were healthy, and beat a man to death. Most figure it was about him angering you, but they don't get why. Not really. The main rumor is that he beat Lady Pricilla and that you two are secretly lovers, so you made sure it wouldn't happen twice. The second one is that he pulled that knife, which changed the rules or something. That was really stupid of him. I mean, think about it, if he killed you in a fair fight, well, someone would have probably challenged him to a duel to the death over it before the day was out anyway, but they might not. If he stabbed you in an unencumbered fight like that... he wouldn't have walked from the field. At least fifty people would have killed him for that and some three hundred out there could have done it on their own, even with his guard present. Connie had elite military waiting at the back of the crowd. Uncle Richard didn't know about it, but... yeah." She looked directly into his eyes and leaned in.
"I don't know that he was planning on surviving the day. That isn't exactly sane though, is it? What was the upside in it for him? If he thought he could win honestly, he wouldn't have brought a weapon and given everything, he had no reason to think it wouldn't be more than a few minutes work for him. The jerk had to know you were almost
Tor shrugged though, and took her hand.
"Well, if he wants to be the Troll of Galasia, I can send him some gold and whatever supplies he needs for it. Update his magics for one thing. Get him a flying carriage if he doesn't have one. As long as he's just helping people I mean. I never really wanted to be a troll anyway. We can build him up with the name and make people think the plays where about him the whole time."
Trice just stared at him for a long while. Then, as if worried about him, chuckled just the tiniest bit.
"OK. I'll see to that for you then."
Chapter two
"What did you think I was going to do, have some guy I don't know killed? Freak out and go to war with Galasia because someone from there used a nick-name that someone gave me as a joke? Especially if this person is actually off doing good things..." Tor was a little amazed that Trice hadn't gotten that about him yet. They'd known each other for years after all.
The woman patted his shoulder and shook her head slowly.
"That's pretty much exactly what I expected. It's what everyone thought would happen at the palace. If you were any other nobleman it would be what happened almost exactly. At least having the man locked up, probably killed. War with Gala would be a little over the top just for this, but it could happen. Plus... Well, everyone knows you'll kill now, so it's throwing expectations out of joint. Two weeks ago you were the one that always solved things as non-violently as possible. You didn't even kill those Larval assassins, just took them prisoner. Today you might just slaughter whole cities if they do the wrong thing. I mean, I get the whole thing with Baron Diddles and Box, I really do. You were standing up for other people in each case. Making sure the innocent weren't abused. How many people actually know that about you though?" She stood, black velvet outfit with black boots making her look slightly stern for some reason. The little purple and red dragon amulet she wore, the one that moved but looked like it was trapped in a glass disk, waved at him though, seeming happy enough. It gave away her real mood, Tor figured, which wasn't half as serious as she was pretending.
"No they just saw you walk out for a fist fight that no one really thought you could win, even if you were healthy, and beat a man to death. Most figure it was about him angering you, but they don't get why. Not really. The main rumor is that he beat Lady Pricilla and that you two are secretly lovers, so you made sure it wouldn't happen twice. The second one is that he pulled that knife, which changed the rules or something. That was really stupid of him. I mean, think about it, if he killed you in a fair fight, well, someone would have probably challenged him to a duel to the death over it before the day was out anyway, but they might not. If he stabbed you in an unencumbered fight like that... he wouldn't have walked from the field. At least fifty people would have killed him for that and some three hundred out there could have done it on their own, even with his guard present. Connie had elite military waiting at the back of the crowd. Uncle Richard didn't know about it, but... yeah." She looked directly into his eyes and leaned in.
"I don't know that he was planning on surviving the day. That isn't exactly sane though, is it? What was the upside in it for him? If he thought he could win honestly, he wouldn't have brought a weapon and given everything, he had no reason to think it wouldn't be more than a few minutes work for him. The jerk had to know you were almost
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