Chapter 12
(Gandalf POV)
The Troll was an enigma. A wonderful impossibility that Gandalf would love to unravel. It showed characteristics of several species of Troll but also had unique characteristics. The possibility of a hybrid Troll while strange was very much possible but this was only the start of the strangeness that was Alric. He was large, at first, he thought he was fully grown, but his youth quickly became apparent. His body was sculpted and packed with muscle he had quickly shown his strength in a most brutal fashion in the fight with the Stone Trolls.
Alric was Intelligent by Troll standards, further his thought prosses were far more reasonable than the dull malice of other Trolls. He had chosen to switch from violence to calm discourse and negotiation. Gandalf was able to sense Alric's sincerity quickly. His senses as Maia made lying to him very difficult when he focused. He continued to press the lad for a few reasons. He wanted to see if any malice or anger would come forth. He watched both his expression and aura.
The harmony sung of stone and nature. Nature was not a common magic to find in a Troll. Yet the very skin of this Troll sung of nature. Darkness may be weak to light but the presence of such strong nature attunement and lack of dark made it clear why this Alric felt no ill effects in the light. There were anger and blood-lust but no malice in his aura. The song of his being was strong and fierce but not inherently evil, no trace of evil and discord. Even long after, the very origin of Trolls should still echo dark in him as all tainted beings, but he was free like any other natural race.
Gandalf couldn't hide a smirk as Alric became impatient. His reaction was telling. For now, Gandalf felt that whatever more Alric was hiding, and he was hiding things, he was not their enemy. He would wait and see what change this new note would add to the harmony.
(Alric POV)
Alric really wished he had stayed cool as a cucumber…he had not. While the elves had been shown as bad-ass the sheer impact of their presence in person was orders of magnitude higher. The row of glittering spears and effortless lethality was terrifying. His thoughts were a jumble of anxiety and excitement. Much like Gandalf, Elves were an archetypal embodiment of Fantasy. They very much lived up to the hype.
In response to my less than eloquent greeting a rider responded.
Lord Elrond removed his helm in a swift flowing motion.
"You travel in good company Troll. You also act with honor…"
The lord of Elves gave a meaningful look at the path of their retreat. It was littered with smashed Wargs.
"Still, you are a strange being in a strange group. I must wonder what purpose brought such a company together?"
"Ah, that is a long tale old friend…I assure you that we mean no harm. We merely seek your wisdom, and hospitality mighty lord Elrond."
Gandalf finally gave greetings and put his mastery of words to use.
"You shall have both…though I am eager to hear what brings Mithrandir to lead Thorin Oakenshield and a Troll to my domain."
The elf cast a subtle glance at Thorin and Alric. A small smirk seemed to cross his face as he teased his century-old companion. The expression was there and gone besides the lingering glint in his eye. The dwarves huddle had failed to hide the would-be king under the mountain. Not that Thorin was trying very hard to hide as he switched between glaring at Gandalf and the elves.
His face is going to get stuck like that if he doesn't chang it up now and then.
Alric thought to himself. He did notice they had grouped beside him. They had put bilbo directly behind Alric with Thorin besides and the dwarves facing outward around. They showed their thoughts in action. Alric may not have their full trust, but they seemed to trust him more than the elves.
"We will escort you. Be at ease, and welcome…to Rivendell."
The dwarves grumbled and conferred but it was Thorin that gave a stoic nod. He shot a look at Gandalf afterward. It was brief but the meaning was clear; "we'll do it your way…for now."
The elven riders rearranged alongside the company following after Elrond as he led into his territory.
The elves made good on their word. Food and board were provided in surplus. Surprisingly the cooks felt no need to punish the company with a complete lack of meat this time.
Alric wasn't sure if the fact that the dwarves hadn't spoken as much yet or his presence as a semi-neutral party led to the heavy presence of meat. Unfortunately, the dwarves seemed to be looking for a way to make up for the lack of offense by eating as loudly and with as little manners as possible.
Alric sighed. He tried to eat with some decorum. His portion was served on a giant butcher's board he was sure they usually used in the kitchen not as a serving dish. The food was delicious, despite what the grumpy dwarves would have claimed. The feast had venison, boar, and gamebirds. Alric was happy to try the Lambdas bread. It really was very filling. Though very filling was relative. He ate five pieces of it which was an incredible amount for most.
His cup was a small barrel that the servants had filled with a clear gold liquor Alric had thought was standard mead until he tried it. The small barrel was a small cup in his giant hand. The flavor was clean and warm. The drink spread warmth and energy into his core. It felt like he was getting the full experience of a relaxing hot spring spread from the inside out.
"What is this?" Alric asked a nearby elf. He even managed not to blush as he asked the beautiful elven woman serving them.
"Miruvor." Her voice was just as enchanting Alric idly noted.
Don't make a fool of yourself…No kidnapping an elven beauty.
Alric looked up distracted from his dangerous thoughts as he caught the tail end of Elrond examining the swords.
"…They are enchanted with ancient magic. They glow blue in the presence of the servants of Morgoth."
Elrond caught my gaze as he said it. Alric immediately understood why he would emphasize such a thing. It was yet another peculiarity…Alric was a Troll a being made by Morgoth to mock the form of Ents just as Orcs do so with Elves. Despite this I did not trigger a reaction from any of the swords. While the swords were primarily used to detect the presence of Orcs and Goblins during the Goblin Wars…the reliance on detecting Morgoth's magic made the lack of a reaction in front of a Troll telling.
Gandalf also shot me a considering look as their host spoke, clearly catching the significance.
Alric didn't follow Gandalf and Thorin to have the map read after dinner. He made for the sleeping accommodations as soon as he could. He knew he needed to utilize this brief respite to enhance his power. He had much he could use.
Despite the three beds put together the craftsmanship of the elves shone through. It was very comfortable. Unfortunately, despite this Alric couldn't fall asleep quickly. Once Alric was able to calm enough to enter the main center of his cheats power he got to work.
The list of notifications was long. He had slain many creatures since the last time he had the chance to address it.
"You have slain three Stone Trolls. Your constitution is increased. Your strength is moderately increased."
"You have slain twenty-seven Giant Spiders. Your speed is increased."
"You have slain fourteen Wargs. Your endurance is moderately increased. Your senses are slightly increased. Your speed is slightly increased."
…
The list of notifications flashed by as Alric dismissed the wave of gains from the slaughter he had reaped. Beyond that was the richest harvest of devoured essence yet. With a thought the essence of the poison flowed in front of him. He could tell that he hadn't been specific enough. The ball was a mixture of hues he somehow understood. This contained the potential from the venom of the spiders and the many toxic plant he ate as well.
"first things first..."
Alric began pouring the combination into his avatar alongside his will. He intended to give himself resistance to poison. He knew he could eat anything, but any other delivery of pain juice seemed to hit him full force. Alric was pleased to feel the change take in the depiction with ease. He still had quite a bit of the poison energy left. Alric decided to look deeper into what was left.
To his surprise he could feel that what was left was primarily from the spiders. He didn't know where the impression came from but he sensed that the change he made relied more on the nature of the plants than the spiders as if it was more compatible with his desire.
This made Alric consider, so far nearly any change he wanted could be achieved. However, the farther removed from the source of the essence the less efficient it became. To test this Alric felt the remaining energy as precisely as he could. He could sense it seemed to have a connection to some of the remaining energy below. The spiders were more than just poison. As the remaining spider essence floated up and remerged with the venom Alric had an idea.
He had wanted to give himself a way to deal poison damage but couldn't think of a good way to do it. Know however, he realized he could modify the delivery system the spiders used.