Lillielle frowned as she walked into Bugman's, the reek of too many bodies and too much ale assaulting her keen sense of smell just as the raucous racket of coarse laughter and drunken dwarves attempting at song assailed her ears. Her brother turned to her cheerfully and waved himself away; following his gaze she saw that there was a game of dice in progress, welcoming all comers. Disgusted, she stalked to the bar, annoyed that this was the only place to gain a meal for many miles.
Whistles and cat-calls followed her across the over-crowded room and her large eyes widened in shock as she felt a rough hand squeeze her well-formed little bum painfully. Slapping the offending hand away she all but ran the last few meters to the bar, her long, shapely legs carrying her there swiftly, her cheeks reddening to the loud laughs and crude suggestions that followed.
At the bar, a rounded dwarf looked at her, distaste clear in his eyes as he regarded the elf beauty. Lillielle sighed in relief, for whilst the dwarf's gaze was hostile, at least he wouldn't repeat the offending behavior that she had just endured. Smiling at his surly look, she leaned in, raising her voice to be heard above the din.
"Something to eat, please and would you have any wine available?"
The dwarf hocked and spat behind the bar, and Lillielle wondered if she should really be trusting anything the dwarf gave her.
"We don't serve yer kind here lass." he said rudely, causing Lillielle's ears to redden in anger. Nevertheless she decided to be diplomatic.
"But the sign outside says all welcome," she gestured to the door and as she did a troll came lumbering in. She turned to the bartender, offended and raised her eyebrow.
The bartender followed her gaze and grinned. "Aye tha'd be Gromp." he turned back to her and scowled again. "And aye, all'd be welcome, but nawt scrawny little elf whores like yerself. Now scamper and find a man teh pay fer yer drinks fer I'll be servin ye nawt."
Flushed with rage, Lillielle turned away from the dwarf, muttering some choice curses about those born from moles mating with orks
and stalked away.
"Hello sister." came Galread's musical voice. Lillielle looked up from the dark corner where she was sitting in the hopes that none would approach. She smiled brightly when she saw her brother.
"Galread!" she exclaimed. "are we leaving?" she tilted her head, confused when her brother looked away quickly, uncomfortably. "Brother?"
Galread was quick to recover, looking back at her an flashing her one of his most winning smiles before he sat next to her. Lillielle smiled, amused. She wondered how many human maids had fallen for that smile. She guessed they were many.
"So, Lillielle. Have you had a pleasant evening?" Lillielle snorted in grim amusement. By now she was hoping to have been drunk enough to ignore the noise of the dwarves and yet here her brother spoke to her as though she were back in their home of Ellyrion, sipping dream-wine with their friends instead of stuck in some dingy dwarf burrow.
"Not overly." she admitted to him. "How went your game?" her brother groaned and leaned back against the wall, his eyes holding a dry humour.
"Not as well as I would have liked." he said, his eyes laughingly apologetic. "Luckily that troll was around, though. He caught out two dwarves for cheating." he whistled meaningfully. "that creature does NOT like being cheated. Great personality, for one who's intellect is so limited." He smiled one of those smiles again. "Would you care to meet him?" he asked.
Lillielle stared. Her? Meet a TROLL?!? Had her brother lost his sanity in that game?? Then she reflected over the idea. It would be sort of fun to be able to tell her friends back in Ulthuan that she had come face to face with a living, stinking troll and lived to tell the tale. Mustering up that resolve, she smiled brightly at Galread and nodded. Nodding back, her brother extended his hand to her.
When she took the proffered hand, a somber look flashed across her brother's face for a moment, immediately replaced by his well-humoured expression.
"Galread?" Lillielle asked, concerned. "What's wrong?" Galread's face went almost pained at the question but he waved it away, smiling again.
"Ah, please forgive me, beautiful sister, I believe I've had far too much to drink." he said, causing a flash of humour in Lillielle.
"Well then." she said, laughing. "Let us go and see this ugly smelly brute of yours and then we can get you up to our room, shall we?"
He nodded, once again sober and they headed across the room. Lillielle was glad that her brother was there, as no dwarves were groping her, for which she was very grateful.
Finally they stepped out of the press of bodies and approached a sturdy round table, at which a troll sat, his ugly nose deep in a tankard. Finishing his drink, the troll slammed the tankard down and burped loudly, causing Lillielle to wrinkle her delicate nose in disgust. Nevertheless, her brother led her to the table. Seeing them approach, the troll stood abruptly, it's huge mottled blue and grey body bloated grotesquely around the waist and covered in warts and sores. It wore a filthy loincloth and it's beady red eyes stared at her intently.
"Woman!!" it bellowed and Lillielle was embarrassed to see a lumpy tongue run over it's filthy lips, an intense hunger in it's eyes. "Mine!"
Lillielle looked at her brother, expecting him to put the troll in it's place with a sharp-witted retort, but her brother only looked at her sadly.
"Galread?" she asked. "What's wrong?"
Her brother smiled a sad smile at her. "This troll's name is Gromp, Lillielle. He was good enough to bail me out and even lend me some coin when I had lost too much. As I said, I've had a few too many drinks."
"Well that was... good of him." Lillielle said. Her brother must have been upset by the way she had reacted to meeting his financial savior. Turning, she smiled at the hideous beast who was, embarrassingly, massaging a growing erection as he looked at her. Forcing her indignation aside, she kept a warm smile on her face. "Hello, Gromp. I must thank you for helping out my brother in his time of need." she decided to refrain from offering any favors of gratitude, judging by the way he was acting toward her. "and it has been nice to meet you but we should be going. We have a long way to travel on the morrow." she smiled once more for emphasis then turned away from the wart-ridden beast. However, her brother wasn't moving.
Uncertainty gripped Lillielle as she saw the crestfallen look on her brother's face, then she felt a large hand grab her arm and drag her to face the troll again. Lillielle gagged as the creature's fetid breath washed over her and she looked up into the face of the troll, who stood head, shoulder and most of a flabby-looking chest above her.
"Woman mine." it growled and Lillielle felt panic rising in her chest. She craned her neck about to look at her brother, who stood staring shame-facedly at the floor.
"Galread?!? Why are you letting this THING talk to me like that???"