Marianna,
We have met up with the main army, and have been sleeping in the same camp as them. Until last night that was when we were sent on a journey to the south, or mission was to capture a small outpost which would have been on our flank had we advanced further. We left in the dead of night, so none would know where we were going, after all the Arabians would be idiots not to have spies among our soldiers, as spies can be the equivalent of a small army.
The march was cold, as the nights are bitter cold at the moment, yet I did not mind. I do not mind the dark, indeed I prefer it to the day, and from those expeditions up in the very north I no longer suffer the cold as most do. My men did not bring cloaks, and even though they are from Ostland their hands are stiff and useless. And so it was that we came to the fort. I immediately ordered them to prepare to storm the fort. My handgunners were most reluctant which is understandable considering their training is in marksmanship, not hand to hand combat. Some of them didn’t even carry swords, and so my halbediers had to give up theirs, something which I can assure you they were most displeased about.
We waited in the trees until the sun showed its first rays over the horizon, at which point I gave the order to attack. We did so in near silence, proceeding as quietly as possible. The padded soles of boots are great at muffling sound and we managed to make it with in fifty yards before the first of the guards saw us. They immediately started to prepare a bolt thrower for action, but by this time we were running and before they had loaded were already by the walls.
‘Tear it down!’ I ordered, and though not all heard enough did. The wooden stakes had been set in a hurry and came loose with ease. Soon we had taken apart a good chunk of the palisade, and we poured into the courtyard. The sight that met our eyes was one I have never experienced before. Standing in the courtyard was an troll. Huge, nearly three times as tall as man it was chained to huge iron hoops fastened to the floor, but as we watched the soldiers undid his shackles, freeing him.
He did not move though, and so a few proceeded to prodding him with spears in an attempt to goad him towards us. Big mistake. He, though I suppose it could have been a she, turned around and just knocked them flying, and seizing a statue ran straight for the palisade, smashing it with the statue.
The Arabians, seeing their troll running for the hills, dropped their weapons, and quickly surrendered.
I was careful throughout the whole thing. Franz.
My dearest,
I am running out of parchment, and so my next few letters may have to be written on some of the strange stuff they use here. At least I brought enough ink. How are you today, I have not heard from you for a while, but then shipping is hard in these troubled times, so it may well be that your letters have been delayed. I hope that you have been able to see Ostland, as it is so beautiful at this time as year, though I’m sure you miss Muros just as much. Still, we are where we are.
I do not believe I have told you about what became of that troll. Well, I dispatched a dozen soldiers to hunt her down, yes it turns out it was female. They took the only horses we had, which made my men irritated when they realised they would have to tow the supply carts instead. Still, they did as ordered, and within a day we had rejoined the camp, which was now much emptier than it had been when we entered.
Anyway, they rode for two days. Trolls are easy to track, their footprints are so large after all, but they can travel at speed and have great stamina, one that men could never hope to match. And so it was only my best men who went in search of her. I have included a copy of their report, which I think you will find makes most interesting reading.
We had been tracking the beast for two days, when we the tracks led into a cave. We could hear sobbing coming from inside the cave, and so we waited for another day, hoping that the beast would show itself. But it didn’t and all the while we just heard sobbing, though much louder than the noise a human makes. We drew lots, and one man proceeded into the cave, with a torch. We waited, and he came to the entrance again five minutes later. He beckoned for us to follow, and so cautiously we did so. The sight that met our eyes was one of the most peculiar I have ever seen. The troll was sitting on the floor, crying it’s eyes out. We approached, and saw that it was clawing at a shackle on its wrist, a shackle that was obviously hurting it, as in its vain attempts to take it off it had only tightened it. I approached it, and instead of attempting to hit me it simply held out it’s arm, in a plea for help. The looks in its eyes were almost human. We managed to take it off, by using a small knife as a chisel. Though we had been ordered to make sure it did no further harm to Muros, the creature was so calm we could not hurt it. And as we turned to leave, it followed us. It followed us all the way to the camp and has been sitting by the gate ever since we got back.
I must say I do not know what we can do with such an animal, but I’m sure we can find a good use for her, she’s seems to want to help.
Your loving, though somewhat baffled husband, Franz