Part 2:

A rare gathering of the trolls. The setting, a forest clearing. There is a bonfire with peasants slowly roasting above, the smell is intoxicating.  I look around, even amongst my own kind I am solitary. I am evaluating the hierarchy of power and where I fall. It seems I am regarded as repect worthy yet somewhere below the highest rung of power. The group seemingly in charge of this loose association brim with with pomp and self importance. They think they are so cunning. They are loud and crude, manipulative and condescending towards the lower castes. I make no effort to approach or rebuke their cautious acknowledgements of my presence. I know it is not my imposing physical stature that unnerves them. It is my contented silence. It is the complex dark intelligence that smolders behind my eyes that they catch a subconscious glimpse of when they make eye contact.