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Chapter two: The Journey Begins

The moonlight lights up the cave. He looks around and at the Troll faced diamond. For a second he swears to himself that she blinked to him. „That must have been a dream. “ He thinks as he stands up. He walks to the fireplace and picks up the diamond. He looks very closely at it. He is confident this is the same lady from his dreams. The same somebody he has been dreaming of for decades.
Never before did she have a face in his dreams but in his last dream she did. He feels it’s a sign, maybe from the Viking Gods. Who knows? All he knows he can’t continue on like this, dreaming and hoping he will meet her some day. If he is to meet her, he HAS to realize that dream. He looks out into the dark sky and can tell it has recently turned night again.
Then looks around in the cave and picks up anything he might find useful. A rope, some torches, lots of bread and pots of milk and all kinds of other food. His knife and some blankets also some stones to make fire with. Then he looks at his sister books. He faintly remembers one had a map of the world in it.

He can’t remember which book so he picks up a bunch and starts going through them one by one. Most have humans dressed up and other weird stuff. He used to laugh when reading them as a child. As it makes no sense to him, the human language; all weird symbols to him.

„ Ah, there it is! “ A very old book with something round on the front page, inside it has many maps. He puts it in his backpack as he grabs some clothing. „I will shower as soon as I find some lake. “ Wimli thinks as he continues to pack his backpack. Sadly he has no paintings of his family to bring with so he grabs their knives and a weird human wooden doll to remember them by. Then he looks around the cave one last time. He starts to feel tears running down his cheeks. So he opens the backpack and takes the Troll faced diamond from the fireplace. „ You are worth it. “ He tells himself as he kisses the lady troll on the diamond for good luck. Then he gentle puts it the backpack and drags the heavy backpack onto his tiny back. He looks around for one more second then leaves the cave. „I guess you rats won. “ He thinks as he lights up a torch and starts to walk away from his home with his tail moving left and right.

He slowly walks among the mountain walls. His torch being the only company, one last time he arrives in the dark night at the tree, which has been his trusty aid over all these years. He looks back at the path leading into the darkness among the mountains. He proudly wipes away a tear as he climbs up the tree. It bends down over the gap as usual. He walks over it looking down into the gap underneath him then as he reaches the end, he jumps of the tree.
It quickly straightens out and Wimli somehow feels the tree knows it’s the last time it will have to carry his weight. So he removes the rope from the tree and throws it down the gap. He can’t hear it reach the bottom so he walks away not looking back. As he arrives at his favourite edge; where he used to sit with his dad. He stops and is tempted to sit and just enjoy the moonlight but he knows the night won’t last long.

So he continues walking down the mountain, dropping by the rock covering the entrance to the mine. He stops and smiles, knowing he won’t have to go down there ever again.
He is grateful for all the time he has spent in there, picking out the diamonds made after all the nights go by faster. And if he hadn’t done so, he would have never found the wonderful Troll faced diamond. „ Hmmm, sad but my journey has just started. No time for regrets. „Wimli tells himself as he turns around making his back face the mine entrance. Then he slowly puts his right foot out before his left and starts to whisper his song as he walks downwards. Down the mountains and away from his homeland. He never liked leaving the mountains but he had to do so every so often to get bread and milk. It’s a good thing there are many farms around here with cows and wheat fields. He is considering saying thanks and goodbye to his loyal friend Bell the cow, for all the milk over the years but as he looks around for the path to Bell`s farm he somehow finds himself walking on an old different path. A path he knows leads to his sister in stone and the cabin… He thinks „ Its time I pay my respect. “ „ Maybe also drop by the cabin. Perhaps it’s time I find out if I have conquered my anger or not for humans.” Wimli mumbles to himself.

As he walks the path he fondly remembers back when his sister used to accompany him. They used to walk for many hours in the woods, talking to the animals and sometimes spying on the humans. He always feared that the humans would see them and then capture them and turn them into stone. They never caught him but many of his family members were caught. „No wonder, mum and dad went after the humans for revenge. “ He thinks as he looks at a rock formation, if he looks closer he can recognize his sister; she still has a shock on her face and her hands looks as if they still are holding the mirror. Anger is the first emotion he feels when he stares at his sister. Then it turns to sadness and grief. „The humans never respected them. “He thinks and never will. „Well thanks to them my entire family is gone. “ Wimli thinks and starts to feel the anger again.

Maybe I should finish what I started the night my sister turned to stone! Wimli feels the rage inside him and starts running towards the cabin of the old man. It’s been centuries since he last ran in these woods but it feels as if it was only yesterday. It doesn’t take him long before he finds the cabin. It looks however as if no human have been there for a very long time. He notices the door is fixed, the one he broke down many centuries ago and that the windows have something that reminds him of what humans can make, shiny pots.
„Funny. “ He thinks as he touches it. It’s hard as a pot but one can look through it. „ Wish I had some of that for my cave. ” Wimli tells himself as he tries to look into the cabin; it looks like a big mess with lots of dust and spider web everywhere. „ Maybe, I should go in? “ Wimli asks himself. So he walks away from the window and looks around for any sign of humans. He notices on one side of the cabin is a long weird looking stick; it’s not wood as it’s to straight to be one and feels more like rock. It sticks all the way out from the roof many meters into the air. Wimli then walks behind the cabin and finds some weird looking containers; they are not round but square and feels funny. It’s not stone or wood but if he pushes on it he can bend it; smells awful too. Wimli guesses this is where the humans take a dump. The smell is so bad that Wimli quickly walks back front.

He stands in front of the door and there where the door lever used to be there is something like the weird stick; it’s same colour, light grey and hard as rock but no rock. He pulls on it but can’t seem to rip it off but he can bend it. As he pushes it down the door opens!
Inside it’s just a big mess and stinks like on the backside.
He manages to pull away some spider web and tries to see if he recognizes something familiar.

All he can seem to remember is the wooden table where his sister sat next to the old man and talking to him about his kind the Trolls. He also recognizes the bookcases and in one corner the black thing that used to make it warm inside here. The old man put some wood in it and made fire then it got warm inside the cabin. Wimli remembers asking if he could have it but the old man just laughed at him and told him he needs it or he freezes in the winter. „ Oh, there is the wooden bed. “ Still in the same corner but with a book lying on it. On some bench he notices a black box6; it’s made of the same material as the doorknob. It has some weird stuff to push on and turn and seems to be connected to the weird stick on the outside.

Wimli opens up some wooden closets hanging on the wall. They have plates and cups and harder smaller boxes. „ Dang, it’s all made of the same stuff as the doorknob those boxes too! ” Wimli is getting a little resentful as he can’t seem to remember much in here no more. Seems the world has changed around him some more but he has stayed the same. He looks closely around the cabin. At least no sign of humans but that book on the bed seems familiar. Wimli slowly walks towards the bed and then he can’t believe his own eyes.

On the book is a painting of his sister with the mirror!
He quickly picks it up and looks at it. Pulling it in front of his curious Troll eyes. „IT, is HER! “ He thinks and smiles. His tail starts to move left and right from joy. „ WOW! “ My sister would have been thrilled to have seen this. He can’t read much human language though but he does remember his sister trying to explain it. Seems his memory slowly but surely can notice the difference with some words. „ That is the letter H and that M. Oh, and that B next to the U and G! “ Wimli mumbles. But sadly he cannot read the book.

So he decides to take it with him as it has many paintings of his sister in it. As he turns around for a final look at the cabin he feels odd and sad but he knows it’s time to go, so he leaves…

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