Today, their master came down to chat with them again. The three troll battalion commanders followed him cautiously, afraid he might dream up another bizarre order. No matter how strange his orders were, they had to obey. Otherwise, the Military Police would arrest them and lock them in a dark, silent cave for several days. Quite a few troll soldiers had already been confined there. After coming out two or three days later, none of them dared disobey again.
Even when their master was not watching, the Military Police kept a very close eye on them. Most hateful of all were the police department's informants, who were always reporting on them. The soldiers loathed both groups equally. Although the three commanders had hated these people at first too, after a few months, their hatred had faded.
They had discovered that the soldiers were much easier to manage! Those strange orders had seemed annoying when they first had to follow them every day, but repetition turned them into habits. They became as normal as eating daily meals, and there was nothing difficult about them. Sometimes, not following them actually felt wrong and left them uncomfortable.
For instance, when soldiers left things lying around-weapons and the like-the commanders sometimes spotted them before the Military Police did. Without waiting for the Military Police to arrive, they summoned the soldiers themselves, gave them a thorough dressing-down, and ordered them to put things right. There was no particular reason. They simply found the sight unpleasant.
"Broken Tooth, what were those wild fruits you used to eat? How did you store them until spring?" Yu Lin Bloodhawk suddenly asked.
"Tong millet!" Broken Tooth said. "It has a hard shell, so it doesn't spoil!"
"Does tong millet taste good?" This was the first time Yu Lin Bloodhawk