"Witch, meat-meat, booze-booze, work all done." A slow, simple voice rang out in the distance. It was a troll speaking.
Though halting, it was at least in the common tongue.
"Yeah, work's done. Time to eat." Another troll spoke, his voice just as simple and guileless.
"You did very well. I'll certainly reward you. We're all monsters, and I would never go back on my word."
The voice was hoarse. Judging by the words, Dick decided this was the Broom Witch, their "big sister."
After waiting a little longer, Dick heard the trolls again.
"Yummy, yummy. Once we finish eating, we're leaving. Work's all done."
"My two esteemed trolls, you could help us with a little more work. Smash open the gates, and I'll treat you to more delicacies."
"But we agreed that was all the work. We still need to find somewhere to go sleepy-bye."
"How about ten roast chickens? Doesn't that tempt you?" the old woman spoke again.
"Ouk, what do you think?"
"Jatu roast chicken doesn't taste good, but it's still meat. Sounds fine to me. Bark, let's get to work!"
Dick deactivated his Witcher Senses, looking thoughtful:
Monsters were not necessarily all incapable of distinguishing good from evil or entirely hostile toward humans. The Rock Trolls below the walls, for instance, could be approached with friendly conversation. In other words...
Dick looked at Kebi.
Kebi was bewildered by his stare. "Dick, is something wrong?"
"No time to explain. Get some delicious roast chicken ready. As much as possible."
Kebi was taken aback, but he knew Dick would not harm him. "There might not be that much roast chicken. Would other food do?"
"Anything's fine, as long as it's meat and tastes good."
"All right. Someone..." Kebi began instructing his men to make a trip to the market.
A short while later, a soldier returned, panting, with a cloth sack. Dick opened it and found at least twenty jin of assorted delicacies inside.
Dick nodded in satisfaction at the sight.
At the same time, cries of alarm rose around him, accompanied by the sound of impacts below.
"Commander, those two monsters are throwing rocks at the gates," a nearby soldier said, trembling.
"Don't panic!" Kebi snapped.
Dick now noticed that the two trolls had emerged from the shield wall at the rear. Turned sideways, each carried an enormous rock as they moved toward the gates. One had just drawn back his hands after throwing a boulder and was preparing to keep battering the gates.
Though Kebi lacked a witcher's keen sight and hearing, he had also witnessed the destructive power of the trolls when they smashed the catapults earlier.
Seeing the two trolls draw closer and closer, he knew what they intended to do.
He hurriedly shouted, "Loose! Loose! Shoot those two monsters dead!"
Clanging rang out again.
The two trolls turned sideways and blocked the arrows once more.
While the soldiers reloaded, they picked up the boulders at their feet and raised them.
Just as they were about to throw, another voice rang out from the walls, a resonant male voice. Dick had spoken.
"Esteemed Mr. Ouk and Mr. Bark, please stop attacking our walls. I'll give you delicious food if you leave now. How does that sound?"
"Who are you?" the simple voice rang out again.
Dick peered through the battlements. Both trolls had lowered their boulders and were scratching their heads in confusion as they looked up at the wall.
But naturally, Dick would not let the Jatu soldiers below catch sight of him.
"I'm your friend. Of course I know your names. We met a long time ago."
"Oh, have we met?" the other troll asked.
"But that makes sense. You humans all look pretty much the same to me. I have a few good human friends, too. Since you say so, and you know our names, you must be a good friend we made before."
"Yes, good friends. Please leave."
"But that old witch just promised us ten roast chickens. Since we're friends, you have to give us at least, uh, this many-twenty. Twenty roast chickens."
Dick shouted, "What's the fun in eating nothing but roast chicken? Spiced smoked beef, delicious roast pig's trotters... eating them together is how you really enjoy yourself."
Hearing this, the trolls wiped the drool from the corners of their mouths.
Seeing that they were tempted, Dick continued coaxing them:
"I have a full twenty jin of food like that here. Would you two brothers like it?"
"Yes, we want it!"
"All right, then. Once you take the food, you have to leave. Understand?"
"Understood, understood!"
Dick then hurled the sack with all his strength. The Jatu soldiers below had been waiting for this moment, and a volley of arrows shot toward the gap in the battlements where his hand had appeared. But Dick had already ducked back behind the wall.
Then Dick crouched and moved a few steps to another crenel, peering down through the gap.
The sack of food arced down outside the walls, landing right in a troll's arms.
Sure enough, the troll easily caught the food thrown down from above. He actually opened it on the spot, pulled out a roast duck, and began tearing into it with great mouthfuls.
Seeing this, Kebi asked quietly, "Dick, should we take this chance to kill those two?"
"No. Let's wait a little longer."
Dick watched for a while. After each troll had eaten several jin of cooked food, they did indeed hoist the sack in satisfaction and saunter off toward a nearby path. The Jatu did not stop them.
One of the trolls even waved contentedly toward the top of the wall.
Is he saying goodbye to me?
The troll threat is over, just like that?
Dick inwardly counted himself lucky, then felt a surge of delighted surprise.
They really are simple-minded trolls, so quick to trust humans.
With that, the threat to the gates is dealt with, too.
Kebi and the soldiers on the wall relaxed as well. Fisher, standing nearby, offered a compliment. "Just what you'd expect of a professional master witcher. You really know how to handle monsters."
Even Dick felt his cheeks warm at that. This had only worked because the trolls were so simple-minded. Fortunately, no one around him had noticed.
But he was also somewhat puzzled. Why had the Jatu not stopped the trolls from leaving?
He focused again and activated his Witcher Senses.
"Damn you, witch. You're just letting those two pets of yours run off?"
It was a male voice, strange and arrogant. It was probably the Jatu priest.
"I can't hurt them," the old woman replied.
"If I'm on bad terms with the trolls, or let you kill them rashly, no monsters will work with me in the future."
"Hmph. I knew you monsters couldn't be relied on. Commander, it seems we can only storm the walls. I'll cast Bloodlust next. Use the siege ladders to launch the assault."
Then came words in the incomprehensible Jatu language, spoken in a deep male voice-the Jatu commander.
He was relaying orders.
Then Dick noticed dust rising below the city walls.
Red light flashed repeatedly behind the commander's shield. Every Jatu soldier who emerged from behind the shield wall seemed to have grown a size larger. Looking closely, their eyes were blood-red, like ravenous wolves.
The Jatu priest was casting Bloodlust, which could increase the soldiers' agility and strength.
The Jatu soldiers empowered by Bloodlust carried long siege ladders, with about four men positioned around the front, back, and sides of each ladder. Covered by Jatu archers behind the arrow screens, they charged swiftly toward the walls.
Ahead of the long siege ladders were dozens more Jatu soldiers holding solid, elongated wooden shields, guarding against attacks from the walls.