The Adventures of Campy Girlymann in the Land of Trolls

Campy cleared his throat and took a glanced at Vic who looked pretty scared, "Trade secret huh?"

The troll smiled and walked to another pool where he pulled a gem from the murky water, "You could say that. It's the witches, made a bargain with them and they are very fussy about secrets." 

"Don't want to  cross a witch that's for sure. Say, we should get on our way, Vic here needs to get back to Belgium and I need to get on my bike and ride." Campy wished he was on his bike at the moment for the troll never answered but went to one pool and another. Sometimes, after inspecting the crystals he pulled from the water he would add a drop from one vial or another. And sometimes he would open a leather pouch and take a pinch of something that looked like salt and put that in the water.

"Relax, I'm almost finished here, and besides Jean Claude and his goons are still looking for you."

"Oh, I'm sure they are but how do you know?"

"Witches." Boogabob said matter of factually. 

Vic spoke up then and said, "You seem to know a few witches then."

The troll had finished his inspection of the pools and came back to where Campy and Vic stood. He got right up in Vic's face and said, "Yeah I do. That a problem?"

Vic answered fast, "No problem. No really, I had a friend that was a witch. She said she was a good witch though."

"Well, they're all good til' you cross them. What coven she in?"

"Coven? I really don't know. I didn't think she was serious, I mean I didn't think there were witches."

"Well there is. Wanna meet one?"

"Yeah sure. But I don't want to take anymore of your time. You've been so nice, showing us around."

At that moment, Vic felt someone tap on his shoulder from behind him.

To be continued......

The Adventures of Campy Girlymann in the Land of Trolls

The massive opening swallowed the three as they stepped forward into a new section of cave. The troll seemed impatient with the pace of Campy and Vic who, with only the light coming from their candle lanterns, looked about as they followed Boogabob.

With a hurried wave every few steps, the troll motioned them on, "Come, come. Not much further."

Already Campy missed the daylight, the smell of a fresh breeze and the song of birds. In the bowels of the earth, it smelt dank and the only light came from a single candle. And instead of songbirds, the eerie high pitch whistle from bats with the flutter of their webbed wings whizzing by.

After a while, they took a turn into a smaller tunnel, narrow and curved. It seemed they went in circles and caused Campy's gut to cringe with anxious interpretation. The troll seemed to feel right at home and they had to tell him to slow down a bit, in case they missed a turn. But when the three made the next bend, a room appeared glittering with light, as if the stars were caught and brought down deep underground. The chamber shimmered in light and colors.

"Ain't it pretty?" The troll asked.

With their mouths dropped opened, the boys agreed it was while they gazed at all the lights. Some pools of water formed here and there and when a stalactite dripped water onto the still surface from above, it glowed in iridescent light until the pool went quiet and the light dimmed to await another drop. Other pools though changed colors with the drip, and yet others glowed on and on as another drop followed close by.

"What a show," Campy said and Vic nodded in approval.

"Yeah, I kind of like it myself, " Boogabob said smiling as he looked around too.

The troll walked over to one of the glowing pools. He reached into the pool and fished around before pulling out a crystal and then brought it back to Campy and Vic.

"Something I've been working on, " he said before he held it up for their inspection.

The crystal was different colors on each side and yet clear enough to see through. Boogabob held it out but didn't let go of the crystal, "I'm still working on it so it's kind of delicate."

"You make these?" Campy asked.

"I think a better word is that I design them. The cave's water actually makes the crystals," He said before holding up the gem to inspect it very closely.

"It's amazing. To grow crystals that beautiful." Campy said.

"How do you design them?" Vic asked as  he gazed in a pool of colored light.

The troll laughed and then placed the crystal back in the pool. He took from a pocket a vial of some kind of liquid the color of blood and poured a few drops in the pool before he said, "If I told you, I'd have to kill ya."

He then chortled in a very sick way and looked menacingly at the boys.

To be continued.....

The Adventures of Campy Girlymann in the Land of Trolls

It took a moment before the two men were use to seeing by candlelight, and when their eyes adjusted the troll was no longer by the door. When they looked around, they found him in front of them. Just a moment before he was in back, yet neither one felt him go by. His eyes seemed to glow in the dark as if a florescent green light shown from behind them. It made the troll look menacing. For a moment Campy thought even hungry with the way the troll smiled and licked his lips.

"Follow me, and watch your head, there are sections that aren't as large as others." He said before he turned and began down a slight grade into the mountain. 

At first, the entrance was more like a bored tunnel but after walking for a while, the tunnel opened into a wide space, a section of natural cave with stalagmites and stalactites came in view in all shapes and sizes. There was a stream also and Campy suspected it was the same stream that ran by the cottage where they started but he wasn't sure since he had lost all direction of where they were. They had walked uphill for a while but  there were down sections as well, and now in this wide open area, it was hard to tell where east or west lay much less if they were up or down from where they started.

With a very concerned look, Vic asked, "Where are we?"

Boogabob stopped in his path and turned, "In a cave, where do you think you are?"

"Well, I know it's a cave, but where are we?"

With his chin resting in the cup of his hand, the troll contemplated the questioned for a while before he answered.  "We are, exactly, two degrees north of center of the mountain. This here is only one chamber of many."

Vic's look was vacant but he didn't ask anything further about where they were and the troll continued along, what looked like, a well worn path to the stream and at one point they crossed on flat stones set in the stream. They wound through the columns of mineral deposits that went up toward the ceiling and down toward the floor of the cave. The massive stone edifices stood there silent with the only noise of the slow drip that came from the tips of the mineral deposits.

Ahead was another tunnel, only this one looked part of the cave and the light from the candles seemed to be absorbed by the black coldness of the opening to the tunnel.

to be continued.... 

The Adventures of Campy Girlymann in the Land of Trolls

Girlymann and Vic took a quick look at one another.  Who doesn't like caves? Campy thought. The troll finished his wine and then poured another hearty round, finishing the bottle in his guest's glasses before he sat back down.

"I started with a natural cave actually, and then expanded it deeper into the mountain. You can find all kinds of things in mountains you know. They're a treasure trove at the picking." The troll fished in his pockets, which were many on the bib overhauls he wore until he pulled out a few gems.

Boogabob held out both hands to Campy and Vic. In them were the most beautiful gems Campy had ever seen.  One looked like a diamond but it sparkled as if light from inside came from  a rainbow. Each movement of the gem caused a spectrum of color. Another one was the clean ice-blue of glaciers. Another, not only looked like a rose bud, with the deepest red imaginable, but smelt like a sweet bouquet of roses on a warm summer day.

"They are absolutely the most beautiful gems I've ever seen." Campy broke his stare at the crystals and looked at the troll. "What are they called?"

The troll lifted the ice-blue crystal and announced, "Tinsel." Then he held up the gem of rainbows, "Lark's laugh." And then the crystal rose, "Sharon."  The troll smiled as his two guests held the gems and passed them around.

"There's more than that inside the cave. I'll show you."

"That would be wonderful,"  Campy said and he looked  at Vic who nodded in agreement.

Boogabob put the stones back in his pocket and  went to a shelf where candles were placed inside glass lanterns that had a handle fastened to them. He took two down and handed them to the other two. Then he lit them with a wooden match. "You'll need these, I don't, use to the dark ya know."

The troll then led them to an sturdy oak door and with a great iron key, unlocked the door and opened it. It did with squeals and screeches before the troll stopped and bid them to enter. Campy and Vic took their candle lanterns and walked inside, while they marveled at entering a cave right in Boogabob's house they heard a lound slam as the door closed behind them.

To be continued.....

The Adventures of Campy Girlymann In The Land of Trolls

Boogabob led Girlymann and Vic to his cottage. They passed over the stream on a wood and stone bridge. Lily pads were in bloom in a small pond made by the expanse of the bridge. Beneath in the water swimming around the lily pads were trout. It was as pretty as a postcard cottage except for the ugly troll.

They walked up the wood steps and into the shelter at the front door hewn from old oak timbers, thick and aged. The troll opened the door and bid his guests to enter. Inside, sunlight filtered through a paned window where a canary hopped in his wire cage singing his heart out. It was furnished with overstuffed chairs and small sofa that sat in front of a stone fireplace that crackled with a wood fire.

On the walls were pictures, mostly of beautiful women. One woman in particular was on more than a few pictures. Boogabob asked his guests to sit, he would bring back some drink, cheese and fruit. Campy and Vic had left there bikes leaning on the cottage near the front porch and were glad to sit after carrying them for so long.

When boogabob returned, he carried a wood tray with a carafe of wine a fresh cheese, apples and pears. "A little snack to go with the conversation." He said and placed the tray on the table to the side of the sofa where Campy sat, and Vic in the overstuffed chair on the other side of the table. Boogabob sat opposite of Vic but before he did, he poured each a glass of wine and picked up an apple with a slice of cheese.

"I could get use to this," Campy said as he picked out a pear and cut a slice of cheese to go with it.

The Belgian also helped himself and settled deep into the soft  velvet upholstery. "Good cheese, Boogabob. Is it from you?"

"Oh, no there is a whole underground trade system we forest dwellers use. I traded crystals dug from the caves I have into the mountains."

Campy asked, "Are those crystals that shown so on the stepping stones."

"They are, I put them there myself. Bet you didn't even notice it was a path."

"I didn't, they looked just like stones at first in a random order."

"Well, you have to know which ones to step on. It's a trigger thing, when you step on the right one, the next will light up enough just to let you know and then when your foot steps it shines so you can see. They work best in the dark."


Vic pointed to one of the pictures that was across from him in back of Boogabob. "She is beautiful, do you know her?"

"Yes, and no. She is beautiful and I plan to marry her. She is Antoinette."

"Campy studied the picture and then asked. "When are you two getting married?"



"Oh, she doesn't know I'm alive. I mean, look at me. But she is the one I love none the less."

"Well she sure is beautiful." Campy said.

The troll drink from his cup before he poured more wine. "She is as beautiful as I am ugly. There's no getting around it but not even the plain women are interested in me, so why not go for the most beautiful? I have just as much chance. Yes?"

"More so," Vic said, and grabbed an apple. "I think beautiful women appreciate the soul better than the body of a man. From what I've seen you have a good heart."

"It wasn't always so. I was a very mean troll from the abuse I had as a child. Not my mother, but bullied relentlessly. It wasn't until I wandered into the forest and made friends with wood folk. They're a simple lot but they didn't care what I looked like. And it changed my life." Boogabob got off his chair and put a few sticks of wood in the hearth. "My mom named me Bob, but--Boo! gad-Bob stuck. Now I like it."

"Well, Campy Girlymann came with a few sneers but the name fit and I'm proud of it."

"Want to see the caves?" Boogabob asked his new found friends.

To be continued...underground.

The Adventures of Campy Girlymann Continue

Where ever Campy looked, all he saw was a forest of oak, pine and bay. The brook cascaded over a small waterfall nearby and there were squirrels and birds he could make out but there was still something else. He could feel it.

The Belgian found a patch of wild strawberries nearby and had picked a handful. He held out his open palm for Campy to take some of the berries. The two ate the sweet, red fruit fast and went looking for more. Another patch was soon found and devoured. They had ate that patch and looked for still another when they heard someone clear their throat.

"Umph. You two going to eat every last berry I have?"

Out stepped one of the ugliest men Campy ever saw. He was small, with huge pointed ears. His skin hung in folds making his face look like lava was poured over his head. His hands were large and bony as well as his feet but his arms and legs were short. It made Campy and the Belgian jump back and take in a breath.

The ugly man's eyes were a piercing green, they seem to almost shine as if a small green light were behind them. His pointy nose hung almost over his lips that were open and exposed sharp yellow teeth. He wore what look like a monks habit tied around his hips with a cord.

"Sorry," Campy said, still a bit taken aback by the sight. "We thought they were wild berries."

"Well, they are wild berries, everything here is wild, but that doesn't mean that somebody doesn't care for them. Who do you think tends them? The squirrels?"

"We apologize, not having any idea you lived here."

He bent down and took a remaining berry from the nearby patch. "That's the problem nowadays, Trolls don't get the respect that we use to. Names, Boogabob. You?"

"Huh, Campy, Campy Girlymann and this is my partner...you know I don't know his name."

The Belgian interceded and said, "Vic. or Victor but my friends just call me Vic."

"You're quite a ways from the road, how did you get here?" Boogabob asked.

"Just luck I guess, we went off the road back there and followed this trail to here."

"Someone after you?"

Campy looked at Vic and then at the troll. "You could say that."

"I just did. What you do? Something bad?"


"We're trying to escape the Du Claudes."

"On bicycles?"

"It's all we got."

"Anyone see you come here?" The troll sniffed at the air a bit  and looked back along the path.

"I don't think so, you can't see the path from the road. We only found it trying to hide from the helicopter." Campy looked at the troll more carefully and then said, "I didn't know trolls existed?"

"I'm here ain't I?"

"That's a fact. You are here."

"It's okay. Troll-schmool,  I'm one ugly son-a-bitch no matter what you call me. Actually human but different. My mom use to say I was pretty damn cute for a troll and I guess it stuck. All the teasing and kidding growing up sent me here. My own little haven away from you normal types." Boogabob sniffed the air and then held out his hand with strawberries. "Have some more. Actually I have more than this patch. Want to have lunch?

Girlymann and Vic looked at one another and said, "Sure."

"Follow me and be careful with those bikes, if you misstep, you'll slide right off the stones."

Boogabob led them into the forest where there was no path, yet in a way there was for the troll seemed to know exactly where to step and if you looked at the strange pattern of rocks there was always one to step on. Small, large, misshapen and old, they went along the ridge and then steeply down. It made carrying the bikes risky and the troll was deft at finding the right rock to step on, Campy and Vic had to keep their eyes opened, making sure they had the right rock to step on after Campy decided to fuck the stones and walk where he wanted. Lucky for him, his bodacious ass saved him from a hard fall, with his bike held above him.

It became darker as they descended yet the stones had a slight sparkle to them, as if they were mined from a vein of quartz that had rock and crystals embedded in the stone.  Just as Campy thought following trolls wasn't a good idea, something his mother warned him about,  the stones led them to the bottom of a grotto and there, where ferns dripped dew, a water wheel slowly turned from a small waterfall above it and built into and around was a cottage made of wood and thatch. An Apple tree nearby hung with fruit and in a birdbath, two bluebirds interrupted their bath to stare at the newcomers.


To be continued.....

The Adventures of Campy Girlymann

Campy looked up to see a helicopter hovering overhead. Behind was a car trying to get out of the mud they just crossed. They needed to get in the cover of the trees and hopefully, leave the helicopter. So when they entered the forest of oak, Campy took his time, skirting any opening that may reveal them to the eye in the sky. He even went off road anytime it looked promising and so far the car or cars that had followed them hadn't shown up.

But the helicopter hadn't left them alone. It went to the right and left of the road and up ahead but stayed somewhere nearby. Perhaps the pilot could see ahead and figured they would show themselves, Campy wasn't sure, but he did know that they were vulnerable if in the open.

Once he went off road and found a small trail. Packed earth that led deeper into the forest.  It wasn't attached to the road, but rather, began about ten feet into a carpet of grasses  beneath the oaks. He decided to take a chance and slowed down with the Belgian on his tail. Before they left sight of the dirt road, Campy stopped and listened. He looked up and it would be near impossible for anyone to see them from the sky. Not just the canopy of leaves but sturdy limbs of an ancient oak were fanned out as well. Outside of the whirl of helicopter blades, Campy could not hear a car engine. He looked at the Belgian to see if he could either but he shrugged his shoulders as well.

Girlymann and the Belgian walked alongside their bikes, deeper into the woods following the footpath.  They went into a gorge where a stream ran along its seam. The path following the stream at a safe distance from the water's edge. Now the whirl of the helicopter was but a whisper and at times, not even heard. But the songs of birds were and they filled the air.

Once over a ridge the path went down and then, just as suddenly as it started near the road, it ended. Campy looked about, trying to see where the path picked up but there was no indication of one. And as Campy scanned the area he had a feeling someone was watching close by.

To be continued.....