I can see why she said no horses. The path was quite narrow: perfectly safe for humans to walk on single-file, but one slip and a horse would have been over the edge of the gorge. Giselle caught glimpses of little Air Elementals flitting through the branches of the trees growing up the slope, watching her with avid curiosity, and to her surprise, also caught sight of small Earth Elementals in the underbrush. The latter paid no attention to her, of course, but she was rather surprised that she could see them at all, since they were trying to remain hidden. Perhaps this was another manifestation of her increased powers?

At any event, just as the sky overhead began to darken a little as a herald to sunset, they reached a gray stone bridge that spanned the gorge. It looked old, very old. She couldn’t figure out what style it was, who could have built it, and almost as importantly, why they would have done so out here in the middle of nowhere. It was only wide enough for a single person, but it did have low curbs on either side. Ferns grew up all around it, and probably down the side of the gorge as well. Here Rosa halted them.

“Stand back, and don’t do anything,” she cautioned, and putting two fingers into her mouth gave a peculiar, shrill whistle.

The sound echoed down into the gorge. A few birds flew up out of it, startled by the noise, but for a moment nothing else happened.

Then . . . another sound altogether echoed up out of the depths of the gorge. It sounded like . . . rocks scraping together. Giselle cocked her head to one side and glanced over at Rosa. Rosa gazed at the gorge, not at all alarmed, but as if she had been expecting this very thing.

After a few moments of this, something came up over the edge. It looked like a huge rock . . .

...no, it looked like a huge head . . . and she nearly jumped out of her skin as she recognized it from tales and Rosa’s book.

Holy Mother of God! It’s a troll!

“Jumpin’ Jesus . . . what the hell?” Cody said, but not terribly loudly, though he had one hand on the pistol he always wore, though what use a little lead slug would be against a troll Giselle could not imagine.

But Rosa was practically skipping toward the creature, a huge smile on her face.

Well obviously . . . this is what she wanted us to see.

“Pieter!” she cried, as the troll heaved the last of his bulk up over the edge of the gorge, and simply stood there, grinning at her. “Pieter, it has been too long!”