Chapter 35 - Muthos and Askella

An old hunch back troll with bald head and side hair was using a staff to walk around as he scratched his long dark orange beard while finding a seat to take a nap in his humble cave dwelling at the bottom of a rocky plateau just within sight of the Rock Troll capital where he used to advise the last king before he was thrown out due to giving warnings about his whore wife Ulla which ended up coming true.

Inside the dwelling, there was a lot of furniture decorated with colorful blankets and comfy seats that were not made of rocks like so many other homes.

The open kitchen was filled with boiling things of various colors in flasks and beakers, it was more of a lab than a kitchen at this point.

As the old troll was leaning back in the recliner chair smacking his lips in a lazy relaxed manner getting ready to fall asleep when one of the beakers exploded startling him awake as he quickly sat up yelling- "Dang blast it woman, can't you find somewhere else to do your experiments."

An even older looking female troll came out with the same bald head with white side hair that fell to her shoulders came out of the bedroom screaming back- "And can't you find a new job or hobby or something, all you do is sleep all day, it's about time you found something else to do Muthos."

Muthos just snorted as he sat back down and closed his eyes only to hear more complaining coming from his wife.

"Would you look at this, another failure, I don't know if I'll ever get this right, what to do, what to do." talking to herself as she cleaned up the mess.

Muthos growing irritated said- "Can't you do that quieter?"

Receiving a glare he couldn't see with his eyes closed she said- "I don't know maybe you would like to sleep somewhere else from now on?"

Muthos ignored her idle threat as he tried to drift back into dreamland only to again be interrupted by a loud buzzing sound.

Without opening his eyes he called out- "Hey would you stop that." not receiving a response he called out again- "Askella what are you doing now." squinting one of his eyes open to see her staring blankly towards the rock capital with her eyes magically shining.

Worried he got up calling out to her again as he cautiously approached- "Askella, Askella, what's wrong?"

Askella's eyes reverting back to there natural brown color looked at her worried husband with a smile- "I'm fine dear... (losing the smile as she turned serious.)... but I'm afraid the capital isn't, a detection spell I set up was destroyed, though he underestimated me in thinking that would be enough to hide his presence from me... (sighing)... Grundor is back."

Muthos frowned- "Grundor? you mean that old crazy magic user from old, how is he still alive? Never mind, (realizing his wife was even older than him because of their weird magic ways.), let me ask a different question, is this really a concern?"

Askella berated him- "I know you haven't been fully invested in all my magic stuff but would you please not forget about your king's secret treasure and the hidden tombs underneath, he is most likely planning something terrible, he cannot be trusted or allowed to run around freely, who knows what he will do."

Askella taking a breath continued- "It seems he's also helping Ulik track down your king, he'll be in trouble."

Muthos gave another snort- "He's not my king anymore, he deserved to be betrayed by that whore, I no longer care what happens to him."

Askella- "It's not just him whos in danger should Grundor be allowed to grow in power, I don't know why he went into seclusion, but having him around isn't good, he's been known to sacrifice and kill thousands in the past for his goals."

Muthos hearing this grew concerned, he still cared for his people and wished them the best otherwise he would have never become the king's advisor.- "What can an old man like me do? Why don't you whip up some magic and set things right?"

Askella rolled her eyes- "That's not how magic works, besides have you not been listening, Grundor can also use magic he will just counter whatever I do, I'm not even sure I can stand with him, he could be older than even I realize and far more advanced in the mystical arts... you wouldn't want your wife to get hurt would you?" she asked blinking her eyes at him.

Muthos huffed- "Don't give me that girly crap, just say what you want from me."

Askella grinning- "Why should we fight our enemies when we can get other enemies to fight for us, there is a small group of Asgardians making their way towards a supply depot, I suggest we recruit them for our goals, they should be more than happy to be led to the capital to kill the usurper and Grundor along with him and if they fail at least the other Asgardians will seek revenge for us."

Muthos grinned making a move to hug and kiss her- "I like it, I knew I married you for some reason."

Askella fighting it- "Yeah, yeah, why don't you recruit those two guards who were cast out shortly after you and take them with you to get the Asgardians back here where we will make our plans, remember to take them through the old war tunnels so your not seen."

Muthos agreed as he made his way out of the cave to go find them, leaving an evilly grinning Askella behind.

Askella rubbing her hands together- "This is the perfect chance for me to get my hands on that treasure and then some, who knows what lies in the tombs, I wonder if Grundor does and that's what he's after, I'll have to plan things carefully for it all to work out.