Beyond the Dragon’s Teeth
Copyright© 2026 by Asa Strong
Chapter 21
It was fortunate that we had the young troll as a guide. He led us away from what was our original course towards the three mountains we could see to the northwest. He led us along a dim path through the aspen trees. When we reached a small valley on the other side of the hill, he turned to the west, following a small stream.
For the next three days, we followed the stream. As we traveled, the stream grew in size and by the time we turned towards the north, had become a river of considerable size.
After we left the river, we were led through a small and very narrow canyon. The canyon eventually choked down to where we could only proceed single file. The young troll led the procession, with the rest of us following behind. Torg, as had become his habit, brought up the rear of the column.
I had tried to talk with our guide on several occasions. Beyond what was necessary information for our journey, he would not engage in conversation. He slept apart from our group and maintained himself in solitude from the rest of us.
When I raised the subject of his actions with Torg, he took some time to educate me on how trolls lived their lives. I quickly came to understand that Torg was clearly an exception to the behavior of most trolls. They were reclusive to an extreme, even among themselves.
As we threaded our way through the canyon, I had moved back in the column to where Torg was bringing up the rear. When I reached him, I turned my horse around in front of him. I was curious about our guide, and wanted to talk more with Torg about his actions.
Torg was following close behind, so I turned in my saddle and asked, “I’m wondering, I know that you’ve said that trolls are not very sociable creatures, but does our guide have a name?”
He gave me his smile/grimace, and then what passed for a chuckle. He said, “Donta, trolls only tell those who are very close to them their names. To us, our name is power. We also believe that if someone else knows our true name, it gives them a measure of control over us. It is very rare for a troll to tell another their name.”
I nodded my head and thought for a few moments about what he’d said. Then I asked, “But you have given us your name. Are you saying that we have some sense of control over you now?”
Torg paused for a moment, and then said in a serious tone of voice, “Donta, Torg is my traveling name. Only Saraid, of all of you, knows my true name.”
I could see from his expression that this was a sensitive subject, so I just shrugged my shoulders and returned my attention to what was in front of me.
When we finally came out of the canyon, we were on a high plateau that overlooked a huge aspen forest in the valley below. Three mountains rimmed the valley with their towering height. Immediately, I knew we had found the Three Sisters.
This was confirmed when our guide approached and then said, “Before you is the valley of the Three Sisters.” Without another word, he turned and made his way back up the canyon we had just exited.
As the troll moved quickly towards the mouth of the narrow valley, I heard soft steps behind me. When I turned around, Saraid was only a few yards away.
“Is he leaving?” She asked.
I nodded my head and then said, “Yes, he says we are in the valley of the Three Sisters and his commitment to us is complete.”
We stood there in silence for a few moments, both of us taking in the limited view. We were in a small meadow, surrounded by tall, white aspen trees. On three sides of the valley, you could see the top of the peaks, above the crown canopy of the forest.
Saraid interrupted my scan of the tree line.
“Donta, what do we do now?”
I thought for a moment, and then said, “Now, we make camp, and tomorrow we will start our search for the Golden Circle. It seems that is where we must begin.”
While the others went about setting up camp, I found a rock near the small stream that meandered through the meadow. I needed to think, so I took a seat on the rock. I could tell by the distance between the three mountains that the valley was very large. To blindly search for the Golden Ring would be a folly. We could search for years before finding it. Somehow, I didn’t think there was that much time. Besides, we didn’t have that much in the way of supplies.
I thought back over the information we had, primarily the two ancient tales. One thing they had in common was the mention of a nearby mountain. At least that is what I took the references to mean. Probably, I concluded, what we searched for would need to be near the base of one of the three mountains.
By the time I reached my conclusion, the sun was starting to dip below the top of the mountain to the west of us. I glanced at where the rest of the party had made camp and noticed that they seemed to have everything in good order. Saraid and Dan’ar were busy making our evening meal over a campfire while the others were sitting nearby, engaged in what appeared to be casual conversation.