Chapter 2

Night had set as Strickler stood above the pile of ruble that was Kanjigar and picked up the part of stone that use to hold the Trollhunter amulet. A huge dark figure appeared with one glowing yellow eye. Strickler's eyes flashed yellow and red, "It's been taken. You failed. Your father will be displeased." Bular growled and roared, "Whoever holds the Amulet of Merlin, I shall destroy him, just like I have done to every single one of them." Strickler nodded, "Worry not you brute, I know we can find it. I believe the amulet has found its champion already."

Claire bolted awake with the sound of her phone ringing with her mother's contact picture appearing. Picking up the phone her mother voice shot of quickly, "Hey precious, I'm sorry but both your father and I are looking at pulling an all nighter. I already called the sitter and Enrique is staying there tonight. Dinner is in the fridge, so be safe and lock the doors. Oh, got to go. Bye, love you." Claire didn't get a chance to respond when she heard the click of her mom ending the call. Claire sighed and moved to sit on the edge of the bed. She stopped when she heard the crinkling of paper and something hard beneath her leg.

Grabbing the objects, she found the amulet and the note. That was when what happened earlier in the basement came back to her. Trolls existed, and Claire was supposed to somehow protect them?! Claire slowly opened the note and began to read.

Claire,

I'm sorry that my friends Blinky and Aaarrrgghh frightened you, they are not very keen on being subtle with their excitement. I hope by writing you this note will put you at ease, even just a little bit. For centuries Trolls have hidden in the shadows unable to travel in sunlight, if we tried we would turn to stone. Trolls have been fighting a war for hundreds of years against evil trolls who wish to overthrow both of our worlds. That is why Merlin created the amulet you found. The amulet is made of magic to choses who will be a Trollhunter champion to fight against our enemy, Gunmar and his son Bular. I understand that this information is confusing and overwhelming, but if you would like to find out more about all of this you can meet us by the canals tomorrow at sunset. Please, I know that this will make you suspicious, but we need your help. If you need to speak to someone about this, we have a few humans who know about us and go to your school. Jim Lake jr. and Tobais Domzalski, they can vouch for us trolls. Just meet with us once, that is all we ask.

Hopefully waiting to meet you,

Atlas

Claire read the note three times before dropping it and grasping the amulet. She got out of bed and paced her room. This was utter madness! Claire couldn't have been this trollhunter they were looking for, she was only fifteen. That's when she noticed the weird lettering on the amulet change to English. Slowly Claire read out each word as it changed, "For the glory of Merlin, Daylight is mine to command?" That was when the amulet sprung from her hand and enveloped her in mystic blue light. The armor appeared out of no where and it was obvious that the person before her was much larger then any human being, her eyes could barely see over the lip of the suit. That quickly changed as the amulet glowed on the breastplate and shrunk the suit of armor so that it fitted her like a glove. Then the sword appeared in Claire's hands, but it was much to heavy for her arms and ended up falling and got stuck in her nice wooden floor. Claire winced at the damage and grasped it again started to try and tug it out of the floor boards. It began to shrink to a much more manageable size and Claire was able to pull it out of the floor.

Claire's eyes began to gleam with excitement, this was amazing! The armor fit like a glove and the sword was easy to pick up after the adjustment. Then Claire began to wonder, "How do I get out of this though?"

Claire arrived at school groggy and bleary eyed and look almost as dreary as the weather. It took her most of the night to figure out the amulet and how to get it off. Throughout most of her classes she reread the note left by the mysterious Atlas, who she was guessing was another troll. Then came Mr. Strickler's class, and Claire could not stop glancing at Jim and Toby. Two people who knew about the existence trolls and kept it all a secret. Unbeknownst to her, Mr. Strickler was noticing her odd behavior and he was knew something was up. Mr. Strickler made eye contact with Jim who only glared at him.

When the bell rang for P.E., Claire made up her mind to talk to Jim and Toby about all of this. Moving quickly, she packed everything in her bag and walked quickly to meet Jim and Toby at their lockers. When she got their she grabbed both of their arms, "I need to talk to you guys… now!" Most of the students where already in their classes, so no one saw Claire drag the two boys into the nearest janitor closet. Jim and Toby kept of the façade of confusion as Claire began to pace and ramble. "I'm sorry for ambushing you guys, but I seriously needed to talk to you about Trolls. Two trolls appeared in my basement and I ended up blacking out. A note was left for me saying that you would be able to vouch for their characters and that I'm not just going insane due to finding a talking amulet. Oh, which means that I have to become the trolls Trollhunter and protect them from their evil counterparts. So please tell me…. Am I going insane?" Jim gripped her shoulders making her stay still, "No, you're not insane. Toby and I came upon the trolls by accident when we were younger. They told us a lot about their civilization and even took us there once or twice. The trolls that live there are very kind, they mostly just want to stay hidden. Which two trolls did you meet?"

Claire breathed a sigh of relief, "I uh, can't remember if they told me their names. One though had six eyes, four arms, and blue skin." Toby nodded, "Did he talk a lot and use big words?" Claire nodded, and Jim sighed, "His name is Blinky, he's a bit eccentric but harmless. And what did the other one look like?" Claire shook her head, "Uh, he was… Huge. He had green fur that was around his neck, back, and arms… Also, he spoke in broken sentences." Toby grinned, "That's my wingman, Aaarrrgghh. He's pretty much harmless." Claire scoffed a bit, "Harmless? He's huge!" Toby shrugged, "He's a pacifist."

Claire looked at Jim skeptically who gave her a small nod, "Ok, then what about this Atlas guy? He left a note for me when I woke up form passing out." Toby grinned a little evilly, "Oh, him. He's a really cool guy, you would like him a lot. He's kind of oblivious at times." Jim glared at Toby, "Yeah, you might also meet another Troll named Hercules. He's really dorky and can sometimes be a pain." Toby mocked gasp, "Hey, low blow." Claire watched the exchange and was lost in banter. "So, you think that I'm going to be alright if I meet these guys at the canal at sunset?" Toby smiled, "Yeah, if anyone tried to lay a hand on you they would have you covered." Claire let another sigh of relief escape, "Can you guys come with me?" Jim then sighed, "Sorry, Toby and I have a project that has to be finished tonight. You can text us though, and if you need help in an emergency."

Claire nodded and smiled a bit, "Thanks guys. Here put your numbers in my phone." She took out the touch screen mobile and gave it to Jim first with a slight tinge of red tainting her cheeks. She hoped that the color wasn't noticeable, it was just that she was finally getting Jim's number. Something that she had been meaning to for a while. Jim handed the phone to Toby next. It was quiet for a while before Toby stated, "So how much trouble are we going to be in if a teacher catches two guys and a girl in a closet skipping class?" Claire and Jim felt dread wash over them as they realized that also. Then Claire smirked, "Want to skip the rest of school and go get tacos?" Both boys smiled widely and nodded. Jim's eyes gleamed, "Have you ever ridden a Vespa?"

Claire had never ridden a Vespa before, but it was exhilarating. Her mother was able to take her to school today, so she didn't need to worry about her bike, and she already came up with an excuse of staying at a friend's house for a ride and sleep over. That way she did not have to worry about sneaking out and into her house. Jim was driving, and Claire hung onto his torso, this situation had caused all the blood to rush to her face. Poor Toby though was on his bike trying his hardest to keep up on the side walk and sadly failing. When Jim and Claire finally reached the taco place, they had to wait ten minutes for Toby to show up. Toby was panting hard, but still held a thumb up as a sign saying, 'I'm Ok'.

The small group found a secluded part of the restaurant and hung out and shared some life stories. A lot of them included Trolls with Jim's and Toby's. It was nice for Claire, she never had a lot of friends so adding two more was great. They stayed there until the end of the school day came. They were laughing as they left the restaurant. Claire giggled, "I have never skipped school before, this was so much fun. I don't want to make it a habit though." Toby nodded, "Yeah, don't become like us. We're probably going to be a bad influence on you." Jim agreed, "So what are you going to do until sunset?" Claire tapped her finger against her chin with thought, "My parents aren't going to be home again until late. Can you give me a ride home? That way I can finish my homework before meeting the trolls." Jim chuckled, "Such a diligent student. Sure, hop on."

With that they parted ways with Toby. Claire enjoyed being so close to Jim, and hugged her body closely to his as he drove quickly to her house. It was sadly a short time until they reached her house and Claire had to move away from Jim. Claire smiled shyly at Jim, "Thanks again for helping me and for the ride." Jim nodded, "No problem. Don't hesitate to text me if you need any help. I mean anything, really." Claire blushed and nodded. Once she made it back inside, she rested her hand on her chest to help still her beating heart. Once calm, she went to her room and started on her homework. She had things to do and no time to doddle.

With her mind focused on homework, dusk came quickly. Claire grabbed her amulet and phone before going to the garage to grab her bike. Feeling nervous, she shot off a text to Jim.

Claire- Ttly nervous about going to the canal. If I don't respond back in a few hours please come find me X$

Jim- Ok I will, but you are going to be fine. I promise ?

She took a calming breath, reassured that someone would look for her if anything happened. Putting on her helmet and hopping on her bike, she pedaled fast towards the canal. By the time she got there, the last bits of sun where fading away and none of the light was entering the canal. Looking around she saw no one in sight. She waited a few moments before setting down her bike and getting out her phone. She was about to shoot off another text to Jim when she felt a tap on her shoulder. Claire let out a tiny yelp and flailed. She ended up accidently hitting the person who tapped her right in the face, a face that was made of stone. The troll groaned with Claire as they grabbed their injured parts. The tall blue troll that reminded her of Marvel's Nightcrawler rubbed his cheek, "Dang, nice hit. You okay though? I know my skin is really hard." Claire nodded, "Yeah, you just surprised me that is all." A shout behind them rang out, "I told you, you shouldn't have gone up behind her. I knew she wouldn't hear you." The source of the voice was a smaller and more orange version of Aaarrrgghh. The blue troll growled, "Shut up Herc. I'm sorry that I startled you. Let me introduce ourselves. I am Atlas, and my annoying friend is Hercules or Herc for short."

Hercules did an exaggerated bow, "We are here to take you to Blinky, your new trainer." Claire nodded, "Okay… where do we have to go?" Atlas grinned, "We are already here." Atlas grabbed the satchel that was attached to his old leather pants and took out an orange glowing gem. He took the gem to the wall of the canal and drew a large half circle, and Claire watched in awe as the concrete crumbled inwards revealing a crystal stair case. Atlas extended his four fingered hand, "Follow us, and be amazed." Claire nodded and followed the two trolls into the door way that disappeared after she entered. While the stair case was amazing, Claire was sure that her jaw fell all the way to the floor when she saw after it. Jim smiled in amusement at her awe stricken face, "Welcome to Trollmarket."

Claire's eyes were drawn to the giant gem in the middle of it all, "It's beautiful."