Next thing he knew, he was using all his wits to protect his stomach and face from their blows.
A high pitched battle cry was all the warning they'd had, then Kriss had come out from nowhere and launched herself on top of Hasp, pulling his hair and clawing at his eyes. Hasp's attention had been immediately diverted from beating Jasyn to trying to pull his sister off his back. But she'd clung on tight, kicking out at Orlis as he tried to pull her off Hasp's back.
Jasyn had stood there, wanting to help her, but not knowing how. He'd tried to swing at Orlis, but had tripped on a tree branch instead. By the time Jasyn pulled himself to his feet, Orlis was lying on his back and Kriss's punches to Hasp's face were drawing blood.
Both brothers had run off as soon as they got the chance, leaving Jasyn's fish lying in the dirt.
Kriss had looked at him, then down at the fish. She'd turned up her nose, and said, "They aren't even worth my effort. Get out of here."
He'd run all the way home.
But he'd never forgotten the look in her eyes and he had always been sure that she'd left the fish out of compassion, not disgust.
The same look had flashed in her eyes now. Hope lifted his heart. She understood. That was worth all the risks he'd taken. And if she took his side, surely Mugos would listen?
But before the hope could take hold, her eyes hardened and his stomach fell. She turned back to Mugos. "Do you want me take care of this nuisance for you, Mug, before these crazy ideas of his confuse trolls?"
More laughs rang out. Jasyn could barely breathe. This was it. He'd given it his best shot and he'd failed. It was over.
Kriss reached for her sword. Panic welled up in Jasyn. Even if she didn't remember him, surely she wouldn't …
She couldn't …
Could she?
Mugos raised his hand and the room went silent.
The champion sprawled in his chair, pulling at his beard and staring at Jasyn.
This man held Jasyn's life in his hands. Jasyn didn't hold much hope. Mugos was well known for his contempt of people who studied magic instead of weapons training.
"No," he drawled. "I have a better idea. Why don't you take him with you? You can show him, and any other troll who gets the same idea, just how friendly the humans are."
This time, Jasyn was sure his heart stopped. Go with them on a raid? Was Mugos crazy? That was no better proposition than dying here and now. At least that would be quick.
Maybe that was his plan? To make Jasyn suffer?
"What?" Kriss demanded. Her attention shifted from Jasyn back to Mugos and she turned on her heel and strode towards him. "If you want this idiot gone, I'll get rid of him for you, but I won't take him with us. He will jeopardise the raid and get my warriors killed."
Her words stung, but Jasyn couldn't argue their truth.
"Are you so ill prepared that you can't protect one little troll? He doesn't need to fight. But surely he's capable of finding and carrying food. And he can have a go at talking to the humans for you. Who knows, maybe they'll stop and apologise for killing so many trolls and for not sharing their food all these years." Sarcasm coloured his voice.
Kriss and Mugos stared at each other, neither backing down.
Jasyn held his breath. Was Kriss thinking of challenging Mugos? The idea wasn't so far from possibility. Rumours that she would one day challenge the champion were rampant. But so far, she never had.
Far from it.
Memories of their public kisses flashed through his mind.
Now would be a stupid time to try, with the raid planned for tonight. No matter who won, the troll warriors would be weakened and less likely to have a successful raid. Kriss would never risk that.
Especially not over him. Would she?
Before Jasyn could figure out how he felt about that, she backed down.
Giving a deliberately careless shrug, she said, "Sure, if that's what you want. But if he becomes a liability, I'll kill him myself."
"I expect nothing less," Mugos said in amusement. He gave Jasyn a disdainful look. "You'd better give him armour and a sword, otherwise he'll make you look weak."
Then he turned away to demand more ale.
"Come on, we'd better get you kitted up," Kriss said gruffly.
Not knowing what else to do, Jasyn followed her out of the tent.
Snow fell lightly outside, the moonlight glinting off the white flakes. Jasyn began to shiver so violently he could barely walk. What was he doing? Mugos might be saying he could go talk, but why would the humans listen in the middle of a raid? A raid wasn't about talking. It was clearly about fighting. And when he couldn't use his magic, he had no way of stopping them killing him for long enough to make them listen.
"Psst!"
Uma hid behind a tent, beckoning to him. Jasyn stared at Kriss, but she strode ahead, not listening, so he paused near his friend.
"Are you all right?" Uma whispered.
"What am I going to do, Uma? I can't go on a raid." Jasyn's shoulders slumped. He glanced up at Kriss, but she didn't seem to have even noticed that he wasn't following her.
"Who said you had to fight them? Go and talk to them. This could be your best chance."
"But this is a raid. Do you really think the other trolls are just going to wait around while I try to talk to the humans? They're going to be too busy fighting. And … " he hesitated, but the truth couldn't be ignored. "What if one of them attacks me?"
Uma was silent. He didn't have an answer either.
Jasyn heaved a sigh and Uma echoed it.
Then Uma straightened his shoulders. "Look, no one ever said this was going to be easy. But this is what you've always wanted. It's the best chance you're going to get to see if there is another way. Could you really live with yourself if you didn't take it?"
"Well, it's not like I have another option anyway. If I refuse to go, Mugos will kill me."
Uma hesitated, then said quietly, "Not if you run. Just say the word, and we'll come with you."
Jasyn stared at him. "You couldn't do that. We'd all die."
Uma shrugged. "Maybe, maybe not. You've said yourself that if we put more time and effort into magic, then we could find a way to grow food, even here in the snow. If there were enough of us, and I'm pretty sure there would be, we'd find a way."
It was a huge offer from his friend. Jasyn's heart warmed at the thought that they cared enough about him and his beliefs to even consider it.
But he couldn't let them. "No, that's not fair on you or Yass. But thank you for offering." He squared his shoulders. "You're right. I have to go. Even if just to see what's on the other side of the ridge for myself."
"Are you going to stand around in the cold chatting all night?"
Jasyn turned to look at Kriss, her hands on her hips, glaring at him.
"Just a minute." Now that his decision was made, some of the fear had left him.
Uma clapped him on the shoulder. "Take care, friend."
It hit him. This could be the last time Jasyn saw his friend. He was heading off to battle.
Adrenalin surged through him, strengthening him enough that he could push away the fear that rose at the thought. He didn't know how he was going to do this, but he had to try. "Take care of Yass. And if I die, whatever you do, don't let her name the baby after me."
Uma gave a short laugh. "Good luck. You know she doesn't listen to a word I say. So your best bet is to stay alive."
"I'll do my best," Jasyn promised.
He didn't know how to say goodbye. His throat choked up at the thought, so he clapped Uma on the shoulder, and turned away before his friend could see the tears in his eyes. He forced his feet to walk towards Kriss.
Before he caught up to her, she turned and strode towards the armoury. By the time he pushed his way through the flap, the cold had frozen the tears on his cheeks. He swiped them away, and stared at Kriss, who stared back, her arms folded.
"What was that all about? You're not planning on running, are you?"
How much had she overheard? Not that it mattered.
"No, even though the thought is tempting."
"What, more scared of me coming after you than you are of the puny humans? You should be."
For some reason, Jasyn felt like smiling. At least some things were still predictable. "Well, you're pretty scary."
She scowled at him. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"Never mind. Aren't we supposed to be finding me some armour?"
Her scowl deepened, then she shrugged and turned to the armour stand. "I doubt we have anything that will fit your scrawny frame." Despite her comment, she pulled out a large leather chest plate and tossed it at him. "Here, try that."
The full weight of the chest plate hit Jasyn in the stomach and he barely managed to stay on his feet. He fiddled with the heavy leather, trying to figure out which way was up.
Kriss watched him impassively for a few moments, before sighing heavily. "Here." She took the armour and twisted it. Suddenly, it looked like a chest plate again. She lifted it over Jasyn's head and settled it into place.