Shokei and her party continue to follow the Troll's footprints as they are still searching for the monster that is in the forest.

  "I'm really concerned if Marie has found some way out of that stream." Saeko said.

  "My thoughts exactly." Rei said. "I just hope that whatever luck comes in her way, she should be able to get out of that stream alive."

  From following the footprints on one party to another, they can see that the footprints are now longer as it seems.

  "So many footprints..." Tamiko said, staring down at the pnted marks.

  "This Troll must have a lot of movement." Rei said. "I can't imagine how a Troll would run so fast."

  "I mean, a Troll is usually slow paced and can't move fast at all." Tamiko said.

  "All of this is not just questionable, but also problematic." Mizuki said.

  The party continues to follow more footprints until there was no more. All of them looks to see that they are now surrounded by a circle of tall trees.

  "No more..." Shokei said, scratching her head. "Where did the rest of the Troll's footprints go off to?"

  "Speaking of that, where do we go now?" Rei asked. She sees that there are other open paths avaible.

  "That's a hard guess." Shokei said. "Now we can't even tell where the troll did go off to."

  Just then, Naoko spots a creature that have emerged from the bushes. From where she stands, she can see that there is a strange looking squirrel that appeared out of nowhere. Naoko looks at the squirrel that appears in front of her. The party looks to see that the squirrel is standing there as the furry creature has its eyes on the group of travelers.

  "Maybe asking this cute squirrel will lead us somewhere." Naoko said, approaching the squirrel.

  "Wait, what? That would be silly for you to communicate with an animal." Rei said in disbelief. "Trying to talk to an animal for directions? Yeah, right."

  "Really?" Naoko tells her. "Don't believe me? Then watch."

  Naoko walks up to where the squirrel is and then she communicates with the squirrel using its nguage. Shokei and the rest of the party watch as Naoko is trying to communicate with the squirrel. Within a minute, Naoko goes back to the group.

  "So, did you have some mere talk with the little creature there?" Rei asked.

  "Fortunately, I did." Naoko said. "I have to deliver the news to you guys."

  "What is it?" Shokei asked.

  "The squirrel said that he knows where the troll went off to." Naoko replied.

  "You can't be that serious." Rei said and asked. "How can he actually tell you something like that?"

  "But he's telling the truth." Naoko said. "Hold on, I got to ask him something else."

  Naoko communicates with the squirrel, using the nguage, and then the squirrel went off to the path on the right.

  "He said follow me and I'll lead you where you need to go." Naoko said and followed the squirrel.

  "Hey, wait for us!" Shokei calls out to Naoko, catching up to her.

  The party goes off to the direction where Naoko has taken off to.

  Meanwhile, Marie is still scared of the Troll that saved her life from drowning. She backs up to a wall behind her and is full of fear to see the monster in her view. The Troll stands there as it is not trying to do any harm to Marie. The Troll stares down at her as Marie looks to see the monster's grotesque looking face. But then something changed as Marie feels her body calming down and sees another view in perspective of her situation.

  Hmm? Why is it that the Troll is looking at me and not trying to attack me?

  Surprised to see something different, Marie takes the courage to walk up to see the Troll. She looks and sees that the monster is behaving differently, and she finds it odd that the Troll is barely doing anything to her. Just about nothing. Marie looks down for a minute and then looks straight at the Troll's face.

  "Are...are you going to hurt me?" Marie asked the monster.

  The Troll hears Marie and shakes its head.

  Marie can see that this Troll is different. She can tell that this monster is not a threat and does not appear to be dangerous. Marie notices the child's doll in the monster's hand.

  "That..." Marie swallows and said, "That doll...it belonged to that child...you wouldn't mind giving it to me, would you?"

  The Troll refused and shook its head.

  "Oh...ok." Marie said. Then, she thought to herself. Something doesn't feel right about this Troll...why does it behave like that?

  Not far away, Shokei and her party are following the squirrel. The furry creature runs off the long pathway down a hill. Up ahead, Shokei can see that there is a bridge that is above her, hidden beneath the woods. From there, the squirrel stops in its tracks and then the party can see that they are near the bridge. They can finally see the stream of water is right under the bridge.

  "What's that up ahead?" Mizuki asked.

  "Say...isn't that Marie and..." Tamiko gasped and points. "The Troll!"

  "Really?" Rei asked.

  "Quick! We got to save her before it's too te!" Kichiro said.

  The party hurries to the scene where Marie is with the troll. The party makes their way in time to catch up to save their ally.

  "Marie!!" Shokei calls out to her as she takes out her saber. "Get away from the monster while you can!"

  "No! Wait!" Marie said, protecting the troll. "It's not what you think! Don't kill it!"

  "Huh?" Shokei asked, confused about the situation.

  "Why the hell not?!" Rei asked.

  "I just noticed something." Marie tells her party. "This monster does not pose a threat. It didn't hurt me in anyway, I swear!"

  "Hold on! How did you got out of..." Rei wanted to ask Marie how she got out of the stream, but then said. "Oh...I see."

  The party looks at the Troll as it stands there. The Troll did not pull off any sign of reaction. Everyone looks at the troll with its grotesque face and does not make a move against them.

  "She's right." Rei said, putting her arms down. "This monster does not seem threatening."

  "I'm curious of this troll can speak." Tamiko said. "I don't think it's just going to stand there in silence."

  "Of...of course..." The Troll breaks the ice and speaks back at Tamiko.

  The party gasped in surprise to hear that the troll can talk.

  "First of all," The Troll begins to talk. "I did not mean to run from Egesul when I was hunted down by the town's guards."

  "Then, why did you run away?" Shokei asked him. "And you need to tell us about that doll you stole from that child."

  "I had no intention of stealing this doll from the child." The troll said. "If you are wondering why I was turned into something hideous like this, I should tell you the truth about what really happened to me."

  "Please do." Shokei tells him. "That way, we can get an idea about your problem."

  "...that day." The Troll expined. "I was on a journey within this forest. I was in a search for something important. All of a sudden, I was being ambushed by a strange sorcerer. Just then, I was put under a curse by the fiend's magic. After that, I woke up to discover that I was turned into this hideous Troll."

  "So that expins why you are like this." Saeko said.

  "Exactly..." The Troll continued. "About this doll in my hand. You see, this toy I carry with me was to give my son a gift. I made this out of my hands by my creation. Because of my appearance, I had a terrible feeling to myself if I were to show my face back in Egesul. One night, I snuck back in Egesul to where I spot my son pying outside at that time. I know that my son would be worried about me, and he knew that I would be away for just a week's time. As soon as I confronted my son, without no one seeing me in this form, he was frightened. My son was frightened to see his own father in this monstrous form. I try to reason with him to prove that I am his father, but it convinced him enough as soon as my voice was heard. I try to give him this doll that I have made for him..."

  The Troll paused to take a moment to look at the doll that he holds in his hand.

  "All of a sudden," he resumed. "I was caught by a townsperson. Knowing that I cannot remain in the town for long, I had to flee the area. I held the doll away from my son and I had to run for my life to not be killed by those guards."

  Shokei and her party were touched by the troll's story as it deeply touched Marie's heart.

  "That's...terrible." Shokei said sadly.

  "It is." The Troll said. "My wife never saw me in this form...but my son knows who I am."

  "If there's a way to get you back to your human state, we can help you." Shokei tells him.

  "You would? For me?" The Troll asked her.

  "Of course." Shokei replied.

  "That would be great to feel my old self." The Troll said. "But if you want me to be free from this curse, you must haunt down the source that can cure me from this monstrous form."

  "A source...where can we find it?" Shokei asked.

  "Somewhere in this forest," The Troll said. "There is a cure that can lift this curse off of me. I heard that there is a pond that is capable of curing any type of conditions, including those who are in sickness and health. This pond is indoors, and it is hidden in a cave within this forest."

  "All we have to do is to find this pond and bring back a sample for you so that you can free yourself out of the monstrous curse, right?" Shokei asked.

  "Right." The Troll nodded. "But I must warn you. The pond is protected by an evil gnome who guards the pond very well. He will prevent anyone that dares go near the source."

  "Ok. We'll be aware of that." Shokei said.

  "I will wait here for your return." The Troll said. "If you want to find this pond, I suggest you walk up and go across this bridge that is right above me."

  "Got it." Shokei said.

  "I guess we now know where to go." Rei said. "Let's search for that pond."

  The party agrees and they leave behind the Troll. They walk up a hill and walk across the bridge to where they need to continue onward into the Long Forest.