"What was that?" Maxine whispered far too loudly in my arms.

I was about to say something when the thing we were sitting on moved and dumped us both on the ground. Maxine let out a scream, and the thing that stood up yelled back.

"Hey! What are you screaming for? Are you trying to wake them up?" The grinding and gravelly voice of the massive thing tried to whisper.

The pair of them alerted the rest of the girls, and they all came running over to us. Sasha and Kyrin were on guard with claws and sword out while Mikota and Jill rushed over to help Maxine. She had quieted down after the strange thing yelled at her. Finally, I got my bearings about me and tried to talk to the thing while putting a hand up to stop Sasha and Kyrin's advances.

"What do you mean by they? And can I ask who you are?"

"No time, they must have heard us. I am Grock, follow me, or you're all going to die."

The gravel voice brooked no-nonsense and turned without warning, and started to walk into the dark.

"Wait, what about our stuff?"

But that was when I heard the sounds start. Long soul tearing screams fresh from the underworld tore through us. Mikota and Maxine started to cry, and I began to feel crushing despair as more of the rippling screams joined in tandem. Just as even I was beginning to slip into a terror-stricken panic, the loud gravelly voice boomed out, "LET'S GO!"

No one looked back, and the girls ran forwards, Jill and I each carrying one of the crying girls. We had no idea where we were being led other than that we were descending lower into the area around the central runes. The villager reactions and the reason for the lack of information were all very apparent now as we chased after Grock through the night.

Finally, we arrived at a cave with a massive rock in front of it, mostly covering the entrance.

"Get in."

No one argued, and everyone filed into the large cave. Inside I was like a blown up dorm room, with a single rock slab that looked like a bed for a giant and a large piece of slate sat on two rocks with another bolder that looked to be the chair. Grock was the last to come in, and he pulled the stone to seal the door off, but the light of a previously lit fire illuminated the room.

The girls went to the back near the fire and huddled. Grock came over to the rock-desk and sat turned around, facing us on his boulder chair. It was our first time actually getting to see him.

The massive shape turned out to be a cloaked pile of rocks. Grock was a Rock Troll, the type that ate mineral-rich rocks and slept most of the time. This type of rock troll was known for its timidness towards humans and avoiding them.

This Rock Troll didn't look that timid. In fact, he was staring me down at the moment. That granite face felt like it was burning a hole into me with those dark yellow eyes staring.

"Why did you come here?"

"First, one question! Why did you save us?"

"I felt you coming. No one comes here."

"Hmmm? That not a reason, but it is an answer. Long ago, my friend Jill and I found a book talking about these ruins. In the book, it mentions trapped souls here and a way to transcend to another plane. From what we have gathered over the years, it takes all six elements to activate the souls."

"Your not wrong, but you must leave."

"Woah, Woah, Woah, Rocky! We aren't leaving. Honestly, if you would have just stayed still and quiet, we would have been fine," Maxine started to complain but shut up quickly and began to burn with a bright red at Grock's next comment.

"Oh? I should have just let you two proceed to attempt your baby-making ritual while on top of me?"

I got a wry smile on my face when Grock said that. Maxine looked down at her thumbs as Sasha and Jill took turns glaring at the two of us. I could only imagine what they were thinking now since we had snuck off for some hanky-panky while they were getting the campsite ready.

"Ok, ok, so you don't think we should go in, but we have to. So, is there anything you can tell us about the ruins?"

"It is dangerous."

"You mentioned that."

"Very dangerous."

"I pretty sure I read somewhere that rock trolls aren't stupid. Was I misinformed?"

"Hmph."

"Fine, you wanna play that way? Girls, come here!"

The girls looked at me strangely but came over at my beckoning. I asked each on to lend me some power, I was going to try something that was sure to piss off the troll, but I was at a loss as to what to do to get info. It was like trying to squeeze water from a rock, except this time, it was thought from a stone. Each girl placed their hand on my back, and I felt each different magic pour into me.

First, an earthen hand ripped up from the floor, grabbing the troll and pinning him down. Water flowed next, making the earth turn to mud, and it spread over, getting a better hold on Grock as Wind air poured in to dry the mud, fortify it. Grock fought against the handle, trying to break free, but the light acted as a shield to reinforce, while darkness leached away the trolls power. Fire was the final element, baking Grock into a concrete statue.

"GRAAAAA" The cave reverberated and shook with the rock grinding cry of Grock, but that was cut off as mud filled the troll's mouth.

"Alright, enough of this bantering. I have five tired and wet girls here! Are you done being as thick as a...ROCK?!" I asked in exasperation as I forced the magic to tighten the hold.

Grock tried to give me a defiant look, but that was it. I squeezed, and I could hear cracks forming, and hairline fractures crawled up the troll as its eye went huge. This massive monster probably could count the time's on one finger that it would be put in a position like this. I let up the pressure up, and the magic all fell apart.

"Now, since we have had the chance to see who's is bigger, can we have a reasonable conversation now?"

As the rock, mud, and the other elements covering Grock fell away. He gave his arm a rotation while holding his shoulder. Grock turned to me, but he had a different look to him now. There was more behind those eyes now. Grock looked at me and let out a massive sigh.

"Not too bad, it's been a long time since I was bested and forced to back down. Not since him, before, similar. Sorry for not being straightforward. I have to watch these ruins, waiting for the next visit. This, you, them, I was told to wait. He said just wait and he would come back. How long has it been? Mind is like cave filled with rocks, but something seems similar."

"Wait, so then you have been waiting for us?"

"No, I wait for him, you, to return. That man, him, you, said he, him, you would come back."

"Why do you keep doing that? Him, he, you? why me?"

"Not me, he, him , you. Like the other, but different, and the same. Look, smell, touch, taste, all different, but same as he, him, you.

"Are you trying to say I have been here before?"

"Not you, he, him, you. Not the same, but you like he, him, you."

This conversation was making my head hurt. The "He, him, you" only partially made sense, and the part that did was hardly useful to the current situation. I turned away from Grock to see what the girls thought of our exchange, but only Sasha stood behind me close when I turned around.

"Hmmm? everyone is asleep?"

"Honestly, I only am awake because I didn't want to leave you alone when you were talking like that."

"Wah? What do you mean?"

"You to have been standing there for two hours groaning back and forth with each other. Didn't you know?"

"No, it felt like no more than a matter of maybe ten minutes."

"Well, you seemed to have tired out the troll."

Both of us looked back to see that Grock had already laid down and was curled up and facing the wall. So many more questions ran through my head, and I wanted to keep going but, a wave of exhaustion ran over me and let the weight of the world settle back down onto me. Sasha led me to the pile of girls, and we found a corner to cuddle up in.

As I fell asleep, Grocks words stayed with me, "he, him, you."