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Jim walked back into New Heartstone Trollmarket with a limp, a small gash on his leg the course of his altered gait. They had only arrived at the heartstone a week ago, and his focus up to that point had been internal, setting up trolls in their dwellings. He had been mapping the forest above when he slipped from the top of a rather large tree.
The fall from the tree hadn’t been very far, but falling into a patch of jagged rocks hadn't helped. His leg got the worst of it, a gash about 8 inches in length on his calf; the source of his limp. He didn't think it was very deep since it wasn't bleeding much, but a quick inspection once he had collected himself, had proved otherwise. It was another thing to note about his new body, he didn't bleed much, and if he did it probably wasn't a good thing.
A burly troll had noticed his limp on his walk back to Blinky’s. The troll, Drux, had waved him over, and beckoned him into his dwelling, saying something about fixing him up.
“Lay there. I'll be back in a moment.” Drux instructed. Jim laid on the ground confused and watched while Drux mulled about before disappearing into a room further into the back. Jim waited a few minutes, and just as he was about to call out to check on Drux, the troll reappeared with a large grey bowl.
Jim laid his head back down in his arms, then asked, “What are you going to do?”
“Ah don’t worry about it much; it's nothing I haven't done before. I used to help the Trolls seal up their wounds after the battles back in the old world.” Drux told him right as he lifted the large bowl and poured a splash of something onto Jim's wound.
Jim’s reaction was immediate. He jumped up, howling in pain, and turned on Drux.
“Fuck! Did you just pour lava on me?” Jim growled, clutching his leg.
Drux looked at him for a moment with confusion on his face, “Well of course not! It's molten iron. How else are you supposed to seal a wound like that? If you’re going to be a wuss about it, then you can get out. Last time I go out of my way to help anybody.” Drux huffed the last bit under his breath.
Jim limped out of Drux’s dwelling, in more pain than he had been initially. He turned to look down at his leg; a large burn was already starting to blister and was beginning to cover the area where the cut had been. He sighed, turning down the pathway and making his way to Blinky’s library. He was prepared to get an earful from Blinky about being careful when up on the surface, but now he didn't know what to expect.
