A cold calm silence greeted the smaller group. Snow and ice blanketed this challenge. Rivulets of sweat dried off cooling bodies. Blood and ichor froze sealing off wounds.

A quick check of the area proved no immediate threats lurked in the ice.

"A moment to remember and mourn our brothers," said Kalthu in a low guttural voice.

All the orcs bowed their heads in respect for their fallen comrades. Besides the Warlord and Captain, only thirteen warriors remained. It was enough to get the humans through and complete the mission, thought Kalthu. He would make sure of it.

The Witch's eyes glittered as she watched the exhausted Heroes and their friends recover from the previous gruelling challenge. She wondered if they were up to the challenges ahead. Should she give another hint? No, she would have to wait for another trigger word. Now, all she had to do was guide them and see them muddle through.

"Oh man that was seriously stressful," said Valentine. He took the opportunity to replenish his Health and Energy. His friends did the same. Lazarus poured a vial of purple liquid down Anya's throat. She licked off her white muzzle as the wounds on her body closed and her fur regenerated making her whole again.

"Here." Lazarus threw some bottles at the warriors who caught the tiny containers deftly. "It will help heal your wounds."

The Captain held out his vial and downed it in one gulp indicating that he trusted the ghost lord's good intentions.

"They are jauk," Kalthu reminded his warriors as he too drank and began healing. Hastily all gulped down their potions. Kalthu did not fault them. Although they had all grown with various versions of the ghost lords' legend, all had ended the same way, total destruction of all they knew. The centuries old enmity and prejudice against the destroyers was hard to dismiss.

"You shouldn't give them all your potions. You need it more than them," said Valentine worriedly. The Thief frowned as he noticed the Assassin shivering again. Laz had only been warm in the sweltering heat of the Field of Corpses.

"We wouldn't have gotten this far without their help. I can always get more from Isis."

"You mean buy more." It was a good gesture on Lazarus' part but he had to be practical too, thought the Thief. Those were just NPCs. The game was too real for comfort sometimes. "By the way, your arrows back there ..." Valentine jerked his head to the border, "what did you coat them with to paralyse the orcs?" It was bugging him.

"It's one of Isis' new creations. She said it would stop an orc long enough for me to run away or recover if need be. I did not know it would be so effective."

Ahhh, so the Assassin did not know. A wave of relief washed over Valentine. He knew it. He knew it. Lazarus couldn't be that ruthless intentionally. It was Isis' idea and not Lazarus'.

"Why?"

"Umm, nothing."

"Captain?" Valentine called the big orc. "That token you gave your warrior Krolock ..."

The muscled grey warrior shook himself. He had lost some good fighters and friends. "When he recovers and finds the token in his hand, he will return to the Stronghold. It means to return and await new instructions. Although he will not remember his time in here, he will know that we have not forsaken him."

"The Overlord ... will he spare Krolock for returning alone? Will he be branded a traitor or worse?"

The Captain glanced at Valentine with new respect, this puny being actually cared for his warriors. "Do not worry human ghost lord, the Overlord also knows what the token means. He is not only the Overlord, he is also a warrior. He will know that something has happened and any who survives will return to report if they can."

Kalthu listened to their conversation. Father will know that some have fallen and some still survive. Unfortunately, he had no way of informing his father that he was still among the living.

"Witch? What is out there?"

The dark robed Witch turned her attention to Kalthu when he called her. The grey one sounded nervous. She kept her face expressionless.

"Nothing you cannot face great warrior," she answered obliquely.

The Warlord glared at her. Was she mocking him? He threw a glance at the humans but they were all suddenly busy staring up at the cloudless sky again.

LifeStone Group Quest Phase Two activated: Frost Trolls

Gather ten Troll Hearts per Hero to proceed to the next stage. Total thirty Troll Hearts required.

Heroes in the group Quest :

Constantine, Warlock, Level 90

Lazarus, Assassin, Level 88. Familiar, Anya, Wolf.

Valentine, Thief, Level 87

"What is it? Lazarus? Constantine?" Kalthu asked the frozen humans. Someone should tell the ghost lords that they really look creepy like that. It was not natural to gaze with such interest at nothingness. "Umm, Lord Valentine?"

The Thief groaned. Another thirty? And how were they going to get the hearts? Wouldn't it just melt along with the frost trolls if they used fire or heat?

"We have to get thirty Frost Troll hearts," said Valentine glumly.

"Thirty Frost Troll hearts?" Kalthu echoed dumbly.

"Trolls have hearts?" the Captain quipped.

"Wouldn't it just melt away?" Constantine asked pursing his lips. "So we have to keep them alive long enough to get their hearts? Like the field dwellers? That's crazy." Scalps were one thing but live hearts? He shuddered at the prospect of touching a beating heart.

Lazarus was frowning. There must be a way. He looked at the serenely smiling Witch. She looked back at him with an expectant expression on her face. Nope, he stopped himself, she may be the Guide to the Bello but he really should not rely too much on her.

Think! THINK! Every MMORPG game was different even if some of their monsters and NPCs had the same tags. A frost troll in one game may have differing characteristics and physical appearance from another MMORPG, right? If not, the games would all be the same and boring.

"The Frost Trolls ..." he began, thinking aloud, "I think we should meet them before we can find out their weaknesses. Not every game is the same right?"

Valentine blinked. It was so obvious, why didn't he think of that? "That's right!! They may not be as frosty as we think they are. Let's go!"

"We should cover our eyes to protect them, yes?" The Red Warlock was squinting, eyes watering at the bright glints from the ice covered landscape. "My eyes hurt."

Everyone took the necessary precautions. It would not do to be blind when fighting the trolls. With light thin cloths covering their eyes, they ventured forth leaving the still slobbering field dwellers at the invisible boundary. Their vision was better now that the blinding glares were somewhat filtered.

With their coloured clothing and grey hides, the group stood out against the white glistening backdrop. Lazarus glanced at Anya, even the snow white wolf could be seen clearly. Her cute black nose and bright blue eyes made her visible.

It was not long before their presence was detected. An impossible loud crack of thunder boomed in the clear cloudless sky startling the group. From the distance, dark storm clouds were gathering at an incredible speed, blocking out the dazzling sun. Darkness raced towards the Heroes as if it couldn't wait to reach them and swallow them up.

"That is creepy," Constantine said in awe as he watched the shadow of the dark turbulent clouds on the ground coming rapidly towards them. In a few seconds, it reached them and enveloped the group in shadows.

There was a definite but invisible shift in the atmosphere. A sudden feeling of dread and doom overcame the fighters.

"This is sooo not good," Valentine muttered.

"Battle mode." Lazarus' firm voice broke the light trance that everyone had fallen into. He ripped away the thin strip of cloth covering his silver eyes. It was not needed anymore. "Everyone, stay alert. Even the weather is playing tricks on us."

"Is it just my imagination or ..." Valentine's uneasy voice trailed off as another thunderous sound filled the air. This time it did not come from above. "Oh my God! Everyone, LOOK OUT!!"

In the distance, jaggered shards of ice broke free from the ground and rose up into the air. One, two, no wait, three!! Valentine counted three trails of deadly spikes coming at them, zigzagging erratically around ice boulders and underground obstacles. The noise of breaking ice was deafening. Something was tunnelling underground and it did not care what it destroyed aboveground.

"Scatter!!" Kalthu bellowed just in time.

The three deadly ice trails met at the spot where the group had been a moment ago and exploded. Chunks of ice, earth and rock flew out into the air and rained down, hitting anything and anyone indiscriminately. Three huge frost trolls burst out from the ground to tower menacingly above the group. They were even bigger than the orcs!

The monsters looked around getting their bearings whilst searching for victims. The thick dark clouds above protected them from the deadly sun. They could now move freely above ground, temporarily at least. There was enough time to hunt and eat their fill before they had to return to the soothing coolness of the earth.

Lifting their frozen faceted heads, they sniffed the air and turned unerringly to the stunned group but made no move. It seems they were uncertain where their prey was.

"Oh my God! They are even bigger and uglier than you!" whispered Valentine to Kalthu.

"You mean uglier than you, wartless one," the Warlord retorted.

"I don't think their eyesight is too good. Since they spend all their time underground, this dim light must be blinding to them, yes?"

"Are they made of ice?"

"Shhhhhhh!!" Valentine shushed his companions in panic as the pale icy horned monsters made grunting noises. One shrugged at their direction while another turned to sniff at another direction. He had caught wind of a warrior hunched down in the ice. Without waiting for the others to make up their minds, it attacked the lone orc. It was too hungry!

The warrior put up a fight and managed to break off a spiked horn from the troll's head but it was over in seconds. The ravenous troll shook off the pesky orc with violent shakes of its head. Then it pounced on him ripping the grey body apart with its long claws and mouthful of sharp teeth. Black ichor sprayed onto the white snow and ice as the ravenous troll fed. Slurping its dripping jaws, it searched for more morsels. They others sniffed the delicious aroma of fresh ichor in disappointment. They were too late.

"Attack!!" Kalthu yelled. He was not going to sit around or hide in the ice like a coward while the trolls picked at them one by one. They were the hunters!! They were warriors!! They were orcs!!

"Rwar!! RWARR!!" The Captain stood up aggressively. Instructions were given in a series of short curt military gestures to the remaining warriors. "Move out!"

The trolls had stiffened upon hearing Kalthu's battle cry. More food!! Immediately, the three broke apart, each targeting different orcs. They were met with angry warriors bent on destroying this new enemy. The orcs were now on the offensive.

"Constantine!!" Lazarus raised his voice. "You know what to do." He signalled Valentine to hold up his longsword.

The Red Warlock nodded understanding. They had discussed tactics in the real world whilst checking up on the compatibility of their weapons and Skills. It seems that Heroes could combine Skills and Powers. Constantine would enchant Valentine's longsword with fire.

"Make it the hottest one yet!" The Thief held up his favourite weapon obligingly and grinned in excitement. This was going to be fun; scary but still fun.

Constantine muttered a spell and pointed a finger at Valentine. A bright flash hit the Hero's sword covering it in a blue glow. Magical azure flames flickered along the naked blade as Valentine swung his sword experimentally. Awesome!!

"O'kay, I go help the orcs now, yes? Constantine said glancing at the busy orcs anxiously. At the rate they were hacking and slashing, there might not be enough Troll left for him. He better hurry if he wanted some action.

The Assassin too couldn't wait to join in the fray. The frightening monstrosities made his heart thump wildly and his blood race with excitement. It was a crazy exciting feeling, all his senses were on high alert.

Lazarus gave a thumbs-up. The thrill of fighting these creatures made all his other problems fade away for the moment. Simtrixx had outdone themselves.

The frost trolls were huge and made of hard ice. Sharp deadly horns stuck out at odd angles on their heads and ice spikes ran down their spines. How they communicated was a mystery. Besides the occasional grunting and nudging, they were eerily silent. Cloudy smoke came out of their gaping mouths every time they bellowed silently. One thing was for sure, their small almost non-existent eyes did not function well. The Assassin smiled, that was definitely an advantage.

The ravenous Trolls were obviously dangerous. One had already eaten an experienced warrior orc like a snack though he had suffered for it. It was searching without success for its broken horn which lay abandoned on the ice some feet away. The poor orc had been alone, that meant that they had to fight back in teams if they were to have any hope of killing any of the monsters let alone get their hearts.

"Blue Flame."

The steel tip of the ghost lord's arrow obediently lighted up.

It seems that the others had reached the same conclusion. The orcs had divided into groups and were attacking the Trolls. With coordinated attacks under Kalthu and the Captain, two Trolls were kept busy. Bits of their bodies littered the ground as the orcs darted in to hack and slash, chipping away at their frozen bodies.

The last troll had half melted and refroze in the chilly atmosphere melding with the ground. Constantine had sent a heat ball and melted its feet. Now it was stuck, frozen to the ground. However, it was not helpless. The Troll swung its arms viciously about, his long claws swiping at an unfortunate warrior. Black ichor sprayed the ice as the orc was flung some distance away like a rag doll.

"Gwaarr!!"

Quickly another pulled his wounded comrade out of harm's way, a trail of black ichor spread over the ice. The monster sniffed the delicious smell and licked it's chops. Valentine jumped in taking advantage of the troll's distraction to slash at an arm. His enchanted sword sliced through thick ice and the appendage fell off. No blood splattered out. It seemed that the Trolls did not bleed. The Thief did not stop there. Ignoring cuts that appeared on his body as sharp spikes cut into him, Valentine scrambled up to cling at the monster's back. With a yell, the ghost lord swung his blazing weapon, cutting off the creature's head cleanly. It fell off and thumped to the ground.

"It's heart!! I can see it! Val! Get its heart!" Constantine shouted as he hurled another spell at the dying troll.

Valentine checked the still upright headless body. The Red Warlock was right. He could see a glowing blue spot in the monster's opaque chest. "Here goes nothing!" he said and carved the body with his flaming blade. A chunk of blue fell out into his waiting hand. Valentine gaped, the pulsing blue heart was a rough chunk of sapphire stone. This was not going to melt. The second the blue heart left the troll's body, it 'died' and ceased moving.

"I got it! I got it!!"

"Quick! Get off the troll before it explodes and cooks you!!"

"Right!" The Thief scrambled off the huge dying body clutching his precious prize before he could be fried. The gatekeeper jumped off just as it detonated. The strong blast slammed the ghost lord into the cold hard ground.

"Owww, owww OWWW!!" Valentine winced as the monster shattered into thousands of ice fragments, each becoming a small missile which pierced anyone unfortunate to be in the way. Bits of Troll rained down before melting and vanishing in cold 'pops'. That was different.

"Not funny Simtrixx!!" the injured Thief grumbled as he almost got hit with a large chunk of falling ice. Everyone else had run out of range.

LifeStone Group Quest Phase Two : Frost Trolls

1/30 Complete.

The other two trolls had also been reduced substantially in size by the orcs. Pieces of arms, legs and horns had been hacked and were scattered all over.

"Lazarus!! Constantine! Take the hearts before we accidentally kill them!" Katlhu shouted. His warriors were too enthusiastic for their own good. Valentine was busy gulping down a potion to heal his numerous cuts.

"Right!"

Constantine held up his hands. Waves of heat hit one troll in his breast. A hole appeared and the NPC fell over. Kalthu darted in to retrieve the solid heart. Hmm, the troll's sapphire heart did not melt. It was hard hearted indeed, yes? He grinned at his own joke. Learning from Valentine's Kill, everyone cleared the area as it disintegrated blasting the surrounding with flying fragments.

Meanwhile Lazarus had loosed several arrows. Flaming arrows embedded themselves into the last huge body. Rivulets of water dripped down as the hot magical blue flames ate quickly into the monster's chest. The Troll opened its mouth to bellow soundlessly in pain. Clouds of smoke came out of its mouth as it screamed frigid vapour in its death throes. Lazarus ignored the frost forming on his body as he ran in to grab the blue chunk of stone. He had to yank it out, breaking the last piece of ice to secure the heart.

"Brrrr!" Lazarus trembled violently for a moment. Now he was cold inside and out.

LifeStone Group Quest Phase Two : Frost Trolls

3/30 Complete.

"Laz!! Get out of there!! It's going to blow!"

The Assassin used Speed and was safely out of range when razor sharp hailstones started hitting the ground. It fell harmlessly missing the humans and what was left of the orcs.

Suddenly Anya growled, her sharp ears picking up something.

"What? What is it Anya?"

"Chosen, there are more coming this way ... many, many more. The last white one called its kind when it was dying."

Lazarus stiffened and looked up alertly.

"Laz?" Valentine asked nervously.

"Get ready, more are on the way."