You fight to keep your voice from trembling as you speak, "I'd be honored to join your wife for dinner, Gorlak." You glance back the way you came, wondering how well you'll be able to keep your bearings once you leave the stream. Escaping won't do you any good if you run in the wrong direction. You're not even sure you'll be able to outrun this monster in broad daylight, much less if you get lost and wind up wandering the forest after dark. You cough and try to make your next question sound casual, "So, Gorlak... how far is it to your cave? Yours must be, what, at least a mile from main hiking trails? It can't be too close if no one knows it's there." The troll chuckles ominously, stepping forward to loom threateningly over you.
"Well, I can't just go around telling every human I meet where I live, now could I? We trolls are private folk... and I'd rather not wake up with a horde of pitchfork-wielding villagers screaming at my doorstep. One or two tasty young boys or girls at a time, that's one thing... but an angry mob, well that's another." Before you can scramble out of reach, Gorlak scoops you up with one massive hand, gripping you tightly around your waist. Your eyes widen in panic as you're carried aloft. The troll gurgles another laugh upon seeing your terrified expression, "Har, har! Now lad, try not to look so bug-eyed and scared when you meet my wife, you hear? It's enough to make one think you're not looking forward to being our dinner guest."
You stutter an awkward apology, using all of your will to keep yourself from shaking like a leaf in the wind, "I'm so sorry, Mr. Gorlak. I'll be a good guest, I promise."
The troll grins widely and nods. "You will at that. Now, I apologize for this, but like I said, I'd rather not have humans knowing where I live." You give Gorlak a puzzled look as he bends down and reaches into a nearby bush. You gasp in dismay as he pulls a gigantic burlap sack out from under the foliage and thrusts you inside. For the next half hour, you're roughly bounced around inside the sack, frowning to yourself over your ill luck. It was bad enough when you had one hungry troll cornering you in the woods, and now you're going to have two... and you don't even know where you are in the forest. With a sinking feeling, you realize you might have lost your only chance to escape. You mutter a curse, thinking to yourself that in all likelihood, you're going to be supper tonight. Suddenly, your captor drops his sack to the ground. The wind is knocked from your lungs with the impact, but you manage to crawl out of your burlap prison. Blinking your eyes in the sudden brightness of the late afternoon light, you find yourself kneeling before the yawning mouth of Gorlak's cave.
