The Troll and the Minotauress: Gretchen's (Mis)Adventures Season One, #7

By P.A. Mason

 A troll's path to love will have Gretchen walking around in circles to come rescue him, but she's on the clock if she wants to get out in one piece.

 

A treacherous labyrinth lies on a stark island in the shadow of a crystal fortress, and Gretchen must traverse its dangers to get her friend back home. But trying to convince a troll in love is a different story.

 

Tangled vines and endless paths are the least of Gretchen's woes. Eating the maze's bounty could have her sticking around much longer than she'd planned.

 

Smoke, mirrors, and illusion are no match for Gretchen's intestinal fortitude.

 

Save a friend, defeat the trickster, and figure out what Jurgen's new girlfriend is really hiding. Gretchen has landed herself in a real pickle this time!

 

Check out these hilarious high fantasy short reads each month for a new spin on a classic tale. 

• Language: English
• Publisher: P.A. Mason
• Release date: Feb 15, 2021
• ISBN: 9781393967187

Book preview

Table of Contents

Copyright

Title page

CHAPTER 1

CHAPTER 2

CHAPTER 3

CHAPTER 4

CHAPTER 5

CHAPTER 6

CHAPTER 7

CHAPTER 8

Note from the author

Other works

Follow links

Copyright © 2020 P.A. Mason

All rights reserved.

First Edition

Editing services provided by CJ Skye

Cover design by P.A. Mason

GRETCHEN’S (MIS)ADVENTURES

Book 7

THE TROLL AND THE MINOTAURESS

P.A. MASON

CHAPTER 1

Stop— Gretchen brought the business end of a broom down on the ogre’s head. Shaking— she thumped him again. That gnome!

The broom handle broke in her hands, and the ogre dropped the mischievous gnome who’d upended his drink moments earlier.

Right, Gretchen screeched. Get out! The lot of you.

A concert of groans erupted in The Salt and Bog’s taproom and Gretchen turned with a snarl. None of you try this rubbish when Jurgen’s around. If you think I’m gonna be a light touch, you're sadly mistaken. Leave now, and I’ll consider opening up again tomorrow if you remember to bring your manners.

Stools scraped on the battered timber floors, and a few of the regulars began chugging the last of their ale before standing. Gretchen tried not to listen too closely to the dark muttering among them and helped the last gnome out with a heel to his backside before barring the door behind them. She turned and leaned heavily against the door with her eyes closed. It was only day two, and she was already beginning to wonder why she’d agreed to hold the fort while Jurgen went off on his mysterious vacation.

Sure, her new cellar was already mostly dug out, and Jurgen had brought over the lumber to line the walls, but she’d almost forgotten what a handful the regulars could be without the burly troll around to keep them in line.

Her foul mood, she decided, had more to do with Nora’s convenient absence on the night before it was her turn to take over. Her friend was never a morning person, and the chances of her arriving anytime before noon were slim. Gretchen had a feeling she wasn’t going to get to her stall in the city in the morning, and with the last orders of medicinals placed before she shut up shop, she would miss out on a good chunk of change if she didn’t deliver.

Vacation, she muttered. Who ever heard of a troll going on vacation?

Stopping only long enough to bank the fire in the hearth and douse the lanterns, Gretchen left the mess behind and moved through the kitchen with her mind on getting a good night’s sleep. The mattress in the guest room was so soft she thought it might consume her, and her back had ached after climbing out of bed that morning. She thought she might make a pallet for herself on the floor as she climbed the stairs. And if Nora didn’t show up in the morning, she had a mind to lock up the tavern until Jurgen returned.

Gretchen paused by the door of the troll’s bedroom and arched an eyebrow at her scruffy, purple feline curled up on a pillow. Mulligan’s only response was to stretch his legs and yawn.

Traitor, Gretchen admonished, though she knew her familiar had a particular affection for Jurgen.

Further down the hall, Gretchen rubbed the small of her back and dragged the pillows from the bed. The room wasn’t particularly large, and she almost knocked over the nightstand as she tried to heave the mattress off the sprung bed frame. The mattress gave way and slid to the floor like a gelatinous mess. Gretchen kicked it in irritation.

As she pulled off her boots, she wondered for the umpteenth time where Jurgen had wandered off to and pulled her pointed hat from her head. The venture undoubtedly had something to do with the letters she saw him clutching to his chest when he thought nobody was looking. She was almost certain there weren't any other enchanted trolls kicking around on account of having accidently enchanted him herself and couldn’t begin to guess what kind of creature he was wooing.

A dwarf, perhaps. Or maybe even a yeti. She would have to give him some kudos if he’d sweet-talked a brownie, and perhaps if he brought her back to The Salt and Bog, she could negotiate a spring clean back at her place. The cobwebs were starting to look like the spider fortress in the fairy tooth realm, and she couldn’t remember the last time she’d polished the—

Hope I’m not interrupting.

Gretchen swung around and stared at the man leaning against the doorframe, a wry smile tugging at his thin lips. Black hair standing at impossible angles jutted from his head, and Gretchen shook her noggin to clear the apparition from her clearly addled mind. When he didn’t dissipate back into her imagination, her cheeks burned with outrage.

"I said out! How dare you sneak up and… Gretchen’s mouth hung open as she looked the guy up and down. His clothes seemed foreign, and his pointed teeth made her question if he was a regular human or another creature entirely. Who the heck are you?"

The Lord of the Labyrinth, he drawled. "You must be