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Summary

After meeting a troll guarding a bridge, Cohen decides to give him money, instead of defeating him in hand-to-hand combat.

Characters

Major Characters

• Cohen the Barbarian
• Cohen's horse, a talking horse, formerly belonged to a wizard
• Mica, a troll

Minor Characters

• Beryl, Mica's wife
• Scree, Mica's son

Cameos and Mentions

• Pyrites, Mica's brother-in-law
• Chert, Mica's brother-in-law, runs a lumber mill in Sour Water where Mica works part-time
• Clay, Mica's brother-in-law, a fat merchant in Bitter Pike, who convinced Chert to replant Cutshade Forest so that they could sell it

Locations

• Death Bridge

• Blade Mountains (mentioned)

Annotations

• This story implies that Cohen has never defeated a troll in hand-to-hand combat. Of course, Cohen has deafeted trolls before (he wears diamond teeth, after all), but he's probably used weapons before.

• This story is the basis for the popular theory that Cohen was caught in the 15-year Lancre timeslip of Wyrd Sisters; this would explain the seeming discrepancy in his stated ages. It's worth noting that Chert the sawmill-owning troll is mentioned in Witches Abroad and thus presumably lives in Lancre.

• Though it's not stated explicitly, it's probably this incident that led Cohen to form the Silver Horde and invade the Agatean Empire, as recounted in Interesting Times.