"Once a month they land on our shore to raid us. They sail from their island off the coast. When you look at the sea, you can spot a small island, but further to the left and out of sight is the actual island of trolls. They have a fortress built up, and over the years they've armed themselves from the plunders they made. Their fortress used to be a king's castle, but I heard they slew the king and kept the castle for themselves." The fisherman shifted his posture, as he was fatigued from his morning work. "The island is difficult to enter because its only shore is a rocky cove. I do not know how the trolls depart and land from their raids. That is all I know, I'm afraid."

"Thank you. I can only give you with this." The boy procured a dumpling from his pack.

"Payment? Talk is free."

"You and villagers already endure hardship with the trolls. This is proof that I will stop the raids."

"You will stop the raids?" It was odd a boy could make such a bold promise, but his eyes spoke of a conviction he had not seen in a man for many years. He accepted the item. "Aye, I wish you well. If there's anything else you need, just let me know."

"Good day." The boy made his way to the beach. A man was almost finished building his boat when the boy found him. "Excuse me, sir?"

"Yes. What do you want?"

"What do you want in exchange for the use of your boat?"

"This? I just fixed it, so I'm not willing to part with it so soon. I have a raft over there you can use."

"What will you take for the raft?"

"You're just playing out on the water, boy? No need for anything."

"I'm going to the troll island." The man promptly stopped.

"Come again?"

"I need the raft to get to the island, so what sort of collateral do you need?"

"I don't need much these days. At my age I realized to have few attachments, because of those trolls."

"I have lunch, is that enough?"

"I guess so." The boy offered a dumpling. "I recognize this." The man took and sampled it. "It was forty years ago I tasted this cooking. Do you know a woman named Anzu?"

"She is my mother." The man's eyes widened.

"She lives?"

"Yes, beyond the two mountains. How do you know my mother?"

"She is my cousin. A bad man wished to take her as a bride, but our family was too poor, so she willingly went. When news came that the merchant was murdered, and his house destroyed, we abandoned hope."

"I don't know of a merchant or whomever originally wished to marry my mother, but my father is an honorable man and a farmer."

"This is an omen. I meet the son of a long-lost relative on the day he swears to challenge the trolls."

"I am Momotaro."

The man laughed. "That is a good name. I believe it is destiny that you succeed in your quest." He finished the dumpling when both his hands hurriedly made the final touch. "Here, take this boat. It's different from other boats, since I made it to let me fish just outside the bay. It should let you land at the island safely." Momotaro held it. "How will challenge the trolls? You don't seem to have any good weapon."

"All I need to defeat the trolls is in here." The boy tapped his head. "Thank you, uncle. I will return when I have conquered the island." They floated the small boat, and Momotaro was on his way with the oars.

There was no anxiety as he rowed. He felt just as calm as he did when crossing the mountains, before he undertook his adventure. He had left home because of a lifelong calling for adventure. As a small child he would talk of setting off to other lands, questing as a hero. He did not remember the circumstances of his birth, and thus gave no second thought to the willingness his parents held to let him leave for the world. They were not his birth parents, but instead found him as an infant. The infant emerged from a giant peach, and miraculously spoke of the age when he would seek adventure in the world. That sort of event thoroughly convinced the old couple whom were more than grateful for receiving a child to raise as their own. They never told him his origin much in the same way they did not tell of their experience in their younger days.

Indeed Anzu was taken by a merchant as his bride. On his way to town, his envoy was ambushed by bandits. Because Anzu was thrown as a human shield, she was sacrificed to the bandits as their property. However, a mysterious man arrived and destroyed both the bandits and envoy. Only Anzu survived by hiding off the side of the road. Lost, the girl wandered onto a farm. The youngest son of the farmer found her and cared for her. Together, the two became a couple and settled on a patch of land apart from the young man's family. Anzu was barren, however, which is why she went with the merchant in the first place. It was many years later the couple finally received Momotaro as a blessing.

Momotaro avoided the lesser island as instructed, and he navigated to the rocky island. A cartographer would mark the island as resembling a fish. All sides of the island were cliff faces, the only beach lay within the cove formed by the tail projections. The little boat worked well in ushering him to shore. He set it out of easy view, behind a rock, and contemplated his campaign. He left his belongings here as well, in case he needed to retreat.

Beyond the dunes was a rocky hill. At the top stood the high walls of the fort. He crept into the foliage and studied the walls. The trolls trully believed themselves safe. There was no watch for invasion. Momotaro was extremely lucky, then, since a watch would have already discovered his entry in the cove. It was not something he considered, but it worked for the best. The troll boats had some other place to dock, since the cove was bare of any sustained boat activity. The island was not as inaccessible as the fishermen believed. With no watch and a second boat entry guaranteed, Momotaro scaled the fort perimeter. On the final side, he found the rock too mountainous, and the wall built too conveniently. A single step forward revealed the deceptive cliff. A prominence shielded a hole in the island bedrock. The water in between both rocks was enough for rowboats. The boy carefully climbed down to enter this cave. Indeed a pier existed within the cave. Both docks were lined with their boats. No one was in sight, the consistent behavior of arrogance on their part.

Proceeding into the fortress proper was unwise, so Momotaro needed a method to silently infiltrate the stronghold. Already he had full access to their flotilla for a limited time. He spotted a tinderbox and lantern on a table. This was the perfect place for an accident on a wooden pier. When he first landed on the far end of the dock, he spotted the sewer drain beneath the pier. That would be his humble entrance while the fire was set. The lit lantern "fell" with the tinder, and Momotaro waited for a steady blaze before making his exit. He was small enough to enter the drain, a channel of foul water. Once above the water, he found the air almost intolerable. Momotaro braved ahead, and reached the reservoir. Waist-deep in waste, he frantically searched the darkness for access to anywhere, just so long as it wasn't another world of shit. He felt a warmth, and found a drainage that sloped upward. He could almost stand in this passage, and walked up the gentle fall of hot waste-water. This stronghold was not so barbaric as to lack baths. Even trolls had some sense of civility, it seemed. He had no idea what they looked like, so as far as he was concerned, he dealt with monsters.

Eventually he reached the top end where water trickled from a grate on the side wall. It was the only light visible. His eyes level with the room's floor, he saw the bath ahead. Torches poorly lit the windowless chamber. The top and bottom drainage combined into an open drainage that terminated at the grate where the floor and wall met. The entire grate assembly was deceptive. Where Momotaro stood, he saw an iron construction as large as a window. Anyone in the bath would only see barred window no larger than his arm. His access must have been a passage during seige. Once he understood the secret door mechanism, he made sure no one was inside before making his entrance.

The iron gears shifted with the pull of the handle, and the entire assembly lowered with part of the floor. He crawled through as the doorway closed itself after the few precious seconds. There was no sign of the intruder's entrance. The bath was incredibly tempting, but it was a liability for anyone to walk in on his moment. He detected another drain river. It came from the opposite wall with the same grate construction. A projecting lip on one side of the grate was the switch, he discovered. The opened upwards in the wall, rather than the floor. He peeked to find this drain tunnel lead further up. He let the door close, because he confirmed a safer bath higher in the castle. A pile of discarded laundry lay in the room outside. When he saw no one was in sight, he threw his clothes here. Naked, he used the second hidden doorway for another venture in darkness. This slope was steeper, since it ascended to a more exclusive area of the castle. The passage became suddenly steep for a landing where it wound in the other direction. He only discovered this when his fingers abruptly struck stone. Embedded rails assisted his climb, and he continued along the warm water stream. Occassionaly he would slow down for fear of bumping into stone. Finally he saw the light of the grate. This bathroom was well-lit by windows. It was considerably smaller, a sign of its reservation for the castle lord. It was a long enough time that surely the lord and the other trolls were preoccupied with the fire.

He almost forgot his mission when he fell into the fresh, hot water. Momotaro decided he would have one final bath when he conquered the fortress. Once soaked, he tried soap on his lower areas. He could not forget his ordeal in sewer. When he could believe he was rid of the crap, he begrudgingly left the water. He scanned the tiled room for a dry cloth. A bench conveniently held a folded cloth, which he hastily used to dry most of himself. The bathroom connected to bedchambers. It didn't feel like the lord's chambers, however. A quick glance at another grate let Momotaro know of another bathroom. However, no water ran from this drain. The clothing in the wardrobe was dusty beyond belief. Even though the room showed habitation, the original clothing remained untouched. It was for good reason. These clothes were for a child. Momotaro sifted through an age progression of outfits. After several drawers, he found the original prince to have reached his own age before vanishing into history. He struggled with the elaborate costume long enough to discard items in frustration. He settled on a top and bottom. The field trousers came with straps at the legs, which he tied. He couldn't be bothered with the overwear, so he kept the undergarmet as the top. Unused field boots conveniently waited for him in a cabinet. Once he finished dressing, he noticed a peculiar box at the corner of his eye. At the far end of the bedroom, by the window, was the strange chest. Too many colors painted the surface, and there was no discernable side to open. Outside, Momotaro could see why no higher bath flowed. The superior keep was destroyed from some ancient war. The prince bedchambers was all that remained of this central structure. When the boy touched the box, it opened itself. Inside was an iron mallet.

"You opened it!" The voice startled Momotaro. At the entrance to the bedroom was a very tall figure. This must have been a troll, for his skin was black. His face was inhuman, and no mouth could be seen to match the voice. He even had horns. "You've got alot of nerve breaking in here." He approached with a broad knife in hand. His head shifted up and down to study the boy. "Those clothes, you took the time to take them. That means you were here a long enough time. I bet you started that fire."

He was caught, and lying would not help. He knew opportunity would present itself anyway. "Yes, I did it." It felt like he had caused mischief as a boy rather than challenge the trolls like a man.

"Step away from the box."

This was the opportunity. Momotaro quickly grabbed the mallet inside while the troll cursed and charged. The boy instinctively brandished the hammer against the troll. Neither expected the hammer to perform its supernatural feat. A shower of gold coins spewed from the hammerhead, all of it against the troll. Forced back, he was unable to resist a direct blow from the hammer. Even though Momotaro was a boy of unremarkable strength, the hammer amplified his attack with its alchemic burst of gold. The weight of the coins wounded his head, and the face tore away to reveal an even cruder face of metal. He sparked and gyrated, then burst into flames upon death. The flames quickly died and left a smoking corpse. The boy looked at the mess of gold, then at his hammer. It was his first troll, and he hoped the rest would fall as easily. He heard noise outside the chamber, so he hurriedly left the way he came. The drain close just before trolls entered the bathroom.

Quick, light steps were necessary to avoid detection. When he arrived at the landing turn, he hastened himself. His free hand suffered numerous collisions because he could not risk the hammer striking gold coins at this time. As expected, no trolls waited in the common bath. He passed the laundry room and ran through a corridor. When a corner was to be made, he stopped and peeked around. Only one tall figure stood at the end of the corridor. This was not a troll, but according to torchlight was some woman. She passed into the light of a closer torch, and Momotaro could see this woman was not only white as snow, but quite stunning. Perhaps someone else was opposing the trolls? The boy revealed himself in the corridor.

"You there!" The voice was masculine. It was the same as that of the slain troll. "You stole the hammer." The disparity of face and voice prompted Momotaro to take a step back. "No, don't bother running. It's obvious you invaded to confront me."

"You? You're the leader of the trolls?"

*He* laughed. "Trolls? Is that what they call my dolls?" As he approached, his towering height became more apparent. "You compromised my outfit here. Even if I pry the hammer from your cold, dead hands, I have no way to return to my country in time. You not only destroyed my way off this island, you destroyed my communication with headquarters." Many words sailed over the boy's head. "Oh, you don't even understand some of what I'm saying."

"I came to put a stop to your raids on the villagers."

"Oh that."

"I planned to kill you."

He just vacantly stared, then sighed. "I see."

"You're not trying to kill me like that other troll?"

"I saw how you destroyed my doll. I had no idea that hammer could be used so well in a fight. As I said, your fire destroyed any reason for me to take the hammer from you." He turned and walked away from Momotaro.

"Where do you think you're going?" He followed the very tall man to the armory. The kid gulped when he realized the strange man only needed to reach for any weapon to make a sudden resistance. He suddenly stopped.

"This is my favorite room in the castle." He sat in the chair against the wall. The light from the window better lit his face, even though the window faced the shaded side of the island. He reached into his strange clothing for a small, white stick, then used a quick spark of fire to light it. The boy finally recognized the behavior of smoking. "You're looking at a man who lost hope. A hopeless, defeated old man."

Slight wrinkles at the corner of the eyes were seen at a certain angle. "I have no good reason for the raids. I guess I did it for fun."

"Fun? You call hurting and robbing good people 'fun?"

"It was because of you natives that I got stranded here. I've been stuck in this backwater archipelago for almost fifty years. It's just a one-man show here. All those 'trolls' are just dolls. They are in my image, but follow my orders, and carry my voice. As I live, they live. When I die, they die. I, and they, first came here on a mission. Not only did I fail my mission, I caused the exact opposite of what I was ordered." He took a long draw of smoke. "So my superiors punished me. They left me stranded on these islands."

"That doesn't explain your villainy to innocent people."

"Oh no, it does. Your innocent people killed my son." It took a moment for the words to sink in. "Maybe I don't have the full story, but I had to see my son die. It feels strange telling you this, because you remind me of him." He inhaled a deep draw. "Everyone ruined my life. I thought I could somehow turn the tables."

"What about this hammer?"

"That's how they imprisoned me. If I procured that hammer, all would be forgiven. My country would welcome me back as a hero instead of condemn me as a criminal. Of course I had no way to open the box." He drafted again. "It was right under my nose, but it could never open for me. Now matter how much I forced it, burned it, or even detonated it, it could not open for me. I guess greed got the best of me." He threw the shortened stick away. "I've got nothing left to lose. You come along and take the hammer. Seeing you take what I wasted most of my life for... I think it's time to let go."

Momotaro looked at the hammer, then at the strange man. "How did your son die?"

"The sun got him."

"The sun... got him?

"You don't know what it's like for us. It started with a woman, and of course he's free to do with women as he pleases. Well, she kept him all night. Her brothers found out about the affair and dragged him outside, butt-naked. We, you can call us ogres, can't tolerate direct sunlight. It burns our skin. We need to wear protection, like this mask here. Indoors we're fine, just so long as there aren't windows facing the sun. Well, of course my son's entire body was burnt in the noon sun. He didn't even have a fighting chance because he was still asleep."

"You saw this?"

"My son was on a survey dispatch. As his supervisor, I saw his video feed."

"Video feed?"

"It's an eye where I can see what it sees without being there."

The quick explanation prompted an, "Oh." from the boy.

"It was with him when he slept with the girl, and it saw everything." He meditated for a moment. "Well, I think I've finally confessed."

"What was your mission that you were punished for failure?"

"I killed the wrong people in an assassination. Worse, I let a survivor escape. It was some girl that the bandits captured. Presumably, she escaped into the mountains. I was supposed to kill the girl, not the envoy. Well, it's water under the bridge. I think we need to get to pressing matters." He nodded his head towards the hammer. "I think you have a mission to finish."

The boy gripped his mystical hammer. "You're fine with me killing you?"

"I saw how you took out the doll. You can give me a swift death. I am ready." He raised the mallet, unsure if he could go through with it. "If you don't, you're sentencing me to a slow, painful death of starvation. I cannot live off of fish, and there is no way to sustain my diet when I require the food of 5 humans." It was a reason for the raids he never admitted as such. He produced another smoke. "Make your move, right here." He pointed to the top of his skull. Momotaro tightly gripped the haft, and made his decision.

The boat was as he left it. He forsook his final bath because a doll minded the furnace and pump, and he did not feel like sitting in still, albiet hot, water. It was time for lunch, he figured, so he sat down and ate his dumplings. He perfectly copied his mother's recipe, so that even at the greatest corners of the world he could still enjoy her cooking. It was a more pleasant lunch than what he was used to. The sun had yet to sink beyond the wall of the castle, which marked a short adventure indeed. The lunch was short since he originally gave away half of it that morning. He cast off on the boat, and found the waters incredibly calm throughout the entire trip. His uncle and all the villagers gathered to warmly receive him.

"All of you waited for me?"

"The sea suddenly became calmer than ever in my lifetime. The only difference today from any other day is your quest to the troll island. We took it as an omen and came out here in hope."

"Thank you. I made sure the trolls will never return." His hand felt the hammer suspended at his waist.

"Not only do you return victorious, you return a prince!" He awkwardly chuckled at the observation. He had already forgotten about that part of his adventure. The clothes felt that natural to him.

"We shall celebrate! This boy is truly a hero!"

The crowd cheered as they led him to the village. For a brief moment he saw all of them and glanced in the direction of the island. It felt too surreal. This was his first adventure, and he knew this was not his last. This was only the beginning of the journey of the boy born from a peach.