Thag huffed and puffed with effort of expressing his emotions as the female troll stared at him with a dumbfounded look. The human male behind her politely covered his laugh with one hand as her expression slowly changed to rage. With a scream of anger she backhanded Thag, sending him stumbling back and almost knocking over his sign. Then, her skin turning from rocky purple to a bright red-purple, she turned around and fled back the way she had come.

Thag hauled himself up and stared after her, shaking his head in confusion. This was the third time this month Stoga had attempted to cross the bridge without paying, but this was the first time she had gotten violent. She was lucky his father had taught him to control his temper!

The human approached the bridge, pulling out the 5 copper toll. He seemed to hesitate, then smiled at Thag. "Uh, pardon me, friend troll, but you weren't any chance raised by humans were you?"

"What?" asked Thag. "How did you know that?"

"Well, I did hear a rumor that a childless couple in town had adopted a troll and you do speak better Common than most trolls. I only ask because I thought maybe no one had told you about troll mating customs."

"Mating customs?" Thag repeated, confused.

"You know, courtship and such," the human said, waving his hand vaguely. "Romance."

"No, what does that have to do with anything?" Thag demanded.

The human shrugged. "It's just that in the troll culture in this area, the females are supposed to be the aggressors. They taunt the males and call them names; if the male likes the female, he will submit to the name-calling and give the female a small gift, such as, perhaps, a free bridge crossing. Then the female apologizes for what she said and gives the male...ah...a nice experience. If they both enjoy the experience they are married in a short ceremony that involves jumping over a fire, I believe. It just seems like it might be relevant to your situation, friend troll."

Thag stared for a solid ten seconds. Then he blew a whistle that was hanging around his neck. A small gnome ran out of the toll booth and saluted. "You called, Sah?"

"Yes, Tingle--can you man the gate?" Thag asked as he ran rock-like hands over his boulder-like hair, eroding it to near-smoothness. I'm taking a break and maybe a long lunch--its a, uh... family emergency."

"Yes, Sah! You can count on me, Sah!" The gnome saluted again. "What about this human, Sah?"

Thag glanced at the man and gave him a wink. "Oh, him--he's good. I'm using my pass for him."

The human looked surprised. "Thank you, sir!"

Thag grinned as he set off after the fair Stoga. "Oh no, thank you!"