Notes for a Scholarly Tome on Trollish--by "Kris the Warlock"

[Sazerac]

Some collected notes on a research work on the Trollish Language, by "Kris the Warlock".

--I have noticed in our travels that the annoying Trolls' gibberish actually seems to have some semblance of order to it. It seems to be a degenerative form of Orcish mingled with lower gutteral Common tongue. However, I am starting to get a better appreciation for these beings and their social order, which is far from chaotic, I can tell. There is an actual hierarchy to their ranks, which has given me a clue to their linguistic structure as well.

Although much of their language is unintelligible to me right now, I have been able, at least, to discern a pecking order amongst them, and by their jotting down notes after each battle, have come up with a reasonable attempt at being able to determine their language.

The lowest of the pecking order are the "Guni", which I have taken to be a degenerative plural form of our own word "Goon". These are the peons of the Trolls; the foot soldiers; the ones the wiser and/or more intelligent ones send out to do their dirty work.

The next level up are the "Sniks", or Thieves (as evidenced by their pickpocketing behavior). This leads to several words stemming from the word "Snik" - "thief" or "one who steals". For example, the word "Snika" is the verb formed from the noun "Snik", meaning "to steal". "You snika no trollie" literally translates "You don't steal from Trollie"...as we heard when Daevi flubbed one of his pickpocket attempts on one of the Troll Haju-Li.

We now come to the Mangu, the third level of the Trollish hierarchy. Although I am not sure, I would pose a hypothesis that the word "Mangu" represents a Captain or a Trooper; a leader of a group of Guni. They are tougher and pose a greater threat; and are also more intelligent (only slightly) than their "goon" counterparts. Mangu will attempt to retreat from battle if the battle is turning against them; Guni generally do not.

The trolls even have shaman among them, known as "Haju". Whether this refers to "wizard" or "priest", or some combination thereof, I do not know. However, they employ a blend of both low-level Sun, Moon, Spirit, and Vine magic, leading me to believe that they are rudimentary Warlocks such as I am. There are two levels of the Haju that I have been able to observe: the Haju-Li (lower Haju?) and the Haju-Ma (master Haju). I must conduct further studies to understand the origins and distinctions of their terms "Li" and "Ma". One thing is for certain: the higher Shamans (Haju-Ma) are not to be trifled with. They can employ at least 5th level Vine magic, as evidenced by their casting of the spell "Locust Swarm" on our party, completely taking us by shock. May Kerah help us if they gain the knowledge of the 6th circle of Vine, and access to the fatal "Deadly Vapors" spell employed so efficaciously by the Amazoni Mantraps and Jungle Lilies.

At the top of the trollish hierarchy is the rank of "Juba", which I have taken to mean "Lord". This would be only in rank, as I would hesitate to subscribe any of the noble and chivalrous attributes of our own Paladins to those of their ilk. They are also unable to cast spells, as far as I can tell, so perhaps a better term would be "Chieftain" or "Warlord". It still implies high rank, and may have some mystical symbology among them. The first troll of any notoriety that we slew was named "Juba Thobers". At the time, I thought, as the rest of us did, that "Juba" was his name. I understand now that it was a title, similar to what we would call "Chief Thobers" or "Lord Thobers". This was also shown in that he was far stronger and more cunning than any of the other trolls we had encountered in the Gael Serran up to that time.

Knowing this fact gives me a clue as to another common phrase of the Trolls, "Jubi Baoka," something they yell in battle when either terrified or possibly angered. If I take "Jubi" to be a derivation of the title "Juba", then it possibly means "Lord" as well...although in a more spiritual sense; if Trolls have a degree of intelligence, they must have trollish deities as well. "Jubi" may be a common form of addressing their deity, or their "higher power", since "Juba" is an earthly vicar of that energy. Thus, "Jubi Baoka" may be a mild explitive, such as we would say "Good God", or "My Lord", or "Lord have mercy". I do not know if the term is an actual attempt at invoking the energy, such as "Lord give me strength!" or a mere explitive taken in vain. I definitely want to look further into this matter.

As far as I can tell, "Weega" and "Oooyah" are trollish gibberish, but I am reluctant to consign them to the meaningless pile, as so many of my contemporariees have done. Rather, I prefer to hold onto them as possible meaningful words until I have exhausted all options of making sense of them.

It is my hope that with the eventual publication of this material (in light of the jibes made at me by my well-meaning party members) will lead to a greater appreciation and understanding of the language and culture of these beings so rampant in the Gael Serran, and will thus increase the common body of knowledge for all scholars in the land. It is also my fervent hope that in so publishing that I will achieve distinction in the field of Incunabula, or scholarly research.

--Kris the Warlock
Gael Serran, 63rd day of adventure.

[Wyvern]

B R A V O ! ! !

Most excellently done!!

Wyv

Kris the Warlock:

In this day of unwashed adventurers and upstarts who seem to have nothing more on their minds than a greedy desire for gold, it was a refreshing moment in my mundane existence to come upon your thorough and thought-provoking research into the language and hierarchy of the Troll race. It is obvious to even the lowliest scribe, such as myself, that your research stems from genuine experience in the field, which is quite admirable as many of my colleagues seem content to gossip around the tavern hearth while drawing unfounded conclusions about various races. I have submitted your thesis to my uncle who is a member of Scholars United to Furthering the Understanding of All Races (SUFUAR). Tis my hope he will summon you to speak at our next meeting, and thereby inspire my fellow members to exhibit the your dedication to fact-finding research which can only be conducted in the field, not from a tavern stool.

Sincerely,
Dawn of Minstrel

OH, SAZERAC! WONDERFULLY DONE! I hope this is going to the Archive!

[Sazerac]

Sigir the Barbarian (calling from the background): "DON'T ENCOURAGE HIM! HE'S NOW WORKING ON A TREATISE ON WORGUR DIETARY HABITS!!"

Kris the Warlock: *sigh* "Critics, so many critics..."

____________________________
Thank you guys! I definitely want to send this to the archives, but had better wait a bit until poor Slip gets a bit of a break.

-Sazerac