In his pent anticipation, Chester failed to react to the troll disappearing long past the leaves, escaping instants after making some form of alien utterance. Though seeming to have the upper hand, their final step was in flat retreat, leaving virtually no trail nor trace of their presence.
"...Damnit." A single drawn-out breath released Chester's tension, yet his mind still raced from the oddities he had witnessed. He had not found the fight he wanted, but what he got had pushed him to a physical and mental edge nonetheless... not at all unlike his skirmishes against the one he was looking for. Whatever the creature who had assailed him was, he could only be relieved it was not wasting more of his time.
The Vertex he carried was nonchalantly tossed into the air, dissipating it with the notion, and caught the two coins it had been formed between. While doing so, his attention turned back to where he had fallen. Tugging by the handle, Jaldoa's ritual knife came pretty clean out of the stump it landed in. He examined the weapon, taking note of its grainy iron of its blade, and noticing the smear of fresh blood tainting one its edges. The cut's sting still had not set in, but Chester had more pressing concerns to care about regardless.
All that mattered was that he had a clue, something to ensure he was progressing; of all the contacts he knew, there was bound to be one who could enlighten him on this incident. The moment these pointers added up - and they always did - Chester would strike once more, and far better prepared than the last. A final glance over the barren crater hardened further his linear resolve; with his search far from over, he finally made way to depart from the woodland, his every step driven by a distant, but surely inevitable act of revenge.