Character Analysis
Nope, not the Roman emperor—we mean the cliff troll who lives in Fablehaven. Not that a cliff troll is much better than a megalomaniacal ruler. According to Grandma, "'Cliff trolls are miserly creatures. Treasure hoarders. Cunning negotiators. They relish the thrill of besting an opponent'" (14.31). Which makes it just awesome that Grandma, Kendra, and Seth have to try to cut a deal with Nero in order to find Grandpa post-Midsummer Eve.
Nero lives on a ledge in a ravine, with a series of upright logs providing the only path to his doorstep. Dangerous? You bet. He refers to the logs as a "filter" (14.74) to ensure that anyone who seeks him out is really desperate—which makes him seem like such a nice guy… not.
When Seth manages to ascend enough of the log ladder to convince Nero that he's earnest, Nero saves Seth from a bad fall and reveals himself: "Built like a man, the troll had reptilian features. A few bright yellow markings decorated his glossy black body" (14.104)—plus he's covered in "sleek scales" (14.108) and has bulging eyes and a row of spines down his back. He has a habit of popping out his long tongue and licking his eyeballs, too, which is both impressive and impressively disgusting.
Interestingly, though—and not unlike Muriel—in contrast to his bizarre appearance, "His voice was suave and rich" (14.119). We're imagining this helps with the whole cunning-negotiation thing that trolls are so good at.
At first, Nero asks for riches and gold in exchange for locating Grandpa, but Grandma manages to convince him to trade the info for a massage by framing a massage as a rare and unique experience. Nero falls for it, and maybe it isn't such a stretch after all—when the massage is over, Nero wears "a euphoric smile […] He looked ready for the most satisfying nap of his life" (14.173). A good massage will do that to a person, and apparently Nero isn't exempt from the soothing power of touch just because he's a nasty troll.