I started moving backwards, though not as fas as I should have been as the boar ran at full speed towards me. Now that the woman was farther away, I let out a curse.
I decided to try one more bit of magic, trying to calm myself and concentrating with all my might to channel energy into my shield bracelet. Nothing.
Okay, I thought, not everyone uses magic. What do other people do? Look at Batman! He doesn't even have super powers! Of course he also had a billion dollars and an indestructable suit that the boar would probably just bounce right off of.
So, Batman out of the picture, I tried the next best thing: What would Michael do? Besides, pray, that is.
Answer: Slice it to ribbons with his big-ass holy sword.
And in fact, I did happen to have said big-ass holy sword slung over my back in a scabbard. Except I was afraid to use it. Because even if saving a woman and her baby from some wild creature was probably a righteous endeavor, I still wasn't a righteous guy. I'd said before that I wasn't going to take up the sword, and now didn't seem like a good idea to experiment.
So I did the next best thing. When it got close enough, I hit it over the head with my staff as hard as I could. The thing stopped in its tracks, and I realized at that point that it definitely wasn't a demon. It was just a wild boar. And to be honest, that made me kind of glad that I hadn't gotten my gun out, because hey, it wasn't the thing's fault. We were probably encroaching on its territory or something.
The boar shook its head like it was shaking stars out of its eyes and then snarled at me. So I hit it again.
If this didn't work, I would be rethinking that gun thing.
The boar didn't fall to the ground or anything, but apparently it just decided that whatever its goal had been, it wasn't worth getting hit over the head repeatedly. And I was a lot bigger than that woman. Hell, I probably had a foot of height on her. Snout held high, the boar trotted off in the other direction.
"Not so tough now, are you, piggy?" I called after it. Not too loud. Wasn't pressing my luck.
"Ow," I added, feeling the burn in my injured leg from the running now that the adrenaline was subsiding. I looked out into the jungle, limping in the direction I'd seen the woman go. "Uh. Hello?"
To be fair, Tosh hadn't gone far. She had a baby to look out for, and that was more important than anything. Even still, leaving the man to be gored to death wasn't something she could do. She'd found a stout branch when she heard him calling out for her, turning back with the branch aloft in her hand.
"Over here," she walked toward him, through the trees, Jackson whimpering into her shoulder. "I suppose I don't need this then?"
"Ah... no, I've already got the big stick thing covered," I said.
And then thought that maybe I should qualify that, so I held up my staff. I'd started using the hockey stick because even if I was technically "out" as a wizard, it tended to attract less attention that walking around with, well, a wizard's staff. From a distance, you can't even see the runes carved into it. Until I use it, that is, at which point they light up like track lights. Right now it just looked like a hockey stick with weird carvings.
"Are you okay?" I asked her as soon as I got close enough. "And, um...?" I nodded to the baby.
"Of course," Tosh smiled, embarrassed now that she thought of it. What could she do with a stick, against a boar when she was carrying a three month old infant? She realised that she had never seen the man before, something that hadn't really registered with all of the stress.
"I'm fine, and thank you. I appreciate what you did back there. I really do. I..." Tosh shook her head, kissing Jackson's head again as she shushed him, "I've not seen you about before."
"It was no trouble, really, or rather it wouldn't have been if..." I looked down somewhat forlornly at my staff. "No, ma'am, you haven't seen me around here, as I'm pretty stumped at the moment as to where here is. I'm assuming that Chicago didn't suddenly..." I looked around at the jungle. "Go green."
"Chicago?" Jackson was settling, she'd dropped the stick and given him her finger to grasp and play with. "You're likely going to think I'm mad, but you and your hockey stick are on an island. It's a bit of a mystery as to how anyone gets here and... Thank you, still. For the boar."
"An... island?" Was this some new method of getting me out of the way? A tropical island. It had Summer magic written all over it. Hell's bells, as if the Goats Gruff weren't bad enough...
"This will probably sound like a bit of an odd question, but are there, uh, monsters here? Or... fairies?"
Tosh tried not to laugh. She almost succeeded, her lips pulled inward for a moment as she composed herself. "There's a goddess here, and at least a few aliens, but no fairies as far as I've seen. Though I have heard Peter pan is about."
Shaking her head, she looked at him apologetically, "I'm sorry. It's a shock. this place it drags people from all over. Some sort of rift in space and time, magic, no one really knows what it is. People appear, people disappear. It just happens."
Of course, until recently I'd thought that the billy goats gruff were just a fairy tale, too...
I listened to her explanation, which really didn't clarify a whole lot, but at her mention of magic, I worried my bottom lip between my teeth and then said, "See, the thing is, I'm a wizard."
I blinked at her, and then looked down at my staff. When I looked back up again, I could tell she was holding in laughter.
"It's a... wizard's staff," I said sheepishly, and then added, "Trust me, it would be really impressive if my magic were working. Light shows and things going boom and all that."
The sooner I found a way out of here, the better.
"Oh, uh - " I transferred the staff to my other hand and added, "I'm Harry, by the way. Harry Dresden."
"Nice to meet you, Jackson," I said politely, looking in at the child. I couldn't help but wonder what someone was doing wandering around in the jungle with a newborn.
Looking down at my staff again, I said, "Not really. But, you know, for one thing, it's a lot less conspicuous to be walking around with this than some gnarled carved scary thing. And also, I suck at wood carving. It was easier to just use something pre-fabricated. It's the magic that matters, not the vessel."
"I just... Sorry, we didn't have magic where I came from. I suppose this is what people act like when I tell them about aliens." Tosh couldn't quite believe she was having this conversation, or that she had, for a moment, seriously though of asking if his wand was to cover well, inadequacy issues.
If she had asked, I would have once again pointed out that it was a staff, not a wand... which, come to think of it, probably would not have helped matters much. Besides, what do I know? I haven't gotten laid in five years.
"Aliens," I repeated. And then, "Thanks. I guess. How far is it to, uh - civilization?"
"No one knows?" She couldn't help it, she kept wanting to laugh. Tosh shook her head, "What passes for civilisation here is about twenty minutes that way. I'll walk you if you'd like."
I decided to try one more bit of magic, trying to calm myself and concentrating with all my might to channel energy into my shield bracelet. Nothing.
Okay, I thought, not everyone uses magic. What do other people do? Look at Batman! He doesn't even have super powers! Of course he also had a billion dollars and an indestructable suit that the boar would probably just bounce right off of.
So, Batman out of the picture, I tried the next best thing: What would Michael do? Besides, pray, that is.
Answer: Slice it to ribbons with his big-ass holy sword.
And in fact, I did happen to have said big-ass holy sword slung over my back in a scabbard. Except I was afraid to use it. Because even if saving a woman and her baby from some wild creature was probably a righteous endeavor, I still wasn't a righteous guy. I'd said before that I wasn't going to take up the sword, and now didn't seem like a good idea to experiment.
So I did the next best thing. When it got close enough, I hit it over the head with my staff as hard as I could. The thing stopped in its tracks, and I realized at that point that it definitely wasn't a demon. It was just a wild boar. And to be honest, that made me kind of glad that I hadn't gotten my gun out, because hey, it wasn't the thing's fault. We were probably encroaching on its territory or something.
The boar shook its head like it was shaking stars out of its eyes and then snarled at me. So I hit it again.
If this didn't work, I would be rethinking that gun thing.
The boar didn't fall to the ground or anything, but apparently it just decided that whatever its goal had been, it wasn't worth getting hit over the head repeatedly. And I was a lot bigger than that woman. Hell, I probably had a foot of height on her. Snout held high, the boar trotted off in the other direction.
"Not so tough now, are you, piggy?" I called after it. Not too loud. Wasn't pressing my luck.
"Ow," I added, feeling the burn in my injured leg from the running now that the adrenaline was subsiding. I looked out into the jungle, limping in the direction I'd seen the woman go. "Uh. Hello?"
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"Over here," she walked toward him, through the trees, Jackson whimpering into her shoulder. "I suppose I don't need this then?"
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And then thought that maybe I should qualify that, so I held up my staff. I'd started using the hockey stick because even if I was technically "out" as a wizard, it tended to attract less attention that walking around with, well, a wizard's staff. From a distance, you can't even see the runes carved into it. Until I use it, that is, at which point they light up like track lights. Right now it just looked like a hockey stick with weird carvings.
"Are you okay?" I asked her as soon as I got close enough. "And, um...?" I nodded to the baby.
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"I'm fine, and thank you. I appreciate what you did back there. I really do. I..." Tosh shook her head, kissing Jackson's head again as she shushed him, "I've not seen you about before."
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"An... island?" Was this some new method of getting me out of the way? A tropical island. It had Summer magic written all over it. Hell's bells, as if the Goats Gruff weren't bad enough...
"This will probably sound like a bit of an odd question, but are there, uh, monsters here? Or... fairies?"
Reply
Shaking her head, she looked at him apologetically, "I'm sorry. It's a shock. this place it drags people from all over. Some sort of rift in space and time, magic, no one really knows what it is. People appear, people disappear. It just happens."
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Of course, until recently I'd thought that the billy goats gruff were just a fairy tale, too...
I listened to her explanation, which really didn't clarify a whole lot, but at her mention of magic, I worried my bottom lip between my teeth and then said, "See, the thing is, I'm a wizard."
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She really was trying to not laugh.
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"It's a... wizard's staff," I said sheepishly, and then added, "Trust me, it would be really impressive if my magic were working. Light shows and things going boom and all that."
The sooner I found a way out of here, the better.
"Oh, uh - " I transferred the staff to my other hand and added, "I'm Harry, by the way. Harry Dresden."
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Her lips pursed for another moment she finally smiled, "A hockey stick as a wizard's staff? Is that typical where you're from?"
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Looking down at my staff again, I said, "Not really. But, you know, for one thing, it's a lot less conspicuous to be walking around with this than some gnarled carved scary thing. And also, I suck at wood carving. It was easier to just use something pre-fabricated. It's the magic that matters, not the vessel."
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"Welcome, I suppose, to Tabula Rasa."
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"Aliens," I repeated. And then, "Thanks. I guess. How far is it to, uh - civilization?"
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