I shouldn't complain - after all, the Warriors are used to dealing with weird things happening on a regular basis, and a world with both technology reasonably close to what we have back home and public use of magic is pretty rare. But this particular weirdness could end up killing an entire city full of people, so I felt that I had a right to complain - if only I knew who I should be complaining to. Worse, both the company president and our best spellcaster were missing.
In their absence, our onmyoji was in charge. I cornered him in a quiet spot where the girls couldn't overhear us, being careful not to disturb the wards that he had hastily put up earlier. Quietly, I asked, "Ren, what the hell's going on out there?"
Just as quietly, he replied, "As I told the others, Doug-san, I couldn't begin to guess."
I didn't buy that when he said it earlier this evening, and I didn't buy it now. I'd learned a bit about misleading statements over the decades -- his had all the hallmarks of an attempt to get people to stop asking him questions. "I'm not asking you to guess. I'm asking you to tell me what you know."
He sighed quietly. "You've only been here a few weeks and you already know me that well. Itsuki-san was wise to hire you. We're facing a dragon."
"Really?" I suppose the mist blanketing the city could be some sort of breath weapon, but otherwise this wasn't like any dragon that I knew about. "Remind me after all of this is over to tell you about the time I punched out a dragon in Romania."
The barest hint of a smile played on Ren's face. Considering the gravity of our situation, that was the equivalent of a wide smile at any other time - except that I can't remember Ren ever smiling widely. "This is a different sort of dragon; a more metaphysical one."
A metaphysical dragon. I couldn't just walk up to an idea and punch it... although it might be interesting to try. "Tell me more."
In their absence, our onmyoji was in charge. I cornered him in a quiet spot where the girls couldn't overhear us, being careful not to disturb the wards that he had hastily put up earlier. Quietly, I asked, "Ren, what the hell's going on out there?"
Just as quietly, he replied, "As I told the others, Doug-san, I couldn't begin to guess."
I didn't buy that when he said it earlier this evening, and I didn't buy it now. I'd learned a bit about misleading statements over the decades -- his had all the hallmarks of an attempt to get people to stop asking him questions. "I'm not asking you to guess. I'm asking you to tell me what you know."
He sighed quietly. "You've only been here a few weeks and you already know me that well. Itsuki-san was wise to hire you. We're facing a dragon."
"Really?" I suppose the mist blanketing the city could be some sort of breath weapon, but otherwise this wasn't like any dragon that I knew about. "Remind me after all of this is over to tell you about the time I punched out a dragon in Romania."
The barest hint of a smile played on Ren's face. Considering the gravity of our situation, that was the equivalent of a wide smile at any other time - except that I can't remember Ren ever smiling widely. "This is a different sort of dragon; a more metaphysical one."
A metaphysical dragon. I couldn't just walk up to an idea and punch it... although it might be interesting to try. "Tell me more."
![[+]](/images/collapse_collapsed.png "[+]")
Spoiler
--
Rob Kelk
Sticks and stones can break your bones,
But words can break your heart.
- unknown
Rob Kelk
Sticks and stones can break your bones,
But words can break your heart.
- unknown