Downtown in Fantasyland

[Katrielle Layton]

Hunter breathed a mental sigh of relief once Sylvan started to lead the conversation. While the apotropaist considered himself somewhat diplomatic, he was aware that his biases might make discussion difficult with the newcomer; given that Kargh apparently wielded a giant axe, the brunet really didn't want to get on his bad side. ...Well, he didn't want to get on anyone's bad side, period. In a world this expansive, friends were more valuable than ever.

As the two conversed, Hayes turned to watch the mounts of the two carriages. The mechanical equines had finally gotten used to the giant scorpion that was staring them down; maybe a little too used to it, because one of the horses pulled forward and dared to place a bronze hoof on the arthropod's bony carapace. The venomous creature immediately lashed out with a stinger, the tail glancing off the steed's steely skin. The stallion reared back and whinnied, steam barreling out of its nostrils in thick clouds as it flailed its front hooves in the air.

Seeing the fight that might possibly break out, he rushed over to place a soothing hand on the horse's side. The equine, while hot due to its inner workings, was not uncomfortably so, and Hunter pressed firmly against it as he hushed and comforted the automoton. Slowly but surely, the steed stopped bucking, and the orphanage owner led it and the other horse further away from the scorpion.

When he returned to the conversation, he found that his wolf friend and the orc were busy working on the latter's weapon. At first he wondered what they could be trying to fix-- when the human saw it, he was under the impression that the axe was in good condition due to the wicked grin of the metal portion. Upon further review, he realized that the handle was made out of wood and was probably starting to wear weak.

He was about to see if there was anything he could do to help when he felt something tugging at his trenchcoat. Glancing down, he saw a little orc girl, dressed in red and yellow robes that were several sizes too big for her. Hunter couldn't help but smile at this-- after all, he worked with children every day back home, so this felt fairly familiar. "Are you a mage too?" she asked, curiously lacking the older orc's excruciating accent.

"Maybe. Depends on what you mean by mage," he replied, kneeling down so they could look eye to eye.

"You don't know what a mage is?" Her tone was that of a stubborn kid who had just been told that Santa Claus didn't exist.

"Back in my world, such a term was found only in fiction. Our interpretations may be different."

"Well, mages use magic to beat the bad guys!" She thrust her hands forward before raising them up and trying to mimic the sound of an explosion, seemingly attempting to demonstrate the use of a magical projectile.

Hunter chuckled at the little display. "I'm that case, yes, I'm a mage. ...Although my methods are less explosive than most, it seems."

"...No explosions?" she asked, disappointed.

"No explosions. I erect magic barriers to protect people from demons."

And with that answer, the little girl returned to being excited. "Like The Legion?"

Those three words caught the apotropaist entirely off-guard. This kid looked so young-- maybe eight at most. Why on Earth would she know that name? He remained silent for a moment, but when he noticed the child staring at him, he recollected himself. "Y-you could say that. If I may ask, how did you learn that name?"

"Daddy fought them back home! They appeared in Azeroth and tried taking over."

Demon slayers? In that moment, his respect for the orc caravan doubled. Sure, he protected people against them, but he had never fought them face to face. An ounce of prevention was worth a pound of cure in his mind, but he could still admire those who fought when prevention wasn't enough. "Did The Legion lose?"

"Uh... what's the word... you know when things aren't moving towards either side?"

"Stalemate?"

"Yeah, stalemate! It's like that. But they destroyed a bunch of other worlds before us, so I guess we're doing better than those other places."

The thought of such a force sent a shiver down his spine. Other universes... entire worlds... decimated by a legion of demonic warriors. Was that what he saw that fateful day on All Hallow's Eve? He hoped it wasn't so-- he felt that Earth was unprepared for such an attack, physically and spiritually. For all he knew, his world might not exist when he came back.

And that terrified him.

Thankfully his cohort and Kargh returned, having repaired the giant axe. The orc, upon noticing Hunter's face, chuckled. "'av zeen 'oo've meht mah daghturr. Dun' wurre, Vari wun' baight."

"It's not her I'm scared of," the human replied simply, wringing his hands together. "Say, is it alright if you elaborate on your days fighting The Legion?"

"'s ahdd reeqhuast. Bu' zur. Cahm eentah mah raide 'n' 'e cahn goh ovahr dat 'n' da map."