Day 11 of Midwinter, Sunrise

Leaving Hy-Brasil

Entering Annwn

When I came through this time I was very close to the northwestern side of the Pool. I knew this because the fiery volcano I now knew was Tech Duinn was closer to me. To the south was the far-off encampment belonging to Tadg and his men

Had Tadg returned from his trip with Brigid yet? Had she learned of the fate of Gorias? I hoped so. She would be relieved that it had been delivered from Fomorian hands.

As I made my way up onto the bank, I spotted a wild grove of trees I didn’t recognize. The berries hanging from the trees, on the other hand, I knew quite well. These were rowan berries, the kind I had eaten to be whisked back to Earth. That guilty memory made me cringe a little bit, even though I had so quickly whisked back to Annwn.

I exited the water, and stripped off my clothes, hanging them on some nearby branches, thinking I could warm myself in the rays of the sun. Naked, I leaned against a boulder, contemplating my next move. There appeared to be no people nearby. And that is when the comfortable boulder I was resting on began to move. Always when I was resting!

Honestly, at that particular moment, I wasn’t expecting trouble. I should have known better after spending a few days in the wilds of Emain Ablach. Why would the Midlands be any different? In any event, whatever had moved the boulder had my head in its mouth before I could even turn around. The pain of my skull exploding in the crushing mandibles of something large lasted only a second. The world went black and I found myself again splashing down into the pool.

Well, that had been anti-climatic. My reappearance in the Pool had felt instantaneous. I kicked back to the surface, realizing that I was still naked. Judging by my position in the Pool, I was somewhere near where I had been the last time. I looked to the shoreline and saw my clothes hanging in the distance. Beside them was an ugly-looking brute. My new identification ability kicked off automatically.

Garbánach the Ogre

Ogres are monstrous beings of immense size and strength. They often dwell in the darkest reaches of the land, preying on the unwary. They have a hunger for flesh and a cunning born of primal instincts.

Great. It looked like if I wanted my clothing, I had to go back into that grove of trees and retrieve them. I watched as Garbánach sniffed at my pants. He moved on quickly, seeming more interested in eating his fill of berries. When his belly was full, he stretched, belched, and sat back down near the Pool.

I swam low in the Pool, trying my best to not be seen. I was probably half of a football field away from him. I kicked quietly just to the north of my last path, heading toward the volcano. I didn't really have a plan, but if I had, I guess the first part would have been to get out of the water without getting eaten again. From there, I could maybe sneak into the trees and steal my stuff back.

The water was cool, but I didn’t feel in any danger of going hypothermic. Nothing bothered me on my way. It briefly occurred to me that if there were terrestrial monsters in this world, there were probably also lake-born monsters. But I came upon the shore, again, without incident.

Well… I came ashore without much of an incident. It was cold outside after all. I looked around nervously, hoping there was no one around. I couldn't stop thinking about the Seinfeld episode where George was caught changing after having exited a pool. I sighed and turned west toward the trees in the distance.

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I approached quickly. My newfound physical attributes carried me more swiftly over land than I could ever remember traveling. Back on Earth, I never knew exactly what was considered “fast” when running in terms of miles per hour. But this new speed was clearly supernatural. That’s the only way I know how to describe it. If I were racing the fastest person in the world, I would still have been able to destroy them in a foot race.

I was at the edge of the grove in no time. I had to break myself away from the awe of my own speed, lest it distract me from the person-eating ogre standing guard over my clothes.

The trees were quiet. Actually, I realized, it was eerily silent. No bugs or birds were making any noise in the morning light, which seemed odd. Had there been any sounds of nature when I briefly sunned myself on the “boulder?” I couldn’t remember.

I slowly made my way deeper into the trees, keeping the water within visual range of my left side. I saw the ogre then, trying his best to hide behind a cluster of trees near my clothing. He knew I was there. How? Could he smell me? What was my play? Never being one to think about things too much, I did the most obvious thing I could think of…

“Hey there, Garbánach. I can see you there.”

There was a momentary pause as the ogre appeared to be thinking hard.

“Garbánach not here,” he finally said.

I chuckled. I couldn’t help it. The whole situation was absurd. Let’s pour on a little more absurdity. “Well then, I’m not really here either. I’ll just grab these clothes here and go back to where I’m not.”

Another pause came from his cluster of trees. “How I smell you if you not here?” His voice was puzzled.

Damn, or Dwal, or whatever the proper curse word was at this moment. Had I just been out-logiced by an ogre? “You must be smelling the clothes.”

“Oh,” he said, sounding disappointed. “I’m still hungry.”

“You know, it is frowned upon to eat a human.”

“What’s ‘ah-human’?” He sounded confused, still favoring his hiding place in the trees.

I grabbed my clothes and stepped my feet into my shoes. The rest of me was still feeling rather breezy. “Um… I meant PEOPLE. You really shouldn’t eat people.”

“You hurt Garbánach’s head with your words.” He peeked around the tree. “How I see you if you not here?”

I started walking slowly past his position in the woods, heading further southwest around the Pool. Garbánach had fully emerged from the trees at that point. Seeing him up close, I saw that he was at least eight or nine feet tall. And though he was around the same size as most Fomorians, he looked nothing like any Fomorian I had ever seen. His giant mouth and teeth seemed too big for his head, and he had actual claws. What was with scary creatures in this world and their claws?!

I stepped backward in and around the trees blocking my escape. All the while I kept my eyes on Garbánach. I was hoping that ogres were like black bears in that respect. You couldn’t run for fear of tapping into some sort of instinctual predatory response, but you also maintained some sort of dominance by not looking away.

Not only was I naked but for my shoes, I realized I had no weapons...but I did have my boons. Then again, did I really want to kill this creature? True, he had eaten me, but could I really call a hungry animal evil? Not this topic again.

This particular orchard appeared to have been cleared of brush and any opposing species of trees or bushes. And though this fact hastened my retreat, there was really nothing stopping the ogre from charging me.

He must have had the same thought because, at that moment, the ogre roared and sprinted toward me. He was an awkward thing to see running full speed. He shambled side to side as if doing that cha-cha dance they play at weddings. I would have found it hilarious, had he not been running directly toward me, clearly intent on eating me. Again. He covered the distance between us in a matter of seconds and instantly started swinging.

I dipped, ducked, dodged, and hid behind trunks of trees. I didn’t know why I hesitated to use my magic. I just really wanted to get away. Within a few minutes, we were both sweating and breathing heavily. Garbánach was growing frustrated, clearly not used to having this much difficulty landing a blow on his prey.

It happened though. Because I was traveling backward, he eventually managed to trap me between a few densely packed trees and a large rock. As he swung down at me with both huge fists, I instinctively put up my own hands.

There was a quiet pause in combat then, as I held his oversized wrists above my head. We exchanged looks of confusion. He struggled to mash me, but I held him fast. He could neither get his hand closer to me nor break away from my grasp.

I was stronger than an ogre! My jubilant thoughts were cut short, however, as a panicked Garbánach power kicked me in the chest. I felt my ribs cave in as I flew backward, splintering the trees behind me and landing face-first in the mud.

My chest felt like it was on fire, and I could barely lift my head out of the mud. Even so, I tried to prepare myself for Garbánach’s next move. To my surprise, I saw him running away, deeper into the trees. It appeared that, for the moment, I would live to fight naked another day.