Necrophage

A Hero Tale: Oswald

There was no time to react. Common theme there. Zel simply disappeared and reappeared in an opening and struck him. The pain was excruciating, nothing else could be felt compared to its magnitude as he went sailing through the air. With a terrible crash he smashed through the barn door and rolled to a stop. Various animals could be heard stirring and moving away from the conflict.

A dense screen of dust floated over the debris. Oz wheezed for a moment before he started coughing. Something in his chest felt wrong, out of place. There was nothing scarier than not being able to see what hurt. He tried to clear his throat only to feel more alarming pain. With great effort he swept his hands across the floor and started pushing himself back up. Oz faltered and fell back to the ground, breathing heavily and painfully.

"This-!" Oz abruptly coughed. Despite his apparent injuries he forced himself back on his hands and slowly, shakily rose. "This-" Again he coughed, stirring the sheet of dust that made him all but a silhouette in the barn. "-is... nothing!" He denied the reality of his predicament. There was a faint shimmer of blue around the silhouette, visible even through the debris. It slowly turned.

A tingling sensation danced across the surface of his skin. Oz was pretty out of it at this point because he stopped paying attention to himself and his injuries. For a younger man he was surprisingly focused away from the pain. Oz had a purpose, right now it was his only strength.

"Is that-" He coughed. "-all you've got?"

A Hero Tale: Oswald

Oz tipped away from the voice that appeared behind him. Even in those few moments Zel had already moved and assumed his martial stance. "There's nothing to understand!" He jumped back and crouched in the dust, balancing himself against the ground with his hands. "You're just a lunatic. You were slighted by some 'mundanes' because they said no so now you want to wipe out a whole town."

Oz grasped handfuls of dust off the ground and threw them out to saturate the air around him. "I'll stop you even if it breaks me to do it!" He shouted. The fencing around this part of the property was loosely put together, meant to be easily moved. Oz hastily pulled a post free and tightened his grip expecting an attempt to disarm. There was no way to beat Zel's speed, so he threw in a bid for stupid luck and wildly swung all around himself.

A Hero Tale: Oswald

Zel cut himself off mid-sentence, fading out and into sight so quickly he was impossible to keep track of. The speed of the blow was too quick for Oz to respond to and before he knew what was happening his head whipped back and the momentum sent him tumbling across the ground.

The stubborn hand immediately pushed himself up off the ground. His head was pounding and it was difficult to think of anything clearly. One term stuck out at him, repeating itself over and over in his head, "You really lack any sort of approach... you really lack any sort of approach..." He wiped blood off the corner of his mouth before spitting a wad into the dust. He'd cut the inside of his mouth during that last exchange.

Oz was breathing more rapidly now, his heart was racing. There was no grin decorating his face anymore. He felt shaky on his feet but forced himself back into a boxing stance. "You're absolutely right..." He agreed. It was clear from that second-long demonstration that Zel was going easy on him. He was probably toying with him like a cat plays with its prey.

In that brief moment he knew he might have to rely on something he knew how to do: Wrestle. There was no defense against that speed that wasn't going to get picked apart instantly. He may as well have been standing still and waiting for the crazy to hit him. So why not keep him from moving? He pushed his body to its quickest limit, dashing forward and feigning a heavy swing so he could get within reach to hug him.

A Hero Tale: Oswald

Zel's expert blow knocked the shovel clear away, clattering against an upturned wheelbarrow. Oz dashed back quickly to avoid any follow up blow. He could already feel the sharp pain in his right hand from the attack. Shrugging it off, he curled his fist into a ball, knuckles cracking dramatically. He took a boxer's stance to protect his vital areas, holding both arms close to his body.

The adrenaline was rushing and Oz felt like talking as he backed carefully toward the barn. "Whew! You gotta teach me some of your moves if I don't die. Promise?" He grinned again. This guy was good, even if he was a loon. Zel still didn't show quite how he caused such damage in a few short moments. Maybe he was going easy on him? Maybe he was bored? Neither was a good prospect right now.

A Hero Tale: Oswald

Oz replied quickly. "Too late, you already asked. My name's Oswald Keffrey. I'm just a handyman here that does what needs doing." He grinned fiercely. It wouldn't do to piss Zel off more than he already was but Oswald's mood had shifted. He felt a glimmer of hope and a whole lot of angry.

The handyman held the shovel like a club and paced around Zel. "Today it looks like your face needs some work." He kept on grinning, keeping his distance and watching closely for Zel to burst forward. Should Zel wait patiently it just meant more time and distance between him and his quarry. Oz could dig it.

A Hero Tale: Oswald

Oz recoiled a few steps as he caught Angelica. He swept her to her feet and gently pushed her behind him. "Angie, you need to go. Follow the workers out." He said, just loud enough so she could hear him. "Bring your father." Oz carefully guided Josh to her by his arm. To discourage unnecessary hesitation he added. "Go! Crazy up there isn't going to wait for you to get away."

Zel continued to threaten them. This adversary wasn't going to give up until he had his prize. "What is that book to you? Why break my people to get it!?" Oz picked up a discarded shovel and glowered at the man standing in the window. His adversary would be coming soon and all he could do was delay him. He had no tricks. No real weapons or training. What he had was spirit and his hearty strength. It was time to withstand Zel. He had to. There was no telling where the madman would stop even if he got his damned book.

Images of bleeding eyes and ears, distorted limbs broken asunder in seconds and the carnage that could soon happen flashed through his head. Where none other would stand he would. Oz would be the guardian to keep nightmares like that from happening.

Maybe Zel had a secret. A certain range for his tricks. There weren't many chances or time to figure out a way to beat him.

A Hero Tale: Oswald

Plenty of men were hurt in strange ways in an instant. This man, Zel, was not normal. The way he inflicted damage was straight inhuman. Oz took command, immediately directing others to get everyone far from harm. He looked to the set of workers helping Joshua and issued away. "Take Josh out of here! This trespasser ain't normal. I don't want anybody else hurt." There wasn't much time left before another person would be wounded.

A few other workers looked panicked so he gave them direction. "Help Bobby and the other injured outta here!" The thoughts of what Zel would do if he came back down made him shudder. He turned with all his haste to the window above and bellowed.

"Angelica! Jump! I will catch you!" Oz prepared himself to receive her even as a few others got their deadly tools ready.

A Hero Tale: Oswald

Oz placed himself in the way and raised a hand to keep Zelriane from moving forward. "I've got no problem advisin'. This is not my land, though." He tilted his head to the side, keeping an eye on the trespasser. "I'll save you some effort."

The laborer raised his voice to be heard by the owner. "Joshua! We have a guest here looking for a book!"

Oz turned back to face Zelriane. "We're just about to take a break too, so we can get you along your way quick." Though he acted polite in a defensive way the thought definitely crossed his mind to slam the man over the head while he wasn't looking and remove him.

"I can walk you over, no problem." Oz pointed the way to the front of the house and risked a passing glance at the tools strewn against the building.

A Hero Tale: Oswald

Oz responded quickly to the old man. "Just a moment Josh! I wouldn't miss it." He turned to face the stranger. The man was completely outlandish in his attire. The mask on his face set off all of Oswald's internal alarms. Oz set the wheelbarrow gently down. He'd been in plenty of fist fights, defending others but there was something about this person that just sent his spine crawling. Standing tall, Oz addressed him.

"Stranger, please present yourself. This is private land. You clearly aren't in attire to work. And..." He glanced at the mask again. No one with a good motive would hide their face. "We don't know you." Oswald's smile faded. He readied himself to move on the fly. Masks! They were a terrible sign.

A Hero Tale: Oswald

Oz replied with enthusiasm. "Yeah!" He kept moving his haul to the drop off and yelled over his shoulder. "This is only a start!" He grinned.

The energetic laborer found himself glancing up at the second story window before catching himself and chuckling between breaths. The weather was good, the harvest was even better and there was still so much time left for a great day. Things were looking up. Even he was from time to time. (Heheh..)