Chapter 29 - Zebras

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Twenty-eight coins now littered the table alongside other magical debris from Tung's earlier spells. Michael had never seen such an array of inexplicable things.

"I'm torn," he said. "I think I've seen real magic and some of this stuff here is amazing but none of this is possible."

"Want to hold the Scroll?"

"Things can't get any weirder, so why not?"

Tung produced an insignificant, rolled up parchment and handed it to him. A wave of power tingled every nerve in his body the second he took hold of it.

"Whoa," he screamed as he juggled it like a hot potato and then dropped it like a... well, a very hot potato.

"Can you feel the power?" said Madrick. "Here, hold it again. It won't be as intense this time."

He took the scroll again and this time the sensation was more like the shock of touching the poles of a brand new battery to your tongue; uncomfortable but bearable. He unrolled it and marvelled at the beauty of the ancient script.

Confused and disoriented, his mind tried to realign his sense of the universe. Was he capable of making such a mental leap? How could he believe things which were so squarely in the domain of science fantasy? He'd seen some genuine magic and there was definitely something 'magical' about the scroll but come on, screamed his logical brain, there's no way any of this can be happening. His heart wanted to believe but his head was having none of it.

Maybe his best bet was to open his mind, embrace the situation and see where things led him. If this fantastic story was even partially true then he could be about to embark on the adventure of a lifetime.

"Well, what do you think? You look like someone who's been hit over the head with a poleaxe. Come on, say something."

"I'm struggling with this. It's just not... logical. And I'm a great believer that you should avoid zebra thinking at all costs."

"Zebra thinking?"

"Ignoring the obvious answer and making things too complicated. When you hear hooves coming up behind you, you should think horse, not zebra."

He saw the confused look on their faces. His anecdote about keeping things simple was having exactly the opposite effect. If these people really were from a thousand years ago, a lot of what he said would be a mystery to them.

"You don't know what a zebra is, do you?" said Michael.

They both shook their heads.

"Basically it's a horse-like animal. It's got black and white stripes but you only get them in Africa. We don't have them in England, so the hooves you hear will pretty much always belong to a horse. Think horse, not zebra. Look for the obvious answer."

"And what's the difference between getting trampled by a horse and a zebra?" asked Tung.

Michael gave up with the explanation. "I'm just saying there's no obvious answer here. I need to think outside the box with this one."

"Outside the box?" said Tung.

It was Madrick who put an end to it. There were times when it was best to let some of the modern expressions fly away over one's head, and this was one of those times.

"Let's take a break. We're all tired."

He was right, so Michael took a quick comfort break and by the time he got back, Tung had faded and gone back to bed.

"He says he's suffering from hallucinations but I think he's just imagining it. I think last night got the better of him and he needs more sleep."

Madrick looked weary too but his tired eyes were focused on Michael. What did this man want? More importantly, what did he want from him?

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