Ralph and the Pixie

‘She was upset because she assumed that you and I sensed something, but that she could not,’ Pran told him.

‘Sorry,’ Ralph said again. ‘I should have thought.’

Pran shrugged. ‘Why apologise for what you could not have known? Besides,’ he added with a wry smile, ‘if the perceived affront was to my wife, then why are you apologising to me?’

Distracted from Pran’s words by his own thoughts, Ralph took a deep breath, let it out slowly in a stream of vapour as though incongruously trying to rid himself of some inner lack, and tried to make out the lay of the land through the patchy mist.

‘Ever since we had that little talk, I’ve been wracking my brains, trying to come up with something that could help us, but I keep coming up dry. Just before we left Mirrindale, I even tried a few alternatives, like trying to create some of the weapons we have in my world. But they won’t work. I think the rules of this world must be different in some way.’ He shrugged. ‘Which is just as well, I guess. The weapons of my world are pretty horrible. And if we were to use them, there’s nothing stopping your enemies from figuring them out for themselves, eventually.