Power

“I think that that cow just said that that other cow used Magick,” Seth whispered Summer, both following the bizarre bipedal cows around the hut.
“Actually, I think that he said it was Magic,” She said, half sarcastically.
“Yeah, yeah, either way! This is what I have dreamed of for years! Maybe, maybe I can learn?”
“Seth, don’t you think that the... the thing that happened before we got here... Don’t you think that that’s more important than magic?”
“That’s just it-I think that that WAS Magick! Or magic. Whatever. I think that it brought us here, or changed the world, or something-to bring us here!”
“So that you could use magic?”
“That’s part of it.” Both of them stopped for a moment when the cow who didn’t speak English stumbled
“Look, Seth, this doesn’t make any sense. These cows are walking around on their hind legs. That one is speaking English, even if barely. We have to figure out what’s happening here and how we can survive.”
“And can’t magic help us with all of that?”
Summer paused, still walking. “That is true.”
“Summer, this is at least as big at whatever the hell just happened at the school. We... Woah.”
They came to a dead stop behind the two cows, and stared at one of a very small number of things that no outsider would have expected to find in a village of walking, talking cows.

“Dr. Taurii, now that I’ve thought about it, we have an astounding opportunity here!” Dr. Taurii, M.B., grunted in reply. Toraphrate glanced at him, and noticed a greenish tint to his concentrated face, and seemed to be radiating a bit more heat than usual. Toraphrate suddenly became concerned that the Otherworlders had brought some foreign illness with them. But the scholarly implications of their arrival overrode all concerns once more. “If they are indeed of the Gods, and if they are indeed unaware of their existence...” Toraphrate paused, expecting Dr. Taurii, M.B., to complete the thought, like any good companion in such a situation would, but the Medicine Bove continued to walk with a determined look. Toraphrate shrugged it off and continued with his idea. “They could be used to change the Gods! They could protect us! And not just us-If they have the powers of the Gods, and are not mad, they could protect the entirety of The Third World!” Dr. Taurii, M.B., suddenly broke out of his trance and stumbled slightly. Toraphrate was very nearly proud of himself for startling Dr. Taurii, M.B., so, but when the Medicine Bove turned to him with a look of ferocity, his pleasure instantly dissipated, much as the green heat had. “What’s wrong?”
“Toraphrate!” Dr. Taurii, M.B., hissed urgently. “We cannot take that risk!”
“What risk? They could save us! Not that we can’t survive, of course, Er... Mer... Gods willing. But if these Otherworlders are... Well... They could make it so that the Gods don’t have to be willing.”
“Those Otherworlders are a danger to everyone in The Third World. I can’t sense anything about the female, which is unusual in itself, but... The male, he is the real danger! The male is surrounded by an extra-dimensional pocket that is larger than a very small nation!”
“What?”
“The pocket is large enough to contain an amazing number of sorcerons. I’ve little mathematical skill, but his potential for storage of magical energy... It must be nearly a TeraMerlin.”
Toraphrate’s jaw dropped, spilling the small amount of cud he was chewing onto the ground.
“We are lucky, though, because he is generating very little Dimethyltryptamine. And he seemed genuinely surprised by my magic. If he ever acquires a charge or learns how to utilize the magic...”
“That’s enough to...”
“That’s enough to do something that no one can imagine. Even one wild GigaMerlin could decimate a large nation. One controlled GigaMerlin can do most things conceivable. One TeraMerlin, wild or uncontrolled...”
“Then... They must be here to get rid of Merlin!”
The two Boves stopped. They heard the Otherworlders stop behind them, as well as the astonishment in their silence. Toraphrate wore a look of sheer terror. Dr. Taurii, M.B.’s face bore more anger than it had yet.
“You fool! Now one of them will come! Damn you!” Toraphrate looked ready to burst into tears. The Medicine Bove snorted steamily at him. “Introduce the Otherworlders to their residence, and then leave my property.” Dr. Taurii M.B. snorted once more, turned, nearly walked right through the Otherworlders, stopped and stared at them for a moment, in between anger, fear, and curiosity, and then went around them and into the village.

“Summer, that looks like a...”
“Yes, it does.”
Just beyond the bipedal cows was a large box-shaped object that appeared to have walls of solid cement.
“That’s a cement building.” Seth said.
“In a village of magical walking cows.” Summer said.
“Where in the hell did they get cement from?”
The cow who had fixed Summer’s nose seemed to begin to storm away, changed his mind and instead stared at the two of them, and then returned to his original plan. Neither of them noticed the bees that followed him away. The English speaking one turned very slowly to them, with his eyes shut.
“Y-you will be sl-sleeping in tha-a-at room for the night. Please, go in and become comforted? Yes. P-pleasant Across.”
Seth and Summer watched him stumble away, in a fashion that they were sure was nervous. That the talking bipedal cows could be nervous calmed them a little. Of course, if they had any idea why he was nervous, they wouldn’t be calmed at all. But they didn’t have any idea of that fact either.
“I guess that we should go in,” Summer said slightly louder than she had said anything since leaving the medicine hut.
“It’s weird,” Seth said after a moment of the two heading to the other side of the structure to find the doorway, “I just felt rested, but now that those cows are gone, I feel very tired...”
Summer yawned as they reached an opening in the stone walls. “Me too. I think we’ve been asleep for a few days, too.”
“It could be magic...”
“Why (yawn) would someone want us to go to sleep?”
“I don’t kn(yawn), I mean, know. But we (yawn) should leave in the morning.”
“Whaaaaaaawww?”
“You m(yawn), mean why?”
“Yes.” They stepped through the yellow curtained opening. Before Seth could explain, both of them were lying on the unusually soft straw mats on the stony floor of the small room, asleep.

In the meantime, Bean had been slowly dragging the tub full of still frigid water towards the door of the hut. When I say slowly, I mean very slowly. He had done such things enough times to know that if he weren’t slow, he would almost certainly spill all of it, which would anger Dr. Taurii, M.B. And “enough times” in his case was upwards of seventy. Very slow learner, Bean was.
Miraculously, thus far, Bean had managed to not spill any of it. Then, when he was about to finally push it out through the door, the water exploded outwards. Bean nearly began to cry, but instead quickly kneeled and began groveling deferentially.
In the center of the tub, her tattered garments soaking wet, stood a smiling, tussle-haired, horrifically beautiful woman. Her smile was terrible and ghastly, in part because pressed between her breasts was clearly visible a very chilly and disturbingly phallic dagger. She looked down upon Bean, and for a moment her ghastly grin became an even more ghastly giggle.
“Little cow, Little cow,” She said in a faux sympathetic voice, in a language that he didn’t recognize but understood, as she stepped over the wall of the tub. She reached down and began rubbing one of his tiny horns and pulling his head towards her sporadically shaven and tattooed legs. “Won’t you come in?” He made a sound, and she laughed terribly. “Don’t worry, little cow,” she reached under his jaw to what would be approximately his chin and pulled his face up sharply to look her in the eyes. “I’m not going to be nice to you today.” She laughed once more, and reached up to the mushroomy hilt of her dagger. She ran her fingers seductively along its tip for a moment, and was suddenly pulling a large tome out of it. “All I need you to do,” she said titteringly, “Is deliver this book for me.” She tossed it to him. “Without,” she added, reaching out and stroking the top of his nose in a way that looked tender but felt violent, “Your grumpy little doctor’s knowledge."