The guy who thinks he's a genius is still complaining about Eagles and nuts and yew trees. For someone who reckons he's clever, he seems to have a very small vocabulary and even smaller range of subjects. The grey flash doesn't show again--at least not yet. I'm considering whether this means the area is safe.
"Like that bird will ever know anything that I don't! I know everything there is to know!"
How do I get a feather from a flying fish?" I ask before he can chunter on some more.
He stops talking, flapping his mouth like a goldfish in a bowl.
"Well?" I ask.
He clears his throat. "That's not possible. Fish don't have feathers, not even flying ones. What kind of idiot are you?"
Typical. I've been given yet another impossible task. If I thought I could get away with it, I'd tell that rotting corpse of a giant what she could do with her bloody stupid tasks.
"They must do if the Wizard's Wife everyone's been going on about asked for one. So you don't know that, then," I say.
Of course, he protests. "No-one knows that! It's not true that flying fish have feathers. It isn't possible to get a fish feather because fish don't have feathers."
"Sounds to me like you don't know everything," I reply.
There's no point telling him I agree with him. It'll only go to is head and he's arrogant enough as it is.
"I know everything there is to know! Not nonsense you just made up. That's impossible and no-one can actually know that because it's not true!"
"You? Better than me? Really?" Someone screams overhead.
The genius looks up. I enjoy the change of expression from indignation to the kind of terror I wish I could inspire, if only so I could get this stupid job over and done with. However, it wasn't me and now is a very good time to take some more steps back before I find out what is.
Before I look, there's another scream, this one wordless, and two great taloned feet grab the man who's supposed to be helping me. I'm not sure how he's going to help me when he's being carried off. Particularly as he now looks like a large, wriggling fish.
My own shoulder still hurts from being carried by the dragon woman and I wince a little as I remember it.
"That wouldn't be the Eagle you were on about, would it?" I ask.
It looks a little like the one who was holding the squirrelly-guy but I'm fairly certain there's more than one eagle in the world and maybe they all look alike.