Chapter 150 Learn from their misstakes

Chapter 150 Learn from their misstakes
Irin and Melir stood and looked at the three wizards sitting around the kitchen table. The kitchen was full of the remains of their drinking adventure the night before.
"Remember this, Melir. This is what happens when you drink too much. Don't do it," Irin said in a cheerful voice.
"Got it," he answered and nodded.
"Irin?" Koth asked and lifted his head off the table. He hadn't made it up to their room the night before, which Irin had expected.
"Morning, honey. You look unusually green today," she said, walked over to him, and gave him a kiss on his cheek. She scrunched up her nose. "You smell like a brewery."
"Did you at least have fun?" Melir asked after shaking his mentor awake by his shoulder. Meghart grunted in pain and tried to sit up.
"I think so. It's a little blurry at the end," he said.
"Can everyone just shut up?" Nenhir grumbled. "I'm too old for this shit. My back is killing me, my head is throbbing, and it feels as if my life force is draining from me."
"Speak for yourself, human. I'm still in my prime," Meghart objected.
"How bad is it?" Irin asked Koth. She was gently raking her fingers through his messy hair as he leaned his head against her stomach.
"Not good," he said.
"Worse than when you're on a ship?" she asked and heard him groan.
"Don't speak of it. I need to keep some of my dignity." She chuckled and kissed his head.
"Want some help?"
"If you wouldn't mind," he said. Irin knew it was bad if he didn't even try to put up a fight. With a prayer, she used her healing magic, and felt him relax and sigh. "Thank you."
"Now sit up so I can help your friends," she told him. She went around the table and helped both Nenhir and Meghart.
"Are you really sure you want to stay with this grump? I am more than willing to bring you home with me," Meghart offered. Koth pulled her into his lap so quickly she gasped. Then she laughed.
"I'm very sure. There is no one like him," she said and kissed Koth. "Okay. Melir and I are going to take some food and eat our breakfast in the garden. Then we will tend to the horses. You three can make your own breakfast and then clean up this mess that once was my kitchen," she told them and got up from Koth's lap.
"Are you leaving me alone with these two, little one?" he asked and did a good impression of a sad puppy.
"I am. Melir, will you help me get some food?"
"Sure thing, Irin," he said and started gathering some bread and cheese.
"You're my apprentice, shouldn't you help me?" Meghart asked. Melir stopped for a moment and thought about it.
"No. I'd rather help her, and in a fight, my money is on her," he answered and continued. Irin laughed.
They had a relaxing breakfast in the garden. Melir told her about the things he was learning and what he had seen. From time to time, they heard noises from the kitchen.
"I'll give the horses water and look in on them," Melir offered.
"I can help," Irin said.
"No, it's okay. Meghart told me we should help out while we are here. Having so many guests is a lot of work, he said," he told her before running off. Irin smiled. This was a walk in the park compared to handling her siblings growing up. She wouldn't object. Melir was being courteous, and she would let him. To pass the time, she thought about the mission. They only had two days left to prepare, and she did her best to think of any possible thing that could happen, then tried to figure out how to counter it. When Koth bent down to kiss her head, she jumped.
"Deep in thought?" he asked.
"Yeah. How is it going with the kitchen?"
"We are done. It's time we discussed the big thing. Want to join us?" he asked.
"Of course," she said and got up.
"Melir, come along!" Koth called. Irin's first instinct was to object. He was so young; was it really okay to include him in these types of talks? Then she thought about it and decided it was a good opportunity for him to learn. How often did you get a chance to plan the severance of a soul from a talisman? Not that often, she hoped. So this could be a unique chance for him. Koth took her hand and they walked into the tower. Instead of heading into the kitchen, as she had assumed, Koth took her up the stairs and into the library. Meghart and Nenhir were sitting in two chairs, waiting for them. Koth made sure she was comfortable in a chair, then took another chair, put it next to her, and sat down. Melir joined them a couple of minutes later. He simply sat down on the floor.
"What do we know?" Meghart asked. All his flirtation was gone.
"Not much," Koth said and told them the plan they had agreed on with the heads of the four temples.
"They will bring more people?" Nenhir asked.
"Yes, but not many. We agreed that they would only bring those they can trust," Irin let them know. They nodded.
"Can we see it?" Meghart asked. Koth nodded and got up and left the room. When they had arrived at the tower, Irin and Koth had hidden the artefact. It was hidden behind a loose stone in the wall just outside the workshop. A couple of minutes later, Koth returned with it. Nenhir moved a side table to the middle of the room, and cleared it of objects. Koth placed the object, wrapped in cloth, on the table, and carefully unwrapped it. Everyone stared at the wooden statue.
"It's ugly. I could carve better when I was a child," Melir said. Everyone looked at him and Irin chuckled.
"I believe you," she said.
"It's bound by magic," Meghart pointed out.
"Yes. It suppresses magic naturally. It was the only way we could travel with it," Koth told him.
"How did you know?" Melir asked. Irin half expected the wizards to tell the young man not to ask questions now. Instead, Meghart took the time to explain how he had noticed the binding, and Koth encouraged Melir to try. Irin enjoyed watching how the three wizards taught the apprentice. When you trained to be a cleric, it was different. You went to a temple that had a cleric who could train you. It was a formal education that followed a set of guidelines. When you were good enough, you got assigned to a temple where your training continued alongside your duties as a cleric. Irin liked the more informal approach of the wizards.
"Can it stay bound during the severing, or will it interfere?" Nenhir asked as they got back to the original topic.
"We don't know. We will try with the binding in place first. If it doesn't work, we will have to try to unbind it. We should be able to do the ritual from afar," Koth said.
"How big is the radius of its ability?" Meghart asked.
"About twenty metres," Irin answered. They continued to discuss the plan. In the end, they discussed who should do what.
"The heads of the temples will perform the ritual," Irin said.
"Irin will be protecting them, and I will keep an eye on the talisman," Koth said.
"You are letting her into the centre of this mess?" Nenhir asked.
"He isn't letting me do anything. As a cleric, it's my duty to protect the High Priest. In this case, I will extend that to all the heads of the temples," she told him with a glare.
"She looks innocent, lovely, and sweet. And she is. But I have seen her use her magic and her sword. If things go sideways, I want her by my side," Koth said.
"Sword?" Nenhir asked, eying Irin.
"Bigger than yours," she told him, looking at the one-handed sword he carried. Koth laughed.
"The three of us will run interference on anything nasty that might come along," Meghart said.
"Three?" Irin asked. "You're not planning on bringing Melir?"
"Of course I am," Meghart said.
"It's a good way for him to learn. Meghart and Nenhir will keep him safe," Koth told her.
"I can do it. Meghart has been teaching me self-defence, and my magic has really come a long way," Melir said. Irin looked at the three wizards, and they all seemed to be in agreement. She nodded and hoped she wouldn't come to regret not insisting he stayed in the tower.