Chapter 54: No reply

Irin focused on the surface of the water in the bowl and sent her need to Alesseja. There was nothing. Not even the pushback she had felt when she had tried to heal Koth. She frowned and tried again, and again.

"What's wrong?" Koth asked after her fifth try.

"I can't seem to connect to Alesseja," Irin told him. "Do you think she is upset with me for refusing to listen to her?" she asked. The thought was devastating. Since the day Irin had first been called to walk the path of her goddess, she had always had a close connection to Alesseja.

"I don't think you need to worry about that. When I talked to her, she seemed to find it endearing," Koth reassured her.

"Really?" Irin asked.

"Promise. And you have used your magic since then. You hung those drapes," he pointed out.

"True," she admitted. "Then why isn't she answering me?"

"I don't know, little one," he said, walking up to her and crouching down beside her. "Maybe she doesn't want to talk about the temple?" he suggested. Irin tilted her head and thought about it. Why would Alesseja not want to talk about the temple?

"She isn't a weak goddess," Irin said out loud. Koth laughed.

"You don't need to tell me that. I met her, I know what kind of power she has. She had me trembling." Irin smiled at him. "Maybe we should stay away from that place until we know who it's dedicated to, or what," he said.

"Why?" she asked.

"For one, our magic doesn't seem to work, which means our ability to stay safe is low. And then, if Alesseja is afraid of that place, it should make us wary as well," he pointed out. He made good points, Irin thought.

"Maybe there is somewhere around here where we can research that symbol we saw?" she suggested.

"Do you think they have information about it? The temple was built before they settled the area," Koth reminded her.

"True, but don't you think someone at some point has been curious about that place? There is a chance they researched it and maybe left something behind for us to find."

"You make a convincing point. We can ask the chief if he knows."

"How did your research go?" Irin asked him. He shrugged.

"About as well as I expected. You can infuse the circles with magic, it just doesn't do anything," he told her.

"Strange. It's too bad the mural is so hard to see. I think it holds a lot of clues," she said.

"I think you are right. Nothing we can do about it. How about I help you up from the floor and we go and see the chief?"

"Sounds like a plan," she agreed, handing him the bowl of water and waiting for him to put it on the table so he could help her up. She didn't need it, but she liked it. They walked over to the town hall and found the chief talking to Melir.

"We don't want to intrude, we can come back later," Irin said.

"Not at all. We use quiet times to give some life lessons. What can we help you with?" the chief asked.

"Do you know if anyone has looked into the temple before and if they left any records behind?" Koth asked him. The chief thought about it.

"I don't think there have ever been any formal investigations about the place," he told them. "However, our shamans have always been interested in it. There might be observations written down from them," he added. Koth sighed.

"Let me guess. Viturleiki has them, if they exist," he said. It wasn't a question, but the chief nodded.

"I can show you where he lives," Melir offered. Koth looked at Irin and she understood. He was asking if they really should do this or skip it and find everything out on their own instead.

"Thank you, Melir. If your father can spare you, we would appreciate it," Irin said. Koth closed his eyes for a second and took a deep breath.

"I'm happy he is being useful. Thank you for offering, son," the chief told him. Melir smiled like a sun at the praise, and they set off.

Viturleiki's place was in the lower parts of the city, not far from the docks. It was a big house that had talismans hung all over it.

"Isn't this place awesome?" Melir asked.

"Sure, that's one word for it," Koth said, earning an elbow in his ribs from Irin. It was obvious that Melir looked up to Viturleiki, and Irin didn't want to destroy that. They opened the gate and had just walked past it when they heard the shaman's voice from within the house.

"Who's there?! I'm not expecting visitors, go away! If you come any closer, I will hex you!" he shouted. Koth gave Irin a look. It wasn't a worried look; he knew they could face Viturleiki's magic. It was a look that said: See, I was right, he is crazy. Irin had to agree, this wasn't normal behaviour.

"It's just me, Viturleiki, and Koth and Irin. My father sent us," Melir shouted back. By how unfazed he seemed by the whole thing, Irin assumed it was common for the shaman to greet guests like this. Viturleiki's face appeared in a window.

"Why are you here? I'm busy," he said.

"We wanted to ask you if you, or one of the previous shamans of the town, had made any observations about the old temple," Irin said. She thought it was better that she talked to the man. If Koth did it, she was sure the two men would just end up triggering each other to the point that one or both started to use their magic.

"And why would you need to know that?" Viturleiki asked.

"Father has asked them to look into the things happening at the temple," Melir explained.

"He did, did he? That old fool! Asking the ones causing the troubles to investigate them. Why am I the only one to see what is happening?" Koth looked at Irin again. She could tell he was losing the little patience he had with the shaman.

"Viturleiki, my father wants you to work with them," Melir insisted.

"I heard you the first time, boy. It doesn't make me trust them."

"Okay, we get it. Can you at least tell us if you have any documents about the temple?" Irin tried.

"I do," the shaman told her.

"How about you gather those and we all walk over to the chief?" Koth suggested. There was some grumbling from Viturleiki; Irin couldn't make out what he was saying.

"Fine. At least it will keep you away from my house," he agreed. As they waited for Viturleiki, Irin gave Koth a hug.

"Good work," she told him. He grunted and grumbled.

"At least like this, he will be out in the open and I won't set fire to his house if I need to kill him. I think there might be interesting things inside," he said. Irin giggled. She liked his grumpiness; it was endearing. Viturleiki came out of his house with his arms full of scrolls and books. It itched in Irin's hands to take them from him and read them. Instead, she followed Melir as they headed back to the town hall. When they walked into the main hall where the chief sat talking with a group of men, he looked up.

"This is going to ruin my day," he said with a deep sigh, and signalled for the other men to go. "What is the issue?" he asked.

"The issue is that these people shouldn't get access to our historic texts!" Viturleiki exclaimed. "Chief," he added to try and cover up his disrespect.