Chapter 55: I don't have any magic

Koth glared at the shaman. He was paranoid and had an inflated ego; it was never a good combination.

"I gave them permission," the chief said.

"I didn't agree," Viturleiki objected.

"Duly noted. Give them the documents."

"No." Koth looked between the two men. The chief looked displeased and Viturleiki glared at his leader. He sensed Irin was as tense as he was, ready to step in if needed. He knew they would both side with the chief if it came to it.

"The records are not your personal property. They belong to the town and, as the chief, I'm allowing Koth and Irin access to them. If it makes you feel better, I can allow them to only read them here in the town hall," the chief said, his tone making it clear he was ordering, not asking.

"I'm not afraid they will take them and run, chief. I'm worried about what they will do with the information. It doesn't matter if they read it here, at my house or on a private island with bloody sand beaches. The harm will be done the minute they lay their eyes on it," Viturleiki objected.

"Viturleiki, you haven't been able to solve the issues we are having. The issues started before Koth and Irin arrived here," the chief began.

"That we know of," Viturleiki interrupted. Koth could see the chief's temper beginning to fray.

"I don't know what you have against them, but I trust them. Lokhue and the wanderers trust them, my wife trusts them. In my mind, that makes them trustworthy. Now give them the documents or I will have the guards take them from you and hand them over," the chief said as he stood up.

"I would like to see you try!" Viturleiki hissed.

"Okay, I think we've gotten off track," Irin said, and everyone looked at her. "Viturleiki, we are going to read those documents. Just let us do it without causing trouble. If we need to fight you for them, there is a risk that the documents get harmed. No one wants that to happen," she continued. Viturleiki looked at her angrily, and Koth stepped up behind her, making sure the dwarf knew that if he tried anything, Koth would put a stop to it.

"Fine!" the shaman finally said, and walked to a long table that stood along a wall and dropped the armful of documentation. Koth felt his excitement surge. He was a researcher at heart, and the thought of getting his hands on fresh material made him almost giddy. Both he and Irin walked over to the documents and carefully started looking through them. It was the gold mine of information they had been looking for.

"This scroll has sketches of the circles before they were so eroded; there is more information than we could see," Irin told him, handing him the scroll. Koth gratefully accepted it and looked over the symbols depicted. She was right. He quickly scanned the scroll and saw a name.

"Do you know who Nimbur Longstride was?" he asked the chief and Viturleiki. To his surprise, it was Melir who answered.

"That is a town shaman. He lived about 500 years ago," he said.

"How do you know that?" Viturleiki asked, sounding annoyed. He stood in a corner with his arms crossed, glaring at everyone.

"You told me. I think it was about a year ago and I was asking you who had put the protection on the harbour in place," Melir told him.

"Smart kid," Koth said. He was more impressed by him every day.

"If you like listening to endless questions," Viturleiki sneered. Koth could see Melir's shoulders slump.

"Chief, have you thought about sending the boy to be trained by a wizard?" Koth asked.

"Melir?" the chief asked, looking between Koth and his son.

"He is bright, he seems willing to learn, and your shaman doesn't seem to consider him apprentice material," Irin said.

"The boy has talent; it would be a pity for it to waste away. I have several contacts with good, reliable wizards who would fight for an apprentice like him. I would be happy to introduce you to a couple of them," Koth added. The chief looked at his son.

"What do you say, Melir? Would that be something you would be interested in doing?" he asked. Melir looked heartbroken, which was not what Koth had expected. Sure, it would mean leaving his family and home town, but Koth had thought the boy would be more eager to explore.

"I-I don't think I can accept," Melir said.

"Why? Is it because you don't want to?" his father asked. Melir shook his head.

"I don't have any magical abilities, so it would be a waste of everyone's time," he replied. Koth glared at Viturleiki.

"Is this your doing? Have you told him he has no talent for magic?" he growled at the shaman.

"No," Viturleiki said, looking so surprised that Koth had to believe it was true.

"Melir, why do you think you have no magic? Both Koth and I can clearly feel that it exists within you," Irin asked.

"I tried it once, and nothing happened, so I just assumed I didn't have any," the boy said.

"You tried it?!" Koth, Irin and Viturleiki exclaimed simultaneously. It made both the chief and Melir jump.

"Yes," Melir confessed.

"How?" Koth asked.

"In the temple. I thought those circles were spell circles, so I tried to infuse them with magic to see what would happen," he told Koth.

"You did what?!" This time the chief joined in with the other three.

"Melir! That is incredibly dangerous. Even I know that," the chief told his son.

"Your father is right. To add magic into a spell that you don't know what it does can end with someone getting hurt," Koth agreed.

"What if it had caused the temple to fall apart? Or set off a huge fireball?" Irin asked him. Melir's eyes widened.

"I-I didn't think about that. The temple has always been so quiet and peaceful, I never considered that it would contain something that would harm others," he explained. Koth sighed.

"I understand," he said to the boy. "But sometimes, even a peaceful spell can cause harm if you don't know what you are doing. I need you to promise me you will never do something like that without someone there to guide you."

"I promise," Melir said. "But I don't have any magic, so it won't matter."

"Melir, these symbols aren't spell circles—not what we would consider spell circles, at least. I tried to fuse my magic with one earlier, and nothing happened either. You have magic," Koth told him.

"I do?" Melir asked, his mood suddenly much brighter.

"Sure you do," Irin assured him, and she ruffled his hair.

"I swear I thought it would be his brother or sister that killed me—his brother by rushing into some stupid battle without thinking, or his sister by sneaking out with some scoundrel. Seems I need to start worrying about my youngest taking part in the competition on who is sending me to my grave," the chief huffed. It was said with a good deal of love and humour.

"Wait a moment. Is that it?" Irin asked.

"What? That my youngest will kill me?" the chief asked, sounding as confused as Koth felt.

"No, no. Could Melir's experiment be what started everything?" Irin clarified.