Chapter 159 Wedding invitations

Chapter 159 Wedding invitations
Irin sighed. It had been a long two days; by the time they reached camp, it would almost be lunchtime.
"How are you doing?" she asked Koth. He wiggled the arm she was holding and she let go so he could place it around her instead.
"I'm okay," he reassured her.
"You had a lot thrown your way this morning," she pointed out.
"It has been quite a lot to take in," he agreed. There was a moment's silence. Irin let him decide if he wanted to talk about it or not. "Maybe I should have asked about my mother," he finally said.
"You can always ask now."
"No, I have a feeling I don't want to know. I've accepted that they abandoned me and I'm worried that by finding out things, I might not be okay with it," he explained.
"You do what you want to do. You can always change your mind later. How does your wrist feel?" she asked and looked at the place where the armband had been.
"As soon as that horrid thing was removed, I was fine. No long-lasting effects."
"What will we do with the horse and wagon?" Irin asked, looking at the chocolate-brown horse that was pulling them along.
"We keep them. He looks to be a nice horse and a wagon is always useful," Koth told her. She nodded. He was right, a wagon was a useful thing and the horse looked to be alert and responded to Koth's instructions well. "How are you?" he asked.
"A little tired, but okay," she confessed.
"Why don't you take a nap now? We won't reach the camp for at least twenty or thirty minutes."
"No, it will be worse if I fall asleep and need to wake up. It's easier to just push through," she said and kissed his cheek.
"We can make you a somewhat comfortable sleeping place in the wagon and you can sleep while we travel," he suggested. She chuckled.
"I'm fine, Koth. I'm not going to be asleep when everyone else is awake. It's better that we use the wagon for those that are wounded."
They arrived back at camp just before lunch. Most were still asleep except for those on watch. As they stopped the wagon not far from where their blankets were, Nenhir woke up and looked at them.
"Where did you get a wagon?" he asked, sounding like he was still half asleep.
"A wedding gift from my father," Koth said as he helped Irin down.
"Whu? You know what, I'm not going to ask, still too tired," Nenhir said. But he still got up and nudged Meghart with his foot. Slowly the camp came to life around them. Irin made sure they all got a bowl of porridge that was made by some priests. She talked to Jacob about the wagon and he was happy to get the use of it. Most injuries had been healed, but two clerics had sustained such grave injuries that they couldn't be fully healed. Before she knew it, they had all mounted and were back on the road.
"It feels strange to be going home," she said to Koth.
"Strange in a bad way?" he asked.
"No. Strange in a 'I can't believe this is finally over' kind of way," she clarified.
"It does feel strange to think that we don't have to go anywhere if we don't feel like it," he agreed. "We can stay in the tower until spring."
"Well, that depends on how soon you want us to get married," she said. He looked at her and then grinned.
"Oh, that we will do as soon as we get back home." Then he paused. "Right, we said we would do it at your family's place. So we will write to your father when we get home. Rest for two days and then go," he corrected himself.
"If it's too much travelling, we can always ask my family to come to us," Irin offered.
"No, no. I like the idea of getting married at your family home."
"Sorry for intruding into your conversation," Jacob said. "But I would like to offer my services. It would be an honour to officiate the wedding." Irin looked at Koth.
"It's up to you, little one," he told her.
"It would be our honour, but would you be able to travel for it?" she asked.
"Of course. It's been years since I had this much fun," Jacob answered.
"Hey! You can't just grab all that for yourself. We also want to be a part of a day like that," Almot objected.
"Oh yes," Senaya agreed and Libero nodded.
"You are all more than welcome," Irin said. "We need to let Dad know," she then whispered to Koth. He chuckled.
"Luckily you have a lot of rooms in that big house," he told her.
They continued riding until the sun was hanging low in the sky behind their backs. They stopped and made camp. Irin was almost at the point of unconsciousness as she ate her bowl of stew. Koth handed both their bowls to Melir when she was done and picked her up.
"I can walk," she half-heartedly objected.
"Be quiet and just relax," he told her as he placed her on the blanket and joined her.
"I haven't been this tired since we were at the lake," she sighed as she made herself comfortable and snuggled up to him.
"We have deserved a good night's sleep," Koth said and wrapped her in his arms.
The next morning Irin was feeling a lot better and she ate her breakfast while watching Noodle hunting birds.
"Irin, can I ask you something?" Melir asked. She smiled at him.
"Always," she said.
"Meghart has been teaching me how to detect if someone knows magic or not," he started and she nodded. It was a good thing to know as a beginner. "I get why I can sense from warlocks, wizards and shamans, but how come I can sense it from you and priests? Doesn't your magic come from your god or goddess?" he asked.
"Great question!" she told him. "How about you ride next to me and I'll do my best to explain in detail. Simply put, I have magic of my own, but I use my magic to connect to the divine that then allows me to access their magic."
"Sounds cool. I would love to know more," he said enthusiastically. They got ready and set out on the final stretch of the road home. Irin talked to Melir and did her best to explain divine magic. The four heads of the temples happily joined in. He couldn't have received a better education on the subject and it made Irin happy.
"Look," she told Koth hours later. Gahndas was visible, with the sea as a backdrop.
"Home," he said.
"I will send a cleric with the wagon tomorrow," Jacob told them.
"No need. We need to go into town. We need to stock up on some food, I need to order planks and Irin needs to send a letter back home. We can collect the wagon then," Koth told him.
"Do I need to warn the stables you'll be by early?" Jacob asked with a lot of humour.
"If you think sometime after lunch is early, yes," Koth answered. Irin laughed. She was happy to be back again. Even if she knew they would soon be heading to her father's house, she was still happy. They split up and the majority of the travel party went into the city. Irin, Koth and their friends chose to go around it to get to the tower.
"I hope you won't object to us staying a day before heading out?" Nenhir asked.
"Of course you'll stay!" Irin said. When Koth remained silent she gave him a shove.
"Yes, of course. We had figured as much," he agreed. She looked at him and shoved him again. He looked at her and she gave him a final shove. "What? I've already told them they could stay." Irin rolled her eyes at him and then smiled at the three others.
"What my lovely future husband who has the social skills of a rock meant to say is that we would be very happy if you join us when we head to my family home and attend our wedding," she told them.
"Oh," Koth said. "Yeah, you can do that."
"Really?" Irin asked.
"What?"
"You can do that? Is that how you invite your friends to our wedding?" she wanted to know.
"You'd already said all the important parts," he defended himself. Meghart burst out laughing.
"We will be happy to join you. Right, Melir?" he said.
"Yes!" Melir exclaimed.
"I will come as well. I think I would regret not being there," Nenhir agreed.
"Thank you," Koth told them. They had reached the tower and spent a while taking care of the horses.
"Is one of you going to explain how you got hold of the wagon and horse in the middle of nowhere?" Meghart asked. Irin and Koth looked at each other.
"No," they both said at the same time.