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Description

          Njord threw an Iron pickaxe, one I had just watched him craft, into the furnace, melting it almost instantly, “Is that all true, lad!?”

          “By what I’ve seen and heard, it’s the truth.”

          I had returned to Irion. There were many things on my check-list, but the first was to inform Njord of his ancestor’s true history. Suffice is to say, he didn’t take it well.

          “My family has been made to be humble blacksmiths for the past five centuries because of what that harlot’s grand-daddy did!? And how am I supposed to react? With pride that my ancestor killed, or at least banished, the mythic Dragon? With anger that I am not sitting on the throne, eating the king’s chicken? Tell me, Ukjent, tell me!”

          “Njord, I know this must pain you greatly. But there are equally important matters to attend to. I want to move the entire village: people, livestock, buildings, everything.”

          “Move us closer to the castle, eh?”

          “Well that and I feel there is something on these grounds whose history has yet to be spoken for.”

          “What are ye talkin’ about?”

    “Listen, remember when you were talking about how your destiny is in this village, but mine certainly isn’t? I think you may be wrong on both counts. Your destiny was never meant to be what you think it is, and mine actually is linked to this town, shackled together like I was in the castle’s dungeon.”

          “OK,” Njord said, rising from his seat, “what do you need me to do?”

          “Figure out how we’re going to move your anvil.”

          …

          As royal builders, surveyors, villagers, and volunteers moved the entire town of Irion block by block, I returned to the castle library. I scanned up and down every shelf, picking up and flipping through book after book. Morgan must have heard the noise I was making, as she soon appeared.

          “What are you doing up there,” she asked, “cleaning the cobwebs?”

          “You told me there are books about everything in this library. I’m looking for a good one about enchanting.”

          “Speaking of enchanting, we managed to find your bow. Had to do quite a bit of rummaging in the armory.”

          “Much obliged, but could you lend me a hand here? I have to fight magic with magic, right? And the only magic I know of is enchantment. But I still don’t know how to do enchantments.”

          “What about Njord?”

          “He doesn’t have a clue. Even though he says he knows everything his famous ancestor knew. I don’t know how Varg would know about Nether portals but not enchanting.”

          “Something just occurred to me. I thought you couldn’t read the ancient text most of these books contain. How do you know what’s in them?”

          “They’re all helpfully illustrated, so I can go on the pictures. If there are pictures of things I don’t recognize, I set them aside.”

          Morgan walked over to the pile of books I had stacked. She carefully examined the second one she picked up.

          “Here is what you are looking for,” she said, “this tells you how to cast enchantments. It says, ‘Craft a table using this book as a centerpiece. Surround the table with books encapsulating ancient knowledge. This knowledge combined will increase the strength of armor, blades, and bows.”

          “The answer was here the whole time?”

          “That’s only one answer.”

Description

          Njord threw an Iron pickaxe, one I had just watched him craft, into the furnace, melting it almost instantly, “Is that all true, lad!?”

          “By what I’ve seen and heard, it’s the truth.”

          I had returned to Irion. There were many things on my check-list, but the first was to inform Njord of his ancestor’s true history. Suffice is to say, he didn’t take it well.

          “My family has been made to be humble blacksmiths for the past five centuries because of what that harlot’s grand-daddy did!? And how am I supposed to react? With pride that my ancestor killed, or at least banished, the mythic Dragon? With anger that I am not sitting on the throne, eating the king’s chicken? Tell me, Ukjent, tell me!”

          “Njord, I know this must pain you greatly. But there are equally important matters to attend to. I want to move the entire village: people, livestock, buildings, everything.”

          “Move us closer to the castle, eh?”

          “Well that and I feel there is something on these grounds whose history has yet to be spoken for.”

          “What are ye talkin’ about?”

    “Listen, remember when you were talking about how your destiny is in this village, but mine certainly isn’t? I think you may be wrong on both counts. Your destiny was never meant to be what you think it is, and mine actually is linked to this town, shackled together like I was in the castle’s dungeon.”

          “OK,” Njord said, rising from his seat, “what do you need me to do?”

          “Figure out how we’re going to move your anvil.”

          …

          As royal builders, surveyors, villagers, and volunteers moved the entire town of Irion block by block, I returned to the castle library. I scanned up and down every shelf, picking up and flipping through book after book. Morgan must have heard the noise I was making, as she soon appeared.

          “What are you doing up there,” she asked, “cleaning the cobwebs?”

          “You told me there are books about everything in this library. I’m looking for a good one about enchanting.”

          “Speaking of enchanting, we managed to find your bow. Had to do quite a bit of rummaging in the armory.”

          “Much obliged, but could you lend me a hand here? I have to fight magic with magic, right? And the only magic I know of is enchantment. But I still don’t know how to do enchantments.”

          “What about Njord?”

          “He doesn’t have a clue. Even though he says he knows everything his famous ancestor knew. I don’t know how Varg would know about Nether portals but not enchanting.”

          “Something just occurred to me. I thought you couldn’t read the ancient text most of these books contain. How do you know what’s in them?”

          “They’re all helpfully illustrated, so I can go on the pictures. If there are pictures of things I don’t recognize, I set them aside.”

          Morgan walked over to the pile of books I had stacked. She carefully examined the second one she picked up.

          “Here is what you are looking for,” she said, “this tells you how to cast enchantments. It says, ‘Craft a table using this book as a centerpiece. Surround the table with books encapsulating ancient knowledge. This knowledge combined will increase the strength of armor, blades, and bows.”

          “The answer was here the whole time?”

          “That’s only one answer.”