Finding More Than Magic

Chapter 1

The mountain seemed to go on forever, and no matter how he craned his neck, Derin could not find the top of it. It grew steeper and steeper. He grew even more tired. He and Marna, the woman who had looked after him for as long as he could remember, had been walking for days in pursuit of a legendary case of swords, believed to be hidden somewhere in the western mountains.

 

‘Marna, hurry up! They’re going to leave without us!’ Derin urged the little old lady along, trying to catch up to the rest of the expedition. He was anxious to be back up with the rest of the group, where they would have the upper hand if they happened to come across bandits, which were very common in that particular part of the woods.

 

‘Oh, Derin, there is no need worry about that, we won’t be left behind!’ Marna dismissed his concern with a shake of her finger. Then, to calm Derin’s nerves about the bandits, she added, ‘Plus, don’t you think we would have the advantage? In all my years I’ve never come across a bandit who could beat me, with my trusty crutch.’ She stroked the beautiful, worn down wood of her old crutch. Ever since Derin could remember, Marna had hobbled about everywhere, leaning on the crutch. She never let it out of her sight, and at night kept it stowed in a locked case under her bed. Derin had a suspicion that there was more to it than just the story she had told him: that it had belonged to her father, and his father before him, and his father before him, and that when her father didn’t have a son to pass it onto, he gave it to her. But Derin wasn’t surprised about this. He had a feeling there was more to a lot of things than Marna let on, for example this expedition. At first Derin hadn’t been interested in coming along (he would rather stay home and study the books, filled to the brim with spells, that she had given him) but Marna was so insistent on going, that he couldn’t say no. She said she would soon be too old to go on such adventures (although Derin thought she was already far too old go on this one) and that she wanted her last adventure to be a good one. What better adventure to finish with than this one? But Derin didn’t press her. He’d learnt early on that as long as you knew what was, and wasn’t, your business with Marna, you’d be fine. If only Derin had known just how important this journey was to him, and how it was, in fact, very much his business!

 

‘MARNA! Please try to keep up! We’ve lost sight of them already, and if we let the group get any further ahead, we’ll be stuck in these woods forever!’ Derin hated to raise his voice at little old Marna, but sometimes she was far too careless for her own good. She had cared for Derin for as long as he could remember, and although she was far too old to be his mother, she was all Derin knew. He didn’t often wonder about who his real mother and father were, as he was happy enough with Marna. Now that Marna was getting older, it was Derin’s turn to take care of her, and it proved to be (on occasion) a difficult task.

 

‘Oh, Derin, you needn’t shout! I’m right here! Anyway, that man doesn’t seem the most appropriate choice to lead such an expedition. I’d feel far safer if he weren’t there.’ Marna made a feeble excuse, but Derin knew there was no point in asking for a real explanation.

 

‘So where do you suggest we go now? It looks like we won’t be travelling with them anymore.’ Derin asked, looking up into the dark grey sky. The clouds looked as though they were about to burst and it was getting dark, but Marna didn’t seem to be in the mood to think about the future.

 

‘No, Derin. You’re quite right. The group are far away now, and we certainly won’t be able to catch them before nightfall. Where shall we sleep? Well a little bit back down the track I saw a cave between two boulders. There should be room in there for both of us.’ Marna’s suggestion made Derin shudder. He didn’t fancy sleeping in confined areas, let alone cold ones in forests full of bandits and criminals! Just as he thought of this, a large raindrop landed right on his nose. Marna had already headed off, waddling down the hill, at a surprisingly fast pace. By the time Derin had caught up to her, the rain was falling heavily. He was rather wet and cold, and suddenly the cave didn’t seem such a bad offer after all!

 

‘There’s nothing to worry about in there, Derin. It’s just sand and stone. Come on in, and get comfortable. Pulling your eyebrows together like that isn’t going to make the rain stop, so either you can sit out here and get drenched worrying about what’s in this cave, or you can come in and have a reasonable sleep for once!’ Marna said, pushing him towards the jagged entrance to the cave. Reluctantly, Derin shuffled forwards, and crawled through the hole. Marna came in close behind him, carrying a bundle of dry wood. Derin looked at it questioningly.

 

‘For a fire, of course!’ Marna said, knowing she was not answering his real question. Where had she found the dry wood? Again, he didn’t bother to press her; this time because he didn’t care. He would be grateful to have a warm fire. Soon the fire was lit, and the cave was warm. Derin dozed off, curled up at Marna’s side, to the sound of the fire crackling.