Words for Wednesday ~ Gylfi & Thora 6

June 5 saw me writing this. Words for Wednesday June 5:
Girth
Pummelling
Lizard
Blooms
Corridor
     And/or
 Pucker
Beady
Salubrious
Cabin
Barley

I know what to write, but my teeth still hurt and these Words do not fit, anyway writing will happen ... soon.
These words are still some bastards, but writing did indeed happen. I used: Girth & Pummelling for this. It continues where I left off last time:


"If we want to found a school of magic," Thora said, "We'll have to find more good wizards to teach there. Do you have any idea of where to begin?"
"You said in the car, that you could feel my magic," Tähti said, looking at Gylfi. "How did you do this, I mean can we learn to do this?"
" I don't know, I thought we all could do this. Close your eyes." Gylfi placed two books on the table in front of Tähti, of roughly equal girth and weight. He placed one of her hands on each book: "Now feel those books, can you feel which one is magic?"
 "The left one is magic," Tähti said after only a slight hesitation. "That's easy."
"Exactly. That's how it is!" Gylfi said, "but we have to learn."
"Can I try as well?" Taavi asked. And he was able to feel the same difference as his sister. They then practised with their new wands, the old wands, branches, rods and timber. Very soon they were right every time.
They ate lunch, and how they ate. "We'll have to go shopping soon," Gylfi said, "We eat much more than I reckoned we would."
"We do?" Taavi asked. "I remember our grandparents complained that we ate so much at their place. Our parents always said that it was the rural air that did it. Maybe it was the magic?"
"I still remember grandma's cooking as very good," Tähti said smiling. "But then we'll need some good cooks at our school ... that'll have to wait until later. What about our books? Could we get them somehow?"
"Whoa," Gylfi said. "hold on a minute. I have a shadow of an idea. This also have to wait at least some days. We'll have to practise and grow in magic first. I'd suggest we try wandsinging next."
They went out into the park. Thora placed her hand on a tree and sang the wandsinging song. Nothing happened. Then Gylfi tried and then Taavi with the same negative results.
"You try again, Tähti," he said.
Tähti sung and still nothing happened. "It seems that we will have to work on this," she said.

 The next weeks were quiet, but busy, the four read books or went for walks in the great park and surrounding countryside in the semi-dark days and dined well and planned long into the dark hours. The quiet was now and again interrupted when someone found an exiting spell, a difficult potion or a new or easier way of doing something. The poor table in Gylfi's living room took many a pummelling from strange substances and once even from a rain of small stones.

"We really have to go home to Finland," Taavi said one morning. "There's some things I want to check in my books, Id like to bring them here - and on he more prosaic side we need more clothes, and to take care of our homes. We can't just stay here forever."
"No really, you can," Gylfi said. "But I acknowledge that you have to check up on your flats in Finland." He slanted his head and smiled at Thora who smiled back. "But for today I have planned an outing to the caves of Hella. Because today it is the spring equinox."

The caves of Hella were impressing, but for our four wizards they were also a disappointment. By now they were experts in the discernment of magic, and they found only weak traces of magic here and there, the wisps and echoes of old spells and a bit more in one of the chambers, Maybe once, long ago some wizards had cast some spells at one of the walls there, maybe an old wand was buried there. All the writings were not in the least magic. And they were not able to read anything at  all from the inscriptions on the walls and columns.

The next day Gylfi told the three other wizards that he had a big discovery to show them. He would not tell anything but that they were going to Eyafjallajökull and probably stay there for a couple of days. He bade them dress in comfy, warm clothes and sensible shoes - "And please remember your wands. Thora, can I ask you for once to pack a generous lunch. I have some last minute preparations to see to?"

Half an hour later they all piled into the old car and Thora drove them to the nearest bigger town, where they stopped for some shopping, and coffee and  cake. Gylfi took over and steered the car down a narrow, bumbling road. At the end of this, mercifully short ride they stopped at a small farm. A woman dressed in skirts and with long braids came out to greet them. "He came over after you phoned him," she said. "I have the horses ready for you!"  
"Horses?" Taavi said, "What now, Gylfi?"
"Well it's impossible to go there by car, and and I can't see us walking over there, so ... riding is the best alternative. Trust me."
They distributed the bags and bedrolls and Gylfi took the lead. They soon came to a glistening ice cap, and Gylfi followed the rim until he found an almost invisible track. "I was here years ago," he said, "but I am sure this is the right place. Come on!"  The track twisted and turned and suddenly a black hole into the ice opened in front of them. Led by Gylfi they entered and stood in a natural cave. They pulled the horses into the cave and tied them to rings set in the stone. Gylfi spoke again: "This is one of the old Portal places of Iceland. From here we can go to a big place under the mountain, or to a similar place under Drangajökull. We will have to go to the big place."
"Portals!" Taavi asked in an awed voice.
"Yes," Gylfi answered, "Portals. They worked in the middle ages, up until the great witch hunts, and then they were forgotten and fell into disrepair. I discovered this place by pure accident, and I have carefully tried and tested all the portals - one nearly killed me, it is sealed by now."
He opened a door in a far corner. "Only wizards can pass through this door. It is a mini-portal in its own right, and not a nice experience, but fear not, follow me."

..... to be continued