Albrek's Tomb

“Haymar Gly

“Haymar Gly

“Excellent,” said Thrang. “With any luck, we can take care of this task and be on our way. Oh, yes, I should ask one other thing.”

“Just the one?” said Thorson with a laugh.

“We need information about the Lost Mountains,” said Thrang. “Anything will be helpful, but we don’t want every dwarf in the city knowing that we’re going there.”

“Yes, of course,” said Thorson, looking more serious. “I’ll see what I can find out. Make it sound like business of my own, if that’s all right.”

“That would be wonderful,” said Thrang.

Later that afternoon, Alex was sitting in the garden talking with Kat and Arco

“We’ve run into a bit of a problem,” said Thrang, a troubled look on his face. “It seems there is some dispute about the bag you want to return to Haymar Gly

“What kind of dispute?” Alex questioned.

“Haymar’s half brother, Halbrek, is disputing Haymar’s claim as heir,” said Thorson. “He claims that their father was going to change his will and name him heir to his bag, but he died before he had the chance.”

“The bag maker gave me Haymar’s name,” said Alex. “As far as I know, Haymar is the heir and should receive the bag. If his half-brother wants to make a claim, he’ll have to do it some other way.”

“It’s not as simple as that,” said Thrang as he took a seat. “Halbrek has made a public claim, and now the claim has to be settled before you can return the bag. It’s a very old dwarf law, and I don’t think anyone has tried to enforce it for several hundred years.”

“Who decides the dispute?” Alex asked, looking from Thrang to Thorson.

“Well, there are two ways,” Thrang began. “The king can hear both sides of the story and then make a ruling, but that might take months, or even years.”

“And there’s no way to know if the king will choose the true heir or not,” Thorson added. “There is always a chance he might make a mistake.”

“Or that he or one of the officials hearing the claims will accept a bribe,” said Thrang in a troubled voice.

“And the second way?” Alex questioned, afraid that he already knew the answer.

“As a wizard, and the bag holder, youcan decide who the true heir is,” said Thorson, smiling weakly.

“How would I do that?” Alex asked.

“The ceremony to return the bag would be much the same as you’ve done before,” said Thrang quickly. “However, in this case, both Haymar and Halbrek would come forward to claim the bag. The simplest way would be to have them both tell you the passwords to the bag, and if they’re different, the one with the correct passwords would be the true heir.”

“And if they both know the correct passwords?” Alex questioned, feeling that he’d rather have the king resolve the dispute.

“Then you’ll have to come up with your own test,” Thorson answered.

“Oh,” said Alex, looking down at the ground. “What kind of test could I use?”

Thrang shrugged. “This law is very old, and there have been only a few cases like this in our history. Perhaps there is some magical way to find out who the owner of the bag wanted to be his heir.”

“There might be,” said Alex, not looking up. “Or I could use magic to force both Haymar and Halbrek to tell the truth. But, of course, if they both believe what they’re saying is the truth, that magic is useless.”

“It will be a difficult task, that is for sure,” Thorson agreed. “However, both Haymar and Halbrek have asked to speak with you. Perhaps you can find the truth some other way.”

“Did they both want to talk to me at the same time?” Alex asked.

“No, they each requested to speak to you alone,” said Thorson. “No doubt they each want to press their own case with you, hoping that you will decide in their favor.”

“When do they want to see me?” Alex asked, feeling a weight settle in his stomach.

“Haymar said he will come whenever you ask him to,” said Thorson. “Halbrek insisted on seeing you only after you have spoken to Haymar.”

“Very well,” Alex agreed reluctantly. “Ask Haymar to come tonight, and Halbrek can come tomorrow morning. I will listen to what they both have to say and see if I can find a solution to their dispute.”

“It will be as you request,” said Thorson with a bow.

“There must be some way to find out who’s telling the truth,” said Thrang after Thorson had gone.

“They both must believe what they’re saying is true or else they wouldn’t have invoked the ancient dwarf law,” Kat pointed out.

“That’s true,” Thrang agreed. “But even if they both believe in their claims, they are taking a huge risk. The one you decide against will lose a great deal of honor.”

“Yet Haymar’s claim is already the stronger,” said Alex thoughtfully. “His name was given as the heir.”

“What appears to be true is not always true,” Arco

Alex nodded but didn’t say anything more. He wasn’t happy about the turn of events. He thought that returning the lost bag would be a simple task and a happy event. Now he feared that returning the lost bag might tear a family apart. He wondered if perhaps he should refuse both Haymar and Halbrek, at least until they agreed on who the true heir should be.

Alex had little time to think about what he should do, because Thorson arranged for Haymar to arrive less than an hour later. Alex remained in the garden alone, waiting for Haymar and thinking over his options.

As the sun was going down, Haymar Gly

“Master Taylor?” Haymar questioned, a look of surprise on his face.

“Yes,” said Alex, trying to look wise.

“I’m sorry. I . . . I thought you would be older,” said Haymar, bowing. “Of course, I’ve heard the stories, but

still . . .”

“I seem young to be a wizard,” Alex finished for him.

“I mean no offense,” said Haymar, bowing once again. “It is not my place to judge wizards or their ways.”

“But it seems that it is my place to judge you and your half-brother,” said Alex.

“I am sorry for that,” said Haymar. “I’ve tried to talk to Halbrek, but he won’t listen to me. I’ve offered him an equal share of anything the bag holds, but he won’t accept. He insists that he is the rightful heir of the bag and that the honor of receiving it should be his.”

“And you are not willing to give up that honor,” said Alex, looking closely at Haymar.

“I would give up everything in the bag, but not the honor of being the heir,” said Haymar.

“Is this honor more important to you than your family?”

“Halbrek is my half-brother, but we’ve never been close. I am my father’s first son by his first wife, heir to his fortune and titles. Halbrek is my father’s first son by his second wife, and he is unwilling to accept that he can never be the true heir.”

“A difficult problem,” Alex commented.

“It has been, yes. I’ve tried to be understanding, but Halbrek doesn’t want understanding; he wants to be heir.”

“So you don’t believe your father ever said anything about making Halbrek his heir?”

“My father was old when he went on his last adventure,” said Haymar. “Old and tired and he shouldn’t have gone, but he did. He told me he was going to give any treasure he found on his last adventure to Halbrek. It was his way of making up for the fact that Halbrek could never be his heir, I think.”

Alex thought about Haymar’s words for several minutes before speaking again. Everything Haymar said made sense to Alex, but then it should. Haymar had probably known about his father’s death for some time, and he would have made up a convincing story to explain Halbrek’s claim.