The Bird and the Wyrm

Arriving back in the living room, he found the rug in the living room rolled up to the side and Bran sitting toward the centre drawing on the floor with a brush and ink.

Misha quietly sat behind Bran’s shoulder. "Will your aunt...?"

"The ink’s water-based," Bran assured Misha. He shot a glance behind him and at the coats and boots Misha had rustled up. He gave them no comment - which Misha took as a positive sign - and turned back to the inscription he was working on.

He made a few marks, then picked up the missing person’s notice and placed it into the centre of the circle, then he picked up his sword and rested it across his knees. "Can you guess what this spell is for?"

Misha looked at the inscription.

It comprised of two large circles, one inside the other, about a metre across, but at various points, marks branched outwards giving the whole thing a lopsided look. Like in the book Bran had showed him earlier that day, the markings, even in ink, still retained that almost computer circuit quality.

"It’s... looking for... something? Looking for the girl?"

"Close, but no." Bran pointed at the inner circle. "This inner circle is an inscription that queries the source of what is inside it. For this notice, there will be multiple sources, like the manufacturer of the paper and ink, and the people who have touched it, as well as the grandfather who drew it out." Bran next pointed out one of the branches. "This bit helps narrow down the search to just the grandfather. Next," he now pointed at the larger circle, "this inscription looks for more of the essence whatever is in it, so in this case, it looks for the most ’grandfather’ thing in range, which should be the man himself."

"I see." That wasn’t ’close’ at all, Misha thought to himself. "Bran... should we... be in a hurry?"

"A hurry?"

"To save the girl. I really appreciate you teaching me this, but I’m just worried..."