The Making of the Lamb (24 page)

Tilda held that Jesus was too short for leggings; it did not make sense to cut cloth for something he would soon outgrow. So she fitted him out like Fedwig with a belted tunic and laced stockings that left his knees exposed. Jesus did not mind; it gave him more freedom of movement.

They set out before dawn, and it was early afternoon before Ictus came into view. Looking across the water, they saw Kendrick’s ship approaching from the distance. Waiting on the island for them were two ore-filled carts.

Pirro waded into the channel.

“Shouldn’t we wait for the tide to go out?” asked Daniel.

“It’s shallow enough. From the top of the hill, I could see the bottom almost all the way across,” Pirro replied.

Behind them, the guide was shouting, but he was still out of earshot. “I think the guide may be warning of some danger,” said Jesus.

“The tide is just as likely to be coming in. Joseph left me in charge, so I say we go for it.”

Reluctantly, Jesus followed Pirro. Soon seawater swirled around his waist. His feet slipped from under him. “Daniel!” A wave broke over his head, filling his mouth and nose with brine. The current grabbed him and dragged him further from shore.

Pirro flailed and bellowed for help as well.

Daniel reached a secure footing and threw a line to Jesus, drawing him back just as the rising water was dragging him out to sea. Together they helped Pirro ashore. Laughing at the outlanders’ antics, the Britons enjoyed the spectacle.

“The next time he says ‘let’s take a chance on the tide,’ remind me to stay on shore,” said Jesus to Daniel, laughing as the sun began to dry his clothes.

Kendrick brought up his ship. Pirro and the boys were delighted when they saw what he had lashed down to the deck: a sailing craft big enough to carry a few passengers and cartloads of ore.

Kendrick showed them how to work the mast and the sail. With the fore-and-aft lateen sail and larboards, the boat could sail much closer to the wind than Kendrick’s ship. They could even bring the bow through the wind from one tack to the other rather than gybing it all around.

“Stay close to shore and keep an eye on the sky,” Kendrick warned them. “If the boat goes over with a load of ore, it will sink. Make for land whenever the weather threatens, and reef the sail when you are caught in a storm.”

Joseph had brought more wine and goods from Armorica to trade with the natives. “We’re off,” he said, as soon as Kendrick’s ship was reloaded with staples bartered from the merchants. Turning to Jesus, he whispered, “I saw the rainbow just now!”

“Aren’t you coming to Carn Roz?” asked Jesus.

“Time is money for Kendrick, his crew, and his ship,” said Joseph. “This was supposed to be a few days from Gaul, remember?” Then looking to Pirro and Daniel, he continued, “Back in Gaul, the River Liger will soon dry up for the hot months of summer, but we will bring the best wine, spices, and anything else to be had anywhere in Gaul worth trading before winter sets in. Until then, use what you have to trade for the ore and make as much tin as you can. My fortune is now in your hands.”

Kendrick’s ship set sail for Armorica with Joseph. Jesus, Daniel, and Pirro set to work. They soon had the small sailing craft loaded with tin ore, but with daylight starting to fade, they decided to stay on in Ictus until morning. After watching the sails of Kendrick’s ship disappear into the approaching dusk, Jesus took a good look at his companions.
Pirro’s lack of good sense almost got us drowned, and Daniel is only two years older than I am. Without the counsel of Joseph or my parents, I am really on my own now.
Jesus prayed silently, and then felt better knowing that the Father would be with him.

At first light, the three set sail for Carn Roz. Arriving at midday, they unloaded the ore and with the village smithy’s guidance, set about to prepare the first charge for the furnace. First, they crushed some ore into fine pieces. Then they washed it through several pans of water, allowing the heavier pure ore to sink to the bottom while pieces of lighter, impure rock settled on top. They also crushed some of the limestone and charcoal. By then dusk was upon them.

The next morning, the smith helped them determine the right proportion of ore, charcoal and limestone for the smelting pot. They lit more charcoal in the pit of the furnace.

“Heat it slowly,” the smith advised.

The three took turns with the bellows. A few hours into the afternoon, the ore began to melt.

The smith peered in. “This is the critical stage. Skim off the slag. See it forming on top of the molten metal?”

After several hours the slag stopped forming, and they used a hoist to lift the smelting pot out of the furnace and over to a vat of water. Many villagers gathered around, watching. Jesus had the honor of tipping the pot to pour the molten metal into the water. With a loud hiss, the slow stream of metal solidified and cracked into knuckle-sized pieces.

As soon as it seemed safe, Pirro reached into the water and pulled out a piece. He tossed it to Jesus amidst cheers. Jesus let it drop to the ground, and everyone laughed. Finally satisfied that the piece was sufficiently cool, he picked it up. It was silvery white with a blue tinge and seemed quite soft for a metal. This was what they had come so far to obtain.

Gradually, Jesus and Daniel built up their store of tin. Every week or so they melted down the accumulated pieces and cast a solid ingot.

From sun-up until the day’s casting was complete, Jesus was an earnest craftsman, tending the fire with care and working the ore pot. Once the last of the ore was poured off, however, Fedwig was sure to be near with the training swords. Fedwig used his sword in the Celtic style, swinging in broad heroic strokes as if to single-handedly take on an attacking band of foes. Jesus tried to copy the style, but always met with disaster. This was not how the Romans practiced their swordsmanship.

The next time they sparred, Jesus joined Fedwig in a head-on clash of wildly swinging blades. He fell back a few steps. Sensing weakness, Fedwig rushed forward with a triumphant shout. Jesus watched for his opportunity.

Fedwig raised his sword high to deliver a mighty blow.

Jesus found his opening and made a quick thrust to bring his own sword up against Fedwig’s throat.

Fedwig growled at losing to a novice.

Jesus clapped his shoulder. “You must be very good at your craft to teach it so well.”

Fedwig laughed, and they went to join the others for supper.

Arriving at the dining hall, Jesus found the men of the village leaving. Bannoch pointed across the bay, and Jesus saw smoke signals. “Does that mean danger?” Jesus asked.

“The smoke would not be black if there was danger.” Bannoch replied. “This gathering might be called at the behest of the druids, or perchance we are favored with a visit from a bard. I hope it is a bard; druids can be so tiresome. Come to think of it, it has been some time since the king has heard from a bard. Do you still have your Roman toga?”

“Yes, but won’t that make me stand out?”

“It is better to stand out as a foreigner than to come dressed as a boy. The Dumnonii welcome strangers, but they do not welcome boys at gatherings of men. Dressed as you are, you would have to stay behind.”

Pirro always wore his Roman toga. Daniel could have remained in his British garb, but decided to wear his toga, too. Jesus and Daniel changed quickly and reached the tidal pool just as the men of the village prepared to leave. Pirro brought a few amphorae of the best wine.

As their
curragh
pulled out into the bay, they spotted several craft coming from the entrances of the various creeks and rivers that lined the harbor. All the boats were heading to the hillfort on the other side. As they got nearer, men from the various villages began exchanging greetings and boasts across the water. Once they landed on the headland, they made their way to the top, where they found a whirlwind of activities, even as more men continued to arrive by foot across the isthmus and by boat from the harbor. Some were wrestling and sword fighting, as others watched. Mead flowed freely, but Pirro soon found plenty of takers when he began to offer the wine. Bannoch spoke to some men and announced that the cause of the gathering was indeed the arrival of a bard.

The hillfort king turned out to be an old man with a sparkle in his eye. Resplendent on his chair, he greeted the village chieftains and the principal retainers of his realm. Bannoch introduced the distant travelers. The gift of wine from Pirro was well received, and the king insisted that Jesus, Daniel, and Pirro take some of the best seats in the hall.

The meal began as the summer sun set. Venison was the main course. Jesus and Daniel were glad to partake, knowing they were not doing any great violence to the dietary laws. They had seen how the Celts slaughtered the animals and drained the blood. With mead flowing, the bard recited verses of praise for the heroics of the king. It didn’t matter that these must have been tales from the king’s distant past. Waves of hurrahs filled the hall as the bard continued, each verse furnishing a convenient excuse for the men to cheer their king and drink more mead.

The hall quieted as the men focused their attention on the bard. This was the serious business of the gathering; to hear the news. The bard sang of distant marriages, wars, and alliances. Although most of the focus was on the Dumnonii, there was also news from lands far and wide. The bard even had word from Rome; he praised Augustus’s favorite great-nephew, the heroic Germanicus, and condemned the scheming Tiberius.

The men sat up straighter and listened most intently when the bard sang of raids against the other kingdoms of the Dumnonii. The high king of the warlike Durotriges tribe was ratcheting up his raids on the eastern Dumnonii along the southern shore. And from the north came word of a new menace: the Scotti from Eire were now plundering the northern shore of the Belerium Peninsula. Coming by sea, they could strike anywhere from the mouth of the River Sabrina to the western tip the Dumnonii homeland. True, the raiders had been beaten back for the time being, but not without a cost in lives. Many women and children had been taken away, to be sold to the Romans into slavery.

The bard finished his tales, and then came his chance to listen and gather the news from the mouth of the River Fal. Bannoch recounted the tale of how Jesus led the escape from the pirates of Vectis, and once again Jesus found himself singing the imaginary woeful song of the pirates, much to the delight and cheers of the company. The bard promised to spread word among the Dumnonii that the travelers staying at Carn Roz were ready to exchange wine, spices, and other trade goods for ore as well as for fine cloth and pottery, which Pirro planned to sell in Gaul.

There was more drinking and carousing, but soon the native men were dropping on the floor or in the chairs, sleeping off the effects of the evening and snoring soundly. The three travelers joined them. The next morning the bard was off to bring news and song to another community, having been well-fed and comfortably housed for his efforts. Jesus and Daniel returned to Carn Roz midmorning and got a late start on the day’s work with the smelter. They kept at it well into the evening.

After a few weeks, the smelting became second nature to Daniel and Jesus. They soon figured out how to charge the furnace with just the right amount of charcoal, so they could leave it for hours without over- or under-heating. They made use of the additional time by riding horseback over the countryside with Pirro, getting to know some of the other villages. They alternated days, taking turns so that one of them could tend to the fire.

One day while Jesus and Pirro were away, Golia brought Daniel bread and cheese for lunch. He laid aside the map he was studying. “Come sit with me.”

She put her tray on the ground and sat nearby. “Shouldn’t you be tending the fire?”

“It tends itself, mostly. I’m just waiting for the ore to melt, to skim off the slag.”

Golia nodded, her blue eyes looking everywhere but at him.

“You’re bored with all this talk of metalwork, aren’t you?” He took a bite of bread.

“No, no, not at all.”

He scooted a little closer. “You’re very kind to say so. And to feed me.” He took another bite.

She giggled. “I can’t let you go hungry, can I?”

He leaned closer. “Golia…you are…very kind.”

Her eyes widened. Her voice quavered a little. “Am I?”

“Mm-hm.” He kissed her.

When she leaned into him, he dropped his food and put his arms around her.

She clenched his shoulders. Then she pushed away. “Oh! If my father…” She stood. “I should go.”

Daniel jumped up and grabbed her hand. “Don’t. Your father—huh. Can’t be any worse than my father.”

“It’s different for you. You’re a man. Why would your father—”

“Never mind. Not important.” He pulled her close and kissed her again.

By the middle of summer, the lode of ore below Pencaire started to peter out. By then Jesus and Daniel had trained a few villagers to run the smelter. This left Jesus free to journey with Pirro and Daniel as far the River Tamar to map out new lodes of ore in the southwestern lands of the Dumnonii.