The Making of the Lamb (23 page)

Elsigar still visited Carn Roz to judge the occasional lawsuit or criminal case because he was the only druid skilled in law—a
brithem
, in their language. For the most part, he left druidic affairs concerning Carn Roz in the hands of the novice Belenus.

“Today, we begin the study of potions,” Elsigar said. “What do we normally need to work a valid spell, a curse, or a blessing? Come, Fedwig, surely you remember that.”

Fedwig mumbled in response.

How dull this lad must be.
Elsigar frowned. “You must pay more attention, Fedwig.” Elsigar called on another boy.

“For any magic to work, the druid must be qualified. The druid must be present with the subject or something that he possessed. The druid must intend to work the magic, and the druid must perform the spell properly,” the boy responded.

“Correct,” Elsigar said. Only priests had the authority to perform magic. That was a longstanding law. He was about to differentiate the usage of potions when he noticed Fedwig scowling. “So, Master Fedwig, you don’t seem to approve. Perhaps you would care to share your thoughts?”

“I have heard of magic performed by a visitor in our village, and he is no druid,” Fedwig replied.

“Blasphemy!” Elsigar cried. He grabbed his cane and lashed out at the insolent boy. When Elsigar heard the tale of how Jesus had magically effected an escape from pirates, he was determined to speak to Belenus when he saw him that evening. Elsigar had to make sure that the novice would inform him if these visitors ever returned.

Belenus waited with Bannoch’s family and the villagers on the shore the next day as Kendrick sailed into the tidal pool. He had been surprised to see the ship return so soon, but he had Elsigar’s instructions and had sent for the senior druid.

Belenus allowed Bannoch’s family to greet the visitors, but when he heard Kendrick explain their intent to establish a base camp at Carn Roz, he knew he had to act quickly.

He raised his hand to call for silence. A hush fell over the villagers. All eyes turned to him. He pointed to Jesus. “Elsigar would talk to that one.” Without giving the visitors a chance to concoct a story, he summoned Jesus to follow him.

Jesus turned to Kendrick and Bannoch, but they both indicated he had no choice but to follow. Belenus saw Joseph start to object, but Kendrick silenced him with a quick gesture. So Belenus set out with Jesus in tow, up the hill into the woods and then to a clearing where Elsigar awaited them. With him was his council, which included six other druids. Unlike Belenus, who wore ordinary clothes, Elsigar and his councilors wore flowing white robes and had adorned themselves with gold ornaments. The midday sun filtered through the leafy canopy, intermittently causing the druids’ golden visors to light up like haloes.

For several hours Elsigar questioned Jesus. He wanted to know everything about the journey to Britain, and more particularly all that had occurred of a supernatural nature. The boy maintained his composure and answered every question.

Once his questions were exhausted, Elsigar withdrew, together with his councilors, leaving Jesus in Belenus’s charge. Without understanding the words, Belenus and Jesus could hear through the trees a heated discussion.

Jesus asked Belenus to explain what the councilors might be arguing about.

“I can only surmise from my training. I didn’t see proof of any crime, so I doubt that many will insist on punishing you. The real issue is whether to permit you and the others to stay. It is not an easy question. Even if they believe you, some will say you are imbued with the influence of a powerful god, and that could upset the spiritual balance between nature and men among the gods we know. They likely will try to invoke fear of the wrath of our own gods.”

“But since they argue, there must be another point of view.”

“I imagine that others are saying that excluding you, and requiring the people to turn their backs on their long tradition of hospitality, would be a display of fear. They would say our gods are not so weak that they need fear the presence of another god from the east. Druids always seek knowledge, so some will want to learn the ways of your god.”

“Why did Elsigar question me so closely on whether I practiced any magic?”

“That could be the deciding point. Having an outlander here invoking incantations and spells without druidic training would be a great impiety. It could undermine the spiritual balance we work so hard to maintain, and it would make the case for the fear mongers who wish to exclude you. But if you are simply the subject of a spiritual force, as you seem to say, then it becomes very difficult for them to argue against you. The gods bless or curse all men to some degree. If they believe you, the protection you appear to have from your god would actually work in your favor, particularly among those who are governed more by their quest for knowledge than by fear.”

“How will they make the decision? Do they take a vote?”

“Elsigar is the only lawgiver among the councilors. He will decide one way or the other. He must first consult with the others and hear each point of view. Each has his own expertise: history, incantations, healing. The
faith
, the soothsayer, will speak after all the others have had their say. Then he will reveal the entrails and interpret them.” The sound of arguing ceased from across the forest. “They must now be waiting on the
faith
to carry out the divination. It may not be long before we hear the decision.”

“The waiting grows tiresome,” said Jesus.

“You seem confident.”

“I told the truth,” said Jesus. “And God wants our voyage to succeed. I don’t care about your incantations and divinations. God will show Elsigar the truth.”

Elsigar returned with the councilors. They stood in stoic silence in a circle around the edge of the clearing, waiting for Elsigar to render his judgment. The fading sunset set their robes aglow and gave the proceedings an ethereal quality.

“I find no deceit in the boy,” Elsigar began. “It appears he practices no magic. The escape from the pirates, the finding of the tin, and all that occurred beyond ordinary forces known to men came about through the acts of his god, not through any supernatural power invoked by him through any incantation, potion, or other magical art. Nor does he intend us any harm.”

He turned to Belenus. “Keep an eye on the business the visitors conduct in the village. As long as there is no impiety in what they propose, leave it to the chieftain or the king to negotiate with them. Although these visitors do not believe in our gods, it is not impious to extend hospitality to strangers or to trade with them. Keep me informed.”

Elsigar and the councilors solemnly left the clearing in single file.

With no objection from the druids, it did not take long for Papa and Kendrick to conclude their negotiations with Bannoch. He was more than happy to take a modest share of Papa’s trade goods in exchange for providing the needs of Pirro and the boys, as well as their protection. Fedwig was delighted that Jesus had returned so soon, and Tilda welcomed Jesus and Daniel into the family home to stay.

Daniel was still having a difficult time understanding and making himself understood, but the language he had picked up among the Cantiaci on the previous visit was coming back to him, and the dialect of the Dumnonii was starting to feel more natural. The way Golia kept laughing when he spoke made it clear that his tongue still marked him as an outlander.

Daniel glanced over his shoulder to make sure his father was still outside with the other men. He turned back to Golia. “I am sorry we’re such trouble.” She had seemed a little put out that she had to give up some of her space in the family hut.

“Oh, well it’s…I didn’t mean…”

He took a step closer, bowing his head close to hers. The top of her head didn’t even reach his chin. “Are you sure? Perhaps I should sleep in the woods.”

She giggled and nudged his shoulder. “Don’t be silly.” She bundled up the rest of the things from her pallet. “It’s no trouble—”

“Golia!” Tilda called. “Come help with the dinner.”

“Yes, Mama.” She dropped her little bundle on a smaller pallet squeezed against the wall, and ran out before Daniel could say another word.

Papa left most of his trade goods in the village before sailing with Kendrick on the next tide, taking with him enough to conduct some trade in Ictus. He left instructions for Pirro, Jesus, and Daniel to meet him at Ictus two days after the next Sabbath.

They took over an abandoned hut at Carn Roz as their base camp. Daniel worked with Jesus and Pirro to fix the roof and to construct a smelting furnace. The blacksmith fashioned a smelting pot from iron and offered instruction about the construction of the furnace. Fedwig and the other boys helped them gather clay for the ceramic furnaces, and Tilda arranged for the tanner to make the bellows from animal skins.

With the smith’s guidance, Daniel and Jesus constructed a low cylindrical hazel-wood frame. They mixed clay with ground rock to make cement and covered the framework thickly. Holes in the bottom allowed for refueling and for inserting the bellows. The work was most intense for the first two days, but then they had an easy day, waiting as the smith helped Pirro to fire the ceramic structure of the furnace. The boys lounged on a hillside nearby. Daniel wondered where Golia was.

Fedwig was the first to get bored with watching. He ran off, returning with his sword. Not a sharpened sword, but more than a plaything. Cast of iron, it was weighty enough to teach the boy the proper handling of a weapon. Daniel watched with Jesus as the boy turned and whirled, thrusting his instrument at imaginary foes.

“Is there another sword for me?” Jesus called out.

Fedwig grinned. “Sure!” He ran off again.

Daniel looked at his cousin in shock. “What do you mean, Jesus? We are traders. We come in peace. Ours is not the place of war.”

“Maybe not,” Jesus replied, “but war is an art I must learn if I am to lead the Jewish nation to freedom someday. Besides, we are making our home here. If we look to Bannoch’s people for protection, should we not be prepared to help as well?”

Daniel’s heart pounded. He remembered his father’s words about the prophecy of death that lay ahead for Jesus. “Papa will not approve.”

“He is not here, and he need not know.”

Daniel frowned and sat up straight. “You do not have to take up arms to free our people. Jesus, do not follow this path. It is the way of death. It cannot be your destiny.”

Jesus looked sternly at Daniel. “You forget yourself, cousin.” His voice dropped. “More than that, you forget who I am. Do I have to remind you how you got down on your knees at my feet because you saw the divine within me? Everyone thought you were crazy, but you were right. I am not only the Son of God; I am eternally one with him. God the Father has told me that, and he also told me I should trust my feelings. My feelings tell me that I must prepare for the day I lead our people from bondage, as their Messiah.” Jesus paused, scowling. “I don’t need your father to tell me my destiny, and I certainly don’t need you for that.”

“Was it not the hand of God, rather than the sword, that parted the sea for Moses?”

“The Romans might not let our people go, the way Pharaoh started to. You forget how Joshua, David, the Maccabees, and so many other heroes of our people fought to drive the heathen from the Promised Land.”

Tears blurred Daniel’s vision. He could practically see his young cousin suffering in crucifixion already. If Jesus were to lead an armed rebellion against Rome, then surely Rome would hang him on a cross. Jesus had to know that. But he expected God to save him. He did not expect to be forsaken there. “There is more that even you do not know, Jesus.”

“Really? What?” asked Jesus, growing impatient.

Daniel shook his head. “I cannot tell you. Papa wanted it left between God and you. I promised not to say anything.”

“Then don’t! Keep your father’s confidence, Daniel. At least he puts his trust in God. I won’t ask you to choose between obeying Joseph’s commands or mine.” Jesus cocked his head while continuing to stare down his older cousin. “At least I won’t quite yet. Just don’t tell him what I’m practicing.”

Fedwig returned with another sword. Jesus took it and imitated the moves he had seen the boy perform. Fedwig held up his own sword, and the two boys thrust and parried. Jesus managed to dodge a few of Fedwig’s slashes, but then the tip of Fedwig’s sword caught a corner of Jesus’s toga and rent a gash, exposing his midsection. With another quick move, Fedwig placed the point of his sword against Jesus’s throat. He smiled triumphantly.

As the two held that position for a moment, Daniel stood. “Perhaps it is better not to be a swordsman at all, rather than be a mediocre one. It would seem much safer that way.”

“Oh, I give up.” Jesus cast down his sword. “Confound this stupid toga. If we are to live with the natives we might as well dress like them. Let’s go and see Tilda about proper British tunics.” He turned to Fedwig. “Don’t worry. I’m just getting started. You will show me later what you know of the sword and battle axe, won’t you?”

“Of course!” Fedwig beamed, obviously flattered beyond measure to have Jesus ask for his instruction.

With a sigh, Daniel followed Jesus in search of Tilda. Maybe they would find Golia as well.

When the day appointed to meet Joseph at Ictus arrived, the smelting furnace was ready. Bannoch had sent word to neighboring villages that fine wine and spices could be had in exchange for cartloads of charcoal and limestone, and there was a good supply of those essential materials. All they needed was the ore.

Bannoch furnished a guide and a
curragh,
a narrow watercraft made of hides stretched over a woven framework, to take them to the headwaters of the Helford River. From there the guide pointed them in the direction of Ictus. It was a ten-mile trek across open fields. They joked of how they looked like proper British natives now, and whether Joseph would recognize them. Tilda had made up a full outfit with tunic and leggings for Daniel. Pirro declined her offer, refusing to abandon his toga.