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"Are you ready?" Creidne barked at Michael. It seemed
that yell was all she did these days.
Michael inhaled slowly and looked down in doubt at the wooden shield he held on his arm. Despite his misgivings, he nodded. He stood at the head of a narrow path which was flanked by rising ground on both sides upon which stood tiers of pine trees. At some time in the past water had carved the path out, but it was nothing more than a long, dry trough padded with layers of pine needles now. He looked ahead of him. Standing behind the pine trees above the path, Dighaine, Brid, Ciri, Bebhionn and Buanann were waiting to hurl spears at him. Not the wooden ones they had spent long, hot hours training with, but real, sharp iron-tipped spears. The kind that could get a person seriously injured, or worse. Michael bit his lip and tried to position the shield in such a way that it would afford the most protection. The problem was that it wasn't big enough to cover his entire body! He wasn't at all sure he'd made the right decision when he'd asked Buanann and Creidne to teach them to fight. He'd never imagined he might become a casualty before he ever got the chance to try out his new skills. Buanann and Creidne had been drilling them for days, using only blunt wooden poles instead of real weapons. Michael could still feel the dozens of bruises and bumps he'd gotten while practicing, and he knew the others had experienced the same thing. First of all, they'd had to learn to throw a spear straight and true, and then they had to learn how to defend themselves with a shield. The past few days, they'd received the most injuries, as Buanann and Creidne insisted they learn this insane manoeuvre - running through a line of people trying to skewer you (granted, there were no sharp points), with only a shield to protect yourself. Each practice run, fewer and fewer poles got through their shields until, at last, Buanann determined that they were ready for the ultimate test - trying it with real spears. Seeing the anxiety in the eyes of the others, Michael had volunteered to go first, since he felt responsible for getting everyone into this in the first place. "I'd rather be dancing," he thought tensely to himself as Creidne moved into the trees to join the others. He heard her ask them, "Are you ready?" He could hear their affirmative responses. Of course they were ready! They were absolutely confident in their ability to throw a spear straight. But how confident were they in his ability - or their own, for that matter - to avoid their spears? He watched Creidne hoist her spear up onto her shoulder, getting ready to cast it as he ran by. Her face was totally expressionless as she looked at him one last time, and nodded. "Go!" At that point, everything became a blur. Michael just focused on the end of the path and bolted. He was vaguely aware of a scream escaping from his lips, but he dashed through anyway, flinging the shield around his head and body as he went, and praying he'd deflect at least some of them. He felt the shield being battered from all directions, and it was almost ripped right out of his grasp, but the next thing he knew he was at the other end of the course, and still alive! His heart was pounding in his ears as he glanced down at his body in shock. No wounds, no cuts, no bruises! He nearly keeled over in relief. "I did it!" he shouted, tossing the shield up into the air. Ciri, Brid, Dighaine and Bebhionn were just as surprised as he was. They cheered, then came running down to congratulate him in a huge group hug. Their joy was as much for themselves as for Michael, for they now believed that if one of them could do it successfully, they all could. Buanann came up to Michael and put her hand firmly on his shoulder. Pride shone in her eyes. "I knew you were ready," she grinned, "I would never have made you try it if you weren't." After that, each of the others had their turn, and were just as successful. No one got so much as a scratch. And Buanann had no complaints about their aim with a spear, either. She deemed them satisfactory warriors and told them she would waive the second phase of their training. At first, Brid was disappointed and insisted they complete the entire training program. When Buanann told her that the second phase involved memorising twelve books of poetry, Brid vigorously shook her head and said, "No thanks." Even though they weren't going to learn the poetry, Buanann and Creidne announced they were still sending them to the Druid who ordinarily took on the responsibility for teaching it. This was because he was the one who would make their status as warriors official. His name was Finneigeas and he lived alone deep in the forest. Buanann and Creidne sent them off armed with new spears the next day to find him, with a message explaining who they were and why he should skip the poetry lessons.  |
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Michael and his companions travelled through the forest on foot for
half a day before they reached the river. Since there was no real path,
most of the time they followed the stream that they had originally appeared
in. The stream fed into the river right at the base of a small waterfall,
and had helped to fashion a deep basin that was large enough to swim in.
They turned east at the waterfall, and not long afterward found a thatched
cottage situated on the banks of the river.
Finneigeas himself sat by the water's edge, examining a curious collection of stones placed before him on a cloth. He was an old, old man with kind, dark eyes, long, thin wispy grey hair and a long scraggly white beard. He welcomed them immediately, his kind, dark eyes shining with glee as each of them introduced themselves. It was obvious that he had few visitors, and he took particular delight in inviting them view his unique rock collection. Something genuine about his manner made them trust him instantly. "It's a pity you won't be staying long enough to learn the poetry, uh huh," he said to them when they'd explained why they'd come. "But, I understand. You don't have that kind of time." He gestured for them to sit with him by the river. "There's a lovely breeze here, and you look a bit hot." Then he rubbed his palms together, "Other than confirming your training, is there anything else I can do to help you while you're here?" "Do you know where we can find a cauldron?" Bebhionn asked. Finneigeas laughed, "As a matter of fact, I do, uh huh. I have one right inside the house which I use to cook all my meals. Are you hungry?" Bebhionn was disappointed. "No, thanks. I don't think that's the cauldron we're looking for." "Oh?" Finneigeas' eyes lit up with interest, "Is this a special cauldron, by any chance?" Bebhionn nodded, "It's one of the four treasures of Ireland." Finneigeas' mouth formed an 'O'. "I'm afraid I don't know where that particular cauldron would be." He paused then and appeared to be thinking quite hard. "But, I may know a way that you can find out, uh huh. I just may. Follow me!" Finneigeas led them through the woods on a path that had been kept carefully clear of roots, rocks and tangling weeds. The sun sprinkled light down on them through the canopy of deciduous trees, creating cool relief from the heat. Where they emerged from the woods, the path descended straight into the river, becoming a ford. It resembled a boat launch site, but lacked any visible boat. Finneigeas stopped abruptly and pointed across to the river's opposite bank. "Do you see that hazel tree hanging over the water there?" They clustered around him to look where he pointed, but he didn't wait for a response. "It's shallow here, but it gets deep enough over there for fish to swim. At the roots of that tree is a well that empties into the river. The source of the water is deep underground and it is supposed to have healing properties. It not only supplies this river with water, but it is also a nutrient-rich source of nourishment for that tree. On the tree grow nuts with shells so hard they can't be cracked, and your teeth would break if you tried to bite into one, uh huh." Brid, who was shading her eyes with her hand so she could see, leaned over and whispered to Ciri, "What have nuts got to do with finding a cauldron?" Ciri shrugged and whispered back, "Maybe the old man is senile." "Young lady!" Finneigeas suddenly turned in annoyance to Ciri, "I am not senile. And I'll expect you to show a little more respect if you wish my help!" "Sorry," Ciri murmured. "We were just wondering how a nut - I don't mean you - was going to help us find the cauldron." "If you will allow me to finish my explanation, you will find out! Now, as I was saying, every day a single nut falls from the tree into the river and is eaten by a large salmon that lives in the river, uh huh." He paused and looked at them significantly. Everyone just stared back, waiting, with no clue as to what the point was. He rolled his eyes, "I'm beginning to think perhaps we should include that poetry in your training after all. At least then you would know about the Well of Segais!" He scanned their faces hopefully, but it was clear he would have to explain. "The tree over the Well of Segais grows the Nuts of Knowledge. If you eat the nuts you will know the answer to any questions you have." "That's great!" Dighaine said, "Except how can we get an answer to our question if we can't eat the nuts? I, for one, am not going to risk cracking my teeth just to get a bit of information." "Ahhh!" Finneigeas' dark eyes lit up, "We may not be able to eat the nuts, but the salmon can! I have a hunch that if you catch that fish, cook it and eat it, the knowledge will go right from the nut to the salmon to you, uh huh!" "We'll need fishing tackle." Ciri reminded them. "No you won't." Finneigeas announced, "You can use my fishing spears. They're back at the house." He turned to go, "I'll go get them." Bebhionn toed the water, "We'll have to go out into the river if we're going to use spears to catch this fish." She looked around at the others, "Any of you ever catch a fish with a spear?" Ciri shook her head and walked along the bank for a ways, peering across the water to see if she could make out any of the nuts on the tree. Brid shook her head vigorously and grimaced, "I don't even like fish. I'll help catch it, but I don't plan to help you eat it." "I've gone fishing with a regular fishing pole before, "Dighaine said, "but I've never used a spear. I don't think I know anyone who has. What about you, Michael?" She glanced down at Michael sitting on the grass, but he didn't seem to be paying attention to the conversation. He was squinting up at the sky, looking a bit perplexed. She was wrong about him not paying attention, though. "No," he said softly, "I've never fished with a spear." "What's wrong?" Dighaine asked him. "Mmm?" "Are you alright? You look bothered about something." He shrugged, but the look on his face when he turned it toward her was one of confusion. "It's too sunny." Dighaine smiled, "Sorry I don't have a pair of sunglasses to loan you." She raised her face to the sun and sighed, "It is lovely though, isn't it?" "That's just it, "he said, "This is Ireland. My guess is that it's high summer right now." "So?" "So it's extremely rare for there to be even three consecutive days of sunny weather in most parts of Ireland in the summer. I'd say we've been here about three weeks, and we haven't had a rainy day yet!" Brid knelt down beside Michael, "Where in Ireland do you think we are?" "More to the point, when are we?" Michael sighed heavily. "Ireland's climate used to be much warmer than it is now, or rather, will be. It started to change during the end of the Bronze Age." Brid's eyes opened wide with surprise, "Which means we've travelled back in time almost..." Finneigeas suddenly emerged from the woods with his arms full of spears, "Here they are!" He shuffled down the path and dumped the spears at their feet. "These will do very nicely, uh huh," he looked very pleased with himself. He then picked the spears up one by one and handed them out. "Now, all you have to do is get into the river over there by the well and wait for the salmon." "Great!" Ciri said eagerly, and headed for the water. "I'm sweating to death! Maybe we can go for a swim at the same time. "She waded out into the water with her fishing spear, stepping carefully so she wouldn't turn her ankle on any slippery stones. Dighaine and Brid splashed in after her, but Bebhionn paused to remove her shoes first. "You coming?" she asked Michael when she noticed he hadn't moved. Michael shook his head, "You go ahead. I'm not really into fishing." Bebhionn shrugged, then stepped gingerly into the water. It wasn't long before they were all swimming across to the well. When they got to it, they stood silently, waist-deep in the water, spears poised, and waited for the salmon to show up. The nut-laden branches of the hazel tree drooped down close to the water. It was difficult to determine which nut would be the next to drop. Michael got to his feet and stood with Finneigeas. They watched as the others began to splash around in the river. Michael was just about to shout to them that even he knew that no fish would come near with disturbances in the water, when it occurred to him that perhaps the salmon was already swimming among them, giving them a hard time. He was startled by Finneigeas' hand on his arm. Finneigeas' dark eyes held a glint of mischievous humour in them as he nodded toward the water at their feet and chuckled. "Look." Michael looked down and smiled. There in the river, not four feet in front of them, the biggest salmon he had ever seen glided peacefully around, minding its own business. The splashing across the water increased, along with squeals of laughter and shrieking. It had begun to look and sound like a feeding frenzy of sharks. They were over there goofing off! "I guess we'll have to do this ourselves, uh huh," Finneigeas raised a grey eyebrow and Michael nodded agreement. "Give me that other spear." Michael handed him the spear he hadn't needed. The salmon still calmly hovered in the river below them. Finneigeas slowly lifted the spear, careful not to alarm the fish with any quick moves, and took aim. |
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 "Hey! Where'd they go?" Brid chucked her spear onto the ground and collapsed onto the grass next to it. "Well," she heaved a sigh, "that was a big waste of time!" The others tossed their spears down also. "What's that smell?" Ciri sniffed at the air. Dighaine smelled it too. "It smells like fish." Bebhionn finished putting her shoes back on and looked at her suspiciously, "You don't think...?" They ran down the path toward Finneigeas' house, and Brid jumped up to follow. When they arrived, their eyes were met with a surprising sight. Finneigeas had the largest fish they had ever seen cooking on a spit over a fire he had built outside his door. Michael sat on the grass nearby looking extremely hungry. Brid put her hands on her hips and stared down at Michael. "Is that the fish WE were trying to catch?" Michael smiled sheepishly and rubbed his hands together in anticipation, "Yep!" "And it's just about done." Finneigeas added as he carefully removed it from the fire, setting it down on a plate to cool. "You mean you let us stay out there in that cold water all that time, getting soaked and tired," Bebhionn yelled, "And you had the fish the whole time?!" Dighaine was so angry her face was turning red, "Look at me! I'm drenched!" Michael tried to stifle a giggle, "I'm sorry!" but then he burst into laughter. Dighaine was so mad she could hit something! She impulsively stalked up to the fish, grabbed it by the tail, and was about to fling it into Michael's laughing face. "Owww!" She screamed and dropped the fish, "That's burning hot!" She put her burnt fingers into her mouth to cool them, and her eyes suddenly popped open wide in shock. She reeled a little, lost her balance, then fell seated onto the ground. "Dighaine!" Michael was at her side immediately, no longer laughing. He took her hands and examined her fingers for burns. "Are you alright?" Dighaine shook her head as if she wasn't really sure. She looked completely dazed, but managed to whisper, "I know where it is!" Michael's eyes bored into hers, "Where what is?" Dighaine looked around in wonder at their concerned faces, as if noticing them all for the first time. Then her face broke out into a huge grin. "I know where the cauldron is!"
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"Would you get your foot out of my face!" Bebhionn yelled up to Brid.
"Sorry!" Brid called down to her. With their spears strapped securely to their backs, Bebhionn, Brid, Dighaine and Ciri, led by Michael, climbed up the side of a sheer cliff face that rose straight up from the river. They'd managed to make it about forty feet up so far. They clung desperately to the rock and dragged themselves from one hand-hold to the next, praying none of it broke loose in their hands. Their feet fumbled around, trying to grip the rock without causing it to crumble. "Almost there!" Michael called down, grunting with the effort of pulling himself up. "I can just about see the ledge. About ten more feet to go!" Dighaine, with her new-found knowledge, had claimed they would find the cauldron they were looking for in a cave at the top of this cliff. He hoped she was right and they weren't risking their lives like this over some daydream. The closer they got to the ledge at the top of the cliff, the fewer hand or foot-holds they were able to find. So they strained, one after another, to pull themselves up a little at a time. Far below them, the river rushed by and was swallowed by the forest. Huffing and puffing, Michael finally reached the lip of the ledge. He stretched his hand up over the top and his fingers found purchase on a small rock outcropping. All the muscles in his back and shoulders tensed as he hauled himself up and onto the ledge. Then he turned onto his stomach and extended his hand to help pull up the others. "We made it!" Ciri sighed, lying on her back to catch her breath. The spear dug into her spine, but she just ignored it. She looked at the clouds sailing by overhead and her eyes began to flutter closed. "No time for resting now." Brid stood over her and blocked the sunlight. "We're here! I don't want to wait any longer to get that cauldron!" "Uh, guys," Bebhionn said softly as she backed cautiously away from the ledge, "Have any of you noticed how high up we are?" They all turned around and looked back over the side of the cliff. It had to be a fifty foot drop straight into the river below. Bebhionn sat down, looking defeated. "How are we ever going to get a cauldron back down over this cliff?" Dighaine giggled nervously, "Helicopter?" Ciri looked questioningly at Michael, "Any ideas, Fearless Leader?" Michael winced. He didn't like being called that at all, but he didn't say so. Instead, he peered over the ledge again. The drop was dizzying. He forced himself to look away and shook his head, wondering how they would get down even if they didn't find the cauldron. "I'm not going to worry about it until we actually have the cauldron., "he said, almost to himself. "Dighaine, tell me you're positive this is the right place?" Dighaine nodded, then turned and headed for the huge cave entrance yawning before them. No one followed at first. They just watched her disappear into the blackness. Then, suddenly, they heard her voice yell, "Oh great! WHAT is this?!" Michael's heart leaped into his throat. He sprinted into the cave and halted just behind Dighaine. Shooting around just inside the opening to the cave, completely blocking the entrance, ricocheting off the ceiling, then the ground, then the walls, was a little ball of fire. "What is that?" Michael asked. It bounced around a few seconds more, hissing and crackling and shooting off sparks, then came to rest in the middle of the entrance. Once it stopped moving, it was no longer a ball of fire, but a small fluffy orange kitten which stared fiercely up at them out of fiery red eyes. Brid came up behind Michael and Dighaine to get a closer look and chuckled, "It's only an itty bitty kitty cat!" "Luchtigern!" a voice boomed out from the blackness at the rear of the cave. "What are you doing out there?" Startled, Dighaine clutched at Michael's shirt and they both backed away, bumping into Brid and the others. The person who stepped into the dimly lit cave entrance was even more startling than his voice had been. He was a massive man, at least seven feet tall, with enormous broad shoulders and huge tattoo-covered biceps. His face was almost entirely hidden by a bushy beard the exact same colour as the cat's fur, and his unruly orange hair threatened to spring loose from a single thick braid which hung all the way down his back. In one fist he gripped a gigantic wooden club, which was easily taller than a very tall man. "Luchtigern, come here!" He called again to the cat. When it didn't respond to him, but just crouched on the ground hissing at the interlopers, he scooped it up in his free hand and placed it carefully on his shoulder. It settled there comfortably, but its eyes continued to watch warily. "Who are you?" The giant man growled. The coldness of his gaze contrasted sharply with the gentleness he used while scratching the cat's head. "How'd you get here?" Michael straightened up and detached his shirt from Dighaine's grip. "We climbed. "He lifted his chin, meeting the giant's icy stare. Then he smiled slowly. "You're the Guardian of the cauldron, aren't you?" The giant's bushy red eyebrows lowered, "Yes..." he hissed slowly. His voice was deceptively calm, yet it held an unmistakable note of threat in it. "I am Dagda. How did you know what I am?" Michael glanced sideways at Dighaine, who looked down at the fingers she had burned on the salmon. "Never mind that now. Eriu sent us to get the cauldron for her." Dagda's eyes widened in surprise. "Has she now?" Then he threw back his head and laughed loudly. "She sent you..." he pointed to the five of them, then to the back of the cave,"...to fetch THAT cauldron?" They peered into the darkness where he pointed. There they saw a gigantic rotund iron cook-pot, large enough for all five of them to sit comfortably together in. "Holy smokes!" Ciri cried, "That could hold a lot of food!" The thought of food made her stomach begin to complain of being empty since early morning. "Have you got anything cooking in it right now?" Dagda shook his head. "That old pot hasn't had anything cooked in it since I became its Guardian. There hasn't been a need." "Well there's a need now," Ciri said, "I'm starved!" Bebhionn made a face at Ciri and stepped up to Dagda. The top of her head only reached to his waist, so she had to crane her neck to look at him. "Can we take it with us? We have proof that Eriu sent us." Dagda looked interested. "Oh?" He crouched down beside her and smiled into her face, "Let's see this proof." "Show him, Michael. "Bebhionn said. Michael nodded and pulled out the necklace Eriu had given him. Dagda looked surprised again, but simply nodded. "How are you going to move it?" he asked. "Could we tie a rope around it and lower it down?" Brid asked. "With all of us holding on to it together - including Dagda - we might stand a chance of lowering it down to the river." She looked thoughtful, "Do you suppose it will float?" Dagda shrugged. "I do have some rope." He shifted Luchtigern from one shoulder to the other. "We can try." Between the six of them, they managed to turn the cauldron on its side and roll it out to the ledge. Then they tied the rope securely around it several times, and attached part of the rope to their own waists. "Are you ready to try this?" Dagda asked. Everyone looked nervously at Michael, who swallowed hard, then nodded. Dagda looked at Luchtigern on his shoulder and nodded, then slowly rolled the cauldron to the edge of the cliff. "Here goes. When I say 'Pull', you'd better pull as if your lives depend on it - because they do! If I go over, you all go with me!" They braced themselves along the cliff top. Dagda stood closest to the edge, then Michael and the others behind to support him. Dagda gave them one more look, as if to say it was too late now to change their minds, and slowly rolled the cauldron forward until it teetered on the edge. Then he pushed it gently over, and roared, "PULL!" Everyone pulled with all their might, straining against the abrupt bone-breaking jolt that threatened to yank them all over the side. The cauldron weighed tons more than they ever could have guessed. It pulled back at them relentlessly, slowly dragging Dagda toward the edge. His huge muscles bulged as he dug his feet into the ground and leaned his whole weight back. "PULL!" He thundered, "PULL!" Michael pulled, Dighaine pulled, Ciri pulled, Brid pulled, and Bebhionn pulled. But Dagda's feet still began ploughing through the dirt like two great bulldozers. There was no going back - the cauldron couldn't be pulled back now and they had no control over it. Brid and Bebhionn began to scream in terror as their feet skidded along the ground. They knew they were all going over! Dagda's feet had reached the edge of the cliff. He didn't waste any more breath yelling for anyone to pull, he just pulled with all his strength. The cat on his shoulders arched its back and yowled. Suddenly the ground under Dagda's feet crumbled away and he was yanked over the edge, disappearing entirely. The rope hauled the others right along with him. Michael felt his stomach lurch as the ground dropped away from beneath him and he was flung over the side. He heard the screams of the others, and then they were plummeting toward the river below.  |
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