Chapter 34

The following new characters are introduced in this chapter:

Culann McCallister

Blacksmith, Jillian’s husband, 6’-0” tall, 180 pounds, 21 years old, black hair, green eyes, handsome, a huge Talent

Connor Gallagher

Nora and Nola’s Uncle, D & C’s Husband, 5’-10” tall, 170 pounds, 20 years old, long auburn hair, gray eyes, a strong Talent

Amelia, Anann, and Duncan returned the next day, Tuesday. When they were informed of the attack on Olive Hill, my Sisters were shocked that they had missed it. They were also amazed to see Ken and Kell here. Their Wives were an additional shock to the two girls. When Wolf and I brought Saoirse and Clare over to meet them, they were even more astonished. They didn’t even know what to say when D & C brought Nora and Nola in. There were a lot of explanations of what had happened following that.

“How could we have missed all of this in just one week?” Amelia asked when they had recovered.

“You left about a day before it all started. There was no warning,” Wolf told them, as he held Saoirse in his arms.

“But Mark, how could they have gotten all of the way to Olive Hill without someone seeing them?” Anann asked, perplexed.

“It would depend on where they crossed the Big Sandy River. There is a lot of empty space with no settlements out near the border. If they chose their route carefully, they could move that far without anyone seeing them,” I told my Sisters.

“And Ken and Kell arrived just in the nick of time?” Amelia asked.

“Yes! Wolf and I were trying to deal with Clare’s and Saoirse’s injuries at the time, and Ken, Kell, and their Wives were a great help in healing them,” I told her.

“They saved Saoirse’s life,” Wolf told his Sisters very solemnly whereupon Saoirse kissed him.

“So what did the three of you do during the snow storm?” Dymphna asked, in a very catty voice.

“There wasn’t much snow at the Delaware village where we went, but it was cold, and we stayed inside to keep warm most of the time,”Anann told her Cousin with a grin.

“Yes, I can just imagine,” Coleen snidely remarked to her Sister.

“Are James and Jillian back?” Amelia remembered to ask.

“No, they aren’t, and I’m beginning to worry about them. They are well past the two week estimate that they gave before they started out. One of us is going to need to check on them if they don’t return by the end of the week,” I told those present.

“You need to move your things out of your room here. We don’t have permanent rooms here anymore. There are just too many of us now. We’re all staying at our operational sites unless we have business here,” Coleen told her sisters.

“Is that true, Mark?” Anann asked.

“Yes. It was decided last night. There just aren’t enough rooms for everyone to have one dedicated just for their use,” I told her. We helped them move the few things that they had remaining here to Mount Sterling.

Duncan and Seamus came to see me early the next morning at Mount Sterling. I was a bit surprised to see the two of them together. Duncan appeared to be in a very serious mood.

“We need to talk about turkeys,” Seamus said to start things.

“What about them?” I asked.

“The turkey is held in great reverence by the Cherokee,” Duncan stated. “Whenever one is killed, whether for its meat or its feathers, there are ceremonies that must be performed. The Cherokee believe that the turkey communicates our wishes to the Great Spirit. It cannot just be killed and eaten,” he finished very passionately. I could see that he was very upset.

“All right,” I agreed. “Do you know how to perform these ceremonies, and how long will they take?” I asked.

“Yes, our Mother taught Chandra and me the ceremonies. They only take a short time. The feathers must be gathered also. They have great spiritual value, and can be used for many things,” he told me.

“Do you wish to go with Morgan and Donald when they go turkey hunting?” I inquired. “Can you perform the ceremonies before the birds are brought to the main house?”

“Yes, Chandra and I will go with them. We also know how to call the birds,” he told me.

“Is this all right with you?” I asked Seamus, as Chandra was his lover.

“Yes, I’m fine with it, Mark,” he told me. I had seen Duncan talking to Chandra yesterday before she returned to Fort Washington after her Magic studies. Obviously she told her Brother about having turkeys for Thanksgiving and brought up the subject to Seamus last night.

“They will need to wait a few more days before going turkey hunting. We don’t want to keep them overly long before roasting them,” I reminded both men. I was sure that the message would get to the O’Keefe Brothers.

James and Jillian finally returned that afternoon. I was at Hickory Hill to pick up Clare after her Magic studies when they arrived. They brought a surprise with them.

His name was Culann McCallister, a strapping young man at 6’-0” tall, 180 pounds or so, with black hair and green eyes. He was twenty-one years old and a Blacksmith, and he had brought his one hundred and fifty pound Mousehole anvil with him. He also brought the huge Talent that he possesses!

“We had a bit of trouble reaching the Drip Rock settlement,” James told us. “It took longer than we expected because of the terrain, and we needed to make an extensive detour.

“When we finally reached there, everyone was involved with hog slaughtering and preparing the meat afterwards, and no one was available for training until that was finished,” he informed us.

“We met Culann the second day there. He was the best Blacksmith in the area. He was trained as an apprentice at Williamsberg by a Master Blacksmith before he escaped the British several years ago. They were rounding up Blacksmiths for some project, and he didn’t care to become a part of it. He eventually settled in the Drip Rock area,” Jillian told us with a huge smile on her face. “We sort of lost track of time,” she finished.

“She lost track of time,” James corrected his twin. “I knew exactly how long we were gone. The training only took a couple of days once the pork was taken care of,” he finished.

“We’ll need to make at least one trip back there to get the remainder of Culann’s tools,” Jillian added.

“Has anything happened while we were gone?” James remembered to ask. Ken, Kell, and their Wives joined us after that as well as Clare and Saoirse plus Nola and Nora. James and Jillian were both amazed and shocked by all of these additions to the family in such a short time.

They were amazed that not only had Ken and Kell joined us, but that they were both married, and to women with such strong talents. They were shocked by the news of the Olive Hill attack and its results. Nora and Nola charmed Jillian, as they had all of the other women here. It was also plain that James would now need a separate room from his Sister, as she would be sleeping with Culann.

I took Culann aside later after they had gotten settled.

“Culann, I realize that you are an excellent Blacksmith with your level of Talent. The problem is that we don’t require a Blacksmith currently. We will need one after the British are removed from North America. What we need you to do presently is to study Magic so that you will be able to assist us when we confront the British next spring,” I told him.

“Yes, Jill told me that I would need to study Magic. She has been teaching me some spells already. Also she told me that the ‘Book of Dreams’ had been in our room near Drip Rock on several nights. However, I don’t seem to have learned anything from it, at least not yet,” he related.

“Hmm ... that is a bit unusual, but not unheard of. Our grandparents were instructed by the ‘Book’ for a number of weeks before it revealed what it had taught them. The ‘Book’ seems to be very active in this Reality,” I told him before changing the subject.

“Did Jill mention that our Great Grandfather, Mark O’Connell, re-forged the sword ‘Fragarach’ while studying for his Magic exams?”

“No, she hasn’t. What type of sword was this?” he asked inquisitively.

“It’s a Magic sword from Irish mythology,” I told him and related the entire story to him as we had learned it growing up. (See the first Magic Ink story, chapter 13)

Things proceeded rather smoothly for a time after that. The Mages grew the needed herbs and other items in heated Defensive Shell greenhouses. The O’Keefe Brothers with Duncan and Chandra’s help hunt turkeys on Monday the 24th. They were delivered cleaned and plucked the next day. A preservation spell kept them fresh until they were roasted on the 26th and 27th. There was much cooking that week to have enough of all of the different items available for Thursday the 27th. The meal would be held in the afternoon at 4:00 PM at Hickory Hill in the dining room, the enlisted men’s mess, and one other room where tables had been set up to help feed everyone invited, as the weather had turned rather cold lately, and we couldn’t hold the meal outside very well.

People began arriving on Thursday just after noontime. All of the O’Connells and their chosen mates were already there. Those invited included all of the Ranger and Continental Officers from both Fort Washington and Mount Sterling. There were all of the Officers and men who we had trained in Magic plus the other enlisted men who were now assigned to the Border Ranger’s Headquarters with their spouses and children. Additionally there were the people who now worked for us: the cooks, the laundry ladies and their children, and the stable men in addition to the ladies from Louisville. Finally there was Captain Moore and his three Sergeants. This gave us a whopping total of seventy people!

It was evident early on that four turkeys would be insufficient for this many people and a couple of hams were prepared also. Our Sisters had done some of the cooking in the kitchens at Fort Washington and Mount Sterling. Even Mrs. O’Flannagain had helped in her kitchen. To our surprise, three firkins of O’Connell’s Irish Ale appeared on the morning of the 27th. Additional mugs had to be hurriedly borrowed from Fort Washington and Mount Sterling to accommodate all of the guests.

Thanksgiving turned out to be a tremendous success, even though the meal had to be held in three separate rooms. Seamus, I, and many of our relatives visited each group and had a little something to eat and drink with them in addition to eating our own meal in the dining room. Everyone was returned to their duty location that evening, as tomorrow was a work day, and there was definitely not enough room here at Hickory Hill for everyone.

Even we O’Connells returned to our operational sites later that night. But first a lot of Magic was used to clean up all of the dishes, pots, pans, and kettles from the preparation and consumption of the meal. Luckily, General Wilkinson had thrown a lot of large parties and there had been sufficient dishes, tables, chairs, and cutlery here at Hickory Hill so that we had only needed to borrow a few things from the Officers’ Messes at our operational sites.

There were two other things that occurred after our Thanksgiving meal. I had conferred earlier with Seamus, Gwyn, and Sererena about our future operations, and we had agreed that we would need someone to work full time on the research and planning for that. We had all agreed who that should be, and I had held discussions with them.

That evening after the meal, I announced that Ken and Kell were being commissioned as Captains to take charge of the new plans (S-3) and intelligence (S-2) sections that were being set up to plan our future operations. They would be using the den as their office since I had very little use for it. Airmid and Alma were also commissioned as Senior Lieutenants to help Kell in the S-2. I would need to see about getting Sunshine and Rose commissioned as Lieutenants because of their healing Talents. James and Jillian would work in the planning section (S-3) for now. Magic classes would continue for all of the new additions to our families. Sererena and Saraid would continue to run the Magic classes with help from the rest of us as needed. All of the original people who we had recruited had finished their training.

Since all of the O’Connells and their intendeds were present, the second item this night was that Ken and Kell chose to relate their adventures in Ireland in the Other Reality. We were all seated in the large parlor before they began.

We could easily understand their disappointment with Dublin in our Reality, and understood why they felt it necessary to transfer to Dublin in the year 2170 AC in the Other Reality. Their meeting with the Prince and their method of determining where each would search were familiar to us, as we had heard the similar stories from our Parents.

The hedge of thorns around the hotel made us chuckle. It was when Ken revealed that they were now the owners of not just one but two castle that got our attention.

“These are not castles like you have seen pictures of in Europe or England. These are Towerhouses. They have thick stone walls. The rooms are small, dark, drafty, and cold most of the time,” Ken reminded us in a stern voice.

“Why would you want them then?” Morgan O’Keefe asked in a puzzled voice.

“With the use of Magic, they can be made a lot nicer. The Master’s rooms are very nicely appointed. With Magic-powered lamps and a fire in the fireplace, they can be quite nice,” Kell told him.

“We also wanted to improve the lives of those working for us in the castles and those in the villages on the surrounding lands. Again Magic is a great help there,” Ken told us. He went on to describe the rest of his adventures including the return to the hotel, and finally finding Rose. The part about locating the Sisters’ Mother rang a bell for all of us, especially our new members who had lost their Parents.