Chapter 2: To Forge a Cauldron

5 July 1969, Duddo Five Stones

“I CAN’T BELIEVE we actually walked to Scotland,” Wayne enthused as they opened the door to their room at the little inn. The room was much larger than he expected, and included all of the third floor. Dormers looked out on two sides. “Wow!”

“We walked through a corner of Scotland,” Judith laughed. “We’re back in England now. And you’ve said that every day for the past five. Aren’t you glad for that walking stick now?”

“Yes. And the cape. It was darn cold sleeping on the ground. Why didn’t we just come here last night? We were so close.”

“I thought you would want to be outside for your Independence Day fireworks.”

“There were no fireworks last night,” Wayne stupidly answered.

“I am mildly insulted. I certainly saw sparks.”

“Oh. I mean ... oh, shit! You are all the fireworks I ever need. Must we meet the others?” he asked. “We could just slip into this nice clean bed.”

“Sadly, yes we do and they will be here soon. You should bathe and get a nap. Um ... I suppose I could nap with you,” Judith said, pushing Wayne toward the bathroom. Wayne dumped his pack and obediently headed for the bathroom, happy to discover a hanging shower over the tub, unlike most of the places he’d visited in England. He didn’t take long and as soon as he was out of the tiny bathroom, Judith filled the tub for her own bath. Wayne stretched out on the bed under the eaves and was asleep before Judith slipped in beside him.

“Aren’t they cute?”

“Don’t disturb them.”

“I can’t help it. They’re naked.”

“Do you think it’s the first time?”

“Hardly.”

Wayne came groggily aware of the voices surrounding the bed. Judith lay draped over his right side, her bare flesh hot against his. A hand softly caressed his left flank, dangerously close to his manhood. Another stroked Judith’s back from her shoulder down past her butt.

“Can’t wait for tonight?” she mumbled sleepily.

“Couldn’t help it,” Lissa laughed. Wayne recognized the tinkling sound of her voice immediately and opened his eyes fully to see the three women who stood around the bed. “You just look so delicious.”

Wayne had met all of the women but scarcely knew two of the priestesses who smiled at his naked embarrassment.

“Didn’t we lock the door?” he mumbled to Judith.

“Cousin Bea gave us our key. You don’t think you get this entire fabulous room—and big bed—all to yourselves, do you?” the oldest of the trio said. Elizabeth, Wayne recalled. Which would make the shy one standing back a little Meaghan. He sighed. There was no reason to hide his nudity from the priestesses of the Fifth Circle. They’d all seen him naked when he burst into the Circle of Carles on Litha. If Judith’s instructions and information given during the past week were accurate, they’d see him naked frequently for years to come. The scope of the commitment he’d made was only just dawning on Wayne. Judith rolled back away from him and looked up at their playful tormentors.

“Is it time to go already?” she asked. “We didn’t get much sleep last night.”

“Fireworks,” Wayne yawned.

“Bea has tea ready for us,” Elizabeth said. “We’ll need our energy for tonight and it will be better to walk out to the stones before it’s fully dark.”

“I could use more than a cup of tea,” Wayne said. “I’m starving. Is there a restaurant around?” The women looked at him and started giggling as he gathered his clothes and began to dress.

“Americans!” Judith huffed.

Indeed, the meal set before them when they arrived in the dining room was more than a cup of tea. Wayne gorged himself on steak pie and rolls. He did not complain about drinking tea with his meal.

After the meal, the five returned to the suite at the top of the stairs and Wayne watched out of the corner of his eye as his companions stripped.

“You’ll have plenty of opportunity to see us in clear daylight,” Lissa said. “And by firelight tonight. But now we need to get ready. Go on, our vagabond. Get your robe on.” Wayne acknowledged Lissa’s statement by stripping and pulling on his black robe, contrasting with red of the priestesses.

This night, the vagabond priest and the four volunteer priestesses would give birth to their mission and truly become the Fifth Circle. They would plant the seed that would grow.

“I’m still adjusting to the scope of this commitment. Are you really taking time off for however long we need and coming to America?” Wayne asked. “I mean, I’m a little concerned about fulfilling my obligations and still earning a living.”

“None of us are rich, if that’s what you’re asking,” Lissa replied. “I act and sometimes I get paid for it. Between jobs, I do what all actors do: I wait tables. Or make doughnuts,” she laughed.

“I’m a student like you,” Judith said. “The college gave me a continuation of my grant so I could come back to school with you. We might want to consider getting an apartment and cooking our own meals instead of living in the dorm. My earnings will be stretched if we are both living on them.”

“I have some income,” Wayne said. “It’s just not full time. How do you make money, Judith? Isn’t there some kind of law about being a foreign student and working?”

“I fight,” Judith said softly. Wayne looked at her quizzically. The other priestesses didn’t react. He waited for further explanation.

“There’s always someone who wants to challenge the Swordmaster,” Meaghan said.

“I thought that was a name we only used in the circle,” Wayne said.

“My nickname is Swordmaster and that’s how we refer to each other so we don’t call each other by name. But it’s not limited to the circle. Not like our magic names,” Judith said.

“And they pay you to fight?”

“Mmm. It keeps me out of trouble. I won’t accept a challenge unless there is a bet to make it worthwhile. As soon as I walk into a fencing club, or a knife club here in England, there is someone who wants to place a wager against the Swordmaster.”

“Criminy!” Wayne swore. “Uh ... Elizabeth?”

“My children have all left the nest but the youngest and he will be gone next year. I have a small stipend from my husband’s estate and will join you in America in the spring. We aren’t going to instantly go forge that young girl into a cauldron for Cobhan Carles this year. She’s too young and untrained. That’s what we’ll be doing for the foreseeable future.” Wayne nodded, recognizing that their foremost purpose was the protection and guidance of Rebecca’s daughter.

“What about you, Meaghan?”

“I do whatever is necessary,” said the youngest of the quintet. “I’ve started selling my jewelry at craft fairs. I hear there are festivals emerging in the U.S. where anachronists do role-playing and renaissance games. I figure I will spend the winters making crafts and the summers traveling around selling them.” Meaghan was four years younger than Wayne and seemed not to have a care in the world. Judith and Lissa were both three years older than him and Elizabeth was ... older. She had a son as old as Judith. “I’m hoping I’ll learn something about making things from working with you, Unbound,” Meaghan concluded.

They turned from the road onto a straight path that ran through the planted fields to a cluster of standing stones at the top of a small rise. It was much smaller than the circle at Castlerigg.

When they reached the circle, Wayne found it was more a crescent, not quite closing the circle on the west. A firepit was already prepared in the center and they took a few minutes to walk around and examine the five stones. While neither as large as Carles Castlerigg, nor quite as ancient, there was a sense of power rooted deep in the earth. Far to the east and slightly north, there was still a slight sparkle of sunlight off the waves of the North Sea.

“The circle is on private property, owned by the farmer who tills the fields surrounding us,” Elizabeth began, calling them together around the cold firepit. “We’ve his permission to encamp for the night and ‘work our little magicks,’ as he put it. He even brought this little bundle of firewood for us when he cut the grass earlier in the day.”

“Is he a member of the circle?” Wayne asked, trying to figure out why a person would consent to witches camping for the night on his property.

“An indulgent uncle,” Elizabeth asked. “Bea at the inn is his daughter, my cousin. There’s a bit of a wink and a nod that goes on when they deal with their fey relatives. It’s part of why we chose this as our meeting ground tonight.”

“Another reason is because of the five stones,” Meaghan said. “Though Serepte will be the core of our circle, we are the stones that stand around her.”

“That’s beautiful, Meaghan,” Wayne responded. “I hope you all know what we are doing tonight. I’m not quite as clueless as when I charged into the great circle two weeks ago, but I am still a novice in many ways.”

“You’ll do the things you know now, babycakes. Um ... I mean Unbound. You’ll cast the circle and protect us with your wards. We...” Judith circled her finger to include the four priestesses, “ ... are your tools, each of us representing an element. We’ll each have a representation of our tool. You know I don’t go far without a sword or knife and it is belted around my waist beneath my robe. I am the East, air, the athame. Chameleon is the West, water, the cup. Dear sweet innocent Pallas, who hopes to learn soooo much from you conceals an ember beneath her robe and is the South, fire, wand,” Judith giggled. The youngest priestess blushed crimson. “And finally, as if you hadn’t guessed long ago, Mamm is the North, earth, pentacles. She’s like our house mom.”

Wayne relaxed as his girlfriend conducted him around the points of the compass and stopped at her own spot in the East. She quickly whispered encouragement to Wayne and then told him to improvise. He blushed at her implications and then began his own first circle around the unlit firepit.

“I am the Unbound,” he said as he circled the priestesses. “A vagabond priest without a home and without a heritage, now committed to the Circle of Castlerigg. By all that I am, I swear to protect and help each of you and all of us in our coming endeavor. In our committed circle, you will know me by my true name. I am Promethean, the Unbound.” As he spoke his name, he felt the wards of the circle begin to enfold him. He swayed back and forth letting the power grow. Judith unconsciously mimicked his dancelike movements as he stood before her.

Guardians of the Watchtowers of the East
Welcome to our circle.
Behold this vessel of beauty
Prepared to receive your blessing.

Wayne untied the belt of Judith’s robe and let it open. He pulled it from her shoulders and it fell to the ground. “How shall we know you in this circle?”

Judith stood proudly, seeming much taller than her five feet and an inch. Her slim stomach, compact muscles, and resolute gaze shouted her readiness to do battle.