Chapter 6

My questions about the grandchildren allowed me to learn that they were not infants at all but grown men and a woman.

The four of us went into the house and Bernadette looked around in wonder. This was not the mansions made of marble but much cruder. It was still very good especially for this time period. Bernadette though was used to only a hut or a sky above.

I said to her, "You deserve a home like this one day. It will not be me giving it to you but somebody will." It was a sexist statement but the way the situation was now.

Manlius brought some maps of this area and pointed out the trails to reach Cassianus' home. He added, "It takes a little over an hour to get there. You are not going to take seizing a woman are you?"

"I don't think so. I plan on taking something of hers and show Cassianus what I could do."

Manlius asked, "How is he going to learn this?"

"Oh, I forgot to tell you but Bernadette and I captured him on the trail. We have him tied to a tree now."

"What!" came from both Romans. I repeated this in German for Bernadette. She now just smiled.

Licinia said, "What are you going to do with him?"

"I would like to hook him up to a plough and let him work like a donkey for a year or so. But I think I will just let him go." Both people relaxed now.

We came out to the barn and I gave Licinia her presents. I don't know if any of the others had given her anything like this but she was very appreciative. They saw the weapons I had just taken and didn't say anything about them.

"Iulius wanted me to bring back some bread. He is now responsible for all my children. He teaches them mathematics and gets them to work too. I think he is a great grandfather."

I added while still in Latin, "The woman I brought has a child of two. The child is another of my little darlings. She is sick still but looks to be getting better. She and her mother have been separated too long to be close. There is a younger son but the father is keeping him.

"It is the mother I brought here for you to watch. I gave all of them their freedom. I would like them to work for me so they learn something useful but I said they had to pay me back.

"The woman has been exercising her freedom and going too far. I need a mother to look out for her. She can be helped but I cannot do it."

Licinia thought on my words and said, "I will watch her like a daughter."

"If I am your son then you have to watch her like a granddaughter."

"I will do so."

I said to Bernadette, "This woman is your mother now. She is kind but firm. Do what she says and try to teach her some of our language." The last was said as a half joke and I smiled but Bernadette did not.

"Where are you going?"

"I have to see if I can make the old man see reason."

I got on the horse and said to Licinia, "There are sixty nine Alemmani and their families with me. You have probably heard of this. Some of them can help with the harvest. I am making some tools to help you do that. Some of the Alemmani will go out and sell my products."

I didn't wait for her reply because she was thinking hard now on this development. The Alemmani were looked on a bogeymen by the Romans.

Cassianus was where I had left him and I undid his breeches and said, "We are going for a ride. Piss now or piss your pants later."

The man pissed and I soon had him on his horse once more. In ten minutes he figured out where we were going and started to mumble through his leather gag.

"You want to know where we are going?"

He nodded his head.

"You going to tell me why you were going to my camp?"

There was no nod so I just kept riding. It was three in the afternoon and darkness would take a long time in coming.

This estate was not as flat but had a few small hills and even a few depressions that had filled with water. Some were just channels were water had eroded the land over the years. There was a lot of grain here and I could not see anybody around. I led the horse and my captive into a ravine and tied up both horses.

"Do you get down or do I knock you down?"

He nodded and slid off his horse. I was nearby to make sure he kept his footing.

"You have been with me for three hours. Do you need to shit or piss."

He shook his head no so I tied him to a tree once more but this time I let him sit. Once I got him down he started to mumble and I said, "You are going to tell me where you were going and why?"

He said nothing so I just continued to tie him to the tree. When the mumbles came again I just looked at him until he reluctantly nodded. I got some water and removed the leather thong. He flexed his mouth and I poured some water into him three times.

I just waited patiently as I looked at him. He eventually said, "I know who you are?"

"Who am I?"

"Jón, the son of Clovis, King of the Frisians."

I said, "When I heard the horses coming down the trail I assumed it would be one or more of the families that had lost members of their families when the first or the fifth legion suffered casualties."

"Casualties! You slaughtered them. You killed thousands of them. They were tending their wounded when you did this." The man went on and on and I let him continue until he ran out of breath. I was still quiet and so was he.

"You would not..."

"You are a murderer I hate you..." I let him continue until he ran down again.

"I let you have your say. Are you going to act like a lunatic all the time or only part of the time?"

"Why did you kill my boy. You killed his cousins too. Why did you do it?"

"Do you want to hear of do you just want to listen to your own voice?"

He was quiet again and I said, "You would not be upset if you had destroyed a legion of Frisians that had come into the empire." The man glared at me. "I killed invaders. Rome gets its own way by being strong. They do what they want and if we object they send their army. You are the instrument of a bully. You froth at the mouth like a mad dog when the boy you were going to torment turns around and beats the bully."

I was quiet now. He said in a quieter voice, "Why did you have to kill them?"

When he didn't continue I said, "I am a boy that is near twelve years of age. I was nothing special until I was hurt by my horse. For half of a year I slept with a damaged skull.

"When I awoke I began to build tools and weapons that had never been seen before. Some were toys for children and some were terrible weapons of war. In between I made glass like you have never seen before. I made potions that made the enemy cry not die and I was able to go in and just collect my enemies like so many children."

"Why didn't you do that to my son. He died horribly."

"He died as a warrior. Now, did you wonder how I knew how to do this? Were you so wrapped up in grief that your mind refused to work? Is it still so corrupted that you cannot think straight for the space of an hour?"

"Say what you wish."

"Where did I get the ideas for the toys the weapons and the other things?"

"How would I know?"

"Nobody had made a cannon before. Nobody had made the powder before. Nobody made the containers with the powder that shattered over an army before. Do you still have no idea where the information came from?"

I waited and then waited more. It took a while until I heard, "Somebody told you."

"Who would know about all the new devices I have made? To give you a hint I will say that there is nobody ever that was able to understand anything that I have done. Will you try one more time?"

"You had a dream of it!" This was said with all the spite he could muster.

"Good. I had a dream for half of a year. Have you ever had a dream where you woke up and knew how to make an entirely new tool, and do it perfectly? This leads to another question. What are dreams?"

The old man did not answer so I said quietly, "I will tell you. The gods of my people talked to me." The old man looked surprised. "They told me how to make the powder and then what to do with it. What is odd is that this powder is one of the least powerful I could have used." The man now stared at me.

"The gods showed me how to make cannons. They showed me how to make the powder to make an iron ball go very fast then they showed me how to make a hallow piece of iron and put the powder in this."

I paused and poured some water into my mouth the said, "Would you like some more?"

I got a shake of the head.

"The gods showed me how to make glass. The gods have nice machines but I had to copy with what I had now. The gods want me to work at what I am commanded to do."

Cassianus looked at me and said simply, "Commanded?"

"That is the word I used. You see, the gods gave me a lot of information and then showed me what to do with it. Most were educational and meant to amuse at the same time. The gods have families too and they look on us as poor relations that are just not very smart."

I liked the pauses so the man could digest what I had said. When enough time had passed I added, "I learned that Rome had prospered for a thousand years but it was soon going to fail. Men from the east and many German tribes would loot Rome one after the other. Even now it is difficult to find good Romans to fill the positions in the army. The Germans fight for you which helps. By now there are at least twice as many Germans in the auxiliaries than there are Romans in the legions. Your race is just tired from constant war."

Cassianus now exploded with, "We have never been stronger. Our empire covers almost all lands. We can fight any race and defeat them..." He went on and on and actually lasted much longer this time.

I said, "The gods told me this and then showed me what will happen as time goes on. Rome will fall to one wave of invaders after another. The Eastern empire will last longer but it will be just a shadow of what it used to be. The west though will take hundreds of years to finally finish its death rattle but it will happen. It is what happens after that concerns me."

I now waited for Cassianus to bite and it took five minutes. "What happens?"

"Rome is the centre of learning. Rome has laws that suit the Romans but it is better than no laws at all. Rome had roads that allowed trade to flourish. Rome had coins and a great many tools that only an empire could afford. I saw trade slow to a halt because the army was not there to keep the thieves away. Since there was nobody to say otherwise there was no reason to keep the roads in good shape. Petty tyrants cropped up all over the place.

"With no trade there was no communication with the rest of the empire. With no army there were even more wars for control. Romans too saw the weakness and more would-be emperors came forward. Romans killed Romans. How long can a family last when it is ripped apart like this? Anyway eleven hundred years have to pass before what a knowledgeable Roman knows now will be reinvented.

"They use the cannons then and wars grow even worse than what you have seen. Both sides have cannon and push their men to attack only to be turned to small pieces of flesh. During the times of peace better weapons are made then used. There will come a war that will involve all of the world. You think the Roman Empire is big; well I will tell you that it is small. There is more land and people than you can imagine.

"The war will destroy large areas of the land we are in. Within fifty years the seeds of another war will bloom. Here mighty ships of steel sail forth. The cannons you heard about are like toys. The new ones can throw the weight of ten large men for twenty five Roman miles. What is thrown is so powerful that it blows a giant hole in the ground. The ship is so large that it carries ships like the ones you use for boats to go to shore."

I had another pause and said, "A machine that flies through the air drops those devices that I threw at my enemies but those of the future are thousands of times more powerful. The flying machine is so large that it carries hundreds of these devices.

"Towards the end of this war, one race makes a new powder. It is very large but in later years it is reduced in size to what a man can carry in one hand but without a reduction in power.

One of the machines flies half way around the world and drops this new type of bomb. Before it hits the ground it explodes with such a force that it turns the very ground to glass. A cloud rises because of the great heat and it goes far above the clouds. It carries death with it. Below a city much like Rome now simply disappears."

Cassianus stared at me and I hope he believed.

"They have usurped the power of the gods themselves. Anybody coming close to that city died a horrible death. The poison was so strong that it would kill for many years after. The poison slowly decays but it takes hundreds of thousands of years for it to go and then it is still present in small amounts."

It was a half hour of silence until Cassianus said, "What does this have to do with us?"

"If months ago you talked to me like a gentleman, I could have told you about my visions. I then could have showed you what the gods have commanded me to build. You may have been convinced that the gods did send me.

"Now if you went back to your Augustus and told him he would simply execute you for being a fool. I have to talk to the Augustus and some important people. Since I cannot do that I have to show them. The Roman army was always a necessary evil and the tool of the Augustus and the senate. They have to know something without a doubt before they will act.

"The Romans invaded my country. The gods gave me weapons to cast them out. They are now gone. I want Rome to stay out of my country but I do not want Rome to fall to its knees when the barbarians come. The only way I can see this is to help Rome defend itself. Rome had to be taught a lesson first so that it does not attack the hand that is there to help."

Another hour had passed and I waited a bit more. "What happens to the world of the future?"

"Some developments are very good. The knowledge of medicine has grown so far that one man cannot know more that a portion of it. The earth is raped and poison is spread around with no regard to what the next generation is going to do with it. Some people realise the mistakes and try to clean up. The secret of the bomb that destroys cities spreads to other countries.

"I talked of machines that fly. They carry death in them but also people. Sometimes they are soldiers and their own machines. Another type of machine uses oil that burns very hot. It pushes the machine so it can go two thousand miles in one hour. It carries a bomb that kills cities. These are pointed at all of their enemies.

"If this war starts then they will kill everybody. There is more than enough power to kill all of us many times over. Our world will be poisoned for thousands of years and anything alive at that time will have a short life.

"That same device that carries a bomb can be built much larger. People sit in a box at the top and fly to the moon. The moon has no air and they find that it is mostly rock and dust."

Cassianus said slyly, "You lie. The moon is not that way. Men cannot walk there. Nothing can fly. You mention one lie after another."

I was quiet so he had a chance to continue but he didn't. I picked up some stones until I found one about the right weight. "If I take this stone and toss it," I did just that, "it will go so far. The Roman Horatius Postuma has built a device with me. He throws it just as hard as the stone but it goes many times further. Talk to him before you call me a liar."

I waited more then said, "Tertius, the son of Lucius helped me make a device made of silk, wood, baser cloth and cord. Many people on the estate watched him fly this twice as high as the tallest tree. It stayed up for over an hour. Talk to him before you call me a liar."

"Horatius Postuma is making a similar device that will carry a man. It needs the heat of the sun to rise but it will work. A man can fly for hours. During that time he is far above the ground. He can observe the enemy. I gave this idea to him to help Rome. Talk to him before you call me a liar."

"A Roman veteran without a foot builds a toy out of wood. When you turn it quickly with your hands or a cord it claws its way into the sky. You should talk to him too before you call me a liar."

"I was told that when I was captured I had caused some large arrows to fly. They had a bomb on each. I did not throw them but the powder burned quickly and they flew far forward trailing flames and smoke. Now the Picts and the Romans with them will tell you if they flew or not. I guess you being so old, you will not see the truth if it came up and bit your ass."

He retorted, "I have my wits and can see a lie."

"Maybe you can. You may have been a person that never believed anybody or perhaps more so after your loss. In any case you are blind. The devices I made could only come from the gods but you refuse to see this. I do want you to know that I do not enjoy killing. I regret killing your family but Rome will not understand anything but force. I gave them a sample of force. I also gave them a way to strengthen their army. More will come as I am able to build them."

"What you give is useless. A man is not meant to fly."

"What about my steel armour and steel weapons? Rome has my cannons but not the secret of the powder. Is that not useful?"

Cassianus was quiet and I let him calm down. In a while I said, "You may have heard that I slipped into a Pict camp. I rescued some of our fighters and children. I recovered all of our property and took some of theirs. When the others left, I stayed to slow down the enemy. By the next day many of those were dead. Those that survived became my prisoners.

"Later some of the Frisians arrived to help. We tended the wounded and assisted them to Hildestun. I gave them a limited freedom and they now practice with our troops and use our weapons.

"Later I slipped into another camp but used my bombs and arrows to allow us to steal their horses to slow them down. I had killed enough by myself that they did not come to Hildestun to lay siege to it.

"A few days later I found a cohort of Romans laying serge to Hildestun. Lucius was commanding. He had captured one of my people. She was just a girl and even younger than me. I entered under the cover of darkness. When we were leaving he awoke. Because he had protected a child instead of hurting her, I told him I would come back to talk. We left the camp and I returned.

"Lucius and I talked for hours. He inspected my armour and weapons and we talked of war, trade and politics. Hours later I invited him and his men to see just what my cannons could do. I offered him more time to prepare for battle or to leave our lands. He left in peace.

"What I am saying is that I can work in darkness. The gods have helped me here to. When it gets dark I can take a hostage from your house. I can do this easily and perhaps without killing anybody. Since you do not want to think that the gods know more than you then I will give you more reason to hate and then to fear me."

"You would attack my home?"

"You and your men went to attack mine."

"There are just women and children there."

"My camp has women and children."

"I was not after them. Only you."

"I will take Publia and try not to hurt any other. This is the same as you have planned for my camp but I will not kill her."

"You can't. She is just a child."

"How old am I?"

"You are man."

"I am not yet twelve."

"I will not attack you again."

"You could send others to do it."

"I will not send anybody to fight you."

"Will you admit that I fought to keep invaders from my land?"

This was a lot harder but he eventually said, "Yes," through clenched teeth.

"Will you also admit that the Roman army is the arm of Emperor and the senate? Then will you admit that I had no choice in how I acted?"

"You could have fought man to man with a sword."

"You mean man to boy. You also mean that a much stronger Roman army can take on peasants and a few Frisian warriors. You are a bully that preys on the weak. Now tell me like a rational man how I should have acted?"

He didn't say anything so I just untied the reigns of my horse. Cassianus quickly said, "You did protect your lands. We had more soldiers but even your peasants are warriors."

"Now the big question. Am I an instrument of the gods?"

Again it was through clinched teeth. "You are."

"Then I will be back soon with witnesses. You will swear before them what you have said. In return I will release you."

I put the gag back in and made sure his bindings were secure. In the process I took a ring from his finger. He might think me a thief but it was still better this way. I took his horse and rode back the way I had come. In a few moments I changed course and went toward the house that Cassianus lived in. My armour went onto the other horse and all but one sword and my knife.

Cassianus lived in a much more ostentatious home. It had a wall of stone around it but the gate was open. Old men and a few cripples came to me with spears but they were not used to threaten.

I said, "I bring news from Vibius Norbanus Cassianus for his granddaughter Publia."

An old man hurried off and a vet asked, "What happened?"

"He was hurt but not seriously."

"What else?"

"I am sorry. My words are for Publia."

A woman hurried from the house and then a girl of fifteen or so right behind. It was the girl that my message was for.

It was the mother that said worriedly, "What is this about?"

I reached over and put the old man's ring into her hand. "This is to let you know that this message is from Vibius Norbanus Cassianus. He bids Publia and his family to attend him as soon as possible."

"What has happened? Has he been wounded?"

"You must come to see for yourself. I cannot tell more than the ride is but fifteen minutes from here. He is resting in a gully and awaiting your presence."

"Why did he send you and not come himself?"

"I have done what I must. Come and see or not."

I turned quickly and the men jumped back. I did not flee but I moved at a trot.

I gained perhaps a kilometre and waited. In five minutes a troop of men numbering eleven and nine more horses carrying the younger generation and even some of the old folks.

When they got close I headed off to one side and toward the old man. I allowed the group to catch up just before the gully but out of easy earshot of my captive.

Turning to face the people caused all of us to stop. "Before we go further there is something I must tell you."

They waited but not patiently. "I am alone. I have no other assistance near by. This I say on an oath to Woden."

They said nothing.

"I have had a talk with the head of your family. He is safe and unhurt. We had a very long talk and he has agreed to give an oath. I brought you here to witness it."

Publia's mother said, "Where is he?"

"I will tell you in a moment. I could call others to witness this. Word would spread if Vibius broke his word. A family can hold a dark secret but they also could be used to strengthen the oath.

"My name is Jón, son of Clovis the King of the Frisians." There was a sudden grasp of arms but I stayed as I was.

"I am a warrior of some skill. I am not proud to say that I have killed many thousands of enemies. I have no wish to harm you. Attack me though and you will die."

"Where is my father?"

"Wait and listen." After a pause I said, "The gods have given me tasks to do. They involve my own people and yours. I have seen the far future clearly and can prove in a way that my words are true.