Chapter 5

When I came up once more, I found the boys in the same position with both now fast asleep. Jón had a small penis in front of his face. At the same time I could feel a warmth down around his own.

This pose was potentially embarrassing, if seen by others. So, I took control of Jon's body to move away. Forni began to move also, when he found his soother being taken away. It was time to take stock of the damage-so the first twinge told me. This new body I shared had been abused in the short run and scuffle of the previous night. That had been unavoidable. I got out of bed feeling those new pains. On the plus side, they were less than what the pains had been present when I woke up in this body in the first place. On the minus side, those residual pains still gave me some discomfort. There was no point dwelling on it. I did some isometrics to try to get the kinks out.

Afterwards, I got dressed with difficulty, then moved to the other side the bed. I got Forni to swap ends with some pushing and cajoling before covering him up. They must have been up quite a while since Forni didn't even try to awaken. The new body I wore felt poorly rested-with a good deal of justification, but there was much to do.

The knives were beside the bed. I assumed that whoever put the knives there must have come in and found the two boys in their previous compromising position. So much for my attempts to maintain proper decorum. I took Jón's knife and put it into his sheath. It had proved useful once and I knew it could again.

Getting in to see Clovis was difficult because everyone I met wanted to congratulate me and hear the story of my exploits first-hand. I shortcut as much of the adulation as I could by saying repeatedly, "My father wants to talk to me and I shouldn't be late."

There was a guard outside the King's chambers now. So, I figured that he was inside. I asked the guard simply, "Is my father awake?"

"I don't think he went to sleep yet. You fought miraculously. You killed not one, but two Roman assassins and with only two short knives. That is something I will have to tell my children. How did you..."

"Thank you for your compliment. At breakfast or tonight, I will tell everyone in detail. Everybody wants to hear what happened last night and I would never get to see my father, if I told the story to each one of you separately."

The door suddenly opened and Clovis said, "There you are. Come in Jón."

I turned to the guard and said, "Bye, for now. I will talk later to anyone who cares to hear me."

Clovis said, "Are you... ?"

"Father, glad to see that you are well. I wanted to show you something on the castle wall." I held his hand in mine and moved further from the door. Astrid was sleeping in the bed close by us, but she may have just been pretending. At the window I said, "You wanted secrecy and there may be other sets of ears listening. Let's go where we will not be overheard. I would like to see the maps now, if I may."

He thought for a moment and whispered, "I know the perfect location to thwart eavesdroppers. Fidelis and four of the other priests are there already. The maps will be with them."

"How many of those priests do you trust? The things they learn can come back later to haunt us."

"All of them, I suppose. Fidelis said these were his most trusted companions."

"That's good. I think Magnus or a person sent by the emperor will change their tactics in dealing with us soon."

Clovis dismissed the guard but told him where we were going. It was a short walk then and I found that the rooms on all sides were for storage and thus without ears.

When we stepped into the room, I saw it lined with pigeon holes for scrolls and some shelves for a profusion of odd sized books.

Clovis said to the assemblage, "The traveller is here now. He has come to learn a few more from us, as do we wish to learn from him."

I approached the first man. He wore some nondescript dark wool clothing. I could see that he had tattoos on much of his exposed skin. A glance revealed that two others had the same type of ornamentation on their skin. I put out my hand and waited. The man eventually did the same thing and I moved my hand sideways and grasped his saying, "Greetings, my name is Victor German. I want to thank you for bringing me here." Maybe, I should have been more worried about my future self. But, Vic could not exist for sixteen more centuries and perhaps never would. That made going with the flow of current events seem provident for now.

The man's voice was odd. It was a bit like Scottish and Irish mixed, but not that either. The German language, as I now knew it, was butchered by this man, who tried gamely to get his feelings across. "Greeting to you too, Traveller. I have heard that you come to us from many centuries in the future. You will have to tell us of your land, your people, and your customs."

"I would like nothing more, if you will tell me about this time and your people, too."

The man smiled at this. His name turned out to be Cing. He introduced me to his comrades, Fortrenn and Brude. They were all Picts who had found their calling in religion and magic. None of these men were tall, but then again, neither was my borrowed body. A fourth newcomer to the castle had darker skin than the others. Fidelis introduced him as Marius the Egyptian.

"Greetings, Victor. I have been anxiously waiting to meet you."

I smiled and said, "I have wanted to thank all of you for your efforts. I would never have planned this unusual journey. But, it is exciting to be here, now that I have arrived. Which reminds me that I shall need to examine the maps I'm told you possess in order to know where you have brought me."

Fidelis brought over the maps in question. Some were on parchment, others on leather, while a third was on what I assumed to be papyrus. Fidelis' fingers soon placed our location. I knew then that we were fortunate.

Smiling broadly, I said, "The area I have been shown, was known to me in the future. Perhaps that fact is tied in with the magic that brought me here, but I do not know. First, I would like to talk about who and what I am. My father was a warrior. He believed that in that far future time there would be such a war, that in a matter of days our entire world would be destroyed down to rubble. He educated me, my sisters, and the children of like minded friends to survive in such a radically changed land fraught with hostile marauders.

"We were trained even as babies to be soldiers. With our numbers so small, we could only hope to survive as irregular troops against potentially more numerous bands. My father foresaw that we would hide most of the time and fight at night, or in inclement conditions. There was no way we could survive a pitched battle against probable larger forces.

"I was famous in certain circles for my ability to fight with only my hands and feet. I had also gained some fame in the use of the simple weapons you use now. That is why I was able to deal with the Romans. But, I freely admit that it was surprise that aided me the most."

The term 'simple', as applied to his weaponry, seemed to upset Clovis. Seeing the look on his face, I said, "The weapons of my day were fearsome. A device that could be carried by one man could completely destroy a city. There were many other weapons that were very deadly, but killed in much smaller numbers." These are the weapons that I want to talk about with you at length. They will require a great deal of coal and iron ore to start. The enterprise will continue to consume these materials until we have more refined iron than the entire Roman Empire."

Fidelis said, "How can we do all this?"

"That is the simple part. Show a man how to do some simple jobs and he can do them with little supervision. Another man takes what the first has made and makes something with it. In the end, you get a man that takes the work of many men and makes an object that you would understand as useful. The trick is to make machines to help, as a boat or a cart helps to carry a heavy burden closer to its destination."

Cing in his imperfect tongue asked, "What are you going to make?"

"To destroy the Romans, I have the knowledge of many men that have studied the Romans all their lives. We need a strong and well trained calvary initially. The iron, brass, bronze, or even hardwood can be used to make tubes. These tubes will be called cannons. Charcoal, brimstone, and an extract from bat droppings when ground extremely fine will produce a rapidly burning black powder. That black powder burns so rapidly that it produces an outward force in the area around where it burns. That force can be channelled within a properly aimed tube to propel a piece of iron through the air for a few Roman miles. The flying iron will destroy a wall, or kill enemy soldiers with hardly any reduction in its speed.

"What I described will kill our present enemies, but not all the ones that will follow. Once we have begun, we will have to expand our efforts rapidly. More weapons will have to be made because in a year or so, the Romans will be back with many more legions."

Cing said, "We have heard some details of your idea, but cannot see how it works."

"Very well, if that is a concern, then give me small amounts of the ingredients for this black powder and I will make a little of it for demonstration. I will put it in a ceramic vessel of my making with many pebbles. The powder will burn very quickly and propel the pebbles a long way. If a man is near where the pebbles hit, then he may die, or have many small holes made in his body. What I will do will make a very loud noise, like thunder, and attract a lot of attention we may not want."

Clovis took one of the maps and pointed to the mouth of the Weser River. "There are some islands here that are uninhabited and fairly large. This may be a good area to test your new weapons."

After looking where he pointed relative to our current position and estimating the time with present modes of travel, I said, "This will take weeks to travel and then return. That area will not work until the Roman's have been driven off allowing more time for testing. We need something suitable that is closer, but that may not be possible. Perhaps all we can hope for is to test, and then move quickly before others come to investigate. With a strong enough guarding force, we can even test in front of the Romans letting the pebbles fall upon them. We may kill a few Romans that way, but the surprise would not be as great the second time. I would prefer complete surprise in order to make it possible to kill many enemies at once."

Brude, the last of the Picts I had met brought out three large leather bags. "We have some of what you have asked for. Will you show us what to do?"

I looked at the charcoal and saw that there was no unburnt wood on the inside. The sulphur seemed to have come from near a volcanic vent, it looked to be of good quality. The bat shit was actually the crystals that had formed over the years. Those crystals appeared to be nearly pure nitrate. I said, "Use a mortar and pestle, with which I believe you are familiar in your craft, to grind each of these to extremely fine powders with grains smaller than your eye can see. Do this to each ingredient separately and do it away from any metals, fire, or people. Tomorrow, I will show you how much to use of each and then how to prepare it further."

Going back to the maps of this area I said, "This entire area is rich in a mineral called potash. I can help men locate this mineral and teach them how to mine it for us. It can be used in place of the bat shit or the animal shit I wanted collected. It can also be used for a great many other purposes. One of the best is to increase the yields on your farms. We are at war and need to support the army and the people. Though important, unfortunately, this potash mining will occupy a great many workers even after I make them masters of machines that will do most of the work. That can't be helped. We need allies badly to swell our numbers."

To the west of the Weser river I indicated four areas with iron ore. "These areas right here contain iron ore. I am not sure exactly where it is, but the deposits are very large and there are four of them. I know of one more, but we cannot get to it until our army is markedly increased.

"Another area further south is rich in lead and another vital material. It may already be mined. The other material in my time is called zinc and is used to make brass though I heard that nobody knew why.

"In my time, there was a city south of here with the name Sangerhausen. It has some low grade copper deposits, as well as silver. I once visited one of the mines in the Harz Mountains. If we can keep those locations out of the hands of the Romans, the silver can be used to pay for what we need. The copper we have to keep.

"I have not seen any glass in this time, though I know such exists. I have to assume that it is too expensive for the Frisians to use. That will change. From special sand I can make glass that is wider than a man is high and as long as we want to make it. Houses will now be able to have windows to let in daylight while at the same time keeping the warm air inside and the rain and cold air out. In the warm months the glass covering the window is pivoted out of the way to let air circulate freely. This glass will be a very valuable commodity that can be sold to the Romans. It will bring gold to our coffers and will not assist them in making war on us.

"Large houses made of this glass can be used to grow plants in full sunlight sooner than in the ground because they will be warmer. The glass houses can be used in the winter, as well, to produce an additional crop. The foods we eat effect how healthy we will be.

"All around us and deep in the ground is a dark thick liquid. It oozes from the earth by itself in some places. This liquid will burn and will be part of what is needed to make our machines work instead of coal. It will burn with a lot of black smoke, though not so much as coal. When purified it will be used in many other ways to make us safe from anybody that wishes to attack us."

Clovis said, "What can you make with this substance?"

"I can make powders and elixirs that will help the people of this time fight disease. This is important when an army goes to war. The powerful black powder I am going to make will soon seem to be weak when the newer substances are made. With well trained soldiers and my tools, you could if you wished march on Rome with one tenth their strength and still take it."

All six men either stared, or looked contemplatively at me. In a quieter voice I said, "This will change the people from simple farmers to world leaders. This may not be what you want to happen, but it is necessary to your survival. Partial measures will still mean that your world changes, but the pace will be much slower. The choice is yours as to how fast we will go. I will try to make these changes as painless as possible. Whatever happens, it is certainly better than a farmer and his family starving to death while a Roman eats their food.

"Life in this new society will not be worse. All your people will be healthier. I do not expect a long series of wars. If we prove to be very strong, then no one will bother us. If we make devices that nobody else can make, then we will all be rich. With our becoming safe and prosperous, we can begin to teach the rest of the world what can be done by cooperation. This partnership will only happen if other people are forced to behave in their own best interest. We can stop wars and make the world a much better place to live. That goes not only for us, but for all other peoples."

Two of the Picts were sitting together and whispering while the rest kept their own counsel. It was Fidelis that said, "You have not mentioned religion in your talks. What part are we to play?"

"I have heard that in this time there is little freedom when it comes to religion. You and our king call on the names of your gods. Though it may hurt me in many ways, I have to say that I do not believe in any gods."

"How can you say that?" The voice was not angry though. "How did you come to be here, if not through the hands of the gods?"

I felt that I was treading on thin ice with these priests. "Let me make my point clear. Religion will inevitably decrease in importance as the people of the world become more educated. The educated of my day keep their true feelings hidden, but cynically use religion to control those that have little or no understanding of science. Religion once controlled our daily lives, but that grasp loosens as the years proceed. Some of the educated still feel the need to prolong their lives and wish fervently that they can do so with the aid of the gods. This wish is so strong that they refuse to have this belief altered."

"As for myself, I see what is before me and take things on faith only until they can be proved, or disproved. Magic you have mentioned, but I have not learned anything about it. If you can prove to me that gods control magic, then I will believe you regarding both. But, if I can find a way to show you that man himself controls magic, will you believe me?

"To answer your original question; so far as I am concerned, anybody can believe anything they want. Children have to be given the facts as I see them. Priests may also give their point of view. As long as an equal time is given to both fact based science and to religion, then the children get a chance to make up their own minds. When those children become adults, they will get to test their beliefs. If they find a god or gods in their lives, then they will certainly cleave to religion.

"Because of the pervasiveness of this open attitude, religion in my time is not as detrimental as it is now. The Christian church of this time will tell the rich and the poor that their souls will have to wait in purgatory for a thousand years unless they contribute to the construction of the church buildings. The church will teach people to read, but only those opting for religious orders and only religious texts. Over the centuries religious authority will slowly improve. The church in my time and my future help the poor and those in trouble. Religious organisations assist when there are droughts, floods, and wars. They have changed over time and I admire what they do as they evolve.

"People in times of grief need a crutch to assist them in their travels through life. This comes and goes with the need. When times are good the churches are nearly empty. Only a hypocrite will say that this is not true."

Fidelis said, "You will not attack our religion?"

"The religion you believe has to do with magic. Not only will I not attack it, but I want to study the portion having to do with magic. As I already said, prove to me that magic comes from the gods and I will be one of your followers." He gave me contemplative look, then said nothing else.

Clovis broke the silence by changing the subject. "Tell me about the changes to my son."

I smiled and said, "I assume you are referring to his attitude. I'm like and old woman badgering her old husband until he does what's right. The suit I talked about was a success. Jón was the one that spoke publicly of it, so he is the one to take the compliments. He reacted favourably and saw that the old woman was not wronged. I got him to exercise and practice with the knife. He found a great deal more praise for doing as I asked. I talked to him about having good friends instead of having slaves. It took a while, but he is entering puberty and his own body helped him make a choice. When we eat, it would be well to encourage Jón to tell everyone in the room what happened. The boy will learn that if he does what he is told, he will gain by it. In this way I am acting like his mother or father and hope that what I encourage him to do will meet your approval."

Clovis said, "He is only improving. If I see that he is progressing differently, I will let you know."

I almost immediately after leaving the chamber, I ran into Astrid. "Greetings, my lady. How are you today?"

"I am well, thank you. We have much to talk about. Follow me."

This was an order and I did what I was asked. Once in her chamber she sent her two daughters, Elfrieda and Sieglinde on an errand and then took a chair. "Tell me what happened and leave out no detail."

"Before I begin, I would like to add to something I said a few nights ago. When Jón walks the grounds, I am there guiding him as your conscience guides you. Jón's conscience is just much stronger after the accident he had. He is changing slowly and in a direction the rest of you will think beneficial. Over time, he will be more like me and I will be more like him.

"It was I that talked to you a few nights ago. Jón does not know that he was even here. Forni knows that Jón is now a friend and I see Forni as a friend too. His bum is interesting as Dagmar mentioned, but I find women very interesting too. Jón is not up to women yet.

Astrid said, "Where is Jón now?"

"He's asleep at the moment. When he is in slumber, I can borrow his body for a while.

She nodded her head in understanding.

"Last night I was just thinking as Jón was dozing off. I am cautious in some matters and concentrated on the sounds. I nagged Jón to get up and he followed where I suggested. When we saw the second intruder entering your chamber, we followed with our knives ready to throw. The king was in mortal danger and Jón threw the knife. The other intruder turned enough that Jón could throw the other knife. The first man may be mortally wounded but he could still kill. I was the one that pushed Jón's body to run fast and jump at this man. I pushed beyond what Jón could do and I hurt his muscles. I took the knife and quickened the passing of the assassin. Jón took back his body then."

"That is quite a story. Are you going to take over ownership of Jón's body?"

"Everyone's mind is constructed similarly. The portion used to guide our waking moments is but a small part of the whole. Jón and I are slowly coming to the same goals. He gets the fame he needs and I get the best for him. We are in one body and as I mentioned before, we will be of one unified mind at some time in the future. To be sure, I am more powerful than he and choose the goals. But in the end, it will be both of us in concert that decide what to do."

"That is quite interesting. I have never heard of this happening before. Are you his soul?"

"I am only another portion of his brain that thinks when he is asleep. The accident and the magic caused both of us are awake at the same time. I am the part that is his conscience. I think magic is what separated us."

"And Jón does not know of your visit."

"He does not, unless I tell him."

"The possible death of our king made me think more of a future leader. You are next in line for the throne. You will need a considerable amount of protection until you are able to look out for yourself."

I said, "And you are the one to provide this protection?"

"Of course. I'm the queen."

I got back to bed a half hour later. I had not thought that the barbarians, as the Romans called them, were into political intrigue. I didn't think Astrid was going to be active in removing her husband, but she was certainly making arrangements in case of that eventuality.

Forni was awake and worried that his favourite body was not to be found. He came to me quickly upon my arrival back in the bedchamber and gave me a kiss. "I missed you when you were gone."

"Hello Sweetie." I got a smile because he knew who was at the helm this time.

"Do I get a horse... Master?"

"You can call me Vic or Victor, Forni. I had more important things to discuss. I didn't hear anything about the assassins."

"But, they were Roman. They came right into the castle to kill the king. You killed both of them."

"Jón and I killed them. I will let Jón find out about their belongings and the rest can see his face if his fortunes improve or not. Now, I have to get to bed so that Jón can wake up."

"Can I go to bed with you?"

I held the boy and kissed him. "If you come to be bed, you will not be doing so for a nap. Did you clean out the pot?"

"Yes, Mas... Victor."

"Well take the pot away and come back in a few minutes."

I got another smile and the boy dug out the pot and hurried out. I undressed and put the clothes where they had been and got into bed. I wanted to try sleeping, but that seemed to be something Jón controlled.

In a moment he awoke with a groan and looked around for Forni. "Good morning Jón. Forni went to empty the pot and will be back in a moment. Let's get up and have breakfast. We won't be able to eat much though."

"Why?"

"You will be telling everyone what happened last night."

"Oh, ya."

"Only talk at the meal. Otherwise, you will be tired out telling everyone individually."

"Ok."

"Did you know that when a warrior kills another warrior, he sometimes gets the defeated warrior's property?"

"Oh, I forgot. The horses and the gold."

"There may not be any."

"But there might be either, or both."

At breakfast, the king made a speech. He had waited for Jón to get up to make his own. Jón felt more than just heroic and I had to temper his enthusiasm with some hard facts. I had never killed anyone before and the killing of the Romans didn't leave me particularly bothered. It helped to not see the bodies, at least until I heard that their heads were adorning the gates. Sadly, two of our own sentries had died in the bungled assassination. We critically needed every man we could muster.

Jón was practising his speech. I helped only a little. Better that he be a boy now and enjoy the notoriety. He repeated himself a few times and didn't say things chronologically correct but that was part and parcel in being a boy. What did make me feel most gratified was that he tried to get Forni in on the hero business. Forni had stayed because he could not walk quietly but wanted to go and Forni loaned his own knife given by the king. It had been used to kill the first assassin.

When the acclaim came Jón made Forni stand up along side and he hugged the boy to him.

In a boy like posture and intonation, Jón asked, "Did the Romans have horses and gold?"

Now it was the king's turn to smile. "Yes they did. Each had a pouch of silver and gold and even some weapons tied to their saddles."

"Can Forni and I have them?"

"I don't see why not, but I do not want you to ride again until you are feeling better. You are a man now. I want your word on that."

To his credit, Jón paused to think then said, "On my word I will not ride any horse until that time."

"Then you two need to sit down and eat quickly. You may go to the stable to see your new property only after eating."

The boys ate in a blur knowing that everybody in the hall was watching them. Jón was all the more anxious because some of the onlookers were young females. I could tell because they were the centre point of his glances when he looked over his bowl.

Jón gave both myself and Forni a tour of the stables. One of the hands showed Jón his two new mounts. I had never been a connoisseur of fine horse flesh, but Jón seemed to like them well enough. One aspect of their appearance did strike me--their small size. Of course, they were just as large as the other horses in the stable, but I knew that they were still small compared to horses in my future time. No surprise there. Horses had been bred for size, strength, stamina, and disposition for nearly two thousand years after this period. Some amazing results had occurred in that time.

I looked at the floor and saw that there were no metal shoes. In my reading I knew that horseshoes were rawhide bags that were tied on and not nailed. Even so, most horses had remained shoeless because of the cost. This took a toll on mounted cavalries of the ancient world. Horses hooves often wore down in rocky soil and split. They were also susceptible to infection and rot in unsanitary conditions. Shoes could help minimize problems. A nailed on shoe applied to a filed hoof would keep the wear down, strengthen the hoof and elevate the hoof from the moist ground if only a bit. A rider could inspect his mount and clean out any problems before they became major. Our new, improved cavalry would require shod horses, as well as meticulously cleaned stables.

I knew that the saddle and the stirrups were not invented for a long time and the method of shoeing may have been only done then too. This would make it very uncommon or completely new now.

Jón made his choice and went up to the other horse and said, "This one is yours Forni. It looks like it can run like the wind."

Forni looked at the horse in awe and got in front of Jón and kissed him with as much passion as his little body could deliver. The stableman was still around but he didn't seem to mind.

When Forni pulled away he reached down and felt to see if there was a reaction. Both boys smiled.

I said to Jón, "I want to see the saddles and the weapons. I have something new to show you that will win battles if not wars."