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Jotham, former councilman Riordan died in his sleep on a blustery April night. After his sons put him under a suitable burial mound, they moved on
with their lives, never giving Ammon a second thought. In truth, they had grown weary of the old man’s badgering and harping on issues they considered long dead. “The boys,” as he was fond of calling his four sons, had lives of their own to live. With the old man gone, they had the freedom to think for themselves for the first time in their lives. And that they did. Within weeks, the three eldest of “the boys” had departed Erlin for greener pastures, leaving the youngest of them behind to care for the widow.
The acquisition of Lochlan’s trained hunting dogs had helped transform life for everyone on the Bearnán Éile ridge. In addition to improving security, they were great companions for Valerie when Ammon was away hunting. Every year Bono and Ali had at least one litter, which kept Tierney busy training and selling the ones he didn’t need to save for breeding stock.
Lochlan, a widower without an heir, took to the boy and held nothing back with regard to dog training. Tierney was soon referring to himself as a trainer of hunting dogs. As the years passed, Pearse and Tierney became close friends with Lochlan.
Ammon’s leadership, strategic thinking, and strength of character led to him becoming the de facto head of the growing family on the Bearnán Éile ridge. Soon his time was split between hunting and working with Pearse on the farm. He understood the true benefit of having trained dogs was the security they provided. The animals were never off duty, always on the watch, and eager to protect. There were plusses to having dogs, but for Ammon, there were minuses too.
“Since we got the dogs, the predators have vanished,” Ammon observed.” But so have the game animals. I think they smell the dogs.”
Pearse, who had been working on a chair for Tierney, looked up from his labors. “I haven’t seen a bear or wolf in months,” he observed.
“Neither have I. But hunting is not as good. I have to walk a lot further to find the game and then I have farther to pack the meat. Perhaps the dogs smell like wolves to the game animals. Or maybe I smell like wolves. What do you think?” Ammon paused then continued. “Now I am away from the farm more often.”
Standing, Pearse said, “Look around; we have plenty of meat right here. We have sheep, goats, and chickens. Now that we don’t have to worry about predators, we have more than we can eat. I plan to sell some of them at the market in Erlin. We don’t need you to hunt anymore. Why don’t you spend more time here?”
“You are right. Now that things have settled down, I think I will,” agreed Ammon, rubbing his shoulder. “I’m getting older. Packing meat in cold weather is hard on the body,” he confessed.
“I don’t know how you do it,” Pearse admitted. “I cannot keep up with you, and I am half your age.”
“Necessity,” Ammon chuckled.
Pearse considered his words carefully before continuing. “We need you here a lot more than we need more meat,” he said finally. “There is plenty of work for you here. Tierney plans to take a wife soon, so he needs his own dwelling. I want to keep him close, so I want to get a house built for him soon. And with more mouths to feed, we are going to need another barn.”
“We used the last of the shale stone when we built my house. What do you plan to use?”
“We have plenty of timber here,” Pearse suggested. “Valyri told me she knows a way to make sawn lumber. You should ask her about it.”
Ammon did ask Valerie about the lumber, and when he did, she pointed out that the River Nore lay at the bottom of the ridge and that the waterway could be used to power a mill. Hydro-power could be used to grind grain or saw lumber. Valerie told Ammon they could build the mill, saw lumber for their own use, then start a business selling lumber downriver to Erlin.
Valerie did a historical search of sawmilling techniques on her tablet. She learned that most water-driven sawmills used coping saws, straight-bladed saw blades operating on a rod or cam, which she saw as a relatively simple mechanism tied directly to the water-wheel. It all seemed to be straightforward, and she was sure they could get it done with the materials available.
“Although, finding someone to make sawblades for us might be a problem,” Valerie warned. “Steel is available, but I haven’t seen anything steel larger than a sword, and I don’t think we will be going into the forge business anytime soon.”
“I know a man in Bregia who has a forge,” said Ammon. “Tadhg makes swords, knives, and saws, of steel. He is trustworthy and does good work, but Bregia is a day’s ride away.”
“I would like to see one of Tadhg’s saws,” she said. “Would you go there and buy one from him so we can see it?”
“We could also use a good ax. If he has one, I would like to get it. Do you have enough gold left to buy a saw blade and an ax?”
“Don’t worry about the gold, Ammon,” Valerie laughed. “We’re not going to run out anytime soon.”
Ammon left for Bregia the next morning, returning the following day with a saw and an ax. The straight sawblade was only about a foot long, but other than being substantially smaller than needed for sawmilling it was well made.
“The blade looks promising,” Valerie said. ”Your friend Tadhg does good work. Let’s give him an order for larger blades. I made a drawing, so he knows exactly what we need. Tell him what it’s for, so he understands how we plan to use it.”
“I already told Tadhg what we want to do,” Ammon assured her.
“We can speed things up by bringing Tadhg some things to improve the quality of his steel. Tell him to add ten percent chromium and five percent manganese and that he will like the result. But whatever you do, do not tell him what these ingredients are, only how to use them. That will be our secret. I’ll have some for you before you leave in the morning.”
“Where are we going to get them?” Ammon wondered.
“Don’t worry about that,” Valerie promised with a sly look. Ammon noticed the look but said nothing; he knew she had secrets, so he didn’t press her about it.
The next day Ammon returned to Tadhg’s forge and presented him with the drawing and three pouches containing chromium and manganese and enough gold to cover the expense of producing a pair of matching straight steel sawblades this time three feet in length. When Tadhg saw the pouch of golden pebbles Ammon carried, any objections he may have had evaporated instantly. It also helped that Ammon offered new ingredients as improvements to his steel-making techniques. Tadhg was eager to improve his steel but found it strange that both the gold and the ores Ammon brought were oddly shaped—just like river rocks.
By late summer the Dunne family was operating their own water-powered sawmill on the River Nore. Within a week, they produced enough pine timbers and planks for Tierny’s home, a new barn, and fence materials for paddocks. A skilled woodworker began with Pearse, who understood logging, sawmilling, and woodworking, making him a natural to manage the sawmill. Pearse took on Lochlan as a partner and with the help of Tierney and Hethe, Ammon’s former hunting partner, they were in business.
Valerie felt it essential for the Dunne name to have a reliably traceable past for her descendants to identify. However, people of the era and region didn’t typically adopt a surname, so she asked Pearse to embrace her own last name Dunne, which was immediately adopted by all—including Orson. From then on, the big tabby was a Dunne, whether he liked it or not.
Erlin was growing, and along with it, the demand for lumber. Business was good from the outset, but delivering that lumber to market was an ordeal. No road existed between the sawmill and Erlin, so the heavy green lumber had to be hauled up the riverbank by oxcart and overland to Erlin from there. The dirt track to town became impassible when rain and increased traffic turned it into a quagmire. A quick solution was needed if the sawmill was to continue operating.
Again it was Valerie who offered a workable solution to the transportation problem. She recommended ra
fting the wood downstream to Erlin. If they were to establish a lumber yard alongside the river, they would be able to bring it out of the water, air-dry it, and distribute seasoned lumber from their own lumber yard. Pearse tried it and found that it worked nicely. That summer, Dunne Lumber Company was born in Erlin. With a steady supply of quality building materials, the village of Erlin was quickly becoming a small city.
Meanwhile, Valerie, Ammon, Lauryn, and the children were tasked with building the new barn. Iron nails were available but were in short supply and expensive, so wood joinery was produced using mortise and tenon joints, wood pegs, and notching. The resulting structure was every bit as sound as modern construction methods. Once the framing was up, they enclosed it with board and batten siding.
Ammon found Valerie to be intelligent and a tireless worker. Whenever a problem arose, she was always there and could be counted on to offer a quick solution. As Ammon became more familiar with her, he no longer thought of her as the Cailleach but as an invaluable asset to the group. In time he began considering her as best friend and confidant. The feeling was mutual, and the pair started having eyes for one another.
Valerie was interested in taking the relationship to the next level, although Ammon appeared to be holding back. She had seen the way he looked at her, which was the same way she looked at him. Still, he remained reticent. Valerie wanted to know why but was reluctant to ask.
One day, while working together building a paddock for the horses, Valerie removed her thumb ring and broached the subject of their relationship status.
“Ammon,” she asked casually, “how do you feel about me? Do you still see me as a witch, the Cailleach?” Caught off-guard by the unexpected and personal nature of the question, Ammon put down his mallet and faced her. The softness of her blue eyes took him aback. Off-balance, he nervously replied, “No…?” The fact that he said it as a question made her smile. She had known enough men to know that when cornered about their feelings, any sort of nonsense might follow.
“Is that a question or a statement?” she asked, pressing her finger into his chest, enjoying making him nervous a little bit more than she should have.
Ammon looked down at her finger, then back at her quizzically. “I guess so,” he blurted.
“You guess so, what?”
Ammon was stumped. In his heart he knew this
might be a defining moment in their relationship, but he didn’t have much experience talking to women about his feelings. Now he was cornered by a woman asking how he felt about her and found himself at a complete loss for words. From an early age, Ammon had spent the vast majority of his time among men who, for the most part, kept personal feelings to themselves.
Ammon fidgeted with his long hair, then admitted, “No. I do not see you as a witch anymore.”
Valerie liked the way Ammon wore his greying hair long but shaved his beard daily. She found that most men, especially the hunters and farmers in this era, wore long unkempt beards, which she didn’t care for. Ammon’s clean-shaven face, flowing hair, and hard chiseled features combined giving him a masculine but civilized appearance. Soft brown eyes peered back at her questioningly but as always controlled, carefully measured, unyielding.
“Alright,” she cooed, “but you didn’t answer my question. How do you feel about me?”
“I like you,” he responded, although his discomfort at the admission was palpable.
“I like you too, Ammon,” she admitted but felt somewhat deflated because she was eager to move their relationship past the “friends” stage.
“A lot,” Valerie added, searching his features hopefully.
Come on Ammon, help me out here, she thought anxiously. I see what’s behind those big brown eyes. There’s more, I know it! Surely you can do better than “I like you.” But if I have to drag the truth out of you, I will!
Ammon smiled but said nothing more. So rather than keeping Ammon squirming, Valerie decided it was time to show how she truly felt about him.
“You stupid man,” she stated, then pulled him close and kissed him hard. All the emotions she’d hidden landed on Ammon with shocking suddenness. His eyes widened, then he took her in his arms, and they kissed some more. Soon they found themselves sitting under an apple tree side-by-side, holding hands, talking, laughing, and flirting. They took turns laughing at themselves for taking so long to admit their mutual attraction to themselves, let alone one another.
“I was afraid you thought I was too old for you,” she admitted.
“At first, I thought you were dangerous,” Ammon confessed. “But I got over that soon enough. And after that, I didn’t think you could ever be interested in a simple hunter like me.”
“There is nothing simple about you, Ammon. You are amazing. But I am dangerous,” laughed Valerie, “just not when it comes to you,” she assured him.
He nodded and chuckled. “That’s a good thing. I have seen what happens when you decide to be dangerous.”
When Pearse and Lauryn saw Valerie and Ammon sitting together and flirting, they turned to each other and simultaneously said, “I told you so!” Their mutual interest had been evident to everyone except themselves for a long time.
In the following weeks, Ammon and Valerie were inseparable. Ammon intimated that they should live together, but Valerie wouldn’t have it. If she was going to have a relationship with a man, she wanted a wedding.
“Ammon and Valyri are planning to get married,” Pearse whispered one day to Hethe.
“It’s about time!” Hethe exclaimed when Pearse told him of the budding relationship.
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“Pearse asked me to go get more of Tadhg’s sawblades,” Ammon told Valerie over breakfast, “so I will leave in the morning and return the next day. Can you get some more chromium, manganese, and gold to pay for it?”
“Alright, I will have it for you this afternoon,” she agreed.
Ammon was curious about where Valerie was getting the gold. I saw her go down to the river and come back with a bag, but that raises more questions than answers, he thought. I know that river as well as anyone, but I have never seen a speck of gold in it. But Valerie has her secrets, and if I know what is good for me, I probably shouldn’t question her about it.
“Those sawblades don’t last long,” Ammon exclaimed. “I think we should order more of them, so Pearse has them on hand when they are needed. He hit a rock today and ruined a blade.”
“That’s a good idea,” agreed Valerie. “We should have an inventory of blades on hand. Tadhg is going to need more supplies than usual, so I will bring you more this time,” she assured him.
“The gold nuggets raise a lot of suspicion,” Ammon said apprehensively. “We are overpaying for them, and Tadhg is aware of it. Changing to silver would solve that problem. Silver coin would be even better.”
“Alright,” Valerie agreed. “Silver it is.”
“Can you get the silver in coins?”
“Sure,” Valerie said simply.
Ammon raised his eyebrows in wonder. “How are you going to do that? Rivers have gold in them but not silver. Silver is mined, so how are you going to get silver coins out of the river?” The moment the words left his mouth, he regretted saying them. He had exposed himself as observing her trips to the river and returning with bags of precious metals. Nevertheless, he felt justified in asking about the coins.
“You know what?” Valerie fired back. “You’re right. If we are going to be married, you need to know exactly who you are marrying and what you are getting yourself into. Come with me right now, and I’ll show you.”
Valerie went into her house and returned with a bag, then Ammon followed her as she walked the path down to the river. Ammon sat on the riverbank watching as she took off her shoes, pulled her dress up to her knees, then waded into the shallow water. Soon she had the bag filled with stones, approximately the same size as he had previously seen.
Valerie emptied the bag of stones in front of Ammo
n then began separating them into three piles, two separate mounds of the larger rocks and one of smaller pebbles. Then falling to her knees, she said, “Surely you guessed that I have been turning stones into metal.”
“I did,” Ammon confessed. “But I didn’t want to say so because I didn’t want you to think that I still see you as a witch. I have learned that you are much more than that.”
Pleased that Ammon viewed her that way, she jumped up, embraced, and kissed him hard. Now sitting on his lap beaming, she said, “Are you still afraid?”
“Sometimes, yes.” He laughed. “Not at the moment, although I do want to understand.”
“Alright then, but you must promise never to tell anyone what I am about to show you. My safety—our safety depends on it,” she said firmly.
“I promise,” he assured her.
“Alright then, let me show you,“ she agreed, kneeling again.
“Observe,” she proclaimed, then made a show of removing and replacing her thumb ring so Ammon could see the effect on her eyes. Each time she removed the ring, her eyes were instantly transformed from black to blue.
“As I said to you many times, I am not a witch; the rings are a tool I use to make things happen. Do you understand?”
Ammon nodded expectantly, then watched as Valerie returned the thumb ring, then hovered her hands over one of the piles of river rocks.
“Chromium ore,” she said, her gaze fixed unblinkingly on Ammon as the air around them wavered. In an instant, the river rocks changed into lustrous steel-grey chunks of ore. Valerie continued working in her mysterious way without ever taking her eyes off Ammon. When she got to the pile of pebbles, “Silver coin,” she said, and it was done. Then Valerie waited wordlessly for Ammon’s response.
Although Ammon knew what Valerie was doing, he was astounded by her demonstration of power. Is there anything this woman cannot do? Ammon wondered.She has one amazing idea after another, turns river rock into gold or silver, and makes it all look easy! I wasn’t afraid of her a moment ago, but now I am not so sure. What if she decides to turn me into an ass?
The Rings of Hesaurun Page 39