The Golden Acorn - Catherine Cooper [77]
‘Are you all right?’ Camelin enquired as he landed next to Jack.
‘I think so,’ he replied hesitantly as he adjusted to the different sights, sounds and smells. ‘Is this right? Did we come through at the right time?’
‘We did. Can you see the flames in the distance?’
‘Yes. Is that one of the sacred groves the Romans burnt?’
Camelin took a deep breath. There was sadness in his voice as he began to explain everything he could remember about the fire.
‘Only one of many they burnt to the ground. I collected the second cauldron plate from the grove you can see burning in the distance, then I made my way back to the sacred grove where Gwillam was waiting, just over there.’
Camelin nodded towards a dense area of forest beyond where Jack’s house should have been.
‘All these oak trees will be gone by tomorrow night,’ he sighed. ‘When the Roman soldier attacked me and left me for dead they torched Gwillam’s grove too. Nora rescued me from the flames. The trees were traumatised by the fire. There was nothing Nora could do to save them.’
‘Didn’t the people try to stop the Romans from killing Gwillam?’
‘I found out later he’d chosen to stay in the Grove and face the Romans alone instead of putting anyone in the village in danger. Word spread fast that the Romans were only after the Druids; they didn’t damage any of the farms. Gwillam rejected the idea of hiding. Not all Celts liked fighting and the Cornovii, who’d settled here, were a peaceful tribe, mainly farmers and craftsmen. The Romans left them alone as long as they didn’t cause any trouble and paid their taxes. The fortress, not far from here at Viroconium, got most of its supplies from the farmers in this area.’
It was unusual for Camelin to offer so much information; whilst he was in a talkative mood Jack wanted to make the most of it.
‘Were you born into the Cornovii tribe?’
‘Oh no, my people were here long before the Celts. The original people of this area were tall with dark hair, like Nora. Long before the first invaders arrived Glasruhen Hill was a place of worship. It only became a hill fort a lot later. All the people from around would gather here on special nights and celebrate together. Marriages would take place and acolytes would be assigned to Druids, but that was all a long time ago. I went with Gwillam to see some of the festivals; we’ll see them again once we get back into Annwn. We were lucky. In those early days the Cornovii were more interested in the land. They didn’t bother our people and they let the Druids continue to tend the sacred wells and groves. They realised how much knowledge the Druids had and allowed them to be their religious leaders. The two peoples sort of became one and the Romans just called everyone in the area Celts.’
Camelin paused but continued looking sad.
‘If only I’d been quicker and got back to the grove before the Romans got there. Gwillam would have been saved. Nora could have re-made the cauldron, opened the portal and we could all have gone into Annwn until the troubles were over.’
‘What do we do next?’
‘We need to be at the edge of the grove by first light, that’s where I was attacked, and then we can see what happened. With any luck we’ll be back through the window by breakfast time.’
Jack was glad they’d had such a big meal. He hadn’t thought about food until Camelin mentioned it. No matter what Nora might say it really was hungry work being a raven; since the first time he’d transformed he was ready to eat whatever and whenever he could, as well as his regular meals.
‘Speaking of food,’ continued Camelin as if he’d read Jack’s thoughts. ‘I could do with a bite to eat now while we’re waiting.’
‘Where are we going to get food from at this time in the morning? We’re not going to find a takeaway here.’
‘There’ll be food near the entrance to the shrine. The people looked after the Druids and their acolytes by