A Rose that Blooms Again (Part 2)

Garry waited patiently, leaned back against the big tree in the warm afternoon winter-sun. He waited for Byco, one of the hobbits in charge of the daily affairs of Shire Rose. Byco had asked to meet him, but Garry had no idea why. He hoped that it had something to do with the mysterious “T & P”, the initials of his real parents. From a distance, he saw a horseman coming towards the Michel Delving crafting area where they had agreed to meet and he got up and waved.

Byco dismounted and let his pony graze. He shook hands with the lad. A firm grip, Garry noticed. “I’ll come to the point right away, Garrocar. You are a jewel-maker, are you not?” Garry was slightly disappointed that it as not about T & P, but he hid it well and nodded. “But only just a journeyman, Sir.” Byco indicated that that would be sufficient.
“But I don’t like this crafting station. It is too crowded for our business. Do you have a pony? I want to ride with you to Budgeford.” Garry nodded and with a sharp whistle he called his pony named Ruby. A fitting name for a jeweller’s mount, he always thought.

They took their time, letting the ponies trot in a gentle pace and Garry thought he could maybe ask Byco a bit more about Shire Rose.
“Sir Byco, can I ask a few questions, please?”
Byco smiled and nodded. “Please ask away! Although there are questions that I may not be at liberty to give the answer to.”
Garry thought about that for a while, then asked: “How did you find me? I mean: how did you find me in the first place, when I had never heard of Shire Rose at all?”
Byco smiles and then said: “How we recruit new members, you mean? That’s a good question but not easily answered in detail. You see, we get recruits recommended to us. It’s rare that Miss Yule and I pick a candidate ourselves. We are more or less just the ones that keep things organised and pass assignments to the pairs of companions we see most fit for the job at hand. Shire Rose is an organisation bigger then just the kinship. There is more then meets the eye, lad.”
“But who did recommend me then? And why? I am no special hobbit, I have no special qualities. Why me?” He quickly added: “Not that I am not honoured to be chosen, ofcourse!”
Byco looked at the lad and smiled. “Who, I am not at liberty to say, but.. let me say your development as a youth was monitored and observed when you were in Woodhall.”
“By who then? Pa Spinner and Ma? The cooks in the Hall? Or Luna?”
Byco shook his head with a benign smile. “Let me say that perhaps your ‘not being special’ makes you special and suitable. And your origin.”

Garry stopped his pony. “Sir Byco, do you know who my parents are? My real parents?”
Byco stopped too, with a solemn look on his face now. “No, my lad, we don’t at this stage. But Yule made a formal request to the powers behind Shire Rose to get permission to pursue that question. They may even have some directions to give, but please, don’t get your hopes up too much for now. Ofcourse during the observation period, your lineage has been part of the background investigation.”
Garry silently digested these words.
“But hey, we are losing daylight! Budgeford is not far from here anymore. Let’s go!”

Budgeford was a quiet village compared to the town of Michel Delving. The many pig pens and their inhabitants filled the air with a smell that was not very pleasant. Maybe no one wants to live her because of that, Garry wondered. Byco went straight for the workbenches, just across the Water. They dismounted and Byco went to the vendors and craftsmen. He spoke with them in low voice and handed over what looked like a coinpurse. They all cheered, packed their things and left. Byco walked back to Garry and said: “Well, they are off to the Floating Log to spend the coins I gave them, which buys us some precious time alone.”

“Look at this, lad.” Byco dug up from under his hauberk a beautifully carved wooden box.
“Nice!”, Garry said but then Byco opened the box and showed him the Shire Rose pendant in all it’s splendour. Garry looked at it in amazement, with jaw dropped. “It is the most beautiful jewel I have ever seen, Sir!”
“Aye, it is a beauty! Now, can you make a copy of it for me?”
Garry was even more amazed now and slightly worried, as he had to disappoint Byco.
“But Sire, this is mithril, not even silver! I cannot work with mithril yet! I may never be able to that even!”
“Ah, no lad. excuse me. I meant: can you make me a copy in copper or another less precious metal.”
Garry examined the intricate and delicate design and shook his head. “”Well, I could try make a mould and cast a copy in copper.”
“Splendid! Good idea, lad, as I will need not only one, but a couple dozens of it.”
Garry set to work, first making a wax mould of the Shire Rose pendant. He cast a copy of gypsum which he then used to make a more sturdy mould out of the iron  that Byco had prepared in the meantime. In the iron mould they could pour molten copper without melting the iron itself. After a good few hours work, there were enough copper copies of the pendant lying on the workbench.
Byco admired the young jeweller’s work and looked at him again. “And now make the original look like copper too!”

Garry was stunned. “How?”, he asked, “We cannot just pour molten copper over it! Or dip it in it!”
Byco dug up a document and handed it over. “A Grand Master Jeweller known to Shire Rose has given written instructions. You’ll find all needed materials here at the crafting area.”
Garry read the instructions and pondered over them. This was a method he had never heard of and doubted if he would be able to do it. But he followed the instructions to the letter and built a contraption in which he put water with dissolved coppersalts and an ingot of copper, connected to another device he made following the instructions, which made no sense at all to him. Lastly the Shire Rose Pendant was also hung in the water. After some time bubbles rose from the immersed ingot and after an hour the Shire Rose pendant looked as if it was made out of copper.
They took it out, dried it and Byco wanted to put it next to the copies. “Wait!”, cried Garry, “How will you know which is the real thing?”
“Good thinking , lad, well done!”
Garry made a little marking on the original pendant and showed it to Byco. Byco gave a satisfied nod and a pat on Garry’s shoulder: a job well done! He gave one of the copies to Garry, saying “Wear this now, as token of membership of Shire Rose. All other members will receive one too.” Looking carefully for the mark, Byco put the original, but to the avarage eye indistinguishable, pendant and put it around his own neck for now. They cleaned up and gathered the remaining copies and the carved box.

That evening Garry’s mind was still spinning with all the new information and the new methods he had learned and experimented with. Shire Rose may have information on my lineage, he thought, I may be able to track my parents one day!  Sleep caught up with him and gifted him with a wonderful dream.