The strangers appeared soon. They had the same general physical appearance and clothing as the people of Vicinius’s village, being stocky, mostly blond, and dressed in furs. Their leader, a young blond man with a barrel chest and short arms and legs, nodded in greeting without smiling.
“Hail, Vicinius.”
“Hail, Julius.”
“Who are these strangers?” Julius demanded.
“Traders from Gaul. Hunter and Gene.”
Hunter nodded formally. “I give you greeting.”
“Romans.” Julius turned and spat.
“Not Romans,” said Hunter. “We are Gauls.”
“Romans’ dogs, then,” Julius said with a sneer. “Vicinius, what are you doing with them? At a time like this?”
“We are hunting,” Vicinius said simply, with no apology in his tone.
“We have no interest in what the Roman army does,” said Hunter. “We are traders in silver.”
“We are also seeking a lost friend of theirs,” said Vicinius. “A man touched by the gods, lost in the forest.”
Julius tensed, his face hardening as he glanced again at Hunter. The men with him also looked at Hunter and Gene with alarm. “Some sort of demon came to our village last night. Or a man touched by evil spirits.”
“What sort of demon?” Vicinius asked.
“He came at night in the form of a strange man in strange clothes,” said Julius. “We tied him in the village. This morning, right before the eyes of some of the villagers, he vanished.”
“A bad omen,” Vicinius agreed, his voice low with awe. “Has he brought evil to your village? Are people sick or have your animals died?”
“Not yet,” said Julius grimly. “But I expect they will. And the omen may mean even more.” He glared suspiciously at Hunter again.
“What do you mean?” Vicinius asked.
“This is no business for strangers,” said Julius. “But you know what I mean. Are you joining us soon, Vicinius? You and the other men of your village?”
Vicinius hesitated, also looking uncomfortably at Hunter and Gene.
“We are only traders,” said Hunter. “We have no concern for your private business.”
“And Roman business?” Julius demanded, shaking his long blond locks away from his face.
“We care nothing for Roman business.”
Julius studied Hunter’s face for a moment, then turned back to Vicinius. “Arminius has sent out the order already today. I have brought my companions in this direction in search of the demon who escaped our village. But we will not waste too much time on him. Tell your village the time has come.”
“I will,” said Vicinius.
Julius nodded and turned away, leading his men into the forest the way they had come.
“Think it was MC 3?” Gene asked Hunter Quietly.
“No,” said Hunter, changing to English. “To my knowledge, the component robots have no ability to trigger the sphere and journey again through time, which would explain this man’s simply vanishing. It must have been Dr. Wayne Nystrom. He probably returned to the Institute, where Ishihara took custody of him.”
“Oh. Well, that’s good. We won’t have to worry about him any more.”
Vicinius was listening with a puzzled expression. “Julius seems to believe this evil spirit may be the man you seek.”
“Maybe,” said Hunter Quickly. “This man is no demon, however. He will not return.”
“How do you know so much about him?”
“He is an old adversary of ours,” said Hunter. “A man, not a demon.”
“How did he escape that village by simply vanishing?”
“He’s a trickster,” said Gene. Hunter turned in surprise.
“A trickster?” Vicinius asked.
“To amuse people around a campfire. Someone who can make jokes and tie knots that come undone again.”
“This is all?” Vicinius still sounded skeptical.
“He was no demon, Vicinius,” said Hunter. “But Julius seems to think you have more pressing business than hunting today. Do you wish to return to your village?”
“No,” said Vicinius slowly. “Julius met me by chance. They will have sent any message that must reach my village by another messenger already. I will not let Julius ruin our hunt.”
“Even concerning Roman business?” Hunter asked, keeping his tone casual.
“Prince Arminius will tend to that,” said Vicinius. Then he glanced around again for the trail of MC 3.
Wayne dozed fitfully until he heard the sound of the door opening. Nervously, he jerked awake and found Ishihara returning with a very large, bulging backpack on his back and two sealed containers in his hands. Wayne pushed himself up on the couch and took a couple of deep breaths.
“I have what you wish,” said Ishihara, setting the containers down on the couch next to him. “This is your meal. But I have been thinking about the extent of my cooperation with you and the fact that Hunter’s instructions and yours are in contradiction.” He slipped off the backpack and carefully placed it on the floor by the couch.
“Yeah? What of it?” Wayne picked up one of the containers and started to open it.
“I am no longer accepting Hunter’s argument without question, but I cannot accept yours fully, either.”
Wayne tensed, watching him carefully. “Then where do you stand?”
“I shall offer a compromise.”
“All right, what is it?”
“You will take me with you.”
“What?” Wayne was shocked. This was one possibility he had not considered.
“You have raised reasonable doubts about Hunter’s arguments concerning you, but I am not entirely convinced that your judgment is sound. In return for my aiding your journey, you will take me with you into the past so that I can see the situation for myself.”
Wayne tried to think of an objection, but none came to him. Maybe he was just too tired. Then again, maybe no reasonable objection existed.
“All right,” Wayne said slowly. “With a couple of concessions on your part. I instruct you to cooperate with me and not to contact Hunter for any reason unless I specifically order you to. As I understand it, your concern is about the First Law challenge of changing history, either by Hunter or me.”
“Or MC 3.”
“Yeah. Him, too. But if Hunter’s instructions carry no First Law weight with you, then the Second Law requires that you obey me, instead. Tell me if you accept this.”
“At present, yes.”
“What will change it?”
“If, upon observation in the past, I come to believe you are making changes in the course of history, then the First Law will override your instructions, of course.”
“Of course.” Wayne sighed. “All right. I need more sleep before we go. I’ll set up the hypnosis courses in Latin and ancient German to run while I take a real nap. While I’m doing that, you access the same language information and arrange clothes for yourself-what did you bring me, anyway?”
“Long woolen tunics and cloaks of the same sort Hunter used. Also leather boots and leggings. The lapel pin communicator I mentioned.”