“Where are you?”
“We’re at the riverbank, right where it looks like you and Gene and Vicinius found MC 3’s tracks. Those are your tracks, aren’t they?”
“Yes. We are on his trail with Vicinius.”
“You getting close?”
“Yes. His trail is very fresh. From his course, Vicinius believes he has already smelled the woodsmoke from another village of the Cherusci, the one where Prince Arminius lives. I hope to catch him there.”
“What do you want to do, Hunter?”
“I know where to look for MC 3 now. To reduce risk, we must reunite the team so that I can protect all of you. Ifyou three follow MC 3’s tracks away from the river, I can intercept you.”
“I see Jane and Marcus mounting up. I’m sure we’re going to find the Roman legions.”
“Vicinius will not go there,” said Hunter. “Nor can I tell him that Gene and I are going there. We must maintain our good relations with Vicinius. However, we shall move toward the river now and come closer to you. Leave the Roman and meet us if you can do so without harming your relationship with him. We should also maintain a good rapport with the Romans.”
“Well…I’ll try,” said Steve.
“Hunter out.”
Steve rode back out of the trees to rejoin Jane and Marcus. She looked relieved, but Marcus scowled at him with disgust. Steve understood. The tribune assumed that he had been hiding from the Germans out of cowardice.
“We’re going to join the governor again,” said Jane, looking at Steve with a puzzled expression.
He tapped his lapel communicator unobtrusively and she nodded slightly.
“It’s not safe to stay out here alone among the Cherusci,” said Marcus sternly. “We must ride away immediately.”
Steve was not sure exactly how a slave would speak to his owner in this time. He just spoke naturally, picking his words to disguise his meaning from Marcus. “Other members of our original party are coming this way. We should rejoin them, especially if danger is coming.”
“How do you know?” Marcus glanced at him, then looked into the forest. “I see no sign of anyone.”
“I, uh, heard them.”
Marcus studied his face, obviously unconvinced. “Perhaps you heard more Germans.”
“I am willing to wait for them here,” said Steve, looking at Jane pointedly. “If you wish to go on, we can follow your tracks to the camp later.”
“I strongly recommend that your slave come with us,” said Marcus.
“Well…” Jane hesitated.
“I suggest that I stay here,” said Steve, fingering his lapel pin again.
“All right.” Jane turned to Marcus. “He will be fine. Let’s go.”
Marcus nodded and kicked his mount into a trot. Jane did the same. Watching them go, Steve hoped he had made the right move.
Hunter stopped on the trail of MC 3. “Vicinius.”
“Huh?” In the lead, Vicinius turned to look back over his shoulder.
“I would like to head back toward the river.”
“You would? Why?” He grinned. “If you are thirsty, open your mouth and look up. The rain is light, but it keeps falling.” He laughed. “Or we could return to the small stream that flows near the village.”
Hunter smiled politely at the joke. “Perhaps we should not just keep following the track of MC 3. He will need water again. Maybe we can intercept him.” He looked at Gene, unable to explain his conversation with Steve in front of Vicinius.
“Omens,” said Gene. “The omens suggest it.” He started to grin, but turned away so Vicinius would not see him.
Hunter knew Gene must have guessed that Hunter had received a message on his internal receiver.
“I see no omens,” said Vicinius, looking around at the trees. “But I see a very clear, recent track from this man called MC 3. Why not just stay on his track?”
“The omens I have read suggest that we return to the river,” said Gene. “Would you indulge us, Vicinius?”
Vicinius hesitated, looking around. He was clearly confused, but of course this search was their concern, not his. Finally he shrugged. “As you wish, Hunter. Maybe I will find another boar down by the river again. Since MC 3 has been wandering aimlessly.”
“Thank you.” Hunter waited while Vicinius changed direction and took the lead once again.
Wayne and Ishihara arrived well away from the location of the German village where he had been held captive. Both were well bundled in woolen tunics, leggings, and cloaks, their feet in padded leather boots. Ishihara had left the backpack behind in their own time, however, because it was made of synthetic material that did not exist in this time. Instead, he had prepared a leather bag with a shoulder thong in which to carry the supplies Wayne had told him to gather. Each of them was prepared to speak in Latin and Wayne was finally well rested and fed.
“Monitor all the frequencies on your internal receiver,” Wayne said to Ishihara, looking around at the dense forest. “I don’t have my bearings yet, but we might pick something up between Hunter and his team members.”
Ishihara nodded.
“I’m almost back where I started,” said Wayne, looking around in the forest. “When I first got here I was lost, and now I’m lost again. The only difference is that I’m not freezing to death and I have your company.”
“Which way do you want to go?”
“I don’t know.” Wayne picked a direction at random and started walking. “Let’s try this way.”
“I have a signal,” said Ishihara suddenly.
“What? Already?”
“Hunter and Steve are communicating by radio.”
“What are they saying?” Wayne felt a surge of excitement. “Come on!”
“They have not finished yet,” Ishihara said blandly. He turned slowly in a circle.
“Well?” Wayne demanded anxiously.
“Hunter is that way.” Ishihara extended one arm. “Steve is that way.” Pointing with his other hand, he made an angle roughly ninety degrees.
“Which one is closer?”
“Steve.”
“How do you know?”
“Hunter’s communication link is powered by the same solar converters on his skin that drive the rest of his body. That energy source is far more powerful than the tiny solar collector on Steve’s lapel pin. However, the signal I am receiving from Steve is much stronger.”
“I see. What else have you learned?”
“From the content of their conversation, he is apparently near a river.”
“All right,” said Wayne, forcing his tone to be light and casual. “Can you adjust my lapel communicator to the frequency Hunter is using?”
“Yes.”
“Good. Show me.” He unpinned it and handed it to Ishihara.
The robot opened the back and made a slow, careful movement with a fingernail. “Did you see?”
“Yes. But when you and I communicate, we should use a different frequency, so they don’t intercept us by chance. How do we do that?”
“I suggest one full revolution of this little dial. That will be sufficiently different to eliminate any accidental reception. Of course, if he suspects the presence of our communicators, he can monitor the full bandwidth, as I did.”