“Trouble is starting, isn’t it?” Steve knew it was, of course, but in order to discuss the subject with Vicinius, he had to induce Vicinius to acknowledge the fact.
“Prince Arminius has been visiting each village for the past week or two,” said Vicinius. “He has been our leader in dealing with the Romans.”
“And?”
“He is rousing all the Cherusci villages. The men of my village will be moving soon. I will join them.” His voice lowered. “I am telling you this as a friend. Maybe you can keep your masters away from trouble when it starts.”
“I appreciate your trusting me.”
Vicinius stood up. “I believe I can judge whether to trust a man or not. Let’s go.”
“Good idea.” Steve got up and followed him through the forest.
16
When Wayne finally saw Ishihara walk around a large tree to meet him, he felt that he had found his only friend in the world. In this time period, in fact, that was true. He grinned with relief, but stifled an impulse to slap the robot on the back.
“I’m glad to see you,” said Wayne.
“You are well?”
“Yeah, I’m okay.”
“Good. What are your instructions now?”
“Well, you know who got MC 3 from you. Where is he now?” Wayne sat down against the base of a tree. “I’m worn out from walking all day.”
“He is with a party of native Cherusci warriors led by a young man named Julius. They come from the village of Prince Arminius, the leader of the Cherusci.”
Wayne tensed. “Yeah, I know that village. They didn’t like me much.”
“What do you suggest?”
“Hunter’s team is still trying to reunite. I want to find MC 3 and take him home while Hunter is distracted.”
“I agree. However, the only way to find him is to return to the outskirts of their village and wait for them to go home for the night.”
“Why? Can’t we find them out in the forest some. where, instead?”
“It is too late in the day now to locate them,” said Ishihara. “Besides, I have no idea of where they would be, except by tracking them. But we can rely on their need to return home by sundown.”
“I know roughly where they were not too long ago,” Wayne said quickly. “Maybe we can intercept them. I don’t want to go anywhere near that village again.”
Wayne tapped Steve’s lapel pin. “I can monitor the radio communication between members of Hunter’s team. A bunch of Germans attacked a Roman patrol while MC 3 was with them. They were over that way.” He pointed. “From the strength of the signal, I don’t think they were too far.”
“Excellent,” said Ishihara. “After a bout of combat, they will probably have returned early to tend their wounded or dead. They may be there already. I suggest we move in the direction of the village of Julius and Prince Arminius, despite your concern. I shall remain with you, or very close, to protect you under the First Law.”
“Well…I guess if that’s where MC 3 is, I don’t have much choice. But I don’t want to be captured by those German warriors again.”
“I understand,” said Ishihara. “I shall arrange a small fire and a lean-to for your comfort tonight, at a safe distance from the village. When you are comfortable, I shall attempt to observe MC 3 in the village this evening. I shall look for another opportunity to take custody of him, but I shall consult with you before taking any action.”
“I still have some dried packaged food, but I’ll need water.”
“In this constant drizzle, I can provide enough water with no problem.”
“Okay.” Wayne got up wearily. “I can hardly wait to walk some more. You know the way?”
“I do.”
Wayne gestured for him to lead.
The German warriors had fled from Marcus’s patrol as suddenly as they had attacked. He understood; they were merely letting their presence be known, to intimidate him a little. The lightly armed Germans had done no significant harm to the well-armored, mounted Romans.
However, more certain than ever that a real rebellion was on the way, Marcus had led his patrol away from the site at a canter until the dense forest forced him to slow down. Before long, however, he located the section of muddy road that thousands of Roman legionaries had churned to slop on their march. Moving as quickly as the horses could handle the mud, he caught up to the Roman army again. They were just breaking formation, ready to begin making camp for the night.
The Roman army was still strung out along the road. The baggage wagons brought up the rear and drivers struggled to turn the teams of horses and move them off the road. In front of the baggage train, the infantry units marched away from the road to begin building the camp. The cavalry units had already moved into the trees.
The three of them rode slowly through the crowd of legionaries and baggage wagons to the front. There, Marcus found the tent of Governor Varus being raised in what would become the center of the camp. They were surrounded by legionaries shouting, giving orders, and hustling in different directions. Marcus leaped off his horse, looking around for the governor.
“Good day, Tribune,” Governor Varus called, moving away from a crowd of officers. “You look rather excited, Marcus. Have any luck today?”
“I had a decury of cavalry with me,” Marcus said quickly. “Governor, we were attacked by a small party of Cherusci. I wanted to report right away.”
“Yes?”
“Well…we were attacked, not too far from the river. Not far from here, really.”
“How far from here?”
“An hour’s ride.”
“By a small party?”
“Yes, sir.”
“How many did we lose?”
“None, sir.”
“None? How many of them did you get?”
“I believe we wounded most of them, but they got away.”
“You lost none and killed none?”
“I believe that is correct, sir.”
“Marcus, was this a fight or a folk dance?” Governor Varus smirked.
“Sir!” Marcus stiffened. “This was an attack by poorly armed Germans on a trained cavalry patrol, but it was a serious skirmish.”
“Oh, Marcus, come on. How serious could it have been-a battle without one single unfortunate left dead on the ground from either side?”
“Their intent was to test our strength and our resolve,” said Marcus. “They were serious about that.”
“These minor tussles, Marcus, are merely the burden of the conqueror. They can be handled.” Varus looked up at the sky. “This is the first excuse for a dry day we have had in some time, if you ignore a little drizzle. I want to take a quick walk among the troops to boost their morale, before that infernal rain starts again.”
“But, sir, I really believe this skirmish is important.” Marcus walked alongside the governor as he began to walk. “It means more than it seems.”
“Marcus, I suggest you use this as a learning experience. For instance, what do you believe should be done?”