“First we shall eat,” said Odover. “Then we shall talk.” He waved to a young boy, who ducked into the hut. A moment later, the boy came out with a large, earthenware jug cradled in both arms. He gave it to Odover, who passed it to Vicinius.
Vicinius pulled a wooden plug from the jug with his teeth and drank from it first.
Steve was surprised. He was accustomed to guests receiving the first offer of food and drink. Next to him, Jane glanced at Gene in puzzlement.
“To prove it’s safe,” Gene whispered in English. “When strangers meet in this time, it’s a courtesy to share the same container and for the host to eat or drink first to show that nothing has been poisoned.”
“Our mead is a humble drink,” said Vicinius, giving the jug to Hunter. “Arminius has some good Roman wine from Gaul, but this is all we have in this village.”
Hunter accepted the jug and drank from it. “Thank you. It is quite good.” He passed it to Steve.
Steve took a slight drink. He found the mead had a heavy flavor and was stronger than he had expected. Swallowing hard, he gave it in turn to Jane.
Steve suddenly realized that as Jane took a drink from the jug, both Vicinius and Odover were blinking at her in surprise. The women at the fire also turned to look. None of them spoke, however, and she merely passed the jug to Gene.
“They’re surprised because they consider this to be a ceremonial drink,” Gene said quietly in English. “Their women will eat dinner separately, but they will allow us our little quirks, apparently.”
“Good,” said Jane.
Soon the women at the fire were ladling stew into earthenware bowls and handing them out. Odover poured more mead into individual cups and shared them. Then the German women took their own stew elsewhere.
Steve tasted his steaming stew. The meat, which was stringy beef, had been boiled tender. The lightly salted stew was not bad.
“They have salt beds near here,” said Gene quietly. “Of course, they won’t get pepper here for many centuries.”
“It is good,” said Hunter, to their hosts.
Vicinius nodded his acceptance of the compliment. “You traveled far today?”
“Yes,” said Hunter. “It was not difficult, but it was quite a long way.”
“How did you cross the river from Gaul?”
“Fishing boats,” Gene said quickly. “A couple of fishermen carried us across.”
“From the other side? A fishing village of Gauls is upstream some distance, but it is quite far.”
“Vicinius, perhaps you can help us with a problem,” said Hunter, changing the subject.
“How can I help?”
“We are searching for an acquaintance who is lost in the forest somewhere.”
“Really?” Vicinius was startled. “If he is lost, he may be in danger. The forest is cold at night.”
“We have completely lost him,” said Hunter. “We do not even know where to look.”
“You should have told me sooner,” said Vicinius, with concern. “We could have searched for signs of him on our way back to the village.”
“He is a small man, rather slender. Perhaps we can look for him tomorrow.”
Vicinius nodded, still looking at Hunter with a puzzled expression. “You seem very calm for a man who is searching for someone. I don’t understand.”
“He’s a little weird,” said Steve quickly. He felt that Hunter needed some help in his charade about what MC 3 was really like. “We want to find him, but we don’t know where he’ll go or what he’ll do. He’s unpredictable and may not even have any clothes to wear. His name is MC 3.”
“An odd name,” Vicinius agreed.
“Yes.” Gene leaned forward. “He may be, shall we say, touched by the gods.”
“Ah!” Vicinius nodded his understanding. “Yes, I see. Touched by the gods.”
“A little crazy,” Gene muttered in English. “Or mildly retarded. But harmless.”
“I understand,” said Hunter quietly. “This is related to their beliefs in some way?”
“Yes. Many preindustrial cultures view mildly retarded or crazy people as having the special protection of the gods,” said Gene.
“I shall spread the word through the village tonight, after we have finished dinner,” said Vicinius. “No one will harm a man who has been touched by the gods. Sooner or later, someone will find some sign of him.”
“Thank you,” said Hunter.
By the time they had finished dinner, night had fallen. Most of the light now came from the waning cookfires, though some families had raised flaming torches near the fronts of their huts. Steve waited patiently as more mead was poured, wondering when he should open the leather bag.
“We must give our new friends our gifts,” said Hunter finally. “You have been very hospitable.”
Taking that as a cue, Steve pulled up the leather bag and opened it.
“One at a time,” Gene said quietly. “Hand them to Hunter, as our representative. Hunter, first give the largest item to Odover, the village chief. Give him the second largest, too, and then we’ll see how they respond.”
Steve felt around inside the bag for the largest object. When he pulled it out, he discovered that it was a serving bowl with handles and feet in the shape of flowers and leaves. He gave it to Hunter.
Hunter took the bowl in both hands and stood up to present it to Odover. The village chief received it while still sitting. He looked it over carefully, nodding as he turned it to reflect the yellow firelight.
“It is very fine work,” Odover said finally. His voice was nonchalant, but he kept looking closely at the bowl, still turning it.
Steve could see that Odover was very impressed. The German just didn’t want to admit it too openly. Steve took the next object out of the bag. It was a long, thick armband with a stag’s head in deep relief. He had to stand in order to give it to Hunter, who in turn offered it to Odover.
The village chief grinned broadly this time, revealing some missing and broken teeth. He slipped the armband over his upper arm and turned to see the firelight reflect off it. “Ah, very good. Very good.”
Steve pulled out the third item, which was a large, circular pendant shaped like a bear, hanging on a heavy silver chain. Hunter started to hand it to Odover, as well, but the village chief pointed to Vicinius, instead. So Hunter turned and gave it to the seated warrior.
“This is very fine work,” said Vicinius, accepting the pendant. For a moment, he looked carefully at the bear, smiling. “Yes, perhaps it will bring me the strength of a bear.” He looped the chain over his neck and then looked down at the pendant lying against his chest. “It is a fine gift.”
Steve felt one item remaining in the bottom of the bag. It was a small box with a hinged lid. Trees were shaped in relief on the lid. As he handed the box to Hunter, he felt something slide inside the box.
“Something’s inside it,” he said to Hunter. “Better take a look.”
Hunter opened the lid. Steve could see three rings inside the box. One had a tree on it, one had a fish, and the last had a wolf. Hunter turned the box toward Vicinius and held it out to him.