by Isaac Asimov
“If we ride without a break to the same site as last year’s battle, three days. Our scouts will ride back with word as we draw closer, though, to tell Artorius exactly where on the river to go. We might spend some time moving up and down the bank. Artorius will make his final plans according to how many of our veterans join us quickly.”
“You feel he may order us to wait and gather his troops before moving into battle?” Hunter asked.
“Anything is possible. We will find out his plans when we are close enough for our scouts to bring fresh information.”
Steve understood the real questions in Hunter’s mind, behind his spoken words. Hunter wanted to take Steve away from the column before any battle began. Ideally, they would find MC 6 and simply return together to their own time before the fighting started. Now Hunter could estimate that they had a minimum of three days before Artorius could reach the Saxons.
14
WAYNE AND JANE rode the mule. He held the reins while Jane sat behind him with her arms around his waist. Even at a walk, the mule’s long legs moved faster than a human’s legs would walk.
Ishihara had to stride quickly to keep up. He moved at a pace that no human could maintain for long, but of course had no trouble with it himself. Because the road had been churned to a deep muddy soup by the horses ahead, Wayne rode through the long grass by the side of the road.
Inlate morning, they caught up to the camp followers hiking after the riders. Ishihara led Wayne on a long detour around the camp followers, far enough to avoid conversation. Then they moved back to the side of the road again.
At midday, Wayne stopped for a break. He and Jane ate part of their bread and mutton in silence. Then they mounted again and continued on their journey.
Late in the afternoon, Ishihara suddenly trotted about twenty meters ahead of the mule, then stopped. As Wayne caught up to him, Ishihara raised a hand for him to halt. Wayne saw that Ishihara was listening to something.
“They have stopped to make camp,” Ishihara said finally. “The noises are faint, but we will come within sight of the camp soon. We must decide how to proceed now, before anyone in the camp sees us.”
“Well … I don’t know exactly what to do,” said Wayne. “What do you suggest?”
Ishihara looked up the road, which still wound through rolling hills ahead. “That long line of trees suggests a river or at least a stream that provides water for Artorius’s camp. We will need water, too, so we might as well go close enough to see what the camp looks like.”
“Yeah. Maybe we can see MC 6 from a distance.” Wayne kicked the mule forward.
As Wayne passed, Ishihara looked behind him, at Jane. “You are still well?”
“Yeah,” Jane muttered.
The troops halted to make camp by a small stream. Hunter saw new scouting patrols ride out, crossing the stream. He understood that by stopping with plenty of daylight left, the main column allowed the baggage train time to catch up before darkness fell.
The squads split up and fanned out from the road. The riders tended their horses first, unsaddling them and hobbling them to graze. Then the men were ordered to gather firewood to make separate campfires for the night.
“There’s dead wood among those live trees, all over the place,” said Steve, glancing at the trees lining the stream. “We don’t need everybody to gather it.”
“Every man does his share,” growled Cynric. “Come on, you two.”
“Hold it,” called Bedwyr, with a big grin. He walked briskly among the other men and horses toward them. “I have business here, Cynric. How did my green friends fare on their first day of march?”
“Very well, thank you,” said Hunter.
“You told me you lead a scouting patrol,” said Steve. “Do you have any news? We heard a rumor about going to River Dubglas.”
“Yes, that’s right,” said Bedwyr. “But none of the patrols today have made contact with the Saxons.
Fresh patrols rode out a few minutes ago, but we’re still a long way from Linnuis.”
Steve nodded.
“I have a serious reason to speak with you,” said Bedwyr. “Artorius is worried about having so many green recruits and so few veterans. The rest of our veterans should join us during the next day or so, but he wants to mix some quick-witted new recruits with his veterans to give them some experience. I want you two to join my patrol.”
“Really?” Steve grinned but glanced uncertainly at Hunter. “That sounds exciting.”
“It can be,” said Bedwyr.
Hunter considered the offer quickly. On the face of it, scouting could be more dangerous to Steve than riding in the body of the army, since the patrols would make the first contact with the enemy. They could even be ambushed. However, Hunter also had to prepare for them both to leave the area before any fighting began, ideally without witnesses. Slipping away from the rest of the patrol momentarily would be much easier than leaving the main column. He knew that scouts occasionally were killed and never accounted for on campaigns of this sort, so no one would question their disappearance. In fact, when he and Steve had to return for Jane, they might claim simply to have lost their way or to have been caught behind the enemy lines for a short time.
“We accept,” said Hunter.
“Ah! I’m glad. We’ll do well together. Get your gear and your horses.”
Cynric sighed loudly. “All right.” He jerked a thumb toward Hunter. “His weight is rough on a horse, but he’s good with both his horse and his weapons.” He glanced at Steve and Hunter. “Watch yourselves out front, there.” Then he trudged after the men going to gather firewood.
Steve looked toward the rear, where the baggage train had rolled into view down the muddy road.
“Bedwyr, would you help us with a personal matter? After we move our horses and belongings up to join your patrol?”
“What is it?”
“We, uh, have to confront a man in the baggage train. We don’t want him to get away, and the wagonmaster stopped us from seeing him before we left.”
“The same man you were looking for in the palace, when we met?”
“Maybe. He … owes us a little money.” Steve grinned. “We want it back.”
Bedwyr laughed. “You told me before he did not owe you any money.”
Steve had forgotten what he had told Bedwyr before, and now had to explain the discrepancy. “Well, you and I had just met. I, uh …”
“You wanted to be careful until you learned what kind of friend I might be.” Bedwyr chuckled. “Of course I understand. And on this matter of finding your friend, I will be glad to help you. But what do you want me for?”
“Maybe you will know some of the men. We won’t be total strangers.”
“Yes, that would be good. I will go with you. And I know Gaius, the wagonmaster. But first they will have to catch up and break formation to make camp.”
“I promise we will commit no violence,” said Hunter. “We only wish to speak to him, preferably alone.
We need just a moment.”
By the time Hunter and Steve led their mounts to the place where Bedwyr’s patrol had stopped, the baggage train had halted behind the main column. Bedwyr introduced Hunter and Steve to their new companions in the patrol. Then they walked back through the camp to the baggage train..
The men in the wagon crews jumped off to unload. Hunter spotted MC 6 just as he hopped from the wagon; when he reached the ground, he was hidden by other wagons. Teamsters began unhitching the teams.
“I saw him for a moment.” Hunter pointed in the direction of MC 6.
“Good,” said Steve.
Bedwyr moved up to lead the way.
“Hey, you there! Halt.” Gaius blocked Bedwyr’s path. “What do you want here, Bedwyr? Shouldn’t you be out looking for Saxons?”
“Easy, Gaius.” Bedwyr smiled pleasantly. “My friends and I have business with one of your men. It won’t take long.” He started to Walk around the other man.
Gaius st
epped sideways to block his way. “I remember them from this morning. Get back to your places, all of you. We have work to do.”
“We have no wish to disturb anyone,” said Hunter. “Our business will take only a moment.”
“Not while we’re making camp, it won’t.” Gaius glanced west, up at the sun. “We barely have the daylight we need now. Go on!”
Some other men had come up behind Gaius.
“Easy, friend,” said Bedwyr, still smiling. “No one will interfere with your work. We only want a quick word with one man.”
“Get out!” Gaius shouted, pointing back the way they had come.
Hunter considered forcing his way past the wagonmaster and taking MC 6 by brute strength. Bedwyr might not join him, but Steve would. However, even if they were successful, that move would force Hunter to flee back with Steve and MC 6 to their own time in front of many witnesses, risking a significant change in the tales they would tell. Obviously, Steve and the men of this time might be unnecessarily injured in the altercation. In addition, Hunter had to consider that the sheer number of men in front of him might prevent him from pushing his way through, since he would not display more than human strength to them. He might simply create bad feeling without apprehending MC 6. Hunter decided to postpone their approach to MC 6 again.
“Never mind, Bedwyr,” Hunter said quietly. He turned, followed by Steve and Bedwyr.
“He’s really a good man,” said Bedwyr, as they walked. “Too many of the warriors treat his men arrogantly, as though being a fighter is more important. Gaius knows this isn’t true and is very protective of them.”
“I have to admit, I kind of like him,” said Steve. “He’s direct and businesslike.”
“Perhaps we can approach our friend again later,” said Hunter. “When the wagon crews have finished their work. Bedwyr, what do you think?”
“Not tonight. Gaius doesn’t like being pushed. Maybe I can think of a favor to do for him.”
“What kind of favor?” Steve asked.
“Well, if we chanced across a nice deer, for instance, on our patrol tomorrow, or a few good game birds, we might share our luck with him. In turn, he would share it with his men, and owe us a favor in return.”
“I understand,” said” Hunter.
“For now, let’s get back up to the patrol,” said Bedwyr. “I’m ready for dinner.”
Jane stood next to the mule in a small clump of trees. Wayne, on the ground next to her, held its reins.
with Ishihara, they watched the wagons of the baggage train from a distance. They could see Hunter’s head and shoulders over a crowd of men in front of the wagons;
“I can’t hear them,” said Wayne. “What are they saying to each other?”
“Hunter and Steve claim they want to get some money from a man working in the baggage train,” said Ishihara. “I surmise that this is MC 6. They have a local man named Bedwyr helping them.”
Jane kept looking, but she could still only see Hunter’s head and shoulders from this distance. Steve remained lost in the crowd. Like Wayne, she could not make out the conversation, though she heard a low rumble of voices.
“You mean they’re about to get him already?” Wayne’s shoulders sagged.
“No. The wagonmaster, Gaius, has refused to let them pass. He does not want anyone interfering with his wagon crews while they are making camp.”
“Hunter’s turning around,” said Wayne. “Is he just giving up?”
“For the moment, he has agreed to leave. However, this provides us with information. I have not spotted MC 6 yet, but now we know where to look for him.”
“Let’s go,” said Wayne. “Quick, before Hunter sneaks back somehow. He won’t give up for long.
Maybe we can just run in and get MC 6 right away.”
“I do not recommend it,” said Ishihara. “In fact, I strongly suggest that we do nothing at the moment.”
“Why?” Wayne demanded. “We know where he is, and he’s not very far away.”
“Gaius was adamant about not allowing anyone to disturb his crews. Some of his men stood behind him, and from their posture I believe they were ready to fight if necessary. They are likely to remain angry.”
“Oh.” Wayne sighed, still looking at the men around the wagons. “I see what you mean. I hate waiting, but if we can’t get to him anyway, then we should lie low. We don’t want to alert Hunter or MC 6 to our presence.”
“In the meantime, we should find a comfortable place under the trees to spend the night.” Ishihara turned and looked down the road the way they had come. “The camp followers have not caught up yet, but they will. When they are nearby, we must avoid direct contact with them, but their campfires will camouflage our own. Hunter and Steve will have no reason to think we are here.”
Jane said nothing. However, the renewed possibility of escaping Wayne and Ishihara gave her a surge of excitement. Later tonight, she would try to get away. For now, lying low suited her just fine.
15
HARRIET SPENT THE evening at Gwenhyvaer’s side. After dinner, they joined the other women by a large fireplace in the main hall drinking mead. The palace seemed empty without the men who had gone with Artorius. Only the boys and the elderly men remained. In the tor around them, a skeletal garrison still guarded the walls, but their real protector had ridden out to meet the enemy in his own land.
The other women talked about the Saxons and how long the men would be gone. Harriet noticed that none talked about which ones would not come home. As the fire burned down, the discussion grew quieter, however. Then, one by one, the other women retired for the night to be alone with their thoughts.
“Are you sleepy?” Harriet asked, when she and Gwenhyvaer were left alone in front of the fire.
“A little.” Gwenhyvaer shrugged. “But I’m wide awake, too.” She gazed into the dwindling flames.
“Shall I put more wood on the fire?”
“No.”
Harriet waited in silence, watching her.
“If Artorius doesn’t come back, I will be nobody,” said Gwenhyvaer quietly.
Harriet wanted to reassure her, to tell her that Artorius would return, but did not dare. A single comforting word might pass as normal, but if Harriet remained in this time for the rest of her life, she would have to learn to keep quiet. The alternative could be gaining, over time, a reputation for knowing the future.
In a superstitious society, knowing the future could make her either a respected wise woman or an evil sorceress, but she would have no control over which one. She would five most comfortably by blending into society, not by standing out. Besides, despite her disbelief in chaos theory, she knew that she really could change the future if she eventually altered the behavior of enough important people.
“If Artorius falls, we are all in trouble,” Harriet said carefully. “But he knows his enemy.”
“Yes, that’s true.” Gwenhyvaer brightened a little. “He’s been fighting the Saxons for a long time.”
Harriet thought again of how young Gwenhyvaer seemed. She reminded herself once more that Gwenhyvaer was a grown woman in this society and almost past her prime marriage years. For that reason, Gwenhyvaer had good reason to be concerned about her future with Artorius.
A woman’s position in this society depended largely on the prestige of her father and her husband. Even worse, the status of men in this time was fluid and uncertain, leaving any particular woman with few good choices. The wealth and social strata of Roman society were gone and the social system of medieval England lay many centuries in the future. Gwenhyvaer knew that if she did not marry well before long, she might have to choose between spending her life as a glorified servant in the palace or marrying a man who rode with Artorius in summer and tended sheep the rest of the year.
“Did your husband ever fight in a war before?” Gwenhyvaer asked. “Did you worry about him all the time?”
“He never fought in a war,” said Harriet.
“Really? He
’s so big. He would make a good warrior. Why didn’t he?”.
Harriet suppressed a smile, thinking of the First Law. She also realized she would have to embellish the story of her life with Hunter a little in order to answer. “When the Saxons drove us out of Linnuis, on the coast, we had no army left in the area to join. And if he had gone to find Artorius farther inland, I would have been abandoned.”
“I see,” said Gwenhyvaer. “That’s when he took you with him to Gaul.”
“That’s right.”
“I hope I get married soon.” Gwenhyvaer turned from the fire to Harriet. “Did you get married young?”
“Well … yes.”
“How old are you?”
“I’m forty.”
Gwenhyvaer straightened in surprise, her eyes wide. “What? Are you joking with me?”
“No. I’m not joking.” Harriet smiled at her surprise, knowing that the average life expectancy here was in the early forties, due to the stresses of physical labor, limited diet, and the lack of medical knowledge and dental care. “I’m forty years old.”
“But … you have all your teeth.” Gwenhyvaer looked at her mouth again, making sure.
Harriet laughed lightly. “Yes, I do.” She shrugged. “I’ve been fortunate.”
“But you just don’t look that old. I thought you were … oh, I don’t know.” Gwenhyvaer stared at her face.
Harriet knew that a few individuals lived into their sixties and seventies even in this century, but Gwenhyvaer had good reason to be shocked. Most of the women Harriet’s age in this time did look much older. The women she resembled most were closer to thirty.
“Can you … I mean, when I get older, can you help me look that way?”
“I don’t have any secrets. If I did, I would be glad to share them. But I don’t.”
Gwenhyvaer nodded slowly and turned to gaze into the fire again.
Long after dark, Jane lay under the stars wrapped up in her blanket. She knew from Wayne’s slow, rhythmic breathing that he had fallen asleep. Of course, Ishihara remained alert. She hoped that because she had made no move to escape, he had not focused his attention on her.
