Belphebe leaped to her feet, but a mellow voice called, "Let them go. They are but bullies, and will not trouble us again."
Shea looked back, startled by the authority in the tone, and saw a tall, white-haired man in a long robe, with two younger men beside him, similarly clad.
And one of them looked familiar—big, brunet, and calming into his usual sleepy-looking state—though Shea was not used to seeing him with a heard.
"Hello, Harold,'' Bayard said. "Thank you for your assistance."
It turned out he had not really needed it, of course—all three of the travellers were druids. The bandits had known they had to cripple them instantly, before they could cast a defensive spell, or they were done for.
"They were fools to try it, of course," Bayard said as they marched along, the other two druids in front. "Bora and I held them off long enough for Ordrain to work up a spell—though you two certainly helped."
But had not really been necessary, Shea thought wryly. "So you've decided to take up magic as a profession?"
"I am considering it quite seriously," Bayard said.
"The life can be quite rewarding, in a universe in which magic really works."
"But are not the druids also priests?" Belphebe asked.
"That is the rub," Bayard admitted. He glanced at his companions ahead, and lowered his voice. "As you know, I have never been terribly religious, and I find myself unable to take a pagan mythos seriously, as anything more than literature."
"But in this universe," Shea objected, "the Celtic gods could be quite real."
Bayard cleared his throat and said, "Yes, there is that possibility—in which case, I am even less eager to put myself in a position that would attract their attention. I am well aware, of course, that none of them could be a true deity—only a sort of superbeing, brought into existence by collective belief, or a Jungian archetype, expressing racial memory ..."
"But for all practical purposes," Shea said, "they could have the same effects.
"Yes, there is that," Bayard said, "so you can see that I have a bit more thinking to do before I declare my profession."
"But you have a profession," Shea reminded him. "You're a psychologist, and a professor."
Bayard gazed off into space, reminiscing. "Ah, yes! The fascinating speculations of Freud and Jung, as useful here as they were there! The ivy-covered towers, the scent of chalk on a warm summer's afternoon, the rows of bored faces yearning to be anywhere but in my classroom, the academic infighting, the tormented patients pouring out their agonies into my ear ..." lie shuddered, coming back to the here and now. "No, now that you remind me of it, this world does have its advantages. It is rough and brutal, of course, and certainly has few enough amenities— wouldn't I love a few days with indoor plumbing! But all its detractions aside, it is still a far more enjoyable milieu for me. Not for you, apparently, Harold ..."
"Oh, I enjoy the visits well enough," Shea said. "It's just that after a while it gets to be ... well, boring."
"Boring?" Bayard turned to him in surprise. "I could think of many disadvantages to ancient Eriu, but boredom is certainly not one of them! With bandits likely to lurk behind every bend in the road, clan fights every year, spells to learn, women to ..." He brake off into a cough, glancing uneasily at Belphebe. She just smiled, looking interested.
"Yes, well, everything considered," Bayard said, "I would not term it 'boring'. "
"Ask one of the peasants," Shea countered, "the ones for whom those battles you spoke of are about the only variation in the routine."
"Well, no," Bayard said judiciously. "They have seasonal festivals, and there are fairs ... but by and large, yes, I'd have to agree that their lives are monotonous and grinding. You, however, are not of their class."
"No, but I'm one of those crazy idealists who feels he has to be doing something to help other people— and I don't think I have to tell you what the noblemen here would think of it, if I tried to help the peasants too much. At least, back in Ohio, they're more than glad to let me help everybody I'm fool enough to pity"
"Then praise folly, Belphebe said, slipping her hand into his and squeezing it.
"Yes, I see your point," Bayard conceded. "Felt that way myself not too long ago, until I began to realize that there were few enough who really improved, and I was gaining very little for myself."
"But you were associate professor," Shea objected, "earning a good salary—and you could probably be full professor in a few years."
"Yes? And then what?" Bayard asked with feigned interest.
"Well ... then you ... could become director, Shea said. "Maybe even president of the University."
"All very pleasant, except that I dislike the drudgery of administration," Bayard said. "Therefore I would reach the pinnacle of my career, with no place further to go, by the time I was forty. After that, financial increases would be few and small, and there would be very little accretion of status."
"There's always more to learn," Shea objected.
"True, but there's a great deal to learn here, and as a druid, I would be already in the top ranks of Irish society. The more I learn, the greater my status would become—and my wealth with it; the druids find no special virtue in poverty. No, Harold, I am delighted to see you again, and the company of your lady is always a joy ..." He gave Belphebe his most charming smile. She returned it, amused, and Bayard sighed, shaking his head. "Yes, your company is quite pleasant, but I am afraid I should not feel the same way about Ohio. I have been studying Irish magic, of course, and am quite excited about the spells I have been learning, but even more, with the natural laws that underlie them."
"I didn't know you were interested in physics," Shea murmured.
"Oh, but that is the joy of it! In this universe, physics and psychology are so thoroughly intertwined that it is virtually impossible to study the one without the other! Why, their heroes are virtual Ur-figures, and half their spells are rooted in inherited responses to symbols! No, Harold, I find the study fascinating, even compelling, and the developments in contemporary psychology definitely pall in comparison. The movement toward attempting to analyze human behavior with statistics strikes me as particularly exasperating, with its underlying implication that the norm is the only valid standard of human behavior. Really, there is very little intellectual stimulation remaining to me in Ohio, but a great deal of it here!"