Part 2

Chapter 4

Night Business

Xena crept silently through the darkened marbled lined corridor whose elaborately carved statues of various famous mortals and gods provided their most useful purpose, acting as pillars and holding up the roof. There were few torches lit and only to give light enough for a guard not run into a pillar …in case any of them decided to walk their patrol. Xena paused at one shadowed statue that held the resemblance of a young Hercules ready to toss a javelin in all his naked glory. A smile played on her face showing white teeth in a silent chuckle. The nice thing about not being everyone's hero was that she didn't have to worry about being embarrassed at finding her naked likeness staring at her in some public or other wise corridor.

The sound of footsteps had her slinking behind the youthful Hercules. Now who would be up at this time, I wonder. The footfall didn't sound like a guard. This person had a definite purpose and it was important. She had left the guards at the entrance so engrossed in their card game that she could have rode Argo in…with bells on, if she fancied them.

The heavy walker brought a torch with him and as it approached her it pushed back the blackness leaving shadows that shifted as it moved toward her. She moved within the darkness hugging the statue as a shield.

Male, middle aged, slight weight problem, with a limp, hmmm, no he was carrying something heavy in his other hand that was causing him to limp. Interesting. Xena kept moving slowly within the moving shadows not daring to peek out from behind or between Hercules three legs. She paused and studied the smaller of the appendages. Well, someone gave him a bit of a hard on, and a lot more than what she remembered the demi god had, but, she smirked, he is part god and he is well blessed. She almost had to put a hand over her mouth thinking how she would have to get Hercules here without giving the reason away...and without Iolaus and Gabrielle seeing it. Though as Greeks they were used to nudity, Iolaus and Gabrielle's embarrassment for Hercules would take the fun out of her teasing him. Besides, it was meant to be a private tease. A tender smile softened her face for a moment.

A grunt followed by a loud curse brought her back to the present. She frowned. It was in a dialect that was not from these parts. A door from further down the hall opened and someone came walking out.

"Why didn't you call for one of the guards?" the voice asked aggravated.

"This is not something I think you should be showing them. No telling what drunken fool will tell to another and who will remember it at the wrong time."

Two people grunted as the weight was redistributed and the two men struggled with the awkwardness of their burden.

As the steps receded she heard a door close loudly sending echoes down the hall. Hmmm. Well, I can keep a secret, Xena thought to herself smugly. I'll only share it with one person …and …if it's a good secret…she'll make a story out of it. She smiled as she moved towards the room the two had disappeared behind.

Excited voices from the guard's post at the front of the building sent Xena back into the shadows, pressed up against another statue. She looked up the solid carved muscled leg of…oh great, that's all I need is for her to think I'm grabbing her leg!

Feet ran up the corridor and the door she was interested in entering opened and closed with a bang. Hmmm. More action here than in the common room at the inn.

Curses from the other side of the door brought a raised eyebrow from the dark form leaning against Athena's leg. The dark figure moved to the next pillar, noting it was Artemis. She also had the nice athletic body that Greek's honored. She was dressed in her usual short tunic, bow and arrows on her back, and her hand resting on the head of a tall thin hunting hound. The dog provided less to hide behind than Athena's elaborate shield.

The door opened again to arguing voices, shut with the same echo reverberating down the corridor and running footsteps away from the voices. Well, I can tell none of them were raised in huts. Slamm'n doors sets the thatch roof a drop'n and the cranky chickens roostin' in them drop'n their dropins. Nothing like chicken shit hitting ya on the head to learn ya quick not to be slamming doors, Xena mirthfully mimicked.

Xena leaned against the busy door and carefully opened it a crack. The two men were so intent on their argument they didn't notice the door opening slowly. The two torches on either side of the table the men were standing at, left much of the room in shadows. By the time the air from the door reached the torches sending them in a mild dance she was comfortably sitting on the beam above the two men. The shorter of the two men looked up at the waving torches then peered around…a comment from the other caused him to resume their disagreement.

Their conversation was easy enough to follow as it was loud enough…it was what the two men were leaning over on the table that had her interest.

"Can't you keep them satyrs controlled, Yerik! We needed those soldiers to relieve the ones here in the city…and in your cavern," the taller of the men fumed. He looked vaguely familiar to Xena.

"Didn't you tell them to take the other trail…if you hire men with little sense…you tend to loose them sooner," the thick accent returned disgustedly. "And yes…I could have used replacements …but I don't like the cheap work you're hiring. They tend to be excessive in their drinking, eating, and talking….and most importantly, lacking in what matters, doing what they are hired to do. Have they no pride in themselves? Their equipment and clothing, to say nothing of their lack of bathing is disgusting. There's enough baths around here for them to take advantage of!" the foreigner complained.

"Well…if you shared a bit of the gold you're digging out, we may be able to afford a higher quality of labor," was the snip reply.

"You have the city's treasury."

"The treasury isn't in gold! What coins they had are gone in paying the troops. And in case you've forgotten, we have cut the city off from earnings from the outside. We've only got foods and a few worthless goods. The food we need for our troops and to be sure the people stay…tame. A hungry city that is reputed to have good harvests will arouse too much attention! And you know we can't send out more caravans to trade with our neighbors or anywhere else. There are enough rumors traveling around already. We need just seven more days!" the other man argued back wearily.

"That takes us back to the warrior woman. Why is she here? If not for the rumors dealing with the city but for the celebration…it won't take her long to know there isn't going to be a celebration if she hasn't already figured it out."

General Gigantes pursed his lips. He pretty much figured out how to neutralize the warrior then separate her from her little bard. The Bard would be their insurance…or his, anyway. Xena would be so busy trying to rescue her…and with his suggestions to her drugged mind…maybe after he's had his time with her, he'll send her chasing shades in the forest until he's long gone. He had it all.figured out.

"I'm telling you, Gigantes, it's not good to leave that dangerous a loose end free when we're so close to achieving our goals," the smaller man continued.

"You're in charge of the forests and the cavern.s. You said your men and satyrs can handle it. You let her pass through the forests…" Gigantes pointed out with ill concealed contempt.

"Because she did escape Scion and his group has me worried. You're putting too much importance on your method of controlling a city. Right now, I'm not happy to hear about a warrior whose reputation has her as important as a god and wandering around the city without anyone keeping track of her."

"I have no reason to not let her wander the city. Have you ever seen this Warrior Princess?" the general asked curious.

"No, but I'm not stupid enough to put aside a person's reputation that catches the imagination of story tellers and the fact that she was able to escape our net in that part of the forest," the other growled.

"Well, you had your chance…now…she's in my territory. I'll take care of her just like I did the rest. She's no different…she eats, drinks and sleeps." General Gigantes waved his hand that had gold and jeweled ring on that sparkled as the stone reflected the torch light. "I hear she likes her ale a lot. My agent has already been informed to make sure her ale has a bit of bite to it." Then we snatch her friend…"We'll have a delivery for you. In two days her little Bard friend will be joining your group in the cavern. Maybe then we can find the rest of the treasure…if you've been following the tales then you know the Warrior Princess travels with an Amazon Queen who happens to be that Bard she's here with."

The foreigner regarded his partner remembering Arri's obscure message; Light and dark enter as one, into a city home to some. From the description his own spies have given him, the warrior princess would fit the description of the dark one and her companion as light. He hated it when Arri would give him messages in oracle puzzles, but since he survived sitting on the oracle's chair, that was the only way he spoke when he asked him about the future. Arri was most troublesome when it came to some things these days. However he didn't see him as a threat like Gigantes. Achaean's, he thought disgustedly. Now he just had to wait for the next part, 'Light is taken into the darkness, to the usurper and his accomplice.' So, the light was the Amazon Queen. Yerik shook his head. He needed to go over the rest of the oracle's message with Arri. He had thought the dark one was the dead Amazon Queen and ….well….he sighed quietly and gazed at the map Gigantes had drawn up of the supposed tunnels branching out in the sacred cavern. His searches and his interrogation of the priestesses didn't reveal so much as one more than the three they had already found.

Xena craned her neck to look over the two bent heads hanging over the scroll. Not much of a view from where she was. She crawled a little closer so that she was directly above them. Good thing it was dark this high up, or they may think she was some sort of big black spider sitting above them. Her white teeth flashed a grin at the thought.

Then another argument started. Then it got more interesting. Stones, drawings, the oracle's passage and a treasure;, these things they argued about needed further looking into.

Xena studied the foreigner that had strange looking knife hilts sticking out of his waistband and the lack of a sword at his side.

After going back over the sketches the foreigner made an attempt to roll up the map. "Nooooo you don't, Yerik. With this you don't need me. I want to make sure you stay to the bargain."

Yerik snorted. "You're the one not to trust. What's to keep you here until this solstice celebration?"

"Because…I don't like losing bets."

"More like your life! And see that you remember that! I think this Warrior Princess your soldiers are talking about may be more than what you bargained for," Yerik predicted with unease. So far the only difficult thing either had faced was keeping the soldiers they had hired in line. A few deserters had Scion on their heels and the rest learned that the contract they signed for a fifteen months period was going to be enforced through death.

"That's what you said when the Amazons and the priestesses showed up. Look where we got them now!" He unconsciously touched the gold ring that flashed often in the torch light.

Xena's eyes focused on the design and small stone of the ring, trying to place where she had seen the design before. Yerik's eyes also tracked to the ring.

There was a moment of silence. "They weren't…personal…friends…of this local hero, Hercules." ," Yerik muttered in a thick accent.

"Where did you hear that?" Gigantes sneered. "You're repeating old gossip that has no meaning here. The messages for Hercules were given to my messenger and you know where they all went…" Gigantes tapped the metal pan that held oil for a bright light. "The great romance between the Warrior Princess and Hercules the do-gooder, is from some story teller's imagination. Do you think he would…even want someone with as much blood on her hands as she?" With the power and sensuousness she exuded, Gigantes knew that even Hercules would be tempted to lay with the dark haired warrior if she wanted him to.

Yerik watched Gigantes as he pounded the table for emphasis. He never knew when Gigantes was telling the truth or weaving a tale. He personally hadn't seen this warrior woman, but on his travels through this Greek land, stories of her and Hercules were told in a lot of the taverns they passed through. Local hero stories had some truth to them. He didn't care about Gigantes' plan for the city. His interest was getting the three sacred objects the Caesars were offering a reward for. It was enough to start his own kingdom. Caesar's seer had tracked the golden girdle here, which they thought was in the chest Yerik had just delivered to Gigantes, and from what the old Hag had said, the other two objects were also nearby. For the year they were here he had time to figure out that the ring on Gigantes finger may be one of the treasures after all, which meant that the feathered fan was also close by…or maybe the Amazon Queen had it. The chest had the girdle carved on it so it made sense it was in the chest waiting for the moment when its power to be used was called upon. The priestess had willingly sacrificed other's lives to keep the location of the other objects a secret, but he had other ways. Like Gigantes, he knew how to use a person's mind against them. It just a matter of time and it's close. He could feel it…and his feelings usually weren't wrong…and then there's Arri.

'Thirteen moons of lunar travel, thirteen marks on the carved horn, darkest night and longest still, time to resantify the signs will'. That's what he had said. That's what was to be this winter solstice. Of all the times to interfere in some heathen's nine year ceremony. This will be the last time I get talked into doing something for that crazy Caesar clan.

He glanced at the map one more time. The map showed too many tunnels. Though he hated being in the caverns, he made a point of visiting almost daily, and he knew there weren't that many. He had been hoping to study the map and see if he could find a pattern in the drawings. He didn't trust Gigantes and wherever he had gotten the map from. He suspected that Gigantes would leave before his winter solstice deadline with him holding the bag, if it were to his advantage. Like Gigantes, he had his own spies, which he was sure Gigantes suspected. He knew for sure that Gigantes would not be leaving with the ring or the chest for once they were in the city, the seer's warning was that all three must leave together or the power they were carrying would turn on the people who were carrying them.

For the past three days he had been feeling the ground around the caverns move as the day the oracle and the sacred objects were to be brought together. Arri suggested he move the golden girdle for the Sacred Space could feel the closeness of one of the ritual objects and was shaking as if in anticipation of its arrival. Mentally Yerik sneered at Arri's description of the interaction of the Sacred Space and the girdle as a young woman shivering in anticipation of the embrace from her lover. Arri always did have a strange sense of humor. His experience on the Chair didn't change that much.

Yerik tapped the map and nodded. "Scion will be out in the forest tonight for the meeting. Keep your soldiers away from there. I don't want to hear that you've lost more men to carelessness."

"Hmmp!" Gigantes snorted. "I think you give him too much power." Gigantes ignored the pointed warning.

"He is a leader of his pack. Without him, we would not have the satyrs patrolling the forests, scaring people away, and not asking for as much as those soldiers you hired. Perhaps you should pay more respect to those whom you do business with, then you would not have to worry so much about betrayal."

"Are you suggesting I should worry about you, Yerik?"

"You should worry about the citizens of this city. You depend too much on your drugs to eliminate opposition. Your soldier's are lazy from lack of being soldiers and doing nothing but bully the slow witted."

"And you think the promise of riches and gold is going to give you a more loyal bunch of followers? Your men aren't much different, taking their pleasures from people that have no wits at all, no voice to sound their pleasure or displeasure. I trust those that are here, then those that are with you. You may never know if one of your men will become bored and cut a deal with that priestess ya got in that dark hole. She's lasted a year in darkness and even drugged. Has it occurred to you that maybe one of your own men is helping her?"

Yerik pursed his lips. He had wondered too. Six months ago he had found a small ghost like figure that was giving comfort to the priestess, but he had put a stop to the visits, using their own symbols against them. But…the high priestess was still resisting. He wasn't expecting this to have lasted a year. He had thought to leave after six months with gold he had the captives dig out from the cavern walls and the sacred objects of the dead Amazon Queen, leaving Gigantes holding the bag, as he suspected Gigantes will do to him, but they were both still here…just as they had told their third betting partner they would be, for one lunar year.

"We will speak again after your meeting with the citizens." Yerik nodded to Gigantes.

Gigantes waved him away, busying himself with a sip of his wine. Yerik is getting to be a problem, he thought. Only seven more days. That is all I need. He was dimly aware of the door closing behind him as Yerik left. He was depending on a drugged Xena to wander in the forest for days looking for her friend, while he fulfilled the last of his part of the bet. He would be a rich man indeed…but most of all…richer still because he could take this plan elsewhere. Thoughts of killing the Warrior Princess didn't cross his mind, as he knew that as many enemies she had, she also had friends and he wanted to live for a long time enjoying his wealth. Besides, he enjoyed the pain in people's eyes when they were under the influence of the drug and knowingly had to obey him. Under the influence of the drug they were susceptible to suggestions and he could easily wipe a memory of who did what to them just as easily as he could make them forget this ever happened. Now Xena was a different story. She was being given a stronger mixture. He wanted her completely under his control. No awareness of herself, just like those in the tunnels.

Xena studied the figure of Gigantes as he idly tapped the tabletop with his knifepoint, and then rolled the map up and stuck it in a locked box on his desk. The gold ring with the gray-white stone sent sparks off as he moved his hand. Something about it kept tickling Xena's memory but …later it would come to her. Gigantes tucked the box under his arm and looking around to make sure he was alone…slid it under a chair that had an elaborate fur hanging over it to the ground. He laid his knife on the head of a statue that sat in the center of the table.

Taking another look around him he left, taking his torch with him. Xena waited until she heard his footsteps no longer then jumped down from her perch. Slats of moon light cut across the marbled floor. Xena's made her way to the dark form of the chair. Pulling out the box, she took it over to the window with the intent of using the moon's light for reading. She pulled her breast knife out and unlocked the lock. She unrolled one of the three scrolls. It was the map the two were arguing over. She had seen enough of the map and didn't need to look at it again. She went to the next scroll. She scanned the contents; it was a betting agreement and the rules of the bet with four marks of three who were the betters and one who was the witness. She rolled it up and went to the other. Her heart started to pound faster. Caesar! A tight line formed on her lips as she controlled the anger he never ceased to bring up in her.

Satisfied, she rolled the third scroll up quickly placing it back in the box, relocking it with the tip of her small knife and sliding it back in its hiding place.

So, Gigantes has until Winter Solstice to win his bet. Demoralize a city so much that they forget their gods and he was to do it without bloodshed…or as little as possible. His payroll shows few men so it makes sense that they don't want to take it over with a show of force. And it's the water, is it? Hmmm. So, that may be why Alala is not using the water in the common water tank for her horse. If she knows, how many others know? And then there is Caesar's reward! Now what does he want with a deceased person's belongings? For a moment the image of Alti came to mind and her instructions to young Xena to bring her three personal objects of Gomorra, the tall young virile soldier. He had died in a battle three days later and Alti had used the objects in some ceremony …to enslave the spirit of the man…she had said. Xena's eyes glinted with ice cold hardness, both at whatever Caesar planned and at what his plan was. So, that explains Artemis' interest.

She was going to look for whatever was heavy that they had dragged in but…

The hairs stood up at the back of her neck and without thinking she had taken two long steps and leaped up into the darkness where she remembered the beam was. From her bird's eye view of the dark room she watched as the door to the room opened and a shadowed figure with a small lamp came in. She watched as the figure moved around trying to find something. Xena didn't wait around to find out if that person found it. She had other things to take care of.

First thing she wanted to check out was the city's surplus supplies. With some difficulty and lots of ingenuity she got into the warehouse which was where the town's surplus food was stored. The bales of food, staples and caskets of wine and ale were carefully marked where they were to go, just as Gigantes' scroll outlined.

Prodding some of the sacks in the darkness she could smell the contents. One in particular got her attention. Her eyes glinted in the dark as she opened the bag and pulled out enough of the contents for her own needs. She made her way back to the caskets marked for General Gigantes and his soldiers. It took her another candle mark to mix the herb to a paste then add it to the wine caskets then the ale caskets marked for Gigantes and his men. It was heavy enough to settle to the bottom of the caskets, but the essence of the herb would mix with the wine and ale. The herb itself had no taste, which made it ideal for adding to foods or water…and in this case…Gigantes and his soldier's own drink. A bit of his own medicine would be a just return, she thought with a grin. Next she added from the other sack the herb that would neutralize the drug, adding it to the caskets that were marked for the townspeople.

Next stop was the city's water source with a small side trip to the soldier's armament room that just so happened to be on her way to the city's water source.

Xena finished her muddy work at the city's water aqueduct, which had been guarded with just as attentive guards as the ones outside of Gigantes' office. As she made her way back to the inn the flapping of wings caught her attention. Curious, she changed her direction. From the shadows she spotted a dark shape with a wide open wingspan glide to an outside wall, sit for a few moments, and then take wing again. Puzzled she followed it back into the inner city.

A wide smile slowly made its way to Xena's face as she heard a soft curse in a familiar voice. Now, what is she up to?

Xena moved to another position that would give her a good view to see what Gabrielle was cursing about. The owl flew by her, almost brushing its talons on her head, as Xena peered from a rooftop to where their balcony was. What in the name of Artemis is she doing?

Xena watched with mixed feelings as the dark shadow moved from the corner of their balcony to the thin climbing bush that was between their balcony and the next room. Her face moved from gleaming white teeth that flashed a smile, as she watched the unwise move she made to use the flimsy bush to climb down, then into a grimace as the small woman fell in no graceful way to the street below. She sat for a few moments wondering if her appearance now would be advisable, or maybe she should let her recover some of her dignity before appearing at her side. Xena sighed. She was going to have some interesting bruises. A grin appeared on her face as she thought about how Gabrielle was going to explain one very sore body part to her.

Silently she followed the limping shadow below her, making sure Gabrielle wasn't seen with all the noise she was making.

Xena dropped to the ground, and silently made her way to the smaller figure that was pressed against the wall of one of the corner buildings, slowly making as if to peer around the corner.

Gabrielle quickly turned around at where she felt her partner would be. Finding the expected dark figure behind her, right where she felt she was didn't lessen the startled gasp she gave at seeing her there.

"Xena! You can scare a person into their next life!" she whispered exasperated.

"Hmmm. We both know my reason for being out here…" Xena's eyes and white teeth were the only things that were bright enough to see clearly in the darkness.

"That's Chia, Alala's owl. I think she wants us to follow her," Gabrielle whispered back.

"Hmmm. Us?…" Xena didn't bother pointing out to her that until her arrival there had only been her. Instead, she turned her attention back to the feathered bird whose dark form created an unusual outline on the wall. "Well, let's see what she wants us to see." Xena guessed it had something to do with the meeting Yerik reported was to take place that evening unless there was something else going on.

Both women continued their way, past darkened buildings and sleeping occupants, both two legged and four, as they made their way to the wall where their guide was awaiting them. Occasionally the cold night air blew from the north carrying the smell of the cesspits that were emptied into a compost heap just outside of the city's old walls to be turned into fertilizer, collectively used for the farms and city gardens.

When the guards passed out of sight, the two skirted across an open section to get to where the owl was waiting for them. Xena shook her head in amusement. Chia was sitting on top of a postern gate plainly looking as if she was waiting for them, and the guards didn't even seem to notice her. When they stood below her, she rotated her head so that she was regarding them upside down.

Gabrielle covered her mouth with both hands, as she was about to burst into laughter. The warm air from her breath was nice against her cold hands.

Xena tugged on her partner's coat pulling her before her as she kept looking about them. There was a door that had no lock on it, no torch above it, nor was it barred. The stone drum tower above it looked like there was a small fire lit but appeared to be unoccupied. The guards were probably on other ends of the wall-walk, patrolling. That meant the guards weren't overlapping in their patrols.

Open spaces, poor lighting, no overlaps on patrols, preoccupied guards with non guard concerns…if they were in my army they would have all been executed on the spot.

"Doesn't exactly make me feel snug and safe," Gabrielle commented softly as Xena pulled the door open cautiously and peered out. It was about seven furloughs to the enceinte, which was about four cubits high into construction on this side, with a dark shape outlined against the night sky of stars, which would be another wooden tower, built as temporary protection for the day workers. Now there was no one there, since it had no nighttime defense if it were attacked. They hadn't put up a gate to this postern entrance yet.

Beyond the new wall the forest had been cut back to accommodate the placement of the wall and give more distance between the expanding city and its surroundings. The land here had not been additionally extended for farming and it rose sharply at a point shortly before the forest started. The forest beyond had been thinned rather than cut down. It looked like this side was under better care than the north side they had entered the city from, which meant it was probably the sacred grove of the goddesses, east of the city where the groves usually stood. The front gate faced north, which prevented the sun, rising or falling, from blocking the clear view of the guards that patrolled the walls. Xena and Gabrielle moved cautiously through the darkness trailing after the sailing form of the owl, as they weaved in and out of the remains of the tree stumps, pausing to make sure they were not seen. It was dark out and their dark coats further protected them from being seen.

Xena kept her eyes and head moving about looking, smelling, and sensing anything that came to her.

Once they were in the cover of the trees Xena picked up her pace remembering to go only fast enough to not lose Gabrielle. Her heightened senses allowed her to move quickly over anything that may have tripped most people on the forest floor, like roots that were meant to slow the unwary trespasser. She could feel Gabrielle's smaller hand resting on the small of her back to not loose her, and to prevent herself from running into something other than her partner.

Xena spun around when she heard Gabrielle's foot stumble. As she caught her she moved against the nearest tree trunk. While Gabrielle caught her breath from the fast pace Xena had set, Xena listened to the night forest life, picking out what was normal and what was not for a forest, including Gabrielle's noisy breathing. It was disturbing that there were no night sounds that were natural, only the faint murmuring of voices.

"There's something going on further inside the forest," Xena's lips whispered against Gabrielle's ear. This must be that meeting Yerik was setting up with Scion and someone else.. , Xena thought.

Gabrielle nodded and put pressure on Xena's back that she was ready to go with her to investigate it. Xena looked up into the tree while resting her hand on its trunk. Something didn't feel right in the forest yet… it was out of her awareness. She had confidence that it would come to her, though.

After lifting Gabrielle into the treetops with her, Xena made her way silently from branch to branch. Stopping, listening, smelling and feeling her way to where the voices were.

Gabrielle was grateful that Xena moved slowly for she wasn't particularly happy with tree travel especially in the dark…not to mention so far off the ground. Her recent experience with a smaller tree didn't help her comfort zone either.

It wasn't long before both women could see a wavering light through the dark outlines of tree branches. Xena stopped just outside of a cleared area in the woods. They recognized the two tall women, one of whom was holding a torch whose flame wavered in the night breeze. They were arguing in low tones with a satyr with a few roughly dressed men standing to the side as if not concerned with the conversation. Each of the men carried a torch giving the area weird shadows that moved about wildly as the breeze picked up into a wind moving around them. The satyr was big. Xena had no doubt that the cloven prints she had seen earlier would fit the size of this one. She was hopping there was only one his size.

The flickering light from the torches gave the large satyr a threatening appearance. Gabrielle suggested to herself it was the darkness that made him so scary and if seen in daylight might have less of an intimidating effect, though anything that big towering over her was worth staying away from. She shuddered at the remembrance of the feeling she had in the forest on their way to Crometh, the previous day.

Xena felt Gabrielle's shiver and laid a comforting hand on her arm, guessing at where the shudder came from.

"You have not given us what we want…" the deep voice of the satyr flatly told the women.

"We gave you what you asked for tall Amazon returned angrily. "You keep changing your…"

The deep voice laughed. "Isn't that toooo bad? An Amazon begging! That is…very goooood. I have priestesses begging tooo and that is very gooood."

The tall redhead halted the Amazon's arm before it moved.

"Where are our friends?" Alala asked in a restrained voice.

"Ahhh, yes. You did say you wanted proof that they were still alive."

Movement in the surrounding brush from bodies stumbling forward as if pushed from behind had Xena gripping the tree in anger. She could feel Gabrielle's pressure on her side where her hand rested increase.

Three figures fell forward dressed in clothing that was not a good cover for the weather. The figures did not move from their prone position.

"You may rise," the deep voice commanded.

The three women weakly rose leaving their heads bowed. Two men then shoved the women back into the brush, with one of the men with a torch leaving with the group.

Xena didn't wait to see what was going on with the rest of the meeting. She motioned Gabrielle to remain in the tree knowing she would keep track of what further developed between the groups below.

Xena moved silently through the trees following the torchlight with caution, listening to the sound of stumbling feet from the three captives' and low threatening voices from their two guards. She distrusted how easy it was to follow them and made a wide circle away from the torchlight. She smelled their destination before they reached it. She slowed her own progress looking in the trees for any traps or alarms that may have been set for prowlers. She was amazed to find none.

Do they have that much confidence in their drugging the city that no one will attempt to rescue their captives? Alala isn't drugged.

She remained in the trees watching men dressed in animal skins with foreign curved swords move around in the areas they guarded, and the women and a few men held in cages that looked like they hadn't been moved for a long time. She knew where the style of sword came from but she wasn't familiar with the race of men that made up the group.

Satisfied she had seen enough of the camp and its occupants, she widened her inspection of the area. The faint sound of a spring had her moving in that direction. Sitting for a moment on a limb that overlooked a small incline she let her eyes slowly wander over moon lit rocks looking for the source of the water. Silently Xena dropped from the tree and approached a dark opening in the rocky hill face. It was close to the ground and she would have to crawl to get in. That would leave her vulnerable…and there was someone in there…humming.

She waited patiently behind a nearby tree, expecting whoever was in the cave would come out and a small figure, dressed in the robes of an acolyte to a temple, did. The child had no need to stoop to exit the cave.

****
Chapter 5

An Innocent

Xena stepped out of her hiding place and waited until the young girl spotted her. She would have walked right by Xena if Xena hadn't raised one eyebrow and follow her with her eyes.

The figure stopped looking at Xena surprised.

"You can see me?" the little voice sounded disappointed.

Xena raised both eyebrows. Of course I can, she thought. "Yeah. What are you doing all alone in these woods and at night?" Xena asked gently, knowing the answer to part of the question.

"I'm here for my priestess," the tiny voice suddenly sounded like she was going to break into tears.

Xena reached out to hug the child and the small figure stepped into her arms. Xena could feel herself holding something but it was like a thin sheet of curtain.

"You're a shade," Xena murmured down to the head that was barely reaching her waist.

"Yes." The grief stricken face looked up at her. "I couldn't leave her." Her little voice was so plaintive it tore at Xena's heart.

"No. You couldn't." She patted the small head. "What's your name, little one?"

"Dorie."

Xena hesitated a moment. "Dorie, would you like to help get some of those people free?" Xena asked. She was pulling from her memory all that she had heard about shades and what they can and can't do but all she had heard was hear say and it all was pretty far out.

The little head nodded blotting her eyes with the sleeve of her robe.

"There are three priestesses in the camp not too far from here that I'm going to free."

"The three you were watching from the trees," the child nodded solemnly.

"Yes." Xena didn't show her surprise or the discomfort she felt that she had been watched without her knowing it. Shade or no shade, her senses should have picked up that she was being watched.

"What can I do?" the little voice asked sadly. Xena had a feeling that whatever Dorie had tried up until now had not worked and was feeling quite disheartened by it.

"Well, I would like to look at your cave there, if you don't mind."

The little head nodded and walked Xena back toward the entrance. Xena closed her eyes a moment to not let her fear of closed places get in the way. She dropped to her knees and dragged herself in. It was pitch dark until the tiny shade lifted her arm and produced a lit torch.

"Handy," Xena mentioned. She quickly looked over the small cave, noting that it wasn't inhabited by anything living. The underground stream was carrying clean water over rocks that made up the waterbed. Something gleamed at the bottom of the pool of water and Xena reached in to pick it out. She peered at the gold nugget that shinned in the torchlight.

She tossed the nugget back into the water. "I want to use your cave…as a place to hide them in…until they feel better." Xena explained as she continued her inspection.

The small head nodded with solemn eyes watching the tall woman look around her hideaway.

"I'm going to… make it so they can't get out…until they're feeling better." Xena was hoping the herbs she had would be enough to counter whatever may have been given them to make them so docile.

The head nodded again. "They would go back to those bad men unless you stopped them. They're sick, up here," she informed Xena seriously, pointing to her head.

"Sick? From what?"

"They put something in the food and water that makes them do whatever those men…" The small voice quivered to a halt, as tears began to flow from her eyes.

Xena hugged the willowy form that was not solid against her again. "People do pretty terrible things to each other," Xena agreed. They must be getting a stronger dose than what the city had in their water, Xena was thinking.

Xena gave the child a few moments to cry. Time was important. The small figure seemed to know this for she pulled away from Xena.

"New guards will be here in the morning. Every week they change. With the new guards they bring different people." She informed Xena between sniffling. "They use them to make the villagers pay them dinars."

"Hostages," Xena guessed.

The child nodded.

"Have they ever let any of them go?"

The child shook her head in the negative.

"Will they be moving the three priestesses?"

Another nod.

"Good." White teeth flashed in the torchlight.

"I can show you where they move them to. They take them into the tunnels in the Sacred Cavern, where they dig out gold," she told Xena hopefully. "It is where my priestess is kept."

Ahh. So, that gold nugget has a source near here. "Not yet. I want to move those priestesses from harm first. Stir up a bit of trouble. Create a diversion. "." Xena smiled at the child who gave her a wide trusting grin. "And while they are out here looking…I'll pay the tunnels a visit."

There was hope in the eyes of the child that looked up into hers. Xena hoped she could deliver what she was telling the young shade.

"I'll be back by dawn. I'll meet you outside of their camp." The shade would be a good ally as well as it would be nice to set her free so she could be released from her worldly burden and move on.

The small head nodded.

****
Xena returned two candlemarks later to Gabrielle's side. Gabrielle had her coat covering her blond hair so that her dark form blended against the dark trunk. Xena could make out the shape of the owl on a limb not far from her. The large yellow eyes blinked at her as she moved to Gabrielle's side. Xena merely tapped the waiting Bard's shoulder and got the barest of nods from her, as Gabrielle slowly stretched her limbs out before moving. Xena didn't move until Gabrielle indicated her legs were okay. Sitting in a crouched position for any length of time in a tall tree required caution before moving. It was a long drop down if the legs cramped up or didn't move well.

The two silently made their way back into the city, sneaking in between guard turns. The only challenge they had came from two suspicious dogs they had nearly stumbled on, which Xena silenced by talking to them softly.

Once back in their room Xena took both coats and hung them on the corner hooks provided for such things. While she removed her armor and boots quietly Gabrielle had her clothing off and was under the covers waiting. As Xena slid next to her partner she went over in her mind what she knew. The story of the Shade was going to capture the Bard's heart as well as her lively imagination. It certainly shed more light about the city's plight. But the plan of Caesar's….

Gabrielle wrapped her arms around the warmer blooded Xena and pulled her closer for the body warmth and comfort. Xena started her story, telling it in the usual brief and terse form she normally followed. Gabrielle didn't interrupt but listened, her eyes tearing when she got to the part of the shade, Dorie. When Xena was finished she sighed letting the silence between them lengthen.

"Well…this must be what Artemis was talking about and Athena hinted at," Gabrielle finally replied. "This is about as complicated as some of the usual stuff we get involved with. I think we can…" a yawn stretched her jaws, "handle it. Let's see, a city held hostage for a bet…a shade held here because of her ties to her priestess…and Caesar putting out a reward for three ritual objects belonging to a dead Amazon Queen…. hmmm. You don't think it's because she was Ares daughter, do you?

Xena pursed her lips above Gabrielle's head. "I think it's because she is Ares daughter and because she is an Amazon Queen. That's two gods to tweak for the price of one."

"Xena, do you think that feathered…" she stretched her neck to peer into the face that was above hers.

Bright blue eyes shone in the darkness. "Yeah."

"Hmm."

"General Gigantes has a ring King Priam made for Queen Penthesileia for fighting for him," she informed Gabrielle.

"Ohh!"

She was silent for a while thinking. Her breath wasn't deep enough for sleep, Xena thought.

Gabrielle squirmed a little trying to find a comfortable position without bruising herself further. Xena grinned above her, knowing how much it must be hurting, yet she still hadn't mentioned it to her. Should I say something to…encourage her to tell me of her injury?

"Does Caesar want objects only from her reign as Amazon Queen, or just anything that had belonged to her?" she suddenly asked. "You see, I remember a story one of the old Amazon's from the Northern Nation told." Gabrielle again moved gingerly to another position not wanting to give up her wrap around position on Xena's warm and familiar body. "It was the tragic tale of Queen Penthesileia of the Northern Nation, who had laid all her belongings of rank on the pyre of her beloved sister, Hippolyta II, and then had left her Nation to do retribution as a soldier in a foreign war. So, supposedly, she had no personal belongings left. Then in Troy…" she took a deep breath, "when we were in Troy, Perdicas had mentioned that after Achilles had slain her in battle, he returned her body with everything she had went onto the battlefield, in honor of her bravery and her fighting skills… but when she was set upon the pyre she didn't have all her things laid about her. Since the Amazon warriors she had came in with were all dead, she had no one to stand for her, and make sure all her belongings were burned with her as was her wish. Queen Helen took the place of her sisterhood, but …she didn't do anything about the belongings she had left in her room. Perdicas said the soldiers were angry that someone had removed her belongings from the room and not placed them on the pyre with her."

Both were quiet for a few moments.

"Xena, why don't you think the goddesses have done anything about Crometh?" she suddenly asked.

"Maybe they have and failed. That's why we're here. Huh?" Xena grinned, her white teeth shinning in the small light from the last of the fire. She debated whether to get up again and add another log. Then discarded the idea as Gabrielle's hand that was lying across her stomach made an unconscious caress.

"Artemis sent you," Xena murmured in the golden hair that was resting beneath her chin, "with one of the ritual objects that is suppose to be part of this year end ritual of reanointing something in a cavern. We need to talk to a priestess about this to see if Caesar, these people being here, and the timing of the anointing of this are all connected.

"So, you think the fan is the one Queen Penthesileia used?"

"If a god gets involved…the problem becomes so convoluted, a puzzler would die in ecstasy," Xena snorted. "She did say to deliver it to a priestess, and she did say it was for a ritual. What if some of the ritual items she was given as a gift from the goddess weren't destroyed, but rather given back to the goddess or her priestesses?"

"Hmm. That makes sense. I would certainly think more than twice about tossing a gift from Artemis into a fire…unless I was on it too," Gabrielle added in jest.

"Hmm. So…that leaves the question of, why is Athena involved."

"Xena….maybe she's doing it for Ares."

Gabrielle felt Xena's body shake with silent laughter. "Maybe." She kissed the top of Gabrielle's head. Sometimes the gods did do favors for each other…and often times at the risk of mortal's lives.

"Do you think it's true that those designs are protecting them from the gods entering the city? I mean, Ares usually just zaps people that annoy him…." Gabrielle cleared her throat as she remembered she was one of those people.

"I don't know. I would like to get a look at them. They said it was in a chamber where the priestess is kept, along with the stone. Maybe I can remember something from what Alti was always drawing. Meanwhile I'm going to go back to the camp and relieve the guards of three of their captives in the morning." She held up her hand at Gabrielle's protest at her use of 'I'. "We need to split up. When I get the three free we need to keep them somewhere safe. That's where you come in. Dorie's cave is hidden, has running water and from what I can see, one entrance that is defendable from the inside. We'll stock it with five days of food and herbs to counter the effects of what Yerik's been giving them. As soon as you set up the cave you need to get back here and wait for me. Order a meal for two and make it seem like we are both here. And…bring the fan. We'll hide it out in the forest until we can figure out…one, if the girdle is in the chest Yerik can't get open, and two, where is the real ring? I think you're right about the belongings. He specifically asked for objects of hers when she was Queen of the Amazons."

"I take it that's for later in the morning when there's food to be ordered," Gabrielle joked tiredly.

"Yeah. Why do you keep moving around like that?" Xena suddenly asked not able to resist, after all she was squirming around like she had ants in her pants.

Gabrielle sighed. "Uhhh." Xena could feel Gabrielle's rib cage move as she took a deep breath. "I had an encounter with a tree branch…all right? And don't give me that look."

"What look is that?" Xena asked innocently.

"You know." Gabrielle didn't bother to look up at the face she knew would have a big grin on. "I slipped off the tree branch, okay?"

"Hmm. Do you want me to kiss it and make it better?" Xena mischievously asked.

"One kiss wouldn't do it…and we're both too tired to make it all better." Gabrielle giggled kissing Xena on her cheek. "Maybe tomorrow with better light you can put some of that stuff you use for bruises..."

Gabrielle stopped when Xena placed a hand over her mouth. Feet moved outside their door and further down the hall. When Xena removed her hand she heard the deep breathing of her companion, whose exhaustion finally caught up with her. Smiling Xena kissed her gently on the forehead, letting her hand slide down Gabrielle's body, gently cupping her hand over her bruised pubic area in protection. Taking a deep breath she let her own body relax, as much as it did, and slid into her own type of sleep…alert but restful enough to dream. Xena had one candle mark to rest before her day began.

****
Gabrielle started to dream again. She was in Troy, and her walk with Perdicas through the war weary Troy's remains of merchant stores was familiar. He had something he wanted to show her, but he was vague about it. As she made her way down the rows of empty shelves in this one store, she found herself alone, checking each shelf to see if anything was left behind. She was seeking a treasure. By the time she had reached the last wall she was wondering if this search for her treasure was going to be fruitless.

On the last wall, reclining on one of the shelves, as if it were a couch, which on closer inspection, it was…was Xena dressed in the regalia of an Egyptian Queen.

"Find your treasure yet?" Xena asked her, as she paused from her business of looking into a mirror whose back was dark and light with a yin/yang symbol.

The long form was instantly beside Gabrielle, draping one elegantly dressed arm over her shoulder pulling her near her. Xena held the mirror out in front of them.

"The treasure is here."

Gabrielle looked at the reflection of both their faces that became blurry, as their faces became overlapped with a quick succession of others that kept changing, making her dizzy with the speed.

Gabrielle moved swiftly into the next dream…back in the cavern she had dreamed of earlier. She was standing on a stone floor. She looked up toward where there was light shinning into the dark stone room she was in. The stairs she looked up at had neatly cut wooden planks laid over the rough stone steps. There were designs on the wooden steps but her eyes were drawn to the designs that were on the wall that followed the steps down to where she was. Some of the designs were old and faded but the newer ones,; they seemed to be getting in the way of the power of the older ones. Someone was pointing this out to her. She leaned closer to see what the newer drawings were made from, and found herself off balance and putting out a steadying hand right into one of the new drawings. She had mixed feelings of satisfaction and concern that she had ruined someone's work, for as she withdrew her hand the red was smeared on her hand and distorted one of the drawings.

She felt the ground tremble under her feet as she looked around her guiltily. Xena never outright told her she caused trouble, only that it seems to happen a lot around her, but this one…she sighed as she regarded her hand that had the evidence of her handiwork.

Curious she moved to the next design. She almost thought it moved. Gingerly she touched one of the lines and was amazed that not only did she leave a smudge, but again a trembling in the ground occurred.

"Right. I got it now. These designs are preventing the older ones from doing what they need to be doing." As she nodded her head she was whisked to another place…inky blackness all around…but she was not alone. Someone was here with her.

"Gabrielle. You need to remove the power from those symbols." It wasn't a voice she heard. It was a tired…thought?

Then Gabrielle was off to another dream…She found herself walking behind Argo's swishing tail deep in thought. The trail was one of the many they have traveled. Suddenly a gas cloud enveloped her, then the satisfying sound of a plop, plop, and a stronger disagreeable odor and …

"Oh, Pegasus' sweet poop!" Gabrielle muttered disgustedly holding her nose.

The next thing she knew she was lifting a sandaled foot encrusted with the warm substance.

Xena's tall figure on the golden warhorse's back turned to look down at her, pulling Argo to a stop.

"Xena!" Gabrielle told her exasperated, thinking Argo did it on purpose.

Xena did a fancy summersault off Argo's back, drawing her gold sword out of its scabbard, while in mid roll…now, could she really do that? Gabrielle returned her attention to her hero, who could do just about everything…if it was not cooking palatable meals.

Xena landed in front of Gabrielle who was regarding her foot in disgust.

"Hold your foot up!" she demanded in a fierce voice with eyes snapping as if she were preparing to meet up with an army of soldiers and not a sandaled foot encrusted with horse shit.

Fearlessly, the Bard did it, balancing on her staff. However, Gabrielle watching herself in this dream thought the Bard nuts, though in all honesty, she would trust Xena with her life.

In a flurry and blur of motion, the golden sword glinted in the sun, as it moved around the proffered foot and small pieces of green and yellow when flying about the sides of the road. One giving a satisfying 'thwat' on the hindquarters of the offending beast, who sent her mistress a snort of protest, to Gabrielle's smug satisfaction.

When Xena was finished both looked at the cleaned sandal that was now gold instead of brown leather.

"Xena. You did it again. You are certainly better than Salmoneus's goose that lays golden eggs." Gabrielle sighed dramatically at her hero. "Salmoneus would be beside himself with jealously."

The Xena of her dreams, snapped a quick salute to her then turned her sword in a fancy spin ending with sliding it into her scabbard at her side. No…no…it's supposed to be on her back!

Gabrielle looked up from the scroll she was writing this story on. When the dreaming Gabrielle looked into the eyes of herself…she woke up with a start.

"Hey. It's time to wake up," Xena told the bleary eyed Bard.

"Hmmm. Right," mumbled Gabrielle as she tried to remember her dreams. Gabrielle groaned and rolled over to Xena's side of the bed that was chilly. "Hey!" she complained. "You've been up."

Xena chuckled as she moved back over to the balcony. She had managed to do some of the exercises Lao Ma had taught her, besides some of her own quick drills for warm ups without waking the Bard and even now, she wasn't sure if her 'not-a-morning-person' was completely awake. Xena opened the balcony further and looked out into the predawn sky again. No owl…no falcon.

Gabrielle rolled out of bed and stumbled to a bowl filled with water. She cautiously dipped her finger in it wondering how cold it was going to be.

"Hmmm…warm." She splashed her face then found a towel being proffered to her. "Thanks. Xena…after you free the three priestesses…what about the other hostages?"

"We'll need to plan that a bit more. I need to get a look at the tunnels where Dorie said they are held. In a few days the roles here in the city should start reversing." Xena looked at their waterskins. "I don't want you to drink any of the cider or ale in the inn. Stick with what's in the waterskins." Xena paused. She didn't know how often the inn got new supplies from Gigantes and how much to trust him not finding out that she had reversed the water flow of the treated water and the untainted.

"While they are fussing here or in the forest after the three women disappear…" Xena left it unsaid but Gabrielle could see the corners of her lips move up.

"…Xena will be at play," Gabrielle finished for her with a smile.

"Hmm," she agreed with a grin.

"Xena, where are you going to get the food without anyone knowing?" Gabrielle asked as Xena looked out onto the balcony she was intending on exiting from.

"From General Gigantes' storage. He's keeping the surplus in the building next to his offices." Xena smiled. "I found another way in, so this second visit should be much easier than last night. I'll be using the underground tunnel the priestesses use from the temples to the storage buildings. My guess is that they use their secret ways to keep fresh offerings on their altars even during slow times, and probably to store excess offerings so the perishable foods don't go to waste, all without their public knowing. Whoever is the scribe that oversees the surplus now had crossed out the names of the temples on some of the shelves and substituted the new destinations of the supplies."

She turned away from the balcony and came to stand next to Gabrielle, "In less than a candlemark, the city's people should be moving outside to work."

Gabrielle nodded understanding what she had to do.

*****
Chapter 6

Partnership with a Shade

Getting out of the city unobserved turned out to be easy as Gabrielle blended in with the children that were herding the sheep and goats to the fields near the edge of the forest where grass seemed plentiful. The children didn't appear to notice her as she hung back with two of the dogs that peered at her uneasily.

Xena proved good on her arrangements, as she not only smuggled out Agro, but the stolen food as well. Xena was waiting in the forest with Argo and the supplies when Gabrielle met up with her.

"Who are your friends?" she asked indicating the two tall and thin dogs were sitting amid the tree roots as if waiting.

"They look like the two we tripped over last night."

"Hm. Well, looks like they intend on following you."

Gabrielle looked at the two that looked right back at her. "Why do you say that?"

"Because they don't look like they can climb trees," she smirked. "Dogs and satyrs don't like each other. They would be a good alert for you."

Gabrielle nodded. "Well, if they do follow…I'll remember that."

With the two bags of food dangling from Argo's saddle, Gabrielle followed the rabbit trail Xena had told her to take for about ten furloughs into the forest. She was then to let Argo lead her toward the cave, for Argo would be able to smell the water, as Xena had softly directed in her golden twitching ear, before she disappeared into the treetops. The two dogs trotted along sniffing the air now and again. One was up front and the other behind her as if they knew where they were going. Gabrielle shook her head and patted Argo's neck as she followed Argo and the lead dogs.

The cave was facing the west and if the forest didn't block out the sun it would have been nice and warm at the entrance at the end of the day. Gabrielle had to bend low, dragging the sacks of food behind her. The two dogs didn't enter the cave but rather sat at the edge of the forest. She lit the torch Xena had added to her supplies. The cave had a dry bed that dropped down to a small underground river. It didn't appear that the water rose above the bank for the watermarks the torch-light revealed only raised two hands above its present level. Gabrielle reached into the water at the shinny object that the torchlight picked up. Studying it for a moment, she put it in her pouch to show Xena, and then continued her inspection. The last residents were bunnies or some other small animal by the tracks left. Xena, as usual, didn't leave any tracks from her visit. She grinned as she thought how Xena probably had to crawl to get in here, then she frowned as she remembered Xena didn't like closed in places.

Gathering rocks from the outside, Gabrielle made a fire pit then gathered enough wood to keep the place stocked for four days. Once Xena freed the women, she had no doubt that the Satyr and his friends would be hot on their trail looking for them. The less the women went outside the better off they would be. Gabrielle placed the fire pit ring where the smoke could rise to the ceiling without smoking out its inhabitants. She held the torch were the fire would be to see where the smoke rose and how it moved across the ceiling. There appeared to be a draft somewhere near the ceiling. Gabrielle left the torch stuck into the center of the fire pit and followed the smoky trail to a small space between ceiling and rock wall. She then inspected the outside to make sure it would not draw attention to where the smoke escaped. Satisfied she returned to the cave, wiped her tracks, left the striker with the cooking and eating utensils Xena had thought to add, and took another look around the softly lit cave.

Finished she doused the torch, dusted the dirt off her hands and left the cave as Xena had instructed. She needed to get back to their rooms and order a late breakfast. She patted Argo's neck as she picked her way around the brush that covered the forest floor, even in winter. The two dogs were immediately beside her when she reentered the forest thicket.

Xena wanted her to leave Argo near a small stream in the sacred grove. Her attempts at unsaddling tall Argo would have left Xena laughing, however her only amused audience were the two dogs whose heads cocked to the side as they watched. Argo remained still as she nearly fell over backwards from the weight of the saddle. A golden head swung around to watch her leaning against a tree with the saddle lying at her feet where it had fallen.

Gabrielle dragged the saddle into the brush and carefully covered it and the bridle and made sure she would remember what the trees looked like where she hid the horses tack. The good thing was Xena would probably be able to find it even if she didn't remember the exact location. Sighing she looked around her then started back to the city. How Xena was going to get Argo back into the city was not her worry. Xena's skills were many.

As she watched the city walls from her position in the forest cover, Gabrielle wondered how she was going to get back into the city without being seen. She turned toward the dogs that were both seated behind her watching.

"Would you two know of a safer place to reenter the city?" she asked humorously.

They both rose together and started off toward the east end of the city

"Silly me...of course they would," she mumbled to herself, thinking how she was going to work this into a story.

The dogs found an underground entrance into the city. Cautiously Gabrielle entered the dark tunnel both hands resting on the two tall guides that flanked her on each side. They led her into a temple that looked like it hadn't been cleaned for a while. By the statues and hanging tapestry, it was Artemis' temple. "Hmm." She looked down at the two dogs that had trotted to a side exit from the temple and into a back alley of the city.

*****

Xena met Dorie in the trees not far from the foreigner's camp. This time Xena had felt her presence long before she saw her. She knew what to sense this time.

Silently the two sat in a tree studying the camp that was still silent with sleep. Satisfied that little had changed from her previous inspection Xena followed the small form that floated through the trees just a little ahead of her. Xena wanted to pick each of the guards off then dispose of the bodies so they wouldn't be found for a while. She would start her work at a spot that was a halfway point from the camp and the cavern. Though satyr's had a good sense of smell and would probably find the bodies soon she was intending on making sure they were inconvenienced for their search. She grinned as she thought about the powder she had in one of her herb pouches that satyrs didn't particularly like. Great for healing skin rashes on people, but it had the opposite effect on satyrs.

As the two silently moved toward their destination, Xena took stock of what she knew. Gigantes' primary interest is his bet…he seems to care little for the secondary benefit of Caesar's promised reward in bringing to him the three ritual items of a dead Queen. Though, it wasn't just any Queen. She happens to be Ares' daughter, under the protection of Artemis, until she had abandoned the protection to go off and die. Is he going to use her spirit to tweak two gods? Is that why Caesar wants her belongings? Julius Agustus Caesar wants to rule the known world. An ambition that he is nearest to fulfilling than any of his other clansmen. But he is more comfortable using his soldier's strength and other people's weaknesses. A cold knife pierced her heart at that thought. Why is he doing something uncharacteristic and using a Seer and shamanistic means?

Her thoughts returned to the items. It's probably not the ring on Gigantes' finger for that was given to her by King Piram for her services and from what Helen had said, she wore it but once or twice. Warriors don't wear rings for they just get in the way. Queen Helen has the original, which Helen had said the Amazon Queen admired. Helen offered hers to the older woman but she refused, saying to accept another's gift brought ill luck with the object, so Piram overhearing the conversation immediately had another cast only mounting the moon stone for Artemis, rather than the purple amethyst that Helen had in hers.

It was a very thoughtful gift from King Piram. On moon lit nights the Amazon Queen was found standing on the ramparts, gazing at the moon heartbroken at the lost connection with her moon goddess and patron as well as her sister Amazons. That was where Xena found Helen often, gazing up at the same moon, looking as heartbroken as the Queen whose story she recounted while Xena kept her company.

So, either Gabrielle's feathered fan, given to her by Artemis is a decoy or it is the real thing. Which leaves then, the whereabouts of the golden girdle and ring and the added puzzle, that if the fan Gabrielle has is real the thing…then will the two objects also be brought in by outsiders? Xena couldn't help grinning to herself at the puzzle. She liked puzzles. She was sure Yerik and Gigantes had the girdle, which left one more item to be found. The ring.

Hmmm. Where are they keeping the golden girdle? It has to be here in Crometh. Kept in the cavern? Or…was that what the two men had carried into Gigantes sitting room? Would Yerik trust Gigantes to leave it with him?

"They are part of the temple's ceremony," the little voice informed her as they made their way through the forest.

"What?" Xena asked startled.

"The three ritual pieces. Once they enter the city, they cannot leave unless together." She smiled at Xena as her gray form passed through a tree branch. "The one you call Yerik, he is seeking the ring and fan of the Lost One."

"Just who is the Lost One?" Xena asked puzzled.

"Why, it's Queen Penthesileia the Amazon who forfeited her life for the crime of killing her beloved sister, Hippolyta II," the little voice told her solemnly. "She has not crossed over into the Land of the Dead that Artemis has set aside for her Amazons."

Xena halted her progress, and stared at the gray figure wavering before her. "Penthesileia," she whispered. So… She knew of Queen Penthesileia's grief. She also knew that she lost interest in life when her beloved sister, Hippolyta no longer graced her days with her laughter and jokes. Was her grief that hard that she could not leave even after she had sacrificed her life? "Why do you refer to her as the Lost One?" Xena asked curious, as she resumed her walk from branch to branch.

"She could not face life without Hippolyta, her beloved sister. When a Queen loses connection with life…her Nation will also. So she stepped down and went to die a warrior's death and those that also mourned the loss of Hippolyta followed their Queen to their deaths so they could reunite with Hippolyta in the sacred afterlife of the Amazons. But…the Queen's grief is holding her back to receive the peace she earned. It is the bringing of her three sacred items and putting them on the oracle's chair at the darkest and longest night of the year that will call her spirit to that place. Then one who is of her caste can use the power of the chair to lift the heavy weight she carries and…"

And let her find her way. That's why Gabrielle is…" Xena's heart felt heavy for she remembered the Amazon's she had helped Alti prevent from entering their resting place.

But this wandering spirit isn't even halfway there. She is still wandering this upper world. Lost, Dorie said. She frowned. Why didn't Artemis just tell Gabrielle, she would have willingly…Xena bit her lip. Would I have interfered? No. I would have worried about Gabrielle though.

"I heard her girdle was given to her by Artemis when she became Queen," Xena murmured.

"Oh, yes! But when she stepped down and took up a warrior's mantle, she returned to Artemis' priestess, three gifts the goddess had given her. Then her father gave her the most beautiful armor of gold with a shield embedded with jewels that caught the sun's light and could blind her enemy if they looked upon her splendor, and her helm was of gold too, with a long yellow plume of horses' hair." She leaned forward a little toward Xena. "They say Ares shed tears for his golden child."

Xena eyed the young girl wondering if she heard too many bard stories. Gold was heavy, and she didn't know of anyone that was crazy enough to wear it on a battlefield. So, Ares sent her off to her death…blessing her with armor and weapons. He didn't talk much of his children and it would seem for the life Penthesileia chose, that of battle, Ares would speak of her with pride. As for him shedding a tear… There was that something again, just tickling her memory, which usually was very good at coming up with half remembered things when needed. So, where does Caesar come into this?

"The enemy of Greece wishes to bring the Amazon Nations under his power, but not to use, to destroy. It is through certain objects that he will draw such power over them. Three of them are from the dead Amazon Queen whose father was Ares."

"How do you know of this?"

"Yerik knows. He talks to the bust he has of another creature that he keeps in his tent."

"You can listen to his conversations…and mine?"

Dorie smiled. "I can read your thoughts like pictures. I can no longer visit Yerik's tent for he has put up a wall that I cannot pass."

The child laughed at Xena's expression. "He needs three objects of hers and he only has one," she spoke with confidence.

"Is that the girdle?"

The head nodded. "Only, he has yet to figure out how to open the trunk it is in. His magic has not been able to go past what is protecting the lock. It will only open in the cavern, though he thinks that only the priestess can open it at the appointed time, and that is why my priestess is still alive. Yerik moved the box into Crometh for fear that its presence so close to the cavern without the other two objects will shake the cavern so much the tunnels will close, then he no longer can dig out the gold."

"So the ritual objects are to here to release the Queen's spirit?" Xena asked.

"Not just that. On the night of no moon they will be used for that…but on the full moon near Solstice, they will be used for another ritual. One is to draw the Lost One's spirit to the chair and the other is to use the energy they generate to protect the sacred cavern and what it holds. Artemis used the making of the items from the old power of Ge."

"So…"

"Yes?"

"Why Gabrielle? I can understand about the Amazon connection, but what about the rest?"

"Because she is Queen of an Amazon Nation and also she holds more power in other realms. She is also not tainted by her own motives for power, nor limited in her desire for the well being of one group of peoples. My priestess had said that because the City of the Muses wasn't just about the Muses but about all of life, then a person whose heart is of like mind, must be the one to join the objects to the regeneration of the power symbols in the sacred cavern."

"Why not a priestess, the oracle or…someone else? It sounds dangerous to me."

Dorie smiled. "Yes. It is dangerous, for anyone who enters the oracle's space and is not of the energy that surrounds it, will be a pile of ashes in no time. But…there is a moment in this special passing of heavenly bodies that gives even the most unworthy a space to safely enter and sit on the chair."

"Is there any life sacrifices involved in this?" Xena asked suddenly suspicious.

"Oh, no. No deaths or spilling of blood, mortal or otherwise! This is regenerating a different type of life force."

"Hmmm. So…what is with the symbols?"

"I cannot say. I promised my priestess."

"Can you go into the cavern?" Xena asked abruptly.

"Not any more…" she paused for a moment looking scared. "He saw me. He said if he caught me visiting my priestess again he would hurt her more."

"Can she see you?" Xena asked.

"She does not see anything. She is in a dark place where Yerik will not let any light shine. He keeps her there, trying to make her believe that the goddesses no longer protect Crometh, so she must open the box, but she will not. He does not see who she is."

Xena nodded understanding. A high priestess became the embodiment of a goddess or god during certain rituals or times when the goddess or god felt it was necessary to step into a physical form. Since this was winter solstice her embodiment by a goddess was certain. But which goddess? "Which goddess will your priestess honor?"

"I don't know. The Muses decide which one of them will visit though the priestess."

Xena thought about which one would be more appropriate for the situation at hand. "How did the satyr's get involved?"

"Yerik promised them the forests to the west of Crometh where the city was cutting down to sell and for extending the farms. My priestess had warned the mayor that it was extending beyond what their immediate needs were and that others lived there, but they ignored her warnings. They picked the Muses thinking the nine would not interfere with the town's desires as long as they kept up their fairs for the arts." This brought a faint smile to the child's face. "They don't know as much as they think."

There was a faint path below them. Xena dropped from her branch to get a closer look at the area around the path.

How long? she asked her little companion in thought.

"Soon. They had stopped to set new traps in the sacred grove."

Xena nodded. So, anyone that goes into the sacred grove becomes another hostage. She held her breath for a moment as she remembered she had told Gabrielle to use that route to get to the cave.

"No harm will come to her, Xena." The little girl shook her head. "Artemis will watch over her."

"She was supposed to be watching over her priestesses too," Xena muttered. "I told her to leave Argo near there." Xena cursed quietly under her breath. She had thought leaving Argo in the forest would be safer than in the city where she may be given something drugged.

"She's a very smart horse," Dorie told Xena thoughtfully.

"Yeah," Xena sighed. Argo could take very good care of herself in the forest; she tried to reassure herself. Hades, Xena. What are you getting yourself all wound up for? You've left Argo out on her own many a time and she's been fine. And Gabrielle can very well take care of herself…right. She also attracts trouble like bees to honey. And Artemis is watching over her, she thought cynically. It takes more than a goddess to keep Gabrielle out of trouble.

Dorie giggled and put a hand over her mouth at the glare from Xena.

A plan started to form in Xena's mind. She began to smear dirt on her face and was about to cover her armor with foliage when an amused little voice stopped her.

"What's that for?" Dorie asked looking at her with wide-eyed interest.

Xena smirked. "I thought I would play an avenging agent for the Muses. Get them riled up a bit. Don't want to be recognized as myself."

The child smiled and opened her palm, slowly moving it in an arc. Xena could feel a tingling in her body and looked at her hands startled.

She looked like some kind of unrecognizable creature from the forest dressed in leaves, vines and…blossoms? In the winter…on her?

Xena glared at the little figure that had a hand over her mouth as if to suppress her giggles. The little one shrugged her shoulders. A noise from behind them along the trail saved Dorie from the glaring blue orbs that pierced through the darkened face.

Xena leaped into a tree and positioned herself on a branch that reached over the trail. She wanted to study her prey for a while. The seven guards were either tired or very clumsy for their feet kept tripping over the roots that crossed their path. Xena studied the cart two of the men were pulling.

No horses.

She dropped behind the cart and took out the two guards quickly, quietly and efficiently. She lifted each body and carried it into the thicker brush of the forest, tucking the bodies under fallen logs and covering them with dead leaves, and leaving itch power on leaves about hip high, all the while smirking. They are going to have an interesting Bacchus reverie. She was back behind the cart that jostled over the many tree roots that were helping slow down their progress immensely. The language from the cursing men pulling the cart was in a strange dialect that she barely made out. She stared into the cart and identified three sleeping figures. By the smell, they hadn't washed in a long time or the cart hadn't been cleaned from other occupants that hadn't used wash water in a long time.

She moved back into the woods, moving ahead and found the advance man, easily disarming him. Whatever he thought he saw it was enough to freeze his movements for a moment. Xena dragged him into the bushes finding a lot of available places to hide a body, and then waited for the other four standing in the center of the path with her sword drawn, its point resting in the ground and her hands cupped over the grip.

On seeing her, foreign voices started yammering, probably because there were four men excitedly yelling in different dialects, not being understood by each other. The two men that were pulling the cart left it and advanced towards Xena with drawn swords, pushing the two in front of them towards her.

"You demon of the forests, we shall slay you and drive you to your demon father!" one of the men shouted in a dialect Xena could understand.

"Uh unn. I don't think so," Xena returned in their language with a smirk. Great camouflage, Dorie.

"You are a demon! You speak in our own tongue! Arrggghhhh!" The man lunged toward her with both hands gripping his curved sword, which he held close to his shoulder ready to swing.

Xena waited for the last moment then stepped to the side pulling her sword up and slicing into a bare spot under his armor, swirling around to catch the other, leaving him headless. The other two, more cautious started to circle her in opposite directions. Xena's eyes glinted in merriment. This is fun.

She leaped into a somersault, twisting her body into a nice slow turn to face the two that ran into each other, as they thought they were charging toward their demon prey. His partner impaled him, though not fatally. Xena waited as the two decided whether to continue their attack or not. She needed one to get away and report to his commander what he had seen. Shake them up and bring a hunting party out to the woods. She decided the one stabbed by his fellow soldier was the one. He wouldn't be able to fight for a while but was alive enough to deliver the message. Without any more thought she whirled into action around the lone man standing. Though he realized he was fighting for his life the struggle was short. He wasn't in shape and was breathing heavily after only a few moments of a flurry of attacks against the elusive Xena. Xena felt a strange detachment as she tossed the dead body into the brush and regarded the remaining one.

The other man pretended to be dead. Xena was laughing to herself. "Take a message to your leaders. From the Muses…in one day…leave the forests and sacred caverns. And… get…. out….of…Crometh!" She leaned very close to the man watching him shudder as he felt her nearness and the pressure of her blade against his throat. "And let the hostages go …without further harm…or none of you shall leave the forests alive." Xena growled in her best imitation of a bad warlord. She laughed a little from the giddiness she was feeling in the pit of her stomach. She raised an eyebrow at her impertinence of naming herself an agent of the Muses. The Muses were one group of goddesses that she didn't have history with. She sighed to herself. Did the means justify the end?

The man passed out. Xena returned to the back of the cart. She easily broke the lock with her sword hilt, knowing just where to hit it. The three women were sitting up staring at her but with no expression on their dirty faces.

"They can walk. Just tell them where to go. They will obey." The child had moved to her side and was showing her excitement by moving from one foot to another and rubbing her hands.

"C'mon out." ," Xena ordered softly. The three filthy bodies moved out, slowly and not with much agility as they nearly fell on their faces getting out of the cart. They waited before her with heads bowed down. The smell alone would have knocked her out if she was locked up in the same space as they were, she thought. The Satyr would easily find them.

Can they see you? Xena asked the child.

"Now, yes. But they don't know what they see. Their minds are dead to anything but commands that tell them what to do."

"Then you can tell them what to do until this condition wears off." Xena instructed the child.

She nodded she understood radiating her happiness at being able to do something.

Xena was glad she had thought to bring her herb pouch and not just a mixture.

Their slow painful progress to the safe cave was interrupted by a golden shadow that greeted her with a wicker. Xena lifted each of the limp figures onto Argo's back, worried at the thinness of their bodies. Their progress was quickened with Argo's assistance.

****

Continued in Part 3.