Xena and Gabrielle had maintained a steady pace throughout the long cool night, sacrificing sleep and relaxation in exchange for reaching the Ambrosia Chamber earlier than expected. Conversation had been on and off, but for the last several hours, only silence was exchanged between the two friends. It wasn't out of anger or acrimony, but simply because there was only so much one could turn into a decent conversation. Besides, Xena thought, less talk means less expended energy ... and that much more our bodies can use in keeping us going. The pair continued their journey and slowly but surely the full moon and chirping crickets were replaced by the dawn of a new day.

     "Looks like Apollo is out and about earlier every day," Gabrielle observed as the sun peeked over the eastern horizon. "It's going to be a splendid day ... ,"

     "I suppose so," Xena agreed noncommittally. Personally, I think it's too early to call it a good day yet, she added silently. I don't ever call anything good until I've had time to reflect on it for a while.

     The two relapsed into a necessary silence. It wasn't long afterwards that the trees grew stunted, the plants smaller and wildlife pretty much nonexistent. A little ways further they came upon the mouth of an eerily familiar looking cave set into an outcropping of limestone rock. Xena and Gabrielle came to a stop and examined their surroundings.

     "It's amazing," Gabrielle commented. She pointed at the land, so lush and vibrant with life nearby -- yet so barren and devoid of life in the cave's immediate vicinity. "Look at how quick the transition from environment to environment was." She snapped her fingers. "Just like that!"

     Xena shook her head. "It's not amazing -- it's downright spooky," she admitted. The warrior princess tied Argo up to an obviously dead and stunted tree. "Let's hurry up ... there's not much here for Argo to keep herself occupied with for long."

     The pair proceeded into the cave and began to experience vivid flashbacks. "I can't climb with a broken arm!" The voice belonged to Autolycus, but he wasn't anywhere in sight. "Ah, Gabrielle. So good to see you ... its about time someone witnessed the birth of a god!" Velasca's ghostly voice, but she, too, was nowhere to be found. "We're too late! She's going to get the ambrosia!" Autolycus again. "Not if I can help it." Gabrielle's/Xena's combined voices together. The sounds of fighting filled the chamber -- grunting, screaming filled the air around the pair as they advanced deeper into the cave, coming nearer and nearer to the Ambrosia Chamber. Then a horrifying scream filled the air. "Nnnnnooooooooo!" It ended with a sickening crunch and absolute silence.

     "Too bad the fall didn't kill Velasca," Gabrielle grumbled. "Then we could have avoided this whole mess."

     "An inch to the right, and the spikes would've impaled her," Xena observed. "We left her for dead -- obviously a mistake on our part, considering the present situation." Her eyes flared briefly into golden, glowing coals.

     Then they were in the Ambrosia Chamber. Xena reached down for the fire rocks she knew were there and slapped them together near the closest burnt out torch. It flared to life, igniting the other torches as well -- and a defense system that hadn't been there the last time.

     "Get down!" Xena screamed. She hit the floor, along with Gabrielle, as a blazing bolt of energy shot out of the wall and bisected the space the pair had occupied only moments before. It slammed into the opposite wall and was absorbed with no apparent effect on the wall. The warrior princess felt a burning sensation, grabbed Gabrielle and rolled out of the way as another beam slammed into the floor -- again without any apparent effect on the floor.

     "We can't keep this up forever," Gabrielle yelled as yet another bolt flashed by. "What are they?"

     "I'm not sure -- but it's not god energy," Xena gasped. "It's too linear -- Hades! It's too powerful to be that!"

     Then, just as suddenly as the attack had started, it came to an abrupt end. Xena and Gabrielle cautiously looked up and saw a tall, regal figure standing before them. The figure kneeled and offered her hands to the women. "Here, let me help you up," a woman's voice said casually.

     Gabrielle accepted the pro-offered hand and climbed to her feet. Xena, not seeing anything better to do, mimicked her friend's actions. It took only a few seconds for the bard to realize who had helped them. "Artemis!" she cried out. "What brings you here?"

     "Now that's a rather ignorant question from the Queen of my people," Artemis scolded lightly. "I'm here ... ,"

     "What was with the attack?!" Xena interrupted harshly. Her disregard for the gods sometimes came through in the most untimely manner. "You damn near killed us!"

     Artemis stared stonily at the warrior princess. "Hmm. I see that the Destroyer of Nations has automatically jumped to the wrong conclusion," the Amazon goddess replied neutrally. "But I'll let it pass -- this time -- because I'm well aware of the stressful environment you're both living in right now."

     "You were saying?" Gabrielle asked, tossing a please-watch-your-tongue look at Xena.

     Artemis clenched her hand into a fist and then opened it. In her palm a large chunk of ambrosia undulated gently. "I believe you were looking for some of this. Now use it to free my people from Bacchus' insanity!"

     Gabrielle accepted the treasure and stuffed it into a small pouch. "But why?" the bard asked, genuinely curious. "I thought that the Olympians didn't care for their mortal followers."

     "That stereotype may well fit most of the Olympians, but not myself," Artemis replied. "I don't try and solve every problem that the Amazons encounter -- if I did so, they would expect me to solve everything for them and never use their minds -- but I will aid them when they're being used against their will by another god."

     "I take it this is one of those situations, then?" Xena interjected.

     Artemis nodded. "This will be the last time I can aid you in the crusade against Bacchus -- I've already helped Ephiny and was punished for that -- so you will have only one shot at him," she explained. Artemis gestured around the chamber and added, "If I were you, don't come back here either. The defense system is a recent add-on crafted by Hephaestus. Besides, the chamber will be shifting soon -- ambrosia must never fall into mortal hands unless it's in tightly controlled circumstances ... like now."

     And then she was gone. "That was quick," Xena commented. The warrior princess retrieved her sword -- and the Ambrosia Chamber began to tremble. "Artemis certainly wasn't exaggerating about this place shifting," Xena called out. "We'd better get out of while we can."

     "No disagreement here," Gabrielle called out. Together they made their way to the chamber's entrance -- and were promptly knocked off their feet by two quick slashes from the butt of a sword. Xena tried to climb to her feet, but the rumbling of the ground was getting worse and all the warrior princess could do was scrabble about on the ground helplessly like a kitten unsure of its own footing.

     The attacker strode into view and hissed angrily at her fallen foes. "Long time no see, Xena," Velasca rumbled sarcastically. She glanced over at Gabrielle, who was in a similar predicament as Xena. "Ah, just where you should be, you stupid little bard!" She laughed insanely. "I look forward to draining you both dry ... hmm, I've always wondered what Baccha blood tastes like!"

     Questanax knew it had to happen eventually. It was only a matter of time before we ran right into a horde of Bacchae responding to our incursions into their territory, the scout leader reflected. That unfortunate encounter had happened not long after daybreak when the woods had literally begun to swarm with hundreds, if not thousands, of the bloodsuckers -- half of whom had been on horseback and the other half on foot. They had overwhelmed Questanax's scout group in a pitched battle that had lasted nearly an hour and had since moved on to a date with the main Macedonian and Greek armies, regaining territory lost to the them the previous day. There were a dozen or so survivors left behind, of course, and Questanax happened to be one of them -- but for how long was the big question.

     The scout groups had pushed out even further ahead of the main army, per orders received during the night. And they had paid a steep price for moving faster than their supply lines could keep up. I can only hope that those orders were genuine, Questanax thought sourly. It's not often you're told to outrun your own supply line ... makes one wonder if we weren't sacrificed on the altar of necessity. He resumed walking toward friendly territory -- his horse had been shot out from under him in the morning battle -- determined to reunite with Zelius' main army and inflict horrendous pain on the Bacchae. Well, if we were, some of the lambs escaped the slaughter and will live to fight another day, he thought.

     "Stay close together!" he called out to his remaining men. "Remember -- we're alone out here and there are no reinforcements coming ... ," at least as far as I'm aware of, " ... so stay alert! In about a candlemark we should be near the front lines." A short pause. "That is, if there is still a front line to speak of."

     There was some grumbling from the men, but it died off as they became lost in their own thoughts. A short period of had passed by uneventfully when Questanax noticed something strange. The birds had been silenced. Along with the numerous insects. He knew from previous experience that this was a sure sign that some Bacchae were nearby -- and so did his men.

     "Brace for an attack!" Questanax shouted, unsheathing his sword. He whirled around to face the territory he and his band had just covered. The ground began to rumble ominously and a small cloud of dust appeared in the distance and quickly grew larger. "They're reinforcements heading for the main battle," he yelled over the rising crescendo of thundering hooves. "That must mean the tide is beginning to turn against them -- again!"

     Shapes began to discern themselves from the all-encompassing dust cloud. Horses. Well over a hundred of them with riders and passengers. And riding on the lead horse were Eribas and Caria. They saw the pitiful little band of mortals ahead of them and Caria motioned curtly to the riders near her. A volley of arrows soared toward the targets.

     Questanax saw the wave of lethal hardware streaking toward him and his men and yelled, "Take cover! They little bloodsucking freaks are using our own tactics against us!" But it was too late for those who had expected only swordplay with the Bacchae -- six men fell as shafts slammed into them. They lay on the ground mortally wounded or just plain dead. A seventh man had the unfortunate luck of having a shaft slam into his eye and poke out the back of his tortured head. He was definitely out of commission.

     Eribas and Caria hissed excitedly and charged forward, followed by a dozen other riders. They quickly dismounted and began to engage the few remaining survivors in hand-to-taloned hand combat. In less than a minute, only Questanax was left standing, his sword arm shattered and his face seared by vicious claw marks. But he still stood, defiant to the very end. May this be your last battlefield, he silently cursed the Bacchae in front of him. Then he bared his teeth in an animalistic grin and charged forward, screaming like a banshee ...

     ... and never felt Eribas' taloned hand as it punched into his belly and ripped his intestines out. She grabbed his head and stuffed his own innards into his open mouth and shoved the now-dead man to the ground. "They always want to go out as a hero," Eribas huffed. "And it never gets them anything but a gruesome death."

     "Will they ever learn?" Caria asked. She crouched next to Questanax's fresh corpse and dipped her taloned hands into his stomach cavity, taking a roundabout way to rip his heart out, which was still futility pumping blood.

     "Probably not," Eribas replied. She wrinkled her nose at Caria's slurping. "Come on -- didn't your parents teach you any table manners?" The slurping continued and Eribas sighed. She motioned at the remaining Bacchae who waited patiently. "Go on ahead. We'll catch up to you in a little bit -- and remember: if we appear to be losing territory, begin carrying out a scorched earth policy!" The Bacchae commanders nodded and quickly resumed their briefly aborted journey to the worst of the fighting.

     Caria finished her disgusting meal and looked up at Eribas. "I'm stuffed. It's your turn to feed now ... don't worry, the blood's still fresh!"

     We really should rejoin our reinforcements, Eribas warred with herself. This may be our land again, but there might be other nasty little surprises left over from this morning's offensive. She surveyed the cluster of dead bodies, all that was now left of Questanax's fabled group. "Okay. But we have to catch up with the others as soon as possible," she told Caria. "Almost all of the Bacchae who have any sort of fighting skills are up at the front battling it out. They will need our guidance." She sat down by Questanax's desiccated corpse and tentatively licked a small trickle of blood that flowed from the corpse's mouth.

     Another hour passed. By this time the two women were gorged with the blood of a dozen dead men. "Perhaps we shouldn't have feasted like that," Caria huffed as she struggled to her feet.

     "Well, it's the first true feast we've had since Macedonia fell to our lord," Eribas shot back lightly. She was helped to her feet by Caria. "Come on. We've got some killing to do."

     They waddled over to their patiently waiting horse -- which was conveniently drugged so it wouldn't flee -- and climbed on it. Another ominous rumble began to fill the air and the ground started to shake slightly as a very familiar sensation filled the meadow.

     "Is there a third wave of reinforcements coming, Eribas?" Caria asked casually. She glanced back and saw a massive dust cloud, one that was easily ten times the size of the previous one. "If there is, why didn't you tell me?"

     Eribas shook her head. "No, there shouldn't be. All of our fighters are up at the front ... ," then she, too, saw the cloud approaching, " ... but maybe I was ... ," the color drained from her pale face, " ... mistaken. No. No, this can't be happening," she began to mewl.

     "What?! What is it?!" Caria asked feverishly. When Eribas lost her cool, it tended to be over something deadly serious. "Are we in some sort of danger?"

     Eribas didn't reply. She merely kicked the stallion hard in an effort to get it to move. In it's drug-induced haze, the horse didn't respond immediately -- and Eribas kicked it again. "Get moving you stupid little ... ," the stallion finally moved, but at a far too slow pace. Eribas hopped off the steed and dragged Caria down with her. "Start running," she instructed her sister-in-arms.

     But it was too late for the two bloodsuckers. Just as they got up to Bacchic speed, the arrows began flying in earnest. Several missed their targets, but the other didn't; by the time it was all said and done, Eribas and Caria looked more like human pin cushions than anything else. Both still lived, although that came to a quick end as a pair of brilliant detonations tore them into scattered shreds of bloody flesh and shattered bone.

     "Nothing like a little target practice, eh?" an archer gloated at his companion as the steed they were riding came to an abrupt halt where Eribas and Caria had met their ends.

     "Try and improve your aim," the rider replied tersely. As he spoke, his mare relieved herself on the piles of ash that had been Eribas and Caria. "Every wasted Dryad arrow is one less we'll have in stock when we begin the liberation of Pella!"

     Another voice interrupted harshly. "Quiet, you two!"

     "Yes, yes, General Zelius," the archer quavered.

     Zelius slapped his horse forward to the front of the troops. "We've got another candlemark or so before we finish our encircling maneuver around the Bacchae," he explained, pointing toward the front. "So let's keep moving! Once we finish off the Bacchae who know how to fight, we can resume our offensive into occupied Macedonia!"

     The mounted troops resumed their march without any further ado. Zelius sat on his horse off to the side, watching his proud army pass by. He was soon joined by Crassius. "I must say, Zelius, that was an excellent tactic," the Athenian said honestly. "Going around the land-based Bacchae by sea and dropping in on them from behind -- they'll never know what hit them once we're finished."

     "Yeah, well, it came with a price," Zelius replied morosely. He looked down at the desiccated corpses of Questanax and his men. Gods! This has to be the tenth group of slaughtered scouts that we've come upon since making our landing, he thought tiredly. "The scouts are the true heroes in this whole messy affair -- they took their suicidal orders without question and succeeded in drawing out the most battle-hardened Bacchae from their fortifications in the villages and towns."

     Crassius couldn't disagree. "Once this war is over, Zelius, they will have a memorial erected especially in their honor -- one separate from the memorial for the others who have and will die," he consoled his counterpart. Crassius shrugged his shoulder. "War is a Hades of an affair ... it always carries a steep price."

     "Isn't that the literally truth," Zelius muttered. "Well, lets keep moving -- I'm sure Arcterious will be more than happy to see us upon our triumphant return."

     "I'm sure he will," Crassius chortled, still seeing in his mind's eye the wide-eyed commander when he was told that he was temporarily in charge of the entire front line. Crassius slapped his horse and quickly caught up with Zelius.

     Neither general knew of the ramifications that would be caused by the deaths of the two seemingly insignificant Bacchae that their archers had taken out. Without Eribas and Caria leading his terrorizing Bacchae horde, and that same horde subsequently hit from behind by an unexpected enemy attack, Bacchus would be left without a majority of his peasant followers. And no choice but to call in the Amazon nation to defend his remaining land.

     Xena didn't mince words. She let loose with her chakram and it neatly sliced Velasca's sword in two. The warrior princess was about to launch another long range attack, but was taken off guard when Velasca dumped her broken sword and lashed out at the nearest target of convenience -- Gabrielle.

     The bard took the full force of Velasca's leg as it connected with her face and sent her literally flying to the edge of the spiked pit -- Gabrielle's eyes went wide as she saw the all too familiar skull of another adventurer leering up at her, empty eye sockets mocking her predicament. Rich red blood sprayed from the bard's split lip, ... thank goodness that's the only damage that berserker did, ... and she pushed herself away the perilous perch.

     "Oh no you don't, Gabrielle," Velasca hissed. She leaped at the bard -- who had just gotten to her feet -- and the two went down together in a tangle of limbs. "It's the end of the line for you!"

     "Xena!" Gabrielle screeched desperately, fending off an assortment of blows. "I could use a little help here ... ," her voice trailed off as Velasca's attacks continued to drain the bard's energy away.

     The warrior princess tried to get to her feet, but another confounded wave rippled the earth beneath her feet and toppled her. "I'm trying ... ," and then she had an idea. She scrabbled her way over to the fire rocks and managed to retrieve them. "Gabrielle, tell Velasca about your little secret -- in fact, give it to her!"

     Little secret? Give it to her? What is she talking about? Gabrielle thought. Then she remembered the ambrosia that Artemis had given her. The bard looked up into Velasca's hate-filled glowing eyes and growled, "Here. You want to keep the Amazons under Bacchus' thumb? Then take this!" She wrenched the pouch from her tunic's pocket and tossed it up into the air.

     "What is it?" Velasca asked, her eyes tracking the pouch as it fell toward her.

     "Ambrosia ... ,"

     With no further ado, Velasca leapt up to grab the suddenly very precious pouch. Without this, the Amazon nation will remain loyal to their lord Bacchus! she thought excitedly. No other thought -- including that of potential immortality -- entered Velasca's mind. She only wanted to retrieve it to keep it from ruining Bacchus' plans.

     Xena smiled coldly. And struck the fire rocks together.

     And Hephaestus' defense system erupted in its full glory. Velasca never knew what hit her as multiple bolts of bluish energy slammed into her body, causing horrendous damage. She fell limply toward the Ambrosia Chamber's floor -- which suddenly jerked to the right, moving the spike-filled pit directly beneath Velasca's falling body. The Amazon tried to scream but was too weak to do anything but close her eyes and accept the inevitable as the deadly spikes pierced her wrist, abdomen and, worse, her back.

     Gabrielle and Xena both winced at the horrifying crunching sound made by Velasca's body as it hit the spikes. The ground continued to ripple and twist, steadily growing worse -- and downright dangerous. Nonetheless, both women managed to get back on their feet quite quickly now that they had time to concentrate. The bard peered over the ledge at Velasca's unmoving body. "The spikes definitely didn't miss this time around," she whispered softly, barely audible above the rumble of the cavern.

     "Good riddance," Xena bit out harshly. She retrieved the ambrosia-filled pouch and handed it to Gabrielle. "She deserved her fate like no one else ever did."

     "But it won't kill her ... she's a Baccha," Gabrielle interjected.

     "We haven't got time to argue -- we have to get out of here," Xena yelled. "If it's any comfort, though, those damn energy bolts probably finished Velasca off. Now let's move it!"

     Gabrielle nodded in mute silence and the two darted for the cave's entrance. But it was too late. The earth leaped up into the air one final time before beginning to shimmer and lose its physical substance. Xena howled helplessly as the energy engulfed her and the bard, advancing up their bodies and leaving only emptiness behind in its wake.

     "NNNOOOoooo ... ," the warrior princess' scream faded into nothingness. Then there was only eternal silence.

     Ephiny and the others came to a stop, marveling at the whitewater that the Thermodon River had become. Boulders jutted up out of the foaming water at increasingly odd angles and in curious arrangements. Some stood alone amid the roaring water while other boulders were clustered together, creating deadly whirlpools of water within their rocky confines. A fine spray of mist hung over the rapids, reflecting a kaleidoscope of colors from the early afternoon sun.

     "It's beautiful, isn't it?" Ephiny asked her companions.

     "Are you sure this is where the ford is?" Thraso asked hesitantly, ignoring Ephiny's question.

     Ephiny huffed. "Unless the river has changed its course since I was last here four moons ago and Mayem's tribe has failed to update the part of the national map they're in charge of -- yes, this is the ford's location." She motioned at a strangely linear row of boulders, each one's top marked in permanent red ochre. "The painted boulders indicate the safest crossing. There's others of course, but ... ,"

     "Ephiny?" Solari interjected.

     "Now what?!" Ephiny asked in exasperation. "Am I allowed to finish a conversation ... ,"

     "The river is beautiful," Solari replied suddenly, a teasing smile on her face.

     Ephiny hesitated, then smiled radiantly. "Why yes, of course!" She clambered off her steed and tied it to a sturdy old oak tree. She motioned for the others to do the same. "Let's settle down and make ourselves comfortable ... I believe this is the place where Xena and our beloved Gabrielle will rejoin us soon."

     "Any idea of how much longer it will be before they get here?" Siri asked.

     The regent queen shrugged. "Soon, I hope," Ephiny said softly. "Since we split up yesterday morning, they should have reached the Ambrosia Chamber by now and should be on their way here. Another day at the most, I imagine."

     A flash lit up the sky, then faded away.

     "What was that?!" Thraso rumbled, suddenly alert to danger -- any danger.

     Another flash. This one more brilliant, almost blinding in its intensity. A rumble of thunder echoed through the air, growing louder by the moment. The ominous rumble died away.

     By this time, even Solari was beginning to get worked up. "What in Hades is going on?" she demanded to no one in particular. "Is there an argument among the gods exploding over our heads?"

     "It can't be the work of Bacchus," Ephiny finally said, staring at the wild countryside beyond the Thermodon River. "The land beyond the river belongs to Thrace -- and the villages we're going to take over in his name."

     "Perhaps it is a sign intended to frighten the rutting inhabitants of those Thracian villages," Thraso offered. When the others looked at her nonplused, she shrugged. "Never say never!"

     Everything suddenly turned brilliant white. The sky. The ground. For an instant, the four Amazons looked like photo negatives -- white where it should have been dark, dark where it should have been white. The brilliance faded away, but was immediately followed by a rolling thunder and then a massive, jagged, bolt of lightning which struck in the hills not far away. The ground heaved upward and the warriors fell to their knees. The entire episode lasted less than a minute, but it seemed like an eternity to Ephiny and the others.

     "Don't ask!" Ephiny said loudly, before the questions could start anew. "I haven't the faintest idea what has just happened ... but we're all going to find out!" She jumped to her feet and purposely strode into the woods, toward the impact site of the lightning.

     Siri rubbed her eyes, still trying to get her vision to return to normal. Solari and Thraso helped their sister to her feet and grinned slightly at her hushed muttering. "We can never have a normal adventure, can we? Oh, no. That would be too easy! No! We're Amazons and deserve to have the wackiest and deadliest of fun, don't we ... ," The trio set off after Ephiny, all the while listening to Siri moan and grumble.

     "NNNOOOoooo ... ," Xena's scream trailed off into silence and she looked sheepishly at Gabrielle. "I, uh, we, uh, seem to have rematerialized," the warrior princess stated unnecessarily. Just to be sure, she felt her body and touched the bard. "Uh huh. We're really here -- where ever here is anyway."

     Gabrielle would have laughed at her friend's situation, but she was too worried at the moment. "Let's get out of here before this thing decides to shift again," she said quickly. "Artemis knows what kind of wrench this has thrown into our plans ... we could be many moons from any territory we're familiar with!"

     Xena nodded her silent approval. Good! She's beginning to get assertive -- that's what I like to see with Gabrielle, the warrior princess thought. The two ran for the entrance to the cave and leaped clear. They landed hard on the bare, lifeless ground outside the cave's mouth and looked back. Nothing happened. The cave remained where it was, and the ground didn't do anything unnatural. Suddenly the pair heard distant voices growing closer.

     "We should be getting close to it ... ,"

     "Can you imagine the size of the crater ... ,"

     "Strange. I don't smell anything burning. Surely a lightning strike would have set some trees on fire ... ,"

     Xena and Gabrielle strained to separate the babble of voices, but failed. They tensed as a group of women emerged from the thick underbrush. In an instant, they locked eyes with the warrior princess and the bard and slipped into a stunned silence. It was broken by Gabrielle, who chirped, "Ephiny! Siri! Solari! Thraso! Long time no see!"

     Ephiny's stunned expression changed to one of utter happiness. "Well, I'll be a centaur's uncle!" she shouted. Ephiny ran up to Gabrielle and swept her up in a bear hug. "We weren't expecting you or Xena for another day! How did you get here so quickly?"

     Gabrielle giggled and disentangled herself from the regent queen. "We got caught in the Ambrosia Chamber when it shifted to a new location ... it's only a coincidence that it ended up where it did."

     "Coincidence, huh?" Ephiny said, raising a questioning eyebrow. "Personally, I'm willing to bet that Artemis guided the Ambrosia Chamber to its location."

     "Believe whatever you may, Ephiny, but the moon goddess cannot help us anymore," Xena interrupted rather harshly. "We're on our own two feet now." The warrior princess stalked past the group of women, exuding a sense of unhappiness and, more subtly, worry.

     "What's with her?" Solari asked under her breath to Gabrielle.

     The bard shrugged. "It's a number of things," she whispered solemnly. "Bacchus, mainly. But also the death, destruction and mayhem he's bringing upon the innocent." Gabrielle smiled reassuringly. "Solari, would you be so kind to retrieve a pouch I left in the Ambrosia Chamber? It contains the ambrosia we need to defeat Bacchus."

     Solari nodded and made her way into the nearby cave opening. She tiptoed along -- not knowing why, but an uneasy feeling overcame her -- and spied the pouch lying on the floor in the actual chamber. She ran over to it and scooped it up ... and heard a long, low moan echoing from the spiked pit. Solari couldn't resist glancing into the death trap -- and froze in horror at the sight contained within.

     Velasca stared back at her. The usurper's blazing golden eyes probed Solari's face and her mouth worked itself open, but no words were audible. Spikes covered in greenish ichor protruded from her body at various points. Solari was finally able to tear her gaze away from Velasca's hypnotic eyes, but not before she began to transform. Solari gritted her teeth as her incisors began to elongate and sharpen and as her skin began to acquire a chalky white color. What's happening to me?! she wondered silently as her fingernails turned inky black and stretched into lethal talons. I thought I was put back in control after Ephiny bit me! Then it hit her. Solari glared down into the pit, where Velasca smiled wanely, her own fangs glistening in the near darkness.

     "It's you, isn't it?!" Solari screamed angrily. She turned and ran from the chamber, not waiting for Velasca's answer. As she neared the cave's entrance, her body began to change back to normal -- but not before giving Solari a good reminder that she, and all of the other Amazons, were still Bacchae at heart, despite Ephiny's actions.

     "Are you all right?" Ephiny asked after Solari returned. "We heard you screaming in there ... ,"

     "It was nothing!" Solari hissed. She shoved the ambrosia into Gabrielle's waiting hands. "Velasca was trying to exert some type of control over me -- but she failed!"

     "Velasca?!" Siri spoke loudly. "She's in the cave?"

     "Yes. She attacked us during our mission to the Ambrosia Chamber," Xena said matter-of-factly. "Her effort to thwart us failed and now she's dying a slow death on some spikes -- I hope we never hear from her again."

     Ephiny could sense the tension in the air around the cave. "Let's get out of here," she commanded. "I think we're all being affected to some degree by Velasca's proximity. Perhaps Bacchus imbued her with some sort of mental suggestive power over every Amazon who'd been turned into a bloodsucker."

     The others nodded their silent agreement and merged back into the forest single file, following Ephiny, Xena and Gabrielle. The Ambrosia Chamber, and its nearly immortal prisoner within, was forgotten.

     Bacchus was nearly beside himself with grief. The death reports had started to trickle in slowly -- a few here, a few there. A squad of his followers wiped out in a small village that was rebelling somewhere near the advancing armies of Greece and Macedonia. Worse, an entire town -- Berhoea -- burned to the ground after its inhabitants had lost an aborted rebellion against the Bacchae. Unfortunately, the victors themselves had been caught in the ensuing flames and everyone had died -- men, women, children and their Bacchae enslavers. The trickle of deaths was quickly beginning to turn into a flood. Dozens of Bacchae dead quickly reached the hundreds and now, the thousands. And Bacchus felt each and every death of his follower. It was pure agony -- but his agony was quickly turning into a peculiar mixture of grief and rage.

     For the fifth time in the last candlemark, the wine god sent a mental feeler out for Eribas and Caria ... and felt nothing. His prized lieutenants -- the best he had in his peasant ranks despite their apparent incompetency at times while on the job -- were gone. Usually I can at the very least sense their presence, if nothing else, Bacchus thought. Now I can't even sense their presence. And they haven't responded to any of my mental summons -- highly unusual for those two. The wine god didn't want to acknowledge what he feared most -- that his lieutenants were dead.

     "Milord ... ," Bacchus' morose thoughts were interrupted by an aide's voice, " ... I have the latest information from the front lines. It doesn't look good and ... ," a hesitant pause, " ... this may be the last report we receive."

     "How bad is it?" the wine god snapped.

     The Baccha ran her pink tongue over her fangs nervously, then dove in and said, "You've already heard about Berhoea being burned to the ground." Bacchus nodded absently. "Well, now we've lost a major stronghold -- Edessa. A walled city with thousands of residents perched on a small river and heavily fortified is now in the hands of Zelius and Crassius. In addition to that ... ,"

     "There's more?!" Bacchus yelped in surprise.

     "Yes, milord, there's more," the aide replied solemnly. "There is no longer a front line ... ,"

     "Yes! I knew Eribas and Caria could do it!" Bacchus shouted triumphantly. "We may have lost a major city, but our enemy's forces have been routed elsewhere!"

     The aide shook her head. "No, milord. Our front line forces were caught between two enemy armies. One moving up from the south and another from the north -- from behind the front lines."

     Bacchus' red face turned slightly paler. "This isn't happening ... ,"

     "We no longer have an army, milord," the aide continued emotionlessly. "Every single woman was killed. Zelius and Crassius sacrificed their own scout groups in order to lure our ground forces from their garrisons and fortifications -- and it worked."

     Bacchus whirled on the aide, intending to take his anger out on her seemingly nonchalant attitude. "You should speak of your fallen comrades in hushed, awed tones!" he shouted. "They died defending you and the other peasant Bacchae who couldn't tell the difference between a plowshare and a sword ... ,"

     "Shut your damn mouth you sniveling illegitimate bastard," the aide said coldly. Bacchus' eyes widened at the words which spilled from her mouth. He watched as she began to grow taller and started to bulk out. A searing white light flashed over her and she was no longer there. In her place stood Zeus himself -- and the king of the Olympian gods stared smugly at his son. "It's all coming down on your little horned head, Bacchus," Zeus spat, his voice like knives. "You've bitten off more than you can chew ... ,"

     "I will not lose!" Bacchus screamed, disoriented by the sudden appearance of his father. "I will win, I will ... ,"

     Zeus' voice cut through the cacophony. "We'll see about that, Bacchus. Because if you lose -- I will destroy you and any other god foolish enough to get in my way. Your little adventures in the mortal world have pulled resources and time away from matters that are of much more importance ... and you on the verge of causing internecine war among the Olympians!" He smiled coldly. "And those are mistakes that I will not forgive."

     Bacchus started to reply, but Zeus was gone in a flash of light. He stared at the empty space that the king of the gods had occupied so pretentiously. "I will persevere against all odds, father. That is a promise," the wine god fumed angrily. "Then we'll see who's on the receiving end of any punishment!"

     Ephiny's little group returned to the clearing by the Thermodon River and immediately set to mixing the ambrosia and Hera's purple dust. The resulting concoction was gelatinous in nature and seemed to have expanded in size and girth. When Gabrielle had started the procedure, it had occupied a small bowl ... but by the time she was finished, it had overflowed and had to be transferred to a bowl three times the size of the original one. The expansive, glowing mixture got some weird looks -- but nothing more.

     "I think this goop is ready to be dumped into the river," Gabrielle announced. "Who wants to have the honors?"

     "Let me," Thraso volunteered. She hefted the enormous bowl up in her arms and staggered over to the river bank. She waded cautiously into the foaming whitewater and began to tip the bowl ... and was promptly impaled by a pair of arrows. Thraso screeched in pain and fell into the shallow rushing water, the bowl's contents immediately dispersing into the water, which coursed down into the heartland of the Amazon nation.

     In a matter of days -- if not sooner -- the nation's water source would contain, for lack of a better word, antibodies against the worst effects of the Baccha infection. Hera's solution that was intended to aid Bacchus was beginning its work, but in a way she never envisioned. Of more immediate concern, though, was Thraso's inert body, which floated near the Thermodon's edge.

     "Thraso!" Ephiny shouted. Without concern for her own safety, the regent queen splashed into the water, quickly followed by Xena and Gabrielle. The trio reached Thraso's body and quickly pulled it back to shore. Solari and Siri immediately set up a rudimentary first aid station and set to work on their sister. They knew she wouldn't die because of her Baccha nature, but the arrows -- which were barbed, they quickly realized -- must hurt like Hades.

     "Who is responsible for this uncalled for attack?!" Gabrielle challenged to the unseen assailants. She winced when she heard Thraso's muffled scream as one of the barbed heads was removed from her shoulder. "Show yourselves!"

     A distant voice replied defiantly. "I was the one who shot your friend!" It belonged to a woman, who slowly slipped into view on the other side of the Thermodon River. She didn't hesitate as she plunged into the river and forded her way across, followed by two other women. "She was attempting to poison our water supply."

     "That's the farthest thing from the ... ," Gabrielle's voice trailed off when she realized that the three sopping wet women who had just clambered out of the river were dressed as Amazons. They also carried Amazon swords slung across their backs and daggers hitched in their utility belts. "Just who are you?" the bard spoke up again. "I wasn't aware of any Amazon tribes beyond the Thermodon River!"

     "That's because there shouldn't be any now," Ephiny answered sternly. She stared into the strange woman's large, luminous green eyes. "The five tribes which used to claim this land were destroyed centuries ago during the time of Hippolyta's great war."

     "That isn't true anymore -- those extinct tribes you speak so reverently of are back," the woman replied. She offered her arm in a warrior's handshake. Despite her reservations, Ephiny accepted the peaceful gesture. "By the way, my name is Tauri. I am the leader of the largest of the reconstituted Amazon tribes of Thrace."

     Gabrielle spoke up heatedly. "If you're all Amazons, then why did you attack us?! Didn't you recognize our clothing and weapons?! It had to be obvious that we're your sisters, for Artemis' sake!"

     Tauri looked suspiciously at the bard. "I thought I saw someone attempting to poison our water supply -- and my natural instinct was to defend our tribes' water supply," she said hesitantly. Then she grew curious and added, "What is your name and rank? Are you the ones that were prophesied to reunite us with the rest of nation?"

     "I am Gabrielle, Queen of the Amazon nation," the bard said tersely. "But what's this business of reuniting you with the other Amazons? According to my sources ... ," Gabrielle glanced at Ephiny, who shrugged, " ... there's supposed to be several nearby villages full of rutting men waiting for the impending Amazon mating cycle."

     Upon hearing Gabrielle's title, Tauri fell to her knees and bowed. Her companions did the same. After an awkward minute, Tauri regained her feet and spoke. "That was the way of things ... until the voice told us to rise up and reclaim our heritage. Which is exactly what we did not too long ago."

     Ephiny's eyes darted over to Xena and the two were thinking the exact same thing. Hundreds of new potential warriors to aid in the war against Bacchus -- all unchanged and who would be willing to kick butt once they learned of the wine god's manipulation of their sisters. Just then the atmosphere was shattered by Thraso's pained cry as the second and, thankfully, final barbed head was removed from her thigh. Before Tauri could be stopped, she was at Thraso's side, attempting to comfort the sister she had attempted to kill less than a candlemark earlier. It didn't take her long to realize that something wasn't right with Thraso or, for that matter, the other newfound Amazons.

     "What's this?" Tauri asked weakly, holding up one of Thraso's arms. The arm had reacquired a chalky white pallor because of the stress caused by Thraso's injuries -- and her fingernails had erupted into lethal, black talons. "This isn't normal ... ," Tauri's voice was rising, " ... on a woman, or anything else for that matter!"

     "Tauri, we're all Bacchae," Xena spoke up. There was finality in her voice. "You know what that means, right?"

     Tauri began to inch slowly away from Thraso. Her movements were mimicked by her companions. Yep. They definitely have an idea of what they're dealing with, Xena thought miserably. I suppose it's about time that someone tells them that we don't bite -- before they vanish back into the underbrush.

     Gabrielle raised her hands. "We've been freed from our bloodlust, though," the bard stated. "We still possess the abilities and physical traits of a Baccha, but we are in control of our personalities. Not our dark side."

     Tauri's group hesitated, but they remained silent. Ephiny saw her chance to convince them that she and the others were no longer mindless Bacchae and joined the conversation. "Think about it. If we had wanted to, we could have bitten all three of you the moment you stepped into our camp -- but we didn't," she cajoled.

     "Then it was all true," Tauri whispered in bleak horror. "Astyanax was telling the truth the entire time -- Bacchus has indeed conquered Macedonia and corrupted my Amazon sisters ... ,"

     "Astyanax?" Ephiny probed. "Who's Astyanax?"

     Tauri blinked. "He claims to be an advance scout sent up here by Zelius to warn the Amazons of an impending invasion by Macedonian and Greek forces that aims to crush Bacchus once and for all and to ... ,"

     Thraso jerked at the mention of Zelius' name, but no one noticed. Their attention was transfixed on Tauri.

     "And what?" Gabrielle asked gently. "What else is there?"

     " ... destroy the Amazon nation for its complicity in aiding Bacchus," Tauri finished gloomily.

     "We were conquered, for Artemis' sake!" Solari spat, breaking her silence. "Hades! We have a poor enough public relations image as it is -- why would we want to stain it further with unnecessary attacks?!"

     "If they want a damn war, then lets give them a licking!" Siri snarled, adding her two bits to the heated conversation. "If they can see the truth, then they don't deserve to live!"

     "Everyone -- shut up!" Ephiny rumbled. Silence fell as the assembled women grew quiet. "This invasion of the Amazon nation itself doesn't sound like something Macedonia would do on its own accord. Am I right, Tauri?"

     Tauri nodded. "It's best to talk to Astyanax himself, but it sounded like the Greeks were the driving force behind the idea to destroy the Amazons -- that's why Zelius sent Astyanax up here to warn us."

     "Zelius was my second," a voice sputtered. Everyone looked at Thraso as she climbed to her feet, the wounds caused by the arrows already nearly healed. "It looks like that chivalrous attitude he always had has manifested itself in the form of Astyanax."

     "How could a woman hold a position of power within the male dominated ranks of Macedonian society?" one of Tauri's lieutenants asked curiously.

     Ephiny smiled sadly. "Let's just say that Thraso had a change of body forced on her by a meddling goddess. She used to be a Pellan general known as Dion."

     Tauri's eyes widened, along with those of her lieutenants, but they remained courteously silent. The trio recognized the name attached to the title and all of its accomplishments, but they knew it wasn't the proper time to bring it up. I'm sure Thraso is still having a somewhat difficult time dealing with her new body -- and to be transformed into a Baccha to boot! Tauri thought. I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy.

     "Let's return to your tribe's main village," Xena suggested. "I'd like to talk to this Astyanax, and I'm sure our other sisters would like that opportunity, too."

     Tauri nodded curtly. "We'd better hurry, though," she commented. "I sentenced him to death for what I thought were his fanciful tales of mighty armies marching toward the Amazon nation. Obviously, I was wrong."

     By the time they reached the village a full moon had risen high into the sky, and a it lit up the night sky into a pale imitation of high noon. Tauri scampered ahead of the group and was the first to enter the village square -- where she saw Astyanax standing on a raised platform, his hands tied behind his back and a swordswoman standing at his side. Her lethal sword was drawn and she was teasing his sweaty, naked body with it. A small crowd of women surrounded the scene, awaiting the moment when Astyanax's heart would be pierced. Several of the women were, at that very moment, carrying the tiny beginnings of life within their wombs -- the end result of their liaison with Astyanax. In nine moon's time, they would give birth to robust newborn daughters ... but it was highly doubtful if the Macedonian scout would still be alive to witness that moment.

     "Although you will die this night, Astyanax, may your soul rejoice in the fact that in nine moon's time, six of our finest warriors will give birth to the daughters that you had a hand in conceiving," a magistrate's voice droned. "Those little girls will eventually -- with the proper training and education -- go far in replacing the five warriors you killed upon your arrival here ... ,"

     Tauri waded into the crowd and they soon parted before her hurried advance. "Cease and desist, immediately!" she called out. "The judgment I passed on this man was hasty and ill-considered." She heard some muttering and saw some angry looks thrown her way, but chose to ignore them. I will not shed anymore innocent blood, Tauri thought defiantly. The ground is already stained too much from previous actions.

     "What made you change your mind?" the magistrate asked, more curious than anything else. "Before you left on your scouting expedition, you explicitly stated that Astyanax had to die."

     Tauri smiled tautly. "During that trip, we had the great fortune to encounter ... ," she turned around to face the crowd and the Ephiny's group, which stood off to the side, " ... Gabrielle, Queen of the Amazon nation, and several of her lieutenants and friends."

     Gabrielle sensed it was time to set the record straight and spoke up. "We were able to corroborate, to a certain degree, the stories that the Macedonian scout, Astyanax, related to you about an advancing Greek and Macedonian army -- and the threat it poses to the Amazon nation." The bard looked over at Thraso, but she remained respectfully silent. "Astyanax apparently is the real thing, my Amazon sisters. His arrival has saved many lives ... although right now it doesn't appear to be that way."

     Tauri nodded at the swordswoman, who quickly slashed the bindings holding Astyanax in place. The scout stumbled forward unsteadily and massaged his wrists. "Retrieve his clothes and send him over to my hut once he's dressed," Tauri commanded. "Our newcomers here want to ask him more questions."

     Astyanax was hustled off, but the crowd -- which had nearly doubled in size since Tauri had arrived -- remained rooted in place. They curiously examined the leather armor and weaponry that Ephiny's group sported and compared it to their own. They found very little difference between themselves and the newcomers, other than the fact that the newcomers looked unusual with their slightly pale skin and peculiar flashes of gold in their eyes.

     Tauri could see what was about to happen and attempted to head it off. "Gabrielle and our other sisters have, unfortunately, been transformed into Bacchae," she explained. The crowd grew visibly nervous and more than one sword was unsheathed. "But they say that they're no longer mindless followers of Bacchus -- they claim to have been freed from their bloodlust!"

     "It's all true," Gabrielle added hastily. "You can see from our actions that we're not your typical Bacchae ... but thousands of other Amazons remain under the full, maddening, effects of their unleashed dark sides."

     "When do we march?!" a strident voice called out. "A foreign army threatens our very existence and our sisters are enslaved to a bloodthirsty god! That is cause enough to take up arms!"

     "Not yet," Tauri interjected. "Let me speak with our guests -- they know more about the current situation than any of us -- and then I'll let you know what we, and our neighboring tribes, can do to aid our Queen Gabrielle!" Tauri walked over to Xena and whispered, "You want to speak with Astyanax, correct?"

     The warrior princess nodded. "Right now. Now that I'm aware of what the Greeks and Macedonians are up to, maybe I can couple that to the original plan and make some fireworks," she explained. "But if we're to do anything, it has to be quickly!"

     "Why?" Tauri asked.

     "Because that goop we dumped into the Thermodon River was a mixture of ambrosia and magical dust provided by Hera," Xena said. "It will enable the Amazon nation to control its bloodlust and regain a large degree of mental independence from Bacchus -- but neither Hera or that horned bastard are aware of that yet. And then there's ... ,"

     " ... the Baccha moon, which is high in the sky right now," Ephiny interrupted, her voice glum. "We don't know what Bacchus' timetable is, but it probably won't be long before he begins to permanently attach the Amazons to his side -- for better or worse -- for all eternity."

     "Don't count on my information being completely accurate," Astyanax said in a no nonsense manner. "It's been a long time since I left Zelius' camps -- and I'm pretty sure he's changed his plans in that time just in case I was caught and interrogated by Bacchus' minions."

     "He's correct, Xena," Thraso added. "When I was still the Pellan general Dion, Zelius was always one of my brightest -- if not overly ambitious -- underlings. The old saying, `He's a chip off the old block,' certainly holds water here, even if Zelius wasn't my son."

     Xena continued to pace back and forth feverishly in front of the blazing fire which kept the lodge warm, plans and plans within plans tumbling around in her mind. Tauri, Ephiny and the others stood off to the side while Astyanax continued to devour the hearty meal in front of him. Mmm. If nothing else, the Amazons sure know how to cook up a splendid meal -- I've never tasted venison like this or, for that matter, this delicious nutbread, the scout thought happily. Maybe they'd be willing to part with the recipe if I ask nicely.

     The warrior princess finally spoke up. "Ephiny, by the time we return to Themiscrya the Amazons will have drunk from the purified water of the Thermodon, right?"

     "Yes. The water flows fast during this time of year," Ephiny replied. "I wouldn't be surprised if half the river has already been changed ... another day or two at the most and the nation should be thinking for itself again."

     "Then this is what we're going to do," Xena said. "When we return to Themiscrya, the three battle groups already gathered there will have to make like the wind for Pella." There was a brief pause as Xena thought of something. "Bacchus will hopefully think that the Amazons are still under his control and have arrived to repel the advancing Greeks and Macedonians. Little will he know that they're really there to destroy him for his actions against the nation -- and to stop the Greek forces before they encounter the Amazon lands which lie northwest of the Macedonian capitol."

     "There will be casualties," Siri said solemnly.

     Xena nodded. "I know. That's why we'll have to drill into our troops that their strength and endurance has been offset by one thing -- the Dryad weaponry that is in the Macedonian and Greek hands," she said. "I wish there was some other way, but the only other option is to wait until the storm arrives at the nation's borders. And that won't do at all ... so we'll fight them to a standstill on Macedonian soil."

     "What about us?" Tauri asked. "What can we do to aid the cause?"

     "Spread your warriors across the nation's lands," Xena replied. "They can serve to reinforce the warriors who will be staying behind to protect the homeland ... because if the war goes badly, we will be fighting for our very survival. And that war will be fought in Amazon territory."

     Tauri indicated her acceptance. "It's not as much as I wanted, but it's the least we can do for our sisters," she said.

     "Then it's settled: we will leave immediately," Xena explained. She looked back at Tauri and added, "Gather your forces and set out after us after the sun has risen. That should be enough time for Mayem's tribe and other nearby Amazon tribes to have ingested the treated water -- they'll be much more understandable and neighborly afterwards."

     Xena left the lodge, followed by Ephiny and the others. Just before Gabrielle was about to leave, she glanced back at Astyanax and offered, "Do you wish to accompany us? I know we're heading in your direction -- south."

     "Thanks, but no thanks," the scout countered amiably. "I've probably made some enemies among the Amazon tribes whose scouts I had to kill on my journey up here. It's probably better for me not to be seen with any Amazon until things have cooled down."

     "You are going home, aren't you?" Gabrielle asked slowly. "You cannot stay here unless specifically invited to do so. And that hasn't happened."

     Astyanax smiled wolfishly. "I have no home to return to -- Bacchus made sure of that -- but I do have a general to inform. Once he's aware of Xena's plans, he will do everything in his power to avoid conflict with the Amazons," the scout said. "He believes in the innocence of your nation, Gabrielle, in spite of what others may think."

     Gabrielle smiled grimly. "That's good to hear," she said. Then she, too, was gone -- and Astyanax was left alone with his thoughts of wreaking vengeance on Bacchus and anyone who tried to stop him.

     The Illyrian port city of Epidamnus was a bustling center of seaborne trade, legal and otherwise, so the unusually large concentration of approaching ships didn't catch the full attention of the harbor security authority. However, the mysterious flotilla didn't completely escape attention as it sailed out of the new day's morning mist.

     Atop the port's lighthouse, a soldier focused his spyglass on the closing ships -- and felt a strange chill moving up his spine. It's nothing, he tried to reassure himself. Just an unexpected spoils shipment from our pirate allies. Nonetheless, he glanced over at his commander, who was keeping a watchful eye on the buxom young slave women had just arrived from the province of Lesbos. "Captain Zoegrub, are you aware of any inbound merchant shipments?" the soldier finally asked.

     "Why?" Zoegrub shot back. He wasn't happy about being disturbed -- gawking at half-naked slave women was a favorite pastime of his.

     "Because there's at least three dozen -- if not more -- ships that will soon be making landfall in our port," the soldier explained. "Look for yourself."

     Zoegrub trained his spyglass on the approaching armada and snorted. "By Hades! You said three dozen ships?! I'm counting at least six -- maybe more -- dozen ships! And, no, they're not merchants ... the only seafaring traders who might travel in groups like that are Phoenicians." He turned his spyglass back on the crowded marketplace below the lighthouse. Damn! Three of the most beautiful slave women were sold while I was looking out to sea! How annoying, Zoegrub thought irritably. He spat, "It's probably one of the pirate groups that Queen Teuta likes to extract bribes from -- Hades, they're always coming and going. Now don't bother me ... I've got better things to watch."

     The soldier sighed and trained his spyglass on the ships again. Many appeared to be drab and featureless and some appeared to have suffered damage in some seaborne battle. Yet others exuded a sense of power and destiny -- one, in particular, lay in the very center of the group. It was the largest and most powerful looking of the ships ... yet there was no overt activity on its decks. The soldier mechanically stoked the blazing fire atop the lighthouse in a way that it sent smoke signals into the atmosphere -- signals that were immediately returned by the outermost ships in the flotilla. Good, the soldier thought. They matched the signals perfectly -- and these pirates look to have had a great time raiding the coasts of Sicily and Rome, judging from the number of captured Roman ships in the flotilla.

     Indeed, the flotilla did contain a great number of Roman ships -- warships, that is. The old rickety vessels in the outer ring of the flotilla were merely the defeated survivors of one of Queen Teuta's favored pirate captains who had been stupid enough to attack an Imperial Roman fleet bound for Illyria. After a predictably short battle, the pirates had been overcome and their ships incorporated into the Roman fleet -- except the pirates were now dead and their vessels crowded to the gills with Roman legions. On the centermost ship, Julius Caesar celebrated his impending victory with the ship's officers and, of course, Brutus.

     "It's a beautiful sight isn't it, Brutus?" Caesar beamed as he observed the well-built city of Epidamnus with its ever-busy harbor. "And it will all belong to Imperial Rome! Soon afterwards, Queen Teuta herself will learn the true power of the Empire -- and that Rome has no mercy for those who oppose her great destiny."

     "I agree completely," Brutus automatically said. The differences in opinion between him and Caesar -- the former wanted to attack all of Greece while the latter didn't -- was still pretty obvious.

     Caesar didn't dwell on it as the admiral in charge of the seaborne invasion came up from belowdecks and stood silently at the emperor's side. "We are in position, Dominus Caesar. The port's authorities accepted our signals and suspect nothing," the admiral intoned. "The second half of our armada has made landfall several miles north of Epidamnus and we can only assume that our ground-based legions have massed successfully on Illyria's borders."

     "Good." Caesar's eyes took on a dangerous glint and he hissed, "Ignite the fire ships and tell our catapults on the outermost sails that they may open fire at will. Inform the men that we'll be going ashore within the candlemark!"

     The attack came without warning. Rings of fire fell from the sky -- launched by the Roman catapults -- and began setting everything ablaze. A shop exploded into flames while the few women remaining in the slave harem were burned alive by another ring of fire. Their horrifying agonized screams, combined with that of hundreds of others, rose above the spreading maelstrom of flames, lending a nightmarish air to the chaotic scene. A few pirate vessels tried to escape, but they were entrapped by the blazing pyres of Roman fire ships and went up in flames themselves. Many a pirate leapt into the water to save their own lives ... only to be devoured by prowling sharks.

     Above it all, Captain Zoegrub and his faithful lieutenant watched it all, knowing that they were already dead. "Do you think Queen Teuta is aware of the situation?" the soldier asked rather lamely.

     "Of course not," Zoegrub grumbled. "If she had been, these attackers would never have gotten close enough to do us any real harm ... ," a shaft suddenly poked into his chest and he plummeted silently from the lighthouse.

     The soldier realized that troops had already started disembarking from the enemy ships. He quickly got several of them in his bow's target sights -- and froze in horror. "Romans. We're being attacked by Romans!" he whispered to himself as he watched at least a dozen armored men crowd the lighthouse's base -- and as they started to climb up. The Illyrian quickly stoked his fire and began to send out another smoke signal ... but he wasn't able to complete it as two bolts from a Roman crossbow slammed into him. He died instantly, his last desperate gesture unfulfilled.

     From afar, other Illyrian soldiers -- who were completely unaware of the disaster befalling Epidamnus -- joked when they saw R-0 in the sky and nothing else. "Ro what?" a nameless hoplite asked. "Row, row, row your boat?!" His companions guffawed at the hoplite's joke, not knowing that their lives would soon come to a bloody end.

     Diana had never seen Themiscrya so crowded in her entire life -- which wasn't good for someone who considered herself to be claustrophobic. Typically home to only a few thousand women, the Amazon nation's capitol now bustled with the activity and hubbub of slightly over eight thousand women. Ever since Ephiny, Xena and the others had left on their expedition to negate the Thracian threat, anticipation had grown among the thousands of Amazon warriors for their triumphant return. They also waited, with a lot less anticipation, for the return of Velasca -- not knowing that the usurper wouldn't be coming back from this mission.

     In her absence, Velasca had put Diana in charge of Themiscrya's affairs. I must say I think I've done a decent job of maintaining order and keeping my sisters busy, Diana thought idly as she walked slowly through the town's bustling center. Indeed, she had kept everyone busy -- and their minds occupied -- by sending out constant hunting expeditions, repairing the infrastructure of Themiscrya and nearby villages and by near constant training of the six thousand warriors who. All of this effort required a nearly steady stream of fresh blood ... fortunately the hunting expeditions led by Sirius, Charm and Gemini had done well, nabbing well over one hundred errant males. The captives had been brought back, but weren't killed. Instead, they were given over to the healer Ordahlia and her staff, who milked a steady flow of blood from the men's veins while keeping them healthy and robust. Needless to say, it was one of the few times where males found themselves actually being treated nicely by the Amazons -- but only because they carried within them the elixir that the bloodthirsty women literally needed to stay cognizant.

     Diana entered the Queen's Lodge and relished the privacy that it offered. But she wasn't in there for more than half a candlemark when a pillar of reddish energy materialized, then faded away to reveal her master, Bacchus, towering over her.

     "What brings your sacred presence here, milord?" Diana asked, not missing a beat.

     "The inevitable has happened," Bacchus replied shortly. "Macedonian and Greek forces have combined together and have struck back. Worse yet, they've reoccupied the southern half of our Macedonian lands and are coming closer and closer to Pella itself."

     Diana grinned wolfishly, her fangs glimmering in the dim light. "When do you want us to hit back?" she asked, anticipating her lord's needs.

     "Immediately, if possible," Bacchus hissed. "Our peasant sisters are being systematically slaughtered ... ,"

     "How?!" Diana interrupted. She felt a pit in her stomach.

     "Dryad weaponry. The Greeks and Macedonians have somehow gotten their hands on it," the wine god said tersely. "Immortality means nothing when confronted with weapons like that -- as our late beloved sisters Eribas and Caria found out -- so I need real warriors. In short ... I want my Amazons to eradicate our enemies once and for all!"

     Diana nodded solemnly. "We will set out to wreak vengeance once the great Xena and her entourage return from their mission to Thrace."

     "It's nice to know that that little problem has finally been taken care of ... ," Bacchus sent a silent thanks to his stepmother Hera, " ... successfully. We may have lost land in Macedonia, but we have gained more in Thrace!" He paused, thinking, Something isn't right here ... what is it? Aloud he asked, "When do you expect them to return?"

     "Three or four days, depending on how long it takes them to purify the nation's water supply once they've conquered the Thracian villages," Diana estimated. "It will probably be a five or six days before we can reach Pella to provide any assistance."

     I can only hope that Pella can hold out that long, Bacchus thought morosely. I've already lost control over Berhoea, Edessa and countless other villages and towns across Macedonia. It was then that he realized what was nagging at him: the absence of Velasca. "Diana, where is Velasca? I thought she was the Queen," the wine god asked.

     "She followed Xena and the others," Diana explained. "I guess she couldn't trust them to complete the mission without screwing up -- she's a perfectionist, you know."

     Bacchus rolled his eyes and said, "How typical of her." He began to dematerialize and the last thing Diana heard from him was, "I'll be expecting your arrival in Pella -- and soon. Because time is of the essence." And then he was gone, the only evidence of his being there a chilly patch of air where he had so arrogantly stood.

     Diana was left to her thoughts only for a moment before a young warrior's voice announced, "Here's the water you requested. I'm sorry for the delay."

     "That's alright," Diana replied soothingly. She took the mug from the outstretched hand and drank deeply from it, thoroughly enjoying its cold crispiness as it slid down her throat.

     Over the next three days, Bacchus watched helplessly as his mortal empire was slowly chipped away by the inexorably advancing armies of Zelius and Crassius. Cities, towns and villages fell like dominos -- and the largest domino of all, Pella, was on the verge of collapse. The Macedonian capitol could sense that it was about to be freed from its nightmarish captivity and began defy Bacchus in little irritating ways -- including blocked streets and a resolute population that no longer felt obliged to offer its blood and services to a tyrant and his bloodsucking followers. They paid a steep price for their irreverence -- especially in body counts and women lost to the siren song of the Bacchae -- but it came with the realization that freedom doesn't come free ... that it often demands the sacrifice of the innocents.

     And if Bacchus was desperate about his crumbling and very short-lived empire, Queen Teuta of the Illyrian province of Greece could no longer be made to care. She was too desperate trying to save her own skin from the advancing Roman legions to even have any time to know what was happening in neighboring Macedonia. As far as she knew, Bacchus still ruled supreme ... and regarded him as a looming threat to Greece. None of that mattered now as she directed what few forces she had left to stall the inevitable -- the occupation of the capitol city, Scodra, and her throne contained within.

     The Romans had struck with such surprise and ferocity that not a single Illyrian soldier was left alive in their wake. Epidamnus had fallen on the first day of the invasion and in the ensuing two days the rest of Illyrian was falling suit to the three-pronged assault -- just now shocked villagers were making their way to inform the rest of Greece about the tragedy that had befallen Illyria. But their stories weren't always met with kindness and understanding ... many were told in no uncertain terms that their province's fate was well-deserved.

     "That's what you get for pissing in Imperial Rome's backyard!" was a common phrase heard by the shell-shocked survivors streaming out of war-torn Illyria.

     Greece was notoriously provincial -- if a disaster took out a neighboring province, it was of no concern to many in neighboring provinces and city states as long as they weren't threatened. And Julius Caesar was playing an astute game of cards ... not a single legionnaire came within a mile of a neutral province or city state. And so Illyria's neighbors didn't feel threatened by the sudden and unexpected Roman presence. And, if truth be known, more than one Greek felt safer with Roman forces nearby because his or her leader was less likely to carry out atrocities against the individual because he or she might scream bloody murder. And if Romans got wind of any dissent in any province or city state bordering their territory -- which Illyria was now -- they would use the flimsiest of excuses to stick their noses into the whole mess. And not a single Greek leader wanted that to happen.

     While all of this was going on, Xena's group was slowly, but steadily, making its way back towards Themiscrya and its burgeoning population of Amazon warriors. Along the way they could see the effects that the purified waters of the Thermodon River was having on the Amazon tribes. They came upon more than one village where tears were being shed and questions asked as for the first time in over a moon, clouded minds had been wiped free of Bacchus' enslavement. Xena and the others tried to salve the conscious' of as many sisters as they could, but they had to get to Themiscrya as quickly as possible. So that duty largely fell to Tauri's warriors, who trailed Xena by a day -- exactly as the warrior princess had prescribed.

     Turmoil churned all across the Greek world ... and the Olympian gods looked on, unwilling to interfere in the mortal affairs of Earth. And it wasn't only Zeus' edict that prevented them from becoming involved -- it was also the rapt attention they gave to the plight that Bacchus was going through. Some snickered, others frowned and yet others -- Zeus in particular -- planned for the inevitable downfall of Bacchus.

     "If only you could comprehend what has happened here, you would be infinitely more appreciative of the role you have played in Roman history," Caesar sneered at the prisoner who lay in chains at his feet. He snapped his fingers and commanded, "Get her on her feet."

     Queen Teuta scowled as she was dragged to an upright position. "You're nothing more than a conquering bastard who picks his lands clean!" she snarled. For that epithet a nearby guard slammed his fist into the woman's face, crushing her nose.

     Caesar's eyes shot daggers at the guard. "That was uncalled for," he said quietly. He motioned subtly and two of the guard's compatriots hustled him from the throne room that had -- up until a few candlemarks ago -- belonged to Queen Teuta. "Please excuse my legionnaire for that unprofessional conduct ... after all, he's from Transalpine Gaul, a rather recent addition to the Empire."

     "I am Queen Teuta, leader of the Greek province of Illyria ... ," Teuta began, but she was abruptly cut off.

     "You are a prisoner in the Roman province of Illyria, in the Roman city of Scodra, in the throne room of a soon-to-be-named Roman legate," Caesar snarled. "You have no rank and of this moment, no name!"

     Teuta tried to speak her name over and over again, but each time a guard smacked her across the face. And this time, Caesar merely sat back -- Brutus at his side -- and smiled like a Cheshire cat. "Your suffering will end, prisoner, anytime you want it too," he taunted. "It's in your hands."

     "I will not give up my identity -- it's all I have left!" the prisoner screamed. Verbally she fought on, but mentally she had already given up. "They will unite against you ... you will pay ... all of Rome will burn ... ,"

     "Such brave words," Caesar said coldly. "I've heard them time and time again from the fallen leaders of peoples conquered and -- in some cases -- eradicated by Rome. And who's going to rescue you? Your fellow Greeks?!" He laughed insidiously. "They're too busy fighting themselves and some Olympian deity to give hoot about a backwater province that dared to step on Rome's toes by harboring pirates who preyed on my people! Besides, I've no intention of showing my hand until I'm damn well ready to ... and by then it will be too late for the rest of Greece."

     Caesar glanced over at three black-clad guards and snorted, "Crucify her. She will be an example to the people of what happens to troublemakers!" Teuta's mindless howls filled the corridor as she was dragged away to her long, lingering fate -- death by crucifixion wasn't quick and painless. In fact, it was often the exact opposite.

     "So falls the first domino," Brutus muttered, just loud enough for Caesar to hear him.

     "That is so true, my friend," Caesar rejoined. "We'll make ourselves at home here for a week or so before heading back to Rome to deal with politics and such. I have to hand it to the former occupant of this room ... she sure knew how to decorate."

     Brutus flashed one of his rare smiles. "This acquisition should be enough to keep Crassus satisfied, shouldn't it?" he asked abruptly.

     Caesar smiled like the predator he was. "Certainly. Once I've claimed the spoils of this province -- half of which originally belonged to Romans anyway -- I'll let my political ally govern this land," the emperor explained. "It's only fair; after all, I gave our most recent addition in Iberia to my other ally, Pompeii, to keep him satisfied."

     Not long afterwards, a cross was raised from the castle's highest point. A forlorn figure hung from it, naked, and sobbed her misery to an unsympathetic sky. There would be no liberation for Illyria. Rome was here to stay.

     Bacchus was angry and, increasingly, tired. For several days now he had been teleporting all over his crumbling empire, attempting to shore up his followers' morality ... only to see it crushed time and time again as enemy soldiers armed with Dryad weaponry and honed fighting skills smashed his peasant Bacchae. Everything's been going down the tubes ever since Eribas and Caria died, the wine god thought as he materialized in Pella's town square. He strode menacingly forward -- and froze in horror. At least a dozen Pellans were ahead of him, doing their damnedest to trample and shatter the revered talismans required for the nearing blood moon ceremonies. No! It took me days to gather the sacred items from the catacombs and get them arranged by myself! Bacchus thought icily. I was going to permanently attach my Amazon and peasant followers to me!

     "What are you bastards doing?!" Bacchus demanded. He dematerialized and reappeared in the very center of chaos and destruction that had so recently been sacred Bacchae land.

     "We're doing what we can to aid our hero, Zelius!" a nameless woman replied mirthlessly. She upturned one of the blood cauldrons on its side and kicked it. The cauldron barely budged, but the woman's symbolism was evident.

     Then it happened. Bacchus went insane. He levitated himself into the air and coruscating bolts of blazing energy leaped from his taloned hands ... and into the bodies of the impudent mortals. The wine god never heard their screams of agony as their bodies shriveled and burned under the continuous barrage of lightning strikes. In less than a minute, they were all dead -- their carbonized remains drifting away in the blowing wind. Bacchus regained a semblance of control over himself and grinned insanely.

     "You all want a fight?!" he challenged Pella's rebellious citizens. "Then I'll give you one! When I'm finished with your miserable little city it will be nothing more than a shell of its former self!"

     The god of wine and revelry rose higher into the darkening sky -- thunderclouds always seemed to gather when an Olympian god was angry -- and vanished from sight. Seconds later, a lightning storm of terrifying dimensions exploded overhead. Massive, savage bolts of shocking energy slammed into the homes and businesses of the terrified city. Fire after fire erupted as the highly flammable straw construction lit up first, which was quickly followed by the ignition of timber and even masonry buildings. Soon near a quarter of the city was ablaze and yet the lightning continued to streak down. After a candlemark, a firestorm of immense proportions was busily engulfing the doomed Macedonian city ... originating in the center and slowly burning outward.

     Suddenly the wind stopped and the lightning ceased. A long heavy rain began pouring from the heavens and the previously uncontrolled fires were quickly contained and, soon after, extinguished. Bacchus reappeared from the sky and alighted in the middle of the destruction caused by his hand. He was weak and trembling -- all of his energy reserves had been used up in his fit of anger -- but grinned maliciously. He sensed that close to a thousand Pellans were now nothing more than carboned caricatures of themselves ... along with about two hundred Bacchae, who had been caught unaware by their lord's temper.

     "You see, I am capable of forgiveness," Bacchus crooned melodiously. "I sent the fire as retribution for your defiance of my rule. Then I sent the rain when I knew most of the troublemakers were dead."

     Although all of Pella heard the god's words, not a single peep was heard from the mortal population -- nor, for that matter, from the remaining Bacchae. Everyone had just seen a startling first hand demonstration of an Olympian god's power ... raw and uncontained. And they feared for their lives -- and very souls.

     It wasn't long after the sun disappeared below the horizon when Xena and Ephiny appeared on the path leading into Themiscrya. Siri and the others brought up the rear as the group entered the strangely silent town. They passed row after row of silent huts and empty lodges -- even the massive communal sleeping quarters and the broad, green swath of the dining commons were empty. Tables sat unoccupied, but the birds sang and the crickets chirped.

     "Where did they all go?" Gabrielle asked. "Where are my sisters ... ,"

     "There," Ephiny said. The bard followed with her eyes where the regent was pointing -- and saw columns of smoke rising into the air. Ephiny spoke again. "The purification huts. Which means they must have drunk from the purified waters of the Thermodon River."

     "Purification huts?" Gabrielle asked. "What are those used for?"

     Xena gazed at her beloved and said, "Just what the name implies. Occupants enter the huts to purify their bodies and souls for any number of reasons ... ,"

     " ... in this case, to absolve themselves of being Bacchae," Ephiny finished grimly.

     Gabrielle broke into a run and after a few moments, found herself in a large open area. A large fire burned in the center of the clearing and it appeared that dozens, if not more, Amazon warriors were dancing rhythmically around the blaze, utterly oblivious to their nakedness. The only thing that adorned their still-pale bodies were swatches of black, white and purple ceremonial paint. And if that wasn't impressive enough, the burning bonfire was surrounded by at least a dozen hastily-constructed purification huts, in which smaller fires were stoked. They were huts in name only, for each structure looked capable of holding between fifty and one hundred women ... and the lines of Amazons snaked around the huts as far as the eye could see.

     "Amazing," Gabrielle breathed. "I've never seen anything like it."

     "That's understandable," a woman's voice interrupted. Gabrielle spun around and watched as Diana emerged from the woods, completely naked. "You probably saw purification huts in all of the Amazon villages you encountered on the journey back from Thrace." she saw the bard nod, and continued, "The nation is guilty by association for the actions that Bacchus has perpetrated against the innocents. We must cleanse our bodies and souls of his evil presence before we can exact justice -- and free those who are still enslaved."

     Ephiny stepped forward and asked, "I take it that all of our sisters have ingested the purified water. Correct?"

     "Yes. It wasn't the change we were expecting -- as Bacchae, anyway," Diana replied solemnly. Her lower lip trembled ever so slightly. "There was a lot of nightmares and crying afterwards when our sisters realized what had happened to them ... that in itself was a purifying experience."

     "But we're all still physically Bacchae -- with its needs and desires," Solari pointed out. She gazed longingly at the huts and sighed. "How can we be purified when we still come out of the huts as Bacchae?"

     "It's the spirit that counts," Xena said firmly. She knew what had to be done before the Amazons could do anything to reclaim their honor. She began to remove her clothing and soon stood in her birthday suit, showing not one iota of embarrassment. "Bacchus' blackness can be driven from our souls permanently by the purification process ... we won't have our physical bodies back until he's dead, but we will have our souls!"

     Gabrielle was next to slip out of her clothing. Then Ephiny followed suit. Thraso, Solari and Siri were the last to remove their black, leather armor. All six women stood resolutely before Diana, awaiting the next step in the purification process. Diana waited patiently ... soon several other Amazons separated themselves from the throng dancing around the bonfire and approached the silent group. Xena and the others were quiet, but the surprise showed on their faces when they recognized who was joining them.

     "Xena, you will accompany Lysara, Erato and Aridne into one of the huts," Diana commanded. "They were among the first Amazons who were corrupted by Bacchus' tools -- namely, you and Gabrielle."

     Next, Diana turned to Gabrielle and bowed. She then straightened and said, "My Queen, you will be accompanied by Urania, Clio, Electra, Sirius, Charm and Gemini."

     Ephiny was next. "My regent, and personal friend, I will accompany you," Diana said. "We will be joined by Solari, Eponin, Thraso and Siri."

     With that, the rather large group of Amazons made their way toward a purification hut and entered it. The opening closed behind them and they began the healing process. They remained ensconced within the structure the entire night, the wails and cries of thousands of other Amazons rising through the atmosphere. They were begging for forgiveness from Artemis for their mistake -- even though technically they weren't guilty of anything other than being subverted against their will -- and for victory in the inevitable campaign against the horned bastard who had corrupted the nation and, in the process, nearly destroyed it.