~ Destiny's Dominion ~
by Power Chakram
dee_jay@shaw.ca

Completed 26th November 1999


Disclaimer

See Part 1.



Chapter Seventy: The River Runs

The streets of Rome had pretty much emptied as the Amazons formed up around their Queen, her champion, the Regent and assorted male friends. They moved hurriedly through the fluttering shadows, caused by the flaring torches that had been lit as darkness fell, drawing the occasional interested glance from working slaves who laboured to rid the pavements of the day's refuse. Moving at a smart pace along the Clivus Pullius and taking a right along the Via Sacra, they followed the long road past, eventually, the coliseum before turning left on the Vicus Tuscus which opened into the Forum Boarium, and from there it was just a short trek to the wharves where Nebula and Autolycus were anxiously awaiting their arrival.

Gabrielle threw one or two anxious looks at the stern countenance of her best friend's features. Her normally striking, bronzed good looks appeared pale and wan in the torch-lit streets, and she was sure that she detected a faint flicker of pain in the tall woman's eyes as she strode wordlessly along. "Xena? Are you alright?" she ventured in a soft whisper that she knew the warrior would hear.

Looking down at the anxious bard's face, she quirked her lips into what she hoped was a reassuring smile, "I'm fine Gabrielle. I just want to put as much distance between us and here as possible." She turned away to hide the flare of pain in her eyes as the wound in her shoulder throbbed with agonising intensity.

Biting her lip, knowing that something was wrong, the young woman tried another direction, "Xena? Did you get hurt in the fighting?"

The warrior sighed deeply. She couldn't lie to her bard, but she knew that her friend would worry about the injuries she'd received, especially the deep wound in her back, "Just a few nicks and scratches, Gabrielle. Nothing that won't keep until we get to the ship and are safely out of here." She could tell that her answer hadn't satisfied the bard, but she was beginning to feel light headed from loss of blood and she couldn't spend any more of her rapidly dwindling strength to convince her friend. "I'm fine Gabrielle," she repeated herself, "Let's just concentrate on getting out of here, huh?"

They were close to their destination now, so the concerned bard accepted her partner's answer, but promised herself that she would attend to all of the wounds that the Warrior Princess had garnered, just as soon as they were safely on the ship. - The others can take care of getting us out of here. She's hurt and she needs attention ... even if she's not ready to admit it. -

When they reached 'Wave Dancer' all was ready to cast off for a swift, darkness shrouded, trip down the Tiber and out into the open sea. Once aboard ship Xena pushed herself through the cluster of Amazons to where Autolycus stood. Without preamble she questioned, "I was told that someone brought some slave children here. Is that true?"

"Hello to you too, Xena," quipped the thief.

"Just answer the question Autolycus," she growled with a flat intensity that warned her temper was on a slow burn.

The King of Thieves swallowed knowing that it wasn't a good idea to get the Warrior Princess riled, and answered, "That healer, Patroclese? Well he brought about fifteen or sixteen kids down here shortly after sundown. He guessed about what was going on and he said you wouldn't leave Rome without them. We've got him and the kids down below. We thought we'd better keep hold of them until you guys turned up and let us know what to do with them. That healer fella wants to head back to Caesar's. Should we turn him loose now?"

The raven haired warrior tiredly shook her head, "No. Caesar would kill him for what he's done and I won't have his blood on my conscience. He's too good a man for that." Now satisfied that the children were safe, she allowed the battle tenseness that had gripped her to relax, and immediately felt the intensified effects of the wounds she'd taken. Her words began to slur slightly as she said to the thief, "Make sure he's kept on board, Autolycus. We'll take him back to Greece and find him some employment worthy of him." She began to sway a little, dizzy from loss of blood, drained by exhaustion and nervous tension. She turned to her criminal friend and smiled a lopsided grin as she said, "It's good to see you again, Autolycus," before she crumpled in a heap into his surprised arms.

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-

Xena missed all the concern that her unheralded collapse caused. Gabrielle had shouted out in alarm as she saw her partner fall, while Autolycus clutched at her to prevent her from hitting the deck. Within heartbeats, Toris had moved to her side and had lifted her carefully into his arms.

"Is there somewhere I can take her to attend to her injuries?" he demanded with calm authority.

Gabrielle gave him an approving look, - He sure has matured through all of this, - she conceded as she patted his back lightly and gave him a grateful look.

"Take her to my cabin," instructed Nebula, "Ephiny can show you the way." The Regent nodded a quick agreement and started for the companionway trailed by Toris, with his precious burden, along with Gabrielle, all the other men and a coterie of Amazons. "Hold it," broke in the pirate, "You can't all go down there, it's far to small. Autolycus, you go get that healer and tell him to come up on deck. Take Curly and Joxer with you .. there's all those kids to entertain and I think the healer's going to be tied up for a while. The rest of you make yourselves useful up here."

"Damn it Nebula, we're not nursemaids," protested Iolaus loudly.

She levelled a steely glare at him, "You are as of now, Curly, someone has to do it," she growled dismissively. "Herc, I'll need your help. I want to get 'Dancer' well away from here as soon as possible."

"Well we can use Iolaus then," the demi-god told her, "You know he's a good sailor."

"True enough," agreed the pirate, rethinking her dispositions as she remembered just how good a sailor that the blonde warrior was. "Alright Curly, you got a reprieve."

"That sucks!" grumbled Joxer, as Autolycus gave him a shove towards the companionway, knowing that they needed to get Patroclese to Xena as fast as possible.

"Sure it does, Master of Morons, but unless you can sail this ship, I guess we get babysitting duties for a while," growled the thief.

As they disappeared below they could hear the coordinated chaos required to get the ship underway. Autolycus led Joxer forward to where Patroclese and the slave children had been lodged in the ship's mess. They found a happy bunch that laughed and played together, free from the restriction of their positions within Caesar's household. The exception to this was Patroclese himself who couldn't stop himself from reflecting upon his likely fate once he returned to Caesar.

Autolycus moved over to the young physician and touched his shoulder lightly to attract his attention, "You're needed in the captain's cabin, Xena got hurt in her escape .. I think they need you to patch her up."

"Damn, can't she ever stay in one piece for more than a day at a time," he muttered getting swiftly to his feet before swearing again, "Damn! I didn't bring any equipment with me."

"Don't worry," Autolycus assured him, "I'm sure the ship has it's own medical supplies. Just go and fix her up .. oh and I think there will probably be a few Amazons and maybe a demi-god and his sidekick to take care of too."

"A demi ... what?!" exclaimed Patroclese in surprise.

The King of Thieves grinned, "Oh, you'll see. Now hurry, they'll be waiting for you." He watched the healer scurry off and then turned back to the room to find half a dozen young children bouncing on Joxer, laughing at his Amazon attire.

"The things I do for lo ... hem," he coughed stopping his soft mutter as he took Patroclese's place in the recently vacated chair.

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-

Toris had carefully laid his sister on the swinging box bed that was suspended from the roof beams of the cabin. Gabrielle had tried to insist that he go back on deck, but now that he'd finally found Xena, there was no way that he was letting her out of his sight until he knew that she was going to be okay, - Mother will kill me if I don't take care of her. She's only just got her back after far too many years of disowning her, and I won't let either of them down again ... ever! -

Gabrielle shook her head as she watched Toris remove himself to the other end of the cabin where he turned his back to give the bard and his sister some privacy. - He is so stubborn! Just like .. like, she is! - She turned back to the warrior and wondered just where to begin. As the entire muscular body was covered with blood it was difficult to decide just what was Xena's and what belonged to the soldiers she had fought.

Sighing, she muttered to herself, "Well, I guess we better strip that clothing off and wash you down so that we can see what the problem is." She turned back to the silent man behind her and asked, "Toris, do you have a knife that I could borrow, and could you then go and get me a bucket of water .. she needs cleaning up so we can find what needs to be fixed."

"Here," said the intense, dark haired man as he handed over his dagger, "I'll be right back."

As Toris headed for the door, Gabrielle began to dextrously cut away the blood soaked garment and peel it from her friend's abused body. When the tall man reached the doorway, it was opened by the blonde healer, who gave Toris a wide eyed nervous look, before hurrying over to the bard, shaking his head at the sight and quietly asked, "What's happened to her this time?"

"Not sure yet," answered Gabrielle continuing with her task. "There was a lot of fighting ... she always heads for the thick of things."

The healer gave her a small reassuring smile, "Don't worry, she's tough .. and she's been hurt far worse in the past."

Gabrielle bit her lip before replying softly, "But how long can she keep recovering from injuries that mortals were never meant to bear?"

Patroclese turned back to the motionless body of his patient and began to wipe away as much blood as he could with the tattered remains of the clothing the warrior had worn, "We really could use some wat ..." he began, but was interrupted by the return of Toris with two buckets full of the requested liquid, along with Iolaus who carried a small chest, that contained the ships medical supplies, and a large bundle of cloth.

"Thought you'd be needing these," he told them as he put his burdens on the cabin table and resolutely averted his eyes from Xena's naked body.

"When I've finished with Xena, you might want me to take a look at that wound you've got," Patroclese told him gesturing to the gash across his stomach.

"This?" he questioned with raised eyebrows, "Nah! It's just a scratch. Cut myself worse shaving."

Patroclese shook his head as he returned to his inspection of Xena's wounds, "Warriors!" he intoned. "I'll check it when I get through here .. you don't want to get it infected."

Iolaus shuffled his feet a bit. "Ummm .. I gotta get up topside. Herc and Nebula need every experienced sailor we've got to get us out of port and away from here before the Romans realise just what's happened."

"But ... but I have to get back on shore. I have to return to Caesar," stumbled Patroclese, suddenly uncertain about being there.

Gabrielle laid a gentle hand on his arm, "Patroclese .. you have patients here. They need your help more than you need to give yourself over for Caesar to punish."

The healer looked at her, his eyes filled with pain and indecision, "But ... I should ... I betrayed his trust." He hung his head in dejection.

"Maybe," agreed the bard knowing that the man wasn't looking for absolution. He needed to work through what he perceived as a failure in himself, and realise that what he had done was for the greater good. "But you're a healer. It's your task to save lives .. not take them. Caesar would have killed those children out of spite. From the seeds of what you see as your betrayal, many lives will flourish .. is that so wrong?" she questioned him.

"Maybe not," he admitted morosely. "I'd do it again .. but I'd always planned on accepting responsibility for my actions. I meant to return to my Lord and beg his mercy."

Gabrielle wanted to tell him that Caesar had no mercy for anyone who crossed him, but she could tell that Patroclese did not believe that. Her hatred of Caesar robbed her of the words she should say and left her with those that she knew would not help Patroclese understand that his leaving was for the best. It was with some surprise, therefore, that she heard Toris speak.

"You know, some say that if you save a persons life that you accept responsibility for them. I'd say there was a whole group of children on this ship that you're responsible for, and who are going to need you .. your familiarity and your leadership .. to get them through the coming time where their whole world changes." Startling blue eyes bored into the healers as the raven haired man asked, "Where are you going to be of more use? With those children, and maybe tending to the sick in Greece, or gracing one of Caesar's crosses in their place?"

Patroclese held the other man's stare for some moments before he swallowed convulsively and dipped his head in acknowledgment of Toris' words, "You could be right," he conceded shakily, "but anyway, for now, I have a patient here who needs me and maybe some more besides her," he finished in a far more certain tone, pushing his concerns to the back of his mind as he concentrated on his patient. He had turned back to helping Gabrielle clean the blood from Xena's body, to reveal the assortment of injuries that she'd collected, when a sudden thought struck him. As he continued to work he asked intently, "You're her brother?"

"That's right .. I am," agreed Toris with a wry smirk.

The healer drew a breath, "You know what I did?"

"Yes," agreed the tall, dark haired reflection of the Warrior Princess.

"Then why do you care what happens to me?" demanded the young physician. He looked up from his task as the other man failed to answer.

Finally Toris replied, "I don't." His eyes flickered to his sister's face, "But she does .. and I've learnt to trust her judgment."

Patroclese bobbed his head in brief, nodded agreement, before returning his full attention to his patient, "Nothing much to show on the front here. She'll need a few of stitches in this one," he indicated a gash on her thigh, " and a couple in that cut over her brow, but other than that it's just nicks and scrapes. Nothing to cause her to pass out at any rate. Let's turn her over and clean up her back."

Where Xena had been laying on the cot, the bedding was heavily stained with fresh blood. Working quickly, Gabrielle and Patroclese cleansed her skin of the congealing mess and revealed a four inch gaping gash that cut deep into back below her left shoulder.

"Artemis!" breathed the bard as she watched blood pumping sluggishly from the wound.

"We need to deal with this quickly," the healer said brusquely. He wadded the bundle of cloth he was using and pressed it firmly over the wound. "Keep pressure on here while I sort through that medical chest and see if it's got the things I need," he ordered Gabrielle who nodded her head placing her hands where he indicated.

Patroclese crossed swiftly to the table where the chest sat, lifted the lid and started sorting through the contents, grunting with surprised approval at what he found there. He uncorked a flask and took a careful sniff, unable to suppress the gasp of amazement as he identified it as a very rare, very expensive, liquid that cleansed and protected wounds far better than the utilitarian vinegar wash that he was more familiar with. He carefully re-corked the flask and laid it with the other supplies he was going to need.

Having made his selections he returned to the cot, aware that the icy blue eyes of Toris had been watching everything he did. It made him a little uncomfortable to be under such close scrutiny, but he didn't detect any hostility from the man, just simple curiosity in what he was doing.

Motioning for Gabrielle to remove the cloth, Patroclese again cleared the area, around the wound of the crimson flow and, taking a long metal probe, began to feel about inside the gash for any debris that might cause infection once the wound was closed. As he worked he felt Xena begin to writhe against the pain and he called urgently to Toris, "Hold her shoulders down, I think that I felt a piece of metal in here."

With Xena firmly held, he began to probe once again and slowly eased out a sharp slither of the sword blade that had caused the damage, along with some tiny shreds of fabric from the garment she'd been wearing and a fresh gout of blood. Gabrielle sponged away the mess allowing Patroclese clear sight of the wound which he continued to inspect and probe until he was certain that all of the loose particles had been removed.

Wiping his sweat beaded brow on his forearm, the healer then reached for the flask and liberally dosed the gash with the liquid inside. The cleansing fluid stung like fire causing Xena, even in her unconscious state to buck like a wounded bull and utter an ear splitting scream. It was only her weakened condition and the full strength of all three of them as they threw their weight onto the warrior's thrashing form, that kept her from doing any more damage to herself.

When the Warrior Princess settled down once more, Patroclese gave a weak grin, "That stuff stings like wildfire, but it's the best cleanser I know of and it should make sure that there'll be no infection. Guess I should have warned you two, though, that it might affect her like that."

Gabrielle scowled a little, "It might have been nice to know before we had to fight her. I kind of like to prepare for something like that."

"Sorry," shrugged the healer. He busied himself with preparing a needle with a piece of thread and proceeded to stitch the wound together with sixteen very neat and precise stitches that pulled the gash closed and stemmed the flow of blood to little more than a very weak trickle.

While the healer was busy with the stitching, Gabrielle took soap and a cloth and carefully washed away all remaining traces of blood from her back, revealing for the first time the livid white lines that cross-hatched it from the floggings she had received whilst in Caesar's hands. A small, sharp intake of breath drew Patroclese' attention away from his sewing, in time to see the look of outrage that flared in the bards eyes and was echoed icily in the warrior's brother's.

Not quite knowing what, if anything, he should say, the healer turned back to his work and offered quietly, "She's lucky .. they should heal without hardly showing at all. Most men I've seen beaten like that had hard raised scars proclaiming their punishment to the world .. that's if they survived the experience. Truly, I've never seen anyone with her ability to heal so fully and quickly."

"I know one other person who does," muttered the bard, thinking of a certain demi-god as she ducked down to rinse out her cloth. But when she didn't elaborate, neither of the men cared to press her.

Patroclese finished with the stitches and dusted the wound liberally with a herb mixture, "I'm going to have to bandage this, it's still seeping a little and I want to keep it clean. I've also got a few stitches to put in on that cut to her leg and I want another look at the one above her brow. However, before we turn her onto her back, I want to clear these soiled blankets off the bed and put fresh linen on."

It was quickly decided that Toris would lift his sister, while Patroclese held a thick pad of cloth to the wound, "Careful," he warned as the bigger man straightened, "Don't break any of those stitches."

While the two men tended to Xena, Gabrielle stripped the ruined bedding off the cot and rummaged around the cabin until she found some replacements in a chest tucked into a corner. She quickly remade the bed, before laying a large piece of sailcloth over it to protect it from soiling whilst they finished their work.

Toris laid his sister back down, and once again Gabrielle used soap and water to finish the cleaning process, whilst Patroclese tended to the lesser wounds. When the stitching was completed, the healer carefully bound the injured shoulder and gashed leg, before they finally settled her, as comfortably as possible, under the sheets and blankets.

The bard allowed a tender smile creep onto her face as she gently brushed some stray wisps of hair out of her friend's eyes, "When are you going to learn to take care of yourself," she whispered too softly for the others to hear.

"I should go and see to anyone else that needs me," Patroclese said as he packed up the medical chest. "If you could help me with these things," he motioned at the chest, cloth and water buckets to Toris, "then I would be grateful. Gabrielle can watch over Xena for a while, and you can perhaps relieve her in a couple of candlemarks so that she can get some rest. It might be a while before Xena rejoins us ... she lost a lot of blood."

Toris nodded his assent and picked up the buckets and the cloth bundle, preceding the healer out of the cabin door and heading topside hoping to see the lights of Rome fading in the distance behind them, for the repairs to Xena had taken well over a couple of candlemarks, he estimated.

As Nebula watched the Warrior Princess being carried below, she asked Hercules, "How much time do we have before we can expect trouble?"

The demi-god waggled his hand from side to side, "Depends on how long Aphrodite's spell lasts," he told her.

"What?" she demanded, then shook her head and said, "Never mind. Tell me when we're out of this gods forsaken city!"

He gave her a rare smile and nodded his agreement moving back to the ships's wheel, while Nebula began to issue the orders that would see 'Wave Dancer' cast off and making it's way down the Tiber away from the city wharves. Hercules watched the competent Amazon crew members as they hauled in the cables that tied them to the dock and swarmed into the rigging to let fall the sail.

As the night breeze stirred life into the canvass, the big man, felt the ship begin to move and signaled the Amazons to use the thick mooring poles to push the vessel away from the wharves and out into the wide current of the river, where there would be enough way on the ship to turn and head down past the port of Ostia, twenty miles away, and out into the open sea.

He watched Iolaus scramble up the ratlines, as agile as a monkey, and guessed that his friend would have a wide smile plastered across his face as he fell back into the familiar routines of shipboard life. They rarely had the chance to spend time at sea and invariably, when they did, memories of their time spent with the Argonauts tended to flood back into their conscious thoughts. Hercules heeled the ship over and soon had the pirate vessel turned and headed away from Rome and back towards home.

"Nicely done," smirked a voice at his shoulder. "I still say you and Curly should give up the hero game and sail with me. There's fun to be had and wealth to be made and not a care in the world to concern you."

"Being crucified as a pirate is something that I would care about," pointed out the big man as he turned the wheel amidships and righted the ship as it gathered speed and sailed gracefully along on the river current.

"Every venture needs a little risk .. it's part of the fun," persisted Nebula. It was an ongoing game.

"Thanks .. but no thanks," returned Hercules firmly. "Sailing with you on the odd occasion is more than enough excitement for a peace loving man like me."

The pirate snorted derisively, "If you're peace loving, I'd hate to find a man who hungered after a fight all the time."

He glanced up at the set of the sails and shifted the wheel slightly, "Well things happen."

"Don't they just," breathed the woman as she moved across to the rail and checked their backwater to make sure that they weren't being followed. "So what now? We've rescued the Amazon Queen and the Warrior Princess, erstwhile Destroyer of Nations, Warlord, pirate and all around homicidal maniac. What happens next?"

"She's no longer those things, Nebula." The demi-god's voice had dropped into a low warning register. "She left those things behind and works for the good of the ordinary people. She has rare abilities and I'm proud to call her my friend."

"Yeah, yeah! I've heard the publicity. I've also heard the Amazons talking about her. Wasn't so long ago that she was looking to kill Gabrielle, was it? Can we really justify our actions in turning her loose on the world again?" she questioned.

Hercules took a deep breath, "As I understand it, the situation was pretty unique. I honestly think that Xena would kill herself before bringing harm to Gabrielle."

"But she didn't, did she?" insisted the pirate. "She just rode into town, busted up the Amazons pretty good and rode out again dragging their queen behind her."

"Nebula, she was under Ares' influence. You may have noticed that she attracts the attentions of the gods almost as much as ...."

"Almost as much as you do," she finished for him quietly. "Why is that Hercules? I mean most mortals run through their humdrum existence bowing to the right altars and never see a god in their life, although they might feel their influence. You I can understand .. family connections and all that. But why do the gods play with her life? What's so special about her?"

Hercules was quiet for so long she didn't think he'd answer her question. Finally he sighed and said quietly, "I don't know, Nebula, and I'm sure that it's something that she wishes didn't happen. But she doesn't have much say in the games that the gods play with her .. far less than I have, and Zeus knows that's little enough. Maybe it's her strength that attracts them. What she's done in these last four years has been amazing. How easy can it have been for her to turn her back on the success that she was .. to face the very people that she once terrorized and offer them protection with little hope of gaining their acceptance or their gratitude?"

There was silence between them as they thought about the enigma of the Warrior Princess. A woman full of contradictions who lived her life by a code of honour that could be harsh and demanding, yet left her able to forge a close clique of diverse friends that would risk everything to help her .. knowing that she would do the same for them without a moments thought.

Nebula finally broke the silence, "How long have you been in love with her?"

The demi-god toyed with replying with a flip answer, but instead settled for the truth, "It seems like forever," he sighed. "But she needs other things in her life. She needs to atone for the past wrongs she's committed, and she feels that it's unfair to saddle other people with her burdens."

"What about Gabrielle?" asked the pirate genuinely interested.

Hercules smiled, "Have you ever tried to say 'no' to Gabrielle? Xena did everything she could to stop the girl from following after her .. short of hog tying her and leaving her. But the little bard has the tenacity of a terrier and the big bad Warrior Princess just couldn't shake her. There's a bond between those two. They share something that lovers never could. They would give anything and everything for the other without thought. It's a rare kind of friendship that. Something to be wondered at .. something to be treasured."

He checked the wind once more before saying politely, but firmly, "Look. All of this is pretty personal. I really don't want to talk about it anymore, okay?"

Nebula nodded her head in tacit agreement, surprised that she had gotten as much out of him as she had. She turned to contemplate the water of the river speeding smartly along under full sails as the wind cooperated with their hurried withdrawal from the seat of the Roman Empire. "We'll be passing the docks at Ostia pretty soon .. you can see the lights just up ahead." she said after some time of quiet. "That's where we'll find trouble if there's any to be found." she warned.

"It's unlikely so soon. We should have at least until dawn before anyone can raise the alarm," replied Hercules with some confidence. "Unless something unforeseen happened back at Graccus' after we left."

Nebula continued to study the fast approaching port and couldn't see any sign of activity on the darkly shadowed ships moored there, "Looks like we might just get away with this," she muttered more to herself than the demi-god.

They slipped past the moorings with the only sounds heard being the distant merriment in some dockside tavern and the light gurgle of 'Wave Dancer's' bow wave as she cut cleanly through the river water. The sea was close now, just past the guard towers at the mouth of the Tiber.

Nebula barked orders to Iolaus and the Amazons to trim the sails to reduce speed as they neared the towers. This part of the river required careful navigation .. especially in the dark, as a large sandbar lay just beneath the water's surface and had been known to foul many unwary vessels.

Taking the wheel from Hercules, the pirate captain carefully noted the placement of the important landmarks, and turned the wheel a little to port to make certain that they gave the tricky obstacle a wide berth. Straightening the wheel, she held the ship firm heading for the river exit intending to pass closer to the watchtower on the left side of the channel. As they approached, they could hear shouting emanating from the tower and saw that torches were springing to life on both sides of the river.

"Have we got trouble?" asked Hercules softly.

Nebula shook her head a little, concentrating on her course, "Once we're past the towers and out into the open sea they'll have trouble trying to catch us. They won't know what route we took .. even though they'll know we're heading back to Greece. It'd be like looking for a needle in a haystack."

Almost level with the watchtowers, they could almost smell freedom and the fresh scents of the Greek countryside, "It'll be good to be home," acknowledged the demi-god, just as the ship ground firmly to a halt!

Chapter Seventy One: Turn About

As the ship stopped moving, a pair of startlingly blue eyes shot open. The traces of disorientation in them cleared rapidly and she stifled a groan as her attempt to sit upright led to a stabbing pain in her shoulder and the interior of the cabin swimming disturbingly! "Hades," she swore sourly as she closed her eyes to the unnatural swirling.

"Mmmm? What? ... Xena are you okay?" questioned a sleep befuddled bard.

The warrior sighed heavily, "Absolutely wonderful, Gabrielle .. but I need to get up."

"Oh no, no, no, no!" retorted the honey blonde wagging a finger in front of her friend's nose. "You've just left most of your blood lying in Rome and there's no way, this side of Greece, that you're getting out of that bed. Right?"

"Gabrielle .." began Xena patiently as she struggled to get herself into a sitting position, fighting back the feeling of nausea and light headedness that she was experiencing.

"No, Xena ... we'll soon be away from Caesar's reach and while we're travelling by ship there's absolutely nothing to stop you from taking it easy and recovering from the whole ordeal." Insisted the bard trying to push her friend, gently but firmly, flat on the bed.

"Gabrielle .." tried the warrior a little more determinedly, resisting the bard's efforts at getting her to lay down and began to throw the bedclothes off as she struggled to get out of the cot.

"Xena, stop that. You'll break open your stitches and start that wound bleeding again. There's nothing urgent that Hercules and Ephiny can't deal with," the bard remonstrated.

"The ship's not moving Gabrielle," growled the warrior as she slapped her friend's hands away and gingerly eased herself out of the bed, holding onto it unsteadily as her world continued to spin. "Something's wrong .. we need to find out what the problem is."

The bard sighed in exasperation, "You get back into bed .. I'll go and find out what's going on," she temporized. She watched the warrior grudgingly sit back on the cot and she was half way to the cabin door when she thought to ask, "How do you know the ship's stopped, anyway?"

The Warrior Princess fixed her friend with a look that said, 'I have many skills', raised an eyebrow at the younger woman and told her smoothly, "I know about these things, Gabrielle. Trust me on this." She tugged one of the blankets around her nakedness as she watched the bard assimilate her words.

"Riiiight!" she drawled out at length. "Wait here .. I'll be right back."

Xena grunted something that could have been taken as assent and waited a good two heartbeats after the door had closed behind the bard, before dragging her protesting frame off of the cot to poke around the cabin in search of something she could wear. - I'll be damned to the lowest pits in Tartarus if I'll lay around .. at least until I'm certain that we're all safely away from Caesar and Rome! -

Teetering carefully over to the table, the raven haired woman caught sight of the chest that Gabrielle had found the fresh linen in. It looked the most likely place to find clothing so, moving with slow careful steps, she soon reached it and a brief search rewarded her a shift that seemed about her size.

Bracing herself, she struggled into the garment, biting her lip at the burning pain that movement of her left arm brought. A feeling of accomplishment set in as she finally settled the shift into place. She leant against the chest to give her head a chance to stop its wild spinning, and chanced to notice the heavy burlap sack that lay mostly hidden beneath the cabin's only chair. It was almost as if the bundle reached out and pulled her, because without conscious thought, she'd moved to the chair and had tugged the awkward sack out into the open.

Fumbling with the knotted neck, she felt a rising of excitement as her superhuman senses told her what she knew could not be within the bag. Finally she had it open and she plunged her hand into the rough darkness of the cloth, closing it around a cool piece of metal that felt so familiar to her touch.

Slowly she drew her hand forth gazing in intent elation at the silver and gold magnificence of her signature weapon. She knew in that moment that if she'd had to leave the weapon in Rome it would have meant abandoning part of herself .. a part that she was not always proud of, but one that she could never have accepted the loss of to Caesar.

She held the chakram up to catch the light of the cabin's lantern. Poor though it was, it was enough to sparkle on the honed edges of the circular metal that seemed to sing with life and power in her hands. It was back where it belonged, in the hand that it was destined to serve. It made her feel whole in some obscure way that she could never hope to articulate.

Laying aside the chakram, and drawing a deep breath, Xena tipped the rest of the contents of the sack onto the floor and allowed her eyes to scan the familiarity of her possessions. Sword, armour, daggers and leathers were all accounted for. She picked up the small breast dagger that she had taken from Gabrielle so long ago and allowed a smile to form as she breathed just one word .. a name, "Autolycus!"

Feeling rejuvenated just from the gift of her returned belongings, Xena shrugged her way into her leathers, returned the breast dagger to its traditional, snug berth and clipped the chakram to her waist before facing the cabin door to confront the return of the bard.

"Xena!" exclaimed the younger woman in exasperation, "You said you'd wait on the bed."

"No. You told me to wait there. I never agreed to anything," she smirked as she collected her boots from beside the bed and returned to the chair where she sat intending to put them on.

Gabrielle watched the warrior struggle with the need to bend and strain her tender back to lace the footwear on, before snorting angrily and moving to help. She batted Xena's hands out of the way and quickly snugged the laces tight on the right boot before tying them off, "You were right about being stopped," she informed the warrior, reaching for the left shoe. "We're at the mouth of the Tiber and ..."

"They've raised the chain to block off the channel," the dark haired woman finished for her. "Yeah, I guessed as much. I doubt that they did it to catch us though .. they won't hear what happened in Rome at least until dawn .. no it's because of the Carthaginians. A large part of their fleet is still at loose out there and the Romans don't want them sailing up to the heart of their city."

"Nebula said something about a chain," admitted the bard. "Just what is that, Xena?"

"It's a form of protection that can be used to control the traffic into and out of a river estuary like the Tiber. There'll be a couple of winches in the watchtowers that are used to raise and lower it when it's thought necessary," the warrior informed her as she pulled on her arm guards and bracers, savouring the feel of her missed accoutrements.

"Can Hercules break it?" questioned the honey blonde.

The raven haired woman thought a moment and then shook her head in the negative, "I doubt it. Chains like these are usually as thick as Herc's legs .. I don't think even he could make an impression on it."

"That explains them getting the boat out then. Nebula, Hercules, Eph, Malonda, Toris and Iolaus are going ashore to try and get things sorted out so that we can get out of here."

"WHAT!" snapped Xena, suddenly agitated.

"They were just leaving as I came back down to tell you what's going on .. why, what's the matter, Xena?"

Xena stood stomping into her boots to settle them. "Damn!" she swore, "What did they do with that brain cell they had between them? .. did they lose it on the way back from Graccus'?" She slipped her boot knives back into their accustomed places and reached for her sword .. although she ignored her heavy armour for the time being.

"Xena? What's wrong?" demanded the bard placing a concerned hand on her friend's arm.

The warrior sighed, "We've just come down from the port in Rome, Gabrielle. If we had official clearance to be leaving, the watch in Ostia would have been notified ready to drop the barrier. Because we were leaving under the cover of darkness without official knowledge, the garrison here is going to assume that we have something to hide and act accordingly."

"Oh," said the bard softly as the full implications of that registered. "So that means ...?"

"Right," breathed Xena in frustration, "As soon as our friends set foot on the docks they're going to be arrested unless they can give a very convincing reason not to be. And because we're stuck out here in the middle of the river under the watch fortifications, we're going to be sitting ducks for their ballista if Hercules or the others resist the guards!"

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-

Hercules, Toris and Iolaus pulled steadily on the skiff's oars, quickly propelling the boat towards the dock steps. No one spoke, they had decided on the ship that their best course was to try and bluff the authorities here at Ostia into lowering the barrier and letting them pass. With that in mind they had chosen their delegation carefully. Nebula went as Captain of the ship and had brought the legal papers with her .. although Hercules was fairly certain that they were clever forgeries given the pirate's past. Ephiny and Malonda went as the dignitaries that would be angry over this impediment to their progress, Hercules, Iolaus and Toris went as ships crew and guards for the three women.

The short journey passed quickly and the three men were soon mounting the steps to be met by the harbour master and about twenty soldiers, many bleary eyed from hastily abandoned sleep. "Papers!" demanded the short, stocky officious little man in charge.

"Captain will be right up with 'em," drawled Hercules soothingly.

The harbour master waited impatiently as first Malonda, followed by Ephiny and lastly Nebula appeared on the dock. "Papers?" he demanded once more.

The tall, dark pirate captain handed over the documentation without a word and did her best to hide in the background. It was unlikely that anyone here would recognise her, but she didn't want to take unnecessary chances, and so had decided to leave the talking to Ephiny. As the harbour master scanned the papers, Nebula could see the Regent getting ready to present their case for right of passage.

"I am Ephiny, Queen of the Amazons," she drew herself up into an arrogant pose, brown eyes sparking with unfeigned annoyance. "By what right do you presume to stop the ship I am travelling on .. I have urgent business to attend to at home."

Royal indignation was usually enough to cause minor officials to quake in their boots. Amazon Royal indignation was enough to make most men quail and cry for their mothers. Marius Gessius was no exception to the rule. His face blanched white as he perceived the anger evident in woman's stance .. and news had filtered down from the city that this woman was Caesar's latest interest. However, the little man was also a stickler for protocol and was determined to take refuge behind the fact that the Amazon's ship had tried to leave the precincts of Rome, under cover of darkness, without the proper notifications from the officials in the city being sent down to Ostia.

Still he was not without some sense of self preservation, and attempted to grovel appropriately whilst sticking to the rules and regulations of his post, "Umm, most gracious majesty, forgive my humble self for my need to follow the dictates of my duty. I would not have stopped such an august personage as yourself if I had but had the required permits from the senate."

Brain whirling the blonde Amazon mentally cursed, - Artemis' arrows! None of us thought about permits! - "Well," considered Ephiny, prepared to act mollified by the petty official, "I'll refrain from making a complaint to Juli ... um I mean Lord Caesar .. if you drop your barrier and let my ship pass immediately."

"I .." the word came out in something of a squeak. The man was clearly petrified at the mere mention of Caesar's name .. especially her corrected use of his first name which intimated the closeness that Gessius had suspected .. however he cleared his throat and continued on gamely, "I'm sorry you majesty .. but I cannot lower the boom until either half a candlemark after dawn, or I get authorisation from the appropriate offices at the senate, or from Lord Caesar himself." A suspicious look suddenly edged onto his face, "Did Lord Caesar send such a permit with you?"

That had Eph groping for something to say, "Um actually .. err he said he was sending it down here by courier. He promised that it would reach here before we did," she defended strongly as her answer sprang to mind.

"Well then all we need to do is wait for the messenger with your clearance and as soon as it arrives we can lower the boom and let you pass," smiled the harbour master happily.

That was not at all what Ephiny had in mind. Waiting for a nonexistent messenger to arrive before the dawn would do nothing to get them away from the Tiber and Roman waters .. it also brought the prospect that a very real messenger with an entirely different sort of message might just arrive before they could leave. The Regent whirled back to Gessius and snapped, "That is not really acceptable, harbour master. I need to get back to my people in all haste. Anything could have happened to that messenger! His horse could have thrown a shoe .. or he may have been attacked by bandits!"

"Majesty!" objected Gessius with seeming shock. "We don't have bandits on Roman highways!"

Ephiny scowled bleakly .. she had no idea how to sway the pompous little man, "I need to consult with my advisor, a moment please." She turned her back on the portly official and signalled Malonda and Nebula to join her close enough to Hercules so that she could hear any advice he had to offer on the situation. In doing so she didn't notice that one of the soldiers had moved forward and had quietly imparted some information to Gessius, whilst throwing quick, excited looks over to where Nebula had waited, partially cloaked in shadow.

Conferring quickly the only thing the group could come up with was to use Ephiny's evident connection to Caesar .. and maybe the hint of a large bribe .. to try and pressure the harbour master into letting them pass. Toris and Iolaus, however, had watched the Romans with growing concern as they saw Gessius give whispered instructions to the soldier he was talking to, before the man edged his way back into the pack of guards and then tried to make an unobtrusive exit from the area.

"Something's going on," growled Toris to the blonde hunter, allowing his hand to drift down to the hilt of his sword.

"It might not be anything," muttered back Iolaus, but his own hand drifted to the comforting leather of his sword hilt in case they were required to fight their way out of an increasingly dangerous looking situation. "Don't doing anything sudden, Toris, wait for the situation to clarify."

Ephiny turned back to Gessius a forced smile on her face, "My dear harbour master," she said, hating the oily tone she was employing, "I have given my pledge to Julius," she used the name deliberately, "to return to his .. hospitality as soon as I can. But I need to make certain arrangements within my territories at home before I can do that. I'm sure you understand. But I have no wish to see you and your men inconvenienced by my needs and the tardiness of a negligent messenger, and so I would be honoured if you would allow me to make a large donation to any appropriate fund you care to name."

Gessius appeared to be a man torn. Like most petty bureaucrats the mention of money could often bring about a change of attitude towards rules and regulations, but he had growing suspicions about this group .. and then there was the news that Regulus had insistently imparted. With a disappointed sigh he told Ephiny, "I'm afraid there's really nothing I can do, your majesty, unfortunately we have no fund of the type you allude to, and I really must apply the rule of my office to this situation." He finished with confident finality.

- His attitude has changed, - Ephiny picked up the difference in tone immediately. - What's happening here? - "I don't think you know who you're dealing with here," she snapped testily. - Oooop! That was a mistake! - she acknowledged to herself as she saw the man stiffen perceptibly.

"Actually I think I do!" He snapped his fingers and his guards presented their weapons, "It seems that you are travelling with a notorious pirate, your highness. Until we can clear this situation up, I think perhaps you should accompany me to my offices." He turned his gaze to Nebula and her 'crew', "In case you should think of resisting, I should advise you that ballista teams have been notified of the situation here and have orders to reduce your ship to so much driftwood at the slightest sign of a problem here. For the good of yourselves, the ship and those still aboard it, I would advise you to surrender."

Chapter Seventy One: Turn About

Continued

Eponin nervously paced the deck in front of the wheel. She hadn't been happy with the decision made by Ephiny and the others to go ashore to try and talk them past their current obstacle, but that was mainly because she had been precluded from going by the neatly stitched gash on her cheek and the bandage that was wound tightly around a couple of cracked ribs; she'd taken a heavy thump from a guards spear butt during the fight to block the door that held the entrance to the pit area. She'd hidden the injury quite well until Eph had ordered her to get the gash stitched, which she'd put off as long as possible, knowing that the Amazon healer, Sheraya would fuss over her ribs, insisting she take bed-rest! Poni hated being forced to rest almost as much as Xena did! So she'd successfully avoided both Ephiny and Sheraya, - Then that damned Roman quack had to go and interfere! - she growled moodily to herself.

When Patroclese had come up from the cabin after completing his treatment of Xena, the first thing he'd seen was Eponin standing rigidly by the mast taking short shallow breaths while trying to hide the grimace of pain on her face. He'd quickly crossed to her side and started to examine her injuries, before the Weapons Master had collected herself enough to slap his attentions away, "Keep your Roman hands off of me!" she growled in a threatening tone.

"You're hurt," he responded, reaching for her once more.

"I'm fine!" she snapped testily, forgetting to keep her voice down.

"What's going on here?" demanded Ephiny who had been attracted to the altercation.

"Nothing," growled Poni, looking for a way to get passed the Regent.

"I suspect she's got some broken ribs and is in some pain," replied Patroclese to a pointed look from the blonde Amazon.

"They're not broken, just cracked," snarled Eponin, then catching the look from Ephiny, muttered, "Big mouth," but whether it was to herself or Patroclese was a moot point.

The upshot of the situation was that she'd been forced to accept medical attention and was banned from accompanying the party that went ashore. However, she had ignored medical advice and Royal orders both, with regard to resting, and now paced anxiously across the deck, nervously trying to figure out what was going on at the dock.

When Xena appeared from below decks, her face thunderously dark complete with a threatening scowl, clothed in her leathers and carrying her weapons, Eponin just knew that trouble was imminent. Stopping her pacing, she saw Gabrielle scrambling to keep up with the warrior as they headed in the Weapon Master's direction, "Problem?" she asked simply, not sure just how Xena was going to react.

'Could be," growled the Warrior Princess as she stalked to the rail and glared across the river to the fitfully lit dock where their friends stood in evident negotiation with the local authorities.

Realising that she was unlikely to get much information out of the uptight warrior, Eponin slid across the deck to Gabrielle's shoulder and whispered, "What's got her leathers in a wad? Shouldn't she be resting and getting her strength back?"

"Like you, you mean!" snapped the bard angry at both women. An anger that was being further fuelled by her concern for their friends on shore.

Neither Eponin nor Gabrielle could see the wry quirk of lips that etched itself into a lopsided grin as the warrior heard the women behind her while maintaining her concentration on what she could see on the docks. She sympathised with the Weapon Master's dislike of 'resting' while recovering from injury - Ares Balls! I have the same problem myself! - she mentally chuckled.

She focused her attention back on the large group on the dock. - Well at least they haven't been arrested straight away, - she brooded. - Eph must be talking up a storm .. we might just get away with this yet. - Her eyes flickered to the watchtower on the harbour side, her ears picking up movement. She concentrated her senses in that direction and saw a brief flicker of light ignite into the steady flame of a torch that was waved back and forth conveying some message. Xena turned her head and saw the wavering flare of a return signal and quickly turned her attention back to the dock where she could see movement taking place. "Damn!" she cursed.

Gabrielle, who had been continuing her debate with Eponin about the total lack of good sense shown by warriors whenever they got injured, noticed the sudden tenseness that became evident in her partner's form just before she swore, "Trouble?" she asked softly, moving to Xena's side.

"And some," came the terse response. "Eph and the others have just been escorted off the dock, and the signalling in the watchtowers suggests that the ballista crews are primed to use us for target practice."

Gabrielle bit her lip as her hand strayed up to the metal collar clasped around her throat. She shut out images of a return to an irate Caesar's hand and swallowed convulsively before asking, "What are we going to do, Xena?"

The warrior turned and looked grimly at her bardic friend, "We're going to get our friends back and get the Hades out of here .. and anyone who stands in my way better be ready for a one way trip on Charon's boat!"

"Xena," Eponin growled in warning, "there's a couple of boats headed in our direction and they're full of Roman soldiers."

"Okay Poni," responded Xena thinking quickly, her mind working through several plans and discarding them before reaching the one she thought had the best chance of working, "Organise the twenty best archers you've got with you and get them up in the rigging and hidden anywhere that the Romans won't easily spot them. Once we get all those soldiers on deck I want them to take them out as quickly and quietly as they can .. make sure that they leave the officer alive, though. I'm sure he has orders to set up a signal to let those ashore know that they're in control."

"Sure thing, Xena," answered the Weapons Master with a wolfish grin.

"Oh, and Poni," the Warrior Princess called as the Amazon started to gather up her warriors.

"Yeah?"

"You're the one that's going to have to greet them when they come on board."

"Me," protested Eponin, "but I thought you or Gabrielle ..."

Xena fingered the slave collar at her neck, "These are rather unique .. and even if the officer didn't recognise it, slaves are hardly going to be in charge here are they? We need to make sure that those men aren't any more on guard than they would normally be in a situation like this .. so you're gonna have to do it. You won't have to say anything, just stand ready .. Gabrielle and I will be right behind you."

Poni nodded her reluctant assent, "'Kay," she agreed, "Just let me get my featherheads organised!"

Turning her attention back to the two approaching craft, the warrior felt the tentative touch of her bard, "Xena?" came the soft enquiry.

Sighing, the Warrior Princess masked herself with a cold demeanor and turned to face her friend, "It's got to be done, Gabrielle. We can't risk either the shore or the watchtowers noticing the fight. If any of them live through this the healers can patch them up .. but we have to make certain that we retain control of the ship and this is the only way that I can guarantee that we'll succeed."

"Are you sure?" questioned the bard tentatively, not liking the idea of the coming slaughter.

"Yes." responded Xena tersely in a cold distant voice.

The young queen swallowed then asked, "What do you want me to do?" in a firm voice.

The warrior allowed some warmth into her face and tone as she replied, "Keep close to me and stay out of trouble."

Gabrielle ventured a half smile, "Don't I always?" and saw her friend's lips quirk in response before she turned her attention back to the approaching vessels.

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-

Claudius Fortunus was not happy with being hauled out of his nice warm bed, and from his nice warm whore, to lead a detachment of thirty men out to a purported pirate ship that had run afoul of the Tiber's boom. - It's not as if the bastards are going anywhere! - he grumbled silently, - There wasn't any need for me to do this right now. It could have waited until dawn at least. -

"Come on you bloody slackers," he growled at the men hauling on the oars. "After all this time of being garrisoned in a port you'd have thought you'd have at least learned how to row a boat."

That got a lot of discontented murmurs from the men who were no more enamoured of being out in a rowboat than the optio was, "Alright, alright. Just put your backs into it!" he snapped, then added, "I heard that this ship is carrying those Amazons we've been hearing about so there's a boatload of women out there just waiting for our Roman charms!" That go a bark of appreciation from the men and made him feel slightly better at the prospect of some fun. He'd heard that Amazon's were a real hot commodity and could make a man's heart beat faster with just a sway of her hips.

Rowing with renewed vigour, Fortunus' men soon reached the 'Wave Dancer's' side and were eager to get on board. The boat lines were quickly tied off and the Optio headed up the sidings followed by his men. As he cleared the railing, his busy eyes swiftly spotted a figure that could only be an Amazon, flanked on either side by two female slaves.

Something about the slaves' demeanor tickled the edges of his mind as his battle instincts warned him that all was not as it should be here. He had almost reached the three women when his instincts for self-preservation screamed at him and he yelled a warning to his men, "It's an ambush! Take cover!"

He was too late!

Xena could see the optio tensing as his sub-conscious was busy trying to tell him that something was very wrong. As the Roman started to shout his warning to his men, the Warrior Princess shouted out "NOW!" and the deck was washed by a swathe of deadly Amazon arrows and the blood of Roman soldiers.

Fortunus fumbled for his sword, but found his wrist enclosed in the crushing grip of the dark haired slave's large, calloused hand. The grip tightened until he was forced to his knees from the pain, and the small slave bustled to remove his weapons. When he had been disarmed the vicious pain that lanced through his captured wrist lessened as the looming slave released her hold.

Terrified, Fortunus rubbed at his wrist and threw a panicked glance around the deck at the fallen corpses and groaning injured that were all that was left of his command, "Wha .. what do you think you're doing?" he demanded shakily, looking at Eponin. "You'll all be executed for daring to attack us ... for killing my men."

Ignoring the Roman, Xena turned to Eponin and ordered tersely, "Get Patroclese and Sheraya to see if they can help any of those soldiers. Treat them and then find somewhere safe to lock them up ... after you strip them of their uniforms." Poni nodded her agreement and headed off to do the Warrior Princess' bidding.

"Just who are you slave?" demanded Fortunus, his brown eyes beginning to show anger as he recover his poise and struggled to come to term with the situation. He flinched as the dark haired slave turned piercingly cold blue eyes on him.

"What signal were you supposed to give to let them know you took control of the ship?" she demanded.

Fortunus scowled, "Go fu ..." his crude retort was cut off by sudden pounding agony as he lost control of his limbs and felt the burning pain of oxygen deprivation course through his body.

Xena's hands had moved so swiftly they had defied the eye, "I've just cut off the flow of blood to your brain. You've got maybe thirty seconds to live. Do yourself a favour and tell me what signal you're supposed to use."

"A lantern at the mast head and on the port and starboard bows," he rushed to give the information, knowing that he didn't want to die .. not here .. not like this.

"What else?" insisted Xena, guessing there was likely something else in case the soldiers were overwhelmed by the 'pirate' crew during the long hours of darkness.

"Port and starboard lanterns are to be swung three times each at the top of each candlemark," he stuttered.

Releasing the 'pinch', the warrior allowed him to take one long shuddering breath before saying to him, "That wasn't so hard, was it?" as she delivered a power driven punch that turned his lights out. She motioned over an Amazon, "You heard that?" she questioned, receiving a nod of agreement. "Get the lanterns set up, then tie him up and lock him somewhere safe .. after you get his clothes."

Leaving the Roman optio to the Amazon's care, Xena crossed over to Gabrielle, who had retreated to the rail of the ship. "What now?" questioned the bard.

"Now we go find Eph and the others," was the calm reply.

Chapter Seventy Two: To The Rescue!

"BOOM, BOOM, BOOM, BOOM!" sounded echoingly through Graccus's house as Flaccus, and the few men he still had in any state to follow orders, attacked the door, that held them prisoned in the pit area, with a heavy wooden bench. "Put your backs into it!" he snarled, infuriated at the course of events.

"Wouldn't it be easier to climb up through the pit, sir, now that all the savages have gone?" asked a sweating soldier.

"It's not worth the risk of being infected with whatever the rest of the men have come down with," barked the centurion angrily.

"I wouldn't mind coming down with some of that," snickered a soldier who realised that his belief that he was far enough away from the officer was mistaken when the vine staff cracked hard across his shoulders.

"You want to explain that comment to the General?" growled the centurion, "My guess is that it would make you a prime candidate for the cross, Deccus! With that slave escaping we're all in the shit and you want to make it worse?"

"Not me sir, no sir! It just kinda slipped out!" replied the soldier hurriedly.

"Well stop the damn slacking and get that door down!" roared Flaccus.

The soldiers resumed their assault on the door with renewed vigour and the concentrated pounding from the bench finally did the desired damage as a crack split the wood of the obstacle. Within moments the split had grown and by throwing all of their weight into the impromptu battering ram, they were finally rewarded with the wooden obstacle sagging open enough for them to force their way through.

"Capullus, Tressis and Finallus search the house and see if you can find any other guards who aren't under the spell of this madness. The rest of you come with me .. we need to get to the General," ordered the centurion.

They moved through the mansion unhindered and Flaccus quickly led them to the doorway of the pit gallery, where they stopped to await further instruction. Within they could see Caesar still bound to the balustrade of the railing that surrounded the pit.

"Flaccus! Get in here and cut me loose!" he demanded. The centurion hesitated and threw a look at the pit where the sounds of a noisy and active orgy emanated. Noticing the glance, Caesar growled, "It's safe now. Just send one of your men in to cut me free."

The senior centurion nodded and barked crisply, "Deccus! Get in there and cut the General free!"

"Me!" squeaked the luckless Deccus.

Flaccus turned on him with a blood chilling glare. "You are really pushing your luck little man," he snarled, "now get in there and follow your orders!"

Swallowing noticeably, the soldier drew his dagger and advanced cautiously towards where his commander sat captive. It was one thing to joke about the chance to join the grunting lovers in the pit of sin, and quite another to be compelled to do so by some spell.

"You! Soldier .. Deccus, isn't it? Get over here now!" ordered Caesar, impatiently.

Caught between a rock and a hard place, Deccus scuttled across the intervening space holding his breath, believing that it he didn't breathe he couldn't be infected if the spell was still operational. Quickly using his knife he sliced through the General's bonds and then dashed for the relative safety of the doorway where the rest of his active unit were standing.

Caesar rose from the ground and, after casting a disgusted look into the pit, he stalked away from it to join Flaccus and his soldiers. Sweeping past them he led the group of seventeen legionaries up into the great hall before rounding on his centurion. "I want them back! All of them! The slaves, the men, and the Amazons .. especially Ephiny!" he roared.

Flaccus remained calm and pointed out, "They'll have been on that ship of theirs candlemarks ago, sir."

"Very true, Flaccus," came the swift reply, with a deadly glint in his eye. "And that ship would have been brought to a stop at the barriers down in Ostia. If the harbour master did his job the ship should still be there until dawn. If we're really lucky he may even have had the sense to arrest whoever they sent ashore to try and negotiate their way out of the river. If the ship isn't there when you get there, I want the harbour master flayed as an example of what dereliction of duty will earn!"

"I haven't enough men here to capture them, sir," he said indicating his remaining few soldiers. "Your slave alone would take far more than this."

Caesar nodded, "Get out to the VII's encampment and get them mobilized. You take the mounted section straight to Ostia and you make sure that the barrier stays up until I can force march the Legion down there to pick up my property and everyone with them. I don't want any of them getting out of Italia alive!"

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-

Hercules was not happy. He'd come to Rome to rescue his friends .. not to wind up in the same predicament! The truth was that he was frustrated. - If it wasn't for those ballista trained on the ship we'd be out of here before they could blink, - he snarled at himself. As it was he, Toris and Iolaus were locked in a cell that smelled of things he'd far rather not think about, while Nebula was locked up in the next one down the dimly lit corridor, and he had absolutely no idea where Ephiny and Malonda had been taken.

"It's no good fretting, buddy," remarked Iolaus from somewhere within the dim, dank cell behind him, "We can't do anything until we know that the ship is safe. I'm sure Xena will work something out and get us out of here."

The big man turned and faced into darkness and leant against the bars of their prison, "I should have seen that something like this would happen," he grumped moodily.

"Hey! You couldn't know that Nebula would be recognised! After all, she's spent all this time in Rome without anyone realising who she was," cajoled the blonde gently, trying to chivvy his friend out of his dark mood.

"I know that," agreed Hercules, "but I should have known that the harbour master wouldn't agree to lowering the chain for us. Our trip into the port was risky at best and definitely foolhardy. Something was bound to go wrong. I should have listened to Eponin and worked out a different way to get us out to sea."

Moving to the demi-god's shoulder, Iolaus stood next to him, leaning back on the bars as well. "Don't worry about it Herc. Knowing Xena she's already worked out a plan to get us out of this." He knew that was the wrong thing to have said when his friend sighed.

"She shouldn't have to. We came here to rescue her, remember ... not for her to get us out of a fix."

The shorter man grinned up at the large, "Fair's fair Herc. We rescue Xena ... she rescues us. No sweat .. we do it all the time, remember?"

"Trouble is," said Toris from the gloomy interior of the cell, "she's in no real condition to be leaping around at the moment. Fact being, she shouldn't be out of bed for at least a couple of days. She lost an awful lot of blood, Iolaus ... and before you say anything, yes I know how fast she heals .. but she's still in no shape to be heading a rescue party."

"She probably won't head it herself," Iolaus objected, drawing immediate looks of disbelief from the others. He tried again, "Look, she'd got Gabrielle, Eponin and Autolycus out there to help her," he pointed out patiently.

"Firstly," said Toris, "Xena won't let Gabrielle go into a dangerous situation without her."

"Secondly," put in Hercules, "Eponin's not in much better condition to be leading a raiding party."

"And thirdly," interjected Iolaus himself in a dejected tone, "Autolycus is ... Autolycus."

"Actually I was going to say that Autolycus might be a good man for the job," quipped Hercules.

"He'd be the right man to come and get us out," agreed Toris moving over into the gloomy light by the bars, "but they'd still need to take out those ballista and get that chain dropped."

"It could be done," Nebula offered from further down the corridor. She'd been listening to the quiet conversation the men were having, "I mean they have all those Amazons out there .. they've gotta be good at that kind of stuff."

"That's not really the issue here," insisted the raven haired man. "The problem is that Xena's going to insist on being part of any attack, and she's really nowhere near fit enough for it."

"Gabrielle will be with her," reassured the demi-god.

"How good is a bard with a stick?" questioned Nebula dismissively.

The three men looked at each other and, surprisingly, it was Toris who spoke, "Don't underestimate Gabrielle," he defended, "She can cause a lot of damage with that stick .. ask Eponin sometime."

"I will," agreed the pirate as she rattled the cell door in frustration, "If we ever get out of here."

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-

- Very comfortable, - Ephiny admitted to herself as she surveyed the room to which she and Malonda had been conducted. The problem was that however well furnished and accommodating the room was, what couldn't be hidden was the fact that it was still a gaol. The Regent moved to the window and looked moodily out towards the river where she could see that their ship had suddenly blossomed lantern lights either side of the bow and at the top of the mast. She ignored the four guards who stood alertly below the window, a counterpart to the four who stood guard on the other side of the locked door.

"What are we going to do, Ephiny?" asked Malonda softly, from where she sat in a padded chair near a small table that bore a flagon of wine, some goblets and a large selection of fruits.

The blonde ran a frustrated hand through her unruly curls and sighed, "We wait. Xena and Eponin will figure something out. We can't risk doing something that's going to get the ship sunk and destroy our only way out of here."

Malonda favoured her with a dour, discontented look, "Both of them were pretty banged up, you know ... and we came here to rescue the great Warrior Princess, not wait for her to come get us."

Ephiny rounded on the head scout, "What's your problem, Loni? This isn't some silly kid's game of who's the best. Xena's saved our butts plenty of times. She's never sought to make anything out of it, but she's been there when we needed her .. so where do you get off with that attitude?"

"Hey look, Eph ... I'm sorry, 'kay? It's just that I get a bit strung out at the thought of our people having to be rescued by anyone. We're Amazons. We're supposed to be strong independent women, but if we keep having to be bailed out of trouble by her what does that make us?"

The Regent allowed a tight grin, "How about lucky that we have Xena to help us?" she questioned adroitly.

"She's not an Amazon, Ephiny," protested Malonda sullenly.

"As good as," retorted the Regent. She looked at the frown on the scout's face, "Look, Loni, Velasca once said that Xena was a true Amazon ... it's about the only thing the two of us ever agreed on. She may not be a part of the Nation in the purest sense, but she has the heart of an Amazon and we should be proud to call her friend .. for Gabrielle's sake, if nothing else."

Malonda could feel Ephiny's close scrutiny as she spoke those last words and sensed a building concern in the Regent over her trustworthiness. She gave an exaggerated sigh and a tight smile as she replied, "Then for the Queen's sake I will endeavour to restrain my hostility towards the ex-Destroyer of Nations."

The Regent continued to give the other woman a long hard look before finally relenting and returned, "You do that, Loni .. you do that."

Silence stretched for some while before Malonda once again broke it with the same question, "So, what are we gonna do?"

"We sit tight and wait." answered Ephiny as she stared into the night towards the ship once again.

The scout got up and joined her, "You know that the Harbour Master has probably sent a fast courier up to Rome to see what's going on, don't you?" The Regent nodded her head in agreement. "Then we can't afford to sit here for too long. We don't know if Caesar's free already and sending out people to find and stop us."

"The thought had crossed my mind," retorted the blonde dryly.

Malonda gave another sigh. "So if we're just gonna sit here, what do you think that Ep and the big bad warlord are gonna do?"

"Cut it out, Loni," admonished Ephiny tiredly.

"Sorry," came the contrite apology.

"If I were Xena, I'd be planning a way to take out the ballista, drop the barrier and find us."

"Think they can do it?" questioned the scout speculatively, as she squinted out into the darkness.

The Regent shrugged, "I wouldn't bet against it," she smiled.

Xena surveyed her troops. There were three groups all with different tasks to perform. The first group, in a way, had the hardest task to execute. At the head of an eight woman Amazon squad, dressed in the best of the uniforms taken from Fortunus' men, was Autolycus, attired in the optio's uniform and looking grim. She shook her head over his objections. In a way she knew he was right.

**********

When the sharp slaughter had ended, Patroclese and Sheraya had moved among the dead and dying offering aid where they could. Once the Roman officer had been taken away to be locked in the ship's hold, Xena had sent for Autolycus to outline her plan to him.

"I want you to take a group of Amazons, disguised as Romans and find out where they've put Hercules and the others," she explained with an authoritarian note in her voice.

The thief didn't even hesitate before objecting to her orders, "I work best alone Xena. I can slip in there and find out where they are, probably get them out too, with less trouble and far less danger than if I cart a bunch of warriors along with me!"

"Not this time Autolycus," came the gruff reply.

Not willing to concede the point the King of Thieves persisted, "Be reasonable Xena. I can't take a bunch of feather brained women along with me. I need to slip in and out of places and having a whole lot of other people with me is not going to make things any easier."

"It will if you do what I say. With you and the Amazons dressed in Roman armour, you'll be able to gain access to the dungeons on the pretext of taking their prisoners to see whoever's in charge ... almost certainly the harbour master," the warrior insisted.

"See," pointed out Autolycus excitedly, "We don't even know who's in charge over there .. not with any certainty at least," he objected.

"I have faith in your ability to uncover the relevant information, and adjust to the demands of necessity as required." Xena assured him smugly.

"What am I supposed to do with those ... Amazons! while I'm doing that!" snapped the thief in frustration.

"I have faith in your ability to figure that out too," her voice growled, eyes beginning to blaze with the icy anger that sparked when her patience was being tested.

"But Xena!" complained Autolycus, not yet ready to concede her victory.

"Get off it, Autolycus," her voice dropped to it's lowest register in an intimidating growl. "You need backup in case any rough stuff breaks out or something unforseen happens .. so just accept it so I can get on with organising the attack. With luck, what the rest of us will be doing should draw attention away from you." She watched him open his mouth as if to argue the point further, before he quickly closed it at the predatory look in her eyes. "Get yourself into that officers uniform," she told him brusquely, satisfied that he wasn't going to dispute her orders further, "I'll talk to you before you set off."

"Yeah .. great .. thanks a bunch!" he muttered as she threw the clothing at him.

**********

- That had been relatively easy, - she had almost smiled at the thought, - compared to what had come next! -

**********

Having got Autolycus' grudging agreement to participate in his part of the planned rescue, she need to work out just how they were going to remove the threat of the ballista and get the chain boom dropped so that they could sail the ship out of the danger that would threaten them from all sides come the morning.

She snagged Eponin's arms and instructed tersely, "Sort out your steadiest eight warriors and get them to pick through the Roman uniforms for the ones that fit best and aren't to covered in blood. They'll be going with Autolycus when he goes after Eph and the others."

The Weapons Master nodded and went about the task with quiet competence, leaving Xena to be ambushed by a concerned Gabrielle, "You're not fit enough for fighting yet," the bard had warned.

"I'm fine Gabrielle," she had replied tightly, "I heal fast, remember?"

The younger woman planted herself in front of her friend and gripped her arms firmly, "I remember," she said heatedly, "I also remember how you collapsed on the deck, due to loss of blood, the moment we set foot on this ship. You've got a nasty wound in your back and a stubborn ego the size of Mount Olympus! But however fast you heal," she poked Xena in the abdomen, "you haven't had time to replace all that blood yet. So do us both a favour and let the Amazons take care of the ballista, please."

The warrior gave her friend a hard look, "Like I said, I'm fine Gabrielle .. now move out of my way, please. I haven't got time for this."

"No!" answered the bard stubbornly.

"Gabrielle!" came the low warning growl.

"Not until you promise me to stay on the ship."

"Fine!" came the curt reply.

The Amazon Queen looked at the dark warrior in disbelief. Xena never gave in that easily, "It's the rig ...." she began, only to be cut off in mid-sentence as the Warrior Princess casually lifted her friend out of her path and proceeded to head across the deck to the prow, where she could study the two imposing targets that needed to be neutralized.

Her parting words to the dumbstruck bard drifted back, "I said I was fine, Gabrielle."

**********

Xena chuckled mirthlessly to herself, - It was a good job she couldn't see my face, - she thought. - Just exerting the strength and energy needed to lift her left me sweating and unsteady. I had to stand up at the prow and pretend to be examining the watchtowers, so that I could lean on the damned rail .. or she'd have known for sure just how weak I still am, as it was she made a pretty damn accurate guess. -

**********

She'd had to pull herself together when Eponin approached her, trailing the bard in her wake, "We need two groups of fifteen Amazons, Ep," she'd said coldly, drawing on her warlord persona like a well worn glove. "The group that comes with me is going to need to be made up of strong swimmers. You can take the other group in the second rowboat."

"Xena ...." Gabrielle tried to cut in.

Ignoring the plea in her friends voice, the warrior continued with her instructions, "We need to take out the ballista to make certain that the ship is protected from attack. If we move quickly, the Romans won't have time to put up much of a fight or raise an alarm."

"What about the chain?" asked the Weapons Master, knowing that disabling the ballista was only a temporary measure .. they needed to get rid of the boom so that they'd be able to set sail.

"You concentrate on the ballista .. I'll deal with the chain. Now go get the attack parties ready. We need to get this show on the road, or at least on the river!"

Eponin, nodded her agreement, gave a slight grin at the attempt at levity and headed off to select the most able of her warriors for the coming mission.

**********

She was aware of the bard's silent .. disapproving .. presence then, just as she was now. She had no way of explaining to Gabrielle how much she needed to be involved in this ... how she needed to prove to herself that she was more than just Caesar's animal .. his pet .. his creation! But she couldn't find the words that would allow her to express all of the doubts that had assaulted her since she had been in captivity. She needed to be involved in something that reinforced the meaning in her life .. she needed to strike a blow against Caesar, even if it was only this token gesture of finally regaining her freedom at her own hand, whilst helping the friends who had aided her.

**********

"I want you to stay on the ship," she had told the bard tonelessly.

"No way!" came the anticipated response. "If you're going, I'm coming too!"

"I need someone here to keep an eye on things here. You're a staff fighter .. you're not cut out for the raiding party," she continued in her calm logical tone, refusing to look at the honey blonde woman, knowing the anger and hurt that she would see in the green eyes of her friend.

"Xena look at me!" the bard had demanded waiting several heartbeats before repeating her demand when the warrior didn't move, "Xena, turn around and look at me!"

Reluctantly the big warrior turned and leant back on the deck railings. She looked anywhere but into the face of the shorter woman, knowing that if she did, all her determination would be blown away by a pair of stubborn green eyes. Gabrielle was no longer a naive young woman that she could easily order around .. - Well scratch that thought .. she's never been EASY to order around. It just used to be easier to find excuses that she'd accept. - Now the young woman had grown into a self-assured individual who could rely upon herself in dangerous situations. She was a bard, the Amazon Queen and a warrior in her own right. She also knew all of Xena's weak spots.

"Look at me, Xena," the bard repeated in a softer tone, drawing the warrior's reluctant eyes to her. As Gabrielle searched her friends face, she could see the doubt and uncertainty mixed with the rage and pain. She knew this woman almost better than she knew herself, her moods, her brooding, her anger .. yet seldom did she ever see the self doubt that was evident in those deep cerulean eyes. "You need to do this." It was a statement rather than a question, but Xena bobbed her head slightly in agreement anyway. "The I need to go with you .. where you go, I go .. remember?"

It was pointless arguing. Gabrielle would win this one in the end .. they both knew it. It didn't make the warrior happy that the bard would be part of the attack .. nor did it make the bard happy that the warrior would be exerting herself before she was recovered enough to do so .. it was a compromise of sorts.

"Don't think you fooled me when you lifted me up," Gabrielle said finally to break the silence. "I saw that stagger as you headed up here."

"Did not," retorted Xena almost gently, allowing her friend's gentle chiding to break through the high walls of her fears.

"You were trembling."

"I was cold"

"What about the sweating?"

"It wasn't much,"

"Ah ha! I knew you were still suffering from the effects of that wound," crowed the bard as if she had won a major point.

Silence settled between them for a drift of long moments before Eponin had called and told them all was ready. Both women straightened knowing that they needed to prepare for the coming assault. While Xena had told the Weapons Master just what she wanted her to do, Gabrielle began to remove her boots in preparation for the swim.

"Take your fifteen, Poni and the second rowing boat and head across to the far watch tower," ordered Xena, "Give it until the moon is about halfway to the horizon, then start your attack. We should all be in position by then and hopefully things will go off without a hitch."

"What about you ... how you gonna get to that other tower if Autolycus is taking the other boat?" demanded the Weapons Master although she already knew the answer to that question and couldn't think of another viable option.

"Swim," said Xena shortly. "That's why I wanted your best swimmers."

"Look, why don't you take the boat?" pressed Eponin knowing that Xena's wound shouldn't get wet, and that she was far from being up to full strength.

"Two reasons," the warrior told her calmly, "Firstly you have twice as far to go .. secondly, and more importantly, you swim almost as well as a rock!"

"I resemble that remark!" grinned back the Amazon. "Still ...."

"Don't worry at it, Ep. The tide's running out and there's a strong current that sweeps around to the point that watchtower stands on. It's just a case of keeping our heads above water and letting the current doing the work." Xena explained. "Now we need to get moving if we want to pull this off."

**********

She stood at the railing watching Autolycus' crew pull quietly for the harbour. They needed to find a quiet place to land and then work their way through the port to the prison to release their companions as quietly and unobtrusively as possible. Even under the pale light of a waning moon, the rowboat was difficult to detect as it headed for the shore.

Gabrielle finished unlacing her boots for her .. she was still having trouble bending over, feeling dizzy against the strain of the wound. She kicked them off and checked her weapons. The chakram was clipped comfortingly to her hip. She'd elected to take her sword, figuring that she'd carry it okay in it's sheath on her back. She had her breast dagger, but the ones that she kept in her boots would have to remain on board .. as would her armour. She'd wear her leathers, but the brass armour would be far too heavy from this expedition.

"Ready?" asked Gabrielle by her side.

"You sure your wouldn't stay on the ship?"

"Xena!"

"Okay, I know ... Joxer and Patroclese will keep an eye on things here with the rest of the Amazon guards," she sighed. Turning her attention to the Weapons Master she instructed, "Time to go, Ep! Take care, huh? I don't want to have to come and rescue you."

"Artemis protect me!" grinned the Amazon, "I wouldn't want that either!"

"Get out of here," grinned back the Warrior Princess, "and make sure you keep it quiet."

They watched as Eponin and her selected Amazons slipped over the side to their boat and pushed off from the ship, quietly synchronizing their oars as they pulled for the far watchtower.

Once they were on their way, Xena turned to observe her troops. All were stripped down to essential clothing and most only carried knives, though four did elect to take swords strapped to their backs as Xena had. She'd told then to drift with the current and to assemble quietly under the watch tower. She wanted the ballista disabled as quickly as possible, which she was going to leave in their hands to do .. while she and Gabrielle went after the chain mechanism.

With nothing else to be said the large group of women slipped over the ships rail and let themselves down slowly into the surprisingly warm waters of the Tiber.

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-

They'd moored the boat at a little used slipway and had mounted the slippery steps to emerge in a foul smelling alleyway some distance from a decently lit street. Forming up to look like a detachment of Roman troops, Autolycus led his band of Amazons out into the streets of Ostia and through dint of educated exploration quickly found their way to both the port gaol and the harbour master's office which was housed in the same building.

"So far so good," muttered the thief as they reached their destination unchallenged. "Now all we have to do is find out where everyone is. The dungeon should be the place to start though."

Leading the Amazons confidently into enemy held territory, Autolycus, with his criminalistic experience, had little trouble guiding them to what proved to be the entrance to the dungeons. Motioning his cohorts to keep as much in the shadows as possible, the thief moved forward with a brash swagger until he was ordered to a halt. "State your business here!" a voice demanded.

Moving into the light, of a torchlit guardroom, the King of Thieves made a theatrically long inspection of the decurion in charge and his two guards, "Is it no longer regulation for a junior officer to salute a senior in the army, or have the detachments seconded to the harbour master's service become little more than yokel militia!" he demanded bombastically.

"What?" asked the decurion, somewhat incredulously.

"GET ON YOUR FEET!" roared Autolycus, who glared at the luckless soldier until he did so. "That's better!" he snapped. "Now what about a correct salute?" he demanded.

The decurion snapped off a text book salute in response to the demand and braced himself at rigid attention under the close scrutiny of a man he perceived to be a superior officer. "Sir! What can I do for you, sir!" he barked with military correctness.

The thief nodded his head as though grudgingly impressed with the instant improvement in the junior officer's military bearing, "Much better!" he purred almost to himself. Getting down to business he used an officious tone and demanded, "The prisoners that were brought in earlier this evening! I have orders to take them back to Rome immediately for Lord Caesar to interrogate."

"Sir, I need to see ..." began the harassed officer of the guard, but was cut off almost immediately.

"If I were you, decurion, I wouldn't keep Lord Caesar waiting any longer than necessary. These prisoners stole some personal property of his and he's most anxious to have it returned. I can guarantee that any man who causes a delay in this matter is going to be made to be very sorry. If he's lucky, his career will be merely ruined, if Lord Caesar is still in his current foul mood I couldn't vouch for that man's life." He let his words sink in to the now perspiring soldier. "Of course should any man be responsible for the swift execution of the General's orders, then I'm almost positive that his career will soar ... Now where are those prisoners?"

Making a decision, the decurion barked an order to his men, "Valos, Marcus, get four sets of shackles and secure the prisoners so that they're ready to leave with the optio."

- Four sets? - questioned Autolycus silently, - What's happened to the other two? Which two is it? Damn! Xena's not going to be happy about this! -

"It won't take but a moment, sir to get them ready for you," announced the decurion, suddenly eagerly committed to helping the dashing looking optio who was obviously a trusted man in Lord Caesar's service. If you should have the chance to mention that Paolinus, Decurion Antonius Paolinus, was of help in this matter ...."

"What?" questioned the thief absently, before realising what the soldier was getting at and waving his hand in acknowledgement, "Yes, yes, of course Paolinus." - Just where am I gonna find our two missing pigeons? - he asked himself with a frown.

"Thank you sir," beamed the decurion. "Umm .. just what did these people steal that is so important to Lord Caesar? ... Sir?"

Autolycus snapped his attention back to the officer of the guard, "That's on a need to know basis, soldier, and you don't need to know!" he growled.

There was a rattle of chains as the three men and Nebula were led from the cells out into the custody of the King of Thieves, "Alright you roaches!" he had to suppress a vagrant grin that threatened to spread over his face as he studied Hercules and Iolaus fettered like felons! - It's kind of nice to have the shoe on the other foot! - he mused. "Let's move out!" he ordered. "We've got a long way to go!" He turned back to Paolinus, "Thanks for you help decurion. I'll make sure your name is mentioned in the proper channels."

Executing another text book salute, the guard returned, "Sir! Thank you, sir!" and watched happily as his ex-prisoners were shoved between the ranks of legionaries and marched away from his jurisdiction.

**********

No one spoke as they made the march to the exit and out into the night. They followed the King of Thieves' dictum that 'You look as if you have the right to be there and no one will question you!' It almost always worked.

When they were finally away from Roman observation heavy sighs of relief were made all around. Hercules found employment for his prodigious strength as he easily removed the shackles from his own, and the others', wrists and ankles, while Iolaus couldn't refrain from commenting, "What kept you!" to their rescuer.

"Hah!" retorted the thief with feeling. "You try talking a Roman decurion out of his prisoners without a single piece parchmented evidence to back you up!"

"You did great Autolycus," Toris told him gratefully. "We appreciate it."

"Anyone know where Ephiny and Malonda are?" asked the thief, knowing he hadn't yet completed his task.

"They know she's the Amazon Queen and they're treating her with due respect," Hercules told him.

"How did you four end up in the hoosegow, then?" asked Autolycus pointedly.

"Somebody recognized me," Nebula informed him, "and the guys were locked up because they were posing as crewmen for a pirate ship."

"What do we do next?" questioned Iolaus.

The King of Thieves drew a deep breath, "Nebula needs to get back to the ship and get it ready to sail. Xena and the Amazons are raiding the watchtowers to put the ballista out of action and drop the boom that's stopping us from leaving. I need to locate and liberate Ephiny and Malonda. I don't think that trick I just pulled to free you is going to work again, so I'll just have to rely on good old fashioned sneaking and steal them out from under the Roman's eyes."

"Ephiny's our responsibility," put in Hakine who was commanding the detachment of Amazons.

"You want to get her killed?" demanded Autolycus.

Hakine looked as if she might argue the point until Hercules gently interrupted, "We'll get her out. Large numbers might not be the best way to do it though."

"Speaking of large .. I can't take you either, big guy ... you're just not built for sneaking .. neither are you, Toris." apologised the thief.

Hercules gave him a look, "Well who do you intend to take?" he demanded.

a quick look around the group told Autolycus that he wasn't going to get away with doing this on his own. "I'll take Curly, he's got some fair skills and he's short .. I'll also take two Amazons," he said forestalling Hakine's objections. "The rest of you better get back to the ...."

He was stopped when Hercules held up his hand for silence, "What's that?" he asked, cocking his head.

"Thunder?" suggested Nebula with a puzzled frown.

"Horses!" disagreed Toris, "From the direction of Rome by the sound of it ... lots of them."

"Gods in Olympus! We're in trouble!" evaluated Hercules.

Chapter Seventy Three: Hooves, Harlots & Heroes!

Ephiny was awake instantly .. some sound out of the ordinary for her current environment had alerted her inner senses and she peered around the dimly lit room ready to protect herself should it prove to be necessary. She glanced over at Malonda who was also expectantly tense. Arching an eyebrow in query, the Regent saw her head scout motion towards the window with her head.

- So the noise had come from out there, - the blonde surmised, - Thought so! -

The both stood cautiously and edged across to the window, flanking both sides as they peered out into the night, looking for ... they really didn't know what, but were far from surprised to find an absence of four guards out there.

"Rescue?" questioned Malonda softly.

"That would be my guess," returned Ephiny, swinging open the shutters and nearly having a heart attack as a dark head popped into sight!

"Can I interest you ladies in a boat trip?" asked Autolycus impudently.

"Autolycus!" the Regent let out an explosive whisper. "You scared the Hades out of me!"

"Sorry about that," he grinned unrepentantly, clinging easily to the balcony as he exchanged words with her, "Didn't have time for social niceties!"

"Hurry up, Autolycus," hissed an exasperated voice from below.

Ephiny looked a question which the thief answered with, "Iolaus ... he's kind of worried about a large cavalry detachment heading this way from Rome."

"What?" demanded the Regent smothering her yelp just in time and turning it into a low growl.

"We figured that Caesar managed to get out of his bonds quicker than we gave him credit for."

"Autolycus!" came a frantic whisper from below.

"What?" called back the thief.

"That cavalry unit's heading here! Hakine's signalling that we need to move ... now!" came the tense reply.

"Ladies?" invited the thief as he produced a thin coil of rope and attached it to the balcony. "I think our welcome has been worn out."

Without further preamble, Ephiny swung herself over the railing and quickly lowered herself the three floor levels to the ground. Malonda was right behind her and, after retrieving his rope, Autolycus scrambled down the vine he had used and reached the ground just fractionally after the scout.

"Now what?" he asked Iolaus.

"Way I see it we've got two choices," the shorter man told him. "We can steal a boat and get Ephiny back to the ship."

"That's speaking my language," agreed the thief approvingly.

"Or we can go and join up with Herc and see if we can link up with Xena's group attacking the watch tower!" finished Iolaus.

"That sounds more like it," grinned Ephiny, much more interested in the prospect of a good fight than slipping away unseen.

"Now why'd you have to go and say that?" complained Autolycus to both of them, "when I could have found us a nice boat and got back to the ship." a stray thought struck him. "And that's what we should do I think."

Iolaus gave him a demeaning look, "Don't you ever think of anything other than stealing things and saving your worthless hide?"

The King of Thieves glared back at his companion, "Not often no! But in this case, O great warrior cum hunter cum sidekick, I think we should steal a boat so that we can pick up Xena and her crew and get them back to the ship. Didn't I tell you that they swam out to that tower?"

"No," answered Iolaus with enforced calm, "No you didn't!"

"Sorry, must have had my mind on other things."

"Won't Nebula send the boat for them?" asked Ephiny pointedly.

"Um .. maybe!" conceded Autolycus.

"Guys," whispered Hakine urgently as she ran over to them, "We need to get out of here now! Those soldier boys just went into the building .. anytime now they're gonna find out that Malonda and Eph are missing then all Hades is gonna break loose."

They slipped into the shadows, intending to head away from the danger area, and into the relative safety of the tightly packed streets. The only problem was that the world and his wife seemed to be packing the streets. They retreated, nervously, back to the concealing bulk of the building they had just left.

"We need to decide on a plan," reminded Iolaus as they edges carefully around the building looking for any kind of cover to hide them for a short while.

Ephiny cast a considering glance in the direction they had come from and then sighed, "We'd better get back to the ship. I think the road to the tower is going to be filled with Romans before too long and getting caught by them would be plain stupidity. Besides with Hercules and the others joining them there, they may need an extra boat when they're ready to leave." She motioned for Autolycus to lead them to safety and hopefully back to the harbour.

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-

Flaccus had pushed the cavalry detachment hard to get them to Ostia as quickly as possible. He was no horseman, preferring to travel on his own two feet under normal circumstances, but he was capable of sitting a horse when the occasion demanded and he had managed to weather the punishing pace that he had insisted upon.

There were five hundred men in the mounted unit of the VII. - Enough, - he hoped, - to contain the fugitives until the General arrives with the rest of the Legion ... as long as that fool harbour master did his duty and stopped the ship from leaving! -

The pounding of the horses hooves was sure to alert their quarry of their presence, but there was nothing he could do about that. Besides it made no difference so long as the ship was still there! The slave and the Amazons would be restricted to the ship out in the middle of the Tiber and no amount of warning could make any difference to them in that situation.

He felt a palpable relief, upon cresting the small hill that led down to Ostia, as he spotted the truant ship held beneath the vigilant sentinel bulk of the guard posts. Allowing himself a smile of victory, he exulted, - I hope you enjoyed your brief taste of freedom, slave, because once I get you back to Rome, you and you friends are going to learn your place, even if I have to have every inch of hide off of your body, and beat each and every one of your friends to death in front of your eyes! -

Urging on his men, the cavalry detachment stormed through the sleeping city, waking many a light sleeper who rose to stick a careful head out of their shutters to see what was happening to cause such a commotion. The site of the long column of men thundering by on horseback was enough to draw many of the more adventurous out into the night, concerned about the unusual event.

Knowing his way around the port, Flaccus led his contingent directly to the harbour master's office and, with a tail of some twenty men, entered the building demanding to see Gessius, immediately, in the name of Caesar! He waited impatiently for the petty official to be summonsed while he paced tensely, eager to be getting on with his task.

When the portly harbour master arrived in his office he was distinctly unhappy to be confronted by the pacing centurion. "What's the meaning of this? By what right was my sleep disturbed!"

"By the right and authority of Caesar!" snarled Flaccus slamming his staff of office down on the bureaucrat's desk, glowering at the little man.

"You have no right ..." began Gessius huffily. He hated jumped up soldiers trying to order him around.

"Wrong!" snarled the looming centurion. "I have every right! You're just lucky that damn ship's still out there or you'd be gracing a cross by now .. that's if I didn't have you flayed alive!"

"But .. but ... that's the Amazons .. Lord Caesar's current favourites. I know the ship belongs to a pirate ... but." stuttered Gessius rattled by the soldier's anger.

"Those harlots helped a couple of very valuable and very dangerous slaves, belonging to Lord Caesar, escape and are trying to get away with them. The general wants them back .. and the Amazons as well as anyone else with them!" roared Flaccus.

The harbour master paled at the angry tone and tried not to flinch, "Actually, we have the pirate captain and three men from her crew locked in the cells here, and the Amazon Queen and a guard are 'guests' in one of the upper apartments." he soothed.

"Why didn't you say so earlier!" snarled the centurion. "Get the Amazons down here at once. We can use them as bargaining chips. Get a couple of sets of shackles for them too! I don't want them escaping. We'll use them to make sure that the bastards on the ship behave themselves."

Gessius looked happy to be able to do something to relieve himself of Flaccus' immediate ire. He sent one of his men up to the room holding the Amazons with instructions for the guards to escort the women to him immediately. The second he sent down to the cells to fetch the requested manacles. He returned, reluctantly to where Flaccus stood glaring at him, "It shouldn't be long now, centurion. Maybe you'd like to take a seat .. some wine perhaps. You appear to have had a long, hard journey."

"No I don't want any damn wine," rumbled the tense soldier, "I want to know just what precautions have been made to insure that the thrice cursed ship is going to be safe out there until I'm ready to go aboard and reclaim Lord Caesar's property!"

"Um .. yes .. of course," tried to soothe Gessius. "Well the ship is held by the chain boom and that won't be lowered until we have permission in this situation." He was encouraged by what could have been a grunt of approval from Flaccus. "The towers have been notified to train all ballista upon the ship and will open fire on it at the slightest sign of trouble." He checked to see if the centurion showed any sign of objecting to the measure. "Finally, I sent out a squad to secure the ship as it is a known pirate vessel," he finished smugly.

"You did what?" demanded Flaccus .. the vein in his temple beginning to throb alarmingly!

"Um .. sent a squad out to the ship .. it's standard procedure," assured the harbour master.

"Saturn, Jupiter and Mars!" cursed Flaccus roundly. "The gods save us from imbeciles in the minor bureaucracy! Have you any idea just what is out on that ship?" he demanded rhetorically, "No! Of course you don't, but you've likely just consigned a squad of good soldiers to their deaths!"

"I really must protest!" objected the harbour master strongly.

"Protest all you want, little man," growled the centurion, "but it won't change anything and it won't save those men." He drew an angry breath, "And just where is the Amazon Queen!" he demanded.

Gessius spread his hands helplessly. There was obviously nothing he could say to placate the furious soldier and he was beginning to be concerned about the length of time it was taking for his men to get back. Of course, the women may have been sleeping .. but even so.

Just as he was about to suggest that he go and see what the delay was, Gessius spotted the return of his messenger and beckoned him forward quickly, "Well?" he asked in a harsh whisper, "Where is she?"

"Gone, sir," came the worried answer. "The room was empty."

"Dammit! What about the guards?" Gessius almost squeaked.

"The ones on duty outside the door didn't hear a thing, sir. I went to check on the outside sentries and they're all unconscious sir," responded the guard.

"Sweet mother of Jupiter!" swore the harbour master as he spotted his second messenger return with the shackles. "What took you so long, Tomas?"

The young soldier looked a bit uncomfortable as he relayed his share of bad news, "When I asked for the shackles, the decurion in charge made some joke about running out, sir. I asked him what he meant and he said that he'd just used four sets on the prisoners he had down there so they could be escorted back to Rome."

"They're gone?" screeched Gessius, seeing his world coming crashing down around him.

"Yes sir!" affirmed Tomas.

Flaccus who had remained silent all this time in growing fury, turned to the optios behind him and barked out orders, "Get the men up to the watchtower. If they've broken their friends free they'll attack the towers to neutralize the ballista and try to lower the boom. I want them stopped. Kill anyone who resists, except if you see two women with unusual silver slave collars round their necks. If they're there, use the nets and take them alive!"

The soldiers saluted and scrambled to get their troops moving. The centurion sent a withering glare at the harbour master who looked ready to collapse under the strain. "Get all of your troops turned out and sent to reinforce the watchtowers. Expect heavy resistance and make sure they understand that I want those two slaves alive at all costs! Do you understand me!"

Gessius barely had enough time to nod his comprehension, before Flaccus was leaving his office like an enraged whirlwind.

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-

Eponin guided the row boat into a rocky jetty beneath the imposing bulk of the tower she had been delegated to neutralize. Her warriors knew what to do. They were going to have to scale the tower wall (without being seen) and then work their way down the line of ballista and break the winding mechanism (after making sure that the catapult had been unloaded - they didn't want any accidents sinking the ship!). The problem that Eponin had was that she wasn't going to be able to lead the assault. Her ribs were going to make it difficult for her to make the climb and so it had been agreed that Karrellie would lead the attack and the Weapons Master would guard the boat with Tassi and provide back-up if required.

So now she sat gnawing at a broken fingernail, listening to every slight sound from above like a nervous hen with a single chick! "I really, really, hate waiting!" she grumbled to Tassi, who rolled her eyes behind her superior's back.

Eponin's lack of patience was legendary .. all the guards knew about it and her blazing temper that was almost a match for the Warrior Princess'. On those occasions when both patience and temper were frayed, most sane Amazons headed for the nearest cover. Those unlucky enough to be on duty usually offered up silent, fervent prayers for Artemis to make them invisible.

The Weapons Master paced back and forth muttering darkly, and Tassi caught the occasional word like, "Stupid! .... ribs ... damned wall ... staying ... enough ... see!" The guard decided it was time to try and melt into the scenery before Eponin exploded in her direction. Surprisingly, when the Weapons Master turned towards her she was completely calm.

"Take care of things here," Poni had instructed. "I'm going to see what's happening."

"Ummm ... Ep? Aren't we both supposed to stay here?" tried Tassi diplomatically.

"You stay ... I need to see what's happening," retorted Eponin grasping for a credible reason she added, "for strategic purposes!"

"Okaaaay!" drawled the sandy haired Amazon, "but aren't your ribs gonna make it difficult to climb the tower?" she asked reasonably, knowing in her heart of hearts she should keep her mouth firmly shut. She went on anyway, "I mean that was the reason you stayed here in the first place, wasn't it?"

Eponin's caramel coloured eyes hardened, "Do I look like I need a nursemaid?" she demanded heatedly.

"Um, no ma'am," Tassi conceded hurriedly. She'd stuck her head out quite far enough. She wasn't about to bring the wrath of the Weapons master down on her head if she could avoid it ... even if she did, privately, feel that at times like this Poni did in fact require someone to make her act sensibly. The trouble with that thought was that she only knew of three people who could achieve it. One was in Roman detention, and one was probably having as little success in keeping the third member of that select group out of trouble as she was with Eponin.

"Good!" growled the Weapons Master belligerently, "I'm glad we've got that settled. Stay sharp. I'll send someone back to keep you company."

"Sure thing, Ep," grinned the Amazon warrior weakly. "Whatever you say."

"That's right! I'm boss here and don't you forget it, young Tassi."

The other Amazon had to bite her lip from laughing .. she wasn't that many summers younger than the Weapons Master, but she doubted her observation would have been too welcome at that point in time. She watched as Eponin adjusted her weapons and took a couple of tentative deep breaths, before turning her attention to scaling the rough rocky wall of the tower. "Be careful," she whispered, knowing that the word 'careful' was not one that habitually graced the other woman's vocabulary.

Eponin began to climb, ignoring the shooting pains that pierced her chest and caused her to breathe in short sharp gasps. About halfway up, she began to mentally berate herself! - Of all the stubborn, pig headed, centaur brained, dumb featherheads, you just about take the prize Poni! Couldn't wait at the boat, could you? Had to get in on the action, didn't you? Gods dammit woman, you're a Weapons Master not some young stripling who doesn't know better! -

Poni continued climbing higher concentrating on strong hand and toe holds rather than the burning in her chest. - I wonder if she's having this much trouble! - the Amazon grumbled to herself thinking about Xena and just knowing that the warrior would be taking everything in her considerable stride! She sometimes couldn't help herself from thinking that it really wasn't a fair distribution of skills and abilities that left Xena so far above ordinary mortals in so many areas.

- Perhaps I should take up cooking? - she considered, knowing all about the Warrior Princess' ineptitude in that area. She seriously thought about it as she dragged her protesting body up a few more feet. - Nah! I'm almost as bad at that stuff as she is! - she ran that around her head as she moved to within inches of the parapet, - Can't even beat her at being the worst cook! And I can't even practice to be worse than her, - she told herself as she pulled herself over the top of the wall, - She's just too naturally talented in that area too! - she grinned.

Taking a moment to catch her breath, the Weapons Master surveyed the progress her team had made, and all seemed to be preceding relatively well. There were a variety of oddly shapeless lumps laying in the shadow of the wall, - Guards, - her logic told her. - They obviously dealt with a sleepy watch quickly and efficiently, - she thought with burgeoning pride for the skill of her warriors. They'd heard no noise below at the boat, which meant that the assault had been executed with ruthless skill.

Eponin began to move with quiet stealth along the parapet walkway, stopping every now and again to check an inert body just in case a soldier was shamming! She noted, as she passed that the first of the ballista's had been disabled. Axes had cut the thick cables and damage had also been done to the windless mechanism which together drew the catapult's arm down for loading.

Pleased with what she was seeing, the Weapons Master continued along the walkway, when her innate senses kicked in to warn her that something was wrong. She looked up at the work detail that was tackling the final two ballista, nothing seemed amiss there. She glanced down at the courtyard below .. all remained quiet, none of the fallen legionnaires had stirred either. Her intense gaze returned to the catapults checking every detail of the process until she realised what was wrong.

"Karrellie! Stop them!" she shouted pointing frantically at the team working on the ballista, as she broke into a rib jarring run, trying to get to her fellow Amazons as quickly as possible.

The Scout turned to see the Weapons Master running excitedly towards her, gesticulating wildly at the catapults. Swinging around, a frown on her face, Karrellie immediately realised the problem, but was too late to do anything about it as the tension cables to both remaining weapons were cut, shooting the heavy rock, that each carried, high into the air in a curving arc heading for the defenceless hull of "Wave Dancer".

"Son of a bacchii!" she swore vigorously, as she rushed to look over the parapet to watch the two missiles fall towards their vessel.

Eponin joined her just as the first smashed into the deck of the ship, but were unable to assess the damage it caused. The second fell away from the ship, towards the harbour area, sinking a rowing boat that had been heading towards 'Wave Dancer'.

"By Artemis' bow! Which of you imbeciles forgot to unload the damn things?" demanded an irate Weapons Master. Half a dozen voices began to speak at once all with feeble excuses. "Enough!" roared Poni to quell the din. "We'll sort this out back on the ship."

She felt an urgent hand grasping her shoulder and turned to see Karrellie looking down to the courtyard that had suddenly come alive with soldiers, "We got more problems, Ep" she said quietly.

The Weapons Master's tactical brain kicked in, "Jade, Lasca ... get back down to the boat and help Tassi protect it .. it's our only way out of here, we'd never make it back to the ship swimming against the current. The rest of you form up. We'll stage a fighting withdrawal at the south end of the tower, and slip as many over the wall as we can, while keeping the bastards off of them. With luck we'll all get out of here before they can get fully organised or realise where we're going," she smiled grimly.

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-

They had slipped into the warm waters of the Tiber and allowed the flow of the river to carry them silently to their destination, heads just bobbing above the surface .. no need to swim a stroke as the current drew them to their intended destination. It was an uneventful trip .. except when Faline had been caught in a rip current that pulled her under. She would have drowned if Xena hadn't seen her get into difficulties, battling the vicious under-tow to pull the flame headed Amazon to safety.

"Are you okay?" demanded Gabrielle in a harsh whisper as she drifted closer to her best friend.

The warrior did her best to hide the grimace of pain she felt when the stitches in her back had torn under the pressure of the urgent movement needed to save Faline, "Just fine, Gabrielle," she lied lightly. The middle of the river being neither the time or place for worrying about her wounds.

The bard had not been fooled by the confident words. She's seen the flicker of pain in the other woman's expression and guessed that she'd re-opened the deep gash in her back. The thing was, though, that nothing could be done until they got out of the water. "I want to look at the wound when we're clear of the river, warrior!" she told Xena firmly.

Knowing that Gabrielle wouldn't be brushed off, the Warrior Princess nodded her acquiescence, and concentrated on making sure that her party stayed together .. and safe .. for the rest of the way to the tower.

**********

Seventeen wet women, waded silently out of the river, at the point that Xena had selected. They moved with stealth and caution, establishing a security perimeter to give the dark warrior time to issue last minute instructions as to exactly what she wanted the Amazons to do.

"Once we're in, I need you to find and disable those ballista. Cut any ropes and cables you see and smash the windlass mechanisms for drawing back the arms. They won't be able to fix those in a hurry, which will give us the time we need to get the ship out to sea and well away from here."

While Xena was explaining her orders to the waiting warriors, Gabrielle quickly unfolded a small oilskin pouch from which she took a fresh, dry, bandage and a thick pad of cloth. - Nothing like being prepared, - she thought. - I just knew that she'd break open those stitches. - She carefully eased the warrior's leathers down to her waist without interrupting anything that Xena was saying, and removed the wet, blood soaked bandage from around the wound.

- Could be worse, - she thought critically as she applied fresh salve over the area. - Only three of the stitches tore out and the amount of blood looks worse than it is because of being diluted in the river. - She applied the thick pad of cloth and then bandaged it tightly, her attention suddenly peeked by what the warrior was saying.

"We're gonna have to scale the wall of this tower ...." Xena told her troops.

"What?" hissed Gabrielle. "Xena you know I don't like heights."

Ignoring the bard, the Warrior Princess continued, "Once inside you take your warriors, Turra, and work on the catapults ... I'll find the barrier mechanism and destroy that ... any questions? Okay let's get going."

"Xena ... you know I hate heights," began the bard as the Amazons started scaling the tower wall.

"You can always stay down here, Gabrielle," the warrior told her calmly.

"No way, Xena. I told you that I'm going with you. Why didn't you tell me about this before we left the ship?" demanded the bard.

"Would it have made any difference?" came the shrugged reply.

"No," admitted the honey blonde.

"Thought you'd say that," sighed the raven haired woman. She bent down and picked up a length of rope left by the Amazons. "Tie it around your waist," she instructed the bard, as she began to fasten the other end around her own. "We'll climb together. I won't let you fall Gabrielle." she promised.

"I know that .. you know that," muttered the bard, "but has anyone made sure that the wall knows that!"

Xena hid the grin that threatened to bloom over her normally blank features and settled for giving Gabrielle some instruction in the art of climbing walls. "When we start climbing, we'll try and keep side by side so that I can keep an eye on you. There are plenty of hand and toe holds, you just need to look for them. I'll point them out for you as we go. Keep looking up as we climb .. concentrate on getting to the top and I'll be with you all the way."

The bard gave her friend a nervous smile, "Okay coach. Let's get this done."

They picked their way over the stoney shoreline where the Amazons were eagerly waiting the chance to get started. There was the prospect of a fight in the offing and all of them were ready for a little action. Xena shook her head and muttered "Amazons!" to herself, earning a dig in the ribs from Gabrielle who'd heard her. She arched an eyebrow at her friend, who returned the look with one of her own, before the warrior turned to the waiting women and asked softly, "Hear anything up there?"

Turra shook her head, "Not a thing."

"Alright," the Warrior Princess said, "Get up there as quickly and quietly as you can. Try not to get too enthusiastic. Just take out the Romans carefully and silently so you don't rouse the entire garrison."

"You got it!" grinned the Amazon leader happily.

"Don't say it," hissed Gabrielle in her ear as the watched Turra start her troops up the wall.

"What?" demanded Xena in quiet exasperation.

"You know," insisted the bard in a stubborn whisper.

The big warrior scowled, "Gabrielle ..." she began.

"You always say 'Amazons' in that exasperated tone of voice," persisted her friend.

"This isn't the place for this," the raven haired woman tried to point out, keeping her voice low.

"Well I'm an Amazon too, and I could learn to resent your tone. Now," she glared tugging at the rope that joined them, "haven't we got a wall to climb?" and set off to find a likely place to begin the ascent.

"Bards!" breathed Xena in perplexity.

"I heard that!" hissed the said bard.

Xena grinned.

Hercules and Toris, with the two Amazons accompanying them, ran almost silently through the sleeping streets of the port. The arrival of a host of horsemen from the direction of Rome could only be bad news and it was something that Xena was going to need to know about.

Ostia, however, was a confusing town full of winding streets that started in the direction that they wanted to go and then would seem to double back on themselves, making their progress slow despite the fact that they were running as quickly as they could manage while trying to avoid drawing attention to themselves.

Finally, after what seemed forever, they had located the path that lead out across the harbour wall to the watchtower at it's end, which was built onto a rocky outcrop that jutted into the river. Keeping to the shadows the foursome darted towards the defensive watchtower on the harbour spit.

They realised that there was no way that they would be able to approach the fortification without an alert guard spotting them if they continued along the cobbled pavement, but they were relieved to find a dirt track that led down to the strand on the ocean side of the seawall. With the tide on the way out they were able to pick their way across the rocky foreshore without great difficulty and soon found themselves close to the seaward side of the watchtower. They hoped that the garrison had no idea of their presence.

"What now?" questioned Toris between panted breaths.

Hercules allowed his eyes to work their way up the imposing bulk of the fortification wall, "How good at climbing are you?" he questioned softly.

Toris looked where the demi-god had, noting to himself - He's not out of breath at all! He's as bad as Xena. - "Up there?" he returned sceptically.

The big, tawney haired man nodded, "Yup."

The innkeeper shrugged his broad shoulders took another look, thinking of a cliff face and a birds nest from long ago. "Piece of cake," he said with far more confidence than he felt.

Slapping the other man gently on the shoulder, Hercules smiled at the dogged determination he perceived in the dark framed face, "Follow me up. Use the hand and toe holds I use. Don't be afraid to take a breather if you need one, and above all don't look down."

Toris nodded his agreement, "Just what have you got in mind once we get inside?" he questioned putting off the start of the climb for a moment more.

"Find Xena and warn her about the trouble coming in from Rome." summed up the demi-god succinctly. "If you two," he said to the quiet Amazons, "get up to the firing platform you can warn your sisters of the new problem. Toris and I will find Xena. I suspect she'll go after the winch for the chain."

"Great," nodded the raven haired man as he rubbed suddenly sweaty palms together.

"Hey," Hercules said gently, "You okay with this?"

"Never better," assured Toris, "C'mon .. let's get it done." - Before I let my better sense get a hold of me and find a detachment of Romans to fight ... it would probably be safer than climbing this wall! - he thought.

The big man smiled lazily at him and said, "Shall we?" before starting his way carefully up the stonework.

The other man shook his head and muttered, "I must be nuts!" before following after the hero and the two quickly climbing women.

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-

Flaccus fumed that there was no way to get reinforcements across the river to the other tower. The ferry, that was normally used to transport men and supplies across the water, was in the drydock having the keel repaired and cleaned, having just completed the normal monthly run to the other side. The only other way across the river was a bridge back in Rome . The centurion dispatched a messenger to advise Caesar to send a cavalry detachment with all speed down the other side of the Tiber, but he doubted that they could arrive in time to be of any consequence.

However, he was almost certain that his primary quarry would be on this side of the river, involved in the assault on the watchtower close to the port. He had learned a lot about the woman while he'd had charge of her, and one of the things he'd learned was that she'd always take the hardest options for herself. His battle honed senses were telling him that she was in the fortifications close by and all he had to do was take his men and go and collect her.

- You're going back to your pit, slave, and I'm going to make certain you never get the chance to run again! - he promised. "Alright! Let's move out. Double time to the watchtower. Once inside, spread out and neutralize anyone that doesn't belong there. Keep in groups of ten, make sure you have your nets. You all know what we're looking for. Make sure you take them alive."

The troops moved out in perfect marching order as they trotted through the streets guided by one of the local garrison. It didn't take them too long to reach the road that led out to the tower and were soon tramping over the cobbles towards the tall, thick iron bound doors that gave entrance to the imposing fortification.

As Flaccus used his vine staff of office to rap heavily on the doors, he heard a muffled thump from some distance above him, a singular 'whooshing' sound before a shattering "CRASH" resounded behind him closely followed by the screams of soldiers.

"By the Gods!" he yelled as he realised what had happened, "The bitches have turned the ballista on us!" He hammered with renewed vigour at the door and was rewarded by a sleepy face appearing at a wicket.

"What's the to do?" yawned the soldier.

"Get these doors open!" yelled Flaccus, "You've got infiltrators inside and their using the ballista to cut down good Roman legionnaires!"

"Sir! Yes sir!" acknowledge the soldier, quickly darting inside to get the gates unbarred and allow the angry centurion to enter.

There was another muffled thump followed mere heartbeats later by another sickening impact of heavy stones amongst tightly packed men. The cries of the injured sang out through the night as Flaccus cursed the slowness of the gate guards.

Finally there was a creaking groan to signal the movement of the gates aided by the men under the centurion's command as they pushed against the massive doors to get them open the quicker so that they could get their mates off of the deadly causeway before many more shots from the catapult could be fired at them.

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-

Xena and Gabrielle stood at the top of the wall after the long arduous climb up. The bard was breathing heavily. The muscles in her calves burned like wildfire and her fingers felt raw from the scrapings inflicted upon them as the small woman had scrabbled for hand holds. The dark warrior breathed with an ease that belied the excruciating pain that lanced her injured shoulder. She could feel the hot trickle of blood trailing down her back as it seeped from beneath her bandage, but she didn't have time to worry about that.

"You okay?" she asked her friend as her fingers busied themselves with unknotting the rope around her waist, while her eyes scanned the rapid progress the Amazons were making.

"Fine," gasped Gabrielle as she ventured a peek over the parapet wall, down to the rocks below. "Oh Gods," she whispered as she realised just how high she'd climbed. She scrabbled almost frantically at the rope knotted around her slim waist, anxious to be rid of the physical evidence that bore silent testimony to the fact that she'd been foolish enough to make the climb.

"Here, let me," Xena said gently as she made short work of removing the rope. "You're sure you're okay?"

The bard nodded her head, "I didn't realise just how high we climbed," she whispered weakly.

Xena rubbed her friend's back lightly, "You did great! Now, do you want to stay here with the Amazons ..."

"I'm coming with you," Gabrielle told her firmly, relegating the quaking fear that she'd felt in her determination to stay at her friend's side.

The dark warrior allowed a gleaming full toothed smile of encouragement before turning once more to check on the Amazon's progress. The women warriors had despatched the dozing ballista crews and were now working methodically down the catapults disabling them. "As soon as you've finished here, get back down the walls and wait for the boat from the ship. Gabrielle and I will rejoin you as soon as we've taken care of the boom mechanism."

After getting a nod of assent from Turra, the pair had slipped down the stone steps into the dark courtyard below before disappearing into the sleeping buildings of the garrison making sure to move silently and keep to the shadows as much as possible.

The corridor they had chosen to explore in the hope of finding their way to the winch room, was sparsely lit making it easy for them to utilize the deep shadows to conceal themselves in, as the carefully checked each doorway looking for a way down into the cellars where the mechanism was surely kept.

In a small recess they found what they had been looking for. The stairway was brightly lit, but there didn't seem to be any guards around at the top of the spiral steps. Motioning for Gabrielle to remain silent, Xena drew her sword from the sheath hanging on her back and softly led the way downwards, lightly running the fingers of her left hand over the cold stone of the central pillar that the steps wound around.

Below them they could hear the rattle of dice and the occasional bark of laughter as hands scraped money off of a table. Loud snores punctuated the sounds of the gambling men and Xena calculated that there were maybe four men active in the dice game with, perhaps, as many again asleep. She shrugged her shoulders to loosen the tight muscles.

- Eight men are going to be more than enough to handle, - she decided as she felt the pain in her back spasm anew.

She turned and made a hand gesture commanding the bard to remain where she was. Gabrielle shook her head vehemently. The warrior repeated the gesture with a commanding glare and again got a negative shake of the honey blonde's head. As she glowered at the bard, the smaller woman shaped five silent words. - Where you go I go! - interpreted the Warrior Princess. 'Stay out of trouble' she mouthed back and got a grin for her pains.

They continued their stealthy way down the stairs stopping close to the bottom so that Xena could duck down low and peer around the last turn whilst keeping her body fully hidden. Her assessing glance took in the situation with the practised eyes of a successful commander and tactician.

Four soldiers sat around an oak table playing dice, drinking and telling tall tales. a fifth man stood watching them while four more slept in the cots around the edges of the vaulted cellar. Past them, closer to the wall, was the winch mechanism that controlled the raising and lowering of the chain boom that 'Wave Dancer' was caught up on. She needed to get past the soldiers, taking them down long enough so that she could study the winch to find out how to disable it.

Slowly easing back, she moved close to Gabrielle's ear and, in quiet whispers, informed her of the situation. Then told her, "There's a rack of spears down there. If you break the head off one you'll have a serviceable staff. Give me a chance to draw their attention before you come down, okay?" She waited until Gabrielle nodded her agreement before adding as a warning, "This is going to be messy, Gabrielle. I can't afford to take chances."

Again the bard nodded her understanding whilst swallowing the lump in her throat. She knew what Xena meant. She would end the fight as quickly as possible which meant the men in the chamber below would likely be killed. "Do what you have to," she whispered shakily.

Gliding down the steps like a vengeful shadow, Xena was almost upon them before she uttered her ululating warcry to freeze them for those vital moments that she needed to cut them down. She didn't want to play here. She was looking for the fastest way to take nine men out and she wasn't going to toy with them and try to knock them unconscious! She wasn't feeling up to a long session of creative fighting, the wound in her back pulled with every movement and she was functioning on maybe only half strength. She wasn't going to take any risks.

The first man was cut down where he stood as he turned to face the sudden menace, pulling her sword clear, Xena swung it backhand to decapitate a man rising from his seat, before being faced with two white faced soldiers who realised that they were going to have to fight or die a very bloody death. Both pulled their gladius, the short swords the soldiers of Rome favoured, and presented a unified attacking front against the death dealing mad woman who had descended upon them out of nowhere.

With the warrior fully engaged, and the soldiers concentrating entirely on her, Gabrielle was able to sneak into the battle area and make it to the rack of spears without being detected. She selected a likely looking weapon and had just managed to snap the pointed head off when one of the sleepy soldiers headed her way with a drawn sword.

Raising the 'staff' in readiness, she ducked a wild swing of the sword and struck out with rapid fire hits to the knees, hips, arms and shoulders, leaving her opponent not knowing what area to defend next! She finally knocked him senseless with a sharp move, cracking him across the side of his head, that she'd learned from Eponin's tutelage.

She glanced across at Xena and could tell by the way the Warrior Princess fought that she was favouring her injured shoulder. The two soldiers had got over their initial shock and were fighting in spirited tandem, seemingly forcing Xena on the defensive. The last man from the dice game had also joined the fray and between them they were beginning to force the raven haired woman back.

Xena watched her three adversaries with a calculating eye. The first man was a good strong fighter with a robust attacking style that tended to leave him exposed on the right. The second man was a defensive fighter with a good technique, and would probably be the hardest to despatch. The final soldier was over enthusiastic .. he was the one to take down first.

Making the injury to her left side appear as an obvious impediment, drew the over enthusiastic fighter ahead and away from his partners and with a quick, flicking slash of her sword, Xena sliced deep enough into his neck to sever his jugular vein. Blue eyes alight with feral fire, she quickly swung her sword back to block a lunge by the first soldier, and was quick enough, as well as good enough, to produce a thrust that had the defensive fighter scuttling backwards. She felt a blade slice across her biceps and realised that the first man had taken the bait and opened himself up for a slashing cut that ripped open his guts.

a quick glance told her that Gabrielle had taken down one man and was engaging two more with the final sleeper joining her last standing adversary. Not giving the newcomer a chance to settle, Xena launched into an attack thrusting with her long sword and impaling him through the chest. Unfortunately, the blade caught, probably on a rib, and was wrenched from her hands.

The defensive fighter registered, with a sudden gleam in his eye, that his opponent was unarmed and open to an attack from his sword. A rictus-like grin appeared on his face as he bore down on the Warrior Princess. As he aimed a classic thrust at the woman, he found her gone. a look of consternation replaced the grin and he turned, bewildered looking for his adversary, only to find her fist smashing with terrific force between his eyes. He crumpled like a half filled sack of turnips.

Xena shook out her right hand before clutching her left arm into her side. The flip over the soldier had cost her a lot of energy and an increase in the pain she was being plagued with from her back wound. Pushing it aside she turned her attention to Gabrielle who had finally managed to dump one of her opponents only to be in imminent danger of taking a sword thrust from the second. Without hesitation, Xena reached for her chakram and sent it winging into the Roman's back.

Pulling her sword free, the warrior moved slowly to her friend's side, "Did they hurt you?" she asked her voice filled with concern.

"Not a scratch," grinned the bard. "I think I should have asked you that question."

"I'll be fine Gabrielle," she used her stock reply as she retrieved her chakram.

"Not from where I'm standing," the younger woman disagreed. "Xena you can barely stand upright."

"You can fuss over me all you like once we're on that ship and heading home. I haven't got time to hurt now," gritted out the raven haired warrior.

"I'll hold you to that, Warrior Princess," the bard told her sombrely.

Xena quirked a wry lopsided smile. "You tie any of the live ones up while I check out the winch."

"Yes ma'am!" agreed Gabrielle readily, but she watched her friend as she walked with slow discomfort over to the winch to give it a close inspection.

When Gabrielle had finished tying up the three survivors, she moved across the chamber to where the machinery stood and grinned at the concentrated attention it was getting from the warrior. "Have you got it figured out yet?"

Xena nodded, "I just have to ..." she stopped in mid sentence and cocked her head to one side listening. "Get your staff ready Gabrielle. We've got company ... lots of it!"

Chapter Seventy Four: Between A Rock & A Hard Place

Joxer was feeling significantly peeved. Not only had the others gone off on a mission, but they'd left him on the ship with a healer, a group of Amazons and a bunch of kids. "I'm a hero!" he lamented feelingly, "They're all treating me like a baby!"

He brooded for a while, turning it all around in his mind as he worked out a more suitable slant on the situation. "I know what they've done ... they were so concerned about rescuing Ephiny and the others that they forgot to tell me that I was in charge of the ship until Nebula gets here!" He grinned. "Well that's alright. I can stand watch up at the wheel and the Amazons can rig the manning," - Hmm! That's not right. - he thought hard, "Oh yeah, man the rigging! That's it!"

Whistling happily, he left the children sleeping peacefully under the watchful eye of Patroclese. Their excess energy having been run off in the rambunctious games they had been playing with him for several candlemarks. He made a detour and found his satchel that held his leather trousers and a new shirt, thinking wistfully about his armour and helmet which he'd had sent back to Greece by courier when the others had insisted he wear something less conspicuous.

Dressed once more in masculine attire, and looking pretty sharp, if the looks he was getting from some of the Amazons were anything to go by, Joxer made his way to the stern, took a deep breath of sea air, before starting to choke. - Over did the breathing bit, - he thought as he thumped himself on the chest to knock out some of the cough. Finally, over the hacking bout, he surveyed his newly claimed kingdom before leaning casually on the wheel only to fall flat on his face as it turned under his weight!

Joxer scrambled back to his feet, pulling his shirt down as he glared around to see if anyone was looking. Satisfied that he was unobserved, and confident that the laughter he heard must be some obscure Amazon joke that they were telling each other, the wannabe warrior, cum pirate captain, tried to relax himself by trying out a new verse to his song!

Joxer the Mighty

Captain of the Seven Seas,

On the water he's so grim,

That's because he doesn't swim!

Sailing here and sailing there,

Being mighty everywhere,

All the women stop and stare!

Because he's Joxer,

He's Joxer the Mighty!

Feeling much happier with himself, the bumbling warrior patrolled the sterndeck acting how he presumed a piratical captain would. He was enjoying himself immensely and was oblivious to the grins of the Amazon deck hands that stood guard around the rails making sure that the Romans didn't attempt a sneak attack.

Bound up in his fantasies, Joxer saw himself as leading the attack against a Roman trireme, he flourished his invisible sword and muttered, "Avast there, ya scurvy nave! Surrender and I'll spare you and your ship!"

He cocked his head to one side as he listened to the imagined Roman captain's declaration of fighting to the death, before he answered, "Very well, you dog. Joxer the Mighty knows how to deal with you!" Drawing a fresh invisible sword, having forgotten it was already in his hand, Joxer engaged his imaginary opponent in a duel full of verve and flourish as he acted out his daydream.

Forced onto the defensive by his foe, the Mighty Joxer, leapt into the rigging and grabbed a rope to swing across to the foredeck. He intended to beckon his Roman adversary to him and could just imagine the impudent smile that would grace his lips. He'd even worked out just what to say to goad the enemy into rashness.

Having fun, Joxer decided to enact the swing, for real, from the rigging to the deck at the bow. He scrambled inelegantly onto the ship's rail and reached for the rope that he wanted to swing on. As he made his first attempt to grab it, he teetered precariously on the rail, swaying wildly until one of the Amazons grabbed his belt to steady him.

"Thanks Rael," he grinned shyly.

"No problem, O Mighty one," grinned back the young Royal Guard.

"Think you could pass me that rope?" he asked, pointing to the one he'd been trying to reach for.

"Joxer do you think what you're doing is a good idea?" she asked, hesitating to aid the harmless wannabe warrior in something that could get him hurt.

"Oh sure!" he replied confidently, "I've done this kind of thing before. I once spent most of a day swinging through the trees while Xena and Gabrielle were fishing."

Rael looked extremely sceptical. Joxer was kind of an infant in warrior terms and most of the Amazons found him to be a joke and a thoroughly good source of amusement. They really didn't understand how the Queen and the Warrior Princess could be so fond of him. - He's kinda cute, though. - Thought Rael as she tried to decide whether to let him attempt the swing, - In a kind of kicked puppy dog way. - She grinned and handed him the requested rope. - Maybe he'll need help with bandaging his injuries when he's done. -

Taking the offered line, Joxer the 'Cute' proclaimed, "Now watch this!" With that he launched himself out of the rigging and swung across the deck to his intended place of disembarkation.

Maybe things would have been alright. He started off well enough, and looked comfortable hanging onto the rope .. he may even have managed to land his swing without any trouble left to his own devices. Unfortunately at almost the precise moment he started to sail through the air, so did the boulder that was launched by Eponin's inattentive Amazons!

About halfway through the manoeuvre, Joxer became aware that something wasn't quite right. He barely saw the rock drop through the air in front of him, and crash through the deck planking, before he was following after it to land in the battered debris of the ship's mess.

Clutching his head, which he'd managed to give a hard crack on the way down, Joxer looked around at the damage and realised instantly that the rock was teetering precariously on a heavy oak table that looked about ready to give up it's battle, with the damage inflicted upon it, and collapse.

"NO!" shouted Joxer as he realised one of the slave children was frozenly staring at the precarious boulder and was right beneath it should it fall.

Without a moments thought the lionhearted warrior leapt forward knocking the child out of harms way, just as the table gave up the struggle, leaving the rock to fall directly onto Joxer.

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-

Nebula had guided the four Amazons with her to where the ship's boat had been left and the five women quickly boarded, heading back towards 'Wave Dancer', which remained unmoving out between the two watch towers. With the Amazons manning the oars, the pirate captain guided the rudder and steered a straight course for her vessel.

As they neared their destination, all of the women were aware of the disturbance being caused by Joxer's pantomime. The Amazons grinned at the playful antics, recognizing the harmlessness in the man. Nebula, however, frowned. She didn't like anyone mucking around with, or on, her ship and she was determined to put the would be hero straight on that particular score.

Her irritation grew as she saw Joxer launch himself from the rigging, clearly trying to impress the young guard who seemed torn between watching over him and casting sheep's eyes at the man. - The gods preserve us from fools and adolescent girls! - her mind snapped waspishly.

She watched the fool's progress as he swung across the deck and her mind had enough time to comment nastily, - He'll be lucky if he doesn't break his thick head! - before she realised that he was on a collision course with a large object tumbling rapidly out of the sky. "What in Tartarus ..." she managed to get out before she heard the splintering crash as the rock hit her ship.

"Damn it to Hades!" she began to curse as a second boulder fell from the sky, striking the prow of the rowing boat and crushed the woodwork like so much crumpled parchment. "Swim for the ship" she yelled before finding herself treading water along with her four companions.

Luckily they were close enough to 'Wave Dancer" to reach it within a few energetic strokes, or the Amazons .. encumbered as they were by their 'borrowed' Roman uniforms, would likely have shared the fate of the row boat and sunk without a trace. As it was the heavy accoutrements hampered them severely and made scaling the ship's side a test of endurance in the wet gear.

Nebula scrambled up the side ropes, without any undue trouble, as soon as she was certain her companions were safe. She was immediately drawn to the concentration of Amazons around the foredeck and crossed to them with the easy stride of an experienced mariner. Pushing her way through the crowd she hissed in exasperation when she saw the crater like hole in the decking of her beloved ship.

"Are the children still in there?" demanded the pirate as she peered into the dark hole that opened up into the mess.

"Yes," came the tense voice of Berra who had been left in charge on the ship. "I've sent a group down to get in there and get them out." They could hear groaning now, and childish whimpering, as well as banging on the mess door.

"Anyone else in there besides the children?" demanded Nebula.

"The healer was in there, I think ... and Joxer followed that rock through the deck."

"I saw that," growled the captain. "Get a rope and a lantern .. I want to get down there and see just how much damage we've got and how many injured." From the time it was taking the rescue group to get in to help the injured, it seemed likely that the door had been blocked by the debris.

As Nebula waited for the rope and light, she cast speculative glances at the tower from which the missiles had come. All seemed quiet there now, so it seemed likely that either the Roman ballista crews had been subdued before they could launch further boulders, or there had been an accident up there. If it was the second case there were some Amazons with some serious explaining to do! - Hades! - she swore to herself, - either way they've got some explaining to do! -

The rope arrived and was quickly tied off to the deck rail. "Lower the lantern down to me when I call for it," she instructed as she carefully dropped herself into the darkness of the damaged mess. "Okay!" she called, reaching up for the light which rushed to fill the blackness with the soft glow that shone from it.

Nebula slowly swung her eyes over the demolished area of the ship. In the soft light of the lamp she found terrified young faces scattered around the edges of the room. She saw Patroclese wedged under a fallen beam that was also keeping the door tightly closed. Joxer was trapped beneath the boulder that had done the damage. Catching the eye of one of the older children she called softly, "What's your name, boy?"

"M..Mattin, mistress," had come the shaky reply.

"Just call me cap'n, son," she smiled encouragingly. "None of you are slaves any more."

"Yes mist ... umm cap'n," replied the boy with a nervous smile.

Nebula moved carefully over to him, trying not to disturb any of the wreckage in case any of the children were trapped beneath it. "Are you hurt, Mattin?" she asked, looking critically at the blood trickling down the side of his face.

"N .. no, Cap'n," he replied bravely. "Just cuts and bruises I think."

"Good lad," she flashed him a pearly white smile. Do you think you can start collecting all your friends, who aren't hurt bad, over there, under the hole for me?" she indicated with a jut of her chin.

"Sure thing!" agreed the youth, anxious to be doing something.

Nebula moved carefully to where Joxer lay unconscious and checked his pulse, "Well he's alive," she muttered, trying to figure out how he ended up underneath the rock when he followed the stone through the deck. She heard Mattin moving around carefully, collecting some of the older children, who in turn set about gathering up the younger ones. The pirate moved across to Patroclese and checked on him, "Still breathing," she nodded to herself.

Standing up she called to the waiting Amazons, "I want Sheraya down here along with a couple more lanterns, and four of your strongest. We've got a lot of damage and debris to sort out. The kids seem generally okay, but Joxer and Patroclese look to be in a bad way."

Within moments, Nebula's requirements were met and the Amazons began passing the children up through the hole to be wrapped in blankets and checked over for anything more than cuts and bruises. While that was being attended to, Sheraya began to check out just how badly injured the two men were.

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-

Eponin gritted her teeth in pain and frustration. It had been decided that Karrelli should command the rear guard as Eponin would have the most difficult time in climbing back down to the boat .. even though they had strung ropes to make the descent easier and faster. So now the Weapons Master waited at the boat, ears sharp listening to the sounds of fighting taking place above them.

Before she had made the climb down she had 'suggested' that the scout block the stair access by tumbling a catapult down it. If it was timed right she'd be able to take out a few of the enemy garrison as well as establishing a difficult obstacle that could well mean the difference between getting all the Amazons out in one piece, and taking casualties.

"Okay, Poni," Karrellie had agreed. "Now get down the rope before I get a couple of the girls to carry you down." Then she'd turned away before giving Eponin the time to find an appropriate retort, and made busy putting the Weapons Master's defence plan into action.

Shaking her head in frustration, Eponin had reluctantly left Karrellie to get on with things as she had carefully lowered herself back down to the foot of the tower, cursing at the agony caused by her ribs as they pulled and grated under the strain.

Now only Karrellie and four others remained within the fortification. The sound of clashing swords was sporadic and the Weapons Master could see no valid reason why the rest of her warriors had not rejoined those waiting below. She knew that she was being impatient, and that the scout would not endanger anyone unnecessarily, but that didn't make her any less fidgety.

She was just in the throes of contemplating climbing back up to see what was taking so long, when the last five Amazon's rappelled swiftly down the ropes with Karrellie shouting a warning, "They're coming out to look for us. Get ready to fight."

The warrior in Eponin took over and she quickly organised her troops, picking out eight sisters to use bows to cut down any Romans that were foolish enough to rush blindly around the edge of the fortification. The other eight, including herself and those with Karrellie, were to stand ready with swords until they got the chance to get safely into the boat and back to the ship.

Within moments of the scout's warning, the Roman's came running around the edge of the watchtower and down the sharply inclined slope to the jetty. The first five were cut down by a volley of Amazon shafts, but another twenty or so pressed on, carried forward by the momentum of their running and the steep path that they traversed.

Eponin and the others stepped forward to meet the onslaught, while the archers sought to pick off targets towards the rear of the Roman advance, intent upon helping their sisters as much as possible without endangering them with the prospect of friendly fire accidents.

The song of steel on steel soon engulfed the small landing area as the Amazons battled against the angry Romans. Always ready for battle, the Amazons fought with a joy that was alien to the dour regimented tactics of the legions that had served them so well against the peoples that they had conquered. The women warriors, however, were unlike the barbarian hordes that the soldiers were used to. Where the Celtic and Germanic tribes were a group of magnificent individual fighters, the Amazons combined brilliant individual combat skills with the tight cohesion of an army trained to fight as a unit.

The garrison troops, although they outnumbered the Amazons, quickly found themselves in major difficulty. Cut down on the flanks by a deadly rain of missile fire and assaulted from the front by death dealing swords, the Romans were soon forced to pull back, up the difficult slope, to await fresh reinforcements as the rest of the garrison slowly rumbled into action.

Taking short laboured breaths, Eponin watched the retreat and was pleased to note that none of her warriors were pulled into a pointless pursuit. Their training held and they remained a tight fighting unit. A quick glance around assured her that none of her sisters had been mortally wounded, although several showed evidence of taking hits.

Deciding that they should have enough time to get everyone aboard the rowboat before the Romans mustered the courage to return to the fray, the Weapons Master barked her orders, "All wounded into the boat now. As soon as they're safely aboard, everyone else retreat back to the boat in an orderly fashion so that we can get the Hades away from here and back to the ship!" She took a deeper breath and winced at the resulting pain, "Alright ladies! Move!"

With well oiled proficiency, the Amazon contingent carried out their commander's instructions, although Karrellie frowned when she saw that Eponin had no intention of including herself amongst the injured. Once the wounded were settled, the rest of the warriors swiftly withdrew, the Weapons Master and scout being the last to enter the boat.

"Let's get the oars out and pull for the ship, ladies!" instructed Poni, her eyes watching the Roman position carefully. She didn't like the way they had allowed them to withdraw so easily. "The quicker we're away from here the better," she muttered almost inaudibly.

As the boat began to move away from the jetty, the Romans came out of their cover and ran down to the water's edge, several carrying bows. They formed up on the river bank and arrows started to wing their way out across the short expanse of water seeking Amazon targets.

"The fornicating sons of Bacchii!" swore Eponin roundly, "Pull, damn you. Get us out of their range."

Soft thunks bore testament to the arrows hitting and embedding into the wood of the boat. Then there was a groan behind her as an arrow found its mark followed by another two yelps of pain. The Weapons Master glanced to see if any of the wounds were life threatening, but the injuries amounted to a grazed biceps and a winged shoulder and thigh.

Satisfied that all was well, Poni started to turn back to check on their progress away from the shore when she felt a burning lance of agony shear into her side. She had enough time to look down at the feathered shaft protruding from her body and swear softly, "Hera's tits!" before she keeled over to lay still in the bottom of the boat.

Iolaus and Autolycus wanted to lead the four Amazons back towards the harbour proper where they hoped to appropriate a rowing boat to get them back out to the ship. The trouble was that there was a lot of activity going on around the harbour master's building right then. The main street was filled with a five hundred man strong cavalry unit from the VIIth Legion, that was dismounting and organising into infantry units, with one in ten men being left to take care of their mounts.

"They're gonna bring those horses round into these gardens any time now," hissed Iolaus.

"Don't sweat it shorty," answered Autolycus, drawing a glare from the blonde warrior. "We can climb the back fence and circle around until we get down to the harbour. A detour won't hurt us ... unless you're worried about climbing over the TALL fence."

"Cut it out, Autolycus," ordered Ephiny before Iolaus could react. "We don't have time to play! And fighting amongst ourselves is suicidal!"

The thief contrived to look shamefaced, "Yeah, yeah .. you're right. Old habits, you know? Anyway, lets get the Hades back to the ship before we start having to explain to those soldier boys who we are and what we're doing here."

The King of Thieves led the way back to the fence that ran around the building's sizeable attractive gardens. The area had the well tended look of belonging to someone who enjoyed it as a recreational space. Autolycus doubted that it would be so pleasant after it had played host to five hundred horses! - Mind you it should do wonders for the roses! - he grinned to himself.

As it turned out, they didn't have to climb over the fence, someone had conveniently left a gate in a handy spot and it was just the work of a moment for the thief to pick the lock and let them all walk out without an undignified scramble over the high brick and wood obstruction.

"Knew there was a good reason for keeping you around," smirked Iolaus.

"In the words of a tall dark and dangerous friend of ours, I have many skills!" grinned Autolycus.

"I hate to break this up, fellas," whispered Ephiny, "but which way do we go?"

"Follow me," announced the thief, leading the way towards a narrow alleyway. Iolaus and Ephiny moved behind him, with Malonda, Hakine and the other Amazon bringing up the rear.

They soon found that they had to spend precious time dodging into dark, narrow, and frequently smelly, alleys as not only were there an abnormal amount of soldiers moving around in the streets, but many of the citizens, disturbed from their rest, were out trying to see what was happening.

Knowing how quickly rumour could spread in bored, jaded towns, especially about something as exotic as Amazons, Autolycus endeavoured to keep them to the shadows as much as possible, preferring not to risk an untimely encounter with any Roman .. military or civil .. in case of difficulties.

"This is taking too much time!" hissed Ephiny in the thief's ear.

"What do you suggest," returned the thief snarkily, "that we march out there and ask the nearest citizen, 'excuse me, but is this the quickest way to the harbour, and please don't tell anyone you saw us because your army is looking for us' ... I think that would work pretty well. It should get us locked up, chained up or hung up in double quick time."

He was shoved hard by Malonda, "Watch your mouth, thief!" she snarled.

"Leave it Loni," instructed the Regent. "He has a point. I might not like how he made it, but he does have a point."

"Look! The street's clear. If we make a quick dash we should be able to get over to that alleyway on the other side," offered Iolaus.

Autolycus took a quick look both up and down the road, "Alright everybody. You heard the man. Let's move it." The six of them sped quickly on silent feet and were safely within the embracing darkness without being spotted.

Hakine peered about her cautiously, "I think I recognise this one," she whispered. "We passed through here on the way up to the harbour master's building when we started the rescue."

Autolycus straightened up and looked around carefully, "You know I think you're right. It's just a hop skip and a jump down to the harbour from here." He gave his companions the once over. "It's time to play bluff the Roman's again," he announced. Three of us are still dressed as soldiers. We can form up around you other three, if any one tries to question us, I'll just try bluffing them and tell them that you're some of the escaped prisoners everyone's looking for."

"And if that doesn't work?" questioned Malonda.

"Then we start busting heads," grinned the thief.

"Sounds like a plan," agreed Iolaus tentatively. "Not a very good one," he held up his hand to still the thief's objection, "but the best we're gonna do at short notice."

"Can you guys pretend that your hands are tied?" asked Autolycus, "Just to make it look more official."

"How do you propose we do that? We haven't got any rope," sniped the hunter.

"I'm aware of that, shorty. Just pretend. If you hold your hands behind your backs, my troops," he grinned at the two disguised Amazons, "can get up close behind you to hide the fact that you're really free."

Ephiny jumped in before Iolaus and the thief could get into a debate, "Sounds workable to me. Let's get on with it."

They continued to keep to the shadows as much as possible, but on those occasions when they were forced onto the well lit streets they utilized their ruse and everything seemed to work favourably for them. Now the big problem was going to be finding a rowing boat that no one would immediately miss .. unless the longboat that Autolycus and his fake Romans had used was still where they had moored it.

Feeling a little more optimistic, Autolycus headed out for the slip where the boat had been left and offered a little prayer up to any listening gods that it was still there. With no more cover to be had, as they traversed the cobbled surface of the wharf front, their determined footsteps echoed far louder than they had dreamed possible and they had to fight against the rising anxiety that gripped them, certain that they would be stopped at any moment by their enemies.

Almost to the slip where the rowing boat was moored, they encountered a Roman patrol of eight men, "You there!" the decurion called. "Who are you? and who are those prisoners?"

"Urbansis of the Seventh," replied Autolycus smoothly, "And since when does a lowly decurion address an optio in such a fashion?" he demanded belligerently, hoping to bull his way through the situation by pulling rank as he had in the dungeons.

"I'll need your credentials, sir!" barked back the decurion, only slightly less aggressively. "There are imposters running around Ostia and I have orders to check out all unfamiliar personnel." He continued to approach with his men.

"Be ready," the thief threw back over his shoulder, "I think we're gonna have to fight our way out of here." He returned his attention to the decurion who was no more than a few strides away now. "I haven't got time to waste with such stupid trivialities," he growled. "I have orders to take these prisoners out to that ship and use them to secure our possession of it."

The young decurion drew his sword in a swift, smooth motion, "You're no Roman optio, Urbansis .. or whatever you name is. I think you, your 'prisoners' and your men are coming with us."

Autolycus smiled, "Big mistake, decurion!" he snarled.

"Oh I don't think so .. I think maybe I just got that promotion I've been dreaming of."

"Think again, junior," retorted the thief as he swirled his impressive red military cloak from his shoulders and flipped it over the Roman officer enveloping him completely. He threw his own sword to Ephiny, preferring to use his fists rather than steel, and waded into what was a short nasty scrap.

The Amazons worked together. Their first aim was to get Malonda a weapon, then they intended to use steel to end the conflict before it could attract enough attention to stop them from taking the boat and getting back to the ship. They were very effective in their intentions and soon pressed the Romans, from the local garrison troop, severely.

Iolaus did his usual. He ducked below slashing cuts, jumped over low aimed blades and generally frustrated the Hades out of the two men trying to end his participation in the fight. When he saw his chance, he did a quick forward roll, to get between and behind them, before coming up and delivering a powerful kick into the small of one man's back, propelling him into his officer who still struggled with Autolycus' cloak. Then dropping to the ground he swept the legs out from under the other soldier as he turned, felling him in a clatter of metallic armour. Taking his chance, the agile blonde hunter delivered a thumping right to the Roman's jaw, that put the man's lights out for the duration of the rest of the fight.

Turning to check on what was happening with the others, during the brief respite he'd gained himself, Iolaus saw Malonda cleave into a Roman neck with the sword she'd acquired somewhere during the fight, and also noted that three more soldiers were down on the ground, unlikely to rise again .. ever!

It was at that point that Autolycus spun one of his adversaries away in the hunter's direction and Iolaus joined the fight once again. Just avoiding the point of the soldier's lunging sword, the blonde warrior shook his finger at the man and said cheekily, "That wasn't nice!" before diving back into the fray.

The Amazons were having a lot of fun letting off pent up steam soon finishing off their own six opponents, and had turned to see if they could help the men with the soldiers attacking them. They were in time to see the decurion and the man Iolaus had entangled him with, rise angrily from the road, the snaring cloak being thrown away from them.

Autolycus seeing the Amazons looking for more to engage their attention, grabbed his current assailant's arm and swung him in their direction, dusting off his hands with a smile. He heard movement behind him and was able to nimbly sidestep as the soldier, who had been with the decurion, charged past and ended up battling against the women warriors as well.

Grinning to himself the thief failed to realise that the decurion was also behind him. With an angry yell, the Roman officer rushed at Autolycus, diving to grab him around the waist and took him over the edge of the wharf with his momentum, down into the river where both men sunk under the weight of the armour they were wearing.

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-

Kaylee and Danara had scaled the fortification wall with ease. It was good to stretch their muscles once more and, for two women who had grown up spending almost as much time in trees as out of them, heights offered no fears. When they reached the parapet, they had seen their sisters methodically disarming and disabling the ballista and, with a quick nod to each other, they'd trotted around the walkway to find Turra.

"What are you two doing here," the contingent commander had demanded, "I thought you went with the thief?"

"We did," replied Kaylee taking the lead. "We got Hercules, Iolaus, Toris and Nebula out of the dungeon, but Eph and Loni were being held somewhere else. We were just deciding what to do when we got wind of a large party of mounted men coming in from Rome. Autolycus and Iolaus went with Hakine and Phoebe to get Eph and Loni. Hercules, Toris and us came here to warn you and Xena, while Nebula and the others went back to the ship."

Turra had glanced towards the town and drummed her fingers on the wall crenellations. "Alright, we're going to have to try and buy Xena the time she needs if a Roman force comes this way." She'd looked across to where her demolition party was about to start work on the last three catapults. "Okay, leave those three for now. We may have a use for them. Get them sighted to cover the causeway out from the port."

The Amazons had moved to do as ordered, many looking forward to getting another crack at the troops of Rome. "Well this is turning out to be an interesting evening," grinned Turra to herself.

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-

Flaccus estimated that he had lost close to half his men out on the exposed causeway. The Amazons firing the three catapults they were using, had proven to be deadly accurate .. and the damage more pronounced because they had elected to use many smaller stones per shot, as ammunition, rather than the larger boulders. The result was that the smaller rocks had scythed through the troops who had absolutely nowhere to take cover. Not all, by any means, had been killed, but enough damage had been done to make them unfit for further combat.

Trying to contain the growing rage he felt as the situation seemed to be escalating out of his control, he attempted to concentrate upon the main task at hand .. namely recapturing the escaped slave, Xena, and, if possible, retaking the other slave, Gabrielle. The chastisement of the Amazons, and the male friends of the two slaves, would wait until Caesar arrived.

"Alright!" he snapped at his optios, "Get the men searching this fortification in groups. Make sure that each group has at least three nets in case they find the slaves. I want units two, five, six and seven with me ... and find someone who can show me to the winch room!" he snarled, knowing that if she wasn't there yet, that's where Xena would be heading to. "The rest of you make sure you scour every room in this place, except for you Petrus. I want you to take a third of the men and clear those damned Amazons off of the parapets!"

The optios quickly dispersed, one having the presence of mind to send a tower guard over to the centurion. None of the Romans wanted to draw Flaccus' wrath down on their own heads. The man was something of a legend in legion circles. He was known for being hard but fair, but if he became angered by something, or some luckless person, then they'd need the gods to protect them, because Publius Flavius Flaccus was merciless.

"What's your name?" demanded the centurion of the young soldier that appeared before him.

"Sertorus, sir," he answered a little shakily. "The optio said you needed someone to show you to the winch room?"

"Well?" demanded the veteran soldier, grey eyes narrowing.

"Sir?" questioned the boy at a loss to understand what the officer was getting at.

"By Jupiter's balls!" roared Flaccus, "Where is the room, laddie? Don't stand there pissing your pants .. just show me!"

"Umm! Right. Umm do you want to follow me?" answered Sertorus, wondering what had brought the wrath of Mars down upon his lowly head.

"Move, you worthless reject from this man's army!" thundered Flaccus who really had the bit between his teeth now.

Taking that as an invitation to run the young soldier sprinted off down the dimly lit corridors with the centurion and his chosen men in hot pursuit. They clattered along, boots slapping on the stone floor, the metal of their equipment jingling loudly as they exerted themselves.

Sertorus was breathing deeply when he pulled to a stop at the top of the stairs that wound down to the winch chamber. He opened his mouth to speak, but stopped when Flaccus held up a commanding hand. He stood silently as the centurion motioned him closer.

"Get back to your post," came the rumbling whisper from the veteran. "We'll handle things from here."

Nodding vigorously, the young legionnaire couldn't wait to get as far as possible away from to the hard bitten centurion and his grizzled troops. - Damned if I know what's going on, but I'll be damned if I want to stay and find out! -

Listening intently to the sounds that echoed up from below, Flaccus recognised the distorted voice of the slave he was hunting and, from the feminine voice of her companion, he guessed that the bard was down there as well. - Perfect! Both in one fell swoop! - He considered the situation and gestured two soldiers forwards. - It won't hurt to have backup, - he decided. "You two," he whispered forcefully, "go and round up a couple more squads and bring them back here. I want to make sure there are no mistakes."

Getting a nod of affirmation, Flaccus turned to the rest of his men and warned, "Remember! We want them both alive. Use the nets, use clubs, but no swords! Got it?" He glared sternly at the men as they nodded their understanding. "Four of you stay up here and spread nets across the stairwell. If they get past us they'll be coming fast and should get tangled in the mesh before they know it's there."

With the arrangements made Flaccus stealthily led his men down the winding stairwell towards where he could hear the two women conversing. When Xena stopped speaking, he knew that they'd been detected. No longer bothering to try and move quietly, Flaccus straightened his shoulders and moved down the steps with impressive confidence.

As he reached the chamber his eyes took in the bloody remains of the men that had been stationed there before swivelling across to the bound, unconscious survivors and from there to the two women who stood with weapons ready. He allowed a death's head smile to grace his features. A smile that never reached his eyes. "Time to go back to your pit, slave!" he rumbled authoritively.

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-

Standing shakily by the window, Toris bent over and took some deep breaths. He couldn't believe the ease and speed with which the two Amazon warriors climbed to the top of the tower. It had been lucky that Hercules hadn't wanted to climb the full distance, reasoning that Xena was likely to be found on the ground floor if not down in the cellars. So they had made use of the inviting window behind him, from which, Hercules had told him, boiling oil would be poured should the fortification be attacked from the seawards side.

The raven haired man looked out of the window down to the sea strand below. He shuddered a little when he realised just how high they had climbed. - I still don't like heights! - he moaned to himself.

The son of Zeus stepped over to him and slapped him lightly on the shoulder, "You okay Toris?" he questioned quietly.

"Yeah," answered the other man very quietly, then added in a stronger tone, "Yeah .. just fine."

"Good, because we need to get moving. This place will become a hornets nest soon and we need to find Xena as quickly as possible," Hercules told him.

"A lot of soldiers, huh?"

"Oh yeah! Should make things real interesting," added the demi-god.

Toris grinned, "What are we doing standing here then?" he demanded, "Let's go join the fun," he said as he moved across to the exit from the room.

"Oh boy!" muttered Herc shaking his head a little in disbelief, "Just like his sister." He turned to find that Toris had already moved through the door, "Hey, wait for me," he called before moving quickly to rejoin his companion.

The two big men trod cautiously through the dimly lit hallways and corridors. Generally speaking the Roman garrison were settled down for the night, so they had little difficulty moving through the middle floors of the building. That's not to say that they didn't encounter any opposition. They were in fact able to mop up several small groups that they stumbled across. After the initial, short brutal skirmish, the pair had acquired Roman helmets and cloaks, as well as a short sword each, allowing them to approach their enemies openly, utilising their rough disguises, and ambush other men before they had a chance to realise that Hercules and Toris were not fellow soldiers.

Having worked their way to the stairwell, taking more time than they had hoped, the two tall men had cautiously moved down towards the ground floor, and it was there that they became aware of a large body of men forming up, and low orders being issued by an officer. They drew back around a corner, in the corridor, and Toris waited while the demi-god eased his head around to see what he could make out.

When he drew back he whispered quickly and quietly to the raven haired man, "That's Flaccus in charge out there."

"Flaccus? Are you certain?" hissed Toris angrily and looked ready to charge the Roman contingent for the chance of getting at the centurion who had so brutalized Xena. Visions of her scar laced back danced before his eyes.

Hercules grabbed his arm and had to exert a considerable amount of force to stop his companion from doing something foolish, "Stop that," he whispered in a rumbling tone. "If you run out there now, you'll be captured or killed and that won't do Xena the least bit of good."

Toris looked as if he might argue, his blue eyes deepened to almost violet in the passion of his anger, before he managed to take a deep breath and force himself to start relaxing, "You're right," he agreed grudgingly. "Any idea what's going on?" He questioned trying to impose some calmness upon himself.

"Good man," grinned Hercules. "I think Xena must be down in the winch room and they know she's there. Flaccus is going down to get her."

"Well what are we gonna do?" demanded a still agitated Toris.

"We're going down behind them. While they're busy with Xena in front of them, we'll take them out from behind," explained the big man. He saw the tense, worried look on the other man's face, "Don't worry, Toris. They want her alive, remember. They won't do anything that could kill her .. and remember, they don't have that luxury in return. Xena won't let them take her easily."

Getting a nod of understanding from the raven haired man, Hercules was about to check on what was happening around the corner when two Romans appeared before him. "What are you doing ..." began one of the men just before he felt a massive hand clasp him beside the head and ram it with stunning force into his compatriots skull.

"That was close," whispered Toris and received a nod agreement from the demi-god.

Taking a breath, the son of Zeus, once again, carefully edged his head around the corner and found that there were now just four men there, busily stringing a net trap to catch anyone trying to bolt out of the cellar. He eased back to where Toris waited impatiently, "Just four still up here, the rest are obviously on their way down to the cellar. We can take the four out up here and then go down after the others."

Blue eyes sparkled coldly as the other man grinned, "Sounds like a plan!"

Straightening their cloaks around their shoulders and making sure that their 'borrowed' helmets were settled correctly, the two large men, moved around the corner and marched over to the four working soldiers. They had two down with solid punches to the jaw before the other two realised what was happening and, after a brief, almost silent, scuffle, they managed to deal with the second pair.

Wrapping them all up in the nets that they'd been using to snare the entrance to the stairwell, Hercules gave each man an additional 'tap' with his fist to ensure that they wouldn't be moving any time soon and nodded for Toris to follow him down the spiral staircase in the wake of Flaccus and his men.

Chapter Seventy Five: A Fight to the Finish

"Autolycus!" shouted Iolaus as he saw his sometimes friend go into the river with the Roman decurion. Without a second thought he dived in after the pair, determined not to lose the thief to the water.

Ephiny and her Amazons quickly despatched the remaining soldiers and rushed to the stone steps that led to the little jetty where the longboat had been moored. Ignoring the boat for the moment, the Amazons peered hard at the water where the three men had disappeared, searching for any sign of them emerging from the black depths.

"There!" pointed Malonda to an eruption of bubbles that broke upon the river's surface.

They watched the spot intensely, but nothing else showed up. Frantic eyes scanned the area, desperately seeking any sign of their missing companions, but nothing further disturbed the glassy water of the Tiber.

"Centaur crap!" swore Ephiny as she readied herself to dive into the waters to search for the men. She quickly unlaced her boots, tugged them off and took a deep breath .. only to let it out in a half panicked squeak as something wet rubbed against her ankle.

Looking down she was greeted by a gout of river water spurting from between Autolycus' lips as Iolaus squeezed his chest hard. The water was followed by a weak cough and splutter and then a sharp intake of breath. Iolaus gave a sigh of relief as he tried to push the thief up onto the jetty.

"A little help would be appreciated," he mentioned a tad too casually it seemed to the Amazons; Iolaus was exhausted.

Immediately breaking out of the almost trance like state she had fallen into, Ephiny snapped some terse orders, "Get them out of there and into the boat .. and lets get back to the ship before any more trouble can find us."

Willing hands pulled the sodden pair out of the Tiber and helped them into the rowboat. The two men sat shivering in the stern as the four Amazons took the oars and started back towards the ship, glad that the current was with them as the heavy vessel was meant to be powered by more than just four warriors.

"What took you so long?" grunted the Regent as she swung her oar.

His teeth chattered a little as the hunter explained, "Took a while to get that damned Roman off him .. then we had to get him out of that armour before I could get him back to the surface." He shivered again. The water wasn't really cold but there was a chill in the night air now, "Thought I'd lost him for a minute. Damned Roman was choking the air out of him."

"Th .. tha .. thanks C ... Cur ... Iolaus!" shivered Autolycus. "Didn't think I was gonna make it back that time."

"S'okay Autolycus," returned the blonde, "You'd have done the same f .. for me!" came the response.

"May .. be," agreed the thief, "B .. but you def .. definitely did it."

Ephiny shook her head at the mutual appreciation that seemed to be going on between the two semi-friends. - Wonder how long this will last? - She mentally asked herself. - I'll give it until they both get their brains warmed up enough to remember how much they hate each other! - she grinned at that thought. She checked over her shoulder and realised that they were close to 'Wave Dancer'. "Ahoy the ship!" she called, "Someone throw us a line!"

An anxious face peeped over the rail and the Regent recognised Rael, "Hold on a moment," called the young warrior. Her head bobbed out of sight once again and she returned in short time with the requested line. "Coming down."

"Thanks!" called Ephiny as she caught the rope and secured the boat to it. She turned and gave the men a critical look, "Are you two going to be able to climb up to the deck okay?"

"No problems," answered Iolaus.

"Piece of cake," agreed Autolycus.

Both stood on shaky legs and moved to the ships side. Ephiny watched them for a heartbeat or two, before deciding that she wasn't willing to risk more trouble. So ignoring male egos she shouted up to Rael, "Send a couple more ropes down and get some of the others to pull these two up." She got some outraged looks from the two men, but she noted that there were no real protests .. at least verbal ones.

**********

Once they were all on deck, Ephiny could see that there had been trouble in her absence. "What happened here?" she demanded grabbing young Rael by the arm.

"A couple of those catapults managed to fire off their loads before our people could deal with them," the girl replied. "One hit and sunk Nebula's rowboat as they were almost back to the ship, and the other crashed through the deck into the mess."

"The children?" asked the Regent sharply.

"They're all okay. Cuts, bruises .. one boy's got a broken arm another one had a split scalp, but nothing life threatening," reported the sandy haired warrior.

"But?" questioned Ephiny, sensing that there was more to the problem.

Taking a breath Rael told her, "Patroclese and Joxer are pretty smashed up. The healer got hit by a falling beam and trapped under it against the door. Joxer saved a little girl's life by pushing her out from under the rock that had landed on the mess table. As he got her out, the table collapsed and the boulder landed on his legs. Sheraya thinks they're both broken pretty badly. Nebula, Sheraya and some others are down their trying to get both of them out."

"Damn," swore the Regent in frustration. Things were falling apart and she wasn't sure what she could do to rescue all their hard fought for plans.

A hail from off the port bow of the ship drew immediate attention, "Drop us a line," came Karrellie's shout. "We've got injured down here and Eponin needs medical attention now."

Ephiny rushed across to the rail and looked down at the scout, "How bad is she?" she demanded, worry creasing her brow with concern for her closest friend.

A couple of warriors threw lines down so that the boat could be secured and Karrellie called up an answer, "She took an arrow just above the hip. Don't know how much damage it's done but she's bleeding pretty heavily."

"Mother of Zeus!" cursed the Regent, "What else can go wrong!" she muttered before telling the scout, "Get her and any other injured up here on deck. I'll get Sheraya."

Leaving the warriors, around her, to help the assault party back on board, Ephiny moved quickly towards the crowd that were still standing around the hole in the bow deck. She pushed her way, unceremoniously, through the warriors and peered down into the gloom, "Sheraya .. we need you up here ... now!" she commended, anxiety for Eponin overriding her normal courtesy.

"Whatever it is it'll have to wait," barked back Nebula's voice from somewhere behind the big rock that lay beneath the hole. "We have an emergency down here."

Ephiny glowered and pulled all the commanding authority of an Amazon queen about herself, "We have an emergency up here, and I need Sheraya now. Last time I looked she was an Amazon healer subject to my will," she informed the pirate with cold menace.

"On this ship, everyone is subject to my will!" the captain told her flatly, "And Sheraya is needed here."

"Actually I'm not," put in the Amazon healer in her quiet strong voice. She rarely raised her voice in any situation, but she had a will like iron and needed it amongst pig headed warriors. Most Amazons knew to tread carefully around the woman. "Until you get them out from under all the debris, I can't do anything to help them more than I already have ... so I'll go and check out the problem on the deck and you can call for me once they're free," she told Nebula. "Don't go moving either of them more than you have to." She turned her attention to Ephiny, "And you better not be wasting my time," she told her ruler pointedly.

The Amazon healer, with short cropped brown locks and strong brown eyes, quickly scrambled up the rope to the deck and headed for where she could see injured Amazons awaited her. Nebula watched her go before shaking herself and asking, "Is she always like that?"

Ephiny just shrugged. There was no way that she was going to be caught making a comment about Sheraya. The woman had ears as sharp as Xena's and a longer memory, if that was possible. She also had her ways of making you regret things that she disapproved of. "How's it looking down there?" she questioned changing the subject.

"Joxer and the healer are stable, but unconscious. We'll get them out of here as soon as we can. We're going to rig a block and tackle to get the rock off of Joxer's legs .. we might cause more damage if we try to manhandle it away. Patroclese just needs to be cut out from under what's pinning him down. Sheraya thinks he just took a knock to the head, everything else seems okay, although she won't know for sure until she can give him a full check over," answered the captain with full details. "What's happening up there?"

"Eponin's group has just come in. There are a lot of wounds to be seen to .. chiefly the arrow that Poni took that seems to be bleeding quite a bit," came the response.

"Ah .. I see. Not good, huh?" Nebula guessed.

"Looks pretty bad from what I could see .. Sheraya will know more." came the stoic reply that belied the Regent's concern for her friend.

Nebula looked around to see how the progress was going. The block and tackle had been rigged on a tripod of fallen beams above where Joxer lay unmoving. Most of the debris over Patroclese had been removed, with just the thick deck beam, needing to be cut through so that they could get it out .. it was too tightly wedged to do otherwise. "We'll be a while longer before she's needed here. Why don't you go and see how Ep's doing?" suggested the pirate sympathetically, having gotten over her anger at Ephiny's abrupt appropriation of the healer, now that she realised that it was for a true emergency.

"I'll send Sheraya back as soon as she's done with the critical stuff," nodded Ephiny a little stiffly her disquiet over the Weapons Master's condition obvious. She turned away from the hole in the deck and forced herself to walk back to where Eponin's party were congregated amidships.

She watched as the Amazon healer worked quickly, cutting the leathers away from her patient to get a better look at the entry wound where the arrow shaft stuck obscenely in the pale skin. "Get me some light," growled Sheraya, "and the rest of you stand back! this isn't some gods be damned show!"

The curious Amazon warriors backed off and Ephiny retrieved a lantern with a strongly burning candle holding it close so that the healer could see to work. At least by doing that she was helping and Sheraya couldn't tell her to back off. She needed to see for herself that Eponin was going to be alright. She seriously began to debate whether she had been right to risk the lives of the Amazons to save Xena and Gabrielle.

"Hold it a little closer," growled the healer as her hand probed beneath the Weapons Master's back to feel if the arrow had gone through. She could just feel a lump caused by the sharp point of the metal head as it pushed against the skin. "Easiest way out will be to push it through," she muttered to herself. "It'll cause more damage trying to bring it out the way it went in."

Picking through the instruments in the pouch that she carried on her belt, Sheraya extracted a thin, extremely sharp, knife and expertly cut through the shaft just below the arrow's fletchings. "Jade, help me turn her onto her side, then hold her shoulders so that she doesn't move too much. Lasca," she motioned to the young blonde haired warrior who stood watching with keen interest. "Sit on her legs and don't let her thrash about," instructed the brown eyed healer.

Once her helpers were positioned, Sheraya took a breath and used her deceptive strength to force the arrow, through the flesh in the warrior's back, using the heel of her hand as the driving momentum.

Eponin screamed and her body tried to convulse against the pain, but was too tightly held. When her shuddering had stopped, they were all relieved to see that the Weapons Master remained unconscious. It would make patching her up easier if she wasn't struggling and being difficult.

The healer carefully grasped the blood slick shaft of the arrow on the exit side of the wound and drew it through in a smooth powerful motion, again having to wait for Poni's bodily contortions to calm before proceeding with her ministrations. - At least she didn't scream that time, - thought Sheraya absently. A thought that was closely followed by another as she worked to stitch the wounds , - Why didn't she scream? -

As soon as she had finished with her needle, she checked Eponin's pulse and examined her eyes, looking for signs of trouble. - Damn! What in Artemis' name is going on here? - she demanded of herself as she realised that the Weapon's Master's heartbeat was fast and thready and that her eyes were not responding properly to the light.

"What's wrong, Sheraya?" demanded the Regent picking up on the signs that something was amiss.

"I think that arrow must have nicked something inside. I've done all I can for her. We just have to hope that she's strong enough to fight through it." - That or Xena gets back here and knows something that I don't about what's going on here. - the healer thought grimly, shaking out her short curls in frustration. "Get her carried down to the captain's cabin. She can use the cot there .. and I'll be down to check on her as soon as I can. Make sure she'd wrapped up warmly and keep her still. You, Jade, and you, Lasca, can have that task. Come and get me if there's any change in her condition." She watched them nod their acknowledgement and signal for some of their sisters to help carry Eponin as gently as they could manage. "Anyone else?" she questioned.

The removal of the arrows from the women who had taken them in the shoulder and thigh had not proven difficult and after applying salve and bandaging the wounds the two warriors had declared themselves to be fine and not in need of bed rest. "I want to see both of you in the morning to change those bandages," Sheraya growled, knowing that left to their own devices, Amazons did not always take proper care of an injury, thinking it showed how tough they were.

Ephiny watched the healer as she threw a glance over at the other watchtower .. the one that Xena had attacked. She guessed that Sheraya was wishing the Warrior Princess was back on board so that she could plumb the depths of her extensive medical knowledge.

The Regent looked across the water to the fortification as well, - Where are you Xena? - she asked her herself, before deciding that it was time to take the two rowing boats over to the tower and pick her Amazons and friends up. She had a moments guilt about the thought of abandoning Eponin while she was in such a critical condition, but logic reasoned that the Weapons Master would stand a better chance of surviving if Xena was around to aid in the treatment.

With her mind made up she told Sheraya, "You better get back and see what you can do for the men. I'll go get Xena and the others."

The healer nodded and headed back to the bow of the ship, while Ephiny began to organise her warriors for the short trip over to the tower. When all was ready she was confronted by the two men she had accompanied back to the ship.

"We're coming," Iolaus told her bluntly.

The Regent gave them both a long look before shaking her head, "No!" she told them tersely, "It wasn't so long ago you two could barely stand. I don't know what we are going to find over there, but I do want to know that everyone who goes is fit enough to take care of themselves."

"Ephiny," began the thief.

"NO!" snapped the blonde Amazon, a note of finality in her tone. "You two go and find some dry clothes and get something warm to drink. We'll be back just as soon as we've got them."

It would have been senseless to continue to argue with the authoritive woman, causing the pair to, reluctantly give in. They watched as Ephiny and Malonda took their two crews down into the rowing boats and set off for the rocky shore beneath the tower to collect the remaining assault party, that would, hopefully, be successful in removing the barrier that was holding the ship prisoner.

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-

"Where are you Xena?" muttered Turra as she drummed anxious fingers on the frame of a catapult.

Since all of the Romans were currently inside the fortress, she had ordered the completion of their initial task and now all of the ballista were disabled. What she wasn't sure about was what she should be doing now the work had been finished.

Xena had been clear, telling her that as soon as the catapults were out of action, she should take the warriors, under her command, and head back down to the foot of the tower to await being picked up by the boats from the ship.

A frown creased her face as she considered her options. If she did as instructed it would almost certainly be an abandonment of the Queen, Xena, her brother, Toris, and Hercules. If she disobeyed orders then she was going to have one mightily pissed off Warrior Princess to contend with just as soon as they were back on 'Wave Dancer'. She could always cite the fact that it was their sworn duty to protect their queen, but she didn't think that it would hold much weight against a direct command from the raven haired warrior. Turra shuddered at the thought of those cold blue eyes upon her in anger.

Puzzling it all over she tried to come up with a compromise that would enable her to follow the gist of Xena's orders without sticking exactly to the letter of them. Slowly a smile edged onto her frowning face. - Of course! - she told herself. She'd agreed to take the Amazons back down to the foot of the tower .. nothing was specified about the route she should take. Going down through the tower was still going down .. even thought she was certain that the Warrior Princess would just see it as splitting hairs. She had undoubtedly meant that the Amazons should descend the same way they had got into the fortification.

"Alright Amazons," she called their attention and grinned, "Time for some more fun."

"I think that might have to wait, Turra," Kaylee called, "Seems the Romans want to come up here and play!"

"Artemis' arrows!" swore the Amazon commander. "Alright, you excuses for warriors. Lets show the Roman pigs how to fight!"

Several of the Amazons gathered swords and spears from the fallen catapult teams and readied themselves to face the men from the VIIth Legion with the cold, excited yearning for a good fight. As Turra considered the fact that the Romans had to come up the stairs from the courtyard to get to them, she saw the potential of the disabled ballista, much as Eponin had.

"Hey, give me a hand!" she yelled a some of her warriors, "Let's tip this down the steps. At the least it's going to cause them a problem getting up here and with luck it will take out a whole bunch of them as well."

The rest of the Amazons shouted taunts at the soldiers, "Roman swine!", "Caesar's dogs!", "Legion lackeys!", accompanied by vivid hand gestures all aimed at making them angry enough to charge up the steps to get at the mere handful of women who were there.

The optio, Petrus, tried to hold his men back, but they were tired, from the long ride they'd just had, and angry about being sent out to hunt for a couple of escaped slaves .. that was not work for the elite cavalry of the VIIth Legion! So the taunts of less than twenty Amazon warriors spurred them into an immediate, reckless assault, before they had properly formed up for such an attack.

"They're coming, yelled Kaylee eager for the fray.

Turra, and those helping her, bunched their muscles and heaved at the heavy weapon, sending it careering down the stone steps into the tightly packed soldiers ascending them. The Amazons cheered with glee as the Romans were either tumbled from the stairway, or crushed beneath the heavy wooden frame of the catapult.

The Amazons sent a second one down directly after the first, hoping the bulky weapons would lodge and create an obstruction that would make it easy to pick off any Romans foolish enough to attempt to clamber over it. The only problem was that it effectively scuttled the plans for going down and finding Xena.

The Amazon commander bit her lip as she considered what she should do. - While we're here, we can keep a goodly portion of the Roman force off of Xena's back. That's got to give her and Gabrielle more chance of getting that boom down and then being able to get out as well. - She threw a look down into the courtyard to see how the soldiers were doing. - Reforming for a concerted attack, - she grinned. - Well if we play with them for a while we can always withdraw once I think Xena's had enough time to get her thing done. Yeah, - she grinned, - that's what we'll do! -

"We can work four abreast on the steps," Turra instructed. "Teams of two warriors with spears and two with swords. Keep the sons of whores on the other side of the blockade and rotate at regular intervals with the other sisters so no one gets too tired. Any questions?" she asked keeping one eye on the Romans as she waited for a response that didn't come, "Okay then, ladies .. lets get to it!"

Her blood rising at the prospect of battle, Turra positioned herself just behind the front rank, so she could keep an eye on the progress of the fight and be there to ensure the proper rotation as well as well as lend a spear over the other warrior's shoulders should it be necessary.

**********

They had just successfully repulsed the third attack, although at some cost to themselves. Three warrior's were down with severe wounds that had to be roughly field dressed, but really needed the attention of a healer, and most of the other women had gashes and cuts that could stand some attention.

Turra took a deep breath and looked down at the enemy. They had taken far more casualties than their Amazon opponents, and their officer finally looked about ready to concede the fact that he wasn't going to be able to force his way over the wreckage of the ballista any time soon.

A natural halt in the battle occurred and many of the women took the chance to take deep draughts from the water barrel, while others wrapped a field dressing around a particularly bothersome cut. The commander, however studied the actions of her opponent and realised that the Romans were looking for a different way up to the parapet. If they managed to find ropes or ladders to climb, as well as force the attack up the steps, she could never hope to defend their position with so few warriors.

Sighing softly to herself, Turra sent a thought out to Xena, - I hope you're ready to leave, Warrior Princess, because we've done all we can here to help you. - Reluctantly, she gave the signal to pull back. She and two others would maintain a presence on the steps until the others had got the seriously wounded down to the foot of the tower, and then they would follow. - I hope someone remembered to send the boats for us, or we'll be in real trouble. -

Sheraya scrambled down the rope, back into the destroyed eating hall of the ship. The Amazons had managed to free Patroclese, and so she was finally able to give him a full examination to determine the extent of his injuries. Working quickly and methodically, she ran probing hands over her young colleagues legs and grunted with satisfaction when she found nothing broken.

Carefully checking over his torso, she found evidence of heavy bruising that was going to make him stiff and sore for a while, but nothing requiring treatment, other than a liniment to help draw the bruising out. She discovered that he had a break in his left forearm, but she judged it clean and would be easily treated with a splint and would heal well so long as he rested it.

Finally she carefully examined his head, finding a large knot on the back of his skull that accounted for his unconscious state. She checked his eyes and guessed he would have a heavy concussion when he came round, but all in all he was not in as bad shape as she had feared.

Pulling out a pair of long splints from her equipment, she swiftly set, immobilized and strapped the blonde haired man's broken arm and then motioned to the Amazons that he could be moved, "Take him to the captain's cabin. Eponin's already in there. Clear all the furnishings out and set up as many cots as you can. I have a feeling we're going to need them before this night is over."

The warrior's nodded and gently lifted Patroclese out of the way, then let two more of their number clear the remaining obstructions to the door, so that they were able to take the unconscious man down the passageway to the designated hospital area without hauling him through the hole in the deck.

As Patroclese was moved, Sheraya could hear the squeaking of the block as the rock that had pinned Joxer was lifted smoothly off of his legs. The healer took a deep breath before turning her attention to the harmless young man who, from the excited accounts of the children, had saved a six winters old girl called Charis from being crushed and almost certainly killed by the rock. The reward for his act of heroism could leave him a cripple for the rest of his life.

She waited until the stone had been manhandled away with the block, tackle and brace that had been used to lift it, before settling down beside the prone, unmoving body of the wannabe warrior.

A quick check of his upper extremities told her that she only had to be concerned about the damage to his legs. Turning her attention there, Sheraya surveyed the injuries seeking a place to start her ministrations. She winced as she saw the white of jagged bone sticking through the man's thigh. Blood pumped sluggishly through the wound to pool around his legs.

Taking her sharp knife, once again, she slit the seams of his trouser legs from ankle to hip, so that she could get free access to the area she needed to work on. Signalling three of the warriors over, she instructed, "Two of you hold him down, while you," she said pointing to third member of the trio, "pull his leg out with a strong and steady pressure .. don't let go of it until I tell you. I need to stitch the wound before I splint the leg."

Watching carefully as the three women did as she bade them, Sheraya repositioned the hands of the leg puller so that they had a strong grip around her patient's ankle. "Alright. Remember, now, a slow steady pressure and hold it steady when I tell you to."

She carefully observed the operation, watching intently as the bone slipped back within the encasing flesh and grated against it's broken half until Sheraya judged it to be in the correct position, "Now hold it while I stitch his leg up," she cautioned.

Working as quickly as she could, she removed some tiny fragments of splintered bone from the wound, before liberally dousing it with the cleansing fluid that Patroclese had been so appreciative of when he'd found it in the ships medical kit. Her unconscious patient tried to writhe with the burning fire induced by the potion, but was held too firmly by her Amazon helpers.

Once she was satisfied that the wound was clean of debris, Sheraya neatly stitched the gash and, after applying a healing salve, splinted the leg from ankle to crotch, immobilising it completely. She left the area around the puncture wound, made by the bone, free from the splint strapping so that she would be able to bandage the gash, and care for it without the splint having to be removed each time.

Turning her attention to the other limb, she found a lower leg break, halfway between the knee and ankle, that was much more easily dealt with. Her warrior assistants once more provided the muscle required to draw the bone into proper alignment and it was the work of a few moment to splint it securely.

Sheraya closed her brown eyes and rubbed a forearm across her forehead to wipe away the sweat that plastered her brown bangs to it, "Carry him .. gently," she warned, "down to the captains cabin and get him into a bed. Some of the others should have set it up as an infirmary by now. I'll be along in a few minutes to check on my patients. I just want to make sure that there isn't anyone else who needs attending to before I do."

She watched as Joxer was picked up and carried with a tenderness, usually reserved for a babe in arms, out of the damaged area of the ship and back towards the stern where the captain's cabin was situated. Feeling all of her forty winters, Sheraya sighed and made her way up onto deck to see if any of the warriors had been foolish enough to try and hide an injury that was more than they were letting on. - It's been done before, - she admitted wryly to herself, - and no doubt will be done again! Warriors can be more stupid than any other class of people I know! - She snorted derisively and stepped onto the deck, breathing in the fresh, cool air of the night.

- How many more beds are going to be occupied down there tonight? - she wondered before setting about her task of checking the Amazon's wounds.

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-

Ephiny and Malonda took crews of six each, to man the oars of the two boats and headed across the river to where Xena's party would be expecting to be picked up. The Regent debated with herself about what she should do once she got there. - Do I just wait, or should I climb up and see what's taking them so long? -

She snorted at herself in derision, - Oh yeah! Great idea Eph .. just got out of one cell and you want to walk straight back into another? -

- Give me a break! - She retorted to herself, - I'm not that stupid! - she shook her head, - I'll just take a peek over the battlements and see what's happening. If it's our people up there I can go and get a status report. -

- Oh yeah? And what if you're seen? - she questioned.

- Hey I'm an Amazon ... If I can't climb a wall and peek over it, without being caught by some flat footed Roman, I deserve everything I get! -

- And what about the featherheads with you? - she pushed herself relentlessly.

- I'll leave orders that they're to head back to the ship if there's trouble! - was the pious response.

- Oh yeah! Like they're gonna row off to safety abandoning their Queen and Queen Regent! - she snorted with disgust at herself.

- Malonda would! - she growled petulantly. Then allowed a puzzled expression to creep onto her face, - Now where the Hades did that idea come from? - she asked herself, although the argumentative side of her brain was ominously silent. - Damn! - she cursed as another worry forced it's way onto her list of concerns.

She jerked herself back to her present situation as the keel of the boat scraped over the stony strand that covered the area around the rocky base of the tower. She cocked her head to one side as a familiar sound drifted down from the parapet area and she recognised the clash of steel amid the battle cries and taunts of conflict.

"Malonda! Hold here while I check to see what the situation is up there," she ordered.

The Chief Scout frowned, "That should be my job, Ephiny."

The Regent stiffened and glared at the other woman, "You do remember how to follow orders don't you?" she demanded in a formal frigid tone. - What the Hades has gotten into me? - she chided herself. - That's Loni you're dressing down like a raw recruit! -

The scouts face froze as she stiffly replied, "Of course my Queen."

Ephiny sighed, "I'm sorry, Loni," she apologised, "I'm a little out of sorts and I shouldn't have snapped at you .. but I do need to see what's happening up there myself, so just bear with me, okay?"

Malonda looked as if she wanted to argue with her ruler, but after she too had sighed she finally conceded, "Sure Eph .. just be careful, huh?"

"You got it!" agreed the Regent with a grin, before she headed for the wall and began a rapid, nimble ascent.

**********

When she clambered over the wall she was greeted with the naked steel of two swords. A pair of Amazon warriors stood before her, holding up a badly wounded sister.

"I didn't think I was that bad a leader," she chuckled when she recognised Kaylee.

"Damn, Eph! I think you about scared twenty winter's growth out of me!" huffed the Amazon. "I guess this means that the boats are here .. we were a little worried about that."

"What's going on?" questioned the Regent as her eyes flickered over to where another trio were heading towards them.

"Strategic withdrawal," came the warrior's reply .. It's time to get the Hades out of here .. we think the Romans are about to get inventive."

"Xena?" she questioned shortly.

"No sign of her or the Queen .. but Hercules and Toris are looking for them, and I can't see a few hundred Romans being able to stand up to the Warrior Princess and the son of Zeus for long."

"That many?" questioned Ephiny in concern.

"Probably not .. we thinned them out a fair bit with the catapults before they could get into the tower," she grinned. The warrior began tying a rope around her wounded sister, "Let's get the injured out of here. I'm not sure how much longer Turra will be able to hold them off."

"Alright. Get everyone down to the boats .. I'll go and give Turra a hand," announced the blonde ruler, heading off along the parapet walkway. - And try to figure out what we should do about our missing friends, - her inner voice insisted.

When she reached Turra's position, she could tell at a glance that there was no way that she could get down into the fortification from there. The courtyard was full of busy Romans as they readied for a four pronged assault using ladders, ropes and the blocked stairway.

Glancing over her shoulder, Turra caught sight of Ephiny and shook her head, "I've just called the retreat, Eph. Get out of here."

"What about you?" the Regent asked, not liking to leave any of her people there.

"I'll be right behind you," grinned the assault commander. "Are the others out of here yet?"

Ephiny threw a glance along the wall, "The last one's just going down," she replied.

"C'mon then! Lets get out of here before we have a load of Roman's down our throats!" suggested Turra.

The rearguard trio, plus Ephiny sprinted along the walkway and reached the point where ropes had been left for them to use in their descent. With skilled expertise, the quartet rappelled down the lines and were back at the boats before the Romans had even reached the parapet.

"Loni," the Regent began, "Take all the wounded back to the ship and tell Nebula that I'll hold a boat just off shore here and wait for Xena and the others. The chain will be down before they get back to us, so tell her to take the ship through and wait for us. We'll row out to you once we've picked them up!" - I hope! - she added silently.

Seeing no way that arguing would do them any good, Malonda and the wounded, headed back to 'Wave Dancer', while Ephiny and her crew along, with Turra, Kaylee and a couple of others rowed away from the shore, but were close enough to effect a quick pick up if required.

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-

Xena glared at the centurion as he announced with calm control, "Time to go back to your pit, slave!"

- I'd rather spend eternity in Tartarus! - she mentally snarled, as she raised her sword, ready to split the first man to come at her. Her face took on a grim cast as she looked silently back at him.

Men continued to file into the chamber behind him as Flaccus studied the two women who had caused him so much trouble. The bard hefted her makeshift staff with the confidence of an expert .. and he knew from personal experience that the Warrior Princess was entirely too deadly with any sort of weapon in her hands.

And yet, as he looked at her, he seemed to detect a weakness. Perspiration beaded her brow and there was a suggestion of a tremor in her knees and at the point of her sword. - Is it possible that the woman is below her normal fighting fitness? -

The rictus of a smile again appeared on the centurion's face as he reached beneath his cloak to unhook something from his belt. With an unhurried move, he tossed the hated leather belt, with the attached manacles, over to land at her feet. "Do this the easy way, slave. Save yourself a few bruises and put the belt on. If you don't, I can guarantee you and the bard a beating that will leave you wishing that your mama's had never met your papa's."

Xena glanced down at the shackles and poked them with her toe, "You know what you can do with these, Flaccus!" she growled. "Whatever happens here, there is no way that I'm ever going to be put into those again .. at least not while I live!" She heard a sharp intake of breath behind her as Gabrielle took in her declaration. - I'm sorry, my bard, - she mentally apologised. - But I won't go back to that living death again! -

"It's okay, Xena," she heard Gabrielle whisper behind her, only just loud enough for the Warrior Princess' acute hearing. "Neither of us will go back to being Caesar's playthings," she told her friend, almost as if she'd read the warrior's mind.

A lopsided grin briefly graced the warrior's stunning features, "I think, Flaccus," she almost purred, "that you should do yourself a favour and get out of here while you still have all your bodily parts." The grin deepened and became feral, chasing away the shakiness that had been present just moments previously.

The centurion smiled condescendingly at her. He waved a hand gesturing to the soldiers lined up behind him, "I hardly think you're in a fit state to take on me and my men .. I doubt that in your present condition that you'd be capable of taking on just me."

"Try me!" she gestured invitingly weaving her sword in a complex pattern before her.

"Don't think I wouldn't enjoy it, slave .. but you're wanted back alive, so I'm afraid we'll just have to do it the hard way." He gestured to his troops, "Take them."

The soldiers swarmed past the centurion, seeking to take the two women down under the press of their bodies. Xena met them head on, dealing out death as her sword snaked out before her with a speed that belied the eye. Beside her, Gabrielle stood her ground and dealt out her own brand of punishment as her staff flew through her hands, cracking any man who got within reach, on heads, legs and arms.

In truth the sheer amount of Roman soldiers hampered their own efforts as the crush they caused amongst their ranks allowed the two women to work their dangerous magic whilst barely taking any damage themselves. After the initial rush failed the Romans began to pull back to rethink their options.

"Use the nets!" ordered Flaccus as he saw his men repelled by their quarry.

Even as he gave the order, he became aware that something was wrong behind him. While his men once more went onto the attack, he turned to see two tall men working their way through the rear ranks of his troops. The first he recognised as the tawny haired concubine of the Amazon Queen and the other could be no other than the slave's brother .. the likeness was remarkable.

Seeing a way to end the heaving struggle going on around him, Flaccus drew his sword and advanced on Toris. - Take the man captive, and the slave is yours along with the others! - he told himself.

Xena was breathing hard. Her legs felt rubbery and she couldn't have explained how she had remained standing under the mass of men that pressed her. She knew that she was almost done for when a net had descended over her. Muscles in her injured back were screaming at her for the abuse she was giving them, and her arms was so tired that her sword felt like it was ten times heavier than it actually was. If it hadn't been for Gabrielle stepping up to cover her, while she fought her way clear of the mesh, then she knew that the Romans would have had her.

Finally throwing off the net, she had taken a moment to check the progress of the battle and had seen two welcome faces above the seething huddle, hacking their way towards where she and Gabrielle were under siege. Taking heart from the sight, Xena waded back into the fray allowing the bard to catch her breath after her heroic exertions.

A wave of soldiers descended upon her as she over extended herself, losing her focus as she caught sight of Flaccus advancing towards her brother. "NO!" she cried as fists and clubs tried to batter her to the ground where she could be subdued and chained.

Seeking the dark strength that was locked deep within her, Xena roared out a primal cry and threw the Romans away from herself, giving her the moments respite that she needed to draw her chakram from her belt. With unerring accuracy, she let the screaming weapon fly to bounce off two of the chamber's walls before it spun to connect perfectly with the centurion's sword as he raised it to strike pommel down at Toris, driving the weapon from Flaccus' hands as the chakram spun on to strike a soldier's helmet and ricochet back across the centurion's throat before returning to the Warrior Princess' hand!

Time seem to stand still for the centurion as he watched the chakram careen from his sword, across a short space to strike a helmet and tear back towards him. He could do nothing but observe as the razor sharp weapon sliced deeply through his throat, drawing his life's blood with it's passage. Strength seemed to ebb from him with each pump of his heart, that spread his thick crimson life out in a small fountain as he stumbled unnoticed to the floor.

With the deadly disk clutched in one hand, and her sword in the other, the warrior renewed her battle with the Romans who continued pressing towards her with unabated fervour, no matter how many of their comrades she injured or killed. She didn't have the time to watch as Flaccus fell lifeless to the floor of the bloody chamber, there was still fighting to be done.

Gabrielle, struggled on too, uncertain how they were managing to prevail against so many. She could see that Xena was fighting on stubborn willpower alone, but she knew death was preferable to being returned to Caesar's tender mercies. She hadn't realised that Toris and Hercules had joined the party, until she saw where Xena sent her chakram flying across the crowded room. The sight of the two men gave her the heart and the strength to keep battling. - With Hercules here, we're gonna win! - she told herself as she rammed her staff into a Roman's gut.

She saw Xena make a little space for herself and once again spun the chakram into the fray. The spinning silver and gold disc, rebounded between Roman helmets, leaving the soldiers dizzy, disorientated and easy prey, before it spun away towards the mechanism for the chain boom, hit a lever and, to the whir of machinery, returned once again to the warrior's outstretched hand.

>From that point is was only a case of mopping up the last of the Roman's before the battle was over. The four Greeks stood breathing deeply amidst the carnage. Xena bent at the waist and took gulping deep breaths, the agony of the fight telling on her overstretched reserves leaving her feeling weak and unsteady.

The bard moved to her side and put a steadying arm around her friend, "Good to see you guys," she gave a tired smile. "I thought we were in trouble for a moment there."

"We still could be," answered Hercules. "There's plenty of Romans around, and it's only a matter of time before they find us."

"Time .. to get .. out .. of .. here," panted Xena desperately trying to push her way through the black pain that sought to drag her into unconsciousness.

Hercules stooped and pulled a couple of cloaks free and then a couple of Roman helmets. "Put those on," he told them. Maybe we can sneak out of the front door. We can be injured soldiers going to get assistance ... Zeus knows that there's enough Romans with wounds around here to make the story plausible."

The two women slowly did as the demi-god suggested. Gabrielle, although uninjured, was feeling the effects of the heavy fighting and was almost as shaky as Xena. Once disguised, the four made their way cautiously up the spiral stairwell and moved slowly through the tower, searching for the exit. Remarkably enough, no one thought to question them and so it was with something akin to amazement that they found themselves outside of the fortification.

"Head along .. the strand," hissed Xena. "There .. should be a .. boat waiting." She staggered and was only prevented from falling by Hercules' strong arm.

"I think we'll make better time if I carry you," he said tenderly as he scooped her into his arms. "You've put your body through more than enough for one day."

The warrior didn't have to strength to argue with the big hero, and with his strong protective arms wrapped around her, she finally allowed the darkness to claim her. Hercules smiled gently down into her pale, beautiful face and moved with sure footed strides along the base of the tower towards where he hoped a boat awaited them.

Chapter Seventy Six: Tell Caesar!

Eponin lay unconscious in one of the twelve cots that had been crowded into the captain's cabin. Being the first to occupy the impromptu infirmary, Poni had been given a bed that stretched away from the stern lights (the window that took up the back end of the ship). There were three other beds there, the one to the Weapons Master's right, that stood in the corner, was conspicuously devoid of an occupant. To her left lay an equally unconscious Patroclese and to his left lay Joxer, who whimpered in pain as he began to come round.

Six of the other cots also held patients. In one was the boy, Mattin, who had collapsed on deck after all the children had been safely removed from the devastation of the mess. He had sustained a concussion when the rock had plunged through the planking, having been hit a glancing blow by a beam as it crashed down. Sheraya had decided to keep him in the infirmary until he had recovered.

Three other beds were taken by warriors who had been with Eponin's raiding party. Their wounds were more serious than any of them were willing to own up to and, although not life threatening, the commanding healer had made it clear that she expected the trio to remain in bed under her jurisdiction until further notice. Having had a tiring night, the warriors were soundly asleep .. this condition aided somewhat by one of Sheraya's potions.

The final two beds had the sleeping, exhausted forms of Iolaus and Autolycus, whom Sheraya had judged need to be kept under observation, after they had come so close to drowning earlier in the evening. The fact that Ephiny had asked the healer to keep an eye on the pair and make sure that they didn't try and pull any heroics and get in her hair might also have had something to do with them being confined to the infirmary. But whatever the reason, both men were soon deeply asleep, betrayed by their exhausted bodies and the sleeping potion that the healer had slipped them.

The only other current occupants of the cabin were Lasca and Jade who had pulled nursing duty. Neither of them particularly wanted the task, but neither of them were stupid .. the healer had a blistering tongue and ways to make you feel like children rather than full grown members of the Royal Guard! It didn't help that Sheraya had delivered both of the young women and was not adverse to making them squirm with the stories of their birth's, or some of the less pleasurable antics of their respective childhood's that had often led directly to the infirmary and the healer's care. So the pair had accepted the job they were given and now watched over Eponin with increasing concern.

Lasca carefully swabbed off the perspiration that glistened unhealthily over the waxen skin of the Weapons Master, "She's getting worse, Jade," she muttered to her older companion. Concern showed in her brown eyes as she looked up at the other woman.

Running a hand over Eponin's brow to bush the unconscious woman's sweat soaked bangs away from her eyes she frowned at the heat that she felt burning there. The woman twitched beneath her hands, her lips moving in delirium as she struggled with the raging fever. "C'mon Poni," she softly encouraged, "You gotta fight it. You're not going to let a little old infection beat you are you?" A twinkle lit her unusual brown eyes that were adorned with amber flecks, "Xena wouldn't let something like this beat her."

The pair could almost sense the Weapons Master gathering herself to try and stave off the infection that had laid her low. If there was one thing guaranteed to engage Eponin's competitive spirit, it was mention of the Warrior Princess. The two might be friends, but the urge to best Xena in something .. anything .. constantly drove Poni to push her capabilities.

The young blonde, continued to bathe her commander, attempting to keep the fever from getting too high, "Think we should get Sheraya?" She glanced over to where she could see Joxer struggling to move, the pain gradually prodding him awake, "He might need something too," she motioned with her head towards the man. "Yeah!" agreed the older warrior, shaking her dark brown, curly hair. "I'll go get her. She was just checking over the last of the wounds that the others took in the fighting."

Throwing a quick worried look at Eponin, she darted across to the cabin door and was quickly gone on her errand, leaving the girl alone with the injured. She looked up from her task when she heard a noise behind her, "Shouldn't you be in bed?" she asked pointedly of Mattin.

"I just thought you might need some help," the boy replied. Lasca wasn't much older than he was, she couldn't be much more than sixteen summers, which made him wonder how she could be counted as a warrior in her own right.

The blonde looked at him with piercingly direct eyes, "Go back to bed, boy," she instructed him imperiously, "Sheraya will be here in a few moments and she'll take care of things .. besides she'll blister both our hides with her tongue if you're not in that cot when she gets here."

"You afraid of her?" asked Mattin, "I thought you were supposed to be a warrior?"

"I am a warrior!" retorted Lasca defensively, well aware of her youth and lack of inches .. in fact she and Jade were only slightly taller than Queen Gabrielle and very conscious of the fact that they were on the short side for full grown Amazons. "Go back to bed, boy, before I put you back." She snapped, hating it when her hard won place amongst the warriors was challenged in any way.

"Mattin," he told her calmly.

"What?" she demanded totally confused.

"My name is Mattin. Not boy. Not slave. Not any more. The captain said I'm free now." His face was white with strain and tension as he gently rebuked her. "So I'd like it if you called me Mattin."

Lasca drew a deep breath. With sudden intuition she realised that the boy, - Mattin, - she corrected herself firmly, might be as touchy about his situation as she was hers. "I'm sorry, you're right, .. Mattin," she told him with a slight smile, "But you still need to get back in your bed before Sheraya gets here, or you'll be sorry."

Smiling in return, the slim ginger haired youth, carefully made his way back to his cot, commenting, "She's a terror, isn't she? Not like Patroclese," he told her as he slipped beneath the covers and sent a concerned look at the Roman healer. "He's so kind and gentle."

"Hrrmmph!" snorted the Amazon contemptuously, "If it wasn't for him, we wouldn't have to be here, and Eponin wouldn't have been hurt," she told him, anger underlying her words.

Mattin smiled sadly, "But if it wasn't for Patroclese, I'd still be a slave in Caesar's house along with my friends."

Unsure of how she could reply to that, Lasca just looked at him and was saved from having to comment by the entrance of Sheraya. The healer threw a look in Mattin's direction and the lad scrunched down in his bed, feeling rather intimidated by the brusque woman. She nodded her approval of his action and moved across to where Eponin lay, trailed by Jade.

"How's she doing?" asked the healer gruffly as she felt the raging fever that the Weapons Master had developed.

Lasca shrugged. She wasn't a healer's apprentice and she knew little about medicine other than what she had been obliged to learn, in classes, about field dressings and personal care of wounds. "She's getting hotter," she ventured inanely. Sheraya's contemptuous glare silenced her.

"We've bathed her to try and keep her cool like you told us," Jade explained, "but her temperature keeps on climbing and she seems to be delirious now. She's been muttering about cooking, and you know how Ep hates anything to do with that. And she keeps twitching like she's trying to fight someone off."

As she listened to what the warrior was saying, Sheraya unwound the bandage and carefully inspected the injury which was puffy and showing definite signs of infection. Sighing deeply, the healer extracted her sharp knife from her kit and cut open the wound, allowing the putrid muck to drain from it.

"Hold her down," she instructed the two warriors, who bore similar looks of revulsion at the proceedings, particularly the stench from the wound. When the pair had a firm grip on the Weapons Master, Sheraya used a little more of the cleansing elixir that she had purloined from Nebula's medical supplies and grimaced as Eponin's eyes shot open and she bellowed in agony.

"Ares balls, woman! Are you trying to kill me? You ham fisted excuse for a healer!" she screamed before lapsing back into unconsciousness.

Jade and Lasca had fought mightily to keep the struggling patient pinned down until she passed out again. They passed a look between each other that clearly stated "How do we get ourselves into these things!"

As the healer once more bandaged the wound, she instructed, "Continue bathing her with cool water, Lasca. Jade I'm going to make up a tea and I want you to make sure she drinks it. It should help bring her temperature down and keep her from thrashing about too much."

"That's gotta help," muttered Lasca, who quickly averted her eyes when Sheraya turned her withering stare at the girl. "Sorry," she muttered.

The healer turned her attention to Joxer, walking over to the young man who had just about returned to consciousness. She checked his brow for fever and felt for his pulse, pleased to note a steady, regular rhythm. She thumbed an eyelid and nodded to herself as it's pair flickered open to inspect her. "How are you doing, Joxer," she asked in a gentle tone.

"Depen's" he answered groggily, "'m I dead?"

"Fraid not," smiled Sheraya.

"An'one get th'nummer of th' chariot tha' hit me?" he asked, trying to hide the excruciating pain he was feeling in his legs.

The healer patted him on the shoulder as his eyes slipped closed once again. Looking at Jade she said, "I'll mix up some herbs to numb his pain. It will most likely put him to sleep again, but in his condition that won't be a bad thing."

"How much should he have?" asked the warrior concern showing in her strangely coloured eyes.

"Get him to drink the entire cup and then try to get him to drink another of plain water. Keep an eye on him and let me know if there's any change in his condition." She checked the puncture wound in his thigh and was pleased to note that it seemed free from infection. Re-bandaging it, she told Jade, "If he starts to develop a fever let me know at once."

"I will Sheraya," she agreed, nodding her head and making her brown curls bob. She watched as the healer made a quick inspection of the other occupants of the infirmary before heading to the galley to brew the two separate herbal infusions for her most critically injured patients.

"Hey, Sprout," grinned Jade as she watched her younger friend tend Eponin when Sheraya had left, "I think you missed you calling."

Lasca's face darkened as she glared at the other warrior. Sprout was a nickname she'd been forced to put up with because of her youth and size. The other members of the Royal Guard called her it all the time and she had learned to accept it. But it galled her when Jade used it, especially as the woman was shorter than she was! a malicious twinkle entered her eyes as a fitting response sprang to her lips, "Just one of my many skills ... Tweaky!"

It was Jade's turn to feel annoyed, "What did you call me?"

"Tweaky," responded the young blonde with a giggle, "Cos I heard that you were always getting your ears tweaked for being in trouble!"

"Why you little brat!" growled Jade menacingly.

"Un, uh, ah!" grinned Lasca shaking a finger at her friend, "Not in the infirmary .. the patients need their rest."

About to ignore that admonition, Tweaky .. um, Jade .. felt a slight lurch under her feet. a quick glance through the stern windows confirmed her initial assumption. "We're moving," she grinned at Lasca. "Xena must have got the boom down."

"Lets hope that they all get back here safely then, huh?" answered the other Amazon.

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-

Malonda gave the signal to pull away from the shore and head back to the ship. She was reluctant to leave Ephiny, she was concerned that the Regent was taking too many chances for a cause that should have very little to do with the Amazons. She looked at the three critically injured warriors laying in the cramped conditions of the boat, and then at the four or five others with fairly serious wounds, - Why should Amazons have to spend their lifeblood to help the Bitch from Tartarus! Amazons owe her nothing! And if our Queen wants to traipse around after the big bad warlord, anything she gets into is her own fault! Amazons can't afford to waste lives in this way! -

She scowled belligerently back towards where she could see Ephiny's boat outlined in slowly lightening sky. - We could lose a lot of sisters here .. all so we can set free a murdering bitch who was finally getting some of the justice she deserved! - She shook her head and concentrated on getting her boatload of responsibilities back to the ship.

- It's bad enough that Ephiny and Eponin want to fall all over themselves to help the heroic Warrior Princess, - she sneered to herself. - But when I look at these women and see the worship in their eyes for the bitch .. it just makes my blood boil! -

The bulk of the ship loomed over them before she realised, "Drop us a line," she growled, failing to hide her annoyance, although everyone thought she was frustrated with Ephiny staying behind. "Tell Sheraya with have injured here."

Once the boat had been secured, Malonda climbed powerfully up the ships side and swung herself over the rail. a quick scan of the deck told her that Nebula was beside the wheel, and she strode over to where the captain stood. "How's it going?" she questioned with a commanding air, flipping her long braided hair back over her shoulder.

The tall pirate gave the chief scout a dangerous look. "Fine!" she snarled, "We'll be ready to sail as soon as that chain is lowered! Where's Eph?" she demanded.

Malonda gave her a dark glare. She didn't like Nebula. Didn't like her assertiveness over Amazons, or the assumption that she could order even the highest ranking of them around. She had spent too long, and worked too hard, gaining her position to be happy with anyone, let alone a jumped up pirate, overriding her authority. "She stayed behind in case the 'Warrior Princess'," she said the title as thought she were biting into lemons, "and the others, manage to get out of the tower and need a ride out to us." Malonda glowered back at the fortification, "She said to take your ship out of the river and they'd row out to it once she either had the others, or were sure that they weren't going to make it back.

"What are their chances like?" questioned Nebula reining in her dislike of the scout for the sake of maintaining the peace.

Malonda shrugged with irritating artfulness, "With the Destroyer of Nations and the son of Zeus in there, I'd bet on them against the Romans .. any sane person who knows of them would."

Nebula bit down on the urge to teach the Amazon a lesson she wouldn't soon forget. She knew that Malonda was good at what she did and was a trusted member of the women warrior's leadership group, but she found it impossible to like her. There was something about the scout that made the pirate's teeth itch. The woman was ambitious and believed in her right to command. Both normally good traits in a leader. But underneath the surface, Nebula could feel a current of ruthlessness that made her feel that Malonda might have more on her agenda than she was letting anyone know.

'All we can do is wait then," she growled, watching the sky as the false dawn lightened it significantly. It wouldn't be long before they were seeing the first blush of sunlight rising above the town to the east. "If they don't get that chain down .. and soon .. we won't be going anywhere for a long, long time ... if ever!"

They stood in uncomfortable silence, watching as Sheraya did what she could to help the wounded Amazons before directing the worst injured down into the infirmary, where she would be able to attend to them in better conditions.

'Wave Dancer' gave a strange little lurch!

"That's it!" shouted Nebula, recognising the fact that her vessel was now drifting on the tide. "Hands aloft and get that sail down so we can get some way on the rudder!" she ordered as she felt the play of the wheel, looking for the bite that would tell her that she had manoeuvrability and control of the ship.

"Get the longboat up on deck and stow it," she ordered as she watched Amazons scuttling up the ratlines to release the sail. "Haul in those lines and make 'em fast," she instructed, the rudder starting to become responsive under her hands on the wheel. "All right, baby, lets get out of this rattrap!" she muttered to her ship as she guided it through the channel, out from under the watch tower and onto the open sea.

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-

It was difficult going along the stony strand. The pebbles slipped away under their feet, particularly Hercules' as he was burdened with the additional weight of the now unconscious Xena .. yet it was a weight that he was proud to bear. His affection for the dark warrior was deep and sincere. She touched him in ways no other women had ever been able to. Of course he had loved and married other women, but the Warrior Princess complimented him; her darkness to his goodness, her many skills with his many strengths. He had a bone deep love for this enigmatic woman, but knew that they would never be more than occasional lovers. It saddened him, but he had learned to accept it long ago.

Toris was supporting Gabrielle's arm. The bard was struggling on the shingle, her body feeling tired and abused after the long day and night it had been through. She kept casting nervous glances behind them, certain that it wouldn't be long before the Romans started pursuing them and knowing that Xena wasn't in any condition to help fight them off.

- How she managed to do what she did tonight, I'll never know. But I swear to Artemis, and any other gods that care to listen, once I get her back on that ship she's going to be staying in bed until the healers say she's fully recovered! - she promised to herself.

She stumbled again and before she realised it, Xena's brother had swept her into his strong arms and headed after Hercules. "Toris!" she hissed, resisting the urge to shout incase it drew Roman attention, "What in Hades do you think you're doing?"

He offered her the lopsided grin that was so familiar when gracing the Warrior Princess' face, "You're exhausted. Let me use a little of my strength to help you." He could see her about to protest and so persisted with his most telling argument, "You're going to need all the strength you've got to make sure that Xena stays still long enough to recover."

She gave him a long look as he pushed his way through the shifting stones, "That was low," she told him.

"I know," he agreed, "but true."

Her green eyes hardened, "You do understand that I could quite easily manage this walk?"

"Of course," he acknowledged with a light grin, knowing that she would have struggled valiantly even if she'd been close to collapse.

"Just so long as we're agreed on that," she insisted.

"Absolutely," agreed Toris, working to keep a straight face.

"Fine .. then for Xena's sake, I'll let you carry me." Gabrielle accepted the situation, settling securely into his surprisingly strong, and comfortable, arms.

The tall, dark haired man felt strangely protective of the bard as she nestled into him. When he had first met Gabrielle, he had found her unrelenting cheerfulness in the face of adversity, irritating in the extreme. Yet at the same time he had recognised, within her, a natural courage and determination that he felt himself to be severely lacking in. He had envied her for it but, eventually, over time, as he got to know her through their occasional meetings and the many letters that she had sent to Cyrene (to keep his mother appraised of what was happening to Xena) he had come to respect and appreciate her uniqueness.

Toris felt strangely comfortable with the honey blonde head resting tiredly on his shoulder. The bard's hair gave off the soft scent of a summer flower garden that he had come to associate with her. He wished that she and Xena could spend more time in Amphipolis so that he could get to know her better. That thought almost made him stumble to a stop!

- Why would I want to get to know Gabrielle better? - he questioned himself, looking down at the bard's face. Her eyes had closed and she had that relaxed, near sleep look on her features. A gentle look stole over his face, - She is beautiful. - He gazed at the younger woman wondering what he could possibly offer her. - She leads such an exciting life with Xena. She's a bard and an Amazon Queen. I'll never be able to compete with any of that. - He shook his head at his own foolish musings. - Still I can dream, - he told himself as he clung to his yearnings.

He continued on, mindful of his precious burden, careful not to jar her in his struggle against the shifting shingle. Ahead he saw Hercules reach the end of the strand and he seemed to be peering out into the murky light of the false dawn, looking for their friends, whom they hoped would be waiting out in the river to come and pick them up.

For the first time since they had emerged from the watchtower, Toris sent his glance across the water to look for their ship and was almost surprised to see that it no longer rode the middle of the river, barred from exiting the Tiber by the chain that Xena had dealt with.

Moving to Hercules' side, the raven haired man asked quietly, trying not to disturb his sister or her friend, "Are we going to have to swim? I don't think either Xena or Gabrielle are up to it."

The demi-god shook his head, his tawny hair whipping about his face, "There's a boat coming in for us," he answered, nodding in the direction of row boat moving towards their place on the shore.

"That's a relief," sighed Toris. "Can you see the ship?"

Hercules gestured in the direction of the open sea to where they could both pick out a couple of lights on a dark shape, "It shouldn't take long to get out there to it."

"How's Xena doing?" he asked concerned about his sister. She'd collapsed twice, now, in one night and it worried him, having never seen it happen before.

"She's been pushing herself too hard," the big man told him. "She really should have stayed in bed after her wounds were attended. But you know your sister."

"Yeah! Stubborn!" agreed the other man with a grin.

A noise back along the strand drew their attention. Both men stiffened, turning to see that a contingent of Romans were hurrying across the shifting stones heading in their direction as quickly as they could manage. A quick check told them that Ephiny would be with them before the soldiers got there. However, getting the boat away from shore before the legionaries could get to it would be a close run thing.

As soon as the boat reached them, Hercules lifted the recumbent form of the Warrior Princess between the thwarts of the boat as Toris did the same with Gabrielle. "Get them out of here Ephiny," he told the Regent. "I'll hold off the Romans and swim out to you once you're clear."

"You can't do that alone," objected the blonde Amazon, as her warriors began manoeuvring the boat around so that they could pull away from the danger. "There's too many of them .. even for you."

"He won't be alone," Toris interjected grimly. "Just take care of Gabrielle and my sister, Ephiny."

"You sure," Hercules raised a questioning eyebrow at the other man.

"C'mon, no time to argue," replied Toris, stepping out of the water and engaging the first of the Romans to reach them.

"Hercules," growled the Regent clutching at the demi-god's arm. "Make sure you both join us safely .. I don't want to have to face Xena if we lose either one of you."

"Get out of here, Eph," the demi-god emphasised his order with a shove on the boats stern, that propelled it out towards the sea a fair distance. "We'll be with you before you know it."

Turning, he waded into the growing battle as Toris bravely battled the odds to give the Amazons time to get his sister away to safety. Grabbing a long piece of driftwood, Hercules charged into the fray from the side, ploughing the soldiers under in a show of brute strength and tenacity. A few judiciously placed blows cleared a small breathing space for the two men, and seeing that the longboat was well away from the shore, Hercules decided it was time for Toris to join the Amazon warriors. So taking him by the scruff of his neck and the seat of his pants, he launched Xena's brother in the direction of the women, knowing they'd pick him up.

"HERCULES! NOOOO!" yelled Toris as he hurtled through the air, over the water, to land with a solid splash no more than ten feet from the rowing boat.

As the demi-god watched in satisfaction, he failed to see a Roman sneaking up behind him with a lump of driftwood of his own. The soldier brought the chunky lump of timber down on the big man's shoulders with a solid, "Thunk!", expecting to see his victim slump unconscious to the ground. His jaw dropped when he realised it wasn't going to happen.

Hercules shrugged his shoulders a bit and turned to face his assailant, "That wasn't nice," he said in a disappointed voice, before unleashing a thunderbolt of a right, sending the man sailing back into his advancing comrades.

Deciding that it was time to go and rejoin his own friends, the son of Zeus threw a couple more soldiers into the growing scrum, tangling them into a hectic mess, before telling them in a loud clear voice, "Tell Caesar that if he messes with my friends anymore .. I'll be coming back .. and I'll pull Rome down around his ears!"

Having left his message the demi-god, waded out into the river, before diving fully into the water and, with strong powerful strokes, swam out to where Ephiny and her Amazons awaited him.

Chapter Seventy Seven: A Searing of Flesh

Nebula had backed the mainsail so that the pressure of the wind held them immobile against the force of the outgoing tide. With the sun cresting now on the eastern horizon, she was able to identify the longboat heading towards them through the choppy waters closer to shore. Her keen eyesight enabled her to pick out the easily identifiable figures of Hercules and Toris, but none of the women in the boat stood out from the others, and she was absolutely certain that she couldn't detect the unmistakable figure of Xena.

"Damn!" she swore, hoping that nothing had gone wrong. If Xena and Gabrielle had remained trapped in Roman hands then everything that they had done had been for nothing.

She glared moodily up towards the prow where a work team were busy trying to rig some repairs to cover the hole in the decking. The last thing that they needed was a voyage back to Greece with a gaping hole that was open to the elements letting water into the ship where water was never intended to run in any quantity.

So far they seemed to be doing a pretty fair job. It appeared that all Amazons were trained, in their youth and early childhood, in many skills to find out where their talents lay, and because of such a broad education, each Amazon child picked up at least a rudimentary knowledge of many useful crafts. Once they reached their fourteenth winter, they were channeled into the career they best suited, learning their craft in far greater detail.

Nebula knew very little about the Amazon's training concepts, but she appreciated the fact that the warriors had the knowledge and skills to use some of the timber, kept for repairs, that had been hauled up from the hold for the job. By the time the longboat reached them, the damage to the deck would have been dealt with, and she would feel far more confident about facing the voyage back to Greece.

Glancing back to the rowboat, the pirate was pleased to see that it had made good time. "Get ready to cast them a line," she called to a couple of women. "Get everyone on board, and that boat hoisted and stowed as quickly as possible. I want to be away from here as soon as everyone is on deck. Topmen get aloft and be ready to set the sail when I give the order."

Seeing that all was in preparedness, the captain moved to the rail and watched as the boat came alongside. She could see two still forms laying between the thwarts and recognised both Xena and Gabrielle. - Well at least we have them, - she told herself. - It remains to be seen whether we're taking back the living or the dead. -

As the longboat bumped gently against the timbers of 'Wave Dancer's' hull, Nebula saw the bard stir, but the warrior remained unmoving. Amazons began the climb up to the deck, leaving Ephiny, Hercules and Toris to deal with the other two women. The demi-god lifted Xena's unresponsive body with casual ease, while the Regent steadied the boat as well as she could. The only way for the big man to make the climb with his burden, was to throw her over his shoulder, leaving his hands free to haul himself up with.

As Hercules began to make his ascent, Toris moved to Gabrielle's side. It appeared as if he intended transporting the bard the same way as her warrior partner was being moved, but the honey blonde had other ideas. She struggled, a little shakily, to her feet and faced Xena's brother with a grim look of determination on her face.

"I can do it, Toris. I was just a bit tired before, but I'm fine now," she told him firmly, although she added a smile to soften her quick words.

"If you're sure, Gabrielle," relented the raven haired man, his blue eyes unable to hide the flash of disappointment he felt. He doubted that he'd have a lot of chance to hold the bard in his arms during the voyage home.

"Positive," assured the Amazon Queen, but gentled the impact by telling him, "However, I'd be grateful if you could climb beside me. I'm not really keen on heights or climbing, and I still feel a little tired."

The radiant grin that Toris graced her with was worth the concession of her asking for his help. - Besides, - she told herself, - it's true. I'm exhausted and climbing, even just the side of the ship, makes me feel kind of sick .. and being on the sea doesn't help that either. -

When Gabrielle was ready, Toris moved to her side and slowed the pace of his ascent to her speed. He was ready to offer a steadying hand if she needed it and was happy to think that she'd been comfortable enough with him to ask his assistance in even this small matter.

Ephiny was able to allow free reign to the smirk that had forced it's way onto her face. - Gonna be an interesting ride home, - she snickered to herself as she thought about Toris, Iolaus and Joxer all vying for her Queen's attention, while Xena had Autolycus and Hercules mooning over her. - Not only that, - she told herself, - but I just know that there is going to be trouble in the infirmary. -

Xena had never been a patient of Sheraya, and so two of the most indomitable wills she had ever met had never come into conflict before. - I just hope Hercules remembers to remove all of Xena's weapons from within her reach! - she struggled not to chuckle as she climbed the ships side and swung herself over the railing.

As soon as the Regent was aboard, the Amazon deck hands set to work hauling the longboat up on deck to quickly hustle it away and stow it. While they were engaged in that task, the topmen, dropped the sail and re-aligned the rigging before hoisting the canvass once more so that 'Wave Dancer' could head away from the coast of Italia and Rome as swiftly as possible.

Ephiny watched as Toris and Gabrielle immediately made for the companionway that led down to the Captain's cabin .. now the ship's infirmary. She knew that their immediate concern would be to find out just how bad Xena's injuries were. She frowned as she realised that she hadn't had the chance to warn them about Joxer and Patroclese being hurt.

She sighed, - Well, they'll find out for themselves in a few moments. - She shook her blonde curls and headed towards where she could see Nebula and Malonda waiting for her. - Is it me, - she wondered, - or did the temperature just drop to somewhere below freezing? - She glanced at the two women all too aware of the frigid attitudes that they were displaying. - Now what? - she growled mentally. - Don't we have enough problems without these two starting a war between themselves. -

"How are things going here?" she asked with a smile, hoping to warm the atmosphere a little.

"Now that you're aboard we can set sail for home," the pirate answered flatly. Then seeing that Ephiny was attempting cut across the coldness between her and Malonda, she softened her tone a little and asked, "Is there anywhere you particularly want to go? Or should I just set a course for Acanthus?'

The Regent considered. Going back to the port that they had set sail from was, in a way, the logical thing to do, it was close to Amazon lands as well as being reasonably near Potidaea. However, she was fairly certain that Caesar was aware of where she had sailed from, and may just guess that they'd return there. On top of that, she wasn't too sure that Gabrielle, or Xena would want to be too close to the bard's former home in case they felt duty bound to visit her parents .. something that was always fraught with tension, or so Ephiny understood.

Finally she queried, "Can your ship navigate the Strymon River?"

"I've done it once or twice before," admitted Nebula with a puzzled frown. "Why?"

Ephiny smiled, "I think the best place to head for is Amphipolis. It's as good as choice as any I know .. and I've heard that one of the inns there has this great cook."

Malonda shook her head and gave a snort of disgust before throwing a look at Ephiny and telling her gruffly, "I have rota's to arrange. With Poni out of action, I need to make sure our warriors keep their skills up to the mark."

The blonde Regent gave her chief scout a hard look, "You do that, Malonda," she replied firmly and with more than an edge of hardness to her tone. "We may still have some fighting to do and I want the warriors at their peak!"

"My Queen," answered the scout sourly, offering a formal bow as she withdrew.

The Amazon ruler shook her head in exasperation, "Damn the woman. What's gotten in to her?"

Nebula, who'd been setting course, allowed 'Dancer' to stretch before the wind. A racer off the leash and happy to run. As she turned the wheel a point to starboard, she said quietly, "Not too happy about getting Xena free, is she?"

A harsh retort was on the Regent's lips, but she stilled the words before she voiced a sigh (which she seemed to be doing a lot of lately) and looked at the pirate who had become a friend on this strange adventure. She shook her head slightly and, finally, answered softly, "No .. she's not. I hope that I'm not going to have a major problem with her when I get back to Themiscyra."

Not looking at the blonde, the other woman concentrated her attention on the fill of the sail and her course, however, she asked another very pertinent question, "You got a lot of Amazons who don't like the Warrior Princess' relationship with your Queen?"

Ephiny bit her lip wondering if she should talk about a subject that she hadn't even fully broached with Gabrielle and had said nothing at all about it to Xena yet, "More than I'd like. Not enough to be a major threat .. I hope," she replied, moving over to lean on the rail and watch Ostia fall behind their port bow. She squinted back at the river mouth, at the wide gap between the two watchtowers and stiffened as a cry came down from the top of the mainmast.

"Deck there!"

"What do you see?" shouted back Nebula.

"Sail ho!" reported the lookout, pointing back towards Ostia.

"How many?" demanded the pirate, a concerned look etched on her brow.

"Ten .. no, twelve!" came the shouted reply, "And heading this way!"

"Poseidon's Trident!" cursed the captain as she cast a look behind.

"Can we outrun them?" demanded Ephiny.

"If the wind holds .. maybe," came the not too encouraging answer. "We're lucky that all the triremes are out with Veranius. We'd never outrun them .. but we may have a chance against those biremes. Not a big one .. and if any of the gods favour you, I'd start praying now."

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-

Caesar stood in the cellar of the watchtower, his hand resting upon the winch mechanism for the chain that had delayed the fugitives escape, but ultimately had not managed to keep them captive. He had picked his way across the cellar, his eyes taking in the bloody aftermath of the battle that had been fought there, his face a blank mask to hide the fury that coursed through him.

He looked disdainfully upon the bodies of the fallen men. They had failed him. He had sent them to bring back his slaves, and they had failed his trust in them. His lips compressed into a white line as a black wave of rage swept over him and he had to fight off the desire to bellow his fury to the gods! His muscles quivered as he strained to control them; he wanted desperately to hack the dead apart .. to let them know his contempt for them, for their failure to perform the task he had set them to do.

The Roman took a deep breath, drawing in the stench of death. The fetid reek of bowels evacuated as life was drawn, the metallic, coppery tang of blood that pooled thick upon the stone flagged floor .. it was always present in the aftermath of battle and was an odour that he had revelled in for most of his life. Yet never, on the few occasions when it had happened to him, had he ever become used to the malodorous taint of defeat .. and that was what this was. This handful of bodies in a cellar in the depths of his own watchtower was a crushing defeat handed to him, yet again, by his most mortal enemy ....

"XENA!" he thundered out her name. The sound echoing around the chamber mocking the dead and living alike.

Pompey may be the rival for his dream of dominion over the greatest empire the world had ever seen .. an empire with Rome at its head and himself enthroned as undisputed ruler, but it was a woman he feared would be the one to ruin his destiny. He was confident in his ability to destroy any Roman led army that was foolish enough to stand against him ... yet he feared her. With or without an army she was his nemesis.

He leaned against the winch and allowed his thoughts to range as ideas and plans skittered frantically through his agile mind. He had embarked two cohorts on the biremes that lay at anchor in the port of Rome and had had the rest of the VIIth force march down to Ostia to join with him once they reached here. He, of course, intent upon reaching his quarry as swiftly as possible, had taken one of the bireme and had been rowed down the Tiber, ahead of the rest of the vessels which would need time to embark the soldiers, as quickly as the beaten galley slaves could manage. All to no avail. For upon arrival he had instantly perceived that the bird had flown. He had missed them by no more than a candlemark, maybe less .. and their ship was still in sight.

He pushed himself upright and walked across the blood washed floor, his white robes trailing through the crimson pools to where the body of Flaccus lay. The centurion had served him long and faithfully, yet in this all important instant he had failed him miserably. He poked the man with his sandled foot. He still wore the clothes he had dressed in for the ill fated gathering at Graccus' house, not wishing to delay his pursuit to take the time to change into his armour.

A clattering on the stairs drew his attention as a soldier ran into the cellar, "Lord Caesar." he gasped upon seeing his commander.

"Yes?" was the demand.

"The ships you were expecting .. they just came into sight, my Lord."

Keeping his glee upon hearing the news carefully hidden, all Caesar said was "Good." He looked around at the dead bodies surrounding him and issued an order to the optio who stood close by, "I want all these men crucified. The army must understand that Rome has no room for failure on their part. There will be no honourable burial for any of them. They will hang, like slaves, until they rot."

The optio swallowed soundlessly, before executing a salute and turning to his men to issue his own orders.

Turning back to the messenger, the ruler of Rome instructed, "Signal the fleet to pursue the escaped ship. They know what to do. With just a little luck they'll bring the fugitives, and the felons who aided them, back to Rome .. back to me .. and my mercy."

The soldier saluted and sprinted back up the stairs happy to be away from the charnel house stench that permeated the cellar, and not involved in the grim task that his fellow legionaries were undertaking. - By the gods, - he thought, - If the general can treat even Flaccus that way, what hope is there for the rest of us? -

Turning back for one last look at the battle scene, Caesar let his brown eyes linger briefly on the visage of the centurion who's face showed the agonised surprise of unexpected death. Finally he turned for the stairs and sent out a thought to the woman he hounded.

- You'll never be free of me, Xena. I'll have you brought back in chains and you'll never have the opportunity to run again. My oath on it! -

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-

Hercules had carried Xena down to the impromptu infirmary, determined to get the warrior immediate medical attention. He hadn't realised that there were so many injured being treated there and had been very surprised to see Joxer and Patroclese occupying cots.

Sheraya looked up, from where she was administering a herbal medicine to Eponin, as the demi-god shouldered through the cabin door. Her attention went immediately to the unconscious woman that he carried and her eyes directed the son of Zeus to the empty bed in the corner of the room.

Carefully wiping away the residue of the mixture from Poni's mouth, Sheraya saw the big tawney haired man gently lay his burden down upon the designated cot, and smooth away her dark bangs from her face with a soft intimate gesture. It was obvious to the watching healer that the demi-god was exhibiting more than just friendship in his attitude and she had to fight a sentimental grin that threatened to crack her normally stern features.

As she stood, her musings were interrupted by the arrival of an exhausted looking Amazon Queen and Toris, who shot concerned glances to where his sister lay while keeping a careful eye on the young woman he was escorting. Their entrance was enough to stamp out the grin that had started to emerge and replace it with a sharp frown. Sheraya had work to do and she didn't need a lot of fussing relatives and friends gathered around her while she did it. Having Xena as a patient was going to be trial enough for her.

Drawing a deep breath, the Amazon healer used her firmest tone and told them, "All right. Everyone out so that I can get on with my job. There's no room in here for spectators."

"But ..." started three voices together, unwilling to be forced from the room.

"But me no buts," interrupted Sheraya uncompromisingly. "There's hardly room to turn around in here as it is without three more bodies taking up room, so out with the lot of you. I have work to do and you'll just be in my way! Go and find someone else to bother."

Although the men were visibly intimidated by the stern faced Amazon, Gabrielle told herself that she wasn't, - I'm Queen of the Amazon's, - she reminded herself firmly. - I can overrule her, right? - she questioned. - Right! - she answered herself, although she felt a distinct lack of confidence in her ability to command the healer in anything. However, she wasn't about to give up without trying, so she gathered her resolve, as she registered both Hercules and Toris retreating under Sheraya's rigid glare, and prepared to issue her declaration that she was staying right where she was.

"I said out," the healer told her sternly, before she could protest.

"But I can help!" pleaded Gabrielle, inwardly cringing at her lack of queenly resolve. She should have been commanding, not pleading like some child that wanted something an adult refused to give, "Xena's taught me a lot about healing."

Sheraya eyed her young monarch critically. She could see the dark rings forming around her eyes and the exhausted set to her shoulders. She was aware that the bard had substantial medical skills that she could use with all the patients that needed attention, but none of it would be any use unless she got some rest first. "Go and get some sleep, my Queen," she told Gabrielle in a tone that brooked no argument, "Maybe after you've slept you can come back and help here. But until you've rested you'll be no use to anyone, me, yourself, or Xena and these others."

"But ..." tried the honey haired woman again.

"I said no buts," growled Sheraya in a tone that made the bard feel like she was six again and being scolded by her mother. "Get out of here and get some sleep ... now!" barked the healer.

Gabrielle found herself outside the infirmary door before she had time to even realise that her feet had carried her there of their own accord. She looked up and found Hercules and Toris looking quizzically at her, "What?" she demanded.

"Are all Amazons like that?" asked the demi-god after a few moments of stunned disbelief.

"You have no idea," muttered Gabrielle as she went to try and find somewhere to sleep knowing that she had no chance of getting back to her injured friend's side until she had shaken off some of her tiredness.

The two men looked at each other and shrugged before returning to deck to find out what was happening up there.

Sheraya watched the door closed then turned her attention to the unconscious Warrior Princess. Sighing, she wondered just how much of her patience was going to be frayed over the next few days with both Xena and Eponin as patients. She shook her head and cautioned herself to keep a grip on her temper.

Gesturing with her head, she beckoned Lasca and Jade over to her side and instructed, "Strip her out of all her clothes so that I can examine her ... and make sure that you get all of her weapons out of here and safely stowed somewhere out of sight. She's going to be hard enough to cope with without giving her unnecessary advantages."

Jade approached the unconscious warrior with distinct reluctance. She glared at Lasca who seemed to be hanging back letting her older compatriot get into the firing line first. Both young Amazons knew, only too well, just how painful it could be to approach an unconscious Xena.

It had been about a year after Gabrielle had become the Amazon heir. The warrior and the

bard had been travelling, but were heading for Themiscyra after Melosa had invited them to

the Festival of Artemis, making it clear in her invitation that non-appearance was not a

viable option for Gabrielle. That, consequently, meant that Xena would be sure to attend as,

with the trouble that they'd been having, the Warrior Princess was not about to leave the

bard without her protection.

Therefore, the pair had arrived in the city some two days before the feast and festivities was

due to start, and although the bard seemed happy enough to be there amongst her adopted

people, Xena looked far from content about the situation ... and as all Amazons soon

learned, an unhappy Warrior Princess was a disaster looking to happen.

They had been greeted by Melosa, who was gratified to see the young princess return and to

note that she had matured, somewhat, since she had last seen her. It was very evident,

however, that the raven haired warrior with her, was not full of festival spirit and the Queen

had been seen to frown at the brooding presence of the ex-Destroyer of Nations.

Gabrielle soon got into the spirit of the festival, eager to learn all she could about her

adopted people, and the Amazons were equally keen to teach her. All through the day after

their arrival, the brooding menace of Xena hung like a cloud over the preparations for the

festival. Finally, the bard had had enough and exchanged some pointed words with her

friend.

"Xena, what's the matter with you. Can't you enjoy a little relaxation time? We've been

chasing around sorting everyone's problems out .. don't you think we deserve a little

vacation?"

"Gabrielle," growled her warrior friend.

"No. I'm being serious here, Xena. You've got to learn to relax a little .. try and enjoy

yourself for a change." She scowled at the dark woman before her, and then tried a smile

with the puppy dog, pleading eyes that she knew the her friend couldn't resist. "Please Xena.

For my sake."

Throwing her hands up into the air, the warrior muttered some choice oaths before telling

the bard, "You know how much I 'enjoy' festivals!"

Gabrielle nodded her head. She did indeed know that Xena hated large crowds .. she also

knew that the Warrior Princess hated anything to do with the gods, so there were two big

strikes against this festival in her eyes. - Okay, - then she thought, - what does Xena like to

do? -

A smile sparkled in her eyes almost immediately, "I heard Eponin saying that there was a

really good fishing hole about a candlemark north of here."

"Really?" enquired the raven haired woman beginning to brighten immediately.

"Uh huh," affirmed the bard, "I also heard Ephiny saying that Poni really hates festivals

too." She watched in amusement as Xena hurried off. "Hey where you going?" she had

called after the retreating figure.

"To see a Weapons Master about a fish," was the returned answer.

It had of course been quite a funny sight to behold, to see a weakly protesting Eponin being

almost bodily dragged from the city by an eager Warrior Princess who had made it pointedly

clear that Poni WAS going to show her the fishing hole for the duration of the celebrations.

The gloomy atmosphere that had been hanging over the city immediately dispersed and

everyone had devoted their time to preparing for some hard partying.

At this time, Lasca had still been a junior, although the time had been drawing close for her

full initiation into adult warrior status. She had been unfortunate enough to draw duty as a

helper in the infirmary during the festivities ... a fact that she hadn't been happy about ... but

she did get a ringside seat for the 'fun' when Xena had been brought in unconscious by

Eponin just when the festival's evening's feast was getting underway.

Jade had also been unlucky enough to draw duty. A young warrior, she knew that she was

being considered as a candidate for the Royal Guards and so had not grumbled unduly at

having to miss out on some of the fun. Consequently, she'd been the one sent in to notify the

infirmary, and the on duty healers, Iandi .. a young woman newly risen to the responsibility

of a full healer .. and Gwynifor .. an elder healer who was rarely called upon for duty .. to

expect a patient. Knowing who the patient was, Jade had elected to hang around to try and

find out what had happened.

Eponin brought Xena in, draped over Argo's back, just after dusk. She immediately made for

the infirmary and, if the truth be told, looked in little better condition than her unconscious

companion. Willing hands had helped both women off their horses and to the healers, where

Eponin quickly explained about how they had ended up in their current state.

Apparently, when the fishing hole had proven to be non-productive of fish, Xena had

dragged Eponin to an upper valley where a swift running stream had provided the missing

element of their impromptu expedition. Upon the Weapons Master's urging, Xena was

giving her a demonstration of how to fish bare hand, when the river had become a raging

torrent due to a flash flood caused by heavy rain higher up the mountain fed river.

The Warrior Princess had been struck by an uprooted tree that had knocked her unconscious

and dragged her under the swirling waters. Eponin had dived in and by some luck managed

to drag her companion to the bank where she had forced the ingested river water from

Xena's lungs. But the warrior had remained unconscious and the Weapons Master had felt

it best to get her back to the city where the healers could tend her.

"Lasca, clean up Eponin's scrapes while Iandi and I attend to Xena's wounds," Gwynifor

had instructed.

Muttering, the girl had collected what she needed from the dispensary and set to work on the

Weapons Master, while trying to keep an eye on what was going on around the Warrior

Princess. She saw Iandi approaching the unconscious woman, a knife in hand to cut her

clothing free, so that they could make a thorough examination for wounds.

"Hey!" yelped Eponin as the blonde girl had dabbed too hard at one abrasion.

"Sorry," came the contrite reply as she returned her eyes to her allotted task and in so doing

missed the explosion of raw power that had shot Iandi across the room to slam heavily into

the wall besides where Jade had been trying to stand unobtrusively. She turned her attention

back to the other patient to find Xena sitting up, a dangerous glare in her eyes as she tried to

work out where she was.

Drawing a deep breath, the Warrior Princess growled to no one and everyone, "Never

approach me without warning," before collapsing back with one arm flung across her eyes

as if they hurt.

Everyone in the infirmary had sighed with deep relief, and Iandi had proven to be no more

than extremely shocked and very bruised, but the lesson hadn't been lost on the two young

Amazons who now hovered near the end of the dangerous woman's cot.

Jade shot a glance at Lasca, who continued to hang back, "I thought you were an Amazon warrior, " she chided whilst making no attempt at getting any closer to the unconscious woman.

Lasca snorted derisively, "I don't see you rushing in there, oh great warrior."

Jade glared at her. She had to admit that she was far from looking forward to an airborne trip over to the other side of the cabin and she suspected that that was exactly what she was in for if she carried out Sheraya's instructions.

"I thought I gave you two a task to do," came the pointed comment from the healer accompanied by a sizzling glare that both young women privately thought might just be hot enough to fry bacon with.

- Then again, - thought Jade, - Just how bad can being thrown across the room feel? I kind of suspect that enduring a scathing dressing down by Sheraya might just be more painful. -

Swallowing hard, the young woman with the brown/gold eyes, moved slowly up the side of the bed, noticing her partner doing the same on the other side. Deciding that her best course of action might just be to talk to the dark warrior and explain what they were doing, Jade began to murmur softly, "Hi Xena .. you probably don't remember me or Lasca, but we've met, sort of, in the city at home." She cautiously reached out to grasp the woman's wrist intent on unlacing the bracer and removing it.

She felt muscles stiffening under her fingers and released the arm hurriedly as she continued talking softly, "Ummm, Sheraya, our healer, wants us to get you out of your clothes so that she can examine you and dress your wounds. So if you'll bear with us, we'll be as quick as we can and then we can let you rest .. is that a deal?" she asked, reaching for the bracer again.

To her immense relief, the arm muscles had relaxed, and the two young warriors worked with almost indecent haste to get their appointed task completed and themselves away from the dangerous woman laying on the bed. They might admire the fighting abilities of the Warrior princess, but they were not anxious to get an up close and personal demonstration of them.

As soon as they had finished with the patient, Sheraya took over, assigning them other tasks to attend to which they hurriedly moved to perform, although both women couldn't help but hope that the healer might just encounter a defensive action from Xena during her examination ... it would have been a fair trade for the verbal lashings they'd received from the older Amazon. Disappointingly, though, Sheraya seemed to know just how to handle the Warrior Princess without calling down retribution upon herself. Lasca and Jade, grumpily busied themselves around the other patients.

Talking softly, the healer gently examined the volatile warrior, cleaning her latest collection of scrapes and stitching a deep cut that ran from her left shoulder to the cleft of her breasts. She checked the gash in her patients leg, satisfied that none of Patroclese stitches had torn loose, before re-bandaging the area and gently turning the warrior over so that she could inspect the dangerous wound in her back.

Sucking in a deep breath, she bit out a few very choice oaths as she saw that the stitching there had been ripped asunder. Blood leaked from the opening with sluggish persistence and the skin around it was hot and inflamed. Knowing that there was no way to re-sew the injury, she reconciled herself to having to cauterize the wound .. a procedure that was going to be both painful and dangerous for Xena in her present weak condition.

Placing a pad over the damaged area, and binding it tightly, Sheraya, moved away from the unconscious woman and whispered some precise instructions to the two young warriors that she had beckoned over. While the pair were gone, the healer drifted around the various cots checking on the condition of her patients. She made a list in her mind of those that she wanted moved out of the infirmary before she started work on Xena: The less people around at that time the better.

**********

As soon as the cabin had been cleared of all those that it was no longer necessary to keep a careful eye on, including: Autolycus, Iolaus, Mattin and four of the Amazons, Sheraya began her preparation of Xena.

She had assembled a team of strong Amazons whom she ordered to hold the Warrior Princess down. Even in her weakened condition, it took six of them, while Lasca and Jade secured the struggling woman to the bed with strong rope. Xena continued to strain weakly at her bonds, but Sheraya had made certain that she couldn't jerk around while the hot iron was applied to seal the wound.

She ordered the unnecessary Amazons out of the infirmary and turned her attention to the brazier where two short swords were being heated, "Keep her shoulders pinned down just in case," she instructed her two press ganged helpers.

Lasca and Jade looked at the glowing sword, then at each other, before pushing down hard on the injured warrior's shoulders, offering a silent prayer to Artemis that the ropes would hold and that Xena would not hold anything against them when she regained her senses.

Moving with careful determination, the healer advanced upon her patient and applied the heated blade to the upper half of the open wound wringing a screaming cry from Xena that would never have escaped her lips while she was conscious. Her eyes flickered open, unseeing, for a moment and the Amazons caught an unguarded glimpse into a depth of pain that far surpassed that induced by the hot iron. Limpid blue pools of a cerulean hue mirrored the guilt and loathing that layered her soul so deeply that pain was almost a relief for her.

When the orbs snapped shut, without the warrior rousing from the pit of unconsciousness, Jade and Lasca felt ashamed that they had witnessed a reflection of Xena's soul, feeling instinctively that they had trespassed on something intensely private .. a lonely burden that the warrior bore.

Sheraya returned to the brazier for the second blade, carefully lifting it and returning to her patient. With practised precision she sealed the lower half of the wound holding the hot metal to the golden skin as torn flesh seared beneath the heat, and the smell of roasting flesh permeated the cabin.

**********

A second scream, longer and louder than the first echoed hauntingly through the ship, chilling those awake to hear it. Alone in her cot, Gabrielle stirred restlessly, her sleep filled with nightmares of blazing swords that cut through Xena's flesh like a knife through fresh butter. But exhaustion held her deep within it's toils and she remained within Morpheus' grasp.

**********

Having completed the cauterizing of the wound, Sheraya discarded the sword into a bucket of salt water, brought for the purpose, where it hissed and sizzled with it's mate. "Get her to drink some of that mixture I made. Leave her tied for a candlemark, and then remove her restraints. The herbs in that sleeping draught should keep her still long enough to give her a chance to recover some strength."

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-

'Wave Dancer' stretched before the wind trying to make full use of the slender lead it had over the Roman biremes that trailed along behind it visibly closing the gap with the passing of each candlemark. The bigger ships were using both their sails and oars to close in on the ship they chased. Failure for them was not an option. They needed to take the escaping vessel and all who sailed on her; particularly two slaves wearing unmistakable collars, and the Amazon leader who had been feted in Rome.

Using every inch of experience gained from her long years at sea, Nebula harried her inexperienced crew, whilst relying heavily upon the knowledge and abilities of Hercules and Iolaus .. who had recovered enough to help .. to bolster the Amazons in their efforts. Everyone upon the ship knew that their treatment, should they be taken by the Romans, would be far from gentle, and none of them wished to live the life of a slave.

Ephiny stood looking grimly astern at the dozen ships that clawed their way closer to the speeding pirate ship, "Do you have a plan?" she asked Nebula tensely.

"Keep ahead of the Romans," came back the dry reply.

"Besides that," snapped the Regent who wasn't really in the mood for wit. "Can we rely on a sea fog along this shore to hide in?" she questioned speculatively.

"You've been listening to too many of Gabrielle's stories," accused the pirate. "Things like that don't happen in real life, only in those great epics that bards tell."

"So what are you going to do," she saw Nebula begin to reply and held up her hand to forestall her, "and don't tell me 'Keep ahead of the Romans', because they're gaining all the time and, if I estimate it correctly, they're going to be on us within less than four candlemarks, long before darkness can hide us if that's what you're hoping for."

The tall captain took a glance behind her at the oncoming vessels and gave a nod of her head at the accuracy of Ephiny's assessment, "You're right. Four candlemarks is about all the time we have."

The Regent looked about ready to explode and she was aware of a queasy sensation in her stomach as her emotions roiled. "SO my question stands. For the third time, what are you going to do?"

Nebula squinted ahead of her trying to filter out the glare of the sun off of the blue water. A quick glance landward gave her exact knowledge of her location as she picked out familiar landmarks. "Ahead of us are a string of small islands that mark the edge of a large bay dominated by the city of Baieae."

"We're heading for a Roman city?" demanded Ephiny incredulously.

"No of course not," retorted Nebula with a disgusted snort. "We're going to play tag with those Roman ships around that string of islands until it's too dark for them to see us and then we're going to head out for home as fast as 'Dancer' can get us there."

"I see," said the Regent non-committally.

"It will be dangerous, some of the channels between those islands are going to be a tight fit, but that will stand us in better stead than the Romans as we have a much shallower draught than they do." explained the captain steadily.

"I see," repeated Ephiny once again, the nauseous feeling growing as she could see them landing between a rock and a hard place .. quite literally.

"If you can come up with anything better I'll be willing to listen," Nebula told her levelly as she studied the Amazon intently and got no response, "Right then ... I'll just get on with what I have to do then." She turned her back and took her station beside the Amazon at the helm as Ephiny chewed on her lip and wondered for the millionth time how association with Gabrielle seemed to turn bad luck into an art form.

Chapter Seventy Eight: In the Hands of Fate

The Hermit sat staring into the low embers of her fire. Her gaze appeared to be unfocussed as her inner-sight travelled the little used paths of what could and might be. At length she emitted a long sigh and allowed her senses to return to her physical form, where she remained seated, her eyes closed, as she pondered the implications of what she had seen.

"The time of trial has begun," she spoke softly even though there was no one in, or close enough to, the cave to hear her muted whisper, "O Artemis! Why do you allow your people to suffer so? Have the Amazons not suffered enough from the hands of fate? O mighty goddess, why have you forsaken your chosen people?" she implored to the empty space around her.

A flash of green and golden motes of light sparkled and faded leaving in their place the huntress leaning upon her mighty bow, "Even I cannot stand against the weaving of the fates, Acima."

"But why, my goddess, do the fates need to inflict so much pain and devastation on us?" questioned the Hermit, tears forming unbidden in her eyes.

Another dazzling array of light heralded the arrival of three more women. The maid, the mother and the crone appeared within the mystic's abode and looked at Acima with sympathy before speaking in their accustomed manner.

"What is to come," began Clotho.

"Is necessary," continued Lachesis. "The Amazons must suffer now,"

"For the world to survive," finished Atropos solemnly.

"Cannot another people suffer?" demanded the Hermit, knowing just how selfish that must sound. "My sisters have suffered greatly and for many years. Many of our people have become separated from us and their small tribes are withering from lack of connection with Themiscyra. How can this help to save the world? The loss of the Amazon Nation benefits no one."

The maid looked sadly at the impassioned mystic and noted how the Amazon's expressive eyes changed colour as her emotions flooded through her thoughts. The orbs settled on an icy pale blue, the intensity akin to the ex-warlord whose life had dominated so much of the pattern that Lachesis had woven since her birth.

"The Amazons will ..."

"Continue once this pattern ..." "Is completed," finished the crone. "What is to happen ..."

"Cannot be ..."

"Averted." the mother smiled sadly. "Strength and ..."

"Fortitude will be ..."

"Required by you ..."

"And your sisters in ..."

"The days ahead," finished Atropos as the three figures faded into the darkness of the cave.

The Hermit fought the growing despondency that gripped her heart and turned to her goddess, "Mighty Artemis, I must warn the Regent and the Queen of what is to come .. they must prepare for the coming trials."

The huntress sighed heavily, "Alas, child, that cannot be allowed. Some things are destined to happen, no matter what even we gods desire."

"But why allow me to glimpse this path if I can do nothing to prepare those who must travel it, my goddess?" demanded the short plump woman angrily, frustrated with a situation that constrained her to do nothing.

"Because when the time comes, Acima, you will have your part to play in the events that must unfold. Until then you will know without being able to act. As much as you will wish to, you will not be able speak of this until the time comes for you to do so." Artemis shook her chestnut locks and sighed heavily, "I am sorry that it must be like this, but truly, my daughter, this is for the greater good." She almost smiled as she invoked the phrase that had become the basis for a raven haired warrior's redemption.

"How long," demanded the mystic, shaking her head, her brown hair flashing with burnished red highlights as it caught the glow from the fire. "How long until I may speak and take a hand in this?"

Artemis turned flashing green eyes on the Amazon, "As long as the babes lay beneath their mothers hearts. When the births begin, you can begin to prepare." With those words the goddess vanished into a dazzling display of green and gold.

The Hermit turned to stare into the fires embers. - Nine moons, - she thought, - No ... more like eight, - she corrected herself. - I have time to plan. Maybe if I think hard enough I can find a way to prevent a total disaster. -

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-

The wind pressed the sail into a full bellied curve as 'Wave Dancer' lived up to his name and danced over the sparkling waves along the Italian coastline. Yet no matter how fast the ship raced before the wind, the twelve bireme's that dogged them crept inexorably closer to them.

"How much longer before we get to those islands of yours?" questioned the blonde Amazon ruler for what seemed about the hundredth time to the pirate.

"Three candlemarks .. maybe four, maybe less," responded Nebula with an exaggerated sigh.

Ephiny gave the captain a hard glare, "Well I hope you've got some other ideas because they're going to be on us in well less than a candlemark," she looked back at the following ships, "At least two of them will," she amended.

The tall dark woman turned and narrowed her eyes at the two biremes that were pulling strongly ahead of the other ten in the flotilla. She licked her lips as her brain performed mental gymnastics with the calculations she had made, attempted a metaphoric triple somersault which landed her flat on her face, "Damn!" she swore softly.

Ephiny felt like groaning. That one soft curse had just confirmed her worst fears, "I'll take that to mean you haven't." she ventured flatly.

As Hercules and Iolaus joined them on the stern deck, Nebula's agile mind was attempting to make plans that they could employ against the Roman pursuit. She kept her eyes firmly focussed on the two lead ships that were definitely drawing ahead of the rest of the fleet, - By Poseidon's beard! - her eyes widened, - Those damned fools are racing each other to try and catch us! - A slow smile swept over her face as a plan took shape within her fertile brain.

"They're going to try and flank us on either side," Hercules offered quietly.

"Board us from both sides and try to overwhelm us with numbers," added Iolaus as he assessed the situation. "Probably had a big bounty promised to the ones that take us," noted Ephiny gloomily.

"Hey that works for us," grinned the irrepressible blonde sidekick.

The Regent gave him a long hard look, "Just how does being flanked and boarded by overwhelming odds help us?" she inquired acidly.

"What Iolaus is trying to say in his own, roundabout, way is that if the crews on those ships are all trying to catch us so they can claim the reward, it means that they are far less likely to work as a cohesive unit," explained Hercules.

"Yeah!" laughed the hunter merrily, "It all comes down to greed and stupidity."

"Greed and stupidity?" repeated Ephiny densely.

"Uh huh," nodded Iolaus with a smile.

"I don't understand," admitted the Regent with a shake of her head.

"It's simple really Eph," he explained happily. "Their greed for that reward is going to make them stupidly attack us as if we were an easy push over."

The Regent ran frustrated hands through her own blonde curls, "Explain something to me Iolaus," she instructed.

"Sure, Eph, what?" asked the hunter with a puzzled frown.

"Those biremes," she said gesturing astern.

"Yeah," he agreed his puzzlement deepening.

"They carry a normal crew of what ... I don't know maybe a hundred men, not including the slaves?"

Iolaus nodded his head in agreement,"Yeah, sure it's a warship .. probably has more like a hundred and thirty at full compliment."

"Mmm hmmm," mused Ephiny. "And would it be a fair assumption that Caesar's got say another hundred soldiers on each ship?"

The blonde man waggled his hand from side to side,"Give or take, yeah," he agreed with her.

"Then please explain to me, O mighty mariner, how having two shiploads, of two hundred and thirty men each, coming along either side of us is going to work in our favour?" demanded Ephiny struggling to keep her voice from rising to a crescendo.

"Ummm ... well, the trick here is ..." Iolaus fumbled to explain his thoughts.

"I mean, my Amazons are good! And Artemis knows we can do them some damage, but if two of those ships catch us and men board, then we can't fight and keep the ship sailing which means we're going to be easy prey from the rest of the pack!" she growled angrily.

"Calm down Ephiny," came the soothing voice of Hercules. "Iolaus is right. Their greed and stupidity does help us .. we're just going to have to find the best way to make it work for us, though."

The Regent glared at the son of Zeus, "Got any suggestions?" she demanded unhappily.

"I have," purred the hitherto silent voice of Nebula. "Ephiny, can you get as many of your Amazons that can shoot a bow on deck? We're going to need them if this is going to work. You've got a little time, because I'm going to try and pull those lead two ships as far away from the others before I try this."

The blonde ruler nodded her acquiescence, "Alright Nebula. I'll get them organised. But when I get back I want to hear a full description of this plan of yours, okay?"

"Fine," agreed the pirate and watched as the Amazon hurried off to organize her warriors. She turned to Hercules, "I hope you've had plenty of rest, my friend, because I've got a job for you that's going to require all that prodigious strength of yours to work."

"You've got it," he smiled confidently.

"Hey! What about me?" demanded Iolaus, "Am I the only one that doesn't get a task?"

"Oh no, lover," the tall woman purred seductively, "I have something for you to do that will keep you close to me and servicing my every whim." She laid a possessive hand on his shoulder.

"Cut it out, Nebula," grinned the blonde nervously, "We've got a Roman fleet to fight."

The pirate looked him over speculatively, "Not that your thoughts aren't appealing, Curly, but I really was thinking more along the lines of you handling the wheel, rather than other more .. intimate .. things," she grinned lasciviously.

"Oh yes," growled Iolaus petulantly, "Ha, ha! So funny." he grumbled as he wandered over to take command of the wheel.

Nebula allowed a small possessive smile to flit across her face, "Later!" she breathed as she watched his retreating butt. - If the Romans haven't got us all chained up and under the lash by then! - she mutely added, playing a scene out in her imagination of the blonde man stripped to the waist, sweat streaked and in chains and her standing behind him holding a whip, - Yeah! Kinky! - she grinned naughtily before shaking herself free from the vision and preparing herself mentally for the coming battle.

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-

In the infirmary, Sheraya stood and stretched pressing her fists into her back near the base of her spine and winced as she heard, and felt, the bones pop back into alignment, "Getting old, Ray," she muttered to herself shaking her head.

Looking around her domain she allowed her eyes to flicker over those resting there. Joxer was snoring lightly under the influence of combined pain killing and sleeping herbs. It was difficult to imagine the bumbling warrior as a hero, but it was his courage and decisiveness that had saved a child from certain death, earning him an injury that could just cripple him for life. - Whatever else he does or doesn't have, - the healer told herself, - he has the heart of a hero. -

She turned her back on the wannabe warrior and allowed her eyes to rest on the two young Amazon's curled up in a cramped corner. Jade and Lasca had worked hard throughout the long night and into mid morning before Sheraya had allowed them to take a nap on the hard deck. She'd heard them grumbling about not being allowed to seek out their own bed rolls, and doubting that they'd be able to get any sleep, but she'd had to grin when they slipped into Morpheus' arms the moment their eyes had closed.

The five Amazons that remained in her care also slept, which the healer counted as a good thing. Sleep aided the body's healing and, although none of the warrior's were in any current danger from their wounds, all had taken nasty injuries that would take time before their bearers would recover from them.

She avoided looking at the cot next to the cabin door and turned her attention back to the beds under the long stern windows. She frowned a little at the unconscious form of her fellow healer, Patroclese. The young Roman, should have shown some signs of recovery by now and his lack of improvement was beginning to concern her. She pinched the bridge of her nose with forefinger and thumb, trying to decide if she should use strong smelling salts to try and bring him around. Deciding that she would give him up to the end of the candlemark to awaken naturally, she turned her attention to Eponin.

The Weapons Master was making steady improvement, she was relieved to note. The fever had abated and, although she looked almost deathly pale, her breathing was strong and steady. - With care, rest and a little luck she should make a full recovery, - Sheraya assessed. - Of course, getting Pony to rest after she's been injured is a task worthy of Hercules ... so maybe it's a good job that I have him to call upon! Especially as ... -

Her gaze turned to the weakly straining figure on the cot in the corner. The potion that she had administered to Xena should have rendered her senseless, and motionless, until dark fell once more. She was well aware of the Warrior Princess' reputation as a patient and she was in no mood to have to fight with her to keep her in her bed until judging her fit enough to be up and about.

Unfortunately, as soon as the dark warrior had descended into a deep sleep, she had started to moan and thrash about, threatening to tear open the wound in her back again, as well as doing damage to those trying to care for her. Finally, after Lasca had been fisted half way across the room, Sheraya had ordered her patient to be bound to the cot once more, where she now strained at the ropes that held her and emitted occasional moans of varying volume.

For now, Xena was almost quiet ... if not in the restful sleep that the healer had prescribed for her. Shaking her head, the Amazon couldn't help but wonder how the fabled warrior had the energy to struggle even as feebly as she currently did. With the amount of blood she had lost, the woman shouldn't have been able to open her eyes, let alone move, for several days at least. - Truth is, with the amount of blood she's lost, she should be dead! - Sheraya reminded herself bluntly. - I don't know what kind of healing system she has, but if we could find a way to bottle it's essence, then maybe other's could be helped to recover instead of ...

She squeezed her eyes shut and stifled the sigh that threatened to turn into a sob. Turning, her eyes lingered sadly on the shrouded figure that lay on the pallet next to the door. Olan was a scout, - Had been a scout, - she reminded herself harshly. - The woman had two daughters, the eldest fourteen, the youngest just nine. She would never see them take their Rite of passage now. -

Sheraya wiped away a stray tear impatiently. Her little sister would have been shocked to see her cry. She'd always thought the healer hard and unfeeling. They had never been close. There were too many years between their births and too much difference between their views on life. However, she made a silent vow to Olan, one she would die before breaking, - I will raise Hynde and Willow as you would have wanted. -

Her eyes snapped back to where a low rumbling growl was discharging from Xena. The Warrior Princess' head was thrashing back and forth and perspiration beaded heavily across her dark brows. The ropes that were tied across her body over the frame of the bed, pinning her within her blankets in such a way as to not further damage her flesh, began to creak and stretch under a sudden powerful attack as the delirious woman threw herself against them.

"I won't," panted the warrior as Sheraya hurried to her side, trying to pin her patient's shoulders back down to the bed. "Never, Julius .. do you hear me!" she cried, "NOOOOOOOO!" she screamed before collapsing back onto the bed to begin muttering and twitching once more.

"Dammit, woman!" swore Sheraya, baffled by what she was witnessing. By right's this should not have been happening, "What is going on with you?"

"Have you given her sleeping drugs?" asked a voice from the end of the bed.

Sheraya looked up into the concerned eyes of Patroclese, who stood ashen faced and supported by Lasca and Jade, who were watching Xena thrash through sleep bleary eyes.

"Of course I did," growled the Amazon healer, aware that most of the other occupants of the infirmary were also now awake. "She needs peaceful rest."

"I guessed you had," Patroclese answered sadly. "She has nightmares if she sleeps too deeply," he told her. "They can be very dangerous for her and those around her."

"How would you know?" demanded Sheraya without really thinking.

The Roman took a deep breath and explained regretfully, "Caesar tried to weaken her through sleep deprivation. When she did sleep, she couldn't stop herself from slipping into a deep slumber where she was greeted by harrowing nightmares. She killed six men during one of those dreams. She started to refuse to sleep at all. I had to drug her to get her to rest enough to where she could control her sleeping patterns once more. It was not easy for any of us ... her or we who watched her."

The cabin was silent except for Xena's thrashing and fevered mutterings until Sheraya finally commented, "I see. So it was a mistake to drug her."

"You couldn't have known," consoled Patroclese. "I suspect that only Gabrielle knows the true depth of these nightmares that haunt her," he said gesturing in the warrior's direction.

"How in Artemis' name am I supposed to keep her in that bed long enough to get her to heal then," muttered the Amazon to herself as she bit at the side of her mouth in deep thought.

The Roman healer smiled when he heard the low comment, "Well you could keep her tied down ... she might not appreciate it, but it could be done. However, I think if you were to hand that particular problem over to Gabrielle, I think you might just solve it."

Brown eyes shot to blue, "You think?" she asked.

"Oh, almost definitely," grinned Patroclese. "That young woman is almost a match in stubbornness for your patient," He told his colleague as memories of a cell in Nemausus flitted through his mind.

"Fine. Jade and Lasca can keep her company for now and try to make sure she doesn't break free .. meantime you really should be back in your bed. You took quite a crack from that beam and you need time to recover."

Patroclese didn't argue with her. He felt weak and dizzy, so he was happy enough for her to assist him back to his cot, "What's happened while I've been out?" he asked. Then a worried frown crossed his face and he demanded, "Are the children alright."

Sheraya got him to lay back on the bed and told him, "All of the children are fine. We're out of Ostia and heading home." She drew a breath and told him softly, "We do have trouble though. It seems we're being chased by a few of Caesar's ships."

"How many," he asked in a quiet, worried tone.

"Twelve biremes ... and they're gaining on us."

"Gods!" he whispered.

"How far?" demanded Nebula, keeping her eye on the sails, whilst watching the Amazons get into position crouched down below sides of the deck.

"About three cables," responded Hercules, his eyes pinned on the two quickly approaching biremes.

"The others?" she demanded tersely as her eyes flicked over to where Toris and Autolycus stood close to the anchor cable ready to release it and noted that they had axes to hand ready for her second signal.

"Maybe four miles astern of them. Do you think we can pull this off?" he questioned, knowing that the dangerous manoeuvre was their only real hope.

The pirate flashed a dangerous smile at him, "We'll soon find out," she assured him. "I just wish we had a little more distance on the others." She glanced up at the three Amazons in the rigging with just their belt knives. One was all it would take, but if the Roman's had archers then it would pay to have back-up.

The demi-god shot an assessing look at the ten ships some miles back, "Actually, we've got more room than I thought we'd have. I think the other captains decided that our two friends," he gestured at the two biremes that were continuing to close the gap, "were going to make the capture and have eased off on their rowers."

"Take it to starboard a point, Iolaus," instructed Nebula trying to make it seem as if she were attempting evasive manoeuvrers. The bireme on that side responded effectively shepherding 'Dancer' back onto it's original course. She turned back to Hercules, "Well, I'll take any luck we can come by. We've still got a long way to go and a lot of games to play before we're going to be free of this mess." She threw another look at the sail, "Watch your luff," she warned the blonde at the wheel.

"I know, I know. I was just about to make the correction," he muttered testily.

"Never doubted it, Curly," she grinned, the very picture of the competent, confident pirate she was.

With 'Wave Dancer' taking advantage of every morsel of wind to pull the Romans on an ever increasing chase south, they were improving their chances of evading capture with every moment. - Only if we can pull this next manoeuvre off! - Nebula reminded herself. - Otherwise it's gonna be a quick fight with quick deaths for the lucky few, enslavement for most of those that are left and Crucifiction for those considered expendable ... such as an old pirate like me. - She had to admit it gave her every incentive to make her plan work.

"How far?" she asked Hercules again.

"Maybe a cable ... probably a little less." he responded.

"Time to get to your post," she told him keeping a firm grip on the adrenaline rush that was bringing her to a peak of excitement. She watched him climb down the steps that led from the stern deck to the main one and move across to a long coiled length of rope that snaked it's way up to the top of the mast.

"Are you sure even Herc's going to have enough strength to do that?" asked Iolaus quietly.

"If he doesn't we're dead ... or we'll be wishing we were," she told him coldly, "However, Toris and Autolycus will help him as soon as they're free and so will some of the Amazons once they run out of arrows."

"AHOY THE SHIP!" screamed a voice from the bows of one of the Roman biremes, "DROP SAIL AND SURRENDER .. IN THE NAME OF LORD CAESAR!"

Nebula swung herself up onto the stern rail and yelled back, "BITE ME! YOU SONS OF BACCHII!" She watched as the man who had been shouting leaned down and exchanged comments with someone she couldn't see, before straightening and yelling across the water filled distance that separated them.

"THIS IS YOUR LAST CHANCE! HEAVE TOO AND PREPARE TO BE BOARDED OR SUFFER THE CONSEQUENCES!"

Not bothering to respond, the tall captain jumped down and instructed her crew, "Be ready! They'll be alongside any time now!"

As preparations were made, with bows being strung with new strings that had been protected from the salt spray of the sea, Ephiny's voice could be clearly heard by every Amazon archer on deck. "Aim for the officers and those around the wheel, but only once they have begun the move to come alongside the ship. We need to take out the chain of command to confuse them and give the captain the time she needs to pull this off!"

Satisfied that all was ready, Nebula turned her attention back to the two biremes that were moving slowly into flanking positions about a hundred yards away on both sides of the ship. They could hear the high whining crack of the slave master's whips encouraging the rowers to keep in time with the deep thudding beat that was drummed out for them. Inch by inch the biremes were slowly overtaking them until they reached that pre-defined position just abreast of 'Wave Dancer' and altered their course just fractionally to converge upon their quarry, aiming to make the smaller ship the meat in their sandwich.

As the attacking ships narrowed the gap piece by piece, the pirate licked her lips in anticipation, waiting for the exact right moment to put her plan into action. Too soon and they would have time to counter her actions .. too late and they would be all over them like maggots on week old meat. Everything required .. exact .. timing! "NOW!" cried Nebula watching as the Amazon archers scrambled up from their concealment and started peppering the decks of the two biremes with withering volleys of deadly arrow. The anchor cable was let loose to drop the big heavy sea anchor to help drag them to a halt and she sent a quick nod to Toris and Autolycus as they grabbed for their axes in readiness for her next instruction.

Her anxious eyes swept aloft to where the women in the rigging sawed frantically at a rope which snapped with an audible 'TWANG' and she saw the great sail flutter limply towards the deck as she heard the rasping sound of the rope, that Hercules stood by, quickly paying out until the canvass settled and the demi-god had hold of the rope end.

The effect of all this was to bring 'Dancer' to a swift shuddering stop, that threw all standing members of the crew to the decks in the sudden change of motion, whilst allowing the two biremes to shoot past them in a flurry of oars and bewilderment. Not only that, but the two enemy ships were set on a collision course with each other, that might have been avoided if a quick witted officer had made the right decisions, but Ephiny's warriors had done their best to ensure that no officer was alive to make any decisions! Furthermore, the Amazons were continuing to pepper the area around the wheel with wicked volley's of death dealing shafts to try and ensure that no one could get close enough to the wheel's to change direction of the ships anyway.

- Part one completed, - acknowledge Nebula, taking her eyes off the enemy to order Toris and Autolycus, "Cut the cable," before ordering Hercules, "Hoist the sail!" Then turned back to the two biremes in time to see them collide with each other, oars sheering off in the impact, and the sound of the slaves screaming as long shivers of woods sliced through their galley like knives. The two would be out of action for a while.

Turning her attention back to her own ship, she saw the son of Zeus straining his incredible strength to haul the sail back into position as quickly as was possible. It normally took twenty crewmen five times as long as it seemed to be taking him. The heavy thud of chopping axes drew her eyes to where Autolycus and Toris had almost cut through the anchor cable, and she was in time to see the last strand finally part under the thief's blow. Both men then dropped their tools and hurried to help the demi-god in his muscle straining task.

"As soon as we have way on, pick a course to get us past that mess," she told Iolaus, indicating the tangled ships ahead of them.

Aye, aye, captain," grinned the blonde jubilantly, more than happy that the plan was working.

Returning the grin, Nebula turned her attention to the ships behind her, confident that Hercules and the others could tie off the sail without her help. The stop they had performed, and the time it had taken then to get under sail once more, had been exceptionally quick. However, the ships behind them had not stopped and, although they hadn't realised just what had happened yet, they were still approaching at a steady speed that had inevitably closed the gap on them.

- The question is, have we got enough of a lead to make it to those rocky islets? Because as sure as Centaurs don't eat hay, they aren't going to fall for a trick like that one again. -

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-

"Unggggnnnhhh!" came a muffled cry from beneath a pile of sheets and blankets as Gabrielle was shot unceremoniously from her bed to tumble against the wall of a cabin that she was sharing with some of the girls that Patroclese had rescued from slavery. "Dammit Xena!" she cursed blearily, "I thought we agreed that you wouldn't drag me out of bed like that anymore ... I'm getting up I promise!"

She fought with the blankets until she found a way to get her head out of their suffocating stranglehold and found herself looking up into the concerned eyes of a child who appeared to be no more than seven summers old. "Oh ... hi," she offered as she fought clear of the constricting hold of the bedclothes and rose unsteadily to her feet. "What's going on?" she asked rubbing the sleep from her eyes and looking around at the three other faces.

The child shrugged and looked worried, "It's okay, sweetheart," assured the bard, though she was far from sure that it was worrying the girl.

Reaching out a small, tentative hand the child placed a finger on that hated collar that remained locked around the bard's neck, while her other hand fingered the thicker, heavier iron band that hung loosely around her own, "You're like us?" she asked uncertainly. She was certain the collar marked Gabrielle as a slave, but she'd only ever seen one other slave band like the one the bard wore and she guessed that it made the adult someone special.

The young queen swallowed hard and wondered whether these children had been born into slavery or were the captured spoils of some war. "We're all the same," she told the child.

"All slaves?" came the small voice again.

Gabrielle reached out and gave her a hug. - Those collars have got to come off as soon as Autolycus or maybe Hercules has the time, - she vowed to herself. "No, sweetheart," she told her firmly, "No one on this ship is a slave .. especially not you and your friends." She looked from face to face, "What's your names?" she asked.

"I'm Kendra," she told her importantly, "and they're Embla," she said pointing to the oldest of the girls, a willowy fair haired child of maybe twelve summers, "She's a Norse savage," Kendra told her and received a grin and a friendly punch from the other girl, "And that's Milburga .. we call her Milly," she told her confidentially indicating a child standing just behind Embla, showing little than wide brown eyes. She seemed to be maybe nine. "And the little one is Cassie." she shoved a hand out and roughed the five summer old brown haired cherub's head. "She nearly got squished by a rock! Didn'tcha?"

"Well Kendra," the bard smiled, "I'm Gabrielle. Has anyone told you what's going on?" she asked carefully.

"Only that we're running away from Lord Caesar's ships and that we were to stay in here until it was safe," answered the child her green eyes serious as she shook her dark curls to emphasise her words.

"I see," said Gabrielle, chewing her lip thoughtfully, and not liking what she was thinking. "Well you be good girls and stay in here so that you don't get under any of the warrior's feet. I'm going to see what's going on and check on a friend of mine .. but I'll be back and I'll tell you all a story before you go to sleep, how does that sound?"

Four heads nodded enthusiastically, although they weren't too sure what a story might be .. none of them had heard one before. Kendra reached out a hand and tugged at the bard's skirt as she turned towards the door, "G'berell?"

Turning, the bard knelt down to be on eye level with the child, hiding a smile at the mangled form of her name, "Yes Kendra?"

"If we're all the same as the people on this boat ... why do only we," she obviously included Gabrielle with the other children, "haf to wear collars?"

"Oh honey," the bard said drawing the child in to give her a hug, "as soon as we get away from those ships I'll get one of my friends to get those off of all of your necks .. I promise."

"Yours too?" questioned the child, concern in her eyes.

"I think me and my friend, who's got one just like this," she said fingering the metal at her neck, "will have to wait until we get home."

"Is your friend the animal?" asked Embla, "The one they used to make watch while they beat us?" she added softly.

"Why do you call her the animal, sweetheart," asked Gabrielle softly.

"Because that's what the soldiers called her. They said, 'The animal has misbehaved and you're to be punished because of her!' She always looked kinda sad kneeling before us as they whipped us. She didn't really look like an animal to me."

The bard drew a deep ragged breath, "She isn't an animal, Embla," she told her. "Her name is Xena, and she's the bravest, strongest, most caring person I know. I'll tell you a story about her tonight and maybe when she's well you can meet her properly."

"Is she hurted?" asked Milly shyly.

"Yes, sweetheart, she is. I've got to go and see her and make sure that she's going to get well. But I'll be back later, okay?"

"'Kay!" came a chorus of four voices.

"Stay here," Gabrielle reminded them as she slipped out of the door and headed for the deck looking for someone who'd be able to tell her what in Tartarus was going on.

**********

As she came up on deck, everyone was rushing around in a flurry of activity. A quick check of their surrounding showed her a pair of tangled biremes just falling behind in their wake, and some distance off a cluster of several more of the war ships. "Hades Helmet!" she swore.

Looking around she spotted a likely looking figure and snagged Autolycus' arm, "Hey!" exclaimed the thief turning around sharply to see who had grabbed him, "Oh it's you .. what do you want?"

"What's going on Autolycus .. why didn't someone wake me? What the Hades is happening?" demanded the bard.

"We're being chased by Caesar's ships. We didn't wake you because there's nothing you could do and you needed to sleep. And we've just managed to take two of the chasing ships out of the action, but we've still got ten more chasing us ... satisfied?"

"Dammit ... when are you all going to stop treating me like some little kid!" she demanded become steadily more angry that no one had considered it was necessary to let her know what was going on.

"Probably when you stop acting like it," came a quiet voice in her ear making her almost jump out of her skin.

"Don't do that Eph!" she growled when she got her beating heart under control. "And I don't act like a child!" she yelled stamping her foot as anger got the better of her. The Regent looked meaningfully at the deck and her foot and Gabrielle had the grace to colour with embarrassment, "Well not often. But dammit Eph! What do you expect. Something like this going on," she waved her hand at Caesar's ships, "and no one thought to tell me."

"Oh we thought about it," assured the blonde Amazon. "But there was nothing you could do so we thought we'd let you get some sleep so you would be fit to help where you are needed."

"Oh," snarked the bard, "And just where do you think that would be?"

"TURN ME LOOSE!" came an infuriated scream of rage from below decks at that exact moment.

"How about there," answered Ephiny blandly.

"ARES BALLS! WHEN I GET OUT OF HERE YOU'RE GONNA PRAY FOR A QUICK DEATH!"

"Preferably before she kills out best healer," she added to Gabrielle's quickly retreating form. "Why are things never easy around those two?" she muttered, before turning her attention back to her own tasks.

Chapter Seventy Nine: Deadly Dancer

Gabrielle burst into the infirmary to find a scene from one of her nightmares. A young, blonde haired warrior, - Lasca I think her name is, - flashed through the bard's brain, crouched doubled up just inside the cabin's door straining to draw a breath. On the bed in the far corner, that she knew to be Xena's, there were a pile of bodies that struggled to hold the heaving mass that could only be the Warrior Princess.

"Hold her!" commanded the stern voice of Sheraya who also seemed to be embroiled within the pile.

"By the gods!" came the muffled voice of Patroclese, "Has anyone bothered to tell this woman that she shouldn't have the strength for this?" he demanded only partly in jest.

"Someone please snag her wrist before she manages to take my eyes out!" wailed an unknown voice.

"How do you suggest we do that, Jade?" grumbled another unknown voice, "She's got more limbs than an octopus .. and I can't believe she's doing this and managing to stay asleep!"

Gabrielle shook her head in disbelief, "Alright! Everybody get off her. NOW!" She moved quickly across to the cot and, with a surprising show of strength hauled one of the Amazon's out of the fray, while the others tried to disengage themselves.

As the weight was removed from her body, Xena seemed to spring up off the bed directly into the protective arms of the bard. One look into the warrior's haunted eyes, told Gabrielle that her friend was indeed still held in Morpheus' realm and was experiencing one of those terrifying visions that so often assaulted her dreams. Visions that she fought violently against in her torment, lashing out at everything as she sought her path back to the light.

When Gabrielle wrapped her arms tight around her warrior friend's frame, the haunted look almost instantly faded from the bright blue beacons of Xena's eyes. The tension that had been flowing off of the raven haired woman in crashing waves, seemed to evaporate, and with it went the strength that had enabled her to fight off the six people who had been trying to subdue her.

"It's okay," Gabrielle assured her softly, her tone comforting and soothing. "You're safe here. I'm here. Nothing can harm you now."

The Warrior Princess slumped heavily against her smaller partner her eyes drifting closed as the bard's gentle words surrounded her with the unconditional love and protection that she offered the stoic, often withdrawn woman whom she had chosen to follow and befriend.

"Alright Xena. Back to bed," the honey blonde coaxed, "That's it. Carefully," came the encouragement as she got her safely seated on the dishevelled cot. "Now lie down so that I can pull the covers up. That's it," she gently pressed the exhausted warrior back down and snugged the blankets around her, frowning heavily at the frayed evidence of the ropes that had been used, unsuccessfully, to bind the warrior to the bed.

Once she had her friend tucked in, she sat down on the edge of the cot, taking one large hand in her much smaller grasp, and lightly brushed the dark bangs away from her champion's closed eyes as the warrior allowed herself to drift fully into a restful sleep for the first time since she had been brought to the infirmary.

Silence reigned in the cabin, other than for Joxer's snores and the wheezing gasps of Lasca which were slowly being brought under control. Patroclese looked down at the two women and shook his head in wonder, "I have never seen anything like that," he said with studied disbelief. "How does she do that?" he said almost rhetorically.

Sheraya, who looked up from where she was tending to the gulping young Amazon, shook her head slightly and winced from the pain of the purpling bruise that had been raised on her cheek just beneath her right eye which would, no doubt, induce the flesh surrounding the orb to turn black. "It can only be trust," she muttered, turning her attention back to the young warrior in case she had damaged more than her pride. Being on the receiving end of one of the Warrior Princess' fists could well result in a cracked or broken rib ... even if the said Warrior princess was far from capable of lashing out with her normal power.

Ignoring everything, except making sure that Xena was settled down enough to get some much needed rest, Gabrielle fought hard to control her rising temper. Not only had she returned to the infirmary to find her best friend fighting with the people supposedly caring for her wounds, but there was also clear evidence that showed the warrior had been tied down to the bed.

- The stupidity ... the idiocy of it! - she silently snarled. - Don't these fools realise just how badly hurt she is? - She had the grace to colour lightly as she heard the painfully wheezing Lasca being helped to her feet and led to where she could sit quietly on a chair to fully recover. - Alright, - the bard conceded, - Even out on her feet she's more than a match for most people. They could have come to get me .. she would have been alright with me looking after her. -

Gabrielle cracked a mighty yawn that even a healthy dose of angry adrenaline couldn't keep at bay. - Okay, so maybe I wouldn't have been much use. But me just being here would have kept her calm. - Seeing that Xena was resting peacefully, she carefully disengaged her hand from the warrior's larger one, soothing her softly as the injured woman looked about to start fussing, "Take it easy, I'm still here. I won't leave you again."

Satisfied that she would continue to rest, the bard stood, crossed her arms over her chest and moved across to confront Sheraya, "Just what in Tartarus was going on in here when I arrived?" she demanded.

The Amazon healer noted the rigid set of her queen's shoulders and the uncustomary scowl on the normally laughing face, "She was having a nightmare. I needed to stop her from thrashing about and opening her wounds again. Or would you rather I allow her to bleed to death?" snapped the older woman, her own personal pain and loss making her less than diplomatic in her reply.

Gabrielle's scowl was replaced by a frown. She knew that Sheraya had a reputation for speaking her mind and for taking no nonsense from any Amazon of any rank, but even she had never been this blatantly rude before. Something was upsetting the healer, making her more abrupt and more than normally vitriolic in her remarks. However, at the moment, it was Xena that concerned the bard and she replied with a cold anger, "No I wouldn't." She twirled the end of a piece of rope in her fingers, "Why was Xena tied down? Isn't that a rather unusual way to care for a sick patient?"

Sheraya's brown eyes became stormy, "It is when the said patient is thrashing around so much that she is a danger to both herself and her healers!" She touched her purpling cheek and saw the bard's eyes twitch away from her own. "However, even that precaution didn't seem to work with your champion, my Queen ... whereas your arrival worked wonders." She took a deep breath and ploughed on, "So I think it may be best if you remain in the infirmary ... that way my other patients might get some rest and I may be able to treat them all without having to hold down a ... delirious warrior," she finished weakly having changed her wording from psychotic to delirious when the young queen's eyes took on a defensive glint and challenged her to say anything detrimental.

"That might be for the best, yes," conceded Gabrielle graciously, successfully hiding her smirk behind her hand as she manufactured a cough.

"However," the healer's tone was once more filled with steel, "you will follow instructions from me or Patroclese while you are here ... I shall expect you to help with the other patients, but your main responsibility will be to ensure that Xena doesn't cause any more havoc!"

"Of course, Sheraya," agreed the bard meekly. She wasn't about to cross the volatile healer any more than necessary ... although the Warrior Princess might argue the fact, she rarely went looking for trouble. And aggravating the intimidating Amazon healer was looking for trouble with a big stick.

Sheraya looked at the young woman dubiously, - Girl's got backbone, - she thought. - Suppose she needs it being around the warrior all the time. Well while she's in my infirmary she'll do what I tell her ... or we'll see just how much backbone she really has got! -

"Right lets go and check on her wounds ... see what damage she's caused by throwing herself around that way."

"Yes Sheraya," answered Gabrielle submissively.

"Then we need to change Poni's bandages and check for infection ... you say you have had medical experience?"

"Yes, Sheraya."

"Well that's something to be thankful for ... then we must check that Joxer's legs are set straight and I want to give Patroclese another examination before I let him out of that bed for good ... it will be helpful to have another qualified healer to help here ...."

Gabrielle trailed along in the older woman's wake, knowing that it was going to be a difficult few days ... so long as they could evade Caesar's ships ....

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-

With the wind still favouring them, 'Wave Dancer' stretched over the swells doing his best to maintain the ever decreasing lead he had over the ten chasing biremes snapping at his heels. Further behind those ten limped the two vessels chastened by their brief run in with 'Dancer's' inventive captain, and unusually talented crew.

- About a couple of candlemark's past midday, - estimated Nebula, squinting speculatively at the bright sun above them. - with the wind running true we must have been covering at least seven miles in an hour ... so maybe nine hours sailing, that should put those damned cays and rocky isles just about in sight. -

"Two points to starboard, Iolaus," she instructed her current helmsman, sparing him a long burning look as she devoured the sight of his compactly muscular body. - Rrrrwwwlllll - she purred silently, - Down girl ... time enough for that later when we're out of these waters! -

"Aye, aye, Captain," agreed the blonde hunter, turning the wheel to make the course correction required, and felt the slow burn of a blush that radiated up his neck and made his ears glow, as he realised that the pirate's predatory eyes were on him once more. He decided to try and ignore it as best he could. Every time he'd objected to her scrutiny so far, he'd come off the worse in the verbal sparring that had ensued.

Nebula pouted a little as Iolaus declined to say any more and turned her attention to the ships chasing along behind them. Although they were closing at a consistent rate, they weren't attempting to race each other any longer .. obviously having learned their lessons from the earlier failure of the two defeated ships. - No. This bunch intend to catch us en-masse, and not give us any chance to slip away from them. -

She turned back to her study of the sea ahead .. - Somewhere, just out there, is what I need to get us some leeway and time so that we can lose them in the night. All we have to do is get there with a little bit of a lead so that we can work some sailor's magic! - she told herself.

"I'd appreciate it if you'd stop giving Iolaus such a hard time," said Hercules softly, having approached her so silently that she'd failed to register his presence.

Controlling her natural reaction, which was to jump out of her skin, Nebula responded as nonchalantly as she could manage, "Oh? I didn't think my presence was a cause for hardship. Besides, he's hardly a callow youth. If he has something he wants to .. say to me, well then I'm sure he's man enough for the job."

"Nebula," sighed the demi-god patiently, "this really isn't the time or place for this."

"For what, Hercules?" asked the pirate, batting her eyes innocently.

The tawny haired hero looked astern at the ships that dogged them, "With a substantial squadron of Caesar's ships and men after us, we don't have time for you to be flirting with Iolaus ... we're in too much trouble and we need your undivided attention on the matter at hand."

"Oh my mind is definitely on the matter at hand," she replied casting a smouldering look towards the ships wheel and the man in question. She saw the look forming on Hercules' face and sought to forestall him by saying, "Besides, I don't flirt!"

"Oh?" the son of Zeus looked at her with exasperation plain on his face, "And just how would you describe what you've been subjecting Iolaus to?"

"Subjecting? Oh no, no, no, no, no! You have that wrong lover. Iolaus was just caught up in my allure. He was enchanted by the rapture of my dazzling attraction. In short .. his desire is on heat, but he hasn't worked up the courage to do something about it yet .... Maybe by the time he does, I'll have lost interest. After all .. it's the joy of the hunt that's important. Being able to predict your prey's actions and reactions is often more fun than going in for ...," she sent a wicked, wanton smile in the blonde's direction, " .. the kill!" she finished.

Hercules shook his head in almost stunned disbelief, "Have you been hanging out with my sister, Artemis, by any chance?"

"Girl with a bow? Green eyes? Chestnut hair?" she asked.

"Sounds like her," agreed Hercules with a frown.

"Sorry ... never seen anyone like that in my life!" grinned the pirate irritatingly.

"Dammit Nebula!" swore the demi-god .. hating to be made a fool off. "Can't you take anything seriously?" he demanded.

"I'll tell you what I take seriously, Herc. I take the welfare of my ship seriously, because 'Dancer' gives me the freedom to live how I want, not how some would force me. I take the threat of those ships behind us seriously, because they'd take away my freedom and maybe my life. I take the pleasures of life today, seriously .. because there may not be a tomorrow. But until we reach those islets, or the Romans catch up to us, there's not a whole damn lot I can do .. so I seriously intend to have some fun. Iolaus is a big boy, Hercules. He can look after himself. Why don't you go and see how that Warrior Princess of yours is doing, and save us all some aggregation."

"Nebula ... leave him alone," warned the hero. "He needs to be focused on steering the ship when the time comes, not having his thoughts scrambled so that his reactions are slowed. It's going to be a long voyage ... you have plenty of time to play your games with him once we're loose from our chasing tail."

The pirate thought hard for a moment. It was true that she got a lot of enjoyment out of teasing the blonde hunter ... and sometimes she believed that it went beyond teasing on her part ... but what Hercules had said was true. Iolaus needed to have his wits about him for the coming dance through the rocky shelves and their attendant sandy cays and high barren islets where she intended to try and shake free from pursuit.

"Alright, Herc. I'll leave him be until we've ditched the Romans ... then he's fair game. Deal?" she asked.

"Deal!" he nodded in reply and turned away with a wry grin on his face. He suspected that on an even playing field, where Iolaus didn't have to split his concentration, he might just give the pirate a run for her dinars.

Tarelle sat on deck working at fletching arrows along with most of the other Amazons on board. An inventory of the hold had revealed several packs of arrow shafts, while a further search had produced steel, barbed heads and goose feathers that were perfect for the flights. The find meant that their concern over running out of arrows would no longer be a problem given enough time to tip and fletch the basic shafts.

Although a part of her resented doing a task that was for the benefit of their so called 'Queen' and her savage friend cum champion. A slightly more rational section of her mind constantly reminded her that falling into Roman hands at this time would not do her, or any of her comrades, any good whatsoever. - The time when Caesar could have been useful by removing that centaur loving bitch, Ephiny, has long passed. I have no doubts that we're all tarred with the same ... - she twirled one of the fletchings in her hand, - ... feather as she, Queen Gabrielle and the Bitch from Hades are! -

"Don't play with it, Tarelle!" snapped a watchful Malonda. "Keep working. We're gonna need all the arrows that we can put together before we get home!"

The red head scowled belligerently at the Chief Scout and returned her attention back to the work she should be concentrating on. - This is all Jerushan's fault. How the idiot ever managed to get into the Royal Guard I'll never fathom! Perhaps she's got some leverage that she hasn't told us about! - she snickered nastily, drawing enquiring looks from her clique of supporters, including the blonde Jerushan, which she quelled impartially with a fiery looking scowl.

- All the stupid woman had to do was take a message to Caesar and get back to the barracks. But no! The brainless featherhead had to hang around to be spotted by the damned pirate and even Ephiny and Eponin aren't stupid enough not to work out that they'd got a problem. - She idly stirred the glue pot as she drifted off into her train of thoughts.

"Dammit, Tarelle!" growled Malonda angrily, "do I have to tell you again. I thought you were a mature Amazon, not some fledgeling that can't do a simple job without a warrior standing over her the whole time!"

Allowing her well known fiery temper to get the better of her, the red head sprang to her feet, eyes blazing, "Back off, trail chaser," she snarled nastily, using the derogatory Amazon name for the scouts. "I was trained for higher administration and the law .. not to do mundane chores that any brainless steel swinger can do!"

"Listen you self righteous, swell headed, pen pusher! You'll do what you're damn well told to do, or I'll chain you up and stuff you in the hold for the rest of this trip ... which is where you'd be right now, if I had my way, for the stunt you tried to pull in Rome!" roared the irate Malonda in return.

"Alright ... break it up!" broke in Ephiny as she moved between the two angry Amazons. "We've got more than enough Romans to fight .. so what do my Amazons do .. they decide it's the right time to fight amongst themselves! So help me .. if it wasn't for the fact that we need everyone ... yes you included Tarelle ... I'd throw you both off the ship to cool off until the Roman's picked you up! And so help me .. if you keep this up I might just decide that's the best way to deal with it. Now act like mature, Amazon women and get on with your jobs!"

The Regent frowned in irritation as she stalked away from her working Amazons over to where Autolycus lounged at ease against the ships rail, "Trouble amongst the troops?" he asked quietly, none of his normal jocularity showing in his tone.

"I don't understand Malonda sometimes," muttered the blonde mostly to herself.

"What's troubling you, Ephiny?" questioned the roguish thief as he continued to watch the group of women that had been causing the trouble. He frowned slightly as he thought he saw the red haired centre of all current Amazon problems, hide a quick, malicious smile.

"This whole thing with Tarelle," grumbled the Regent unhappily.

"And?" urged Autolycus, perceptively realising that there was something else disturbing the commanding woman beside him.

Drawing a breath, Ephiny wondered just how well she could trust the devil-may-care thief. Coming to a decision, the blonde ran her fingers through her curls .. a sure sign of tension. She needed to talk to someone and, with Eponin unconscious in the infirmary and Gabrielle's time taken up with Xena, her choices for confident were limited. Beside, even though the King of Thieves presented an attitude of studied selfishness he had actually proven himself, on several occasions, to be a clever, astute and caring friend to Xena and Gabrielle.

"It's Malonda," she said at last, quite quietly. "She absolutely hates Xena .. she doesn't try to hide it ... but it makes me wonder just how strong her loyalty is to Gabrielle."

"Has she ever said anything about her? Been disrespectful?" asked the thief pointedly stroking his chin thoughtfully.

"Not that I've ever heard," admitted Ephiny. "But, Hades codpiece, Autolycus. I keep on thinking about Jerushan and the other disloyal guards. Someone had to have made it easy for them to get in on this trip ... and the there was that message to Caesar."

"So you think she's in with Tarelle's group?" he probed.

"Yes ... no ... I don't know! That's the problem." sighed the Regent in frustration shrugging her shoulders and raising her hands the allowing them to slap back down her sides.

Autolycus gave her a long look, his warm brown eyes filled with concern, "Ephiny, you've been under a lot of pressure out here. Having enemies in your own camp can't have helped matters. Don't let paranoia blind you to the good qualities of a loyal warrior." He could see she was about to speak, but he continued on before she could do so. "On the other hand, Malonda has been acting oddly, so it may just be that you need to keep an eye on her ... for your sake and Gabrielle's."

"Damn! I hoped I was making too much of it," sighed the blonde.

Autolycus shrugged, "It may be that you are. On the other hand, you know the old saying .. it's better to be safe than sorry."

Ephiny nodded thoughtfully. "Autolycus ...?"

"Aw, c'mon Eph! I'm a thief not a spy." he complained.

"I know ... but I would be really grateful, Autolycus. I mean it's not like you've got anything else to do while we're stuck on this ship .. and you might see something that was hidden from me," the Regent wheedled.

He tried to ignore the pleading look in her eyes. He tried to harden his heart and tell himself he was really the selfish, uncaring thief that his publicists made him out to be. But deep within the man .. not the myth of the man .. there beat a pure heart, that would always lead him to help his friends ... even while swearing he was only doing it because they forced him to. Autolycus, King of Thieves cultivated a reckless, wild and self-absorbed image .. but many were the poor people who had benefitted with a gift from his hand. As much as he liked to deny the fact, he was a good man.

"Oh ... alright!" he at last conceded. "But I'm not promising anything."

"Thank you, Autolycus. You're a ...."

He wagged a finger at her, "Ah, ah, ah! Don't say it. You'll ruin my hard fought for reputation," he admonished her. She smiled and would have turned to go, but he stopped her by asking, "You feeling okay, Eph?"

"Mmmmm?" she queried with a raised eyebrow. "I'm fine ... what makes you think I'm not?"

Oh ... nothing. It's just that I noticed you being ... um, you seemed to be having trouble with your stomach this morning. I wondered if you were alright. I thought there might be some kind of bug going around, or maybe the food was bad, because a lot of your warriors seemed to be having the same kind of trouble too," he told her, genuine concern in his eyes.

"No .. really I'm fine. I guess it was a little motion sickness. I'm okay now. Maybe it was just being back at sea. I'm usually okay once I've been on board a day or so," the Regent assured him.

The thief nodded, "Just thought I'd ask." Then he mumbled something suspiciously like, "Have to watch out for my friends." but he was gone before Ephiny could call him on it.

The Regent shook her corn gold curls and smiled. - Autolycus ... you are definitely one in a million! -

"Land ho!" cried a voice from aloft.

"Where away?" responded Nebula's clear shout.

"Dead ahead, captain," answered the lookout.

"At last!" breathed the pirate as she threw a check at the sun and calculated just how much time she had until it set. "Time for some fun," she grinned a gleam twinkling in her eyes. "Let's see just how good these sailor's of Caesar's are," she laughed without humour apparent in the sound.

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-

As they neared the scattering of low sand banks and tall rocky islets, it became clear to Toris that to navigate this area required very detailed maps or first hand experience and it looked like Nebula had the later in vast quantities. He scanned the area with concern and hoped that the pirates confidence was well founded. He knew that they needed an edge to elude the Romans, but this was going to be a real gamble .. especially if the Roman captains knew their way through the treacherous waters before them.

A voice close to his ear nearly made him jump out of his skin, "Do you know how to swing a line?" asked Hercules, grinning at Toris' reaction.

"Gods, don't do that!" exclaimed the raven-haired man.

"Sorry ... I forgot that you don't have your sister's senses," laughed the demi-god.

"Does anyone?" answered Toris shaking his head.

"Maybe not," admitted the tawney haired hero. "So do you?"

"What?" came the confused reply.

"Know how to swing a line?"

"Ummm ... a fishing line, maybe."

"Not quite, but you'll do to help me with this job," laughed Hercules.

"What have we got to do?" the other man asked, intense blue eyes questioning as they walked the length of the main deck, climbed the forward steps to the small foredeck, where the big man bent down and picked up two coils of rope, each one marked with knots placed at regular intervals, and weighted down by a lump of lead shaped in the image of Poseidon.

"We, my friend, have been given the task of making sure that we don't run aground and hand the Romans an easy victory," answered the Son of Zeus with easy confidence.

"We have?" Toris almost squeaked. He coughed a bit and tried again in a firmer voice, "We have?"

"Well, I was given the job and just nominated you as my assistant. You've got all the qualifications for the position."

"I have," asked the innkeeper in disbelief.

"Oh yeah. You're here, you're not doing anything else and you can swing a mean fishing line," grinned Hercules.

"I never said I could do that," answered Toris defensively.

"No but Xena did," laughed the demi-god.

"But ... but ... I haven't got a clue what to do with this thing,"

Hercules smiled, "Nothing to it. All you do is cast it away in front of the ship and let the line play out .. make sure you keep hold of the end though. As the ship catches up the line, gather in any slack and then count the knots as you pull it back in. If there's no slack then there's no bottom. The line's marked off in fathoms. Here watch me make a couple of casts to see how it's done," offered the hero.

"All yours," agreed the raven-haired man.

Hercules spent perhaps a quarter candlemark demonstrating and instructing Toris on the art of using the sounding lead, before his pupil was confident enough with it to perform the task with steady efficiency. They were only picking up readings of 'no bottom', but both men knew that would change as the came closer to their current destination.

"Are you ready, Hercules?" called out Nebula from her place on the stern deck. The demi-god lifted a hand in acknowledgement that they were, "Very well, gentlemen, start singing out those depths loud and clear," came the captain's instruction.

The monotonous chant of, "By the mark, no bottom," sang by two deep voices, filled the air as a tension began to grip the fugitives.

Nebula kept an ear on the chants of Toris and Hercules, while keeping her eyes on the following biremes, trusting Iolaus with the ships helm, knowing that he had the experience to keep them from getting into too much trouble.

"By the mark, no bottom," called Hercules.

"By the mark, eight fathoms," answered Toris with his cast.

Nebula swung her attention away from the Romans who had made an effort to close the gap, belatedly realising just what the pirate was up to. Getting her bearings from the sandy cays appearing to port of them, the captain ordered "Bear up to windward, Iolaus, we need to find a rising shoal. We have a far lighter draught than those biremes, let's make use of it."

"Aye, aye, captain," agreed the blonde.

"By the mark, five," cried Toris.

"By the mark, four fathoms," came Hercules' answer.

All ears were attuned to the whizz of the line as it was swung to gain momentum and released to splash out into the sea before them. The short moments between the cast and the call seemed to have everyone holding their breaths, waiting for the report that would tell them they remained safe or were facing big trouble.

"By the mark, three fathoms," called Toris.

"By the mark, three," agreed the demi-god.

"What's the draught on 'Dancer', Nebula?" questioned Iolaus nervously.

"We're riding light, so no more than four feet, maybe just three. Those war ships back there pull six to eight feet ... I made a few enquiries while we were hanging around in Rome .. just in case .. you know?" the tall dark woman answered with a flashing smile.

"Remind me to thank you for that sometime!" he laughed.

"Don't worry .. I will," she replied wickedly.

"By the mark, two," came the chant from Hercules.

"By the mark, one fathom," answered Toris.

Keeping a firm course, the blonde hunter said as casually as he could manage, "Six feet is beginning to cut it fine, Nebula."

The pirate's answering grin reminded him of a shark, "That's the idea, Curly. This will sort the seamen from the landlubbers!"

"By the mark, one."

"Steady at one fathom," agreed Hercules.

"Keep it on this heading until we're past the sand bank on the port side, then wear her around on the starboard tack and head her out to sea," she ordered as she turned her attention once more to the following war ships.

Six were following nose to tail through the channel that she'd led them. Two had swung starboard, tracing their way along the outer edge of the dangerous area, obviously intending to find their way around and cut them off should they manage to get through the difficult channels and shoals. Two more made their way along the port side intending to head them off in that direction should the decide to cut and run for the mainland once more. The trailing two biremes split away from each other, one intending to join the starboard squadron, the other the port.

"Well at least we've split the bastards up a bit," she muttered. "Now lets see what we can do to reduce their numbers altogether."

She watched intently, along with several curious Amazons, as the first three ships eased across the six foot shelf without mishap. The fourth bireme, however, obviously had more than a six foot draught because it suddenly came to a shuddering stop as the hull grounded and wedged with a jarring impact. As the fifth ship in the procession pulled out of line to go around, there was an ominous crack followed by the high tension 'ping' of overstretched ropes, and the mainmast fell majestically across the bows of the ship that had been following, fouling it with debris. The mess became worse as the final vessel plowed into the two ahead, effectively removing three ships.

The cheering on board 'Dancer' echoed back to the pursuing Romans, who hadn't immediately realised that their comrades had a problem. Nebula allowed herself a smug smirk before she bellowed, "ALL RIGHT! KNOCK IT OFF! We can celebrate later once we're out of this mess and on our way home!"

Silence returned to the ship punctuated only by the call of the leadsmen. "By the mark, two fathoms," sang out Toris.

"By the mark, three fathoms," called back Hercules.

A check back at the pursuit told Nebula that the Romans hadn't learned their lesson yet. They still pushed on quickly, trailing her wake as they pressed her to make a mistake so that they would have the glory and the rewards for the capture of Caesar's slaves and the fugitives who had 'stolen' them.

Taking a check on the wind, and making a careful check on the progress of the two squadrons picking their way around her playground. The pirate took her bearings once again as she planned her next strategy. She wanted to finish off the three behind her as quickly as possible, because if they could shake them off they'd be able to clear this scattering of islets with a good, clear lead over the rest of the Romans. If she could manage that, she knew that the fast approaching darkness of night would allow them to steal away and set a course that their pursuers would find difficult, if not impossible to follow.

"Put him on a port tack, Iolaus, and head for that island. If we're lucky they'll realise that there should be deep water around there and they'll think to use their speed again to take us on either side, with the third ship coming up astern of us to make sure we don't pull the trick we did earlier today," she explained.

"Er .. doesn't that put us in something of a bind?" he questioned, not sure what she was trying to achieve.

"It would do if it wasn't for the fact that there's only a narrow channel through a ring of jagged rocks that lay about three feet below the surface there." The sharks smile slid back onto her face, "When the ships try to come up on the side of us, they're going to achieve nothing other than to rip out the bottom of their hulls."

Iolaus shared the grin at first before a thought crossed his mind, "What about the galley slaves?" he questioned in concern. "If those ships sink they're gonna drown."

Nebula sighed, "Some of them could die," admitted the pirate reluctantly, "but the sea's pretty calm here and with no storms to smash the ships up, they have every chance of getting taken off of there eventually. Those biremes will probably settle onto the rocks and hang there until the first decent storm comes through here." "Probably!" returned the hunter flatly.

"Nothing's ever guaranteed in life, Iolaus .. you should know that," she told him harshly.

"Knowing it and liking it, are two different things, Nebula," he told her softly.

"You're right, Curly," she agreed. "But right now I'd see them all drown if it kept me and this ship away from Caesar!" She turned away from him. "Just keep it on the heading I gave you," she snapped.

"Aye, aye, captain," he snarled in reply.

The action played out exactly as Nebula had predicted. She had guided them to the narrow channel with a sure eye and she had skilfully managed to spill some wind from the sails, slowing them down just a little and making the Romans just a little more careless as they realised their prey was within their grasp. If the captains gave thought to why the pirate suddenly seemed to be making stupid mistakes, they were soon to find out.

As 'Dancer' slipped through the opening, closely followed by a trailing bireme, the two that had been overhauling them on either side, hit the hidden rocks with crashing impact that ripped into the planking of the ships and pinned the wooden corpses on their jagged teeth. Screams could be heard from the hulks; screams of both panic and pain. But as the ships settled they lessened as the crew and slaves realised that they were in no immediate danger of being drowned.

Amazon cheers echoed through the ship once more, but they now had a pressing problem. With the Roman bireme directly behind them, it appeared that the soldiers were assembling in preparation of boarding. Nebula guessed that the bireme's captain intended to ram 'Dancer' from behind, locking bow and stern together so that the soldiers could get on board.

"Eph!" yelled the pirate, "Can you do something about that?" she asked pointing towards the ship behind them.

"No problem, captain," grinned the Regent flourishing her bow. "Amazons, fire at will!" she ordered her archers, who proceeded to pour a withering rain of arrows into the soldiers and the sailors at the wheel of the ship.

Under such a punishing assault, with officers being the prime targets of the archers, the ship was forced to back off or face destruction as the other bireme's had. As 'Dancer' began to pull away from the warship, it appeared as if the Romans had decided to go back and see if they could help out the crews of the two stranded ships.

Amazon whoops of victory followed them as Nebula gave Iolaus new instructions for his heading. Once she was sure that the blonde hunter knew what was expected of him, she turned her attention to the distant ships that were working their way around the dangerous trap that this had become for them. Everything now came down to being far enough ahead of the remaining Roman ships when they left the cays and islets behind them. It was still a race.

Hercules and Toris continued to sound the lead, although the bottom never came close to being dangerous for 'Wave Dancer', and things settled down once more as Nebula guided them through the tricky seas. After what seemed forever, they finally seemed to be reaching the outer rim of the area, but all around the two men could see the tell tale signs of changes in the colour of the water, signifying a sudden shoaling.

Eventually it became clear that the pirate was heading them in the direction of a pair of sheer rocky islets that had a narrow cleft running between them. It was obvious that this was her chosen exit out of the dangerous area, but few were confident about their chances of making it through in one piece.

"I'll take the wheel now, Curly," grinned Nebula.

"Sure thing," agreed Iolaus trying to hide his eagerness to hand the job over to someone else.

"Don't worry," she told him. "It's a tight fit, but me and 'Dancer' have travelled this way before."

He nodded his head silently, and looked up at the rocky cliffs that seemed to discourage everything except the colonies of seabirds that nested there, their raucous cries hammering the senses along with the rumbling roar of the sea as it rushed through the dark cleft between the two representations of land.

With infinite care, Nebula guided the bows of the ship into the narrow opening and held the wheel steady allowing the action of the waves to carry them forward as the wind became fitful between the steep sides of the rocky channel.

"How deep is the bottom through here," asked Iolaus nervously as the walls slipped by on either side of the vessel, in some places close enough to be able to reach out and touch.

"At the shallowest point ..." she shrugged. ".. maybe three and a half feet."

"You're kidding!" exclaimed the blonde incredulously.

The keel chose that moment to scrape across the rocks beneath them. "Nope! I'm not," assured the pirate.

Iolaus swallowed convulsively, not trusting himself to speak after that. Everyone else on the ship seemed to feel the same, because they could have heard a pin drop if anyone had been careless enough to drop one. 'Dancer's' hull scraped across hidden rocks at least three more times before collective breaths were released when the ship finally cleared the exit from the cleft and emerged onto the open sea all relatively intact.

Nebula scanned the horizon and was pleased by the absence of Roman warships, but she was happier to note that it was less than a candlemark until the sun would set, which meant barring some atrocious luck on their part, 'Wave Dancer' should be safe on it's voyage back to Greek waters. - How safe some of the passengers are going to be, - she thought with a predatory gleam in her eye as she sought out Iolaus' muscular form, - remains to be seen. -

Chapter Eighty: Plain Sailing?

Nebula demonstrated her formidable sailing skills on the long voyage home. Using many of her repertoire of tricks and her knowledge of the seas they were sailing, she managed to avoid any further contact with Roman warships, and nearly all contact with any other shipping. The last thing she wanted was a chance encounter that led them to disaster! Her aim was to get her dangerous passengers back to Greece as quickly and quietly as possible.

However, twenty days at sea (allowing for a side trip to drop off four Amazons with instructions to collect Argo and take her to Amphipolis,) still allowed the pirate lots of time for relaxation and recreation, something she pursued with relentless ardour, figuring that she needed to make the best use of her limited time with a certain blonde hunter, while he remained her captive prey, so to speak. With that in mind she set her personal course to drive Iolaus to possible distraction, hoping that she might just get lucky.

Of course, the ship's captain wasn't the only person on board 'Waver Dancer' with an agenda in mind. Tarelle's little clique plotted and planned, their dark insidious little treasons, attempting to find the perfect way to overthrow Gabrielle and Ephiny's rule of the Amazons. Autolycus spent his time alternately mooning over the one woman who had captivated him beyond all others, while flirting outrageously with the women warriors who practically fawned over him ... at least when they weren't swooning in front of a demi-god who's mind was focussed entirely on a slowly recuperating Warrior Princess.

Toris garnered his own share of attention from nubile young Amazons and even drew the occasional lustful glance from Nebula, when she was busy tormenting Hercules' blonde sidekick. However, the raven-haired almost twin image of the Warrior Princess, had his attentions firmly fixed upon a honey haired bard who was spending way too much time in the company of his sister and, because of that, the heroically injured Joxer. That particular young man had been making the most of his situation to grab nearly all the attention that Gabrielle spared from Xena, making both Toris, and the tormented Iolaus, frustrated by the unfair advantage their 'rival' possessed.

Sheraya was determined that by the time they reached dry land and headed home for Themiscyra, every patient under her ministrations, was going to be recovered enough to be able to make their way to their final destinations under their own steam. Her goal was highly laudable, if somewhat optimistic in the fact that she personally felt like doing serious injury to at least three of her patients .. the three most seriously injured as it transpired .. as well as her bardic 'helper'.

The first day after they had shaken Caesar's ships, had passed without too much problem in the infirmary. With Gabrielle there, it had been possible to keep Xena drugged to ensure that she got the peaceful deep rest that she needed to kick-start her recovery. With the Warrior Princess and Joxer heavily sedated, and Eponin only occasionally drifting awake as her body used all her available energy to heal itself, Sheraya had a pretty easy day taking care of the few Amazon Warriors that remained in her care.

With the recovering Patroclese, and Gabrielle, to aid her, the Amazon healer was able to dismiss her two unwilling helpers (Jade and Lasca) back to whatever duties Malonda could cook up for them. As Sheraya watched the two young warriors hurriedly depart from the cabin, she was sure that she'd never seen two happier women; they looked as if they had just received a stay of execution.

Generally speaking, the day after 'Dancer' had given Caesar's ships the slip, had been one filled with laughter, fun and merriment as some of the tension that had beset the ships company was leeched out of them with the thought that they were on the way home after a successful mission.

Two days later, as they sailed somewhere off of the south coast of Italy, things were not so happy, especially in the cabin acting as the infirmary. Sheraya and Patroclese had agreed that it was time to stop administering the sleeping draft to Xena the night before, and one very moody, out of sorts, Warrior Princess was awake with the first rays of the sun ready to make everyone's life miserable in a bid to escape from her confinement there.

By mid-morning the testy warrior had Sheraya ready to pull her hair out, had sent Patroclese running from the cabin in search of some peace and quiet, caused the remaining two injured Amazons to bury their heads beneath their pillows in strangled attempts to hide their amusement at seeing both Xena and their revered healer locked in mental combat, woken Eponin from her long slumber and had Joxer whining because he wasn't getting the attention of a certain bard who was just about ready to give a fractious Warrior Princess a strong piece of her mind.

"Alright, Xena! I've had it," snapped Gabrielle in total frustration as her friend tried for the fourth time that morning to get out of her bed. Placing her index finger in the centre of the warrior's chest she gently pressed forward forcing the, very much weakened, other woman back onto her pillows. "Did you, or did you not, promise me that you would remain in bed until you were fully recovered once we were free of Caesar?" she demanded.

"Yes, I did, but ..." tried Xena.

"Are you, or are you not a woman of your word?" persisted the bard.

Xena arched an eyebrow at her, disdaining to answer, knowing that she'd never broken a promise to her friend, and was well aware that the honey blonde knew that also. - Besides, any response I give to that one will only dig me in deeper! - She opted for a different tack instead, "I'm fine Gabrielle. Everything has stopped bleeding ... I'm not even tired thanks to all that enforced sleeping I've been doing!" she threw a glare at Sheraya as she muttered that.

"And you're nowhere near fit enough to get out of that cot yet," the bard told her adamantly. "Hades, Xena. When I can force you flat on your back with just one finger, even you have to admit that you still have a lot of recovering to do yet."

"Alright, Gabrielle," she grumbled in a low, scarcely audible tone.

However, the young Amazon Queen was in full flow and intended to press her point, "After all that blood you lost it will take time before you replace it."

"Alright, Gabrielle," growled the warrior.

"I mean, even you can't expect to be back on your feet after just a few days. Not after all of the damage you've been taking over the last few moons," she insisted straightened the sheets and tucked the blankets around the Warrior Princess.

"You've made your point, Gabrielle!" snapped Xena with low menace.

"I mean, I know you Xena. The moment you get out of that bed you'll be up on that deck doing drills with your sword and putting your body through Tartarus again ... so I want your word that you will not move from there until Sheraya or Patroclese says your fit enough, and that once you do get out you won't start pushing yourself ..."

"Alright! That's enough Gabrielle!" roared an exasperated warrior, drawing all attention to herself, feeling six pairs of eyes bore into her, a feeling she was uncomfortably familiar with. It opened the gates to the frustration and feelings of helplessness that she had endured while in Caesars's hands. It was a reminder of something her mind wanted to squirm away from. Her brow began to bead with perspiration as the memory of constant scrutiny flooded through her body and soul, making her want to scream in rage and frustration. "That's enough," she panted in a far quieter, almost shaky voice.

Concern instantly creased the bard's brow as she knelt beside her friend reaching out a hand to check for fever, halting as she saw Xena flinch away from her. Gently she moved her fingers forward to stroke the warrior's flushed cheek, "Hey," she whispered soft enough for only her friend to hear. "It's okay, Xena. You just need to rest. You'll be back on you feet in no time."

The Warrior Princess turned her head away from the bard and stared blankly at the wooden wall of the cabin. She could feel the eyes of the other occupants of the cabin upon her and had to fight the desire to fling herself out of the bed and run from the infirmary, away from the eyes that watched her, that crawled across her skin, invading her privacy, violating her sense of freedom.

"Xena?" questioned a worried bard, her hand squeezing the calloused, larger one of the raven-haired woman, "Xena?"

"Leave me alone, Gabrielle," ordered the Warrior Princess. "I'll stay in the bed ... just leave me alone." She knew her voice sounded cold, but she couldn't help that. She needed to raise her protective walls as all of the hardships and pain that she had suffered at Caesar's hands seemed to come crashing down upon her as the realization that she would never be free of what he had done to her made her want to crawl away and hide from the world.

"But ...?" began the honey blonde, not understanding what was going on.

Sheraya had moved quietly to her queen's side and laid a gentle hand on her shoulder. As Gabrielle looked up at her, she shook her head and motioned the younger woman away from the pallet of the Warrior Princess. Then had moved over to the far side of Joxer expecting to be followed.

Gabrielle sighed. Biting her lip, she squeezed Xena's hand and then followed Sheraya across the room to where she waited beside Joxer. The bard looked down at her oft times comical friend and gave him something of a wan smile, which he returned with a beaming grin of his own before becoming serious.

"Is Xena okay, Gabby?" he asked softly, worry plain in his tone.

Nodding, the young woman marvelled that this man, so consummately unsuited to being a warrior, could have the have the courage and heart of the greatest heroes, - Maybe even greater courage considering his blatant ineptitude! - as evidenced by his unthinking act that saved a child's life while maybe having cost him his legs. Yet even with his own worries, he could rise above them to show his concern for a friend. "She'll be fine Joxer." She assured him, "You know Xena, tough as old boots. She just needs some rest."

"Sure?" he questioned, concern still evident.

She smiled a little more convincingly as she made a decision, "We'll make sure, Joxer, won't we."

His face brightened at being included by her, "You betcha!" he agreed, "She'll soon be up and around ...." he swallowed convulsively as his thoughts traitorously reminded him he wouldn't, and his eyes wandered over his splinted legs.

"You will be too, Joxer. Can't keep a good man down. Besides, we're gonna need you." And while Joxer was trying to combat his urge to blush at her words, she bent down and kissed him in a sisterly fashion upon the forehead, turning him into a brilliant red beacon.

"Aw Gabby!" he squirmed with alternate embarrassment and delight.

The bard glanced up in time to see Toris look hurriedly away from his position at the door where he had just entered. "Perfect timing," muttered Sheraya grabbing her queen's arm and steering her towards the door and motioning her to precede her.

Gabrielle was a little puzzled with Sheraya's comment and insistence upon movement, but she decided that she'd find out what was going through the healer's mind soon enough ... and if she wasn't satisfied, well she'd learnt some pretty useful tricks from Xena about intimidation, over the years and was sure that she could find out one way or another. She smiled at Toris as she squeezed past him and caught the hint of a grin in return. Then she leaned against the doorpost to wait for the healer who had returned to the foot of the dark warrior's cot.

"While your brother's here, I'm taking Queen Gabrielle to get something to eat. We could both do with some fresh air and a change of scenery. While we're gone, I expect you to remain in that bed," Sheraya instructed bluntly ... hoping her sharp words would get some sort of reaction from her patient, whom she was beginning to become very concerned about.

When Xena made no comment, or movement, she growled brusquely, "Right, I'm glad we understand each other." She turned and headed for the door, stopping only to impart a quiet order to Toris that the bard didn't catch, before telling him in a firm no-nonsense voice, "She's not to get out of the bed for any reason, understand? She's not strong enough to give you any problems, so just hold her down and yell for help if she tries something stupid, alright?"

"Understood," agreed Toris ... moving across the room to sit on the chair beside Xena's bed. "Hey sis," he offered, trying to get her to at least look at him. "How are things going?"

He frowned when she never moved, just continued to stare blankly at the wall. A worried frown crept onto his face ... Sheraya was right ... they had a problem.

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-

The two women made their way to a clear space on the deck, clutching a mug of tea each in one hand and some hard bread and cheese in the other. Sitting down at the base of the mast, Gabrielle tried to keep her impatience from showing, but was finally unable to wait any longer. Taking a deep breath she asked pointedly, "What's this about, Sheraya .. and just what is going on with Xena?"

The healer took a sip of her tea and allowed the sun's rays to soak into her. She hadn't been out of that cabin in what seemed like days .. the trip down to the hold to see her sister's body safely interred in the casket that had been built to take her body home, not really counting.

The bard fidgeted as she waited with growing impatience for an answer. She realised that Sheraya had a lot on her mind at the moment ... but then so did she. The young queen felt the guilt of one of her Amazons losing her life during a mission to save her and her exiled champion ... but that same champion seemed to be acting very oddly just now and that was worrying her as nothing in this whole sorry mess had yet been able to. Xena was big strong and tough ... nothing troubled her. -Yet? - Gabrielle admitted reluctantly, - Yet I saw fear in her eyes .. fear and doubt! -

Just when the bard thought she was going to have to remind the healer of her questions, Sheraya started to talk in a soft, voice. "You know, over the years I have treated just about everyone in Themiscyra. Not just the warriors, but the craftswomen, the farmers, the traders and the children ... one and all I've treated their hurts and their illness'"

The honey blonde waited to see where the healer was going with this train of thought. Although she didn't know her well, she had heard enough about Sheraya to know that she rarely spoke about something without a valid reason. She chewed a mouthful of bread and schooled herself to patience.

"Generally, I only have to deal with physical ailments. It's not unheard of for an Amazon to have trouble keeping track of reality ... but it doesn't happen too often. It's something that happens in any society."

Gabrielle knew that that bit of information had nothing to do with Xena ... her friend's grasp on reality was as strong as ever, she'd have known if it wasn't ... she was sure she would.

"Then occasionally, we healers have had to deal with depressions that people sometimes get. Generally, it's a case of giving the person an ear to talk to and, as often as not, they'll work out what's wrong themselves and do something to change their lives so that they no longer suffer from whatever was causing the problem."

A puzzled look stole over the bard's face as she listened, - Could Xena be depressed? I've never known her to be in the past. Guilty, maybe. She carries her guilt like a weight across her shoulders ... that could make her depressed. Is that what Sheraya's talking about? -

"Then we get to treat the warriors. The one's that take bad wounds in battle that end their career's as fighters. Often, those women have never even thought of being able to do something else with their lives. Being a warrior, defending the nation and their loved ones, were all they ever wanted for their lives. When it's taken away from them, they feel unable to cope with their world. Many seem to shrivel up inside themselves and waste away, no matter what we try to do to help them. Not all, by any means ... not even most, but many."

- Xena would never give in like that! - the bard told herself firmly. - Besides which, she survived all that Caesar could throw at her and escaped his clutches. There's no reason for her to doubt her self or worth. - Shaking her head in bewilderment about what the healer was trying to say she demanded, "What has that got to do with Xena?"

"Just this my Queen," Sheraya began, "The Warrior Princess is a proud warrior. She has always been able to stand up to her enemies and defeat them on her own terms."

"As she did against Caesar," Gabrielle pointed out.

"No .. not this time. Xena had to endure whatever Caesar handed out to her because of her desire to protect you, my Queen. I'm guessing that when this kind of thing happens on your travels, she is able to find someway of extracting you both from the situation with her skills?"

"Yes," agreed the bard.

"This time, not only was she unable to keep you from all harm, she also had no part in rescuing you and, in fact, had to be rescued herself. All of these things would weigh heavily upon her sense of ability to be able to protect someone she loves and thus diminishes her view of her self worth ... particularly in her weakened state ... particularly as we have no real clear idea exactly what she suffered whilst in Caesar's hands ... do you understand?"

"Yes ... but ...." tried Gabrielle, unsure what to say or what she needed to do. A tear pearled in her eye.

"I think that your champion might just be feeling more than a little hemmed in. I'm guessing from what I saw in Themiscyra that she's not keen on crowds and isn't to comfortable around people for long?"

The bard smiled at that description, "I think you could say that," she agreed.

"So the fact that for about the last three or four moons she's been locked up, surrounded by guards and watched at all times has really got to be wearing on her," pointed out the healer.

"Now that you mention it, I'm surprised that she's been as patient as she has," acknowledged Gabrielle. "What can we do to help her, Sheraya? After what she's been through we can't just let her shrivel up inside."

The healer gave a brief smile and patted her queen's leg in a friendly gesture, "I'm sure that now we are aware there's a problem, we'll be able to work something out." She thought for a moment or two, finishing off her lunch as she did so, "I think that we'll clear the infirmary of all but maybe Eponin and Joxer this afternoon. Jaya and Farand are on the mend and will probably heal quicker in the open air now. The hard part will be to keep from fussing over your warrior, make her realise that she's not under constant observation. But I think you're going to have to try and find a way to convince her that she hasn't failed anyone .. you and herself in particular."

The bard nodded thoughtfully. She'd get through to Xena, somehow. A devious smile sneaked across her face, "Sheraya ... I've got an idea," she told the healer with a laugh.

When Gabrielle and Sheraya returned to the infirmary, they found that Patroclese was already there conversing quietly with Toris, the chess board and the small wooden box of pieces clutched in his hands. He smiled when he saw the two women, and when Gabrielle gestured to what he carried he said softly, "I thought Xena might like to play, but she's not interested in either chess or talking at the moment."

"Xena's had a tiring morning, Patroclese," answered Gabrielle loud enough for her friend to hear. "She needs to rest at the moment. Maybe once she's had some lunch she'll take a nap." The warrior showed no visible reaction to anything the bard was saying. "But you might like to teach Joxer how to play, he could do with something to occupy him .. and maybe when Poni feels a little better you can teach her too ... it might give her something else to think about other than giving us a hard time."

Again she got no reaction from the blue eyed warrior, but Joxer piped, "I already know how to play, Gabby, but I'd love to play a game .. just to pass some time."

"Sure Joxer. I'd be happy to take you on. I haven't had a chance to play for a while so you'll have to take it easy on me, okay?"

"No problems!" grinned the wannabe warrior, "been awhile since I played myself."

Patroclese crossed the room to the injured man's side, collecting a small side table on the way and began to lay out the pieces as the cook entered the cabin carrying a basket full of bread and dishes, while her helper bore a large pot of rich smelling broth.

"Ah, lunch," greeted Sheraya who organised meals for her patients, co-opting Toris to feed Eponin. while Gabrielle took a large bowl of soup and a small loaf of fresh bread over to where her uncommunicative partner lay.

"C'mon Xena, sit up and eat this while it's hot," she said cordially as she sat beside the bed.

The warrior didn't move, in fact she failed to acknowledge that the bard had even spoken to her, keeping her dull eyes firmly fixed on a knot in the wooden wall in front of her.

Gabrielle tried again, "C'mon Xena. You need to eat to regain your strength so that you can get out of that bed. Now let me help you up a bit so you can eat."

Still the warrior remained unresponsive. The bard wasn't even sure that she was listening. It was just possible that she had withdrawn into herself and was subconsciously blocking the world out while she drew her hurt, pain and perceived failure around herself like a shroud.

"Look, Xena," insisted the younger woman with quiet, controlled frustration, "either you snap out of this and sit up and eat this of your own choice, or I'll get a couple of the Amazons in here to sit you up and hold you while I spoon feed you." - That got through to her! - thought the bard smugly, as she watched her friends shoulders tense under the threat. "C'mon Xena, let me help you up so you can eat and then I'll quit bugging you for a while, okay?"

A soundless sigh passed through the muscular frame as she turned her head away from the wall and began to force herself up onto the pillows using her good right arm, while biting back against the throbbing pain it produced in her wounded left shoulder.

Gabrielle adjusted the pillows and made sure that her friend was comfortable, before picking up the bowl of broth, dipping the spoon in and offering it up to Xena's mouth. Her thanks was a bleak glare from the pale eyes, but the bard was determined and so the warrior either had to capitulate and be fed, or be forced to speak her protest. She chose to allow the younger woman to feed her, although she had to stamp on the spark of resentment that Gabrielle had fanned into existence.

- After all. What right do I have to resent anything she says or does to me? - she told herself, - I got her into a situation she should never have been in and was because of that I was responsible for the hurt she received at Caesar's hands ... for her pain and the pain of those children. - She suppressed a grimace of self hatred and loathing, and concentrated on getting through lunch as quickly as possible. - You'd be better off without me Gabrielle ... everyone would. Maybe I can make you see that on this trip home. -

The bard knew that something was going through Xena's mind that she wouldn't like. She could tell by the way the blue eyes flinched every time they made contact with her green ones. She was determined to make the warrior see and understand that she hadn't failed either her, herself or anyone else .. that she wasn't the one at fault here. Straight out telling her was not going to work, it never did with Xena. She had something a little more devious in mind, and intended to enlist their friends aid in her schemes as well.

When lunch had been completed, Toris had offered to stay and help out for a while as Sheraya readied the final two Amazon patients, other than Eponin, for removal from the cabin. He watched as Joxer and Patroclese engaged in a game of chess, his keen intellect picking up the moves as he observed. Eponin drifted back to sleep, while Xena turned her face back to the knot in the wall that she'd studied for long candlemarks that morning. And Gabrielle? Well Gabrielle put the first phase of her plan into action as she headed off to gather the children for a story.

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-

For the last few days, Gabrielle had taken a candlemark each day to tell stories to the freed slave children. She normally gathered them in the repaired ship's mess after lunch, but today she had assembled them on the stern deck, roughly above the point where Xena rested in her cot. She had already arranged that one of the small stern light windows should be opened to 'air' out the infirmary, and she had no doubt that Xena's keen sense of hearing would pick up not only hers, but also the piping voices of the children as well.

"Okay everyone. Settle down, and I'll find a story for you," grinned the bard, knowing that was the quickest way to get the children to quieten.

"Wotcha gonna tell us today Gabrielle?" demanded Phillipos a fourteen year old full of mischief and natural good humour.

So far, other than the story about Xena she told Kendra and her three friends, Gabrielle had stuck pretty strictly to children's stories and some of the more adventurous well known tales, like parts of the epic about Jason and the Golden Fleece, but leaving out mention of both Hercules and Iolaus at the two men's request. Today, however, she intended to tell a tale about Xena .. probably the one about saving Prometheus, especially as two of the tale's heroes were around to answer questions. The bard refused, as always, to count herself as a hero in her own stories.

Smiling at the children, who were now free of their collars thanks to the combined efforts of both Hercules and Autolycus, Gabrielle gathered Kendra .. who had become something of a favourite .. into her lap and started, "I sing of Xena, Warrior Princess and Champion of the people, who with Hercules," she grinned at the big man who was waving his hands trying to stop her, "and Iolaus," she laughed as her blonde haired friend scowled, "rescued Prometheus from imprisonment and so saved mankind."

"Cor!" breathed Phillipos, his brown eyes wide as he drank in the bard's words.

"That's you friend, isn't it?" questioned Kendra right on cue. "The one the soldiers called 'The Animal'."

Symon, a rather sullen lad of the Israelite people remarked nastily, "She wasn't our champion! She got us beaten an I got the scars to prove it."

Gabrielle winced a bit at that. Not all plans were perfect and Xena would suspect a setup if all the comments had been sweetness and light ... which was why she had taken the chance and allowed this to be an impromptu airing of views, trusting that the good feelings would outweigh the bad and help to prove to her friend that even as a slave she made a difference.

"That wasn't her fault, Sy," refuted Mattin before the bard could intercede. "I know for a fact that it made her miserable that she couldn't stop the soldiers, and I also know for sure that she took far more beatings than any of us ever did, cos I got to see her back that day the mistress came down to the kitchens. I tell ya, it takes some kind of hero to take that and not give into the masters. I was proud to take my stripes. I mean .. what was three lashes compared what they did to her?"

"Yeah," affirmed another voice, "an did you see how afraid of her all them soldiers was. I heard Tellos, the stable master talking one day, and he was saying that 'that Xena woman was an example of how a slave should keep their dignity' an that's the truf!" insisted Fersan, a sprite like lad of no more than ten summers, who grinned at the general hilarity his impersonation of Tellos garnered.

"S'right," said Mattin again, wiping tears of mirth from his eyes. "I heard the cook saying that the only animals in the palace were them soldiers. She said that anyone could see that Xena had more honour and nobility than anyone there, even Lord Caesar ... but she said that last bit in a real whisper ... just in case."

Everyone nodded silently at that. They knew that such talk could get you whipped or maybe even your tongue torn out .. even the cook, because she didn't need her tongue to be able to cook for the master. You learned to talk real quiet and watch who you spoke to in a household's like Caesar's.

"G'brelle," piped up Kendra who had been quiet for longer than was usual for her, "When we gonna get to meet Xena? I wanna tell her that I fink she's a real hero, cos she gave lots of people back home someone to look up to ... and you know what I fink?" she asked seriously.

"No what do you fi .. umm, I mean think?" asked Gabrielle with a smile.

"I fink," said Kendra importantly, "I fink that we all ... all of us kids here .. owe your Xena our chance at being free." She nodded her head flinging her soft corn gold curls around, "Cos if she hadn't come to Lord Caesar's, Patroclese would never hav had somewhere to take us .. like this boat, and we'd have growed up as slaves like ev'rybody else back there. That's what I fink, anyhow."

Rumbles of agreement came from the other children, the youngest joining in because it seemed like the thing to do, but the sentiment was enough to have the bard surreptitiously rubbing a tear away from the corner of her eye as she prepared to finally tell her story about how Hera captured and chained Prometheus, which removed his gifts to mankind so that people were dying from wounds that wouldn't heal, as well as losing the ability to create fire so that people couldn't be warmed or cook.

She told how Xena had gone to an oracle and by risking her life had found out what she had to do to release Prometheus from imprisonment. Fighting off Hera's warriors, the Warrior Princess had collected the Sword of Hephestus, and she had eventually joined up with Hercules and Iolaus, together fighting their way through Hera's traps to where the bound Titan lay.

"In all the fighting, though, brave Iolaus had been injured and as the heroes neared the top of the mountain where Prometheus was chained, he collapsed unable to go any further," she told the wrapped audience, which by this time included several lurking Amazons as well.

"Leaving him with Xena's companion, the two carried on, each determined not to allow the other to strike the blow that would free Prometheus, knowing that whoever did so was sure to die as the magic of the sword was released."

"But they're both still here .. what did they do, chicken out," sneered Symon.

"Well obviously not," pointed out the bard to her heckler, "as we are still enjoying Prometheus' gifts today. Now where was I? Oh yes. As they prepared for the final climb, Xena used the pommel of her sword to knock Hercules unconscious."

Wide young eyes swivelled questioningly to the demi-god, "What can I say?" he told them with a shrug. "She's good and she caught me by surprise."

"Ha!" gloated Iolaus, "Seems to me you should have kept your mind on the mission and off the kissin'!" he chuckled.

"Seems to me that you had your mind pretty much on a certain bard, buddy," the son of Zeus growled back.

"Hrmmmpppphhhhh!" coughed the said bard unhappily. "Gentlemen ... the story?"

"Don't mind him Gabrielle," smirked Iolaus, "He has public intimacy problems."

"Ummm, sorry?" questioned the young storyteller, before shaking her head and hurriedly saying, "Forget it! I don't want to go there." All three adults blushed redly as the children tittered.

"Get on with the story, Gabrielle," suggested Hercules primly.

"Yeah. Right," agreed the bard, searching for the lost thread of the tale. "So the Warrior Princess climbed to the top of the mountain where she was forced to fight more of Hera's monsters. She was surrounded by them, and could have been in big trouble, if Hercules hadn't recovered as fast as he did and made the climb to join her. Spotting him, Xena threw her own sword to the hero and flipped away from her attackers, intent on rescuing Prometheus. Hercules had no option but to fight off Hera's creatures, while Xena pressed on towards their goal."

She had the kids totally enthralled in the adventure now and was revelling in her power to create bright images for her audience. "But Hera still had one final trick up her sleeve. As Xena ran towards the Titan, a giant eagle, one of Echidna, the Mother of Monster's, offspring, snatched her from the ground and flew high into the sky, bearing both Xena and the Sword of Hephestus .. the only thing that could free Prometheus .. away from the mountain."

The gasps of the children were rewarding in, and of, themselves and all the encouragement Gabrielle needed to continue, even without the pleading of young voices begging her to do so. "Xena knew that the eagle was intending to drop her to her death, but she outsmarted it by tying a rope around it's talon, so that when it released her she only fell the length of the rope. Then the eagle tried to get rid of her by flying her into mountain peaks, but Xena was able to spring off the rock up onto the eagles back so that she was riding it.

"It was a titanic struggle, but the Warrior Princess, rode that eagle and steered it back to where Prometheus was captive. When they were almost there, she drew the Sword of Hephestus and plunged it between the bird's shoulders, cutting through its spine. Then with a mighty shout, she launched the sword from the sky towards Hercules who lifted a boulder from the rock strewn ground and deflected the deadly sword into the chains that bound Prometheus, freeing the Titan and releasing his gifts to man!"

The 'Ooooo's' and 'Ahhhhh's' abounded as the children created the scene in their fertile brains.

"But Xena was far from safe," she told her listeners, "With the eagle mortally injured, the Warrior Princess was thrown from it's back down towards the mountain where she was certain to be crushed on the rocks. But Hercules saw her plight, and with his amazing strength, he caught the courageous woman and saved her, and she rewarded him with a passionate kiss."

"I don't remember telling Gabrielle about that ... and I'm certain that Xena wouldn't have said any such thing," grumbled the demi-god.

"Literary licence," grinned his sidekick. "Makes for the good end to a story."

Many little faces grinned up at the hero who suddenly remembered that he had some jobs to take care of. That made the grins even broader, but Gabrielle distracted them with the start of another story.

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-

After eating her lunch, Xena had descended into that state of despondency where she was intent upon blaming herself for every bad thing to happen in the world since she'd been born. One part of her mind insisted that she was being childish and that she needed to pull herself together as she still had much to do with her life. Unfortunately, there were other parts of her that wanted nothing more than to wallow in self pity, while still yet another part insisted that she no longer had what it took to stand up against oppression and tyranny. The Warrior Princess was a very complex person.

She resisted the impulse to sigh.

A short time after Gabrielle had left the cabin to spend some time with the rescued children, Sheraya had decided that everyone might feel a little better for some fresh air, and in truth the salt tang of the sea did much to revive the warrior's spirits, even if she was stubbornly refusing to show it.

With her acute hearing she easily picked up the voices on the deck, so when the bard settled down to do her thing, she clearly heard every word the children had to say about her. Xena would have been suspicious that her friend had arranged everything with directorial skill if it hadn't been for the obviously barbed, heartfelt comments from the one boy. All in all, what was said did a lot to make her feel better about herself. - Not happy, maybe, - she grumped silently, - but I might not be ready to throw in the towel yet after all. - she conceded.

Looking over towards where Patroclese was just packing away the chess pieces, she called quietly, so no to disturb Eponin, "If you still feel like playing, I could enjoy a game now," she offered.

Patroclese turned and offered her a delighted smile, "I'd be honoured to be beaten by you yet again," he told her.

"Oh c'mon," she shook her head. "I don't beat you all the time."

"True," he agreed amiably, "but I believe you've won the last seven of our games."

Xena grinned, - It's the last eight, - she thought, - but who's counting? -

**********

By the time Gabrielle returned to the infirmary, she found Xena and Patroclese engrossed in their third game of chess. The bard allowed herself a shared smile with Sheraya. There was probably some way to go with her friend's recovery yet ... but they had made a start and at least she had made the effort to come out of her self constructed shell.


Continued...




Power Chakram's Scrolls
Index Page