Tempting Fates

Part 8

The next morning the weather was calm and dry, crisply cold air wafting over the deck as the ship moved steadily towards the land, outlined by a dim scattering of oil lamps.  

The sails were down and furled, the wind coming from the east and the sound of the oars steadily working near the waterline was loud as Xena climbed up from belowdecks and walked across to the rail, laying her hands on it and gazing out over the water.

It was still dark.  The very eastern horizon was as yet without color, the sky was clear and dense with stars. Xena drew in a breath and could smell the land on it, and went over in her head the preparations they’d finished to get them and their horses and gear off the ship.

Gabrielle came over to stand next to her, with her cloak wrapped closely around her and her staff in her hand. Behind them on the upper deck, everything was neatly packed away and ready. “Those lights look pretty, the way they twinkle.” 

The approaching land had a large cluster of them facing the sea, and on the mild slopes that spread up away from the harbor there were orderly pinpoints of light that laid out streets and blocks in a regular grid. 

Near the edge of the harbor was a tower and at the top of the tower was a lit beacon marking the coast and even at this distance Xena could hear the soft sounds of ships tied up at dock, and the noise of stock bells as the animals sensed the coming dawn.

“Two candlemarks and we’ll be in the harbor.” Besans strolled over and joined them. He was freshly shaved and dressed in slightly fancier clothes than he had been in deference to their arrival in this larger city.  “Quiet morning. Glad the weather passed.”

“Looks like a pretty spread-out place.”  Xena murmured. “Goes all along the coast there, past that bend.”  She pointed to where the lights were visible. “A lot bigger than Costas.”

“Certainly, it’s grown.” Besans agreed. “Used to be a fishing town, small, sold their catch up the road to the bigger settlement I remember hearing.” He rested his thumbs into his belt and regarded the horizon. “One of my sailors came from there, a time back.”

“Well, it’ll be fun seeing someplace new.” Gabrielle concluded. “And we’ll have good weather for it.”

The captain turned and sauntered off heading for the wheel, and they were left to watch the far eastern horizon slowly morphing from black to a deep blue. 

Xena’s eyes idly scanned the horizon, and as the blue produced an outline of the land, to the north she saw a large, almost perfect cone reaching up to the sky. “Huh.”

“What?” Gabrielle leaned forward to look past her.

“Mountain.” Xena pointed. “Over there.”

Gabrielle studied the shape. “Wow. That’s…” She paused. “It’s a funny shaped mountain, almost like an upside-down milk funnel.”

“Yeah.” Xena agreed. “It’s probably volcanic.” She added, after a brief pause. “They said there were a bunch around here. Looks like those ones we saw to the south.”  She leaned against the railing.  “Soil around them is supposed to be good for crops.”

“It’s pretty far away.” Gabrielle thoughtfully regarded the outline, growing more distinct as the dawn approached. “Can’t say I’d be interested in getting any closer or anything lava related, in case that comes up.”

Xena put one hand on her neck and gave it a gentle massage. “Me either.”  She said. “We’ll go east out of here. Stay clear of it.  They may have pumice in the market though, we could grab some to bring home.”

“Ah.” Gabrielle allowed herself to be distracted. “Oh yeah that would be popular. They haven’t had any in either the bathing house or the washing house for a long time.”  She rubbed her fingertips together, remembering the sensation of the light, rough stone against her skin. “And it’s great for scraping down hides.”

“That it is.”  Xena dusted her hands off. “Wanna help me get the kids ready? It’s pretty calm waters.”  She noted. “Shouldn’t bother you too much.”

“Lead on.” Gabrielle assented. “Yeah, I can barely tell we’re moving.” She followed Xena as they crossed back to the hatch, it’s opening thrown wide, and made their way down the steps to the lower level where the crew was starting to wake up. “Hope it’s like this until we dock.”

“Did you have to say that?”

**

Surprisingly, it indeed remained dead calm as they approached the harbor, and now they could see the sun coming up over the hills and sparkling gently on the pale greens and blues of the shallower water as they rowed towards a ring of carefully placed large rocks that formed the breakwater protecting the shore.

Past that, the harbor was moderately busy, and the docks were bustling, and at the end of the long, curved pier a man in harbor clothing was standing, waving his arms in exaggerated motions at them.

On the bow, one of their sailors was responding, as Besans gave instructions from behind him.

“What are they saying?” Gabrielle asked Marcos, who was standing next to her near the furled main mast.

“No idea.” Marcos cheerfully admitted. “I never sailed as a working man. My family are patricians.” He was dressed in a fresh dark blue overtunic, with the faint scent of lavender lingering on its surface that she could just smell. “I know the mercantile side of the work, how to value cargo, and arrange for it’s dispersal. I do not know much about the toil of the ship.”

“Ah.” Gabrielle studied the two men. “I’m going to guess then that what that guy is saying is, hey, put that boat over here and what our guy is saying is sure, get out of the way.” She concluded. “It’s a big harbor.”

“Very.” Marcos nodded in agreement. “Has grown a lot in recent times, I have heard, with Hercules protection.” He said, in an approving tone. “You can see there’s much new built in the stone, and the streets are laid out very nicely.”

It was a very attractive looking large town, Gabrielle decided. She could see the whitewashed walls stretching up along the casual slope up from the water, and there were pops of bright color everywhere. Along the frontage past where the docks were in the distance she could see some slim lining of sand beaches, but to her surprise, the sand was a rich, deep black.

There were banners above some of the buildings, but it was hard to determine what their function was. They were two or three colors and with stripes and blocks, and on the front of the nearest building to the water she could see colored stones inset in the walls that made a really pretty starburst sigil.

Everything had a bright, clean, orderly appearance, more or less what she had been expecting to see knowing their old friends, and as the ship slowly maneuvered into the spot to dock she felt a sense of pleasant expectation now that they were finally there.

The sun came pouring up over the town and illuminated it, and a breeze brought to her the appetizing smell of something being cooked.  She left the mast and walked across the deck to the side they were docking to, and as she made it past the furled sail the sun bathed that side of the ship and she enjoyed the warmth of it as she stepped into the light gold beams.

There were donkeys busy at work pulling loads and one brayed, shaking it’s head and flopping his big ears side to side as he started up the slope away from the water.

In the distance, she heard the sound of goats bells and then looking up the slope she could see a whole herd of them being moved into a large stone building on the far side of the town, and somewhere nearby, someone was baking bread.

All very welcome.  Gabrielle could see, at the far back end of the slope, fields of trees and even further up on the incline, long lines of spindly looking constructs, with vines swirling around them.

The ship bumped against the dock and she grabbed the rail, watching the ground as the sailors skillfully tossed the coiled lines down to men waiting on the dock, and the mate called out to ship the oars as they reached their final location. 

Below her the oars were pulled inside, and then the men on the shore were running the lines through iron eyes and the ship came to rest against the dock with a long series of creaks and thumps.

She leaned against the rail and looked down, hearing the gentle wash of the light wave against the hull as the motion stilled and the sound of the town rushed in on the breeze.

The sound of hooves on the deck made her turn her head to see Xena guiding their horses up out of the lower level up the ramp towards where she was standing, the morning sun splashing over their neatly brushed out coats. 

The sailors without comment got out of her way and in a moment she was arriving next to Gabrielle with both horses stretching their necks out and sniffing the air with interest.  “Once we get off, we’ll find someone who knows where we can find them.”

“Sounds like a plan.”  Gabrielle was content to remain where she was, observing the swirl around the dock as they prepared to lift up a gangway and several men in three quarter leggings and half capes came striding down the dock towards them. “Don’t think that will take long.”

“Probably not.” Xena agreed. 

The gangway thumped into place and the sailors fastened the end of it, and Besans was the first off the ship, with Marcos and the two merchants from Costas right at his heels.  They reached the bottom of the ramp just as the men in half capes reached it, and for a long minute that made a cluster of waving hands and bobbing heads blocking anyone else.

Gabrielle watched them with idle interest, absorbing the initial stiff body language that quickly eased into relaxed shoulders and expansive gestures.  The two men from the town were nodding and half turning to gesture and point inward towards the buildings and then, to something Besan said, they looked up at the railing.

It was easy to guess what the subject had been, and Gabrielle lifted one hand and gave them a wave as the townsmen looked at them with vivid interest. “We might not even have to ask, Xe.”

“Mm. Might not.” Xena gathered the horses reins and took a step back from the rail. “C’mon.” They walked along the rail to the ramp, and the sailors around it again swirled out of their way. “You go first. Let me handle them. It’s got bumps. I don’t want anyone to trip and land in the water.”

Without any argument, Gabrielle stepped onto the gangway and started down it, glad of what Xena had termed the bumps since the angle was a little steep and the wood wet with morning dew. “Slippery.” She warned over her shoulder.

“Yep.”  Xena got sideways on the ramp and shortened her grip on the two horses bridles. “Easy kids.”  She walked slowly downward, feeling the slickness of the surface under the soles of her boots. 

The horses were well shod though, and they picked their way down after her with surprising calmness, though Tanto’s ears were flipping in all directions as they got to the bottom, and down to the dock surface that had cleared to allow their passage.

The group of men had stepped back but now came forward and the two men from the town moved to the fore and rubbed their hands together as Xena came to a halt with her two charges.

“A bright and good morning to you, ladies.”  The taller of the two said, in a surprisingly deep, bass voice that didn’t match his lanky, light frame at all. “Welcome to Herculaneum.”   He added. “Your good captain tells us you are both acquainted with our patron?”

Gabrielle stepped right up. “Good morning.” She pulled the rolled scroll the busker had delivered to them in the Amazon conclave and handed it over. “That’s right.  If you can let us know what direction to walk, we’d appreciate it.”

The man took the scroll and unrolled it, bending his head a bit to study the contents. “Oh!” His bushy dark brows hiked up and he looked at her, his expression turning to enlightened delight. “Of course. The celebration! How wonderful." He handed the scroll back to her.  "My name is Ellis, and this is Joost, our harbormaster, and we would be honored to escort you up to the manor.”

Xena chortled softly under her breath, which Gabrielle translated with no trouble at all. “That would be great.”  She said mildly. “And I hope you can make our friends aboard welcome here, they were very excited to be able to see your town.”

“Oh Hahahah.” Ellis made a chuffing, energetic sound. “Yes of course you are welcome! We were very surprised to see a hull of this size inbound. We have not seen any large vessels in the last five moons and we welcome any news or provisions you bring with you.”

“We’ve both.” Besans said, in a dry tone. “And my crew and I are well pleased to be here.”

“Absolutely.” Marcos chimed in.

Ellis glanced at his companion. “Joost, I will bring these newcomers to the council hall. Could you lead these fine ladies up the hill?”

“Yes.” The shorter, stocker man said, simply.

Besans looked up and then gave his arm a wave at the sailors. “Come down, lads. Our coin’s welcome here.”  He shouted, and the crew started immediately rambling down the gangway to the dock, with the oarsmen and the mercenaries behind them patiently waiting their turn.

Xena moved the horses to the far side of the dock, and spent a moment just letting her eyes scan the area, finding no immediate threat or any discordance to prick her senses.  She sorted out the reins as Gabrielle came over to join her and take hold of Spot’s halter. “So far so good.”

“The manor?” Gabrielle said, in a low tone. “Oh heck, Xe.”

“Time enough for ribbing later.” But Xena smiled, her pale eyes twinkling a bit. 

Joost disentangled himself from the crowd and came over, gesturing forward and looking at them in question. “Now?”

“Yep.” Gabrielle took hold of her staff and took Spot’s reins from Xena’s hand as they followed the stocky harbormaster down the dock, as the sailors all hastened to move along on the other side of the walkway, with Besans and his group leading the way.

At the end of the dock they split ways, the men spilling out and moving along the harbor front and Besans and Ellis making for the well-built, two story building at the front of the shore, which had a pleasant looking porch facing the sea already populated by curious onlookers.

Xena and Gabrielle continued to follow Joost, who made his way up a second, wider lane that was straight and lined with stones that echoed crisply as the horses walked onto them.   Their guide leaned forward to move up the lane and assumed they would follow, remaining silent and offering them no further conversation.

The upward pitch wasn’t drastic, it was a gentle slope that was wide enough for two wagons and teams to be driven down at once along it, and on either side once they had moved past the harbor area there were villas of well-made stone with beautifully colored slate roofs.

In the front of them were lower walls made from interesting rust and ochre rocks of many shapes fit together topped with the same slate as the roofs, and they contained small gardens, which even now coming on winter had some flowers still in bloom.

A few had chickens pecking the ground sedately, wild looking birds with richly colored feathers and sitting on one of the walls was a ginger colored cat, tail wrapped around its feet, sedately watching them pass. Behind them were the walls of the townhouses, and this close they could also see the windows made from sea green bubbles of glass.

“Those are pretty.” Gabrielle pointed to one.

Joost glanced to see what she was indicating and grunted. “Fancy.” He shrugged slightly.

Xena studied the substance that glittered in the sunlight, scattering the light across the courtyard in a range of colors.  The surface was faceted and did not allow any clear view inside, but she could see vague movement behind it.

It was attractive and the light and the colors seemed to fit well into the outline of the townhouse and its position so near to the sea. “Nice.” She agreed with Gabrielle.

They climbed up past the rows of townhomes and past a wide, tree lined cross street that went off in both directions across the town, the branches intertwined overhead and now shedding their leaves but still providing a dense canopy.

Under the shade was stone benches and tables, and some sheltered areas and even this early there were people walking along the path and some seated on the benches talking together, glancing idly at them as they moved past.

On the right-hand side of the path was a large, beautifully built stone and slate building where a woman was doing a wash outside in a basin, shaking out clothes and hanging them up on a sturdy line strung between two trees.  She smiled as they came even with the building and gave them a nod. “Got visitors do we, Joost?”

Joost lifted his hand and waved at her but kept walking in silence. The woman just chuckled in reaction, not bothered by his lack of speech, and Gabrielle noted her bright and interested eyes.   The building behind her was large enough to be an inn, and looking past the stone edifice she could see what might have been a stable behind it.

Things were the same everywhere, it seemed.  Gabrielle gave the woman a friendly wave.  “Our shipmates might be looking for a mug.” She gestured back the way they’d come. “We just docked.”

Now there was definite interest and the woman trundled over and matched their pace. “Do you say now?” She said. “We heard a boat was coming in. Where do you come from?” Her eyes went past Gabrielle and took in Xena’s partially seen figure past Tanto’s head.  “Not these parts?”

“No.” Gabrielle said. “We’re from the borderlands of Thrace.”  She supplied. “We picked up the ship in Costas.”

The woman’s eyes widened. “Costas?” She said. “Well, you must have some trading stores aboard then.” She was already slowing down and glancing down the slope. “Yes, I see the wagons heading down. I best be getting myself down there! Thank you traveler!”

“No problem.” Gabrielle watched her reverse course and start down the path at a rapid clip, only pausing to dodge back to where the clothing tub and grab a satchel she slung over her shoulder before continuing down the hill.

They continued up the slope, now moving past walled orchards and thick bands of trees, where they could see buildings in the distance past them, large and substantial, all of the same rust and iron stone construction, spread out and most of multiple stories.

This was, Gabrielle concluded, a rich town.  The people she saw strolling around were well dressed in sturdy and well-kept fabric, and even the workers down at the docks had been dressed in plain, but well-made trews and boots.

To the left they passed a big open sided building with a sturdy roof, and inside were men working with tools on crafts, the sound of a forge was evident and along with it the steady beating of a hammer on an anvil.  As they went past she glanced inside, and saw a man pull out a long pole from a forge hearth and put the end of the pole to his lips, blowing into it.

At the other end, a molten red bulb expanded into a pear shape and the man twirled the pole with an expert touch as he moved towards a long table. 

She glanced to her left to see Xena watching in fascination as she continued to walk and suspected there would be a visit to the craft house soon in their future.   She could smell a rich and almost pungent scent coming from the forges. “That’s cool.” She said, under her breath. “Is that glass, Xe?”

“Yeap, sure looks like it.” Xena reluctantly turned her attention forward again and they climbed up past a flat area that seemed to be another open space for people to gather.  Past that, the road widened again and now was lined with the rust and gray colored stones with a layer of clay between them providing a solid level road for the horses to walk on.

Past that, Joost angled to the left along a wide boulevard past two low stone planters filled with rich earth and bushes, and running alongside the planters was a second channel, covered, that they could hear the sound of water rushing through.

As he walked up towards a set of finely hammered wrought iron gates, he paused and looked at them. “Don’t like weapons, up there.” He warned.  

Gabrielle nodded. “It’s okay.”  She answered readily. “They’d think something was really wrong if we didn’t have them.” She gave Spot a pat, as the mare looked around and sniffed idly at the bushes. “Or that we were impostors.”

Joost regarded her with a slight uptick of interest.  He had a rugged, square face and very wiry copper tinted hair, and dark gray almost purple eyes.  “As you say.” He turned and continued along the path towards the gates and as they came closer they could see now that the gates were open.

Inside they could see a large courtyard full of trees.  The two stone channels that ran down the path split at the gates and went along both sides of the stone wall that surrounded the courtyard, and as they crossed the open gates and went inside, there was a burst of activity as men and women with sacks over their shoulders started moving amongst the trees, peering up into them.

The path continued through the orchard and Joost continued trudging along, glancing idly around him.   The harvesters all looked at them as they moved past, but no one said anything and Gabrielle could see that what they were harvesting were walnuts.

As they cleared the trees they could see ahead a simple, single story stone building along one side of the road and on the other side, a two story, also simple stone building with the same slate roof type they’d seen below, and a wide porch along the frontage overlooking the orchard.

“There.” Joost pointed at the two-story building.

“Thanks.” Xena said. “We can take it from here. Appreciate the guide.”

Joost nodded and turned on his heel, moving back the way he had come without further commentary.

Xena and Gabrielle exchanged looks. “Well.” Gabrielle took a better grip on her staff. “Let’s go get this party started, shall we?”

They both turned back towards the building, but then stopped, when the doors to the single-story longhouse to the left flew open, and a very familiar short, fair-haired figure in a cloak came bolting out and headed for them at a run.

“Or we could just wait here and let the party come to us.” Xena concluded, loosening her hold on Tanto’s reins and letting the stallion get to the thick, scrubby grass at their feet.  “Hopefully he’s just glad to see us.”

Gabrielle chuckled wryly. “What’s the odds?”

“Zero.”

**

“I’m so glad you guys made it in time!” Iolaus was saying, as they made their way through the orchard towards the single-story section of the compound. “It was sort of a last-minute thing, this party and I had no idea when they’d find you.”

They were moving between the harvesters and then, swaths of other workers busy at tasks, aware of the sidelong glances at them, displaying reactions from mild curiosity to avid interest.  The workers were all in plain but well-made leggings and jerkins, some with various tools and belts slung around their bodies or baskets in their hands.

“They?” Gabrielle interjected gently. “We only saw the one busker.” She looked past Spot’s gently bobbing head at Iolaus.

Iolaus glanced sideways at her. “I sent out six of them.” He remarked dryly. “No idea where you were.”

Xena chuckled under her breath. “Good point.”

“In fact, I’m kinda surprised you actually got here so fast, since none of those kids have gotten back yet.” Iolaus regarded them with one hiked eyebrow. “Or were you already on the road?” He asked. “I figured even if you were late we could just have a second party.”

“We were at an Amazon conclave on the Ionian plateau.” Gabrielle supplied amiably. “So, we were halfway here when the busker found us.”

“Conclave?” That distracted Iolaus. “Problems?”

Gabrielle produced a half shrug and a smile. “Nothing you have to worry about.”  She changed the subject. “This town is really nice, Iolaus.”

He took a breath and expelled it, nodding slowly. “It is.” He said. “And that’s a story.”

“I’m sure.”

“But we can go into that over a mug. Thanks for not naming another horse after me by the way.” Iolaus changed the subject himself. “These are pretty animals. Your breeding, Xena?”

“They are.” Xena agreed. “Spot is one of Argo’s, by one of the desert stallions I picked up and Tanto here’s sire is one of Jessan’s stallions and my mother’s cart mare.”

Iolaus studied them with interest, as they neared the low-slung building.  “Your mom has an eye for good stock.” He glanced up at the open doors and waved a hand. “Let me get someone to get them settled for you.”

“The names came from Cari and Dori.” Gabrielle tossed in. “So, you have them to thank for that not us.”

A short, lithe young man came trotting out of the open doors at Iolaus’ gesture towards them. He was dressed in riding leggings and had a light weave shirt with rolled up sleeves on, sticks and bits of straw stuck in the fabric. “Aye sir?”

“Jell, could you find a stall for these two nice horses?” Iolaus asked. “Their names are Spot and Tanto, and these are our friends, Xena and Gabrielle.”

“Sure.” Jell agreed cheerfully. “We have plenty of space.” He held out his hand for the reins and Xena studied him for a minute, then she handed over Tanto’s, and a moment later Gabrielle followed suit with Spot’s.  “They come off the ship?”

“They did.” Xena said.

“Can put them in the back paddock to run around for a bit?” Jess suggested. “Have a few others back there but they’re all pretty gentle.”

“Sure.” Xena gave Tanto a pat on the shoulder. “Watch out when he’s walking behind you he likes to chew on collars.”

The big gray stallion flared his nostrils and stuck the tip of his tongue out.

“He knows you’re telling on him.” Jell said wryly. “I’ll bring your gear up to the house.”

“He does.”

The boy moved off with the two horses following without complaint.

They stood quietly for a moment watching the horses recede into the distance. “You said something about a mug?” Xena asked. “They mostly had grog onboard. Not a fan.” She said. “But we weren’t in a place to be picky.”

Iolaus nodded, inhaling and exhaling in something like relief. “Absolutely. Let’s go get a seat on the porch over there, where it’s sunny.” He pointed towards the two-story building and started walking and they joined him going off the path and going under the branches of the trees in the orchard.

“Herc’s gone up the road to what we call the big city.” Iolaus said.  “He should be back tonight.  They’re pretty good neighbors but there was some trouble up there and we heard about it so he went up to see what’s going on.”

When they reached the two-story building there was already a middle-aged woman there, with a tray in her hands, watching them approach.  On the tray she had a pitcher and three glasses, and she was watching Iolaus with a mild, affectionate look as he led the way up the several steps.

“Thanks Iona.” Iolaus greeted her. “These are the friends of ours I told you might show up any time.”

“And now is the time.” The woman gave them both a quick once over. “I’ll have rooms prepared.”

“Just one’s fine.” Gabrielle said with a faint twitch of her lips.  

The woman’s reaction was remarkable in that she absolutely didn’t have any. “As you say.” She moved over to one of the tables near the edge of the porch, speckled with sunlight coming through the last line of trees in the orchard and set down the glasses.

They sat down and the woman disappeared, leaving them in quiet isolation.  

Xena sat back in the chair, a comfortable wooden arrangement with laced leather seat and back, and reached out to pick up the glass in front of her. “This made here?” She asked. “I saw the workshop on our way up from the docks.”

Iolaus nodded. “Yes, it’s one of the things the town produces, there’s five or six really skilled glass blowers that work there including one master.” He picked up his own cup and took a sip from it. “This is cider they just finished putting up from the harvest.”

Gabrielle took a cautious mouthful and sat with it on her tongue for a minute, with a thoughtful expression. “What is that?” She said, after swallowing. “It’s really delicate.”

“Citron.” Iolaus looked pleased. “Nice isn’t it? There’s a field of trees of it a little way down the coast from here. It doesn’t travel well, so most of its made into cider or jam.”

“Smells like flowers.” Xena chimed in. “But yeah, it’s nice.”

The serving woman came back and set down a ceramic platter with a collection of fruits and cheese on it, and a loaf of round, quartered bread.    She also set down a full pitcher then she gave them all a small smile and disappeared again.

“Okay so where do I start.”  Iolaus broke off a chunk of the quartered bread and a piece of the sliced cheese on the platter and sat back. 

“Start with how you guys ended up here.” Gabrielle said. “And then I can fill you in on what we’ve been up to since you last saw us.”

“That’ll take a while.”  Xena stretched out her legs and crossed her boots.

“No problem, we’ve got all day.” Iolaus agreed cheerfully. “Okay, so we started off traveling cross country, going north and west up through the mountains.” He said. “And then we found this dragon, and…”

It was nice, Xena thought, to talk to people who had unlikely events happen to them as often as she and Gabrielle did.   She pondered what she would do in meeting a dragon, and took a bite of the thick, chewy, nutty tasting bread. Probably the exact opposite of whatever it was that Herc and Iolaus would have ended up doing.

“Did it breathe fire?” Gabrielle was asking, deeply interested in the tale.

“No, it was running around eating all the sheep though, and you know, they wanted to know what to do about it so we thought maybe it was a smart dragon, and we could go reason with it.”

Definitely the exact opposite.

**

“And then…” Iolaus said, in a tone of exasperated relief. “We found a small fishing boat pulled up on the beach and we used that to get away from the guys that were chasing us, looking for the diamond we didn’t actually have.”

“So to the north of here.” Gabrielle said.

“Yeah, we came down the coast, and we found this little fishing village.” Their old friend concluded. “It was almost winter solstice, and the weather was a mess, so we pulled in and traded the fishing boat for a room at the inn.”

“Nice.” Xena had her hands folded on her stomach and she was also listening with interest. “Was that the place on the road up here?”

“Not when we got here, it was a shack near the water.” Iolaus said. “But it was dry, and they had soup and it was just nice to.. .” He paused.

“Sit.” Gabrielle supplied, with a nod of understanding.

“Yes.” Iolaus agreed.  He picked up his cup and took a long swallow.  “That was almost a year ago.” He put the cup down. “We only figured to hang out for a sevenday or so, but it turns out the village was being run roughshod by that city up the road and so..”

“So you got in the middle of it.”

“We did.” Iolaus looked around. “We got all up in their business, and at that point I think everyone realized who Herc was.” He smiled briefly. “So we went from random troublemakers to being patrons of the town and here we are.” He spread his arms out.  “There are a lot of folks in the area who are traditionalists and that attracted them here.”

“Traditionalists.” Gabrielle sat back, her head cocked a bit to one side. “Followers of the gods, you mean.”

Iolaus nodded. “Yeah, there’s a lot of.. “  He nibbled the inside of his lip. “People drifting away from that I guess you could say. Different customs, some people from the far north, and from the west who are bringing other gods into worship, that kind of thing.”

“We heard about a new cult.” Gabrielle murmured. “From the Amazons, you know? From the towns and areas on the west side of the Ionian plateau that had different traditions and were pushing back on dealing with them.”

“With the Amazons.”  Iolaus nodded a little.  “Yeah, that might be one of them around. Sun worshippers, I think they are, um… followers of the.. ‘bright one’? Maybe?”  He sounded uncertain. “Anyway, once people heard we were here, they started showing up and brought their dinars and skills with them.”

Xena and Gabrielle exchanged glances. “Well, that starts to make things make more sense.”  Gabrielle said, with a sigh. “But it looks like that didn’t do anything but good here.” She grinned at Iolaus. “Enough to make them change the name of the town, anyway.”

Iolaus rolled his eyes in a very dramatic gesture, and both women laughed in response.

“Yeah, we heard that, and we were both like… um… excuse me what now?” Gabrielle admitted. “How did that even happen?”

He sighed. “The people here are very grateful and appreciative that Herc agreed to park here for a while. They were going around naming streets after him, getting his face carved into the walls.. I told them if they wanted him to stick around for even a moon they needed to cut that out.”

“So they named the town after him instead?” Xena asked, in a skeptical tone.

“It was either that or they were going to stand up a statue of him facing the port.” Iolaus replied simply. “I told him just don’t think about it. It’s easier to change a name than carved stone.”

“True enough.” Xena admitted. “Name’s just a name.”

“That’s what I said.” Iolaus confirmed. “And you know, it’s been good here, we’ve had a chance to kind of set up some different ways of doing things, try to focus on just being good stewards.”

“Our guide up here warned us you didn’t care for weapons.” Gabrielle acknowledged, with a slight twinkle. “We told him you wouldn’t recognize us without them.”

Iolaus laughed. “We try to keep people from fighting in the streets. There are weapons in the town but they keep them in the armory behind the craft shop. You don’t see people walking the streets armed.” He said. “But don’t worry, no one is going to ask you for yours.”

“If no one else is carrying them we can leave them under the bed.” Xena remarked, with a brief grin.  “Speaking of, if they’re worshippers of our gods here, what was the funny look we got about using one room?” She asked, twiddling her thumbs a little. “Or are they little farmstead in the woods kind of traditional?”

Iolaus sighed. “No, had nothing to do with you. Well not in that sense anyway.” He answered in a mournful tone. “Like I said, they’re lovely people. They’re trying to find me and Herc wives.”

Gabrielle muffled a snorting laugh of surprise, while Xena reached up to pinch the bridge of her nose.

“They want us to settle here permanently.” Iolaus said, in a tolerant voice. “And they mean well.”

Gabrielle cleared her throat.  “Not something you guys would entertain?” She asked mildly. “It’s a nice place, Io. There are worse places to live.”

Xena glanced up over the hand she had half covering her face hiding her smile to watch for the answer, acknowledging Gabrielle was one of the few people who could ask that without causing any offense whatsoever giving their shared history.

And Iolaus didn’t take any offense. “We talked about it.” He said, frankly. “I think Herc doesn’t buy into permanence. He said he tried that once.” He paused and pursed his lips. “You know that side of the family is still there.”

“Oh, we know.” Gabrielle said, in quiet sympathy.

“Yeah.” Xena said, briefly. “But if there’s an opportunity for a good thing here, you should take a chance on it.” She added. “Grab good times when you can.”

Iolaus studied her with pensive seriousness. “Well, you know, Xena, you’re one of the few people who can say something like that with the unquestioned gravitas behind it that might make an impact.  Maybe bring it up over dinner?”

“Maybe not over dinner.” Gabrielle lifted her hand up. “But sometime when a quiet moment presents itself.”  She stood up and pushed her chair back a little. “Want to show us around town? I know Xena was fascinated by the glass blower.”

“Absolutely.” Iolaus also stood up. “Let’s go get your gear settled and then we can take a tour.”  He gestured towards the double doors fitted with the glass bubbles behind them.  “I can show you the school, too, they built it into the other side there and we just got a teacher about a moon ago.”

Gabrielle gave him a thumbs up gesture and they followed him through the doors, into the inside of the building.

**

Xena looked around the spacious corner room they’d been given, nodding her head in approval.  It was on the second level, and there were both shuttered, broad windows that faced the slope down to the sea and additional strips of the glass bubbles inlaid in the stone walls that let in light.

The effect was bright and full of sun, and it striped across the tile floor in a pleasant way.  The room itself had its own bathing area in a separate alcove, and a fireplace built into the wall that also had all the accoutrements required to cook a meal on it.

It seemed all brand new.   The large well-made bed was set against the far corner of the room, extending into it, and there was also a pair of comfortable seats with the same leather backs as the ones on the porch. 

Their saddlebags had been placed neatly on top of a long, wooden chest against one wall and a basket of fruits had also been left near the fireplace for them.

“Wow.” Gabrielle was standing near the fire, her hands on her hips. “This is pretty sweet, Xe.”

Xena took off her cloak, and then loosened her sword belt and removed it from her shoulders, glancing around and spotting several wooden pegs set into the wall and using one to hang it.  “It is.” She regarded the sword, giving the belt a little tug to ensure it was secure. “This is bigger than our cabin.”

“Almost.” Gabrielle leaned against the fireplace and examined the grills and the tray with cooking implements on it. “I’m going to see if I can get a loaf of that bread they had we can toast it for breakfast.”

“Add some of that goat cheese and honey.”  Xena agreed, turning and facing Gabrielle. “Now let’s go see what other pleasant surprises we can find, shall we?”

“Seems like there’s lots of them.” The sun had warmed the air outside to a point where cloaks would not be needed, and Gabrielle took hers and Xena’s and hung them up on the pegs next to the longsword.  She then propped her staff up against the last of the and dusted her hands off. “There.”

Xena walked over to the window and opened the shutters to peer outside, the sun coming through and lighting her in pale gold.  “Let’s bring the dinars.” She turned and grinned. “Have some fun since it looks like that invite was just an invite.” She paused and shook her head. “Amazing as that is to me.”

“To an actual party.” Gabrielle went to their saddlebags and retrieved two worn, heavy belt pouches. “Hear ya!” She tossed Xena hers and went to the door. “Before the merchants get the best of everything.” She winked. “You know Marcos will.”

They went outside the room and closed the door behind them, glad to see Iolaus coming down the corridor from what apparently was his room on the same side of the building, but on the other end.   He was rubbing his hands together and looked in good humor.  “Good enough?” He pointed to the room.

Gabrielle met him as he reached where they were standing and hooked her arm through his elbow. “Better than good.” She assured him. “It’s beautiful in here, and you know it.  Now let’s go see the rest of this place.”

“Lets.” Iolaus smiled easily.  “These rooms were built for people who come here and are thinking about staying.” He said, as they started down the hall.  “Not just for overnight, that’s down at the new inn you saw on the way here.”

“What are these?” Gabrielle paused as they reached the end of the hallway and touched one of the bubbles set into the structure. It was irregular in shape, rather like one of her pancakes and almost clear with only a hint of gray color. “Do they make them here? They’re like glass bricks.”

“They are.” Iolaus put his hand out and laid his fingers across it. “Brings the sun in, you can feel it.” He added. “There are caves up the coast from here that are full of them, but hard to get to, only way in is by sea and the waters are very rough. Some of the fishermen take the risk and bring some back once in a while, and they’re really in demand. Aren’t they pretty?”

“They are.”

“They’re as thick as the stones, and are great to let light in.” He concluded, then led them back down the wide stone steps, made from the gray and brown stones the roads were made from with the same pale grout between them. “But really expensive, the fishermen ask top dollar for them because they’re dangerous to get.”

Remembering Joost’s somewhat disparaging comment about them, Gabrielle nodded. “Keeps the wind out but the sun in.”

“Exactly.”

The ground floor had taller ceilings and was apparently the communal living space, there was a large area full of tables and seats, and scattered among them were people working on various tasks, some sewing and weaving, a spinning wheel was in the corner, a woodcarver had his head bent over a piece of mahogany wood.

It reminded Gabrielle a lot of the gathering hall in her own Amazon village, a common workroom and she got a sense of content from the people working there, both men and women, and on the far side there were two men with harps, studying a parchment, their hands idly plucking strings very softly.

They moved through the common room and out the front door, and there were clusters of townsfolk at the tables now on the porch, where lunch was being served.  “Are these the folks who live up here? Or just people?” Gabrielle asked.

Iolaus glanced over at them. “Just people.” He said. “A lot of the tradesmen come up here. Some of them go the inn.” He led them down the path and then around the side of the building. “Let’s start up here. You can see the vineyards.”

“One of our shipmates will be wanting to talk to you about that.”

**

By the time they reached the street above the inn, the pleasant lane with trees and benches, the sun was slanting down towards the sea and pouring a rich, golden light across the entire town, tinged with light pinks and reds.

Some of the townsfolk had apparently finished work for the day and they had mugs, ostensibly from the inn, and were seated on the benches in small groups, relaxing and talking. Their heads turned a little as the three of them strolled down and the interest was immediately obvious.

“So this is where they used to have the fish market.” Iolaus said. “They would cart all the catch up here and clean it, then wash the entrails down the slope.”

Gabrielle looked sideways at him, her brows contracting and her teeth showing in a tiny grimace.  

“Yeah.” Iolaus nodded. “So what Herc did was, he found a landslide down the coast a little ways and used it to build a docking area, with flat surfaces to do all the cleaning down there, and..” He stressed the word. “He moved some piles of discarded house stones and made a little shelter for them to sell from.”

“So they wash the guts back into the sea.”  Xena remarked.

Iolaus paused as they stood there quietly, watching the activity around them. “Yep. Guess what happened after that?”

“You now serve crabs here.” Gabrielle smiled.

“We now have crabs, and the place they pull up is growing clams.”  Iolaus smiled back, his eyes twinkling.  “So, after that… it kinda started spreading about how things were on the way up here.”

“Because of you.”

Iolaus spread his hands. “I mean..” He sighed expressively.

“Most of it was just common sense and you gotta wonder why no one else thought of it.” Xena completed his thought without effort. “Yeah. Been there.” She commiserated with him.

“You get it.” Iolaus agreed, mournfully. “I mean I’m not sorry it all happened.” He said. “Just surprised it took us to make it happen.”

Gabrielle nudged them in the direction of the craft hall. “Coming from a very small village, let me just say that tradition is a very powerful set of .. what do you call those things, Xena? For horses?”

Xena stared at her for a long moment, then her expression cleared. “Oh. Blinders.” She said, holding both hands up on either side of her face.

“Blinders.”  Gabrielle nodded. “People get very comfortable with the way things are and have been. Changing things means the unknown and that’s scary.” She said. “I guess.” She added after a brief pause.

Iolaus looked thoughtful. “Hm.” He guided them along the path towards the hall.

The craft hall was still very busy, and as they eased inside, the size of the place now became very evident, only glimpsed on their way up. The ceiling was very high, and the walls alternated thick stone columns with heavy sailcloth panels that could be rolled up, as they were now, to let in light and air.

All the way down on both sides of the large building there were work areas, each edged around with various combinations of baskets and boxes marking out whatever the craft’s space was and inside were worktables and benches and equipment used to produce the things they were working on.

The largest section, which was near the center path and took up the whole corner of that area with open panels on two sides were the glass blowers, and their wood fire stoked ovens fronted by foot operated fans. There were six in total, but right now only three were in use, the other three banked with tools neatly put by for future use.

There were people from the town browsing, but Gabrielle noticed clumps of others, dressed differently, with higher sheen to their fabric and expensive looking boots also moving from area to area, and on one side where there was a blacksmith, some of their shipmates were gathered.

There was a tall man in an apron standing outlined against the open panel nearby, and the brass merchant was in earnest conversation with him, a wrapped bundle of leather and cloth in one hand.

“Go on.” Gabrielle poked Xena in the ribs, pointing to the glass blowers. “I know you’ve had your eye on those.”

“I have.” Xena agreed promptly and angled towards the front of the hall, moving closer to the sand strewn area and it’s baskets of supplies.   She got into a position to get a good view, and simply stood watching as the craftsman came over to the thin pole resting on the oven lip and peered inside.

He was wearing very heavy hide gloves and a thick hide apron and even from where she was standing Xena could feel the heat against her skin from the oven.  She watched as he grasped the pole and drew it out, bringing a bright orange blob out on the end of it.

He brought it over to a worktable with a bracket for the pole on it and set the pole into it, moving the pole in a circular motion.  He then bent and blew into the mouthpiece at the end of the pole and the orange blob expanded into a globe, that he pressed against a wet leather surface as he shaped it into a column.

Another crafter was finishing up a meticulous inspection of a pitcher, and he set it down and walked over to where Xena was standing. “Interesting, no?” He asked in a conversational tone.

Xena nodded. “I’ve seen the end result.” She said, briefly. “But never the process.” She kept her eyes on the crafter, watching how he was using a metal instrument to shape the tubular form of the still glowing glass. “Very interesting.”

The man smiled. “You are the owner of that lovely gray stallion, yes? You came up from the docks this morning.” He turned and went over to a crate, which was full of straw. “Let me show you something that might interest you.”

A pitch.  Xena smiled. Not unexpected, the crafters were salesmen of their product and justifiably proud of it based on what she could see.  She kept watching the man shaping what she could now see was a vase until the other crafter turned towards her with his hands outstretched.

She looked over to see a glass object in front of him that made her jaw drop.  It was a horse, stylized, of sea colored glass rising out of the waters shaped around it’s legs. Its head was flung up in brash pride, eyes wide, nose flared, teeth showing. “Wow.” She responded honestly. “Did you make that?”

The crafter smiled expansively, obviously proud and satisfied with the reaction. “Lady, I did.” He came closer so she could get a better look.  The glass was quite transparent but had swirls of blue and green color in it and as the westering sun poured in, it lit the outline of it in fire.  “A piece by request of a patron in the city.”

Xena linked a few times. “Well, he’s got good taste and it’s a gorgeous piece of work.” She said. “He a horse breeder?”

The crafter made a slight face, as he turned the glass piece in the sun, and watched the reflections sparkle. “Not so, just a man with dinars who wants to impress a lady.”   He said. “I was just packing it carefully to bring up to the city tomorrow.”

“What’s that yo… oh wow.” Gabrielle had come over, drawn by the reflections and now she grasped Xena’s arm in reflex. “That’s amazing!”  She leaned closer and peered into the glass statue. “So pretty!”

The other glass crafters were glancing over, watching the man with a look of respect and amusement, apparently used to the reaction to his fancies.

Xena glanced to one side and watched Gabrielle’s expression. “Don’t even think about it.” She said, mildly. “We would never get anything like that home in one piece.”

“I wasn’t really.” Gabrielle gave her arm a squeeze. “Even if we did get it home in one piece, it wouldn’t last five minutes in our house.” She looked wistfully at the glass.  “But wow. I could picture that on my desk with the sun coming in the window hitting it.”

The crafter carefully put the piece back into its crate and arranged the straw stuffing around it to hold it firmly. “Yes, it’s true. Lovely, but very fragile.” He agreed. “Have you ladies traveled far to visit here?” He glanced over his shoulder. “Or just from across the water?”

“Borderlands of Thrace.” Gabrielle supplied.  “We came overland to Costas.”

“That is a journey indeed.” The crafter readily responded. “Perhaps one day someone of my ilk will come down that road someday and you will have an opportunity to have such crafted for yourselves.”

“Ya never know.” Xena glanced around. “Let me go see what’s going on over there at the forge.” She turned and made her way past the glassmaker’s storage and headed towards where Iolaus was in serious negotiation with one of the smiths.

Gabrielle regarded the crafter with a speculative lift of one pale eyebrow. “So, do you have any small pieces that could maybe not break into pieces in a saddlebag?”  She asked, holding up one hand and cupping it.

The crafter eyed her with an equally speculative eye. “I may have such. Are you in the market, m’lady?”

“Depends on what it is, and how much.”

The man chuckled and moved further to one side, where a large chest with forward opening doors was positioned against one of the stone columns. “Now we speak a common language.” He opened the chest up and stepped back. “Come see for yourself.”

Gabrielle strolled over, already entranced by the twinkle of reflective glass inside.  She could see a collection of small dishes and cups, dismissing them as probably not useful in their everyday lives.  There were also some small figurines that caught more interest, and in the back, inside a round wooden bowl a collection of spherical objects. “Don’t mind of I do.”

The crafter took a step back to give her room to browse, and glanced back across the craft hall, his eyes following Xena who was now standing next to Iolaus.  “Does your lady friend admire metalwork as well?”

Gabrielle reluctantly dismissed the idea of a pretty little bird, guessing the wings would not survive. “She’s a metalsmith herself.” She said, absently. “So she always likes to see what other people are doing with that.”  She moved along the chest to look at some small fish. “Hm.”

The silence behind her made her look up and around, to see the glass crafter looking at her with genuine surprise. “What?” She turned and looked at him in concern. “What did I say?”

He shook himself a little. “Pardon, lady I am just very surprised. I have never in my days met a lady of that craft.”  His voice was earnest. “Many men do not have the strength for it.” He glanced over at Xena again, and then back at her. “Does she craft then small things? I see she has a keen eye for beauty.”

Caught a little off-guard, Gabrielle paused a moment before she responded.  The man, she realized, meant no disrespect. He wasn’t being mean, just curious.  “She makes all kinds of things.” She answered slowly. “I mean.. pots and skillets, hinges for our doors…” She paused. “Horseshoes, tack for the horses.” She paused again as the man nodded and shrugged slightly. “Longswords and axes and armor. You know, the usual stuff smiths do.”

He stared at her.

“Ask her to show you her sword.” Gabrielle concluded. “Anyway, let’s talk about these little fish here, and the round balls.” She pulled his attention back to chest. “I think they’d be the most likely to make it back to Amphipolis in one piece. Is that a fish from around here?”

“Ah.” He turned back to stare at the fish. “Oh.” He collected himself. “There are pleasant small islands near here, off the coast and they have a shallow bay, and in there yes.” He said. “I was there for a holiday a few years ago and never forgot them.”

“Well they’re one solid piece enough to travel and too large for my kids to easily swallow. Let’s start there.” Gabrielle got down to bargaining business, pushing her cloak aside to put a hand on her belt pouch.  She glanced up at him to see him staring again over at Xena and she chuckled silently to herself.  “She can also sew.”

“Oh yes?” He started and focused back on her.

“Yeah.” Gabrielle patted his arm. “C’mon, let’s get this show started. We’ve got to get back up the slope for dinner.”

**

“That was pretty interesting.” Xena perched on the storage chest, her hands braced on the surface. “Gotta tell you, I think they landed damn well here.  They should stick around.”

“Don’t disagree, hon.” Gabrielle was brushing her hair out on the far side of the room. “I think they’ve done some really great stuff here. The town really likes them.”

“The town does.” Xena got up and went to one of the windows, peering outside. It was almost full dark, just a hint of color left in the western sky just visible through the trees. She could see neatly hung oil lamps outlining the lanes and in the light of them she could see people moving and hear voices on the wind.

Somewhere, in the middle distance she could hear someone playing a sitar.

“Hope everything’s okay with Herc.” Gabrielle said, as she stood up and went to their saddlebags, tucking her brush into her kit. “Iolaus seemed a little worried he wasn’t back yet.”

Xena chuckled. “He’s seemed a little worried the entire time I’ve known him, Gab.”  She turned around and leaned against the wall, folding her arms over her chest. “I’m sure it’s fine. Probably just ran into the usual stuff up there.”

“Well that’s true enough. If it were us, we’d already be knee deep in something weird.”  Gabrielle dusted her hands off. “Shall we?”

They left the room and went down the hallway, getting all the way to the steps to the lower level when Iolaus caught up to them, coming from the other direction. “Ah, there you are.”  He said. “I went by your room, figured you’d head this way.”

“No word from Herc?” Gabrielle asked, as they descended.

“Nothing yet.”  Io sighed. “Oh well, he’ll definitely be here by morning. He won’t miss his own party.”

“Mm.” Xena rumbled, giving him a narrowed eyed look.  “You sure about that?”

They got to the ground floor and proceeded into the large gathering space, which was now full of people and noise and the clatter of serving dishes.   A server spotted them and hurried over, guiding them to a table in the corner, with a wide windowed view of the town and it’s lamps and the twinkle of burgeoning stars as the view.

The table was set with attractive ceramic bowls and dishes, and beautifully made glasses, and cutlery was provided, polished seashells in wooden clasps and slim, hammered knives with very sharp points.  Xena picked up hers and examined it, one eyebrow lifting slightly.

Gabrielle sat back and studied the room, happy to see two buskers setting up in the corner with a large sitar and a harp, and a small selection of hand instruments to go with them. A young woman approached and joined them, wearing a striped overtunic with a belt of silver links drawing it close around her body.

“So what’s on tap for the party?” She asked.

“The usual.” Iolaus let his elbows rest on the carved wooden arms of the chair he was in.  The table was a diamond shape, and each side had a seat. The seat to his right was empty, but it’s back like the one Xena was seated in, was against the wall.  “Market in the morning. We had various sellers arriving all day, the inn down the slope is packed with them.”

“Nice.” Gabrielle sounded approving.

“Afternoon, there’s a festival up here, in the orchard outside and they’ve set up cook pits outside to grill anything and everything.” Io was counting on his fingers and now he touched the third one. “And we have a big dinner up here at night, where everyone’s probably going to bring presents.”

“Oh boy.”  Xena grinned.

“Yeah you know, most of it will be given away to people in the countryside who aren’t that well off.” Iolaus said, in a more serious tone. “We don’t need much. You guys know.” He said. “But it lets the people here feel like they can say thank you to some of the things we’ve gotten done.”

In the corner, the buskers started to play softly, a melody not familiar to Gabrielle, but pleasant and they were obviously skilled musicians.  The sound wasn’t very loud, just a gentle tinkle that trickled through the crowd.

A server came by, and deposited a platter of fresh cheese and small knot shaped biscuits followed by a second who skillfully poured their glasses full of a light red wine, and gracefully bowed at them before whisking away.

“This is something a little new.” Iolaus picked up the glass. “I know you had a taste of the lemon, this is from grapes up above on the slopes, but only with a touch of the skins to give it color.” He took a sip. “Just harvested, so it’s a bit raw.”

Xena picked up the wine glass and sniffed the substance, which seemed mild enough. She took a sip and pondered a moment after she swallowed it. “What does that remind me of.” She mused.

“Sort of tastes like what jasmine smells like.” Gabrielle concluded. “I like it. I think this is something like that wine we had in Athens, Xe. During the games.”

Iolaus nodded. “We think after it’s been aged a while, it’s going to be amazing.”  He leaned back in his chair. “Of course, the vintners are convinced Herc…” He lifted his hand and made a gesture with his fingers. “Did something to the vines.”

“Did he?”

“He told them to put tall stakes in the ground and tie the vines to them, so they didn’t get rotten and make sure they were exposed to the sea air.” Iolaus said, dryly. “So I guess, sure. He did something. But that’s not what they meant.”

“They think he did something.” Xena snapped her fingers.

“He can’t convince them he can’t really do anything like that.” Iolaus sighed. “They just want to believe what they want to believe.” He picked up a biscuit and added a bit of the cheese to it. “There’s lamb tonight. We traded a load of fish up the road for some of their annual harvest. Hope that’s all right.”

“I smelled it.” Xena agreed. “Fine by us.”

Gabrielle nodded. “I like the music.” She added, watching the young women vibing to the music, waiting for her turn to participate.

Iolaus leaned forward. “Hey, would you do me a favor?” He looked at Gabrielle, who lifted her eyebrow in silent question.  “After the lamb, could you maybe go up and tell the room one of Herc’s stories?”

Gabrielle’s other eyebrow joined it’s mate. “Surely you’ve told them all.” She asked in honest surprise. “I mean, yea of course I will but why?”

“Yes, I have.” Iolaus said, steepling his fingers in front of his face and tapping his lips. “That’s how it started, you know? Me in the inn, telling stories. You know how it goes.”

Xena snickered. “Oh boy do we.”

“Shh.” Gabrielle shook a finger at her.

“But it’s different, having someone show up from far off and tell something.” He said. “So it’s not just me.” He glanced around and then back at her. “I’d like them to hear it from someone else, too, and someone they know came from somewhere else.”

Xena gently eased her knee out and touched Gabrielle’s under the table and felt the responding pressure. She had no real idea of what was behind the request, but it was interesting.  Very interesting.

“Absolutely.” Gabrielle responded with an easy smile. “Anything in particular or you want me to just pick something.”

He spread his hands out. “Your choice.”

“Leave my mother’s pig out of it.” Xena said, to break the somewhat odd tension, waving a finger in mimicry at her partner.

Iolaus let out a laugh, and a groan, and covered his eyes.

**

 The wind had turned sharply colder as Xena and Gabrielle strolled out of the gathering hall and onto the open patio, crossing between the now empty and silent tables and chairs to the edge of the railing that overlooked the expanse of the lower town.

Behind them they could hear the sound of music starting up again, the echo of the sitar twanging with a soft counterpoint of the small drum behind it, and as a door opened and closed, the murmur of conversation from the patrons still left inside the hall.

“That went pretty well.” Gabrielle said, as she leaned her elbows on the rail. “That sitar player was really good, too. It was nice going back and forth.” She gazed out over the slope with a nod of contentment. “And I think Iolaus got what he wanted out of it.”

“He did. I could tell by his expression.” Xena stretched and yawned. “And the crowd enjoyed it.” She agreed, letting her hands rest on the wood. “They really liked the one with the minotaur. I heard some of them asking Iolaus why he hadn’t told that one to them before.”

Gabrielle chuckled. “I don’t think he likes that one in particular.” She said. “Not with that donkey that chased him into the fountain and all that and I can’t really leave that part out because that’s where they find the minotaur when the statue turns into a real one.”  She mused in a reflective tone. “Anyway, it’s a good story.”

“It is a good story.” Xena straightened up and rested her wrist on Gabrielle’s cloak covered shoulder as she slowly let her head turn from side to side in considered study.  “There was a lot of curiosity in the crowd about you.”

“The sitar player told me they’d never shared a platform with a woman storyteller.” Gabrielle eyed her. “That’s not a thing around here I gathered. Reminds me of some of the places we went through, Xe. Heck, it reminds me of Potadeia.”

“They learned.”

“Well.” Gabrielle laughed. “They kind of had no choice.”  She took a breath of the now onshore breeze, full of the tang of salt and the sea. “And I think after the first one I told they were all right with it.” She concluded. “Those kids offered to share their take with me, they said it was more than they usually get in any case.”

“They learned.” Xena repeated with a grin. “I picked up some rumblings about that city up the road.” Then she glanced at Gabrielle sideways. “Guessing we’re going to take a trip up there if Herc doesn’t make it back here by tomorrow.”

“Bring the party to him?”

Xena smiled easily. “Why not?” She said. “Iolaus is getting itchy.”

“Why not. If there’s trouble we should go find it before it comes looking for us, because you know Xena…”

“I know.”

Down the slope the movement was stilling as the town settled in for the night. The trees were rustling in the breeze but after a moment the wind stilled and then, from lower down, the sound of raised voices echoed up to them very softly.  

Male voices, sharp with anger. They listened for a moment. “Bar fight?” Gabrielle guessed. “Those sailors that were with us were cooped up a long time on that ship.”

“Could be.” Xena murmured thoughtfully, her head tilted a bit to one side, ears twitching visibly in the lamplight as she listened. “Yeah, you owed me this and that.” She concluded. “Typical stuff.”

They listened for another moment, then Gabrielle tucked her hand through Xena’s elbow. “Shall we go see? I feel like a walk.”

Without hesitation Xena turned and they went along the outer patio until they reached the steps leading down to the road, moving with unhurried steps as they reached the orchard and strolled along through it.  The trees made a pleasant rustling sound again in the wind and under their boots a few fallen leaves crunched.

The gates were still wide open, regardless of the lateness of the hour and Xena paused a moment to inspect the ground in front of them, walking over to one side of the gates and looking down.  Then she sniffed and shrugged and they continued on.

“They leave them open.” Gabrielle said, after they moved off a little way.

“Trouble’s not going to come from this direction.”  Xena responded absently.

“We came from this direction, Xena.”

Xena’s low, melodic laugh echoed into the cold air. “True enough.”  She admitted. “But not that kind of trouble.”

They walked down the sloping road, the housing on either side now mostly quiet and dark, only the oil lamps that lined the main lane casting their golden globes of light on either side until they reached the more open space with benches and trees just short of the craft hall.

There were still lights on there, and to both of their slight surprise the loud voices were coming from inside that building, and not from the inn further down.  “Hm.” Xena turned without hesitation to the left and started up the path towards the hall. “Let’s see what’s going on here.”

Outside the craft hall were three horses tied, and a pony with a cart hitched to him, the smell of fresh manure pungent on the wind and the animals turned their heads hearing them approach and watched them go by, the bay nearest the path getting an absent pat on the hip from Xena.

Gabrielle glanced casually around as they approached the entry, to see if a handy bit of stick were lying around but the ground was bare and so she merely shrugged and kept on Xena’s heels, hearing the loud voices grow louder and angrier.

The hall seemed to have been shut mostly down for the night. One side of the large double joined doors to the craft hall was propped open, however, though the thick hide drapes that in the day would allow light and air in were rolled down and tied firmly in place.

As they passed inside the sound of the argument expanded to fill the room, and they emerged into the interior of the space to find the glassmaker at the back of his work area, standing legs spraddled, arms spread in front of three large men in well-made clothing, the one closest to him flashing jewelry on his hands that winked in the low light.

Across the space there were a few other crafters still at their stations, a basket weaver sitting on a table with a round half-finished tray on his lap, and the smith, standing quietly near his forge in the act of damping it for the night.

Inside it smelled far more intensely of the materials they all were working with than it had earlier and the wood burning heat of the glass kiln was bright and strong.

At the glassmaker, all focused on the argument, no one noticed their entry but the smith’s head turned when he saw them and he closed the front of his forge and came to the edge of his space with heightened interest.  

Gabrielle gave him a brief smile as they crossed glances, and Xena swiveled to come up behind the three men with her cloak swirling around her boots.

“You promised me it would be finished tonight.” The man with the jewels was yelling.  The two behind him were silent, but they were also armed, and had leather hardened jerkins down to their lower thighs with high necks.  “Now you bastard, deliver it!”

“I have told you, it’s not finished.” The glassmaker yelled back. “When I am finished, I am finished and then you shall have it. Not before!”

“Take it.” The first man ordered the other two, waving his hand at them imperiously. “I am done with this stupid argument!”

The two armed men, putting their hands on their weapons, started forward, moving with brisk purpose as the one closer to the glassmaker reached out to shove him aside as he hustled to move to protect his wooden chest from them.

Now, there really was no reason at all to get involved in this commercial transaction, Gabrielle acknowledged. Both sides seemed to have a reason to argue, and if the crafter had committed to something, he probably should have done what he said he was going to do.

No reason, other than the craftsman was outnumbered and unarmed, and she and Xena had both liked him which in the end, was more than enough reason for the two of them and always had been.

She started purposefully towards the man in charge at the same time as Xena outpaced the two soldiers, getting between them and the locked chest in the back in a single smooth, powerful motion that ended with her leaning casually with an elbow against it, one hand on the back of the crafter’s apron pulling him neatly out of the way.

“Hi.” Xena said, staring at the two armed men. “Where do you boys think you’re going?” She yanked the glassmaker to a seat on a crate next to her. “Sit.”

Having little choice he did, grabbing hold of both sides of the crate and steadying himself as he looked from her to the soldiers and back as they awkwardly stumbled to a halt, hesitantly clasping and releasing their weapons hilts.

“Hey hey hey there.” Gabrielle said to the man in charge as he drew in a breath to yell again. She had come up on the other side of him and now got into his field of vision, sweeping her hood down off her head in a slightly exaggerated motion. “Hi, my name’s Gabrielle. What’s yours?”

Across the room the smith took a seat on the top of a barrel, swinging his brawny, booted legs with every evidence of being entertained.  The basket weaver and come over to join him, holding his half-finished tray under one arm.

The man caught his breath, distracted now by both of them. “Who are you, woman? What business do you have here?” He spluttered at Gabrielle.

“No business at all.” Gabrielle told him placidly.  “We’re just visitors here who don’t like people yelling like a banshee.” She tapped his arm. “Did you know we could hear you all the way up by Hercules’s house?”

The two soldiers were now looking over their shoulders at their master needing direction, faced by Xena’s relaxed figure blocking their path to the desired chest.  She had her fingers laced in front of her and her boots crossed at the ankles, a pleasant smile on her face.

The man next to Gabrielle stared at her. “I care not.” He finally said. “The world can hear me for all it matters. It’s not your affair so I bid you good day, lady, and stay out of the way.” He turned back and waved the two men forward. “Patros, Brios, take that chest, and load it on the cart. Finished or not I have paid for the work and will have it.”

The two men exchanged looks and slight shrugs but started forward, halting again when Xena lifted one hand and wagged a finger at them. “Lady, move aside.” The nearer one said, firmly. “This belongs to our master.”

“Nope.” Xena replied, keeping her casual pose. “He says it’s not ready.” She jerked her head towards the glassmaker who was goggling at all of them now with wide eyes. “So back off. You’re not taking it.”

The soldier blinked at her. “You say this?” He asked in an incredulous tone. “Please gentle lady, move aside so we will not have to harm you.. surely you cannot intend to prevent us.”

“I certainly will prevent you.” Xena’s smile deepened, reaching and putting a little sparkle in her eyes. “And you won’t enjoy it.” She added. “Unless you’re into being spanked. Then maybe you will.”  She winked at them mischievously and the two drew in breath, visibly unsure what to make of her.

Gabrielle bit the inside of her lip to keep from laughing.  It had, she realized, of course, never occurred to these two burly, experienced soldiers that they would be faced with an unarmed woman threatening to beat them up and so they really had no idea what to do when presented with it.  

Not an unreasonable reaction, really.  

She tapped the man next to her on the arm again. “She’s right.” She told him. “I know you have no idea who we are but honestly, between you and me, don’t push it.”

The man’s eyes narrowed and he drew a breath in, then stared at her.

Encouraged, Gabrielle continued her pitch. “Listen, that man’s an artist, and if you contracted art from him, you should get your money’s worth and let him finish, right?”

Now the man fully turned and focused on her, since she was closer and a more sympathetic and possibly understandable target. “I have to present this item in the morning. I cannot wait for him to dally any longer over it!”

Gabrielle looked over at the glassmaker and raised one pale eyebrow at him.

“He asked for additional frills, they take time.” The glassmaker promptly supplied, as he spread his hands out a little in a shrug. “You wanted foam on the waves, you asked late, I have them built but yet to frost them.”

Gabrielle looked back at the patrician and directed her raised eyebrow at him instead. “Is that worth waiting for?” She asked. “Sounds like you have a tradeoff to consider here to me. You can take what’s done, but not what you wanted, or wait for what you wanted and asked for and give it the time needed.”

She tiled her head a little in question and waited, keeping her expression open and at least nominally sympathetic, the faintest of smiles on her lips.

The patricians brows knitted and lowered and he stared at her in silence, and she merely kept looking back at him with a mild expression, folding her arms over her chest.  From the corner of her eye she could see Xena watching her, relaxed, but with that tension visible just in case anyone did anything stupid.

The patrician looked over at Xena briefly, and her expression altered a little, as she stared back at him with a smile now more warning than pleasant, that silent projection of threat that even the soldiers saw and edged back a little from.

He shifted back to Gabrielle. “Are you staying with this town’s patron then?” He asked abruptly changing the subject and watching her with an appraising look.  “You mentioned were at his villa earlier.”

“He’s an old friend.” Gabrielle supplied, with a gentle smile. “Yes we are.”

That was enough.  He lifted his hand and let it drop. “Will it be ready by the morning?” He asked the glassmaker, who was sitting with his hands folded on his lap.”

“If you leave me to work and stop wasting my time? Yes.” He answered cheerfully. “You see there?” He pointed at the fireplace, where tools were resting and a block of square substance. “That will be your foam.”

Still, the patrician didn’t immediately respond. He stood there in a deep glower, chewing his lip and taking his time to consider his options.   Gabrielle gave him credit for that, it was a noble face-saving gesture that she’d given him the option of and that he was going to take, drawing out the moment to make it his and showing a keen political acumen.

You had to give people a graceful way to lose if you held all the cards even if you were the only one who truly understood that fact.

“All right.” He finally said. “But when we return in the morning, that’s it. We will take what I paid for.” He snapped his fingers for the guards. “Come.”

Obediently, and with visible relief the guards retreated, and they marched out of the crafter’s hall and disappeared past the open door to the outside.  A moment later, the jingle of harness was heard, and the thud and clop of the animals in motion as they moved off.

Gabrielle walked over and held her fist up to Xena, who chuckled and bumped it with her own. “Pretty scam, Xe.”

Xena rolled her eyes and stuck the tip of her tongue out. “Punks.”  She acknowledged. “Here I was hoping for a good bar fight and what do we get? We get punks.” She glanced at the glass blower. “Hope his frills are worth the hassle.”

The glassmaker’s eyes twinkled.  He got up and moved around her to the chest, and after manipulating the lock he threw the doors open and gestured. “But it is finished.” He said, with a grin.  “I just do not like to be commanded about by anyone.”

Gabrielle looked past him. The beautiful sculpture they had seen before had been augmented, the waves around the horse now embellished on both sides with beautifully lace like froth that glittered in the lamplight. She chuckled, and after a minute Xena joined her.

“What would you have done if we hadn’t shown up?” Gabrielle asked. “Give it to him?”

The man smiled at her, his eyes bright. “I would have toppled that chest to the ground and had it smashed to the sand it comes from, lady.”  He clasped his hands before him. “I do not care to be told what to do.” He added after a brief pause. “Even by paying customers.”

“Me neither.” Xena moved closer to the cabinet and looked in admiration at the embellishments. “Good for you.”

The crafter looked at her. “And would you have fought with them?” He asked. “If they hadn’t backed off their challenge? Those are ruffians, those soldiers. They often browse the market demanding ‘samples’ but they know their business. I’ve seen them fight.”

Xena merely smiled.

“Probably better for everyone then that they backed off. Xena tends to be messy in a fight.” Gabrielle remarked. “Something would have gotten broken and your stuff’s too pretty.”  She glanced around. “Anyway, that’s that.”

“That’s that.” Xena repeated. “Let’s go see what other trouble we can find.” She swung the doors closed on the chest and as she did, the chest moved up and down a little.  She pushed on the top and it bobbled again. “For travel?”

“For the road, yes.” The crafter agreed, fastening the front latch on the chest. “But in these parts also, to protect against the earth shakes.  They are common here, and I do not wish to have everything upset when they strike without warning.”

The smith had wandered over, now that the excitement seemed to be over. “Better not to have such fragile wares.” He remarked, his thumbs set inside the belt of his working apron. It was heat scarred and hardened, the metal of its fastening discolored.  “But it was well done, Mele. Pelogas thinks he buys the maker with the work.”

“Yes, he’s an ass. I saw him trying to get you to move his shoeing ahead of the rest.”  Mele dusted his hands off. “I realize the man is getting married to a high born but that doesn’t mean we all have to help him do so.” He added, with more than a touch of malice.  “Now, where do you ladies intend to progress to? If the pub, perhaps we may escort you.”

The smith nodded at once. “Good to end the day with a mug.” He paused and smiled slightly. “And interesting company.” He added offhandedly. “I enjoyed our talk about folded metal earlier.” He added to Xena.

Gabrielle and Xena didn’t even have to exchange glances. “Absolutely.” Gabrielle responded. “We were going to stop by the inn to see how our shipmates are faring.  By all means lets all go.”  She gestured towards the door, and, with the basket weaver hastening to catch up to them they trooped out the door and closed it behind them.

“It can get a bit rough in the pub.” The smith spoke up as they walked down the path. “Strong ale, they have there.”

“My mother’s an innkeeper back home.” Xena replied. “Her’s is notoriously strong too.  We’ll be fine.”

“Ah.”

Gabrielle straightened her cloak out and pulled up its hood against the chill, suppressing a knowing grin as they strolled along between their unlikely escorts and looked forward to whatever adventure they might find ahead.

**

Continued in Part 9