Her stomach rumbled loudly. - That's going to be a problem, - she conceded to herself. She licked her lips and tasted the salt tang of the sea there, - And we're going to need some water pretty soon. -

She climbed stiffly to her feet and went across to the cave entrance to see if she could get any idea of what the weather was doing outside, and whether or not the Romans were out there searching for them.

She listened carefully, forcing herself to be patient, attempting to hone her sense of hearing as Xena had tried to teach her. She screened out the sound of the waves and the noise of the sea birds as they wheeled in the sky, - At least that means the storm's cleared, - her mind told her, and concentrated on listening for the sounds of men or a search.

Hearing nothing suspicious, she risked pushing the covering bush aside, so that she could gently poke her head out of the cave and around the sheltering boulders. - Still nothing, - she told herself.

Risking a little more, she edged out further, so that she could scan the beach, both north and south, to check in case anyone was searching. She saw nothing except a beautiful golden day, and empty sands. With a long squint down to the south, she could just about make out the remains of the bireme against the camouflaging background of the headland, but there seemed to be no activity there.

Drawing back into the cave, she made certain that the bush was replaced and tried to decide what they should do. She knew that they couldn't remain in the cave indefinitely; they needed food, water and essential supplies like a medical kit and, for her some ink and scrolls, she felt undressed without them.

She crossed the cave to where Autolycus lay, and gently shook his shoulder, "Hey," the bard said, "time to wake up, Autolycus."

Reluctantly the sleep filled eyes opened and slowly focused on the wildly unkempt bard. He smiled gently and murmured, "Now there's a sight for sore eyes."

"Feeling better?" she asked, checking his head to see if he showed any signs of a temperature or chill.

"Well I couldn't have felt any worse," he replied, "could I?"

"Actually ...." the bard began.

"Yeah, I know," butted in the thief quickly, "after yesterday we're lucky that we're not all down with a fever. How's Joxer?" he asked as he stood stiffly and began to pull on his discarded clothes.

"I was just about to check on him," the bard told the thief with a smile. She knelt next to the wannabe warrior and gently felt his cheek, trying to judge his temperature. He was a little warm, which suggested he might be coming down with a cold, but she didn't think that it would be incapacitating.

As she touched his skin, Joxer's eyes fluttered open and a grin split his trusting, if rather foolish, face, "Gabby!" he said enthusiastically, "We're alive!" he winced as a dull hammering registered on his brain, and he put his hand up to feel the makeshift bandage there, "I think," he amended more softly.

Gabrielle looked into Joxer's eyes, trying to judge if the pupils were acting abnormally, but as far as she could tell everything seemed fine. She patted him on his bare shoulder and said with a grin, "You're alive and well, Joxer ... well near enough anyway."

It suddenly registered in Joxer's mind that the bard's hand had touched his bare skin. His face flared a violent shade of red, as he realized that he was almost naked, "Uh, Gabby, turn around," he said nervously as he tried to use his arms to cover some of his bare flesh.

"Oh, c'mon Joxer!" the bard threw her hands up in disbelief, "It's not as though you're totally naked, is it?"

"That's not the point. You shouldn't ... I mean it's not right ... Oh C'mon Gabrielle! Just turn around and give me my clothes," he demanded crimson with embarrassment.

"You're being inconsistent, Gabrielle," butted in Autolycus as he gathered up the other man's clothes and threw them at him, "Here hero," he said snidely, before turning back to the bard, "As I remember you weren't ...."

"Don't you go there, Autolycus," the bard threatened, "it was entirely different and you know it," she accompanied that with one of those 'looks' that she had learned off Xena and the thief was forced to smother a smile.

Joxer quickly shrugged into his dry clothes, but as he pulled his shirt on he exclaimed, "Hey, where'd my sleeves go?!"

"I needed something to bandage your head with," explained Gabrielle, "It was the best thing for the job."

"Oh, right," he replied, slightly mollified. He pulled on his leather jacket and a smile slid across his face, "You know, Gabby, I've just remembered this really neat dream I had."

"What was that, Joxer," she asked absently.

"Well I was laying in this cave, just like just now, only you were laying on the other side of the fire butt na ...."

"Joxer!" the bard whirled on him furiously, crimson staining her cheeks, "I don't want to know that ... and ... and you just better forget it too! Or else." She turned on Autolycus, marched up to him and glaring directly into his eyes, hissed, "Not one word from you," she said punctuating it with a heavy finger to the chest, "Don't even think about discussing his 'dream' with him, or you'll end up with some more broken bones to go with the one you've already got. Is that clear," she jabbed at him with her finger again, noting the thief's wince.

"As crystal," he answered, "But I still say you've got nothing to be ashamed of," he muttered as she turned away. Gabrielle elected to ignore that.

"Look," she started as they all finished re-arranging their attire, "We can't stay holed up here indefinitely," her stomach rumbled loudly once more. She looked at it when she saw her friends doing the same, "That's one reason," she admitted, "another is that we need water, and then we're going to need some other things if we're going to have any hope of keeping clear of the Romans."

"I can't fault her logic so far," the thief grinned at Joxer.

Gabrielle frowned at the interruption, "Anyway," she continued, "I checked on what's happening outside while you two beauties were asleep ..." a vague look came across her face as the phrase sprung something in her bardic muse, "Hey there's a story in there somewhere," she muttered, before shaking her head and returning to business, "The thing is, at the moment it doesn't look like any of the Romans have got off the ship to start looking for us. They may just be too exhausted from the storm, or banged up or perhaps too many of them got washed overboard, but the point is we should use this time to get ourselves off the beach so we can lose them in the countryside."

"She sure talks a good idea," put in Autolycus with a grin, "I wonder if she does that with Xena?"

"Sure, talking's what Gabby does best," smirked back Joxer.

"Uh, guys. Hello," she said waving her hands in front of their eyes, "C'mon fellas, we've gotta work this thing out."

"Oh, I think you've got the right idea Gabrielle," agreed Autolycus mildly. "We've just got one problem."

She looked at him with a question in her green eyes, "What's that?"

The thief reached out and fingered the collar at her neck, "This little problem here. If anyone gets a look at that it's going to draw attention, it's not your average slave collar," he explained, "And if it draws attention and someone gets a look at that inscription, then we're in big trouble."

"Oh!" she murmured unhappily, "I kind of think that's what Caesar had in mind," she admitted. "Is there any way you can get it off?"

"Gabrielle, I'm probably the best thief in the world ... what am I saying!" he said slapping his forehead in mock disgust, "I am the best thief in the world. I can pick any lock given the tools and the time. Unfortunately, this collar hasn't got a lock and," he inspected the metal carefully, "even with good blacksmith tools, I don't think I could get this off. I've seen this type of metal once or twice before. It comes from some ore taken from rocks that sometimes drop out of the sky. It's the hardest metal I know, it's difficult to work and costs a fortune to buy. Even the rivet is made from the stuff. About the only hope we've got of getting this off you is for Hercules to break it off." He thought about it for a moment, "You didn't happen to send him a letter as well did you?"

"No," said the bard unhappily, "So I'm stuck with it, huh?"

"'Fraid so," admitted the thief equally unhappily.

"Could we disguise it?" suggested Joxer. Both of the others turned to look at him, "Erm, I mean if we could wrap what's left of my shirt sleeve around it ... ah, maybe we could make it look like some kind of necklace ... or not," he finished hesitantly.

"Joxer that could be it," muttered Autolycus.

"Joxer that might just be a brilliant idea," agreed Gabrielle at the same time.

"Aw, it was nothing," smirked the pleased man, "You know, just something we great warrior types have to come up with at difficult times like these. Ya see ..." he started to wax lyrical about his gifts.

"Alright Joxer, we haven't got time for all that now," the bard interrupted him. "Here give me a hand doing this. I'd ask Autolycus, but his broken arm would hamper him."

They spent some time carefully folding and wrapping the black cloth from Joxer's shirt sleeve, and winding it around the collar, hiding the knot behind her hair, "What do you think?" she asked the thief when they'd finished.

"Mmm!" he said waggling his hand from side to side, "It covers the metal, but it looks like a disguised slave collar. It needs something else," he glanced down at the remains of the green material from his shirt sleeves, "Try using some of that to over-wrap the black. The green should match your top and make the thing look more like an ornament than it is at the moment."

Joxer spent some more time on carefully wrapping the green cloth around the collar. By the time he'd finished there was definite improvement, with the collar no longer looking quite as suspicious, and rather attractive in black and green stripes.

"You know, that just might work," admitted Autolycus, rubbing his chin thoughtfully, "It's far better than it was anyway," he conceded.

"Well then," smiled the bard, pleased with the outcome, "Let's get going shall we, before the whole of the beach starts to crawl with Romans."

She grabbed her newly acquired staff, and headed for the cave entrance, only to be stopped by the thief, "Let me go first, Gabrielle," he replied to her impatient frown, "I 'sneak' better than you do."

The bard nodded her agreement, and waited impatiently as Autolycus worked his way cautiously out of the cave opening. She heard a cough beside her, "Umm, Gabby?" came Joxer's questioning opening.

"What Joxer?" she asked while trying to keep an eye on the thief for any signs of trouble.

"Umm, well as I'm the warrior here, shouldn't ..."

"No!" snarled Gabrielle, interrupting him.

"You never let me finish," he complained.

"The answer would still be no, Joxer. You don't know how to use a staff well ... I do." she told him firmly.

"But Gabby ...." whined her companion.

"Will you two hold it down," hissed Autolycus over his shoulder, "Geez, it's like babysitting a couple of kids."

Both of them shot him venomous glances, then looking at each other with mutual understanding, turned back to the thief to poke out their tongues and cross their eyes at him, before bursting into a fit of giggles.

"I'll never understand how Xena puts up with them," muttered the thief under his breath, "C'mon," he instructed, "The coast is clear. Lets head north and keep close to the cliff wall. As soon as we can find a way up, we'll take it."

That had been easier said than done. The cliffs were almost sheer along this particular stretch of the coastline and it took them until almost midday to find a narrow, difficult gully that looked as if it might just get them up off the beach to where they could at least find some water. A problem that was becoming pressingly important.

Climbing the gully had proven to be tiresomely difficult. Autolycus was hampered by his broken arm, while Joxer was suffering from the occasional bout of giddiness, caused by the bang he had taken to his head during the swim to shore. Gabrielle was the only really fit one, and even she was tired, thirsty and very hungry. However, being the only one armed and in any condition to scamper around, she took on the duties of scout and checked out the way before them.

It was a long haul, but they finally reached the top of the climb, without any major accidents, "Wait here," instructed the bard, "while I go and check on the lie of the land."

"Don't take any chances, Gabrielle," warned Autolycus.

She flashed him a quick grin, "I won't, just keep out of sight until I get back."

She wasn't gone long and she came back with a grim look on her face, "It's no wonder that we couldn't see the soldiers on the beach," she explained in hurried whispers, "they're searching the cliffs to the south of us. I don't think they've got this far north yet, so we're going to have to make a dash for the woods further along the cliff, and then make our way through there. Just pray to your favourite God that they don't spot us before we get under cover," she told them.

Nodding their agreement, the two men followed the little bard out of the gully, and angled towards the north where an extensive forest lay. They made as much use of the available cover as possible, keeping low and clinging to bushes and the odd tree on their route. They almost made it without any trouble, but just as they made the dash across the last clear piece of ground, they heard a shout from behind them and knew that they had been spotted.