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

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

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

"What now?" questioned Toris between panted breaths.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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