He brooded for a while, turning it all around in his mind as he worked out a more suitable slant on the situation. "I know what they've done ... they were so concerned about rescuing Ephiny and the others that they forgot to tell me that I was in charge of the ship until Nebula gets here!" He grinned. "Well that's alright. I can stand watch up at the wheel and the Amazons can rig the manning," - Hmm! That's not right. - he thought hard, "Oh yeah, man the rigging! That's it!"
Whistling happily, he left the children sleeping peacefully under the watchful eye of Patroclese. Their excess energy having been run off in the rambunctious games they had been playing with him for several candlemarks. He made a detour and found his satchel that held his leather trousers and a new shirt, thinking wistfully about his armour and helmet which he'd had sent back to Greece by courier when the others had insisted he wear something less conspicuous.
Dressed once more in masculine attire, and looking pretty sharp, if the looks he was getting from some of the Amazons were anything to go by, Joxer made his way to the stern, took a deep breath of sea air, before starting to choke. - Over did the breathing bit, - he thought as he thumped himself on the chest to knock out some of the cough. Finally, over the hacking bout, he surveyed his newly claimed kingdom before leaning casually on the wheel only to fall flat on his face as it turned under his weight!
Joxer scrambled back to his feet, pulling his shirt down as he glared around to see if anyone was looking. Satisfied that he was unobserved, and confident that the laughter he heard must be some obscure Amazon joke that they were telling each other, the wannabe warrior, cum pirate captain, tried to relax himself by trying out a new verse to his song!
Feeling much happier with himself, the bumbling warrior patrolled the sterndeck acting how he presumed a piratical captain would. He was enjoying himself immensely and was oblivious to the grins of the Amazon deck hands that stood guard around the rails making sure that the Romans didn't attempt a sneak attack.
Bound up in his fantasies, Joxer saw himself as leading the attack against a Roman trireme, he flourished his invisible sword and muttered, "Avast there, ya scurvy nave! Surrender and I'll spare you and your ship!"
He cocked his head to one side as he listened to the imagined Roman captain's declaration of fighting to the death, before he answered, "Very well, you dog. Joxer the Mighty knows how to deal with you!" Drawing a fresh invisible sword, having forgotten it was already in his hand, Joxer engaged his imaginary opponent in a duel full of verve and flourish as he acted out his daydream.
Forced onto the defensive by his foe, the Mighty Joxer, leapt into the rigging and grabbed a rope to swing across to the foredeck. He intended to beckon his Roman adversary to him and could just imagine the impudent smile that would grace his lips. He'd even worked out just what to say to goad the enemy into rashness.
Having fun, Joxer decided to enact the swing, for real, from the rigging to the deck at the bow. He scrambled inelegantly onto the ship's rail and reached for the rope that he wanted to swing on. As he made his first attempt to grab it, he teetered precariously on the rail, swaying wildly until one of the Amazons grabbed his belt to steady him.
"Thanks Rael," he grinned shyly.
"No problem, O Mighty one," grinned back the young Royal Guard.
"Think you could pass me that rope?" he asked, pointing to the one he'd been trying to reach for.
"Joxer do you think what you're doing is a good idea?" she asked, hesitating to aid the harmless wannabe warrior in something that could get him hurt.
"Oh sure!" he replied confidently, "I've done this kind of thing before. I once spent most of a day swinging through the trees while Xena and Gabrielle were fishing."
Rael looked extremely sceptical. Joxer was kind of an infant in warrior terms and most of the Amazons found him to be a joke and a thoroughly good source of amusement. They really didn't understand how the Queen and the Warrior Princess could be so fond of him. - He's kinda cute, though. - Thought Rael as she tried to decide whether to let him attempt the swing, - In a kind of kicked puppy dog way. - She grinned and handed him the requested rope. - Maybe he'll need help with bandaging his injuries when he's done. -
Taking the offered line, Joxer the 'Cute' proclaimed, "Now watch this!" With that he launched himself out of the rigging and swung across the deck to his intended place of disembarkation.
Maybe things would have been alright. He started off well enough, and looked comfortable hanging onto the rope .. he may even have managed to land his swing without any trouble left to his own devices. Unfortunately at almost the precise moment he started to sail through the air, so did the boulder that was launched by Eponin's inattentive Amazons!
About halfway through the manoeuvre, Joxer became aware that something wasn't quite right. He barely saw the rock drop through the air in front of him, and crash through the deck planking, before he was following after it to land in the battered debris of the ship's mess.
Clutching his head, which he'd managed to give a hard crack on the way down, Joxer looked around at the damage and realised instantly that the rock was teetering precariously on a heavy oak table that looked about ready to give up it's battle, with the damage inflicted upon it, and collapse.
"NO!" shouted Joxer as he realised one of the slave children was frozenly staring at the precarious boulder and was right beneath it should it fall.
Without a moments thought the lionhearted warrior leapt forward knocking the child out of harms way, just as the table gave up the struggle, leaving the rock to fall directly onto Joxer.
Nebula had guided the four Amazons with her to where the ship's boat had been left and the five women quickly boarded, heading back towards 'Wave Dancer', which remained unmoving out between the two watch towers. With the Amazons manning the oars, the pirate captain guided the rudder and steered a straight course for her vessel.
As they neared their destination, all of the women were aware of the disturbance being caused by Joxer's pantomime. The Amazons grinned at the playful antics, recognizing the harmlessness in the man. Nebula, however, frowned. She didn't like anyone mucking around with, or on, her ship and she was determined to put the would be hero straight on that particular score.
Her irritation grew as she saw Joxer launch himself from the rigging, clearly trying to impress the young guard who seemed torn between watching over him and casting sheep's eyes at the man. - The gods preserve us from fools and adolescent girls! - her mind snapped waspishly.
She watched the fool's progress as he swung across the deck and her mind had enough time to comment nastily, - He'll be lucky if he doesn't break his thick head! - before she realised that he was on a collision course with a large object tumbling rapidly out of the sky. "What in Tartarus ..." she managed to get out before she heard the splintering crash as the rock hit her ship.
"Damn it to Hades!" she began to curse as a second boulder fell from the sky, striking the prow of the rowing boat and crushed the woodwork like so much crumpled parchment. "Swim for the ship" she yelled before finding herself treading water along with her four companions.
Luckily they were close enough to 'Wave Dancer" to reach it within a few energetic strokes, or the Amazons .. encumbered as they were by their 'borrowed' Roman uniforms, would likely have shared the fate of the row boat and sunk without a trace. As it was the heavy accoutrements hampered them severely and made scaling the ship's side a test of endurance in the wet gear.
Nebula scrambled up the side ropes, without any undue trouble, as soon as she was certain her companions were safe. She was immediately drawn to the concentration of Amazons around the foredeck and crossed to them with the easy stride of an experienced mariner. Pushing her way through the crowd she hissed in exasperation when she saw the crater like hole in the decking of her beloved ship.
"Are the children still in there?" demanded the pirate as she peered into the dark hole that opened up into the mess.
"Yes," came the tense voice of Berra who had been left in charge on the ship. "I've sent a group down to get in there and get them out." They could hear groaning now, and childish whimpering, as well as banging on the mess door.
"Anyone else in there besides the children?" demanded Nebula.
"The healer was in there, I think ... and Joxer followed that rock through the deck."
"I saw that," growled the captain. "Get a rope and a lantern .. I want to get down there and see just how much damage we've got and how many injured." From the time it was taking the rescue group to get in to help the injured, it seemed likely that the door had been blocked by the debris.
As Nebula waited for the rope and light, she cast speculative glances at the tower from which the missiles had come. All seemed quiet there now, so it seemed likely that either the Roman ballista crews had been subdued before they could launch further boulders, or there had been an accident up there. If it was the second case there were some Amazons with some serious explaining to do! - Hades! - she swore to herself, - either way they've got some explaining to do! -
The rope arrived and was quickly tied off to the deck rail. "Lower the lantern down to me when I call for it," she instructed as she carefully dropped herself into the darkness of the damaged mess. "Okay!" she called, reaching up for the light which rushed to fill the blackness with the soft glow that shone from it.
Nebula slowly swung her eyes over the demolished area of the ship. In the soft light of the lamp she found terrified young faces scattered around the edges of the room. She saw Patroclese wedged under a fallen beam that was also keeping the door tightly closed. Joxer was trapped beneath the boulder that had done the damage. Catching the eye of one of the older children she called softly, "What's your name, boy?"
"M..Mattin, mistress," had come the shaky reply.
"Just call me cap'n, son," she smiled encouragingly. "None of you are slaves any more."
"Yes mist ... umm cap'n," replied the boy with a nervous smile.
Nebula moved carefully over to him, trying not to disturb any of the wreckage in case any of the children were trapped beneath it. "Are you hurt, Mattin?" she asked, looking critically at the blood trickling down the side of his face.
"N .. no, Cap'n," he replied bravely. "Just cuts and bruises I think."
"Good lad," she flashed him a pearly white smile. Do you think you can start collecting all your friends, who aren't hurt bad, over there, under the hole for me?" she indicated with a jut of her chin.
"Sure thing!" agreed the youth, anxious to be doing something.
Nebula moved carefully to where Joxer lay unconscious and checked his pulse, "Well he's alive," she muttered, trying to figure out how he ended up underneath the rock when he followed the stone through the deck. She heard Mattin moving around carefully, collecting some of the older children, who in turn set about gathering up the younger ones. The pirate moved across to Patroclese and checked on him, "Still breathing," she nodded to herself.
Standing up she called to the waiting Amazons, "I want Sheraya down here along with a couple more lanterns, and four of your strongest. We've got a lot of damage and debris to sort out. The kids seem generally okay, but Joxer and Patroclese look to be in a bad way."
Within moments, Nebula's requirements were met and the Amazons began passing the children up through the hole to be wrapped in blankets and checked over for anything more than cuts and bruises. While that was being attended to, Sheraya began to check out just how badly injured the two men were.
Eponin gritted her teeth in pain and frustration. It had been decided that Karrelli should command the rear guard as Eponin would have the most difficult time in climbing back down to the boat .. even though they had strung ropes to make the descent easier and faster. So now the Weapons Master waited at the boat, ears sharp listening to the sounds of fighting taking place above them.
Before she had made the climb down she had 'suggested' that the scout block the stair access by tumbling a catapult down it. If it was timed right she'd be able to take out a few of the enemy garrison as well as establishing a difficult obstacle that could well mean the difference between getting all the Amazons out in one piece, and taking casualties.
"Okay, Poni," Karrellie had agreed. "Now get down the rope before I get a couple of the girls to carry you down." Then she'd turned away before giving Eponin the time to find an appropriate retort, and made busy putting the Weapons Master's defence plan into action.
Shaking her head in frustration, Eponin had reluctantly left Karrellie to get on with things as she had carefully lowered herself back down to the foot of the tower, cursing at the agony caused by her ribs as they pulled and grated under the strain.
Now only Karrellie and four others remained within the fortification. The sound of clashing swords was sporadic and the Weapons Master could see no valid reason why the rest of her warriors had not rejoined those waiting below. She knew that she was being impatient, and that the scout would not endanger anyone unnecessarily, but that didn't make her any less fidgety.
She was just in the throes of contemplating climbing back up to see what was taking so long, when the last five Amazon's rappelled swiftly down the ropes with Karrellie shouting a warning, "They're coming out to look for us. Get ready to fight."
The warrior in Eponin took over and she quickly organised her troops, picking out eight sisters to use bows to cut down any Romans that were foolish enough to rush blindly around the edge of the fortification. The other eight, including herself and those with Karrellie, were to stand ready with swords until they got the chance to get safely into the boat and back to the ship.
Within moments of the scout's warning, the Roman's came running around the edge of the watchtower and down the sharply inclined slope to the jetty. The first five were cut down by a volley of Amazon shafts, but another twenty or so pressed on, carried forward by the momentum of their running and the steep path that they traversed.
Eponin and the others stepped forward to meet the onslaught, while the archers sought to pick off targets towards the rear of the Roman advance, intent upon helping their sisters as much as possible without endangering them with the prospect of friendly fire accidents.
The song of steel on steel soon engulfed the small landing area as the Amazons battled against the angry Romans. Always ready for battle, the Amazons fought with a joy that was alien to the dour regimented tactics of the legions that had served them so well against the peoples that they had conquered. The women warriors, however, were unlike the barbarian hordes that the soldiers were used to. Where the Celtic and Germanic tribes were a group of magnificent individual fighters, the Amazons combined brilliant individual combat skills with the tight cohesion of an army trained to fight as a unit.
The garrison troops, although they outnumbered the Amazons, quickly found themselves in major difficulty. Cut down on the flanks by a deadly rain of missile fire and assaulted from the front by death dealing swords, the Romans were soon forced to pull back, up the difficult slope, to await fresh reinforcements as the rest of the garrison slowly rumbled into action.
Taking short laboured breaths, Eponin watched the retreat and was pleased to note that none of her warriors were pulled into a pointless pursuit. Their training held and they remained a tight fighting unit. A quick glance around assured her that none of her sisters had been mortally wounded, although several showed evidence of taking hits.
Deciding that they should have enough time to get everyone aboard the rowboat before the Romans mustered the courage to return to the fray, the Weapons Master barked her orders, "All wounded into the boat now. As soon as they're safely aboard, everyone else retreat back to the boat in an orderly fashion so that we can get the Hades away from here and back to the ship!" She took a deeper breath and winced at the resulting pain, "Alright ladies! Move!"
With well oiled proficiency, the Amazon contingent carried out their commander's instructions, although Karrellie frowned when she saw that Eponin had no intention of including herself amongst the injured. Once the wounded were settled, the rest of the warriors swiftly withdrew, the Weapons Master and scout being the last to enter the boat.
"Let's get the oars out and pull for the ship, ladies!" instructed Poni, her eyes watching the Roman position carefully. She didn't like the way they had allowed them to withdraw so easily. "The quicker we're away from here the better," she muttered almost inaudibly.
As the boat began to move away from the jetty, the Romans came out of their cover and ran down to the water's edge, several carrying bows. They formed up on the river bank and arrows started to wing their way out across the short expanse of water seeking Amazon targets.
"The fornicating sons of Bacchii!" swore Eponin roundly, "Pull, damn you. Get us out of their range."
Soft thunks bore testament to the arrows hitting and embedding into the wood of the boat. Then there was a groan behind her as an arrow found its mark followed by another two yelps of pain. The Weapons Master glanced to see if any of the wounds were life threatening, but the injuries amounted to a grazed biceps and a winged shoulder and thigh.
Satisfied that all was well, Poni started to turn back to check on their progress away from the shore when she felt a burning lance of agony shear into her side. She had enough time to look down at the feathered shaft protruding from her body and swear softly, "Hera's tits!" before she keeled over to lay still in the bottom of the boat.
