Pulling her eyes away from the wide river, the Warrior Princess cast a look back towards the deck of the ship where her friends were scattered individually and in groups. Gabrielle and Ephiny were deep in further conversation about the domestic crisis that the Amazons were currently experiencing. Iolaus and Toris were laughing about something and casting careful glances at Nebula who was too busy concentrating on her navigation tasks to notice. Hercules had taken a solitary post on the starboard bow, while Autolycus was prowling the port bow.

She sighed softly. The thief and the demi-god had not come to terms about their quarrel. They studiously avoided occupying space closer than fifteen feet apart, and neither of them would talk about what the problem was. The Amazons seemed bemused about the sudden rift in the tight group of companions that had set off to rescue the Queen and her champion, but Xena, Gabrielle and, by association Ephiny, were fairly sure just where the problem lay ... so to speak.

The dark warrior shook her head in perplexity. - How do I end up with these problems? - she asked herself. She was willing to admit that she was flattered by the attention, regard .. - And, alright, dammit! Love! - that the two very different men offered. But she knew that she was far from ready to settle down with anyone. - I have too much to do .. so much to atone for .. and okay, I'm too restless to stay in one place for long. Being a wife and maybe .. a mother, - she swallowed hard as guilt brought the familiar grief associated with the loss of Solan. - Maybe one day .. but not yet! No! Not yet! -

She would be glad to get to Amphipolis. The tension on the ship was palpable, what with Hercules and Autolycus, the Amazons and their problems, along with the game that Nebula was playing with Iolaus and her brother, Xena guessed that all it would take was some little spark for them all to explode like a barrel of Greek fire! That consideration aside, she was also anxious to see her mother.

She knew that Cyrene would be worrying about both her and Toris and the Warrior Princess felt guilty about subjecting the long suffering woman to more anguish. It had been several moons since her brother had left Amphipolis and none of the rumours about her fate, that were bound to have reached home, would have done anything to allay the innkeeper's fears. So Xena knew that for her mother to be satisfied that all was well with her daughter, she would have to spend some time at the inn.

It was not something she was going to particularly enjoy. She desperately needed time on her own, away from the prying, invasive eyes of others .. even if it was the concerned eyes of friends. - Well alone accept for Gabrielle, - she acknowledged. There would be no possible way that the bard would agree to be separated from her for the foreseeable future after all that they had been through. And to be honest, she thought that it would be likely that Caesar's bounty would be withdrawn, so there was no real reasons for Gabrielle not to be at her side.

Her thoughts turned to the Roman and the light in her eyes hardened making her countenance grim. Her old nemesis had added much to the account between them and she was determined that he would pay in full when the time came. The bounty, that had started this last little chapter in their history, would surely be withdrawn because Xena was almost certain that Caesar would need every dinar he had to plough into his dispute against Pompey.

It seemed to her that the Roman's conflict was certain to escalate now. Caesar had had too many victories and was gaining too much ground with the senate. If Pompey didn't act soon, he would lose what support he had, which would result in Caesar gaining pre-eminence and total domination in the city and lead, ultimately, to Pompey's death as a rebel or a traitor to Rome .. whatever trumped up charge that Caesar could contrive.

- No Pompey has to act very soon, - she told herself. - Which means that Caesar will not have the money to waste on tracking me or Gabrielle down, so we should be free from Roman interference in our lives ... at least for the time being. -

Her thoughts returned to Amphipolis. - We have to stay there at least until those Amazons bring Argo there, - she mused. - It might not be too bad. The Amazons at least will head back to Themiscyra .. well except for Poni and most likely Sheraya. Ep's going to need more time for healing before she travels far, and I don't imagine Sheraya will abandon her patient. - A rather annoyed look creased her brow at the thought of the stubbornly insistent healer being around her for longer than necessary, but it gradually faded as she told herself, - Yeah but as soon as those Amazons get there with Argo, I'm out of there, - she smiled beatifically, - While Poni has to put up with Sheraya until they get back to Themiscyra! -

"That is a particularly evil look you have in your eye, warrior," growled Gabrielle as she moved beside her friend.

Xena gave her an arched eyebrow and then asked, "Finished your royal discussions with Eph?" knowing that it would not divert the bard in the least.

"Yes .. and the Amazons will be heading home as soon as we dock. I don't think Amphipolis and your Mother is ready for a major Amazon invasion .. you're always enough of a shock to them!" tweaked the younger woman, getting a mock punch in the arm for her temerity. "Hey!" she objected rubbing her arm with injured pretense.

"Ahhh!" came the return with a notable lack of sympathy from her warrior partner.

Playing the game Gabrielle gave her a manufactured glare, "So just what was it that brought that evil glint to your eye, O great Warrior Princess?" she demanded.

Xena grinned, "I was just thinking that Ep's not going to be in any state to travel for a few days at least."

"Yeah, Eph was just wondering if Cyrene will mind having a wounded Amazon warrior for a guest. I told her it wouldn't be a problem .. especially as she can pay for the room with good Roman gold acquired in those fights that Hercules won!"

The dark warrior chuckled, "Have you seen the size of that strongbox? They'll need all those warriors just to get it back to Amazon land safely. I think your treasury, your majesty, is about to get a major boost!"

"Yeah, well," grinned Gabrielle, "It'll give the Amazons some security for a while. It takes the pressure off the harvest and means they can buy essentials, or even a few luxuries, should they need to." She gave her friend a quizzing look, "However, you still haven't explained that gleam you had in your eye, and Poni staying at your mother's inn isn't the whole story."

Xena grinned at her, "You're right there. I was just thinking about the fact that Sheraya isn't going to abandon a wounded Amazon in Amphipolis .. I presume she'll be staying there too?"

"Naturally," affirmed the bard, raising an eyebrow of her own as the warrior chuckled once more. "What?" she demanded.

The Warrior Princess gave her a wicked look, "Oh I was just musing over the fact that Ep's gonna have Sheraya all to herself .. I almost wish I could see it!"

"Xena, you are so bad!" admonished the younger woman trying hard to keep the grin off her own face.

"What?" demanded the raven haired woman, "You mean you don't think it's a fitting repayment for all of the snide comments, digs and flat out taunting I've had to endure from her while you and that Amazon gorgon had me confined to that bed!"

"That's not nice, Xena," admonished the bard trying not to laugh.

"Nor is the Amazon gorgon!" pouted the warrior. "It's bad enough being bullied by you ...."

"Excuse me!" interrupted the honey blonde, "All I did was hold you to a promise you made me. It's not my fault that you can't be trusted to look after yourself!"

The Warrior Princess couldn't resist grinning at her friend as she continued to tease, "As I said, bullied me!"

"Xena!" complained the bard delivering a backhand slap to her warrior friend's muscular stomach.

"What?" growled the other woman grinning impudently, before drawing her friend in for a quick hug and saying softly, "Did I ever thank you for being a bully?"

Gabrielle relaxed in the unexpected and unusual display of affection from her friend. Xena tended to be very economical with her hugs .. oh she'd gotten better over the seasons, she no longer shied away from the bard's gentle touch and could be cajoled into giving a hug when the younger woman was in need of comfort, which was a relief for Gabrielle who willingly admitted to being a touchy feelly type of person. Then, sometimes .. when the mood struck her .. the warrior would reach out and just give a hug to let her partner know that she loved and appreciated her for all of the sour moods she took in her stride and for caring enough to remain with a 'moody, psychotic, half mad and all dangerous ex-warlord' as she often described herself. It was something that made the bard feel everything was worthwhile.

"Nope!" she finally replied, "You never did."

The warrior smiled gently and kissed the top of her friend's head before saying quietly, "Thank you, Gabrielle. Thank you for caring enough about me to bully me into taking the time to get over my injuries. Thank you for being my friend and partner ... and thank you for not deserting me to Caesar's mercies, even though I deserved nothing more."

The bard sighed and allowed herself a moment more in the protecting arms of her friend before twisting out of them to confront her with a sad stare, "Xena, when are you going to forgive yourself? You have changed .. you're not the person you were and no one ... no one, not even the Destroyer of Nations, deserves to be left in Caesar's hands," she admonished.

The warrior turned away and looked across to the bank of the river, remaining silent for so long that the younger woman didn't think that she was going to get an answer. Finally the raven tressed warrior shook her head and said softly, "It's too soon to abandon the guilt I feel for the deaths of the people who fell at my hand and the hands of my army. For the people who died because they couldn't survive after their men were killed and their stocks plundered."

She held her long fingered hands up before her and stared at them seeing something that no one else could, "I once told Hercules that I had so much blood on my hands that I'd never get them clean .. and that was so true."

The bard reached out and closed her friend's hands with her own, willing the blue eyes of the Warrior Princess to look at her and once they did she told her firmly, "That was another person, Xena. YOU have changed. You just have to accept that."

The warrior looked deep into the greenish blue eyes of her bard, "I don't think I can do that, Gabrielle. I'm not sure I'll ever believe that."

The younger woman fought her emotions to stop a tear from sliding down her cheek. The depth of self inflicted pain that the Warrior Princess carried around with her was so immense that she sometimes wondered how she could bear the weight of it. Instead of crying she smiled, her face full of confident assurance, "Don't worry!" she told her partner, "I have enough belief for both of us."

Xena gave her a wry smile, "Of that I have no doubt, bard." She reached out a hand to cup the honey blonde's cheek, before sliding it down to gently finger the silver collar, a match for the one that encircled her own neck.

"Are we going to be able to get these off, Xena?" asked Gabrielle, a worried note creeping into her voice.

"We'll have some time once we get into Amphipolis to work out a way to get rid of them. Hercules will help. We can't go anywhere until your Amazons turn up with Argo," came the reply.

"Lasca and Jade are good warriors," assured Gabrielle. "I know they're young, but they're eager to help and they've got Karrellie and Hakine along with them to keep an eye on them. They'll get Argo back safe and sound .. they'll be here before you know it."

"They better be," grumped the Warrior Princess unhappily. "I would have still preferred to collect her myself ... and if they don't take good care of her ...." she left the threat unfinished.

The bard shook her head in exasperation, "Xena you know you weren't fully recovered enough to go and get Argo! She'll be fine .. and don't go frightening the Amazons .. we have enough trouble in that area without you adding to it .. right?" she poked her partner in the ribs.

"Right!" grumbled the warrior unconvinced.

"C'mon," Gabrielle tried changing the subject, "Lets go pack our gear .. we'll soon be in Amphipolis."

Xena looked quizzically upriver and nodded her head in agreement, "Fine," she said. "Let me get into my armour ... I want to make sure that I look presentable when I get there."

"Fraud," chided the bard good naturedly, "You just want to make sure that the entire town knows it's you!"

The dark warrior grinned,"Busted, huh?"

"Yup! Big time," agreed the Amazon Queen as they made their way below deck.

Pagasae was a thriving community that held a sheltered position in a picturesque, almost landlocked bay in the Thessaly area. The town had access to good farming and grazing, the fishing was excellent and, being a coastal community, the sea trade routes were open to them as well. All in all, it was one of the wealthiest small towns that the trader knew of.

Breathing deeply of the sea air, the merchant looked appreciatively at the growing crowd of suckers .. erm customers that were flocking to the town’s main market square. He happily set up his portable table and set out his wares, certain that this was the day that he would make enough money to invest in the land deal that he had his eye on down near Athens.

The little earthenware jugs clinked with a solid, comfortable sound as he set them out on his stall to make an attractive and enticing display of his goods. He knew that they looked eye-catching and intriguing, he'd had them painted bronze and highlighted with an almost silver like pigment that made the little clay pots appear to be something better than they were.

All in all he was quite happy with his latest get-rich-quick scheme. There was no way he could fall foul of the locals, no one was going to get hurt .. himself especially he fervently hoped. There was no local raider activity, no known heroes in the vicinity, and as far as he remembered, he hadn't been to this area in years so no one should remember him from any of his past failed schemes.

An almost beatific smile graced his bearded countenance as he faced his public ready to give them the spiel that he'd worked out in a few much smaller villages as he perfected his patter on unsuspecting, and largely innocent, populations where he was less likely to encounter major harm should something go wrong. Up until now, nothing had, and so he had determined to try his product and his selling technique on a far larger and much wealthier group of buyers.

Taking a deep breath he began calling in his marks in a loud, confident voice, "Gather round, folks, gather round. Step right up so that you can hear all about the miracle tonic of the age!" He picked up one of the small jugs and slapped it proudly, "Yes! Here in my hand I hold a wonder of modern medicine. This little vessel holds a mighty elixir that is guaranteed to make all those worrying aches and pains go away and make you feel at least ten times better than normal!" he proclaimed enthusiastically.

"What is it? A way to get rid of mother-in-laws?" laughed a raucous voice from somewhere in the crowd.

"Nah!" answered another, "It's exotic spices to improve the wife's cooking!" encouraging titters from the crowd.

"Yeah? Well you better buy his whole inventory, Damastocles, because your wife's cooking could sure use some help!" commented another wit, bringing a much bigger laugh from the crowd.

"Friends! Friends!" grinned the trader, calling attention back to himself, "I'm sure the gentleman's wife is a far better cook than she's given credit for ... and if she isn't, well a sip of 'Hippocrates' Health Tonic', before and after the meal, is just the thing to make it seem like a kings feast!"

That got their attention and one helpful person asked just the question he was looking for, "Just what is this Hipp .. Hip .. Hoorum," coughed the woman, "Health tonic? And what's it made from?"

"Ah, dear lady. This special elixir is made from a secret recipe known only to the great healer Hippocrates and a few other select people. It's said that Aesculapius himself whispered the secrets of the formula to the great healer and entrusted him to see that it would benefit mankind," he told them confidentially.

The excited murmuring that accompanied that piece of information buzzed around the crowd in muted whispers that made the trader certain that he was going to have a very, very good day of selling here. He could almost count the dinars as they racked up in his mind and he just hoped that he had enough stock on hand to cope with the demand. He frowned as a voice from the back of the crowd yelled something to dampen the spirits of his buyers.

"How do we know it's safe to drink?"

The bearded trader saw grudging nods and concern on many people's faces. Smiling easily, having experienced the suspicious nature of peasants before, "Choose someone from amongst you that you all trust and then that person can pick a container and I'll drink from it," he assured them. "There is nothing to harm you here, my friends."

An old woman was picked and she pointed to a jug no different from the ones that surrounded it. Invisible sparkles flew from her finger tip and coalesced around the container before seeping into it through the cork, "That one," croaked the crone decisively.

Smiling, the salesman lifted the jug with a flourish. He pulled the cork, cutting through the silent expectation with an audible "POP!", and took a long swallow of the liquid inside. Smacking his lips with unassumed relish .. the stuff was after all quite tasty .. "There, my friends ... absolutely wonderful .. what more can I say?" He noticed some worried looks from the crowd. "What's the matter?" he asked.

"Is your hair supposed to do that?" asked a young woman.

"Do what?" he asked mystified, putting his hand up to feel his head and bringing it away clutching a thatch of his hair. "Ah ... hmmm ... errr," he huffed beginning to panic.

"It's all a con!"

"Looks like it backfired on him!"

"Serves him right!"

Came the comments from the people as they walked away from the stall snickering nastily as the trader's hair and beard pooled around his shoulders. The luckless man stood there staring in disbelief at the jugs, - What in Hades just happened? - he wondered to himself in shocked awe, running tentative fingers over his bald pate.

"Don't sweat it studmuffin!" came a very familiar voice from the lips of the crone who had remained standing alone before the stall.

"This is a nightmare," muttered the man. "Any minute now I'm going to wake up in my nice warm bed and find out I've been dreaming." He said slapping his hand over his eyes knocking loose his eyebrows.

"Betcha won't slick!" grinned the old woman toothlessly.

Spreading his fingers apart, the salesman gave the woman a hard look before whispering, "Aphrodite?"

The figure morphed into the delightfully nubile image of the Goddess of Love in her habitual pink negligé, "Got it in one, Sal!" she giggled.

Salmoneus groaned, looked up at the sky and wailed, "Why me?"

"Because I know I can trust you to do me an incy wincey favour," she wheedled.

He looked at her incredulously, "You've got to be kidding! After what you've just done to me?"

Aphrodite pouted at him, "I can make it worth your while," she told him.

"How?" demanded the portly salesman as he hurriedly started to pack up his merchandise.

"I can give you back your hair," she grinned.

"Which I just lost because of you," he answered her snidely.

The goddess draped herself alluringly over Salmoneus' table, "I could rock your world, Studmuffin!" she told him leaning forward so that her breath tickled his ear.

The salesman looked at her with almost uncontrollable desire, but his thwarted financial instincts were putting up a valiant rearguard action. "I .. erm .. I .. uh!" He took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and said in a squeaky voice, "No! You just lost me a fortune here, Aphrodite."

"That's way harsh, Salmoneus .. I did that for the best reasons," she pouted.

"Best reasons!" his voice raised an octave, "Best reasons? Making my hair fall out was for the best reasons? Alright, O great Goddess of love! What reasons?" he demanded as he stuffed the last of his inventory into a large pair of sacks that he then hefted across the back of a donkey.

"Your friend, the warrior babe, and her tag along bard .. well they got into some way uncool mess with some Roman dude called Caesar and have spent the last three moons or so as his personal property." she explained.

That brought the salesman to a stop and he softly exclaimed, "Xena!" before shaking his head sadly, "I can't do anything to help them .. I'm a merchant, not a fighter .. go find Hercules. He'll rescue them."

"Done deal, slick!" the goddess told him smugly.

"What do you need me for then?" asked Salmoneus, intrigued in spite of his determination not to be.

"Well while Caesar had them, he had these slave collars put on them that even Hercola can't break open. It's a real bummer!" she sighed.

"Must be if Hercules can't do anything about them," he agreed, worried about his friends.

She grinned at the look on his face knowing that the hook was set. "There's a way to help them," she told him. "The Hercster just needs to borrow a couple of Hephy's tools and with his strength and their forging he'll be able to like junk the hunks of tin around their throats."

He gave her a sharp look, "Then why don't you just give them to Hercules?" he questioned.

"Weeell," she shrugged, "Ares wigged out on us and made me and Heph promise not to give the tools directly to Hercules, or Xena, or anyone with them."

"Ares!" the chubby man exclaimed. "You want me to go against Ares? Have you lost you mind?"

"Chill mortal or we'll be talking big time retribution here!" she warned him.

"Okay, okay," he tried to placate her, "Don't do anything hasty!" He gave her a careful look, "So what's with Ares anyway?"

Aphrodite shrugged uncomfortably, "He had something on me and so got a promise from me .. but it didn't include getting an unconnected mortal to take the things to the guys!" She could see that he remained to be convinced. "Look. All you've gotta do is give the things to Herc. I'll set you and your," she looked hard at the donkey, "your friend down just outside Amphipolis ...."

"Amphipolis, but that's miles from here or anywhere!" he complained.

"I'll even erase the memory of the people here so you can do your selling thing when you hit town again," she promised.

"You're forgetting something," he prompted scratching his chin meaningly.

"Yadda, yadda!" she acknowledged with a wave of her hand restoring his hirsute finery, "So will you do this itsy little thing for me, studmuffin?"

Salmoneus gave her a long look before answering, "No. I won't do it for you," he told her with a shake of his head. "But I will do it for Xena and Gabrielle."

Aprhodite didn’t quite know whether to frown or smile at his acceptance of her task, so instead, after she had handed over the tools of Hephestus, she settled for a wave of her hand that sent the travelling salesman on his way to Amphipolis in a cloud of pink sparkles. She grinned at the thought of the fifteen mile walk he'd have to make to get to the town, "That'll teach him to mess with me!" she mock growled as she took a quick look around the square before announcing, "Later!" to no one in particular.