Disclaimers on part 1.
New Territory
by LZClotho
originally written September 1997
CHAPTER FOUR
Xena and Gabrielle came to the village without incident, and Gabrielle exclaimed aloud at the sight of burnt out homes and scattered, dead livestock. "Who did this?" she asked the warrior as they dismounted and began the task of trying to find someone, anyone, among the wreckage.
Xena shook her head. "I don't recognize any pattern. Must be a new group trying to make a name for itself over here." She pointed to a squat building that seemed reasonably intact. "You check in there." She untied Gabrielle's staff from Argo's saddle and tossed it to her. "And be careful."
Gabrielle smiled as she caught the Amazonian gift. "You too." She watched Xena walk to a nearby hut and start moving the burnt wood aside in an effort to get within. Now Gabrielle turned to the building she'd been given to search. It was a small mudbrick structure, and thus only looked to be damaged by smoke. She stepped through an entryway that must have at one point been a wooden door.
She was in a small alcove and looked around for a way to turn. There was an opening to the right she ducked through. Now, as her eyes adjusted to the dimmer light here, she was startled. "Xena! I found them! Xena!" Her eyes welled with tears.
The warrior was at her side before Gabrielle could turn around and run back out to fetch her. She looked past Gabrielle and grabbed the bard's head and shoulders, pulling her against her chest for solace. The warrior groaned. "Is this everyone?" she asked quietly.
Gabrielle looked back over her shoulder and bit her lip. "Looks like a lot of them. But someone had to bring them in here. Raiders don't clean up after themselves."
Xena nodded. "Well, let's find that person. Or whoever. We've got a lot of work ahead of us."
Gabrielle and Xena remained close as the two women searched the rest of the building for signs of a living being. Each woman avoided looking at the roomful of laid out bodies, each wrapped in burial cloths, ready for interment.
They found a young man about Gabrielle's age coming from the southeast. He had a shovel in one hand and a pickaxe in the other. Gabrielle approached him first, stepping from the building's shadows.
"Hello," she began. The young man jumped.
"Who are you?" He looked beyond her to the squat building. "Why are you here? There's nothing left to raid."
Gabrielle nodded. "We know. I'm Gabrielle." She motioned Xena forward. "This is my friend Xena. Can you tell us where the men went who did this?"
The young man took in the measure of the warrior and stepped back. "I was off hunting for a deer to offer for Myria's hand. I only saw their backs as they rode away." The young man looked around. "Everything was in flames."
Xena nodded and stepped forward, noting Gabrielle's smile of support. "So you cleaned up everything and just now?"
"I was getting burial plots ready." He lifted the shovel and pickaxe briefly before his arms sagged to his side once more. "That's our temple, to Zeus. I figured the bodies would be safe in there until I returned."
Xena nodded again. "You were right. Even raiders don't defile temples." Xena started looking around the dirt. "Do you remember which way the raiders rode when they left?"
The young man pointed northwest. Xena nodded. "I'll find them," she said. "Gabrielle, I'll get Argo. You see if you can't help - " She looked meaningfully at the young man.
"I'm Handel."
Gabrielle stepped forward again. "Well, Handel, let's see what's next? How about some food for you?"
The bard led Handel away from Xena. The warrior went to fetch her horse and follow the raiders' trail out of town.
It was nearing dusk when Xena found the raiders' camp. She still didn't recognize the standard. A new threat to the region. Well, they won't be around long enough to try this again, she thought, studying the encampment, looking for the best surprise entrance.
It was becoming too dark now to take on a full assault herself. But, she grinned. Nothing says I can't take out a few sentries. She crept around to one of the sentry posts and snuck up behind a bearded man in only brass-studded leather armor and helmet. She leapt in silence landing in front of him with her sword drawn and already at the ready.
When he charged her, though he could barely make out her form in the fading light, she permitted herself to engage the battle. She needed quiet and she needed control. After seeing all those bodies, and the grief on Gabrielle's face, as well as the weariness of the sole survivor, Xena desired revenge on their behalf. But if she gave into it. Only the gods knew what would happen.
There was a quick series of parries and thrusts, finally Xena's blade found its mark, deep in the sentry's chest, cutting off his air before he could scream. In silence, she stole away from the scene.
Gabrielle greeted Xena when the warrior returned. She looked over her friend critically. "Everything all right?"
"I found their camp." She studied Handel who was dozing on a bed in the anteroom of the temple. "They're small. Only about 50 men in the whole party, but I'd like to get rid of them before they do this again."
Gabrielle sighed. She knew what Xena meant by 'get rid of them.' "Xena, can't we just find an Athenian detachment and send them here to arrest them?"
"The nearest Athenian detachment is posted back on the other side of the mountains. We're on our own here."
Gabrielle nodded. "I understand."
Xena put a hand on Gabrielle's shoulder. "I think I can do this quietly. But it will take a few days to whittle down their numbers before I can face the rest at once."
Gabrielle hugged Xena. "I know you'll do it quickly."
"Help Handel here while I'm busy, okay?"
"No problem." Gabrielle traced a finger over Xena's cheek. "Remember to watch your back."
Xena smiled. "I will."
That night, Xena took out two more sentries at the camp. In the dawning light the raiders found their dead compatriots. The Warrior Princess kept her vigil. But the raiders did not yet come looking for the killer of their friends.
She crouched in a bush, thinking about lots of things, notably her last conversation with Gabrielle. The green-eyed bard had seemed to acknowledge the battle within Xena without saying a word. What a gift to me, Xena thought.
With those in the camp busy burying their dead, her mind returned briefly to the odd experience at the waterfall two days before. Marcus? She asked in silence. What am I doing thinking of her this way? No answers were forthcoming, so Xena returned to her work.
Back in the village, which Gabrielle had finally learned was called Notch, Gabrielle and Handel were moving bodies to the graves dug the previous day. Handel had found a rickety wagon to load a few of the bodies at a time and drive them out. Gabrielle assured him it was all right to hitch Argo to pull the wagon.
While seated next to Handel, Gabrielle's thoughts drifted away from the task at hand to the Warrior Princess. She wondered briefly how many more men Xena had ambushed during the night. Hopefully by dusk, Xena would return and let her know she was safe.
Over lunch, which they took back at the temple, Handel and Gabrielle talked of Myria, and his life in Notch.
"I guess I'll have to move on," Handel said.
"It might be best," Gabrielle agreed. "The fields are all burnt and the grain store - Xena and I saw that when we first arrived - is nothing but ashes. You could probablly make your way to a bigger town." She smiled lightly.
"I'm a pretty good farmer," Handel said. "Maybe I can rent a plot from a landowner. Start over somewhere."
Gabrielle grasped his forearm in a gesture of support and smiled warmly. "Good thinking."
Xena returned then, hungry and tired. She'd spent some time cleaning her weapons and herself before she returned. She didn't want Gabrielle to have to think about what Xena was busy doing any more than necessary.
She walked in as Gabrielle was standing, collecting their dishes from lunch. The bard looked up at the sound of footfalls. The smile which lit her face made Xena feel ten times better. "Xena," cried Gabrielle. Again, she felt the critical examination as the bard's eyes raked over her body. "How are you?"
Xena ignored the bruises and sat down. Her eyes were dark with memory, but she put a lightness into her voice, not knowing that Gabrielle knew it was forced. "Hungry."
Handel brought the warrior some bread and a small portion of the offering meat which had been kept in a small corner of the temple. "This is what we have for now."
Xena ate the bread, and nodded that both should sit down with her. "Tell me how it goes here." Handel took a seat across the table and Gabrielle straddled the bench next to Xena.
The two related everything, and Handel guiltily confessed to using Argo as the wagon horse. Xena waved away his sorrow. "Argo does - like the rest of us - what needs doing. Don't think about it again, understood?"
Handel nodded and fell silent. Gabrielle picked up the thread of conversation.
"I was telling Handel he ought to head for a bigger town after we're through here."
"Good thinking. There really isn't much left to start over here - for only one man."
Handel nodded, answering the unspoken question. "Yes, it does appear I was the only survivor. Gabrielle and I haven't come across anyone else."
"I should be able to call out their leader in another day, maybe two, depending."
Handel's brow drew together worriedly. "I'd like to be there, Xena."
"It's too dangerous." Xena was met by two equally undenied stares. "Gabrielle, if I get their leader, they'll disband. They won't be a threat to the rest of the area. I've got them scared now. Tomorrow I add in the possibility that Zeus himself is taking revenge."
"How are you going to do that?" asked Handel.
Xena and Gabrielle shared a nod. "There's a storm coming. We're going to harness a little lightning," replied Gabrielle.
The three shared a small smile.
Xena went out that night with a small handful of kites tied with brass moldings from the hinges of the village doors. Each one she tied to a tree around the raiders' camp. The lightning started before the rain began to really pelt the earth. By the time the rain was falling full force, the lightning was filling the sky. Finally one bolt struck a tree tethered to a kite. It collapsed into the encampment. Xena couldn't have planned the confusion any better.
She watched as the raiders stumbled away from the fallen tree and pulled others, dead, from beneath its broken branches. She heard mutterings of "Zeus!" and "Gods save us!" as the men crowded into the few untouched tents.
She sneaked back into Notch as the moon broke through the clouds and the rain began to slow. She found Handel and Gabrielle asleep on the bed Handel had been using to doze earlier. The two were sleeping close but not touching. Xena settled on a chair nearby and found a bucket to upturn and use for her feet. She removed her armor, but kept it and her sword and scabbard within easy reach as she laid back and closed her eyes.
Gabrielle awakened a few moments later, thinking she had heard a noise. She looked around the room and spotted Xena asleep in the chair. She smiled and carefully got off the bed, leaving Handel to gently snore alone.
She crossed to the chair and crouched next to Xena's sleeping form. "You really ought to find a bed," she coaxed the warrior awake.
Xena's eyes lifted and blue swam in green for a long moment. "I didn't want to disturb you and Handel."
Gabrielle shook her head. "Disturb me anytime, Xena," she told the warrior. "Come on, let's find a bed."
Xena and Gabrielle stood. Gabrielle collected Xena's armor, while the warrior picked up her sword and scabbard. The two searched the temple for another room with a bed. They finally found one, about two doors away from the room Handel was using. Together they laid down.
Before letting Xena fall asleep, Gabrielle asked, "How did it go tonight?"
"Zeus may be helping us after all," commented Xena. "The one tree struck by lightning fell right into the middle of the camp."
"See, Xena, not all the gods are against you. You've got the King of the Gods on your side."
"Handy if I ever want another child out of wedlock, hmm?" commented Xena wryly, bringing to mind the story Gabrielle had told of Zeus and Danae.
"You'll see," Gabrielle said, brightly, ignoring the jibe. "Zeus is helping us."
"If he is, it's because of you, not me," Xena snorted. "That story probably made him think soft thoughts all over again for Danae."
Gabrielle smiled. "You think so?" She watched as Xena rolled over and giggled when the warrior tapped a finger on her nose. "I guess you do."
Xena smiled, for the first time in almost two days, it wasn't a forced smile, but genuine happiness. "Gabrielle, you're wonderful," she told the bard.
Gabrielle said nothing. Her heart however beat double-time as the warrior closed her eyes and drifted into sleep with a smile on her lips. "Good night, Xena," she whispered as she too, closed her eyes.
The leader of the raiders had apparently decided that Zeus was somehow responsible for the decimation of his raiding party. He showed up outside the temple, shouting the name of the King of the Gods and demanding it stop.
Gabrielle and Xena awakened to the yelling and crept into the shadows near the door to watch the leader becoming a little unhinged.
Xena decided it was time to meet him. "Get me one of the priests' robes, Gabrielle. I'm going out there."
"Right," Gabrielle crept back from the doorway then rose and ran off to the priest's rooms to fetch the robe.
In a few minutes, a robed priest stepped from Zeus' temple and walked calmly toward the ranting raider. In a deep voice, her face hidden by a cowl, Xena asked the raider, "Why return to this place? Zeus has promised your destruction."
"Bah," countered the raider, faced now with a human he viewed as far beneath him.
"Bad choice," countered Xena, throwing off the robes and brandishing her sword. The leader absorbed this for a minute and then Xena yelled her battle cry, shattering whatever control he had over himself.
The rest of his raiding party charged into the area, as the battle between the two leaders engaged. Xena was caught in the center of this. One warrior against 25 raiders. Gabrielle, watching from the darkness of the temple, decided the odds needed evening up, just a little. She went to fetch her staff and wake Handel.
Within minutes it was the three of them fighting from the center of a force of 20. Xena had dispatched five to Hades while Gabrielle and Handel were readying themselves.
Xena concentrated on the leader, but his followers were loyal. Several tried to interfere in the one-on-one she was trying to have with him. She felled several with her sword and advanced on the leader with a grim smile. It was the one Gabrielle had tried to get Xena to wipe off her face before they entered town. Battle lust had come home to roost.
The warrior turned from the leader to handle a larger underling who thought to sneak up from behind. She leapt over his head and landed behind him, but the flat of his sword found her back. She quickly turned her sword on him and sliced his cheek and nose. He fell away clutching his face; he would live, but a nasty scar would be a reminder to never try and sneak up on the Warrior Princess ever again.
Xena found the leader and decided, as her body began aching, enough was enough. Time to get this over with.
She engaged him and refused to give ground. Once though, the flat of his sword crashed against her left wrist guard. Xena heard the bone crack, and angered, sent her sword into his belly, ending his life. The fight was over. All of the raiders who remained standing, fled when they saw their leader drop away from Xena's fatal blade. Gabrielle and Handel chased them with staff and pitchfork until they were gone deep in the woods.
Cleaning up after the battle took less time than the battle itself, which hadn't been all that long. There were a few bodies to add to the burial list: raiders whom Xena had killed. But the task was soon done and the threat was now over.
