Searching through the chest proved to be a more difficult task than Gabrielle thought. Her mind couldn't shake the image of her daughter's already heavily scarred and tattooed body being ripped open by the unforgiving whips or the blood dripping down her back and legs. The symbols of Ares littered the pale skin in the form of tattoos, brands, and knife cuts caused rage and sadness to bubble to the surface of her mind and tainted every thought. Gabrielle, shaking her head, focuses on finding a way to help her daughter.
"Get it together Gabrielle." She tells herself, unlatching the chest and roughly opening it.
Flipping back the bear fur, she is met with a large variety of trinkets, weapons, clothing, and scrolls neatly organized and wrapped in the fur. Running her hand over the beautiful things, she picks out a small scroll in the corner and opens it to finds a detailed map of Stympheae and it's surrounding areas. Gabrielle traces the dotted trail from the jail to the arena.
Suddenly, the door flies open and a tall, dark brown skinned woman with a white hooded wrap obscuring her face, strides in. Gabrielle stands quickly and draws her sais' out of her boots.
"Where is she?" The woman demands cooly, pointing her curved swords at Gabrielle.
"What do you want?"
"I'm the one who's going to get Eithne out of this place." pausing for a moment her demeanor changes completely. "Nice to meet you Gabrielle." she states lowering her weapons and relaxing. She pushes back her desert white hood revealing a wild mane of curly hair, reminding Gabrielle of the lions she saw once.
Gabrielle, taken aback steps towards the girl "Why do you know my name?"
"You- you look just like her, but blonde." The dark eyed girl marvels and then introduces herself "Sorry! I'm Kahina. I had a vision of Eithne in a cell and came as fast as I could. We traveled together after she helped and became close, so I have visions of her when something important happens." placing her shotels on her back and leaning against the wall.
"So you know what has happened?" Gabrielle asks, slowly lowering her weapon, feeling as though the woman had nothing to hide..
"Only the few things I've seen in visions, but I'll need more information if we want to save her before Friday." Straightening her golden shoulder armor. A matching golden head chain held a golden eye perfectly in the center of her forehead, the iris made of emerald gems. "Do you have a plan yet?" she asks placing her hands on her hips.
Sighing, Gabrielle admits "No. The situation became more complicated…" Gabrielle describes the scene from the jail and the escape through the tunnels, leaving out Xena's part in it. The girl listens intently and inspects the map in Gabrielle's hands.
"Okay, I can work with that." walking over to the chest and reaching in, she pulls out a small dagger with strange markings. Inspecting it and mumbling something under her breath, Kahina closes her eyes and opens them revealing that her irises had turned the same bright green as the jewel on her forehead. She goes completely silent and stares into oblivion for a short while.
"Kahina? Are you okay?" Gabrielle asks timidly, not wanting to break her concentration but also confused about what is happening.
She doesn't respond for several more moments, then blinks her eyes back to the dark brown the were previously and places the blade in her boot.
"What was that?"
"That was the blade Eithne used to free me after I was captured by some warlord." She states nonchalantly going back to inspect the map.
"No. I meant-"
"I know I'm just kidding you. I can get visions from touching things as well. I was trying to channel her and get a better view of what's happening. I'm glad Xena's with her and has her sleeping. She acts tough, but she deserves some kindness and warmth."
"So you can see Xena in your visions?" Gabrielle asks, thinking about how that sounds just like Xena with herself.
"No, but I could see the light of a parent soul touching her and I could hear her humming to her. I don't think I've ever seen Eithne sleep that peacefully. I think we could try to intercept them moving tomorrow, but it won't leave a good escape route for that many people, and they definitely thought that they would catch you earlier. Security has been bumped up. I've never seen so many guards." She shakes her head.
"Do you have any ideas?"
"A few."
"YOU NEVER OFFERED THOSE SLAVES BACK TO ME MENHIT… ALEXIS… WHOEVER YOU ARE!" Ares bellowed at the relaxed man behind the desk "I never gave you permission to use them! I want them back!" slamming his hands down in front of him.
"Ares, Ares, Ares. We made a deal. You find the other gods and help me rally them, and I find your prodigy, who I know was one of your marked slaves. My gold is on the girl. We all know how much you like choosing girl champions." he teases.
"Oh boy are you off track then." Ares snorts "Xena was special, one of a kind. My prodigy isn't even here. The stubborn jerk never could stay in one place."
Eyeing Ares with annoyance, Menhit/Alexis takes his feet off of the desk and leans forward "Look, It's cute that you want to play games and all, but if you want this power it's time to give whoever it is up." He menaces.
"Okay. Let's say they are among those prisoners. I don't want anymore of them killed. I want them back. I've been running low on slaves." Ares admits.
"And how do you suggest I find your little experiment without making them fight?" ALexis questions.
Leaning back and looking at the ceiling for a bit, Ares offers "How about making them compete? Audiences love an underdog."
"Ah. A story of hope I see." he nods
"Hope has another meaning for me now but in that context, yes."
"We have a deal then." Reaching across and shaking the war god's hand and then leads him to the door.
Ares steps out into the hallway, door shutting behind him, pleased that Eithne is safe for now, when he gets a strange sensation. A familiar sensation.
"Xena?"
Getting an odd sensation, like a pressure on her ethereal body, Xena stopped humming and listened, holding the girl a little tighter to her. Hearing a faint jingling of keys and then a door slam open, she snapped open her eyes, which made almost no difference in the pitch blackness of the dungeon. Xena began concentrating on making herself intangible to the girl snuggled tightly against her, slowly, to gradually lower her to the ground, a trick she used to get out from under Gabrielle. The sounds of a muffled voice came from the cell next door and Xena looked in to find one of the slave, a young boy of about ten, being dragged out with a bag on his head. As they dragged him towards the door, Xena took one last look at Eithne and followed them.
Up stairs, down hallways, through a long passageway, and down another hallway. Xena followed them wondering where they could possibly be taking him, when they stopped at the last door on the right. Peeking her head in she saw the boy forced down onto his knees and the bag removed by the king himself.
"Mapanos. What a fitting body to be in for a god of youth." Alexis pointed out
"And may I inquire who you are?" The boy responded in a tone that did not fit his age.
"Oh me?" pointing to himself feigning innocence "I'm King Alexis." motioning the guards to leave them alone. Once they were gone he put his hands on his hips in a feminine manner. "I suppose you have a right to know who's killing you though. Do you remember a certain Nubian war goddess?"
"Menhit. How you have changed." The child jeered
"Ah yes. That was unfortunate, but luckily you're here to help me get it back." pulling out a dagger.
"Come on! We can make a deal!" Mapanos begged as the king went behind him and pulled back his head.
Saying closely to his ear, "Sorry, I already have a monkey to dance for me." and runs the dagger deeply across the child's neck, creating an awful gurgling sound before Menhit dropped him backwards.
The king started mumbling some words over his body and made a symbol on the boy's forehead with his blood. Once he stopped speaking, a long string of blue light came from the dead child's mouth and trailed over to Alexis', who rolled his eyes back and smiled. When all of the light had been absorbed, King Alexis' eyes glowed blue and he said to himself,
"I love the taste of celtic god before bed. Hopefully, I gathered most of them in those entertaining groups."
"What?" Xena stated softly, used to people not being able to hear her.
"Who said that?" Alexis perks up and looks around the room.
Shocking Xena, who jumped back into the hallway and listened through the wall.
"Guards! Take this body!" she hears, and approaching footsteps.
She moves to the next room over, and listening to the footsteps retreating down the hallway, phases back out to follow at a safer distance. She follows him into another wing of the palace, where he meets up with Ares. She follows them to, what she thinks must be, his office and listens to them make a deal to keep the slaves alive and make them compete in the competitions. She stands wondering why Ares would want to keep them alive, when she hears footsteps approach the door. Thinking quickly, she teleports out of the hallway just as Ares steps out.
Xena pops into the center of the hill home shouting "Gabrielle! I know what-" Stopping seeing the tall dark-skinned woman next to Gabrielle, "Minona?"
"Do you know her?" Gabrielle questions as she looks at Xena and Kahina
"Do I know who? Gabrielle what are you seeing?" Kahina asks looking around.
"Xena's here." Gabrielle answers, pointing towards her.
"Xena, I have so much to tell you!" The lion-like woman excitedly looks at the area Gabrielle pointed to. "It is me, Minona!"
"I thought you said your name was Kahina?" Gabrielle questions, eyebrows knitting in confusion.
"Well… It's hard to explain. You see I was a goddess, but when the gods on Mount Olympus were killed other deities were affected. I was turned human. When I heard someone was hunting gods, I changed my name." She explained and then added "Maybe that was easier to explain than I thought."
"I had met her a few years before I met you, with the amazons. She was teaching them how to divine with kernels and do some rituals. Anyway I have some information on the king… and Ares" Xena told Gabrielle.
Seeing that Gabrielle was listening to something, Minona/Kahina looks between her and the spot she was looking at "What? What is she saying?"
"She says she knows you and that she found out something on the king and Ares." Gabrielle reports and looks at Xena expectantly, Minona copying her.
"You know the young slave boy? Turns out he was a god. Mapanos? Alexis said he was some kind of youth and slit his throat, did some chanting, and sucked a blue light out out of his mouth-"
"Agh! What is she saying?!"
Gabrielle repeats what she just heard and then motions to Xena to continue.
"Anyway, the kid called him by the name Menhit."
"Menhit?"
"MENHIT!? That bitch? She's always trying to work some scheme. It sounds like she's finding changed gods and sucking out their chi somehow. I've seen some texts mentioning it, but they never say how."
"That's not all. Ares didn't approve of the fighting and suggested that they should be put in the competition, and he demanded that no one should be killed. I just can't place him anymore. He wouldn't tell him who our daughter was."
Learning to not leave the impatient woman beside her in the dark, she repeats what Xena said and then begins pondering what it could all mean.
"So, what did the texts say about chi sucking?" Gabrielle asks, avoiding the actual question on her mind.
"Not much. Only that some of the power is absorbed. If it is Menhit, whatever her plan is it isn't good. She must be furious to be in a man's body. She deserves it after all of the things she put our tribes through."
"Ask her if she knows why she would want Eithne." Xena demanded of Gabrielle.
"Xena wants to know what use Eithne could be to Menhit." Gabrielle relayed.
"I… I don't know. Maybe it has something to do with you two or how she was made? The news of her hasn't really spread far. Do you know how she was made?" Minona asks, removing her white cloak, revealing more white cloth and golden armor, and begins to look through the chest.
Gabrielle goes to watch what she was doing "Ares said that he made her from both, Xena and I's, souls. He didn't really explain how though."
"Ares?" Minona questions "I remember her telling a story about him in a tavern we stopped at. He didn't seem like the type that worried about lives."
"He's not. That is what worries me." Xena uttered "What is she looking for?"
"Xena agrees about Ares and wants to know what you are looking for."
"I'm gathering the things that the king might have come in contact with the king. I need to see if I can channel Menhit." her searching becomes frantic and she gives up falling back on her heels "Ugh! Everything in here is from either before she settled her or just in town. She must have some armor or something."
"OH! She does! It's some silver dragon scale kind! I don't know if the king would have come in contact though." Gabrielle offers.
"It's fine, as long as the memories she has in it might include him, I might be able to channel something."
"They are probably in the armory, then. I think they might be too heavy for my ghost form to carry though." Xena admits, sadly.
"It's okay, Xena." Going over to her and placing a hand on her shoulder. "We'll get the armor. You'll need to find it for us anyways. That place is too big for us to be sneaking around avoiding guards." remembering the map, she hands it to Xena "I found a map in her chest, though."
Xena forces her body to become as corporeal as she could make it and takes the map in her hands.
The golden clad woman, turning around to see Gabrielle looking at a floating map, admits "Now that's freaky. And people think kernel reading is weird."
Gabrielle and Xena simultaneously reporting "You have no idea."