The next day Xena tried to convince Gabrielle to leave, but her friend quickly realized why.
"They can't execute you!" she said desperately. "You're helping them!"
"That may not make up for the harm I've caused."
Gabrielle turned to Damian.
"This is unfair. You can't kill her after saving your village!"
"She will probably stand trial. Nobody's talking about execution before the verdict."
"We all know what the verdict will be! She will be executed, no matter what! You just want revenge."
"Gabrielle, calm down," said Xena.
"Revenge?" asked Damian, brooding. "I was dreaming about revenge. I imagined capturing the Warrior Princess and trapping her in a pit. And after a few days, when the starvation overwhelms her mind, I throw down a corpse for her."
He smiled coldly.
"If she's still alive by the time I return, I throw down a rope and she can escape with the lesson of how far she'd be willing to go to survive. My gift to her."
He watched the horrified Gabrielle, and his smile disappeared.
"But my mother taught me that revenge can destroy me as well. I took this lesson to heart, even if she no longer sees it that way."
Gabrielle wanted to believe him. Damian clearly harbored a lot of hatred toward Xena and may intend to lead her to her death.
"You have my word that it will be a fair trial." The young man crossed his arms. "Kleitos is an elderly, but famously just judge. Besides, I won't let my people to become murderers. At least that much we should retain. You can come along to speak for her, and if you think the trial is a facade, you can try helping her escape. If I think it was unfair, I might even look the other way. The only reason to be afraid, Gabrielle, is if you know her guilt is irredeemable."
Gabrielle's lips were shaking. She looked at Xena, then at Damian.
"Fair trial. They must know about all the good she did since then."
"Against all the bad?" he laughed. "That wouldn't help her case. If she helps us with this calamity, comes on her own and you can convince the judge that she won't do any more harm, then the Thracian might have a chance."
Gabrielle's eyes widened as an idea came to her mind.
"We should find Hercules!" she said to Xena. "The people of Lyros respect him and he could testify on your behalf."
"We don't know where he is now. And by the time we find him, it may be too late for Lyros. Don't worry, everything will be alright."
They ate what was left of their last hunt and continued their journey. Gabrielle kept her distance from Damian this time. She could not make up her mind about their new companion. He seemed honest about the promise of a fair trial, but would definitely show no compassion toward Xena. Gabrielle decided to collect together everything she could in her friend's defense.
"Have you fought something similar to shapeshifters before?" Damian asked Xena.
"I've encountered many strange creatures."
"Tell me they're easier to deal with than you."
"They have to be dealt with differently," explained Xena. "You can't always rely on fighting skills. You have to find them out, trick them, exploit weaknesses. Leave it to me."
"Thinking loudly would be a better idea because I don't want any surprises from you. If you have a plan, don't hold it back."
"I don't have a plan until I know more. I can guess but we don't have much to build on."
Damian noticed Xena slowly moving her hand toward her chakram.
"What?"
"Stay cool."
"Stay cool…" Damian mimicked her and grabbed the hilt of his sword. He looked around, but only heard the leaves moving in the breeze.
"What is it?" asked Gabrielle.
"Nothing," he replied. "Your friend just told me she envies your hair."
"Really?"
"No," said Xena.
"Alright, what's going on?"
As Gabrielle put down the end of her staff, it sunk in the ground, and she nearly lost her balance. She knelt down and swept some leaves away, revealing a pit with sharpened stakes on the bottom.
"What the…?"
"Don't move!" Xena searched the area.
"There's a small town not so far from here. Maybe they've got a problem with the wildlife," guessed Damian.
"Or it wasn't meant for animals." Xena threw her chakram at the branch of a nearby tree and from the thick leaves, a man fell to the ground.
"Now!" yelled someone in the bushes, and a group of armed men charged at the trio from every direction.
"Damian!"
Xena offered her arms, intending to spin him around and kick down the attackers. He quickly realized her plan and shook his head with a snarl. As he stepped back, Xena drew her sword, and engaged with four of the men. Gabrielle spun her staff and knocked down one attacker before another two took his place. Damian parried an attack and cut through an opponent's chest then ducked from an axe and slashed the owner's throat. Another two joined the fight, and as Damian stepped back, a rope caught his leg, pulling him upwards. He immediately cut it and landed on his feet, ready to face his opponents. He fought them together with both of his swords, and soon they could not keep up with his speed. Damian decapitated one, then blocked the sword of the other before impaling him.
While the fight was going on, Damian noticed how many opportunities Xena missed to finish off her attackers, which was hardly unintentional. He then turned his attention to Gabrielle. He found her staff fighting impressive as she disarmed and tripped a trapper before striking another in the face. When her opponent stumbled back, Gabrielle saw a log swinging toward them. She ducked, but the thug only had time to turn around before the trap threw him away like a puppet.
A stubbly man rushed at Damian with a howl, but he easily blocked the attack.
"I've got you, you bastard!" screamed the ruffian. "I will enjoy gutting you for…"
Damian was no longer listening to his rant. He glanced back at Gabrielle, nodding appreciatively at her skills while absent-mindedly blocking his attacker's blows. He disarmed the cutthroat, but did not bother to stop him from picking up his weapon. After knocking down her last opponent, Gabrielle noticed bizarre fight.
"Damian, what are you doing?"
"Huh?" Then he realized he was still battling with his weary opponent.
"Are you toying with me?" The thug panted angrily.
"Oh, yes, sorry!"
Damian disarmed him again, and kicked him to the ground. By now, his companions had fled, realizing they had no chance of winning this fight.
Xena approached them, and Damian went to Gabrielle. He was about to commend her skills when Xena hit the neck of his defeated opponent with her fingers.
"I've just cut the flow of blood to your brain. You'll be dead soon unless you start talking."
"W-what was that?" Damian asked Gabrielle with wide eyes.
"Oh, that's Xena's neck pinch. She uses it for interrogation."
"Neck pinch? Where did she learn that?"
"I think it was around ten years ago when she met Caesar––"
"Caesar?" blinked Damian. "Isn't he one of Rome's rulers? They know each other?"
Gabrielle furrowed her eyebrows.
"For someone who has been hunting Xena for so long, you know very little about her."
"Hunting? I never hunted her. Sure, I hoped I would have a chance to kill her, but I had no intention of throwing my life away for revenge. She had an army to protect her and there were people in need of help. It was a more productive goal."
Damian's answer was a pleasant surprise for Gabrielle.
"Yes," she smiled. "I only wish more people would realize that."
Xena released the cutthroat, and turned to Damian.
"Is it true? You killed his brother?"
"I did? Sorry, I didn't listen."
"He said you and Najara attacked his brother near the village of Spyro."
"Oh, yes, the bandit whose group extorted money from the peasants." He looked at the man. "If you came to join him, that can be arranged."
Damian stepped closer with sword in hand.
"Wait!" Xena shouted. "You want to execute an unarmed man?"
"He can pick up his sword if he wants, it makes about two second difference. Besides, he'd do the same."
"And you're like him?"
"Oh, don't you dare preach morality to me!"
As he made another step, Xena grabbed his shoulder.
"Listen––"
Before she could finish, Damian elbowed her in the face. The strike hit her in the eye and Xena fell on the ground, clenching her teeth.
"Xena!" Gabrielle was about to step to her friend when she saw Damian raising his sword. "Wait!"
The young man held back the slash in the last moment. The cutthroat knelt before him with a mixture of fear and hatred on his face.
"Spare his life! He's no threat to us."
"For now. It's not wise to give him another chance. The risk is mine. He was after me, not you."
Xena stood up, grasping her eye. She considered disarming Damian, but any action she took could have ruined Gabrielle's attempt to sway him. He was also too fast for her to intervene in time.
"You don't have to do it," Gabrielle continued. "You're better than this!"
"You think so?" Damian tilted his head, watching the cutthroat.
"See you in Tartarus," the man hissed at him.
After some contemplation, Damian took the blade away from the neck of his defeated opponent.
"That meeting in Tartarus will have to wait. In the meantime, reconsider your chances."
He stepped back, allowing his enemy to stand up. The cutthroat spat before Damian's feet and ran after his companions.
"I'm glad you did the right thing," said Gabrielle as the young man sheathed his swords.
"More like the stupid thing. Only idiots leave enemies behind."
"Showing mercy isn't stupid. It proves you're a good person."
"I just didn't want to be worse than the Warrior Princess."
Gabrielle sighed and glanced at the dead attackers. Damian did not bother giving them a chance.
"Could you just skip dissecting them for their hearts this time?"
"Don't worry about that! I only collect the hearts of worthy opponents."
Xena stepped before Damian. Her right eye was bloodshot.
"Wow," he hissed. "That looks nasty."
"Do that again and nasty won't even begin to describe what I'll do to you."
"You'll have your chance if you touch me again."
Xena did her best to restrain herself and turned her attention to the remaining traps. The attackers obviously planned to force Damian toward them, so the pits and ropes would do their dirty work.
"Do you often get distracted during fights?" asked Gabrielle of Damian while she disarmed a trap with her staff. "You were watching me instead of focusing on your opponent."
"I was just curious how you gals fight, and these trappers were not much of a challenge. You're quite handy with the staff, you know. It's a very neat weapon. Cheap, easily accessible, balanced and effective in the right hands."
"And it is easier to avoid killing with it compared to swords and spears."
Damian shrugged.
"Yeah, I suppose. It could be useful to familiarize myself with it." He flashed his teeth. "I wonder… maybe if there would be a kindhearted, capable warrior around who's very good with it, she could teach me a few moves."
"Maybe there is one somewhere," smiled Gabrielle. "Flattery may lure her out."
"That's good, I still have a few worthy flatteries in my pouch, I think. That lovely, amazon-bard with her masterful storytelling only deserves the best. I hope she finds me worthy to share her vast knowledge."
"Alright," Gabrielle couldn't stop grinning. "I'll teach you a few tricks when we have the chance. The most important things are the stable stance and the firm grip. Your opponent will surely try to grab your staff…"
Xena disarmed a net-trap on a nearby tree while Gabrielle explained the basics and gave her staff to Damian to try some of the moves.
"Careful!" Gabrielle stopped him and pointed to the ground. There was another spiked pit, almost invisible in the grass. They continued dealing with the traps and as her friend was lecturing with increasing enthusiasm, Xena realized that Damian's interest was genuine.
She did not interrupt them. Xena knew how much resentment Damian harbored against her, and his refusal to work together during the last battle further proved the depth of his loathing. Xena wondered if he could restrain himself from starting another fight, and while Gabrielle's company seemed to ease his tension, she felt it may not be enough.