Chapter 5:

            Xena rode through the forested uphill landscape. Her hair was clinging to head from the increasing and ice cold rain. She shivered slightly from the cold wind following her up towards the pass. It would according to the map she had perused back at the camp lead her onto a large plateau, which they were expecting Jenn to have made her camp if she hadn't already set out for the dragon's valley that lay just beyond a small pass accessible only from plateau. The gray light of the rainy day was slowly giving way to a gloom that would soon turn into a black moonless night. She spurred Nike on, hoping to at least reach the plateau before she had to make camp.

She lit the fire behind the cover of a stone to prevent its light from spreading too far. The carefully chosen campsite was expertly lain out and Xena hoped that the bird she had hit with her chakram earlier would be burned crispy like the one she had tried to make yesterday. Calmly she sat watching the flickering yellow and orange of her fire and thought about better times.

The rain was clearing up and the sky began showing the stars in between wisps of cloud cover. Luna began casting her pale white shine over the lands as Xena nodded off into a light slumber.

Xena looked out over a sand dune. A breeze carried the scent human sweet mingled with the silt carried in the wind. She didn't understand how she had gotten there. She had been making camp in the middle of the Chinese wilderness now she found herself here dressed in the white dress she had last worn when they had fought the romans with Kahina. Suddenly she realized that someone was standing at her shoulder. Slowly Xena turned her eyes to look at the delicate form of her bard clad in her desert clothes. Her heart began to beat and she found herself wishing that this wasn't some dream like she suspected.

"I was afraid I would never see you again," her bard said and turned those emerald eyes, that Xena found herself longing look into every day, over to meet hers.

"We both thought I was gone for good. There was no way either of us could have known," Xena said and saw that no resentment for her or her flawed decision lived in the green depth looking back at her.

"I could never stay mad at you for long. Not even when you tortured me on my birthday," Gabrielle said with a wry smile on her ruby lips.

"I want to stay with you forever," Xena said and felt her eyes water. Her entire body ached to stay here with the one she missed with every breath in that other world.

"So do I," Gabrielle grew serious, "but you can't. You have to go back. It is the way Xena. Trust me." Gabrielle reached out and touched her chin.

"Always," Xena whispered as her eyes opened. All around her there was only the same trees and bushes. The same sounds of the wind passing through them that had lulled her to sleep. She remembered her dream and shook her head, wondering in passing what had awakened her in the middle of the night. Then she became aware of a presence nearby. Someone or something was looking at her if her instincts were still to be trusted.

Xena forced herself to remain calm and listened carefully to the world around her trying to discern the position and identity of whoever was watching. She listened to and slowly filtered out the sounds of the dew and rain falling from the leaves and branches onto the ground. She focused beyond the sounds of wind over grass and leaves. It was all reduced to her breathing and the deep and slow sound of her stalker.

Further away someone stepped on a couple of branches and Xena heard whispered voices as a couple of men speaking in the dialect of the Mongolians she learned long ago from Borias drew near. The sounds were followed by the sound of something else disappearing into the night making only very soft sounds as it drew back into the wilderness. Xena quickly rose and picked up a few things before making her way into the bushes herself.

"Are you sure the tracks lead this way?" One of the Mongolians a rather large man wearing a heavy and wet bearskin asked the other a greasy rail thin man that was currently busy examining something on the thin path that Xena had used on her way up onto the plateau.

"Yes," the thin man sounded irritated, "now stop asking me stupid questions. Jenn has ordered that we kill any Chinese scouts."

Neither of the men noticed the Warrior Princess calmly observing them from one of the larger trees close to them. The rustling leaves were more than adequate to cover for any noise she happened to make. The two men walked to stand almost exactly below her hideout.

"Why?" The large man asked and took a draught of something Xena could easily smell was not water from a wineskin.

"I didn't ask and neither did you if I remember correctly," the thin man said and took the skin and sniffed its opening before having a drink too.

"Alright so what is the plan?" The larger man asked.

Xena grabbed hold of the large branch she was seated on, made a handstand and swung herself down.

The thin man blinked in surprise as he saw a tall woman in armor swing herself down a branch and smash boot heels into the face of his partner in crime sending in several feet away. The woman landed just in front of him.

Xena drew her broad sword and whirled it about. Habitually a grin appeared on her face. All dark thoughts and doubts disappeared as the promise of battle made her blood run warm with fire.

The thin man drew his sword as well but chose to slowly circle his opponent.

Xena realized the simplistic plan of her opponent almost as soon as he had taken the first step sideways. The fool thought his chances increased if he could maneuver her around so his compatriot could attack her from behind. Still smiling cruelly she chose to play along if only to make fools of her opponents.

They had nearly reversed positions and Xena heard the man behind her stumbling towards her at high speed. The thin man suddenly stepped forward swinging his sword down from overhead. Yelling her battle cry she vaulted up and over the surprised looking marauder coming at her from behind as he managed to barrel right into his friend's swing with his head. One gushing blood the other looking decidedly sick the pair collapsed in a disorderly mess on the ground.

The thin man struggled to get up from under his dying partner, while reaching for the bloody sword he had dropped. His finger stretched towards it. They just managed to reach the pommel, when she stepped onto his foot and looked down at him casually her face showing the pale light of the beginning dawn. "So glad I could drop in. Now how about you tell me everything," she offered pleasantly and deliberately placed her sword against his neck.

Xena held the man in front of her. "Where did you come from?" She demanded in hissing and dangerous voice.

"I can't remember," the thin and now pale soldier replied.

Xena didn't even bother to retort instead she opted to release her hold on him and before he could recover push her fingers hard into each side of his neck.

"I've just cut off the flow of blood to your brain. You'll die in thirty seconds unless you tell me what I want to know," she explained while staring coldly into his eyes.

In a choked voice he replied, "We came from the fortress on the eastern shore of the small sea to north. It's just below the entrance to the valley."

"Has Jenn captured the dragon?" She asked and narrowed her eyes.

"No, no, we can't get into the valley. The spirits and the three times cursed animals around here have stopped us every time. They aren't fooled by Jenn's tricks either," he explained, while a thick drop of blood ran out of his nose.

Xena, who like always had counted the seconds in her head, suddenly undid the pinch and then brutally slammed the man into unconsciousness. She didn't even bother to check his partner the open cut into his head precluding the presence of any mind or life in him a long time ago.

Xena swung herself into Nike's saddle with ease not even bothering to look back at the unconscious soldier that she had left tied to a tree on the outskirts of what had once been her camp. She rode into the early morning hoping to be looking at the fortress that her victim had told her lay just below the mouth of the entrance to the valley of the dragon.

Xena carefully crawled up to the area, where Jenn's people had apparently cleared away to forest. The entire area around a small freshwater lake fed from the surrounding mountains had been cleared of vegetation and offered no cover for any would-be spies or armies to sneak up on a town-sized construction that sat on a hill surrounded by several wooden palisades and ground filled with sharpened stakes. On the other side a forested mountain side led up to a small and narrow pass in between seemingly unconquerably tall mountains topped by clouds and ice. The fortress looked like it had only one entrance there was as far as she could tell only two ways in there either a frontal assault along a narrow and easily defendable road that looked like it had only recently been made or the equally dangerous path of attacking along the shore and hope that the defenses of the fortress were weaker around the back way. Xena decided to shift her position to get a better look.

The shore side looked from her new hideout to be slightly less guarded than the direct way, but the sharpened stakes would have to be removed and the walls breached if any assault along that route was to be successful. The walls were constantly patrolled and way to high for her to jump and to slick from the rain to scale unnoticed. She abandoned any hope of ending this quickly be driving a sword into the witch sometime tonight.

Xena gazed up at the pass that Jenn and her soldiers had been unable to conquer so far. She realized that while Jenn had guards and spies posted all over these hills and mountainsides she could easily slip into that supposedly enchanted valley and retrieve Gabrielle's body and leave all this war behind. But if what Wu predicted happened then the entire war that Gabrielle had fought in, the battles she had fought even her death would have been for nothing. She just couldn't do that to the memory of her friend. Xena sighed and made her way back to the place she had left Nike tied.

As she made camp for the night Xena looked up at a clear night sky and remembered how these dark times had begun. She had been listening to the breath of Gabrielle as she, as she so often did, sat looking at the night sky and enjoyed its spectacle. She had felt content in her life, yet also like she needed to change their lives. She had been feeling older than ever and she had felt they had been stuck in a bad phase, where past mistakes meant more to them than the promise of the future.

It had felt like that since their unfortunate adventure in the Norse lands and it gotten worse after getting a view of life if Xena had become Caesar's wife and empress. Now she looked up at the skies against and wanted nothing more than their simple life back. It had been a life of adventure yes, but also a life full of simple and wonderful things like late night conversations, noticing the little things about each other that made them happy or even just the sharing of the greatest things nature and mankind could bring forth. She missed it so much she felt all hollow inside.

Suddenly she realized that there was something big that had actually managed approach very close to her camp without her noticing. Not wanting to bother with another waiting game she jumped to her feet, while drawing out her sword and grasping her chakram.

"Relax," a load growling kind of voice came from deeper in the night than her eyes could penetrate.

"I don't like being spied on," Xena explained but made no move to lower her weapons.

"I did not come to spy on you. I came to talk," the voice said and Xena became aware of a huge shape approaching almost soundlessly through a couple of bushes. It was only slightly smaller than Nike, but she still couldn't discern what it was only that it was by no means human.

"Where I come from the animal don't talk. Why don't you come out from behind your ventriloquist act and show yourself," she said and looked for some kind of rider for the pony-sized animal.

The creature stepped into the light of her campfire. It was a tiger, a tiger as large as a horse. She had seen the dangerous predators before in India, but this was the first horse sized white tiger she ever seen or heard of.

"I am not an act human. I am Chen, the grandfather tiger," it said. Xena's eyes widened in surprise and her jaw fell open for a short moment.

"But… you're speaking," she said. It lay down besides her campfire, while keeping a good distance from Nike that seemed frightened into absolute immobility.

"I am here to ask you a favor human," it grumbled.

"My name is Xena," she said and moved around to keep the fire between her and the beast.

"Ah. Well met then Xena. I want to ask a favor of you. The one who considers himself the rightful ruler of these mountains has sent an army to push away those who seek to slay the dragon and presumable my people as well. Do you know how to find them?" It asked and looked at her with its inhuman yellow eyes.

"Yes, I am helping them," she admitted.

"To help is a noble sentiment that too few share. Now I ask you to help them survive," it said.

"What?" Xena's eyes narrowed as she tried to contemplate if it had been a threat or not.

"The witch that leads those barbarians has secret sent out her assassins to the other side of those plains that your army is camping on. Before nightfall tomorrow they will fall upon the camp with strict orders to kill only officers and poison all the supplies," it explained and rose from the ground again.

"I have to ride now," Xena realized and began gathering up her possessions.

"Yes, you must. I will come as well. I have to exchange words with the one you call general. I know many things that he could reap great benefit from knowing," it explained.

"The guards will probably react badly to any huge tiger trying to enter the camp," she commented while securing her saddle to Nike.

"Yes, but again by that time I will have worked up a hunger," it replied and chuckled. At least Xena hoped it was a chuckle even if it sounded more like a kind of subdued thunder.

Xena mounted Nike and together with Chen sat out into the night hoping to reach the camp with her warning before anyone was killed.

Riding in the night on a small trail was really hard even for Xena the Warrior Princess no matter what legends her bard had spread about her. Guided by the huge tiger running in front Xena made her way over the remainder of the plateau and came down the first pass towards the plains a couple of hours after sunrise. She had to stop soon after though. Nike just couldn't go on at this speed. It needed some rest.

"We mustn't tarry too long," the tiger said and paced around Xena, while she took care of her tired mount.

"Why do you care so much?" Xena wondered. "I mean you're a tiger and you've never met any one don't there. I don't understand why you care so much about them," she mused.

"I am a tiger spirit. The tigers protect the people of Chin together with the noble dragons," he explained.

"If you say so," Xena replied and checked Nike's hooves.

"You should understand. I see it in your eyes in the way you behave. You are also one who fights for others. You're too aggressive to be a tiger, but you do remind me a dragon. You are wise, dangerous, capable of great destruction yet careful not to unleash it. I know you're a great warrior I watched you traveling through the plateau," it explained and stopped pacing.

"Let's continue," Xena vaulted back into her saddle and set off towards the camp that was clearly visible as a black mass in middle of the high grass from even from the mountainside.

"We will be at the camp after the sun has passed its highest point," the tiger commented as they continued down the light forested path towards the plain.

"Yeah," Xena replied and looked stiffly ahead. Her back ached from the cold night of riding and she wished nothing more than for this wretched adventure to be over.

They were on the last stretch. Xena had Nike in a gallop and Chen seemed be running at full speed. Suddenly Chen stopped and turned in the direction of the wind and took a long sniff. "Someone is sneaking through the high grasses over there," it said. Xena could see its muscles tensing and its paws dig in.

"Don't attack just yet?" She cautioned.

"Are you afraid that I might get hurt?" Chen replied.

"No, I just want in on the fun," she answered back with a feral grin and spurred Nike into another wild dash. Chen soon caught up. Xena could see the guards of the camp tracking her closely as she rode around camp and headed towards the spot indicated to her by Chen.

The tall grass rustled as she hurtled forward. Ten yards in front of her a green clad figure suddenly rose with a blowgun at his lips.

She swept the poisoned dart out of the air casually and flicked it away, while steering Nike directly towards the startled man with her heels.

Nike rode him down and a series of wet crunches came from beneath her warhorse. Several figures maybe ten in total appeared out of the grass with their swords draw and bows readied.

Chen somehow managed to avoid detection till the last moment when he appeared out of the grass and scooped up one of the assassins up in his jaws. Another series of wet crunches was followed by a spitting noise. Apparently the grandfather of tiger didn't like the taste of northern barbarian.

Xena dismounted in a high jump landing with both weapons ready. She deflected an arrow with her sword and flicked her chakram off on a deadly flight.

The deadly disk decapitated one, rebounded on a couple of stones, split and the two parts slit the throats of two other assassins before reconnecting in the air looping in the air and returning to their mistress, who had used the time it was gone to disarm and stun one of her opponents.

Xena saw out on the edge of her vision, how Chen batted two assassins away with its huge clawed paws in a manner reminding her of how a cat plays with a captured mouse. She continued fencing with her opponent until one of his compatriot charged her from behind. Xena drove her opponent's sword up and then made a rolling kick that took out the opponent in front of her and landed her behind the suddenly confused man who had been charging her.

"Behind you," she indicated and slugged the fool in the jaws as his turning head presented her with an easy target.

She turned around soon enough to see Chen pounce on the last standing assassin mauling him while crushing him under his enormous weight.

"Not bad for a little light entertainment," Xena commented to which the tiger only snorted. She couldn't tell if it was for amusement or dislike.

Soldiers from the camp were already approaching, so she decided to leave the mopping up to them and instead concentrate on getting Chen safely into the camp to speak with General Wu.