The horse trotted with her mount on the road parallel to the Kladeos River until it broke onto the wide open plains. Once off the road, the horse shook her mane appreciatively as Xena gave her her head. Having a famous landmark like Mount Cyllene to aim for needed no maps or directions and the distance was gradually eaten up as the eager mare exercised her legs on the lush grass.

Pausing whilst Argo had a drink at a stream a good many leagues on, Xena pondered again where the visions had left her any wiser and how accurate they might be. Well - since her adversary had said that the answer would lay in the future, she had also known that the Soothsayer would spy on her for that riddle.

She'd recognised the village in the opening vision, of course. Back where it all began. Cirra. And so, she was giving Xena the clearest signal that Cirra was not only their next rendezvous, it would also be their last. And once the rocket with its deadly payload was airbound, it might as well be everyone else's last if the final vision was anything to go by.

But what did that riddle mean? It must have meant something, a final gloat that she would triumph over Xena, the Gods, everyone. The Romans were the undisputed leaders of the known world – despite Xena's best efforts to slow them down with skirmishes and occasional minor victories - and all roads eventually led to Rome. So why was it wrong?

A velvet nose nudging her arm disturbed the train of thought. The mare waited impatiently, obviously having had her fill of water and grazing. There was another matter immediately at hand - namely, Gabrielle in peril on the mountain. Doing the journey in short spurts and rests, enabled them to see Hermes' birthplace loom large as dusk fell. Guided by the remnants of sunlight and the torches lit along the path to Hermes' cave, Xena dismounted from the tired horse and led her gently to a sheltered grove.

"Here," she called to a man dressed in Temple attire. "Hermes is supposed to be the God of land travel – start looking after my horse.

"And if I find out you share Hermes' views on thievery," she added, dropping the reins into the surprised man's hands, "I'll crucify you."

The priest looked less than impressed at being made an ostler. He was about to comment, but the menacing look she cast at him changed his mind. He waited until she was out of earshot, and then delegated the beast to a lesser Priest.

Freeing a torch from one of the stands, Xena made her way up the mountainside via a grassy path, which was not unlike a well-trimmed lawn. The climb not as sheer as it seemed, she reached the entrance to Hermes' cave about a third of the way up. Stepping up to the entrance so she could see into the cave, it served as a shrine to the Messenger of the Gods and a Temple. Looking astutely, she could separate the assorted offerings from the good, the bad and the downright ugly – which included a few goats. Presumably something to do with Hermes being God of the herds and flocks.

An altar with one jewel on it took her notice particularly. It was a doozie, a gem the size of a peach that Autolycus would drool over. A giant ruby that sparkled and shone, lighting up the gloom of its corner of the cave. Set within a clear font above a bubbling pool, it had the legend, 'The everlasting jewel' engraved on the font.

Out of curiosity – since she had no to desire to antagonise the Gods anymore than she deemed necessary – she let a hand slip onto the font and feel the ruby. And felt nothing as her hand grasped fresh air but little else. As she withdrew her hand again, the gem reappeared once more to cast its rosy glow in the corner of the cave. Xena pursed her lips tight as she looked at the 'everlasting jewel'. Okay, so technically it was everlasting, but she still reckoned it was a cheap trick. She turned on her heels and back onto the path upwards. It had deteriorated into a goat path as it meandered in many blind turns, dead ends and sheer climbs. After climbing ceaselessly for almost an hour and wishing for the hundredth time she'd never started climbing this damn mountain, Xena finally heaved herself to the top. Peering over the top into the gloom, she saw a familiar blonde head disappearing over the other side, followed by the man she saw in the vision.

Almost out of breath after her assault on the mountain, she nevertheless launched herself up and raced after the pair. A quick run up, a cartwheel charge and somersault ended in her landing nimbly in front of Gabrielle and the man following on after.

"Now," she panted, almost bent over double with exhaustion but drawing enough energy to pull her chakram out. "Why were you attacking – Oh!"

As Xena lifted her head, the familiarity nagging away at her of the man with Gabrielle finally surfaced. And so was the object he'd been pointing at her. It was Joxer, who had a stylus on his ear. He looked odd without his armour and helmet on, probably why she hadn't recognized him.

Gabrielle and Joxer exchanged glances and looked decidedly bemused. "Xena, what are you doing here? I said I was on holiday with Joxer."

Xena rethought the vision through, then looked at the package Joxer was carrying under his arm. "May I?" she asked, taking it when he nodded.

It was a light wooden structure with a set of hinges holding it together. Examining it closely, she found a leather clasp that bound the object firmly. Unpicking the hook and loop carefully, the rectangular board opened to reveal a series of wooden leaves – each of a cross-stitched border and covered in wax inside the border. She opened one at random, and raised her eyebrows in surprise. It was a series of smaller drawings with side and frontal profiles of Gabrielle. Good quality, too. "Yours Joxer?" she asked.

"Gabby only found out by accident, when it fell out of my backpack," he nodded. "She didn't believe me when I said they were mine, so insisted I draw her in a few sketches."

So they were just sat up here posing and drawing, whilst she'd driven Argo as hard as she'd ridden the chariot this morning. And then climbed the mountain in light even a goat wouldn't have tried. She sighed and took a deep breath. It didn't help. She was still pissy. "Right," she said finally and gave both of her friends a slap.

"Ow!"

"Hey!"

"That's for making me worry about you for no reason," Xena explained to her friends. "And for making me rush all this way when you're both safe."

"So how did you know we were here and why 'did' you hurry?" Gabrielle enquired, still surprised at Xena's sudden appearance and her reaction on finding them.

"People tell me things. Eventually." the ebony-haired woman said shortly. "Why are you up here anyway? Why not just do it on a field?"

"I wanted to see the view," the statuesque blonde replied, spreading her arms to encompass the viewpoint the top of the mountain gave. "Isn't it great?"

She swept her hand all along the skyline happily taking in every hill and valley, the peaks highlighted in golden light and red tinges as the sun dipped below the skyline. Gabrielle's enthusiasm was however wasted on Xena.

"Three cheers," she said dully. "I can see hills and fields just as well at ground level.

"Now would be good," she added, noting the lengthening shadows and quickening gloom.

Gabrielle and Joxer exchanged glances. Still bemused by Xena's odd behaviour, they nevertheless trotted the path downwards. The path this side of the mountain was considerably easier to descend than the other was to climb, which didn't help Xena's mood any. Making their way down in an hour – for though the descent was on good ground, it was still a mountain - Xena was about to make off to prepare a makeshift camp when Gabrielle tapped her on the arm. "We've got a camp and fire already," she said.

"Good job it isn't raining, it's pretty bare of shelter around here," Joxer chimed in.

"Hmm," Xena commented non-committally. "Anything to eat yet?"

"Not yet," Gabrielle conceded. "But it will be shortly."

"We're camped out over by the grove where Argo is," Joxer said before Xena could ask. "Hey - how did you know it was our camp?"

"I just knew," the warrior princess answered glibly, making a mental note to have strong words with priests who left her mare unguarded next to camps who might belong to anyone. "So how long have you been an artist Joxer?"

"As long as I can remember," he replied. "Just something that fills in the time when I'm not with you guys. Raises a few dinars, y'know?"

"You kept that quiet," Xena remarked. She looked at him oddly, slightly disappointed that he'd never shared this attribute.

"You never asked," he shrugged.

This mild putdown surprised her slightly, though it was true that neither her or Gabrielle had enquired closely into his background or what he could do other than playing his lute. Shutting the leaves up and hooking the loop once again, she passed the odd scrollcase back to him. "Looks like you have many skills," she commented with a small smile.

Pleased that her hint to the priest had worked and Argo was now looking better than she was feeling, she went over to where the mare was grazing. "Hello girl – been a rough day, huh?" she said softly, stroking her affectionately.

Reaching into the saddlebags, she pulled out a clean cloth, brush and an apple; Argo chomped on the apple gratefully as Xena went over to the stream with one of Gabrielle's pots. Returning directly, she doused the cloth in the pot of water and slowly rubbed the dust, muck and tiredness out of the horse. Argo shook her head and mane in response as the water soaked into the aching muscles after the hard ride. She whinnied softly as the brush gently replaced the cloth, gradually restoring the shine to her glossy coat. Satisfied that her horse was feeling more herself again, Xena returned to the fire and the pot on top of it.

"Broth's ready," Gabrielle declared, overlooking the pot.

She dished out a dollop of steaming broth in each bowl and passed one to her two friends, who thanked her before tucking in. There was a pause as their stomachs settled and they leant back on their bedrolls. Xena's eyebrows sunk into her forehead as she observed that her two friend's bedrolls were now side by side, whereas previously there was a definite gap between them. Like several yards.

Taking this into account, she kept a subtle watch of Gabrielle and Joxer whilst sharpening her sword. There was a brief glance between the pair that wouldn't have been noticed if she hadn't been looking for it. His face raised slightly to meet hers, anxious eyes that were countered with a gentle smile and a small indiscernible nod of reassurance. "He's searching, she's showing," Xena commented under her breath. "Held in a deep, deep spell, he knows she's glowing. Hmm...."

This warranted further investigation, to determine whether this was for real or some trickery of the Gods. Putting her sword to one side, she tried to pick their brains on Callisto's conundrum. "Gabrielle, someone gave me this riddle: All roads lead to Rome. Wrong. Any ideas?"

Gabrielle stared hard into space, idly chewing on a quill as she mused this knotty problem over. "Hmm. All roads do not lead to Rome so they lead to nowhere. To everywhere. They do lead to Rome. Leads to Athens..."

The riddle had her mind ticking over, writing and scratching out possible answers on a scroll pulled from her backpack. While this was going on, Joxer was scratching something on the ground. Xena wondered what he was up to, but dismissed it as boredom. The bard's eagerness to solve the riddle was fixing her concentration, and the silence was intermixed with "hmms" and numerous quill scratchings.

"Got it," Joxer announced, to both Gabrielle and Xena's surprise. "It's a play on words I think."

"Is it?" Gabrielle said petulantly, clearly put out. Though whether this was due solely to being beaten to the punch or a doubt over the answer being correct was debatable.

He jabbed a stick at where he'd been scratching on the ground, indicating where the two women should look. They gathered round and gazed down. It was a very rough diagram but the shape of Italia could clearly be made out, with a smaller dot a way away. There was a connecting line and a simple word under the dot. Rhodes.

"Joxer, you're a genius!" Xena exclaimed, clapping a surprised Joxer on the back. "If all roads do not leads to Rome, then all roams lead to Rhodes!"

"Well, when are we setting off then?" Gabrielle asked.

"Setting off where?" Xena replied, with all the innocence she could muster.

Gabrielle sighed testily and gave her jet-haired friend a stern look. "Come on Xena, how long have we known each other? You have never just asked a riddle because you wanted the answer. Obviously you're chasing someone."

The swarthy warrioriess smiled wryly in response. "Never could fool you Gabrielle. Alright – I'm hunting a Warlord who's on a rampage. Seems they got hold of some weapon and want to use it."

There was some truth in that statement, but not the whole truth. But only if you knew where to look.

"By the Gods Xena, why are you chasing this warlord?" Gabrielle groaned. "Don't you ever rest?"

"Someone from my past come back to haunt me," Xena said carefully. "I'm exorcising them. Permanently."

She still wasn't sure on how to make that happen, but given the alternative, it was stop Callisto or bust. Changing the subject swiftly, Xena found a topic she'd been dying to explore since her suspicions were aroused. "And talking of secrets, how long have you two been 'just good friends' ?"

Joxer jumped and the blonde shifted uneasily. "Who - us?" he answered cagily.

"Yes, you," Xena replied. "I noticed you've been more comfortable with each other since I found you here. Perhaps you'd care to enlighten me?"

Her stern expression was unchanging, but there was definitely a twinkle of amusement in her eyes as she awaited their response. It also served rather nicely as a distraction to their queries on Rhodes and why she couldn't take them with her. Under any circumstances.

Gabrielle and Joxer looked at each other uncertainly, then at their comrade. "Well, we were having an argument," the blonde began. "But when it flared up into a row, it - er, got complicated."

"Did it now?" Xena enquired, enjoying herself enormously.

"Well, you know how when you get upset, something rash can happen?" Gabrielle said slowly.

"Ye-esss," Xena commented non-committally.

"Well, I – you – I mean, he did."

Xena's eyebrows rose at that this half-confession, though she had the feeling she could dine on this for months. "And..?"

"You tell her," Gabrielle insisted, turning to Joxer who looked less than thrilled at the idea.

"Yes, do tell me," Xena probed, her smile growing as the incident was slowly brought out. "I'm intrigued what you do when you're rash and upset."

"Erm..." he said hesitantly, then took a deep breath. "I kissed her."

"Hmm, I can see how that would complicate things," Xena remarked, as she waited for the rest of the story to unfold.

"I was so surprised I kissed him right back," Gabrielle continued. "And then we started arguing again."

"Figures. Never a quiet moment with you two about," came the dry reply.

"Then we started talking and found out we weren't so different after all and, well – here we are!" Joxer summed up succinctly.

Xena looked at the pair of them astutely, then the bedrolls and of things past. "Quite."

"So why are we really going to Rhodes?" Gabrielle persisted.

"There's a few barrels of black powder aimed at a target in Macedonia," Xena explained, telling as much as she dared without giving the game away. "If the ransom isn't –"

"What's black powder?" Joxer interrupted.

"It's a form of explosive from Chin. Came across it before I met Lao Ma."

"Like Greek fire?" Gabrielle interjected, pulling out a scroll and quill.

"Yes, only more destructive," Xena said finally. "As I was saying, if the ransom isn't paid, bang goes the Temple. And then it's war. And once the fighting starts, the Romans will move in."

"So why has your enemy got a pact with the Romans?" Joxer persisted. "He hasn't. But he does know of my feud with Caesar and wants to force a fight with me. On his terms presumably."

Gabrielle and Joxer nodded in understanding. The Romans needed no excuse to expand if the opportunity offered itself, and if anyone could slow them, Xena could. Though a fight with her enemy would complicate matters some.

"Seems like we've all had a full day," Xena commented, and proceeded to tell of the trials and tribulations she'd been through, with one slight alteration; Namely, substituting one of her murderous gang members for Callisto. There was no way she'd put them in such danger against the Goddess.

After Gabrielle finished getting the tale so far on a scroll, Xena climbed to her feet. She yawned theatrically, stretching above the fire. "Well, it's been a busy day. I'll see you both in the morning."

Joxer and Gabrielle exchanged glances. As Xena snuggled down for a night's kip, Gabrielle climbed to her feet and moved to where Argo was grazing. She gestured urgently with her head to the horse, expecting Joxer to follow. When he didn't pick up on her signal, she made some very definite gestures with her hands that couldn't be mistaken. When he followed after her, she grabbed him hastily and pulling him to one side. His eyebrows shot up in surprise, accompanied by a grin. She disabused him of any ideas by grabbing him firmly by the waistcoat and shaking him.

"What's Xena up to?" she whispered. "She never goes to bed early."

"Pffft! Don't know, but she's definitely got something planned," he agreed, releasing his waistcoat from her grip. "She did say that the Romans were on standby – maybe she wants us to do something to distract them?"

"Funny how she was slow in coming forward about what she's facing on Rhodes, isn't it?" she mused. "Almost as if she's holding something back."

There was silence as they thought it over, trying to work out the conundrum. The quiet was broken as Gabrielle thumped a tree in realisation. "Ares – it must be!"

"But she would have said if she was going up against him," he answered.

"Not necessarily," she said evasively, painful memories coming to mind that he was thankfully unaware of. "Anyway, we need to watch her back if she's after him."

"But if we're going with her, it won't be a problem."

"It will be if she's not planning to take us with her at all," she commented slowly.

"Well, we can at least follow her," Joxer said unexpectedly.

"On foot?" she queried tersely.

He moved back to his bedroll and backpack with all the stealthiness of someone trying to make no noise but making plenty. A pair of slit eyes watched him as he made enough noise to wake the dead. She still couldn't hear what they were saying, but it was obvious they had worked out that they weren't going to Rhodes. Well, she'd just have to slow them down a tad...

"No, with this," Joxer answered, unaware his and Gabrielle's movement were under scrutiny.

He pulled out a small metal implement and stood close to Argo. He shushed her softly and stroked her back with both hands. Moving his hands further down and standing to one side, he gently and carefully lifted her right rear hoof. Not keen on this, the mare shook herself free of her drowsiness and promptly placed the hoof back on the ground again. Argo's attention was distracted slightly by the appearance of an apple, which Joxer used to his advantage.

The hoof was lifted again and the object was gently yet firmly pressed into the soft part of the hoof, before releasing the leg to drop to the ground. Munching contentedly on the apple, the horse was glad that whatever the man and woman had done with her hoof had not caused her pain.

"Now we'll be able to follow her at least," Joxer whispered.

He passed the object across to Gabrielle, who looked it over. Seeing her questioning look, he explained further. "It leaves a distinctive mark on her hoof that will leave an imprint wherever she goes. One of Jett's horses got stolen once and he followed them until he found the horse again."

"What happened when he caught up with the one who stole it?" Gabrielle asked curiously.

"Well, er – they weren't in any state to steal anything again. Ever."

"Ah," she nodded, having had a brief acquaintance with Joxer's brother and his grim profession. "So now we just wait until morning and follow Xena?"

"Sounds like a plan," Joxer agreed.

Thinking it over carefully, no other plans occurred to them so they decided to keep vigilant and wait for Xena to make a move, their eyes shining like cat's eyes in the gloom.

Xena sighed to herself. They may be her best friends, but they'd not yet learnt the art of neither subtlety nor moving silently. Much as she hated to do it, she'd have to slow them down some before she set off. As she was mulling this over, one of Gabrielle's scrolls was nagging away at the back of her mind. Something she'd said or done.

Ah! That was it! She smiled to herself as settled down for a short nap and resolved to act upon it when the dynamic duo were less alert......

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