Castlewarming Chapters 391-400
by Hercules Forum Collective
Chapter 391
by Shambalayogi
A tall, dark-haired man moved a long strides onto the battlefield. He moved
confidently and purposefully. He appeared to just elbow his way through a
crowd instead of using one arm, then another, to knock attackers out of his
way. He was looking for a fast moving warrior with blonde curling hair-and
he found him.
"Thought you wanted-unh--some help, buddy." Herc blocked a blow from a
warstaff with one arm as he came up beside Iolaus. "But you started without
me." He took the staff from the fighter with the other arm. He watched the
astonished fighter run away.
"Tell it to the King-your brother," Iolaus quipped as he faced a man
running at him with a long knife, the kind Thracians used. The Golden
Hunter grabbed the hand with the knife, butted heads with the attacker and
the man went down for the count.
Herc and Iolaus stood and faced each other momentarily. Iolaus was suddenly
very serious. "Boy, am I glad to see you," he said, then broke into a grin.
Herc grinned back. Then they turned back to business.
From the walls, Shamba watched Hercules come into the battle. Two archers
not far from her spotted him about the same time. They both pointed and
shouted his name.
It didn't take long for the hero's name to be heard. Soon the cry was
picked up and spread through out the Amazons and hunters that Hercules had
joined the fight. The two heroes, Hercules and his friend, Iolaus, fought
side by side with them.
Maddie stood alone before the god of wine, still shaking and unsteady. His
followers still eyed her intently from their places on the floor. Their
yellow eyes seemed to cut right through her. Like Lilith, they seemed to
regard her as some kind of threat - not truly Bacchai yet no longer human.
They would not be at ease again until she was fully one with them.
Maddie rubbed her face with her hands. "Will my head never clear?" she
thought. "Come on, girl! Focus! Start with your feet and work your way up.
Your feet are on the ground. . ."
But Maddie looked down to see her feet hovering several inches above the
cave floor. Upon seeing this she quickly dropped back to the ground.
Bacchus laughed.
"Learning the tricks of the trade, I see," said Bacchus. "Good! You're a
fast study, my dear and you'll be of great use."
"Lilith said you could help me," Maddie began.
"Absolutely," Bacchus replied. He rose from his seat and moved soundlessly
to Maddie's side. He seemed to be in front of her, behind her, everywhere
at once - it made her dizzier still. "I've been very anxious to have you
join our family, my daughter. I can take away all your pain, all your
doubts. . ."
Brief moments of clarity cut through Maddie's confusion. She remembered the
housewarming party, the battle, riding with her friends attempting to find
the right road to Antianos. Her friends, yes, concentrate on them.
"Joxer told me that you were dead," Maddie replied weakly. She vaguely
remembered Joxer and Aquillea swapping Bacchai tales after their escape
from the village. "Xena killed you."
"Xena!" Bacchus spat and the echo of the name bounced off the cavern walls
in an almost eternal echo. The Bacchai seemed to cower as they whispered
the name as well. "Xxxxxena,"
Bacchus regained his composure, afraid that a tantrum would awaken the true
spirit of the disarmed Amazon. He continued more calmly. "Xena attempted to
destroy me and your sisters. But she was bitten by one who was not fully
Bacchai herself. Her powers were weak. Enough to disable for a while,
perhaps. But I lived on and came here to begin again, start a new family.
"Please," said Maddie, "sssstop sssspinning around me. I can barely
sssstand as it isssss." Bacchus steadied her as she threatened to topple to
the floor.
"Of course, my dear," said Bacchus with a sickeningly sweet grin. "Let's
finish things up, shall we? Now, you need something from me, don't you? You
need something very badly."
"But I don't know what," Maddie answered.
"Simple enough," said Bacchus. He moved behind Maddie. With a flash a huge,
bejeweled cup materialized in his right hand. He moved his left arm around
her waist as he passed the cup under her nose. It was the strongest wine
she had ever smelled and the waves of dizziness grew stronger.
"You can have this," the god of wine began, "but you've got to promise to
do me a small favor in return." The words echoed in Maddie head.
"You have to go back to the village tomorrow and convince them you were
separated from your friends in the battle. Make sure they take you in.
Then, once night falls, allow your sisters to enter the gates. That's all
you have to do."
"But the villagersss. . ." Maddie began.
". . .will be one with us. We will all be one family. . ."
"My traveling companionss. . ." Maddie continue.
"You will see your sisters again. And they will truly be your sisters. . ."
"Autolycus?" Maddie weakly asked. Bacchus began to lose patience.
"Is . . . dead." he snapped. "I will allow no more distractions."
But it was too late. His final words cut through her.
Ithacas spotted Xena right away. He had stopped his horse at the edge of a
small stand of olive trees on the eastern outskirts of Antianos. He sized
up the way things were going pretty quickly. The Amazons and hunters were
certainly doing things right. More and more of Stygnos and Maloran's
fighters were going towards Antianos as the army surrounded the warlords'
camp and closed in on them. The plan had not been to overwhelm the Antiosan
defenders, of course. Only to keep the warlords' men in check and keep them
out of the city.
Among the leather-clad Amazons, the scout saw Xena doing one of her
impossible maneuvers. That and the flying black hair gave her away. He
didn't know how she could fight with that long hair loose. The first thing
he would look for in a woman enemy was if she had hair he could grab onto
to bring her down. In any case, it never seemed to hamper Xena.
The scout decided to make straight for the Warrior Princess. Most of the
battle was on the ground with the two sides on foot. There were some
mounted warriors, but none of them challenged him in any way. He had to
strike at a couple of warriors who came at him on foot but he made his way
through them to come near Xena.
Xena saw him coming. He approached her from her left side in her full range
of vision and called out her name. When she got a good look at him, she
knew he wasn't the enemy. He wasn't in full uniform but he had Corinthian
colors in his clothing and equipment.
"Well, look who's here," Xena shouted back to him. "The scout we had to
carry to camp."
"Lady," Ithacas saluted her and brought his horse closer. "I have a message
from Iphicles to one or all of the commanders. You were easier to spot than
the Lady Kendaa. I didn't see any of the others." He didn't dismount. It
was easier to see anyone coming at them from horseback.
"Okay, let me have it," Xena replied. She kept a wary watch herself for
oncomers.
"The battle goes well. So far, so good. The original plan stands. That's
all." Ithacas reported to her. "I'm to carry any message back you have."
"I don't have any except I haven't seen Hercules out here yet myself. Some
of our people are out on a little side sortie of their own. I think it may
turn out to be important for us--when they get back and report in." She
kicked a man in the backside who had been forced too close to her by two
hunters. They hauled him away.
"Side sortie?" Ithacas was puzzled. "Some warlord men broke out ...?"
"Not ... exactly ...…" Xena decided there was no point in telling him and
Iphicles what Iolaus had figured out. "They've got it under control and you
guys can have the full story later."
A flying body by passed Ithacas and Xena going toward the enemy line. They
both looked up to see Hercules with Iolaus shaking hands congratulating
each other. The flying enemy must have been their doing.
"Well, the big guy made it." Xena smiled, somewhat relieved, somewhat
admiringly, that Hercules was present. She turned to Ithacas, "We're doing
okay here. Report that unless you think you need to talk to someone else."
"I think that is enough to report with, Warrior Princess," Ithacas looked
around for the best way out.
"Oh, yeah," Xena remembered something. "Our camp was moved. Its now behind
the city." She pointed in the direction. "And your brother and his lady are
safely in Antianos."
Again Ithacas was puzzled but decided to take Xena at her word with no more
explanation. He gave her a nod and was soon on the way back to the King.
Bacchus sat back on his throne in anger and utter disgust. He had called
back the second Bacchai war party when they too failed to eliminate the
Amazon's companions. Now, the Amazon herself was showing signs of
weakening, even in the poisonous environment of the cavern. He determined
that he should bring her over as soon as she regained consciousness. Night
was slipping away and he could not let her see another morning as a human.
Maddie lay on the floor of another cavern, its floor covered in pillows and
rugs. She awakened and looked around. Some wall torches provided minimal
lighting. The walls provided no entrance or exit for the Bacchai needed
none. They simply passed through the walls.
Maddie sat up quickly and everything hit at once. The unknown hunger
returned but with it something more. Her memory was returning, memories of
her past, her Amazon sisters, Autolycus.
"Oh gods, no," she whispered, "Autolycus."
It was all a jumble, like trying to remember a dream. Could he really be
dead? How could he be dead? When she left him. . .
She left him . . . or did she attack him?
She remembered lunging and snarling. The rest - all just images - arguing -
pounding in her head - running away.
"No," she thought, "no, I will not believe it. It didn't happen because
he's not dead, he's alive and he's safe and,"
She sunk down into the pillows, sobbing. "Everything's gone. Everything's
lost. Somebody please help me."
There in Aquillea's arms Eeyoraus thought she would draw her last breath.
The Bacchai's bite had had the same poisoning effect on the daughter of the
god of love as her blood had had on the Bacchai. She drifted in and out of
reality with a strong wave of nausea hitting her like a cudgel every time
she came around. Her eyes fluttered open once more and she was determined
this time to fight as she had heard her beloved sister beg her to.
Faint golden light swirled before her giving her surroundings the effect of
a dreamscape. Had she really opened her eyes, she wondered, or was she
dreaming…or was she dead? She thought she could see a familiar figure in
the distance, coming closer. Was it…?
Yes! Standing over her now… it was him. He had come to be with her in her
final moments and she knew what she would have to do. Just as Shait had
told her, this time, with this last chance she had been given, she would be
true to her own heart. She would tell him.
The dark Amazon was fighting her own pain. It wasn't just her physical
injury that hurt her. How many loved ones would be lost because of her? Why
had she been cursed with this horrid bane? How could she allow people to
care for her knowing what fate would hold for many who did?
She looked down at the woman she now held in her arms. Eeyoraus had only
been in her life for a short time and had already fallen victim to this
haunting thing. How could it be?
She lovingly stroked the flaming red hair of her funny new friend and
almost managed to smile as she thought of the things that had happened
between them in these last days. How impetuous this sister was. What wild
emotions she had. And she had sacrificed. Yes, the wiser and calmer Amazon
knew she had sacrificed, not just this time but before. She had given
Aquillea a man she could have taken for herself, a man she may have even
wanted for herself. Of course, she had said that she knew they were meant
to be together, but she hadn't known all the things that stood in their
way. Had she sacrificed her happiness for nothing? Would she ever know? The
one who held her had to wonder.
Looking lovingly at Eeyoraus' face she saw her eyes flicker open. Her dear
sister seemed to be focusing on something in the night, but there was
nothing there. Through her pain Aquillea's heart leapt.
t. Ah, yes, she was a fighter. She'd shown that already.
The wonderful vision knelt down closer to the fallen Amazon. With all the
strength she could muster she reached to touch him. Finding him in the
night she whispered.
"What is she saying? What does she see?" some one asked from behind the two
women.
Aquillea leaned closer to the lips of the one she pleaded to the gods to
save. She had to strain to hear those words that were spoken and when she
did grasp it, it was much more than she had expected to understand that she
heard.
"Iolaus, I'm so glad you're here. I'm dying, Iolaus and I have to tell you
something before I go. I love you, my darling…my own hero. I'm in love with
you.I want you to know that and I want you to go on . Be happy with our
Quills for me <gasp> O.K.? But remember me. Remember, Golden Boy, always
remember I truly loved you."
As soon as RainCloud shouted in distress Stripe immediately went for the
sword at her back and Lyrical went into a defensive stance by the cot.
RainCloud continued to stare at the man with the piercing blue eyes, words
seemed to have failed her.
"Back away Stranger!" growled Stripe in a voice that sent chills up your
back. Alec looked to the Amazon, the grin disappearing from his face
replaced by a look of confusion. "What in Hades is going on here." demanded
Alec. Stripe not caring for the tone of his voice raised her sword higher
and stepped even closer.
Alec's words seemed to finally permeate RainCloud's brain and she looked
around the room and noticed for the first time Stripe holding her sword
threateningly at Alec. "No Stripe...Wait." shouted RainCloud as she
struggled to sit up on the cot.
Not dropping her eyes from the Stranger, Stripe backed up a couple of steps
but continued to hold her sword in front of her. Lyrical looked at
RainCloud, the Stranger and then back at RainCloud, confusion clearly
written across her face as well. "RainCloud I think you need to explain to
us what is going on." said Lyrical.
RainCloud was at a loss for words once again. She hadn't told anyone about
her first meeting with this man, but it looked as though she was going to
have to now. "Stripe please lower your sword, he is not going to hurt me."
Stripe held her sword out for a moment longer and then replaced in the
sheath on her back. Sensing RainCloud's discomfort with the situation she
said. "I'll be just outside if you need me." Her words spoken more as a
warning to Alec.
Alec watched the Amazon leave the lean-to, he let out a slow breath and
relaxed his posture as he turned to look at RainCloud with eyebrows raised.
Lyrical sensed that these two needed to talk, and as much as she wanted to
know what was going on she could wait for another time for RainCloud's
explanation. "RainCloud, I'm going outside with Stripe if you need anything
just shout." she said as she left the lean-to.
"Well, it looks like it is just the two of us RainCloud." said Alec as he
slowly walked over to the cot.
As Lyrical left the lean-to, she smiled to herself.
"RainCloud appears to be in very good hands," she thought," and those hands
are connected to a very nice looking man."
Lyrical giggled as walked toward the drying racks. After taking an
inventory of what herbs they were short on, she spotted Calico and walked
toward her.
" Hi Calico, did you just get off of guard duty or are you about to leave
for your shift?" Lyrical asked her Amazon Sister.
" I just got off and I can hardly wait to get something to eat and take a
rest." said Calico, "Of course, just between you and me, I don't think I'll
get much sleep. I am really itching to get into that battle."
Calico saw the look on Lyrical's face realized that Hercules had just left
for the town and he was probably in the heart of the fighting as they
spoke.
"Oh Lyri, I am so sorry," she said, "I forgot about Hercules. I just wanted
to be able to help win this thing and get it all over with sooner. I wasn't
thinking about how it would make you feel."
"Calico, it's alright. I know where he is and I know a great number of our
sisters are out there as well." replied Lyrical,"I also know if any of them
get hurt they would prefer coming here than going into town. Also without
you,Stripe,and the other Amazon Sisters guarding us,it wouldn't be safe."
"Thanks, Lyri, you always manage to turn this around." said Calico.
"Now go and get some food and then rest, your next shift will come before
you know it." said Lyrical,"And keep in mind, RainCloud said I could go on
guard duty as soon as she does her final check. I'll help bare some of the
load very soon."
The two parted and Lyrical headed towards the woods to retrieve some more
herbs. As she entered a heavily wooded area she felt as though she were
being watched. The feeling of cold fear started to fill her.
Lyrical reached for her sword and just had it out of the sheath, when 5
strong men came at her from the front. She started fighting with two of
them, not a major challenge, as the other three just stood watching with
smug smiles on their faces. As she raised her sword and took out one of the
men, she felt a searing pain. Someone had come up from behind her and
whacked her on the back of the head.
Lyrical fell to the ground seeing stars all the way down. She tried to
fight it when someone placed a foul smelling rag over her nose and mouth
and soon everything went black.
Strife stood to the side near a tree observing everything that was
happening to Hercules’ precious Amazon. He could have jumped for joy, and
watched gleefully as his plan fell into place.
"Phase one is complete, it’s on to phase two." Strife rubbed his hands
together with satisfaction.
" Now to let Hercules know, I have the love of his life." he said with an
evil grin, " Let the fun begin." With a high pitched laugh, he disappeared
in a flash of light.
The dark Amazon, still cradling Cupid's daughter in her arms, ceased her
rocking, and in their pallid stillness the pair resembled nothing so much
as a sculpture of ice. No profound secret had been revealed by her dying
sister-friend, yet hearing the words spoken aloud wounded Aquillea in a way
she neither expected nor understood. Life and love, death and pain were all
one and the same, hopelessly inseparable.
The anguished, guilt-ridden tears had stopped flowing. An oppressive
emptiness filled the damaged soul who looked down at the extinguishing
flame with a kind of envy. Aquillea yearned for the simple clarity of
emotion the demi-goddess had seemed to posses and the final and perfect
peace the woman would soon know.
'That's not you talking,' a voice in Aquillea's head admonished her. 'As
bad as things seem right now. . . . you've survived worse.' It appeared
that the Fates were intent on pushing her beyond the limits of her
endurance. That meant she had to push beyond her limitations. She owed it
to the loved ones who had followed her to the brink of disaster. Aquillea's
resolution brought with it the realization that she would now have to
choose between two Amazon sisters who lives both hung in the balance, all
because of her. The dark woman's turbulent, draining emotions came flooding
back and the rocking and weeping began anew.
The circle of friends observed the heartrending display in desolate silence
while the Dispatcher lowered her stake, saddened but also puzzled. It had
been a reflex reaction on her part to slay the infected Amazon. She had
forgotten that, for the first time in her career, there was a real chance
of dispatching Bacchus himself. If that could be accomplished, then perhaps
both Quilla's friends could be saved. What disconcerted Bei, however, was
that she had never, in all her years, seen anyone react to a Bacchai bite
in this manner.
"Aquillea may be right, she may not turn Bacchai at all," greenie almost
whispered. Then she offered an explanation for Bei's unasked question.
"She's a half goddess."
"What?" the serious blond exclaimed, aghast. The Dispatcher's reaction was
swift and surprising as she again raised her weapon, preparing to strike.
"Quilla. . . . move away from her. . . . now," Bei commanded.
The tone and stance of her old friend drew the agonized Amazon away from
her inner turmoil, bringing her back to the dilemmas that confronted them
all. Aquillea pleaded at first, but determination grew in her voice as she
spoke. "Bei, stop!. . . . You can't do this!. . . . The poison is killing
her. Can't you see that? It's has to be her father's blood in her. . . .
But she's fighting it too. That might be Cupid's blood as well. . . . We
have to give her a chance to live. She deserves a chance."
Still in a dream world, Aquillea's words pierced Eeyoraus hallucination.
The familiar voice brought her back to the edge of reality. Iolaus faded
from her sight and she began to focus on her dark sister, now fighting for
Eeyoraus life.
As she remembered where she was and what had happen to her, her will to
fight came back. "No. Bacchai will be the end of me!" She thought aloud.
"Those bloodsucking b***ches will not win this battle!"
Pushing herself up ,leaning on her hands, fighting the feelings of poisoned
blood, she realized the Bacchai were no longer her immediate threat. Bei
was going to kill her.
"Wait! Wait just a minute you....you...dispatcher. I'm no Bacchai! " Before
she could say more the poison in her system overcame her and she turned her
face toward the ground to expel the vile fluid.
Coughing and gagging the half-goddess/all amazon knew she had not yet won
her first fight. Thoughts of her mother came flooding into her muddled
mind.
"Fight, Eeyoraus! Stand up and defend yourself!" she remembered the words
from all the training her dear Mum had given her.
And there was Daddy telling her " You're not like other girls, baby. You're
special. You're not exactly a goddess, but you're not really a mortal
either. You just have a little extra, sweetie. Use it."
Daddy had told her this many times. He had always told her that she should
be very proud of her heritage on both sides. Her mother was the strongest
human woman he'd ever seen in character and he...well, he was a god.
" I won't die like this!" Ida and Cupid's little girl practically growled.
She fought back the putrid infection and with all her strength stood up.
"I'm going to live and I'm going to remain who I am." she proclaimed. " I
won't give in to this Bacchus...not in any way. He will not defeat me!"
Strength poured over her and she would need it. Now she faced a more
admirable opponent.
Rhiannon's messenger paced the halls of her temple, obviously distraught.
The goddess herself sat, placid as a mountain lake. Her messenger knew that
her outward serenity gave no clue as to her true feelings. He had seen very
few things shatter her mask of cool. Inside was usually a very different
story. He, on the other hand, wore his heart quite firmly on his sleeve.
"Michael," said the goddess with her usual calm, "stop pacing. Someone will
mistake you for a duck in a shooting gallery."
"I have to do something," Michael replied. "This is my responsibility. If I
hadn't let her get away. . ."
"She would have done the same thing," Rhiannon finished. "If you had sat
her down, finished the message, explained everything, told her the risks,
delivered the message in a candy-gram she would have done the same thing. I
had hoped she wouldn't but there are some things about her that can't be
changed."
Rhiannon saw the broken-hearted look on Michael's face and brushed the hair
from his eyes in a motherly fashion. "It's one of the reasons why we love
her," she finished.
Michael was determined. "You can't just let this happen!" he cried and
realized he was treading dangerously near insolence. "My Lady," he added in
a calmer tone.
"I can't intervene at this point," said Rhiannon. For the first time,
Michael noticed her façade begin to crack. "It would come too close to
interfering with her free will."
"She did not choose this," said Michael as he struggled to maintain his
composure.
"But she knew the risks in running off as she did," the goddess replied.
"It is a very thin line. Any interference with free will is strictly
forbidden."
"She's begging for your help," said Michael. He realized suddenly that
Rhiannon was in as much pain as he was. She needed a loophole.
"She has been weakened by his influence. If you could restore the balance,
return her to her former spirit, then would be able to make a choice," said
Michael.
Rhiannon leaned forward in her chair. "Go on," she replied.
"He did lie to her," Michael continued. "It would be your duty to show her
the truth. If it rallied her to fight for her life, well, you couldn't
actually call it interference."
