Date: Fri, 9 Mar 2012 07:23:21 -0600
From: John Wolfstone <argouru@gmail.com>
Subject: The Life of the Nomad, Pt. 5

The life of the nomad (a story of the Spartans)


This book, "The life of the nomad," is the third using the same mythos
originally created for the series "Spartan" and used later in "Sons of
Sparta".  In order to fully appreciate the details behind this story it
would be advisable for readers to have some familiarity with both earlier
works, which can be found in the gay/scifi section on Nifty.  The mythos
was originally created by the author CF.

Note that this story series is based in Western and Central Europe at
around the time of the collapse of the Roman Empire and the start of what
is colloquially known as the 'dark ages'.  However I beg any experts out
there not to point out my failings or deficiencies in my knowledge of the
period - I am not a historian and make no claims whatsoever to
authenticity.

Part 5

Character list (ages are as at the start of part 5, all are deemed 1 year
older as this book starts towards the end of the summer):

Gaia's family:
1.Gaia Melonson, 97, oldest in family
2.Elis Gaiason, 71, son of Gaia
3.Tito Teleklosson, partner of Elis, 65
4.Hyacinth Gaiason, Elis's younger brother, 65, son of Gaia
5.Marcus Elisson, 41, son of Elis and Tito, brother to Clio
6.Philip (HUMAN), partner of Marcus, 32
7.Maia Marcusson, 2, son of Marcus and Philip
8.Socra Marcusson, 8, son of Marcus and Philip
9.Audo (HUMAN), 9, partner of Socra
10.Clio Titoson, 37, son of Elis and Tito, brother to Marcus
11.Aeson Elipson, partner of Clio, 32
12.Demaratos Aesonson, 10, son of Clio and Aeson
13.Konon Clioson, 5, son of Clio and Aeson
14.Jason Hyacinthson, son of Hyacinth and Alexander 33
15.Simon Apolloson (formerly human, now Spartan), 32, partner of Jason
16.Cleopas Hyacinthson, son of Hyacinth and Alexander 26
17.Red (HUMAN), 15, partner of Cleopas
18.Alexander Cleopasson, approximately 6 months old, deemed to be 1 summer
as he was born in the spring and has lived through his entire 1st summer,
son of Red and Cleopas 
19.Nabis Platoson, son of Plato Melonson, 82
20.Jocasta Kirkeson, partner of Nabis, 84
21.Demeter Nabisson, 52, only surviving son of Nabis and Jocasta
22.Rhea Larisason, 55 partner of Demeter
23.Leander Rheason, son of Demeter and Rhea, 32, father of Evander
24.Joseph (HUMAN), partner of Leander, 31, father of Evander
25.Evander Leanderson, 6, son of Leander and Joseph
26.Acantha Demeterson, son of Demeter and Rhea, father of Xanthe 25
27.Charon Pallasson partner of Acantha, sire of Xanthe, 26
28.Xanthe Acanthason, 3, son of Acantha and Charon

Judoc's family:
1.Judoc Claisason, 86
2.Orhain Judocson, 46, son of Judoc, father of Awhain
3.Petros (HUMAN) partner of Orhain, 43, sire of Awhain
4.Awhain Orhainson, 26, partner of Carme
5.Kalliope Demeterson, son of Demeter and Rhea, father of Ajax and Carme, 40
6.Lykurgos Rheason, son of Demeter and Rhea, brother of Kalliope, 14
7.Mark (HUMAN), partner of Kalliope, sire to and Ajax and Carme, 40
8.Ajax Kalliopeson, 13, son of Kalliope and Mark and brother of Carme
9.Carme Kalliopeson, 17, son of Mark and Kalliope, partner of Awhain

Ali's family (selected members):
1.Ali Philipson, 99
2.Michael Alison, 51, son of Ali
3.Mirakos Michaelson, 18, son of Michael
4.Teleklos Philipson, 86, Ali's brother
5.Siratus Teleklosson, 58, Ali's nephew
6.Anthony, a grand-nephew of Ali, aged 5
7.Hardwin (HUMAN), 15, partner of Mirakos
Plus approximately 20 others

From part 4 . . .

Aeson and Charon appeared, dragging a burly man between them.  He was
dressed as a smith and though he appeared to be naturally muscular, his
face was careworn and thin and his eyes were heavy, like he'd long since
stopped looking after himself.  "No, you can't kill him, please!" he gasped
when he saw Marcus with the naked blades and the bishop, already bloody
from the whip cut on his torso, bound and tied to the tree.

"Give me one good reason why not?" Marcus snarled.

The man seemed to shudder and was clearly suppressing his tears.  "Because I'm Spartan too and he's my mate" he announced to the shocked family.

 . . .

Their captive heard the voice of the man who had come to beg for his life.  "You!" he spat.  Tears filled his eyes.  "Why do you do this to me?  What have I done to you to suffer in this way!  Let me die, please!" he cried.

"Paul, please, I love you, don't you love me?" the as-yet unnamed Spartan man asked.

"No!  I don't love you, I can't.  I can't, I can't!" the captive - Paul - sobbed back.  He continued to sob uncontrollably and the man who claimed to be his mate seemed to want to cry in return.

"Why do you deny your heart?" he asked softly.

But it was clear that the distraught churchman couldn't hear him over his anguished wails.  "Kill me, please, I beg you!  You've always said you'd do anything for me!  Let me die, please!" he cried.

During this conversation Marcus stood dumbfounded, watching the tears and recriminations bounce from one man to the other.  "Okay, you" he pointed at his prisoner, "silent, you" he pointed at the anonymous Spartan, "start talking.  Who are you and what the blazes is going on?"

Aeson and Charon let go of his arms and he sat down with Marcus and began to speak.  "My name is Claisa Thomasson, I was named after my Spartan grandfather.  I've lived in this town for fifteen years, ever since I saw a young novice monk first arrive to set up a church and fell in love with the man I saw" he began.

"Sometimes, when he could get away and we could spend time alone together, he was gentle and kind and loving but he always refused any kind of sexual contact.  Nearly three years ago now, on our twelfth anniversary, I finally told him about my species and mentioned that we should have had sons by now but his refusal to touch me and spill his seed with me had robbed us of that opportunity.  He accused me of being a tempter sent by the devil and the fury on his face hurt me more than....." he broke down into floods of tears.

"You've been together fifteen years?" Jocasta asked softly.  Claisa nodded.

"And you've never been emergent?" Demeter gasped.

"No, Apollo told me it requires at the very least prolonged skin to skin contact and the most he has ever done is hold my hand for an hour or so when he visited me each week and for the past three years he hasn't even done that" Claisa whispered between his tears.

In the background, Paul was sobbing softly, "I don't want to love you, I can't love you, I'll go to hell if I love you."

"I just want to kiss him once in my life.  That is all I've lived for this past fifteen years, the opportunity to one day kiss him" Claisa admitted, his tears flowing freely.

"You could do so now.  He isn't going anywhere" Marcus pointed out.

"But that would require me to force my will upon him and that would hurt him more than I could ever bear" Claisa replied.

Ajax and Lykurgos were sat nearby, listening to what was going on.  "Man, that's screwed up" Ajax whispered.  "Living your whole life waiting for your partner to consent to a single kiss?  By Apollo, how could anyone live like that?"  Lykurgos just shook his head, equally shocked at the heart-wrenching tale.

"You're forcing your will onto him now.  He has begged you to kill him" Cleopas pointed out. "Why not make him a deal?  If he will kiss you once, like he means it, than you will kill him as he asks?"

Claisa sighed deeply and stood up, appearing as if he had the weight of the world on his shoulders.  He walked wordlessly to where his mate was still tied.

"Paul, my love, I wish to make you an offer" he said.  He still cried but his voice held steady.

"Just kill me, please?" he begged pitifully.

"I will, if you truly desire it I promise I will, but first you must do something for me."

"What?" Paul asked.

"Just once, kiss me and hug me like you really do you love me?" Claisa whispered.

"I can't" Paul whimpered.

"Then I cannot give you death, I'm sorry" Claisa replied.

"If I do as you demand, then what?" Paul asked.  "You'll put me out of my misery?"

"If you kiss me and hold me, just once, then both of our sufferings will be over" Claisa replied in a low, gentle whisper.  It was the kind of voice you'd reserve to talk to your lover whilst laid side by side at night but he'd never had a lover with which to share such things. This was as close as he ever had gotten.

Paul looked thoughtful but then said, "what do you mean, both?"

Claisa started to lose control of his voice as he explained, "we appear to have a lot of friends here with long, sharp swords.  We will kiss and embrace and once we are held tightly in each other's arms I will ask one of them to drive their blade through my back and into you.  Since you are certain we cannot live together I shall at least ensure that we die together."

"No!" Paul yelled, "you cannot die!  You need to live!"

"But why, Paul?" Claisa asked sadly.

"Your kind gets a century of life or so you said, so you've got another sixty years ahead of you.  Don't throw it away, please?"  he seemed suddenly heartbroken.

"My life will mean nothing if you are not with me.  These past fifteen years I have lived solely to watch you from afar and catch your eye as you walk to or from mass, or to feel your fingers brush mine as you used to do when you would steal a moment to walk past me when you helped in the hospital.  I've stood in the gardens in winter in the pouring rain just to hear your voice drift through the open window of the abbey as you took your turn reading from your scriptures, and have longed for the brief, stolen hour on those mornings when you were supposed to be visiting the sick and came to me on the way.  That has been my whole life, Paul, and with you gone from it I have no reason to live."

Paul broke down completely.

"I tried so hard" he stuttered after an extended flood of tears.  "I hoped you could leave me.  I didn't want you to suffer.  I wanted to force you to hate me, that's why I've done what I've done.  I can't be the man you want me to be.... I can't be the man you deserve" he finished.

"You don't need to be anything except yourself" Claisa said through a haze of his own tears.  "You don't need to try, you don't need to run.  If you die, I die.  If you run, I'll follow.  If you return to your church and try and be priest or bishop or inquisitor again then by your god and mine I swear I'll march in there and tell all who will listen how I feel and what I want and I'll look you in the eye and watch as you try and fail to condemn me."

"But how can you still love me after all that I've done?" Paul whispered.

"Why?  What have you done?" Claisa answered.

"I saw these people in the market, it must be two years ago now, I can't exactly remember when but it was after you'd told me of the existence of the Spartans at any rate.  Anyway I recognised their species immediately and decided to use them to force you to give me up.  I...." his voice trailed off and he hung his head, shame burning through his body.

"He persecuted and attacked this family and tortured one of their children to try and persuade him to renounce Apollo" brother Luke reluctantly explained.

"Prior to that he pursued us, demanded the arrest of a certain Christian brother who had joined us and then he murdered that same brother in cold blood" Simon contributed.

Luke looked at Simon.  "But you're..." he began.

"Shh" Simon said softly.  He knew what Luke was going to say but it wasn't important, not here, not now.

Claisa looked at Paul.  "You did all of that to make me hate you?" he asked.  Paul nodded.

Claisa went to him and lifted his head from his chest, raising it so the still-bound man was forced to look in Claisa's eyes.  "You stupid, selfish, sorry little man" he began, speaking in a low whisper.  "You could torture every child in the world and though I would hate your actions they would not stop me loving you.   Have you not understood a single thing I've ever said about our partner bond?"

Claisa took a deep breath, shook his head and continued to talk to Paul,
his voice getting progressively louder.  "Nothing can come between bonded
partners, ever.  You can torture me, you can put pins in my eyes and chain
me to the wall in the deepest dungeon you can find, you can do the same to
every one of my relatives, every Spartan you ever meet and I will still
LOVE YOU!" he finished with a shout.

"But why?" Paul sobbed softly.

"Because that's how the partner bond works.  Complete, total, unquestioning
love.  You should know that, you feel it as strongly yourself as I do."

"I don't..." Paul began what must have been a familiar denial, then started
to cry again.  "What have I done?" he sobbed pitifully.

"You have run for fifteen years, that's what" Claisa said.  He turned to
Marcus.  "Would you mind if I untied him?" he asked.

"Go ahead" Marcus said.  He had wanted to kill the man for his actions
against Maia but the mental anguish he had put Claisa through was worse
than his crimes against the child.  If anyone was to punish Paul it would
have to be his partner.

Claisa untied the bonds and pulled his partner free, holding the sobbing
man tightly in his arms.  "You are mine and will be forever" he whispered
as he cradled him like a parent might cradle a child.

"But what of the church?" Paul sobbed.

Luke stepped forwards.  "As the sole representative of the church here
present I am bound by canon law to pass judgement on your actions.  For the
torture of a child and the murder of a brother I command that you be
stripped of your position and defrocked.  No longer a bishop, no longer a
brother, nothing" he said.  He spoke in a soft voice and his lips twitched
into a half smile, as if he knew that what he did was necessary.

"And your sentence for my sins against God?" the now-former bishop asked,
still cuddled in Claisa's arms.

"You are sentenced to love and care for this man with all your heart and to
never disobey your feelings again" Luke smiled.  "But if you want to throw
in a few Hail Mary's as well they won't go amiss."

Paul gulped and started to laugh softly through his tears.  "You make a
lousy brother-confessor, Luke" he chuckled.

"But I'm the only one available so you'd better make the most of it.  Life
is for living and for loving, Paul" he replied quietly, "and if there is
one thing I have learned from the Spartans over the last few weeks it is
the utmost importance of love.  You have a gift in Claisa's affection and
for the last fifteen years you have squandered it but you can continue down
this selfish path no longer.  Give to Claisa your whole heart, give
everything you have to give and let him do with it what he wishes.  Only
then will you be free."

He turned and looked up at Claisa.  Their faces were only inches apart.
And then, with no fuss, no more tears and a gentle smile playing on his
lips, Paul leaned up and closed the gap and for the first time ever, they
kissed.

"I hope that was worth the wait?" Paul whispered in a shaky voice as they
parted.

"It was worth every second" Claisa smiled.

The couple kissed again, seemingly oblivious of the others sat around them.
It was only when they parted for breath the second time that Paul seemed to
realise he had something else he needed to do.

Carefully he sat up, remaining in Claisa's lap but not cradled in so
infant-like a fashion.  With his arm around Claisa's shoulders he turned to
Marcus.

"I deserve to die for what I did to your son, I know that" he stated
calmly.  His tears began to fall once more as he continued, "I ask not for
clemency but for an hour or two to spend with my partner?  I need, just
once, to hold him for a while?"

Marcus sighed.  "Your punishment is no longer my sole responsibility.  You
have wronged your partner, Claisa, far more deeply than you have me and
mine."

"But the injuries I inflicted on your son, you would just forgive me for
what I did?" Paul asked incredulously.

"It isn't as easy as that" Nabis came over and joined the discussion,
explaining, "we have very strong feelings about justice and what Marcus is
saying is that in his eyes, the wrongs you have inflicted against Claisa
are graver than the wrongs you inflicted against Maia.  In stating this he
offers Claisa the first rights of judgement against you."

Claisa looked at Marcus, at Nabis and then at Paul.  "What did you do to
Maia?" he asked softly.

"I?.whipped him" Paul replied in a whisper, shame rolling off him in
tangible waves.

"How many times?" Claisa asked, his voice steady and calm.

"I? can't remember" Paul admitted.

"Seven" Marcus interrupted, "at least there were seven scars on my son's
back."

"At the very least, for your crime against a defenceless child you deserve
to receive double" Claisa pronounced.

"I would expect nothing less" Paul replied stoically.

"And you need to make amends to the family for the stress and pain you have
caused them and offer your apologies" Claisa added

"May I do that now?" Paul begged.

Marcus looked around - most of the family were already asleep, including
all of the children.  "It is the middle of the night and we don't have many
hours until dawn.  Can it wait until everyone wakes?"

"Of course, I'm sorry" Paul replied contritely.

The people who were still awake quickly took to their beds, exhausted with
the night's events.  Paul and Claisa slept in each other's arms, emotional
exhaustion quickly overcoming them.  Only Siratus and Rhea stayed awake,
partly to watch Paul and Claisa for any signs of deception, partly to guard
against interlopers and partly to welcome Judoc and Gaia back when the two
patriarchs managed to leave the town and rejoin them early on the morrow.

When Judoc and Gaia did finally arrive back, most of the family were awake
already.  Several were sitting in a late meditation, others were quietly
cooking a brunch and Paul and Claisa were sat together whispering softly.

"Hallo, what's going on?" Gaia said, seeing their supposed 'captive' free
and being cradled in the arms of a strange man.

Judoc, though, had met Claisa's eyes and stared with disbelief.  "Nephew?"
he gasped.

"Uncle Judoc?" Claisa responded in surprise.

"What's going on?  Why are you here?  Why is he free?" Judoc demanded,
obviously shocked.

Marcus quickly updated the older man on the events and conversations of the
previous night.  Judoc then turned to Claisa.  "What of my brother, Thomas?
When did you last see him?"

"It must be ten years ago now, when he last visited the town to try and
convince me that Paul would never accept our bond and to leave and travel
with them.  I could not leave, as you may have guessed, so we argued and he
left with my brother, nephews, uncles and cousins.  I haven't seen any
family members since" he explained.

"Well you have now, Orhain is your cousin and Awhain is his son, my
grandson" Judoc explained.  He smiled gently.  "It appears your patience
has been rewarded" he said.

"I knew it would, I had no doubt that one day...." he became a little
tearful again as he pulled Paul into a tighter embrace and kissed him once
more.

Paul looked at the older man.  "It appears, then, I must also make my
apology to you" he said.

"What for?"

"For hurting your family and driving a wedge between your brother and his
son.  I have a lot to apologise for" he said in a soft voice, very unlike
his previous officious tone.

"There is one more wrong you need to right, Paul" Ali said.  He had of
course heard everything that had transpired the previous night but being
very tired did not have the energy to contribute.

"Oh?" Paul asked.

"Our God, Apollo.  You accused him of being demonic.  He also requires your
apology."

Paul started to tremble.  "He really is a God?" he asked.

Ali nodded.  "And offended by your continued persecution of Him and His.
Your lover, Claisa, owes his existence to Apollo, as do all Spartans.  And
though he rarely replies to human prayers you still need to offer Him the
opportunity to judge your actions."

"So what now?" Nabis asked of no one in particular.

"We retreat further into the heart of the forest" Gaia said, "beyond
earshot of the town and road.  We mete out the punishment that Claisa has
pronounced, witnessed by Marcus and Maia so they can see that justice has
been done.  Then our priests find a prayer site and speak to Apollo.  Then,
well, we shall discuss our future when we have successfully dealt with the
past" he finished.

Ali cleared his throat.  "I think" he began, "that the time has come for me
and mine to take our leave of you" he said.  "We have winter to think of
and we do not have either the dress or the resources to spend more than
another month in the north."

"You know that would make things difficult for us, don't you?" Mirakos
asked anxiously.  He held Hardwin's hand.  "Hardwin has promised his
parents that he will visit two years hence and I intend to ensure he makes
the visit... unless you will be returning northwards at the right time, of
course?"

"We hope to be in the north next summer, all being well, but as for the
summer after, I do not know."

Mirakos nodded.  "To ensure the promise is kept, then, and with Gaia and
Judoc's leave, we will join one of their families" he replied.

Ali smiled.  "I knew you would.  Our paths were destined to part.  If
Apollo wills it we will meet again, we already are scheduled to meet up
again next summer.  Peace be upon you, grandson."

"Peace be upon you, grandfather" Mirakos replied with a wistful smile.

The parting of the families was smooth and rapid for their belongings and
animals had been kept mostly separate.  By mid-afternoon the final goodbyes
were exchanged and Ali's family, minus Mirakos and Hardwin, rode away,
heading towards the town, which they would pass through quickly and take
the southern road so as to begin their winter migration.

Mirakos sniffed as he watched his parents', brothers' and grandfather's
retreating backs.  "Are you going to be okay?" Hardwin asked.

"I know I am, I have you by my side and that is all that matters" Mirakos
replied.  He smiled softly at his mate and he and Hardwin laced fingers and
exchanged a gentle kiss.

"So, we are still too close to the town for comfort and we still have among
us one of their senior townsmen.  If we are not to be accused of kidnap..."
Gaia grinned at Paul, who smiled back sheepishly, "we need to move."

"There's several things we need to do, not the least of which is to stock
up with supplies and find a comfortable and defensible spot for the winter,
and we need to decide if we're staying together or parting" Judoc replied.

"First things first, how are we going to get past the town?  We can't just
ride through like Ali and his kin, not with all the problems we had last
time, not to mention Paul being in and staying with our company" Nabis
asked.

"Why don't we wait until the small hours of the night and move close enough
to cut through the open land surrounding the walls?" Jocasta asked his
mate.  "Yes, we'll have to wait another twelve hours or so at least but we
won't be seen at any rate.  Then we can go quietly down the southern road a
few hours and sleep until noon before resuming our journey proper."

Nabis, Judoc and Gaia nodded.  "Let's do it" Gaia agreed.

Since there wasn't much anyone could do, and nowhere anyone could go for
the rest of the day, it turned into quite a lazy afternoon.  Everyone knew
that the night would be tiring so there was an expectation that most of the
family would, if not sleep, then at least rest.

Red and Cleopas were some distance away from Paul, Claisa and the elder
family members but had heard the decisions and were relaxing, lying on
their sides, propped up on their elbows as they talked about
inconsequential things and watched Alexander playing as he lay between
them.

He had been given a wooden hoop on which had been threaded a pair of giant
beads also made of wood.  It had been fastened tightly with leather to make
a closed circle and the beads would clatter up and down the hoop every time
the child turned it.  He would play for hours, watching the beads move,
pushing them over the leather knot with clumsy fingers and occasionally
putting a piece of it in his mouth and biting enthusiastically.

"He's getting another tooth, on his top gum by the looks of things" Red
said softly as Alexander played, gurgled and bit his toy.

"Another one?  Let me see" Cleopas said, leaning over to get the same view
of their son as Red had.  After a few moments he sighed.  "That means a
razor blade top and bottom.  I doesn't know how long I can keep nursing
him."

"He likes the goat's milk and he seems to cope when we give him soft
breadcrumbs in warm milk" Red pointed out.  "You might be okay to stop."

"He's too little to go properly onto solids, though.  I'm going to have to
put up with it for another month at least" Cleopas said, then his face fell
into a half-scowl, half-grin.  "As long as he doesn't get into the habit of
chewing on his food, at least not yet."

"Oooo, I bet that hurts" Red giggled.

"You DON'T need to tell me that" Cleopas replied, pretending to rub his
nipples and wince.

Demeter and Rhea were also laid next to each other, but were debating
something a little more serious than the cutting of milk teeth.  "We can't
make Lykurgos choose between us and Ajax, not again, I was heartbroken when
I realised just how much he'd missed us" Rhea said softly, so as not to be
overheard by any of his four sons.

"So what are you saying?  You want us to go with Judoc's kin when they
leave?"

"Why not?  Two of our sons travel with him anyway.  And our other two sons
will have their grandparents with them."

"I know" Demeter sighed, "it's just..." his words trailed off.

"Your fathers" Rhea finished for him with a wry smile.  "Demeter, honey,
they'll understand.  You've lived apart before, those years we travelled
with my parents and grandparents.  They'll be fine, trust me."

Demeter chuckled.  "I know, I'm the king of bad excuses!  And I do want to
stay with Lykurgos this winter so I guess we'll go where they do."  Rhea
smiled back, nodded and they exchanged a deep, meaningful kiss.

Clio and Aeson were sat polishing their swords along with their youngest
son, Konon.  Demaratos, Konon's older brother, had already finished and had
vanished into the nearby undergrowth with Lykurgos and Ajax but Konon had
only just completed one blade and still had his second to clean and
sharpen.  He carefully sheathed the blade he'd cleaned - he wasn't wearing
his sword belt but, like his fathers, had the belt and scabbards laid over
his knee - and drew the second one.  A tiny sigh escaped his lips.

"What's up Konon?" Clio smiled.  Just like his youngest son he too had two
blades and thus twice as much work to sharpen, clean and polish them.

"There's just so much metal!" Konon explained earnestly.

"You can't give up being an acolyte just because you don't like polishing"
Clio chuckled.

Konon looked mortified.  "No, father Clio, that's not what I meant!  I just
mean there's a lot of it and my arm's aching a bit.  I don't want to give
up or anything!"

Clio smiled.  "I know, son, I was teasing you.  But they both have to be
properly sharp and clean, otherwise when you're a full priest you might not
be able to do a proper sacrifice.  The blades have to be equal in size and
in capability."

"I know, daddy" Konon huffed but then grinned to show he was only teasing.
He laid his second sword on the ground, took the whetstone back up and
slowly began honing the edge, just like his fathers had taught him.

Night fell soon enough and the domesticity ceased shortly before sunset so
that belongings could be packed, the horses and wagons loaded and
preparation for their night time ride could begin.  The darkness stretched
before them as they waited quietly.  It became still and the road was empty
since the town gates had closed hours before.  Finally it was judged late
enough, quiet enough, dark enough, that they could begin to move.

They carried no torches, deeming them not only too much of a giveaway since
they hoped to ride past the town unnoticed, but also largely unnecessary
since there was a thin slice of crescent moon shining brightly.  It didn't
give masses of light but just enough for them to guide their horses as they
rode carefully by.

Gaia was in the lead, picking out the route, first down the road and then
as they neared the town and could see the walls, through the edge of the
woodland, where the grazing land met the forest.  The way was painfully
slow and had everyone's nerves on edge, especially when a town guard with a
torch walked along the top of the wall.  However he clearly didn't see them
and walked past nonchalantly, not even taking a second glance at the barely
concealed family.

By the third hour after midnight they had reached the southern road, but
since they were still close to the town they were still vulnerable and had
to move quietly and carefully.  Throughout the journey the children slept,
toddlers and older boys in the wagon, baby Alexander in a sling worn by
Cleopas.  Everyone else rode on slowly walking horses, keeping the talking
and jingle of tack to an absolute minimum.

When dawn broke, the family continued along the road for another hour
before picking their way through the forest to a hidden campsite, where
they stopped, meditated, cooked some breakfast and then rested and slept
until shortly after noon.  They left the camp after a small lunch and
travelled for several more hours.  Although they no longer had the extended
days of midsummer, the evenings were still fairly light so they managed to
travel for a good number of miles before having to stop and camp for the
night.

Simon went to tend to Jason's needs as soon as they stopped - he was quite
large and very uncomfortable and had taken to staying in the wagon the
majority of the time, since although he was semi-mobile he didn't want to
risk walking down the steps.

"You know" Jason said as Simon brought him some food over, "we're not far
from the spot where we met, it's only about a week away" he smiled.

Simon looked momentarily shocked, then smiled back.  "Oh, my, I'd totally
forgotten!" he exclaimed.  "Wasn't it this road where the boys found all
that honey and had a honey fight with it, too?"

"It was several hours walk from the road but yes, it was around here" Jason
replied.

"Perhaps we'll despatch them on another honey hunt when we get to the right
place?" Simon suggested.

Jason chuckled.  "We'll get there tomorrow and can send them off to fill
the crocks up.  Along with some supervision, of course to ensure the boys
don't cover each other in it like last time" he laughed.

The couple ate slowly, enjoying each other's company as well as the food.
"My love," Jason said as they ate, "I've been thinking about the camping
spot we retreated to immediately after you joined us.  It'd probably make a
suitable, secluded campsite and there's a prayer site nearby.  It might be
good to stop there."

"We could but perhaps heading a bit further south before settling for the
winter would be sensible?" Simon asked.  "There's a number of tiny villages
and a couple of crossroads but we have a long stretch on this road before
it hits any major towns or cities, about seven weeks on foot if I remember
rightly from my monk's pilgrimage" Simon said, "and a month beyond that
there's a seaport."

"It's quicker by horse, don't forget, but we have business to deal with
before we think about a winter campsite" Jason reminded his lover.  He had,
of course, heard most of the discussions between Paul and Claisa and what
he hadn't heard he'd been updated on later.  "Claisa, Paul, Marcus and Maia
all need to see justice done.  What I meant was that the campsite we hid
you at would probably be sufficiently secluded to sort that out and decide
the future of the churchman and his partner."  He shook his head, still
overcome with astonishment.  "It still seems unreal" he admitted.

"Maybe but Judoc has vouched for Claisa, that he is his nephew and I'm sure
Apollo would tell us if there was any duplicity in Paul's actions" Simon
replied, his fingers trailing absently over the hilts of his dual swords.

Jason caught the movement.  "When is Ajax going to sacrifice?" he asked.

"Soon, probably, before Judoc takes his family on a different route to us
at any rate.  He wants to be ordained whilst Hyacinth and myself can both
bear witness."

"And you?" Jason asked.  "You've told me what happened in the battle to
rescue Maia but there's still things you have to do on consecrated ground,
aren't there?"

"Yes, and with you present there too" Simon replied.  He leaned in and
whispered, "perhaps when you present our son to our God, I can also be
ordained?"

"Let's not be hasty, I've got several months yet before we know if he will
be born safely" Jason replied sombrely.

"Of course, my apologies" Simon said, chastened.

They left the camp the following morning and rode for a good few hours,
pulling up at a familiar stopping point.

"Honey!" Socra yelled when he realised where they were.

Laughter rippled through the camp.  "Yes, honey" his father Marcus
chuckled, "but you're just collecting it this time, NOT fighting with it,
understand, Socra?  Boys?" he asked, looking around.

They all nodded enthusiastically and began to help to set up their camp so
that they could make haste to the beehives and see what sweet treats they
could obtain.

Finally, stripped down just to loincloth and boots and carrying crocks
ready to carry the confection, the boys left on their expedition.  Since
Carme was incapacitated by reason of his gestation, it fell to Lykurgos to
lead the way, though this time they were accompanied by Awhain, Red and
Aeson, to ensure if nothing else that there were no more honey fights.

The gatherers returned shortly before sunset with plenty of honey and only
a few stings between them.  "As productive as ever, the hives that were
demolished last time were still empty but the rest had pounds of it just
there for the taking" Aeson told the others.

All the while, Paul and Claisa had ridden together and talked quietly.
Judoc had made one of his pack horses available to the former bishop and
his deceased elder grandson's saddle was still available and of a suitable
fit so there was no delay caused by Paul starting to ride.  He was
noticeably chastened and contrite, to such an extent that he seemed
depressed, almost suicidal at times.  Only Claisa's warm smiles, his
lingering fingertips as they rode side by side and held hands and his
loving embraces in the evenings, kept Paul from doing himself any permanent
damage.

The single whip cut he'd been given by Marcus during his first
interrogation had been bathed and tended by Claisa, although Paul had
protested that he deserved the pain.  "Shh, my love, the pain has already
been and needs to go.  There is no conflict for us in treating wounds we
give in punishment - to let them fester and cripple you would be more than
you deserve."

"So what does that mean?  You're going to whip me raw and then treat the
wounds?"  Paul said with bitterness and confusion in his voice.

"Yes" Claisa replied softly, his tone of voice saying far louder than any
words that he regarded the conversation as being over and done with.  Paul
snorted in disbelief but didn't pursue the argument.

After stowing the honey away and spending a night at the camp nearest to
the hives they continued on their journey, finally reached first the spot
where Jason and Simon met a couple of hours before noon.  From there they
worked their way into the forest, to the campsite that Jason had suggested.

It needed some work, the old, half-rotten boughs they'd used as a mattress
on their first stay all needed dragging away and fresh boughs were cut to
lay thickly on the soft, damp earth.  A heavy summer thunderstorm had been
threatening all day so they strung the tent roof over the deerskin-carpeted
mattress, and built a good firepit in the centre of the space.

As evening fell, Marcus stood up and took Maia's hand.  Claisa saw the
man's eyes, nodded silently and also got to his feet, motioning for Paul to
join them.

Gaia looked at the four, stood up, went to one of the packs and took out a
length of leather cord, stout and strong.  Jocasta also realised what was
happening and took a wicked-looking horsewhip from the side of one of the
wagon seats.

Paul started to tremble.  The family looked at him with silent stares and
Claisa pointed to where a large tree had fallen, several hundred yards from
the clearing.  The trunk of the monster tree was of a good height for Paul
to lean over and the former bishop realised this immediately.

With a bravery he never thought he possessed he walked over, dragged the
leather tunic that he'd been leant off, and laid on his stomach over the
trunk of the tree, his bare back uppermost and ready for the punishment.

With swift movements Gaia tied him down and bound his hands together,
stringing them to a heavy branch so that he could not move and fight
against the whipping - to do so could injure him more than the whip itself.

Then the first words for nearly twenty minutes were spoken.  "Half each?"
Claisa said softly to Marcus.  The setting sun cast strange shadows on his
face but he sounded both pensive and determined.

Marcus nodded.  "That is fair" he said.  Jocasta handed the whip to Claisa,
who, without further ado and with no posturing or outward emotion, cast
seven rapid, brutal hits on his lover's back.  Paul was too shocked and
winded even to scream, and managed to let out a brief gasp of anguish
before Marcus took the whip and with similar brutality also cast the
designated blows, spaced evenly across his back so as not to cause
permanent damage to any one spot.

Each cut was a red stripe that began to bleed even before Paul was untied.
Gaia undid the thongs holding him in place and at that point, Paul managed
to breathe properly again.  He tried to stand up but the pain and lack of
breath had clearly overwhelmed him for he collapsed to the ground, gasping
for air and sobbing softly.

With gentle arms and tears in his eyes Claisa picked him up and cradled him
as one might a small child.  "Justice has been done, now you truly are
mine" he whispered as he carried the bleeding man back to camp.

The rain began to pour as Claisa, with Rhea's help, began to treat Paul's
back.  Thunder rolled and lightening flashed and the incessant pounding of
the rain almost drowned out Paul's gasps and cries of pain as his back was
doctored with herbed wine and bandaged.  He was given a few sips of wine
laced with poppy extract and fell into a painless sleep, thanks to the
drugs in his system.

"How are you holding up, nephew?" Judoc spoke to Claisa.  He was the first
to ask of the matter, the others feeling almost like they had to walk on
eggshells for fear of offending Paul's lover.

"It was unpleasant but necessary.  Justice has been done" Claisa replied.
He seemed at first to be emotionless but under his uncle's steady gaze his
facade cracked and his lip started to quiver.  "I hurt him so much" he
whispered as Judoc took him into his arms.  "I whipped my lover and should
feel terrible for it so why do I feel relieved?"

"You only hurt him as much as he hurt you and yours" Judoc replied wisely,
"and you're relieved because you finally feel that there is equality
between you.  Each of you has hurt the other.  Now, Paul will recover and
as he does so will you."

After the night's storm the day dawned bright and fine.  Insects buzzed in
the warmth, drying out after their wetting.  The stream that fed the pool
at the side of their camp ran bank-full, fast flowing, silvery water that
bubbled and danced as it poured into the pool, making the water cold and
clear.  Since it was such a muggy, humid morning, bathing was everyone's
top priority and the children especially made a beeline for the pool as
soon as breakfast was over.

Paul lay on his stomach, his back aching but feeling strangely at peace
despite the pain.  He watched the children play, then he caught sight of
his lover, mixing some hot wine with dried herbs, supervised by Rhea, the
man whom the former bishop realised was the family's premier herbalist,
even though everyone seemed to have a passing knowledge of the subject.

Claisa turned and saw Paul watching him.  "I didn't think you'd be awake
after the laced wine we gave you last night" he said softly.

"I think whatever I drank has worn off, I'm aching all over" Paul replied.

"This brew needs to cool and the herbs have to steep for at least an hour
before you drink it" Claisa explained, putting the wooden beaker down.
"Let me help you undress and take your bandages off and we can bathe" he
suggested.

"But won't bathing irritate my back?  Our doctors and medics have always
said that water is bad for open wounds" Paul asked, surprised.

"No, it will actually make you feel better, it'll keep them clean, and
since it's such a warm day, it'll help you cool off too" Claisa replied.
Paul's expression was tinged with suspicion and Claisa chuckled.  "Trust
me, my love.  It will help, I promise."

"Come on, mister Paul, it feels good" Maia called out from the pool bank.
Paul struggled to sit up and regarded the cheeky, smiling face of the small
child.  This was the first time the boy had spoken to his tormentor and
Paul was surprised at how calm the child was.

"Thank you for the invite, Maia, I'll be in shortly" he smiled.  Maia just
nodded and swam off.

"How come he's so calm with me?  He's always seemed scared of me before"
Paul asked Claisa once Maia had swum away.

"It's because he saw justice done yesterday" Claisa explained.  "Marcus
made sure Maia was there and watching for a reason.  Once he saw and
accepted that justice had been served he was content and could move on.  He
is no longer afraid of you because he has seen you taken as low as you took
him."

"That's it?  All he needed was to see me whipped and he'll be fine?" Paul
asked incredulously.

"Well, no, Marcus has been working with him, talking about his feelings,
helping him to understand what's going on in his mind.  There's still a
slight danger that he could lose his composure if he is put under any kind
of stress but that'll fade with time.  And..." he paused and looked at
Paul, "he has been praying a lot, our God has helped him too."

"You mean... Apollo?" Paul said, the God's name feeling strange in his
mouth.  Claisa nodded.

"I still need to apologise to Him, too, don't I?" Paul stated.  "Will He
accept my apology, do you think?"

"I cannot say, Paul.  He is a warrior God, proud and strong but He does
have compassion towards those who deserve it.  But Paul, you insulted His
pride and His people and I do not know whether he will accept a simple
apology or whether He will be compassionate towards you.  I cannot begin to
guess what price He will ask you to pay."

"But you will make me pay it no matter what he asks, won't you?" Paul
asked.  It wasn't so much of a question as a statement, as he'd seen the
truth in Claisa's eyes.

"He is my God, Paul.  Whatever He asks, I will give.  To do otherwise would
be unthinkable.  Anyway," he changed the subject, "let's get into the pool
and bathe.  We can continue this discussion another time" he said.

Paul nodded his agreement but said nothing.  He felt a mass of conflicting
emotions, disgust at himself for his previous actions against the child,
Maia and his family, guilt at what he had put Claisa through, fear of the
strange God the Spartans worshipped and most of all, torment that most of
his failings were due to his own sense of overweening pride, a pride that
now had been replaced by self-hatred.

He allowed Claisa to undress him, remove the bandages and help him into the
pool and had to admit that the cold water felt good.  Afterwards he dried
and dressed and sat, feeling mightily sorry for himself as well as in pain,
only to be interrupted by a familiar voice.

"You can't change the past, you know, only live with the future," brother
Luke said.

"What?" Paul asked, dumbly.

"You're dwelling on your faults and hating yourself for them aren't you?
But such actions are futile, Paul, you need to accept what has been and
live with what is."

"How can I, Luke?  After all I've done, I tortured a child!"

"And that is something you are going to have to live with.  You cannot
erase the past, Paul, no matter how much you wish it were otherwise.  You
have to live with it, and live you must, for Claisa's sake and the sake of
your sons if not for yourself."

"I cannot be a father.  I am unfit to be a father" Paul muttered.

"But that is not your decision, it is Apollo's" came a voice.  Paul looked
up to see Hyacinth and the rest of the priests adjusting their twin swords
and standing, proud and tall, to one side of the camp.

"Walk with us, Paul" Hyacinth said and the human scrambled to his feet.
Claisa went to join him along with several other family members.  "You
cannot come to the prayer site itself but you will be able to stop just
outside it and ask our God for forgiveness" Marcus said.

Paul looked at the man whose son he'd kidnapped and tortured.  "You expect
your God to be able to forgive me when I cannot forgive myself?" he asked.

"He is a God, Paul.  I cannot expect anything from Him, only He knows His
mind" Marcus replied.  He beckoned Maia and took the small boy by the hand.
"Now we go to pray and you shall soon know what Apollo demands from you."

Clio and Hyacinth led the family through the forest to a site they used the
last time they were in this area, a huge, rounded boulder with a smooth,
clear surface.  It stood slightly uphill of their position and made an
open, sunny clearing for the prayers.

Paul was stopped in the woodland a few dozen yards from the stone. The
prayer site could not be clearly seen or heard from the spot they stopped
at.  "Wait here" Clio said to him.  The former bishop nodded and sank to
his knees on the loamy forest floor as he watched the Spartans depart.

Clio had walked out here the previous evening and tethered a pair of young
billy goats to some trees, one for the main sacrifice and one for Ajax, who
would be ordained that afternoon.  As the family arrived they began their
act of worship with presentations, recitations and Clio took the first
sacrifice that consecrated the ground anew.

"Mighty Apollo, we worship You this day with sacrifice and ask You to hear
our prayers" Clio said.  "You are the glorious God of the Sun, You are the
powerful God of Warriors, You are the compassionate God of Death.  You have
power over our life and we give You this life in return!"  The beast was
dispatched quickly and skilfully, then he continued, "Accept this life
sacrificed in Your name.  Be with us and hear the prayers of your
children."  The group knelt, swords drawn.

The power of the God filled the space and in the centre of the circle of
kneeling Spartans a divine flame sprung up, hot and powerful and Apollo
touched the minds and hearts of his worshippers and blessed them.

As He reached Ajax, the youth nodded and stood, lifting his already-drawn
swords into a cross.  *** Sacrifice and be ordained, Ajax son of
Kalliope*** Apollo called.

Ajax began the sword presentations that he'd been taught and Hyacinth and
Mirakos took hold of the second animal, getting it into position and
keeping it steady ready for Ajax's blades.  "For you, Lord Apollo" Ajax
gasped as he finished the final presentation.  He swiftly dispatched the
goat, then as was their custom, he went through the ritual of being bathed
in the blood and of cooking and eating his kill.

Out in the forest, Paul remained knelt on the ground throughout the
ceremonies and services.  He couldn't see or hear anything except a couple
of goats squealing briefly but he thought nothing of the noise, presuming
that the animals had been startled by something.  It was almost an hour
after the noise from the second animal that he became aware of a sense of
presence, or pressure.  He couldn't describe quite what it was, it felt
like the stillness in the air before a thunderstorm hits, or that sensation
when you know someone is watching you but you can't see them.  He remained
motionless, puzzled and slightly disturbed by the feelings but shortly was
distracted when he heard someone walking towards him.

The rest of the family remained with Ajax, celebrating and eating with him,
but four of the group, two priests, Marcus and Simon, and two worshippers,
the two sons of Sparta most affected by Paul's crimes, Maia and Claisa,
were called by Apollo to go and find the former bishop and pronounce
sentence upon him.

Paul watched as little Maia stepped into the clearing, followed by his
father Marcus and by Simon and Claisa.  Marcus looked down at the kneeling
human.  "Our God will not speak to you directly but has asked us to relay
his words and his judgement" he began.  "He says that you are a difficult
man to pass judgement on primarily because Claisa's love for you and the
punishment we have already given you makes him inclined to be merciful.
Yet your capacity for hatred makes it clear to Him that you cannot be
trusted."

"Anyone who lives with hatred will find forgiveness difficult.  He says
that even if he was inclined to forgive you, you would never accept that
forgiveness for you hate yourself too much" Simon then spoke.

"My love, Apollo wants the threat you possess neutralised.  He would ask
for your life if He thought I would be happy after your death but He knows
I will not" Claisa admitted.

"But he will permit you to choose death should you wish to" Marcus
continued, "for you might find His alternative judgement too difficult to
deal with."

"Our God says that the crimes that you committed were done primarily with
words, with your voice and with your writing.  He therefore asks..." Simon
began and choked, knelt, closed his eyes and bowed his head.  "My Lord
Apollo, forgive me but that is a terrible punishment! Do I understand you
correctly, do you really mean....?" he whispered.

Paul trembled as Simon knelt in silence for several long minutes.  Finally
the Spartan nodded, gulped and stood back on his feet.  "The alternative to
death is to permit Apollo to remove your ability to speak and your ability
to see" Simon whispered in a halting voice.  "You will live but will be
unable to communicate, with one single exception, which will become clear
if you accept this punishment."

Claisa looked grieved but determined.  "What is it to be, my love?  Death
or blind and silenced?"

"Can I ask, will I still be able to hear your voice and feel your touch, my
love?" Paul whispered.

Claisa nodded.  "Yes, every day of your life, you will, I swear."

"For the sake of your love, then, and because I could not cause you any
more grief than I already have, I choose to lose my voice and my sight.
All I ask is that I do not lose you" he finished, gazing at Claisa's face.

The assembled Spartans nodded in agreement.

***So be it*** they heard their God speak and immediately Paul's world went
black.

The former bishop panicked and tried to scream, not expecting the sentence
to be carried out so swiftly or so completely, but no sound would come out
of his open mouth no matter how hard he tried.  He began to shake
uncontrollably.

Claisa took his hands in his own.  Paul knew it was Claisa by the texture,
the warmth and the love that the hands conveyed.  "Calm, my love, be calm.
You chose this Paul.  Can you live with it or would death be preferable?"

Paul sobbed silently.  *How can I answer you, Claisa, when I can no longer
speak?* he thought to himself.

"I can hear your thoughts, Paul" Claisa answered out loud.  "That is the
one exception Apollo has granted.  If and when I touch you, bare skin to
bare skin, I can tell what you are thinking, what is on your mind."

***Oh, Claisa, I love you!  Don't let me stumble, please?  I'm afraid***
Paul thought.

"Don't be afraid, Paul.  I will always be beside you" Claisa answered.

The walk back to the campsite took far longer than the walk from it,
largely due to the difficulties in guiding Paul through the maze of
overhanging branches, fallen logs, patches of brambles and patches of soupy
mud.  Claisa had not realised that the path was so treacherous until he
found himself with the duty of guiding Paul back safely.

On the way, Marcus and Simon explained to the others who had been at
worship what Apollo's judgement was, what Paul had chosen and why it seemed
that Claisa was having a one-sided conversation.  "Paul chose this of his
own free will.  We all heard him do so.  Do not doubt the wisdom of Apollo"
Simon said when questions and clamouring rose from the group.

"Is Paul happy, Claisa?" Mirakos asked.  ***Tell them yes*** Paul thought.

"He says he is" Claisa replied to the young man.

***Tell them I understand why Apollo did this and I am thankful for the
mercy He showed me.  He could have asked for a far higher price*** Paul
said and Claisa relayed this message also.

"Paul" Hyacinth addressed the man directly, "surely death would have been
preferable to this.... humiliation?" he said.

***Tell him no.  Death would have meant that I would have left you alone,
Claisa and that was the one thing I couldn't do*** Paul said.  Claisa could
hear his silent tears.

"He didn't want to die.  He didn't want to leave me alone" Claisa managed
to whisper after getting his emotions under control.  He placed gentle
hands on Paul's cheeks, either side of his face and looked directly at him.
"Is that why you accepted this?" he whispered.  "For me?  So I wouldn't be
alone?"

***Yes*** he heard Paul's silent reply and as he watched, Paul began to
smile.  ***I never want to hurt you again, Claisa.  Yes, you are my reason
for living and the reason I still live.*** The couple kissed before
continuing to walk carefully with the others back to their campsite.

They stopped near a stream so that the now-ordained Ajax could wash away
the blood that coated his entire body thickly, the remains of his
ordination ceremony.  Claisa idly wondered what Paul would make of it if he
had been able to see the boy but suddenly realised that both of the choices
Apollo had offered would have preserved secrecy equally well - whether dead
or blind, Paul wouldn't have had any chance to view the newly ordained
priest.

When they got back to the family, it took a while to explain what had
happened and to comfort and reassure their concerned human companions that
Apollo had been right and just in his judgement.  "Win, my love" Mirakos
said to Hardwin, "Paul tortured a child!  His hatred was so absolute that
he didn't see any harm in something so sickening it makes my heart burn!
Apollo recognised that he would have always been a threat and knew that one
way or another that threat had to be neutralised."

Hardwin just growled and shook his head.

"Please Win, please" Mirakos continued, pulling his angry partner into a
hug, a hug that Hardwin resisted with spiky elbows and twisting torso,
"Apollo is a just and compassionate God and He would do anything to protect
those who are His!  When we have sons, would you have ever trusted Paul to
be alone with them, knowing what he did to Maia?"

Hardwin relaxed in Mirakos' arms.  "No, of course not, Mira, I'd be worried
the whole time if Paul was with our children, or even with Audo and we
weren't there to protect them."

"Exactly" Mirakos said softly.

"But to lose all contact with the world, it seems barbaric and cruel.  Why
didn't your god just let Paul die?"

"Paul had a choice, Hardwin.  He didn't have to take this judgement, he
could have chosen death."

"Death would be preferable to this!" Hardwin exclaimed.  "He cannot work by
himself, he cannot eat by himself, he cannot even use the latrine by
himself!"

Marcus heard Hardwin's passionate exclamation.  "Hardwin" he called.  The
couple turned around.  "He was given a choice.  Paul chose this, I heard
him myself."

"What?"

"Paul chose this option of his own free will, I heard him.  And Lord Apollo
explained that this was the only way he could both let Paul live and remain
at Claisa's side but remove the constant threat that his presence with us
would otherwise pose.  Though I think," Marcus smiled, indicating the
couple in question and Paul's obvious devotion to Claisa, "that in taking
this choice Paul for the first time in his life made a truly selfless
decision."

"What do you mean?  Surely you mean selfish, forcing Claisa to care for him
for the rest of his life?" Hardwin spat.

"No, self-less" Marcus emphasised.  "If we're being honest I suspect that
Paul really would have preferred to die but he knew that if he did, Claisa
would commit suicide and follow him.  He wanted Claisa to live his full
quota of years with some measure of happiness and so chose such total
humiliation for Claisa's sake only and not his own."

There were several family members, including other humans just as angry as
Hardwin, who heard Mirakos and Marcus' words and recognised their truth.
Paul also heard them, sitting holding Claisa's hand.  ***They are right,
you know*** he thought to his lover.

"What about?" Claisa whispered, not wanting to draw attention to the fact
that he and Paul were still communicating, even though he knew that
everyone who had been at worship were aware of the exception Apollo had
granted them.

***If it hadn't have been for my love for you and my fear that you would
have killed yourself, I probably would have chosen death.  Now, before you
feel guilty, remember, I love you and I want to be with you!***

Claisa sighed and brought his lover's fingertips up to his lips and kissed
them.  "You're right, of course.  I couldn't live without you.  But can you
live with your choice, this humiliation?"

***Just don't let me fall into the latrine and I'll be fine*** Paul laughed
in his head.  Claisa couldn't help it and laughed too, quite loudly as it
happened and got the attention of the rest of the family.

"Nephew, what on earth is so funny?  After what has happened!" Judoc
exclaimed.

"Uncle Judoc...." Claisa began, then paused.

"What?"

"Apollo made an exception.  Paul can still communicate but only with me,
with his thoughts into mine, whenever we touch bare skin to bare skin.  I
was laughing at a joke he made" Claisa admitted softly.

"So he can still think?" Hardwin asked.  "He isn't dumb inside his head
too?"

"No, no, Hardwin, he is as intelligent as ever.  Only he cannot share his
thoughts or words with anyone except me" Claisa replied.

"And he can still hear everyone?" Red checked.  He'd been almost as
sickened by the judgement as Hardwin was.

"As well as he ever could" Claisa assured everyone.  "All he has lost is
the ability to share any hate-filled thoughts, for he knows I would never
repeat them."

***Thank you, my love, you explained me well.  I hope I never share any
sorrow or hate with you, I love you too much to ever want you to suffer
with my negativity*** Paul thought to Claisa.  ***And maybe, as time
progresses, you can guide me into doing some work that would not be too
difficult for a blind man to achieve and I will cease to be so much of a
burden to you.***

"Please don't worry, just be yourself.  We will take this one day at a
time, my love, one day at a time" Claisa replied, kissing Paul's cheek
softly.

They didn't stay for too many days at the campsite as they were well aware
that winter was fast approaching and neither family had sufficient in store
for even a month of bad weather.  Rhea and Claisa continued to treat the
now-healing whip cuts on Paul's back, and Paul slowly began to learn how to
function once more.

As they packed to leave, the discovered the first major problem - it was
impossible for Paul to ride a horse.  Not only could he not see to guide
the animal, he was a distance away from Claisa and out of reach and so
could not communicate.  The whole family easily recognised the fear and
panic on his face and helped him down off the horse.

"Your beast is a strong one, could it hold the both of you?" Nabis asked
Claisa.

Claisa nodded.  "I'm sure it could but this saddle is not made for two, it
would make for a very uncomfortable ride."

"Why don't you ride bareback?" Clio suggested.  "Or semi-, at least, keep
the halter and reins on, and we've got some good leather you can use as a
horse blanket, the pair of you can sit together on that.  You're both
skilled enough riders that you should be able to maintain your balance."

Claisa nodded and held Paul's hand so that he could find out if his lover
agreed.  ***Thank you*** Paul said, his relief evident.  ***I tried not to
show I was panicking but I guess it was obvious?***

"Just a little" Claisa chuckled.

Once they reached the clearing near the road and were making to turn south,
brother Luke cleared his throat and everyone turned to the monk.  That
morning, although he donned a leather loincloth he had, for the first time
in quite a while, put on his monk's habit rather than the tunic and
leggings he'd been borrowing.  "I am going to leave you and return to the
town" he said softly.

"Will you be safe?  What of us, and of Paul?" the questions flew.

Luke bowed his head.  "I will say nothing, I promise."

"Can we trust you?" Marcus asked.

"I don't know, can you trust me?" Luke smiled.  "If it makes you feel more
comfortable with my departure, please know that I intend to take a vow of
silence as soon as the opportunity presents itself."

"Go with our blessing.  Do you have enough supplies for the walk back?  It
will be the best part of two weeks on foot" Gaia said.

"I will manage" Luke replied.

"Nonsense!" Judoc exclaimed.  He dismounted his horse, got a satchel from
the goods wagon and shoved some bread, a good wedge of cheese, a couple of
apples and a water flask into it.  "Take it, please?" he asked, seeing that
Luke was of a mind to refuse the gift.

"Very well" Luke smiled.  "May the Lord be with you" he blessed the family.

No one answered immediately and Paul prompted Claisa to reply, "and also
with you."

Luke chuckled.  "Did Paul tell you to say that?"  Claisa smiled and nodded.

"Go in peace, all of you.  And God willing we may meet again" he said, then
with a final wave he headed back north towards the walled town.

"And we shall head south" Judoc nodded to the outriders, Leander and
Joseph, and they started on the road.

They purchased goods from various villages and what they couldn't purchase
they took from the forested areas that were broken only occasionally by
farms.  Two week's worth of travel at their usual pace brought them to a
small crossroads that boasted a few facilities, and they camped together a
few hundred yards back from the roadways, to eat together and discuss their
route.

"Brothers, I would like to head west from here" Judoc said.  "They are
lands we are familiar with, several small towns and there are caves only a
month distant.  The farmlands are profitable and the hunting good, it is a
suitable site for wintering."

"I would prefer to head south" Gaia replied, "through to the coast, we can
get very good prices for our leather work, the weather is milder down there
and there is still plenty of foraging, even in winter."

The two patriarchs smiled.  "Is this where we part company?" Gaia asked.

"Maybe, though Apollo willing, not permanently" Judoc replied.  "We are
still meeting Ali next summer at that garrison we neutralised so we won't
be separated for long."

"We can camp here a night or two though, and celebrate our time together.
Who knows what opportunities the crossroads may present?" Nabis suggested.
"One or both of our families might even find a wealthy merchant willing to
pay for protection on their journey and make our winter preparations even
smoother."

"Travelling with a merchant would make life difficult for Jason and Carme,
father Nabis" Demeter said, "I don't think it would be very fair."

"Of course, forgive me" Nabis asked.

"We still need the time that a two-night stay would give us.  Most of our
possessions are intertwined, it's going to take some organising to separate
our belongings" Petros observed.

"Son, have you decided what you're going to do?" Jocasta asked Demeter.

"Father Jocasta, I'm sorry but..." Demeter began speaking nervously and
Jocasta held up his hand to stop his son's apology.

"Lykurgos needs both you and Ajax.  Go with our blessing" he smiled.

"And you two?" Gaia asked Hardwin and Mirakos.  "What are your plans?"

"I would like, if Hardwin approves, to travel alongside Ajax and continue
his priestly education" Mirakos said softly, looking at his mate.

"Of course" Hardwin replied.  "As long as I am at your side I do not mind
where we go."

"I intend for Paul and myself to stay with my uncle, if he would permit"
Claisa said before he could be asked.

Judoc nodded.  "Of course, we are family" he told his nephew.

It ended up taking every minute of the next two days to separate
belongings, share out foodstuffs, leather goods, money and horses and
ensure that both families had an appropriate portion of their collected
possessions.  On the morning of the third day they left their camp and
travelled together to the crossroads, their last few hundred yards in each
other's company before they parted for the winter.

"Apollo willing, until midsummer" Judoc said as they prepared to part.

"Apollo willing" Gaia agreed.

Leander and Acantha gave their brothers and fathers tight hugs.  "Do not
worry about us, enjoy yourselves, relax and be happy" Acantha smiled.

"Go with our blessing, father Demeter, father Rhea" Leander assured them
both.

Hardwin finished the goodbyes by hugging Audo and Simon.  "Thank you" he
said to Simon, "for everything, thank you."

"Go, live your life and enjoy it" Simon replied.

"Bye Hardwin!"  Audo called.  "See you next summer!"  And with that they
parted.

The road to the south was populated but only sparsely so.  The company that
now made up Gaia's family passed through a village once every couple of
days or so, and each patch of farm land was separated by a healthy swathe
of forest.  Five days after parting and going their separate ways, the road
that Gaia and his family followed crossed over the main Roman highway
they'd travelled up earlier in the year, at the same point where they'd
spent the night next to the bawdy house in order that Jason could conceive
without fear of discovery.  But since it was early in the day they
clattered through without stopping.

It was two days shy of three weeks since they'd separated from Judoc when
they reached a larger town.  It was walled and had five roads branching
from it and Gaia's family planned on staying just one night before
continuing to travel to the coast.

They found an inn that for a reasonable price would accommodate them all,
eighteen adults, eight children, horses, wagons and all, in a conveniently
empty barn.  They might have booked proper rooms had it not been for Jason,
confined to a wagon, out of sight and immobile due to his gestation.  After
ensconcing themselves in the barn, starting a small fire and enjoying the
supper that the innkeeper had provided, several of them went over to the
tap room to enjoy a few pots of ale.

Elis, Tito, Clio, Aeson, Nabis, Jocasta, Leander and Joseph found
comfortable chairs and ordered eight cups of ale.  The innkeeper eyed their
swords suspiciously, especially Clio's twin blades and harness, but said
nothing, serving the drinks without comment.

Their fellow drinkers, however, didn't seem so inclined to silence.  "So"
one drawled, a short, fat man with a black bushy beard and piercing eyes,
"what do you want in our town?  Same as the last lot?"  He spoke a Latin
dialect, as did all of the townsfolk, with a few Germanic and Celtic words
that coloured and varied the language.

"We are passing through on our way south, to the coast" Tito replied.
"That is all."

"Nah, the last lot were armed and arrogant just like you are.  How many are
you?"

"Seventeen men, several women and eight sons" Leander replied, deducting
Jason from the total and inventing the imaginary 'women in the wagon' that
they customarily spoke of in order to disguise the truth of their lives.
"We're just a travelling family."

"And begging your pardon but who are you talking about, 'the last lot'?"
Elis asked.

Silence descended on the room.  "You're the one with the big mouth, Seth"
the innkeeper said to the black-bearded fat man, "I'll let you tell them
and we'll scrape your remains off the floor when they're done with you."

"Don't give me that!" Seth replied.  "You thought the same as me, I could
see it all over your face" he retorted sharply.

"What?  Just tell us" Tito demanded.

The innkeeper exchanged furious glares with Seth, and then sighed.  "We've
been plagued by bandits, coming into town, drinking our beer and raping our
women.  Several unwed daughters are with child thanks to these louts" he
admitted nervously.

Elis managed to stifle a smile.  "You will not have such troubles from us,
I can assure you.  As my nephew said, we are just a travelling family,
nothing more."

"Why are you so well armed then?  You look like you're ready for a fight"
another drinker asked.

"Living on the roads as we do, we have to provide our own protection"
Joseph explained, "and we are armed for that reason only."

"Say," the innkeeper asked after a few moments, "how good are you at
this... protection?"

Elis smiled.  "We can hold our own" he replied.

"If someone were of a mind to speak to the town elders about hiring you to
rid us of our bandit problem more permanently than our militia seem to be
able to, what would your response be?" he continued.

"It'd depend where the bandits were and what compensation we would be
offered.  But if the terms were suitable, then we might be persuaded to
help" Elis replied.

"Do you have to leave on the morrow?  What say you to another night in my
barn?  Free of charge of course and I'll throw in some food?"  The
innkeeper asked with a calculating air.

They looked at each other and Clio smiled.  "I think we can stay at least
one more night" he agreed.  They supped their ale and shortly returned to
the rest of the family in the barn, where they shared their conversation.

"That's actually quite lucky, we haven't done so well for coin over the
last few months, a commission like this will fill our coffers nicely" Gaia
nodded.

"Can we take on these bandits successfully?" Red asked.  "We are but few in
number."

"As long as the troop numbers no more than thirty mounted or fifty on foot
we should be fine" Elis replied.

"And do we capture or kill?" Marcus asked.

Tito shrugged.  "We'll ask the town elders what they would prefer when we
meet with them" he suggested.  "The innkeeper still needs to approach them
and make his suggestion and they might not even approve of our
intervention.  We need to wait and see."

"Let's get some sleep and discuss this more with the innkeeper on the
morrow" Clio suggested and nodding, everyone agreed.

The next morning they meditated and then broke their fast with bread, bacon
and cheese before several family members, some of the drinkers from the
previous night, accompanied by Gaia and Hyacinth, went to find the
innkeeper.  He was supervising the casking of some beer in his brew house
when the Spartans located him.

"Have you spoken to your elders about us riding you of your bandits?" Gaia
came straight to the point and asked.

The innkeeper nodded.  "A party is due here at noon.  I was just finishing
this task and I was going to come and find you" he explained, indicating
around at the beer and his servants.

"You work fast" Elis smiled.

The innkeeper snorted.  "With a hundred barrels of beer on my premises and
two daughters, both of whom I hope one day to be able to make honest
marriages for, I don't want these louts coming around here another day if I
can help it" he explained.  "So if you guys want to sit in the taproom and
wait, or maybe head back to the barn and I'll hail you when the elders
arrive, and we'll see what we can sort out."

"There's nearly two hours, I think we'll stay at the barn and get some
chores done" Gaia replied.

"Suit yourself.  By the way, you can keep the barn doors open if you want,
no one'll come into the portion of the yard immediately adjacent them
unless they come past me.  I understand the need to respect privacy, what
with running a tavern and wanting my daughters to keep their virtue.  You
say it's private and I'll respect that, I'll hail from the corner when the
elders and I are on our way."

"That's very thoughtful of you, thank you" Hyacinth nodded and the group
headed back to the rest of the family.

"Well?" Cleopas asked when the group returned.

"The elders are coming at noon, which is at least two hours off" Tito
explained.  "And the innkeeper has basically assured us that no one'll come
into this bit of yard so we can keep the doors to the barn open and still
have privacy.  He's going to shout when he's ready to approach."

"That means Jason can get some sunlight" Simon smiled, heading to the wagon
where his lover lay incapacitated.

"Just pull the wagon closer to the door and leave the cover on a string so
we can shut it quickly" Clio suggested, "that way there's no risk of
discovery."

"Well, since we have two hours I suggest we get the winter cloaks out and
see which of the children's needs replacing and which ones need mending.
It's high time we did" Marcus suggested.

"And I think all the boys need new boots, we can get some measuring and
cutting done" Leander said.

This was agreed, since the morning was free and the tasks were two of the
family's essential preparations for winter.  Leander and Joseph began by
getting a large, thick ox hide out and getting each boy, as well as every
adult whose most recent pair of boots were worn out or needed mending, to
stand on and mark the shape of their feet, writing names in each outline so
that it remained clear to whoever was doing the cobbling who owned which
sole.

Giving space for growth, freedom of movement and the stitching, each sole
was cut out of the leather and stacked carefully, then, using various
pieces of goat, sheep, rabbit and deerskin, whatever they had to hand that
was soft and warm enough, they began cutting the innersoles so that the
boots would be comfortable, beginning with the first punch on each piece so
that soles and their matching innersoles could be tied together.

Marcus began, naturally, with the cloaks belonging to his own sons, Socra
and Maia, and the cloak belonging to Socra's young human partner, Audo, to
whom Marcus and Philip had willingly become surrogate fathers.  Maia's was
far too small but was deemed suitable, with only minor alterations and
mending, for Alexander, who, given his keenness to toddle around, holding
onto things and trying to find his feet, would certainly be walking
properly before winter's end.  Audo's was frayed around the edge and
Socra's needed a new hood.

Various others began checking other cloaks, or else took the cut soles as
Leander and Joseph finished them and began measuring the owners of said
soles for the thickness of their calves and the height of their knees.  Red
began with the alterations to Maia's old cloak so that Alexander would have
his own warm garment, and rather than using the tough, unforgiving ox hide,
Cleopas cut Alexander's first winter boots purely out of a soft yet
relatively sturdy deerskin, using a second furry layer of rabbit pelt as
insoles.

"He was only born in the spring, it seems strange that he's had a full
summer already and that he'll be walking and possibly even riding by the
end of the winter" Red smiled as the couple worked.  They were sat up
against the barn wall in the sunshine and Alexander was busy trying to
figure out how to stride over his daddy Red's legs without falling over.
He had one little, chubby hand leaning on the barn wall and the other on
Red's right shoulder and both fathers watched him with amusement as he
tried to figure out the obstacle course.  Red had his son's new cloak and a
charred stick in his hands and was busy holding the garment against the
small boy, marking where it would need to be trimmed or altered so as to
fit him properly.

"Da-deeeee!" Alexander eventually shouted with a look of frustration on his
face.  Red and Cleopas chuckled and Red took pity on the boy, put his work
down and picked him up, sneaking a small kiss on a slightly mucky cheek
before setting the not-quite-toddling child down on his left hand side.

"Weeee!" Alexander giggled and squealed, making his way a few more feet
along the barn wall before finally losing his balance and landing on his
diapered bottom.  His lip quivered and he started to cry at the shock of
his abrupt landing.  Cleopas chuckled and went to collect the little lad,
helping him to stand up again and positioning him between his two father's
shoulders, so both men could help him as he tried to learn to walk.

He looked at Cleopas inquisitively.  So far he'd been taught to call Red,
daddy, and Cleopas by his first name, for safety and security reasons
should any humans overhear his voice.  "Pa?" he said in a wondering voice.

"Cleopas" Cleopas repeated softly.  "Daddy Red" he said, pointing to Red.
"Cleopas" he repeated, pointing to himself.

"We-o-pa" Alexander tried to make the word with his infant mouth, almost
managing but not quite.

"That's right, Alexander, well done" Cleopas smiled, giving the boy a kiss.

"Eeee!" Alexander squealed and giggled, lunging to Cleopas for a hug.
"Mmm?" the boy said with a curious face after sitting in Cleopas arms for a
few moments.  He tried to wriggle himself into a nursing position and
pulled at Cleopas' tunic.

"Not until later, when it's dark" Cleopas said, knowing that the boy was
rooting for food.

"Mmmm!" Alexander said more forcefully.

"He's hungry" Red said, getting to his feet.  He went to get a small slice
of cheese, which he handed to the boy.  With his new milk teeth cutting
very fast he was increasingly able to cope with solid food and had
progressed quite quickly to nibbling on bread, cheese, fruit and
occasionally a small bit of well-cooked but cold meat.

"Is that nice?" Cleopas asked as the boy sat down and started to eat.
Alexander ignored the question and nibbled away happily.

The innkeeper, as promised, shouted loudly just before his entrance to the
yard, giving Simon the chance to cover Jason's wagon and the main fighting
members of the family to put their domestic work aside and stand up, ready
to meet the newcomers.

"So, you're the troop who hope to help us stamp out banditry?" a skinny,
silver-haired, rather arrogant looking man asked.  He looked at the
scattering of leather work around the yard and the children running around
and playing.  "Hmm" he snorted, "you don't look much like warriors."

In an instant, Hyacinth, Aeson, Socra and Konon had drawn their swords and
even the two boys were brandishing them with obvious skill.  Konon and
Hyacinth of course both held twin blades and the small boy appeared to be
confident holding the pair of deadly weapons.

Gaia stepped forwards, his hand trailing on his sword hilt.  "You want to
say that again?" he asked.

The man stuttered a little as he asked, "even your ch-ch-children are
skilled with their swords?"

"Of course" Marcus replied.  He turned to Socra.  "Put it away please, son,
you aren't in mortal danger."

"Yes father" Socra replied, sheathing his sword carefully.  The others
followed suit and as the threat level diminished the bureaucrat noticeably
relaxed.  "Well, erm, right, of course," he began hesitantly, "the city
would like to hire you and yours to rid us of this problem.  Would you be
interested?"

"Depending on the terms, and of course the reason your own city militia
have been unable to rout them, we might be persuaded" Gaia replied.  He
looked at the other individuals accompanying the main spokesman.  There
were four men in all, each with the bearing of an administrator and not a
fighter but they were obviously skilled in what they did.  "Shall we
adjourn to the taproom and talk business?" he asked.

The city officials agreed and Gaia, Nabis, Jocasta, Elis and Tito went with
them into the inn itself to discuss the proposal.  "First of all, I'd like
to establish why your militia can't deal with the problem?" Elis asked once
they were seated with a mug of beer each.

"We are not well trained and each time we've tried to face them we've lost
many men.  The bandits seem skilled with both sword and bow and have a well
defended site a couple of miles from here.  Every time we've tried to enter
we've been repulsed" a bureaucrat explained.

"How are your men normally armed?" Tito enquired.

"Dagger and pikestaff normally, but we have some archers" another elder
explained.

"And the bandits?  What weapons do they carry?"

"A variety of things, axes, blades, spears and the like, as well as bows,
most of them seem to have a short hunting bow in addition to their heavy
weaponry."

"And their numbers?" Jocasta enquired.

"As far as we are able to determine" the silver-haired man explained, "in
the region of forty to sixty men.  It seems to fluctuate somewhat."

"Horses?" Gaia asked.

The townsmen shook their head.  "Not that we've ever seen."

The conversation went on in a similar vein for some time, first getting all
the information about the bandits that was available, then negotiating
payment and timing.  Finally the five elder Spartans nodded to each other.
"I think, gentlemen, you have yourself a deal" Gaia smiled.

"Oh, yes and one last thing" Nabis asked, "do you want us to kill them all
or would you prefer live capture?"

"Either, whatever is easiest for you" the silver-haired man replied,
"though if you do manage live capture I know the townsfolk would appreciate
seeing the villains hanged."

"Well, we'll do what we can to make that come to pass" Jocasta smiled
grimly.

The townsmen went on their way and the Spartans returned to report to the
family.  "Somewhere between forty and sixty men, probably on foot, archers
and heavy weaponry and a well defended fortress" Gaia said to his
listeners.  "I'm thinking a night attack" he suggested.

"It's the full moon three nights hence, perfect timing" Clio said.

"We will need a silent, precision operation, the numbers are right on the
upper edge of our capability" Leander said.

"Erm, I've got an idea" Red said to the plotters from where he was sat with
Alexander, several paces distant.

"What is it, Red?" Hyacinth asked.  "You had the best strategy for dealing
with the last fortress full of bandits we encountered, we'd welcome your
advice."

"Well, do you remember when Paul, Claisa's partner was whipped and then
given wine with poppy extract in it and it made him fall straight to sleep?
Why don't we see about getting a whole load of poppy extract or something
similar into the food or water or wine and then we can just go and pick
everyone up as they are snoring?"

"Well it certainly would be silent" Leander replied.

"And precise, as long as we were able to get the drugs inside in the first
place" Gaia said.

"But how would we do that?" Clio wondered.

Marcus grinned at his brother.  "Simple, they just need a new recruit" he
said.

Clio frowned, then shook his head as realisation dawned.  "No... oh,
no... not a chance" he protested.

"I was thinking you and one of the boys and a cart load of drugged food,
looking like you're weak and ready for the taking.  Let them capture you,
they'll eat all the food and fall asleep.  Then we'll come in, let you
free, tie the bandits up and...." Marcus grinned again and nodded, "job
done."

"Why one of the boys?  I think that's too risky" Cleopas asked.

"It gives the appearance of father and son, less of a threat, an easy
target" Marcus explained.

"An old man by himself would be an even easier target" Red interjected.
Several pairs of eyes turned to Gaia.

"You leaving a frail old man to do you work?" Gaia said in a fake-pitiful
voice.  Several people chuckled.

"Don't give us that, father Gaia, you'd relish the chance to go and show
off and take the whole place down single-handedly" Elis smiled.

"Let's go to the spice traders in the market and pick up some poppy extract
and get this done" Cleopas suggested.

Elis, Tito, Leander and Red went to the market place, the three Spartans to
keep any mischief-makers at bay, and Red since he had the clearest idea of
what he wanted to do and how he wanted to go about it.  He'd watched
closely when the poppy-laced wine had been prepared before by Rhea and knew
the quantity of poppy that he needed, but also had to locate suitable
foodstuffs to hide the drugs sufficiently.

He ended up purchasing several flasks of poppy in the form of an oily
liquid from a spice trader.  He then looked around the market, carefully
inspecting the available foods before ordering a dozen large hams, six
skins of wine, a barrel of dark ale and twenty or so black rye loaves,
asking the traders to deliver them to their inn.

"Why those foods in particular, Red?" Elis asked as they began to walk
back, the precious drugs in a satchel on his shoulder.

"They will most easily hide the poppy" Red replied.  "We can mix three
quarters of the total with the wine and beer, soak some of it onto the
bread, and dab the rest onto the cloths wrapping the hams."  He looked
thoughtful.  "If we get a cask of clean water we might even put some in
that, but not too much otherwise they'll be able to tell."

"And what of Gaia's disguise?  What do you suggest?" Tito asked.

"We'll ask the innkeeper for the use of his old cart, leave a horse
ungroomed for a few days and get some threadbare blankets and what have
you, I'm sure there's plenty lurking around in the inn.  Gaia can borrow
some of the innkeeper's clothing too, I reckon it'll just about fit.  Oh,
and we'll need a half sack of horse oats, of course.  And then we simply
take the food, load it into the cart together with some spare blankets and
clothing, an old rusty knife as a token weapon to defend himself, and a
stout stick because old men aren't very good on their feet after all, and
we'll set him off in the direction of the bandits."

"Won't he be in danger?"

"Some but Gaia can handle himself, I'm sure" Red replied, "even if he only
has a knife and not a sword.  He can make up a tale about being an army man
for many years and still being quick on his feet because of that.  And if
he's worried at all, he can wear one of the leather breastplates under a
thicker tunic."

They arrived at the inn and within half an hour their goods had been
delivered, the traders being paid by Gaia with their increasingly meagre
supply of coin.

"Okay, let's get this plan into action, shall we?" Gaia said and they began
by carefully lacing the food, finishing off by washing the excess drips of
poppy extract from their hands in a cask of water before sealing the top.

The innkeeper willingly leant them his old cart and also gave them use of
an elderly pony that he used to make deliveries around the town.  The horse
was well cared for but was, quite simply, old, and so was the perfect
animal for the job.

Gaia dressed in the homespun clothing, foregoing a breastplate as there was
no way it would fit under any of the available garments.  "I'll be fine" he
assured Hyacinth and Elis when they both looked at him with worried eyes.

"Okay, if you start towards the fortress, and Elis, Tito and Hyacinth are
going to shadow you on foot about three or four hundred yards to the rear,
so they can be close enough if you get into serious difficulties but far
enough away so that the bandits don't spot them" Red explained.  "Then the
rest of us are going to leave just before the town gates are closed for
sunset and will follow on horseback.  We'll meet up with the others and
will stake out the bandit's hideout, probably entering the second or third
hour after midnight.  Oh, I almost forgot, leather cord, we'll need it for
tying them up."

"Already ahead of you" Aeson grinned, showing a huge sack full of braided
thongs.  "Enough here for seventy men at least" he assured the young man.

"See you tonight, then" Gaia smiled as he flicked the reins and spurred the
horse into moving.  Elis, Tito and Hyacinth adjusted swords, breastplates
and in Tito's case his kirtle.  "Likewise" they smiled before heading out
after Gaia.

"We've got three, maybe four hours until sunset" Cleopas observed, "perhaps
we should have a hot meal?"

"Sounds like a good idea but before we eat I think we need to talk" Red
grinned at his lover.

"I know what's coming and I'd prefer you to stay here with Alexander"
Cleopas replied.

"Not a chance!" Red shook his head.  "This plan is mine, I intend to see it
through.  Besides, Alexander would appreciate chest milk from his birth
father before bedtime and as far as I recall that's you and not me."

"It's not safe" Cleopas protested.

"They'll be comatose, of course it's safe" Red countered.

"If you do go then I want to be with you" Cleopas replied.

"You're not coming, Alexander needs you" Red said forcefully.

Cleopas growled wordlessly.  "You are ...THE...MOST... stubborn,
irritating..." he took a deep breath and noticed Red's sudden hurt
"... wonderful, brilliant, young man" he finished, his frustration giving
way to love.  "I can't believe I'm going to give in to you on this.
Promise me you'll be careful?"

"I promise, lover, I promise," Red replied, sealing the deal with a deep,
loving kiss.

A couple of hours later, out on the easterly roadway, that, by the
townsmen's accounts, passed near to the bandit's fortress, Gaia whiled the
time away by singing a bawdy tavern song in a very off-key voice as he
drove the crumbling old cart through some scrubland and casually watched
the bandits creep through the trees closer and closer to their quarry.  He
was actually getting a little bit impatient as they'd been trailing him for
nearly twenty minutes and he was heartily bored of singing the same stupid
tunes.  Just then a pair of archers stepped out from behind some trees and
a fat man with a wicked sneer and an axe in his hand followed them.

*Finally!* Gaia thought to himself.  Out loud, he said, "Who are you?  What
do you want?"  He used the same Latin dialect as the local townsfolk.

"We want your food and your cart and maybe your horse" the axe-wielder
sneered, "and if you're good we might let you live."

"I was in the city militia as a young man, don't come any closer" Gaia
replied in a fake-warbling voice as he fumbled at his waist and drew an old
rusty dagger.

"Be nice old man, there's far more of us than there are of you" the talker
chuckled, then gave a piercing whistle.  The cart was surrounded by a dozen
thugs, unwashed and stinking, all holding a variety of evil looking metal
implements.

"Okay, no need to get antsy, take the food, the cart, it's yours" he
warbled.

One of the thugs reached over to drag Gaia off the front seat and with
lightening fast reflexes he had his dagger at the man's throat.  "Take the
food and the cart" he repeated in a low, steady voice, "and I'll come of my
own free will.  But DON'T" he emphasised, "touch me."

"Oh-ho-ho, a feisty one!" the main spokesman laughed.  "Okay, come on then
granddad but the food in that cart is ours!" he claimed.

Gaia slipped off the bench and a pair of ruffians climbed onto it and
whipped the horse onwards. "We'll feast well tonight!" one man laughed to
another.  Gaia hid a small smile as the spokesman, the axe-wielder, urged
him onwards.  "Come on granddad, let's get you home" he drawled nastily.

Two hundred yards away, in a thicket of brambles, Elis, Tito and Hyacinth
watched.  As the last bandit, and their father's cart disappeared from view
they turned to each other.  "They've taken the bait, then" Elis whispered.

Hyacinth nodded.  "Let's just hope Red's plan works" he replied.

"Indeed" Tito nodded.

As evening fell back in the city, Red and the others prepared to leave.
They couldn't all go, of course, as a handful of skilled fighters were
needed to guard their possessions, their children and of course, Jason.
Simon stayed to look after his mate and as previously negotiated, Cleopas
remained behind to care for Alexander.  Philip remained to care for Maia
and Charon for Xanthe.

The other children, Socra, Audo, Demaratos, Konon and Evander also remained
at the inn.  Initially, of course, they'd protested that they were old
enough and strong enough to help, until Red reminded them that someone had
to stay behind and on guard since out of the able adult Spartans, only
Simon, Cleopas and Charon would be present.  "Can we trust you to guard the
younger ones and the possessions and Jason?" Red asked seriously.  "Because
if we can't you might be better coming with us and we'll leave another
couple of adults on guard."

Of course, the implication that they couldn't be trusted caused the boys to
protest otherwise, thereby ensuring that they were safely tucked in bed and
leaving the rest of the mission to the seven Spartans and two humans who
had carefully armed and were mounting their animals.

"Promise me you'll take every caution!" Cleopas hissed to Red.  He'd asked
the same question several times before.

"I promise my love" Red smiled.  Cleopas gave him a firm hug.

"Come on, please" Red said, squirming out of the grip, "we need to go or
else the gates will be closed.  I'll be back on the morrow, I promise" he
said.

They moved out and rode towards the Eastern gate, the town's elders and
gate guards looking at the small party as they left.  "Are you it?" one
asked.

"If our plan goes as hoped, we don't need a large force" Marcus explained.
"We'll see you on the morrow."

"I doubt it" one of the elders muttered, shaking his head as the nine rode
out of the city and away into the gathering gloom.

Jocasta and Nabis led the way, following the route that that the elders had
identified for them, the same route that Gaia had ridden and Elis, Tito and
Hyacinth had walked several hours earlier.  They'd only been riding an hour
at a fairly slow walk when a voice sounded from the undergrowth.

"Marcus!" Elis called in a hushed whisper from his hiding place.

"Father Elis?" Marcus asked, sliding down from his horse.

The three Spartans who'd trailed Gaia emerged.  "Nice to see you" they
smiled.

"Gaia was captured about a couple of hours before sunset.  We trailed them
to the fortress and watched as they took the cart and father Gaia inside"
Hyacinth explained as the fighters dismounted and gathered around.  "He was
in good spirits and had made the bandits laugh at his feistiness and didn't
seem to be in any danger.  Anyway, as soon as we saw them head inside and
bar their gate we came back up the road to wait for you."

"It's still too early to go inside, we need to be sure the majority have
eaten or drank something" Red said, "but we could move closer and see what
we can observe."

The party agreed and mounted, Elis, Tito and Hyacinth also onto horses,
which had been led, ready-saddled, so that the whole party could ride once
they met up.

The bandit's fortress turned out to be not much more than a fortified
farmstead, with perhaps a dozen stone buildings and high, scruffy, wattle
and daub walls strung between each one, each wall sporting a wooden
palisade and walkway at the top.  Sharpened stakes surrounded the complex,
a watchtower stood above the gateway and the whole place was illuminated by
dozens of bright torches.

Even from a distance the raucous music and laughter echoed out and Red
smiled.  "Well, they've made our job so much simpler.  When the music
stops, we start" he suggested.

At the speed with which poppy extract normally worked on the unwary, it
didn't take long.  By the light of the flickering torches it was obvious
that the guards on the watchtower had shared a skin of wine between them
and were all snoring softly.  As the last of the singing faded out and the
complex fell into silence they crept forwards on softly padding feet, their
horses tethered back a few hundred yards into the woods.  Nevertheless they
were all on guard and had swords drawn, not wanting to be taken by
surprise.

They were almost at the gate when the sound of a latch being thrown and a
bar being pushed made them all freeze.  "Scatter!  Defensive positions,
now!" Red hissed through gritted teeth, hoping that he wasn't about to
break his promise to Cleopas to be cautious.

The gates began to slowly swing inwards on creaking hinges and the Spartans
braced themselves for attack.  Red started to tremble, gripping his sword
tightly as he readied himself and the other Spartans did the same.  Then
finally there was enough space between the gates for people to exit through
and they all drew one last sharp breath...

... and Gaia poked his head through the doorway.  "What's up?  Come on,
let's get them tied up before they wake" he said nonchalantly.

"Father Gaia!" Elis gasped, lowering his sword, "Don't do that to me!  My
heart almost gave out!"  The others all let out explosive breaths as they
saw the family patriarch, chuckling in relief and sheathing their weapons.

Gaia laughed.  "With the number of times you've nearly gotten yourself
killed and terrified me over the years, a little turn-about is fair play,
don't you think, son?  Come on, let's get moving" he smiled.

"Are they all asleep?"

"Every single one" Gaia replied.  "Though a couple required.... a little
persuasion" he finished, indicating a pair who had sizable welts growing on
their temples.  Gaia cracked his fingers and rubbed his hands.  "I'd
forgotten how much a good knockout punch makes the knuckles ache" he
admitted and everyone laughed as they began the chore of locating,
disarming and tying up all of the bandits in the fortress.

Their first task was to find suitable vehicles in which to carry the
comatose bandits in, but this was easy considering the brigands often
stopped travellers on the roads.  There were several farm carts, smart
carriages and various other vehicles and a dozen horses all waiting to be
put into use.

They picked three flat-bed carts, open and of suitable size to easily take
twenty bodies each, as long as they were stacked up slightly.  The bandits
continued to snooze and snore in peaceful oblivion as one by one they were
tied tightly at wrist and ankle and laid in the carts.  As a further
caution against escape, once stacked in the vehicle they were also tied to
each other.

As a small concession to the more diminutive members of the troop the
largest, fattest individuals were tied up and loaded first, and the smaller
men were added later.  Two horses were hitched to each vehicle and then
Gaia led Elis, Tito, Hyacinth, Nabis and Jocasta through the rest of the
buildings, freeing nearly two dozen people from slavery including ten women
who were with child.

"Who are you, what's going on?" they were asked and each time the Spartans
explained, "we were hired by the town's elders to neutralise the bandit
force."

One woman, who wasn't with child and who seemed to be somewhat better
dressed than the others, was escorted from the main hall of the complex.
She had been tied up but only very loosely and though the Spartans were
suspicious they gave her the benefit of the doubt, not quite able to
believe that any woman would be with these louts voluntarily.  When she saw
the captive bodies of the bandit men and drew a sharp breath.  Her eyes
flashed and she screamed, "no, my husband, what have you done!"

She turned and lunged at them, heading straight for the person she believed
to be the easiest target, that of course being Red, but seemingly by
instinct he laid a swift punch to the side of her head and knocked her out.
"And for that, my lady, you can go in the cart with the other bandits" he
snorted as she crumpled to the ground.  As the sudden flare of adrenalin
wore off he began to wince slightly and nursed an obviously sore hand.

Marcus laughed softly at Red's plight.  "Cleopas is going to give you a
right chewing out if he thinks you've gotten injured" he chuckled.

"I know" Red sighed back, then grinned.  "Come on, let's go" he suggested.
The unconscious woman was promptly tied up but in deference to her gender
was positioned furthest away from where the men's heads dangled over the
back of the cart, instead her prone form was laid sideways at the top end,
over their feet.

The ladies who were with child were helped into a pair of carriages and the
rest into the innkeeper's cart, horses were hitched to them, the remaining
animals were freed and driven into the forest, and they left the fortress
behind.  As they exited, Acantha took a heap of firewood and some
already-hot coals from the main fire pit and with simple movements he set
fire to the whole complex.  Once it was safely alight the Spartans mounted
their horses, except for the individuals who would steer the wagons, and
they got underway to return to the town.

Dawn was breaking as they reached the city gates.  They hailed the guards
as the gates were still closed.  "Hail!  We've returned from the bandit
fortress victorious!" Gaia shouted.

"Hold there, we'll get the elders!" came a voice in reply.  "We can't open
the gates until true light, there's twenty minutes at least" they were
told.

The town's elders soon appeared, authorising the guards to open the gate
slightly earlier than was normal to let them out.  Gaia and Nabis went up
to meet them.  "The bandits are the ones tied up, including the woman" Gaia
began, "and the other three vehicles have their victims, mostly pregnant
slave girls by the looks of things but there are a few young boys there
too."

"Are they dead?  Why are they tied?" an elder asked, walking over to the
first vehicle and inspecting the bodies in the wagon.

"They're not dead, just drugged.  We bound them in case the drugs wore off
too quickly, we didn't want them escaping on us" Jocasta explained.

"You got them all alive?  My word, that's fantastic!" the senior elder
exclaimed.  He shook Gaia's hand.  "I know we negotiated for five hundred
gold but for all of them, alive, and the rescue of their captives too, I
think it should be at least double that.  You agree, I hope?"

"Oh, erm, yes, thank you" Gaia grinned.

The bandits were transferred to the town's gaol and their victims went
initially to the city hall to be treated for injuries and questioned.  Each
would be given either a bed with a family in the town, or would be assisted
to return to their own homes and families should that be possible.  Once
the handover had taken place, the elders gave Gaia a chest of gold so heavy
that it had to be strapped to a saddle and carried by a horse.

Tired but elated they took their gold, thanked the elders and returned to
the inn where the rest of the family would just be breaking their fast for
the day.  Red was happy that his plan had succeeded but he nursed his hand,
which still ached from the knockout blow he dealt to the woman who attacked
him.  He felt just a little apprehensive at what Cleopas' reaction would be
when the injury became apparent.  They arrived at the inn and returned the
cart to the innkeeper together with his own elderly nag and a much younger,
stronger horse as payment for his assistance.  Finally they rode around to
the more private yard and to the family.

Cleopas was on edge, waiting for the return of his beloved.  He knew that
Red was right and that nothing really could go wrong but he was still
anxious for it went against every instinct to permit the young human man he
loved to head into danger without him.  It brought a huge sigh of relief
when the jubilant troop rode into the yard and dismounted.  "It worked
brilliantly, we have more gold than we could possibly need and the town is
safe once more!" Nabis reported to the waiting family members.

Everyone cheered, Charon and Simon went to unload the gold so they could
count it and pack it safely away and Cleopas turned to Red.

"See?" Red grinned.  "Nothing to it" he said.  He tried to hold his hand
normally but the bruising was obvious and Cleopas saw it.

"You're hurt" he said softly.  "How?"

"I knocked someone out" Red admitted.

"Red!  You promised to take every care!  How did one of those brutes get
close enough to you?  Weren't you thinking at all?  You promised!" Cleopas
asked, almost shouted.

"It wasn't one of those brutes, it was a woman who claimed to be married to
one of those brutes and as we were rescuing her she jumped me" Red replied,
trying to remain calm so as to diffuse his lover's anger.  "It was one
single punch, that's all, and just a few bruises.  I'm fine, my love, I
promise" he said in a soft whisper.

"I'll be the judge of that, let me see" Cleopas asked firmly, struggling
slightly to get his emotions under control.  He led Red to the side of the
barn, where Alexander was toddling carefully, and the baby's two fathers
sat down side by side, right near where the child stood.

"Here, look.  Just be careful of my knuckles, they're a bit bruised" Red
said softly, laying his sore hand in Cleopas'.  The Spartan inspected the
injury and saw that Red was right.

"See?" Red smiled.

"Hmm, okay, I'm sorry I over-reacted.  I just saw the bruises and panicked"
Cleopas admitted.

Red leaned up and laid a gentle kiss on Cleopas' lips, a kiss that the man
reciprocated.  "I love you and I was cautious and I'm fine" Red assured him
as he settled into a warm embrace.

"You want to tell me exactly what happened and how you ended up punching a
woman?" Cleopas asked as he buried his nose into Red's hair and breathed in
his lover's distinctive scent.  It always seemed to Cleopas that no matter
what he did, Red always smelled faintly of honey, and Cleopas revelled in
having his sweet scent snuggled tightly in his arms.

Alexander came over before Red could speak and joined his fathers, having
missed daddy Red's cuddles.  He was tired anyway as he'd been awake since
before meditation even, unused to only having one warm adult at his side
rather than two, so he was appreciative of being picked up and cradled
against Red's chest.

"Mmm" Alexander sighed as he closed his eyes.

"He missed you last night" Cleopas said.

"I won't make a habit of it" Red assured his lover as he kissed the crown
of their son's head.  "Anyway, shall I tell you what happened?"

Cleopas nodded and Red launched into his explanation of the events of the
night.  As he spoke he started to yawn widely, not having had any sleep at
all.  At the end of his explanation, almost between one word and the next,
he nodded off, sat in his partner's arms with his son on his chest.

"Sleep, my darling Red, sleep" Cleopas whispered.

They stayed at the inn another two nights, resting, recovering and, most
importantly, using a tiny amount of their newly acquired gold to purchase
virtually a whole winter's worth of supplies.  Dozens of sacks of grains,
nuts and root vegetables, barrels of flour and ale, flagons of wine and oil
and olives, a stack of wax covered cheeses, sides of bacon and hams filled
their horse packs and the food wagon to nearly overflowing.  The remainder
of the money was stored in the chest in the second wagon with the gestant
Jason and then, with thanks and good wishes, they departed the town and
started their journey south towards the coast.

"How far south do we travel?" Leander asked as they rode.

"I'd like to get to the sea, we've not been on the water for nearly ten
years by my reckoning and I've got a hankering for shellfish" Gaia replied.

"Is there anywhere uninhabited or are we to be townsfolk for the season?"
Marcus wanted to know.

Jocasta answered, saying, "There's a cove about two and a half days from
the main port city, it's protected by a reef across the bay so ships can't
enter it, which makes it uninteresting to any of the local people and
perfect for us."

"And campsites and fresh water?"

"There's a stream through the cove and some good woodland surrounding it,
as well as several large caves."

"Sounds perfect, what are we waiting for?" Charon laughed.  "Let's go!"

It took eleven days' worth of road travel and two more of forging a path,
first through several patches of salt marsh and then through some overgrown
woodland to reach the cove where Gaia and the older family members planned
on settling for the winter.  The coast was relatively rocky, with the trees
that grew higher up giving way to a stony gully through which a silvery
stream cut a burbling path.  The woodland extended for several miles in
every direction from the top of the gully and the shore seemed to have
pounds and pounds of shellfish just waiting to be picked up.

The family arrived about an hour before noon on the third morning after
they'd left the roadway, and as some tethered and groomed the horses,
others immediately began an inspection of the available caves.  However
after seeing that all the caves had dry seaweed littering them, suggesting
that at least once or twice over the last year the sea had reached them,
the decision was made to stay on higher ground, in a copse of tightly
growing trees that stood at the head of the gully.  "No, it's no good, I
don't want to wake up one morning under several feet of seawater" Nabis
chuckled said as they inspected and rejected the last of the caves on
offer.

The copse they picked was close growing and a little axe-work made a large
clearing in the centre, suitable to shelter them from the bad weather that
no doubt would lash them over the winter months.  It was sheltered from the
worst of the wind by the cliffs of the gully together with a small ridge of
higher ground that marked the edge of the woodland-proper.

The two wagons were pulled down to the site and placed at the edge of the
circle that had been cut in the trees.  A firepit was dug and lined with
rocks and pebbles from the beach and some of the trees that had been cut
down were split and had their long branches removed and together the pieces
of tree were built into a comfortable mattress, designed to keep a precious
layer of insulating air between sleeping bodies and the cold, damp earth.
Other tree trunks were used to construct a makeshift wall to the sea-ward
side of the shelter so that the cold winds sweeping off the water would be
deflected slightly.  Finally the tent skins were attached to the
still-standing trees to cover the whole camp with a watertight roof.

"Perfect" Aeson pronounced after several hours' worth of hard work.

Joseph had been down on the beach with some of the boys, poking around the
rock pools and teaching them which shellfish were edible and which seaweeds
and other items could be collected to eat.  They came back, all slightly
damp, carrying two satchels-full of mussels and welks, a couple of fat
crabs and several other tasty morsels as well as a large helping of sea
lettuce, the main edible green available on this stretch of coastline.

"When the tide is fully out we'll go searching for oysters but I hope this
lot will do for starters" Joseph smiled as he began to prepare a seafood
stew.

"So, will this do for the winter?" Gaia asked as they settled in for the
evening with a warm fire and a cosy shelter, tucking in to the salty broth
and nibbling meat from shells.

"I think it'll do nicely" Simon replied around a mouthful of food and
everyone else also nodded or murmured their consent.

"Are there any particular plans for this winter, now we're settled in a
comfortable spot for the duration?" Marcus asked later on after they'd all
eaten.

"Since I'm independent this winter and we've got the time I'd like Red to
teach me some of the rudiments of archery" Cleopas replied, "indeed,
perhaps many of us could benefit from learning how to make, string and use
a bow."

"Of course" Red said to his mate, "and remember, Alexander will have
learned to walk properly, probably before midwinter at this rate" Red
smiled, "and before spring I'd like to see if we can teach him to ride and
build him a saddle."

"Talking of saddles, I think we'll need to re-size Demaratos', he's grown a
lot" Aeson said.

"We need to go over the records and update them, there's lots of detail
that needs adding" Simon contributed, "and of course our son will be born,
Apollo willing" he said, smiling over at Jason, who lounged in the wagon,
listening to the conversations with interest.

"There are also the new boots to finish and the cloaks to sew and other
mending to complete whilst the autumn weather is still relatively mild"
Philip pointed out.

"We need to check out the horses to see if the stallion has gotten any
mares pregnant again" Joseph suggested.  "After all we had quite a number
of new foals last spring so it wouldn't surprise me if the randy beast has
created a few more."  Chuckles abounded at the last comment and several
people nodded.

"And at some point it might be worthwhile heading down to the city with
some of the gold we earned, to get some metal ingots and other foodstuffs
and also to replace some of our knives and pots and various tools, whilst
we have the chance and the means with which to purchase them" Acantha
suggested.

"Sounds like we're going to have a busy winter" Nabis said to Jocasta.
"Perhaps we should get an early night, we might need the sleep if we're
going to have so much to do."  He grinned to his lover and wiggled his
eyebrows suggestively.

"Sleep?  I don't believe that for a second!" Elis laughed as the two
elderly men embraced and kissed gently.

Jocasta ignored the humour-laden taunts and replied to his partner, "let's
lie down."  They moved to the edge of the mattress, where the long shadows
of night had already started to obscure detail, and with their retiring,
everyone else began to curl up with a loved one and enjoy an intimate
moment.

Alexander was already asleep in Cleopas' arms, having had a long,
interesting day.  He regularly slept through the night now and Red smiled.
"Do you think he's big enough to sleep in the wagon with the other boys?"

Cleopas chuckled.  "Does daddy Red want some alone time?" he asked in a
gentle whisper.

"Mm-hm" Red replied with a soft smile, blushing ever so slightly.

Cleopas took their child to the wagon where Xanthe, Konon, Maia and Evander
were already curled up.  At ten summers old, Demaratos slept alone as he
liked his privacy, especially since certain urges drove him to pleasure
himself several times each day, and although he had played with his
relatives Ajax and Lykurgos over the summer, he was by nature a more
private boy than they and didn't see any reason to advertise his
activities.  Socra and Audo had slept outside all summer, intertwined
around each other and saw no reason to change their habits.  So it was that
Cleopas said to Evander, the oldest boy sleeping in the wagon, "will you
look after him and come and get us if he wakes?"

"Of course, Cleopas" Evander replied, happy to take the responsibility.

As he was put down on the soft fleece, Alexander snuggled down into the
wool and turned slightly, cuddling into Evander.  The older boy put an arm
around his baby cousin and as they fell to sleep, Cleopas returned to Red.

The fire had reduced to glowing embers as each couple found a comfortable
spot to lie down.  Red and Cleopas were fairly close to the fire and could
feel the residual heat as they embraced and began to kiss.

"I love you" Red whispered between kisses.

"And I love you" Cleopas replied.

"Cleopas?" Red said softly after another few soft kisses.

"Yes, love?"

"Do you think I've grown this summer?"

Cleopas chuckled.  "I know you have, we've had to replace your leggings
twice since the spring and you've almost got enough fluff on your chin to
begin calling it a beard, if you're feeling generous of course."

"Stop picking on the fluff, I'm proud of it!" Red chuckled back, stroking
the few wispy red strands on his chin.  He then sighed softly.  "What I
mean is, do you think I've grown enough for you to...." Red stopped and
even in the dim light Cleopas could tell that his young lover was blushing.

"To what, Red?" Cleopas asked.  Truth be told he had a good idea what it
was Red wanted but needed the youth to be explicit in his request so as to
avoid any painful mistakes or embarrassing misunderstandings.

"I'd like you to start preparing me so that we can one day make love" Red
replied after a few moments.

"Do you mean that when we use our mouths it isn't love making?" Cleopas
smirked.

Red slapped his shoulder playfully and rolled his eyes.  "You know what I
mean!" he hissed.

Cleopas laid a gentle kiss on his lover's lips.  "I still think you're too
small..." he began.

"But..." Red protested and Cleopas put a finger over his mouth to quieten
him.  "But I will help you begin to prepare and we'll see how things go"
Cleopas finished.

Red melted.  "Thank you" he whispered, caressing Cleopas' shoulders and
arms gently as they embraced.

They undressed, piece by piece, each helping the other.  It was very erotic
to see the slow unveiling of bare skin and despite the fire, Red shivered
as he gazed at Cleopas' strong, muscular torso.  Cleopas noticed the
reaction and chuckled.  "Don't you get enough of looking at me?" he
whispered.

"Never" Red replied with a blushing smile.

Cleopas left briefly when he still had his loincloth on, to go and get a
small slip of tallow fat from the supplies.  Red grinned when he saw it and
Cleopas rolled his eyes.  "Anyone would think you were anxious to play or
something" he whispered as he laid down at Red's side.  The pair leaned
together and kissed deeply, and as they did, each, with fumbling fingers,
untied the loincloth of the other.

"Do you want to climax first or should I play with your back door first?"
Cleopas whispered.  In reply Red hooked his arms under his legs and raised
his knees to his ears, exposing his tiny pink pucker.

"Okay, that's my answer I guess" Cleopas chuckled softly.  He got some
grease on his index finger and slowly circled the hole.  Red shivered.

"Is that okay?" Cleopas asked.

"Oh, yes" Red whispered.

After the skin had been massaged for a few minutes Cleopas touched the hole
itself, pressing gently on the ring of muscle.  "Oh!" Red gasped.

Cleopas returned to the slip to get more grease on his finger, spreading it
up to his knuckle.  On the second swipe over the tiny hole he pressed a
little firmer and about an inch of finger slipped inside.

"Oh my!" Red gasped again.

"You okay?" Cleopas asked again.  Red nodded his head.  "Mmmm" he
half-drawled, half groaned.

Cleopas began moving his finger slowly, gently, pushing it back and forth,
closer and closer to getting the knuckle in... and just as he had finally
managed to sink his entire finger inside Red he heard Evander shout and a
little boy start to cry.

"Cleopas!  Alexander's awake and doesn't want to cuddle me, he won't lie
down and won't go back to sleep!" Evander shouted.

"Daddeeee!" Alexander shouted through his tears.

Red, who had been quite tense with lust and excitement, collapsed back and
groaned.  Cleopas gently removed his finger and chuckled softly.  "And
that's as far as we go, I think" he whispered.

Red rolled his eyes.  "I should have known" he replied, also beginning to
laugh.

"Weopaaaaaa!" Alexander's voice became more insistent and he started to
wail loudly.

Cleopas stood up, wiped his hand on his discarded loincloth and made his
way to the children's wagon.  Alexander was already sat up at the doorway
and he virtually launched himself into Cleopas' arms as soon as the man was
within reach.

"Come on then, come sleep with daddy Red and Cleopas" he whispered to his
baby son as the pair returned to where Red was tidying their things up and
straightening the skins ready for sleeping.  The two fathers laid down
either side of their small son, who fell to sleep as soon as he felt his
parents' warmth and smelled their familiar scents surrounding him.

"Night, Cleopas" Red whispered as Alexander closed his eyes and sighed
gently.

"Good night, my love.  Pleasant dreams" Cleopas replied.

The days passed one into another, with increasingly longer, colder nights
and shorter, cooler days.  Red and Cleopas managed after a fortnight's
worth of effort to persuade Alexander to sleep in the wagon, and continued,
in their brief, private moments to prepare for anal sex.

As the autumn days progressed into winter, all the new boots and cloaks and
other winter clothing was finished and four horses were discovered to be
with foal.  Charon, Acantha, Leander, Joseph and Cleopas all worked with
Red to attempt to make some bows and arrows and once they were constructed
to everyone's satisfaction, the five, alongside Red, practised, first
learning how to shoot and then improving the accuracy of their shots.

A journey had been planned to the port city but the week that Elis, Tito,
Charon and Acantha were due to set out saw the first heavy snowfall.  It
didn't really affect the bay very much but the land several miles inland of
their camp was covered.  It was decided that it would be perfectly
sufficient to wait until the early spring thaw created an easier passage,
recognising that they had plenty of food and the sea was providing
significant quantities of shellfish, crabs and other items.

The family chronicles were taken out and worked on by Simon and Elis,
preparing paper and writing up a short account of the events since last
they were updated, and alongside the writing of the chronicles was
schooling for the children, helping them to improve their letters and
numbers.

A short hike up the coast found a second, smaller bay, barely ten yards
across but secluded and quiet and perfectly suitable as a prayer site.  The
priests regularly worshipped on the small, stony shore, offering sacrifices
to Apollo and prayers for the family, both those overwintering with them
and those in more distant places.  Since warm-blooded game was somewhat
scarce they had to make do with sacrificing rabbits and seabirds to their
God.  It wasn't difficult but, as Marcus noted one particularly damp, foggy
afternoon, it sometimes required a little bit of effort in order to get up
from a warm fireside and go out to a cold, windswept stretch of coastline.

The most amount of effort was, ironically, put in by the youngest family
member.  Alexander was desperate to walk and on midwinter's day itself,
which dawned still and clear, he finally tottered on unsteady legs along
several yards of beach as he walked, without any assistance, from Red to
Cleopas.  He laughed and giggled the whole time and within a week he was
running around with the other boys.

Jason was, by this time, completely incapacitated, as he waited for the
birth of his first son.  He was due about a month after mid-winter and
everyone was hotly anticipating the babe's birth, not least the gestating
father who was in agony from his bloated womb and stretched filaments.

One night saw a mighty storm sweep in, driving sleet and wet snow
horizontal before the wind and forcing the high tide to peak several yards
higher than normal.  It was the blackest part of the night when Jocasta's
voice woke everyone.  "Argh! .... What the blazes? .... QUICK!  Everyone
up!  Lights, torches, stir up the fire, now!" he cried, then started to
cough and splutter.  "By Apollo!  Salt!" he shouted as he managed to clear
his throat.

"What, what's up?" came a clamour of voices.

"Water!  Lots of it!" Jocasta shouted.  "And it's salt so it means the tide
has risen up to our camp!  We've got no time to lose, we must get to higher
ground!"

"Right, we need people and swords!  Everything else is replaceable.  Move,
move!" Elis shouted, taking control.

"Damn it, the fire's gone out!" Clio shouted.

"Move, move, move, now!  The fire hasn't just gone out, it's soaked!" Aeson
said.

Everyone picked up swords in a mad scramble and fumbled with the buckles in
the blackness.  By this time everyone was wet with sea spray and rain and
the night was still pitch dark.

"Simon!" Jason shouted.  "My love, the wagon is leaking!  I can feel the
water on my womb!  Oh, shit, it hurts!" he yelled.

"Damn it, if we can't see, we can't do anything!  Apollo, I beg you, help
us!" Hyacinth cried in a ringing voice ... and suddenly in the middle of
the clearing hung a small ball of light, like a miniature sun, not so
bright as to hurt eyes but bright enough that everyone could see what was
happening.

"Lord Apollo, thank you!" Hyacinth whispered.  He and the rest of the
priests as well as several other family members bowed in the direction of
the light.

"Oh, yes Lord" Hyacinth said after a moment.  "Come on, let's get out and
get the two wagons to high ground" he said.  "Apollo tells me that the sea
will cover our camp completely before dawn."

"Mercy, let's go!" Tito shouted.

The horses were already safe, tethered up in the forest proper so as to
have access to some grazing.  They didn't have time to go and get beasts
and hitch them to the wagons so both vehicles were man-handled out of their
spot in the copse of trees and physically lifted up the nearest stretch of
bank and into the forest.  Unfortunately this took the best part of twenty
minutes and although everyone was safe, including the gestant Jason and all
the children, they had lost a lot of their food and a lot of the skins upon
which they slept.  It appeared that they might be able to rescue their tent
roof but probably very little else.

"Thank goodness all our money and our records are all in the wagon with
Jason" Elis said, panting slightly, as they took a breather from lifting
the wagons out of harm's way.

"Let's go back down and see if we can rescue anything else" Gaia suggested.
He, Jocasta, Marcus and Philip headed back to the copse and managed to
rescue a couple of cheeses, two flagons, one of olives and the other of
oil, and a side of bacon but everything else seemed to be ruined or had
vanished.  Finally they fled the still-rising tide and went to join the
rest of the family.

Jason, who over the entire course of the panicked evacuation, had panted
and groaned, suddenly let out and ear-splitting yell.  "SIMON!" he cried.
"HELP!"

Simon, who had been trying to light a fire, dropped the flint and steel and
ran to Jason's wagon. It was damp as some water had leaked in, but the rain
wasn't the main reason for the wetness - Jason's womb had split, and as it
was almost two weeks early it was still ultra-sensitive.

"Okay, calm, calm" Elis counselled his nephew.  He took his cloak off.
"Come on, let's get you kneeling on my cloak and we'll get this baby
delivered, seeing as he appears to be impatient to show his face."

"AAARRRRGGGGGHHHH!" Jason yelled as Elis, Simon, Hyacinth and Marcus came
over and manhandled him out of the wagon.

"Shit, it's cold" Marcus commented as the slushy snow and sleet continued
to be driven on the wind straight into them.

"HELP!  ARGH! HELP ME!" Jason shouted, now in tears with the pain and the
anguish of the whole situation.

"Not long now, son" Hyacinth said.  "We'll get this baby out and you'll be
fine."

Aeson, meanwhile, had taken his cloak off and beckoned Clio, Demaratos and
Joseph and the four of them held it by the corners so as to protect the
labouring man from the worst of the snow, like a temporary shelter.

"Thanks" Jason mouthed but was unable to get enough breath to speak.

Somewhere nearby, thunder rolled and lightening flashed.  The sleet got
heavier and turned to pure water rather than half-frozen slush, falling in
sheets as Simon knelt in front of his lover, urging him to learn lower and
allow the baby's weight to break the filaments.

"No, no, no, don't make me, it hurts" Jason whimpered.

"We need to get the child out before he dies, son" Hyacinth said calmly yet
sternly.  "Come on, the longer you mess about the longer this will take."

Several more screams later, Jason had leaned over and his womb was
splitting, ready for the baby to be delivered.  Simon finally took hold of
his baby son and pulled him free and suddenly a newborn, wailing cry joined
the pounding rain, the screaming father, the rolling thunder.

Jason passed out and was tended by his birth father and uncle as Simon,
assisted by Marcus, dried and dressed the tiny, prematurely born, baby boy.

In the meantime, Gaia, Nabis and Leander had managed to get a fire lit and
were currently heaping the blaze with enough wood to heat them all for
hours.  As Jason came to, the rain finally began to ease and soon everyone
was sat or stood on the damp earth around the hot fire, recovering from
their ordeal.

Daylight dawned gray and miserable and with the rising of the sun, Apollo's
orb slowly faded away.  "Thank you for your mercies in keeping us alive"
Hyacinth prayed in a tired, weary voice as the orb vanished.

*** Be at peace, Hyacinth.  I will always be on hand to assist the sons of
Sparta when you ask of Me in faith and urgent need*** Apollo replied to the
prayer.

Alongside the daylight, the wind died down, the tide retreated and by two
hours shy of noon the rain had stopped completely and a cool, watery sun
began to shine.  Jason and the baby were the only dry pair in the family,
having had a number of cloaks and horse blankets cobbled together to make a
temporary, watertight shelter near the fireside.  The baby had fed and was
sleeping in his birth father's arms as Simon said, "my love, we haven't
named him."

Jason smiled.  "I was thinking of calling him 'Thor'.  It seems appropriate
since he was born amidst the thunder."

Simon smiled.  "Well, welcome, Thor Jasonson.  Now" he turned back to his
lover, "can I have a cuddle?"

"Of course, daddy Simon, come, sit down" Jason smiled back.

Over the course of the day, the tent roof was rescued, wrung out and
re-hung over what had become their new campsite.  Everyone went down to the
shore to see what they could rescue from the debris left behind by the sea
and managed to pick up more than three quarters of their packs, personal
possessions and tools, a couple more flagons of oil, whose wax-sealed corks
were still intact, and almost a dozen soaked skins.  The tools were stacked
near the new hearth and leather items were hung on or tied to tree branches
to dry and by that time, the side of bacon they'd retrieved during the
night was ready - it had been roasting over the fire whole, so that
everyone could have a hot meal.

"Are there any other foods worth keeping?" Gaia asked the family as they
all ate.

"Well the meal and flours are soaked through, they're a sodden, sticky mess
in their sacks" Acantha said.  "We might be able to make some sort of salty
pudding from them but personally I don't fancy it" he said, screwing his
nose up in disgust.

"The dried fruit is the same and the apple's gone all slimy, it looks
revolting" Demaratos explained.

"The nuts might be okay, once we've dried them out again" Philip said,
pointing to where he'd filled a cast-iron kettle with hazelnuts and placed
it near to the fire, not so close as to burn the nuts but close enough that
the water should be driven off.

"Everything else is either spoiled or has been washed away" Joseph
shrugged.  "We've got plenty of oyster, crabs and olive oil, but that's
about the only thing we can say."

"Well, that settles it.  We can't survive the rest of the winter on
oysters, oil and one kettle of nuts" Simon said, his protective instincts
kicking in.  "We're going to have to go buy supplies at the very least and
possibly even do some hunting and tanning to replace the skins we've lost."

"We need an inventory of what we're missing and the easiest thing would
probably be to have a group of us take several horses and go pick up some
goods" Charon suggested.

"Damn it, that's something else" Gaia muttered.

"What?"

"Saddles, riding and pack.  Most of them were soaked last night, we need to
see which we can dry and which are ruined.  Plus I think three were lost
completely."

"Well that's the leather used up" Marcus rolled his eyes.

"Thank goodness we earned that gold last autumn" Nabis sighed, "or else
we'd be well and truly stuck."

"Well, the bacon's cooked, we've got a bit of cheese, some nuts and we can
make an oyster stew for supper" Philip said.  "I think we need to recover,
rest, relax for the rest of today at least before we go trekking into the
city.  The boys are exhausted" he finished, nodding to where Maia, Xanthe
and Konon were lying in a heap, fast asleep, on top of each other.
Alexander was also sleeping in Cleopas' arms and the older boys all looked
weary, though they had yet to succumb to their tiredness.

"Agreed," everyone said.

Once everyone had eaten, a new mattress of pine boughs was cut for everyone
to sit on.  As the wintery darkness fell a huge kettle of oysters were
shucked and stewed and made a filling, if slightly salty, supper.

"So, who's going to town and what of the rest of us?" Jason asked.  Thor
was asleep in his arms.

"We can't stay here, there's a little foraging but not enough for everyone"
Marcus said.

Elis shook his head.  "With the weather we had last night I'd bet my last
copper that as soon as we're a mile from the coast we'll encounter snow.
Yes, the pickings here on the coast are lean but I think further inland
they'd be non-existent."

"But further inland we could find some bigger game, snow or not" Leander
said.

"Okay, we're not getting anywhere by disagreeing" Elis said.  "How about a
small team of hunters heads inland just a few miles, checks out the snow
situation and tries to find some goats or deer?  Another team can go and
buy some fresh dry goods and fruit and what have you from the city and
everyone else can comb the coastline for all the shellfish and edibles we
can find and fix up our belongings.  Does that suit everyone?"

"Well I'd like to suggest that the archers go hunting, we can take our boys
with us.  So that'd be me and Cleopas with Alexander, Leander and Joseph
with Evander and Charon and Acantha with Xanthe" Red suggested.  The others
smiled and nodded.  "Makes sense since we're all getting quite competent,"
Acantha said, "and since we'd left all of our bows up with the horses when
we last practised with them we don't need to reconstruct anything."

"I want to go to the city" Nabis said, "with perhaps half a dozen others?"
he asked.

"I'll come" Jocasta said to his mate.

After a brief whispered conversation, Clio said, "Aeson, Demaratos, Konon
and I will join you."

"And I'll join you as well" Hyacinth said.

"And the rest of us should probably stay here, rebuild our camp, collect
what food we can and who knows, maybe some of our possessions will return
on the next high tide?" Gaia suggested.

"Will our things return?" Audo asked in a sleepy drawl.

"Possibly, Audo" Gaia replied, "the sea is a funny thing.  Sometimes it
washes items away and they are never seen again, other times it simply
washes things back and forth and if we keep a close watch on this bay and
the others up and down this stretch of coast we might find more than you'd
expect."

With duties shared out everyone settled down for an uncomfortable, though
thankfully dry, night, rising early the next morning so as to meditate
their frustrations away before beginning the tasks.

As discussed, the six adults familiar with archery went hunting together
with three boys.  The adults walked and led two pack horses but the
children rode so as not to get too tired.  Alexander was on Maia's pony,
held tightly by Cleopas as the small boy learned to ride for the first
time.  Luckily Maia's saddle was dry and was also a good fit for the boy
and he managed to stay seated quite easily, though Cleopas was loathe to
leave him unsupervised.

Another five adults and two children took a dozen horses between them, some
riding but mostly pack, and rode out towards the city.  They also had bags
of money, a small pouch of gold carried by each adult, stuffed safely down
the front of each man's tunic.

The remainder, that being Gaia, Elis, Tito, Marcus, Philip, Maia, Socra,
Audo, Jason, Simon and of course baby Thor, were to stay behind to comb the
coast for possessions that were washed up and for food, and to fix up their
shelter to be more weather-tight and comfortable.  "Socra, Audo, Maia, can
you start by looking at this beach?  Any shellfish and crabs, anything that
looks like it might have belonged to us and any driftwood can all be
dragged up from the sea.  Heap it all up and we'll go through it later on"
Gaia said.

"Yes, grandfather Gaia" Socra agreed and the three ran off.

"Now, Thor's had his feed this morning hasn't he?  So get him into a sling
and you two can check the woodland hereabouts for any nuts or berries or
herbs and also bring some more firewood back.  You might also want to set a
few rabbit or bird traps, see what we can catch" Gaia then said.

"I don't have a sling" Jason protested.  Marcus held something up.
"Cleopas left Alexander's slings.  There's a front-held nursing one and a
back-held sleeping one.  Come on, let's get this sorted."

"I don't know whether I could wear the nursing one, my navel still hurts"
Jason admitted.

Simon said, "well, I'll wear it."  He took his tunic off and Marcus helped
him to get the child positioned at his chest and fastened the sling with a
strong knot.

"Now because yours is a Spartan-Spartan bond you might lactate too so don't
be surprised if Thor starts nursing later on" Marcus smiled.

"O... kay" Simon said, feeling a little uneasy.

"It's quite common and it'll give Jason's nipples a break if you're able
to" Elis said.  "Tito and I nursed both our surviving sons even though I
carried Marcus and Tito carried Clio."

"Well as long as it's normal I can't really complain" Simon finally
acquiesced.

"It is, I promise.  Besides which, he might sleep all morning, in which
case the whole discussion is mute" Tito smiled.

"Come on, my love" Jason then called. "Let's go make ourselves useful.  And
if it freaks you out too much you can always give him to me if he starts
trying to nurse.  Now, I'm sure there was a hazel thicket over yonder,
let's go see if there are any nuts still available to start with."

The couple and their new baby left on foot and Gaia, Elis, Tito, Marcus and
Philip remained.

"We need one or two of us to stay here and cut more boughs for the
mattress, collect more rocks for the firepit, start checking out the soaked
saddles and also be on hand for the boys to report to" Elis said.

"I'll do that if you don't mind too much, son" Gaia replied.

Elis smiled.  "Of course I don't mind father Gaia, thank you" he said.  He
turned to the remaining three adults.  "So we, I think, need to start
following the coast, a pair one way and a pair the other, to see if any of
our belongings or anything else useful has been strewn over the rocks.
Does that sound okay?"

"Fine, Marcus and I will take this way, you take the other" Philip
suggested and the four set out.

By the end of the day, the city-bound team had holed up in a camp beside a
pond that had been home to several overwintering geese.  The unfortunate
birds were spitted and roasted by the small group of travellers and they
tethered their horses around their sleeping spot as both protection and
shelter.  They bedded down on a bed of bracken that they'd collected as
insulation against the semi-frozen earth and huddled as close to their cook
fire as they could with safety.  They had another day and a half's worth of
travel at least to reach the city, more if the snow and ice became thicker.

The archers, heading inland and looking for large game, had tracked some
deer over the course of the day and just as dusk was falling, managed to
shoot three of them.  They constructed a temporary camp, butchered the
animals, keeping the pelts of course, and spitted and roasted the smallest
of the three to eat that night.  They chose to sleep cuddled together for
the sake of the three small boys with them, using some pine branches as a
mattress, cloaks to cover and the warmth of being in close proximity as
insulation.  They had encountered snow almost a foot thick and much deeper
in the places where it had drifted, but having a hot fire had melted it in
the vicinity of their camp so they stayed dry and relatively warm.  They
were planning on taking a few more animals if they could before returning
to their seaside base.

The few remaining at the camp had the warmest night, being free of frost
and snow and with freshly dried skins to sleep on, albeit slightly salty
and stiff.  They had roasted crab, oysters, fried hazelnut and chestnut
patties and a hot sweet drink of water flavoured with dried rosehips,
except for Thor of course who had his father's milk - Simon, as it turned
out, was lactating too and after the his initial surprise, found that he
was actually more than willing to share in the feeding of his son.  As well
as the food, they'd set various snares for small game, had picked up
several more skins and one of the lost pack saddles from the sea shore and
had recovered many of the items that at first had seemed to have been lost
in the sea, including some of the half-finished leather work that had been
scattered around the camp.  It was all salty and soaked, of course, but was
soon cleaned up and suspended from various tree branches to dry out.

The next day saw the city-bound team continue their trek, though the snow
bogged them down and they had to make camp for a second night, hoping to
reach the roadway and make better time on the third day.  The hunters
continued to track the deer herd and took three more animals, and after
butchering them decided that they couldn't load the pack horses any higher
and so turned and headed back to base.

At the main camp, the boys collected combed the beach for more of their
property and collected sufficient seafood for a feast.  Simon, Jason, Gaia
and Tito took two rabbits from the snares and combed the forest floor for
dropped chestnuts, hazelnuts and edible fungi.  Marcus and Philip continued
to rebuild and improve their camp and also began to fix up and dry out the
wettest of the saddles and groom the horses.

Red, Cleopas and the rest of the hunters arrived back by torchlight an hour
after sunset and everyone celebrated to see the wealth of meat they'd
collected.  They in turn were thankful for the warm, dry, comfortable camp
that had been constructed on the edge of the woodland and tucked into the
offered shellfish and mushroom stew with gusto.

"How long do you think it'll take the city team to get back?" Jason asked
Leander as they ate.

"Well the snow is quite thick inland so I'm willing to bet they haven't
even reached the road yet.  I imagine they'll be another week or maybe even
longer" Leander replied.

"Well, we've got plenty of food here now, we're warm and comfortable and we
can tan the six hides you collected plus two rabbit skins, that'll go some
way to replacing the things we lost" Tito said.

"Plus don't forget how much we found on the high tide today" Audo said
excitedly, unable to stay quiet any longer.

"Oh?  What did you find?" Red asked.

"A load of our deer hides and our other things, there's almost nothing lost
now except for the things that'll go mouldy before they dry out" the boy
explained.

At Cleopas' quizzical expression, Marcus said, "we've got another pack
saddle back, it was washed up on the beach in the next bay but we'll have
to cut the stitching and take it apart to dry or else the leather and wood
will rot."

"So really, the only things we are really short of are foodstuffs, then?"
Charon observed.

"Well, some of the leather and other items might end up rotting despite our
efforts, or else they'll be contaminated with salt and unusable, like the
wooden beakers.  We can't drink sweet honey water from a salt encrusted
cup" Gaia replied.

"Perhaps tomorrow we'll see if we can find some decent wood for new
utensils and start cutting and carving?" Jason asked and everyone else
nodded.

"We should also check the snares that are still out that were empty today,
and if we set out early enough we can pick more fungi too" Elis suggested.

"Do you want to come help us collect shellfish tomorrow?" Socra asked
Xanthe and Evander and they nodded.  He looked at Cleopas.  "Can Alexander
come with us too or is he too little?"

"He can come as long as you don't mind Red or me helping as well?"

"No, that'd be great!  We might even be able to check the next beach if
we've got a grown-up with us, we've only been looking on this one so far."

Cleopas laughed.  "In that case, Red, Alexander and I will join all you
boys and we'll all go on a shellfish hunt in the morning, how does that
sound?"

All the boys started to giggle.  "What?  What did I say?" Cleopas smiled.

"You don't hunt shellfish, silly, you collect it!" Audo laughed.

"You pull it from the rocks" Maia explained in a serious little voice.

"Ohhhh" Cleopas said exaggeratedly, grinning and messing about for the
boys' sake.  "So I won't need my bow and arrows then?"

"No, don't be silly!" Socra said, then laughed some more.

"But," Audo said with a serious voice, "if you have a knife with you we
might be able to get a few more of the pyramid-shaped ones, they stick
really tightly to the rocks and are hard to get off."

"You mean limpets?" Gaia asked.

"Oh, is that what they're called?  We've been calling them pyramids and the
black ones we've said look like crow's wings and the others are like
snails" Audo said.

"Well that's limpets and mussels and welks.  What did you call oysters?"
Gaia asked.

Audo frowned.  "Oysters, silly, we knew what they were called" he said in a
cheeky voice before everyone laughed some more.

"Come on, it's late, let's get some sleep, boys" Acantha suggested once
everyone calmed down.  "It sounds like we'll all have a busy day again
tomorrow."  They banked the fire and extinguished the lamps and with cloaks
around shoulders they all slept comfortably.

They rose early the next day and meditated before dawn.  As soon as
meditation was over, Elis, Tito, Leander and Joseph left the camp carrying
with them a piece of the previously-cooked venison each for their
breakfast, as they went to check the snares and collect fungi.

Red, Cleopas and the boys all stayed sitting down to eat, enjoying a kind
of nut porridge made of crushed hazelnuts and chestnuts and eating it
alongside some more of the venison, which they'd re-heated.  Finally they
drank water from the stream and feeling full of good food and in cheerful
spirits they picked up several of the satchels they'd reclaimed from the
sea and set out on a short walk to the next beach in order to see what they
could collect.

Cleopas and Red and the three older boys all had knives with them, again,
things they'd rescued from the beach.  After Audo's comment about limpets
they all realised that knives would be very useful tools in collecting
their food.  Each person, except for Alexander, also wore a sword, since
they wouldn't go anywhere without them.

"Daddy, mine" Alexander stuttered with some difficulty as he poked Red's
sword belt.

"No, this sword is mine, Alexander, you're too little to have one yet" Red
replied softly.

"Mine!" Alexander said more forcefully and his lip quivered.

"Son, you need to be able to talk just a little better" Cleopas said,
picking him up.  "There's questions you have to answer before you can have
a sword.  Shh, don't cry," he continued as Alexander burst into tears, "we
have a sword all ready for you, you just need to grow up a tiny bit more.
I tell you what" he said, seeing that the boy was inconsolable, "how about
we make you a wooden sword to play with?"

Alexander nodded and grinned, squirmed from his father Cleopas' arms and
ran off to play with the other boys again.

"Cleopas?" Red said.

"Yes?"

"Do we still have Alexander's sword? Which pack was it in?  We lost a lot
of possessions, is it still around anywhere?"

"Damn, I never thought of that" Cleopas replied.  "I think it was still
strapped in our personal pack, with our spare clothes and leatherwork.  Was
that one found?"

Red sighed with relief.  "Yes it was, thank goodness, I even remember
seeing the sword now that you mention it.  It's all dangling on the same
tree to dry.  But I think the scabbard we stitched might need replacing,
it's full of salt.  And the blade will need a very good polish or else the
salt water will make it rust through very quickly."

"Oh, well, if that's the only casualty we can't complain too much" Cleopas
replied, "and if that blade needs a polish then no doubt the rest of them
do, that might be a job for this afternoon."

They soon reached the beach and set about clambering over the rocks and
wading through the rock pools to locate the shellfish.  It was low tide and
the pickings were very rich, especially of mussels and limpets.  When all
the satchels were full to bursting, Cleopas managed to rein the boys in.
"We need to leave some for another day, we've got plenty here" he said.
Reluctantly the boys all nodded and they headed back to the camp.

As soon as they were there and the boys were safely under the supervision
of Gaia's watchful eye, Red and Cleopas went to find their belongings and
Alexander's sword.  Sure enough it was there, tied to a branch with a
length of plaited grass, to enable the binding on the hilt to dry out a
little in the breeze.  The scabbard was drying too but although the belt
probably could be reclaimed, the sheath would need completely replacing.

"Thank goodness" Cleopas let out an explosive sigh of relief.  "We put so
much work into it, I didn't want it to be lost at the bottom of the sea."

"We need to get some fat from one of the rabbits or deer, or perhaps a
little of the olive oil, since our tallow store will be contaminated with
salt, and polish it before it rusts" Red said, "and we probably need to cut
the hilt binding off and replace it."

Cleopas nodded in agreement.  "I don't want it to get rusty before
Alexander can use it" he agreed.

"Well, how about you start polishing and taking the binding off the hilt
and I'm going to find a small hardwood stick and a sharp knife and start
making a certain little boy a wooden sword to play with" Red suggested.

It turned out that finding a stick was easier than Red had anticipated.
Jason and Simon had located a good hardwood tree and were in the process of
felling it, along with Gaia, Tito, Leander and Joseph, so that they could
re-carve and replace all their wooden possessions.  Red joined in the job
and once the tree had crashed to the woodland floor, he cut one of the
small branches free and set about it with a knife to carve the toy blade.

"What are you making?" Simon asked, watching the young man work.  Simon
himself, although he was carrying a sleeping baby Thor tied closely to his
chest he was working just as hard as the other men.

"Alexander was upset this morning that he didn't have his own sword but
since he hasn't even been alive for a year yet and can't talk properly both
Cleopas and I think he's far too young to have the sword we forged for him.
So we offered to carve him a small sword in wood so he could play with it."

"What a charming idea!" the older man smiled.  "The smallest boys often
seem a little lost from learning to walk through to being old enough to
accept their own sword.  A wooden toy might remove that feeling of
exclusion.  Perhaps I'll suggest to Jason that we make a small wooden one
for Thor as soon as he starts learning to walk?" he mused.

Red chuckled and looked at the baby in question, or rather, looked at the
sling that Simon wore.  "I think that Thor is a bit little for even a
wooden one" he said, amused.

Simon joined in the laughter.

Each man, and most of the boys, after having eaten a good lunch of roasted
rabbit, took a chunk of the hardwood and a knife or chisel and began
carving platters, bowls, beakers, spoons, jugs and a good handful of
replacement pack-saddle frames.  The work would take several days but would
fill up the time until the city-bound family members returned, hopefully
with plenty of food.

"The tree is huge, will we carve all of it into bowls and cups and stuff?"
Audo asked.

"No, the little twigs and all the shavings and chips and of course all the
bark can be burned.  But the good wood will mostly be carved.  We might
even use some of it to mend the carts, I think both sets of steps have seen
better days" Gaia explained.

Supper that night was shellfish stew again, along with mushrooms and rabbit
fried together in some of the rescued olive oil and served with the olive
fruits that had also survived in an intact flagon.  Marcus and Philip had
done most of the preparation.

"That was so good, thank you uncle Marcus!" Evander grinned as he popped
one last olive into his mouth and spat the stone into his hand before
throwing it onto the fire.

"The shellfish were excellent, boys, well done with the collecting" Marcus
complemented them in turn.

Within a week, several replacement items had been carved from the wood, the
family had eaten well of shellfish and rabbit and venison and had even been
inland to take another couple of deer.  Alexander loved his toy sword and
his real first sword had been polished well and was awaiting some freshly
tanned leather so that the hilt could be re-bound and a new scabbard
stitched.

It was just around noon on the twelfth morning after the storm hit that
voices were heard echoing through the forest.  The most likely explanation
of course was that the group who'd headed to the city had returned.  They
were initially met with caution in case they were interlopers but this was
soon relaxed for sure enough, Nabis, Jocasta and the others were coming
towards them in high spirits.

They were all on foot except for little Konon as every horse was loaded to
capacity with dozens of sacks and barrels and amphora of food and liquids.
"What did you get?" Gaia asked Hyacinth as they group arrived.

"Cheeses, wine, beer, flours and grains, beans, bacon, oil, olives, fruit
and vegetables, you name it we bought it!" Hyacinth told his father.
"Enough to last us the rest of the winter at any rate.  And we picked up
some good leather so we can replace our lost possessions more quickly."

"You've all been busy as well by the looks of things" Clio smiled, looking
around the well appointed camp, seeing the sides of venison tied to tree
branches for storage, the wood carving and the comfortable, warm sleeping
space.

"It's helped that the boys are very good shellfish collectors" Jason
smiled.  He had Thor lying in his arms and the baby gazed at the returning
family members with curiosity.

"And of course Red is brilliant with his bow, we've managed to harvest
enough venison that we've eaten well" Simon continued.

Xanthe ran over to where Konon had just dismounted.  "Do you want to come
and play chase on the beach with us?

Konon nodded but before the boys ran off Marcus stopped them.  "Before you
go, take the old shells away please and take a satchel to pick up some
mussels for supper.  Low tide will be in about an hour."

"Yes Marcus" Audo nodded, picking up the bag of old shells ready to take
with him.

The boys all ran off, joined by Konon and Demaratos and the adults set
about getting their new supplies into suitable storage.  The sacks were all
placed on large, smoothed slices of tree trunk, designed to keep them off
the floor and dry and with a very slight lip so as to prevent the bags
slipping off or falling over.  The barrels and wax-covered cheeses were
stacked, the wine skins and bacon hung from a tree and the amphora were
stuck point-down into the soft earth so that they would stay upright and
not spill their load.

"Why did you get so much olive oil?  We've still got a little and we rarely
use that much" Philip asked.

"Because we lost all our tallow stores and we wanted to be sure we had
enough oil to polish and sharpen all our swords and clean our armour and
belts, not to mention we'll need it if we need any ointment or lubrication
for anything.  I for one am not using salt-contaminated fat as a lube when
Clio and I make love.  Ouch, can you imagine how much that'd sting?" Aeson
explained, grinning as he finished.

Philip laughed.  "Indeed, I can see your point" he replied.

"We've managed to use some oil and deer fat already to ensure that the
stored blades and our own swords weren't in immediate danger of rusting but
getting all that oil was a very good idea" Elis approved.  "If nothing else
we can polish all the blades properly and even clean some of our other
metals up so they don't rust too badly."

"I thought most of our small metal tools were lost?" Clio asked, surprised.

"No, well to be accurate they were for a time but almost everything was
washed back up with the following half a dozen high tides.  There's almost
nothing lost." Marcus replied.

"That's a relief, I didn't fancy having to replace all our hammers,
chisels, kettles and knives and everything, that'd be far too expensive,
not to mention frustrating" Jocasta observed.

"Well you need to thank the boys for retrieving it all, they've been so
diligent in checking the sea every high tide, they've been fantastic" Gaia
said, pointing to where the boys were walking along the tide line, laughing
and playing but occasionally turning things over or picking items up.
"They've even collected almost all our firewood, we've been burning
driftwood mostly" he explained.

They prepared some flour and made a quick lunch of bread cakes to go with
the remainder of the previous night's seafood stew and roast venison, which
was of course cold but which could easily be heated up.  Bread had been
missed by everyone so as soon as the boys smelled it cooking they all came
running over and dug in with gusto.  For supper they planned a turnip and
barley casserole with bacon and cheese dumplings and got to soaking the
barley ready to cook later.

"So, what's the weather like inland?" Leander asked as they ate lunch.
"When we went hunting we encountered snow, was it the same on your
journey?"

Hyacinth nodded.  "That's why it took us so long, except for the city
itself, which was fairly clear, we've been wading through thick snow for
most of the journey.  I thought my feet would never be dry or warm again"
he chuckled.

"So we are in the best place, then?" Joseph asked.

Jocasta nodded.  "The storm was just bad luck on our part but that aside we
actually chose a good spot to overwinter.  Its several degrees warmer here
than it is inland, I'm sure."

They settled back into a comfortable routine as they waited out the rest of
the winter.  Everyone helped to carve the tree up into useful items and
soon they had a collection of beakers, cups, bowls, plates and spoons that
was twice the size of the original set they'd intended to replace.  Each
piece was polished to a smooth, shiny finish using sand and olive oil and
all were sturdy and solid.  Alexander grew taller and stronger and became
more used to riding, the archers became more proficient with their hunting,
their records and money chests were checked for water damage and confirmed
sound, and the wagons were given a complete overhaul and new sides, steps
and axels were fitted to each vehicle.

The skins from every single one of the deer and rabbits they'd hunted were
tanned and preserved, since they'd lost so much.  Each sword, even the
spares, was polished, had hilts rebound and scabbards were replaced so that
the threat of rust was diminished.  They ate well, prayed to and offered
thanks to Apollo, and enjoyed intimate moments with lovers as they waited
for the oncoming spring.  The four horses that had been with foal each
birthed safely, one colt, which they gelded, and three fillys.

It was an early spring morning, with damp on the air and a mist
crystallising into dew on leaves and grasses when Leander rose for
meditation and groaned loudly.  "Ow, urgh, give me a second" he complained
when his lover Joseph went to wake him.

"What's up my love?" Joseph asked.

The answer to that question became apparent as the sun rose, for peaking
from Leander's stomach were the new, raw, feathery ends of his filaments.
He was emergent and, the gods willing, nine months hence Evander would get
a baby brother.

"That's a whole summer in the wagon" Leander complained, softly of course
as he wasn't too upset.

"It's worth it, in the end though" Jason said as he fed Thor nearby.  The
child was growing well, regularly being fed by both his fathers, and was
contented and healthy.

Leander smiled.  "Indeed" he agreed.

A week later he and Joseph walked together, taking several skins and their
cloaks with them, so that they could get some privacy for conception.  By
evening the couple had returned, Joseph grinning with pleasure, Leander's
face slightly drawn from lingering pain but also smiling and sporting the
bubble that was the beginnings of his womb.

Two days later had Acantha and Charon awake with similar groaning pains of
agony.  They too had become emergent, together since they were a
Spartan-Spartan couple, and for the first time in a while the family had to
decide if they were going to be able to cope with two gestating men, each
using a wagon for the entire summer.

"I think we can.  I see no reason you have to wait" Gaia said as the family
discussed it.  "After all, we've done it before, Konon and Evander were
born only half a year apart."

The couple grinned at each other and clasped hands.  "we will wait if we
have to but I'd like Xanthe to get a baby brother and Charon hasn't had a
gestation yet" Acantha smiled.

"We just need to organise the wagons so that there's an equal distribution
of sleeping skins, stores and what have you, and sort out what we're going
to do for a sheltered sleeping spot for the children" Elis said.

"A couple of boys can share a wagon with each of us, to begin with at
least" Leander said, looking over to Charon, who nodded.  "And in the
meantime we can either get a third wagon or see if we can make a tent for
them."

"We already have a tent roof but that'd be impractical to put up every
night, it's huge" Jason said, pointing upwards.

"No, not one that big, I mean a small tent, just enough room for the boys
to sleep in and with covered sides so that they stay warm.  If the adults
are outside, surrounding it, they don't need to see out, we can guard them
so they sleep comfortably."

"I guess if we make something that stays quite low to the ground that can
be tied just between three threes, or maybe even tied between the
wagons..." Tito mused, deep in thought.

"Let's see what we can devise, since we'll be here for another two weeks at
least" Leander suggested, grinning at his emergent brother.

Thanks to the previous year's foals, which had slowly, and with some
difficulty, been trained as pack animals over the last year, the family
found that they could reconfigure both wagons without too much difficulty.
The stores that would be in the vehicles with the gestating men would be
things that wouldn't be missed if, for any reason, the wagons couldn't be
opened for a time - like a couple of spare cheeses, extra sacks of grains,
spare skins, the spare swords and so on.  One vehicle would also have the
record chest and the other the money chest, and both would be able to
accommodate a couple of the smaller boys to sleep in, at least until
Leander and Charon became too uncomfortable and too nervous of being
touched.

It was decided that to begin with, Evander and Alexander would share with
Leander and Xanthe and Maia with Charon.  Konon opted to sleep in the open
with his brother and Socra and Audo had slept outside all winter anyway.

The thaw was well underway and the stream that ran through the gully
several yards to the side of their campsite and down the beach to the sea
was bank full on the morning that Charon and Acantha excused themselves.
It was several hours, longer than anyone had expected, when the pair
returned, both with pained expressions.  "What's up?  I can see Charon has
conceived" Gaia said, pointing to the proto-womb, "but you both look
terrible and have been gone ages."

"It took five tries for me to be able to .... perform," Acantha admitted,
blushing slightly, "without banging my filaments and ending up on the floor
next to Charon gasping in agony" he admitted.  "Why did She insist it hurt
so damn much?" he asked of no one in particular, his voice still laced with
pain and discomfort.  None of his listeners wondered which 'She' he meant
for all the Spartans knew that he was talking about the goddess Hera.

"It was the price we had to pay, brother" Leander said softly.

"I know, it's just..." he shuddered.

"Just think yourself lucky, you've only got ten days of your filaments,
Charon and I have got a little while longer than you" Leander smiled.

"I know brother, and you have whatever support and sympathy you'll accept,
I remember my own gestation with Xanthe" Acantha replied.

After Acantha's filaments had dropped out it took less than a week for the
remainder of the packing to be done, for the camp to be fully dismantled
and for the family to set out, the new foals each walking contentedly
beside their mothers.  "How long will it take us to get to our rendezvous
with Ali and Judoc and Clavin and their families?" Red wondered as they
began to pick their way through the woodland.

"We pick up a westerly road at the city to the north of us, where we
captured those bandits last autumn" Jocasta replied.  "And by my estimation
we reach the main roman highway about two weeks after that and from there
the garrison shouldn't be any more than about seven or eight days' travel."

"Even if we spend a week in the city and travel as slow as we're able it
won't take more than two months to reach our rendezvous and we have nearly
four months until mid-summer.  What shall we do in the meantime?" Marcus
asked.

"Why don't we head south on the Roman highway when we reach it?  We can
spend a few weeks in the wilderness at the foot of the mountains, give
Charon and Leander a chance to be outside" Clio suggested.

"That's not a bad idea" Gaia replied.

"Aren't the mountains full of bandits?" Philip asked.  "Will we be safe?"

"If we avoid the mountains themselves, stay in foothills, we should be
fine" Gaia replied.  "They hardly ever raid well-armed parties anyway" he
said nonchalantly.

"Hardly ever has a disturbing ring of frequency to it" Acantha disagreed.
"Will Charon and Leander be safe?" he asked again with a stronger emphasis.

"If you're that worried we'll just set up a temporary camp in the forest
instead, there's a couple of good patches of it en route" Nabis replied.

"I'm not worried, I just don't see any reason to head into danger
unnecessarily" Acantha explained.

"The area around the garrison was well forested and seemed to have a decent
amount of supplies, not to mention there are a number of farming villages
in the area, and it's a travelled route so there should be some custom
either for our leather or our guard work.  Why don't we head there now, set
up camp and just hang around and wait?" Philip asked

"Oh, come on, that's boring!" Red chuckled.  "I want to see some more new
places!" he exclaimed, still laughing so everyone knew he wasn't being
entirely serious.

"How about when we reach the highway we head south but only about a week's
journey?" Jason suggested.  "We'll still be in relatively safe areas,
there's some good forests if my memory serves me correctly and we'll plan
on several campsites of two or three weeks each as we head back towards the
rendezvous."

"I still think I'd like to at least get a glimpse of these mountains" Red
protested.

"Red, my sweet, they can be quite dangerous if you are unprepared" Cleopas
protested.

"But I won't be unprepared, I have all these wonderfully burly warriors
around to defend me" Red grinned cheekily.  The Spartans laughed.

"Why don't we get to the highway first, see what the weather is doing, what
the foraging is like and how much time we have?  We can decide when we get
there, can't we?" Aeson asked.

"And that is the best idea I've heard all morning" Gaia chuckled.  "Come
on, let's urge the horses on a little, we still have two days cross-country
to do, possibly three if the mud is thick.  Let's ride."  And, laughing,
joking and talking, they did.

The way was muddy and slow going and they had to make camp three times on
their way to the road, reaching the cobbled highway on the afternoon of the
fourth day after they'd left the beach.  The snow and ice had all thawed
but there was still a lot of standing water so they'd had to slog through
mud and soft earth and were dirty and exhausted by the time they reached
the road.  "A mile or so north of here and just off the track is a rock
formation with a spring-fed pool.  We'll camp there and bathe tonight, I
think" Nabis suggested, looking around at the bedraggled party.

Everyone felt better after the mud had been cleaned away.  The wagon wheels
ran smoother, the horses were easier to handle, boots were more comfortable
and children livelier.  Alexander decided to have a play fight with a small
bush and everyone chuckled when he hit the plant and the disturbed foliage
let loose a couple of white butterflies.  Alexander was so entranced that
his toy sword slipped from his fingers and he stared in wonder at the
insects.

"Look at him!  He's fascinated" Cleopas chuckled.

"I have to admit it is kind of endearing but he really shouldn't have
dropped his sword, toy or no" Hyacinth replied to his son.  "Alexander?"
Hyacinth continued, "will you do something for grandpa?"

"Gan-pa?" Alexander said curiously, not taking his eyes from the
butterflies.

"Will you pick your sword up and put it in your belt before you play with
the butterflies?"  Hyacinth asked but the small boy ignored him, watching
the flittering white wings dancing in the air.

Hyacinth picked the sword up himself, wiped the mud off and stuck it into
the small loop Cleopas had attached to his tunic.  "There" he said.  "Don't
drop your sword in the mud again. You must put it away properly before you
play with something else, okay?"

"Flutter-byes" Alexander whispered softly, ignoring his grandpa, ignoring
the sword and watching the butterflies flying lazily away.  "Bye!" he
shouted, waving at the insects as they disappeared.

Hyacinth sighed and smiled tolerantly.  Since he was such a small boy and
the sword was only a toy he supposed it didn't matter too much.  As long as
everyone kept reinforcing the need to respect the blade he would remember
eventually.  He continued to watch the child for a few moments then started
to chuckle softly as Alexander began to flap his fingers in tiny movements.

"What's so funny?" Red asked, trying to figure out what Alexander was
doing.

"I think your son wants to be a butterfly" Hyacinth replied.

"Flutter-byes!  Flutter-byes!"  Alexander sang in a gentle voice as he made
his finger-puppet butterflies soar and dance.

Red melted into a smile and beckoned Cleopas.  "I think that is just the
sweetest thing I've ever seen in my life" he whispered to his mate as their
small son continued to dance.

They stayed at the spring overnight and continued their journey north the
following morning, Leander and Charon taking up residence in a wagon so as
not to be visible to fellow road-users.  At least since their wombs were
small and they both were mobile they could sit together and hold a
whispered conversation, that way keeping each other company, though it was
only a slight compensation for being hidden away rather than on horseback.

For many days their journey was almost painfully slow since standing water
covered the road in places and probably all told a full mile of cobbles had
been washed away.  It was almost three weeks after leaving the beach when
the family finally made it to the town they were aiming for.  With Jason
and baby Thor ensconced in the wagon so as to hide their presence from any
townsfolk who remembered the family, together with Leander and Charon who
remained well-hidden so as to protect their gestations, they went back to
the inn they'd stayed in the previous year and managed to make the same
deal to have the barn for a couple of nights.

"It's good to see you, business has been booming over the whole city since
the bandits were captured" he grinned, shaking Gaia's and Nabis' hands when
they went to negotiate their stay.

"What happened to them?"

"Hanged, the lot of them" he explained, "including the woman, she was a
nasty piece of work, she was" he said.  "And now, with them all gone, we've
had more trade and been able to let our wives and daughters have some
freedoms again, it's been a brilliant winter all in all" he smiled.

They all got comfortable in the spacious barn, lit a fire and heated some
well water to wash with.  The innkeeper provided supper and everyone took
the welcome opportunity to clean up and relax in completely dry and
comfortable surroundings.  It was later in the evening, when they were
talking quietly with the door barred and in various states of undress,
showing simple affection to their mates, when they distinctly heard some
whispering and a pair of feminine giggles.

"What the...?" Hyacinth breathed, his hand going to his sword.  Everyone
suddenly went on the alert as Marcus and Jocasta, both of whom had been on
their feet to collect more beer from the barrel the innkeeper had provided,
rushed to the door, unbarred it and with swift movements took hold of the
spies.  At the same time Charon and Leander went and hid behind one of the
vehicles, not having time to climb inside and close the flap.  Since Thor
was fast asleep, Jason just stayed seated at the baby's side, trying to
remain unobtrusive and not draw attention either to his own or his son's
presence.  Cleopas and Red and some of the other couples who had been
embracing and kissing, let go of their partner and moved apart as they
watched the door with nervous curiosity.

"Ow!  Daddy!"  one of the spies cried as Jocasta grabbed her shoulder.
Both were female, fairly young, one perhaps ten summers and her older
sister perhaps thirteen, and both looked shocked that they had been grabbed
in such a manner.

"We asked the innkeeper for privacy and he promised it!  Who are you?"
Jocasta asked sternly.  They said nothing but began to cry as the enormity
of their error hit them.

"You shouted for your daddy.  Is he the innkeeper, by any chance?  What
would he say if he knew you were snooping around after dark, sniffing after
a troop of warriors?" Marcus threatened.  They wailed louder.

Nabis and Gaia went over to the taproom to get the innkeeper whilst Marcus
and Jocasta were joined by Red and Cleopas.

Red was going to speak to the pair when the taproom door banged open and
the innkeeper, red-faced and furious, marched over.  "What's going on!
Unhand my daughters at once!" he screamed to Jocasta.

"If your daughters had minded their manners and not come snooping and
sniffing around us then I wouldn't have had to take them into hand in the
first place" Jocasta replied coolly, letting go of the two girls'
shoulders.

"Martha?  Sophia?  Outside at night?  Surely...." the innkeeper fell
silent.

"Our doors were barred, our women were among us and your daughters came,
blatantly defying our request for privacy, to gaze upon us!" Cleopas said
firmly.

"But we didn't see...."one girl started to protest.

"Silence!  Ye gods.... girls, what have you done?" the innkeeper gasped.
"No chaperone, no one's word but your own and..." he hesitated, turned to
the Spartans and said, "please forgive me, but a troop of heathen warriors!
I'm going to be blunt, since they have done such a shameful thing.  Are
they both..." he gulped, then met Jocasta's calm gaze, "intact?"

Jocasta tried not to smile, knowing it wouldn't help matters.  "It was only
seconds after we heard them that our women hid themselves and we came to
get you, sir innkeeper" he explained, keeping his voice soft and low.  "All
I can give you is our word that they were not touched, except for their
shoulders where we took them into hand."

"Girls, I thought you would have more sense!  Do you not recall the trouble
you created last time this happened?  To your chambers now, and do not
leave them for anything!  Do you understand?"

"Yes father.  Sorry father" the older of the pair said, a blush flaming on
her cheeks.  She took her younger sister's hand and led her away, entering
the inn by a back door.

The innkeeper turned to the Spartans.  "I do not know what to do" he
admitted.  "It's going to be hard enough to make them honest marriages as
it is, then they go and do something so insufferably stupid as to..."  He
rubbed his face and sighed, suddenly looking old and tired.  "If I were to
settle a dowry for them both, could they join your family?" he asked in a
soft voice, laden with pain and confusion.

The Spartans were, at first, lost for words.  After a lengthy silence Gaia
said, "you really mean that?  You know we aren't followers of the Christian
god, nor do we believe in a monogamous marriage of one man to one woman."

The innkeeper nodded.  "They've been caught spying on the patrons in the
past and although I managed to keep it quiet, the townsfolk have begun to
get word of their indiscretions.  One more episode and all chance of a
decent marriage will be lost, either that or I'd have to sell the inn and
bankrupt myself to dower them.  At least your life seems healthy, it's
clear you care for your children so I must presume your women receive the
same care.  Please, just think about it?"

"We will.  Now, it's late and we need to get our children to bed.  May we
continue this discussion on the morrow?" Gaia asked.

The innkeeper nodded.  "Good night" he bade them all before walking back to
the inn with obviously heavy footsteps.

The Spartans barred the barn door and chivvied the children into bedding
down before sitting around the fire, Leander and Charon joining them once
more.  "What on earth do we do now?" Aeson asked.  "We cannot take those
girls with us but to leave them here runs the risk that our story of having
women with us would lose what little credibility it has, not to mention the
girls must have seen us being intimate with each other, without a single
female in sight, and they probably also saw Leander's and Charon's wombs.
By Apollo, this is a mess!"

"For tonight, we sleep.  We are all agreed that we cannot take them, all
that remains is to work out how to limit the damage as much as possible"
Jocasta replied.

They all turned in for the night and slept, but sleep didn't come easily
and most of the family were troubled.  It was as Hyacinth lay by himself,
awake and mulling over different possibilities, each one just as futile as
the last, that a voice spoke to him.

*** Hyacinth, my priest.  Do not trouble yourself.  Help is on the way***
Apollo said.

*My Lord?* Hyacinth spoke silently within his own mind.  *What do you mean?
What are we to do?*

***The sons of Sparta are not the only people who have to conceal their
true identity*** Apollo said.  ***But it will be easier for you to see what
I mean than for me to try and explain.  Early on the morrow you will have
three visitors, who will arrive before dawn, before you finish meditation.
Have the barn doors open, ready to welcome them, listen to what they have
to say and do all you can to aid them.  All will become clear, I promise***

*Lord* Hyacinth acknowledged the words of his god and, reassured, fell into
a restful sleep.

Hyacinth woke two full hours before dawn and roused the family, explaining
in whispers that their meditation would be cut short by visitors whose
arrival had been announced by Apollo.  They stirred up the fire and began
their silent ritual, but Hyacinth kept a wary eye on the barn door, which
was, as Apollo had instructed, open and ready to admit their guests.

Dawn was just minutes from peaking over the horizon when three heavily
cloaked figures slipped in through the open door.  "Close it and conceal us
quickly" a heavily accented voice instructed in a rather ancient form of
Greek.  The speaker had a dark, deep-toned voice but was clearly female.
Hyacinth recovered from his surprise and did as their guest requested.

Everyone else finished their meditation with the ritual salute lifting
their sword pommels to their foreheads, then gazed upon their visitors.
"May I ask who...?" Hyacinth began.

The women, for all three were female, pulled down their hoods and removed
their cloaks.  Two were more or less of Moorish appearance but very dark
skinned indeed, far darker than Ali and his family, and had tightly cropped
curly hair.  The third was a lot paler, with similar tanned skin to that of
the Spartans, and had brown, straight hair tied back in the nape of her
neck.  They wore dresses of several layers of woven fabric, topped with
flowing scarves and concealed between the many folds the Spartans noted
that the three all carried daggers and other small yet deadly weapons made
of metal, wood and leather.  They carried themselves with a straight-backed
confidence and seemed proud and unafraid.

"We are known as Amazons, and we are to human women what the sons of Apollo
are to human men" the tallest of the three women spoke, still in Greek. She
smiled.  "And our goddess has revealed that two youngsters who are destined
to live alongside us are to shortly be placed in your care."

"What...?  Who...?  How did you know of Apollo?" Hyacinth stumbled, having
never before come across such women.

The spokeswoman laughed.  "Our goddess told us of your existence and your
god when she asked us to leave our city and set out on this quest.  She
gave us lessons in your language, She described where to find you and
explained that ours is not the only culture that requires only one gender
for procreation."

The brown-haired woman then spoke.  "She instructed us that we were to
travel with you when you left this town and meet our ship several weeks
hence, taking the girls with us after inducting them into our culture."

"Well, there are the innkeeper's two daughters, Martha and Sophia, I
presume they must be the youngsters your goddess told you about?  And,
forgive me, where are my manners, I am Hyacinth son of Gaia" he said to the
three.

"I am Makeda.  My companions are Bilkis" the spokeswoman said, pointing to
the woman with brown hair, "and Sabea" she finished, pointing to the third
in their party, the woman who so far hadn't spoken.

The other Spartans one by one introduced themselves, and Cleopas said,
"would you join us for breakfast?"

"We would be glad to" Makeda agreed.

They ate a good breakfast although it was clear that the barley porridge
was unfamiliar to them and not entirely to their liking.  "You don't like
our food?  We could prepare something else tomorrow, if you could describe
what sort of food you enjoy" Marcus offered.

"We use many grains but mostly they are different to this .... barley, you
call it?"Makeda explained.  "There is sorghum, millet, fonio, and sometimes
a little rice, depending on the rains..." she stopped at the Spartans'
baffled expressions.  "I guess those would be as alien to you as barley is
to us?  It is no matter, we will eat as you do, that way we will be better
prepared to teach the girls to appreciate our food."

"Our goddess said we would have to discuss with you your customs and normal
practise for disguising the gender make-up of your family to outsiders.  I
presume you have some way of making it appear that women travel with you?"
Bilkis asked after they had finished eating.

"Our usual method is to tell people that our culture prohibits our women
from mixing with people not of their family and to say that there are women
who travel with us in each of our wagons" Hyacinth explained.  "And to
deter those who may think of joining us we also explain that we follow our
ancestral gods and culture and that we do not believe in monogamy.  The
thought of being cut off from friends and family and shared between several
men at any one time has so far been enough to deter anyone from persisting
with any matrimonial proposals, however the innkeeper seems to think that
such a life would be good for his daughters."

Makeda's lip curled.  "The arrogance of men, thinking that they can control
the destiny of their women and daughters! They should be allowed to decide
for themselves!"  She began muttering to herself darkly in a language none
of the Spartans understood.

"Makeda!" Sabea, the so-far silent member of the party snapped.  She spoke
harshly, in the same language, and though the words were unintelligible to
them all the Spartans recognised a rebuke when they heard one.

"I am sorry, I do not mean to incriminate you alongside ignorant human
fathers" Makeda said bashfully when Sabea finished.  "Sabea does not speak
your tongue as well as Bilkis and I do but she understood enough of my rant
to correct me."

"It is of no importance.  We, too, struggle to understand how a parent
could be so unfeeling towards their children that the child's wishes are
disregarded.  Yes, the girls were spying on us and giggling but..."
Hyacinth left the thought unfinished.

Bilkis chuckled.  "Spying on you?  I hope they are content with gazing upon
different views in future" she smiled, drawing her hands suggestively down
her own body.  Sabea giggled at the action and took the paler skinned woman
into her arms, muttering something that made Bilkis chuckle all the more.
The pair kissed and Bilkis turned back to the amused expressions of their
male companions.  "Sabea made me promise not to tease them, or her, whilst
we are in the city" she smiled.  "We are mates" she clarified, upon seeing
some of the Spartan's confused expressions, caressing Sabea's face with her
hand and prompting Sabea to turn her head and lay gentle kisses on the
offered fingers.

Simon started chuckling himself.  "What?" Makeda asked him.

"I've been baffled all morning about what you meant when you said you were
to human women as we are to human men.  I was on the verge of asking what
you meant when your two companions gave me a pretty thorough explanation"
he smiled.

Everyone joined in the laughter and Simon grinned bashfully.  "So I was a
little slow on the uptake, it's not a crime to be dense" he pretended to
complain, though in truth he didn't mind the laughter, even though he was
the primary cause of it.

"The innkeeper is likely to be out soon, or within an hour at any rate"
Gaia said as the laughter calmed, "so we need to discuss our plan."

"We accept his offer of a dowry, I suggest, but keep it small.  The girls
travel with us, we introduce them to the Amazons when we are out of the
city and that would be that, I guess" Clio said.

"Hang on, the women can't just ride openly with us, nor can the girls once
we have accepted the dowry.  We need to sort that out" Nabis said.

"How about I vacate the wagon and carry Thor in a sling?" Jason asked.
"Then Makeda can share with Leander and Charon and we'll make the other
vehicle suitable for Bilkis, Sabea and the two girls."

"People will notice the baby and be suspicious" Acantha warned.

"Why don't I hold your son for you, just for the time it takes to get out
of the city?" Makeda asked.  "We leave the city, meet up with the other
members of our party and once in a secluded area we travel begin to travel
openly."

"Your party?" Red asked.

Makeda nodded.  "My own mate, our daughter and two of our young, un-mated
women, both of whom were told they would meet their mates on this quest"
she explained.  "They are perhaps half a day's ride away from the west
gate."

"And let's just get things straight concerning Martha and Sophia.  Once the
dowry is settled we urge them to pack, say goodbye to their father and join
us?  Do we leave straight away or stay here another night?" Tito asked.

"Leaving would make things easier all round" Gaia replied.  "There would be
less temptation for them to run back to their father and spill our secrets,
and we could be ourselves and teach them the truth of the people they have
joined more quickly."

"Hail the barn!  May we join you!" came a voice from the yard.

"So it is settled then, and none too soon" Elis said dryly.  "If you women,
and Leander and Charon, wouldn't mind getting into the wagons, we'll open
the barn doors and begin the negotiations."

"One moment, sir innkeeper!  Let our women conceal themselves and we will
be at your disposal!" Nabis shouted in reply.

Presently the Amazons, along with a reluctant and slightly irritated pair
of gestating Spartans, were hidden, as was Jason as Thor was busy nursing
and couldn't be dissuaded from finishing his breakfast, not without tears
at any rate.  The wagons were covered and the barn doors were swung open to
reveal the innkeeper, his wife and their two daughters.

The innkeeper looked tired and stressed, his wife sternly disapproving and
the girls both looked terrified.  "May we offer you breakfast, or honey
water?" Gaia said politely to the four.  He poured hot water into two
beakers, stirred honey into them and offered them to the girls.  "You'll
like it, it's sweet" he said in a soft voice, feeling mightily sorry for
the pair, as he poured himself a third cup.

The girls sipped it as their father began to speak.  "Have you made your
decision?" he asked.

"We have and we accept your proposal" Gaia replied softly.  The older woman
turned her head away, hiding her silent tears.  The girls began to sob.

"Hey, come on, our life isn't that bad" Cleopas said, trying to comfort the
pair.  "You can see the world, you can even ride..." he paused, collected
his thoughts, and realised he had to make his words fit their myth of women
having to stay concealed.  "Our women often ride when we are in secluded
areas with no chance of being observed.  You'll visit places and see things
you've never dreamed of, I promise."

"What dowry do you want?" the innkeeper said in a gruff voice.  "I do not
know what you would customarily demand..."

"We normally do not take dowries" Elis interjected, "we believe that our
women are a value and not a burden and a dowry feels too much like we are
being paid to wed them.  But we are minded that your culture sees dowries
somewhat differently so we will abide by your wishes.  Perhaps... let's say
for a point of reference, you could pay us the same amount that your wife's
father paid you?"

The older woman's head snapped around and the innkeeper
uncharacteristically blushed.  "I, erm, that is..." he stumbled.

"Come on, out with it, sir innkeeper.  Whatever it is can't be that bad"
Jocasta chuckled.

"I was a stable hand in this very inn and my wife was the then innkeeper's
daughter and his only child.  One night I was bathing in a tub in my
quarters when she came and ..." he choked and began to chuckle, "...offered
to wash my back.  Her father caught her and as payment for both wedding his
daughter and keeping quiet about how our engagement began he agreed that I
would take over the inn after his death.  So as much as I would like to
give you the same fee, I'm afraid I cannot."

The Spartans all laughed, the older woman hid her face, apparently ashamed
and the two girls stared at their mother in shock.

"Do you insist on paying a dowry?" Gaia asked.

The innkeeper nodded.  "Please?  It would reassure me" he said softly.

"Okay, then, a gold coin per girl" the old man responded.

"At least let me give you a good purse for them, say fifty coins each?" the
innkeeper begged.

"If you are happy with that, then so are we" Gaia replied, feeling that it
would be distasteful to barter or negotiate over it.

"And how is this to be settled?"

"The girls should be allowed to pack their belongings and you, sir
innkeeper, can cook us a good meal" Tito replied.  "We will eat together at
noon, they will bring their belongings and put them with ours and the four
of you can sit and eat with us.  Once we have eaten the girls will bid you
goodbye, we will then close the barn doors briefly, introduce your
daughters to our women, help them into the wagon and ensure they are
comfortable.  We will depart no later than three hours after noon and get
some miles between us and this place by nightfall."

"So soon?  I had hoped..." the innkeeper protested softly.

"If they are to join our family it would be better for their new life to
begin and not to prolong the agony of separation," Elis spoke softly to the
innkeeper.  "Their life will be different enough without them living too
long with room for regret."

The innkeeper nodded somewhat reluctantly.  His wife looked stoic and the
girls continued to cry.

Red took their hands.  It had been suggested that he initially comfort the
pair, being of a similar age and not quite so tall or muscular or imposing
as the Spartan members of the family.  "Come on, no tears.  You will like
your new lives, I promise.  Now go pack your possessions and come and join
us at noon" he said.

 They departed and Marcus and Philip closed the barn doors again whilst
Clio and Aeson opened the wagons and beckoned their companions out.  Clio
spoke to them as they descended the steps.  "And now we have three hours in
which to pack our belongings onto horses and free up wagon space so that
all those who need to be hidden can sit comfortably inside them for several
hours."

"Those poor girls, I can't imagine how afraid they must be" Bilkis said
softly.

"And so young too.  You and Sabea will no doubt be cuddling them on the
journey from this place and providing what comfort you can to a pair of
very scared children" Makeda said solemnly.  She turned to Clio, who had,
together with Marcus and Acantha, already begun to work on rearranging the
wagons.  "I will kneel near the front of the wagon I am to travel in and
guide the driver to the rest of our party.  The sooner we can get back to
our horses and start teaching these girls some independence the better."

Elis, stood nearby, nodded.  "I agree wholeheartedly.  They are just
children and their father has thrown them away to save himself from shame,
or so it seems.  Well, they soon will be free of him and any shame too."

They packed their gear, made space for Bilkis, Sabea, Martha and Sophia in
one wagon and for Leander, Charon, Makeda and baby Thor in the other.
Jason and Simon would drive the wagon concealing their son and as soon as
they were free of the threat of close observation would take him from
Makeda and carry him themselves.  Makeda would direct them to her four
companions who had remained outside the city together with their
possessions and by nightfall the human girls could be given a proper
education and induction into their life.

The innkeeper provided roasted goat, wine and vegetables and they all sat
on the few deerskins they'd not packed as they ate together.  They had
decided to make a point of demonstrating that there were indeed people in
both wagons by piling slices of meat and heaps of vegetables onto platters
and passing them under the semi-closed wagon flaps, and doing the same with
several cups of wine and water.

The girls ate very little and their mother was still distressed during the
meal.  When they had finished the innkeeper took two fairly heavy purses
from his belt.  "Fifty gold coins each, as promised" he said, making to
hand the purses to Gaia.

Gaia shook his head.  "Give them to your daughters.  The money is theirs"
he said softly.

The innkeeper looked at the pair.  "Girls" he said, "I know you hate me for
doing this but I cannot see you marrying in town, too many people see you
living in a tavern and doubt.... well that matters not, not anymore....
You are members of this family now, for better or for worse.  Be strong, be
brave, both of you.  Your mother and I love you and want the best for you,
that is all we've ever wanted.  I love you" he finished, in a gruff voice
thick with emotion.  He handed each girl a purse and kissed her on the
forehead, then their mother gave them a tight hug, before her tears became
too much and she turned and ran back to the inn, sobbing.

The innkeeper took his daughters into his arms and as they cried into his
shirt he looked at Gaia.  "Take care of them, please?" he begged and for
the first time the Spartans saw that he did care, he was hurt by what he
was doing to his children.

"We will, I promise" Gaia assured him.

The innkeeper spoke to his children.  "Girls, are you ready?" he asked.

"I love you daddy!" the younger girl, Sophia wailed.

"I love you too, Sophia, and you too, Martha.  Now make daddy proud, okay?"
He prised their clinging little hands from his shirt, stood up and left
quickly, trying to conceal his own emotions.

Little Sophia and the only slightly older Martha looked at the burly,
masculine, well armed men surrounding them and although they continued to
cry their expressions were of pure fear.

"Calm, be calm," Red whispered. "You will not be harmed, I swear" he
promised.  Audo and Socra also joined the human adolescent, since they too
were less intimidating than the adults, although Gaia, Clio, Marcus and
Philip stayed fairly close and everyone in the barn could easily see the
small knot of youths.

"This family's great" Audo whispered too.  "Don't panic, you'll love it, I
promise" he said.  He instinctively reached for Socra's hand and they
grasped each other's fingers, although in their stress Martha and Sophia
clearly didn't notice the human boy's indiscretion.

Marcus had by this point already closed the barn doors, Jason was ato one
wagon, opening and taking his son from Makeda's arms and Elis was opening
the other.  "See" Red said, pointing and urging the pair of girls to turn
around, "come, meet the ladies."

Before the girl's astonished eyes, Makeda, Bilkis and Sabea stepped into
their midst, however Charon and Leander stayed concealed, choosing not to
reveal their condition until well outside of the city and with several days
if necessary to explain.

"What?" Aeson asked the two girls, seeing their astonishment.  "Did you
think we lied about having women with us?"

"No, it's just..." Martha stuttered.

"This is Makeda" Jason said, "and Bilkis and Sabea.  Now, please, will you
get in the wagon with Bilkis and Sabea?  We have many miles to cover and
you have much to learn before nightfall."

Martha and Sophia looked at each other and then at Jason and frowned.

"I know you're very confused.  All I can tell you is that things are not as
they seem to be right now.  Your life will improve beyond your wildest
dreams, I promise" Simon said.  "Now, Bilkis, Sabea and Makeda do not speak
the same tongue as you, so you might find conversation difficult to begin
with but we will help you to learn how to understand us all."

"I understand a little pure Latin, but the girls seem to speak a corrupted
version of it, I can only understand about one word in three" Makeda
interjected.

The girls, urged by Red's kind smile and by Audo's enthusiasm, got into the
wagon with Bilkis and Sabea, Sophia sinking onto Bilkis lap and Martha into
Sabea's open arms, and both were sniffling as the wagon was closed.  Makeda
took baby Thor and rejoined the gestating Spartans and they opened the barn
doors ready to leave.

As expected neither the innkeeper nor his wife were anywhere in sight -
presumably both missing their daughters already.  The Spartans left the
inn, and shortly afterwards the city, unmolested, taking the west gate and
began to proceed down the road.  They followed the road for about two dozen
miles before turning onto a narrow cart track on Makeda's directions.  It
was at this point that Simon took care of Thor again whilst Jason drove.
Another couple of miles saw Makeda direct them into a patch of woodland and
shortly they spied a pillar of smoke in the distance.

They began to steer towards it before a voice rang out, strangely enough in
almost pure Germanic.  "Halt!  I have an arrow trained on you, one more
move and it will part your hair!"

"Hannah!" Makeda called, then shouted something in a strange language as
she stepped down from the wagon.

"Makeda!" the unseen speaker shouted back, answering in the same tongue.

Makeda answered the speaker as she walked to the outriders, Elis and Tito.
"We can proceed, it isn't far" she instructed.

They were led into a spacious clearing, in which were pitched two tents.  A
cook fire burned merrily, several horses grazed nearby and four pairs of
eyes observed the newcomers.  The archer was a petite blonde woman with
pale skin.  At her side was a small child apparently of mixed race, with
hair similar to Makeda and Sabea's but a skin tone just slightly darker
than Bilkis'.  The other two people were young women, barely adult by the
Spartan's reckoning, one of whom with an appearance similar to Sabea and
the other had almond-shaped eyes and long, lustrous, straight black hair
that seemed to perfectly complement her rather unique, slightly
olive-toned, buttery looking skin.

"My mate, Hannah" Makeda took the blonde woman into her arms and kissed
her.  "Our daughter, Faiza, Sabea's younger sister, Tisha, and Tisha's best
friend and our sister-in-arms, Kali" she introduced the women to the
Spartans.

"I am Tito, this is my partner, Elis, his brother Hyacinth and their
father, Gaia.  There are also various sons, grandsons, nephews and partners
with us, we can share individual names at length later on" Tito replied
with the Spartan's own initial introductions.

Kali looked at the older Amazons and said something, clearly a question.
Makeda laughed and nodded in reply and turning to the Spartans she said,
"let's undo the wagons and get started with introductions and
explanations."

Clio and Aeson were already there, accepting Sophia and Martha's hands and
helping the girls down the steps of the wagon they'd travelled in.  Both
looked afraid and confused.  "What?  Who?" Martha asked, seeing the women
and girls.  Then she caught sight of Tisha, who had been hugging her
sister, Sabea.

"Oh!" she gasped, blushing furiously as she met the young Amazon woman's
eyes.

Sophia meanwhile had been rendered speechless, staring at Kali in a similar
fashion to how her sister stared at Tisha.

"So, I'm guessing your partner bonds work the same as ours do, then?"
Hyacinth asked Makeda as he watched the two entranced young human girls
meet their mates for the first time.

Makeda looked distracted for a second, as if listening to a far-off voice.
"Yes, they do" she replied.

"Why do I feel like I've known you forever?" Martha breathed, breaking the
emotionally-charged silence.  Tisha looked baffled and Makeda and Gaia
worked together to translate the young human's words into something
understandable.  Tisha looked back at Martha and smiled before softly
caressing her cheek.

Martha relaxed into the caress before suddenly turning back to the
Spartans, as if remembering something.  Seemingly struck with guilt she
gasped, "oh, I'm sorry, I...."

"Hush, we promised that your life would improve beyond anything you could
dream, didn't we?" Red cut off her stream of guilt-ridden words.  "You and
Tisha are destined for each other, as are your sister and Kali."

"But how.... I mean why.... I don't understand?" Martha stumbled.

"Martha, Sophia, listen for a second" Gaia called.  Both girls turned and
regarded the old man.

"We are not as you are.  All of the men here would never have marital
relations with a woman, ever, neither will the women ever have relations
with a man.  Girls, there isn't a simple way to say this so I'll be blunt.
Most of us here are not human."

The girls stared at their companions with wide eyes, their hearts pounded
and they started to gasp as a combination of pure bafflement and shock
overwhelmed them.  Between one breath and the next they both collapsed and
were caught by Tisha and Kali respectively.

"What did you tell them?" Makeda asked, concerned.

"That we were not human" Gaia replied.

Makeda rolled her eyes and laughed.  "I have seen similar reactions many
times" she chuckled.

"As have I" Gaia replied, also chuckling.

"Come, let's start some supper and set up our camp.  It appears" she
smiled, indicating the two prone forms of the human girls, "that Martha and
Sophia cannot travel any further tonight.  And we all have much to learn,
not least a common language so that Kali and Tisha can communicate with
their mates without the need for a translator."

"Agreed" Elis and Gaia both nodded.

It took several minutes for the girls to recover, first Martha and then the
younger, slightly more frail Sophia.

"What happened?" Martha asked.

"You fainted" Cleopas said softly.  He, Red and Alexander were sat near the
fire where each girl was cradled by their Amazon mate.  They too embraced
and Alexander sat in between both of his parents eating a piece of bread
baked with dried fruit and honey.  The boy had a very sweet tooth and his
parents loved his enthusiasm for all things sticky.

"What's happening to us?" Sophia then asked, seeing the child with his
parents but plainly not understanding what she observed.

"You are falling in love" Cleopas replied.  Meanwhile Gaia was whispering
Marcus' words to Makeda, who in turn translated them in a soft voice to
Tisha and Kali.

Kali turned and asked Makeda something and via the various translators, Red
said, "Sophia, Kali would like to kiss you."

"Oh!" Sophia gasped, blushing furiously.  She turned to the young woman who
held her so tenderly and without so much as a second thought their lips
met.

"I think they will manage just fine without a translator now" Makeda
observed to Gaia as Martha likewise kissed Tisha.

"Indeed" Gaia smiled.



END OF PART FIVE - PART SIX TO COME

Author's note: Regarding the use of "poppy extract" in several places in
part five of this story, I beg readers to please remember that poppy
extract, known in the modern world as opium and a forerunner to the many
opiate drugs now available (including heroin), was, at the time this story
is based, perfectly legal and easily purchased in open markets.  Illegal
drugs are now illegal for a reason but the peoples of this era knew nothing
of the health or moral objections against using such drugs.  Here in the
twenty first century, of course, we know better and the author would never
advocate using illegal drugs for any reason.