Chapter 13 - Callisto In Illusia: Scene 13


                                                   Callisto in Illusia

                                                        by Volpone

                                                          Scene 13

          Xena and Gabrielle had been making fairly good time on the way to Mt. Pilaeus.
They'd been slowed down temporarily when Joxer had managed to somehow track them
down. (It was more likely that dumb luck had put him on the same road ahead of them and
they'd simply overtaken him.)
          Whatever the case, they needed to invent some wildly unlikely excuse to keep him far
away from them at such a critical time, but once they had convinced him of the need, he had
jumped at the opportunity “to help” with the enthusiasm of an anxious puppy. (Puppies, it
should be noted, also had a tendency to fall down a lot and occasionally wet themselves.)
          The women had avoided the topic of Fionn. Gabrielle had avoided it because she
wasn't sure what to say, and Xena had avoided it because she really wasn't sure she wanted
to know.
          They were still several hours from the mountain, but on schedule if their information
from Artemis was correct. That night, sometime not long after full dark, the comet should
“touch” the peak of Olympus from their position, and they should be in position to open the
chamber... if Fionn had managed to keep Callisto busy... and they didn't take too long to find
the cavern... and they could figure our how to open the portal... and if nothing else went
wrong.
          Of course, something else went wrong.
          Xena sensed something amiss. She shushed Gabrielle, who was about to comment
on having been to Mt Pilaeus once before. Holding up a hand, she reined in Argo and sat
silent for a moment, then slid from the saddle and swatted the horse on the rump to start her
for the nearby trees.
          Pulling her sword, she began checking the sky as she walked backwards.
          “Come on,” and she began to move in the direction her horse had gone. “Maybe we
can make the trees in time.”
          Gabrielle didn't question, and began looking to the sky as well.
          The sound of huge wings made them turn as the harpy came over the tree line. This
was no feathered female. They were almost a cross between a dragon and a woman, and
Xena had fought several before in the Underworld. She didn't know they were ever abroad by
day, but she had heard rumors that suggested it. Now she knew.
          A second appeared from behind the first, and Xena shifted the sword to her other
hand, seizing her chakram and sailing it at the first.
          Her plan worked. The first saw the razor-edged disk flying in its direction and had
plenty of time to swerve. Not so the second. The body of the first harpy had blocked its view
of the approaching ring and so had no chance to change course. The chakram sliced neatly
through the membrane of its left wing between the second and third vanes. Losing half its lift
and all its stability, the creature cried out and plummeted to earth to crash somewhere out of
sight in the woods.
          As Xena held out her hand to catch the returning chakram, the third harpy caught her
from behind across the shoulder with a talon, laying oven her skin down to the muscle. The
warrior princess reacted instantly, whirling her sword and managing to give the harpy that had
snuck up on her a deep slash across one reptilian hind leg.
          The creature screamed in anger and pain, wheeling as if considering another pass, but
when confronted by two ready foes, it chose to fly off and nurse its wound instead.
          The first harpy was taking its time in sizing up the two if faced. The one with the bright
metal had thrown something that had struck her sister from the sky, then had struck her other
sister with the stick of metal, and she too had fled. The other must be the more vulnerable of
the two. The harpy folded its wings and stooped towards Gabrielle just as Xena bent to retrieve
her chakram from the grass at her feet. As her hand reached out for her throwing disk, an
excruciating pain came from the gash on her shoulder, making her drop her sword.
          She grabbed the chakram and turned as quickly as she could, expecting to see the
harpy's talons sinking deeply into her friend's body. She was somewhat surprised to see the
harpy flapping away about five feet or so beyond Gabrielle's reach, kept at bay by her friend's
staff as it poked at the monster's body.
          Smart girl, she thought. Thrust, don't swing.
          “Hold it off 'til I can get there.”
          Knowing something was more than mildly wrong with her shoulder, she chose
dependability over range and retrieved her sword.
          “Xena!” cried Gabrielle, just in time to warn her partner of the return of the third harpy.
          Rolling, Xena came to one knee, sword at the ready just quickly enough to spoil the
harpy's strike. Apparently not hurt as badly as it had first thought, the creature had tried to
sneak up on them again, but Gabrielle had spotted it before it had a chance.
          Getting back to her feet, Xena moved back to back with Gabrielle to prevent another
sneak attack. Whenever one of the flying monstrosities came close enough, a thrust with
either staff or sword drove them back. They were at a stalemate, neither gaining an
advantage, but neither willing to give up either.
          After another minute, Xena realized the harpies didn have to beat them... they just
needed to wear them down. Even delaying them enough to prevent them making the cavern
would be fatal to them as well as all other life in the world.
          Somehow, she needed to change the rules.
          “Can you cover us both for a few seconds?” she asked over her shoulder.
          “I think so, but not for long,” came the reply. “Tell me when.”
          Timing her movements, she yelled, “Now!”
          Gabrielle changed grips, taking her staff by the center and spinning it rapidly overhead,
giving them a small but effective shield from the sharp claws of their adversaries.
          Xena moved as quickly as she could. She drove her sword point first into the ground,
grabbed her whip and uncoiled it. Striking out from under the whirling staff, the split thong
end of the whip licked out to wrap around the injured leg of the harpy facing her.
          “Okay!” she cried, and Gabrielle stopped spinning her staff, returning to her former
method of prodding the creature.
          Secured by one foot, the harpy cried out in alarm, reacting instinctively and trying to
escape now rather than attack. It flapped ineffectually as it tried to escape this new snare. A
harpy might have great wings and wicked talons, but they weren't built for lifting.
          Xena dropped and rolled, dragging the creature lower as the whip wound around her
waist. Her hand released the whip that was now secure around her hips and found her
sword. Cinched tightly around her, the whip kept the harpy from retreating out of reach before
Xena could swing her sword up and strike the beast's head off.
          As her sibling's body dropped lifeless to the ground, the remaining harpy decided that
these were too dangerous to make good prey, the half-dozen bruises on its torso reinforcing
the decision. Shrieking, it flew higher until it turned and flapped its way out of sight.
Once the threat was past, Xena whistled for Argo who obediently came, bringing the
needed saddlebags.
          It was only when the horse was there that Gabrielle realized how weak her friend was,
holding to Argo's mane to stay on her feet.
          “Let me do that,” she told her friend and took her friend by the arms, lowering her down
against a nearby boulder to make her sit so she could be tended. Once she was sure Xena
was sitting, she returned for the bags and brought them back.
          Gabrielle took a look at the slash on her companion's shoulder and realized why she
was so weak. Not only had it bled badly, it was also inflamed and swollen like a wound that
had been left untreated for far longer than a few minutes.
          “A harpy's claws have a natural poison. I need the Macedonian unguent... the jar with
the fern leaf on it.”
          Finding the jar which was about the size of a tangerine, Gabrielle removed the cork
and looked inside.
          “There's not much left,” she observed.
          “It'll have to do,” Xena replied. “We don't have time to find a healer now.”
          Using water from their waterskin, Gabrielle washed the wound gently and then applied
the last of the medicinal unguent.
          “I hope it's enough. We need to bandage this so it doesn't keep bleeding or you'll
never make it to the cave.”
          Xena sounded unsteady but said, “I'll make it. I have to.”
          She was impatient with the time Gabrielle was taking over the bandaging but her friend
wouldn't let herself be rushed.
          “There's no point in rushing if you end up fainting on the way. That'll cost us even more
time.”
          “And if we don't get there in time, it will cost everyone,” she pointed out.
          “It will just be a second. There,” as she finished up. “Now we can go.”
          “Let's hope we'll be fast enough.”
          Echoing the sentiment of her friends words, Gabrielle replied, “We will be. We have to
be.”
