by Steve Pagano

It may have been only a few scant months ago, but it seemed to Fiona that it had been years since she had first heard of the great huntress of the northern woods. It had been back in January, shortly after Idgie had become her first recruit, that news of a rather extraordinary woman had come to their ears. Rumor had had it that a vast she-bear in a human skin was walking about in the north part of the city, setting rumors of her strength rippling through the city. She had soundly throttled a blacksmith whose hands were known as much for their wandering as their skill in metal-working, and then, after making her purchases of his wares, bent a misshapen horseshoe back into form with her bare hands, to the amazement and wonder of the onlookers she had drawn in her sound beating of the smith himself. She was known to return to the city limits every two weeks or so for her supplies, or to run errands for her uncle (with whom she lived in the woods to the north of the city), and so Idgie was sent off to find her while Fiona continued her searching and interviewing. Fiona had just given Delmar her acceptance when Idgie left her a message to meet her at the west gate of the Academy. And when Fiona arrived, she was nearly knocked off her feet in surprise, as not even the rumors had prepared her for her first meeting with the woman who would become the mainstay of the party.

Xenia was an impressive sight to behold, but for reasons completely different than those that led men to find interest in Fiona and Idgie. She was about an inch taller than Fiona, but weighed at least twice as much, though there was not an ounce of it that was not bone and sinew. Her face was plain and unadorned, and her dull brown hair hung lifelessly to her shoulders, but her demeanor was one of peace, and it was a rare thing indeed when she showed extremes of emotion. She wore studded leather armor that like her skin was weatherbeaten, and on her person she carried but three other items: a small pouch of coppers and silvers, a longsword of recent purchase at a weaponsmith's, and a small, gem-encrusted dagger, which was an old possession of her uncle, given her as a gift on her most recent birthday, and her prized possession. Xenia was a simple woman, with simple motives and simple values, and Fiona had taken to her at once. A few minutes' discussion was all that was needed for Fiona and Idgie to convince Xenia to take up with them in their adventures. Xenia tended to make all her decisions quickly, which Fiona had found unsettling at first, but Xenia's iron resolve, and her tendency to make choices that turned out for the best in the long run, soon convinced the young mage that there was more to this mountain of a human being than just brute strength.

But it had indeed been the tireless strength and swordsmanship of Xenia that had saved the three of them from disaster when Delmar's plans had gone wrong last month, single-handedly holding at bay a group of six hobgoblins while Fiona desperately read a dimension door spell off the scroll she had found, transporting the trio to the sides of their mounts, upon which they then fled. One thing then led to another, until now, when the warrior and the illusionist found themselves waiting in the shadows of the Mug for the return of their third.

"How much longer did you say she'd be?" Xenia's question was delivered without any tone of annoyance or impatience, as was typical of her manner.

"Any minute now." Fiona ran through the plan in her head over and over, still trying to find any more possible holes in it, still trying to find better, alternate ways of accomplishing their task. She kept calling to mind the two Invisibility spells she had stored in her second ring, the first in the lone pocket she had opened up, the second one draped on and about the ring itself, in the manner of the specialist mages, who altered their ring structure to allow one extra spell to be woven into the fabric of each ring itself, rather than be fit neatly into one of the various pockets opened up within the ring. She quietly hummed the music of the spell to herself, first the minor-chord version of the pocket-spell, and then the atonal variation that was the ring-cast.

"Hm. Then I suppose I should wait on getting something to eat. I ate dinner a few hours ago, and I'm getting kind of hungry."

Had Idgie been there, there surely would have been a barrage of jokes and the like in reference to the vast amount of food the Xenia could put away when she wanted to, and Fiona smiled when she noted this fact. Xenia didn't seem to notice; she was staring at a group of men who were engaged in a arm-wrestling contest. Fiona turned back to her own reverie.

Presently the youngest member of the group returned, bouncing along happily on deft feet. Idgie bumped Fiona over on the bench and sat down next to her. "Hi, gals," she said.

Fiona resettled herself, then turned to the young girl. "Well?"

"Piece of cake." She ordered a wine while Xenia finally turned to the conversation. "Ziggy had quite a bit of the run-down on him. Look." She took out a piece of paper and a bit of charcoal, and started drawing. "This is a rough plan of his house, from what I could get from a few quick passes. Two stories, windows here, here, and here, doors here and here, and trees outside here and here. Garden out back, three-foot fence around the place. Half a stone's throw from the next building in either direction."

"Typical for the noble sector," said Fiona. "The houses are pretty widely spaced -- not at all like the rest of the city. Do you think you can work the lock on his door?"

Idgie grinned impudently. "The Guild knows me for my lockpicking expertise." She took a moment to pay the waitress for the wine.

"Good. Now, we all know the plan, right?" Idgie and Xenia nodded. "Okay, then," said Fiona. "Let's go."

The three got up and began making their way through the woodlots on the Academy grounds, heading toward the west gate, where Fiona had told the guard on duty to expect Idgie to be coming in for a short visit, then leaving alone later. On the way, they paused in the darkness while Fiona cast the two Invisibility spells, one each on herself and Xenia, and the two of them donned masks made for them by Idgie herself; Idgie would put on her own at the site. Then silently they followed Idgie as she led the way off the Academy grounds, then across the city to the section of town known as the Noble Sector. It was therein that Fiona had been born and raised, and it was likewise therein that Count Drabo dwelt in a manor with his servants. Idgie led them through the shadows of the streets, dodging the local militia that patrolled the area, before suddenly darting across an avenue and leaping a three-foot wrought-iron fence and slipping into the shadows beneath an oak tree in the front yard of an ostentatious manor. Fiona, who had trailed behind Xenia by holding the back of her cloak, was lifted by the stronger woman over the fence, and then Xenia hopped over herself, and joined the other two beneath the tree. "We all here?" whispered Idgie, and got two hushed yeses back. "Good. Okay, here we go." Idgie watched for a few moments, and presently a patrolman walked by on duty. As soon as he vanished from sight, Idgie made her way to the bushes at the side of the dimly-lit doorway, then turned back to Fiona and nodded.

"I must say," whispered Fiona to Xenia, "that I don't feel comfortable with this one bit. I'm not exactly keen on the 'two wrongs can make a right' idea."

"Don't worry about it," came the quiet reply. "We aren't going to hurt anyone -- not permanently, at least. Besides, Idgie says that this guy's an undeserving scourge. We're just going to get the axe and leave."

"I wish it was that simple." Fiona sighed, gathered her resolve, and set into motion her first part in the plan. She closed her eyes, concentrated, and found in her first ring the spell she wanted. The music came to the forefront of her mind, and she gently hummed its syllables and worked a bit of fleece in her fingers, as step after step of the spell fell into place. Then, at its conclusion, she raised her eyes to the window at the rear of the house, on the second floor. There she pointed, and said quietly, "Five men, groaning, there."

From the interior of the house came a sudden sound of ghostly moaning, barely audible outside, followed by a confused batch of shouts from the inhabitants of the place. Sounds came of people shouting, and running upstairs. "What was that?" asked Xenia.

"Simple spell, really," breathed Fi. "It produces almost any sort of noise I want for a few seconds. Let's hope it spooked them."

Meanwhile, Idgie had pulled her hood across her face, blending into the shadows in front of the main door, and she was working at the lock with careful intensity. Then, suddenly, she gave an excited wave. At once Xenia made her way quickly to the door, while Fiona hung back a bit.

The events of the next few minutes went by in a flash, almost too fast to follow. The front door swung outwards as Idgie suddenly threw the last tumblers on its lock and pulled the portal wide open, revealing a rather startled hired guard standing just inside. He had no time even to draw his weapon before he suddenly went flying off to one side, and fell to the floor, unconscious. Xenia, now visible again after breaking the spell by attacking, stood over him, fist still cocked, checking to see that her foe was down. He was breathing but otherwise perfectly still. Idgie slipped on her brass knuckles, and after noting that the kitchen and den were devoid of people, they headed upstairs, Fiona trailing them closely. They were met at the top of the stairs by two more guards, who were now calling for their fellows; Idgie ducked and avoided hers for a few seconds, jabbing at his face, but Xenia summarily floored her own assailant with only her second thrown punch of the melee, and then turned and put Idgie's out of commission with similar ease. A fresh wave of six armed men then emerged from the back room, where Fiona had placed her earlier spell, and the front ones engaged Xenia and Idgie in hand-to-hand combat while the rear ones waited their turn to step in. Xenia sustained two minor stab wounds through her stiff armor and Idgie narrowly ducked a mighty sword-blow aimed at her head within the first few seconds of the skirmish, and at once Fiona saw that she must act. She reached into her rings again, and retrieved her fourth spell of the night; in a moment its syllables danced past her lips, and suddenly three of the reinforcements dropped to the ground, asleep, while Fiona became visible again, having cast an offensive spell. Although Xenia was moving with impressive speed and deftness, she sustained a third wound -- a thigh gash -- before she pummeled her foe into submission, then quickly caught his replacement in the nose before he could get into the flow of the battle, breaking the bone and sending him reeling. Idgie in the meantime had worn down her foe, and soon he had had enough, succumbing at last to one too many jabs to the chin while she flitted ever out of his reach. "Next room!" called Idgie, and the two of them ran through the next door into Drabo's chambers. There in front of them stood a man of enormous size, armed with a longsword and clad in plate mail, and behind him was a mewling, frightened-looking man in a dressing gown.

"Halt!" cried the last remaining guard. "You come to this place against my will, and if you do not leave at once, I shall have your lives. Choose well!"

"Don't be ridiculous," said Fiona in a perfectly matter-of-fact voice. "You know why we've come. Don't be so naive as to think that your master's ill-advised dabbling in cards hasn't made him some enemies. Note that we've come with weapons sheathed, and that none of our blades have bitten skin tonight. Had we wanted, we could have slain the lot of you easily. But our motive is not revenge -- it is reclamation of ill-gotten goods. Stand down, and we shall take what is rightfully ours, and leave." "You speak with the tongue of a fox, woman," snarled the fighter. "But know this: it is you that are naive, foolishly confronting me here without weapons! I would advise you to flee now, while you can, for after I have slain this miserable excuse for a warrior-maid and the waif, you shall have your tongue cut out and fed to you for your insults."

Suddenly a dagger glanced off the side of his helmet, temporarily knocking his visor out of alignment. Idgie's aim had not been as true as she had wished, but the advantage nonetheless shifted to her side. For Xenia took advantage of the moment's distraction, and launched herself as a lioness upon her prey, knocking the guard to the floor. Almost faster than could be seen, she had ripped his helm off his head, and was attempting to complete the pin on the floor, while he managed to drop the longsword, useless in this close clutch, and drew a hidden dagger. He took a vicious stab at Xenia's face, but she caught his arm at the wrist and held fast, the tip of the blade scant inches from her left eye.

"Yield to me and I will show mercy," she hissed at him.

"Yield to me and I shall spare your worthless life," he said. And when she did not release her iron grip on him, he spat in her face, and strained to put home the dagger. But no sooner did he begin his efforts than did Xenia begin asserting her strength, and slowly but surely his hand was driven to the floor. Fiona marveled at the look of grim determination on Xenia's face, while Idgie held Drabo at bay with a pair of daggers.

Suddenly the guard pulled a trick that Xenia had yet to see in all her training, and it caught her unprepared. He gave a sudden wrench, pulling in the direction that she was pushing, and twisting wildly at the same time. In the desperate move he managed to slice open her wrist, and at once the skin on both sides of the gash swelled and turned blue. "Poison!" hissed Xenia, and with a sudden burst of strength she slammed the guard's fist to the floor, breaking both bones of the wrist, then grabbed his armor at the top of the breastplate, and heaved him up as she drove down and forward with her forehead. The guard managed to turn his head to avoid the head-on collision, but the blow still shattered his cheekbone and knocked him cold.

Xenia stood up, shaking. Her head spun from both the blow and the poison; she could feel the fell fluids race through her body. She swallowed several heaves, and shook off the poison. She would resist the poison; she must. Roan, her uncle with whom she lived, had taught her much over the years: how to fight, how to survive in the wild, how to recognize the various plants and animals that shared her woods as home. But he also taught her how to recognize poisons, and how they were resisted; he had administered various natural poisons to her over the years to improve her ability to withstand them. She recognized the poisons that flowed through her body at once, and knew that all she need do was avoid succumbing to the vomiting, and she would be home free; failing to resist would spell a painful and messy end. She bit her own tongue as a focus, and fought through the pain. After a few seconds, the nausea was replaced by sharp stomach pangs, which suddenly faded into nothing. Then her vision cleared, and rising to take the place of her nausea was an overwhelming rage. She strode over to Drabo, seized him by the front of his dressing-gown, and whirled him around. Her face was flushed, and her heart was racing wildly.

Don't kill him, Xenia, thought Idgie. That's not what we're here for.

"Don't break him," called Fiona, as Xenia took up a pair of curtain ties and bound the nobleman's hands behind his back.

"I don't intend to," said Xenia tightly. "But if he doesn't lead us to his caches real soon, I'm going to begin breaking his unworthy fingers one at a time."

Drabo at once burst into tears. "The basement, the basement," he wailed.

Xenia dragged him bodily down the staircase, then into the alcove under the stairs which led to the cellar stairs, unceremoniously letting him bounce painfully from stair to stair as she descended. "There, behind the wine casks -- strongbox," he whined. Xenia heaved a cask aside to reveal the mid-sized oak-and-steel box. She nodded to Idgie, who trotted up to Drabo. "The key?" she asked.

"My brother has it, and I have his. It's a protection arrangement," he stammered. "I give you my bond, it is untrapped."

"Yeah, yeah, sure it is," said Idgie, and she crouched down to inspect the lock. "Ah-huh. Just as I thought. Poison needle. Oh, and speaking of poison --" she looked at Xenia.

"I'm fine."

Idgie broke off the needle, and stood aside as the toxins bled onto the floor. Then she got out her tools from a pocket on her leggings, and went to work on the lock. However, a few minutes' work availed her nothing. "Tyche's titties, this thing is being stubborn. I can't seem to work it."

"Here, let me." Xenia stepped forward, and pushed Drabo off to the side. She then reached down and took hold of the lock between her fingers, and with all her might, she squeezed. For a few moments, nothing happened, before suddenly there came a groan from the metal, and then a crackling noise, and all at once the lock broke into three pieces. Xenia threw open the lid.

There was no axe to be seen. Xenia took up the chest to examine its contents, dumping a sizeable amount of money and jewelry onto the floor. Idgie came to inspect the empty chest. "No false bottom," she murmured. Xenia turned to Drabo. "Where is it?"

"Where is what?"

Xenia promptly marched to his side, and took his right thumb in her hands. "This looks like as good a place as any to start...."

"No!" he cried. "The den, in the den, loose brick on the fireplace, third row from the top, second one from the right."

Xenia dragged him thumping and bumping back up the stairs. She headed to the fireplace, found the brick, and took it out; wrapped in a small cloth inside a tiny alcove there was Kane's axe. She took it out and pocketed it.

"You'll pay for this, you know," stammered Drabo. "You can't just march in here, assault my guards, and take my most prized possession. There are laws against such things!"

"Oh, please," said Fiona, striding forward with her hands on her hips. "Surely you don't think you have so much as a single bargaining chip in this matter? It would be your word against the word of the object's true owner; he is a respected man at the Academy, while you are a well-known swindler. On top of that --" she took hold of Xenia's arm, displaying the poisoned wound. "Poison is highly illegal, and it would surely ruin you if it got out that you were arming your men with it. And on top of this all, I happen to know that Master Beldin is a good friend of Kane's, and he will personally ruin everything you have ever even touched in your miserable life. I hear he particularly enjoys turning people inside out." She smiled sweetly. "Do I make myself clear?" He nodded sheepishly. "Good." She nodded to Xenia, who ungracefully thumped him on the head, knocking him silly. The three of them then vanished into the night, Idgie leading the way to a Guild safehouse, where they waited until morning.

"I cannot tell how much my folk and I owe you for this favor," said Kane, looking at the axe and running his hands over it. He had a misty look in his eyes. "I will take your advice and have it taken at once to my kindred at the Iron Hills; it will be safe there. I trust that none of you were hurt in the process?"

"Well, Xenia took a few pokes and scratches, but we saw Mandragora earlier today, and she took care of her." Fiona spoke for the group as usual, as the three of them enjoyed the comfort of his ample couch and the quality of his wines. Xenia didn't even have so much as a scratch.

"I am relieved," he continued. "I must insist that you allow me to give unto you this reward as a small token of my appreciation, in addition to the translation I shall give you of your document." He put a sack about the size of a cantaloupe on his small table. "There are one hundred pieces of platinum in there; five hundred gold total."

"We shall accept your gift, and thus honor the giver in his generosity," said Fiona, and Idgie at once took the sack from Kane's table and began inspecting its contents. "You are too generous, Master Kane."

"Not at all; the reward is far less than the object is worth." Fiona began to say something, but he at once interrupted her: "No! I will hear no more of it. The map?" Idgie paused long enough to fetch out the parchment, and handed it to the old dwarf. "It is far more interesting that you may realize," he said as he brought up paper and quill of his own, and began transcribing. "For while the characters are indeed Dwarven, the language is not: it is poorly-spelled Common. Here." He handed the translated version to Fiona. Idgie looked on with curiosity, while Xenia looked on casually. "In the center of our city was our temple to our mother Erda, the Earth. Apparently there is something hidden behind it." [show translation]

"I have no idea what is meant by the inscription on the back, nor the numbers," he continued. "I suppose that is a further riddle for you to solve."

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