The Life of the Nomad

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.