Xenavala

"And who might you be?" asked the tall and dark woman coldly, glaring at a nervous man before her.

The man was dressed in worn leather pants, a matching leather vest, and a linen shirt that once had been white. He had not shaved for a few days, probably last time when he had left for his journey. "My name is Ilmarinen, and I'm the master smith from the land of Kalevala. I seek Louhi, the Mistress of Pohjola."

"I am the one you seek. What do you want?"

"My lady, I need your wisdom," the man answered, "as I need a great favour, and so far I haven't found the power that is required."

"Skip the flattering and get to the point. I'm sure there is one."

Ilmarinen inhaled, gathering his courage. "I have forged a woman of iron and gold, to be the image of my deceased wife. I want you to bring her to life."

"That's outrageous!" Louhi yelped, but then she froze, as something in his words got her attention. She arched an eyebrow as she calmed down. "Of gold, you said?"

"And iron."

A silence followed, and the woman watched him sharply. "Sit down, smith," she then said, and signed the servants to bring him a goblet of mead. Somehow this man amused her. "And you made it all by yourself?" she asked casually as he sat down to a chair on the opposite side of the long table.

A servant came with the goblet and filled it from a cask. Ilmarinen drank it empty in one go, and asked for a refill before he answered. "Yes."

"You must really be a skilled one when it comes to metals."

"I'm the master smith of Kalevala, and so far I haven't met anyone better than me in the whole known world," he said proudly. The mead was quickly getting into his head.

An intriguing plan was taking form in Louhi's mind. This man could be a fool, or he might be exactly what she needed. In either case, she might use him. "You want me to create life to a dead mass of iron? Do you realize how difficult that is? It's almost impossible. Almost." It was completely impossible, and she knew it.

The man turned his eyes down with disappointment. "Yes, I guess it is. It's just that I had hoped..."

"And I also want you understand that a favour of this scale can't be done without a favour in counter."

He quickly looked up as if hit by lightning. "Anything you want, just name it, and it's yours."

"I'll give you a chance to prove your skills as a smith. If you can do what I request, then I will bring your wife back to you." She bent over the table to bring her face very close to his. "Forge me a Sampo."

----

"What do you think, Xena?" Gabrielle asked thoughtfully, spinning one of her sais.

"It's a Roman frontier station," Xena answered.

"I know it's a Roman frontier station!" Gabrielle threw her friend a glare indicating that she wasn't in a mood for self-evidencies.

For a moment they stared in silence. "You know, I doubt that they recognize us," said Gabrielle. "We're at the northern border of Gaul. I bet we could just walk right through that border inspection.

"Probably."

"It's also very small. Should any trouble occur, and we could easily beat the guards and pass through before the reinforcements arrive."

"That's also true," Xena replied. "Or we could just sneak by them in the cover of the forest."

The women looked at each other in the eyes, and sighed in unison. "Someone might get hurt," Gabrielle stated blankly, and Xena nodded.

"These Romans only obey orders. And there are outsiders in the camp, including women and children."

"You're right Xena, we can't take the risk. We should have taken the ship when Beowulf offered it."

"Oh, now you want to take the ship!"

Gabrielle grunted, just a little irritated by Xena's tone. "...if that's the lesser evil..."

"What about east, then?" Xena interrupted, looking at the horizon on her left.

"What's in the east?"

"I don't know. I've never been there."

Gabrielle turned to face the same direction as her friend. "Do you think anyone lives there?"

"Of course they do. Well? Should we try to round the Alps on the north side, and then be back home?"

The bard didn't hesitate. "It should be interesting to travel through lands which you didn't conquer in the past. Yes, let's go east."

----

Two months after his job assignment, Ilmarinen returned to Pohjola. He had worked day and night, and his face looked old and weary. He entered the house of Louhi, and after him servants brought in two large and obviously heavy crates.

"Welcome back, smith," Louhi said with a wry grin. "How's your work progressing?"

"It is ready, my lady," he uttered.

The woman started. "Already?" she yelped with surprise.

"Well, it became quite small..."

"Hmm. Will it do what I requested?"

"Oh yes, very much so." Behind him the servants had disassembled one of the crates. They took off the last covers, revealing an object that looked like a decorated coffin with a hexagonal lid on top and a short pipe in each side.

The woman came closer, now wearing a greedy smile. "How does it work. Show me."

"First of all, you'll need a key."

"A key?" She darted her piercing eyes at him. "And where is this key?"

"In a safe place. Until I get my end of the deal." He gave the servants a sign to go away, and began himself to disassemble the second crate.

The woman cursed. If the smith was a fool, he was a smart fool. She was convinced that if he was skilled enough to forge Sampo, he would surely be skilled enough to build a mechanism that she couldn't use without the key. She had to get that key, otherwise all that she had would be just expensive junk. If he didn't have it with him, then she had lost. Anyway, she had no use of him any more. At least the fool had brought his golden woman with him. It should have some value when melted and sold.

"Listen, smith," she said, as her fingers wrapped around the hilt of a dagger on her hip. "I'm afraid that we have a problem. I can't bring you statue to life. It was only a..."

Her sentence was suddenly interrupted when she saw what the crate held inside. Quickly she recovered from her surprise, and started to laugh madly. Ilmarinen turned at her, reckoning that she was taunting him. But that was not the case.

"I'm sorry, smith," Louhi said, "The incredible quality of your work just surprised me. It looks like I can bring her to life after all." She was again unable to hold back the laughter.

----

Xena and Gabrielle were finishing their breakfast. They had camped by a pretty creek which had given them fish for food and a great place refresh themselves with swimming and bathing. "This land is great. There's so many different languages so close to each other. So many beautiful languages. It's sad that we don't have the time to learn them all," Gabrielle babbled. She suddenly seemed to realize something, as she quickly looked at her companion curiously. "Hmh... Why don't we have the time, by the way?"

"You'd like that, would you?" Xena answered flatly. She had been unusually quiet since they had finished their morning swim.

Gabrielle gave her friend another sharp look. "Of course I would. You know I would." Then her thoughts wandered off again, and she looked up at the sky, musing. "Did you remember the story that the old man told in the last village? It was a great story, but I'm sure that I'd get more out of it if I just learned his language little better. Even though I doubt that it will be the same if I... Oooh!" She suddenly bent down as if in pain, holding her hands on her face, and the plate of fish fell from her lap.

"Gabrielle?" Xena asked anxiously.

The bard straightened up. "I think something's about to happen. Something bad."

"Did you have a premonition?"

"Not really. Just a funny feeling that seemed to turn my guts out. Like someone was dancing sirtaki upon my grave." The young woman shivered.

"Come on, you haven't died that many times," Xena said, trying to lighten up the situation, but her face was grave, and her gaze wandered nervously around. She paused as Gabrielle threw her an angry glare, and then continued more seriously, "I've been having a strange feeling for some time now, one that usually means trouble. And if you're having it too, it means big trouble."

"Maybe we should break the camp."

"Good idea."

Hastily they stowed the uncleaned dishes into their packs, and doused the fire. As Xena was putting away her bedroll, a shadow passed over them, and she sprang up, alerted by something that she still was unable to see. She drew her sword, and turned to face the enemy which soon appeared to be a monstrous bird, as ugly as the ugliest vulture.

The monster shrieked horribly, and dived at the warrior woman, talons slicing the air. She slashed at it, but it evaded her attack, flying safely over her. "Gabrielle, watch out!" she yelled, as the bard was now on its direct route.

Gabrielle thrusted one of her sais forward at the vulture's sole, but it hit a talon, and the impact made her drop her weapon. Then the vulture got a grip of her, and quickly flew away, shrieking triumphantly.

"Xena!" Gabrielle yelled, as she tried to hit the bird with the remaining sai, but the grip was tight and she couldn't get a good strike.

"Gabrielle!" yelled Xena back, raising her chakram. She hesitated for a moment too long with a fear that she'd hit Gabrielle by accident, and then she realized that the bird was too high already. She might still drop it, but the fall would surely be fatal to her friend. So all she could do was to stare after the quickly escaping bird, and at her friend who was still struggling to get free from its hold.

----

Xena sat by a campfire, and stared at the pair of sais in her hands. It had been a week since her last lead had dried out, and she was desperate. She sighed, and closed her eyes as she kissed the sais. Then she wiped off a tear, and for the thousandth time brought back to her mind what had happened in the last few weeks. At first, following the bird had been relatively easy, as she had always met people who had seen it flying north. She had found Gabrielle's other sai only a few days after the incident in a village, and her boots two weeks later from another village, worn by a peasant woman. The woman had been reluctant to give the boots away, and Xena had been forced to pay a formidable amount of silver to get them back. After that the clues had become increasingly thin and unreliable.

For nearly two months she had traveled north, and now she was further north that she had ever been. The land was strange, and people spoke a peculiar language that she was almost completely unable to learn. That was one more reason to miss Gabrielle who was so much better with languages. "Don't listen to the words only, Xena. Listen to the thought behind them," the bard had used to say each time they had come across new people with a new language. Xena wasn't quite sure if Gabrielle had only been teasing, but she consoled herself with a thought of how she mastered many tongues from Britannia to Chin, therefore it wasn't her learning slowly. Just that Gabrielle was exceptional.

And as if worrying sick for Gabrielle would not have been stressing enough, there was also something wrong with the sun. It almost refused to set in the evening. At first, she went to sleep at sunset as she had always done, and woke up at dawn, but the only outcome was that she was very tired all the time. The night was well lighted, and the sunrise came so soon after the sunset that she slept only a couple of hours or less, until she finally had to give up and learn to sleep in sunlight with a blanket tucked over her head.

Abruptly, something brought her back from her thoughts. She put Gabrielle's weapons away, and listened carefully. Somewhere, not too far away, she heard something like drums. She quickly put out the fire, picked up her gear, and crept towards the sound. The night was now as dark as it would get, but it was still easy to find her way through the woods. The drumming got louder, joined by strange but attractive chanting, and she soon arrived at an opening, hiding behind some shrubbery.

In the middle of the little opening there was a pyre that cast eery light over surrounding pines. By the pyre, a shaman sat legs crossed on the ground, his back turned towards Xena. The shaman had a large drum in his lap, and while he chanted, he hit it with something that looked like a thighbone of an animal. With each hit, smaller bones on the drum jumped a little, and moved around and over symbols painted on the drum's skin.

Suddenly the shaman started, and stopped his ritual. And unnatural silence fell over the woods, and although the man didn't move, Xena understood that she had been discovered. Therefore she stepped in the opening, and uttered one of the few words that she had learned. "Ah-pooh-ah. Will you help me? Ah-pooh-ah."

The shaman turned at her, measuring her from tip to toe, while Xena looked at him in turn. He was gray-haired, gray-bearded, and obviously very old, but he moved lightly for his age. His clothes were made of simple, coarse fabric, with a little white cap, and leather boots. He grunted, and looking somewhat dissatisfied he took a long sword that had been lying on the ground, belting it on his hip. Then he nodded, and took a jar of water that he had kept warm near the fire. He mixed some herbs into it, said a few magic words, blew upon the water in the jar, and then gave it to Xena. "Juo tämä," he said, beckoning her to drink.

"What is it?" asked Xena cautiously.

The shaman only made another, impatient sign that she should drink, and so she very carefully took a sip. Instantly, a dizzy feeling swept her legs away under her, but only for a moment. She regained her composure, and drew her sword, pointing it at the shaman. "What was that? Did you try to poison me? Why?"

"Take it easy, woman. It wasn't poison," said the shaman.

"Oh, NOW you speak my language."

"No, I don't. But you speak mine."

"No I don't! Do I? But how?"

"That potion made it happen. You should be a shaman to understand. Or a witch. But that isn't important. My name is Väinämöinen, and I've been expecting you. Welcome to Kalevala, stranger."

After a moment of hesitation, Xena flipped her sword around, and slid it back to the scabbard. "Thank you. My name is Xena. How did you know to expect me? And why?"

"I'm a powerful shaman, I'm supposed to know things. To gain knowledge, I use this drum. Some time ago, the drum warned me about a rising threat from the land of Pohjola in the north. Their power has been growing lately, and I'm afraid that unless stopped, they'll go onto the path of conquest. We're their closest neighbours, so you understand my concern. The drum also told me about people far from southern lands, who would come to save us. But, to be true, I was expecting a somewhat larger host that just one woman."

"Well, I don't want any part in your skirmishes. I've got a rather acute problem of my own."

"Tell me about it. Maybe I can help." Xena told him all about the big bird and the kidnapping of Gabrielle. After that, the old man stroked his beard thoughtfully. "Hmm, yes, an incredible story. Doesn't sound too encouraging for your friend, though. How do you know she's still alive?"

"I don't, but she must be. I just have a feeling that there's more that the eye can see here. The bird... it went right at Gabrielle, almost ignoring me altogether. And the long way that the monster made to get its prey -- it wasn't hunting. It was performing a kidnapping."

"That would be very strange behavior for an animal. Very well. Tell me, Xena, do you know anything about warfare?"

Xena's eyes narrowed. "I know something."

"That's what I thought. I tell you what. Let's make a deal. I'll help you find your friend if you in turn help Kalevala against Pohjola."

"You don't leave me much choice, do you?" Väinämöinen just smiled. "How do I know that I can trust you?"

"Because I may be your only hope. Just trust me. But at the moment we can't do anything. My drum is tired, and I need to rest before I can try to locate her. Come to my humble house, and rest, too. And if you're unable to sleep, you can start planning on how we defeat Pohjola. Tomorrow we'll find Gabrielle."

----

Next morning, Xena awoke to the sound of drumming. For a while she didn't know where she was, then she recognized the walls of the old shaman's house. She quickly put on her armor and weapons, and went out to backyard. Väinämöinen saw her as she stepped outside, and stopped drumming. He was visibly upset.

"Anything yet?" Xena asked impatiently.

"No, nothing, and that surprises me. I can tell you something certain, though. She's not in the north, or south, or east, or west."

"That's doesn't leave many directions left," Xena said, and a horrible thought occurred to her. "Unless she's..."

"No, she's not in Manala, the underworld. That's where our dead go, and I checked it as well. I'll find her, it just takes a little longer than expected. I need to think of this before I go on. But that won't keep you from completing your part of the deal."

Xena eyed him sharply, not sure if she still could trust him, but then she decided that it would be wise to play with him, at least for the moment. "First of all, we need to know exactly what's going on in Pohjola. We can't just trust on vague premonitions." Väinämöinen grunted but didn't say anything. "That's why I'll go there and see what I can find out. Second, we need men, and we need weapons. Do you know where you can get those?"

"I suppose I can raise a few dozen men. And I know a smith who can make us all the weapons we need."

"Good. Let's put things in motion. I want to see this smith before I go, and when I come back, I want every man have a sword so that I can train them. With one condition." She paused, and let the shaman read from her gaze what would happen if he hadn't found Gabrielle by that time.

The smith lived in a village no more than a few miles away, yet it took them hours to get there. He was home, concluded from the heavy smoke that came out of the chimney, and frequent sounds caused by a hammer hitting an anvil. "Seppo Ilmarinen, my old man," yelled Väinämöinen as she arrived at the door of the workshop. "What are you making this time?"

Ilmarinen, hearing a familiar voice, immediately stopped his work, and wiped sweat on his forehead. "It's a plow, not that it's any of your business. Old man." His voice hinted hostility but the shaman looked back at him with a self confident grin.

"What? Still mad at me? Can't we just put that incident behind us already?"

The smith shook his mighty hammer before the shaman's face. "That 'incident' drove my sister Aino into a lake! How could I forget it?"

"And I already said I'm sorry." His smile faded as he decided to take a more serious approach. "Listen, Seppo, I know we have our differences, but now there are bigger matters in question. Here, meet Xena. She's the reason I came to you."

Ilmarinen looked out of the door, and saw Xena. He was suspicious, but that didn't keep him noticing how gorgeous the woman was. His eyebrows lifted, and his anger was almost forgotten as he stepped out to get a better look. "Pleased to meet you, Xena."

"Likewise," said Xena. "Väinämöinen here is right. Something's going on that may require your involvement.

"Yes," said Väinämöinen, "It's Pohjola. They're getting stronger, and Xena will find out, how that's possible. Meanwhile, I need you to do like a good smith and start making swords instead of plows. We need an army."

Ilmarinen didn't like his tone, and his anger returned. "For your information, Pohjola has a Sampo, and you don't. And if they're doing anything that can bring you down, old man, then better for me. See if I care!" He turned on his heels and returned to his shop, also slamming the door shut behind him. Väinämöinen and Xena followed.

"A Sampo! Seppo, come on," the shaman yelped. "You're not thinking straight... Oh, hello, pretty one," he said, and quickly flashed a dirty smile, as she noticed a blonde, small woman in the room. "Who's this?"

"That's my wife, and you just keep your hands off of her!" yelled the smith.

"That's not your wife, that's Gabrielle!" Xena yelped after recovering from her surprise. In a flash she was past the men and hugged her friend. "Gabrielle, I knew you were alive!" But the bard didn't answer, and Xena took another look of her, staring into her dull eyes. "Gabrielle?" The young woman stared ahead with eyes looking into distance, seeing nothing, and obviously not recognizing Xena or anything in her environment.

"No, Xena, she is my wife!" the smith shouted, trying to pull Xena away from her. "I made her myself."

Xena's lightning fast attack took him by surprise, as she took his collar and smashed him against the wall. "What! Have! You! Done! With! Her! Oh, don't you tell me she's not Gabrielle. I know she is."

"And don't you think that I don't know my own creation," the smith yelled in spite of his awkward position, which only got more awkward as Xena put a pinch on him.

"You've got exactly 30 seconds to come up with an explanation. And then you'll die."

"Xena, wait," said Väinämöinen, cutting between Xena and her prey.

"WHAT!?"

"I think there may be a misunderstanding."

"No, there's none. That is Gabrielle, and this man is dead."

"No. Or yes, maybe. But my point is, Ilmarinen is not a man who would do things like that on purpose. I might, but not he, that's why I believe him. There must be another explanation."

Xena goggled at the men sharply, and then released the pinch. "All right, explain. But I'm not known for patience. How exactly did she end up here."

The smith coughed, and quickly understood that the warrior woman wasn't kidding. "Long story short. My wife died a couple of years back. I missed her so much that I made me a copy of her. Forged of iron and gold. I took her into bed with me, but she was cold to sleep with, and I was unhappy. So I took her to Pohjola, where the mistress Louhi brought her into life in exchange for a Sampo device."

"And she's exactly as you made her?" Xena questioned coldly.

"Yes! Or.. well, when I finally saw her alive, she was even more beautiful than I had remembered."

An angry growl escaped from Xena's throat, but she managed to restrain herself. "And you're happy with her as she is?"

"Well, she's not complaining, and she does her duties as a woman should." He sighed, looking away sadly, and thus making clear to Xena that something was bothering him, but she decided to ignore it at this point.

"Uh-huh. So tell me something, smith, if you know your woman so well. Did you make her an arrow wound into her side?"

"What?"

"Did you or did you not?"

"Of course not."

"Then where did she get one."

Ilmarinen looked first at Xena, and then at his wife who was wearing a long shirt that covered her upper body, so that none of them could see if there was a wound or not. For the first time, he was hesitating, as he took the few steps at the blonde woman. He reached out to lift her shirt, but Xena slapped his hand before he could touch the hem of the shirt, and then she lifted the hem herself. Both men leaned forward to see better an old and well healed but very distinctly visible little scar in the left side of the woman, before Xena quickly flapped the shirt back down. She had proven her point. "Well?" she said, arching an eyebrow.

"She's not my lady," said Ilmarinen, sitting down, and looking ahead, devastated. Then his breathing got heavier, his eyes narrowed, his nostrils widened, and he picked up his hammer. He quickly sprang up and out to his workshop where he smashed a mighty blow at the almost complete plow that he had been making. He struck it time after time after time until it was no more than a formless mass of iron. Then he finally stopped, coming back inside, and said with extreme determination, "What ever you're planning to do, count me in. The witch tricked me. I want my girl back, and I want that witch to pay."

Väinämöinen nodded at him, content to know that things were finally going after his will, and then they both turned at Xena, who was trying to revive Gabrielle. But the younger woman was not responding any way.

"May I try?" said the old shaman at last. He pushed himself past Xena and stared Gabrielle closely and straight into her eyes for many long minutes without a blink. Then he grunted, and said, "Well, this is going to take some time. Leave this room. Give me some peace and quiet."

"I want to be here," Xena said. "She may need me when she comes to."

"No. Out. Now. Go," said Väinämöinen, shoving Xena and Ilmarinen roughly outside. They obeyed reluctantly, and agreed to wait on the porch as the shaman began his chanting inside. A little later his drum joined in.

The chanting went on and on. The smith sat on the porch, and Xena paced to and fro in front of it. Her patience was stretched to its limits but she knew that she couldn't do anything but wait, and so with an inhuman effort she forced herself to calm down and sit beside the smith. "So, what is this Sampo, anyway?"

"It's... complicated. It looks like a crate yeay big," he spread his arms to give an approximation of the size, "... and heavy. The basic idea is that you put in junk, and out comes gold in three outlets."

"And you built that for your enemy? Didn't you think of the consequences at all?" The smith grunted and avoided Xena's gaze for shame. "Could you make another one for your people?"

"Oh, sure, if you think you can get Louhi's magic gems. Oh, I forgot, I spent the only one on this Sampo."

Xena's response was blocked by Väinämöinen coming out from the door. She jumped to her feet, but she already knew the result, reading it from the old shaman's weary face. "All right, that's it. That hag Louhi kidnaped my best friend and turned her into a vegetable. I'll go to Pohjola and make her reverse the spell. Who's coming with me?"

"Xena, wait," Väinämöinen said, grabbing her arm.

"What?"

"There's no guarantee that you can force Louhi do what you want. She's a powerful witch. And we still need that army, for Pohjola is far too strong at the moment. You must not go alone."

"Oh yeah? Watch me."

"No, just wait! I have an idea that you will want to try first."

Xena raised an eyebrow again. "This is better be good."

"Well, I don't have the wisdom to bring your friend back from where she is. But I know who has. That's why we're going to see Antero Vipunen."

----

The last words of Ilmarinen still echoed in Xena's ears as she rode through the night across the woods with Väinämöinen.

"Beware the old man," had the smith said.

"Why do you say that?" she had asked.

"Because he is sneaky. Not in an evil kind of way, just that he's driven by his own motives, and he couldn't care less if other people get hurt on the way."

At the dawn, they came to a farm where they left their horses, and went on afoot, as they had to walk across a great swamp. The path was narrow, and as such it wasn't suitable for horses. Most of the time the path was merely two sturdy planks set side by side upon the treacherous soil. The air was hot and moist, filled with ill smells, and insects that constantly buzzed around them, trying to suck their blood.

After a few hours of walking, the planks ended as they came to the end of the swamp, where a forest began again. They followed the rim of the forest for some time until they came to a lake, and Väinämöinen slowed down. He looked around, then went a little further. "We're where I saw him last time. Ah, there he is."

"Where?" Xena looked into same direction as the shaman, but she didn't see anyone.

"You're looking too low."

"Is he somewhere on that hill?"

The shaman chuckled, visibly amused. "Look at the big picture, Xena. He IS that hill."

And then Xena saw him, too. The hill that she had been looking at, was in fact his belly, and the smaller hill next to it was his head. Moss grew on his face, his hair and beard were tangled together with shrubbery, and squirrels had made their nest on a pine on his chest. "Antero Vipunen is a giant?"

"You can call him that if you like. We found him, so the biggest problem is behind us. Now, we have only two problems left. The second one is how to get him to tell us the words of wisdom, of course."

"I'm afraid to ask what the first one is."

"It's how to wake him up."

The next few hours, they tried several ways to awake Vipunen. Väinämöinen explained that the ancient giant had been sleeping for decades, and unless they could do something about it, he would still be sleeping a hundred years or more. They jumped upon his belly, pulled his hair, and shouted into his ear. They pinched him and poked him in different places, but nothing seemed to work.

"Are you sure he's not dead?" Xena asked, as she was keeping a smoking fire for the second hour inside the giant's nose.

Väinämöinen was sitting on Vipunen's upper lip, and sulked. He had not expected this phase to be so difficult. And if this was virtually impossible, how hard would it be to get him to talk. And then suddenly, the long expected thing happened, and surprised then both. Vipunen opened his mouth, inhaled, and Väinämöinen lost his balance and fell into his mouth. "Xena! Help!" he yelled, and then he was swallowed down to the giant's throat.

"No!" Xena yelled, and threw herself flat on the lip, trying to reach the shaman's hand, but he slipped from her hold. "I so hate this," she cursed, and then, without hesitation she dived after him.

Antero Vipunen closed his mouth, and belched, smiling in his dreams.

----

"Okay, Xena. Tell me, how exactly did you come to think that coming after me was a good idea?" Väinämöinen asked, as he stood waist high in digestion fluids.

"It's becoming less and less so all the time," Xena answered grumpily.

"Yeah. Now we're both inside, meaning no one is outside and able to help us. And that stupid giant didn't even wake up!"

"Well, you should have thought about that before you fell down."

"Oh, it's my fault that we both ended up here?"

"Hey, I'm here to help you."

"And such a great job you're doing."

"Would you two just keep quiet," said a third voice that seemed to boom from every direction. "One of us is trying to sleep."

"Hey, it's Vipunen. He woke up after all," Xena said.

"And how does it help us?"

"I have an idea. Just follow my lead," Xena said, and then shouted as hard as she could. "Hey, Vipunen! Do you hear me?"

"Who's that? And where?" Vipunen said.

"My name is Xena. I'm in your stomach."

"What are you doing in my stomach, Xena?"

"We fell down by accident. We were just seeking some words of wisdom."

"We?" said Vipunen. "There's more than one of you?"

"Yes. A man called Väinämöinen is with me. He is a..."

"Väinämöinen!" Vipunen boomed, and now his voice was filled with anger. His belly went through a small scale earthquake. "I know him. No, I won't give any words of wisdom to him."

Xena turned at the old shaman, rolling her eyes. "What is it with you? You've managed to enrage every living being in this land against you?" Then she shouted at the giant again. "I have a friend who is not feeling well, and I need to make her better. I'm sorry, but it's either you help us voluntarily, or I'll make you."

The giant's laughter boomed in the forest. "You're not in a position where you could set any terms. No, little human. You will stay in my belly until I've consumed you and your treacherous friend."

In the belly, Väinämöinen looked at Xena worriedly. Xena shrugged, grinning. "Well, we tried the nice way." She unclipped her chakram, and let it fly. It bounced from Vipunen's stomach tissues, making small cuts which Vipunen experienced as little, burning stings.

"Hey, what are you doing? Stop it!" Vipunen shouted, holding his belly.

Inside, another earthquake put the humans off balance. Xena caught her weapon an inch before it hit Väinämöinen into his nose. "Careful, Xena!" the man yelped.

"He moved," Xena explained with a self-content grin. "Now, Vipunen, Väinämöinen will explain you what we need exactly, and you'll give it to us. If not..." he threw the chakram again, now hitting only one spot, "...then know that I've just cut the flow of blood to your groins. So speak, unless you want to speak in falsetto for the rest of eternity."

After that, it was only a matter of time. The old shaman received the required wisdom from the ancient giant in words that only made sense to a master shaman. Then Xena and Väinämöinen began to run and whirl around the belly, causing Vipunen feel nausea, and finally he threw up the contents of his stomach, including the two humans. After that, he lay down again, and began to snore.

"Are you sure you got all of it?" Xena asked as she tried to clean off the slimy fluids that covered her skin and hair, and had also found a way inside her armor.

"I think so," Väinämöinen answered, coughing out the same stuff.

"You think? Be sure, as I'm not going to make that trip again at any cost."

"Not even for Gabrielle?" the shaman remarked, and Xena went grave and silent. "I thought so," he continued, "Don't worry, I got it all. Now, let's get over to that lake over there."

"My thoughts exactly," Xena replied. "I want to get this stuff cleaned off my body and my gear."

"Yes, that too," the shaman said, and now his face looked troubled. "But first of all, if we want to save your friend, we need to do something else. Xena, do you know anything about fishing?"

----

It turned out that when Väinämöinen talked about fishing, he meant it in the most extreme way. While they bathed, the shaman explained what Vipunen had said, and what he needed. The first thing was a great pike, the greatest fish in the lake.

As Väinämöinen was already putting on his clothes which he had dried by a fire, Xena still remained in the lake. She stayed very still, and then suddenly bent down under water, coming up with an enormous pike in her hands. She tossed it on the shore before it would get away, and straight at the old man's feet. He started, and sprang up.

"Xena, that pike is not large enough," he said, quickly calming down.

"I know," Xena answered with a grin, and came out ashore. "That's our dinner. You know how to cook?"

Two hours later, they had eaten, and Xena had cleaned her leathers. Väinämöinen sat by the fire, meditating or chanting or praying his gods, Xena wasn't sure what, and since she had nothing else to do, she decided to take a walk around the lake. On the north side she found many little brooks that ran into the lake, and on the east side one steep and narrow river ran out. In the south, high rocks made it hard to pass, but Xena climbed them until she came to the highest point around. She once again heard the distant chanting of the shaman, and she could almost see the gleam of his fire on her left. A little ahead, a cliff rose above water, and she decided to climb there to see better.

And she really faced a spectacular view over the whole lake. The water gleamed in the light of the setting sun, and it was just breathtakingly beautiful. She instantly hoped that Gabrielle could have seen it, and that thought made her sad. But perhaps she could bring her friend there later.

Then her attention was caught elsewhere, as there was movement in the water below her. Something long and lean and silvery slid slowly just under the surface. Xena's breathing changed, her eyes narrowed, and her body tensed. She was beginning to remind a prowling feline. Quickly she formed a plan, knowing she might not get but one chance. Her right hand unclipped the chakram, then she split it in halves.

Then she jumped.

In the camp, Väinämöinen jerked awake from his trance. At first he was unsure of the direction of the noise, then he realized that it came from the south end of the lake. There had been a loud splash, and a moment of silence, and then war cries that were mixed with more splashing. He ran to the shore as fast as he could, and then towards the sound, until it became silent.

He came around a boulder that had blocked his view, and saw something amazing. In the shallow, blood colored water stood Xena, a fierce battle mask still on her face, and covered all over with blood and scales. In each hand she held peculiar blades with pointy heads that dug deeply into the back of a monstrously large fish. He watched in awe as she dragged it ashore, and then joined the blades together into a chakram.

Xena noticed him, and her battle face changed into a smug grin. "Look what I found?"

"Very good, Xena," said Väinämöinen, impressed, but not quite pleased.

Xena looked at him sharply, "Still not the right one?"

The shaman shook his head slowly. "We could perhaps use that one as a bait."

Xena couldn't believe her ears. "That big, huh?" That very moment, as if an answer to a question unasked, they heard a splash from the middle of the lake, and when they turned to watch the cause, they saw a pike emerge head first above surface, straight up as if in slow motion, until they could see it all but the very tail. It was so big that Xena wished for Gabrielle to be there just to describe it for her. It seemed to linger above the surface for a while, observing them with the one eye that looked towards them, until gravity finally made it fall back to under water with a huge splash that raised a small scale breaker wave. "That's the one?" Xena asked with awe as the wave ran ashore and over her boots, and Väinämöinen nodded slowly. Still stunned, she sat on the back of the dead fish, and sighed. "I think we need a plan."

----

Early in the following morning, Xena was clinging dangerously on a net of ropes that she had pulled across the river running out of the lake. The ropes were tied to two pines, each standing on an opposite bench, now bent upon the river. Väinämöinen stood ashore, and held one end of the last rope that would complete the trap.

"Xena, are you sure this will work?"

"If it doesn't, I don't know what will."

"Neither do I, and I'm not convinced that this will work either. Hey, you forgot something!"

"What?"

"The bait. It's still over there." He pointed at the fish that Xena had caught the day before.

"No, I didn't forget the bait." Väinämöinen looked confused, and Xena grinned at him, tying a safety line on her waist. "I am the bait. Now get ready. I think I saw a large shadow that dived deeper and disappeared."

"Get ready? Hey! What will I do?"

"Just look frightened," Xena yelled, and at the same time, the water broke as the great pike surfaced under Xena. It opened its mouth wide open, and quickly ascended at her.

"Xena! Look out!"

Just as the pike was about to close its jaws on Xena, she slashed at one of the ropes with the edge of her chakram. The pines sprang up, and the line pulled her up to safety as the pike found his catch gone with disappointment. At the same time, a clever contraption was triggered, and a dozen sturdy spears were flung at Xena's previous position which now was occupied by the giant fish.

Two of the spears missed, three of them only scratched the scale armour, but the seven that penetrated the skin were fatal. When the fish fell back down to water, it was already dead. The spears stuck in its both sides, and lines that had been tied to the blunt end of the spears, held it positioned in the mid stream.

"Xena," said Väinämöinen as Xena landed beside her as if nothing had happened, "In my life I've seen a lot, but never this kind of fishing."

Xena shrugged. "Oh, that was nothing. Me and Gabrielle do that all the time."

"You have fish that large in Greek?"

"Fish, cyclops, worms. Mostly worms. A girl must have a hobby." She threw her chakram so that it cut the ropes on the other side, causing the pike to began to drift towards them, guided by the remaining ropes.

The shaman was quiet a while. He didn't know what to believe. "You're teasing me, aren't you?"

Xena grinned. "You got your fish, stop complaining."

----

They had fish for lunch.

After that, Xena cut off the lower jaw of the giant pike, while Väinämöinen added all of their firewood into the fire. He carefully cleaned the jaw from flesh, and then let the pyre burn away the rest. Finally, he washed it, and all that was left, was white and clean bone the shape of an elongated horseshoe, with a sharp tooth sticking out in every half an inch.

As the shaman had been cleaning the bone, Xena had sneaked back to Vipunen, and cut three dozens of his hair, which Väinämöinen now tied to the teeth. He strung them carefully, like a harp is strung. The task was trickier than it sounds, as the night had fallen, and it was cloudy and dark, and the only light came from the fire. Xena watched him with interest and doubt. "So, the harp is going to do the trick?" she asked.

"It's not a harp," Väinämöinen said. "It's Kantele."

"Kantele? Strange name for an instrument." The man said nothing. "Well? Is it going to work or not?"

He sighed, tying the last string. "We won't know before we get back to your friend, I'm afraid."

To test the sound, he slid his fingers once across all the strings. The sound began as a peaceful note, the another joined in. A mild wind started to blow. Touching the fifth string multiplied the volume of the first four by twenty. The sixth string brought the wind up to storm levels, and the sound was beginning to remind thunder. Of course, this all took less than a second. We don't know what would have happened if Väinämöinen had reached the last string, as luckily, he was blown back by the wind when his hand was on string number ten. Similarly, Xena was blown in another direction as if hit by an explosion. She got thrown against a spruce tree with such force that she was knocked unconscious. A branch penetrated her armor in her side, and it held her hanging in the tree, her feet flailing without support.

Kantele remained where it had been all the time, on a stump. Its sound died gradually away, and with it died the miniature hurricane that it had raised. Then everything was quiet.

----

Xena recovered first. She became aware of a pain in her side, and looked down, seeing the branch that was now covered with her blood. It had dried hours ago. The branch had went in and out of her armor, but only scratched her side. She lifted herself so that she managed to slide herself off, and dropped down to ground. For a while she just gasped, getting adjusted to the pain before going to see how the old man was doing.

She found him curled together, sleeping like a child. A line of blood had been trickling down his forehead, indicating that he had hit a rock beside him. He woke up immediately as she shook him slightly, and she let him come to before she spoke. "You wouldn't want to try that on Gabrielle."

"No, of course not," the shaman said, and held his aching head. "I didn't know it had such power. It's incredible. I must learn to play it properly."

"It has the power, I admit. But what about Gabrielle?"

"It will cure her. Vipunen gave the needed notes. But he said nothing about its ... other properties." He was shining with excitement. "With this weapon, Pohjola won't have a chance against us. Nobody will."

Xena had a suspicious gaze in her eyes. "We'll think about that later, won't we? Now I want to get back as soon as possible. It was night when we passed out, now it's morning already."

Väinämöinen wrapped Kantele in animal skins. Then they packed the rest of their stuff, and started their way back. It was still an early summer morning, and thick mist clung over the swamp. It was good, as it kept the insects away. They walked the planks, Xena first, and Väinämöinen after her, carrying his precious instrument.

Through the mist, Xena saw a human form appear, walking on the same planks, but towards them. Her hand autonomously brushed her chakram as if making sure that it was still on her hip and easily reachable. The form came closer, and they saw it was a young man with long, blond hair, wearing clothes made of animal skin, and wielding a sword and a hunting bow. He was whistling, and seemed to completely ignore the people coming towards him, until they were only ten steps apart. They both stopped, as there was room for only one to pass.

"Step aside, unless you want to get to know of my blade," he said, his voice carefree and filled with confidence over his skills.

Xena looked left and right, and found out that on either side only one step would put her into a deep and muddy swamp. "Look, mister. I've no quarrel with you, and there's a treacherous swamp on either side. Why don't we work this out together? If you help me and I help you, we both get through with dry feet."

The man laughed. "I'm the master swordsman around here. I evade no one, especially not wenches and old men. If you don't want to step aside now, then you will go back until you're ready to."

"Me a wench? Hmm, let's see... The last guy who got out alive after calling me that was... No, wait. I don't think anyone got out alive."

"Careful, Xena," Väinämöinen warned with a whisper. "The man is Joukahainen. Nobody's better with a sword that he is. And he's quick in temper. You shouldn't anger him."

"Is he a god?" Xena asked.

"A god? No!"

"What a pity. I was hoping for some challenge."

"Hey! I heard that," Joukahainen yelled.

"At least you aren't deaf. Now step aside, boy. In other circumstances I wouldn't let you out this easily, but I've some more important business to attend. So, I'll give you this one last chance to back off with grace."

He drew his sword. "You will pay for that, woman!"

He attacked but Xena was ready, and the swords clashed together. He was an excellent fighter, not so strong rather than quick and dexterious. Nonetheless he was completely outclassed by Xena, who played with him for a while before she slashed his sword away, and easily tripped him into the swamp.

Xena sheathed her sword calmly as he watched her opponent struggling in the swamp, and Väinämöinen watched her in awe. "Where did you learn to fight like that?" he wondered. Xena ignored him, and they continued their way ahead.

"Wait!" Joukahainen yelped after them.

Xena didn't stop, didn't turn around.

"I, er, I seem to be a little stuck." Xena quickly glanced back at him to see that he was waist down in the swamp, and each of his moves only took him a little deeper.

"Good," Xena replied, and turned again to leave.

"No, wait! Please." His voice was getting desperate, and finally, Xena stopped. "Please, don't leave me. I'll give you anything!"

"Not interested."

"You son of a...!" he yelled furiously, and raised his fist, but the move was too quick, and he sank another three inches. He swallowed the last word of his insult, and changes the tone. "You get my horse. It's a fine steed. Quick. Strong."

"I already have a horse. Why would I need another one?"

"I'll give you my boat then. It's brand new, made it myself."

"A boat? I'm planning to leave this land as soon as possible, and it's not going to happen on a boat. My friend wouldn't like it."

"Then name your price. I'll give you anything!" His head was barely above water level by now.

"Anything?"

"Yes!"

Xena leaned as close to him as she could without falling into the swamp herself. "How good are you taking orders?"

"Taking orders? Not very good, I'm afraid. Orders from whom?"

"From a wench. Me."

"You? I could do it. Probably. Certainly!"

"Good. See, I'm gathering an army to go up against Pohjola. Care to join?"

"Is it dangerous?"

Xena grinned. "Extremely."

He grinned back. "Count me in."

----

In the dusk the following day, three steeds finally returned to the home of Ilmarinen. The forge was heated, the smith still working in his workshop. Xena went inside to see Gabrielle, and found her in the same state of mind as when they had left. A minute later, the others entered. Väinämöinen had his instrument made of jawbone of the giant pike ready.

"Do you know what to do?" Xena asked.

"I think so," the shaman answered. "But it's not like I've ever done it before, so keep your fingers crossed." He sat in a chair in front of Gabrielle, and took the first notes from the Kantele. Xena held Gabrielle's hand as the most beautiful music filled the room. Then the sound traveled easily through walls, and a long way into the thick forest, from where all kinds of animals arrived and formed a curious ring around the smith's house. There were rabbits and foxes, owls and mice, the hunters and the hunted, all peacefully side by side.

Inside the house, other marvels were happening. A disturbed expression slowly made its way to Gabrielle's face, and then she looked like vision and sanity had suddenly entered her eyes. Her gaze quickly scanned the whole room before fixing on Xena with a definite sense of recognition. At the same time, Väinämöinen stopped his music, and it was like a magical veil was lifted from upon all the listeners.

"Gabrielle?" Xena said, holding back her emotions as if fearing they'd be premature.

"Xena!" Gabrielle yelled, and rushed forward to hug Xena, who eagerly returned the embrace. "Efcharististe tous theous! Pou isaste?"

"Excuse me?" Xena said, backing off and looking at her friend with confusion. She hadn't understood a word, but the babble sounded familiar.

"Ti?"

"What?"

"Xena, Gabrielle can't understand you because you now speak my language, and not your own," said Väinämöinen, cutting in. "Here. Give her this to drink." The shaman handed over Xena a mug of hot liquid that had a familiar smell to her.

"Here, Gabrielle. I know you can't understand what I say, but you will. After you drink this." Xena put the mug on Gabrielle's lips, and beckoned her to drink, nodding assuringly, as she did. Then she was already prepared to catch Gabrielle as her feet gave away with the overwhelming dizziness.

"Mother of Zeus!" the bard yelped, now with the language they all could understand. "Xena, are you trying to poison me?"

"No, Gabrielle. I'm making you to understand me. You can now speak the language of Kalevala," Xena explained, her smile extended up to her ears.

"Cool! We must get some of that stuff to go," Gabrielle said with excitement, until her expression turned doubtful. "But Xena. If you couldn't understand me a minute ago, was that because you had forgotten Greek? Have I forgotten Greek?"

Now Xena's face changed, too, as the realization hit her, and both women darted their most freezing glares at the shaman, who suddenly got an urgent need to be anywhere else.

"Uh, well, I suppose I could make another potion to negate the effect of the first one," he said. Xena nodded, letting her gaze tell the man that he'd better do exactly as promised, but she agreed to let it wait until they would be leaving.

"Well, Xena. Aren't you gonna introduce us. Who are these men?"

"The one with the long beard is Väinämöinen, a shaman. He was the one who figured out how to bring you back."

"Thank you, Väinämöinen," said Gabrielle, smiling at the old man.

"Behind him is Joukahainen. He claims to be the best swordsman around."

"The second best now," he said with a crooked smile. "Your friend here took me out with her left hand and blindfolded."

"Third best, but he doesn't know it yet," Xena whispered to Gabrielle.

"What!" Joukahainen yelped, overhearing her. "I demand you to tell me immediately, who says he can beat me, so that I can prove him wrong."

Xena grinned at her friend, ignored him, and continued introductions. "And the last one is Ilmarinen. He's the smith who could be blamed for recent happenings."

Ilmarinen cast his eyes down with shame. "I'm really sorry for all that happened. I never meant it go like that."

Gabrielle glared him sharply. "What exactly happened to me, Xena?"

----

A new morning brightened up again. Joukahainen whistled as he was taking a leak behind Ilmarinen's workshop. He got his business done, and rounded the corner back to front side, running into Gabrielle who had been performing the same act in the bushes a little deeper in the forest. He acknowledged with a pleasant surprise her rather skimpy new outfit which had been in her bag that Xena had trustily carried the long way, so that he almost forgot to greet her. They nodded at each other, and the man asked, "Was it true what Xena said?"

"What do you mean?"

"That she tracked a giant bird for a thousand miles?"

"I have no reason to doubt her."

"That's pretty incredible. I mean, any other person would have given up the hope, and turned back."

"Not Xena."

"How did she do it? I'd almost believe that she had tracked a moose for a hundred miles, but tracking a bird that leaves no track? That just amazing!"

Gabrielle smiled, but his tone irritated her. "Xena has many skills."

They entered the house where the others were already waiting. "Good. Now that everyone's here, we can begin," Xena said, as they took their places around a table on which lay maps in different scales and a blueprint of an odd device. "All right, the situation is this. Pohjola hasn't really threatened us in any way, so we can't take an army and attack. Given that we had an army. It wouldn't be moral. But we can do two things. We can build an army of our own for our defense, and we can go to Pohjola and spy a little, maybe make some confusion."

Väinämöinen hit his fist into the table. "I want that Sampo."

"I say we should just concentrate on spying at the time being. Taking Sampo would be difficult, even with an army."

"Not necessarily. I may have a way to walk in and out without anyone noticing us before it's too late."

"And how's that?"

"I'm still working on it, but let's assume I have the way."

"It would take four men to move the thing," Ilmarinen said, stroking his chin thoughtfully.

"There's three of us, and Xena easily passes as a man when it comes to strength," Joukahainen continued.

"I think we have a team!" said the shaman.

Xena looked at the men, one by one, and saw their anticipation. Her face was serious. "So, this is going to be a raid instead of a simple scouting expedition."

"Sampo was where this all began. If you want your revenge on Louhi, getting Sampo away from her would be a good way to start."

"This is not what our deal was about. I'll not go looting."

"Actually, Xena," Gabrielle said, "that would be the perfect way to even the scales."

Xena looked at her with disbelief. "You want to do it, too?"

"You want to build an army and prepare for war. Innocent would suffer, people die on both sides. But without Sampo there wouldn't be a war."

Xena sighed. "You actually think we could pull this off?"

"If you're with us, yes."

"You and your faith," Xena said with a smile as she brushed a lock of hair aside from covering Gabrielle's face. "All right. Let's do it."

"Good," said Gabrielle, "When do we leave?"

"Now wait a minute," Joukahainen yelped. "You? Why do you want to come with us?"

"Where Xena goes, I go."

"Yes, I understand that you usually do, but this is a dangerous trip. We are going into battle, and we can't look after you."

Gabrielle gave him a freezing glare. "You don't have to worry about me. I know more about battles than you think. Much more than I ever wanted."

"But..."

"She comes with us," Xena stated, ending the discussion.

"Okay, fine. You don't give us a choice, I see. So, she comes."

"Now, when that one's decided, there's only one thing left. How do we get there? We also need something to carry that heavy thing all the way down here. A horse and a carriage?"

Väinämöinen pulled out a map. "The heart of Pohjola lies by that lake. We could take my boat, but it's too small for all of us, and too slow to outrun the faster skiffs of Pohjola."

"Joukahainen, you bragged earlier about having a fast boat?" Xena said.

"Yes. And it's not just bragging. My ship is the fastest."

"I'd just remind you of what happened when you claimed you were the best fighter," Xena said, and paused. "Well, is it available?"

"Yes, and it's moored closer to our destination than his boat," Joukahainen said, nodding at the shaman. He rubbed his hands together with excitement. "Well, gentlemen, ladies. I think we have a plan."

"Good, good," Väinämöinen uttered. "Let's prepare our gear so that we're ready to head out tomorrow."

The men scattered around, and the women were left by themselves. They were a bit stunned for the quick completion, as there were so many details yet open. The men were gone, however, and Xena shrugged, deciding that the rest would become clear later, anyway. After all, it was the details that always changed on the way.

Gabrielle pulled Xena closer, and spoke silently. "Xena, what about Louhi? She kidnaped me, and stole my mind."

Xena's face turned to steel with determination. "What's between Louhi and me is personal."

----

Gabrielle sat in the bow of the boat, idly watching how Ilmarinen and Joukahainen were sparring with each other on the middle of the deck. The weather was beautiful, and the view of the lake was spectacular, but the thought of their mission kept her from admiring it. Joukahainen quickly tired out the smith, who fell down at her feet, and called the session finished. He stood up, and after short resistance, let Gabrielle examine the little scratch wound that he had gained. "Is it still far?" she asked, after declaring the wound utterly harmless.

"A few hours with this wind, I suppose," the smith said. "I'm not really a sailor." He had been keeping an eye on Gabrielle for some time now. She had noticed it, but hadn't let it show. Now his curiousness grew too strong. "What's wrong with your wrist? Why are you tapping it all the time?"

"What? Oh, it's a way Xena taught me to keep nausea away. I'm not too much a sailor, either." She smiled sheepishly.

"I see." He gathered his courage, and sat next to her. "Gabrielle, I tell you one more time that I never meant to hurt anyone. A terrible crime was done against you, and I understand if you blame me of it. But I still hope that you might forgive me."

Gabrielle turned at him with compassion. "There's nothing to forgive. It wasn't really your fault since you were tricked."

"Yes, but I started it."

"You loved your wife so much that you couldn't let her go. It's understandable. Things just went wrong, as they sometimes do. And don't worry, I've been in worse places."

Her smile was disarming, and he had no choice but to believe her. "Thank you."

"Good. Do I really look that much alike your wife?"

"Yes, so much that it's amazing. And it goes deeper than looks. You share the same tenderness, same compassion, same... You could be her." He looked away, gathering his courage. "I know that this may be too much to ask so soon, but... Do you think we could ever... I mean, you and me...? You know?"

The bard had been expecting something like that, but when it came, she didn't know how to explain it to him. "Ilmarinen, I'm not who you think I am. I'll never be. Besides, there's another side of me that you don't know of, and a good chance that you won't like me so much after you've come to know it."

"Yes, I understand that there must be some differences. But I don't mind."

"That's not all. I already have someone else. I'm sorry." She glanced at Xena in the rear with Väinämöinen, and saw she had been looking at her. The warrior gave her an unnoticeable sign to come over there. "Excuse me. I'm needed elsewhere." She stood up, but lingered awhile, thinking of her final words. "You're a wonderful man, Ilmarinen. I can't be your wife, but I'd be honoured to be your friend."

----

"Come on, Xena!" Joukahainen said, swinging his sword which had just given a lesson to Ilmarinen. "Spar with me."

"Not now, if you don't mind."

"We all need to practice. You could teach me some new tricks. Who knows, maybe I can even teach you one."

"I've got things in my mind. Things that we should've discussed earlier, but you were all in such a hurry. Can't you go and tease someone else?"

"Like who? The smith's already beaten up. The old man is too old. The girl? Ha! She could hardly lift a sword."

Xena's eyebrow arched lightly as she turned fully at the man. Her gaze reflected amused danger. "The girl might surprise you."

"Oh, I don't think so. She's a pretty little thing, but that's all she is."

Xena felt her temper arising, but she held it back, realizing that it had been his intention all along. He wanted to start a fight with her, and angering her was not the worst way to do it. She forced herself to look away at Gabrielle in the bow. The blonde was talking with Ilmarinen. But what was this? Ilmarinen had a special expression on his face. That same expression Xena had seen last time on Beowulf. "Again? What is it with her that draws men?" she asked herself, a little jealous, not that the answer hadn't been obvious. It looked like Gabrielle had trouble getting her message understood, and since Xena had a similar problem, she let the bard know that she wanted her.

Gabrielle had a question mark written over her face as she walked over to Xena. "Gabrielle, Joukahainen here wanted to give you some fighting lessons."

"Fighting lessons? You must be kidding?" Gabrielle looked more than doubtful.

"Okay, fine," the man said, as unhappy with the turn of events as the bard. "Here. Take this wooden sword. You can't hurt yourself with it too badly."

"Wooden sword?" Gabrielle's eyes shot lightning bolts at Xena, who suddenly found the situation most entertaining.

"Hold it like this," Joukahainen taught. Gabrielle gave up, and decided to go with the flow. She held the sword like he wanted. Then she mimicked his every move as the lesson began.

Then suddenly, he hit the sword out of her hands, and pointed his weapon at her chest. "Bam! You're dead. Lesson one: be ready for anything." Gabrielle's expression was mixed with disbelief and anger when she spread her arms and glared at Xena again, while the man collected her lost weapon. "Okay, let's try again," he instructed. Gabrielle mimicked his position. "Now slowly. Slash left. Slash right. Very good, Gabrielle. One would think that you've actually used a sword before. Now turn around with the sword above your head. Yes, just like that."

The short moment when she was facing away from him, he took the advantage to attack, grabbing her, and pinning her arms against her sides with his stronger arms. "Lesson two: never turn your back against your opponent."

Gabrielle struggled to get free from his hold, but his grip held. "Is there a point in this lesson?"

"It's the basics that every fighter must know from the backbone. Now, try to get free."

Gabrielle gave another yank, but didn't get out. "You're really asking for this, don't you?" Her gaze was fixed on Xena who had a hard time to contain herself, and it was unsure for which one her words were meant for.

"Okay, once more, and then I'll show it to you the other way around."

Gabrielle shook her head, and her face told that it wasn't like she hadn't tried. Then her foot stomped on his toes, and he let out a surprised yelp of pain. At the same time she smashed her head behind into his nose, which made his grip loosen so that she easily broke it. She quickly whirled around, and made a legsweep that brought him down. Almost before his back touched the deck, her foot pinned his swordhand, and the blunt head of her wooden weapon put uncomfortable pressure on his throat. "Lesson number three," she said, "Never underestimate your enemy."

"Oh, lookey! The pupil has become the master," Xena taunted. It was clear that she had been expecting an ending like this. Ilmarinen and Väinämöinen cheered and clapped their hands.

"How did you do that?" Joukahainen asked in his awkward position.

"Did you really think that all those years that I've spent traveling with Xena had taught me nothing?" Gabrielle countered. Then she pulled off her sword, and threw it overboard. "The lesson ends here."

----

The boat sailed to the visible range of Pohjola harbour. The harbour, hardly large enough to be called as such, lay in a gap between two precipitous mountains. From the harbour, a road wound up a grassy slope, then went inside from a gate in a wall made of pointy logs. The wall encircled an open hill, on the very top of which stood the main buildings of Pohjola. On the other side of the wall there was another gate which lead to the inner land.

They came in openly in a single boat, and the local people didn't have a reason to expect an attack. They steered their boat to the docks, where they were welcomed by a small group of lightly armed warriors, who helped them with hawsers. Up on the road, more people watched the newcomers warily.

That was when Väinämöinen picked up his instrument. "Cover your ears, my friends," he said, and began to play. And how did he play! The music washed over the docks, and the warriors fell down without knowing what hit them. Next in turn were the people in the road and on the slope, hardly time to realize that the warriors were down, until they were dropped as well. Such was the power of Kantele, that it covered the hill of Pohjola, so that soon there was nobody to stand against them.

As the shaman stopped playing, Xena was the first to step from the boat onto the dock, and with her help, Gabrielle was the second. Just a little shocked of the turn of events, the bard walked to one of the local warriors lying on the platform, and kicked him lightly. The man didn't respond. "Are they dead?"

"Don't worry, I'm not a monster. They're just sleeping," Väinämöinen answered, as he was pulled to the docks by the younger men.

"For how long?" Xena asked.

"And hour, maybe two. Maybe even four. I haven't exactly done this before."

Xena gave the old man her famous look. "And now you tell me! Okay, let's assume it'll wear off in an hour. We don't have any time to lose. Let's go. Ilmarinen, you know the way."

The smith strode up the hill, followed by the others. He didn't go towards the fortified gate, but left from it, to one of the mountains. At the root of the mountain, four soldiers had been guarding a wide, heavily locked door. They were now sleeping, of course. A strong chain, an iron bolt, and two large locks were now their only opponents.

"Can you open them?" Joukahainen asked.

"I thought so. They are my locks, I made them. But someone seems to have enchanted them."

Väinämöinen pushed him aside, and placed his hand upon one lock. "You're right, there's a spell in them. A strong one. I can't undo it without my Kantele."

"I'll get it," Joukahainen announced, and took the first running steps towards their boat.

"No! Wait," the shaman yelped. "I can't play Kantele, or I risk waking everybody up."

"So, you just sing them asleep again."

"It won't work like that."

Behind the men, Gabrielle cleared her throat, getting their attention. "I know a way."

"You?"

"Yes, me. I have exactly the tool for the job." She grinned, and looked at Xena who grinned back. "What do you think, Xena? The chain or the hinges?"

"I think the chain. Boys, step aside." Xena grabbed her chakram, and hardly waiting for the men to get out of the way, she released her weapon. Only one hit, and the chain was cut in half. The enchanted locks dropped down to the ground, undamaged and useless.

"Woo hoo!" Joukahainen yelled. "Now we're in business." Everyone rushed forward to take off the bolts and remains of the chain. Everyone but Xena, who stood still, as if listening, suddenly deeply in her thoughts.

Naturally, it was Gabrielle who first noticed this. "Xena? What is it?"

"I don't know. Something isn't right. I don't like this."

"Maybe you should go and check it out."

"No!" Joukahainen yelped. "We need four strong men to carry the Sampo out. We need you, Xena."

"Gabrielle stays here with you."

The men looked at each other. "But Xena, are you sure that she can manage it? It's very heavy, and she's only a small woman."

Xena glanced at her friend, measured her a moment, and then said dryly, "Didn't you guys learn anything on the way here in the boat? Listen to me, you fools. If you can't get the Sampo out, it won't be because of Gabrielle. She'll do her part, make sure you'll do yours. Now go. If I'm not back in twenty minutes, leave without me."

Xena strode away, and grumpily, the men pulled the doors fully open, and entered the mountain, shaking their heads with doubt. Gabrielle followed them, all but certain of her capability to pull off her share. She so wished to show them that she could do it, and Xena's confidence on her gave her faith, but Ilmarinen had said that the device was heavy. This task required nothing but raw strength, and that was a built-in function in men only.

The first hall was hardly more than a dark tunnel. There were torches on the walls on both sides, and they lit them one by one as they walked on. On the other side there was another door. They pulled it open, and stepped into complete darkness.

What happened next got them gasping by surprise. Torches and lamps on the walls ignited themselves, and illuminated a great hall brightly. Mirrors multiplied the wonders so that they seemed to be ten times more.

"Gold," Joukahainen whispered wandering between trunks filled with gold nuggets. "And silver coated armors," One wallside was dedicated to decorative yet destructive weapons.

"A perpetual machine," Väinämöinen uttered in awe, looking at a device with many spinning wheels. "I was convinced it could be built. And here it is."

"Is this real silk?" Gabrielle said, feeling a magnificent, blue tunic in her hands.

Only Ilmarinen said nothing, and at last his silence gained the other's attention. They gathered behind him, looking at what he was looking at. "Wow," Gabrielle sighed.

"Yeah, wow," said the smith sadly.

"It's... it's..." Joukahainen was having problems with words. He looked at the statue in front of them, and shifted to Gabrielle. "It's you!"

"No, she's not Gabrielle," Ilmarinen said.

"What do you mean? The stature, the form, the hair... it just like her! Only made of metal."

"Joukahainen, shut up," Gabrielle said. She saw Ilmarinen's pain, which seeing the statue of his wife had brought back. "I think I now understand," she said softly to the smith, laying her hand on his shoulder.

"Do you want to take it with us?" Väinämöinen asked, "Because if you do, it's going to be tight."

Ilmarinen brushed the cheek of the iron lady with her hand. "No, I don't want her... it... with me. I don't need her any more.

"Good. Then turn away, and let's get to work."

In the middle of the room, on a low pedestal lay the Sampo device. It looked like a yellow casket or coffin, with a handle in each corner. The sides and the lid were decorated with silver and gold coloured paintings. The lid was open but it didn't seem like it was doing anything at the moment. Before Gabrielle could see inside, Ilmarinen shut the lid which locked up automatically. They would have plenty of time to inspect it later, now they only had to get it out.

They took their stands on each corner of Sampo. Gabrielle had the front with the old shaman, the other two men took the rear. They clenched their hands around the handles, and with a sign given by Väinämöinen, they lifted. The thing was incredibly heavy. At first it looked like it wouldn't move at all, but then they got it up on straight legs, and started their slow journey towards the boat.

----

Xena walked inside the front yard through the open gate. She made her way around men, women, and children, all asleep around the yard, careful not to go too close to any of them and risk waking them up. In the middle of the yard she paused, and looked around. Her instincts told her to walk into the main building, and she did so.

The building was made of sturdy logs of pine, piled upon one another, and the roof was of hay. The front door opened without a squeak, and she entered a gloomy hall. As her eyes became accustomed to lesser light, she saw that the walls were decorated with animal skins. In the center of the hall was a long table with twenty seats at least, with one seat on the other end fancier than the others. Almost half of the seats were occupied by men and women asleep, now partly lying on the table. Someone also sat in the fancy chair in the end, and that person looked vaguely familiar.

Xena slowly walked closer to the person, with an intrigued expression on her face - an expression that gradually changed into astonishment. The person in the chair was a tall woman, dressed in long, black leather skirt. She looked a little familiar at first, and the closer Xena got, the more familiar she started to look. At last she unwittingly spoke the name of the woman. "Alti."

That moment, the woman jerked awake, her eyes immediately fixed on Xena. "Xena!" Alti hissed. "Long time no see." Xena drew her sword, but Alti didn't move. "You look good, considering you're sixty years old. What's your secret?"

"Beauty sleep. Used to do it a lot. You don't look that bad, either, considering you're dead."

"Nothing a rebirth once in every fifty years couldn't undo. Well, well, Xena. I must say I'm a little surprised. I was waiting for you earlier. So maybe you are getting old."

"Speak for yourself, Alti. I put all your people asleep, you included."

"Touche! That's something I didn't see in advance. Allying with the shaman was a smart thing to do. Not that it would do you any good."

"I don't need an old shaman to do my job."

"No, you don't. You can beg well enough yourself."

"What?"

"Beg. That's why you're here, aren't you. To beg for your little bitch's mind. So amuse me, and beg like a dog you are."

"I'll never beg anything for you, Alti. I know what you are. No begging would change your mind. Besides, Gabrielle's fine."

"Oh, is she?" It took a moment for Alti to realize Xena wasn't lying. "She is? Well, maybe you aren't that old after all. How did you do it? Väinämöinen doesn't have the power to undo my spells."

"He has now."

"How disappointing. Well, looks like we must do it the old fashioned way, then. First I kill you, and I'm sure that annoying blonde is around here as well, so I get to kill her as well. I bet she's trying to steal my Sampo at the very moment. And she's not alone. Without you their attempt is doomed to fail. I'll hunt them down, and promise to let then die slowly."

"You have to get through me first."

"That's not even a challenge. Every time I die and am born again, my powers grow. You don't have a chance."

They clashed together, sword against sword. In spite of Alti's pompous words, Xena dominated the fight. She forced Alti into a corner, where she kicked her sword away. "This is for Gabrielle," she yelled as she ran her sword through Alti's chest. The witch smiled wryly at her before her eyes rolled over, and she fell down to the floor.

Xena watched her opponent, as if making sure that she stayed dead, when one of the men at the table raised his head. "What's going on?" he asked drowsily, before Xena's backhand to his neck put him back asleep. She checked the other sleepers as well, and returned to Alti.

But the corner was empty. "This can't be good." The dead witch had disappeared.

Xena watched nervously around, but there was no place where Alti could have gone. At the same time, the sleepers were beginning to moan and yawn, one after another. Sword ready at hand, and keenly watching her back, she ran out of the hall.

----

Ilmarinen had his place behind Gabrielle, and he was mesmerized. He huffed and puffed, his face was deep red with the strain, he breathed heavily, as did all of them, but he couldn't get his eyes off of Gabrielle's back. The small and petite woman had surprised him by developing bulging muscles in her mostly bare back and arms and legs, right after she had gripped her handle. How such a petite, pretty thing could have such strength escaped his mind.

Gabrielle felt that her arms would fall off any moment. The weight was crushing, but she wasn't ready to give up quite yet. They were only approaching the door out of the mountain, and she knew she wouldn't last much longer, admitting that she wasn't as strong as the men. Just a few more steps, and she had to call a break, otherwise she would have soon dropped her bearing.

"It's a heavy thing," said Joukahainen, as if forgiving her her weakness, but he couldn't quite hide the fact that he had exhausted himself, too.

"Yes," she answered, "I wonder if we're going get it to the boat at all."

"We won't know unless we try," said Väinämöinen, leaning his elbows on the lid of the Sampo. "Come on, let's try again."

The second lift was easier than the first one, perhaps because they now knew their opponent better. But if the lift was easier, then the exhaustion came faster. They were barely out of the door, when Ilmarinen felt that he couldn't go much longer, and wondered, completely overwhelmed, how this time the young woman had the strength to keep up with him. She didn't look quite so little any more. He was just enough in his senses to notice that Joukahainen on his left was shaking heavily with the strain, and right then, Gabrielle called another break. They could now see the boat by the docks, but it seemed to be hopelessly far.

The second rest was longer than the first one, and the third attempt was a lot shorter than the second one. This time Ilmarinen became sure that although lesser in strength, Gabrielle's stamina overran that of the rest of them, even though she was the one who called the break again. Could it be that she had the wits to observe how the rest of them were doing, and then do the right thing at the right time, even with her back at them?

"We're moving too slowly," Joukahainen said between his gasps. "We'll never make it."

"This time, my friend," said the shaman, "I almost have to agree with you."

"I agree with only one thing," said Gabrielle, "and it's that we can't carry it like this any longer. We need wheels."

"Look at this ground, Gabrielle," Ilmarinen said, "It's too many rocks, and it's too uneven. No carriage could pass through here."

"That's true," said the bard, frowning, but then her face lit up. "Wait here, I've got an idea." She ran off and back in to the hill.

A minute later she returned with coil of rope. "There are two reasons why we can't carry this thing," she explained. "First one is that every one of us is the different height, and so the weight doesn't fall evenly on each of us. The second problem is that the whole weight lies on our hands and arms, which tire out easily."

The men listened to her logic with increasing attention. Next, she cut the rope in four parts, gave one part for each, and told them to tie it into their own handle. Finally, as they were already getting a hang of her plan, they held the free end of the rope over their shoulders, and lifted once more. This time it felt easy, much easier than before, as the weight was now comfortably on their backs.

----

Xena sprinted to the docks just when they had done loading Sampo into the ship. The device lay on the center of the deck, and the bearers lay on and beside it, gasping air with exhaustion.

"Good timing, Xena," Ilmarinen yelled, as the warrior jumped over the railing. "We just finished with Sampo. And you were right! We couldn't have done it without Gabrielle. She was wonderful." Xena tried to ignore the look of a man-in-love in his eyes, and instead darted him a told-you-so-look back.

"Now let's go back and get some loot as long as we're here," yelled Joukahainen, intoxicated by their success.

"There's no time," said Xena dryly. They saw now that her face was pale and grim. "We have a problem."

"They're waking up?"

"Yes. But that's not what worries me. I killed their leader."

"You killed Louhi? Murdered her when he was sleeping? That's cold."

"No. She was awake. We fought. I won."

"Then what's the problem?"

"It was Alti." By her side, Gabrielle gasped.

"Who's Alti. Never mind, she's dead. Is she?"

"Not dead enough," Xena answered nervously. The men scratched their heads with confusion.

"Alti is a demon from both of our pasts," Gabrielle explained. "To her, death is only a minor setback." She paused in a wordless consulting with Xena. Then she spoke aloud what the warrior had been thinking. "We've never been able to defeat her in her own territory. We need to take this battle somewhere else."

There was a short while when everyone just looked at each other. Then, triggered by an unspoken decision, they all sprang into action of preparing the ship for a hasty departure. "Let's sail out as fast as this piece of junk can take us."

Two hours later, Xena stood in the rear of the ship and peered behind, looking concerned. Väinämöinen was in the front, and the two other men were frantically rigging the sails, trying to get them into an optimal position, and Gabrielle was helping them. The wind blew from behind, steadily bringing them further away from Pohjola, further away from danger. Joukahainen had been right, as the boat was fast, which pleased Xena, but she was still uneasy.

"Still no sign of anyone chasing us?" Väinämöinen yelled from the bow. Xena shook her head, and he continued, "I think we made it. We were lucky with the spell."

"Maybe we were," Xena yelled back, but she was far from convinced. Her uneasiness was welling up, and her hand grasped the hilt of her sword. Slowly, she drew it out, all of her senses preparing for an attack. And when it began, it turned out that she had been looking at the wrong direction.

"Xena, look out!" came Gabrielle's yell. Xena whirled around a fraction of a second too late, as an enormous vulture crashed from the air straight upon her, and smashed her against the railing. It let out a terrible shriek that almost sounded like her name, then they tumbled down to the bottom of the ship.

The bird was furious, and came out on top. "Xena!" This time she definitely heard it scream her name. It pinned her down to her back, and its claws dug both into her flesh and into the planks of the boat.

"Alti! I should have guessed. Your vulture form is almost as ugly as you."

"Raah. You never guessed that I could turn into an animal. This is your end, Xena."

Everything had happened so fast that even though Gabrielle had reacted with the first sight of the giant bird, she had been unable to do anything until now. Sais ready she jumped towards Alti who spread her wings, and threw her back and against the old shaman, almost knocking them both off the boat. Their weapons flew over the deck.

"Let her go!" Ilmarinen shouted, as he drew his sword, and attacked together with Joukahainen.

"Puny men," Alti mocked, "I'm so much stronger than any of you." She swung her wings at the men, and they flew into a pile. "Now, Xena, there's none to stop me from taking your head."

"Don't be so sure," Xena said, and grinned. Alti was holding her arms, which left her feet free. She curled them back, and put her everything into their simultaneous kick at the vulture's belly.

It hardly gave Alti a jerk. The monster bird let out a maniacal laughter. "See? You're under my mercy, Xena. And I've none of my mercy left." She straightened up, pulled her head back, and prepared for a lunge. Then the beak came down, but Xena was able to turn her head enough so that it missed, and hit the deck instead with a terrible force. "Stay put," Alti yelled, and changed her grip so that she held Xena from her throat and the warrior was being suffocated.

Xena couldn't breath, but now her left hand was free. She used it to try to ease the pressure on her throat, but Alti was far too strong. She was beginning to lose her sight with the lack of air, and at the same time, Alti laughed, and prepared for the finishing strike. Xena closed her eyes as the beak started its way down towards her face.

But instead of a crash at Xena's skull, there was another kind of crash, followed by the loudest cacophony of sounds. Instantly, Alti's weight left from upon her, and when she opened her eyes, she saw the reason. Gabrielle had smashed Kantele into Alti's head, and it was now hanging in the stunned bird's neck. Everyone was holding their ears, but Alti had taken the worst, and she was now wriggling and screaming on her back, and trying to shake the remains of Kantele from her neck. But she only succeeded in making her situation worse. Ilmarinen and Joukahainen began making her life more miserable, striking her with the long oars of the ship.

Alti scrambled to her feet, and still being pummeled by the two men, she took off, and flew away. "Don't think the is over," she yelled as she circled back.

"Look out!" Xena warned, and took Gabrielle flat down with her as Alti dived towards them, barely passing above their heads.

But Alti was having another target now. Her claws grasped Sampo, and lifted it up, flapping her wings furiously. "I'll see you later Xena. You get to keep your life, and I get to keep Sampo. This round ends up as a tie."

"Do something! She's getting away!" Väinämöinen cried, all too late. The vulture was out of their reach, and slowly gaining altitude. Xena grabbed her chakram, and he realized what she would do. "No, wait! If you drop her, Sampo will be lost into the lake."

"I won't make the trip to Pohjola again. This ends here," Xena said, and let her weapon go. The chakram flew straight, and went right through Sampo which exploded into millions and millions of tiny flakes. Both Alti and Väinämöinen screamed with despair, but what was done couldn't be undone. The pieces of Sampo slowly floated down like a golden rain of snow, which the wind spread all over the lake.

But the chakram split up, and the halves curved back in the distance, one by left, one by right, almost stopping in the far point of their curve. Then they sped up again, nearing the point where they had separated, thus drawing a heart-like shape in the air. They barely passed each other, crossing right in front of Alti, and as they hit her, each of them cut off one of her wings.

Alti creamed in horror, the shock and pain were yet to come. He began to fall, and with a big splash she went down under water. The chakram merged together, and returned to Xena.

For the next few minutes, everything was still, with the exception of soft weeping from Väinämöinen. The old shaman had knelt down, having lost both things that he had held precious. The rest were waiting for Alti to emerge again; Xena with her chakram, Gabrielle with sais, and the men with oars. Even the wind had ceased, expectantly. But the lake remained calm.

"Is it over?" Gabrielle asked at last, daring to break the silence.

"She was badly hurt," Xena answered. "She may have drowned, but we can't be sure." She signaled the men, and they put the oars into water, starting to row towards the shore.

----

A week later, there had still been no sign of Alti, and our heroes were beginning to think that she hadn't made it. They were at Ilmarinen's home, celebrating their victory. It was midnight, but Xena and Gabrielle were having a bath in the smith's sauna, while the men were waiting for their turn in the house, and getting intoxicated by Joukahainen's moonshine.

"This is nice," Gabrielle said. She and Xena were sitting up on a platform near the roof, which was the hottest place. She rested her back against a wall, her eyes were closed, and she was completely relaxed.

"Warm enough for you, is it?"

"Oh yes. I'm sweating like a pig. Look at this! And this!" She was examining sweat droplets that traced down her arms and legs and tummy. "It seems like all the dirt that has gone inside my skin through the years is now getting out."

"That's good." Xena's voice was drowsy, and seemed like she was hardly listening. It made Gabrielle relax again, and for some time, they were completely still.

"So, can we leave tomorrow?" Gabrielle asked at last, almost asleep. "Ilmarinen is nice, and his sauna is an Elysian Fields on earth, but other than that, I'd rather be home."

"So would I," Xena answered. "So, it's decided. We'll leave tomorrow morning." She threw more water on hot rocks from a bucket, raising a formidable column of steam, which after meeting the ceiling, continued towards them, and made them both bend down.

"I've had enough," Gabrielle announced, and bolted out to cool summer night.

"I'll stay for a while longer," Xena yelled after her. She was curious of what would happen if she threw the whole bucket of water on the rocks. Would it be able to put out the fire under the rocks, or were the rocks hot enough to vaporize it all. And furthermore, would she be able to stand it?

"Xena! Xena, come out! Quickly!" Gabrielle yelled from outside, her voice filled with fear. Xena was out in a flash, and moments after, the men came out from the house as well.

The reason for Gabrielle's panic was obvious, as the night sky was on fire. Green flames traveled slowly across the whole length of their view. "Is it Alti? Can she be that powerful?"

Xena relaxed, and laughed shortly as she brought her arm on Gabrielle's shoulder. "It's not Alti. It's just aurora."

"Who's Aurora?" Gabrielle asked.

"Not who," Xena answered, "but what. It's the northern lights - a link between Midgard and Asgard. I saw lots of those as Odin's Valkyrie."

Väinämöinen came to them, and smiled happily. "Ah, yes. Firefox is pleased when the threat against Kalevala is over."

"Firefox?" Xena and Gabrielle asked in unison.

"Yes. Firefox is a magical being. When he runs in the forest, his tail hits the trees and the ground, making sparkles that are shown on the sky as fire."

"It's an every hunter's dream catch," Joukahainen continued.

"You hunt these creatures?" asked Gabrielle.

"Yes, we do," Joukahainen answered, "But the fox is smart. I don't know that anyone had ever caught one."

"Uh-huh," Xena said in her thoughts, and Gabrielle darted a sharp glare at her.

"Xena!" the bard yelled.

"Yes?"

"Don't even think about it!"

"Think about what?"

"I won't let you go and hunt the firefox."

"Oh, I wasn't going to."

"Really?" Gabrielle frowned. "What then?"

"Just that every nation seems to have their own explanation of what that fire is. I wonder if anyone's idea is even close to the real thing."

Gabrielle was quiet, and looked at the sky once again. "Well, I know one thing," she then uttered. "Whatever it is, it sure is beautiful."

The others agreed, and Ilmarinen said, "If you like it, then you should come back next winter. Fires that magnificent are rare on summertime, but on winter they're an everyday matter. You've only had a glimpse."

"Is that true?" Gabrielle responded. "Maybe we should come back to see them. What do you think, Xena?"

"Yes, why not," Xena answered, but she had a mischievous tone. "When the sun doesn't rise for two months and when your breath freezes under your nose, sure, there's nowhere else I'd rather be."

"On the second thought, we'll probably be busy next winter. There's always some village to save."

"Or a monster to slay."

"Yeah. We'll be very busy."

----

THE END.

DISCLAIMER:
Ilmarinen, Väinämöinen, and the other characters from the epic tale Kalevala are property of... ME! Well, sort of :-) (see links below)
Xena, Gabrielle and the other characters from the television series Xena: Warrior Princess are property of MCA/Universal and Renaissance Pictures. No copyright infringement was intended in the writing of this fan fiction. All other characters, the story idea and the story itself are the sole property of the author. This story cannot be sold or used for profit in any way. Copies of this story may be made for private use only and must include all disclaimers and copyright notices.
All works remain the copyright of the original author. These may not be republished without the author's consent.

If Kalevala interests you, you'll find more information in many languages from here: http://www.finlit.fi/kalevala/
An English summary is here: http://www.finlit.fi/kalevala/finfoeng8.htm
A complete English translation can be found here: http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/kveng/

February 27, 2004, Man of Void (mov@iki.fi)