What do you do when a certain bard gets creative? Well, afterwards you'll need a cigarette and smile. (Or hope the batteries are charged.) Charmer brings Gabrielle out nicely and keeps her true to form for her appetite, in more ways than one.

Seeming to parallel the usage of light and dark found within the composition of the painting, Bongo does the same with her narrative, so that what is omitted, like a shadow across the page, is as vital as what is illuminated. Storytelling that utilizes sparse, simple strokes, and opts to tell the story from a restricted point of view (very much like the elements of the painting that are so seductive to Jean), so that in the end the story's tone and style has a feeling of incompleteness to it.

If you just want a Thud of a story that will make everything stand on end, this is it. It's a good, fun read that will melt your monitor. In the end you will all wish you had a taste of the warrior.

The plot is simple enough. Xena and Gabrielle encounter an old acquaintance of Xena's, a king with designs on a prosperous nearby town. A town which Xena herself, in her warlord days, had tried unsuccessfully to sack, and where she's not likely to be welcomed as she tries to warn them of the impending danger. Aided by an unlikely bunch of cohorts, Xena and Gab formulate a very unusual plan - one that hinges upon an obscure linguistic detail - to save the city.

Along with Lollius's clear style and tongue-in-cheek attitude, what some readers will find especially appealing about this little story is how their mission depends upon Gab and Xena both using their time-honored bard and warrior skills in a nicely egalitarian fashion.