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Freedom Fighters of Trelandar

A Tale of Adventure in the Second Dark Age

Book Nine of the Warlady Series

By Jerome B. Bigge

Chapter Thirty Five       Drawing upon all my own hard won skills, I crept carefully through the woods, guided by the sounds of the woman's outcries, the rough laughter of the men as they tormented their victim now! With an arrow nocked on my bowstring and murder most vile in my heart, I swore now by all that was holy that this time these men would "pay" for their crimes, and I'd be judge, jury, and "execu- tioner"! Normally there is no death penalty for rape, castration being the usual practice carried out here, but just then nothing but their deaths would have "satisfied" the lust for blood I had!       Peeking out from behind a thick tree trunk, I saw three Im- perial troopers with a young woman, one no more I thought than in her early teens. Her clothing torn, ripped as she fought them... She was just a low caste girl from her attire, but she was a wom- an of Trelandar, and just then I recollected too that once I'd been a Warrioress of Trelandar, even if I'd never had the "mark". The men in their helmets and chain mail obviously here Imperials! Part of the "occupation force" that Darlanis had left in control.       "Bastards!" I screamed, getting their attention, the first to take my arrow looking up in surprise, his companions much to my surprise now throwing their hands up into the air in surrender as they stood there, the sobbing young teenage girl at their feet weeping, clutching at her torn clothing. "Die for your crime!" I screamed, shooting again, the man clutching at the arrow, falling to the dirt. His companion going to his knees, begging for mer- cy! The fury so hot in my body that it felt as if I was on fire!       I stepped out into their little clearing, the troopers' uni- corns standing there watching us, the girl and her pair of buck- ets leaving no doubts that she lived around here somewhere. That she was one of the thousands of people here who lived under the rule of Lady Lana, who controlled all of this part of Trelandar.       "Stand," I said to the kneeling trooper, standing there, an arrow on my string, the girl's dark eyes like liquid pools look- ing into mine. She was dark haired, like most Trelandarians, and in her terror looked even younger than what she probably was now. "Die like a man for your crimes," I spoke, the trooper blubbering in terror, shaking his head, aware I held his life in my hands...       "Who are you?" the girl breathed out, holding her clothes to herself. She would have been worth say about fifteen gold crowns in a good market to a "thoughtful" master who might buy her with hopes for what she'd become in a few more years now. The fact I had killed two Imperial troopers no doubt highly impressing her.       "I am a Trelandarian," I spoke, regarding them both here. I could kill the man as he knelt before me, but that would not sat- isfaction for what he and his kind had done to my fair country... I bent forward, watching them both, and yanked the arrows from the bodies of those who I had killed, one apparently not yet dead from the low outcry he made as I yanked the arrow from his body.       Then shifting my bow to my left hand, I drew my sword, that long slim blade forged by a civilization now but legend, and put him out of his misery, as I might a wounded animal I'd shot here. Keeping an eye on the two, "trustful" of none in a situation like this. The girl was simply terrified of me, but the Imperial I'd suspected was thinking of how he might take me by surprise here. Stepping back a step, I set my bow down on the dirt, my mother's sword firmly in my grasp, the sunlight peeking through the leaves above casting spots of light upon the ground before us. I could hear the call of a bird in the trees somewhere, the chuckle of the brook as it swirled around a rock, the buzz of insects as I now straightened up, my eyes never leaving those there before me.       "Draw," I hissed, motioning with the point of my sword here. The trooper suddenly grinning to himself, having obviously little idea of what skill with a blade that a woman might have here now. The man whipping out his own sword, and slashing out at me then. I parried his inept thrust, made a quick riposte, and then cut him with my point before he even knew what I was up to here now!       "Huh!" the trooper growled, rushing in at me, forcing me to sidestep his attack, my parry and thrust more than he could han- dle here, as once again my point pierced his skin, my attacks be- ing to that part of his body not covered by his chain mail here.       "You are going to die when I wish you to die," I said to him in tones that left no doubt that I knew fully well what I was do- ing here. "And you are going to wish that you never came to Tre- landar, or attempted to rape any of its women," I spoke, forcing him back with a series of attacks that he had no answer to here.       "You do not wear the black of the Warrioress," he noted.       "We are not required to wear black," I pointed out to him. I then drove him back until he stood before the bodies of his own companions, and there with a swift clash of steel I slashed his throat with the keen tip of my blade, sending his soul into the afterlife, no doubt to now face the justice he properly deserved!       "Who are you?" the girl asked, standing there looking at me.       "I am a Trelandarian," I answered, seeing her nod in reply.       "Perhaps Darlanis did not `win' after all," she said then.       "Wars are not always fought between armies," I pointed out.       "There was once one very brave who fought for us," she said.       "Perhaps I made a mistake in `retiring'," I said to her now.       "I have seen nothing of what happened here," she said to me.       "There have been `outlaws' reported in these parts," I said.       "I will tell them that if they ask me about it," she smiled.       "These damn Imperials and their taxes!" the shopkeeper mut- tered to me as I looked over his wares there in Thistle an hour later. The ride had been enough to settle my nerves, although I was well aware of the uproar that would occur once the bodies of the three troopers were found. No doubt Lady Lana would feel the need to send out forces to hunt down these "outlaws" guilty here of killing three innocent men only now doing their "duties" here. I did not believe that she would find anything, nor would my Carl hunt very hard either for such "will of the wisps" as these were. For these mysterious outlaws that gave the Empire so much grief.       "It costs a lot when you lose a war," I pointed out to him.       "Ay, `that' it does," he muttered, wiping his brow, the air hot here in his store as I looked for something I might wear now. The thought going through my mind of "what" certain people would have said had they known the sort of attire I sometimes wore when Carl and I were alone, and Jerry had put to bed earlier on here.       "More than it does when you win a war," I grinned at him.       "Lord Daris is coming to `visit'," Carl said to me as we ate dinner that night. I'd met him the year before when he came down from Sarn to see his wife, a heavy set man, much like a boar that walked on two legs. Truly an "Imperial" in his attitude, utterly "different" than Lana, who was Trelandarian by birth, and in many ways, attempted to rule us as kindly as she could here now. Jan Daris on the other hand saw us as "serfs" to do Imperial bidding.       "Oink, oink," I grinned, remembering how the man had looked at me like I was one of his slave girls. Carl frowning at me now as Jerry stared at the "sound" that I'd made here. I'd have to talk to him, explain that we had our little "secrets" we kept...       "We aren't in a position to irritate anyone," he said to me.       "We're all proper subjects of her Imperial Highness," I said in reply, the "sarcasm" showing in the tone of my voice here now.       "What's `gotten' into you tonight, Sanda?" Carl said to me.       "I had a chance to recollect a few things," I smiled back.       "A slave girl would blush to wear that..." Carl said to me as he laid there on the bed, the windows open to let in the air. The lamp turned down low so that the room was mostly shadows now.       "Its purpose is to `accent' a woman's body," I smiled back, the teddy being designed to accent one's figure, not conceal it. It didn't leave much to the imagination, I should mention here.       "Turn around so I can see all of you," Carl grinned at me.       "I see I am thought `desirable'," I teased him back here.       "You should be `collared'," he grinned back, regarding me.       "I do wear `this'," I said, touching the chain about my neck that marked me as being a married woman of less than three years. Next year would be time for one of gold, and thought of having a second child, one that would be truly both ours, although Carl's attitude towards Jerry was one of father to son despite the fact that Jerry was actually the son of one now dead over two years...       "You're different since you came back from Thistle," he said to me as I joined him on the bed, covering him with my body now. "More `alive' than you've been in a long time," he observed here. Our kiss was long and deep, my tongue flirty, a raspy wet tease.       "It's good for me to get out upon occasion," I smiled back.       "You're going to be a good `ride' tonight too," he smiled.       "I'm always a `good ride'," I smiled, feeling his touch.       "You aren't too `accessible' down there," he observed.       "It `unbuttons'," I pointed out, undoing the buttons.

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Freedom Fighters of Trelandar

A Tale of Adventure in the Second Dark Age

Book Nine of the Warlady Series

By Jerome B. Bigge

Chapter Thirty Five       Drawing upon all my own hard won skills, I crept carefully through the woods, guided by the sounds of the woman's outcries, the rough laughter of the men as they tormented their victim now! With an arrow nocked on my bowstring and murder most vile in my heart, I swore now by all that was holy that this time these men would "pay" for their crimes, and I'd be judge, jury, and "execu- tioner"! Normally there is no death penalty for rape, castration being the usual practice carried out here, but just then nothing but their deaths would have "satisfied" the lust for blood I had!       Peeking out from behind a thick tree trunk, I saw three Im- perial troopers with a young woman, one no more I thought than in her early teens. Her clothing torn, ripped as she fought them... She was just a low caste girl from her attire, but she was a wom- an of Trelandar, and just then I recollected too that once I'd been a Warrioress of Trelandar, even if I'd never had the "mark". The men in their helmets and chain mail obviously here Imperials! Part of the "occupation force" that Darlanis had left in control.       "Bastards!" I screamed, getting their attention, the first to take my arrow looking up in surprise, his companions much to my surprise now throwing their hands up into the air in surrender as they stood there, the sobbing young teenage girl at their feet weeping, clutching at her torn clothing. "Die for your crime!" I screamed, shooting again, the man clutching at the arrow, falling to the dirt. His companion going to his knees, begging for mer- cy! The fury so hot in my body that it felt as if I was on fire!       I stepped out into their little clearing, the troopers' uni- corns standing there watching us, the girl and her pair of buck- ets leaving no doubts that she lived around here somewhere. That she was one of the thousands of people here who lived under the rule of Lady Lana, who controlled all of this part of Trelandar.       "Stand," I said to the kneeling trooper, standing there, an arrow on my string, the girl's dark eyes like liquid pools look- ing into mine. She was dark haired, like most Trelandarians, and in her terror looked even younger than what she probably was now. "Die like a man for your crimes," I spoke, the trooper blubbering in terror, shaking his head, aware I held his life in my hands...       "Who are you?" the girl breathed out, holding her clothes to herself. She would have been worth say about fifteen gold crowns in a good market to a "thoughtful" master who might buy her with hopes for what she'd become in a few more years now. The fact I had killed two Imperial troopers no doubt highly impressing her.       "I am a Trelandarian," I spoke, regarding them both here. I could kill the man as he knelt before me, but that would not sat- isfaction for what he and his kind had done to my fair country... I bent forward, watching them both, and yanked the arrows from the bodies of those who I had killed, one apparently not yet dead from the low outcry he made as I yanked the arrow from his body.       Then shifting my bow to my left hand, I drew my sword, that long slim blade forged by a civilization now but legend, and put him out of his misery, as I might a wounded animal I'd shot here. Keeping an eye on the two, "trustful" of none in a situation like this. The girl was simply terrified of me, but the Imperial I'd suspected was thinking of how he might take me by surprise here. Stepping back a step, I set my bow down on the dirt, my mother's sword firmly in my grasp, the sunlight peeking through the leaves above casting spots of light upon the ground before us. I could hear the call of a bird in the trees somewhere, the chuckle of the brook as it swirled around a rock, the buzz of insects as I now straightened up, my eyes never leaving those there before me.       "Draw," I hissed, motioning with the point of my sword here. The trooper suddenly grinning to himself, having obviously little idea of what skill with a blade that a woman might have here now. The man whipping out his own sword, and slashing out at me then. I parried his inept thrust, made a quick riposte, and then cut him with my point before he even knew what I was up to here now!       "Huh!" the trooper growled, rushing in at me, forcing me to sidestep his attack, my parry and thrust more than he could han- dle here, as once again my point pierced his skin, my attacks be- ing to that part of his body not covered by his chain mail here.       "You are going to die when I wish you to die," I said to him in tones that left no doubt that I knew fully well what I was do- ing here. "And you are going to wish that you never came to Tre- landar, or attempted to rape any of its women," I spoke, forcing him back with a series of attacks that he had no answer to here.       "You do not wear the black of the Warrioress," he noted.       "We are not required to wear black," I pointed out to him. I then drove him back until he stood before the bodies of his own companions, and there with a swift clash of steel I slashed his throat with the keen tip of my blade, sending his soul into the afterlife, no doubt to now face the justice he properly deserved!       "Who are you?" the girl asked, standing there looking at me.       "I am a Trelandarian," I answered, seeing her nod in reply.       "Perhaps Darlanis did not `win' after all," she said then.       "Wars are not always fought between armies," I pointed out.       "There was once one very brave who fought for us," she said.       "Perhaps I made a mistake in `retiring'," I said to her now.       "I have seen nothing of what happened here," she said to me.       "There have been `outlaws' reported in these parts," I said.       "I will tell them that if they ask me about it," she smiled.       "These damn Imperials and their taxes!" the shopkeeper mut- tered to me as I looked over his wares there in Thistle an hour later. The ride had been enough to settle my nerves, although I was well aware of the uproar that would occur once the bodies of the three troopers were found. No doubt Lady Lana would feel the need to send out forces to hunt down these "outlaws" guilty here of killing three innocent men only now doing their "duties" here. I did not believe that she would find anything, nor would my Carl hunt very hard either for such "will of the wisps" as these were. For these mysterious outlaws that gave the Empire so much grief.       "It costs a lot when you lose a war," I pointed out to him.       "Ay, `that' it does," he muttered, wiping his brow, the air hot here in his store as I looked for something I might wear now. The thought going through my mind of "what" certain people would have said had they known the sort of attire I sometimes wore when Carl and I were alone, and Jerry had put to bed earlier on here.       "More than it does when you win a war," I grinned at him.       "Lord Daris is coming to `visit'," Carl said to me as we ate dinner that night. I'd met him the year before when he came down from Sarn to see his wife, a heavy set man, much like a boar that walked on two legs. Truly an "Imperial" in his attitude, utterly "different" than Lana, who was Trelandarian by birth, and in many ways, attempted to rule us as kindly as she could here now. Jan Daris on the other hand saw us as "serfs" to do Imperial bidding.       "Oink, oink," I grinned, remembering how the man had looked at me like I was one of his slave girls. Carl frowning at me now as Jerry stared at the "sound" that I'd made here. I'd have to talk to him, explain that we had our little "secrets" we kept...       "We aren't in a position to irritate anyone," he said to me.       "We're all proper subjects of her Imperial Highness," I said in reply, the "sarcasm" showing in the tone of my voice here now.       "What's `gotten' into you tonight, Sanda?" Carl said to me.       "I had a chance to recollect a few things," I smiled back.       "A slave girl would blush to wear that..." Carl said to me as he laid there on the bed, the windows open to let in the air. The lamp turned down low so that the room was mostly shadows now.       "Its purpose is to `accent' a woman's body," I smiled back, the teddy being designed to accent one's figure, not conceal it. It didn't leave much to the imagination, I should mention here.       "Turn around so I can see all of you," Carl grinned at me.       "I see I am thought `desirable'," I teased him back here.       "You should be `collared'," he grinned back, regarding me.       "I do wear `this'," I said, touching the chain about my neck that marked me as being a married woman of less than three years. Next year would be time for one of gold, and thought of having a second child, one that would be truly both ours, although Carl's attitude towards Jerry was one of father to son despite the fact that Jerry was actually the son of one now dead over two years...       "You're different since you came back from Thistle," he said to me as I joined him on the bed, covering him with my body now. "More `alive' than you've been in a long time," he observed here. Our kiss was long and deep, my tongue flirty, a raspy wet tease.       "It's good for me to get out upon occasion," I smiled back.       "You're going to be a good `ride' tonight too," he smiled.       "I'm always a `good ride'," I smiled, feeling his touch.       "You aren't too `accessible' down there," he observed.       "It `unbuttons'," I pointed out, undoing the buttons.

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