"Queen of The Known World"

Baldr had been making his way to the gates when he spied the tent in the middle of the road. So they had set up a way point obviously just for the purpose of negotiations. He looked back at his camp and then forward to the walls of Varta. He smiled as he realized it was set up closer to the walls than his camp but it would take a very trained eye to tell. It would give the defenders a fraction more time to prepare and would put any delegation from Virta under the covering fire of their archers very quickly. He nodded suitably impressed. He would have done the same if he had been in charge. This Parta was a smart man.

He dismounted and strode into the tent along with two of his bodyguards. He left the five priests lined up along the back of the tent where they could be seen clearly by anyone approaching guarded by the two Karants he had brought with him. Inside he looked around and then calmly sat at the table that had been set up and poured himself a cup of water.

It was not long before Parta walked in and greeted him. He sounded a little eager but at the same time nervous. Obviously he wanted to know why the priests were here, but at the same time he must be glad they were not harmed. Baldr wondered if he was going to be smiling after their little talk.

"Good evening to you Parta. I have some good news for you. I have decided to release your priests back into your care as long as they do not come near my camp again. In truth they are not needed. My man is doing well and we have no need of their so called healing anyway. It was rather arrogant of them to think that they were the only ones that could cure him in the first place. I would appreciate it if my wishes were followed to the letter in the future." He smiled pleasantly at the man the waved dismissively as if the whole subject was bothersome.

"Still let us just call that a misunderstanding on your part and say no more about it shall we." He made as if to rise then sat down again and looked at Parta with a steely glare. "Oh there was one other thing. I know for a fact that you had," he said stressing the word had, "Onya within your walls until recently, and that she is now on her way to Vint accompanied by some of your warriors and priests. They believe she is too good to marry a what was I called...Barbarian from the North, and needs to marry a proper Noble." He smiled at Parta but it was deprived of all warmth. "I can guarantee you this. They will never make it to Vint, and how many survive depends on their actions. If any of your forces try to go and help them they will be killed on the spot. I have finished playing games with you people. I have made a promise not to harm anyone within those walls. Step out of them and you will face my wrath. You kidnapped my Queen and are trying to marry her off to another man. Perhaps I should take all of your women and do the same," he asked the man. "At least I would not be breaking my promise."

He stood up and turned to leave then looked back at him. "Tell me, did Onya ever say she was being forced into this marriage or that she wanted to be taken away from me?"

Baldr glared at him as he listened to the man's response then began to walk from the tent. "Take your priests and go back to your city and do not show your face outside of it again until I send for you. Anyone that does is fair game, this is my warning to you Parta of the Darkness."

Baldr strode from the tent and mounted his horse riding away without a backwards glance as his men mounted up behind him and did the same.

An Hour Later

A scout came hurtling into the camp at breakneck speed and rode straight to Baldr's tent. He dismounted and was quickly ushered into his presence.

"Signs have been found Chief. They lead away from the wall and towards Vint. They were well hidden close to the wall but further out were picked up. Scouts have been sent on ahead to mark the way."

Baldr gave the man water and rushed from his tent. Soon the five hundred warriors were assembled and riding behind the scout they were led to the trail and soon flowing along it in the mile eating pace they were so famous for. Baldr had no doubt they would catch up to the group. They might have a good lead on them, but they would have to slow down. His band however could go days at this pace, although he did not think it would take that long. He would say a single day at most, maybe even by noon the next day if they failed to realize they were being followed. Smiling grimly he resisted the urge to make his horse go faster. Soon he would see his Onya again and then there would be hell to pay.

(FYI: Only have a moment...)

Parta listened to Chieftain Baldr and quickly realized that Aliza had made some sort of deal to achieve all of this ... or had been tortured into providing information she'd been trained to keep to herself. His primary concern should have been her absence and whether or not she was even still breathing. But, as a professional who had vowed to give his life if necessary for the preservation of Virta, the Territory of Vint, and the Order, his primary concern was actually about just how much Aliza had told the enemy.

Despite that concern, Parta asked with a respectful yet concerned tone, "May I inquire, Lord Baldr, as to my Agent, Aliza. I presume she is well?"

The accusation, though subtle, was obvious.

And the way in which he avoided answering anything about Onya and her current whereabouts was as well.

Baldr listened to the question then smiled. So Parta knew where the information had come from and was not denying it. This confirmed what Aliza had told him better than if the man had flatly told him it was false or admitted it was true but told him she was still inside the city. Maybe he could trust the woman after all.

Of course his next question was aimed at getting information about her and the subtle threat was obvious in his tone. If he had done anything to harm his warrior...Of course that was laughable. The man had planted her inside his camp in the first place to feed him disinformation. The fact that she had been caught was due to his skill. What happened to her was up to him, but it was on Parta's head as her commanding officer. Of course he had already mad his deal with the woman but he did not need to know that.

Smiling he stood up. (OOC. For what happens next see my above post)


Baldr and his men had been riding for the entire night and now dawn had come and gone. The men broke their fast in the saddle, drinking water and eating dried meat and bread from saddle bags slung before them. The scouts reported they were closing upon their prey rapidly. They had found the remnants of a camp, a fire pit with dampened coals but enough still warm to indicate they were but hours behind them.

Baldr smiled. Obviously they did not know they were being pursued and as such they would not be pushing their horses. They would make up that time quickly, yet once they came into contact they would not be able to catch them. Still it would then be a game of endurance and one he was sure to win. He wondered if the leader of their troops would recognize this and try to fight with fresh horses or after they had been running away too long. Personally he hoped they chose to run. It would make his job easier.

He looked towards the horizon and sent his thoughts towards it. Soon Onya, Soon he would rescue her and they would be together again and then there would be a reckoning.

At the Envoy Meeting Tent:

Parta listened to Baldr's explanation of his release of the Priests with relief, then acknowledged the Chieftain's anger about the Order's presumption that only their Priests had had the knowledge to save the injured Outrider. Parta knew, of course, that the act had not been one of expressing superior knowledge but had instead been one of taking responsibility for the man's care, but the First Captain did nothing to contradict Baldr's chastising.

Instead, he simply gave the man a polite head nod and let the conversation continue. Parta's training in the Darkness had included the lesson of humility. The Darkness were superior in many aspects of life, not because they were individually better human beings but because they had the greatest minds in the Priests of the Order of Vint and the largest assemblage of knowledge behind them in the Library of Vint which, while no longer standing as a single structure, lived on in hundreds of small treasures hidden across the Known World.

Despite that, the Darkness were trained to understand that it wasn't always necessary to be right; and even more important than that, even when you were right, it wasn't always necessary to prove so. The Priests had done wrong in demanding on staying at Baldr's camp until he allowed them in to treat the man; and Parta himself had been wrong in allowing the Priests to remain on the camp's perimeter, where all they'd been accomplishing was putting their lives in danger ... and offending the man with the big army.

And the wrong doing on the part of the Order directly and on the part of the First Captain indirectly only continued when Baldr asked...

"Tell me, did Onya ever say she was being forced into this marriage or that she wanted to be taken away from me?"

Click to expand...

Parta hesitated, looking for the correct way to respond to the Chieftain's very pointed question. When he was ready to answer, he looked to his Lieutenant and said, "Let the Chieftain and I talk in private please."

The Darkness officer eyed his superior, then the invading heathen, then the weapons being worn by the latter and his nearby escorts. Before he could ask whether that was a good idea, though, Parta said with a little more emphasis, "Leave us!"

Once only to the two leaders were inside the tent, Parta said with a sincere tone, "I am speaking to you on this issue with hopes that this will stay between the two of us, Lord Baldr." He hesitated a moment, then continued, "I never supported the ... rescue of Lady Onya. Not as it had been conducted."

That was true in a sense and not so much so in another. Parta and Aliza both had both initially assumed that the redheaded Southerner in the Northerner's possession was being held against her will, of course. But once Onya had made it clear that she'd been a willing participant, Parta had begun to question whether or not the girl should continue to be held.

"I spoke with my superiors about the issue once Lady Onya had explained the situation to us," he continued, adding, "And yes, the lady did in fact inform us that she not only was with you of her own accord ... but that she wanted to return to you as well."

He drew a deep breath, not really wanting to continue but knowing that he must. "By this time, however ... Lady Onya was no longer my responsibility. People higher than myself ... Darkness Officers ... Priests of the Order of Vint ... they were now making the decisions concerning Lady Onya ... and, to be honest, I have not seen her since that first hour in which she was in my direct care."

Parta gave Baldr a moment to consider his words, then slowly stood before the man and finished, "On my honor as the First Captain of the City of Virta Guard ... and as an Agent of the Darkness of Vint ... I swear that these words are true ... and, if ever you find them not to be, I will willingly turn myself over to you for what ever punishment you find appropriate."

He bowed, held his position for a moment as a subordinate within the Darkness would while being disciplined then raised to height again.

"Take your priests and go back to your city..."

Click to expand...

...Baldr began, giving his warning about Parta keeping his people inside the City Walls less they be summarily killed ... or worse.

Parta said nothing about the threat -- Promise, he thought to himself, doubting that Baldr made idle threats -- but gave the Chieftain a respectful bow before the two went their separate ways.



An Hour Later

"Something is happening, m'lady."

Aliza had been sitting quietly on her -- on Onya's -- bed, her ankle again in the shackle. She'd went through the night without it on, intending on replacing it in the morning to ensure that Gree was not punished for allowing her to be free. But they had both fallen asleep, and a Guard assigned to watch Aliza had entered to check on the women and found the guest free.

Aliza looked up to her servant, who was now sporting a red cheek and a cut, slightly swollen lip. It could have been worse, she imagined: the young thing could have been raped by a dozen Karants to set an example for their own slaves, then cut open to bleed out on the Virtan hillside as a message to all, whether Clan or local.

"A rider," Gree continued, keeping her voice down. She gestured toward the door but was actually trying to indicate the camp beyond. "The Karanteens are preparing to depart."

Yol entered a moment later, newly assigned to keep an eye on Aliza while his true charge was still missing. He said softly, "They are going after Lady Onya ... and your presence on the hunt has been requested."



Soon, five hundred Horse Warriors were riding to east around Virta, then south toward Vint. In all her life, Aliza had never seen such a force travel the cobblestone Northern Road, and the noise was simply overwhelming. She had been made very aware that if she attempted to escape, she would be hunted down. The Karant who Baldr had put in charge of her stressed, "I will personally kill 10 women and children for every hour I waste chasing you."

Even though she assured the Karant that she would be good, he still surrounded her with a dozen men who were charged with doing nothing more than keeping her in control.

They rode through the night, and although she wasn't in the loop concerning their progress, it was obvious from the dispatching of Outriders and their patterns of reporting that the Clan was getting closer to their prey. Aliza saw the remnants of a camp the next morning; then -- later in the afternoon --
saw the Darkness scout on top of a ridge that had caused great excitement amongst the Outriders, who took chase with unknown results.

Aliza was surprised at the endurance of not just the Horse Warriors but of their horses as well. Occasionally, from the extreme rear of the army, a rider would ride by quickly, leading a dozen or more rider-less horses to the front. Aliza soon realized that they were changing out the mounts of the Outriders. But the horses under the rest of the large force simply plodded on, resting only for a few minutes at a time when they would reach streams at which they drank. They even ate walking, lowering their heads to snatch at tall grasses or chewing handfuls of grain offered by other Horse Warriors as they wandered about the pack. Aliza had never seen anything like it in her life ... and, now having seen it, wondered whether or not the South could ever stand up to such warriors.

When dark arrived and the force continued forward into its second night of movement, all hell broke loose. Aliza couldn't see the action, but she'd been expecting it even since the previous night. A Darkness Ambush Squad had been laying in wait in a narrowing gorge. Using their powerful and longer distant recurve bows, they wiped out most of an advance team -- 14 souls -- before the Clansmen knew they were being attacked. Then, like the ghosts they were trained to be, the Darkness assassins disappeared into the night.

The attacks persisted through the blackness, about every hour, sometimes more often. And while the Horse Warriors were learning the Darkness's strategies and, finally, inflicting some of their own casualties, the primary goal of the attacks -- delay! -- was a total success. The Clan covered less than a third as much territory that second night as they had the first, taking a total of almost 200 casualties before the sun rose.

The Darkness lost seven.

The next day, however, was all about the Clan. They began anticipating the ambushes with great skill, sending in troops protected from the missile barrages with shields, sending their own ambush squads around the Darkness in flanking maneuvers, and more. By the time the third night was upon Baldr's people, the Clan was again moving with the same great speed it had had that very first evening.

Dead this second day of conflict: almost even up at about 50 men each.

Although she wasn't there to see the fighting, Aliza saw many of the bodies of her fellow Darkness laying on the side of the road as the procession continued. She was shocked at how many were being killed, just for the claim of possession of a teen age girl! She began to realize that Baldr would burn the South to the ground and kill every man, woman, and child within it to get his betrothed back.



The middle of the next day, the final showdown occurred. A rider rode up quickly to where she was still surrounded by Bodyguards and accompanied by Yol. He demanded of her, "Come! Baldr wants you to see this."

She and her escorts spurred their horses forward and cleared a small rise, coming to a stop near Baldr where Aliza saw what she knew was going to be a horrific event. The road fell down into a wide bowl of a valley that was cut by a narrow but deep creek. A coach sat on the road on this side of a washed out bridge, surrounded by more than forty Darkness escorts, each with their bows notched or their swords drawn.

It would have been a slaughter for most people to try to take the coach. But there were hundreds of Horse Warriors on this side of the bridge and -- using low points in the stream both upstream and downstream -- Baldr's men had already crossed the creek to get to the other side. The Darkness were surrounded. And there was no chance of them escaping and keeping their prize.

"For the Darkness ... the Order ... and the Goddess Un!" a man who was obviously an officer called out toward their pursuers, looking directly to where Baldr and Aliza sat on their rides.

"No," Aliza murmured, suddenly realizing what was about to happen. As she watched, each of the Darkness members relaxed the tension on their bows or sheathed their swords. She kicked her horse in the ribs, causing it to surge forward as she screamed out loudly, "NO!"

But, she'd never had a chance to stop them. The Darkness Riders each pulled out a small dagger, lifted it to their necks, and sliced. All across the road, all about the coach, they fell to the ground, where they would bleed out over the next seconds and minutes.

Aliza was still riding hard forward when an attentive Horse Warrior in front of her spun his horse, leaped out into the air, and tackled her to the ground. She hit so hard that the air rushed from her, making it hard to speak. When she finally looked up into the blue sky to the silhouette that could only be Baldr, she was crying.

"She's not here," Aliza managed, sobbing, not only for her lost comrades but for the terror that she knew was to come when Baldr learned that the flight of the coach had been a ruse and that his betrothed was not here at all. She sobbed again, murmuring, "They have no idea ... what they've done."

Baldr was impressed with these Darkness warriors. Not only were they fabulous fighters but their tactics were far superior to anything he had faced before. The first night had been an education for him and his men. They were used to open warfare and straight forward fighting. A lot of his men cursed these men as treacherous cowards who had no honor but Baldr quickly quelled such talk. He knew that these people just had a different way of fighting and they would have to adapt if they wanted to win.

After talking with the Karants he had taken with him Baldr issued new orders for the next day. Against usual practices the forward ranks would use shields. Normally a Clansman shunned the use of such an item feeling it was dishonorable, but against an opponent that would not fight and shot at them constantly they were happy with his decision.

It proved wise and they were able to close on their opponents and by the end of the day they had killed as many as they had lost. Even the most vocal man now had to admit that the men they faced were also good fighters however. They were not up to the standard of a Clansman but they were good, very good.

That night there were a few skirmishes but mostly they were left alone. It was if they had given up and decided flight was the answer. Baldr however had other ideas. He sent two flanking forces ahead and by midday of the next day he had ridden them down. In a small gully his men had managed to ford a stream at vital points and lay in wait for the Darkness troops and the coach they guarded. As Baldr drew up behind them the Vint troops surrounded the coach and drew swords and knocked arrows on their bows.

Baldr examined the situation. The darkness troops were hard up against a washed out bridge and could not move across the stream as it was too deep at that point. His men were lined up just out of bow shot on the opposite bank 100 strong. His own troops of just under 150 troops lined the top of the gully in a vast semi circle looking down upon them. He did a quick count and saw about 40 or 50 Darkness troops. Smiling grimly he knew he was going to win this battle but it would cost him almost a quarter of his troops if he was lucky and over half if he was not. Still he would have Onya back and and he would have proven a point to these Southerners.

As he watched however their leader had called out an obvious prayer and each man and woman had sheathed their weapons or put down their bows and drawn a small dagger and slit their own throats. So powerful was the sight that he failed to notice that Aliza had spurred her horse towards the scene until he saw her halfway towards the coach with one of his men on top of her. Kicking his own horse forward he jumped off and looked down at her and found her sobbing. He was going to question her about why the warriors had done such a foolish thing when her words hit him.

"She's not here."

Turning his head sharply towards the coach he ran to it and ripped the door open, breaking it in the process. He looked inside and found an empty space. He examined every inch not believing his eyes, imagining their must be a hidden compartment but finally he admitted that she was not here. Leaning back he screamed his rage to the heavens and even his own men backed away from him.

Finally he gestured for his Karant's to approach him. "We camp here until tonight. Gather what can be salvaged from the dead and round up the horses, they will prove good breeding stock. Assign five warriors to bring them back to camp along with the plunder. After the horses have been watered, fed and rested we journey back to Varta and we are going to wipe the city from the world," he smiled grimly. "I will give them one chance to return Onya to me then on their heads be it."

He waved his men away and then began to systematically destroy the coach with a large war hammer he borrowed from one of his bodyguards.

Aliza spent the first hour or more in shock. She'd seen Darkness Officers, Operatives, and Assassins -- of which she was officially the latter -- commit suicide as those here had but never in such incredible numbers! Even more incredible was that the entire Darkness force had been on a ploy of distraction, leading Baldr and many of his troops away from their potential assault on Virta by rushing an empty coach over the Vint countryside, knowing that they would eventually be caught.

When her mind finally returned to working order, Aliza -- still being watched by most of her earlier bodyguards -- went to the Chieftain, who was discussing the imminent attack on Virta with his Karants. One of the lieutenants cut her off, declaring, "This is not a place for an enemy coward."

Aliza understood the man's concerns, though she didn't share them. The Darkness had operated for hundreds, if not thousands of years against a multitude of enemies just as they had over the past couple of days against the Horse Warriors. Rarely is ever had the Darkness engaged in a fight with vastly superior numbers. But then, they'd never needed them. Their training, tactics, and superior weapons had rarely let them down.

There was an old adage Aliza had learned in her youth about the chicken and the egg and which had come first. Had the Darkness learned to fight with smaller numbers because they'd always been superior fighters? Or had they become superior fighters because they'd always had smaller numbers?

Who knew? Aliza didn't. And right now, she didn't care. The Darkness killed here today and along the trail over the last two days had done so heroically. But Aliza had come to believe that all of this could have been avoided had she and Parta known the truth about Baldr and Onya. The latter had never been the hostage of the former. Onya had never been in danger, Aliza had concluded. All of these dead -- on both sides -- would still be walking if Onya has simply been asked Do you want to come Home?

Even worse was that it had been Aliza herself who had initiated the rescue. She had conceived of it. She had designed it. She had carried it out. And she had told lies to hide Onya's flight from the City. This was her fault. And she was going to bring this to an end. Knowing that the Karant wasn't about to let her pass, Aliza called to Baldr, "I can get you into the City."

That got her the attention she was seeking. She continued, "I can get you into the city ... through any of several secret or vulnerable entrances." The Karant stepped aside to give Baldr a clear view of him. She lowered her gaze for a moment, then looked back up to continue, "I will do this ... I will lead you personally ... I will betray my own people ... my Nation ... my Order..."

She glanced over her shoulder at the bodies in black scattered across the ground being stripped of weapons, armor, and other valuables. She looked back to Baldr, finishing, "I will help you find Lady Onya ... if you will let my dead brethren join the Goddess in the Fires of Un."

Aliza didn't know if Baldr and his northern troops knew what that meant. To save the dead's souls, the bodied needed to be stripped bare and burned on a pyre.

Baldr had finally worked off his rage and returned the weapon to his bodyguard. There was not much left of the coach and several of his men looked at him with new found respect. these were the few who had never seen him fight before. He had not even raised a sweat and he led his horse towards where his Karants were waiting for him anticipating his needs.

Soon he was discussing what they were going to have to do when they got back. he was hoping by the time they did his major forces would have joined up and he would have enough men to assault the city. They would overwhelm it with sheer numbers. He would show these Southerners how North-men fought and to never disrespect them.

He was in the midst of planning the assault when Aliza walked up. Her voice cut through what he and his men where talking about when she said the magic words "I can get you into the City." Baldr looked at her and gestured his men to move aside so he could see her. Her eyes were downcast but she spoke clearly. "I can get you into the city ... through any of several secret or vulnerable entrances." . She lowered her gaze for a moment, then looked back up to continue, "I will do this ... I will lead you personally ... I will betray my own people ... my Nation ... my Order..."

Baldr nodded but knew there must be some form of payment she wanted. Even though she had sworn to follow him this was too big for her to just do because of that. He stared at her waiting for her to name her price. "I will help you find Lady Onya ... if you will let my dead brethren join the Goddess in the Fires of Un." Ahh so that was what she wanted. She needn't have bothered bartering for that as he had been going to burn their bodies anyway but perhaps he should not tell her that. He had been tempted to leave the bodies where they were to rot, the ultimate disrespect, but they had been true warriors and he could not do it. They deserved the honor of the fire. Even now he had men out gathering wood.

"Very well, but you will not only guide me but a force of my men, and I want you to be armed and if we come against any resistance you will fight. I will put you near the middle so the chance of you having to is slim but I want your word you will." he demanded. "I also want to know how your system works. Am I right in assuming that if I challenge Parta and win your city will not surrender? Is there someone higher giving orders that we have to take prisoner or defeat to end this? I may respect your Captain and your warriors but if I have to kill every one of them to get Onya back I will," he said harshly. "However if I could take your city without bloodshed I will. It would be nice to have your warriors on my side instead of against me. Truly they would bolster my army," he smiled.

"As for your people," he told her gesturing to the bodies."You must tell us if there is any special way to prepare them. Tonight we will honor them, but tomorrow we will ride hard back to the city."

Aliza was both grateful for and disappointed in Baldr's acceptance of her terms. It meant that she could help bring an end to this madness, while at the same time meaning she would have to betray -- possibly even kill -- some of her own people, specifically her fellow Darkness members.



They spent the rest of the afternoon stripping the bodies of everything not already removed by the Horse Warriors who'd been collecting valuables. To join the Goddess -- for the warriors' eternal souls to be added to the fires of the volcano in which the Goddess Un resided -- the dead had to meet their end in the very same way they'd begun their lives. It was the reason that -- unlike many cultures -- those which often offered children to the Darkness for training did not tattoo or pierce their offspring.

There had been eight female Darkness amongst the dead. Aliza dealt with them on her own, refusing all help in preparing them and carrying them to the pyre that a force assigned by Baldr was creating. When the 40+ bodies were laid out upon the four foot high, fifty foot long assemblage of limbs and branches, Aliza stood near the middle of it and silently spoke a prayer for her lost comrades.

"For the Darkness ... the Order ... and the Goddess Un," she said allowed, stepping forward and tossing a torch onto the pyre. The fire spread slowly at first, but as the heat increased, so did the flames. Soon, the air was filled with black smoke and the horrific scent of burning flesh. After the full length of the pyre was aflame, Aliza murmured to herself, hoping she would be heard by the one who mattered, "To the Goddess Un ... I offer these souls."

She continued to stand there, staring into the flames, until far after darkness. When the fuel had been depleted and all that remained of the pyre were ashes and crispy corpses in which even the hungriest of scavengers would show no interest, Aliza turned to head for the very simple tent that had been brought on the road for the Clan's Chieftain.

"May I speak to you alone, m'lord," Aliza asked upon entering. There was obvious concern on the faces of Baldr's Chief Karant and some of the others present, but the Chieftain must have been coming to believe Aliza's vow of obedience and loyalty because he waved the others out. After the last man was out, Aliza pulled the string to let the flap fall closed. She turned back to Baldr and, without hesitation, began unbuckling her armor again.

"I cannot do for you what I have vowed, m'lord," she said, letting the lower half of her armor fall to the beaten down grass as she reached to her shoulders to loosen the thongs holding the top half in place. She continued, "Without giving you my all. Please ... do not refuse me."

She pulled the top of her armor and the under shirt both, leaving herself naked from the waist up. As she began untying her tight fitting leather pants, she tried to counter the argument she knew the betrothed king would make, saying, "I can not do my best for you ... to save Lady Onya ... feeling the way I do now ... that I am not entirely yours to command."

She'd removed her boots before she entered the tent, and now -- as she pushed the pants off her hips and stepped out of them, one foot after the other -- she stood before the Chieftain naked. "Show me the king I am to serve ... the man ... I am to serve ... m'lord."

Baldr was surprised when Aliza arrived at his tent and demanded entry. His Karants were worried for his safety but he gave them alook and they left him alone with the woman. The day he could not defeat one such as her was the day he did not deserve to lead the clans.

Once they were alone she pulled the tent flap closed and he raised an eyebrow in surprise and his other soon joined it as she began to take her armor off. She continued to disrobe and he watched as more and more of her luscious flesh was revealed until she stood before him naked. He had listened to her reasons for doing so and in truth he could understand it but at the same time he was torn. He had promised himself to Onya and he should not give himself to another woman.

Looking at Aliza though he saw an almost broken woman and he knew he needed her. Stepping forward he clasped her shoulders and leaned down and kissed the woman, tenderly at first then with more passion. Standing back up he removed his armor then his shirt, his boots and finally his pants revealing his semi erect penis. He smiled as he saw her reaction. The few women that had seen him naked had often compared him to the stallion he rode. Indeed he was large but fortunately he was not too wide. He was already worried about his wedding night but from the look on Aliza's face he was not going to have to worry with her.

He moved forward again and kissed her, moving from her lips to her neck, then further down to her breasts. He suckled on them licking and kissing them before taking her nipple in his mouth and rolling it around with his tongue, he began to nibble on it with his lips.

His hand wandered down between her legs and slowly massaged her mound before he slipped a finger between her lips and searched for and found her clitoris and began to slowly move it around. He continued his ministrations feeling his finger getting coated in her juices before he pulled away from her and guided her to the table.

Pushing her face down on it he put his now fully rigid cock at the entrance to her tunnel and moved his head up and down in her juices before easing it inside her. Slowly he pushed inside of her, sinking ever deeper until finally he was all the way inside and his heavy sack bounced off her clit. Smiling he pulled back just as slowly and then entered her again.

It took him a good minute of slow in and out strokes to loosen her up enough for him to start to pick up the pace. Finally he was able to flex his back muscles and drive into her deep and long. Grabbing her hips he thrust into her and then he leaned down and whispered into her ear.

"Prepare yourself Girl. You wanted to see how a King fucks? Then let me show you."

Bracing himself he began to plow into her hard and fast, his balls lapping hard into her clit and his thrusting cock threatening to break into her womb. He grasped her hips and pulled her back against him with every inward thrust burying himself in deeper and deeper as his pelvis smacked into her ass. The tent was filled with the sounds of their rutting and soon Baldr was grunting as his balls tightened and he blasted inside of her.

Jets of hot cum erupted deep within her, filling her up and leaking out a he continued to pound into her until he was finished. As he did he lay across her back for a bit then withdrew unleashing a flood of juices down her legs but he just led her to his bed. He was still erect and he laid down his erection pointed at the roof of the tent.

"The night is not finished yet. Climb on and we will see just how long you can last Warrior of the Darkness," he grinned.

Baldr's strength and power were obvious the moment he took Aliza's nude body into his arms. He clutched her so tightly to him she honestly feared he might break her. Soon, she as bent over the makeshift table and feeling him pounding her pussy from behind.

"Prepare yourself Girl. You wanted to see how a King fucks? Then let me show you."

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Aliza grunted at every slam of the Chieftain's cock inside her, grasping at the edge of the table with white knuckled fingers. She was no virgin, but it had been a long time since she'd had a man inside her and even longer since she'd had a man of size inside her. With every thrust, Baldr filled her in a way that she couldn't recall any man ever having done.

Soon, he sunk his shaft deep inside her one final time, filling her with his seed. Aliza lowered her forehead to the wood as she felt his cock leap inside her again and again until it was empty. Or ... for the moment, anyway. No sooner had the ejaculations ended then Baldr grasped her by the hand and led her to his bed.

"The night is not finished yet. Climb on and we will see just how long you can last Warrior of the Darkness," he grinned.

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Aliza got her first good look at the Northman's penis. It was a monster, explaining why her pussy was already aching from the initial intrusion. She grasped it with both hands as she hovered over Baldr's groin, placing it, then lowering down upon it, grimacing at the pain of reentry. She looked down into Baldr's face as she began to ride him, demanding, "Do not call me the Darkness again, m'lord. I am no longer of the Darkness. I have forsaken-- no, violated my vows ... though for a good purpose ... a good reason."

She was convinced now that she and Parta had done wrong in seizing Onya. And she had done so because of the Darkness. It was time to abandon that life for another. It was time to join Baldr, King of the Unnamed Untamed. And join him she soon was...



Aliza rode the Northman's cock with more energy than even he could have imagined, driving him to yet another quick orgasm and a later one; and causing her to cum six or seven times in the course of an hours-long fuck-fest. Each time she felt a climax building, Aliza interlaced her fingers with his, arched her back to look up toward the heavens, and announced her ecstasy with a long, loud cry that could probably be heard clear back in Virta. Her body would erupt in goose flesh, then twitch for one, two, even three minutes as the aftermath of sexual glory ran through her.

Then ... determined to make her new Master call for an end when he couldn't go on further ... Aliza would begin again. She finally collapsed down upon Baldr's unprecedented muscular form as the first hints of red were appearing in the eastern sky. The glistening sweat of her body coating his warm but relatively dryer skin as she lay there struggling for breath, both exhausted and sated.

Before falling asleep in Baldr's arms, Aliza promised the man, "I will get you into Vint tomorrow. I will get you your betrothed back."

It was ironic that Aliza was promising to get Lady Onya back for Lord Baldr, particularly since she still had the man's slowly softening penis still deep inside her...

Baldr had enjoyed his night with Aliza. She had proved to be a wild woman in bed, taking all he had to give her and wanting more. He had thought he would tire her out quickly as he did with most woman and then sleep until it was time to leave, but the woman proved to have almost as much stamina as he did, finally falling asleep just as dawn was breaking. He managed to snatch a few hours sleep before his body guards came to wake him with knowing smiles on their faces.

He shooed them away and disengaged himself from the woman unleashing a torrent of their shared juices from her well used pussy. He splashed water on his face then his sticky member and then got dressed. Finally he woke up Aliza.

"It is time to ride again oh insatiable one although I doubt this rid will be as enjoyable," he smiled.

He left her in peace to get dressed and walked out to observe the camps progress. Already it was well underway. The Vint soldiers horses had been rounded up and the loot had been strapped to their saddles. He had ordered their bows to be brought along however. He had seen the damage they caused and wanted to test them out for himself. If they could use them it might prove decisive in the battle to come.

As he watched the last of his warriors putting out the fires Aliza joined him and his bodyguards started to dismantle the tent. It was only a matter of minutes and the thing was strapped to two horses bought along for the job. Soon everyone was mounted and except for the ten warriors that would bring the slower moving Vint horses the rest set off back towards the city.

It had taken them almost 3 days to get to this spot. Baldr hoped to make it back in less than 2. They had been fighting a lot of the way and that had slowed them down and although they had to be cautious now that they had lost over half their numbers, they were still a formidable force.

The first day passed without incident and they camped the night. Again Aliza joined him in his tent and they spent an enjoyable night together although they did not repeat the marathon session of the night before. Instead both of them explored each others bodies, working over their breasts and chests, necks, shoulders, belly's and what lay beneath. Baldr spent an enjoyable half hour delighting Aliza, driving her to orgasm again and again with the action of his tongue and fingers as he ate her pussy while Aliza lay back on the bed and shivered in delight. One day she promised herself, she would be the one to make him feel the same way as she did now. Then she remembered that once they saved Onya she would be his and she may never get another chance.

She rode him to another series of orgasms before Baldr came again and then they slept in each others arms again.

The next day the camp was up early and riding again. They made good time and Aliza started to point out landmarks telling them they were getting close. However as night was falling they had still not made it back. Aliza however pointed out they were only several miles away. Baldr decided to press on and sent several scouts ahead to warn of his approach.

It took them less than an hour to get to the outer ring of scouts he had set up and be challenged and then guided to a safe path up to the camp. he warned the scouts to be on the lookout for the men following behind him and to expect them in a day or so. then rode up and into camp. He had expected it to have swelled with the influx of his main troops but they were nowhere to be seen. he sent his men off to rest and approached his tent calling for the Karants he had left behind.

They met him there and his first question was about the lack of troops. They themselves did not know the answer but old him the logical explanation, Tyr must not have got through. When their forces had not been spotted at the right time a force of ten riders had been dispatched. That was two days ago.

Baldr was irritated but wise enough to know these things happened. The men had extra horses so should have reached his forces by now and they had been urged to get here swiftly. He would have to delay for another two days. Still this would mean he had two days to go over things with Aliza and train with these new bows. He dismissed his men and sat calling for food and wine. It would be nice to eat something good for a change.

"It is time to ride again oh insatiable one although I doubt this rid will be as enjoyable."

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Aliza watched the man leave, then sat up in the bed, stiff and sore from the hours of energetic fucking. She'd never enjoyed being with a man the way she had Baldr. Most of her previous lovers had only been interested in achieving their own pleasure, and often she'd had to take charge of the position, speed, angle, and more to ensure that she got off as well. Hell, there had been times when the man she was with finished and fell asleep, and -- if she required satisfaction -- Aliza had had to find it with her own fingers.

The next night was even more amazing than the first. The Chieftain had done something no man ever had, putting his head between her thighs and eating her to one after another and another orgasm. She become so spent that she passed out, waking only just before dawn to mount her lover's rapidly hardening cock for one more climax each before they mounted their horses for the last half of the ride home.

As they ridden northwest toward Virta, Aliza had talked again and again with the Chieftain about strategies they could use to get into the castle. A combination of her knowledge of the Castle's underpinnings and his control of thousands of troops meant that victory was almost certain. But then they got back to their camp on the knoll above Virta and found that Bladr's army hadn't yet arrived. The man was incensed, but what could he do? The plan for getting inside the City and Castle depended upon a superior force attacking the City walls as a way to draw all of the castle's defenders to the walls.

They would simply have to wait ... a day ... two ... maybe more.

"I don't think we should be together tonight," Aliza told him as the he came out of his tent after a meeting with his Karants. She half glanced over her shoulder toward Gree. "She may be my servant now ... but she was and will be your betrothed's servant."

They both knew that Baldr's army knew full and well that the pair had been fucking their hearts out for two nights. But they both also knew that none of these men would ever tell such information to Onya. But, could Gree hold such back?

"I ask you leave, m'lord," Aliza asked formally, bowing with respect before leaving him standing there. She returned to her own tent, bathed, ate, and laid down. It was only minutes before she was trembling with cold. She sat up and looked across the tent to the servant, saying, "Come sleep with me, Gree, please. I'm miserable."

"Of course, m'lady," Gree said, happy that the other woman had asked because she, too, was freezing her butt off. She hurried through the chill air to the bigger bed and crawled inside. Aliza lay on her back, and Gree lay atop her, wrapping her arms and legs about the other woman's until they were practically one body. "Better m'lady?"

"Much," Aliza answered. She chuckled, "You're like sleeping in coals."

They laid there for a long while, before the former darkness assassin and current mistress to a Northern Chieftain began asking the servant about Onya. The questions were run-of-the-mill to start, about her personality and habits and such. Then, Aliza asked, "Is Lady Onya a virgin still?"

"Of course, m'lady," Gree said, lifting her head to look into Aliza's eyes. "She and Lord Baldr came her to be married ... and then they will consummate their marriage."

"She is an Untouched ... still?" Aliza asked.

"Yes, m'lady."

Aliza studied the girl for a moment, then asked bluntly, "Untouched by you as well?"

Gree smiled, nervously, then blushed. She explained, "Lady Onya wanted ... training."

"And you trained her," Aliza said, more of a statement that a question. When Gree answered yes, Aliza said, "Show me."

"Show you, M'lady? I don't understand."

Aliza rolled to her side, looked into her eyes, then leaned down to kiss her. It quickly became a passionate kiss, and a short time later, hands and lips and mouths were all about ...

And, enjoying one, then two orgasms with the servant, Aliza was finding herself so badly wanting to be Lady Onya...



The next day was spent near the edge of a nearby forest, demonstrating and teaching the recurve bows to men who had never seen them before. She explained that these weren't the little common bows that the Horse Warriors could so easily and effectively use from horse back.

"These are for ground use," she stressed, showing how a person on their feet could quickly loose an arrow, whip one from his quiver, notch it, pull, and fire with great accuracy every third second. "And with three times the distance--"

A laugh interrupted her, followed quickly by chatting amongst several Clan Archers, then more laughter. When she asked if there was an issue, one of the Horse Warriors told her, "A woman ... cannot do as you claim. Three second shots ... three times the distance."

Another Horse Warrior -- apparently forgetting or unaware that Aliza was currently his Chieftain's bed mate -- reached to his groin and cupped his personals, saying, "I've got three times the distance for you Darkness whore."

Without truly realizing what she was doing, Aliza whipped an arrow from her quiver, notched it, pulled, and loosed. Eyes opened all about as the others realized that she was shooting at one of their own, and a moment later the training field was filled with the scream of pain of the man whose hand and ball sack had been penetrated by the fast moving missile.

A messenger burst into Baldr's tent as he once once again in the middle of a meeting with his Karant's. The way things had been lately he did not know why he bothered. Every time he started such a meeting he was interrupted. However the news this man brought was indeed dire and he summoned all the Karant's to follow him.

He raced to the training ground he had set up for Aliza to train his warriors in the use of the new bow. At the moment he was only training one Karanteen. They only had the forty captured bows, but already his carpenters were working on making more following Aliza's instructions. By the time he was ready to invade he hoped he would have a bow for everyone here and later enough for several Karanteen's.

However what he saw when he ran up had him in despair. Aliza was surrounded by angry Clansmen with weapons dawn, while another a significant distance away was on the ground clutching his groin. Actually as he got closer Baldr could see that the mans hand was pinned to his groin by an arrow. He shook his head in despair while secretly marveling at the shot. To hit such a tiny target at that range, she was indeed a superior archer.

He forced his way through the crowd and confronted the men. They lowered their weapons and Aliza immediately lowered her bow although Baldr noticed she still kept an Arrow on the string. He was told what had transpired and he growled. He understood the situation immediately. His men thought Aliza nothing more than a slave that he was rutting with and treated her as such. Aliza of course knew what she was and reacted as a free woman should. This was actually his fault. He had made an error in judgement and his man had paid for it.

"Take Sven to the healers and see he gets the best care," he informed the two closest men to him. They nodded and took the groaning man towards the healers tents. Looking around he still saw angry faces and knew that would not be sufficient. "I have made a grave mistake this day. We are in a new land and their ways are not our own. I took her," he said pointing at Aliza, "Not as a slave but as a prisoner to assure that I got my wife back. She is to be treated like a free woman but I understand why you failed to do so. These new ways are going to take awhile to get used to. No longer are we raiding and going back home. We are taking these lands for ourselves and staying."

He saw a few puzzled looks and he pointed around him. "Look at this land. Each year we raid it to get what we need to survive, then slink back home to fight each other for the rest. Now we no longer do that and life has been a little better." Those who had been with him the longest nodded their heads. Indeed it had been better. With no need to raid their fellow clansman for the things they did not have they had grown considerably and been able to concentrate on other things.

"Now think what we could do if we owned these lands. Good soil to grow our crops instead of that wasteland to try to plant in. Look at this grass for our horses. Why just being here look at how much our own horses have changed. Their coats are shinier and bellies fuller than I have ever seen. They move like colts again," he smiled. The men laughed, indeed they had seen this.

"The problem is we will not want to do everything. Of course we have our freemen and our slaves, but this land is vast. however some of the old chiefs had a plan and through their Karant's I have learned of it and I think it is wise. We let them do the work and we demand a share of it. For every ten bales of hay they produce we will take one. For every ten casks of wine or ale we will get one. Fish, bread, vegetables, ore, gems, whatever this land has to offer we will take a part of it without having to lift a finger."

The men cheered, they liked this idea a lot. It was like raiding only without the danger. "The only problem is we can no longer take slaves and no longer treat captives like them," he said pointing at Aliza. "It is a big change I know but the payoff is worth it." There were more cheers but some grumbles. He smiled. "Ahh I know what you are thinking, no slaves no sex. This is not true. The south have what are called whores. For a little money these women are willing to spread their legs for any man and believe me they will follow us around like flies on horseshit. You will have more that enough willing women ready to take your cocks men."

Now there were enthusiastic cheers, but as they died down one of the men pointed at Aliza. "I have no problem treating her as a free woman Chief, but she still did wrong shooting Sven in his purse like that. He only made a lewd comment. I'm not defending him mind, he deserved a smacking if she is to be treated as such but an arrow?"

Several others nodded and murmurs could be heard. The man was right of course and Baldr knew it. He had been trying to distract them hoping they would forget until he could get her away, but he had failed. "You are right and she needs to be punished and it needs to be public so everyone knows it has been done." There were nods at this. Baldr knew he had to be fair and he could not treat Aliza any different from any other member of the Clan or Free man.

"It is a tough decision. Sven unknowingly committed the crime as did Aliza. It does not excuse the crime itself but it can lessen it. However Sven may be injured for life. It is fortunate he has sired two sons to carry on his name just in case." He rubbed his chin and looked at Aliza. "Very well the punishment is this. Two lashes from a riding crop across your back from each member of his family. That is his wife, his daughter and his two sons. Then two from me as chief. This is to represent the two precious things you may have destroyed. This is to happen tonight. Gather the camp and build a large fire, I want everyone to witness it."

He then grabbed Aliza by the arm and took her back to his tent to prepare her for her ordeal.

Aliza had known she'd screwed up even as the arrow was still flying towards its target. For days, the Darkness Warrioress had suffered the side ways glances and low spoken insults from many of the Horse Warriors who would never see her as anything more than the enemy whore their Chieftain had claimed to keep his cock happy until he was finally able to pound it deep inside a future Queen. Her anger had been building quietly, and finally it had come out in a way that had nearly left her dead.

Of course, while the Northmen surroundings her with drawn weapons would have liked to abuse her body until it was nothing more than a puddle of warm flesh, then slit her throat, it wouldn't have happened that way. Although Aliza had drawn and notched a second arrow even as the first one was cut through bone and balls, the next weapon the assassin was likely to be the dagger she'd lifted off a Horse Warrior during the morning's preparations for travel. And, like the Darkness who had sacrificed themselves back at the bridge, Aliza would have used it on her own throat.

She had lowered her bow, releasing the pull on its string, as Baldr approached. As he explained to the Karanteens about what Vint had to offer, she never forgot the dagger hidden under her armor. She kept her head down respectfully, but her eyes remained watchful, should she need to suddenly arm herself and stop her imminent rape before it even began.

But as Baldr went on, Aliza came to realize that she would not die here today. She would be punished severely and painfully, but ... she would live to fight another day. The irony, of course, was who she'd fought just now, and who she was going to fight in the near future. The Northmen saw the Darkness -- and therefore Aliza -- as the enemy. They had, after all, recently battled. They had, after all, recently taken lives from one another's ranks.

But Baldr's men were now Aliza's allies. Weren't they? Or, was only Baldr her only ally? Her ally, her Chieftain, her Master, her lover. Were the Horse Warriors of the North still her enemies? And if so, what were the Darkness and City Guardsmen against whom she and the Northmen would soon be battling together?

"Gather the camp and build a large fire, I want everyone to witness it."

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Aliza wasn't keen on becoming a spectacle for the pleasure of the Horse Warriors. But at the same time, she knew it was necessary. And, she began to consider, if she took her punishment well, it might even improve her standing amongst the Northmen. She shook her head a bit as she was led away by Baldr. It was going to take more than a few lashes to make the men of his Karanteens come to respect her.

"You must not hold back, m'lord," Aliza said to Baldr as soon as they were out of hearing of the others. When he looked to her, she explained, "Your warriors must see me hurt. They must see me in pain. And they must see you inflict it."

She didn't know whether it was the way of the Chieftains to dispense the punishment themselves, or whether they let those more directly harmed -- in this case Sven -- do the lashing themselves. But she knew that many of the Horse Warriors would be see a less than brutal punishment as protection of Aliza by her lover.

"In the Order," she said, beginning to unbuckle her leather as she had for him so many times now, "punishment such as this must be done to a pure body." With the lower half of her armor now loose, the pulled out the dagger and let it drop, tip first into the soil at her feet. She clarified, "I must be without covering before the witnesses ... to show the true punishment of the lash."

Again, she didn't know if this was the North way. But Aliza had always been one for formalities, and being naked as the whip did its damage was the only way to prove to the others that she was truly being punished for her misdeed.

As Baldr escorted Aliza back to her tent he nodded at her suggestions. Of course some of the things she was suggesting were already going to happen, but others were not. Stripping her fully naked was not something the Clan did. Her top half would have been exposed as she needed to be lashed or her back, but her bottom half would have remained covered. He wondered why she was insisting on going fully exposed the a meaning presented itself to him. In that way she could show that she truly had nothing to hide. It was good in one way for him as the chief, but bad in another as him the man. He did not want everyone to see the woman he was sharing a bed with naked. Normally he would not care, but for some reason he did about this woman. It would be bad enough that she would be exposing her breasts to them. Now she wanted to expose her whole body!

He left her in her tent under the care of Gree and retired to his tent. He knew he could not get out of this punishment but there must be some way he could make it less harmful to her. She was going to have to take ten lashes, two each for every member of Sven's family. He had a wife, two sons and a daughter. Plus the ones for himself. Of course It looked like Sven would not be able to do the deed himself which was why Baldr had said he would do the lashing. Normally it would fall to the closest family member but Sven had no brothers and his father although still a warrior was with the warriors waiting at the border.

Ten lashes was harsh, but it was the correct punishment. Already his Karants were reporting in that his speech had been circulating around the camp and his men were talking about this new way with renewed enthusiasm. They were also pleased with his punishment of the woman although even some of his warriors found ten lashes to be a little harsh although like him they agreed it was the law. Baldr was pleased his warriors were now happy, and talk had turned to the conquering of the land instead of the Razing of it. He was just worried his next step might not be as well received, but he would ride that horse when he got to it.

An hour before the scheduled punishment he summoned Gree to his tent. The woman came but did not look to happy. Baldr sighed. He knew she had made fast friends with both Aliza and Onya and he also knew that in her eyes what he was about to do probably looked like a betrayal in her eyes. "Gree what I do now I do for the Clan, not for myself. I can not have my warriors think I favor a bed partner over them. A chief must forever be impartial in these matters no matter how much he does not want to be, do you understand?" he told her.

Smiling at her he held up a small bottle. "Saying that, I want you to make sure Aliza looks her best tonight so that the whole clan can see how brave she is. Before she dresses rub her down all over with this so she will glisten in the torchlight. It will make sure everyone can see her. Do not take no for an answer Gree. If you have to tell her it is an order from me. When you are done put her in a simple gown and wait for her to be summoned." He waited until she nodded and sent her on her way.

Finally it was time and he strode from his tent to where the huge bonfires had been lit. Fifteen hundred men were gathered around them and they had been feasting and drinking, only the guards, and those on scout duty (Those who had drawn the short straws) were not gathered here. Baldr strode to the place of honor and raised his hands. Soon a hush fell and he began speaking.

"You know why you are gathered here tonight. A mistake was made not just by the two people involved but by your chief as well. By now you have heard from your fellow warriors what our plans are for this land. I will tell you now, that once I marry Onya it will not be just this land but all the lands in the South that we will conquer this way."

A huge roar went up and Baldr waited for it to calm down. "However it may mean we will have to change our way of thinking, but that is something to discuss another time. You are here to witness a punishment as our laws state. Sven was injured and Aliza must bear the cost of doing so." He waved his hand a Gree brought her forward. She walked forward on her own, proudly and dressed in a simple gown of black. Baldr smiled as he put his hand on her shoulder. "She does not run from her obligations, indeed she has told me of the way her old people did things. They would take their punishment bare to show they had nothing to hide and to offer themselves up to their god. I have agreed to allow her to do this so you can all witness her bravery and to see that she is worthy to be called a freeman of this clan."

He clasped the robe then lowered it letting it fall free from her and she stepped out of the garment to stand before the clan naked, glistening in the firelight. He led her over to a pole which had been pounded into the ground and held up the straps. She shook her head and he nodded and then offered her a bone. "It helps if you bite down on this." Again she shook her head and Baldr shook his head. Her pride would only hurt her. He turned her so her back faced the gathered men then he reached out and a riding crop was placed in his hand.

"Aliza, formerly of the Darkness of Virta and now a Freeman of the Clan," he said making sure all now knew of her allegiance, "You have been found guilty of wounding a warrior of the Clan. You will receive two lashes for him and each member of his family. This sentence is to be carried out by the chief as the warrior is unable to do it himself and no family members are present."

Baldr closed his eyes then opened them and raised the crop and brought it down across her back. He was an expert at this and knew exactly how to strike a person to cause the maximum amount of noise and causing the maximum amount of striping but causing the least amount of pain. That wasn't to say that there would be no pain however. He paused and then struck again, this time in another spot. By the time he got to the fifth lash he could see tears flowing freely down Aliza's face but she had yet to cry out. However the seventh proved her undoing. She cried in pain and on the eighth she yelled. Baldr shut out her cries and hit her again even as she yelled in agony. The last hit had her almost whimpering in pain but she still stood.

Baldr looked around at his men and not one was looking away. Then one by one they started to stamp their feet and then clap their hands. A slow steady chant of "Aliza" began to build up until it echoed off the tents. Baldr let it go on for a few minutes before he lifted his hands and cut it off. "The punishment has been given and received. The issue is no more. Now back to the feast," he yelled. The men cheered and resumed their eating and drinking. Baldr turned to Gree who had been hovering anxiously and motioned her forward. He helped her with Aliza and he studied the woman's back. It had ten raised red stripes on it, but none were bleeding. He sighed in satisfaction.

"Take her back to the tent and soak bandages in the stuff I gave you," he whispered to Gree. "They will help numb her back and speed the healing. If she can let her sleep but do not let her roll over, she is to sleep on her stomach tonight. I will visit her tomorrow."

He watched as the two of them made their way back to the tent and then resumed his seat. He had a long night ahead of him but he was proud of the way Aliza had performed. Truly she was a magnificent warrior, but maybe that numbing salve he had Gree rub on her had done something.

In the camp of Chieftain Baldr:

"Gree what I do now I do for the Clan, not for myself."

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She listened to Baldr's explanation and understood. This wouldn't be the first lashing she'd witnessed. It wouldn't even be the first lashing of a woman that she'd witnessed. It would, however, be the first lashing of someone for whom she had served, either while still a slave under Loro or later as a Freeman under Onya.

"Saying that..."

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Gree knew what the bottle contained, and she was delighted to see the Chieftain present it. It wouldn't stop the pain Aliza would endure, but it would lessen the after effects a great deal. The woman about to be beat wasn't from the Clan, she was an enemy. And yet the Northern woman still dreaded what was about to befall Aliza, despite it being the appropriate punishment for harming -- nearly killing and, likely, forever leaving limp -- the Northman who was now laying in a tent with his personal purse wrapped and plugged in an effort to save his life, if not produce more of his name.



On the walls of the City of Virta

Parta had been watching the Northman camp for days, conferring with his Lieutenants on strategy, preparing the defense, and more. He'd barely slept, and when he did it was on a cot in one of the wall's towers so he could be close to the action. When a Guardsman politely awoke him and told him he needed to come to the wall, he had only to don his boots and armor to be ready for battle, which he knew could come at any time.

He found a second of his Lieutenants at the wall with a Long Eye resting as they often were upon a cloth bag of beans, allowing it to be easily adjusted. For years, the Scientists had been working on a stand for the telescopic viewing device -- it had three legs, thus was being referred to as a tripod -- but Parta hadn't like the awkwardness of using it, either on the wall or in the field.

"What has changed?" he asked as he approached, asking, "Are they preparing?"

Parta was still buckling his armor as the Lieutenant reported new and strange activity in the camp. In addition to his standard Darkness leather, like that which Aliza wore, Parta was also wearing Battle Armor, which added layers of chain mail and plate mail, the latter of which he despised due to its weight and restrictions on his movement. He would never wear such a thing in close combat, but here on the wall, where arrows raining down could be deflected by it, the extra defense was a good idea.

"What is strange about Northern heathens dancing about a bonfire," Para asked, making light of a tradition that the Darkness had long ago abandoned.

There was nothing wrong with firing up the troops before battle, of course. In fact, it was a very smart tactic to take before sending men to their deaths. The only reason the Darkness didn't do that was that, over the generations, they had become an army of Stealth. Parta couldn't remember a single fight in which he'd participated that hadn't started with him sneaking into a camp or structure in total silence and killing his first man before anyone ever realized he was coming, let alone already there.

"First Captain, you have to--" The man went silent, not wanting to actually speak the words.

Parta saw the man's concerns and moved to the Long Eye. After getting some direction on where, in comparison to the bonfire, to look, Parta found what the man had already seen: a big man, who the Darkness leader knew had to be Chieftain Baldr, whipping a naked body ... a naked female body ... a naked female body that was--

"Aliza..." he murmured as his stomach rolled over. Parta lifted his eyes from the device for a moment, then returned to it and watched. He'd been called to the wall just as soon as the Lieutenant had sensed something important was about to happen; so he'd caught only the final lashings before Baldr stepped away and the camp went wild with the stomping and clapping of heathens celebrating the brutal punishment of a woman. Parta rose again from the Long Eye and told himself, I'll kill every last one of these fuckers.

Then, at the camp which was just barely out of reach of the Darkness's long range recurves, the clamor rose as a consistent chant that Parta was soon able to interpret. And he became deeply confused, as he realized what the word was that had begun to be called out by dozens, then hundreds, then thousands of troops ... the word flooding over the plains of Virta toward the distant lands of the Fenwater and the Frenkish Empire and out over the waters of the Inner Sea toward the Republic of Yalla and all the lands surrounding them.

Aliza! Aliza! Aliza...!"

The pain ripping through the Aliza's entire being was overwhelming, and yet she managed to maintain her grip on the pole against which she was being whipped. Honestly, the pain only intensified her grasp -- and her resolved to survive it in honor and, perhaps, spite -- and when Yol and Gree came to take her away, they nearly had to pry her loose from the pole.

That was when she heard a sound she wouldn't have expected to hear throughout her lifetime.

"Aliza! Aliza! Aliza!"

Yol attempted to support her as he and the female servant turned her for her tent, but Aliza refused his assistance. She steadied herself against his muscular self just long enough to gain her stance, then looked about herself at the Northern horde. She blinked away the tears to see and hear what she took to be acceptance of her into the Clan. But ... why? An hour earlier, the Darkness assassin had nearly killed a second Horse Warrior, though most of those surrounding her only knew of today's assault. So, why this ... now?

Aliza realized she wasn't going to be able to make it to the tent entirely on her own after all. She grasped Yol's elbow and, keeping far enough away from him to appear mostly on her own power, she made her way toward the tent, the chants continuing and slowly mutating into general celebration.

She took a peek toward the City Wall, not for any particular reason at all. No. No, that wasn't right. She looked toward her previous home for a reason. Aliza had vowed to Baldr that she would help him locate Onya in exchange for the release of the Priests, and because he promised not to execute her for her crimes against the Clan. But all this time, all these days in which she'd been his hostage, his slave, his servant, his lover, his conspirator, Aliza had still been a Darkness Officer.

She'd been such because, although giving her vow to Baldr, the men of the Clan still saw her as the enemy. But now...? Maybe it was wishful thinking to believe that this one act -- braving through a beating without needing to be tied for punishment, showing honor and commitment -- could suddenly make her one of the men.

But ... Aliza could only hope. And what was that hope? While she could never have imagined such a thing just days earlier, Aliza was hoping that she was now an honest to goodness heathen of the north...



Gree had been told to give Aliza the entire next day to recuperate, to tend to her wounds with more of the wonderful, pain-reducing salve while she slept, face down. But the camp was alive with activity shortly after dawn, and Aliza was determined to show herself to the Clan. She wanted to show those who had chanted for her that she was worthy of their honor; and she wanted to show those who hadn't that she was tougher than they thought and ready to take on the next challenge.

And that challenge, it would turn out, was only a few hours away. Gree had gone out for more fresh water and rags, and when she returned she said with wild excitement, "They're here! They've arrived!"

Oblivious, Aliza asked, "Who's here?"

"The Karanteens from the North!" Gree said, urging Aliza to her feet with extreme care, clarifying, "The border army. They've arrived!"

Gree helped Aliza to her feet but was then shooed away as Aliza -- not wanting to appear infirmed -- made her way to and through the tent flap. The servant was right. From where she stood, Aliza could see the rolling hills below the encampment for more than ten miles. And for that entire distance, a cloud of dust was rising and floating away from a column of Horse Warriors that was two, sometimes four wide.

"The fight will begin tomorrow," Yol said, stepping up from out of sight. When Aliza looked to him, he asked how she was. When he got no answer, knowing she would neither lie nor admit her pain, he looked back to the army again and said, "Sunrise tomorrow ... perhaps the following day ... we will attack the city."

Aliza watched as excited riders from the camp rode out to meet the first Karanteen, then looked for Baldr. She told Yol with confidence, "No. The fight will begin tonight. Find your Lord, please. Tell him his loyal servant, Aliza of the Clan Baldr, wishes to speak to him."

Baldr was standing outside his tent looking towards his approaching warriors with pride and a bit of impatience. He knew the last was not their fault but he was ready to attack the city and get his bride out of their clutches. He looked towards the city and saw frantic activity all along their walls. Obviously they could not make out how many men were approaching, but from the dust cloud that was approaching them they would know it was a sizeable force. Perhaps now they would finally negotiate. He would think about giving it one last shot.

Then he decided to not even try. They had been given every opportunity and declined each time. Why should he give them another chance just because he had superior numbers now? They had made their choice and now they had to live with it.

As his men finally rode into camp, they began the usual task of setting up their tents as his men directed them to were it was safe, as the karants joined him in his tent. He had food, wine and water brought and waited until they had slaked their first and fed themselves before he asked after their trip.

"Peaceful Chief," reported their spokesman, the oldest Karant. he had been with Baldr from the start and all the others normally deferred to him. "As soon as people saw our dust cloud they ran, but as per your orders, we rode straight here."

Baldr nodded and praised his men promising them a feast that night. His scouts and hunters were having to roam further to catch game, but they were skilled and the area around Virta had sufficient game. However with all his troops here now, he needed to win the war quickly or they would soon deplete the available food.

He was telling the Karants his plan of attack when Yol requested an audience. Suspecting what it was about and wanting to introduce her to the other Karants anyway, he permitted the man to enter and when he voiced his request Baldr smiled. Aliza of clan Baldr then. She had finally embraced her destiny. He was glad of that and sent Yol to bring her back.

He saw puzzlement on the faces of the Karants who had just arrived but pride and respect on the Karants who had witnessed last nights deed. "Men I will not bore you with long speeches. Aliza was a captive, or more accurately a freeman warrior of thee forces facing us. She was responsible for taking my bride but it was on orders from her superiors. She has agreed to help us get my bride back and indeed it is her that has been training our men in the use of this new bow that is more powerful than any we have ever seen." The karants nodded. They knew the wisdom of this and prisoners often proved beneficial. "However I made the mistake of not officially stating her status and one of my warriors said some rather disgusting comments that not even a slave should have to put up with. Unfortunately she is a warrior and acted as such and she was training the archers at the time. The mans hand and his purse was injured."

The Karants paused then one laughed a little. "This woman must be an excellent shot to hit a mans purse at a distance. How did you solve the issue chief?"

"Ten lashes as is the custom. Two for every member of the mans family."

Now they really paused and winced. They knew how the bite of a lash felt having to meet out punishment themselves and a few having to taste it themselves, but ten. "How many did you get to before she passed out?"

Baldr said with some pride," She refused to be tied and the bone and she did not cry out until the seventh hit. She stood upright for all ten lashes and walked away under her own power."

Now the men erupted. Men had been known to faint after five and the most any had seen was six. A woman taking ten and walking away. "You went easy," one cried. 'Immediately one who had been there stood up and threatened him. "I saw it with my own eyes and will swear that the chief whipped that woman as well as any man. She will have stripes on her back for weeks, but she is a stubborn wench." His eyes watered and he did not hide it. "What I saw last night was beyond any feat of bravery I have ever seen. I would be honored to fight by that woman's side."

The other Karants who had been there nodded in agreement and raised their voices in agreement. Baldr smiled then looked at the others. "You will get your chance to see if I went easy men. She will be coming here in a second and you may examine her then and tell me if I went easy," he said menacingly.

Earlier:

Aliza winced occasionally at Gree's gentle washing, then drying of her back. The servant begged, "Please, m'lady, let me apply the salve again."

"No!" Aliza insisted. "I'll be fine."

The salve had a distinct albeit pleasant scent, and while it had served her well in the first hours following the lashing, Aliza didn't want Baldr -- or more specifically his Karants -- to know she was using it. After she winced once last time, she stepped out of the small, knee high tub and onto an elk hide, laid out over the dirt floor.

"Ask Yol to come in, please," she asked as Gree wrapped her in a blanket. As the servant headed for the tent's opening, Aliza quickly stopped her, telling her with a sincere tone, "Thank you, Gree. You have become more than a servant. You have become a friend. May I call you that?"

The servant, who was just a couple of years her junior, smiled broadly, then bowed and said, "I would be honored."

Aliza laughed, which caused her to wince a bit as the blanket moved over her wounds. "The first thing to know about being friends is ... don't bow."

Gree blushed, confirmed her understanding, then fetched Yol. Aliza had sent him to Baldr's tent with two questions, and now she asked, "What were his answers?"

Yol smiled, knowing the answers would be appreciated. "Though he didn't say so, I believe he thought it was a good idea."

"The first question?" she asked, tilting her head curiously. "Or the second?"

Yol smiled again, then turned and left without answering.

Gree turned to face Aliza with an equally inquisitive expression. "What question, m'lady?"

"What question, Aliza," the warrioress corrected, again getting a nervous chuckle from the woman. She told Gree to tie the tent flap shut, then retrieve her Darkness uniform. She pulled out a dagger, saying, "Time to make some changes."



When she entered Baldr's tent, Aliza and her uniform were barely recognizable as having once been a Darkness officer and her uniform...


Some parts had been removed. The hood was gone, but the missing portion that got the most glances was the buckle-tightened portion of her torso armor and the accompanying black undershirt. Her smooth, muscular belly from waist to just beneath her bosom was now on display, complete with the scars she'd accumulated over the years. Over the next minutes, if ever she turned her back to a Karant, he would also see her new scars, still swollen and red and -- despite Gree's continued pleas -- untreated by the slave Baldr had supplied.

There were other changes beyond reductions. Her expertly fashioned leather and metal stud quiver had been replaced by a Clan quiver made of reinforced animal hide. (She'd retained her Darkness arrows, however, having already begun teaching the weapons makers how to make the better missiles.)

She'd also traded away her Darkness sword and dagger for a North pair of the same; and she was wearing them in a way more suitable to someone fighting from horse back than from foot, as Aliza had been trained. It would take her a few days to become as skilled with the differently weighted weapons, but when she did she'd be just as deadly if not more so.

Using the removed portion of her torso armor, Aliza had created sheaths for some of the many weapons she'd surrendered that first day in the encampment. She now wore the arsenal strapped to her arms, legs, and waist, the latter of which now sported a leather thong tied and decorated with beads in a way that identified her as a Warrior of Clan Baldr. (She'd been hesitant to don that last ornament without Baldr specifically giving her permission to do so, but Yol -- who had been chatting with Karants about the previous evenings happenings -- had convinced her that she'd been accepted enough to do so.)

In place of her leather and metal stud Darkness boots, Aliza was wearing Northern boots, a perfected combination of leather, wood, and fur that stood up well against the harsher conditions of the Unnamed Untamed.

But her clothing wasn't the only change. For almost two decades, Aliza had worn her hair braided tightly down the back of her head with no decoration beyond the simple leather thong holding it together between her shoulder blades. Tonight, braids extended from just behind her ears down to her bosom, with a colorful, beaded thong intertwined with the more loosely twisted hair.

And despite the fact that the fight was still hours or even days away, Aliza's face and chest were decorated with a charcoal and berry based war paint. On one cheek, parallel stripes ran horizontally across her cheeks, a pair of black stripes separated by red; on the other cheek was a black arrow head with red blood on the end; and stretching from each of her shoulders to deep inside her cleavage was a plunging red "V" that showed off the firm, roundness of her breasts, something the Karants had ever seen on their male warriors.

Aliza walked up to just a yard from Baldr, pulled her sword, held it before her across her open palms, and dropped to her knees. With her head down, she proclaimed, "I am Aliza ... Horse Warrior of the Clan Baldr. I pledge my sword, my loyalty, and my life to you, Chieftain Baldr."

She waited for him to accept her pledge...

Baldr looked around at his Karants and noted their expressions. Most wore ones of acceptance, indeed some of pride. A few of the newer ones had ones of distaste that they quickly hid. He could understand if they were of disappointment but distaste? He would have to keep an eye on them. One or two were of Clans that had bordered these lands so they may be forgiven. Having spent years fighting these warriors and generations being taught they were the enemy, it might prove hard for them to accept her readily. However several of the others were from clans so far away he wondered what excuse they had.

All however had seen the stripes on her back and he had seen nods pass between them. More than one nodded at him to show they now knew the truth of his words and even some marveled that this woman was not just up but was able to move and bend the way she did.

As she made her pledge he stood up and accepted her sword then slowly cut his palm lightly with it, drawing blood and bathing the sword with it, then reached down and placed a stripe of blood across her forehead. "I chief Baldr welcome you Horse warrior Aliza into the Clan. May you protect it and all who are in it."

He handed her back her sword and gestured for her to stand up and stand beside him. Then he looked at his Karants. "Tomorrow we will attack this city that has stolen my bride. We have discussed my plan and with Aliza's help we now have a new weapon that will turn the tide, saving a lot of lives." He smiled at his men then dropped the bear among the wolves. "However now Aliza is going to tell you how our plans can be better put into action and how tonight when those warriors think we are sleeping getting ready for the battle ahead, we will strike at the very heart of them."

He smiled at the newest of his warriors and gestured for her to speak.

"I, chief Baldr, welcome you, Horse warrior Aliza, into the Clan. May you protect it and all who are in it."

Click to expand...

Aliza felt the blade lift away, and she looked up into the eyes of her Chief, her King, her lover. He sliced his hand and added to the decorations already on her determined face, then gestured her to her feet. Aliza allowed her gaze to scan across the faces in an effort to gauge their feelings. She saw what Baldr had seen, emotions and expressions ranging from honor, approval, acceptance, doubt, distrust, and outright hatred.

In one face, even, Aliza recognized continuing fear. The Darkness had a reputation, particularly amongst the nearer clans with whom they had battled often. Aliza would not overcome that fear -- or the hatred -- until she'd proved herself in battle, standing side by side with these men.

These men...

It wasn't lost on the former Darkness warrioress that -- forgetting Gree and Baldr's own tent slave (who Aliza had mistakenly thought was here to polish the Chieftain's sword when Aliza herself wasn't) -- she was a lone female bobbing about in a sea of males. She knew a little about how the average Northman thought about his women -- Free, Freeman, or Slave -- and she knew it would be difficult for some to accept that she was not only standing here with them armed, but that she would also be helping plan and lead the fight yet to come.

At least, she thought she would help lead it. Until just this moment, as she reminded herself that she was no longer an equal amongst equals but was instead a woman amongst men, Aliza had assumed that she would be at the front of one of the infiltration teams taking Virta.

She couldn't know right now, but -- after waving forward Yol, who had been quietly and inconspicuously standing just inside the tent -- she would know soon enough. Yol handed Aliza a rolled up elk hide, which she spread out across the floor. In charcoal, decorated with some of the same war paints on her face, shoulders, and bosom -- into which the gaze of some Karants plunged -- was a very detailed depiction of the city.

"I have already explained a great deal of this to our Lord," Aliza began, glancing up at Baldr. Then, as she looked around to familiar faces, she added, "And working with some of his great Horse Warriors, we have discussed the strengths and weaknesses of the Karanteens to determine a workable plan." Again she scanned faces, this time unfamiliar ones. "With the vast army that you have brought with you, the City of Virta will fall in under a day. I promise you."

"How can you promise that?" one of the new and apparently braver Karants snapped off at Aliza's vow. He glanced about the tent, then to Baldr as he asked boldly, "And how can we trust this ... Darkness warrior ... whose people have killed so many of us with their cowardly attacks in the dark of night?"

Another Karant spoke up in Aliza's defense, which surprised her. She was neither aware of the conversation that had taken place earlier -- about Baldr's vouching for her -- nor was she aware that the man now defending her was the very Karant who had also done so earlier. As she listened to the man, Aliza glanced up at Baldr for his reaction, and it concerned her a bit. She could have relaxed, though, for though she also didn't know this, the Karant attacking Aliza's promise was one of the Chieftain's longest serving and most trusted advisors.

Still, she slowly stood, causing her position to move a bit left to partially block Baldr's view of the man. Inconspicuously, she reached a hand back to press against Baldr's thigh, hoping -- without reason to do so -- to prevent his attack on the man. She walked slowly around the fur map, her eyes constantly upon the questioning Karant, until she was standing over him. The man showed his courage by not standing to gain a better fighting position, yet one of his hands did inconspicuously slip slowly to the hilt of his short sword.

"I do not expect you to trust me, m'lord," Aliza told him firmly, lifting her left arm up before him, then pulling -- only partially! -- one of her previously well hidden razors from the now more conspicuous sheath on her forearm. She hesitated to let him understand that she wasn't withdrawing it for use, then pulled it in a way that aimed the hilt toward his face and the blade at her own shapely body. She finished, "I do expect you to be the one who cuts my throat ... with my own weapon, should I ever show disloyalty to the Clan Baldr."

She and the man stared into one another's eyes for a moment before the man studied the razor, then took it from the sheath. She bowed her head to him respectfully, then returned to the map and the battle plan as if nothing had transpired between the two of them.

"The City is protected primarily by the City Guard," she said, pulling her new Northman sword and pointing to key defenses on the map. "They are blunt weapons ... men with poor to nearly adequate training. The real defense of Virta is the Darkness."

She spent the next hour describing the weapons and tactics of both forces, as well as how to defeat some of them. When asked about those that couldn't be defeated, such as the hot oil and heavy duty crossbows that could penetrate even the best armor, Aliza was blunt. "We will lose many men to those weapons. Many brave Horse Warriors will die for their Clan."

She went on to describe the secret tunnels and vulnerable gates, adding, "By now, First Captain Parta knows that I have turned against the city, the Darkness, and the Order. These secret entrances will be heavily guarded and blocked."

She looked to Baldr and told him what she'd only come to realize after her public lashing, "These entrances will now be of no use to us. Except ... as a distraction from the true point of attack."

Until now, Aliza had said nothing to Baldr about attacking the City from the sea because it hadn't seemed necessary. The Clan had overwhelming numbers. They could pound against the walls and gates and tunnels relentlessly for days, weeks, months, even years, but in the end the Clan would triumph. But, men they would lose. Dozens, hundreds, thousands perhaps. But while she had given up being Darkness, Aliza still had her Darkness training. And that training had seen her and fellow assassins accomplish things against far greater numbers than the Northern Karants would never believe.

"If we begin constructing siege weapons in the morning," she said, pointing a finger to the tent's north wall, "well within the view of the City but well out of reach of the City's missile defenses, the Darkness will presume the attack is days in the making." She pointed to a place near the edge of the fur map, away from the City Walls. "While we and they prepare for a siege, however, we slip into the fishing camp of South Shore ... load up our best infiltrators--"

She traced a path up the shore to the City docks, then looked to Baldr, whose opinion was of course the only one that mattered. "--then penetrate the City at this entrance, which will not be heavily guarded. Once inside the city walls, we can open the gates..."

She stood tall and looked about the Karants, smiling as she said, "And take the great city of Virta as easily as taking a bath."

There were smiles on the faces of some of the men and continuing doubt on others. One Karant laughed, slapping his fellow soldiers back and sending a cloud of dust all about them. He bellowed, "No one said anything about having to take a bath! I thought we were just taking a city!"

There was a round of jubilant laughter, which caused Aliza to smile broadly as she looked back to Baldr. He seemed pleased with the plan, though that might have just been his reluctance to show doubt in the woman he'd just accepted into the Clan and with whom he'd been bumping uglies for several days.

As the laughter continued, Aliza raised her voice and proclaimed, "And after we take the city--" She pointed to the man whose body had produced the cloud still floating about the tent, adding, "--and you take a bath ... I will show you where the City of Virta hides it gold..."

There was another round of rowdy cheers, to which Aliza added even louder, "...and the Northmen of the Unnamed Untamed ... the Horse Warriors of Clan Baldr ... will have taken their first step in conquering the Known World!"

As the tent erupted in mayhem, Aliza turned and walked slowly around the map to stand near to Baldr, their left sides together so she was facing opposite him and away from the Karants. She leaned in a bit closer, her face only as high as his shoulder, and said just loud enough for him to hear, "M'lord ... I really ... truly ... need you to fuck me."

She looked to him as she turned, a devilish smirk on her lips. She didn't know how he would respond, but then he wouldn't get a chance right then. A Horse Warrior wearing the insignia of the Perimeter Watch entered, hesitated at the continuing madness -- which was now beginning to include the singing of a song Aliza was yet to hear -- then circled around to Baldr.

"The First Captain is at the tent, m'lord," he said, presenting the Chieftain with a rolled scroll. The watch looked up into Baldr's eyes and said with a bit of a smile, "He wishes to negotiate terms of the City's surrender."

Baldr looked at the messenger and then the scroll. His eyebrows raised as he read the terms and then he laughed causing all eyes to turn to him even as Aliza opened her mouth to continue to talk.

"The first captain Parta, he who leads the Darkness warriors and the defense of the city," he explained for his Karants who had newly arrived, "Has decided to surrender his city instead of face our wrath."

There were cheers from the men. Fighting was good, but winning without loosing men was better. It was why the chieftain battles had been set up in the first place. Too many men died from cold and hunger and the dangers of the north to be wasted in battle if it could be avoided.

Baldr held up his hand. "Their terms are this,
A thousand pounds each of gold and silver, right now.
A hundred pounds each of gold and silver every moon.
A presence inside the city, meaning I can have an Ambassador and a small force to defend the city.
Ten percent of the city's production of goods annually.
Ten percent of the Territory's production of goods annually.
An Earldom for myself in the North on the current border with the Unnamed Untamed, That is what they call our land, far away from Virta, of course. It would amount to about 1/10 of Virta's current territory.
In addition, the people and architects of Virta and Vint would help us build a permanent city on this piece of land drawn on this map."

He paused and looked at his men who looked a little puzzled at this explanation. "What they are saying is that they will pay us to go away and leave them alone. I think some of your old chiefs did this to a few kingdoms in the south." A few karants nodded their heads in understanding.

Baldr continued. "What they want from us is this,
Our troops will neither enter nor besiege the city or restrict the movement of its people and products in anyway.
Our troops will not enslave or otherwise harm the citizens of the Territory of Vint in anyway."

Again Baldr looked at his men and after a second they began to laugh. "Who does this man think he is?" one spoke up. "Does he think us fools?" another called out. "He tries to bargain from strength when he is weak.' cried another.

Baldr nodded and then gestured for Aliza. "I need to go talk to this fool. In all this there was one thing he did not mention, Onya. You will accompany me and we will see what he has to say about it." He called for quiet and then began to issue orders. "You know what to do. The plans are set and nothing has changed. Get some sleep and we begin at dawn. Good hunting."

The men rose and saluted their chief then left. He gestured for Yol to accompany him then left with Aliza for the tent.


He found Parta in an agitated state when he strode in with Aliza by his side. He threw the scroll on the table and said one word. "No."

Parta's face fell and he looked between Baldr and Aliza. "You must know that any secrets she has given up have been either closed or blocked with men. You will not be able to use them. Many people will die before you take this city."

Baldr looked at the scroll and laughed. "Why settle for a bit when I can have everything. Your city will fall make no mistake and everything that it has will be mine including it's lands and all it's taxes. You give me nothing that I do not already own."

He then leaned in close and picked it up and held it out to him. "And where in here does it talk about the one thing I want to know about," he said with anger in his voice as he stared at the man. "What have you done with Onya and when will she be returned to me? What care I for lands and gold I already own or your stinking lives or the lives of your people? Tell me now of Onya or I swear not one of you will live to see another night."

Aliza stepped forward and touched Baldr's shoulder and he rounded on her with anger in his eyes but calmed down and stalked to the back of the tent. Aliza looked at Parta and spoke calmly. "I have told him everything Parta, how we kidnapped Onya because we thought she had been abducted and how she is in Varta. If you do not hand her over he will do as he says. He truly loves her and she him, you know this. He is a man of his word, Once given he will not break it ever. Negotiate properly or all is lost. I may have joined them and for good reason, but I do not wish to fight my brothers and sisters and truly they would like to win by not fighting either."

Parta stared hard and long at Aliza, his face filled with angered disappointment at her betrayal. He let his gaze fall and rise upon her appearance of merged cultures, then asked bluntly, "How could you betray me, Aliza of the Darkness? How could you betray the Order--"

"The Order--!" she cut in, her own tone of anger obvious. She calmed a bit before she continued, "--betrayed me ... Aliza of the Clan Baldr. And it betrayed you, Parta. I am sure that by now, you have come to learn that Lady Onya was never a hostage of Chieftain Baldr, yes?"

She knew the answer to that, of course. Onya had told them the night they'd snatched her, there in that dark alley days, weeks earlier, that she'd been with and come south with Baldr by her own choice. Neither Aliza nor Parta had put much stock in Onya's declaration at the time. She was young, too young to know whether she'd been operating solely upon her own wishes and beliefs ... or manipulated by the heathen Baldr, who only wanted the Meretheni redhead for her titles and tight pussy. But now, it was obvious to Aliza that Onya had spoken the truth; and now, it was obvious in Parta's eyes that he, too, knew that truth.

"And knowing that," Aliza continued, her tone becoming very diplomatic and logical, "you know that to bring our two peoples to war..."

She saw the sudden grimace in Parta's face as she solidly identified herself as now being of a people that he wasn't. She ignored it, continuing, "...over a decision that was wrong..."

She stepped closer to Parta, causing the man to rise a bit taller and inch his hand toward the hilt of his sword. Aliza knew that the man had no trust in her anymore. It hurt her to think that, but ... it was what it was. She continued, "The Priests of the Order of Vint will not lose their lives tonight, First Captain. We will! You and I ... the City Guard ... the Horse Warriors of the North. We will fall to the dirt and mud ... we will give our blood for a decision that you and I made ... but which we both now know was a poor one ... the wrong one ... a decision that the Priests stand behind in an effort to achieve a politic end that you and I know will never come to pass."

Aliza didn't have to clarify that last comment any further to get an expression of understanding from her former superior. Parta knew very well what the Priests had planned for Lady Onya. As he looked to Baldr, the Darkness leader also knew very well that this man and his vast army would not sit still for such a thing.

He looked to the scroll that the Chieftain had twice thrown onto the table at him in disgust, then stood taller to face the man with all the pride he could muster.

"Two thousand pounds each of gold and silver now," he began renegotiating. "Two hundred pounds each of gold and silver every moon.
Double the annual percentages for the first five years..."

"Double the size of the Earldom," Aliza cut in before Baldr could respond, whether yea or nay. There were political and financial things she knew about the City and Territory that Baldr couldn't, so she continued, "A seat on the High Counsel ... free, unencumbered travel on the North Road, as well on a road to be built at your cost between Lord Baldr's Earldom and the fishing village of South Shore, which you will surrender to him ... allowing his people access to the commerce of the Inner Sea."

Parta's expression hardened at that last demand. He knew as well as Aliza did that such a road and port would be used for the movement of commerce and troops in Baldr's continuing quest to spread his influence across the Known World. But, Parta had little choice. Baldr wanted it all! And the First Captain knew it was better to give up too much and keep a little than to give it all up and keep none.

After a moment of thought and glances between Aliza and Baldr, Parta said simply, "Done."

"And the immediate return of Lady Onya to Lord Baldr," Aliza said without hesitation, adding, "And the Holy Blessing of the marriage of Lady Onya to Lord Baldr ... and the confirmation of her titles."

Parta again hesitated, but glancing to Baldr, he could see in the Chieftain's face that the man was about to come over the negotiation table and rip his throat out if he didn't answer the only question on the ruler's mind ... and answer it appropriately!

"Lady Onya is not in the City," he finally said to Baldr, his tone genuine. "The High Priest had her taken to Vint by boat."

He glanced to Aliza and saw an expression of understanding. Aliza had suspected this all along yet said nothing to Baldr. She'd suspected that the coach fleeing on the Virta-Vint Road had been a ruse all along, too, and again said nothing to Baldr. At that point she hadn't yet fully concluded that her future would be with Baldr.

"I can assure you that Lady Onya had already concluded the voyage and is already in the city," Parta continued, again looking at the Northman. "And I can assure you, Lord Baldr, this was not of my decision. As Aliza--" He looked to her and continued with a slight nod of respect, "--of the Clan Baldr has said, she and I are responsible for Lady Onya's, um ... kidnapping, would be the proper word now. But after Lady Onya made it clear that she wished to return to you, m'lord ... and after I'd convinced myself that she was acting on good faith, to herself, to her Goddess, to you ... I attempted to take custody of her once again ... to return her to you."

He nodded to Baldr again, saying with a soft, sincere tone, "I failed, as an element of the Darkness that answers directly to the High Priest had already rushed Lady Onya out of Virta on her way to Vint."

He stood tall again, declaring, "I will order the City and Castle gates opened to your forces, Lord Baldr. You may search every well lit room and every dark corner ... and you will find that I am being truthful with you."

He then looked to Aliza, then back to Baldr, and said, "And ... if you would honor me with the promise that our city and its people will not be punished for deeds it and they did not perform ... I will help you in anyway I can ... including employing the officers of the Darkness should they be requested ... and trusted ... in not only locating your betrothed but in returning her to you as well."

Parta took a step back, pulled his sword, held it before him as Aliza had in the tent earlier that evening, and dropped to his knees, proclaiming, "I am Parta, First Captain of the Darkness. I pledge my sword, my loyalty, and my life to you, Chieftain Baldr."

Baldr did not care about the gold and silver or about the rights to this and that at the moment. He had meant what he had said. Everything was his and this man had no bargaining chips. What he was negotiating with already belonged to his clan so his words meant nothing. If he did not say something worth while soon he was going to separate the mans head from his body and mount it on a spear for his own warriors to see.

Then finally the truth came out and he stepped up beside Aliza and listened to the man.

"Lady Onya is not in the City," he finally said to Baldr, his tone genuine. "The High Priest had her taken to Vint by boat."

It was all Baldr could do to restrain himself from reaching across the table and strangling the man. Only the fact that he showed any remorse saved him.

"I can assure you that Lady Onya had already concluded the voyage and is already in the city," Parta continued, again looking at the Northman. "And I can assure you, Lord Baldr, this was not of my decision. As Aliza--" He looked to her and continued with a slight nod of respect, "--of the Clan Baldr has said, she and I are responsible for Lady Onya's, um ... kidnapping, would be the proper word now. But after Lady Onya made it clear that she wished to return to you, m'lord ... and after I'd convinced myself that she was acting on good faith, to herself, to her Goddess, to you ... I attempted to take custody of her once again ... to return her to you."

He nodded to Baldr again, saying with a soft, sincere tone, "I failed, as an element of the Darkness that answers directly to the High Priest had already rushed Lady Onya out of Virta on her way to Vint."

Blast these men and their priests. Why did they think they knew better than the two of them did. He knew men like this, he even had a few in his own clan. They were convinced that the old ways were the best ways and that they knew what was best for everyone. He had 'persuaded' more than one that they were wrong, several of them at the end of his sword. After all if their god which they had so much faith in wanted them saved, surely he would. So far none had been saved. He wondered if these priests would be?

He looked at the commander and his anger subsided. When he had been younger, he had to follow some orders he had thought stupid as well, but he had done so because it was his duty. It seemed he was caught in the same dilemma.

"I will order the City and Castle gates opened to your forces, Lord Baldr. You may search every well lit room and every dark corner ... and you will find that I am being truthful with you."

He then looked to Aliza, then back to Baldr, and said, "And ... if you would honor me with the promise that our city and its people will not be punished for deeds it and they did not perform ... I will help you in anyway I can ... including employing the officers of the Darkness should they be requested ... and trusted ... in not only locating your betrothed but in returning her to you as well."

Baldr was startled by this offer. He was sure the man was telling the truth, he was very good at reading a man and this Parta was not much of a liar. Even during their previous negotiations he had been easy to read. He was to used to telling the truth. However to open up the city and allow a search was a generous offer and then to pledge to help him get Onya back.

He glanced at Aliza and saw her nod indicating he could be trusted. He was about to answer when the man drew his sword and dropped to the floor, offering it up as Aliza had done.

"I am Parta, First Captain of the Darkness. I pledge my sword, my loyalty, and my life to you, Chieftain Baldr."

He shook his head in disbelief. Now he had two darkness warriors in his clan. He again cut his palm and rubbed his blood into the mans forehead. "I welcome you into the Clan Baldr Parta. May you protect it and all who are in it." He gestured for the man to rise then looked him in the eyes. "This is the deal I will make with you. You will return to the city. I will not call it your city because you are now one of my warriors. You will tell them that you are surrendering and opening the gates. I will only send a thousand men inside and no harm will come to anyone as long as no harm is done to them. They will do no looting but a thorough search will be carried out with you and Aliza in charge so all the secret passages and bolt holes can be checked. As long as there is no sign of her we will leave and travel to Vint to again ask after her. However I will be leaving 500 warriors here. They will make sure your priests do not get up to any mischief but nothing else. I would also like some of your men to accompany us and one or two priests. No harm will come to the priests. I just wish to use them as messengers when we get to Vint. Is all this acceptable to you?"

Aliza wasn't easily surprised, but Parta's pledge to Baldr caused her eyes to open in shock. It was one thing to surrender the city, another to vow no resistance. But to pledge his personal loyalty was incredible. Aliza shouldn't have been so surprised, though. She'd initially given Baldr her own loyalty to save six Priests. Parta was doing so to save the population of an entire city.

Parta rose, sheathed the sword returned to him, and confirmed Baldr's terms with a simple, "Thank you, m'lord. May I request the evening to prepare my people ... so they do not misinterpret the peaceful arrival of your Horse Warriors as a violent invasion."

He then looked to Aliza, giving her another up and down scan before smiling. "I fear that I will not look as good as you do now in such a uniform ... Aliza of the North."

Aliza's own lips spread in a smile. Parta had always had a desire for her, but as her superior in the Darkness, he would never have gotten naked, sweaty, and satisfied in her arms. They both would have been banished, not just from the Force but from the Territory. In truth, since when she'd been only 14 and had accidentally seen Parta naked, Aliza had had a similar warmth for her First Captain. She couldn't help but wonder whether it was permissible to now fuck him long and hard now that their lives inside the elite protection force were over.

That only led Aliza to looking to Baldr and remembering the last request she'd made of him. She looked him up and down and, by his expression, hoped he was having the same thoughts as she was.

"You may return to the City Gates, First Captain," Aliza said firmly. It was an authority she didn't have in Baldr's presence, but her lust was burning her from inside out. She turned to wave inside a man standing just beyond the flap. When Yol entered, Aliza looked back to Parta and said, "This man and a detachment of Horse Warriors will accompany you to the gates, where you will ensure it remains open. Do you understand?"

Parta bowed to Aliza with nearly as much respect as he had Baldr, backed a couple of steps, then turned and withdrew, followed closely by Yol. Aliza followed as far as the city-side of the tent, watched other men -- including one of Baldr's most trusted Karants -- join the two men and walk off, then untied the open flaps and let them fall closed.

Aliza turned to face Baldr and immediately began stripping away her clothes. She tossed aside her armor to reveal her upper half. The nipples of her young, firm breasts were swollen large from the excitement and chill. She neared the table, loosed her buckle, and pushed her pants and under pants off her hips. She leaned over the table, still eying Baldr and demanded, "Fuck me, m'lord."