Micah The Wanderer - Book 3: Training - Part 2

Part 2

I followed him out the door and we headed across the courtyard again. The other three men were no longer out front on the benches and I could see no one as we walked. Tamos slowed so I could walk alongside him.

He turned a questioning eye on me before he spoke. "What was that all about back there? She's not really your sister, right? It's just some kind of expression."

It was my turn to laugh at that. "Hah, no I'm not her brother. That's just something my father taught me from all those years of dealing with different people at a crossroads."

"Well what does it mean?"

"In ancient times, Amazons never wore back armor. They believed that the only way an enemy could strike at your back was if you were running away. Therefore if you are struck in the back you're a coward. Now anyone who has been in a melee knows that you don't have to have your back to someone to get stabbed in it. Well some Amazons started to realize that this was a liability but the leaders didn't want to give up what had become a tradition. On the sly certain warriors started recruiting other warriors to watch their backs for them in combat. Problem was that if you spend all your time watching someone else's back you don't get your share of the glory. Now at this period in time amazon boys were not considered men until they turned sixteen. That was when they were forbidden from bearing weapons. Up to that point they were considered beneath notice and ignored by everyone except their mothers and immediate family. One warrior decided that if they were going to be ignored they may as well be useful. She recruited her little brother to stand at her back when she went into combat. He held only a shield and a dagger but his protection was so effective that other warriors recruited their own sons and brothers for similar duty. Eventually of course tradition gave way to practicality and common sense, Amazons started wearing back armor and the defensive stance of the boys was unnecessary. Despite that the tradition of holding that position still holds in most of the tribes. An amazon can accept a male as someone to watch her back. It implies a certain trust and doesn't leave any room for sexual misunderstanding. If they accept you it is in a position as a younger sibling or offspring. You are effectively accepting their ability to order you around."

"You mean by her accepting you as someone to watch her back you have removed yourself as a sexual threat?"

"Exactly. Of course my chances of anything like that were close to nil. Amazons only seek male companions when they are going to war or when they want children. In both cases they seek the strongest, smartest or most cunning men they can find. Right now I don't qualify."

By this time we had arrived at what I discovered was the mess hall door. The sound of several hundred men and women eating drinking and talking was overwhelming as it poured out of the door in a solid wave of sound. We moved through to the serving area with Tamos shouting in my ear as he pointed out different people he thought I might be interested in. To be honest I couldn't remember any of them afterwards. This was more stunning than anything else in my life so far.

The huge low room was filled almost to overflowing with Imperials in armor at certain tables and cadets in the red vests they all wore at others. The occasional officer in uniform broke up the pattern at points. They weren't all human either. I saw elves and dwarves, a couple of ogres, even a few orcs. My trip to the south and the way station had made me think I was sophisticated but it was a belief that faded away like ice in the spring thaw with all these people around. Looking around I figured that this room contained more people than my home village and the way station combined and multiplied by a factor of five.

After recovering a tray with something on it that I can only charitably call food we made our way to a table set off by itself against one wall. I could see there was room for just ten people at this table and the three from outside the guest quarters were sitting at one end almost huddled together. We sat at the opposite end of the table and began eating. A few moments later Jayce and Elura joined us and we ate together in companionable silence.

It wasn't until years later that I realized they set us aside like that for a reason. We had to get to know each other first if only out of loneliness. After we became cadets we would be swallowed up in the larger group but would still be separated by our original grouping. It was supposed to teach us to rely on each other and then to feel like we were a part of a larger whole. This only worked with partial success with our group, mainly because of the three sons of noblemen in our group. They all knew each other and had already formed their own little clique long before they ever arrived at Imperial house. I feel they suffered more from their snobbery than the rest of us did. It held our group back some but we overcame that through the efforts of the rest of us.

---

I will now skip ahead a week from when I entered the gates of Imperial house. I had hung around in the guest quarters except when called upon to work around the grounds. I had helped clean out the stables, gather wood for the cook fires and worked in the kitchens. When working in the latter I had finally encountered the famed Jado. She was an impressive sight.

At seven feet tall she was taller than any other person I met the whole time I was at Imperial house. Her straight black hair hung down to her shoulders hiding what I later found out was slightly pointed ears. She had piercing black eyes beside a broad, slightly squashed looking nose. Her mouth was broad with thin lips and when she yelled, which was often, you could see fangs on both the top and bottom of her mouth. Her complexion was slightly green, obviously from the troll part of her heritage This all might make her sound quite formidable all by itself but these were not what made her impressive to me.

The first time I saw her was at a distance across the eating hall. She was moving around among the kitchen help in a shapeless brown tunic that reached to her knees giving orders in preparation for the midday meal. The next time I saw her was when I pulled kitchen duty. I discovered that when she went into the dining hall or any other area outside the kitchens she donned the tunic I had seen her in. In her kitchen, she adopted the troll form of dress for both male and female. That consists of a loincloth.

I froze for a moment when I entered the kitchen area until Tamos shoved me to get me moving. Her bare breasts, which were each larger than my head, jiggled and bounced as she gave instructions using a large spoon like a conductors baton. These were the largest breasts I had seen up to this time in my life and they were a terrible distraction, at least for me, every time I worked in the kitchens.

Jado was disgusted at first by my open ogling of her female attributes. Trolls apparently made little distinction between the sexes, at least from the waist up. After a while however she came to like the way I looked at her and even came to kid me about it. She even put me through a mock soul ceremony on my soul day when I was in my third year.

For those who don't know what a soul day ceremony is I'll explain. In my clan of the Kindred they didn't celebrate the birth of a child until it was a month old. This was called its soul day. The Kindred didn't think a child had a soul right away but that a soul had to find them. My father once explained that he thought that with all the still births and early deaths of children because of the harsh conditions of living on the plains that it was easier for the women to deal with if they thought of the child as a soulless shell when it died. On the soul day the child sits in its mothers lap and each member of the clan walked by to touch the child on the forehead, acknowledging that the child had a soul and could be considered a person. This is what Jado put me through when she discovered my mother died in childbirth and that I hadn't had a soul day. Visualize something like that and then place an eighteen year old in the lap of a seven foot woman. This took place in the kitchens so she was topless and cradled me like a baby against her bare bosom. I was embarrassed by the situation but thoroughly enjoyed the feeling of her massive breasts practically surrounding my head. All the cadets on kitchen duty came by and tapped me on the forehead and acknowledged that, all evidence to the contrary, I was a person.

I learned later that Jado had gotten used to being ignored by all the soldiers and cadets even when topless and that my watching her had stirred that feminine part of her that had been suppressed. She married two years after I left the academy and was working on her third child the last I heard of her.

I'm sorry; I was going to tell you about what happened after the first week in the guest quarters but got sidetracked by my memories of Jado. She always stirs pleasant memories of the time I spent at the academy. She is also the one who taught me to cook. Not the slop she churned out for the group every day but real food that would have surprised most of the cadets she prepared for. She taught me about roasts and sauces, soups and stews, pastries and confections and most importantly to me, cakes.

Baking of cakes has opened a few doors for me that my skill with a blade couldn't. People can hire warriors by the dozens but someone who can bake and ice a cake is rare. I will never forget the look on our commandant's face when I, on the sly made a cake for our senior officer's banquet commemorating Jado's chest. The two round, slightly greenish pastries rose up from the serving tray to a height of some three feet. The nipples of crystallized sugar added an additional two inches and left no doubt about what this confection was supposed to represent. Thomas Canterbury, the dean of the school, looked like he was about to explode and had to rush from the room, but his laughter was heard echoing down the halls for ten minutes.

When he returned he ordered that all the perpetrators be brought to his office for discipline after the banquet. When I, Tamos, Delwyn and Ohmlee were brought into the office he tried to be stern but tears kept leaking from the corners of his eyes and finally he just sent us to our barracks without dinner and when we entered the hall outside his office we could hear him laughing again. I might comment at this point that he had the two sugar nipples removed and brought to his office at which point the rest of the cake, or should that be cakes, were devoured by the other officers.

---

Anyway, getting back to what happened after the first week in the guest quarters. Tamos, Elura and I were sitting in front of the guest quarters watching Castille berate his class about sloppy defense work when we saw the Lieutenant heading our way with what looked like from a distance like a two teenagers. When they were a little closer I could make out the pointed ears on one teenager and the growth of beard on the face of the other. The elf and dwarf walked on either side of the Lieutenant and kept glancing at each other like they were waiting on an attack. Dwarves and elves have not got along since the Root wars which happened before the empire ever formed.

Dwarves spend the majority of their time digging tunnels and mining for precious metals, when they find a promising seam they follow it no matter where. During the Root wars, dwarves had been mining under Shadow forest and cutting away the roots of trees to make way for the mine shaft and had undercut several of the home trees that the elves of that forest had colonized. The trees died or collapsed. Many elves and dwarves died in the collapse and the war began. It lasted for three hundred years until an accord could be reached. Since then they have tolerated each other but not really trusted each other.

They had arrived at the guest quarters and the Lieutenant stood there glaring at them and I could tell that these two had already been into it since they arrived.

I quickly stepped to the wall. "Excuse me, who is senior here?"

After the war there was an elaborate set of protocol put in place between dwarves and elves to eliminate any chance of misunderstanding. Since elves and dwarves are both long lived races, the senior of any group must be addressed first. This sets the tone for any following discussions.

The dwarf glanced at the elf and then spoke. "I have seen seventy-five winters."

Dwarves measure their years from the passing of winter.

The elf and he spoke in the high fluting voice of his kind. "This is my two hundredth summer."

I turned towards the elf and clasped my hands before my chest before bowing my head in his direction. "I am Micah, son of Lucas, a smith."

The elf duplicated my movements before speaking. "I am Delwyn, son of Elwyn, a sorceress."

I turned towards the dwarf who was staring at the elf and extended my hands down by my sides while looking straight ahead. Dwarves hate any kind of bowing or kneeling as it only emphasizes that they are more or less pre-knelt. "I am Micah, bearer of the Hawk-wing swords who have no name yet."

The dwarf mirrored my moves and spoke. "I am Ohmlee, bearer of 'Bloodseeker' the red axe."

I was surprised. This was a named weapon that I had heard of; Ohmlee was not just from a rich family but a noble one.

Before I could speak again he turned towards the elf and repeated the greeting I had done earlier with his hands clasped to his chest and his head bowed. "I am Ohmlee, son of Kerlick, a King/Engineer."

The elf look startled for a moment, then smiled and repeated the stance for a dwarf greeting. "I am Delwyn, bearer of 'Strike' the bow."

I was surprised again. Strike was another named weapon.

The elf looked at the dwarf and quirked an eyebrow. "Why?"

The dwarf swept his hand in my direction as he answered. "I figure if a short lifer like this human can learn to be civil in the short time he has that we older races should set a better example."

The elf smirked at that and then laughed the musical laugh of his kind. After a moment the dwarf joined in with the wheezing snort that passes for laughter among their kind. Neither of us humans or the amazon joined them as we didn't appreciate being the butt of the joke concerning how short we lived compared to their races. When I looked up at the Lieutenant she had what could pass for a smile on her lips until she saw me looking.

She scowled before speaking. "Well since these two don't look like their going to kill each other I'll leave them to you to bring them up to speed on the rules. One more person and your training can begin."

With that she strode away back across the courtyard. We brought the two into the guest quarters and let them get settled in. We spent the day getting to know each other and by the time the others had returned from the duties they had been drafted into Delwyn, Ohmlee, Tamos and I had become fast friends. Elura had joined in as well but couldn't really bond with them as we did because of her amazon heritage and the fact that they were both male.

When the nobles showed up and saw the elf they started preening and proclaiming loudly about this years fashions and what was in style. Delwyn for his part got this amused smirk on his face then turned to Ohmlee and asked in a loud voice if he had ever hunted or eaten peacock. When Ohmlee replied in the negative Delwyn said they were easy to spot because they were flashy and made a lot of noise but they weren't worth shooting because the meat was tough and gamey. The three nobles immediately shut up and moved to their own bunks where they sulked together for the rest of the day.

We introduced Jayce to Delwyn and Ohmlee and continued talking together for the rest of the evening. We were all excited because we only needed one more person in our ten and we could begin training. Tamos warned us that it could still be awhile before someone showed up but we were all still excited. We all went to bed in anticipation of beginning our training.

---

It was two days later and we were out in front of the main entrance with a group of third year students helping to clear brush that had grown too close to the walls when Delwyn spotted a group of people approaching from the south. Elf eyes are sharper than others so he had been watching for some time before any of the others of us noticed anything. It moved like a coach except it was too close to the ground. When it got closer I could make out a number of people running in our direction. They moved very quickly and each one bore a long spear that looked to be about six feet long.

We were all standing around watching when one of the third year students spoke up. "Well there's something I didn't expect to see while I was here."

We all turned towards the cadet who had spoken but Tamos was the one who spoke up first to ask the question. "Do you know who they are?"

"Yep, those are Molambasa spear fighters. We studied them briefly in our tactics class. They are supposed to be the greatest spear fighters in the world. Colonel Chain told us if you came up against them in close quarters there was only one way to beat them."

"What did he say was the way?"

"Run away from them while throwing everything you are carrying back at them. It won't hurt them but it might slow them down enough to give your archers space to work them over. If I'm not mistaken you guys are about to have your ten completed."

"If they are such great fighters why would one of them come here to study?"

While we had been talking the group of Nubian warriors had gotten close enough that I could make out the members of the group. They were all dressed in a hide loincloth wearing strap sandals. Their dusky skin gleamed in the sunlight but I found out later it wasn't from sweat but from oil they worked into their skin to protect it from the sun and make it hard for an opponent to get a grip. Their hair was braided and knotted close to the skulls and each one bore a small backpack and their trademark spear. The spear was a five and a half foot pole with a flat leaf shaped blade about three inches across making up the last foot of the six and a half foot length. The group had not slowed down and appeared to be approaching at a dead run that they had been maintaining since they came into sight.

The third year answered the question Tamos asked as they ran past our position heading for the smaller of the two front gates. "Since the days of the empire the chief or king of the Molambasa have sent their heirs to Imperial house to study the white mans weapons and tactics. The empires treaty with Molambasa has never been broken or voided."

The group of warriors had arrived at the gates and had come to a dead stop from a flat run without a shouted command or spoken word amongst them. They stood there straight with their spears grounded facing the four guards at the gate. What struck me at the time was the fact that none of the warriors appeared to be breathing heavy. They had been moving at a run for at least the half mile they had been visible to us and probably farther than that and looked like they could just keep going. The warriors in the front stepped to the side and what appeared to be two children emerged from the middle of the group.

They were about four and a half feet tall and dressed identically to the warriors that stood there waiting so silently. Each of the two held in their hand a spear identical to the ones the warriors were carrying except for one had a small blue feather tied just behind the head and the other had what appeared to be a snake skin wrapped around the haft in the same spot. The two children turned towards the group of warriors, raised their spears and thumped the butts on the ground and held that pose until each of the twenty warriors standing before them repeated the gesture then turned and ran away down the road back the way they came.

The third year cadet spoke again as the group thudded back past us. "There's two of them. That's odd."

I asked the question this time. "How do you mean? I mean there are several people from the same countries or kingdoms here already."

"The treaty was very specific. Only the heir to the throne would be sent for training. You can't have two heirs to a throne. That causes what we call around here a civil war."

The last was spoken in a condescending tone but before I could say anything Jayce stepped up next to the third year. Although the cadet was several years older than her she still towered over him by a good six inches.

She clapped a hand on his shoulder. "And talking down to my friends gets you what we call getting your head shoved down into your breechclout."

The third year nudged his shoulder out of her hand and spun with a snarl on his lips that died a slow death as his eyes climbed up her still outstretched arm to her blandly smiling face as she looked down at him. A slightly sick grin darted across his face as he realized he was surrounded by two amazons, two humans, a dwarf and an elf, all of whom did not technically have to answer to any chain of command yet and could therefore pound him into a small greasy stain before anyone he knew could get to him.

He tried to smile and that expression didn't like being out there in front anymore than the grin and slid away almost as quickly. "Uh…yeah, sorry about that. We better get back to work."

He eased his way past Jayce and nearly ran back over to a group of third years who had been watching what was happening. Several watched his approach before very deliberately turning away but several openly grinned at the poor guy. We looked at each other and suddenly all started laughing at once. The laughter faded after a few moments and we all went back to work with only an occasional chuckle to break the silence. We worked the rest of the day clearing brush and burning the scrub while cutting up the larger pieces for use in the kitchens.

When we were released by the officer in charge we made our way back to the guest quarters only to have our entrance blocked. Two older cadets were wrestling a cot in through the doorway as the lieutenant stood nearby with the two Molambasa youngsters. They stood silently watching the two cadets turning the cot one way and then another to fit it through the doorway.

I made my way over to the lieutenant where she stood with her arms crossed. "What's going on lieutenant? Did somebody steal one of the bunks while we were gone? Are these the culprits returning their ill gotten gains?"

"Very funny Micah, gather that bunch of hooligans you hang around with. I have an announcement that concerns all of you."

Most of the others were already heading our way but at my signal the rest came over.

When we were all there, with the nobles standing off to the side a little, she cleared her throat and pointed at the two Molambasa with her good hand. "Congratulations, your ten is complete. I would like you to meet Du-nuy (doo-ni) and Du-nay (doo-na). Before any of you open your mouth for some smart ass comment we are aware that nine plus two equals eleven. Due to certain agreements between Imperial house and the country of Molambasa we find ourselves having to train both of these young people. For the first time in the history of Imperial house a training ten will have eleven members. Certain adjustments will have to be made, hence the additional bunk. When you move into a regular barracks the problem won't arise. I leave them to you to begin instructing them in the rules of Imperial house and I suggest you all get to sleep early tonight. Sergeant Margate will be rolling you out early tomorrow to start your training."

She spun on her heel and stomped off across the courtyard. While she had been talking the two cadets had finally gotten the bunk through the door and we all headed into the barracks to relax before going to the mess hall to eat.

I approached the two Molambasa and greeted them. "Welcome to Imperial house. If you'll follow me, I'll give you the grand tour of our rooms such as they are and introduce you to everybody."

Up close I could see that the two were identical. They were obviously twins and the only distinction I could make at first glance was that one had a single blue feather worked into the braids on his head and the other had several seashell beads worked into his. The two exchanged a look after my short speech.

The one with the blue feather spoke. "What is your rank?"

"Excuse me?"

"We are heirs to the throne of Molambasa. We cannot be addressed except by those of minister rank or above. Are you of equal rank?"

Before I could answer I heard the familiar snort that was Tamos' statement of annoyance. "You don't have to worry about that. We are all of equal rank. We are all cadets. Now if you can't deal with that I suggest you start jogging after your spear toting friends."

They both looked at Tamos and then at each other for a moment. The one with the feather looked like he was about to pop something when the one with the seashell beads stepped past him to address Tamos. "We apologize. Our lives have been bound by rules and protocol since we were born. It will be a welcome change to be simply one among others. Please, I would be happy for you to show us our quarters."

We all moved into the guest quarters which were a little crowded now with eleven bunks in that long room. I was letting Tamos do most of the talking now as Du-nuy and Du-nay were introduced around and shown to their bunks. I was wondering about Du-nuy. There was something a little off about him. Nothing I could put a finger on but a definite wrongness that didn't fit what you could see. I'm embarrassed about it now but when you're looking at someone running around in a loincloth and nothing else these kinds of things don't occur to you.

What I felt as being off was actually the fact that Du-nuy was a girl. She was the younger of the twins by twenty minutes and female besides so she didn't really qualify by Molambasa as an heir to their throne. Long ago in that country the second child of a set of twins was thought to be a demon that had tried to slip into the world in the form of a human baby but had got the timing off and instead of devouring the child and being born in its place came in second. This supposed demon child was set out on the plain for the gods to take back or punish. When twins started occurring in the royal family this kind of thing couldn't be done however. The kings supposedly received their royalty as a direct gift from the gods. If they started being infested with demon children then they couldn't be any better than the common folk they ruled. Some king several hundred years ago set up the second child of a set of twins in a beautiful home as far from the ruling city as you could get and still be in their country. His intention was to let the twin live out its life in pampered luxury so that even if someone could convince the child to rebel he would be too soft and spoiled to be of any use. It turned out however that when political ambition is involved it doesn't matter what a person looks like or acts as long as they have the right name to rally support.

After several conflicts caused by people using the second born twin as a figurehead one king came up with a novel but effective solution. The captain of the palace guard was also commander of the army and so was second in power only to the king. To insure there were no political ambitions tied to this job he was also designated as the king's chief bodyguard. In the event that the king died of anything other than natural causes the chief bodyguard was executed within an hour of the king's death. In the case of twins the first born is designated the heir and the second born as the captain of the palace guard. From that point forward they are each trained in their specific duty. The king could run the country but was effectively uneducated as far as the military whereas the captain of the palace guard could run the army but could not administer the country in any way. This particular system had been very effective until Du-nuy and Du-nay.

They were the first male and female twins ever born to the royal family. There had never been a female captain of the guard. Tradition dictated that she be trained as the captain but tradition also forbade her from using weapons. Tradition also stated that as one of a set of twins Du-nay could not be schooled in the military, only the executive duties of the king. To buy time the elders of the tribe decided to send both of them to study at Imperial house. They would both be trained in the military aspects and maybe one of them would show an ineptitude that could be used against them to keep them from their appointed duties. No one said as much but we were all sure that Du-nuy was supposed to be the one to fail.

When we had entered the guest quarters we all saw that each of our bunks had a small bundle wrapped in brown paper at the foot of each. Upon opening these we saw that each of us had been given six red vests with the imperial seal on the left breast of each one. Five of them were for everyday wear while the sixth was much more elaborate with gilt buttons for wearing on special occasions. Each bundle also held a note written in the laborious handwriting of someone not used to scribing much. Each note said the same thing.

Do not wear any vest until tomorrow

We were all a little confused by this until Tamos explained. "Our ten is not officially considered filled until the final members have stayed here overnight. We won't be considered cadets until tomorrow morning."

Some who have been reading this will probably be thinking that there were a lot of very elaborate rules in place for a training facility. These people need to remember that Imperial house started out as an entirely military facility and only later became a training facility. Many of their rules and regulations were carried over from the imperial days. Although I am somewhat irreverent and a bit of a trouble maker I had no problem abiding by most of the rules while I was at Imperial house. None of the rules I did break ever endangered a life or damaged property although they did occasionally bruise egos.

I had said that this chapter would deal with my training at Imperial house but I see I have mainly spoken about the people I had to live and deal with more than any actual training that took place. I realize now that the varied people I had to deal with during that five years was more of a training experience for my later life than any weapons training I had.

I also learned that I have a certain affinity for weapons. It took me little to no time to learn how to use spears, axes, maces, morning stars and halberds. In addition I did learn the sword and when fully trained could best Castille one time out of every three with the Hawk-wings. He taught me the elaborate training kata to keep my skills sharp and even offered me a position as a trainer. This caused some friction between me and Tamos as he was supposed to be training as the next weapons master after his father. Despite his skill with all the other types of blades he trained in, when I held the Hawk-wings he couldn't touch me. When he held the Hawk-wings I could still fight him to a standstill using any blade he chose for me. When I finally convinced him I didn't want the position we parted on amicable terms.

Despite the fact that I could use a bow pretty well when I arrived at Imperial house I still trained to increase my skill. The training strengthened my draw and increased my accuracy. I was able to draw a more powerful bow and hold the draw longer before I had to release. After five years of training only Delwyn could best me with a bow and I have yet to meet a human that can beat an elf with a bow.

I never got that good with an axe and Ohmlee could take my legs out from under me two out of three times but when I held my swords he couldn't get near me. I could even take the small throwing axes he used out of the air most of the time although I did often sport bruises from where the padded edges got through my defense and thumped me.

I couldn't best Du-nuy or Du-nay with their native spears but I could hold them off with the heavier imperial style. One thing to note at this point is that although they both wore the vests of the Imperial house cadets neither of them ever changed the rest of their wardrobe in the two years they attended the academy. They both still wore a loincloth and strap sandals which in Du-nuy's case brought about some interesting incidents. They were both still sixteen when they came to Imperial house. In their culture that was when they were supposed to start training as king or captain of the guard. This wasn't a very big deal for Du-nay because his chest only filled out with muscle. On the other hand Du-nuy's chest filled out with breasts. Not large breasts as she was still quite petite but obvious breast none-the-less. The men in our ten of course were around her every day and got used to this as well as seeing Jayce strip down to her waist and head out to the bath stalls. The other men in the other tens however only noticed Du-nuy's nearly exposed breasts as they developed and made plans.

Part of our training involved sparring with other tens with different weapons. Sometimes these other tens were much more advanced in their training and sometimes they were closer to us in skills. It didn't matter. No quarter was asked or given. This was supposed to show us that no matter how strong or skilled we were we could still be beaten if we weren't prepared properly. It also showed that no matter how good you were there was always somebody better out there.

Now there were about thirty amazon warriors scattered amongst the five hundred cadets training at Imperial house at any given time but there were very few women warriors otherwise. There were only about seven women warriors who were not amazons there in the five years I was there and of those Du-nuy was the only one who didn't wear a tunic, shift and usually chain mail or armor. When we sparred with other groups this made her somewhat of a target. More than one opponent would try to hook or snare her vest to expose her budding breasts. We weren't aware that this upset her that much until I came across her hiding out behind the bath house crying. She tried to shrug it off and get away but I wouldn't let her go until she explained.

"I wish for men to take me seriously as a warrior. To do that in my country I must dress as a warrior. This means the breechclout, spear and hair braids, nothing more. Now I see that men will look no farther than these."

Saying this she pulled her vest open to expose her breasts to me. I had gotten used to the flashes of them over the years and had not paid much attention to them lately. They had filled out and firmed up. Even jerking around as she was they didn't bounce or jiggle much but as I watched the cool evening air caused her nipples to harden. I cleared my throat and tore my eyes from them to look at her face. She was staring down at her chest as if by concentrating on them she could make her breasts disappear. I stepped close and pulled her hands off her vest to let the front fall closed. When she looked up into my face I smiled at her before I spoke.

"Du-nuy, those are a part of you just like you hands or your eyes. You wouldn't go into combat with your eyes closed or with one of your hands tied to your waist. You need to find a way to make them work for you in combat. Let's go talk to Jayce. I've got an idea."

She didn't look to hopeful but she followed me back to our barracks and over to where Jayce and Elura sat talking. I explained the situation briefly without going in to the fact that I had found Du-nuy crying. I told the two amazons my plan and they both started grinning and agreed to go along. Now the ten we were supposed to go up against the next day in sparring was one we had fought before. We were in our third year and they were in their fifth. On more than one occasion they had tried to strip Du-nuy when we sparred and they would probably try tomorrow. We four sat together making plans and certain adjustments to the ladies vests as we did.

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The sparring the next day would involve staffs weighted and balanced to simulate the weight and balance of a spear. Each end would be tipped with a paint swab, red for blade and blue for the butt end. A strike with the red end would simulate a kill and the blue for a blunt force injury. We would go out to one of the training rings and three people would enter the ring from each ten. When one person was "killed out" another person from the same ten would enter the ring in their place. Whichever group ran out of replacements first, lost. Since they were two years ahead of us in training they had beaten us each time we had sparred but this time I thought that it might be us who had an unfair advantage.

When we approached the training ring the next day I could see several of the men watching Du-nuy and whispering together. I knew these were plotting to try and strip her of her vest. Our sergeant and theirs greeted one another across the circle as we all limbered up before entering. The low murmuring across the circle stopped as Jayce and Elura removed the cloaks they had been wearing since they left the barracks. Both women were dressed in their usual leather kilts but both also wore only their academy vest above the waist. The sight of Jayce's large breast threatening to spill out the top or sides of her vest was enough to silence all the men on the other side of the circle and although Elura wasn't near as gifted as Jayce she put on a fairly presentable show herself as you could see her breasts moving around beneath her much looser fitting vest.

What the men across the circle couldn't know was that both women were wearing one of my vests, specially modified for this occasion, much too tight for Jayce and much too loose for Elura. When Du-nuy, Jayce and Elura stepped into the ring to begin the sparring with their staffs there was a brief furious discussion on the other side of the ring. Most of the men in the other ten wanted to be the first into the ring. They obviously thought the ladies would get "killed out" early and they wouldn't get a chance to try and strip them.

When three men finally stepped into the ring it was obvious that they were going to try to strip the ladies before they killed them out as they all led with the blue end of their staffs. Their sergeant screamed at them not to mess around but to get in there and finish them off quickly. When the two groups met in the center a strange thing happened. As they dodged and ducked their attackers the ladies vests began to betray glimpses of female flesh not normally seen in public.

As Elura ducked and dodged her breast bounced and jiggled showing flashes of nipple at the too large neck opening and through the too large arm holes in the side. Jayce was having a similar problem with her too small vest in that the buttons on the front were slowly pulling their threads loose and her cleavage and the amount of female flesh that was exposed increased with every twist and contortion of her body. While this was going on the almost ignored Du-nuy slipped under each of the men's guards and delivered a 'killing' blow with the red end of her staff.

The man opposite Jayce was so intent on what was being slowly revealed in front of him that he didn't realize he had been 'killed out' right away and continued to fight until his sergeant's screams cut through the fog in his head. The next three men approached the contest much more cautiously than the first three but it was still hard to concentrate on a good defense or attack strategy when that much female flesh is revealed and is revealing more of itself with each passing moment. They lasted longer than the first three but were still taken out without much serious competition.

Before the next three entered the ring there was a furious discussion amongst the surviving four members of the ten. I'm sure it was along the lines of ignoring the female attributes of their opponents and just take them out but at least two of them kept glancing over at Jayce where she stood holding the staff panting with her vest almost completely open. Even as she just stood there breathing the threads of the buttons unraveled and exposed more of her breasts. As the next three entered the ring they tried to keep their eyes on the ladies face or hands but inevitably drifted to the ladies chests.

When they clashed in the center there was a furious exchange of blows none of which connected and one of them tried to hook Du-nuy's vest and drag it off of her with the blue end of his staff. Unfortunately all that did was drag her in close where she could use her red swab to "kill" her opponent. What they couldn't have known about her vest was that Elura and I had spent the last hour before we came out here sewing the front of her vest together. The only way to get it off of her now short of cutting off her arms and legs was by ripping the seams up the sides with a knife.

When the last of the other ten entered the ring with the other two survivors they all had grim expressions on their faces. As fifth year students they were supposed to be the best here. They shouldn't have any trouble with a lousy third year class and here they were down to their last three people and the other ten still had seven people who hadn't entered the ring yet. They were determined that they weren't going to be distracted by this cheap trick any more. That resolve lasted until their next clash with our ladies. The final threads of the buttons on Jayce's vest parted company with the buttons and the vest fell open completely exposing her breasts. The fact that she had her staff raised over her head in both hands didn't help matters and the vest spread wide to reveal the creamy perfection of her bosom.

All three men turned to look as her hardened nipples came into view and Elura delivered a 'killing blow' to her opponent as Du-nuy dealt with the remaining two. Jayce was grinning from ear to ear as she lowered her hands and very deliberately drew the front of her vest together. All three ladies dropped their staffs and spun on their heels to walk out of the circle. Sergeant Margate was standing off to one side trying to keep from laughing but he had tears rolling down his cheeks as the ladies passed him with their heads held high.

He looked over at me where I stood. "I take it you had something to do with this…strategy?"

"What makes you say that sergeant?"

"Because it was sneaky, devious, original and highly effective."

"Well if you want to put it that way, yes it was my idea. Du-nuy wanted them to take her seriously as a warrior and now they have to. I don't know if you noticed but six of that ten were accounted for by her."

"Yes I noticed, well done on her part and yours."

I nodded my thanks and turned to follow the rest of them back to the barracks.

I had barely got through the door when I was embraced in a bear hug that was cushioned on one side by pillow soft skin. I tried to extricate myself without touching anything embarrassing. "Jayce turn me loose. I'm going to smother to death in your boobs."

"Is that such a bad way to go?"

She turned me loose anyway. She stood there, still in my vest with her breasts bare for all to see and grinning from ear to ear.

"No I guess not but you would have a hell of a time explaining it to my father."

"I could probably just do this and the question probably wouldn't come up." She shook her shoulders and her breasts shimmied and jumped like they were alive.

I tore my eyes away from them and looked back at her face with a grin of my own. "It might distract him for a moment but he would still want to know about the passing of his only son and the only explanation you could give would be that I died smiling."

Jayce laughed and I stepped past her over to a bunk where Elura sat next to Du-nuy using a belt knife to sever the threads holding the front of her vest closed. She smiled up at me as I approached.

I placed my hand on her shoulder. "It's like Castille says, 'There's no liability that can't be turned to an advantage under the proper circumstances.' The next time we face someone in sparring, word should have circulated enough and they'll be watching your weapons and not what you're wearing."

Darus was scowling at me and the ladies on the bunk. "I take it we have you to thank for that shameful display out there."

"If you are referring to our recent victory on the field of battle, yes I had some part in the planning."

His words were laced with disgust as he pointed at the three women. "I'm referring to the blatant display of their private parts that these women, used to gain an unfair advantage in combat."

I saw Jayce and Tamos coming up behind him as he spoke and I signaled them to hold while I tried to talk to him. "Those men are two years ahead of us in training; you don't think that is an unfair advantage?"

"That just happens to be the case sometimes. Sometimes you come up against better opponents that are better trained and better prepared."

"And today that was us, we were better prepared. We used what we had to our advantage."

"What you did was disgusting. There is such a thing as losing with honor."

"Oh please, losing with honor is just a noble's way of shaking hands with their conqueror and turning around and going home after he pays his ransom. His men are just as dead with or without honor."

"Sometimes a soldier has to die for a nobles honor. That is his duty."

"I can't believe we have sat through the same training for the last three years. Castille would throw up all over your shoes if he heard you spouting all this crap."

"Then he has no honor."

I didn't even try to intervene in what happened next. The punch that Tamos threw looked like it came from the south plains and gained momentum all the way. When his fist connected with Darus nose you could hear the crunch as it broke throughout the barracks. Darus was probably unconscious before he left his feet. The force of the punch knocked him backwards between the upper and lower bunks of the bed behind him and he didn't touch either one. He landed in a boneless heap with blood gushing from his nose. Prince Thon and Harcourt raced over to where their friend lay in a crumpled heap. Tamos and I leaned on the top bunk and looked through to see what happened as they tried to revive their friend.

I turned towards Tamos. "I think they sometimes forget he's your father."

Tamos grunted and turned away to go back to our other friends. I turned back towards where Darus was laying and saw that he was sitting up with his head tilted back with Harcourt holding a rag to his nose. His eyes were open but unfocused as he stared at the ceiling. Prince Thon turned and glared at me but I merely shrugged my shoulders and turned back to my friends where they were getting wound up to celebrate our victory in the ring.

Continued in Part 3

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