A Hillsman Remembers

Joe laughed, drew the dagger and offered the handle to Tracy. She took the dagger, held it defensively and said "Swing away."

Joe swung the sword. It felt so natural. He seemed to naturally move to some sort of kata to practice all positions of the sword play. When he finished moving he looked at Tracy. Tracy was smiling and no longer held the dagger defensively. She said, with a smile, "Nice sword alignment."

"I'm surprised the blade is curved?" said Joe. "If it wasn't for that I would have mistaken it for a long-sword."

"The slight curve helps with edge alignment and follow-through or draw-through of body parts." said Tracy. "It also helps with the speed of drawing from the scabbard."

"I see. So I'm the owner of an ancient, beautifully balance sword?" asked Joe.

"And a dagger." added Tracy, as she offered the handle to Joe.

Joe sheathed the sword, took the dagger and inspected it. It had a straight, double edged blade, about 50 centimetres long; with cross-quillions, similar to the sword's guard, but smaller; fullers along the blade provided strength, rather than lightness, as for the sword. The handle was slightly hollow, which confused Joe.

"It's so it can be attached to a staff to make a spear or glaive." said Tracy.

"A staff would be a bit heavy wouldn't it?" asked Joe.

"Try it." said Tracy as she indicated the two poles that were used to carry the sea-chest into the room.

Joe slid the poles from their tethers, and saw where one brass end of the pole snapped into the end of the dagger. He then attached the other pole onto the other end with a satisfactory snap. He now had a 50 centimetre blade, with cross-quillions, on the end of a very sturdy, 2.1 metre wooden handle. It felt easy to heft around.

Tracy said "The throwing knives can be inserted into either end to form another stabby bit." as she passed Joe one, of the two, throwing knives, that he hadn't noticed were sheathed in the shoulder straps.

Joe laughed, unassembled the spear and returned the parts to their scabbards and placed the stave parts on the table. He looked at where the straps crossed at the back and saw a curved item in a scabbard. He drew the blade and laughed, as he said "It's a steel boomerang."

"We call it a throwing blade." said Tracy. "It doesn't return."

"No, of course not. The arms are asymmetrical. Only symmetrical-armed boomerangs return." agreed Joe.

"It can also be used to chop up food." said Tracy.

Joe laughed and returned the boomerang into its scabbard. He placed the belt, straps, swords and other bits onto the table. He looked into the sea-chest. He pulled out a re-curved bow and a quiver of about a hundred arrows. He placed them beside the sword. He lifted out a very finely-woven, white garment from the chest and held it up.

"It's a hauberk, isn't it?" asked Joe.

"Yes." answered Tracy, slightly distracted by the bow and quiver. "For body protection."

"What's it made of?" asked Joe.

Tracy looked at the material, gasped and asked "May I?" As she held out her fingers to touch the material.

"Of course." answered Joe. He saw Tracy's body quiver.

"I... I think... I think it's a tight weave of iron-wood." said Tracy.

"What's that?" asked Joe, aware of Tracy's reverence towards the garment.

"It's a very rare and highly protective material that takes ages to make, because the iron-wood wood is so hard. Your staff is made of iron-wood." answered Tracy. "The hauberk is priceless."

"Ohh..." said Joe, jokingly.

"I'm not kidding, Joe." said Tracy, solemnly.

"I see." said Joe, more respectfully. "No wonder I've kept it under lock and key."

Joe placed the hauberk onto the table and looked into the chest. There were two steel, curved plates. He said, as he pulled out the first plate, "I saw one of these at Sarah's home. It's a wok or barbecue isn't it?"

Tracy giggled and said "It can be used for that but it's the bottom half of a shield. The throwing blade can be used to chop up and stir fry food in the shield."

"Multi-purposes for each item." said Joe.

Joe placed the shield onto the table and lifted the top-half of the shield out of the chest. He could see how the two halves attached together and attached them. He experimented with the shield. One way up the two plates formed a full body shield, but then, when turned over, the bottom half of the shield slipped in front of the top half to form a short shield to protect the torso. He placed the shield on the table.

Joe looked into the chest again. There was, apparently, nothing else in there. He looked at the pile of weaponry on the table and asked "How does one carry all that?"

Tracy had a bemused look on her face and said "Hauberk." and held up the hauberk for Joe to put on.

Joe slipped into the hauberk and it felt comfortable against his body. It didn't feel as heavy as he thought it should.

Tracy handed Joe the belt. He slipped his arms under the shoulder-straps and then buckled up the belt. The sword scabbard almost touched the ground. He tested access to each item: his sword and dagger were accessible by either hand but the preference was right hand to the sword on his left hip and left hand to the dagger on his right hip. He felt for the throwing knives over his shoulder and felt their steel handles. He felt that he could throw each knife from its sheath. The boomerang could also be easily reached behind his back.

Tracy folded the shield and fitted it onto a hook or something on Joe's back where the shoulder-straps crossed. She slipped the quiver over the shield on his back and the bow under the shield. Joe realised that he could easily reach behind his back to grab the bow. Finally, Tracy joined the two halves of the staff and handed it to Joe.

Joe said "I have to carry the staff in my hand all the time?"

Tracy took the staff, separated the two halves, slipped them under the shield to form a cross across Joe's back and secured them with a couple of tethers. She asked "Is that better?"

"Yes, thank you." answered Joe, with a laugh. He moved around the room. He twisted his shoulders from side to side and bent forwards and backwards. He said "I'm surprised at how much movement I still have with all this gear on and it still feels light."

"You have to be able to easily move around on a battle field." said Tracy.

Joe looked into the chest. He tapped on the bottom and looked around the outside. He noticed that the chest formed feet in the four corners by the walls of the chest having sections cut out of the bottom of their sides. This was probably to keep the contents of the chest off the deck to prevent seawater entering it. He reached under the chest and tapped the bottom. He felt the bottom of the chest from both under the chest and from inside it.

"It's either got a false bottom or its really thick." said Joe. He tapped it again and said "I think it's a false bottom."

Tracy had recovered from her amazement of Joe being fully armoured and said, with a smile, "Interesting. How do you open it?"

Joe spent a good fifteen minutes inspecting the chest. He even turned it upside-down to look for a latch or keyhole. All he found was the keyhole on the inside of the chest, apparently to allow the chest to be unlocked from the inside. He tried to push the key into the hole but it didn't fit.

Joe looked at the other end of the key. The thong was attached to an interesting shape: it wasn't a loop, it was more of a curved top of a 'T' or bull's horns, with some intricate, but solid, metal bits between the curves. It looked like the oval ring had been broken off but there was no indication of damage. He moved the thong along the shaft of the key and pressed the curved end onto the keyhole. It fit, so he turned the key.

The key only rotated in an anti-clockwise direction. Nothing happened as he turned the key ninety degrees, so he kept turning the key. After about twenty, full turns of the key, it couldn't turn any further. Joe frowned. He looked under the chest and saw that the front edge of a shelf had lowered from under the chest onto the floor.

Joe was about to stick his hand into the darkness when Tracy said "Careful."

Joe hesitated and asked "Do you think it's booby-trapped?"

"I don't know." answered Tracy.

Joe sat back onto his haunches. He asked "Why would I booby-trap the secret compartment in my own sea-chest?"

"I don't know, but you certainly don't want anyone to see what's in a secret compartment." answered Tracy.

"No." said Joe, still thinking. "Maybe it's for smuggling?"

"That's a thought." said Tracy.

Joe drew the sword and poked around inside the cavity. Nothing happened so he withdrew the sword, sheathed it and thrust his hand into the cavity to Tracy's gasp.

Joe pulled out the bits of a rifle, a semi-automatic pistol and it's holster. He asked "Twelve millimetre?"

"It looks like it." answered Tracy.

Joe then said "It's not a trap so it must be for smuggling."

Tracy sighed in relief and Joe felt that Tracy did have his health in mind. He said "I didn't hit the guns with the sword because they were recessed into the wooden shelf."

"Someone's a little smart aleck." said Tracy, with a smile.

"I probably had someone make that for me, so I'm not so smart after all." said Joe, as he returned the weapons and wound the shelf back into position with the key. He asked "I hope that you can keep that a secret?"

"I saw nothing." said Tracy and motioned to zip up her lips.

Joe smiled and said "Thanks."

"It's not illegal to store antiques." said Tracy. "As long as you have a licence to store antique weapons."

"Hmm... How do I get one of those?" asked Joe, thoughtfully.

"We can arrange one of those." answered Tracy.

"Really?" asked Joe.

"Yes. Many Hillsmans position themselves into government agencies. Not to influence the politics of that country, but to get licences for other Hillsmans and to keep aware of what's happening in that country." answered Tracy.

"Like, passports, birth certificates..." asked Joe.

"Yes, and antique, weapons licences." answered Tracy with a smile.

"Great!" said Joe. "What do I have to do to get one?"

Tracy typed something into her smartphone and asked "What country do you want your licence to originate?"

"Australia, is my home country." answered Joe.

Tracy looked and Joe and then kept typing. She asked "I suppose you want it to cover the world?"

"Oh... Um... Yes please." answered Joe.

"Done." said Tracy and then looked at Joe.

Joe placed the contents back into the sea-chest and locked it. He felt naked without wearing the weaponry but still called for Dexter. Dexter and the lady took the chest and key away.

Joe waited with Tracy at the counter for Dexter's return. Dexter asked "Is there anything else I can help you with?"

"Does Joe have personal accounts here?" asked Tracy.

Dexter checked his computer and said "Personal accounts... Yes. Joe, would you like to see your account balance?"

"Yes please." answers Joe, excited that he might have a few hundred dollars in the Hillsman treasury.

Dexter typed something and turned away from the computer-screen. Tracy turned her back to the screen and Joe read the balance when Dexter hit the enter key. He stared at the screen. After some time, Dexter said "Tell me when you've finished looking and I'll clear the screen."

Joe looked at the ten figure digit. He looked again. There were definitely ten digits. He looked at Tracy and Dexter, who were still averting their eyes. He said "Thank you. That will be all."

Joe saw the screen clear and Dexter turned it towards himself. Dexter asked "Is there anything else I can help you with?"

Tracy looked at Joe. She looked concerned. She said "I think that'll be all for now, thank you Dexter."

"You're welcome." said Dexter and left the counter.

Tracy looked at Joe. Joe looked at Tracy. She smiled, almost smirked, and said "I see that you've found out that you are... wealthy."

"Disgustingly wealthy." said Joe.

"Yes. We all knew that." said Tracy.

"Fuck!" said Joe.

"Well, okay, if it relieves the tension." said Tracy with a smile.

Joe was still stunned and stared at Tracy. After a few moments, he realised what Tracy had said and stared into her beautiful, smiling and seductive face. He smiled, composed himself, and said "Sorry... sorry for that outburst."

"I'm not surprised." said Tracy. "I don't know your bank balance but I do know that you are supposed to be the wealthiest Hillsman, if not person, in the world."

"Fuck!" said Joe, still overwhelmed.

"If you insist." said Tracy, still smiling.

"I need a drink." said Joe.

"I could do with one as well." said Tracy.

Tracy and Joe left the treasury and headed towards the tavern. Joe asked Tracy "The council members and Dexter asked if they could read me. What's that?"

"To see that you aren't lying." answered Tracy.

"But how do you know that?" asked Joe.

Tracy stopped walking and asked "Don't you know when people are lying?"

"I do." answered Joe, wondering if it was a Hillsman trait.

"How do you know?" asked Tracy.

"Oh, um... I can just tell." answered Joe.

"Don't you look at their auras?" asked Tracy.

"What are they?" asked Joe.

"The colours around people." answered Tracy.

"You can see those?" asked Joe, excited that he had found someone else who could see those coloured lights that surround all living things.

"All Hillsmans can." answered Tracy. "Except maybe for children. But it's deemed rude to read another Hillsman's aura, without permission."

"I see." said Joe, and ran to catch up with Tracy who had started walking again.

Tracy and Joe entered the tavern. She asked, as they stood at the bar, "What would you like to drink?"

"Mead please." answered Joe, only slightly recovered from the shock of learning that he was super-rich.

They sat at a secluded booth and sipped their drinks. Well... Tracy did. Joe sculled his.

Two tankards later, Joe was starting to feel mellow. Tracy asked "Are you feeling better?"

"Not really." answered Joe.

"I'm sorry to dump that onto you." said Tracy.

"It's alright. I guess it's hard to ease someone into something like that." answered Joe.

"Yes." said Tracy. After a few moments, Tracy asked "Would cannabis help?"

"Shit yeah." answered Joe.

Tracy approached the bar and returned with a large joint. She asked "Do you smoke or imbibe?"

"I'll eat it, if you don't mind?" answered Joe.

"That's also my preference." said Tracy and broke up the joint. She passed half to Joe and Joe ate the dope. Tracy ate the other half. She said "We just have to wait half an hour or so and I hope that you'll be feeling better. Would you like to have dinner whilst we wait?"

"Yes please." answered Joe.

Joe was feeling very stoned, and much calmer, by the time they finished eating a very nice stew. Joe and Tracy sipped another tankard of mead each and chatted.

They were laughing at each other's jokes and comments by the time Seb approached their booth and said "Closing time please. I'd like to get home tonight."

"Sorry, Seb." said Tracy and they both walked out into the cool evening air.

Joe smelled the air and felt very good. He also felt very randy. He looked at Tracy, who was staring at the stars. She had an enigmatic smile on her face. He asked "So, how'd I go today? Am I a danger to society or am I socially acceptable."

Tracy giggled. Joe thought that she was charming. Her stuck-up demeanour had changed to a happy, and very sexy, lovely lady. She answered "I think that we can let you out on your own. Not that we could stop you."

"I'm not sure that I want to be on my own." said Joe, staring into Tracy's beautiful eyes.

"Really?" asked Tracy.

"Yes." answered Joe. "I um... I wondered if you would like to..."

"Fuck?" asked Tracy.

"Well... Um... Yes... But not just that." answered Joe.

"Let's start with that and then see if we can fit in some other activities before sunrise?" suggested Tracy.

"Sure." answered Joe, surprised at how easy it was to convince such a beautiful lady to sleep with him. "Your place or mine?"

Tracy looked around and said "You're place is closer."

"Are you sure?" asked Joe.

"My place then." answered Tracy.

"No, I mean. I don't want to ruin your reputation?" asked Joe.

"What, can't councillors have sex?" asked Tracy.

"No, I didn't mean that." answered Joe.

"Look Joe, Hillsmans aren't hung-up about having casual sex." said Tracy. "We don't expect it to somehow magically merge onto love or a full grown relationship. We understand that sex feels really, really good, so we do it when we want to do it. Is that a problem for you?"

"No." answered Joe, thankful that Tracy was so candid.

"Good, so let's fuck, or I'm going home." said Tracy.

"Okay. Walk this way." said Joe and headed towards the access stairs to the accommodation.

Tracy said "If I walked that way you'd probably be trying to fuck a dyke."

Joe almost pissed himself laughing, but eventually unlocked his room. He held open the door for Tracy to enter, as he said, "Welcome to my humble abode."

Tracy said "Thank you my good sir." and entered the room.

Joe didn't know how to instigate sex with a Hillsman woman, but was relieved when Tracy grabbed the collar of his shirt, pulled him close to her and kissed him. He returned her kisses and became very aroused.

Joe pushed himself away from Tracy and asked "I'm not taking advantage of your inebriated condition, am I?"

Tracy sighed and asked "Joe, do you feel that no matter how many drugs you take, you can always sober yourself up?"

Joe nodded and Tracy said "Good. That's the way with all Hillsmans, except, maybe, Hillsman children. They sometimes can't control themselves, but that's why we discourage them from having drugs until after they're twenty-five years old."

"Why twenty-five?" asked Joe.

"We've known, for a very long time, that a developing brain, usually, doesn't fully develop until the age of twenty-five. The brain, in an adolescent, is rewiring itself, storing the important stuff and discarding the rest. That process can be vastly inhibited by drugs, hence the discouragement. Also, the formal education doesn't end until the age of twenty-five. Got it?"

"Yes." answered Joe.

"Good." said Tracy. "Now I admit that I'm allowing myself to be pleasantly inebriated, which I hope will enhance this sexual experience, if we ever get around to doing it. So let's fuck, or I'll go home to sleep and I'll see you tomorrow."

Joe leant in to kiss Tracy and Tracy accepted his advances. She grabbed his hands and placed them on her buttocks. She place her hands on his buttocks. She squeezed them so Joe squeezed hers. Tracy moaned as they continued to kiss each other.

Tracy pulled Joe's body against hers. She ground her hips against his. She stopped kissing Joe, stepped back, looked down at his crotch and asked "It's going to get bigger, isn't it?"

Joe laughed and answered "Yes."

Tracy kissed Joe again and grabbed his package through his trousers. She squeezed his flaccid penis and Joe felt it react. Tracy moaned and kept kissing Joe.

Joe released Tracy's buttocks and slowly took her blazer off her shoulders. He tossed her jacket over the back of a chair. He unbuttoned Tracy's blouse and pulled it's tails out of her skirt. He temporarily stopped kissing Tracy to look at her bra encased breasts.

Tracy asked "Are you pleased with what you can see, so far?"

"Definitely." answered Joe and proceeded to undo her bra. Tracy stepped backwards to let her arms slide out of the bra-straps and Joe watched her perky breasts come into view. He sighed, they were the breasts of a young woman. Probably a 'C' cup. Her nipples were hard and erect. Her areolae puckered. He cupped her breasts with his hands and gently brushed the pads of his thumbs over the tip of her nipples. Tracy closed her eyes and sighed.