Minirtha: Warrior Woman Ch. 02

The sun was hanging overhead as Minirtha made it to the top of the hill that the cobblestones of the Capital Road had led her up. She looked down and saw at the bottom was a well for the public. She checked her water supply and saw it low. Looking across at the hill opposite, she saw the gates and walls of Obstanus, the capital city of the land of Hyperal. The large stone walls hid from the outside whatever lay within. Minirtha had never been to the land before but had to tend to business. Being so close to her destination for the day, she decided she could afford a few minutes to stop at the well to drink and refill her water skin. The day had been hot, and her bare torso shined with the sweat of the last few miles. Besides, it did not appear to be busy at the moment, as there were only four other people down there. She headed down towards it.

She stood by the well, dunking the gourd in and drinking directly from it. The cool water felt great in her parched mouth. She dipped in for another and looked around as she sipped her second drink. On a bench beside the well sat two women carrying cloth sacks full of all they owned, completely naked other than a ribbon of red silk tied around their necks in a bow. From her travels in neighboring lands, Minirtha knew this to be the symbol of prostitutes, no doubt looking for travelers out of the city to take them along in search of better conditions and newer clients. She did not glance at either long, as neither were her type. All they did were return her to the memories of the night before and the threesome with Phator and Ezxa. Behind the bench, on the ground and leaning against a tree, an old man lay snoring away, seemingly deep in sleep. He was dressed in a gray robe covered in strange symbols that gave him the appearance of being some type of priest. MInertha could see that though he seemed asleep, his eyelids were open enough to allow him to stare at the two naked prostitutes in front of him, his hands placed in a way over his crotch to conceal his erection. Not such a holy man after all, she thought to herself.

As MInirtha removed her water skin from her belt and opened it to fill, she was approached by a man who had been standing several yards away. She was pouring the water from the gourd when she noticed him walking in her direction. She looked him over carefully to assess him, something she often did when approached. He was tall, standing eye-to-eye with Minirtha with the same lean but muscular build as her. She could not see how muscular though, as much of his torso was concealed with the gray tunic he wore. That was all he was clad in and he carried nothing. He had long black hair and tan skin. Minirtha could tell he was looking at her with a bit of lust in his heart, but she was used to this since she walked around practically naked in her loincloth. He stood on the opposite side of the well, picking up the other gourd and getting a drink for himself as Minirtha finished filling her water skin and dipped for one more drink for herself before setting off.

"Traveled far," she heard the man ask, looking right at her. She did not speak, but nodded her head as she took the first sip from her gourd.

"Do you have business in Obstanus," he continued on. Again, she did not offer an oral response, nodding as she drank. This time some of the water spilled onto her body, feeling good as it landed on her bare breasts and ran down along her abs that were outlined in her tanned skin. It was nice as the hot sun still bared down on her naked flesh.

"Not much of a talker, are you," he kept on as she placed her gourd back and set off from the well to climb the hill to the city gates. He attempted to follow her, but found himself cut off by the two prostitutes who got up from the bench to ask if he was looking to leave Obstanus and gain traveling companions. As he answered no to both questions and looked up, he could see that Minirtha had almost reached the gates. He looked at the guards standing by, as if he did not want to confront them. He instead retreated back to the place he stood before confronting Minirtha, obviously deep in thought.

The guards at the gate stopped the redheaded woman, asking who she was and where she came from. Minirtha gave them her name and that she was from the land of Carg. She was allowed to enter the gate right then. The warrior had planned that they would want to ask her questions since she was carrying weapons, but this was not the case. Odd to her as this is what she faced in most of the other walled cities she visited, but the people she had been hired by for this important job said that inside the city there were enough guards and lawmen that any trouble would be quashed in no time. She walked some time before looking over towards the shops and merchants set up in the alleyways. She smelled one of them cooking fresh venison and went over, buying herself a steak for lunch. She sat down on the ground nearby, eating near others engaging in business. A cup of ale was provided for her to wash the steak down with and Minirtha took the opportunity to ask the man who brought it where the Queen's palace was. He gave her directions and, her meal finished, she set off in that direction.

She got a view of the capital city as she headed towards her destination and audience with the Queen. It was obvious that this was quite the clean place to live, as there was no real filth or waste along the streets, unlike some of the other lands she traveled in. Looking around, it seemed the people here were quite prosperous, something she had noticed during her travels in Hyperal. She had heard rumors that the land was ruled by a fair and noble monarch, who cared deeply for her subjects and country and had led them to this way of life. The wealth of the nation was evident when she saw the marble white palace, home to the Queen and the heart of the kingdom. She approached, confused when she saw the giant bronze doors were closed off. Looking around, she approached the first person she saw to find out what was happening.

"Good man," she asked as she got his attention, "perhaps you can offer assistance. I seek an audience with the Queen, but it appears the doors to the palace are closed. I am confused as I have been told that Her Majesty will hold court until sundown each day. Could you tell me if I have been misinformed?"

"No you are correct about the Queen holding audience," he said in reply. "But if you look over to the two poles on either side of the door, you will see them empty. When the Queen is in the palace, there is a royal standard that hangs from each. They are not out, so she is not here."

"Have you any idea where she is and when she will return?"

"I do not concern myself with those matters, so I cannot answer you."

Minirtha looked at the palace again and saw guards around it. Even though the Queen was not it, odds are the kingdom's treasury was somewhere in the massive structure. That meant it was always guarded. She thought about where to find information and asked the helpful stranger.

"Would the guards at the palace be able to offer assistance?"

"Probably not," he answered. "At least not the ones out front. The head guard on duty would know. Whoever it is at the moment will be around the south side of the building in the armory's front room. Just pull the bell rope and someone will help you."

Minirtha thanked him and began to walk in that direction. She went around to the rear of the palace and saw the stone building that no doubt was the armory. She approached the main entry door and pulled on the rope that hung there, producing the sounds of bells within. She heard footsteps from within and the door being unlatched. It opened and a tall, muscular man walked out to question her.

"May I help you?"

"Are you the head of the Queen's Guard?"

"No. I am Jeobal, the head of the Palace Guards. The head of the Queen's Personal Guard is Alaxa, but she is traveling with Her Majesty right now." He paused here, looking Minirtha up and down. The topless woman clad only in a red loincloth, quite tall and muscular, was obviously a warrior, weapons on her belt. "Were you attempting to join up as a bodyguard?"

"No. I was told to come here for information. I seek an audience with Her Majesty but have been told she was out of the palace. I was wondering when she will return and when I may present my plea to her?"

"Yes, Her Majesty is gone at the moment. There was a pressing case in the courts of one of our major port-towns that was sensitive enough and of great importance that the judges requested that Her Majesty pass judgment in the case in place of them. A rider came a day ago and has said the case has been settled. Her Majesty is on her way back and should arrive back here late tomorrow. It is doubtful she will be back in time to hold audience then, so you would be best to return here the day after tomorrow."

"I am pressed for time," MInirtha replied. "Is there any way possible that I could go to where she is traveling and plead with her there?"

Jeobal looked confused before answering. "I do not know by which route she travels. It is a secret to us and most others, only known to the members of the Queen's Personal Guard. If anyone meant to do her harm, they would be making a fatal error, as the guards are some of the most fierce women in the kingdom and take zero prisoners."

Minirtha could tell that he was growing suspicious of her and was possibly thinking she meant to do the Queen harm. "I will just wait in town until I can get audience here at the palace," she offered. "Thank you for your assistance." The warrior woman turned and headed away from the palace, determined not to be seen around until the Queen had returned.

She walked around for some time, having decisions to make. Minirtha did not like staying in cities for long and wanted to avoid it. Perhaps she could go out of the gates before they closed and camp in the woods nearby until the Queen was expected back. While this would be ideal to her, she was afraid that the head of the Palace Guard was suspicious of her and may pass that information along to the guards at the gates, who may make it difficult for her to reenter. Having looked them over, she felt in a fight she would come out on top, but did not want to cause trouble as she needed to get her audience with the Queen. She would simply lie low in the capital in the meantime.

Minirtha walked in the city for some time, surveying the place and learning more about it. It was a somewhat large city, but she recognized a few people she had seen earlier in the day in different parts. Not big enough to travel across in short time, she thought. At least twice, she recognized the face of the man who had approached her at the well outside of the city earlier. Though he would not come to her, she could tell that she was the object of his attention. She ignored this, knowing that he was unarmed at the time unless he had a concealed dagger. Her sword and axe would be protection enough in the (at least to her) unlikely event her bare hands were not enough.

As the gates of the city were being closed at sundown, the redheaded warrior found an inn. Knowing she would be unable to camp in town, she went in and rented a single room for two nights. She went upstairs and laid her shield against the wall before removing the belt that held her weapons and supplies. She also thought to remove the bracelets from each wrist. It was early in the evening and soon she knew she would grow hungry. Her biggest concern was the feeling of grubbiness from her day sweating while walking in the hot sun. She thought it a good idea to visit one of the bathhouses before moving on to a tavern for some meal and drink. Then she could come back and sleep for a night of rest.

The well-lit bathhouse was easily visible as Minirtha stepped from the front door of her lodgings. She had left her belt and weapons in her room, deciding they would draw too much attention. She had figured that there would be little to no trouble as there were city guards walking around in almost all locations, and even if anything did happen she was more than capable in hand-to-hand combat. She entered the bathhouse and spoke with the woman at the front desk. After hearing options and prices, she decided to pay for an hour on her own to bathe in one of the private rooms.

Minirtha entered the hallway and headed down towards the private bathing rooms. In the hall, as she picked a towel from the cart, she noticed a large hairy man clad only in a towel around his waist with his back to her, obviously angry at somebody and yelling. Though she did not have a good look, the warrior believed he was some sort of barbarian from a land she was not familiar with. She wanted to get a good look at who the man was so enraged at. Minirtha was shocked to see that he was yelling at a young woman who looked absolutely terrified. She stood there, filthy and crying, clad in a dirty, ragged brown dress of rough cloth. Her head was covered in very short black hair, telling Minirtha that at some point in the past couple of months the woman had her head shaved bald. Most likely this was done when she was taken into slavery, as the redheaded woman had known happened among the bands of wicked barbarians that did business with pirates of the high seas. No doubt this frightened slave woman had been captured from some unknown faraway island.

Minirtha stood by for only a short time unable to watch this happen. While she was raised among barbarians herself, she had been shown by her tribe that slavery was wrong and people had the right to be free. Her rage built as she began to approach the man. Unarmed, she was still compelled by her sense of duty to fight him.

"Dog," she shouted at the angry man, "turn and face someone who actually can stand a chance against you."

The hairy man turned and looked at her. Sure, he stood almost a head higher than Minirtha and was much larger, but she was not afraid. He laughed, "You challenge me, woman? Are you ignorant or do you want to take this one's place with me?" He pointed at the crying slave woman, furthering Minirtha's anger.

"I do challenge you, but you are the fool as one as wicked as you cannot do real harm to me."

The hairy man continued his deep laughter. "Alright, I tell you what then, since you are so confident. A tussle we shall have. First one to knock the other off their feet wins. What are your terms fire hair?"

"Should I defeat you," Minirtha told him, "then that girl you have so frightened and obviously acquired to suit your filthy needs earns her freedom, and anything you hold over her is destroyed."

"I could give you riches beyond your wildest dreams woman, but if all you want is for this varmit to run free, so be it. But if I win, you will surrender to my every desire for one night." Minirtha had figured he would want this, but she was willing to risk the horror she would undoubtedly endure at his hands.

"Very well dog. You have a deal." The two stepped back in the wide hallway to prepare. The man did nothing but stand there and stare at Minirtha. She slipped out of her sandals and untied the red loincloth she wore, placing both in a pile on the floor. Now only clad in her black thong, she did stretches before turning back to the man and giving the signal she was ready to start.

The man charged her. Minirtha knew as he ran that he was a barbarian by blood, as the giant muscular frame and great height gave his heritage away. She, tall and strong herself, was still dwarfed by him. Unlike him, however, she was not barbarian by birth and her muscular body came from hard work. Before his giant hand could smack her to the floor, she bent down and pushed off with her strong legs, jumping back to avoid him. She had trained amongst men and women that shared his build, and she knew that her smaller size would be her advantage as she would be much faster. He ran and tried hitting her again, losing some of his cheer at the prospect of ravishing her tonight, but once again she dodged him. Now he was starting to get angry.

"Come on woman. Are you going to fight or are you going to just keep running away?" Despite the challenge, Minirtha did not react at all. She knew he was trying to provoke her into attacking without thought by hurling insults at her, throwing the advantage to him. But she would not fall for his novice tricks. He continued swatting at her, trying to knock her down, getting angrier but slowly his breathing grew heavier, his swipes at Minirtha slower and with less force. She could tell that while a strong barbarian, he used his brute strength only and never trained, meaning he had grown lazy in his years and lacked the energy to keep up with her. He once again challenged her to attack and continued to say she was simply running away. When she saw him slightly stumble with a step forward, she knew it was her time to act.

"A true warrior does not run away, filthy dog, but positions herself in the prime location to attack." With these words, Minirtha jumped up and propelled her body directly in the large man's direction. Her aim good, she headbutted him right in the chest. His balance thrown off, the giant hairy beast of a man fell on the ground, flat on his back. Minirtha jumped up and landed on him. Standing on his chest, she looked down at the man. In an almost poetic sense of justice, she looked to see his towel had fallen away and that underneath he was hiding male genitalia that were not nearly the size a barbarian would see adequate. So that is the reason the dog is so wicked and evil, she thought.

"Okay swine," she barked at him. "I have bested you so the woman has her freedom now. Now leave this place at once before I give you a real attack." The man, red with embarrassment and anger but knowing he would not win against her at this time, got up and exited the hallway, leaving for some unseen place.

Her foe defeated and retreated like the whipped dog she knew he was, Minirthat turned her attention to the frightened woman. She was absolutely filthy, so the warrior could not tell where she came from. She looked nervously at Minirtha, who spoke to her in a gentle voice. It was obvious that she could not speak the redhead's language and had no understanding of what she said. Minirtha approached her and stood in front of her. The strange woman was much smaller, at eye level with Minirtha's bare breasts. She looked up at the tall redhead, who offered her hand to her. The dirty former slave woman took it. Minirtha gathered up the clothing she removed for her fight, along with a towel for each of them and led the woman towards the private bathing room she reserved.

Minirtha closed the door behind them and walked in. In the entryway, she set her clothes on a bench and then removed her thong to place on the pile, exposing her red bush of pubic hair. She reached down at the confused woman she just helped free and pulled her filthy dress over her head and tossed it next to her own clothes. Both now naked, Minirtha again took the woman, whose fright was disappearing now that she seemed to realize the tall muscular woman was her friend, by the hand once again and led her down into the bathing pool the two would share. Minirtha took a bar of soap and began to scrub both of their bodies clean. The sweat off her muscular frame was washed away in no time before she turned her attention to the other woman.

The woman had obviously not seen a bath for sometime. The layers of dirt washed into the bath water and a better view was coming to MInirtha of where the woman came from. Her olive skin showed she was most likely from a chain of islands in the Sea of Gath. While the warrior had never been there herself, she had plenty of dealings with men from there. The dirt floated away and Minirtha got a better view of the naked woman under the clear water. She was a small woman, petite with small breasts, tiny brown nipples and a body with zero hair on it besides the little she was growing back on her head. To Minirtha, she appeared to be around 20 or 21 years of age. She continued cleaning the woman up, her mighty hands touching every part of the delicate body as she scrubbed. As this went on, she felt that the freed slave was now touching her muscular body back as she cleaned her. Minirtha was okay with this and thought it best, showing she was not threatened by the woman laying hands on her.