The Patrol by Motif An amazon ambush Update: 08/11/1997 to misc3 The tall amazon captain led her weary squad the gently downward sloping trail toward the defile that signaled the last leg of their journey back to the city gates. Red light from the setting sun made their brass shin guards glow redly as they marched, seven pairs of sandal clad feet dragging on the trail, kicking up dust into the hot evening air. The ground began to rise on either side of the them and Gyoa raised her free hand to halt the small troop, the snarling panther tattooed on her muscular arm leaping into sharp relief as she waved her patrol to a stop. "All right." she barked, her sharp green eyes surveying the six tired looking amazon soldiers, "Who want to go 'point'?" A collective groan arose from the six soldiers. Gyoa raised her spear to point at a woman standing near the back. "Gisla!" she snapped, singling out the youngest member of the troop. "You take the lead." While the slender blonde woman moved to the fore, the patrol leader pointed her weapon at a deep breasted brunette leaning on her spear. "Eloa, you head the collumn. Then me, and the rest of you follow." she ordered. With a resigned sigh young amazon unslung her shield and tightened her grip on her spear, her trim athletic body aching from the long march. The patrol was Gisla's first and her crossed spears tattoo was still fresh on her forearm. She brushed back a hank of fine ash blond hair that had fallen from beneath the rim of her leather helmet and prepared to lead the troop down the narrow defile, her soft grey eyes scanning the shadowy trail apprehensively. Eloa had been disappointed that they'd seen no sign of Lyskaria's mercenaries. They'd made a wide sweep of the rough broken land to the west of the city, almost staying out longer than was absolutely safe and they'd be lucky to make the city before nightfall. Now, like the rest of her comrades, the brown haired amazon was foot sore and tired and looking forward to spending the night behind the safety of the city walls. Gyoa barked the order to march and the young amazon quickened her pace until she was a good dozen meters ahead of the advancing collumn. Falling back into marching pace, Gisla kept her gaze fixed on the trail ahead, her pretty soft featured face alert for the slightest hint of movement. Behind her Eloa trudged at the head of the column, her bronze skinned muscular limbs sweat shiny in the fading light. The patrol leader followed behind the broad shouldered soldier, almost a head taller than the tallest of the women she led. A pair of dark haired amazons followed behind her, Allette and Marusia, sisters whose almost identical good looks made them difficult to tell apart. Next to last was the bulky form of Noria, her broad thickly muscled frame lumbering tiredly along the trail, the butt end of her spear dragging in the dust. Cellia, the troop's runner, brought up the rear of the small column, her smoothly muscled legs moving easily despite the long march. As the last soldier entered the shadowy gap a pair of crows cruised overhead, their shiny black eyes intent on the a spot of ground near the far end of the defile... -------------------- The trail running through the defile widened and the blonde soldier slowed her pace, carefully scanning the high rocky slopes on either side. But when no enemy ambusher showed herself, Gisla let out the breath she'd been holding and increased her pace, sure that the rest of the trail was deserted as well. The round hide covered shield weighed heavily on the young amazon's arm and it had gradually slipped down to her side as she walked. A dozen yards back Eloa marched at the column's head, the sweat slick slopes of her heavy brown breasts heaving beneath her low cut tunic as she trudged along. Her mind dulled with exhaustion, the wide shouldered amazon failed to see the cord stretched across the dusty trail until it leapt out of the dust, sudden taut. A flurry of sand burst before the startled soldier and a spear shot out of the ground, tied to a springy length of green wood, and plunged squarely into her midriff before she could draw a breath. Eloa's own spear was jarred from her hands as the booby trap skewered her curvaceous body and she let out a hoarse gasp of pain and horror, the breath brutally driven from her body by the spear's impact. Her soft brown eyes were squeezed into painfilled slits as she stared down at the length of wood protruding from just below her sternum, gazing at it as if it had appeared their by some malevolent magic. Somehow, Eloa kept her feet as she grasped at the spear, shock waves of agony thrumming through her trembling body. Gisla spun around at the sound of the well hidden trap springing from the ground. Her breath caught in her throat at the sight of her suddenly wounded comrade and she didn't see the thin naked woman crawling from beneath the shadow of a nearby boulder, a long bladed dagger clutched in one grimy hand. Before the young amazon could move to help her stricken comrade the ambusher was upon her, her blade flashing down into the blond soldier's back. Gisla let out a high pitched shriek, pain electrifying her slender pale skinned frame. Her spear and shield flew from her hands as the raised them convulsively, her back arching sharply as her assailant yanked the blade out. As if in response to the stricken young amazons scream, enemy warriors erupted from their hiding places along the rock strewn slopes, adding their own shrill warcries to the wounded soldier's shriek. Ambushers rushed down both steep sides, their naked bodies grimy with layers of dirt and mud camouflage as they hurtled toward the remaining soldiers. Two of the women were better armed than their comrades, long swords clutched in their fists, and wore dusty red loin cloths about their hips, the signal color of their mistress, Lyskaria. Gyoa spun in a circle, trying to assess the number of ambushers attacking her patrol. She opened her mouth to bark the order for retreat, but before she could give the command a pair of sword armed mercenaries were upon her. With a shriek of hatred she thrust her spear at one charging attacker, a flame haired warrior whose large breasts bounced heavily on her chest as she half ran, half fell down the steep rocky slope. At the last moment the speeding redhead ducked under the weapon and slammed her shoulder full force into the amazon captain's raised shield, knocking her backwards into the other charging ambusher's out thrust sword. Gyoa screamed hoarsely as she was impaled on the tall long limbed warrior's weapon, the blade plunging between her strong shoulders and bursting through her upper chest with a spray of blood. Almost simultaneously a much younger ambusher threw herself at Allette, a thick bladed knife raised high above her short dirty blond hair, but was far less successful in trying to avoid the amazon soldier's weapon. The razor sharp bronze spearhead tore a gaping hole in the charging girl's slender throat and she dropped her knife to clutch futilely at the wound. Her soft sea blue eyes bulged, twin moons of shock filled pain as blood spurted through her fingers and her slim legs collapsed beneath her. Allette's sister was also busy with a pair of ambushers, one a short dark haired woman with broad square shoulders and flaring hips, the other a somewhat taller brunette whose slightly built body moved with surprising grace upon a pair of smoothly muscled legs. Using her shield to block the dark haired fighter's dagger on her left, Marusia thrust her spear at the taller woman charging on her right side. Her weapon missed it's target but forced the brown haired fighter to leap back and with a shout Marusia spun on her heel, the long shaft of her spear whirring through the air to connect solidly with the side of the blockily built fighter's head, sending her staggering to one side. Another pair of ambushers attacked Noria, carefully keeping their distance from her while keeping her trapped in a particularly narrow part of the defile. Her spear kept the slim bodied red head in front of her at bay with it's superior length, but she was unable to turn it on the voluptuous blonde behind her and was forced to awkwardly use her shield to defend herself. Even with her attention split between two attackers, the big amazon almost managed to spit the red head on her bronze blade of her spear. But as the woman before her spun away from the powerful thrust, the shapely blonde fighter behind her crouched low and slashed beneath Noria's blocking shield, leaving a painful gash on the back of her thickly muscled left calf. Cellia realized her long thrusting spear would be hampered by the close quarters of the defile and paused to draw her sword, dropping the longer weapon in the dust. She'd just begun to advance on the naked blonde ambusher attacking her comrade from the rear when a woman leapt at her from the concealing shadows of a nearby rock outcropping. The attack caught the soldier completely unawares and she only caught a glimpse of the screaming dark haired young ambusher before she slammed into her, the shock of her attacker's slim wiry muscled body's impact sending them both crashing to the ground. At the front of the column Eloa still stood in the middle of the narrow trail, her broad oval face twisted in a rictus of agony as she desperately tried to pull herself off the impaling spear. Blood poured from the stricken amazon's terrible wound to splash down the lower front half of her white tunic, staining it an alarmingly bright crimson and flowing in runnels down the naked bronze lengths of her legs. Her teeth were clentched tightly against the pain and more blood leaked from the corners of her mouth to mix with the tears streaming down her round cheeks. Despite the agony shooting through her, Eloa heard the sound of footsteps pounding toward her and looked up, dispair shining in her pain filled eyes as she saw a thin naked woman skid to a stop before her. Pointed brown nipples jutted stiffly from the mud caked on her small high breasts, erect with excitement as she raised her bloody dagger for a downward stroke. "No..." Eloa managed to plead, her voice a ragged wh! isper, but her attacker's arm was already in motion as she gleefully thrust her iron blade into the helpless amazon's throat. A weak, gurgling groan issued from the soldier and her attacker jerked her knife back, causing a thick red jet to spray from the gaping wound, coating her arm from wrist to shoulder in her foe's lifeblood. The dying amazon's broad shouldered frame sagged and leaned backwards, her arms falling limply to her sides as blood streamed from her throat and spread down the soft rounded slopes of her heavy breasts, staining the top half of her tunic the same color as the lower half. With a savage grin splitting her grimy face, the thin naked woman slapped her free hand against her victim's bare blood slick chest and the soldier's corpse finally slipped free of the impaling spear and fell to ground. A few feet away, the tall mercenary shoved her enemy's back with her free hand, grunting as she slid her long bronze sword from the amazon leader's body with a sucking sound. Blood streamed down Gyoa's chest and back as she staggered forward on suddenly rubbery legs and tried to raise her shield, but the red haired attacker's sword swept out in a high cross cut, it's blade cutting her helmet's chin strap and shearing deeply through her neck. Blood fountained from the patrol captain's throat and her helmet flew from her head, releasing a mass of sweaty blond locks piled atop her head as she fell to the ground. The two sword weilding warriors watched the dying woman laying sprawled on the ground between them. The short skirt of the enemy warrior's tunic was bunched around her waist, exposing muscular thighs and a curly thatch of blond hair covering her sex. Gyoa's strong tan legs twitched and kicked briefly. Her bright green eyes, already glazed in death, staring through a mass of curly blonde hair that half obscured her face. With a victorious whoop the redhaired amazon skipped forward, her curvaceous dirt caked body spattered with her victim's blood, and kicked the dead woman squarely in the crotch, making the limp corpse jump sharply. "That's one less of Knoa's bitch soldiers!" she crowed. Allette had turned on the short broad shoulded ambusher that her sister had knocked to her knees only a moment before and jabbed backwards with the butt of her spear, slamming it into the back of her head. The kneeling ambusher pitched forward, her dark sharply tilted eyes rolling up in her head as she hit the ground with a satisfying thud. Allette's first impulse was to run and help her sister, but when she heard her captain's dying scream she spun around just in time to raise her shield and block a vicious downward crosscut from one of the sword wielding warriors. Sweat had washed some of the dirt coating the ambusher's tall athletic frame to reveal streaks of soft looking ebony skin that shone with a warm red undertone in the light of the setting sun. Allette's shield arm ached as she deflected a succession of quick hammering blows that kept her on the defensive, unable to bring her unwieldy spear into play. The tall warrior weilded her long sword skillfully, using both hands to send powerful blows smashing against her enemy's shield. gradually beating the dark haired soldier's shield lower and lower until she was forced into a half crouch beneath the rain of blows. A broad grin split the tall ambusher's narrow high cheekboned face and she paused her relentless attack, allowing her foe to straighten up, her small shield momentarily held low across her body. With surprising speed the dark skinned warrior lunged at her foe's exposed chest and the point of her sword plunged between the enemy soldier's shapely round breasts. The dark haired amazon's soft red lips parted and she emitted a loud grunt of surprise, her beautiful light brown eyes shock wide as her foe's bronze blade burst through her rapidly beating heart, killing her almost instantly. Marusia had disarmed her second foe with a deep slash across her forearm and had managed to force the willowy brunette's back against a nearly verticle section of rock wall. But her lithe attacker had ducked under a thrust and had thrown herself at the dark haired soldier, pulling her off balance as she tore the small shield from her arm. The two fighters were grappling with the spear between them, Marusia keeping the smaller woman pinned against rough rock wall when she glanced toward her sister just in time to see a length of blood slathered blade burst from between her shoulderblades. "ALLETTE! NOOOOO!" Marusia screamed. With panic inspired strength she tore her spear from the smaller woman's grasp, pulling her foreward into a sharply raised knee. The brunette ambusher shrieked as her foe's knee slammed up into her naked crotch, but the dark haired soldier meerly pushed her away and sprinted toward the spot where her sister stood, still held up by the sword piercing her body. "YOU BITCH!" she raged at the tall warrior, thrusting her spear over her sister's shoulder at the woman's head. Sinewy muscle bulged on the tall fighter's long arms as she kept the dying soldier erect, using her still twitching body as a shield. A spear darted over her victim's shoulder and she jerked her head away, the sharp bronze blade drawing a shallow cut along the side of her head. Snarling at the pain the muscular warrior snatched at the spear, catching it below the just blade and with a savage yell yanked the spear shaft hard. The unexpected jerk pulled Marusia off balance and she stumbled forward uncontrollably, slamming forcefully into her sister's back, impaling herself on the bronze blade jutting from her sibling's shoulderblades. Her body convulsed as the sword pierced the rounded upper hillock of her soft left breast and she flung an arm around her sisters quivering shoulders, fighting to keep on her feet despite the pain ripping through her chest. Savage concentration shining on her dark face, the musclar fighter's powerful arms shook as the second woman added more weight to her sword. Tossing the spear away she grabbed the dark haired soldier's flailing arm by the wrist and pulled, driving the point of her sword further into the writhing woman's chest even as kept them both erect with only one arm. Marusia felt the familiar sensation of her breasts flattening against her sister's back and the sword tore into her left lung. She goggled over Allette's shoulder at the tall mercenary, her lovely triangular face drawn with pain and horror. Then, with a loud grunt of exertion the muscular fighter levered the two impaled soldiers to one side, their blood spattered bodies falling in a tangled heap as she freed her sword. "That's...two for me." she panted, her small round ebony breasts heaving on her chest. "Lucky!" the red haired warrior muttered behind her. In the narrow part of the defile Noria desperately jabbed her spear at the petite red headed ambusher. A second painful cut on the back of her right calf bled in tandem with the one on her left, coating her ankles and sandled feet with sticky red blood, but so far the ambusher behind her had been unable to hamstring the big amazon. Sweat molded Noria's tunic to her broad muscular frame, making her pale skin seem almost translucent as she battled the two warriors, her limbs growing heavier and heavier with fatigue. The brawny soldier thrust low and the nimble red haired fighter dodged left and stumbled, her bare feet sliding on a patch of loose gravel. With a deep growl Noria swept her spear up at her scrambling foe and it's sharp point drew a long jagged red line across the smaller woman's narrow back from her left hip to the jutting bone of her right shoulderblade. But as the wounded red head stumbled away with a shriek, another ambusher leapt at Noria's momentarily undefended back from her hiding place one side of the defile, her dagger raised high above her head in both hands. The big amazon's hoarse scream echoed through the narrow defile as she staggered forward, the third ambusher's dagger buried up to the hilt high in her back. Noria stumbled and fell to her knees, her thin lips peeled back in an agonized grimace, spear and shield falling to the ground she convulsed. The slim red head scrambled to her feet and with a vengfull shriek kicked the kneeling soldier solidly beneath her square chin, snapping her head up sharply. Noria wavered on her knees, her muddy brown eyes fluttering as she stared up at the darkening sky. A deep groan welled up from the desperately wounded soldier and her once powerful body sagged backwards but still she refused to fall. The ambusher who'd leapt at Noria from the defile, a dark haired girl who looked barely sixteen years old beneath her cammoflage of dirt and mud, stepped up behind the stricked warrior she'd just stabbed. With a flourish, the young ambusher jerked the knife from her victim's back and deftly pirouetted away from a jet of spraying blood as the big amazon toppled onto her back. The three ambushers stared down at the dying soldier, watching her broad muscled frame twitch and convulse, her mouth twisting in voiceless curses. Even as her life's blood spilled into the dust, Noria's thick fingered hands groped at her waist, fumbling for the hilt of her sword. The three women looked up at each other, bodies grimed with sweat and blood and dirt, bosoms heaving from exertion and excitement, eyes wild and shining with blood lust. Almost as one, the three naked ambusher's threw themselves at their helpless foe. Further back on the trail, the last amazon soldier fought for her life beneath the furiously twisting body of her smaller attacker. Cillia lay entwined in a lethal struggle with the dark haired fighter, her free hand tightly grasping her foe's wrist to keep her knife at bay while the naked woman had a similar grip on her own sword arm. The runner's strong ebony legs were wraped about her opponents slim mud encrusted legs, jabbing knees and kicking feet a counterpart to their struggle for control of their weapons. Slowly, Cillia maneuvered her short sword despite the pressure of her foe's grasping hand, forcing the quivering blade upward until it's point lightly dented the mud daubed smooth brown skin at her smaller opponent's side. Sweat poured down Cillia's lovely triangular face, her widely set almond shaped eyes staring unblinkingly in total concentration. Above her the dark haired ambusher shrieked and hissed in a transport of rage, her sleek brown body writhing as she tried to push the her trembling dagger closer to her opponent's heaving bosom while at the same time keep the runner's sharp blade from piercing her side. All at once the slender soldier bucked her well muscled body, her strong legs twisting her own legs to one side and suddenly the world turned topsy turvy. She howled out a denial as the larger warrior quickly straddled her writhing body and pinned her knife hand to the ground, jerking her own sword arm from her sweaty grasp. Cillia raised her sword above her head, wiry muscles bunching beneath the sweat slick ebony skin of her sword arm as she prepared to strike. But as she was about to drive the point of her sword savagely down into her foe's face, sudden mind numbing pain burst through her athletic frame. Blinding white light burst before Cillia's eyes, then receeded as suddenly as it had come, leaving her vision preternaturally clear and sharp. She felt fluid dribble down her chin uncontrollably and she looked down at her suddenly numb chest, her beautiful dark eyes bulging as she gazed at the bloody spear point protruding from the round swells of her small jutting breasts. With a strong jerk the thin mud encrusted woman pulled her foe's own spear from the soldier's back, watching blood stream from the wound to make a wide crimson stain on the stricken warrior's white tunic. The soldier emitted a choking gasp and her upraised sword slipped from her grasp, falling to stick in the ground next to her smaller foe's head. With a deep groan the last amazon soldier's eyes rolled up into her head and she collapsed onto her back next to her young opponent, her thickly muscled legs twitching violently, her heels beating a rapid tattoo on the ground as she died. ------------------ The thin warrior frowned down at the young ambusher lying next to the amazon she'd just slain and reached out a hand to help her to her feet. The slim fighter gulped air as she met her comrades disapproving gaze, the soft swells of her small budding round breasts heaving on her narrow chest. A chagrined look spread across her pretty face as the young fighter took the proffered hand and climbed to her feet. "Sorry, mother." she appologised. The two mercenaries looked on as the three ambusher's daggers rose and fell, stabbing their foe's once powerfull body again and again. They knew better than to interfere with the freed slaves as they revenged themselves against Knoa's soldier. True, they were unskilled and sometimes uncontrollable, but the slave women made up for it with unrestrained ferocity. And besides, Lyskaria could use every fighter she could get until the treacherous amazon princess was finally overthown. After that, the rebelous slave fighters would be disposable. A few yards away, Marusia lay sprawled across her sisters legs with her head in her lap, blood leaking from her gasping lips and the gaping hole in her chest. She gazed up the length of her sister's blood spattered body at an almost identical triangular face that was relaxed in death, looking as the dead woman were only asleep. Her lovely light brown eyes shining with pain, Marusia pulled herself up Allette's ominously still frame, her groping hands slipping on the familiar contours of her sibling's blood slick body. With a final loud groan the mortaly wounded soldier collapsed, her head pillowed on her sister's unmoving bosom, her crimson smeared lips tantalizingly close to the gently swelling mounds of flesh just as they had so many times in the past. "Oh Allette!" she moaned sadly, expelling her last breath, "She...she's killed us both!" Gisla gasped with relief as she reached the end of the defile. Her pain wracked her athletic body and her legs trembled with exhaustion, but still she forced herself to keep moving, hoping against hope that the women who'd slaughtered her comrades hadn't noticed she was missing. The young soldier had watched them members of her patrol die one by one, overwhelmed by surprise and the ambusher's superior numbers. Fear had driven Gisla to her feet and, despite the agony washing through her trembling body, she'd managed to rip strips of cloth from the hem of her tunic and make a crude bandage as she fled the massacre. In the five minutes the conflict had lasted, the last rays of the setting sun had disappeared and now the gravely wounded young warrior staggered on in total darkness, waiting to see if blood loss or enemy warrior would kill her before she reached the city.