"2566-37" - читать интересную книгу автора (Jerome Bigge - Warlady 4 - 2566 Ad)2566 A.D.! A TALE OF ADVENTURE IN THE SECOND DARK AGE OF MAN By Jerome B. Bigge Chapter Thirty Seven Sela Dai had flown several times in Lorraine's airplane, al- though such was nothing like flying on the back of a living bird. The swoop of the wings, the heat of the feathered body between one's thighs, was nothing like flying in some mechanical device! There before her was the large village nestled in its cove, the fishing boats and a couple small two masted schooners resting at anchor. Behind their Princess the two other bird girls of Ta- lon on their feathered mounts, each bird burdened down with a dozen quart bottles of lamp oil. Such "firebombs", while crude by 20th Century standards, were still effective against wooden buildings in an era without any modern fire fighting equipment. Beyond the village the evergreens that covered much of Dularn... The afternoon sun was warm on her body, the cloud sprinkled sky lovely in the late Dularnian spring, but the leather clad little brunette paid little attention to such things just then. Of considerably greater "concern" just then was the task at hand. Of bringing fire and destruction to the innocent people below! ***************************************************************** "You're driving her pretty hard," I heard the first officer warn his Queen, Maris seemingly as "driven" as her ship was now! "And what do you `suggest' that I do?" Maris snapped back, the tone of her voice like the warning snarl of a great predatory beast. The man shrinking back, well aware of her icy cold fury!! "The speed of my squadron is limited to the slowest ship," I pointed out. On the other hand I had selected the best that I had available. Even the cargo schooner from Talon was "fast". I considered it possible that Sela had sent the cargo schooner back to California to inform Darlanis of my "death" instead of losing one of my warships. Such would have been what I would have done. "I wish to catch up with your `Princess' before she does any more damage or takes innocent lives," Maris answered me back, the very tone of her normally friendly voice leaving no doubt as to the considerable emotional strain that she was under right now. "You know your ship, its capabilities better than I do," I smiled back at her, enjoying the warmth of the sun. The cool fresh breeze off the ocean. I had "confidence" in Maris as a captain. She was probably more "capable" than any of mine were! ***************************************************************** The man was an experienced big game hunter. The crossbow was "Californian" in design, capable of shooting a bolt a quarter of a mile! At a speed of sixty miles per hour a swooping Tarl is hard to hit. So "difficult" as a matter of fact that in the war between the Empire of California and Talon over a dozen years be- fore only a few birds had ever been hit by enemy missiles. Mis- siles fired from the ground as the great hawk like birds swooped with their lovely riders over Darlanis' military forces below them. It was, I suppose, more a matter of "luck" than anything else to hit such a "target" with any crossbow at such distances. Sela Dai's first inkling of "trouble" was when she suddenly felt her bird "stiffen" there beneath her, the crossbow missile having pierced it through one of the double hearts a Tarl has! A stiffening of the wings as the bird went into a glide was only a further hint of serious trouble! Its refusal to respond to the reins or to the strike of her whip leaving no doubts that it was badly hurt! And to her horror it obviously intended to land in the middle of things! Right down in front of the blazing houses! The bird hit hard, stumbling, going down, Sela yanking her- self free of the safety strap and jumping clear, well aware that she had come down right in the midst of the infuriated villagers! "Kill her!" Sela heard cry, drawing her slim dagger, aware of how helpless she was before dozens of infuriated men and women as the villagers rushed to surround her, waving weapons of all sorts and yelling obscene curses at her that left no doubt as to what her "fate" might be at their hands. One even suggesting to the others that she be thrown into one of the burning houses just as "punishment" for what she and the other two had done! Others now pointing out to sea, at the ships as they came in one after another in a line, firing their own missiles and lamp oil fire bombs at the anchored vessels waiting helplessly to be destroyed! "We can send a landing party," Mark protested. Valerie Dunn shook her head in the negative. The villagers would be "waiting" in the forest. The arrows would be swift, deadly. All adult Du- larnians were trained in the use of the sword, the bow. Such had not been clearly understood at first by those of the Empire. The "loss" of the Princess of Talon was a serious "blow" to their cause, but both Valerie and Janice had held out for going on with their mission despite the loss of first Lorraine and now Sela. A tear glistened unnoticed in his eye as he nodded back in reply. ***************************************************************** "Smoke, your highness," the first officer said to Maris. I saw the look on her face as she turned to regard me for a second! "It will be like Sana," I said to the Queen of Dularn then. "You are a `Warlady'," Queen Maris answered me back then. "Bring her!" the mayor snapped, her husband at her side, a powerful Dularnian longbow in her hands, a quiver of arrows on her back. She had red hair, the color of the sunset, and the "look" of a woman who has lost much. Sela Dai, stripped, bound wrist and ankle, could only kneel there and await her fate, her long black hair half covering her features as she saw the ship... "We captured this one," the mayor said, holding Sela by the hair so that she must look up into the features of the Queen of Dularn. "The ransom she will bring will help a bit to rebuild." "So you are Lorraine's little `spitfire'," Maris smiled at the beautiful naked Princess of Talon, glad at least that the enemy squadron had been deprived of this woman's leadership now! "The others will carry on, Dularnian bitch," Sela snapped! "If you wish, I will slit her throat," the mayor suggested. "That would be a waste of a good woman," Maris smiled back. "LORRAINE!! YOU LIVE!!" Sela Dai cried as she dashed across the North Star's deck, as naked as the proverbial "jaybird", her hands still yet bound behind herself. A number of the male mem- bers of the crew taking pleasure in the observation of her too!! "I'm a tough old bitch," I smiled, giving her a warm smile! "Lorraine!," Sela sobbed, going to her knees, Maris bending down behind her, freeing her hands so that she might embrace me. "We have a kind of `truce' right now," I explained to Sela. "When that ship reaches Darlanis...," Sela breathed back. "It will take time for Darlanis to gather her forces," I an- swered. Hopefully I would be able to "settle" things with Maris before the Empress of California launched her attack on Dularn... "I want you to cooperate fully with Queen Maris," I said to Sela as the Princess of Talon nodded. The North Star was driving hard through the waves in its attempt to catch up with my raiding squadron. Maris' azure eyes "hot" as they "burned" into Sela's. "I'm not sure `who' will be in command now, or whether or not they will continue on," Sela said, Maris nodding in reply. I had given my orders, but how well they might be obeyed now was another question. I suspected Prince Jers would be in command now. He was "experienced", and "capable" for one so young. I often now suspected that Lara had a lot to do with things too. She was both "mother" and "wife" to him, I had noticed earlier... "I suggest that we continue our present course," I spoke. ***************************************************************** Captain Mark Berson of the Squala watched the sun setting there in the west, the glowing red orb gleaming over the waves. Prince Jers Bisan was in "command" now, following the orders of a woman now only a "memory". A woman who had been born in the 20th Century, and died in the 26th. A woman of "legend", and yet one he had much admired, both for her courage and her intelligence. He watched a slave girl saunter across the deck with that provoc- ative "walk" that many such developed after a period of time. He could find a few moments of "forgetfulness" in her arms, but then it would be just as "bad" as ever, remembering Sela Dai, his be- loved little Talon Princess. Did she live, or had the villagers killed her? There was a remote possibility, Valerie Dunn had pointed out, that they might eventually take her to Arsana to be ransomed back to Talon. That was assuming that they hadn't just slit her throat, which he feared was much more likely considering how high feelings would have been after having their village burned by Sela and her other two bird girls. And when Darlanis learned of "what" had happened, what would she do? It looked like it was going to be a long war, doubtlessly "winless" like the last one, with thousands of lives on both sides being wasted! ***************************************************************** "One thing I can say is that I've gotten first class care," I laughed, Sela sitting there watching me eat, with Queen Maris' green eyes like beautiful precious jewels glowing down into mine. "You are lucky to be alive," Queen Maris said to me then. "I was just lucky that woman mayor could control her people," Sela Dai spoke softly. She had told me much of what had happened to her. I rather tended to agree with her opinion too. "We are a `civilized people'," Queen Maris smiled back. "Lorraine and I wouldn't be here right now if you'd minded your own business," Sela Dai pointed out in reply, regarding the lovely Queen of Dularn as we sat there in the stern cabin of the North Star. The sky astern already growing dark as night fell. "She is a `spitfire', isn't she?" Maris laughed in reply. "One I think highly of," I smiled back at the Queen. 2566 A.D.! A TALE OF ADVENTURE IN THE SECOND DARK AGE OF MAN By Jerome B. Bigge Chapter Thirty Seven Sela Dai had flown several times in Lorraine's airplane, al- though such was nothing like flying on the back of a living bird. The swoop of the wings, the heat of the feathered body between one's thighs, was nothing like flying in some mechanical device! There before her was the large village nestled in its cove, the fishing boats and a couple small two masted schooners resting at anchor. Behind their Princess the two other bird girls of Ta- lon on their feathered mounts, each bird burdened down with a dozen quart bottles of lamp oil. Such "firebombs", while crude by 20th Century standards, were still effective against wooden buildings in an era without any modern fire fighting equipment. Beyond the village the evergreens that covered much of Dularn... The afternoon sun was warm on her body, the cloud sprinkled sky lovely in the late Dularnian spring, but the leather clad little brunette paid little attention to such things just then. Of considerably greater "concern" just then was the task at hand. Of bringing fire and destruction to the innocent people below! ***************************************************************** "You're driving her pretty hard," I heard the first officer warn his Queen, Maris seemingly as "driven" as her ship was now! "And what do you `suggest' that I do?" Maris snapped back, the tone of her voice like the warning snarl of a great predatory beast. The man shrinking back, well aware of her icy cold fury!! "The speed of my squadron is limited to the slowest ship," I pointed out. On the other hand I had selected the best that I had available. Even the cargo schooner from Talon was "fast". I considered it possible that Sela had sent the cargo schooner back to California to inform Darlanis of my "death" instead of losing one of my warships. Such would have been what I would have done. "I wish to catch up with your `Princess' before she does any more damage or takes innocent lives," Maris answered me back, the very tone of her normally friendly voice leaving no doubt as to the considerable emotional strain that she was under right now. "You know your ship, its capabilities better than I do," I smiled back at her, enjoying the warmth of the sun. The cool fresh breeze off the ocean. I had "confidence" in Maris as a captain. She was probably more "capable" than any of mine were! ***************************************************************** The man was an experienced big game hunter. The crossbow was "Californian" in design, capable of shooting a bolt a quarter of a mile! At a speed of sixty miles per hour a swooping Tarl is hard to hit. So "difficult" as a matter of fact that in the war between the Empire of California and Talon over a dozen years be- fore only a few birds had ever been hit by enemy missiles. Mis- siles fired from the ground as the great hawk like birds swooped with their lovely riders over Darlanis' military forces below them. It was, I suppose, more a matter of "luck" than anything else to hit such a "target" with any crossbow at such distances. Sela Dai's first inkling of "trouble" was when she suddenly felt her bird "stiffen" there beneath her, the crossbow missile having pierced it through one of the double hearts a Tarl has! A stiffening of the wings as the bird went into a glide was only a further hint of serious trouble! Its refusal to respond to the reins or to the strike of her whip leaving no doubts that it was badly hurt! And to her horror it obviously intended to land in the middle of things! Right down in front of the blazing houses! The bird hit hard, stumbling, going down, Sela yanking her- self free of the safety strap and jumping clear, well aware that she had come down right in the midst of the infuriated villagers! "Kill her!" Sela heard cry, drawing her slim dagger, aware of how helpless she was before dozens of infuriated men and women as the villagers rushed to surround her, waving weapons of all sorts and yelling obscene curses at her that left no doubt as to what her "fate" might be at their hands. One even suggesting to the others that she be thrown into one of the burning houses just as "punishment" for what she and the other two had done! Others now pointing out to sea, at the ships as they came in one after another in a line, firing their own missiles and lamp oil fire bombs at the anchored vessels waiting helplessly to be destroyed! "We can send a landing party," Mark protested. Valerie Dunn shook her head in the negative. The villagers would be "waiting" in the forest. The arrows would be swift, deadly. All adult Du- larnians were trained in the use of the sword, the bow. Such had not been clearly understood at first by those of the Empire. The "loss" of the Princess of Talon was a serious "blow" to their cause, but both Valerie and Janice had held out for going on with their mission despite the loss of first Lorraine and now Sela. A tear glistened unnoticed in his eye as he nodded back in reply. ***************************************************************** "Smoke, your highness," the first officer said to Maris. I saw the look on her face as she turned to regard me for a second! "It will be like Sana," I said to the Queen of Dularn then. "You are a `Warlady'," Queen Maris answered me back then. "Bring her!" the mayor snapped, her husband at her side, a powerful Dularnian longbow in her hands, a quiver of arrows on her back. She had red hair, the color of the sunset, and the "look" of a woman who has lost much. Sela Dai, stripped, bound wrist and ankle, could only kneel there and await her fate, her long black hair half covering her features as she saw the ship... "We captured this one," the mayor said, holding Sela by the hair so that she must look up into the features of the Queen of Dularn. "The ransom she will bring will help a bit to rebuild." "So you are Lorraine's little `spitfire'," Maris smiled at the beautiful naked Princess of Talon, glad at least that the enemy squadron had been deprived of this woman's leadership now! "The others will carry on, Dularnian bitch," Sela snapped! "If you wish, I will slit her throat," the mayor suggested. "That would be a waste of a good woman," Maris smiled back. "LORRAINE!! YOU LIVE!!" Sela Dai cried as she dashed across the North Star's deck, as naked as the proverbial "jaybird", her hands still yet bound behind herself. A number of the male mem- bers of the crew taking pleasure in the observation of her too!! "I'm a tough old bitch," I smiled, giving her a warm smile! "Lorraine!," Sela sobbed, going to her knees, Maris bending down behind her, freeing her hands so that she might embrace me. "We have a kind of `truce' right now," I explained to Sela. "When that ship reaches Darlanis...," Sela breathed back. "It will take time for Darlanis to gather her forces," I an- swered. Hopefully I would be able to "settle" things with Maris before the Empress of California launched her attack on Dularn... "I want you to cooperate fully with Queen Maris," I said to Sela as the Princess of Talon nodded. The North Star was driving hard through the waves in its attempt to catch up with my raiding squadron. Maris' azure eyes "hot" as they "burned" into Sela's. "I'm not sure `who' will be in command now, or whether or not they will continue on," Sela said, Maris nodding in reply. I had given my orders, but how well they might be obeyed now was another question. I suspected Prince Jers would be in command now. He was "experienced", and "capable" for one so young. I often now suspected that Lara had a lot to do with things too. She was both "mother" and "wife" to him, I had noticed earlier... "I suggest that we continue our present course," I spoke. ***************************************************************** Captain Mark Berson of the Squala watched the sun setting there in the west, the glowing red orb gleaming over the waves. Prince Jers Bisan was in "command" now, following the orders of a woman now only a "memory". A woman who had been born in the 20th Century, and died in the 26th. A woman of "legend", and yet one he had much admired, both for her courage and her intelligence. He watched a slave girl saunter across the deck with that provoc- ative "walk" that many such developed after a period of time. He could find a few moments of "forgetfulness" in her arms, but then it would be just as "bad" as ever, remembering Sela Dai, his be- loved little Talon Princess. Did she live, or had the villagers killed her? There was a remote possibility, Valerie Dunn had pointed out, that they might eventually take her to Arsana to be ransomed back to Talon. That was assuming that they hadn't just slit her throat, which he feared was much more likely considering how high feelings would have been after having their village burned by Sela and her other two bird girls. And when Darlanis learned of "what" had happened, what would she do? It looked like it was going to be a long war, doubtlessly "winless" like the last one, with thousands of lives on both sides being wasted! ***************************************************************** "One thing I can say is that I've gotten first class care," I laughed, Sela sitting there watching me eat, with Queen Maris' green eyes like beautiful precious jewels glowing down into mine. "You are lucky to be alive," Queen Maris said to me then. "I was just lucky that woman mayor could control her people," Sela Dai spoke softly. She had told me much of what had happened to her. I rather tended to agree with her opinion too. "We are a `civilized people'," Queen Maris smiled back. "Lorraine and I wouldn't be here right now if you'd minded your own business," Sela Dai pointed out in reply, regarding the lovely Queen of Dularn as we sat there in the stern cabin of the North Star. The sky astern already growing dark as night fell. "She is a `spitfire', isn't she?" Maris laughed in reply. "One I think highly of," I smiled back at the Queen. |
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