The History of Gin
or
A Fox's Tail
Is Life Existential? You Decide.
by ' Colorado ' Gumi
...I n s p i r e d By T r u e E v e n t s...
Chapter 9
De Amazon Ain't Just a River in Brazil
Part II - "Stand By Me"
(see Part 1) ...With hands finally unbound, Gin found it easier to participate in this new world. Although the days consisted mainly of travel, riding in or walking beside the cart, the evening camps were a bustle of activity. Observing her guardian occupied with the many duties of a warrior, Gin tried to lighten the load by helping with some of the mundane chores she saw the woman perform. Her first effort in this direction was to help with the staple food the Amazon's prepared at night and ate at various times during the day. Having watched the Blonde prepare the dish; a round, flat, unleavened loaf smeared with a spicy goo, sprinkled with dark, chewy bits and baked till crisp in the fire -- which to her tasted, for all the world, like lizard gizzard pizza -- Gin offered to help with the task. The Blonde received this offer with a happy smile and beaming eyes. Gently explaining the process by soft words, hand gestures and pictures scratched in the sand, she quickly had Ginny performing all the necessary steps to perfection and they both greatly enjoyed preparing and consuming the result. With this success, Ginny made a point of offering help with any task she thought she could handle; pitching and striking camp, tending the fire, and furbishing equipment, including the Amazon's singularly shiny sword.
Aided by such interaction, the two quickly developed a rapport that transcended the barrier of incompatible speech; understanding was effected by gestures, expressions and quiet words that became a private language between the two. Their facile communion stemmed mainly from the Blonde's heightened ability to communicate, although such talent was not surprising since the Amazons, always in combat, led lives dependent on exchanging volumes of meaning tacitly.
Occasionally the Blonde would ride out on picket duty at night, leaving Gin to her own devices in the camp. One such night, as Gin attempted to sleep, naked, under the stars on a scruffy hide spread near her guardian's gear, she noticed the commandress of the troop squatting restlessly by the fire. Gin knew this Amazon, named Thay-zee, to be especially vulgar, with an insatiable appetite for sex play. Now in the flickering flames the Amazon's dark brown eyes glowed at Gin, who could see the woman was touching herself and making seductive tongue gestures. Gin tried to overlook the advances by feigning sleep but the Amazon eventually rose, swaggered over, lifted Ginny by the hair and regarded her with open lust. Deflecting her eyes to the side, Gin anticipated the rough press of lips against her own -- death to resist -- but the first kiss never came. Daring to look again, Ginny saw the Amazon now was staring down at her own chest, bewildered by the gleaming dagger hilt that had sprouted there between her breasts. The woman died with a roll of her eyes and folded in a heap at Ginny's feet. The Blonde walked up from where she had cast the blade, calmly drew it from the body, wiped it clean against the corpse's thigh and retired to her bedroll. The next morning the troop continued on its way with a new commandress.
On this day the topography of the prairie, which had been flat and featureless, began to change. To the trail's left a dark smudge appeared at the extreme horizon and eventually resolved into a band of hilly ground that, over the next days, steadily drew closer and higher until the company was skirting craggy outcrops. Gin had noticed a change in camp activity: patrols rode forward often, returning with artifacts that were discarded after examination; the Amazons often clustered in councils, though the discussions were unintelligible; and an elevated militarism bubbled to the surface, replacing the prior mask of carefree distraction. The Blonde spent most idle moments practicing with her weapons and Gin shared much time with her preparing armor, pointing arrows and edging blades. They even began ritualistic sparring together with light weapons, at first almost clownishly, but with increasing seriousness as Gin learned the choreography of the exercises. Gin, who always considered herself more an Athena than a Venus (but refrained from actually carrying shield and spear in Manhattan), delighted in the exhilaration of this training and responded well under the Blonde's encouragement. Eventually her protectress shared details of the imminent mission, storming a fortification held by brutish man-things that were something other than human or animal. One afternoon the blonde Amazon returned from a patrol leading a spare horse, which she presented to Gin with an invitation to ride with her from that moment on. And so Ginger found herself conscripted into a mounted troop of loin-clothed and bare-breasted Amazon warrior women; with long swords, stout bows and flowing hair, who meant to assault a fortress of brutal, apish man-things. Soon thereafter, the company made a permanent camp, well hidden in a peaceful valley just off the plain, and made final preparations. The captives (the fleeing woman being the only serious casualty) were manacled together and provided a supply of food and drink -- there was no concern over their flight. That night, fifteen battle-hardened Amazons and one spunky New Yorker rode out for battle.
The troop made a short, hard ride to a box canyon (no pun intended), dismounted and picked their way, fully armored, along a trail running up a ridge and descending into a narrow valley cut by a tumbling creek. Straddling most of the valley a short way upstream stood a stone fortress, it's high walls punctured by a fortified gateway. The Amazons halted at the end of the trail, which was shielded from the fortress, and waited. Gin was startled to perceive a dark figure materialize in their midst. This apparition was taller than the women and shrouded in a black hooded cloak; the glow of green eyes was the only evidence anything was really there under the garment. The entity radiated an aura of masculinity, which was reinforced by the low pitch of its voice in muted reply to the warriors' own whispered greetings. Though to Gin's knowledge the Amazons respected no man, they did this one. From her place beside Gin, the Blonde somehow managed to impress that this was their secret weapon, a wizard arriving to support the assault.
The next moment the group crept forward to attack the gateway. Gin saw things at the parapets looking toward but not seeing the Amazons; apparently the wizard was screening the party from observation as it advanced toward the arched stone entrance and that gate's stout door. The Blonde had just asked Gin to stay close by the wizard from now on, it was a place of absolute safety, when several Amazons hefting battle-axes moved forward to crouch in a line before the entrance. At a silent signal the warriors heaved their axes at the door where they embedded in a staggered line running to the top; then the Blonde left Gin's side, sprinted to the entrance, climbed the axes hand-over-hand and disappeared into a gap between the door and the arch. There was silence, then several strangled cries followed by mechanical clicks and whirs announcing release of the door and portcullis. Hinged at the bottom like a drawbridge, the door thundered to the ground with the rattle of heavy chains. As a body, the Amazons sprang through the entrance to strike their foe; the wizard and his new shadow followed closely. Passing through the gatehouse, Gin heard the sound of a massacre above as the Blonde easily dispatched the brutes swarming upon her along the ramparts. Once inside the walls, Gin got a close look at the defenders. They were hulking, hairy slobs, full of themselves and evil intent. Even looking at death incarnate, they hooted, beat their chests and taunted the Amazons -- in fact the drooling brutes reminded Gin of the Broker/Trader financial types she often saw near Wall Street. The Amazons were outnumbered at least ten to one but they remained in a tight unit and simply slaughtered everything around them. Gin thought the wizard must be having some influence, casting a protective aura about the band and accelerating the women amongst their foe. Several times she saw weapons seem to pass through a woman with no effect. Two or three times an Amazon who apparently had moved beyond the aura fell with potentially mortal wounds. The troop's violent attack quickly overwhelmed the enemy and in no time they were mopping up the remnants. With the heat of battle abating, Gin scanned for the Blonde, who was not near the wizard. Looking back, she saw her protectress unharmed outside the gatehouse, smiling, with her left arm outstretched in a wave. Raising her own hand to reply, Gin had a clear view as the crossbow bolt flit under the blonde Amazon's arm and skewered her chest, entering at the unprotected left armpit and exiting below the right shoulder blade. The momentum of the blow spun the woman round against the stone structure and a second bolt through the back transfixed her to the wall like a butterfly on display. The dark stains of death already soiled her loincloth.
In horror, grief and shock, Ginny crumpled at the wizard's feet. Stooping, he plucked her up and bore her easily as the Amazons annihilated the last resistance...(see Part 3)
Aided by such interaction, the two quickly developed a rapport that transcended the barrier of incompatible speech; understanding was effected by gestures, expressions and quiet words that became a private language between the two. Their facile communion stemmed mainly from the Blonde's heightened ability to communicate, although such talent was not surprising since the Amazons, always in combat, led lives dependent on exchanging volumes of meaning tacitly.
Occasionally the Blonde would ride out on picket duty at night, leaving Gin to her own devices in the camp. One such night, as Gin attempted to sleep, naked, under the stars on a scruffy hide spread near her guardian's gear, she noticed the commandress of the troop squatting restlessly by the fire. Gin knew this Amazon, named Thay-zee, to be especially vulgar, with an insatiable appetite for sex play. Now in the flickering flames the Amazon's dark brown eyes glowed at Gin, who could see the woman was touching herself and making seductive tongue gestures. Gin tried to overlook the advances by feigning sleep but the Amazon eventually rose, swaggered over, lifted Ginny by the hair and regarded her with open lust. Deflecting her eyes to the side, Gin anticipated the rough press of lips against her own -- death to resist -- but the first kiss never came. Daring to look again, Ginny saw the Amazon now was staring down at her own chest, bewildered by the gleaming dagger hilt that had sprouted there between her breasts. The woman died with a roll of her eyes and folded in a heap at Ginny's feet. The Blonde walked up from where she had cast the blade, calmly drew it from the body, wiped it clean against the corpse's thigh and retired to her bedroll. The next morning the troop continued on its way with a new commandress.
On this day the topography of the prairie, which had been flat and featureless, began to change. To the trail's left a dark smudge appeared at the extreme horizon and eventually resolved into a band of hilly ground that, over the next days, steadily drew closer and higher until the company was skirting craggy outcrops. Gin had noticed a change in camp activity: patrols rode forward often, returning with artifacts that were discarded after examination; the Amazons often clustered in councils, though the discussions were unintelligible; and an elevated militarism bubbled to the surface, replacing the prior mask of carefree distraction. The Blonde spent most idle moments practicing with her weapons and Gin shared much time with her preparing armor, pointing arrows and edging blades. They even began ritualistic sparring together with light weapons, at first almost clownishly, but with increasing seriousness as Gin learned the choreography of the exercises. Gin, who always considered herself more an Athena than a Venus (but refrained from actually carrying shield and spear in Manhattan), delighted in the exhilaration of this training and responded well under the Blonde's encouragement. Eventually her protectress shared details of the imminent mission, storming a fortification held by brutish man-things that were something other than human or animal. One afternoon the blonde Amazon returned from a patrol leading a spare horse, which she presented to Gin with an invitation to ride with her from that moment on. And so Ginger found herself conscripted into a mounted troop of loin-clothed and bare-breasted Amazon warrior women; with long swords, stout bows and flowing hair, who meant to assault a fortress of brutal, apish man-things. Soon thereafter, the company made a permanent camp, well hidden in a peaceful valley just off the plain, and made final preparations. The captives (the fleeing woman being the only serious casualty) were manacled together and provided a supply of food and drink -- there was no concern over their flight. That night, fifteen battle-hardened Amazons and one spunky New Yorker rode out for battle.
The troop made a short, hard ride to a box canyon (no pun intended), dismounted and picked their way, fully armored, along a trail running up a ridge and descending into a narrow valley cut by a tumbling creek. Straddling most of the valley a short way upstream stood a stone fortress, it's high walls punctured by a fortified gateway. The Amazons halted at the end of the trail, which was shielded from the fortress, and waited. Gin was startled to perceive a dark figure materialize in their midst. This apparition was taller than the women and shrouded in a black hooded cloak; the glow of green eyes was the only evidence anything was really there under the garment. The entity radiated an aura of masculinity, which was reinforced by the low pitch of its voice in muted reply to the warriors' own whispered greetings. Though to Gin's knowledge the Amazons respected no man, they did this one. From her place beside Gin, the Blonde somehow managed to impress that this was their secret weapon, a wizard arriving to support the assault.
The next moment the group crept forward to attack the gateway. Gin saw things at the parapets looking toward but not seeing the Amazons; apparently the wizard was screening the party from observation as it advanced toward the arched stone entrance and that gate's stout door. The Blonde had just asked Gin to stay close by the wizard from now on, it was a place of absolute safety, when several Amazons hefting battle-axes moved forward to crouch in a line before the entrance. At a silent signal the warriors heaved their axes at the door where they embedded in a staggered line running to the top; then the Blonde left Gin's side, sprinted to the entrance, climbed the axes hand-over-hand and disappeared into a gap between the door and the arch. There was silence, then several strangled cries followed by mechanical clicks and whirs announcing release of the door and portcullis. Hinged at the bottom like a drawbridge, the door thundered to the ground with the rattle of heavy chains. As a body, the Amazons sprang through the entrance to strike their foe; the wizard and his new shadow followed closely. Passing through the gatehouse, Gin heard the sound of a massacre above as the Blonde easily dispatched the brutes swarming upon her along the ramparts. Once inside the walls, Gin got a close look at the defenders. They were hulking, hairy slobs, full of themselves and evil intent. Even looking at death incarnate, they hooted, beat their chests and taunted the Amazons -- in fact the drooling brutes reminded Gin of the Broker/Trader financial types she often saw near Wall Street. The Amazons were outnumbered at least ten to one but they remained in a tight unit and simply slaughtered everything around them. Gin thought the wizard must be having some influence, casting a protective aura about the band and accelerating the women amongst their foe. Several times she saw weapons seem to pass through a woman with no effect. Two or three times an Amazon who apparently had moved beyond the aura fell with potentially mortal wounds. The troop's violent attack quickly overwhelmed the enemy and in no time they were mopping up the remnants. With the heat of battle abating, Gin scanned for the Blonde, who was not near the wizard. Looking back, she saw her protectress unharmed outside the gatehouse, smiling, with her left arm outstretched in a wave. Raising her own hand to reply, Gin had a clear view as the crossbow bolt flit under the blonde Amazon's arm and skewered her chest, entering at the unprotected left armpit and exiting below the right shoulder blade. The momentum of the blow spun the woman round against the stone structure and a second bolt through the back transfixed her to the wall like a butterfly on display. The dark stains of death already soiled her loincloth.
In horror, grief and shock, Ginny crumpled at the wizard's feet. Stooping, he plucked her up and bore her easily as the Amazons annihilated the last resistance...(see Part 3)
To Be Continued
