It's a woman

As the helm pulls away from the youth's head the delicate features of a young woman are revealed, her hair has been cut short in a ragged bob, but you are sure this is no boy. That explains why ‘he’ wasn’t drafted to defend the wall; although this woman did a better job of leading her gang of boys than most of the men of Athenapolis did defending the wall. As you pull her shield from her arm she moans but does not wake. Her tunic is too big for her and it is belted tightly around her slim waist to keep the extra folds out of her way. Taking off her thin leather belt you set it by your foot and then continue the exploration of your captive. Cutting down the front of the tunic with your gladius reveals that she has bound her breasts tightly to her chest, her loins are concealed by an emboidered silk undergarment but her firm tanned thighs feel soft and smooth as you run your calloused hands over them.

You realize that this is not a good place to be distracted by the woman’s body. Sitting her up you pull her wrists behind her and secure them tightly with her own belt. You see her eyes flicker open as you lean her against the water trough. You sense intelligence and unusual perception as she glances around the alley and assesses her situation, looking you in the eye she says:

“Now what? Am I to be questioned, ****, or sold into slavery?”

“Probably all three.” You answer and you see her tremble despite her efforts to look strong. “But not in this alley.” Moving to the heavy doors you take the battle axe from your back. In every armory across the continent there is a weapons master cringing with the thought of you using this fine battle axe to chop at thick door studded with iron, but you care more about getting into safety than you do about the axe.

The axe is surprisingly effective at opening the door. Each stroke bites deeply through the wood; not even the iron studs slow the progress and in less than a minute the wood around the heavy locking plate has been weakened enough for you to push open the door. Inside is a large room, the light streaming through the windows high above you shows a four foot post in the middle of the room and several empty stalls on each side. Straight ahead there is another closed set of double doors. Leaning the axe against the inside wall you step back out and move your shield and spear next to it.

Looking out at the alley you see the woman struggling to loosen her wrists. There is no chance of that; you may not be a slaver, but you know how to bind a woman. Standing next to your furious captive you take the time to remove your helmet and pushing a layer of scum from the surface dunk your head into the water. The water is warm from standing in the sun, but it feels great to get the sweat off of your face. Holding your helmet in your left hand you reach behind the woman and grab her bound wrists, pulling her to her feet you push the barely dressed woman ahead of you through the open doorway. You back the woman up to the post, and before she knows what you are doing pick her up and set her back down again with her wrists on the other side of the pole.

Her face is not classically beautiful, her nose is long and thin, her chin is a little too large and her lips don't have the inviting fullness that beg to be kissed. Taken all together you would describe her face as pretty, but not exceptional. On the other hand, you can tell already that she has an exceptionally good looking body; you can hardly wait to see the rest of her, but first, you had better seal the broken door.

You think you can brace the doors from the inside. Knocking one of the stable doors from its hinges you can cover the hole left where the lock had been. The corners of the stalls are made of square beams about six feet long, chopping one loose takes five or six blows but when the solid piece of wood is free it leans perfectly against the doors. That should keep most people out. You are a little worried about all the noise you have been making, if anyone is in this building they must have heard you in here.

Should you investigate a little or go back to your inspection of your prize?