Ahlea Warrior Girls: The Sacred Statue

II

  The passersby on the street, near the pub "The old Bart," had a good laugh, looking at the scene of hard criminals running mindlessly out of the bar. Two beautiful white horses stood tied in front of the tavern, sending a clear information to people outside what was happening in it. Such noble and strong animals were reserved almost exclusively for the elite members of the Ahleyn army.

  The suburb of Blyst, the capital of Ahleyn, was the exact opposite of other parts of the big city. The appearance, and even more a way of life of its inhabitants, stood out completely from all that could be seen in the rest of the kingdom. It was the only place where the most rebellious among male citizens, and a few disobedient females, were somewhat free to live and act as they wished. In exchange for this kind of freedom, those who chose to settle down there had to agree to all the inconvenience that this place had to offer. The absolute rule of lawlessness, complete disregard of authorities for their welfare, often life-threatening disrepair of buildings... This kind of life without rules applied they should not overdo the resistance to laws. Every major theft that could affect the rest of the kingdom would cause a rapid and relentless intervention by the regular army, and sometimes the very elite warrior girls.

  It was the first thing that crossed to most minds of these shabby suburb inhabitants, seeing two Ahleas on the muddy streets: someone obviously committed a crime and it was almost certain that he would regret it very soon. The usual suspects ended up pressed against the wall. It was difficult to hide fear; nobody even considered performing some kind of foolish heroic acts. Only a couple of slaps were usually enough to make every one of them swear on his life and to all the loved ones, that he knew nothing. Frightened facial expressions, often scream and a few tears were convincing evidence that they were not lying.

  Ahlea warrior girls were almost as equally known for their extremely honorable way of fighting, whenever it was possible, as well as for their extreme cruelty, whenever it was considered inevitable. All forms of torture known in the world were known to them. One rule, though, was clear: the cruelty could not be applied to anyone they desired, especially not in war activities. It was allowed only in dealing known and proven criminals. But in the suburbs, it was very difficult to find someone who did not belong to that group.

  The investigation was long and hard. Just to save themselves from the pain, some of the examinees were ready to indicate useless information and to send Ahleas to other individuals who in fact did not know anything.

  The trail finally lead them to All knowing Nob and the pub in which he was located.

  Having most of the guests taking the advice and leaving the premises, Dlora pinned to the wall the guy marked as the one who knew most of the current affairs. She placed a knife under his chin and pushed it just enough to stretch the skin, but still not to cut it and spill any blood.

  “If you need an information, just turn to Nob, they said” Dlora placed her face right in front of thief’s eyes “but Nob is kinda quiet today!”

  A bald old man looked at Dlora with bewilderment in his eyes, trying to figure out how to get out of an extremely unfavorable situation for him. A quick glance at the room where the girls had turned upside down parts of the inventory and some of the guests, to show their seriousness and determination, drove him to the conclusion that he could only choose between agreeing to Dlora’s requirements and additional beatings.

  “I do not know who robbed the palace, I swear!”

  “But you must know something. Do you plan to sing it out or you want me to introduce you to all the methods of gathering information using only a knife.”

  “Okay, okay” Nob cried like a scared little girl. In the kingdom ruled by women, it was not clever to displease the most respected among all born women “An acquaintance of mine, Bryn, mentioned something interesting... it might be nothing, but…”

  “Let me be the judge of that.”

  “He told me that his cousin bragged how he got an offer for a lifetime deal...”

  “Oh, did he?” Dlora put on a smile, “and Bryn can be found at …”

  “He lives in a small hut near the Grey bridge,” Nob said, wholeheartedly hoping that a joyful expression on Ahlea’s face means that she would not reveal everything that could be done with a knife.