Rebels of Vulvar (Vulvarian Saga Book 2), стр. 11

7

Training Cohort

The training cohort officer called for a warrior who came and took charge of me. He introduced himself as Greyson, a curious name for a native Vulvarian. Since males on Vulvar had been born into slavery for the past six-hundred years, they had no names. I learned from Greyson that the Dabar instructed all former slaves to choose a name for themselves.

Greyson turned out to be a fine fellow, somewhat insolent yet good-natured. He was an unkempt, strong-looking lad, with cheerful gray eyes and a mop of unruly flaming red hair.

After assigning me a bunk in the barracks and issuing me bedding, Greyson escorted me to another building in the training compound. There a bored-looking quartermaster issued me the equipment of a warrior I would need.

The quartermaster fitted me out with yellow tunics, a helmet with a Y-like opening, the minimalist Vulvarian armor, new sandals, and a folded bright yellow cape. Warriors wrapped themselves in the cape when sleeping out on the ground in the field. He gave me a sword belt and rakir. To my delight, he also provided me with a Vulvarian composite bow, distinctive for its extreme curvature, along with a quiver of arrows tipped with three-edged bronze arrow points. Finally, before we departed, the quartermaster removed the slave collar from my neck with a special tool and the tube from my loins using the same silver disk unlocking device I’d seen before. It seemed I was no longer a slave.

On our return to the barracks, my arms piled high with equipment, Greyson explained why the quartermaster had not issued me a shield and spear.

“Because you claim skill with the bow, if you pass the test tomorrow, you will go to the archers,” he said.

“I think I will like the archers better than being a spearman,” I said.

Greyson laughed heartily. “Perhaps not once you experience the contempt with which spearmen hold archers. They will call you a weak, worthless man, a contemptible coward likened to a female or a child.”

“Is that your view?” I said.

“No, the bow is a potent weapon,” Greyson admitted. “Our commanders value archers, and we have too few. As former slaves, few of us have bow skills.”

“The skills can be learned.”

“Archery is a difficult skill for many to learn,” Greyson said. “It is far easier for our instructors to teach former slaves to fight with spears and shields in the phalanx.”

At the barracks, I stowed my equipment. Then Greyson told me to change into a yellow tunic so I would look like a warrior rather than a slave. Afterward, we walked to the mess for evening rations. The food was a bland mush that reminded me of the tasteless food I had eaten on a ship during my first time on Vulvar.

“What will tomorrow bring?” I said to Greyson.

“Training begins at the second hour,” he said. “They will test you at the archery range in the morning, and then you will attend sword training with the rest of the cohort in the afternoon.”

“May I go into the city after the training is finished?” I said.

Greyson laughed loudly. “I see you are eager to find a desirable female in the city to copulate with now that the tube has been removed.”

“No, I am not going into the city to copulate with a female,” I said. “I have important business to attend to.”

“You will not be going into the city anytime soon,” Greyson said. “The commander wishes new recruits to focus on training. It will be many weeks before the officers permit you to go into the city.”

“I am restricted to the training area?”

“Yes, until you complete your first training phase.”

It seemed evident I had erred in reporting to the Dabar earlier than required. I didn’t yet know where the rebels were holding Idril. Now it seemed I’d have no opportunity to seek out the location. While I knew Idril had been wounded in battle, I didn’t know the extent of her injuries. My attempt to find and free her could not wait for weeks.

In a laid-back way, I probed Greyson for tidbits of information, careful not to give him the impression I had a personal interest in the welfare of the warriors of Thiva the rebels had captured. He informed me the authorities had built a stockade to hold the prisoners near the back wall of the city. My blood ran cold when he related other shocking details. The captured warriors lived in the open and were not permitted to wash. The guards gave them minimal food and withheld medical care. Many of the captives had already died of their wounds or sickness.

“The Dabar will execute the prisoners anyway before we undertake the campaign against Thiva,” Greyson said. “He does not waste resources on caring for them.”

“When do we leave for Thiva?” I said.

“The rumor is in three weeks,” Greyson said. “They say the Dabar has already sent a force into the forests west of Thiva. They are now building the siege engines there we will use to breach or circumvent the walls of the city.”

Later, back in the barracks, I lay on my cot unable to sleep. I was determined I would not delay making an attempt to free Idril. After talking with Greyson, I was even more concerned about her welfare. I had to know if she was still alive. Somehow I had to find a way to leave the training area to accomplish the purpose for which I had come to Nisa.

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