Thoas could sense that his audience was growing impatient. He turned to them and raised the olisbos like a sword. "For you. A virgin!" he shouted exultantly, and laughed when the crowd responded with lustful cheers. He whirled to face the pale, trembling girl. Knowing that it was important that all could see what happened, he knelt in front of her right foot which was gripped tightly by a grinning warrior.

The young farmer turned spear-man had probably never seen a young beautiful virgin before, and he fairly drooled at the sight and the feel of her smooth skin under his rough, calloused hands.

Thoas knew she would be tight and dry, so this time he reached up with the hand not holding the olisbos and used his fingers to spread the lightly haired lips of her cunt.

The girl cried out in alarm at this intimate touch, and finally started to struggle, which only severed to agitate the crowd even more.

Thoas placed the rounded tip of the olisbos against her pink, untouched opening. To his surprise she was wet. He chuckled. "You're a hot one girl. Pity it has to be this piece of wood that tastes your cunt for the first time."

The girl just whimpered.

He shrugged. "Oh well, this is a punishment and we have to please the crowd." He braced himself and then shoved the olisbos upwards, smashing through her virginal defences the way that they wished they could have done to the gates of Troy.

To everyone's surprise, the girl displayed more courage than her friend and endured the breaking of her maidenhead largely in silence, even when Thoas bent and twisted the olisbos around and a trickle of her maiden blood ran down his hand and forearm.

This did not please the women in the crowd, who wanted to see her scream and beg. Female voices crying out "Fuck her harder" and "Ram the cunt properly" rang out.

Since this coincided with Thoas's own desires, he fucked the unfortunate girl even harder with the wooden phallus, in an attempt to make her scream.

Despite his best efforts, the girl remained stubbornly silent, although her face was wet with tears and she twisted and struggled so hard that she might have broken her limbs if she was not being held by men and not chains.

This was actually quite entertaining for the men in the crowd. They got to watch a pretty naked girl being tormented, while at the same time seeing a demonstration of courage, which as warriors, they appreciated.

However Thoas was not so pleased. He took her unexpected endurance and tenacity as an insult and a challenge. He swore and ripped the olisbos out of her cunt and tossed it aside. He held up his fist, stained with her virgin blood. This earned him a cheer, which improved his temper, and he went to the edge of the stage, where he had placed the next implement of torture that he intended to use on the women. This was a long whippy length of vine wood. He held it up and swung it through the air, letting the crowd see the vine stick bend and flex.

Most warriors had felt the vine stick themselves in the hands of their weapons masters when they were younger, and many winced at the whooshing sound it made. Serious crimes were usually punished by death, and minor crimes by fines or slavery, so public corporal punishment was a very unusual sight in Achaea, especially where the victims were young women. The crowd cheered with renewed gusto.

There were also renewed cries for mercy from the women when they saw the vine stick being demonstrated.

The platform had a deep round hole sunken into it which allowed a thick pole to be erected on the stage for the hanging of oil lamps and banners during festivals and public religious ceremonies. With the heavy vertical pole raised into place, both naked women were tied at the wrists and fastened to the large bronze rings at the top of the pole, which was half again as tall as they were. The gleaming bronze and gaudily painted decorations on the pole added an oddly festive atmosphere to the proceedings as well as serving to highlight the smooth pale skin of the bound women. They were forced to press the fronts of their bodies against the pole, and a rope was wrapped around both their waists, holding them firmly in position with their arms extended above them.

The crowd began stamping and chanting again as Thoas stalked around the helpless women, stroking their backs, buttocks and thighs with the thin, knotty vine stick, teasing, prodding and threatening. He paused behind the older woman and the younger blonde peered apprehensively over her friend's shoulder.

The stick lifted high over his shoulder, and the crowd collectively held their breath.

The victim began screaming as soon as she heard the whoosh of the falling stick. The sound of the stick's impact across her buttocks resounded in the square, accompanied by the gasp of horror of the second girl, who was forced to witness the punishment at extreme close range.

A sigh ran though the crowd. Although girls were being assaulted all through the city, this measured, deliberate punishment was completely different.

Curios, Methulos leaned closer to the Amazon and said, "What do you think of it?"

Evandre tilted her head slightly. "I wager the smaller girl will show more courage when it is her turn."

Her lack of sympathy surprised Methulos. He had expected her to express anger that a woman was being tortured. It appeared that Amazons truly had their own version of arête, valuing honour and courage above all else.

Seeing that Iliana was listening, he smiled and spoke to her. "And what about you? How do you feel about this?"

She bit her lip as she considered her answer, and then replied, "There is much anger within the hearts of these men. Those two acted foolishly, but perhaps their suffering will soothe these warriors and change anger to lust. The gods tell us that the two emotions are closely entwined."

The vine stick struck again and again, and their attention was drawn back to the stage by the woman's lusty screams.

Methulos found the scene strangely erotic, as did most of the other warriors gathered in the courtyard, and most of those who had a woman had their hands upon their bodies. He drew the two new slaves to either side of him and rested his hands on their buttocks, partially to blend in, and in part just because he felt like it.

Normally, Evandre would have struggled against such intimate fondling by a stranger, especially a man. It was not so much the knowledge that she was a captive, but the sex charged atmosphere filling the courtyard that made her accept his touch. Despite the rumours and tales told by others, because Amazons experienced the powerful emotions brought on by battle, they also experienced lust and sensuality more readily and keenly than the sedate wives and daughters of the Achaean cities, especially in the presence of violence.

Iliana watched her new master and saw that although he did not shout and call for more, the punishment of the women obviously excited him. This was strange to her, but she was an intelligent girl and carefully noted it, even as she carefully held herself still under his touch. She could not yet bring herself to writhe and sigh lustfully like many of the other women in the crowd, but she was careful not to reject his caress by word or deed. She had a new role in life now, and she intended to learn it well. She was not foolish enough to believe that she could resist him forever. Unless rescued by death, everyone broke.

Thoas beat the woman's buttocks and thighs until they were bloody, feeling both satisfaction and lust. By the unwritten rules of war, he was fully justified in punishing them for armed resistance during the sacking of the fallen city, and the obvious approval of the crowd drove him on. When it looked like the woman was near to swooning, he moved around to the younger girl. He could smell her sweat and fear as he pulled on her hair and looked into her eyes. "Want to beg for mercy girl?"

The nameless girl stared at her friend, who had tears streaming down her face and mucus running out of her nose even as she continued to moan. She knew she was doomed and she also knew that there would be no mercy for her, unless her final death could be considered a mercy. Even if this man were willing to be merciful, she was wise enough to realise that the crowd would not permit it. "Why waste what little time I have left begging for something that I know will never be granted? Besides, there is much worse to come, isn't there?"

Thoas released her hair, and respectfully smoothed back in place with his hand. "It is a pity you raised your hand against us. I would have enjoyed having you as my doera."

She smiled tightly. "You have me now."

Even with the noise of the shouting mob, he caught to tone in her voice. "Is that an offer?"

Her eyes were clear and steady as she said, "A quick clean death. Let me go to the underworld intact."

"In exchange for?"

She glanced at the sobbing woman on the other side of the pole. "You want to please the crowd. Untie my waist and I will do my best to give them a good show."

"Even when I use this on your breasts and on your cunt?"

She flinched at his last word, but recovered quickly and nodded. "Even when you beat my cunt," she said, deliberately using the crude word.

For some reason, he knew she would keep her word. "Done." He shook his head. "I really wish I could have fucked you. Such a waste."

Her face reddened. "I would like to have felt the touch a man inside me before I die. Even if it was just his fingers."

He nodded. "It'll have to be quick. They are getting impatient." He reached between her legs, and she parted her thighs in genuine welcome. He tried to be gentle as he searched for her opening, even though he knew that it would hurt her after the violent assault of the wooden olisbos. He saw a flicker of pain in her expression when his finger found its way inside, but she was soft, warm and accommodating.

She closed her eyes and smiled gently as his finger slowly filled her. She was a real woman now. She could face the other shades in the underworld and truthfully say that she had known the touch of a man inside of her.

Thoas allowed himself a brief moment to enjoy the feeling of the tight virgin cunt wrapped around his finger, and then he regretfully pulled it out. "I dare not delay any longer."

She nodded. Her eyes wide and serious she said, "I will keep my word. My name is Rhodia."

He nodded back. "And I will keep mine - Rhodia." He heard surprised murmurs behind him as he untied the rope that encircled their waists.

But when he moved away and Rhodia took a step back, arched her back down and shuffled her feet apart to present her buttocks, there was a momentary silence. Then when they realised what had happened, the noise resumed, but this time the pounding of dorata on the ground and against shields was slow and respectful, as if cheering a hero into single combat.

Thoas struck, and the crack of the vine wood against her tight buttocks echoed crisply from the surrounding walls.

A shout went up from the crowd when Rhodia's body rocked from the impact, but immediately resumed its out-thrust position.

Thoas continued to strike, beating her buttocks and thighs with dramatic, regularly spaced strokes of the vine stick.

Rhodia's head tossed with each blow, and her glistening body shivered from the impact, but she did not waver, as if carried along by the great pounding cries of the warriors who watched.

These were hard, harsh men, veterans of a terrible ten year war. There was no sympathy or softness, no weakening of the desire to see the women punished. But they were still capable of respect.

Thoas stopped when her buttocks and thighs were evenly covered with deep red weals, many of them seeping blood. He saw the muscles of her thighs trembling and her head sag as she let her weight hang from her tied wrists, and he ran his hand down her sweat soaked back. "Done for now. You can straighten up. Try to get some rest while I see to your friend."

Rhodia inhaled deeply, wiped her tears off on her arms and pulled herself upright using the rope that attached her to the gaily painted pole. She twisted around so that her back was to the pole and leaned her unmarked back against it. With a sudden burst of spirit, she pulled her shoulders back to lift her breasts and smiled defiantly at the crowd.

Thoas grinned and gave them an appreciative squeeze before walking around the pole to the other woman.

She watched him approach and must have realised what was next. She shook her head, as if to deny the reality of what was happening to her and cowered back against the pole.

Thoas held up the rope. "Your turn again."

She pulled and struggled madly against her bonds, badly chafing the skin around her wrists as she screamed to the gods for help.

He forced her shoulders against the pole and wrapped the rope around her struggling body and the pole, but not tying Rhodia. He enjoyed the feel of her terrified body under his hands, and the crowd laughed at her futile struggles. Her movements gradually ceased as the ropes tightened, attaching her firmly to the pole. He was careful not to tighten the ropes too much and cut off her breathing. He didn't want her to faint. He grinned evilly at her and grabbed her breasts. "These first." He pinched her nipples hard, making them rise up stiffly and winked at the crowd.

The women in the crowd laughed and jeered, clinging shamelessly to their captors. Some lifted their own bare breasts with their hands and mockingly made pained faces.

Methulos chuckled when Evandre made a disgusted sound, assuming that she disapproved of the women's behaviour.

She heard his laughter and managed to surprise him again when she said, "Her cowardice is a disgrace. She chose to fight like a warrior and she should face the consequences like one."

This made him laugh out loud and his powerful fingers dug into the hard muscles of her buttocks and slipped into the narrow crack between them.

Evandre pretended not to notice. His touch made her heart race, although she was not sure of the reason. She had killed many men during this campaign, and under the laws of the Amazons she was now entitled to have sex with men, and she had often wondered what it would be like. On the other hand, not having a choice as to who her partner would be, shamed her. Did she feel rage or lust - and were they all that different? Many priestesses said that the two were just different faces of the same emotion, just as the goddess Athena was both the patron of warfare and the preserver against the ravages of war. Since he could not see her face she allowed herself a thin smile. All she knew for certain was that his touch was not unpleasant. She could decide how she felt about that later.

Thoas tapped at the woman's breasts with the vine stick. He nodded mockingly when she shook her head. "Yes. They want to see me beat your breasts with this. Don't they?" He shouted the last two words, and was rewarded with a roar from the crowd. "See?"

The stick slammed across her breasts and she screamed so hard that she choked and spittle dribbled from her mouth.

Eager to get back to Rhodia, he laid the vine stick on her breast hard and without mercy, making her globes flatten and bounce madly and covering them with huge, parallel bruises. Her nipples split under the punishment and drops of blood spattered when he struck them again. He shook his head in disgust when she lost control of her bladder and a yellow stream ran down her leg to puddle on the stone beneath her feet. However, her shrieks and general cowardice seemed to amuse the crowd, so he persisted. He gave her a moment to recover, playing to the mob by poking at her nipples and belly with the stick, making her yelp and wail. When she had recovered her breath, he signalled to his grinning helpers. "All right boys, take the rope off and then get her legs up and wide apart."

His assistants responded with alacrity, unwinding the rope from around her waist, leaving a raw looking red belt around her waist where her struggling had scraped her skin against the coarse fibre of the rope. They gripped her by the ankles and knees and lifted her wildly kicking legs up until her knees almost touched her shoulders, leaving her body hanging by the rope around her wrists. That rope was long enough so that they were able to turn her body around the pole so that her cunt faced the crowd.

Thoas tucked the stick through his belt like a sword and leaned forward to grab hold of the pubic hair on the lips of her cunt, which were still wet with her piss, and yanked them hard to either side, exposing the pink insides to the stares of the eagerly watching men and women. He pretended to peer into her cunt and then shouted, "She's no virgin, but her cunt's going to feel this shaft like never before." He gestured towards the stick, which was near enough to his cock for his jest to be obvious.

Jeers, laughter and obscene suggestions of every kind rose up from the crowd, the worst of them coming from the women as usual, some of them so awful that the woman turned pale.

He pulled the vine stick from his belt and cried, "Hold her tight boys, she's going to wriggle when she feels this."

The men gripped her hard, muscles bulging in their arms and shoulders while they all stared at her cunt, eager and curious to see what the stick would do to it.

Standing well to the side so that all could see the action, Thoas jabbed at her cunt with the stick, teasing her by pretending that he was going to poke the slim shaft into her. Then he placed the tip of the stick on her cunt, diagonally across the line of her hair shaded slit.

The woman realised what was coming and shouted "No!" just as the stick swung away from her cunt, paused and swooshed through the air to land on her cunt with an audible smack. She screamed like a woman giving birth and kicked so hard that she almost threw the hefty men gripping her legs off of their feet.

It was unlikely that any of the people in the square other than Methulos had ever seen a woman's cunt being punished before, and an enthusiastic shout went up.

Evandre saw several women rubbing their own cunts and licking their lips. Logically she knew that she should be horrified, being a woman herself, but the sight was so raw and primal that it made her own cunt tingle. Combined with the touch of Methulos's finger on her arse hole, it made the heat rise in her loins and she admitted to herself that if her hands had not been bound, she might have rubbed herself too. As it was, the fact that she was bound seemed to make her more aware of her nipples and her cunt, and she knew that she was getting wet. An impudent part of her mind wondered if Methulos had detected the moisture, and if he had, what he thought of her. She would not submit willingly, but she could still feel desire.

Thoas beat her cunt slowly but thoroughly, evenly covering every part of the small mound with red marks, many of them concealed by the curly hair.

Her screams were wild and stained with horror. She shouted that she could not bear it, that she would die; that no woman should have to bear such agony.