An Ode to Uncertainty Ch. 19-20

Nineteen

The cold wind running over Sigrid's back brought her home. She closed her eyes for a moment and let her mind take her to the snow-covered ridges of the Upper Reach. She didn't think she had ever breathed air as clean and pure as that. For an instant melancholy almost made her miss the movement. She snapped her eyes open and looked down over the courtyard. She sighed. Just another change of guards.

She looked down at the scene below her. Mirja was riding the young duke with an impressive vigor. Sigrid felt a sting of what she realized was jealously. She sighed again and lay down on the roof watching the lovers below imagining that it was her face that Mirja was riding, at least it brought a pleasant tingle. She put her hand inside her undergarments and slowly rubbed herself as she watched. A few drops later she shivered in a tiny climax. It was the third time she was at the duke's palace in the last month and not a single showing of the wraith.

And there isn't going to be one tonight either.

She sighed and looked up at the clear autumn sky. The stars were rising earlier and earlier. She could already see the Whipped Lady in the east. She closed her eyes but opened them again as the same vision appeared at a moment's notice. The female Westerling. Sigrid shook her head. The creature had appeared in her dreams and waking dreams more often than not since they visited the basement of the Animancy building.

I have to go back.

It was the hundredth time she had thought that thought. And so far, done nothing about it. Looking back at the Whipped Lady she sighed one last time. Shook her head and stood up. She glanced down at the entwined couple below. Then she made her decision.

The door to the basement looked just like the last time, when Samel had been the one lifting the bar. Sigrid hesitated before touching the dark wood.

I will die one day anyway. And it is not today.

She grabbed the bar and lifted it off, gently placing it down onto the bottom of the stairs. Felt the handle. Locked.

I haven't yet met a lock that can keep me out, she thought and brought out two slender daggers and inserted them into the lock.

There was an audible clicking sound as the lock yielded to her. Sigrid's lip quirked up a little and she put her daggers back in their sheaths and snuck inside.

Strange sounds echoed through the dimly lit hallway. Sigrid drew a breath and held it, trying to remember the way to the room holding the Westerling. As she came up to the thick wooden door she drew in a breath and kept it in. She put her ear towards the rough surface. Nothing. There was no handle on the door. Last time it was Mirja that had opened it. Sigrid cursed under her breath. But there was something different this time. Last time she had felt her presence almost as she entered the basement. She had been drawn to the creature. Now. Nothing. The silence ached inside her.

"She is not here any longer."

Sigrid spun around, reaching for one of her daggers.

"No need for that," Master Olgric said raising a hand. "I intend you no harm. Which is most generous of me considering that you are trespassing. Once more."

Sigrid froze. The Master held a glowing sphere in front of his face which made him look even more gaunt that usual. He walked slowly closer until he stood less than an arm's length from her. He towered above her. He was even taller than she remembered.

"You have all the signs," he said and before she could react his cold hand was on her cheek.

For some reason she didn't move as he ran his fingers over her skin.

"Do you know who your mother was?"

Sigrid was taken aback by the question. It hit deep into her core and she couldn't utter a single syllable. Her mouth opened and closed a few times as his hand stayed on her skin, cold seeping in from his fingers.

"No," she finally managed to breathe out.

He nodded.

"I can find out, if you want the truth."

Sigrid felt the cold of the Master's fingers. She tried to move away but seemed stuck.

"You should go now. Come see me again if you want the truth."

He pulled his hand away and once more she could move. Sigrid blinked, turned around walking away. She dared not look back at the strange old man.

*

The autumn passed and winter winds swept down from the north bringing more memories, and not only pleasant ones. As Mirja spent more and more time with the young duke and Jarl spent most nights at the Mistresses, Sigrid found herself with more time on her hands than she knew what to do with. First, she was as diligent as any Sister and spent her nights on the rooftops watching for the wraith, but one night as Mirja was thrashing under the duke's ministrations Mirja stood up and gazed northwards. She struggled with her duty for a moment, but then gave in and started towards Parchent. Less than a bell later she perched outside of Irese's room. To her surprise she saw Irese on the bed with a bunch of papers spread out in front of her.

She's reading.

Sigrid sat still for a few drops watching the lady of the night turn over paper after paper. Then she silently opened the window and slid inside.

"What are you reading?"

Irese looked up in shock from the papers laid out in front of her. Sigrid shot a glance at them, but they were written in a language that she didn't recognize. Irese sat up on the bed with an accusatory look.

"You should really stop doing that," she said slowly collecting the papers together into a single pile. "It's not nice, you know. Especially since you haven't visited me for far too long."

Irese's lecherous smile almost made Sigrid lose her focus. She bit down and took another step closer and repeated her question.

"What are you reading?"

"This?" Irese said with a little laugh. "Old stories. Just old stories from a time long passed."

Sigrid frowned. She had seen Irese reading a few times before when she had watched her, but she had not expected it to be old stories. She had expected ... actually she didn't know what she had expected, but not that.

"Like of the Westerlings?"

Irese sat up straight and there was suddenly an interest in her eyes that had not been there before.

"Yes. Exactly like the Westerlings," she nodded.

Sigrid snorted. Irese had another layer that she had not seen before. Maybe she had been blinded by her need for the woman's body to even consider that she had a mind. There was a surge of embarrassment that ran through her as the thought settled into place.

"Do you know much of the Westerlings?" Sigrid said and sat down on the chair next to the bed.

Irese nodded slowly seeming to consider this.

"I know a bit. But as I said. It is mostly old stories. There's no telling how much of it is true. My favorites are when I read accounts from people who actually lived there. Like their day to day activities. Just someone going through their life, the struggles, the successes, the love and the loss. Do you know what I mean?"

Sigrid thought that she did, but she couldn't express it in a good way.

"Are there many such accounts?"

Irese nodded.

"Too many," she said with a laugh. "It's interesting how the things that seemed so important to the people at the time can be so inconsequential for the coming generations, while the smallest thing can be a portent for the end of the world. Or at least their world."

Sigrid tried to absorb Irese's words, but she still had a difficulty seeing this seemingly new person emerge from the courtesan she knew.

"What happened to the Westerlings?"

Irese sighed.

"There's probably only a few people in the world that know that. The only thing that the texts seem to agree on is that there was a prospering empire where the Isles of Westerling now lay and then it was ripped apart by some calamity that broke the land into pieces and sank most of the empire into the ocean. The only thing that is left are the rifts. And the descendants. But there is probably very little in common between the imperial Westerlings and the natives that now inhabit those cursed islands."

Irese went silent and Sigrid studied her for a little while before gathering the courage to speak.

"Do you think that I am a Westerling?"

Irese blinked and seemed to see Sigrid for the first time.

"Maybe," she said nodding slowly. "You have the hair. But there are many that have red hair. And you have the eyes. But there are many with blue eyes. The combination ... less common, but not unheard of. There's really only one way to find out."

"What is that?"

"You have to go to the Isles and meet the natives," Irese said with a little smile.

Sigrid frowned but inside she could feel the cold creeping up her back. She remembered the Westerling in the basement of the Animancy building.

"Why?" she asked with trepidation.

"Well," Irese said moving a little closer exposing a thin sliver of her naked body beneath her robe. "If you go there and meet them and they don't try to kill you. Then you're a Westerling," she said her smile widening.

Sigrid opened her mouth, but she could think of nothing to say to that. Irese crawled forward a little more

"Now. Did you only come here to talk?" Irese said reaching out with one hand which made her robe slide open and expose one of her lovely breasts.

Sigrid felt a stab of guilt when she took Irese's hand, but it quickly disappeared as Irese pulled Sigrid towards her and kissed her deeply.

*

Sigrid didn't go near the Animancy building for a long time, but she couldn't put the Master's words out of her mind.

"I can find out, if you want the truth."

She passed by the building numerous times over the following days as she met up with Jarl after his classes and brought him back to the mansion, then back to the University for his nightly sessions and watching over him as he slept a few hours in the Lost Princes. They spent no more than a few bells together each day and they talked even less. Jarl studied harder than Sigrid had even thought possible for the spoiled young brat that she had met at court in the far north less than a year ago.

Apparently, miracles do happen.

She sat next to the sleeping prince, looking over towards the Animancy building. The winter rains had started. Sigrid didn't know how she would be able to live through a winter without snow. She had heard that snow only fell over Eldor once in a lifetime and this did not seem to be that year. She sighed. The urge to seek out the Master and find out the truth had grown stronger for each day. The door opened. Sigrid at once knew Mirja's footsteps. There was a stirring in her stomach. It had been almost a week since she and the Matrimancer had had some time on their own. She had visited Aelric a few times over the last few months. Had ridden him until he was about to spill his seed, then she took him into her mouth and swallowed it down. He did taste wonderful. But it was not the same as her times with Mirja. She looked over at Jarl. He was fast asleep and would not wake up no matter what they did to him as long as Mirja put her spell on him. She knew that from experience. Throwing one final glance over at the Animancy building she stood up and walked out into the other room.

"Sigrid," Mirja said with a smile and put her books down on the table.

Sigrid didn't say a word. Instead she walked up to the dark-haired woman and pulled her towards herself and placed her lips on Mirja's. There was a muffled sound before Mirja started kissing her back. They enjoyed each other's mouths for a moment before Sigrid drew back.

"I want you to use your tongue on me as I ride him."

Mirja smiled and took her hand.

"It is good that you start voicing your desires," she said looking back at Sigrid with a smirk on her lips.

Sigrid couldn't get her clothes off fast enough. In the meanwhile, Mirja prepared Jarl. Releasing his member from its prison of cloth and stroking it hard. Sigrid looked up at Jarl's face. Mirja had told her that when he woke up, he would think it all had been a wonderful dream and that Jarl often dreamt of the three of them together. Sigrid couldn't help but blush at the thought of the prince dreaming about her in that way.

She climbed up on the bed and felt her quim almost flood over in anticipation. Mirja's fingers touched her rear making it slick and then she sank down on Jarl's flesh. She closed her eyes as his warm member penetrated her tight hole. Letting out a long sigh she sat herself all the way down. The feeling of his flesh inside her rear was one of the most amazing feelings she had known in her life. It was even better than when Mirja used her hand on her. It felt ... wonderful.

Then Mirja's lips touched her wet ones and she was elevated to a higher state of being. She slid up and down Jarl's rod as Mirja brought her over the edge time and time again. She didn't remember when she climbed off him and together with Mirja used their mouths on his shaft until he gifted them with his seed. They greedily licked it all off him and then kissed each other making sure that not a single droplet was lost.

"You were hungry today," Mirja said turning sideways and looking straight into Sigrid's eyes.

Sigrid forced herself to meet the Kelivese woman's gaze for a few moments before looking away.

"It is natural. No need to be ashamed," Mirja said, running her hand over Sigrid's stomach sending shivers through her entire body.

Sigrid felt the urge to tell Mirja about Master Olgric, but she just couldn't. It felt like betrayal. Instead she slid down Mirja's body and pulled her dress up and found her quim. She stayed down there for a long while until the dark-haired woman quivered underneath her.

*

"Miss Sigrid. What a pleasure to see you by daylight."

Sigrid had to suppress an urge to turn and flee at the Master's words. And his smile. There was something about it that was all too familiar, but she couldn't place it. The Master stood up. He was almost taller than she remembered him.

He must be seven foot tall.

It was just past second bell and Jarl was in class. Sigrid knew that the Master of Animancy was in his office between first and third bell every day and his secretary had let her in without a word. His office was extremely well organized, with the entire north wall covered from floor to ceiling with thick tomes. Two long tables stood against the south wall, different jars and beakers hissing and fizzing. The Master walked up to her and smiled down over his glasses. Once more he put his hand on her cheek, rough fingertips tracing along her jaw.

"So. Have you decided?"

Sigrid wanted to ask what but didn't want to seem foolish. Instead she nodded.

"Good. Good. I do want something in return though."

Sigrid held her breath. She was not as naïve as to think that the Master would do this out of the kindness of his heart.

"What."

Master Olgric raised an eyebrow.

"I want to breed with you."

The way he said it was so clinical that Sigrid had to repeat his words in her mind before she understood. Her jaw dropped.

"Never."

The word came out like a curse. The only reaction on the Master's face was a small twitch by his left eye. The smile returned to his lips.

"It is a reasonable request," he said shrugging. "I would spend significant effort in determining your origins. It is not as if you would make a good mother anyway, and this way your pattern will be replicated. And cared for."

Sigrid blinked. She hadn't understood half of what he had said.

Mother?

"I am most interested in what the Westerling linage, if that is what your origins are, would do to magical proficiency. And my offspring will definitely be strong in that aspect."

Sigrid blinked. The Master's gaze was steady on her. Westerling? The word rang in Sigrid's head like a bell. Then she realized what he had really said.

"You ... you want me to bear your child?" she said incredulously.

The Master nodded.

"In return I will determine your origins. In detail. And care for our offspring. You need not worry about it once it has left your womb. I will also pay you a monthly stipend for the use of said womb."

Sigrid couldn't help but gape. The man was insane. She knew that for a fact now.

I should have listened to Jarl and Mirja. They have told me time and time again.

She sighed and was about to turn and walk away when the Master opened his mouth again.

"I will also help you locate the one you call the wraith. As a matter of fact, I know where it is right now."

"Drink this. It will counteract the enchantment that the Matrimancer has put upon you. In fact, it will guarantee that our coupling will be fruitful."

Sigrid blinked. Took the vial from the Master and downed it in one gulp. She was way past the point of no return now. The world was still spinning from the many revelations that the Master had disclosed over the last half bell. She just had to get this part over with so that she could head over to wherever the wraith was now. Master Olgric had promised to disclose it as soon as Sigrid had lived up to her end of the bargain.

"Excellent. Now, pull your pants down, lay down and spread your legs for me," the Master said starting to unbuckle his belt.

Sigrid squared her jaw. Then the Master's pants dropped and revealed the largest cock that Sigrid had ever laid eyes on. She blinked. No, she wasn't imagining. It was at least twice the size of Jarl's, and the prince was in no way underendowed.

"Or would you rather that I take you from behind?"

Sigrid looked up at the Master. His dark eyes were looking down at her.

I won't allow him to think that he is the one in control.

She shook her head and quickly went down on her knees and a moment later she had the Master's cock in her mouth. Her hand barely went all the way around his girth and his glans filled her mouth. His eyes widened as she started stroking his shaft and sucking hard on his glans.

"By the Old Ones," the Master gasped and grabbed the table with one hand to keep upright.

Sigrid smiled on the inside as she continued to please him with her mouth. A few drops later she stood up, wiped her mouth, pulled her pants down and stepped out of them. The Master's shaft was still standing straight out. Stepping out of her pants she got up on a table and spread her legs, she reached down to grab the Master by his flesh and guided him to her wetness. She couldn't help but part her lips as the Master's wide girth slid into her. He filled her up like no man before him. He slowly started thrusting into her, but Sigrid grabbed his hips and pulled him into herself. Harder. And harder. He didn't last a drop until he flooded her with his seed. The knowledge that his seed would grow within her made her explode in a climax outshining any she had had with Mirja. He fell down on top of her, breathing heavy into her ear. Sigrid slowly stroked his hair as the last spurts of seed ran out of him.

"I have been tracking the creature you've been looking for and I am certain that it is west by southwest at this moment. Here."

He handed her a small compass with four dials.

"For some reason it only works occasionally. But as you see, it is pointing due west by southwest at this moment."

Sigrid looked down at the brass thing in her hand. It was warm to the touch and vibrated slightly.

"A gift to the future mother of my child," Master Olgric said with a smile that Sigrid thought looked almost friendly.

West by southwest. That must be the Duke's palace.

"You need to watch your friend," Master Olgric said looking down at her over his glasses.

Sigrid pressed her lips together.

"My friend?"

"Do you have that many?"

Sigrid fumed.

Why does he have to speak in riddles?

"Now. Run along my little mongrel. I look forward to our next meeting."

Sigrid squared her jaw, then turned on her heels and left.