Rebels of Vulvar (Vulvarian Saga Book 2), стр. 49

27

The Journey Begins

Haela insisted on heating water and pouring me a bath before I went to bed. She also provided me with a clean tunic. As she had threatened, Emer insisted on sharing the guestroom with me, which I discovered included the bed. We both got into bed beneath the blankets wearing our tunics. But Emer permitted me to sleep only two hours before waking me by fondling me between my legs. When I woke up and noticed her activities, I discovered she had removed my tunic in my sleep and was naked herself.

Emer pressed me to demonstrate the skills that I claimed had delighted my former mistress. At first, I groaned and resisted the idea. But Emer refused to relent. Once she discovered I possessed the skills to delight her, she demanded that we copulate. Again, I tried to dissuade her. I knew if Emer fell pregnant and the authorities anywhere on Vulvar laid hands on me, I’d surely suffer impalement. Emer stated that she was more than willing to risk the authorities impaling me to satisfy her curiosity about how it felt for me to impale her, after a fashion.

Unable to reason with her, I relented. We copulated. Then we copulated again. Afterward, we copulated a third time. It seemed Emer had discovered that copulation was more than delightful. Admittedly, I found it excellent too. Emer was a passionate and energetic lover. Finally, Emer and I slept for a few more hours.

When we woke three hours before dawn, I had to put my foot down and refused Emer’s pleas that we copulate once more. By then, I’d given in and agreed she could go with me and told her we would have ample opportunities to copulate on our long journey north. That seemed to appease her for the moment.

After feeding us breakfast, Haela insisted that we take two burlap grain bags she had packed with food and other provisions for us. I felt guilty taking what I presumed was all the food she had in the house. But Emer and I had not had the opportunity to get provisions in Nisa, thanks to the Anax’s interference. In payment, I gave Haela one of the two bags of coins I’d taken off dead rebels and had cached in her barn with my weapons. I’d offered her both purses, but she insisted that I keep one for the journey.

After saying goodbye to Haela, we left the house about two hours before dawn. I wore my sword belt with the katana and carried the spear. I had given Emer the rakir and sword belt I’d taken from the mines along with my bow. We veered several legas east at the start in order to distance ourselves from the paved road before heading north.

We faced a long journey. I much regretted the loss of the baacaases when the warriors had arrested us at the gates of Nisa. The animals would have speeded our journey. Nevertheless, we marched north on foot toward the foreboding home of the mysterious Goddess Queens atop Mount Volz. Had I possessed a Vulvarian compass, its needle would have pointed precisely to that mountain.

I know from my studies from my first visit to Vulvar that the mountains, of which Volz is the highest, are a magnificent range of rugged black peaks. It is no mystery why the Goddess Queens chose that almost impenetrable mountain vastness for their home. A superb natural wilderness surrounds Mount Volz, which my old teacher told me is a peak that taunts the sky by day and defies the stars on clear frosty nights. One thought plagues me as Emer and I cover the first few of the thousands of legas we have to travel. What if Mount Volz is actually empty—what if the Goddess Queens are merely a fable? Yes, I’ve met their priestesses, even a high priestess. My old teacher and my mother related to me much information about them. Yet it is true I’ve never seen a speck of proof that those absentee divinities truly exist.

On Earth, there are many religions with so-called gods, both past and present, that I know do not exist. Twice I have ridden upon space ships that my mother insists the Goddess Queens built and operate. Yet some force rendered me unconscious the moment I entered those crafts. I’ve never seen the pilots of those silver ships. Perhaps the Vulvarian space program is a closely guarded secret. Maybe my mother has deceived me about who operates the crafts.

Perhaps we will find only wind and snow on that gloomy peak. Maybe Vulvarians unknowingly worship nothing, and all their prayers, sacrifices, and observances are in vain. I push the doubts aside as best I can since I will only know the truth of the existence of the Goddess Queens if I travel to Mount Volz and seek them myself. What concerns me most is this. What will I do with this unyielding desire for vengeance that burns inside me if I discover the beings I long to visit it upon do not exist?

With any luck, in perhaps some thirty Vulvarian days, I will find the answers I seek. We will arrive at Mount Volz. Only then will I be able to determine if there is evidence of the Goddess Queens. Should I survive this quest, as is my habit, I intend to write an account of this journey. I will publish the story for the benefit of those who take some minor interest in following my exploits on this harsh, barbaric world called Vulvar, where females rule.

About the Author

J. K. Spenser is the nom de plume of a published multi-genre