Chapter 2: Guided Tour

I awoke to the sounds of shuffling and stared blankly at the ceiling for a minute wondering where I was. Then it all boomeranged back to me in one panicked burst, the abduction, the explosion in my ear, the fact that I was now a “Sire” whatever that was, the slightly more pressing concern of having raped and possibly impregnated an slightly underage young woman.

The underage young woman in question was the cause of the shuffling, pulling the collection of ribbons which passed for a dress over her head once more. And smiling. Smiling as if nothing were wrong, as if what we’d done last night had been, as she put it, a ‘gift’ from me to her. Seeing that I was awake, she paused, her collar still in one hand, tiny stiff breasts exposed.

“Do you wish anything more before I leave, Sire? MasterClassus sent word that he will be here to speak with you shortly. Sellie brought more water and bit of fruit if you’re hungry.” Ouch, I certainly wasn’t trading up in terms of visitors, losing this lively creature in return for a middle-aged wizard.

“No, Nilappe, I’m fine. Ummm, are you ... alright?” she looked puzzled “With last night, I mean.”

After a few seconds of confusion, her face brightened. “Oh, no, Sire, it was only a moment’s pain.” She giggled. “Your member is only slightly thicker than I’ve had these few days. Thank you again. Freely given, freely welcomed.” She bowed and backed out the door, closing it behind her. Well, that’s something, at least. Maybe she won’t be a witness for the prosecution. Some time later, enough for a sip of water and a tart green apple and some plums, there was a quick imperious rapping at the door, quite unlike the slow, insistent repetitive knocking of the servant girls.

“Come in, Classus.”

“Now, however did you...”

“Never mind. So this is the crucial point, where you execute me as a criminal or send me back?”

“Heheh, no. Please, listen. I have called several men like you across the void, and the first night is always the hardest. You have already passed the decision point, if I’m to judge by the grin on young Nilappe’s face as she walked downstairs.” He held up his hand to pre-empt and protests from me. “No need to worry. Each of those I call seems to have some fear or guilt about women, or at least more than we’re accustomed to in this world. You must simply understand that we do not live by the same laws as your people. You former people, if you decide to stay with us.” He paused and motioned toward the door. “Let’s show you a bit of the palace. It will make explanations easier.”

“But I’m hardly dressed to go outside.” I protested, gesturing at my pajamas.

“Eh, you have some social prerogative which restricts your attire? I must say, you’ve no worse trappings than many Sires, even if they are a bit simple.” He proudly patted his blue robe edged with gold thread. I rolled my eyes. If this over-the-hill peacock wasn’t seen as ridiculous, I could certainly walk around in sleepwear.

“Still, if you’re concerned, we can have our tailors provide you with a set of finery or two. The magisterium can spare a bit of thread.” He chuckled, and motioned me out the door. The palace interior turned out to be a maze of stone corridors, though rather well-lit by tall clear windows. It looked suspiciously like any generic castle of olden days, that is if you ignored the populace. Except for one or two men dressed in robes at least as flamboyant as Classus’, we encountered nothing but women, all sporting the same draping, fluttering collage of red ribbons in lieu of dresses. Each nodded, amicably, curiously or respectfully, as we passed, and each offered some accidental glimpse of flesh through the slits in the uniform.

“Oh, it’s just our common preference here at the palace. Each Sire imposes his own tastes in his estate, of course.” Classus assured me. And as I was trying to wrap my head around the possibility of dressing my very own troop of houris, he led me down two staircases and toward a large double doorway. Along the way, we passed several open rooms, and the sound of heavy breathing in one caught my attention. The sight was unbelievable. A man was leaning back against a dresser, dressed in a short robe which was untied, exposing his genitals. One of the serving girls was kneeling in front of him, slurping his balls noisily while stroking his cock, her collar dangling beside her, unveiling a pair of heavy mammaries to wave to and fro with her motions. She looked to be about thirty. Another, younger girl was laying back on the bed, the folds of her lower garment pulled up over her waist, fingering herself while watching the couple. I almost said something, but as Classus didn’t give it more than a glance, I decided to avoid looking like a fool for once and kept my mouth shut. We passed through the double doors and onto a balcony. It offered a view of the city. It hardly seemed to be a bustling metropolis, despite its size. There were people in the streets, but not as many as there should’ve been.

“So, explanations.” Classus mumbled. “Tell me, what do you see down there, what is your impression of our fair city?”

“Ah, well, it is clean, well-maintained...” I answered politely.

“Yes, yes. And its people?”

“They are ... less numerous than would be expected for a city this size.” Classus nodded encouragingly and I went on. Suddenly it struck me: “Women. Are those all women down there?”

“There you are. The core of the matter in one glance. Well, maybe three glances. Still good.” He motioned for me to join him on a bench. “Several centuries ago, our ancestors made a grave error. A foolish, rushed grasp at establishing a new magical principle. Oh, even I don’t remember all of the details, and you, if you’re from a mechanistic world, would lack the background to understand. Suffice it to say the error cost us, gravely. Our scholars have long been adept in magical manipulation of living matter. It gained us supremacy over this entire world, the whole planet.” He swept his arm around, drifting off for a second. “Ah, yes. It wasn’t entirely purposeless, you see. We are free of disease, entirely and with little effort. We live longer than we would have otherwise – you wouldn’t have thought I’m over a hundred and fifty years old myself, would you? Heh.” I stared at his middle-aged face incredulously. He ignored me and continued.

“But one, just one of our grand projects, backfired. It ... affected our ability to reproduce. Women produce only female offspring, and those rarely. Our population was almost extinguished, those first couple of centuries. A bit over a hundred years ago, before I was a student here, the ‘calling’ was developed. We can occasionally bring men from other worlds. Just men, and we never know from where or when, from what kind of world. Quite the gamble. We needed to send many back: sociopaths, violent thugs, the weak-minded. We’re getting better at it.”

“And the rest? Captives?” I asked half-apprehensively, half-angrily.

“Hah! No, don’t worry. Heheheh. Not that we wouldn’t have, mind you. We were that desperate. No, we will send you back immediately if you want it – it’s easy. We get very few voluntary returns, though. I’m sure you’ll find our arrangement here quite cozy.”

“Arrangement?”

“We send you out there as breeding stock. Stallions of sorts. Most areas too far from Espera are completely barren of human life, but the closer you get, the more villages there are. Small clusters of houses, barely hamlets. Usually it’s just a few dozen women raising a few daughters.They manage their own affairs and you may not” here he frowned at me, his bushy gray eyebrows meeting in a warning thundercloud “you may not interfere in their lives or take any of their property! However, they will gladly provide you with food and shelter.”

“And the women go along with this?”

“Go along?” He shook his head, chuckling. “Boy, you’ll be lucky if they give you time to breathe. Entire towns would dwindle and die out in a century or so if not claimed by the men we send out. The whole bout system was dreamt up not to settle disputes between men but between women.”

“Claimed? Bout?”

“Bouts. Contests. Set your stakes and compete against each other for one woman, a household, more commonly just one small village. There’s very little to it other than keeping things mostly civilized. A game of chance, a game of riddles, a running contest, whatever the two Sires agree on, it’s as good a bout as any. It’s mostly for show, but it’s grown into quite the tradition over the last hundred years, and keeping clear boundaries helps maintain the peace. The women you claim will pleasure you however they can, whenever and however you wish it, so long as you keep half a mind to your duty of impregnating them.”

“And women go along with this?” I repeated incredulously.

“Oh, you’ll find they’re quite enthusiastic about it.” Classus grinned. “Always eager to please. We have very few sexual taboos among our society, though we cannot educate everyone. You’ll find many of the villages are quite backwards, but they all love visit from a Sire. Perhaps you’d believe it more easily if you heard it from someone with teats. Come inside once more.” We ducked back into the labyrinth of stone and descended several flights of stairs until the smell of steam and soap filled the air. In a small tiled room, a familiar figure was churning a large stone tub full of soapy water and bundles of red ribbons. Having apparently decided not to splash anything but her creamy, tanned skin, she was naked from head to toe. If she thought anything of two men walking in on her undress, she didn’t show it, but merely smiled at me and Classus, who nonchalantly struck up a conversation.

“Sellie, we ask your service. Firstly, young Sire ... errr –”

“Adam” I prompted dreamily, re-acquainting myself with the wonderfully full, firm globes I’d glimpsed through her dress before. Curvier than Nilappe with an adorable round face, dark hair, large dreamy dark eyes, pouty lips and full hips, the girl seemed tailor-made for the bedroom. She rinsed off her hands and walked around to stand before us, leaning back against the tub with her hips angled shamelessly forward to display two soft, crinkled labia peeking out of her pubic hair.

“- Adam would like to know why it was Nilappe spent the night in his room.”

“She won the throw” Sellie said, blinking innocently “I swear she’s cheating somehow, she always wins.”