The First Night

 Before nightfall, Agmundr had insisted that his small party find a suitable area and set up camp. They would rest there for the night, and try to arrive in Ljosavatn by tomorrow evening.

 Sigrid was surprised to find that they had brought with them makeshift tents, which would offer some shelter from the cold breeze that had begun to sweep across the land. Once the fire was started, the tents were set up, and the horses were fed, things began settle down.

 The warmth of the fire beckoned the group closer, until they found themselves sitting in a ring around it, their faces lit up with its undulating orange glow. Sigrid gazed around the circle, carefully studying the people whose mettle might well mean her life or death in the coming days.

 Orvar and Ellisif, though she still wondered about their relationship, seemed reasonably calm. Their back-and-forth jostling reminded her of herself and her brother Asger, and she felt a comfortable sense that they were much like those of her own clan. Thorir had been silent, almost distant, but she was reassured by the firm grip by which he held his large axe. While he seemed to pay special attention to her and the other girls in the group, Thorir seemed to be aware of his surroundings. He was silent, but she could count on him in a fight.

 She wasn't sure that she could say the same for Skorri, or Kara either for that matter. They were both rash, and had continued to squabble over every small thing since the moment they left the keep. Even as they sat at the fire, the two of them seemed uncomfortable with how calm things seemed. If her life depended on one of those two, she wasn't sure that they would stop fighting each other long enough to save her.

 As for the last three, she hadn't been able to interact with Siv or Frodi since this morning and she had avoided any interaction with Agmundr -- still wary of what Geirny had said to her. Even so, none of them had given her much reason to fear them. Siv was a gentle girl who looked about Sigrid's own age, with a short stature and strikingly dark long hair. Sigrid had noticed that Siv had no sword, but an axe and shield, which she thought was a bit odd. Still, choice of weapon was no reason to think that someone was incompetent or unworthy of trust.

 Who one chose as company, however, was something that Thorod had taught all of his children to look to as a judge of character; along with Agmundr, Frodi and his father were some of the people closest to the Earl. If there was something not right about Agmundr, as Geirny had tried to suggest, Sigrid was sure that Frodi was someone to trust cautiously.

 While Sigrid continued to think on it, Thorir stood up and stretched his muscular arms.

 "The fire needs more wood. I'll get some." he announced matter-of-factly.

 Agmundr nodded, but no one said anything more on the subject. In fact, there was a pause from even the idle chatter that had filled the air moments earlier.

 "Where are you from, Siv?" Sigrid asked, breaking the silence.

 Siv turned to her, caught off-guard by the question.

 It's not a strange question to ask Sigrid thought to herself. "This is my first quest, and now seems the time to become acquainted..."

 Now Skorri was shaking his head to express his seemingly universal disapproval, and Siv raised an eyebrow, but answered anyway.

 "I'm from a little town in the East." she said, then paused, as if she was considering her words.

 "Have you fought with that sword?" she asked, indicating the sword by Sigrid's side.

 At that, Sigrid laughed.

 "This is my first quest, not my first year" she retorted. Seeing an opportunity to brag, Kara burst into the exchange.

 "I've fought hundreds of times with mine, and seldom lost" she boasted. "I doubt any of you have near the swordsmanship that I do."

 Orvar snickered. "Maybe not swordsmanship, but your sword needs to be within arms reach to strike -- unlike my bow."

 "Not necessarily" interjected Skorri, tapping his sword. "I can throw one of these quite far, I'll have you know."

 There was a chorus of chuckles.

 "What colour is the blood inside a man's skull?" asked Agmundr.

 There was a sudden silence.

 "Have any of you even killed a man?" he asked with a cold seriousness.

 Again, silence.

 "Perhaps before you brag about your skill, you should put it to the only true test. You might have that chance, in these next few days."

 A chill wind blew past, lapping at the flames and nipping at the stunned faces of the Agmundr's young companions.

 Again, it was Sigrid who broke the silence.

 "I'm going to help bring firewood" she said, standing up.

 As she walked away, the others began to resume their chatter, though perhaps with the competitive edge worn dull. Despite the truth in his words, she now felt more sure than ever that Agmundr was worthy of Geirny's strong warning.

 Though the fact that strange creatures were abducting women at night had given Sigrid a reasonable fear of the dark, she found that the woods were lit by a strong and growing moon. In fact, she found herself feeling more calmed than afraid as she walked through the quiet forest. As she continued, she made sure not to make any noise, lest she disturb the gentle peace that permeated the air. The silence, coupled with the silver glow of the moon, gave a powerful ambience to her surroundings that made Sigrid feel incredibly alive.

 After less than a handful of minutes, however, the silence was cut by the sound of heavy breathing emanating from just to her right.

 She approached, careful not to disturb the source of the sounds, and slipped behind a large tree to her left so that she could peek around its girth.

 Taking a deep breath, she calmed herself and slid out slightly from her cover. However, nothing could have prepared her for what she saw.

 There, sitting with his back against a tree, was Thorir. He was breathing heavily, his eyes closed, his pants undone, and his fully engorged penis in hand, as he stroked it firmly up and down its length.

 Or Sigrid assumed it was at its full size, at least, considering that its size already rivalled the largest that she knew of. Her sister often spoke to her of men, and had encouraged her to spend time with boys, though she wasn't going on description alone; her sister had once admitted that their own brother, Asger, had the largest that she had seen. Still, Sigrid had never had the opportunity or desire to look at her brother's manhood. Thorir was providing her with both.

 Sigrid found herself staring at it, frozen, as her mind wandered over the other things her sister had told her about being with a man. Minutes passed as Thorir's hand stroked up and down the length of his shaft, Sigrid's heart pounding in her chest as she drank in the erotic scene in front of her.

 By the time she consciously wondered if Thorir would fit inside of her, the thought had already been flowing beneath the surface of her mind for some time, and had caused her body to react pre-emptively, preparing as best it could to receive him.

 The idea sent jolts of electricity down her fingers, and she embraced it, imagining what it would feel like to have him drive it through her maidenhead and into the untouched depths of her body. She could almost feel it, stretching her opening with its girth and pressing up against the mouth of her womb. And then... and then...

 Thorir grunted, then took a sharp breathe. Even as Sigrid began to recall her sister’s stories of sex, she saw with her own eyes what had only been described to her before that moment.

 A thick stream of white, lit silver in the moonlight, came streaking from the end of Thorir's throbbing penis. Then another, as the first crashed to the ground in front of him. Then another, and another.

 Sigrid watched, her heart pounding, her head light with adrenaline and arousal, as his seed continued to spray forth. Even if she had wanted to, she could not have avoided the vision of it pouring into her instead.

 Without even thinking, she felt herself turn away and pull herself forward, escaping from the scene. Between her fear of being seen and the fear that her heart would explode from her chest, she desperately headed back to the camp. Even as she arrived, however, the formerly calming journey had nothing to slow her pounding heartbeat.

 "I'm going to sleep" she said to the group, passing by them without stopping. "I'll be up at dawn."

 Despite the cold chill on the wind, Sigrid's skin was burning as she entered her tent. She found herself tugging at her clothes, unable to stop herself from pulling them from her body, exposing her burning flesh to the cool air. Her breasts tingled as she finally freed them from their last covering, and she reached down to slide the last piece of fabric from her body. Why am I so wet? she thought, removing the soaked garment from between her legs.

 She had been aroused before, but never like this; she felt like a mare in heat, sweltering with the need for a male to satisfy her urges.

 Her mind drifted back to the images of Thorir on the ground, his manhood aching for a woman's soft warmth.

 I want it she dreamt, shifting to a kneeling position, her legs spread wide as she imagined straddling his legs.

 Her left arm had begun to gently rub her breasts of its own accord, and she felt her other hand snaking down between her thighs. As she lowered herself, she felt her fingers glide through the wet folds between her legs and press in, imagining that the two fingertips entering her were the end of his bulky shaft.

 Sigrid felt a twinge of pain as she pushed deeper, her opening not accustomed to accommodating a second finger's thickness, but she kept going. Despite the slight discomfort, it was nothing compared to the distress she felt when her fingers withdrew and left her completely empty. She continued to pump her fingers in and out as she rode them, bucking her hips as the imaginary Thorir between her legs moaned in ecstasy.

 It wasn't long until she felt herself losing her balance, lost in the newfound pleasure that she was able to give herself. She fell back, her legs shifting out from under her as her left hand abandoned her chest and clasped the ground behind her for support.

 The sudden tingling above her opening drew her attention upward, and her dripping fingers withdrew themselves to move upward, exploring and caressing the little nub at the top of her folds. The more she touched it, the more intense each stroke became, until she could focus on nothing but the jolts of pleasure that shot out from it with each touch.

 The pleasure grew more and more powerful, urging her to rub harder and faster, desperately pressing into her clitoris to increase the stimulation. Sigrid vividly remembered Thorir's sharp breath and envisioned his thick cock throbbing inside of her as it poured forth its seed against the mouth of her womb. A few moments passed where all she could feel was the incredible sensation emanating from the little button between her fingers, and all she could think about was how badly she wanted a man to spill his essence into her. Then, like a forest fire spreading through dry brush, the waves of pleasure in her core exploded out across her body.

 Sigrid barely held in a deep moan, her hand still rubbing her swollen nib as her entire core seized and her womanhood desperately contracted with each overwhelming surge of ecstasy. Her breasts and fingers and toes all tingled with warmth, her head buzzed, and her pussy throbbed with each pounding heartbeat in her chest. Her first orgasm poured over her in waves of intoxicating delight, and she gladly let her mind wash away with it until all that was left was her awareness of that moment's wonderful sensations.

 When it was finally over, she collapsed unceremoniously to her back and lay there in euphoric bliss.

 Sigrid had touched herself before, but she had never felt anything like what had just happened. Even though it was over, she could feel its effects lingering in her mind, clouding over her thoughts with the same fuzzy comforting warmth as a strong flagon of ale.

 As she covered herself and began to drift into a deep sleep, she couldn't help but wonder what had come over her.

 Perhaps it's something in the air she thought.