Brynnan: An Evil in Siginak

 Sex And Treachery

When the Guardian, Nijal Silver Hand, accompanied by the supernatural dog Ysbryd, returned to the room he shared with Brynnan, he found his friend extremely agitated. Brynnan had visited his Father in the Shadow Lord’s realm of Annwn.

His first words to Nijal were, “My heart’s love and Lord, Samir, is in trouble. The Necromancer targets him!”

Ever practical, Nijal replied immediately, “We must send Ysbryd to guard him. And have you contacted Geraint?”

“I have just had mind-contact with Geraint, and he reaffirms my worries. There was an assassination attempt on our Warlord, which Geraint thwarted, killing the two attackers. The assassins’ blades were of Yanar Dağ make, like the ones of the mercenaries that tried to kill us.” Brynnan’s voice struggled to remain calm.

“Alarming news indeed!” Said Nijal, putting his arm around the Bard. “I had hoped that Ysbryd could help track down the Necromancer, but he would be a most effective guard for Samir, who knows the beast well. But what do we do about Ruh-çağıran Natan?”

“I have other plans to locate and defeat our Necromancer,” said Brynnan, a grim expression in his eyes. “Do you mind if I send Ysbryd to Torrent Mountain now? My heart will rest easier knowing he’s there, and I can free up my mind for our other business with Administrator Soren, who likely is the one sending out assassins, and Captain Belisarius.”

“Send him!” the Guardian replied.

Brynnan knelt and called the great beast to him. Ysbryd sat in front of him, all eager, hoping, no doubt, that a Hunt was in store.

“Ysbryd, Ci Annwn, I send you to Samir,” Brynnan said, placing images in the dog’s mind. “Do not leave his side until I, or King Arawn, summon you. You may take the souls of any who try to kill him.”

Ysbryd placed a paw on Brynnan’s shoulder as the Bard gripped the long hair on either side of the dog’s face and gazed most earnestly into the beast’s deep brown eyes, securing his thoughts. Ysbryd was different from Arawn’s regular canines, which accompanied the Hunt: those were tall, lean hunting hounds, white-coated with red-tipped ears. But Ysbryd was a huge and darkly shaggy dog, of the type that in ancient legend was thought to haunt moorland, forest roads, or other places at night, targeting travellers. He could change his aspect to become truly horrific and was an effective guard.

Now the dog stood up and floated a hand’s width off the ground. Seeming to grow in size, Ysbryd assumed his Otherworld aspect. This time, instead of white emptiness, his eyes glowed red. Ysbryd licked the Bard’s face and faded in a chill mist.

“And so we have lost our faithful guard already, but I feel relief that he will look after my heart’s love,” Brynnan said sadly. “I am half-tempted travel the Shadow-ways to Torrent Mountain myself, but I fear it would bring more risk to my Lord.”

Nijal aimed to distract his friend’s concerns. “Yes, it would. But we will see Samir and Ysbryd again soon. Things are moving, though. Captain Belisarius will meet us at the fifth bell in his private quarters, and we can enlist his aid if he is willing.”

“Good. I had better prepare and change my clothes. But how did your encounter with the Medical Research Centre go?” asked the Bard.

“They are distributing drugs that will alleviate some of the effects of the mental affliction the Necromancer has wrought,” said Nijal. “There is no cure, so it comes down to us. Did you and your Father discuss plans ?”

Brynnan looked directly at Nijal. “Yes, we discussed plans. You won’t like them, and your caution about my Father proves correct, but we are running out of options, and time is critical.”

He told Nijal of Arawn’s proposal for the Bard’s death and the freeing of his soul, hopefully not an irreversible process.

“I feared something like this,” said Nijal heavily. “Can you not find him and confront him bodily? Must you die?”

“It is my soul that must confront him, not my spirit form, and the soul only leaves the body upon death. This way, my body will be safe, held in stasis in my Father’s realm, should I be able to return. But let us discuss the ways and means tomorrow if all goes well today. We need to expose Soren and remove him from the scene.”

*    *    *

In Chief Administrator Belisarius’ quarters, the three men gathered around a table to discuss sex and treachery.

“Ever since I was elected to oversee our colony here, I have dealt with some unusual events, but none like this,” Belisarius said. “I decided I would aid you, Nijal, as you requested after we spoke earlier. I contacted Soren and found two issues. One: he does have sex with other males, specifically Kuruntu, the Master Trader’s assistant. They have a relationship when the young man is here in Siginak.

“Two: he is intrigued that you, Brynnan, will join us later for some sexual entertainment. Soren knows you have some dangerous qualities that may put him at risk, but—and I hesitate to say it—he very much wants to fuck you and have command of you, I think, to bolster his own sense of control. I hope you can be suitably submissive and deferential towards him. If he is innocent of conspiracy against the people, I hope we can prove that, too, without him suspecting.”

“We will all endeavour to be circumspect,” Brynnan replied, “and I hope to give you your opportunity to fuck me before I engage with Strategïst Soren.”

“And I will guard against Soren bringing any unplanned visitors with him,” Nijal interjected.

“There may be one,” said Captain Belisarius, “That young man, Kuruntu. I am to ask you if you would accept him tonight. Do you think he, too, poses a risk?”

“He did pose one,” replied Nijal. “He still bears allegiance to our enemy, but he is not a natural killer. I think we will allow him to attend. It will reassure Soren that we don’t suspect either of them.”

Belisarius shook his head in wonder, “And you think our Necromancer bears responsibility for all this—the illness of our people and the corruption of Soren? I am frankly astounded. He seemed too mentally incapacitated to do much. I also would like to know how he was smuggled off our Mother Ship . . .”

Nijal pointed out, “Soren is your Administrator in charge of choosing people for settlement, and he’s a Strategist who knows how to plan for both events and consequences. I suggest the Necromancer came down with a transfer of settlers, concealed in plain sight, so to speak.”

“That would make sense,” sighed the Captain.

“I think we can put our plan into action shortly,” said the Bard to Belisarius as he arose from the table. “Captain, may I approach you?”

“Of course.”

As Belisarius stood up, Brynnan laid a gentle hand on the Captain’s chest. “Know that I will focus on this evening and do everything in my power to afford you pleasure when you take my body. You may put our designs out of your mind as you learn how to fuck me. I want this!”

Belisarius kissed him.

Brynnan readily returned the gesture, and the Captain kissed him again with increased passion. He ran his hand down the Bard’s body to his loins and felt the bulging hardness of an erection.

Belisarius’ blue eyes gazed intently at the Bard. “I believe you do,” he said.

*    *    *

Evening came, and as the seventh bell sounded, Nijal and Brynnan approached the Captain’s quarters again, this time for the planned tryst.

“Kuruntu’s presence hopefully adds spice, not poison, to the mix. How will you deal with him?” Nijal asked.

“I will partner the Captain for his first time fucking ass, and I will encourage Soren to fuck Kuruntu. I need to show myself as a minimal threat to Soren. Seeing me submit to Belisarius should bolster Soren’s confidence.”

They reached the door, and Nijal activated the chime. Belisarius answered, and he invited them both in, but Nijal demurred.

“Brynnan will call me when it’s time. I don’t want Soren to feel outnumbered. Here is another bottle of lubricant. It contains a stimulant that will excite your cock when you apply it. I normally don’t advise drugs, but we need the evening to be successful.”

“I make no objection,” said the Captain. “Thank you. Soren and Kuruntu will be here shortly.”

Nijal wished him luck, then said, “Events may become both hectic and unpredictable in the next few days, but after that, if you wish it, the three of us can join together again.”

“May it be so,” replied Belisarius.

At last, Strategist Soren arrived with Kuruntu in tow. He projected aggressive confidence while The Trading Master’s assistant looked apprehensive. Belisarius and Soren greeted each other cordially, then the Strategist regarded Brynnan. The Bard was already naked and kept his gaze lowered, showing his defenselessness.

“I realized you were the Warlord Samir’s lover, but I did not know another man could humble you. Belisarius tells me you gave yourself to him and were most obedient. This is something that appeals to you, is it not?”

“Strategist Soren, where sex is concerned, we all have certain penchants. Strong, dominant men appeal to me and trigger the desire to serve them.”

“I see. And can you serve me?”

“I believe I can,” Brynnan replied, not elaborating.

Belisarius interrupted, saying, “As I told you, it will be my first time ‘fucking ass,’ as they say here. Brynnan agreed to instruct me at first, but I think it would be much more fitting if you were to copulate with your young man and demonstrate to me how it’s done. I will fuck our Bard, then you may have him, and we can swap.”

“Can you control him?” Soren asked bluntly. “You know his past actions against us and how he overcame Necromancer Ruh-çağıran Natan.”

“I believe Brynnan has a different perspective now. Our settlement’s success is vital to the people of this region, and Brynnan represents the interests of Torrent Mountain. Our two races will inevitably merge, and we need peaceful relations.”

“What Captain Belisarius says is a simple truth, Strategist Soren. If sexual relations between us help foster peace, then I am all for it. What can I do to convince you?” asked Brynnan.

Soren smiled, but it was a cruel smile with more than a hint of triumph, revealing a side of him that he usually did not display in public. “You can suck our cocks: mine and Kuruntu’s.”

Soren began to strip off his clothes, and Kuruntu followed suit, even removing the thong that tied back his long, pale hair. Soren turned to his lover and kissed him possessively, and the Bard watched Kuruntu respond. It seemed sincere. Brynnan thought that he understood how Soren had lured the young man into the Chimaera’s grasp.

The Strategist sat on the Captain’s wide couch, with Kuruntu beside him. Brynnan approached and knelt before them. He turned first to Belisarius, who sat on his bed, stroking himself idly.

“With your permission, Captain,” he said.

“Go ahead,” was the reply.

Brynnan focused on the two men’s cocks, separating himself from the other concerns of the eventful day and the dreaded tomorrow. He started with Soren, whose thick, veined cock was half-hard, and the Bard nuzzled it, inhaling its fragrance. His tongue tasted, then lapped at Soren’s testicles before sucking each one into his mouth. Meanwhile, he stroked Kuruntu’s cock with his right hand.

“Now, suck my penis,” directed the Strategist.

Duly, Brynnan did as commanded and took Soren’s stiffening phallus. He drew it in smoothly, feeling it harden even more under his tongue’s work. The man groaned, and he breathed faster.

Belisarius approached, carrying the bottle of lubricant Nijal had given him. “Try this,” he said to Kuruntu and poured some over his cock. Brynnan was still stroking it, jerking it off, and as he felt the liquid, he massaged it into the young man’s prick.

“Ohh!. . .rub me harder!” Kuruntu exclaimed.

“I don’t want you to cum just yet. I’d like to shoot my ejaculate in the Bard’s mouth, but I also want to fuck you,” said Soren, reaching over to manipulate the head of Kuruntu’s cock.

Belisarius laughed. “Then you had better not add your hand to Brynnan’s! But why don’t you cum anyway? I am sure you will recover quickly.”

“I probably will. Yes, then. Bard, make me cum. And Kuruntu, get down here and help!”

Kuruntu got on his knees beside Soren’s thigh, leaning in to lick the Strategist’s balls while Brynnan played with the head of the man’s shaft.

Belisarius approached and knelt on the couch beside the Strategist. “Will you care to take my cock, while these two suck you?” he asked.

Soren was too overwhelmed by sensations to reply but turned his head and put Belisarius’ cock in his mouth, guiding it with his hand and sucking it deeply. He opened his legs wider as he was worked on by the Bard and the Assistant Trader, and his sucking became intense. He moaned with his face full of cock and moved his hips to fuck Brynnan’s mouth. It was evident that his ejaculation was approaching fast.

Belisarius, too, was moving his hips as he avidly watched Soren being sucked off. Erotic tension consumed the men, and Brynnan encouraged it as much as he could.

Then both Belisarius and Soren came simultaneously: Brynnan swallowed cum, as did the Strategist, who gave muffled cries with his mouth still on the Captain’s cock. Belisarius let out a stream of words sounding unintelligible to Brynnan, but the feeling behind them was unmistakable.

They took a short break, but it was not long before Kuruntu begged Soren to fuck him. “I am so frustrated right now; I could cum just by thinking of it!”

“You’d better not!” warned the Strategist. “Start sucking me again; make it hard!”

As Soren’s cock achieved its erection again, Brynnan said to Belisarius, “May I make a suggestion, Captain? Why don’t you follow Soren’s moves as he takes Kuruntu’s ass? Whatever Soren does, it won’t hurt me if you do it too. I am quite accustomed to all sorts of fucking. But I would appreciate the lubricant.”

The idea appealed to Belisarius. Following Soren’s lead, he poured some of the slippery liquid on Brynnan’s cock and ass while the Bard lay on the bed facing him. Soren had Kuruntu on his back on the long couch, and the Captain watched them avidly as he rubbed the liquid in. He saw Soren penetrate his partner’s rectum with his fingers, slowly fucking it. And when the Strategist took his rigid cock in hand and pushed it against Kuruntu’s well-lubricated opening, Belisarius did the same to the Bard.

Brynnan felt the cock push past the gateway of the anal sphincter, seating itself inside him with a surge of pain and pleasure. He felt Belisarius pause and then continue his motion. “That’s it; you are doing it, Captain. Now you just have to fuck me as your instincts tell you.”

“It’s that easy?” Belisarius marvelled. “But your rectal passage feels so tight! It grips me . . .I can feel it tightening around me. I’m going to fuck you harder now.”

Brynnan wanted to tell Belisarius to just let go of his inhibitions and fuck his ass as hard as he could, but he remembered that he was being submissive. But the Captain was finding his way as his pace increased, and he pumped lustily. In fact, he outstripped Soren in his activity.

“I am cumming inside you, now! You will get it all.”

Brynnan encouraged Belisarius, praising his efforts and the size and motions of his cock, well aware of the effect it had on Soren, who could not help but hear them. He sensed a wave of anger and jealousy inside the Strategist.

Belisarius ejaculated, crying out, “It’s so good!” and, spurred on by the scene, Kuruntu did, too. That left only Soren and himself.

Soren seized on that fact and, as the Captain leaned down and kissed Brynnan while he withdrew his cock, the Strategist said in a peremptory tone, “I want him right now.”

Belisarius looked surprised, then briefly glanced at Brynnan, who nodded slightly.

“You are welcome to take him,” the Captain said equably as if he had not noticed Soren’s suppressed anger.

Soren commanded Brynnan to turn over, so he was on all fours, and the Strategist took him from behind, not bothering with extra lubricant. It was not painful as he was well-lubricated with Belisarius’ ejaculate, but he found the act with Soren somewhat distasteful. However, the Strategist went out of his way to fuck him violently, wanting to hurt him. The Bard submitted to Soren’s furious urge: he had a plan.

This time, it did not take long before Soren was about to cum and Brynnan let his own lust guide his orgasm to coincide, pushing back into each of the Strategist’s savage thrusts. He knew the sense of sexual abandon would allow him to more easily open his mind, as he had done when reading Belisarius’ memory of the Necromancer.

Soren shot his load of hot sperm, his fingers digging into the Bard’s buttocks as he gripped his subject aggressively and shouted. Brynnan was ready. He felt his own orgasm consume him, then his senses catapulted into Soren’s mindscape of whirling, disconnected images that still, somehow, made sense as he rapidly sorted through them, looking for the significant ones. He found what he wanted.

Soren meeting with the head of the assassins: “We have two sets of targets . . .” This merged into: “Kuruntu has failed to kill Brynnan, but he genuinely became ill, Necromancer. He may yet be given another chance at it. He does not know his actions will be fatal to himself as well as the Bard . . .” and: “I will bring him to you at the Falls, Ruh-çağıran. You can then kill him, as you have the others, and consume his soul . . . “ and: “Your revenge will be achieved, then you can cease, and your own despair will abate, but these traitorous settlers will suffer . . .”

Soren thus laid bare his complicity in the Ruh çağıran Natan’s depraved plot.

Suddenly, the Bard heard the Strategist’s cry of mental alarm. He must have realized his mind was betraying him because he reached for the Necromancer’s consciousness.

Brynnan had to act! Before Soren could contact the Necromancer’s mind, the Bard twisted around, stabbing his hand at a pressure point in Soren’s neck. The man fell across him in a faint.

Kuruntu exclaimed, “What has happened to Administrator Soren? Is he hurt?” He rushed over and assisted Brynnan to rise.

Belisarius said to Kuruntu, “Help me lay Administrator Soren on the couch.”

Brynnan stepped back, saying, “He seems to have fainted. A blood pressure issue, perhaps? He did get somewhat overwrought.

“Kuruntu, go fetch Nijal. He’s in the conference room near here, talking to Adjutant Cassini. Tell him to bring his kit.”

“As soon as I can dress, Brynnan!” The young man hurried to clothe himself and took off at a run.

Belisarius was feeling Soren’s wrist. “His pulse seems just slightly elevated; nothing abnormal.”

“That’s because I rendered him unconscious,” Brynnan confessed. “He has disclosed his thoughts to me, and his hostile acts are evident. You will hear from him presently. Meanwhile, until Nijal arrives, I am going to rinse off.”

“I will take my turn when you’re done,” said the Captain. “In the meantime, I will watch Soren.”

As Brynnan walked passed him on his way to the bathing room, Belisarius caught his shoulder and kissed him briefly but deeply. “In any case, thank you!” he said.

Nijal did not take long to arrive. By that time, both Brynnan and Belisarius were bathed and dressed.

“Nijal! I need to keep him unconscious until we figure this out. I cannot have him alerting Ruh-çağıran Natan.”

Nijal bent over the man to check his vital signs, then he brought out an object and pressed it against the skin of Soren’s neck. “Forbidden technology,” he quipped on seeing Belisarius’ questioning look. “It will keep him out a while longer.”

Brynnan spoke to the Captain, “I want him to confess to you, but he must not alert the Necromancer.”

Nijal reached into his kit and brought out a vial. He looked at Brynnan and the Captain. “When I administer this, we can have a conversation with him. Brynnan, are you up for another interrogation session?”

*    *    *

Brynnan had learned a lesson: mercy would only endanger all the settlers in Siginak. There was simply no room for it in this case.

Soren was awake but heavily under the influence of Nijal’s drug. In this state, he did not recall his memories being invaded, and Brynnan had questioned him skillfully to put him at ease. But finally, the time came to take the interrogation to its final conclusion.

Brynnan looked deeply into the Strategist’s eyes. “Tell Captain Belisarius what you have done. He must hear it from your own lips.”

“I have taken steps to destroy Siginak.”

Captain Belisarius regarded him with disbelief, “Why would you do such a thing, Soren? We were brought out of cryogenic sleep at the same time and have worked together since.”

When Soren remained silent, Brynnan clarified the question to allow for Soren’s drugged state. “In allying with Ruh-çağıran Natan, what was your goal?”

The Strategist’s peaceful expression belied the damning content of his reply. “To destroy the Settlement program. I helped plan the takeover of this world. Then we surrendered to its inhabitants, even though we previously had superior firepower. The Settlers obey this world’s Alliance of leaders. They are weak. Ruh-çağıran Natan will crush them and our enemies in this world who forced our people to surrender. He has the power, and I have the strategies.”

The Bard, grim-faced, asked, “What means did you use to make your plan work?”

Soren’s mind balked. He was coming out from the drug’s effects. But Brynnan ruthlessly repressed the awakening, tapping into his deep power, so the Strategist continued to speak.

“Natan poisoned the Settlers’ minds with his own despair while I suppressed any opposition. I made Kuruntu my sexual minion, and Natan attempted to use him as a channel to reach and absorb your soul. When that failed, I directed our mercenary soldiers to kill you, Brynnan, and your companion, Nijal. You were close to discovering us.”

“And who else was to be killed?”

“Any who were close to you, particularly the Warlord Samir of Torrent Mountain and other leaders of their Alliance.”

“Who else supported your plans?”

But Soren’s eyes lost focus, and his mind drifted out of Brynnan’s control as the Strategist lapsed into a drugged sleep.

Captain Belisarius asked almost rhetorically, “What shall I do with him? He is too dangerous while the Necromancer is alive . . .”

Brynnan said to him, “Asked and answered, Captain. I think you know. And you have that authority.”

The Captain nodded heavily. “I do know. But I need to know who else is involved. If only we could destroy the Necromancer: he is the real danger.” Then he turned to the Guardian. “Can Soren not be kept unconscious until the Necromancer is hunted down?”

Nijal shook his head. “Too risky. Even unconscious, an autonomous part of him could still alert our prime enemy.”

Brynnan suddenly felt a tidal wave of inevitability rushing upon him as he faced the ultimate choice.

“Nijal, I shall go to my Father now, and from there, I shall face Ruh-çağiran Natan. I am out of time.”

As he finished speaking, the air rapidly chilled, and Brynnan simply faded . . .

Alarmed, Captain Belisarius shouted. “Where did he go? What does he intend?”

Knowing the Bard’s choice was unavoidable, Nijal answered plainly, “Brynnan has chosen to die, and now he goes to his death.”

*    *    *

To be continued . . .