The wanderer, p.4
The Wanderer, page 4
part #1 of The Nogud Legacy Series
He held a tunic up to my chest and said, “I think you need this,” and he set it aside and continued digging through his merchandise.
He said, “Joshua, I don’t understand you and the Nogud. You truly care for her, don’t you?”
I said, “I do.”
He said, “That’s great kindness. You don’t intend to sell her in the next village?”
I said, “She’ll be in my house forever. Paul, she’s very pleasing to me. I find her attractive. She will share my bed as a mate…as soon as I find out what the customs for taking a mate are in this part of the world. Um, I don’t even know how that’s done here.”
Paul said, “Joshua, you are a strange man, but I like you. I’ll help you. How funny this is. OK, first, if a man has a woman and he wants her to be his bedmate, he goes to the merchant of women and signs a license. In a small village, the Merchant of Women is only here every few weeks, but there’s no need to wait. Take her to your bed, and then when it is convenient, go and sign the license. There is a very small fee. But, Joshua, do you understand that once you’ve taken her to your bed, you can never send her away for any reason? She can run away and claim to be a widow if she’s treated badly, and no one asks questions, but you can’t get rid of her after she’s been in your bed. It’s a lifetime commitment.”
I asked, “Is there a ring or some jewelry or something?”
Paul said, “As a token of mating? Yes, a ring or collar or anklet is customary. All women, unless they’re held by the Merchant, or they’re cared for by the village until the merchant arrives, belong to some man’s household. A man can transfer a woman to another by arrangement and register the new situation with the merchant, but bedmates may never be transferred. She is only sent with another man if she’s a widow. So, the token of a bedmate is attached permanently and is only removed by a jeweler or blacksmith.”
I asked, “Paul look, we’re talking plainly and I’m learning a lot from you, so will you forgive me if I say or ask something inappropriate?”
Paul laughed and said, “Joshua, you are so strange that I’ll forgive you anything, even if you need to ask me the details of a woman’s body and how to take her to bed.”
I said, “Well, the manner is something that I think I know, but the customs are all new. You say that a man’s house might have several women. My question is: how many women do you have in your house?”
Paul said, “I have Susan, Amanda, Tanya, and Yuki. Yuki isn’t a bedmate, but the others are. Is Viola your first? I see that you care very much for her. I’m sure that you’ll find a better one soon. They fail the exam, you know that right?”
I said, “Paul, have you ever seen a Nogud?”
Paul said, “Seen one? Of course, the Merchant has several with him now. What do you mean?”
I said, “My friend, I am strange and a stranger, but the taste in women of the men here perplexes me. So, you have never seen one of the Nogud without clothing?”
He said quickly, “No. The poor things are very ugly and disfigured. I was surprised at the face of your woman that she seemed handsome enough, at least above the shoulders. But, regardless, they fail the examination.”
I said, “Do you know what failing the examination means?”
He said, “It means that they don’t respond sexually in a way that will please a man. I don’t know the details, but apparently they can’t be pleasing in bed.”
I said, “Paul, you’ve taught me a lot this afternoon. Let me tell you what I know of the Nogud. I have seen one naked. Her hair is long and blond. Her skin is perfect and without wrinkle, scar, blemish, or mark. Her waist is thinner than the other women I see here, but her breasts are larger, and believe me, they are very beautiful. They are round and firm, like a perfect bowl or melon. Her hips are shapely and her rear is something that a man would be very pleased to have pressed against his groin. Does that sound horribly disfigured to you? Does that sound like a hideous monster that can never be seen or touched? Those long slender legs, toned thighs, and firm nipples topping luscious handfuls of tender breasts? My friend, there’s another thing: I don’t know about other ‘better’ women, but the Nogud that I saw was nearly hairless below her waist.”
Paul said, “I don’t think that’s true. You wouldn’t lie to me since we’re friends, but what you’re saying isn’t what they say about the Nogud. Nearly hairless? Her crotch is bald? Is that as unattractive as people say? Normal healthy women have full hair that covers the groin.”
I said, “Paul? Unattractive? Have you ever taken the time to admire the lower lips of a woman? Without hair to hide them, those pretty lips are on display whenever she drops her tunic. It’s a very beautiful sight. At least to me.”
Paul looked thoughtful and said, “They do look like little lips, don’t they. I have looked, and I did find it attractive, but I felt a bit ashamed that I did. Um, the truth is that my women don’t have very full beards down there. The hair is somewhat sparse compared to what other men say, but I’ve been happy enough. I’ve even thought to myself, why should a woman have a beard? A man looks more civilized with a smooth face, why not a woman with a smooth crotch? What if I kissed those lips? Would that be terrible if I wanted to do that with my bedmates?”
I said, “Paul, now you are thinking more like I do! The lips between a woman’s legs are beautiful and a man does want to bury his face there at times. To nibble the little lips and even to taste the juices.”
Paul said quietly, “Why not? A woman can please her husband by using her lips on his member and she might even taste his juices if that’s what they enjoy. Why not if I want to try that? And what if I asked her to cut the hair there just as I shave my beard? Maybe not to shave entirely, but what if she cut it shorter and her femininity wasn’t so hidden from me? Who would know but me and my household? And if I find it welcome, what’s the harm?”
I said, “Why not, indeed!”
He said, “Still, you do make the Nogud sound like they might be attractive in some ways, but there’s the matter of the sexual response. The Nogud can never be a true bedmate.”
I said, “Paul, we’re friends and you say that we can talk about the most intimate things, even things related to bedmates. My friend, when you’re in bed, do your women orgasm?”
He said, “Wow, Joshua, we are very close friends now if you ask me questions like that. Yes, sometimes they do. If we’ve been at it a long time and if it’s a certain time and they’re feeling comfortable, and if I get too naughty with them and squeeze their breasts or rub them in certain ways, then sometimes they do cry out and shudder like a man does when he has pleasure.”
I asked, “And how do you like it when that happens?’
He looked embarrassed and said, “Well, the truth is that I like it. I don’t know about other men, but what’s the harm? It seems that there’s a worry that if a woman is responsive that she’ll run away to every man she meets. But that’s never the case, is it? Why would she run away if she’s treated well and finds pleasure in bed with the man that cares for her? I like it when they cry out when they’re in my bed.”
I said, “And how do they like it?”
He said, “They apologize, but I know that they enjoy it as well. Is it a weakness in my house? They would never run away, and if they have pleasure, won’t they want to stay all the more? Joshua, I’ve never told anyone, but sometimes, I do it on purpose. I try to get them to climax, even before I do. I enjoy the feeling of one of them squeezing me and getting wet.”
I broke in, “Paul, that’s the way that it should be for your house! It’s a very a good thing! Paul, why not have as much pleasure as you can in your bed? And give your bedmates pleasure as well. No one knows what you do in your bed; do what makes you and your mates happy. If it was me, I would sit them all down at supper and say, ‘girls, from now on when I take you to bed, I intend to pleasure you until you moan and cry out. Perhaps several times if I’m able to do that for you. If you have the little death, it’s your reward for loving me and I’ll reward you more than once if possible. I take pleasure in your happiness and the happier you are in our bed, then the happier I’ll be. Now, come here one of you fine beauties and spread your legs and I’m going to lick your pussy to see what it’s like, as my new friend has encouraged me to do. If you think it’s too much pleasure, you can run away and claim to be a widow and live in a house where a man takes no pleasure from the beauty of a woman. But from now on, we’ll have as much pleasure as we like and my member is stiff now and one of you should bend over the table and let me have my way with you!’”
Paul laughed and said, “My friend, we have a very frank discussion indeed. But what do you mean about bending over the table?”
I laughed too and said, “Paul, you can have pleasure with a bedmate anywhere, not just in bed. Look, take one of your wives to a room with a table or something that stands about as high as your waist; have her lay her elbows on the table and bend over so that her rear pushes out behind her. Come up from behind and lift her skirts and push her legs apart a little bit so that she’s exposed to your penis. Take hold of her hips and enter her pussy from behind…”
Paul gasped, “Like a bull and a cow?”
I said, “Exactly! She bends over the table, or a fallen log out in the woods, or over a fence rail in the garden, or simply on her hands and knees on the grass, and you get behind her and make love to her that way. It can be very different from lying on a bed and if you angle toward the front wall of her vagina just right, she may have her reward as you say you want her to. And there are many other ways besides that as well.”
I had no idea how I knew any of these things, but somehow I did.
Paul seemed flustered, but excited about the possibilities as I described them.
He declared, “My gosh man, I will. I swear I will. Joshua my friend, I may close early today. Here, hurry. I’ve chosen some clothes to make you look less strange. Go in behind the curtain and change.”
Paul more or less pushed me through the curtain and threw the shirt and pants at me and pulled the curtain closed behind me.
I put on the loose cotton pants and the tunic, but I kept my socks and shoes.
When I opened the curtain to be inspected, Paul said, “They fit you well. I knew that they would. Wear these; you’ll draw less attention to yourself and to your pretty woman. But moreover, you’ll protect your valuable finer clothing. Joshua, I’ve said several times that the Nogud fail the sexual examination, but every time I do, you change the subject and ask me questions like do I enjoy my mates and do they enjoy me. You say that you intend to have this girl in your bed, but you haven’t explained why or how.”
I laughed and said, “Paul, they fail the exam because as soon as it starts, their nipples strain against their tunics and their vagina immediately becomes sopping wet and they begin to orgasm before the test is half over. Apparently, in order to pass the exam, they have to show little or no arousal for some extended amount of time. They’re judged to be likely to enjoy their time with a man too much. I think that some old woman who performs this examination is a prude and doesn’t want women to really enjoy their man. Maybe she’s never been pleasured or something. I don’t know the answer.
But Paul, why care if she reaches her climax first? For me, it’s a sign that I’m a good lover and that she finds me virile and loves me. If my woman climaxes a dozen times before I do, I’m thrilled. The truth is, it makes me feel powerful. Like a hero in my own bedroom. I don’t know about the men of this village, but I’m able to climax only once and then I need to rest for a while. A woman is different. She has the ability to climax hard and do it again a minute later…and again a minute after that. I enjoy her moans and squeals…and the wetness between her legs. If she loses her senses in orgasm, what’s that to me except a boost to my pride as a strong and desirable man? Do you want your mates to boast of how they never become so aroused that they orgasm while they’re with you? Or do you secretly wish that they’d whisper to their neighbor women about how much and how often they’re brought to ecstasy by your sexual prowess?”
I clapped him on the back.
Paul said, “Joshua, you make it sound very…reasonable. You make it sound like our customs and thinking are all backward.”
I smiled and said, “Don’t tell anyone my friend. Give me time to find treasures and fruit for myself among the hidden and discarded before we tell the others what they’re missing. But as for you, trust me; kiss the lower lips. Take your time there. Tell your mates that you’re happy when they have their orgasms and that the greatest happiness for both of you can be between their legs.”
Paul smiled and said, “My friend, if I were not a man with three bedmates and a fourth woman besides, you’d make me blush. Well, more than I am already. I’m going to trust you. I wish that I could ask you a lot more questions, but I think that you’ve given me plenty of ideas for now.”
I said, “Give it a try and if it doesn’t produce a good result, try again and again. In the end, if it doesn’t work the way that I promise you that it will, come back to me and we’ll talk and see if I can figure out what you’re doing wrong.”
We both laughed heartily.
He said, “Ah, good advice. Taste the fruit before you judge it. Joshua my friend, I may have already profited much by our meeting. We will see. Wear these clothes and come back when you’ve finished your business. If you don’t find good fortune selling your item, I’ll give you a fair price for something you have if you want me to.”
I dug in the pocket of the pants that I’d worn when I arrived and took the small knife and held it out in my palm to my new friend. Paul looked at it, not understanding what it was so I took it and demonstrated how it unfolded and handed it to him again.
He took the item from me gently and examined it and said, “Joshua, this is marvelous. Surely you have something less valuable. I know that you’re an honest man, and no pledge is necessary between friends who talk as frankly as we do, but I told you that I will hold something in pledge, so I will, but something less valuable is more than enough.”
I shrugged and said, “Paul, this is what I have. I have the clothes that I wore and something that I hope to sell to a collector.”
Paul said, “Then let me hold the clothes that you wore. In fact, I’ll hold just the shirt, but I’ll keep the rest and have them cleaned and pressed for you, and if there’s any mending that can be done I’ll take care of that too. Now, shall we see what my wife has found for your woman? Come on and let’s see. If you forgive me, I’m eager to see her again. Not for unhealthy reasons, I assure you, but because you have opened my eyes and I think that I didn’t even look at her before because I…because she was…because I assumed…”
I laughed and said, “My friend, take it easy. You are a merchant of clothing and my lovely Viola made the mistake of wearing a dress that didn’t suit her. You were blinded by the disharmony between the dress and the woman who was disguised by it. Perhaps you’ll see her better now, and in seeing her, you can advise me on what will make her look even more beautiful to my eyes than she already does.”
Paul said, “Joshua, you are a very strange and gracious man.”
Chapter 4 Viola
My new friend and I walked across the shop to the women’s section and we were greeted by the woman, Susan.
She said, “You men take longer than fussy women. Of course, you wear more clothes, so I guess that it should be expected. We’ve been waiting for you. Little sister, they have finally returned. Come out and show these men what we found hidden under the dress you once wore!”
Paul and I looked toward the back of the shop where the women’s changing area was and the curtains parted and Viola walked out.
I wasn’t surprised, but I was thrilled by what I saw. Viola was beautiful. The dress that she wore was unadorned, but very attractive. It was white and fell all the way to her ankles. It wasn’t designed to particularly accentuate her breasts, but it certainly didn’t hide the shape of them. It hung slightly loose on her, presumably being one of the smallest adult sizes in the shop.
I smiled and said, “Viola, you make that dress look very lovely. If we need to find work for both of us, I’ll suggest that these fine people employ you to show off their clothing around the village. You are truly very pretty.”
Viola swung and twisted her hips from side to side and blushed as the dress flared slightly.
She said, “Do you think so Master? It is so wonderful. I’ve never worn anything like it. You don’t have to buy it for me, but I did think that maybe I would want you to see it. Do you really like it?”
I turned to Susan and asked, “Susan, may I call you Susan?”
Paul said, “Susan, Joshua and I are very close friends and I’m starting to think of him even as family. There’s no need for formality as far as I’m concerned.”
Susan smiled and said, “Good. I feel the same way. This little sister is somehow very precious to me and I would take her home with me and teach her all that I know of caring for a household and a man. There was an unexpected treasure hidden beneath those rags and uncovering it is like finding gems in a hidden cupboard. You joke about having her wear my clothes just to show them to the village, but I think it might be the most wonderful thing that I have ever heard of. Paul, this girl has grace, and I sense a kindness that makes me think that we’ll be better people when she’s nearby.”
Paul said, “Yes, this new friend of yours is a surprise and I think that Joshua has a fine chance of happiness with her by his side. But Susan, where’s the girl who came here with our friend Joshua. He said that her name was Viola. There must be a mistake or I’m a very big fool. This can’t be her! I’m only half joking. This transformation is astounding. I see that I was a fool and think that perhaps Joshua is the only man of wisdom in this village. My dear, please forgive me for not seeing you when we met. I was distracted and can only beg that you’ll overlook any offense. Joshua says that it wasn’t my fault because as a seller of clothing I saw only the clothes and not the woman of grace who wore them. I hope that I’ve learned my lesson and won’t make that mistake again. Joshua, you told me the truth about this, so I have to believe the all of other things that you’ve told me as well.”
