He reports back

Callum woke up at daybreak just as he always did. He had slept only a few hours, but after growing up on a farm in the far north, sleeping in just wasn’t in his nature.

Zoriah still slept peacefully though. Callum took in her fragrant scent as he spooned her from behind and pressed his morning wood against her buttocks. She let out a soft moan in her sleep and pushed her arse back at him. But there was no time for this, Baram and the others were probably wondering where he was. He reluctantly climbed out of bed, carefully to not wake up Zoriah. He gathered his belongings, got dressed and silently slipped out into the street.

Soon, he was back at the hideout and he banged the heavy door like he had seen his uncle do yesterday. The door swung open almost instantly and Ilyria greeted him with a belligerent look.

”Oh there you are”, she said and made way for him to enter while she cautiously peered out in both directions, ”I was beginning to fear we had to find ourselves a new recruit,” she muttered as she bolted the door shut.

Callum made an apologetic face, ”It was a long night, just as you predicted. Is Baram here?”

Ilyria started walking towards her chambers, ”The old man is busy. You’ll report to me,” she said and gestured him to follow.

Callum complied with his eyes riveted on her bulging arse as it moved underneath her short skirt. He was eager to find out what the sultry Amazon had in store for him, now that he had proven himself as a warrior.

But there was no hero’s welcome. With her arms crossed under her massive breasts and her face in a stern expression, Ilyria just pierced him with her golden eyes. ”Report,” she commanded in a voice honed even sharper than yesterday. Callum gulped and straightened himself up. ”First off, what in Didra’s name have you been up to all night?”

Callum shifted nervously and avoided her piercing eyes. Instead, he made a failed attempt not to stare at her tits and his cock sprang to life with a most ill-timed stir. ”I, uhm, returned to the brothel,” he murmured. ”I had to make sure that there were no slavers left back there. And I had to questions the madame about their activities.”

”But of course,” the Amazon smirked. She walked up to Callum and leaned in closer, stopping only an inch away, her face close to his ear. Her ample chest got in the way and her tits pressed against him with a slight squeak from her leather bodice. Callum glanced down and got a generous display of her cleavage and his heart skipped a beat.

”And tell me, inquisitor Callum, what did you find during your thorough inspection of the whorehouse?”

His cock strained painfully against his loincloth while he squirmed and felt his cheeks burn as he stammered out, ”There were no slavers there.”

Ilyria glanced down at his unruly erection and shot him an amused grin.

”Good. And what about the whore? Was she in on it?”

”No, no”, Callum shook his head anxiously, ”Zoriah was **** into the kidnappings. She had **** as they would have hurt her and the other girls.”

”Is that so?”, Ilyria smirked, ”So this Zoriah told you this as pretty little bedtime story then?”

Callum squirmed, ”Well, I… she…”

”Oh please,” her voice turned sharp again, ”I could smell the perfumed cunt on you before you even knocked. And it's hardly a surprise that the slut spread her legs for you.”

”But she had nothing to do with it”. Callum blurted out, ”I’m sure she wasn’t lying.”

”Probably not, but that is not the point,” The Amazon jabbed a finger at his chest, "The point is that you let yourself be led by your cock. She’s a whore, and whores lie and exploit trusting fools like you for a living. And fools never last for long in this business.”

Ilyria reached down and grabbed his raging hard member and began stroking it through his loincloth. Callum let out a surprised gasp and Ilyria’s hot breath in his ear further kindled his arousal, ”Do you want to stay alive, Callum, and do you want to make yourself useful?”

”Yes,” he groaned.

The amazon’s hand tightened in a painful grip around his cock and Callum squirmed in discomfort.

”Then you'll let yourself be led by me, at least when you're on a mission. Is that clear?”

”Yes, ma’am,” he croaked.

”Good.” Ilyria let go of his cock and backed away a few steps. Callum wasn't sure if he was relieved or disappointed that she stopped.

”Secondly,” she began, ”After witnessing that dismal display in the street, I do hope for the whore's sake that you fuck better than you fight.”

”Dismal?” Callum squawked, ”But I defeated Vargo and his men.”

The Amazon gave him a contemptuous glare, ”No, Callum, you charged three armed men without any plan of attack. You lost your sword and let a crossbowman out of sight and gave him time to reload. Sure, you are strong and fast, but your stance is clumsy and you don't use your head. You’re just lucky that I was there and that those three clowns were even worse than you.”

The young Highlander could feel the anger boiling up inside him. Now she was questioning his prowess as a warrior, the very essence of his manhood. His earlier resignation gave way and he stared at her in defiance.

”I had it under control” he hissed, ”And I have yet to see any woman fight better than me.”

He instantly regretted that. Even if he was too proud to admit it for the moment, the Amazon seemed very formidable, and she frightened him. And to be fair, she probably saved his life with that timely dagger during the fight.

But Ilyria didn't seem offended. Instead, she dug her teeth into her bottom lip and smiled at him voraciously. ”Well, well, there's the young warrior again,” she said with a new kind of composed excitement in her voice. ”I've been meaning to spar with you. I'm usually training in the stables out back in the afternoons. Drop by anytime when you feel ready. But first...”

She walked to her desk, pulled out a small slip of paper from a drawer.

”What is that?” Callum asked.

”This is your next mission. We found this on Vargo's corpse. You see, while you were claiming free rides from your damsel in distress, some of us did some actual investigating. This is the address to some nobleman's manor in Hightown, a lord Bottsley. There's also a date, the day after tomorrow. And as it turns out, the honourable Bottsley is throwing a party that very night.”

She handed the piece of paper to Callum. ”I assume that our friend Vargo was supposed to meet someone there. I need you to get inside and see if this leads anywhere. Don't charge into anything this time. Just investigate discretely and then report back.”

”Yes, of course, but how will I get in?” Callum asked.

”That's up to you. Just use your head and don't be a fool. You're dismissed.”

Callum left the hideout and was surprised to find his uncle leaning against a wall outside.

”Uncle, what are you doing here?”

”I was in the neighbourhood and heard you were back”. Cahern glanced at the door, ”I hope Ilyria didn’t ride you too hard?”

Callum sighed, ”Well, not the way I would have wanted.”

Cahern laughed and slapped his nephew's back, ”Don’t worry, lad. I think the Amazon likes you.”

”I find that hard to believe,” Callum said and shook his head.

”You should see how she treats people she doesn’t like,” his uncle smiled, ”Come, my boy, let me buy you some breakfast ale.”