Part Three: Uthegental del'Armgo

"It was common knowledge in Menzoberranzan that Uthegental, in addition to being patron to Matron Mother Mez'Barris, was the consort of many Barrison del'Armgo females. The second house considered him breeding stock." - Siege of Darkness

"You aren't tired, are you?"

A deceivingly soft voice, purring in his ear while slender hands caressed his chest. Uthegental opened his eyes again to look up to the female sitting on him, naked and with a lewd grin on her lips. For his life he couldn't remember her name right now, but he doubted that she would care even if she knew that.

The Weapon Master of the Second House tried to shift a bit, to take some strain from his shoulders: his wrists had been bound to the bedposts for quite some time now, and his arms were consequently twisted in a rather unnatural way. Yet he was almost thankful for being tied up - at least he wasn't expected to do anything this way.

"Of course not, Mistress," he answered obediently, his voice flat and only half-heartedly covering his lie. As if she would leave him alone if he admitted how tired he was. After spending the whole day training the house's warriors he had been called to his Matron's quarters in the evening, and when she had finally released him - Uthegental had already been looking forward to a night all alone in his own bed - this other priestess had ordered him to her. Tired was an understatement to describe how Uthegental felt; he was completely exhausted.

The female said something Uthegental didn't quite get, but it hadn't been a question or order, and thus it was of no consequence for him. He concentrated on staying awake while those fingers didn't cease to touch him, caressing, scratching, pinching.

Uthegental tried to remember the last time he had actually enjoyed lying with a female. As a young drow, he had liked the females' attention. House Barrison del'Armgo had been virtually breeding drow for centuries, mixing even some human blood into their stock, and huge, strong Uthegental had been the perfect result of this project. Getting to sleep with the house's most beautiful females had definitely appealed to the young fighter, and he had been more than a bit flattered when Matron Mez'Barris had first chosen him as her favourite lover, then appointed him Weapon Master, and finally even patron - although she hadn't kept a patron for decades.

Yes, Uthegental had been proud, he had enjoyed his duties, all the more as most females were rather gentle with him - by drow standards, of course. Nobody wanted to damage their most precious stud. That they saw hardly more than a useful animal in him had never bothered Uthegental - all drow males were regarded as inferior beings, and his value made his position relatively secure. The only thing he had to do was to keep an eye on his sons and make sure that none of them became as formidable as him.

Uthegental almost laughed bitterly at these memories. Back then, he had imagined that his whole life would be that pleasant, but he hadn't realised that he would lose every pleasure in this routine soon enough. While being the Matron's favourite had countless advantages, it also obliged him to spend some time with her almost every evening as she apparently couldn't get enough of him. Pleasing several other females in addition to that - and Mez'Barris readily shared her valuable patron with the house's other priestesses and even common soldiers - was in the long run too much for even the greatest stamina, especially in combination with his duties as Weapon Master.

He had done well, of course, knowing that Mez'Barris would get rid of him as soon as he lost his usefulness, but the price for his secure and quite powerful station had been high. While other drow males might envy him, Uthegental's greatest dream was to spend one week, or even one single day all alone, without any female he had to bed.

A slap in his face interrupted his thoughts, followed by an insult and a harsh, brutal kiss. Remembering his duties, Uthegental replied as passionately as he could in his current state, hoping that the priestess wouldn't expect more from him. Again he forced his mind to disconnect from his body, trying to think of something more pleasant while his lower body obediently reacted to the priestess's touches.

Bucking his hips up as if he was truly aroused, Uthegental hoped that he would get some sleep once the female was finished with him. It was no wonder that so many drow in Menzoberranzan thought him exceptionally dumb while he was of rather average intelligence - he was simply so tired most of the time that it took him a bit longer to understand things. Fortunately, his weariness didn't affect his reflexes and his fighting prowess, or he would have been in serious trouble.

A sigh escaped his lips when a loud moan told him that the female was apparently finished with him. She slid off his body, taking some time to compose herself before she undid the chains, ordering curtly, "Get out."

Without even taking the time to stretch his sore muscles the Weapon Master got up and dressed, not bothering to put his armour on. He had left the room after hardly a minute, hurrying to his own quarters, hoping desperately that nobody would see him, not only because he would look quite ridiculous - a patron scurrying through his own house like an intruder - but rather because he didn't want to get caught by another female.

Waves of relief washed over him when he finally closed the door of his own room behind him. He sank on his bed, deciding that a bath would have to wait until the morning, and crawled under the soft blankets. He swore that any female who entered his room tonight would die, priestess or not priestess. Yet Uthegental was even too exhausted to ponder on those beautiful images, and reverie had claimed him only moments after his head had touched the pillow.

He dreamt of a world without females.