* * * * *
For a moment, there was awkward silence. Then, something did occur to me.
"Brother Iosef told me that the Melissae only employ female acolytes and disciples. So, if this Baba Yaga is one such servant, it could be that she took Prince Holgar prisoner for Ovaria's carnal pleasuring. Meaning, he might still be alive."
Skogul looked at her father, and vice-versa. The latter then came to a decision.
"We will consult Vulda."
Whereupon, I was placed back upon the ground, with Skogul revealing that she had held my saddle mount and pack mule in the palm of her left hand. She then shrank down to the size of an ordinary mortal, simultaneous with her father! And, together, they brought me to the hut of Jomsborg's resident shamaness.
"Wise One!" Svyatogor called out: "I bring someone who seeks your visionary counsel."
"Enter, Milord Jarl," replied a clear-yet-raspy voice: "You, too, Ilya Muromets. And, bring the Irish whiskey, as well."
Needless to say, I found it momentarily disconcerting hearing her voice my name before I had even given it! Yet, I did as she bade. And, when I stooped to enter through her rather low doorway, I beheld the woman called Vulda.
She knelt before a smouldering fire. Her silvery white hair hanging down the front of her shoulders in twin braids. The rest of it disappearing beneath a headdress made from the head and shoulders of a red fox. And, I swear, the reflected glow of the firelight in its eyes gave me the feeling it was still alive!
Vulda grinned, as if she could read my thoughts, and gestured for me to sit before her. I did as she bade. Following which, I put the bottle of whiskey into her proffered hands. With adroitness that belied her years, she did uncork the bottle, and imbibe from it. Then, upon removing it from her mouth, she did smack her lips together and sigh most contentedly. All before picking up a small wooden bowl, and pouring a bit more of the whiskey into its miniscule depths.
She scried for what felt like an eternity. Whispering certain words and phrases that were most unintelligible. Then, she did finally look up.
"The Greek priest was right. As were you, Man of Murom! Holgar Gudfredsen still lives. Ovaria seeks to make him the sire of her next army of progeny! But, he must offer to do so, of his own free will. So, she seeks to seduce him into doing so, even now. Yet, while he has been able to resist her wiles, thus far (for what he perceives to have been a day and a night), he cannot hold out much longer."
"You must therefore rescue him, as swiftly as possible. Something you will not be able to accomplish alone. You will need the help of _two_ Varangiants! And, one of them...must be female."
There was only one such woman in all of Jomsborg who answered that description: Skogul Svyatogorsdottir.
"Where is the entrance to her realm?" I now asked.
"On the island known as Avar-aral. It lies at the peak of an archipelago that does divide Lake Balkhash in half. This lake lies north of Almaty; a vast city in the Land of Apples, just east of Cathay's westernmost border. Beware, though; many will try to stop you. And, even if you succeed in reaching the island, you will still have Baba Yaga, herself to contend with. Particularly as she does dwell within a house mounted on wooden pillars carved to resemble chicken legs. Legs she can magically animate to act as such, too!"
"How may I repay you for your sage advice, O Wise One?" I asked, with as much humility as I could muster.
"Leave me the Irish whiskey," she replied (without the slightest hesitation): "And, distribute the gold you brought with you amongst the less fortunate of your host's subjects."
I did as she bade, after leaving her hut. Then, Skogul took me to a guest hut, where I would spend the night, while Svyatogor did take leave of his wife in the age-old manner of warriors marching off to a distant campaign the next morning.
Well, I could understand this, as I had caught a glimpse of Kara Halfdansdottir, just before the complete draping of a hanging carpet across the doorway of the jarl's hut. And, if not for her age, she could be Skogul's identical twin!
This beauty was enhanced the next morning, as she came to the main gate of Jomsborg dressed in an indigo-dyed bearskin robe (trimmed with white ermine fur on the collar), and a golden crown that did resemble a twelve-pointed jeweled star.
She did embrace her daughter and husband, most ardently. Then the latter did grow to giant size, as one. With Skogul picking me up, and placing me on her right shoulder, as we headed for the Khazarian Sea.*
tbc
Giantess World
Chapter End Notes:
*Khazarian Sea: medieval nickname for the Caspian Sea.