Rain came the next day to the compound, an infrequent event. Philip sat in an alcove and watched the downpour; he had successfully avoided being assigned to household tasks, and for the time being his special talents were not required. The rain recalled his previous life in his mountain village, which had been ravaged by a contagious fever. Philip's parents, along with most of the village's inhabitants, had died in the epidemic; and his uncle, a grasping, hard-hearted fellow, had promptly sold Philip to a passing slave trader, who was happy to pay the wretched uncle a handful of gold and silver coins in exchange for the young man, whose handsome, albeit girlish, looks were most striking.
The slave trader's tastes must not have been inclined to his own sex, since he did not use Philip at all on the weeks' journey to the principal city of the land. He did however employ the mouths and sometimes the behinds of each of the young women he had purchased. Philip did have to suffer an occasional blow from a cane or whip when dilatory, of course. Once arrived in the city, the slaves were displayed for sale in the central marketplace. Philip still recalled with embarrassment being compelled to stand naked with hands bound on the slave platform, while prospective buyers thrust their intrusive fingers into his mouth to check his teeth, cupped his genitals, or probed his rear end to ascertain its narrowness. At least I sold for a considerable sum, he thought.
Purchased by a desert noble, he had been conveyed to the compound where he had spent the last several years. That first evening, he was brought before the steward, looked over, and sent to spend the night in one of the slave quarters; a slim, willowy, well proportioned young man, with a sweet and pretty face and soft hair. He was told to bathe and rest; his work would be assigned on the next day. The heavy wooden door was closed and a bar placed on the outside. Philip was surprised to see steam emanating from the adjoining closet; looking in he saw a well appointed bathroom, with stone floors and heated water. A far cry from the cold clear streams of his mountain home; though his tribe had traditionally always washed regularly.
A tall figure wearing only a rough towel emerged from the wreaths of steam. This man, broad shouldered, black haired, with the muscles and scars of a soldier and regular features, smiled briefly at Philip and beckoned him towards the bathroom. Philip apprehensively entered; but soon discovered the pleasure of warm water and soft soap. Thoroughly cleansed, glowing from the bath, he found another towel and went back into the main room. The soldier – evidently also a slave – was seated on the one large sleeping platform that filled the center of the room; he remained clad only in his towel. Philip stopped nervously, hesitant to join the big man on the sleeping platform, but afraid of giving offense. His apprehension was solved quickly; the soldier reached out a long arm and gathered the younger slave towards him; whisking away the towel, he sat Philip sideways on his lap, and looked him over, clearly pleased by his new companion. Philip's naked bottom rested on the other's rough thighs; in embarrassment he tried to cover his slender, well shaped phallus and testes, but the other brusquely smacked his hands away, easily holding both of Philip's wrists with just a few of his powerful fingers. Smiling in a friendly manner, he used his other hand to grasp Philip's penis, which he began to fondle gently and steadily, so that it sprang to life in his hand.
