Author's note:
This is chapter three of my series Lost Colony. Most readers should start with chapter one, but if you want to scroll down to the steamy parts, be my guest!
This is a work of (science) fiction. All characters are over age eighteen. Thanks for reading!
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Lost Colony: Chapter 03
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"Hold still. No, I said... I said don't move!"
Sparr did his best to comply. The blade at his neck could end his life in an instant, and the swirling mist of the hot spring couldn't have been making it any easier for its wielder to do her work.
Phia hovered over him, brow knitted in concentration as she scraped and cut away at almost a month's worth of unruly beard. Dark whiskers fell away in clumps, some dropping to Sparr's chest, and some to the stone floor. When she was satisfied with her work, the young woman started on his hair with a blade, and a comb which looked as if it had once been the spine of a fish.
A deep sense of relaxation settled upon him. While Phia acted as barber, another temple maiden, Velyn, scrubbed him with a porous stone. It was this treatment that had caused Sparr to move earlier. Now, as the steam settled into his bones, even the occasional abrasion from the scrubbing no longer troubled him. Reclining against a woven back rest, Sparr had almost fallen asleep when he felt hands tugging at the simple wrap he wore around his waist.
"Let's see how much attention he needs... here." A note of surprise found its way into Phia's voice. Sparr's cock was just as relaxed as he was.
"Oh," said Velyn, looking up from where she had been scrubbing Sparr's feet. The two exchanged a glance.
"Well then," said Phia, "this will take some time."
"Plenty," said Velyn. "Don't want to rush this, disappoint Liette." The redhead was grinning broadly.
Phia knelt, and applied a handful of lather to Sparr's groin. She spread it in a thin layer, and with great care, began to shave the thicket of hair surrounding his cock. Sparr looked on nervously, afraid to do or say anything which might unsteady the girl's hand. Phia, however, had an aptitude for just this sort of intimate attention. She slid the razor expertly toward the base of his cock, then with exquisite patience, scraped away at his sack. The brunette lifted his cock to one side, cradling it in her hand.
A lazy arousal crept into him. Phia was as pretty as the rest of the temple maidens, with playful, short brunette locks, dimpled cheeks, and a sweet smile. Steam had pressed the flimsy robe against the contours of her soft body. Soon, Sparr's cock began to grow in her hand. Phia noticed.
"Oh," she said, as if surprised. "Velyn, he likes it."
Velyn leaned forward, her copper hair tickling Sparr's thigh. "Don't stop, then."
The brunette happily continued, drawing the razor across the most vulnerable parts of Sparr's male anatomy. A small, polite, scraping sound indicated the hairs being cut neatly away from his sack and around his cock. Locking her eyes on Sparr's, Phia rinsed the razor then resumed. Sparr's cock twitched in her hand, continuing to swell.
"Shit," Velyn said softly.
"Mmmmm," said Phia. Her eyes widened. "Anyway... it's easier when they're hard."
That much was true. As Sparr's erection drew every wrinkle of loose skin from his balls, they became smooth and tight. Phia's motions became even more sure.
"Let me hold it," Velyn practically whispered. "He's huge!"
"I'm almost done." While Velyn hoisted Sparr's engorged rod, Phia finished her work. "Rinse him."
Without releasing her grip on him, the redhead poured warm water over Sparr's groin. As the last of the lather sluiced away, his cock stood out in full relief, a straining shaft and head over a pair of clean, plump balls.
"Fuck!" Phia stroked his shaft delicately, slender fingers just brushing the head. Her other hand began to slide up her thigh.
"Are all gladiators this gifted?" asked Velyn. Her hand looked tiny next to the fat, veined shaft.
"Gladiator is only my part-time job," he groaned. Being bathed, trimmed, and shaved by the two young women left him eager for release.
"Mmmm," said Velyn. She exhaled a soft breath against his sack. "What's your other job?"
"I'm a trader." Sparr had decided that passing himself off as some type of merchant might open doors.
"Boring!" declared Phia with exaggerated disappointment. Her fingers brushed his sack, sending Sparr a tingle of pleasure.
"Yes. You should have said you were an adventurer." Velyn gave his shaft a firm squeeze.
"I'm ready for an adventure right now," Sparr panted.
With no warning, Velyn lifted his cock and popped the head into her mouth. After five heartbeats she pulled back. "Yes you are," she said sweetly.
Phia looked alarmed. "No, no, he's for Liette!"
Velyn shot a look over her shoulder. "We have a minute," she said. Again, the redhead pushed her lips over his cock, held it, then withdrew. "Anyway, you don't have to. I think he likes me better."
"Dammit," said Phia. The brunette shot her own, nervous glance at the door. Then, like Velyn, popped her mouth over the head of Sparr's cock.
"Fuuuuck," he groaned.
For several exquisite minutes, Velyn and Phia passed Sparr's cock back and forth. They giggled at their naughtiness while teasing each other about who was better at pleasuring him. Neither girl took him particularly deep, or with any real intention of making him cum. The sensation was sublime, but nothing about the encounter suggested he would get the release he sought.
"Oh shit!" Velyn leapt up. The redhead had heard something. "Quick," she hissed.
Phia rolled away, scrambling to fasten her robe. Velyn did the same as the two quickly tidied the room. Together they guided Sparr into a slightly more formal wrap, fastened with a clasp bearing the Origin symbol. The garment left Sparr's chest and calves exposed. It did nothing, in his current state, to conceal his erection.
Almost before they had finished, a woman of early middle years breezed into the room. What she lacked in youthful beauty, the newcomer more than made up for with confidence and poise. A spill of brunette curls tossed past her neck, unbound but disciplined. Bright eyes swept over Sparr, lingering at the obvious outline of his cock. The smile she offered was more than half smirk.
"I take it he's ready?"
"Lell, yes... yes," Phia said, half stammering. "He's clean, the way she likes."
"Mmmm," Lell said thoughtfully, her eyes turning back to Sparr. "Yes I can see he's 'the way she likes'." She laughed. "Velyn, Phia, wipe the saliva from your mouths. You," Lell said, indicating Sparr, "let's get a look at you."
Sparr joined her to stand before a full-height mirror, his first real look at himself since before he had landed. What he saw mostly pleased him. Phia had trimmed his straight black hair close on one side, leaving it longer on top, a fashion favored by the temple youth. The style wasn't particularly to his taste, but so long as a beauty like Phia was on hand to maintain it, he would raise no objection.
Except for the bandaged cut where Efreem's blade had sliced him during their match, Sparr's body was intact. His muscles were harder, his veins more prominent. The wrap suited him, highlighting his muscular shoulders, torso, and narrow waist. He looked like a more ripped version of himself from five years ago.
Lell must have liked what she saw. She pressed herself against him from behind, running her hands down across his body, just brushing his cock.
"Yes," Lell said. "I think Liette will find you to her liking." Her body was hot and close. "But, if I might offer a warning?"
"Ah, okay." At Lell's attention, Sparr was stiffening again.
"We had a strong fellow like you here not three months ago." Her hands found his organ. "I think the carrion birds picked the last of his flesh last week." Lell met his eyes in the mirror. "Keep your wits about you, Alain. It will take more than strength to survive here."
Confused and on guard, Sparr let himself be led from the hot spring. Like Vonde itself, the temple had been built against the rocky walls where two ridges came together. The back rooms of the sprawling structure had a cave-like look. The rest of the temple was built from rough stones, and protected from the elements by a carved wooden roof. The place had a labyrinthine feel to it, with narrow corridors twisting away to secret chambers. He was reminded of Syreet's house, and felt a sudden twinge of longing. Would he ever see the raw and beguiling gladiator again?
Lell led Phia, Velyn, and Sparr through the complex. Upon reaching a large, open hall, the two maidens slipped away, leaving him and Lell to observe a novel sight.
The semi-circular hall sloped down, ringed with shallow steps like an amphitheater. The base of the room was taken up by a line of booths of varying sizes. Some held small couches, some a table and chairs. A few seemed unfurnished. Sparr's attention, however, was drawn to the proceedings at the center of the room.
Liette stood at a dais, flanked by temple maidens on one side, and youths on the other. Before her stood an assembly of perhaps thirty townspeople, dressed in degrees of finery. Sparr noticed two or three of the prominent merchants he had seen both at the slave auction and the gladiator show. Without their servants hoving about, they looked less imperious, smaller. Those dressed in a lesser degree of opulence stood slightly back from those clustered near the front, and so on. Near the very back, to either side of Sparr and Lell, were commoners who seemed content to kneel or bow in silence.
"Welcome all," Liette began, "all who bring their problems to Omm. Here, you will be free of them."
Sparr was reminded of his conversation with Stef regarding the Origin creed.
"Hear and know," the priestess intoned. "Omm cast down the machines. He who had everything, saw the corruption the makers wrought." Liette raised her arms high. "He threw aside the machines in his journey of eight steps..."
Sparr quickly lost interest in the sermon, which seemed to consist of superficial fragments of Christianity and Buddhism intertwined. The only interesting part was the reference to the 'maker machines'. Increasingly, Sparr was convinced that Shong held the clues he needed.
He wasn't the only one with limited interest in Liette's sermon. The crowd shifted restlessly. No one sat. It was obvious to Sparr that the townspeople weren't there to hear the priestess speak at all. Either getting the hint, or reaching the end of her speech, Liette stepped aside. Two of the youth, which Sparr later learned were referred to as princes, first brought out a shallow bowl, then pushed forward an odd contraption.
