The Acrobats

If Kharsoom was known for one thing in the waning years of the Fifth Strata it was for the Silken Labyrinth. For good reason, mind. Though it was famous, or perhaps infamous, throughout the world, its relatively isolated location made travel to it difficult. Many made the trek, lured by the honeyed delights promised between the legs of the finest courtesans in all the world. Many more would claim to have visited than ever had, and right up until the end of the Fifth Strata and beginning of the Sixth, bedslaves trained in the Labyrinth fetched extravagant prices.

It was inevitable that I would eventually visit the Labyrinth. By now, my weakness for carnal experience is well-documented and I would not stay away from the most famous brothel in the world forever. I had already lain with a Labyrinth-trained woman, and I thought often of the glories of her mouth. It had long been in the back of my mind to find a time to visit. As it happened, when the opportunity arose, it was entirely by luck.

I had gone to the north of Kharsoom and paralleled the craggy mountain range that held back the great glaciers. By chance, I happened upon a lord's caravan under attack by a raiding party of xerxyss. By that time I had been without company for several months, and my circumspection was not what it normally was. I threw myself into the fray on the side of the defenders, swiftly turning the tide, sending the xerxyss and their hunting beasts scurrying back to the highlands.

"Noble boldisar," said the lord, approaching me with his bodyguards behind him. He was young and vital, and though short, he was well-muscled and had fought alongside his men. "I thank you for your aid. What may I call you?"

"I am Ashuz," I said.

"The Farmer," one of his men murmured. The others whispered to one another, their eyes finding my spear, Ur-Anu. The weapon was distinctive, its obsidian blade bright with veins like lightning.

"Well met, Ashuz. I am Lord Eakassir of Clan Keldet. Bravery such as yours will not go unrewarded. You will have silver and provisions of course."

"You are too kind."

"I regret that I am traveling without a bedslave, but that is the purpose of our journey. I propose a unique reward. We are going to the Silken Labyrinth, and you will be my guest. Will you accept?"

I took his hand. "Gratefully."

He beamed. "Ashuz joins the caravan, lads!"

Warriors shot me salutes, and when I finally dismounted Ksenaëe to bed down for the night, they all wished to introduce themselves. They had heard stories, and I suppose what I had done against the xerxyss gave such tales weight.

"Are you truly Ashuz the Farmer?" they asked.

"If I say yes, will you give me to Clan Sesamhat?"

To a man they shook their heads. "You fought with us. Clan Keldet respects its friends."

Kharsoom was a land of elaborate rules and dizzying customs, but it was always strange to encounter those who actually followed them when no one was looking. In my brief association with Lord Eakassir, I judged him to be as noble a man as Kharsoom could produce. Although I admit my opinion might be burnished by the delicious night I spent in the Labyrinth.

I ate their food and drank their wine and slept by their fire. They were tolerable traveling companions, and after my solitude even a little idle chatter did me good. A few days later the city came into view on the horizon.

The Silken Labyrinth lay at the center of the city of Baiydira. In the distant past, the Kharsoomians had sculpted their lands using techniques long forgotten. I believe once this had been a section of low mountains they had turned into a collection of easily-defensible mesas and plateaus. In the millennia since, the peaks had further crumbled in the face of the hungry winds that swept down from the peaks to the north. Now the city perched precariously atop a bizarre array of rock formations, crisscrossed with bridges of rope and wood. It looked to be ready to collapse into the cracked earth at any moment, and yet it persisted. In that way it was an admirable model for Kharsoom as a whole.

A decadent tyrant called Prince Gehmahl ruled the city from a modest castle clinging to a spire of land barely big enough to support it. His castle looked vestigial, and in many ways far too rude for so important a city. Yet the modesty of the castle betrayed its lack of import. The Silken Labyrinth was the beating heard of Baiydira, and its blood the slaves who toiled in honeyed bliss within.

Lord Eakassir's caravan wound up the series of tiers, spires, and across swaying bridges to the city center. The Labyrinth had originally been the city's slave market, but had since been built up and out, and now made of itself a more impressive castle than the Prince's own home. More guards stood on the ramparts around the Labyrinth than the city, and they were far more impressive specimens. I could not speak for their fighting abilities, but I suspected that if trouble ever came to Baiydira it would find itself at the one place everyone did. The Labyrinth.

We arrived at the gates of the Silken Labyrinth near sunset. Its collection of towers and turrets stood out against the western sky. Torches blazed from sconces, and a scent of spice and musk lingered on the wind, a delicious promise of what lay within.

A full entourage in silks greeted Lord Eakassir. The lead was a fat eunuch, his skin paler than mine, a single braided scalplock growing from his head to his expansive waist. Around him were muscled guards, men and women, their armor adorned with rich silks.

The eunuch spotted the banners of Clan Keldet, his sigil of three spears buried in the earth on a field of orange. "Welcome Clan Keldet to the Silken Labyrinth," he purred.

Lord Eakassir gave the eunuch a pouch heavy with caira, and made arrangements for himself, four of his bodyguards, and me, his wandering boldisar. He then expressed interest in purchasing one of the slaves within.

The eunuch handed the pouch back to one of the guards. "All will be made available to you, noble lord. Come with me, and we will begin your evening with a fine meal. Love should never be attempted on an empty stomach."

Eakassir bade the caravan to go into town, and was certain to pay his men a little extra. They would be visiting one of Baiydira's less famous brothels, and I have been told that even one of these is superior to the best bawdy house in any other city on Thür. I gave Ksenaëe over to the lord's grooms, who assured me they would take good care of her. She squawked, but no protest from my noble steed would keep me from the Labyrinth. I was eager as a child, my body bright like lightning.

The eunuch led us into the Labyrinth's central keep, a low building connected to the rest of the complex via the maze of chambers and corridors that gave the place its sobriquet. The first room was a feasting hall, but even this was divided up into a maze of sorts by silks hanging from the ceiling. The air was permeated with the spicy scents of Kharsoomian cooking, and the sounds of dining could be heard throughout. The eunuch brought us to a table sized for us, and comely slaves brought out trays of steaming food while a pair, a man and a woman, danced in a mime of loveplay on a platform at the center of our table. The music was divine, ethereal and complex, stemming from a quartet of practiced musicians in one corner.

I selected a dried fig and tasted, finding it smoked and spiced. It was delicious.

"Why the expression, my friend?" asked Eakassir.

"The food is good. Very good."

"When you leave the Labyrinth, it will be with no sense left unfulfilled."

I ate my fill of stewed cactus, spiced ripper flank, roast jagkru, honeyed qobad tongues, pharchyl sweetbreads, and stuffed urok stomach. I drank a single goblet of akaberry wine, but I could never abide its overly sour taste. I was stunned when a slave appeared serving chocolatl. I guzzled it, much to the amusement of my companions, who thought of it as a drink for children and soft nobles, not brave boldisars. The irony was that it was terrible chocolatl, I know now because the beans had grown too dry during transit, but I didn't care. Even this shadow of a taste was enough to bring me back to my blissful time in Pelesamatu, when I very nearly settled into a simple life.

"You do not like our wine, Ashuz?" Eakassir teased.

"No," I said, drinking my third mug of chocolatl. "I've tasted other kinds of wine."

The lord laughed, and his men hammered the table in approval of my cheek. We finished our meal, and the eunuch appeared to guide us from our table to the gateway into the Labyrinth itself.

The threshold was draped with silks, layers of folds suggestively drawing us into the maze of our lusts.

"Honored guests," said the eunuch, "it is time for your journey into the Silken Labyrinth. No two journeys are ever precisely the same. You may go one by one or in groups as you prefer, and you may sample rooms alone or together. If you find a doorway barred by silk, you may not enter. All others are open to your indulgence. I beg you, indulge yourselves my lords. Leave no sensation unexperienced. You are in the fabled Silken Labyrinth!"

Eakassir turned to us. "I am proud to offer this night to you. I will go first, alone, and I will meet you tomorrow a happier man."

He disappeared through the threshold. The rest of us filtered in. First one man went, then a pair went together. Then the last man remaining clapped my arm. "Go, my friend."

I went through the perfumed silks. I found the Labyrinth was not lightly named. It was a maze, lit by regularly spaced burning braziers, filling the air with perfumed smoke. The cloying musk called the nectar of both men and women to mind. Portals were hung with silks, and some of those were closed, the sounds of love emanating from within. Guards, men and women, were spaced about, staring straight ahead, as though we weren't there at all.

I paused at the first open door. I found a long table, nobles sitting on either side. They did not eat from plates. Instead, slaves lay upon the surface, food over their sexes, in some cases smeared over their skins. The nobles ate with relish.

I moved on. The next room I found was a writhing mass of bodies. It reminded me of the cult before. Half wore collars, half didn't. From time to time one would look up, see me lingering in the doorway and beckoning. I thought this must happen in this room every night, as more and more visitors joined the pile, finding bliss with one another or the slaves of the Labyrinth.

I kept going. I saw all manner of decadence, and loveplay in every combination. In some rooms, the entertainments of the night had not yet begun, and those within were waiting for a visitor to select them. I found rooms with only a single man or women, others with two, three, or even more. Some with an array of objects, some with implements of torture or restraint, others with food or animals. The slaved here came in every variety, and though most were Kharsoomian, there were others too. Elves, dwarves, orcs, and ghouls. I even saw a cyclops, and I briefly considered trying her.

Of the ones waiting, some merely lounged. Others had started a pantomime of loveplay. Others had started the act itself, though not with the ardor one would require to find bliss. Whenever I darkened such a doorway, they would pause their games and beckon to me. I continued, not knowing precisely what I wanted that night but knowing that when I found it I would know.

I arrived at a room, peering inside. Like the others, it was lit with a fragrant brazier filling the air with the lovely spiced scent. Mirrors directed the light to the center of the room so that all around was deep and sticky shadows. In this circle of light two remarkable women performed.

Both Kharsoomian, they each wore only a golden slave collar and golden bands about their ankles. They were both short, both more than a full head shorter than I, their breasts small. One was a little taller, a little more slender, and her skin a bit more scarlet. The other had broader shoulders and thicker hips and thighs, her skin a darker crimson. Both of them were balls of muscle, every movement of their bodies showing some of the most impressive physiques I had ever seen. They were lean and powerful, every part of them picked out in exquisite detail. On a hairless Kharsoomian physique, such a sight was ecstasy to behold.

Their faces were bright and beautiful. Their bodies glistened with oil that smelled of spicy flowers. Their blue-black hair was short, slicked to their heads with more oil.

I watched, mesmerized, as they linked hands, and the thinner of the two leveraged herself up with little more than incredible muscle power. She straightened her body, balancing upside-down on the raised palm of the other one. They quivered only slightly, their thews coiling beneath their shining red flesh. I felt myself stirring, as these two alluring, powerful nymphs called to me with the power, grace, and beauty of their bodies.

I made my decision, stepping inside, and on impulse I closed the curtain. The thinner one hopped from her perch to stand next to her partner. They stepped just beyond the ring of light to join me in shadow.

"Do you know what the closed curtain means?" asked the thinner.

"It means I've chosen you."

"We are yours to do with as you please," said the shorter.

"What are the rules?" I asked.

"If you break them, we will tell you," said the thinner.

"If you keep breaking them, we will call the guards. But we have never needed the guards before," said the shorter.

"She killed a man with her thighs."

"I understand," I said.

"Good," said the thinner.

"What are your names?"

"I am Ra-Nom," said the shorter.

"I am Halitet," said the thinner.

"I am Ashuz. How do we begin?" I asked.

"Any way you like," said Ra-Nom.

"If you wish," said Halitet, "we will give you a show first."

"I wish it," I said.

Ra-Nom and Halitet took my hands, one on either side. The heat of their bodies enfolded me. In the shadow, the light caught them in gleaming smears. They led me to the darkest part of the room, where I found a couch covered in furs. I sat, and the two of them kissed my cheeks. Their breath was as perfumed as the air, as though the smoke had made a home inside them and now seeped from their pores.

"Do you want wine, Ashuz?" asked Ra-Nom.

"No."

"Water then?" asked Halitet.

I nodded, and Halitet selected a jug from the table and poured it into a goblet.

"Enjoy yourself," Ra-Nom said, "and if you find can wait no longer, call to us."

The two of them held hands, turning about and walking back to the circle of light, swinging their hips. Watching the dimples in their muscular buttocks, I knew then that I would take one Arthan style. The image of their magnificent bodies writhing beneath me was almost too much to bear, and I nearly called to them. I settled back, reminding myself that I would make this a long night to remember.

I produced my sweetwater goblet, pouring the water from their cup to mine. The enchanted liquid instantly put strength into my limbs and banished thirst. I reclined on the couch among the perfumed furs, while the two of them began their show.

They began simply, but even these simple actions showed them to be remarkable pieces of living art. Posing, they displayed their sculpted bodies, firelight dancing over their oiled flesh. Then, Halitet turned over, getting onto her hands, walking easily, then rolling back to her feet in a single fluid motion.

Ra-Nom followed with a cartwheel, a roll, back to a cartwheel. Halitet responded with tumbling of her own. Each successive demonstration showed more of their stunning grace and power. They made every movement look easy, even as their muscles bunched and coiled. These were bodies turned into machines of beauty.

My gaze crawled over them, from their tiny breasts and hard nipples, to the cross-hatching of muscles across their abdomens down to the slits between their legs. I did not know if they shined with oil or their own juices, but they called to me.

I removed my boots, setting them aside. After a moment, I doffed my loincloth and sheath as well, placing them with Ur-Anu and returning to the furs to recline as a Kharsoomian. Though I was turgid, ready for one of these nymphs, I did not touch myself. I let the erotic glory of their performance wash over me. The light of the fires, the soft, fragrant smoke, the tiny grunts the two of them uttered as they executed a particularly difficult move all combined to intoxicate me like the strongest wine. My want grew to need. I had seen them, heard them, smelled them. I had to touch and taste.

Halitet launched Ra-Nom into the air, where she snatched at a ring of silks hanging around the lighted circle. As she caught it, the silk unraveled, revealing now a single drape, as wide as one of their arms, hanging almost to the floor.

As it fell, Ra-Nom turned over, clinging to the silk with her legs as it wrapped fetchingly about her. She swung to her partner, catching her by the wrists and launching her. Halitet too grabbed a swatch of silk, and now two of these narrow curtains hung from opposite sides of the circle. One more complex move later and two more fell, forming corners for the circle of light.

The two nude acrobats then moved from these with the same astonishing grace and power, sometimes using one another, sometimes leaping, sometimes swinging. The silk clung to them like a lover, and there were times it seemed just as alive as they were. As they moved, the silks hid pieces of them, maddening me, for I wanted to see all of them, every last bit, constantly. They were far too perfect to be hidden, these delicious aerialists.

When I was maddened, and I could bear no more, Halitet, hanging upside down said, "Come to us, brave boldisar."

Ra-Nom hung right side up, her legs spread. "We will show you delights undreamt of."

I approached, straining and turgid, my mind no longer my own, my senses beguiled by their fetching beauty. I walked into the midst of the circle of light, the motion of the two nymphs and the swaying silks washing the sweet-smelling smoke into me. I felt as though I was stepping into a dream, the red limbs of the two acrobats twining through the silks. They spun, closer, and I caught their scent, the musk of sex, the spice of oil. Need sunk its claws into me. I had to have them, had to feel the power of their bodies from inside.

I reached out for Ra-Nom, and Halitet was on me, her legs wrapping about my trunk, her lips brushing over my cheek. I turned, ready to impale her upon my length. She leaned back, letting me go as she sprang away on her palms. I caught a flash of her drooling slit. I nearly pursued, but Ra-Nom was on my back. I felt her heat at the small of my back, her hard nipples brushing between my shoulderblades.

"You want her?"

"Yes."

"Lay down and you shall have us both," said Halitet, lifting herself into the silks.

I growled, turning, but Ra-Nom leapt from me, into the silks. I was torn between the two of them, knowing that a lunge for one would be answered by the other. Halitet's command echoed in my mind. I wanted them because I had never experienced their like. The order would be for this, an exquisite pleasure I could not deny.

I relented, laying down in the middle of the light. I was treated to a new perspective of their aerial dance. They writhed above me, and occasionally a musky droplet fell to kiss my flesh. I did not know if it was sweat, nectar, or oil, and in truth it was likely all three of them, merged into a delicious ambrosia. When next it fell, I caught it on my tongue, and shuddered, a bolt of pure pleasure shooting through my body.

The dance reached a delirious height as the two of them spun together. Their powerful legs linked above me. I was in awe of the skill, and the raw power of their muscles to manage this maneuver. Their thighs pulled them together, and somehow they were performing the blessed crossroads in midair, their hips rolling as their orchids were made to kiss one another. They descended, whirling over me in a tightening spiral. My staff strained for them, but they were united, I could not find where I would enter. Drops of that liquid, the oily ambrosia fell on me like rain. Then, as I felt the fragrant wash of the wind over me, they parted just enough, and I was between them.

I felt their slick lips on either side, and as soon as I was trapped between them, they began to grind. They moved up and down me, coating me in their nectar, igniting my pleasure with their expert movements. Now that they were directly atop, I had a view of these two perfect nymphs, their muscled bodies writhing against each other. I could not have imagined a more alluring sight.

They splayed out to either side, their backs straight, and I rose between them where they united. We were a flower of flesh, the three of us, joined in an ecstatic union.

They orbited once, then twice. When Ra-Nom's back rested on my chest, she leaned back, her mouth reaching for mine. I kissed her, her tongue insistent, aggressive. Her taste was spicy, like the smoke that permeated every corner of the room. She broke the kiss and looked into my eyes. "I love boldisars," she purred.

She continued to writhe against me and her partner. I held her about the waist, deliriously caressing the muscles as they coiled and uncoiled beneath her oiled skin. Then I felt wetness enfold my head, hot saliva running down over me. I looked to find Halitet, her small mouth straining to fit me. She gave a soft hum, the sound dancing through me. They had changed positions, and I was too besotted to even notice over the insistent burn of pleasure through my body.

With me still in her mouth, Halitet pushed her legs to the ceiling. Ra-Nom smoothly rolled off me, the oil on her flesh making my grip impossible to maintain. Then Halitet bent double. Her feet hit the floor about my shoulders, while my staff was still in her mouth. She gave me a lick, and continued to turn. For a delirious moment, she crouched over my face. I licked her orchid, finding the purplish innerfolds, tasting her nectar like spiced honey.

She sighed happily. "He is eager," she purred, but then she was off me. I almost went after her, but looked up to find Ra-Nom above me, holding the silks as she descended. She spread her legs, holding them perpendicular to her torso, every muscle in them shining over her glistening skin. She descended, her orchid's petals open and begging to be impaled.

She touched my head, her quivering lips drooling moisture over me. She was impossibly hot, her body the feel of melting wax. "Oh!" she said, her brow furrowing and her face contorting as my swollen head entered her. I believe t was the first time she made a sound that was not intentional.

"Does he feel good?" asked Halitet.

"Wonderful," sighed Ra-Nom.

"He won't fit in you."

"Yes, he will. I'll see to it."

Ra-Nom sank down on me, taking me half into her body. Outwardly she was still, but I felt her moving against me, her incredible muscles running over my length, taking me with the skill other women needed hands or mouths for. I had the perfect view of her sex, split asunder by mine, her nectar mingling with the slobber that Halitet had left behind.

The other nymph had not been forgotten. Ra-Nom pulled herself up off of me, and now Halitet descended. She faced away, in an identical split. My view was of her buttocks, two perfect hemispheres of powerful muscle shining with oil. I felt her enfold me. Her sex was as hot, but where Ra-Nom caught me with power, Halitet had more grace, more subtlety.

She gave a happy squeal as she took me.

"You like him?" asked Ra-Nom.

"He is lovely."

Then Halitet pulled herself away, and Ra-Nom was descending. I braced myself for another dip in her delectable sex, but at the last minute she slipped about, her legs tangled in the silk, her head down. She opened her mouth and took me.

My eyes widened as she greedily took me in. It was all a single motion, there was no hesitation. Not when I kissed the back of her throat, nor when I pushed into it. I was able to see her neck widen as I sank into the sultry confines of her throat. She swallowed, but it was as she had done with her sex, another way to caress me inside her.

I was amazed as she took me to the hilt, her nose momentarily nestled in the dark fleece covering my coin purse. Then, with aching slowness, she pulled herself off of me. As she gave me up, she kept swallowing, her saliva running down over me.

Halitet was next. She swallowed me with the same facility of her partner. Halitet's mouth, smaller than Ra-Nom's, strained to take me, but gamely she made it to my base as well, Her neck, more slender than her partner's, spread. The sight inflamed me, almost as much as the exquisite skill with which she performed the kiss. Then she too ascended.

They continued this wonderful torture, dancing over, descending in turns, taking me in one orifice or another. Halitet had been right. She made it to the base of me, her eyes rolling back as I pushed deep into her, but Ra-Nom stopped with an inch to spare. She grunted cutely, pressing down, and I felt the far wall of her insides.

"He's mine," Halitet said.

"He could be ours," Ra-Nom teased.

Then the two turned over at the same time. They came to me from either side in unison, hanging upside down. Halitet's lips closed about the side of me, her tongue frolicking over my staff as she had frolicked among the silks. Ra-Nom joined her. I was too thick for them to get their mouths all the way around me, but they never stopped trying. They continued to hum as they worked on me, their tongues washing over me and occasionally caressing the other.

They started at the base, going up an inch, then back down, then a little farther and farther still. I watched in mesmerized need as they slowly climbed my staff with their greedy mouths. I knew they were tasting not only me, but their spit, their juices, the oil that had come onto me, the sweat that covered us all, and even the residue of that smoke that clung to us like sultry lover.

Their teasing built in me like liquid fire, climbing and climbing. I found myself thrusting, but there was nothing to rock my hips into. There was only their mouths, smearing bliss all over my spear. Then finally, they found the collar of my staff, teasing around the head. I hissed in sudden pleasure. I felt it, building in my loins, ready to explode in a fountain with nothing to contain me. I wondered if that was their goal, if they could be so cruel.

At the moment I thought I could bear it no longer, Ra-Nom made it to the apex of me, sucking me into her mouth, her tongue lashing pathways carved by she and her partner. She took me into her throat, swallowing forcefully, then releasing me. Then Halitet was right on her heels. There was no pause between the two of them. As soon as one released, the other took me in. I was always buried in one. I leaned back, fighting the pleasure as it threatened to crash out of me.

"He is close," said Ra-Nom as Halitet sucked.

"I think he needs to spill," Halitet said as Ra-Nom licked.

I opened my eyes to see Ra-Nom has taken me, while Halitet climbed up into the silks. Then Ra-Nom released, and Halitet tumbled, the long silken scarf unraveling. In a moment of panic I thought she had made an error and had truly fallen. No, it was part of their incredible skill. Halitet spread her legs at the last moment, and impaled herself upon me, sitting down on my length with her entire weight. Then her body gripped me, giving an undulating stroke from root to stem to bloom.

I cried out helplessly as I exploded deep inside her. She uttered another happy squeal, shivering as she sprang off me. At that moment, Ra-Nom's mouth closed over me so quickly that the second great spurt of my bliss coated her tongue. She released me, and then Hailtet took the next spurt, and Ra-Nom the next. Halitet took me once again and held me in her mouth as I finished, her tongue collecting the last few drops.

I shuddered through it, and I expected her to release me when my bliss subsided, but she never did. Her stroke was merely more subtle as she gently stoked me, keeping my staff fully hard. Ra-Nom moved in, running her tongue over my coin purse.

"I love their hair," she said.

Halitet made a noise of agreement that send a delightful shudder through me. My staff did not slacken, and under the attentions of the two of them began once again to grow truly stiff.

Halitet released me only for a moment. "You did not think you were finished."

"I had hoped not."

Ra-Nom smiled. "This is the Silken Labyrinth, boldisar. If you had anything less than the best fuck of your life, we will have failed."

"I've had some good fucks in my time."

"A challenge? Well then," Halitet teased.

"I have a challenge," Ra-Nom said, giving me a last lick.

"And what is that?" Halitet asked.

"I am going to fit him."

"You are not deep enough."

Ra-Nom grinned, standing up. "Watch what I do to our brave boldisar."

I grabbed Halitet and pressed her to my lips. She returned my kiss eagerly, her mouth redolent with the salt of my loins. She crawled over me, and Ra-Nom moved off. Haliet mounted me again, and I felt her as warm and tight as before. I was treated to her shapely back undulating as she worked me in and out of her sex. I held her hips, but I could not control her if I tried. She was already stoking a second explosion from me, as powerful and inexorable as the tides.

Ra-Nom returned with a fluted putcher. She leaned back, pouring more fragrant oil over her incredible body. I watched it slide down her in glistening drops, tracing the contours of her muscles. Halitet tipped her head back even as she rode me, and Ra-Nom poured more over her partner. She sighed happily, then in an incredible display of grace, tipped herself forward, putting her hands on the floor and lifting herself from my staff.

Ra-Nom was there, pouring the oil over me. The warm liquid traced new paths of pleasure with its gentle caress. She set the pitcher aside, then lifted herself into the silks. Halitet did the same, turning herself upside down. Then Ra-Nom lowered herself. I thought she was going to take me, and try once again to fit all of me in her sex, but Halitet showed the nymphs had something else on their minds when she spread her partner's muscular buttocks. The burgundy ring of Ra-Nom's rosebud winked at me, as though begging for my staff. She needed no further help, pushing me to her portal with practiced ease.

"I told you he will fit," Ra-Nom said.

"You are a lucky man, boldisar," Halitet said. "She does not give this to every visitor to the Labyrinth."

"I feel lucky," I said and moaned as Ra-Nom forcefully sat down on me. She was hot and tight, tighter even than her sex. Her rosebud was as talented as her orchid, if not more so. She swallowed my oil-soaked spear with a facility that surprised even me. I knew these were the finest strumpets in all the world, but it was one thing to know that and another to watch one acrobatically accept me in an orifice that even my most experienced lovers found challenging.

I never tired of the sight of sinking my spear between a woman's buttocks. The decadence of the act only amplified my joy, her skilled rosebud continuing to draw me inside. Halitet leaned in, her tongue dancing about both the rubbery ring and my staff.

Ra-Nom squealed. "You whore."

"You look so delicious with the boldisar stabbing you."

"Wait until I have him all."

She was as good as her word. She continued to swallow me, sinking over my staff. Her hips spiraled, her body pulling me deeper inside of her. She was as greedy as her mouth. She gave a throaty moan with each inch I buried in her, one that went higher pitched whenever Halitet teased the puckered ring. At the base of her stroke, Ra-Nom sat heavily down, annihilating the last little bit of space between us. For a blissful moment, I was sheathed in her utterly.

"You see?" she said breathlessly. "He fits."

Halitet let loose a musical giggle. "You should see the look on the boldisar's face. You are giving him something to remember."

"I have my pride," she said, her hips moving about a she clenched me in rhythm. I felt her heartbeat thundering through her and into me. For a moment, I thought I must be touching the bottom of her heart, impaled as I was in her small body. It was a foolish thought, but the rending pleasure she pulled from me in her savage strokes, all reason had fled. I could only lay flat, my hands desperately gripping her hips, pumping in counterpoint to her movements.

As her gloriously aching dance reached its crescendo, she put her entire weight on that one point, swallowing me utterly. At that moment, her incredible insides undulated, demanding my bliss. I broke with a loud cry, this time harder than the last. My whole body was nothing but ecstatic fire. My vision vanished, erased in my ecstasy. I felt as though I flooded her with endless gouts of hot seed, helplessly emptying myself. Distantly, I heard a keening wail. I believe it was hers, as the moment overwhelmed her. My mind was above, somewhere in gauzy silk, every corner of my being buzzing in heavenly pleasure. The next thing I knew for certain, the two lissome acrobats were cuddled beneath the crooks of my arms.

"He is returned to us," said Halitet.

Ra-Nom kissed me. "I have not been fucked like that in some time, brave boldisar."

I chuckled. "You were the artist. I was merely the instrument."

"What a lovely instrument," Halitet said, stroking me. My arousal distantly stirred.

"Must I leave?"

"This is the Silken Labyrinth, boldisar. We are yours for a full night if you like. Sleep with us on the couch over there, or find your way to another room."

"Another room might kill me."

Ra-Nom giggled. "What a death, no?"

"I would like to spend the night," I decided.

"Anything you wish," Halitet said, kissing me.

We made our way to the couch and the three of us wrapped ourselves in furs and slept. I woke up once during the night and slaked my lusts once more upon the two of them. It was not as athletic an encounter, but the two of them were sweet and more than willing. They were professionals, and they took pride in their work and that final encounter between the three of us was as soft and gentle as I needed.

I awoke in the morning, though in the Labyrinth it was difficult to tell. The brazier in the room had burned down to embers, with most of the light coming from the torches in the hall. I found the two of them awake, but they had remained with me. I rose, and the two of them helped dress me, each giving my staff a final kiss.

"I don't understand why you barbarians wear these clothes," Ra-Nom said.

"I like the mystery," Halitet said.

"Go forth and remember your time in the Labyrinth, boldisar."

"I go happy," I said. "And perhaps I will return someday."

"You know where we perform. Or perhaps you will seek out another room?" Halitet said.

I did not delude myself into thinking the two of them nurtured love for me, but I suspected they enjoyed their night. Not as much as I, but then, I didn't think I could enjoy something so much.

I made my way from the Labyrinth, joining the rest of Lord Eakassir's entourage in the courtyard in front of the keep. Everyone looked tired but happy. A young Kharsoomian woman in a gold slave collar stood by Eakassir.

"Ashuz!" exclaimed the lord. "Did you enjoy yourself?"

"I did. You have my thanks."

"Nothing to thank me for. You did that on the field of battle."

"I see you purchased your bedslave."

"Fetching creature isn't she? Expensive, but I feel she will be more than worth it."

The caravan joined us at the gate. Ksenaëe, my qobad, gave me an annoyed squawk when we reunited, and I soothed her with petting at the base of her neck, where bare skin met feathers. She calmed and when I mounted her, she had no objections. The caravan rode for the city's exit, all of us luxuriating in our memories of that wonderful night.

I thought of my future. As lords went, Eakassir would be a fine employer. I had no doubt he would offer me a place in his household. The pull of the horizon was strong. Kushan-Hegal's words echoed in my ears. There was, perhaps a road that eventually led home. It was not merely a question of making the journey, but of being worthy of making it.

When we came to the city's main gates, they were shut. Before we could speak, a group emerged from the small keep by the gate. A single noble, soft, gray-haired, and dripping with jewelry walked in the middle of an impressive complement of armed guards.

"Lord Eakassir," called the noble.

Eakassir emerged from his carriage and bowed deeply. "Your Highness," said the lord. The noble facing us could only be Prince Gehmahl, the ruler of this city.

"You have among you a slave. A man known as Ashuz the Farmer. Is this not so?"

"It is so," said Eakassir.

"He has a substantial bounty placed upon his head from Clan Sesamhat. Clan El is offering twice that."

"What are you asking of me, Your Highness?"

"Give him to me and you may pass unharmed."

"Forgive me, Your Majesty, I cannot do that."

"Clans Keldet and Nakmaal have long been allies. You would not see us reduced to war over a simple slave," Prince Gehmahl said, his voice lowering dangerously.

"Your Majesty, my refusal comes from my respect for your honor. You see, Ashuz the Farmer is not merely a slave, but a boldisar. A boldisar who risked himself to save my life. We came to your beautiful city to reward him as only this place can."

Gehmahl's thick lips pressed into an annoyed line. "I see. And you made such pledges to him?"

"The honor of Clan Keldet demanded it."

Gehmahl turned to his men. "Clan Nakmaal can do no less. Open the gates! Allow Ashuz the Farmer to go into the wastes. Give him until midday, and after that, honor is satisfied and he may be pursued."

Eakassir bowed deeply. "His Highness's honor is only matched by his wisdom."

"I suppose it is. I will be calling upon you soon, Eakassir. Perhaps this would be a good time to reaffirm the bonds of friendship between our clans."

"A most excellent idea, Your Highness. We will speak upon it as soon as you desire." Eakassir gave another bow. Prince Gehmahl watched us, annoyed, no doubt thinking of the bounty on my head. Eakassir came to me. "And so our association must end. Thank you, Ashuz. You have been a good friend to me."

"And you me, my lord. May your journey home be safe one."

I dug my heels into Ksenaëe's flanks and the bird burst into a run, speeding down the bluffs and out into the wastes. By midday, Baiydira was a speck on the horizon.

I knew now what I needed. I sought the anchor for that hope, the thread that would allow me to grasp what the clockwork sage had told me. Though I would find it soon, I could not have imagined the form she would take.