Emperor Marinianus' Grand Orgy

Decius IV

She was a beautiful woman. Her height was average, but nothing else about her was. Her golden hair hung to her naked waist, her perfectly shaped breasts hung full and round on her white chest, crowned by soft, pearly pink nipples that stood up in the cool air of the midsummer evening. Every inch of her was perfection, reflected Lucilla Arcarius.

Lucilla regarded her slave girl with a critical eye. Her servants had bought the girl Aria in the slave market a week prior, and even as she looked down her long, patrician nose at them, she had to concede that they had done well. Teaching the girl to play her part had taken time, as she barely spoke even Auric Vulgar, but at last Lucilla was convinced the girl was ready, and not a day too soon. Lucilla paced an impatient circle around Aria in her salon, tapping one elegant finger against her crystal goblet as she swirled the dark red wine within. The slave waited patiently, her beautiful blue eyes fixed submissively upon the room's plush carpet. Lucilla stopped, and took a long sip, staring over the slave girl's shoulder.

"I suppose she will have to do," she said at last, and the girl blushed. On the couch beside Lucilla, her co-conspirator nodded with glee.

"At last," said Lucius Verus. He stood up from the low couch and smoothed out his silks. "I feared you would never find one to your liking."

"Hmph," Lucilla replied. "And I feared you would never find one that was not to yours."

"I still haven't," Verus's eyes wandered from the slave girl to his host, and Lucilla's eyebrows arched in contemptuous curiosity. His lusts were notorious far and wide, but Lucilla was twice his age and, even with the preserving effects of the spice she consumed daily, her body was that of a woman of sixty. For her fellow patrician to be ogling her when in the presence of a divinely beautiful, naked slave girl spoke volumes of him.

"Keep your eyes to yourself if you wish to keep them," she commanded acidly. She sipped imperiously from her wine goblet and Verus bowed low in mocking deference. The attention was flattering, she could not stop from admitting to herself. But she had other matters on her mind. "The plan," she declared, as much to Verus as to herself.

"Yes," he agreed somewhat reluctantly. "And my debt?"

"Will be forgiven," she waved her hand dismissively. "If you uphold your end of the bargain. Which means you must avoid becoming besotted, except where it befits the plan."

"Of course," Verus agreed again with a bow, more sincere this time. "And your man is in place?"

"He is," Lucilla said confidently, though in truth she had heard nothing from her thief since he had left the villa the prior night. The thought did not please her, for she had spent as many favors as denarii to free him from the dungeon where he awaited transport to the secret prison of the Arcani from which no one ever returned. If the common rogue simply took off in the night...

No, she decided. This would work. The auguries had been good, and her plan would succeed.

"Are you prepared?" she asked Verus, and he nodded. "Good, I'll have the carriage brought round. Remember, bring the stone to me by morning, and the debt is forgiven."

"And the girl?" Verus asked. Beneath his silken robe, Lucilla could see his cock was already hard.

"Keep her," Lucilla decided. "Bring me the stone, and she is yours."

He smiled broadly.

Smile all you like, fool, thought Lucilla. The stone is worth a hundred sluts like this one, and once I have it, the empire will be mine.

---

Wheels clattered on the cobblestone as the carriage entered the wide courtyard before the south wing of the Imperial Palace. The grandest of three imperial residences around the city, the Imperial Palace was a massive, rambling structure that covered fifteen acres with its roof and more than two hundred with its gardens. The halls teemed with every lavish opulence that could be extracted from the emperor's domains and beyond; silks and porcelain from Leiyan, Savonian amber, cotton from Laraebos, marble hewn from the cliffs of Pelargiras—the emperor's palace was the most magnificent structure anywhere in the world.

The wide courtyard was packed with carriages already, their wooden frames lacquered and their seats upholstered in richly dyed velvet. Coachmen waited beside their charges, dicing against one another as their employers reveled inside.

It was the event of the social season, a grand orgy with more than a thousand guests, pleasure slaves brought from all over the empire, the best musicians and dancers that money could buy, and food that was to die for.

Decius Capricius Sallax was arriving fashionably late. It was not by design, but the sorcerer had been caught up in the street traffic of the Midsummer Festival and forced to take the long way around. The crowds had grown thicker around the palace, and by the time he arrived, the courtyard was so crowded he was forced to dismount the carriage on the far side from the entryway.

His page, Aelius dismounted behind him, carrying their effects. The youth was wide-eyed and eager, making his first visit to the emperor's grandest residence and his first appearance at an orgy.

"Stay alert, boy," said Decius as he began his way toward the palace's grand portico. The sun hung low in the sky, out of sight behind the towering wings of the palace that enclosed the courtyard. The sky was burning a dull orange red, and already slaves had emerged from the palace with long poles with which to light the lanterns. "Intrigue in the Imperial City never sleeps," Decius continued as they walked briskly down the lanes between the parked carriages. "In a grand palace filled with fine wines, lavish foods, and beautiful girls, a man can lose his head if he isn't careful. And I mean lose his head in both senses of the term."

"I'll be alert, I promise, dominus," Aelius reassured him. "I won't disappoint you."

Just then, there came a sudden roar, and Aelius jumped a foot off the ground. Turning, he saw four lions pacing one cleared section of the courtyard, attended by grooms throwing out raw meat for their consumption. Behind them stood two chariots, their yokes empty.

"Were..." Aelius began with visible confusion, his heart clearly racing in his chest. "Were the lions pulling the chariots?"

Decius smiled, for he knew exactly who would have a chariot like that. The wealthy young aristocrats of the city grew wilder every year.

"Always be on alert," Decius said again, and Aelius nodded emphatically. Decius smiled to himself. The warning was prudent, for intrigue never slept anywhere in the empire, but tonight was to be about enjoying himself. And he was not here merely to fuck. All the luminaries of the empire were here tonight, and he needed to find himself a patron.

"Do you think there will be anyone here tonight interested in your research?" asked Aelius and Decius could only shrug.

"Two centuries of peace and stability have left the patricians with more money than ways to spend it, and everyone has their curiosities. It is not about finding someone interested in the same questions as myself, but finding someone who will fund my inquiries. They may want their own answers in exchange, but we need not entirely align in our goals."

"Of course, master," Aelius nodded. Decius smiled to himself. While a mere neophyte to the intricacies of politics and patronage, the youth was an eager servant. And a handsome one. Decius expected that quality to come in useful as when they reached the main hall.

They passed over the cobblestones and up white marble steps to a tall set of mahogany doors that stood open, their pale tiffany curtains drifting lazily in the summer breeze. A pair of stoic guardsmen stood to either side, rapiers at their hips and muskets shouldered as they stared straight ahead.

Decius passed between them without a word and entered the grand hall's foyer. The ceiling was high, decorated with garish frescos and a crystal chandelier. A slight haze of smoke hung beneath the brilliantly colored figures and Decius immediately recognized the scent of burnt indigo spice. The rest of the foyer was no less opulent, with a marble floor covered by thick rugs, velvet-upholstered couches, and oil paintings hanging on the walls in gold frames.

Inside the hall were a dozen acolytes of Nystra; young, attractive, and nearly nude. These were the emperor's 'polewrights,' slaves or acolytes of Nystra who made themselves available for the sole purpose of keeping the men's cocks hard that they might continue the orgy uninterrupted.

As Decius and Aelius approached, two girls stood up. The taller girl was firehaired, with big, luscious breasts, emerald eyes, and a shaven sex beneath wide hips. Her shorter companion was blonde, nearly flat-chested as a boy, and willowy thin. Her warm brown eyes smiled at Decius over ruby lips as they folded their hands over their bellies and bowed their heads in greeting.

"Good evening, master," said the redheaded girl, and Decius licked his lips at the sight of her full breasts in motion on her chest. "His Imperial Majesty bids you welcome to his midsummer orgy in worship of Her Ladyship Nystra, Queen of Song, Princess of Pleasure, Goddess of the Revel. May I have your impression?"

She extended a hand, revealing the slave brand of the Temple of Nystra on her wrist, and presented to him a small wax tablet, upon which he impressed his signet. Handing the tablet off to another of the acolytes, she smiled sweetly at him.

"Would you like refreshments? Wine, stuffed dormice, or perhaps spice? We have it raw or cut with black lotus oil. Or would you prefer coca leaves?"

"Just wine," Decius replied, removing his cloak. He handed it to the blonde girl, who folded it and awaited the rest of his clothes. He and Aelius stripped, both of them eager to get into the main hall just beyond. Their effects were handed over to the waiting acolytes who stowed them in a chest marked with the imprint of his signet. When the two of them stood nude, the redheaded acolyte turned to Decius again.

"May we assist you with your cock?" she asked sweetly. Decius looked down to see his cock already hard before him, but Aelius' was still nearly limp. He stroked his cock in his hands, considering the pretty girl before him, then shook his head.

"I am ready to begin, but my servant needs your touch."

With a pleasant smile, the slave girl got down on her knees in front of the naked youth and took his cock in her hand and mouth. Her blonde friend stood by, watching with interest, as were the other acolytes who watched from the couches and benches around the room. Decius knew from prior experience that, in the initial flood of guests to the orgy, these slaves would have been working furiously to get the men hard and the women wet. In smaller, less lavish orgies, such activities would have been left to the guests themselves, but the emperor left none wanting.

And so he stood naked and stroked his cock as he watched his young servant pleasured by the redheaded girl and soon enough her blonde companion. Both women were skilled in the arts of pleasure, as befitting an acolyte of the Goddess of Tits and Wine. Aelius was not an experienced man, though his master had seen to it that he had known at least one woman, and Decius wondered as he watched the youth's bare toes curl on the marble floor if they would make him come too soon. But the acolytes knew their craft well, for often young men came to the temple for initiation in the arts of pleasure, and this was likely not the first blushing lad they had pleasured.

Soon enough, the youth's cock was sticking out before him like a cavalryman's lance, and the acolytes pulled back to pronounce him ready.

"We are finished" said the redheaded girl with a broad smile. Breathless and red-faced, Aelius nodded. He looked to Decius with a proud, eager grin and the sorcerer nodded.

"Time to make our grand entrance," Decius said. With his servant trailing him, he headed for the set of carved elden oak doors on the opposite side of the foyer. Two acolytes took the gilded knockers in their soft hands and, with a bow, pulled the doors open. Beyond them lay the emperor's grand orgy. With a deep breath, Decius marched forward through the doors and Aelius followed close behind.

The doors opened upon a vast hall filled with endless delights. The pair of them stood atop a short flight of pink marble steps, underneath a carved archway, and looked down into the main hall, which ran eighty paces from the door to the opposite side, twenty paces wide and fifteen paces tall. Through the grand doors on either flank of the hall, Decius could see the entrances to the bathhouse to the east, and the dining hall through the doors to the south, from which the uplifting scent of cooking meats, cinnamon-glazed confectionaries, and rich wines drifted toward his nostrils. The waning sun burned a dull red through the towering windows that faced out toward the Sunset Gardens.

All down the center of the hall were bed, couches, low tables, and cushioned benches, covered the naked bodies of couples fucking. The air was thick with spice, incense, and the smell of bodies together, while from the upper galleries drifted the soothing music of an orchestra of one hundred musicians. Decius felt his cock stiffen at the sight, unaided by any of the emperor's polewrights, some of whom could be seen patrolling the aisles between the couches. A thousand candles burned in the great crystal chandeliers; a dozen of them, each larger than those in the foyer.

Over all of this presided His Imperial Majesty, Emperor Marinianus Vallia Daeia, seated on a golden throne and attended by a score of naked, bejeweled concubines. The emperor was an old man, but through the preserving power of indigo spice, an agile mind, and a deft hand, he had held his throne for nearly fifty years. Despite having lived nearly a century, he still had the look of a man merely half his age, and none of the twenty concubines at his side were merely for show.

At the sight of all of this, Decius heard Aelius suck in a breath. He half turned to smile at the naked youth. He stood agape, his face reddening as he took in the hall. The awe and excitement on his face brought Decius back to the first time he had stepped into this hallowed hall, displacing even the memory of his first time at the holy orgy held in Nystra's Grand Basilica across the Great Forum.

"Is there anywhere else you would rather be?" Decius asked and Aelius did not answer right away. He took a tentative step forward, putting one foot on the top step as if hesitant to descend.

"Can anything rival this? Can even Nystra's eternal orgy?" Aelius wondered in barely a whisper.

"Careful, boy," Decius cautioned. "The gods hear all, and they are jealous. Come, let us find you a woman."

Aelius nodded and made to descend the steps, but they both stopped as a man appeared, dressed in the emperor's livery and the tabard of the Herald's Guild. Under one arm he held a brass trumpet, and under the other a ledger.

"Your name, sirs?" he asked, speaking with the usual servile haughtiness that Decius had come to expect from the Guild's members.

"Decius Sallax Capricius, magus of the Collegium," Decius answered, "and my servant Aelius."

With practiced aloofness, the herald turned and sounded his trumpet.

"Decius Sallax Capricius, magus of the Collegium," he announced, and Decius wondered if Aelius was frowning. The boy knew a mere servant would not be announced, but he sometimes aspired to a station above that given to him by the gods. Turning to look over his shoulder, he saw that Aelius was too enraptured by the enormous orgy unfolding below them to even notice.

At the couch nearest to them, a dark-skinned girl was bouncing up and down on the cocks on two men laying with their legs entwined, penetrating her together with loud moans of pleasure. The girl's big breasts and long, dark hair swayed with each motion and Decius' cock throbbed for her.

Decius knew few of the men crowded around the couch, so moved deeper into the hall in search of men who might be interested in patronizing his projects.

He moved slowly between the clusters of beds and couches, hands stroking his cock as he considered not only the potential patrons, but also the women he might share with them. Young Aelius followed him, gawking opening at the debauchery around them. They passed a wine fountain, two bronze fish spouting red wine from one mouth and white from the other. Men and women in between partners sat on cushioned benches and filled their goblets from the fountain's flow as they made idle chatter among one another. Decius drifted between them, listening in but finding no conversation to his liking.

Past the wine fountain, he found a group of men crowded around an arrangement of stocks. It was an old tradition, where the emperor had subjected the most unruly of his household's slave girls to the stocks where they would be available for any man to use. Quickly, the emperor found his sluttiest slave girls would actively seek out the punishment and it became a place of honor for those at his feasts. On this occasion, the stocks were occupied by five eager girls who were furiously pleasuring men with holes and hands. A thick knot formed around the stocks and men waited impatiently for their turns. Moans of pleasure were muffled by cocks in mouths and drowned out by the slaps of hands on buttcheeks. The orgy was in full swing and Decius moved on.

At last he came to a place where he thought he might find satisfaction. Upon a wide bed covered in red silken sheets was Naira ar Ilanathas, ambassador of the distant elven kingdom of Tirannion. The ethereally beautiful elf lounged upon the bed, sipping wine from a crystal goblet as she entertained the attentions of a group of patricians. He knew many of the men, most of them fellow patrons of the arts like him. Decius settled himself onto the edge of the bed near Naira's bare feet.

"Decius," called one of the men, a provincial nobleman named Septimius Martellus. "So good to see you again. I did not know you had returned to the Imperial City."

"Only recently," Decius answered. "I have been away in Pelargiras for some months, and in Naros before that."

"Well, I bid you welcome back to our magnificent city. Have you met Ambassador Naira?"

"No, I have not had the pleasure," Decius replied, extending a hand. The ambassador smiled warmly at him, raising a long-fingered elven hand to grasp his. Her grip was soft and yet firm, embracing his hand in a silken grasp that warmly promised steel beneath it. "I am Decius Sallax Capricius, Your Excellency. Pleased to meet you."

Her smile broadened as Decius' eyes wandered from her sapphire eyes to her body. The elf woman was fair-skinned, tall and slender with long black hair that reached past her wasp-like waist, jet black stark against the cream-colored silk sheets beneath her. She sat up at Decius' approach, gracefully holding up her goblet to avoid spilling. The crowd of her admirers watched her every move, moving as she did, eyes enraptured.

"Ambassador Naira was telling us of ancient elven magics," Martellus continued, and the ambassador nodded slightly. Her pointed ears protruded through her raven hair, and Decius felt his pulse quicken. Elves were his favorites. His cock throbbed between his legs, and from the look of the ambassador, no man had mounted her yet this night, but the wetness in between her legs told him that she would make her selection soon.

A nearby sigh caught his ear, however, and he turned to investigate the sound. On the edge of the cluster sat a noblewoman, looking quite displeased with all of this. She was naked, her soft, ample breasts bared for a crowd of lustful admirers who had not materialized. Or, Decius thought, seeing her pouty look cast at Naira, had materialized only to be drawn away when the elf woman appeared. He knew this woman, for Clodia Minor was famous throughout the Imperial City of Auria for her lusts and many lovers. She was past thirty and while not a great beauty, she had a durable charm about her. Stout of body thanks to her family's great wealth, she was thick-thighed and big-breasted, with fair skin and long blonde hair she tied into a braid and bound with a platinum chain studded with gemstones of every color. Her pretty face was painted garishly, like those of the courtesans who prowled Victory Square, but she was too richly appointed to appear cheap. Her black-rimmed eyes gazed forlornly at the hall's marble floor, and Decius sighed to himself.