The Egg of Immorality Ch. 07

Time to seduce -- oops, I mean meet -- the Archon.

To start at the beginning of The Egg of Immorality, find chapter 1 here. To start the Thirst for Power series fresh, please look for Enchanted. Thank you for reading and please look up my profile page if you have any questions, concerns, or wish to reach out to me.

"Can you dry us off?" Helleen asked as the last of them stepped over the edge of the bath onto the stone floor of the bathhouse.

John tilted his head and then said, "I'd rather not."

"Master likes having us wet for him," Arika teased.

John snorted a laugh before explaining, "No, I don't want to give away too much of what I can do. Well, okay, you're not wrong, Arika, but I consider that more of a side effect or a fringe benefit."

Arika beamed.

"Sounds like something Artesia would suggest," Roxanne said. "A good tactic."

"Gather your things and let's check out this warming hut Danae mentioned," John instructed.

They picked up their clothes and followed John. Danae greeted them just outside of the bath house, having seen them moving over the half wall. Artesia and Sadie stood nearby and both remained focused on looking anywhere but at their nude companions.

Danae's eyes dropped to John's swollen manhood. She hesitated, her lips parted but no words coming out. She licked them and then shook her head a little to pull herself out of her fugue. "Come, the Archon will see you but first you should make yourselves presentable."

"The drying house?" John asked while pretending she wasn't stealing glances at his cock.

"This way," Danae agreed and motioned for them to follow her. She glanced back once but her eyes went straight to John's crotch as she did so.

The drying house was as close as promised but it did require they walk part way around the bath house. They heard the conversation and laughter of other people bathing but they were far enough away to only catch glimpses of a few heads over the half wall as they passed.

The drying house was made of stone and had a flat stone roof, like all of the public buildings they'd seen so far. There were stones missing in places, leaving small holes for air to slip through. As they passed closer they could feel the warm air blowing out of the holes.

John studied the vents and then turned to ask Danae a question. She was openly staring at his cock. "This is amazing," John said.

"Yes, it is," she said and then jerked her eyes up to his.

"How do you make the wind, is it magical?"

"What? Oh, no, we have some architects that have a greater understanding of buildings and air flow than I ever could. In a way, I suppose it is magical, but they insist it's natural."

John nodded. "Well, I look forward to seeing it!"

Danae opened the door. A blast of warm air ruffled her hair and dress. She smiled and gestured. "Please, help yourselves to anything you need inside."

"Thank you," John said and stepped through the door first. Artesia stuck her head in, looked around, and then backed out. "I'll wait out here again."

"As will I," Sadie said without looking first.

Arika, Helleen, and Roxanne stepped in and cooed at the added warmth and the gentle air current in the room. John was already studying a hole in the floor in the middle of the room that was covered by a metal grate. Warm air blew through it and went up to a fan that hung suspended from the ceiling, turning the blades and spreading the warmth throughout the room.

"This is wonderful!" Helleen said while studying a shelf full of combs, brushes, and corked vials full of liquids.

Roxanne and Helleen quickly set to work drying their wet hair over the grate and running combs through it to pull out any snarls. Arika found a spot nearby where the warm air tickled her skin and she spread her legs and arms to let it dry the water from her skin. She rolled her head back and forth and used a trick of her magical nature to absorb her hair back into her head. Her skin took on a leathery look for a moment, but her hair returned in a heartbeat and grew back out to its full lustrous length.

John barely paid attention to them. He was studying the grate, fan, and the strategically placed holes in the walls. They were all higher on the walls, allowing the hottest air to escape. There were no holes at the bottom of the wall, but he'd seen vents outside at the base.

He returned his attention to the doorway. They'd stepped up to enter the drying house. The vents he'd seen outside would be in the floor. He hadn't felt heat from those either.

"I don't understand, why isn't there any smoke?" Roxanne asked after she was content her brown hair was dry.

"There's no smell at all to it," Helleen agreed and squinted to peer through the grate. "What's down there, I wonder?"

"The heat from a fire rises more than it spreads out," John said as he fit the pieces together. "They have something down there that provides warmth. Vents from the outside provide fresh air and it gets warmed down there, then that rises up to here."

"How's that even possible?" Roxanne asked.

"Master says it is so it must be," Arika stated.

John glanced at the buxom blond and offered her a faint smile. Her blind obedience didn't sit right with him but now wasn't the time to address it.

"Oh, this smells nice," Helleen said as she popped the corks on a vial and sniffed it. "This one too!"

John chuckled. "Don't overdo it," he warned them. "I don't think it would benefit us to meet their archon smelling like a brothel."

"We're not whores, My Lord," Roxanne said. "Whores won't do what I will for you."

Helleen snorted. "Maybe not, but they'd at least be able to sit on their bottom without it hurting."

Roxanne gawked at her sister.

John strapped his dagger to his thigh and pulled his robe over his head now that the warm air had dried him. He pulled his boots on and gathered his spear that he'd been using as a staff. He turned to note that the women were going to take a few minutes longer.

Helleen winked at her twin and said to Arika, "Come here, Arika, I'll show you perfumes."

Arika looked to John. "Master?"

John nodded. "Go ahead. I'll be outside. Don't take long."

John opened the door and stepped through to find Danae, Artesia, and Sadie were where he'd left them but they were talking to one another. Their conversation died as John stepped up to them.

"Please, don't let me interrupt," he said.

Danae looked disappointed to see John had dressed. Sadie seemed relieved.

"Just idle talk, Lord John," Artesia said. "We learned that the Archon found this island and created Mygela from a simple hut she made. Others came, drawn here by visions and happenstance over the years until it is today what you see."

John looked around. His infernal abilities let him see in the dark as well as if it were a well lit day. "This must have taken many years, it's quite an accomplishment," John said. "Especially in a region considered wild and untamed. We've not seen any civilization for some time now, but we came overland from the south east."

"You braved the wilds?" Danae asked. "You truly are a skilled and dangerous band!"

"My companions are the best of the best," John said.

"Skills and talent such as these would be very welcome here," Danae said and then pressed her lips together and blushed. "I'm sorry, I say too much. I think people such as you would be welcomed here, but it is for the Archon to say."

The door opened to the warming house. Arika and the twins emerged, their hair dry and combed and their bodies dressed. John and Danae both did a double take when he noticed that Roxanne and Helleen wore their gladiatorial armor.

Calling it armor was a joke though. Roxanne wore sandals with vertical straps that ran up her legs and beneath her short skirt made of overlapping metal scales. The straps of the sandals were joined every few inches by horizontal straps, keeping them in place but serving little actual protection. Roxanne's outfit showed off her tall, lean, and muscled body. She wore no top, using her bare chest to distract her enemies in combat.

Helleen's sandals only rose to her ankles, but chain mail adorned the straps to offer some protection for her feet. Her legs were bare up to her skirt, which was made of chain mail adorned thick leather strips that fell to her mid thigh. Leather gloves with steel rings pierced through them rose to her elbows. Unlike her sister, Helleen wore a strapless bodice made of the same chainmail-sewn leather.

Danae beheld the twins in wonder. "I don't understand... is this ceremonial dress or are you prepared for battle?"

"When my sister and I met Lord John we were gladiators. This is what we wore into battle," Helleen said.

"Gladiators, Wonderful!" Danae cried.

"Wonderful?" John asked.

Danae nodded. "We are blessed by your visit... I will say no more as it is not my place to say. Come, let us meet the Archon!"

"Yes, I suppose that would be wise," John agreed. He adjusted his spear and said, "Lead the way, please."

Danae looked them over a final time before taking them back around the bath house and then to the front of the town hall. She walked up the steps and led them inside and to a long room with benches set up in it for seating. At the end on a small dais was a rectangular table made of a stone slab. Three chairs on the far side of it were currently taken by three women. Bronetta sat in the chair on John's left and a red-haired woman sat on the right. In the middle sat a blond woman that John recognized as the same woman that had served as Bronetta's chair when they'd been in the baths.

Danae stopped before the bottom step of the dais and stomped her foot to the ground. "Archon, I bring you visitors from the south east. Lord John and his retinue."

The Archon looked John and the women over. "Welcome to Mygela, Lord John. To my right is Bronetta, whom you met earlier. On my left is Sildae, Oracle of Mygela. I must say, we don't get many visitors. Why is it you've come?"

John bowed to the Archon, uncertain of what the proper custom was. He used the chance to cast his eyes about and make sure that Zynga was still absent. How he would explain her he wasn't sure. For that matter, he wondered why Danae hadn't brought her up either.

He'd run out of time to stall though, so he lifted his head and said, "First let me introduce my companions. Artesia is my woman-at-arms and master of defense. Helleen and Roxanne are warriors and gladiators, Arika is a huntress we met east of here, and Sadie is a priestess of Eile."

The Archon looked the woman over and let her eyes linger on all of them except for Sadie. John noticed Sildae, the Oracle, seemed fascinated by Arika.

"We stumbled across your island by chance," John said.

"I'd heard these lands were wild and untamed. Unknown to any civilized peoples, that is. I am delighted to have those rumors proven wrong."

"The blessing at work," Sildae said.

John hesitated at the odd phrase. "Yes, we are blessed to find such a warm and inviting place. Truly, your bath house and warming hut were marvels of engineering. I would love to learn more about them and what other natural wonders you've mastered."

"Mygela is a small community," the Archon said. "Small by intent. We have what we need and do not seek out the influence of the rest of the world. In truth, it is the very civilization you speak of that drove us to this remote haven."

John nodded. "It is a haven. The surrounding lands feel cooler, especially as the fall sets upon us, yet this island is warm. Is this some other feat of architecture and engineering?"

The Archon smiled. "A natural wonder, I'm afraid. I was blessed to find this lake long ago. It is warm year round and heats up the island. We see snow in the winter, but only as it blows through the air and melts upon landing. Travel half an hour from this lake and winter will set full upon you."

"That is most amazing," John said. "I'm a bit of a scholar, among my many interests. I would love to study this land... with your leave."

The Archon was silent for a heavy moment before she spoke. "You and your companions intrigue me, I will admit. I suspect we could learn many things from one another, but I must protect my people first. Their safety weighs heavy upon me. You will be treated as honored guests while I consider my decision."

"I can most certainly respect that, Archon," John said. "We would be honored to be your guests."

Sadie took a half step forward to gain everyone's attention. "Honored guests, Archon?" she asked. "Pardon the crude nature of my question, but what does that mean? I ask so that none of us offers any offense by accident."

The Archon studied her closely. "Your wisdom is noted, priestess of Eile. I regret that we have no proper shrine to the saints here. Perhaps your presence will help us rectify that oversight?"

Sadie smiled. "That would be wonderful."

"I don't mean to deflect your question though," the ruler of Mygela brought herself back. "To be my honored guest means we will provide room and board. We have no inns or spare houses, so you will be guests among us. As for what you may and may not do, you shall always be accompanied by a citizen of Mygela. Some areas will be off limits, but because having visitors is such a rare occasion, I will schedule a celebration so that we can all come together and enjoy. There will be wine and food, feats of strength and skill, song and dance, and theater of both tragedy and comedy."

"That sounds lovely," John said. "But what of my interests? Will you permit me to study the architecture and wonders of this island?"

"We will not," the Archon decreed. "That is until such a time as I decide you might be granted the status of a citizen of Mygela and not a visitor."

John bowed his head. "Disappointing, to be sure, but I understand and respect your position, Archon."

The Archon smiled. "Excellent. Now then, let us see about finding proper housing for you all."

"I will take her," Sildae said while staring at Arika. "Arika, is it?"

Arika turned to John, her eyes wide with uncertainty.

John smiled at her. "Go with her, Arika. Learn from your hostess what is expected of you-- of all of us-- and respect her wishes."

Arika bowed her head and whispered, "Yes, Master."

"Bronetta?" the Archon asked.

"I'm at a cross roads, Archon," Bronetta admitted. "Either of the gladiator sisters would be welcome, but so would Artesia."

"I think it fitting you host Artesia. Kindred spirits such as yours would no doubt give you common ground," the Archon said.

Bronetta nodded. "I will have her, then."

"Lord John, you will be my responsibility," the Archon said. "As for the others... Etta?"

Bronetta nodded and rose from her chair. "I will find them suitable lodging, Archon."

Sildae and the Archon rose as well, signaling the end of the meeting. John blinked at the abruptness and then smiled. Quick affairs of state were a rarity, after all. And he'd managed to land some time alone with arguably the most attractive and powerful woman in the community. It was almost too easy. His Mistress would be pleased.

"Arika," Sildae beckoned the young woman. "Let me show you my home."

Arika glanced at John again and then adopted a warm smile and all but glided across the room to join Sildae and walk at her side out of the room.

"Ladies," Bronetta said. "Please, let's find you suitable places to stay. Artesia, please join us and we'll retire to my home after your companions are taken care of."

"My Lord?" Artesia asked.

"It's all right," John reassured her. "We'll see each other again soon."

Artesia's nose twitched as she took in a deep breath and let it out. She nodded to him and then turned and went with the twins to join Bronetta.

The Archon walked around the table and joined John. Her dress differed from the other two woman in that it had gold trim on it. It still left her large left breast bare though, and John struggled to keep from ogling her. Only the knowledge that he could have her soon with a twist of his magic made it easy for him to look her in the eye and return her smile with one of his own.

"Now that the affairs of state are over, you may call me Calista, Lord John," she said.

"Seems silly to have you using a title for me then, John is fine," he replied.

Her smile widened. "Good. Very good. Please, John, if you'll accompany me? It's been quite some time since I've had a man in my house."

"A beautiful woman such as yourself?"

"You flatter me," she said and a rosy tint to her cheeks proved her words true. "It's a lot of work, caring for my people."

"That I can understand and appreciate," John said.

"Sounds like there might be some stories you can tell?"

"Only if you'll tell me some of yours too," John flirted back with her as she led him out of the town hall and off to her home.