Masu was walking briskly along the dirt road, immersed in the intense green of the woods, and inhaled deeply the fresh air scented of earth, resin and leaves that at times, with slight gusts of wind, made his cloak of blue silk float.
Here and there at times rose calls of birds and animals, now close, then distant. The rays of the sun, which penetrated through the thick dome of branches and leaves, were like bright arrows that arouse plays of bright light and soft shadows.
Masu's eyes constantly probed the road and the woods, and his whole body, though pleasantly relaxed, was on the alert, as every valiant warrior must always be. Even if they were at peace with their neighbors, the colors of his clothing, which did immediately identify him as a warrior of a foreign territory, could attract malevolent eyes on him.
He didn't fear so much an encounter with another warrior; it could be solved with a simple nod, as well as with a stretch of road walked in a pleasant conversation, or as well with a challenge and the ensuing confrontation, done more to put themselves at test than a genuine fight.
For Masu, like for many warriors, this was the first time he set foot in other territories. The Lords and the Merchants were the only two classes used to traveling. Warriors, as well as Producers and Craftsmen, usually never left the boundaries of the territory in which they were born and lived. Even less so the slaves, who were more than the others linked to the place where they were born, and to their master.
Who instead traveled more than all of the others were undoubtedly the Outsiders. The Outsiders, the Lo, were respected and feared at the same time, because every one of them was more or less endowed with magical powers. The easiest to find out were doubtless the Singers, for their musical instruments and the songs with which they earned a living. Chants of ancient deeds, songs that told of the gods, or wondrous events, songs that accompanied the rituals of life or the daily activities of men, songs of love or hatred, hope or fear. The less easy to identify were the Masks; in fact they had the ability to take any aspect, to pass as a Shiti as well as a Di, and sometimes even for a Du or a De, that is, an animal or a plant. Then there were, halfway, the Magicians and the Sorcerers, male or female, the first never dangerous, the latter always to be avoided.
It was said that an Outsider, a Lo, had no country, no home, no God or law, by his or her very nature. It was also said that the Lo, according to the Theogony and Antropogony, were the product of the sole sex act committed by the Half-gods - the Prophet and Foreteller - which generated Magicians and Singers, and of the Fool and the Double - which generated Masks and Witches, before the strong hand of the God of Gods held them prisoners in the ocean's deepness - along with the two other Half-gods, the Witch and the Black.
If also the Black and the Witch had had a chance to mate, who knows what horrible and dangerous creatures would they have generated, Masu wondered, continuing his path.
He also wondered whether the ancestors of the Lords and the Warriors really were the mighty-Wizard and the beautiful-Lady, as was told by the Theogony and as the singers sang... The ancient religion, although no more followed by anyone, had left deep traces in the culture of the people who lived on the continent. Places of worship, now abandoned, were still standing in every capital of the territories. The numbers 4, 2, 1 and 1/2 still governed almost all aspects of daily life, from the values of coins to the measuring system and the calendar.
Only the Lo did not have numbers, even if people thought of Magicians as 4, of Singers as 2, Masks as 1 and Sorcerers as 1/2... In reality, Masu knew it well, it was not so. They were all zeros, which by themselves are worthless, but if they are put after a number they duplicate, multiply four times, or eight times that number, making it more powerful...
If a plant, the lowest of living beings, was really worth 1/2, and an animal was worth 1, a half-slave like the little Di Sho was worth 2 and a slave 4, then a half-merchant twice a slave, that is 8... to what value would it come, doubling at every rung of the social ladder, when it came to the God of the Gods? He wondered if anyone had ever tried to make that calculation. Two raised to the twenty-seventh power... he could never understand such a huge number!
When more than 500 years ago the Lord of Lords had disappeared, who was the necessary link between humans and gods, also the cult had disappeared... It was said that his 14 Lords, instigated by the younger son of the Lord of Lords who wanted to take its place, killed him in his sleep, when his kingly jewels did not protect him.
It was said that his companion, the Supreme Lady, had cursed them, transforming them in the 14 volcanoes that filled like pustules the Strong Hand of the God of Gods, and that for her curse the Land of the Centre was transformed into a barren and terrible wilderness.
It was said that the other seven children had become the Great Lords, the Shiti of the seven territories, after they had killed their younger brother.
It was also said that one day a new Lord of Lords would appear, a new Taota, who would restore order. One day... but when? And how would he appear? Out of nowhere? Created by the Kaoka, the God of the Gods? Or... well, Masu thought, after all this was just a legend.
The Warriors were the only ones who did not marry, but were making love with their mates. They could also do it with a woman, but the son to be born would be part of the class of which she belonged, would not be a warrior... The Warriors chose future warriors among the Half of all other social classes, except slaves, and raised them to make them Half-warriors. The better ones then became Warriors and could climb the ladder to become Great-warriors and even the Supreme-warrior.
But Masu was not particularly interested in having sex with a woman, as indeed the great majority of the other warriors, even though some of his mates rather seemed to do it quite often. Well, this was a big difference between the class of the So, the Warriors, and the other classes. In all other classes, the majority preferred to do it with the opposite sex, and just a few loved to do it with people of their same sex.
Sex... Masu thought that this was the only "magic" he had ever known and experienced in his life. He was already starting to miss Jule-Dee. Everyone said that Masu was the most beautiful of all warriors, yet it seemed to him that Jule was more beautiful than himself. Was this perhaps part of the magic of sex? Jule and he were not in love, but they were faithful lovers, or at least it had been so since they had decided to go steady.
But now all this belonged to the past... Who knows with whom Jule-Dee would link up now? Some of their comrades formed pairs, as he and Jule did, but not all. Some liked to do it freely with those who appealed to them. No one, as far as he knew, had ever been tied down in a couple with a woman, besides the fact that marriage was not expected from them, or better said, was not allowed.
Now the road went up, in large bends, along the slope of a mountain, always immersed in the forest. Masu faced the climb with firm steps. A good warrior could walk four leagues in a time at least half of what it would take any other man. He felt no fatigue at all, despite that he was walking for a long time now.
Suddenly Masu saw at the sides of the white dirt road bushes full of beautiful ripe berries. He began to pick and eat them; they were sweet, energetic, and very pleasant on the palate. There were red, orange and yellow berries, then also green, blue and purple... any type of berry had a different flavor, all really tasty. In addition to satisfying his hunger and thirst, they also seemed to give him new energy. But at the same time, they seemed to heighten the sexual urges he had just started to feel. He would have liked to have Jule there with him, to hold him in his arms, to lie down with him on the soft bed of leaves that covered the ground between the trees, to undress and be undressed by him, to join him on long jousts of love. To kiss him, hug him, caress him, taste him and be tasted by him, to take him and get taken by him.
His member throbbed with a force under his clothes.
If only he met a guy, a handsome man, he could stop and talk to him. He might have tried to do something together, perhaps seduce him... He knew he was seductive, knew "how" to be seductive; it would not be too hard to convince that man to lie with him. But he did not see a living soul for hours.
He continued to climb the increasingly steep and narrow hairpin bends, from time to time stopping to eat good handfuls of berries. He found himself on top of the hill. Now the road was going straight ahead and the forest gradually gave way to large sunny meadows.
Before him was opening a very pleasant valley, sloping gently toward the cliffs, towards a small river meandering gently, whose waters sparkled in the sun and looked like a silver ribbon studded with precious diamonds.
Masu stopped to admire the scene and took a few deep breaths. The air seemed fresh and fragrant. He felt good, full of energy, and above all quivering with subtle desires that caressed his body in a sensual way, even in the most hidden parts.
Suddenly his eye was caught by a geometric shape at his left. He looked: there was a round building of black stone, like a low tower, surrounded by a wall that formed a perfect equilateral triangle, in turn enclosed in a pentagonal wall, which had around it another wall that formed a heptagon. Around the three walls was a beautiful garden; he could make out, from above and through the clear air, every detail.
A straight road, lined by two rows of trees, passed through the sides of the three walls, ending in front of the low circular tower. Among the trees and in the garden he saw white stones, narrow and tall, erect, arranged in a geometrically accurate pattern. Everything was quite nice to see, although perhaps too perfect.
From where he was he noticed that, a little further, the road forked, one part going away from the complex, while the other went to that place. Intrigued, Masu went down to the fork and turned onto the road leading to the tower and its gardens. He walked at a fast and determined pace, with his usual athletic gait, without losing sight of his goal.
Finally he reached the place and found himself at one end of a wide avenue. There he noticed that the stones were white statues, all representing young warriors of great beauty. The base of each statue was a low perfect pentagon, and on each, in front of the feet of the warrior depicted, was a name and a place of origin. In a short while he saw that there were all the names of the seven territories.
Going towards the complex of walls and gardens, he saw that the fashion of the warriors' clothes was progressively older, and that all the details were reproduced with plenty of finely carved and most minute details, even the texture of the fabrics.
Even the hands and faces were represented with an amazing naturalism, from the veins in relief on the strong hands, to the indefinable smiles on the lips of those beautiful young men. Whoever had carved them was certainly the best artist that those lands had known!
Masu finally came in front of the black heptagonal wall. There was a wide open gate, and inside he saw a large beautiful garden, with other statues arranged in perfect order along the paths. But here, instead of being flanked by trees like along the wide avenue, each had behind it a wisteria tree in bloom, whose clusters seemed to sensually touch the statues, giving shade to each of them.
He was about to cross the open gate, when a deer appeared from the outside, stopping in front of Masu and trying to push him back with the side of its powerful body.
"Hey, animal, let me go, get out of my way!" the young warrior said with a happy voice.
The large animal turned its head toward him, looked at him with its big round eyes, and seemed almost to beg him. Masu laughed. The deer shook several times its head, adorned with beautiful antlers, then lowered it and quietly went away, leaving him free passage.
Masu entered, looking around with a deep sense of wonder; he had never seen a garden so beautiful and nice, although he didn't see any slaves who certainly had to take care of it.
He crossed the garden almost slowly, until he found himself in front of the pentagonal wall, where another gate was open. Beyond this was a second large garden, stretching to the right and left of the road, with other branched pathways. Also here there were statues of warriors, dressed in an old fashion, wearing only a skirt, with bare legs and chest.
Masu again admired the incredible beauty of the statues, and the skill with which all the anatomical details were represented, from the navel to the nipples, and even the light down around them. He touched them with his fingertips; it was pure white marble, carved with such skill as to seem soft wax or precious ivory, but it was certainly marble. And each block of marble was perfect, without any grain or imperfections.
Here, each statue was surrounded on three sides by a low fence studded with tiny red flowers that looked like fresh drops of blood. All the warriors were represented with an indefinable smile on their faces, showing a subtle sense of pleasure, as if they were lost in some kind of pleasant thoughts or feelings. Masu shivered; he almost felt the desire to hug, to kiss... to make love to them. A subtle feeling of sensuality emanated from each of them.
The eyes were carved with such incredible skill that, although in white marble as the rest, one seemed to see the irises and pupils, finely carved to suggest shadows, sometimes soft and sometimes sharp, that seemed to give them color and life.
Masu was about to cross the second gate when a flock of birds with long blue feathers descended to twirl in front of the gate, as if to prevent him from entering.
"Shoo, shoo!" Masu cried, making sweeping gestures with his hands to drive them out, and decidedly stepping on, crossing the second gate.
The birds flew away uttering shrill cries and strong whistles.
Past the third gate, he found himself in the central garden with at its core a round black building. It was a perfect cylinder, suggesting a massive tower, interrupted at regular intervals by narrow, high openings, adorned with a lace of finely perforated black stone in a geometric pattern of small intersecting pentagons and triangles, so as to form a web of stars.
Here the warriors were shown completely naked, and only the sword in the shoulder strap showed their class. Masu admired their members, also finely carved with all pubic hair, in a semi-erect state, with the beautiful bags of the testicles below, also represented with an impressive realism.
It is said that the warriors of ancient times, when the Lord of Lords still lived, never wore clothes, so these had to be the oldest statues, although the time did not seem to have affected them the least. The marble was spotless - when Masu went over them with his fingertips, not a speck of dust was left on his fingers.
Here, each statue was surrounded by five low bushes clipped in the shape of a ball, with white flowers, each with five petals furrowed by long thin black and smooth veins, gleaming like burnished and polished steel.
He was watching them, absorbed and enchanted, when the door of the low tower opened with a slight but well noticeable hiss.
Masu turned to look; in the doorway was a woman of incredible beauty, clad in transparent blacks veils that showed her perfect shapes. She was languidly leaning on one foot behind the other, just as if she had stopped half-step. The woman looked at him with a sweet and inviting smile.
"Welcome, warrior... Welcome to my home. Come in, you should be tired from the walk, come, rest for a while. I will prepare for you the best foods and the most intoxicating drinks, before offering you a more intimate and warm hospitality. Come..."
Masu looked at her, stunned; never in his life had he seen such a beautiful, seductive and attractive woman. Her voice was of such beauty that it made every chord of his being vibrated inside him. He took a few steps toward her and stood again to contemplate her. His whole body felt strongly attracted to the beautiful forms, to that skin so fresh and smooth, honey-colored...
The woman held out her arm with a languid gesture, her small diaphanous hand in a gesture of invitation. Masu advanced to her by two steps. He in turn held out an arm and his fingers slightly touched the beautiful woman's ones. A strong current ran through his body, resulting in an immediate and pleasant erection.
"Come..." she whispered. Her voice had the freshness of a waterfall, the warmth of the late spring sun, the gentle melody of a caressing breeze. "I've never seen a man so handsome, so manly in my life," she added with a warm and persuasive voice.
Their fingers intertwined and the woman drew him to her with gentle energy. In a miraculous way, when Masu took another step toward her, her veils opened and fell down at the foot of the beautiful being, piling in soft waves of black shiny silk.
The woman was now completely naked in front of the strong and handsome warrior. Masu saw her white flesh quivering, the dreamlike creature's eyes burning with an increasingly stronger libido, that soon infected him.
"Come..." the beautiful female whispered again, luring him even more strongly to herself. "You're the most wonderfully sensual male I've ever seen..."
Masu had never felt an attraction so strong, strong enough to make him tremble. He felt that he wanted her, he wanted her there and immediately, he could not wait. He had to undress in a hurry, had to take her, immerse himself in her, join her... A frenzy made him tremble more and more strongly. His member pressed vigorously against his clothes, so that it almost hurt. It had never been so hard... He brought a hand to his chest to loosen the straps that held the sword hanging behind him.
In doing so, his hand touched the ruby, which his Wisa had given him, and felt scalded; it was burning. Astonished, he looked down moving his eyes away from the body of the woman and saw that the ruby seemed animated, like something was moving in it. He saw in it a black tower, an open door, and on the threshold an old horrible woman that was holding him by the hand.
Suddenly all his sexual arousal abandoned him. Squeezing the ruby in his hand he felt it becoming less hot. Then with an abrupt gesture he broke away from the woman, took a step back and let out a loud laugh.
The woman now looked at him with a look of surprise and astonishment.
"Are you a Witch, or a Mask? No, a Witch, for sure! Oh, only your deception could make me feel such an attraction to a female... I, who only ever loved virile males like myself! But you failed witch, you failed! "
The woman seemed to regain her mastery. "But what are you saying, silly man. I'm just a woman who burns with passion for you. Come..." she said with a seductive voice.
Masu took another step back. "The spell is broken, witch! You don't charm me anymore," he said in a firm voice, completely finding back his self-control.
The woman took a step toward him, but Masu drew his sword from its sheath and brandished it threateningly. "Stop, if you don't want to be quartered into pieces! Do not move!" he ordered contemptuously, with a slight sneer.
"Come, I want you..." the woman pleaded, but stopped.
"Cover up, bitch!" Masu added.
The dress of thin black veil, almost animated, rose and lay back on the woman's body. Now the witch looked at him with eyes of fire.
"Bitch, to me, to me? You will pay for your insult! I curse you! I curse you! If you don't want to stay with me, then you will wander endlessly, until you die! You will not be able stop in the same place for more than eight days!"
Masu was still laughing, cheerful and carefree after the danger he felt he had run. "Better to wander and die than to fall into your arms, witch! Bitch and witch!"
"I curse you! I curse you! You have refused my bed, well, you will not be able to sleep in the same bed more than one night!"
"Well, I'll change bed every night, better so than staying in yours for just a moment!"
"Ah! Ah! I curse you, warrior! Wealth will slip from your hands like smoke, you will not have with you either gold or money, you will be the most miserable of all wretches!"
Masu was still laughing - she now seemed ridiculous to him in her fury, and he wondered how he could have thought to lust after her... of course only as a result of her magic. In his heart he thanked his Wisa for having given him the ruby.
"Yes, yes, curse me until you lose your voice! Better to be miserable among the miserable, than a poor man in your arms or between your legs! Ah, a beautiful staging, no doubt about it. But you will not be able to put also my statue among your trophies! No, not mine!"
"I curse you! I curse you! I curse you! You will know no love, until you consume all your days!"
"Well, I will simply have sex, witch. Good, beautiful, vigorous sex! But only with people I choose, not those who try to charm me with their subtle arts! Only with men like me, not with pathetic sluts like you!"
"Ahhahhahh!" the Witch roared, and while Masu, still laughing, turned and resumed his way out of that place, he heard behind him the voice of the witch, more and more shrill and hysterical, to continue cursing him.
While he retraced his way back through the three gardens to exit from that place, he saw that now the statues seemed to be made of rough gray stone, and that the beautiful faces of the warriors seemed now to have assumed a sad, almost hopeless expression. As he crossed the large black iron gates, he heard them shut behind him with loud shrieks and thuds. But his heart felt lighter and more powerful.
The excitement was completely gone from his limbs. As he retraced the long walk back, Masu wondered how he had not realized that there was magic in the attraction he thought he had felt. In fact, how could he have wanted to join with a woman? It was not in his nature, he should have known that, even before the intense, burning heat of the ruby took him back to himself.
And suddenly another detail was made clear in his mind: the triple wall had seven, five and three sides... numbers always associated with evil, imperfection and black magic.
From the large avenue he turned to look at the strange building that he had just escaped; a flock of blacks birds was hovering over it, as a sinister and heavy cloud.
He was just out of the alley and had taken the road leading down towards the river, when among the trees he saw the deer, that watched him with its big, moist and round eyes. He was sure it was the same deer that had interposed between him and the first gate, trying to not let him enter.
"Friend deer, if it were to happen again, then I will pay attention. Thank you for what you tried to do..."
The deer moved up and down several times its big head adorned by the beautiful horns, then turned and ran nimbly among the trees.
Masu, in a low voice, still amused, felt happy because of the danger he had escaped, and said: "I wonder what would have happened to me, if I had succumbed to her magic, her flattery. Well, I certainly have no desire to find out... from now on I'll stay away more than ever from any woman! "
A flock of birds with blue feathers flew over him, emitting long whistles, almost as if they were telling him goodbye, as if the elegant birds in choir wanted to wish him a good trip; then they quickly flew away, mingling with the blue of the cloudless sky.
"Thanks to you, friends!" Masu cried aloud, continuing down towards the bottom of the pleasant valley.
He reached the river and enjoyed the clear waters, foaming in their quick race to the sea. He saw that a little further upstream there was a series of protruding rocks that would allow him to ford it without any problems. He walked along the bank to reach them, then, leaping nimbly from rock to rock, quickly crossed the water and reached the opposite bank.
He found the road again and took it. After a bend, behind a clump of trees, he saw a Producer, a young farmer, sitting on a log. He was taking some food from a basket placed next to his bare feet. For the first time Masu felt hunger awaken in him. The two looked at each other. Masu noticed that the young man was handsome, and with the hunger for food, yet another hunger was kindled in him.
"Hello, young No... would you share your food with me, if I pay you a fair price? I begin to feel a bit hungry."
"Greetings to you, So... You're not from these lands, are you?"
" I am a wanderer So... I come from Sanisu'."
"Sit here with me; you do not have to pay, I willingly share with you what I have, if you are satisfied with simple food like this."
"Thanks, but I prefer to pay you. As it seems that I cannot take money with me, if that one has spoken the truth, you might as well have it," Masu said, giving him some coins.
The young No's eyes widened: "With these I can buy good seeds and next year have a harvest even better than this year. You are generous, So..."
"But tell me, what is your name?" Masu asked, sitting down at his side.
"I am Nu Dus'eno'... and you?"
"I am Su Masu-Yari."
"You are of a remarkable beauty... so far I've never seen a warrior as beautiful as you."
Masu instinctively put his hand to the ruby dangling around his neck and felt it was cold. There was no magic in that handsome young man, the attraction he was feeling towards him was quite natural.
"You're also well made, Dus'eno'. After we have shared your food, I'd like to share with you something else..."
"You honor me, Su Masu-Yari... you honor and flatter me."
"Is that a yes or a no?" Masu asked with a smile, taking and eating the food the handsome young man handed him.
"Not for the gold you gave me, but for your solar beauty... If you want you can come with me to my hut, to share my bed tonight."
"And find pleasure with you?"
"And find pleasure together, certainly."
"Do you live alone?"
"Yes, my father recently died and we divided his lands between us brothers. Being the younger, I got the smallest part, just enough to support myself. This is also why for the moment I have not been able to start a family. "
"But do you like to lie with a man?"
"Yes, I also like to lie with a man, especially one of your beauty. As soon as I saw you there on the road, I wanted to do it with you, even if I did not think it could happen."
"And why not? You are very good looking, and I think that here too the warriors prefer to lie with a handsome man rather than with a beautiful woman..."
"Yes, of course, but here our warriors are rarely seen, since we are near the border with Chuma-Hirosawa, the great and terrible wilderness. No danger can come from those lands - high mountains separate us from the desert, so generally no dragons or harpies are able to pass them, fortunately for us. "
"Is your hut far away?"
"A little, but not much."
"How come you're away from your field and your house?"
"I'm coming back from the market, where I sold my products and bought some things I needed. I felt hungry so I decided to eat now, before reaching my hut. It seems that it was a good idea; otherwise almost certainly I would not have met you."
"The fortune is mine - thanks to you I'm placating the hunger of my stomach and, later, I can also appease the hunger of my loins," Masu said with a smile, biting into another piece of the simple but tasty food.
Then they rose, Dus'eno leading the way and Masu following him cheerfully. Yes, the producer was a handsome young man, and the warrior was already looking forward to the opportunity to join him. After a while the young farmer pointed to a small hut nearby.
"It is a house not worthy of a person of your rank, but I'll be happy and honored to give you hospitality in my hut."
"And in your bed," Masu suggested.
"And in my bed," the pretty young man nodded with a faint smile.
Once inside the poor cottage, just consisting of one room, the young man placed his basket in a corner. He put the coins Masu had given him in a wooden dice cup that he placed on top of a simple wooden shelf, then turned to look at Masu.
"Here we are, Su Masu-Yari..." he said with a serene voice.
Masu came near to him, took him in his arms and French kissed him. The young man trembled, and answered eagerly to the kiss.
"Take off the amour, it's hard and cold," the young farmer suggested.
Masu quickly took the sword from his shoulders, and then undid the straps that fixed the breastplate and slipped it to the ground. Then Dus'eno' opened the warrior's black leather waistcoat, next his blue silk blouse. He slipped his hands under it, caressing the strong and handsome warrior's bare skin, and shuddered.
Masu also shuddered, and started pulling off the robe of the handsome guy. Below this were only a tight thong and a short shirt. They stripped each other and re-joined their bodies; each felt the strong erection of the other rapidly blossoming between their legs.
"You're beautiful, you're strong!" murmured the young man, rubbing softly against the warrior.
"You want to?" Masu asked, caressing his back, his slim waist and his firm arse.
"Even if I had not wanted it before, you surely have awakened it in me now. Come, my bed may not be as soft as yours, but..."
"Your body will be even softer and more pleasant than my bed, Dus'eno'."
They lay down, Masu on top of the young man, who promptly opened his strong thighs in a silent offer. They kissed again, and with skilful movements Masu slid his hard member into the furrow of its host. Dus'eno' moved in order to facilitate the way. The tip of the beautiful warrior's hard pole rested on the hidden hole of the young farmer.
"Do you want me here?" Masu asked in an excited whisper.
"Yes..."
"Put your legs on my shoulders, then..." the handsome warrior suggested.
The young man promptly did what the other had said. Masu grabbed him by the waist and began to push. Slowly he began to sink into the hot channel that greeted him promptly, wrapping it tightly, like a sheath welcomes the sword for which it is built.
When he was fully inside, both issued a brief sigh of satisfaction. Masu looked into the eyes of Dus'eno', who smiled at him invitingly. Masu began to beat in with manly vigor. He saw the young peasant's smile widen gradually, almost with every lunge at him.
The darkness was slowly enveloping the interior of the hut, while they both began to moan with the increasing intensity of their mutual pleasure. Dus'eno' stroked the strong handsome warrior's chest and rubbed his nipples. Suddenly, the young farmer came between their bodies, and the strong contractions of his body soon also caused Masu's orgasm. Pushing deep inside him, he unloaded with a moan of pleasure.
The beautiful warrior relaxed on the body of his companion. Still panting, hekissed him again deeply.
"It was good. Thanks," the farmer said.
"Also for me."
"Do you want to spend the night here with me?"
"I could not ask for anything better; at this time I would not know where to go."
"And in the morning, will you take me again?"
"If you want, I'll be happy..."
"Yes... For a long time I didn't have such a pleasant occasion."
"A long time?"
"Yes, at least eight times eight days... The last time was in the house of my elder brother."
"With him?" Masu asked curiously.
"No, with one of his slaves... a boy of my age, whom I grew up with when my father was still alive. I would have liked to have him in my service, but it was either he or the piece of land that I got. Taking him instead of the land, I would not have been able to support myself, so I had to give him up. But every time I go to see my brother, we can seclude and make love. "
"Do you love him?"
"He is a slave... how could I love him? But I really like doing it with him."
"With the gold I gave you, you could buy him, I think. And working your piece of land with two..."
"Yes, I could, but I can not buy him, if I buy the good seed I need."
Masu decided that the next morning, before leaving Dus'eno', he would give him more gold, so that the boy could buy the slave as well.