Nova Baiae Rhodri's Story Chapter Three The Tourist Galley
This is a story of erotic fiction meant to be read by adults over the age of eighteen years
Posted by Jean-Christophe: April, 2019
"The characters and ideas contained in this story are products of the writer's imagination and bear no resemblance to actual persons or events. Please respect the integrity of the story and don't do any rewrites, make alterations or add another's artwork or pictures"
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As I leave the wharf to walk the short distance uphill to the Porta Marina which marks the entrance into the town of Nova Baiae, I look admiringly at the sumptuous villas perched on the hillside overlooking the port. The villas are constructed of white marble which gleams golden in the late afternoon sunlight. By any standards, they are large and impressive and I wonder if one of them is the townhouse of my recent acquaintance, Karelius.
Most people have left the wharf - I am the last of the ship's passengers to do so - and only gangs of naked slaves and their overseers remain. The slaves are busily unloading cargo from small cargo boats onto small carts and larger, wooden drays. Yet more slaves provide the motive power for these vehicles of commerce and I have a chance to study these miserable wretches who have been reduced to mere beasts-of-burden. Without exception, all are naked and wear leather harness and thick, wooden yokes which fasten them in place between the shafts of the carts they are condemned to pull.
The tourist galley has docked at an adjacent wharf and a group of excited, chattering tourists have disembarked and are returning to their accommodation for the night. As they pass, I am caught up in their infectious good humor - obviously their day trip has been a success - and I decide to inspect the galley before continuing into town.
The galley is a smaller replica of the Roman galleys that featured in the 1950's film of Ben Hur and it is powered by thirty oars; fifteen on the port side and fifteen on the starboard. The oars are thick and obviously very heavy and I wonder how many slaves it requires to man each oar. From my vantage point on the wharf I can look through the ports into the galley and I see activity as the slaves are unchained from their rowing-benches ready to be brought ashore and stabled for the night. I decide to wait and watch as the slaves are unloaded.
The sight of the slaves' naked bodies and the smell of their labor induced sweat is a powerful aphrodisiac and I am mightily aroused. Altogether, I count ninety slaves which tells me that it takes three slaves to man an oar. The slaves are shackled at the collar and driven along the wharf under the watchful gaze and the whips of their overseers. However, the whips aren't necessary; the slaves are obviously exhausted after their long day toiling at the oars and move quickly towards their barracks for food and rest before returning to the galley tomorrow morning.
The galley slaves' grime encrusted bodies are in stark contrast to the smooth, hairless, well-oiled torsos of Karelius' litter-slaves. The oar-slaves are unkempt and retain their sweat-soaked body hair covering, their lank, matted, shoulder-length hair and stubbly beards. I reason this is done deliberately to add authenticity for the tourists. Certainly, their appearances are in keeping with the public perception of a how a galley-slave would have appeared in ancient times.
I study a noticeboard adjacent to the galley's berth and it tells me that the galley will depart at 0900 hours for an eight-hours' sightseeing trip around the island's coastline and will return at 1700 hours. It gives the cost of the trip which also includes lunch and light refreshments and it goes on to say "patrons are actively encouraged to join in managing and controlling the oar slaves and crash courses in the proper use of the whip are held throughout voyage".
I particularly like the idea of the "passenger participation" and look forward to taking the voyage in coming days. But for now, I notice the sun is sinking behind the mountains and the shadows are lengthening. I estimate there is another hour of daylight left and I have to find the inn that Karelius had kindly recommended and settle down for the night.
As a student, I have been to Pompeii several times and I marvel at the initiative of those who have established Nova Baiae in replicating it here on this remote island. As I approach the Porta Marina, I note it is exact in every detail to its ancient counterpart at Pompeii. The attention to detail is astonishing; even down to the shrine to the goddess, Fortuna in her niche built into the gate's outer wall. As in ancient Pompeii, this modern Fortuna looks benignly on all who enter into Nova Baiae. Although, it is doubtful if the island's many slaves find comfort in Fortuna or any other deity.
I pass through the gates and continue my uphill climb for a short distance until, as at Pompeii, I find I am in the Forum and I have a sense of d‚j... vu; it's as though I have been here before. Then, I realize this modern Forum is an exact replica of the one that had served as the civic and commercial centre for the ancient Pompeiians. I have been transported two thousand years back to the time of the Roman Empire.
Despite the lateness of the afternoon, the forum is still a hive of activity. Naked slaves going about their masters' business move freely among the free population and the tourists who'd recently disembarked from the sightseeing galley are noisily buying souvenirs, trinkets and takeaway food from the many stalls that line the streets facing the forum.
I know the layout of ancient Pompeii reasonably well and I assume this modern reincarnation meticulously follows the street grid of the old city. Therefore, I reason the Via Herculaneum must led to the Herculaneum Gate. I walk across the Forum past the Forum Baths and the public latrines and enter a quiet, narrow street which leads to the Herculaneum Gate. And my hunch proves correct; I follow the line of erect penises carved into the paving stones and all pointing in the one direction and soon I am standing at the entrance to Soterus' inn.
Soterus is expecting me and when I enter, he immediately makes the connection between me and the message he'd received from Karelius. He welcomes me profusely and asks if he can call me Rhodri.
I'm unimpressed by Soterus! He strikes me as an untrustworthy individual and his slovenly appearance does nothing to reassure me. He is middle-aged, overweight and perpetually wiping sweat from his balding dome and brow. He is unshaven and the tunic he wears is stained with wine and food. But his establishment is clean and well-run and I can smell a delicious evening meal cooking in an adjacent kitchen. Soterus welcomes me to his "humble inn" and hopes "my stay will be an enjoyable one".
I thank him and ask if my room is free as I would like to freshen up before my evening meal. He tells me my room is ready and waiting and that he'll have hot water delivered to my room very shortly. Then he shouts out.
"Aeolus! Get you lazy ass in here! NOW!"
Even as he speaks a young slave of about eighteen or nineteen years suddenly appears from a back room. I know from his nakedness and demeanor that he's a slave and besides he wears metal collars around his neck and erect genitals. Additionally, I see the mark cruelly seared into his flawless skin by a branding iron.
Prominently displayed on his left ass-cheek are the letters "SNB" which I assume denotes his status as a "servus of Nova Baiae." Subsequently, my assumption proves correct; I will learn it is mandatory for all slaves on Nova Baiae to wear this brand.
"This is my slave, Aeolus." Soterus informs me. "He'll carry your bags and show you to your room and help you settle in. He and my other slaves will serve you while you are a guest at my inn and if any boy offends or angers you in any way, please inform me and he'll be punished."
"Thank you, Soterus!" This gesture of hospitality takes me by surprise. I am concerned how much it will cost me as I am on a strict budget and I reply. "But I don't know that I can afford the services of a slave."
"No worries, Sir!" Soterus tells me confidentially. "Our mutual friend, Senator Karelius asked that I extend every courtesy to you. I owe Karelius for a few past favours and I'm happy to oblige him."
I regard Karelius as a very recent acquaintance rather than a friend but it would be churlish of me to reject his kindness and so I say nothing.
"My slave is at your service for as long as you are a guest at my inn, Rhodri." Soterus tells me and then he turns to the slave, Aeolus. "You will serve Master Rhodri in any way he chooses to use you boy! Do you understand?"
Soterus winks at me; his last words are suggestive and leave little to my imagination.
"Yes Domine!" The young slave replies respectfully. "I will serve Master Rhodri as you command, Master".
I look at Aeolus and I see a very handsome young slave. He is tall with the defined, slim physique of a swimmer or a long-distance runner. Apart from his closely cropped black hair and eyebrows, his body is devoid of body hair; there's not one hair to mar the perfection of his glabrous body. His eyes are brown and his lips are lusciously full and very red. He is indeed a beautiful young slave who I consider is out of place in Soterus' inn.
Aeolus turns and bends to pick up my travelling bag and as he does so I see the strap marks of a recent punishment on his curvaceous, pert ass. And as he bends, I catch a tantalizing glimpse of his puckering asshole and low hanging balls. I feel a stirring in my loins and embarrassingly, I feel the beginnings of an erection.
Soterus senses my interest in the young slave.
"Rhodri, should the spirit move you, feel free to fuck my slave. However, he's a recent purchase and his ass is as tight as a drum. As yet, his hole isn't fully stretched but that shouldn't be a problem. He has learned to take cock up his ass or down his throat and he's guaranteed to give you a lot of pleasure. Isn't that so boy?"
"Yes Domine! It would be an honour to have your guest use me, Domine."
"And judging from the boy's dripping cock, he's eager to have you use him Rhodri."
The invitation is generous and I know I will avail myself of Soterus' gesture of hospitality. It's been a few days since I last had sex and by balls need urgent relief.
To be continued .........