Lady Tanna of Westmoreland slowed her mount and looked about herself at the carnage of what it would turn out was the last battle of the four year long West Valley War. Scores of her men moaned and writhed in pain from their injuries. Most would die in the hours or days to come. For every still living man, Tanna could see at least one other who made no sounds or movements. This battle -- this war -- had cost her father, the King, very dearly.

"The prisoners?" she asked one of her Lieutenants as she approached him. He gestured toward a nearby hillock. She took one last look about herself, then told the officer, "We're moving out at dawn. Give those who will be able to walk food and water."

"And the others?" the Lieutenant asked, knowing that there wasn't enough of both life sustaining necessities for all. When she only urged her horse forward, he stiffened to attention and confirmed, "Yes, m'lady."

A short ride later, Tanna found almost two hundred enemy soldiers sitting or laying close together, encircled by more of her men. She found another of her officers here, asking, "How many can walk out of here?"

"All of them, m'lady," he responded. "They are all bound or shackled and ready for transport."

When Tanna looked to him with a questioning expression, he gestured his sword to a nearby group of enemy soldiers, all seemingly dead. They were being stripped of their arms, armor, boots, and other valuables by the civilians who followed her force from battle to battle, provided services and scavenging from the dead.

She understood immediately: the Lieutenant had already culled the group, killing the seriously wounded and those who were not ambulatory. "Get them up and on their way now. They leave today."

"For Westmoreland?" he asked with a hopeful tone. It had been a long war for those lucky enough to have survived it, and he wanted to go home just as badly as anyone. But he caught the expression on her face and spoke the next location on his mind: "South, to the slave market of Praul?"

She nodded. "I want one Company to escort these men. The other five will--"

"Three," he interrupted. He bowed his head in apology, then explained, "There are only enough able men left to comprise four Companies, m'lady, not including the injured."

Tanna looked back to her previous location, then out over the vast battlefield. She'd had no idea that so many of the dead had been her own. She had watched and often directed the battle from the relative safety of a nearby, forested hill, giving instructions to Signalmen who then flagged the Officers of the Companies of men on the field. She hadn't always held back from the fighting, often joining in the attack, particularly night ambushes and raids on unsuspecting enemy outposts. But this last fight was destined to be a true killer among battles, and her father had ordered her kept back from the blood and guts of it all, even if it meant shackling her to a pole 'til the killing had ended.

She took a moment to consider the damage of so many lost lives, not just to the army but to the Realm itself. She then ordered, "One company will escort these men to Praul. Two others will escort the injured and our supplies ... what remains of them. I want the fourth to ride out ahead toward Westmoreland and secure food, water, ale ... women. Whatever our heroic troops require."

As the Lieutenant turned to gather his subordinate officers, disseminating the orders to them, Tanna scanned the latest batch of prisoners. Stripped of their armor and in some cases most of their clothes, she could see that some of them were well built men. They would fetch a good deal of coin at Praul's slave market, with many of them being used in mines or in the rebuilding of the towns and cities damaged during the wars that had ravaged not on the West Valley but most of the World in recent times.

Most of the men kept their heads down, not wanting to attract any unwanted attention. Their Guards had lost friends, brothers, fathers, and sons in this latest fight, and despite the worth of these men at the market, Tanna's soldiers would not hesitate to skewer an one of them for even hinting at a desire and ability to once again return to fighting.

One of these men, however, raised his head to stare directly at Tanna. She turned her horse to depart, then hesitated to look him over. She marveled at his physique; this was no ordinary fighter, conscripted by his Lord from his job as a farmer or rancher. In the whole of her army, Tanna knew of fewer than a dozen men who might match this man in appearance and rightfully presumed strength.

"Lieutenant!" she called out to the Officer still giving orders to his subordinates. She pointed a long finger directly at the man squatted on the ground and demanded, "Have that one delivered to my tent. I want the stench and filth washed from him first."

Without any more details to her Officer and giving the enemy prisoner one last, emotionless look, Tanna spurred her horse away.



Tanna spent another hour or more surveying the results of the battle and disseminating more orders regarding the living, the dying, and the dead. Back at her lavish tent, she stripped, bathed, and dressed again; her long gown was made of half a dozen sheer layers of delicate silk, each of which on their own would have easily shown off her beautiful, well rounded body but which together only hinted at what she had to offer the right man -- or woman? -- should they begin to be discarded.

The enemy prisoner had been brought from the slave encampment to Tanna's secured area, stripped, and bathed. She would hear later that they had been some ... difficulty getting him to cooperate but that the Guards had taken care of things as they'd deemed necessary.

When she was finally ready to see him again, he was led into her tent, once again shackled wrist to wrist, ankle to ankle, and then wrists to ankles such that he couldn't raise his hands past his waist. He wore only a deer hide tied around his waist; it covered him front and back from his hips nearly to his knees, leaving his marvelous torso on display but hiding his buttocks and manhood.

With four Guards there to protect her, Tanna took a slow walk around the prisoner, giving his God-like physique a long, hungry ogle. He'd been instructed not to speak unless spoken to, and when finally Tanna had made her third circuit around him and ended up standing just out of harms way before him, she did indeed speak.

"I am Lady Tanna of Westmoreland..." she began as she looked him in the eyes with a bit of a victorious smirk on her lips. She continued, "...Commander of the Grand Army of Westmoreland ... and, as you likely understand already, daughter of King Horlock and heir to his throne."

Tanna let her eyes drop to the prisoner's chest and belly, then reached a fingertip out to gently caress it down his front side, from the middle of his muscular chest to his belly button -- which it circled -- and finally to the deer hide cloth wrapped around his waist. She pulled her hand back, looked into his eyes again for a moment, then returned to circling him in an unhurried pace.

"As a prisoner of war, an enemy of Westmoreland," she continued, once again looking him up and down, examining his near perfection as a man, "your life is now in my hands. If I ask these men to kill you, right here, right now..."

She glanced to the Officer amongst the four. He immediately pulled a short sword from his belt and pressed its sharp tip to the prisoner's chest. Behind the shackled man, Tanna gave the Lieutenant a slight shake of her head just for clarification, continuing, "...they will without hesitation."

She reached out and easily pulled loose the knot holding the deer skin around his waist. The hide fell away, leaving the man naked as Tanna resumed her walk slowly around him. When she was before him again, she playfully tilted her head as if trying to look around his shackled wrists and hands as they blocked her view of his personals.

"If I ask them to ... relieve you of your manhood..."

The Lieutenant's sword shifted from the prisoner's chest to his crotch, the sharp point making contact with the sensitive flesh of one inner thigh. Tanna couldn't help but giggle at the man's reaction. She stepped up close to the Lieutenant, reached out to take hold of the hand holding the blade, and steadied it. A single drop of blood escaped from a tiny cut caused by the Officer, Tanna, or both.

"...or if I chose to do it myself," Tanna continued. Her devilish smirk could have been read to mean she was only playing about or was eager to slice off the man's family jewels. Who could really know at this point? She urged back both the sword and its bearer and took her place before the prisoner again. "I would rather not do any of those things just yet. You are quite a man. I haven't seen men like you often, so ... it would be a shame to have to castrate or kill you so soon in our ... relationship."

Tanna turned away and spoke softly to the two female servants who'd been enjoying the show from nearby. They both hurried out, and when she turned back to face the man, Tanna attracted the Lieutenant's attention and gestured. The Guards manhandled the prisoner backwards into a solid wood chair with a slightly tilted back, then altered the way he was shackled; when they were done, he was leaning back in the seat with his wrists shackled to poles at his sides and his ankles shackled to stakes sunk through the cloth covered floor and deep into the hard, packed dirt.

"We're having a celebration," Tanna told him as she gathered his deer skin from the tent's floor and neared him. She opened up the hide and laid it over his groin and thighs, again concealing his more personal area. Giving it one last look, then looking to his face with a smile, she informed him, "You are to part of our entertainment."

She began to step away, then hesitated and looked back. "Please forgive me. I haven't yet asked you your name."

When he'd regained consciousness, Kyrinn had found himself already shackled. He sat up to find find other survivors from the Yornaland Army being herded to the little hill on which he sat. All around them, other survivors, the badly injured, were being run through with swords and spears.

It took him a long while to recall just what had happened. He'd killed or critically wounded two dozen men during the opening minutes of the battle. Then a mounted Westmoreland soldier rode his 1500 pound horse into Kyrinn's 250 pound muscular mass. The momentum of the collision had sent the warrior flying through the air, across the ground, and into unconsciousness.

And now here he was, one of the defeated. Despite the metal clamps and chains about his ankles, Kyrinn was considering escape options. It was then that Lady Tanna of Westmoreland arrived. She spoke to an officer, then caught sight of Kyrinn watching her. He knew he should have lowered his eyes yet didn't. She pointed right at Kyrinn and ordered him brought to her quarters.

He was certain she was going to execute him, possibly as an example to other Yornoland soldiers, possibly just for her own entertainment. His execution might be preceded by torture, even castration. Either way, he wouldn't reach the slave markets to the south. Ironically, Kyrinn saw that acceptable. Slavery was the ultimate defeat for a man such as him.

He didn't make it easy for the Westmoreland soldiers. His ankles had been shackled, but his hands had still been free. He broke one soldier's arm and many bones in another's face. He would have continued his resistance if the Westmoreland Lieutenant hadn't run his sword through the gut of another Yornoland survivor, then a second as Kyrinn protested with choice profanity. A second soldier was run through before the officer stated, "I can do this all day long."

After that, Kyrinn went along and got along. He was stripped, washed by slaves, dressed in deer hide skin, and delivered to Tanna's tent. She inspected him not unlike he often did brothel whores before a night of pleasure. He wondered if his torture might include shoving his cock in and out of Tanna for a couple of hours; Noble and Royal women often made use of enemy soldiers in that way before having them castrated and/or executed. Kyrinn was okay with that, actually. So was his cock, apparently, as it began filling with blood beneath the deer hide.

For a moment, when he felt cold still against his cock and balls, Tyrinn became convinced that he wouldn't be partaking of the beautiful woman after all. Then he found himself shackled and being told that he would be her celebration's entertainment. Kyrinn didn't know whether to be happy about that or not.

When she asked his name, he initially remained silent. But the Lieutenant brought a powerfully swung fist down into his kidneys, then again, and finally a third time. Once he recovered, he murmured, "Kyrinn. Kyrinn of Baylon Bay."

Tanna flinched a bit at the beating her Lieutenant gave the prisoner, but only because it had surprised her. After the second and third strikes, she casually gestured the Officer to cease, asking again calmly, "Your name?"

"Kyrinn," he grunted. "Kyrinn of Baylon Bay."

"Oh, sorry," she said with a sincere tone. The story of Baylon Bay was a tragic one that went far beyond the invasion of it by Westmoreland forces. "Well, if you have friends and family who survived, I hope they are somewhere safe."

She gave his groin and the still slightly obvious bulge there another glance, smiled, then excused the Guards. The Lieutenant wanted to leave at least 2 mean behind -- possibly including himself -- but when Tanna asked if Kyrinn was a threat of escape, he shook his head.

"I'll be fine, Lieutenant," she told him, sending him on his way. "My servants will back soon to watch over me."

Now alone in the tent with the enemy soldier, Tanna headed for her bed of dozens of downy pillows. She laid down without a word to the man, closed her eyes, and simply drifted off to sleep.

Minutes later, the servants returned with food, water, and drink. They were surprised and even a bit concerned to find no Guards, but seeing that the prisoner seemed very well secured, they just went about their duties quietly, preparing the tent for the evening's celebration.

Kyrinn didn't for a moment believe Tanna was sympathetic about what had happened to the town of Baylon Bay. She may or may not have had a hand in the military campaign about his hometown. But it was the Westmoreland army and navy that laid siege to the town from land and sea for almost two years. And that was after Mother Nature had hit the community with a tsunami, a drought, and a plague all in the span of 14 months.

Baylon Bay had already been on its knees before the siege and subsequent invasion occurred. Today, less than 1/4 of the original population of the town remained there alive, and they lived under the boot of a brutal Lord put in place by Tanna's father.

His captor sent the guards away, then surprisingly simply laid down in her lush bed and closed her eyes. Kyrinn just stared at her in silence, wondering What the hell now? He could ask what was going to be done to him. Or how he was part of the entertainment. Or what exactly the celebration would entail.

Instead, he simply tried to relax back into the seat and ignore the pain surging through his body. He'd been run over by a horse, beaten by a handful of soldiers wielding clubs, and punched in the kidneys, and now he was strung up and out in a way that was concentrating a good amount of that pain in his shoulders and back.

Somehow, he didn't find this entertaining, festive, or celebratory. But then, Tanna probably hadn't meant for him to enjoy it all, had she?

After a bit, the two servants returned, conspicuously showing their surprise at finding Kyrinn trussed up and their Lady asleep. They began performing some tasks involving food, drink, and decor. Repeatedly, the pair of young beauties peeked Kyrinn's way, often coming together to whisper and giggle.

"May I have one of those?" he whispered to them, nodding his head toward a plate of treats on a table. They looked to each other, then to their lady. Kyrinn whispered even lower, "I won't tell. I promise."

Still getting nowhere, he smiled and winked before whispering one last time, "Give me a piece of cheese and a drink of that ale, and you can lift my hide and look at my cock."

Kyrinn blew them each a kiss, hoping that at the least he'd get something in his belly and at the most this might be the first step toward finding some way out of this mess. That latter part was a serious long shot, of course. The two servants were likely slaves, but would they be inclined to risk their lives just for a peek at an above averaged sized penis? And even if they did want to help him escape, could they? The shackles around his wrists and ankles were the type that took a key or, at the least, a particularly shaped piece of metal or strong wood to be used as a pick, and even then only one in ten people had the skills to work such a device.

(OOC: This post -- and the role play in general -- has moments of sexual interaction. I have attempted to avoid very explicit material, keeping with RPG's guidelines. If anyone -- particularly a Moderator -- finds that the descriptions are too sexual, please inform me and I will edit them down immediately. I do not want to be banned, but I do want to tell the whole story. If I have erred, I will correct.)

Tanna had only briefly awoken upon the return of her personal servants before drifting back to sleep once again. But the sound of Kyrinn's whispers brought her back to consciousness, and she caught him telling the girls, "Give me a piece of cheese and a drink of that ale, and you can lift my hide and look at my cock."

Peeking through her mass of red hair toward the shackled man, Tanna caught sight of him blowing a kiss, then a second one, and she very nearly giggled again. She wanted to look to the servants as well but to do so would surely indicate that she was no longer asleep. Instead, she kept her eye on the prisoner while listening to the two girls whispering amongst themselves and, sometimes, stifling their giggles.

Ultimately, the bravest of the two, Krina, made her way ever so slowly across the tent to stand near Kyrinn. Her eyes continually darted between his face, his groin, and her Mistress, who she prayed was still fast asleep. She carried with her a small wooden platter, and after whispering words to Tanna's newest slave that Tanna herself couldn't hear, she lifted a piece of cheese from it and reached it out to Kyrinn's mouth.

He took and ate it eagerly, and -- again checking her Mistress -- Krina offered him another. The braver servant girl gestured to the less-so girl, Madley -- still out of Tanna's sight -- who carefully crossed, delivering a metal cup to her before backing a couple of steps. Tanna heard Krina whisper the word ale before carefully putting the cup to the bound man's lips. It spilt upon him, dripping down his chin and jawline to his muscular chest, causing both girls to giggle behind hands over their mouths.

Both of them nearly jumped out of their skins as Tanna softly reminded them, "Payment is due."

In and instant, both servant girls were on their knees, facing Tanna with their heads down as they made repeated apologies regarding their actions and pleas not to be punished. Tanna sat up and let them them blather on before once again reminding them, "Payment is due."

She looked to the shackled man -- to his face, to his groin -- then told the girls, "He promised you a look at his manhood for a piece of cheese and drink of ale."

Neither girl raised her head, let alone interacted with the third slave. But after she asked for food and wine and was expeditiously provided it by Madley, Tanna reassured Krina that she had permission to take a peek. The servant was hesitant, certain that she was going to be punished, but in the end she stood and pulled the deer skin cover from atop the magnificent man's body, once again exposing his manhood to the three females.

Krina stepped back and lowered her eyes to the floor again, but Tanna softly ordered her and the other girl to fill their eyes with their prize for giving the man that for which he'd asked. They did as ordered, of course; Tanna took in the view as well, finding herself once again impressed with what the enemy captive had to offer at the meeting of his thighs.

"Our guest here," Tanna said, slowly rising and taking a seat at one of the little serving tables filled with food and drinks, "is going to be part of the entertainment for the festivities tonight. Do you think our guests will find him entertaining, Krina...? Madley?"

Neither of the young women responded immediately, but upon peeking up and seeing an expectant expression on their Mistress's face, both nodded eagerly, with Krina adding in a soft voice, "You have chosen well, m'lady, as usual."

"Maybe," Tanna said softly as she picked through small chunks of cheese, meat, and fruit on a wooden platter. She let the girls stand there for a long moment of uncertainty before saying, "But looks can often be deceiving. I think, before my guests arrive, that it would be wise to ... test our guest's ability to entertain them. Don't you think so, Krina?"

The servant girl looked up with wide eyes, asking meekly, "Test, m'lady...? How ... how do we ... what is it that...?"

"Remove your clothes and mount our guest," Tanna told the servant with a soft voice, as easily as if she was asking the young woman to fetch a tin of wine or stoke the tent's fire pit. "Let's ensure that ... Kyrinn, yes...? Let's ensure that he is in fact a worthy entertainer, before I embarrass myself before my guests."

Krina had often found herself being offered by her Mistress to men or even women: her service to Tanna was limitless, and that often meant pleasuring Noble or Merchant guests or even an Officer who'd done something heroic and deserved appreciation. But she'd never been asked to test another slave's ability to ... entertain to guests of an upcoming celebration.

And yet it was precisely what she did. Krina slipped out of her clothes to reveal herself -- she was petite compared to her more well rounded Mistress -- straddled the shackled slave's groin, and carefully mounted him. With further, specific directions from Tanna, she performed her duty; her mind was overwhelmed with the conflicting emotions of the pleasure of the moment and the fear of what her Mistress was to do to her after all was done.

And yet, when the lovers had finished, Tanna only ordered Krina to go clean herself up and put Madley to task cleaning up the mess behind in the entertainer's groin. "When you are both finished with that, leave me for a moment, then return and finish with the food and drink."

Both acknowledged their orders, and soon Tanna was once again alone with Kyrinn. She moved back close to him, once again hiding his manhood beneath the deer skin hide. As she reached down and patted his manhood, she told him, "Perform well tonight for my guests, and you will keep this. Do not..."

She said no more. Instead, she called in the guards outside the door and gave them their own orders. They strung up a curtain that -- when pulled closed -- would isolate Kyrinn in his own little corner of the tent. They departed again, and Tanna told the man, "I'm going to finish my nap now. It's going to be a long night, and I want to be well rested."

She retrieved a blanket and laid it over him, then -- without pulling the curtain closed -- returned to her bed. She eyed Kyrinn a long moment, smiling, pleased with what had happened and what was going to happen later on. Madley returned first, and Tanna told her to give their guest more food and ale. Then, she again laid down and drifted off, this time sleeping through the servant's work.

(OOC: I agree wholeheartedly with my fellow writer about erotic writing. I will edit my own texts if we are requested to do so..)

Kyrinn had seldom found himself fearful of anyone or anything. But when his new captor caught her servants serving him, he was sure that punishment was due all around. Instead, he found himself being stimulated into service and mounted by the one young woman named Krina. There was no refusing to participate in Tanna's little practice session. Kyrinn's body reacted without his permission to the girl's actions.

Of course, why would he want to refuse? Krina was obviously well practiced at this facet of her service to her Lady, and it wasn't long before Kyrinn was groaning out in euphoria and falling back into his tilted seat, his chest heaving, his core tingling. He'd kept his eyes upon his lover the entire time they were as one, and only after it was over and Krina had dismounted did Kyrinn finally look to Tanna again, finding she had been studying the two of them with seemingly great interest.

After the two girls were excused, Tanna told him he could keep his cock and balls if he entertained well tonight. He shrugged his shoulders and moved his arms and legs as best he could within the confines of the shackles, asking, "I would be able to do so more easily and more successfully if I were not chained as I am."

Kyrinn knew his captor wasn't about to permit him to be unshackled in a celebration filled with men and women responsible for the defeat of the army in which he served. Her wordless, studying stare of him led Kyrinn to alter his request, "May I at least be permitted a short walk around the tents, in shackles if you prefer. I am in pain and stiffening. My performance would be enhanced, m'lady."

She gave no answer to his request, but when the other servant returned, he was given food and ale as their Mistress again returned to her bed. Beat, exhausted, and sexually satisfied to boot, Kyrinn actually managed to drift off to sleep, despite his awkward situation.

He awoke with a start some time later to find four soldiers unshackling him from the poles and stakes, shackling him again wrists-to-ankles, and taking him outside. He was allowed to walk about, to again eat drink, and to take a crap in a nearby shit pit. And all the while, he was surrounded by guards with spears or swords.

Just when he thought he was being taken back inside again, Kyrinn found himself standing in a short but wide tub, stripped of his hide, and being washed more completely by Krina and Madley. This time, they used scented water, and after drying him off, coated his muscular body with oils that made his dark skin glisten in the last vestiges of the day's light.

Then, he was back inside and shackled in his chair, his arms wide, his legs separated a bit. This time, though, the curtain was pulled closed. He couldn't see the men and women who began filling the tent. A guard standing on his side of the curtain repeatedly shifted his attention between Kyrinn and the gathering.

There was no way of knowing how long it would be before he was revealed to the celebration guests as their entertainment.

Tanna had awoken while her new slave was passed out from exhaustion and sexual release, and she had gone to stand over him, studying him again for a long moment. The blanket she'd laid atop him had slipped down to again reveal his powerful, muscular torso, and she imagined what it would feel like to have him holding her tightly into him as she did with him what Krina had earlier.

But that wasn't going to happen, at least, not any time soon. It would be socially and politically unacceptable -- even dangerous -- for the King's daughter to become lovers with the enemy, whether that lover be a Royal Heir, a Noble Lord, an Army General, or the lowest of male examples, a shackled slave. Of course, as Kyrinn himself had thought to himself earlier, many Noble and Royal women did make use of captured enemy soldiers and their swords. But such encounters were kept secret and the male in question was almost always executed later to ensure no one but the Lady -- and sometimes a trusted servant or Guard -- knew of the interaction.

Tanna had no intention of killing this particular Yornolandian just yet. She hadn't yet cemented her plans for him, but she had ideas.



The guests to the celebration began arriving well after dark. She had invited all of the Senior Officers and many of the Lieutenants with whom she worked closely or about whom she'd heard heroic news regarding this or previous and recent battles. Some of the men brought their lovers with them: wives, consorts, other men's wives, or -- in the case of the General -- his two adult daughters, whose special relationship with their father was no secret to anyone.

Tanna provided additional women as well, of course, to ensure than none of the men who'd won this battle for her and her father found themselves lonely through the evening. The festivities began with ale, wine, and treats; platters of roasted pig, fowl, and a myriad of other foods were brought in to fill bellies; and then, with more wine, ale, music, and dance -- much of it by semi- or fully-naked slave girls -- other appetites were filled as the celebration devolved into little more than a wild and frantic orgy.

Only two people within the tent remained apart from the wild, sexual activities: Tanna and Kyrinn. The latter was still hidden in the corner behind the curtain, with two guards on his side of the barrier ensuring he remained where he was and half a dozen more on the other side, ensuring that the other guests remained where they were.

Tanna had casually slipped out of the tent for a short walk about the darkness, greeting some of the lesser Officers and Common Soldiers along the way. On such walks, she carried with her a purse of silver coins which she distributed inconspicuously along the way, particularly to the injured or seriously weary.

She spent almost three hours making her rounds before sending the Lieutenant in charge of her Bodyguard back to begin shutting down the orgy and emptying her tent. This was done so in a typical fashion: the sex slaves and many of the consorts took the male celebrators away to their own tents to continue the drinking and fucking.

When Tanna entered her tent again, she smiled at those who remained. They were almost exclusively wives or long time consorts of the most senior Officers, women who -- long ago or even just recently -- had come to be less interested in performing with their lovers the sorts of things those lovers were now doing back in their tents with much younger women. Tanna thanked them for remaining, then gestured to the Guards standing before the curtain. It was pulled back to reveal the fully exposed body of the shackled slave, glistening as the torch light danced upon his oiled skin.

"Ladies," Tanna said with a tempting voice as she moved to Kyrinn and played a finger tip over his rippling muscles -- arms, chest, belly, thighs -- all the while looking into his eyes as her lips were spread in a delightful but devilish smile. Then she looked to the women and announced, "Time for us to have fun, do you not think?"

Tanna returned to her ornate chair -- her traveling throne some called it -- and watched in delight as the other women took their turns with the God-like man. Some only touched him, caressing their hands over his muscles or grasping a certain feature of his, marveling at it. Others kissed him feverishly while others took full advantage of Kyrinn's sword. Once finished, the women would retreat to the multitude of pillows scattered across the floor, again partaking of the food and drink brought to them by Krina, Madley, and the other servants.

Tanna kept her eye on the activity in the corner while visiting with the Ladies who slowly returned to the pillows. One by one, her female guests slipped off into slumber, taxed by the wine and in some cases euphoric release. Tanna herself fell asleep at some point, waking up with a ray of morning sun striking her in the face. She rose slowly, stretched deeply, and accepted a cup of tea poured quickly for her by Madley.

As she sipped at the hot, spicy drink, she looked to the corner and couldn't help but smile. Kyrinn was passed out, his arms and legs still shackled and spread wide, of course. Laying atop him, just as naked and just as unconscious was the wife of one of her most Senior Officers. Tanna couldn't imagine that the embrace between the pair was comfortable for either, but then, after the amount of wine the woman had drank and the amount of ale and wine the women had forced upon Kyrinn, it was doubtful that either of them even realized they were still alive at this point.

Tanna rose and dressed in Field Garb, but before she left to go check the camp, she gave the Lieutenant at the tent's exit orders to get Kyrinn up and around, bathed yet again, and dressed. "Shackled wrists and ankles, Lieutenant. But ... show a little restraint this time around. Get him food and water, and find a secure tent. He's gonna need some rest after his performance last night."

Kyrinn flinched back to life at the feel of a needle sharp jab to his thigh. He blinked focus to his eyes just in time to find the naked woman passed out upon him slowly slipping off his still oily body. He would have tried to catch her if his arms hadn't still been shackled to poles. She slammed down upon the carpet covered dirt floor of the tent, grunting. She rose on the support of one hand while the other hand reached to her pounding head.

He looked away from her to find the Lieutenant who'd been in charge of security the night before. In the man's hand Kyrinn found the source of the sharp leg pain. The officer had awoken Kyrinn with a gentle but still blood drawing poke of a dagger point to his leg. The man's expression revealed his disgust with the previous night. Kyrinn had been mounted by more than a dozen women over the hours after the departure of the celebration's male participants. The Lieutenant, though, had had to stand idly by and watch, uninvited to participate. In his mind, it hadn't been fair, and he was going to make sure that the Yornan came to know that.

"Fun's over, slave," the Lieutenant said. "Time to wash these women off your cock."

He gestured to a pair of guards who began unshackling Kyrinn. They secured his wrists and ankles as their Lady had ordered but also secured the chain between the wrists and ankles. Kyrinn had barely started for the partially withdrawn curtain when the Lieutenant gave him a shove from behind. Kyrinn's feet couldn't keep up with his forward falling upper body. He toppled like a chopped down tree, slamming to the carpet covered, hard packed ground.

"Clumsy," the Lieutenant said, smiling to the other soldiers. "Get up."

Kyrinn struggled back to his feet and looked about himself. There were still a dozen and a half women in the tent. Most of them were asleep, passed out all about the pillow array. Most of them were still naked or partially so; some of those were in the arms of other naked women. Kyrinn hadn't been the only person in the tent to get some after the departure of the community's male leadership.

The women who were awake mostly ignored him. They ate breakfast or chatted quietly, pretending Kyrinn wasn't even there. The entertainment he provided them the night before was not and never would be a subject of public conversation. He was a slave, an enemy slave; they'd enjoyed having him inside them, of course, but that didn't mean they wanted to or ever would speak of it with others.

Kyrinn struggled to his feet and headed out the opened flap of the tent. He found himself hitting the ground again after yet another shove. The Lieutenant growled, "Get up! We don't have all day."

Kyrinn rolled to his back and told the officer with a sarcastic tone, "It would be faster if I just rolled to wherever you wanted me. Shall I?"

The soldier growled, "Get the fuck up before I cut that big cock of yours off and feed it to the pigs."

Kyrinn managed to get out to the shit pit with only one more fall, which was nearly into the open, manure filled hole. He did his business and was then herded back to near the tent. On the way, the Lieutenant removed the unauthorized chain causing Kyrinn so many problems.

Tanna's two young servants were waiting to once again bath him. They seemed to take more joy in it this time around. It was as if it was suddenly permissible to lay hands upon their Lady's new toy. When they finished, Kyrinn was taken to a cage that was apparently just for his containment. It was small, less than spread-arms width, depth, and height. He simply leaned back into one corner, sitting on his ass. Krina and Madley brought food and water, then disappeared.

And then it was just a matter of waiting for whatever came next.

The camp was much smaller than it had been the day before. The slaves and a Company guarding them had left the night before, heading south. Another company had departed north, toward Westmoreland. They were scouting ahead and securing resources, not that Kyrinn knew that. Another company was just heading out, following the latter with a portion of the wagons. That left two companies and a multitude of civilians. The latter would wait for the army's full departure, then scavenge anything of value left behind. This was the way of war, particularly in these hard times when even the nearly meatless remains of a charred goat carcass over a fire pit was worth fighting over to the death.

Tanna wasn't happy with how long it was taking to break down the camp and get the Companies back on the roads. The reasons were two fold:

First, because there had been significantly fewer deaths amongst the injured during the night, there were far more of them now to be carted back to Westmoreland. It was an irony that the higher survival rate was actually bad for the immediate future of the army.

Cavalry had been sent out in all directions to buy, borrow, or steal wagons, carts, and sledges, as well as the horses, mules, donkeys, and oxen to pull them. While the former had been found in sufficient numbers, the latter hadn't. In the end, civilians were conscripted to help the less senior soldiers in pulling many of the vehicles filled with the injured as if beasts of burden.

The second reason was the unexpected information coming from scouts. Many of the surviving enemy troops from yesterday's battle were gathering in the forests in all directions, possibly threatening guerrilla actions against the Westmoreland forces. Tanna had planned on leaving Squads or Platoons of soldiers in all of the Towns and Cities now belonging to her Father, but now it appeared that she would have to send men into the woods to root out the enemy.

"I'll be heading south with the slaves," she told her General, surprising him. She had planned on returning to Westmoreland in the north. She explained, "I need to be present for the auction of the slaves, not just those taken in yesterday's fight but those still in holding in Praul. We stand less a chance of being cheated if I am there to personally oversee the sale."

Her personal Bodyguard of 12 was expanded with the addition of 12 more experienced Soldiers. As she was bidding farewell to her General, he nodded his head toward the cage in which Kyrinn was still housed, asking, "And what of him? The other slaves hare already half a day south."

"He'll fetch more coin than any other 20 laborers combined," she said, giving reason for keeping him close. "The mine owners would love to have him, but ... I think I could get more for him as a Gladiator."

They went their separate ways, with Tanna having Kyrinn taken from his cage. Atop her horse, she looked down to him as her soldiers exchanged his ankle shackles for a pair that would still inhibit running but would make walking at a steady pace possible.

"Run, and I will have one of your feet cut off," she told him with a serious tone. "Raise a hand to my men, and you will lose it."

She smirked, adding, "Play nice, like you did last night, and you will live through this day."

She turned her horse as the Company with which she would ride began marching for the south road. Tanna looked back as Kyrinn fell in behind her wagon of tent items, then spurred her horse forward and rode ahead to check in with the Senior Officer leading the trek south.

From his cage, Kyrinn had noticed the unusual activity around the camp. He'd overheard the soldiers and occasional civilians as well. Things were not unfolding as those in command would have desired.

When it became obvious that some of the carts and wagons would be pulled by slaves, civilians, and even soldiers, Kyrinn called out his willingness to volunteer. "You'll have to remove the shackles, of course. I promise not to flee."

The response from the nearest officer was his coming up close to the cage and peeing into it. Kyrinn fought to avoid the yellow stream, but he only had so much room. After the soldier departed, the newly acquired slave gathered dust from below the bottom bars to dry the piss from his skin as best he could.

As forces began moving out in greater numbers in all directions, Kyrinn caught sight of his new mistress speaking to an officer while looking his way. She rode over to look down upon him, warning, "Run, and I will have one of your feet cut off. Raise a hand to my men, and you will lose it."

Kyrinn had no doubt that Tanna would do as she threatened. Then she smirked and added, "Play nice, like you did last night, and you will live through this day."

She turned her horse to leave, and Kyrinn called out, "How come we didn't play together ... m'lady?"

He flinched in surprise as a handful of small stones pelted him from nearby. Kyrinn found the peeing officer staring at him with a death glare. He settled back into his cage again, mumbling toward the officer, "I guess you didn't get to play either, asshole."

A few minutes later, Kyrinn was out of his cage and following behind one of Tanna's large wagons filled with her tent and personal possessions. Often over the first couple of miles, the chain between Kyrinn's ankles caught on rocks or roots rising up from the hump down the center of the dirt road. He tumbled forward, but with his wrists not affixed to his ankles, luckily he was able to catch himself unlike the day before.

Eventually, he snatched up a small tree branch and snapped it off in just the right places. He used it as a hook to snag the middle of the chain and lift it up closer to his knees. The peeing officer, now mounted, rode up at one point, glaring down disapprovingly. Kyrinn knew that the man would have preferred for the slave to continue to tumble rather than make the walk in relatively better comfort.

The train of men and beasts stopped at a stream a bit after midday. The horses, oxen, and other livestock were allowed to drink from the cool water. Kyrinn asked the peeing officer if he could do the same and was instead kicked in the shoulder, causing him to tumble down into a muddy ditch. He struggled against the thick, sticky substance and his shackles and eventually returned to the road where he only sat down and hoped to be left alone.

Eventually, a trio of slaves making their way down the road with pitchers of water reached him. Kyrinn thanked them, asked for information about the train's situation, and was ignored as the slaves moved on.

(OOC: This post includes an image of a nude woman from behind. Since we see such images on normal television all the time and since it is not part of interactive sexual role play, it is my understanding that it is not considered inappropriate, per my PM conversations with a Co-Admin and 2 Moderators. If I am wrong about this, I would appreciate a heads up from one of these people and I will IMMEDIATELY delete it. If you don't want to see a woman's naked butt, don't open the link.)

They'd only covered about 6 miles by the time they stopped at the river. Tanna had spent most of her time in the front with her Bodyguard; some of the handpicked men rode out to and back from scouts checking the road and forest ahead while the others rode immediately ahead of and behind her.

Tanna had brought with her about half of a Company, as well as a portion of the supply wagons and civilians who serviced the Army, mostly when they struck camp. The rest of her Army and tag-alongs had gone north toward Westmoreland.

"Are we catching up with them?" she asked Trollo, her Bodyguard Commander, when he returned from scouting ahead.

"Tomorrow, m'lady," Trollo told her. "We left too late to join them today."

"I want you to send 20 men ahead on horse to reinforce the Company," she ordered. "They are escorting cargo we can't afford to lose."

The Commander did as order, and Tanna turned her horse toward the rear of the train. She came upon Kyrinn sitting on the edge of the road.
One glance to a member of her Bodyguard had him off his horse and beating the slave with a horse whip as he chastised, "Stand when in the presence or your Lady!"

As she watched Tyrinn rise to his feet, Tanna drank from a skin of spring water. She eyed the man, now dressed in a more substantial braies. She smiled, thinking What a shame that you are covered up.

"Drink," she said, tossing the skin to him. The eyes of the Bodyguard Officer opened wide at the thought of his Lady sharing her water with a lowly slave, but he said nothing when Tanna gave him a knowing glare. After Kyrinn had drunk his share, the Officer snatched the skin and returned it to her, asking quietly if she wanted him to have it purified first. She only gestured for it, then drank the last bit of water remaining. She nodded the Officer to give her some space, then looked to Kyrinn. "You did well last night. You were very ... entertaining. You are not the first slave to have been tested so, but you are are the first to have remained hard throughout the night. I'm impressed."

She gave the man a moment to respond, not sure whether or not he would since any response she didn't like might result in the Bodyguard punishing him. Then she said, "And I did hear you this morning when you asked why you and I had not played nice together."

She smiled again, and once again she turned her horse and rode away without answering the question. She found her Bodyguard Commander and ordered, "Get'em moving again!"

The train continued onward, following the river often, sometimes loosing sight of it only to again find it a bit later. They eventually came to a large open space of tall native grass and began to set up camp. There would be at least a hundred paces between the camp's perimeter and the forest, which provided them a sense of security they lacked without a wall or ditch.

Kyrinn's cage had been filled put in the back of a wagon and filled with camp goods, and now it was emptied and unloaded to once again make room for him. The Senior Lieutenant and Bodyguard Commander worked together to establish watches and security, and the civilians and soldiers assigned such tasks set about building fire pits, slaughtering goats, chickens, and rabbits, and getting the evening meal started.

Tanna' tent was set up again, though, this time not to its full size nor with all of her lavish features. There would be no celebration tonight, only a bath, a meal, and sleep.

The camp was barely complete and the security established when the rain that had been threatening for the last few hours began. Within minutes it was pouring hard and steady, with no signs of letting up. Tanna came to the entrance of her tent and looked out upon the cage sitting apart from the fires, tents, and canopies.

She couldn't help but feel for poor old Kyrinn, despite his status as the lowliest of members of the camp. She gestured a Watch Stander over, gave him orders, and then returned to her tent's interior. A minute later, a pair of guards tossed an oxen hide canopy over the cage and tied it down. Oh, it wouldn't keep Kyrinn entirely dry, particularly since the cage was sitting in a low spot that might likely fill with water. But it had to be better than nothing.



The next morning, the camp broke at dawn and was moving an hour later. Tanna had looked out upon the cage from near her tent as it was broken down, then ordered Krina to take food and water to her newest toy. "Express my hope that he got some sleep last night."

Again, the train was paralleling the river southward. They stopped a bit earlier this day to again water the animals; they also distributed some of the leftover food from the previous night, and even Kyrinn was giving the remains of a rabbit carcass by Madley, per Tanna's instructions.

An hour or so before dark, they caught up with the slave train that had preceded them by half a day. They were already gathered at a cleared piece of land where a village had once stood. Once upon a time, hundreds of acres of wheat, rye, and other grains had been grown here, feeding hundreds of head of livestock and the men, women, and children who cared for them. Today, there was nothing but charred ruins and wild grasses.

Tanna's partial tent was again set up, and Kyrinn once again was stuffed into his cage, just a couple of dozen paces beyond his Lady's door. And just like the night before, rain came with the darkness, only harder and colder. As the winds rose and a storm presented itself, a pair of Guards unlocked Kyrinn's cage and ordered him out. For no apparent reason, one of them slammed him in the face with great force before leaning in and saying, "I was told to remind you what would happen if you don't play nice. I don't know what that means, but..."

And then he slammed his hand into Kyrinn's face again before the pair of them almost dragged him through the dark to and through the opening of Tanna's tent. He was manhandled over into familiar corner, shoved to the ground, and shackled by the ankle chains to an already deeply placed stake. And yes, once again, the mean Guard punched Kyrinn in the face, reminding him with a growl, "Play nice."

Tanna had her back to Kyrinn as she lay in a wooden bathtub, being washed by Krina and Madley. She said to the latter, "Get our guest food and drink. Hot root tea, to ward off the chills of the night."

Madley did as told, and as she did, Tanna stood naked from the tub, her backside fully displayed to the man chained to the ground just a couple of yards away. Tanna directed Krina to rinse her, and after the second slave had dumped several pitchers of warm, clear water over her, the beautiful redhead stepped out of the tub to be wrapped in a silk gown. She only then turned to face Kyrinn; the remnants of moisture on her body caused her bosom, pert nipples, hips, and thighs to cling to the cloth, showing them off as well as if she wasn't dressed at all.

"Krina, would you get our guest some bedding and pillows, please," she asked as casually as if she was asking the slave to do so for herself. "Madley, when you are done there, please find a towel and dry ... Kyrinn, correct?"

She giggled a bit, pointing out, "You look like a drowned rat. Remove your braies, and I will have a clean one brought to you in the morning."

As the two female slaves hurried about completing their Lady's orders, Tanna turned toward her own bed. She drank from the bottle of wine -- stronger stuff, this time -- and ate a few morsels from a platter on a small three legged table. Then, shedding her gown and again revealing her naked body -- this time in profile -- she lowered into her bed, looked to Kyrinn, and explained, "Please forgive my rudeness, but I need to sleep. We'll speak more in the morning."

If nothing more was said to her, Tanna had every intention of simply closing her eyes and going to sleep.