This is the second instalment of a story which will include descriptions of men abusing boys both physically and _s_e_x_ually. If you do not enjoy such stories or are under eighteen please do not read it.
The story will include some deaths but it is not a snuff story. The deaths will not be described in a provocative way and are included only for story or character development.
I write because I enjoy doing so. You are at perfectly at liberty to copy or post this story. If you do so I would be glad however if you would acknowledge my authorship.
I would be glad to receive any comments (pleasant if possible) or suggestions you care to make. Please send them to zelamir@hotmail. com. I will reply to any messages I receive other than those complaining that this story include descriptions of young boys being physically and _s_e_x_ually abused. That is what it is about. You have been warned.
He heard a rustle of straw and the clink of metal. A young uncertain voice said, "Pannychis? Is that you Pannychis"
Lifting the lamp higher Crastus saw in it's uncertain light a dark bundle lying in the corner of the small windowless room. The bundle stirred and a small white scared rather grubby face turned to look up at him. A tousle of blonde hair, not the insipid straw or flax blond of the North but the deep dusty gold of Illyria, wide blue eyes momentarily blinded by the light, red lips parted in momentary fear, so far as he could judge a pretty boy but clearly a very frightened one.
Crastus moved closer to the boy.
"Who are you? What do you want? He was trying to sound confident but there was a tremble in his voice. He pushed himself back against the wall trying to get as far away as possible from the approaching man.
"This place smells like a pig sty," Crastus said contemptuously.
"I can't help it. He chained me here and I've been here a long time. Can't you take me out of here please. My father will reward you. He's rich and powerful. He's Sejanus and I'm his son Marius. Oh please."
"Your father's not rich or powerful any more Marius." Crastus said brutally. "He's dead."
There was a moments silence. Crastus placed the lamp on the floor. He heard the boy begin to whimper. Crastus said nothing the man was dead and soon the boy would be. There was no point in comforting the child with meaningless words. He had a job to do and do it he would but not in this stinking pit. He would get the boy outside and cleaned up before he had his moment of fun with him.
Kneeling down he could see that Marius was lying on a thin layer of filthy straw tethered by a short length of iron chain locked tight around his ankle. He noticed something else as well, the child was not wearing a silver chain about his neck or gold bracelet or anklet or anything. He swore, to travel all this way from Rome to do a job and not get any additional reward. He felt cheated. His men would be disappointed as well. Their pay was measly enough. The little extra incidentals that made all the difference. Yet he would have expected the boy to have been sporting some sort of jewellery. A rich man's son, the tunic he was wearing although now horribly soiled was of the highest quality, you would have expected the job to yield rich pickings. He must have had some but where was it. Had he hidden it in the straw in which he was lying, perhaps at the suggestion of Pannychis, or had the slave girl taken it from him on some pretext, the bitches were cunning enough.
"Didn't you have a chain or bracelet or anything," he demanded roughly.
Marius said nothing but continued to sob quietly. He did not even seem to have heard the question.
Crastus lent forward and flipped him hard across the face with the back of his hand. A dribble of blood appeared at the corner of the boy's mouth..
"When I ask you a question you answer me," Crastus grated. Did you have a chain or bracelet?"
"Yes," Marius whimpered holding a hand to his bruised mouth.
"Well where are they then?"
"Echios took them."
"Oh did he," said Crastus harshly. "Well the first thing to do is to get you out of here. Then we'll sort that little matter out."
Leaving the lamp on the floor he made his way back to the door of the cell.
"Varro," he shouted at the top of the voice, "can you hear me?". There was an answering shout. "I want the boy out of here. He's got a chain locked about his ankle. Echios will know where the key is. Get it from him and bring it here."
Crastus waited at the door of the cell where the air was slightly less foul. From the corner where the boy lay came the sound of an occasional sniff. It was not long before Varro appeared with the key. Varro drew in his breath sharply as Crastus opened the iron ring.
"Well it's been on him a week," Crastus remarked looking at the band of raw suppurating flesh where the metal had galled the boy's flesh, "what can you expect."
"Come on get up," he continued, straightening and prodding Marius sharply with his toe in the ribs.. "We're not going to carry you, filthy little brute."
Urged on by occasional slaps and kicks from the two men Marius made his way unsteadily out of the cellars. He hesitated at the top of the steps and stood blinking and confused in the bright sunlight. Crastus come up behind him gave him a heavy push in the back that sent him staggering forward.
"Get him washed down," he ordered, "and get that filthy tunic off him. I'm not touching him in his present condition."
One of the men took the lad by the arm and half dragged and half marched him towards the well in the centre of the yard.
Crastus with Varro at his side turned to face Echios who was standing against the wall just outside the cellar door.
"Now," he said grimly, "what have you done with the boy's stuff?"
"Stuff," Echios quavered uncertainly, "I .. I ...don't know what you mean..."
"His jewellery, the chain, the bracelet and all the rest of it that you took off him."
Varro without warning half drew his sword ramming it's hilt into the free man's stomach. As Echios lurched forward Crastus drove the butt of his hand into the man's face. There was an audible crunch as his nose broke and his head slammed back against the wall. The man's knees began to give way under him. Crastus twisted his left hand in his tunic to hold him upright.
"I.... I ...... Took it from him in case he tried to use it to bribe someone to help him escape and to keep it safe for the Imperial treasury." Echios blurted out raising his hands to try to ward off any further blows.
"Very estimable," Crastus sneered, "well the Emperor has made us responsible for the boy now so we'll look after the jewellery as well. Where is it?"
The man hesitated staring round with wild eyes searching for a way to escape his tormentors. There was none. Crastus pulled him forward away from the wall and then slammed him back once more against it with all his strength. There was a sickening thud as the back of his head struck the wall.
"I ... I... Haven't got it any more ... I had lost some money on the races and I .... I had to hand it over to satisfy that. They sent men here to collect the money... I had no choice... They would have beaten me."
Crastus swore fiercely. He balled his right fist and punched the man in his crutch. Echios screamed shrilly. Crastus released his tunic and the man collapsed on the ground at his feet.
"We ride all the way here from Rome to do a job of work and we're not going to get anything extra for our trouble," he said disgustedly.
He drew back his foot and kicked Echios as hard as he could in his face. Then he turned his back on the man and followed by Varro walked across to the well. Echios remained lying curled on the ground moaning softly.
The man who had been ordered to clean Marius up had stripped him and was busy using the lad's tunic sponge him down. Crastus settled himself on the stone wall surrounding the well and stared gloomily at the boy. Not that he was a bad looking lad he thought. Far from it in fact. His face he knew from the cursory glance he had of it in the cellar was pretty enough in a boyish sort of way and he could see now the boy was out in the sun light and stripped that he had a nice little body. A good clean limbed young animal, slim but not painfully thin, a nicely formed rib cage, a good straight back, a tight well rounded bottom with two well pronounced dimples on either side, firm strong thighs. Marius was shivering now and looked rather out of condition which was not surprising considering what he had had to endure over the past week. Crastus could however imagine how attractive he would have looked with the sheen of health restored to his smooth young skin.
Crastinus noticed that a number of household slaves were lurking around the edge of the yard and in the doorways of the house and surrounding barns quietly watching what was going on. He got the impression from their expressions and some muttered remarks that he over heard that they were not at all worried at the treatment of Echios but that they were not so happy about the boy's. The latter would probably come to nothing he told himself. Almost certainly it would remain at the level of sullen muttering and if they did decide to try anything on with three swordsmen to help him he should be able to see off a rabble of unarmed slaves, though if they started throwing rocks or got hold of scythes and pitch forks things might get a little awkward.
The man engaged in swabbing down the boy had come to the lad's rump. He was trying to get Marius to lean forward and part his legs so that he could clean the cleft of his bottom but the boy had frozen. He clipped the lad lightly on the back of his head and then reinforced his order with a sharp slap of his open hand on the boy's bum. A murmur, unhappy rather than angry, rose from the watching slaves but the boy obediently shuffled his feet apart and bent forward.
"Trouble?" The men asked grinning at Crastinus and jerking his head towards where Echios lay whimpering in the dust.
"Yes," Crastinus growled. "The fat little sod has thieved the boy's jewellery and used it to pay off his gambling debts so we've come all the way here to take care of that little turd and will get no more than our wages for the job."
"Well he's not a bad looking brat and I'd say he's a virgin too so there's be a bit of pleasure for us all to be got out of him before you do the job," the man spoke quietly so the watching slaves could not her what was said. Marius seemed oblivious to what was being said, just standing passively still, his eyes glazed as the man worked on his body. Crastinus was not surprised at this. He had seen it happen many times before. Some of his victims fought and struggled to the end. Others, and this boy appeared to be among this category, seemed to become mesmerised with terror and went unprotestingly to their deaths like cattle being herded into a slaughter house. Crastus preferred it this way. It was less trouble. He hoped though the boy would liven up when the time came to rape him.
He looked at Marius appraisingly wondering whether he would be a good _f_u_c_k_. Certainly he looked good, perhaps if he could get a bit of bloom back ,better than merely good. An idea struck him.
"You thinks he's a virgin?"
"Near certain."
"Bring him over here."
The man propelled the docile boy over to Crastus with a series of gentle pushes and slaps on his bum. Crastus levered himself wearily upright from his seat on the wall and began a methodical examination of the lad. Marius stood still, unresisting, as the man's hands travelled over his body. He even lacked the spirit to try to hide his nakedness with his hands. Crastus steadily worked his way down the boy's body, no head lice or fleas, no obvious ear or eye infections, skin more or less clear of blemishes, good even white teeth with a clean tongue and no inflammation of the throat, no sign of ring worm under the arms. He needed the side of the boy's neck with his fingers, no sign of swollen glands. The boy's ribcage was well defined but the skin not too tightly stretched he decided as he took a small pinch of the boy's flesh between finger and thumb. He tweaked one hard young nipple. Marius gave a small gasp of pain but otherwise did not react. He moved his hands downwards pressing the tips of his fingers firmly into the boy's stomach seeking lumps and hardness but finding none. He took hold of the child's small hairless balls rolling them gently between the tips of his fingers. Marius caught his breath sharply at this invasion but made no other protest. Crastus pulled a face as he rolled back the boy's foreskin but reminded himself that the lad had for a week had little if any chance to clean himself. He checked the inside of his thighs for ringworm and then kneeling on the ground ran his hands down the boy's firm slim legs before examining his feet for parasites. He turned round and signalled to the boy to turn round. Back of the head, neck, shoulders his hands moved down the Marius's body stroking, squeezing, probing.
He ordered Marius to part his legs and bend forward to rest his hands on the top of the wall about the well. Again zombie like he obeyed. Crastus rested his hands on the boy's bottom relishing the feel of his cool flesh and smooth silky skin. This now he knew was the iron test. He had found nothing wrong with the boy, but for all that, that fat pimp of the Emperor's, Titus, said about the shortage of quality boy flesh in the markets no one would pay good money for a lad unless there was a bit of life to him. Marius at the moment was hardly better than dead flesh to handle and dead flesh he would be unless he showed a bit of spirit. There was no point in going to the trouble and expense of taking the brat to Rome unless he would fetch a good price on the auction block when he got him there.
Crastus slipped his right hand between Marius's legs and pushed upwards forcing his bottom higher into the air. He used his two thumbs to pull open the lips of the boy's anus. The lad could be cleaner he thought but at least there is no sign of round worm. He licked the tip of his index finger and pressed it into the boy. The lad tensed and for a moment resisted him. Crastus increased the pressure and forced the boy's sphincter open. Marius cried out in anguish and shock.
The slaves standing round the edge of the yard moved uneasily. Varro who up to then had been sitting on the wall of the well, watching lounged to his feet, his hand resting on his sword hilt.
Crastus put his left hand on the Marius's shoulder to steady him and probed deeper into his body. The boy moaned but more softly this time. Crastus probed still deeper and smiled as he felt the boy's body tighten once again about his finger, this time not resisting it's intrusion but trying to draw it further into him.
He glanced round the boy. His little _c_o_c_k_ was standing rigidly to attention it's tip pressing up against his tummy. A woman among the watching slaves giggled, then another and another. Varro removed his hand from his sword and joined in the laughter that now rang out round the yard.
Grinning Crastus pulled his finger out of the boy. There was an audible plop as it came clear of the lad's bottom. With a laugh he landed a loud open handed slap on Marius's bare rump.
"He's just a slut like any other brat of his age," he said cheerfully deliberately speaking loud enough for the crowd of slaves to hear. There was a murmur of approval and agreement. They might feel uneasy when they saw the boy who until very recently was their Master's son being hurt but they liked to be told that really he was no better than they were.
"Take him into the kitchen and get him cleaned up thoroughly using hot water," Crastus continued speaking to the man who had been washing Marius by the well. "There's sure to be a woman there who is used to dealing with cuts. Have her look specially at his ankle where the iron ring has cut the flesh. When she's cleaned it up don't bandage it. I think it'll heal quicker exposed to the air. And tell her to pay special attention to his foreskin and bottom they're both filthy."
"When she's finished bring him to me. We'll be in the principal guest room. I don't know where that is but that's where we'll be. One of the slaves will show you where it is."
"And keep an eye on what's going on," he added quietly. " I wouldn't put it past this lot to try to spirit the brat away if they saw a chance."
The man took hold Marius by his arm and led him towards the house. Crastus was pleased to see that tears were streaming down the boy's face and that he was trying to hide his still rigid prick with his hands. Clearly Marius had snapped out of his apathy and was now feeling his humiliation deeply.
"Now," Crastus said turning to Varro, "fetch Echios over to me. I have a couple of things I need to discuss with that thieving bastard."