The Ergastulum
Part 3
Eris and Andara begged their captors and Kaeso for mercy upon Keres.
Their pleas were ignored as they were carried from the torture chamber and the
cacophony of screams faded with the closure of the massive door behind them.
Keres could only grimace held aloft by her hair while being carried to a
nearby wall-mounted vertical rack. After she was affixed to the stretching
engine, an oblong, bronze metal mass was forced into her mouth spreading her jaw
to an awful extent. She was then racked tight by a stocky, smelly
ergastularius. He hunkered down to turn the apparatus's winching mechanism that
quickly pulled Keres to her full extension. To produce acute pain and prepare
her for the clamps, the Roman pushed hard into Kere's belly while giving the
winch an additional full turn. He set the locking mechanism and called to Kaeso
that she was ready for him to apply the clamps.
In the adjoining chamber, Eris continued to plead for her sister until
she and Andara were released at the entrance to the bath. With a chuckle, the
largest of their brutish escorts cupped her milk-encrusted breasts and said,
"Don't worry mother, the stratigos," he referred to Kaeso sarcastically as the
general, "will be gentle."
Eris responded with a quizzical look. "A slave seldom is put to death
the first day," the Roman continued while caressing her bruised chest. "The
clamps will of course hurt and the running will be exhausting. He will not have
a fire started in the Equis so her time mounted to it will produce only
discomfort. Now tend to your needs at the toilet and the bath. I suggest you
hurry then to your cell to retrieve whatever food remains. Agricultural
training will test your mettle and you will need your strength. So get along
now."
At that, the Roman bent to place his lips on her forehead. He offered a
soft kiss before tapping his cohort to signify it was time to leave. The
partner gently set Andara on the ground and left her with a sharp slap to her
buttocks. The sisters immediately fell into each other's arms in shocked relief
for themselves as well as Keres.
Keres strained to breath through her nasal passages due to the
constriction caused by the mass of metal in her mouth. Kaeso arrived at her
side and fidgeted with a windless device at the end of the orb. Keres felt the
object in her oral cavity beginning to expand. The initial discomfort changed
to an excruciating, deep ache as her jaw was distended. The throbbing seemed to
be running along the nerves from her mouth to her eyes, ears and down her neck
to radiate along the front and back of her shoulders. Satisfied that she was
well aware of her pain, Kaeso abandoned the oral orb and gathered the implements
for clamping her breasts. Kaeso was an experienced expert of the breast clamps.
He understood the physics of setting the pairs of serrated metal strips to dig
deeply and painfully into the flesh. His knot tying skills and flax he used
ensured that the strips would not yield their purchase. He applied the clamps
with the victim racked and extended so when released, flesh would envelop the
metal and guarantee no slippage. If left on long enough, Kaeso wondered while
cinching the thin cords, the flesh would probably grow around the clamps
absorbing them permanently.
Keres glowered though pain-induced slits of eyes as she felt the stabs
in her breasts. The needle-like teeth running up the bases of both sides of
both breasts brought tears to her eyes. Soon similar sensations were emitting
from first the left nipple and then the right. Within seconds, her whole chest
felt as if it were on fire with the terrible burning amplified as Kaeso began to
cinch the eight pairs of clamps tightly together. Kaeso finished the bindings
and stood back to check his work. The Greek girls's torso was a mass of
contorted, skin-piercing shiny strips with dozens of sharp metal points digging
into dimpled flesh. Spots of blood appeared at various places among the steel
and flax matrix as the clamps did their job. Satisfied with the quality of his
effort, Kaeso began to loosen Keres's extension upon the torture frame. As her
body's tension was relieved, her slackening skin filled the peaks and valleys of
her clamped chest so when her torso returned to a normal extension, her trunk
had the appearance as that of a leper's-pocked, puckered and misshapen.
Kere's had abandoned all thoughts of resistance and her full mental
capacity was focused on dealing with pain. Her awful racking, engorged mouth
with the anguish it produced, and the misery dancing about her chest became her
universe. A pinch of her nostrils brought her eyes wide open.
"Good, I see you are alert," Kaeso whispered. His face was only inches
from hers as he gently stroked her contorted face. "I have other orbs that may
be inserted into your nether orifices. The anal implement is particularly
uncomfortable when you're run. I wonder if your attitude would benefit from it?
And the device for your vagina can hold various things such as stinging plant
leaves, burning embers, insects, and indeed small biting animals. Now Greek, it
is up to you. Will you submit?"
A flood of tears welled up in Keres's eyes spilling free as she blinked
to clear her vision. Kaeso touched a rough hand to the area of her tortured
left breast and she nodded acquiescence to his question.
"Good," Kaeso replied to her surrender. "I will not insert the other
orbs...this time. You will be unbound now and a beam affixed across your
shoulders behind your neck. Your wrists will be tied to the ends and the beam
secured with rope front and back so it cannot be dropped. The beam is quite
weighty but I know you're a spirited, strong bitch and can manage. Gylo, a
comrade of mine, will then run you throughout the ergastularius. We have a
little time until the moon appears. I hope you make an impressive showing
during your run. If Gylo is awed with your attitude and vigor, perhaps you may
be spared spending the night aboard equis."
Several chambers away, Eris and Andara had completed bathing with
roughly 20 other slaves of both sexes and several nationalities. Their first
appearance at the bath was met with many faces that seemed to exhibit welcoming
expressions sympathetic to the many marks on their bodies. Although advised not
to dawdle, the women reveled in the warm, clean water and soap to cleanse the
dirt accumulated over the last week since their abduction. When finally their
growling stomachs reminded them to eat, they emerged from the bath. A tall,
black female slave touched Eris's back and motioned for them to follow her. The
three clean, naked women padded through the large bath area and down a long
partially lit hallway. The flickering light reveled many cells on either side
of the passage. The cells were dark with the exception of the one the Nubian
woman eventually directed them into. As they entered, the guide stepped to the
torch held in the wall and returned to the Greek sisters holding the burning
light aloft.
"My name is Lena," said the woman is stilted Greek. "I'm a slave like
you but from Egypt and have been here for five years. I've earned the position
of domestic guide and am entrusted to conduct the orientation of new arrivals.
I know you've been through quite a bit since you were taken from your homes and
I will be available to help get you through the confusing first days."
"Oh Lena," sighed Andara as she embraced her. "I thank the Gods for
you. I'm Andara of Rhodes, middle daughter of the merchant Seltos. This is my
older sister Eris. My twin sister has been left in the first chamber with the
ergastularius called Kaeso.
With a slow shake of her head, Lena mustered, "That is indeed
unfortunate. While Kaeso should cause her no debilitating damage, her time in
that chamber will be very painful and she'll have no rest before beginning her
training tomorrow. Was she insubordinate?"
"She was shocked at the cruelty," answered Eris "and she verbally
expressed it."
Lena smiled, "She will survive then-if she learns from the treatment.
Meanwhile, you two must eat and then sleep. Lena surveyed the naked women and
added, "You are both lovely but you look like you suffered much today. She
gently caressed Andara's cheek and Eris's shoulder. "I will be by for you in
the morning."
"What can we expect for the morning Lena? Queried the sisters fearfully
and nearly in unison.
Lena knelt and directed them to begin eating while she would explain.
The sisters were surprised at the goodly amount of fruit and bread available and
began eating eagerly while Lena talked."
"It will be as hard as you can imagine. Agricultural training is very
physically demanding," she began. "You will run nearly continually as well as
deal with many obstacles and heavy implements. As I am before you, you will
always be naked. Our Roman masters insist on this so no weapons can be
concealed easily nor contraband smuggled. Also, they appreciate our exotic
beauty and of course, being naked is an arousing vision for them--if we maintain
our beauty. To keep us appealing, adequate nourishment and baths are always
provided, unless one is being punished. Also, you'll find lotions and salves
always available in the cells to tend to wounds, protect you from the sun and
wind and keep your skin healthy. Our Roman sun is unrelenting this time of the
year so salve is provided during the day when you are assigned to the fields.
All in all, other than being at the beckon call of any free Roman, survival is
certainly possible and can be not unpleasant."
Unfortunately, Keres did not have the advantage of hearing Lena's
speech. The little air she could inhale with the huge metal sphere in her mouth
kept her in a panic and forced her lungs to labor. Her body was demanding
oxygen as she ran around the perimeter of a large, circular arena. The wooden
beam pressed heavily open her shoulders and abraded them with every footfall.
The ropes holding the beam to her ran around her torso and aggregated the
punishing clamps embedded in her chest. A Roman on horseback trotted along her
letting his whip sting her whenever she would begin to slow her pace. "Faster
woman" was all he ever shouted while putting the lash on varying parts of Keres.
Her jog would then become a trot and with more strikes of the whip, a sprint
until pain and a lack of air would begin again to take its toll.
Thirst soon began to be an added irritant and Keres wondered how much
longer this could continue before she fainted. The whip spurred her on when her
gait slowed. Sweat drenched her from forehead to ankles amplifying the slapping
sounds as the whip found its mark on her wet skin. It was difficult to see with
her mouth so extended, her chest bound unnaturally, the weight on her back, and
sweat streaming into her eyes. Fortunately, the arena's ground was well packed
and level-no doubt due to all the others forced to run as punishment-so she
maintained her footing. On and on she went--faster and slower with the ever
present whip always inspiring her to keep moving.
"Stop girl," the horseman finally shouted. Keres crashed immediately
and painfully into the dirt struggling to keep her nose out of the dust. The
beam across her shoulders kept her from finding a comfortable position. She
forced her breathing to slow and become rhythmic while sweat and mucous dripped
from her nostrils to the dirt an inch below.
"Well slave," came Kaeso's voice from behind and above her. "Gylo has
run many a slave here and indeed was impressed by your performance." Kaeso
knelt next to her and began to remove the ropes holding the beam. Blessed
relief came as he flipped the wood free and her arms dropped to her sides.
Kaeso continued, "You have earned spending the night with your sisters. I am
not cruel for cruelty's sake. I have a job to do and it is to break you. If
you heed me and abide by direction, you will live. You are attractive enough to
merit domestic service eventually...if you adjust your demeanor."
Keres heard little of Kaeso's lame attempt to sooth her. Still starved
for air, she was mostly unaware as he helped her to her feet and carried her
limp body from the arena. She only heard little of the cries of anguish as
Kaeso returned her to the torture chamber and reattached her to the vertical
frame. When she was firmly attached then stretched out, Keso loosened and
removed the metal from her mouth. She was only minimally extended-just enough
to pull her flesh away from the metal shards in her breasts. Keres gulped in
huge amounts of air and tried in vain to work her jaw that had locked open from
muscle cramps. When Kaeso had untied the last bit of flax, he gingerly plucked
the metal implements from her chest then turned his ministrations to massaging
her jaw. When her jaw cramps abated, Keres slumped into an exhausted sleep as
Kaeso's huge warm hands slathered with soothing ointment brought ecstasy to a
body formerly peppered with pain.
