Celeborn's Nine - Riders of the Night

Author's note: I surrender to the silliness. Temple virgins in Thebes! May take a couple of days to write
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In less than a week at the centaur camp, all of the elves but Celeborn started going shirtless in the hot humid climate that was Hellenes. A coating of olive oil that was scraped off protected them from burns until their skin adjusted to the sun. Tiger loved the way Master's skin was baking brown and his hair was fading to pure white. She was also wearing less, but he would not allow her to go topless like the centaur fillies. Tiger thought that was unfair, but if Master insisted and Glorfindel seconded it, she kept her top on.

And while Tiger would have been happy to stay with the centaurs until it was time to ride north again, Glorfindel decided he wanted to see more of Helles. Melanippus told them about the great cities to the south: Thebes, Athens, Mycanae and Sparta. Deciding that a visit to Menalaus was in order, they mounted up and headed south following the coast as far as they could before heading up into the mountain passes that took them back towards Delphi.

She wasn't doing much business this time of the year so they continued on without stopping, and a little less than a week after leaving the centaur camp, they arrived in the city of Thebes. A sprawling city with an acropolis, Thebes was not as glamorous as some cities that they had seen, but it was certainly a city with a huge market and peoples from many nations shopping and selling in it. And one thing was very apparent, they were noticed. Blond men in clothes of the north, minus their shirts, would have been noticed anywhere, but here in Thebes were the beauty of the male body was held in its highest esteem, the elves with their long blond hair and brown hairless bodies drew quite a few stares.

"I'm not certain I like this," one of the Galadhrim commented as they rode past a man who winked at him.

Reining their horses in an open area at the foot of the temple complex, the elves looked around hoping to find someone who seemed intelligent enough to speak with. It was at that time they noticed an absence of women. Where were they?

"Perhaps we need to ride on," Orophin suggested and received a nod from Elladan, who was also not certain he liked being in a city of men. And some of them were giving Tiger ugly looks.

"Haldir," Elrohir spoke up, "perhaps Tiger ought to ride with you while we are here."

Haldir reached his arm out to Tiger and swung her over behind him. This was a strange town.

"Do you speak Hellenes?" a mature female voice spoke up behind them.

All the elves looked around and were relieved to see that it was a woman speaking to them, a woman whose clothes denoted great wealth. "Yes, Glorfindel answered, "we speak Hellenes."

"Why are you here?"

"Simply passing through," Celeborn answered. "We had hoped to stay the night somewhere, but now we are not so sure."

She smiled and said, "It is your hair...among other things. Fair hair is highly desired."

"Desired for what?" Rumil asked curiously.

"As a lover. Come, I have a place where you can stay."

Glorfindel and Celeborn dismounted to walk with the woman but the younger elves opted to stay mounted. Too many curious eyes made them nervous.

"May I ask the name of our rescuer?" Glorfindel asked curiously.

"Aristaleonis. And yours?"

"I am Glorfindel and this is my Lord Celeborn."

"A lord?" she asked and looked at Celeborn. "A lord of what?"

"Of elves," Celeborn answered readily. She would notice the ears soon enough. Might as well get it over with.

"Elves?" she remarked curiously. "I have heard of you but have never seen you. One moment." She waved her hand and they were quickly joined by an entourage of servants and armed men. "Can't be too careful," she said as a sedan was brought forward and she sat in it. "Might as well get back on your horses and ride."

Celeborn and Glorfindel looked at each other and shrugged. Might as well ride. They meandered through the city until they reached the outskirts where the large estates were. An enormous wall surrounded Aristaleonis' estate with a gate of wraught iron protecting the pathway. Servants with skeleton keys opened the gates and let them in.

"Why do you keep it locked?" Glorfindel asked curiously, a quick examination of the structure telling him that he and Haldir could probably pull it off its hinges if an emergency came up.

"I am a woman of wealth. There are those who would take it," she said as the sedan was lowered to the ground. "They'll take care of your horses. Come inside and cool off."

Aristaleonis' hospitalty was appreciated, but Glorfindel had come to suspect that there was something more on her mind. Enjoying some wine on a walkway over looking a beautiful but small fountain, he said," Your hospitality is most generous. How can we repay you?"

"I'm glad you asked," she replied and stood beside him while the others listened on with great interest. "I couldn't help but notice your swords and bows when you rode in. You are warriors plain and simple. And I want to hire you."

"Hire us to do what?"

"Go to Crete and find my son."

Celeborn, joining them, said, "Madame, we dont even know where Crete is."

"It is the land of the Minotaur and King Minos. My son went there a year ago and I have not heard of him since."

CEleborn looked back at his riders sitting in the shade of the awning to see their reactions. Haldir had his head down so his face was unreadible. His brothers were looked as if they weren't sure but not entirely hostile to the idea. The Galadhrim's faces reflected the brothers. Elladan looked receptive to the idea; Elrohir's face was unreadible. Tiger was rubbing Haldir's back; she would go where he went.

"What do you think?" Celeborn asked them. "Does Crete interest you?"

"We'll need to know more first," Haldir said and looked up.

"I can tell you everything you need to know," Aristaleonis said eagerly.
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Night fell softly on Aristaleonis' estate. Good food and wine added to the mellowness of the evening. The only thing missing was music and women, at least that was what Elladan and Rumil concluded.

"You know I wouldn't mind walking around and seeing the sights," Rumil opined. "Perhaps if we acted like we were together no one would bother us."

Elladan scowled at him. "I'd just as soon see the sights and not pretend like I'm with you."

"Hey, maybe Elrohir and I can go with you," Orophin spoke up, "and them too. Safety in numbers." The Galadhrim nodded.

"Think Haldir would want to go along, too?' Rumil asked.

"We ought to at least let him know where we're going," Elladan said. "Just incase grandfather or Glorfindel asks."

They went looking for Haldir and found him and Tiger sitting by the fountain. They could tell right away that Haldir would not want to go sight seeing. He was in the early stages of doing what they wanted to do with their own women, if they could find any. Surely not every man in Thebes was.....what do you call men who like men in Hellenes?

"Different," one of the Galadhrim answered.

"Haldir," Orophin spoke up. "WE are going sight seeing."

Haldir removed himself from Tiger's lips and said without looking at them, "Do not get into trouble." They all nodded, except Elrohir, and turned away as Haldir returned to his task at hand.
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Thebes at night was not that interesting, it sorely lacking in creature comforts, but they did manage to find one place that sold wine and bought themselves a round. With Elladan elected the leader of their little expedition, they encouraged him to ask the manager if there was any place in Thebes where they could visit with ladies. The man looked them over, paying extra close attention to the weapons on them, particularly the way they carried their swords across their backs, and told them of an establishment where female prostitutes plied their trade.

"I will not pay for sex," Elrohir spoke up as he drank his wine.

Elladan looked at him and said," Then you are elected our guardian."

Elrohir almost chuckled at that. "You expect me to guard you?" he asked curiously.

"Personally I think you need laying more than any of us do," Elladan said.

"Perhaps," Elrohir replied. "But we aren't going to find any women here, or in the whole damn city I fear. Where ever they are, tall walls hide them."

"Good point," Rumil agreed. "Let's just look around awhile and head back over to Aristaleonis'. "

And that was the general consensus when the elves left the tavern. Gazing up at the Theben acropolis, they decided to go sight seeing up there. Besides it was a nice climb and they needed to stretch their legs. Reaching the top of the acropolis, they noticed that there were people about..female people in cloaks and hoods hurrying towards one of the temples. Out of curiosity, they decided to follow.

They were about to enter one of the buildings when a woman covered from head to toe in a large flowing cloak with a hood stopped them. "What do you want?" she asked suspiciously.

"Just curious," Elladan answered. "You are the first women we have seen since coming to Thebes. Why do you hide?"

"WE do not hide. WE merely avoid places where you apparently frequent."

"Good point," Orophin spoke up.

Hearing what she considered a strange accent, not to mention that they were in leggings and boots, she asked, "Where do you come from?"

"We are elves from Rivendale," Elrohir answered. "We are only visiting your country."

"Elves?" the woman asked and lowered the hood. She was an attractive woman with soft hair, and upon closer inspection she was actually quite beautiful, and she seemed intrigued by Elrohir. Stepping closer, she looked closely at the side of his head. "You are elves."

"I would not lie to you," he assured her, suddenly aware that she was looking him up and down. It had been awhile since a woman had looked at him with anything but pity in her eyes. "Who are you?"

"I am Castoria, priestess to the great goddess Demeter. The women you were following her her daughters."

"Busy woman," one of the Galadhrim remarked casually.

Castoria smiled and said, "It is a figure of speech. They are also her priestesses."

"And I bet you are all virgin devotees," Orophin muttered under his breath, not meaning for her to hear him, but she did.

"Some are, but not all. I'm not." And she gave Elrohir a look that said she was interested in what was hidden by his leggings. "Would you like to join us?"

Join them? Oh yes, they were willing to join them, and it quickly became apparent that these young women were greatly interested in promoting good relations between the women of Thebes and elfkind. Castoria, her sights set on Elrohir, encouraged to sit beside her on her couch, while one of the girls played something sweet and tender on her lyre.

"Have you been away from home long?" she asked as a servant brought them wine.

"Long enough," he replied and accepted the kylix.

"Wife? Sweetheart?" she asked and realized by the way he looked down and said no that there had been someone once. "You must have loved her dearly."

"I cared," he admitted, "but she had an accident and died. She was pregnant at the time, so it was not a good thing." He drained his cup. Castoria waved a servant over and had her refill it. She then leaned closer.

"I'm sorry," she said tenderly. Taking the kylix from him, she placed it on the floor and then studied his beautiful face for a moment before leaning in to kiss him. It was a curious kiss at first that only got stronger as he became receptive to the idea of being with her. And the longer he fed at her mouth, the hungrier he got. It was a good bet that Castoria had never been with an elf before, but it was also a good bet that she had never been with a male who truely loved females, who didn't look upon them as an evil neccessity. When Elrohir mouth took posssession of her lips, when his body leaned into hers, she moaned hungrily and reached for the laces on his leggings. And a half detached gaze around her quarters told her that she wasn't the only one wanting elf flesh.

Elrohir stopped her a moment to pull off his boots. But she didn't want to quit and leaned over and ran her lips across his shoulder. He waited a moment and then stood up, and with him standing in front of her, she jerked the leggings down, careful to free the swollen maleness without hurting him. Running her fingers over that ripe part of him, she leaned forward and took him into her mouth. Elrohir laid his hands on her shoulder to steady himself as she tortured him exquisitely, skillfully, drawing the blood out of his brain and leaving it in his groin.

Elladan, tasting the sweetness of his lovely female, glanced up briefly and smiled. It was good to see his twin surrendering to the needs of the flesh. What surprised him was a second female stepping up to Elrohir and running her hands over his back and down to his narrow hips and strong flanks. She reached around him and caressed his body while Castoria continued fellating him. Elrohir tossed his dark hair over his shoulder and raised his head for a moment. It was nice, but his ego demanded that he return the favor.

Orophin discovered his lady was one of the virgins and accepted it with good grace. He needed to be gentle, and was until she dug her nails in his ass and yelled at him to fuck her. So he did. It was mind blowing..her nails were sharp.

Rumil was surprised to discover that his two ladies were also lovers and he was the spice in their threesome. It's not everyday and elf gets to watch two beautiful women make love to each other and then invite him to join them. So basically he fucked one while the other went down on her lover. Yeah, every boys's fantasy from the day they are old enough to dream about women.

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Haldir and Tiger were sitting by the unlocked gate when the elves returned looking a lot like death warmed over.

"Have fun?" Haldir asked them.

"Fucked our brains out," Orophin answered. "Where are we sleeping?"