Walk beside Selene as she drives the wagon.

Dareios glanced to her sisters Natalya and Fainne already seated upon the wagon and then back to Selene. "Before we go I must see to my travelling companion."

"Who's that?" Fainne asked. Her big eyes looked curiously round at anything concerning the young colossus who had just saved them. More curiously perhaps, now that the essentials of his manhood were covered from her eyes.

"She says little but bears much," Dareios said. "My donkey."

Dareios walked back along the path of his arrival, looking for his pack animal. The squeal behind him when he dodged the crossbow bolt left him worrying. Fortunately she was nearby, behind a screen of bushes, munching placidly on some flowers. The red trace of a glancing cut marked her withers, but it looked like just a a scratch.

"Come, girl," he called. The donkey raised her fuzzy-eared head, and Dareios grasped her halter. Dareios was very pleased she was still with him. Amongst the parcels on her back were letters of introduction that would help him get a start in Tharros. A mission had been sent years ago to establish a shrine of Klyra and Teitum. With grace it was still there, and they would welcome him. And it would have been a shame to lose his coin, his spear, and especially his armor. Dareios' armor was made for his stature, and it would be some trouble to get a new suit fitted.

"Selene," Dareios said as he returned. "May I stow my gear in your wagon?"

The curly-haired brunette, senior of the three sisters, nodded her assent. "There's room," she said. "But first, perhaps, you can help us..."

"I see!" he said. The wagon had gone off the edge of the rough path, and one wheel was caught in a hole. It explained why the sisters had been unable to flee in the wagon. They had been surprised while they were trying to get the wheel loose. Dareios doffed his cloak, readying himself for action. Natalya descended and stood to the side, scanning the area, looking everywhere but directly at Dareios. Fainne, on the other hand, hopped out and watched Dareios closely as he prepared to save them once again.

Dareios laid his hands under the corner of the wagon, and his shoulder to the back. With Selene urging her team forward, but mostly because of Dareios' exertion on the back corner, the wagon lurched up and forward. As he pushed off with his back foot, his loincloth slipped and the thick shaft of his manhood popped out on one side.

Fainne giggled as she watched.

Dareios was pleased at Fainne's attention, but felt awkward at breaking his promise to Selene to cover himself before her sisters. Nevertheless, his neglected cock swelled at the hint of any friendly notice, extending itself like a snake from a hole and thumping against his thigh. With both hands and feet busy rescuing the wagon, he couldn't take time to recover his promised modesty.

With a grunt, Dareios pushed the wagon the last bit onto the firm part of the path.
He took a deep breath or two and removed his loincloth so he could rewrap it around his partial erection. He could tell from the corner of his eye that Natalya was watching too. Dareios rewrapped more securely so he would not displease their older sister.

His politeness now repaired at a cost to his comfort, Dareios tied his donkey's halter to the back of the wagon and loaded his few parcels in a corner, keeping his helmet, cloak and sword belt, and leaving the donkey carrying his shield.

He walked at the head of the wagon beside Selene as she drove the wagon's team forward. With his height, he could easily talk with her even as she sat atop the wagon.

"What brings you to Tharros?" Selene asked.

"To seek my fortune," Dareios said. "Or my true calling. I have been blessed with strength and called by my city to serve in war. But there are great forces moving in Tharros, and I would see it before I decide if my lovely isle, my swordbrothers, and our loving sisters holy and mundane are world enough for me."

"Your loving sisters?"

"The City Guards may be called to serve the love of the holy priestesses of Klyra the Fecund on auspicious days and for ceremonies. I was called. Other women bunk with us. They are our bond sisters and lovers. Whether they are retired priestesses, widows, young city-fostered children like myself, or tenders of the barracks and stores, their pleasure and honor is our first duty when we are not on guard. And a pleasurable duty to us, to be sure." Dareios smiled, thinking of his long farewell party.

"And you left that behind?" Selene said.

"I love my city, but there is a wider world. My loving sisters may call me back, by my heart or by my phallus." He looked at Selene. "Was that the right word?"

"I suppose," Selene said. Her eyes flicked down and to the side, but Dareios' long cloak curtained his midsection from her gaze.

"What brings you and your sisters toward Tharros?" Dareios asked.