Aphrodite's Curse Ch. 066

The seekers were all struggling as all were quite rich and unaccustomed to walking such long distances by foot, used to being carried in a sedan by one of their hundreds of slaves. Seekers of the Oracle were required to come alone as no slaves were allowed in the sanctified valley. Orion was giddy riding Pegasus through the jagged cliffs, as he was definitely convinced that this was the ONLY way to travel. Landing in the center of the amphitheater in the center of Delphi, he created quite a stir from the Priests polishing the sacred stone in the center of the arena.

Dismounting, he patted Pegasus on her haunches and she launched back into the sky. Being completely tamed now, she would return when he called, and she bounded playfully into the sky, eager to find an isolated meadow to rest while her master took care of his business. Looking around the small tight valley, Orion was impressed, as he had only heard about Delphi but had never seen it. The Oracle was exclusively the preserve of the very wealthy of Greece, as the fees to receive her pronouncements were expensive in the extreme. The Ostentatiousness of the place was reflected in the impressive buildings in the complex, as every God had a temple built to their worship in this holy place.

To his right stood the temple to Aphrodite, dazzling in pink marble and large shining gold doors. Her beautiful Priestess stood on the steps, arms outstretched, stunning in her sheer golden gown which highlighted her gorgeous curvy body underneath. To his left stood the Temple to Poseidon, equally dazzling in deep blue marble, his Priest also impressive in his deep green silk robes as he prepared to make his daily sacrifice. All around him, crowding the small enclosure were temples to each of the Gods, and all were built by grateful rich seekers to the Oracle, each trying to outdo their wealthy competitors. The temple of Zeus was by far the most impressive, and was located up a very steep slope to his left, its white pure marble blindingly bright in the bright September sun. At the end of the valley another temple was located, and this one, although enormous and quite impressive was ominous in its appearance and obviously was much older than any of the other temples.

Black marble sparkled in the sunshine, but the overall appearance was sinister. It was obvious that this temple was the first that had been constructed as it abutted directly against the sheer stony cliff of the valley over the entrance to a natural cave. Walking towards the temple, he noticed that despite the impressive status of the other ones in the valley, THIS was the center of all of the attention. As he walked up the steps towards the large dark black and green doors, they opened as he approached.

Entering the hall, he was impressed as it was much larger inside than it appeared from outdoors. The interior was quite dark as no windows existed but was lit by at least one hundred torches attached to the wall. At the far end of the room stood an enormous statue to the Goddess Hecate, covered entirely in green jade that glinted in the firelight. It was an impressive sight, and the Goddess, although beautiful, was an imposing and fearsome presence. In her left hand she held a human skull, and in her right, a long dagger. Her face was grim, and her eyes, carved from ruby, instantly caused trepidation when you viewed her.

Before this statue, black robed Priests were performing constant sacrifices to the divinity. A stone altar was placed at the feet of the Goddess, and a parade of animals were being brought forward, slaughtered and tossed into the flames. The coppery smell of fresh blood and burning wood choked the hall, and made it slightly hard to breathe. Behind the statue he could see the opening to the cave, and that is where the Oracle presided, perched on a large golden chair over a fissure in the bedrock. Through this fissure, gasses and fumes rose and threw her into a trance, in which she could then commune with Hecate and answer the questions asked by the seekers.

To the right of the altar, on long black marble benches, were the seekers to the Oracle. All obviously very rich as they were dressed in the most exquisite silks and jewelry. Orion, of humble birth, looked contemptuously at the pampered sissy boys sitting on the bench, but also winked at several of the more attractive women present. Having always been a pussy hound, these rich bored girls were JUST the sort he normally pursued, so easily charmed by his natural and easy way with women, and all desperate to enjoy a fling with a humble but handsome "peasant". He smirked as he looked at his own attire, obviously far less luxurious than the others.

When one of the Priests of Hecate approached, looking Orion up and down contemptuously he grinned. It was obvious that this, like so many things in life, was another example of money talking. Clearing his throat, the Priest asked "May I help you?" his face sneering as he figured that this supplicant could not possibly have the money necessary for the fee.

The Oracle, in addition to its religious significance, was also an incredible money-making opportunity, and poorer families were always desperate to have their children take up with the cult. A Priest or Priestess to Hecate at the Oracle could make a fortune, selling overpriced "sacrifices" to the Goddess, and accepting bribes to move desperate seekers to the front of the line. Orion was absolutely correct in his assessment that Money Talks, and here it not only talked it shouted.

Even more lucrative than being a Priest was being the Oracle. She was always a woman and was restricted to those of noble birth, stunning beauty and high intelligence. Never being allowed to marry, those girls wanting to take on this job usually were women whose hearts had been broken, or had had some other tragedy occur in their life that would cause them to seek this rigorous vocation. Although it was a rich and luxurious life, it was a lonely one. It took years of study and devotion to be chosen, and the candidates not only needed to be highly intelligent but also beautiful. Hecate would not allow the unattractive or stupid to serve her.

Orion, irritated at the condescending attitude of the Priest stated flatly. "I am here to seek advice from the Oracle, so how much is the fee?"

The Priest, rolling his eyes as he realized that this was probably not going to end well, decided to go ahead and quote the fee schedule. "Well, being a religious shrine, there is a small fee of one drachma to consult the oracle".

Orion dug into his bag and quickly placed a coin into his hand, ready to approach the cave entrance. His arm was grabbed by the Priest, and he was pointed towards the long bench. "I am sorry, but you must wait your turn. I fear that the wait is quite long, so you may want to come back later."

Orion raised his eyebrow. "How much later?"

"Well, the current wait is approximately five years. Although, even though I am sure you cannot afford it, there are ways to shorten that."

Orion grinned as he now understood how this works. This was the scam, and it was a good one. He rolled his eyes as the Priest then began to lay out his "Options".

"Well, for the Bronze plan, you can shorten your wait to a year. It only will require the sacrifice of one holy black chicken, which as fate would have it, I can sell you for one hundred drachmas."

Orion laughed out loud. One hundred drachmas was roughly the amount of money an average man would earn in an entire year, and to pay that price for a black chicken was pure unadulterated thievery. Despite his annoyance at such an obvious and ham-handed method of shaking down desperate seekers of the Oracle, he had to admire the cleverness of the scheme. Only "HOLY" animals were allowed to be sacrificed, and of course they were only available from the priests.

"Go on, what other options are there?" Orion giggled.

The Priest was annoyed, convinced that he was wasting his time, but continued, "Ok, for the silver plan you can purchase a white goat for five hundred drachmas. This sacrifice is very popular with Hecate and will reduce your wait to six months. For our exclusive Gold plan, you can purchase a white swan for one thousand drachmas, and that will get you inside in a month."

Orion, barely able to disguise the contemptuous the smirk on his face then asked "What if I want to get in right now. Do you have an option for that?"

Now the Priest was truly annoyed, absolutely convinced that Orion was just mocking his holy mission, but went ahead and answered his question. "Well, for our Diamond plus Ruby Gold Platinum Preferred plan, you can purchase a White Bull for five thousand drachmas, and that will get you in today, but honestly sir, I am sure you cannot aff—". The Priest's mouth dropped open in shock and he instantly stopped speaking in mid-sentence as Orion dropped the five thousand drachmas into his hand.

Closing the Priest's hand around the money, Orion then took out a 100 drachma coin and laid it on the table. "I will take it! And there is your tip my good man."

.

Instantly the attitude of the Priest changed. "Oh yes sir, yes, very good sir. Now, we have a special waiting room for obviously high born nobles like you. Can I get you a drink sir? We have muffins and fruit at the bar and." he continued to ramble as Orion was escorted to a side room to wait.

As he was walked towards the VIP waiting room, the Priest further explained what would occur once he entered the Oracle's chamber. She would ask what he wished to know, and he would ask his question, but otherwise would remain silent. Once she went into her trance, the answer would be obtained from Hecate and she would provide it after he performed some small ritual for her. Asking about this "ritual" the Priest assured Orion that it was just a minor thing, usually a prayer or some small symbolic task like beating his chest or kneeling on the ground, nothing to worry about. The ritual was just a formality, but was part of the ceremony and was completely at the discretion of the Oracle.

For the next hour Orion thoroughly enjoyed himself. The VIP room was luxury on a scale that he did not even think existed. Dark marble and gold decorated the room, and his goblet of wine and plate of muffins never went empty, constantly filled by several of the most beautiful acolytes of Hecate as he lounged on a long silk couch. Short black silk gowns barely covered their gorgeous asses and long legs, their cleavage clearly on display for the lucky patrons inside. Orion, despite the sacrifice of his sex life to Artemis, still flirted shamelessly with the girls in the VIP room, and was enjoying every second of his wait. When he was finally called to enter the Oracle's cave, two gorgeous beauties were sitting on his lap each having fallen completely to his seductive skills.

Now that he had been called, his unconscionably expensive bull having been sacrificed to Hecate, the two girls placed a black silk hooded robe over his head and walked him to the rocky entrance to the chamber. Entering the cave, Orion walked alone down the stone steps to the Oracle. Entering the large room at the bottom of the stairs, there sitting on a golden chair over a fissure in the ground sat Pythia. She was beautiful, her long black hair hanging loose over her pale white shoulders, her curvy and delicious body barely covered by her black silk robe. Her eyes were closed and she was already under the influence of the fumes from the fissure and the spell of Hecate when Orion entered.

Pythia performed her role and asked for him to make his request, which he did. Pythia was amazed that someone would ask such a question about how to castrate an immortal, but it was not her job to question the request, but only to obtain the answer. As she babbled in her trance, her mind filled with visions of the journey needed to obtain the tools for such a job. The answer obtained, she nodded to her two priestesses standing at either side of her chair.

Bringing Orion forward to Pythia, they removed his hood finally exposing his face. Pythia's mouth immediately fell open in shock as she looked down at this "seeker" standing before her. There, right in front of her, was the man who five years earlier had seduced her innocence, promised to marry her before fucking her sister and eventually running off to new conquests. Her whole body trembled in rage as she looked at his face, growing even more furious as it was obvious he did not recognize her at all. Not a day had gone by in the past five years that she had not cried over Orion, her heart completely broken and shattered by his piggish actions. It took all of her strength not to leap out of her chair and run over to him and spit in his face. For a full minute she sat in stony silence glaring at him standing there, that adorable roguish smirk on his face only pissing her off more.

Finally, her two priestesses touched her arm, thinking she was still in her trance. "Domina, are you OK?" the first Priestess asked. "The seeker still has not received his ritual yet, and you have not given him his answer."

Grinning evilly, Pythia glowered at Orion as her mind roiled in malicious delight.