The Temple of Androcon, Chapter 2

Kelly found herself reaching the floor of the room very quickly once she had jumped off. Dr. McTalon was waiting for her as she landed, already setting up an electric lantern so they could see the underground room. He put on his lighted hard hat and started to walk slowly as Kelly quickly removed the rope and harnesses off of herself. Once she did so, she walked away from the circle of sunlight shining down through the hole in the rock above them, grabbed her own helmet and sought to get a better look of this discovery.

What she saw made her jaw drop to the floor. The room was a large oval chamber, rivaling the size of the McTavish Lecture Hall in the Biology Center at Viscount University. It had overwhelmed her as her first lecture location as a freshman, but this room was even grander. She could see some images on the wall, but the sunlight was making it difficult to see what they were. Kelly put her lighted helmet on and walked further from the hole to get a better look. As she did, she could see that the images were rather well done drawings of men and woman on the smooth stone walls. They were paint or pigment of some sort, and not as crude as she expected, making the time period for them a lot later.

When she saw what the images depicted, she started to giggle a little. Each drawing was a scene of men and women in various poses and positions of sexual contact. To say that they were a bit graphic was a bit of an understatement. The more she looked, the more her face felt like it was burning. She was no prude by any stretch of the imagination, but this was catching her fully by surprise.

“Not too much for you, is it, Ms. Yeager?” asked Dr. McTalon as he moved beside her out of the shadows. When she heard his voice, she nearly jumped out of her skin.

“N-no...not at all,” she sputtered out, “just didn’t expect a Celtic Karma Sutra when we got down here!”

“I can understand that, Kelly. It caught me by surprise too,” he replied. And it had. Of all the things to be down here, this was not one he expected. He looked the walls over again. There had to be at least, what, twenty drawings on the oval walls of this chamber? Once he finished scanning the walls, he looked over at Kelly. She was still a little awestruck at the site. Then he chastised himself in his head as he let his eyes wander to her torso. The peek revealed that her face was not the only part of her reacting as two bumps appeared on her top. He quickly got control over his eyes and spoke again. “Now, look the room over, this time ignoring the art on the walls and tell me what you see, and, more important, what you don’t see.”

Kelly slowly looked around the room. “Well,” she slowly pondered, “I see just an empty open room. No windows of course. No furniture anywhere or remains of anything on the floor.” Then, it hit her like a ton of bricks. “There is no door coming in!”

“Very good. The roof shows no sign of an entrance, so there must be a doorway hidden in the walls somewhere. Time to play detective and try to find one, or more!” Dr. McTalon replied. “I’ll start on the west side, you the east. Work your way along the wall clockwise until we either find something or we end up back under the wall etching we started under.” As he spoke, he was already walking to his chosen side. Kelly saw him start to closely scrutinize the surface of the wall, his hands slowly feeling the rock, eyes close as well. She smiled and went to the far end, smiling at the challenge.

“It can’t be too hard, after all, they always find them in the movies...” she muttered to herself as she began. As she tried to scrutinize the first section, she began to look real close at the image right above her. She found herself strangely attracted to it, almost magnetically drawn to it. The woman was spread out on the bed, or what appeared to be a bed. The man was over her, his hands on her torso or belly. As in all so far, the man was quite massively endowed. She wondered if that was just a man from the tribe or perhaps this ‘Androcon’ from the scrolls. Quite often, the anatomy of men and women in such drawings were exaggerated greatly, so she didn’t know for sure. At first he seemed to have massively long fingers, but as she got closer, it appeared that something was attached to his fingers and were running along her upper body. She felt a warm rush go over her as she looked more closely, especially when seeing the immense pleasure both the man and the woman were displaying. The woman seemed to have the more joyful, if not erotic expression. She tried to determine what was on the man’s fingers, but then she looked over her shoulder. Dr. Shane was already on his second stone panel. She started to examine the stone wall, looking for anything that might be a crack, or move, or pull out. As she did, she kept wondering about the picture, and seeing herself as the woman and images of Dr. Shane as the man.

She looked over the first two panels with no success at all. She felt frustrated and looked back at Dr. Shane. She almost giggled when she saw him. He was facing his fourth section, and his hands appeared to be feeling the wall. The funny part was that his hands were on one of the wall drawings. It was of a woman laying back, surrounded by a man like the one of the first picture she has started on, plus two other women. The ladies seemed to be begging for his attentions, offering themselves to him as he seemed to be merrily enjoying the first. Dr. Shane’s hands were exploring the wall where the first woman’s breasts were bared. It almost looks as if he was ‘fondling’ her or ‘feeling her up.’ She felt her heart race a bit as she wished he was doing that to her instead the drawing. She heard her mind screaming, “Do that to me!” but she fought off the urge. “Man,” she thought, “all these pics down here must be getting to me.” She looked down and saw that, in fact, her shirt was revealing just that, her nips poking hard on the material.

She looked back at the professor, and gulped. Now, his fingers were exploring around the part of the drawing on one of her nipples. From this distance, it almost looked as if he was rolling or tugging on it. She turned and faced the wall she had been examining; the imagery was too much for her. She forced herself to focus on searching the wall, doing what she could to drive the image out of her head. It wasn’t just her long-held attraction to Dr. Shane. She had felt something the moment she had slid down the ropes into this chamber. She couldn’t explain it. Perhaps it was the wall drawings. Perhaps it was that, plus the prof. It seemed like something more...

“AH-HA!”

She heard Dr. Shane cry out. She pivoted around to see him ‘pulling’ on the area of one nipple on the drawing. “Are you both having a good time, Dr. Shane?” she called out coyly as she began to walk toward him. She fought the urge to offer him the real thing, and actually found herself pulling her hands away from the bottom hem of her top! This place was making her feel stranger and stranger.

“Better than it looks, Kelly, my dear,” he shouted out to her. His fingers actually seemed to be pulling at something. “I think...I found some sort of...GOT IT!” he called out. As he did, she saw a small rod pull out from the wall. As it popped out, they both heard a loud ‘ping’ resonate from the wall. Then, a slowly grinding sound of rock on rock began. “Look, over there!” Kelly shouted as she pointed to the wall section to their right. The lower half of the wall was sliding to the left and revealing a large opening.

“Let’s check it out and see how they came in!” said Shane as he slowly walked to the opening. Kelly grabbed the electric lantern and joined him at the open passageway. What they saw was not a way into the chamber from above as they had hoped. Instead, they saw a stairway carved out of the stone floor that curved even further downward. Kelly looked toward Shane with a quizzical look, as if silently asking, “Do we dare go down?” Shane took the lantern from her and slowly took the first step toward the downward stairway. “Stay right behind me, and don’t touch anything. At this point, anything could trigger something. Just follow me step by step.”
Kelly stopped a second and whispered, “Seriously? That stuff isn’t all movie effects and stuff?” Shane just nodded his head, and she followed. As they entered the passageway and stepped downward, Kelly noticed that there were images and symbols carved into the rock walls. Many were similar to the images from the wall, but much cruder. The symbols seemed to be a mix of Celtic runes and other emblems. As she looked them over, she sketched some of them into a notepad to research later. She felt the air get cooler as they slowly worked their way downward. The stairway seemed to do a long spiral downward into the darkness. “How far down do you think it goes?” she finally asked.

“We’ve gone about 100 feet downward I’d say so far, and by the looks of things, may go just as much farther, if not more,’ he replied, also examining the carvings on the walls as they stepped.

“Should we go back and get the others?”

“No. If we find anything, I don’t want anyone else but us to see it first. I don’t want anything or anyone spoiling the artifacts until we visualize it all. Nothing and no one is going to ruin this discovery!” he declared, catching Kelly off guard. She had never seen him this intense before. She knew he was desperate to get a good find and earn tenure, but she saw a burning in his gaze that wasn’t there before. It was a little scary and a bit thrilling as well. She sighed as he turned and moved forward down the stone steps.

After another 15 minutes of slow stepping, they found themselves at them near the bottom. The lantern revealed an opening that turned to the right into perhaps a new passageway. When they reached it, they stopped, hesitating. Shane looked the passage over carefully; making sure the entryway was not rigged with any traps. He then examined the floor, making sure of all possible ways the areas may have been secured. He then looked at Kelly. Her eyes shown with excitement as he looked her over. “Ready to go on?” he asked?

“You bet, Dr. Shane. This obviously leads somewhere. Let’s see what that wall up there was hiding!”

“Follow me then,” he said cautiously. To this point nothing has been rigged to trap or kill them. To him, that meant that this was either a bunny trail, or worse, leading to nothing worth finding. He found it hard to believe an entrance so well hid was not heavily secured. He took a deep breath, then stepped forward into the passageway. As soon as he did, he stopped short. “By all the saints in heaven...” he blurted out, stunned at what he saw.

“What it is? What’s going on?” Kelly cried out. She tried to step around him to see why he had stopped. When she saw it, she stopped, as stunned as he was.

The very short passage opened into a large open room, a seemingly square shaped area about the size of a small sports arena. In the center, there was a raised area that could have passed as a podium or small stage in modern days. On each of its small corners was a white column. They showed age and appeared to be remnants of their original size, but by her estimation, Kelly thought that they must have been 20 feet high originally. The ceiling appeared to go up at least 100, maybe 150 feet. It was hard to tell in the limited light of the lantern. In the center of the ‘stage’ area appeared to be some sort of table. Perhaps an altar? Similar ones were spread out around the room, maybe about two dozen of them, of various sizes.

When they examined the walls, they saw a familiar sight. More images were painted on the walls, but these were not by the same hand. They were more life-like, and the man central to them all had the same face. “It appears we have found our ‘Androcon,’ Kelly,” Shane whispered as they looked at one of them. The male figure, stood upright, with a group of four women around him. All were nude, and it appeared they were in some form of worship of him.

She reached to her belt and got out a second lantern. When she turned its light onto the room, the combined light from them both revealed more of the room to them. There was an image of the male figure on each wall. In addition to the first one, there was one of him towering over other men, in posed revealing fear or at least intimidation by him. In the third, he stood with his hands upraised in a victory stance, as men and women around him appeared to be celebrating the harvest. The last one was harder to see, so Kelly approached it while Shane walked to the nearest of the tables. As she got closer to the image she gasped. It was painting of Androcon, dressed in some sort of armor, holding a scepter. Next to him was a woman, dressed in what was being represented as some sort of sheer garment that revealed her figure. When she saw her face, she could have sworn that it looked like her own! She blinked, rubbed her eyes, and looked again. Now it was different. It was strange. What was happening to her? She stood there staring at her, then him, trying to figure out if she has hallucinated, or what.

Shane put his full attention to the table. It seemed like an altar, but the height was too low, and no signs of it being solid enough for such activity. He slowly worked toward the center of the room, looking at each table as he did. The closer he got, the more ornate the tables became. They were some sort of altar, but seemed too low and shaped too rectangular, unless these people had been fairly short, which was unlikely for this region and the time period they appeared to be from. He looked up and saw Kelly fascinated with the image on the wall of the couple. It was the man from the other three walls, and what appeared to be some sort of priestess with him. He left her to examine it as he arrived at the center of the room. He did not step up to the dais at first, not being sure from what material it had been made. The table was clearly an altar of some form. He slowly walked around the dais, and as he did, it finally dawned on him what it was. It was an altar shaped like a crude bed! It seemed strange, and yet it made some sense as he looked up at the illustration that still had Kelly’s rapt attention. In the background between the two characters on the wall, he could see a bed just like this one, covered with white material. Fine linen could have been made in this time frame or wool from the sheep. Everything was starting to fall into place.

Kelly finally broke her gaze and began to walk back towards the center dais where Dr. Shane was exploring. The image of her face on the woman on the wall still bounced in her mind. She stumbled a bit and nearly fell onto one of the tables. She looked down and saw that she had nearly tripped on a piece of wood on the floor at her feet. She knelt down and took a good long look at it. She reached into her tool belt and pulled out a zip-lock bag. She placed it into the bad without touching it and looked at it more carefully. It appeared to be of very well polished oak, in a rod like shape that almost looked...nah, it couldn’t be! She blinked, rubbed her eyes again. The lack of sleep was getting to her now that had to be it. The more she looked at it, the more it resembled her old roommate’s ‘joystick,’ as they jokingly called it. An ancient sex toy?? This whole dig was becoming surreal to her.
She put the bag in her belt to show Dr. Shane later. She joined him at the dais as he was writing and sketching the whole dais set up. “This appears to be where the ‘sacrifices’ or at least some form of worship to this ‘Androcon’ took place,” he told her. “The central location, the columns, the highly ornate look of this bed-table-altar object all seem to point to it. Since he appears to be their fertility god, the priest or someone representation of Androcon may have performed some sort of sex act with a priestess or virgin, perhaps she was both.”

“Depending on the season, it could have been either. The last parchment told that a virginal girl was given ‘to him’ via the chief priest at the start of the planting season. That was one of the sacrifices I was about to tell you about before we got to the site. The other was in the fall, to celebrate the close of the harvest. He would, for lack of a better term, do the priestess for all to see, then the rest would join them in, shall we say, similar celebration? It was an out and out orgy it sounds like, “ Kelly giggled as she finished, looking around her. She tried to imagine all the men and women around, watching like peeping toms, then grabbing a woman and having at it. Seeing the room made the parchment make perfect sense now.

“I see. Well then, let’s see if we can find any artifacts to prove such a thing, if we can,” Shane replied as he scrutinized the dais. He pulled out a small knife and tested the surface, then pulled out a small rock hammer. “Solid rock, just like the floor,” he mused. Convinced he was safe, he slowly stepped up onto the dais. It appeared to be ten foot square, with plenty of room, so Kelly stepped up too. She considered showing him the wooden dildo she had found, but decided against it. It seemed too immature to think of it as being that, so she kept it hidden. The table-altar-bed appeared to be of solid wood. It had held up amazingly well for its apparent age. There were no coverings or bedding actually inside it, but they both could see its resemblance to the bed in the wall painting. Built into the head of this ‘bed’ was a section that had the altar shape and look to it.

Shane had worked his way around to the head of the bed, exploring all over. There were runic-like engravings across the top and along the sides. He started to look over the design. The woodworking met the expected tooling of the time period it seemed to be from. On the backside, away from Kelly’s view at the foot of the bed, there was an image carved into the wood. It was of a nude woman, of course. That was no big surprise. What made it interesting was how it was decorated. There were two gemstones where her breasts should be, colored as emeralds. Her head and face were a sapphire. Her feet were rubies. As with most of the other images, she was positioned with her legs open. He got a penlight from his tool belt and looked at the image more closely. “Well, look at that, she’s anatomically correct,” he mumbled to himself. The light revealed a small hole in the wood, almost hidden by the engraving between the character’s legs. This couldn’t be by accident.

“Kelly, you have the lock-picks, right?” They had decided at the start of the dig not to carry some items in duplicate. She carried the picks.

“Yes, Dr. Shane, right here!” Kelly replied, holding them up for him to see.

“Bring them over, and your leather gloves. I think I may have found a compartment and a hidden lock.” Shane positioned his lantern so they could see the image well. He put on his gloves as she handed him the picks. ‘It may be overkill, but one of my professors got sloppy and was stuck by a trap built into a lock when I was an undergraduate. The poison had degraded enough that it didn’t kill him, but it was close. Let’s not get careless,” he told her as he sorted through the picks to look for one the right size.

Kelly grinned as she looked at the image. “You know, Dr. Shane, if I didn’t know that this place was so old, I’d have thought it was designed by one of the frats or a bunch of Junior High boys! Could they be any less obvious with the placement of the keyhole?” She watched him insert and manipulate the pick, the symbolism so obvious anyone could pick it up. "What does that say at the top? It looks like a message or something.” She pointed to what looked like words burnt into the wood itself.

“Despite what we see here, these were fairly simple people. After all, it’s not like they had a graphics tablet. It says, “These are the holy instruments of Androcon. Any who desecrate these holy items will be forever cursed to serve Androcon for eternity,” he answered. “A standard curse to try to ward off robbers like us,” he said jokingly.

“Those things ARE really just hoaxes, right?” she asked cautiously, remembering all those stories about the King Tut curse and others.

“Of course. These ‘gods’ are just myths. They may have based some of them off real humans, but the characters themselves are myths. Yes! Got it!” Shane called out as they both heard a click from inside the wood. They carefully reached up and after a minute of manipulation were able to make the board slide to the left. When it slid fully open, their eyes got wide with excitement. “We’ve hit the mother lode…” whispered Shane. Kelly just stood there in wonder.

The shelves inside held a vast array of artifacts. Inside, they could see a helmet or head piece, a scepter, two gold arm bands, and what appeared to be a breastplate or vest. They took off their leather gloves and replaced them with cotton ones. Shane cautiously reached in first and pulled out the scepter. The staff section was looked oaken, but dark. The ornamental end appeared to be golden, in the shape of an bird of prey’s talons. Inside the grip of the talons was a large stone, the size of a golf ball. It was red and appeared to be a ruby, but it would need closer inspection to make sure. Shane held it under the light, and as he did, the red stone almost seemed to glow in the light. He handed it to her and reached in for the arm bands. Kelly looked at the ornate molding of the talons carefully, noting the details.

Shane grasped the armbands inside the headboard. When he did, an almost invisible red vapor floated out from the shelf. When he pulled them out, Shane’s nostrils inhaled the vapor without him noticing. Kelly was still looking over the scepter, now inspecting the gemstone, seeing nothing. He pulled out the headpiece next, followed by the last major piece, which turned out to be a breastplate. He laid them out as Kelly recorded them in the notebook. “Look at them, Shane, they are fantastic. This could be the find of the year....the decade...of all time!” blurted out Kelly, in her excitement forgetting to refer to him as ‘Dr. Shane.’ He sat there stunned,or so it appeared. She was so happy for him. Certainly this find would get him the recognition he deserved and tenure at Viscount. No way could they deny that now.

She looked up and saw more items on the hidden shelves. She started to pull them out, one by one. Many of them appeared to be like the item she had found on the floor earlier, some the same oaken wood look, some a more alabaster-type feel. She held them up to Shane, and with his silent nod, she added them to the treasure trove. “It must be suddenly hitting him what we found,” she thought. To think that, after all this time, his master find as an archeologist had been under his feet all these years must have been mind-blowing. She looked at him and said, “This is all that is in there. Should we check out some more ‘altars’ to see what we can find?”

“N-no...This is probably what the priest and workers used for their ceremonial acts. We can let the team come down and find anything else,” he replied. He then reached down and picked up one of the armbands. From the weight of it, it felt as if it were solid gold. As he looked it over, he saw engravings on the inside. The ancient characters created the word for ‘power’. He picked up the other as well, discovering the inside of it was the word for ‘rebirth.’ The skillful work done on them was incredible. His skillful eyes also noted their size.

“OK, I have these all recorded, Dr. Shane. Shall we radio the crew or just go back for them?” Kelly asked as she finally looked up at him. She was shocked at what she saw. He was slowly sliding one armband up past his elbow and onto his bicep. This violated every rule he had told her on the flight over. And yet, she saw a delight in his eyes as it fit his arm perfectly. She decided to cut him some slack. After all, he was the boss. “Looks like a perfect fit!” she noted. He nodded in agreement as he slid the other band onto the other arm. She thought that, in reality, they looked good on him. Almost as if they were made for him.

Before she could tell him that, she saw him pick up the breastplate. Deciding to join in the game, she helped him slide it over his head and onto his shoulders. It looked like the breastplate supposedly worn by the Israelite priests, but instead of twelve gemstones, there were two engraved items on the front. One was a large spear, the other a long feather, crossed over each other like crossed swords on a coat of arms. “Very interesting,” remarked Shane. “The spear must represent power, or is perhaps a phallic symbol, or both. The feather intrigues me, though. Makes no sense to me what it could stand for.”

“From the parchment I was reading in the jeep, I had a hard time reading a certain section. There was a section that I thought translated to ‘provoke,’ but if you changed one letter, it would change the meaning to ‘tickle’ or ‘arouse.’ Maybe it has something to do with that. The writing was unclear there,” Kelly told him.

“Ah, could very well be. Please, hand me the headpiece,” he asked. Kelly motioned for him to bend over, and as he did, she placed it on his head. By shape and design, it vaguely resembled a Greek or Trojan warrior helmet, but the overall design had Celtic features. She bent down and picked up the scepter. “May as well be fully accessorized!” she joked as she handed it to him. He took it from her and moved toward the other end of the altar-bed.
When he reached the foot of the bed, he mockingly struck a seemingly regal pose. “How do I look?” he asked.

Kelly paused a moment. “If you blot out the modern clothing underneath, you don’t look half bad like that, Dr. Shane. One could postulate that perhaps you’re a descendant from this ‘sex god,” she giggled as she replied. The modern clothes made him look a little foolish, but, heck, let him celebrate and play around a bit. This was most relaxed he had seemed in months.

He smiled back at her. “If that is the case,” he joked back, “then bow before the ‘mighty Androcon,’ lest I strike you with painful cycles or a hut without children!” he barked out as he struck another regal pose and pointed the scepter at her.

“Oh please, mighty ‘Androcon,’ let me appease your anger so that my fields and my womb might be plentiful, and that I please my mighty warrior mate!” she cried out dramatically, bowing low on her knees before him. After two seconds, they both broke out in a spell of laughter that echoed in the large room. Shane was bent over at the knees, he was laughing so hard. Kelly sat up on her knees and started to wipe tears from her eyes. Shane started to cough hard and stood up straight to clear his lungs.

At that moment, a sudden chill swept down his spine. He felt his arms begin to quiver and shake. Kelly saw it and thought he was still shaking from the laughter. Then, it spread all over his body. Kelly saw him start to convulse all over as he stood. She shot to her feet and began to slowly walk toward him. “Dr. Shane....are you...OK? Do you need some fresh air?” she softly asked, confused at what was happening to him. He was now shaking hard all over, his right hand still gripping the scepter tightly. His eyes were closed tight and his teeth clenched. “Dr. Shane....I’m going to radio the team...Dr. Shane...do you hear me?” she asked as she turned and reached for her two-way radio.

When she turned to radio for help, she froze in her tracks. Shane was slowly opening his eyes. As they opened, beams of white light began to shoot out from them. She nearly dropped the radio as his eyes fully opened. No irises, no pupils. Just white light. White light that shot out like a laser beam and yet illuminated the room. “Dr. McTalon, what’s going on? Please, Shane, talk to me...say something!” she nearly shouted in her shock.

Then, she saw his mouth begin to open, with a voice that thundered inside the room.

“I....AM....ANDROCON!”

“What the...please...Dr, Shane. The joke is over. I don’t know what you’re doing, but the games are over. We need to...”

“I AM ANDROCON!” The thunderous voice cut her off, again filling the hall.

Kelly didn’t hesitate. She spun on her heels, jumped off the dais, and started to run. Something was wrong with Dr. Shane and she had to get help. She was halfway across the room to the stairs when suddenly the room seemed filled with red light. Suddenly, she saw herself surrounded by the red light and frozen in her tracks. Literally. She was in midstride and was unable to move. She screamed and tried to run or move but her body was literally paralyzed. She blinked. She took a breath. At least those muscles were unaffected. Then, to her horror, she felt herself being lifted into the air. As he began to levitate, her body began to turn, forcing her to face the direction she had been running from. She now faced Dr. Shane. He was pointing the scepter toward her, with red light shining from the ruby in the talons. She could also now see that she was surrounded by a red ball of light. The ball was moving, carrying her back toward the dais. When it reached the floor, it set her on the ground at the foot of the dais. Then, he lowered the scepter and the red light disappeared. Kelly tumbled to the floor and slowly pulled herself up to her feet.

“WHO DARES DESECRATE THE TEMPLE OF THE MIGHTY ANDROCON?” shouted Dr. McTalon. Or, at least, so it seemed. The voice seemed to be coming from everywhere at once and was much deeper in tone and nothing like Dr. Shane’s.

“Please...Dr. Shane...this joke is funny anymore...please...” Kelly started to plead. Her mind was telling her things that seemed impossible to believe, they made no sense.

“I AM ANDROCON. YOU WILL ANSWER ME OR I SHALL DEAL WITH YOU AND YOUR FAMILY MOST SEVERELY!”

“Oh God. Oh God,” she thought. “It can’t be that. I’ll just play along...yeah...that’s it” she decided. “Please, I am Kelly, of the house of Yeager. Where is my mentor, my master, Shane McTalon?”

“He is no longer of your concern. He shall use him as his punishment for your desecration,” he replied. “I have been trapped in that altar with the items of my priest for all these many years. “You have desecrated my holy place, and you will now serve me for all eternity! Now, bow before your Master!” he bellowed.

“Please, this is enough!” she shouted back. Fear started to envelope all over her. Either Dr. Shane was going totally insane or the impossible was really happening. “You’ve had your fun, now stop it! We have to go back outside, now!” she demanded.

“How DARE you shout at me, the Mighty Androcon! I said BOW!” he roared back. As he did, he one again pointed the scepter at her. Red light shot out before she could move. From nowhere, she felt the force of hundreds of hands pushing her down. She felt her knees and back bend. In ten seconds, she found herself on her knees bowing before him. “Oh God! This isn’t a game....IT”S REAL!!!” shouted the voices in her head as the reality finally struck her.

“Now, look at me!” his voice commanded. She slowly, obediently did so. “Tell me now, Kelly of Yeager, why you have desecrated my holy place and tried to steal my holy things?” As she looked into his eyes, they glowed now like white-hot coals. “Tell me. This is your last chance for me to be merciful.”

She sighed in resignation. “Dr. McTalon and I discovered this room. We wanted to tell the world what we saw. There is great historic value to places such at this. “We hoped to...”

“LIAR!” he shouted out. “You found this place and sought to steal my things to take to your tribe. You must be from far away, for you do not dress as my people dress, or talk as they talk.”

“No, I tell you the truth. Yes, I am from very far away. It is now the year 1998, much time has passed since the people worshiped you,” Kelly tried to explain. The look on this man’s face who used to be her Dr. Shane showed he did not believe her.

“There is only one way to prove yourself,’ said the voice of Androcon. He pointed the scepter towards her. Kelly cringed, expecting another blast from it. “To your feet, Kelly of Yeager, and touch the eye of the Hawk!” She rose to her feet slowly, and reached out towards the scepter. Following his direction and thinking on her feet, she placed her index finger onto the red stone. The instant she did, she felt energy surge through her. Before her eyes, every memory and moment of her life, even things long forgotten, began to flash past. Birth, childhood, school, family; it all flew past her. She tried to hide some memories as she realized what was occurring, especially her feelings toward Dr. Shane. But, in seconds, it stopped as quickly as it began. She fell to her knees, feeling exhausted from the experience.

“I see now,” said Androcon, since Kelly was now resigned that this mythical ‘sex god’ was in fact very real and controlling Dr. Shane, “Things have changed greatly since I ruled this land. I also now see how you will serve me.”

Kelly shook her head. “No, please, just let me go. Dr. Shane and I can leave and tell no one about this place. No one will bother you. I promise!” Kelly didn’t know what serving him meant, but she was sure it was something she didn’t want to do. “Please, just have mercy on us and let us both go,” She pleaded.

“It is too late. You belong to me now.” Androcon replied.

“No. You can’t. I won’t. You can’t make me!” Kelly shouted out in annoyance. “There is no way I will serve you! Not now! Not ever!”

“Ah, as my reading of your mortal mind reminds me, your social tribe has denied the power of the gods. You do not realize what I can do,” he replied. He pointed his index finger towards her. In that moment, Kelly felt a sensational surge across her body. Before she knew it, a raw sexual hunger took her over. An arousal like she had never felt or even dreamed of was all over her and all she could think of was sex. She looked up at him, resisting the sensation, but being overcome all the more.

“Oh gawd....please...what are you doing...to...me....” was all she could get out. As soon as she spoke, he pulled his finger back, and the sensation died off as quick as it had started. “How did you...what did you...” was all she could say, dumbfounded at how easily he had controlled her.

“That is but a mere taste of what I can do. Now, step forward so I can see you more closely.” He motioned for her to step up, and she quickly did. Part of her wanted to avoid another ‘demonstration,’ yet a small part of her yearned for more. “You wear strange clothing. Remove it at once so I can truly see you.”

“No way. I’m no stripper. What kind of girl do you think I am?” she shot back at him. It was a reflex and as soon as she said it she braced for another ‘demonstration.”

“It is of no matter. I can do it myself,” he simply replied. He pointed the scepter towards her, and red light surrounded her top. The material began to sparkle, and then, it suddenly vanished, leaving her topless. Her hands shot up to cover her breasts out of instinct. She wasn’t going to give in that easy. “Very nice. They will please me very much. Now, uncover!” As he spoke, she felt herself lowering her arms. She blushed as he smiled upon her. “Yes, they please me well. Very impressive. And now, the rest.” Red light now surrounded her shorts, then they disappeared, leaving her only in her very brief panties. “What are these, more layers? Is no matter.” With a wave, they disappeared as well, leaving her totally nude before him.

Kelly stood there before him, unable to act or think. She looked for any way to try to run for it, not caring if Old Finn or any others saw her like this. She had to find a way out. She wasn’t about to be a slave for some ‘thing’ that was controlling Dr. Shane. But she could not see any way out.

“And now, to prepare you for my service. When we are finished, you will serve me without fail or question. Let the initiation begin” said Androcon as he pointed the scepter at Kelly. She felt her body become paralyzed again and lift up from the ground. She began to float toward the altar-bed. As she did, Androcon waved his arms and now the frame became filled with what looked like a feather or hay-stuffed mattress covered in white linen. Her arms and legs started to position themselves to place her in a spread eagle position. With the scepter, he positioned her over the bed, but not actually on the mattress. He pulled the scepter away, yet she felt herself still levitating over the altar-bed.

She looked left and right to see what was happening. All she could see was Androcon at her left, holding the scepter up high in his hands. He was saying some words in a tongue she could not make out or understand. Suddenly, above her body was a long wooden rod. At one end was a clump of material that looked similar to ostrich plumes. It moved above her in circle, then the feathery end moved toward her left foot. Sudden realization struck her. “Oh no...please...not that....you wouldn’t!” she cried out.

“Your body must be prepared...and purified...” was all he said. As he finished, she felt the feathery end start to move all over her left foot. It took all she had to resist the ticklish sensation. They weren’t ostrich plumes. Whatever they were, they tickled worse than any feather she had ever felt before. It seemed like all of her sole, arch and toes were getting stroked at once. “We must purify you...all of you!” he said as he moved his hands, making a new rod appear, just like the first.

“Plehehehhese...nohohoho....don’t dohohohoho that!” she begged as she was helpless to stop the new rod to start stroking her right foot. Unable to block out both feet, the laughter gushed out of her lips like a downpour. Androcon started to smile wide as she fought, trying to move her suspended body in vain. The feathery ends were tickling her, but they seemed to be doing more than that to her. She couldn’t figure out what, but it felt different and more intense than any tickle fight she’d ever had.

“Yes! Laugh. Give in to it. Give in to it all...” Androcon told her as he waved his arms to create a new rod. She groaned as it appeared, fearing where it would go next. She barely saw it move to her left leg as it slid up and down from her ankle to her upper inner thigh. As soon as it started, a fourth appeared and moved to her right leg. Kelly screamed in laughter as she fought to move her legs. They were as frozen as if they were tied with ropes.

“Please...mahahahahake it stop. I cahahahahahan’t stand being tihiihihihihckled...Making me crahaahaahaazy....” she stammered out as the slow moving of the feathery ends of the rods found every ticklish spot on her legs and feet. She closed her eyes and tried to wake up, hoping that this was all just a bad dream. She opened her eyes only to see a new rod appear. It slowly positioned itself over her belly and began a wicked, horrible sweeping motion all over it. Waves of giggly laughter now poured out. There was no more Dr. Shane. No more flirting from Old Finn. No more old boyfriends trying to win her back. All it was now was the feathering. The feathering and the voice of Androcon. In spite of it all, she could easily hear his voice.

“Give in to it. Submit to it, and me. I can fulfill your every dream...every fantasy and more. Just submit, serve me fully,’ were the words ringing in her head. All she ever wanted was Dr. Shane. The plan for this trip was win him, nothing else. There was not supposed to be these rooms, a possessing sex god, these sensations. She screamed out in laughter as a new rod formed and began to tease her bottom. Her voice was starting to go quiet, but the laughter still was coming out, if silent. To her amazement, she could still breathe normally. She was not breathless at all. This is it. I must be in some form of hell, her mind decided. Nothing is normal here. And, as her laughter became more silent, she could now tell what the new feeling these strange feathers were creating. They were creating arousal!

She opened her eyes in shock at the realization. As she did, she saw the two new rods form; with shorter handles than the others. She looked to Androcon, pleading, “No....not....there...pleeheeheeheese....never...t here hehehehehehe.” To her dismay, she saw them lowering toward her breasts. She knew how highly sensitive they were. They had never been feathered, but she knew that she wanted to avoid it. She braced herself, then roared anew as their feathers missed no spot on her full, tender boobs.

The tickling and arousal hit at once, it felt one and the same. “No, not like this...please....not like this...” he mind pleaded. She knew that she would do anything, give anything to make it stop. To make it go on. Her mind was going wild. She looked and saw Androcon standing over her, saying, “It is almost complete. Submit to it, and serve me fully.” She mind fought against it. Somehow, there was still a part of her fighting it.

Then, instantly, she saw two men in her mind. One was Androcon, in his full attire. His face was like that on the walls, only better, clearer. Built like the god he was, he was irresistible to look at. Standing next to him was Dr. McTalon. Her heart melted as she saw him standing there. Dr. Shane spoke to her, saying “Please, do not fight him...” She could not believe her ears.
Androcon now spoke. “Submit to me, and I will give him to you. You will become his heart’s desire. He will become yours, if you serve me...The only way we can save ourselves it to serve him” She felt herself weakening at his pleas.

“Yes, we shall become one if you submit fully. You will get what you have always desired,” Dr. Shane agreed. “He will give me to you...you to me...we will be his, but we will be ours...”

“Dr. Shane...I want you...I’ve always wanted you...I would do anything to be with you!” she cried. Now, she no longer felt the tickling, the plumes were now creating pure desire within her. She felt herself reaching out to Dr. Shane. She felt in her mind his embrace, saw his lips lowering to kiss hers. As their lips touched, she felt an immense power surge though her mind, and then it all went black.




Kelly suddenly awoke, sitting straight up on her cot. She was back in her tent, fully clothed. She looked around frantically and jumped in shock to see Dr. Shane McTalon sitting on a chair next to her cot, a worried look on his face. When he saw she was awake, his eyes lit up and he smiled. His eyes were the warm sexy brown as before, and he was dressed as he was in the underground chambers.

“What...what happened?” Kelly stammered out, still disoriented.

“When we opened the secret panel on the altar-bed, you passed out on me. Too much excitement and not enough fresh air down there, I think. I called for Finn and the rest. They brought you up and the team is hauling out all the artifacts, labeling them, and packaging them for us as we speak. It’s a classic find, Kelly. Perhaps the finest ever in Ireland!” His smile got bigger. “I’ve been here for about an hour, making sure you were alright.”

Relief poured over Kelly’s body. Fainted? A dream? It was hard to believe, it seemed so real. “Yeah, I feel kinda weird.”

“I can imagine. Do you think you will be better by the morning, to help us do the collecting?” Shane asked?

“Yeah, as long as I don’t have a dream like the one I just had. It was the wildest one I’ve ever had,” Kelly assured him. Just knowing that he was that concerned was a good sign that she could steal his heart yet.

“Trust me, Kelly of Yeager. Your adventure is just beginning...” Kelly heard that all too familiar voice, causing her to jump and gasp. Dr. McTalon’s eyes were all white again. “It was no dream. I just don’t have full control of him yet. You will help me complete it, and in return I will let you have him”

Seeing his eyes, she lowered her head in a submissive gesture. “Yes, Androcon. I serve only you.”

“Very good,” he replied. He held out something to her. When she picked it up, she saw it was the carved and polished oaken relic from the floor of the room. “Yes, it is as you suspect, but much more. It has powers to allow you the same control over men as I have over all mankind. It is made of Shillelagh oak, hardest in the land, and has been enchanted with powers I will teach you to use. Until then, you will wait, and tomorrow night I will show you how to seduce him and win your precious Dr. Shane,” he told her. “Hide it for now, let no one see or touch it.”

“Yes, my master,” she replied. Then she smiled, “So, I have now been ‘purified’ to serve you?” The memory of what she had endured was now causing ripples of pleasure to fill her.

“Yes and now you must rest. Until tomorrow,” he said

“Yes, Androcon, my master,” she replied, hiding the oaken ‘toy’ under her pillow.

His eyes closed again, revealing the brown eyes of Dr. McTalon. “Good night then, my dear,” he said, patting her hand. Then, he lifted her hand to his lips and kissed it. “Sleep well,” he said as he rose and left her tent.

“Oh yes, I shall, my dear Dr. Shane, I will,” Kelly whispered as she laid her head on her pillows and closed her eyes, her mind filled with anticipation of the future.