Sue found herself in a rocky cavern underneath the derelict cabin. Picking herself off the ground, she gasped to see what was before her. Carved into the cavern wall was what could only be some ancient shrine. In the center was a humanoid figure, the details of which were worn away but the outline was voluptuously feminine. The figure appeared to be dancing sensuously in the center of a mass of carven figures, some human, some in-human, but all naked and all engaged in a variety of sex acts.
Sue gasped at the crudity of it, but she was also entranced by the beauty of it. For a moment, her mind swam and she almost thought the figures started to writhe and undulate while the central figure rotated its hips in a hypnotic dance of seduction…
Then she came to herself with a jolt. The carvings were still again. She rose to her feet and dusted herself down, then looked around for a way out. Off to one side was a tunnel opening and a flight of worn stone steps went up into the shadows. Her head still woozy with the shock of the fall and the strange sensations aroused by the carving, she stumbled towards the steps.
Behind her, a slow throbbing sound began to ooze from the ancient shrine, and the central figure’s eyes began to glow with a purplish light…
Back in town, Reed was setting up a temporary lab in the house they’d rented, so he could start work on analyzing the local rock. He heard a knock on the front door, and the sound of someone entering the house.
Going to the entrance hall, he found a woman standing there, admiring the view from the front porch. Reed guessed she was in her 40s or 50s, but was still strikingly beautiful. She wore a business suit that did little to conceal the curvaceous body beneath. She tossed her luxuriant brunette hair and smiled winningly at him as she stepped forward and offered her hand. “Good morning Mr Richards! I’m Lynda Fay, Mayor of Harem. I’d like you to know how pleased we are to have such distinguished visitors. If there’s anything we can do to make your stay more pleasant, please let me know.”
Reed shook her hand and found it firm and warm. As he shook it, he couldn’t help taking a quick glance down at the luscious cleavage that was revealed by the open few buttons of her purple silk blouse. Reed couldn’t believe he was reacting like some pubescent teen but sure enough, he felt his manhood begin to stiffen as he looked into the deep green eyes of Lynda Fay.
“Can I ask what brings you to our fair town?” she asked.
“Ahem! Well, it’s a matter of scientific study. The rocks in this region have peculiar properties…”
“I see! Well, we have many other points of interest. For instance, there are some particularly intriguing local legends about an old cult of witches who operated in these parts a century or two ago. Mostly the usual sort of witchcraft, but it seems these particular witches practiced a rather more sexual form of black magic than most. Hence the name Harem, I suspect! My own ancestor was rumored to be the High Priestess of the cult, in point of fact.”
“Fascinating!”, remarked Reed. “I’m afraid folklore and the occult aren’t really my main areas of expertise, but I’d like to hear more at some point. Perhaps we could all have dinner one night and you could tell me more. I’m sure my wife would love to hear all about it.”
“Oh, I’m sure she would,” remarked the mayor, enigmatically…