The Knights of the Road

Knights of the Road - Part 4

By Pfantazm

When Bastian arrived at the garrison in Karelia, he was directed to the local constabulary's preferred watering hole. Bastian took this as a bad sign.

The scene inside was chaos. The very same local guard force was about to charge in.

Bastian gestured to his gold tabard, which indicated he had a special talent to aid the King, and said, "Might I? I can clear up the brawl much faster than you, and at less risk."

The captain told him, "If you can. We'll be right behind you." Whether this was threat or promise was left unsaid.

Bastian prepared an illusion and burst through the tavern door. He projected his voice, using the false Old Language words, "Adzurae ignita" to get the attentions of as many brawlers as possible. Most of them leapt to escape the wave of flame they saw overhead. He lowered it to give the remaining few the idea.

The illusion dissipated and the city guard found the courage to go inside.

A fellow knight, a High Guardsman, approached him. "Are you Sir Bastian?"

"I am. Are you Sir Madoc of Fieldgate?"

"Yes," his target replied. "That was most impressive, what you did there."

"It was effective for stopping the fight. We'll talk later. For now, we must deal with this business." Bastian smelled Sir Madoc's breath for alcohol and found none. That was reassuring. "I hope for our mission's sake that you're not the sort of person whom trouble follows wherever he goes." The mage strode off to see if any fallen patrons needed seeing to.

Precognition was not one of Bastian's talents, but he saw two things. One was that Sir Madoc had been very close to the center of the brawl, and two was that it was going to be a long afternoon.

Once the brawl was settled, and the offenders jailed, Bastian started to get to know Sir Madoc by getting his side of things.

Bastian had been asked to accompany the new team of Sir Madoc and Thom for three reasons. His gift of the ferreae_manicae would be most helpful, King Dunstan was unsure that Thom could be trusted, and Sir Rhys believed that Sir Madoc of Fieldgate merited watching. His surveillance would begin immediately.

"What exactly was it that caused the brawl?" he asked.

Sir Madoc told his view of things: about the young man whose romantic encounter had set the whole thugs to seek violence, how Sir Madoc had interceded and how the brawl evolved from there. Bastian had no magical means to determine the truth of what a man said, but he was a good judge of character. He believed Sir Madoc. He seemed to be just as dutiful as Sir Rhys had suggested.

"Did anything unusual happen when I arrived?"

"Nothing much of note. There was a high keening wail, you filled the ceiling with blue fire, and all the brawlers ducked to avoid it."

"I see. That's all you remember?"

"Yes, Sir Bastian. May I know why you pose so many questions?" Sir Madoc asked.

"I have been asked by the King to evaluate your value to him. After your deception, the details of which I'm not entirely clear about, he wants to be assured that you are still loyal to him. Since I was not present for the brawl, I must ask to know how you acted."

Sir Madoc had his eyes averted and was nodding. Very self-effacing. If there is any wrongdoing here, Bastian thought, the other man, this Thom At-the-Well must be behind it. But what power does he have over Sir Madoc?

"Where is your partner now?" Bastian asked.

"He is searching the forests east of the Greypoints for a witness," Sir Madoc said, looking up.

"A witness? To what?"

"He was a prisoner in Kraid's camp for a long time. If anyone can give us the information we need, this man, Lennox by name, can."

Bastian paused before asking his next question. "How certain are you that Thom will return, either with or without this Lennox?"

Sir Madoc stared Bastian down, a definite fire in his eyes. "He will meet with us here. He is making one pass through the Greypoint Forest. He will join us in one week. That I can guarantee you."

"You must know that these are the sorts of questions our superiors want me to answer, in addition to aiding you with your captures," Bastian said calmly.

"I do know it, and I can understand our king's reluctance to credit our story, but Thom is a good man. I would not take him as a partner lightly."

Bastian found this answer odd. He himself did not know the reasoning behind such intense scrutiny on a new guard. Such a dangerous mission, and the King requests his presence as chaperon. Bastian left these questions unasked, lest Sir Madoc, or Thom, find an advantage to use against him.

The mage conducted the rest of the interview without straying from the topic of the brawl. The other answers would come with time.

The next few days passed slowly. Sir Madoc spent much of his time sparring with the local guards, or sometimes talking with Bastian about his work and what his role on this mission would be.

Bastian immersed himself in meditation to speed the time along. Being one of only a couple of magic-users among the Guard meant that his plate was often full. The delay in proceeding was a welcome chance to catch up on his neglected studies.

One difficulty arose from the fact that Bastian preferred to meditate nude. A mage's meditation consisted of seeking and contacting places of power within himself, not only in his mind, but in his body. For this, he would rather be in his natural state.

So when he meditated during the day, he wore only his robe, and at night he meditated in the dark in the raw.

Despite their requests, Sir Madoc and Bastian were put into the same room. The garrison would not spare the space to take up two two-man rooms for two people, no matter who they were. Sir Madoc was often in the room while Bastian meditated, so he wore the robe for propriety's sake. These sessions were less productive though.

It was one night near the middle of the week Thom At-the-Well had to appear that his meditation was interrupted. The bedroom was cloaked in darkness. Bastian sat robeless on the bed, his mind searching for spell- points, his legs crossed, his hands on his knees, and his eyes closed.

His concentration was broken by a noise. Sir Madoc groaned. He was rolling around on the bed. Was the man in pain?

Bastian unfolded his limbs and crossed the room to where Sir Madoc slept. He crouched by his side and reached out toward his body.

"Ohhhhh, Thom...," Madoc breathed.

Bastian paused, his hand in the air. What in...?

Sir Madoc rolled over once more, casting the covers off of his body and exposing his very stiff penis. He groaned and thrust his hips upward.

The mage watched slackjawed as his fellow knight pumped shot after shot of semen into the air and down onto his stomach as he slept.

When he'd finished, he rolled over once more, turning his back to Bastian. Silently, the mage crept back to his own bed.

Well, he thought, that explains some things. Sir Madoc's confidence that Thom would return, for one. But Sir Madoc, with another man? He'd heard of such things, whispered around stables or on street corners, but he'd never known anyone involved.

Bastian climbed into bed. He would not be able to concentrate more this night. He touched his own erection, dismissed it as nothing and lay on his stomach. Best that he not mention this. It would only be embarrassing for them both.

After a while, Bastian found his rest.

True to his promise, Sir Madoc's partner arrived in one week's time.

The two men were in their room. Sir Madoc was tending to his sword after a practice session. Suddenly his head snapped up and he put the sword away.

Bastian watched him go over to the door, getting to it just as someone rapped at it. Sir Madoc opened the door, a wide smile on his face. The mage had seen such behavior in dogs before. He tucked this away as being significant.

"By the gods, what happened to him?" Sir Madoc asked.

Bastian saw a blond in livery half-carry a redheaded man into their chamber. He looked haggard, as though he'd not been allowed to eat or sleep.

"You should have seen him when I found him," the blond replied. "He should be alright in a day or so if he can get some proper sleep. He's been getting some on the road, but it's not been very deep or for very long. Here, help me get him to a bed."

Sir Madoc took the redhead's other side. They led him to the bed Sir Madoc had been using. He collapsed onto it.

"How has he been eating?" Bastian asked.

"Everything I've given him, he's kept down, but - by Braggia!"

The redhead stirred to see what was wrong.

"What?" Sir Madoc asked.

"His eyes! The last time I saw eyes like that I was staring down a wolf."

Most people had this reaction to him. They found his eyes frightening. They were spell-points allowing him to see in the dark, and so his magic touched them, giving them a strange appearance. It kept most people distant from him. In this case, though, it provided him with another clue.

Bastian averted his eyes and looked at the emaciated man. "This must be Lennox."

"Yes. Are you the wizard who is helping us?"

"I am," he replied, looking his way again. "Sir Bastian of Pharlight, at your service." He extended his hand to shake.

"Huh. Thom At-the-Well. But I'm sure you knew that."

Bastian withdrew his hand when Thom didn't return the gesture. "How did he get this way? Did the Marauders abuse him?"

"Not that I know. They cast him out when Madoc and I escaped from their camp. Since then he's been scared to death they're coming back for him. He wouldn't sleep and after a while he couldn't get enough to eat.

"He wants to give us what help he can, but I'd like him to come with us. He'll be able to help us best when we're chasing Kraid down. He's not sure he can risk betraying them like that.

"Now," Thom finished, "if you two don't mind, I've been riding and tending to him and not getting much sleep myself. I need to lie down."

"Still," the mage said, "someone should watch him. Do you have any knowledge of healing, Sir Madoc?"

"I don't," he replied.

The redhead was stirring. "Then I should stay with him. I will keep watch over him." Bastian prepared a sleep spell and cast it on Lennox, touching his forehead. "The warder should be more gracious about providing a second room for us, now that we number four."

"We'll see to it," Sir Madoc said with a smile.

Bastian looked at the pair of them; Sir Madoc, taller, dark of hair and blue of eye, and the thinner Thom, fair, with hazel eyes. He tried not to picture what they might do in their new room.

The mage suppressed a yawn as they left. He felt sleepy for some reason. Lennox was at peace. He could use a nap himself. He undressed and nodded off in his own bed.

Bastian woke a few hours later, remembering a dream about Sir Madoc and Thom only vaguely. All he could recall was that the two of them had lain together. His own aching member was testament to that.

This had to stop. What they did together was not a concern of his so long as they performed their given task, and so long as Thom was not using it as a hold over Sir Madoc. He needed to stop thinking about it lest it cloud his judgment.

Instead he checked on Lennox. The spell was still at work, and would be for some hours yet. So returned to his studies.

It was frustrating. He hadn't made any progress in improving his powers in weeks. He knew there were more energies within him; he could feel them. He just couldn't find them. The frustration affected his concentration, making his work that much more difficult.

The pressure he was beginning to feel from the Council wasn't helping him either. If he did not continue to grow as a mage, then he would be asked, firmly, to pair with a witch for continued study. All for the betterment of the understanding of magic, so they said. But he would also have to resign from the Guard. He would be expected to concentrate on his studies, not serve the King.

The Council was entirely too political for his taste. Working as a Guard sheltered him from it. If he was to choose, he'd sooner leave the Council, but the choice was not his. Unregistered mages were sought out and brought in line or killed. The Council would rule his life forever.

He worked in desperation to get some evidence that he was still able to grow autonomously. None was coming.

He continued to try until Lennox's sleep spell elapsed. Bastian waited for him to rouse. He didn't. He must have needed his sleep badly.

It was getting late. The kitchen would close soon. Bastian was certain Lennox would want to eat when he woke. He put on his robe, pants and boots and fetched dinner for them.

He himself ate and waited for Lennox to wake.

The mage gave up on the prospect of finding a new spell-point that night, and tried to improve his contact on ones he'd already found. His fire and flight needed work.

At last, he heard movement across the room. Lennox was sitting up. Bastian took a cup of water from the pitcher and went to his side.

"Who's there?" said Lennox.

"Relax," the mage said in soothing tones. "I am Sir Bastian." He crouched at Lennox's bedside, his night vision aiding him. "How are you feeling? Rested?" he asked.

"Yes. Better than I've felt in weeks."

Bastian smiled. "Good. Here's water." Lennox groped in the pale starlight and found his arm. From there he felt down to the cup. He drank it down.

"You must be hungry. I understand you've not eaten at all today, and it's nigh on midnight. I ordered our dinner late, but it's mostly cold now."

"I am hungry. If you have food to spare, I'd be grateful for anything."

Bastian went back to the table near his bed for the candle and Lennox's tray. But first, he put his robe back on. He practiced his fire and lit the candle.

"You're a wizard?" Lennox asked.

"A warlock."

"Oh," Lennox said, as though this explained everything.

Bastian brought the light and food over to the redhead. He set down the candle and grabbed at his open robe. He squatted down to Lennox's level. "As I said, it's cold."

"That's fine. Thank you." Lennox stared at him for a while.

"Go on, then. Eat," Bastian said, chuckling.

Lennox dug in. The mage worried that the food was too much for his weak stomach, or not enough to sate him.

He decided to take the opportunity to get to know Lennox. Perhaps he knew something that could help him in his job as chaperon. "Sir Madoc and Thom tell me that you were in Kraid's camp for more than a year."

Lennox, his mouth full, merely nodded.

"Thom also said that while you came with him here, you still had not decided whether you would join us in catching him."

Lennox looked Bastian in the eye. "I, ah, I've been hiding from them a while now, and maybe I've made them into more than they are in my mind, but I have escaped them before now. They always found me, and they were always brutal. If they were to catch me now, after I helped you...." He gazed down into his platter.

Bastian felt compelled to do something to ease his mind. "You were alone before. We three will protect you." He laid his hand upon Lennox's. "If you'll not accompany us, I would understand. As a citizen, not of the Guard, you cannot be forced. Let me assure you, though, that you would be safe."

Lennox looked overwhelmed. His face was flushed. The mage had come on too strongly. And his eyes, most people found them menacing. Had he frightened Lennox off?

"I'll, ah, I'll think about it."

Bastian nodded and turned away, hiding his accursed eyes. "I won't disturb you. Please, finish eating. Whether you ride with us or not, you need to build your strength again." He returned to his bed, facing safely away and tried to relax.

Soon he heard Lennox set his fork down. "Are you finished?"

He didn't answer. Bastian looked his way and saw him nodding.

Bastian removed the tray and asked, "Are you still tired? Would you like to sleep again?"

"I'm not sure I could. I only just woke up...."

"I can help with that," the mage said, eager to please. "But you should undress this time. You'll be more comfortable."

"Uh...."

"Don't worry. I'm a healer. I've seen it all before, but if it will help you, I'll stand over here and turn away." Not waiting for Lennox, he did so.

He heard Lennox strip behind him, but he waited until he was told that he could turn around.

Bastian blew out the candle and used his sleep spell once again, touching his forehead to cast it. With a weak, contented moan, Lennox was asleep again.

The conversation left the mage oddly drained. He may just have ruined the mission single-handedly. Perhaps it wouldn't seem so bad tomorrow. He hung up his robe, lay under the blanket, and sleep claimed him quickly.

Kraid kept himself busy. That was about the only conclusion Bastian could draw. Sir Rhys had sent a messenger from Castle Cal-Dragan with a map pinpointing the locations where Kraid was known to have raided a village or convoy, and the date. They were all over. He didn't seem to restrict himself to one place. All he could see was a mess.

"Closer to lunch, but no matter," Thom said.

Lennox had arrived at the table. He seemed quite content.

Getting up, Sir Madoc suggested, "Why don't I get Lennox a tray, and Sir Bastian can explain to you what he can do for us. I had a chance to find out before you got here." He left for the counter.

Bastian quickly rallied and explained what spells he had. He tried to demonstrate the ferreae_manicae on Thom, but he would not cooperate. >From there, he challenged Bastian on his abilities and on his opinion of non-magical healing.

Bastian refused to be baited into a fight. He would not play the villain. If Thom was genuine, then they were on the same side, and if not then Thom was already the villain.

Madoc returned with Lennox's food. Thom seemed to tone down his questioning - or was it his imagination?

"Something else I've been wanting to ask," Thom said. "Are we going to have to go chasing after magical trinkets again so you can still perform a spell?"

"No," Bastian replied. "That's the difference between a wizard and a witch or a warlock. A wizard has no magic, or at least very little. He or she can use what is there and make it stronger by reagents, apparatus and ceremony. There is a price to be paid, though. They must keep themselves pure of body to be able to do so. The wizardly spell which does not need a chaste wizard has yet to be found.

"A warlock's magic flows from within. I can cast without any external preparation. Also, a warlock need not be pure of body."

"Are you?" Lennox asked suddenly.

Bastian didn't mind this. He'd been asked stranger questions. "I have known physical love," he told him.

He continued to explain the differences between the two styles of magic, ending with, "That is what I have to offer. Sir Madoc, you picked up some information about where Kraid may be while you were in Aragon, did you not?"

"I did," Sir Madoc replied. "The falconer at Castle Cal-Dragan also keeps messenger pigeons. He received this message." He took out the slip of parchment and read, "Kraid rumored near Ardmead-to-Spenderton road. Farmer's cart attacked."

"Ardmead," Lennox asked. "Where's that?"

"It's on the north shore of the Polyny Sea, a week and a half east past Aragon," Thom said.

"Then we'd best hurry," said Sir Madoc.

"Now hang on. We ourselves saw them, what, three weeks ago just nearby. Yes, they had to run and hide, but to Ardmead?! There's naught there but farmland. And nowhere to hide. They did not have to run that far to get away from us. They're more likely to be back in the forests where we left them."

"You don't believe the message?" Sir Madoc asked.

"I don't," Thom said, looking right at Sir Madoc. "I'll lay you. There's a reward."

"What?!" Bastian asked, not believing what he'd just heard.

"I said, I'll lay you odds that there was a reward for giving the information. I'm more willing to think someone lied to you and took your money than that Kraid is filching pumpkins in Spenderton."

The mage looked at the others. They were giving him odd looks. He must have been the only one to hear what he - thought he'd heard. He was beginning to sweat. To keep the talk moving, he asked, "What do you think, Lennox? You must know their habits better than anyone here."

"If Kraid really is up that way, the only thing he'd find worth stealing is horses. Addax handles the horses, and he finds it much easier to come by them in the city."

"What about food?"

"No, they raid a market village and get supplies for a few months, then supplement it with game from the forest. There's no reason for them to go all that way."

Bastian checked the map. The area they were discussing was not within its scope, suggesting he'd not committed crimes there before.

"So it looks like this is useless," Sir Madoc was saying as he frowned at the slip.

"And we're stuck with nowhere to start looking, unless you can suggest something, Lennox?" Bastian said.

The redhead thought a minute. "What day is it?"

Bastian had a ready answer. "It is but one week to the equinox," he said. The day was an important one to all mages.

Lennox chewed his lip. "Gold shipment!" he blurted. "About this time last year, there was a heavily-armed coach that carried a large chest of gold through the Greypoints. The Marauders attacked and got it all. We lost Taylor and Jules that day."

A spark of anger flared in Bastian. "And how many knights?"

Lennox looked shocked. "I don't know. I wasn't there," he replied meekly.

Bastian immediately regretted snapping at him. The man had been through sleep deprivation and starvation, he could tell. He couldn't imagine Lennox as a party to any scheme Thom might have. As a civilian, he was trying to help.

"So is there another shipment heading through?" Thom asked.

Sir Madoc shrugged.

"We should find out," Bastian said. The robbery Lennox spoke of was on the map, and he seemed to recall something about funding the Queen and Prince while they were in Rigandael for the Prince's studies.

"I can send a note to Jerome. If anyone knows, they'll know at Cal- Dragan," Sir Madoc suggested.

"I have my methods," the mage said, "faster than the wing." And he could use any excuse to talk to Calder about a few things. "I need quiet, though. I'll retire to my room while I make my inquiries. I may be a while. Please knock before you enter, Lennox." He nodded at his tablemates and made his way back to the barracks. One blessing of being a magic-user: no matter what you said, only the thickest fool dared to challenge you.

He entered his room and threw off his clothes. He sat on the bed and tapped a spell-point near his ear. He stretched out with his mind toward Aragon-town, seeking his comrade.

<Calder Grimes, if you inhabit this plane still, heed me.>

{Bastian of Pharlight, good day.} This foreign thought, light with joviality, entered Bastian's mind from afar. {What need have you of me?}

<Several things. Most grave is the possibility of a gold shipment, possibly bound for Rigandael. I must know if there was such a one at last year's autumnal equinox, and one this year.>

{You are to seek Kraid, no? Think you he'll attack it?}

{The history should be simple. The here and now will take more time. What else?}

{History again. Haha. I'll set a page to that task. Is there more?}

Bastian paused. Calder was the closest thing to a friend Bastian had among the magehood. He was the liaison between the King and the Council. His ties between the two powers mirrored his own.

{I know not how I may help more with your search beyond digging through the scrolls. My duties bind me to the castle. I know naught of highwaymen.}

Calder's thoughts, once merry and jesting, turned serious. {I will listen. I know more secrets than one man should hold. I can bear more if needs be.} Calder's acute sensitivity to the thoughts of others made him an excellent prospect for his post.

<It appears that these two knights I have been commanded to attend... are intimate. Not just as those jailed may be, coupling as urges dictate, but with more....> Bastian could not express his guesses as to their motive.

{Love?} came the reply.

Bastian was thrown by the suggestion. <Can such a thing be?>

{I see into others' souls, whether I will or not. I would say that most men think lustful thoughts toward another man at some time. As many as one man in six think of men for the majority of the time. I have witnessed lust, affection, and, though most oft unrequited, love. Yes, it does happen.}

<Are they not well?>

{They are hale. I cannot comprehend it, but they are otherwise the same as you or I. I have sensed such feelings aimed at myself at times.}

<And what came of it?>

{Not a thing. I cannot betray that I know their thoughts, and they are always polite to not ask. At times I think the men consider me so more than the women do, which saddens me.} Some of the playful tone was back.

<I must try not to let this impair my judgment. Thoughts of what they do, what they are invade my mind, playing tricks.>

{Does anything that they do detriment their work?}

{A man will oft do for a one they love what they will not do for a good friend. This may drive them to greater deeds.}

<Perhaps.>

{Try to forget it. It is the nature of us poor humans to bend to the wishes of Balder and Belda when They will us to. There is no victory in fighting the gods, least of all the gods of love.}

{Let me get your facts for you. I'll send a signal when I am prepared.}

<Let it be so. I thank you, Calder, for everything.>

{You are welcome to it, Bastian.}

He allowed the connection to the castle to fade. He sat in meditation, awaiting the signal.

The memory of Bastian's earlier night with Sir Madoc dragged itself to the forefront of his mind. The young man's erect member, pointed skyward, so close to his face, throbbed, then fired its load of seed high into the air, covering his sweat-moistened with his own essence.

The mage lapsed from his reverie and looked down. His own penis was firm and angrily red. He had but a moment to catch sight of a hand, sleeved in a white peasant shirt, such as Lennox had worn at lunch, pulling the door closed.

Calder beckoned to Bastian that evening. He had been right on all counts. A chest of gold would sail from Annisport to Rigandael in a few days' time. Its route overland would send it through the Greypoint Mountains.

Also, Bastian's hunch about the story behind Thom's entry into the Guard had been correct. But what to do with this new knowledge?

He called the others together and they made plans.

First, and perhaps most important, Lennox would stay with them on their journey. Bastian was relieved that he hadn't driven their witness off.

They would have to delay the shipment and hope to draw Kraid out. The knights would have to reach the shipment before it entered the forests.

The four rode, hell for leather, for the garrison at Fairhaven, where the shipment was to leave the safety of the King's Southern Road.

After much argument, they convinced the convoy of guards to accept the delay. Better that the gold arrive late than fall into the hands of bandits.

Lennox would have to remain inside the coach for as long as it took to bring Kraid out. He looked quite nervous. Thom and Bastian did what they could to calm him down.

They took a contingent of the original guards to keep up the appearance of the official carriage. Bastian replaced the driver of the coach, Sir Madoc rode up front, and Thom guarded the rear.

The first day passed without event. That night the nine guards got to know one another. Thom seemed to fit in.

Bastian cast a ward so that no one could enter their camp without him being alerted.

The others went into the coach to bring Lennox food and keep him company.

A second day passed. While Sir Madoc was visiting Lennox and the carriage guards were off talking among themselves, Bastian found himself alone at the fire with Thom.

"You were in the camp with Lennox the night Sir Madoc was captured?" the mage asked.

"I was," he replied.

"Are you quite certain?"

Thom eyed him carefully. "What do you mean?"

"According to Sir Madoc's official report on the matter, he only met you after the Dark Rogue escaped. This happened after the Dark Rogue rescued him from Kraid."

Thom blinked. "I thought you knew."

Bastian pounced. "Knew what? What else about the report is a lie?"

"Not much," Thom hedged.

"What I think is that you were once the Dark Rogue. I'm quite sure you're a thief. You invoked Braggia's name, goddess over thieves. And you plotted like one in getting this scheme together to catch the Marauders."

The blond stared into the fire. "What does this mean for me?"

"I don't understand," Bastian admitted.

"Are you going to send me to that cell now?"

"No. Now that I've examined the facts, I'm sure Sir Rhys knows who you are. I imagine the King knows as well. If it were as simple as that, you wouldn't be here now."

Thom said with an ironic chuckle, "They didn't tell you I was the Dark Rogue?"

"Perhaps they thought it would slant my judgment. Perhaps they simply want as few people as possible to know. Is there anything else about you and Sir Madoc I should know about?"

Thom said, "No. That's our big secret." Bastian wasn't going to bring up their love if Thom wouldn't.

"Look," the ex-thief said, "think what you will about me, but Madoc is pure of heart. He would never do anything wrong. I swear it."

He looked at Bastian with pleading eyes. "I rescued him from Kraid and Damon. I never escaped from him, but I did help to recover the mirror. I defeated Eleazar myself. Now I'm here because Madoc needs my help and so does Lennox, and because someone as brutal as Kraid or Damon should be made to pay.

"Did it say in that report of yours what Damon did to Madoc when he captured us? He shackled him to a wall, bled him and tortured him. When I saw what he'd done to his body, I wanted to kill. I saved him and tended to his wounds. He would have been dead by the next morning.

"I have no man's blood on my hands, Sir Bastian. I've made sure of it. And I never hurt a one who didn't deserve it."

"By your own reckoning," Bastian pointed out.

"Every one of them was as much a criminal as I was. Now I'm making up for it by doing good. I'm doing the honorable thing. Right now, I'm a free man, more or less. You've heard the tales. If I didn't want to stay, do you think Madoc, you, and the six of them put together could keep me here? It's my loyalty that keeps me from leaving."

"What I need to know," the mage said, "is just what you are loyal to. I know you're hiding more than you've said. The truth will out."

"And I know," countered Thom, "that you're not telling your whole story either. I'll learn what you have to hide as well. Mark my words. As to what I won't say, it does not concern you." He rose and went off to the coach.

Bastian could only sit back and wonder if he would learn what he needed to know about Thom before Thom figured out his other mission.

The next afternoon, Bastian felt a tremble in his spine.

They were riding through a heavily wooded area. The trees might conceal anything. They mage kept watch. He spotted a man standing high on a limb. An archer.

Bastian turned his head away, but locked eyes on the man, waiting for the shot.

The highwayman fired directly at him. Bastian focussed on the arrow, slowing it until he could pluck it from mid-air and set it quietly on the driver's seat beside him.

"Get ready," he warned, in a low tone that reached the other guards.

Bastian watched the archer. The man was ready to fire again. He released his second shaft.

Something was wrong. It wasn't.... The archer had switched targets!

Bastian had but a moment to react, but it was not enough. The carriage guard on Bastian's left clutched his chest and fell from his horse.

On that cue, a whoop went up from the forest around them. A mass of men, armed with swords, knives, and clubs poured out toward them.

Bastian reacted quickly. He picked up the arrow he'd caught and, with his mind, sent it flying back to its source. It found the archer's heart, and he toppled from his branch.

The mage leapt from the seat and ran over to a guard who was outmatched at the sword. He came up to the Marauder and jumped onto his back. When the bandit reached up to get him off, Bastian gripped his wrists and sent him on his way to justice. Bastian dropped to the ground, the now ownerless sword at his feet.

He dashed off to the front of the carriage. One bandit's body lay on the ground already and Sir Madoc was fighting a second. He was clutching his side, but he still managed to disarm his opponent. The High Guardsman forced his adversary to the ground, where Bastian dispatched him.

Sir Madoc raced off to fight another, and Bastian went around the horses to the other side of the coach.

Here a carriage guard was battling a Marauder with a dagger. A second was creeping up behind him with a club. Bastian called out to warn him, but it was too late. The guard fell in a heap on the ground.

Acid in his veins, Bastian retaliated nastily. He concentrated, and set the man's club on fire. The brigand yelped, dropped his weapon and ran.

His companion made the mistake of trying to grab Bastian, and was quickly removed from the fray.

At the rear of the coach, Thom was fighting close quarters with another Marauder. The blond fought like a thief: his sword still sheathed, but his dagger in his hand. The enemy swiped at Thom's face and connected, for his blade was bloodied when next Bastian saw it.

The mage jumped in and punched the man in the face. The Marauder staggered back.

"Where's your sword?" Thom yelled.

"I can't carry one," Bastian called back as he wrenched the highwayman's arm behind his back. "I need my hands free." He wrestled with his opponent but reached the other hand.

"Another one! He's getting in!" they heard. The pair of them raced around to the side of the coach with the door. Which was open.

The coward with the club had found a sword and battled one guard while another fought a man with a quarterstaff. The remaining two guards were also busy. A fifth robber was inside the coach.

Thom attacked the staff fighter, stabbing him in the arm. Bastian pushed by and up to the steps into the coach in time to catch a falling Marauder. Lennox had pushed him backwards out the door.

Bastian made quick work of him and turned around. The staff fighter was dead, the guard's sword still in his stomach. The coward was staring at Lennox.

"A trap! Run for it, boys. It's a trap!"

The few remaining Marauders were rushing into the forest. Bastian wanted to get the one who'd seen Lennox, but he'd lost him. Sir Madoc was chasing a bandit, though. The mage produced an illusion of flame before the robber and he stopped. Sir Madoc caught him easily.

The guards were alone on the road.

Bastian went around the coach to check the guard who'd been clubbed. The man was dead. Bastian felt a tightness in his chest. Had he been faster he could have prevented both deaths. Instead all he could do was say a prayer to Palmerin to speed the fallen warriors to their rest.

He found the bodies of the bandit Sir Madoc killed and the quarterstaff fighter, looked at their faces, and sent them to the cell in Cal-Dragan's dungeon.

The battle had not lasted long but much had been done, and much lost.

"Sir Bastian!" Thom cried. He was hanging out the door to the carriage. "It's Lennox!"

The mage raced up the steps. He pushed past Thom, Sir Madoc and another guard. Lennox was curled up in a ball and shaking uncontrollably.

He kneeled at the redhead's side and touched his forehead. He had to try to reach Lennox's mind. Bastian called out to him.

The warlock entered Lennox's consciousness. Quickly, he sought the mind that would normally occupy this space. It was there, very small, as though trying to hide in the corner.

Bastian pleaded to him. He'd failed so many times that day; he refused to lose Lennox like this.

Please come back to us. We need you here.

Lennox. Please.

Those frightened green eyes opened once more, and Lennox twitched as he tried to sit up.

"Glad to see you're back," Thom said. "Thank you, Sir Bastian."

"Come. There's one of them outside. We'd like you there while we talk to him," Bastian said.

Lennox didn't look sure, but Bastian gripped his hand. He seemed to gain courage, but he was still shaking. He followed the others out.

"You better be afraid, Lenny!" their captive said. "When Kraid catches up with you--" One guard kicked him in the stomach.

Lennox's grip on Bastian's hand tightened. Bastian squeezed back before going to conduct the interrogation.

Bastian used every scare tactic he knew to get answers out of their stubborn captive. He never enjoyed the job, but he was good at it.

At the end of the questioning, just as Bastian was about to use the ferreae_manicae on the last Marauder of the day, Lennox shouted, "Wait!"

Bastian looked at him with a raised eyebrow, but Lennox seemed not to notice.

"Cort, tell the others... tell them I didn't know. I'm sorry."

The highwayman glared at the redhead until Bastian vanished him. He hoped he didn't have to worry about Lennox's loyalty as well.

The coach had been sent back to Fairhaven, its remaining guards healed and its fallen guards buried. It would retrieve its shipment and should enjoy a safe journey to Annisport.

The port was also where the four men were headed. Lennox knew of a warehouse where Kraid could pick up much-needed supplies after having to abandon his secret camp for a second time within a month.

The remaining Marauders would get there a day ahead of them, but the Harvest Festival would likely let them feel they could tarry.

Bastian reached under Thom's shirt and let his energies bleed out into the younger man's body to heal it. He felt Thom's muscles tense briefly, then relax.

"How does that feel?" Bastian asked when he felt the energy cycle back to himself.

"Whoo! I feel better than I have in a long time!"

"The healing will cure everything," the mage explained, "aches, cuts, bruises. Things you didn't notice were wrong with you."

"But it also makes you hungry. No wonder Madoc was itching to go hunt dinner." Bastian had sensed less animosity from Thom over the last day, and though he didn't know which god to thank for it, he was glad for it.

"Next, I'd like to see how we're doing for progress. Lennox?"

Their witness, who was watching with interest, spoke up. "Yes?"

"How many Marauders were there?"

"Oh. Let me count. Kraid and Damon, Cort, Ulrich,... Benet, Simon, Vere and Vin,... Addax, um... Edric, Benet,--"

"You said him before," Thom pointed out.

"Oh. How many is that? Eleven?"

"Ten," Thom said.

Bastian was afraid of this. "There's an easier way. It will also help us to find them in Annisport. I can get their imprint from you. I'll need to look into your mind, though."

"Okay," Lennox said happily.

The mage recalled some of the things he knew of Calder's childhood, that he'd been sent to an asylum until rescued by the Council, driven mad by the secrets of others. "This is not a thing to be taken lightly. I touched Cort's mind to get his name in order to frighten him. A person's name is right on the surface of the mind though. I'll need to look into your memories. I may learn things you don't want me to know."

"Sir Bastian," he said, smiling, "I trust you."

"Lennox, are you sure about this?" Thom said, as if to convey some sort of warning.

"Very," said Lennox. He was grinning from ear to ear.

"Stay still," Bastian instructed, "and let me probe. Go where your thoughts take you."

Lennox nodded. The mage laid his hands at the sides of his head.

Seek.

A second contact is made.

Remember.

Bastian thought back to Lennox's days among the Marauders. He touched the memories, learning names to fit the faces of those who were already captured. There were other faces, those that had died.

They called him Lenny, which he hated. They teased him for not wanting to kill. They beat him for escaping.

There were other faces, his neighbors as a child, not those of Lennox, but his own. Had Lennox lived nearby to him at Pharlight? The memories were old, but new.

He'd been a thief in his younger days. When he was stronger. He was after a silver ring set with topaz a man in Middlebury wanted for his wife. He missed an alarm and an arrowhead pinned him to the wall. He was sure the tip was poisoned and was meant to kill, but it was enough to catch him.

He was in prison. The walls were cold stone and torches lit the hallway inadequately. He paced slowly down the corridor with an older, taller man. The prison guard was instructing him in the proper way to center himself for meditation. But he was just a boy. It was boring. He wanted to be outside. He wanted to be home.

No, that was all wrong. What was happening? Loose thoughts and random memories floated by.

barn was burning around me. The horses were kicking in their stalls. I was crying. I didn't know what I did. I was so scared. Mama, where

broken it? Damon swung again, this time hitting me in the side and this time I could hear the ribs crack. I reached along the ground, my bloodied arm extended painfully to reach anything I could

help help where am i how can this be this never happened before i have to break contact before i forget who i am what is he doing to me

sat there on the bed, naked as I remembered him from the night before, but now I could see. He sat cross-legged. His long, beautiful brown hair trailing behind him. His eyes were closed, but I could see them clearly. His cock was stirring. I watched it rise. Perhaps I shouldn't be watching. I quietly backed

BLaesntnioaxn

I am Bastian of Pharlight, Mage to the Crown!

I love you, Sir Bastian.

ReturnForget.

Bastian stared at Lennox in total fear. The other man had laid his hand on his cheek, but that should only have strengthened the connection slightly. The mage's own memories and thoughts should not have been intermingled with Lennox's. He didn't understand, and often magic one doesn't understand can be deadly.

"Well," Thom said, bringing him back to earth, "how many?"

How many what? Oh. "Fifteen. We captured nine of them today, leaving six. Kraid, Damon, Benet, Addax, Edric and Ivor. I know their faces now, and if I see one of them now, I can trace him."

Just then Madoc returned with a brace of quails. Any further thoughts of what had gone wrong would wait until after dinner.

Bastian's thoughts were full of Lennox, but he couldn't look his way once.

The man loved him. He had felt it. It was pure and beautiful and it was directed at him. That in itself had a powerful effect. Even through his fear, Bastian couldn't help but fear a small happiness. The occasional smile shone through.

Lennox was a man, though. It was the same as his problem with Sir Madoc and Thom, only this time he was personally involved. He couldn't sweep it aside. He had to admit to himself that he wasn't sure just what they did, but he was quite curious. And he had been aroused by the thoughts.

Bastian would eventually, someday, be paired with a witch. It was certain to happen. The woman would take the place of a wife. It their mutual study, they would become intimate with the other's body. If he was very lucky, he could learn to love that witch. Calder, he knew, was very happy with Crylla. Bastian had never known love, not in 35 years. At least not until now. He hugged himself.

The mage reminded himself that love would make no difference, one way or the other. His job forced him to travel, and Lennox could hardly follow him around all the time. He tried, once more, to forget such matters. And failed once more.

Bastian was roused from sleep when his wards over the camp were penetrated. He had cast two, almost in the same place, but the one inside the other. One person was leaving. Most likely one of his companions was relieving himself and had strayed too far. He relaxed and waited for him to return.

Two more people left the camp. That made all three of them, all moving in the same direction. Unless they'd built a latrine that he knew nothing about....

He unrolled himself from his blanket and wrapped his robe around himself. He would freeze in the near-autumn air, but duty prescribed that he investigate.

He crept carefully over to where he believed them to be. The wards moved with him, centered on his body. He sensed three people enter his wards, moving as fast as he. He backed up and paused. They were together and still. He had found them.

What were they doing? Plotting conspiracies where he could not hear? Something more sinister? Bastian moved on, quiet as a cat.

There they were. He sought cover behind a bush. Slowly he peered over top.

They were naked. Two of them were doubled over, the one pressed right up against the other. The third, Sir Madoc, judging by the dark hair, stood before them with a container of something. He dipped his hand and touched himself. His penis was as engorged as it had been when Sir Madoc had dreamed--

Oh. Oh goodness.

He should leave. He shouldn't watch.

Sir Madoc got behind the pair and waited. Words were exchanged. The dark knight pressed himself against the rearmost of his companions and forced his cock into the other man's backside. Bastian suddenly realized Thom and Lennox were probably similarly coupled.

Bastian's mouth hung open. His member was painfully hard and jutted into the bush before him. He touched himself, squeezing his sex and stroking it lovingly.

The man in the middle - Thom? - began rocking back and forth, first plunging into Lennox in front of him, then forcing himself onto Sir Madoc. He swung his hips, trapped between the other men.

Bastian's hand rubbed his sex harder, allowing him to feel some small fraction of what those in front of him must have been feeling.

Lennox looked off to the side, in his direction. They locked eyes. Bastian knew Lennox could see him. The redhead beckoned him over.

At first he did not move. Could he acknowledge to them that he'd been watching them? Lennox waved again. The mage timidly stood and came their way.

The others stopped as they realized they were not alone.

Lennox was still bent over, Thom helping to support his weight. One hand was propped up on his knee. Bastian stood before him, his robe hanging wide open. The redheaded thief reached into the robe, caressing Bastian's sides, up to his chest and down to his legs. His touch seemed to send heat through the mage's body when he should have been freezing.

Lennox pulled Bastian closer by the behind and lovingly kissed his cock. The touch of his lips was a sharp feeling on the head of his member, making Bastian twitch. Lennox licked at the slit where some of his juice had spilled out, and Lennox eased more and more of his sex into his mouth.

The inside of that mouth was a warm, soft, wet place that seemed like a perfectly comfortable place for his penis to stay forever. Then a tongue touched him and he gasped. He kept disappearing into that softness until he wasn't sure how he could fit anymore. Bastian stared down in wonder at this impossible feat.

Lennox shoved his hindquarters back onto Thom. Both of the other men had been watching them, but they returned to their own pleasure now that it was obviously safe. The redhead never stopped making love to Bastian's cock.

"I'm close," Sir Madoc announced.

Bastian had been aware of Lennox's love for him, but he only truly felt it now. He felt it in the way his fingers travelled across his skin, caressing him all over. He felt it in the loving touch of his tongue on his manhood. He saw it whenever Lennox looked up, to see if he was making Bastian happy, to check in disbelief that he was really there, or to gaze into his eyes. On the few nights when Bastian had had the pleasure of a woman's company, there had been no emotion to compare to these wondrous sensations of affection.

Lennox caringly held Bastian's balls, exploring the skin and feeling the eggs inside. The mage sighed and his legs weakened, but Lennox kept him upright. His breathing was now ragged.

Bastian heard Sir Madoc groan. He looked up as the knight slammed into Thom's rear with great strain showing on his face. A change came over Thom's face as Sir Madoc's seed filled his body. Soon Thom did the same to Lennox. The man in front of Bastian moaned and sucked harder.

"Lennox, please," the mage whispered. "I'm going to - ah! Gods!" he cried as the feeling of release shook his body and his cock blasted into Lennox's mouth. He leaned back, his cock thrust forward. Hot fluid splashed on his foot as Lennox's own seed spilled out onto the forest floor.

Both he and Lennox turned to look at their companions, who were locked in a lover's embrace. It filled Bastian's heart to behold it.

"Please, Sir Bastian," Lennox said as he stood up. "I want nothing more than to kiss you just once."

The mage would not have refused him had he been offered the world instead. He wanted all that he saw, both the closeness Sir Madoc and Thom obviously shared, and the person before him.

He slipped his arms out of his sleeves, took Lennox inside his robe and kissed him, deeply. He clutched the man's body in tightly as their tongues toyed with each other. It was not enough for him, but it was a beginning. He finished the kiss to look at Lennox and knew that he was in love as well.

"Into the creek?" Thom asked.

Bastian smiled at Lennox. "Yes. Why don't we?"

"Do you need to have your robe? I'd hate to get it wet," Lennox said.

"I do," Bastian said, taking it off, "but it's only because I get cold."

Lennox stared at Bastian's exposed body and smiled.

Sir Madoc yelled out, "Last one in's a troll!" and ran for the bank. Bastian, his robe over his arm, dashed after him.

Sir Madoc waded splashing into the water. Bastian tossed his robe onto a convenient branch and followed him in. Where Sir Madoc submerged himself to his waist and drenched the rest of him, Bastian got his feet used to the chill waters before going onward.

The other man watched him a moment and said, "Congratulations."

"For what?" Bastian asked.

"I can see it. You just figured out how you feel about Lennox."

Bastian blinked at him. Just then Lennox came running up to him, sending them both crashing to the creek bed. The mage screamed as the cold water surrounded his body. Lennox climbed on top of him and kissed him. Bastian gripped him tight, for warmth and out of need.

When they paused, he said, "Gods, this has happened so fast. I cannot credit it. Why...? How could you...?"

"Your eyes, Sir Bastian."

"They're repulsive," Bastian began.

"They're beautiful," Lennox challenged, as though he'd just been insulted. "I've never seen eyes like yours." As Lennox peered into Bastian's eyes, he couldn't help but gaze back, studying the thief's dark green eyes. They kissed again.

Lennox grappled with him, holding him tight. Bastian's eyes grew wide when he felt a hand grab his ass. The mage, unsure of himself, let his hands fall on the two mounds of Lennox's rump. He moaned into Bastian's mouth and humped into his crotch.

Lennox began to lick at Bastian's neck, using the flat of his tongue, stroking with just the tip and leaving slow kisses on the tender skin. He licked all over, Bastian squirming beneath him. He traced the crevice behind his jaw by the ear, making him groan. He took Bastian's earlobe into his mouth, sucking on it.

With a most delicate touch, Lennox used the tip of his tongue to stimulate the very outer rim of his ear. Tingling fire burned all through that side of his body. Bastian whimpered from the extreme pleasure. It was like nothing he'd ever felt before. He thrust his hips, rubbing his cock ' against the redhead's flesh. He cried out.

Lennox's hand dipped beneath the surface of the water and stroked Bastian's testicles, then went underneath his body into the cleft of his ass, a finger stirring about his entrance.

"Oh, Lennox! I love you!" Bastian's cock exploded into the water that flowed between them. His cum splattered onto them, congealed into rubbery strings and washed away in the current. Bastian had no idea he could come again so quickly.

The mage came out of his orgasmic reverie a broken man. This person who lay with him frightened him so. He had read his thoughts, had taken his body to new heights of pleasure, and had shown him what love was in a single evening. Bastian was not at all sure he could take this, but he was just as sure he could no longer do without it.

"I need to do something for you," he said. "I need to try to bring you some of the joy you've shown me, but I don't know how."

Lennox caressed his love's cheek. "It's okay," he said. "If you do love me as much as you said, and as I love you, then it won't be hard at all. You already know what to do." He rolled off Bastian's body and settled into the clear creek.

Bastian looked over his new love's body and was quite pleased by what he saw. His pale skin glowed in the moonlight. Bastian kissed his tender lips. He laid his body onto Lennox's and licked at his neck and clavicle. The thief did not react as strongly as he himself had, so he moved on.

He kissed Lennox's chest, right in the middle, then nuzzling the flesh of his breasts.

"My nipples," Lennox coached.

The mage licked at the dark circles, already hard from the cold water. Lennox sighed. Encouraged, Bastian took the nub in his mouth and his tongue played with it. Lennox appeared enraptured. He curled his arms around Lennox's back and twisted his body to present the sensitive spot to him. Instinct took control and Bastian nipped at it with his teeth. Lennox groaned throatily, "Ohhhh, yes!"

After a few minutes of pleasuring Lennox's chest, Bastian shifted and mouthed the area just below his rib cage. The redhead's stomach muscles contracted and he moaned again. The mage continued to lave and tease this ticklish part of his body.

His chin bumped up against Lennox's member. Though it stuck up out of the water, it glistened with moisture. A thin, clear fluid ran down and into the thief's bush before draining into the creek water. Bastian eagerly licked it up, tasting a pleasantly salty syrup. He began at the base, so as to get it all, and lapped up, catching the flow at its source.

He paused to stare at Lennox's phallus. He was prepared to take it into his mouth, something he would not have dreamed of a day ago. He descended onto it--

"Wait," Lennox said, laying a hand on his cheek.

"What?" Bastian asked.

"Your teeth are chattering."

The mage hadn't even noticed, but suddenly he was quite aware of how cold he was.

"Let's get out of the water," Lennox said. "Help me up."

They stood and left the creek. Sir Madoc and Thom were still playing. Bastian shivered as he snatched his robe from the tree and put it on. They stole off into the forest.

They went back to camp to fetch a blanket, then went deeper into the wood. There were small spaces between the trees where the winds would not blow, and here they found shelter from the cold.

"Now," Bastian said eagerly, "to please you," and he reached for Lennox's cock... which was softening.

"I'm tired," Lennox explained. "I've already come once."

"But I--" the mage began.

Lennox put a finger over his love's lips. "You have already pleased me once. There will be time for you to return the gesture, I promise. In fact, I insist," he leered. He stood close to Bastian and draped the blanket around them. "Being beside you pleases me. For now, I need nothing more." He kissed him.

They sat and held each other until Bastian ceased shivering.

"What spells do you know?" Lennox asked.

"I can touch a mind, as I did with you. I can move some objects without touching them. The iron handshake, of course--"

"The ferreae_manicae," Lennox repeated.

Bastian was pleasantly surprised. "Yes. Most people don't pay attention to the Old Language anymore."

"I remembered you saying it," Lennox said. "Can you fly? I've heard witches can fly, sometimes."

"No. I have tried, and there are warlocks who can, but so far, I have not had that success." Bastian considered. He really did want to know what had caused that miscast with the tactus_animi he'd done earlier, and the levitation should be harmless if he was careful. "However, there is one thing I can do. I can fly you."

Lennox's eyes lit up.

"Stand."

Lennox got up, naked. Bastian arranged his robe around himself. "Take my hand." Lennox did so.

Bastian sought the spell-point in his mind and tapped it. He eased Lennox off the ground. His feet stayed under him in case Bastian needed to kill the spell suddenly. There was no backwash. The mage's feet stayed on the ground. He sighed. All was normal again. Bastian arranged his lover onto his stomach in mid-air. Lennox spread his arms out.

Bastian kneeled under him, one arm directly overhead, maintaining the contact. He guided Lennox in a slow circle, allowing him to fly around Bastian's head.

The mage turned on his knee as needed to keep from twisting his arm off, and watched Lennox's privates dangle from his body.

Suddenly, Lennox was falling! He dove headlong for the ground. Bastian fought to turn him so he wouldn't break his neck, but he had no control anymore. Instead, Lennox spun onto his back in front of Bastian's face.

Lennox was now in control of his own movements. And it was total control, he was sure. The redhead wasn't even aware that anything was wrong.

Bastian's mouth was hanging open. Lennox kissed him, then glided perfectly to the earth at his feet. He hugged the warlock tight. "Thank you so much."

Someone grabbed Bastian by the collar. Had someone pierced his wards? It was Sir Madoc.

He pressed the mage up hard against the trunk of a tree. "Put it back!" he yelled.

Thom rushed up. Both men were drenched. "Madoc, what's wrong?!"

Lennox tried to wrench Sir Madoc's arms away.

The furious knight pressed against his ribcage. "I said to put it back! You have to!"

There was the spark of madness in Sir Madoc's eyes. Bastian had to take control of the situation before it got out of hand. He slowly, and deliberately, so Sir Madoc could watch, wrapped his hands around Sir Madoc's wrists.

"NO!!" Thom screamed and threw himself at Sir Madoc, knocking him to the ground. Bastian fell forward, but Lennox was there to catch him.

"No, Madoc, no," Thom yelled, on top of the knight and pounding on his chest. "I'm not going to lose you that way, I'm not. He's going to send you away and kill you and I'll never know why!" Thom was weeping. "Please, Madoc, tell me what's wrong, please!"

Bastian kneeled by their side. "Sir Madoc, it's possible I can do what you need done, but I don't know what that is," he explained calmly. "What do you want me to put back?"

"He said a scar," Thom said over his shoulder.

The knight looked at them with crazed, scared eyes. "I c-can't!" And now he began to cry.

"Madoc," he said, shaking his head, "don't do this to me. There isn't anything you can't tell me." He looked briefly at Lennox and Bastian suspiciously.

"You'll hate me. You'll never want to speak to me ag--" He burst into sobbing tears, shaking like a leaf.

Thom let him sit up so he could hold him. Lennox brought over the blanket and laid it on Madoc's shoulders. They all crowded in to console him. Bastian's eyes were tearing in sympathy to Sir Madoc's.

Bastian tapped the spell-point by his heart, casting comfort over the other three. The mage felt his own tensions ease, and he suspected that was his love's handiwork. He was grateful.

Sir Madoc's tears subsided. Thom rocked the knight back and forth.

Lennox said, "Madoc, we're all your friends here. I can't imagine what might be so terrible that we'd all hate you. We know you. We all love you." Bastian stroked the knight's side affectionately.

"Please, Madoc. I can't stand to see you like this," Thom said. "Please tell me. I don't care what it is. I just need to know."

"I..." Sir Madoc began. Bastian found himself holding his breath. "I was living in Ellaston that day--"

"Gods, no!" Thom whispered and crushed Madoc's body to his own.

Bastian felt a chill down his spine. None of them needed to be told what Ellaston meant. As a young man learning his magery, his teachers would frighten him and his classmates with the tale of the worst case of magic gone wrong in known history, and it had only happened twenty years ago.

He'd been fifteen himself at the time. One of the Talvaedean sages at the college there had been tampering with magicks and something, no one knew what, had gone wrong. The college was found burned to the ground and that particular sage's body was never found. The other priests of the temple had been driven mad.

"I wasn't aware that anyone had survived the Ellaston Massacre," Bastian said.

"Five of us," Sir Madoc said. "How do you think anyone knows what went on?"

"Scryers, I thought...."

Sir Madoc was shaking his head, though Thom clutched him tight. "The scryers went just as mad as the Talvaedeans. They had to rely on us.

"It was horrible.

"My father was the town tailor. Mother helped with the sewing.

"It was an ordinary evening. I was playing on the floor. Mother was watching over me. Do you remember Aspasia, the wizard? She looked just like her. Long brown hair. Father said I had her eyes. She was very beautiful.

"We heard shouts from outside. Mother went over to open the door to see what was going on outside. There was a man running down the road, yelling at everyone to run, to leave town. One of the teachers attacked him and slit his throat.

"Mother shoved me inside and slammed the door. She called Father over to the window. He looked for a while and he told Mother to get me away from the sewing table.

"I knew something was very wrong but I didn't know what was happening. I was just very frightened.

"They upended the table and pushed it in front of the door. Mother held me close and we all laid by the table. Father warned us not to move and not to speak and they wouldn't find us."

Sir Madoc's eyes were far off, staring down into nothing. "It must have lasted for hours. We heard screams and weeping, which always stopped after a few minutes. Sometimes someone would beat on the door, but they couldn't get in. They might have been priests or the villagers trying to hide.

"There was someone, just outside the wall, a man, who was begging for his life. I heard him slam against the wall. I heard him die.

"Father had warned me not to move or speak, but I couldn't help it," he pleaded. "I was so scared. I cried out. I couldn't help it, I'm sorry....

"Someone started pounding on the door again. The table moved. My parents and I were sent rolling onto the floor.

"There were two sages with bows in the doorway. They fired once each. Then they turned to me.

"I wanted to run but I couldn't move. I just lay there. I couldn't take my eyes off them.

"The archer took another arrow." The knight was fingering the skin below his left clavicle. "I knew him. It had been Spaelin, the sage who taught my friends and me our lessons."

Thom had his head resting on Sir Madoc's chest, tears running down. Lennox's head was lowered.

"They found me in the corner of our house, underneath the burnt timbers and ashes. The fire had attracted help from the next town.

"After the Talvaedean priests had killed all the villagers they could find, they burned the village and started killing each other. Three others still lived along with one mad priest, another archer who couldn't kill himself.

"The guards did it for him.

"The knights of the Guard found me, rescued me and nursed me back to health. I owe them so much. I wanted to be one of them. Maybe then, I could fix things.

"When I awoke there was still some of the arrow shaft in my shoulder. I couldn't move my arm. They said I was very fortunate to be alive, but my-- my father and my m-m--"

Sir Madoc started crying again. "Thom, I killed my parents! I killed my parents!"

Thom cradled his partner in his arms and whispered, "No, no, no," while he cried it out again.

Lennox, sensing a need, said, "I'll get water," and, wiping his eyes, left for the camp.

Sir Madoc continued to weep. Bastian felt Lennox leave the wards. Irrationally, he feared for Lennox's safety. When Lennox came back in he felt better. Soon he appeared with a cooking pot full of water from the creek.

"Here, drink," Lennox said, offering it to his friend.

He sipped at it, spilling a little down his and Thom's fronts. When he was done, he looked at Thom. "You must hate me now," he said in a small voice.

"No, never, Madoc," Thom replied. "I love you and I always will. You scared me. You're here and I was afraid at the thought of you dying in that horror. I'm very sorry to hear about your parents, but I am more thankful than ever that you're here with me." He held a weeping Madoc to him once again. "I love you, Madoc, I love you, and you should never, ever forget it."

Bastian touched Sir Madoc and read him. It was just as he'd thought.

"Sir Madoc," the mage said, "there are a couple of questions I would like to ask."

"Not now!" Thom snapped at him.

"No, Thom, I'm ready," Sir Madoc told him. "What do you want to know?"

"Were there some people in the town that you found you were emotionally attached to? When they were happy, you were happy; when they got angry, so did you?"

"Of course. My family, my friends...."

"Strangers as well?"

Sir Madoc paused. "Sometimes."

"You teachers?"

The knight nodded grimly. "Some."

"Now wait," Thom interrupted. "You're not trying to say that Madoc was responsible--"

"No. We know that a Talvaedean spell was the cause. There's no way Sir Madoc could have been involved. I have only one more question. Is Thom one of those people?"

Sir Madoc looked at his partner. "Yes, he is."

"When he arrived at the garrison in Karelia you looked at the door and got up to open it before he knocked even though the hallway was often busy. I've seen dogs do that, but very few humans.

"When I cast an illusion in the tavern to stop the brawl, you could hear the spell at work, which most people can't do."

Thom's eyes went wide.

"When you first arrested him as the Dark Rogue, and suddenly all of this makes much more sense, you did not turn him over to a handy garrison at Cairncross when you learned of that town's plight. You trusted him to accompany you on the quest, but when asked, you couldn't say why.

"When the former knight Bryn attacked you in the courtyard of Dragon's Keep out of anger, you fought back with excessive force, according to witnesses, to the point of punching him out before he could attack you, and while you were facing the other way."

"How do you know all this?" Thom asked.

Bastian considered his choices, and decided to tell the truth. "You were right. I do have another mission, this one given me by Sir Rhys. He noticed a pattern in your behavior, Sir Madoc, and he wondered if you have magic. He wanted an expert opinion. I've just checked, and you do."

The mage let this sink in before going on. "It isn't enough for the Council or even Sir Rhys to be concerned with, but you can read the feelings of certain other people. Thom is one for sure, as is Bryn. I'm fairly sure that the person who was killed outside your house before you cried out during the Ellaston Massacre was one also.

"You felt the fear of the villagers and the madness of the sages. You must have a lot of courage and inner strength, because lesser men that you would have gone mad right with the Talvaedeans. No one can blame you for panicking under those conditions.

"And remember, the sages killed your parents, not you. If the archers hadn't come just then, they might have died when they burned down your home.

"Only five people lived through that, Madoc. Five. You should count yourself lucky to be among them, right?"

Sir Madoc wouldn't answer.

"We can worry about all of that later," Thom said. "Right now, I'd like to have some time alone with him." To this, Sir Madoc just nodded.

"Okay," Bastian nodded. "We'll be at the camp."

The new couple left them there to grieve for lost loves, lost chances and lost innocence.

Bastian awoke early after such a late night. Someone else was leaving the wards. He was alone at the camp.

Once more, Bastian dressed in his robe to see what was going on.

He found Sir Madoc and Thom in the blanket he's left with them, holding each other face to face. Despite everything that had taken place the night before, Sir Madoc had a faint smile on his face. He hoped Thom had helped to make things better for his love. Bastian continued through the woods in search of Lennox.

The redhead was sitting at the edge of the forest by the road, watching the sky. The sun was just about to rise and the sky itself was a pinkish blue.

Lennox was dressed again. He turned his head to where the mage stood. "Good morrow," he said, yawning.

"Good morrow. What are you doing up? You couldn't have gotten much sleep."

"Saying goodbye."

Oh, yes. The dawn. "I don't understand why you would want to. I know how cruel they were to you."

"They were," the former prisoner said, "but for years they were the only people I got to talk to, the only ones I knew. They were like family, in an odd way. They were kind to me too at times."

Bastian sat at Lennox's side and put an arm over his shoulder. "Are you sure it's safe to be out in the open like this?"

Lennox nodded. "They're never up at dawn. Wherever they are, they're sleeping."

The sun appeared over the trees and Lennox bowed his head.

"Are you okay? Confused about what lies ahead?" Bastian asked.

"No, not confused. I helped you to catch them, and I should have known they would be executed. I don't know what I was thinking. I know exactly what I'm doing now. I'm still with you." Lennox hugged him close.

"I'm glad you're with us, and with me," Bastian told him. They kissed until Lennox yawned again. "Here, let's go back to camp and try to get an hour or two of sleep. Yesterday was a long day, and you still need it."

The two new lovers went back to their place by the fire of the night before, now just ashes, and napped in each others' arms, secure in the other man's presence.