by Pfantazm
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Madoc waited, chatting with the staff until the main room was ready to
close for the night. There were no disputes to settle, no petty thieves
to chase that night. The suspense was hell on his nerves.
Finally Melydia and Rab came and collected him. "I'll show you to your room now, Sir Madoc," Melydia said. They climbed the stair and went straight ahead at the top. Melydia and Rab's room was right over the kitchen. Melydia went in first. "Allow me to fetch a couple of my things," she said, gathering a hairbrush and various other toiletries, "and I'll be out of your way." "You won't be coming back later tonight?" Madoc asked. "Of course not," she said easily. "I need my sleep, you know, and I wouldn't know what to do with myself while I waited. I'll simply take what would have been your room, goodknight. I make sure I'd be comfortable in any of our guest rooms." Her apron pockets were bulging with her possessions. She began blowing out candles around the room, leaving only one dim one near the bed and one by the door. She kissed Rab on the cheek and went to the door. "You boys play nice now," she admonished. Both men blushed. Melydia blew out the candle near the door. Madoc watched her silhouette leave and close the door behind her. They stood motionless for a moment. Madoc studied Rab in the dim light. The knight was tall at 6'2", but Rab was taller still by almost half a foot. He had unruly, light brown hair and fawn brown eyes. He had a body and build fit for dealing with defiant horses. His head was hung down and he seemed to be breathing hard. Madoc walked over to him. It wasn't a trick of the candlelight; his hands were shaking. Madoc took them. "Why don't you sit down." Rab seated himself on the edge of the bed. Madoc sat next to him, but not too close yet. "Why don't you tell me a little about yourself? I didn't get much of a chance to meet you in Cairncross. I don't even know your last name." "Andrewsson. My father was a money-counter for Lord Norfald, and my mother, a maid-in-waiting. My older brother, Vid, is the moneycounter there now. I haven't seen him in a long time." He still looked downward. "I worked in the stables there until I was eighteen. Then Tybalt stayed as a guest of the Lord and took a liking to me. Norfald offered my services, so I went with him. "Of course, that was where I met Melydia." Rab smiled. "When will the wedding be?" "In a month. It'll be in Cairncross. All of Melydia's family will be there." "Yours won't?" Madoc asked. "My brother is the only family I have left, and we've never gotten along. He was the one who could do Father's job and I was just an ostler." "Just because you're not good with figures doesn't mean you're not smart, or a good person." Rab grinned again. "Melydia tells me the same thing." Madoc moved closer and set his hand on Rab's shoulder. Rab looked up. Madoc pulled the giant into an embrace, which Rab returned. They looked at each other for a moment. Madoc brought his lips to Rab's and gave him a friendly kiss. Rab blushed and giggled. "Are you alright?" Madoc asked. "Aye. That's just so... strange." "Would you like to do it again?" "Aye." Rab met him halfway this time and they kissed more strongly. They lay back on the bed as they held each other. They broke the kiss and laughed. "How was that?" Madoc asked. "That was great," Rab whispered. "I'm ready for more." Madoc tilted his head this time more sharply and pressed with his tongue. Rab's eyes opened wide, but he allowed Madoc in. Madoc's hands roamed around Rab's back as they tongue-kissed. The stablemaster gripped his legs closer to Madoc's. When they stopped, they were breathing heavily. Rab's eyes were shining. He lunged at the knight's face, causing him to recoil. This time Rab's tongue invaded his mouth. The guard wasn't expecting this kind of enthusiasm. The giant rolled halfway on top of him and held his head. The brunet's tongue toyed with Madoc's, causing him to grip Rab closer still. The ostler was beaming proudly when he was done. Madoc thought it was probably safe to move on. "Ready for the next part?" "I think so." Madoc stood up. He removed his riding boots and arranged them neatly off to one side. He heard Rab slip off his sandals and let them fall to the floor. (Boots from the stable would not be appropriate in here.) Next, Madoc undid his belt and pulled his tunic off over his head. Rab was almost done removing his own shirt when he turned back. Rab's shirttail cleared his head - and he gasped. The knight looked down. He wore no more than hose and smallclothes now. The bulge at his crotch was quite noticeable, and the guard was completely erect. It looked like Rab's confidence was shaken. Kissing was fine. He'd kissed before. Everything else would be different and strange. Madoc padded back to the bed. He sat down, facing his friend, and put a hand on his arm. "We don't need to do this." "I know, but I still want to." They kissed again. The knight molded his body back into Rab's as they lay back down. The stablemaster's hairy chest scratched Madoc's smooth one. Madoc couldn't tell anything about how aroused Rab was. He was still wearing thick canvas trousers, while the knight's clingy hose were almost like wearing nothing at all. The giant explored the broad expanse of featureless skin of the Guardsman's back, while Madoc undid the catch of Rab's pants. The bigger man allowed himself to be distracted while the knight finished undressing him. He pulled the waistband down to mid-buttock and Rab rolled over to let it come off the rest of the way. Now Madoc could see the shape of the ostler's cock, pushing at the cloth of his brief shorts away from his body. His hand came to rest on Rab's bare thigh. The bigger man put Madoc in a bear hug and pulled him up on top of himself. He kissed the knight again, going straight for the tongue. Madoc couldn't believe it. He held the giant tight, and felt him thrust against him, grinding their cocks together. Madoc pulled back to say, "You're really getting into the spirit of this, aren't you?" "Once I have my mind set on something," Rab said, pulling Madoc's hose down, "I let nothing hold me back." The two muscular men ground their bodies together, with tongues invading mouths and fingers massaging flesh. The bed groaned from the weight of them. They paused for breath. Madoc reached between them and untied the drawstring at the stablemaster's waist. Rab put his head back. His breathing became more ragged. The knight looked at him. Saying you'll do something is different from actually doing it. Rab was putting a lot of pressure on himself. Madoc ran his fingers through his chest hair and stroked his head of hair to try to get him to relax. When he seemed calmer, the guard worked the undershorts off the rest of the way. Madoc paused. Rab was hung like a horse. His cock was noticeably longer than either his or Thom's; it must have been eight inches. It curved dramatically toward his stomach. Madoc looked up to see Rab watching him. Making no sudden moves, he laid his hand on the giant's member. The brunet inhaled and shifted slightly. There was a small amount of precum, which the knight collected with his thumb. He spread it carefully across the head. Rab jerked, so he stopped. Rab's breathing was labored. He stared straight up at the ceiling, and they lay there, frozen in place, the knight's hand still cradling the other's cock. He sighed and looked down again and Madoc's hand, then at his face. Madoc tried to reassure him with his eyes. Moving forward or backing off could cause Rab to balk. All he could do was wait for the ostler to collect his courage to continue. "Can I--?" the stablemaster asked, pointing at Madoc's smallclothes. `Good,' he thought, and lay next to Rab. The giant undid the garment and cast eyes upon Madoc fully naked. Where Rab was curved, Madoc was straight as a rail, pointing right at the roof. The bigger man reached out, just touching Madoc's penis with his fingertips. "It's alright," the guard said. "Don't be shy." He took Madoc's cock into his hand in a nice firm grip, like a good handshake, not strangling it. The knight smiled and grasped Rab's cock the same way. Madoc's member was all but lost in the ostler's big fist, while Madoc couldn't get all of Rab into his hand. The knight rubbed Rab's wetness over his member, the giant reciprocated, and soon they had begun a nice friendly jack-off session. The guard slid over to touch his friend at the hip and draped his free arm around the other's neck. They leaned in and kissed as they stroked each other's hardness. The ostler's tongue pierced Madoc's lips and he groaned contentedly. Rab moved down to Madoc's exposed neck and licked at it. It made the knight gasp. The nerves in his neck were singing. He had no idea that was such a sensitive spot. He writhed on the bed. Rab's cock was almost forgotten until Madoc reminded himself to keep up the pace. It felt as though fire was coursing through his chest. He felt he was getting entirely too close to release and he still had plans for Rab. Madoc backed off, saying, "That was incredible. How did you know how to do that?" "Well," he said, "someone else I know likes it a lot." "Ah. But now there's something I'd like to show you." The knight crawled over Rab's crotch. His cock was quivering from the blood pumping through it. He glanced at Rab's face, to see the look that told him the bigger man was wondering if he was really about to do what he thought he would do. Madoc kissed Rab's cock at the outside of the pronounced curve it had. He travelled upward, tracing his tongue across the skin until he was licking at the slit. Madoc tasted the salt of Rab's juices and smacked his lips. The knight eased the head into his mouth, using his hand to bend it to a more advantageous angle. His tongue explored all of the tip of the horse-handler's penis. He tickled the soft flesh of the head, and the small fold of skin left him from his childhood surgery. The giant's size, coupled with his curve, impeded the guardsman's freedom. It wasn't thicker than, say, Thom, thank goodness, but it was plenty long. Madoc turned around so that he faced Rab's feet. `That monster of a cock should better fit into my gullet this way,' he thought. He set in again, this time using the shape to fit his throat more naturally. He inched more of it in as his tendency to gag became more forgiving. The ostler had been breathing heavily, with his head hanging off the edge of the bed. Now Madoc wasn't in a position to see. Every time the knight made headway down his member, Rab gave a strangled cry, like he wanted to moan out loud, but didn't want to wake anyone. As he was nearing the base, he felt a hand pull his cock back between his legs. One hand rested itself on his back and the other milked his cock. Madoc spread his knees and arched his back to make things easier. He felt Rab shift up slightly under him. His mouth attached itself to Madoc's member. He heard a gasp from the shadows near the door. The mouth drifted down, always kissing and licking, until it enveloped the head. Madoc reached back and pushed down on Rab's chest, easing him off, and swung a leg over his body so that he was right over top of the stablemaster. Rab took up his place again and began to teach himself how to suck a cock. He never ventured far from the head, but he seemed a natural, pleasuring Madoc without needing any instruction. The two hulking men pleasured each other, bodies moving in tandem, gently shifting up and down as the tension built. The knight reached the end of his quest as he managed to bury his face in the hair around the ostler's balls. For a brief moment he couldn't breathe, but he had claimed all of his friend. Rab grunted and thrust up, lodging his shaft down the knight's throat. The horse-handler pumped a healthy amount of seed into Madoc's throat, three times, four, five.... Madoc smacked Rab's stomach and hiked his ass up, trying to pull out of his mouth. Rab let go, and fell back against the bed. The knight humped the air as he shot over the giant's hairy chest. He held the man's cock in his mouth as he spread his essence all over. Finally, sated, he sagged on all fours and released his friend. He rolled over off of him and turned, coming to rest at his side. Rab was staring, wide-eyed at the ceiling. "Did you have fun?" Madoc asked. Rab laughed. "I didn't think I'd do it, but...." He sighed. "Something just came over you?" Madoc asked, trailing a finger through Rab's damp chest hair. The ostler laughed again. "Something like that. Thank you, my friend. I'll never forget tonight." He started to sit up. "I wager Melydia will never forgive me if we let the sheets get soiled. Stay there. I'll clean you up." He found the washbasin in the dark, and wetted and wrung out a cloth. He wiped the giant down until he was presentable, in a sense, again. "I need to sleep soon, Sir Madoc. This was a hell of a lot of fun, but innkeepers need to get up early." He got up and stood beside the bed. Madoc watched the naked giant turn down the sheets. He wanted to touch Rab's beautiful body as he performed this simple task, but wasn't sure how he'd take it. Instead, he thought of the story he'd have to tell Thom when they met again in Karelia. The knight turned down his side of the bed. Rab blew out the candle and they climbed into bed. The bed creaked. Madoc lay straight out, keeping to his side, unsure of what was going through Rab's mind. The ostler gave his arm a friendly touch. Spurred on, he reached across and returned the gesture. A deep laugh escaped from Rab's chest as he pulled Madoc closer into a hug. "Thank you," he murmured again. "You're welcome to it, Rab, anytime." They settled like spoons, the knight on the inside, which felt strange, but wonderful. He smiled in the darkness. Later he heard Rab snore lightly, and then someone sneaking out of the room. The knight blinked in the dark room. The shutters were open. The sun hadn't quite risen yet. "Are you awake, Sir Madoc?" Rab whispered. "Yes," he mumbled. "You may as well lay there a while," the ostler said, putting on his shorts. "I need to heat water for our guests. There's no reason for you to be up." "That's good," Madoc replied and rolled over. "Did you sleep well? Some people don't sleep well in a strange bed." "It was fine, Rab. Don't worry about it." All beds were strange to him. "Alright. Melydia and I will be busy most of the morning, but don't leave without at least saying goodbye." "I won't, I promise." "See you in a bit, then," Rab said, and slipped out the door in only sandals and shorts. Madoc lay there in a semi-sleep state verging on wakefulness, letting time pass. He was aware when Rab returned to change the water in the basin, but the stablemaster must have guessed he was asleep. He didn't come fully awake until Melydia came in to collect the sheets. "Time to get up, Sir Madoc. We don't want any layabouts around here. I need those blankets." "Do you treat all your guests with such dignity?" "Only the ones who stay in my room. Come now, goodknight, your washing water is getting cold." She pulled off the top quilt, leaving Madoc with only a cotton sheet to cover him. "Do I get no privacy?" he groused, "or should I just throw off the sheet and prepare to meet the day?" "Why, Sir Madoc! I'm betrothed. That would hardly be proper," she teased. "Even after last night? I'd wager there's little left to see, save more of the same by daylight." Melydia's demeanor became suddenly serious. "You knew?" "You were not completely quiet," Madoc said matter-of-factly. "Are you angry?" Madoc paused. She had to have been just as curious about the whole thing as Rab himself was. "No. I understand why you tarried, I think. Does Rab know?" "No. Well, not that I know...." "I wouldn't concern myself. I've always been observant. It's much of my job." "You won't tell him, will you?" "Not unless he asks. I won't give out the fact, but I'll not lie to him either." "That's fair, I suppose. I'll give you your privacy here. Thank you for being so understanding." "Think nothing of it." "I'll be back shortly for the sheets." She closed the door so that she wasn't inside the room. Madoc rose, stretched, scratched and washed. He went straight to the King's Outpost, where he was to meet Sir Bastian. The warlock had not arrived yet, so the sergeant suggested a tavern nearby where he could get something to drink, and wait. Madoc sensed that this was a popular place among guardsmen; his order of fruit juice (or else watered wine) didn't even raise an eyebrow. "With the guardhouse just up the road and the Temple of Talvaed around the corner, I keep lemonade and juice all through the Flier Summer," the barman explained. The near-end of summer had seen its usual wave of heat, and the tavern was quite full. He took his drink and tried to seek out a table. "Hail, goodknight!" Madoc looked around to see who called out to him. A young man in the back corner held his hand aloft and held his gaze. An empty chair awaited at his side. When the guard moved his way, the bar patron smiled. He looked around 28, with black hair and brown eyes. He looked merry, meaning halfway to drunk. "Do you know me, goodman?" Madoc asked when he neared the table. "I think I don't. My name is Braghan Deckler." He held out his hand. "Sir Madoc. I thank you for directing me to this seat." "It was nothing. I'm always happy to help out one of the King's Men." A warning bell pealed in Madoc's mind. "What you're thinking may be wrong," Braghan said as he smiled. "I've seen that look before. Right now, you think that I have committed some misdeed and am looking for a way out, or else you think I am trouble. If the first, I can only assure you that you're wrong. If the second, you're right, though it's no fault of my own. "I'm a messenger, and though I do all I can to be sure whatever I may take in charge isn't stolen, trouble follows me anyway. If a guardsman remembers seeing me someplace at a certain time, it may be of help later on, though I can never guess why." He chuckled. Madoc wondered if he would regret taking this chair. "What deliveries have you made of late?" "A note last night, no problems. However, I took a wedding gift from a merchant in Quayton to a young heiress here, but the wedding had been broken off. Her father found his son-in-law-to-be philandering in a brothel. He chased me up and down the streets. It was in certainty no fault of my own that this happened while I travelled. Every year I live at this job, I age two." "Then why don't you find something else?" Madoc asked. "Don't think I've not tried," Braghan said, still grinning, "but I am Katusha's plaything, bless Her and curse Her.
"Katusha blows against your back, After reciting the children's rhyme, he said, "I get Her from both sides. Better to have a job where I can pick up and run when I need to." "At least you have a healthy spirit about it all." "I have to, else I'll go mad." He winked. "Now you, I believe I have heard of. Sir Madoc of Fieldgate, is it not? The youngest to make the High Guard in our kingdom's many years? I'm honored to know you." "How do you--" "As I said, I enjoy the company of Guardsmen. They tell stories. You are something of a legend." Madoc was speechless. "Didn't you know?" "Ah, no, I didn't." "If half the things I've heard are true, then I could not be in safer hands. What brings you to Karelia?" Madoc hesitated. Might this man be associated with Kraid? That would explain why he knows so much. Perhaps this was a ploy. "I'd rather not say." "Ah, important business. I'll not ask again. Then may I know the last task you were set to?" Madoc was about to tell the prepared story of the capture of the Dark Rogue, when Braghan suddenly clutched Madoc's arm. "I'm your prisoner, just in case, please," he whispered, hurriedly. His eyes were on the door. Three burly men were scanning the room. "Do you know what they want?" Madoc asked. "No, but I see my name on them. The only mystery is why." "There he is!" one brute yelled, pointing straight at Braghan. They stormed over and grabbed him by the collar. "Come on, loverboy. Sarita's father wants to talk to you." Braghan looked desperately to Madoc. "May I ask what this is about?" he asked. "This kid's been seeing our boss's daughter. He wants to meet him." "I haven't been seeing her! I only delivered a note to her last night!" Braghan protested. "I arrived in town but two days ago." "Then who sent the note?" "I don't know him. He only hired me, and if I did know, I'd not lead you to him." "Then we'll just take you instead, unless this here's your prisoner, goodknight?" Braghan pleaded with Madoc with his eyes. The young man winced as Madoc said, "He's not, but neither can I let you simply drag him off." "We ain't about to hurt him. We only want to talk." "No matter," Madoc began. "You cannot detain--" The knight was interrupted when Braghan stomped on the foot of the thug who held him. He twisted out of his grip and shoved him. The thug fell backward and the messenger ran. The brute crashed into what looked like a mercenary behind him, who shoved back. Madoc watched helplessly as the barroom brawl spread before his eyes. "Hold it right there," he commanded the mercenary. The soldier just grinned a half-toothed smile and swung at Madoc. The knight was quicker than that though, grabbed his arm and wrenched it around, flipping the assailant onto his back. By now the room was in chaos. There were three Talvaedean sages, trying to convince fighters to stop and getting ignored. Two guards were breaking up the fight in their corner while a herald was ushering any innocents outside. The barman had pulled a club out from under the counter and was cracking heads. Madoc looked for Braghan. He spotted the hapless young man heading for the door, pursued by one of the thugs. The knight waded through the melee in that direction. He heard the whistle for the city patrol. They'd arrive soon. The thug caught up with Braghan and pulled out a knife. Madoc saw no more because a large man stepped in front of him. He held a broken bottle in his hand. The man jabbed at Madoc, and the guard jumped back. He scooped up a discarded chair and pointed it at the other man, legs first. He swung it at his foe's midsection, but he was too far. The man dodged easily, but one leg connected with the bottle, shattering what was left of it. Only the neck remained. The man tried to run, but he got too close to the barman, who thumped him. The fat man was out cold. Madoc waved a quick thanks his way and looked to see where Braghan was. He found the thug who'd been following him lying on the ground, moaning and clutching his head, but the courier was nowhere in sight. It seemed he got away. Just then, Madoc noticed a very high-pitched keening sound above the noise from the fight. Madoc covered his ears. "Adzurae ignita!" Blue flames crept along the ceiling above Madoc where he was crouched over the brute's body. The knight heard swearing, bodies hitting the floor and screams. The eerie blue fire covered the whole of the room, and most of its occupants were now hiding under tables, the brawl forgotten in the panic. The man responsible for the fire stood in the doorway, arms raised. His brown hair hung down his back in a long ponytail. He wore a yellow tabard with a black dragon over a black robe, with black buskins. Dunstan's special stable of guards, then, from his colors. The flames disappeared from overhead and the city patrol rushed in to arrest the brawlers. Madoc got to his feet and approached the wizard. "Are you Sir Bastian?" "I am. You are Sir Madoc of Fieldgate?" "Yes. 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. 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 to some of the fallen patrons. Madoc hoped, for the sake of their mission, that Sir Bastian was not usually as haughty as that, and also that Braghan didn't cross their path again. It was going to be a long afternoon. | ||
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Regular readers will have noticed that this piece of the story was much longer in coming than the rest have been. Up until now, they have been appearing in this archive every three weeks like clockwork. This one is only about a month late.
I could make excuses, and they'd be good ones: This story is the longest one so far, and in the time that I've been trying to produce this story, I've taken my first vacation in many years, changed residences, changed banks, broke up with someone who meant, and still means, a lot to me and came out to my old roommates, friends of mine from school. About the only thing that hasn't happened to me is losing my job. [P.S. Now I've done this too. - Pf] I've been busy.
The real reason that this story has been so late is that I've come to realize that, yes, I could continue to produce this story on a three-week schedule, but not with all this life happening around me, and by relentlessly pounding out story, I'm missing it. I have too many other good things to do to focus on Thom and Madoc alone.
I have other hobbies and other obligations, and my thread of ideas is running dry. While I do have some thoughts as to what will happen in Lennox's part of the story, and a lot of what I write is done on the fly, I think the quality is suffering because I'm pushing too hard.
I'm not stopping. Not entirely. I've got too much planned to just quit now. But I have to let things build up again before I can write this the way I like.
Speaking of which, the next part of the story is about Lennox. I've gotten two people who've said that they don't like him much, and one who's said he's a favorite character. Let me know what you think. We're kinda stuck with him at this point, but some tinkering is possible before I get all the way into his head.
Wow. No wonder this thing is 90+K. I do go on, don't I?
Final words: I will be back, but not necessarily soon. Keep an eye out. Nifty is one of this pfantazm's favorite haunts.
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part three |