by Pfantazm
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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 dinner, 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 mage. 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 mage's magic flows from within. I can cast without any external preparation. Also, a mage 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? It is our best guess. The history should be simple. The here and now will take more time. What else? Search the public record of the trial of the Dark Rogue. I was sent a copy by mind, but there is a detail I would check. Bastian relayed what he was looking for. 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 would ask your counsel. 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. It is more of a personal matter. 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? Not that I have seen. 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. I suppose. 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 body 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. 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'm hiding, 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. | ||
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