by Pfantazm

No one in the universe in which this story takes place will ever catch anything nasty and ultimately fatal because they are being watched over by a narrator who is kind, benevolent, wise, modest, and wonderful. You have no such guarantee. Protect yourself when you're doing what my characters do.

Wenn du Deutsch sprichtest, wüßtest du daß man kann alle Bemerkungen auf pfantazm-at-hotmail-dot-com schicken.

Post Script That Author's Note has caused me more trouble than anything else I've ever written. That last sentence says, in German, "If you spoke German, you'd know that you could send any comments to pfantazm-at-hotmail-com." The joke being that you have to speak German to read the sentence in the first place. Haha. Care to guess how many people wrote to me starting with, "You speak German!!!!!" and then asking me all of these questions in German for me to answer? I speak enough of it to have made it through my high school classes, and to be able to build that sentence with a couple of look-ups in a German-English dictionary, but I'm far from fluent. Since I make it a policy to write back to anyone who writes me, so long as they're not being an idiot by flaming me, I had to translate all of it and answer the questions. But I answered them in English. One final thing. One person wrote to say that my sentence was wrong, that a German speaker wouldn't say it that way. I wrote him back to ask what the more correct version would be. He said, "Wenn du Deutsch sprechst, schreib mir auf pfantazm...com." It's a good thing I double checked it. That means, "If you speak German, write me at pfantazm...com," which is not remotely close to what the first sentence means, and would have gotten me in even more trouble. Dodged a bullet there.

	Thom was off the side of the road among the weeds, relieving himself. He'd gathered a number of broad leaves for his cleaning ritual... and then remembered that he didn't need to anymore. The extra lockpick Thom kept hidden had been discovered. It was in the pocket of his trousers now since there was no point in keeping their existence secret anymore. He wouldn't be needing it for this trip anyway. The item that he and Sir Madoc wanted to chase down next from the list of ingredients the wizard Eleazar had given them was the three horsephlox blossoms. Horsephlox was a common enough plant; Fleetfire was even now munching on some. The plants for the spell, however, had to have been grown in obsidian soil, which was rarer. That could only be found in areas where there had been volcanic activity. So they were returning to the Greypoint Mountains, some of which, they were sure, were extinct volcanoes. They would have little need of a lockpick. Thom mused that he would never need the pick again, because now he was certain there was to be no escape for him when Sir Madoc brought him to justice. As the Dark Rogue, Thom had revelled in his reputation as a master thief, with daring escapes and bloodless confrontations as part of the lore. He could afford to refrain from killing in all those times he'd been captured in the past because it was highly unlikely that anyone would ever find the slender metallic tube he kept regularly in his rectum that held that secret pick. He could always escape. Until now. Now he was a doomed man. When Eleazar's quest was completed, he would be brought before the King's Court and he would be sentenced. Possibly to death. His only way out now was to commit some violence on Sir Madoc and try to flee. Thom could not do this and the reasons were threefold: first, even now Thom could not bring himself to do this just to save himself from the gallows; second, Sir Madoc wore a ring that caused Thom to feel queasy if he was more than twenty feet away from the knight, making any thoughts of escape mere flights of fancy; and third, by all the tortures of the gods, he loved Sir Madoc. He had come to this realization just last night. It was, he'd decided, the only possible reason that the knowledge that Madoc would be the one to hand him over for trial hurt so much. And with this logic in place, he searched his heart. Of all the tricks the gods enjoyed playing on man, the greatest thief in Aragonia had been smitten by a member of the King's own High Guard. Madoc had noted that Thom was no longer the jovial sort he'd come to know over the past week. And he was actually feeling guilty about it! At 24, because of his dedication to duty, he was the youngest man ever to be admitted into the High Guard. Thom was certainly testing that dedication. He had to turn Thom in; there was no question. But he had to wonder how he was going to forget him when this was all over. A large part of him didn't want to forget, but how could he live with the knowledge that he'd destroyed the person he loved? Thom had finished and was now approaching Madoc and Fleetfire. He looked as though he'd lost his best friend. He sat by the roadside until Madoc was ready to go. The knight helped the thief onto the horse without a word, then mounted himself, and they were off again. The storm clouds were roiling again, preparing to pour down on the landscape. The sun had given up hope to shine this day, and night was setting in. The two had only reached the foot of Mt. Silpin when the rain began. They dismounted and led Fleetfire into the mountains, hoping to find a cave for the night. They were thoroughly soaked before they found one. The cave had a floor which was covered with coarse, dark, gritty soil. This was a good sign: it seemed to be obsidian soil. No horsephlox was to be found, however. There were some strange plants that neither man could identify near the mouth of the cave. They were large, yellow, waxy pods on tall stalks that came up to about mid-thigh. Rainwater trickled in, keeping them watered. The cave was about eight foot square and warmer than it had any right to be. The air inside was dry and hot, despite the rain. Fleetfire refused to enter the cave, despite Sir Madoc's efforts to bring the obstinate stallion in out of the downpour. There was a shelf giving some protection from the wet so Madoc was forced to leave him just outside the opening. Soon the men were beginning to see the sense the horse showed. They had removed their shirts, and Madoc his cuirass, within minutes. They sat in silence. Thom had nothing to say and Madoc didn't know where to begin. Finally the knight felt the pressure of not speaking. "I wish I didn't have to take you in." He sounded so weary. Thom looked to where he knew Madoc to be. The cave was in near darkness and lighting a fire in that kind of heat was madness. "I wish," Madoc continued, "I wish that we could have met in other circumstances. It would all be so much easier." "Yes," Thom conceded, "but tell me, do you regret what you do? Are you sorry you're a Guardsman?" "No," Madoc said, sounding confused. "Do you regret being a criminal?" "There are times," he admitted. "Like now. And before you go preaching, it's not because I'm caught. It's because I've hurt someone. Someone who doesn't deserve it." "Caractacus, the jeweller from Karelia." It was his diamonds that had given Madoc the evidence he had needed to arrest Thom. "No! Not Caractacus. He's just another thief, of a different stripe. He's managed to drive every other jeweller of any repute out of that town, then he hiked up his own prices. Everyone in the area has to settle for poorly-made baubles, and take it from an expert, I've seen their work, or they have to suffer Caractacus' fees. But there was someone who'd just arrived in town, trained with Jaldan of Aragon, one of the best. If Caractacus was missing his diamonds, this other fella'd have a chance." "So you hurt this other jeweller by being caught?" Madoc still sounded confused. "No, you fool, it's you!" Thom's voice was too loud too suddenly. It made them both uncomfortable. He spoke more quietly. "I can see that what you'll have to do to me is giving you grief. I wish it didn't have to come out this way either." Madoc didn't know what to say to that. Thunder rolled. They stayed silent again until a shadow blocked the remaining light. "I thought I recognized that horse." Both men turned toward the mouth of the cave. Thom heard Madoc draw his sword. A bolt of lightning struck the landscape behind the figure, sharply defining his silhouette. Thom saw red hair and placed the voice. "Lennox? By the gods, is that you?" "Hello, Dark Rogue." Again thunder cracked the atmosphere. "Sir Madoc, you can put that away. Lennox is a friend." Madoc didn't comply. "Who is he?" "I was one of Kraid's Marauders." Thom felt a chill down his back. "Are the others coming?" "No. They didn't follow me." The thief exhaled. "That's good. Come in out of the wet and tell us what's happened." "You are under arrest, Lennox." "Oh, stop it," Thom said. "Lennox was their cook, for pity's sake. He was their prisoner just as much as you were. Come in, I said." Lennox hesitated. When he heard Madoc sheathe his sword, however, he entered the cave. He sat next to Thom and Sir Madoc joined them. "Is what Thom said true?" "Yes," Lennox said. "I tried to leave them a couple of times, but they always caught up to me. Benet is an excellent tracker." "How did they come to take you into their group?" Madoc asked. "That's not so important right now," Thom interrupted. He knew the answer, and it would only get Lennox into trouble. "What I want to know is what happened the morning after we left." Thom filled Madoc in on what had had to be done to free him, leaving out exactly what he had done to Lennox to incapacitate him. "Kraid didn't beat you again, did he? I tried to fix things so he would be least likely to." "No, he didn't. But they found me that night, unconscious and naked behind the shed." Madoc raised his eyebrows at the word 'naked', but no one saw. "The fact that you threw my clothes on the roof and the bump on my head convinced them you'd overpowered me." "The bump?" Thom asked. "When I hit my head on that rock." "Oh, that!" Thom smiled. "That was a stroke of luck." Both men laughed. Madoc was convinced he hadn't heard the whole story. Lennox continued. "It stung like a bear the next morning, but it probably saved my hide. After you'd escaped, Kraid decided I was not fit to be one of his Marauders and ran me out. After they found my clothes, of course. That rain was freezing cold. Whew. But it's warm enough in here." Thom said, "If you're hot, just take your shirt off." Lennox nodded and did so. "I'm sorry about having to leave you like that. I didn't see that there was anything else I could do." "I want to thank you. If you hadn't done what you did, I'd still be with them. "I don't think I'm safe though. Kraid was mad then, but I bet he's calmed down now. Not a one of them can cook, and they'll convince themselves I wasn't as bad as that. I'll hide out in the mountains, I guess." "Well, it's good to hear that you're safe for now," Sir Madoc said, "but how will you live up here?" "I'll manage," he hedged. "I always have." "You could become a King's Guard. Learn how to defend yourself. We're always shorthanded." In the darkness, Thom winced. Lennox had been a thief.... "Nnnno," Lennox said. "I've never been one for fighting." "Oh well," Madoc said. "Keep it in mind. There'll always be a place for you." That killed that conversation. Lennox changed the subject. "Could I speak to you, Dar-- I mean, Thom, in private?" "Not really," Thom said. He told Lennox about the ring that bound him to Madoc. "Besides, Sir Madoc would pretty much have to stand out in the rain." "Oh," he said. "It was just about... never mind." "About what?" Thom asked. "About that thing you did back at the camp." Thom smiled. "You want to do it again?" Lennox was caught off guard. "What about Sir Madoc?" "Oh, we've done it too," Thom said. He put his arm around Lennox's bare shoulders. Suddenly Madoc realized what they were talking about. That was how Thom had sent Lennox unconscious? He laughed. "You sucked him off?" "You and one of the King's High Guard?" Lennox asked. Now Thom was laughing. "It's complicated, but it felt right at the time." This seemed to answer both questions. "Why don't we do it again? The three of us?" "How?" Lennox asked. "In a circle." "That sounds interesting," Lennox said. He looked to the knight, nervously. Neither he nor Sir Madoc was quite comfortable with the other. "Come on," Thom said encouragingly. "Madoc, why don't you fetch the blanket so we're not in the dirt?" While Sir Madoc did so, Lennox muttered to his new friend, who was completely undressing, "What's going on between you and him?" Thom laid his black clothes in a spot he thought he could remember in the dark. "I'm not sure myself," he confided. "We've gotten close. I don't know what'll happen when he has to take me in. Don't worry. He can't prove what you are even if he suspects. You're safe. Have fun." Lennox bent down to remove his own trousers. Sir Madoc returned to the door with the scrap of stretchable cloth. Thom and Lennox expanded it while Madoc pulled off his hose. Since he was near Thom, he whispered, "Can this man be trusted?" Thom sighed. "Of course. I trust him completely. I have very good instincts." Madoc stood erect. "But can I trust him?" "Yes, you can trust him. He doesn't like Kraid any more than we do. He told me as much in Kraid's own camp. To be honest, I'm still afraid for him." By now the blanket was long enough to reach most of the way across the cave. Thom took one end and Madoc and Lennox ended up on the other. They pulled the blanket into a rough square. Lennox got a look at Madoc's body in the pale light from outside. The knight was big with muscle and hairless all over. The sweat on his body glinted slightly in the dim illumination. Lennox's half-hard cock inflated to full erection as he watched the knight wrestle with the elastic cloth. When they lowered the blanket to the ground, Lennox threw caution to the wind. He stroked the knight's biceps, feeling its strength. Madoc stopped moving. He wasn't sure who was touching him. His night vision was not as good as that of his thief companions. Madoc turned to face the other man. Lennox placed both his hands on Madoc's chest, feeling the muscles that lay within. He rubbed the pecs and massaged his nipples with his thumbs. Madoc grunted contentedly. All too soon, Lennox's hands slid down Madoc's sides to his hips. He reached around and grabbed at Madoc's ass. Madoc tensed automatically, flexing for Lennox without thinking. Lennox's fingertips now retreated and he cupped the knight's balls with one hand and gripped his cock with the other. He pulled his hand down to the end of it and then pushed back up. Madoc could not remain inactive any longer. He put his beefy hands on Lennox's shoulders. He stroked down Lennox's sides, and kneeled on the blanket, forcing Lennox to stop what he was doing. Madoc began to lick around his stomach, around and into his navel and down to his bush. In no time at all, Madoc was slathering all over the redhead's cock. Finally, Thom broke his silence. "Well, I'm glad you two have made friends." Madoc's eyes went wide as he heard Thom's voice at a distance and deduced who he was with. He didn't stop though. Thom had watched all this and had become hot in a way that had nothing to do with the air in the cave. "Lie down so I can join in too." Lennox tried to do this without Madoc having to stop and nearly succeeded. Lennox stretched out face up and Madoc hovered over him, lying on his stomach. Lennox had been producing his usual high amount of precum, and this confused Madoc, but he was too distracted to worry too much. He just lapped it up as it dribbled out and tried to suck out more of the salty juice. Thom lay on his side facing his companions and reached out to Madoc's crotch. He gave the knight a nudge to get him to roll over a little. Madoc contorted his body slightly, providing access. Thom deepthroated him, using everything he had to provide his captor with pleasure. Thom fought back the gagging reflex when Madoc's member slid into Thom's gullet. He slid his tongue up and down the shaft while he let the muscles in his throat caress the sensitive head. Meanwhile, Lennox was making his own way toward Thom's cock, something he'd been hoping to do since that night at Kraid's camp. Lennox's mouth found Thom's balls first. He remembered how one slurp on his sack had brought him off that last time and began there. He took one of Thom's hairy orbs into his mouth and laved it, moving it around with his tongue. He kissed them and stroked them with his lips. The circle was complete. Madoc was still concentrating on the tip of Lennox's dick. He brought his hand up and continued the ass-play that they'd been into earlier. He massaged the redhead's buns and tickled his way into his crack, from the tailbone to the very underside of his body. Thom was finding he was having trouble breathing and eased off of Madoc somewhat, keeping the first few inches well-covered inside his mouth. Madoc tried to push his way back in, but Thom remained firm. Lennox got a taste of how firm, since he'd decided he was finished with Thom's balls and went for the pride and joy. He kept his teeth wrapped behind his lips, as he'd felt the others doing, and accepted the crown of his fellow thief's cock into his mouth. He tasted the smooth, hot flesh, his watering mouth bathing it in slick saliva. The three men continued this way for some minutes, moaning and grunting (neither Madoc nor Lennox needed to be quiet anymore!), the storm having been forgotten, even the thunderclaps forced well into the background. All three were sweating with the heat and struggling to prolong the experience. Lennox reached around for Thom's ass, awkward as that was. An intrepid finger made its way right into the other man's anus. It was accepted easily, as Thom's rear was accustomed to an intrusion. When Thom first started keeping his spare pick there, it was uncomfortable (and cold!), but there was something of a pleasurable sensation, which faded over time. The inflexible tube no longer stimulated him much, but Lennox's wriggling finger was reminding him of that feeling. With a confused squeak, Thom emptied his nuts into Lennox's face. Lennox tried to handle all the incoming spunk, but lost much of it down the side of his chin. When Thom had finished, Lennox took the opportunity to taste his reward at leisure. He wiped his face off on Thom's hip and proceeded to lap up the smear he left. Thom used this new knowledge to try to give Madoc a thrill, but the knight's back door stayed resolutely shut. Instead Thom hugged Madoc's body close and kneaded his butt with his fingertips. Lennox strayed from Thom's hips and headed back for Thom's ass again. This time Lennox forcibly rolled Thom onto his stomach and began to lick his way into Thom's crack. Thom's eyes were wide with surprise, but he didn't slow down on Madoc's member. Lennox was surprised at himself. He didn't know why he was doing what he was doing, but since he wasn't getting any of the smells or tastes he'd been expecting, he was heartened to continue. All he could smell was Thom; all he could taste was clean, honest sweat. The whole experience was getting him hotter than he'd ever been. He paused only to say, "Get ready, Sir Madoc." He drove his tongue right into Thom's pucker and came. Hot seed gushed into Madoc's throat. Once the knight had collected all the juice from Lennox's pecker, he released him, breaking the circle. While the redhead continued his anal worship on Thom, Madoc concentrated on the sensations he was getting. Now that his attention was no longer divided, he untwisted his body and sat up a little. He saw what Lennox was doing but since both men were enjoying it, he decided to ignore it. Instead, he softly stroked Thom's head and shoulders, neither interfering nor forcing. As Thom drew circles and long lines with his tongue and lips, Madoc began to get vocal. "Yes... yes, you're so good, oh,... I'm almost there... oh, Thom, I feel so, oh, oh, ah! I'm - agh - !" Finally Sir Madoc was brought to sweet release. When the last drop of Madoc's essence was swallowed, and Thom finally let go, Madoc gathered his prisoner up in his arms and kissed him, deeply, thirstily, needfully. Lennox's ministrations were interrupted by this embrace, and he watched the others kiss in the sparse light. He saw something more than raw sex in there, something stronger, and he was wise enough not to interfere. He smiled at the beauty of the sight. Madoc remembered himself first and invited Lennox into the clutch. Lennox shifted over and hugged the knight. "That was amazing," he said. "I don't know when I've felt so..." There was no adequate way to finish the thought. Madoc and Thom just grinned and nodded. They stayed together like that for a while, trying to keep the feeling of the moment after it had passed. Thom in particular felt much better. His problems hadn't gone away, he was as doomed as he ever was, but there would be some time yet before he had to face his demons. They could wait. The three of them fell asleep, still smiling, and always touching, in spite of the oppressive heat.

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