On foot, they managed to find Lennox's pool. The water level had gone down, but the sediment was settling and the water was cleaner. Off came Madoc's riding boots, and Thom tore the very ends off the knight's hose for impromptu socks. The calf sections were torn out and shredded for bandages, though the one was mostly burnt already. Thom reflected that by the end of this adventure, Madoc might be forced to tear up all of his clothes. What an idea. While he was taking Madoc's hose to bits, he explained about how thinking about fire, and then water helped to distract the dragon. "Now what did you mean about losing me and it being your fault?"

"I dragged you into this quest. I was the one who got us stuck in that cave. If you died, I'd be responsible."

"But you didn't have any choice about that. And I never once objected. The longer we stay on this quest, the longer I stay out of jail." Madoc looked up at him, then frowned again. "Is there more to it than that?" Thom probed.

Madoc looked down and shook his head. "I can't do it. I can't lose you, not even to turn you over to King Dunstan. I don't know what I'm going to do. I--" He faltered, then looked directly into Thom's bright, beautiful hazel eyes and said, "I love you."

Thom's jaw dropped. He was struck dumb. Madoc had suggested once before, very subtly, that he loved Thom, but he never thought he'd hear him say it. His slackened jaw tightened into a gleeful smile. "By the gods, Madoc, I love you too. I didn't think you wanted to hear it."

Madoc pulled Thom in close and kissed him. Thom opened his mouth and let the knight in. With their love free and in the open, it was as though their souls were touching. It was terrifying to think how much they needed each other, but they made each other stronger, and together nothing could beat them. But how would they stay together? They broke the kiss.

"Let's go back to the cave," Thom whispered.

Madoc put his boots back on and they went down the familiar path to where Fleetfire was waiting.

They found him eating his way through a large pile of cut weeds. Lennox must have taken care of it, though he was nowhere in sight. They kissed again as they entered the cave. They found the blanket and stretched it open. As Madoc laid it out smooth, Thom remembered suddenly what the strange plants at the mouth of the cave were.

"These are custard pods! Not real custard, of course. Come here, you have to try one; they're delicious." Madoc came over. Thom tried to pick one, but only ended up squirting the creamy insides up along Madoc's nose and into Madoc's hair, making an absurd cowlick. Thom giggled at him. Madoc wiped some of the slimy cream off his forehead and rubbed it between his thumb and forefinger. Thom proceeded to lick the rest off and they kissed again while they undressed. When they were done Thom clutched at Madoc and they fell to the ground. Madoc came down on top. They soul-kissed and writhed uncontrollably in their desire for each other.

Madoc became aware that his straining pole was comfortably pressed between Thom's cheeks. He twitched his cock and Thom sighed. Madoc stopped. He looked at Thom, and remembered how Lennox had licked at his ass last night. (How could that only have been last night? It was a lifetime ago.) While that idea had no appeal, he thought he had a better one. The vision of Thom, bent down onto all fours above him on the mountainside, his ass athletically firm and perfect before Madoc's eyes, came back to mind.

"May I?" He indicated may-I-what by thrusting his dick between Thom's buns.

"You want to fuck me?" Thom asked. Madoc just nodded. Thom considered a second. If Lennox's tongue could turn him on.... "Let's give it a try." Madoc smiled and kissed Thom once more before getting up. He went over and picked three of the pods, stalks and all.

Madoc positioned himself, and Thom raised and opened his legs for him. Madoc spread Thom's ass with one hand and emptied a pod with the other, squirting it into his cleft. He then used his hand to grease him up. "Inside too," Thom suggested. "It helps." Madoc used his finger to spread some of the cream just inside Thom's opening. "Deeper," he breathed. Madoc switched fingers and pushed his middle finger farther in. It entered easily, but he looked down. One finger probably wasn't going to be enough. He broke a second pod and tried to insert two fingers at once. Thom braced himself against the penetration. With a little effort, both fingers went inside. Thom grimaced a little. Madoc stopped. "No, keep going," Thom encouraged. "I'll get used to it." Madoc twisted his fingers around to open Thom up and he happened to find Thom's prostate. He gasped and said, "Right there!" Madoc brushed the spot again and Thom jerked down onto the knight's fingers. Madoc fingered him for a while until Thom finally said, "Please, Madoc, stick it in me. Let me feel what your cock is like."

Madoc removed his fingers and broke open the last pod. He smeared the cream over his member and held it at Thom's opening.

Thom felt the heat of Madoc's pecker at his asshole and pulled up his ass a little to make it easier for him to get in.

Madoc leaned over Thom and pushed. When the head of Madoc's dick pushed through Thom's gate, Thom pushed out. Madoc slid forward, inserting all of his seven inches into Thom. Thom cried out in pleasure. Madoc fell forward on top of Thom, who sat up a little to come face to face. Thom kissed the knight. He was used to the feeling of the slender metal pick in its case inside of him, but this was something entirely different. Madoc was thicker and hotter, and he felt fuller. He was ready. He said, "What are you waiting for?"

Madoc leisurely pulled back and eased forward. Thom's ass was very tight, keeping a firm grip on the knight's mighty lance. He slowly thrust into his lover until Thom could no longer stand the anticipation. Thom dug his heels into Madoc's ass, driving him deep within his own bowels.

"Come on, Madoc, do it! Fuck me! Harder!"

Madoc's eyes shone as he picked up the pace. Thom did what he could, rocking to the rhythm, hips and ass colliding again and again. Every time Madoc pulled out, Thom felt the loss of not having his friend inside of him. On the outstroke, Thom tried to clamp down on Madoc's member to keep him there a split second longer.

Madoc grunted with each stroke. The satiny sides of Thom's hot hole gripped his staff, squeezing him and drawing him inward.

Thom couldn't believe how much pleasure he was getting from it. He was moaning syllables of encouragement, disbelief and bliss randomly. Seeing stars. Gasping for breath. He reached down to see to his own cock, and found that he was now dripping pre-cum.

Madoc was panting, pistoning in and out of the thief with the action native to every male. Sweat poured off him, a product of exertion and the volcanic wind.

They rutted like animals. Madoc relentlessly pounded Thom. Thom writhed on the ground. All reason had left them. Later they could make love. Now they were hungry; they needed the heat, the friction of out-and-out sex.

All too soon, the sensations became too much for Thom. He lost all control and cried out like a wild beast, firing searing hot semen all over himself and Madoc. It came out in great torrents, splattering them.

Thom's rectum pulsed as he came, sending Madoc over the top. He picked up the howl just as Thom finished and erupted inside the thief, spreading his essence over Thom's insides.

When he was finally spent, Madoc collapsed onto Thom, exhausted. Thom locked his legs around his friend's and gripped his back with his arms. They began to kiss again, sharing tongues, air and spit, licking necks and nibbling ears, unable to stop themselves.

With his love still inside him, Thom reached over and grabbed the edge of the blanket, rolling them both over until they were in their favorite position. They nuzzled each other until, eventually, they fell asleep.

Fleetfire was still there. Madoc checked him to ensure that he was doing well. They'd been riding him hard the last week. Perhaps they should lead him back on foot this trip.

As Madoc pondered how best to care for his horse, Thom watched him. He found it difficult to believe any one person could matter so much to him. The knight felt Thom's eyes upon him. He turned back and smiled.

"So what do we do now?" Thom asked.

Madoc turned again to face his steed. "I wish I knew. If I do anything but turn you in, I jeopardize my position and my life. I could let you go, but we could not be together, so that is no solution. To be true to my duty, I would have to lose you."

"You could give it up. Your position, I mean. Just go missing and we'd both be outlaws. I'd have to give up thievery too, since you'd never allow it, but we could find a way to live."

Madoc paused in tending to Fleetfire. "I don't know that I could do that. Being a knight is more than a job or a duty. It's terribly important to me. I don't know that I could give it up... but..." Thom could hear the growing despair in Madoc's voice and sensed that they were suddenly swimming in deeper waters.

Thom walked over and held Madoc from behind. "We'll find some way. We still have some time to work out how." He turned his head to the side to rest it against Madoc's back. His gaze fell on a rock that was sitting near the entrance to the cave. It was sitting on top of a piece of paper. "What's that?"

"Where?" Madoc turned to look. When he saw the rock, he went over to get it. Thom did his best to stay in position behind him. Madoc crouched down to pick it up, Thom hugging him all the while. Madoc unfolded the paper. It was the list of items they had been retrieving, in Eleazar's hand. What was it doing out here? Madoc turned it over.

On the other side was a note from Lennox. The list had been the only paper he could find. It said:

I had an idea about your quest. Why don't you just ask another wizard if they could spare the ingredients for the cause of the people of Cairncross?

Lennox

Thom read the note over Madoc's shoulder. Madoc read it a second time and blinked.

"Why in the Seven Hells didn't we think of that?" Thom said.

"All that trouble: Kraid's Marauders, the dragon..." Madoc began to laugh. "That horrid dinner with Tybalt." Madoc completely broke up.

Thom began to giggle. "Running from Tybalt's guards, nearly drowning ourselves in the Polyny Sea, hanging out of windows, crawling through caves, getting used to riding that bloody horse of yours!" The tension from their problems was finally beginning to abate. They were falling down laughing now.

"But we have the evidence against Tybalt now," Madoc said once they had calmed down.

"And we got Lennox away from the Marauders," Thom added.

"And we got each other. I'd say things went better this way," Madoc finished.

Thom clasped his hand to Madoc's crossways, a sign of strength. "We'll get through." Madoc gripped back. "Let's get cleaned up. I know where there's a wizard we can ask."

With a fresh resolve, the two prepared to complete their quest.