Date: Tue, 08 Dec 1998 02:26:23 -0500
From: Jerry <jerryli@systec.com>
Subject: Arin Part 6

The following story contains scenes of boys having sex with other boys
 and/or men, depending on what I decided on by the time I got around to
writing it. ;) It is science fiction and fantasy, and as such contains
things which simply don't happen in real life. If your imagination is
not good, you won't enjoy it very much. As for the sex thing, if this stuff
is against your personal moral codes, don't read it. If there's anything
you don't understand, ask your parents or friends or whoever you think will.
If you like the story, feel free to write me a letter at jerryli@systec.com.
You're allowed to do anything you like with my story with the following
exceptions:

1. You may not place it on a system which charges people to read it unless you
   request permission from me first. I have no problem giving you
   permission, but there will be a slight one-time fee. ;)

2. You may not post alterations to the story, or write sequels to it,
   without my permission.

Happy reading!

=====================================================================

Chapter 26

    "I told you", Cedra said for the sixteenth time. "I'm fine. It was a
major ouchie, but I made it through okay." He tried to push me away as I
examined him everywhere, mostly on his face where the man with the grey
beard had dug his nails in. I was completely panicked.

    "GEEZ, Arin, what's with you?" Cedra exclaimed, standing and recoiling
from me. I sighed, calming down. I looked him in the eyes, scanning for
that flicker of grey from my dream... but all I saw was his sweet, pure,
innocent blue pupils, staring back into mine with concern.

     "It's just... I had a dream. That man was in it, and in the dream he
killed you." I wasn't crying, but there was definitely a strain in my
voice.  Cedra just stared at me. Something about the way he was looking at
me just made me feel like I had to say more. "I just couldn't stand to
think of losing you. You've just become, well..."

    Was I about to do it? Was I about to tell him that I loved him? I
placed my hand gently on his shoulder. "I...I..."

    "HEY", Tarus exclaimed, running over to us. "Check it out!" In his
hands, he held the reason for all of our problems. It was a small, oakwood
box with some runes on the top and a pewter seal on the lid.

    This was the object I had almost lost Cedra over. This was why we
placed our lives in Jeopardy. For a box, and whatever small reward offered
by whoever had wanted it. I decided right then and there - this life was
not working out for me. I was through with adventuring.

    I wanted a life. A quiet, simple life with Cedra. Maybe on a small farm
somewhere. Next town we hit, I was going to talk Cedra into staying there
with me. I would go back to my spellbooks and research. Maybe, with enough
practice, I could find a way for us to have a child of our own.

    "Open the box, Rath" I said. "Let's see what's inside."

    Dejana smiled at me from her perch on the box's pedestal. There was
never any doubt in either of our minds that we wanted to see what was in
this thing.  But now I didn't care all that much - all I wanted was Cedra.

     Rath took the box from Tarus. He closed his eyes tightly, and his
palms began to glow a bright blue. "Bukuei Gi TAKH!", he exclaimed, and the
pewter seal popped off perfectly. It still glowed a slight blue on the
floor.

     We all gathered around the box as he opened it, eager to discover it's
contents. The inside of the box was a red velvet material, on which rested
a small amulet.

     No, wait. It was only a piece of an amulet, attached to a smooth gold
chain. The jagged edges on it's left and bottom ends showed where it had
been almost ripped open, which was odd since it was made out of
gold. Beneath the amulet was a small piece of parchment. Tarus yanked it
out from underneath the amulet and made a spectacle of clearing his throat
as he began to read.

    "Ahem, ah-heh-hem" he began. "'Behold, I cry, the Amulet of Wonders, a
powerful and dangerous item in the realms. According to Legend, the Amulet
once belonged to King Vhif the Flamboyant, who used it's powers to maintain
peace and order in the land. While Vhif was away from his castle, it was
taken by the demon Rynth of the Land of Shadow. He intended it to be used
as a gateway to the Dark Realm, from which he would bring forth an
unstoppable army to conquer the world. His plan was laid to rest by a
virtuous knight, who smashed the amulet into three fragments and scattered
them across the continent. The demon's spirit somehow survived the
altercation, and rumor has it that he travels the Earth in search of the
fragments. The enclosed fragment is one of the three.' After that it has
some instructions on how the amulet works. It's capable of just about
anything."

     That made me think. An all-powerful amulet? An item like that may be
the key to having a child with Cedra. Well, that and sperm at the very
least.

Chapter 27

     We removed the amulet, and re-wrote the scroll so that, instead of
admitting that it actually had a piece of the amulet, we placed some
ambiguous directions to some mythical cave. Rath placed the pewter seal
back on the box, and it clamped tightly.

     "So, we have this amulet fragment. I bet it would be a simple affair
to collect the other two pieces", Tarus declared.

     The rest of us nodded, although I hadn't agreed to any kind of long
haul. "It's settled, then", he said. "We'll keep this piece and look for
the others. Etyin has no business having one of these anyway."

     "Who?", I asked.

     "Our employer", Dejana replied. "He's the headwizard of the Hidabi
Clan. They're a peaceful enough people, but they'd use the amulet to extend
their borders."

     "Well", Cedra asked, "what are we going to use it for? If we get it, I
mean."

     "I don't know", Tarus admitted. "Rath, could you even use it?"

     Rath shook his head. "I doubt it. Not without serious planning and
research."

     "It doesn't matter", Dejana interjected, "if we have a use for it or
not. It's worth a lot of money in any case. Even if we end up selling it to
Etyin, we'll get a lot more for the whole thing then we're getting for this
lousy fragment."

     Dejana turned to me. "Arin, Cedra, do a quick sweep of this
floor. Make sure we're alone. We can rest here for awhile before journeying
back to Pixern."

     I jumped up, startled. "We're going to Pixern?", I demanded.

     "Yes, why, you've been there before?"

     I nodded and smiled. "It's my hometown, actually."

     Rath chimed in, "Well you're still a kidnapping victim. Do we need to
re-cast the glamour on you?" I smiled at the thought of looking like Cedra
for another three days.  And the thought of him having to touch all the
parts I couldn't touch while under the glamour was more then slightly
arousing.

     But logic overruled my hormones. "No", I replied, "I'm one of you
now. They'll just have to get used to that." I said it, but I didn't mean
it at the time. I figured that if my family found me and forced me to stay,
that was my way out. And I could get Cedra to stay with me.

     Although, the thought of that amulet... "Come on, Cedra" I
exclaimed. "Let's get out there."

Chapter 28

     We were absentmindedly holding hands from practically the first minute
we were out the door. By the time we'd strolled around the corridor to the
door on the far side of the antechamber, we had already playfully pecked
one another on the cheek twice. We were hardly on guard for any kind of
adversary among us.

     Fortunately the fates were kinder this time, and we were in fact alone
on this floor of the keep. Whether the rest of the keep was empty or not,
we weren't sure.  "Hang on a sec", I said, uncoupling from him long enough
to pull out my lockpicks and work on an elaborately designed door. It
popped open somewhat easily, and my grin widened the moment I pushed it
open.

     In the room before us, standing almost 2 feet high in some places, was
a pile of loot. Gold coins, silver coins, copper coins, gems, jewelry, all
piled together. The hoard was unbelievable. With buckets we couldn't dream
of carrying it all out.

     "WOOHOO!!!", Cedra cried, running from my side and jumping gleefully
in the pile of coins. I quickly followed, feeling myself immersed in wealth
beyond compare. Now I could have more then just a quiet life with my lover
- I could have a good one.

      He popped his head out of the gold pieces and stared at me with eyes
that glittered brighter than the finest gemstones in the room. I leaned
forward and kissed him gleefully on the lips, tounge darting outward and
finding the back of his throat. He began to caress my chest underneath my
tunic as he kissed back, pushing me backwards onto the pile of coins. I
reached my hand down his breeches, feeling his growing erection.

      "So", Tarus interjected with a huge smile on his face, "a roll in the
hay isn't good enough anymore? When did young people's tastes get so
expensive?"

      We paused and stared at them, my hand still on his penis and his
still on my chest. "Oh right", I replied, "like you wouldn't have done the
same thing?"

      He swung Dejana around onto the pile and kissed her
passionately. "Hmm, not bad."  Cedra pulled his hand out of my tunic and
threw a coin at him. Soon we were throwing coins madly back and forth.

      "We're RICH", Dejana cried. "This is more then Etyin was going to
give us in the first place. We're only getting two thousand from him."

      "Look at that", Tarus declared, moving past the pile and over to a
Long Sword on the wall. He gripped the hilt in his hand and gave it a
tentative swing. "It's remarkable", he exclaimed. "And it feels so light!"

      He couldn't quite see it the way Rath or I did. We could see the way
the streams of magical energy vibrated when he swung the sword. There was
definitely an incantation of some sort on it. But Rath didn't say anything,
and I couldn't without letting them all know exactly what I was capable
of. As of now, only Cedra knew, and I still wanted to keep it that way.

     "Well", Dejana said, "let's not just stand here. Start loading."

Chapter 29

     I was in a small chamber of some sort. It was dark, and yet I could
see everything so clearly. I saw Cedra, naked and gagged, on a throne that
was two miles high. Around him were some of the Drow Elves we had seen
earlier. They were either tormenting him, or worshipping him. I couldn't
tell from where I was standing, on a precipice at the far end of the
chamber.

     There was a Drow Elf beside me, the boy from my previous encounter. He
was there to hurt Cedra. "Why?", I asked him.

     "For my people", he replied.

     We drew closer, he and I, to the spot where Cedra and the drow were
converged. There, above Cedra, was the Amulet of Wonders. The three
fragments together and attached. A small cloud of red dust was eminating
from it, spreading over the drow elves. As each one was touched by it, he
fell to the floor, shaking and heaving in pain and agony.

     As we reached the bottom, most of the drow were hurt or dying by the
dust cloud.  My companion jumped forward at Cedra, but the dust enveloped
him and he vanished into thin air. Then Cedra's bonds were dissolved and he
fell to the floor, free. The dust was all around him, but it had no effect
on him. It had a very real effect on me, though, as it reached my lungs and
filled them with a burning sensation that made me quiver and shake.

     I collapsed to the ground, helpless. And as I felt my life slip away,
I looked up and into Cedra's eyes. There were no pupils, and his voice
sounded different as he said, "The old order is gone. The world is
transformed." And then he burst into flames.

     "AHHHHH!!!!!", I yelled, jumping to my feet and looking around me with
a start. I was in the keep's treasure room, next to a soundly sleeping
Cedra and a mildly concerned Rath.

     "Are you okay?", he asked me.

     "Yeah", I said, as I phased into consciousness. "Just... bad dream."

     "Ahhh", he said. "They can be scary. Want to talk about it?"

     "I don't remember it very well", I lied. In reality I could remember
every detail with almost perfect clarity. It was so REAL in my mind, it
felt more like a memory than a dream. I didn't want to talk about it.

     "Well", he said, "you should try to rest a little more. We'll be
leaving at nightfall."

Chapter 30

     We packed what treasure we could carry, which was only about half of
what was in the room. I re-locked the door and set a trap so that it would
be safer until we could come back for it. After a day's travel, we got back
into the habit of sleeping at night and moving during the day. It was a
very peaceful journey to Pixern.

     It was to be a sebatical for us, a calm before the storm. Because it
going to take a long time after that before I was going to be able to rest
peacefully again.

-------------------------------
Sorry this was short/late. Darn RL. ;)

PS - Any of you looking for a good sex scene, it's coming in Part 7. You
may regret it, though. ;)