Date: Sun, 27 Nov 2016 21:12:50 +0000
From: George Gauthier <georgegauthierdc@gmail.com>
Subject: Elf-Boy's Friends 42

			Elf-Boy's Friends 42
			The Unicorn Rider
 			by George Gauthier

[The further adventures of characters from the novel 'Elf-Boy and Friends']

			Chapter 1. Walkabout

Three splendid youths, one leading their only mount, jogged along a stretch
of unimproved road, carried along by the metronomic scissoring of their
legs. The road was really just a dirt track compacted by the feet and hoofs
and footpads of countless travelers and animals before them. The three ran
bare foot and in the nude, the morning sun making the beads of sweat on
their glabrous skins sparkle like so many diamonds.

This trio traveled light so their gear fit into three sets of saddle bags,
which was no real burden for the tractable mare named Melody who obediently
clopped along at a trot easily keeping pace with the three joggers. The
trot after all was the gait which horses favored for covering any real
distance.

The youth holding Melody's reins hardly looked the part, but Axel Wilde was
a powerful war mage for all that he was slightly built and extremely boyish
looking. He had fair skin and red hair the color of copper, and, as with
many red-heads, his peaches and cream complexion did not develop a deep tan
even from exposure to a tropical sun though it did darken just enough to
prevent sunburn.  Axel's pretty face was dominated by large green eyes set
over heart-melting dimples.

Next to him jogged his companion Corwin Klarendes, a youth just about the
same height as Axel, say four inches over five feet. Corwin had
close-cropped hair the color of corn silk which contrasted nicely with his
sun-bronzed torso and limbs. Corwin was blessed with fine-boned features
including green eyes, consistent with the considerable admixture of elfin
blood in his ancestry, as indeed was true of the entire Klarendes clan.

Axel and Corwin ran without conversation, saving their breath. There would
be plenty of time for talk once they were atop their mounts. Melody was
Axel's mount, while Corwin rode a much more exotic equine, a magical
unicorn named Derrionydd or Derry for short.

The unicorn was currently in his two legged shape, that of the third youth
in their party, for this Derry was a shape shifter. In contrast to Axel and
Corwin he had a much more robust build and stood a finger over six and a
half feet while weighing nearly 300 pounds. His ancestry was equal parts
elf and frost giant, but Derry was no ordinary hybrid. He was a Snow Elf,
the designation given to shape shifters among the elves, so-called for
their alabaster skin which never tanned nor burned, shoulder length
ash-blond hair, and icy grey eyes. As both a wir and a unicorn Derry was
endowed with the powers of both magical species.

To spell the mare the trio ran on foot since the weight of even a slightly
built rider like Axel could tire his mount. Hence from time to time a rider
would dismount and walk or jog along with the mount, easing the burden on
its back for a while before climbing back into the saddle. And running was
good exercise for the rider. It helped him maintain his own wind and
stamina.

Axel and Corwin had had their constitutions enhanced by druidical healing
magic, which conferred on them long life, prolonged youth, acute senses,
fast reflexes, doubled strength and stamina, and in Corwin's case
especially greater healing powers and resistance to disease. Derry's innate
magic made him nearly four times as strong as he seemed. He might weigh
just under three hundred pounds but was stronger than a draft horse or a
Frost Giant, easily strong enough for a rider.

The road they ran along led southward from the Great Escarpment toward the
settlements of the Frost Giants and those of the elves and dwarves with
whom they shared the virgin land now called South Varangia.  It followed a
winding route which bent back and forth to keep atop the ridge lines rather
than descend into the hollows where the creeks flowed and then up the
opposite slopes.

The road had originated as a brontothere trace, an energy saving game trail
which spared the massive creatures the effort of endless descents and
ascents which they would have had to make traveling across the grain of the
country. Brontotheres still traveled along it seasonally to salt licks two
hundred miles to the south, coexisting amicably with travelers on the
understanding that brontotheres always had the right of way.

[Salt licks provide animals with salt and elements like calcium, iron,
phosphorus, and zinc plus trace elements) which are needed in the
springtime for bone and muscle growth.]

The trio stepped aside to let an empty buckboard pass them by. The teamster
was a dwarf who was in a hurry. He snapped the reins to let his team of two
know that they should maintain their fast pace. He nodded politely to the
three youths then continued on his way. A pair of frost giants passed them
heading in the opposite direction. Frost Giants were too large to mount
anything smaller than a brontothere so they either walked or rode in a
conveyance like a stage coach.

Unlike the trio of youths both giants and dwarves were lightly dressed is
silk trews an shirts. The dwarves dwelt in chilly or at least cool
caverns. The original homeland of the giants lay in the temperate zone and
got cold enough in winter for ice and snow. Hence both those races were
much less likely to go about in the nude or sky clad than elves or human.

Among those two races nudity taboos for males were virtually
non-existent. Young human and elven males almost never wore clothing for
exercise or for any kind of dirty or sweaty work, not in that tropical
climate. Besides, tan lines were off-putting and even unseemly. Good
looking guys proud of the trim and taut bodies they had so recently grown
into and were so proud of much preferred to sport an even all-over tan.

"Time we mounted up again." Axel called out as they reached a tree-shaded
stretch of road.

Donning silk riding trews to prevent chafing Axel slipped his feet into a
pair of short boots with thick heels which fit more securely in the
stirrups than would the flat sole of a sandal much less the soft one of a
moccasin. The boots gave Axel a more secure seat since he was not a
particularly good rider. He didn't bother with a straw hat against the sun
but rode bared to the hips.

As Derry transformed Corwin removed his own and Derry's packs from Melody
and threw them over the unicorn's withers. Corwin remained in the
nude. Atop Derry he always rode bareback and bare-ass. Derry very much
liked the feel of his new boyfriend's bare rump on his back. Since Corwin
had grown up on the Eastern Plains and had been riding nearly as long as he
had been walking riding bareback was no problem.

Anyway no saddle would fit the shape shifter which, in its four footed
form, was only the size of a small pony. Derry accepted no harness either,
whether bridle or hackamore. He was in control and went where he chose. His
rider could make suggestions but that was all.

Riding the unicorn was far more comfortable than riding a horse bareback
since it was easy for Corwin to lock even his short legs around the barrel
of his mount. And if Derry broke into a gallop, Corwin could grab the mane
the better to hang on.

The best part was the Derry's distance gait was not the trot but the amble,
a four-beat intermediate gait at least as fast as the trot or the pace but
far smoother to ride. The amble was reasonably fast, smooth, and easy on
the rider, and the mount could keep it up for a very long time too.

Axel had vowed that his next horse would be trained to the amble. Hang the
expense. What was the point of being rich if you could not indulge
yourself?

Around the next bend in the road they came to a timbered toll bridge which
crossed a deep ravine. The toll taker was a friendly looking Frost Giant
who did a double take when he looked closer at Derry.

"Now there is something I never thought to see. A genuine unicorn, horn and
all. He must be just a colt, small as he is."

<Actually I am a full grown stallion, and you really shouldn't talk about
me as if I weren't standing right here and couldn't understand what you
were saying.>

"Mind Speech too! Uh, no offense Sir Unicorn. You caught me by the
surprise. Everyone knows unicorns are magical beings and are fully
sentient. Now normally the toll would be six coppers, two for each of your
mounts and one for each rider. But counting you as a person rather than as
a mount the charge is only five coppers."

Corwin shook his head. "Six coppers is fair when my friend is in his four
legged form."

"His four legged form?"

"The unicorn is a shapeshifter, a Snow Elf who is on walkabout. He could
demonstrate but not with me rider astride his back. Anyway six coppers is a
reasonable charge for the convenience of a short cut across the ravine. How
far would we have had to go following the original brontothere trace?"

"You would have to go out of your way another three miles to where the
trace loops back along the ridge lines before passing by the other side of
our fine new bridge. Ours is one of only three chartered toll bridges on
this road. These days even the brontotheres take the bridge."

"What do you charge a brontothere to cross? And how do you collect it. I
don't suppose they carry much coin on their persons."

"Very funny. Obviously brontotheres cross for free. We don't even try to
stop them. That would be against the law."

Brontotheres were protected by law everywhere in the Commonwealth including
its more recently acquired territories of New Varangia and the Far West.

"Funny thing is," the giant added, "they know enough not to cross over in a
crowd. Instead they cross singly or in pairs. Smart."

Two hours after crossing the bridge Axel and Corwin dismounted. Derry
transformed while Axel got out of his trews and boots and put them into his
pack. For the next stretch he would run in the nude and barefoot.

It was actually healthier to run barefoot than with sandals or even
moccasins. Barefoot locomotion promoted a natural and healthy
gait. Footwear warped the natural human gait, imposing strains and stresses
that denied its natural grace of form and ease of movement. Going barefoot
helped develop bodily awareness, the sense of the relative positions of all
the parts of the body employed in movement and strengthened the feet and
lower legs, making for a physique that was agile and less prone to
injury. A barefoot runner was better able to climb, cut, pivot, balance, or
adjust to changing conditions of the ground under his feet.

Calluses could protect the foot nearly as well as moccasins, and the
inhabitants of the planet of Haven never had to worry picking up a
disease. Parasites were not a problem on a terraformed world like
Haven. Old plagues like hookworm just never made it to that planet of
refuge. The galactic empire of yore had had its faults, but it had freed
humanity from the scourges of cockroaches, rats, and insect vectors of
disease like mosquitos.

Finally going barefoot was a joy to the senses. It let you feel the soft
warm sand at the beach or the cool of the dewy grass of a summer's
morn. There was even something to be said for the feel of slippery wet mud
as it squished between the toes or that of the rough bark of a tree you
were climbing.

			Chapter 2. Along the Road

Miles later the travelers found that the road was blocked by three trees
which had fallen across the right of way. Shallowly rooted, the trees had
not been able to resist the force of a recent windstorm. Teamsters from a
wagon train were at work chopping through the trunks. Progress was
slow. These were hardwood trees, maybe not ironwood but not far short of
it. Meanwhile other teamsters had unhitched their draft animals, both
horses and mules and positioned them to drag the excised sections of the
massive trunks to one side once they axemen finished their job.

Corwin addressed a grizzled human who was clearly the wagon master and
asked if they might help. The man who gave his name as Vronski snorted and
looked them up and down dismissively.

"I don't see what help a trio of bare-assed pretty boys could give in this
situation. Only one of you has any muscle on him, and even that doesn't
mean he knows how to swing an axe."

"Who said anything about axes? That's doing things the hard way." Axel
interjected. "Now the teamsters haven't made much progress. Corwin, why
don't you finish the chop job for them then I can teleport the sections out
of the way?"

"Ready whenever you are, Axel."

<You really should accept my friends' offer of assistance. They are
powerful mages.>

"Mind Speech eh? Only druids and unicorns are so gifted. You're no unicorn
so that would make you a druid."

Derry shook his head.

<Sorry, but I am not a druid. I am actually a unicorn but only when in my
alternate form.>

"A shape shifter, then. More power to you, but your friends will have to
show me that their own powers are up to the job of clearing the road. My
men have the usual gifts: unerring direction, calling light, and even levin
bolts and electrum sparks for protection from but none of their gifts can
clear a road block."

Signaling his men to step aside, the wagon master gestured grandly for the
bare-assed boys to match their deeds to their words. He soon was staring
open mouthed as Corwin finished the cuts in all three trunks with spheres
of ball lightning which hummed and crackled menacingly then zipped through
the trunks of all three downed trees. The temperature of ball lightning was
so high - 45,000 degrees [25,000 ° C] -- that the process was more akin
to disintegration than combustion.

Axel then jumped to each cut out section, touched his palm to it, then
teleported it and himself high into the air and to one side, letting it
drop over the slope of the ridge. After he disposed of the final log, he
teleported back to the wagon train and took a bow.

"I stand corrected." the wagon master offered apologetically.

"Thanks to you we can now be sure of reaching our destination before
dusk. To show my appreciation, I insist that all three of you be my guests
in the town up ahead. And I'll pick up the tab, or rather the company
will."

The inn where they put up offered plain but serviceable quarters. To no
one's surprise the three youths took but a single room. After a visit to
the washroom to wash the dust and sweat and salt off their bodies, they got
dressed. Derry simply wrapped his sarong around his hips, but Axel and
Corwin thought their uniforms were more appropriate than their casual
square-cut short shorts.

They reported to the common room and sat with the teamsters and the wagon
master whose full name was Mayer Vronski. He studied the military
decorations on Axel's and Corwin's uniforms. Axel's uniform sported badges
for the wars he had been in: the Troll War, the Lightning War, and most
recently the Last Centaur War plus his Military Cross for Valor and the
Expeditionary Medal for his participation in the survey of the Barren
Lands. Corwin wore badges for those three wars plus his own Military Cross
for Valor, Mentioned in Dispatches, and a Wound Stripe.

"Most impressive, those decorations. I am a veteran myself. Years ago I saw
combat against the trolls during the battle of Flensborg. I drove one of
the wagons filled with archers who raked the landing the trolls made from
the river. Skewered them good we did, though once the trolls formed their
shield wall and got their own archers into play we had to withdraw. Later,
from behind the shield wall of the Frost Giants, we hit the trolls with
plunging fire."

"That was the battle in which Finn Ragnarson took the fight to the trolls
as an avatar of Thor. He killed their general with a hammer throw then
called Mjolnir back into his hand. Trolls didn't know what to make of it,
but the giants sure did. Talk about a morale booster!"

"Finn is a good friend of ours." Corwin allowed without elaborating.

Vronksi commented. "Forgive me for not noticing before, young Corwin, but I
see that you bear the blue tattoo which marks you as a Giant-Friend. That
makes you doubly welcome among us for though we teamsters are all humans or
elves, we live among and are friends with the Frost Giants of this
land. Sorry Axel, but I don't recognize your tattoo."

"It marks me as an Orc-Friend." Axel told him. "I helped bring about the
peace that ended the mercifully brief war between the orcs and the
Commonwealth in the Eastern Mountains."

"You are quite the heroes then."

Vronski paused as realization dawned, then added excitedly:

"Wait! What were your full names again? Corwin Klarendes and Axel Wilde? Of
course! You two would be those heroes of the troll war in Amazonia and more
recently of that fight up north against manticores and centaurs. Right?"

"Our reputation precedes us." Corwin conceded.

The proprietor, himself a frost giant, overhead his remark and, in
appreciation for what the boys had done for New Varangia, provided a
special dessert: a small cup formed of dark chocolate, filled with berries,
and topped with whipped cream. Axel's eyes widened in delight as a serving
boy set two of them in front of him. Conversation stopped as the diners
addressed the scrumptious treat with their dessert spoons.

The three youths went to bed early to leave plenty of time for actual sleep
after making love. Now Axel had been patient with Corwin's exclusive
preoccupation with his new love interest, but now it was time for him to
assert himself. So when Derry had Corwin on all fours and was thrusting
away at his rump, Axel presented himself for oral service. Corwin started
to say that Axel's turn would come in good time, but the red-head took his
parted lips as an invitation and sank his cock into the familiar warmth of
Corwin's mouth. Plugged now at both ends, Corwin surrendered himself to the
good feeling coursing through his body. It wasn't long before both tops
spent themselves into their willing bottom.

Corwin then turned the tables on Axel. He pulled him onto the bed and
rolled him onto his back, pulling his legs up and apart like a
wishbone. That gave Derry the chance he had been waiting for, to mount Axel
and show him what a real stallion could do. Caught unaware, Axel started to
say that this was all very sudden, wasn't it, and maybe they could save it
for another time, but Corwin took his parted lips as an
invitation. Positioning Axel's head so it was hanging over the edge of the
bed, he slipped his cock between Axel's pouty lips and filled his
mouth. Abject bottom boy that he was, Axel did what came natural to him and
started sucking.

In the end a good time was had by all, after which they sank into a
refreshing sleep.

The next day, the boys got up late intending to stay over for a day and to
visit the local scenic wonder: a cataract which ended in a cauldron of
whirling waters that fed a stream just right for swimming. They took a box
lunch and made a day of it after saying their goodbyes to the teamsters who
were turning off the main road onto a primitive dirt road which lead to
their destination. Before he left Vronksi cautioned them to watch out for a
gang of bandits who mostly preyed on small parties like theirs. He had
little concern for his own convoy. Not only could some of his teamsters
throw levin bolts or snap electrum sparks, the all were armed with airguns.

The cataract might not match the Rainbow Falls at Elysion for size or
scenic grandeur, but it was dramatic enough especially the intensely
whirling cauldron at the bottom, though it was much too dangerous for
swimming. Instead the boys found a wide spot downstream where the locals
had set up a pair of picnic tables, a fire pit for outdoor cooking, a even
a privy, set downstream and well away from the bank of the stream.

Under the shade of the trees lining the stream they spent a pleasant day
swimming and eating and making love al fresco atop a straw mat they had
borrowed from the inn. Derry also got to hear of some of Corwin's and
Axel's adventures. He resolved to read not only Corwin's own books but
those of Drew Altair as well the first chance he got.

"I am so glad that we joined up for this walkabout." Derry mused, adding:

"Travel and adventure are all well and good but much better when shared
with friends. I never expected to be caught up in a real-life murder
mystery, yet there we three were, acting as detectives. We questioned
witness and potential informants then tricked the culprit into revealing
himself. Finally we confronted him ourselves and put him down. And that was
no ordinary murderer but a serial killer with the powers of a life leech."

"It was like we were characters in one of those lurid detective
stories. You know, the kind they print on cheap pulp paper and sell for
three coppers. You're an author, Corwin. What is that expression? Life
Imitates Art."

Corwin smiled.

"Stick with us Derry and you'll find yourself a protagonist in all sorts of
adventures: detective stories, war stories, tales of exploration and
discovery, and even love stories, if you take my meaning. Adventure is what
my friends and I do. And we get to help people out along the way, deserving
folk like those hard working teamsters and the good people of Viborg. And
we can help out with illness, accidents, and injury too. Need I remind you
that Axel is a certified combat medic? Me too, but more recently I became a
magical Healer as well."

"And with me along," Axel bragged, "we can jump to anywhere I can see or
have been to via a space portal, which means most strategic locations in
the Commonwealth. The war wizards made that possible by purposely opening
portals for me to all our major cities. The only drawback to travel by
teleportation is that you don't get to see the country in between, but that
might be just what we need, or at least what we want, if we have to cross a
swamp or a desert."

Corwin nodded and added:

"And if we need reinforcements, Axel can always teleport to the capital to
recruit a powerful fetcher, a war wizard, an earth wizard, an air wizard,
or the avatar of a thunder god, and that's just from among our boyfriends!"

Derry laughed. "You guys are something else."

			Chapter 3. Brontotheres

The brontothere trace next passed through a landscape formed by hills with
gentle slopes which ascended gradually to an abrupt drop along one
side. Its forests and grasslands were the habitat of all sorts of wild
creatures including fierce predators like slash bears, tigers and jaguars.

Brontotheres also roamed the land not the least bit concerned by the
presence of carnivores. No predator would dare to attack even a single
adult brontothere, who anyway travelled in herds. Standing as tall at the
shoulder as a Frost Giant and weighing eight or nine tons brontotheres were
covered with a thick hide that hung in folds on their frames like
armor. Hence these placid herbivores browsed and grazed without fear. A
predator might chance an attack on a calf that had wandered too far from
its mother, but always risked a countercharge from the herd.

Unlike other herbivores brontotheres were absolutely intolerant of
predation, even the sort which culled the weak, the sick, and the young. At
the first sign of an attack, the matriarch would have the herd form a
circle horns facing outward and dispatch a strike force of two or three
young bulls to run off or preferably kill the interloper. Brontotheres were
not ones for giving second chances, much preferring a permanent solution,
either by impaling the predator on their two forward pointing horns or by
simply trampling it predator underfoot.

Frost Giants were seeking to expand the settled the area and establish
farms on the cuestas to take advantage of their well-drained gentle slopes
which made for prime farmland. Now brontotheres could not climb the steep
front slopes, but they would certainly try to feed on any crops growing on
the gentle back slopes. Brontotheres had no concept of property rights,
regarding any planted fields as a bounty laid out for their
delectation. The giants did not really blame the brontotheres for doing
what came naturally to them, but obviously could not tolerate raids on
their crops. The solution was for an earth wizard, a dwarf for hire, to
erect passive barriers at the bottom of the back slopes.

These barriers were not the ditches farmers in flat country used to protect
their crops from brontotheres but walls created by slumping the slope
enough to form a vertical wall upslope which the magic of the earth wizards
then hardened into stone. The brontotheres could not get past the walls or
the sturdy gates which gave access to the farmland. Problem solved -- and
without the possibility of injury to the brontotheres whose vigilance
actually protected the livestock of the farmers from predation.

With Axel mounted on Melody and Corwin on Derry the trio was making good
time. Melody trotted while Derry ambled along. As they approached a bend in
the road they heard a loud clanging of metal on metal. Wary that they might
be riding into a fight, the riders readied their carbines and advanced at a
walk.

What they found beyond the bend was nothing like what they expected. A half
dozen frost giants were banging pots and pans together trying to drive a
small herd of brontotheres off the slope of the latest cuesta which the
local folk wanted to put to the plow. First though they had to clear it of
brontotheres.

Axel was glad to see that the frost giants were not armed except for simple
sticks which could not possibly harm the great beasts. For the most part,
the brontotheres ignored the racket as they placidly grazed and
browsed. One very young Frost Giant let his enthusiasm override his common
sense and got too close to a large bull and blew a signal horn practically
in its ear. That did get the bull's attention. He turned his head and cut
loose with a bellow which sounded like the trumpeting of an elephant
combined with the roar of a tiger. It was so loud it momentarily drowned
out the metallic clamor from the frost giants.

The startled young giant stepped back, tripped, and came down on his
butt. Having made his point, the brontothere resumed grazing. His prank
drew a rumble of amusement from his fellow brontotheres.

Seeing the travelers, the frost giants gave up the unequal contest and
walked toward the road to hear the latest news. Nothing for it anyway but
to wait the beasts out. Once they cleared the cuesta the earth wizard would
close it off with a wall.

"Brontothere problems?" Corwin asked of their leader, a big red-haired
fellow.

"Nothing serious. This is the first time we found brontotheres on land we
wanted to enclose. At first we tried herding them with sticks the way we do
with our aurochs."

"I take it that tactic did not work." Axel interjected.

"No. The first beast one of our lads whacked on the rump stopped, turned,
and fastened a funny look on him that held more amusement than
annoyance. If he had had the power of speech the brontothere might have
said: `A stick? Really? What is that in aid of?' So we tried noise, with
the results you have seen."

"You're not giving up, are you?" Corwin asked.

"No. We will just wait them out. It won't be long before they move on. This
is just a minor delay. We will have to come back tomorrow in the hope that
the beasts have left."

"Maybe you won't have to wait. My mount here is a unicorn who has the gift
of Mind Speech. He might be able to persuade them to abandon the fields you
want to enclose."

<I likely could, Corwin, though I have never before tried to communicate
with a brontothere. You'll have to dismount first so I can transform and
maintain my dignity. I want it to be clear that I can be asked by my rider
but not bid.>

"Fair enough." Corwin said as he slid off Derry's back. His transformation
caught the giants by surprise.

"You're a shape shifter! No wonder you are so small."

<I suppose everyone else looks small to a Frost Giant> Derry allowed
generously. <Except a brontothere of course.>

"They won't understand words, Derry," Axel reminded him. "In Amazonia the
druids proved that anyone gifted with Mind Speech can communicate
psychically with brontotheres but not with words. You must use projected
imagery. That is how brontotheres communicate among themselves."

<That's good advice, Axel. Thanks. Now let me concentrate.>

Establishing psychic communication was not difficult. The brontotheres
immediately realized that someone other than a brontothere was trying to
"speak" to them. It was only when Derry flashed them an image of himself
that they realized who it was. After some trial and error, the two species
were able to communicate meaning if not subtle nuances.

Derry snorted then relayed what he had received from the herd.

<You giants made a mistake with all that metallic clanging. The
brontotheres were pretty much ready to abandon the cuesta when you guys
showed up and tried to drive them off. Brontotheres are not belligerent,
but they can be stubborn. In particular they don't like to be forced to do
anything. As far as they were concerned, you two-legs were terribly rude
just now.>

"Is there some way we can make it up to them?"

<There is. Up ahead a ways is a small stream which runs off the ridge, but
its channel lies in an incised ravine too steep and deep for them to
reach. They cannot get at its water so they have to climb all the way down
to the main stream to get a drink. What the brontotheres want is for your
earth wizard to dam the stream and make it fill a trough at which they can
stop to drink whenever they pass by.>

"That seems like a reasonable way to make up for our mistake. Besides a
drinking trough will benefit everyone who passes by: travelers and their
mounts and draft animals as well. We'll do it."

The dwarven earth wizard the giants had hired grumbled a bit at having to
hike even farther on his short legs. The giants had not provided him with a
mount since they did not keep horses or mules. Still the dwarf knew his
business. After delving the ground he found a good site close to the
brontothere trace and raised a stone dam and a trough for livestock.

The brontothere matriarch ambled close and pronounced herself satisfied
which she relayed to the herd which immediately abandoned the cuesta to the
giants.

"You have our thanks. Let me offer you boys the hospitality of our
camp. It's not much, but the food is good, and our tents will keep the rain
off. Our wind talker predicts rain late in the evening."

"Thanks, but we really want to push on to the next village. The tavern
there has a good reputation."

"It does, but that village is too far ahead for you to reach before
sundown."

"Not a problem" Corwin told the giant. "All three of us have enhanced
vision which lets us see in dim light much like cats. Traveling by twilight
won't be a problem. Besides both Axel and Derry can Call Light to let us
see where we are going even in full darkness. We'll get there in plenty of
time for supper and likely before the rain this evening"

After wishing the trio a safe journey the giants returned to the cuesta to
finish what they had started. The travelers pushed on, passing the
brontotheres who were not in any hurry. Less than an hour after dark they
reached the village where the inn more than lived up to its reputation.

			Chapter 4. The Minstrel

Approaching the village Derry took the same precautions that he had in
Viborg. Changing from his equine form he wrapped a sarong around his hips
and walked to the inn, giving no hint that he was a shapeshifter cum
unicorn.

A hostler tended to Melody's needs. Before entering the common room, Corwin
put on his uniform, copying Axel's example in leaving his decorations
off. The pair did wear utility belts with kukris in scabbards at their
hips. Axel also carried a pair of push or fist knives, a weapon with a T
shaped handle attached to a very short triangular blade coated with Aodh's
deadly venom. They were the weapons of the assassin Axel had been in the
eastern campaign in Amazonia. Both boys slung their carbines over their
shoulders rather than leave them unsecured in the room Corwin booked for
the three of them.

The supper menu featured roast bear with roast potatoes and carrots,
courtesy of a bounty hunter who had trapped and killed a nuisance black
bear which had attacked livestock and even a young cowherd. The hunter
needed just the paws to document his bounty, so he delivered the carcass to
the proprietor of the inn, thereby covering the bill he had run up over the
previous five days of the hunt. He had hunted alone and had not dared to
sleep in the open lest the carnivore get at him during the night.

After supper came the entertainment provided by the minstrel in residence,
a handsome dark-haired young man of mostly elven heritage but with more
than a dash of human blood. The elf-boy was a walking wet dream with a
willowy physique, lissom body, and delicate features typical of elves,
including a chiseled jawline, and killer cheekbones which shielded lovely
green eyes. His was the sort of youthful male beauty that turned heads and
took one's breath away.

His lower body was sheathed in a green sarong wrapped low around his narrow
hips. Moccasins, a golden ring through his left earlobe, and thin gold
chain around his neck completed his ensemble.

The minstrel bowed to his audience then sat on a stool, giving tossing his
long dark locks out of his eyes. He started off with a series of drinking
songs with refrains which invited his audience to sing along. Later, with
his audience further under the influence, he offered a ballad that plucked
at the heartstrings with a poignant tale of love and loss against a
backdrop of intrigue and high adventure.

The normally raucous crowd paid him the compliment of listening
quietly. When he finished, they broke out into applause and
cheers. Promising to return for a second set, the minstrel left his lute
and banjo on his stool and circulated among the patrons. When he approached
Corwin, Axel, and Derry's table, Derry gestured for the minstrel to take a
seat and talk with them for a while. He introduced himself as Loren Mann.

"I just loved that ballad." Derry told him. "It's the kind of music popular
with the elves I was brought up among."

"Glad you liked it. Am I right that you are part elf and part frost giant."

"I am. My friend Corwin also has a considerable admixture of elven blood
for all his blond hair. As for our red-headed friend, Axel, I am still
trying to figure out how a boy who doesn't have a drop of elven blood can
be so damn cute. Just look at those cheekbones and those heart-melting
dimples!"

"I have been looking... at all of you. You three are very easy on the eyes,
each in his own way, but you are right about Axel whose killer cheekbones
and heart melting dimples would not be out of place on the face of a
full-blooded elf-boy. I hope I am not being too forward, Axel, but I hope
we will have a chance to get better acquainted."

"Count on it. I've always fancied boys with a considerable mixture of elven
blood -- even more than full-bloods. "So you are just my type."

"As are so many." Corwin added with a grin.

"Incidentally" Loren continued, "the proprietor can secure your carbines if
it is theft you are worried about. It must be awkward having to keep them
with you. Don't worry. Nothing untoward happens here. The inn and indeed
the whole village is neutral ground."

"Neutral ground?" Corwin asked, ever the inquisitive journalist.

"Neutral ground or maybe sanctuary is a better name for it. You must have
heard about the band of highwaymen who have been operating along this
road. You were lucky to reach this far without running into them. They
never attack large parties, but a party of three makes an easy target for
nine desperadoes who have the advantage of surprise. Their number includes
giants, humans, and elves but not dwarves.So watch yourselves on the road
tomorrow."

"The good news is that the bandits prefer simple robbery to murder, not so
much from mercy as to encourage their victims to surrender without a fight,
knowing their lives will be spared. Still they have killed several
travelers who did try to fight them."

"Aren't they afraid witnesses will identify them?"

"No one can identify them since they always wear masks -- sacks with three
holes for eyes and mouth. Also they wear dusters or other concealing
clothes like full trews and long-sleeved shirts which they stash between
jobs. They attack on foot. If they do have horses they keep them far enough
back that no one will recognize their mounts or even hear them ride away."

"That's pretty damn clever." Corwin admitted.

Loren continued:

"Folks around here suspect that the highwaymen or at least some of them
might actually live here in the village or at least be patrons of the
inn. Besides it is only good business for bandits to allow travelers a safe
haven. It encourages folks to continue to take their chances and travel
along this road, instead of following the longer and more difficult route
through the hills to the south."

"That sounds like good advice. Aren't you worried about getting held up
yourself?"

Loren shook his head. "I'd like to see them try to get past my defenses. I
am a moderately strong fetcher. While I cannot fly long distance, I can
certainly fly away from the site of an ambush. Also I can hold a strong
missile shield against lead bullets or arrows."

"I have offensive capabilities too. It wasn't so long ago that I fought at
the side of our elven forces in Amazonia. We didn't have enough magnetic
cannon to go around so it was left to fetchers assigned to the elven units
to counter some of those armored centipede formations the trolls invented
for the occasion."

"The stronger fetchers would wield steel spheres to batter down the heavy
shields the trolls carried, but I had a better idea -- to aim our cutting
discs at their unprotected shins. My idea caught on, and the colonel wrote
it up so I got Mentioned in Dispatches. After mustering out, I did't want
to return to my humdrum job as a mechanic. Instead I went on walkabout to
see the world and to make beautiful music."

"What kind of work did you do as a mechanic?" Corwin asked.

"As you know we elves are famous for our silk fabrics. Water wheels power
the machines we use to spin and weave silk in quantity. The machinery is
complicated and liable to break down from constant use. Since I had a
considerable degree of mechanical aptitude, they gave me the job of fixing
them. It was a living, but my heart was not in it.

"How long have you been singing Loren? I mean in this village."

"Three weeks. By now the locals have heard my repertoire twice over so it
is just new to travelers. I will be moving on in a week or so. Convoys of
freight wagons will always accept a paying passenger. Sometimes I work for
my passage as an extra guard, ready to throw up a missile shield to protect
the convoy."

"You ride then because you don't have a mount of your own?" Axel asked.

"No. It's simple economics. The only use I would get from a mount is maybe
one or two days a month when I travel to my next gig, but I would have to
board it thirty days a month. Besides, though I am not a bad rider I don't
really enjoy riding, so I would rather take a seat in a wagon or a stage."

"I can understand that." Axel allowed, "A rider on a trotting horse works
nearly as hard as if he were trotting himself. Either that or endure
continual slaps to the butt."

"A pardonable exaggeration, but with considerable truth. What you should do
Axel is get yourself a mount which can amble instead of trot. Problem
solved." Loren offered blandly. Corwin shot Axel a knowing grin.

The boys were careful not to mention their own magical powers. Anyone might
be listening at the next table. Indeed, the minstrel himself might be a
member of the gang, the spotter who chatted with potential victims to size
them up. The possibility of eavesdroppers was why Corwin gave Derry the
unobtrusive signal for a telepathic conference.

<What is it, Corwin?> Derry asked.

<Maybe nothing, but I sense a degree of deception or at least reticence on
Loren's part. At first I suspected he might be a spotter for the gang, but
I can now sense that his intentions toward us are benign. Guarded is how I
can best describe his attitude.>

<All right. Ask him straight out if he suspects anyone in particular of
being a member of the gang. I'll read his surface thoughts. The psychic
connection will be so subtle he won't suspect a thing.>

"So Loren, if you had to put money on it, who among the patrons would you
bet was a member of the gang?"

"I couldn't say, and wouldn't even if I could. I am not by nature a
reckless person. Understand, the village has no professional lawmen here,
only a part-time constable. Aside from patrols by the rural constabulary,
the locals police themselves. In case of a crime the constable raises the
hue and the cry and rouses the populace."

As a minstrel Loren was a keen observer of human nature and indeed had made
some shrewd guesses about possible malefactors in their midst. It was just
that, as an outsider, he was in no position to make accusations.

From his thoughts Derry had picked out the images and names of the possible
suspects, persons with aggressive personalities and no steady jobs or other
source of income who yet never seemed to be short of coin. Oh, they did not
flaunt their money. It was enough that they never seemed to lack the
wherewithal.

Two of whom were in the common room right at that moment. Directing his
telepathy to the two giants Derry discovered that both had an unhealthy
interest in him and his friends. And that was before two more unsavory
types, both human, joined them. Highwaymen for sure. He relayed his
conclusions to Corwin and Axel.

Corwin nodded then said with his voice almost in a whisper. "Don't let your
face or body language betray what is about to happen."

"Which is?"

<Mind Speech.> Derry sent him. <It's me Derry talking in your head. I can
link you to Axel and Corwin. We need to confer without anyone suspecting
what we are up to.>

<What are we up to?>

<We intend to expose the bandits and make a citizen's arrest. Call it a
preemptive strike lest they fall upon our small party on the road
ahead. Better we stalk them here and now rather than face them at a time
and a place of their choosing. That is where you come in Loren. We could
use your help doing it. Your telekinetic powers added to ours could overawe
them and force them to surrender and avoid bloodshed. The gods know how
Axel and I are heartily sick of killing. So after your next set, let's go
upstairs, as if for an assignation, and make plans. Are you in?>

<I am willing to listen to your pitch. That's all I'll commit to right
off.>

<Fair enough.>

			Chapter 5 Plans

After Loren's second set, they all went upstairs, ignoring the nods and
winks thrown their way. One patron was heard to wonder how they would pair
off.

"OK, first things, first. Derry, how is it you have the gift of mind
speech? You're neither a druid nor a unicorn."

"You're correct that I am no druid, but I am indeed a unicorn, at least in
my alternate form. Watch."

Loren stared open-mouthed as Derry smoothly morphed into a unicorn.

"A shape shifting unicorn!"

"Rather a shape shifting elf who can transform into a unicorn. My dual
nature gives me the powers of both forms. For one thing I am nearly four
times stronger than you would expect, which makes me more than a match for
any Frost Giant except Finn Ragnarson."

"What about their powers -- Corwin's and Axel's?"

"Corwin is a magical healer and also wields ball lightning. Druidical
healing magic has made him and Axel nearly three times stronger with
correspondingly faster reflexes.

"Wicked."

"Axel is a jumper. He can instantly teleport himself and anything he
touches to practically anywhere, and he wields push knives coated with a
deadly poison, so he is a formidable combatant even without his carbine."

"A jumper with push knives! Of course!" Loren suddenly realized. "You gave
only your first names or I would have recognized you sooner. You Corwin
Klarendes are the intrepid war correspondent and you, Axel Wilde, the
jumper cum sniper cum assassin whom Corwin wrote about in his history of
the campaigns in Amazonia."

Corwin turned to Axel and said: "After Vronski and you I guess we'd better
give our full names from now on."

Axel nodded as Loren continued:

"Now it is true that a handful of bandits would be no match for our powers,
but why should I take a hand in this at all? It's not my job. These aren't
my people. Besides I am not a professional adventurer like you two, you and
Axel."

"Make that all three of us." Derry interjected. "Since I threw in with
these two, I have turned into an adventurer myself. Just recently we
unmasked a serial killer, a life leech, and later resolved a territorial
dispute between frost giants and brontotheres."

"More power to you, but a life of action and adventure is not for me. And
please don't tell me that it is my civic duty to help you capture the
highwaymen. I know all about duty. It was why I volunteered to go to
war. But that was everyone's fight, the defense of civilization
itself. This bandit problem is not."

"Fair enough." Corwin conceded. "I cannot fault your reasoning. So let me
ask, is there a reward for the apprehension of the highwaymen?"

"Yes, a considerable one, though perhaps not so very much when split four
ways."

"Derry needs his share, but Axel and I are well-off. You can have my share
and Derry can have Axel's. What do you say to half the bounty?"

Loren paused a moment then said:

"Hmmm, I don't earn very much as a minstrel, not out on the road in the
hinterlands. At times a lack of coin has forced me into temporary work as a
rent boy. So I have to say yes. Count me in, but only this one time."

The four agreed that they had to catch the highwaymen in the act. One way
would be to trail a party of travelers small enough to temp them to
pounce. Or they might surveil and trail the four known members of the
gang. Finally the four of them might offer themselves as bait.

"Isn't it wrong to put innocent parties at risk by using them as bait?
Better we take that risk ourselves." Loren opined.

Axel wasn't persuaded. He rocked his head and said:

"Let's say we use ourselves as bait and manage to turn the bandits' ambush
against them and haul them into court. It would be our word against the bad
guys. The bandits might even claim that we were trying to rob them or that
our confrontation was the result of a misunderstanding or simply mistrust
of chance-met strangers. No, we need witnesses whose motivation cannot be
questioned."

"Why should anyone question our motives? We're the good guys, so why would
we lie?" Loren asked.

"For the reward money, of course.  No, we need the testimony of
unimpeachable witnesses. Also, by using others as bait, we retain our
tactical flexibility. So let's make our plans on the assumption that we
will use a small party as a stalking horse."

"That's pretty cold-blooded, Axel, but I suppose you are right. You guys
have a lot more experience at this sort of thing than I do.

"What is you plan then?" Corwin asked.

Axel shook his head.

"I don't have a plan really, only some initial thoughts. First, Derry your
job will be to telepathically track the four we have identified. Find out
where they go and whom they meet and share the images of the faces of other
gang members. I will follow them physically but at a distance, watching
through a far-viewer and relying on teleportation and the field craft I
learned as a sniper to remain undetected. Your job Loren, when we catch
them in the act, is to hold a missile shield over us and their intended
victims and also to disarm them by yanking their air guns and bows out of
their hands."

"Before we confront them you should know," Loren added: "that one of them
can throw levin bolts. He once killed a bodyguard who cut at him with a
sword."

"Don't worry." Corwin assured him. "I've got that covered. Lightning bolts
are all offense but no defense whereas my ball lightning serves as both
shield and sword. I can block levin bolts and attack at the same time, as I
did so often in combat. Besides, Axel and I will also be armed with our
carbines."

"Right, with bayonets fixed to further cow our foes with cold steel." Axel
offered. We should also work Derry's sonic weapon into our plan. Loren's
missile shield is s a fine defense against stand-off weapons while Derry's
killer neigh can counter any attempt at getting to close quarters say with
swords or knives."

"You have developed into quite the tactician Axel." Corwin allowed.

"Well I am a professional soldier in my dual capacity as both an aide to a
war wizard and a war mage in my own right. And extensive combat experience
tends to make for tactical thinking."

"Also it occurs to me that we will need some place to hold the bandits
after we arrest them. It would be safest if Axel just jumped them one or
two at at time from where we captured them to some holding pen. Loren, is
there a jail in the village or some other secure place that would hold
them."

"Just an old storeroom with a solid door and a good lock. It's used mostly
for drunks or to let hotheads cool off after a barroom brawl. The constable
will know more."

"Yes, we will have to bring him in on this." Corwin agreed.

"Derry you and I will have to check him out to make sure he is not working
with the gang. Let's put our heads together tomorrow afternoon to make
final plans. Meanwhile let's go to bed, and I mean just to sleep. That
includes all of us. I may not be be mind reader like Derry, but I can see
the mutual attraction between you Loren and you Axel, but it really should
wait till afterwards."

"I hate to admit it, but you are right. With what is ahead of us in the
next day or so, this is no time for fun and games," Axel admitted, "but we
two will pick this up afterwards. Won't we Loren?"

"Definitely, Axel!"

The next morning after his ablutions, Axel checked his harness and combat
medic pack and pumped up the air reservoir of his carbine to full
pressure. It was normally kept at only half pressure until combat was
imminent. He then sharpened his blades which included a kukri as well as
his push knives.

"Isn't that the deadly venom you get from your shapeshifter friend?" Loren
asked.

"Yes, but I am coating only one blade full strength. The other blade gets a
dilute coating, just enough to incapacitate a foe and take him out of a
fight. After all, we are trying to capture the bandits, not kill them out
of hand."

"Good thinking, Axel" Derry agreed. "Which is why I am counting on my
incapacitating screech more than my horn or hooves which are deadly
weapons."

			Chapter 6. Springing the Trap

The boys chose a a party of four as their stalking horse. It consisted of a
mercer named Martin Kalm, one of his grown sons, and two teamsters cum
guards. It seems that the mercer had missed his connection with a convoy
earlier in the week and wanted to push on ahead with his two wagons to get
his silks to market early. All four elves were armed with carbines instead
of their more usual long bows.

As they set out they were trailed by Corwin and his companions, all on foot
and in uniform in the case of Axel and Corwin. Melody had been left in her
stall. The boys had not warned the four intended victims about the bandits
who intended to ambush them a couple of miles ahead at a stream
crossing. Their preoccupation with getting their wagons across the rocky
ford without throwing a wheel would serve the bandits well as a
distraction.

A half mile or so before the mercer's party came within sight of the
bandits' lookout, Axel teleported the four to their location with Derry
already in his unicorn form, visual reassurance that they were the good
guys

<Peace travelers. We are friends. You are in great danger. The bandits lie
in wait half a mile ahead.>

"What? You are talking in my head! And what is this you are saying about
bandits?" the mercer asked, momentarily befuddled by surprise.

Derry explained the situation and offered them a chance to return safely to
the inn or to proceed as if nothing was untoward, just the four of them in
their two wagons. When the highwaymen struck, Corwin and his friends would
instantly teleport into their midst to defend them and to capture the
outlaws.

Now all four in the mercer's party were in the militia. Moreover Kalm's son
Viktor and one of the teamsters had seen combat in Amazonia. So he and his
men were willing to take their chances.

Once linked up, they would number eight good guys against maybe nine or ten
bandits, so pretty good odds with six carbines among them. Also they and
not the bandits would have the element of surprise. Then there were the
powerful magical gifts of a fetcher, a unicorn, a jumper, and a wielder of
ball lightning. Even in his capacity as a healer Corwin might give a foe a
heart attack if it came to that. And three of their eight could call light
to englobe the head of a foe and scramble his brains.

So they agreed to play the unsuspecting victims and also to try to capture
the bandits rather than kill them. The highwaymen had themselves not killed
wantonly, only twice in what they likely considered to be self-defense,
regardless that it was during the commission of their crimes.

Besides who could doubt a promise of protection from a unicorn, a magical
species who were known to be scrupulously honest. And two of the four in
Corwin's part sported military decorations which showed that the blond and
the red-head were a whole lot more than a pair of pretty boys. Moreover one
was a giant-friend and the other an orc-friend which also inspired
confidence. Besides the mercer considered himself a good judge of
character. So Kalm put his trust in Corwin and his friends.

It was not misplaced.

Along a stretch of road with low brush to either side the bandits sprung
their trap. Two of them stepped into the roadway and leveled their carbines
at the wagons. The rest rose from a crouch and stepped fully into view
along the edge of the road. It was a textbook L-shaped ambush.

"Surrender your goods, and your lives will be spared!" their leader, a
tough looking giant, called out.

Derry had been listening telepathically. At his nod Axel teleported their
party to the wagons.

"The tables are turned." Corwin announced. "It is you who have fallen into
a trap. Surrender and we will spare your lives."

"Now why should we do that youngling?" the frost giant asked. "The odds are
pretty even and while we are spread out you guys are all bunched up, making
an easy target.

Corwin shook his head. "Your airguns and crossbows are no threat to us. Our
fetcher is holding a missile shield to protect us."

"We'll see about that."

The bandits cut loose but their lead bullets and crossbow quarrels could
not get past Loren's missile shield. Still Loren's gestures had made it
obvious that he was their fetcher. The frost giant turned to one of his men
and ordered:

"Jarl, take him out. Let's see his missile shield stop a lightning bolt."
he said with a sneer.

A human of middle years and with a predatory grin on his face gestured
dramatically as he hurled a tremendous bolt at Loren. Corwin blocked it
with a sphere of ball lightning which hummed louder and flashed blue as it
absorbed the bolt. The crackling ball then zipped forward and engulfed the
lightning caster, turning him into a crispy critter, soldier slang for a
burnt corpse.

Having made his point Corwin contented himself with holding three balls of
lightning in a defensive formation. He again invited the bandits to
surrender, but their chief shouted to the bandits to get in close and
attack with cold steel. A fight at close quarters would neutralize Corwin's
ball lightning which would be as much a threat to friend as to foe in a
hand to hand brawl.

That was when Derry transformed into a unicorn and cut loose with his
killer neigh, Really an intolerable screech, it did not kill but startled,
pained, and distracted its foes, and either drove them off or made them
vulnerable to the unicorn's natural weapons: horn, hoofs, and teeth.

That was a simple enough power, but surprisingly effective in battle for
both defense and offense. Armed foes could not handle their own weapons
effectively. They put their hands to their ears, making them easy to
dispose of or to run away from.

As soon as the screech stopped Axel jumped behind one bandit after another,
nicking each with his push knife, the one with diluted venom on its
blade. That pretty much ended the fight except for their leader who had
stood outside the cone of sound Derry had projected. Enraged beyond all
measure he shouted:

"Cowards! You hide behind magical defenses. Otherwise I could kill every
one of you pretty boys, one on one."

<Try me.> Derry projected.

Taking that as acceptance of a personal challenge, the giant brandished a
fearsome looking longsword, but Derry was ready for that. His forthright
charge caught the giant by surprise. The unicorn was upon his foe before he
could bring his sword into play. As with the life leech, the unicorn's horn
with it monomolecular point transfixed the giant's central heart. He bled
out even as his auxiliary hearts worked to circulate his blood but all they
did was pump his blood out of the grievous wound in his chest.

Afterwards Derry explained that he had delved the giant's mind and realized
that he was the other killer in this band of highwayman. So Derry provoked
him into an attack, which allowed Derry, in the exercise his legal right of
self-defense, to kill the miscreant.

The rest of the bandits were unable to offer resistance as they were bound
securely. After everyone returned to the village the constable locked his
prisoners into the storeroom and sent a messenger to the county seat. The
shire reeve arrived and took charge of the prisoners. The trial was held
two days later back at the county seat.

The outcome was a forgone conclusion. All seven survivors were sentenced to
work on a road gang for the next four years. It wasn't just punishment at
hard labor. They would be trained to that exacting work and might be
offered paid employment after serving their sentences. Either way they
would end up in much better health thanks to a long stretch of strenuous
outdoor work and decent food. The prisoners of the Commonwealth were fed as
well as its soldiers.

"Well you boys saved our property and perhaps our lives. I am not sure that
in the heat of the moment would would not have resisted rather than
surrender to the bandits. It cost us a delay of three days, so now it is
past time to push on. We will forever be grateful for what you have done
for us."

The authorities were prompt to pay the reward. Derry put his share into his
pack, gratified to be flush for the first time in his life. Loren hefted
his sack of golds and wondered just what he should do with his new found
wealth.

"I have a suggestion for what you can do with the reward money." Axel
ventured.

"Oh? What?"

"Buy an autogyro. As a fetcher you can propel and pilot it yourself, and
you have enough mechanical ability to maintain it and keep it in good
repair. With an autogyro there is no feed bill, and the machines are never
headstrong nor temperamental."

Loren nodded. "And the ride is more comfortable than even atop a mount with
an ambling gait, right Axel?"

"Exactly!"

To celebrate, Loren took Axel to bed and proved, as if anyone would ever
doubt it, that elves were born for male sex. Loren was enthusiastic and
inventive as a lover. As a fetcher he could make love in ways that defied
gravity, something Axel was well-experienced in thanks to Drew Altair and
Liam.

The next day Axel jumped them all to Flensborg where Loren would find a
good selection of new and used aerocraft.

"The airfield serves both civil and military aviation. It is the
headquarters of the air arm of the Fyrd. It is also used by air taxis and
postal, passenger, and freight autogyros. At least two firms refurbish and
sell surplus military autogyros. You can get a good price there and also
train with the mechanics at the repair hangers."

"Sounds good to me." Loren allowed.

In Flensborg Loren was initially tempted to buy a sleek two seat speedster
but settled for a transport aerocraft. A more practical choice the larger
autogyro would serve him not only for personal transportation but also a
source of income. He might hire out as an air taxi for travelers in a hurry
or carry airfreight under charter.

"And the next time I swing by the vale of my birth, I can prove to my folks
that I am not a banjo strumming wastrel, as my father once put it, but a
professional pilot and successful businessman."

"And anytime you get to the capital be sure to look us up." Axel told
him. "We will be happy to show you around. I know that you'll just love
Twinkle Town."

"Twinkle Town?"

Axel smiled. "It's an neighborhood named for the cute twinks who are its
prime denizens, of whom we are all prime exemplars. Twinkle Town is a
district or rather a cluster of dining, drinking, and dancing
establishments favored by males who fancy pretty boys and by pretty boys
who favor being fancied."

Axel too got new transportation at Flensborg. With a pang of regret he sold
faithful Melody to easy service at a riding school and bought a mount
trained to the amble. It was a sorrel gelding which was named Blaze after
the white streak on its forehead. The animal would carry him tirelessly and
comfortably over the long miles ahead.

Corwin wrote off an article about their latest exploits for the Capital
Intelligencer and sent it off via air mail. It wasn't so time sensitive
that it had to go via heliograph.

After saying their farewells Axel jumped Corwin, Derry, himself, and Blaze
back to the village where they resumed their interrupted journey.

			Author's Note

This story is entirely fictional, with no resemblance intended to any
person living or dead.

If you have enjoyed this story and others like it, consider making a
donation to the Nifty Archive. It is so easy. They take credit cards. Point
your browser to http://donate.nifty.org/donate.htm

This story is one of an occasional series about the further adventures of
the characters introduced in the fantasy novel 'Elf-Boy and Friends' and
published by Nifty Archive. The chief protagonist of the novel, Dahlderon,
elf-boy and druid, will appear in these stories in a supporting rather than
starring role. Each story in the sequence stands on its own, with the focus
on one or a few of the original characters.

Readers who like these stories might want to try my two series 'Daphne Boy'
and 'Naked Prey' in the Gay/Historical section of the Archive. My 'Jungle
Boy' series of Hollywood tales is posted in the Gay/Authoritarian
section. The recent series 'Andrew Jackson High' relates the trials and
tribulations of five of its gay students. For links to these and other
stories, look on the list of Prolific Authors on the Archive.