Date: Sun, 02 Apr 2000 00:22:26 PST
From: Guy Trache <pfantazm@hotmail.com>
Subject: Knights of the Road pt. 5

Knights of the Road - Part 5

By Pfantazm

~~~

Author's Note:  We're almost there.

Here's a real disclaimer: this story tends to get kinda violent towards
the end.  Nothing too explicit, but if you don't cook chicken, for
example, 'cause then you'd have to, like, touch it, then you'd best be
prepared.

To be about as sure as you can be that you'll never catch anything, then
before your legs go in the air, be very choosy about who you sleep with,
number one, and make sure your partner wears a condom to catch everything
for you.

If you want to yell at me because I took so long to get this next section
of the story out, or if, you know, you want to tell me what you think of
my new website, write me at pfantazm@hotmail.com .  Everything I've written
is there, and more.  Look for the story that you'll find there and nowhere
else.  Write me to find out what the URL is.

~~~

The streets of Annisport were filled with people as four riders entered
the main gates to the town.  The Harvest Festival was officially beginning
tomorrow, but many revellers would not wait, and took any excuse for their
fun to begin.

The riders were split between three horses, and one man on each bore the
colors of King Dunstan's Guard:  one in red, one in green and one in
gold.  The fourth clung tightly onto the man in gold.

As they trotted past, two men, who were stopping in an alehouse, nodded
to each other.  The one downed his mead and crept off after them.  With as
much traffic on the byways here as there was, a man on foot could move
faster than one on horseback.  The other finished his ale at leisure, then
walked back to where he was staying.  There was no hurry.  The knowledge
would be as fresh when he did report in.  There would be enough time to
use it.

  * * *

Sir Madoc, as spokesman for the group, had gone alone into the garrison
of Annisport, as the building was as crowded, if not more, than the rest
of the town.  When he returned, he looked upset.

"What is it?" Thom asked.

"The garrison is full.  There are no rooms left."

"How can that be?" asked Sir Bastian.  "When I was here several weeks
ago, there was ample room."

"The master sergeant says they've inflated their ranks because of the
festival.  They're always overworked at this time," Sir Madoc
explained.

"Great," said Thom.  "What would he have us do, then?"

"He suggests we find an inn.  Quickly.  Many of the new guards have had
to do the same."

They went to three inns before they found one that could house them all.
It was agreed that splitting up was not a good solution.

The Three Red Fish's attic was normally used for storage, but the
innkeeper agreed to lodge the knights there.

The men dropped their saddlebags in the corners of their makeshift garret
and collapsed.  There were two pallets in the room which would pass as
beds, but they would only fit one man, no matter how intimate two
may get.

Bastian and Madoc insisted Lennox take one, and Thom and Madoc
volunteered to take the floor.

"Now that that is settled," Thom said, "let's decide what we do in town
to try to find Kraid.  Do you know where Kraid keeps his supplies here?"

"Not as such," Lennox replied.  "I know that it's in a warehouse near the
docks and that's all.  I've never been there.  I do know that Damon often
spoke of a woman named Roselta who works in a tavern nearby."

"Well, *that* shouldn't be too hard to find," Thom groused.  "At least
asking after a serving girl or a tavern owner will sound more harmless
than asking for Kraid."

"Let's be off, then," Bastian said.

"Hold a minute, Sir Bastian.  It's getting late.  Chances are that some
of the Marauders will *be* in that tavern.  That could only lead to
trouble.  Even if we arrest all the ones who are there, they are likely to
have friends we don't know about, and word will get back to Kraid.  They
could get scared and move, and we'll never know where they went."  Thom
pointed to Lennox.  "They're not ones for the morning, are they?"

Lennox shook his head no.

"Thieves usually aren't.  *That's* when we go.  First thing tomorrow."

"That sounds logical," Bastian said.  "How will we search?"

Thom said, "Unless you have some... special way of finding this place, I
think Madoc and I should just search door to door."  Bastian started to
speak, but Thom interrupted him.  "I know you'll want to go, but
everything about you screams, 'wizard'.  You'll draw too much attention."

"And why should Sir Madoc join you?" Bastian asked.

"My first choice, in truth, would be to go alone.  Madoc carries himself
like a knight, and it shows, even without his colors.  If there is
trouble, though, I'll want someone at my back.

"I know it seems like I'm making all the decisions here, but if we were
to argue all of this out, we'd only end up in the same place.  I've been
doing this kind of thing for years.  I think fast.  If there's something
I'm missing, I'd be glad to hear it."

Thom could tell Sir Bastian was trying to think of some new angle.  He
rather hoped Bastian could do it.  Any information was valuable, and Thom
wasn't taking this as personally as Bastian seemed to be.

"Lennox," Bastian said, "do you...."

They all looked.  Some time during the conversation, Lennox had fallen
asleep.  Bastian smiled down on him.

"Someone should stay with him as well," Thom suggested.

Bastian nodded.  "It was a long ride.  We should all get some rest."

"That's a good idea," Thom said.  Thom looked at Madoc, who was staring
off at nothing.  The blond went over to him and put his arm around his
shoulder.  He whispered something in Sir Madoc's ear, and they went off to
the side of the room.

Bastian went to his pallet, faced the other way and meditated, blocking
them out.

  * * *

The kitchen had long since closed for the night, but the common room was
always open.  Bastian had it all to himself, and welcomed the space to sit
and think.

"I was wondering where you'd gone," Thom said from the doorway.  He came
over to Sir Bastian's table and joined him.  "weren't you the one who
suggested we sleep?" he asked, smiling.

"Sleep would not come, and I have much to think on.  What of you?"

"My spot on the floor keeps me awake.  I swear, I've slept on more
comfortable rocks.  There are nails and - ahh."

"Perhaps we should share my pallet.  You take it tomorrow night, Sir
Madoc after,..."

Thom grinned.  "That won't be necessary.  With luck we won't be here long
enough."  He cast Bastian a curious look.  "You're not here worrying about
Madoc, are you?"

"No," Bastian replied warmly.  "The life of a mage is never easy.  Of late
I've had much to worry about, Sir Madoc included.  How is he doing?"

Thom told Madoc about the previous night in the forest after Madoc's
confession.

  * * *

Thom held Madoc in sorrowful silence for quite a long time.  Madoc clung
to him as though he expected Thom to disappear at any moment.  More tears
leaked down their bodies.

They sat together naked and wrapped in one of their blankets.

"Madoc?" Thom asked, backing his head away.

The darker knight wouldn't meet his eye.  Thom turned his head to look at
Madoc.  He didn't resist.

Sir Madoc's brilliant eyes, a deeper blue than the most beautiful sky,
seemed somewhat dead now as Madoc relived the horror of his childhood.

"Do you believe what Bastian said?  That it really wasn't your fault?"

Madoc shook his head no, freeing another tear to trail down his cheek.

"Then we'll have to convince you.  But not now.  Do you believe that I
still love you and that I always will?"

Madoc didn't move.

"Right now, that's more important, I think.  None of us, not me, not
Lennox, and not Bastian, none of us think any less of you.  We'll stand by
you.  You understand?"

Madoc's face twisted with sudden sadness and he turned away.

"Oh, Madoc," Thom sighed.  He knew Madoc was torn.  He didn't want to
believe that Thom still felt the same about him, but he needed it to be
true desperately right then.  That Madoc was holding onto him and not
trying to run away was proof of that.  The wound that had been opened that
night hurt him a great deal, and Thom might be all that was keeping him
together.

Tenderly, Thom kissed Madoc's cheek.  He flinched.  Thom kissed him
again, and again, until Madoc no longer reacted to it by jerking away.
Then Thom nuzzled at Madoc's neck, and Madoc let him.  He kissed him and
tickled his skin with his tongue.  Madoc whimpered.  Thom kissed the two
points where Madoc's collarbone protruded from his chest.

"Thom, please, I--" Madoc began to say.

"Shhh," Thom whispered, using the pucker of his lips to kiss Madoc on the
mouth.  He said, "I love you," and he kissed him, "I will always love
you," another kiss, "and you will not talk me out of it."

"But, Thom, I don't deserve...."

Thom sighed and put his head on Madoc's shoulder.  After a moment's
thought, he asked, "Madoc, is it true what Bastian said about you?  That
you can feel what some other people feel?"

Madoc's muttered reply was barely above hearing.  "I don't know.  I think
he could be right."

"And I'm one of the ones you can do this with."

Madoc just nodded.

"So, Sir Madoc of Fieldgate, how do I feel?"

"I don't know how.  I...."  Madoc was starting to get really upset.

"You never needed to do anything before.  Just try to relax.  If Bastian
is right, then you already know the answer.  Look at me.  How do I feel?"

Madoc's wet eyes fixed on Thom's.  His lips twitched into half a smile.

"There, see?  You knew it all along."

"But what I did, I don't deserve--"

"Your parents didn't deserve what happened to them.  My parents didn't
deserve to be locked away and left to die for my uncle's crime.  Lots of
people get things they don't deserve.  I'm not sure I deserved to meet
someone who would save my life the way you did, but I have you, and I'm
grateful.  Whether you think you deserve to have someone like me, you have
me.

"Not everything comes down to what's right and what's not, Madoc, my
love.  It doesn't always come out equal.  Things are just the way things
are.  We can try to make them better but that's all.  Okay?"

Madoc looked down and nodded.

"Now," Thom admonished, "you're not just going to say it to get me off
your back.  Do you truly believe me?"

Madoc took a moment to answer.  "I do believe you."

"Good.  Here's my next question.  If you can tell what I'm thinking of
doing, am I going to leave you?"

Madoc thought.  "No."

"Then what am I going to do?"

Madoc's eyes closed.  He started getting hard and his eyebrows went up.
"But I don't...."

"It's what you have, my love," Thom said, stroking Madoc's growing cock.
"Just take it."

Madoc lay back as the blanket fell to the ground under him.  Thom lifted
Madoc's legs and hefted them onto his shoulders.  Madoc still hadn't been
able to take anything more than one finger a short distance into his ass,
but Thom wasn't hoping to fuck Madoc.  The blond got his face right into
his partner's crotch and started feasting.

He licked Madoc's balls, which were nearly free of hair.  While he did
this, he pressed his nose against Madoc's member, and let his breath drift
around it and through his generous, dark bush.  His chin butted against
the nethermost part of his ass.  He tended to the bigger man's sac, his
lips and tongue brushing the tender skin.  Madoc groaned.  His eggs moved
around slightly in their pouch.

Thom's head was wedged securely between Madoc's thick thighs, and he
grasped Madoc's body to keep him in this position.  The blond's talented
hands gripped thick slabs of muscle under the other guard's skin.

He licked lower, deeper teasing the area between Madoc's balls and ass.
There was a tube there which looked like the continuation of Madoc's cock
leading right into his body.  This Thom attacked, licking and sucking it
all over.

Madoc's eyes were closed and he was moaning almost as though he were in
pain.  His hot cock stood straight up, where the late autumn breeze
surrounded it.  The darker knight didn't want Thom to stop what he was
doing, but he wished he would pay his member some attention.

Madoc's eyes opened, and he looked up along his muscular body.  Thom was
staring straight down at him.  As though Thom could read *his* thoughts,
he licked right up the shaft of Madoc's penis, and all the while, Thom's
hazel eyes were locked on his.

Thom gazed at Madoc with a look of lust on his face.  He ran his tongue
up to the folds of skin just under Madoc's head and played among them with
the tip of his tongue.  The High Guardsman sucked in a breath between his
teeth.

Still looking directly into the eyes of his lover, Thom sank his lips
over the crown of Madoc's stiff cock.  He wrapped his tongue around the
very tip and licked it all around.  He descended onto its length, until he
couldn't fit anymore of his man in, then drew back and sucked him in again.

Madoc watched as Thom fucked himself ever faster.  The blood had rushed
into his head, making him feel strange.  He didn't think he was going to
last very long.

Madoc could feel Thom's shoulder flexing under his leg.  Thom had to be
pleasuring himself while he sucked Madoc off.  He pictured Thom's long,
slender cock, his hand flexing back and forth across the surface, aimed at
his back so that when Thom finally brought himself to the height of
pleasure--

Madoc cried out and fired off his seed into Thom's mouth.  His legs
twitched around Thom's ears as all of his essence was drawn out of him.

When the throes of Madoc's passion were over, Madoc spread his legs wide
enough to allow them to slide off Thom's shoulders.  The trim blond sighed
in relief.  That position must have been hard on him.

Madoc rolled over and spun around so he could put Thom's cock into his
own mouth and fucked his face on his love with the same fury as Thom had
shown.

Thom let go of his member and surrendered to this new pleasure.  He
clasped his hands to Madoc's head and ran his fingers though his short,
black hair.  Thom pumped his hips in time to Madoc's ministrations.

It didn't take long at all for Thom to reach release himself, offering
his cream for Madoc to taste.

The dark knight licked up the last drops and lay back on the ground.  The
fair knight lay right alongside him, bodies touching head to toe.

"How do you feel?" Thom asked.  "Better?"

Madoc nodded sheepishly.

"You know for certain that I still love you?"

"Yes.  And I love you."  Madoc hugged Thom tightly.

"Good.  That's the answer I wanted to hear."  He smiled and kissed
Madoc's cheek.  Madoc turned his head in and they kissed properly.

"We should sleep.  We have quite the ride ahead of us tomorrow," Madoc
said.

"Yes, but do you want to move?"

Madoc shook his head no.  Thom chuckled and wrapped the blanket they had
lain on around them.  In their favorite position, sleep found them quickly.

  * * *

"I hope Madoc can deal with this guilt he feels," Bastian said after he
heard Thom's telling of the story.  "From what I've heard and seen, he is
one of the finest men I've ever worked with.  I wish we had more like him."

Thom smiled.  "I'm thinking that if we tell him that often enough, he may
start to listen eventually.

"What about you and Lennox, now?  How are things working out between you
two?"

Bastian smiled broadly.  "Very well.  I couldn't be happier.  He has the
spirit of a child, and when it shows I get carried right along with it."
He could see Lennox's pale skin and bright red hair in his mind.  "He
excites me."

"That's wonderful to hear.  I hope you can find a way to stay together if
it works out between you."

"As do I, though it will be difficult.  I travel even more than Sir Madoc
does.  But...."

"But what?" Thom asked.

"He frightens me as well."

Thom grinned wryly.  "That, sir mage, is perfectly normal.  I feel so
strongly for Madoc, it scares the wits out of me."

"That's not quite what I meant," Bastian explained.  "He does things he
isn't supposed to be able to do."  Thom gave him an odd look, so Bastian
told him about the flying Lennox had done, and about the exchange of
memories when Bastian got the names and faces of the Marauders.  "He
interferes with my magic, and if there's one thing we learned from
Ellaston, it was that strange magic is not to be played with.  I don't
know what it is that he does.

"How long have you known him?"

"Not very long.  I only met him about a month ago while he was in the
Marauders camp," Thom replied.

"Have you seen him do any magic?"

"No."

"Has anything odd happened around him that no one could explain?"

"I can't think of anything.  Why?"

"I tested Lennox for magic yesterday, and he has just as much as I do,"
Bastian said.  Thom looked surprised.  "I don't believe he's had any
training, but that's something else that's strange.  If he had magic, it
would leak out sometimes.  He couldn't help but use it."

"By Braggia," Thom cursed, "I'm the only one who doesn't have it."  Thom
thought a second.

Bastian seemed to read his mind.  He reached across the table and laid a
hand on Thom's wrist.  He closed his eyes.  "Nothing," he pronounced.

"Good," Thom said, with some relief.  "No offense meant, but magic makes
me uneasy."

"And yet, you seem to be more comfortable around me, not so guarded as
before," Bastian said.  "You trust that I have nothing more to hide?"

"I believe you.  The fact that not even Sir Rhys would give you complete
information about Madoc and me says a lot.  If you were out to hang us, he
would give you every inch of rope he had.  We may not ever be good
friends, but we can work together."

"Can I ask your advice, then?" Bastian asked.

"Alright."

"What do you think I should tell Lennox about this?  I don't want to
frighten him, but I should try to find out what he's doing?"

Thom considered a moment.  "I don't know much about magic, I'm proud to
say, but in my last line of work, if I was working with somebody, I told
them everything I knew about a job.  You never knew what may be helpful if
you get separated.  In your case, Lennox might be doing something
dangerous, and from what you've told me, there is nothing he knows about
to warn him.  Unless there is some reason I don't know about that he
shouldn't know more than he does, some Wizard's Code of Silence or
what-have-you, I'd tell him everything.  You saw how Sir Rhys holding back
the truth tied your hands in dealing with us.  Lennox isn't aware anything
is happening."

Bastian weighed Thom's words.  "You have the right of it.  I'm not
protecting him from anything this way.  I just wish I knew what he
does."

"Don't worry.  I can tell that Lennox loves you very much.  He won't do
anything to hurt you if he can help it."

Bastian nodded, smiling to himself.  "We should try to get to sleep.  You
have to scour the docks, and I need to talk with Lennox in the morning."

Thom followed Bastian up the stairs and up again to their garret.

In the darkness of their room, Bastian could see clearer even than Thom.
He looked at the two pallets, his own and Lennox's, separated from each
other.  He tapped a spell point and levitated his next to his love's.

Thom had already undressed for bed and was trying to get comfortable in
his space on the floor.  Bastian stripped, and slid in next to Lennox, who
snuggled closer.  The mage fell asleep with a smile on his face, with the
feeling that tonight's troubles would be solved in the morning.

  * * *

Madoc rolled over sleepily.  He rubbed his eyes and blinked at what he saw.

Lennox lay under a blanket, face down, his arms hanging down and his arms
resting limply on Sir Bastian's chest.  He was suspended in mid-air two
feet above their pallets.  Sir Bastian lay exposed on his back, his long
hair around his head.

Madoc sat up.  Both men seemed to be asleep.  Lennox was drifting from
side to side.  The former captive flew off to one side.  His hand slid off
Bastian's body.

Suddenly, Lennox came crashing down.

Bastian awoke with a yell, eyes wide with fright and pain.  His body
contracted at the waist.

Lennox flailed his arms and legs, trying to get up and away from the
blanket.

Madoc helped him by taking the cloth away.  "Are you hurt?" he asked.

Bastian held his stomach gingerly and Lennox was tense and shaking.  When
he saw where he was, he scrambled over to Bastian and clutched him tight.

Thom, roused by all the noise, mouthed `Tell him,' at Bastian.  The mage
nodded.

Thom and Madoc prepared for their search.  They bathed, but Thom advised
Madoc not to shave.  Looking scruffier would let them fit in more by the
docks.  Their tabards, proclaiming to one and all that they were Knights
of the Realm, would stay behind.  Thom also loaned Sir Madoc a pair of
trousers to replace the hose he normally wore.  The tight-fitting hose
were more for the upper classes, and those who might have to mingle among
them, than for dockworkers.  The pants were a few inches too short, but
they would do for today.

Thom beheld his partner, a day's worth of growth framing his soft, tender
lips.  Wrinkled clothes.  Striking blue eyes.  He looked so ruggedly
handsome.  Impulsively, Thom drew his partner closer for a kiss.  The
short bristles on his chin scratched at his skin.  Madoc clutched at Thom,
bunching his shirt at the back and crushed the blond's body to his own.

Lennox, in Bastian's arms, turned and kissed the mage, but with more
tenderness than fire.  The redhead held his new lover around the waist
from his place on the floor between Bastian's legs.  Bastian cradled
Lennox's head to his body like a child's.

Thom and Madoc finally separated, gasping for air.  "We should go," Madoc
said, breathless.  "We need to eat before we tour the docks."

The former thief nodded, equally stunned.  "We should be back by early
afternoon, sooner if we find Roselta's tavern."

After the pair left, Bastian asked, "Are you alright?  You fell quite
hard."

"I think so.  What happened?  Were you flying me in your sleep?"

Sir Bastian would never have a better opportunity.  "No, Lennox.  I think
*you* were flying you.  Come up here."

Lennox sat on the pallet with Bastian, their legs intertwined.  Bastian
laid an arm around him.

"Have there been times in your life when strange things have happened
around you?  Things that no one could ever figure out what had gone on?"

Lennox thought back.  "I remember something about a-- barn burning,
but...."  The man shook his head.  "That doesn't seem right.  I...."

"When I was a young boy," Bastian said, "I burned the hayloft of our
fammily's barn.  It was my magic finding a way to get itself used.
Shortly after that I was sent to the Mage's Academy in Septana.  I think
you got the memory of that event from me when I probed your memories of
the Marauders."  Lennox smiled.  "I have never heard of anyone doing this
before.

"You seem to have an effect on my magic.  I think it happens when we're
touching.  I don't understand it, and it frightens me.  It could be
dangerous."

Lennox blinked.  "What does that mean?  You don't want to sleep with me,
you don't want to be near me?  Do you want me to go away?"  He was near
tears.

"No!  I don't think it's as serious as that," Bastian said, holding him.
"I didn't ever consider sending you away.  For one thing, we should find
out what it is you do.  It could be dangerous if you can do this to other
mages or wizards.  A spell may not work the way it's supposed to and
something bad might happen."

"Like Ellaston?"

"I doubt something could go so wrong as to anger the Gods, but I don't
know.

"The first thing I would like to do is to try to figure out how much
magic you have.  I've tried reading you myself, and it seemed like you
have as much as I do, but you wouldn't be able to control that much
without training."

Lennox listened, but still looked confused.

"I'm going to talk to a friend of mine back in Aragon.  We can see if he
can read you using me as a medium.  When I reach out my hand, I want you
to take it."

"Alright."

"Until then, don't touch me.  I don't mean anything by it, but it's
better not to take chances."

Lennox nodded and shifted over.  He still looked hurt, so Bastian reached
over and tousled his hair and kissed him.  He then sat back, closed his
eyes, and concentrated.

<Calder Grimes, if you inhabit this plane still, heed me.>

[Bastian of Pharlight, good morrow.  What need have you of me?]

<I would ask your help.  I have met a man with strange abilities.>

[A new mage?]

<I'm sure he's not, but still of interest.>

[What shall I do?]

<Read my magic.  How much do I have?>

Bastian felt the touch of Calder's magic.

[Your magic is strong, Bastian of Pharlight.]

<Now I will take the hand of this man I would know about.  I have read
him myself, and his magic seems as strong as my own.>

[Then why are you not satisfied

>HELLO| his han|sk|who  is this |ervou| who are you| frigh|Le| in love
|nox |rd pall| itch | touch of his hand|aked w|ight leav| strange
thing|enno|oft ski|  Bast| hungr| barn  is burning|Cald|ausag| eggs |no
magician | what | pain  pain| hello? |pain| going on<

Bastian felt the irritation and pain in Calder before he shut Bastian's,
and so Lennox's, mind out.  The mage let go of Lennox's hand.

"Bastian, what happened?  I felt something, but then it went away."

"That was Calder, and I fear we've upset him.  I think you overwhelmed
him."

Lennox looked confused.

"One of the things a mage trains in," Bastian explained, "is how to quiet
the mind.  It usually has a great deal of thoughts that it holds all at
once, and when mages communicate by thought, they must be more careful."

He looked to the small window.  "Look out there."

Lennox got up and went to the window.

People were gathering for the festival, which was to begin at noon.  A
sizeable crowd was slowly filling the square in front of the inn.

Bastian had come up behind him.  "Imagine having this quiet talk down
there.  We'd have to shout, and even then we might hear each other.

"I should have guessed that when you read my memories earlier, you'd be
able to project at Calder.  I would like to try again, but I have to quiet
your mind."

Lennox looked back at him, concerned.

"Don't worry.  The easiest way to do it is to send you to sleep again."

They walked back to the pallets.  Bastian laid a blanket over them.
"Here.  Lie down."

Lennox lay on the blanket.  Bastian arranged his love's hands on his
chest and performed the spell to send him to sleep.  Bastian sat by his
side and kept his hand hovering in air over Lennox's chest.

<Calder Grimes, if you inhabit this

[is he gone]

<I put him under so that we would not be disturbed again.>

[Good morrow, Bastian of Pharlight.  What need have you of me?]

<I would continue as before.>

[Bastian, how did he invade your thoughts?]

<That is one of many questions for which I seek answers.  Do you recall
how strong my magic is?>

[Yes.  A moment, Bastian.]

A small amount of magic was sent Bastian's way.  Once it came to him,
Bastian felt fresher.

<What have you done?>

[Spellbreaker.  You had a trace of a sleep spell on you.  Are you alone
with... Lennox?]

<Yes.>

[That remnant was not there when last we spoke.  Are you sure it was not
Lennox's doing?]

<He has no training.>

[This is most distressing.  I would tread very carefully, my friend.  I
see that you also understand what I spoke of previously, about men in love
with men.]

There was no hiding anything from Calder.  He picked out a great deal
from the jumble of thoughts in the minds around him.  Lennox had given
much away.

<He can't help but project his love.  I myself have felt the force of it.>

[Yet he has not felt it from you.]

Bastian paused.

[Tell him.  Tell him as often as you can.]

<I will.>

[Are you prepared for your test?]

<Yes.>

Bastian lowered his hand onto Lennox's chest, coming to rest on his soft,
pale skin.  Calder's powers again came their way.

[You two have as much power between you as you, Bastian, have alone.  He
has absolutely none.]

When Bastian told Thom he had no magic, it wasn't precisely true.  There
was some, but not enough for even the simplest wizard's spell.  The
long-haired mage had never heard of anyone with absolutely no magic.

And yet he seemed to reflect Bastian's magic back at himself.  It was not
possible according to the laws of magic as they knew them.

[The Council would be most interested in this.]

<I don't know if I would expose Lennox to them.>

[Yet you may have to.  You burned brightly as a young novice, and made
progress more quickly than any can remember.  Perhaps too quickly.  If you
do not continue to show growth the Council will have you paired.]

<Which would mean leaving the Guard.>

[Perhaps you will be allowed to pair with Lennox.  Who can say?]

<I should be able to say.  I should be able to do as I please.>

[These are dangerous thoughts to share with the Council's Liaison to the
Throne.]

Calder was watching out for him.  If they were near each other, Calder
could not help but read these thoughts, but Calder could not report them.
If Bastian simple *told* Calder, however, that was another matter.

<What should I do about him, then?>

[He should be trained in the very basics, I would think:  how to control
his thoughts, for example.  You might also try to find out whether he can
control this... thing he does, or whether it will interfere with any
magic.]

<All sound ideas.  I thank you, Calder.>

[Bastian of Pharlight.]

<Yes?>

[Be careful.  Good morrow to you.]

And he was gone.

Bastian opened his eyes.  His hand was still on Lennox's chest.  He
looked so peaceful and innocent.  He wondered how much of his exchange
with Calder he had been able to hear.

`We are at our most receptive when we are asleep,' he recalled from his
lessons.

Bastian, still naked climbed over top of Lennox, straddling him, and
leaned down to embrace him.  `The more body contact, the easier it is to
make an exchange of energies.'

Lennox loved Bastian very much.

Most of the people he knew hated him because they were a criminal, feared
him because he was a mage, or was jealous of his youth and power.

He hadn't realized just how alone he really was until he met Lennox.

He needed Bastian.  Bastian could tell he felt safer when he was around.
He seemed eager to hear about magic, and Bastian's eyes didn't frighten
him away.

Lennox's red hair was beautiful, and his creamy skin and awkward grace
made him seem like a statue.  Having Lennox around made Bastian seem more
at ease with himself, and not so distant from the from the world.  He
needed Lennox.

The man didn't seem to have anyone who really cared about him until now.

He had lived with the Marauders for years, and Bastian now knew their
abuses.  His jailers had treated him roughly, more than was deserved, and
he had no close family anymore.

But Bastian loved Lennox very much.

He lifted the sleep spell.

Lennox opened his green eyes and saw Bastian smiling down at him.  Lennox
stretched, closing his eyes momentarily and tilting his head before
wrapping his arms around Bastian's back.

"I love you, Lennox," the mage said.

"I heard it.  I do need you, and I'm glad you need me."  The redhead
kissed Bastian, letting his love's tongue invade his mouth.  "Let's make
love," he suggested.

"First there's some of that training I'd like to do with you."  Lennox
began to pout, so Bastian added, "It will make it better, I promise you.
Let's switch places."

The pair rolled over until Lennox was on top of Bastian.  "I'm going to
show you what my magic looks like.  I'm going to meditate, so inside my
body and mind, and you should be able to see it."

Lennox smiled.  Bastian shut his eyes.  He felt his lover's cock burning
hot against his leg.  He tried to push the sensation away.  Lennox
throbbed.

The mage smiled and said, "You are such a distraction!  We'll try this
the same way we did with Calder.  Get up off me for a moment until I get
my concentration.  When I nod my head, lie down on me."

Lennox sighed, but got up on his knees.  His slender manhood jerked in
front of his body, waiting for action.  The nod from Bastian was so
slight, Lennox almost missed it.  He lowered himself onto the other man's
body, his head nestled in the crook of Bastian's neck, their cocks
arranged side by side.

There were stars.  A whole sea of them twinkled above and below.

There was no ground, and no pull of the earth to bind him.  There was
only the dark blue sky interrupted by points of pure white light.

Below him, the stars seemed to have aligned themselves naturally in long,
straight lines.  The lines split up or rejoined like the branches of a
tree.  As Lennox looked more carefully, he saw that the stars formed a
constellation of a man, but more precisely that they ever did in the sky.
There was so much more detail and, while he couldn't see the lines
connecting them, he could tell they were there.  The constellation
stretched wide below.

Over his head were more stars and lines that were not there, but these
were all curves.  The curves flowed in grand, sweeping patterns and they
played amongst themselves.  It was as though someone had taken twine,
rolled tightly so that it twisted when it was loosed, and made a delicate
and intricate design.  The vast swirls and loops looked like they might be
fun to fly through.

<Those are spell points, Lennox.  Each one is a different spell.>

The voice was coming from above him.  "Where are you, Bastian?"

<I'm all around you, Lennox.  All of this is a part of me.  What you see
is my body beneath you and my mind above.>

"They're beautiful, Bastian!  What do they all do?"

<There are too many of them to list, but you may have to learn them if we
stay together and you are still changing my magic.  I've never heard of
anyone who could do that before.  It would be helpful if you knew as much
about my magic as I do.>

"Do I have spell points like this?"

<I don't know.  You can only check if you have the ability, and based on
what Calder said, you have no magic.>

"How do you find out?  What do you do to see this?"

<I don't see it.  It's me.  I can only sense it.  I need to ignore
anything outside of me and explore with my mind.>

Lennox dreamed he closed his eyes.

<Lennox?  What are you doing?  Sto

The world turned inside out.

Bastian was floating.  The land, the sky, everything was the same golden
yellow color.  The corporeal and mental spell maps twinkled around him,
but they were not in any pattern Bastian recognized.  They had to be
Lennox's.

"Lennox?"

>I feel something, Bastian.  It feels strange.<

"Lennox, can you undo what you did just now?"

>I... I don't know.<

Spell points above Bastian flickered.

>Bastian, I can't!<  The threads above Bastian were constricting like
snakes, and the mage could feel it getting colder.

The mage calmed himself down.  If Lennox was panicking, Bastian couldn't.
He relaxed and tried to meditate on his own spell points, but he couldn't
concentrate.

"Try it again."

>It didn't work!<

"I need to see what you're doing.  Maybe I can make it work."

He fixed on the lights above him that changed when Lennox tried to
reverse what he'd done.  He drifted up in his lover's mind and tried to
find the right place.  The curved filaments around him tried to catch him,
to tangle him up, but Bastian navigated through, if there was anything to
his presence to be caught in the first place.

"Again."

There it was.  The point of light pulsed, illuminating the invisible
threads that tied all the spells together.  Now what could he do?

He looked at it, flew around it, through it.  He tried tapping the
spell point, but he couldn't find it in Lennox.

>Bastian?<

"Lennox, you'll have to do it!"

>I've tried already!<

"Just stop, Lennox!"

>What?<

"Wake up!"

Lennox was shaking.  They were back in the garret.

"Are you alright?" Bastian asked.

"I couldn't do it," Lennox whispered.

"It's fine, Lennox, we're out.  You did it in the end.  You got us out.

But do you see  what I meant about magic being dangerous when you don't
know what's going on?"

Lennox nodded.  He felt so foolish.

Bastian laid Lennox's head on his chest.  "My heart, I want you to
promise me something.  Swear to me that you'll never try anything with
magic without asking me first."

Lennox was listening to Bastian's heartbeat.  He felt so bad for what
he'd done that he would have promised Sir Bastian anything right then.  "I
swear."

"Good.  I swear that I'll be more careful with my magic when you're near.
I know you can't always control what you do."

Lennox felt he'd made a horrible mistake, so when Bastian kissed him on
the forehead and said, "I love you so much, Lennox, I don't want anything
to happen to us.  If we're careful, we'll both be together for a long
time," the former prisoner felt a wave of relief wash over him.

"I love you too, Bastian."

They cuddled, waiting for Thom and Madoc to return.

  * * *

After the two knights left the tavern, Damon stepped out of the kitchen.
He grabbed one of the barmaids, pinching her bottom and kissing her
roughly.

"Thankee, Roselta.  They two shouldno' be back, but if they come 'round
again, yeh're to hide, yeh got it?"

The dark-haired wench nodded and grinned lustily at the man.  He looked
around the room and spotted a serving boy.

"Boy!  Come here."

"Yes, sir?"

"Yeh saw they two men what just left?"

The boy nodded.

Three silver coins clinked in Damon's hand.  "Follow them.  Be ready teh
tell me every place they go."

"Yes, sir!" the boy said excitedly, and when the coins were overturned
into his hand, he was gone.

"I'll see yeh at the warehouse later," he leered at Roselta.  Then he was
off to tell Kraid just how close their enemies had come.

  * * *

Thom climbed the stairs behind Madoc.  It had been a good morning, though
not a productive one.  The former thief liked to walk and he'd had a good
one up and down the docks.

None of the taverns they'd found had ever heard of a woman named Roselta,
and Thom was suspicious.  He believed Lennox was remembering correctly,
and he didn't think the owner of the tavern they sought would have such a
short memory.  Thom was also sure, though, that they'd looked in every
alehouse and inn near the docks.  Something didn't fit.

Madoc groaned as he climbed the stairs.  He wasn't used to Thom's pace on
foot.  Riding a horse used different leg muscles than did walking.  Thom
still remembered the aches he suffered when he rode with Madoc for the
first few days.  If Madoc wasn't sore now, he would be tomorrow
morning.

They pushed open the door to the garret.  There, glowing in the noonday
sunlight through the window were Bastian and Lennox.  The mage was
crouched over his love, and slowly easing his hardness in and out of
Lennox's ass.  Both the returning men smiled.

"I hope you don't mind:  we used some of your grease," Sir Bastian said,
not slowing down for the intrusion.

"Not at all," Thom said, watching his friends make love.  "That's what
it's for."

"We didn't find the right tavern," Madoc said.  Bastian grunted, but
Madoc couldn't be sure why.

"May we join you?" Thom asked, taking off his shirt.

"Please," Lennox moaned.

Thom pulled his shirt over his head and watched Bastian start fucking
Lennox furiously.  His lover's head rolled to the side.

The blond lay on his back next to his friends and watched them.  He undid
his trousers and his smallclothes, kicked off his boots and bared all.

Madoc appeared over him, naked as well, and lay himself over Thom's body.
They kissed and their hands roamed over each other's bodies.  Their erect
members slid past each other.

Thom asked his partner, "Do you want to try again?"  Their attempts to
get Madoc relaxed enough to take Thom's penis into him had not borne fruit
yet.  Madoc nodded his head and he got up on all fours.

Thom reached up over his head and grabbed the pot of grease.  It was
running low.  They'd have to replace it soon.  He dipped a finger inside
and scooped some of the stuff up.  He slicked up a finger and reached
under Madoc's body.  Thom kissed Madoc as his finger approached Madoc's
asshole.

The High Guardsman's eyes were shut, but he could hear Lennox and
Bastian, and he could feel Thom's hand.  He tasted Thom's tongue and
lips.  Madoc relaxed.

Thom's finger eased inside of Madoc.  Madoc moaned, but did not tense up.
Thom kept going and his finger went all the way into his partner's hole.

Thom smiled up at Madoc, but didn't say anything.  Instead he just moved
his finger slowly and cautiously.  Madoc let out a surprised "Oh," as Thom
wiggled inside him.

Madoc's back was arched and his head raised.  His ass was pointed up into
the air.  His eyes remained closed and his jaw hung open as he felt these
new sensations.  His cock was rock hard and jutted out, straight and long
from his body.

Thom twisted the finger, and Madoc's eys sprung open.  "How does that
feel?" the blond asked.

"Oh, that feels good...." Madoc gasped.

"Do you see what you've been missing?" Thom teased.  "Now, I'm going to
try to make it a little better with a second finger.  Stay relaxed."

He moved quickly, scooping up more grease abd readying his index and
middle fingers.  He rested them at Madoc's entrance and pushed gently.

Madoc felt them coming and tried to stay calm.  This was much farther
than he'd been able to go before.  He stared ahead at chests and old
furniture, but seeing none of it.  His entire world was what was behind
him.  The fingers entered hi, and they felt *big*.  His eyes closed and
his head drooped.

There was pain.  He wouldn't let it show on his face.  The knight tensed
up his body and hoped Thom didn't notice.  The fingers stopped moving in.
Instead they wiggled around Madoc groaned.  It was still painful, but it
felt wonderful.

The fingers twisted around sideways.  "Aagh!" Madoc cried.

Thom stopped dead.  "Are you okay?"

"Yes, I'm fine," Madoc said.  "Can we try now?"  He looked down at
Thom.

The blond smiled.  "Let's give it a try."

Madoc squatted over Thom's cock.  The ex-thief held it straight up.  The
brunet repositioned himself so that they lined up.  Madoc tried taking
Thom in.

Thom watched his lover.  His big naked body was damp with sweat.  His
eyes were shut and his brows furrowed, creasing his handsome face.  Thom
felt the heat of Madoc in the tip of his cock as Madoc tried to open up.

The High Guardsman bore down, trying not to seize up.

Lennox saw that Madoc was having trouble and whispered to Bastian.

Thom was watching Madoc, but he heard his friends rearrange themselves
beside him.

Madoc felt someone touch his penis.  He opened his eyes and saw Lennox
take it in his mouth.  The redhead was on his hands and knees, and Bastian
was entering him from behind again.  It seemed so easy.

Lennox suckled on Madoc's cock lovingly, and moaned when Bastian drove
himself fully into Lennox.

Madoc let go of the breath he'd been holding.  He let himself go with the
feeling of Lennox sucking on his cock.  His whole body relaxed.  He sagged
down, and the head of Thom's cock popped into Madoc's ass.

The knight cried out.  The pain was sharp and took him by surprise.

Lennox let go of Madoc and Thom squirmed his dick out of him.  The blond
sat up.  "Are you alright?"

"Yes, that just hurt.  I'll be fine."

Thom hugged Madoc.  "We got close, my love.  We'll make it soon."  Madoc
kissed him.

The four decided to reposition themselves a bit.  Thom went and washed
up.  He and Lennox lay on their sides and sucked each other and Madoc and
Lennox took their lovers' asses.

Thom and Lennox groaned.  Bastian smiled at Madoc.  Madoc leaned over and
put his hand between Thom and Lennox on the pallet.  He smiled at Bastian.

The mage met him halfway and kissed him.  Madoc laid a hand on Bastian's
shoulder.

It wasn't very long before all four of them would be cumming.  Thom
swallowed the sticky seed Lennox fed him, and Lennox felt Bastian's load
coat his insides.

Bastian left to get water and Lennox rolled onto his stomach to suck
Thom.  The blond's face was contorted in delight.  Almost-silent gasps
escaped from his mouth as his partner plunged into him.  His eyes were
closed and he clawed at the pallet beneath him.

Madoc moaned and thrust once, twice more and came.  He slumped forward as
he filled Thom with his essence.

Lastly, Thom could hold back no longer and fed Lennox his cream.  The
former captive sucked the precious fluid right out of Thom.

They lay there in a heap.  Bastian came back with the wash water,
stripped again, and joined them.  Madoc and he took the opportunity to
wash up.

The four male bodies came together again after their bonding.  They
touched and caressed each other and much of the attention was for Madoc,
consoling him, as though the loss he'd suffered in Ellaston was fresh.
Thom clung tightly to him and kissed his cheek.  Madoc held his love in
kind.

"As nice as this is," Bastian said finally, "we should get back to
looking for Kraid.  You found nothing near the docks?"

"No," Thom replied, "which seemed fishy to me.  I think they warned her
we would be coming.  Covering anything Lennox might think of."

"The perhaps the best chance we have is to look through the festival,"
Bastian said.  "The Marauders enjoy carousing.  That's one reason we think
they're here, isn't it, Lennox."

The redhead merely grinned and nodded.

Bastian smiled back.  "What do you say?" he asked of Thom and Madoc.

"I have no better thoughts.  We're down to searching the haystack.  Let's
look where the needles are."

  * * *

They were dressed in their colors:  gold, green, and red.  Lennox said he
was too tired to wander around, and Bastian knew the Marauders' faces as
well as he did by now.

The square before the inn where they were staying was packed with
revellers.  In the center of the square was a platform where a group of
Talvaedean sages sat waiting for the proceedings to begin.

The sages looked somehow more grey than their counterparts from the House
of the Earth.  They were paler, and seemed older than their years, unless
the sages were all elderly.

Thom looked to madoc to see whether he was reacting to the people who
represented the god who caused the murder of his family.  Sir Madoc merely
scanned the crowd with the same cold eyes he remembered when he'd first
met him.  The former thief realized his gaze had warmed since they'd
become close.  Thom frowned.

Bastian saw delegates from the temple of Garacon arriving.  The Ceremony
of the Changing of the Seasons would begin soon.

The three continued searching the crowd, but had found no one they
recognized by the ime the speakers were prepared to start.

"Gentles!" the Elder Sage bellowed.  "Your ears, if you would!"  The
crowd quieted, and granted the scholar their attention.

"The time has come for the Season of Summer to come to an end, and for
Autumn to take its stead.

"The Great God of Learning, Talvaed, watches over this time, for the
fruits of the coming harvest represent the knowledge we gain through the
hard work of study, the very knowledge of the soil and the seasons that
allows our farms to run.

"The Autumn is also a time of planning, of preparing for the death that
comes with winter, and it is this forethought that Great Talvaed prizes
most in our people."

As the lecture rambled on, Thom thought about the Gods and the Seasons,
and the sage mention of death in winter.  Thom's own god, Braggia, oversaw
the passing on winter.  People feared the Goddess of Shadow, fearing
death, but, as Thom was sure he was one of Braggia's own, he knew the
fears were unfounded.  None of the Gods wished ill for their people - as
long as you played by their rules.

"Have you spotted anyone?" Madoc whispered in his ear.

"Not yet," Thom murmured back.  His attention drifted back to the sage
who was speaking.

"And so," he was saying, "the moment has come when we shall take on the
mantle of the new Season.  Let the festivities begin!"

The gathered villagers and visitors cheered.  Music filled the air.  The
crowd began to mill about, and watching for faces as they went by became
more difficult.

Thom was glad to see that Madoc wasn't suggesting they split up to
search.  It would be foolish to chase a Marauder alone.  There were bound
to be more of them.

Bastian's eyebrows were knitted.  He was glaring across the common at
something.  "What is it?" Thom asked.

There was a man on horseback across the square.  He was staring straight
back at them.

"The coward," Bastian said.  "In our first encounter with the Marauders,
we lost two men.  One was shot by the archer.  *He* killed the other from
behind," Bastian remembered.  "His name is Addax."

Sir Madoc took off at a run.  When Addax saw him approach, he moved his
horse toward one of the roads leading out of the square.

"Madoc, wait!" Thom said and started after him.  Sir Bastian laid a hand
on his shoulder.

"Hold, Thom.  This isn't right."

"We can't let him go alone," Thom argued.

"First we saw no one, then he appears on horseback over the crowd.
Something is amiss.  Don't leave."

Sir Bastian closed his eyes.  He blotted out the crowd's cheers and talk,
the minstrel passing by and his like, the crackling of the fire on the
grille in the stall behind him.

Witches and warlocks bond when they examine each others' spell points.
They can see what the other can't.  Bastian hoped he had bonded with
Lennox enough to feel him.

He was in distress.

"Back to the tavern!"  Bastian dashed off, his hair flowing like a cape
behind him.

Thom followed, quickly catching up.  "Lennox?"

"Yes!"

The two rushed in, Thom charging ahead of the mage.  As they reached the
stairs to the attic, Bastian called out, "He's not there."

Thom stopped at the base of the stairs and Bastian came up to him.  The
door at the top was hanging open.  Thom took the stairs two at a time.
"Lennox?" he called.

He searched the garret without finding him.  He dashed downstairs to find
Bastian.  The mage was in the kitchen kneeling over the cook, who was
unconscious.

"He'll be fine," Bastian said, "but he didn't see where they took Lennox."

"They were following us," Thom said.  "Dammit, they knew Lennox would
lead us here.  They waited until we left him alone."

"I can find him, but I'll need your help.  I have to shut out everything
around me to sense him.  You'll have to lead me."

Thom nodded.  They left through the same side door Lennox's abductors
used and ran to the street.

Bastian concentrated and Thom took his hand.  They began a shambling walk
through the city.  Sir Bastian tried to head in a straight line to Lennox,
heedless of any buildings or people in his path.  Thom steered him down
the streets, and kept him from tripping over cobblestones, or getting his
robe caught.  Once, the two guards had to cut through a house, entering by
the door and leaving by a window, when finding a road to get to the same
point would have wasted too much time.

Thom smelled the sea and knew they were headed back to the docks.  They'd
also been going steadily downhill for some time.  They were following a
particularly steep road when Bastian suddenly cried out and doubled over.
He gripped Thom's hand painfully tight and nearly pulled the former thief
down with him.

When Thom regained his footing, he asked, "What's wrong?"

"They're hurting him...."

Thom's eyes flashed.  "Which way?"

They picked up the pace, but they were slowed down any time Bastian
staggered in sympathy to Lennox.

  * * *

"I need use of your horse, goodman," Sir Madoc said to the mechant.  His
eyes were on the Marauder who was slowly making his way out of the square.

"By all means, sir knight, take her," he replied.  Before the man had
finished talking, Madoc's foot was in the stirrup.

He eased the grey mare around the square, hoping to cut the bandit off
before he could leave.  The revellers blocked him, though, and Addax was
away.

"Clear a path!" Sir Madoc cried as he travelled the last few yards before
he could turn down the same avenue his quarry had taken.  Then he urged
his mount forward to make up the head start Addax had.

Both men had to duck to avoid the strings of flags that were hanging
across the street from store roofs, and with the festival's opening
ceremony having finished there were a few people to dodge.

Addax was making his way through quite well.  Whatever else could be said
about him, the man could handle a horse well.  But so could Madoc.

The crowd thinned out some and the riders went even faster through the
streets.

A parade blocked the way ahead.  Mummers were pulling a couple of carts
through the streets.  Sir Madoc hoped Addax would have to stop.

Instead the Marauder jumped over the coupling that connected the carts.
He grabbed a juggler's ball from out of the air and pitched it back at his
pursuer.

Madoc didged it easily, then coach his horse through the jump.  The mare
seemed to be very even-tempered.  It didn't hesitate despite the screams
of the panicking performers.

Addax led Madoc on a serpentine tour of the town, trying to lose him
around some corner or past an obstacle where the knight couldn't follow.
Sir Madoc was every bit as able to guide his mount as the highwayman was,
and the chase crisscrossed Annisport.

The Marauder turned down an alley.  Madoc followed some distance behind.

The tall buildings to either side of him cloaked the alley in shadow.
There was a bend up ahead where a shaft of sunlight lanced down through
the shade.

The knight urged his mare onward.  There could be a fork ahead, and Madoc
could lose his quarry.

Instead, when Madoc approached the turn, Addax came charging back towards
him.  He'd found a wooden board and swung it at Madoc's head as he passed.

The knight leaned back in his seat and watched the plank as it cut
through the air in front of his face.  In the end, Madoc passed completely
under the board.

The horse was still charging headlong for the wall.  Sir Madoc sat up and
regained control, turning his steed around the corner.

He was more determined to catch the Marauder now.  Either he was
desperate enough to attack, which made him dangerous, or he simply didn't
care whether he killed the knight or not, which made him more so.

  * * *

Sir Bastian was going mad.

Thom now had one hand gripping Bastian's and another with a firm grip on
his tabard to keep him from rushing forward.

He was grinding his teeth and growling.  His arms flailed at unseen
attackers.  They were drawing stares.

Thom hurried them along as much as they could.  Bastian certainly wanted
to run, but his reactions to what must certainly have been happening to
Lennox made it difficult.

Suddenly, Bastian reached back and made Thom let go.  "He's dying!" he
cried, then took off at a dead run.  Thom could only lag behind.

They came up to a plain wooden building, several times larger than any
house.

"He's in here.  Go and get help," Bastian commanded.

"If Lennox needs help, I should--"

Bastian turned to face Thom.  "Go.  Now!"

"By Braggia," Thom gasped, then turned and ran, as much to get the guard
as in fear of Sir Bastian.

You can tell what a man will do by looking in his eyes.  Judging by
Bastian's eyes, he was ready to do murder.

  * * *

Sir madoc emerged from the alley at a gallop.  Addax had left a wake
of confusion behind him, which made him easy to follow.  With luck,
the knight could catch him up.

He had quite a lead, but Madoc urged the horse onward, in the hopes
that Addax would encounter some obstacle that would slow him down.

After a few minutes, he caught sight of the flank of the horse Addax
was riding, disappearing around a corner.  There hadn't been any good
reason for him to slow down.  It was almost as though Addax wanted
Madoc to chase him.

The Marauder led him through town again, and the guard was able to
close the gap between them some.

Addax turned down a side street.  Madoc pulled up his horse at its
entrance, then rode down the main road.

The knight recognized that street.  He and Thom had taken it earlier
on their way to the docks.  It was a minor roadway with only two ways
in or out.  If Madoc was fast enough....

He found the other arm of the street and listened.  It seemed he had
beaten Addax there.  He pulled his tabard out of his belt and over
his head.  He backed up, waiting for the highwayman to emerge.

Madoc waited just out of sight of the side road until he heard the
hoofbeeats of the robber's horse approaching.  When Addax drew near,
Madoc charged into the crossroads, waving his bright tabard and
yelling, "Hyeah!"

Addax's horse reared up on his hind legs.  The rider was thrown from
his saddle.  He landed on his back on the cobblestones.

Madoc dismounted quickly.  He checked Addax for injuries.  He'd been
very unfortunate.  He seemed to have only had the wind knocked out of
him and a blow to the head when he landed.

A group of the city guard was rushing down the street a block away.
Madoc called out to them for help.  Two jogged over.

"This man is one of Kraid's Marauders.  I need your help to get him
in irons and return this horse."  He gestured to the road the other
guards took.  "What's going on over there?"

"A knight-errant came bursting into the stationhouse saying that
Kraid's Marauders were in a warehouse by the docks and he needed us
to come in a hurry.  Do you know him?"

"Thom!  You two take both horses and this man into custody.  I'll go
to the warehouse."

Without another word, Sir Madoc dashed after the guards that had
gone by.

  * * *

Thom found the warehouse again easily enough.

As he and the half-dozen or so guards at this door were ready to charge
in, a man came running out.  His clothes were half-burned and he looked
white as a sheet.

He stopped when he saw the patrolman in front of him.  He looked unsure,
wondering whether to run.

The man dropped to his knees.  "Please spare me!  I won't run away, just
don't take me back in there!"

"He's one of them, I'm sure," Thom said, "but with luck we can make
certain later."  The man was taken off an the remaining guards went in.

The smell inside was awful.  The stench of burnt meat was everywhere.
There were charred crates, many still glowing red in places, in overturned
stacks on the floor.  They advanced.

A few paces later, they found the first body.  Thom but back the urge to
retch.  A man had had half of his body badly burnt.  One of the other
guards turned and dashed outside.

When Bastian told him to get help, Thom recalled, his wolfish grey eyes
had turned blood red.

He moved on, looking for the mage.

The other half of his troupe called out.  They'd found someone.  Thom led
his group in their direction.

A fortyish, greying man stood surrounded by guardsmen.  On guard had his
hand on the man's shoulder.

"That," Thom said, pointing, "is the notorious thief, Kraid.  Be careful
of him.  He's very dangerous.  Has someone brought a rope or irons for
him?"

Several of the guards stepped back.  One shakily took the manacles from
his belt and approached the killer and robber.

Thom looked around.  "Where's Bastian?" he asked.  He turned back to Kraid.

Later on, Thom couldn't describe what he saw.  All he could say was that
he looked Kraid in the eye, and knew what he was about to do.  The head
Marauder had the time to raise his own arm and lunge at the throat of the
guard who was holding him before the dagger Thom had thrown caught Kraid
in the chest, knocking him back.

Kraid looked stunned as he grabbed at the blade that pierced his body.
He glared at Thom and collapsed, the sleeve-blade in his hand clattered to
the floor of the warehouse.

Kraid was dead.

The man who'd held his shoulder put his hand to his cheek.  His fingers
had blood on them.  The guard fainted.

Thom regained composure to speak again.  He looked one guard in the eye,
and started giving orders.  "Get him back to the garrison.  You!"  He
pointed to another.  "Take that knife to an alchemist.  Have him check it
for poisons.  If he doesn't find any, find another alchemist and be sure.
Move!"

The second guard scra,bled to pick up the knife.

"And don't cut yourself on the thing.  We don't need to worry about two
of you.  You!  Go with him in case something happens.  The rest of you:
look for more survivors, bind them up no matter who they are and look for
a long-haired mage."

"Thom?" they heard from some distance away.

He recognized that voice, but how?  "Madoc, is that you?"

"It's Sir Bastian!  Please hurry."

He ran over.  In the corner of the warehouse was a pillar.  Lennox, his
clothes mostly torn, was lashed to it.  Thankfully, he seemed unmarked.

He was looking down and weeping.  When Thom came closer, he saw Sir
Madoc, crouched over the mage's still body.