Date: Sat, 12 Mar 2005 08:53:36 -0800 (PST)
From: JMH <trandar2002@yahoo.com>
Subject: The Guild chp #23

Now halfway done with the rough draft of the followup story.  I hope you
continue to enjoy this tale.

				    JMH

			   trandar2002@yahoo.com

	    http://groups.yahoo.com/group/adultwritingworkshop/

******************************************************************

            After the airship landed on the largest of the three Quill
islands, Joshua did not know what to do so he wandered the skyport until
a security guard approached him.  "I've been watching you for the last
three hours and I have to say I have never seen a man look as lost as you
do."

            "I need to get to a hotel."  Joshua said, his frustration
coloring his voice.

            "Well there are plenty of them around.  Do you know what you
want?"

            "One with a bed... and a bath tub."  Joshua replied not
knowing what else a hotel could have.

            "A bed and a bath tub... that's funny."  The man laughed.
"Tell me have you come here to sight see...

Joshua shook his head.

"No you don't have a camera."  The man agreed.  "How about
partying?"  The man said as he tried to sniff Joshua's breath.  "No
you don't drink. And you are too young to be one of the old folk who
come here to comb the beach.  I know... let me look in one of your bags
and see what we come up with."

Joshua... not able to think of any better ideas handed the man one of
Falcon's shopping bags... unfortunately Joshua handed him the wrong one
for the man quickly pulled out a dildo.

"Oh my..."  The man whistled.  "Now I know why you did not tell me why
you came here... you were too embarrassed."

"Uhhhhhh."  Joshua mumbled, his face turning bright red as he stanch
the phallus from the security guard's hands.

"Don't worry your secret is safe with me... at least I can tell you
which hotel to go to."

"Really?"  Joshua asked hopefully.

"Yep... you want to go to Sparta... lots of strapping young men there.
Shall I hail a hover cab for you?"

"Please."  Joshua nodded.

The security guard led Joshua outside and gave a shrill whistle.  In no
time a hover car pulled next to them.

"Where to?"  The driver asked.

"Sparta."  The security guard replied.

"That's on the small island and so will be a flat fee of two hundred
credits... up front."

Joshua reached into the shopping bag but this time only pulled out one
Guild note.  The cab driver looked at it suspiciously, held it up to a
light, nodded and handed Joshua his change.

It was a forty minute trip from the main island to the small one but it
gave Joshua his first view of the ocean just as the sun began to set.
"Beautiful..."  Joshua sighed.

"What was that sir?"  The driver asked.

"The sunset is beautiful."

The man gave the panorama of color a brief glance.  "Yeah it is... I
guess I've lived here so long I've stopped noticing it."

 On arriving at the hotel Joshua made his way to the front lobby,
receiving not just a few looks by several of the guests.  At the front
desk a man with short spiky black hair, green eyes and a deep tropical
tan smiled widely when Joshua reached him.  "Welcome to Sparta... the
only gay resort in the Quills islands."

On hearing the word `gay' Joshua brow furrowed... not understanding what
the word meant but not wanting to look any more stupid then he already
had today he did not ask.  "Can I have a room please?"

"Do you have a reservation?"

This time Joshua could not help but ask a question.  "A reservation?"

"I'll take that as a no."  The man laughed. "Well you are lucky you
arrived on a Wednesday. We have a few deluxe rooms available before the
big party on Saturday.

"Do they have a view of the ocean?"  Joshua asked.

"Ummmm no they don't.  The name deluxe is sort of a misnomer."

"Misnomer?"

"Misleading."

"I see.

"We call them deluxe but really they are the cheapest rooms we have, all
facing inland."

"Do you have any rooms facing the sea?"  Joshua asked hopefully.

"No rooms per say but we do have a bungalow."

"A bungalow?"  Joshua said not able to picture it in his mind.

"You know like a condo?"

Joshua shook his head.

"It's a house... a small house."

"I see... and it has a view of the ocean?"

"The best in Sparta... which is the entire island."

"Can I stay there?"  Joshua asked.

"You sure can... if you can afford it.  It is three thousand credits a
night.  But with that you get your own personal chef, butler, and fresh
flowers every day.

"Will this be enough?"  Joshua asked as he dumped all his bags onto the
counter.

"Oh my..."  The man whistled... he did not know how much was there but he
would not be surprised if there was over a million Guild credits... well a
million credits, a bottle of lube and a dildo.  "Let me get my
manager."  The man excused himself.

As Joshua waited an ever increasing crowd was gathering around him. He
did not know what he did wrong but he was sure he had made a fool of
himself again.  Eventually the manager arrived.

"Will someone bring security here?"  The manager looked a lot like the
first man except he was a little taller, with gray hair, and dressed in a
suit like Joshua's.

Once security had arrived the manager turned his attention on Joshua.
"Will you come with me please?" Joshua felt sure he was in trouble as
he was led into a conference room.  "Would you care to sit down sir?"
The manager asked as he waved to a seat.

 "Thank you."  Joshua nodded as he sat in the cushioned chair.

"Sir I hope you don't take this the wrong way but would you please tell
me how you came by some much cash."

"My father gave it to me."  Joshua said honestly.

"Your father... and whom may he be?"

"Uhmmm..."  Joshua replied nervously.

"I see... I think I will have to call in the authorities then."  The man
said as he made to leave.

"No... please don't."  Joshua begged, jumping from his chair only to
face the barrel of a gun.

"Are going to tell me how you came by that money then?"

"My father gave it to me."  Joshua repeated.

"And who is your father?" The man demanded, the gun held firmly in his
hand.

"I can't tell you."

"Then we are done here.  The police will be here shortly.  The manager
said as he pocketed the gun and reached for the door knob.

Just as the door was about to open Joshua blurted the name out.  "Falcon
Van'dar."

"Falcon Van'dar?"  The man said in shock, closing the door but not
letting go of the door knob.  "Is that some kind of joke?"

"My father is Falcon Van'dar."  Joshua repeated.

"Falcon Van'dar has no children.  He died childless on some dirtball of
a dark world."

"Wor..."  Joshua replied.  "The planet was Wor."

The man let go of the door knob and turned to face Joshua.  "How did you
know that?"

"Falcon Van'dar is my father."  Joshua said again.

"And I tell you that is impossible.  You don't even look like him.  Not
with that bad dye job."

"How can I make you believe me?"

"DNA test."  The man offered.

"What is that?" Joshua asked confused.

"We take a sample of your blood and compare it to the Van'dar family
blood line."

"But my blood is not my own.  It's Thomas'."

"So now you are saying that you switched bodies with a person?"  The
man said in disbelief.

"It's true."

"The next thing you are going to tell me is that you are that
counterpart the Guild is looking for."

"..."  Joshua went silent.

"Do you even have anything to prove you even know Falcon... a picture of
him?"

"No..." Joshua said as he looked down at his ring.  "He gave me this
though."

The manager took the ring from Joshua and looked at it intensely.
"Would you mind if I removed the stone?"

"Will you fix it later?"  Joshua asked, concerned.

"I will."  The man nodded as he took out a knife from his pocket and
popped the stone from its setting.  He then carried the large red gem to
a small read out machine.  After dimming the lights the manager turned
the machine on.

As an intense laser passed through the gem a three dimensional hologram
appeared in midair...an image of Falcon Van'dar.

"You were telling me the truth."  The man said in shock.

**********************************************

Falcon had thought he was ready for any surprise... he had not however
expected two young men engaged in anal intercourse to appear out of
nowhere however.  "By the light!"

"Joshua!"  One of the two young men shouted while adjusting what Falcon
took for a primitive toga.

"Over here Austin."  The taller and more muscular of the two men said
as he pointed to the tank.

"Austin... Austin... where do I know that name."  Falcon tried to think
through the drug induced haze.

"Looks like you brought us to his body but not his mind." The larger
man grunted.

"Hey... you told me to bring you to Joshua and so I have... Cute isn't
he."

"Very... but this does not bring us any closer to finding him."

Just then, while the two half naked men argued among themselves Falcon
realized who Austin was... Joshua's friend who could travel through
warped space. "Austin!"  Falcon shouted.

With a sudden jump the wiry young man turned around and faced Falcon.
"Who are you?"

"My name is Falcon Van'dar... a friend of Joshua's."

"Why are you tied up like that?"  Austin asked.  "Does Gerick have
Joshua already... are we too late?"

"No you're not but there is not much time."

"Do you know where Joshua is?"  Vard asked.

"No... when I knew I would be captured I sent Joshua away without telling
him where to go."

"Why did you do that?" Austin asked.

"So he would not be able to tell Gerick where Joshua is." Vard replied.

"So you don't have any clue where Joshua is?"

"All I know is that he is somewhere on Aquarius."

"Then we will go to Aquarius."  Vard said.

"Are you Vard?"  Falcon asked.

"Yes."

"Promise me you will not let Joshua come after me.  It is too
dangerous."

"May I ask what sort of friend you are to Joshua?"

Falcon nodded his head.  "I am his lover, his Protector... and while he
would deny it I am also his father."

"I see... then I promise.  I will not let Joshua try to rescue you.  I
will come for you myself uncle."  Vard swore just as Austin wrapped his
arms around him sending them both back into the Void.

********************************************



"You were telling me the truth," The manager repeated.  "I can't
believe it.  When did you last see Falcon?   Is he still alive?"

"As far as I am aware he still is," Joshua replied, not sure how much
of the truth to tell the man.  "May I ask how you know Falcon?"

"He is my brother," The man replied.

Joshua looked at the manager...  he was shorter by at least a hand, had a
wiry frame, and his hair was the same gray as his eyes but there was
something about the nose and his lips that reminded Joshua of Falcon.
"So that would make you my uncle?"

"It seems so."

"So tell me... what ever happened to him and my sister?  All I was ever
told was that they died on Wor.  Did they?"

"No..."  Joshua sighed.

"So my sister is alive as well?'  The man asked hopefully.

"No..."  Joshua replied.

"Why do I think there is a lot more to this story then the word
`no'," The man laughed.

"There is."  Joshua nodded sadly, his eyes focused on Falcon's
hologram.

"Well I think I can guess part of it... you are in love with him."

"How did you know?"

"Easy... I had that same look on my face with Falcon and Terra went away
to join the Guild."

"You and he were..."

"Lovers... both Terra and I both ended up being seduced by our kid
brother."  The man chuckled as if he were remembering something fondly.

"He didn't seduce me... I seduced him."

"Good for you."

"What is your name?'  Joshua asked.

"Tidal... do you know why?"

"No."

"My brother was named Falcon after the sky, my sister Terra for the
Earth, me... I was named after the oceans.  When my Sister rose to the
rank of Guild Mistress with my brother as her Protector, they bought me
this island.  They thought it fitting that I live by the sea.  It was
sort of their way of asking for forgiveness for leaving me behind."

"You still miss them?"

"Yes... I was only twenty one when they went to Wor... a year later I was
told they were dead.  I miss them... I miss them terribly."

Joshua, seeing the pain in Tidal's eyes, walked over and embraced him.
The man responded by resting his face on Joshua's chest as he cried.

This scene lasted for some time until a knock on the door caused both men
to jump.  Tidal then excused himself... when he came back he was followed
in by the young man with the spiky black hair who had first greeted
Joshua.

"Mathew I would like you to meet Jonathan.  Jonathan... this is Mathew...
my son."  Tidal introduced.

"Call me Matt."  Mathew grinned.

"Hi..."  Joshua smiled as he reached for the other man's hand.  On
touching his skin Joshua felt a familiar jolt... the touch of a birth
kin.

"I hope you two can get along."  Tidal said.

"I won't worry."  Joshua chuckled as he watched Matt's eye go wide.

**************************************************



While Tidal invited Joshua to stay with them at their house, Joshua
decided to go with his original plan of using the bungalow.  Tidal agreed
but told Joshua he would still have to charge him for it... nephew or
not.  That was not a problem given that the total number of credits he
had dumped on the hotel counter totaled over two and a half million.  It
seemed that Falcon had been busy collecting money from several businesses
with which he had invested in.

Two other things quickly became evident to Tidal... one was that Joshua
had no understanding of he concept of money... the other was that the boy
was illiterate.  This had become clear when Tidal had asked Joshua to
sign the guest book and fill out a questionnaire on which he had checked
every box.

Those two facts however did not change Tidal's belief that Joshua was
indeed Falcon's brother... in fact it helped prove it given that Wor was
a dark world.  Still Tidal felt that Joshua indeed needed some serious
looking after and so assigned his son to the job with strict orders to
keep Joshua away from the casino and the hustlers.  In the meantime Tidal
would do some more snooping into what really happed to his brother and
sister.

"So..." Matt asked as he scanned Joshua's thumb print into the
computer.  "I have a rich cousin... cool."

"I did not even know I was rich."  Joshua blushed.

"That's what all the rich boys say."  Matt laughed.  He then picked up
the dildo and bottle of lube.  "You have any more luggage then this?"

"No..."  Joshua said as his face turned an even deeper shade of red.

Well I think we are all done here... care to follow me."  Matt said as he
left the front desk.  Taking Joshua outside, Matt led him along a covered
walkway till they arrived at a large one story hut.  Joshua then watched
as Matt pressed his thumb on the door which was followed by a click
sound.  Next Matt opened the door and led Joshua in.

"The butler and chef won't be here till morning but we can call in for
room service.  You do know what that is?"

"Yes," Joshua nodded... Falcon had made sure that he knew how to call in
for food.

"Good... would you like me to read the menu for you?"

"Please."  Joshua nodded as he worked off his tie.

While Matt described the items on the menu with all their flowery
descriptions, Josh continue to undress till all he had on was a pair of
shorts that Falcon had called boxers.  He then took the menu away from
Matt, placed it down on the bar, leaned forward and kissed him.

An hour later while Joshua was munching on a hamburger and a plate of
fries, Matt however did not touch his food... Joshua was indeed full of
surprises... he could not read or write and was terrible with numbers but
he had just proven himself a master of the bedroom.  Not knowing even
half of the little that Joshua had told his father, Matt's first
suspicion was that Joshua had to be an illiterate high class hustler.  It
was the only way Matt could explain why Joshua would have so much cash on
him when most transactions were done by thumb print. Such suspicions did
not help Matt form a good opinion of the young man.

"Joshua what job do you have?"  Matt asked.

"Job... what you do for a living."

"I was a miner."  Joshua said evasively.

"So what do you do now?  I mean you did not get all that money digging I
out of rocks."

Joshua let out a deep sigh.  "I'm going to bed now... good night."

"Hey don't be like that... I'm just trying to get to know you."  Matt
said defensively.

Feeling dejected Matt pick up Joshua dildo.  "Looks like it will only be
you and me tonight."