by Matthew Lang
“How is it that you’re so good at this?” Adam asked.
“Back in Aergon, before I… left… I sometimes worked in the baths. We—they—have hot water from underground lakes or something. There’s a word for it, but I can’t remember what it is. Anyway, there are big public baths, and massage skills were highly prized. It was a very good way to get money, although I was mostly there to keep the place clean or wash towels.”
“I thought you were a hunter.”
“My father taught me to hunt, yes,” Duin said. “But all Aergonites are expected to learn a second skill as well as apprentice to one of their parents. It is meant to prevent us—them—from losing skills as a people. I had almost forgotten I knew how to do this, truthfully. I wasn’t doing it long before… the rite.”
Adam heard a rustle of fabric and turned his head to see Duin pull off his shirt and lay it to one side before using his forearms to apply pressure up and down Adam’s back in an almost scissoring motion.
“If you’re going to do that, you might want to take your pants off as well,” Adam suggested slyly. “I’m not sure you want to get too much of this oil on them.”
Duin paused for a moment and then grunted his agreement. Out of the corner of his eye, Adam was treated to the sight of the man peeling off his trousers and smallclothes and returning to the mat in glorious nudity. The throbbing in Adam’s groin grew more insistent, and he sighed with guilty pleasure as Duin knelt again, warm fingers slowly turning Adam’s muscles into putty.
“Why does Aergon have a court necromancer?” Adam asked, in an attempt to quiet his lustful feelings. “Isn’t a necromancer someone who animates the dead or something?”
“Yes,” Duin said. “And that is exactly why Aergon has a court necromancer. They’re not a numerous people, Sir Adam—”
“Just Adam, please.”
“Of course… Adam,” Duin amended. “The Caverns of Aergon are a dangerous place—safer than here, perhaps, but still dangerous. Not all of the lizards are tame, and there are cave spiders as big, if not bigger, than the lizards. Good eating, but not safe. And the kanak know where the entrances to the caverns are, as you saw. Sometimes their raids are not as impressive, but too often a hunter will not come home or a forager’s basket is found torn into pieces. Sometimes children sneak up to the surface and never come back.”
“Or are sent above and lost to society?” Adam asked.
Duin’s hands stilled. “I had not thought of it that way, but I suppose there is that too.”
The turn of conversation had caused Adam to deflate somewhat as he pondered the society Duin had left behind—and the society that Princess Esmeralda and the others were so desperate to save. “That sounds rough.”
“I am not sure,” Duin replied. “Compared to life alone in the light, it is not that bad. Time to turn over, I think.”
“Hmm? Oh right,” Adam said, rolling over onto his back and, funnily enough, staring at the ceiling properly for the first time. The stone here was a deep earthy brown, and there were enough ridges and broken points in the rock to catch the light to show where the stalactites had been hacked off in order to clear space inside the cavern. Given the position of the light behind Duin, his features were hidden in shadow, so much so that he appeared to be a silhouette, all long lines tapering in to a narrow waist, with the only highlighted details being the contours of his shoulders and the hollow of his neck.
As Duin worked his hands slowly over Adam’s chest, calloused fingers brushed over sensitive nipples, and Adam found his body responding to the touch in its usual, predictable fashion. It was not long before Duin noticed the effect his ministrations were having, and his hands slowed mere finger-widths from Adam’s pubic bush.
“Adam… you… I….”
Smiling in the dark, Adam covered both of Duin’s hands with one of his own, and then cupped the man’s chin with his free hand. Sitting up, he pressed his lips to Duin’s surprised mouth. The man was slow to respond, but then he parted his lips, allowing Adam’s tongue to invade his mouth, slicking up against his tongue. Duin half melted into Adam, his upper body following Adam back onto the mat, and he pulled Adam close with a ferocity, passion, and fervor Adam hadn’t expected. In the near darkness of the lonely cave, teeth bumped against teeth and hands sizzled over skin, Duin now gripping at Adam’s skull through his hair as he pressed his mouth more firmly against Adam’s own. Adam sought Duin’s crotch, gripping a cock as hard and proud as his own and eliciting a soft whine. Adam took the opportunity to roll them both over so Duin was on his back and Adam on top, grinding their oil-slicked bodies together.
Then he kissed his way along Duin’s jaw and down the man’s chest, where he teased Duin’s nipples with teeth and tongue, the peppery sweetness of the unguent sticking to his lips as Duin twitched and bucked beneath him. The tingling of the oil only added to the sensations of skin on skin, and Duin’s hands roamed over Adam’s body, seemingly determined to touch every square inch of him. Adam kissed his way down Duin’s taut abdomen and brushed his day-old stubble across the sensitive head of Duin’s cock, eliciting a groan as Duin’s fingers dug into Adam’s shoulders. Adam chuckled and paused, holding off doing anything for so long that Duin looked at him, eyes as wild as his hair and lips moist and parted. Plastering on his most devilish grin, Adam held Duin’s gaze as he slowly sank his lips over Duin’s manhood, fighting the urge to close his eyes as he enjoyed the sticky sweet taste of precum. Duin’s responses were pure, uninhibited, and a sudden thrust caused Adam to gag.
“Adam?” Duin was cradling him in a flash, touching his face with concern. “Did I do something wrong?”
“You went in too deep,” Adam gasped, wiping at his eyes. “Gag reflex.”
“I cannot believe you did that.”
“I like it,” Adam said. “Didn’t you?”
“Oh yes, very much.”
Adam turned and kissed Duin’s cheek. “Exactly. I like that you like it. Making you feel good makes me feel good. Plus your precum is tasty.”
“Precum?”
Adam laughed and reached out to swipe a glob of the fluid off Duin’s member. “See?”
“That?”
Adam nodded and licked his finger, and then pressed his lips to Duin’s again before Duin could react. “What do you think?”
“I’m not sure,” Duin said. Then he pushed Adam flat on his back and pinned him to the mat. “I think I might need a bit more to taste—and I still have not finished your massage.”
“Screw the massage.” Adam gasped as he felt Duin’s mouth engulf his prick and then pull off with a popping sound.
“No,” Duin said. “Or you will be stiff and sore when we ride out.”
“So you can massage me again,” Adam suggested as Duin rubbed more of the oil onto the front of his legs.
Duin chuckled. “Only if we get privacy like we are right now.”
“Ah, good point,” Adam said as he ran his hand along Duin’s back to his ass. “I suppose we might have to be quiet as well. Just in case they come to investigate.”
Duin paused, grinned, and took Adam back into his mouth, and Adam had to stifle his own groans as Duin held his hips down to ride out Adam’s involuntary thrusts.
“I think I like yours better,” Duin said.
“Funny, I don’t,” Adam replied, his fingers ghosting over Duin’s testicles, causing him to shiver. “Come back here, you’re too far away.”
Duin grinned and started to worm his way back up Adam’s body, then paused to tease Adam’s nipples in the same way Adam had teased him. Adam growled in mock irritation, pulled Duin up, and kissed him savagely. As their bodies ground and thrust together, Adam felt his orgasm rising, his balls clenching as his oil-slicked member thrust against Duin’s. Wrapping his arms around Duin, Adam kissed him desperately, feeling his heart hammering against his ribs as his balls clenched, his cock swelled, and then he was shooting between their bodies, and Duin’s hands were digging into his shoulders, and
the man was whimpering into Adam’s mouth as he shot his own pleasure, mingling their seed together as they both came down from their orgasmic highs.
For a time they were still, the only sound being their breath, heavy with their exertion. As he lay on the mat, feeling Duin relax against him, Adam turned his head and kissed Duin’s temple, his right hand gently stroking the striped skin of Duin’s side.
“I think that was officially the best massage I’ve ever had,” Adam ventured.
“That’s not normally how mine end,” Duin said.
“Normally?”
“Perhaps a few times.”
“Seriously?”
“No,” Duin said. “Some people in the bathhouse did, but I did not know it was happening until I was nearly old enough for the rite… and, well…. Look, it happens, but I never wanted to…. People looked down on those who did, and….”
“I get it,” Adam said. “And I want you to know that I don’t think any less of you now,” he added, emphasizing his feelings with a lingering kiss.
They lay in silence for a few blissful minutes, and then Duin got up and laughed a bit at the mess they had made. “There’s still some water left that we can clean ourselves with,” he said. “It was meant to be used after your massage but….”
“Duin, this is after my massage,” Adam pointed out.
“True,” Duin said.
They used a rag to wipe themselves down, giggling like two naughty schoolboys and not doing too good a job, but the oil appeared to have absorbed easily into their skin. When they were clean enough, they dressed and ventured out into the light, Duin again going through the strange transformation from near-naked man to one clothed in chestnut striped fur. This time Adam appreciated how much Duin’s physical stature grew when the transformation occurred, with the man adding a good three inches in height and a fair bit more in terms of raw muscle. Suddenly the leather pants that had been hanging low around his waist were sitting snugly on a muscled backside, and the shirt that had seemed so baggy and voluminous now threatened to burst at the seams. For more than a few seconds, Adam watched, mesmerized by his friend’s new physique, and then hurried to catch up when Duin turned around, one brow raised quizzically.
“You grew,” Adam said hastily, feeling a slight heat on his cheeks.
“I know,” Duin said. “It is the blessing—or curse—of Selune.”
“Just as long as you didn’t think I was perving,” Adam said with a grin.
“Since I do not know what that means, I can honestly say I was not thinking that at all,” Duin said.
“Good.”
“But I can make a good guess from context.”
“Less good,” Adam said.
Duin smiled. “I’m not sure I mind.”
“Okay, now you’re just being a tease.”
THEY FOUND Xavier, Darius, and Esmeralda sitting outside around the remains of last sleep’s fire pit, with all four of the riding lizards tethered nearby. Darius was checking his weapons, and Xavier was grinding up some leaves and roots in a small mortar and pestle. To Adam’s surprise, Esmeralda had a needle and thread and was mending a number of ripped garments—including Adam’s long-sleeved shirt. Noting Adam’s gaze, she smiled serenely at him.
“We all have to help where we can,” she said. “It is good to see you back on your feet.”
“Thank you, Your Highness,” Adam said. “I apologize for slowing your journey.”
“It is of no matter,” Esmeralda said. “Safe resting places may be hard to find in the coming sleeps, so we should indulge while we can. I trust you have not suffered any ill effects from our journey so far?”
“I did, but I’m all right now. I don’t know what is in that oil, but it was amazingly effective.”
“You’d have to ask Magister Xavier about the specifics,” Esmeralda said. “He’s the one who made it.”
“Thank you, Magister Xavier,” Adam said as formally as possible, although he resisted the urge to bob his head in a pseudo bow.
“You’re welcome,” Xavier said. “It’s nothing out of the ordinary. A few herbs and roots, and an extract from the heart of a jeweled jumping spider. Not too much, of course, as they can have some interesting side effects.”
“Xavier, it is rumored to have those side effects,” Esmeralda corrected.
“What side effects?” Adam asked.
“Some people believe it works as an aphrodisiac if ingested,” Esmeralda said primly. “I doubt that personally.”
Xavier winked at Adam over her head. “Well, as the princess said, only if ingested. Keep the unguent. You’ll probably need it over the next few sleeps if you’re riding for the first time. It would be nice if we had more time to rest here, but Darius feels it best to press on.”
Darius nodded. “There’s little sign of kanak, but they could see smoke from our fire and come to investigate—and there’s signs of slasherclaws in the area, and they’re best avoided.”
“Slasherclaws?” Adam asked.
“Two-legged lizards about as big as, well, you,” Darius said, the ghost of a smile touching his lips. “They’re pack hunters with sharp toe-claws—one slice would gut you like a flitterfish.”
“Oh, like a deinonychus.”
“What’s a dino—whatever it was you said?” Xavier asked.
“Something we used to have where I’m from,” Adam said. “They hunted in packs, were about as big as me, and had large claws on their feet. They died out a long time ago.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. A comet fell from the sky and wiped them out,” Adam said. “Wiped out a lot of things, actually.”
“That’s… incredible.” Xavier paused for a moment and then shook his head. “I can’t imagine what that would be like.”
“I don’t really know,” Adam said. “It was long before my time.”
“So you’ve never seen one alive?”
“No, only their bones. But as much as I’d like to see a real one, I’d rather not see them up close, if that’s all right with you.”
“We can hope, but just to be safe, let’s fit this to you,” Darius said, lifting the pieces of armor Adam had found in the storeroom yesterday—or rather, yestersleep, as the locals might call it.
“That was way too small for me,” Adam said.
“Yes, it was,” Darius said with a grin. “I have modified it. It won’t be a perfect fit, but it’s the best we can do.”
Curious, Adam walked over, noting in passing that Duin had hauled out his bag of nuts and was back to cracking them open between two flat stones. Darius had used a leather jerkin as the basis for a new suit of armor, with stitching removed along the sides and new panels sewn in to accommodate Adam’s larger frame. The beetle-black armored plating was then secured over the stop with straps and buckles. The backplate and breastplate appeared to be made with the flattened wing cases of an insect that must have been a good three or four feet in length, and there were shoulder guards to match. The leather straps went under the shoulder guards and around the sides of his chest, buckling in along the sides in a second concession to Adam’s frame.
“How did you take it apart so easily?” Adam asked.
“I didn’t,” Darius said. “A full set of carapace armor comes in three pieces. The sides of the cuirass are riveted to the padding you’d wear underneath, as are the rerebraces. The shoulder guard, breastplate, and backplate are separate. When properly fitted, you’d need a precision strike to find a weak point, and the kanak aren’t known for finesse.”
“I got that impression, yes,” Adam said wryly.
“You’ll also need these,” Darius said, lifting two smaller curved sections of padded armor, with more straps.
“Bracers?” Adam asked.
“Yes,” Darius replied. “I suggest we try them once you’ve got used to wearing the armor. You’re already bearing a lot of extra weight.”
“And you’ll probably be sore again when we stop to sleep,” Xavier piped up.
<
br /> “Thanks,” Adam said dryly.
“You are welcome.”
“So where exactly are we planning on moving on to?” Adam asked when he sat back down next to Duin, absently reaching for a nut and getting his hand slapped for his troubles.
“An excellent question,” Esmeralda said. “Darius, have we worked out which direction we need to travel in yet?”
Darius shook his head. “North dark or north-north dark is my best guess. I’m sorry, Your Highness, but I haven’t had much to go on.”
“I gave you the best I had!” Xavier said defensively. “The texts I’m working with are not exactly clear, and most of my scrolls were lost when we were ambushed!”
Adam turned to Esmeralda. “I’m sorry, but I have no idea what any of that meant, Your Highness,” he said.
Esmeralda laughed. “We’re seeking Wyrmbane, the sword of Fernando Aergon.”
“Don’t tell me; let me guess. It kills wyrms?”
“According to legend, it cuts through dragon hide like a soft-boiled egg,” Darius said, a steely glint appearing in his eye. “King Conrad is failing, and the princess… that is, we all believe it is time to return to our home on the surface.”
“So… once you get this weapon, you’re going up against a dragon, then?”
Darius glanced at Esmeralda. “Perhaps,” he said. “We still do not know who is destined to wield it.”
“Destined?”
“There are some prophecies,” Esmeralda said simply. “But they are a little obscure.”
“It doesn’t matter,” Xavier said. “The point is, we came to the surface to find the sword, and by the time we find it and return, the caverns should be open to us once again.”
“Assuming we can find the ruins of Fernando’s Keep,” Darius corrected. “The directions Xavier had were on our map, but that was one of the important things to go… missing.”
“And you can’t remember them all?”
“Not all the fine detail, no,” Xavier replied. “A lot of the directions were conjecture in any case, based on what I and my predecessors could decipher from journals and documents Fernando’s people kept during the Long March to the Caverns of Aergon. I do not have all of those documents—they were too precious and fragile to bring along. Unfortunately they also referenced landmarks we may not see now, given that journey was undertaken some four or five generations ago.”
