Throughout the battle, Tenber never found it necessary to draw his sword, seek cover, or move his horse. He sat there astride Zephyr, watching it all as if it had been a parade ground exercise.
Now was his time for action. He had men dead and wounded, prisoners to deal with, most of them wounded to some degree, much to do. Now he kicked his heels into Zephyr’s flanks and rode toward the carnage. It was not yet ten o’clock in the morning.
By late afternoon, he was exhausted. He had lost a quarter of his force, thirty-seven men dead, the rest wounded and out of action for varying amounts of time. Lesleran-Cederel had lost half of the eighty-seven men provided, most of those dead, Kenesman and Fediresta had lost less, a score of men total. Tenber now had some two hundred prisoners, who had to be cared for and guarded. And interrogated. They had captured all six cannon.
What they didn’t have was Bartrenk. Tenber was sitting on a rocky rise, a pile of stones that had been placed here for some unknown reason, left alone for at least a brief time, exhausted.
He saw the boots and sighed, looked up. “Yes?” he said before he realized that the boots belonged to Captain Lustrel.
“I’ve been interrogating the prisoners.” Captain Lustrel reminded him. Tenber had asked him to take over that duty, with an eye both to finding Bartrenk and learning what lay ahead for them in their sweep westward.
“What have you learned?” Tenber said, rubbed his eyes. “Pray make it brief, for I am weary.”
“We have won.” Lustrel said. “Bartrenk is dead, we have his body identified by more than one of his men. He had so many men here because he had brought in everyone he had for this battle. The way to Merlemagne is clear of any organized force of bandits, we need only mop up as we go.”
Tenber smiled thinly. “I am surprised it has been this easy.”
“Bartrenk wasn’t expecting to meet with such resistance. Between his numbers and the cannon, he thought the men would break and run, like the Lesleran-Cederel men did.” Lustrel said. “You even planned for it. Put the men most disciplined on either side of the least disciplined. Used them to draw the bandits into your encircling action.” Now that face was lined with smiles, Captain Lustrel was showing the fine white teeth and dark eyes that could burn into the soul, the power of the pure Nestry blood. Tenber counted himself lucky that he carried some measure of it for his own, and found the undiluted potion intoxicating.
“And to show all who watched how discipline is necessary to any army.” Tenber agreed. “I make no secret of my intent, I want to bring all the armies of Carlovain under one command, which is my own.”
“I am with you.” Captain Lustrel said. “And I think you’ll find Captain Borent begging to be included.”
“Since his was the only force which fled.” Tenber nodded. Borent was Guards Captain of Lesleran-Cederel.
“And got chewed up doing it.” Lustrel said.
“Any force that runs will suffer casualties.” Tenber said. “The question is which will damage your force more, standing fast or retreating.” He looked around. “Where is Ammero? I have not seen him since I sent him to alert the cavalry to attack the cannons.”
“I have not seen him either.” Captain Lustrel said. “Perhaps he has gotten lost? It is easy enough to do.”
“I have need of him.” Tenber said. He was thirsty and hungry, Ammero should be by him so he could be sent for food and drink; such mundane tasks was what an orderly was for, to leave him free to concentrate on his duties without distraction.
“Perhaps I can help you in his place?” Captain Lustrel said, placing his hand on Tenber’s shoulder.
Tenber looked up, smiled. “You would go fetch me some wine and food?”
Captain Lustrel smiled. “That I would send my own orderly to do.” He turned and did so, the young man with them (unnoticed by Tenber until that moment, so silent he had been), bowed and left.
“I could have done as much.” Tenber said. “I thought you were offering to take Ammero’s place for a time.”
“I am, but not in the fetching of food and drink.” Captain Lustrel said. His fingers clenched on Tenber’s shoulder. “I thought more of his other duties.”
Tenber didn’t pretend to misunderstand. “I thought I was keeping that duty a secret.”
“You are Carlovainer, despite the color of your hair.” Captain Lustrel said.
“My mother was German.”
“I am willing to overlook that.” Captain Lustrel said in sultry tones. Now the polished-shine of skin sheened with sweat, the hair tousled and disarrayed by activity, the faint smell of his exerted body teasing Tenber’s nostrils, made him disconcertingly attractive.
Captain Tenber looked around. Few men were about, and those occupied in various activities. He looked back up to Captain Lustrel. A powerful man in Carlovain, in the circles Tenber traveled, after Heslov and its neighboring fief of Moneret, Fediresta had become the most wealthy and powerful of the duchies. And there was this body, youthful, vigorous and compelling.
And he was tired, or had been until his blood quickened at this offer.
Perhaps his eyes answered for him, or perhaps Captain Lustrel was bold enough to not wait for an answer beyond the moment he had given Tenber, for now Captain Lustrel began to run his hand over Tenber’s body, the uniform crushed and wrinkled by the armor now discarded (as was Lustrel’s) felt now paper-thin upon Tenber’s body, he could feel that strong hand upon his arm and shoulder as though nothing impeded it. The hand snaked over to Tenber’s back and up around the neck and Lustrel’s crotch jutted forward towards Tenber, as the hand pulled Tenber towards him, Tenber let himself be pulled and his face buried in that burning nexus of the body.
Ah, the stiff rod underneath the trousers, it called to him. Perhaps the stories of the Nestry were true, that their blood burned too hot in them to ever be faithful to a wife, or often to only one man, he knew that his own desire pounded within his breast, heedless of his current connections, both the unwilling one to the King and the furtive one with Ammero. And where was Ammero? None could get that lost within these fields, with so many men about to ask directions. Perhaps Ammero was off celebrating the victory with the cavalrymen, they were almost a force apart as it were, Ammero astride the purebred stallion may well be accepted within their ranks for the hours of celebration.
And didn’t he deserve his own diversion now that they had won against the bandits, crushed the centuries-old foe of commerce within Carlovain? And what better way to do that than with this man, a valuable ally in his own plans for the armies of Carlovain?
So he gnawed at the stiff pole within Captain Lustrel’s trousers, wringing grunts of pleasure from this handsome fellow-officer, an equal rank to his own, giving him a pleasure Ammero could not because of his inferior rank. He could suck this cock and none would blame him, save perhaps the jealous King, and he would risk that!
Captain Lustrel undid his trousers, his hands below the powder-blue jacket so like his own, and Tenber found himself panting eagerly and his mouth watering as Lustrel brought the proud Nestry dong out for his viewing. Ten solid inches of thick, luscious cock, begging for his attentions...he dove upon it, need lending his mouth wings that it would not have otherwise had, he shoved that thick pud into his mouth and his saliva moistened it without his conscious volition, he poured his mouth’s water upon it and tried to cram the entirety of it into himself.
Captain Lustrel moaned as Tenber worked on swallowing his man-sword, and it was he who broke after a time, while Tenber was still mauling it downwards, he murmured huskily, “Enough, pray, my comrade, my Captain of Captains, you may have all of it, but I find I cannot breathe as you hold it within you, pray, enough!”
Tenber’s throat convulsed and expelled thus the organ, and Lustrel pulled it from Tenber’s lips, groaning, “Ah, my Royal Captain, you are true Nestry after all, for none but a Nestry could have taken it as you have.”
“My heart burns Nestry.” Tenber agreed. “Now return it to me.” And not waiting for permission, he took that sturdy prick into his mouth once again. Now the saliva made the passage easy, now he could slide his mouth upon the long dong and it moved easily into his throat and back out again. Tenber nursed the strong pud, pulling upon it with lips, mouth and tongue, wringing from Captain Lustrel rewards in the forms of sighs, grunts, moans, murmurs of passion, urging him on, more, more, more!
With Captain Lustrel firmly within his power, Tenber ended his ministrations and looked up. Captain Lustrel’s eyes were glazed over with his desire, and he looked down on Tenber with a look both uncomprehending and dazzled, he could only moan, “More, please, more.”
“More there shall be.” Tenber promised and stood up. Captain Lustrel groaned with the frustration of passion interrupted, the gutteral sound that is nearly a growl, as if he would attack if he had to, but resume it, resume!
Tenber undid his trousers and when he did, Captain Lustrel fell onto his knees so quickly that at first, Tenber thought he had fainted. But then his manhood was gripped with a strong hand, and then the mouth...oh, God! He was swallowed down! The same as Tenber had done for him, Captain Lustrel did for Tenber, shoving, cramming, ramming the turgid tool into his mouth, pouring saliva over it as he did, and Tenber was the helpless victim of passion now, unable to do more than groan and revel in the pleasures washing through him.
And then with a growl that might have issued from a bear’s throat rather than a man’s, Captain Lustrel stood up and spun Tenber around, leaving him to sprawl upon the pile of stones. The slope of the pile was quite steep, it was not quite a plunge downwards as much as a leaning fowards, and then Tenber felt the love-slicked rod poking at his body, pressing into the tender middle that was his lower entrance, he could only sigh as it entered him.
Impaled upon a Nestry cock was the ultimate delight, he decided as the massive organ began to move in the immortal dance of joy, he could conceive of no pleasure waiting in Heaven that could be greater than this, the joy that wells from within and permeates the entire being, this was his lot in life, this the station he had always wished to attain, to be a soldier and a soldier’s lover, to mark their victories and their burdens with this ultimate ecstasy!
For some unknown time they were joined thus in this private circle of joy, Tenber lost track of all duties and obligations, he was only here, now, in this conjoined embrace, feeling the marvelous revelry of sharing his body with another soldier! The pleasures within his body were there, coalescing but without any indication of when they would reach their boiling point, he had turned his mind off and away from all worldly cares, he was a man being fucked by another man, and that was all that was him, all he needed and wanted!
As such, climax when it came was almost unwanted, for it marked the end. Tenber held off his orgasm as well as he could, while it welled up within him, building pressure within his spirit and compressing his thoughts into a single purpose, hold off, hold off!
But such joy is not to be denied for any purpose, he was overcome, ran through by the cannonball of his orgasm, it assaulted and rent him asunder, he was grist for its mill and it would not be denied the more. It took vengeance upon him for his delaying tactics by mauling him the more, he sprayed the rocks beneath him with his seed as Lustrel continued to hump at him with cries of joy, and in the ultimate crescendo of his ejaculation, Tenber realized that what had brought him to his own delight was that Lustrel had reached his and his body had been pelted by hot, salty sperm jetting into his innards and boiling within him there, forcing the breach of his will.
Done, Tenber sagged onto his knees, and Lustrel rode down with him, and they were resting upon hard stones that dug into knees and hands, and yet Tenber did not have within him the strength to move.
“Ah, my Lord, my Captain of Captains.” Captain Lustrel said.
“Call me not that.” Tenber demurred. “The King has named me so, but I have not yet earned it, I wish to wear only the title that I deserve, and that for now is as your equal.”
“Say not that, for I must be your student as much as any recruit.” Captain Lustrel said. “Your vision of one army for Carlovain is now my own, and I shall tell my Duke as much, that it is to his advantage to turn his army over to the King and you, his most worthy minister.”
“It is my dream, and my duty.” Tenber said. “I see the time coming very soon when Carlovain will need all her strength to stand free.”