Chapter Seventeen: Kari
"This place will do" said their guide. He had stopped where some stunted aspen and sparse shrubs grew on an area of level ground by the bank of a mountain stream. They had been travelling for most of the day, gradually descending lower all the time, and the weather had warmed appreciably - either because of the drop in the elevation, or because the sheltered valley they were now in held off the chilling wind.
As the guide unpacked their canvas tents from the back of the mule, Callixtus busied himself with making a fire to cook their evening meal. The place they were in was a little barren, but not unpleasant. He reflected on the past couple of days in the Halls of the Mountain King.
For Callixtus, it had been a time marked at first by uncertainty and fear but then by boredom. Magnus had made only one brief appearance, to tell him that all was proceeding well in his discussions with the elf-King, but that Callixtus was not allowed to be present and must remain under the guard of the King's elf guardians. They were a constant and unsettling presence, and the grey-skinned one even followed Callixtus when he made a call of nature, staring at him with large yellow eyes in a most disconcerting manner.
The snivelling catamite had been conducted away by another elf - this one had grey-green skin and red eyes, which Callixtus thought was a particularly alarming combination. He was far too intimidated to attempt a conversation with the guardian elves, and they showed no sign of wanting to speak to him. After a while he began to miss Magnus a great deal; there was something comforting about his presence, and Callixtus realised with a sense of surprise that over the last few months he had never been separated from him for more than a couple of hours. He even started to miss the company of the catamite.
But then - after what seemed like days but was in fact about twelve hours - he was woken from the bench, where he was dozing with his head on his hands, by Magnus shaking him gently by the shoulder.
"Come along, my boy. Mission accomplished. The Oriflamme is now the property of King Adeodax, and the Mage's Guild has acquired a great deal of treasure, which you must help me carry."
They had both spent the whole night in the Halls of the Mountain King. Magnus, who had been engaged in strenuous negotiations followed by hours of deep discussion on magical arcana with King Adeodax, was not at all tired - he was in fact euphoric at the success of his mission. Callixtus suspected that only the consumption of some of the mage's special herbal tea, fortified by incantations, could have enabled this. He was right of course, but what he did not realise was that Adeodax himself, and indeed the very mountain, gave off such a powerful stimulus to those of magical disposition that Magnus felt wholly energised, in spite of his lack of sleep.
The overburdened mule's panniers were soon bulging with costly gems and treasures - enough to meet all the military expenses of the Empire for a good six months or more.
They had also acquired another companion. Gathering sticks for the fire where they had stopped for the night - was the elf king's catamite, who had been sitting on his knee when Magnus first saw him, and who had spent a couple of hours snivelling at the feet of Callixtus as he waited in the throne room's antechamber.
When Magnus had first appeared with the boy Callixtus had been astonished, and gave him a quizzical look. "King Adeodax was so pleased to get his hands on the Oriflamme" said Magnus airily, "that as well as giving a great deal of treasure for it, he threw him in as a parting gift."
Callixtus observed the boy. He was about his own age, and the same height. Sitting on the elf king's lap, he had seemed tiny in comparison with the massively muscled elf, but now Callixtus could see he was of normal size for a fifteen year old, though skinnier and less robust than Callixtus, whose own body was now toughened and tautened by the many miles he had walked in the last few months, as well as by his recent natural growth and the exposure of most of his body to the elements.
The boy was pretty enough, thought Callixtus, but nothing spectacular. He thought him rather too thin and wiry - his own preference was for something a bit older and more muscular - like Magnus. He was at a loss to understand why the Elf King had thought such a scrawny specimen one of the favourite boys in his harem.
Callixtus's bafflement was shared by their guide, who was plainly exasperated at the appearance of a new member of the party, though he said nothing.
After eating the stew of rock badger with wild garlic which the guide had produced - and which was far more appetising than it sounds - Magnus and Callixtus reclined against their packs and enjoyed the sounds of the stream rushing over its rocky bed and the sights of the evening glow in the sky above and the shadows deepening in the valley where they sat.
Magnus was also admiring the sight of the Elf King's former catamite, still clad only in his orange headband and mountain leopard leggings, who was on his knees a short way in front of them, bending down to wash their cooking utensils in the stream, and presenting - at least to Magnus's eyes - a most delectable view.
Callixtus said, "Did the Elf King really give him to you? I thought he said he was his current favourite? Surely he was unwilling to part with his favourite?".
Magnus made no reply, but faked a sudden interest in a distant view.
"I knew it!" said Callixtus. "I can't believe it! Your mission was to get the best possible price for the Oriflamme and I bet the Elf King beat down the price because you agreed to take the boy in part exchange. That is what happened, isn't it Magnus?"
Magnus said, "You do me an injustice. I did not sacrifice the interests either of my Order, or of the Empire. It is an extremely valuable coup that we now have someone as useful as....this boy....someone who has an errr....intimate knowledge of Adeodax. Do you not see how incredibly helpful it will to have some inside information on Adeodax and his court, especially when we don't fully trust him? You must have seen how....sinister the Mountain Elves can be. With the assistance of this boy, we may just be a little forewarned in case the Mountain Elves try to take advantage of us while we are engaged with the Fire Giants and their allies in the west. We do not want Adeodax taking advantage of us from behind while we are engaged to the front."
"You certainly don't, as I can attest from personal experience" said the boy suddenly, startling Callixtus and the Mage somewhat, as he had hardly spoken since he had joined their party. He stood up, shaking the water off the utensils, and approached them. "And my name isn't "this boy" either", he said.
"I'm sorry" said Magnus, "we were forgetting that the Common Tongue is your own tongue too. I think you know our names already, but you are quite right that I neglected to ask you yours."
"If you are my new master", said the boy to Magnus, "then my name is whatever it pleases you to call me."
"Oh come now", said Magnus, "that won't do. What did your mother call you?"
"I don't know who my mother was; none of us do, in the Mountain Kingdom - we are raised in common."
"Well then, what do your friends call you?"
"I have found friends few and untrustworthy. But in the Boy Harem of Adeodax I am called Kari."
"Very well", said Magnus, "Welcome to our number, Kari. I am sorry we forgot our manners earlier. Though you did seem to be....well, not in the mood for conversation up till now."
"You are right, master. The Halls of the Mountain King seemed to stifle it. Now we are descending to lower elevations, I feel able to breathe a cleaner air, and speech is no longer such a burden. Though of course I am still a slave."
"Actually, Kari, you aren't. We have left the mountain kingdom behind, and are now in the territory of the Republic of Phyrgia. Adeodax gave you to me, but as far as I am concerned you are a free agent. Although I very much hope you will agree to come with us to the Isle of Mages so that you can provide us with further information about the mountain kingdom, as I indicated to my friend Callixtus just now. If you do agree, we will of course see to it that you receive a small stipend, and that all your needs are met."
Kari stared at Magnus for quite some time, saying nothing, his expression neutral and unreadable. Then suddenly, he grinned. "What about your needs, master? Do you have a wife, or do you prefer boys like the elves do?"
"That is a rather forward question, Kari, but since you ask, it is against custom for mages to have sexual relations with women - although we often have close friendships with female healers - so naturally we must use members of the same sex as an outlet for our sexual energy, which like all those with magical affinities tends to be stronger than the norm. As you will, err, no doubt know from your, err, experiences with King Adeodax."
Kari turned his green eyes on Callixtus. "Is that where you come in?" he said to him.
Callixtus said, "I don't really think that's any of your business."
Magnus said, "Kari, you will have to excuse Callixtus. He is feeling curmudgeonly today. In fact, he so far forgot himself a few minutes ago that he called me Magnus instead of Master for the first time."
Callixtus opened his mouth, blushed, then shut it again.
"Don't worry, dear boy. I liked it" said Magnus. "I'm not one for titles. You can call me whatever you like. You too, Kari".
Kari said, "Well then, MAGNUS and CALLIXTUS, seeing as how we are all getting on so well together, why not take things a little further?" - and he put his hands on his hips and tilted his head to one side, as he gave them a long and unmistakably lascivious stare with his green eyes.
Callixtus said, "You can't seriously be thinking about sex, after having the Elf King inside you on a regular basis?"
Kari said, "Actually, he only had me once, though that was bad enough. In the harem, we have to be strictly celibate unless we are with the King. I hadn't been in the harem for very long, it's true, but long enough to realise I'm not meant for the celibate state. And besides, you both look a lot more interesting than King Adeodax. Especially you." This last remark was addressed directly to Callixtus.
Magnus laughed. "Well, whatever happened to that snuffling catamite of a few hours ago? You could be a different person altogether! Your resilience indicates, I think, that you are ultimately derived from Ugrian ethnic stock, for Kari is an Ugrian name....I wonder, do you know anything at all about your family origins?"
Callixtus groaned, "Oh don't start on that, Magnus. Don't worry, Kari, he loves asking obscure questions about where people come from, mainly so he can show off his intimate knowledge of places and people that no-one else has ever heard of. I find it rather tedious."
Magnus looked somewhat abashed, but Kari laughed. "Yes, I agree that such discussions are tedious. I just want to get fucked. By both of you. Now."