At age 15, Tom had been apprenticed for a year to Ælf, the tanner, a cruel brute of a man whose idea of teaching Tom the trade was to beat him mercilessly whenever he did anything wrongly. Tom hated Ælf and he hated the work. The hides and the tanning liquor stank and the heat in the tannery was unbearable.

Finally, after a particularly vicious beating, Tom had had all he could bear. He ran away, still wearing the heavy wooden clogs he wore to avoid slipping on the wet tannery floor. Ælf had a bad leg and could not pursue him, but he had a loud voice and raised the hue and cry after him. "Stop the runaway !"

Men gathered in pursuit, but only one man was ahead of him, the most formidable obstacle to his escape, Wat, the smith, a mountain of a man with long strong arms which he stretched out to either side to grasp Tom if he should attempt to slip by him. To his surprise amd that of the pursuers, Tom did not try to dodge Wat on either side but ran straight toward him !

When almost within Wat's grasp, Tom lashed out with a mighty kick squarely into Wat's bulging codpiece, driving his ballocks against the great bone and bursting them. Wat gave a terrible cry, clutched, not at the fleeing 'prentice, but at his own ruined manhood, and toppled like a felled tree. Tom darted around him to the right and , kicking off the heavy clogs, now a hindrance to him, ran up the hill.

Most of his pursuers stopped to see if they could help Wat. Only Wil, the cobbler, kept on. Without even pausing, Tom snatched up a fist-sized stone from the roadside, whirled about, and threw it at Wil. It struck him on the right side of the chest, breaking his ribs. With a choking cry which brought blood to his lips, Wil dropped as if poleaxed.

Tom, his heart pounding and his head swimming from his exertion, crested the hill and, for the moment, out of sight from behind, turned and ran into the forest on his left. He soon came upon the old woods road and ran a short distance along it to the south. However, this was what he would be expected to do, so he sought a path off it and deeper into the woods as soon as possible.

Still hearing no sounds of pursuit, Tom soon found what he sought, a little-used much-overgrown path off the woods road to the left . Now what he was seeking was a suitable tree in which to hide. One which would conceal him both from the woods road and even from below. On his right, Tom saw a tall spruce tree with mostly overlapping branches through which he could not see the trunk. Surely, if the trunk could not be seen, a boy on the trunk could not be seen either.

There were very low branches which Tom could easily reach by jumping up to them. He scrambles up into the tree and climbed as high as he could and still be amongst branches close enough together to conceal him. Here, he found a comfortable branch on which to sit with his back against the trunk, facing the road, of which he could barely catch a glimpse through the foliage.

Safe at last, for the moment, Tom rested and caught his breath listening for any sound of his pursuers. Fearfully, Tom worried over whether he had killed Wat or Wil, or, worse yet, both men. If he had, his pursuers would hunt him down wherever he fled and hang him.

Then, he heard voices. "Hasten; he must be ahead of us on the woods road." The voices died away as the men ran down the road he had just quitted. Sooner or later, of course, they would realise their mistake and return. Should he try to flee further into the woods before then or wait until they had passed him ? Tom had seen no other trees offering any better concealment than this spruce nor anywhere else to hide until he reached the valley of the Willowater, at least two miles further into the wood.

He decided to remain safely ensconced in the tree until the men had returned to Stonyfield. Tom had nearly dropped off to sleep when he heard the men's voices again . From the time it took them to pass his place of concealment, Tom guessed that they were walking now. He could hear parts of their conversation.

"By rights, we should tell the Sheriff of the little bastard's misdeeds."...."Nay, the less we see of HIM here, the better."...."But he should not go unpunished. He might have slain Wat and Wil."...."Ealmo, the leech, saith that they both will live....though Wat may wish he hadn't."...."The brat must have run on far into the wood."...."Let him. What with the bears, the witch, and the brigands, he'll find it no safe refuge."

Tom thought, "Safer than Stonyfield, I'll wager." The bears were brown bears and, at this time of the year, well-fed. As long as he didn't get between a mother and her cub, he'd be in little danger from them. As to the witch, no man in living memory had actually seen her. She probably died long ago. The brigands, of course, were another matter, but, inasmuch as he had neither gold nor jewels, Tom couldn't imagine that he had anything they would be interested in. Tom was still too innocent to guess what their interest in him might be.

There were nuts and seeds, berries and fruits to eat. There was also small game and rock outcrops from which he might get stones to throw, but he had no knife to skin or clean his catches, nor did he know how to make a fire. In Stonyfield, one usually borrowed fire from a neighbor. Water there was in plenty, the Willowater was fed by many rivulets and springs.

Tom wondered if it would be safe to sleep on the ground. If there were wolves in the forest, Tom had not heard of them . Perhaps hunters had driven them out. Owing to a scarcity of game, the King's hunters had not been seen hereabouts for many a year. Tom decided, though, to sleep in the lower branches of a tree so that if he fell onto the forest litter and turf, he would not be likely to be hurt.

Even the tanner's floor had been no more uncomfortable than sleeping draped over a pair of limbs of a spruce tree. Though stiff and sore upon awakening, he was more conscious of hunger than of that. Gathering nuts, berries, and edible fungi, he soon found to be a slow, tedious, and inefficient way of satisfying hunger. It seemed most unlikely that he could live off the land in this forest for long.

The path continued eastward and downslope toward the Willowater. There were plenty of fish in the Willowater, but what use were they to him ? He had neither line, net, knife, nor means or knowledge to make a fire. Engrossed in these thoughts, Tom didn't notice the bear until he was uncomfortably close to it and uncomfortably far from a climbable tree . He stopped instantly staring nerously at a decidedly unfriendly-looking male brown bear.

Out of the corner of his eye, Tom thought he saw an old woman in a grey dress wearing many strings of beads, bangles, trinkets and the like. He dared not turn his head to look at her. Suddenly, the bear shook himself turned, and ran off into the wood on Tom's left. Relieved, Tom looked to the right to where he thought he had seen the old woman, but there was no sign of her. Could she, he wondered, have been the witch ?

Tom spoke in a loud voice "Whoever thou art, if thou drovest away the bear, I thank thee. I am very grateful." There was no reply and he continued on his way.

Toward afternoon, Tom heard the sound of running water, doubtless the river Willowater. It was a hot day and the sound was welcome. The prospect of bathing in the river was a welcome one.

He soon came to the bank. The Willowater was broad and shallow in this reach and he saw nearby a backwater forming a quiet pool. There was a small clear area alongside it. Here, Tom removed his tunic, which was all he was wearing, and waded into the pool. He trod water and paddled about the pool . Not until he had got out of the water and stood on the edge of the clearing did he look up and see four men standing there.

They were all wearing short greyish-green belted tunics with knives in their belts.

"BRIGANDS !" thought Tom. Inasmuch as he was naked and wearing no jewelry, it didn't seem to Tom that he had anything to fear from them. He was, however, a bit disconcerted to notice that the fronts of their tunics were standing up as if their pintels were stiff. Tom raised his hand, palm outward and said "Hail."

One of the brigands lifted the front of his tunic showing that his pintel was, indeed, stiff. The other three brigands lifted the fronts of their tunics, showing that they were aroused as well and one of them said "Aye, this lad's a pretty one, isn't he ? Smooth and fair as a maid." Innocent though he was, Tom had begun to suspect the nature of their intentions toward him.

Tom turned to dive back into the river, but, with one long stride, one of the brigands was upon him and seized his ballocks in his rough hand. "Not so fast, there, me lad." he growled. "We've not yet had our way with thee"Please, let me go." cried Tom, but the brigand who had him by the ballocks squeezed them and Tom cried out in pain and nearly puked.

"Hast ne'er felt a man's pintel in thy arse, lad ?" asked one of the other men. "Nay, ne'er" replied Tom with tears in his eyes. "Let us not then hurt him, me merry fellows. This is his first time. Be gentle with him so that he may learn what a great delight it can be." "As thou wilt, Rab, thou art our leader."

"Hear me now, lad." said Rab. "We are lovers of boys, men who care naught for maids. We mean to enjoy thy body, but I mean that thou shouldst enjoy what we do also. There will be some slight pain at the first; we all have felt it, but an thou bearest that, 'twill be followed by pleasure whereof thou has ne'er dreamt. Know thou that I steal and I slay, but I do not lie.

Of course, thou hast no choice. Thou art in our power. Thou canst not flee us. Both because we know the wood as thou dost not and can move in it faster than thou and because there is nowhere whither thou canst flee. I know that there are men who pursue thee who mean to do thee scath. Thou darest not return whence thou camest and wilt be no worse off with us. Thou wilt soon come to desire a man's pintel up thy arse above all else in the world."

Tom seriously doubted that, but there was truth enough in Rab's words that he knew that he must make the best of his fate with the brigands. He replied "If this man will unhand my ballocks, I will go with thee where thou wilt and do thy bidding." "Well spoken, lad. How art thou hight ?" [What is your name ?] "Tom"

"Well then, Tom, there is no better place than here for thee to learn the way of a man with a boy. Bend at the waist and reach back and spread thy arse-cheeks." Tom did as he was told. "Llyr, thou has the smallest pintel among us. Wet it well with spittle and press it slowly and carefully into Tom's arse."

Llyr did as he was bidden. Tom's virgin arse was tight and he experienced some discomfort and slight pain at the intrusion, nothing he could not easily bear, though.

Once his arse had been breached and Llyr's pintel began to slide into his entrails, the sensation became noticeably less unpleasant. About at the point when Tom felt Llyr's ballocks pressed against him, there was sudden pleasure.

Tom had played with his pintel a few times until his seed came forth. This pleasure was of the same sort. Tom's pintel instantly stood up. After a few thrusts of Llyr's pintel against that sensitive spot within his arse, Tom's seed gushed forth, more copiously than he had ever seen before. As this was happening, he felt Llyr's warm seed flow into his bowels as Llyr sighed and moaned, his moans mingling with Tom's cries of delight.

Déal was next in size of pintel. It was only slightly thicker than Llyr's but much longer. Having brought out his seed that morning by stroking it, he was not as desperate for relief as Llyr and prolonged the fuck much longer, giving Tom greater pleasure and more of it, for, each time Tom seemed about to spurt. Déal either stopped or slowed his thrusting. Finally, Tom's seed dribbled from his wilting pintel.

Ælæn's very manly pintel was throbbing and dripping in anticipation, but Rad insisted that Tom be allowed to rest until his pintel became stiff without being touched. This took some time and afternoon was well advanced before Tom was ready to accomodate Ælæn's great shaft. Llyr licked Ælæn's pintel all over until it was very wet before he was allowed to put it into Tom's arse. Even so, it fitted very tightly and hurt somewhat. However, once inside, it was thrilling and Tom soon found himself breathing heavily and moaning, not in pain but in ecstatic pleasure.

Ælæn had not spent his seed in several days and did not have Déal's self-control. He thrusted hard and fast and, when he spurted, it was with such force that he nearly drove Tom's body off his pintel and much of his seed spurted out of Tom's arse, around Ælæn's thick pintel. His hard fast thrusting shook Tom's entire body, and his pintel beating against that sensitive spot in Tom's insides drove him wild and pumped great jets of seed out of Tom's rigid shaft.

Tom collapsed from sheer exhaustion and Rab took him in his arms and gently laid him on the grass to sleep. He sent to others back to camp and stayed with Tom to protect him. Rab was not in haste to fuck Tom, knowing that the lad would be with them for some time to come.

When Tom awoke, the westering sun had nearly set. Rab was sitting beside him smiling. "Now then, me lad, thou canst not claim that thy introduction to the way of a man with a boy was bad, was it ?" "Nay, that it was not." replied Tom. "Naught that hath befallen me hath ever felt so good. But, thou has not had me yet." "There is time for that. Mine is the largest pintel in our band. 'Twere best thou waitedst to take it. There be two more men in our band, Rik and Rolf, but they are brothers and love none but each other."

They arrived at the camp just as the sun was setting. A boar was roasting on a spit over a fire pit. Tom met Rik and Rolf whose strong northern dialect was nearly impossible for him to understand. After the famished boy had eaten,xplaining how he came to be seeking refuge in the deep wood. When he mentioned his encounter with the bear he asked about the woman whom he thought he had seen.

"That was Gundula" said Rab. "Is she a witch ?" asked Tom. "Hu er en spaakona" said Rolf. Rab translated "A seeress. She seeth that which be far away or yet to come.

As well, she is a healer, and she is the protectress of the large animals. She wardeth the bears, deer, and elk and some of the boars. However, she knoweth that men must kill to live and so, she spareth not all of the animals, but the King's hunters found so few large animals that they hunt here no more. That is Gundula's doing."

Just downstream of the campsite, the Willowater had cut through a great dyke of black rock in which was a cavern large enough for some two dozen men to take shelter therein, as did the brigands in wet weather and during the winter. o this cave, Rab and Tom retired and there Rab fondled, kissed, caressed, and finally fucked Tom in an act of love rather than mere lust. Rab explained, however, that the band shared all that they had with each other and that he had no right to keep Tom to himself, however fond of the lad he might be.

Tom soon found, however, that the demands of the four men upon him were not as burdensome as he might have thought. Ælæn was the lustiest of them, yet even he did not desire Tom's arse every day. At Rab's insistence, the men treated Tom gently however fierce their lust might be. Tom enjoyed serving them and took no thought for the morrow. The future, as it tends to do, would take care of itself.

Five days after Tom's arrival, there was a visitor to the camp. Gundula came bearing tidings and offering advice. She was a large woman dressed in a plain grey homespun dress over which she wore five strings of beads, and on which she had sewn many charms and amulets. Over her shoulder, she carried a black cloth bag containing herbs, poultices, pastilles, and sundry other items of arcane use.

She was well known to the band and always welcome. The first thing she said was "Where is the boy, Tom ?" "I am Tom." he said, coming forward. "Well" she responded, "When you walk in the woods, in the name of all that men have held sacred, watch where you are going. If I hadn't been there, that bear would have mauled you. " "I am deeply in your debt." replied Tom.

"That is not why I have sought thee out, though. Though I never leave this forest, I see all that happens hereabouts. I have seen thy escape from Stonyfield. I have witnessed what thou didst to Wat, the smith and Wil, the cobbler. I have watched what has happened in Stonyfield since. Wat, the smith has survived, but he is no longer a man. He has lost so much of his strength that his apprentice, Egar, must do all of the work now while Wat directs him. The eldest of his five sons, Æthelfurth has sworn to bring him thy ballocks." "That day will never dawn! " exclaimed Tom.

"Ah, but it might. Some day 'twill come down to a fight twixt him and thee, a fight from which only one will emerge a man." "Which of us will it be ?" "That, I may not tell thee." "Why not ?" "Because, whatever I say, thou wilt lose." " How can that be ?" "If I tell thee that thou wilt win, thinking it to be thy destiny to win, thou wilt not fight hard enough to win. If I tell thee that thou wilt lose, thou'lt not fight at all, and will, of course, lose." "When will this come to pass ?" "Years hence, when predicting the future, the hardest thing to determine is exactly when the predicted event will occur .

Now, I have a prophecy for Rab. The Sheriff of Northernham intends to comb the forest seeking thee and thy men. This refuge will not escape their attention. Only a swift and decisive attack on his party will save ye. They will outnumber ye, but ye have the advantages of surprise, concealment, and familiarity with the forest. They will enter it from the south. I know not when. "

"Forewarned is forearmed" exclaimed Rab. "Whenever they come, we will be ready for them."

END OF PART ONE

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