Magicians of Gor (20 page)

seen, except of course, at the bottom, where one might detect her bared ankles

and feet. We did not think that Phoebe could relax he vigilance in clutching the

sheet about her. She was naked beneath it. Marcus did not want her to forget

that she was a slave. Slaves, incidentally, may attend various such functions,

particularly those intended for a general audience. Indeed, sometimes masters,

with their individual slave or slaves, and even owners of feast slaves, (pg.

113) managers of slave house, taverns, and brothels, and such, will bring a

chain of slaves to various events, such as races, contests, games or

performances. Private masters, for example, often relish the company of their

slaves at such events, and public masters, so to speak, recognize the value of

such outings for slaves, as stimulation and recreation. Also the give the master

more power over the girl. What girl wishes to be left behind, in her kennel,

while her chain sisters enjoy an evening at the theater or games? Marcus had had

a brief altercation with the taker of ostraka at the entrance, not wishing to

pay an entrance fee, or at least the entire entrance fee, for a slave. The taker

of ostraka, however, had been adamant, pleading policy and arguing cogently that

even a sleen or verr would have to pay, as they would occupy space in the house.

Too, what if a fellow were to bring in ten thousand free slaves? Then there

would be little room even for free folk. Too, think of all the money the house

would lose. For example, their presence is sometimes prohibited at certain song

dramas and concerts. Similarly, they may not enter temples. In such cases,

facilities are usually provided for their custody, usually a walled enclosure,

sometimes adjoining the structure, or sets of posts or rings, for their

chaining.

“Hold!” said a voice.

Marcus and I stopped, and Phoebe knelt beside Marcus, back a bit, in close

heeling position.

“You are armed,” said the voice. He was in uniform of a guardsmen of Ar, but his

accent was Cosian. There were still guardsmen of Ar, native guardsmen of Ar, in

the city, but their numbers had been considerably reduced and they were

generally assigned duties of low responsibility. Even then they were under the

command of Cosian officers. Putting Cosians in the uniforms of guardsmen of Ar,

of course, did suggest that they were, at least in one sense or another,

guardsmen of Ar. Surely, at least, they were guardsmen in Ar. Perhaps the folks

of Ar found this sort of thing reassuring, or, at least, less objectionable then

if the fellows seemed a foreign garrison force, clad openly in Cosian uniform.

This is not to deny that there were Cosian regulars, in Cosian uniform, in the

city, in numbers. Too, may Cosian mercenaries were in the city, with their

identifying armbands, scarves, and such. Myron, probably intelligently, however,

had limited the numbers of such mercenaries who might enter the city at any one

time. some incidents had occurred nonetheless, such as the destruction of

property in various taverns and the vandalization of certain buildings, for

example, baths and libraries. Certain shops had apparently also (pg. 114) been

looted, though no mention of this had appeared on the public boards. The armed

forces of Ar had been disbanded, of course, both foot and cavalry, both

tharlarion and tarn. Not even border patrols had been retained. Beasts and

equipment were acquired by Cos. Most of these men had left the vicinity of the

city. I did not know what might become of them. Doubtless they would seek

various employments. Perhaps some would become brigands. Some, of course,

remained in the city, perhaps hoping to hire into the guardsmen.

“Yes,” I said.

“Are you of Ar?” asked the guardsman.

“No,” I said.

“What is your employment?” asked the guardsman.

“I seek employment,” I said.

“You are not of Ar?”

“No,” I said.

“Can you use that blade?” he asked.

“Passably,” I said.

“There may be employment for such as you,” he said. “Men are needed.”

“May we pass?” I asked.

“What do you wish here,” he asked, “if you are not of Ar?”

“To see the progress of the works,” I said.

He laughed. “And the flute girls?” he said.

“Surely,” I said.

“Pass,” he said.

We then continued on our way. The carrying of weapons, and even their

possession, was now illegal for citizens of Ar, exceptions being made for

guardsmen and such. The populace of Ar, then, was disarmed. This was reputedly

for its own protection. Compliance with the disarmament laws was also taken as a

fitting token of good will on the part of those of Ar, and an indication both of

their good intentions and of their zealous desire for peace. Too, it was called

to their attention that arms were now unnecessary, given the blessings of peace,

attendant upon the liberation.

“It will be only a matter of time,” said Marcus, “before weapons will be

altogether illegal in the city.”

“Except for those authorized to carry them,” I said.

“Cosians,” he said.

“And such,” I said.

“You noticed how he inquired into our employments?” said Marcus.

“Of course,” I said.

(pg. 115) “Soon,” he said, “there will be regulations about such things, and

papers, and permits, and ostraka, and such.”

“I would suppose so,” I said. To be sure, I had an idea that an employment, and

in the fee of Cos, might fit in with my plans, and perhaps those of Marcus, as

well.

“It will be worse than under Gnieus Lelius,” he said.

“Yes,” I said. I supposed that Gnieus Lelius was now on his way to Cos. Perhaps

he was already there.

“Perhaps Milo can save Ar,” he said.

“Do not be bitter,” I said.

I myself had rather enjoyed the pageant glorifying Cos, or, as it actually

turned out, Lurius of Jad. The production had been well designed, well staged,

brilliantly costumed, and impressively acted. Indeed, it is hard to get a

thousand actors on a stage without being impressive in one way or another. Too,

I had to admit, in spite of misgivings on the subject, that Milo was a handsome

fellow, and certainly played a part well. It was somewhat ironic to see Lurius

of Jad, whom I had once seen, a corpulent slug of a man, portrayed by such a

godlike fellow as Milo, but then that was probably in the best interests of the

drama’s intent, and artistic license, as I understand it, permits such

occasional thespic peccadilloes.

“I think that drama must have lasted five Ahn,” said Marcus.

“Probably no more than three,” I said. “Did you enjoy the fellow who played the

wicked, conniving Gnieus Lelius?”

“Of course,” said Marcus. “I had not realized thitherto that even a demented

sleen could be so wicked.”

“You just did not have your mind on the drama,” I said.

“That is perhaps true,” said Marcus, perking up.

“You just did not realize that Phoebe could be so fetching, completely

concealed,” I said.

“But underneath the sheet naked,” Marcus reminded me.

“You could not wait to get her home,” I said.

“Perhaps,” he said.

No sooner had he had Phoebe inside the door to our room in the insula than he

had torn the sheet and veil from her and flung her on her belly on the

straw-filled mat, then leaping upon her with a cry of joy.

“Do you think others knew she was naked?” he asked.

“From the glances, and expressions, I think a free woman to two suspected it,” I

said. One had sneered “Slave!” to Phoebe, to which Phoebe had put down her head

saying, “Yes, Mistress.” There had been little difficulty, of course, in folks

knowing that Phoebe was a slave, given, for example, that her primary covering

was a sheet and that her feet were bared. Too, during intermissions Marcus knelt

her at his feet, with her head down.

“Let them crawl naked before a man, fearing his whip,” said Marcus.

“Free women?” I said.

“Well,” said Marcus, irritably, “collar them first.”

“I would hope so,” I said.

To be sure, it is pleasant to have free women in such a predicament. It helps

them to understand that fate which is to be shortly theirs.

“I do not like Milo,” said Marcus.

“You are angry because he is such a handsome fellow,” I said.

“The drama was a poor one,” said Marcus.

“Not at all,” I said.

“It was a waste of money,” said Marcus.

“Phoebe liked it,” I said.

“What does she know?” asked Marcus.

“She is a highly intelligent, well-educated women,” I said.

“A slave,” he said.

“Now,” I said. Many Goreans enjoy owning highly intelligent, well-educated

women. It is pleasant to have them at your feet, yours, begging, eager to please

you, knowing, too, that if they do not, they will be punished. To be sure,

thousands of sorts of women make excellent slaves, each in their different ways.

It had cost three full coppers for our admission to the pageant, and one of

those was for Phoebe. The first performance of the pageant, several days ago,

had been attended by Talena, the Ubara. I had not been able to obtain admission

ostraka for that performance, as it was apparently restricted. I had lingered by

her path to the theater, with others in a crowd, but I had been able to see only

her palanquin, its curtains drawn, borne not by slaves but by stout fellows

apparently of the staff of the Central Cylinder. The palanquin, too, was

surrounded by guardsmen, either of Ar or Cos. It interested me that the Ubara,

so popular in the city, presumably, should require so much security. Behind the

palanquin, on tharlarion, side by side, had ridden Seremides, formerly high

general Ar, now, in peacetime, first minister to her majesty, the Ubara, and

Myron, the polemarkos of Temos. Seremides, to be sure, now as captain, high

captain, retained command of the palace guard, the Taurentians. There were

probably some twenty-five hundred of these fellows in the city. I had not seen

Talena when she had left the palanquin, for she had done so within the (pg. 117)

theater’s outer concourse, hidden from the street. That she now wore the

garments of Cos I had heard, but I had not seen her in them.

We could now hear the flute music quite clearly.

“There!” I said, startled.

I had not realized that so much had been done since my last visit to this area.

I hurried forward, to the Wall Road.

A gigantic breach, over four hundred yards in width, had been made in the wall.

The bottom of the breach was still some forty or fifty feet high. The edges of

is tapered up to the height of the wall on each side, in this area, some hundred

to a hundred and twenty feet Gorean above the pavement. The breach swarmed with

human beings. Stone after stone was being tumbled down from the walls, to the

outside of the city. These, I had heard, on the other side, were being lifted to

wagons and carted away. On the walls were not only men of Ar, and male youth,

but women and girls, as well.

I stood on the Wall Road, back near Harness Street. Here I was about a hundred

feet back from the wall. In moment or two Marcus was again beside me, and Phoebe

behind him, on his left. The girl normally heels a right-handed master on the

left, that she not encumber the movements of the weapon hand.

“Much progress had been made since last we came here,” I said.

“About the walls, here and there, thousands apply themselves,” he said.

This was not the only breach in the walls, of course, but it was that which was

nearest to our lodgings. Here some hundreds, at least, were laboring. Others, of

course, on the other side of the wall, would be gathering up tumbled stone,

loading it and removing it from the area. The walls of Ar, in effect, had become

a quarry. This would, I suppose, depress the market for stone in various cities,

perhaps even as far away as Venna. There were many uses for such stone, but most

had to do with materials for building, paving and fill. Much of the stone would

be pounded into gravel by prisoners and slaves far from the city. This gravel

was used mainly for bedding primary roads and paving secondary roads. There

were, at present, nineteen such breaches about the city. These breaches,

multiplying the avenues of possible assault on the city, were not randomly

located. They were set at tactically optimum sites for such assaults and

distributed in such a manner as to require the maximum dispersal of defensive

forces. The pursued objective, of course, (pg. 118) was to multiply and join

breaches, until the razing of the walls of Ar was complete.

“Although I hate Ar,” said Marcus, “this sight fills me with sorrow.”

“You hate not Ar,” I said, “but those who betrayed her, and Ar’s Station.”

“I despise Ar, and those of Ar,” he said.

“Very well,” I said.

We continued to regard the work on the walls.

Here and there upon the walls, among those working, were silked flute girls,

sometimes sitting cross-legged on large stones, above the heads of workers,

sometimes moving about among the workers, some strolling, playing, at other

times turning and dancing. Some were also on the lower level, even on the Wall

Road.