Conspirators of Gor

Chapter Forty-Nine

“Do you not think, dear Grendel,” asked the Lady Bina, “that I should be a Ubara, somewhere, somehow?”

“I am only a beast,” he said.

Tor-tu-Gor was bright outside.

A few days ago had been the vernal equinox, with which you begin your year, as Nature does. We were now again in the House of Epicrates, in Ar.

If I had been unclear in the Cave of Agamemnon as to whom I belonged, there was no longer any doubt about that. The collar of the Lady Bina was again on my neck.

To me this was a source of great sorrow, but I was a slave, and the slave has no control over whose collar she wears. To be sure, the Lady Bina, though strict, following the counsel of the Lady Delia, who had clear ideas as to how a slave girl should be owned, managed, and worked, was a good Mistress. As long as I was fully pleasing, I had little to fear. But I had hoped to belong to another. I could think of one to whom I would have been happy to have been sold for a copper tarsk-bit, whereas there were others from whom I would have hoped that the Lady Bina would have resisted offers of tarn disks of gold.

I will speak of several things.

It may be recalled that in my first visit to the audience chamber of Agamemnon with Grendel, that in which Grendel had been addressed by Agamemnon, and later awarded a golden chain, at one point Grendel, in being addressed by Agamemnon, had seemed muchly taken aback, had seemed very much startled and shocked. I followed nothing of that at the time, of course, as that meeting was conducted entirely in Kur, but, as I later learned, that was the point at which Agamemnon had told Grendel of his alleged share in his parentage. As it is explained to me, Grendel was the result of an experiment. The genetic materials of several male Kurii were blended in some manner and then fused with the egg of a human mother. In this way he had several fathers and a human mother. Apparently his mother did not long survive his birth. Agamemnon claimed to be one of these fathers. I do not know if that claim was true or not, but it could have been true, given the science at the disposal of the Kurii on the steel world. Indeed, Agamemnon might have lost his Kur body generations before Grendel was born, but it would have been easily possible for portions of his genetic material, his seed, samples of his hereditary coils, and such, to have been maintained in a viable state, and later utilized in the experiment in question. As stated, I do not know if Agamemnon’s claim was true or not. It might have been a judicious fabrication, intended to better secure Grendel’s allegiance to his cause. One does not know. It could, of course, be true. Indeed, it is quite possible, given the importance of the experiment, and its projected political aim, that of securing alliances with Gorean humans, that Agamemnon would have wished something of himself, his intelligence, vision, cunning, might, and power, to be incorporated in Grendel. The truth of the matter doubtless lies on a distant steel world, in some archive of experiments. The experiment, as noted, had a political end in view, that of producing a Kur-like thing, with Kur allegiances, with enough human characteristics to interact profitably with Gorean humans, garnering alliances, and such. The experiment failed, however, as the humans tended to not only not identify with Grendel, but, for the most part, to loathe him, and recoil from him. His reception amongst Kurii was similar. He found himself understood as little more, if anything, than a hybrid monster.

It may be remembered that when Lucius had failed to dispatch Grendel, and had lost the respect and allegiance of the only two Kurii who remained of his followers, he had departed from the audience chamber. It had been supposed and it had, indeed, been the case, that he would try to escape the Cave, in which he would now be viewed as little more than a fallen, treasonous fugitive. Grendel had called to him not to leave the Cave, and Tiresias had warned him that a guard had been set.

The guard was the larl with which Tiresias, in his exile, had formed a symbiotic relationship. Grendel’s many trips from the Cave, which had been hitherto noted, were mostly concerned to bring food to Tiresias. Tiresias shared this food with the larl in question. In this fashion, the larl received food and it, in its turn, not only refrained from attacking Tiresias, the source of the food, but guarded him against the inroads of other predators. Tiresias had managed to get the larl to cross the entryway of the great portal on the night of my return to the Cave simply enough, by luring it with food from the opposite side. The larl had been stationed near the exit of the Cave by the food signal, which it had come to recognize. This was a portion of the plan of Grendel and Tiresias, to prevent the escape from the Cave of enemies. If none had attempted escape, Grendel would have seen to it that food, in the usual manner, would have been delivered to the larl. A strange Kur, Lucius, whose scent was unfamiliar to the larl, was taken for food, and attacked. Had Lucius realized what was involved he would have taken food with him, to cast to the larl, but he knew nothing of this. From the larl’s point of view, which had been given the food signal, it seemed that that which emerged from the Cave must either bring food or be food. Apparently Lucius had been attacked within a hundred paces of the Cave. The last seen of Lucius had been a limp body being dragged away, over the rocky slope toward the maze of passageways which led back into the mountains. Some days later, no longer fed, the larl had drifted away. One supposes it may have been the same larl which, in the chaos of the revolt, when the great portal was temporarily unguarded, had wandered into the Cave. That, of course, is not known.

It may be recalled, as well, that Agamemnon had desired Grendel, a former hero of the very revolution on the steel world which had dethroned Agamemnon, to return to the steel world and use his station and prestige to influence its support of his schemes on Gor. As I understand it, this was not as impractical as it might seem as, first, Grendel’s word would be taken seriously, and might be persuasive; second, the current establishment on the steel world would be in no way threatened; and, third, and perhaps most importantly, those of the steel worlds had long coveted a natural world, after, it seems, they had destroyed their own long ago. Presumably any plausible opportunity to obtain a natural world might be welcomed, and seized. For Grendel to undertake this dark embassy it was necessary, naturally, that a means of transportation be provided. In his explorations outside the Cave, Grendel had located the ship in its concealed housing within the Crag of Kleinias. This ship was unmanned, but prepared in such a way that, activated, it would reach the intended steel world. Consider a crossbow set in place, with its quarrel in the guide, a crossbow trained on a distant target. It might remain quiescent, indefinitely, until the trigger was pulled, and then the quarrel would move to the target. So, too, the ship, a ship without sails, a ship which might scorn both water and air, a ship which might by itself seek its far port. It was on this ship that not Grendel but Tiresias would seek the steel world. The point of this was to make available to him the biological science of the steel-world that, by its knowledge of, and manipulation of, the hereditary coils, tissue might be regenerated. I am told that burned, ruined flesh might be restored, that limbs might be regrown, that eyes, from one’s own hereditary coils, might be formed anew. Thus, if all went well, Tiresias might again see, as well or better than before. Apparently, long ago, in the time of the revolution on the steel world, the Lady Bina herself had undergone terrifying injuries, having been the object of some sort of attack. She had been muchly lacerated, torn, broken, and disfigured. But, it seems, by means of her own hereditary coils, her health, vitality, and beauty had been restored, if not enhanced. In any event, one snowy morning, several of us watched the departure of the small, remarkable ship, emerging from its housing, rising through the falling snow, then fading from sight, a ship with no crew, and with but one passenger, Tiresias, whom we all wished well.

Timarchos and Lysymachos, with supplies, bearing the container housing Agamemnon, had soon left the Cave. This was thought judicious as the always fragile trust and relationships on which a civilization implicitly relies had been muchly disrupted. Lucius had not managed to secure the governance of the Cave and Agamemnon was deemed to have lost it, for, given the decimation of his chief supporters, he no longer had the power to impose discipline and order. Further, his downfall was not received unwillingly by either men or Kurii, given the rampant dissatisfaction which had preceded it in the Cave. Grendel, and his party, might have provided a rallying point for those who recognized the dangers of lawlessness and anarchy, but his concern was elsewhere, and he would leave the Cave, accompanied by the Lady Bina, Desmond of Harfax, Desmond’s cohorts, and several of the men from the Cave, willing to essay a return to civilization, even in the season. He would take some animals with him, the sort spoken of as kajirae. Most of the men and, one supposes, most, or all, of the surviving Kurii remained in the Cave. Certainly no Kurii accompanied us. One supposed some of the men at least, and perhaps all, would attempt to return to civilization in the spring, when the passes would be open. It seemed unlikely that the Cave, in any case, even if inhabited by several Kurii, would remain the center of future conspiracies. The fate of Timarchos, Lysymachos, and Agamemnon is not known. It is possible they managed to make their way to some sort of safety. There are, apparently, various enclaves of Kurii, usually small groups in remote areas, where interaction would be unlikely between them and native Goreans. Perhaps they managed to reach one of these enclaves. Perhaps not. They may have perished in the Voltai, from starvation, from animals, or hostile men or Kurii. But perhaps, too, they managed, somehow, to return to a steel world, not their original world, on which they would be unwelcome, but another. There is much here which is not known.

As mentioned earlier the containers, one of which housed Agamemnon, had been damaged in the audience chamber. The major effect which this damage seems to have had on Agamemnon was the damage to that portion of the device by means of which the ensconced brain was enabled to generate a visual consciousness. In this way, Agamemnon’s awareness of who, or what, was in his vicinity had been impaired. Because of the trust accorded by both Timarchos and Lysymachos to Grendel, and because of him, to Tiresias, Agamemnon was occasionally left in the keeping of either Grendel or Tiresias, or both. Timarchos and Lysymachos were well aware that Agamemnon was not without enemies in the Cave.

One day, as I often was, I was in attendance on Tiresias, that I might fetch for him, or help him about, as he might wish. On that day, Tiresias was with Agamemnon.

“Bring me eyes,” had said Agamemnon.

“I have no eyes to bring,” had said Tiresias.

“Who is there?” had asked Agamemnon.

Tiresias had made his presence known.

“It was I who had you put out, into the mountains,” said Agamemnon.

“Yes,” said Tiresias.

“It is the Kur way,” said Agamemnon.

“That is my understanding,” said Tiresias.

“Are you going to kill me?” asked Agamemnon.

“No,” said Tiresias.

“It is the Kur way,” said Agamemnon.

“I am Kur,” had said Tiresias. “And it is not my way.”

The next day, their preparations complete, Timarchos, Lysymachos, and Agamemnon had left the Cave.

When Grendel had been saved from his projected executioners I had urged him to flee, but he had refused to do so. Rather, he and Tiresias would hide, and where, it seemed, they would not be sought. He would remain. He had, it seemed, “work to do.” Where he would not be sought turned out to be the Cave itself. In his explorations outside the Cave, as noted, he had located and investigated the waiting ship, inert, waiting for its activation. He had forced his way into its housing, and, from within the housing, had obtained access to the interior of the Cave. Thus, while search party after search party left the Cave and scoured the icy, cruel terrain of the Voltai, he and Tiresias enjoyed the comforts of shelter. Snow provided drink, and an occasional mountain verr was secured for food. Grendel was well aware that Lucius and some cohorts remained at large and this suggested either, or both, of two possibilities, one, their retreat to remote portions of the Cave or, two, their access to concealed passages. Presumably the possibility likely to be of greatest interest to the fugitives would be that of concealed passages, by means of which important areas of the Cave, central halls, major chambers, and such, might be conveniently at hand. With this in mind, and the conviction that a private access, which might be utilized under certain conditions, as well as a public access, generally available, to the housing of the ship would be likely, Grendel addressed himself, over several Ahn, to the walls and flooring of the ship’s housing. As a result of this investigation, he had eventually discovered a trap, which led by a flight of stairs, to a private passageway which, in turn, connected with a network of such passages. As a result, Grendel soon had at his disposal the same roads, and tunnels, so to speak, which were serving Lucius and his cohorts. Moreover, he had the advantage that Lucius and his cohorts were not aware of this intrusion into what they took to be their private domain. Accordingly, from time to time, he was able to follow their movements, and, occasionally, overhear their conversation.

Unfortunately it took eleven days after the incident in the audience chamber before our party could depart the Cave. The time lost was regretted, but the rigors and dangers of the Voltai are not to be taken lightly, even in the summer. In the winter her passes are treacherous, and sometimes closed. We laid in abundant supplies of various sorts, food, clothing, blankets, shelter gear, tools, ropes and other climbing tackle, and weapons. Sledges must also be built. These preparations, too, might have proceeded more apace had conditions in the Cave been more settled. Gangs had been formed both for predation and for self protection. Small wars might take place in the halls, as borders were crossed and claimed territories encroached upon. Riches were acquired, hoarded, and then defended. Many men expected to leave the Cave in the spring, rich. Kurii, too, who kept much to themselves, might also kill for food, men or one another. Our own gang must be formed to defend our supplies and other goods. Grendel accepted some to share our trials and rejected others. His criteria were less strength and prowess than reliability and honor. One would not wish to find a knife at one’s throat when the Aqueduct Road was nigh. Most of the kajirae would remain in the Cave, presumably to be fought over as work and pleasure objects by the gangs. There were twenty-two men in our group, and one free woman, the Lady Bina. Our leader was Grendel. Our familiar fellows were with us, Astrinax, Lykos, Desmond of Harfax, Trachinos, and Akesinos. Kleomenes, who had been the leader of the tarsk hunters, was with us, but not his hunters, who had chosen to remain in the Cave until spring. Kleomenes brought a slave with him. Her name was Nora. At night he kept her chained by the neck to his right foot. Shortening the chain she was slept at his feet, lengthening the chain he could draw her to him, for his pleasure. I did not think she needed be chained. I do not think she would have left him for anything. She was his slave. He was her master. Lady Bina took her three slaves with her, Allison, Jane, and Eve. Trachinos had with him a slave, as well, Mina, who had once been the Lady Persinna of Ar. She was now his love beast. One last slave was with us, Chloe, who had been brought along by one of those fellows who had petitioned to accompany us, and had been accepted. He claimed he wanted her to keep him warm at night, and that he would sell her in Venna. I was not sure that we would reach Venna. Mina and Chloe could read. We other kajirae could not. Pausanias and his wagons were months ahead of us.

As witnessed by this narrative, we survived the Voltai. I think this would not have been possible without the determination and courage, the strength and power, the leadership, of Lord Grendel. I have wondered if, sometimes, there might not be something in that mighty body of the will and power, the energy and resourcefulness, the astonishing capacity, of he alleged, long ago, to have been as Kur amongst Kurii, dreaded and dangerous Agamemnon, known as Theocrat of the World, the Eleventh Face of the Nameless One.

It might also be noted in passing, that considerable wealth had been amassed by Kurii and their agents in the Cave, by means of which mercenaries were to be paid and subversion purchased in various cities. Much of this had been transported from the Voltai by Pausanias, to abet the work of the conspiracy, but much had remained, as well. Indeed we have mentioned how those of the gangs which had formed in the Cave after the onset of anarchy had made it a point to acquire and defend portions of this wealth, each gang as much as possible. In any event, Grendel had made it a point to appropriate for himself and his followers what gold and silver might be brought to hand without jeopardizing the return to civilization. As a result of this the gold and silver amassed was divided amongst himself, the Lady Bina and the free men. This was divided and placed in sealed packages, each properly inscribed with the name of the free person to whom it was to belong. The Lady Bina, as she was a free woman, was given five portions. It is not unusual that the Gorean free woman, in virtue of her freedom, is prominently advantaged. If anything, Grendel had given her less than many men would think her due. The free woman on Gor has a status and power which would astonish most of the putatively free women of my former world, but then the Gorean commonly thinks of the women of my former world not as free women, at least as he understands that, but rather as slave stock. In any event, the Gorean free woman, even of the lower castes, is accorded considerable respect. Her entitlements and privileges are seldom challenged. Most men will yield place to her. To be sure, should she be stripped, and collared, and flung to the feet of a man this all changes. Grendel placed this wealth, in its several sealed sacks, in the sledge in the keeping of Trachinos and Akesinos. At the end of the journey, each sack was present and sealed, as before. Grendel had chosen well.

“Allison,” said the Lady Bina, “I have an errand for you to run.”

“Yes, Mistress,” I said.

“Tidy yourself,” she said. “Remember that you are a reflection on me.”

“Yes, Mistress,” I said.

The fate of Agamemnon’s conspiracy was not clear. Given his downfall in the Voltai it would, at least for a time, lack central direction. On the other hand, in its way, it was still afoot. Pausanias had left the Cave long before our departure. One supposes then that he by now, ignorant of developments in the Voltai, and following his instructions, would, by means of various well-placed agents, be carrying Agamemnon’s plans forward. He would doubtless be unaware of the downfall of Agamemnon until at least the spring. To be sure, it was clear that Agamemnon’s plan might be implemented in the absence of its prime architect. Agamemnon’s conspiracy then, even without Agamemnon, might still be afoot. Another possibility would be that the active, seething brain that was now Agamemnon might reassert itself, might acquire new housings, even new bodies. One did not know how much of Kur science might be available on this world. Too, might not another steel world bring Agamemnon to one of its own laboratories and there restore and rearm him, that he might further pursue, perhaps now to their own advantage, planetary imperialisms?

Desmond of Harfax had wanted to kill Agamemnon. Grendel had been unwilling to do so.

In any event, it was now clear to many, if not enough, that Kurii were active on Gor, and had designs on the world. If nothing else, perhaps one might now look more carefully at the civil conflicts that so often erupt in Gorean cities.

“Are you ready, Allison?” inquired the Lady Bina.

“Yes, Mistress,” I said.

We had arrived in Ar some weeks ago. The Lady Bina had given Jane to Astrinax, and Eve to Lykos. They were not even sold. They were given outright. I rejoiced for them. I, however, to my dismay, had been retained. “Am I not, too, to be given to someone?” I had asked, looking up, excited, hopeful, trembling, to see what would be done with me, appropriately kneeling. Then she looked at me. I did not understand her expression. Then she said, “A lady needs a slave. You may now kiss my sandals, and thank me for deigning to keep you, despite your many faults.” As I kissed her sandals, tears ran from my eyes. I could hardly speak. “Thank you, Mistress,” I whispered, “for deigning to keep me.” “Despite your many faults,” she reminded me. “Despite my many faults,” I said, and collapsed, weeping.

“Prepare supper,” she had then said.

“Yes, Mistress,” I had said.

I did not know where Kleomenes had gone, as he left us in Venna. The last I had seen of him he had purchased a saddle tharlarion, a hunter, and was departing, westward, Nora on foot, chained by the neck to his stirrup. The fellow who had decided to sell Chloe in Venna had apparently changed his mind. I last saw him on foot, Chloe behind him, heeling him, carrying his pack. She was humming, and he did not turn and cuff her. They were bound somewhere north, perhaps Torcadino or even Brundisium, on the coast. Trachinos, who had originally claimed to be from Turia, was apparently curious to see what Turia might be like. In any event, he had purchased a wagon and tharlarion, and was allegedly returning to Turia. The last I had seen of him was his wagon, disappearing down the road. His slave Mina followed on foot, chained by her wrists to the back of the wagon. I thought that, soon enough, she would be beside him on the wagon box, though perhaps braceleted or shackled. Astrinax had returned to Ar, to his jobbing, and Lykos, too, was now in Ar. He had opened a day stall on the Street of Coins. It was not easy to think of him with scales and an abacus. It was easier to remember him on his rope, ahead of the wagons, plunging his great staff through the snow, wary of concealed crevices. Grendel had followed him, with his hands on the rope, the other end about his own waist, to draw him to safety if the snow gave way. It had, several times. Akesinos had remained in Venna, to hire himself out as a wagon guard, an honest guard, I hoped. He had also invested some of his resources to obtain a share in a small tavern in Venna. He had offered half a silver tarsk to the Lady Bina for me, but his offer had been declined. Thus I escaped becoming a paga girl. I did not know the whereabouts of Desmond of Harfax. Nor was I now interested in knowing his whereabouts. He had not approached the Lady Bina on my behalf, he had made no offer to buy me. I now realized how little I meant to him. How right I was to have hated him. And how right I was to hate him now.

“Turn about, Allison,” said the Lady Bina, “and place your hands behind your back.”

“Mistress?” I said.

“Now,” she said.

To my surprise, and lack of ease, I felt slave bracelets snapped on my wrists.

I pulled a bit, at the pinioning.

“There is no point in struggling, Allison,” said the Lady Bina. “You are secured, perfectly.”

“Yes, Mistress,” I said. “May I ask why?”

“There are several reasons for back-braceleting a slave girl,” said the Lady Bina. “It makes her helpless, it increases her sense of vulnerability, it is sexually stimulating, it reminds her that she is a slave, it considerably reduces her juicing time, it nicely accentuates her figure, and such.”

“Surely,” I said, “there is little doubt about a girl’s figure if she is in a slave tunic.”

“And doubtless less, if she is camisked,” she said.

“Doubtless,” I said.

“You were camisked in the Cave,” she said.

“Yes, Mistress,” I said.

“Would you prefer a camisk?” she asked.

“No,” I said. “Not in the public streets.”

“Perhaps you would prefer such in the privacy of a domicile,” she said, “that you might thereby excite yourself and a master.”

“Perhaps,” I said. To be sure, slave girls were not unoften kept naked indoors, save for their collar.

“It is not wise to excite strangers,” she said. “Some are brutes and ruffians.”

“Yes, Mistress,” I said.

“To be sure,” she said, “slave tunics are not much better.”

“They are designed to be provocative, and revealing,” I said.

“They are designed to divert attention from free women,” she said, “and thus they increase the security of the free woman.”

“I do not think that is the main reason,” I said.

“Oh?” she said.

“Men like to see slaves thusly,” I said.

“Perhaps,” she said.

I jerked a little at the bracelets.

“Usually you do not bracelet me so,” I said.

“No,” she said. “But on this errand I do not want your little hands to be busy.”

“My hands,” I said, “are no larger or smaller than those of Mistress.”

“But,” she said, “they are the hands of a slave.”

“Yes, Mistress,” I said.

“I have here,” she said, “a small sack, on its cord, which I will hang about your neck. I have tied it shut, with my signature knot. It contains a message which you, as you are illiterate, cannot read, even if you could reach the sack. You will seek the shop of Amyntas, the wine merchant. It is on Teiban, near Clive. Present yourself, on behalf of your Mistress, Bina of Ar. The message will be read, and a small package will be placed in the sack, which will be knotted closed. Presumably that will be done with the signature knot of Amyntas. You will have been expected. This has been arranged. Return then.”

“Yes, Mistress,” I said. “Must I truly go braceleted?”

“Surely you have seen braceleted slaves in the streets,” she said, “front-braceleted, and back-braceleted.”

“Yes, Mistress,” I said.

“Would you prefer to go back-braceleted, and nude?” she asked.

“No, Mistress,” I said

“Be careful on the stairs,” she said.

“Yes, Mistress,” I said.

“And do not dally,” she said.

“No, Mistress,” I said.

I then exited the domicile. I wondered how many kisses, and embraces, I might be forced to endure, back-braceleted. That might have much to do with whether or not free women were in the vicinity. Once, though I had not been back-braceleted, I had been seized and lip raped by a strong, handsome Tarnster. A frowning free woman had rushed over and berated the fellow, roundly. Even though I was frightened, and squirmed, he had not discontinued his attentions. I was helpless in his arms. I could not help myself. I must have moved as a slave. How can one help being a slave, if one is a slave? When satisfied, he laughed, and thrust me down, to my belly, a well-kissed slave, and faced the free woman. “Perhaps you would like to be in a collar,” he snarled. The free woman had then turned about, and fled. I had thought the matter done, but the free woman had turned about afterwards, and followed me. She accosted me, and, when I knelt before her, as I must, she struck me and kicked me, several times. “Slut,” she cried. “Slut! Seductive slut!” “I was seized, Mistress!” I protested. “I saw you!” she cried. “They like your sort in the paga taverns! Run to a paga tavern, grovel, and beg to be caressed!” “Please do not hurt me!” I begged. “Would that I owned you!” she said. “If you so much as raised your head in the streets, you would be lashed!” I recoiled under her blows. “Slave,” she said. “Slave, slave, slave!” “Yes, Mistress,” I said. “I am a slave.” She struck me twice more. She then turned about, and left. “Yes,” I thought, “she would like to be in a collar.”

I hurried up the stairs to the second floor of the house of Epicrates, where we maintained our domicile.

I was dirty, weeping, and bruised. My tunic was torn. Shortly after having received the package, I had been set upon by two men, who had been hooded. A wad of cloth had been thrust into my mouth and tied there, with another band of cloth, knotted behind the back of my neck. I had then been drawn into an alley, flung to the gutter, in the alley’s center, and the sack I had worn about my neck had been cut away. The two men had then tied my ankles together and fled away. They had not made use of me. I was muchly helpless, and in consternation. Perhaps, if my wrists had not been pinioned behind my back, I might have offered the assailants some resistance, or, at least, delayed their depredation long enough to attract the attention of passers-by. I must now try, painfully, miserably, bit by bit, to edge my way to the mouth of the alley. But, a moment later, a Leather Worker, passing by in the street outside, was in the mouth of the alley. He, apparently curious, was looking after the two running fellows. He then looked into the alley, saw me, and, a little later, my ankles had been freed. I looked at him, wildly, piteously, over the gag. I made muffled noises, begging that the gag be removed. But he left it in place. “I wonder why they ran,” he said. Then he said, “You are pretty.” His hands were on my ankles. I shook my head, wildly, negatively. And then he made use of me. For a time I squirmed, in protest, but then, after a bit, a slave, overcome, mastered, submitted, I threw back my head, helpless and lost, in a grateful bliss I was unable to resist, a bliss I only hoped would be prolonged. When he was finished with me he removed my gag but placed his finger across my lips, that I would not speak. He then drew a copper tarsk-bit from his pouch and placed it in my mouth. I could not then well speak, for the coin in my mouth. “That is for your master,” he said. He then stood up. “I wager those two,” he said, looking down the alley, “did not even pay.” I made clear to him, with small sounds, kneeling before him, that I wished to speak. He put out his hand and I dropped the coin from my mouth into his palm, “They did not make use of me,” I said. “I was robbed.” “No wonder they ran,” he said. “But do not concern yourself. No one would entrust anything of value to a slave.” “May I go, Master?” I asked. “You are a hot little pudding,” he said. “I cannot help myself,” I said. “I could not resist.” “A barbarian, too,” he said. “I heard that they were all inert.” “Inertness is not permitted to us,” I said. “We are in collars.” “I have heard, too,” he said, “that they are disgusting creatures, helpless, marvelous slaves, who will pant, beg, and crawl for it.” “We are women,” I said. “Slaves,” he said. “Yes, Master,” I said, “slaves.” “What do you cost?” he asked. “Apparently only a tarsk-bit,” I said. “Do not be bitter,” he said. “May I go?” I asked. “The ruffians bruised you,” he said. “You must be in pain.” “May I go?” I asked. “Please, Master.” “Open your mouth,” he said. He then replaced the coin in my mouth. “Remember,” he said. “That is for your master.” I made a single small noise. If gagged, one such noise signifies “Yes,” and two, “No.” It is not unusual for a slave to carry a coin or coins in her mouth. She is not permitted a pouch, and slave garments, like most Gorean garments, save those of artisans, and such, do not contain pockets. I then sprang up and hurried from the alley.

In the domicile, I knelt before my Mistress, the Lady Bina, and dropped the coin at her feet. Lord Grendel was also present. I then, shaken that I had been robbed, miserable in the pain of my bruising, distraught that I had failed to return home with the package, frightened that I would be punished, poured out, in a torrent of tears what had occurred. I did not neglect to explain the origin of the coin. I may have omitted some of the details pertaining to the later phases of my usage. To be sure, such might have been conjectured, as I had been paid, or, rather, as my master or mistress, as the case might be, had been paid.

“I have failed you!” I wept.

“Not at all,” said Lord Grendel. “You have done splendidly.”

“Master?” I said.

“It was intended,” he said, “that the package be stolen. We have let the importance of the wine shop of Amyntas be known in certain quarters. Certain individuals have even permitted themselves to be bribed, to let a certain code sheet fall into certain hands. Indeed, this domicile is doubtless under surveillance, now that spring has come. The package stolen from you contained a code deck, whose message would be revealed by the purchased code sheet. The message, intended to fall into certain hands, specifies a supposed meeting of more than a hundred operatives opposed to the plans of Agamemnon. The enemy will doubtless wish to eliminate these operatives. When they attack the meeting site they will find it empty, but they, themselves, will be surrounded and attacked. In this way we hope to obtain a number of prisoners, who, if not of the importance of Pausanias, and such, might be important, and, properly persuaded, might lead us to the higher, even the highest, conspirators. If this plan proceeds to fruition we will not have ended the conspiracy, of course, which is far reaching, and may have support from various steel worlds, but it should deal it a serious blow.”

“Should I not have been told?” I said.

“Certainly not,” said Lord Grendel. “You must play your part in total ignorance. An inadvertent look, a mere expression, a lapsed word, a too-ready acquiescence, might have brought about the ruin of the entire plan.”

“Might I not have been killed?” I said.

“No,” said Lord Grendel. “No more than a kaiila or tarsk.”

“The men were hooded,” I said.

“Certainly that, or masked, or veiled,” said Lord Grendel, “that you would be unable to recognize them.”

“I was back-braceleted,” I said.

“To further protect your life,” said Lord Grendel. “Had you been able to offer the least resistance, and had you been so foolish as to have done so, which we feared you might, delaying the theft, or jeopardizing it in any way, you might have been summarily slain. It is possible you owe your life to something as simple as a pair of slave bracelets.”

“Might they now be removed?” I asked.

“Certainly,” he said.

“Thank you,” I said.

“I wager,” said the Lady Bina, “there is someone whose bracelets you would like to wear, and perhaps his shackles, as well.”

“Mistress?” I said.

“Someone by whose coin you would like to have been taken off the slave block,” she said.

“I will have to sew my garment,” I said. “It is torn.”

The Lady Bina fingered the tarsk-bit. “When I bought you,” she said, “I thought you might be of interest to men.”

“Yes, Mistress,” I said.

“Is this,” she asked, looking at the coin, “all your use was worth?”

“I had nothing to say about it,” I said. “It was what he gave me.”

“I would have supposed you should have brought twice that,” she said, “two tarsk-bits.”

“Ela,” I said, “Mistress was not there to negotiate.”

“Many men,” said Lord Grendel, “coming upon a luscious kajira, gagged, and secured, helpless, totally at their mercy, in a secluded place, would not pay at all.”

“Would it not be the same with a free woman?” I asked.

“Certainly not,” he said. “The free woman would be instantly freed, succored, and restored to dignity. And if not, if one were so boorish, or foolish, as to risk torture and impalement, one would not pay, anyway, as the free woman is priceless. To give her a coin would be a great insult.”

“And we are quite different?” I said.

“Quite,” said Lord Grendel. “You are not priceless. You are worth what men will pay for you.”

“At least,” I said, “we have some sense then of what we are worth.”

“Of course,” said Lord Grendel.

“But he did pay,” said the Lady Bina.

“That suggests,” said Lord Grendel, “he was well satisfied.”

“Was he well satisfied, Allison?” inquired the Lady Bina.

“I think he was pleased with a slave,” I said.

“And you, Allison,” said the Lady Bina. “Were you well pleased?”

“Please do not make me speak, Mistress,” I said, my head down.

“Speak,” she said.

I looked up at her, tears in my eyes. “I am a slave, Mistress!” I said.

“I understand,” she said. “Excellent.”

“As I understand it,” said Lord Grendel, “a copper tarsk-bit is the usual price for a use, for example, to be placed in the pan beside a secured camp girl, to be put in the chained neck box of a coin girl, and such.”

“Good,” said the Lady Bina. “Then a single copper tarsk-bit is not a negative reflection on the quality of the slave.”

“Not at all,” said Lord Grendel.

“Excellent,” she said.

“And in the taverns,” said Lord Grendel, “a tarsk-bit will usually purchase a goblet of paga, and, if the customer wishes, the use of a paga girl. Sometimes dancers are extra.”

“I am very pleased,” said the Lady Bina, smiling upon me.

“Am I not to be despised?” I asked.

“No,” said the Lady Bina.

“I cannot help myself,” I said.

“Nor should you,” said Lord Grendel. “Rather, you should desire it, with all your heart, to be so alive, and female.”

“But you do not understand,” I said, “how helpless one is!”

“You do not yet know how helpless a slave girl can be,” said Lord Grendel. “When your slave fires are better kindled, you will begin to understand.”

“You may begin to repair your garment,” said the Lady Bina. “After that, you may prepare supper.”

“Yes, Mistress,” I said.

“And thus,” she said, “you see the difference between a mistress and a master.”

“Mistress?” I said.

“A master,” she said, “would doubtless have you prepare supper before repairing the garment, that he might see you serving in a torn tunic.”

“Yes, Mistress,” I said.

“Or less,” she said.

“Yes, Mistress,” I said.