Players of Gor

22 What Occurred on the Coast of Thassa; It Has Begun

"We were afraid!" cried Boots. "What kept you?"

"Attentions delivered upon a female slave," I said, "having primarily to do with her training."

"Of course!" said Scormus.

"Do we know her?" asked Chino.

"She was once the Lady Yanina," I said.

"Superb!" said Chino.

"She is now mine," I said.

"Excellent," said Chino.

"She is to be delivered to Port Kar," I said, "to my holding, packed in a barrel with parsit fish."

"Excellent," said Lecchio. Rowena and Telitsia clapped their hands with pleasure, delighted that the once-proud Lady Yanina now shared their condition, that of the helpless and abject slaves of strong masters. Bina, I saw, kneeling near Scormus, had eyes only for him. No longer was his use bracelet on her wrist, but his collar was now on her neck. I had little doubt that yesterday morning she would have been whipped, for having spoken without permission, as he had informed her in the hall of Belnar. This morning, however, it did not seem that she had felt the whip, other than, doubtless, the whip of the furs, at the hand of her gifted, imperious master. I had no doubt but what she had now rendered ample proof to him that she was worth far more than the golden tarn disk he h ad arrogantly paid for her. If she had not yet done so, I did not doubt but what he, in the manner of the Gorean master, would see to it that she soon did.

"You escaped from the city without incident?" I asked.

"Yes," said Boots, "and, later, so, too, did Andronicus, with Chino, Lecchio, and Petrucchio."

"Where is Andronicus?" I asked. "Where is Petrucchio?"

"they are at the side of the wagon, over there," said Boots. The wagons of the troupe of Boots Tarsk-Bit were drawn up on the height of a hill, amidst trees, overlooking Thassa. It was now morning. We could see Brundisium in the distance.

"They are all right, are they not?" I asked. I had not seen them. They had not come to greet me.

"Well," said Boots, evasively.

I hurried about the wagons, until I came to that place, near the edge of the trees, on a clifflike projection of the hill, rearing above Thassa, where was the wagon of Andronicus. There I was Petrucchio, lying propped up, amidst bags and blankets. A great bandage was wrapped about his head. He looked in worse condition than he had when he had experienced the thrust of Flaminius. Andronicus was near him.

"Ho!" called Petrucchio, weakly, lifting his hand, greeting me.

"Greetings," said Andronicus.

"Greetings, fellows," I said.

"We would have joined the others, coming forth to bid you welcome," said Andronicus, "but Petrucchio is feeling a bit low today, and I am tending him."

"That is all right," I said.

"Took, we were discussing the movements of the head," said Andronicus. "I believe I may have discovered a new one. Have you ever seen this?"

"I do not think so," I said, startled, "at least not very often."

"It is, at least, one not mentioned explicitly in the texts, such as those of Alamanius, Tan Sarto and Polimachus."

"If it should be accepted as genuine, and win accreditation, being entered into the catalogs," said Petrucchio, "that would come out to one hundred and seventy-four. Although I myself am not strong on theory, I am very proud of Andronicus."

"We all are," I said.

"The theater is not a purely empirical discipline," said Andronicus. "It proceeds by theory, too."

"I am sure of it," I said. "Petrucchio, how are you?"

"Let a great pyre be built," said Petrucchio.

I looked carefully under the bandages.

"Let it contain a hundred logs!" said Petrucchio. "No, a thousand!"

"That is a very nasty bump," I said, replacing the bandages, "but it is nothing serious."

"Oh?" asked Petrucchio.

"Yes," I said.

"I will live?" inquired Petrucchio.

"Yes," I said.

"I suppose it is just as well," mused Petrucchio.

"I think so," I said.

"You must live, dear friend," averred Andronicus.

" Very well," said Petrucchio, convinced.

"Logs are very expensive," said Lecchio.

"How did Petrucchio receive this injury?" I asked. "Did he perhaps slip on the steps of your wagon?"

"No," said Andronicus. "he was struck, unexpectedly, from behind."

"And what craven sleen stuck such a blow?" I asked, angrily.

"Well," said Andronicus, "if it must be known, it was I."

"You?" I asked.

"Yes," he said. "He was preparing to set forth for Brundisium again, once more to rescue you."

"Well struck," I commended Andronicus.

"Thank you," he said.

"How did you escape form the city proceed?" inquired Lecchio.

"Very well," I said.

"Splendid," said Lecchio.

"To be sure," I said, "I did not realize the descent on the tarn wire, with the flanged wheel, would be that swift. I struck the wall of a building with great force."

"The most difficult part of the journey, of course," said Lecchio, "would be the section where the tarn wire, from the lower roofs, stretches over to the wall, that section where you could not simply use gravity and the flanged wheel."

"Some might have found it so," I admitted.

"Fortunately," said Lecchio, "it was a matter of only a hundred feet or so."

"A mere nothing," I admitted.

"Did anyone see you?" asked Lecchio.

"I did hear a couple of fellows shouting," I admitted.

"Did you resist the temptation to do a somersault on the wire for them?" he asked.

"Yes," I said.

"It is probably just as well," he said.

"I think so," I said.

"I am pleased you did so well," he said.

"I fell off seven times," I said. "Fortunately I managed to seize the wire each time. Finally I finished the journey hand over hand."

"You are probably not yet ready to do that sort of thing professionally," he said.

"No," I said. "I do not think so." I was pleased that I had not broken my neck. The descent from the wall, once I had reached it, was simple. I had looped coiled wire about a parapet projection and, protected by the leather gloves, had descended to the ground, some sixty feet below.

"Did you hear what happened to Temenides, and his men?" asked Boots.

"No," I said.

"They were found in the city, with their throats cut," he said. "Apparently their murder was to have been blamed on us, as such a rumor seems to have been intentionally spread. But others, perhaps not privy to the plot, cleared our name, noting the papers recording our departure from the city, papers signed at an Ahn when Temenides and his men were still alive. We found this out through Andronicus. He learned it when he was coming back out of the city, with Chino and Lecchio, with Petrucchio as his supposed prisoner."

"I see," I said. I recalled I had seen Belnar give orders to a fellow upon the departure of Temenides from the great hall. It had been their misfortune, it seemed, to have displeased him. He had, too, it seemed, intended to settle the blame for the projected murder on the company of Boots Tarsk-Bit. This stratagem would permit him not only to take action against plausible suspects, given the hostility between those of Ar and Cos, this perhaps diverting attention from he true murderers, those in the pay of the ubar, but would give him a convenient pretext for ridding himself of possibly dangerous strangers, strangers who might, sooner or later, inopportunely comment on the anomaly of one from Cos, Temenides, am ere player, seated at the high table in Brundisium. Belnar, of course, had not realized that the troupe of Boots Tarsk-Bit would not return to its quarters in the palace but, instead, would immediately flee the city.

"Even though your manes may be cleared," I said, "I do not think I would revisit Brundisium in the near future."

"No," said Boots, "we shall, for the time, cross it off our itinerary."

"Good," said Andronicus.

"It is their loss," said Boots.

"True," agreed Lecchio.

"I trust you are all well, and are soon to be about your business," I said.

"Yes," said Boots, "but I suspect we may soon have to find another brawny fellow, another chap of great strength and modest talent, to help us set op the platform and tents."

"I think so," I smiled.

"Perhaps I could take over the knife-throwing act," said Boots.

Rowena and Telitsia turned white.

"But who would pay to see knives thrown at a slave?" asked Chino.

"That is true," said Boots.

The slaves visibly relaxed.

"We shall miss you," said Andronicus.

"I shall miss you, too, all of you," I said.

"Doubtless we shall have to locate another player, too," said Boots.

"Yes," smiled Scormus of Ar. "I am returning to Ar."

"And doubtless a Bina, too," moaned Boots.

"Yes, Master," said Bina, kneeling beside Scormus.

"Do you think you will enjoy wearing your collar in Ar?" he asked her.

She looked up at him. "As long as you are my master," she said, "I would wear it joyfully in Torvaldsland or Schendi."

"Rowena! Telitsia!" said Boots.

The two slaves immediately knelt before us.

I regarded them, Rowena, with her long, yellow braids, and dark-haired, shapely Telitsia, once of the scribes, now merely a girl of Boots Tarsk-Bit.

"Are they not lovely?" said Boots.

"Yes," I said.

"Rowena," said Boots, "had the making of a marvelous Golden Courtesan and Telitsia, here, I am certain, will become my finest Brigella."

"Thank you, Master," said Rowena.

"Thank you, Master," said Telitsia.

"This slave here," said Boots, "the well-formed brunet," indicating Telitsia, "has begged permission o record our plays, to write them down. Is that not absurd?"

"Why would it be absurd?" I asked.

"Because they constantly change, being continually improved and refined, and because they are often being adapted to different venues and are often topical," he said. "Too, how could a mere literary image capture the essence of the living drama?"

"Too, they are not worth writing down," said Lecchio.

"I know you do not value my opinion in these matters," I said, "but I must disagree with Lecchio."

"You are more inclined to agree with me, then?" asked Boots.

"Yes," I said.

"Your opinion, the," said Boots, "is not without value."

"Even if these plays are not great dramas," I said, "of the sort of which perhaps Andronicus dreams, they are a genuine part of the vital and living theater. They are a place, whether at a crossroads or in a ubar's hall, where theater exists. In this sense they are not only a part of its tradition and history, but are, humanly, for all their vulgarity and bawdiness, rich and precious. It would be a tragedy if they were not, in one sense or another, however unworthily or inadequately, remembered."

"It is impossible that they should be lost," said Boots.

"I know of a world where they were," I said.

"At any rate," said Boots. "I did give her permission, and the materials, too, to make at least a few jotting pertinent to these matters."

"Excellent," I said.

"Do you think me weak?" asked Boots.

"No," I said. "It is a good idea." I looked to Telitsia, kneeling with Rowena before us. "Why did you want to do this?" I asked her.

"I have learned to love them," she said. "I found them precious. I did not wan them to perish."

"If giving her our permission in this matter bothers you," I said, "seeming to you perhaps a bit too indulgent, there exists an obvious remedy wherewith you may assuage your qualms."

"What is that?" asked Boots, interested.

"Simply command her," I said. "As she is a slave, she must then obey promptly and perfectly, and will be subject to any disciplines which you might care to impose on her."

"A very good idea," said Boots. "Telitsia!"

"Yes, Master," she said.

"Keep some notes, or jottings, or records of some sort, now and then, on some of our plays, or some of those of others, as you might come on the, that sort of thing," he said.

"Yes, Master. Thank you, Master," said Telitsia, once of the scribes.

I looked down at Rowena and Telitsia, and though they were slaves, they lowered their eyes, blushing at my glance. "an excellent brace of sluts," I said.

"Yes," agreed Boots, proud of his chattels.

"You are fortunate," I said. "Not only do you have two fine actresses here but tow superb tent girls."

"True," said Boots. He was indeed fortunate. Both girls were so beautiful that the mere sight of them, chained by the ankle to the stake in their tents, could drive men mad with desire.

"I shall miss the, as I will all of you," I said.

"We, too, will miss you, all of us," said Chino.

"Scormus," I said.

"Yes," he said.

"I gather that Andronicus gave you the papers from Brundisium, the keys to certain ciphers," I said.

"Yes," he said.

"I hope they proved pertinent to the other papers I left with you, those originally obtained from she who was once the Lady Yanina."

"They did," he said, "as we had surmised they would." He handed me a sheaf of papers. "I have written out the decipherings for you. There was no difficulty, given the keys. I did them last night. They are all here."

I took the papers. "I am grateful," I said. To be sure, my primary motivation in entering Brundisium had been to investigate my own business, to try and discover who or what it was that had been responsible for the attack on me in Port Kar. I had learned, of course, to my surprise, that it had been neither Priest-Kings nor Kurii, but Lurius of Jad, Ubar of Cos. This information, and I did not doubt but what it was sound, I had had from Flaminius, he of Ar, though seemingly traitor to that city. "What is their purport?" I asked.

"Treason to Ar, betrayal of the alliance," he said. "Cos, abetted by Tyros, moves against Ar. Thousands of men, trained to perfection in both Cos and Tyros, embark upon vessels. n Brundisium's harbor, the joint invasion fleet is to be peacefully received. Indeed, for months Brundisium has been being secretly stocked with provisions and materials of war. It is serve as a staging area for the subsequent penetration of the continent.

"In the light of such considerations," said Boots, "it is little wonder that those of Brundisium should seem somewhat concerned over matters of security."

"There were fires in the city," I said. "Perhaps those stores intended to support the invasion were damaged or destroyed, thus forcing a delay."

"On the supposition that the housing of such stores was near the harbor," said Scormus, "I would regard it as unlikely. The flames, as I understand it, from Andronicus and others, were not in the harbor area."

"That is true," I said.

"Many things now come together," said Scormus. "Even so small a thing as the presence of Ta grapes, generally associated with the terraces of Cos, at the banquet of Belnar now seems significant."

"Most significant, perhaps," I said, "was the presence of Temenides in Brundisium, at a high table, obviously enjoying the favor of Belnar."

"Perhaps he was a courier," speculated Boots. "Players may come and go much as they please."

"I suspect his station was higher than that of a simple courier," said Scormus. "Such fellows, at any rate, would seldom travel with an escort of Cosian spearmen."

"You suspect his presence there indicated some advance in this business, that perhaps some important juncture was at hand?" I asked.

"I think so," smiled Scormus.

"Ar," I said, "has the finest land forces on Gor. Cos and Tyros are mad to challenge her on the land."

"Marlenus, Ubar of Ar," said Scormus, "is not in Ar. He is, as I understand it, in the Voltai, concerned with a punitive expedition against Treve."

"Others, of course, could take command," I said.

"Of course," said Scormus.

"I think those of Ar have little to fear," I said.

"The war of Cos with Ar has been long," said Scormus. "Now, Tyros, a traditional naval ally of Cos, is prepared to support her ambitions openly on the land. The unified forces of these two ubarates are not to be taken lightly."

"But you have no clear idea of the numbers involved?" I asked.

"No," he said. "That is not indicated in the documents I have examined. ON the other hand I conjecture they will be considerable."

"You must take action," I said. "you must travel swiftly to Ar, to warn them of the treachery of Brundisium, to ready them to resist the invasion."

"I think they will learn soon enough," he said.

"I do not understand," I said.

"We are too late," he said.

"What?" I asked.

"I today not the Seventeenth of Se'Kara?" he asked.

"Yes," I said.

"Look out to sea," he said.

Rowena cried out in amazement. So, too, did others. Even Petrucchio climbed to his feet.

In the distance, at the horizon, there were sails, the sails of lateen-rigged vessels. We stood for a long time, all of us, on he summit of that hill, near its clifflike edge, the water below striking at its foot, overlooking Thassa, with Brundisium in the distance.

"There is no end of them!" said Boots.

The ships, in line after line, continued to appear over the horizon. The tiny dots of white sails, slowly, in the placid hundreds, made their way toward Brundisium.

"It has begun," said Scormus.

"Were there names in the papers?" I asked.

"Yes," he said. "Members of the high council of Brundisium, other than Belnar, are involved. His removal will not affect the business."

"Surely, too, there re contacts in Ar," I said.

"Yes," he said. "There are contacts in Ar."

"That was to have been expected," I said. "Lurius is a cautious fellow. He would not embark upon an enterprise as hazardous as this without the assurance of significant internal support."

"No," said Scormus. "And worse, it seems this bold, dark business may have actually been begun at the instigation or, and upon the invitation of, certain parties in Ar."

"There are traitors, then, in Ar," I said.

"Yes," said Scormus.

"Who are these traitors?" I asked.

"On the whole it is difficult to tell," said Scormus. "Few of their names occur explicitly in the papers. ON the other hand, they are apparently numerous, and some of them, I gather, are highly place."

"Some names of traitors do occur in the documents?" I said.

"Yes," he said. "The names of two traitors occur there."

"Who are they?" I asked.

"Flaminius," he said.

"He with whom we have had dealings?" I asked.

"Yes," said Scormus.

"Yes," I said. "He is a traitor to Ar. I left him bound in Brundisium. He is doubtless free by now."

Scormus nodded.

"Who is the other one?" I asked.

"It is a woman," he said.

"That is interesting," I said.

"I do not think you would know her," he said.

"Probably not," I said.

"She has been obscure in Ar for years," he said.

"What is her name?" I asked.

"Talena," he said.

"Talena!" I said.

"Is there anything wrong?" he asked.

"No," I said.

"Did you know a Talena once?" he asked.

"Once," I said.

"It could not be she," he said.

"No," I said. "There must be a thousand Talenas in Ar."

"Probably," said Scormus. "Too, with all due respect, it is unlikely that one such as yourself, given the assumed lowliness of your background and origins, would know her."

"Oh?" I asked.

"Yes," he said, "this one once stood high in Ar. She was of high caste and noble blood. She was of gentle birth, of delicate breeding, a creature of the most refined upbringing and careful nurture, and of acknowledged and established station. She was among the loftiest of the free women of the city. On such festivals as the Planting Feast it was even she who was sometimes permitted to honor the Home Stone, sprinkling upon it the richest Ka-la-na, and the finest of Sa-Tarna grains. She was the daughter of Marlenus, ubar of Ar."

"I have heard of her," I said.

Then she fell into disgrace, having been enslaved, thereby no longer having a Home Stone. Then, for having begged to be purchased, an act confessing the propriety of her bondage, sworn she was from her father's blood."

"I have heard something of it," I said.

"In recent years, freed, but with no Home Stone, in disgrace and seclusion, she has lived in Ar."

I nodded.

"Now, it seems," said he, "she is somehow implicated in a plot to overthrow Marlenus, that she is among the ring leaders in an insidious betrayal and projected revolt, that she is a prominent figure in a treason that could open the very gates of Ar to its enemies. It is intended, it seems, that it should then be she who sits upon the throne of Ar, attentive to the counsels of Cos and Tyros."

"The armies of Ar," I said, "will destroy the forces of Cos and Tyros."

"I do not think that is so clear," said Scormus. Again we looked out to sea. It seemed covered with ships. I had never before, anywhere, seen the marshaling of so many ships. Sails, even now, continued to appear over the horizon.

"No," I said. "The armies of Ar will destroy those of Cos and Tyros."

"Your confidence exceeds mine, particularly in the present circumstances," said Scormus.

I shrugged.

"Should that occur, however, and the traitors be found out, doubtless they would be dealt with most harshly."

I stepped away from the grassy height from which we surveyed the vast, distant fleet. I took the papers from my tunic. I went to the small fire in the camp, among the wagons. With stick I stirred it. I threw the papers on the fire. I watched them burn.

"Did you make a copy of the papers?" I asked Scormus.

"No," he said. "But I have seen them. I am familiar with their contents. Am I now to be killed, or something?"

"No," I said. "Of course not."

"What am I to do?" he asked.

"Do whatever you think best," I said.

"Even if I had the papers," he said, "I would have no way to prove their authenticity."

I nodded, watching the last pieces of paper blacken and curl.

"Too," he said, "to whom could I, or you, report what we have found? We do not know who is privy to the plot and who is not."

"That is true," I said. With the stick I prodded the charred remains of the papers, crumbling them to black powder in the ashes.

"This is not like you," said Scormus.

"What?" I asked.

"This," he said.

"What?" I asked, angrily.

"I do not think you can so easily rid yourself of unwelcome realities, my friend," said Scormus, "whatever you might esteem them to be."

I did not respond.

"Do you think to put the torch to truth?" he asked.

I did not answer him.

"I cannot be done," he said.

"Many manage," I said. Indeed, I knew a world predicated on lies and the perversion of nature. It was called Earth.

"Perhaps," he said.

I jabbed down, angrily, at the ashes. Then I threw away the stick.

"But," he said, "I doubt that you would be very good at it."

"No," I said. "I do not think I would be very good at it."

"You cannot even walk a tightrope," observed Lecchio.

"True," I said.

"However these matters fall out," said Scormus, "they have now begun." He then walked back to the height of the clifflike side of the hill, that with the crashing waves at its foot. I joined him there, with the others, my friends, whom I must soon leave. WE all looked out to sea. IT was a vast fleet. The first ships had already come to the harbor of Brundisium.

"It has begun," said Scormus.

"Yes," I said. "It has begun."