Swordsmen of Gor

Chapter Twenty WHAT OCCURRED WITHIN THE STABLE; A TARN IS REQUESTED

It was near dawn.

Some bread was handed to me.

I had taken the report of the last watch, and no one had exited the stable. The six fires had been tended during the night, and the net had been raised and anchored to posts. The fires would shortly, with the coming of light, be extinguished.

“Free him,” I said to a nearby mercenary, indicating Pertinax.

“Did you sleep?” I inquired.

“There was little else to do,” he said.

“I see you are in good humor,” I said.

“I was a fool last night,” he said. “Forgive me.”

“It is nothing,” I said. “If any remain within I feared you would die in the darkness, or, if there was a lamp, constitute a target which would be difficult to miss at the range.”

“I am grateful,” he said.

“Rub your wrists and ankles,” I said. “Exercise your limbs, move about. Then eat, but not much.”

“You are going to enter the stable,” he said.

“We will enter together,” I said.

“I, too,” said Tajima. His blade was already in his hand.

“Of course,” I said.

“This is not the work for a commander,” said Tajima.

“Lord Nishida, and some others,” I said, “are commanders, ones less dispensable.”

“The cavalry,” said Tajima.

“The substance of my work there is done,” I said, “the organization, the training. You, Torgus, Lysander, and others, could command her.”

“You forged the weapon,” said Tajima.

“Others may now wield it,” I said.

“Why will you enter the stable?” asked Tajima.

“Curiosity,” I said.

“He intends to protect us,” said Pertinax.

“No,” I said. “I am seeking someone.”

“One who wears our gray?” said Tajima.

“Yes,” I said.

“The mercenary, Licinius Lysias of Turmus,” said Tajima.

“Yes,” I said.

It was he, it had been determined, who had fired upon he whom he thought was Lord Nishida during the exercises of the preceding morning, and had then fled, to soon return, guiding the horde with which we had done contest, in the sky, on the ground. It had been easy to determine this, first from startled witnesses to his perfidy, and a later call of the roll, to confirm the matter, lest the witnesses were confused, mistaking one uniform for another in the haste, the commotion, and turmoil of the moment. Too, indisputably, later in the afternoon, he had been noted amongst enemies in the camp, leading a party, firing structures, and such. He had worn a yellow armband to insure his safety from his own cohorts, an armband later removed, in an attempt to blend in with our men, an attempt unsuccessful as he had been well noted in the fighting. He had then, it seemed, with several others, taken refuge in the stable, doubtless first urging others to loose tharlarion and attempt to escape in the confusion, an attempt in which he had apparently declined to participate, preferring to remain concealed, planning to make away in the darkness. His name had been brought to me the preceding evening. It was not certain, however, that he was within the stable. If he was, I wished to meet him. Lord Nishida had assured me that there were spies in the camp. Licinius Lysias of Turmus had obviously been one of them. Others doubtless remained.

“I do not urge this,” said Tajima, “but would it not be wise to enter the stable in force?”

“It would be better to first reconnoiter,” I said.

“Surely you are not concerned with a slave?” said Tajima, puzzled.

“She has some value,” I said, “an unusual coloring, and such. Too, recall that Lord Nishida intends her for a shogun.”

Tajima nodded. If a general melee was in store, involving close fighting with several men, taking and giving ground, even a frightened, bounding kaiila might suffer, terrified in the rush of men, the shouts, the movement of blades, the fending of strokes, the thrust of spears, the slashing of glaives, the flight of arrows.

“No,” said Pertinax, smiling. “You do not wish to risk losing your man.”

“Ah!” said Tajima.

I think he was reassured then that Saru was, appropriately, not of importance, or at least of no particular importance. She was, after all, only a slave. She was not of the Pani, nor a contract woman. She was, when all was said and done, only another collar girl. Too, she could always be replaced with a slave of similar appearance, perhaps one even more beautiful. I did not think he would have viewed the matter in the same light had the girl been, say, Sumomo. To be sure, Sumomo was of the Pani, and had the status of a contract woman. She was not a collar-girl.

“Are you ready to kill?” I asked Pertinax.

“I think so,” he said.

“It would be better to be sure of it,” I said.

“— I am ready,” he said.

“Let us enter,” I said.

There was a musty odor in the stable, and the strong smell of tharlarion dung. The light was acceptable.

“Bucklers,” I cautioned Tajima and Pertinax.

We crouched down, bucklers forward, to cover as much of our bodies as was practical, and surely the chest and throat. Helmeted, we looked over the edge of the bucklers.

I had positioned myself on the right. There was no particular need for this in the situation, but it was a natural thing to do, almost without thinking. In the Gorean phalanx the field commander leads the right wing, which tends to drift to the right, this resulting from the natural tendency of each man to take advantage of the protection of the shield of the man on his right, as well as his own shield. Accordingly, the right wing of the phalanx tends to outflank the left wing of its foe, while the foe’s right wing tends to outflank his left. In this way the phalanxes tend to turn in the field, rather like a wheel of war. Some commanders, well aware of this dynamic, increase the depth of their left wings, a tactic which often leads to victory. The typical Gorean commander, perhaps unwisely, does not “lead” from a position of safety, from interior lines, so to speak, but leads from the front. He himself will be where steel meets steel. In this sense, I suppose he is less a general, and more a warrior. Wisely or not, this seems to be the typical Gorean way. Men, of course, are then ready to die for him, for he is with them, and one of them.

There was a sudden flash, almost invisible, and a shriek of gouged metal and a brightness of sparks and Pertinax, who was in the center, was spun half about, and almost lost the buckler, but then again had it in place.

“Ai!” he said.

“A quarrel,” I said.

Taken frontally the quarrel strikes like an iron fist. It might have gone more than half way through the layering of a leather shield. It could not penetrate the buckler, which was of metal.

Pertinax, clearly, had not anticipated the force of the missile.

“There!” he cried. “I see him! He will have to reload. I can have him before he can set the quarrel.”

“No,” I said. “Stop!”

He looked at me, wildly. The opportunity seemed golden to him. It was not.

“There will be others, to the side,” I said.

Had Pertinax rushed forward he would have been exposed to side fire, and, if he entered far enough into the stable, might have been hit in the back.

Trained crossbowmen, in such a situation, do not volley their fire. They will keep one or more bows ready, waiting.

We heard a woman scream.

“Margaret!” cried Pertinax.

There was then the sound of a blow, and we heard her whimpering.

“Tarsk!” screamed Pertinax.

“Draw back,” I said. I had ascertained what I had intended. There were five foes in the stable, two to each side, a bit back, and one at the center and rear. Three had bows, one on each side, and the one toward the back. I supposed them short of quarrels but could make no determination on this point.

The fellow toward the back of the stable, who had fired the quarrel, was Licinius Lysias, he of Turmus.

This pleased me.

“She is alive!” said Pertinax.

“You put her at great risk,” I said to Pertinax. “You showed concern. Thus they will see her as important. Thus they will see her as a possible hostage, a tool with which to bargain.”

“What does it matter,” said Tajima. “She is only a slave.”

“It matters to Pertinax,” I said.

“He is a weakling, and fool,” said Tajima, angrily.

“Suppose it had been Sumomo,” I said.

“I would have evinced no sign of concern,” said Tajima, “and thus she would have been safer than otherwise.”

“Pertinax,” I said, “does not yet have your resourcefulness, and cunning.”

“Perhaps one day,” said Tajima.

“Perhaps,” I said.

“Yes,” said Pertinax. “I am a fool.”

“No,” I said. “One who makes mistakes is not a fool. Only one who fails to learn from his mistakes.”

“But the beast struck her,” he said.

“Do not concern yourself,” I said. “She is only a slave.”

“Perhaps — in a sense,” he said.

“In every sense,” I said, “categorically, and absolutely.” I gathered that Pertinax had no sense of what it was to be a Gorean slave, the absoluteness and wholeness of it, which the former Miss Wentworth now was, and had no inkling of the transformations which had taken place in her, the unfoldings, the revelations, the self-discoveries, the new understandings, the admissions, the confessions in the light of which she could no longer be what she had been. I supposed he would choose to project upon her an image of what he thought she should be, and, indeed, perhaps she, too, would struggle to deny her newly discovered deepest self, and conceal it behind a facade prescribed by an ugly and unnatural culture. Perhaps she would think it in her best interests to do so. Perhaps she would pretend to be what she thought he wanted her to be, to please him, to the grief of both. Perhaps, even more foolishly, she would attempt to conceal from him what she was, and use his sympathy or compassion to manipulate him, to bend him to her will. That is an extremely dangerous thing for a slave girl to do. Perhaps, in order to more successfully exploit him, she would attempt to enlist the social engineering to which he had been subjected on Earth, attempting to instill guilt in him, attempting to make him feel ashamed of the pleasure with which he, as a man, might now regard her, as a slave. Surely such might seem an attractive female stratagem to a naive, conniving slave, particularly to one of Earth origin, to whom such a device might seem plausible. But what if he should only look upon her with perception, and scorn, and laugh? What if he would feel no guilt, no shame, but would see her in triumph as she should be, a female at his feet, in her place in nature, in a collar?

Cultures seldom conform to the needs and desires of human beings, but will have the needs and desires of human beings conform to them. They are, in a sense, as the bed of Procrustes, to which the human being is to be fitted, at whatever cost to his life or limbs, to his health or happiness.

“You must learn to strike her yourself,” I said.

“How could I do that?” asked Pertinax.

“It is easy,” I assured him. “Treat her as what she is, and only is, a slave.”

“Shall we now enter in force?” asked Tajima.

“No,” I said. “Be to the side.”

I then went to the side of the threshold, taking cover near the threshold. “Licinius,” I called, “Licinius Lysias, spy and traitor, he of Turmus!”

“I am no traitor,” I heard. “I am loyal to my fee!”

“I would have with you a conversation of steel,” I called.

“I know you,” he called. “I am not mad!”

“Come forth, disarmed,” I called, “and I will let you depart in peace.”

“A clever ruse,” smiled Tajima, “worthy of Lord Nishida himself.”

“You think me mad!” laughed Licinius, from within. The voice had a ring, from the walls of the stable.

“Warriors within,” I called, “other than Licinius Lysias, he of Turmus. Seize him, he of Turmus, and bring him forth, bound, and you may depart in peace.”

“He is lying! It is a trick!” screamed Licinius.

“Do not move,” I said to Tajima and Pertinax. Both had their blades drawn, were ready to spring within.

“Back! Back!” cried Licinius.

As I had hoped, his cohorts, mercenaries, as well, would be more willing to act on my offer than Licinius himself. What had they to lose, in their situation, and they might have much to gain.

There was a sudden vibration of a bow cable within and I heard a man scream with pain.

“Back, away, away, sleen!” screamed Licinius. There was then the clash of blades, briefly, fiercely, and I entered the stable, rushing within, followed closely by Tajima and Pertinax.

It took only a moment to see that Licinius Lysias was well worth his fee, which had doubtless been considerable.

I wondered from what purse it had been drawn.

I, and Pertinax and Tajima, halted our advance, abruptly.

A body lay to our left, a quarrel’s fins protruding from its chest, and, toward the back of the stable, three other bodies lay, one still squirming. Licinius Lysias, like a wild beast, was half crouched down, regarding us, balefully. His sword was in his right hand and his left hand was tight on the right arm of a blond slave, now yanked to her knees. Hitherto she had been lying on her belly in the straw, her head turned to the side, in bara, her wrists crossed behind her, with her ankles crossed, as well. It is a common holding, and helplessness, position for a slave. In it, of course, she is positioned perfectly for a swift and secure binding.

Licinius drew the girl rudely before him, and his blade was at her throat.

Pertinax cried out in protest.

Licinius smiled. “Approach no more closely,” he said.

I looked at the four fellows about, one struck by the quarrel, and three in the straw, the one now no longer moving.

“You are skilled,” I said. “I do not see that you needed have feared a discourse with steel.”

“Another step forward,” said Licinius, “and she dies.”

The girl whimpered, piteously, held well, helplessly, in place.

“She is only a slave,” I pointed out.

“Apparently she is a punished high slave,” said Licinius. “In any market she might bring two silver tarsks.”

“She is not trained,” I said.

“She has value,” said Licinius.

“Certainly,” I said, “perhaps as much as a silver tarsk.”

“I think more,” said Licinius.

It was true, of course, that she had some value to Lord Nishida, so much that he was even considering her as a possible gift for a shogun. Beyond this, of course, I knew that she was of some interest to Pertinax, at least as an attractive collar slut. Too, to any man, she would have some value as a property, as would any beautiful slave.

“Release her,” I said, “and I will let you depart in peace.”

“I do not believe you,” he said.

“If you draw your blade across her throat,” I pointed out, “you are a dead man.”

“Put down your blades,” said he, “or she is a dead slave.”

“Very well,” I said. I thrust my blade down, into the floor. Pertinax did so, as well, angrily. Tajima then did so, as well. In this fashion the hilts were within grasping distance.

“Step back,” said Licinius.

We did so.

“She is pretty, is she not?” asked Licinius.

“Some might find her of interest,” I said.

“I will need a tarn,” he said, “a swift tarn, and none are to follow. And I will need binding fiber for the slave.”

“You will take her with you?” I asked.

“Certainly,” he said. “If I am followed, or intercepted, she dies.”

“What will you then do with her?” I asked.

“What does one do with a slave?” he laughed.

Pertinax cried out, in anger.

“Of course,” I said.

“Then I may sell her to the first merchant I meet,” he said.

“You will not keep her?” I asked.

“Her coloring, and hair,” he said, “suggests that she is cold.”

This differs, of course, from woman to woman. Whereas there is a general conjecture that brunettes are the hottest and most helpless of gasping, moaning, begging slaves in a master’s arms, I suspect this is because most slaves, simply, like most women, are brunettes. Blondes, on the other hand, suitably collared and properly mastered, I had discovered were as helpless, and as pathetically, defenselessly needful, and as whimperingly, uncontrollably, supplicatingly passionate, as their darker-haired sisters.

Women, their natures discovered, their natures revealed, are the properties of men.

Licinius pressed the razor’s edge of his blade against the girl’s throat. “Are you cold, my dear?” he inquired.

“No,” she whimpered. “No!”

“No?” he said.

She cast a wild glance at Pertinax, and trembled.

“No,” she said, “— Master!”

“Slave!” cried Pertinax, in fury.

“The tarn,” said Licinius. “Quickly!”

“Very well,” I said. “Remain here. I will see to the arrangements.”

“You cannot, Tarl Cabot, tarnsman,” said Tajima. “Lord Nishida would never permit it.”

I then turned about, and left the stable, followed by Pertinax and Tajima.