by John Norman
"I trust so, my Master," she whispered, trembling. She then rose to her feet and, taking the tray, with a rustle of bells, frightened, almost fled from the room.
I smiled. It would certainly be in her best interest for Aemilianus, Captain in Ar's Station, to have accepted her invitation to our meeting. If he did not do so, she would doubtless be whipped, and well.
Callisthenes looked to the door through which Peggy, a moment before, had disappeared.
"A pretty, well-curved slave," he mused.
"But an Earth girl," said Tasdron.
"I have heard they make excellent slaves, and are hot sluts," said Callisthenes.
"That has been my experience," said Tasdron.
Earth girls on Gor came about quickly.
Once they were put in collars, and truly understood what they now were, and that no alternatives were theirs, they not only adapted to, but thrived within, their Gorean bondage. It releases their womanhood, and accepts and prizes it. For the first time they are relished and celebrated, and appreciated, for what they are, physically, psychologically, and emotionally, what they are most deeply, most profoundly—women. The paradox of the collar is that it liberates the woman to be herself, wholly and without inhibitions. At last she can be as wild, and free, and sexual as she pleases. At last the loving, caring, desiring slave in her is freed. Thus, strangely, while least free, she is most free. Her true bondage, she then realizes, had been that of the free woman, and she now realizes her true freedom, that of the slave.
"Is she popular with your customers?" asked Callisthenes.
"Yes," said Tasdron.
"Fortunate must be the men of the world Earth," said Callisthenes, "to have such slaves."
"On Earth," said Tasdron, "such women are free."
"The men of Earth must be fools," said Callisthenes.
"But here," said Glyco, fingering a bit of cheese, "they are not free."
"Here," said Tasdron, "they have their uses—in the collar."
"Excellent," said Callisthenes.
It was true, of course, women had many uses—and were utterly marvelous—in the collar.
What true man would want one in any other way?
Callisthenes then looked about.
"Who is this mysterious guest, whom we are expecting?" he asked.
"One whom it is important that you meet," said Callimachus.
"Very well," smiled Callisthenes.
There was then a knock on the alley door, a firm knock. It was struck three times.
We glanced at one another. Glyco pulled his cloak about him, concealing the white and gold of his robes. Callisthenes, too, seeing this action, drew his cloak about himself, concealing the insignia of Port Cos. Tasdron rose to his feet and went through the door, and down the corridor to the alley door. The rest of us, too, rose to our feet.
In a moment Tasdron had reappeared in the room.
"Enter," said Tasdron.
A tall man, carrying an unmarked helmet, entered. He threw back the hood of a long, brown traveling cloak he wore. I detected the sound of a sheathed blade beneath the cloak. He closed the door behind him, and regarded us. His hair was brown, and cut short at the back of his neck. He was smoothly shaven. His jaw was square, his eyes clear.
"I am Tasdron, proprietor of this tavern, who has invited you here," said Tasdron.
"I am Jason," I said. "I commonly work on the docks in Victoria."
"I am Glyco, of the Merchants," said Glyco.
"I am Callimachus," said Callimachus, adding, "of the Warriors."
"I know of only one Callimachus, of the Warriors," said the man, "one who was once a captain in Port Cos."
"Who is he?" inquired Callisthenes of Tasdron. His voice had not been pleasant. We were all on our feet. I noted the right hand of Callisthenes had slipped within his cloak, to the hilt of the sword which hung there.
The right hand of the newcomer, too, was then on the hilt of his own weapon.
"We are all folk met in the throes of a common plight," said Tasdron.
"Who is he?" asked the newcomer, of Tasdron, nodding toward Callisthenes.
There was a small sound at the door, and the newcomer, instantly, backed against the wall, watching us.
Peggy entered, with the extra cups.
Tasdron sighed audibly.
Peggy, the two cups on a small tray, turned about, seeing the newcomer.
Swiftly she knelt before him, putting her head down. I saw that she remembered well what he had done to her.
"The slave," said the man.
"Yes," said Tasdron.
"I see that I am in the right place," said the man.
"Yes," said Tasdron. Then he said to Peggy, "Serve."
"Yes, Master," she said. She rose to her feet and then went to the low table and, kneeling there, put the cups on the table.
"Was she good?" asked Tasdron.
"Yes," said the man. "She was paga hot."
Peggy put down her head, reddening. The properties of slaves are discussed openly by masters.
"For what have I been invited to this meeting?" asked the man.
"That we may be of mutual assistance in a project of great common interest," said Tasdron.
"Who is he?" asked the man, gesturing with his head toward Callisthenes.
"Who is he?" asked Callisthenes, menacingly, of Tasdron.
I tensed. I saw the hand of Callimachus move subtly toward his sword.
"Who is he?" asked the newcomer, indicating Callisthenes.
"Let us be patient," said Tasdron.
"I am Callisthenes, Captain of Port Cos," said Callisthenes.
"I am Aemilianus, Captain in Ar's Station," said the newcomer.
Two cloaks, as one, were hurled back. Revealed then in the back room of the tavern were the insignias of Port Cos and of Ar's Station. Two swords, as one, leapt from their sheaths. The girl screamed. I stepped back.
"Port Cos!" cried Callisthenes.
"Glorious Ar!" cried Aemilianus.
But no sooner had the blades crossed then both seemed suddenly, inexplicably, in a flash of sparks, to fly upward. Both men stepped back. Callimachus stood between them. It was his blade which had struck both steels upward.
"You are strong," said Aemilianus to Callimachus.
Callimachus sheathed his steel.
"If you would strike someone, Aemilianus, Captain of Ar's Station, strike me," he said. Then he turned to Callisthenes. "Will you strike me, old friend?" he asked.
Callisthenes hesitated.
"Is this not a trap?" asked Aemilianus.
"Our greatest danger," said Callimachus, "is that we should be as foes to one another."
"Captains," begged Glyco, "put up your steel."
"She lured me here," said Aemilianus, gesturing toward Peggy with the Gorean blade. She shrank back, half naked in the bit of silk she wore. She knew that the slightest touch of that wicked Gorean blade could part her flesh.
"She was merely the instrument wherewith we extended our invitation," said Tasdron.
"Of what city are you?" Aemilianus asked Glyco.
"Of Port Cos," he said.
"And you?" asked Aemilianus of Callimachus.
"I am that Callimachus, of the Warriors, of whom I gather you once heard. Yes, I, too, am of Port Cos."
Aemilianus backed up a step.
"Jason and I," said Tasdron, "are of Victoria. Victoria is neutral ground between Ar's Station and Port Cos. You are both, Callisthenes and you, here met on neutral ground."
It interested me that Tasdron had, without even thinking about it, spoken of me as of Victoria. I, myself, had never given the matter much thought. I supposed that I was, though, in a sense, of Victoria. It was here, surely, that I was living and working. Yet to live and work in a place, and to be of a place, are, in Gorean thinking, quite different things. I wondered if I were of Victoria. I thought perhaps it was not impossible.
"I am prepared to sell my life dearly," said Aemilianus.
"You are not in danger," said Tasdron, "or, at least, in no greater danger than the rest of us."
"You played your part well, Slave," sneered Aemilianus to Peggy. "Will you receive a candy, lighter chains, a larger kennel?"
She shrank back, putting her hand before her mouth.
"Or will I survive," he asked, "to teach you punishments thought suitable by a man of Ar for a female slave?"
Visibly, the girl trembled.
"We mean you no harm," I said to Aemilianus. "Peggy," I said, "go to the captain and kneel before him, and bare your breasts to his sword."
She looked wildly to Tasdron, her master, and, interestingly, to Callimachus. She looked to Tasdron, of course, because he was her legal master, her owner. In looking to Callimachus, on the other hand, she had revealed, inadvertently, not even understanding what she had done, that he was in her heart her master, and that she was, in her heart, his slave.
"Do so," said Tasdron.
"Do so," said Callimachus. She was, after all, only a slave.
Peggy rose to her feet and went, head down, to kneel before the startled Aemilianus. Then, at his feet, she lifted her head, and, with her small hands, kneeling straight, parted her yellow silk. She knelt then before him, a helpless slave, as she had been commanded, her breasts bared before his sword.
I saw Tasdron smile. He had not failed to notice that Peggy had glanced, terrified, earlier, to Callimachus. He now realized that one of his girls, Peggy, was, in effect, the helpless love slave of Callimachus. I do not think that this displeased him. Indeed, such information can be of great use in managing a girl.
Aemilianus, puzzled, lowered the point of his sword. He looked at us.
"We mean you no harm," I told him.
"This is not a trap?" asked Aemilianus.
"No," I told him.
"Callisthenes," said Callimachus, turning to the captain of Port Cos, "is it your intention to strike me with your sword."
"No," said Callisthenes. "Of course not."
"Then put up your sword," said Callimachus.
Callisthenes sheathed his sword. A moment later the sword of Aemilianus, too, rested in its sheath.
"Come and sit at the table," said Tasdron. "We have much to discuss."
We all, then, sat about the table.
"Fix your silk," said Tasdron to Peggy, "and go to the side of the room. Kneel there. If we need anything, you will be summoned."
"Yes, Master," she said.
"Do you wish her, instead, to remove her silk, and to lick and kiss you, and serve you, as we eat and talk," inquired Tasdron of Aemilianus.
This sort of thing is sometimes done at Gorean suppers. Each male has a naked slave girl who is in attendance on him during the supper. She licks and kisses him, and fetches for him, and may even put food in his mouth. It is not unpleasant to be served by a naked, collared beauty in this fashion.
"We are not to be all so served, I gather," said Aemilianus.
"I do not think that would be wise," said Tasdron.
"Then I shall myself, of course, forgo the pleasure," said he.
"That is best," admitted Tasdron, "for there are serious things of which to speak."
I smiled to myself. It was true that slave girls were often distractive. It is difficult for a man to keep his mind or his hands off them. They are, of course, embonded, easily the most desirable of women.
"How much does she know?" asked Aemilianus.
"Very little," said Tasdron.
"Keep her ignorant," said Aemilianus.
"Of course," said Tasdron.
I looked to Peggy, at the side of the room, several feet away. She had now closed her silk. She moved slightly, and there was a sound of the bells. Then she knelt very still, that she not attract attention to herself.
"Speak softly," said Tasdron.
"Very well," said Callisthenes.
"Very well," said Aemilianus.
Peggy was very beautiful. She could not overhear our conversations. She would be kept in ignorance. She was a slave.
29
The Sea Gate;
I am Again within the Holding of Policrates
"Had we the support of others, in fuller extent, we could carry this project through," said Callimachus. "As it is, I fear we must fail."
The deck of the low river galley shifted beneath our feet, as the ship nosed through the inlet waters toward the secluded stronghold of Policrates. It lies some two pasangs from the river itself.
"Your original plan," said Callimachus, "was an excellent one, but, now, in its alteration, I fear we must fail."
Callimachus and I stood on the foredeck of the galley. I wore the mask which I had worn while pretending to be the courier of Ragnar Voskjard. I knew the signs and countersigns for entry into the stronghold through the sea gate. These had been given to me that I could convey them to Ragnar Voskjard, that he might use them in his entry into the stronghold. It had been my plan to gather sufficient ships, primarily from Port Cos and Ar's Station, to simulate the fleet of Ragnar Voskjard, who would be expected by Policrates. It would have seemed simple enough, then, to have brought enough men into the stronghold, posing as the men of Ragnar Voskjard, to take Policrates by surprise. He himself had never met Ragnar Voskjard, nor had Voskjard met Policrates. The plan, indeed, was bold, but it had seemed to me sound. Callimachus, who was experienced in matters of war, had liked the plan, and had concurred. Glyco and Tasdron, too, neither of whom could be taken as rash fellows, had been taken by the plan. Interestingly enough, it had been the warriors, Callisthenes and Aemilianus, who had tended to regard the plan as dangerous and barren. Callisthenes, in particular, had been outspoken against it.
It was now near the twentieth Ahn, the Gorean midnight. The sky was cloudy. The three moons were high over the trees, bordering the shadowy inlet. I could see the high, dark walls of the stronghold of Policrates in the distance, with its lofty sea gate, with its heavy latticework of iron.
"The fleet of Ragnar Voskjard," had said Callisthenes, "can never join with the fleet of Policrates. It will be prevented from doing so by the chain."
"Why, then," had asked Glyco, "are you so concerned that the topaz never reach Policrates."
"The matter was important to the Merchant Council," said Callisthenes. "I merely do my duty. Some of them are uncertain of the effectiveness of the chain."
"And I am one of them," said Glyco.
"That is known to me," said Callisthenes.
"Has the chain now been placed?" asked Glyco.
"Yes," said Callisthenes. "It is now in place."
"This work was done in secrecy, was it not?" I asked. I had not heard of it in Victoria, nor had Callimachus or Tasdron.
"Supposedly," said Callisthenes, "though its existence is now doubtless known to the western towns."
"It was forged in Cos, in a thousand lengths," said Glyco, "and brought overland, around the delta, and on galleys east from Turmus. Its mountings and pylons were mostly done at night. It lies west of Port Cos, that we may be protected from the pirates."
"It would also allow Port Cos to control traffic on the river from the west," pointed out Tasdron, irritably.
"We are under pressure from Cos," said Glyco. "I am not personally in favor of the chain. As a merchant I think a freer trade lies in our best interest. Too the chain will not make Port Cos popular with her sister cities."
"That is certain," said Tasdron. "Victoria, hitherto at least, has been primarily Cosian in her sympathies."
"We of Ar's Station would not have mounted such a chain," said Aemilianus, unnecessarily in my opinion.
"Possibly you do not have the vision or the resources," said Callisthenes.
"Our concerns, Captains," said Callimachus, "must now be with ourselves and our immediate dangers, not with the politics of Cos and Ar."
"Politics?" inquired Callisthenes. "Cos and Ar are at war."
"Neither Ar nor Ar's Station, Captain," said Aemilianus, "are at war with Port Cos."
>
"That is true," said Tasdron, hurriedly. It was true. The typical colonizing situation among Gorean polities tends to resemble classical colonization, and not the typical colonization of nation states, in which the colony, in effect, is held subject to alien domination. When a Gorean city founds a colony, usually as a result of internal overpopulation or political dissension, the potential colonists, typically, even before leaving the mother city, develop their own charter, constitution and laws. Most importantly, from the Gorean point of view, when the colony is founded, it will have its own Home Stone. The Home Stone of Port Cos, significantly, was not the Home Stone of Cos. Ar's Station, on the other hand, did not have its own Home Stone, but its Home Stone remained that of Ar. This is not to deny, of course, that the colony will not normally have a close tie with the mother city. It usually will. There are too many bonds, cultural and historical, between them, for this not to be the case.
"The chain was inordinately expensive," said Glyco, "and, I am certain, it will prove ultimately ineffective."
"It was forged in Cos," said Callisthenes.
"We shall be expected, in the long run, to bear its expense," said Glyco.
"That is possibly true," said Callisthenes, "but then, too, it is we who will be the direct recipient of its benefits."
"If there are any benefits," said Glyco, glumly.
"Surely Port Cos will find some benefits in being spared the predations of pirates," said Callisthenes.
"The chain will surely be ineffective," said Glyco. "That is why I came to Victoria, to seek out Callimachus, that he might, in these dark times, with the topaz in transit, lend us his council, and his blade."
"The topaz, given the existence of the chain," said Callisthenes, "is now meaningless, though, to be sure, I am charged with the attempt to intercept it, a charge in which I have, thanks to our young friend here, failed." Callisthenes glanced meaningfully at me. "To have actually delivered the topaz to Policrates," he said, "was little short of an act of idiocy."
I shrugged. "You have heard my plan," I said, "that we muster ships and, under the cover of darkness, posing as the fleet of Ragnar Voskjard, enter and take the stronghold of Policrates."
"It is a foolish plan," said Callisthenes. "You would surely be discovered. Spies abound. The pirates are well informed, I am certain."
