Magicians of Gor

by Norman, John;

"It must be near the seventh Ahn," he said.

  "The magistrates should arrive any moment," I said.

  "Presumably they will come to the back," he said.

  "I would think so," I said. Surely they would have been here often enough in the past. Too, it did not seem likely they would wish to be seen entering by the street door. They would be, as far as they knew, keeping their appointment with Appanius and his men. When they arrived, of course, they would discover that a change of plans had occurred, and that it would not be Appanius for whom they would render their services, but another.

  "Are you looking at the female slave again?" I asked the male slave.

  "Forgive me, Master," he said.

  "Keep your head down," I said.

  "Yes, Master," he said.

  "I will explain to you in a moment what I wish you to do," I said.

  "Yes, Master," he said.

  "In the meantime," I said to Marcus, "let us readjust this net."

  "Did you bring the bracelets, with linked shackles?" asked Marcus.

  "Of course," I said.

  26

  A Free Woman;

  A Female Slave

  "You may assist me with my wrap," she informed the handsome slave. "Your hand trembles," she smiled.

  In the back room I tracked these matters by means of one of the observation portals. One of the two magistrates, he who was senior, Tolnar, of the second Octavii, an important gens but one independent of the well-known Octavii, sometimes spoken of simply as the Octavii, or sometimes as the first Octavii, deputy commissioner in the records office, much of which had been destroyed in a recent fire, was at the other portal. His colleague, Venlisius, a bright young man who was now, by adoption, a scion of the Toratti, was with him. Venlisius was in the same office. He was records officer, or archon of records, for the Metellan district, in which we were located. Both magistrates wore their robes, and fillets, of office. They also carried their wands of office, which, I suspect, from the look of them, and despite the weapons laws of Cos, contained concealed blades. I was pleased to hope that these fellows were such as to put the laws of Ar before the ordinances of Cos. I had requested that they dismiss their attendant guardsmen, which they had done. I did not anticipate that they would be needed. Whatever force, if any, might be required could be supplied by Marcus and myself. Similarly it seemed that Marcus and I could handle any other matters of the sort in which they might customarily have been utilized. Too, certain matters might prove sensitive, and I saw fit to limit the number and nature of witnesses.

  "Must I remove my own wrap?" she inquired.

  "No, no, Mistress!" said the male slave.

  "'Mistress'?" she said. "It seems you have learned deference."

  "Yes, Mistress," he said. He knelt quickly, trembling, his head down.

  "It is not like you," she said.

  "Forgive me, Mistress," he said.

  "But I find it charming," she said. "And you look well, my dear Milo, on your knees."

  "Thank you, Mistress," he said.

  "But I do not understand this new deference," she said.

  "What but deference," said he, "could be in order, before one such as you?"

  "I think we shall get along very well," she said.

  He was silent, kneeling before her, bent at the waist. He kept his head down. He trembled. I did not really blame him.

  "It is as though, suddenly, it had been recalled to you, that you are a slave," she said.

  "Yes, Mistress," he said.

  I was pleased that his back had not been opened by the staff of Appanius. It would not have done, at all, if stripes of blood had appeared on the back of his tunic, soaked through.

  "Interesting," she said.

  "Before you," he said, "what man could not be a slave?"

  "Flatterer!" she chided.

  I smiled to myself. He had a nimble, flattering tongue. He was able in his work. Doubtless he had been of great value to Appanius, in many ways. Then I smiled grimly to myself. How susceptible was the chit to his blandishments. How little she understood of herself. Before what man, I wondered, could she not be a slave? Indeed, before what man, I wondered, should she not be a slave? Indeed, before any man, she, and other women, should be slaves.

  "My wrap!" she said, irritably.

  He leaped to his feet, and delicately, courteously, removed her outer cloak, with its hood. She had been well covered in it, from head to toe. He put this on a peg to one side.

  "Your guards are without?" he asked.

  "I have come alone," she said. "Surely you do not think me a fool?"

  "No," he said.

  She brushed back the light inner hood and unhooked the collar of her robe.

  "You will never believe the difficulty I had in escaping from the Central Cylinder!" she said. "It is almost as though I were a prisoner there. Seremides is so careful! His spies are everywhere. Who knows who they are, or which of them is watching you at any given time? Whom can I trust? It is hard to leave without an escort of a company of guardsmen. What do they fear, I wonder. The people love me."

  "You are too glorious and marvelous to risk," said Milo.

  "Alas," she said, "sometimes I myself grow weary of the preciousness and dignity of my person. It seems it has always been thus. Long ago when I was a girl it was the same, and then, in my time of troubles, after the misunderstanding with my dear father, Marlenus, I was sequestered, and then, later, now that the war has been concluded to the mutual benefit of Ar and Cos, with victory for us both, thanks to the mercies of Cos, and the noble Lurius of Jad, and we have become allies with our former enemies, now our dearest of friends, the Cosians, it seems the same again."

  "Mistress is Ubara," said he. "Simply order them to desist from their attentions."

  "Of course," she smiled.

  The handsome slave regarded her, puzzled.

  "But I eluded the guards," she said. "It was not really too difficult. They are men, and stupid."

  "How did Mistress outwit them?" asked the slave.

  "As you will note," she said, "I wore a common street cloak and hood, secured for the occasion. A departure was arranged for a putative maid, supposedly one of my retinue, on personal business, and it was as such a one that I was passed through the guards."

  "Mistress is to be praised for her discretion and cleverness," he said.

  "Who will remove the veil of a free woman?" she laughed.

  "Who, indeed?" inquired the slave, awed.

  "And few," she laughed, "are even aware of the features of the Ubara!"

  "True, wondrous Mistress," he said.

  She laughed.

  "How grateful and humbled I am," said he, "that I, only a slave, at three suppers, was permitted to look upon them."

  "You dared to look upon me?" she asked.

  "Forgive me, Mistress," he cried. "I had thought that perhaps it was for that reason that Mistress had lowered her veil."

  "It was warm, those evenings," she said.

  "Of course, Mistress!" he said.

  "But, to be sure," she said, "I did fear that looking upon me, you might fall under my spell."

  She then, gracefully, reached to the pins at the left side of the veil and unpinned it. A moment later she had lowered it, gracefully.

  "Aii!" said he, softly. "What man could not fall under the spell of such beauty?"

  "Think you so?" she laughed, delighted.

  "Yes!" he said. "Surely Mistress is the most beautiful woman on all Gor!"

  I glanced down at Lavinia. She was kneeling on the floor, to my left. I thought her lip trembled, and a tear formed in her eye.

  "I feel like a slave girl," said the free woman, "running about, sneaking here and there, to keep a rendezvous."

  Milo gasped. I conjecture he had just considered how exciting the female might be, if she were truly a slave, slave clad, slave collared, and such.

  The Ubara looked at herself, in the mirror at the far end of the room.

  "Sometimes I
envy the meaningless property tarts," she said, "running about much as they please, here and there, in all their freedom, in their short skirts and collars. Sometimes I think that they have more freedom than I, that I, a free woman, indeed, one who is Ubara of Ar, am more slave than slave."

  "Do not even think so!" said Milo.

  "It is true," she said, dismally.

  The male slave was silent.

  The Ubara continued to regard herself in the mirror. I wondered how she saw herself, really, in that reflection. Did she see herself in the mirror as she now seemed, moody, and attired as befitted a woman of high caste, or did she see herself there otherwise, perhaps in a ta-teera or tunic, as men might choose to keep her.

  One of the pleasures of the mastery is that the clothing of the slave, and, indeed, even if she is permitted any, is totally at the discretion of the master. Accordingly, she will be dressed for his pleasure, and as he wishes. To be sure, there are certain garmentures which tend to be generally approved, and which are in common use, in particular, tunics of various cuts and brevities. Other common garments, though usually used outside of cities, are the ta-teera, or slave rag, and the common camisk. The Turian camisk, which is more demure, and is one of the few Gorean slave garments with a nether closure, is sometimes worn in cities, particularly in the south. In rural areas slave strips are not uncommon. In some cities and towns, some masters keep their slaves bare-breasted. This would be unthinkable for a free woman. The contrast of their beauty with the encircling neck ring is attractive. Sometimes a slave must go about naked in public, save for her collar. This is usually done as a punishment. On the whole, I do not approve of nudity in public, at least for private slaves, of either the bare-breasted or fully stripped variety, as it increases the risks, considerably, that the slave will be accosted, or even stolen. It is not unusual, however, for coffled women to be kept naked, for example, being marched between cities, or being brought into a city, as displayed merchandise. In such an arrangement it would be extremely unlikely a given woman could be stolen, and she will be kept under perfect control. Women are seldom allowed clothing, of course, in a slaver’s house, either in their work, or in their cells, cages, kennels or pits. And, of course, women are always displayed naked and sold naked. Only a fool, as it is said, would buy a woman clothed. Most private slaves have a standing permission to clothe themselves, but some masters require the girl to request this permission every morning. "May I clothe myself, Master." In this way that there is a permission involved is explicitly acknowledged. As an animal the slave is not entitled to garmenture, no more than any other animal, say, a verr or kaiila. Many times, of course, the slave is permitted to dress and adorn herself, subject to the master’s approval. They can be quite ingenious in devising adornments and garmentures which brazenly exhibit and excitingly accentuate their bondage. The slave lives for the master, and wants to please him. Why, then, should she not draw attention to herself , as she can, and in ways likely to be stimulatory not only to his sexuality but to hers, as well? Certainly slave garments, like bracelets, cords, ropes and chains, whips, the switch, hoods, blindfolds and gags, are arousing to the slave as well as to the master. They make clear her bondage, her absolute powerlessness, and her subjection to his will. She must submit to what he does to her. He is master. She is slave. And, he, of course, thrives in the mastery, the right and fulfillment of his manhood. What man does not desire to have absolute power over a beautiful woman, to have her at his beck and call, to have her at his least bidding, to have her obedient and submitted, to have her his, to own her?

  "If I were a slave," she said, "and I were here, what do you think would be done with me?"

  "Mistress is not a slave!" cried Milo, aghast.

  "But, if I were?" she asked.

  "And you were caught?" he asked.

  "Of course," she said.

  "Mistress would be severely punished," he said.

  "Even though I am so beautiful?" she asked, skeptically.

  "Especially so!" said he.

  "Oh?" she said.

  "Yes, Mistress," he assured her.

  "Interesting," she said.

  "But Mistress is not a slave!" he said.

  "Lashed?" she asked.

  "The least that might be done to Mistress," he said, "would surely be that she would be stripped, and tied, and lashed. Too, she might be bound, and subjected to the bastinado."

  The free woman shuddered.

  "And I do not think that Mistress would err in such a fashion again," he said.

  "Perhaps not," she said.

  I glanced over at Tolnar, at the other observation portal. He looked over to me, and I returned my attention to the portal.

  The Ubara, moving very little, was still regarding herself in the mirror.

  She seemed moody.

  "Mistress?" asked the male slave.

  "You do find me attractive, do you not?" she asked.

  "Of course, Mistress!" he said.

  "And do you not think other men might do so likewise?" she asked.

  "Certainly, Mistress!" he said.

  "Some think me the most beautiful woman in all Ar," she said.

  "You are surely," said he, "the most beautiful woman on all Gor!"

  Near me Lavinia put down her head. A tear fell to the floor.

  "And I am Ubara!" said the free woman.

  "Yes, Mistress," said the slave.

  "A Ubara, too," she said, "is a woman, and I have a woman's needs."

  "Yes, Mistress," said the slave.

  The Ubara then, bit by bit, piece by piece, looking at herself from time to time in the mirror, the slave standing back, removed her outer garments. When she had stepped forth from her slippers, she stood before the mirror, barefoot, in a one-piece, white, silken, wraparound sliplike garment. It came slightly above her knees. She then unpinned the dark wealth of her hair, and shook her head, and then, with both hands, lifted it, and then swept it back, behind her shoulders. She regarded herself in the mirror. It was all I could do not to rush forth into the other room and seize her. About her neck, on a leather thong, there was a small, capped leather cylinder. I was confident I knew what it contained. Milo, on the other hand, would not. Milo had not had with him, I had determined, the note which had putatively come to him from the Ubara, that which had been written by Lavinia. I supposed he had destroyed it, as it might prove dangerously compromising. Neither the Ubara nor Milo, of course, knew of the notes which they themselves had supposedly written. All communications between them other than these had been effected by Lavinia, to the Ubara in the guise of a slave of the house of Appanius, to Milo in the guise of a state slave, with the exception of their rendezvous this morning. With Lavinia as go-between, under my instructions, matters had proceeded expeditiously, culminating apace, save for some delays on the part of the Ubara, presumably to increase the anxieties of, and torment, the poor slave, in the arrangements for this assignation.

  "I wonder if I am truly the most beautiful woman on all Gor," said the Ubara, looking into the mirror.

  "Certainly," said Milo.

  Near me Lavinia had her head down, and in her hands.

  "How could one doubt it?" asked Milo.

  Near me Lavinia wept, silently. Tears had trickled down her wrists, and to the floor. I noted that her knees were in proper position, spread, given the sort of slave she was.

  "And you, Milo," said the Ubara, "are a handsome brute."

  "I am pleased if Mistress should find me not displeasing," he said.

  "And surely," she said, "you are the most handsome man in all Ar."

  "Mistress," he said, softly, coming close to her.

  "Serve me wine!" she snapped.

  "Mistress?" he asked.

  "Is that not wine, and assorted dainties," she asked, "on the table by the couch, that which I see behind me, in the mirror?"

  "Yes, Mistress," he said.

  "And certainly female slaves humbly and beautifully serve their masters in such a way," sh
e said.

  "Yes, Mistress," he said.

  "Must a command be repeated?" she inquired.

  "I am a male slave," he said. "I am not a female slave."

  "Surely you are aware that male silk slaves are trained in such things as the serving of wine to their mistresses," she said.

  "I am not a silk slave," he said.

  "I see that a command must be repeated," she said.

  "No, Mistress!" he said. He hurried to the small table and put a tiny bit of wine into one of the small glasses. He then returned, and knelt before her. He then, holding the tiny glass in both hands, his head down between his extended arms, proffered her the beverage. But she did not receive it as yet at his hands. "Look up," she said. He did so. She fingered the small, capped cylinder at her neck. "Surely you know what is contained in this capsule," she said.

  He did not respond.

  She uncapped it, and moved the tiny rolled paper a hort from the capsule, that he might see it. Then she thrust it back in, triumphantly, and recapped the cylinder.

  "You are a better actor than I gave you credit for," she said.

  He had remained impassive.

  "You will obey me in all things, and not merely because you are a slave," she said, "but because of this." She tapped the tiny cylinder twice. "I now hold all power over you, my dear Milo, even though I do not own you. It is given to me by this note. Should it come to the attention of Seremides, or Myron, or the high council, or an archon of slaves, or perhaps even a guardsman, you may well conjecture what might be your fate."

  He looked up at her.

  "How foolish you were, to write such a note," she laughed. "But then you are a man, and men are stupid."

  He put down his head, and, again, lifted the wine to her.

  He would not recognize the note, of course, but he would immediately realize it must have had some role in my business, in which he was now so deeply involved. Too, almost simultaneously, he would doubtless suspect that the note which he himself had originally received might very well not have come from the Ubara herself. Surely it would now seem to him unlikely that she, so obviously aware of the danger of such notes, would have sent one herself. Surely it would have been at the least politically compromising, if it fell into the wrong hands. He did not glance toward the back room. I myself, incidentally, did not think it impossible that the Ubara herself, in certain circumstances, might be so indiscreet as to write such notes. She was, after all, a woman with feelings, desires and needs. She was quite capable, I was sure, in their cause, of throwing caution to the winds. On the other hand, in this case there had been no need for her to do so.