“I don’t look up to no one who forces another to work” Sawyer said gesturing to all the guards around him. “The reason should be kind of obvious.”
“I haven’t met the mage that doesn’t like being in Perdomo” Candace replied. “This city is a gift to all female mages, males get the entire country.”
“If you say so” Sawyer replied.
“She is correct Sarlon” Tabitha said. “It is no secret the Queen wants to start breeding magic back into the populace. Any woman who has birthed a mage is going to be well taken care of and receive a sizable amount of money. Even if the child isn’t a mage the woman would receive a good amount of money to live comfortably. There will be no end to the number of women who want to warm your bed, the Queen may pick out a few herself for you. Please the Queen and you can see even more perks than you already will. I know how important it is to you men to sleep with as many women as possible, just imagine being rewarded for it.”
“How exactly is that anything I want to do?” Sawyer replied. “I am married and even if I were not why would I want to bring a bunch of children into the world I could not properly care for? Before you talk about money or any other nonsense I am talking about how difficult it would be to spend time with them. I would dishonor both my father and mother if I did such a thing.” Sawyer really believed in what he was saying, while he didn’t consider himself married to Elena any longer he wasn’t raised believing sleeping with a bunch of women was something he would like doing. In Jales he was offered a dukedom, even then it didn’t feel right but he had a family to feed. A family who had sacrificed a lot for him, a family that were all probably dead. His father and mother had always given him enough of their time, if he had children he would owe it to them to do the same. No amount of money would be able to replace that.
“Your wife was probably a nice girl but she is gone now” Tabitha replied. “I will admit it is refreshing to hear there is at least one man that does not see the appeal in sleeping with other women while he is in a relationship. Before we enter Maduro I am going to need for you to unstrap your sword and hand over your staff.”
“You want me to give up my weapons?” Sawyer asked. Sawyer in reality had heard men couldn’t carry weapons around in Maduro but was making a big deal about it in hopes that the High Mage would forget he was wearing a bone ring underneath the gloves he had on.
“You have no need for them here” Tabitha replied. “There is a very good guard force in the city so you don’t have to worry about being robbed or anything.”
“I would still prefer to keep my weapons, why doesn’t your apprentice have to give up her things?” Sawyer asked.
“I have a name, Sarlon” Candace replied. “And it isn’t illegal for me to have weapons in the city. If you are caught with weapons you will receive twenty lashes no matter the reason. Maduro was made as a safe haven for the women of Perdomo, here there are no drunken bar fights, rapes or random people getting killed just because. Other than not being able to carry any weapons, you also cannot be out in public without being in the presence of a female.”
“And you force criminals and slaves to stay here?” Sawyer asked.
“Criminals volunteer for this assignment” Tabitha replied. “No one convicted of a violent crime or crimes against women and children are allowed inside. “The work isn’t all that hard and there are also rules in place so criminals will not be mistreated while they are there. The same thing goes for slaves; they can request to be moved at any time. If they are lazy they will of course be moved, Maduro has standards that must be upheld. Mostly though lazy ones will be moved to the stocks where the work is a bit rougher, of course someone could request their services and bring them to another job. Three times in the stocks though means they are out.”
“Don’t forget the aesthetics” Candace said with a small grin. “Many men get angry or jealous when they come inside.”
“That is not worth mentioning” Tabitha replied. “Sarlon has made it clear he has no desire for any of the women inside. Besides he keeps himself in reasonable shape, I doubt he is the type to be intimidated by other men.”
“They all say that but their actions are different” Candace laughed. “I wonder how Samson is doing since he has been there. He is used to being the prettiest thing around, now though he was around other handsome men, most were taller and almost all of them were bigger. The women there are already rich so his mage status means little to them.”
“What do you mean by aesthetics?” Sawyer asked.
“It means no ugly men” Candace replied. “All of the slaves and criminals have to be pleasing to the eye. The only exceptions are mages who have displeased the Queen or High Mage, they can be placed here. Of course if any of the men brought here want to leave they can always work off their sentence in a rock quarry or in the fields somewhere.”
“So basically this is a place where you pretend not to mistreat people” Sawyer asked. “Because you have a bunch of people that do not want to be forced to do hard labor, they scramble around to please you, knowing that if you don’t like them they can be kicked out.”
“No one forces them to come here in the first place” Candace smiled. “Men can't even own businesses here or ride a horse, it’s absolutely perfect.”
“You won't have to be here longer than necessary” Tabitha said as she took Sawyer’s weapons and staff. “Mage Samson still has a week left so we will leave after his sentence is finished. During that time you can either stay with me at my home or stay with Candace at hers.”
“What if I don’t want to do either one?” Sawyer asked. “There has to be a place where the men that are here live that doesn’t have any women around.”
“The only place like that is the stocks” Tabitha replied. “You wouldn’t want to be there, that is where most of the hard work happens at in Maduro and the women who oversees it all can be a bit demanding. If you are there you will have to work as part of the labor force, what is worse is that you wouldn’t be able to go anywhere fun or see the sights. Maduro is a real beautiful city and it is only growing.”
“I’ll go to the stocks then” Sawyer replied. “Hard work has never hurt anyone.”
“That is ridiculous” Candace said. “At my home you would have to do no work and I have a very good cook.”
“I will not sit back and take it easy off of slave labor” Sawyer replied. “I find the whole practice disgusting.”
“Take him to the stocks then” Candace said looking at Tabitha. “I want to see Samson anyway, perhaps after a couple of days he will change his tune.”
Sawyer said nothing as the carriage door opened, there was a woman dressed in plate armor who looked inside and eyed Sawyer, then Tabitha who handed over Sawyer’s weapons. The woman was obviously a guard of some kind looked over his sword carefully, Sawyer thought the woman must have had an eye for quality. Sawyer’s weapon looked plain, it was unadorned and did not have a fancy crossguard, hilt or pommel. The blade didn’t have some fancy etchings depicting some fantastic battle or any other nonsense. Yet anyone who knew their swords could tell it was perfectly weighed and made of high quality steel. They could tell it was kept in excellent shape and the edge on it was razor sharp and free from any nicks.
“This is your sword?” the woman said looking at Sawyer.
“It is” Sawyer replied.
“A fine blade” the guard replied. “It has a good weight on it but I think it looks a little too long.”
“I am tall and favor counter attacking” Sawyer replied. “That extra three inches could mean a lot in a fight. I already have the speed to keep stronger men off of me, the extra length could keep faster ones at bay as well.”
“Stick out your palms” the guard said handing his sword to someone behind her. The woman looked over Sawyer’s palms and felt them for a moment with both of her hands before letting go.
“What is this all about?” Candace replied.
“You have a killer in the carriage wit
h you Lady Mage” the guard began. “That sword was made to kill, it is not supposed to be fancy like some blades. Those hands of his are nicked up and ugly, they have huge callouses all over them and his knuckles look like they have thrown a couple of punches. This man in the carriage with you is either a master swordsman or close to it. Is he a slave or someone in trouble?”
“He is a mage” Tabitha replied.
“A mage?” the guard said surprised. “This one looks like he knows hard work, the other one here cries at everything.”
“He is from Colten, they do things differently over there” Tabitha replied. “Please see to it that his things are not mistreated or damaged. He has an obsession over his ugly staff and sword. The person responsible for losing or damaging them will be thrown out of Maduro permanently if they are female or worse if they are male.”
“I’ll make sure of it” the guard replied. “Is he your mage, I mean is he spoken for? Is he going to be here for a little while?”
“I am right here and capable of speaking for myself” Sawyer said eyeing the guard.
“I see he doesn’t know protocol in Maduro” the guard smiled. “He will find it interesting inside. I already have the weapons from your guards High Mage, please have a pleasant stay.”
“You don’t speak to a lady here unless you are spoken to” Candace said as the door closed. “Too long women have been cut off by some loud boisterous man. Even if the conversation is about you, still hold your tongue.”
“Or they will do what exactly?” Sawyer asked.
“Or you will be given lashes” Tabitha replied. “The rules are taken very seriously here. You will not be thrown out or sent somewhere else since you are not a slave or a criminal.”
“I would like to see someone try that” Sawyer replied.
“The men here will follow directions” Tabitha replied. “And the guards here are armed not to mention there are actual mages who still have their staves. Of course things can be easier for you if you stay with me or Candace.”
“And benefit off the backs of slaves?” Sawyer asked. “That is not likely, take me to this stocks place.”
“We will, you just need to change your clothes” Tabitha replied. “There is a dress code here and men are allowed only a few choices of clothing. You will be in trouble if you are seen outside in those garments.”
Sawyer said nothing as the carriage continued to move, he wasn’t interested in speaking and the place he was in seemed weird. Not that it would matter, he had no plans to make things harder on himself but was in no mood to be social. Wherever the stocks were would be good enough to get away from things for a while, perhaps while he was there he could really fine tune whatever plan he came up with. When the carriage stopped he was in front of a decent sized house, when Sawyer was Duke his homes were much bigger but in a city like Maduro it was probably one of the bigger ones. Chews and the rest of the guards started hurrying inside, other men came outside to help unload the carriage. When Sawyer gave them the once over is when he became a little disgusted.
If what the men were wearing were called outfits it was a poor choice. The bottom of it looked like really tight, really short shorts, it left very little to the imagination as to what the size of the manhood of the men unloading the carriage. The top wasn’t much better, Sawyer was unsure of the material but it clung tightly to the trunk and looked incredibly thin. The entire thing was sleeveless and if winter ever hit Maduro these men would be in severe discomfort.
“You getting jealous?” Candace asked.
“Disgusted” Sawyer replied.
“Now you know how we feel when every working woman has her entire chest on display just so she can make some extra money” Candace laughed. “You will be wearing one of these too. Perhaps when you see what it feels like to have eyes roam all over you, you won’t do it to women out in the rest of Perdomo.”
“Sarlon follow Ricky” Tabitha said as she pointed to a blond haired man. “He will get you dressed properly and then we can take you to the stocks.”
Sawyer followed Ricky, the man was around thirty years old and looked to be in decent shape. Ricky had big blue eyes and deep dimples, he smiled at the High Mage which really showed off his sparkling white teeth. Sawyer wondered what Ricky did to get here, the man looked like he hadn’t really worked or gotten into any tussles. His skin looked almost perfect and he was lacking many of the scars Sawyer had on him despite being more than a decade older. Ricky looked to be in decent shape but Sawyer thought the man carried around 30 extra pounds on him he didn’t need if he was a warrior. The fact Ricky had long blond hair made Sawyer think perhaps his crime had to do something with stealing money. He lacked the walk of a soldier and moved his hips a little too much when he walked, like he was trying to put on a show. Perhaps that is what he was doing Sawyer thought, Sawyer was unsure how often the High Mage visited her home but guessed it wasn’t all that often which meant for the most part the men were left in peace, maybe they were trying so hard so she would keep them on.
“You are kind of tall” Ricky began looking at Sawyer. “And a bit young but that is none of my business. Do you want to go with the skirt or shorts?”
“Neither, don’t you have any pants?” Sawyer asked.
“Yes of course but why would you want them?” Ricky asked. “If you wear the pants then you will have to wear the shirt that goes with it. The entire thing is made out of burlap and is beyond itchy, worse you will not be pleasing to look at.”
“I don’t give two shits about none of that” Sawyer replied. “I’ll take the itchy shirt and pants.”
“May I ask why?” Ricky asked. “You look to be in great shape, I think you would do well in a more form fitting top and if you are worried you can’t fill out the shorts in the right places you could always wear the skirt.”
“Because I am not trying to be on display” Sawyer replied. “I am trying to get away from the high mage and her horrid apprentice, best way to do that is to go to the stocks.”
“The stocks?” Ricky said shocked. “Here we rotate shifts, the work is beyond easy. The only difficult thing we are going through is that I have banned certain foods in the house when Lady Tabitha is not around. It wouldn’t do to get fat. If that happens you will be sent to the stocks to work off the extra weight.”
“Hard work has never killed anyone” Sawyer replied as he stripped off his clothing.
“The small clothes have to go as well” Ricky replied handing Sawyer the outfit he wanted. “You can only wear them with certain clothing and this isn’t one of them.”
Sawyer shook his head and stripped all the way down and put on the clothing. Sawyer thought it fit him okay and did not mind the material. Sawyer had been extremely poor less than two years ago and this would have been considered fine clothing, being a little itchy meant nothing.
“You know you cant wear any footwear in those clothes” Ricky said. “They are meant to be uncomfortable.”
“I only started wearing shoes in the last year or so” Sawyer began. “I will be fine.”
Sawyer still had the thick calluses he gained from growing up with no boots, when he became Duke he still only wore footwear half of the time so his feet wouldn’t become too soft. Elena hated it, his rough feet and hands scratched her skin when they would lay together but Sawyer was happy he didn’t listen to her and start wearing boots full time.
“Well then you are ready” Ricky replied. “I am guessing you are one of her soldiers who displeased her?”
“I am a mage” Sawyer replied. “I did nothing other than get captured. I just don’t want to hang around here while you all scrape and beg so you won’t get thrown out of here into something harder.”
“I like it here” Ricky replied. “I know where my next meal is coming from and I don’t have to do hardly any work. Women ask me out on dates all the time and I am not expected to have any money. Lady Tabitha doesn’t care if we date either, outside of Maduro there would be no way I could do al
l of this without any hard feelings being involved. Here all the women know what the game is, I don’t even have to worry about any of them asking ‘why don’t I marry them’, since husbands are forbidden here. It really is the perfect set up, all I have to do is stay reasonably attractive and flash my smile.”
“And everyone in Maduro feels this way?” Sawyer asked.
“Well not everyone” Ricky replied. “Not everyone has a Lady like Lady Tabitha but I do. I can only speak for myself.”
“Well bully for you” Sawyer replied.
“I knew you were going to pick out that outfit” Candace said as she walked into the room. “Were you too intimidated to wear the shorts? You must didn’t fill it out too well, that is the only reason you are walking around looking like a peasant.”
“I am a peasant” Sawyer replied, shutting Candace up quickly. “These clothes look sturdy enough to do whatever horrible job is out there, it is all I need. Now when do I get to the stocks?”
“My master was hoping you would have changed your mind” Candace began. “We will be by in three days to see if you still want to live at the stocks. Well follow me, my master wants me to get you settled before I can go see Samson.”
Sawyer followed Candace to the carriage and climbed inside as the driver rode them towards the edge of town. Candace got out of the carriage and there were two angry looking women walking over to her holding what looked like whips in their hands along with two big men.
“Does this one need whipped?” the shorter woman said. She was chubby Sawyer thought, no she was fat. Her hair was pulled back into a ponytail and she was sweating profusely, strands of her thin brown hair clung to her face and Sawyer could see she had sweat stains all over her shirt.
“No” Candace replied. “He chose to come here instead of the High Mage’s home, said he wanted to do some hard work.”
“Well he will find some here” the other woman spoke. She was tall and thin, so thin that if she didn’t have long hair Sawyer would have had a tough time telling she was a woman since she had no curves. She also had brown hair but hers was kept down.
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