Vagabonds of Gor coc-24

by John Norman

  "Of course not," she said.

  "You understand that you would still be held under perfect discipline?"

  "Of course," she said. "I would be a slave."

  "But then, on the other hand," I said, "aside from such possibilities, and still considering the question of a private master, you might find yourself under the tutelage of a whipmaster in a rich man's pleasure gardens."

  "But I would be only one of many women there?" she said.

  "Undoubtedly," I said. "Perhaps one of fifty, or a hundred."

  "I think I would prefer to be the single slave of a single master," she said.

  "Such things" I said, "would not be up to you."

  "You are joking about these things, are you not?" she asked.

  "No," I said.

  "I am a free woman!" she said.

  "I know," I said.

  "What are you going to do with me?" she asked.

  "First," I said, "I would like to get out of the delta."

  "But if we are successful in that," she said, "what will you do with me?"

  "We shall see," I said. "We shall see."

  "Then I am totally at your mercy?" she said.

  "Yes," I said.

  "And you will do with me as you please, won't you?"

  "Yes," I said.

  She moaned, and followed behind, on her strap.

  20 I Decide to Impose Discipline

  She suddenly screamed, and I spun about.

  "Get it off me!" she cried, hysterically. "Get it off me!"

  "Be silent!" I said.

  "Get it off me!" she screamed.

  I put the pole down on the raft, leaped into the water, angrily, and waded to her.

  "Get it off me!" she screamed.

  I struck her with the flat of my hand.

  She looked up at me, startled, blood about her mouth.

  "Be silent," I said.

  "Please take it off me!" she whispered.

  "Such things often attach themselves to rence stems," I said. "Apparently you bent down, to drink. The front of your collar is wet, and the strap, near the throat. Your hair, too, is damp. Perhaps you brushed against rence in doing this. Too, however, such things can float free in the water."

  "Please!" she said, shuddering. "Please!"

  "It has not had time to affix itself," I said.

  It was about four inches long, rubbery, glistening in the moonlight.

  "Please!" she whispered. I picked it off.

  "Do you want it?" I asked. "No!" she said.

  "The marsh leech is edible," I said. "At one time I did not know that."

  I tossed it away.

  She regarded me with horror.

  "What is wrong?" I asked.

  "I could never eat such a thing," she said.

  "If you are sufficiently hungry," I said, "you will eat even less likely things."

  "Never," she said.

  "To be sure," I said, "men have occasionally starved in the midst of many things which might most adequately have sustained life. One assumes, of course, that this was the result less of fastidiousness than ignorance."

  She looked at me.

  "Would you prefer to starve in the midst of plenty?" I asked.

  "No," she said, uncertainly.

  "Such things, upon occasion," I said, "might be the difference between life and death."

  "I understand," she said, trembling.

  "And if I tell you to eat them," I said, "you will do so immediately and unquestioningly."

  She shuddered.

  "Do you understand?" I asked.

  "Yes," she said.

  "And you will do so even if there is no nutritive need," I said, "even if it is merely at my caprice, or for my amusement."

  "Yes," she whispered.

  I regarded her.

  "Yes-captor," she whispered.

  "Perhaps you understand better now," I said, "the discipline to which you are subject?"

  "Yes, captor," she said. The diet of the captive, as had now been made clear to her, is subject to the selection and regulation of the captor, as is that of the slave to the master.

  We stood in the marsh, under the moons.

  She looked at her left breast, fearfully, from which I had removed the creature.

  "It is gone," I said. She shuddered.

  "You had an easy time of it this time," I said. "You detected its presence immediately. Sometimes they can attach themselves to your body, and fasten in, without your being aware of it."

  She looked at me.

  "They may be encouraged to withdraw, of course, by the application of such things as heat and salt.

  She looked at me, questioningly.

  "Yes," I said. "It is possible that there are others on your body now, that you are unaware of."

  She tried to free her hands, futilely.

  "You are in no position to conduct an examination," I said. "Do you wish me to do so?"

  She nodded vigorously, frightened.

  "You beg it?" I asked.

  "Yes!" she said.

  "Very well," I said.

  "Oh!" she said.

  "In fishing for such creatures," I said, "one may, of course, use one's own body as bait:"

  "How you handle me!" she said.

  "You asked to be examined," I reminded her.

  "I am not a slave," she said, "her flesh being examined for soundness by a purchaser!"

  "You are, however, a captive, are you not?" I asked.

  "Yes," she said.

  "Accordingly it may be done with you as I please," I said.

  "As though I were a slave!" she said.

  "Yes," I said.

  I had, of course, only examined her for the presence of leeches. She, a free woman, had no real comprehension, at least as yet, of what it might be to be examined as a slave. There seemed to me no point in telling her about such things. If she ever wore the collar, she could learn them.

  I stood up.

  "Did you detect the presence of further such creatures upon me?" she asked, frightened.

  "No," I said.

  "Then I am now free of them?" she said.

  "Apparently," I said.

  She sobbed with relief.

  "It may have been an isolated leech," I said.

  "But there are others in the marsh!" she said.

  "Of course," I said.

  "Let me ride on the raft!" she begged.

  "No," I said.

  "But it is not just leeches," she said. "There are tharlarion, and other dangers."

  "Keep a sharp lookout," I said.

  "You cuffed me," she said, reproachfully. She ran her tongue about, over her swollen lip.

  "You are fortunate that you are not a slave," I said.

  "And were I a slave?" she asked.

  "You would have been punished," I said.

  "In what manner?" she asked, curious.

  "Probably being cuffed," I said.

  "I was cuffed," she said.

  "And later being tied and lashed with my belt," I said.

  "But as a captive," she said, "I am subject to your belt, am I not?"

  "Yes," I said.

  "Are you going to use it on me then, when we camp?" she asked.

  "I have no intention of doing so at the moment," I said, "but that could change."

  "Perhaps you will touch me instead?" she asked. She moved close to me, pressing herself against me.

  "Perhaps," I said.

  Then I thrust her back a bit.

  I then removed some items from the pack.

  "What are you doing?" she asked.

  "We cannot have you screaming, and crying out, in the delta," I said. "It is dangerous. It might attract rencers, Cosian patrols, even animals."

  "I will not so scream out again," she averred.

  "I shall assure myself of that," I said.

  "No, please," she said.

  "Open your mouth," I said.

  "But what if tharlarion should approach?" she asked.

&n
bsp; "Open your mouth, widely," I said.

  I then thrust the wadding in her mouth.

  Tears came to her eyes.

  " 'Susceptibility to the gag, " I said, " 'is a liability of prisoners, enforceable at a moment's notice, at the whim of a captor. Such I believe, were your words to me once."

  She made a small noise. I then wrapped the binding twice about her, twice back, between the teeth. She made another noise. I drew the free ends of the binding back, surely, firmly, considerably narrowing its internal loops, that they would be extremely close on her, that they would be back, deeply, between her teeth, so that she could not hope to dislodge them, so that the heavy, damp obstruction of the racking, or wadding, held in place by them, would remain perfectly, inejectably, in her mouth. Again she made a noise, a small, pleading noise. I jerked tight the binding and knotted it securely behind the back of her neck. I turned her about, so that she faced me.

  "Surely you do not object," I said. "Once I wore a gag. Now you do."

  There were tears in her eyes.

  "One whimper for 'Yes, " I said, "two for 'No. Do you understand?"

  She whimpered once.

  "If a tharlarion, or such, approaches," I said, "I am sure you will manage some excellent signals. Terrified whimpers will do very nicely. Though you may not be able to be heard more than a few feet away I do not think there will be a problem. You will be kept in place by your tether and I should, accordingly, hear you quite easily from the raft. Is this all clear?"

  She whimpered once, angrily.

  "Are you humble and obedient?" I asked.

  She whimpered once, frightened, and put down her head.

  "You whimper well," I said, "and you are pretty in your gag."

  She looked up.

  "Perhaps women should be more often gagged," I mused. Tears sprang anew to her eyes.

  "I think, when we camp," I said, "I shall touch you."

  She looked at me startled, eager, gratefully. We had now been together for some five days traveling south. Even in this short time I think she had begun to learn something of her womanhood. And, too, even in this short time she had begun to become its helpless prisoner.

  "And when I touch you," I said, "I think I shall leave you in your gag."

  She looked at me, startled.

  "That should be an interesting experience for you."

  She put down her head, excitedly, but submissively.

  I had much touched her over the past few days, even though she was a free woman, as much for my relief, such as a free woman could provide, as for her instruction, usually when we had camped, sometimes before we slept, sometimes afterwards, or when I awakened and it pleased me, and sometimes, too, on the rough logs of the raft, I pulling her up, onto them.

  "But," I said, "you shall for five days, for five encampments, as a punishment for crying out twice, after having been warned to silence, and for not having responded instantly and perfectly to a command, that connected with opening your mouth for the gag wadding, be tied as I often was in the delta, hand and foot, and bound supine between two objects. In this fashion you may better make the acquaintance of certain nocturnal insects, such as the marsh beetle."

  She looked at me, in misery.

  "Are you humble and obedient?" I asked.

  She whimpered once, and put down her head.

  I then regained the surface of the raft, took up the pole, and continued my journey, she following on her tether.

  21 Gilded Wood

  "Look," I said. "There."

  She made a small questioning sound, anything more stopped by her gag.

  I poled the barge to the left. Then it grated on the sand. "There," I said.

  She made a small noise, one of surprise.

  Lying in the sand, in the moonlight, on a small bar to our left, carved from wood, half sunk in the sand, about ten feet in length, was the long, narrow neck and head of a marsh gant.

  "You recognize it?" I said. She whimpered once.

  She would acknowledge its recognition explicitly. Such things are good for the discipline of a female.

  This was all that I saw about of the remains of her barge. It had been purple, and gilded, its bow carved in the likeness of a long-necked, sharp-billed marsh gant. Its stern had been carved to represent feathers. The poles used in propelling it had been gilded, as well. It had been surmounted by an open, golden cabin, covered with a translucent golden mesh. None of this was now visible. The neck and head of the gant was discolored, dark on dark, and partly charred. Most of the gilding was gone, perhaps scraped with knives, or burned away.

  "Perhaps," I said, "when the rencers took you, after they had stripped and bound you, they permitted you to witness the burning of your barge?"

  She whimpered once.

  "You would make this observation, presumably," I said, "tied on your knees, your wrists fastened to your ankles, in a rence craft."

  She looked at me, surprised.

  "That you were in.a rence craft would indicate that you were in their power," I said, "and too, you might then be conveniently transported from the place."

  She regarded me.

  "It would be common, too, of course," I said, "not simply because you were a conquered enemy, but, in particular, because you are a female, to tie you on your knees. That is often done, for example, with female slaves. Surely the appropriateness and meaningfulness of tying a female on her knees does not require elucidation, no more than the effectiveness of its security."

  Tears sprang to her eyes.

  "But they would not daily too long in the place," I said, "and so you did not see the barge entirely burnt. Once it was well afire your ankles would be freed from your wrists, and you would be put on your belly in the rence craft, still, of course, bound hand and foot. Am I correct?"

  She whimpered once, her eyes bright with tears.

  "You would also," I conjectured, "prior to having your wrists freed from your ankles, and being put on your belly in the rence craft, have been blindfolded."

  She whimpered twice.

  "You were permitted to see where you were being taken in the marsh?" I asked.

  Two whimpers.

  "You were not blindfolded, but hooded?" I said.

  She whimpered once.

  "A slave hood?"

  One whimper.

  "Good," I said. The hood tends to be more effective than the blindfold as a security device. For example, it is difficult to dislodge it, as it ties under the chin, by, say, rubbing it against a wall or tree. An advantage of the blindfold, of course, is that it enables the mouth of the female to be seen, and to be kissed, and such. It also allows her to use her own mouth, of course, in kissing, and such. The half hood is a device intended to couple something of the effectiveness of the full hood with the various exploitable advantages of the mere blindfold. I had not known, incidentally, that the rencers now made use of slave hoods. They perhaps obtained them through trade, as well as additional women. Many things had changed since I had been in the marsh, long ago. Some rencers even charged tolls to freight moving through the marsh. Also, it was not always easy to transport female slaves through the marsh now. Rencers had apparently discovered their delights. I recalled the barge which had been encountered in the marsh several days ago, when I had been a prisoner, it, I was sure, given its condition, was merely an abandoned derelict. On the other hand I supposed there might be similar barges here and there in the marsh which had been waylaid, their cargoes then distributed among strong men. "That you were put in a slave hood," I said, "suggests that they might, at that point, have had an open mind on whether or not to keep you as a slave, or sell you."

  She looked at me.

  "If they had planned at that time on putting you out for tharlarion they might not have bothered hooding you."

  She shuddered.

  "Perhaps as they got to know you better they decided that in spite of your beauty you were not worthy of being made a slave."

  She looked up at me, angrily.<
br />
  "But, at that time, most likely," I said, "your fate was still to be decided by a council."

  She nodded, vigorously.

  I regarded her.

  She whimpered, once.

  "And perhaps it was then, a few days later, by the council, that it was decided officially, and after due deliberation, after they had had a chance to assess your character with care, that you were not worthy of being a slave."

  Tears of anger sprang to her eyes.

  "But perhaps they decided to put you out for tharlarion because of their hatred for Ar, and things of Ar," I said.

  She looked away.

  "Ah," I said, "then it was at least primarily because they did not regard you as being worthy even to be a slave."

  She whimpered once, pathetically.

  "I wonder if they were right," I said.

  She then knelt in the shallow water, there by the bar. It came up only over her knees and calves. She put down her head.

  "But perhaps they were wrong," I said.

  She lowered her head further.

  "Too," I said, "as I may once have called to your attention, it is not difficult to reform a woman's character, once she is in a collar."

  She trembled.

  "I once called that to your attention, did I not?" I asked.

  She whimpered once.

  I bent down and drew the lovely wooden piece, fashioned in the likeness of the neck and head of a gant, from the sand. I put it down on the sand. I regarded the head, the eyes, the graceful curve of the neck. "It is a lovely piece of work," I said.

  She lifted her head a little, and, too, regarded the artifact.

  "The barge, too, was lovely," I said, "though I suppose some might have regarded it as a trifle too ornate, too prideful, too ostentatious, with purple, and the gilding, the poles, the golden cabin, with the golden mesh."

  She looked at me.

  "Some, too," said I, "might have preferred a craft with sleeker lines, but I would personally effect nothing critical on that score. It was built for luxury and a woman's comfort, not for speed."

  Tears came to her eyes.

  "Ships have different purposes and different beauties," said. "There are many varieties of them and each in its way is lovely, in this way they are not unlike women. Many different sorts of women bring high prices in the slave market. Too, one always buys more than meat. What all these women have in common is that they are slaves, and must serve with perfection."