When the bard and boy left the music began. A small orchestra played in an elevated alcove, the walls about it too high for the musicians to see what was going on below. The music filled the room with light melodies, though as the drunkenness increased it became faster and louder.
After some hours a final round of food was served. It ceremoniously arrived on a round serving tray with the 12 signs of the Zodiac arranged upon it in a circle. Over each sign a specific food was placed fitting with the character of the constellation in each of the labors.
This was followed by three courses of dessert, then finally, and mercifully, the banquet came to an end. When the last guest had filed out we were dismissed. I collapsed into my bed as exhausted as if I’d just fought a battle.
7. I SAVE A LADY
My days continued in training and with each passing day I improved. Some nights later I was out again with my friends. We frequented a tavern in a different part of the city, one where heavy drinking and gambling was the primary concern. Well after midnight, when it was clear that neither Koptos and Ctesias planned to leave any time soon, I left on my own, taking an indirect route back home to further acquaint myself with the city and enjoy the early morning air and sights of Taslea as it prepared for another day. I was wandering aimlessly, only generally heading in the proper direction, when I heard a woman scream and the sounds of clashing swords.
Without thought, I instantly drew steel and ran headlong towards the commotion. One of the codes of the Seker compelled that I act with honor in such situations if a Free Women of either Caste was in danger.
As I rounded the corner into a particularity narrow and dimly lit street I saw the fierce struggle. Screaming the blood curdling cry of the Great House of Rahdon, I leaped into the fray slashing savagely and instinctively with my sword into the armed attackers who had backed a single Seker into a corner where he struggled to protect a Lady behind him. Nearby, lay a sedan chair and the bodies of the slain, both Sekers and male slaves. At the feet of the lone survivor lay many of the enemy, the solemn testament to his devotion.
My entry into the battle startled the attackers, enough to grant the valiant defender a moment’s respite. My first stroke drove deeply through hardened leather into a scoundrel’s chest. The dying man looked startled before dropping his now useless weapon and falling to the cobblestone. I hardly took time to notice, for immediately his companion swung his sword at my throat. I instinctively ducked the blade. My sword had not as yet fully emerged from the first man’s body. Part of me was very grateful in that instant for the torturous hours I had spent with the Wooden Slave Girl.
As the second assailant’s sword flew passed me, I struck him unexpectedly with
my empty left hand, catching his jaw below with the heal of my hand, snapping his mouth shut with the satisfying sound of breaking teeth. My sword freed, I drove it directly into his abdomen below his leather breastplate and twisted the blade savagely upwards. The determined, yet outnumbered, defender of the Lady to whose rescue I had come seized a third assailant and with a quick slash, cut his throat. The contest was evening up quickly.
Two more men fell upon the defender while I turned to the last remaining aggressor, a tall gaunt Seker, probably an officer of the High Caste from his looks, dressed in full battle gear, all in black. Even the helmet which concealed his face was blackened, a narrow T- slit permitting sight and breathing. He was quite a sight.
I quickly found him to be a highly skilled swordsman who reminded me that I had been in training a short time. He took my best and then with a brutal attack backed me into the fallen body of the first man I had slain. I went sprawling on my back, sword clattering to the street behind me, a serious blunder for which Tonak would rebuke me if by some miracle I survived the next instant. But I knew I wouldn’t. So much for being a he-man on Doridia.
The figure hovered above me prepared for the kill as I grasped behind me for my dagger. I remember wondering why he didn’t do it. As he leaned forward to thrust his short sword into my body, my hand clasped the dagger and I plunged it into his calf. He cursed in unexpected pain and then to my surprise for his wound could not have been serious, ran off down an alleyway, limping noticeably.
The Lady’s defender had dispatched the two men assaulting him at the moment I struck the black figure. He had turned to attack my man but the gaunt survivor had realized the fight was hopeless and fled. Better to fight another day when the odds were restored.
I struggled to my feet, shaken, and faced the lives I had saved. My teeth were chattering and I was trying to figure out if I knew enough to build a submachine gun from scratch. I hoped they couldn’t see I had the shakes all over now. Only then did I recognize in the growing dawn light, that the Seker wore the same styled tunic as I, a tunic of the Great House of Rahdon.
“Greetings,” I said, surprised at the firm sound of my voice. Nice going.
“Greetings, Seker,” he replied. “Your arrival was most opportune and welcome.”
“What happened, friend?” I asked. My brother Seker was awash in blood. Actually, we three were bathed in it.
“I and my two Seker companions were escorting the Lady Shelba from a banquet earlier this night back to our Great House when those cutthroats fell upon us. We slew one immediately but my companions went down in the face of overwhelming odds. I backed into this corner so that I might better protect my Lady, narrowing the attacker’s field of combat and prepared to sell my life as dearly as possible when you flew into the fray. No doubt you saved both our lives.”
“As you mine, friend,” I said, more grateful than words could express. “Perhaps we better leave and return the Lady to the Great House before blackie decides to return with help.”
“Blackie? Oh, you mean the black one.” He looked at me strangely, then said, “I think he has had enough for now, but I agree, the Lady should be returned to safety at once.”
I picked up my weapons and ignored the dead, as did the Seker. I guess a pile of bodies wouldn’t be such a surprise for the street cleaners as I’d first thought. As we moved off, the Seker assumed the lead, the Lady followed silently between us, her shear robes fluttering in the crisp morning breeze as I brought up the rear. Before we reached the residence I was concentrating on her rather than thinking about the fight. She was a finely formed woman with courage. Most women, hell most men, would have been hysterical by now.
There was no opportunity to talk as long as we remained outside the safety of our own domain. But we soon reached the Great House without further incident, and for the first time it looked like home to me. The young Seker left me at the gate while he escorted the Lady to the private quarters of the Rahdon family but he soon joined me in the Sekers’ quarters.
He arrived just as I was stripping the leather from my body and preparing to go to the gymnasium for a short swim and bath. My tunic would be replaced and my equipment cleaned and polished by slaves before I returned.
“Thank you again for your help,” he said smiling becomingly. I knew him now at once having seen him at the banquet. “My name is Lonnan, I serve on the personal guard of the Urak Rahdon.” His smile and manner were generous.
I introduced myself and suggested he join me at the baths, an offer he readily accepted. A few moments later we were lounging in hot, steamy water, bound in a comradeship known only to men who have fought side by side against impossible odds.
“The Lady didn’t say much,” I commented neutrally. I had been surprised that once we were safely within the confines of the Great House, she had offered not a word of gratitude.
“She is High Caste,” he said with a shrug, reaching for a pumice bar, “and is one of many who do not deem to speak to lowly Sekers, even those who save her life.” He laughed sardonically. “Those were two good men and friends who lay down their lives for her tonight. She was attending some inane High Caste function.” He smiled his winning smile, fixing it like a bright mask to conceal a darker, deeper countenance it seemed. “The ho
nor of serving is, of course, enough.”
“That is so,” I replied, getting a feel for the man. “Still a word of thanks wouldn’t have been entirely inappropriate.”
“Perhaps for others, even others of High Caste, but not for the Lady Shelba. The slaves attached to her personal service are particularity diligent and respond to her every whim or passing fancy often without command. I am told she keeps an unusually wide assortment of whips available and enjoys administering punishment herself with the vigor and practice of an experienced slaver.” He shook his head more in sadness than anger, as though she had disappointed him in some way.
As we soaked our weary bodies and in answer to his questions, I told Lonnan how long I had been in service to Urak Rahdon. I sought, successfully, to avoid comment concerning my life prior to that and he never pressed. We discussed the events of the earlier combat and I inquired about the assailants.
“Common thieves they would have us believe but Taslea is well marshaled and a pretext of that sort is unconvincing.” He was serious now. This was business. “I don’t believe the attackers care particularity if we accept their ruse or not, however. The time has passed for that. They and those of their vile House have grown bold lately and pretext no longer is intended to conceal them or their evil designs.”
I looked at him with avid interest. These were new matters to me.
“They were, of course, employed by the House of Khonos,” he said continuing, “and the leader of the attackers, thinly disguised, was Zagos, Chief Counselor and former First Officer of the same Lesser House.” I nodded. I had heard something about Zagos before. He was on everyone’s lips.
“I am impressed that someone in training such a short time,” Lonnan continued, “could have survived even a brief encounter with Zagos, reputed by many to be the finest swordsman in Taslea. Tonak, no doubt, is to be credited with his excellent training.”
“But,” I protested, “Zagos disarmed me with ease and had you not turned to him would have skewered me as easily as roast.”
“True, but you struck him. No one I know of has ever so much as caused him injury before. Not only that but you survived as well.” He shook his head in amazement. “By rights he should have slit your throat in the instant you turned to him.”
“No doubt,” I said and then laughed heartily with him.
“A word of caution my new friend,” Lonnan said seriously. “Zagos does not forget and you thwarted his plans tonight. Beware. He prefers treachery and cunning to open means and is not one to needlessly expose himself to risk. Watch your back and stay close to friends.”
I understood. There was nothing like making enemies. “But why would Zagos want to seize the Lady Shelba?” I asked settling more deeply into the hot water. The more I knew, the safer I’d be I reasoned. At the very least I’d know why somebody was sticking the knife in my back.
Lonnan continued. “Zagos seeks to humiliate the Great House of Rahdon and by such means to isolate it from the support of the other Great Houses of Taslea and from the Council of the High Caste. Once we are isolated, he can with increasing impunity, drive away or slay our Sekers, seize property on pretext and eventually gain control of the Great House as he has other Lesser Houses. He expands his force with mercenaries and outlaws, purchasing their loyalty with gold. And,” he continued slowly, “he did not want to kill her.”
“What purpose would be served by seizing the Lady Shelba? Would he dare violate her?” I inquired. I was new to Doridia but already I had learned that the sexual violation of a Free Woman was unconscionable.
“The Lady is beautiful and is known throughout the city for her haughtiness and arrogance,” he said. “Just as certain people take pleasure from destroying that which is beautiful, Zagos would delight in having her within his power.” His eyes took on a glassy look that suggested he wouldn’t mind it himself.
“He would place her in chains and use her for his own desires seeking to bend her to him and to the collar. What better way to humiliate our House than to seize Urak Rahdon’s last unmarried daughter and keep her as a slave. The secret would be poorly kept, by design, and her slavery would become common knowledge throughout the city. We would lack proof enough to act and are not powerful enough to take the Lady back by force, especially if we lose support of the other Great Houses through our own inability to protect the Urak’s family. Should he have succeeded this morning, it would have been disaster for us.”
“But why are such actions tolerated?” I asked.
“Much can be accomplished with guile and nerve. Zagos is not from Taslea. He comes from the southern region and holds to no custom, no tradition of ours. He wishes to further his own evil plan for power and wealth. He defies convention, he scoffs at honor. He seeks expedient allies and divides his enemies so he can overcome them while no one prevents it. He knows just how far he can push, just what proof is needed against him. Thus far he has walked a fine line of aggression and deceit with remarkable success.”
“Are you saying this Great House could fall to him?” I had no idea the situation was so uncertain.
“Ah, I hope not,” he said pensively. “But lately Urak Rahdon seems unable to meet this challenge. I’ve watched him dodder on trivia and his mind has lost its keen grasp of essential details.” Lonnan’s voice grew soft and ominous. “I fear for us, I fear for us, my new friend.”‘
###
If I had thought the previous night’s exploits would draw praise from Tonak, I was mistaken. It had been nearly dawn when I returned to my cubicle deeply troubled by my conversation with Lonnan. After little more than a short nap, I was in full equipment, running the first of the four five mile courses I would complete that day. The moment I finished each run I faced one, two and even three opponents, with naked steel. By afternoon I was stripped to shorts and ordered to face excellent, seasoned swordsmen in full gear with only my short Doridian sword.
Tonak was determined to drive me for reasons I didn’t understand. Although I was being singled out each of us was being pushed to the highest performance level possible. Interestingly, many of the exercises given us now emphasized strategy against superior numbers and defensive tactics. Tonak said nothing about these changes. Instead, he criticized constantly and continually devised even more demanding exercises.
I escaped the day with only minor cuts and abrasions and considered myself fortunate not to be in the infirmary. If Tonak kept this up there wouldn’t be any more of us for enemies to deal with.
Following my final training period I returned to the hot baths. After cleansing myself, Tanah came to massage me and tend to my minor injuries. I was getting used to personal servants.
Tanah had been a slave since birth. At the age of ten, she had been placed with others in the baths to care for the facility and to the needs of those who used it. She was permitted, even encouraged, to swim and work out when time allowed. It was believed that women in such places should be fit to better serve as an example to the men. She was a remarkably attractive slave with golden, fleecing hair and lustrous pale blue eyes. She had now served in the gymnasium seven years.
“Good evening, Master,” she said respectfully.
“Greetings, Tanah. How have you been today?” It was unusual for a Free Man to make such small talk with slaves but she was getting used to my familiar ways. I realize now it made me difficult to deal with. Masters, for all Free Men in this House were her Master, generally did not care if slaves had a nice day and it’s always easier when you know your place. I suppose she didn’t with me.
“It has been as always, Master,” she replied cautiously.
Her reply was noncommittal but I didn’t pursue it. She began quietly working the muscles and fiber of my taut exhausted body. I continued to gain weight and with each day grew more powerful, agile and skilled.
“Would you permit a slave to speak, Master?”
“Yes.”
“I heard of your courage and bravery only this morning when you saved the Seker
Lonnan and Mistress Shelba. I am honored that a Seker such as yourself each day selects this poor slave to tend to you.”
I had not had time to realize that word would pass so quickly or that what occurred would be a subject of conversation, even if only among the slaves. That showed how little I knew about Taslea – or slaves for that matter.
“Why doesn’t Master permit Tanah to serve him in all his needs?” she whispered. “Perhaps Master finds Tanah unattractive?” Tanah was about as unattractive as the flower of spring.
“Not at all, Tanah,” I replied at her brash question. “It’s difficult for me to explain. I... I am new ... I find you really attractive but right now I’ve got other matters on my mind than playing with pretty slaves.”
She smiled. “You are a man, aren’t you?” She kissed my shoulders. “Just remember me.”
My voice caught in my throat. I don’t know where I got the idea a slave was some kind of unwilling lover but it was obvious I needed to do some more thinking on the subject.
Tanah laughed then dove into the cold water of the large pool. I roared after her and spent the next exhausting hour trying to catch my little fish in the water as she teased me with her marvelous body.
I never did. Not that night.
###
“It was courageous of you, Hunter. Lonnan informed me you saved my daughter by your timely and heroic actions.”
Urak Rahdon had summoned me just after the evening meal. I had been brought
to the private quarters of the Rahdon family exhausted but I had managed to force myself to alertness. Sekers weren’t even supposed to be tired.
The Rahdon complex was pleasing and attractive, not exactly a masterpiece but serviceable, if a bit flamboyant. As I stood in Urak Rahdon’s private study I saw for the first time the true wealth of this illustrious, ancient family. About me were art treasures without value so priceless were they. Nothing in gold, silver or precious gems was spared and the workmanship was exquisite.
Hunter: Warrior of Doridia (The Saga of Jon Hunter Book 1) Page 7