Raiders of Gor

by Norman, John;

  He looked at me, angrily.

  I gestured for one of the men-at-arms to take him up and carry him away, which he did.

  I then dismissed the men who stood near me, except Thurnock and Clitus.

  That boy, I thought, may well prove useful to me. If he fell into the hands of the council he would doubtless be tortured and impaled, or, perhaps, condemned to a seat on the rowing benches of the arsenal round ships. In my holding, his identity could be kept secret. In time, I might find a use for him. There was surely little to be gained in turning him over to the council.

  "Who is he?" asked Thurnock, looking after the boy, wrapped in the warrior's cloak, who was being carried away into the darkness.

  "He is, of course," said I, "Henrius Sevarius."

  13

  How Bosk Came to Be Pirate

  "Paint my ships green," I had said.

  It was now within the Fifth Passage Hand, some four months after the unsuccessful coup of Henrius Sevarius in the city of Port Kar.

  By this time, the Fifth Passage Hand, the flag of Bosk, pirate, had come to be much feared on Thassa.

  How this came about I shall now relate.

  Some four months ago I, in my swiftest ram-ship, accompanied by my two other ram-ships, and escorted, as well, by five ram-ships of the arsenal, heavy class, had come to the vast, wall-encircled harbors of Telnus, which is the capital city of the Ubarate of Cos. There are four major cities on Cos, of which Telnus is the largest. The others are Selnar, Temos and Jad.

  I took a longboat ashore, and sent the boat back to my galley.

  I would go before the thrones of the Ubars of Cos and Tyros alone.

  This was my wish, and a part of my plan.

  I recalled standing before the thrones, in the towering throne room of Cos.

  I put to them, the Ubars of Cos and Tyros, as well as I could, the proposals of the Council of Captains of Port Kar, that there would be concord, and doubtless an opening of commerce, between the two Ubarates and the maligned city in the Vosk's delta, my own Port Kar.

  As I spoke, the Ubar of Cos, Lurius of Jad, and the Ubar of Tyros, Chenbar of Kasra, the Sea Sleen, who was visiting Lurius on matters of state, sat unspeaking upon their thrones. They asked no questions. They merely regarded me. Kasra is the capitol of Tyros; its only other major city is Tentium.

  To one side, in a silken veil, richly robed and jeweled, sat Vivina, the ward of Chenbar. It was not a coincidence that she was now in Cos. She had been brought to Cos that Lurius might look upon her and, should he find her pleasing, be proclaimed as his future companion of state. It was her body that would serve to link the two island Ubarates. Her veil was diaphanous, and I could see that she was very beautiful, though she was also very young. I looked from her to the corpulent, sagging Lurius of Jad, Ubar of Cos, who, like a great bag of meat, slouched swollen between the arms of his throne. Such, I thought to myself, are the affairs of state. Chenbar of Kasra, Ubar of Tyros, on the other hand, was a lean, large-eyed man, with nervous hands. I had little doubt that he would be highly intelligent, and skilled with weapons. Tyros, I told myself, has an efficient, and dangerous Ubar.

  Lurius and Chenbar listened most patiently to my discourse.

  When I had finished, Chenbar, with a look to Lurius, rose to his feet and said, "Seize his ships."

  "I think you will find," I said, "that my ships have already withdrawn from the harbor of Telnus."

  Corpulent Lurius sprang to his feet, paunch swinging. He shook his fist at me.

  "Tharlarion!" he cried. "Tharlarion of Port Kar!"

  "I gather," I said, smiling, "that our terms of peace are rejected."

  Lurius sputtered.

  "Your surmise is correct," said Chenbar, who had now sat again upon his throne.

  "I shall then take my leave," I said.

  "I think not," smiled Chenbar.

  "Put him in chains!" screamed Lurius.

  I regarded them. "I claim," I said, "the immunity of the herald."

  "It is denied!" screamed Lurius, his wide, bloated face scarlet with rage.

  I extended my wrists, to the sides, and felt manacles, with leashes, snapped on them.

  "You have been offered peace," I told them.

  "And we have refused it!" screamed Lurius.

  I heard the laughter of the girl, Vivina, who seemed amused. Several of the others in the court laughed as well.

  Lurius settled himself, breathing heavily, again in his throne.

  "Put him in a market chain," said Lurius, "and sell him at the slaves' wharf."

  The girl laughed.

  "When," snarled Lurius, "you find yourself chained in the rowing hold of a round ship, you may, my fine captain of Port Kar, bethink yourself less brave and clever than now you do."

  "We shall see," said I, "Ubar."

  I felt a movement on the chains, and turned to leave the presence of the two Ubars.

  "Wait," I heard. It was Chenbar, who had spoken.

  I turned again to face the Ubars.

  The hall was high about my head. Broad tiles lay beneath my feet.

  "May I present," asked Chenbar, indicating the veiled, robed girl sitting to one side, "the Lady Vivina?"

  "I do not wish to be presented to a tarsk of Port Kar," hissed the girl.

  "Let us not forget our manners, my dear," smiled Chenbar.

  She rose to her feet, and, small gloved hand in the hand of Chenbar, descended the steps of the dais on which sat the thrones of Lurius and Chenbar, and stood before me.

  "May I present, Captain," said Chenbar, "the Lady Vivina?"

  She dropped her head, and then lifted it.

  "I am honored," I said.

  "Tharlarion," she said.

  The girl turned and was escorted, again by Chenbar, her gloved hand in his, to her seat on the dais.

  When she had regained her seat, I said, "Your extraordinary beauty, High Lady, which, forgive me, your veil but scarcely conceals, is indeed worthy of a Ubar of Cos—"

  Lurius grinned. The girl herself permitted herself the smallest of smiles.

  "Or," I added, "a collar in Port Kar."

  Lurius sprang to his feet, his fists clenched. The girl, eyes flashing, scarlet beneath the white silken veil, too sprang to her feet. She pointed her finger at me. "Slay him!" she cried.

  I heard two swords leave their sheaths behind me.

  But Chenbar laughed. He motioned the men behind me to resheath their weapons. Lurius, furious, returned to his throne. The girl, enraged, took again her seat on the dais.

  "Doubtless, stripped," I said, "you would be even more beautiful."

  "Slay him!" she hissed.

  "No," said Chenbar, smiling.

  "I meant only," I said, "that your beauty reminded me of that of girls, serving slaves, nude and double chained in the paga taverns of Port Kar. Many of them are very beautiful."

  "Slay him! Slay him!" she begged.

  "No, no," smiled Chenbar.

  "Do not speak of me as though I were a slave girl," said the girl.

  "Are you not?" I asked.

  "The impudence!" she screamed.

  I nodded my head toward Lurius, swollen in the chair of the Ubar of Cos.

  "I own women," I said, "who are more free than you."

  "Tharlarion!" she cried. "I will be Ubara!"

  "I wish you happiness, High Lady," I said, dropping my head.

  She could not speak, so furious was she.

  "Here, you will be Ubara," I said. "In my house, however, you may be interested to learn, it would be otherwise."

  "Oh?" she asked.

  "There you would be put to a different use."

  "Use!"

  "Yes," I said.

  "And what might that be, tarsk?" she inquired.

  "You must understand," I said, "that in my house I have many girls more beautiful than you."

  "Oh?" she asked, archly.

  "Yes," I said, "accordingly, I would put you in the kitchen—as a Kettle Slave.
"

  "Tarsk, tarsk!" she screamed.

  "That you might then, for the first time in your life, be good for something," I added.

  "I am not a Kettle Slave!" she cried.

  "Many a fine lady," I said, "under the whip of the kitchen master, has found herself completely mistaken in such a conjecture."

  "Urt!" she cried.

  "Do not fret," I said, "the kitchen master might find some use for you on the mat."

  "Urt, urt!" she cried.

  "Forgive me," I said, "but the Ubara of Tyros, so beautiful are our women, is worthy only to be the least of the Kettle Slaves in the meanest of the dwellings of Port Kar."

  "Hateful tarsk!" she wept.

  "But perhaps I could find a tavern, a lowly tavern, where you might be placed as a paga slave in training," I said.

  "Tarsk!"

  "Do you think you could learn to serve paga?" I asked.

  "Hateful, hateful tarsk!" she cried.

  "Surely you have wondered, lovely lady," I said, "what it would be to be a slave, to be owned, to kneel naked before a man, in chains, a brand on your thigh, a collar on your neck, knowing you are his, and must obey him completely and perfectly—and in all things, all things, completely and perfectly, if you understand me."

  I saw her shudder.

  Yes, she had understood me.

  She had shuddered as though I had suddenly drawn aside her clothing. Young as she was, I was pleased to see, she was a profoundly, hormonally alive female.

  Chenbar smiled.

  Doubtless he, like many wealthy, powerful Goreans, had mastered many women.

  He had doubtless noted her reaction to my question.

  He, as I, had little doubt that there was a slave in the young, lovely Lady Vivina, her deepest self, which required only its liberation.

  "Slay him!" she screamed.

  "Be silent," said Chenbar.

  The girl was silent.

  "The Lady Vivina, as you doubtless know, is promised to Lurius, Ubar of Cos," said Chenbar.

  "I did not know," I said, "that the promise had been given."

  "Yes," said Chenbar, "this morning I gave my word."

  Lurius grinned.

  The girl looked at me with fury.

  There was some polite striking of the left shoulder with the right hand in the room, which is a common Gorean applause, though not of the warriors, who clash weapons.

  Chenbar smiled and lifted his hand, silencing the applause.

  "This companionship," said Chenbar, "will link our two Ubarates. Following the ceremony of the companionship there will be a conjoining of our fleets, that we may soon thereafter pay Port Kar a visit of state."

  "I see," I said.

  "Even now our fleets are being outfitted," said Chenbar.

  "When will the gathering take place?" I asked.

  "In the neighborhood of the sixth passage hand," he said.

  "You are free with your information," I said.

  "Well," said Chenbar, "we are all friends here."

  "Or slaves," said the girl, looking pointedly at me.

  "Or slaves," I said, looking at her very directly.

  Her eyes flashed over her veil.

  "You have had dealings," I asked, "with the Ubar Henrius Sevarius in Port Kar?"

  Chenbar smiled. "We have dealt with his regent, Claudius," said Chenbar.

  "What of Henrius Sevarius himself?" I asked.

  "He is only a boy," said Chenbar.

  "But what of him?" I asked.

  "He is a boy," said Chenbar. "He has no power."

  "Whom do his men follow?" I asked.

  "Claudius," said Chenbar.

  "I see," I said.

  "Mark well the name of Claudius, Captain," said Chenbar, "for he is to become Ubar of Port Kar."

  "As the agent of Cos and Tyros," I said.

  "Assuredly," laughed Chenbar.

  "As you may not know," I said, "Claudius and the various forces of Henrius Sevarius are scarcely in command of Port Kar."

  "Our information is better than you seem to understand," smiled Chenbar. "Be assured," said he, "that we will free Claudius from his current predicaments."

  "You seem," I said, "to be well aware of what transpires in Port Kar."

  "Yes," said Chenbar. "Perhaps you would care to meet our principal courier, he who will, in time, lead our fleets to the harbor of Port Kar?"

  "Yes," I said, "I would."

  A man stepped from among a group of robed dignitaries, standing to one side of the Ubars' thrones. He had previously been standing in the shadows.

  He had long black hair, tied behind his neck with a scarlet string.

  He carried, in the crook of his left arm, a helmet, bearing that crest of sleen hair that marks a captain of Port Kar. The helmet, too, bore two golden slashes. A long cloak swirled behind him.

  I had expected it to be Samos.

  "I am Lysias," he said. "Bosk, you remember me."

  I smiled to myself. He, with a handful of men, had managed to escape from the holding of Henrius Sevarius. It had occurred the night following my rescue of the boy from the canal. The guard had since been increased. I did not think more would escape.

  "Yes," I said, "I remember you perhaps better than you know."

  "What do you mean?" he asked.

  "Are you not the one who, in the delta of the Vosk, was overcome by vast numbers of rencers, and forced to abandon your barges, and a treasure of rence paper and slaves?"

  "This man is dangerous," said Lysias to Chenbar. "I recommend that he be slain."

  "No, no," said Chenbar. "We will sell him and make a profit on him."

  The girl, Lady Vivina, threw back her head and laughed merrily.

  "He is dangerous," said Lysias.

  Chenbar looked at me. "The money that we obtain from your sale," he said, "will be applied to the outfitting of our fleets. It will not be a great deal, but that way you can feel that you have not been left out, that you have done your small bit to augment the glories of Cos and Tyros."

  I said nothing.

  "I trust, too," said Chenbar, "that you will not be the last of the captains of Port Kar to pull an oar on the round ships of Cos or Tyros."

  "Apparently I have business to attend to," I said. "If I may, I request your permission to withdraw."

  "One thing more," said Chenbar.

  "What is that?" I asked.

  "Have you not forgotten," he asked, "to bid the Lady Vivina farewell?"

  I looked at Chenbar.

  "Doubtless," said he, "you will not see her again."

  I turned to face her.

  "I do not frequent the rowing holds of round ships," she said.

  There was laughter in the room.

  "Have you ever been in the hold of a round ship?" I asked.

  "Of course not," she said.

  High-born ladies commonly sailed in cabins, located in the stern castle of the galleys.

  "Perhaps someday," I said, "you shall have the opportunity."

  "What do you mean by that?" she asked.

  "It is a joke," said Chenbar.

  "When," I asked, "High Lady, will you drink the wine of the Free Companionship with Lurius, noble Ubar of Cos?"

  "I shall return first to Tyros," she said, "where I shall be made ready. Then, with treasure ships, we shall return in festive voyage to the harbor of Telnus, where I shall take the arm of Lurius and with him drink the cup of the Free Companionship."

  "May I wish you, Lady," said I, "a safe and pleasant voyage, and much future happiness."

  She nodded her head, and smiled.

  "You spoke of treasure ships," I said.

  "Of course," said she.

  "It seems then," said I, "that your body alone is not enough for noble Lurius."

  "Tarsk!" she said.

  Chenbar laughed.

  "Take him away," cried Lurius, leaning forward in the throne, fists clenched upon its arms.

  I felt the chains at my wrists.
/>   "Farewell, Lady," said I.

  "Farewell," said she, "Slave."

  I was spun about and dragged stumbling from the high throne room of Cos.

  When, early the next morning, chained and under guard, I was taken from the palace of Lurius of Jad, Ubar of Cos, the streets were mostly deserted. It had rained the night before and, here and there, there were puddles among the stones of the street. The shops were shuttered with wood, and the wood was still stained dark from the night's rain. There were few lights in the windows. I recall seeing, crouched against the wall of a building near the postern gate of the palace of Lurius, a coarse-robed figure, foolishly come too early to sell his vegetables, suls and tur-pah, near the palace. He seemed asleep, and doubtless scarcely noticed us. He was a large man in the rough rain robes of the peasant. Near him, leaning against the wall behind him, wrapped in leather to protect it from the dampness, was a yellow bow, the long bow of the peasants. He had shaggy yellow hair. I smiled as I passed him.

  On the slaves' wharf I was, with little ceremony, added to the market chain.

  By the eighth hour various captains of round ships had arrived and begun to haggle with the slave master over the prices of the oarsmen. The slave master, in my opinion, wanted far too much for his merchandise, considering we were merely fodder for the benches of the round ships. Having no particular interest in being struck to silence, I refrained from pointing this out to him. Besides, he doubtless had his instructions to receive as much pay as possible. Apparently Cos was outfitting her fleets and her treasury was currently strained. Every copper tarn disk, I told myself, in such a situation doubtless assumes greater importance than it normally would. I was a bit irritated at being slapped and punched, and told to exhibit my teeth, but, in all honesty, these indignities were no worse than those heaped upon my chain mates. Besides, I was not, considering that I was about to be sold to the galleys, in a particularly bad mood.

  To one side, leaning against a heavy, roped post, supporting part of the structure of the slaves' wharf, cross-legged, there sat a fisherman. He was working carefully on a net spread across his knees, repairing it. Near him there lay a trident. He had long black hair, and gray eyes.

  "Let me test your grip," said one of the captains. "I use only strong men on my ships."

  He extended his hand.

  In an instant he was screaming for mercy.