JH02. Caravans of Doridia

by Ronald Watkins

  “This past winter we sent two expeditions into the forest seeking the Urak’s daughter but neither returned. We ask of you, should you by chance engage the evil Kanchoh’s band in battle, search for Sofeeah and return her if possible. If not, we ask that you slay her rather than allow her to continue in such shame. I have known this fine girl all my life and know that she would rather die than be as she is.”

  I assured the counselor that I would be on the lookout for the Urak’s daughter.

  Trade would be concluded in a few days and we would journey on. Tonight he had prepared a special banquet to celebrate our arrangement. The Urak himself would attend and, I was informed, three of his single daughters would be there as well for the purpose of introduction to me. Apparently not all of the High Caste disapproved of my recent promotion or of my actions in Taslea.

  As we departed the room, the counselor turned to me, and smiling said, “That was quite a feat you performed last night. Those two ruffians have long deserved death and it was only a matter of time before a true officer slew them. The Urak also approves of your actions. He is a great admirer of bravery and skill. He looks forward to meeting you this night because of what you did and, I might add, because of your great courage and superb skill he considers you a fine young officer of the High Caste to meet his three remaining, unmarried daughters. The two you slew had both approached the Urak for marriage to any of them but were rejected.”

  The counselor beamed as we departed the chamber.

  I returned to my room and bid my new slave, named Lehdah, assist me in my bath and dress me in fine clothes for the banquet which would soon begin. I had never before attended such an affair. I wondered if the daughters would be lovely, or not.

  5. A Banquet in My Honor

  The banquet hall was everything I anticipated considering the wealth of this Great House. Much of the vast room was done in massive slabs of highly polished marble with great pillars rising from the floor and thrusting themselves into the ceiling which was painted in vivid Frescos. As always, I found the Doridian taste to be gaudy and garish but the effect was not unappealing if very bright. Flowing tapestries covered most of the walls and all of the exits save the principle one. The effect was to hold you within a cocoon of elaborate designs and bright colors all illuminated by the flickering flames of candles atop brass stands.

  Those in attendance sat in a semi-circle facing the entertainment floor, each individual positioned according to his position or rank. I was pleased to note the attendance of the Merchant Renakor for this stated better than anything I had seen heretofore that the Urak Tonalah was no snob who reserved his attentions for only those born to the High Caste. There were more slaves, mostly female, attending our needs than there were guests.

  These Doridians were fine artisans and had mastered techniques I had been taught were only known in ancient China. There was a wide assortment of serving dishes, all finely figured and richly appointed. A wide variety of wines was also served and the meal comprised more than 15 courses. It was without question the finest cuisine I had ever experienced.

  There was no speech making but everyone knew the reason for this celebration and it was obvious that I was the guest of honor as I was seated beside the Urak Tonalah and next to his three daughters, in descending order of age. It was the Doridian custom that the oldest daughter was first married. These were all lovely creatures though only the oldest was of sufficient age to marry. She was dark haired and perhaps a bit plump but that was a matter of personal taste. She had full red lips and dark, luminous eyes. She laughed a great deal and possessed an infectious and pleasant disposition. I would have placed her age at about 18. She was oblivious to the fact that this was a meeting intended to introduce her to a possible mate. I supposed that over the years she had attended such affairs and was accustomed to meeting men in this manner. It was, to the best of knowledge, almost the sole avenue for her to meet men of whom her father approved.

  Her younger sister was a copy of her, only quieter in the shadow of an older sibling. The third daughter was without question the most beautiful. A slender and slightly pale girl she sat demurely and rarely acknowledged my presence. Her auburn hair was fine and beautifully coiffed. Her features were well formed and she possessed a poise and beauty that would last a lifetime. She was, however, scarcely 14 years old, young enough to be betrothed but too young to marry.

  The Urak himself sat to my right and genuinely seemed to enjoy himself. He was a large, robust man full of life and vitality and I found it difficult to believe that he could possibly be in poor health. He was an excellent conversationalist and included many in our discussion. He was particularly adept at drawing out stories of my exploits from me and I found myself relating them though in other circumstances I would have considered this bragging.

  His lovely wife sat to his right remarkably resembled her youngest daughter, a vision of what the future held for the young girl. She too was quiet and I noticed that she very pleased at her husband’s active role in the evening. She became concerned on the rare occasions when he lapsed into silence. I suspected by the night’s end that his illness had been more in the nature of a lingering melancholy then some physical illness. Garhan had hinted that Sofeeah, the lost daughter, had been his favorite.

  There was one point in the evening which I have never forgotten. This giant man, leader of a wealthy and powerful House, accustomed to commanding his every whim turned to me and unheard by any other said, “Please Hunter, if any man can you are the one. Bring my daughter home to me. Please.” His eyes burned into me and it was as though I could see his very soul as he spoke. This was a man, I knew, who had never begged for anything in his adult life. I saw the beginning of a tear as he turned away and I knew that I would not rest until his daughter was recovered.

  As if to shake off his mood, he rose to his feet and called for the entertainment to begin. Acrobats of Trahj broke the mood, performing feats of swordplay that were dazzling and I made a mental note to seek them out for instruction before leaving the city. I was even more impressed with the next act which brought a sharp wave of nostalgia home to me. A lovely blond woman stood with her back to a board while a blindfolded man threw knives around her at a dazzling speed, landing them only an inch from her body. I had seen such an act as a boy with my father, only this one was performed without trickery and with far greater skill. This was a man indeed for me to learn from.

  I saw acts with animals taken from the Tirsenos jungle in the far north. There were women dancers from Khashan, women reputed to be free as none were enslaved within its walls. A group of children from Beerah by the sea performed balancing acts of such precision they brought the crowd to its feet in approval. The acts were undoubtedly the finest I had ever witnessed in all my life.

  It was a most satisfying evening and I was very pleased as I prepared to return to my room. The good Urak bid me goodnight and with a wink told me to enjoy the rest of the evening. I did not know what he meant.

  Before leaving, the three daughters approached me as a body and expressed their pleasure at meeting me. They invited me to visit them as long as I remained in the House and to visit should I return again in the future. Now that we had been formally introduced such contact would be permitted, though always chaperoned and only within these walls. The youngest spoke to me for the first time this evening, “My sisters and I wish to thank you for slaying those two last night. We particularly enjoyed hearing how you squeezed the life out of Kehdar as we found him especially loathsome.” I had not related the story of the previous night yet it was apparently common knowledge. “Should you wish to slay others let us know in advance and we will provide you with a list. Others in Runah we know share our pleasure.” Her two sisters nodded in agreement.

  I thought them a particularly cold blooded lot as they left but then realized that by the standards of Doridia they were quite gentile. This was a land where one could hope for the violent death of someone you disliked, then openly take pleasure
when it happened.

  ~

  I entered my room ready for my furs. A woman lay within them I noted and with little patience I went to toss Lehdah over to her own corner but when I threw the furs back there lay the blond who had serenely stood as a blindfolded man threw knifes at her. Puzzled, I looked about the room.

  “Your other one is spending the night in the slave quarters at the command of Urak Tonalah. She is too skinny anyway although she showed a fine spirit when ordered to leave. I don’t think that she likes me very much.” The blond smiled seductively and then with a mischievous glint in her eye, stretched her luxurious body very slowly before me, lit by the Love Candle.

  “I am a gift for the night from the Urak Tonalah. Would you refuse your provider his gift?” She pushed the furs aside to make a place for me beside her. I could not, of course, refuse.

  ~

  “Higher! Higher!” the acrobat Veldor commanded. I strove to stretch my leg even more above my head. Already I ached in muscles I had not known I possessed before this morning.

  “No, do it again. Like this.” Veldor demonstrated what he wished me to do but he did it with ease while I hurt and sweated for what little I had been able to accomplish.

  “Enough, let me rest,” I begged, lowering my leg. “It hurts Veldor. When will I be able to do it without it hurting?”

  Veldor laughed and said, “Never friend. It always hurts but in time you will learn to not mind that it hurts. That is the secret.”

  With that he laughed and proceeded to demonstrate the various movements again that he insisted I learn before attempting any of the feats I had seen the previous night. With grim determination I turned to the task, determined to acquire some new skill that one day might save my life in combat.

  “Higher! Higher! You must reach for the ceiling. Again! Raise your leg again and stretch.”

  I was beginning to dislike this enthusiastic instructor of mine. And to think that I had paid him in coin to torture me thus. I raised my leg still higher and sought to ignore the pain.

  ~

  By the evening I was ready for the baths. These were as pleasant as those of the Great House of Rahdon in Taslea and did much to ease my pain and discomfort. As I lay beneath the masseuse’s skilled hands, I thought back to the night before.

  My partner in bed had been very skilled and after we made love I had her tell me of the distant city of Trahj. She spoke highly of it and looked forward to going home soon. She did not act as a slave and she wore no collar but surely I thought she must be a slave for why would she otherwise serve me in my bed at the orders of the good Urak. Then too, with rare exceptions, entertainers were invariably slave. Unable to restrain my curiosity I had asked if she were slave.

  She laughed merrily at the question. “But of course not. Do I wear a collar?”

  I had to admit that she did not. “But,” I stammered, “why do you...?” My voice trailed off, unable to ask the question.

  “Why you ask if I am free do I share your bed? Is it not obvious? I approached the Urak and asked. He thought it a great idea. Why ask? Why for the same reason you bed a pretty slave girl, because it pleased me.”

  I was rather shocked at her words. Taking my hand in hers she placed it on herself and in a softer voice said, “Because you please me. Again Hunter, please take me again.”

  I pulled the lovely Free Woman to me and once again made love to her. Because it pleased me.

  ~

  I continued my training with Veldor each morning and afternoon. In between sessions I engaged in sword work with the Master of Arms, a wily and skilled opponent. He knew something of throwing knifes and demonstrated the basics for me. He agreed to send the knife thrower to me the next day to continue my instruction. The Merchant Renakor conducted business and each night reported on that day’s dealings. He assured me we were doing quite well and urged we delay our departure a few more days. I was content to do so.

  ~

  My slave, Lehdah, had lapsed into silence again. She slept in my chambers for the magnificent blond had not returned. Lehdah, I knew, was not pleased with me. I ignored her icy silence and reminded myself that she was only a slave.

  Halwot came to instruct me as arranged. I wanted to inquire of his beautiful, sensuous assistant who had come to my bed that one night only but pride prevented me from speaking on the subject. She was, after all, a Free Woman and it was not seemly to solicit concerning her.

  Halwot was a true showman both when performing and when simply instructing. He was a slender man with finely chiseled features and almost feminine gestures. His skin was a clear, smooth creamy texture that would have made him the envy of women.

  “The secret to throwing the knife is consistency and balance. A throwing knife is not like others. The length of the handle must be exactly the same as the length of blade and when one balances the knife by laying it on a single finger, it must balance at the hilt like so.” He held a finger out and placed the knife by its hilt on the finger and as he had said it balanced perfectly.

  “Once you acquire a knife of this precision you must then learn the throw. It is a movement executed essentially by the forearm followed by a sharp snap of the wrist. You must learn to perform the movement exactly the same, time after time without variation. The knife will then fly through the air, spinning at a consistent and predictable rate. As an example, say you toss the knife at the rate of one spin every pace. If you throw it by the blade then it flies handle forward at one, three, five and seven paces, and blade forward at two, four, six and eight paces. The trick is to place yourself at the correct pacing in order to strike your opponent blade first. For me this is easily done but for your desires and needs you may find the thrown knife very difficult to use lethally. Also, the knife must be of a low tempered steel so that it does not shatter when striking a solid object. Do you still wish to learn, officer?”

  I had not realized that knife throwing could be so complicated and so limited to practical combat. Nevertheless, as a last resort a properly thrown knife at the right moment could spell the difference between death and salvation for me.

  I continued my instruction and within a few days I had mastered the basic techniques and when free from Veldor and his incessant acrobatic demands, I practiced the skill, over and over. I contacted the smithy of the House of Tonalah and arranged for the preparation of two knives to my specifications and in the city contacted one of the Guild of Leatherworkers and arranged for a sheath.

  The Merchant Renakor soon approached me and bid we depart for Lathanah as his business in Runah was complete. I gave orders that we leave the following dawn.

  6. Journey to Lathanah

  It was a stream swollen by the previous night’s sudden showers that impeded our progress. We were already four days out from Runah and the journey to Lathanah in the best of circumstances took 3 days. The risen stream, however, was not fordable and we would be forced to camp on this side until the water abated. The caravan merchants looked to the sky in apprehension, wringing their hands. Three new ones had joined us in Runah seeking safety in our greater numbers. Should the rains continue we could be trapped for days. It was in the unfortunate event this very occurrence took place that all caravans traveled amply prepared for delays of almost any duration. The travelers accustomed to such delays, especially this early in the season when the weather could revert unexpectedly to winter-like conditions, readily accepted their plight.

  It was commonly believed that inclement weather also inhibited the movements of outlaws and so placed us in no greater jeopardy. We were simply delayed and inconvenienced and so all sought to make the best of it. The merchants counted their profits and cursed the winter sky. Clouds continued to build and I anticipated more rain.

  I sent Sekers into the surrounding forest to scout the area and to permit the men to gain greater confidence in their ability to wage effective combat in the forest. Once I was certain that no outlaws could observe us I allowed the extra 100 men concealed in great wa
gons to exercise and in groups of 10 conducted war games in the wet, dense growth of underbrush and trees.

  The first night of our delay I bid Lehdah come to my side by a bright fire that crackled and snapped with wet wood. I had permitted her a modest cloak because of the unexpected cold and dampness but this would be taken back one the weather turned to its usual temperate nature for this season.

  “We journey to Lathanah,” I said as she knelt close to the blaze seeking its warmth. She nodded in response. Our destination was common knowledge and doubtless she had heard it from others. Lathanah was her native city and immediately upon entering it she could, by custom, declare herself free and anticipate that the full force of the citizenry would support her. I, of course, knew that she was of Lathanah and would not take her within its walls. Then to, considering the manner in which she had fled her city, she might be reluctant to declare herself free and instead hide from onlookers and accept servitude rather than face the anger of her father and the shame of these last two years.