“No, you don’t,” he says. “This is going to complicate things.”
“Yes it will.” Putting his shirt back on, James takes his seat again.
Just then there’s another knock on the door. The young man sitting across from him gets an alarmed look on his face. “Relax,” James tells him. Getting up, he crosses over to the door and opens it.
Out in the hallway he sees Scar and Potbelly standing there with the slave who had been at the top of the stairs held between them.
“What is this?” demands the young man sitting at the table in James’ room.
James gestures for them to enter and once they’ve left the hallway, closes the door. Turning back to the young man, he says, “I don’t like being spied on.”
“He wasn’t spying on you,” the young man assures him. “He was making sure I was okay.”
“Same thing if you ask me,” Scar says.
“Let him go,” James says and the other slave is released. The slave then moves to the side of the young man and they stand together staring defiantly at James and the others.
“Don’t really act much like slaves do they?” Potbelly observes.
“No,” agrees Scar. “Very few slaves I’ve run across would dare to cross eyes with a free man. Let alone ask demanding questions of one.”
“Go get Brother Willim,” James tells them.
Potbelly turns and leaves the room. The two pairs continue to stare at one another until he returns with Brother Willim and Miko in tow.
James sums up the situation for them, the fact that someone may be able to help, but that he has to come dressed as a slave.
“No!” exclaims Miko. “Absolutely not.”
Scar just laughs. “Can’t imagine you going around in one of those,” he says.
The look on the young man’s face is growing darker by the minute. James takes note of the fact and says, “I’m not saying no.” Miko turns to look at him incredulously. “Calm down,” he says. Then to Brother Willim he says, “But the problem is that I am not exactly what you would call tan.” Pulling up his shirt, he shows them his pale skin. “I would stand out among all the other slaves.”
Brother Willim nods his head. “Yes, I can see that you would,” he agrees.
“What I need is something to give me the appearance of having been out under the sun,” he explains. “You being into plants and all, I thought you might be the best one to help me.”
“There are saps and other things which could be combined to give you the required appearance,” he says. “Though I don’t know if they are available in this area.”
The young man’s expression softens somewhat when he realizes James is at least considering doing as requested. “If you were to supply me with a list, I could see about acquiring the needed items,” he offers.
“This is a bad idea,” Miko insists.
James turns to the young man and asks, “Do you really think your friend will be able to get us inside the temple?”
“If anyone can, he would be the one,” the slave replies.
“Very well.” Then to Brother Willim he says, “Tell him what you need.” Once Brother Willim has told him of several different ingredients that will work, and the slave successfully recites them back to him, James gives him coins to pay for the items.
“How long will it take you to combine the ingredients once you have them?” he asks Brother Willim.
“Not long, maybe a half hour at the most to get it just right,” he explains.
“So you intend to meet with him?” asks the young man.
James turns back to him and says, “As of right now, maybe. Another member of our party is not here,” he explains. “When he returns I’ll know for sure whether I will or not.”
“Very well,” he says. “I’ll be back.” Then he and the other slave move toward the door. Scar opens the door for them and they leave. Closing the door, he turns back to James, glance at the slave rag still on the table and grins.
“What?” James asks.
“Aren’t you even going to try it on?” he asks. Several of the others in the room start snickering at that.
Jiron, Reilin, and Shorty return a couple hours later. When apprised of what the young man said, Jiron of course was adamantly against it. “No, no, no, NO!” he exclaims. “You can’t even be thinking about taking this course of action.”
“I haven’t committed to it as yet,” he replies. “What did you find out?”
“The place really doesn’t have much of a guard,” he explains. “The area among the outer buildings of the temple complex affords many places in which to hide.”
“How about the temple itself?” Scar asks.
“That may be a little tougher nut to crack,” Jiron says. “Several braziers sit by the temple doors which I’m sure at night are lit. There will be no way to sneak in once they have been. Anyone in the vicinity will undoubtedly see us heading to the doors.”
“Were there non-priests present on the temple grounds?” James asks. “Maybe we could disguise ourselves as a disciple or something.”
“That wouldn’t work either,” interjects Brother Willim. “Temples to Dmon-Li are not known for the attendance by the faithful. If a group this size were to approach, they would become interested in us. Not saying suspicious, at least not at first, but it would definitely be seen as something out of the ordinary.”
“So if I understand this correctly,” James says as he glances between Jiron and Brother Willim, “any frontal assault will draw attention.”
Brother Willim nods and Jiron says, “Most likely.”
“Is there a back way in?” asks Stig.
“If there was we didn’t see it,” replies Shorty. “The temple is pretty big too. It may take us some time to locate this dais thing you want to get to once we’re inside.”
“Perhaps this slave’s plan is the best course to follow right now,” suggests Reilin. When the others give him glares, he sticks to his guns and says, “At least go and see what this guy can do for us.”
“I’d want you to follow and keep an eye on me,” James tells Jiron.
“Oh, you can bet I’ll be doing that,” he says. Picking up the slave rag off the table he says, “Shouldn’t you be getting into this thing then?”
James looks in disgust at it and shakes his head. “Not until I have too.”
Another hour goes by and the young man has yet to return. When it’s but a couple hours before dusk, he again appears at James’ door. This time he’s alone, the other slave that was with him the previous two times is absent. Tucked under one arm is a package which he hands to Brother Willim upon entering.
“I found everything you requested,” he says. “Took some doing, though.
Bother Willim takes the package and nods. “I can imagine.” He then opens it up on the table and begins removing the contents.
Turning to James, he asks, “Are you planning on meeting with the one whom I spoke of?”
“Yes,” he replies. “It doesn’t look as if I have much choice.”
“Then when you’re ready I will escort you to him,” he says.
Picking up the slave cloth, James asks rather unhappily, “Are you sure this is the only way?”
“If you wish to meet with him, yes.”
Sighing, James says, “Very well.” While Brother Willim is beginning to crush some leaves in a bowl, he takes the slave cloth. “I’ll be in the next room when you’re ready.”
Brother Willim nods. “Be there when I am done.”
James then leaves the room and goes to the next one over. Once he’s inside and alone, he holds up the cloth and a shiver runs through him. Nothing for it, he tells himself and begins removing his clothes. Naked, he picks up the cloth and begins working to secure it around his loins. Not nearly as easy as he first thought, it takes him three attempts before it’s on well enough that it won’t fall off when he paces back and forth.
Knock! Knock! Knock!
“Yes?” he hol
lers through the door.
“It’s me,” he hears Miko says.
“Come in,” James tells him.
When the door opens, Miko comes in and sees him standing there in naught but the slave cloth. “Man oh man,” he says with a mischievous grin.
“What?” James asks.
“First of all,” he explains, “you have it on wrong. Here let me help you fix it.” Closing the door he moves forward and removes the slave cloth. Then he shows him the proper way to wear it. “The way you had it on, it would have fallen off in no time.” Tucking the last piece within the part circling his waist, Miko nods and stands up.
“I feel naked,” James says.
“That feeling will get worse once you’re out in public,” he says. “Trust me, I know.”
James only nods.
They stay in the room for a half hour and Miko coaches James in the nuances of being a slave. Keeping your eyes lowered, never talking back, all the things he learned during his time as a slave.
By the time Brother Willim makes his appearance, James has the basics down and should be able to pass himself off as one. Entering with his bowl in hand, he pauses a moment when he sees James there. White skin contrasting badly with the tanned areas of his body that had been exposed to sunlight, he almost glows in the dark.
James can see how Brother Willim is trying to fight back a grin that’s threatening to break out. “Go ahead and laugh if you want to,” he tells him.
Unable to restrain it, the grin breaks forth. “Sorry,” he says as he comes forward and begins applying the mixture to his pale skin with a cloth. In fact, he applies a coating to every square inch of his skin, including that which is under the loincloth. “With this on, you’ll be able to blend in with the other slaves.”
James stands there and endures it. The mixture itself doesn’t have all that bad of an odor, sort of smells like the forest on a hot summer day. It takes Brother Willim ten minutes to adequately apply the mixture, and when he’s done he steps back to look.
“That will do nicely,” Miko says. “You look just like a slave off the streets.”
“Do I?” he asks.
“Yep,” replies Miko. “Now, let’s go back to the others.”
James gets a slight panicked look at the though of others seeing him like this, but what else can he do? Face slightly red, he follows Miko out of the room and then over to the room where the others wait. He hesitates just a moment before entering behind him.
Every eye is on him and he feels very self conscious. “Well?” he asks.
“Remarkable,” Aleya says. “If I didn’t know it was you, I wouldn’t have recognized you.” The others nod their agreement.
“Are you ready?” the young man asks.
“No,” he replies. “But let’s just get this over with.”
The young man moves toward the door and James steps aside to let him pass. “Be back as soon as I can,” he tells them.
“Good luck,” offers Shorty.
As he leaves the room and closes the door behind him, James turns to follow the young man.
“Just keep your eyes down and follow me,” he says.
“What if someone tries to speak to me or stop me?” he asks.
“One person isn’t likely to accost or bother another person’s slave without their approval beforehand,” the slave explains. “That would be a severe breach of etiquette. In fact, depending on whose slave it is, there could be more serious repercussions.”
Descending the stairs, James hears the noise from the common room. In his loincloth, he feels very exposed. If it wasn’t for the mixture Brother Willim put on him to darken his complexion, he’s sure his skin would be beet red in embarrassment. Stepping off the bottom step, he follows the slave as he skirts the edge of the common room and leaves through the back door. He was sure that everyone in there was staring at him, but having kept his eyes lowered in proper slave fashion, he couldn’t tell.
Out in the street, he soon realizes just how tender his feet are. Walking barefoot as the other slaves are, he tries to ignore the rocks and other hard items that seem to find their way under his feet with every step.
“How far is this place we’re going to?” he asks.
“Not very far,” he replies. “Just down a couple more streets.”
As he continues to follow the young man, he glances to the people on the street. Almost unbelievably, not one of them is even giving him a second look. He could be a bug crawling on the ground for all they care. Growing in confidence that he’s not going to be found out, he begins to relax. He even grows accustomed, to a point, in wearing nothing but a loincloth.
If this had been the middle part of the day, the sun would have burnt him to a crisp. But seeing as how dusk isn’t very far away, it kind of feels good to have this much skin exposed.
After the slave leads him down one of the side streets, he begins to notice that they are moving into the poorer section of town. The streets are not nearly as kept up as they had been where they came from. Also, the people on the street begin to get a more bedraggled appearance.
Up ahead and to their right lies a narrow alley. Barely wide enough for two men to walk side by side, it’s wedged in between what looks to be a tannery and a rendering shop where they separate fat from animal remains. The smell coming from both places is appalling. To his disgust, the slave turns and leads him to that narrow alley. Having no choice, he follows.
“Stay close,” the young man says as he enters the alley.
Holding his breath against the stench of the two businesses he’s passing between, James steps into the opening. Several times during the course of moving deeper into the alley, his bare feet squish into something soft and feeling very nasty. In the faint light which illuminates the alley, he’s not sure if it’s human excrement he’s stepping in or something else equally offensive. He tries to control his rising gorge as he hurries to catch up with the young man.
The alley grows lighter as they approach the other end. James actually tries to hurry the young man along a bit in order to get out into what he hopes is fresher air. As they reach the end and step from the alley, he takes a deep breath of air that is only slightly better than what he had to endure in the narrow passage. He glances down at his feet but he’s unable to determine what exactly he stepped in.
They’ve come out into an area completely blocked in by the backs of buildings which are only one or two stories tall. Maybe forty feet by thirty, it looks like what may have been a plaza at one time before some of the abutting buildings were built over it. Oddly enough, no windows are present in any of the buildings encompassing this area. Only the alley from which they passed through and a single door in one of the walls are the only apparent ways out of here. It’s to the door that the young man is leading him. Other than themselves, this place is deserted.
“This way,” the slave says to him.
Stepping in behind, James crosses the vacant area. The slave pauses at the door until James catches up with him then says, “On the other side of this door, say nothing. Even should someone come to you and begin talking, say nothing. Understand?”
“Why?” James asks.
“Just do it,” he replies. When he gets a nod from James, he opens the door.
James follows him through and is surprised to find a tall stack of broken pieces of crates, boxes and old furniture no more than two feet before the door. In fact, the stack is higher and wider than the doorway. They are forced to practically squeeze out from the doorway due to the lack of room between the door and the stack. Then the young man closes the door and James is again surprised to discover that the door melds into the wall perfectly, concealing the fact that the door is even there. Whatever this place is, this entrance probably isn’t known by too many people.
Without a word, the slave moves to step out from behind the stack and enters a courtyard bustling with activity. Slaves under the watchful eye of men are hauling crates and other items from a warehouse and stack
ing them on four wagons. The young man moves over to where two small boxes are stacked not too far from where they entered from. He picks one up and motions for James to do the same. Then he makes a circuitous route around the courtyard and finally brings James to the wagons being loaded.
Placing his box within one of the wagons, he nods for James to do the same. Then they turn about and enter the warehouse out of which the rest of the slaves are hauling boxes. Once inside the warehouse, they encounter a man who is directing the slaves in picking up boxes and crates to be placed on the wagons.
No sooner do they enter the warehouse than the man in charge directs them to pick up a rather large one that takes two. Not hesitating, the young man does as directed and James joins him in lifting the crate. He glances questioningly to the young man and only receives a shake of his head in response.
Crash!
One of the slaves further back in the warehouse has dropped his box and is now lying on the ground holding his leg. The way he’s holding his leg and crying out, James thinks that it may be broken.
Then from out of nowhere two slaves come and immediately take the crate from them and continue hauling it out to the waiting wagons. Startled by their sudden appearance, James doesn’t immediately realize the young man has turned and is walking quickly toward a stack of boxes sitting at the rear of the warehouse. Seeing him moving away from him, James quickly moves to follow. He casts a quick glance to the man in charge of the slaves and sees how his attention is now fully on the slave lying with the broken leg. From the set of the man’s face, he feels sorry for the fate of the slave.
Half a minute later, they squeeze through a gap between the stacks of boxes. Sidestepping, James passes through and comes to a small cleared space between the stacks of boxes and the rear wall of the warehouse.
Moving to a set of three boxes, two set side by side and the third on top of the other two, the young man says, “Give me a hand.”
James comes forward and the young man has him grip the stack of three boxes in two specific spots. Then together, they lift the edge of the boxes up. The edge comes up to reveal that the three boxes are secured to the top of a trapdoor. Once the trapdoor is raised sufficiently, the young man has James pass through first. There’s a drop of three feet and then a series of steps leading down into darkness.
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