transfixed with horror.
I had known, or at least suspected, the identity of the player, incidentally,
even from Port Kar, when I had first seen him. His limp was distinctive, as well
as his demeanor and manner of speech. I had seen him, too, at close hand, long
ago, in the hall of Cernus of Ar. His touchiness on the matters of Scormus of Ar
and Centius of Cos, and the great match of 10,125 C.A., had also been revealing.
Took of course, his play had been brilliant. Too, how many poor players would
have had in their possession a Champion’s Cup, and that of Ar, that cup which
the brigands had found when they had raided the camp of Boots Tarsk-Bit, that
which had so fascinated them and which the player had been so anxious to
conceal? Yet he had not sold it nor had he cast it from him. Under his dark
robes and grim hood, it seemed, in his heart, he had remained always, and as I
had suspected, Scormus, of Ar, and a loyal citizen of that municipality.
“Free the slave,†said Belnar. “She belongs to Scormus of Ar. He has well earned
her.â€
“Yes,†said a man. “Yes,†said another.
The fellow who had stood near to Bina during the match, he who would have cut
her throat if she had erred in her behavior, speaking before the conclusion of
the game, now cut her wrists free of the thongs. She threw herself to her belly
before Scormus of Ar, weeping with joy, covering his feet with kisses. “I am
yours!†she cried. “I am yours!â€
“That is known to me,†said Scormus of Ar.
“I love you!†she wept.
“That, too, is known to me,†said Scormus.
She scrambled to her knees, clutching him about the legs, looking up at him,
weeping. “You paid a golden tarn disk for me,†she said. “I am not worth so
much!â€
“I will let you know in the morning,†said Scormus.
“Take Temenides into custody,†said Belnar. “Strip him. Bind him. Put ropes on
his neck.â€
Men seized the moaning Temenides and tore away his robes and tied his hands
behind his back. Then heavy ropes, suitable for confining him in the vat of oil,
were put on his neck. He looked wildly about himself in terror. “Ubar!†he wept.
“I have had the oil heated,†said Belnar. “Doubtless it is now, or soon will be
boiling. In this fashion the end will come swiftly. We have not forgotten, in
the hospitality of Brundisium, that Temenides is our guest.â€
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“Ubar!†wept Temenides.
“Ubar,†said Scormus.
“Yes, Player?†said Belnar. Obviously the player had earned this respect. There
are few on Gor who do not stand in awe of the skills of high players.
“As I recall,†said Scormus of Ar, “the life of Temenides, my worthy opponent,
whom perhaps I treated a bit harshly, being carried somewhat away in the heat of
the moment , is forfeit not to you, but to me.â€
“So it is,†said Belnar. “Forgive me, Player. I was thoughtless. I shall have
the temperature of the oil reduced, that it may then again be built slowly to
boiling. Thus the gradually increasing intensity of your opponent’s torments,
and their prolonged nature, will be all the more amusing.â€
“That will not be necessary,†said Scormus.
“Player?†asked Belnar.
“Temenides,†said Scormus to Temenides, “your life, which was forfeit to me, I
return to you, and gladly. Once more it is yours. Take it, and those soldiers
with you, mysteriously here from Cos, and depart this night from Brundisium’s
walls.â€
“Caste brother!†cried Temenides, gratefully. Some of the men with him then
freed him and put his robes about him. He hurried with them from the hall.
Belnar looked after them. He spoke words to a menial. The man, too, then left
the hall.
“Scormus of Ar is generous,†said Belnar.
Scormus inclined his head, briefly. Though Belnar smiled, I do not think he was
much pleased with the evening’s outcome. He once more looked towards the great
exit from the hall, through which, moments before, hurrying, Temenides and some
soldiers from Cos had vanished. Clearly Belnar, the ubar of Brundisium, had
expected Temenides to best the player, taken then to be a mere low player, a
troupe’s player, and this had not turned out as he had anticipated. HE was not
too pleased with Temenides, I was certain, and, for some reason, he also seemed
to find himself uncomfortable, at least at this time, with the presence of
Scormus of Ar in his palace. Belnar turned graciously to Scormus. “Player,†said
he, “honor us by sitting the table of Brundisium’s Ubar.â€
“I thank you, Ubar, but, with your permission, if you see fit graciously to
grant it, I would prefer to return to my quarters.†He looked down at Bina, at
his feet. “There, with chains and a whip, I would like to continue the education
of a slave.â€
“Master,†whispered Bina, licking softly at his ankle.
“Of course,†said Belnar.
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“Ubar, too,†said Boots Tarsk-Bit, “we have traveled far to entertain you, and
we are now weary. Please permit us also, myself, my fellows, and our girls, our
troupe, to withdraw. We have enjoyed performing for you.â€
“For a sack of gold, I should think so,†said Belnar. There was laughter from
the courtiers and guests about. Belnar smiled, pleased at this response to his
jest. “You may withdraw,†he said.
“Thank you, Ubar,†said Boots, bowing low. He then, following Scormus and Bina,
followed by his troupe, and the troupe’s girls, left the hall. They would not be
going to their quarters, of course. They, with their documents of departure,
earlier prepared, seen to routinely, and unsuspectingly, by the Lady Yanina,
upon the request of Boots Tarsk-Bit, who had a knack for such details, would
flee the city. I slipped back among the other guests in the hall. I did not
think it would be too long before the alarms were sounded.
“Come now, my guests,†called Belnar, cheerily, “return to your places. The best
of the evening’s entertainment is yet to come!†There was then a returning to
places among the banquettes. Naked slaves again scurried about, hurrying in
their perfume and steel collars, bringing wine, delicacies and assorted
exquisite viands, zealous to please masters.
“Where is the Lady Yanina?†inquired Belnar of Flaminius, irritatedly.
“I know not, Ubar,†admitted Flaminius.
“She is late, quite late,†said Belnar.
“Yes, Ubar,†said Flaminius.
“She should have been her by now,†said Belnar. “She should have been here long
ago.â€
“Yes, Ubar,†granted Flaminius.
“I know you have an eye for her beauty,†said Belnar to Flaminius. “I trust you
; have not had her taken to a villa outside the walls, where she awaits you now in
chains and a collar?â€
“No, Ubar,†said Flaminius.
“She might be quite attractive in such,†said Belnar.
“Yes, Ubar,†said Flaminius.
“You have not had her enslaved on the evening of her triumph, have you?â€
“No, Ubar!†said Flaminius.
“I am joking,†said Belnar.
“Yes, Ubar,†said Flaminius, uneasily, wiping his brow.
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“Citizens of Brundisium, and guests,†called Belnar, rising to his feet, “I
would have preferred for the Lady Yanina, that distinguished citizens of
Brundisium, know to you all, that true servant of our palace and state, that
lovely courtier, my trusted agent, my beautiful operative, to conduct the next
portion of the evening’s entertainment, for the triumph implicit in this moment
is in a special sense hers. Yet, alas, she is detained! Unfortunately, as the
evening now arrives at its climax, we must proceed without her.â€
There were some cries of disappointment, of protest.
“Shall we wait longer?†asked Belnar.
“No,†called several men. “Proceed,†called others.
“Let the trunk be brought forth, and placed upon the platform.†said Belnar.
Some men, from a room to one side, carried out the large trunk which had once
reposed in the storage wagon of Boots Tarsk-Bit. In that wagon Boots kept many
things, such as souvenirs, costumes, and props. In it he also kept much of the
paraphernalia associated with his illusion and magic. IT seemed like an ordinary
trunk and, indeed, if desired, could serve as one. It was, of course, the trunk
in which I had been placed earlier, that in which I had been transported to
Brundisium, that from which I was to be produced, that from which I was to be
presented, a completely helpless, chained prisoner, by the Lady Yanina to her
ubar, Belnar of Brundisium.
“In this trunk, sacked and shackled, at our mercy, lies an enemy of Brundisium,
an arrogant fellow who dared to displease our throne, a captain and slaver of
Port Kar, one of whom you hay have heard, the supposedly mighty, and redoubtable
Bosk of Port Kar!†called out Belnar.
At this point there were applause and shouts of encouragement.
“Taken by the Lady Yanina!†cried out Belnar.
Here there was laughter, and more applause.
“After, it might be mentioned,†added Belnar, “he managed somehow to escape from
others.†At this point Belnar cast a good-humored glance at Flaminius. Flaminius
smiled wryly, accommodatingly. There was laughter. His right fist clenched. To
be sure, this was to be an evening of triumph for the Lady Yanina. Her conquest
this night was not to be merely over me, a fellow named Bosk, merely a fellow
from another city, but more importantly, I gathered, over Flaminius, her rival,
as well. I recalled her words to me earlier, in the camp of Boots Tarsk-Bit.
“Because of you,†she had said, “my fortunes will be made in Brundisium. Because
of you I will climb there to hitherto
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undreamed of heights.†I still could not understand my importance to those in
Brundisium.
“I am pleased with the Lady Yanina,†called Belnar to the crowd.
There was applause.
“It is my intention to reward her richly,†said Belnar. “She will know my
generosity. She will be rewarded in gold, in power, in privilege and position!â€
“Belnar the Generous!†called out courtiers. “Belnar the Great!†cried others.
Belnar lowered his head modestly, waving his hand in a half-hearted plea for
order. Much applause, too, greeted his assertions. Many of those present stood,
applauding and calling out their congratulatory remarks. Courtiers, I gathered,
might be quick to commend generosity on the part of their superiors. Flaminius,
I noted, did not join in this acclaim. As generous as Belnar might be with those
who served him well, I did not doubt but what he might be correspondingly
merciless with those who did not succeed in pleasing him.
“I wish only,†said Belnar, “that the Lady Yanina was here, that she might be
present on this night of her triumph.â€
There were again sympathetic noises from the crowd. Most of those present,
however, I think, were probably just as well pleased that the Lady Yanina was
not in evidence. She was, after all, in a sense, one courtier among the others,
and thus, in a sense, was doubtless in rivalry with many of them, not just
Flaminius. It is one thing to praise the generosity of a ubar and quite another
to be genuinely enthusiastic over the exaltation and promotion of a possible
competitor. Too, Belnar was obviously enjoying himself. Had the Lady Yanina been
at his table, he would have had to share this moment of triumph, the absence of
which eventuality, despite his apparent desires and protestations, it might be
suspected he did not regret.
“Let the trunk be opened!†called out Belnar. “Let Bosk of Port Kar, helpless
and a fool, taken by the Lady Yanina, be displayed for our amusement!â€
Two soldiers went to the trunk. Its key hung on the outside of it. One of them
thrust the key into the first lock. “Hurry, Lads!†called Belnar. Then the key
went into the second lock. In a moment the heavy lid was freed and lifted. Men
stood up, to see better. Within the trunk there was a sack. It was a large sack.
It was of stout, heavy leather. Something was in it. It was tied shut at the
top. “Make haste, Lads!†called Belnar. “We’re waiting!†The soldiers lifted the
sack. It now stood upright within the trunk. Something was within the sack.
There was no doubt about
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that. But it did not seem large enough to be a man, let alone one such as Bosk
of Port Kar. It was much too small, much too slight. Too, the captive’s body,
even concealed within the confines of the sack, did not suggest the form of the
male. There was clearly the hint of delicious curves. The soldiers looked at one
another. Men exchanged glances. The hall was silent.
“Open the sack,†said Belnar.
Swiftly one of the soldiers tore away the knotting at the opening of the sack.
This was not the same sack in which I had originally been placed, of course, but
another, left in the trunk, which had been hidden beneath the first. The first
sack had had a cunning opening concealed beneath a double seam, an opening
through which a performer might exit or enter, as he pleased. The second sack,
on the other hand, was a common slave sack, of a sort commonly used on Gor for
the transport, security and punishment of slaves. It was stout enough to hold a
strong male. The tenant’s occupancy in such a device, incidentally, as the
tenant, bound and gagged, soon comes to realize, is going to be determined not
by his own efforts, but rather, purely, by the convenience, and pleasure, of
others.
“Hurry!â€
cried Belnar.
The soldiers tore open the sack and pulled it down from the head and shoulders
of its occupant. The occupant was hooded. “It is a female,†said a man. The sack
was then thrust down about her hips. She was naked. she threw her head back in
the hood. Her hands jerked wildly at the slave bracelets that confined her
wrists behind her back. She did not wear the heavy trick manacles, seemingly
suitable for men, in which I had been placed earlier in Boots’s camp. I had shed
them moments after being placed in the first sack. Rather she wore ordinary
slave bracelets, which would serve their purpose well, that of confining
females. They were, however, I though, rather attractive. I had picked them out
before leaving Boots’s camp. She also wore, though they could not now be seen,
as she stood in the trunk, a set of linked ankle rings. These, too, were not
portions of Boots’s props but practical custodial hardware, rings of a sort
common on Gor for the chaining of women, generally slaves.
“Who has put a slave in this trunk?†cried Belnar, in fury. “What joke is this!â€
“Where is Bosk of Port Kar?†asked a man.
“Unhood the slave!†cried Belnar.
“I see no brand on her,†called one of the soldiers to Belnar. He had just
thrust the sack down from her hips, and turned her roughly from side to side,
examining her thighs for brands.
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“Unhood her!†screamed Belnar.
The sack was now down about her knees. She was held upright by one of the
soldiers. The other fumbled with the straps to her hood, loosening the buckles
under her chin.
“Hurry!†screamed Belnar.
The trunk on the stage was the same one in which I had been placed originally in
Boots’s camp. However, I had made certain adjustments in it. The back and
bottom, either of which may open from the inside or outside, depending on
whether a wall panel or a floor trap is to utilized in the escape, I had closed
with bolts. In this fashion the trunk becomes, for most practical purposes, a
normal trunk. This is useful not only when it serves normal purposes of storage
and transport, but also, of course, when it is submitted for the inspection of
members of an audience. After the inspection it is easy enough, in seeming to do
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