Dancer of Gor coc-22

by John Norman

  "Oh," I said. I had thought he might have done so. I was a bit miffed by this. He laughed.

  "Master is far from Brundisium," I observed.

  "I have come to Argentum seeking my fortune," he said. "I will seek service with some mercenary captain."

  It seemed to me certainly that one might find such service closer to Brundisium. "What happened to Tupita?" he asked. "Do you know what became of her?" "We were both sold in Samnium," I said. "I do not know who purchased her. I do not know where she went."

  "She was pretty," he said.

  "Yes, Master," I agreed.

  "The recovery period is passed, long ago," he said. "You are both the full legal properties of your new masters."

  "Yes, Master," I said. I heard the wheels of the cart trundling from the alleyway now. The fellow who had been bound and gagged was doubtless now tied down in the cart, hand and foot, belly and neck, and covered by the tarpaulin.

  "What is wrong?" he asked.

  "Nothing, Master," I said.

  "Are you hips still loose?" he asked. "Do you still sway well?" I cast a frightened glance back toward the opening of the alleyway. "My current master does not use me as a dancer," I said.

  My master" s men, with the cart, one of them drawing the car, the other thrusting it from behind, emerged from the alleyway. "Greetings, Citizen," said the first of my master" s men, he between the handles of the cart.

  "Greetings," said the fellow before whom I knelt. He was not, of course, a citizen of Argentum.

  "Watch out for her," grinned the first of my master" s men. "She hangs out around here from time to time, begging to be touched."

  "Thank you for the warning," laughed the fellow before whom I knelt. I put my head down, so spoken of. Yet truly I was needful. It seemed my sexual needs had increased a thousand times on Gor. I could not help myself.

  "Have you contented her?" asked he before whom I knelt.

  "Not I," laughed the fellow. "She is in a collar. She is nothing. Let her grovel, and scream with need. It amuses us."

  "I see," said the fellow before whom I knelt. He did not seem too pleased with what he had heard.

  "Besides," said the first of master" s men, "as you can see, her pretty, little body is snugly enclosed in the iron belt."

  "So it might seem," said the fellow before whom I knelt.

  They then, to my relief, seemingly continued on their way, albeit slowly, one drawing the cart, the other pushing it. Perhaps the cart was heavy.

  "I must go now, Master," I said. I wished to leap up, and be on my way. "Have I given you permission to rise?" he asked.

  "No, Master," I said. "Forgive me, Master."

  I could see, behind him, that the two men of my master had stopped, apparently adjusting the tarpaulin in the cart.

  "The key has been left in the belt," he said. "Did you know that?" he had had no difficulty in making this determination, as I had knelt before him, earlier, my head down to his feet.

  "Yes, Master," I said.

  "That would seem very careless of your master," he said.

  "Yes, Master," I said.

  "Perhaps he does not pay as close attention to you as he might," speculated the fellow.

  "Perhaps, Master," I whispered.

  I looked beyond the man, to my master" s men. The cart was now a few yards down the street. The first of my master" s men was looking at me. The second was pretending to be inspecting the wheel of the cart.

  "Doubtless Master has pressing concerns," I said. "He must doubtless soon be on his way."

  "No," said the fellow. "What is the matter with you?"

  "Nothing, Master," I said.

  "I think you are needful," he said.

  I looked beyond the fellow. I saw the first of my master" s men make the sign, the signal of designation.

  "Something is wrong," said the fellow before whom I knelt, "I can tell." "No, Master," I whispered.

  The first of my master" s men then, unpleasantly, severely, impatiently. Abruptly, as though he could not understand my dalliance, made an angry gesture across his lower belly. I put my head down, in my hands. I sobbed.

  "You are in need," said the fellow before whom I knelt.

  I lifted my head. I lowered my hands from before my face. "My master," I said, "is much preoccupied with his business, and neglects me."

  21 The Panels

  I knelt in the alcove, naked, on the furs. A heavy metal collar, and chain, was on my neck. It fastened me to the back wall of the alcove.

  I saw the leather curtains part. The fellow was drunk, and stinking of drink. He did not even close the curtains behind him. but they were closed. Perhaps by my master" s men. I had not been put into the streets for the last five days. I had spent much time in my cell, in the basement. Twice I had been brought up from the basement, ostensibly to serve on the floor, but actually to interest one fellow or another in me. These were invariably strangers, and alone, in Argentum on business. Too, they were large, strong fellows. I would moan, and lick, about them, arousing their interest. If I failed, I had been told that I would be whipped or slain. My master" s men would tell him, too, that I was an excellent slave lay. I hoped that this was true. I do not know, however, how they would have known this, as none of them had ever used me. Part of my master" s policy with respect to me was to systematically deny my needs. When the fellow would express interest in me I would be taken to an alcove, Alcove Two, and chained there, to await him. meanwhile my master" s men would ply him with drink, sometimes even mixed with sedating drugs. This made their work easier. Some of these fellows were very strong.

  "Where is the little honey cake?" asked the fellow, looking about, squinting. He then fell forward, on his hands and knees, on the furs. He slipped to his stomach. His head lifted. His eyes were bleary with drink.

  "I am here, Master," I said, shrinking back against the wall.

  There were side panels on each side of the entrance to the alcove. Such panels, where they exist, are normally kept locked on the inside. These, however, were not locked. Such passages are rare in alcoves, and from alcoves to the rear of the tavern, without reentering the main floor area. Such exits have various utilities, such as making it unnecessary for a fellow on the way out to encounter another on the way in, and permitting a fellow to withdraw from the area unnoticed, perhaps thereby avoiding an enemy or enemies, and gaining time on them, perhaps two or three hours, while they wait for him to emerge. Too, as a general policy, many Goreans prefer rooms with at least two exits.

  "Where?" asked the fellow, thickly.

  "Here," I whispered.

  The panels were well greased. They would be moved back quietly, behind the fellow on the furs.

  The fellow moved himself to a sitting position, and sat there, half asleep, on the furs.

  "Here," I whispered, again.

  He blinked, sleepily, in my direction. He then went to all fours, to crawl toward me.

  I did not know if he could reach me.

  "Open your arms," he said, slowly.

  I could smell his breath, heavy with drink, and garlic, and herbs, across the furs. I opened my arms, obediently, to him. Slave girls are not permitted to be fastidious. We must take what comes. What matters is that these fellows have paid their fees to out masters. Accordingly we must serve them with enthusiasm, skill and passion. They have paid their money. We must thus see to tit that we are marvels to them, that we serve them with eagerness and perfection. This is not a matter, incidentally, of serving regardless of our will and possible desires, or in spite of them, but of actually adjusting our will and desires, in such service. To be sure, some men enjoy taking a woman who hates them, and whom they hate, and reducing her to a panting, pleading slave, begging for a continuation of their touch, which they may then either grant or deny her, as it pleases them.

  He crawled toward me, and then crouched, unsteadily, before me. I quickly took him in my arms, pressing myself gratefully against him. I hoped, even in this time, even in these
circumstances, that I might gain from him a moment or two of relief. Perhaps my master" s men would not soon enter the alcove. Perhaps, best, they could decide they did not want this man. He was too heavy to hold. I lowered him to the furs. He was asleep. The two panels slid noiselessly open. "Back, slut," said the first of my master" s men.

  I crept back against the wall.

  I watched the other of my master" s men drag the fellow from the alcove by an arm.

  "I see that your hands will have to be fastened behind you again tonight," said the first of my master" s men.

  I put down my head.

  "Turn about, kneeling," he said.

  I did so. I expected him to put a belly chain on me, padlocked in front, with slave bracelets attached in the back. I had worn it the last eleven nights. But he did not do so. Instead I felt binding fiber cinched about my waist, and then my hands, wrists crossed, were, to this same fiber, tied behind my back. I did not understand this. He open the heavy collar, attached to the wall chain, which had been closed about my neck. He then drew me to my feet by an arm. "The Master wants to see you," he said.

  "Master?" I asked.

  "Be silent," he said.

  "Yes, Master," I said.

  22 Inquiries; Gagged, Hooded and Collared

  "Spread your knees more widely, Tuka," said my master, Tyrrhenius of Argentum. I obeyed.

  He regarded me, not speaking.

  I knelt before him on a circular scarlet rug, he in a curule chair looking down at me. My hands were tied behind my back, to a length of binding fiber cinched snugly about my waist. His men were near him, the two who had been as my masters in my work.

  "You are an Earth slut, are you not?" he asked.

  "Yes. Master," I said. "That is, I am a woman from Earth, who was brought here and enslaved."

  "A slut," he said.

  "Yes, Master," I said. "I am a slut from Earth, who was brought here and enslaved." I supposed, in a sense, I had been a slut on Earth. Certainly I had been interested in men, and in sexual experience, even then, though I had been shy, and afraid of both. Here, of course, on Gor, there was no question about the matter. I had learned that here I was a slave slut, and an exciting and attractive one.

  "What is the history of your bondage?" he asked.

  I did not understand his interest in this matter. On the other hand, I supposed he had his reasons. He did not seem idly curious. Besides, he was a free man, and I, a female slave, had been asked a question.

  "I was captured on Earth," I said, "and brought to your beautiful world, where I was imbonded. I do not know the place to which I was brought, where I was branded and collared. It was, it seems, across a sea."

  "Cos, probably," said one of my master" s men.

  "Perhaps," he said.

  "I was sold outside Brundisium, in a sales camp," I said.

  "Brundisium," said one of my master" s men. "It would doubtless, then, have been Cos."

  "Perhaps," said my master.

  "My first public sale took place in Market of Semris," I said, "at the sales barn of Teibar, of that town. I was purchased there by Hendow, a taverner of Brundisium. I was stolen from Brundisium, and sold in Samnium. There I was purchased by Gordon, an itinerant musician. It was from him, in Market of Semris, that I was purchased by you, my master."

  "What did you do in the tavern of Hendow," asked my master.

  "I worked in the kitchen," I said.

  "Surely one with your beauty served also in the alcoves," he said.

  "Yes, Master," I said.

  "Did you also dance?" he asked.

  "Yes, Master," I said.

  The men exchanged glances. I pulled at the binding fiber a little, confining my wrists. I was well tied. It had been done by a Gorean master.

  I looked at the men. I did not understand their interest in these things. "Would you care to be fed to sleen?" he asked.

  "No, Master!" I cried. Quickly I put my head down to the floor.

  "It is my understanding that six days ago, on the streets," he said, "you exhibited a momentary hesitancy in carrying out a capture."

  I flung myself to my belly, my hands tied behind me, before his chair. I was terrified. "Forgive me, Master!" I cried. "Forgive me!"

  "Did you know the individual?" he asked.

  "Yes, Master!" I cried. I had known him. he had been kind to me!" "To whom does a girl own absolute and perfect obedience?" he asked. "To her master! To her master!" I wept.

  "Kick her, and beat her," he said, dispassionately.

  I was then spurned and abused with the feet of his men, and I was then pulled up to my knees and cuffed several times before my master. Then they stepped back. I was then again on my knees, my lips now bleeding, before my master. I tasted blood.

  "You are contrite now, are you not, Tuka?" he asked.

  "Yes, Master," I said, frightened. I knew I should not have hesitated. I was a slave.

  "But you have been on the whole an excellent lure girl," he said, "one of he best I have ever had."

  "Thank you, Master," I whispered.

  "You are extremely intelligent," he said, "as well as extremely beautiful." "Thank you, Master," I whispered. I felt that my intelligence was small compared to that of most Gorean males, but I did not fell intelligently inferior, at least generally, to the women I had met on Gor, either girls from Earth, such as Gloria and Clarissa, who had been with me at Market of Semris, or those native to Gor, women such as Tula and Ina, and Sita and Aynur, whom I had known at the tavern of Hendow, on Dock Street, in Brundisium. I did not know if the high intelligence of Gorean men was a function of those men who had been brought to Gor in the distant past, perhaps chosen for intelligence, as well as other qualities, or if it had to do rather, for the most part, with the exhilarating, liberating Gorean cultural milieu, one alien to negativity, inhibition and frustration, one perhaps, in virtue of permitting an open, honest and freed manhood, more conducive to emotional and mental growth.

  "Doubtless these qualities have contributed to your effectiveness as a lure girl," he said.

  "Perhaps, Master," I said, uneasily.

  "But even so," he said, "the effectiveness of a lure girl is usually limited." "Master?" I asked, apprehensively.

  "So, too," he said, "I think that your utility as such, even with your intelligence and beauty, at least in this area, may be coming to an end." I did not say anything. I was helpless.

  "Too," he said, "there is a question as to how much risk it is rational to take."

  I did not respond.

  "For what it is worth," he said, "you have served longer than any other lure girl I have used in this area."

  I nodded, swallowing hard.

  "You have made more captures than any other," he said.

  "Thank you, Master," I said.

  "You are now, however, I think," he said, "becoming a bit too well known in Argentum."

  "As master say," I said. I had no idea, of course, as to whether or not such a thing was true. I did suppose I had been seen about the streets, here and there. This may have raised suspicions.

  "Too," he said, "there have been inquiries."

  I looked at him, apprehensively.

  "Sometimes," he said, "I think a lure girl should be less beautiful, less striking, perhaps, than you. you are perhaps the sort who is too easily remembered."

  I said nothing.

  "Accordingly," he said, "I think it is now time to dispose of you." "Master?" I asked, frightened.

  "Do not fear," he said, smiling. "I have no intention of losing my investment in you."

  "Then Master will sell me?" I begged.

  "You have already been sold," he said.

  I looked at him, astonished.

  "I have received for you five silver tarsks, and one tarsk bit," he smiled. "I paid five silver tarsks for you, as you may recall. Thus I have made a profit on you."

  "Yes, Master," I said.

  "hood her," he said.

  One of his men then put a gag
in my mouth, attached to a slave hood, fastened it in place, and then pulled the hood down over my head, and buckled it shut about my neck. I felt a collar put about my neck and locked. The collar I had originally worn then, that of Tyrrhenius of Argentum, was removed from my neck. I then knelt there, gagged and hooded, my hands bound behind me. I was trembling.

  "Take her to her new master," he said.

  23 The Work Camp

  "Look!" cried a fellow, elatedly. "look!"

  "The fifth slut!" cried another. "Look!"

  "It is she!" cried another. "Look!"

  "Do you know her?" asked another fellow.

  "We know here well," said another fellow, with grim satisfaction.

  I half stumbled in the chains. My feet hurt on the hot gravel. The sun was hot on my bare arms and legs. I could take only short steps for my ankles were shackled, the run of chain between them only some eight to ten inches. Iron, too, adorned my wrists. I wore manacles. With expert blows, on an anvil, these had been hammered shut, leaving only a fine line where the edges met. The manacles were joined by some seven or eight inches of chain. Another chain, some three feet in length, ran from the center of an ankle chain to the center of the chain joining the wrist rings. Standing upright, then, I could not lift my hands, even to feed myself. I was also in neck coffle, the fifth girl in the coffle. A chain ran from a ring on the back of the collar of the chain ran from the ring on the back of my collar to the ring on the front of the collar of the girl who followed me. Thusly we were fastened together.

  "It is she," announced another fellow.

  "Move, kajirae," said a fellow with a whip.

  "Yes," said another man.

  I looked about myself, wildly, in terror.

  I heard the snap of the whip and, together, we hurried forward, within the fence, toward the square tent, the overseer" s tent, on a rise in the distance. The fellows along our route, sweating, half-stripped, in their ankle chains, paused in their labors, resting on their implements, to watch us pass.