Dancer of Gor

by John Norman

  I put myself between the handles of the cart and, drawing it, returned into the alleyway. The fellow was now bound and gagged. He was tied as helplessly as though he might have been a woman, and a woman who was only a slave. He was still unconscious.

  "Go, watch," said one of my master's men.

  I quickly turned about and ran to the end of the alleyway, where I could see the street, both ways.

  Two forms of work groups not localized to individual cities are the "free gang" and the "free" chain. These differ both from the free laborers indigenous to a given city and from work groups of slaves, such as those which are commonly used on the great farms. The "free gang" consists of free men who are in the hire of a contractor who rents their services, and his own, say, to various cities, organizations, and groups. They are, in effect, something like traveling construction crews. Many of them are skilled, or semiskilled, workers, and they can come and go as they please. They travel about in wagons. Many of them are rough, but good-hearted men. They enjoy drinking, brawling and mastering slaves. I had been in the arms of some such men in Brundisium. They made me serve well. The "free" chain, on the other hand, consists usually, I had been told, of condemned criminals. Rather than bother with housing these fellows, many of whom are supposedly dangerous, putting them up at public expense, and so on, many cities, for a nominal fee, turn them over to a work master who accepts charge of them, theoretically for the duration of time remaining in their sentences. For example, if a fellow has been sentenced, say, to two years of hard labor by a praetor, he might be turned over, for a small fee, to the master of a work gang who will see to it, theoretically, that he performs these two years of hard labor. The work master, of course, profits from the services of his gang, which he rents out to various individuals, or groups, and so on, rather as the managers, or captains, of the "free" gangs can rent out their own crews. The "free" chain, of course, can be hired more cheaply. On the other hand, it usually tends to have a far more limited pool of skills than that of the "free gangs" and, accordingly, it is usually employed in ruder, less demanding labors, or even in labors which, because of their arduousness, or their onerous nature, would be distasteful to free gangs. Supposedly when the criminal's sentence has been served, he is to be released by the work master, usually then far from the city where he committed his crime or was apprehended. On the other hand, it is suspected that work masters tend to be somewhat reluctant to free the fellows on their chains. They would then, it seems, have to pay new fees to replace them. It seems certain that more than one fellow has been kept on the chain far longer than his sentence would seem to require. For example, it seems certain that small infractions, invented or discovered, of regulations, or discipline, are utilized by work masters, at least from time to time, to "extend" the sentence, or de facto servitude, of the worker in question. The hope of being freed, of course, generally keeps the chain "tame." Occasionally perhaps, a fellow is released. This is supposed to encourage docility in the others. These fellows, incidentally, are in effect under "slave discipline," which means, on Gor, that they are as much at the mercy of the work master as if they were his slaves. He may kill them, for example, if he wishes. My master, Tyrrhenius of Argentum, at whose total mercy I was, and similarly at the mercy of those whom he had appointed to supervise my work, had dealings with various work masters, prominent among them Ionicus, Ionicus of Cos. The fellow behind me, whom my master's men had bound, and whom they were doubtless placing on the cart, was destined, I had heard, for the "black chain" of Ionicus. That particular chain, I had heard, was employed in the north, currently digging siege trenches for the Cosians who had invested Torcadino. The fellow whom they had bound, of course, and the others in whose capture I had been implicated, were not, as far as I knew, criminals. My master, Tyrrhenius, spoke of his work as "recruitment." He was "recruiting" for the chains of work masters. To be sure, he must do this work surreptitiously. It would be quite unfortunate for him, I had gathered, if he were to be discovered to have been involved in such work. Judges, magistrates, and such, would not be likely to look indulgently on these activities. To be sure, he was not taking risks as great as it might seem. For example, he was not directly, personally, involved in these things. The fellows captured would not know where they were being held, nor, hooded and chained, from what place they were taken forth later. Also, I supposed, later on, after he had some more use out of me, he would sell me off in some market or another. He could find himself a new lure girl. Indeed, for all I knew, he might be using others of his girls in these same cruel and delusory labors. I did not much fear another sale. I had already been sold a number of times. A girl's first sale, at least her first public one, as mine was at Market of Semris, when she is exposed on a block naked to buyers, and such, is probably the hardest for her. After that she has some sense of what it is to be vended merchandise. Indeed, I was excited at the thought of being sold again. I wanted to be beautiful, to please men, and to bring the highest price in the market. The chances of my encountering any of the fellows in whose capture I had been implicated, incidentally, were not high. They had, it seemed, all been shipped north to Torcadino. I thought of Tyrrhenius. He was not, truly, as I again thought of it, taking such great risks. Who could prove that he had been involved in these things? My own testimony, even if it were dragged out of me on the rack, would be only that of a slave; his men would presumably not betray him; and he could always claim that his tavern, the basement, and such, had been used without his knowledge. He could feign dismay. He was respected in Argentum. He did not even reside on the premises.

  "Someone is coming!" I called back, softly, to my master's men. They were placing the bound, gagged fellow in the cart. They would tie him there. Then they would cover him with a tarpaulin.

  "Close?" asked the first of my master's men.

  I nodded.

  "Delay him," called the fellow, a fierce, projected whisper.

  The approaching fellow was some ten to fifteen yards away, to my left. He wore a short cloak, fastened by a large bronze pin at the right shoulder, high, bootlike sandals, and a broad-brimmed hat. A sack was slung on a stick, the stick resting over his shoulder. He carried, on a strap over his left shoulder, the strap under his cloak, a sword. I supposed that he might be able to use it. The hat, with its broad brim pulled down against the sun, with its attendant shadow, muchly concealed his features. I took him for a traveler. It is a not unusual traveling costume for males on Gor. Such a costume, too, it might be mentioned, is often worn for hunting. Head down, I hurried forth, and knelt before him, blocking his way. I put my head down to his feet. This is a suitable deference in a female slave before a free male. I tensed, for I expected, having so blocked his path, to be kicked, or struck. I must then try to seize an ankle, or knee, pleading desperate need. I knew I might risk a thrashing with his stick. But I had been ordered to delay him, and delay him I would, if I could. "A needful slave begs master to take pity upon her," I said. I trembled. But I did not feel the scorn of his foot, thrusting me to the side, toward the central gutter in the street, nor did I feel his hand in my hair, yanking my head up, to lash my face back and forth with what would undoubtedly have been a well-deserved cuffing. He did not even spit upon me, or cry out in anger, or deride me, or even order me from his path. Swiftly I began kissing, and licking, at his feet, performing appropriate obeisances before him, a male. I was puzzled. Then I was afraid. Gorean masters are often kind to needful slaves, acceding to their pleas for sex. Though I was eager to be touched, and Tyrrhenius of Argentum, my master, had, as a matter of policy, kept me in a torment of sexual deprivation, I did not want this fellow, a stranger accosted on the street, to use me. My master's men were nearby.

  "You kiss and lick as well as ever, perhaps even better, Doreen," he said. "Or is it still 'Doreen'?" he asked.

  I looked up, startled.

  "I am now Tuka, Master," I said.

  "An excellent name for a slave slut such as you," he said.

  "Than
k you, Master," I said.

  "You know me, do you not?" he asked, smiling.

  "Yes, Master," I whispered, frightened.

  "It was because of you," he laughed, "curvy little she-urt, that I lost my post in Brundisium."

  "Forgive me, Master," I said. I feared that he might whip me.

  "I do not blame Hendow for being jealous," he said. "A man might be driven to distraction by a face and curves like yours."

  "Thank you, Master," I whispered.

  "But I taught you something of what it is to be a slave, did I not?" he asked.

  "Yes, Master," I said. It was very true.

  "You were stolen, weren't you?" he asked.

  "Yes, Master," I said.

  "That is what I heard in Brundisium," he said. "I did not think Hendow would have let you go."

  "Perhaps not, Master," I said. I did not really know. It seemed to me implausible that Hendow could have cared for me. He had used me only once, and then ruthlessly. On Earth weaklings who wish to rid themselves of women sometimes take refuge in the comforting rationalization that they "love them enough to let them go." That position, whatever may be its moral or psychological merits, does not represent a typical Gorean response, at least where slaves are concerned. Most Goreans would regard it as absurd to let a woman go for whom one truly cared. One shows caring by keeping. And, if necessary, by fighting. What woman, I wondered, could not see through such cant? Most women, it seemed to me, would prefer a man who cared enough for her to keep her, one who was willing, even, to fight for her, rather than one who was willing to "let her go."

  "Apparently Tupita was stolen at the same time," he said.

  "Yes, Master," I said. It did not seem to me important to tell him that Tupita had been attempting to escape, using my sales price to purchase passage from Brundisium. As it had turned out, though she had sold me, she had not been able to keep the money. It had been taken from her and then she, as much as I, to her dismay, had found herself the prisoner of the thieves. Thus, in a sense, we had both been stolen at the same time. "You did not come to Argentum searching for me, did you?" I asked.

  "Hardly," he laughed.

  "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 now both the full legal properties of your new masters."

  "Yes, Master," I said. I heard the wheels of the cart trundling forth 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 your 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 cart, 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 my 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 an 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.