Dunes of Gor Chapter Nine

Chapter Nine: The Gardens of al Shahzad

“And how are your daughters, Daan?” asked Pedram of Tor as he sat at the low table in the shade of Daan Shahzad’s garden, sipping fine Bazi tea. “Dutiful, Priest King fearing girls, who strive to please their father in every way, I hope?”

“I wish,” laughed Daan Shahzad. “The words, ‘headstrong, impetuous, mischievous, stubborn and wilful’, spring readily to mind to describe Serafina. Jaleesa is a little better, but I fear her older sister will be a bad influence on her over the next couple of years. They both tax my patience abominably, especially when it comes to the matter of free companionship for Serafina.”

“I am surprised she is not yet companioned,” said Pedram. “She should have been companioned by the age of 20 and she is now nearly 22. Are there no suitors?”

“Oh, there are plenty of suitors, but Serafina manages to somehow insult them all. Even when I threaten her with my switch, she pretends innocence. She is very clever with her sleights when it comes to chasing away the men I invite to walk with her in these gardens.”

Pedram laughed. “I remember a woman who was much the same to begin with. She became your free companion in the end, did she not?”

“Aye, Reyhan was a handful at first,” chuckled Daan. “She had such a dismissive air about her when first my father told me to court her. I almost gave up. I am glad I didn’t.”

“And now?” asked Pedram, knowing the answer already. 

“Now she is a fierce and dutiful companion who has given me two beautiful daughters. She has gone from being a dismissive shrew, to a woman who clutches my arm and promises me her undivided attention in the bedroom whenever she sees me looking at a slave girl in my house. Woe betide if she spies a girl looking at me in a submissive manner. She is very sharp with a whip and her jealousy is something to behold!”

“As it should be. A free woman is entitled to hate the slaves that you keep. She is mistress of your house after all. She wears your keys about her waist.” Pedram referred to the tradition of a man’s free companion wearing an iron ring of important keys at her belt with which to maintain the property. The keys would be used to unlock most doors and the collars and chains of various slaves. The more keys a woman possessed on her belt, the more important she felt. 

“She has plenty of keys to wear since she companioned with me. She walks proudly with those keys.”

“Good. You provide well for your woman. I can see she wants for nothing. But perhaps soon you will be in a position to offer her even more keys, very important keys.”

“This is why you are here today?” suggested Daan as he sipped his own tea. “Business? Steel world business?”

“Yes. We have put into motion whispers into ears which in turn have whispered into other ears which in turn have suggested that you and your household will be given a decree to take over stewardship of Al-Quada-a-Dhum. Nominally you will hold it as regional governor on behalf of Tor, but with your residency you will control that province for the Steel Worlds as well.”

“Al-Quada-a-Dhum… that is in the desert, is it not?’

“It is, or rather on the fringes of the desert, but it controls much of the territory of the northern most tribes. It also controls valuable salt mines and water wells and protects the caravan trade. He who controls the salt and water…”

“…he then controls the world,” added Daan, referring to ‘the world’ of course in the context of the world that the desert tribes knew. “And what of the current governor, Rajif of House Turan?”

“Ah, Rajif has sadly… fallen out of favour with the Emir, may the Priest Kings bless him and his prodigious line. I believe he has been told to retire to the comfortable surroundings of the Emir’s own dungeons. His family are to be promptly enslaved.”

“What did he do wrong?”

“Why nothing,” laughed Pedram. “How naive of you, Daan. He did nothing wrong at all!”

“Politics,” sighed Daan as he placed his cup down on the table.

“To politics! The ruin of some men and the salvation of others!” The men drank their tea and reclined for a while to regard the colourful birds that flitted between the ripe fruit trees. “You will take your household soldiers and take up residency in the fortified and impregnable fortress town that is Al-Quada-a-Dhum. It is said that its defences are so strong that one man on its walls is worth ten men below on the sand. The desert tribes have lusted after it for centuries but it has always been a prize beyond their reach. You will become a wealthy man with what you can cream off the salt and water trade, not to mention what you can tax the caravans that pass by. At the moment the town is garrisoned by the Emir’s own elite Sardaukar. Three hundred Sardaukar, I believe. How many lances do you command?”

“One hundred and eighty. You know that is the maximum a House within Tor can maintain by decree of the Emir.”

“Of course. Here, you will want this.” Pedram passed over a folded piece of paper that bore the hardened wax seal of the royal court. 

Intrigued, Daan broke the seal, and unfolded the paper. “I will be disappointed if it is merely an invitation to take up residence in the Royal dungeon. The stale air will not suit me.”

“Nothing so vulgar,” assured Pedram. 

“Hmm. It seems I am authorised to recruit and maintain a standing force of three hundred lances. And I am given on loan a unit of fifty Sardaukar. Impressive. I will be the most powerful House in Tor.”

“Yes, but you will not actually be resident in Tor, so I suppose the Emir feels safe with you lurking on the edge of the desert with such a large body of men where you cannot threaten him. The Sardaukar commander who will report to you is Javad Mohsen.”

“I imagine the Sardaukar are there as much to keep an eye on me, as to assist me?”

“You are a suspicious man, Daan Shahzad, but also a perceptive one. Still, they are extra lances that will do your bidding. It will mean more keys for Reyhan.”

“She will like that, though she may not enjoy the hardships of the desert compared with the soft luxuries of Tor.”

“The things we have to sacrifice for politics, my friend,” sighed Pedram. “Your daughters won’t like moving from Tor, I suppose. I don’t recommend you leave them in the city where they might be at the mercy of your enemies. Other Houses will seek to ensnare them in some plot or other. You know what the great Houses are like.”

“Hmm. I suspect Serafina will complain the loudest. She has an active social life in Tor and she enjoys the luxuries she can buy in the markets. Life will be harder on the frontier.”

“That it will. But a bit of hardship toughens a woman. It may do her good in the long run.”

“I’m sure Serafina will be pleased to hear that argument,” said Daan with a laugh. “When do I take up governorship of this province?”

“Can you leave today?” asked Pedram.

“No.”

“I thought not.”” He yawned slightly for the hot air was tiring even so late in the afternoon. “You have until the end of the week. But I would like you to come with me to the Emir’s court now. I believe our exalted ruler wishes to appoint you personally. You do remember how to grovel in an obsequious manner, I hope?”

“If I must.”

“Well, grovelling to the Emir tends to keep a head on one’s shoulders.” 

“I am sure I will be able to manage it then,” said Daan. The men rose and walked together through the cloistered area of the garden, observing the flowers and the fountains, for Goreans take great delight in natural beauty. 

“Ghadir is not back yet,” said Daan. “I will leave word for him that I will be gone the rest of the day and most of tomorrow. I may as well avail myself of the Emir’s hospitality while I am there. He is sure to invite me to dine with him, and dinner at the palace is always an elaborate affair that doesn’t stop with the meal itself. I will also inform Ghadir to begin preparations for my House to move to Al-Quada-a-Dhum. His skills in that regard are second to none. I will break the news to my daughters tomorrow, and by the end of the week we shall be in our new home on the edge of the desert. Glory to the Steel Worlds,” he added with a smile.