Trem and I talked, or attempted to, during the long walk back to my apartment. He seemed hung over or in pain from his head injury from last night. We stopped to get some paga, which he drank freely while we walked. I had some too, but mostly to be polite, because he offered it. I felt great this morning. Nothing quite like waking up with a beautiful slave girl in my bed followed by a hearty breakfast!
I tried to ask Trem about what had happened last night. Did he know the two men who he had run from and then been attacked by? He said he owed money to them or someone they worked for and they were attempting to collect money. He said he shouldn’t have ran, but that he never thought they would beat him so severely. He seemed very confident that they would not have killed him.
He thanked me for intervening but inferred that things were complicated now. He said he owed me, for what I had done, but wasn’t sure how to repay that sort of debt to me. And what sort of debt was it? Did he owe me his life? He thinks he does, but that Mirus said it wasn’t as simple as that. Since the men were trying to get owed money from Trem, it was likely they were not going to murder him. So, Trem’s life probably wasn’t in danger, but I had potentially risked my life to save his. Mirus had said that as I am a barbarian, I probably had no idea about honour, life debts and such manners. So how could I be owed and paid? I admit I was confused, partly from the struggle of trying to understand what he was telling me without interpretation. I also did not know how to express that I didn’t feel like Trem owed me anything and that I didn’t need to be repaid. I wanted to express it, but how to do in manner without translations and avoiding any type of insult?
Our ‘conversation’ took quite some time to transpire. My innate sense of direction was telling me that we were going the wrong way. I didn’t say anything at first, because it was dark when we had come to Mirus’s home and I might be remembering the direction wrong. My apartment was in an outer quarter of this large city. We were walking towards the centre.
During the first exploratory walks on my own, I had marvelled at the size of the cylindrical towers and what appeared to be interconnected walkways that went from some towers to others. I had no idea that the buildings would be so sophisticated. I was tempted early on in my arrival to the city to walk straight into the centre of town and see all of the sites. But reason prevailed and I kept to learning more about my immediate neighbourhood surroundings.
Eventually, I had been patient enough with our direction and I had to ask Trem where we were going. He somewhat explained that he wanted to show me where he lived before taking me to my apartment, which, he really didn’t know where it was, but expressed confidence that he was familiar with the neighbourhood that it was probably in. I wasn’t as confident as he was, but what did it matter now, taking a detour with him and learning more about the city?
Trem was given my short sword to return to me as we left the house, so I did feel encouraged having it again. He did not wear one and I noticed as we walked and from earlier walks, that most men didn’t wear one either. Nevertheless, it made me feel good to have a sword.
Trem said he wanted me to know where he lived, so that if I ever needed anything, that I should call on him at his home. I took this to be part of the debt he thought he owed. I was appreciative as I did not have any friends or acquaintances in this large city. There were a thousand things I wanted to ask him about or get help with, but I told myself that I would not abuse his offer to stop by anytime.
We got closer to the centre of the city and the cylinders got bigger and taller. I just couldn’t stop looking at and admiring them. Before we got to the centre, Trem indicated that we had arrived at his place. It was a small ground floor apartment curiously tucked into the outer part of a large multi-storied building that he later showed me to be an oval stadium. It reminded me of the Colosseum in Rome. He told me that he lived and worked here at the stadium. I asked him what caste he was, but I couldn’t decipher it. He kept making a sort of bird impression with his hands. He also showed me a whistle he kept on a leather string around his neck, but he wouldn’t blow it. It didn’t matter to me what he did, I was happy to have a friend.
His home was simple and had only three small rooms, one of them being the bedroom which I didn’t see. One wall in the main room had colourful banners and what looked to be medals on ribbons hanging in places. There was a painting of an enormous greenish brown, hawk like bird with a saddled man astride it. The bird was in flight and looked fierce. I understood now, Trem was a Tarnsman, or a Tarnkeeper. Very intriguing!
What an experience soaring on a tarn would be! Surely Trem could take me on a flight sometime? I tried to express my passionate desire to ride with him and he seemed to agree to it, just not today. He told me to come back in two or three days.
I had seen my first tarn; several actually, while walking to the city on my first day. I had seen tarns every day when I went outside. It seems that they are very commonplace in the skies above Argentum.
We didn’t stay long in Trem’s home, and went outside to find my neighbourhood and apartment. I had tried to tell him about the blacksmith I had been to, and the taverns, but I don’t think it helped him much, especially since I didn’t have names for anything. After walking for about thirty ehn, I thought a street looked familiar, and I relayed this to Trem, who nodded. He motioned for me to take the lead. I went with my gut feeling and soon I became certain of the direction back to my place.
Sitting in my apartment in the evening was fairly boring. There was no television, no radio, and no internet. There was a very small fireplace, but it wasn’t cold. I lit a small fire anyway. The only other light in the room would be from a lamp or two I could light but I did not have much oil and didn’t know yet where to get more. On Earth I loved to read, sometimes multiple books at the same time, going back and forth between them. My reading would often go in spurts too, where I might not read a book for six months or more. I wish I had brought some books with me. I wondered if I was allowed to bring just one book, which one would it be? I hadn’t even thought to ask. But here in my apartment, I had nothing to read, and if I were to get a book, I couldn’t read it anyway because of the language.
I think I recalled something that I read that most Goreans were illiterate. I found it odd that such on old, even ancient civilization did not have high literacy rates. With very prolonged longevity of the people on this planet, you would think that eventually everyone would learn to read. I loved to read and the evening and night-time boredom alone should make reading appealing to anyone. Strange place. Knowing that I was coming here, I never thought I would miss television, but I did tonight, and I have been on this planet for less than a week. I can see myself spending a lot more time in taverns. I reflected on my experience here so far. It has been great and more than I could have expected. The kajirae, the taverns, meeting Trem and Mirus the way I did, making a friend who is a Tarnsman, being immersed in an alien culture, all of it was absolutely fantastic. And now I am bored. I was very tired and drifted to sleep watching my small fire fade out.
I slept in much later than I thought I would. It was time to find breakfast and explore another day. I found another breakfast street vendor in a different direction than the previous one. Delicious again. I had planned on exploring another area today and the days to follow, expanding my knowledge of the city quarter around me.
Before Trem said farewell to me yesterday after finding my apartment, I think he tried to convey that my neighbourhood wasn’t very safe. He told me not to venture out at night and that I should carry my sword. I didn’t care for that advice after the boring evening I had at home. I needed a hobby or something I could do in the evenings in my apartment that I could spend my time on, at least until I learned more of the language and became familiar with the neighbourhood. It did appear that there were a lot of low income people living in this quarter. When my first month was up, maybe I could find a better room in a better neighbourhood.
I wandered into a small market area where there was a square clearing, full of vendors selling all types of goods. A lot of the goods, I had no idea what they were. The streets around the square in several directions were also lined with vendors displaying their wares in stalls, some shaded with tent like tarps. The area was very busy, crowded with people in some places. There were some stalls selling fruits and vegetables that had people waiting in line.
I decided to explore this market fully as it was very interesting and good for me to find resources. I found oil for my lamps, and new cushions to sit on. I bought more clothes. I bought some paga to take home. And for lunch, I sampled the cuisine. I have loved all the food so far in this city. Everything is fresh and savoury, with flavours new to me.
That night, I really thought about how I would learn the language. On my own, it was difficult and would take a very long time. I felt that it was imperative that I learn it quicker. Should I seek out and hire a scribe to tutor me? I knew I wanted to read and write as well as speak fluently. I also knew that acquiring an accent would probably occur and was it possible to learn in such a way to minimize developing one?
Lina, the beautiful slave of Mirus who had served me, frequently entered my thoughts. Owning a woman like that was very appealing. Owning an Earth girl who had spent some time on Gor, one who knew English, could be used to teach me the language. As much as I wanted to collar my own woman, I didn’t feel that I was ready for the responsibility. I was still too new to this place, learning its people and customs. Owning a woman right now would require a lot of time and though very enjoyable, would be a distraction from my Gorean assimilation.
I returned to the market the next day and was exploring one of the side streets with goods for sale in stalls. I heard a sound from down the street that I had heard before. It was a bell, and it was ringing erratically. I walked toward the sound of it and saw a woman wearing robes of concealment, beating a slave who was lying prone on the ground, prostrating herself. The free woman in robes was using a strap to lash the blond slave and a bell rang out almost every time the strap landed. It was the coin girl! The one I had encountered and put through slave paces before embarrassing myself by not putting the aroused begging girl to use.
The free woman was yelling at the slave, while beating her. She shifted her blows from landing on the slaves back to hitting her shoulders, head and face. The slave girl, though prostrated, was moving her face, to avoid being struck there, while crying out for mercy. The beating was relentless and brutal. I looked around and most of the people in the market seemed uninterested and did not watch. I did see two camisked slave girls watching with dour looks on their faces.
I watched, knowing that as much as I wanted to stop this cruel beating I would be wrongfully interfering with the actions of this free woman. In disgust, I watched the lashing slow down and finally stop, mostly because the free woman tired from her exertions. I knew it was probably wrong to feel disgust. The slave must have deserved to be lashed this way, suffering the wrath of an offended free woman. When it was over the free woman adjusted some layers of veils about her face, not very well, before being joined by another woman, who also wore robes of concealment. They both walked away and everyone around went about their business as if nothing had happened.
The coin girl lay on the ground crying, her body curled up into a ball. I walked towards her, but wasn’t sure what to do, so I stopped before getting to her. I just stared. Her cries became sobs and then finally she stopped. She stood up, her neck bell ringing, and saw me looking at her. Our eyes met, and in that brief moment, I could see that she recognized me from the other day. I am sure it’s not often that she sees an old man wandering about. I had not seen any old people at all, since I had gotten here.
She looked down, and remained standing, not wanting me to recognize her. I stepped over to her and grabbed her hand, guiding her into a walk, getting her away from here. She started walking with me and I let go of her hand, but motioned that she should continue to walk with me. She followed me.
I didn’t have a plan when I reached out to her but now that we were walking, it gave me time to think. I walked for a bit before coming to a booth that had fresh pastries. I stopped and bought two while she stood behind me. I turned around and said “Kneel.” She did and I gave her a pastry. I ate the other one while watching her eat. She devoured it quickly, then looked up at me momentarily and said “Thank you Master.”
She looked to be wearing the same dirty, short camisk of rep cloth with holes in it. It was scanty, with no coverage on her sides and worn very tight with cordage wrapped around her waist and under her medium sized breasts. This cordage accentuated her thin shape and presented her breasts nicely. The rep cloth was very low cut, enabling a complete view of her cleavage.
I said “Follow.” She stood up and began to follow me, the neck bell ringing with each step. I walked us in a direction away from the crowds of the market. I came to a street with little activity and a curved alleyway branching off. I stopped, and as soon as I did, the coin girl knelt at me feet in nadu. I pulled out a copper tarsk bit and placed it in the small metal box which hung in front of her, below her neck, that was attached to a chain that went around her neck and also had the bell attached. The coin made a metallic clink noise after I dropped it into the small slit in the box.
She looked up at me and smiled. Her smile, with perfect teeth was beautiful and I smiled back. I then recalled her bright blue eyes and looked into them while also noticing her small pointy almost upturned nose. She had red welts on her face and neck but her smile and eyes had my attention. She actually seemed happy, even though she had just suffered a very painful lashing.
While still looking up at me she reached behind herself with one arm and untied the cordage that was wrapped around her. In a quick graceful fluid like motion, she stripped off the camisk up over her head and placed it on the ground. She was tan and not as dirty as before. Naked and kneeling before me, she was attractive and I knew that this time I would use her for my pleasure. She was waiting for me.
I was still nervous like last time, about being in public and having sex in the street. “Follow me,” I told her again. She stood up and grabbed her dirty garment and followed me as I took us into the curving alleyway. I was looking for some place a little more private, if that was possible. I found a wooden stairway that accessed the back of a small two story building and stopped. She knelt again before me and I sat on the first step of the stairway.
I reached out to fondle a breast. They were on the medium to small size but very pleasantly shaped, firm and proportionate with her thin athletic figure. I enjoyed the other one and went back and forth with both hands, noticing her small nipples becoming stiff and pointy.
I lifted my tunic up and away from my lap and said “Please me with mouth.”
“Yes Master,” she said.
She knelt between my legs and started to lick the head of my alert shaft. She then placed me in her mouth, slowly at first, moving forward and finally engulfing my entirety in her mouth. She pulled back slowly but did not let me out. The feeling was incredible! She took me in and out of her mouth several times and quickened the pace. She then focused on the head again while wrapping her hand around me. I was really liking the heavenly attention of her lips, tongue and mouth, so I said, “No hand.”
She removed her hand and continued with her mouth, her head now bobbing. She was very skilled and I had completely forgotten about being outside in an alley on someone’s stairs. I wanted to last longer and placed my hands in her hair, making her slow down a bit. But I climaxed very soon, and was surprised by it. She swallowed everything completely and kept me in her mouth for some very pleasurable minutes, before finally letting me out.
Meeting a tarn keeper and a coin girl, a worthwhile day. Perhaps acquiring a sleeping dictionary is the quickest way to learn the language?
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