Barbarian of Gor Chapter Five

 

I lay in one of the common rooms of the Inn, unable to sleep. Outside, a soft rain continued to fall on the cobblestones of the walled courtyard. I find the sound of rain soothing, and usually it aids a night’s sleep, but tonight I felt my nerves wound up, and I felt tense and aware of everything around me.

 

Felix lay nearby, as did Adamus. They both seemed to be sound asleep. Perhaps they were.

 

I rose to a seated position, casting aside my rough spun woollen blanket as I observed the other sleeping forms in the room. Common rooms in roadside Inns are the cheapest way of spending a night safely when travelling. Here, men can rent simple wooden floor space for a few copper tarsks and know they will wake up in the morning without their throats slit. Free women, of course, rarely choose to sleep in common rooms, or if they do, it would be a common room reserved exclusively for the use of women. In times of war, though, all things become scarce, and, with the passing of war torn refugees, even room in an Inn becomes a precious commodity. I observed a couple of free women sleeping to the side of the room. They had made a low wall with their travel bags to delineate their area. Men, of course, were not permitted to cross it. I suspect the women slept little, if at all, conscious of snoring males close by. They slept in their robes and gowns, not daring to so much as remove a stitch.

 

 

Their escorts would be sleeping close to the low wall of luggage, offering a double layer of security. By now the women would probably know one another and would support one another if there was any trouble.

 

One free woman, though, was missing from the common room. She did not sleep here with the others. I speak not of Laetitia, who had the luxury of a private cubicle room with a stout, double locked door, but rather of the free woman who had danced for us tonight, and who had been given the name, Leda, for the duration of her service. She was not present. 

 

Something was playing on my mind. You know what it’s like – you hear something, and while the gravitas of the remark doesn’t really register at first, it nestles somewhere deep in your subconscious and that part of your mind that analyses things in the background gets to work.

 

And then, ping, a thought occurs to you.

 

It’s the root of the popular phrase – ‘I’ll sleep on it’ because its’s when we’re at rest that most of the mind’s problem solving takes place.

 

And, yeah, I know had a burning question to ask. 

 

I tried not to wake anyone, least of all Adamus and Felix, as I slowly rose to my feet and tiptoed out of the common room. I made sure I didn’t go anywhere near the side of the room where the free women were sleeping. Such a move might be misconstrued. 

 

And then I was out in the corridor on the ground floor of the Inn. To my right was the main room where we had eaten and drank paga. It would be quiet now. To my left was the kitchen area. That is where I wanted to go.

 

The kitchen was probably out of bounds to me, but no one had specifically said that, so I could always claim ignorance if anyone saw me. Perhaps I just needed some water in the night? 

 

Slaves belonging to an Inn are often chained at night in the kitchen, and so it was in this case. I saw them lying on blankets on the stone tiles: Annika, the dancer, and the two common tavern sluts whose names I didn’t know. There was a slave ring fastened to the flagstone floor, and all three girls were secured by lengths of chain that locked to their collar rings. 

 

But it was the fourth girl that I was interested in. Pretty little Leda, the free woman. She had booked a room for the night, but that room had now been given over to someone else. Leda lay chained by her left ankle to a separate iron ring, a ring that was fastened to an exterior wall. Despite her free status, Leda slept naked, just as the slaves did. She of course had no collar about her throat, and her thighs were clean of any kef markings. But she slept naked. Or tried to. I sensed her move in alarm as I entered the kitchen. She wasn’t asleep, it seems. She was finding it hard to sleep tonight. Perhaps she thought that if she made a pretence of sleep I would not disturb her. 

 

She would be watching me, of course, through a squint of her eyes. Looking down at her I placed a finger to my lips, warning her to silence, and then I crouched down beside her body. Interestingly, unlike the three slaves, her wrists were tied behind her back with binding fibre. She was even more helpless than the slave girls. 

 

“We will speak only in soft whispers,” I said. “The slaves worked hard tonight and deserve a good night’s sleep.”

 

She said nothing, but I could tell she was awake. Her body seemed tense. 

 

“I know you’re not asleep,” I said.

 

“Please don’t touch me. I’m a free woman,” she begged.

 

I saw her squeeze her thighs tightly together, as if that might stop me.

 

“I am not going to put you to my pleasure. You are a free woman. I want you to know that.”

 

She gasped in surprise. Could she honestly believe that? A man would not take advantage of her as she lay chained to  a slave ring, her wrists bound behind her back? 

 

“It’s true. As a free woman you have rights.”

 

Her forced breathing seemed to subside a little. She watched me, cautiously.

 

“You are a man.”

 

“I am, yes.” I grinned in the gloom. “But I have no reason to lie to you, Leda.”

 

“That is not my name.” She stiffened.

 

“Then what is your name?” I smiled.

 

“You may call me Leda.” For some reason she didn’t seem to want to give me her true name. 

 

“But that is a slave name,” I said.

 

“I do not know you. We should not be familiar.”

 

“You were not put to use tonight,” I observed.

 

“I am a free woman!” She drew her legs back as far as she might. The chain drew tight against her ankle at its very extremity. 

 

“Indeed you are. The Innkeeper made that abundantly clear. He set limits on what might be done to you.”

 

“If you touch me, I’ll scream!”

 

“And then you would make me angry,” I said. She looked scared once again. “I’m not a pleasant and reasonable man when I’m angry.”

 

“What do you want?”

 

“Last night I spoke to the Innkeeper. I could understand the restrictions placed upon you – the instructions given that we were not to make use of you, the way we might make use of the three slaves.”

 

“They are slaves. It is different.”

 

“Of course. As I said, it’s understandable that you were not available to us But I was curious, for you were put to certain degradations, despite your status – you were stripped, made to serve paga on your knees, and made to dance for us.”

 

Her face reddened in the poor light. “I know all this! I know what they made me do! They are beasts! I hate them! I hate you!”

“That is your prerogative as a free woman,” I observed. “Men are beasts. You would do well to remember that. So I asked the Innkeeper, why it was that he allowed such things to be done to a free woman who had paid for the safety of his rooms? After all, a rude free woman must be tolerated, at least to a certain extent.”

 

“I will report this to the authorities in Corcyrus!” She flexed her bound wrists, as her earlier fear turned back to simmering resentment.

 

“Surely, I said to the Innkeeper, you could tolerate the rudeness of a Lady for a single night at least?”

 

“Soldiers from Corcyrus will come to this Inn and take him into custody!” she said. I did not think this was very likely. As previously revealed, this Inn was outside the city boundaries, and therefore subject to no law, and while Corcyrus might have an interest in maintaining safe passage along the roads and highways to Torcadino, it currently had far greater things to concern itself with. The war for one. Feeding and housing refugees for another. No, I didn’t think armed men would be sent any time soon to reprimand an Innkeeper in the wilderness. I think her demands would fall on deaf ears. Assuming she even returned to Corcyrus. 

 

“The Innkeeper then told me something interesting. Apparently, Leda, this is your third night here. The Innkeeper had been patient enough the first two nights, but had reached breaking point on the third night. The question that has been haunting me tonight, as I lay in the common room, is why a free woman would remain at a roadside Inn for more than a single night?”

 

Leda said nothing. 

 

“These are dangerous times. You would surely seek the safety of a city’s walls. Every night you remain at this Inn adds to your danger. So why have you been staying here? You’re not simply passing through, are you?”

 

“It is none of your business.”

 

“The Innkeeper is a pleasant fellow, keen to talk to his customers. He mentioned earlier tonight that you had been interested in the presence of my free companion. You asked about her name and where we had come from. You had asked similar questions about other free women who had passed through here.”

 

Leda said nothing.

 

“You had even enquired as to my companion’s hair colour.”

 

“You should leave. The kitchen is out of bounds to guests.”

 

“I will leave when I am done. And I am not yet done with you.” 

 

She wriggled where she lay, pulling at the leather loops that tied her wrists. I waited for her to exhaust herself, and once she was done, I continued. “I am a curious fellow and I thought to take a look through your discarded robes and gowns.”

 

“Those are my things!”

 

“I found this letter.” I showed the folded parchment to her. It had once been sealed with a wax stamp, but some careless fellow had gone and broken the seal. “I can’t personally read Gorean, of course.”

 

“It is nothing,” she said. “Just personal correspondence.”

 

“A love letter? From a man keen to woo you, perhaps?”

 

“Yes! Precisely that sort of thing! Give it back to me!”

 

“Interesting.” I opened the letter in the light of a low burning candle and ran my finger down to the bottom of the parchment where there was clearly written a name. “This would be the name of your faithful suitor?”

 

“Yes,” she said. “We are in love. He tells me how he longs to hold me in his arms and place tender, chaste kisses upon my veiled lips.”

 

“How romantic. You can of course read?”

 

A moment of doubt crossed her face. Most Goreans cannot read, of course. Those who can are generally scribes. I could tell from her garments earlier tonight that this Lady was not a scribe. Ergo, it was unlikely she could read.

 

“Yes…” she said, but her voice sounded less than convincing.

 

“Of course you can read. Why else would you have chaste love letters? Although I cannot read, I do know one or two words. This one for example.” I pointed randomly to a word on the parchment that I couldn’t really decipher. “Tell me what the word is?”

 

She looked scared. 

 

“Leda? What is this word? You can read, after all?”

 

“I can’t read,” she admitted. 

 

“Then why would your suitor be sending you love letters?”

 

“He does not know I can’t read.”

 

“Interesting.” I smiled. “I confess I lied just now, I don’t know what that word is, either. I do however recognise the name at the bottom of the letter. I have seen the shape of the characters before. It is Assante. And the broken seal is that of the city of Argentum.”

 

She said nothing. 

 

“You are an agent of Argentum, aren’t you? And this letter is some sort of safe passage that can be presented to the forces of Argentum as and when necessary? A letter signed with the full authority of Stannis Assante. You can’t read it, but you know what it is.”

 

“I…”

 

“That makes you a traitor to your city, pretty Leda, if you are indeed of Corcyrus. Or it makes you an enemy, if you are actually of Argentum, posing as a Lady of Corcyrus. Which is it?”

 

“Please…”

 

“I could simply present the letter to the men in the morning, and let them speak to you instead? They are likely to be less pleasant than I am. I hope for your sake you do not turn out to be an actual Lady of Corcyrus, now plotting with the forces of Argentum. Goreans do not like the concept of treachery to a Home Stone. Shall I turn you over to them?”

 

“No! Please, no!” 

 

“Then tell me what you have been paid to do.”

 

“I am looking for a young woman. A girl, even. Of good breeding. Excellent breeding. She has red hair. She may be passing through, along this road, in the company of a few men. We are watching many Inns.”

 

“I see. And who is this woman? This girl?”

 

“She is important to Argentum. That is all you need to know. I have money. I have adequate funds for my mission. I can pay you. There is a great reward. You can share in that reward if you help me tonight.”

 

“Help you?”

 

“Yes. Free me!” She wriggled again. “Free me and get me from this Inn before those other men awake.”

 

“You fear them?”

 

“Yes! Of course I fear them! Especially that warrior from Torcadino. He seemed displeased that I wasn’t being put to his use. He wanted me.” Her body trembled at the thought of his hands upon her. 

 

“The Innkeeper will surely protect you?”

 

“He is just one man! And these are hard times. Do you want to be rich? I can make you rich.” She pulled her knees up before her body, trying to hide as much of herself from my sight as possible.

 

“Rich?” I must have seemed interested. Who wouldn’t be, by such an offer?

 

“Yes, rich. Do not take offence, but you are obviously a man of humble means.”

 

“Perhaps,” I conceded.

 

“My masters can be very generous. I obviously made a mistake in the man I paid to act as my escort.”

 

“On that we can agree, Leda.”

 

“That is not really my name,” she said. 

 

“What should I call you?”

 

“My real name is none of your concern. You may simply refer to me as Lady.”

 

“I see. I actually prefer the name, Leda. It does seem to suit you.”

 

“I do not like that name.”

 

“I am sorry to hear that. But you were saying about the money?”

 

“Yes. I can pay well for the right man. You seem resourceful, intelligent. You picked up easily on certain things earlier tonight. I am impressed.”

 

“Thank you.”

 

“I do not offer praise lightly. What is your name?”

 

“Roland. “

 

“Well, Roland, be my man servant, my escort, and you will be handsomely rewarded.”

 

“You have money?”

 

“Yes. I have generous funds for my work.”

 

“The funds in your soft leather purse with the ornate stitching? The one concealed in your discarded gowns? The gowns that lay on the flagstone floor as you served men paga?”

 

“What do you mean by that? That is my money!”

 

“And it is being looked after by our host, the Innkeeper. He was quick to search your clothing for funds and remove them to his own safekeeping. Apparently, not all men can be trusted when loose coins are close at hand. It was for your own good.”

 

“Then…” She shifted slightly where she lay, bound, with her knees drawn up to her body. “He will return my purse to me in the morning.”

 

“He will address the matter later this morning, after breakfast has been served, and after his guests have settled their bills and left.”

 

“And then he will return my garments and my money to me.”

 

“Have you considered that all the current guests will have left by then?”

 

“What of it?”

 

“All the current witnesses to the fact you are a free woman? They will all have left by midday. And then the Innkeeper will settle matters with you, when there are no witnesses.”

 

“What are you suggesting?” The look in her eyes seemed evidence enough that the very same thought was now occurring to her. “No! No!”

 

“It is a lot of money. Many silver coins. It is quite the temptation. The Innkeeper is an honest man, I suppose, up to a point, but if your purse is as plump as your earlier words suggest?”

 

“It is my money!”

 

“Slaves cannot own coins. Slaves cannot own anything. One could keep the coins if they had been in the possession of a slave. Perhaps you have always been a slave, lovely Leda?”

 

“You must free me!” she hissed. “Tonight! Or at least before the guests leave! I will pay you!”

 

“The Innkeeper has your coins. Were I to steal you away, I do not think I could return to claim the money on your behalf.”

 

“I have additional funds!” she suddenly cried.

 

“Oh?”

 

“Coins cleverly hidden in the stitching of the hems of my inner gowns.”

 

“The Innkeeper is surprisingly well versed in such matters,” I explained, “He took a knife to those hems soon after locating your purse. Those coins, too, are now in his safekeeping.”

 

“I…” she blushed a bright red.

 

“What?” I asked, innocently.

 

“I have one other coin.”

 

“Surely not?” I smiled.

 

“A small gold coin of Argentum. It is…”

 

“I can see nowhere you could be hiding it,” I said, acting innocent in such matters. “You have no garments. No pockets. You are naked, pretty Leda.”

 

“There are ways for a woman to conceal a single coin.” She was blushing furiously now. “A single precious coin, for when all else fails.”

 

“I have no idea where that might be.”

 

And so, she had to tell me. 

 

“You seem to be in no position to retrieve the coin, yourself,” I suggested, observing her bound wrists.

 

I heard her sob quietly. “It is there.”

 

“You understand I will need to verify this? I need to satisfy myself that you are a woman of means possessing the gold required to pay me for services rendered?”

 

She sobbed again and nodded, turning her eyes from me. She would not look at me as I reached for her hidden coin.

 

“Oh!” she cried out, as my fingers entered her secret purse. “Oh!”

 

“Hush” I pressed a finger of my other hand to her lovely lips. Ordinarily it might be very tempting to kiss those luscious lips, but I had to remind myself she was a free woman, and unavailable to me. “You will wake the slaves.” I saw one of them stir a little in her deep sleep. Slaves usually sleep well after they have given full service, and each of these three girls had given very full service indeed.

 

“Your fingers!” she cried.

 

“I am searching for your coin, lovely Leda.”

 

“It is not that well-hidden!” she cried. “You should be able to… ohhhh!” she writhed furiously as I seemingly touched everywhere but where the damp coin might be found. “Beast!” she cried.

 

“Yes,” I said with a smile. 

 

Her face was flushed. Her nipples were now aroused.

 

“Ah, I think I have it.” I slowly slid the moist, sticky coin from her secret purse.

 

“You… you…”

 

“Hush,” I said again. I saw the lithe dancer stir in her sleep. “Do you want the slaves to tell the Innkeeper we have spoken in secret, away from his eyes and ears?”

 

“No!” she cried, but softly now. 

 

“A gold tarn, minted in Argentum.” I held the coin in the palm of my hand. “This is a lot of money, pretty Leda.”

 

“It is payment for your services,” she gasped.

 

“I have no change I can offer you, and this is your only coin.”

 

“It is yours if you get me out of this Inn before the Innkeeper can safely enslave me.”

 

“You seek safety in my company?”

 

“Yes! What choice do I have?”

 

“I do not have the key to your ankle shackle,” I said. I touched her ankle, touched the steel ring locked about it, and traced the length of chain to the slave ring set into the side of the wall. “But in the morning I suppose you will be freed from this ring.”

 

“Freed?”

 

“I suspect you will be serving breakfast with the slaves,” I suggested.

“He will make me serve men again?!”She seemed angry at the thought. She obviously considered herself to be an important woman. Such women do not serve men on their knees, like a slave might. 

 

“Possibly. But it is important you do, if you wish my help. If you remain chained in the kitchen, I cannot slip you away from here. In the morning when the Innkeeper rouses his slaves, beg to serve alongside them.”

 

“Beg to serve!” She was furious at the suggestion.

 

“Yes, to be certain of having your ankle freed from this slave ring. Tell the Innkeeper you understand now that you are a female, and that it is the nature of the female to serve men.”

 

“I cannot say that!”

 

“Do you wish my help or not?”

 

“And once free you will take me from here?”

 

“I can do that. I am rather resourceful. I will need your full co-operation, of course. You will have to do exactly as I say, without question. It will not be easy.”

 

She nodded furiously.

 

“You have a very pretty ankle, Leda. It takes a slave ring very well.”

 

“I do not need to know that! Concentrate on the task at hand! My ankle is none of your concern. I have paid you!”

 

“Of course.” I patted her lovely rump and stood up. “In the morning be sure to be serving at my table.” I pocketed the gold coin – the last of her available assets. “Good night, pretty Leda. Good night.”