"Stand," he said.
I did so.
"I believe this is yours," said Drusus Rencius, lifting skimpy tunic which, doubtless hut shortly before, he had moved from Sheila, probably binding and gagging her.
"Yes, Master," I said.
"Put it on," he said, throwing it against my body.
I caught it. "Yes, Master," I said. In a moment I was in It does not take long to don such a garment. I adjusted it my body. Then I straightened up. I saw I was being inspect as a slave.
"Turn, slowly," he said.
I did so, displaying as well as I could one of the property of Miles of Argentum.
"Have you been named?" he asked.
"Yes, Master," I said.
"What is it?" he asked.
"'Sheila,' Master," I said.
He smiled. "That would seem appropriate," He said, least from the point of view of Miles of Argentum. That, incidentally, is the name of the slave in the sack. It was on her in Ar by her master, Hassan, the Slave Hunter."
I nodded. I had not known that. He could have named I anything, of course. Daphne, Jean, Wanda, Marjorie, Ta Nose, Excrement, whatever he pleased. It had apparently amused him, however, perhaps as an irony, to put her name back on her, this time, of course, as a mere cognon in bondage, a convenience by means of which to refer to as the animal she now was, a slave name.
"You are very pretty, Sheila," he said.
"Thank you, Master," I said. That was my current sl~ name.
"The other Sheila, too, is very pretty," he said. "It will interesting, tonight, to compare you, when you are both naked and in chains, side by side, presented to Claudius a the high council."
"Doubtless, Master," I said. In such a situation, ni might, I supposed, make their appraisals and deterministic under almost ideal conditions. The conditions would be most as favorable as those of a slave market. We might even be measured and posed. When I was exhibited before him this fashion it was my hope that Drusus Rencius would like what he saw.
33 The Inquiry; The Outcome of the Inquiry; I Am the Slave of Miles of Argentum
The dancers had now scurried away with a jangle of […].
The musicians were quiet. The floor, between the tables cleared. The feast slaves had drawn back, behind the table. At these tables were Claudius, the Ubar of Argentum members of the high council. There were-numerous other dignitaries there, as well, both from Argentum and from cities. Miles of Argentum was there, and Drusus Rencius Ligurious.
Interestingly enough, Aemilianus of Ar, wb(once been my master, was there, and Publius, who had the house master in the house of Kliomenes, in Cos Hassan, the Slave Hunter, I noted, however, was not prt Toward the back of the room, at one of the lesser t there was a hooded guest, a medium-sized man. I dii know who it might be. It was much too small to be Has was naked, in slave chains, behind a beaded curtain. I be produced when Miles of Argentum, my master, wisi Because of my proximity to the narrow, linear space between the beading, I had little difficulty in seeing well in hall. The guests, on the other hand, given the closeness beading and their greater distance from it, could detect presence there only with difficulty, and, even then, probably, they would be able to tell little other than the fact the individual there, as might be discerned from the v~' detectable form, was a stripped or scantily clad female, I bly a slave. "It is now time," said Claudius, the Ubar of Argentum come to the major business of the evening. Let the sack be brought forth."
Two soldiers, from a side room, dragged the golden across the floor and put it before the center table, that table where sat Claudius, the members of the high council and other significant guests. At this table, too, sat Ligurious, Miles of Argentum and Drusus Rencitis.
"This feast," said Claudius, "is one of victory, one of triumph. Months ago the unprovoked aggression of Corcyrus, seeking the silver of Argentum, was repelled. Further, to ensure our security, and to prevent a repetition of this form of aggression, we fought our way to, and through, the gate of Corcyrus itself. There, abetted by the people of that city, we defeated the forces of the Tatrix of Corcyrus and overthrew her tyrannous regime."
There Was Gorean applause at this point; the striking of as the left shoulder with the palm of the hand. Even Ligurious, I noted, politely joined in the applause. "The ties of Corcyrus with Cos have now been severed," said Claudius. "She, now, like Argentum, is a free ally of glorious Ar."
Here there was more applause.
"And fortunate is this for her," said Claudius, "for Ar, as she has demonstrated, stands by her allies"
Again there was applause.
"As her allies stand by her!" he added. There was more applause.
Ar, of course, had substantial land forces. She had, doubtless, the largest and best-trained infantry in known Gor is the land forces of Cos, on the other hand, were probably not it superior to those of a number of Gorean city states, even)e- much smaller in their populations than the island Ubarate. These balances tended to be reversed dramatically in sea he power. Cos had one of the most powerful fleets on Gor. The sea power of Ar, on the "The villainess in this matter, the culprit, the instigator of all these hostilities, was Sheila, the cruel and wicked Tatrix of Corcyrus."
"Yes, yes!" cried several men.
"She was captured in Corcyrus but, en route to Argentum escaped. A great search was organized and conducted. A handsome reward was posted. Still, for months she eluded us Then Hassan, the Slave Hunter, he of Kasra, consented to take up her trail. Her days of freedom were then numbered. In Ar, not two weeks ago, she fell to his bracelets."
There was applause.
"He then saw fit to bring her to us in his own inimitable fashion, in a wagon, like a common girl, tied naked in a slave sack."
There was laughter. "This time," laughed Claudius, "she did not escape!" There was more laughter. I saw Ligurious smile.
"It is now time," said Claudius, "to have Sheila, the former Tatrix of Corcyrus, presented before her conquerors, to await their pleasure!"
There was applause.
"Ligurious," said Claudius, turning to him.
Ligurious rose, and walked about the table, to stand before it, and near the sack.
"Many of you know me," said Ligurious, "if only by reputation, as the former first minister of Corcyrus: what many of you may not know is that I was also the secret leader of the resistance in Corcyrus to the rule of Sheila, the Tatrix. For months within her very government I strove to dissuade her from endeavors hostile to the great state of Argentum. I attempted to assert a persistent influence in the directions of harmony and peace. Alas, my efforts were frustrated, my counsels were ignored. The best that I could hope for was to prepare the way for the victorious forces of Argentum, which I managed to do. You may recall the ease with which you took the city, once the great gate was breached."
Drusus Rencius was smiling.
"In this time, of course, I was often in close converse with the Tatrix. In my efforts to convince her of the futility and madness of her policies I was in almost constant proximity to her. I think it may well be said that there is no man on Gor better qualified than I to recognize her, or to identify her for you. "Thank you, noble Ligurious," said Claudius. "Now," said he, "let Sheila's captor, the noble Hassan, of Kasra, have the honor of presenting her before us, that she may await our pleasure." It was quiet. Men looked about. "Where is Hassan?" asked Claudius.
"He is not here," said a man.
Ligurious looked down, smiling.
Claudius shrugged. "He is perhaps indisposed:" he said. "Let the sack be opened!"
Ligurious looked about himself, pleased. He scarcely bothered to note the opening of the sack, and the drawing forth of its helpless, gagged, bound, stripped occupant. She was knelt then, bound hand and foot, naked and gagged, before Claudius and the council.