“We found these,” said one of the black-tunicked men, reporting back. He held chains.
“Come here!” said the leader of the black-tunicked men to the pit master who, accommodatingly, left his table and game.
“Yes,” said the pit master, examining the chains. “These are undoubtedly those which were worn by our prisoner. Surely you can recognize them as well as I.” There would be little possibility of mistake, at any rate, I supposed, about the chain with the plate and ring attached. Bolts were still loose in the plate.
“Where did you find these?” demanded the leader of the strangers.
“In a place where there were tools,” said the man.
“The workroom,” said the pit master. “There is an anvil there, a forge, hammers, chisels. Chaining, unchaining, the fitting with common shackles, and such, you understand, is done there. It is more convenient than going to the surface.”
“Are such places not guarded?” demanded the leader of the strangers.
“The guard was dismissed,” the pit master reminded him.
“He is now free of his chains,” said the leader of the strangers.
“I would assume he still wears the collar, and what is left of the neck chain,” said the pit master. “That would be difficult to remove by oneself, with the tools there.”
“There are no metal saws there, or files?”
“No,” said the pit master. “It would be dangerous to keep such things in the depths.”
Shackles, of course, and links of chain, if one wishes, may be forced apart, or even broken, given proper tools and sufficient strength. There are files and metal saws, too, which can do such work, though it takes more time. I had been in the workroom several times. The tools there were heavy toots. It was not regarded as advisable to have files and metal saws there, things which might be easily concealed.
“We know the prisoner is still in the depths,” said the lieutenant.
“There is no doubt about that,” said the leader of the strangers.
“It is only a matter of time then,” said the lieutenant, “until we have gone though every passage.”
“Are there missile weapons in the depths?” asked the leader of the black-tunicked men.
“Only yours,” said the pit master.
“Excellent,” said the leader of the black tunicked men.
“Take me to the surface!” suddenly cried Gito, from where he crouched by the wall. “I want to go to the surface!”
“We need not even close with him then,” said the leader of the black-tunicked men, paying Gito no attention.
“I want to go to the surface!” cried Gito.
“Call in the search parties,” said the leader of the black-tunicked men. “In the morning we will form a single, larger group. Even in the darkness we can blanket an area with quarrels.”
One of the men went out, into the corridor. From various points we heard him blowing blasts, on a reed whistle.
“You two will accompany us tomorrow,” said the leader to the officer of Treve and the pit master. “We have no intention of leaving you behind. Too, the slaves will be with us. I trust a concern for their safety, or for that of one or more of them, will ensure your diligence as guides. They will precede us, you see. In this fashion we will keep them in view, which will doubtless be pleasant for you, not of the black caste, and there will be no slipping of them away.”
Whereas the Gorean slave girl commonly heels her master, her master sometimes orders her to walk before him, for the pleasure of seeing her walk. And if she knows what is good for her she had best walk beautifully. This also gives him an opportunity to assess her interest to other men, for example, to see if men look after her, as she passes. This is useful if he should be thinking of selling her, but it is also tends to be of independent interest, and not only to the master, but also to the slave. We are very curious to know, vain beasts that we are, what men might pay for us, if we were to be offered for sale.
But, alas, some men, I fear, purchase girls largely for self-regarding, social reasons, for example, to impress others with their wealth, good fortune, or taste. But then, too, on Earth, do some men buy a certain car, or a certain house, or a certain painting, and such, largely to impress others?Too, on Earth some men will, in effect, purchase wives, so to speak, though the “exchange of coin” is less obvious. These women, as I understand it, are referred to as “trophy wives.” There are differences, of course. On Earth, it is the women who sells herself and, accordingly, keeps her own purchase price, so to speak. That is not the Gorean way, of course. I am happy to report that there is no Gorean expression which would be exactly equivalent to “trophy slave,” but I am forced to admit, in all honesty, that the concept, in effect, or certainly a similar sort of concept, is not unknown on Gor. In Gorean there is an expression which would rather literally translate as “display slave,” and it seems that that is much the same idea, namely, that the woman’s value is seen to lie more in the ranges of a decoration, an appointment, an appurtenance, or such things, than in herself, than in the heats, services, devotions, and loves of a whole woman, a living, breathing, loving, passionate, needful female. The palanquins of rich men are sometimes followed by strings of back-braceleted, briefly tunicked, neck-chained display slaves. When the slave is walked before the master, her head and eyes remain forward. She is not to look to the left or right. She is, after all, under the eyes of her master.
I suppose I am beautiful enough to be a display slave, but I do not think I would like it.
When the slave is walked before the master she may or may not be on a leash. It is up to the master.
Most often she is not leashed.
In this way the master may remain rather in the background. Perhaps he is just a fellow going in the same direction? But if the slave is accosted he will probably show up promptly enough, leash in hand.
She will then be leashed and there will be no doubt as to whose slave she is.
One might mention, in passing, that the “concept of the leash” may figure, as do a number of other concepts, in reference to bondage. Just as one might refer to a slave as “marked meat,” or as a “collar slut,” or a “vulo,” or a “tasta,” or as one might ask someone if a certain girl now wears a collar, or is garbed in the slave tunic, or has bared arms, or a bared face, or in whose bracelets or chains she finds herself, so, too, one might speculate that she is probably on a leash by now, or assert that she is on a given leash, say, so-and-so’s leash, or inquire of a slave her master, by inquiring, “Who leashes you,” “On whose leash are you,” “Who holds your leash,” and so on.
“Too,” continued the leader of the black-tunicked men, “the slaves may also serve as shields, if we are attacked, either by he whom we hunt, or by other beasts.”
“Take me to the surface!” cried Gito, leaping up, hurrying to throw himself on his knees before the leader of the strangers. “Take me to the surface!”
“You are free to leave,” said the leader of the strangers.
“Along?” quavered Gito.
“I have no intention of sparing men to conduct you to the surface,” said the leader.
“You are not going to stay here another night?”
“Yes,” said the leader.
“In the morning you will leave this place?”
“Yes, to conclude our hunt.”
“What of me?”
“You may remain here.”
“I will accompany you, of course,” said Gito. Then he returned to his place by the wall, crouching down there, watching the portal.
We expected ten men to return, answering the summons of the reed whistle, but only nine came in.