not hers.
Still, a hot slave is a precious possession. It is one of the great pleasures of the mastery to play with his toy, to patiently lick, kiss, and caress his property, it perhaps helplessly bound or chained, to turn it into a writhing, pleading, sobbing, subdued, owned, gasping, bucking, lovely, helpless, ecstatic beast.
She went for forty-eight copper tarsks, which was about what I thought she would bring, something in the nature of a half tarsk, of silver.
Some weeks before, as I had been given to understand, the forces of Cos, Tyros, and their allies, and hirelings, most in mercenary bands, had withdrawn from Ar. The accounts of this were various. It was claimed by some that the work of the occupying forces was done, that Ar had been taught her lesson, her walls razed and her coffers looted, that she was now impoverished, docile, and subdued, and was no longer a threat to the civilized cities. Accordingly, the occupying forces had executed an orderly withdrawal, one supposedly scheduled for months aforehand. Others claimed that the troops of Cos and Tyros, and the others, had marched from the city, over streets carpeted with blossoms, amidst shouts of joy and flung garlands, the tribute of a grateful populace, freed from the gross despotisms and tyrannies of the past. And some said that like a storm at sea, one without warning, the red waves of revolt had surged into the streets, pouring forth from hovels and sewers, from taverns and stables, from cellars and insulae , that thousands of citizens, many armed only with clubs and stones, had rushed forth, intent upon the blood of invaders and traitors. Marlenus, Ubar of Ubars, it was said, had returned to Ar.
In any event, several of the coastal cities and towns, and, in particular, Brundisium, were now filled with what might, I suppose, be accounted refugees. It was claimed by some that the retreat from Ar had been a rout, precipitous and disorderly, and, in some cases, even disciplined troops had cast aside their shields and fled for their lives. Were it not for the ruination of her walls, thousands might have been unable to escape the city, to the open fields beyond. Countless dead would have been heaped at the gates. As it was, men of Ar tried to prevent the remnants of the occupying forces fleeing and hundreds of sympathizers and collaborators from leaving the city. Bands of mercenaries not quartered outside the city often had to fight their way to the countryside. Even in the open fields they were pursued and hunted, sometimes from the sky by tarnsmen of Ar, no longer enrolled in the sorry task of protecting uniformed looters and policing a sullen, resentful citizenry with which they shared a Home Stone. For pasangs about the city the fields were littered with feasting for scavenging jards. Within the city long proscription lists were posted, and traitors and traitresses were hunted down, house to house. Hundreds of impaling spears were adorned with writhing victims. Few free traitresses, or traitresses who long remained free, escaped the city. The common price for their license to accompany armed, fleeing men, unwilling to accept the burden of conducting free women, was their stripping and the collar. Many were currently being offered in the markets of Brundisium and other coastal cities. Some of those vended in the recent sale I had attended were former high women of Ar, now naked properties worth only what men were willing to pay for them. Many of the refugees still flooding into Brundisium were ragged, exhausted, and half-starved. Some had sold even their swords. Others had formed larger or smaller outlaw bands and prowled the roads, producing a realm of peril and anarchy for a hundred pasangs about. Passage to Tyros or Cos was costly, and many of Brundisium’s newcomers were destitute. Some, armed with clubs, hunted urts by the wharves. Two men had been killed for stealing a fish. It was said, too, that various towns and cities, even villages, in the
Still, a hot slave is a precious possession. It is one of the great pleasures of the mastery to play with his toy, to patiently lick, kiss, and caress his property, it perhaps helplessly bound or chained, to turn it into a writhing, pleading, sobbing, subdued, owned, gasping, bucking, lovely, helpless, ecstatic beast.
She went for forty-eight copper tarsks, which was about what I thought she would bring, something in the nature of a half tarsk, of silver.
Some weeks before, as I had been given to understand, the forces of Cos, Tyros, and their allies, and hirelings, most in mercenary bands, had withdrawn from Ar. The accounts of this were various. It was claimed by some that the work of the occupying forces was done, that Ar had been taught her lesson, her walls razed and her coffers looted, that she was now impoverished, docile, and subdued, and was no longer a threat to the civilized cities. Accordingly, the occupying forces had executed an orderly withdrawal, one supposedly scheduled for months aforehand. Others claimed that the troops of Cos and Tyros, and the others, had marched from the city, over streets carpeted with blossoms, amidst shouts of joy and flung garlands, the tribute of a grateful populace, freed from the gross despotisms and tyrannies of the past. And some said that like a storm at sea, one without warning, the red waves of revolt had surged into the streets, pouring forth from hovels and sewers, from taverns and stables, from cellars and insulae , that thousands of citizens, many armed only with clubs and stones, had rushed forth, intent upon the blood of invaders and traitors. Marlenus, Ubar of Ubars, it was said, had returned to Ar.
In any event, several of the coastal cities and towns, and, in particular, Brundisium, were now filled with what might, I suppose, be accounted refugees. It was claimed by some that the retreat from Ar had been a rout, precipitous and disorderly, and, in some cases, even disciplined troops had cast aside their shields and fled for their lives. Were it not for the ruination of her walls, thousands might have been unable to escape the city, to the open fields beyond. Countless dead would have been heaped at the gates. As it was, men of Ar tried to prevent the remnants of the occupying forces fleeing and hundreds of sympathizers and collaborators from leaving the city. Bands of mercenaries not quartered outside the city often had to fight their way to the countryside. Even in the open fields they were pursued and hunted, sometimes from the sky by tarnsmen of Ar, no longer enrolled in the sorry task of protecting uniformed looters and policing a sullen, resentful citizenry with which they shared a Home Stone. For pasangs about the city the fields were littered with feasting for scavenging jards. Within the city long proscription lists were posted, and traitors and traitresses were hunted down, house to house. Hundreds of impaling spears were adorned with writhing victims. Few free traitresses, or traitresses who long remained free, escaped the city. The common price for their license to accompany armed, fleeing men, unwilling to accept the burden of conducting free women, was their stripping and the collar. Many were currently being offered in the markets of Brundisium and other coastal cities. Some of those vended in the recent sale I had attended were former high women of Ar, now naked properties worth only what men were willing to pay for them. Many of the refugees still flooding into Brundisium were ragged, exhausted, and half-starved. Some had sold even their swords. Others had formed larger or smaller outlaw bands and prowled the roads, producing a realm of peril and anarchy for a hundred pasangs about. Passage to Tyros or Cos was costly, and many of Brundisium’s newcomers were destitute. Some, armed with clubs, hunted urts by the wharves. Two men had been killed for stealing a fish. It was said, too, that various towns and cities, even villages, in the
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