Smugglers of Gor

Chapter Forty-Four



I dared not move east along the river, for that would lead me to Shipcamp, and I feared to go west, for the intruders had gone west, toward the coast. And there might, for all I knew, be others, coming and going on those trails. Nearer the coast, too, there might be villages. I was terrified to cross the river, but I would wish to do so, sooner or later, to move south. It was already late autumn, and I was well aware of the lightness and flimsiness of the bit of rent rep-cloth I wore. Already, at night, more than once, cuddled in the leaves, I had longed for my kennel blanket. The leaves of the Tur trees had begun to turn. Once there had been a dusting of snow, the specks bright in the sunlight between the trees. I was very much afraid the weather might suddenly change. I knew there was eagerness at Shipcamp to bring the great ship to Thassa before the possibility of ice in the river. There seemed no immediate danger of that, but others knew more of such things than I. Many, I knew, thought it madness to take the great ship, or any ship, abroad on Thassa this late in the season. I had gathered it was seldom done. In such seasons Thassa grows capricious and turbulent. There is the wind, the cold, the storms, the mighty waves, the torrents of icy rain. Even coast vessels, seldom out of the sight of land, would seek their harboring before the onset of winter. I must move south. I resolved to go far enough inland to elude pursuit, and then, when sure of my escape, somehow cross the river, perhaps stealing a boat, perhaps building a raft, bound with vines, or even clinging to debris. I was wary of the water itself, as I did not know what might lie within it. I did know that the dreaded river tharlarion which infest, and terrorize, the Cartius and Ua rivers did not range this far north. I must be careful not to return inadvertently to the vicinity of Shipcamp as I had before. I still did not understand how that could have come about. I did know that a small unevenness in one’s pace, a tiny difference in the stride of one foot as opposed to the other, common in almost anyone, save perhaps those trained in a measured stride, such as warriors, might result in one’s eventually describing a vast circle, but I did not think I had covered so many pasangs as to make that plausible. Too, what of the time of day, and the sun? And certain stars? Could one not gather one’s directions from such things? How incomprehensible it all was. I remembered my terror, and dismay, when I beheld the wands marking the perimeter of Shipcamp. I had returned! How had it come about? Certainly I would not be so foolish as to repeat that mistake, however it had come about.

I looked up, through the trees. The sun was high.

Tula, Mila and I, and, I think, others, as well, even the men, had been startled when Master Axel had suddenly cried out, and Master Genserich, warned, had moved in such a way, so quickly, so suddenly, spinning about, as to avoid receiving a cast javelin in his back. As it was he was wounded only slightly, I think at the shoulder, near the neck. One of Master Genserich’s own men had attacked him. Almost at the same time, Master Axel, his mien terrible, had cried out and loosed his hideous beast, setting it on the assailant. Tula, Mila, and I, and others, too, I think, had screamed with horror. It is not a pleasant thing to see. Tula had covered her eyes, and, in a moment, or two, sick, Mila and I had turned away. I had thought the sleen a domestic, well-trained beast, at least in the presence of its master or trainer, and it seemed so in the camp, and I had even stood close to it from time to time, without much fear, once even daring to touch it, but what I had beheld then was nothing which spoke of control, domesticity, restraint, or subordination. It spoke, rather, of the darkness of the forest, and the horrors which might lurk within it.

But at the same time, given the consternation about, the commotion in the camp, the attack on Master Genserich, and his narrow escape, the attack of the sleen on the assailant, and the tearing and feeding of the sleen, the attention of all, or the thought of all, on such things, I realized that the dark hand of chance had opened the door to my departure. No one would miss me, not for a time. This was my opportunity, terrible as it was, come unexpectedly. The attention of everyone was elsewhere. Even those at my side were distracted. Tula had her head down, her eyes covered; and Mila was sunk to her knees, shuddering, turned to the side.

I swiftly slipped away.

I looked back, once.

I shuddered.

Nature had designed the sleen. I did not think that even the Priest-Kings of Gor would have dared to do so.

I continued on, moving inland.

Interestingly, as I hurried away, I did not much fear being hunted again by the sleen. This had little or nothing to do with its recent kill, the interval which might be required for it to return to normality, its satiation and possible somnolence after feeding, or such, not even with the paucity of scent which might linger in the camp. Indeed, how could it be given my scent, rather than that of Tula, Mila, or others? Perhaps from a section of rope which had encircled my neck in the night, from footprints mingled with others, perhaps from trying various scents and rejecting all but one? Might it not even follow one of the slaves disappeared earlier with the intruders, on the trek to the coast? No, my confidence in this matter, though it was not an unqualified confidence, had more to do with Shipcamp.

At the time I had fled Shipcamp, I knew the great ship was being readied for its journey downriver. Indeed, I had been grateful to have been afforded the opportunity to gather Tur-Pah so close to the wands when I had, this facilitating my flight, for one of the reasons I wished to escape, and soon, was to avoid incarceration, with others, within those mighty timbers when her mooring lines were freed. What escape then for a hapless kajira helpless in such a floating, and perhaps doomed, prison?

My speculation then that I would not be pursued again by the sleen was primarily based on the likelihood of the great ship’s imminent departure. The possibility of this event had seemed to loom over events here by the river. I recalled that the larl and its trainers had been anxious to leave, and had sped away at the first opportunity. Too, I was sure that Master Axel would wish to return quickly with the sleen to Shipcamp, and, happily, doubtless, too, the monstrous brute with him whom I hated with such vehemence. How dismayed I had been when the intruders had invaded the camp, allies, it seemed, of Master Axel and the brute with him, and they had been freed! I had earlier been much delighted to take my vengeance on the brute who had so ignored and scorned me, when he was bound and helpless. I had delighted myself with his tormenting. I had taunted him with a slave’s body he could not possess. With what diligence and pleasure I had employed the soft arsenals at the disposal of a slave, her closeness, her breath, her smiles, her expressions, her lips, her postures, her attitudes, her words, and touch, to my advantage. I had made him suffer in my pretense of solicitude. Poor Master, indeed! Let him squirm, and sweat, and strain at his ropes! How helpless he was, and how gratified I was, to afflict him with impunity. Let him pretend I was nothing! I had made him suffer. Let him pretend, too, I was of no interest to him! I had given the lie to that, and before others, to their amusement. I was not his. He could not own me, he could not buy me! How cleverly I had subjected him to the honey of my vengeance. I had then taken my leave of him, leaving him behind me, humiliated, furious, helpless in his bonds. We were soon to trek, and I was to bear my burden. He had arranged, bound, the monster, to have himself placed behind me, and I knew then, to my great uneasiness, I would be under his constant surveillance. So I must walk before him, bearing my burden, keenly aware he was there, unable to see him, and walk as I must, as what I was, a slave. But the trek was arrested by mutiny within the band, and in the course of this mutiny, intruders from the coast had located the camp. Shortly thereafter he and Master Axel, who were apparently in some way in league with the intruders, had been freed, and I had trembled in terror. Soon I had seen his eyes, those of he whom I hated, upon me, and as those of a displeased master on a slave. Had I ever been so aware of my half-nudity and the light metal circle fastened about my neck? I knew then that I must escape as soon as possible, at any risk. With a blow he could break my neck. His strength might pull the limbs from my body. My opportunity soon occurred, unexpectedly, with the attack on Genserich and the loosing of the sleen on the ill-fated assailant.

I paused amongst the trees, listening, looking back. There was no sign of pursuit.

I continued on.

I had escaped.