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The warrior gestured at Talena
with his lance. "Who is she?" he asked.
"You need not know her name of lineage," I said.
The warrior laughed and slapped his thigh. "You would have me believe that
she is of High Caste," he said. "She is probably the daughter of a goat
keeper."
I could see Talena move under the hood, her fists clenched in the slave
bracelets.
"What news of Ar?" I asked.
"War," said the mounted spearman approvingly. "Now, while the men of Ar
fight among themselves for the cylinders, an army is gathering from fifty
cities, massing on the banks of the Vosk to invade Ar. There is a camp
there such as you have never seen--a city of tents, pasangs of tharlarion
corrals; the wings of the tarns sound like thunder overhead. The cooking
fires of the soldiers can be seen two days' ride from the river."
Talena spoke, her voice muffled in the hood. "Scavengers come to feast on
the bodies of wounded tarnsmen." It was a Gorean proverb, which seemed to
be singularly inappropriate, coming from a hooded captive.
"I did not speak to the girl," said the warrior.
I excused Talena. "She has not worn the bracelets long," I said.
"She has spirit," said the warrior.
"Where are you bound for?" I asked.
"To the banks of the Vosk, to the City of Tents," said the warrior.
"What news of Marlenus, the Ubar?" demanded Talena.
"You should beat her," said the warrior, but responded to the girl. "None.
He has fled."
"What news of the Home Stone of Ar and the daughter of Marlenus?" I asked,
feeling it would be the sort of thing the warrior would expect me to be
interested in.
"The Home Stone is rumored to be in a hundred cities," he said. "Some say
it has been destroyed. Only the Priest- Kings know."
"And the daughter of Marlenus?" I insisted.
"She is undoubtedly in the Pleasure Gardens of the boldest tarnsman on
Gor," laughed the warrior. "I hope he has as much luck with her as the
Home Stone. I have heard she has the temper of a tharlarion and a face to
match!"
Talena stiffened, her pride offended.
"I have heard," she said imperiously, "that the daughter of the Ubar is
the most beautiful woman on all Gor."
"I like this girl," said the warrior. "Yield her to me!"
"No," I said.
"Yield her or I will have my tharlarion trample you," he snapped, "or
would you prefer to be spitted on my lance?" TARNSMAN OF GOR-, (1)
Pages 115-117
In the next few days, to my
surprise, Talena was buoyant, cheerful, and excited. She became interested
in the caravan and would spend hours walking alongside the colored wagons,
sometimes hitching rides with the strap-masters, wheedling from them a
piece of fruit or a sweetmeat. She even conversed delightedly with the
inmates of the blue and yellow wagons, bringing them precious tidbits of
camp news, teasing them as to how handsome their new masters would be.
TARNSMAN OF GOR-, (1) Page 128
Accordingly, for the next few
days, I remained with Kazrak and bided my time. I dyed my hair black and
acquired the helmet and gear of an Assassin. Across the left temple of the
black helmet I fixed the golden slash of the messenger. In this disguise I
freely wandered about the camp, observing the siege operations, the
appointment of the compounds, the marshalling of the troops. Occasionally
I would climb halfway up one of the siege towers under construction and
observe the city of Ar and the skirmishes that took place between it and
the first ditch. TARNSMAN OF GOR-, (1) Pages 176-177
I had neared the compound a
hundred times before, but this time I was determined to enter. I began to
walk with a quickened pace, my heart began to beat powerfully, and I felt
the elation of decision. I would act. It would be suicide to attempt to
cut my way in, but Pa-Kur was in the environs of Ar, directing the siege
operations, and I might, with luck, pass myself off as his messenger; who
would be bold enough to deny entrance to one whose helmet bore the golden
slash of the courier?
Without hesitation I climbed the hillock and presented myself impatiently
to the guards.
"A message from Pa-Kur," I said, "for the ears of Talena, his
Ubara-to-be."
"I will carry the message," said one of the guards, a large man, his eyes
suspicious. He regarded me closely. Obviously, I was not anyone he knew.
"The message is for the Ubara-to-be, and for her alone," I said angrily.
"Do you deny admittance to the messenger of Pa-Kur?"
"I do not know you," he growled.
"Give me your name," I demanded, "so that I may report to Pa- Kur who it
is that denies his message to his future Ubara."
There was an agonized silence, and then the guard stepped aside. I entered
the compound, not having a settled plan, but feeling that I must contact
Talena. Perhaps together we could arrange an escape at some later time.
For the moment I did not even know where in the compound she might be
kept. TARNSMAN OF GOR-, (1) Pages 182-183
But first, as part of my plan, I
raced my tarn directly for the walls of Ar, swiftly passing the slow
procession on the plains below. In a matter of perhaps less than a minute
I hovered over the summit of the interior wall near the great gate. As
soldiers scattered madly beneath me, I brought the tarn down. No one
ventured to repel me. All were silent. I wore the garb of the Caste of
Assassins, and on the left temple of the black helmet was the golden slash
of the messenger. TARNSMAN OF GOR-, (1) Page 192
I was over the cylinder and
dropping the tarn to its centre. With cries of surprise and rage, men
scattered from beneath the suddenly descending gigantic shape. I had
expected to be fired on immediately but suddenly remembered that I still
wore the garb of the messenger. No Assassin would fire on me, and no one
else would dare. TARNSMAN OF GOR-, (1) Page 204
The broad-chested carrier of wood
was grinning from ear to ear. He would have a guest tonight. He would
speak little himself, being unskilled in speech, and being too proud to
form sentences which he knew would most likely be stumbling and
ungrammatical, but would sit by the fire until dawn refusing to let me
sleep, wanting me to talk to him, to tell him stories, to recount
adventures, to give him news of faraway places. What I said, I knew, would
be less important than the fact that something was said, that he had not
been alone again. OUTLAW OF GOR-, (2) Pages 29-30
Occasionally a bit of news
filtered down into the mines, brought by the slaves who filled the feeding
trough. These slaves were fortunate for they had access to the central
shaft. Each of the hundred mines of Tharna, at one level or another,
opened on this shaft. It is to be distinguished from the much smaller ore
shafts, which are individual to each mine. The ore shafts are like narrow
wells sunk in the stone and their platforms can scarcely accommodate a
slave's sack of ore.
It is through the central shaft that the mines of Tharna are supplied.
Down that shaft comes not only food but, when needed, canvas, tools and
chains. Drinking water, of course, is supplied by the natural sumps in
each mine. I myself, and my fellow slaves, had descended the central
shaft. Only dead slaves made the ascent.
Beginning with the slaves who worked the pulleys that controlled the
supply platform in the central shaft, the news had spread, from one mine
to another, until at last it had reached even ours, which was the deepest
on the shaft.
There was a new Tatrix in Tharna.
"Who is the new Tatrix?" I asked.
"Dorna the Proud," said the slave, who tumbled onions, turnips, radishes,
potatoes and bread into the feed trough.
"What happened to Lara?" I asked.
He laughed. "You are ignorant!" he exclaimed.
"News does not travel fast in the mines," I said.
"She was carried off," he said.
"What?" I cried.
"Yes," said he, "by a tarnsman, as it turned out."
"What is his name?" I asked.
"Tarl," said he, and his voice fell to a whisper, "--of Ko-ro-ba."
I was dumbfounded.
"He is an outlaw," said the man, "who survived the Amusements of Tharna."
"I know," I said. OUTLAW OF GOR-, (2) Pages 155-156
I supposed he was right. Later in
the afternoon the last of the Paravaci had been cleared from the Tuchuk
wagons, wherever they might be found. Harold and I sent a rider back to
Kamchak with news of the victory. Following him, in a few hours, would be
a Thousand each from the Kataii and the Kassars, to lend him what aid they
might in his work in Turia. NOMADS OF GOR-, (4) Pages 256-266
Nela, like most of the others at
the baths, could talk of little but the startling disappearance, and
presumed abduction, of Claudia Tentia Hinrabia, the proud, spoiled
daughter of the Administrator of the City. It seemed she had vanished from
the central cylinder, in those portions of it devoted to the private
quarters of the Administrator and his family and closer associates, almost
under the very noses of Taurentian guardsmen. Saphronicus, Captain of the
Taurentians, was reportedly, and understandably, beside himself with
frustration and rage. He was organizing searches of the entire city and
surrounding countyside, and gathering all possible reports which might
bear on the case. The Administrator himself, with his consort, and many
others of the high family, had locked themselves in their quarters,
secluding themselves in their outrage and sorrow. The entire city was
humming with the news and a hundred rumors ran rampant through the alleys
and streets and on the bridges of Glorious Ar. On the roof of the Cylinder
of Initiates the High Initiate, Complicius Serenus, offered sacrifice and
prayer for the speedy return of the girl and, failing that, that she might
be found slain, that she might not be reduced to the shames of slavery.
ASSASSIN OF GOR-, (5) Pages 158-159
I cried to Thurnock. "Release all
the slaves! Send them throughout the city, to the wharves, the taverns,
the arsenal, the piazzas, the markets, everywhere! Tell them to cry out
the news! Tell them to tell everyone that there is a Home Stone in Port
Kar!" RAIDERS OF GOR-, (6) Page 252
Some four days before we were to
depart Ko-ro-ba for Ar, the news swept like tarns through the pens.
"Verna the outlaw girl!" we heard the cry. "She had been taken by Marlenus
of Ar."
"Marlenus has captured Verna, the outlaw girl!"
I rushed to the bars of the cage, thrilled. I wept with joy. How I hated
that proud woman, and her band! Let them be slaves! Let them be slaves!"
CAPTIVE OF GOR-, (7) Page 188
"What is the news?" asked Arn.
"We have been abroad on Thassa," said Rim. "We are but ignorant seamen."
...
"Was there other news in Lydius?" asked Rim, pleasantly.
"The price for a good sleen pelt is now a silver tarsk," said Arn. Then he
held out his cup again to Cara. "More wine," he said.
...
"Is there further news in Lydius?" I asked.
Arn smiled. "Marlenus of Ar," he said, "was in Lydius five days ago."
I betrayed no emotion.
"What does the great Ubar do so far from Ar," inquired Rim.
"He hunts Verna," said Arn. HUNTERS OF GOR-, (8) Pages 22-23
"Yes," laughed Verna, "according
to the codes of the warriors and by the rites of the city of Ar, no longer
is Talena kin or daughter of Marlenus of Ar."
I lay, stunned. According to irreversible ceremonies, both of the warriors
and of the city of Ar, Talena was no longer the daughter of Marlenus. In
her shame she had been put outside his house. She was cut off. In law, and
in the eyes of Goreans, Talena was now without family. No longer did she
have kin. She was now, in her shame, alone, completely. She was now only
slave, that and nothing more.
From the most desirable woman on Gor she had suddenly become only another
slave.
"Does Talena know?" I asked.
"Of course," said Verna. "We informed her immediately."
"That was kind of you," said I, bitterly.
"We gagged her first," said Verna, "that we might not be annoyed by her
outcries."
"Did she not wish proof?" I asked.
"Anticipating such a desire," laughed Verna, "we had written confirmation
of the enactment signed with the seal of Marlenus himself. Further,
documents proclaiming the disowning, officially notarized with the seals
of Ar and Marlenus, will soon be posted in all the major Gorean cities."
"One, even now," said Mira, "stands on the news board in Laura."
HUNTERS OF GOR-, (8) Page 131
I had then left her and gone to
the cafes, to find what I might learn. In the cafes, as in the paga
taverns of the north, one learns the realities of a city, what is its
latest news, what is afoot in the city, what are its dangers, its
pleasures, and where its power lies. TRIBESMEN OF GOR-, (10) Page 47
I patronized an unimportant,
rather poor sort of establishment, whose proprietor, I suspected, would
have had better things to do than attend trials at the chamber of justice.
Fortunately this was true. He was, however, informed on the public news.
"The assassin fled last night, into the desert," he told me, "escaping!"
TRIBESMEN OF GOR-, (10) Page 134
"Before the general alarm was
permitted to sound in Port Kar, in the matter of apprising the wharves of
the news of an escaped slave," said Ulafi, "we, naturally, conducted a
search for her ourselves. We expected to pick her up without difficulty in
a few minutes, you understand." EXPLORERS OF GOR-, (13) Page 84
I considered the belly and hips of
the dancing girl as she thrust them toward me, undulatingly, as the music
pounded in the tavern.
"Have you heard the news?" the man next to me was asking.
"No," I said.
The girl was naked, save that she wore many strings of jewels and armlets.
Too she wore bracelets and anklets of gold, which had been locked upon her
and were belled. Her collar too, was of gold and belled. She was blond,
and it was said she was from Earth. A single pearl, fastened in a setting
like a droplet, on a tiny golden chain, was suspended at the center of her
forehead.
"There has been major engagement, one long awaited," said the man next to
me. "south of Vonda. More than four thousand men were involved. Fighting
was fierce. The mobility of our squares was crucial in the early phases,
separating to permit the entrance of charging tharlarion into our lines,
then isolating the beasts." Massed men, I knew, could not stand against
the charge of tharlarion, not without a defense of ditches or pointed
stakes. "But then," said the man, "their phalanx swept down upon us. Then
did the day seem lost and retreat was sounded, but the withdrawal was
prearranged to creviced ground, to rock slopes and cragged, outjutting
formations. Our generals had chosen their ground well." I knew too that no
fixed military formation could meet the phalanx on its own terms and
survive. Different length spears are held by different ranks, the longer
spears by the more rearward ranks. It charges on the run. It is like an
avalanche, thundering, screaming, bristling with steel. Its momentum is
incredible. It can shatter walls. When two such formations meet in a
field, the clash can be heard for pasangs. One does not meet the phalanx
unless it be with another phalanx. One avoids it, one outmaneuvers it.
"Our auxiliaries then drove the tharlarion, maddened and hissing, back
into the phalanx. In the skies our tarnsmen turned aside the mercenaries
of Artemidorus. They then rained arrows upon the shattered phalanx. While
the spearmen lifted their shields to protect themselves from the sky, our
squares swept down the slopes upon them."
I nodded. I continued to regard the female before me. It was said she was
from Earth. I lifted my paga to my lips, from the low table behind which I
sat, cross-legged.
She regarded me, as she danced her beauty before me.
"The field was ours," said the man. "Vonda herself now lies open to our
troops!"
I nodded. I did not take my eyes from the dancer. Her eyes on me were
sensuous and hot, those of a true slave. It was hard for me to believe
that she was really from Earth.
"The women of Vonda will soon be emptied into our slave markets," said the
man.
"It will lower prices," said another, gloomily.
"I have heard," said anther, "that forces from Port Olni are marching to
the relief of Vonda."
"Our men will turn northeast to meet them," said another. ROGUE OF
GOR-, (15) Pages 10-12
"What news of the war is there?" I
asked the fellow who was guarding the long line of pleasure racks. "I have
just come from Ar."
"We have been successful here," he said, "defeating in battle both the
forces of Vonda and those of the tarnsmen of Atemidorus of Cos. Vonda is
being sacked. The city burns. This is a victory camp, one for loot and
pleasure. ROGUE OF GOR-, (15) Page 23
"Do even the slaves here know that
I am the courier fo Rganer Voskjard?" I asked.
"Of coures," said Policrates. "To celebrate your arrival, and the bringing
of the pledge of the topaz, this very feast has been commanded. Indeed,
even if it were not so, it is difficult to keep rumors of such matters
from the kitchens and kennels. The little sluts, even in their chains, are
prone to gossip and are eager for the least tidbit of news." ROGUE
OF GOR-, (15) Page 192
"The citadels of Policrates and
Ragnar Voskjard have been burned, I heard," I said.
"Yes," said Tasdron. The citadel of Ragnar Voskjard had been fled by its
defenders, after the news of the battle at Victoria reached them, they
knowing themselves too few to defend it against a concerted siege.
GUARDSMAN OF GOR-, (16) Page 243
I was not a slave, of course! But,
if I happened to be, why was Speusippus acting as he was? I doubted that
he would deny me the collar out of spite. More likely he would put it on
me and then try to make me regret I wore it. Too, if I were not a natural
slave, was it not now time that he put me in a collar? I, a free woman,
had been forced, to my humiliation and shame, to serve as though I might
be a slave. Surely the next natural step in his vengeance would be to make
me a legal slave and own me. Would it not be a splendid jest, now, to take
Sheila, the Tatrix of Corcyrus, to the shop of a metal worker, to see her
writhe and scream under the iron, to have her fitted with a collar and
then lock it on her throat, to make her an actual slave? But he did not
seem to have any intention of doing so. What fate, then, I wondered, might
Speusippus of Turia have in mind for me?
I wrung out the last tunic, and rolled it up, and put it with the others.
They could be unrolled and laid out to dry on the wagons.
"What is the news, Tina?" I asked.
"About what?" she asked.
"About anything," I said.
"There is not much," she said. "There is some fear for the Sa-Tarna crop,
because of the great deal of rain. There is going to be a celebration in
Ar because of the birthday of Marlenus, the Ubar there. Lactantius thinks
that is important."
"Is there any news from the west?" I asked.
"The usual," she said.
"What is that?" I asked.
"You have heard about the escape of the Tatrix of Corcyrus?" she asked.
"No," I said.
"That is strange," she said. "It happened some days ago. There is a great
search on, for her."
"I did not know that," I said. "Where do they think she went?
"No one knows," said Tina.
"Oh," I said.
"There is now a reward of a thousand gold pieces for her," she said.
"That is a great deal of money," I said. I felt sick. KAJIRA OF
GOR-, (19) Pages 247-248
The group outside, doubtless on a
rented barge, was not the first to pass beneath the narrow windows of the
house of Samos this evening. There were now several such groups in the
city. Their hand-printed handbills and hand-painted posters, the latter
pasted on the sides of buildings and on the news boards, were much in
evidence. All this had to do with the approach of the Twelfth Passage
Hand, which preceded the Waiting Hand. The Waiting Hand, the five-day
period preceding the vernal equinox, the first day of spring, is a very
solemn time for most Goreans. During this time few ventures are embarked
upon, and little or no business is conducted. During this time most
Goreans remain within their houses. It is in this time that the doors of
many homes are sealed with pitch and have nailed to them branches of the
brak bush, the leaves of which have a purgative effect. These precautions,
and others like them, are intended to discourage the entry of ill luck
into the houses. PLAYERS OF GOR-, (20) Pages 9-10
"Do not mind Parthanx and Sorath,"
said a tall, broad shouldered fellow sitting cross-legged beside me. He,
too, like Genserix, had long, braided hair and a yellow mustache. Too like
Genserix, he was blue-eyed. Many of the Alars are fair in complexion,
blond-haired and blue-eyed. "They jest. They are the camp wits," he
explained. "Many folks come to the wagons, as you know, informers,
slavers, tradesmen, metal workers, craftsmen, peasants who will barter
produce for skins and trinkets, and so on. If this were not so we could
not easily have the goods we have, nor could we keep up as well with the
news. If it were not so, we would be too cut off from the world. We would
consequently be unable to conduct our affairs as judiciously as we do."
MERCENARIES OF GOR-, (21) Pages 47-48
The tenth Ahn was the Gorean noon.
The square would be crowded at that time. To be sure, it is crowded in
different ways at different times, during the day. In the morning the
peasants arrange their baskets of produce. Much shopping is done in the
early morning. Later the stalls and shops around the square roll back
their screens and shutters and open for business. Later men come for
gossiping and the exchange of news. DANCER OF GOR-, (22) Pages
278-279
The baths, in many Gorean cities
and towns, are convenient and popular gathering places. One can pick up
the latest news and gossip there, for example. RENEGADES OF GOR-,
(23) Page 58
We looked at the tall, cylindrical
structure which lay on a promontory, at the southwesternmost point of the
harbor. It was perhaps one hundred and fifty feet high. It tapered upward,
and was perhaps some twenty feet in diameter at the top. It was yellow and
red, in horizontal sections, the colors of the Builders and Warriors, the
Builders the caste that had supervised its construction and the Warriors
the caste that maintained its facilities. It was as much a keep as a
landmark. At night, in virtue of fires and mirrors, it served as a beacon.
This morning a dispatch ship had been ushered through the advance ships,
bringing news of some sort to Calliodorus. He had shared this with
Aemilianus, it seemed. On the other hand, whatever might have been the
contents of the sealed leather cylinder delivered into this hands with
signs and countersigns I did not know. The dispatch ship had then hurried
back, ahead of the flotilla, to Port Cos. RENEGADES OF GOR-, (23)
Page 411
"There will soon be news from
Torcadino," I told Marcus.
He looked at me, puzzled.
"Here, girl," I said to Ina, and she hurried to me.
"Why are you hooding me?" she asked.
"It may already be in the paga taverns," I said.
"I myself," he said, "have heard something the import of which I might
like to convey to you."
"I think I have heard the same," I said. "It is much about the camp."
"I cannot see," said Ina.
"That is the purpose of a slave hood," I said.
"I am not a slave," she said.
"They fit quite as well on free women," I said. "You refer," I said to
Marcus, "to the supposedly secret news, that which is not to be posted on
the boards in the Cosian camp."
"I would imagine so," said Marcus.
"That which pertains to the sum of one hundred pieces of gold?"
"Yes," he said.
"A tidy sum," I said.
"Why are you leashing me?" asked Ina.
"Why should there be news soon from Torcadino?" he asked.
"I have reason to believe that such will arrive soon," I said.
"Perhaps you would enlighten me as to the source of your conjectures?" he
remarked.
"It has to do with something which I saw this evening, returning from the
sutlers’ area, on the road, near the Cosian camp."
"That is all you will tell me?" he asked.
"That is all, for now," I said. "Put your hands behind your back," I told
Ina.
I then snapped them into slave bracelets. VAGABONDS OF GOR-, (24)
Pages 397-398
Often, of course, one does not
make use of the girl who comes with the drink. Many men, for example, come
to such a tavern merely to drink, to hear the news, to visit with friends,
such things. Some come to them to play Kaissa. If one is interested in a
particular girl, of course, it is a simple matter to summon her to your
table. VAGABONDS OF GOR-, (24) Pages 401-402
"Have you heard the news?" a
fellow was eagerly asking another, outside, in the main paga room. The
music had stopped. A dancer had fled back behind a beaded curtain,
dismissed by the czehar player, he who led the musicians.
"No," said the other.
Men gathered about, and I joined them, confident of the nature of what was
to be reported, yet not informed as to the details.
"Dietrich of Tarnburg has withdrawn from Torcadino!" said the fellow.
"Impossible," said another.
"Myron has Torcadino encircled with rings of iron," said another. "The
main force of Cos on the continent is at Torcadino."
"When did this occur?" asked a man.
"Weeks ago," said a man.
"Have you heard of it?" asked the fellow who had been so eager to
communicate.
"Two days ago," said the fellow who had mentioned the weeks. "News has
apparently been suppressed."
If this were true, it was not surprising. I could well imagine Myron being
somewhat reluctant to have it broadcast about that his supposedly
helplessly trapped quarry had somehow slipped out of his grasp. Indeed,
men might have died in his attempt to contain this intelligence.
"Is it dangerous to speak of it?" asked the first fellow.
"I would not think so now," said the fellow.
"I have heard something of this just this evening," said a man. "It is all
over the city."
"I have come from Ven," said another. "It is known there."
"I have heard nothing of it," said one of the patrons. "Speak, I pray
you."
Various of the fellows looked around. In the group there were fellows from
Brundisium, oarsmen, merchants, mercenaries, Cosian regulars, others. All
seemed eager to learn what might have occurred. I did not see any Cosian
officers present, or anyone who looked as though they may be interested in
arresting the transmission of this matter.
"I will speak what I have heard," said a man, "if no one objects."
"No one objects," said a fellow, looking about.
"It must be understood clearly," said the man, "that what I speak now is
spoken generally, and spoken by hundreds of others, and thus, if any
breach of security is involved in this, it is not one for which I am
responsible. Further, I am not intentionally breaching any confidence,
nor, as far as I know is security even involved in this matter, at least
now. Further, I do not vouch for the accuracy of what I have heard, but
merely repeat it, and only at the earnest instigation of others. Indeed, I
mention it openly only in order that we may scoff at it, none of us
extending to it serious consideration. Indeed, it is so absurd that it
cannot be true. I am, thus, merely for our amusement, speaking what is
clearly false."
"Speak," said a man.
"Speak!" said another.
"Dietrich has escaped Torcadino!" he said.
"With his men?" asked a fellow.
"With men and slaves," said the fellow.
"Impossible," said a man.
"I agree, totally," said our narrator. He was, I suspected, a scribe of
the law. Certainly he seemed a circumspect fellow. VAGABONDS OF
GOR-, (24) Pages 410-412
I saw, to my satisfaction, that
the men were not completely convinced of this. News, on Gor, of course,
does not travel in a uniform, reliable fashion. Too, given the distances
and the modes of transportation, and occasionally the hardships and peril
of travel, it does not always move quickly. Too, it can depend on things
as simple as the luck of a messenger, and who speaks to whom. There were
doubtless many cities on Gor which did not even know, as yet, of the fall
of Ar’s Station. Too, as one might expect, in such a milieu, rumors tend
to be rampant. If it is often difficult even in a Ubar’s court, perhaps
because of the shadings and distortions of reports from subsidiary cities
and towns, to ascertain exactly what happened, one may well imagine the
problems encountered by the populace in general, in the markets, the baths
and taverns. VAGABONDS OF GOR-, (24) Page 467
"Here it is," said Marcus, calling
back to me, "on the public boards." The public boards are posting areas,
found at many points in Ar, usually in plazas and squares. These boards
were along the Avenue of the Central Cylinder , and were state boards, on
which official communiqués, news releases, announcements and such, could
be posted. Some boards are maintained by private persons, who sell space
on them for advertising, notifications, and personal messages. To be sure,
many folks, presumably poorer folks, or at least folks less ready to part
with a tarsk bit, simply inscribe their messages, in effect as graffiti,
on pillars, walls of buildings, and such. Too, posters, and such, usually
hand-inked, are common in public places, usually put up by the owners or
managers of palestrae, or gymnasiums, public baths, taverns, race courses,
theaters, and such. Sales of tharlarion and slaves, too, are commonly
thusly advertised. Heralds and criers, too, and carriers of signs, are not
unknown. Some proprietors rent space in their shops or places of business
for small postings. So, too, similarly, some homeowners who live on busy
streets charge a fee for the use of their exterior walls. There are many
other forms of communication and advertising as well, such as the parades
of acrobats, jugglers, clowns, animal trainers, mimes and such, and the
passage of flatbedded display wagons through the streets on which snatches
of performances, intended to whet the viewer’s interests, are presented,
or, say, slaves are displayed usually decorously clad, in connection with
imminent sales at various markets and barns. The viewer, or the male
viewer, at any rate, understands that the decorous attire of the imbonded
beauties of the moving platform is not likely to be worn in the exposition
cages or on the block. There is a Gorean saying that only a fool buys a
woman clothed. On these platforms the women are usually chained only by an
ankle, that there will be but little interference with their movements and
their appeals to the crowds. On the other hand, some owners, who prefer
more obvious restraints for their women, who are, after all, slaves, use
flatbedded wagons with mounted slave bars of various sorts, sometimes with
intricate chainings or couplings. Similarly, stout, multiply locked cage
wagons may be used for a similar purpose. MAGICIANS OF GOR-, (25)
Pages 75-76
Kudos to you, Mr. Norman for writing the Gorean series!
A rich, yet utterly simple saga; a world, a time, a people;
those of the Counter-Earth .. the planet .. Gor.
Thank you!
The material presented herein was researched and compiled by me,
naia{Saul}.
The material referenced comes from John Norman's Gor Series, The
Counter-Earth Saga.
This is a work in process.
Please, do not take, copy, duplicate, or use this work as your own.
If you find it valuable enough to share, please .. share the link to this
page.
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