Gezinus the physician sat in the infirmary going over his notes. The infirmary was close to the great library of Cardonicus, and he could see the building from his study window. It was late, the sun making its way to slumber. Already one of the three moons of Gor was rising in the sky. He walked over to the window and sighed. The library was in darkness, there was no sign of the scribe his intended companion, or her slave. This was very odd. She should have returned a long time ago. They were supposed to be having dinner that evening. He had wished to discuss their plans for companionship.
Then he saw a glow, from the upper levels of the library tower. He cursed to himself, “Damn that woman! Poring over some legal scroll no doubt.” He would go over there and chastise her for making him wait. He often wondered if her precious scrolls were more important than him. She was so secretive about some of them. It irked him. This would change once she was contracted to him, he decided...not for the first time. He laughed then at their previous discussion on the matter.
She had been most particular on some matters, especially her wealth and slaves. “Now I would prefer that my own personal slaves were restricted to me.” She meant with him sexually, she didn’t want him touching her female slaves. Though it would be his right once they were companioned. Usually a man had a right to the woman's possessions unless of course there was some stipulation in the contract. Lady Lefay would make sure there were many stipulations.
Gezinus was pacing about in her library. He hated this part of the negotiations. He just wanted her in his couch with him, and he did like her personal slave Waterlilly. “Restricted? He looked at her.
“In other words not for your furring use.”
“Restricted.” What an insult to his manhood.
“Aye.”
“But need a proper training.”
“My girls can serve you in other ways.”
“They need to know how to serve a Master.”
“Well they are still white,” Virgins she meant, though her personal slave Waterlilly was not.
“If I can not use your slaves, how about us....?”
“Us?”
“Yes us?”
“What about us?”
“About us Lady?” Damn her, he thought. “I am a son of a healer. I want my children to become healers.”
“You are speaking of our caste?” She smiled behind her veils. How she loved to tease him and wrap him up in legal jargon and intricacies. She wasn’t a magistrate for nothing.
“Yes my Lady.” He sighed, they would speak of cast then.
“We are both high caste, are we not? So there is no problem there. Now onto our coin.” Lefay avoided his real question with ease. Gezinus paced around the room angry. “Whats wrong dear?” Lefay asked sweetly.
“Wrong?” He grumbled, “You treat me like a fool.” He noticed the slave Waterlilly smirk to herself.
Lefay soothed, “Of course not dear, be calm. Say what is on your mind.”
Gezinus was not calm and he walked over to the slave. Slaves were known to gossip among themselves, particularly about their owners. He looked down on the girl, who had suddenly taken all expression from her face. “If you ever tell this to anyone, I’ll whip your brains out of your head.”
“This one will never speak Master.” The girl replied.
“Right, now we have that cleared up.” Lefay said, though to Gezinus they had not cleared up what he wanted. “Onto our gold and properties. I don't think we need to share our properties.”
“True, no need for that.” Gezinus already had plenty of coin, not as much as Lefay he supposed. But he wasn’t interested in her wealth. Or for that matter how she seemed to accumulate so much. At least she had agreed on the cast of their future children, an important subject in its own right as all things relating to cast was for Goreans. This meant she would have to go to couch with him. That’s what he wanted. To finally get under all those veils and wrappings she wore.
Lefay smiled again, that part had been easier than she imagined “Well then I can't think of anything else.” She was making notes as they spoke. They would have to get another scribe to make the contract, and have witnesses. “Oh there’s the witnesses. I would like my friend Ana there.”
Gezinus “That's no problem Lady.”
“No problem...” Gezinus recalled the meeting. He had to admit she could twist him around her little finger. He liked that she was so clever, though he didn’t need the whole of Gor to know how she did this to him. “No problem.” He mused now looking over to the darkened library. But there was a problem, in that she was never this late.
Throwing a cloak on he wandered over to the library and tried the latch. It was locked and that was unusual if she was in the building. He went around the side to a small back door, it was unlocked. He walked in not bothering that it made a clattering sound when it closed on him. He heard something drop upstairs. He would go up and catch her out, he grinned to himself.
But before he could reach the spiral staircase a man descended and pushed him out of the way. The stranger ran through the swinging small door, he brandished a sword and escaped out into the darkness of the streets.
“Hold!” Gezinus cried out. He followed but when outside the man had disappeared from view. Gezinus returned to the library and climbed the stair case. All seemed well but he had an awful foreboding in his heart. Where was Lefay, where was her slave? He ran back out to sound an alarm. There was a great bell just outside the library main doors. He pounded it with the hammer and all hell broke loose in the city. Guards came running to the library, shouts were made, they had unsheathed their swords.
Alf ran up to Gezinus followed by Pelopidas, and not far behind their Captain Storm. Alf looked to the sky always wary of flying tarns, the giant war birds used by warriors, “Who attacks us?” He cried ready for anything.
“Lefay, its Lefay!” Gezinus shouted at the guard.
Storm pushed his way through the guards, “By the Priest Kings man, what are you doing, are we attacked?”
“No, I don’t know, its Lefay she is missing. She has not returned.”
“Not returned?” Storm was about to punch Gezinus in the face for this. It was against the law to ring the great bells without need. Instead he grabbed Gezinus by the collar, “What do you mean. You don’t ring bells just because your woman has not visited you!”
More warriors ran up the hill towards the library to be met by Alf and Pelopidas laughing. “A love struck physician,” Pelopidas guffawed. Storm did not find it amusing.
“You better explain physician,” He growled at Gezinus.
“A man has just run from this library and Lefay has not returned from Piedmont.” Gezinus breathed. “I think the man had broken into the library, though I don’t know why, but something is not right. He ran out the door and carried a great sword.”
Pelopidas face grew dark and he pushed away Storms hand. “A tall dark haired man you say?” Gezinus nodded. Pelopidas looked to Storm.
Storm yelled at his men, “Lower all gates, scour the city, we look for this fiend and Lefay if she can be found.” He ordered.
The city was on lock down. All warriors had been readied and searched the city. Some patrolled the high walls. It was not unheard of for a woman to be taken by a tarn rider from an enemy city. But there were none of these great birds in the sky, apart from one that flew about. It was rode by Alf swooping over the fields and roads that lead from the city. The roads were quiet, the fields empty.
Back at the guard room Storm questioned the physician. “When did she leave?” He said calmly to Gezinus, though he was far from calm inside. Pelopidas hovered nearby and remarked, “I knew that fellow would return, Lefay does not make reports over nothing.”
“Early this morning, at first light. She said she was taking a guard, though not who.” Gezinus replied, he felt a fool. He knew the guards thought him weak. Though they were sure to come for him when wounded, he knew they thought little of any man that did not carry a sword.
“You didn’t think to ask her?” Storm was incredulous, “And her your intended I heard. Didn’t you think it unwise for her to travel out of the city without a proper guard, and who that might be. That is your duty man!” He snapped.
“It is his right as her intended to make sure, and no guards from here left with her Storm.” Pelopidas added.
Gezinus sighed, they were right, and he had asked, but Lefay had told him not to fuss. She went traveling all the time to Piedmont. They had no scribe there, apart from that woman Tomas, and Lefay had wanted to know what mischief Tomas had been doing in the village.
They heard the great tarns cry in the sky above them and all looked up. It was Alf returned. Shortly after he entered the guard room.
“No sign, and the clouds have covered the skies now. Its too dark to see anything.”
Storm thumped his desk. “We can do nothing until light. Then we can send out a search party.” He looked at Gezinus, “If she is harmed, you know that there will be no companionship for you. You’ll be lucky to keep up your practice in the city after this.”
Back at the panther camp Lady Lefay sat in the dirt looking up at a blond woman. The leader of the panthers was prancing about in a pair of Lefay’s block shoes she had found in her scribes bag. Lefay had thought to wear them at Piedmont just to annoy Tomas. Now she wasn’t interested in such frivolities. Lefay was dirty, her gown had been torn to above her legs. She had been unveiled, an insult to a free woman. She wore an old leather collar about her neck. It was pulled tight to the post Lefay was tied to.
All about on the ground was strewn her belongings, scrolls, quills, a couple of small books. One of the panthers was tearing pages from one and throwing them on the camp fire. They were mostly illiterate. They laughed and tormented Lefay. The noise at times was deafening, the howling and guffaws. Lefay wanted to put her hands to her ears, but they were tied too, behind her. Instead she closed her eyes...
