The Slave Market

The hatch leading up to the deck was raised. A Whip-Deldar and some guards climbed down the ladder to the slaves.

"Everyone up!" the Deldar roared, while he began unchaining the slaves from the deck. They remained still chained to each other, so that none would think of flight. The Deldar, called Sliko the Snake, used his whip indiscriminately to apply encouragement, as he called it, to the prisoners. When his whip was about to strike Markam, Tarsom threw himself in between with a yell. With a roar just as loud the guards fell on him and struck him down. Markam, who was chained in front, tried to protect him and was likewise struck down. Subsequently, one pulled the resisting slaves towards the hatch and ordered them to climb.

"The next one who makes trouble becomes fish fodder! " Sliko the Snake roared.

Complaining and groaning, the slaves shuffled up the ladder, hindered again and again by their chains. Nath, who was chained in front of Markam, tried to pull the half-stunned man upward, while Jilian shoved Tarsom from behind. They came up on deck with difficulty. There all the slaves were forced to stand in line. All were more or less naked, dirty and stank terribly. A gentle breeze blew from the sea over the ship. Jilian greedily sucked the fresh spicy air. What a pleasure!

A fat sweaty man, dressed in loud colors and fingers covered in rings, scrutinized each individual slave. The Whip-Deldar followed behind. Each slave who pleased the fat man was unchained and sent to the side. When the slave trader came to Paline, he looked at her carefully, then checked her arms and teeth with his thick fingers. Paline, trembling, submitted to all this. Obviously the examination turned out to the man's satisfaction, for he had Paline unchained and sent her to join the other selected slaves. Now it was Jilian's turn. The smell of sweat penetrated into her nose and mixed with the fresh sea air, which she was still gratefully inhaling. Disgusted, she averted her face. This of course did not go unnoticed. Even as Sliko once again lifted his whip to punish her, the fat man laid his hand on Sliko's arm to stop him.

"Not yet, Sliko! "

"She was not well brought up, Pantor Mopser. I will teach her some manners."

"Wait, the captain said, these are all fresh slaves. Let us give her some time to come to her senses."

With an oily smile he turned to Jilian. "Surely, my little dove, you don't want any trouble? Do you want to please your new lord and master? Or would you be rather be sold with the scum over there to the quarries?" He pointed to the slaves whom he had not chosen during his selection. When these heard where they were to be sold a groan went through their line. Jilian, on the other hand, looked Mopser contemptuously in the face and said nothing.

Mopser felt Jilian's arms and tried also to check her teeth. Immediately Jilian bit down enthusiastically and Mopser withdrew his thick finger with a yelp of pain. Sliko began now to strike Jilian ruthlessly-which was what Jilian had been waiting for. With a deft move of her hand, so fast that none could quite see it, she snatched the whip from Sliko. With a quick toss she took the handle into her hand, lashed out with lightning speed, and the end of the whip was suddenly wound tight around Sliko's neck. A jerk, a crack, and without another sound Sliko fell dead on the deck, directly at Tarsom's feet.

This all took place within a few seconds. Only now did the other guards react. All ran at the same instant towards Jilian. The first to draw near paid for his speed with an eye. As he fell back with a cry, he took the second guard down with him. Mopser, who still stood speechlessly sucking at his finger, was likewise dragged down. The three formed a wild, crying, struggling ball, which impeded the other three guards from approaching Jilian. A few sailors watched open-mouthed. Tarsom, who was still supporting Markam, face distorted with pain, threw himself on the dead Sliko and tore his sword from its sheath with a jerk, stabbed the third guard while still in his prone position, then quickly pulled the key to the slave chains from Sliko's belt, and threw it to Nath. While Nath immediately set to opening his chains in order to then release the others, Jilian's whip wound around the neck of the fourth guard with a snap, yet another sharp crack and this guard also was on his way to the ice floes of Sicce.

While Nath began as soon as possible to open his chains in order also then to release the others, Jilian's whip wound itself smacking around the neck of the fourth guard. Another sharp crack and this guard was also on his way to the Ice Floes of Sicce. Before Tarsom could take care of the fifth, he jumped over board in total panic.

Meanwhile Nath had released Paline and Markam. Tarsom was next in the line. All this had transpired in mere seconds. Now the slaves began to howl and pull at their chains. As Jilian's chains finally fell, Nath threw the key to one of the slaves who was at hand, relieving the guards of their weapons. As renewed tumult arose around the lucky holder of the key, Jilian, Markam and his companions ran to the seaward side of the ship. While running, Jilian coiled the whip and slung it over her shoulder. They shoved few incredulous sailors out of the way, Markam seizing a knife from one, and then they all leapt simultaneously into the water.

The harbor water closed over them.

A clean, refreshing coolness enveloped Jilian as she slowly sank downward. She opened her eyes and looked around in all directions. To the side and above, Tarsom and Markam slowly began to rise upward, while Paline tried to haul the wildly thrashing Nath to the surface. Jilian attempted to swim towards them, when she detected a moving shadow out of the corner of her eye in the other direction. Jilian was no coast-dweller and was not particularly familiar with sea-creatures. But it was clear to her that this beast now approaching was dangerous. The slim gray shadow, about three meters long, approached. Obviously it intended to get by Jilian to Nath, who was churning up the water around him with wild flails of panic. This agitation attracted the animal. Nath would stand no chance against it. Markam noticed Nath's panic and swam towards him, while Tarsom broke the surface, took a deep breath, and submerged again to look for Jilian. She was slowly running out of air, but did not move until the large marauding fish passed close by. She gripped its dorsal fin securely with her right hand. She took a grip and felt a shock travel through her arm as if it were to be yanked out. The air was squeezed from her lungs. Her left hand also grasped the dorsal fin and with an enormous effort she locked her legs around the animal.

Now Tarsom had realized the danger and swam towards Jilian and the fish. He had not released the sword since breaking free. It hindered his swimming and he approached slowly. The fish meanwhile was by no means done with its rider. Furiously it thrashed and tried to bite and shake Jilian loose. It tossed wildly, while the last bits of air squeezed from Jilian's lungs. Stars were dancing before her eyes, when the animal broke through the water surface. As Jilian greedily drew a breath, the fish was already headed back to the depths. Without her ability as a Zorca-rider she would have long since been thrown off. Then Tarsom was there and thrust his sword deep into the flank of the raging fish. By a hairsbreadth he hit Jilian's left leg as well. In its death-throes the beast dove straight down into the depths. Tarsom could not free his sword from the animal's body and was dragged along. Jilian tried to loosen her cramped hands from the fin but her fingernails had dug deeply into the fish's flesh and her curved fingers were stiff from the cold water.

In a foaming, bloody cloud the fish went into the deadly depths. Tarsom pulled frantically with both hands at his sword, which he by no means wanted to lose to the dying sea-predator. Finally he pulled it free. Jilian slowly lost consciousness and bubbles were rising from her mouth, when finally her hands loosened. Immediately thereafter she felt Tarsom putting an arm around her hip and pulling her after him to the refuge of the surface. Water was beginning to seep into her lungs, when her head finally emerged from the water and, coughing, she struggled for air.

"By Pandrite!" Tarsom said, "That was close."

Meanwhile Markam and Paline had grabbed Nath securely on both sides and had pulled him close to the ship's side. The bulging belly of the Argenter curved up highly over them, so that one could not see it from above. Tarsom swam to the others, pulling Jilian behind him. Now they could be seen neither from the ship from nor from the port. Treading water, they remained under the cover of the ship's hull. Fortunately there were no high waves in the port. Only occasionally were they pushed against the side of the ship. Since their leap overboard mere moments had passed. The fight had taken place very fast. Suddenly voices sounded above them:

"Look, blood everywhere. They did not escape punishment. The old chank got them."

"I would have punished them more harshly than the chank and afterwards they would still have been of use!" That was clearly the voice of Mopser, the slave trader.

"Well, the rasts are dead in any case. Let's take care of the others still running around loose. I have no desire to see my entire profit run away." That must be the captain.

Footsteps dwindled into the distance. Then it became quiet.

Jilian had desperately suppressed her cough. Now she discharged her breath with a gasp. "Which onker had the Opaz-forsaken idea to flee into the water?"

"Now," Markam said, "I took it to be our best chance. And if we manage to get away from the ship unseen, then we have done it. They think us dead."

"Except for to the fact that Nath cannot swim, we were all almost eaten by a giant fish, and that they are looking everywhere for the others who escaped, and thus may also discover us again, it was a good idea." commented Jilian. "And how, Markam the Brilliant, do we get away from here?"

"Well, I thought, we would simply wait until dark and then sneak ashore."

"Oh, you holy simpleton!" Jilian exploded, "and in the meantime Nath has drowned and the rest of us have been nibbled by the fish. A wonderful plan." Jilian's voice dripped with sarcasm.

Annoyed, Markam waved his free hand, squirting water into Jilian's face. "You need not have come along."

Jilian took a deep breath in order to shoot back a suitable response, when Tarsom cut them short: "Tsleetha-tsleethi, both of you, this accomplishes nothing. Opposite from port are a few small islands. They are too small to be inhabited and no one will seek us there. Since the other escaped slaves vanished in the city, we can wait there in peace until everything has calmed down." Tarsom pointed to a few islands, which could barely be detected in the mist.

"And how do we get there without being seen? It is rather far to these islands and Nath cannot swim." Jilian was skeptical.

Tarsom searched in all directions. "Over there, that fishing boat will take us."

"What? You want to steal a boat, too? Isn't it enough that they are already hunting us? I knew it. All Menaham are rotten."

Nath shot an evil glance at Jilian.

"We will pay for our passage, once we are home again", he said with a gurgle, his mouth dipping repeatedly under the water.

"Oh, yes, certainly. Well, then. As nothing better occurs to me, we are agreed."

"Wait here." Tarsom turned around and swam along the hull of the ship towards the fishing boat.

"No problem," muttered Jilian to herself, "It is so cosy here, we will just stay and relax awhile." But Tarsom did not hear.

Nath looked fearfully into the water again and again, but there were no more predatory fish around to present a danger to them. Probably it had been a rogue that had strayed into the harbor basin. Soon Tarsom was back with a boat, which he pulled on a line behind himself. While above them rang out the crack of whips and cries of pain from the slaves who failed to escape, they shoved with joint effort first Nath and then Paline into the boat. Nath lay like a wet bag on the bottom of the boat, breathing hard.

"Now you, Jilian!" Markam said.

"I thought that in Menaham women counted for nothing and came last? One of us must pull the boat. Rowing would be too conspicuous. Get in!"

"I have said already that we want to change Menaham, in all areas of life. First I will pull the boat, and then Tarsom can take my place." Markam was clearly insulted. Tarsom grinned broadly, seized Jilian around the hips and tossed her over the edge of the boat.

"How do they say it so prettily in Clishdrin? Shishis first?"

"It goes: Koteras first, and it is a Vallian saying! I will pull the boat after Markam." Now Jilian was annoyed. She settled herself completely in the boat and made room for Tarsom.

"Don't make so much noise!" Paline hissed. "When they have driven the slaves from board, it will be quiet enough for them to hear us. "

"By then we will already be some distance away. Lie down flat, so you will be not discovered." Markam took the line and began laboriously pulling the boat behind himself. Once it was in motion, it went more easily.

They found a large wax-impregnated cloth in the boat, which was probably meant for preventing the boat from filling with rain. This Tarsom spread carefully over everyone, before also creeping under it.

Slowly the boat moved away from land. To a casual observer it appeared as if it had slipped loose and drifted unattended towards the open sea. The observer would most likely remark jokingly about the careless owner thereafter ignore it. The port was built into a natural bay. Its opening to the sea was blocked by some small islands. Between them were narrow channels which permitted navigation, but by their tightness made a hostile or predatory assault more difficult. Markam headed for the middle and largest of these islands. The large, heavy boat advanced only slowly. After approximately halfway Jilian slipped unnoticed by the others over the bow into the water.

"Your relief!"

"The boat is too heavy for you!"

"You are exhausted. We will pull together."

"Do you never give in?" Markam sighed and held the loop in the line so that Jilian could also pull.

"Only once in a while." Jilian grinned and put her arm through the loop. Now shoulder-to-shoulder they now pulled the boat, which moved noticeably faster. "However I gave you time enough to see that you cannot make it alone. "

"But not enough time for Tarsom to replace me," complained Markam.

"He is also exhausted. First he was beaten up and then killed the fish."

"You also fought against the chank, and I also was beaten."

"However he also fetched the boat."

" Arghh, always must she have the last word. Shishis!"

"Men! "

From then on they swam in silence next to each other. Slowly the island drew nearer. Already from a distance a flat bare sandy beach could be seen, giving way after a few meters to a small forest. The suns burned down hot. It was around the hour of mid. As the water chilled their bodies more and more, dragging the boat became harder and harder, and their faces reddened. On the last stretch they got help from Tarsom. Markam, who was by now completely spent, allowed himself to be replaced. Since he had not the strength to pull himself aboard, he clung to the rope behind Jilian and Tarsom and let himself be pulled.

Soon they reached the shore. After all had stepped out, they pulled the boat together onto the beach and from there into the brush. They camouflaged it with branches and then fell beside it exhausted. For a while there was nothing to be heard but the sound of gasping, then Jilian struggled to her feet.

"I will check whether we are really alone on this island. "

"Let me help you."

Jilian turned, surprised, to Paline. "You? All right, but be careful! You go to the right, I'll go to the left. When we meet, we return by the center."

Carefully the two women moved away through the brush. Half a Bur later they met on the other side of the island.

"Have you seen anyone?"

"No, Jilian. And you?"

"I neither. We return by the center. Then we can be fairly sure that we missed nothing.

In the center of the island a surprise waited for them.

"A spring!" Paline called excitedly and approached it directly.

"Stop, Paline! Let us first completely investigate the area!"

But it was too late. Paline was on her belly in front of the spring and drinking deeply. Jilian seethed with rage. Nevertheless she remained under cover and waited. But she heard nothing but the slurping of Paline. Finally Jilian also approached the spring, but not without looking around a few times. Annoyed, she grabbed Paline's shoulder.

"If someone had been nearby, you would have been heard and we would have been discovered."

"But there is nobody here," countered Paline stubbornly.

At that moment a nearby branch cracked, as if a foot had stepped on it and it had broken. Paline jerked and looked around in fear, while Jilian took the whip from her shoulder with a quick motion and took a defensive stance, looking into the brush. In the next instant she straightened up in relief, because the three who now stepped into the clearing, were Markam, Tarsom and Nath. Nath looked somewhat embarrassed, while Tarsom and Markam seemed irritated.

"We heard a woman's voice call and thought you were in danger," said Markam. "Of course Nath had to step directly on a branch.

"I did not see it! " Nath defended himself.

"Nothing happened to us. Paline found a spring. It was her voice, which you heard. We saw no tracks of animals or humans. This island seems to be uninhabited. "

"Thanks be to Pandrite! Then finally we can rest and drink. When night falls, we can make our way go ashore away from the city." While Markam was still sighing in relief, Nath had already dropped to the spring and begun to drink greedily. Now they all approached and took turns satisfying their thirst.

"Ahh, by Mother Zinzu the Blessed, I needed that!" Refreshed, Jilian dropped backwards into the grass.

"Of this Mother Zinzu I have never heard, but the expression pleases me," said Tarsom.

"It is a toast from the Eye of the World. However, one normally uses it when drinking wine. I learned it from a good friend."

" Your friend must have traveled far." Tarsoms voice betrayed obvious curiosity.

"That he has, indeed."

"What is his name?"

But Jilian did not answer. When Tarsom, surprised by her silence, bent over her, he saw that she had fallen asleep. "A shame. I would have enjoyed a good story just now."

Tired, he dropped into the grass beside Jilian. Markam had settled against a rock next to the spring and dozed. The body of the Peaceful, which looked however more like a warriors one, was situated there relaxed. A strand of his long dark hair was fallen into his face and moved with each of his breaths. Only Nath and Paline still showed signs of liveliness. "Nath, Paline, please watch over us for a few burs. Afterwards we can relieve you." Before either could answer, he too had fallen asleep.