Archive for the ‘Tarnwald’ Category
Exploring Tarnwald
Monday, August 12th, 2024Exploring the city of Tarnwald.
SHE WHO MUST OBEY ~ Or My Life as a Warrior PART 5
Saturday, November 1st, 2014Heavy rains batter the city of Tarnwald (2013)
SHE WHO MUST OBEY ~ Or My Life as a Warrior PART 5
By Teal Razor, slave of Captain Siri Emerald Jr., Olni
I am anxious to finish up the recounting of my kidnapping from Earth and early life on Gor that I related to my Master one cool evening in En-Var. I remember that I left off in the part of the tale where the Ubar of Port Kalana, my Master at the time, went stark raving bonkers.
Well, after the Ubar left the city, a city Administrator was put in charge of dispersing the madman’s property. I knelt under his scrutiny and the sneers of his personal slave. This Admin took one look at me and said, “No one in this city will buy you, in fact, I can’t even give you away. Free citizens speak your name and spit on the ground at the same time. I see no alternative, slut, than to take you back to the city your former Master had purchased you from and see if any there will take you off my hands.” His personal slave told me in a low voice what a piece of sleen crap I was. Vengence is mine sayeth Teal.
The three of us, the Administrator, his slut, and I, journeyed back to Port Olni. Upon arriving, we went up the wide front steps, rang the visitor’s bell, and stood in front of the gates waiting for a person to open them. The hair stood up on the back of my neck when who should be there but my current Master, a warrior who I secretly could not stand the sight of. It was at this point of my story that my Master, upon hearing my assessment of his former self, told me to get the whip with which he then gave me three lashes for my impudence.
But I digress. The warrior, my present Master, asked what business the Administrator of Port Kalana had at the gates of Port Olni. The man said he was there to liquidate the property of the Ubar who fled the city in madness. He said he brought a slave that was bought from this city and had hopes to return her to it saying, “There is no one in Port Kalana who will take her in. Most of the citizen’s of the city wanted her impaled.” The warrior glanced at the slave by the side of the Administrator and began to assess her thinking she was the one who was for sale. The Administrator quickly corrected him and pointed to me. I had been kneeling in back of him, not visible to the warrior at the gates.
When the warrior got a gander at who it was, he laughed long and loud and then remarked, “I have no doubt that the citizens of Port Kalana wanted to “lynch” her. She has had to talk her way out of many a death sentence here in Port Olni.” And, with that he offered a copper for me to the Administrator. The Administrator seemed pleased that his journey was not for naught and willingly accepted the pittance from the warrior. The warrior then said, “And here is a silver for your troubles.” With that I became the slave of Captain Siri Emerald jr., Red caste, Port Olni.
He took me to his office, filled out paperwork on me for the records, and beat me till I begged him to stop. Then used me well. During my questioning, he asked me my name. I told him rather smartly that it was “Ruby Tuesday”. He smirked at me and wrote on the scroll, “Ruby”. He said, “That is your name from now on. And don’t think you own it.” I not only did not want to own the odious name, I started introducing myself as “Cadet” since it more aptly matched my former station on Earth.
This Master owned me for exactly one Gorean day before he sold me to a private slaver in the city of Port Olni who happened into the commons where we were sitting. The warrior did not really want to sell me. He saw in me a slave who would not only become totally devoted to him but also provide a foil for his personality, since I myself was of the “Warrior Caste” on Earth.
Captain Siri Emerald Jr. did not want to put up with my punching, kicking, slapping, yelling and throwing of things. His person was not subjected to this but his First Girl was. She and I had engaged in a battle royale. During the one Gorean day I was in his household, I managed to thrust my knee in her groin several times, smash her in the face with a flat pan, put her in a choke hold and force her to eat grass and bugs. I can’t say she was any less hospitable. I had the bruises to show for it. Rather than have us both kill each other, he chose to sell me and keep his first girl.
This was lucky and unlucky at the same time. Lucky for his first girl that I did not maim or kill her but rather unlucky for me. It turns out this private slaver in Port Olni had gone the way of the former Ubar of Port Kalana. He was a megalomaniac who was deep within his disease. He started trying to change me into his former slave who escaped from his clutches. In order to effect my total change he took me to dressmakers, hair salons, and doctors who could effect this transformation with surgery.
It was with luck that a warrior from Sais rented me for two weeks. He was one of those warriors who read extensively and was fond of writing Gorean verse. He encouraged me to pen sweet missives to him on rence paper which he provided to me. It was all very nice until I was accused of hiding a dagger on my person by some jealous slaves who where at the gate in Sais when he brought me into the city. The guard at the gate threatened to cut my tongue out for the offense. The charge was ridiculous really, I was totally naked at the time. When my hair was searched they found nothing. But my Master was told to whip me publically for the alleged offense and so he did. That was not pretty.
After the two weeks were up on the rental, my Master was loathe to bring me back to the demented slaver but he realized that a slave from Port Olni, living in Sais, a warring city, was not a good match. So I was back in Port Olni. It was another stroke of good luck that I caught the eye immediately of a mercenary who was residing in Olni at the time. A no nonsense fellow who came into the slaver’s office, plunked down a gold tarn, grabbed me by the hair and took me to the metalsmith to have his collar locked on me.
This free man became my “wham, bam, thank you ma’am” Master as he shoved me back to the insane slaver once more. It was back in the private slave house that I became frightened for the first time in my life on any planet. My fears became reality when this crazy house escapee choked me and left me for dead in one of the side streets of Port Olni. Thankfully I was found by a kind Master and taken to the infirmary where the marvelous physicians brought me back to life.
After the healing I went back into the city kennels, the House of Spiritweaver. Unable to speak because of the severe bruising of my larynx, I started to go into mad reveries of what I might say could I communicate. To all outward appearances, I nodded, obeyed, knelt, and served with proper deference. Underneath it all, I plotted the death of all and bringing down of the walls of Port Olni.
At around that time, Captain Siri Emerald Jr. came back into my life. He had chosen not to renew his companioning contract with his mate. It seems she had what on earth is termed “a multiple personality disorder”. He grew tired of her lies and so she left for another city and took the first girl with her. He was renting a slave himself at the time to serve his needs. This rented slave had her own mental meltdown and went off to get pregnant by another warrior. He immediately terminated her rental and sent her packing.
The Captain was sitting in the commons and lamented to me, as I served him cup after cup of black wine, how disgusted he was with trying to find a slave who could meet his needs. A small digression here as I tell you why I had to keep serving him cup after cup of his favorite libation. It seems that at the time, each serve of this black wine was not done as per his instructions. This caused him great consternation and he poured the cup of black wine over my head and made me go back to get the order right.
I think he was pleased with the stoic and rather ingratiating way I took his orders. After all, I was of the warriors caste myself. So it came about that later that day I attended a reading of the historian Master Norman’s work, by the Ubara of Port Olni. The Captain was there and proclaimed to the Ubara that he had every intention of collaring me. She looked over with a smirk and told him, “Do you know how MANY Masters she has had? Captain, I give her to you.” With that, our sainted Ubara waved her hand thusly “gifting” me to him. And that is how I came to the collar of my present Master. I hope you have been slightly entertained by this. Next week I will get back to the more serious work of offering my advice in “ASK TEAL”.
From the VOICE OF GOR v.4 Issue 181
The Destruction of the City of Tarnwald
Monday, December 9th, 2013by Lady Wendie and Rarius Yuroki
On the third day of the fifth month of the year 10164 contasta Ar it was early afternoon, lady Wendie, scribe to the House of Yuroki, sat making notes of the days trade for the banker Yuroki . Suddenly her attention was drawn to a cloud of unusual size and appearance some pasangs from the mountains of Tarnwald . She called the slaves for her shoes, then with her slave Jill she climbed to a place which would give her the best vantage point of the phenomenon. Still a distance from the event,she was not clear from which mountain the cloud was rising. its general appearance can best be expressed as being like an umbrella pine, for it rose to a great height on a sort of trunk and then split off into branches, I imagine because it was thrust upwards by the initial blast then left unsupported as the eruption subsided, it was borne down by its own weight so that it spread out and gradually dispersed. In places it looked white, elsewhere blotched and dirty, according to the amount of soil and ash it carried with it.
As Rarius Yuroki was leaving the village near the docks of Tarnwald he was handed a message from Lady Catarina, a free woman of the city, whose house was at the foot of the huge mountain three pasangs from Tarnwald, escape for her was impossible except by boat. She was terrified by the danger threatening her.
Lady Wendie seeing people leaving, hurried to the place which everyone else was hastily leaving, gaining her ship she ordered the captain to steer a course straight for the danger zone. She was entirely fearless, describing each new movement and phase of the portent she noted down exactly as she observed them. Ashes were already falling, hotter and thicker as the ships drew near, as she neared the conflagration the ash was followed by bits of pumice and blackened stones, charred and cracked by the flames: Suddenly they were in shallow water, and the shore was blocked by the debris from the mountain.
For a moment lady Wendie wondered whether to turn back, but when the warriors advised this she refused, telling them that fortune stood by the courageous and they must make for the outskirts of Tarnwald where Her friend and employer Yuroki was with his boats.
It was clear to her that there was no serious danger until the ash cloud came nearer anchoring the boats to avoid the turbulent water she waited for her employer knowing he would come.
Rarius Yuroki had gone to the shore and placed his belongings on board ship, intending to escape if the contrary wind fell. This wind was of course full in their favour, and he was able to bring his ship “Ina” in closer.
Meanwhile on the volcano broad sheets of fire leapt high starting fires at several points, their bright glare emphasized by the darkness of night. Rarius Yuroki tried to allay the fears of his companions by repeatedly declaring that these were nothing but bonfires left by the peasants in their terror, or else empty houses on fire in the districts they had abandoned.
The citizens debated whether to stay indoors or take their chance in the open, for the buildings were now shaking as violent after shocks caused more damage, once sturdy buildings were swaying to and fro as if they were torn from their foundations. Outside, on the other hand, there was the danger of failing pumice stones, even though these were light and porous; however, after comparing the risks they chose the latter. As a protection against falling objects they put pillows on their heads tied down with cloths.
Elsewhere there was daylight by this time, but they were still in darkness, blacker and denser than any ordinary night, this they relieved by lighting torches and various kinds of lamp to supplement the burning fires. Rarius Yuroki decided to go down to the docks and investigate the possibility of any escape by the river, but he found the waves still wild and dangerous.
Then the flames and smell of sulphur which gave warning of the approaching fire drove the others to take flight.
Ashes were already falling, not as yet very thickly. We looked round: a dense black cloud was coming up behind us, spreading over the earth like a flood.’Let us leave the dock and take our chances on the sea Yuroki shouted to his men
You could hear the shrieks of women and slaves, the wailing of infants, and the shouting of men; some were calling their parents, others their children or their wives, trying to recognize them by their voices. People bewailed their own fate or that of their relatives, there were some who prayed for death in their terror of dying. Many besought the aid of the gods, but still more imagined there were no gods left, and that the universe was plunged into eternal darkness for evermore.
There were people, too, who added to the real perils by inventing fictitious dangers: some reported that part of of the city walls of Tarnwald had collapsed or another parts were on fire. A gleam of light returned, but we took this to be a warning of the approaching flames rather than daylight. However, the flames remained some distance off; then darkness came on once more and ashes began to fall again, this time in heavy showers. We cleaned the ships from time to time to prevent the weight of the ash sinking the vessels.
The next morning – it was the third day of the fifth month – the proud city of Tarnwald had been completely destroyed and the thick walls and all houses were covered by black ashes. Only the village at the outskirts is left now along with the memories of the terrible night. Yuroki met with his scribe and recounted their experiences Sadness dampened their spirits at the loss of a once great city.
[from the NEW VOICE OF GOR volume 3, issue 136]