Turbus Veminius had now finished with the customer on whom he had been waiting.
He looked at me. I put my head down; before a free man. He did not summon me forward. I must still wait.
I heard a man outside in the street, selling bread.
I lifted my head. Turbus Veminius was no longer paying me any attention.
"Is the perfume of the Lady Kita of Bazi ready?" he called to the back of the shop. He cast a glance at the water clock.
"It is done," said a voice. "It requires now only your approval."
Turbus then left the counter, and went to the back of the shop.
It is not unusual, on Gor, incidentally, for the articles sold in a shop to be manufactured on or near the premises. This is often the case with craft products, such as glassware, metalware, particularly gold and silver work, rugs and mats, sandals and jewelry. The tradesman, thus, closely supervises the production, and controls the quality of the articles he markets. There are also, of course, many shops which specialize in the sale of, so to speak, foreign goods. A major difference between Gorean shopping and that on Earth is that on Gor there are few stores of a general nature, handling a large variety of goods. One tends, usually, to go from one shop to another, garnering what one needs from a place which specializes in that sort of product. This is inconvenient, perhaps, in some respects, but at least, one knows that the shopkeeper one visits knows his goods and that the quality of his livelihood is intimately connected with the excellence of his merchandise. The place of general stores is taken largely by bazaars and markets where, quite close to one another, in various booths, sometimes of canvas, one may find a large variety of goods. There are, of course, shopping districts in all Gorean cities, where one may find clusters of shops, often specializing in different items. Sometimes, of course, certain areas specialize in, or are known for, given types of services or products. Each city usually has, for example, its "Street of Coins." On such a street, or in such an area, its banking will largely be done. Similarly most cities will have their "Street of Brands," on which street, or in which area, one would expect to find the houses of its slavers. It is to one of these houses, or one of the markets in the area, that one would go if one wished to buy a woman. As I have mentioned, most Gorean slaves are female.
Turbus Veminius was still at the back of the shop.
I, glancing to the side, saw two men, large, in brown tunics, in the doorway of the shop. They seemed an unlikely pair of fellows to be patrons of the shop of Veminius. They glanced at me, and then to the back of the shop. They looked at one another. Then they looked at me again. Then they turned about and left the shop. I did not know what their business was. I had seen them twice earlier, this morning, when I had been on another errand for my Mistress. Once I had thought they might be following me, men put upon my trail by my mistress to spy upon me, to see if I were discharging her errands perfectly, or if my eyes might stray to the ankles of slave girls, but then, as they had turned aside, it had seemed to me that I must be mistaken. Too, I reminded myself, to my chagrin, it was unlikely that my mistress would send men to spy upon me. She was too confident in her con. trol over me, and doubtless rightly so, to feel that there would be any point in such an action. My Mistress now took me for granted. No longer did she even give any thought to any possible recalcitrance on my part. I was now only a docile, obedient slave. I had been beaten with the snake. The two men, I surmised, might be ruffians hired to hunt down a strayed or tardy silk slave. I did not fear them, however, for, as far as I knew, my collar was in order. It read, I had been told, `I am the property of the Lady Florence of Vonda.' They needed only check my collar to see that I could not be he whom they might be seeking.
Turbus Veminius had now returned to the counter. He had with him a small vial of perfume which he had obtained in the back of the shop. He placed it in a cabinet to one side. It was doubtless that which had been prepared for the small, brown-skinned woman, the Lady Kita of Bazi. He glanced at the water clock. It was five Ehn to the fifteen Ahn. The Gorean noon is the tenth Ahn. The shadows were now long outside, on this warm, summer afternoon.
I moved so that I might look a bit out the door. I saw no sign of the two men in brown. Something about them had made me apprehensive. I did see two slave girls hurrying past. It was a bit late now, and they were hurrying home. When their master arrived home they would be expected to greet him, kneeling, his meal prepared.
Turbus Veminius looked at me. Again I put my head down. If he wished me to come forward, he would summon me.
My hands were bound behind my back, with Gorean binding fiber. Slaves are sometimes sent on errands, thus secured. About my neck, on a leather string, was tied a small sack. It contained a note, and coins. I could not read the note, of course, for I was illiterate in Gorean. I Clad run my errands this morning, too, similarly bound and accoutered. I looked up. The attention of Turbus Veminius was now again elsewhere. He was straightening vials in one of the cabinets on the side. I moved my hands in the bonds. I shifted my position a little, kneeling now again in the background, aside, from the door. Twice earlier, too, I had been the only one in the shop but, still, I had not been waited on. Turbus Veminius and one of his fellows had merely spent those times engaged in conversation, pertaining to the tharlarion races. I had not objected, nor did I object now, of course. I did not wish to be kicked or beaten, or have a tag wired to my collar, which would be seen by my Mistress, saying perhaps 'This slave was impudent. I recommend twenty lashes.'