"Are all burdens to be borne only by men?" asked a man.
"What of the work levies and such?" said another.
"Yes," said another.
"And the taxed and special assessments," said another.
"True," said a fellow.
"They are citizens of Ar," said another. "It is only right that they, too, pay the price for our misdeeds."
"And theirs," said another.
"Yes," said a fellow.
"They supported members of councils, and members to elect members of councils," said a man.
"Yes!" said another.
"Look at noble Talena," said a man. "How bravely she performs this duty."
"How onerous it must be for her," said a man.
"Poor Talena," said a fellow.
"She, too, it might be recalled," said a man, "appeared in public barefoot, in the garb of a penitent, prepare to offer herself to save Ar."
"Of course," said a man.
"Noble woman," breathed a man.
Auxiliary guardsmen do not wear helmets. I had, accordingly, covered my head and, loosely, the lower portion of my face with a scarf, rather in the manner of the fellows in the Tahari. This fitted in well with the motley garbs of auxiliary guardsmen who, on the whole, had little in common except that they were not of Ar. Regular guardsmen of Ar were, as I have suggested, fellows of Ar under Cosian command, or, often, Cosians, in the uniform of Ar. Too, as mentioned, there were regulars of Cos in the city, and, at any given time, various mercenaries, usually on passes. Some mercenaries, it might be mentioned, had been transferred into the auxiliary guardsmen. Some others, discharged, had enlisted in these units. A good deal of the sensitive work in Ar, work which might possibly produce resentment, or even enflame resistance, was accorded to auxiliary guardsmen. Their actions, if necessary, could always be deplored or disavowed. If necessary, some units might even be disbanded, as a token of conciliation. Such units are, after all, difficult to control. In this I saw further evidence of attention on the part of Myron, or his advisors, to the principles and practices of Dietrich of Tarnburg. A similar device, incidentally, though not one employed by Dietrich of Tarnburg, at least to my knowledge, is to recruit such forces from the dregs of a city itself, utilizing their resentment of, and their hatred for, their more successful fellow citizens to constitute a vain, suspicious and merciless force. This force then may later be disbanded, or even destroyed, to the delight of the other citizens, who then will see their conqueror as their protector, not even understanding his use of, and sacrifice of, such instrumentalities as the duped dregs of their own community, first making use of them, then disposing of them.
"No," said Talena, "not her."
A guardsman, on the surface of the platform, before the dais, draped the robe of the penitent about the shoulders of the woman before Talena. He did this deferentially. She was shuddering. Another guardsman quickly ushered her to the rear and down the large ramp at the rear of the platform. She would now return home.
"No, Talena!" called a fellow from the crowd, a few feet away.
Talena regally turned her head in his direction.
"Be silent!" said a man to he who had called out.
"Hail, Talena!" called a man from the vicinity of the fellow who had called out before.
"Glory to Talena!" called another.
"Glory to Talena!" cried others.
She then returned her attention to her duties on the platform.
"How merciful is Talena," said a fellow.
"Yes," said another.
At a gesture from one of the guardsmen on the platform, another woman in a white robe came forward, leaving the long line behind her, one extending across the platform to the small ramp on the other side, down the ramp, across the far side of the Plaza of Tarns, and thence down Gate Street, where I could not see its end.
"Lady Tuta Thassolonia," read a scribe.
Lady Tuta then, unaided, removed her robe and stood before her Ubara. Then she knelt before her.
Men gasped.
She knelt back on her heels, her knees spread, her back straight, her head up, the palms of her hands on her thighs.
"It seems you are a slave," said Talena.
"I have always been a slave, Mistress," said Lady Tuta.
Talena turned to one of her counselors, and they conferred.
"Are you a legal slave, my child?" asked one of the counselors, a scribe of the law.
"No, Master," said the woman.
"You are then a legally free female?" asked the scribe.
"Yes, Master," she said.
"It is then sufficient," said the scribe to Talena.
"You are chosen," said Talena, graciously.
"Thank you, Mistress!" said the woman.
Cheers commended the decision of the Ubara.
Another of Talena's aides, or counselors, one in the garb of Cos, then spoke to Talena, shielding his mouth with his hand.
Talena nodded, and he then addressed himself to the kneeling woman.
"Rise up," said he, in a kindly fashion, "and do not address us as Master and Mistress."
She rose up.
"Do you wish, as a free female, before you join your sisters to our right, to say anything?"
"Hail, Talena!" she cried. "Glory to Talena!"
This cry was taken up by hundreds about. Then she was conducted to the side, to be manacled.
"It will be a lucky fellow who will get her," said a man.
"She is already a slave," said another.
"She will train speedily and well," said another.
"I would like to get my hands on her," said a fellow.
"She will go to some Cosian," said another.
The woman was then drawn to her feet by an auxiliary guardsmen and conducted down the ramp.
The auxiliary guardsman on the other side of the ramp, then, who was working with me, said to her, "Kneel, slut."
She knelt.
"You were rich, were you not?" he asked her.
"Yes," she said.
"Yesa€”what?" he said, angrily.
"Yes, I was rich!" she said, frightened.
"Do not strike her," I said to the fellow. "She is not yet a slave."
"She is a slut of Ar," he said.
"Yes," I said.
He lowered his hand.
"Wrists," I said to her.
She lifted her chained wrists, and I attached her to the coffle with a joining ring.
"Why is he angry with me?" she asked.
"It might be wise to accustom yourself, even though you are legally free now," I said, "to addressing free men as «Master» and free women as "Mistress."
"He is only an auxiliary guardsman," she said.
"He is a man," I said, "and you are female."
"Yes!" she said.
"You see the fittingness of it?" I asked.
"Yes," she said.
"You used such expressions on the platform," I said.
"But to my Ubara," she said, "and to men of high station."
"Accord such titles of respect to all free persons, even the lowliest of free persons," I said, "for you will be more beneath them than the dirt beneath their sandals."
"Forgive me, Master," she said to the other fellow. "Forgive me, Master!" He regarded her, his arms folded, somewhat mollified.
"It seems the slut of Ar learns rapidly," I said.
"Get up," he said to her. "move!"
"Yes, Master," she said. Then she looked back. "Thank you, Master," she said. The line moved to its next position.
I them put the next woman on the chain, and she, too, was ordered to her feet, and moved to the next position.
"Nor she," said Talena of another, who had been announced. "Nor she," said she of another.
As I have mentioned, there were scribes on, or near, the dais with Talena. Lists were being kept, and referred to. One list, for example, had the names of the women upon it, in the order in which they ascended the platform. It was from this list that one of the scribes announced the names. Another list, presumably a duplicate list, was kept as a record of the results of Talena's decisions. The most interesting lists, however, seemed to be lists referred to as the various names were called. There were at least five such lists. Three of them, I think, are worth mentioning. One of these was held by a member of the High Council. Another was held by a Cosian counselor. Another was held by one of Talena's aides, at her side.