player of the stature of Centius of Cos at the matches in a city such as Corcyrus, I gathered, had to do with the alliances between Cos and Corcyrus. Otherwise it did not seem likely to me that he would have graced so small a tournament with his presence. He had won his games easily with the exception of one, with a quite minor player, which he had seemed to prolong indefinitely, as though attempting to bring about some obscure and particular configuration on the board. Then, apparently failing to achieve this, almost as though wearily, he had brought the game to a conclusion in five moves. 'You are still angry with me,' I said.
'No,' he said.
'Yes, you are,' I said.
He did not respond.
'They were boring,' I said. I had asked to be brought home early.
He did not respond.
The most exciting thing about the matches from my point of view was going in and out of the grounds. There were several slave girls there, just outside the grounds, fastened to various rings and stanchions. They had been chained there, to wait like dogs for the return of their masters.
'After you returned me to my quarters, I wager,' I said, you returned to the matches.'
'Yes,' he said. 'I did.'
'And did you get to see your precious Centius of Cos finish his final games?' I asked.
'Yes,' he said.
'Please do not be angry with me, Drusus,' I said.
'I am not angry with you,' he said.
I wondered why I had spoken as I had. I was a Tatrix. Authority was mine, not his. He was only a guard, a mere guard. Yet I did not want him to be angry with me. There was something in me, something deep, I did not know what, that wanted to be pleasing to him.
I continued to look out over the fields. They were lovely.
In a Gorean city it was not difficult for a woman to travel incognito. By the robes of concealment this is made easy. I wore the robes of a woman of high, caste, today the yellow of the Builders. Drusus Rencius wore a nondescript tunic and a swirling maroon cape. Ile only weaponry he carried, that I could detect, was his sword. He might have been any mercenary or armed servant, in attendance on a lady. I was pleased to travel incognito in the city, in this fashion. Otherwise, had I gone abroad in the robes of the Tatrix, we would have been encumbered by guards and crowds; we would have had to travel in a palanquin; we would have been forced to tolerate the annunciatory drums and trumpets, and put up with all the noisy, ostentatious, dreary panoply of office. To be sure I sometimes found such accouterments stimulating and gratifying but I certainly did not want them every time I wished to put my foot outside the palace gate. I thought I heard a small noise, as of metal, from within the cloak of Drusus Rencius.
He had glanced to our right, to the tarns on their perches.
They were saddled, and their reins were upon them. They were ready for investigatory excursions or, if the randomly selected schedules were appropriate, for routine patrols. The left foot of each tarn, by a spring clasp, which could be opened by band, and a chain, was fastened to the perch. The birds, thus, for most practical purposes, could be brought to flight almost immediately. Their riders, or tarnsmen, were not in the immediate vicinity, but were, as is common, quite close, in this case in a guard station at the foot of the wall. In a matter of Ihn, given a command or the sounding of an alarm bar, they could be in the saddle.
Drusus Rencius looked back from the tarns. I heard again the small sound of metal from within the cloak.
He looked about, uneasily. This nervousness did not seem typical of him. 'Have you heard aught of the sleen of Argentum?' I asked. It Mad been several days now since the return of Wes of Argenturn to his city.
'No,' said be.
'It is nice of you to bring me here,' I said. 'It is a lovely view.' He said nothing.
'I enjoyed the song drama last night,' I said.
'Good,' said he.
To be sure it had been difficult for me, at my present level in Gorean, to understand all the singing. Too, the amplificatory masks, sometimes used in the larger of the tiered theaters, somewhat distorted the sound. Some of the characters had seemed unnaturally huge. These, I had been informed, wore special costumes; these costumes had expanded shoulders and had exaggerated hemlines, long enough to cover huge platform-like shoes. These characters, thus, were made to appear larger than life. They represented, generally, important personages, such as Ubars and Ubaras. There had not been a great deal of action in the drama but movement on the stage was supplied in abundance by a chorus whose complex activities and dances served to point up and emotionally respond to, and interpret, exchanges among the principals.
The chorus, too, sometimes singing and sometimes speaking in unison, took roles in the drama, such as first the citizens of one city and then of another, and then of another, and so on.
It also was not above commenting on the activities and speeches of the principals, chiding them, calling certain omissions to their minds, offering them constructive criticism, commending them, encouraging them, and so on. Indeed, it.was not unusual for the chorus and a principal to engage with one another in discourse. What I saw was clearly drama but it was not a form of drama with which I was familiar.
The chorus, according to Drusus Rencius, in its various sections and roles, was the original cast of the drama. The emergence of principals from the chorus, of particular actors playing isolated, specific roles, was a later development. Some purists, according to Drusus Rencius, still criticize this innovation. It is likely to remain, however, in his opinion, as it increases the potentialities of the form, its flexibility and power.
Such dramas, incidentally, are normally performed not by professional companies but by groups of citizens from the communities themselves, or nearby communities. Sometimes they are supported by rich citizens; sometimes they are supported by caste organizations; sometimes, even, they are sponsored by merchants or businesses, as a matter of goodwill and promotion; sometimes, too, they are subsidized by grants from a public treasury. Art in a Gorean city is taken seriously; it is regarded as an enhancement of the civic life. It is so: not regarded as the prerogative of an elite, nor is its fate left exclusively to the mercies of private patrons. The story in the so g drama, in itself, apart from its complex embellishments, was a simple one. It dealt with a psychological crisis in the life of a Ubar. He is tempted, in the pursuit of his own schemes, motivated by greed, to betray his people. In the end he is convinced by his own reflections, and those of others, of the propriety of keeping the honor of his own Home Stone.
'What did you think of the drama?' Drusus Rencius had asked me last night. 'The story of it,' I had told him, seeking to impress him with my intelligence, 'aside from the impressiveness of it, and the loveliness of its setting and presentation, is surely an unrealistic, silly one.'
'Oh?' he had asked.
'Yes,' I had said, 'no true ruler would act like that. Only a fool would be motivated by considerations of honor.' 'Perhaps,' had said Drusus Rencius, dryly. I had looked at him, and then I had looked away, quickly. I had felt like I might be nothing. He was -regarding me with total contempt.
'I did enjoy the drama,' I insisted to Drusus Rencius, standing on the riser, looking over the parapet, 'really.'
'Splendid,' he said.
'I still think my comments were true, of course,' I said lightly. Surely it would not do to retreat on such a matter.
Besides, for most practical purposes, I did regard them as true. Who, in these days, in a real world, could take anything like honor seriously?
'Perhaps,' granted Drusus Rencius.
'You are a hopeless romantic, Drusus,' I said to him, turning about, laughing. 'Perhaps,' be said. He turned away from me. Again I heard the small sound in the cloak. He looked at the tarns.
I turned away from him, hurt. I did not want him to be disappointed with me. 'The view here,' I said, lightly, 'is lovely. We should have come here before.' Perhaps,' he said.
I had seen much of Corcyrus in the past few days. Drusus Rencius, for the most part, had been an attentive and accommodating escort. I loved the markets and bazaars, the ells, the colors, the crowds, the. quantities and varieties foods, the tiny shops, the stalls, the places of business which e times were so small as a tiny rug on the
