Chapter 12: End of an Era

The closure of the Halls of Valhalla is completed with minimal fuss. My uncle Hayk purchases the property as agreed, and I use a small part of my new found wealth towards buying some extra clothes. My position as mistress of Wadi Halaf requires that I dress appropriately, despite my dislike for the discomfort that clothing imposes on my body. Amina is a great help in choosing my new clothing, and modifying them to suit my own tastes. While I must endure the scratchy feel of clothing covering my tits, Amina finds some soft tops that hang loose below my nipples. The short tops at least mean I can keep my midriff bare. A selection of skirts with deep side slits, and light gauzy trousers, mean that my legs can enjoy relative freedom from the incessant rubbing against my skin that clothing invariably causes.

Amina convinces me to transfer the Halls’ three unsold slaves to Wadi Halaf to complete their training. In reality, we need the extra help they can provide while the caravanserai is busy with caravans stopping for more than one night. Consequently I add them to the caravanserai’s tally of slaves, and place Wadi Halaf collars on them. As the women are new additions to Wadi Halaf’s slave stock, I’m allowed to sell them later should they no longer be needed.

A southbound caravan arrives a few days later transporting a coffle of northern slaves. Among them is a young fair haired woman who is exactly the type of slave the Halls of Valhalla specialised in training. However the Halls are no more, and I must now decide whether to take the opportunity to establish a similar operation at Wadi Halaf. I discuss the idea with Amina and Farai and we agree that buying one slave would enable us to test our ability to conduct the necessary training at Wadi Half alongside normal caravanserai business. I make the merchant an offer for the young female slave. He can’t tell me her age, but she looks to be between eighteen and twenty years old. After a bit of haggling I acquire her for seventeen solidi. The low price, and eagerness of the merchant to be rid of her, suggests that I’ve bought a difficult slave. However, she won’t be the first rebellious slave I’ve had to train. My first act is to place an iron collar around the slave’s neck.

“I’m Amina. What is your name?” asks Amina of the new slave, adding gestures to make it clear what she is asking even if her words are in a language the slave doesn’t understand.

The merchant was unable to provide the slave’s name as she didn’t respond to any language that he knows. He obviously believes that a name is unimportant when trading slaves as long as she can be clearly identified. In this case, the slave’s honey coloured hair is a distinguishing feature. She is simply referred to by her description and apparent age in the bill of sale. When there is no reaction from the slave, Amina repeats the question in several other languages. There’s still no response from the slave. It’s difficult to believe that she doesn’t understand Amina’s gestures even if the language is strange to her. She wouldn’t be the first slave to stubbornly refuse to respond. Amina and her sisters tried the same trick when I first met them.

“Let her spend a few hours in one of Wadi Halaf’s cells,” I say. “That may loosen her tongue and teach her to be cooperative.”

Amina escorts the slave to the cells while I track down the merchant. I find him overseeing his other slaves as they unload some of the merchant’s trade goods from his wagon.

“Do any of your slaves come from the same place as the woman I bought from you?” I ask the merchant, hoping I might learn something more about the woman.

“No. As you can see, this lot are a different race of barbarians. You’ve bought yourself a strange one there. She hasn’t said a word to anybody since I bought her. She was part of a group of six I acquired in one of those unregistered village markets that sell slaves in back alleys so as not to trouble the local tax collector. I sold the other five easily enough, but nobody was interested in slave who won’t respond. I think you have your work cut out with that one.”