7: That's Cathy's Clown

"So what I'm saying is that we shorten the program a little and get four shows a day in when we get to these big cities," I said. I was having a drink with Bandy in a local tavern. Lees accompanied me as my guard and sat not far away with Bandy's two warriors. Cathy lay at his feet. I'd been insinuating myself into his good graces ever since my dinner with Lord Chang. We'd gone deeper into the South and had turned west on our circuit following the course of a large river, heavy with traffic. The towns along this river were major trading centers.

"You're trying to change things again. That tent has added ten people to our company! Just to put it up and take it down. It costs us an extra day in each town," Bandy complained.

"They're getting better at it," I said. "In the next city, we'll pull in for dinner and perform after breakfast. Thirty percent more revenue per show day. Lemiel has done a fine job organizing the acts. Everyone is even eating better and we are making more money."

"You just want to take over my circus. I should have had you killed when you first caught up with me. My life would be more peaceful."

"How can you get more peaceful? You don't do anything. You scarcely even waddle out to make announcements."

"So why don't you just buy me out!" Bandy yelled. The drink and the pressure were getting to him. Conversations paused nearby as people in the tavern turned to listen to us.

"How much?" I pounced.

"Ha! More than you could ever pay."

"Forty conchs." That brought the whole room to silence, including Bandy as he focused on me.

"Forty?" he said. "I have that many indentures."

"Half of them only have a year left on their contracts. I've heard them planning to leave already," I pressed.

"And then there is all the equipment, including that new tent!"

"Which I already paid half for, unlike our agreement to be sixty/forty."

"It was your idea." He paused and I could see the wheels turning in his head. "Sixty conchs and I keep my wagon and retainers."

"Forty-five conchs. You can keep the wagon, horses, and personal effects. In fact, everything in the wagon except the indentures," I countered.

"What? You would cut me off without so much as a guard?" he sputtered. "I keep the three personal servants. The two black-skinned warriors and the snakeslut. And fifty-five conchs."

"Fifty conchs. You keep the warriors, but I get the snakeslut." He hesitated and pondered the situation. "And fifteen percent of profits paid annually," I concluded. He lit up.

"So you want your cock in the snake's gullet?" he mocked. "I can always find another. Fifteen percent you say? Agreed."

"Done and done," I said spitting on my hand and holding it out. He spat on his hand and slapped it against mine. He had a lot more phlegm in his spit than I did. We sat back in our chairs, clinked our mugs together and took a long drink. Then Bandy started laughing. He laughed so hard he had a coughing fit.

"That was fun! We should do this again sometime."

"What would you have to bargain with next time?" I asked.

"What? The same thing. You try to buy my circus from me. Next time I'll put in to trade the snakeslut for your dancer."

"But you no longer own the circus," I said. "I do."

"As if you have fifty conchs! Men like you don't earn that in a lifetime."

"I may have had more than one lifetime. We'll go to the bank in the morning," I said. "You will bring all the indenture papers and a bill of sale. I will transfer the money to your account and we will set up an independent account that I can deposit your annual percentage in. Done and done."

"Ridiculous. We didn't really make a bargain. We were playing a game."

"When have you known me to play a game, Bandy? Witnesses!" I called. I half expected Bandy to renege on the deal, which was why I wanted it loud and in the tavern. Three men, including the barman, stepped up.

"We heard the deal made," the barman said. "We will witness the transaction at the bank tomorrow."

"No!"

"Yes!"

As I expected, Bandy rushed back to the camp and tried to rouse everyone to move. Lemiel glanced at me and I shook my head. The performers and rowdies all went back to their tents while Bandy ranted. Then he tried to get his warriors to hitch up his wagon, but the barman had organized a militia and firmly denied the men access to any goods. They knew the rules of engagement in this territory and stood down. A master could not order his indentures to kill unless they were directly threatened. It was similar to the hero's code and I wondered how much Danny Sun and Lord Chang had to do with getting it accepted.

I opened the secret compartment when I returned to the wagon and sorted through the bag of coins to pull the largest out. There were twenty conchs in the bag. Uncle had truly been hoarding coins. I was pretty sure I had enough in my account to cover the purchase, but I didn't want to be caught short.

In an unusual gesture, Lees and Legs both climbed into my wagon late that night and combined their tongues to satisfy their hero's needs. Of course, I had to do some satisfying myself, and Legs seemed to be more than satisfied when she found two tongues in her quim.

There was a crowd standing around the wagon when Bandy emerged in the morning. His two warriors and my two warriors followed us to the bank in the morning. They were followed, in turn, by all the indentures in the circus. We were met at the bank by the barman and two witnesses as well as an array of other patrons of the bar who had seen what transpired the night before. I'd promised to come back tonight and sing for them.

The bank manager had his work cut out for him. There were forty-seven indentures to be transferred and each was checked against the person being transferred. When it came time for Cathy to be transferred, one of the warriors went back to the wagon to retrieve her. She was then handed off to Thorin who took her back to my wagon. Then there was the bill of sale with all the accoutrements of the circus. And finally, assumption of the seasonal contract of the tent workers who had not been indentured because Bandy was afraid he'd be stuck with people he couldn't get rid of when the tent proved a failure.

I stuck my finger in the little box that accessed my account and was told the funds were transferred. When Bandy went with the manager to open a new deposit account for his earnings, I turned back to the teller and deposited my twenty conchs. No sense carrying around that kind of money now that it was out of its hiding place.

It was a very wealthy but morose Bandy who mounted the driver's box of his wagon with the two warriors riding their horses beside him. On the other hand, no less than a dozen women, having heard of his new wealth, had already offered their services to him, in any way he wanted and I saw one lying on the floor of the driver's box already working on Bandy's cock. I didn't think Bandy's gloom would outlast the day.

We'd missed the morning performance, but by noon we were in action again.

I was weary to the bone and dreading going to the tavern to perform by the time I got back to the wagon that night. I had completely forgotten what was waiting there.

Cathy Temp lay naked on my cot. It was heartbreaking. She had undoubtedly been beautiful. The vision that greeted me was a malnourished shell, skinny arms and legs and ribs protruding. Her hips were canted in an odd way.

"You can spread my legs if you want sex, but you should use a sheep's gut to wrap your cock. I'm a cockburner. I can take you down my throat, though. All the way. If you want my ass, you will have to roll me over. I can't do it on my own. My legs don't work."

"Oh, Cathy," I sighed. I approached her and covered her gently with a blanket. "When did you last eat?"

"Your dancer brought me food twice today. I'm afraid I threw up the first meal, but I licked it up off the floor, master. I will keep your floors licked clean. I need to crawl to the pit soon so I do not soil the bed," she said. "I will sleep on the floor if you have a rag for a blanket, please. I only thought to make it easier for you to take your pleasure."

"Cathy Temp of Cassandra, I am Hero Lincoln of Earth and I have come to rescue you."

Whatever reaction I expected, it wasn't what I got. Cathy barked out a laugh and it deteriorated into a sob.

"I don't believe in heroes. They are a lie. They send us here to die. I've simply been stubborn about it."

"Cathy, it is true. I've come to rescue you."

"You have been here with the circus for six months. You watched as that deformed animal shoved his cock down my throat and you hardened in your trousers. You bought me from him for your pleasure. No hero would have let me suffer for so long unless he was as cruel as the master he bought me from. If you do not wish to use me, let me crawl to the pit to defecate. If you do not want me in your wagon, I can sleep with the animals so you can have your dancing whore undisturbed."

"Cathy..."

"My name is snakeslut."

"Not any longer. You are Cathy Temp. You will go back to Crossroads with me and be healed. You will receive your reward and go back to Cassandra to raise our child."

"The fuck."

I leaned over to pick her up.

"I will carry you to the latrine," I said. She struck me with her arms, though she was too weak to do any harm.

"I will crawl as befits my station. Put me down!" she yelled. I kept hold of her and she continued to beat on me, raking my arm with her nails. I kicked the door of the wagon open and carried her out.

"Lees!" I snapped. My caretaker ran from where she was helping the children settle down for the night. "Please take Cathy to the latrine and see that she has suitable clothing and blankets. She is to have warmth, shelter, food, and drink. If anyone harms or abuses her, he or she will answer to the lash. Is that clear, everyone?"

"Yes, Minstrel Lincoln," a chorus of voices responded.

"Lemiel! Strike the tent. We travel at first light."

"We have another day of shows scheduled, Minstrel," the acrobat manager answered.

"No one will care. We head north to the borderlands by the shortest route. While we journey, I will discuss each person's indenture papers with him. Let's move, people!" I shouted. The camp, which had just settled down for the night, came to life. Our hired hands handled the tent. Everyone else went about striking and packing their own equipment. I turned to the wagon and grabbed my cithara. Legs stopped me at the door.

"I did not strip her," Legs said as she placed a hand on my arm. "She was naked when I brought her food at midday. There was never an opportunity to warn you. I'm so sorry, my hero."

"Never mind, Allegra. I promised to show up at the tavern to sing tonight as recompense for the support of the witnesses. I must go," I said.

"You should not go alone. I will accompany you," she said.

"Legs..."

"I may not be as skilled as Lees, but I can watch your back."

I turned and walked toward the tavern. Legs followed along with me.

Somehow, my humorous songs just didn't do it for me or for the crowd. People laughed, but it was all flat. I drank some of the fine mulberry wine available in the tavern and started playing ballads. The wine was sweet; my stomach was sour.

I sang a sad song about a hero who was too late to rescue his damsel. While I was singing, I understood a little of how Cathy felt. It seemed that everyone knew legends of heroes who rescued damsels, but no one believed in them. They were entertainments, nothing more. Everyone knew there were no other planets. There was only Chaos. Minstrels sang of heroes to keep the stories alive. But even the great kings emerging after the Slaver Wars were no more than men who rose to greatness and disappeared. Some said they went to their citadels and retired. Others that they wandered the countryside, popping up to right an injustice or to kill an enemy, then disappear again. Chaos was a large world when you considered that the fastest way to travel was via horse.

The sadder the song I sang, the better the tavern-goers liked it. Soon, we were all drinking wine and weeping in our cups as I sang about the death of Danny Sun. And then the stories began.

"Do you remember when Jin Lin came into town? He said he was a hero of Earth and was here to rescue a damsel. Noble, but a stupid boy. Killed Lee Kwan right in the middle of the street and claimed his bride as his own. There was no delay in his execution. I understand the woman was captured by slavers and was transported to their stronghold. A shame. I would have given her a ride, even if she burned my cock like she claimed. Would have been worth it."

"Jin Lin was a peasant from Oreville. Where he ever got the sword he challenged Lee Kwan with is still a mystery. Some say he killed for it. Chaos is a better place without him and his kind."

"Not that there are not heroic men. Jian Li cleaned up that den of thieves in Qong years ago. Now there was a man who became a warlord one could respect. People say he wandered, too, but he always came back to Qong."

I drank more than my share of mulberry wine and found myself draped over Legs' shoulder as she struggled to get me into my wagon and to bed. We were on the move when I finally awoke the next day.

"You need to get her to a bank and get out of here," Lees whispered to me. "You should have done it right there where we were." I rode on the wagon seat as she drove. Legs was riding Lees' horse not far away.