Part 10 (1/2)
”Because they don't save their money,” Kieran said. ”They spend it on expensive jewels and costumes, trying to outdo one another in competing for the attention of the customers, or else they start treating themselves to luxuries they could not afford before, better housing, better clothing, more expensive meals, some drugs to induce short-lived euphoria... They tell themselves they deserve it, because they work hard and besides, they're making plenty of money. Before they know it, they're spending everything they make and become caught up in the life. And it is not much of a life.”
”It does not seem so difficult,” said Sorak.
”No, the job itself is not so difficult,” Kieran agreed, ”but the longer they remain, the more it wears them down. They come to think less and less of men, because they always see them at their worst, and because they expect men to behave badly, they often wind up with men who take advantage of them... or else give up on men entirely and seek the company of women. One day, they wake up and find that drugs have ruined their health and their appearance, or else they have simply gotten older and no longer appeal to the customers as much as the younger, prettier ones... and there are always younger, prettier ones.
”They start doing things they would not have done before,” Kieran continued, ”and as time goes on, they do them for less money. What little self-esteem they may have left soon dissipates and, unless they're fortunate enough to find some man to take them, before long they are no longer attractive enough to keep their jobs and often wind up on the streets. It happens all the time. The young ones see it happen to the older girls, but don't learn. Who knows, Cricket may be different, but chances are she will only go back to the same thing after we arrive in Altaruk.”
”You don't seem to have a very high opinion of her,” said Ryana. ”And yet, you went home with her last night.”
”I escorted escorted her home,” said Kieran. ”And I have no particular opinion of Cricket, one way or the other. I acknowledge that she is young and beautiful and a skilled dancer. Otherwise, I know nothing of her. She claimed to be a virgin, which seems unlikely, but I did not dispute the issue. Neither did I press it. I walked her home, then said good night and took my leave. So you may spare me your disapproving looks. I have done nothing to deserve them.” her home,” said Kieran. ”And I have no particular opinion of Cricket, one way or the other. I acknowledge that she is young and beautiful and a skilled dancer. Otherwise, I know nothing of her. She claimed to be a virgin, which seems unlikely, but I did not dispute the issue. Neither did I press it. I walked her home, then said good night and took my leave. So you may spare me your disapproving looks. I have done nothing to deserve them.”
”I stand corrected,” said Ryana. ”It is just that men often lack respect for women, yet that does not prevent them from enjoying their favors.”
”Just as women often lack respect for men, yet still eagerly accept the contents of their purses,” Kieran replied. ”Cricket may indeed be what she claims, and she may have chosen her occupation out of sheer necessity, but mark my words, she will yet cause trouble on this journey.”
”What makes you say that?” Ryana asked.
”Experience, my lady. There isn't a roustabout or mercenary on this caravan who hasn't seen her dance. Now she travels with them, with no bouncers to look out for her, and that limp-wristed elven bard she rides with will not be much protection.”
”Is it not part of your duties to keep order among your men?” Ryana said.
”Officially, I have not yet a.s.sumed my duties,” Kieran replied with a shrug. ”And keeping order on this journey is the caravan captain's job, not mine. But if it were up to me, I would have left her behind.”
”Would you have left me behind, as well?” Ryana asked.
”No, my lady. An attractive, unescorted woman on a caravan is always trouble,” Kieran said. ”You have an escort, and a highly capable one, at that. Aside from which, you are a priestess, commanding respect, and the fighting prowess of villichi are well known. A woman like Cricket, on the other hand, commands little respect, if any, and is unable to protect herself. And her chosen escort is scarcely better than nothing. So... there will be trouble. Now, if you will excuse me, I think I will ride down the line and observe the captain's disposition of his guard.”
He wheeled his crodlu and urged it to a fast trot, leaving the formation.
”What an infuriating man!” Ryana said.
”I thought you said he was handsome and das.h.i.+ng,” Sorak replied, with a hint of amus.e.m.e.nt in his voice.
”He is all that,” Ryana conceded grudgingly, ”but he is also very irritating.”
”He merely speaks his mind,” said Sorak. ”And I cannot say I disagree with anything he said.”
”So you think a woman is merely an enc.u.mbrance unless she has a man to protect her?”
”That is not quite what he said,” Sorak replied. ”He said that an attractive, unescorted woman on a caravan brings trouble. Roustabouts and mercenaries are a rough lot, and they are not known for their gallantry.”
”So women must be penalized for men's failure to control their impulses?”
”I admit it is unfair,” said Sorak, ”but that is the way of things.”
”Spoken like a true male,” said Ryana with a grimace. ”I never thought to hear you of all people speak like that.”
”I do not think that is the way things should be,” Sorak replied, ”but regrettably, it is the way they are. Certainly in Cricket's case. After all, she makes her living by arousing men.”
”Then it's all her fault, is that it?” Ryana said irritably. ”You are beginning to sound like Kieran.
What would the Guardian have said if she could hear you speak like this?”
”I suspect she would have said that Cricket made her own choices. She was born with the gift of beauty, and she chose to exploit it by dancing in a pleasure house.”
”What if she had no other choice?”
”There are always choices,” Sorak said. ”They may not be pleasant ones, but they exist. Suppose you had not been born villichi. You are also beautiful, and your family was poor. Knowing how much money you could make at a place such as the Desert Damsel, would you have chosen to work there?”
”No,” Ryana replied at once. ”I would dance for you, if I knew how, but that is hardly the same thing.”
”I do not dispute that,” Sorak said. ”But what might you have done, instead?”
”I would have found a job that I could do without taking off my clothes for strangers and then I would have searched for some way to improve my lot in life.”
”Even if it only paid a small fraction of what you could make by dancing in a pleasure house?”
”Even so. I would not wish to spend my days with men leering at me and offering me money to gratify their l.u.s.ts.”
”Then there are other choices,” Sorak said. ”Not easy ones, perhaps, and not as profitable, but choices nonetheless. I do not hold men blameless, mind you. If there was no demand for pleasure houses, then they would not exist. But at the same time, so long as there are women willing to work in such places, the att.i.tude men have toward them will not change.”
”You mean as long as there are women who need money, it is all right for men to exploit them?”
”I never said that,” Sorak replied. ”It seems to me that both men and and women are exploited in such places. The women exploit the baser instincts of the men, and the men exploit the beauty of the women. But in the long run, I think the women get the worst of it.” women are exploited in such places. The women exploit the baser instincts of the men, and the men exploit the beauty of the women. But in the long run, I think the women get the worst of it.”
”I wish I'd never gone to that place,” said Ryana. ”I was curious to see it, but the more I think about it, the more angry I become.”
Sorak nodded. ”For a short time, before you joined me after you left the convent, I worked in a gaming house in Tyr. The Crystal Spider, you remember?”
”In the elven quarter?”
Sorak nodded. ”I was hired to keep watch for cheats and cardsharps, but gaming was not their only trade. There were girls like Cricket there, as well. People went there for a good time, but there was a feeling of desperation in the air, and hunger.” He shook his head. ”A lot of money changed hands in the Crystal Spider, but I don't think it ever made anybody happy.”
They made good time the first day, without any misadventures, stopping at midday for a rest break and a meal, then continuing on until they were halfway to the oasis called Grak's Pool. The oasis was at the midpoint of their journey from South Ledopolus to Altaruk, a distance of about one hundred miles, though the caravan had already traveled an equal distance to South Ledopolus from Balic.
The plan was for the caravan to stop at Grak's Pool for one day, to allow the pa.s.sengers and their mounts to rest, relieve the cargo kanks of their burden for a while, and take on more water. But Grak's Pool was still another day's journey away, and they camped that night within sight of the banks of the estuary, which the trade route followed all the way to Altaruk.
They stopped about two hours before sunset to J allow light to pitch the tents, post the watch, and light the fires before darkness fell, and as the roustabouts pursued their tasks, Kieran asked Sorak what he thought of the caravan captain's disposition of the camp.
”He has placed us with the estuary at our rear,” said Sorak, ”which I would not do with troops, but it strikes me that for a caravan, it could have advantages.”
”How so?” asked Kieran.
”Is this a test?” asked Sorak.
”Merely an informal one,” replied Kieran with amus.e.m.e.nt. ”I am curious to hear your opinion.”