I Enjoy The Hospitality of Vesutto

originally posted March 22, 2006

"The little tan barbarian?" he asked. Vesutto of Venna, wealthy Merchant of that beautiful resort city and partner in the production of my original works since the night 'Merchant of Ko-ro-ba' scandalized the theater-going public of Ar, inquired after a barbarian."Ka-vee-na," I nodded. "I placed her in the Capacian Baths. Sometime between Se'Kara and Se'Var. Recently, she was gifted to a fellow. A token of magnanimity.""Ah, well," he sighed. I thought it odd. Vesutto, clean shaven and expertly groomed, was not a connoisseur of barbarian girls. I knew, for example, that he found purple-silked Nirah fantastic. I wondered to myself a moment what he would think of the Tuchuk piercing as he spoke. He went on about the yellow-silked girl as well. He would not know, could not really, who hid beneath the dyed black hair, excitingly short, and the wetly lipsticked mouth. I did not wish to alarm him. Merchants are such sensitive fellows. "She is an apt replacement.""Yes, She is," I chuckled. I suppose clothing the formerly silver-haired woman in a slave's tunic and collar did effect a one-for-one barbarian switch for Kawena on the chain of the Boarding House. I warned him off of her, however, gently. "She is only the laundress."He smiled. Vesutto of Venna is no fool. He would not press further about the matter. Besides, the perfume of Nirah had already entered his nostrils. His thoughts would not be long on 'once Earth' girls. Too, there was other business to discuss. At the end of the hand, 'Fall of Agamedes' would take one of the larger play stages of the Fair. Within a day or two, he assured me, it would be sold out. As an investor of my work, he is also a tireless promoter. Through his lucrative trade network, he had not failed to make mention of the three sold out runs in Venna to his Caste affiliates far afield. In two days, he assured me, they would be paying for the indulgence of standing in the aisleways. I wondered if he had not over sold the work. There would be no Brigellas or Golden Courtesans. The themes would be unfamiliar but, I hoped, intriguing to the audience of Gor. Also, after the outrage my last played caused, the Tallux adaptation of a beloved work, I thought a favorable review on a world's stage might sway those with seats of influence in my own city, Glorious Ar. Perhaps it could finally be staged there. I hoped that would be the case. My propriety has been called into question, and fairly so, at times, but none should question my love and my loyalty to the Home Stone. It is a fierce and devoted thing.
Worth mentioning, as the generosity of my business partner seems boundless, is the tent provided on the Fairgrounds near the play stages. A pavillion-styled affair with ventilation at the top center, I have a proper couch with pelts and pillows to sleep on each night I am here. It is a place of respite, not business. A small pit has been dug at the center to accomodate small fires for the heating of water and for a bit of warmth that a few glowing coals will give off as we sleep at night. In that same tent are mats for the girls. Each retains the assignment provided to them early on in our journey. Portia has been paired with Six, Nirah with Emily and She with Samantha. I have chosen to crowd the mat of She and Samantha with the new meat, Elise. Joy, of course, is slept with me. Mathor, per usual, has made his own arrangements. Tasta, first girl of my whore chain, has ample space to sleep indoors. She serves as sentry just inside the tent flaps, curled up with one golden eye perpetually open and the twitch of her left ear that tell me she is tireless, dogged about her place.