I sat there, increasingly sure I was the victim of a hoax of some kind, some wealthy man getting his jollies from picking up unemployed men and pretending there was work for them. The temple thing must be an arrangement—maybe Jaime paid them to let him use their house of worship for his perversion.
Finally he returned and sat back down at the table. “You’re suitable for our purposes....”
“
And what purposes might they be?” I said without any attempt to conceal my sarcasm. “Do you enjoy seeing pretty boys being fingered? Watching through a spyhole, were you?”
“
For what I need you for, your tongue is not required. Bridle it, or lose it.”
“
You’re threatening me?”
“
I’m stating a fact. We are being watched. You are being examined as we speak. Be quiet or be punished. Paon does not allow disrespect within these walls.”
I nearly told him Paon be buggered but then I thought that was probably unwise. “What exactly do you want me to do?”
“
Not yet,” he said, as before, and I nearly walked out at that point—except I really, really needed those coins. “The work is for a year, here in the temple. It is physically light, you will be well-treated, fed and clothed. The pay is twenty silver pieces a week....”
“
Tw...twenty? Twenty
silver
pieces?”
“
At last I have your interest,” he said with a sneer. “Yes, twenty silver pieces, all good coin, per week, paid monthly. And if you stay for the full year, you will receive half a year’s wages as a bonus when you leave.”
I stared. “Who do I have to kill?” I whispered.
His mouth curled in what might have been a smile, except there was no humour in it. “No one. In return, you will live here and wear the collar and bracelet of the temple, although you may come and go as you please when your attendance for your duties are not required, provided you wear the symbols of your indenture to the temple. You will have no sexual congress with man or woman in that time, save as ordered....”
“
What?”
“
Save as ordered. And if you speak to anyone of the terms of your employment, or your duties, or disobey any order, you will be severely punished. Most severely.”
“
You still haven’t told me what I need to do.”
“
I can’t do that until I have your bond that you will enter into the contract.”
I shook my head. “Sorry. I’m not agreeing those terms until I know what you want me to do.”
He looked me up and down. “Nothing that you haven’t done before, I’m sure. Nothing that you would find displeasing.”
“
Right. Sorry, thanks but no thanks. I’ve done what you asked, let that old fart play with my privates, and listened to your terms. Now pay me and let me go.”
He pulled a purse from his belt, opened it and drew out three coins. He slapped them on the table. “Take them and leave. Speak to no one of this morning’s doings or you will find it goes hard with you.”
“
Don’t worry, you think I want to tell people I let two perverts get an eyeful of me?”
He looked at me coolly. “It is not I who let them do so for money.” He stood and threw open the door. “Get out. The guards will take you.”
I stalked out. He didn’t follow me. The guards took me out of the temple without saying a word to me, and as I left, drawing a deep breath of relief to be out in the fresh air again, they took up position at the entrance, making it clear re-entry wasn’t an option.
The coins felt cold and dirty in my hand. If I hadn’t been desperate, and now very, very hungry indeed, I would have thrown them away. But instead, I swallowed my troublesome pride and broke one of the coins to buy a loaf of bread and a mug of beer, which I consumed sitting under a tree at the edge of the market square.
What in the names of the gods was all that about? The more I thought about it, the more I thought that the whole thing had to be for the benefit of the mysterious watchers, not for Jaime himself, whose distaste for the interview and for me himself was obvious. Part of me was wild with curiosity to know what the job would have been—the rest of me recoiled in revulsion from any idea of working there, when whatever the position was required an unhealthy obsession with my anus. I’d heard the temples in Gidin were dark and evil places—I hadn’t expected anything like
this.
After eating the good fresh bread, and drinking the beer, I felt a lot better. It was easier to think and be cheerful when my belly was full, and the pervert’s coin didn’t seem so dirty any more. Now I easily had money for a week or even more, if I was careful and slept outdoors. The weather was still mild, though autumn had already started. Surely in a week, I could find something to do.
I spent the rest of the day going from market stall to market stall and then shop to shop, asking for work, food, help of any kind. A couple of stall holders gave me a little fruit, a piece of stale bread, most gave me an earful of abuse—I wasn’t the only beggar that day. I earned a copper coin helping a wine merchant move some barrels (and wish the stingy tasking master could have seen I was fit enough to do such work) but he had no more jobs for me, nor did he need someone further, since it was only that his lad was off on errands across the city. Still, I bore the place in mind—the lad would run more errands and if I made myself available and useful, one never knew, the merchant might decide I was handy to keep around.
A copper would buy me a frugal meal—two would buy me a better one and another mug of beer in an inn, and if I had to spend the night outside, I decided I would at least treat myself to a few hours indoors with company. Who knew? I might get lucky and get a better offer than sleeping up on a roof, surrounded by stray cats.
The inns was busy, and I wasn’t only the only man from Jendon there, nor even the most desperate looking. I gladly shared a table with two men from my homeland, and decided that in the spirit of comradeship, I could share a little of my good fortune and buy them a beer to go with their meal, for it was clear they could not afford drink as well as food. “Thank you kindly, Nikolas,” the older of the two, one Johan, said, saluting me with his mug. “I keep telling myself that the hard times must end soon, but there is no end in sight.”
“
We need the rain,” his companion, Syros, said bitterly. “The blessed rain which never comes, the clouds boil up but never give up their bounty.”
“
Aye, it’s hard to watch. Harder to watch the young ones with their empty bellies and empty eyes,” Johan said.
“
You have children?”
“
Just the two. Two boys, ten and six. I send what I can back to them, but it’s never enough. I think it’d be easier to chop myself into little pieces and send that back for them to roast.”
“
Well, you’d make a good meal or three, but you’d not last more than a fortnight,” I said, making light of the grim remark. “Come, don’t be talking like that. You’ve not thought of the mines?”
“
Too old,” Johan said.
“
And I’m too runtish,” Syros added.
“
Well, I’m both too runtish and too tall. My back won’t take being bent over all day, not for six coppers. I’d be crippled in a month, and then I’d have no money nor work at all.”
Syros nodded. “That’s the sin of it. Johan and I are thinking of walking to Perikeg tomorrow—they say there’s work there, on farms, mending roofs and the like.”
“
That’s a hundred miles,” I said, aghast. “Can you survive such a journey with no money or food?”
“
Well, you see, that’s our difficulty,” John said with an apologetic smile. “But we thought we could beg our way there.”
I thought privately they were unlikely to find any charity on the road when the city was so mean. We talked of home for a while, making our meals stretch and the beer last as long as we could. I looked at my purse with regret—I wanted another beer, but if I was going to be that profligate, I’d be better off squandering my health in the mines after all. At least they gave the miners free beer at the end of their shifts, though it did nothing more than replace the sweat the workers lost underground. A month in the mines left most men hollow wrecks. It was why there was always demand for workers there, when there was none anywhere else.
“
Well, time to find a warm place to sleep. You fellows have somewhere?”
“
Aye, there’s a stable that lets us use the loft, provided we keep ourselves clean, and we keep a watch on the horses and for fire. I’d offer you a place, but I don’t want to annoy the stable master,” Johan said regretfully.
“
Ah, never mind, I understand. But maybe when you’re gone, I’ll apply—which one is it?” They named a small place to the western end of the market. I would try my luck tomorrow, if Johan and Syros really were leaving. “Thanks for the tip.”
“
Thanks for the beer. We may as well walk out together. You never know who’s about these days.”
This was unfortunately true and one of the reasons I slept on roofs—the risked of being robbed was that much less. I also got the warmth from the stove chimneys too, so it wasn’t bad even though the ‘bed’ was hard. Since I had a little money, I would be able to get a bed in a boarding house, but I was saving that for when the weather got cold. For now, a roof was all I needed. I was used to it by now.
We walked down the street towards the market. No townsfolk carrying lamps, but lights from the windows of the inns revealed there were men everywhere sleeping in the shadows, or sitting eating a precious bit of meat or bread, seeking a little shelter. Some had blankets, most had not. I’d lost mine in the fire. I would need to buy or beg one soon.
“
What was that?” Johan suddenly stopped.
“
What was what?” I asked, confused. “I heard nothing.”
“
No, I heard it too,” Syros said. “A child, crying. Sound like she was in pain too.”
I strained but could hear nothing over the sounds coming from the inns along the alley. “Are you sure? Anyway, it’s probably coming from the inn....”
“
No, it was a child, I’m sure,” Johan said. “I’m a father, I can’t let a child be hurt.”
“
Well, let’s look, “ I said, though without a lantern, I wondered how we could even see this child, if such it was.
The side alley was almost completely dark. “There’s no one here,” I said. “It was probably just a cat.”
“
Aye, it probably was. Now, Nikolas. If you would hand over that purse of yours, we’ll be heading off.”
“
Wha...?” I stopped short as something sharp poked me in the sides, and then Syros’ hand untied my purse from my belt and lifted it from my pocket. “I’m from Jendon too, you bastards! I bought you beer!”
“
Yes, you did, and thank you again for that. Sorry about this, lad, but there’s them what need this more than you.”
“
You....” But I never finished the oath, because something hit me from behind. I didn’t even remember falling to the ground.
~~~~~~~~
I woke with my cheek pressed against the cobbles, and my brain pounding in beat to my pulse. I tried to get up, but fell back down again with a groan, feeling like I wanted to be sick. Those bastards. Those bloody, thieving, cursed bastards. With a shaky hand, I confirmed what I already knew—they’d taken the purse, and even my poor, blunt knife, all I had to cut my bread when I could buy it. Which I couldn’t now.
I tried to get up again, and this time succeeded long enough to throw up. I crawled away from my mess, wiping my mouth on my sleeve, and knowing, even with my headache distracting me so much, that I was now in a desperate situation.
All I could do in the dark was sit against the wall and wait for the dawn. I slept badly because of the pain and the sickness, and when the first light hit, I was a sorry mess—smelling of vomit, my clothes filthy from the street, and there was a knot on the back of my head which felt the size of an egg. I spent a few minutes cursing the evil sons of bitches who’d done this to me, because I had no better occupation, but I knew I couldn’t sit there all day. I pulled myself up and dragged myself to the market square—there was a public well and a trough for horses and such as me, if we were quick and the watchmen didn’t see. I dunked my head and washed my face, before taking off my shirt and scrubbing it as best I could—I could do nothing about my pants because to walk naked in the streets of Egin was to invite a public flogging. I laid my wet shirt against the knot on the back of my head for a few moments, which helped, then rinsed it again and wrung it out. All I could do was to put it on wet, and let it dry on my body. It felt bloody cold and unpleasant, but at least I was decent, and had the semblance of cleanliness.