The guards approached, staring at their master in
confusion.
71 "Tell them," ordered The Hawk, "to drop their weapons and strip off
their clothes, NOW!" The guards heard their master's orders and started
to reach for their weapons, but when the guests in the room rose and
undressed their swords they changed their minds.
72 Four of The Hawk's men quickly donned their uniforms. One by one
they replaced the rest of the guards in the house, then gathered all
the slaves from their quarters.
73 "We are," explained The Hawk to the slaves, "worshipers of Spirit,
come here to rescue our brothers and sisters taken captive by force and
illegally sold by this man. We mean you no harm. Obey our instructions
and when we are safely outside of Fr you will all have your freedom."
The Hawk turned to the slaver. "Now, we wish to know who you sold our
people to. How long is it going to take us to find out?"
74 "Go to your stinking Lords!" the slaver told him. "I'll not tell you
anything. You don't dare stay here until morning, and I'm sure no
matter what you do, I won't speak before then. So why don't you take
your men and get out of here?"
75 One of the women among the slaves suddenly came forward. "Master of
Spirit," she cried, "you do not have to torture him. I can tell you
what you want to know."
76 "Shut up, whore," screamed the slaver, "Or when this is over I'll
have your tongue cut out!"
77 "Don't worry, woman," said The Hawk, "where he's going he won't be
able to harm you. Tell me what you know."
78 "When they first brought me here," the woman explained, "he decided
to educate me. Once or twice a day the guards would drag me to his room
so he could