Jahl lives with his people, the Hamica, in the jungles of a nameless world. They live at one with nature. It’s a simple existence, centred around family and community. One day all this is snatched away when Jahl is captured by slavers. But he’s a proud man from a proud people, and he never shows his fright or anxiety, despite what he feels inside. They take him through the jungle, through swampland and farmland, to a town that has seen many like him come before. In a strange, wooden building in the middle of the town square, Jahl is put into a harness, naked and spread-eagle for all who have gathered there to see. It’s humiliating and degrading, especially when the bidding starts. For the first time, Jahl is truly frightened. Who will purchase him? And for what purpose?

Goodbye to the Jungle

They spent a little time at each stall, Brocknor examining each and every product, interrupting his browsing to greet various people he knew, and once or twice engaging in a short conversation. It seemed to provide him great pleasure, though Jahl was more bored than he could ever remember being since most people ignored him, or at best, gave him a brief polite smile.


Only when he heard mention of a runaway slave did his ears prick up.


A tall, stocky man with a large belly was talking to Brocknor. “They caught him heading east, towards the desert. Dunno why he should go there. Nothing but sand and heat and Death Stalkers. But he got what was coming. Got beaten pretty badly, and to cap it all, they cut off his toes. So he can move about”—he chuckled—”just not as easily as before.”


Chapter 15