Caste of Metal Workers

"Then bring her to the shop of the metal worker. I shall await you there. Bring, too, a pole and cage to the shop."

"Yes, Captain," said the second officer.

"Come with me, if you would," said Ulafi to me.

I followed him to the shop of the metal worker. Outside the shop, stripped, weeping, chained by the neck to a ring, freshly branded, was the girl who had been the Lady Sasi, of Port Kar. A guardsman stood near her. If she was not soon sold for the cost of her branding she would be taken and put on the public shelves, large, flat steps, leading down to the water, near where the Central canal meets Thassa, the sea. She was a cheap slave, but she was pretty. I did not think she should have attempted to inconvenience honest citizens. When she saw me she tried to cover herself and crouch small. I smiled. Did she not know she was branded?

"Heat an iron," said Ulafi to the metal worker, a brawny fellow in a leather apron.

"Tal," said the man to me.

"Tal," said I to him.

"We always keep an iron hot," said the metal worker. But he did turn to his assistant, a lad of some twelve years. "Heat the coals," said he to him. The lad took a bellows and, opening and closing it, forced air into the conical forge. The handles of some six irons, their heads and a portion of their shafts buried in the coals, could be seen.

I looked out the door of the shop. I could see the girl, about one hundred and fifty yards away, her wrists crossed and bound before her, tied by the wrists to a heavy ring at the side of the pier. She knelt. Then the first stroke of the whip hit her. She screamed. Then she could scream no more but was twisting, gasping, on her stomach, and side and back, under the blows of the whip. I think she had not understood before what it might mean, truly, to be whipped. Men passed her, going about their business. The disciplining of a slave girl on Gor is not that unusual a sight.

"I have five brands," said the metal worker, "the common Kajira brand, the Dina, the Palm, the mark of Treve, the mark of Port Kar."

"We have a common girl to brand," said Ulafi. "Let it be the common Kajira brand."

I could see that the girl had now been unbound from the ring. She could apparently not walk. One of the seamen had thrown her over his shoulder and was bringing her toward the shop. She was in shock. I think she had not realized what the whip could do to her.

Yet the beating had been merciful and brief. I doubt that she was struck more than ten or fifteen times.

I think the purpose of the whipping had been little more than to teach her what the whip could feel like. A girl who knows what the whip can feel like strives to be pleasing to the master.

I could see the lateen sails on Ulafi's ship loosened on their yards.

Men stood by the mooring ropes.

Two sailors, behind the second officer, carried a slave cage. It was supported on a pole, the ends of which rested on their shoulders.

The girl was brought into the shop and stood in the branding rack, which was then locked on her, holding her upright. The metal worker placed her wrists behind her in the wrist clamps, adjustable, each on their vertical, flat metal bar. He screwed shut the clamps. She winced. He then shackled her feet on the rotating metal platform.

"Left thigh or right thigh?" he asked.

"Left thigh," said Ulafi. Slave girls are commonly branded on the left thigh. Sometimes they are branded on the right thigh, or lower left abdomen.

The metal worker turned the apparatus, spinning the shaft, with its attached, circular metal platform. The girl's left thigh now faced us. It was an excellent thigh. It would take the mark well. The metal worker then, with a wheel, tightening it, locked the device in place, so that it could not turn.

I looked at the girl's eyes. She hardly knew what was being done to her.

The metal worker drew out an iron and looked at it. "Soon," he said, putting it back.

I looked at the girl. She had tried to run away. She had lied at the praetor's desk. Yet her feet had not been removed. Her nose and ears had not been cut from her. She had been shown incredible mercy. She had only been whipped. Her transgressions, of course, had been first offenses, and she was only an ignorant barbarian. I think now, however, she clearly understood that Gorean men are not permissive, and that her second offenses in such matters would not be likely to be regarded with such lenience.

"She is in shock, or half in shock," I said.

"Yes," said the metal worker. "She should be able to feel the mark."

He took the girl by her hair and, by it, cruelly, shook her head; then he slapped her, sharply, twice. She whimpered.

"May I?" I asked. I pointed to a bucket of water nearby, used in tempering.

"Surely," said the metal worker.
I threw the cold water over the girl who, shuddering and sputtering, pulled back in the branding rack.

She looked at me, frightened. But her eyes were now clear. She twisted, wincing. She could now feel the pain of the whipping which she had endured. She sobbed. But she was no longer numb, or in shock. She was now a fully conscious slave, ready for her branding.

"The iron is ready," said the metal worker. It was a beautiful iron, and white hot.

Ulafi threw the metal worker a copper tarsk. "My friend here," said Ulafi, indicating me, "will use the iron."

I looked at him. He smiled. "You are of the metal workers, are you not?" he asked.

"Perhaps," I smiled. He had told me earlier that I was not of the metal workers.

"We are ready to sail," said Ulafi's first officer, who had come to report.

"Good," said Ulafi.

I donned leather gloves and took the iron from the metal worker, who cheerfully surrendered it. He assumed I was, because of my garb, of his caste.

Ulafi watched me, to see what I would do.

I held the iron before the girl, that she might see it. She shrank back. "No, no," she whimpered. "Please don't touch me with it."

The girl is commonly shown the iron, that she may understand its might, its heat and meaning.

"Please, no!" she cried.

I looked upon her. I did not then think of her as an agent of Kurii. I saw her only as a beautiful woman, fit for the brand.

She tried, unsuccessfully, to struggle. She could move her wrists, her upper body and feet somewhat, but she could not move her thighs, at all. They were, because of the construction of the branding rack, held perfectly immobile. They would await the kiss of the iron.

"Please, no," she whimpered. Then I branded her.

"An excellent mark," said Ulafi.

While she still sobbed and screamed the metal worker freed her wrists of the clamps. Ulafi put her immediately in slave bracelets, braceleting her hands behind her, that she not tear at the brand. The metal worker then freed her thighs of the rack, and she sank, sobbing, to her knees. He freed her ankles of the shackles which had held them at the circular, metal platform. Ulafi then, pushing her head down, fastened the sturdy, steel shipping collar on her throat, snapping it shut behind the back of her neck. It had five palms on it, and the sign of Schendi, the shackle and scimitar.

"Put her in the cage and load her," said Ulafi.

The girl was then taken, braceleted, and thrust into the tiny slave cage, which was then locked shut. She knelt, sobbing, in the cage. The two sailors then lifted the cage on its poles, and, kneeling, she was lifted within it. I looked at her. I saw in her eyes that she had begun to suspect what it might mean to be a slave girl.

She was carried to the ship.

I did not think she would now escape. I thought now she could be used easily to help locate Shaba, the geographer of Anango, the equatorial explorer. In my sea bag were the notes for him, made out to bankers of Schendi. In my sea bag, too, was the false ring, which the girl had carried.

"I am grateful to you for having apprehended the slave," said Ulafi to me.

"It was nothing," I said.

"You also marked her superbly," he said. "Doubtless, in time, she will grow quite proud of that brand."

I shrugged. "Captain," said I.

"Yes," said he.

"I would still like to book passage with you to Schendi," I said.

He smiled. "You are welcome to do so," he said.

"Thank you," I said.

"It will cost you a silver tarsk," he said.

"Oh," I said.

He shrugged. "I am a merchant," he explained.

I gave him a silver tarsk, and he turned about and went down to the ship.

"I wish you well," I said to the metal worker.

"I wish you well," said he to me. I was pleased that I had branded women before.

I wondered how much Ulafi knew.

I then left the shop of the metal worker.
Explorers of Gor     Book 13     Pages 70 - 74


I had thought that some wench, probably one to be purchased in Schendi, would have been a useful addition to my disguise, as an aid in establishing and confirming my pretended identity as a metal worker from the island of Teletus.
Explorers of Gor     Book 13     Page 74


One of my men, Chungu, was hunting for the girl in the vicinity of the Rim canal. In that area he saw two assailants, a man and his female accomplice, subdued by one who wore the garb of the metal workers. Further, this deed was apparently performed with dispatch, a dispatch scarcely to be expected of one who was of the metal workers.
Explorers of Gor     Book 13     Page 84


"You were the fellow in the garb of the metal workers," said Ulafi.
"Yes," I said.
"When the assailants were brought to the praetor's desk, too," said he, "it was seen that their wrists had been bound with capture knots."
"I see," I said.
"Such knots are tied by a warrior," he said.
"Perhaps," I said.
"Why are you bound for Schendi?" asked Ulafi.
"If you knew me not of the metal workers," I asked, "why did, you permit me to mark the blond-haired slave?"
"I wished to see what you would do," he said.
"You risked a badly marked thigh on the girl," I said.
"The mark was perfect," said Ulafi.
"Thus you see," said I, "that I am truly of the metal workers."
"No," said Ulafi. "I knew you were not of the metal workers. Thus I saw that you were truly of the warriors."
"Should I have blurred the brand?" I asked.
"That would have been a shame," said he, smiling.
"True," I grinned. All men like a well-marked girl.
"Too," said he, "that would have shown, had you done poorly, that you were not of the metal workers."
Explorers of Gor     Book 13     Page 85


The wallet was cut from my belt. The officer shook out gold pieces and silver tanks into his hand.
"You see?" I asked.
"He arrived in Schendi," said Msaliti, "in the garb of a metal worker. You see him now in the garb of a leather worker." Msaliti smiled. "What metal worker or leather worker," he asked, "carries such funds?"
Explorers of Gor     Book 13     Page 216


It is possible, though it is seldom the case, that members of a caste are not permitted to practice specific caste skills, though they may be permitted to practice subsidiary skills. For example, one who is of the Metalworkers might not be permitted to work iron, but might be permitted to do such things as paint iron, and transport and market it. Caste rights, of course, such as the right to caste support in time of need and caste sanctuary, when in flight, which are theirs by birth, remain theirs. The women of a given caste, it should be noted, often do not engage in caste work. For example, a woman in the Metalworkers does not, commonly, work at the forge, nor is a woman of the Builders likely to be found supervising the construction of fortifications. To be sure, certain skills tend to be associated traditionally with certain castes, a fact which is clearly indicated in caste titles, such as the Leatherworkers, the Metalworkers, the Singers, and the Peasants.
Fighting Slave of Gor     Book 14     Pages 209 - 210


It is, too, recognized that all, or most, of the castes perform necessary, commendable or useful functions. The Leatherworker, accordingly, does not spend much time envying the Metalworker, or the Metalworker the Leatherworker, or either the Clothworker, and so on. All need sandals and wallets, and clothes, and metal tools. Each does, however, tend to think of his own caste as something special, and, somehow, I suspect, as being perhaps a little bit preferable to the others. Most Goreans are quite content with their castes; this is probably a function of caste pride.
Fighting Slave of Gor     Book 14     Page 211


I heard the ringing of a metal worker's hammer on metal, where simple straps of iron were being curved about the necks of beauties, their heads and hair over the anvil, these serving as temporary collars.
Fighting Slave of Gor     Book 14     Page 378


"She is not branded," observed another.
"That technicality can be swiftly remedied by a metal worker," said one of the men.
Rouge of Gor     Book 15     Page 55


Also on the way home I purchased her a slave tunic and stopped at the shop of a metal worker, where I had her measured and purchased a collar for her. I had the collar inscribed according to my specifications. I put it in my sack, with its two keys, tied to it with a string.
Rouge of Gor     Book 15     Page 127


Lightning lit the sky. Thunder cracked. Rain tore its way downward.
"It is a severe storm," said Ivar Forkbeard, near me, on the deck of his serpent.
Then lightning again illuminated the stormy sky and the driving torrents of rain, and then the lightning and rain were gone, and then there were great ringing blows, and the great hammer of Kron, of the Metal Workers, lifting and falling, smote on a mighty anvil, showering sparks in the night, which fell into the calm sea and glowed there like diamonds, and I rolled to my back and looked upwards to see that the diamonds were in the sky, and were stars.
Blood Brothers of Gor     Book 18     Page 307


I was being conducted even now the shop of a metal worker, there to be marked and receive, and have locked upon me, measured and fitted, a suitable, inflexible, identificatory circlet of bondage.
Kajira of Gor     Book 19     Page 231


Would it not be a splendid jest, now, to take Sheila, the Tatrix of Corcyrus, to the shop of a metal worker, to see her writhe and scream under the iron, to have her fitted with a collar and then lock it on her throat, to make her an actual slave?
Kajira of Gor     Book 19     Pages 247 - 248


I recalled that Hassan, in Ar, had informed her that they would make a stop first, before proceeding to his lodgings That stop, I now realized, must have been the shop of metal worker. There the slave mark would have been burned into her thigh.
Kajira of Gor     Book 19     Page 356


Menicius stood before me. He put out his hands and I lifted my chained wrists to him. He took my hands and turned them over, looking at the snug wrist rings locked on them.
"If I had my tools," he said, "I could have these off of you in a matter of Ehn."
I looked up at him, startled. I knew, of course, that he was of the metal workers.
"But without a key, or such help, you are absolutely helpless in them, aren't you?" he asked.
"Yes, Master," I said.
Kajira of Gor     Book 19     Page 395


Because of the caste of thieves there is probably much less thievery in Port Kar than in most cities of comparable size. They regulate their numbers and craft in much the same way that, in many cities, the various castes, such as those of the metal workers or cloth workers, do theirs.
Mercenaries of Gor     Book 21     Page 239


My ears had been pierced. It had been done yesterday morning. The metal worker had put tiny, circular training pins in them, to keep the wounds from closing.
I was relieved. It seemed my master had only wished to inspect the results of the metal worker's work. Too, I was pleased to note that he seemed pleased with the work.
. . .
"The metal worker did his work well," he said. "Your ears are excellently pierced."
Dancer of Gor     Book 22     Pages 258 - 259


"I am of humble caste," I said. It made me nervous, of course, to say such things. For a slave to claim caste is a serious matter. Similarly, it would not be wise for her to be caught in the garments of a free woman. That, too, is a terribly serious offense.
"What is your caste?" he asked.
His caste, as I could see from his garments, was that of the metal workers.
"Yours," I said. "That of the metal workers."
"We share caste," he said. "Too," he laughed, "I may remind you that that is no humble caste. Where would the dwellers of cities be without us?" This was a way of saying, in the parlance of the caste, that the utilities and workings of metal were essential for a high civilization. Then he looked at me kindly, and spoke seriously, "You should not have hesitated for a moment to speak to me."
"You are kind," I said. To be sure, much charity, and fraternal organizations, and even outings, and such, are organized on caste lines. Caste is extremely important to most Goreans, even when they do not all practice the traditional crafts of their caste. It is one of the "nationalities" of the Gorean, so to speak. Other common "nationalities," so to speak, are membership in a kinship organization, such as a clan, or phratry, a group of clans, or a larger grouping yet, a tribe or analogous to a tribe, a group of phratries, and a pledged allegiance to a Home Stone, usually that of a village, town or city. It seems that in the distant past of Gor these kinship allegiances were, in effect, political allegiances, or generated political allegiances, which, later, interestingly, as life became more complex, and populations more mobile, became separated. Kinship structures do not now figure strongly in Gorean public life, although in some cities divisions of the electorate, those free citizens entitled to participate in referenda, and such, remain based on them.
"I have six tarsk bits with me," he said, "I will give you three."
I recalled my training. I recalled, too, in my training, how one of my master's men had shoved the point of a dagger a quarter of an inch into my belly, below the navel, and informed me how he could spill my guts into his hand.
"One would be more than enough," I said. "Honor could not permit me taking more."
"Take two, then," he said.
I took the two tarsk bits. I slipped them, as though thankfully, into the purse, on its two strings, dangling from my belt, hanging at my side. My master's men, of course, would gather them out later.
Dancer of Gor     Book 22     Pages 292 - 293


"Master!" I called to him, gratefully, then dancing back from him, in the sand. Others restrained him from following me and seizing me. Then I was too near the other side of the circle, and returned, quickly, gracefully, to its center, dancing to first one man and then another. More than one reached out for me. Their grasping hands were but a yard or two from me.
"You were surely never of the metal workers!" laughed the fellow who had been of that caste.
"No, Master," I assured him.
"No woman of my caste could move like that!" he cried.
"Do not be too sure, Master," I cautioned him.
I saw sweat upon his forehead, and his fists clench as he perhaps recalled some women he had known, of that caste. Surely the women of his caste, too, could be taught to dance, and to lick and kiss, and serve, and even superbly, such that they might drive a man wild with desire. Were they not, too, in the final analysis, only females? I had known two slaves who had once been of his caste, Corinne, in the house of my training, and Laura, in Hendow's tavern. Both had been superb slaves. To be sure, being slaves, they were no longer in his caste. Animals do not have caste.
Dancer of Gor     Book 22     Page 331


Tharna's first minister, who stands second only to the Tatrix, is not of high caste but of lowly origin, only of the metal workers.
Dancer of Gor     Book 22     Page 385


I saw the young crossbowman, under the cover of a shield, held by his friend, the other young fellow from the front wall, harvesting quarrels from the walkway. These were fine quarrels, crafted by metal workers, not sharpened rods, not blunt sticks, fit for stunning birds.
Renegades of Gor     Book 23     Page 314


Names were read, and domiciles. Men were assigned to follow up on each slave the next morning and report back to a certain metalworker's shop.
Magicians of Gor     Book 25     Page 228


Because there are many Goreans who cannot read, many stores, shops, and such, will utilize various signs and devices to identify their place of business. For example, a large, wooden image of a paga goblet may hang outside a tavern, a representation of a hammer and anvil outside a metal-worker's shop, one of a needle and thread outside a cloth-worker's shop, and so on.
Magicians of Gor     Book 25     Page 393


How they would rejoice upon her recovery, and would hasten to cover her, and send for one of the metal workers, to relieve her of her effective, shameful bonds.
Magicians of Gor     Book 25     Page 486


In any event, it would seem to me that the Peasants is surely one of, if not the, most significant of the castes of this world. So much depends upon them! Too, I am sure they do not regard themselves as being the lowest of the castes. In fact, I doubt that any caste regards itself as being the lowest of the castes. It would seem somewhat unlikely that any caste would be likely to accept that distinction. Perhaps many castes regard themselves as equivalent, or at least, as each being the best in diverse ways. For example, the Leather Workers would presumably be better at working leather than the Metal Workers, and the Metal Workers would presumably be better at working metal than the Leather Workers, and so on. One needs, or wants, it seems, all castes.
Witness of Gor     Book 26     Page 245


Why would the Priest-Kings, I wondered, if they really required intermediaries, and were unable to deal directly with men, and, indeed, if there was any point in them dealing with men at all, have chosen to achieve this end with so eccentric and improbably a caste? Why would they not have chosen some other caste, say, the Metal Workers or the Leather Workers, as intermediaries? Those casts, at least, seemed to be populated with men.
Witness of Gor     Book 26     Page 424


A branding rack had been used, to hold us steady for the mark. Our hands had been braceleted behind our backs, to the belly chain, that we not be able to tear at the brand. My entire group, it was said, had been excellently marked. Certainly I was. But this was not surprising for the iron masters in such a place, of the caste of Metal Workers, are skilled.
Witness of Gor     Book 26     Page 500


Testimony from a metal worker, one traveling from Besnit to Brundisium, one who had been engaged in the manufacture of the wares in Besnit, seeing such articles in Harfax, and noting them marked as they were, in a way he knew false, alerted the house of William.
Witness of Gor     Book 26     Page 510


After the golden collar had been cut away, and the napkin, with its filings, carefully gathered up and folded, I had been led, held by the hair, my head held at the hip of one of the men, to an anvil. My head and neck were laid upon it. Out of the corner of my eye I saw a sturdy, rounded bar of iron. This bar was bent into a curve, but the curve was not closed on one side. It was shaped rather like the letter C. this was put about my neck. I saw a heavy hammer rise. Then, as I closed my eyes, this bar, with powerful, expert strokes, was shaped about my neck. The C had now become a closed circle. The curve was regular; the two ends were flush. It had been well put upon me. I suspected that my captor, he who had wielded the hammer, might be, or might once have been, of the Metal Workers.
Witness of Gor     Book 26     Page 674


"I will send for one of the metal workers tonight," he said, "and we will get this collar and tag off your neck. Then, afterward, we will see that you are chained. And, in the morning, when we leave, I will put you in the coffle."
Prize of Gor     Book 27     Page 374


In a few minutes a fellow in the black and gray of the metal workers appeared and removed her collar, with the attached tag. He then made use of her, briefly, and then freed her from the trestle. She was then, held bent over, in common leading position, her head at his hip, taken back about the tent and chained for the night.
Prize of Gor     Book 27     Page 375


In the festival camp there were many forms of merchandise, other than the flesh loot, such as she, of Cosian conquests, merchandise such as produce, meat, leather and metal work, cloth, cabinetry, artifacts, tools, weapons, remedies, wagons, carts, precious stones, and such. Too, there were animals to be vended, other than human females, such as verr, bosk and tharlarion.
Prize of Gor     Book 27     Page 399


She was being beaten. "Fourteen!" he said. She now hung sobbing in the ropes. Two fellows of the caste of metal workers entered the hall. "Tal," said they to Selius Arconious. "Tal," said he to them. "Aii!" wept Ellen. "Fifteen," said Selius Arconious.
Prize of Gor     Book 27     Page 698


But, too, should not each caste concern itself with its own business, the metal worker with metals, the peasant with the soil, the mariner with the sea, and so on?
Swordsmen of Gor     Book 29     Page 2


"The collar is locked!" she said. "I cannot take it off!"
"That is common with female slaves," I said.
"You do not understand!" she hissed.
"What do I not understand?" I asked.
"Nothing, nothing," she said, sullenly.
"Do not fear," I said. "With proper tools the collar may be easily removed. Any metal worker, with the proper tools, could manage the business without difficulty."
Swordsmen of Gor     Book 29     Page 83


At this point the fellow who had left the pavilion a bit ago returned and, with him, was a burly fellow, not of the "strange men," carrying tools, who was, if not of the caste of metal workers, one at least, it seemed, who was familiar with certain aspects of their craft.
In a few moments Miss Wentworth's slender, aristocratic, fair throat was freed of the light, attractive collar. Swordsmen of Gor     Book 29     Page 219


Metal workers could fashion Anangan darts.
Swordsmen of Gor     Book 29     Page 285


There was, for example, from the signs, a wainwright's shop, mostly for repair, I supposed, a Leather Worker's shop, probably for harnesses and traces, a Metal Worker's shop, probably mostly to furnish wagoner's hardware, and such.
Mariners of Gor     Book 30     Page 69


Then he drew on my leash and I followed him, and found myself brought into a small building, one of those few in which a lamp had been burning, visible through the window. It was a Metal Worker's shop, and it was empty. There was a fire in the forge. I thought this strange, for the Ahn. A bell hung at one side of a door, leading through the back, perhaps to the proprietor's private quarters.
Mariners of Gor     Book 30     Page 70


'Is the iron ready?' asked the leader, of the Metal Worker. I heard an iron moved amongst coals, then lifted from them, and thrust again amidst them. I did not look. 'Nearly,' said the Metal Worker.
Mariners of Gor     Book 30     Page 72


He then handed the collar, the key left inserted in the lock, to one of the young fellows, one of those I thought likely to be a son of the Metal Worker. The young man looked at the device approvingly. It was, I knew, a quality collar, finely tooled and attractive.
Mariners of Gor     Book 30     Page 72


As I put my head back, sobbing, I felt a cloth measuring tape put about my neck, read, and removed. The Metal Worker then sorted through the encirclements on the projecting spindle, and, a moment later, approached the rack. In another moment, I felt a collar snapped about my neck, and then turned, so that the lock was at the back of my neck. The key was handed to the leader.
Mariners of Gor     Book 30     Page 73


"I was freed of the rack by the two young men, and, each holding an arm, they assisted me, half carrying me, for I could barely walk, back through the shop, and the private quarters, toward a rear entrance, from which one might approach the stable yard of what had been the Inn of Ragnar. As I passed through the kitchen, we passed a sturdy, stocky woman in rags, clearly of a low-caste aspect, doubtless the companion of the Metal Worker. I was afraid of her because of her overt attitude of contempt and hostility, and, as I was considerably slighter than she, I was sure she could easily subdue me, and hurt me, should it please her. 'Hereafter,' she said, 'do not bring an animal through my kitchen.' As I passed she spat upon me. Behind her was a younger woman, probably her daughter. I think it was she whom I had seen drawing water, earlier. The girl regarded me, curiously. I sensed she might be comparing herself with me, perhaps wondering which of us might bring a higher price in a market.
Mariners of Gor     Book 30     Pages 73 - 74


One of the great saws, heavy, eleven feet in length, with gigantic metal teeth, fashioned from iron timber braces, by the ship's Metal Workers, on its rope, was lowered over the side, to the men below. There it would be weighted, its back rings fitted with draw chains, and the whole fixed in its pulleyed frame, to be dropped and raised, again and again, and, by means of the draw chains, pulled against the ice.
Mariners of Gor     Book 30     Page 135


But the ice, like the forge pliers of a Metal Worker, slowly, little by little, began to close on the wood.
Mariners of Gor     Book 30     Page 136


Whereas all natural societies are characterized by rank, distance, and hierarchy, acknowledged or not, I think there is no Gorean caste, from the highest to the lowest, which does not regard itself as the equal or superior, in one way or another, to that of every other. Where would society be without the Builders, the Merchants, the Metal Workers, the Cloth Workers, the Wood Workers, the Leather Workers, the Peasant, with the great bow, the ox on whom the Home Stone rests?
Mariners of Gor     Book 30     Pages 365 - 366


She was not collared, but such an oversight may be remedied quickly, at the shop of any Metal Worker.
Mariners of Gor     Book 30     Page 561


"But," said Eve, "if we are of low caste, of the Metal Workers, the Cloth Workers, the Workers in Wood, the Leather Workers, the Bakers, the Tarnsters, or such, we would have to be placed lower at the tables."
Conspirators of Gor     Book 31     Page 26


How frightful, I thought, to be badly branded. To be sure, such things seldom occurred. Most marking is done by members of the caste of Metal Workers. Most such shops will have a slaving iron, and it is often at hand, and, if not heated, ready to be thrust into the glowing coals of his forge. The Metal Workers, too, do most of the collar work, measuring, fitting, and such.
Conspirators of Gor     Book 31     Page 73


She looked about. "You," she said to a tall, strapping fellow, in the gray and black of the Metal Workers, "untie this slave."
Conspirators of Gor     Book 31     Page 215


This had occurred after the incident of the Sul Market, that dealing with the Metal Worker. I was still smarting from that episode. I recalled my humiliation, my helpless fury, on my knees before him, put there by his words, half stripped and bound, and he one of lesser caste, only a Metal Worker!
Conspirators of Gor     Book 31     Page 220


There would be of course, hundreds of Metal Workers in Ar.
Conspirators of Gor     Book 31     Page 267


Who had been in those bloodied shreds of black and gray, the colors of the Metal Workers?
Conspirators of Gor     Book 31     Page 269


I wished he in whose charge I was, Desmond, in the black and gray of the Metal Workers, would return.
Conspirators of Gor     Book 31     Page 315


A bit later the door at the far end of the room opened, and a large-handed, brawny fellow, bearded, with a leather cap entered, carrying a lidless tool box by its triangular handle. As soon as we saw that the entrant was male we went to first-obeisance position, kneeling, head to the floor, hands, palms down, at the side of our head.
The tool box was set down near us and we, not looking up heard the fellow reaching into the box, moving one or another of its contents about.
A bit later I heard Jane gasp heard a sharp cutting sound, and, a bit later, the dropping of a light metal object into the tool box.
"May I speak, Master?" I begged.
"Yes," he said, moving toward me.
"There is some mistake," I said. "We are the slaves of the Lady Bina, honored guest in this household. We belong to her!"
"There is no mistake," he said. "Keep your head down."
I felt a thick, curved blade thrust between my neck and the collar, and knew this was matched with a similar blade, one with which it was paired. The tool had two stout handles which were spread, and would then be brought muchly together. The fellow held the two handles rather at the end, where the most leverage might be exerted. I sensed him strain, then apply more pressure, and then I heard the breaking of the metal. He put the tool down and spread and pulled the sides of the rent collar from my throat. I heard it put into the tool box.
Conspirators of Gor     Book 31     Pages 455 - 456


"Where is Earth?" he said.
"Master?" I said.
"Is it north of the Vosk?" he asked. "Is it east of the Barrens?"
I looked at him. Surely he knew Earth was another world. Did he not have access to the Second Knowledge? Perhaps he was indeed a Metal Worker, one of a lower caste, and had attained only to the First Knowledge.
Conspirators of Gor     Book 31     Page 562


"I do not even know the caste of my Master," I said.
"It is what I wish it to be," he said, "a Metal Worker a Forester, a Poet, or Singer, a Cloth Worker, a Peasant, a Scribe, such things."
"It is sometimes convenient to be of one caste, sometimes of another."
"It is a disguise," I said.
"Of course," he said. "In some ventures, in some pursuits, it is well to blend in, to attract less attention."
Conspirators of Gor     Book 31     Page 660


I supposed that some of the metal workers' shops would now be open.
Smugglers of Gor     Book 32     Page 77


"I do not trust men," said another of the Panther Women, Hiza, whose dark hair was cut as closely as that of a metal worker.
Smugglers of Gor     Book 32     Page 286


"As soon as I learned of your presence here," said Haruki, "given the possible eventuations involved, I instructed the village metal worker to have an iron ready."
Rebels of Gor     Book 33     Page 307


It might be mentioned in passing, that metal workers have often devised varieties of chain harnessing for slaves, as well.
Plunder of Gor     Book 34     Page 199


A fellow, in the gray of the Metal Workers, was approaching, moving south on Emerald.
Plunder of Gor     Book 34     Page 202


Perhaps you have already been given a number, and a place on a shipping list. Perhaps there is already a collar on Gor, one of hundreds, waiting in a slaver's house, which will be put on your neck. If not, one of the caste of metal workers can easily supply this lovely, light, identificatory device, nicely measured to your throat.
Quarry of Gor     Book 35     Pages 7 - 8


"On your neck," he said, "is the collar of the house. It would be risky for us to have it removed at a metal worker's shop, and madness for us to sell you with it on your neck. Too, we must be soon away."
Quarry of Gor     Book 35     Page 92


there was a leather worker's shop and a cloth worker's shop, some weavers in view, at their looms, and two metal worker's shops.
. . .
Outside one of these metal worker's shops, on racks and poles, hung a number of slave collars, slave bracelets, manacles, shackles, siriks, mixed chains, and various slave-holding devices, such as racks and spreaders. Toward the rear some slave cages were strewn about, in one of which, perhaps for purposes of display, there was, curled within its tiny confines, a nude slave.
Quarry of Gor     Book 35     Page 139

I moved aside to let a metal worker pass, coils of chain looped about his shoulder.
Avengers of Gor     Book 36     Page 63

"One who is of the Merchants, who deals in gold, or one who is of the Metal Workers, who crafts ornaments of gold, or some of those who are of the yellow caste, the Builders, could make the determination," I said. "They have access to the crucible, the heat, the chemicals. The determination can be made in several ways."
Avengers of Gor     Book 36     Page 73

We looked after the two uniformed men, who were now accosting another visitor to the fair, this time in the gray of the metal workers.
Avengers of Gor     Book 36     Page 136

"When all is lost," I said, "the least one can do is to put a good end to things."

"It would be well to finish with a final, noble gesture," said Thrasymedes. "Such is not alone for the scarlet caste. What Merchant what Metal Worker, what Peasant, would have it otherwise?"
Avengers of Gor     Book 36     Pages 290 - 291

Also, apparently unwilling to be left out, certain castes had contributed their own floats to the parade, among them, the Shipwrights, Bakers, Distillers, and Metal Workers.
Avengers of Gor     Book 36     Page 389

"As the acrobat, the czehar player, and the swordsman," called Bombastico, "so, too, must the actor practice. Already, today, I have been a pastry cook, a Ubar, a shrewd scribe of the law, a befuddled metal worker, and a sly, oily fellow soliciting patronage for a paga tavern."
Avengers of Gor     Book 36     Page 424

I was trudging back up the walled corridor between Port of Samnium and Samnium, after my interrogation of the Cosian mariner, when I was accosted by a fellow in the garb of a Metal Worker.

"My captain," he said, "would have a word with you."

"Your captain?" I said.

"Are you Harold of Skjern?" he asked.

"I have been so known," I said.

"Please follow me," he said.

I saw that he wore the sandal boots common in the Cosian infantry.

"Certainly," I said.

After a few Ehn, following the fellow in the garb of a Metal Worker, I entered the now-familiar six-story building owned by the House of Iskander.
Warriors of Gor     Book 37     Page 154

"Merchants buy and sell," said the Tarnkeeper. "Initiates eschew beans and charge for prayers and spells. Scribes ink scrolls, Builders build, Physicians heal, Bakers bake, Metal Workers work metal, Leather Workers work leather, Players battle on the kaissa board, Warriors, in the kaissa of steel, battle on the field and in the sky.
Warriors of Gor     Book 37     Page 170

"I knew you were in Ar," said Myron. "We arrived first, and I had the gate watched, by Captain Kasos, whom you met in Samnium."

"Just outside Samnium," I said, "he in the guise of a Metal Worker."

"Yes, he," said Myron. "I had hoped, after the delivery of Talena to Marlenus on the anniversary of his Restoration, which is imminent, to see you, and perhaps share a paga or two."
Warriors of Gor     Book 37     Page 183

"No," I said. "Another. No, another. Another."

"The blades are identical," said the Metal Worker.

"They are not," I said. "Another."

"We have curved blades, from the Tahari," he said, "weighty steel from Torvaldsland, blades from the World's End, so sharp they can part dropped silk, excellent for lifting the veils of captured free women."

"The gladius," I said, "a blade with which I am familiar, another."

The Metal Worker put another sword on the counter.
The Gorean gladius, though double-edged, and capable of cutting on both the forestroke and the backstroke, without turning the wrist, is primarily a thrusting weapon. On the other hand, it is designed with both offense and defense in mind; it is thus suitable for fending as well as delivering blows, being adept in both stabbing and parrying. It is heavy enough to cut through leather and light enough, quick enough and nimble enough, to leap about with thoughtless ease. It is long enough to hold a dagger at bay, and short enough to work its way within the guard of larger, slower, less wieldy blades.

"Ah!" I said.

"It speaks to you?" asked the Metal Worker.

"We speak to one another," I said.

"You should pretend it displeases you," he said.

"I do not lie about steel," I said. "It dishonors it."

"It would not do to put your life in the hands of a blade you had dishonored," he said.

"Would you?" I asked.

"I think I know your caste," he said.

"How much?" I asked.

"Two silver tarsks," he said.

"A fellow could buy two, perhaps three or four, attractive slaves for that," I said.

"I have been accused of being part Merchant," he said. "I acknowledge freely that I am a scoundrel."

"Generally," I said, "bread takes priority over steel."

"But sometimes," he said, "steel takes priority over bread."

"Yes," I said.

"When dark matters, possibly red matters, are afoot," he said.

"Yes," I said.

"I am pleased we are friends," he said.

I drew two silver tarsks, my last two silver tarsks, from my wallet and handed them to the Metal Worker.

"The belt, sheath, and dagger, and sheath, are included in the price, of course," he said.

"I should hope so," I said.

"Wait," he said. He then went to the side and, a moment later, returned, and replaced the dagger by another.

"You know what you are doing?" I asked.

"Yes," he said. I lifted the blade, hefting it unobtrusively. "It is balanced for throwing," I said.

"I know," he said.

"That post across the room," I said. "Do you mind?"

"You see the small stain of paint on the post?" he said.

"That about the throat level, or that of the back of the neck, of a tall man?" I asked.

"The second," he said.

I faced away from the post, and then turned quickly and released the knife. It struck hard, and vibrated, the point sunk some two inches deep into the post, into the stain of paint.

The Metal Worker went to the post and worked the knife free, and then returned, and gave it to me.

"Now," he said, "I know I know your caste."

"I wish you well," I said.

"I wish you well," he said. I then left the shop.
Warriors of Gor     Book 37     Pages 275 - 276

"I see you are now armed," said the large fellow, now in the Merchant's yellow and white, stepping forth from a doorway. Clearly there was a sword beneath his robes.

I knew him from the vicinity of Samnium, Captain Kasos, an officer in the Cosian infantry, subordinate to Myron, polemarkos of Temos, polemarkos of Cos, apparently one trusted, surely one occupying a staff position, perhaps even that of adjutant.

"It seems you change caste as easily as your robes," I said.
Near Samnium he had been clad in the garb of a Metal Worker. Too, it had been he who had, in perhaps another disguise, watched at the great gate, to detect the arrival of Seremides and myself.
Warriors of Gor     Book 37     Page 277

Two burly fellows appeared at the door, in the gray of the Metal Workers, in the street, or district, of which I had rented this room.

"She is ready," I said.

"What are you going to do?" asked Talena.

"She is a beauty," said the first Metal Worker. "We will enjoy this."

"You are sure she is a slave and not a free woman?" asked the second, warily.

"Yes," I said.

"I am a free woman!" cried Talena.

"Is she of Brundisium?" asked the second.

"No," I said.

"Then it does not matter," he said.

"But I am free, free!" cried Talena.

"A free woman," I said, "may lie as much as she wishes. It is her prerogative. But, as you know, a slave may not do so. Are you a free woman?"

"What are you going to do?" she asked.

I placed a copper tarsk in the palm of the first Metal Worker.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"Proceed," I said to the Metal Workers. He who was first amongst the two turned about and left the doorway. The other went to Talena, took her by the upper left arm, and conducted her from the room.

Shortly thereafter I heard her scream.

A bit later she was returned to the room and cast to my feet before the curule chair.
Warriors of Gor     Book 37     Pages 541 - 542