A Dilemma

Erdric had never heard of slavery.

"It's very similar to serfdom," Andras said. "You have serfs in your village, no? Some of the farmers—they owe customary duties to their lord."

"But that is no different from a rent. That is not forced."

"They are required to give it," Andras said. "And are bound to the land, unable to move. If they leave, they can be hunted down and taken back."

"Why would they leave their land? It is their land. You don't leave land, you keep it."

This was somewhat absurd of Erdric to say, since he himself was an eldest son who had left behind his father's land, but the Paladin could be inconsistent sometimes.

Anyway, the concept of slavery made no sense to Erdric. To keep someone chained up, to force them, through violence, to work for you. It was wrong. He had never heard of such a thing. It was what ogres did in stories—human beings didn't do such things.

But it was necessary to make Erdric understand that slavery was, in fact, permissible in their kingdom, because Erdric had recently heard about a terrible crime: a Marcher lord, one of the little knights who lived on the border of recently-conquered pagan lands, was taking pagan women captive and doing things to them.

Everyone in this region was familiar with this lord, Damien, and with his women. Even Andras knew about them. This lord had a chamber in his home—his seraglio—where these women were kept, and he invited his knights to participate in the things he did to them.

"The women are said to be quite willing," Andras said. "They were trained in these things—the women—it is what they know."

But Erdric was not convinced. He set his course, walking to the castle of this lord. He intended to kill the man.

Normally, the Paladin and Ser Andras slept outside, and they ate only their special bread. But Erdric had also learned to recognize homes that kept to the old ways: their lintels often sported special runes. And in these homes, he could often rest and get his food.

However, in one village, Andras insisted that they linger for a while in a different home. It was a bad home, poorly kept, where the straw was rotten, and the children shivered in a corner, far away from the coals.

Erdric did not want to stay in this