The letter itself was thick. It was not a simple sheet of paper, but some intricate mass of layered wood. I had to assume this is what the women used for paper. It looked like it had been hand made.

Bane's entrance broke into my thoughts. He had stayed in the courtyard when we came up and burst in through the door.

“Other Warriors saw Ciara's outburst in the village," he said as soon as the door shut.

There was copious cursing for a moment.

Kein spoke forcefully, “I don't care what they want. We cannot put our Sister up at the posts."

Their upset finally got my attention and I sat the letter in it's box near the fire.

"They want her at the posts," Bane said plaintively. "Many are down there now waiting for us to take her."

“So take me," I offered trying to soothe them, but wincing at the proposition, "I can survive."

Damien was enraged at the suggestion. No other man was touching me. The idea they would put me up there was repulsive.

"Then punish me yourself. You said I had packed the things you could use to discipline me. Use what you have. I'd prefer a lashing from you to being groped by every man on the compound."

I remembered the erotic pain Damien had inflicted when he had flogged me in the mountains. They said they had lots of other ways to torture me gently. It seemed probable they could do that.

"You did Like it," Evan said calming down.

"It made you ready," Bane added remembering and smirking.

I called him a nasty name and he grinned wider

Christof spoke quickly while pacing, "We take her to the posts and put her up, but we leave her cuffs on. Damien makes an announcement this is how it is done in the red mountains."

Damien came to stand in front of me and ran a finger down my cheek. "I will bring you pleasure later," he promised simply.

Damien turned and walked toward their closet. I wondered what he would choose to use on me. Try as I might I couldn't remember packing anything.

The men striped me of my ornamentation, except my collar and cuffs. No one else was going to touch me while we were down there. Their protection stayed on me. Only my family would be involved in this discipline.

“The men are going to fight it," Kein said quietly.

“We were always told we could not do this. They will find it odd."

Evan spoke up, "We can tell them we've already done it once.

“We tell the truth. This is how men from the red mountains discipline a trained slave that has misbehaved. Discipline like this cannot be done on a new slave. Ciara has been here long enough. They can be made to understand," Damien said coming out of the closet.