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Aching, Dorian stretched his back as he waited for Tobby to finish with the slave frouards’ quarters Tobby pulled two levers, waited for a few moments, and then pulled a chain to the sound of distant clanking, then the man untied the top rope on his pack and Tobby tipped the pot over, sloshing the contents down the chute A rope attached to the bottoe down the chute

After he finished, Tobby walked over to Dorian "This your last run?"

Dorian yawned and stretched "Yes, I--" he lost his balance and the weight of the crap pot yanked him backward toward the open maw of a chute He screaainst Dorian’s knees

For several ainst the sinews of his legs and sto to pull him into oblivion or rip him in half, but as the open-topped pot released its contents down the chute, the pain faded

Once the pot was e to follow your predecessor, huh?" Tobby asked

"What?"

Tobby chuckled "Why’d you figure they needed another eunuch? Last harem carrier did what you just did only I wasn’t so fast that day"

"Shit," Dorian said

Tobby laughed loudly like a braying donkey Surely thefrom his brush with death Good God, it hadn’t even occurred to hi is," Tobby said, "he didn’t die from the ride They killed hio anyway?"

"Where does this shit go anyway?" Tobby echoed, then laughed again "Down to the mines Nearly drops on the heads a them sorry bastards Soon as Arry fell in the chute, I routed him to one of the safe ones Would have saved his life, if he had sense"

"Safe ones?" Dorian asked

"You don’t know shit, do you?" He punched Dorian in the ar hi, did ya?"

"Nope, didn’t see that coot a million of ’em," Tobby said

"I bet" If ever there was a man who deserved his slavery, I’ve met him "Why are some chutes safe?" Dorian asked

"These chutes been here hunerds of years First there was only one chute At first it was a couple hunerd foot drop, from the bottom of the chute to the bottom of the chasm--well, after a couple hunerd years with twenty thousand folks shooting shit down it, there was no drop at all Good ol’ Batty Bertold got real nervous, thought an arht climb up the chute and attack the Citadel froets within fifty feet of the bottom of the chute, itch to a new chute We let that first one sit until it’s all soil Then the pit slaves cart it up and the guards sell it for fertilizer Course, I got to use all the chutes at least once a day so they don’t rust up and so the pit slaves can’t tell where the soil is firh to drown in When Arry went down, I switched up the chutes so he’d have a chance"

"How fast can you do that?" Dorian asked

Tobby tsked and pulled the third and the eighth lever and pulled the last chain It took hi the positions in his ave some shit to one of the meisters down there Can’t say I blah"