mall and
fast, that's what I always say."

"I always say that, too," Jason agreed, digging into his boot with his
fingertip. He had managed to shove his best file and a lockpick into
hiding there while Mikah was betraying him back in their room. The
attack on Narsisi with the hammer had just been a cover up.

Jason had made the file himself after many attempts at manufacturing
and hardening steel, and the experiments had been successful. He
picked out the clay that covered the cut he had made in his leg-cuffs
and tackled the soft iron with vigor; within three minutes they were
lying on the floor.

"You a magician?" Snarbi whispered, shuddering back.

"Mechanic. On this planet they're the same thing." He looked around
but the exhausted slaves were all asleep and had heard nothing.
Wrapping a piece of leather around it to muffle the sound he began to
file a link in the chain that secured the shackles on his wrists.
"Snarbi," he asked, "are we on the same chain?"

"Yeah, the chain goes through these iron cuff things and holds the
whole row of slaves together, the other end goes out through a hole in
the wall."

"Couldn't be better. I'm filing one of these links, and when it goes
we're both free. See if you can't slip the chain through the holes in
your shackles and lay it down without letting the next slave know what
is happening. We'll wear these iron cuffs for now, there is no time to
play around with them and they shouldn't bother us too much. Do the
guards come through here at all during the night to check on the
slaves?"

"Not since I've been here, just wake us up in the morning by pulling
on the chain."

"Then let's hope that's what happens again tonight, because we are
going to need plenty of time--_there!_" The file had cut through the
link. "See if you can get enough of a grip on the other end of this
link while I hold this end, we'll try and bend it open a bit." They
strained silently until the opening gaped wide and the next link
fitted through the cut.

They slipped the chain and laid it silently on the ground, then
drifted noiselessly to the door.

"Is there a guard outside?" Jason asked.

"Not that I know. I don't think they have enough men here to guard all
the slaves."

The door would not budge when they pushed against it, and there was
just light enough to make out the large keyhole of a massive inset
lock. Jason probed lightly with the pick and curled his lip in
contempt.

"These idiot