Not a poll, as I want to encourage freeform answers (and we all know crux would win anyway). But say you happen to own some slaves, and some of those slaves that despite that they're going to abscond and live their own lives somewhere.
A) What would you do about it? Post a general reward? Hire someone? Search yourself? Or just write them off?
B) What would you do with them if they were brought back alive? I know many would just point to the forum title, but there are other possible sentences as well, not all as fatal.
C) Would the above alter based on the slave? Male or female, young or old, normally obedient or troublemaker, field slave of favourite bedwarmer - does it make any difference? Does their motive?
Sorry for the threadnomancy but I felt compelled to answer.
A) I’m certainly not going to “write them off”! Such a concept is appalling, if I allow such an act of personal effrontery to slide, my slaves would attempt to rebel at any time!
I’d employ slave catchers, inform the law to keep an eye out, post a generous reward, and search myself with my hunting hounds. Slave is preferably returned alive, and in chains. Any damage will be assumed to be the fault of the slave.
B) They must be cruelly tortured over a long time frame, say at least a month, in public so the other slaves can see. All slaves would also be given an additional 30 lashes above their daily allotment for allowing the escape to occur. All shackles and fetters would be checked thoroughly for defect and shortened painfully for the next 6 weeks duration.
The aim is to make the escapee’s pathetic life even more miserable to serve as an example. On the first day they would be heavily flogged with the Cat and bullwhip. branded with escapee symbols deeply into their cheek, breast, and buttock.
Each day would bring fresh pain from a different torture method, in addition to being whipped twice, once in the morning as the other slaves eat breakfast, and again at dinner. Each time a new torture would be added. Chained in barbed wire, nails hammered into webbing between fingers and toes, bamboo torture under finger and toe nails, beaten with a rod, breast and genital skewering, flaying patches of skin, racking, riding the horse, strappado, bastinado, hooks, etc.
On special torture days I would mercifully dispense with the lashings in favour of torture with hot irons and other heated implements or heavy electro torture.
Disfavoured slaves may lose part of a limb to slow multi day torture (no simple amputations for these miscreants) or an eye to a poker, or both.
To keep such a slave properly chained, the missing cuff would be replaced by nailing the chain to the remaing limb, usually the wrist after a hand was tortured and eventually had to be amputated.
I need to instill fear into all my slaves so it’s important to keep my victim alive, thus healers and a doctor are on hand at all times to keep the wretch alive.
They are to be tortured beyond despair until begging for death. At which point they are welded into permanent short chains (or nailed as required), and sent to the quarry to be worked til death under the watchful gaze and lash of my cruelest overseers. The last such escapee lasted over 15 years in complete misery yet made me a profit on my precious quarry stone...
C) If the slave were favoured, I would lovingly deliver all the torture personally, expressing my love directly with my kind cruelty. I may leave their limbs and eyes intact if feeling merciful and if they respond correctly. At my discretion I may favour them to live out their remaining miserable existence chained in my torture chamber.
The important lesson is not so much for the escapee but for the other slaves. I must instil in them the fear of escape. That the price is too heavy to even contemplate escape, and that it is any slave’s solemn duty to report any rumours of proposed escape attempts...
My slaves love me through fear. They understand as chattel they are only fit to serve beneath my boot under my lash. Anything less than total commitment to me will be dealt with severely.
My philosophy is that Crucifixion is only used if required after months of torture.... i agree it is a perfect instrument for a slave’s death but try to only employ it as part of my generous retirement package.
I prefer pain and agony over much longer timeframes as it creates despair of any choice by my property. And because I can savour it.
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In summary, it’s probably not a good idea to put an extreme masochist like me in charge of a slave camp, because I will visit my most brutal fantasy’s upon my objects. Without any mercy or pity, served in frustration that I am truthfully on the wrong side of the whip!
