Kurim gave a curt order to the men holding the tall girl. She was dragged by them to a gibbet that stood on the edge of the parade ground. It was set upon a small platform, one large enough for a full grown man to swing a bullwhip from.
Another order from Kurim caused an underling to dash off into the barracks. A few moments later, he returned with a long leather whip. Kurim took it from him and mounted the platform.
The soldiers were having a hard time with their captive. They had loosened her hands from behind her back and she was twisting and turning, struggling to free herself from their grasp, desperately seeking to avoid attachment to the extended arm of the gibbet. It took another man’s help, but the soldiers soon had the frantic black woman’s hands tied before her. They took a ro
