Chapter 1 Summary

The novel opens with a slave auction. Our protagonist, Thorby, is a small boy for sale at this auction. Emaciated, scarred, and filthy, he clearly has endured many sufferings during his short life. Thorby evidently is not regarded by the buyers as a favorable piece of merchandise as none of them is willing to bid on him. He is finally purchased, for a very low price, by a mysterious beggar named Baslim.

Baslim takes Thorby to his home—a room hidden underground beneath the ruins of an abandoned amphitheater. The home is very modest, but it is much nicer than anything that Thorby remembers living in. The old man cleans the boy and puts medicine on his wounds, and prepares him a large meal. The little boy tries to escape. Baslim unlocks the door and explains to the boy that he can...