The Gorean Tavern

It had been expected, I gathered, that I would sit at one of the two long side tables,
and perhaps even below the bowls of red and yellow salt which divided these tables.
The table of Cernus itself, of course, was regarded as being above the bowls.
Assassin of Gor - 86

Near him, in places of honor, at a long, low table, above the bowls of yellow and red salt,
on each side, sat many of the high men of Turia.
Nomads - 253

Most salt at Klima is white, but certain of the mines deliver red salt,
red from ferrous oxide in its composition, which is called the Red Salt of Kasra.
Tribesmen - 238

The red salt of Kasra, so called from its port of enbarcation, was famed on Gor.
It was brought from secret pits and mines, actually, deep in the interior,
bound in heavy cylinders on the back of pack kaiila.
Each cylinder, roped to others, weighed in the neighborhood of ten stones,
or some forty pounds, a Gorean 'Weight'.
Tribesman - 20

Lola now returned to the small table and, kneeling head down, served us our dessert,
slices of topsit, sprinkled with four Gorean sugars.
Rogue - 132

With a tiny spoon, its tip no more than a tenth of a hort in diameter,
she placed four measures of white sugar, and six of yellow, in the cup;
with two stirring spoons, one for the white sugar, another for the yellow,
she stirred the beverage after each measure.
Tribesman - 89

"Do you smell it?" asked Ulafi.
"Yes," I said. "It is cinnamon and cloves, is it not?"
"Yes," said Ulafi, "and other spices as well."
Explorers - 98

"I have peas and turnips, garlic and onions in my hut," said the man.
Outlaw - 29

There were several yards of sausages hung on hooks,
numerous cannisters of flour, sugars, and salts;
many smaller containers of spices and condiments.
Assassin - 271

8 tarsk bits = 1 copper tarsk & 100 copper tarsk = 1 silver tarsk
2.5 copper tarsk = 1 copper tarn & 40 copper tarn = 1 silver tarsk
10 silver tarsk = 1 gold tarn
1 double gold tarn = 2 gold tarns

Although it is not my policy to include Cabot's marginal notes, jottings, etc., which are often informal, and apparently written at different times, in the text of his accounts, I think it would not be amiss to hypothesize certain approximate equivalencies here. To be sure, much seems to depend on the city and the partiular weighs involved. For example, a "double tarn" is twice the weight of a "tarn." It seems there are usually eight tarsk bits in a copper tarsk, and that these are the result of cutting a circular coin in half, and then the halves in half, and then each of these halves in half. An analogy would be the practice of cutting the round, flat Gorean loaves of sa-tarna bread into eight pieces. There are apparently something like one hundred copper tarks in a silver tarsk in many cities. Similarly, something like ten silver tarks would apparently be equivalent, depending on weights, etc., to one gold piece, say, a single "tarn." Accordingly, on certain cities, would be eight tarsk bits to a copper tarks; one hundred copper tarks to a silver tarsk; and ten silver tarks to a gold piece, a single tarn. On this approach there would be, literally, 8,000 tark bits in a single gold piece. - J.N.
Magicians - 468

The tarsk is a silver coin worth fourty copper tarn discs.
Assassin - 160

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