#Lore24 – Entry #307 – Fantasy Month IV #2 – An Unexpected and Unwelcome Detour
From the journal of Angeliqua “Goldeneyes” Cartacustos
As I write this, it has been several days since my previous entry, and I find myself in a peculiar situation, and far removed from the Great Library I had thought to return to. A most unexpected and unwelcome detour has befallen me, and I now find myself enroute to the far south-western border of the Imperium and a region of the Wildlands that has recently drawn much attention from the Emperor and adventurers alike. It is a most curious and vexing arrangement that I find myself in…but I suppose I shouldn’t get too far ahead of myself and recount the details of my situation.
I was in the midst of a most relaxed and deep slumber as my carriage left the outskirts of Draconis Magna and had been completely unaware that it had come to a stop soon after my slumber began. I would not be aware of it until I was suddenly pulled from the carriage and thrown to the ground outside none too gently. I was surrounded by a group of black-scaled drakonae,* but before I could even begin to inquire what was happening, one secured a jawbreakingly large ball gag harness about my head, and a black leather sack was pulled over it. I immediately recognized this as a deprivation hood, for as the laces were deftly tightened and secured, I lost all sensations of hearing and sight beyond my own panicked breathing. The drakonae worked with quick and well-practiced efficiency that led me to ponder the exact nature of their chosen profession, binding my hands first in tight-fitting leather mitts secured by straps around my wrists, and then drawing my arms together behind my back to encase them in a leather sheath that soon had them held uselessly and mercilessly together, only growing tighter as the laces were pulled tight and the straps around my chest secured.
My legs were likewise sheathed in stout leather binder that was tightened just as cruelly, from my thighs to my ankles, leaving me perhaps only able to hop about. That was, of course, until they secured a strap to my ankles to the ring at the base of my armbinder, effectively hogtying me, leaving my back arched in what would no doubt grow quite painful soon. I was thankful for my natural dexterity and limberness, though how long that would avail me, I did not know at the time.
I had rarely been more secure even when I had assisted Regina Houslin with her binding staff or other experiments in restraint.
Blind and deaf to the world around me, the drakonae’s efficiency continued as they worked together, their clawed hands lifting me up into what I assumed was a cart. I was quickly proven wrong, however, when I realized that my knees and head were touching against the sides of something much smaller. With a sudden panic, I realized, when the lid was closed above me (I could tell by the sudden loss of the heat of the sun upon my skin and the vibrations of the latches being closed) that they had placed me inside a chest! In my furious struggles, I realized that the chest was barely big enough to contain me, and I had quickly built up quite a sweat, the air growing quite warm and thinner, but not enough that once I ceased my struggles that I was any danger of suffocation.
I know not where they took me at the time, though I do know that riding hogtied in a chest with your limbs severely bound as I was, inside a chest upon a cart, can be a most uncomfortable and unpleasant experience.
As my more reasonable mind began to take over as my panic subsided, I tried to reason out exactly who would go through the effort of kidnapping me in such a way, who I may have offended or who may stand to gain from my capture. I had not been deeply involved with the upper crust of Draconis Magna’s wealthiest classes for long, and I could not remember specifically offending anyone, though given the sometimes mercuric nature of some of the nobility, perhaps I had slighted one in some way unbeknownst to me. Or perhaps it was an enemy of General Kormides, seeking knowledge of his son through me? Was it someone seeking knowledge of the Great Library for something nefarious? It had to be someone of some wealth, or perhaps a group of individuals who had come together, for the party of drakonae were well-trained and brutally efficient, no doubt quite used to such activities, and that kind of expertise always came with a high price.
I would have much time to ponder my situation, though no answers I could come up with would prepare me for the eventual truth I would learn of my abduction, nor would I know quite how to properly deal with the situation I would find myself in.
*Regarding the Drakonae:
I had decided a while back that kobolds and drakonae are separate races, and am formalizing that as of now. Kobolds in my world are the classic fantasy/D&D creatures that are somewhat doglike in appearance. Drakonae are more akin to the modern interpretations that have them as draconic in nature, with draconic features (scales, tails, claws, teeth, etc), abilities (such as dragon’s breath, waterbreathing, and wings in some cases), and heritage based upon reclaiming the lost glories of their mighty ancestors who long ago vanished. Any references to “kobolds” in my older entries (both fantasy and sci-fi) that refer to them using draconic breath or breathing underwater, scales, etc, are Drakonae. I think I’ve only referenced kobolds once (during the “Kobold Incident” in Eri and Hatae’s month of entries), so all other instances should be considered Drakonae (first named during the Helica month entries).