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Even as the third procession rounded the corner in the trail, I could see I was going to have a problem. The sacrificial maid was being hauled up in a rough wood cage, and I could see remains of vegetables on the bars. Pox-ridden or whatever, this was definitely someone the town wanted to be rid of... rarely a good candidate for my project. I will perform the Dragon Ritual, but I will dump her quickly thereafter, and this village will get little mercy from the fates this year!
But, I find my problems are only beginning! This crew fears the Dragon as much as the other two, but they've been drinking more, and, it appears, they actually want to see this wench burn! What had she done to them?
They plant a new stake, and drive it deep. They are rough with the wench; she is rough back. She doesn't come out of the cage docilely, she tries to stay in, then comes out swinging. She isn't tied up yet, and she nearly gets away before a couple of the men cuff her to the ground. Dazed, she is dragged to the post and tied tightly to it. There is a crosspiece set waist-high on the post. Her elbows are pulled behind the crosspiece, then her wrists tied together across her tummy. Her hips and knees are lashed tightly to the vertical post. She kicks, she bites, her upper body swings wildly as she tries to free her arms. If I let them continue, I will be a week separating her from the post!
I should just leave quietly and refuse the sacrifice -- that would teach them! But I find some attraction to the girl. She's clearly not weak and sick, and she has a pleasing mass of wavy, long, red hair swirling around a firm, head, neck and shoulders. Instead, I pull the big lever, and start the machine.
The villagers back off with her knees half-tied. The young lady -- I could see she was young now, in her early twenties -- starts working hard to free herself. She is in a simple, gray peasant dress, but it's drabness merely accents that wonderful hair! It's fiery red and floats around her head in a most enchanting way. She doesn't make much noise, but when she does it is deep throated grunts of effort, not shrill shrieks of panic.
As the machine works towards its climax, I enchant. I summon some fire elements. "Chase those villagers over the ridge." I command. The fire elementals appear in a ring around the woman, then scamper towards the villagers, who were taunting and jeering the woman. These are child elementals, not big or fast -- but the sight of fire moving towards them is sufficient to put the mob in headlong retreat down the trail away from the cave.
I have to move even more quickly. This woman is not blindfolded. She sees me coming, but her amazement keeps her quiet. The way she is tied I can't haul her on my back. I cut the ropes holding her legs, and the crosspiece to the post. I grab her by the hair at the nape of her neck and quick-march her toward the cave, with the crosspiece still holding her elbows back. It's slow going. She struggles a bit, but mostly her bare feet can't move any faster over the broken rock at the cave entrance. We have only just gained the entrance when my mechanical dragon blows it's huge belch of flame, and the final post is burning fiercely.
I put a bag over the woman's head, then proceed to retie her. I loop her elbows, cut the peasant ropes holding her wrists, and her elbows to the crosspiece. I draw her elbows behind her; she doesn't protest. I can feel she was strong, but not particularly limber. I will loosen those coils soon, or she will lose her arms. I cross her wrists; tie them over and under and sideways, then tie them tightly to her waist. That done, her arms are secure; I pull the ropes from her elbows, and sit her beside the other women.
I lift the hood, and blindfold her and gag her. As I do I see a much stronger face than in the other two maidens. There is beauty here, but not conventional delicate beauty. She lets me apply the gag and blindfold without protest.
Once I'm sure the last group of peasants are headed away, I quickly collapse my mechanical dragon and put all my equipment, and my three beautiful captives, in my cart. I need to be quick and careful. The true owner of the lair is nocturnal, and with night coming she will not hide deep much longer, and I do not want to face her this day.
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