Heleion Archives

“Ready yourselves lads. Incoming in two hours.” Her words were barely hearable thanks to the constant screaming of the silver sealing tape that was wrapped around Delfinirra’s mauve eyes with menacing contours that still invited the gazes of onlookers. Her muffled whimpers also didn’t help, but the members of the Gauna Gang were still experienced enough to hear those orders as it wasn’t their first rodeo at binding and listening.

They were also trained enough to know to hide the captured and trussed up eye-inviting – as they say in Eoran – dark elf to the rest who behaved nicely even while sitting bound and gagged amongst the two or three corpses of their comrades. Partly because while they were aware of the life after death that awaited them in the frozen flame decorated halls of Bhahamuth, they were still desiring to live for a few more decades or centuries.

They still let out a few hopeful whimpers hearing the door of the large storage area open that they occupied not so comfortably thanks to the cold ground and the copious amounts of rope that pressed against their snow white leather uniform and the quiet precisely wounded across silver sealing tape that prevented the forming of proper words and smothered the arcane veins that allowed them to cast spells and whatnot.

“Keep tight. This will be over in a minute or two.” The silver dragonkin with majestic horns and a dangerous smile said as she carefully placed the tightly bound and sealing tape gagged Delfinirra besides a fellow kin of hers – a red scaled to be precise whose dangerous smile was unseen thanks to of course to the sealing tape that creased thanks to the uneven landscape of his head.

Meanwhile the broad-shouldered Maria channeled her mana through her arcane veins and into the arcane point that rested in her head blessed with one less natural eye evident from the long scar that ran vertically down the left side of her tapered face. Her chiseled cheeks puffed out a little as she focused on creating a perfect phantasmal image of Delfinirra sitting at her chair diligently.

As the inscriptions flown out, her frizzy auburn hair’s strands flailed around as an ethereal wind calmly raged within the office. “I hate this.” She muttered to herself as the form of Delfinirra appeared in the chair.

“I think its pretty good Mari.” The dragonkin complimented with a quite affectionate tone as her silvery eyes inspected the phantasmal image from top to bottom.

“Thanks.” Maria said less enthusiastically as she leaned against the wall facing the window. Her roundish eyes – both green still – focused on the dragonkin while her mind wandered into a pleasant, happy place before she returned to reality. “Well at least it only has to work for a minute or two.” She added as the dearest dragonkin comrade of hers – there were one other – walked beside her and placed her long head onto her firm shoulder.

**

The dim darkness within the confines of the train cart parted – partly thanks to the lights that were turned back as Runinis, Liam and Draven awakened from their nap while Milorad kept watch over their well-behaved pris-oner. And because they reached the end of the first cavernous path.

“Liam, you and Draven check the station.” Runinis looked out the window and immediately found the waving phantasmal image of Delfinirra strange and unnatural. Partly thanks to her sapphire eyes that were augmented with small artificial devices that let her see magical residue even without forming inscriptions in her arcane point located in her spiritual head.

The two bravely saluted before each grabbed a magicraft weapon. Draven grabbed his stave rifle hanging at the weapon rack opposite to the door while Liam opted for just his wand pistol that rested in his holster attached to his coat’s utility belt.

**

“Yep, this is certainly a trap.” Draven said not so enthusiastically as soon as they stepped inside the hallway with the office on their right.

“Proceed carefully.” Liam agreed internally as he gave the order. The two men slowly passed by the door with Draven in the back. Both sharpened their senses while also searching for faint presences. They were so focused on making as little sound as possible that they were unaware that they stepped inside a field of silence.

A field that was quickly extended over Draven as two draconic hands with sleeves pulled back grabbed him and dragged him through the door. His last muffled whimper and crack of his neck remained within the con-fines of the office as the dragonkin comrade of Maria lowered his corpse to the floor.

“By. Night!” By the time Liam noticed Draven missing behind, Maria sneaked up behind him and aimed her silenced wand pistol at him. “Shit.” Was all he said before he fell on his back. Maria got down and for quick and safe measures applied, covered his mouth and snapped his neck as the mana bullet proved not lethal enough.

“Grab his leg quickly.” As she became aware of the dragonkin’s presence, she gave her order silently and the two lifted Liam’s corpse and hid it inside the office besides Draven.

**

“What now ma’am?” Milorad asked as he felt the dreadfully calm passage of time, they spent in one place. By this time Runinis concluded that Liam and Draven was lost so she calmly walked back and forth while inhaling, exhaling without pause. The cause of her calm panic was none other than the minor trap that jammed the Go-lem-Engine of the single cart train.

“We stand our ground.” Runinis exhaled deeply one last time then uttered those words with sharp conviction in her eyes. And just as she spoke those words, the door opened and members of the Gauna Gang dressed heavily in their thick suits and ponchos – for the cold and harsh weather of the mountains – stepped out each with a vordriar of the Snow-Scaled Host.

Muffled whimpers echoed above the chasm as the cold wind breezed their faces, wakening them from their mild stupor born of boredom as they lightly accepted – whatever comes, comes.

“This can all be over within the blink of an eye if you release my dear old younger brother.” Maria said as she stepped out using Delfinirra as her meat shield.

“Drop all your weapons, don’t even think about using spells and come out with my dear old younger brother and raised arms. That way you will not meet with your dear old draconic daddy.” Maria said mockingly – curs-ing herself a little as it did not really help her case she thought. And she was right as Runinis and even Milorad grabbed their weapons and aimed at her head.

“Damn it. I won’t be the cause of their death. Grab him.” Yet the itch to not be known as one of those superiors who sacrificed her fellows for a bit of glory, Runinis lowered her stave rifle and gave her order.

“Are you sure. There is no guarantee she will spare us once they reunite.” Milorad said still focusing on Maria’s not so prominent forehead.

“I know, that is why we’ll just give him all bound and gagged.” She said while winking at his utility belt rid-dled with a few – actually not that many – pouches filled with magicraft grenades. With a smug he nodded and headed into the prisoner holder cabin.

“Deal is taken. We’ll come out in a second.” She yelled outside that made Maria smile a little.

**

“Good choice.” Maria complimented the two vordriars as they came out with raised arm. “But I’d have been happier if he was – well not trussed up and all.” She added while looking at his brother who resembled someone who just entered a bdsm focused brothel as a submissive lawyer or bandit.

“Well we released him. You did not mention unbinding him.” Runinis said smugly which paired not so well with her hands raised then forced behind by two of Maria’s goons.

“PHhmrm nph n grmnnnm nn mm nphph.” Paul tried to speak, carrying a bit of panicky tone but it was hard to pick up for Maria thanks to the lack of vowels. Partially. As she was also annoyed by the smugness of Runinis.

“Just a second Paul. Think you’re clever huh?” She walked past his panicking brother whose groans and moans became more and more intense. Though before she could have received her answer from Runinis, Paul exploded violently sending the hostages and their captors through the wall – not in the magical way – while the rest to-wards and into the train.

“Grab her!” She yelled like a wild beast while her ear still rang, covered in the bloody chunks of his own brother.

**

Runinis woke up with a case of strong aching all over her body. The explosion sent her through the thick wall of the train, a slight miscalculation on her part. Thanks to her uniforms’ enchantments she managed to get away with only the strong aching all over her body instead of broken bones and death.

The other reason for her aching was the enchanted ropes used to bind her ankles, calves, thighs, torso and arms beneath her back in that order. “Mhrh nn hhm hhmgnrn rmrrmh.” As she slowly regained her full and proper consciousness, her sentence came out as a jumbled mess lacking in vowels thanks to the wide strip of silver seal-ing tape that glinted softly as the white rays of the sun reflected upon it.

“Morning. Not so smug anymore.” Maria greeted her with cold anger on her face and crossed arms. Her one remaining proper eye still teary, her face covered still in the blood and meat that once made up parts of his brother.

“Hope you’re proud of yourselves. You see I felt generous and thought I’ll let you all spend some quality time while we get far, far away from here. But your little trick changed all that.” As Maria spoke, Runinis became aware to the muffled whimpers of her comrades as they were lined up at the edge. A noose around their neck, with the end phased into the wall as a makeshift solution.

A cacophony of whimpers followed each other as they were kicked over. The crack of their necks echoed softly down the chasm, their corpses dangled on for a few moments before they hung above the endless white depth below.

Before she looked back at Maria with her own hate filled sapphire eyes, she noticed Milorad’s cadaver – half his face and a quarter of his coat eroded by the magical energies. “I was thinking maybe I should end you the same way. But then I thought, in the good old times bandits left their unwanted captives on the train tracks after successful heists. A fitting end where you can only watch and squirm before the arcane energies pulverize your flesh and bone.” Maria’s lips curved wickedly as she spoke, her words laced with a cold madness sprouted from grief.

Maria hunched down and grabbed Runinis’s taped cheeks while forcing her attention to the right, where she noticed the lack of the train. “Thankfully it still works. Don’t worry, you have half an hour to think through your life and the decisions you made. Even when weeping, I’m generous am I not?” Maria said as she noticed the silver dragonkin approaching them.

“We’re ready.” She spoke with a calm tone. Maria nodded and left the moaning and squirming Runinis behind as she grabbed her hands. The two and the rest of the goons disappeared one by one. Runinis twitched left and right while she still had some stamina left. Then she went limp with her neck turned towards the right where the tunnel lit up by the light of the train…