A sliver of the outside world streamed in through a crack in the stone barrier, a small comfort to the newly condemned. Blood matted Augmel’s pink hair awkwardly around her head and her torn clothing did little to cover her injured body. The melancholic daze which enveloped her mind sedated the girl to the point where the numerous restraints and precautions taken by the guards who interacted with her cell seemed superfluous. Still, even in this state, she knew what fate had in store for a Ghoul who exposed herself, not to mention rebelled against the church.
Augmel thought back to her raid on the local religious establishments, and how she managed to take down nearly every one of her targets before her confrontation with the Acolyte. The moist, cool air brushed against her still untreated wounds, causing her to grimace slightly in response. The church is too powerful to be opposed, and she was absolutely aware of that. She knew the inevitable consequences of her actions, and yet she followed through without hesitation. What else could she do? Roll over and let the powerful fuck over those who were simply born into the wrong class or race?
The injured ghoul slid her tongue across the edges of her teeth absent-mindedly. By now, the structures she demolished were likely well on their way to being rebuilt. Augmel laughed silently, frustrated in knowing how quickly they are able to erect Judgement Halls and religious “education” centers, but the buildings around them--where the population lives and buys food--remain severely dilapidated. Even the soldiers guarding these locations are easily replaceable, so her rampage was ultimately pointless. In fact, it will likely be used to further demonize ghouls and discourage thoughts of revolution.
Fighting the state on her own is futile, Augmel realized, but if she were able to break free, she would do it again and again until death took her or something changed. It’s not much of a rebellion if something doesn't fight back. She struggled against her dense cuffs momentarily, before slumping over in exhaustion. Fucking pointless.
The hard stone floor lurched forward, propelled by some outside force that threw the dazed Augmel backwards. Her vision blurred and darkened around the edges as her head repeatedly struck the stone wall at her back. The cuffs peeled back the skin on her wrists, once again exposing old wounds. The ghoul took note of the dried blood which had crusted around her legs and across the stone slab she sat on, wearily pondering death.
The small container in which Augmel rode practically bounced down a poorly maintained path, likely pulled by one of the more durable slaves of the state. The faint murmuring of a crowd propagating what small legacy she would leave behind made its way to her poorly functioning ears. Although the captive could only hear bits and pieces, it seemed the church did a decent job painting her as a demon. Whispers of blood and monsters are an easy distraction from important problems, such as a nearly starved populus… and a villain is a good way to redirect the public’s frustration.
The wheeled container rattled along until it came to a sudden stop, making the details of the surrounding mob’s conversations significantly less distorted. That and the clashing of armored boots against the brittle ground as well as the pompous voice that had already begun to introduce her.
“A beast, human in form but devilish at heart! A demon so vile that I’ve been prohibited from divulging the details of its numerous atrocities!”
Yeah, she thought, because then people would realize that I targeted local enforcement buildings that regularly invade homes and take young girls as “prisoners” so they can legally satisfy their desires. This is non a little-known truth, and I am not the only one to attack them because of it.
With a slight gust of wind, the walls dropped out, revealing Augmel to the crowd through a few crudely crafted stone bars. Had she been in even slightly better health, this wouldn’t have even slowed her down. However…
Augmel rattled the chains weakly before her senses were overwhelmed with nausea.
She weakly peered through the bars to see a well-dressed man’s contorted face staring back, his eyes glistening with sincere hatred as he begins to list her crimes:
1. Rebelling against the state.
1. Death
2. Assaulting an official (1 count recorded).
1. Death
3. Killing guards (51 counts recorded).
1. Death
4. Indecent exposure (3 counts recorded).
1. Moderate fine
5. Extensive damage to sacred property (7 counts recorded).
1. Death
6. Public statements and/or acts of heresy (15 counts recorded).
1. Imprisonment for 15+ years per offense
7. Refusal to heed the direct command of an Enforcer of the church.
1. Death
8. Falsely accusing an Enforcer of the church of promiscuous behavior.
1. Imprisonment for 5+ years
9. Suggesting an Acolyte commit obscenities to/with him/herself.
1. Death
10. Assaulting an Acolyte (1 count recorded).
1. Death
11. Various acts of treachery and ghoulish behavior.
1. Death
Augmel thought back to the events with a smile. How the Acolyte grabbed her arm and pulled her aside, telling her to strip off her dirty clothes and accept punishment for offending God. She also remembered stripping off her clothes, waiting for the Acolyte to pull out his dick, then grabbing it and dragging him out into the middle of the corridor while he was thrashing and screaming profanities.
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How the guards ogled her, watching their eyes turn from shock to lust and greed upon seeing her exposed body. So, to drive that look away, she ripped off the Acolyte’s dick and tossed it on the floor… which successfully horrified most of them.
I know better than most that the fuckers deserved it, she reminded herself.
“Naturally, since she can not serve all penalties,” the announcer interrupted her thoughts, “she will, unfortunately, only receive the punishment: death by dragon.”
The cart jerks as it is suddenly pushed forward, followed by a moment of weightlessness before the chaos ensues and Augmel realizes that she is tumbling down a cliff face. The relentless battery continues until one last blow indicates her arrival at the bottom, shattering her cage and dislodging her shoulder as well as causing her leg to bend awkwardly at the knee. This would be painful, but she was in too much of a daze to fully comprehend pain.
Augmel barely holds on to consciousness, staring up at the face of a dragon and feeling the heat of its breaths. It had been waiting for her.
With a satisfied huff, the dragon withdraws, spreading torn/neglected wings out to reveal a severely overweight physique pressed into the ruined dirt-and-stone earth beneath it. The area surrounding Augmel crudely designed stone containers similar to her own, some smeared in blood and others burned almost beyond recognition. Also like Augmel’s, they appeared to shatter upon landing, exposing the condemned “snackrifices” inside to their ultimate fate.
Augmel tries to move, but her body refuses to respond. She can do nothing but lay there helplessly, barely even able to think. Even her left eye stopped working after the landing, and she could feel the blood oozing down the stone slab her face rested on and into her mouth.
The dragon closes in, it's jaws agape as the flames rise up in its gut. The air around the scene radiated with the stench of the dragon's breath--the blood and rot that is likely the culprit clinging to its teeth. Quite a hopeless scene, all she can do is watch and hope that its flames are hot enough to kill her quickly.
Not likely, though. It was common knowledge that dragons cook their food slowly and intentionally, since they are very intelligent creatures who don’t enjoy eating the ashes of their prey.
Through her muffled senses, Augmel heard the sky crackle, which was followed by a jagged beam of light that blasted down on the dragon's skull, smashing its head down to the ground with enough force to blast away most of the rubble in the immediate area. Judging from the sound and force of the attack, Augmel assumed it was an arcmage, one who wields lightning who initiated this strike. Of course, she didn’t know why an arcmage would lend her help--she had never even met one before. Chances are, they came just to slay the dragon.
The relatively small frame of a human lands between Augmel and the dragon, then turns to face her and… waves? That is… unexpected.
Out of nowhere, the dragon’s tail whipped horizontally, the tip striking the comparatively tiny human off to the side. Augmel pauses, wondering if she had imagined the events that had just transpired in her dazed state. It didn’t matter either way. Arc-mages are notoriously bad at defense against physical attacks.
The dragon returned its attention and disgusting breath to Augmel, this time drawing closer with no clear intent on cooking its meal before consumption. The ghoul wondered if this would be a more or less painful death… depending on the heat of its flames, this would be the less favorable option. Oh well.
As the dragon draws very near, it suddenly freezes… then turns away from the fallen girl, fire instantly welling up in its breast. However, it’s reaction is too late--a torrent of large bolts slam against its scaly hide, causing it to gurgle and choke on the flammable fluids that had been summoned to its throat and tumble over.
The rotund monster flailed for a while, occasionally coughing up a few small flames, then fell still.
Off to her left, a humanoid silhouette threw another bolt at the massive corpse, an idle expression of frustration. Who the hell…? The ghoul stared in confusion, unable to make a sound due to her injuries.
The world blurred further, then finally fell into darkness.