Chapter 1 - Liberation
The sweltering midday sun beat down upon the cracked and barren land, sterile red rock doing nothing to temper its harshness. Long grass swayed faintly in the lifeless wind, and in it, two Gallivespians lay concealed. Both were wearing heavy steel armour, black, and icy cold to the touch. Floating gently nearby, a pair of dragonflies with huge tails stirred uneasily. The creatures' main and only weapons hung innocently below their flanks, twitching back and forth as the insects swayed. Even in the clear light of the day, everything about them seemed black and shadowy. These were not beasts bred for subtlety or finesse, their tails no razor thin point but rather great, slashing, brutal things. The main point of the tail was complimented underneath with another, smaller striking point built to follow up the original assault and make sure the devastation of the target was absolute.
Breaking the dull silence, one of the Gallivespians questioned, "What do you see?" in short, clipped tones. The other was scanning the area from left to right with powerful field glasses.
"I make out six humans, but - there's the Gallivespians." Through the enhanced sight of the binoculars he watched as a trio of small figures were roughly dragged along on the end of three coarse ropes. He swung his vision left and jolted his companion.
"There's one headed our way." Wordlessly, the other figure slipped quietly off to the north through the long grass. The remaining Gallivespian mounted his dragonfly and counted to ten before a small cry, which would only travel a few yards, came from his partner.
The approaching human paused, and then turned and headed into the thicket to investigate. The dragonfly and its rider raised themselves a short distance above the ground and shadowed in behind him. Once he judged him in deep enough, the Gallivespian urged his steed forward and slashed the human neck with his steed's vicious tail. The man collapsed softly into the all- consuming foliage, his urgently commanded voice box managing only one broken gasp before he died. The dragonfly swung down to pick up the Gallivespian concealed nearby and they buzzed back towards his companion's ride. Once close enough, the Gallivespian made a powerful leap onto his own insect and both riders reined in close to each other. The two leant in near, heads bowed for a while and then split, moving purposefully in the direction of the humans.
Another man had the joined the others now and they were busy setting up a quantity of wooden equipment. As they worked, the true nature of their operation became apparent. Beautifully crafted, yet so intricately evil, piece by piece the miniature gallows were put together. The three trapdoors which would slide back and mark the deaths of the prisoners standing there were connected to ropes which went plenty high enough to be pulled by an executing human. The Gallivespian captives were rudely pushed onto the gantry and their heads pressed into the loops of rope. They bristled with anger but could do nothing to help themselves with their hands tied tightly as they were. The rest of the humans spread out laughing, one of them leaning back against a barrel and beginning to gulp down its alcoholic contents.
The two incoming riders caught each others' eye and rapidly made an intricate, complex series of gestures with their hands. Each nodding acknowledgement, they kept close to the grass and split up to go on opposite sides of the closest rock, and cover, to the gallows. From here they could see the entire layout of the area, and both were glad to find the prisoners' crossbows leaning up against another, smaller rock just beside the gallows. They praised their foes stupidity. The Gallivespian on the side with most humans on noted the directions they were looking in and swiftly motioned his partner on. Quick as a flash, the other Gallivespian surged forward on his dragonfly and landed on the neck of the man holding the ropes to the trapdoors. He dug his dragonfly's tail into the soft, warm neck and the man froze.
"Don't. Move. A. Muscle," breathed the rider in soft tones. "Keep smiling, try anything heroic and you can wave goodbye to Mr Jugular here. Now here's what you're going to do. Put down those ropes, slowly."
His eyes wide with fear and darting back and forth anxiously, the man bent carefully down and dropped the ropes. Ahead of him he could see another small figure take advantage of the lapse in guard cover to head towards a fellow human. Helplessly, he watched as the Gallivespian hurtled past the man and slit his neck with the dragonfly's cruel tail. The small figure on his own neck calmly waited for this to happen and then instantly killed his own target, with the same brutal efficiency.
They would only have a short time before the other men realised what was happening and both hurried towards their objectives. One rushed to and grabbed the three crossbows leaning up against the rock whilst the other sped upwards to make a pass at the gallows. The prisoners soon saw what he was up to and they raised their tied hands up so that they were level with the noose rope attached to the top of the wooden frame. The dragonfly reached the apex of its climb, tucked in its wings and smoothly dropped down towards the frighteningly small targets below it. The air thickened and time seemed to slow down into one hot, stretched-out moment as the insect hurtled towards the first prisoner. There was a snick, and his ropes came loose with the dragonfly speeding on and slicing through the other two's bonds. Then the searing reality abruptly kicked back in as the humans began to turn and yell. Before they had a chance to react, the other rider flew along the line and handed the now at large archers their bows. All the rage and frustration which had pent up in them during their containment spilled out, doubling the speed and ferocity of their bolted attack. Already one man was down, and two Gallivespians were using his recumbent body as a defensive shield to fire hails of arrows at the others. The man drinking beer spluttered and reached for his sword, but was felled before it was half-way out of the scabbard by a tiny steel-tipped bolt which found its mark in the deep of his neck. Some were fighting back though, and one of the newly freed Gallivespians was pinned in a corner frantically re- cocking his cross-bow. The two armoured riders hurried towards him and slashed the nearest man's neck, his vivid red life pouring out onto the dry cracked dirt. One of the archers brought the other man down with a shot that pierced his leather armour and found his heart. Slowly, inexorably he fell to the ground and the onlooking Gallivespians watched in horror as his outstretched leg caught the trapped archer. All but the impassive armoured riders looked away then. The battle was over.
"There's just one more thing we have to do," intoned the larger of the riders. Roughly seizing a crossbow off the startled Gallivespian's hand, he dropped to one knee and reached into the saddlebags of his dragonfly. He first pulled out a wad of cloth, wrapping it firmly around the bolt currently loaded into the bow, then removed a tinderbox, slowly, deliberately lighting the bundled rag. Pointing the weapon towards the accursed wooden gallows, he drew the trigger. The arrow seared through the air, impacting on the gantry with a explosively blistering mix of naphtha and gunpowder. The freed captives shrank back as the wood exploded ferociously into a ball of seething fire. Falcor sighed deeply, and motioned the remaining prisoners to climb onto the backs of their dragonflies. Wincing slightly at a cut on his back, Torialys accepted his own captive who grasped on behind him. The two paladins flew off mutely into the burning distance, their liberated prisoners hanging on tightly behind.
The sweltering midday sun beat down upon the cracked and barren land, sterile red rock doing nothing to temper its harshness. Long grass swayed faintly in the lifeless wind, and in it, two Gallivespians lay concealed. Both were wearing heavy steel armour, black, and icy cold to the touch. Floating gently nearby, a pair of dragonflies with huge tails stirred uneasily. The creatures' main and only weapons hung innocently below their flanks, twitching back and forth as the insects swayed. Even in the clear light of the day, everything about them seemed black and shadowy. These were not beasts bred for subtlety or finesse, their tails no razor thin point but rather great, slashing, brutal things. The main point of the tail was complimented underneath with another, smaller striking point built to follow up the original assault and make sure the devastation of the target was absolute.
Breaking the dull silence, one of the Gallivespians questioned, "What do you see?" in short, clipped tones. The other was scanning the area from left to right with powerful field glasses.
"I make out six humans, but - there's the Gallivespians." Through the enhanced sight of the binoculars he watched as a trio of small figures were roughly dragged along on the end of three coarse ropes. He swung his vision left and jolted his companion.
"There's one headed our way." Wordlessly, the other figure slipped quietly off to the north through the long grass. The remaining Gallivespian mounted his dragonfly and counted to ten before a small cry, which would only travel a few yards, came from his partner.
The approaching human paused, and then turned and headed into the thicket to investigate. The dragonfly and its rider raised themselves a short distance above the ground and shadowed in behind him. Once he judged him in deep enough, the Gallivespian urged his steed forward and slashed the human neck with his steed's vicious tail. The man collapsed softly into the all- consuming foliage, his urgently commanded voice box managing only one broken gasp before he died. The dragonfly swung down to pick up the Gallivespian concealed nearby and they buzzed back towards his companion's ride. Once close enough, the Gallivespian made a powerful leap onto his own insect and both riders reined in close to each other. The two leant in near, heads bowed for a while and then split, moving purposefully in the direction of the humans.
Another man had the joined the others now and they were busy setting up a quantity of wooden equipment. As they worked, the true nature of their operation became apparent. Beautifully crafted, yet so intricately evil, piece by piece the miniature gallows were put together. The three trapdoors which would slide back and mark the deaths of the prisoners standing there were connected to ropes which went plenty high enough to be pulled by an executing human. The Gallivespian captives were rudely pushed onto the gantry and their heads pressed into the loops of rope. They bristled with anger but could do nothing to help themselves with their hands tied tightly as they were. The rest of the humans spread out laughing, one of them leaning back against a barrel and beginning to gulp down its alcoholic contents.
The two incoming riders caught each others' eye and rapidly made an intricate, complex series of gestures with their hands. Each nodding acknowledgement, they kept close to the grass and split up to go on opposite sides of the closest rock, and cover, to the gallows. From here they could see the entire layout of the area, and both were glad to find the prisoners' crossbows leaning up against another, smaller rock just beside the gallows. They praised their foes stupidity. The Gallivespian on the side with most humans on noted the directions they were looking in and swiftly motioned his partner on. Quick as a flash, the other Gallivespian surged forward on his dragonfly and landed on the neck of the man holding the ropes to the trapdoors. He dug his dragonfly's tail into the soft, warm neck and the man froze.
"Don't. Move. A. Muscle," breathed the rider in soft tones. "Keep smiling, try anything heroic and you can wave goodbye to Mr Jugular here. Now here's what you're going to do. Put down those ropes, slowly."
His eyes wide with fear and darting back and forth anxiously, the man bent carefully down and dropped the ropes. Ahead of him he could see another small figure take advantage of the lapse in guard cover to head towards a fellow human. Helplessly, he watched as the Gallivespian hurtled past the man and slit his neck with the dragonfly's cruel tail. The small figure on his own neck calmly waited for this to happen and then instantly killed his own target, with the same brutal efficiency.
They would only have a short time before the other men realised what was happening and both hurried towards their objectives. One rushed to and grabbed the three crossbows leaning up against the rock whilst the other sped upwards to make a pass at the gallows. The prisoners soon saw what he was up to and they raised their tied hands up so that they were level with the noose rope attached to the top of the wooden frame. The dragonfly reached the apex of its climb, tucked in its wings and smoothly dropped down towards the frighteningly small targets below it. The air thickened and time seemed to slow down into one hot, stretched-out moment as the insect hurtled towards the first prisoner. There was a snick, and his ropes came loose with the dragonfly speeding on and slicing through the other two's bonds. Then the searing reality abruptly kicked back in as the humans began to turn and yell. Before they had a chance to react, the other rider flew along the line and handed the now at large archers their bows. All the rage and frustration which had pent up in them during their containment spilled out, doubling the speed and ferocity of their bolted attack. Already one man was down, and two Gallivespians were using his recumbent body as a defensive shield to fire hails of arrows at the others. The man drinking beer spluttered and reached for his sword, but was felled before it was half-way out of the scabbard by a tiny steel-tipped bolt which found its mark in the deep of his neck. Some were fighting back though, and one of the newly freed Gallivespians was pinned in a corner frantically re- cocking his cross-bow. The two armoured riders hurried towards him and slashed the nearest man's neck, his vivid red life pouring out onto the dry cracked dirt. One of the archers brought the other man down with a shot that pierced his leather armour and found his heart. Slowly, inexorably he fell to the ground and the onlooking Gallivespians watched in horror as his outstretched leg caught the trapped archer. All but the impassive armoured riders looked away then. The battle was over.
"There's just one more thing we have to do," intoned the larger of the riders. Roughly seizing a crossbow off the startled Gallivespian's hand, he dropped to one knee and reached into the saddlebags of his dragonfly. He first pulled out a wad of cloth, wrapping it firmly around the bolt currently loaded into the bow, then removed a tinderbox, slowly, deliberately lighting the bundled rag. Pointing the weapon towards the accursed wooden gallows, he drew the trigger. The arrow seared through the air, impacting on the gantry with a explosively blistering mix of naphtha and gunpowder. The freed captives shrank back as the wood exploded ferociously into a ball of seething fire. Falcor sighed deeply, and motioned the remaining prisoners to climb onto the backs of their dragonflies. Wincing slightly at a cut on his back, Torialys accepted his own captive who grasped on behind him. The two paladins flew off mutely into the burning distance, their liberated prisoners hanging on tightly behind.