Silas Epista

by Maneiac


Granite Podium Arc: Part 1 [Rewritten]

I think someone needs their wig pushed back a little.

       

 I felt like an excavated body from an old morgue as I fluttered my eyes open, moaning out as a headache ripped through my being. Everything felt weighted down by elephants juggling blue whales, and my extremities were killing me the most. Wearily, I turned my head only to find something that caused me to wake up instantly.

        I was hanging on a wall, my ankles and wrists shackled down with crude, rusted chains that did their damndest to cut into me. There was a reason I’m a dragon, and that reason came through in terms of not allowing the chipped metal to slice into me because of the scales. I growled and tugged my left arm forward, feeling the wall-shackle give in unanimously.

        These things were not enough to hold me back. And as the clapping of hands rang out, I knew someone else figured that out as well. “It is not often one of my patrols brings back a dragon! This must truly be a blessed day!”

        My head snapped ‘round to face the dog-man in a lavish tuxedo with red bowtie. A small tophat sat on his head, blocking out any chance to see his ears. This dog-man was using a solid diamond cane as a walking ornament, twirling it on his index finger as he propped himself up against the dank cave wall with an elbow; a smile two miles wide gracing his german shepherd-like features, showcasing two rows of sharp teeth.

I spat in his direction. “You think this shit’s funny? How bout I turn you into a fucking candy cane by shoving that walking stick of yours up your hamster hole?” If there was one type of person I absolutely detested in video games, it was the cocky villain. And this dog-man had all the features of one!

He watched my spit land just short of his foot, which he frowned at. “... How boorish. Anyways, I came down here to check up on my most recent addition to my mining operation. You definitely look like the type to start trouble, so putting you to work like the rest of the slaves may prove to be problematic. I think you’ll do just fine here, in your little cave, and pleasure the female guards in here. Yes... they’ve been complaining something awful about their... needs, shall we say?” His eyes were filled with evil mirth, but I could see something familiar inside them...

... Something familiar.

I nodded to myself in understanding. There was no mistaking that cloudy haze around the edges. You’d have to look for it, experience it, to even notice its existence. “Those are the eyes of someone who’s killed in cold blood. I recognize them well.... the sick bastard probably does it for shits and giggles too! Look at that goddamn smug smile of his!”

“You’re starting to piss me off. I’m just going to go ahead and assume that you have my girlfriend down here too. Now, I’m a nice guy; left behind a pretty rough life in my hometown, came here to participate in some wonky-ass game against my will. Knowing this, and my streak of leniency, you have two options. One,” I shoved my arms forward and broke the shackles, causing the dog-man to raise his eyebrow. “You let me and my girl walk out of here, and I don’t paint this whole operation of your with your blood, using your spine as a paintbrush. Or two,” The leg shackles came off next, allowing me to drop onto the floor. “You fucking follow option one.”

The dog-man tilted his head back and laughed. He laughed at me for a good while, before snapping his head back into place with a stoic face. “Very funny, Mr. Drake. You’d do well to note that I know very well the identity of your ‘girlfriend’, and will not hesitate to... complicate her stay here.” He got off the wall and walked towards the entrance of the cave.

Tapping his cane twice, I had to put everything I had into stopping myself from lunging at his back when Sunset came around corner, bound and gagged with a silver ring on her horn. She had been crying, if the running eyeshadow was a goddamn indicator, and the two other dog-men armored guards with overly-muscular arms held crude and shoddy looking spears against her neck.

I roared in absolute fury, getting another laugh out of the dog-man. He knew that as long as I couldn’t have a guarantee for Sunset’s safety, my jimmies would be rustled. It didn’t stop me from turning around punching a massive hole into the wall on my right. That shut him up real quick; seeing my destructive capabilities like that. I didn’t even hit that wall with all my strength.

“So that’s the way we’re going to play this? You’re really going to be that much of a fucking coward; to use the one thing I value most as a means to keep me bound? Who the fuck raises a sick child like that and think it to be okay!?” I heard a bunch of snarling as I did the only thing I could in my predicament; surrendered.

“Fine... have it your way... for now.” I got on my knees, where the armored dog-men instantly came over and bound me to the floor with another pair of shackles. They looked just as shoddy as the ones before, and even felt as weak against my neck, wrist and ankles. A few hammers of their spears later, and my ‘restraints’ were on. “Bound me up in chains if you like; you’re just giving me one more way to kill you later... and if you touch one strand of her mane, I’m going to make sure to pull those same chains through your urethra, mutt.” I exhaled, allowing the rest of my anger to ebb out at long last.

“You would do well to mind that serpentine tongue of yours, my pet. Even if I won’t harm you; your ‘girlfriend’ is still within my grip,” The dog-man snarled, tightening his large paw into a fist. “The name’s Dreggen, Mr. Dragon; one of the Alphas leading the grand-warren, Granite Podium! Don’t make me use the power my title holds, and you -along with Ms. Unicorn- shall have a pretty easy time. There are, however, consequences for rude behavior; punishments that will leave even the most hardened of hearts and wills crushed under my feet.”

Dreggen lifted his cane’s head to nudge Sunset under chin, cooing softly to her, “Your mate shall do well in serving the desires of our female guards, little one! You’re going to my Brother’s level of the warren to mine gems!” He patted the side of her head, laughing like the ass that he was. Sunset narrowed her eyes and struggled with her bindings, but ceased her movements when Dreggen shoved the narrow bottom of the cane into her neck. “There’s a blade hidden inside the bottom of this cane, pony. I’ll tell you like I told your mate! Behave, and you won’t have to worry about staying alive down here.”

Sunset growled at Dreggen and then affixed me with longing eyes that pierced my soul; leaving me feeling less than dirt itself as my chains held me down in a bowing position on the cave floor. I opened my mouth to say something... but I couldn’t bring myself to. And I watched the armored guards as they took Sunset and moved her past my cave.

Dreggen tipped his hat at me, before disappearing around the corner his damn self. His footsteps echoed off what’s sure to be a hallway outside my cave. It suddenly dawned on me that now, I was alone. Exhaling from my nose hard enough to push a copious amount of cave dust off the floor, I glared at the entrance way from my kneeling position on the ground.

“So what!? Now I’m a fucking slave!? All I fucking wanted was to embrace my new girlfriend, and yet, here I am; lost amongst worms, dogs, and dirt!” Growling again, I kept my gaze level with the entrance. Something told me I was being monitored from there, and I started making a clamor just to see if my hunch was correct.

Sure enough, two iron helmets peeked around the corner and snarled at me. “Dragon, quiet! We beat you good if not!” The one on the right shook his crude spear at me. Growling to myself, I watched in huge amounts of annoyance as the guards spat in my direction, before going back to their posts.

“They have me on lockdown, then. Great.” Heaving a sigh of agitation and worry, I resigned myself to idly waiting for some sort of sign in this bleak situation. I knew that we were somewhere inside a rock face, mountain, or cliff side. The heights on the caves and that hallway outside are too irregular for an actual dungeon setting. Uneven ground is a good way for an inmate to use as a means of escape. If the rock was out enough, one could break it off and use it to smash his or her shackles.

This was no jail. then. This.... this was a slave mine....  ran by dog-men. “It seems this world does have some modicum of strife within it. Slavery isn’t even a problem on Earth anymore... but I still prefer Equis over Earth... with or without these chains.” I continued grumbling to myself with similar thoughts, wondering how I was going to pass the time.

“Beta? What Beta doing here?” The same voice from earlier made me look up again, and I noticed, now, the shadows on the wall. The two guards were huge blobs of black mass, and a single skinny one normal arms stood amongst them.

“Boss Dreggen believes you two to be inadequate in keeping the latest addition to his level of the mine in check. I am here to relieve you of your posts; make you way over to Boss Otto’s level and help guard the Alpha Vault.” The voice of the skinny one was gravely but clear, making him sound like a war veteran or something along those male-y lines.

“Boss Dreggen picked us for here; why he change mind?”

“You will not ask me questions when I have given you an order. Boss Dreggen ordered me to come here and relieve your posts! Should I have to go back and get him?” I watched in amusement as the two burly shadows shook their massive heads and then saluted, before walking off down the left side of the hallway. The skinny shadow took the place of the right guard.

I shifted a little bit in my chains, lowering my head. This position I was in did nothing for the spine, and I was beginning to get tired of letting them shackle me up. “Dreggen saw me break the last ones; he must be trying to make me act up in order to harm Sunny. Motherfucker’s gonna feel every inch of my claws and teeth, since he took my clothes and weapons.”

“.... Yo, Dragon.”

I looked up just to see the skinny dog-man that owned the shadow. He looked fit, body wise, and resembled a greyhound. He stood on digitigrade dog paws, and he was covered from head to toe in ash-grey hair. A red vest covered most of his midsection, and a black belt with two sheaths for what looked like crude daggers sat on his waist. I saw then, on his neck, a gold coin hanging off a red dog collar with silver studs.

“What do you want?” My question reflected my mood... which was sore. The dog-man snickered and raised his eyebrow afterwards.

“... You must realize by now that Dreggen has you by your nuts, right? Of course you do; that’s probably the only reason you’re down there.” I growled at him for jeering me, which caused him to hold of a passive paw as a means of telling me he meant no offense. “We’re both in the same boat here, buddy. Dreggen took someone precious to me away, and he took someone that’s precious to you.”

I kept my guard up; there’s no telling what this guy is up to. “And? What are trying to hint at, Mr. Dog-Man?” At the end of my question, the dog-man smiled and made his way further into the cave. He stopped right in front of me.

“Then maybe we can help each other get those special people back, no?” He grinned, flashing me a smile with a lot of sharp-looking white teeth. “I feel as though you could play a large role in helping me stage a revolution.”

Narrowing my eyes, I made sure he felt every modicrum of my suspicious gaze. “Revolution? And what do you mean, ‘I could play a large role’? Who are you?” I watched as he crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow.

“Wergal Everwinter.... the Wolf of Hell; the Marked Beast. I am a monster; something of a devil from any mythos imaginable. I carry the Unholy Scriptures upon my spine, and roil in the dark. And what about you, Mr. Dragon?” His blood-red eyes stared into mine, and curiously enough, they contained venomous pupils like mine.

“I’m not a dragon, just as I’m sure you’re not a dog-man. My name is Silas Epista, and I am a Sigma Draconian from another world.” Cracking my neck on both sides, I lifted my arms and broke the shackles binding me to the floor. I don’t know if it was a good idea to do so, but that position was draining the blood from my legs, and I hate that feeling so much.

I made quick work of the other shackles and stood up, unfurling my wings to stretch them out as well. My body no longer felt heavy, which I was thankful for. My routine done, I affixed my eyes on Wergal again. “You’re saying that if I help you, Sunset and I will be free?”

Wergal nodded his head. “Yeah, you will. The slaves will be free, Granite Podium crushed, and I’ll be reunited with my mate. Of course, this also means that you’ll be reunited with yours as well.”

Pursing my lips to the side, I tapped my foot and held a claw on my chin. “In the worst case scenario, we die. It only goes up from there, though, and he doesn’t seem incompetent in the slightest. No.... he’s a planner, and he’s strong. I can smell it on him.... he won’t leave me hanging if I agree. Plus... he has those Killer eyes.” I stared at the cloudy area at the bottom of his pupil, searching for any sign of treachery.

“I just need some more information on this plan. I don’t see a problem with it as it stands right now; I’m just a little critical at being lead on blindly.”  Dropping the claw on my chin, I asked, “So what will this little plan of yours entail, Wergal?”

He placed his paws behind his back and paced around in front of me. “I will be seeding words of revolt discreetly amongst the slaves on my rounds. They will be rumors meant to boost their confidence; of a dragon that has been captured, but is planning to kill the Alphas and set himself and everyone else free. This type of talk will be hush-hush until the day comes to act... and it’ll have to be some type of sign from either me or you.”

“During these times, I will be taking the shackle keys from other Betas. I am the Head Beta, so they will not ask questions. They’ll be dispersed to the slaves, and on the day of revolt, which I predict to be a good six days from now, they’ll unlock their bindings and start a rio. This will attract the attention of all the guards and the Alpha Brothers: Dreggen, Otto, and Rex, who will be trying to get them back in line, only to find out that it is far too late. We’ll flank them from behind, and take them out without any trouble. From there... it’s any man’s guess.” Wergal stopped pacing and outstretched a paw in my direction. “Agreed?”

I stared at his paw for a moment, then smiled and took it in my claw. “When do we start?”