Chain the Infamous Chainmaid 7

“Varen!”

Melody cried out as she looked upon the center of the laboratory she had walked into. Remembering that she was trying to be stealthy Melody quieted herself immediately and moved to a new hiding spot. Once she was positive that her presence was still a secret Melody turned her attention back to the center of the lab.

“It really is Varen…”

Strapped down to a table was a tall and lanky man who was nearly two meters in height. His long black hair was braided and undone probably would have been longer than Melody was tall. Dressed in only a pair of white jeans it was easy to see that despite his leanness that he was quite muscular but his healthy physic was easily forgotten due to his left arm. Pulled out and extended on an arm of the table the man’s left arm from shoulder down was encased in a form fitting, copper colored gauntlet engraved with monolithic circuit-like runes. His hand was slightly elevated due to the large red dome on the back of his hand being turned down which only made the collection of probing instruments that were attached to the table that much more unsettling of a sight.

“I guess that evil maid isn’t the only depraved person here~♪”

Melody attempted to joke lightly with herself to not be overwhelmed by the whole situation she found herself in. Her joking did little to help however, at least in comparison to seeing the steady rising and falling of Varen’s chest which implied the man was obviously still breathing at least. As he had not reacted to when Melody had called out before and his eyes were closed it was easy to presume that he was not conscious however. Determined to see if the man was still whole in mind Melody decided to wake him and approached the table once she was certain that it was safe to do so.

“Come on Varen, it’s time to get up~♪”

Quietly calling out to Varen, Melody tried to wake him with words alone but he seemed to be unresponsive. Placing her mouth directly next to Varen’s ear Melody tried again.

“Varen~♪ This isn’t a good place to be sleeping~♪ Besides, Link’s in trouble and needs our help~♪ You owe her your life so you just can’t sleep here~♪”

Varen still did not respond and Melody pouted irritably.

“All right, you’re not leaving me any choice~♪”

Hopping up onto the table Melody curled the toes of her left talon and pinched Varen’s jaws between the digits. Turning his head back and forth while applying enough pressure to be painful but not dangerous Melody tried to shake Varen awake.

“Just wake up already!~♪”

Moaning softly Varen began to show signs of life.

“Seriously, what are you doing to my face…?”

“Varen!~ ♪”

Varen’s groggy question filled Melody with a sense jubilation and the harpy’s eyes lit up brightly. Her expression became the source of a troublesome misunderstanding however as Varen’s silver blue eyes slowly opened and took sight of the elated harpy standing above him. As he was half naked and strapped down to a table the sight of the harpy above him in such a state naturally unsettled Varen and the look in his eyes told Melody he was about to shout out in surprise. Acting quickly Melody quickly changed the grip of her talon to smother his face before any sound could escape and simultaneously jumped up and grabbed his throat with her free talon to prevent him from making any noise period. Shushing him Melody demanded his silence while hastily trying to disavow any wrong doing on her part.

“Shh! Keep it down Varen~♪ We’re in trouble here and freaking out about why I’m on top of you while your half naked won’t help us~♪ Not that I was doing anything wrong in the first place!~ ♪ But just so you know I wasn’t doing anything wrong~♪ I can proudly say in all of my life I’ve never once felt the urge to breed that supposedly plagues the average harpy~♪ Varen? Are you listening? Eep!”

Having lost herself in her babbling Melody had stopped looking down at Varen. When she noticed a lack of response from him she looked back down and saw the unfortunate man was very blue in the face as he could not breathe as his head and neck was supporting all of her weight. Though the harpy was spectacularly light she still weighed more than enough to easily crush Varen’s throat if she stayed upon his throat long enough though her grip alone seemed likely to suffocate him regardless. Nearly panicking Melody jumped off of Varen and the table and ducked down trying to hide her head under her wings as Varen gasped for air.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry!~ ♪ I didn’t mean anything!~ ♪ I was just trying to wake you up~♪”

“So why is it that it sounds like your singing about it? Seriously. Well I’m awake now so how about you fill me in on what’s going and why you’re here.”

“She’s here because she’s my new little pet, Eh, he, he, he, he.”

“No…”

All signs of song left Melody’s voice as she despaired at the inhuman voice that came from the entrance of the lab. Turning his head to look in the direction of the voice Varen was confused by the sight of a simple green uniformed guard. As they had their arms folded so as to cup their elbows the sight was stranger than it already was with such a voice coming from the guard.

“I hope you don’t mind that I put a stop to your little play time now my precious little harpy, but the professor would be so mad at me if I let you free the swordsman there. Though maybe if he didn’t have any value left…”

The soldiers head tilted back and made the disturbing smile that accompanied their soulless black eyes all the more unsettling.

“But how to make him valueless? You could cut off his arm or maybe just kill him yourself so he doesn’t have to be experimented on anymore. It’s not like you could escape with him in tow after the constant experiments he’s endured for the last three-day. The poor man shouldn’t have the strength left to stand on his own two feet. That leads to my preferred option for letting him go though; you could mate with him my precious little harpy and share a harpy’s curse with him. Don’t worry, you have my permission. Eh, he, he, he, he.”

Melody shuddered under the words of the inhuman voice that came from the possessed soldier and could not find the courage to face them. Varen simply scowled in response but recognized there was little he could do in his situation. As he could not fight back Varen gave Melody an order.

“Don’t worry about me Melody, just get yourself out of here.”

“But–”

“I already owe Chain my life but if I let anything happen to you I could never make that up. Besides, whoever this depraved maniac is they’re right; I don’t have the strength to get out of here.”

“No…”

“Eh, he, he, he, he. How touching. But I wonder, even if my precious little harpy could abandon a big bad soldier like you what about the maid soldier who was with you or that fluffy little Rattama Song Smith. As I understand it he’s trying to offer the unrestricted knowledge that the Rattama possess on Automina to Raptoria and his kind is not pleased about it all. As the Rattama aren’t welcome here in Bright Rift he’s safe enough but if we granted him his freedom now I wonder how long he would last on his own. Eh, he, he, he, he.”

“You monster.”

Varen finally addressed the possessed guard as they twisted offering someone’s freedom into a form of blackmail to use against Melody. Melody could hear the rage in Varen’s voice but knew there was no way he could hope to face the Hero who possessed the guard in his condition. Summoning up as much courage as she could Melody stood up and faced the possessed guard.

“So what can I do to get you to free all of them?”

“Eh, he, he, he, he. How very heroic of you my precious little harpy, but there isn’t anything you can do. They’re all part of a larger game, but if you give in to me I can at least promise I won’t harm them.”

“Don’t listen to them Melody. You’re an adventurer with the Soarmont Adventurer Company; you’re not supposed to be involved in politics and getting involved with Lord Elliot and us is getting very involved.”

“But Varen, I’ve been involved with all of you since that man Bearings approached Link on the Brass Line. And besides, Link promised she would get everyone to Raptoria and I can’t throw away Link’s promise. But, don’t worry Varen, I know somehow Link will get herself out of whatever mess she’s in and come save all of us.”

“That’s right my precious little harpy. Have faith in your southern maid. I know I do, and when she finally comes here I hope to be able to break both you and her. Eh, he, he, he, he.”

“Link won’t break, not the way you think at least. And even if she does, just like Black Mast I don’t think there’ll be anything left.”

Copyright © 2018 Joshua D Tarwater