This is an adult tale, with grown up real world nastiness. Not for minors. It should be noted this story contains non consensual acts of violence and mutilation. However the author would like to point out these are not glorified or depicted as anything other than what they are.
Zoog and the Girlmaster stood over the latest acquisition. Tweal the Girlmaster had it staked out on the ground after two days hanging upside down. It’s strong legs were bound together at the ankles and stretched out away from the noose around the animals throat. If it struggled it would choke itself so it was keeping still. It’s arms were pulled out to either side so the animal looked like a cross.
It’s arms were about to be bound and the Girlmaster had promised to show Zoog the trick to breaking a girl. Zoog new it involved cutting the animal, but as a scout he had never learnt the trick of it.
“Okay Zoog as you know we hang a girl to let them know we own them. But binding the arms is the most important part of breaking the animal. Once this is done the beast knows it is never going back to its own kind.”
“You cut it yes?” Asked Zoog.
“Yes, in a special way. If you butcher one of these for food you can work out how the arms actually work. We’ve learnt where to cut the arms so they stop working permanently. When we do that the animal realises it’s fit only to be a pony. Something we knew anyway, but they’re not the smartest of creatures.”
The ‘creature’, as Tweal described it, was mewling into the gag and straining at its outstretched arms. Zoog knew the humans in the northern villages were pretty smart, but Tweal never went south, and Zoog was not going to correct him. The only humans the Girlmaster ever encountered were the captives brought back by the raiding parties. Frightened teenage girls.
“So you must use a very sharp, very thin knife. That minimises bleeding,” said Tweal as he crouched over one of the arms. “You must also be careful or you will cut the tubes that carry the blood. You don’t want to do that as you’ll lose the beast. The first is easy if you dig a claw into the animals elbow it’ll flinch as you hit the first point to cut.”
Tweal demonstrated and then stuck the knife into the point. The girl squealed into it’s gag and the other girls hanging on the rack let out a low moan into theirs.
“You see Zoog? They all recognise the change I am making to the beast. Now the second cut is on the wrist. Again you must be careful not to bleed the animal out. This point here is the correct one.”
Again the knife was inserted and the tethered animal squealed once more.
“Finally up here on the upper arm, on the outside if you feel there are some strings over the bone. You cut those too.”
The third cut produced a small amount of blood once Tweal removed his blade but the arm did indeed appear to be limp. Tweal moved down to the fingers and flicked them about.
“You see? The arm is now quite useless. The beast would be shunned if it tried to return to its herd. Unable to feed itself it is now dependent on Goblin kind to live.”
“Humans don’t herd, you fool,” thought Zoog. Out loud he said, “Once you’ve cut the other arm of course.”
“Of course,” agreed Tweal scampering over and quickly administering the final three cuts to the prone human. “Now we let it know what we have done.”
Tweal released the ropes to the stakes that had been holding the arms out. As the girl realised she could not move her arms below the elbow she started screaming into her gag. Her eyes wide and wild spittle spraying out around the rope cleaving her mouth.
“Once it stops screaming we bind the arms. We put the hands in leather pouches as they wither into bird like claws.”
The girl continued to wail for some time but eventually the noise was less of a scream and more a sobbing. Tweal released the noose rope but the girl could not rise without her arms to push her up or roll her over.
Grabbing the dangling end of the noose rope Tweal’s apprentice hauled the girl back onto her haunches. Tweal then swiftly moved in and folded the flopping arms behind the girls back. With deft moves and practiced skill he quickly had the new pony girls arms bound behind her. The apprentice handed his master the leather pouches to cover the hands. Then the saddle tree was inserted and bound in place too.
The apprentice scampered up the girl and sat down in the saddle behind the pony girls head. He released the gag, but before the girl could clamp her jaws shut he had an ironwood bit in place between her teeth.
Girlthrash at the ready in one hand and the other firmly holding the reins attached to the bit he looked back at his master.
“Ready,” declared the apprentice.
The Girlmaster cut the ropes at the ankles and the girl lurched to her feet. She instantly bolted with the young apprentice whipping her with his girlthrash and yanking hard at the reins.
“The first ride is always wild. We draw lots to see who takes it,” confided Tweal to Zoog. They both watched as he attempted to steer the careening girl as she desperately ran.
“As she tires the rider asserts his dominance,” informed Tweal. “The rest of the training involves teaching the beast commands and conditioning it for battle. But this point, when the arms are bound is when the pony is broken.”
“Thank you for showing me Tweal. It was very informative.”
“Glad to help,” replied the Girlmaster.
Zoog turned away and walked back to his own mount. He kicked the girl so she knelt and he climbed into his saddle. Turning the girl south he kicked her into a jog. He had to get back to Anzeg a ride of three days. There was a smith there who said he had some ideas on how to make pony girls last longer. The Girlmaster was clearly an idiot, perhaps the smith would have the answer on how to make a goblin mount last longer than the measly average of two years.