Miss Fenella forbade all entrance to her private library. It sat just outside the city walls against the bay.

The remains of a cozy evening smouldered in the fireplace. Finely painted figures paraded the walls. A diorama of warriors lay on the floor in pieces as Fenella squirmed, occasionally kicking them. The water-mage’s wrists strained against tight metal cuffs, and her back struggled against the leather boot of Nalen Kara.

She rolled her onto her side, facing away from the captor. The Warden knelt down to hogtie her cuffed ankles to her bound wrists. Grunts and groans from the scholar were the only sounds she could hear aside from the tick-tock of an old clock.

Kara wiped sweat from her brow. She had removed her red jacket while binding the criminal and took a seat at a wooden chair to examine the evidence.

The wooden totem was as long as her hand, poorly carved, and covered in an unusual blue powder. A series of abductions in Alysa all had the same totem in common, though not the blue powder. She turned it over in her hands again, idly wiping her gloves onto her pants.

“So, do you make these? Or do you just sell them?”

The thick gag between Fenella’s lips was unneeded. For the moment, she wasn’t saying a word.

Nalen was all class, even in the midst of an undocumented nighttime raid. She knew it, too. Tall boots of black leather that were perfect for intimidating lawbreakers. Beige pants that had never known a stain. Kidskin gloves ran through her hair as she tried to decide on appropriate charges for Fenella. It could be something trumped-up to get her to talk. Then again, it might be good to have her in for something small. She could release her and see what she did; test her theory that the wooden totems were related to the abductions.

“N-n-nnggh.” 

She took out the gag and stared for a moment. “What was that?”

“I said,” she shouted with a scholastic voice, “I don’t do either.”

“It was sitting on your windowsill, and a good citizen told me about it. You’ve been known to deal in illicit goods in the past. Why should I think this is any different?”

“Someone gave it to me!”she shouted. “It came in a box, and I was going to do some research tomorrow to figure out what it means.”

Nalen swallowed for a moment. Something about Fenella’s tone told her that she was telling the truth. The hogtie was removed, Fenella sat upright in a chair. Nalen stroked her chin for a moment, staring at the charm.

Her eyes widened. Without admitting a mistake, she sprung to action. “Sorry about the mess,” she said, and began to remove Fenella’s bonds.

The smell of charred wood became the pungent odor of ash. With a wave of crimson, a creature appeared in Fenella’s living room.

Eight horrible legs of steel ended in scything metal claws. Forearms of blunt, powerful gleaming silver. It was two men tall and three elves wide. Eight red crystals stared at Nalen as the fiendish construct became real.

A long cleaving appendage slammed the wooden floor. Fenella fell off her chair. Nalen had stood up to fight, but was knocked off her feet.

Two gleaming red eyes shot beams at the bound Fenella. One zap made her moan and arch her back. The other froze her in place.

Nalen , still on her back, rolled out from sight of the beast and behind a bookcase. She was placing her hand on her sword when another ray hit her.

The Retriever had only brought one box, so it would need to do for both of its targets. A malign intelligence ran through the construct’s creation. It could have simply placed each of the two on its back and returned to its Master’s home - but it wouldn’t. The idea of simply bringing captives in was as alien as mercy or idleness.

Nalen had gotten the worst of it. After being paralyzed, it had spun a few simple ropes around her arms and legs and dragged her out from the ruined remains of the living room and into the cellar, where it could work in peace. There was something profoundly humiliating about being dragged like a piece of meat - or being hung like one, with her legs tied to the rafters and her body left to squirm and sway while the Retriever went back for Fenella.

Once both targets were in a more secure place, it worked to secure Fenella first. She was the primary target, after all - a mage slated for abduction, processing, and imprisonment - so she got what might charitably be called the “better” of the two.

Stripped to her underwear, she squirmed under the effect of the paralytic ray while the retriever summoned a coffin-like container for its target. Padded, cushioned, and with no fewer than six locks (without any keyholes visible), Fenella was effectively placed on the base of the coffin and strapped down.

Loving gestures and incredible tightness; the eager, almost child-like glee as heavy leather bands locked along Fenella’s wrists, above and below her bust, her neck, ankles, and thighs. The banding around her neck was metal, as well. A few low-power jolts of electricity made her squeal with a mix of taboo delight and horror, and it was enough to keep her servile while the construct slipped a heavy gag between her lips.

Nalen was not so lucky. She was just a secondary target - having touched the totem and its tracking powder - but, orders were orders and the Retriever knew nothing but tracking and transport. Well, nothing except some casual cruelty.

After all, Nalen was hung quite nicely. Perfect for a heavy spank with the flat of its blunt forearms. The Warden screamed with shock. The arrogance of some construct to think that it had the pleasure of spanking her?!

“MGNNNNFGH!” 

The groans only enticed further spanks. A second, a third, a fourth. After that they were less consistent as the construct bound her further.

Arms behind her back. Magically summoned leather mitts around her wrists, matching cuffs around her ankles. Rope began to criss-cross her legs. Buttons popped as her blouse came loose, the blades carefully removing it to reveal her warm skintone beneath.

As the paralysis was beginning to wear off, it was time to quiet the quarry. Nalen was starting to get mouthy, shouty, and bitey. A flash of red from its eyes, and Nalen found a series of objects floating around her head.

First came a thick packing of cloth that bulged out her cheeks. Next was a series of bandages that went above and below her nose, coating her jaw and the top of her neck in white gauze.

Finally was a heavy , slightly sticky layer of tape that glowed with ensorcelled sustaining runes. Another bandage that went over her jaw and nose was purely for entertainment value.

Nalen’s rear was red, her pants fraying as the occasional spank continued. When the Retriever had decided she had nearly had enough, it began to take her down from the ceiling for a final packing.

More rope, harnessing her like a puppet. Heavy silk fiber, summoned from the ether, became rope that wound around her knees, thighs, calves; between her legs with a tight tug. Her bra was nicely highlighted between a harness of unyielding, unbreakable demonic energy made material.

She hadn’t even been packed up, and she knew that it was going to be a long trip. It was made even longer as the Warden was shoved, ceremoniously, into the coffin. Her head lined up with Fenella’s chest, but it was a tight fit. With Fenella on her back and Nalen on her side, the result was extraordinarily tight. Beads of sweat formed as a few extra leather bands were created to keep the two from squirming… too much.

Fenella’s chest made for a very warm but less than ideal pillow. Nalen grunted. Fenella responded in kind. The container was shut, and heavy metal arms picked it up. Arcane locks sealed themselves until morning when the Retriever’s master would demand them open.

Fenella’s aroma and the heat of the box were a poor place to try to rest, let alone think!

She shut her eyes, cursing her luck. The Retriever hauled the two of them through a planar portal. Sweat began to bead on Nalen’s forehead as she felt her fate.