From the Witchfinder's Files, Tale I: Snake in Chains

Phyliss whimpered once, but caught herself again.
"I'm sorry...I thought I would do what you wanted me to do..." she whispered, but did not speak on. She know it was no use.
 
"What I want you to do is suffer... today, I brought you an especially good way to do that."

He freed her wrists - rubbed red from hanging in the frame for so long - and then her feet and led her over to a low bench, where he pushed her shoulders down gently to signal for her to sit down on it.
 
The gorgon sat down, as there was nothing else left to do. She did not know what he had in mind, but she was sure it would be horrible. She did not resist or beg- what difference would have made it.
 
He pushed the obedient girl down onto the bench until she was lying on her back, then fastened several leather straps around her body, as tight as they would go - one around her legs, one across her lower body, and two above and below her breasts, making them stand up as they were squeezed out of their natural shapes by the merciless leather.
 
Phyliss couldn't help to shiver and tremble as he fastend up all the straps, but she did not dare to ask what he had in mind. She would find out just to soon. her breathing went fast, but she made no sound - so far.
 
Satisfied with the tightness of the straps, he stroked the inner thighs of his victim, then pulled a stick from his belt.

"Just a little beating to soften you up for the main attraction, girl. We will wait until there are more people watching, though. We can not deny them their entertainment, can we?"
 
A little beating, this words from his mouth would mean a feracious beating, maybe one leaving her dead behind.
"Please let me live.." she whispered in a begging tone. He had promised her that she would survive, but what was it worth?
 
"I will let you live, do not worry. I do not break my word. I may break some of your bones, though..."

He gave her a mild stroke of the stick across her breasts, just to check her strength. They bobbed back and forth like balloons, pressed into an odd shape by the tight straps.
 
Phyliss shrieked, as she got hit on her breasts. Even if he hadn't hit very hard, it was very painful, as here breasts were already lightly squeezed by the bondage.
 
He touched the welt his stick had left, then squeezed the tight, reddened breasts caught between the two leather straps.

"More of that when we have more audience. We would not want to waste all those lovely screams on just the two of us, would we? Let alone the other thing I have in store for you..."
 
Phyliss whimpered once more as she felt her breasts squeezed, but she could hold back the tears this time. Of course she did not ask what he had in stock for her. It was just one more torture of him to tell her that some more fiendish invention waited for her. His religion was worse then anything she had even heard before, a philosophy for torure and sadism just for the sake of it.
 
He gave her two quick kisses on her nipples, then waited by her shivering, helpless body until the first onlookers arrived. After pausing for a while to build tension, he raised his stick again and planted the first blow square across her stomach.
 
Phyliss caughed as the stick hit her stomach. She didn't have any belly in her normal state, but as he tried to starve her, there wasn't anything in there, and she had not been prepared for the stroke. She almost fainted, but did not throw up - there wasn't anything to throw up, anyway.
 
Watching the demon suffer had become almost routine to the people... yet still, they paused from time to time to see what was happening to her, and how long she would be able to take all of this...

He moved a few steps down her helpless, immobile body and hit her on the soles of her feet.
 
Phyliss yelled. It would have been stupid to hold back the screams, as he wanted to hear them, and he would only hit harder to give a show to the audience. And it did hurt bad enough, so she did not have to fake.
 
The new thrill was exciting the audience, and by their shocked gasps, he could tell that he was not the only one who was amazed at the punishment this young woman could take. She would last the full week, unfortunately. She had to be wishing for death by now...

A second blow, heavier than the first, hit her squarely on the feet again.
 
Phyliss screamed again, pulling at the straps. They did not budge, of course, but the sudden pain just made her try to dodge nevertheless.
 
That was enough... it was merely warmup for the main attraction of the day. Some light entertainment, something to laugh.

As curious onlookers, attracted by the bloodcurdling screams, gathered around the platform, he got a bucket of salt water and a brush.

"How ticklish are you?", he asked with a grin while he let the brush's bristles play gently on her toes.
 
"Ahhh..." although Phyliss could not see what he was doing, there was no mistake possible what would be next. She wasn't very ticklish, more medium, but that was enough if he found the right spots. And she was sure he would.
 
He increased the intensity of his tickling and tried out different spots on her soles to find the one which provoked the strongest squirming and moaning from his helpless victim.

"This is only the beginning, of course. Do you know what a goat can do to your soles? Do you want to find out...? Oh, right, it is not like you have a choice in the matter..."

He laughed, possibly harder than the bound woman.
 
Phyliss realized what he was up to, no doubt. She could not help the hysterical laughter yet. Would she survive that?
 
She was understanding what was about to happen. Good. It was always more fun when they knew what was coming for them.

He deliberately let the tension build as he slowly. in a very leisurely fashion, started spreading the salt water all over the soles of her feet, especially on the parts that were still raw or open from the attacks with the stick.
 
Phyliss wailed as the salt got into her wounds. It was to late to show any pride. Soon everything would get worse. She would even have begged for mercy, if she had seen any chance in that.
 
She looked almost pitiful, howling in pain like that as the salt bit her. Soon, her soles were glistening with a thick layer of brine...

"Sorry, girl", he whispered as he went to get the second participant in this gruesome ceremony, "but remember: You would have burned. Instead you will live. Barely."
 
Phyliss was crying again, weeping loud while her tears went down. She knew very well that sje would burst into hysterical laughter soon.
 
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