A Dragon's Tale Ch. 40

As she thought about it, she realized that she'd also sought out more than one 'harem' story too. She frowned. Yeah, erotic fiction was definitely different than real life. Just because something was her kink in a story didn't mean she wanted it in real life. That was a definite no; she had no interest. None of any kind. Her bet with Anthiel came to mind, but she didn't think that was the same thing.

Not at all.

Ethan turned to Rachel. "You too beautiful; I know you're dealing with a lot considering everything we learned about your father. But I'm just a thought away if you want to talk, or we can talk more when I get back."

"Thank you my lord." She nodded.

"That goes for you too Beth." He turned to the blonde. "You handled things with your father wonderfully, but I know it still tears you up inside."

His youngest wife gave him a pained smile.

Then Ethan turned to Alana and opened his mouth, but then closed it. A few seconds later the wood elf nodded with a grateful smile on her face. Judging by the confused looks on everyone else's faces, he'd talked to her alone.

"I'm ready master." The Fey came bounding out of the captain's cabin, tucking the weight reduction necklace into a cleverly concealed pocket in her dress. Alana had apparently been clever when making them since they all had pockets, which Selene thought could only be a good thing.

"I know you're all dealing with some stuff." Ethan continued, and the Brazilian woman noticed that he looked at her too for a moment before he continued. "I'll be back as soon as I can, but I don't feel like I can just say 'no' when someone asks for help, especially a kid."

"That's not a bad thing." Selene said, and the others agreed.

"Okay, I'll be back as soon as I can." He said, then stepped forward and gave his first four wives a tender kiss.

Kendra put a hand over her stomach and looked a bit green, but not nearly as much as she had in recent days. Oddly, she had a look on her face that was somewhere between disgust and anticipation, with a hint of a smile.

Ethan stopped in front of her and hesitated. "Forehead?"

She nodded, keeping her mouth closed and looking simultaneously a bit green. He gave her a quick peck on the forehead. She screwed her face up for a moment, then seemed to relax a bit and she looked a bit less green.

She sighed slightly before opening her eyes and gave him a half smile. "Thank you."

"Any time." He grinned, then turned and jumped off the side of the ship with Taloni right behind him.

The caramel-haired beauty stepped to the railing to look over it and saw him spread his wings as he dove back towards the forest. Taloni's wings were beating so fast that they were a blur as she took off after him. Before long, they had slipped through the canopy and were out of sight.

Selene sighed.

She felt a bit jealous of the Fey who could be so useful on the ship. She had been doing most of the piloting lately, she also did inspections of the Argo's sails and rigging because it was so easy for her since she could fly. She was an incredible healer, incredibly sweet, and she could fly.

Fly!

Alana had enchanted all of Ethan's weapons, Beth could do that 'astral projection' thing in addition to her encyclopedic knowledge of the world, Rachel had saved their lives a bunch of times, and even Kendra was turning out to be incredibly useful on the ship.

However, Selene herself wasn't.

Or at least, she didn't feel like she was.

The worst part was that she didn't know how to be more useful either. She'd spent every spare minute sparring, and even finally learned how to move her mana around. She hung her head as she thought about her mana. Apparently, her mana had a bit of a 'pattern' to its flow that literally no one else's did. She hoped that wouldn't affect her ability to use it, but she had an all-too-familiar feeling in the pit of her stomach that it would.

"Copper for your thoughts?" Rachel's voice came from behind her.

"I just feel useless." She sighed turning towards the teen mage. "I don't know how to do anything that would help; I don't have any skills that are useful on this world."

"Oh." The redhead leaned up against the railing. "Well, I don't know if I can help you feel better right now. However, if what you're feeling stems from a lack of useful skills, then I can certainly help you develop those skills."

"Oh?" Selene asked hopefully.

"Yes." Rachel smiled. "Did you want to start practicing magic now that you've learned to move your mana around?"

"Yes please." She smiled from ear-to-ear.

* * *

Ethan and Taloni followed the boy -- Ben -- through a small section of woods and out onto a badly maintained road. They walked for only a quarter mile or so before the boy turned and started walking down a path that lead towards a small house surrounded by a field of partially grown crops, though Ethan wasn't sure what kind of crop.

The house was quite small, being single story and maybe twenty feet on a side. It looked like it had seen better days, yet also like it was lovingly cared for too. There were flowers out front, though they looked like cultivated wildflowers. Everything was clean, but the house looked like it was in need of repair for want of materials. The thatched roof especially looked like it could use some TLC. It reminded him slightly of how Sarah's inn had looked.

Sarah...

He felt his heart simultaneously both lighten and sink lower as he thought of the wonderful girl. It was stupid; he'd known her for a grand total of a couple hours, and yet--

He was shaken from his reverie by a scream from within the house.

"DRAGON!!!" A feminine voice shrieked. "Talven! There's a dragon near Ben!"

Moments later, a young man of about thirty burst through the door of the house, drawing a sword from its scabbard. Both sword and scabbard had clearly seen better days. The scabbard was all beat up, but clearly well oiled. Likewise the blade had several small notches in it from prior use, but it was well-oiled and free from rust.

"Ben! Get away from that dragon!" The man -- Talven presumably -- shouted.

Ben obeyed his father and ran from Ethan, but not in a scared way. "Father, it's the prophet of Illuminar. He's come to help us."

"I'm no threat to you or your family." Ethan said, raising his hands to show he wasn't going to hurt them.

Talven held up the sword and pointed it at Ethan, though they were separated by at least a dozen yards. "Don't come any closer."

Ethan stopped and sighed.

"Pa'pa, he really is the prophet." Ben insisted.

"Prove it." Talven said to Ethan, not lowering his sword.

Ethan almost wanted to chuckle. The man's stance was too narrow and he held the sword in such a way as to make both attack and defense difficult; a fighter he was not.

"Give me a second." He said, raising his hand and calling his war hammer, which was back on the Argo. Not long after, it zoomed through the air and landed in his hand.

Talven's mouth fell open.

Ethan started charging it, and waited until it had enough charge to produce a visually impressive lightning bolt. Once it was charged enough, he threw it into the air and released the charge.

Crack!

The electricity arced down from the hammer to the ground with a loud sound, though not deafening since he hadn't charged it much.

"Good enough?" He asked the other man as he called the hammer back to his hand.

Talven lowered his sword. "The p... the proph..." He took a deep breath. "You're here; thank Illuminar -- blessed be He."

"Blessed be He." Ethan echoed, not because of any particular religious conviction, but because it seemed like the right thing to say at the moment.

A woman in her twenties came out of the house with a baby on her hip and a shocked expression on her face. The couple stared at him for several seconds before their son broke the silence.

"I told you Pa'pa; he can help."

"The Prophet of Illuminar -- blessed be He." The man's jaw went slightly slack as he looked at Ethan. "I'm sorry I threatened you, I... I didn't know."

"I don't blame you, not one bit; I would've done the same to protect my family." He gave them a smile, which in hindsight might not have been the best move since it revealed his sharp teeth. He corrected it to a grin and they relaxed slightly.

"I'm sorry, where are my manners." The man said after a few moments. "My name is Talven, and this is my wife, Salma, and my son Ben." He indicated each in turn.

Salma curtsied while still holding the baby. "Pleasure."

"I'm Ethan, and this one of my wives, Taloni." He indicated the Fey.

"It's a pleasure to meet both of you, won't you come in?" Talven said a few moments later. "We don't have much, but we would be honored by your presence."

"Thank you, the honor is mine." He replied, and then thought to his wives. *Hey, Ivernia doesn't have some weird honor culture like the wood elves do, does it?*

*No Dominus.* Beth replied. *Why?*

*Just checking.*

Talven waved him into his house, and the inside was much like the outside. Everything inside was clean and well-cared for, but they were clearly hard-up for coin. He noticed that their clothes looked thin, though clean. They were mended in a few places too, but the mending was done well.

"So, what can I help you with?" He asked.

"What did Ben tell you?" The man asked.

"Not much, just that you needed help."

"The taxes Pa'pa." Ben 'whispered'. "Tell him about the--"

Talven put a hand on his son's shoulder. "He's not wrong, I've had some trouble-- I'm sorry, I should've offered you something to eat first." He turned to his wife. "Salma, what do we have to offer them?"

She tried to hide her grimace, but wasn't entirely successful. "Just the crust of a barley loaf."

"I actually just ate." Ethan lied. "I'm really not hungry at all."

"Nor am I, but thank you so much for offering." Taloni added, obviously catching on.

Salma unsuccessfully tried to hide a look of relief. Now that Ethan was looking at the couple, they looked to be a bit thin. Not dangerously so, and not enough that he'd noticed right away, but they definitely were. The children looked a bit better, and he guessed that the parents were underfeeding themselves slightly for their kids' sake.

"Seriously though, how can I help?" He asked, suddenly very keen to do so now that he knew they were good people who really needed it.

"It's the Reeve." Talven said heavily.

"Reeve? What's a Reeve?" Ethan asked.

"The man who collects taxes, he..." Talven hesitated.

"He's a Saidow Spawn who takes more than--" Ben started to say.

"Ben!" His father said sharply. "You'll not use that kind of language in this house."

"Yes father." The boy said instantly and fell silent. Ethan didn't get the impression it was from fear though; more like the boy loved and revered his father.

"The tax man is cheating you, huh?" Ethan guessed.

Talven nodded.

Salma grimaced. "It's hard enough to make a living with all the taxes, but when he collects more than he should..."

"Which is always." Talven said bitterly.

"How bad are the taxes?" Ethan asked, finding it hard to believe that taxes alone could reduce a couple to this level of poverty.

"Well, there's the crop tax, where we have to give them a portion of the harvest." Talven replied.

"A large portion." Salma added bitterly.

Her husband nodded with a scowl. "Then the land tax for farming the land, the house tax for having a house, the sales tax whenever we buy or sell."

"The tolls on every road whenever you want to go someplace." Salma added.

"The annual head tax, which we have to pay for the children too." Talven said with a sigh, then started ticking more off on his fingers. "The local tax for living in the barony, the army tax to maintain the military, the city tax for--"

"Okay." Ethan broke in. "I got it, they're trying to squeeze blood from a turnip."

Salma and Talven looked at him.

"It's an expression from where I'm from." He explained. "How can I help?"

"The Reeve took extra taxes this year--" Talven began.

"Like every year." Salma cut in with all the warmth of a mid-winter blizzard.

Her husband nodded. "He said they were to help fight against orc attacks and a potential invasion by Lord Kalus to the south." Talven explained. "But everyone knows they won't send troops to fight the orcs, and Lord Kalus is an honorable man who'd never invade."

"Kalus... Kalus." Ethan frowned, then thought to Taloni. *How do I know that name?*

*Master, the man at Sarah's inn said that Lord Kalus had helped the miners by sending some men to help fight the orcs.* She thought to him.

"Right, okay." He said aloud. "So the local Reeve is taking extra taxes, and pulling the food right out of your kids' mouths to do it; that sound about right?"

The couple nodded, bitter anger clearly just beneath the surface.

Ethan growled, thinking about how he'd feel if someone was doing that to his wives or unborn daughter. "Where can I find him?"

"He's in town and you can't miss the building; it's the largest in town." Talven said.

Ethan frowned. "The tax collector has the largest house in town? Yeah, that sounds above board."

Talven looked confused. "Above what kind of board?"

"Never mind, it's a figure of speech where I'm from." He frowned. "And I take it he cheats more than just you two."

They both nodded.

"I'll talk to him."

"But please don't tell him that we sent you." Salma whispered urgently, like she was worried about being overheard. "He might raze our home if he knew."

Ethan's eyes went wide. "He'd burn your home down if he knew you told me this?"

Salma nodded fearfully.

"He might." Talven confirmed.

"In that case I'll keep your names out of it, but I'm definitely going to talk to him." Ethan clenched his fist. "And he won't enjoy it."

* * *

Sarah whimpered slightly as two large guards hauled her up the stairs to the prison cell where Lady Ekthros was. They opened the door and tossed her in, giving both women appraising looks as they did so.

"I hear the old lady might let us have some fun tonight!" One of them leered.

Sarah blanched.

Lady Ekthros sucked in her breath.

"See you in a little bit." He grinned. "I think another one of the boys wants in on this."

"I claim first with the young and ugly one." The first guard said.

"Why in Saidow's lair would you want that cow?" The other replied.

"Tighter. Young bitches are always tighter."

"Whatever." The other rolled his eyes as they left.

Sarah stepped back to the furthest corner of the tiny cell, slid down and wrapped her arms around her legs. The digs at her looks had hurt, but what would hurt even more is... is...

She shuddered.

She'd never felt a man's touch before; not that way. And while she hadn't exactly been looking forward to her wedding night with Rindrin, he would've at least tried to make sure she enjoyed it. He probably wouldn't have succeeded, but he would've tried. It would surely be better than whatever those guards were planning anyway.

She sniffled as her eyes got watery.

"Hey." Lady Ekthros said, sitting down beside her and wrapping an arm around her. Sarah couldn't help but notice her dark grey eyes again. They were pretty, in a 'hauntingly beautiful' sort of way. She still wondered what had caused them to lose some of their color though.

"Hey, it'll be okay." The lady said as she gave Sarah a comforting squeeze.

"How?" She replied. "I just hope I get scared enough that..." She let the words die on lips as she realized what she was saying. She didn't need to be afraid because of her problem, but she was afraid. She was afraid of what would happen if she got scared enough, but even more afraid of what would happen if she didn't.

* * *

Ethan flew low and fast towards the town, seething that someone could be so corrupt and cruel. Obviously this 'Reeve' -- the tax collector -- could be, and he wasn't even surprised. It turns out that tax men are about the same level of corrupt on every world; shocker. But still, to talk to someone who was suffering because of that...

He clenched his fist tighter.

*Master, what are you going to do?* Taloni asked from beside him.

*I'm still working the details.* He replied, making sure not to fly so fast that she couldn't keep up on the short trip. His delightful third wife was far more maneuverable in the sky, but not nearly as fast as he was. *However, I think it'll involve putting the fear of God into that son of a bitch, that's why I grabbed my armor backpack and sword.*

The Fey beside him nodded. *How is your dragon side master?*

He cocked his head to one side.

Now that he thought about it... *The dragon seems to have gone dormant. I mean, it's still there, but the instincts aren't pushing for control like before.*

*I'm so glad master.* She beamed. *You see, you did need to marry Kendra.*

*Right again.* He conceded, then noticed their destination coming up. *Okay, time to drop.*

The two flyers dropped down about a quarter mile from the town and walked the rest of the way, Ethan activating his disguise gem long before he was in sight of the town. Like the other roads, this one was in bad shape. It wasn't impassible, but he shuddered to think what some of those potholes could do to a wagon wheel.

It made him wonder where all the taxes for road upkeep were going.

The town itself had a similar feeling to Talven and Salma's house. Everything seemed like it was well cared for, but not in good shape anyway. Many of the people looked cheerful, but their clothes were often a little thin, frayed, or patched. It wasn't depressing, but it did stoke his anger a bit to realize it was probably this way because of the oppressive tax burden and corrupt tax collectors.

"Good day my man." A cheerful fellow said, tipping his straw hat as they entered town.

"And a good day to you sir." Ethan nodded back.

The fellow smiled genially and continued on his way.

This happened at least half a dozen times. Everyone seemed mostly cheerful despite how poor the town looked, and not a single person -- man, woman, or child -- was anything less than perfectly inviting and cordial. Taloni got a few curious looks -- probably because of her wings -- but no one treated her any different to him, except a few young girls who seemed enamored of her wings.

"You know, I'm really starting to like Ivernia; Lord Farbrottan and his Reeves notwithstanding." He mused.

"I agree master." She grinned at him.

The tax collector's house wasn't hard to find. It was easily the largest and fanciest building in town, and almost depressingly so. It had a commanding view of the town square, and was a full three stories tall, which was much taller than the other buildings. The gold trim especially peeved him. Ethan had no problem with someone who got rich through hard work and smarts, but he had no patience for men who did it through theft; especially through tax theft.

"Tee, stay here just in case things get hairy." He instructed. "If it becomes a fight, I want you to fly to the top of a building and get out of sight."

"Yes master." She nodded, then stood up on tiptoes and kissed his cheek. "Be careful, and I love you."

"I love you too honey, and I will." He smiled back, then glowered at the large house and began to stalk across the town square towards it.

"Excuse me young fellow." An older man of about sixty stepped into his path. "You have the look of a young man spoiling for a fight, and you should know that the Reeve isn't the man to be picking a fight with. No sense dying without cause."

Ethan cocked his head to one side.

This older fellow seemed truly concerned that Ethan might get hurt.

"He's right." Another fellow said. "Messing with a Reeve in Ivernia is about like messing with a dragon in his cave; you'll get no farther than the entrance and get burned for your trouble."