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"I appreciate your concern, but he needs a major correction."
"Well, I won't stop you if you're determined." The old man said. "But we've got no healer here anymore, so if you get hurt by the guards you'd be in trouble."
"Noted, and thanks for the warning." Ethan said, then walked forward until he was about twenty feet from the entrance.
"Zalaus!" He called loudly, having learned the Reeve's name from the young couple.
There was a brief pause, then five people exited the building from the large double door. The first four were obviously guards of some kind, and each had an arming sword on his side. The three-foot long swords matched the guards' clothing in overall look; far better than the rest of the town around them. Fortunately, none were wearing armor, which would be good if it came to a fight.
He hoped it wouldn't.
The last man was maybe forty and more waddled out than walked, his expansive waistline was quite impressive for a man so young. His clothes were brightly colored and looked quite expensive. He had a gold ring on his finger, and overwhelmingly gave the impression of some weaselly fellow in middle management; a sad little king of a sad little hill.
"You want something, peasant?" The Reeve asked with disdain while twirling the gold ring on his finger.
"Yeah, I hear you've been cheating the people in this land out of their hard-earned money." He said, not even trying to hide his disgust.
Zalaus sneered, then waved his guards forward. "You should learn some respect. Perhaps a few days in the stocks will teach you."
Ethan looked at the four men who'd moved forward. None of them looked like fighters, but there were four of them and he didn't want to kill anyone if he didn't have to.
"You might want to reconsider." He said to the four guards as he rested his non-sword hand on the hilt of his war sword.
"There's four of us and one of you." One of them scoffed.
"So get a few more and it'll almost be even." Ethan shrugged calmly, then looked at the Reeve. "Here's what going to happen. You're going to go through your books and make an accounting of everyone you've overcharged. Then you're going to pay them back in full, even selling your own possessions to make up the difference if you fall short. Then you'll never take even a single copper more than you should in the future, or you'll have to reckon with me."
"And who the fuck are you to threaten me?" The Reeve replied.
"The name is Ejder... Ethan Ejder." He replied calmly.
The five men hesitated as one.
"Bullshit." The Reeve finally called, then looked at the men. "Kill him for impersonating a prophet of Illuminar."
Ethan grinned.
Shock and awe seemed the way to go.
He disengaged the sticking enchantment that held the backpack containing his armor to his back as the four guards drew their swords. Before they'd even started forward, Ethan clicked off his disguise gem and summoned his armor. It flew into the air, swirling around him slightly as each piece honed in on its proper place and locked itself in place.
Everyone in the town square froze.
Then Ethan leaned forward slightly and put all his anger at the people's mistreatment into a powerful roar. The dreadful sound reverberated throughout the town square, and probably the whole town. The Reeve, Zalaus, looked like he'd been turned to stone as nothing about him moved, except the growing yellow spot on the front of oversized trousers.
The guards were frozen by the roar.
Everyone was.
After several seconds, Ethan let up and took a deep breath.
Still, no one moved.
He almost chuckled as he casually drew his war sword and gave it an effortless flourish, ending in one-handed low guard as he looked at the petrified guards.
"Now, who's first?" He asked as if they were merely discussing the weather.
The guards all dropped their swords and fled like the devil himself was chasing them.
Ethan chuckled as he returned his war sword to its scabbard and looked at the man he'd come here to see. "Now, about those taxes..."
* * *
"When they come, if I get scared enough..." Sarah swallowed hard. "I might be able to..." She took a deep breath, but Lady Ekthros spoke before she got a chance to continue.
"The stories are true, aren't they? You really do have a demon."
Sarah bit her lip, then nodded.
"That might save us, but at what cost?" She countered. "Do you really want to use the powers of darkness? Wouldn't Illuminar -- blessed be He -- frown on that?"
The innkeeper's daughter looked down so she didn't have to meet the other woman's eyes. "But I can't let them hurt you. You've been so good to me, and..." She trailed off, not sure how to finish that sentence. She really wanted to protect Lady Ekthros, and her problem provided a way to do that. Little though she liked her problem, she was very grateful for it sometimes.
The other woman looked at her shrewdly for a moment, then frowned. "But if what you're saying is true, then you might kill them."
Sarah bit her lip and looked at the floor of the cell. "I know, and I don't want to but..." She took a deep breath. "...but I can't let them hurt you."
Lady Ekthros scrutinized her for several seconds before speaking again. For some reason, Sarah felt like she was being... analyzed? No, that wasn't quite right. Evaluated? No, that wasn't it either, but it was something similar to those though.
Finally, Lady Ekthros spoke. "But they have wives and children. I overheard some of them talking; one whose wife had just recently given birth. You wouldn't make his wife into a widow, would you?"
Sarah hesitated.
"And what of the baby?" The auburn-haired woman continued. "Would you make him into an orphan? You know how much the people hate Lord Farbrottan's soldiers; the widow and her baby would have a rough go of it without him to provide for them. She might struggle to feed her baby; you wouldn't want a baby to go hungry would you?"
The girl shook her head. "But then what can we do?"
Lady Ekthros slowly shook her head. "I'm not sure, but maybe we can--"
She was cut off as the door to the room opened and three rough, dirty and unkempt men came into the room. Two of them were the guards from earlier, and now that she was looking properly she noticed that they looked like they hadn't bathed in quite some time. They were all leering at the women with wicked smiles on their faces.
Sarah gasped and took a single step backwards. She would've taken more, but the tiny cell didn't allow it.
"You ladies are in for a rough night." One of them leered with a mirthless chuckle.
"Yeah, the old lady told us to not be gentle..." Another said as he rubbed his hands together in excitement.
Sarah gulped.
"I say we take 'em one at a time, all three holes at once." The last man suggested.
The innkeeper's daughter blanched.
Suddenly, her heart seemed to freeze in her chest as she contemplated how that was possible. It took her a minute to realize what they meant by 'three holes'. When she did, she reflexively clenched her butt cheeks and clamped her mouth shut.
"Take me instead of her." Lady Ekthros blurted out.
"What?" One of them looked confused. "It's a buffet butch; we're going to enjoy both of you."
"But I won't fight you, I'll do anything you want if you leave the girl alone." The auburn-haired woman countered. "Anything you can think of, I'll do it if you leave her alone."
The three men hesitated.
"I've got experience, and can make this a night you'll never forget." She pressed on. "Trust me, you won't regret it."
"No!" Sarah blurted out. "Lady Ekthros, you can't!"
"Please?" The older woman got down on her knees facing the other men, completely ignoring Sarah. "Please, I'll do anything you want, any way you want, as many times as you want; just leave her alone."
The three men looked at each other.
"Willing is better." The first one pointed out.
"True, and the girl is kind of ugly." The second one admitted.
The third one scrutinized the kneeling woman. "Anything?"
She nodded.
"Scat? Piss? And you'll smile and say: 'please sir, I want some more'?"
Lady Ekthros swallowed hard, but nodded.
"You... you can't." Sarah said struggling to her feet.
"Stay back!" Lady Ekthros said in a commanding tone that stopped the younger woman in her tracks. "I'll be okay, let me do this for you."
"But..."
"Aww shut the fuck up." One of the men barked as he unlocked the cell and roughly pulled the older woman out, slamming the cell door shut behind him.
"We're going to have some fun with you." He leered as he grabbed the lady's hair and half-dragged her out of the room, leaving behind a still-stunned Sarah.
* * *
"Ethan! Ethan! Ethan!" The crowd chanted as the object of their chanting stood there rather awkwardly not knowing what to do or say. He was still standing in front the Reeve's house, and it seemed like the whole town had started cheering and chanting once the shock from the roar had worn off.
"Please." He raised his hands to quiet them and clam them down. "Please."
That seemed to only egg them on further.
He resigned himself to standing there awkwardly as they cheered themselves out. It took a few minutes, but they did. Then they all moved in to shake his hand, and the women seemed determined to hug him, dragon though he was. Finally, after a good fifteen minutes he'd shaken everyone's hand at least once, and some of the more eager men's hands two or three times.
"We can never thank you enough Mr. Prophet Sir."
"May Illuminar -- blessed be He -- bless you even more."
"I'll be praying for you."
Those were the most common sentiments, though one of the braver young women had a slightly different idea: "Would you ask my father if you can marry me?"
"Thank you, but I have enough wives right now." He replied, and she looked crestfallen. That was about when he remembered the lateness of the hour, that the Argo was still moving, and that there were still a few things that needed settling.
"Can I have your attention?" He called loudly, and almost instantly the entire place went dead silent as everyone waited with bated breath. He almost chuckled at how fast they'd all quieted down this time, when before they hadn't.
"Um, who's the most honest man in town? Someone that everyone respects?"
Everyone looked around for a several moments before someone called with a chuckle. "The honorable Zalaus!"
Everyone laughed.
Ethan chuckled at the name of the corrupt Reeve he'd just confronted. "Seriously though, who?"
Someone gave the older fellow that had warned him about confronting the Reeve a gentle push forward, and there was a collective nodding of heads and many statements of approval. He seemed universally respected, which was perfect.
"Can you oversee the reapportionment of the taxes?" Ethan asked him. "You know, make sure Zalaus doesn't try to pull anything underhanded?"
The man nodded. "That I can, and I'll make sure everything is returned to its proper owner."
"I'd appreciate that." Ethan said.
He glad-handed for another few minutes before the crowd started to disperse. When they'd thinned a bit, Ethan leaned closer to the elderly man and spoke quietly. "Hey, do you know Talven and Salma?"
"Not in any special way, but I've met them."
"Is there any way you could help them with their food situation? To me, it looks like they've been undereating to make sure their kids are fed, and I hate to see good people suffer."
The elderly fellow nodded. "I'll make sure they're among the first to get their taxes back, plus half the town owes me favors. Starting tonight, they'll not go hungry again; I can assure you of that."
"Good." He breathed a sigh of relief. "Now, I need to get going. We're headed down south and I need to catch up to my airship."
"Down south?" The fellow raised an eyebrow. "The orcs at the mines?"
Ethan nodded. "We'll do what we can."
"Praise Illuminar -- blessed be He -- for sending a warrior prophet." The old man said sincerely. "May the God of Light guide you on the path of light as you travel."
"And you as well." He replied, then thought to his Fey wife. *You ready to go honey?*
*Absolutely master!* She beamed, and there was a smoldering tint to her voice.
He turned to look at her, and she was looking at him like he was the sexiest thing in the world. He didn't need to feel her arousal over their bond for him to know exactly what she wished they were doing right now.
He nodded in the rough direction of the Argo and they took to the skies, the crowd below bursting into applause as he did so. Taloni linked up with him and together they started making their way back to the Argo as the reds and oranges of sunset began to appear in the western sky.
*Something on your mind?* He thought to her.
*Master, seeing you help all those people and then the way they reacted to you...* She closed her eyes for a moment and he thought he heard a little moan come from her lips.
*So, I take it you'd like to do something about that when we get back to the Argo?* He grinned.
She grinned back, but then gave him an apologetic look. *I would love to master, but I think Kendra and Rachel, and maybe Alana will need to talk to you first.*
*You're not wrong.* He nodded, then gave her a long look.
*What?*
*You are one of the most selfless, giving women I've ever met; did you know that?*
She beamed. *Thank you master!*
* * *
Kendra was trying really hard not to prance around the Argo in her new dress under the beautiful reds and oranges of the nearly-set sun. She realized that technically there was nothing stopping her, and that in all likelihood no one would think less of her for it. However, she still felt uncomfortable doing it. For about the hundredth time that day, she ran a hand down the smooth fabric and turned just fast enough that the bottom of the dress flared out a bit.
She loved that.
She couldn't help but smile. She hadn't worn a dress in months, possibly years, and had never felt comfortable wearing one because they were hard to fight in. This dress wasn't, and she loved it. She used a drop of mana to activate the dress and then did a forward roll and came up in a fighting position, then deactivated the dress's enchantment and it went back to being a beautiful dress.
"Dang, I need one of those." Selene grinned as she watched.
"Well, I'm sure Alana would be happy to make one; she's nice that way." The dragon huntress replied.
"Yeah, but they're a bit expensive." The caramel-haired beauty replied.
Kendra raised her eyebrow.
"In terms of relationship status." She explained. "I'm not looking for a diamond ring, or whatever they use as an alternative to indicate engagement here in the Ten Kingdoms."
"Ah." The raven-haired woman replied. "I don't think marrying him is strictly required to get a dress."
Selene shrugged. "Maybe not, But I feel like it's becoming a requirement."
"You'd look great in a charcoal gray dress, like the color of the pillow that Mirella had on your chair."
She nodded. "I'd like that, but not enough to get married in order to get one."
"Speaking of enchanting..." Kendra turned to see Alana sitting cross-legged on the weather deck near the captain's cabin. She had Rachel's staff on her lap, had her eyes closed, and was slowly moving her hand over it; probably enchanting it. She did this for about a minute longer before she stood up and tossed it to the redhead.
Oddly, there still seemed to be a bit of tension between the two of them. Not a lot, but a bit.
The dragon huntress shrugged and walked over to the wood elf. "Alana, I've been meaning to ask you a question."
"What's up?"
"Could you do some enchanting on my sword?"
"Oh?"
Kendra nodded. "I've seen how effective it is that Ethan can call his back to his hand. I'm pretty sure there's enough room for the enchantment in my sword too, being that it's made of dragon steel."
"Sure, bring it here and I'll check."
A few minutes later, she had retrieved her sword and the brunette had finished examining it.
"Yup, there's room." She nodded. "I can get to it as soon as I finish Rachel's staff, then I'd like to finish with Ethan's sword."
"What about my sword?" Ethan asked as he dropped onto the weather deck with Taloni right behind him.
"We're talking about finishing enchanting it." Alana replied after he had given her a kiss.
Kendra bit her lip slightly, wanting the same treatment but she could already feel her stomach protesting. Not as vehemently as it once had, but it still did.
"I'm sure master would be happy to kiss you too." Taloni said to Kendra with a knowing look in her eyes.
He looked at her and nodded. "All you need to do is ask. Or suggest. Or just give me the vaguest inclination that you'd like one, and I'd be happy to oblige."
She felt her cheeks grow warm as she nodded slightly, too embarrassed to ask. He stepped up to her, right into her personal space, leaned down, and gave her a tender kiss on the forehead. She grimaced slightly as her stomach protested, but not enough that she was worried about losing its contents. Certainly less than it had with a similar kiss before he'd left.
"So, sword enchantments." She said, hoping the complete lack of subtly in her topic change would do the trick.
"Yeah." Alana said. "I think I'll have time for a frictionless enchantment, and also hardening and stiffening enchantment before we arrive at the mine."
"Stiffening?" Ethan asked. "I can see why frictionless would help cutting, but why a stiffening enchantment?"
"The stiffening is part of the hardening enchantment." Alana explained.
"And stiffer swords are always better." Kendra added.
Taloni giggled.
Ethan and Alana both grinned at the dragon huntress, sly smiles playing on their faces.
"You know what I meant." She said as her cheeks got rather warm. "When the sword impacts something, part of the force is usually wasted flexing the blade. But with a stiffer blade, you can put all the energy into cutting the target so it cuts better. It's even more important in thrusting, because otherwise the blade..."
She trailed off at the amused looks on their faces.
"I'm just saying that you want the blade to be stiff because bending will limit penetra--" She stopped as her cheeks got downright hot.
"Got it, stiff swords perform better." Alana winked.
"Especially in the thrust." Taloni giggled again as her cheeks went slightly red.
"I'll have to keep that in mind when I practice my..." He winked at them. "...swordsmanship."
Kendra blushed furiously as the other women looked amused.
Damn it, she shouldn't be this embarrassed. She'd flirted before on missions and been trained to take everything stoically without getting her emotions involved. However, she was finding it progressively harder to do that here on the Argo.
Her home.
"Kendra, do you have a minute to talk?" Ethan asked gently.
She nodded.
He looked at her with a smile for a moment and then extended his hand. She hesitated for a moment, then took it. Her stomach protested, but not badly at all. Oddly, she liked how his smooth scales felt on her skin. There was something about it that really felt nice, him being a dragon notwithstanding. He gently led her towards the front of the ship, and she followed willingly.
She followed a dragon willingly.
She still couldn't believe it.
She couldn't believe what they had done just hours before. Still, she couldn't help but smile a bit when she thought about it, even if her stomach wasn't entirely on board... yet.
"I just wanted to make sure that you're okay." He said when they had stopped. "I don't usually run off in the middle of a wedding night-- well, a wedding 'late afternoon'."
