Chapter 41

“I don’t like this Thera, we should head back. At least talk to Sonya before we go in there,” Ben told her with apprehension filling his voice as they stood outside the guards room.She responded with a shake of her head. “Ben, if what he’s saying is right then I need to do this. I can’t risk people dying just to avoid dealing with the guy. Besides, the guards will be in the room.”

“Well I will be too,”

As the guards walked them to where Roan was being kept they explained the situation. The man had simply walked up to the gate and demanded to be allowed to go through so he could see Thera. The guards were aware of him of course and not going to answer to the demands of a dangerous madman, so they had brought him in for questioning. He was happy to talk, even owning up to attacking them in the woods and running away once he failed, only to come back for his main plan, the one that would win the heart of the woman he thought he loved.

They entered the main room and found Roan standing, chains around his arms and legs binding him to the floor. It was Ben's first chance to see the man and he was taken aback. Roan was a hominid type, having a generally humanoid appearance, but his eyes were clearly compound, and his bare arms had a thick chitin shell on the top, with a softer flesh on the underside. What really unnerved him was how the moment Thera stepped into the room his eyes were immediately pulled to her, as if Ben and the guards didn’t exist. In the back of Ben's mind he idly wondered how he was even sure it was her, given that she was wearing a new cloak and her magic couldn’t be leaking through, but the thought passed when the sound of his deep, almost hungry breathing caught his ears.

They stopped far outside of the man's reach but Ben continued to hold Thera’s hand as he had been guiding her, partly to support her and partly to make sure she didn’t get too close. He couldn’t help but not want her anywhere near the guy, and judging from how tense she felt he thought she was feeling the same.

“Oh Thera, it’s been too long,” He told her, seeming to be carving her image into his mind as he did.

“Hello Roan. I was told if I came to see you, you'll put a stop to all this,” she quietly responded.

He licked his lips and Ben found himself immensely grateful that she couldn’t currently see through her cloak's hood. “Of course, once I save the town you’ll be mine. I’ll be sure to give you the top position among my wives, you deserve no less after all.”

“Roan, how could you think leading a pack of monsters here could possibly win me over?” She asked, slightly incredulously

“No my heart! You have it all wrong, I lead them here to send away! Freeing the town of danger. A man who could do such a thing is quite powerful, is he not? Truly he would be fit for a woman such as you,” He jerked forward and strained against his chains, desperately trying to reach her, but only causing her to take a step back behind Ben, and Roan's eyes moved to him.

“Just wait Thera, I’ll show you I’m more fit to be by you’re side than some filthy fucking artisan.”

“You know who I am?” He asked in some surprise. Sure he had been attacked by the guy, but as far as he could tell they never even got close enough to see each other.

“How could I not know the man who has the nerve to be with my woman?” He snarled. “If you hadn’t run that day you could have bled out comfortably you know, fighting a man in a warrior's death. Instead I needed to sick my pet on you. How did you even see me coming those times?”

“I have friends in high places,” He said as an offhand comment, before he fully processed what Roan had said. “Wait, those times? When else have you attacked me except with the alseer… wait,” There had only been one other time he’d been attacked, in what he had thought had been a random mugging attempt. Apparently it wasn’t a mugging or very random at all. “That was you?”

“So you didn’t even know? Surprising. Though not as much as my surprise when I came back and saw you with her. Oh I’m sorry my heart! I know you said to leave but I had to come back and see you! To gain the strength for what I needed to do! But imagine my surprise to see this man walking with you down the street. I couldn’t just let it stand!”

“Ben, what's he talking about?” She asked him, grabbing his hand even tighter.

“Remember when I thought I was almost mugged a month or two ago? I think he saw when you took me to go and get a plant that day.”

“Oh I saw you, it gave me the resolve I needed. You’re a desirable woman Thera, I needed to make sure you realized you’re already mine before another man tried to get you.”

“Then why did you attack her?” Ben asked with anger rising in his voice. “Your stupid alseer could have killed her!”

“IT WAS GOING TO KILL YOU, YOU INSOLENT BASTARD! My precious pet would never possibly harm Thera.”

From the way it charged that day Ben couldn't say he believed that. From what Thera had told him he wasn’t a great tamer. But then again the situation they were currently in made him question how much better he was with a staff enchanted with high-level taming. It was hard to imagine a bad tamer could pull this off. He was about to retort, but Thera quietly stopped him.

“Ben, we just need to get him to send off his monsters. After that this is over,” She let go of his hand and took a step forward, letting Roan see her put distance between her and Ben. “Alright, so I just need to watch you send away your beasts so you can prove yourself to me, and that's the end of it.”

“And then you’ll finally be mine.”

Thera said nothing to this, instead turning to one of the guards. “I agree to accompany you for this. Take him to the south gate and let's get it over with.”

One guard left to call more into the room, removing the chains binding him to the floor while adding more to ensure he couldn’t move freely, and walked him out, with Thera and Ben following a little ways behind to ensure he couldn’t see Ben leading her by the hand.

It wasn’t too late in the day, there were still people up and around to see a group of guards moving to the south wall, pulling along a man raving like a lunatic.

“OH THERA! I don’t even need another woman once I have you if that's what it will take to make you happy! I’ll go through any shame, nothing is too great!” On and on he went as more eyes were drawn to them all, and Thera shrank down even closer to Ben. Even without being able to see the stares of everyone around, hearing his screams and declarations were enough to make anyone uncomfortable, but she suffered through it in silence, just wanting to get this over with so she could go back home.

As they finally approached the gate, a number of the town's adventurers were already there, waiting and glaring at them.

“What’s going on?” Ben asked the nearest guard.

“With as many monsters as he said he’s lured here, we need to play it safe in case he decides to attack the town after all. All of the available adventurers have been summoned here while we were bringing him over.”

When Roan saw the crowd of his former peers, he stopped his ravings and his face changed to one of rapture. “Yes! This is the way it should be! Truly great heroic deeds and heartfelt proposals both need audiences! Thera, after the town is saved everyone here really will know you’re mine! No other fool will dare try something against the wife of the hero of Stonewall!”

Many of the nearby adventurers could hear Roan’s deranged shouts and were making disgusted, angry faces. Most at him, but still a few found their way towards Thera, no doubt thinking she made him like this.

For her part she tried to remain calm as she spoke. “Alright Roan, send away the monsters and save the town for me then.”

“Of course my heart! Bear witness to me!”

He took his staff from one of the guards and approached the southern gate, with Thera, Ben, and plenty of the guards following behind him. As Ben stared out into the field towards the forest he didn’t see any monsters, but Roan was quick to change that. “Come out my pets!” He screamed into the night, as five swords wielded by a variety of guards were quickly pulled on him.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing!” The leading one screamed.

“Ah my poor fool. Can it really be said I saved the town from danger if no one can even see the danger? As soon as they come out I’ll send them away, not to worry.”

Though as his pets started to pour out, worry they did. Myriad had been right, there were at least thirty different monsters, all of them different species and many of which Ben had never seen before, while most of them looked half-starved. There was no way to easily keep a herd that big fed by one person after all.

But before he could get an answer Roan continued on with his performance.

“Oh monsters! Leave this land in peace, never to bother it again!” He yelled out, as if he hadn’t just called them all his pets only moments before. That's where the biggest issue began. Perhaps only two of the entire group left, the rest stayed, staring at the town.

Roan clearly wasn’t expecting this and grew agitated, yelling out once more. “I said leave! Go off, you stupid animals!”

But no matter how he yelled, they weren’t obeying. In fact they started to take steps closer, walking towards the gate. The guards pulled Roan inside and started screaming orders, securing the man and starting to close the gate. In his head Ben heard his god sigh.