On the fifth morning, the Nightshatter rounded a wide river bend, and the city of Midmoon came into view. Though nowhere near as grand as Noctara which you could see in the distance, it had its own flair: tall spires of stone, a handful of arched bridges, and a dockside that practically buzzed with shady deals and rowdy sailors.
As Roy's battleship approached a pier meant for ships a quarter its size, fishermen gawked, some muttering about "demon metal" under their breath.
Roy's goal was straightforward: track down the caravan of beastfolk slaves he'd trailed via drone, then buy them outright before they were sold again. Lutrian, hidden behind a plain mask to avoid being recognized as royalty, stuck close to Roy's side. Eryndra, Takara, and the Presidroids Teddy and Lincoln fanned out to deter would be pickpockets and keep an eye on the crowd.
Before long, Roy overheard two older dockworkers chatting about a "massive haul of beastfolk." The name Trieger Hellroar came up—some monstrous bandit. Roy sidled up, flipping silver coins between his fingers.
"Morning, fellas," he said, mild and unthreatening. "Care to tell me more about this Hellroar guy?"
The men eyed the coins, then each other. Eventually, the taller one shrugged and reached out a calloused hand. After depositing the silver, Roy leaned in to listen.
"You really never hearda' the bastard?" the taller man asked, scratching his stubbled jaw. "He was once high A-rank adventurer, nearly S, until the Guild booted him for… let's just say slave-related crimes. Now he's just a bandit with an army."
The shorter man spat on the ground. "Trieger Hellroar's a real piece of work. Raids beastfolk villages, kills the old or weak, sells everyone else to the highest bidder. No less than 70% of the slaves here in Midmoon came from his raids. If you're thinkin' of messing with him, he is holed up in a stolen castle a few hours trip by horse from here, but, you'd best bring your own army."
Roy's mouth tightened. "I like my chances. Thanks for the info."
He walked away feeling the stirrings of anger, recalling how he'd already freed so many beastfolk—and how many more were still trapped, thanks to scum like Hellroar.
After some well-placed bribes and hours of searching dingy back alleys, Roy tracked down the actual "buyer" for the caravan. He was a sleek, well-dressed merchant operating out of a cramped warehouse near the main market square. Inside, the air smelled of spices and anxiety. Barrels lined every wall, and a back gate loomed with heavy iron bars.
Roy put on his "Thunder Rider" act and flamboyantly handed over a pouch of gold coins. "Double the market rate, for all the beastfolk in your possession." He felt Lutrian physically cringe behind him.
The merchant, stroking a carefully groomed beard, eyed Roy with greedy admiration. "This is much more than I paid," he admitted. "Fine. They're yours. I warn you, though, there are no magical contracts on these ones." He signaled to an armed underling, who jangled a set of keys.
Roy glimpsed the locked fence in the back corner, behind which stood the beastfolk slaves, some trembling, others wearing hollow stares. Takara shifted uneasily, fists clenched. Lutrian said nothing, but tension radiated from him, mask tilting slightly as he scanned the pitiful scene. Eryndra offered the merchant an ice-cold glare, while Teddy and Lincoln hovered close to Roy like discreet bodyguards.
"Yes. Let's finalize it quickly," Roy murmured, ignoring the merchant's avaricious grin. The distant clank of the fence opening was all that mattered to him.
The beastfolk were herded out in a line, eyes flickering with cautious hope. Roy's chest felt uncomfortably tight as he saw them—foxfolk, catfolk, otterfolk, and more, all battered by travel and cruelty. At least, he reminded himself, they'd soon be on the Nightshatter, safe from the likes of Hellroar's clients.
Once the papers were signed, Roy turned to the slaver who'd just delivered them. The man wore a smirk, pocketing his fresh coin. Roy stared him down.
"I want to buy out the rest you have in storage," Roy said, voice calm but firm. "Or at your main headquarters, wherever that is. I've got plenty of gold left."
The slaver chuckled, and his cronies shared a knowing look. "Headquarters, eh? Don't think you've got enough coin to buy that many. But who knows? Maybe in a few days, we set a meeting, talk details—"
The man froze mid-sentence, and the entire room grew still as a towering figure pushed through the cluster of onlookers. He stood at least six and a half feet tall, burned bear-like ears giving him a savage profile.
Aside from those ragged ears, he looked almost fully human, but clearly was part beastfolk, perhaps a half-bearfolk, but the raw power in his stance hinted otherwise. He carried two battered hand-axes strapped across his muscular back. The slavers shrank away, letting him pass.
Roy felt the hairs on his neck prickle. He motioned for Teddy and Lincoln to stay alert. Teddy slowly pulled out a sandwich wrapped in plastic, unsure whether to give it to Roy or not. Even Eryndra tensed, stepping closer to Roy.
The newcomer locked eyes on Roy. "So you're the one," he growled, voice scraping like gravel. "The so-called slaver who commands earthen constructs?"
Roy blinked. "Earthen— You mean my Presidroids?" He gestured to Teddy and Lincoln, who wore identical blank expressions. "Listen, friend, you're—"
Before Roy could finish speaking, the huge half-bearfolk lunged without warning. Roy's heart nearly stopped. But Eryndra was already there, interposing herself in a blur. She blocked his vicious overhead axe swing with crossed arms, the force of it sending tremors up her spine and echoed through the room in a thunderous clang.
She hissed at the sheer impact. "Easy now," she growled through clenched teeth, pushing the man back a step. "You want to lose that arm?"
Lutrian tried to intervene from the side, but a savage back-kick from the intruder hurled him aside with brutal precision. His masked fell off as he slammed into a wall, gasping.
Teddy and Lincoln surged forward, but the half-bearfolk hurled two smaller axes with terrifying speed, the spinning blades shrieking through the air. Lincoln and Teddy managed to deflect them at the last second, bracing with his metal forearm, sparks flew off the impact as it briefly staggered them.
Then the stranger spat a tiny dagger over Eryndra's shoulder, poison gleaming on its tip as it shot for Roy's face. Roy could only flinch, lungs frozen in shock.
Takara dashed in, runic gauntlets blazing with faint light. She swatted the dagger just in time, knocking it aside before it could skewer Roy's head. Her voice broke into a wobbly yell, "I— I am here for support!"
Eryndra's gaze snapped to the side in fury when she realized she'd let a venomous blade slip past her guard. "You—!" she snarled, lashing out in raw anger. One of the half-bearfolk's axe heads caught the brunt of that blow, and it exploded into shards from her backhand. The intruder rolled backward in a blur, dropping onto all fours for balance, then pounced forward again, teeth bared.
Eryndra met him in mid-leap with a punishing punch to the gut. He folded to his knees on impact, cough rattling his chest. Somehow, with a twist of his hips, he slipped free of her grip. She lunged for his throat as he tried to pass her, he ducked beneath it by mere inches, then launched himself at Roy in a final, desperate surge of force.
He stopped cold when their eyes locked.
Roy stared back, wide-eyed, every breath ragged. He looked nothing like the tyrant the half-bearfolk had expected, and the man's fury faltered, confusion flickering across his face.
"Those eyes…" he rasped, chest heaving. "They're not the eyes of an evil man. I was told by the Sanctum that you—"
A sudden disturbance, a shift in the air, made him whip his head to the side just as Eryndra's fist came flying in. He tried to duck, but her strike clipped the top of his skull, smashing him clear across the street and through the walls of three adjoining houses with an explosive crash. Dust and debris rained down around him.
He staggered to his feet, dazed, gazing through the wreckage at Eryndra's silhouette. Her eyes had gone blank, pupils unfocused like she was on autopilot. Pieces of her armor's triangular plating lifted in a menacing display, releasing a thin, ominous haze. The half-bearfolk growled and flexed his mana, letting it coat his muscles in a visible sheen of power. He feinted a charge forward then veered left, trying to escape.
Eryndra appeared in front of him in a flash. She kicked his feet out from under him, grabbed him by the side of the head, and slammed him face-first into the ground. Before he could even groan, she shifted her grip to the back of his neck and hauled him up like a broken rag doll, dragging him back to where Roy stood.
Roy trembled behind Teddy, every heartbeat slamming in his chest. The savage brutality of it all left him breathless, but he managed to force out, "You were lied to. I free slaves… I don't make them."
The half-bearfolk sagged, any remaining fight leaking out of his shoulders. His last axe clattered from his grip, spinning uselessly on the cracked pavement. Eryndra snatched it, flipped it around, eyes still blank as she swung it at his head in a lethal follow-through, but Roy shouted, voice cracking with urgency, "Eryndra! Stop!"
Instantly, she stopped and dropped the stranger, life returning to her eyes. She pranced back to Roy and stood by him.
Roy, adrenaline jolting through his veins, found himself stepping forward instead of cowering. "Who told you I'm a slaver?" he demanded, voice shaking with residual anger.
The half-bearfolk hunched, breath rasping. Eryndra still had him in an iron grip, poised to strike again if he moved. He glanced at Roy, eyes flicking from the Presidroids to the line of freed beastfolk. Confusion warred with fury.
"…They told me you used these golems to subjugate entire caravans," he spat, coughing. "They said you… are a monster beyond imagination and should be taken down no matter the cost. I figured I'd at least be somewhat redeemed if I..." A flicker of doubt crossed his features. "But your eyes… you look nothing like a monster."
Roy exhaled, heart pounding. "I hate slavers. I've been buying out their stock to set people free."
Teddy approached
"Enough," he said, directing it at Teddy. "Let him speak."
She grudgingly released him, and he stumbled to his knees, gasping. The half-bearfolk peered up at Roy, a weary mix of shame and regret in his eyes. Slavers around them stared, some in fear, others in annoyance at the interruption. Freed beastfolk hovered in anxious silence.
The huge newcomer swallowed, wiping blood from his lip. "I… am sorry," he said, voice cracking slightly. "I believed the Sanctum's lies. My life is stained with blood—guilty and innocent. But I'm tired of serving real tyrants while thinking I'm fighting them." His gaze flicked to the caged beastfolk, then back to Roy. "I have lived with nothing but regret. If you'll have me, I'd like to join you. Let me redeem myself, please."