Mariam Elvondrav woke up.
Looking up, she saw an ugly green visage.
Druvrem.
That was how he called himself.
Looking around, she realized that his partner was not with them.
Where was he?
Then she realized that both were braves or *players* as they call themselves.
She never understood what the gods were thinking when they allowed beings from another world to create an avatar and walk the planet with them.
She knew many of them.
Many worked once for her.
Some even work for her fiancée, the hero.
But even knowing them for so long, she still never completely understood them.
Their loyalty, their beliefs.
Nothing.
Their reasoning for doing what they do were strange.
Sometimes they saved those that couldn't protect themselves.
Sometimes they would go out of their way to kill as many monsters and demons as possible.
Sometimes they made the cruelest things possible.
Her father was once assassinated by a brave. And when the hero caught him, asking for the reason, the brave just ended his life.
How he did that was not known.
But later one of the hero's party members was killed the same way her father was.
Finding him, she and the hero realized they were killed by the same person.
That was the reality of the braves.
They did not exist by the laws of the world.
They were everywhere.
Every race, every faction, even monsters and plants.
And now, just when she was about to go her and the hero's wedding, her carriage was attacked.
By an hobgobron and a man in black armor.
By the looks of it, she thought the other one to be dwaren.
She never knew actual fear. She was a saint of Rena, the goddess of light, beaty and victory.
But she was too sure that her forces were enough.
She refused the company of paladins, and even braves.
Something she now regretted.
Her forces were massacred by those two braves.
Shot, burned, cut to pieces, and more.
It was a one-sided massacre.
She was the only one left alive.
…
"Oh, you've woken up miss Saint?"
looking up, she now saw the green face looking straight at her.
But she did not show any fear.
She was alive, which meant that she was needed for a specific purpose.
Then, the hobgobron looked at her belly.
Then, he straightened his arm out, caressing it.
Maria allowed that.
She knew her fate right now laid in the mood of the braves.
Were this a normal hobgobron, her goddess would have already struck her lightning down at him.
But nothing happened.
"So, this is where the child of the hero lies?"
Then, the hobgobron looked up at Maria, stood up, and went to the fireplace.
Maria thought that she would now be left alone, but she was wrong.
The hobgobron soon returned.
With a small wooden plate and spoon.
Did the hobgobron bring her something to eat.
"Here, miss Saint, eat. We have a long journey ahead of us."
Looking down, she saw a brown liquid in the plate, with a little bit of meat.
The hobgobron put the spoon in the plate, and then held the spoon with the liquid in front of her face.
"Free me, I can feed me myself."
"Listen, I would, but my partner demanded that you remained like this. Not my idea. In fact, you are only alive because I managed to convince him to let you alive, and not to just cut the child out of your stomach. The child is why we are here, not you."
Emilia did not say anything anymore.
So they were after her child.
What now?
Her hands were tied with a rope, she didn't know where she was, and even if she somehow managed to free herself, she would be detained by these two braves.
And if what the hobgobron said was true, then this time the dwaren could potentially just kill her, and take the unborn child out of her. There was nothing she could do. Her only hope was that her goddess would send someone to save her.
She then took a smalls sip.
"Well? Do you like it?"
Surprisingly it was quite good, but she decided not to tell him about that.
"If it's bad you can tell me. I'll just give you this instead.
Then, he put his hand behind his back, and pulled something out.
It was black and brown,
And it had a bad stench.
"You soup is good, mister hobgobron" Emilia decided it would be better to just keep her pride to herself rather than to eat the thing that the hobgobron pulled out of his back door.
The hobgobron then threw away the thing in his hand, and continued to feed his prisoner.
The food wasn't as good as the food Maria ate in her home, but it wasn't bad either,
"Why did you do this." Maria asked.
The hobgobron did not answer.
"Why did you decide to keep me alive. Is it because of the hero? You are braves. Even if you were to die, you probably would be capable of returning in another form. Why are you…"
"Showing you hospitality? Missus, listen, I may have the body of a hobgobron now, but I never stopped being a gentleman. I always take care of my prisoners, no matter if it's a man, woman or monster. I am no barbarian. I have pride."
Surprisingly it was quite good, but she decided not to tell him about that.
"If it's bad you can tell me. I'll just give you this instead.
Then, he put his hand behind his back, and pulled something out.
It was black and brown,
And it had a bad stench.
"You soup is good, mister hobgobron" Emilia decided it would be better to just keep her pride to herself rather than to eat the thing that the hobgobron pulled out of his back door.
The hobgobron then threw away the thing in his hand, and continued to feed his prisoner.
The food wasn't as good as the food Maria ate in her home, but it wasn't bad either,
"Why did you do this." Maria asked.
The hobgobron did not answer.
"Why did you decide to keep me alive. Is it because of the hero? You are braves. Even if you were to die, you probably would be capable of returning in another form. Why are you…"
"Showing you hospitality? Missus, listen, I may have the body of a hobgobron now, but I never stopped being a gentleman. I must take care of my prisoners. I am no barbarian."
Surprisingly it was quite good, but she decided not to tell him about that.
"If it's bad you can tell me. I'll just give you this instead.
Then, he put his hand behind his back, and pulled something out.
It was black and brown,
And it had a bad stench.
"You soup is good, mister hobgobron" Emilia decided it would be better to just keep her pride to herself rather than to eat the thing that the hobgobron pulled out of his back door.
The hobgobron then threw away the thing in his hand, and continued to feed his prisoner.
The food wasn't as good as the food Maria ate in her home, but it wasn't bad either,
"Why did you do this." Maria asked.
The hobgobron did not answer.
"Why did you decide to keep me alive. Is it because of the hero? You are braves. Even if you were to die, you probably would be capable of returning in another form. Why are you…"
"Showing you hospitality? Missus, listen, I may have the body of a hobgobron now, but I never stopped being a gentleman. I must take care of my prisoners. I am no barbarian. I still have pride."
"Then, mister gentleman, may I know your name?"
"Only if the beautiful lady in front of me does the same for me first."
"I am Mariam, but my friends call me Mary."
"Duvrem. I am Duvrem the hobgobron."