Wen Reian

2019 years after The Long Night

Huichâng Province

“No, absolutely not-”

Wen Reian put his foot down and attempted to remind his companion that they needed to have a plan going forward. The Roaran Stronghold was just a little ways off, they would need all their tactfulness and combined skill to infiltrate it. Yet, despite Wen Reian’s insistence, Lan Kai-Le was… pouting?!

Reian did him one better; placing his hands on his hips and glaring back at the hunter who was honestly just a little too sweet-looking when he was begging. It was unnerving. Wen Rei held firm.

“You’re some sort of assassin, aren’t you? What’s wrong with stealth?! Stealth could very well save A’Jun’s life.”

Not to mention our lives-

Lan Kai-Le looked back at the stronghold just over the hill; its ripped black flags, sluggishly flowing in the breeze that was also bringing tears to Reian’s eyes and making him shiver.

The hunter frowned; “Guards. Too many…”

Then he turned to Wen Reian and the look in his eyes was resolute.

“Stay here,” he said. “Wait for me-”

Wen Reian was already interrupting him when Lan Kai-Le stood from the hill they were hiding behind.

“What?! Hold on, if you really think I’m letting you go in there alone, you’re crazy!”

The man seemed to ignore him but Reian wasn’t having it. The healer grit his teeth, grabbing hold of Kai-Le’s wrist and yanking him back. All it did was make the man look up. Reian silently cursed their strength disparity and tried reasoning again.

“Alright, alright… I know you want to get in there as soon as possible, but if we don’t have a plan we might very well never walk back out. Do you really want that, Kai-Le?”

After a few more moments of pleading, the man agreed. Reian’s plan was straightforward, and it ended up including some of Kai-Le’s ideas as well.

We’ll go wait by the First Citadel on the outskirts, I’ll be our lookout, and if a couple guards walk past us, or when they do, Lan Kai-Le will knock them out and we’ll steal their uniforms…

Reian felt highly creative for that last part.

The Dust Maze wasn’t really a trade route, so they had to be careful. If they were seen out here by the wrong pair of eyes, they might die before they knew what was happening.

After rushing to the First Citadel and hiding in its shadows as the sun moved, they were also lucky enough to catch two guards on their lunch break. Wen Reian hid his eyes behind his hands and peaked out a couple times as Lan Kai-Le effectively incapacitated them, then Reian was blushing and trying not to laugh as the hunter handed him the guards’ lunches, whispering simply; “Hungry?”

I like his style, I never thought I would but after roughing it for this long perhaps I’ve changed my tune-

They stole the guards' clothes, their food, and waited until it seemed a large enough group was passing through the citadel gates that they could blend in.

Suddenly, being so up close and personal with humans other than Lan Kai-Le, made Reian incredibly nervous. He breathed and lowered his head, trying to remember that A’Jun was somewhere inside this place and he was not leaving without her.

Wen Reian had communicated earlier to Lan Kai-Le to follow him. The healer didn’t know the layout of The Roaran Stronghold but he certainly knew castles like it far better than Kai-Le. The hunter followed him as Reian did his best to walk naturally, turning down corridors like he knew where they let out…

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

After entering into a more distant portion of the place where there seemed to be no one around, Reian whispered to Lan Kai-Le as they continued;

“Usually prisoners of war are kept in jails. Those can be in a tower, or the dungeons.”

The stairs they were taking seemed to go up, and Wen Reian was faintly recalling something Su Lan had said many years ago. The snake demon had been held here and tortured in the jails for centuries. Assuming they hadn’t changed the castle much, Reian remembered that Su Lan said he was held in the towers.

I’m just going on pure instinct and really hoping we don’t fail-

The winding stairs opened to a corridor, then Reian thought he saw flickering lights ahead through an open door. It seemed they could be at the top now, so here goes nothing…

“Wen Reian-”

Kai-Le had stiffened suddenly upon their entry into the tower. Reian felt the man’s alarm a single second before pounding footsteps could be heard from the stairs they’d just climbed.

“Run!” Reian hissed, grabbing Kai-Le’s hand and hurrying through the open door. The moment they stepped foot inside, all the blood drained from the healer’s face.

“A’Jun?!”

There were jail cells here. Song-jun was inside one, amidst a long row of empty ones. And she wasn’t moving…

Reian’s heart wasn’t beating as he pulled at the bars. He called to her, begged her to wake up, but she wouldn’t respond; deeply asleep upon a mattress of straw and wool. She looked unharmed, she was breathing, but no matter what Reian did she would not wake up.

About ready to start dismantling the entire castle brick by brick, Wen Reian’s panicking was halted by a hand on his shoulder. Lan Kai-Le had been strangely silent, even more than usual, and when the healer turned around he saw why.

Who can say what a trap is, but in any case, we’re surely stuck in one-

A dozen soldiers, two dozen if you counted the ones spilling in from the opposite door, were entering to surround them. Reian wasn’t a fool, it was obvious by the soldier’s faces that the disguises hadn’t worked. Perhaps they’d been led to believe they were safe until Reian and Kai-Le cornered themselves.

“Lan-”

Kai-Le had started attacking before the first soldier had even raised a fist. Wen Reian flattened himself against the bars of the cell, still helplessly calling out for A’Jun as he watched the hunter take down three guards twice his size before a fourth managed to land a single blow.

“Get them!” A few rough voices shouted. Then Reian felt arms around his waist-

“Let me go!! Let me-”

That soldier had barely dragged Wen Reian three feet before Reian felt Lan Kai-Le retrieve him, a low growl rising from the man’s throat as more and more bodies entered the room.

“Kai-Le!”

Reian was aware on some level through the chaos surrounding them, that the hunter was unable to fight with Wen Rei tucked safely under his arm like a priceless object.

“Our Lord wants them brought to the Throne Room at once!” Someone called.

Reian‘s mind spun as suddenly he was being painfully torn from Kai-Le’s grip, dragged back toward the stairs while others worked on trying to subdue Lan Kai-Le, who was by all means a formidable opponent. Reian suddenly thought that even Xie Yi-jun would have his work cut out for him if he went up against the man physically…

As the guards tugged harder on Reian’s arms, he felt one of his shoulders dislocate, tears welling in his eyes at the dull, pulsing pain. Gritting his teeth and blinking the tears away, Reian tried everything to escape. Song-jun was still asleep in her cell and he refused to leave her here.

From the other end of the hallway, Lan Kai-Le was doing the same as him, except Kai-Le had at least twice as many guards on him. Despite that, the hunter managed to break free, if only for a moment. The desperation in his voice as he called out Reian’s name and tried to make it to him was more painful than anything the healer had ever heard in his life…

“Wen Reian!”

Lan Kai-Le’s fingers had just barely grazed Reian’s clothes before the soldiers caught him again, violently dragging him down until Kai-Le was pressed against the floor.

“Kai-Le! Lan Kai-Le! Stop hurting him-”

Through his tears Reian watched as the guards repeatedly stomped and kicked their boots into Kai-Le’s body, making him twist in pain and snarl loudly.

Reian was just about to be hauled out the door, when he caught sight of Lan Kai-Le’s eyes on him again; shimmering gold and fiercely animalistic in a way he’d never seen. Reian was once again able to see himself in their reflection…

A full body shiver passed through him, a kind of energy spilling from Kai-Le’s eyes and igniting something within Reian’s heart.

Do not. Hurt. Him-

Wen Reian bit the guard’s hand that was gripping his wounded shoulder, listening to him shriek in pain as blood gushed everywhere, then Wen Rei almost broke his other arm thrashing his way free, throwing himself down on top of Kai-Le as they continued to beat him, and taking a good couple stomps himself before he was being yanked up.

“Wen Reian…?”

Reian was gasping, sobbing, trying and failing to use all his remaining energy to protect Kai-Le, but it was useless. Enough guards had converged on Reian to easily pick him up and carry him away.

As he kicked and screamed and threatened them with just about every horrible thing he could think of, he saw Lan Kai-Le’s gaze on him, just before they turned the corner.

Reian felt the disconnect from those golden eyes as a physical blow to the chest, and fainted soon after from the shock.