Long before Hester Prynne ascended the pillory to show the town of Boston her scarlet letter, she was a child bride to a man who called himself Roger Chillingworth, but Roger was no ordinary man. He was a man both admired and feared for he knew the medicinal uses of botanicals, studied the science of alchemy, provided comfort to the afflicted, and regularly heard the voice of God demanding vengeance upon a sinful society.