[Folwren]

The night was extremely still. Very still. The stars twinkled overhead in a nonchalant manner very different from the skulking figures below. "Come along, you stinking maggot," hissed one of the figures (the orcs lost their manners after sundown), "we don't have all night. That ranger might come around before we even begin the job at the rate you're going!"

The night was too clear and too peaceful for the work that lay ahead, but they didn't care or notice. The door of their victim's house was closed and bolted from within, but these orcs didn't care or notice that, either. . .

~~~

The elves gathered together in the town square, shivering in the cold, clear morning. No one said anything for a minute as everyone's eyes scanned everyone else. . .once, and then twice. . .and then, in some cases, thrice.

Nogrod: We're not all here.

Grendelian: Yes, thank you for pointing it out. He pulled out his knife as he spoke and before Nogrod could voice his fear that Grendelian was threatening him, he began to whittle a stick held in his other hand.

Zali:(faintly) I didn't think. . .

Roa_Aoife: Why didn't you save her?

Naria: She didn't know. Said very softly and barely loud enough to be heard.

Celuien: Poor Diamond.

Findëasëa: Well, let's go see what happened.

The villagers all turned and walked towards Diamond's house. As they drew near, they saw all the front windows on the first floor shattered and smashed in. The door was still closed and bolted. Roa offered to go in and unbolt the door, and the others didn't argue. In another moment, the way was opened and everyone trooped in. Silently they searched the equally silent house. A scream brought all of them running to a room towards the back of the place. Caranlondien stood in the middle of a room with no windows. Her hand was over her mouth and she looked ready to faint. When she saw the others, she pointed with a shaking hand at the corpse of their jewel smith.

The others stole forward, as though frightened that the dead might not be as dead as she looked and might leap up, full of unlively life. Celuien bent and picked up a maltreated and misformed stone from the ground. It was a diamond.

Sleepy: Looks like the orcs simply scared her to death. No wounds or anything.

Celuien didn't look up as she gently placed the stone on the desk before the dead jeweler. "Poor Diamond," she said for the second time that morning, and no one knew if she referred to the jewel or to their dead villager.


Now living:
Caranlondien: aspiring harpist
Nogrod: unemployed barber.
Grendelien: village whittler
Findëasëa: paleoelfropologist
Celuien:lampwright
Zali: stringer-of-bows
Naria:The grower of magnificent flowers
Sleepy A barrel of apples
Roa_Aoife aspiring ballad writer

Now dead:
FaraelMod: He dyed… erm I mean died.
GlirdanRepentant werewolf : Choked on an apple. No wonder why werewolves are carnivores.
JennyHalluWereorc: Escaped the village, but could not escape the laws of physics.
Dancing Spawn...: Just a merchant: Trapped on a deathly spider’s web.
Kitanna:The town's gate-keeper: Had a lobotomy performed by an angry woodpecker.
Legolas in spandex: Legolass (A movie-Legolas impersonator): Overwhelmed and or frightened into leaving the village after seeing what had happened to Kitanna
Diamond18: Simply a normal, very bad stone cutter - scared to death by orcs