Abduction in Edoras RPG

[JennyHallu]

Marenil leaned back in his chair. Exhaustion and worry were evident in every line of his body, and he drifted quietly off to sleep in his corner of the Hall, unable to focus on Lin's danger any longer against the needs of his body.

His last waking thoughts, however, were of her safety, and in his troubled dreams she cried to him for help and he could not find her.

~<*>~

Lin slipped into a light, but serene slumber, the starlight, the sense of accomplishment in her splinted arm, and even the presence of her guard providing her with something she hadn't expected: a sense of security, however tenuous.

~<*>~

Two days passed with little progress towards finding the missing noblewoman, except for a frantic sense of urgency rapidly spilling from the high halls of Meduseld down into the Fair. Entertainments and song took on a certain hectic quality, young children virtually disappeared from the proceedings, kept at home by parents frightened out of security, and there was a low undercurrent of worry underneath every bargain driven. The royal couple were well loved, and yet there was no missing the cold, grim anger on the faces of the frustrated searchers, as they went out through the Fair, questioning any who might have or claimed to have seen the woman during her stay in Edoras.

Torim firmly settled his pack onto his back, heavy now with the goods his family needed, and a few little gifts for his wife and two small children. It was the day he'd meant to leave, and Linduial had not been found. He sighed, thinking of his wife's pretty face. She'd understand missing him a day; wouldn't worry too much. He turned away from the Gate, and trudged resignedly up the hill toward the Mead Hall. This early in the morning, no few of the searchers would still be there, choosing their course for the day, and a duty begun is sooner done...Torim pushed his fear of Sorn's petty vengefulness to the back of his head. There were great things at stake here, and he meant to see them through.

[Firefoot]

Life for Scyld had fallen into a fairly straightforward routine, watching Linduial most of the day, fetching her meals, and receiving a break now and again when Gurth came to watch her. Scyld knew that Gurth sometimes brought down extra food for Linduial, and he doubted that Sorn would be pleased if he knew, but nevertheless Scyld had kept silent about it. If cornered over the topic, he could always say that he had assumed Gurth was feeding the food to his great dog – most of it was meat, and he certainly fed the dog enough anyway.

Today had so far been no different. Scyld now sat in silence, watching Lin eat her breakfast. His guard on her had grown laxer; never once had she attempted to escape, leaving Scyld to assume she had realized it would be smarter not to, and he had stopped loosening a knife blade every time he opened the cell door; and already she had grown on him enough that he would be hesitant to use a knife on her anyway, except to just show as a threat. She intrigued him. While clearly wanting for many things, she had asked for nothing more since that first day, nor had he given her anything save for the continued wine in her glass at meals. They had talked only a few more times, just enough to leave Scyld wondering occasionally what sort of person she was outside of a prison cell – other than the pampered noble he still half-way took her to be.

In other words, if worst came to worst and a search party came here after her and he came out badly… would he be able to rely on her at all for some level of vindication? Or would he simply be thrown in with Sorn? And even if he did manage to somehow escape, he did not want to be hunted down. He had to face the truth… eventually she would return to her family, one way or another, or be killed. Scyld would not partake in her killing – he had nothing to gain from such. Therefore… he might eventually need her on his side, or at least not against him. And he knew the next step to take.

“Linduial” – she looked up – “those things you had with you in the basket at the fair… were they important?” His tone was completely neutral; she would have no clue from that whether he meant the question for good or ill. Let her manner of response be part of the test.

[JennyHallu]

Linduial glanced up in surprise, the bite she had been about to take poised midair on the dull knife she was allowed. "Important? This something Sorn wants to know?" She'd relaxed greatly in Scyld's presence over the last few days, and some of the lighter bruises were starting to change color as they began to heal. Unfortunately this made her look somewhat more battered rather than less. The garish splotches of yellow and green only made the deeper bruising more glaringly obvious.

She didn't wait for an answer, but popped the bite of bland 'sausage' into her mouth and continued, speaking around it with no trace of her old, polished manners. "I don't suppose anything there is terribly important to anyone but me, really, but even so it's a shame to lose them. The basket I borrowed, and the other things were meant as gifts to some people who mean a great deal to me, but they didn't even know about them." She threw Scyld a quick glance, her next comment surprising him again with the depth of viciousness this seemingly mild little songbird was capable of. "Just one more thing to fantasize eviscerating Sorn for."

She laughed a little at the look on his face. "If you think I'm bad, you should meet my brothers. They wouldn't wait to talk or fantasize about it--and I wouldn't do it myself. I'm far too much the pampered child to get my own hands dirty." Her expression was wry, but her eyes glinted with a genuine loathing when she spoke of Sorn, quickly supressed as she changed the subject.

"So why do you ask about my things?"