“Miss, if you want your coin, you better come with….just stay behind me.”
The hastily spoken words lingered in the air behind the retreating man and tore Rhawnwyn's attention away from the scolding she had intended to give the rude townsfolk. She could do without the coin and the drama of retrieving it from the conman, but the young woman was quite concerned about the large man that lumbered off after the fleeing charlatan.
Rhawnwyn followed with her raven flying close behind as her mind raced to make sense of what had happened. Perhaps the large stranger was a member of the Bree guard who were cracking down on thieves posing as harmless street performers. He was not wearing the usual uniform that seemed typical of guardsmen, but perhaps this man did not want the handsome con to know that he was a city official and that he had been caught. Rhawnwyn suspected that the dishonest man would have gathered up his cups and left the area had an obvious city guard joined his audience.
She had nearly caught up when the burly man let the rock fly toward his quarry. For a moment, Rhawnwyn paused to see if the stone would land. The big stranger suddenly fell to his knees, gripping his face with broad hands. Alarmed, the young woman ran to the man and wrapped a supportive arm around his shoulders. She never saw the stone oddly change course mid-trajectory and crash into the back of the charlatan's head.
"I'm here; I can help..."
A scream and the collective gasp of those gathered near the well caused Rhawnwyn to look up to see booted feet disappear into the gaping stone maw. Her eyes widened and, with her arm still across the large man's shoulders, she stared in disbelief.
"Oh no...," she whispered.
