Byl sighed and pushed the plate away from him. It had been a long day.
He had hoped he might have heard word of Byli in Runulf's but no one had seen the lad.
He'd not relished the thought of having to cook a meal when he got home and so Runulf's was the best option for food. The pie had been acceptable if a little heavy on the pepper for his liking.
He finished the last of his ale and nodded to Runulf. "Night brother Runulf... Be sure to send that pot boy of yours running if any see sight of Byli."
"Aye, Lord Byl we'll keep our eyes peeled for him."
The halls were dark but for a few lanterns and as Byl wandered home he wondered to himself what Kandral would require of the Brokenspear family in the zarb.
As he turned the corner onto Stonemirk street he saw a cloaked figure at his door...
It was open!!!
"Hoy you there, what are you doing at my threshold!"
The figure turned in shock. "Oh master Byl, thank goodness you are here. Thrandili has run from our halls and I cannot find her!"
"You think she would come here? Let me light a lamp. We will search my house and grounds, sister."
Quickly lighting the hall lamp he surveyed the room, as he lit more his face dropped into a scowl.
"Someone has taken my ornaments... Stripped the parlour bare!"
He checked each room in turn, Buhni following him. The last room he looked in was Byli's. "That's odd, curiously tidy for Byli."
He gasped! There was his nightstick lying on the floor and blood on the coverlet.
"Oh sister!" Byl held up the club noting the bloodstain and the lock of hair attached. Brown as a hawk's wing... His heart sank as he recognised Byli's description of Thrandili's hair.
He galvanised into action.
"You return to your halls forthwith and see to Kandral, sister. I will call out the guard... This is disgusting! Who would stoop so low as to kidnap a maid!"
Byl ran to the end of the street and rang the alarm bell as hard as he could "Call out the guard! There has been a kidnapping!"
=================
What was happening...why was she jiggling around and bumping painfully? Gradually, her head cleared, which didn't aid her confusion as it ached horribly. There was a stick between her teeth, and something in her mouth that prevented even a small shriek. She tried to open her eyes, then realized they were open. Why was it so dark?? Gah, there was some smelly rag over her head. She struggled; her hands and ankles were bound.
Then she remembered something that Byli had told her about being a hunter. "The most important thing is to be patient, silent, still as a stone. Just listen! And often the game will come to you." That made sense. She was blind, gagged and helpless; all she could do was lie here in this moving thumping vehicle and try to figure out what was happening.
It must be a wagon; she smelled goats. Also, she smelled stale sweat and that disgusting effluvium given off by a body long unwashed. And she heard things. Breathing, throaty chuckles, indistinct mutters, plus - hmm she knew that sound, it was a waterfall. There was a rocky outcrop part way up the cliff next to the Spire that caused the water to splash and roar just like that. It was on her right so they must be heading up the hill. The wagon lurched over a step. Yes, yes, she knew where she was!
After a while the wagon stopped and she tensed. The driver cursed at his goats as they fidgeted, jerking the wagon back and forth, before settling. She listened closely, her musician's ear detecting small differences in some words - this character was not from Ered Luin. Then the driver got down, but after that she heard nothing. A door opened. Oh he was quiet! He was very quiet. She waited. The tailgate of the wagon suddenly banged down, and hard hands grabbed her. Thrandili gagged, trying to yell, but then she was thrown over the Dwarf's shoulder and carried up some steps.
He dumped her on a hard surface, hurting her arm. "Patience, pretty, while I prepare your room!" he laughed. She heard him moving around, shifting what sounded like heavy furniture. His soft voice spoke suddenly, almost in her ear, and she cringed. "I hope you like it! My last guest certainly did. Oh yes, we had many a happy evening together." He giggled while dragging her across the floor. "I'm going to untie you now. Don't try anything stupid! Your father won't pay for a dead girly." Her hands were freed! She tried to jump up and fell down, forgetting that her ankles were still hobbled. She heard furniture moving again, and then it was quiet. Furiously, she tore the rag from her eyes, jerked off the gag, and looked around.
The room, lit by one candle in a bowl, was very small, just 3 paces across. There was a blanket in the corner (none too clean), a smelly chamber pot, a bucket of water. And that was it. Oh, there was one more thing. Thrandili picked it up, and fear crawled up her spine like an adder.
It was a finger bone. A Dwarf finger bone.
==================
"You return to your halls forthwith and see to Kandral, sister. I will .... ". Buhni didn't hear the rest of what Byl had to say. She started to shake her head continuously, her eyes open wide gazing at the bloodstained club... "no, no, no, no, no... NO!", she uttered first as in a slow whisper but growing ever faster and louder. Her hands shook when she picked up the club and in horror she dropped it and stepped back.
Byl ran to the end of the street and rang the alarm bell as hard as he could "Call out the guard! There has been a kidnapping!"
Buhni dropped to her knees, still horrified by the bloodstained club, she picked up the lock of hair, her eyes filling with tears. A few seconds passed, then Buhni gazed before her with a deadly determination in her gaze, gripping the lock of hair so tightly the nails of her fingers sunk in the flesh of her own hand. She ground her teeth. "NO ONE HARMS MY CHILDREN!!!", she roared and got up. A dwarf was going to die and Buhni knew it was not going to be her Thrandili.
