Stolen

[JaeEleutheria]

Amelia looks up from her breakfast that morning. "Women are missing? Lendose, Morell, Cear and even Talonhold?"

The squire nodded, his face dour.

She pursed her lips and pushed the plate back. "Any names."

"No milady."

She frowned again. "Thank you for your report... this warrants some investigation..." She got up from the table, and adjusted her plate and walked out of Knightshome, summoning Lee to her side.

"Evil?" the horse neighed at her.

"Probably. Lets go save them..."

[rohenna]

She looks at him coldly, her gaze never leaving his face, her voice hard. "Indeed, it is my wish, as I said to you. What is it you want from me? What will satisfy your vengeance? It is between you and I. Let us keep it that way from now on."

Finally she glances around, shock registering on her face as she surveys the ruins of the room. Her voice is barely above a whisper "Why would you bring me here? What has this to do with you and I?"

[Karma]

"I wanted you too see just what I am capable of, Shayde Mel'for. Or should I say McWilliams? None of this had to happen. Remember, I came to you as a gentleman simply asking a question. You lost your composure." Thayne motions to the ceiling of the large room. The four flayed bodies hanging from the neck, near unrecognizable. Two well built males, an elven woman, and a halfling. "You have lost much in this conflict. And yet I wish to see it ended. I brought you here with the intent to make you watch as I set fire to your friends corpses."

He paces for a few moments to let it soak in. "But I would rather not. I am a gentleman you see, and it is not good form to kill a lady such as yourself. I have terms. I think you will find them very reasonable."

[rohenna]

"Do not call me that name! That girl is dead!"

She looks at the four bodies a moment, a shudder going through her body, the colour draining from her face, then she leans over and empties the contents of her stomach. When she looks back at Thayne, her eyes flash silvery, fury battling with grief, and her voice hisses.

"What have you done, you hellfiendish bastard?! I told you to keep this between you and I! What have you DONE?"

Gazing back to the corpses, her expression flickers between pain, revulsion, recognition, grief and horror. "Gentleman? " She hisses at him. "You are no gentleman! You kill, you steal, you destroy, and you torture, and you see nothing wrong with it!"

Her voice grows dull, as do her eyes. "You have your vengeance. You have destroyed all that I cared about. What do you want, now?"

[JaeEleutheria]

Amelia frowned further at the reports as she flipped through them sitting in her saddle on Lee. She had arrived that afternoon into Cear after a long ride, seeing and hearing the same thing. Seeing the same tattoo on the bodies, hearing of the same executions.

The troll on the bridge outside of Lendose had evaporated after she pulled the Burning Blade out of him and she kicked what remained into the water, making a small Ineanian motion with her right hand.

She flipped again through her papers, frowning deeply and rode into the town. She nearly ran across a man in bronze armor who was exiting the housing district. She looked down with an apology. "Oh, I might need your help," she said as she recognized the man.

[Crimson]

He steps back quickly as the horse comes a little too close.
He then looks up at Amelia.
"No worries... and I might need your help too."

His eyes are full of worry.
"Shayde has disappeared."

[JaeEleutheria]

She frowns even deeper looking over the paperwork. Then hands over what she has to him.

"Where shall we begin then?"

[Crimson]

He looks it through and sighs.
"A tattoo of a serpent eating it's tail, encircling the letter B... I have no idea what this means. Perhaps some criminal syndicate..?"

He closes the door to Shaydes house and locks it.
"Let us ask at the docks and see if anyone has seen anything... though this is not the sigil of House Rhaz, I can't really imagine who else would kidnap Shayde."
He had to think like that... because if he didn't he would be flooded with thoughts about her possible disappearance and death. So many things could have happened...

[JaeEleutheria]

She frowns again. "There is many evil groups out there, we cannot limit to just one. Though curious. Let us investigate then."

She hops off of Lee and thanks him for his service as she dismisses him for a time, then nods to Darion and begins walking towards the docks.

[Cypher]

In the back room of Thrall's Gate, Ward Aylows paces slowly back and forth behind a dark wooden desk. With a fluid motion he readjusts his right bracer, his stern frown growing increasingly more harsh.
"First the docks, then at the temple itself... And now this." His breathing is slow, almost nonexistent. Removing his bracers, he leans both hands on the back of the high back wooden chair, closing his eyes.
"Lochwar preserve us, and protect this fool from his own ambition. May the fallout be small."

[Karma]

Rhaz grins and motions to the man standing behind Shayde. "Let them down. Show her." The man moves to the side of the room, untying the ropes and lowering the bodies in turn. They lay on the floor before Shayde, and it becomes clear that they are not who she thought they might be. "I only ever wished to see that look in your eyes. For you to know how real it can get. These are not your friends, I assure you. Bandits I came across." He slowly moves his hand to the hilt of his Kukri, in a discreet manner, as he walks over to the man laying the last corpse down. Thayne puts an arm around the rough mans shoulder, his eyes glistening as he speaks. "You serve your master well, I will inform Black of how well you work." The man starts to grin and open his mouth to speak in response, but all that escapes his lips is a breathless grunt, in his eyes the final look of terror and solace.

The mans body crumples to the floor, and Thayne turns back to Shayde, his large knife in hand and dripping crimson. The other man, who had been standing by the door already starting to move towards Thayne, his own hand reaching for his club. Rhaz grins bemusedly at Shayde and turns to the man silently, drawing his rapier and taking three long strides towards him. "You will pay for this Treachery, Rhaz!" The man spits venomously as he brings his weapon to bear. They clash, lock weapons together, Thayne loosens his footing causing the man to lurch forward and in the same movement the Kukri enters his eye, shoved deep. The club clatters to the floor, followed by the other man. The Pirate turns back to face his captive.

"You see... These men, they took you. They killed these ones." He points to the bodies laying on the floor with his sword before sheathing his weapons. "You may not see it, but I have saved your life. A man known as Black, A rival of mine... He ordered all of this. Took you, to use as a pawn against me, for it is known that I wanted you. These... these were the last of his men." He steps around the bodies and moves to stand before her. "I do not wish you dead, Shayde. In fact I wish you to flourish. You have the potential to be a happily married woman at peace, and I do not wish to take that from you. I have destroyed Black from the ground up, as a gesture of this. Why did I bring you here? Its simple. We burn this place to the ground. Put a final nail in the coffin that is your past and begin anew. Of course... I have terms..."

[rohenna]

She closes her eyes as he explains who the corpses are. A few moments later she looks up at him, her eyes full of disgust. She waits until he finishes speaking, and her gaze does not shift from his face.

After a few moments of silence, she replies, her voice full of loathing.

"You destroy a family as a peace offering?" She looks around the room. "And what have you done with the McWilliams family? Did you destroy them too, for amusement? Did they not meet your terms?"

She pauses, looking to the floor a moment.

"What do you want of me?" She asks wearily.

[Karma]

"This was no family. Bandits. Look around, Shayde. This place is long since abandoned, the last vestiges of a forgotten home scattered to the wind." Thayne stares her down, though his expression softens considerably. "My Terms... are for the Temple. I can easily retract my accusations against you and put this to rest, but they would not be so convinced. I have appealed to Ward, and been granted a path we may take to seek resolution. If we were to leave here, and you freely come to the Temple at Thralls Gate, and submit to being an initiate Neophyte for a limited time." He stresses the word Limited.

Thayne watches her for a long moment, before moving behind her and slicing the bonds, and returning to stand in front of her. "If you are willing to do that simple thing, then the Temple... I am willing to put all of this behind us. You do not wish to be jumping at shadows forever do you? This is a clean slate. Here, look and see that my words are true." He hands her a letter, which when unfolded reveals the lock of her hair fixed to it along with a message.

Steward Rhaz,

It is no secret your want of the Half elven woman Shayde Mel'for is great. We have taken her, and will kill her unless you pay us the handsome ransom of Five Hundred Thousand Crowns. This hair is proof we have her, should you truly be familiar with her. Upon your response we can have the location of our exchange established, and our score will be settled. No games. No authorities, or she dies.

~ The Black
There is a seal that looks like the circular snake tattoo from the bodies pressed in wax

He grins. "I only recently learned of this place. And it is not so close to people to communicate. Gave me the time needed to get people in place to Destroy any trace of The Black, while keeping you here. Safe and sound. Your move."

[Mensha Khaine]

The meaning behind the strange dreams and the niggling sensation in the back of her mind did not click until now. Isha had spotted Amelia and Darion as they were heading to the docks, but it was Darion’s demeanour that finally made the connection. Some things happened to Shayde The dream flashed, an Elvern woman held aloft in a void, surrounded by light, but there were dark shadows that were drawing closer and closer. The memory brought with it a sense of urgency.

No something is about to happen

Her cloak danced behind her as she ran after them, the heavy clunking of her armour drew their attention as she approached. She came to a rather ungraceful sliding stop on the paved road. “You don’t have time to drag out the pieces, you need to find her quickly.” She raised her hand to the obvious question about to be asked. “There’s no time to explain, you need to get to Ravenswatch and find the white witch, get her to scry for Shayde”

[Enyeto Wesh]

The blind child stands atop his stool in the Mistyvale Inn; plate in hand, hand in water. Scrubbing the dish throughly he dunks it into the water again. Removing it from the rinsing water he runs his hand along it, checking for left over food by touch alone.

...Sadness...

The suddenness of the emotion catches him off guard; startled he drops the plate back into the sink with a thunk. The plate lives to hold food another day.

...Grief...

Assailed by another powerful emotion, he wipes his forehead with the wet rag, sweat already beading there from the dire distress.

...Anger...

Such a conflicted emotion; equally as powerful. He becomes dizzy and loses his balance. Stepping back he steps on the edge of the stool and loses his balance further. Windmilling his arms, he crashes to the floor, dazed.

Something bad has happened, but what? He would cry if he were capable, but instead he sits on the floor and sobs from the pain of the conflicting emotions; at least until he passes out from the pressure.