Tymora's Luck - Kate Novak [14]
"Please," Joel asked, "couldn't I search for my friend while the trail's still fresh? I don't think they could have taken her far. They have her wrapped in a net, so they'd have to go to ground nearby or risk being spotted by your patrols."
The Hardhead leader considered Joel's words briefly, then gave a sharp nod. "We'll help you. Describe your friend and the men who abducted her," he ordered.
"She's got short, dark hair, brown eyes, and she stands about this high." Joel held a hand up to his chin.
"Human, sir?" the Hardhead leader asked.
"Yes," Joel said, "but she's been cursed by the priests of this man's god," he explained, pointing to the priest d Xvim. "She has wings, and her skin is covered with feathers." The bard didn't bother to mention that Jas had the wings long before the priests of Xvim had transformed her into a dark stalker. There was no sense in confusing the authorities. "The men were common street thugs in dirty clothes. Three were pretty scrawny, but the fourth was a big, muscular man with chains around his body. The; must have taken her in that direction." Joel pointed back up the street.
"You three go with this gentleman," the Hardhead leader ordered three of his men. "Stop anyone coming it your direction. Ask if they've seen her. Mitchel and I will knock on doors."
Joel hurried down the street with the three Hardheads His heart was heavy with the fear that he might never find Jas. Anger gnawed at his gut as well, anger born of the suspicion that he and Jas had been set up for the ambush, anger now directed toward a certain suspicious kender by the name of Emilo.
Behind the Scenes
Somewhere in the outer planes a fire flared in an empty brazier. As brightly as it shone, it could not illuminate the edges of the dark hall where it burned.
In a high-pitched voice, a small creature cried out, "The summons! The summons!"
From the shadowy recesses, a deep, spiteful voice announced, "Finally the summons is issued." Then the speaker commanded, "Fetch the makers and their infernal machine while I prepare for our journey."
There was a scurry of activity in the great hall as servants hurried to carry out the order.
In a more brooding tone, the speaker murmured, "My scheme has taken root. How appropriate that it should happen at this very moment. Tymora has just lost one of her favorites, and soon she will lose far more. Tymora's Luck will be mine."
Act One Scene 2
Emilo had heard the priest of Iyachtu Xvim mutter the words that would extinguish the magic of the light boy's wand. There was menace in those words, of that tit kender had been sure. The moment the light went out. Emilo dodged to the side and crouched behind a wall but tress. Once Joel used his own magic to light the blade t! his sword, the kender was able to observe the attack completely unnoticed. The attackers didn't bother to search for him. They must have thought he'd run off, or else they didn't really care if he was present, thinking he posed no threat to their activity.
Joel seemed to be holding his own in his fight with the robed attacker, but Jas was completely inundated by tit four men intent on bringing her down with a net. She screamed, "Fire!" at the top of her lungs until the men unstoppered some sort of vial under her nose. Then she collapsed, unconscious. The men dragged her off in the net There was no time to wait for Joel to finish his battle wit the fifth man. Emilo took off after the four men abducting Jas.
The kender had no trouble trailing behind the men despite the dark and the fog. The man who had first grabbed Jas was wearing chains which weighted him down and made it impossible for Jas to fly off. The chains jangled as he walked, and he and his companions all complained about having to drag the weight of the small winged woman. Emilo simply followed the noise they made.
They turned into a small alley. Near the back of the alley, a short set of steps led down to a door in the rear of a building. One of the men unlocked the door with a key and opened it. The men dragged their prize into the