Torim wandered the Fair rather aimlessly, picking at the roast-pork-on-a-stick creation he'd bought from a vendor. It was steaming hot, and good...but his enjoyment of the event was severely curtailed by the thoughts racing through his head, brought on by the rumors racing just as quickly through the crowds.
The Lady Linduial, cousin to the Queen, has been kidnapped. And Torim feared he knew exactly where the young woman was.
He stepped quickly aside as a group of grim-faced guards rushed through the crowds towards the gates, his mind seething with indecision. Should he find who was searching for her, and tell them what he had seen on the way, or should he protect himself and his family and keep his mouth shut?
Sorn was a character whom Torim knew well, at least by reputation. Vicious and amoral, the man never gave up a grudge or forgave, and no matter the slight, punishment was brutal. Torim's personal opinion was that the lord was truly a coward, but a coward in power could be a fearsome thing. Silently he wrestled with his conscience, thinking of his young wife and two small children, defenseless on their farm all too close to Sorn's borders.
Sorn is overconfident. He'll make a mistake, and they'll find him on their own. But if Sorn hears you were the one to betray him...
Besides, you don't know who to talk to or anything, and they'll probably hold you for further questioning and all that, and you'll get home late, and everyone will worry...
But they say Linduial is little more than a child.
I'll wait. I'll wait a little while, and then
go tell them what I saw, if they're still looking for the kidnapper. Maybe you were wrong, anyway. If they're still looking for the kidnapper before I planned to leave, I'll talk. If they promise to keep my name secret...
~<*>~
Lin shuddered when the giant Gurth plodded down the stairs, with the large dog again at his side. However, her new sense of self-reliance was still with her, and she knew that she needed everyone at her side she could finagle around. Her plate was wet with the juices from her meal, and she nervously tipped it sideways through the bars, moving slowly so as not to startle her guard, and placed it down on the floor.
"For your dog," she said to Gurth, pointing at the plate and the dog, and being careful and distinct with her words, not sure how much she needed to do for the man to understand her. She was thirstly still, though the wine had admirably dulled the pain, and if Gurth seemed less frightening now than he had last night, perhaps she could find the courage to ask him to fill her now empty cup with water.