[Celuien]

So there was a list of possible suspects. That was encouraging. Garstan had been puzzling over how go about finding Linduial. He was certain that anyone daring to play a game of kidnap and ransom with the Queen would also need great cunning. A man that clever would be hard to unearth without leads. More fascinating - and disturbing - was the idea that a list would exist. Disloyalty among the nobility of Rohan? Not all of noble blood, it seemed, were of noble mind, and sadly, this was not limited to the kidnapper.

Still, Garstan was certain that the guilty party would be on the list. Anyone treacherous enough to attempt this plot must have been noticed in a time suspicious enough to generate lists of potential troublemakers. Indeed, not all evil came to an end with the War.

Five or six names. He wondered where the owners of those names lived. Garstan remembered the short space of time between Linduial's disappearance and the ransom note's arrival. She must, he reasoned, already have been secured in the kidnapper's lair when the note was sent. To wave such a letter under the Queen nose before the victim was well hidden would have been foolhardy. Lothiriel would surely react by sending a search party as soon as the letter arrived. She had done so. And the kidnapper must have accounted for that in his plan. The more he thought upon the matter, the more Garstan was convinced that Linduial was already locked in the kidnapper's prison when the letter started on its way. That meant she couldn't be more than a half a day's journey, by horseback at least, from Edoras.

Thornden and Eodwine stood close together, speaking in low voices as Thornden pointed to the list. Garstan, thinking that he might have hit upon a point of some importance, went to join them. He felt more comfortable with them than the Haleth. All made him uneasy to an extent, as he was keenly aware of his lack of military experience and lower rank compared to the rest of the party. At least he knew the Eorl and Thornden from his stay at the Mead Hall. But still, he was uncomfortable with the thought of interrupting their discussion, and so stood a little to the side, far enough from them to avoid unintentional eavesdropping, and close enough to attempt to interject his thoughts when an appropriate chance came.