The Hooded Figure

The Kidnapping

This can’t be happening, thought Tula as she raced down the road, the late afternoon air sticking her hair to her face. Where could he be?

When Tula had gotten back to the Inn she had found that James was still not back yet. It was already noon then; buying supplies shouldn’t take longer than a few hours. After an hour of wait, she started to worry. Tula had given him the task only to keep him out of her skin while she was searching for the hideout, and he had somehow managed to get into trouble.

She had searched what seemed to be the whole town and asked at least half the citizens in the area before she finally got a hint to where he might be. She turned right onto a lane and noticed carriage tracks on the floor. That’s strange; why would a carriage go through such a narrow lane?

She didn’t waste time contemplating and rushed forward to the end of the lane, turning onto the other side of the building. She immediately sensed that something was wrong. A group of people were huddled at the doorway, which happened to be door-less. The windows at the front were all smashed and it was quite evident that the glass was hurriedly cleaned up.

Tula hurried forward and pushed her way inside. She recognized the store; she had come here earlier today in search for information on the hide out. A young woman sat amidst the crowd, wrapped in a blanket. A man held a bandage to a large gash that ran down the side of her face. She was sobbing fiercely as the people around her tried to calm her.

“How many of them were there?” asked a worried man kneeling beside her, placing a soothing hand on her shoulder.

“Maybe five or six” she sobbed, her eyes swelled with tears “they broke the door down and barged in...I was so scared...” She resided into a crying fit before the people could calm her down again.

“What did they want? It doesn’t look like they stole anything” asked the man cleaning her cut. She looked at him, her eyes filled with tears.

“They asked me about someone” she whispered “a woman; they said that someone told them she came in here earlier today.”

“A woman? How are you supposed to remember every woman that comes into your store? This is outrageous!” called a man in the crowd, his face red with anger.

“They said she dressed in a black cloak and had blue eyes and black hair, they said her name was Tula.”

Tula’s eyes grew wide, they were looking for her!? They must have been Vendigard’s men! But how did they know that she came in here? Were they watching her? No, she would have noticed. Before Tula could contemplate further the woman spoke again.

“When I said I don’t know who they were talking about they started trashing the store, I screamed for them to stop and they hit me...” the words clogged in her throat as she started crying again, she took a deep breath and spoke again.

“I was so scared, I screamed, hoping someone would hear, and this boy came running in. He looked only about twelve but he stood up to those monsters, he told them to stop.” Her eyes wandered down to the floor looking worried and a little guilty “they hit him, and asked him about Tula. He said he would never tell them anything. Then one of them recognized him. He said that he was the boy he saw travelling with her.” Her eyes filled with tears again but she fought them down as she continued her story.   

“They beat the boy unconscious, tied him up and took him away in the carriage.” She couldn’t help herself now and started sobbing again while screaming “It’s all my fault” over and over again. Tula had no doubt now that this was Vendigard’s doing.

“How did they dress? It might give us a hint to who they are” said a woman in the crowd. The woman pointed to the wall to her right.

“They all had that sign on their shoulder.” The crowd parted and the wall was visible. Tula could feel her heart stop. Even though she had known it was Vendigard, this was irresistible proof. Painted on the wall, with what looked like blood, was a skull with its jaw open and a snake slithering out, Vendigard’s symbol, The Shadow Mark.

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Another short one, but sometimes, the shorter ones are the better ones ;P

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