A Creeping Darkness (Follow on to "I Don't Get Paid Enough For This")
in Catskills
Anne stretched and rolled her neck, trying to work the knots out of her back and shoulders. The swelling from the lump on the back of her head had finally subsided and she was no longer seeing double or having dizzy spells so she guessed that was an improvement. The dark, cold dampness, on the other hand, seemed to only get worse as the days dragged by.
Anne pulled her cloak more tightly around her and made another mark on the wall with the stone she had found on the floor. She thought another day had passed but the only way she had to judge the changing of the hours was the changing of the guards, if they could be called that. Sitting back, she gazed in disbelief at the white marks marching across the stone – three weeks! Had it really been three weeks that she’d be here, wherever here was?
Anne closed her eyes and sent up a heartfelt prayer, as she did each day, that Minoc was safe. She had thought that Suka’s band of merry maniac’s losing the election would insure Minoc’s safety. What she’d overheard from the guards about Yew’s new regime, however, had her worried. She had known she was taking a chance stepping down as governor, but, if all had worked out, she’d have been able to continue keeping Minoc safe as well as her family. As long as Anne was the target of Suka and the Family’s ire, the citizens of Minoc were reasonably safe. The new governor, however, was an unknown quantity.
Anne closed her eyes and drifted into an uneasy sleep.
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Jessica slipped inside the small cabin and removed her cloak trying to make as little noise as possible. She hoped her sisters would not hear her come in. As she turned towards the small, banked fire with the pot of stew simmering over it, she jumped as she saw her sisters lined up at the table looking at her quietly.
“You startled me,” she said wearily. “Why are you not in bed. Morning comes early and the work doesn’t halt for sleepyheads.”
Her sisters looked at her and each other and Sherry spoke up quietly, “Is there no word then? We know you’ve been looking for Anne. Have you found nothing?”
Jessica shook her head as she slumped at the table and pulled the pitcher of cool water to her. Pouring a mug and sipping slowly she said, “Nothing. It’s like she has vanished off the face of the earth. I’ve talked to everyone who saw her that last day. I’ve traced her movements as much as possible. The only thing that is clear is that The Family or Suka, or both, are somehow behind this.”
Rubbing her head tiredly she said, “I think it’s time to take this to the king, and perhaps see what this new Governor of Minoc is made of. I've not seen anyone care as much for the people of any city as Anne did for Minoc. I know of no other Governor that did as much to help when their people were attacked and left hurt and homeless. After all that Anne has done for Minoc and the other cities, all the she sacrificed to keep Minoc protected, all the abuse and frustration she endured, it’s time that someone help us find her.”
Looking at her sisters with determination, Jessica clenched her fist and stated firmly, "Whoever took our sister does not know what they've unleashed."
Anne pulled her cloak more tightly around her and made another mark on the wall with the stone she had found on the floor. She thought another day had passed but the only way she had to judge the changing of the hours was the changing of the guards, if they could be called that. Sitting back, she gazed in disbelief at the white marks marching across the stone – three weeks! Had it really been three weeks that she’d be here, wherever here was?
Anne closed her eyes and sent up a heartfelt prayer, as she did each day, that Minoc was safe. She had thought that Suka’s band of merry maniac’s losing the election would insure Minoc’s safety. What she’d overheard from the guards about Yew’s new regime, however, had her worried. She had known she was taking a chance stepping down as governor, but, if all had worked out, she’d have been able to continue keeping Minoc safe as well as her family. As long as Anne was the target of Suka and the Family’s ire, the citizens of Minoc were reasonably safe. The new governor, however, was an unknown quantity.
Anne closed her eyes and drifted into an uneasy sleep.
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Jessica slipped inside the small cabin and removed her cloak trying to make as little noise as possible. She hoped her sisters would not hear her come in. As she turned towards the small, banked fire with the pot of stew simmering over it, she jumped as she saw her sisters lined up at the table looking at her quietly.
“You startled me,” she said wearily. “Why are you not in bed. Morning comes early and the work doesn’t halt for sleepyheads.”
Her sisters looked at her and each other and Sherry spoke up quietly, “Is there no word then? We know you’ve been looking for Anne. Have you found nothing?”
Jessica shook her head as she slumped at the table and pulled the pitcher of cool water to her. Pouring a mug and sipping slowly she said, “Nothing. It’s like she has vanished off the face of the earth. I’ve talked to everyone who saw her that last day. I’ve traced her movements as much as possible. The only thing that is clear is that The Family or Suka, or both, are somehow behind this.”
Rubbing her head tiredly she said, “I think it’s time to take this to the king, and perhaps see what this new Governor of Minoc is made of. I've not seen anyone care as much for the people of any city as Anne did for Minoc. I know of no other Governor that did as much to help when their people were attacked and left hurt and homeless. After all that Anne has done for Minoc and the other cities, all the she sacrificed to keep Minoc protected, all the abuse and frustration she endured, it’s time that someone help us find her.”
Looking at her sisters with determination, Jessica clenched her fist and stated firmly, "Whoever took our sister does not know what they've unleashed."