My face must have immediately curled into a frown, as both Stephen and the other man's faces reflected my displeasure. The other looked as if to say something until I interrupted, "Lead the way," grabbing my parcels. The other guard, Horace, ran ahead to gather our mounts, and Stephen stepped beside me to match my pace. "What happened?" I said, softly.
"It appears she has been kidnapped," he whispered, eyes looking downward as he took my things and loaded them on his horse. I swore and looked him full in the eyes. "Great Huma, but why for?" I didn't give him enough time to answer as I jumped up into the saddle. The three of us began the ride through Palanthas towards my family's estates.
After some time, Stephen pulled up beside me again. I bid him tell me all he knew.
"The details are sketchy, unfortunately," Stephen began. "But Elise, her maid, came screaming out of her suite in the middle of the night two nights ago. She said then, and professes to this day that your mother was taken by demons."
Demons? My frown deepened. "I will need to talk to her and examine the scene immediately." Stephen nodded and left me to my thoughts again. Demons? Draconians, perhaps? Packs of them still lurked in some of the mountain passes. Something did not fit here. This was an incredibly brazen act -- whomever did this was about to bring the entirety of the Knights of Solamnia after them. It could not have been a random event, either. I had too few pieces of the puzzle to see the greater picture. I needed more information.
Castle uth Wistan was on edge. We proceeded immediately to the upper chambers, I noting with satisfaction that security had been increased. Mother's rooms were a complete shambles; furniture destroyed, clothing ripped to shreds, and her personal effects scatter across the room.
I examined the overturned jewelry box. "Has there been any contact from her or the criminals?"
"None," Stephen replied. "Lord Gunthar send out riders after them, but we have not yet heard from them, either."
I grunted a response when the bottom fell out of the box, and a bauble fell out -- a stone on a silver chain. I could not recall having seen Mother wear the necklace before. It looked to be some kind of polished granite, such as the dwarves work with, infused with gold or some other precious metal. At the center seemed to be a miniature unicorn or other such fanciful beast. The glimmer it gave forth seemed not to be natural, so I called forth to Paladine and determined that it had indeed been enchanted somehow, but nothing serious nor sinister.