Emmaline lounged on the cushions draping herself across them as provocative as possible. She was confident that Amal’s sudden appearance would have scattered the idly curious and voyeuristic. If anyone had seen anything rumors would certainly spread in such a small village, but Emmaline didn’t see how that could be a problem. It was even a little enjoyable to think of the outrage it might spark with the pinch faced women who had all but forced her into the scratchy grey dress. That point encouraged her to exaggerate her pose even further, rolling onto her stomach and propping her chin in her hands, framing her breasts with her elbows and crossing her feet coquettishly. Intent on surprising Amal when he returned. There was a sound from the rear door of the hutt and she pouted slightly. Amal must have circled around the building and come in from the rear, obviating her display.

“Welcome back,” she purred in a sultry tone and then looked back over her shoulder just in time to see the biggest man she had ever seen swinging a short length of timber in a short vicious arch. It slammed into the side of her head and the world exploded in stars and fell into darkness.

The headache hammered at her temples as Emmaline awoke. The world seemed to bob and roll as though she was on the sea and the stink of canvas stained with mould filled her nostrils. For a moment the sensations cosnpired to make her think she was still on a ship but then the memory of the last few hours came back to her. She was still naked and someone was carrying her over a shoulder, there was something, probably a canvas sack, over her head. She had been kidnapped!

“Help!” she tried to yell, though in her groggy state the worlds came out as a generalized slurred yelp. A powerful hand slapped over her mouth, choking off the cry.

“Shut it lass!” snapped a deep male voice, “these woods are teeming with Orcs! Keep your mouth shut and by tomorrow you will be a clan wife of the O’Callahans. That will show your fancy man to stick his nose in where it dosen’t belong!” Emmaline responded with a knee aimed roughly in the area she imagined her abductors groin could be located. Her captor grunted as she connected with his thigh and then her head rocked back from an open handed slap.

“I said shut…” the unnamed man started to snarl but Emmaline snapped a few syllables in the arcane language of wizards. There was a flash of golden light and the man yowled in pain and staggered back blind and cursing. Emmaline turned and ran blindly into the woods, ignoring the shouts of her temporarily blinded captor.