The Disappeared

[Lord Dominator]

It is always interesting how quickly something can turn from simple to complicated just through a sudden surprise. 

Judy had been expecting to meet a representative from Camelot; the way the second message had come through, it might have been easy to assume that a large number of people from Minas Tirath had suddenly been kidnapped. On arrival at the bustling Capital, however, that assumption had been challenged. There was no wild panic on the streets; in fact, the fortress-city remained an impressive example of solid, unyielding security. Perhaps a little low-tech compared to the norm that Judy was used to, but the white stone city was beautiful, and ran almost like clockwork.

That made it easy enough to find the local Guard, and for Judy to be ushered into a small, private building where Minas Tirath guards stood at the ready to ensure there were no further unpleasant surprises. 

Guard Captain Tybalt was an older man, of dour disposition and stern demeanour. His slate-grey hair was abandoning him, though he held himself in such a way as to suggest that his skills had not. The gleaming armour of the Minas Tirath guard looked good on him, though he was carrying a heavy iron cudgel rather than the sword more commonly associated with the guard. The cudgel was more practical when it came to subduing suspects. 

He was also professional enough not to register surprise when Judy was allowed into the room. 

"You must be the contact from the Avengers." He said, voice low and serious. "Apologies that the others won't be joining us today. We'd hoped to establish formal relations, but this kidnapping business has thrown the relevant parties into a panic. They are ... elsewhere."

At the mention of the kidnapping, the other figure in the room suddenly stood up. He was a slender man, clearly no more human than Judy was. Tall, pointed ears were the most obvious factor, but the rest of his features seemed to have been sharpened to a razor's edge. Even the long, blonde locks he had been gifted with seemed like they might be sharp to the touch. 

"They have lost my SISTER!" The Elf spoke, his tone cutting through the air as though it were a weapon. "What I want to know, Captain, if why you aren't out there with them trying to find her!"

The exhausted look in Tybalt's eyes told Judy instantly that this had been a common theme of conversation over the past few hours. 

"Because someone had to be here to brief our Avengers contact." He said, with as much patience as his taxed nerve could muster. "Ms. Hopps. This is Prince Rigalt. According to him..."

The implication of doubt brought a hiss from the elf, which the Captain diplomatically did his best to ignore, continuing as though he hadn't heard it.

"His sister, Princess Elaria, should have made it to the Capital from their village some three days ago. She was due to petition the Kingdom for official recognition and open diplomatic relations. Unfortunately, as far as we can tell, she never arrived. There's nothing in the logs, none of the elf-friendly inns have so far admitted to seeing her."

Rigalt folded his arms across his chest, shaking his head slowly. "This is all some sort of conspiracy." He muttered, darkly. "You people are hiding my sister somewhere, probably torturing her! I told her that we couldn't trust you humans."

At that, the Captain turned so that the Prince could not see his expression, looking down into the police officer's face as he lowered his voice. 

"He hasn't been very helpful with me. You're not human either. If I leave him with you, can you try and find out more? Something strange is going on here, and I don't know what."