Page 41 of A Fable of Riddles and Redemption

Your obedient servant,

The Maestro

A chill rushed over Herrick as he listened. Could Zorina be the one this…Maestro…was looking for? And if so, how could he protect her?

The captain narrowed his gaze on Duke Armand. “What in the blazes is this?”

“That’s what I want to know!” the duke cried, throwing his hands up in the air. “Who would have the gall to send such a note?”

The Maestro, apparently. Whoever that is.

“The Maestro?” Captain Firmin’s response echoed Herrick’s thoughts. ”The man who’s been abducting our women? But who in the Realms is he?”

Herrick wanted to know the exact same thing—and how to catch the fiend and lock him up for his crimes.

“We’d better find out, before even more women disappear!” Duke Armand shouted.

The captain frowned again. “Where did you find this?”

“On the desk in my study, after our previous discussion with the Girys and that pottery girl. Odd that it’s written to both of us, don’t you think?”

Concern marred Captain Firmin’s brows. “Indeed. If this is the man who’s been stealing away women, he is bold to make such demands. The audacity!”

“What makes him think we would give him anyone? Especially when they come back addled? The idea is ludicrous!” Duke Armand cried.

“No one should hand anyone over to him, regardless of how they return,” Herrick mumbled under his breath.

“And when he finds the right girl, I doubt he’ll give her back,” Captain Firmin added.

That was precisely what Herrick feared—and that the woman the Maestro sought was Zorina.

Herrick

Yet another young blonde woman had gone missing, but it was not Zorina. While the fact that she remained safe—for now—relieved him, Herrick worried about the most recent abductee, his friendly acquaintance and colleague, Berenne.

It was bold of this Maestro character to nab a female guard. Disturbing, too. Herrick knew full well how capable Berenne was at defending herself. To know that she hadn’t been able to prevent her own disappearance…there had to be more to it.

In any case, what in the Realms made the Maestro think Berenne could be the mage he was looking for? Anyone could see that her skills lay in weapons, not magic.

None of it made any sense.

However, now that the true culprit was proven not to be Jupp, the obnoxious guard had been released from the dungeon and returned to full guard duty, though perhaps he was a bit more humble after the experience. Or so Herrick hoped.

As expected, three days later, Berenne returned, just as addled and disoriented as Carlotta and Megail had been. And once again, Zorina had been the one to find her wandering aimlessly in the woods.

In preparation for that inevitability, Herrick had been assigned to patrol the city’s woodland border each evening, where he visited with Zorina. Their fledgling friendship—or whatever their relationship was—continued to grow, even as Anala kept trying to steal his infinite pouch.

The moment he saw Zorina and Berenne headed his way, he ran to them to give his support.

“Same as last time?” he asked with a grunt as he slipped an arm under Berenne’s.

Zorina nodded, her exhaustion evident from her flagging posture. Berenne was a bit taller than the other previously lost women, and more muscular, given her status as a guard. Herrick shifted so more of Berenne’s weight was on him instead.

Instead of asking the same questions he normally would, Herrick silently helped Zorina guide Berenne back to the castle.

Zorina

After yet again aiding another of the Maestro’s victims to Adael Castle, Zorina once more sat in the same parlor with Herrick, Duke Armand, Captain Firmin, and a bemused Berenne. For the third time, she explained how she’d found a blonde woman—Berenne, this time—in the woods with seemingly no recollection of how she’d gotten there, nor any idea of where she was going.