The Mage, the Monster, and the Missing Maidens

After their successful – but harrowing – burglary of the house of Rebekah’s rich ex-fiancé, Falcon and Rebekah retired to an inn to celebrate their newfound fortunes. Their celebration was cut short when Rebekah disappeared, sending Falcon on a path where he encountered a reclusive mage and faced a formidable monster in an attempt to rescue two missing maidens.

---

A mixture of happiness over his new sword and disgust over haggling with the merchant clouded his thoughts and emotions as he trudged up the steps to his room. Surely Rebekah would be awake by now – probably awake, hungry, and impatient. He turned the key in the lock, pushed open the door, and stepped into the room.

Rebekah was not there.

“How can this be?” he thought. He slowly looked around the room to make sure he hadn’t missed her. He even lifted the blanket on the bed to make sure she wasn’t hiding under it. She was simply not there.

His next thought was of the treasure; maybe she had run away with both of their shares. Bending down, he saw both bundles were still stowed under the bed. He glanced at the window – the drop bar on the shutters was down. There was no way she could have gone out the window. And he was sure he had locked the door when he left – he distinctly remembered the click of the mechanism when he unlocked the door moments ago.

“This is not possible,” he reasoned.