Gerald’s body ached from sitting too long in one position. His wrists throbbed beneath the coarse rope that bound him to the chair, and every shallow breath was laced with dread.
The blindfold pressed tightly across his eyes, cutting him off from the world around him. He had tried to steady himself, tried to reason with whoever these people were, but silence was the only response he had been given. And silence, in his experience, was far more dangerous than words.
At first, he had thought this was a common robbery... people desperate for coin or supplies, thinking the former elder an easy target now that he had been stripped of rank and protection. His voice had wavered as he promised them everything he had. “If it’s ransom you want, I can tell you now, no one will pay for me,” he had ba
