Cranston Kidnapping-Part 1

[PeregrineV]

“And then Jaden said-“ said Jessica Stark, as the rest of her sentence was drowned out by the sound of a large armored man falling into the chair next to her. She turned and glared at the at the short-haired man looking at her. “Can’t you take that stuff off every once in a while?” she asked.
“Why didn’t you tell me about this evil happenings with that innkeeper?” he shot back, slamming a mailed fist on the table for emphasis.
Jessica looked at her brother for a long moment, then let out an expressive sigh to drain the tension from her body. “You were busy”, she said simply. “But it all worked out in the end.”
“Well, what happened? Are you all right? Where is this evil seed right now? Why didn’t you destroy it? How-“ Brandon Stark stopped midsentence. “You are right. I apologize” He ignored the sarcastic gasps that went up from around the table. “But you are unharmed? Tell me what happened.”
“That I will do. But, as I’ve told the story quite a few times already, you will get the short version. Will you be silent and listen before interrupting me?”. A grudgingly provided nod was her only response. “And,” she added with a wink, “I’m kind of dry here. An ale or four will help the telling go that much smoother.”
Brandon’s patient sigh and raised arm to attract the barkeep’s attention was enough for Jessica to start.
“It started with a message I received from William Cranston, the owner of this magnificent establishment.” Raised mugs in silent salute went up. “Of course, it started out a little rough as the poor messenger was not dressed well for delivering messages, especially not at night when I was heading home from talking to Marshall Silva. I almost killed the poor man, but he’ll recover….”