Thump... thump... thump...
The sound of footsteps coming closer brought Beldez back to the present. For the past few hours he had been staring at nothing after arguing with another person in the cell. The argument had been pointless but a good way to get their minds of their current situation; which was mainly being prisoners to be hunted for no good reason other than for enjoyment and entertainment. This was Beldez's third time in the cell. The first two times were after hunts when he had killed those hunting him with his bare hands, after they had run his horse to death and taken away everything he had cared about.
Before all this, Beldez had been part of the Guard of Gondor, which was charged with protecting and defending Minas Tirith. He had a family that didn't know what happened to him. He had been on a patrol, alone, and had been captured by strange men. They had taken his weapons to ship back to his family, along with a note explaining what had happened to him. The men had taken him underground, tied him up and beat him, then put him in the cell. The men that were already in there had explained that he was going to be hunted for the rest of his life, and that it would be a very short life. There had and were still three other soldiers of Gondor, and they had known of each other, so were friends very quickly. They usually sat together and talked about their families, their companies and things that they used to enjoy.
Men that were in this cell underground; even if they managed to escape, which was seldom, barely had a chance to get their lives back to normal. To keep people in towns from offering them aid, they were branded like criminals on their necks. This kept people from helping them and also kept the men on edge, because they didn't know who would help them or who would try to drive them away or kill them.
Thump... thump... thump...
The footsteps, accompanied by a faint dragging noise, could be heard coming closer. Beldez exchanged a look with the three other soldiers. Since no one had been taken out in days this could only mean that another person was unlucky enough to be captured for the hunt.
The door swung open and three men came in, dragging another who was blindfolded, gagged, and tied up into the cell. His ears, strangely enough, were covered for some reason. The two dragging him let go and he crashed to the floor, not moving. The three guards then left the cell. Beldez and the three soldiers stayed put for a few minutes to make sure the guards were gone, then moved over to the man lying on the floor. The others in the cell stayed back, uncertain about what to do.
"I can't believe another was captured." one of the soldiers, Cendar, said.
Those words seemed to encourage the youngest person in the cell, Tiri, to come over.
"Is he okay?" Tiri asked as Beldez looked him over.
"I think so. He only has a few bruises and a small bump on the head. They must have hit him to make him pass out or to daze him. Or they did it after they drugged him with that nasty stuff they use to make sure he was unconscious. " Beldez replied, not quite able to hid the disgust in his voice.
"Well, that's good. Should I take the blindfolded and gag off? It might keep him from panicking when he wakes up." Tiri asked.
"Yes, that's a good idea. Cendar, could you get some water? He will most likely be thirsty when he wakes up." Beldez asked the nearest guard, who nodded and hurried off.
All of a sudden, Tiri let out a surprised yelp. "Tiri, what is it?! Tiri? Tiri, are you okay?" Beldez asked.
All Tiri did was stare. He had been in the process of removing the blindfold and gag and seemed to be frozen in shock. The look of surprise on his face was almost comical, but when it didn't go away after a few minutes, enough became enough. Beldez took one look at the tied up man and started to stare as well, just like everyone in the cell. For the man that was lying there was fair to look at, with raven-black hair, a fair face, and pointed ears.
By the gods, an elf. What in the world...? How were they able to capture an elf? Beldez wondered.