The day after Lief's disappearance, Doom turned up missing as well, although he proved decidedly easier to find. Doom, whose mother named him Jarred, had met an Ol prostitute in the Red Dog Tavern, taken her upstairs. During the disrobing, Doom discovered that the young lady possessed a cock and balls, and he waxed wroth. The two fought for a short time, till the Doom snapped the whore's neck.

Well, the aging man, lion in winter, could bear life in Deltora no longer. His wife and daughter dead, himself rather poor, distrusted and feared by the populace, and now disgraced with a male prostitute, the fella untied his rope-belt and hanged himself from the ceiling.

But even so! before he'd breathed his last, or suffered a broken neck, three patrons-a pair of gay twins from Broome, as well as their lover Gers-came upon Doom and the slain Ol, and exclaiming they cut him down and called for the Guard.

Awhiel later, Doom, fresh scarring on his bull-neck, spoke to the Lieutenant of the Palace Guard, Ronald, and then to Barda himself, who was moved to pity by Doom's state. Pity, yes, and contempt as well, for Jarred had brought great shame upon himself. A few hours later, still in custody in the Palace and awaiting further questioning, Doom once more attempted suicide, by using shreds of his own tunic to hang himself from the doorknob. And this time it was a success.

He will most likely be buried next to his daughter, Jasmine.

Now we revisit the present, and that is to say, the aftermath of His Majesty King Lief's abduction. Dear me, you could not imagine how distraught the people were to learn of this!

None more than Barda, who privately sobbed and tore out clumps of his hair and punched holes in the walls.

'He's been kidnapped,' Barda was heard to say to his wife, Lindal. 'You can be sure of it.'

She did not disagree, but in the bedroom that night, she-and Heaven knows why-chose this moment to vent her hatred and frustrations toward Lief, in spite of knowing he and Barda were good friends, or more likely because of it. She cursed Lief for a eunuch and an empty-headed embarrassment to the Kingdom; an effete, gloomy little ponce; a retard with pretty hair, etc. No sooner were the last words spoken than Barda strike quicker than any Ak-Baba, dragging her out of bed and hoisting her into the air by the throat with one hand. She kicked, she clawed at his massive hand, she made absurd noises, but Barda dropped her as a gagging heap on the floor, and savagely booted her twice in the ribs, shattering them as clay pots. He reached down while she cried and broke each finger on her left hand, to further cement the lesson.

Barda moved quickly elsewhere, reining in the more willful factions that ever probed at Lief's patience: to the more recalcitrant, he captured their family members and held them as insurance, till they thought better of any nonsense. When the Chamberlain, Myrai, suggested declaring King Lief dead and swiftly crowning another royal in order to promptly rally the people against the threats they faced, the big man ordered that her tongue be ripped out and her cast into the dungeon. Then he deliberated, while the plague advanced through Deltora, the Shdow Lord sent incursions into the northern btorder, and confusion and horror spread like wildfire through the city of Del, and he concluded. That a squad be assembled to search for the king, who was probably taken to the Shadowlands. Barda dubbed it the Last Hope Lief Rescue Task Force. The LHLRTF.

Barda himself, the leader, with brawny Gers, deceitful niggardly Neridah, quiet Claw, reformed Dain, and the bounty hunter Gorl, hired by Captain Barda for a sizeable portion of the Treasury.

As you know, they set out immediately for the Shadowlands, to reclaim sweet Lief from the ancient degenerate Shadow Lord.

To be continued.