The man hung from his feet, not moving or swaying in the gentle breeze that billowed through the Chetwood forest. The hunter watched him as he ran his blade across a freshly oiled whetstone. His grayish blue eyes staring at him silently, torn with emotions and decisions. He felt in his heart that he was no longer walking the path he was set upon, the path that felt right.
He stood, snarling as he did and walked over to the man, kicking him hard with a boot and watching it send him swinging wildly, furiously trying to break free of his bindings, but finding it was of no use. His brown eyes peered to the hunter, he knew it was over. Cynraede could almost feel the mans heart beating faster and faster in his chest, the east-mans eyes full of fear, he writhed and tried to get free as tears rolled down his face, his shouts echoing in the small cove.
The hunter knelt in front of the man, staring into his eyes for several moments as if peering into the mans head.
"You assisted in the torture of the woman called Fairlain, and you will tell me why. If I think you speak lies, I will begin to carve flesh from your body. The woman you made suffer, is the one who I have chosen to give my heart to, and you have caused her pain, do you understand this?"
YIlgtig looks to the man, nodding firmly and speaking quickly.
"Yes, yes! I will tell you what you want to know, I do no longer serve Aphar! I swear on it! My messenger just left with the message! I will tell you what you want to know, please do not cause me harm, I have seen my wrongs.. Forgive me, I beg you forgive me. I see the pain I have caused you, I see the pain I have caused others and I wish to do them right. I know you cannot sleep, I know what taints your dreams. I have see the darkness too, and it grows in your mind, it wants you to fall, even now."
Cynraede looked to the man and was taken back by his words. This man was a murder, torturer and a curse upon the ground he walks. Though just he had seen his wrong, just as he had to bear his mistakes and wrong doings, he saw the light, surely this man could do such as well.
"If you swear to tell me all that you know, I will cut you down and release you when I am finished with you. Tell me everything."
He leaned up with the blade, carefully cutting the rope and easing the man down to finish cutting his bindings. He offered him a flank of rabbit and a small flask of water, watching him down both rather quickly.
"I do not know why, I merely did as I was told. I am not from a wealthy family in my lands, but I wished the hand of a woman who was of nobility. Unless I followed, and did as I was told I could never be of noble blood, and even as I sit here now I realize it was not worth the cost. He branded her, smacked her only but a couple times. Weather top.. She jumped to the bottom and he did nothing but smile..I did not know she lived, I swear it."
Cynraede listened to the mans account of what took place, nodding quietly as he took the words in, mulling them over as he spoke and quickly tried to asses if he was telling the truth or merely speaking lies. Though he turned his head and looked to the man who sat in rags, his fingers missing from the second knuckle up from his previous encounter. He shook slightly, it was evident that this man still deeply feared what he saw in the hunter, and this slightly unnerved Cynraede, for he did not wish to be feared, but respected. As he pondered on his actions, allowing the man to live, but to curse some one to be damned worse than death, he could not help but wonder if this was his place, after all, he was but a man.
"So, then tell me this. Where is your master now? Why does he wish to find the order so desperately?"
The man shook his head and sighed.
"I do not know, I send my word through a messenger, and he delivers it to the masters messenger who takes it to him. It is rare for his lieutenants to see him these days, and I have not seen him in many, many moons. He knows of you, he knew we had you captured. We found a priestess among the wild men of Dunland and brought her to you so that she could work her foul magics on you, to see if you would break. It felt of no use at times, you fought us even when you could not even hardly stand. Tooth, and nail. What is it you have to fight for, what causes your soul and spirit to stir and lead your hand, not to war, but to defend? What has claimed your heart?"
Cynraede looked to the man after handing him another flask of water and a piece of bread for his journey before looking to him.
"Not what, who. The one you tortured and beat for the one whom you served. The one you kept me from for weeks, the one who I thought about in that cave, the reason I fought and tried so hard to survive.. I wanted to see her face, to see the brown mane that flowed from her head, to see her blue eyes. That is what kept me fighting, gave me something to fight for, Fairlain."
Yilgtig stood, and wrapped his arms around the stunned hunter who stood there, unsure of what to do, or what was taking place.
"Forgive me, hunter. I wronged you, many times and deserve no less than death. I hurt the one who claimed your heart, who laid claim to you. I watched you for a great time, hunter of darkness. I don't see it anymore in your soul, though your body still bears its markings. The only way, it could ever be removed is with an acid found in Angmar. The salt flats, theres a cave where there lies a pool of acid. I know how to remove such markings, let me repay my sins. Forgive me, Cynraede."
The hunter looked down to the man, knowing what he felt through his heart because not so long ago, he felt what it meant to have the feeling of the changed path. To walk away from the path of shadow, because there is only one ended for such people who walk its easy ways.
"You, are forgiven. Go now, do not concern yourself with my past, or what became of me. Find yourself a new life and do not ever cross this path again, for if you do. You will suffer a fate worse than anything I can do to you, keep that in your mind at all times."
He pushed the man away from him and pointed to the forest, watching him wearily walk off back to bree. When he knew he was out of ear shot, he felt his knees give way as he fell to the ground. He sat on his knees as his chest filled with air, letting sobs out as tears rolled down his face. He gasped for breath, before taking the stone from around his neck and holding it to his chest, shutting his eyes tightly and trying to cease his tears. He looked to the stone, seeing the dwarven runes upon its surface, yet through the stone, he saw her face.
