The Blood Knight initiate shut the door behind him as he left the small house, stepping out into the dusk of the Ghostlands. The wind pulled at his cloak and made his hair swirl about, much to the elf's dismay. Looking around the area, he spotted his master leaning against a tree.
"Master!"
The other elf raised his head to look in the initiate's direction, waiting a moment before walking up to him.
"Yes? Any progress?" The Blood Knight master's voice was cool and calm, but the initiate seemed to have a healthy degree of fear for the older elf regardless.
"Nothing, master, maybe we're mistaken? What if he's just an ordinary human?"
The master frowned, looking beyond the initiate at the door to the house. He clenched his fists a couple of times before looking back at the initiate.
"Don't question my instincts, you haven't earned that right yet."
Without another word, he stepped up to the door, opened it and went inside. The house was unfurnished except for a chair in the middle of the common room. On the chair sat a human, chained and dressed in a tattered robe. He looked as though he hadn't eaten for a week, and his face wore the marks of physical interrogation. Closing the door, the master walked up towards the chair, stray rays of light from the window illuminating his black and red armor as he walked. The prisoner seemed to shake as his tormentor closed in on him, a broken man who'd want nothing else but to collapse, if only the chains hadn't held him up. Squatting on the floor in front of the prisoner, the master touched his forehead gently, smiling at the broken man. "I don't think we've been introduced. You may call me Vandas. What's your name?"
The prisoner hesitated before stuttering forth a reply. "M-my name is... Wait... this is another one of your tricks, isn't it? Please just let me go, I've done nothing wrong!" His voice lost the fear near the end, and his expression becoming one of anger instead of despair.
Vandas, standing up again, kept smiling as he slowly walked in a circle around the chair. "I am not a trickster. You are the one playing tricks, but you've been allowed to for too long. Simply know that I saw through your charades from the start and you might as well drop it now. You're going to die. Why not die as yourself?"
The change in the prisoner was immediate, his posture turned to confident, as did his expression. "Pathetic. Oh how long I've kept you occupied, most esteemed Blood Knight. I'm no one, you will gain nothing of importance from me." He snarled at Vandas, a smug grin forming on his face.
Vandas stopped in front of the prisoner, gently taking his head in his hands, holding it up. "I know you hold no information. Information is available elsewhere, it doesn't interest me. Let others gather it." He smiled, like he was talking to an old friend. "I merely want to... understand."
His hands started to glow faintly, quickly increasing in intensity. The prisoner squirmed but could not pull his head free from his grasp. Vandas' fel green eyes flared as the glow reached its peak, the prisoner's own orbs rolling back as he let out a guttural scream. Sensations that were not his own swam inside Vandas' mind; visions, scents, sounds, tastes. Glimpses of a life. The life of a member of the Cult of the Damned. He saw the recruitment, the initiation, the rites of passage, the interaction with fellow cultists. He felt each moment, and for just that second he was one of them. The cultist had spoken the truth, he held no vital information, but he had something more valuable. He had motives, and the reason behind those motives, like all sentient beings. Vandas dug ever deeper, searching for something tangible, something that would explain it all.
Finally releasing the cultist, he let go of his head and stepped back. Once again he was unsatisfied. Each individual motive just creating more and more questions. He wondered if he'd ever find what he was looking for, if he'd ever truly understand. But he'd be lying to himself if he didn't admit that he enjoyed the searching. He stood for a while, watching the cultist's slumped body. His eyes were black and his mouth seemed frozen in his last scream. Vandas took a deep breath before turning around and walking outside to his waiting subordinate. The initiate approached him with a worried look on his face. Vandas closed the door. "He knew nothing. Burn the house, leave no trace of his foul taint on these lands." The initiate gave him a hasty bow and proceeded to carry out the command.
More will be incoming!
