The wind howled across the desolate plain, but the tall warrior stood strong. It was wearing armour of a higher quality than any common foot soldier would be able to acquire. The sword, too, was of good quality. The warrior obviously knew how to handle it. This was quite clear to the soldier that was kneeling, trembling, on the ground before the warrior's feet. He had experienced the warrior's skill in swordsmanship first hand only a few moments before.
"I hear that you were among the soldiers King Cadeyrn sent with that explorer, to try and discover the mysteries of the West. I also hear that he discovered something, but refused to tell anyone. From what I've heard, he killed any of the soldiers who would tell the King. In fact, you are the only one who swore to keep it a secret. The explorer was executed by the King when he wouldn't reveal what he had discovered, but you escaped." The wind screamed at full fury, almost drowning out the warrior's words. But the voice was strong and commanding, and managed to carry over the hurricane.
"N-no," the soldier protested desperately. "Th-that wasn't m-me! I swear, I didn't have anything to d-do with it! You have the wrong man! P-please, spare me!"
The helmet prevented the soldier from seeing it, but the warrior smiled. A mocking smile, as if the warrior feared nothing and no one. The warrior was not swayed by the soldier's begging. If fact, it made the armoured figure contemptuous.
"As I thought. Too afraid to defend yourself. A coward in armour. Do you think that carrying a sword makes you brave? You may have seen a little battle, but you remain a coward. A coward, a betrayer, and a liar. And it makes me sick." The soldier cried out in fear, pleading for forgiveness. The warrior kicked him in the stomach, silencing him. "I'm not going to spare your life. You don't deserve to live. But I can think of some very nasty ways to kill you. Very nasty, and really quite creative. Some say that I have a gift. But I may be lenient and give you a quick and painless death, which you hardly deserve. But only if you tell me exactly what you found in the West. I want to know every detail, and if I think that you might have excluded something…. Well, I'm sure that I'll find some creative death for you."
The soldier began to sob in earnest. The warrior was completely right; he was a coward. "No! I'll tell you! Look, it was nothing worth seeking! Some small empire, mostly humans. There were some other creatures. Elves, dwarves, and some form of Doxralac. They called them Urgals, and they were hideous. Big creatures with horns. There were dragons, though not quite as many as there are here. A few other odds and ends here and there, but nothing worth seeking!"
"If that's true," the warrior hissed, "Why did the explorer go to such lengths to keep it from King Cadeyrn?" Obviously thinking that the soldier was lying, or at least withholding details, the warrior increased the pressure on the tip of the sword against the soldier's neck.
The tears ran down the soldier's face. "I swear, I don't know! Maybe the explorer found something, or knew something that I didn't! He just told us that we had to keep it from the King at all costs! Maybe he thought that King Cadeyrn would attack them in an attempt to take over! Please, have mercy, have mercy!"
The warrior stabbed the soldier through the neck. The soldier gasped, struggling to draw breath, before collapsing onto the ground. Blood began to form in a pool around him. The warrior glanced at the corpse contemptuously. After wiping the sword clean on the soldier's tunic, the warrior turned to face West, across the windswept plains.
The warrior removed the helmet as it stared across the plains. A long mane of red hair was released, swirling wildly around the warrior's head in the fearsome gale. The warrior's green eyes blazed fiercely. She sheathed her sword, still not taking her eyes off the Western horizon.
"Soon," she whispered to the wind. "Soon I will find you again, sister. I am getting closer. Whoever stole you may have thought it safe to hide you in that Western land. But I will find you. I swear it to the stars above."