Executioner

Matthias felt the blood freeze in his veins and dread pool in his stomach, tearing at his insides from Torleif's words. His heart beat almost painfully in his chest and he wondered if he would be sick. He knew there was nothing that could be said that would convince the two war veterans to let the enemy commander live. Still his mind was trying and failing to come up with a solution that would allow Lukas to live.

"Are you feeling alright?" The sudden question made Matthias snap out of his thoughts. He looked up to meet the worried blue-green gaze that belonged to Berwald who had placed a comforting hand on his uninjured arm. ¨

Matthias nodded weakly in response to the question, hoping that Berwald would not push the matter any further. Thankfully the smith had no desire to stay anywhere near the prisoner and headed towards the tent flap to wait outside as he had earlier.

Brynjar was openly enjoying himself, probably hoping to get the honors of beheading the prisoner with his own two hands, judging from the vicious smirk that graced his lips. He unsheathed a small knife and moved in to cut the ropes that held up the commander. The moment the first rope gave away, the prisoner swayed over to hang painfully from one arm from the remaining rope tied to the other pole. Brynjar cut the second rope and the prisoner landed in a heap on the cold ground when his legs failed to support his weight.

Lukas struggled to get up on his hands and knees but a swift kick to the gut from Brynjar put him back down, wheezing for breath and curling up in a ball to protect his vital organs. Brynjar used his foot to roll the commander over on his back and then carefully stepped on the arrows shaft still imbedded in his thigh. Then he steadily put more weight on his foot to push it further into the flesh until Lukas let out a strangled groan of pain that made Brynjar laugh triumphantly.

"That's enough!" Torleif commanded harshly as he pulled back the enraged veteran from the prisoner, fingers clutching hard onto Brynjar's wrist. "Let us just take him outside and get this over with, no need to drag it out." Torleif's eyes shifted between the prisoner and his two most trusted men, betraying how uneasy he truly was with the whole situation.

That is when Lukas apparently saw a chance. With a speed that none would have thought possible for someone in his condition, he shot up and forward.

Before Matthias had time to react, the short yet surprisingly strong commander had knocked him over and straddled him. He had no time to do anything further either before both Torleif and Brynjar were roaring in shock and horror and went for the commander in order to get him off. This time Torleif did nothing to interfere when the prisoner was back on the ground and Brynjar stepped on the commander's throat to keep him down.

They could all see one of the prisoners hands tightly held together in a fist laying over his stomach. Brynjar moved his foot to step down on the arm with the fist. "What it is you have there?" he demanded angrily.

"It is mine," the prisoner hissed back through clenched teeth. "That boy stole it from me" He jerked his head in Matthias' direction.

"What?" Matthias only barely managed to choke out.

Brynjar bent down and pried the prisoners fingers open. "Well, you won't need that where you are going" he remarked coldly and held up his prize.

Matthias hands immediately to his pockets by instinct when he saw what Brynjar was holding up, but found they were empty. From the veteran's fingers swung the chain holding the very same garnet crystal that had kept Matthias from dying on the battlefield. In the confusion, Lukas had managed to take it from his pocket.

"Such a pretty little thing" Brynjar said smugly and glanced down at the prisoner to receive a cold glare in return. He swung the pendant gently from side to side, admiring the red shine the dim light in the room coaxed from it. He then turned to Matthias, "Where did you find this? I'm pretty sure Torleif and I took everything that could be of use or of value when we searched him earlier."

"I…" Matthias had to think for a moment before he was able to come with a plausible answer and hoped his voice would not betray him in a lie. "It was hidden in a concealed pocket." He gestured towards the pile of clothing tossed haphazardly in a corner. The light plate mail and the leather armor. "Found it by coincidence just going through his belongings for myself."

"I think I'd like to hold on to this" Brynjar smirked. He gazed at the crystal as if it was mesmerizing him and then put the chain over his head and tucked it away under his shirt.

Matthias noticed a faint smirk playing around the commander's lips when the crystal disappeared under the folds of cloth but he chose to stay silent about it. However, in the back of his mind, he kept wondering what Lukas had just planned, knowing that there had to be some hidden cause for his actions. Some part of him suspected he might not want to know exactly what that plan was.

Torleif muttered a few vague curses under his breath as he stepped forward and pushed Brynjar aside. With a piece of rope, he tied the prisoner's hands together before he hauled him up to his feet and showed him in the back to make him walk towards the tend flap. Brynjar's sword made a quiet swish as he drew it and made a point to push it against the commander's back to silently tell him that he would not hesitate to use it should the prisoner attempt at anything again.

Matthias ran a hand through his hair and let out a breath he didn't know he had been holding before he followed in the tracks of the two veterans.

Matthias was grateful for the frigid winter air that hit him in the face the moment he stepped outside the tent and helped clearing his head. It was first then that he realized how bad the air inside had been, reeking of blood and sweat. Berwald was beside him in moments, matching pace with him as their group moved between the tents, concern still clear in his eyes. Apparently, he was taking Eir's orders to heart in making sure Matthias returned to the healer's care with no further damage.

The prisoner stumbled and limped forward, shivering from the cold, wearing only the thin shirt nobody had bothered to take away during the interrogation. Brynjar was making a show of nudging his back with the sharp blade, pushing him forward. It only took a few minutes before people noticed them walking in direction of the battlefield. They started yelling and even more people gathered to follow them. Some were screaming insults and pointing weapons towards the beaten commander. Others ran ahead, declaring that an execution would soon take place.

On the open area between the camp and the battlefield, most of the surviving rebels not busy with critical tasks had already gathered in a half circle just waiting for the company to arrive. A chopping block had been set up in the middle, ready for the big event.

Brynjar put a hand on the prisoner's shoulder and once they were right next to the block, he kicked him behind the knee to force him down before it.

Torleif marched back and forth before his people with his arms up to gain the attention of everybody. "I believe you all know why we are here," he roared loudly and almost immediately all remaining chatter died out. "Yesterday we caught one of the king's commanders, a freak of nature no less, capable of wielding magic." He gestured towards the prisoner and the crowd booed loudly, shaking fists and demanding blood.

"Today he will pay for his crimes he has committed on behalf of the king. For the lives he has cut short and the suffering caused, for the women and children left without husbands, fathers and homes." The crowd cheered loudly and stomped their feet so hard the ground shook below them. Torleif clapped his hands to make the rebels quiet down a bit before he continued. "This will be a message for the king. First we take down his armies, then his loyal servants and one day soon we will get him and have him answer in person."

Matthias was standing next to Berwald in the very first line of spectators where they had a full view of the open space and the chopping block. He was fighting back every instinct that told him to jump in between the prisoner and Brynjar to make the madness stop. His hands curled into fist by his side and the taste of blood in his mouth made him aware that he had bitten down on his own tongue trying to keep a relatively calm exterior as Torleif held his speech to rile up the crowd.

Brynjar seemed almost crazy where he stood in front of everybody, grinning viciously as he swung his sword back and forth as if testing the balance even if he had owned the blade for years and used it one several occasions. He aimed the point towards the ground beside the prisoner and lazily leaned against it. "Any last words?" he asked mockingly, voice sounding sickeningly sweet as they left his tongue.

The commander straightened his back and slowly let his gaze roam over the gathered rebels. His eyes locked with Matthias' for just a moment, sending a shiver down his back before he turned a piercing stare directly at Brynjar. "The king will avenge his men," the commander said firmly, loud enough for the closest rows of people to hear. He never let his gaze falter even when Brynjar snarled angrily at him in warning. "He will not rest before all your heads are on pikes outside his castle" The commander spat. "It will remain there as a warning to all those who wish to oppose him, until the day that only bleached bones are all that is left of your little rebellion."

"You're awfully confident for somebody about to lose their head" Brynjar said coldly and leaned down to get on eye level with the prisoner. The crowd was deadly silent; the words seemed to have entranced them all.

It was almost painfully clear for Matthias now that whatever plan it was that Lukas had, it was about to be set in motion. He was about to step forward and interfere, but froze in his tracks, realizing he didn't know what to say or do or if he even wanted to stop him at all.

The commander smirked unnervingly and there was a mocking glint in his eyes. "This is no the day I die" he stated firmly and pointed his tied up hands towards Brynjar. His eyes began glowing and there was blue mist curling around his fingertips.

Brynjar stepped backwards in surprise and fear, cursing loudly. His fingers grasped around the hilt of his sword and he pointed it towards the prisoner. The crowd let out a shared gasp in concern, some of the more skittish people were stepping backwards, trying to push their way backwards through the crowd to get further away. Torleif whirled in his spot to see what was going on.

The commander curled the fingers on one of his hands together in a fist. Brynjar's eyes went wide in surprise and his sword clattered to the ground as the veteran let go so he could claw at his throat, seemingly trying to tear open his shirt and gasped for breath. His mouth opened and closed as if he was a fish on dry and not a sound came out.

Lukas was quick as a snake, getting on his feet and jumping at the sword on the ground to slash over the bonds. Torleif rushed forward with his own blade but hesitated when the commander had gotten back up and pointed the stolen blade in his direction. Some of the rebels had drawn their own weapons, but none dared to step any closer.

"Take one more step and I will kill the both of you." The commander hissed quietly. In one hand, he held the blade trained at the rebel leader and the other pointed towards Brynjar who was standing completely still, hands at his throat and letting out strangled wheezing, his face slowly turning blue from the lack of air.

Matthias was about to run up himself but felt Berwald hold him back by the cloak and hissing quietly in his ear. "You have no way of defending yourself, you will be killed."

Right now, the prisoner was purely the king's commander. There was no evidence left of Lukas, the young forest creature that had lost his brother and been tricked into serving a cruel king, all that remained was a coldhearted commander willing to slay anything that stood in his path. The blue shine in his eyes turned into an angry red glow and the mist from his fingertips swirled towards Brynjar.

The veteran fell to his knees, wheezing desperately. "It burns!" he choked out, still trying to tear open his shirt.

The commander opened his fist and moved it to pull out the arrow shaft imbedded in his thigh. Matthias's mouth fell open as he saw the flesh knit itself together under the torn fabric to leave only a thin white scar behind.

Torleif finally overcame his fear and kicked into action. With a desperate roar, he threw himself at the commander, swinging his sword. Metal struck metal and sparks flew as the blow was easily blocked. The commander spun around and sent out a kick, obviously aided by the power of magic sent the much larger man flying backwards and crashing into the dirt, sending up a cloud of dust upon landing.

Suddenly lighting cracked above them from clear skies, striking right next to the chopping block. The crowd screamed in panic, scrambling away from the scene, many of them dropping their weapons and sprinting away to save their own lives. A thick cloud of smoke rose from the ground where it struck, slowly cloaking the entire area in a thick black blanket.

Matthias loosened the straps to his cloak so he could shrug out of the fabric and get away from Berwald's grip and ran into the smoke. He couldn't see a thing and his lungs and eyes burned in protest, but he still headed in the direction where he had last seen Brynjar and the commander stand. The rebels were still yelling and screaming, but he ignored it and pushed forward.

That was until his feet caught on something on solid and he almost lost balance, but before he could fall, an arm snaked around his neck and kept him upright. There was warm breath tickling his ear and sending a shiver down Matthias' spine. "For all it's worth, I'm sorry it had to play out this way." Lukas voice was calm and quiet, meant for his ears alone to hear. "You have done well so far, do no give in now."

Then the arm around Matthias' neck was gone and when he turned, Lukas was already gone and the smoke was starting to clear up.

A low gurgle drew his attention to the figure on the ground. Brynjar was still alive and Matthias quickly knelt down beside him, trying to figure out what to do. Torleif was beside him a few seconds later, face contorted in panic and concern when he saw the state of his closest friend. "He's not dead, is he?" He asked, voice coming out almost close to breaking. "We have to save him."

Matthias unclasped Brynjar's heavy cloak and tore open his shirt to reveal severely burned skin and several bleeding cuts. Beside him, Torleif gasped in horror at the sight. Brynjar's entire chest had turned an angry red color and blisters had popped up and were oozing a dark yellow liquid that smelled so bad Matthias could feel his eyes watering. Then he noticed the pendant still hanging around the veteran's neck. The garnet crystal had melted into the skin on his chest, the blood veins located around it had turned completely black and the infection seemed to spread further for each passing second.

"Somebody get some help!" Torleif screamed towards the crowd. "Get Eir, right now." He crouched down and pulled Brynjar's head into his lap, cradling the man as one would a small child. "Hold on friend" he whispered, "the healer will be here soon."

Brynjar only coughed in return and spat out a mouthful of blood in the process. A single tear made its way down the man's cheek and then his eyes clouded over as he drew a final gurgling breath.

"No!" Torleif was staring down in disbelief for several moments before he finally realized what had happened and started shaking Brynjar's shoulders. "You can't die now, we were finally getting results. We are not done yet."

"There is nothing more we can do for him now" Matthias whispered quietly and put a hand on Torleif's arm in comfort. He was trying to fight back a wave of nausea as thoughts began spinning around his head wondering if he was to blame for what had just happened. He had realized the commander had been up to something and had done nothing to stop it. Just because he could not bear the thought of something happening to Lukas. The crystal that had saved his life were now the same thing that had taken Brynjar's away right before their eyes. The veteran had not been kind, but nobody deserved a death like that.

"How do we move on from here?" Torleif whispered quietly, still cradling Brynjar's head in hands. "We thought we had everything under control and you saw what happened. That thing…" he spat out the words "he murdered Brynjar and now he's probably headed right for the king's to give him news of what have happened."

The rebels that had not fled in the commotion were standing around them. Staring at the dead veteran on the ground. Some of them remained completely silent while others wept openly, all of them afraid.

Matthias looked down at his shaking hands and wanted to throw up.

They were drenched in blackened blood.