Untying Loose Ends

[Desmond(#19982)] Since the Keep has been retaken by the Wulf, the men of Desmond and Bledran have been very busy restoring Redvyrne to its former glory. Bodies have been disposed of, watches and patrols set about the perimeter of the area and most tedious of all trying to remove the many blood stains decorating the stone keep. As befitting the rooms status, the Grand Hall was the first to be cleaned and repaired. Though remnants of the occasional stain can still be seen, much of the blood that was once visible here has been scrubbed away by many hours of work with brush and hand.

It is here that the Fian Desmond has chosen to spend most of his time since taking the castle. All of the candles in the brass sconces of the rooms have been replaced with fresh, in this room with no natural light and thus the light flickers constantly with the breezes that travel through the Keep. Today, the lord of Wulf stands and leans against the Ceann\'s chair as several guards enter the room through the large oak doors carrying the young Jadiran. The man has received no beatings but has not been fed much else other than bread and water. Clearly caring little for the level of comfort which the man enjoys, he still remains bound hand and foot behind his back. Watching the guards and the captive enter, the Fian gives a wave of his hand to put him down before the table. Standing upon the raised dias, Desmond looks down upon Jadiran as the captive is tossed by the guards onto the floor.

\"Leave us.\" A nod being given to each guard in turn. Turning on their heels, each man of Wulf then makes their course for the outside hall. The doors shutting firmly behind them, the Fian speaks, \"I trust you are well?\"

Jadiran Dunhallow has likely never been more furious in his life. When he\'s so carelessly tossed to the floor he doesn\'t land gently, bound as he is, and grunts in pain. It\'s a moment before he responds, but when he manages to uncomfortably twist up to a somewhat sitting position his green eyes are filled with rage. \"You left me tied up out in the Kiern-damned cold for -hours- you bloody bastard! How do you -think- I am, you rank, fen-sucked lout?!\"

The young son of Mainchin has always had a mouth, but he\'s very fired up now. His tight brown curls are matted and his face is flushed, and he\'s bearing more than a bit of rope burn from failed attempts to wriggle free of his bonds.

[Desmond(#19982)] As the young song of Mainchin speaks, the Fian frowns. \"Your weaker than I thought if your complaining that much over a few hours in the snow.\" Shaking his head Desmond then says, \"Need I remind you that it was you who put yourself there in the first place?\" Grimacing slightly at the pain in his right shoulder and arm from the spiked mace he received there earlier in the day, the Fian speaks again, \"Truthfully, I should have you put to death for disobeying a direct order. But I can\'t help but wonder what caused you to turn the coward. You were brave enough to go in once, why not again? Something must have terrified you so much so that you lost your spine? Tell me what happend and please keep your cursing at me to a minimum. You are trying to convince me I should let you live.\"

Running a hand down the side of the Ceann\'s chair he then adds. \"Plus its never a good idea to be on the bad side of the soon to be Ceann of your Clan.\"

\"You\'re not Ceann yet, and you better hope that my father forgives you after I tell him about this.\" Jadiran threatens in an angry tone. \"I risked my life to go in alone, and you repay me by tying me up and leaving me to freeze to death! Do you think you\'ll gain any support that way?!\"

The young man lets out a heavy breath, \"I told you why I didn\'t want to go back in. They knew I betrayed them and I would have had a target the size of Redvyrne on my back! And you keep forgetting, I\'m an archer! What business do I have sneaking in on an assault?\"

[Desmond(#19982)] \"Tell him what? How you were punished for disobeying the orders of the man he left you to serve under? Yes I\'m certain that he will be very upset hearing of his delinquent son being punished for his crimes. Although he will not be upset with me. My bet is that he will be upset with the one who keeps losing his family honour. A certain skirt chaser known as Jadiran.\" The Fian now grins broadly as he speaks. Waving his hand through the air once more however, he makes to speak again.

\"Though it is possible that this tale will not reach your father\'s ears boy. I am not an unreasonable man. Tell me the truth.\" A flat glance is now given to the tied up young man, as Desmond moves to stand behind the Ceann\'s chair and lean forward against it.

\"You were brave enough to go in by /yourself/ and yet when the prospect of returning with eleven other men at your back, you lost your nerve. Why?\"

\"Yes you are an archer. An archer who had been through Redvyrne recently and seen the enemies\' positioning. Thats why you were needed. No man of Wulf had set foot in the Keep since it had been taken, save you. And it would have been of great help. If you had been with us the take over would have run much more smoothly. Instead we had to wander the halls trying to find a way up to the gatehouse.\"

Jadiran chews on Desmond\'s words in silence, and perhaps the Fian has touched upon a weighty bluff from the younger man. Maybe Jade has no idea how his father will respond. Some of his anger seems to cool and he quietly glares down at the floor. \"Untie me.\" He demands in a more controlled tone of voice.

[Desmond(#19982)] The candles flicker now in the Grand Hall as Desmond descends the dias towards Jadiran. The large hunting dagger quickly sliding into his hands from his belt, the Fian moves behind the younger man and takes a moment to saw threw the thick ropes binding the man up. Once his blade has eaten through them, he steps back and walks back to the dias.

\"So are you going to start talking, or shall I have you stuck in a real cell this time? I hear the rats are lovely this time of year. They get so hungry they\'ll risk their lives to try biting off your flesh while you sleep. Can\'t make for very good dreams though. Knowing that a huge rat might be nawing on your bones like that...\"

Jadiran shows a wary nervousness as the larger man approaches him with the knife, but his tenseness eases as Desmond cuts through the ropes. The archer can\'t restrain the gasps pain as abused muscles protest the sudden movement of freedom.

He takes a few moments to gingerly massage his wrists, wincing as he touches places where his skin is rubbed raw to the point of bleeding. Then the young man of sixteen carefully pushes back his dirty, tangled curls and attempts a slightly more distinguished appearance. No effort is yet made to stand up.

\"You have some gratitude.. you know that?\" Jade\'s voice is sarcastic again, but he keeps his temper in check. \"I can\'t .. It was a matter of honor. Okay? I can\'t tell you anything else.\"

[Desmond(#19982)] As Jadiran begins to speak to him, the Fian frowns once more. \"Your right I do have some gratitude. Normally I leave men who disobey me in a pool of their own blood. But the rescuing of the hostages has allowed you to keep your life. For /now/.\" Desmond now yawns as he gazes into candle light illuminating the chamber.

\"It is honourable to serve your Fians and your Ceann, boy. I am offering you a clean slate, if you come clean with me and tell me the truth. What happend here that scared you so?\"

Sighing now, the Fian then says, \"Of course. You could choose not to answer me. But I warn you. There are things much worse than death that will await you shortly should you choose not to co-operate.\"

\"Nothing -scared- me, other than the fact that sneaking back into a keep full of enemies that knows you\'re an infiltrator is completely stupid.\" Jadiran argues, starting to grow angry again. He reaches to push himself up from the floor, but his muscles are still recovering and it\'s a gasping, sloppy procedure. When he\'s finally on his feet his green eyes fail to meet Desmond\'s as he speaks, \"I didn\'t want to face Baodan again, okay? Will that satisfy you?\"

The words are a complete contradiction to his claim that he wasn\'t afraid, and doesn\'t ring heavily of truth. Though, half of what Jade tends to say is littered with falsehoods on any given day.

[Desmond(#19982)] \"Look me in the eye when you speak to me boy. And stop lying. I\'m sure human tongue is quite a delicacy amongst the new pigs in the court yard. Whether they receive such a treat is up to you. Now speak.\"

The Fian has now crossed his arms beside the throne of Wulf and is leaning against it again with his unwounded shoulder.

\"Yeah, I\'m sure you know all about what the pigs like and don\'t like..\" Jadiran mutters, and seems to take a long time deciding on what to say. \"Someone in the keep helped me, because they weren\'t happy about the hostages being taken. I wasn\'t overly keen on coming back and being part of the group that was coming to kill them all.\" He meets Desmond\'s gaze this time, anger in his tone. \"I gave my -word- that I wouldn\'t tell anyone, as a matter of honor to the Bear that helped me.\" He lets that statement sit between them.

[Desmond(#19982)] The man of Wulf now lets out a long sigh. \"Very well. I will not request who this was as those who died with honour must be respected. This person did die correct?\"

Moving on from the question he then asks, \"And this was it? Your not leaving anything out?\" His unwounded hand then twitches without thinking to his dagger for a moment before it recoils.....for now.

\"I don\'t know. I would assume, since the amount of blood I saw on the stones outside implies that no one survived.\" Jadiran answers. \"Would you want to go back in with an army to kill a person that helped you rescue the hostages?\" He asks, watching the Fian closely for a long moment. \"Maybe -you- would.\"

\"I\'m going to go find Bledrann and hear his tale of glory.\" The archer declares after the span of a breath, and turns to head for the door. \"And I want my boots back.\"

[Desmond(#19982)] \"We are finished for now, boy. But I have men posted at /all/ of the entrances and exits. Even the hidden ones. You are hereby granted free movement /within/ the Keep until I decide what to do with you. You will be issued new boots. Courtesy of your fair Fian.\"

Looking now over to the table before them he speaks, \"Look upon this table Jadiran. If you play your cards correctly, you will one day sit at it.\" Silence now engulfs the man and he dismisses the lad with a brief wave. His eyes now locked upon the flickering flames of the chamber. \"The little flames must form together into a roaring fire or be blown out by all that fights against it. Darkness is upon us. Will Wulf be able stand?\" The man speaks this words now to himself rather than the exiting Jadiran.

Jadiran would have preferred the one\'s he -had- but doesn\'t argue the point. His shoulders stiffen at the restrictions that Desmond is putting on him and he shoots the Fian a glare, but says nothing. The table is given a glance upon it\'s mention, and then the archer is awkwardly pulling the door open with fumbling fingers and faintly limping his way out of the room.