It took Dru around two hours to find the cave she'd been looking for. At least, that was her estimate.
Every tree seemed to hold a pair of eyes. Every wisp of wind seemed to hold harsh whispers. Her ears caught every rustle of a twig and she fought to keep down the panic that tried to rise whenever she was by herself like this.
She had never really had to face the truth of just how much she relied on Davamir these days.
"He is not here. I would not want him here now," She thought to herself, as she climbed her way up to the entrance of the cave.
She paused at the top, listening for movement within. The quiet sound of snoring deeper in caused her to raise her eyebrows. Either "The Ditch" had company, or he thought he was safe. She mentally crossed her fingers for the latter to be true.
Finally, she crawled her way to the entrance of the cave, nearly cat-like in posture. She listened, then slowly inched her head past the stone wall, eyeing the cave's interior.
There was but one bedroll. One person, and he lay sleeping within. She smiled slightly, sending out silent thanks for her good fortune as she pulled a cloth from her vest and sneaked over to the snoring figure on the ground. As she crouched over his body, his eyes opened and his snoring stuttered.
She wasted no time despite feeling as though her heart stopped and shoved the cloth over his face, particularly his nose and mouth. His eyelids fluttered and his eyes rolled back.
"Now to move you without removing the cloth," she thought out loud, shaking her head. She managed in a somewhat timely fashion, to get him tied securely and moved near the edge of the cliff outside the cave. Not too near, for she knew he could easily use that to his own advantage. But near enough for her purpose.
When he came to, his eyes took a moment refocusing. They were a startling blue.
He grinned up at her, despite the tensing she saw in his neck as he understood his predicament.
"My my...I must be dreaming still, to awaken to such a beautiful flower before me," he said lightly, while acting as though he were smelling the air. He did not have the simple drawl of a poor misguided Bree lad turned Brigand. Then again, she already knew to expect this.
"No games. I have not the patience for games tonight. Tell me what you know of the Bloodhound, and his dealings with the merchant. I want to know where the main encampment is." Her tone was cold, while her gaze beneath her hood remained colder.
The man shook his head with a fake sorrow in his expression. "Aw, a pity. I am in the mood for games, and I hear you are particularly fun." His words turned menacing as he leaned forward, still smiling. His eyes glinted in the moonlight and something told her he wasn't speaking to someone he did not know anything about.
Still, she would give no way in. She would hold all her cards closely.
"Hush! While you may have said such things to the lasses you victimized before, I am certain even a mindless monster such as yourself knows when you are bested. Tell me what you know, and I shall end you quickly. Otherwise, I will relish causing you to suffer," she said, her voice turning to a hiss in the end. "I cannot allow you to live after you have terrorized and killed so many young lasses, but I can allow easy passing."
The Ditch raised his brow and sat up, his very posture mocking her.
"Oho? What will you do, little Shadow? Drive a scalpel through each wrist?" Dru flinched as if punched in the gut and turned her widened eyes to him.
He grinned up at her, his abnormally white teeth catching the moonlight. "What? You think you hear all about people "like me", but we know nothing of YOU? The noblewoman everyone wants. Either for the coinpurse, or for the bedsheets." She clenched her hands at his words, turning away to get a grip on herself as she began to shake.
She could still feel the bugs crawling beneath her skin.. she could feel the blades piercing her wrists.
"They call you "The Blue Shadow", you know. So menacing. So ominous and mysterious. Hard as the edge of a blade," he sneered. Dru turned back toward him, her eyes holding fire. Her hand shot out and she clamped it around his neck.
He coughed a chuckle. "Seems your grip is back, "Shadow"."
"Tell me what I want to hear. Now."
He shrugged and she loosened her grip so he could speak. He smirked.
"You can be such a tunnel-visioned fool. You are looking in the entirely wrong area. You'd have been better off staying in Bree-land." He laughed and shook his head. "I won't say anything more though. It will be far more fun watching you lose your mind, searching. Like your Scarecrow did."
She closed her eyes and straightened herself, forcing herself to breathe slowly and deeply. She could not begin shaking. She could not let her mind recall the days of capture. Knowing it was her fault Kakeraen could not find peace for so long.
"Enough of this." She paused, noticing her voice quivered slightly. She looked down at him with a hard gaze. "What part of Bree-land?"
He rolled his eyes. "Come now, there are only so many places one could hide such an encampment. You made it this far. What fun would it be giving you the answer?" He grinned wider as he watched her grow impatient.
"Aw, what is it? Are you worried that they will take your little noble lad and poison him too? Rip out most of his cheek with a fish hook maybe?" She lifted a hand to her head as the memories flooded in and she shook her head rapidly.
"Enough," she said, trying to sound firm despite the shaking.
"That they would take him, hide him while you searched for him? Plant in him the feeling of bugs 'neath the skin?"
"Enough!" She shouted, turning toward him both frantic and furious.
"That when you find him next...he will not be the same lad you knew before. He will be a-.." He did not manage to finish that sentence. He was suddenly flung off the edge of the cliff.
There was not enough time for him to scream, only gasp. Yet as Dru watched him fall in shock, it seemed he smiled at her.
She crawled back near the entrance of the cave and sat back against the wall, shaking and holding herself tightly in a ball as it all washed over her.
She'd lost control and did not get near the amount of information she'd hoped. She killed the man because she could not handle the unwelcome thoughts and memories he was bringing out.
Now, the memories looped in her mind, causing her to whimper and clutch her head. They were now coupled with the loud crunch of a body below.
