Disclaimer and Acknowledgement: As in Chapter 1

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Chapter 13 – Debt Paid In Blood

"Look at me, murderer!" Zescaat spat and grabbed a handful of Aragorn’s hair, pulling the ranger to his feet. "I’m not going to let you die so easily," the man sneered. "I made a promise to my father to give you a painful death!" He withdrew his own dagger and twisted the blade in front of the ranger’s face. Light reflected off the smooth surface, blinding the ranger momentarily.

Aragorn moaned and swayed on his feet. The pain and blood loss was making him dizzy and it took all his will power to remain standing. Legolas tried to rise but was promptly pinned. Someone’s boot was lodged in between his shoulders, crushing him into the ground. The elf choked and struggled to breathe as air was pushed out of his lungs by the sudden pressure.

"Don’t worry elf," the words lingered as if they were a foul taste in his mouth, "you will be next. We just want you to watch your friend die first!" The man stamped down hard on the elf’s back again which made Legolas cry out loud.

Zescaat traced the blade across Aragorn’s chest, cutting into the thin fabric of his tunic and leaving a bloody trail in its wake. The tip of the dagger travelled along his collarbone and rested briefly on his right shoulder. The crazed man pushed the dagger into the ranger’s arm slowly embedding it deeply in the soft tissue, enjoying every moment of the cruel torture.

Aragorn held back the scream that threatened to make its way out of his throat but he was on the verge of losing control and his torturer managed to break him when he dragged the dagger down his arm towards the elbow, opening up a wide long gash. A mingle of insane laughter and heart-wrenching scream shattered the quiet of the morning.

Beside them, Legolas watched helplessly, his heart constricted in anguish and fear at his friend’s cries, making it even harder to breathe. Closing his eyes, the elven prince wept silently, praying to Ilúvatar for some miracles that would somehow save his friend from his impending death.

Aragorn felt rather than saw the warm blood flow down his arms and onto his wrists, eventually dripping off his fingertips. The blood soaked into the rope that was binding him making it slippery against his skin. Despite the pain, the man twisted his wrists, trying to slip his hands out of the restraints. The single thought that occupied his befuddled mind at the moment was to get his hands free. The villagers around him fell silent, shocked by the violent display. Someone was sobbing quietly but he couldn’t tell who. Tirnim and Zescaat were still spitting curses at him but he had shut them out, his mind focused entirely on the task at hand. He needed to free himself before his strength failed him. Gritting his teeth against the pain, he worked fervently on the bond, slowly slipping his hands out. Once lose, he swung his left arm out wildly at the two men in front of him, his fist connecting with Zescaat’s jaw with a crack.

The attack came as a complete surprise and the two men were caught unprepared. Zescaat stumbled backwards and fell off the platform but Tirnim held his ground.

Panting hard, Aragorn pressed down hard at his side trying to staunch the bleeding to no avail. Blood sipped out from between his fingers and the ranger felt the last of his strength slipping and the darkness started to creep in slowly from his peripheral vision.

A crooked smile materialized on Tirnim’s face as he watched the ranger stumble. "You can’t win, Strider." The man shoved the guard restraining Legolas aside and lifted the elf by his tunic.

The elf yelped at the rough treatment and was unable to suppress yet another groan.

"I will kill this one," Tirnim stated flatly, placing the dagger to Legolas’ throat and pressing it down hard against his neck. Blood trickled down his throat slowly as the blade bit deeper into the soft flesh. "And then I will kill you. But it doesn’t matter. You will both die today."

Aragorn fell to his knees and hung his head, silently admitting his defeat.

Turning to Legolas, Tirnim smiled wickedly. "Father would be proud of me."

Zescaat clambered back onto the platform, rubbing his bruised jaw. Hate gleamed in his eyes as he made his way over to Aragorn and kicked him hard in the stomach. The ranger curled up into a tight ball as the blinding pain engulfed him.

"This one’s mine!" he hollered and drag the human up by his hair, raising his dagger and aiming it directly at Aragorn’s heart.

*****

The two figures moved around inside the Chief’s hut whispering discreetly to each other. Medovir’s body was laid on a long table, a large piece of white cloth draped over it. When the news of the Chief’s murder and the arrest of the two stranger spread throughout the village, the two men were determined to find out the truth as none of them believed that an injured man was able to subdue their robust Chief. Now with the all the villagers gathered at the Square, it would leave them uninterrupted to perform their investigation and hopefully prove the innocence of Aragorn and Legolas before it was too late.

Deyron lifted the cloth to reveal Medovir’s body while Dergth sieved through the hut searching for any evidence that could provide some information to what really happened. The healer examined the multiple stab wounds on the Chief’s chest. The murderer had struck the Chief four times but none of the strikes were aimed at his heart. If the accused were indeed the murderer, he would most definitely aim for the heart for it would kill him quickly and eliminate the chances for the Chief to call out for help. The second clue that he found was that the murder weapon, presumably a dagger, had gone in straight and not slanted downwards as it should be if the victim were struck while standing. There were also no signs of struggle save for some bruising around Chief’s wrists. From the clues that he gathered, Deyron assumed that Medovir was stabbed in his sleep but why he had not called for help when the first struck fell was beyond him.

Deyron replaced the cloth and turned towards Dergth. "Have you found anything?" he asked quietly.

"Nothing. Just a lot of blood," the village advisor shrugged. He had never cared much for the Chief but his mysterious death troubled him immensely especially when two lives were at stake. "Maybe we should check outside."

Just after the words left his mouth, a shadow flashed pass outside alerting the two investigators. The men exchanged glances and them nodded, both knew what the other was thinking. Moving out of the hut quietly, they saw a female walking hastily towards the village’s abandoned well, a bundle of cloth clutched tightly in her hands. She looked around nervously making sure that she was not seen before heaving the heavy wooden lid off the well.

"What are you doing, Herbenna?" Dergth stepped out from his hiding place along with Deyron.

The woman yelped at the voice and dropped the bundle she was carrying. The roll of cloth fell and unfolded over the grass revealing a dagger and a bloodstained dress.

"So! It’s you!" Deyron shouted and rushed at the terrified woman. Herbenna screamed and kicked out wildly when Deyron pinned her hands at her sides, dragging her away from the well.

"Why did you do it?!" Dergth’s furious voice sent the woman into an insane laughter.

"Why? Why?!" She yelled at the bewildered man. "Because he could have saved my son but he didn’t!" The woman laughed and then cried, her eyes danced wildly with an unknown rage. "He would rather bend the rules for some complete strangers then for someone he knew all his life!!" Herbenna fell to her knees and lifted her head towards the sky. "Mama has avenged your death Baytar!!" she howled.

"Take her to the Square! Hurry!" Dergth said urgently while gathering the bloodied dress and murder weapon. "Maybe we can still save them!"

The men lifted the woman off the ground, each grabbing her by one arm and dragged the hysterical woman towards the Square as fast as they could.

*****

To Be Continued...