Shadowy Interrogation
The night was deep and cold as Arden slipped through the shadows of the encampment. His destination was a secluded area on the outskirts, where the prisoners of war were held. He had unfinished business with the silver-haired light elf. Information could be extracted and Arden was determined to squeeze every last drop.
The makeshift prison was guarded by a pair of wary soldiers, but they stepped aside as soon as they recognized the approaching assassin. With a nod, Arden entered the dimly lit tent, where the light elf lay bound and bruised on a straw mat.
''Hello again, my luminous friend,'' Arden said in a mocking tone.
The elf glared at him, his blue eyes burning with defiance. ''You won't get anything from me.'' he spat, his voice weak but resolute.
Arden chuckled softly. He was in no hurry. He had a reputation for extracting information and planned to enjoy this particular task. He started to circle his prisoner slowly, like a predator stalking its prey. ''Oh, I think you underestimate my skills.'' the dark elf replied pulling a small, wicked-looking knife from his belt. He twirled it in his fingers, the blade catching the dim light of the lantern hanging overhead. ''But we can do this the hard way if you prefer.''
The light elf remained silent, just watching the blade in Arden's hand. ''Let's make a deal,'' Arden said as he slowly walked. ''You will speak and spit out everything I need like a good, righteous light elf you are and I won't enhance this blade with shadow magic before I happen to use it on you.''
The prisoner's eyes widened with fear. ''You wouldn't dare.''
''Oh, but I would,'' Arden replied smoothly. ''You know, that little trick would make your worst nightmares feel like pleasant dreams. Or you could just tell me what I want to know.''
''But we are kin.'' the light elf spoke, his voice trembling with fear. ''You wouldn't dare use such forbidden magic. It'll corrupt both of us. It is an inexcusable sin to the nature itself.''
Arden laughed. ''We are kin, huh?'' he said mockingly ''You weren't so lovable to me the last time I remember. What did you call me…hmm'' Bringing a finger to his chin, he pretended to think hard for a while. ''Ah yes. Wasn't it a filthy creature?''
The light elf swallowed a lump in his throat. ''Yes, that I called you. But even your kind wouldn't dare it and you know it. Such forces are not meant to be wielded by…''
Stopping in front of his prisoner, Arden leaned in to face him. ''I am starting to get bored of your desperate, meaningless banter, light elf,'' he said menacingly. ''I gave you a choice. You speak or I am planning to make it more enjoyable for myself.''
Despite the fear in the elf's eyes, he held his chin high and glared at the dark elf. ''You indeed are a filthy creature. Even for your own kind.''
Arden held the prisoner's chin hard and forced him to look into his eyes. ''Shall we begin then?''. Then he let him go rigorously and drew a think cut into his own palm with the knife. Shadow magic required blood from the caster. He gently squeezed some blood on the blade. It worked with the darkest intents of the caster. So there were no magic words to speak to cast it, only the darkest intent was enough and Arden had plenty of it. Black smoke covered
the blade immediately and the light elf looked away. Arden's sinister laugh could be heard even outside the tent. ''Oh, this is going to be so much fun,'' he said and thrusted the knife into the captive's thigh.
Outside, the camp was bustling with activity. Soldiers were preparing for the next day's march, sharpening weapons, and reinforcing defenses. The air was thick with the scent of wet earth and the sounds of men and women working tirelessly. Amidst the organized chaos, the sounds of the captive elf screaming tore the night in the whole encampment. Soldiers momentarily stopped to listen to the screams. The two soldiers guarding the war prisoner's tent glanced at each other, not knowing what to do.
General Ninloth was near the center of the camp, issuing orders to a group of scouts. He fell silent upon hearing the screams. The scouts were cluelessly looking around to see what was going on. Ninloth sighed. ''Alright boys, that's all. Leave at the first light.'' He dismissed the group of scouts and started to walk towards the tents where the war prisoners were held, following the screams.
He arrived to find the prisoner's tent surrounded by a group of soldiers, their faces pale and tense. Ninloth pushed through the crowd and entered the tent. Inside, he saw Arden standing over the light elf, who was bleeding and barely conscious. Black smoke was fuming from his wounds along with the leaking blood. The assassin looked up, a satisfied smirk on his face.
''I was just getting to the good part.'' he said casually, wiping the blood from the enhanced, smoky knife. ''But it seems we have company.''
General Ninloth's brown eyes flashed with anger. ''What have you done?'' he demanded. ''We need him alive and able to talk.'' He stared at the blade in the dark elf's hand which was seeping dark magic.
Arden shrugged, unbothered by his anger. ''He wasn't cooperating,'' he said ''I thought a little persuasion might help.
Ninloth stepped forward, his face a mask of fury. ''How dare you use your damned magic here. This is not how we do things. We need him sane and able to talk. Not tortured to insanity or butchered.''
The light elf's eyes fluttered open, and he looked at Ninloth with a mixture of pain and desperation. ''Please…'' he begged, barely able to talk ''...make it stop. You have to make it stop.''
Ninloth leaned closer ''If you want it to stop, you have to talk. Is your silence worth your life? Or worse worth this torture by dark magic?''
''Then kill me.'' The prisoner begged. ''Please, kill me.''
These words made Arden snicker. ''No, no, no. Absolutely not,'' he said mockingly ''You see? Not even the good general will save you from my wrath, or death.''
The elf coughed, blood staining his lips. ''We took the plans…'' he coughed again. ''...from the dwarf king. They…'' he groaned with pain holding his throat where blood mixed with dark smoke leaking.
Ninloth leaned closer and placed a hand on the captive elf's shoulder. ''Tell me more.'' he urged. ''How does this weapon work? What is this black powder? Speak and I promise you will be free of this torture.''
''The weapon… is called a… gun.'' the elf took a deep breath and tried to sit up. Ninloth helped him sit up. ''It is…a projectile weapon that…please can I have some water?''
Ninloth took his flask from his waist and held it to the elf's blood-stained lips. He drank as if his life depended on it. ''Come on. Tell us more.'' Ninloth pressed ''Then I will have a healer look at you.''
The elf nodded, his pain was evident in his blue eyes. He gave a scared look at Arden, who casually showed him the blade as a reminder of what he would endure upon meeting his gaze. ''It uses black powder to fire metal projectiles at high speed. It can pierce armor, flesh, anything. The dwarves have been developing it in secret and they offered us the plans as a gesture of goodwill for the alliance.''
Ninloth's mind raced with this new information. A weapon that could change the face of warfare. ''And what about this black powder? Where did they find it?''
''The black powder… I really don't know where they got it. I swear to the gods. Please… help me.''
''We will help you.'' Ninloth said ''But first we need to know… everything. So are the elves going to build this weapon to use against us?''
The light elf groaned again. ''I… no. The black powder… is a catalyst for destruction, unlike anything we have seen. Our council of elders deemed it to be an evil instrument that would bring destruction to the whole world. They were planning to discuss against using it with the dwarves. Please… this is all I know. I swear.''
''Thank you,'' Ninloth said as he stood up. ''You have been most helpful.'' Then he turned to Arden. ''Leave him to a healer and do not use that damned knife on him again. This is my last and only warning to you.''
Arden did not look like he cared about the general's threats at all. Undisturbed by his words, he casually shrugged and placed the knife back in its sheath. He stared behind the general as he left.
The light elf looked up at him, hope flickering in his eyes. ''Will you let me go?'' Arden's smile was chilling. ''No.''