Hunting a traitor
Nalokha grabbed the screaming girl by her hair and dragged her from the small cottage she had been hiding in. As she threw her from the stairs down onto the cold morning ground the warriors who had followed their mistress threw their torches onto the straw roof of the cottage. Nalokha leapt from the stairs and landed next to the girl, grabbing hold of her hair once more she dragged her a few more feet before releasing her grip. The red light from the buring cottage caused the dark runes on Nalokhas armour and mask to glow and as the warriors formed a cricle around both her and the crying girl she spoke. Her voice was as clear as a flowing river and as soft as the most gentle rain.
”Where is your husband?”
Nalokha looked down at the girl who cowerd before her, trembling with fear she shook her head in reply. The dark maiden smiled and took a step closer and asked teh same question a second time. When the answer was the same she nodded towards two of her men, they grabbed hold of the girl with their armoured gauntlets and dragged her to her feet. The girl screamed and begged them not to harm her, she did not know where her husband was. Nalokha walked up to the girl and grabbed her by her chin and as she raised the girls head and stared into her eyes she spoke once more:
”I can tell when someone is lying young lady and you, you are not telling me all you know.”
She tightend her grip around the girls face and her sharp nails begun to cut into her skin. Small lines of blood begun to run fron the cuts and became mixed with the tears that flowed from the girls eyes. The patience in her begun to drain and without warning she let go of the girls face and slapped her across it with all her stregth. Again and again she slapped the girl only to pause to ask the same question she begun with. But the girl stubbornly refused, be it of love for her man or for the fear that now truly resided within her. Nalokha took a few steps back and turned her back to the beaten girl, she reached out and took a spear ffrom one of the warriors forming the circle.
”Last chance, where is your husband!” her voice now filled with anger.
The girl raised her head slowly and looked at the powerful woman before her, the glow form the bruning house still shimmering around the womans body and with whats was left of her strength she parted her lips and spoke, words filled with contempt.
”He is long gone by now, you will never find him. It does not matter what yo do to me, he will triumph and you will be nothing more then a rotting corpse when he is done!”
Nalokha laughed heartly and the warrriors around them did the same. She turned around and walked up to the girl, still holding the spear in her hands. The warriors let go of the girl who tried her best to stand straight and hold her head high. All of a sudden Nalokha leapt forward and thrusted the spear straight through the womans chest, the girl gasped and grabbed the shaft of the spear with both her hands. Her eyes met that of Nalokhas and the burning flames that seemed to appear in them was the last thing she saw before she collapsed to the ground.
As the girl fell Nalokha lel go of the spear, she spoke with a clear voice to the warriors around her.
”Seek him out, he cannot have gone far! Bring him to me!”
The warriors gathered their things and hurried out into the fields around the small cottage, cutting down wheat and corn as they moved. They searched until the sun had rised from its slumber and cast its first warm glow upon the world. The day had come and the rising smoke of the burning cottage would be well seen thoughout the nearby lands. The warriors and their mistress departed, but not before cutting the head off the dead girl and impaling the body on a large pike. Placeing it before the remains of the cottage as a sign of warning to those who might follow.
