Benjamin Pierce didn't care for this sort of thing, but then the road to supremacy was rarely an easy one, was it? Surely this was something both he and this "Silver Witch" knew all too well. Great leaders had to make tough decisions and follow through with them, no matter how abhorrent those decisions might be. For instance, Benjamin didn't much enjoy reducing this faye to a sniveling mess, but then this was the price for information. Benjamin had come to accept this, but, so far, information had not been forthcoming. Three raiders, who Benjamin had paid to retrieve this particular faye, the unfortunate faye, tied into a chair, and Benjamin himself were in the cellar of a deserted farmhouse. Their business was of a more discrete nature, after all. The raiders let up on the poor creature, and Benjamin took this opportunity to try again. Benjamin leaned in to look directly into the faye's eyes, but the face was far too swollen. He frowned, cleared his throat carefully, and carried on.
"Come now, is your queen really worth this? I can tell you right now this isn't going to get any easier for you. I don't enjoy this, I know you certainly don't enjoy this, and neither do our friends here," he pleaded. That last part was a lie; he was fairly sure the raiders were enjoying themselves.
The faye stopped whimpering. Scoffing suddenly, he spit bloody spittle into Benjamin's face.
"Ahem, I can't say I didn't deserve that," he admitted, standing straight and wiping his face carefully with a handkerchief, "but this hardly changes things. Now, I've done my research, and I know for a fact that you know something regarding the location of your queen. We'll be at this until you tell us what you know, so spare us all time and yourself more pain and tell us what you know.. now." Benjamin leaned back in, keeping more of a distance this time.
The faye remained perfectly still, then drooped his head, whimpering slightly. Benjamin gave a dry smile; he had been broken at last. The faye sat perfectly still, his chin resting against his chest. Benjamin was just beginning to worry that he had passed out when suddenly he lifted his head and spoke. "The queen... the queen was last sighted just North of Nemeutia, o-one week ago, as far as I've heard. By now, she could be anywhere between Elroot and Nemeutia. Pl-Please that's all I know, I swear!"
Benjamin frowned. If this was really all the man knew, then the queen could be anywhere within a 100-mile radius. This wasn't terribly useful, but it was better then nothing. Benjamin believed the faye. This was all of the information he was going to get.
"Well, that wasn't so hard, was it? Now.. we're done here," he concluded. One of the raiders nodded and raised his mace behind the faye's head. Benjamin motioned for him to stop. "Hold it! Maybe a raider kills a man without looking him in the eyes, but I've a different way of doing things," he snapped. The raider frowned and lowered his mace slowly, a little disappointed. Benjamin drew his own dagger and leaned over the faye in the chair. "Listen, this wasn't easy for any us. You were tough, and I admire you for that... That makes what I have to do that much harder, eh? Unfortunately, I can't trust you to keep quiet about what's transpired here. I'm unpopular enough as it is," he explained. He did his best to speak gently, but the faye was getting visibly upset, wriggling to try and get loose of the ropes. Benjamin wanted him to calm down, but he realized, given the circumstances, that this was unlikely. It would be best for the faye to get this over with quickly. So he took a deep breath, embraced the faye to stop his squirming, and plunged the dagger into his chest. The death was quick. Benjamin held the embrace for a few moments, then withdrew quickly. He stood still awhile longer, silence out of respect for the dead faye. It really wasn't fair, after all. Finally, he turned to the raiders, wiping his bloody dagger with the handkerchief.
"So.. this whore is somewhere between Elroot and Nemeutia, eh? We'll bury our friend here, then we better get moving. We have a lot of ground to cover."