2nd to the Dark Lord (part 2)

My tear-filled eyes met his and I realized he too was crying. "No, son, it isn't your fault. I'm just an old fool looking to lash out at the world for what was taken from me. A youngster like you wouldn't have stood a chance here two years ago. And besides, you weren't after revenge like we were."

It was my turn to get angry. Instantly I was on my feet and my sword pointed dangerously close to the woodsman's face. "How dare you! The Dark Lord took everything from me. He murdered my family. His troops killed everyone I knew. He left me for dead with a reminder of my failure," I said pointing to the scar running down my face. "I devoted the last three years of my life to this! To revenge!" I kicked the metal helmet and listened to it clang down the otherwise silent hallway.

The fallen adventurer spared a moment to look at both his dead companions. "No, you weren't after revenge and deep down you know it. That's why you're so angry. Though consumed by anger you still sought justice, not revenge. True revenge doesn't wait. It must be had, taken, fulfilled immediately. It doesn't care for right or wrong. It is an all-consuming need, a will forced upon your own that urges you forth." He turned away and it was then that I finally saw it, hidden just behind his eyes - shame.

I shook, backing away. "What did you do?"

The other man just shook his head. "Terrible things best not spoken aloud." His head drooped and his eyes started to close. In a second they snapped open again. "Before I die, tell me, young master, what do you plan to do now that the quest is finished? What plans and hopes and dreams did you have had you gotten here a day earlier and killed the Dark Lord your way?"

Slowly, I lowered my sword and dropped to a knee. "Actually, I thought about going back to the village we met at near Kettorak's Bend. I don't know if you remember the musicians at the Golden Hawk Tavern." I lost myself in thought of the minstrel's middle daughter, the lyre plucked delicately in her hands as her voice filled the room while her midnight-black hair shone in the firelight.

The dying man smiled. "Isabel," he said and I felt my face redden at the mention of her name. "She didn't stop talking about you for three days after you left. The handsome traveler who picked her the loveliest bouquet of starlight roses."

I couldn't help but smile at the memory: stumbling nearly blind in the fields outside the village before the dawn broke for the elusive flowers that only reach full bloom just before the sunrise, and unless cut would also die on the stem once touched by the light.

The other man smiled as well. "Love. That's always a good thing to have waiting for you. Perhaps you could settle down with her there. Or perhaps she could accompany you on your travels." Then his smile faded. "I have nothing waiting for me now that I've had my revenge. This, putting a blade into that foul creature's heart was the only thing I wanted. There was only revenge, and now it's best I die."

I shook my head, fighting back tears. "No, it isn't too late. I'm sure I can get you to a healer in time. I might even have something in my pack that could slow the poison." I unslung my bag and pulled it open.

Before I could sort through my salves and antidotes, the other man lurched forward and grabbed my arm tight with the last of his strength. "Do not tell anyone what we did here. We are murderers, nothing more. We're not what the people deserve. They need a hero now more than ever. One that cares about their needs and wants and dreams. Even a dream as silly as a cape made of hawk feathers." His grip weakened and he fell over, never to move again.

I reached out a hand to close his eyes. Then I dragged him and his compatriots into the throne room, placing their bodies more or less at random spots as long as they weren't next to each other. Taking a polearm from the corpse of a guard, I hacked at their limbs, strewing the ones I could sever about the room. I'd solved a murder or two in my travels as well. I assumed the next person to walk in here will just see another group of fallen heroes, victims of the Dark Lord's army. I placed coins upon their eyes along with a prayer that Judgment be merciful, favoring the consequences of their actions over the manner which they chose to bring about the change they sought.

In the end, I left the castle and corpses behind. There was no parade or formal ceremony for me, as neither I nor the other group told anyone about what we were to do this day. Ruling a kingdom had never been a dream of mine. I just wanted to do exactly what I had been doing, traveling through major cities and forgotten villages and helping those in need. And, one day, bring another bouquet of starlight roses to the most beautiful lyrist I'd ever heard play. I just hoped it wouldn't take another three years to get there.

Inspired by the Reddit Writing Prompt (paraphrasing): You spend three years doing side quests but when you finally show up to the Dark Lord's castle you discover another adventuring party defeated him. I was interested in this prompt the moment I saw it about a month ago but it just took longer to write due to all the different drafts it went through. My original had the other adventurers dressed in the armor of the Dark Lord's guard so the main character mistakes them for traitorous guards instead of adventurers. Then I tried to write one that had the main character going through the whole crime scene and explaining how the other group snuck into the throne room and murdered everyone. Finally I decided to take all of that out and have the main character see what happened and confront the other group. Also, the original version included the main character going through the castle and killing all of the guards with items and weapons collected from his 3 years of traveling. But there's a word limit on Reddit (and this one already exceeds it that I needed to split it into two parts) so I figured I'd just cut that out. Sure, I could have added it into this blog post, but really, I'm already trying to write something else so I'm not going to do that.