Carol
Levi Cortez
Northwind

The blood slowly dripped off of the sores on Levi's wrists where he had tried to escape. As Tharn spoke Levi opened his eyes again, the sweat burning them. Even though he was freezing, the sweat dripped from his brow. 

*Damn.*

As Tharn dragged him up the wounds on his wrist opened further. He clenched his jaw together to stifle a scream and his eyes rolled back. The pain was overwhelming, but the darkness refused to take over his body. Levi snarled as he was thrown to the ground, and as the men around him smirked as they looked at him Levi swore a silent oath to murder them all. This was not how he was going to die. He stretched his back enough for the tired muscles to rest for a moment, before receiving a kick in the stomach. He coughed and spit blood and spittle onto the ground, before leaning against the cold snow. How he was still awake he didn't know. The biting cold kept his eyes from closing, dulling his pain but reigniting it every other moment. 

He heard movement from inside and he glanced up, not knowing what was coming.
Frankie
Tharn Skorn
Northwind

He had been careful to still keep Levi and Roryk far enough apart that they would be unable to hear each other's replies. Hopefully, this way, he could verify the information that each gave, and on top of that, they would sacrifice each other in order to save themselves. Unfortunately, one glance at Roryk and the wolfmen that had been interrogating him revealed that, although Roryk was a bloody pulp at this point, he hadn't folded under pressure like Levi.

Tharn's lip curled in disgust as he marched over to where Roryk was bound. He conferred briefly with the others, who confirmed the suspicion he had from the moment he entered the tent, and glared at them as he ordered them to leave. Absolutely incompetent! All of them!

"So," He said gruffly as the tent flap fell behind the last wolfman. "It seems you're more stubborn and loyal than your leader. He told us everything we wanted to know, and here you are fighting... What for? Do you really owe John de Burgh anything? If it's your leader you're trying to protect, well, you have nothing to fear there. He's safe and well. Much more comfortable than you, I might add, since he spoke up right away."

"Though I am curious," He continued, "How someone so strong-willed and courageous could be stuck playing second-fiddle to a man like that. I mean, how could you not be the leader? You were there, fighting alongside your men before he even roused from his sleep! I wonder... Do you really owe him anything? He's the one that got you into this mess, after all."
Carol
Roryk Strongham
Northwind

Roryk smiled. This pain was nothing. He had endured far worse as a child, and each beating only reminded him more of his past. Blood dripped down his forehead and he began to laugh. The intense, maddening cackling this man produced was more animal than man. 

"You do not know Leviticus." He said, looking back up at Tharn with a wide grin. "If he told you anything it was planned, methodically thought through in that brilliant mind of his. You think he didn't know you were going to attack that night? He knew you would be watching us." Roryk said, laughing maniacally again. 

"And you fell for it. You removed Levi away from his men. The only thing he didn't account for is me being here as well. Now his men will think he was dead, and I was going to replace him. But you went and fucked that up, didn't you." Roryk said, still laughing.
Frankie
Tharn Skorn
Northwind 

"Oh, so he's a deserter," Tharn replied with a nod, his brow furrowing slightly. "A coward running away from his duty and abandoning his men. Leading them to the slaughter, only to run away. A brilliant mind indeed." The last bit was said with more than a hint of sarcasm and contempt. 

He crouched down so that he was just about eye-level with Roryk, though his hulking form still seemed to loom over Roryk like a boulder about to roll down a mountainside and crush him.

"It's been my experience that men that run like dogs with their tails between their legs, die like dogs. Tell me... Would you like to return to your men?"
Carol
Roryk Strongham
Northwind

Roryk smiled. "How fascinating. You call him a coward, a deserter. But you do not know his true intentions. Your sense of loyalty is not one we share. You see, we are not soldiers, nor are we mercenaries. We do not even hold an official title holding us together. We are the vultures that come after battle to pick at the bodies, laughing as they lie there, gasping as they try to hold onto what little life they have left. But Leviticus goes even further than that. He likes to watch as they destroy themselves even before the battle. He enjoys picking the side that is closest to defeat." Roryk said, glancing up. 

"His role is the most important. Your feeble mind just doesn't comprehend his way of thinking. You believe there is only black or white, good or bad, bravery or cowardice, but you do not see half of what we do. Lesser men have tried, failed, and died to perform what we have." Roryk said, before closing his eyes again.
Frankie
Tharn Skorn
Northwind

Tharn simply couldn't understand Roryk's thought process. How could he defend someone that was going to abandon his men? Someone who was so disloyal? It filled him with so much contempt for both Roryk and Levi, but in the end, it was valuable information. One thing was clear: Roryk respected and adored Levi, and no matter how much he may talk of a different sense of loyalty, it was clear that he had at least some level of loyalty to Levi. Perhaps he could use that to his advantage. 

"Well, you have certainly chosen the losing side this time," He acknowledged as he rose to his feet. "There's no doubt of that."

He slowly paced around Roryk, like a wolf circling its prey, ready to pounce for the kill. Carefully calculating every word and every move. 

"Levi said John de Burgh left with 1000 men," He said, purposely giving the wrong figures. "Well equipped and travelling on horseback. Is this true?"