"The Risks" (Ledgic/Zech)

“The Risks”

Duskwood had always been a forest of death; it had never allowed even a single breath of life. The nature had become corrupted and disfigured, the very woodland that covered the surface of the ground was twisted beyond repair. The Caan clan had been an embodiment of that twisted nature, even before the land had changed. It was fitting that just as the land had died, so to had the clan, all that remained was the shells.

A snake slithered through the undergrowth in a panic at the sound of twigs breaking beneath the tired footsteps of Ledgic Caan, as he made his way into the open, appearing on the outskirts of the Caan village. His eyes took in what they could in the dark, the charred remains of the few buildings that had stood the test of time until he had arrived one night with fire in hand.

He grunted quietly and began to walk across the ash of his childhood home, and the bodies of those that he had bitterly hated. He jumped a little to get the two bodies he carried on his shoulders into a comfortable position again, a routine that was slowly becoming second nature. He slowly came to a halt at the edge of a large hole at the back of the village. For a moment he simply peered down, looking at the bodies that were slowly piling up in the depths of the hole he had dug weeks before, but it wasn’t long before he tossed the bodies from his shoulders, sending them plummeting down to the join the dead of their family.

He roughly struck his leather armour with a match and brought the flame to a cigarette that sat between his lips. He inhaled on the cigarette as he flicked the match into the hole, smirking ever so slightly as he exhaled a thin cloud of smoke. It had been weeks since the Hawthorns had captured him, and the only way he could satisfy himself was the revenge he had been taking for almost as many weeks now.

He knew that he was slowly twisting into a shape found only in the village he was stood in, but the more he continued down the path, the less he seemed to care. He knew that he would have to drop all restraints to kill Landrus Hawthorn and that he would need to become stronger.

He closed his eyes as he exhaled smoke through his nostrils and thought back to the nights spent in the dungeon of Kariandra Hawthorn, the torture that he had experienced at the hands of Landrus. He had come as close to dying on that rack than ever before, and something had been stolen from him.

‘I wondered ‘ow long it’d take befer ye showed up ‘ere’

Ledgic slowly looked over his shoulder at the sound of a familiar voice, he didn’t linger long, and quickly turned back to peer into the hole.

Zech stopped beside him and peered into the large grave, taking note of the extra corpses that Ledgic had added tonight. ‘I came ‘ere a couple o’ days ago n’ found this… figured there were only one person t’wait fer. Th’feck are ye doin’ Ledgic?’

Ledgic didn’t reply and allowed the sounds of the cursed wildlife to fill the air as he took one last pull on his cigarette. Zech peered at him as he tossed the cigarette end into the grave with a strength you’d expect of someone throwing a blade.
It was clear enough that Ledgic was troubled, as far as Zech was concerned, Ledgic had and probably always would be troubled. The difference between that constant feeling of loss and the man that stood before him now was the anger. When Ledgic lost his temper, he would throw any and all anger he had at the person that had caused the emotional response… and now Ledgic could not reach the person that had caused this anger.

So he was taking it out on the people that could bring that man out of hiding.

‘Do ye really think tha’ Landrus is goin’ t’give two shits about ye killin’ these folk? They ain’ even th’awthorns from Westfall’ he said quietly as he turned to look into the grave again. ‘All yer doin’ righ’ now is tryin’ t’protect th’rest o’ us an’ make it look like ye want Landrus t’come out. Or yer tryin’ t’make yerself stronger ‘cause ye think maybe ye can take ‘im down’.

Ledgic’s head turned a little to look at Zech from the corner of his eye as he listened to the tone of voice move from quiet to forceful. Zech didn’t understand what Ledgic had lost at the hands of Landrus and he never would, because since when did Ledgic Caan have a liking of sharing his issues with anyone? ‘Don’ start makin’ all yer lil’ guesses Zech, I don’ ‘ave th’patience fer it righ’ now’ he muttered quietly.

Zech tipped his head up and looked at the moon with a sigh. He could barely see it today; the cloud had covered it up almost completely. It was a sign to him that he wouldn’t have much success today that he wouldn’t be able to steer Ledgic from the path he was walking now. “Still gotta try” he thought.

‘Ye told Annie abou’ this?’ said Zech as he lowered his head to watch Ledgic slowly shaking his. ‘I… ain’ said a word, I’ve barely been there’ said Ledgic in reply, his eyes narrowing slightly as he lowered his gaze into the grave again. ‘Well, she’s gonna know somethin’ is up wit’ ye, she ain’ thick tha’ one’.

Ledgic closed his eyes. He was right, Annie was many things, but she was far from stupid. They’d been together long enough now for Annie to almost instinctively know when something was troubling Ledgic, and that was when he was careful to hide it. All he’d been doing for the past months was sleeping, eating and heading out again.

‘Ye think yer doin’ wha’s right Ledgic, but ye realise if ye don’ say somethin’ t’er, or a’least treat ‘er like an equal, she’s gonna walk on ye’ said Zech. These words hit Ledgic rather hard as he opened his eyes immediately. He turned his head and peered into the darkness to the east, the mangled forests of Duskwood. He had walked through those thorns and vipers, carrying two corpses of which he would never want her to know about.

‘Th’person ye need t’protect th’least is th’person yer tryin’ t’protect th’most’ Zech said sternly. ‘She’s stronger than ye give ‘er credit fer. Think she’s gonna feck off on ye fer doin’ wha’ yer doin’? She migh’ question ye, migh’ even tell ye t’stop, but she ain’ goin’ anywhere’.

‘Leavin’ ‘er t’wonder wha’ th’feck yer doin’ an’ why ye keep comin’ back bloody is wha’s gonna make ‘er walk’.
Ledgic clenched his fists as Zech spoke slowly, as if explaining the simplest thing to a child. The creaking of his armour filled the air around them, causing Zech to stop and peer at Ledgic. ‘Throwin’ yer fists at me ain’ gonna get ye anywhere either’ he said.

In truth, Ledgic had no real desire to start throwing his fists at Zech; in fact, everything that Zech had said was likely to be true. That could be said of many things Zech had said since he showed up in Stormwind. He had only said what he believed to be true, and if it weren’t for him, they wouldn’t have even known about the Hawthorns.

There wasn’t any other way to divert his anger.

He quickly turned and swung his fist as hard as he could toward Zech’s face, the creaking of his armour filled the air once again. He let out a grunt as Zech rammed his wrist into Ledgics’, effectively batting the hit away. Zech then turned and grabbed Ledgic’s shoulder, before forcefully throwing him away from the grave and onto the floor.

‘All of this is makin’ ye sloppy! In yer ‘ead and yer feckin’ fists, an’ tha’ ain’ ye! Since when were ye weak enough t’get thrown aroun’ by me?’ shouted Zech. The sound of his voice boomed across the dead village causing several crows to fly out from the dead trees surrounding them.

‘Ye can carry on this way if ye want, but it ain’t gonna get ye a damn thin’!’

Ledgic sat up and wiped some damp mud from his face. He stared up at Zech and found himself remembering just how many times he had been in this position, looking up at a member of his clan as they barked at him. This time it wasn’t the words of a man desperate to make his life worse, it came from someone that actually gave a shit.

‘I’m na’ gonna stop until Landrus comes out an’ I can get back wha’ ‘e stole. It weren’ only th’feckin’ shadow ‘e ripped outta me’ he said as he slowly got to his feet. Zech watched Ledgic’s movements and readied himself to defend another attack. It was pointless, he discovered, as Ledgic simply turned and walked away from him.

As Ledgic disappeared into the darkness of the woodland, all Zech could do was watch. He had learned many years ago that he wasn’t capable of stopping Ledgic once he set his sights on someone, once he had made up his mind. He would have to sink back into the role he had in the village when it stood, he would simply have to watch.

One thing he knew already was that Ledgic risked too much too often. This situation was no different, and luckily he was certain that Ledgic was aware of the risk. Whether he would do what he should, and bring the people closest to him into the fold or not was a question for another day. One thing he had now had to wonder about… just what had Landrus taken from him that was so important?