Hydaelyn Role-Players

That’s it, release that control… The funny thing was that Paul didn’t know if the creature was dead or alive, but it had little time, regardless. He did learn something though: once he has Ehvar in custody, Mere is his ticket. The attack was not unexpected, and Paul dodging, blocking, and batting away. However, because of the fierceness there was no alternative to suffer a blow to his ribs and chest here and there.

The kick to his shin was tricky. He could not move his leg and suffer a sprain, possibly a break. Or he could roll with it and go down with the blow. The dance Paul moved to required him to suffer blows at time to then press an advantage. So back his leg went with the kick. But as he did he brought his blade fast and hard to hit Ehvar with the flat of his blade from the left side, working at the weak spot that Synerva had pointed out subtly.

That girl… she could have been more specific!

As satisfying as it was that there were times his fists connected -- that he could feel the flesh and bone struck beneath his heavy blows -- he wanted more. He needed more. Ehvar had planned to bring out the darkness in Desmond. And it was shone, but in a way that left him anything but pleased over the matter. He thought perhaps it would work the man into a bloody fight with him -- something they both could have enjoyed. Something Lissa would have enjoyed as well if she had not been so.. Difficult. But she was a matter for another time now.

When the inspector dropped down, he foolishly planned to press onward still. He did not catch sight of the blade. It was hardly a blur. Then, the flash caught the focus of his good eye just before the sharp pain struck into his side. It was enough to cripple Ehvar down to the floor and he knew why. It was not just some wayward jab. It was aimed to send a shock to his system.

One fist hit the floor, his other hand grasped where the blade slammed into his body. It was enough to leave him gasping and unable to immediately recover, defend, or retaliate.

The groan Ehvar let loose mingled into a primal growl when he was finally brought down. He could still hardly catch his breath over the pain, but the frustration and humiliation he felt over his loss was far greater than that. He felt the chains that were put into place and he might have started to struggle until… Mere.

Abruptly, all fight in him was gone. Just before it was all done with, he was laughing. Though what it was he found so funny would remain a mystery for the time being. The blow to his head easily did him in. It also reawoken the flow from his previous injury -- though that was hardly something of note when he was soon left behind at the pillar.

She could hear the doors along the hall, but she could not exactly make out what the sound actually was. One by one there was a bang and it reminded her briefly of the gunshots she heard before Ehvar struck her. It reminded her of the sick thuds when Ehvar struck her face in the past -- and also more recently. It reminded her of the drop of the body she once witnessed Ehvar disposing of. And then, suddenly, the thud exploded its way into the room she was trapped within.

M’lissa was still securely strapped to the bed. Her breaths wheezed loudly and were clearly labored not just through her nose but deeper. Her face was left bloodied from the assault she had no defense over. Her wrists were bruised and swollen from the fight she gave that did no good. The dress she had been forced to wear was in tatters on her body and it was quite clear what had likely been done to her in the time Ehvar had her there.

There was further bruising over her body. Her face was not the only place he landed his fists and raked the spikes. The worst damage, however, was still likely due to the hits she took to her head, the grip that had been placed at her neck that left very telling marks there, and undoubtedly further damage to her chest that could have been affecting her lungs from the sound of her distress. She could hardly focus past the blood in her eyes, but her lips did move. There was no sound. And it was clear this had not been her first attempt to call out to him judging from the tears that soaked her face nearly as much as the blood.

There was also another piece left behind. Ehvar knew the outcome of this to the very end. He knew Desmond would find Lissa one way or another. Desmond was not going to fall victim. Though, Ehvar did not likely expect to have been taken prisoner, the result was still the same.

Lissa’s hair had been pulled up into pigtails that had since become messy from her struggle and whatever happened between herself and Ehvar while they were alone in the room. It was what secured the hair that Desmond would most definitely find interesting to say the least. The bows tied there were not made of just the fabric from the recent victims. They were made of pieces of the last two missing fingers from the deceased. Their missing ring fingers -- skinned, separated into segments, cleaned and tied to resemble bows in her hair.

As Paul looked over the room it was all entered into his mind in one flash, a blink of an eye. He didn’t delay. Letting Lissa know he was there, he begins to free her. He was careful in cutting her binds away, gently letting her arms drop so they didn’t slam against the bed.

He wanted to remove those hideous ribbons, but first her breathing. He puts his ear to her chest on one side, then the next. Her lungs didn’t sound horrible, just her breathing was bad. Likely a broken rib. Finally he removes the hideous bows.

“Don’t try to talk. I know it hurts, Lissa. I know. I’m here now. You’re safe.”

He was ill-equipped to handle something like this or even get her cleaned up. Thankfully, Paul had called for backup despite what Ehvar may have thought. He could hear the voices downstairs now. He speaks into his linkpearl and calls the team up. He makes sure another apprehends Ehvar.

In a few moments, Lissa was being lifted to a carriage to be pulled away for expert treatment. With her: Paul. He wasn’t leaving her alone in this state.

Lissa could have fallen unconscious at any point, but when Ehvar left and mentioned that her inspector had arrived, her panic took hold. She could not hear what had happened outside the room. She was only able to wait and continue her struggle for air against the pain she felt all over her body. It was to the point that she really could not have guessed what was even hurt. Before, when Ehvar hit her face, it was just the one injury. Then they just kept adding up after she woke in her old room. Eventually, she lost track of where he struck her -- where she pulled too hard and hurt herself -- where he grabbed -- where he cut.

At some point, she left herself. She thought of how foolish she had been to have left on her own -- to have even thought she could have stopped Ehvar herself. What good had she done? But then she had to give herself some credit. If she had not acted, then what? Ehvar would have been gone from the storehouse by the time Desmond and his team found it. There would have been nothing to have led them in the right direction. More women would have died. It might have been foolish and reckless.. But her choice had worked, had it not?

It was Desmond’s voice at her side. It was Desmond who freed her from the restraints. As much as it pained her to move anything, she reached to grab for his hand through the blur of her vision. Then, when there were more voices, her hand squeezed more tightly. She could hardly make out what was happening. She gave something of a futile fight when she was moved. Soundless cries of pain left her lips. Then, suddenly, her hand lost its grip and went limp somewhere along the way. Between the pain and the shock, she finally lost consciousness.

Interrogation

By now, Lissa was at a place where Paul could relax and not readily worry after her. He looked over several documents and pictures as he waited for Ehvar to be brought into the interrogation room. When Paul had arrived it was nearly a standing ovation from his comrades and fellow officers. Finally, they got him. But he would not forget Lissa’s sacrifice in this, nor would he forget Sireh’s.

It was time. He made his way to the interrogation room, opens the door, steps in, then softly closes it behind him. He takes a seat across from the table Ehvar is at and places a folder of documents and pictures to the right, near Paul’s end of the table.

“I trust they have been treating you well?”

Where Ehvar sat, he did not at all look the part of the madman that everyone had in their minds for some time now. Even as Desmond entered, the miqo’te remained docile and somewhat slouched in his seat while not being entirely improper in his posture. If someone had not seen the damned evidence in the manor where Paul had caught him, they likely would have doubted he was the right guy.

“As well as can be expected,” Ehvar answered calmly. When he looked up, there was quite the bruise forming just beneath and to the side of that dead eye of his. He would give the one responsible credit if he did not know it was just a lucky shot in the dark to go for that side of his face specifically. Then again, with his limbs bound in chains and both angry and anxious looks focused on him, it was not like there was much he could do to aid himself in his current situation.

“You are not here to make pleasantries, Inspector,” Ehvar said with roll of his eyes. “So let us carry on to why you really are here. Yes?”

Paul smirked slightly. Though the end of Ehvar’s speech was the tone of a question, Paul ignores it, or rather, does not acknowledge it. Instead he continues speaking his mind on what he was set out to say.

“I wanted to apologize for something. Of course, we do have things to discuss, but there is something troubling my mind. I lied about someone you care about. For that I am sorry. As proof that I am not lying now...”

He reaches in the folder and pulls out a picture, slides it to Ehvar whose hands were not chained so tight that he couldn’t stop the picture from sliding.

“Members of my team were able to get Mere professional help. Leto was doing his best to keep her alive, so you’ve him to thank. Had he ran, she would have died.”

Ehvar gave a slow, gradual tilt of his head and his brows furrowed slightly inwards. It was not that he did not understand what Desmond was saying. He knew exactly what the man was referencing. The point that he could not grasp was why he was thinking he could play such a game with him when that ‘card’ had already been dealt. There was also the fact that, angry as he could get over Mere’s condition, there was no way he was breaking through the chains.

The folder was taken up and, after a long suspicious look Desmond’s way, he flipped it open. The coeurl looked well enough. Alive, which was far better than what he was expecting in the first place. Of course, it was no surprise about Leto. Of course the boy did not run. Though skittish, he was still loyal.

The folder was shut, though he did notably look at the pictures a while longer before doing so. “If you are looking for my gratitude.. you will be disappointed.” The soft look in his eyes slowly faded to something more stern to hide it away. “You see… I do not have any idea what or who you are talking about.”

Paul pulls the photos back. He had more. Oh did he have more. But they were not of pets or something nice. They were of Ehvar’s handiwork. He reaches to another photo and pulls it out. Victim number one. He slides the photo forward.

“Then let’s talk about someone you do know. C’gemsebo.” Paul says the name effortlessly. “She was walking home from an academy at night and then she was abducted. She was found beaten to death and savaged beforehand. Why did you choose her?”

The face Ehvar made in response to the picture presented before him was one of pure disgust. “Who..? I do not know this person. I do not even know what I am here.” He shifted his feet restlessly beneath the table. He sat more upright to convey that desperate emotion clear as day. “I was minding my own business. Checking into my old man’s house after someone told me something was going on in there. Then you barge in and now I am here. Being shown.. This?”

Ehvar’s chained hands wave after the photo for emphasis. “Look, you can ask anyone who knows me. I like the ladies -- love them. But not like that.”

“No, not all the ladies. Just certain ones; just your kind.”

He puts down photo after photo until he has all the victims laid out on the table. “Do you really think that’s a good cover? We found Lissa tied to a bed with ribbons made from the last two victims. That’s… pretty damning evidence. I mean… if you were in my position, what would you do? What would you think?”

“Lissa?” Ehvar sounded out the name, testing it on his lips and appearing baffled. Then, he gave a start. “You mean M’lissa? M’lissa Keht? The same girl who killed my guardian -- my father, Ludovic? She was tied to a bed… with ribbons made of.. what?”

The miqo’te squinted, trying his best to decipher what it was he was being told as though he had no idea. “Wait, so you are saying she was in my old home? Some psycho killer was having a kink-show in my old house? Well, if I were you.. I hope you at least arrested her… If that is the same girl. She is a murderer, after all.”

Paul was smirking again, even grinning. He knew for a fact Lissa hadn’t killed Ludovic and had never killed anyone.

“You should get your facts straight. I know for a fact that Lissa didn’t kill Ludovic. She doesn’t have it in her. But you… Oh, you’ve got what it takes. But here’s someone who didn’t make your list.”

Paul procures another photo. “Synerva. She was taken to your storehouse and held prisoner. That’s kidnapping right there. And then your boy Leto who you-” Paul airquotes “-don’t know told me everything you did to her. And then he told me that you kidnapped Lissa and took her to the manor. And then I found you… and Lissa… half beaten to death. And you had the weapons you did it with. I wonder whose blood will come back on those weapons? You know what? I don’t need you to tell me about these girls.”

He collects the photos and puts them in a folder.

“I have everything I need to put you away for the rest of your life. No one will ever know or even care about your stupid game.”

He gets up and begins to make his way to the door.