Who are any of us really?

"Who are you?" I get asked this all the time, usually when I've got my sword out (other times after I've put it away and they are bleeding from said sword, I'm kind of a violent man), other times its after a grand entrance (at that point its hurtful, because you know taking the effort for a grand entrance should generate more than a "Who are you?" I'm not saying crapping ones self in fear is always warranted but sometimes!) This particular time was after I grabbed a merc in a dark alleyway and held a blade under his throat.  I'd killed a couple more mercs since my story I related yesterday, low level guys really, I'd almost feel bad if they hadn't murdered the only family I'd ever known.

"Lorentino, you'll not have a long time to remember it, but I might carve it into you." One thing you have to remember I was younger and dumber back then (ok younger anyway shut up), being hot headed on a vengeance trip you do somet stupid things like carve your name into your enemies (now with authorities kind of being a bigger thing writing your name in the blood of the fallen not so much a good idea, even back then it was really really stupid).

"Wait don't kill me I can tell you everything!" The previous murders had said the same, and I'd killed them all the same. I guess there was something in that dark alley, I decided to let him talk.

"Speak, if you raise your voice it'll be the last thing you ever do."

"Ok ok, you know we were the ones involved with that hunters guild massacre."

"Get to the point before I make mine." I moved the dagger closer to his throat to illustrate my pun a bit better (sometimes subtlety is a lost art).

"We were told specifically to not kill you!" This was new and none of the others had mentioned it.

"Come again?"

"When we got the job we were told that you shouldn't be there, and if you were that you were to be captured and sent on your way."

"Why?"

"I don't know!"

"Why should I believe you when you didn't even know who I was!" A valid question.

"It's dark, you grabbed me and pressed a blade to my throat, not exactly optimal for recognizing you!" A valid answer.

"Who told you to kill Corlis guild?" No one I'd killed previously knew the answer here.  I'd had suspicions, but maybe maybe this guy new the truth.

"Some lady, I don't know her name she paid us good coin and that's good enough for me." It's sad what people do for money, except for me, because what I do for money is important stuff... right.

"So you don't know her name or where she's at, just that she's some lady and thats supposed to be enough for me to spare your life?" People don't understand the proper value of a life now adays!

"I can tell you where the rest of the mercs are!" I knew names but I didn't know they had a central location (ok sue me at the time I was not really great at getting info).

"Deal." He told me everything, where they were, what kind of armaments and protections they had, it was almost too good to be true.  I stuck to my word and let him go (blood lust is one thing, but there are times when letting one live is helpful, like scaring future enemies, its kind of like not hunting your current crop of jack asses to oblivion, I mean when they are all dead what joy is left in life?).  I figured he'd tell the others and the impossible task would be even harder, ultimately though I knew somewhere in the back of my mind I was trying to kill myself.  Guilt does weird things to you, survivors guilt is the worst.  I knew a guy who survived a battle all by himself, married a woman, had a child, and then a year later cut his own head off at the site of the battle he had survived.  He couldn't live with it.

I had a destination and some time to plan before they'd be fully prepared.  I planned like a dead man, wrote a note to whoever came after me for revenge, gave a man some money to put Corli and the guild to rest properly, I even gave a beggar my last bits of money (so you could tell I was really out of my mind at this point).  In a way I was right, I did die in the next battle, at least part of me did.  Something I'll go into tomorrow.  Maybe, perhaps I'll go into this really fun story about chasing after a cursed book, ok not really that story ended pretty ugly too.