Revenge's Burden

20250830

Prompt from DailyPrompt.com

“WHAT HAVE YOU DONE??”
The coarse cave walls tried to swallow the scream. Silence the anguish.
They failed.
Brody took a step back, startled by his friend’s outburst. “What’s gotten into-”
“Why would you…?” Otis stumbled to a halt, scree fleeing his boots, staring in horror at the corpse sprawled at Brody’s feet. “Why did you kill her?!”
“Because she was hunting what you needed.” Brody shrugged, his expression perplexed. “You swore a blood oath to kill the Southport Lich by your own hand, right? So had she. Only one of you could see your oath fulfilled. I just made sure that one was you.”
He stooped to rummage in her bloodied pack. “Aha. See?” He brandished a familiar gemstone key. “The final piece of our plan. Now we can open the Sanctum.”
“W-we could’ve gotten her to help us!”
Brody snorted. “You know what happens to people who fail a blood oath, O. Were you really going to chance that? Do you think she would have?”
“We… we could’ve tried!”
Brody frowned. His freshly wiped knife absently tapping against his leg. “What’s gotten into you? After Pinesford I figured we were all in. Why’re you-”
“What’s Pinesford got to do with anything??”
“Uh…” Brody quirked an eyebrow. His bafflement deepening. “It had over a hundred people living in it?”
“What do you mean, ‘had’?” Otis demanded. “We didn’t kill anyone!”
“…O, they were using that key as the focus for their barrier.” Brody said slowly. “We knew that. And we took it. Some of them will be dead by now. Maybe a lot of-”
“That wasn’t our fault! We didn’t kill anyone!” The shrill cry ricocheted off the walls. “W-we’ll give it back after! Everything will be fine.”
“O, that…” Brody faltered. Unnerved by his friend’s distant, manic stare.
He… did he really believe that? That they could somehow undo everything they’d done up to this point? Hoping to manage mere reparations for even a fraction was beyond optimistic. They were far beyond forgiveness or redemption here.
After the last four months, he’d thought his best friend was swallowed by revenge. This was… somehow more disturbing.
“We’re heroes, Brody.” Otis said softly, with a smile eerily like the earnest young man he’d been when they set out. “Heroes don’t murder.”
As if the guy he’d shoved off the bridge would’ve survived that icy water. As if the soldiers he’d ‘gotten off their tail’ would’ve dealt with that ‘distraction’ of a dire bear no problem. As if Fallowood was going to bounce back after half their crops were burned right before harvest.
“I… uh…”
Otis was trembling. Putting Brody in mind of a thrumming tow-rope which was just handling its load.
“You see that vibration, son? You see that and you stay away. If that rope gives, the whip-back’ll take your head off.”
Brody coughed, trying to hide how his hand was clutching the knife. “Sorry, Otis. My bad. I won’t do it again.”
“Good.” Otis relaxed. “We’re heroes.”
“…Right.”

Prompt was “‘Why did you kill her!?’ ‘Because she was hunting what you needed.’”