[ His mouth is his first and last defense -- sometimes a good weapon, and sometimes a very bad one. Curufin laughs a little, desperate laugh. ] You would allow one such as I to go free? Amazing!

[ But he does want to live. Most of the time, anyway. ] I have waylaid the highways of your kingdom; I have robbed and killed your subjects. I was once a smith, and I made many beautiful and useful things, but. . . oh, the story is too long to tell. Suffice it to say that my family and my country fell into chaos as a result of using our remarkable skills for what turned out to be very evil purposes. And when I found myself in your country, I knew only how to wreak destruction. And so I continued to do so.

Yes, I regret it. Much as I hate to say so.