As the Forbachean sun peaked in the sky above Chenten Yorr, Lord Tanuk sat in a ceremonial chair like a king on his throne, the majority of the capital's inhabitants assembled in the square before him under the close watch of Innutukian soldiers. Paulo stood at Tanuk's right hand and watched the scene unfolding before him with great interest. The former Overseer had been slain for his treachery, but the rebel commander had disappeared, and all insurgent activity ceased for several days, until that very morning. An old Alcontean relic had been stolen from the town's vault, and Tanuk currently interrogated the local populace to gain answers as to who had been behind the crime.

Tanuk pointed at one portly man in particular, and without a word, a pair of Innutukian soldiers jostled him out of the crowd and set him on his knees before the sorcerer swordsman.

"You are an innkeeper." Tanuk said curtly, "Do you wish to know what I've observed about innkeepers?"

The man trembled and glanced up furtively. "What might that be?"

"Innkeepers serve strong drink. Strong drink loosens lips. And loose lips foolishly speak much in an innkeeper's hearing."

"Your reasoning is sound, my lord. But I assure you, on the matter of this theft of the town vault, I know nothing."

"Sure you don't." Tanuk said with narrowed eyes, "Of course, were we to loosen your lips, perhaps you would speak otherwise."

Paulo nearly laughed when Tanuk reached into the folds of his burgundy cloak and fished out a full wineskin. The sorcerer beckoned the innkeeper draw nearer. Once he obeyed, Tanuk handed him the wineskin and motioned for him to drink.

With a moment's hesitation, the portly innkeeper downed two gulps of the liquid in the skin and attempted handing it back to Tanuk. However, he clearly hadn't emptied the skin, so Tanuk pushed it back and urged him again to drink. Once again, the man obliged, but unwillingly.

Tanuk didn't accept the wineskin back until it had been emptied, and even then, he handed it off to a nearby soldier with instructions to refill it and bring back some stronger drink as well. Paulo couldn't help but find the whole spectacle oddly entertaining.

The most awkward minutes ever to transpire intervened as Tanuk awaited the soldier's return and the innkeeper visibly dreaded what was to come. To make the situation even more uncomfortable for the portly fellow, Tanuk continued staring into his eyes incessantly. The townsmen in the square appeared no less terrified.

Finally, the soldier returned with a puffy wineskin in one hand and a bulky decanter shaped vaguely like a skull in the other. Tanuk and Paulo shared a grin upon beholding the latter container before Tanuk turned back to the soldier.

"This is truly potent stuff." the soldier informed Tanuk as he handed the decanter over, his Innutukian accent so thick and guttural it made his words unclear, "It's said just a mouthful could make a horse reel."

Tanuk's eyes glinted with mischief as he glanced back at the innkeeper. "Excellent."

The innkeeper pouted when Tanuk motioned for him to step forward again. "Please, my lord, I assure you I tell no lie. I know nothing!"

"I have yet to make sure of that. Drink up."

As before, the innkeeper attempted to take one small sip and stop there, but Tanuk wouldn't have it, and bit by bit, he forced the poor man to guzzle the entire decanter. Paulo watched intently as the man winced after his last gulp and shook his head as if to clear his vision. But then he staggered backward and would have fallen, had two soldiers not hurried forward to catch him.

A wide grin spread across Tanuk's face as the Innutukians carried the innkeeper close. His breath so reeked of strong drink that Paulo could swear he felt mild inebriation just by inhaling.

"What will you tell me now, son of Forbache?" Tanuk sneered. "What shall your loose lips reveal unto me?"

"Some of them...escaped."

"Some of whom?"

The innkeeper weakly laughed. "You fools thought you slew the old king's whole family...not so. His youngest son passed through town...yesterday."

The townspeople behind the innkeeper noticeably stirred at this revelation, causing the Innutukians all around to cast suspicious glances their way. For the old Forbachean king's son to pass through town unreported would indicate intentional negligence on the part of everyone who saw him.

"Though irrelevant, I'm glad you chose to confess this." Tanuk muttered, "What else would you like to tell me?"

"The rebels are quiet...because they have big plans. They will shortly—"

An arrow erupted from the midst of the crowd and pierced the innkeeper's flesh, drawing a pitiful cry from his lips and halting him from his confession. The Innutukian soldiers holding him up struggled as he supported even less of his own weight. Paulo and Tanuk stared into the crowd with furrowed brows as other soldiers threaded through the townsmen and apprehended the archer. A quartet of armored men carried the culprit to Tanuk, one grasping each of his limbs to drag him out.

When they dropped him before Tanuk, Paulo peeked around the innkeeper to see an old man with facial hair on his chin only. He stared bravely up at the sorcerer and spat in his face. Tanuk balked and darted his head aside to wipe the spittle from his eyes. One of the Innutukian soldiers promptly pulled out a handkerchief and tied it around his nose and mouth to prevent further incidents of that sort.

"You would set out to obstruct justice?" Tanuk barked, "You have decided in your heart that thieves may do as they wish in this land?"

"You have no room to speak in this arena, Innutukian." the old man retorted, his voice so strong that even being muffled by cloth accomplished little to hold it back. "You are the ones who have stolen our land, and yet you sit here to tell us that thievery is wrong. The Lord will judge you for your sin."

Tanuk chuckled and gave the man a mocking smile. "If your lord be consistent, he will also judge the thieves you hold so dear. But indeed, I fear him not, for he showed himself too weak to defend your land."

"The Lord's ways are not our ways; who are we to question him?"

"Such cryptic answers do not satisfy me. I ask questions, and I intend to get answers. One such question being, who stole the Alcontean relic, and where are they now?"

The old man's bold brown eyes stared resolutely up at Tanuk. "Even if I knew, I would never tell you."

"A shame." Tanuk said with a theatrical sigh. Paulo glanced down at a slight movement on Tanuk's belt and widened his eyes. The thick-bladed dagger he had made from the metal of Sir Tao's sword years ago now twitched in its sheath, exposing about an inch of the blade.

"It is a shame to slay a man whose death already draws near," Tanuk continued, "but I must make an example of you."

With that, the dagger flew out of its sheath, Tanuk never having laid a hand on it. He extended his hand and contorted his fingers to manipulate its flight so it buried itself deep in the old man's belly. His initial scream only grew louder as Tanuk twisted the blade inside his flesh to create a deeper wound. Finally, he collapsed in a growing puddle of his own blood, much to the horror of his townspeople in the square.

The dagger swiftly returned to Tanuk, and he spun the blade in the air to flick the blood off before returning it to its sheath on his hip. He then rose to his feet and stepped toward the nervous crowd beyond.

"Now," he began in a sickeningly kind voice, "would anyone like to come forward, or must I repeat that on each of you, one by one?"

Nobody answered Tanuk a word, only stared in sheer terror. Another shrill cry pierced the air as Tanuk's dagger flew from its resting place and harbored itself in a small child's breast. Paulo supposed that Telvalketen, the Innutukian god of indulgence, would feast well this day on copious Forbachean blood.