Marlin walked out of the building, his minions, together with the 3 T’jut, were made aware that the master needed a moment to think and would join them soon. Billy made him aware to not tarry too long, the mistress was very nervous. The three gnolls gleefully informed him they lifted the purses of some honor-less scum.
Marlin walked into a side alley and slumped against the wall. In his usual fashion he had let his mouth run. He breathed steady letting the tension release. For the first time coming to this world since his rebirth, he felt genuine fear. No, dark realization, that he had 0% chance to come out of this alive if he didn’t make himself scarce.
Even in his one on one’s, with his Father he always felt there was a slight chance, if ever so slightly.
This was an enemy he couldn’t fight. This Torren guy was going to keep digging. As far as Marlin could tell, he had bought himself some time by disgusting and insulting the man but he knew, the moment that man had a moment to calm down and think he would find a way to make sure Marlin or someone, would end up on the chopping block. Marlin was an easy target.
This constable was as corrupt and dirty as they came in 3rd world countries on earth,
This had come completely out of the left field for him, he had assumed with the naive outlook of a child, law enforcement would be Honorable in this world, it wasn’t.
how someone so dishonorable, so obviously corrupt, could walk among people as flawed as they came but honest, had him scratch his head profusely.
He felt like there was too big a gap in how this man had behaved and how the common folk behaved. Why on earth had no one sat him down and explained how deep the divide between law enforcement and actual justice was?
This guy, he was here to make someone pay, guilty or not. Honor, honesty and truth had nothing to do with it.
Running the whole thing back through his mind, had him go through a panic attack. The combination of truth magic, and the incredibly well crafted questions from this Torren guy started to freak him out more and more.
So innocent and simple at first, to so subtly turn more and more specific, without Marlin realizing.
It struck him, that there might be a skillset not available to him, such as interrogation. He didn’t see some of the classes available. lt was most likely the same for skill sets.
he had to put a lot of effort into holding his panic away from his Minions. He couldn’t afford them to struggle with his turmoil, he needed them ready.
He wondered how disgusted the man really had been, even after that gagging, he kept asking for more, Marlin started to doubt if that really was him gaining some control of the situation. It sure didn’t feel like it now.
“Marlin”? He looked up and saw Milly. Concern on her face.
”Shit, i didn’t want her to see me like this”. He thought and got up, “hey”, he couldn’t get the shake out of his voice.
”That bad huh”? She asked. “I’ve never been interrogated by a constable before, but i heard it’s bad, no matter the situation”.
“he pulled it all out of me Milly, gave me the impression I had some form of control some form of agency and like an idiot i spilled the beans”.
Marlin felt horrible, guilt, shame. In the moment it had felt like he had been in control, how wrong that notion now felt. He had dirtied that beautiful memory between him and Milly how was he going to break that to her?
Milly walked forward and hugged him, and spoke softly. “I had an uncle who had to go through an interrogation, he hinted at how dirty he had felt after, how many of his intimate moments between him and my aunt had come up for no reason, how the constable had pulled it out of him not giving him a choice, the perverted pleasure that constable had, pulling it out of him”.
it had started to rain, Marlin felt more and more pathetic.
He hadmade a huge miscalculation in the depth these interrogations had, he had not even once considered how extreme the fallout could be.
He didn’t need to tell Milly what he had said, she already knew. That had been the fear she had in her eyes when he walked along like a complete moron and now she saw the guilt in his eyes.
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She hugged him tighter. “Did this constable do that as well”?
Her voice was soft and there was no judgement, but Marlin could hear the pain, it was like chalkboard being scratched, while being eviscerated by a serrated knife simultaneously hearing that pain. He felt so stupid.
”yes” he couldn’t say more. The pride he had felt, boasting about the beautiful moments he had with Milly, gone.
”i see”, she said and remained silent.
Marlin was glad for the rain. He was adding some himself.
”This won’t happen again Milly”. Marlin felt a resolution shape in his heart. He hadn’t been taking the intrigue of this society seriously, he needed to change that.
Milly looked at him, a sad smile on her face. “I appreciate the sentiment Marlin but You don’t know that, why can’t you take the fears any normal person has, more serious”? Not even Bron would be this reckless”.
Marlin turned his head away, but Milly gently pushed it back so he could look her in the eyes.
“why did no one warn me”? Marlin asked, “how evil these law enforcement people are”?
”Truth be told Marlin, they usually aren’t and it reeks of serious trouble, something bad and big going on”. I will warn the elders.
”Did you accidentally implicate anyone”? she looked at him, eyes searching.
Marlin pondered and thought it over. “No most of the interrogation was about my life, how I approached stuff and dealt with things. And us two.
“He asked”, Marlin swallowed “for quite a while, i tested the magic beforehand Milly, there was very little I could omit without giving it away with the jolt of pain that would follow”.
Milly looked at him and Marlin, in a rare moment, couldn’t place the look she had.
She frowned. “We might have been together for only three months but knowing you. You would have no trouble talking about each little detail”. Her eyes still had that sadness.
Marlin felt hurt. “Im normally a very private man when it comes to these things Milly but it felt good, it felt good to piss him off and see how it tortured him to hear it all”.
”He spoke of the t’jut with poorly hidden disgust, he was openly racist, and to top it off he thinks girls are yucky so it felt like an opportunity to get the upper hand”.
Milly sighed, rolled her eyes and looked confused at same time, “yea most high kin nobles have this superior race complex and why would he think im yucky”?
”he prefers men for intimacy”.
Milly tilted her head. “I thought that was just a girl fantasy”.
Marlin looked shocked. “You fantasize about me doing it with men, together”? Marlin was soo not into that.
Milly looked at him offended. “What? No! Just thinking of you sticking it somewhere else, makes it feel like a waste. That belongs inside me, nowhere else”.
”just some girls i know are into it” she blushed, realizing the graphic language she just used.
She quickly changed the subject. “please tell me you didn’t use that knowledge of him to insult him”?
Marlin had a smug satisfied grin on his face.
Milly started panicking. “Marlin don’t do that! Please don’t torture me like this! Tell me! How bad is it”?
Marlin smiled even wider, he couldn’t help but feel proud. “Bad enough to know the torture you feel now is about as bad as the torture you will feel if i tell you”.
Milly rubbed her temples. “Just tell me”.
Marlin told Milly how he had insulted the man’s narcissistic, self inflated ego in all graphic detail and glory.
Milly dropped to het knees and had a blank stare. It started out as a chuckle and it soon turned into full blown manic laughter, tears were coming out of her eyes. Marlin didn’t know exactly what to do with this. Did he break Milly?
”ow marlin, i don’t think i would ever have laughed at this situation if it wasn’t for the fact that it was you. I’ve seen how you fight with that manic glee in your eyes. But when all is said and done”.
She looked at him and had a dark look.
“You push the limits of what is possible, you might have underestimated the situation but you know the severity now”.
Marlin nodded and Milly continued.
”How big do you see the chance that this will blow over, answer me truthfully”.
”zero chance none whatsoever, if I and all those close to me, don’t make themselves scarce somehow, someone is going to get implicated, tried and judged whether they are guilty or not. I bought myself some time throwing this guy for a small loop but im completely fucked if I stick around. Im too easy a target to blame”.
Milly sighed. “I guess you figured ‘might as well flip em the bird’ if you going to die”?
Marlin nodded. “Damn fucking straight, I won’t give them the satisfaction of seeing me scared”. He knew he meant it, he would go down swinging.
“This is exhausting Marlin”. She looked at him with a tired look.
Marlin Nodded. “Yea i know, it’s barely midday and i feel like going back to bed. We should inform Bron and Kotak, make a change of plans, explain it. They should tell your elders and us two can go to my parents. I want to consult with my dad and see what his opinion is.
Milly nodded and got up.
Milly POV
“I must have been real desperate for a man, having fallen so hard for this absolute dumbass”.
She sighed and looks at him as she walks a pace behind him. Now that he had determined a path, he was back to his fearless self and she infinitely prefers that over seeing that fear.
She shudders, If Marlin was this scared, shit must be really bad. She kept reminding herself that you couldn’t underestimate Marlin’s understanding of people. He seemed to grasp how they ticked on an innate level.
Torren was the first man, Marlin had been truly afraid of. That was enough warning for her.
She would advise the tribe to get the hell out of dodge. She walked closer to Marlin and roughly squeezed his behind.
She felt that ache again. She looked at Marlin and he looked at her, she sighed in relief, they were back to that azure blue again, that she lost herself in, all the turmoil forgotten. His ache for her, was palpable.