As a group of heavily armored guards approached, all holding gleaming blades, Isabel stepped away from the core and stood in front of Lyra and me, her eyes filled with anger rather than fear. "What is this? Who are we supposed to have murdered?" she demanded.

The lead guard, who had a few more lapels than the others, perhaps a captain, replied sternly, "I said lay down your arms, and that includes spatial items. I will not ask again."

Isabel's grin turned fierce. "You think we'll surrender without knowing the cause? I think you've greatly underestimated my willingness to... resist arrest." I winced, realizing that this confrontation could end badly.

The captain stepped forward, and raised his weapon into a ready position, while a slightly nervous guard behind him whispered, "Captain Christof, we were ordered to bring them in unharmed, shouldn't we..."

Cutting off the guard, Christof sneered, "You know, I was hoping you would resist." Isabel's body tensed as she realized they were in for a fight.

"Christof, eh? So Sigen warned you then. I had hoped the mercenary was wrong, but you really are part of this whole thing. What do you think to gain from letting elementals rampage through the city?" Isabel questioned.

The guards behind the captain appeared confused by her words, but Christof smiled viciously. "I'm not sure what you're referring to, scum, but perhaps you can explain it to the interrogators."

Isabel drew her short sword and brandished it. "Well, traitor, since you think nothing of sacrificing the citizens of Creston, I will think nothing of taking your head either."

Christof charged forward, but suddenly, Malik appeared between him and Isabel. Despite the blade cutting into his hand, the big man grabbed the captain's weapon bare-handed and held his ground, glaring at the man.

"You might want to calm down, little soldier," Malik said to Christof, his voice low and menacing. "They will go peacefully, but know this. If they are harmed, I am coming to visit the castle personally, and none of you limp-dick assholes will like it if I do."

A few worried whispers passed between the guards, and I could tell that they knew something about Malik that I didn't. But the message was clear: Malik was a bona fide bad ass, and none of them wanted to cross him.

Isabel started to argue, but Malik silenced her with a look. "We will not start killing guards in the street, Isabel," he said firmly, then turned his gaze to Christof, who scowled back at him. "No matter how much we would like to."

To my surprise, Isabel listened to Malik, and each of us handed over our important items to him. There was a bit of an argument over that, but Malik ignored Christof's shouting about the items needing to be confiscated and simply put them into his own storage item.

Then we let ourselves be led into an armored carriage, and we were off to prison. What a great day.

At the keep, we were searched again before being thrown into separate cells. Apparently, we were to be interrogated later that day, but for now, there was nothing to do but wait. Each of us had been fitted with suppression collars, and we could only be patient for the time being.

I sat against the bars and heard snickering from the neighboring cell. It was Lyra, of course, and I looked over to find her covering her mouth, her eyes twinkling. I raised an eyebrow at her, and she gave me a wide grin, "Well, doesn't this bring back memories, eh?"

I couldn't help it, I laughed. Then Lyra laughed harder, and Isabel scowled at the both of us from her own cell. "You think this is funny? How can you laugh at a time like this?"

Lyra waved a hand dismissively. "Oh, come on. We run around the city, try to protect everyone, for no pay, I might add. And now we find ourselves in prison for that very same thing... I mean, it's just so stupid."

I had to agree with her. I was beginning to really dislike this city. Honestly, if not for some of the great people I had met here, Creston could go screw itself.

Isabel shook her head in frustration. "I am so damn angry... I warned the governor, only to have him stab us in the back! Is he part of all this? Has this whole bloody city gone insane?"

Lyra shrugged with a grin. "Who can tell at this point? Honestly, we should just let them have at it amongst themselves." Isabel paced back and forth in frustration, while I just relaxed. It was likely to be a long wait, so I closed my eyes and caught up on some rest.

I was roughly dragged out of my cell a few hours later. Lyra waved at me as I passed her, and I gave her a shrug and a smile.

I was taken to a new room that had a simple table, a few chairs, and a disturbing amount of sharp implements. I was thoroughly chained to the table, and the guards left the room, letting in an official-looking man. He wore dark robes with the governor's sigil on his chest and sat down across from me.

"So, Harlequin, is it?" he asked in a surprisingly deep voice. I just shrugged in response. He made a note in his papers and studied me.

"You know why you're here, yes?" he asked. I just grinned. "The guards weren't super forthcoming, so that would be a no." The man raised an eyebrow, corrected his glasses, and sighed. "Bloody savages, the lot of them. But then again, we need savages for a savage's job. You are here because you stand accused of murder, a bunch of murders, in fact."

When I didn't say anything, he continued, "A group of people came to visit you, and you butchered them without mercy. Would you agree with this statement?"

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

I raised an eyebrow. "Would anyone? I mean, even if something like that happened, and I'm not saying it did, would I admit to such a thing?" The man shrugged. "You'd be surprised. Most people who come here are eager to avoid more intense interrogation." He said it in a neutral tone, but his gesture to the implements on the walls gave it a decidedly sinister feel.

I took a quick scan of the room and cleared my throat, "Can I ask a question?" The man before me shrugged, "Sure, go ahead."

"Thanks. Who is accusing us of this?" I inquired. The man simply smiled in response, "Ah, and why would I answer that?"

I returned the smile, "Well, given the heinousness of the crime we are accused of, I would think you would want to explore every avenue to find the truth. I suspect that whoever the accuser is, they have a reason for wanting us here. Perhaps knowing their identity would shed some light on that reason, don't you think?"

The man's smile remained, "All the same, I cannot tell you that. Now, do you admit to the crime?"

"I do not," I said firmly, lifting an eyebrow.

The man's smile turned predatory, "And how do you explain the buried bodies in your yard?"

I had been anticipating that question. "We had some pretty unfriendly visitors, there was a bit of a scuffle, and they had a bad fall," I replied with a nonchalant shrug.

The man's smile deepened, "I see. And the deep lacerations on their bodies?"

"It was a really bad fall," I reiterated with a shrug, feigning innocence.

The man sighed, "I see. Well, that is truly unfortunate. I suppose you can go back to your cell for now. We'll bring you back for a bit more serious talk later." He gestured around the room, "We might be able to convince you to share a little more with us."

I smiled in return, "Oh, I'm sure you'll try. By the way, when are you serving lunch in this place? I'm getting a bit peckish."

I was roughly thrown into my cell, grunting as I hit the ground. Turning to the guards, I sarcastically remarked, "That's pretty rude. I just asked for a sandwich!" One of the guards growled, but they then went to Isabel's cell and brought her out. To my annoyance, they were a whole lot gentler with her. Sexists!

Isabel gave me a weird look as she passed, and I grinned at her, "Don't ask for food. Apparently, they don't like that." She just shook her head with a smile, and Lyra burst out laughing.

Isabel's interrogation dragged on longer than mine, and after that, it was Lyra's turn. I had played the fool and annoyed our captors, but I was honestly scared shitless. I did not want any part of torture. Yeah, yeah, I get the irony.

Lyra's questioning was even shorter than mine, and she was not treated gently as she was thrown back into her cell.

None of us had admitted to anything, and we had mostly answered with different versions of the same story. The interrogator had been short on patience when Lyra was brought in, and her laughter had finally broken his facade.

The second round of questioning came around, and I was brought to the same room. This time, it was a decrepit old man with a perpetual sneer on his face. I was once again chained to the table, and this guy wasted no time getting to the point.

"I am here to hurt you, boy. How much I hurt you is up to you," the man said, brandishing a gnarly-looking curved dagger. "Answer the questions, and we will stop. Avoid the questions, and I will begin carving you like an animal."

"Not one for witty banter, then?" I raised an eyebrow.

The man didn't crack even the tiniest smile. He walked over to me calmly and, with a smooth wave of the blade, cut a deep gash into my face. Shocked at what had just happened, I felt the burn of the wound, but my title suppressed the pain by a lot. However, my vision had narrowed and become skewed.

"Did you just blind me, old man?" I glared at him.

He shrugged and sat down opposite me. "A harsh lesson to be sure, but I am sure you now understand that I am not the patient sort."

The pain pulsed from my face, and I forced a grin onto my bloodied mouth. "Perhaps you should ask a question before starting to cut into people's eyes?"

The man shrugged again. "I will ask now. Do you admit to the murders?"

"To murders no.. to killing a bunch of assholes who broke into our home, sure!" I leaned back in my chair.

"That will not do. There is a difference, you see," the man sighed. He stood up and walked behind me. I felt the blade run over my back, one, two, three times. I think he was annoyed when I didn't utter a sound.

Hot blood ran down my back, and despite my pain suppression, it hurt like hell. The old man sat back opposite me with a neutral expression, then wiped the blade and put it in front of him.

"‘’So, let’s try again, do you admit to the murders?’’ the interrogator asked me. I let out a sigh. ‘’I have admitted as much as I am going to. Does truth not matter in this hole?’’

The man shrugged. ‘’Truth is relative. I need a confession, and a confession I will have. You adventurers are often pretty tough, but I have my ways. Let’s see.. Yes.’’ He surveyed the wall and walked over to a large hedge cutter looking thing. I did not like where his thoughts were going.

‘’Are you serious? You are going to start cutting things off now?’’ I asked, my fear palpable.

The man shrugged. ‘’Just a few minor bits and pieces for now. Can’t have you bleeding out after all.’’ My hands were firmly chained to the table, and I felt helpless.

‘’May I ask something?’’ I said, trying to keep my voice steady. The man walked over with his large scissor from hell, he looked over my hands before looking me in my remaining eye. ‘’Go ahead.’’

‘’If I admit to this, take the blame as it were. Will you leave my companions out of this?’’ I asked, my heart pounding. The man considered my question for a time, then he nodded.

‘’To an extent I suppose. They are still involved, we could ease up on their punishment. You would be executed, of course, but they could get off with a few years of imprisonment.’’

I scowled at him. ‘’Can I get that in writing?’’

For the first time, the man smiled. ‘’You know a little of the game, eh? Yes, you can get it in writing. Well played, lad.’’ I shook my head in disbelief at this obviously insane old man.

‘’Put it in writing in front of me, and I will admit whatever you want me to admit. Just don’t introduce my friends to your tools here,’’ I said, my voice hoarse.

The man nodded and went to knock twice on the door. ‘’Bring the prisoner to his cell, throw a few bandages on him too. Can’t have him dying on us.’’ The guard looked at me with no pity whatsoever and roughly dragged me back to my cell.

I don’t remember being patched up. I was getting dizzy from the blood loss. The old man had cut deep. I think I passed out sometime during that and only awoke later to loud noises."