Next to the Custard
Created | Updated Nov 13, 2002
As the sun of that great age was setting, the tensions between the Kingdom and Aisorbma rose. The spark, caused by the destruction of one factory, floated and then caught on, as the terrorists were hunted by the Aisorbmii. Marquis Endam ar Berrito was killed; Baroness
Erica del Erica was captured.
The Aisorbmian pursuers took the Baroness to a local settlement, where her trial, judgement and probable execution would take place. But first came the interrogation. The following contemporary account was reconstructed from the records of an officer who oversaw her confinement and questioning.
Episode Two: Responses to Pain
Marshal Danovarilani watched them bring the prisoner in, with interest. She had been, so he'd been told, some kind of leader among the Kingdom Peoples, someone high up. No longer. She was a prisoner in his dungeon and he would enjoy her as such.
She looked around her surroundings, and he noted her apparent resignation to spending a long time in the dark cell, surrounded by bars. He knew her assumption to be incorrect; it would not be long at all.
One of the Marshals stumbled, perhaps slipping on the grime on the floor. The girl looked even less comfortable about the cleanliness of the cell; she was bare-footed. She said nothing, for she could not: they had gagged her. Her arms had been encased in the ribbed gloves reserved for users of magic, preventing her limbs or fingers from moving independently, and the gloves had been chained to the cell ceiling. There would be no spells cast here. She was defenceless, and Marshal Danovarilani stepped forward to make sure she knew it.
'Marshal Danovar!' called a commanding voice, and the Marshal turned. It was the Paladin, Torosanifeya. 'You are guardian of th' dungeon, nothin' more than that, and def'nitely not her interrogator. She's dangerous. Leave her be 'til told otherwise.'
Danovarilani nodded. 'Have yer decided who's gonna execute 'er?'
The Paladin looked at the prisoner for a moment. Danovarilani knew what he was considering: while her crimes demanded the death penalty, her knowledge could prove invaluable, and they might need to keep her alive for a time. The Paladin turned back to him. 'When th' time comes, I'll put yer name in th' hat,' he said. Danovarilani grunted; Paladins
were chosen for their nobility, but they were also politically minded. He doubted his name would even be remembered.
Another Marshal entered the dungeon. He moved slowly, allowing the girl to look upon him,
allowing fear to build, the fear of knowing what he was but not what he would do. Danovarilani had no doubt that this was the interrogator, or at least the first of them. The imposing newcomer approached the prisoner and reached a hand to her chin, tilting her head back.
'I am Marshal Rekowarilara,' he said. 'Remember that.' He circled around her, moving outside her field of vision. She jumped involuntarily when he touched the back of her neck, and began to whisper at her ear. 'I’m going to let yer speak. First thing I want yer to do is tell me yer name.'
The gag was removed. Instantly the girl began to chant, but the Marshal slapped her cheeks, jumbling the sounds. 'Yer name, yer stupid girl,' he repeated, pausing to hear her answer. There was none.
Danovarilani observed, mock pity in his eyes. She was rebellious and proud, qualities which would only encourage the Interrogator, who for the time being remained behind her.
Then she suddenly sagged forwards into her restraints, crying out, unprepared for the blow dealt to her. Even Danovarilani hadn’t seen the blow, or even the weapon chosen. A second blow, and third, followed quickly, with equally painful screams; at the fourth he even managed to hear the preceding whisper of air sliced. At the eighth he saw the implement, a leather belt. At ten Rekowarilara stopped, and brought her back to her initial standing position. Then he repeated his request.
'Baroness Erica del Erica,' she said, haltingly.
'Yer will address me by me name,' said the Marshal. 'I ‘ope you remember it.'
He allowed another pause, and eventually, haltingly, she stuttered, 'I am Baroness Erica del Erica, Marshal Rekowarilari.' She spat at the ground, angry at her self-betrayal.
'Almost right. My name is Rekowarilara,' he said. 'Remember that.'
The interrogation went on, taking different forms as Rekowarilana used different weapons on different areas of her flesh, and asked for different information. He asked her to describe how the factory had been destroyed, each time in more detail. He asked for the names of the people who sent her. And he asked for other information, information about her family, her friends, her life, forbidding her to keep her private life to herself. Eventually she learned his name, though it stressed her to say it. And every so often he would ask her again for her name, and she would struggle to say that, too. But he never used it.
To Danovarilani it was clear that the girl was unprepared to endure Marshal Rekowarilara's methods of information extraction, but nevertheless she told them little, in the main because she was unable to speak coherently. Early on, hope had rested with her regaining enough wit to attempt to spellcast. As her mouth failed her, hopes diminished for both parties. Unfortunately fear had become her defence instead.
At last Paladin Torosanifeya interceded. 'That'll do, Rek. Yer tired. She's tired. We'll let her get her tongue again before we restart.' Rekowarilara backed away, and Torosanifeya stepped forward beside another man, to stand in front of the prisoner. The deepest wish of her legs was to collapse, but the ribbed gloves, chained to the ceiling of the cell, kept her upright and her arms showed bruising signs of protest. The newcomer touched the chin of the girl and tilted her head back, and had to use a second hand to keep the girl's eyelids open. The Paladin spoke. 'Girl. Yer will tell us what we want to know. Otherwise... Fin, open your dinner hole.'
The girl had no reaction, until Fin warmed her cheeks with stinging slaps. Then she recoiled as much as her muscles allowed. Fin turned away, towards Danovarilani, who saw the reason why: Fin had no tongue.
The Paladin and his companion left the cell, and Danovarilani locked it behind them. 'Ranger Finogilisera,' the Paladin instructed, 'I want yer to go to th' Prime Minister. He'll want to know what we've found out so far. I'll make a fuller report when we know all she knows. Marshal Rekowarilara, you'll keep at her. Make an impression. Cut a hand off or something, then let her try and use magic. But for now, take a break. Marshal Danovarilani, you and yer fellows will keep watch. I might see if I can get some food for her, she might need it at this rate. If she regains her tongue, ring yer bell.'
They left, and the dungeon door was locked. Danovarilani sat on his stool by the door, and opened his small rucksack. He pulled out a sandwich and ate it slowly, watching the girl achingly trying to support her weight. She tried to stand to relieve her arms, but one foot slipped in the grime and she yelped. Danovarilani finished the sandwich, and decided to wait until she tried again before starting the next one.
An hour and three sandwiches passed. Only the unopened tin of rice pudding remained. Danovarilani stood up, circling the cell, staring at the prisoner. She was shaking, straining to find a more comfortable position, but there was none. When Danovarilani reached her front he knelt and looked to her eyes, trying to determine what she would do next.
She was young, he decided. Frightened, uncomfortable, defenceless; weary, and no longer proud - more than that, full of guilt that her defiance had cost her more than necessary. He knew they would not have been any more lenient had she told them everything, but did not tell
her so. He knew the methods. They would apply force at first, to show how harsh they could be. From this next session on, her co-operation would determine her future; a positive response meant persuasion, a negative response more arduous tortures.
The food had still not arrived, but he decided not to wait. He took the tin, and a spoon and tin-opener, from the sack and opened the tin. He moved close to the cell and reached inside; too far, he would have to enter to approach her. Slowly he opened the cell door and entered,
kneeling beside the girl. He took a spoonful of the pudding and offered it to her.
She sniffed, smelling the food, but evidently suspicious of it. He waited until her eyes were open, then gestured that it was safe. After a few moments he decided to demonstrate by eating it himself, then offering a second spoonful back to her.
She looked at it hungrily for a few moments. Then she began to cry.
He shrugged and gave up, exited the cell, locked it and returned to his stool. Then he ate the pudding himself.
And that was when he heard the rumbling. Swiftly he rang the bell. Then the far wall exploded, and dust filled the dungeon. From the coughing Danovarilani decided the girl and at least one of his sub-ordinate guards had survived the blast.
The dungeon door opened, and Marshal Rekowarilara returned, two swords drawn. He threw one to Danovarilani. Both swung their blades in a figure-8 to communicate their readiness to the other before advancing; they now advanced.
Danovarilani saw four enemy. Then the other Marshal leapt upon a foe and drove his head down into the muck, striving to drown him. Danovarilani leapt to defend him from others, and impaled the second with his sword. As he struggled to pull the blade free, the third foe
turned his fingers towards both Marshals and uttered a command.
The guardsman’s head exploded. Danovarilani, behind him, was not hit, but he could see the fingers charging again. He abandoned his sword and ran.
Rekowarilani saw his peril and quickly dispatched his enemy by a blow to the head, then threw his sword. The sorcerer was on the other side of the cell, so the blade had to get between the bars to succeed...
It did not. The prisoner got in the way, and the blade sliced through one wrist and clattered to rest in the ribbed glove.
There was only the sorcerer left, but the Marshals were unarmed now. Danovarilani ran for the torture-implement rack, but the sorcerer dismissed him and focused on the cell, directing energies to shatter the bars to pieces. He entered and gathered the girl into his arms, using more magic to destroy her restraints. Rekowarilara’s sword, and the girl’s hand, fell into the muck.
Then he made to leave. Danovarilani looked around for his fellow Marshal, but Rekowarilara had fallen aside at the bar-shattering spell. So the Marshal charged alone, into this powerful foe, hoping the sorcerer's magic had been sufficiently exhausted for him to make a killing blow.
The wizard gave him a look. For a moment Danovarilani felt something warm and wet inside his head.
Then his arms were a bit squishy, and his eyes became pulp. And he died soon after.
And so Marshal Danovarilani died, and never did get to execute the Baroness...
Next time, we follow the Baroness and her rescuer back to the Kingdom. And soon we will discover exactly what the Baroness told the interrogator. If only these sources listened more carefully, the historical records would be far more complete. *grumbles* don’t these people realise we have a job to do here? *mutter mutter*.
The Next to the Custard Archive
