You are being interrogated again... And Sir Vincent tells you something important...

During the next interrogation, you are **** to talk in detail about the events in the brothel “The Shaded Lantern” and about the details of your journey to the secluded forest mansion of the Duke.

You outline the content of your dialogues with the owner of the brothel gnome Kynth Gwyn. You describe changes in your mental state that (as you now understand) arose due to a magical tattoo. At the same time, you feel depressed and humiliated because of the memories of what you were **** to do in this brothel...

However, you also feel some relief that your story may lead to some just retribution...

You think: “Let Vincent’s warriors destroy this vile brothel... This nest of depravity... I hope that I will ensure that in the future no one will fall into such a terrible situation as I found myself in...”

Vincent listens to your story with interest.

He says: “Magical tattoos that bend the will... This is clearly illegal... This is probably due to the illegal supply of enchanted minerals... It is obvious that this brothel is connected with secret criminal communities... We must arrest all the employees of this brothel and expose their corrupt connections... I will send my people... Continue your story, Ulkin..."

You talk about the personality of the brothel owner gnome Kynth Gwyn, about his persuasive abilities, about his cunning and meanness. You describe how he convinced you over and over again to do things that you in your right mind would never do. This vile gnome convinced you to do disgusting and shameful things. From the memories of these actions of yours, which are humiliating to your pride, you even feel slightly nauseous. As the story progresses, you come to understand the fact that gnome Kynth Gwyn had outstanding manipulative abilities. He could be very persuasive. After all, the magical tattoo on your shoulder was not done on your first day of work in a brothel. That is, Kynth Gwyn successfully manipulated you even before the moment when his disgusting goals became more easily achieved due to the use of illegal magic.

You interrupt your story and you ask your interlocutor: “Is Kynth Gwyn dead? Has his body been found?

Vincent replies: “I saw his body in person. My subordinates found his body in one of the small buildings located near the Duke's forest mansion. Nearby were the bodies of the rest of the brothel workers who went on this ill-fated journey.”

You feel a little satisfaction.

You think: “It’s good that this vile scum is dead! I'm glad that Kynth left the world of the living! Now he won't be able to ruin anyone else's life..."

The interrogation continues...

Vincent occasionally asks clarifying questions. Sometimes you are **** to repeat the same information. Vincent seems to be testing you and trying to catch you on the contradictions in your story.

Finally, the moment comes when you have to talk about the events that are associated with the attack of the orcs and the escape from the forest mansion...

You are also **** to talk about your communication with the Duke. About his promises... About your actions, which were characterized by a heightened degree of “intimacy” in relation to Caelan...

Vincent grins and comments on your words: “As far as I can judge, based on many years of experience in communication, our noble Duke has always been distinguished by increased extravagance in the field of personal intimate life. Don’t worry, Ulkin, you are far from the first male person to encounter unexpected manifestations of Caelan’s temperament...”

You briefly ask: “He promised me a lot... And what will happen now?”

Your interlocutor makes a vague gesture with his hand and says: “A noble title, a place at the ducal court, the position of the ducal favorite, constant intimate relationships... Obviously, you should not take these promises seriously... You are a reasonable person. Think about what could happen if we imagined that these absurd promises would be fulfilled. Granting a noble title to a half-orc is against the laws of the Sacred Kingdom of Orlania. This means inevitable problems from representatives of the royal authorities. The Duke is a vassal of the King. Although the Duke has certain privileges in his territory, such a scandalous fact as granting noble status to a half-orc commoner would inevitably cause extremely unwanted interference from representatives of the royal authorities. And the Duke would be **** to reverse his decision. Or face even more unpleasant consequences..."

You say irritably: “Let’s say that I don’t need a noble title. What’s wrong with the rest of the promises?”

Vincent continues to say: “The constant presence at the ducal court of a half-orc person (even though this half-orc does not have the title of nobleman), who is obviously a favorite in the most intimate sense of the word... This is a guaranteed way to cause an outburst of indignation on the part of the vast majority of our nobles. You should understand that no feudal ruler is an absolutely independent person. Each ruler depends on his retinue, on his vassals, on his most influential and wealthy subjects... The fate of our duke would be predetermined if you were constantly present at court as a favorite... And our duke already has an extremely precarious political position... What do you think , what is the reason for the tragic events that occurred? Surprise attack by orcs? An attack by traitors who bribed the elite ducal guards?”

You mutter dissatisfiedly: “I don’t know... It’s your job to investigate these events and identify the criminals who are guilty of these events...”

Vincent replies: “You're right. Investigation is my job. And I'm busy investigating. I cannot yet name the names of the organizers of these crimes, which put the Duke’s life in danger. But I can already imagine the motives of these persons and the generalized reasons for the events that occurred..."

You ask: “And what are these “generalized” reasons?”

Your interlocutor says: “The reasons are that one of the influential groups in our duchy chose to physically eliminate our duke due to the fact that it has become extremely difficult to achieve the goals of this group through manipulating the duke...”

You say in surprise: “Are you saying that the Duke was previously manipulated?”

Vincent smiles and replies: “Exactly. He has been manipulated his entire life. And he will continue to be manipulated. There are rulers who are passionate about governance, war, economics... Such rulers may have different levels of competence. It is extremely rare among them to come across rulers-geniuses who leave an indelible mark on history thanks to the greatness of their deeds that change the face of the world... The common features of such person-rulers are sincere passion for the business of ruling, a passionate desire for triumph, hard work reaching the point of asceticism, exactingness towards themselves himself and the ability to impose his unyielding will... The obvious fact is that Duke Caelan Lamitrin does not belong to this type of ruler. He has always been a spoiled, weak-willed and unstable person, for whom entertainment, pleasure and his own mental anguish always occupied a central place in life. Therefore, Caelan, from the first day he inherited the title of Duke, has always been a puppet, manipulated by one group of powerful people or another. Nobles, clergy, representatives of the richest merchant guilds... The only difference is that some of these influential groups are content to protect their interests by using the Duke as an obedient puppet, while other influential groups want to throw the figure of the Duke away as a boring toy in order to find more a convenient puppet for yourself..."

You are somewhat stunned by the frank words of your interlocutor. But you are **** to continue your story.

When you get to the point where the battle in the village of Garon's Ford begins, Vincent interrupts you.

He says: “Thank you for the interesting story, Ulkin. You still have a lot of important information to tell. However, that's enough for today. Our conversation will continue another day."

Having said these words, Vincent calls two guards who led you to the interrogation room. These two prison guards take you to your cell.

The cell is locked again, and you lie down on your wooden bed.

Conflicting thoughts are running through your mind. You try to comprehend Vincent's words about the Duke. You try to predict the dangers that may arise for you personally due to current events.

You are lying on the bed and looking at the stone ceiling. Your wounds hardly hurt. Fifteen minutes later you fall asleep...