The barbarian only snorted, crossing his enormous arms. "We will tell you nothing, elf," he said gruffly. "You do not know the wrath of the Baron."
The swordsman's lips curled into a thin smile. "You waste your breath, forest warden. You think your trees, your brothers, can stand against the might of the barons of Ruthenia?"
The water mage's blue eyes flickered. She said nothing, her mana flowing around her silent as a pledge.
The wind mage—he was slim, and had a jagged scar trailing from his temple to his chin—gave a short laugh. "An elf in human territory," he spat. "A weed in the crack of the stone. You will be torn out soon enough."
Thalanar's expression did not change, his eyes impassive. "Your Baron cannot protect you here." he said very softly.
The wind mage's sneer deepened. "You may not know it, elf, but the Baron's reach is longer than you think. You, and your forest, will burn."
But, then Alfrenzo had come in.
The cloaked figure glided through the door as if stepping through petals. Each step appeared practiced and calm. Even beneath the heft of the hood that cloaked his face, nothing could be seen of his skin. The wood beneath him wasn't stressed one bit through his unfeeling foot fall. The air quieted as if even the wood and metal of the walls, and the green forest outside were mesmerized by the countenance of this fiendish traveler.
The prisoners became captive to this presence.
They recognized.
The feeling of helplessness they felt in the vastness of the warehouse nothing by comparison to how dwarfed they felt by that formless presence. The instance they felt the control settle upon them the shackles vanished, leaving them in a stunning and nosebleed silence, as if their bodies quit breathing.
There was no air to breathe, and there was no sound, other than the creaking of the door, and the wooden floor.
For what felt like an eternity nothing was said.
Finally, the water mage swallowed, comfortable in her own silence, but not filled with power. Her mana flickered. "You... who are you?" she said quietly. "What are you?"
Alfrenzo said nothing.
The head swordsman began to speak, but his voice caught on the first word, his eyes wide and examined Alfrenzo, but his lips worked silently.
The barbarian, who had only moments earlier been laughing, shifted uncomfortably, involuntarily clenching and unclenching his enormous hands in sudden uncertainty.
Thalanar let the silence hang there for a moment while he tapped the end of his staff softly onto the floor. "You spoke of the Baron's wrath sometime ago, but you have all seen the match here. I ask you - will you still cower behind that fear, or will you speak?"
The wind mage looked nervously at Alfrenzo, his brow beaded with sweat. The sneer he had just moments earlier, turned into a thin and tight line of fear.
He took a slow breath and lowered his eyes. "We... we serve the Baron," he said, barely above a whisper. "He buys the mana stones. They fuel his plans - plans we were never told. All we knew is that he wanted this forest."
The water mage was slow to nod, "The Baron's knights were not the only ones. He has others... in the court, in the city. We are his shadows."
The head swordsman's voice was rough as he finally spoke. "We did not know of the elves," he said, his voice tremulous. "Or... or you. We were told it was a simple trade - nothing more."
Alfrenzo did not say a word, he simply watched them quietly. And in that quiet, they broke, each confession pouring out of them.
___
Thalanar's calm, steady voice echoed across the wooden chamber as he continued to interrogate the prisoners. "And how does Baron Ronney use you?" he asked in a quiet voice, his staff wafting slowly left and right against the floor. "Sworn loyalties, or...?"
The chief swordsman fidgeted back and forth, and perspiration fell off his temples. "We're mercenaries," he said under duress. "Hired swords - that's it. He paid us to do this trade and secure the mine. We ain't his knights, and his house has nothing to do with it."
Thalanar lifted both his eyebrows slightly. "And I'm sure you know of the Baron's grand intentions regarding the mana stones too?"
The water mage shook her head, her voice growing quiet. "It's important to him. We don't know much. We weren't told as it seems he doesn't trust us enough to do so."
Thalanar stared at them, not dismissing any one prisoner for long. "And the Baron himself - you've met? Talked with him?"
The barbarian grunted. "We only met him once - when he called us to action on the raid. That's it."
For a long beat, Thalanar was still. Then Alfrenzo - still cloaked, as silent and watchful as the forest itself - leaned in closer, and spoke to Thalanar in a low whisper.
Thalanar brought his furrowed brow to attention. He nodded again, and then calmly turned his gaze back to the prisoners.
"One of you will be leaving here," he said quietly. "You will find Roderick and tell him to return to this forest three days from now."
The prisoners looked at each other, and Thalanar could see their fear and uncertainty in their eyes.
"You," he said with colder tones, "all of you will speak. You will tell us everything you know about Baron Ronney's house: the layout, the secret paths and passages. You will tell us all surrounding lands, the borders of his barony, every stronghold and every weakness."
The water mage looked at him, her face tight but resigned. "If we tell you this..." she said quietly, "will we live?"
Thalanar evenly met her stare. "You can expect mercy if you help us," he stated. "If you lie, if you hold anything back, the forest itself will be your end."
They all nodded slowly, one finality at a time.