Chapter 175: The Purge: The Insurgents
The old woman and the two young women who had accompanied her were seized by Alaric’s soldiers and thrown into separate holding cells within the gray confines of the Magistrate’s Building. The grandmother, frail and hunched with age, was isolated from the younger women, who were soon brought before Jotnar—a towering brute among Alaric’s men, known not only for his height but for his fierce look as well.
The chamber where they were interrogated was dim and cold, its only light coming from a narrow slit of a window that barely pierced the gloom. The two women flinched as the door slammed shut behind them. Jotnar stepped inside, ducking beneath the frame. Over two meters tall, his presence consumed the space, his silhouette like that of a beast rather than a man.
"What... what are you going to do to us?" one of the girls stammered, her voice quivering.
Jotnar said nothing. Instead, he walked slowly toward them, each step deliberate, predatory. With every move, he shed a piece of his heavy military garb—first the cloak, then the chain mail on his body. By the time he stood bare-chested, the two women had pressed themselves into a corner, eyes wide with fear. His skin was a canvas of pain—etched with deep scars from wars and inked with menacing tattoos of serpents and skulls, symbols of death and power.
"Stay away from us!" they cried in unison, their hands instinctively shielding their faces.
"Who sent you?" Jotnar’s voice was low, guttural. "Who told you to stir up rebellion against the Royal Family of Northem?"
"We don’t know what you’re talking about," said the braver of the two—a young woman with porcelain skin and unruly curls. Her voice held a tremor, but she stood her ground.
"Liar." Jotnar’s eyes burned with rage. "I saw you whispering to that old woman. Coaching her. Feeding her words meant to sow unrest."
The women cowered beneath his shadow as he loomed above them. Their courage, such as it was, had withered.
"Please... we don’t know anything," they begged, their voices now small and broken.
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