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.
