“I’m only going to ask one more time”, I said, completely at ease as I lounged casually in a chair against the wall. I picked a speck of dirt from my fingernail and flicked it away. “Where is Adara?”

“I don’t know! I already told you, I haven’t seen her for days!” The girl on the floor flopped about, struggling against the bonds that I had given her not a minute before. She was taking her sudden change to her ability to move much harder than the previous one had. The last girl had just kind of sat there, answering my questions. I guess this one was more of a fiery spirit.

I leaned forward in my chair, locking my fingers together. A large gold ring on my thumb glinted in the light of the fireplace, crackling merrily a few feet away. The girl looked up at me as I contemplated her.

“Wrack your mind, if you would please”, I said, being as polite as I could. “It might be unfortunate for you if you don’t find an answer soon.”

“I already told you, she left a few days ago, heading East. I haven’t seen her since!” The girl’s arms were pinned tightly behind her back with coils of golden rope. Her legs were bound together just as tightly, with a short length going from her ankles up to her chest, which was also bound in golden rope. I had gotten much better at this bondage thing over the centuries. I thought back to my first ‘scuffle’ with Adara. The limp spell had worked beautifully, with the only downside of the actual binding process. I had to do that by hand. Not to mention the time stop. Summoning rope was so much easier. 

“Aha! I seem to have found an inconsistency in your story!” I shouted, pointing at the girl gleefully. “You just told me she had gone East. But the last girl I asked said she went West! What are you playing at, girl?” 

The girl’s face flushed brightly. “I meant West! I really did! Please don’t hurt me sir, I’m just telling you what I saw…” she trailed off. I had stood up, stretching my arms wide.

“Ah, that was a much needed stretch. You know, all this running around searching for my enemy has been quite tiresome.” I knelt down next to the girl. “Especially when little twerps like you keep lying to me.”

The girl squeaked. “Who– who are you?” she whispered.

I laughed. “Ah, now that is something that you will find deeply moving. I am afraid that if I reveal myself before you divulge your information, you will become too scared to answer.” I rested my arms on my knees, kneeling down even closer to her head. She shied away in fear. Whispering in her ear I said softly, “But alas, you leave me no choice”.

I jumped up, her eyes following me around the room. I alighted upon the chair, casting a wide shadow on the wall behind me. “I have lived for a thousand years! I have fought with the armies of Shakir and raised the walls of Byore! I faced the mighty demon Bajor and stood my ground!” I flourished my coat widely. “I subdued the esteemed Adara Highforest and the valiant Gwen Candlenight! I razed the Eternal Academy to the ground and founded the Black Tower in its stead!” The girl had paled. She knew who I was. I smiled to myself, approaching the climax. “I am Duncan, he who needs no people. Never has this world seen so powerful a wizard, and never will they again!” The ring on my finger glinted as a powerful wind came from nowhere, blowing my cloak out behind me.

The girl struggled against her hogtie. Her face was ashen gray and she wiggled as fast away from me as she could. I smiled, my teeth shining in the reflection of the fire. “Now do you know who I am?” 

I left the girl bound in the room. Between sobs, she had given up the information I needed. I smiled to myself. That speech always managed to help people suddenly remember things they insisted they hadn’t known just a minute before. It was an impressive list, most of which was true. Apparently, my reputation preceded me.

As a punishment for not finding the necessary information sooner, I had gagged the girl and enchanted her boots. I don’t deal with commoners often, so I hoped her story would spread for when I needed to talk to any others. If she was lucky, sometime tomorrow morning someone would find her and help her out of her restraints. But she was in for a surprise. The boots, which I was happy to say were mercilessly tickling her poor soles right now, were magically bound to her feet. It would take a sorcerer as powerful as myself to get them off now.

I smiled as I stood in the dark street, in front of the inn that I had just finished gracing with my presence. I listened inside the room and could hear the girl bouncing around, crying and laughing through her gag, overwhelmed by her boots. I grinned as a particularly strong round of laughter sounded through the room. On second thought, I conjured a small vial out of the air and unstopped it. I poured out a single drop of dark-red liquid into the air and sent it up towards the girl’s room. I watched it slip through a crack in the window frame, then listened as the sensitivity serum kicked in and her torture ramped up a few notches. I smiled again and departed, leaving nothing more than a cloud of dust in my wake.