[h2]Marxello Catchanale[/h2]
...ah. That was a bit of a change in tune. He wanted to believe that the farmer... "farmer" was just making a joke, but the merchant's fear was naught but genuine, and likewise with that knife. Luckily, one did not become a Knight of the Order through possession of poor reflexes, and this farmer had telegraphed his intentions quite a bit. Quite foolishly, at that. Mark had plenty of time to draw his blade and invoke the Undine within it, sending forth a spear of water directed to smack the knife out of the farmer's hand, and then a swirling tendril of the stuff to wrap around the farmer's wrists and ankles, binding him and dragging him into the air, helpless.

'YEAH, so what was that about not relying on OTHER PEOPLE?' Mark asked, a lot of anger and probably a bit more force than needed in his voice, but also a fair heap of irony that he'd probably explain to his companions later. 'I suppose that explains where everybody's been going... you like to eat? Because you'll get plenty of food in prison, after you tell us where the others are.' And that train of thought came about under the assumption that this guy might not be unique. He might have family. A cannibal family. [i]Ugh.[/i] The prospect horrified him, and that alone had him bluffing that he knew about "the others" already, no matter how real they were. He ought to just kill the man, but the justice system in nearby Ambran would be more than sufficient to get him executed or imprisoned for life for the scope of his crimes. Assuming Mark maintained a reasonable standing with the local Order-

Oh, crap, right. Monsters. And whilst the farmer's opinion wasn't noteworthy, the merchant probably hated monsters and all who associated with them. He'd have to make something up regarding them... step one: distance himself, since he had no hope of dissassociating from them entirely at this stage.

'You two, well done. For your hard work, you'll get extra rations tonight,' he stated toward Syszi and Tue almost monotonally, as if talking to two subordinates, or at least something along those lines. 'But we're not done yet. Once this one talks-' He jerked his head at the cannibal. '-scour the mountains for any allies of his, subdue them, and bring them back here.' The merchant and the cannibal might get curious about what he was trying to do, but he could easily explain away his interactions with any monsters. More importantly, he hoped Syszi and Tue weren't dense enough to misunderstand his intent once again... knowing Syszi, there was a good chance she'd misunderstand anyway, and react accordingly. Alas, it was worth a shot.