On Sunday 23rd at nine and a half bells Henry Jackson, the crew member that survived the initial encounter with Boralus City Watch, was hanged at the Hangman’s Square. He belonged to The Butcher’s crew, a dangerous criminal that died in the process of being captured and was guilty of smuggling items from Freehold to the capital, murder, trading illicit goods and arson.
Over twenty people met at the square to see the end of this criminal. As a reporter I have to say I have never been to a public hanging and I am not a fan of the idea, the things I heard before going did not help me to like more and rather made me expect a grotesque spectacle with people having fun and enjoying someone’s death. But nothing further away from reality. Everyone stayed rather quiet, almost in a respectful manner, at least until the end.
The person in charge of the execution read the charges Henry Jackson was found guilty of murder in the first degree, arson and destruction of property, aiding the pirate known as
"Butcher" and, finally, smuggling and piracy.
After this the criminal raised his voice to say the following to Captain Royston:
Henry Jackson:
"You said if I helped you, you would let me go. I told you everything I know. Please. Captain, please!"
This raised some murmurs from the public, I could hear some of them say things along the lines of
"another lie of the Captain to get want he wants" and
"Royston is corrupted". But things got even more heated when someone threw a tomato at Captain Royston, fortunately, or unfortunately - depending on your perspective, he dodged said tomato.
After the incident he proceed with the following speech:
“You had the pleasure to witness what happens to the criminals that want to pollute our great city! I shall let you know that each and every one of them will face the noose, until the city is rid of filth! I am Captain Theodore Royston of the City Watch and I shan't stop until I see every one of these foul criminals brought to justice! Now I know some hiding among you are the very criminals we are fighting against! Let this be lesson to you! Leave Boralus before it's too late! For there is no room for the likes of you! Now I know who these persons are, and I won't rest until I see them -ALL- hanged! Enjoy your freedom people of Boralus! The freedom I've bestowed upon you!”
Taking this as an opportunity, I asked Captain Royston more about the operation to capture him and his crew:
Captain Royston:
"My men have discovered that he was smuggling illegal contraband to Boralus, from Freehold. Cargo that the pirates were plundering from the trading ships. Weapons and goods. This Tuesday we found out that the Butcher and his gang were to receive the smuggled cargo from Freehold, west of the Tradewinds Market. Outside the city. So, I've rounded my men and off we went to intercept the shipment. As you can imagine, they weren't really keen on surrendering so we had to use force. Butcher and the others were defeated after a decisive strike from me and my guards. A few of them got wounded, badly, but we managed to emerge victorious."
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This statement was supported by Lieutenant Victor Rallian that was present during the interview and lead the operation. He added some more perspective into it and, rare to see, even admitted things didn’t go as smooth as planned:
Lt. Rallian:
"Well, we have been tracking The Butcher and his men through Boralus over the last couple of months. Until he finally made a trade in the city. He is not the only smuggler we are keeping tabs on. We went to arrest him but, they heard us coming and they were ready. He and his men started to attack us, and we had to take lethal action. There are few things I can say about it. It did not go as planned. We didn't manage to arrest Butcher, but we did manage to put an end to his tyranny. Henry Jackson gave up as soon as he realized he was outnumbered. So, we arrested him."
I also asked the Captain about his recent transfer to Boralus and how is the people around treating him:
Captain Royston:
"I was transferred here to help the City Watch in getting rid of the crime in Boralus. Alliance and Admiralty, seeing how I've cleaned the city of the pirates requested me to help them with the other sorts of criminals plaguing the capital. Well, as you can imagine, some criminals weren't thrilled by me coming here. It just goes to show they know I pose a threat to their operations. And that the reckoning for their crime has come."
On a more relaxed note, he added this:
Captain Royston:
"Well... I am quite famous here. They even made a song about me. It was a pathetic attempt on ridiculing the guards and my person by the likes of the ones who wish to see me gone. But much to their dismay, I assure you madam, I am here to stay."
Finally, to conclude our interview he added that *"the gallows will be working full time until this city is rid of filth"