As we enter the tent, Jenn exclaims “Dad” and rushes over to him. I notice Grandpa compose himself a bit, didn’t look like he expected his son. Father and son greet each other a lot more warmly than I was expecting. Jenn quickly getting between them and locking one of each of their arms in both of hers. Jenn is enjoying the family three-way hug, extending it out a little more than what is comfortable for the two men. While they are having their family reunion, I scan the room to see Officer Trailbreaker standing off to the side. There is a desk with some paper on it. A table big enough to have gear and equipment on it, with what looks to be my sword laying over at the end, nearest the desk. I see it and look over at Talon. He saw me looking at it and gives me the nod yes. About this time, I hear the conversation turn to me being the center of attention.

“I wanted to talk with Doug. To thank him for taking care of my granddaughter and hear for myself what happened.” Talking to his son, but by the end of the sentence, directing it at me.

“Jenn, would you like to introduce Doug to your Grandpa?” Rowan asks his daughter.

“No father, that is for you to do.” Smiling at her dad.

“Doug, this is my father, Inquisitor Lightbringer. He is a Paladin of the First Church in this area.” Inquisitor Lightbringer steps forward removing his glove to shake my hand with a firm grip. His pleasant greeting fades a bit as he releases my hand.

“From the stories I hear, I was expecting some Gold-ranked hero walking through our midst.” Inquisitor Lightbringer comments with a smile, his son giving him a bit of a glare. “Chairs, table.” The Inquisitor calls out and a couple of footmen bring a dining room size table complete with chairs, food, and drink for everyone.

As we are sitting down, Officer Trailbreaker still standing off to the side, Jenn comments. “If only mom were here right now, we could all have a family meal together.”

“She went to talk to her dad.” I reply as everyone looks up at me. Feeling the questioning stares, I look to Rowan. “Daylor told her that her father wanted to talk to her and was asking for her by name.”

This elicits a look from Rowan and he asks. “When was this? Have they already gone? Were you given a message for me?”

“No” I reply. “Her father came here. He is somewhere back over by the lake.” I should have turned and given a long look in that direction, but I would be the only one who would know or get the joke. Rowan is already slowly starting to get up, asking his father to be excused as Jenn’s mouth is slightly open, still processing the information.

You can see the Inquisitor straighten as he gives Officer Talon a few unspoken instructions and a nod of his head. Talon has followed Rowan out and Jenn has finish processing. “Grandpa Aarush is here?” looking wide-eyed at me. Turning, she is up and hugging the current grandpa. “Go.” he says hugging her back. I swear I could hear her say “I have to get my bow…” as she bolted past me.

Grandpa and I are left looking at each other for a moment before Officer Talon returns and breaks the tension with a nod. I see Grandpa's countenance change, the smile fading from his face as his persona of Inquisitor Lightbringer changes from the light-hearted mood with his granddaughter, to something more serious with me. I already see the accusation in his eyes. Maybe it’s just me and the baggage I have coloring my perspective. Maybe it’s like work, and he is just being more professional. It feels similar to when you are out with your friends, but you can’t have a good time because your teacher or boss is there, dulling everyone’s mood.

“I wanted to hear for myself what happened.” he says while doing a Jedi thing with his hands that I guess was supposed to be inconspicuous. “Sometimes hearing the account from the people who were there, can give insight and detail of the event that you just can’t get second hand. Tell me what happened Doug.”

“What was that?” I ask. Sometimes I wonder what puts me on guard with authority figures. “With your hands. What did you do?” I’m a little more relaxed and comfortable than I should be. Normally I would have made a mental note of the situation and kept my words and actions guarded.

Inquisitor Lightbringer is reacting to me with a bit of the ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about’. Like when a little kid catches an adult doing something wrong, the Inquisitor playing it off saying “Oh, sorry, just old habits, I guess. Sometimes it helps to relax when talking about stressful things.”

I glance over at Officer Trailbreaker for a second, before turning back to the Inquisitor. The explanation doesn’t seem quite right, and I can’t seem to keep my mouth shut. “Like a lie detector? Or a truth serum?” I ask and he is not saying anything, like being caught with his hand in the cookie jar. Like a politician, righteousness in his own eyes.

“How does it work? What happens if I lie? Can I lie? Can I only tell the truth? What if I believe it is the truth, but it is not, can I still say it? Is it magic, a power giving to you by god or the church? Maybe it’s a class thing. Can I try it? Is it safe?” Looking back and forth between the two, waiting for answers, while thinking in the back of my head that I’m being an idiot.

Inquisitor Lightbringer rolls his eyes a little bit at Talon, seeming to permit him to speak. “Part of being a Paladin is to know when you are being lied to.” Talon says. “The way you are acting is all on you.” Giving me a bit of a sly grin. “A Paladin may beat the truth out of you if it was a righteous cause. In your case, maybe to shut you up.”

The tension between us is much more relaxed now. I start from just after Jenn shooting her bow when that little shit goblin commander started putting everyone to sleep. I leave out the ring and some of the other things that I didn’t tell anyone else. Leaving it off after I was hit by the M-troll. Not saying a word about home or anything after that.

Inquisitor Lightbringer contemplates for a few moments. “You seem to be honest in what you are telling me. But I still have some issues believing things happened the way you recall.” He gets up and walking over to the table with all the equipment, picks up the sword. Holding it out for a second, he cuts through the air a few times with enough speed and force that I can hear the noise it makes cutting the air. “This is the sword that you told Officer Trailbreaker you won and were using. Killing the goblins and cutting the m-trolls, correct?”

“Yes, that looks like the sword. It’s not like I’m an expert on swords, but it does look kind of unique to me.” I reply as Inquisitor Lightbringer is signaling Talon to come to stand beside him.

Inquisitor Lightbringer continues, as he is cutting through the air with the sword. “Yes, I have never seen another like it. There is some powerful enchantment on this sword and I have a problem believing you did what you claim to have done, because of it.” Officer Trailbreaker is avoiding looking at me as the Inquisitor sounds like a prosecutor, all but calling me a liar.

Handing the sword to Talon, he tells him to start using the sword. As Talon is forcefully cutting through the air, Inquisitor Lightbringer steps about ten feet away from him, still talking to me. “You see, this sword has been enchanted so that it cannot be used for combat. You cannot even pretend to use it against another.” Speaking to Talon he commands “Officer Trailbreaker, come at me!”

Talon Turns slightly and looks at the Inquisitor. When he does this, the tip of the sword starts to drop. By the time he takes his first step, Officer Trailbreaker is dragging the tip of the sword in the ground. It is the same as when I saw the goblin dragging it before he put the ring on. About halfway, Talon stopped. Not because he couldn’t drag it anymore, but because he is straining, using both hands to try and lift the tip of the sword up.

“Just drop it and go back to where you were.” Inquisitor Lightbringer is walking over to where the sword is laying on the ground. Picks it up, as if nothing happened. Cutting through the air as he returns to where he was just standing. Turning to face Talon, the tip of the sword already going down. Now holding the sword in a two-handed grip, straining, he cannot resist the tip of the sword touching the ground. Continuing to strain for a few more moments, the Inquisitor drops the sword and looks at me. “My guess is that someone went to a lot of trouble to make sure that this sword could not be used. Maybe even a realistic toy for some pampered kid.” He picks up the sword and puts it on the table in front of me. “You can have your sword back.” He does not turn away and holds his gaze at me.

My thoughts are racing. Looking at the sword, I am fairly certain that this is the same blade. Thinking about it more, I am sure of it. It is pissing me off with the accusations he made. This is also a man of power and authority that you don’t want to provoke. What would you do? He is continuing to look at me from across the table, waiting for me to confess. To admit my guilt and tell him the truth. Sitting there, I slowly reach out and take hold of the handle.

Leaning slightly over the table across from me, he doesn’t react and holds his accusing eyes on me, knowing that he cannot be hurt by this toy. Holding the blade horizontally above the table, I rotate the blade and point it at him. He is close enough to touch if I extend my arm. Still, he remains unflinching commanding a response. His eyes widen a bit as he realizes that I am pushing him back with the point of my blade in his armor-plated chest. “I guess that makes me its rightful owner” as I finish extending, without overreaching.

“Give him the rest of his belongings.” The Inquisitor says as he straightens up out of my reach. His countenance lightening as he plays it off like it was no big deal.

Talon grabs some items off the table with all the gear. As I follow him out of the tent, wicked vindictive thoughts in my mind override my better judgment. I pause to ask the Inquisitor. “You never let me try the lying thing with you.” He looks up at me for a moment, then gives me the come here hand sign, signaling me to go ahead.

“1 + 1 = 2. Truth?” Still looking at me, he nods yes, waiting for me to keep going.

“1 + 1 = 10. Truth?” After a few moments, he is glaring at me. He knows it’s a lie, but I am certain he did not detect any lie or deceit from me.

I hold up my right wrist, just in case he missed it, and point to my blue Special wrist band. He shakes his head dismissively, not thinking any more about it, as I quick step to catch up to Talon. I can’t have him knowing what I’ve done. While he may be thinking he didn’t detect any lie, maybe because there is something wrong with me or I don’t know the difference. I know now that if I ever needed to, I can twist the truth, or a lie, in a way that he would believe it. You see, both of those statements are true, but he believed one was a lie. 1 + 1 = 10, which is true when working in a base2 number system, like with computers. And therein lies the perspective and the deceit.