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The levers were titled "Brake" and "Release Brake".
Zyrlyss struck a philosopher's pose.
As the windmill turned, the screams of the gnome grew quieter and louder, over and over again—in a beautifully ruthless rhythm.
It was throughout poetic. The circle of life, manifested in a work of art. Scream in birth, scream in death, scream in between. Forever. Everyone.
Some might be surprised that goblins were capable of creating such a profound installation, but not Zyrlyss. The author was dead. The beauty lay in the eyes of the beholder.
"Tav? Is there a problem?" Gale asked.
"No!" Zyrlyss gestured complete confidence. "The choice is clear. Release is something good. Break is something bad. We want to do good."
"What? NO!" Gale yelled, but the lever was already pulled.
The gnome's scream flew over their heads and died away in the distance.
"What have you done?!"
"I, uhm, released the gnome?" Zyrlyss barely could keep a straight expression on his face, especially after Astarion started to laugh his lungs out.
At least someone in this Lolthforsaken place understood a good joke.
Gale looked at him with harsh judgment. Zyrlyss responded defiantly:
"Why? Would you want me to break it? The levers said: release the gnome or break the gnome."
"It said 'brake'!" Not 'break'!"
"It said 'break' not 'break'? Thank you for the explanation."
"'Brake' as in 'stop the mechanism', not 'break' as in 'destroy'!"
Zyrlyss rolled his eyes. "Well, excuse me for being bad at Chondathan wordplay. It is, in fact, my third language."
Gale believed he wasn't a wizard when he told him—offensive that—so Zyrlyss assumed he'd believe anything else too.
The pointless discussion continued for a moment and ended in 'what's done is done'.
Astarion was still giggling as they moved on. He caught up with Zyrlyss, while Gale and Shadowheart fell behind.
"You did that on purpose, didn't you, darling?" he asked, a conspiratorial smile tugging his lips.
"I would never!" Zyrlyss clutched at his chest. "Your honor, I swear my intentions were pure."
"Pure evil?"
This time Zyrlyss allowed himself a laugh. "I'm trying to be good, I promise. It's just not easy. I mean, for all the Surface talk about how freedom is good and valuable: today we've learned that, actually, it isn't always."