Judy
"..." Kohm thinks for a moment, before he decides that waiting for whatever the Highwayman is up to wouldn't be wise. He was not in the optimal angle to shoot another chain at the highwayman, so... Might as well try talking. He had no illusions about it working, but it was practically customary to speak a word or two in such a standoff.
Fortunately, he knew quite some Runran. *Thanks, Liezi*
*"So, what you brings you here, bud?"*
Cora
```Manfred keeps his shield help up as Kohm calls. He moves a bit closer to the doorway, closing some distance, in prep for anything sudden.
He's not the next person to talk.
"Exacting revenge on plague bringers," The raspy voice of a grizzled man sounds from the fog.
Plague bringers?```
Judy
"Plague bringers?" Kohm mirrors his own thoughts and the Highwayman's words, genuine curiosity leading his way in this case with the new and unexpected information, though part of his brain noted pragmatically that it was the classic way to lead the flow of conversation.
Cora
```"The workers of this factory wove inflicted string into blankets to be donated to disprivileged families. Many across the land fell ill... Many died. My daughter was among them."
So it's a crime of revenge.
Lee makes an audible sound (as a detective she knows several languages as required) and speaks. "Of course! That's the link we all missed - every single victim was a worker in these factories. He's killing them because they sent out infested products to aid the poor... But why is he killing EVERYONE involved?"```
Judy
Kohm looks to the poor bastard they rescued and than at Lee with a questioning look, but ultimately decides not to cut directly into the question lingering in the air, least it provoke the Highwayman. Instead, he probes for for a feel of the Highwayman's character. "Your daughter. Vengeance, then?" He doesn't inject much emotion into the statement, though he let some understanding slip through. Not sympathy, simple empathy. He could indeed understand, but without a full picture of the whole matter, nor a direction of where to lead this conversation in mind, he knew he had to remain neutral. Too much emotion on his part and he might provoke wariness, too little and the highwayman would become justifiably angry.

...Huh, when did he end up falling into a negotiator's mindset? How quaint.
Cora
```"She was all I had left... Now I have nobody. My wife died giving birth and I raised the girl on my own. Now she's gone too, my baby... I've since been consumed by a searing rage, seeking justice for her and all who fell to this crime against the poor."
He seems very dead-set on the notion that the infected fabric was done intentionally to wipe out the lower-class. Lee knows for certain what the case is - there is a ridiculous amount of evidence in the staging grounds suggesting that was the case.
"W-what is he talking about?" The victim ex-worker whimpers. "Why does he want to kill me?" It appears this guy has no clue about this, probably some guy who worked for a while and happened to be wrapped up in all this.
Lee explains the situation to the man. His arm is finally reattached as well, so she removes the tourniquet for immediate blood flow return and lets him test it while she explains.```
Judy
"I se... A noble sentiment." Kohm states simply, though his brain was going into overdrive as he absorbed all the details. From what he saw of Lee, Kohm was certain this was not just mania, and that only gave his brain a headache. Of course there always had to be a bigger story behind it all... If this was a few months back it would have at least appealed to his inner adventurer, but now..."I presume you have a plan to take down the perpetuators of this crime-" If what the Highwayman said was true, then there was simply no other words that could be used to describe this entire situation and it's instigators"-beyond taking out a bunch of hapless and equally poor workers?" There was no use whitewashing some of the Highwayman's actions, however. Understandable did not equate to justified, not when the hunting clearly was indiscriminate to at least some degree.
Cora
```A moment's silence. By now the fog was beginning to clear and things are starting to turn visible. That fog seed is expiring.
"I am too dangerous to be let free. The burning rage fuels my desire to kill everybody involved... Even those who were innocent like this one. I surrender." The clatter of steel sounds, scraping along a brick floor towards the doorway where Manfred was standing. The sound makes the hurt man scream. "Arrest me or execute me on the spot. There is nothing for me either way."
Manfred looks at the weapon on the ground in front of him and glances back to Kohm. "He surrendering?" He asks, and waits for the answer before going in. Harold would take the wounded man away and Lee goes with Manfred and Kohm to arrest the Highwayman, after Kohm makes the call.```
Judy
Kohm blinked. To be entirely honest... He had not expected it to work, nor have it be that easy. But then he thought about it, pushing pragmatic warnings of it all being a trap out of his head, and said that first thing that really sunk in. "Gods. You are one hell of a man. A good fighter is more common than one might think, but a man brave enough to admit to their crimes is a gods damned rarity." Kohm sighed. Where he might have had anger in his heart previously, for all the crimes he had carried out, it was now replaced with a simple understanding. Empathy that this man could never go back, having nothing to return to mingled with the cold knowledge that many innocents had died in his anger. 

"Arrest him."
Cora
```Manfred and Lee nod in understanding and head toward the Highwayman, who can be seen kneeling down with his head bowed. Ashamed, submissive, he makes clear that he won't fight or resist. Manfred picks the man up and ties his arms behind the back, then starts guiding him out of the area. Lee picks up the axe and examines it, then looks over to Kohm. "You interested in this thing? Maybe you can sell it if you don't want to use it... But it'll have to be after the Highwayman's trial."
The weapon appears as pictured below.```
Judy
Kohm thinks for a moment, before shrugging noncommitedly. He had more important thoughts in mind, and he was sure that Lee shared them. "Sure, looks like a good keep. But lets talk about more important matters, shall we? What now?"
Cora
```Lee nods and holds the weapon near the neck by her side, to make sure she doesn't hit anything. "Yeah. We'll be holding the Highwayman for a while and scheduling a trial. Judging by his international crimes, it's either going to be ostracism to the region he came from for imprisonment, or execution immediately," She explains wth some measure of detail. "Suppose we just head back to the precinct now. The captain will give you the reward when we get there... We'll have men come around and collect evidence as well."```
Judy
"...Alright... Mind filling me on the whole affair that spurred his vengeance in the first place? I'm a little... New to the region, as it stands." Kohm admitted, as they start moving back.
Cora
```Lee walks with Kohm while explaining the lot.
The Highwayman turned out to be a lone father to his sole heir. He fought in a war or two which explains his prowess in combat, and eventually settled down, found a wife and had a child... Then lost both of them.
It's possibly because of his Red Oni disposition that the Highwayman was filled with a burning, uncontrollable rage that gave him endless bloodlust for any and all who were even remotely related to the plagued blankets that caused his daughter to die. Had he been any other Oni subtype he may have been a bit more rational and just killed one or two people, but instead he killed a little over a dozen. Pair all that with the grief of a father and the wrath of a man with nothing to lose, and you have a literal demon of hatred walking the earth.
Luckily he surrendered though. It's possible the guy could have laid out four of the fighters at once if he was pissed off enough and fought cleverly, given that he's laid waste to skilled bounty hunters and possibly even groups of fighters multiple times.

Sooner or later they'd be able to leave the factory. Kohm may get a breath of fresh air leaving the borders as he was no longer inside the ward and Tremorsense reveals a much larger area than that restricted zone.
Everyone's currently regrouping before heading out. Craven and the other one are here with the two rescued hostages and the man who got his arm cut off and reattached, and the Highwayman. Everyone here, present and accounted for, but they were still checking some stuff out.
You can decide when the scene proceeds in case you got more questions.```