Truth or Myth?: Captive Torture Drink

MYTH

To the Mulfaers, this may be some sort of Fizzy Elixir of Vigilance, but to those Tala-mans who have drunk the liquid, it is torturous. They complained of horrible side effects, including nausea, burping and belching, pain in their mouth and throat, headaches, stomach and intestinal pain, cramping, and increased heart rate, but also exhaustion, sleepiness, and depression after the initial effects of alertness and talkativeness had worn off. They also described the taste as sickeningly sweet and acidic, although the flavor contained a not entirely unpleasant blend of spicy and citrusy notes, perhaps to make it more palatable. It was believed that this was a ploy to make the drink less likely to be rejected by the victim's digestive system while being interrogated.

It is from these accounts that a myth arose that the concoction is force-fed to prisoners as a form of torture. They believed the talkativeness was in order to coerce prisoners into revealing secrets, like it is some sort of truth-forcing potion. Documented proof of seeing Mulfaers use it as though it is a recreational beverage had been written off due to them being a monster species from the rifts with perhaps an entirely different digestive system and immunities.

As a counter to this notion, most of those who have been rescued from C.A.G.E. outposts thus far indicate that they were not force fed or injected with it to their knowledge, as they do not recall experiencing the side effects mentioned. Those who were offered it stated that it was given in a friendly manner as though the Mulfaers were trying to make a peace offering with something they were also enjoying at the same time. The Mulfaers then did not seem displeased when the offering was rejected by their prisoners.

Furthermore, studies and facts have concluded that this drink's ingredients are simply overwhelming for the physiology of many species. It is unpleasant by its side effects and the typical Tala'man digestive system is not designed to properly digest some of the ingredients. It is most easily tolerated and digested by those of the monster species who ingest harsher food and drink items.