Lately, a lot of people have warned us about a guy named Tarik. Do you know him?

Tarik’s eyes grow wide, he gasps for air like a fish on dry land, then he starts to laugh.

That’s great, really! You’ve been asking around elsewhere, too, eh? No, keep your silver, this answer is free!
For years, Tarik was known as a thief and con-man, though nobody ever managed to prove it. As is usual in cases like this, he got careless, and one day he was caught red-handed, so to speak. Thus, he had no choice but pay a visit to the castle dungeons.

Then the judge appeared and offered to have him released. In return, Tarik would have to provide him with current information at regular intervals. Also, he would have to keep his nose clean from then on. So, Tarik turned his misfortune into an opportunity, and started to keep his eyes and ears open like the judge had told him to. He gathered all the information he could get. And since he was barred from pursuing his former ‘career’, he began to turn a profit with the knowledge he’d accumulated.

Of course, people didn’t much like the thought that certain things could become common knowledge all of a sudden. Usually, the mere possibility of their secrets being uncovered gave them the scare of their life. Which explains why Tarik is less than universally loved.