It's just as bad as the first book. The child skewering occurs in almost the same place (pagewise) as in the first book to show you that the good guys are actually quite bad. But never fear. They are actually the good guys because the bad guys enjoy and acknowledge their evil deeds. Confusing? This is the second book in a trilogy and trust me. Save your money and time. There are plenty of good Forgotten Realms novels out there. Don't go for this historical rip-off that can't clearly define who the bad and good guys are. They're all bad. So is the trilogy.