The guards, overwhelmed at first, came to themselves and rushed towards the Master. His hands, covered with many cuts were tied tightly with a ropes. The familiar log lay in the corner of the stage, with an axe and a sword in it. If you tie a man to a pole you must execute him in standing and with a sword. It's hard to take a standing man's head off.
Much skill is needed, especially when there are people around.
He didn't want the long-armed squab to do it to him. A stooping stocky figure in a crimson hood stood nearby. It looked very familiar. The Master scrutinized it until his eyelids began to ache. The executioner pulled the sword out of the log moving easily and surely, waited a moment and took the axe too into his left hand.