The executioner I believe is an intriguing plot device in addition to being another "mini-boss" enemy that has a gazillion hitpoints and who drops a nice magic item. If you talk to some of the commoners and some cruicial NPCs, they will sometimes mention that Duke Janus is brutal, ruthless and tortures his prisoners before putting them to death. This is another one of your big "duh" hints that Janus is not the Divine One. I personally thought it was great plot continuity for you to stumble upon the executioner should you be so unlucky (or lucky, depending on the quality of axe you found <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/winkwink.gif" alt="" /> ) as to stumble upon him. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/up.gif" alt="" /> Larian for paying attention to such details.
