Authors:

What he brought out was a wooden gag they put in someone's mouth before doing something drastic, like cutting off a leg.

Megan Whalen Turner (2017). “World of the Queen's Thief Collection: The Thief, The Queen of Attolia, The King of Attolia, A Conspiracy of Kings, Thick as Thieves”, p.18, HarperCollins
What he brought out was a wooden gag they put in someone's mouth before doing something drastic, like cutting off a leg.