Before I knew what was happening I was seized in the jaws of an enormous beast and dragged screaming into a dungeon. For a moment I thought I was back in the belly of the whale again (see previous posts) but no, I was thrown into a dank and dripping cell with a studded oaken door and a tiny window with rusting irons bars providing the only light.
A pewter plate with a crust of stale bread was flung in after me and then the door slammed shut with a terrible echoing clang.
I've no idea why I'm here or who is keeping me prisoner.
One thing I'm sure of is, I'm not the only unfortunate inmate. There's someone in the next cell, and they're making one heck of a racket.
As I write, they/he/she/it is/are banging away on the wall, causing the mortar to loosen between the....
Oh! Some stones have just come away between me and the next cell and I can now see my neighbour - for some reason he is wearing a strange iron mask. He demolished the wall using his mask/head as a battering ram, so I expect he is in a bit of pain. But he seems quite friendly - and obviously desperate to escape. He's French, I think , says his name is "Louis", and refers to me as "cotelet d'agneau" which worries me slightly as he looks a bit peckish. Oh well, hopefully we will unite our forces at least while we effect our escape and then we'll see what's what. I'm sure I'll be able to fight him off - he looks like a weakling.
Our obvious route would be through the rusting iron grille which covers the tiny window. However it is quite high up and neither of us can reach it. Louis wants to stand on my back while he removes the grille, but then how would I get out? I don't trust him an inch. I've suggested piling up the stones which fell out of the wall, thus creating a makeshift staircase, and he has agred to give this a try. So we're going to be a bit busy for a while.
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