still observing the human and hadn’t witnessed the warnings fulfilled. Wrapping his feet again, Roild was just about to put his boot back on.
“By the deep! I think he moved!” Roild jumped to his feet and hopped over to the bars while he tried to finish putting on his boot.
“I don’t see anything unusual.” Roild was disappointed.
“I'm sure I saw his hand twitch.”
“You are seeing things. He hasn’t moved since… Since we found him.” Roild crossed his arms and leaned against the bars.
“Oh whatever. Maybe I am seeing thing. I'm going stir crazy stuck in here.” Taric turned his back on the human and leaned on the bars himself.
“He just rubbed his nose!” Roild had caught motion out of the corner of his eye and only saw the last portion of the movement but had seen enough to know that there was motion.
“Now you are just making fun of me.” Taric grumbled.
“No! Seriously! I saw him rub his nose.” Taric now turned and noticed that Roild was peering between the bars intently.
“He looks the same to me except… Are his eyes open?” Taric was now peering through the bars as intently as Roild. Their concentration was rewarded a moment later by the human shaking his head and rubbing his eyes. They watched speechlessly as he slowly sat up and blinked like he was awakening from a long sleep. He stared at them quizzically before glancing around at the cell that he was in.
“Where am I?”
“You speak the common tongue.” Roild finally managed to form words. The realization that the individual that they had found mangled and on death’s door was alive and well before them hadn’t quite sunk in.
“You have a funny accent.” The human shook his head again.
“We could say the same for you. This is the dwarven capital Underheim. This is Taric and I'm Roild.” Once he had his wits about him, Roild realize that the human did have a distinct accent. It was not difficult to understand what was being said, just different. The centuries of separation could have produced a far more substantial alteration of the spoken language between the two races.
“Dwarven?” The human looked around the cell in confusion.
“What is your name? We can’t keep calling you the human.” Roild was again able to think practically.
“Draceros, but you can call me Cero. How did I get here?”
“That is a long story. What is the last thing that you remember?”
“I was trying to escape some people then I remember falling. After that, I think I saw people, but it was not here. It was in a cave and there was a man who was worried then I thought I saw my father, but he is still in Yrany so it must have been a dream.”
“So you don’t remember anything else?”
“No, but should I? Why is Taric so short? I feel like I know him somehow.” Cero stood up and approached the bars where the dwarf stood with veins bulging in his neck.
“I am not short… I'm the normal one! You and Roild are just inordinately tall. If I hadn’t helped haul your carcass halfway across the Garoche, I would go in there and tan your hide. After everything I’ve done you have to go and…”
“Taric. Now is not the time. How old are you Cero?” Roild laid a restraining hand on Taric’s shoulder as he asked the question.
“Almost fifteen winters. Why are am I in a jail cell? Did I do something?”
“Only fifteen? How tall do you humans grow?!” Taric deflated in shock.
“Only a little taller. Glad to see you awake.” Seeroth appeared from the stairwell and stomped over.
“He only woke up a minute ago.” Seeroth rolled his eyes at Roild’s comment.
“I have only been gone a minute. He looks calm enough so let him out then give me a hand. We have visitors that I don’t want to let inside.” While Roild was opening the cell to Cero’s relief, Taric was helping Seeroth move a table away from the wall. After they had removed the table the guard commander pulled a lever loose and detached a section of the wall. They then noticed that the thick stone slab was hinged. Together Seeroth and Taric pulled the slab around in its ancient hinges until it covered the door. No longer was the thin wooden door the only barrier between those inside and the outside.
“So now that we have that done, don’t know how long those hinges will hold up, but we can only hope long enough