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Aethos smiled faintly at Lin. "After the way I have treated all of you, and after what you have done for me, it is the least I could do," he murmured back. "You have given me a gift beyond price ... the gift of hope. Hope for our people, and hope for a dearly beloved sister. For that, I could never repay you."

From the end of the row of cells, some soft shuffling could be heard, and a moment later, Earendil's voice called out, "Is that Lin I hear?"

There was a soft chuckle. "You have no idea," Earendil quipped. "It's a bit cramped in here ..."

An amused expression crossed Rhea's face, and she hurried forward. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"More," Earendil said flatly.

Rhea was the first to reach the cell where Earendil was being kept, and when she saw the cell he was in her eyes grew large. "That's a cell?" she gasped in shock.

Earendil was leaning against one wall, and his knees were pressed tightly up against the opposite wall. The cell wasn't any deeper than it was wide, and there really wasn't any other way for him to sit. In addition, the bars were much closer together than was usual in a prison cell.

Aethos was right behind them. "I have the key, one moment," he murmured. "I apologize ... our prisoners are usually much smaller ... and admittedly much more troublesome."

"Gnomes," Aethos replied, rummaging with the keys until he found the one that he was searching for. "They're about half the height of elves. The cells are just small enough to make sure they can't get comfortable, but large enough that it isn't torture."

"Speaking of torture," Earendil muttered, "I wonder what Haldia's cell is like. If that's what they put a prince in ..."

Rhea let out her breath slowly. "It's a good thing they don't speak any other languages," she mused. "Now come on, we're getting you out of here, he's genuinely sorry for putting you in there. Don't make him regret letting you out."

Aethos shook his head. "Wait until we have your other friend as well," he murmured, "and then you will see."

He opened the cell door wide, letting Earendil out. Earendil crawled out and stretched, but when he tried to walk he stumbled to one knee, his face twisted in pain.

"Ah ... Rhea? Shoulder?" he grunted.

Rhea stepped closer, her wings vanishing as she did so. "Easy," she murmured as Earendil wrapped his arm around her shoulders, leaning on her to take some of the weight off his leg. "You all right?"

"It's just cramped," Earendil winced. "I'll be fine once it gets worked out."

Earendil braced one hand on Lin's shoulder. "No," he grunted. "Quickly. Haldia's not used to being inside a building at all, let alone underground. Come on."

"This way," Aethos said, motioning for them to follow him once more. This time he led them to a stairway in one corner that led down into the depths of the castle.

It was about a ten minute walk to the prison where Haldia was being held, but unlike the prison where Earendil had been held, these cells were massive, meant for a dozen or more prisoners each. And these cells were not empty: the first two each had five gnomes in them, scrawny black-skinned and white-haired creatures that seemed to be nothing but skin and bone. None of them wore anything more than a loin cloth around their waists, and they were all chattering amongst themselves, sounding almost like a horde of screeching rats. Their arms were as long as their entire bodies, stringy, almost spidery. They were about four feet in height, barely as tall as Lin's chest, and shorter in that they slouched badly.

Haldia was in a cell in one corner, all on her own, almost invisible in the darkness, curled up in a ball, her head in her hands.