"Before Andross, there wasn't a dungeon here at all," Sir Fox said as they headed down the halls, Lady Krystal and Krystal assuring them no enemy forces were left to attack. "It used to be just a series of underground escape tunnels and storage rooms. But Andross changed all that, put in iron shackles and barred doors, and a torture room." At the mention of that Sir Skye visibly shuddered.
"Well, all of it will be destroyed," Lady Vixy said decisively as they reached the door. Sir Fox turned the latch and opened it.
From a set of downward steps up rose foul smells of old blood, disease, filth, mold and mildew, the groans and cries of the imprisoned rang in their ears. After a quick check by two teary-eyed Krystals revealed no enemies, Sir Fox quickly entered, going down the steps.
"The reign of Andross is over!" he called as soon as he reached the bottom. "All of you, call out to us so we may find you!"
"Fox?" a weak call echoed from deeper in. "That you, lad?" Reverend Peppy gasped.
"Bill!"
"Peppy!"
"It's so dark," Pilot Krystal murmured, trying to see down the hall. Magus Panther mumbled a bit, touched a nearby unlit torch in a sconce on the wall, and abruptly all of the torches one after another in sequence lit up with a reddish glow which, upon closer inspection, shed no heat and somewhat resembled roses. Now that the halls were alight, the group quickly went from cell to cell, freeing prisoners and aiding them to the safety of the hall, where people waited with food and drink and to tend to wounds. Both Foxes ran on ahead, giving encouragement and seeing who needed help the most. Eventually they found Bill, in a cell chained to a wall with about ten others. All looked malnourished and abused, and the other ten wept as they were set free.. Bill, however, was grinning broadly and there was a fire in his eyes as Sir Fox unlatched his chains.
"I knew the rebellion would defeat Andross! Just knew it!" He and the reverend exchanged a brotherly embrace, then the knight saw the two Foxes. "Huh?"
"We'll explain later," Sir Fox said with a chuckle as he and Fox helped a pair of former prisoners out. The one Fox aided looked up at him, a female raccoon.
"Please... in the deepest cell... you must free... free him..."
"There's someone there?" he tried to ask, but she'd fallen unconscious.
"they tell me there is," Bill said. "He's been here, they say, longer than anyone else. One of Andross' first captives, I'd guess. I remember hearing two soldiers taking his meals down to him - seems they did that one or two times a week, just enough to keep him alive - saying to remember the torch. There's noo light near his cell."
"We'll find him," Pilot Fox promised as he lifted the raccoon into his arms. Poor girl weighed next to nothing. "We'll find them all."
Within ten minutes, everyone was out and they were searching for this 'deepest cell.'
"We'd better split up," Lady Vixy suggested. "Look for an area of darkness." Krystal shuddered.
"Poor him! All alone in complete darkness!" Lady Krystal nodded.
"there's so many people above I can't really pinpoint anyone down here."
"So we do this the hard way." Fox took a torch off the wall. "Lets go." Everyone took torches and went down various halls.
Fox chose one at random, and put his hand on the right wall, so he wouldn't get lost, and started off at a jog. Soon he couldn't hear anyone, and the silence made his ears ring. He started to hum to himself to keep the creepy feeling at bay. On and on it went, for at least ten or fifteen minutes, when Fox passed a wooden door.
"Hmm..." He opened it, and saw blackness before him. He smiled. "Bingo!" He began to carefully head down the dark hall, listening and calling out, "Hello! Anyone there?" Nothing. But he kept going, determined to find a body to bury if nothing else. "Hello!" Suddenly he picked up a faint scent of a living creature. He broke into a trot, and kept talking until he found a long door at the very end. The open door he had entered through was very far away, and very small. He took a moment to remind himself that there were no Sharpclaws down here, and listened. He heard breathing. fox then quieted his own breathing. Still he heard it, shallow and ragged. He called, "Hello?" The barred window in the door was set a bit higher than Fox was tall, so he couldn't look inside. He hit the door with his fist. "Hey! Can you answer me? Is anyone in there?" At last he was rewarded by a faint rattle of chains, and a very weak voice:
"who's... there..."
Fox froze in place. His heart about stopped dead in his chest, and his breath stalled in his lungs. But only for a moment. Then he exploded into action.
"Just hold on! I'm going for help! We'll get you outta there, okay? J - Just hold on a little longer, please!" He turned and bolted back down the hallway, sending a mental call to Krystal - both of them - as loud as he could, calling for help. He just faintly heard the captive quietly call at his back,
"Fox?... Is it really... you?"