I’m not sure what was worse: talking to nobles or getting the snot kicked out of me. Luckily, I got to experience both.

After an hour of excruciating conversation, two large, burly guards came up and tapped me on the shoulder.

I turned around and the bigger one said, “Come with us, Mister Dreadstone.”

They knew my name. That wasn’t good.

I smiled and chuckled.

“I’m afraid you must have me mistaken for someone else.”

Lavin noticed and came over, Char in tow.

“What seems to be the problem here?” she said. “This man is my guest—”

“Lord Barkley wants to talk to him,” the smaller guard said.

Lavin glanced at me nervously and I nodded. Anything to get out of polite conversation. Besides, Char could protect her in a pinch.

“Let’s see if I can clear up this misunderstanding,” I said.

The guards looked annoyed, but they nodded and led me away from the main hall. We went down winding corridor after corridor until we reached a long staircase that led down to what could charitably be described as a dungeon. One of the guards shoved me in and they both came in after me, locking the heavy iron door behind them. The other came up to me and took the gun out of my holster. Great.

I looked around. This wasn’t a nice dungeon. It looked a lot older than the Estate and certainly wasn’t the focus of any renovation efforts. It was made of damp, mossy gray stone that was cracked and chipped. There weren’t any lamps down here, just torches on the walls and pillars that cast the dungeon in a dim and sinister light.

The room was a semicircle, with a few cells, positioned around its perimeter. The cells were completely dark and I couldn’t see inside them. The ceiling was so high the top was obscured by darkness, though occasionally water dripped down, landing on the stone tiles with a loud splat.

I glanced back at the two guards who’d led me down here and began to undo my collar.

“So, where’s Lord Barkley?” I asked.

The guards didn’t answer, they just stood by the door, looking imposing. I guess we were just going to wait here.

Normally, I’d sit down on the floor, but I knew Char and Lavin would be pissed if I ruined my pants, so I just stood.

After a few minutes, a knock came at the door and one of the guards opened it. In stepped who I presumed was Lord Barkley.

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Lord Barkley was an older man, probably a bit older than me, and I could tell by the way he’d dyed his hair black. Only old men did it like he did. His face was wrinkled and seemed to be permanently curved into a scowl, though that might have just been because of me. He was short and round, shaped a lot like a balloon.

He pulled out a cigar and one of the guards bent to light it. Taking a puff, he sighed and glared at me. Or maybe just looked, again, he just had an angry sort of face.

“Sir Dreadstone, I presume?” he said in Low Valerian.

I thought about lying but I figured he had my number. I relaxed my posture a bit and bowed as politely as I could. From his expression, I think I did pretty poorly.

“Yes and I take it you’re lord Barkley?” I said, putting on my most charming smile. “Wonderful estate you have. A bit big though, must be a nightmare to clean.”

Barkley smiled, slightly, which made him look even angrier.

“I don’t pretend to know or care why you’re here, Dreadstone.”

“Great,” I said, clapping my hands, “then can I get back to the party?”

“All I know is that you saved me the trouble of finding you. And you brought me Miss Teralt. For that I'm grateful.”

Not great. Barkley snapped and the guards pulled out knives. I loosened my collar a bit more.

“You know,” I said, tiredly, “I killed a minotaur the other day. Your two guards won’t be much of a problem.”

“I know,” Barkley spat, “that was my minotaur.”

Ah.

“Do you have any idea how much money you cost me and my clients?” he asked, his voice shaky with anger.

“A lot?”

Barkley growled and turned around, going up the stairs. The two guards slowly followed him, with the last one out locking the door.

I wondered what their plan was, locking me down here. I walked over to the door and knocked on it. No one answered. I glanced at the lock. In a pinch, I could pick it. If they’d barred the door, I could also just rip it off its hinges, given some time. It would be hard, but I could do it.

I knew they were going to go after Char and Lavin, but the door wouldn't hold me for long. And besides, Char could hold her own. She would be able to protect Lavin until I could come and reinforce her.

Then, I heard a bell ring. It came from the top of the room, in the darkness. One of the guards or maybe Barkley must have rung it from the outside. But what were they planning, to annoy me?

I glanced back at the empty cages. My eyes were beginning to adjust and I could just barely see in them. The iron bars were rusted and as I walked toward them, I heard the violent sounds of ancient gears turning. The bars began to rise.

I caught a glimpse of something in the cage directly in front of me, a glint off an eye, but I couldn’t see it as it retreated back further into the darkness of the cell. I pulled out a knife and took a step forward.

Whatever was in the cage growled. It was deep and loud, dust and drops of water falling from the ceiling as the entire dungeon shook slightly.

From the darkness, a black paw the side of my fist emerged. Then, a leg, and then, a head. It looked a bit like a wolf, except with a long snout and teeth as big and sharp as knives. It’s fur was thick, matted, and as black as night. Its eyes were bright red and when it exhaled, I could faintly smell sulfur. I knew from experience that my knives wouldn’t be enough to kill it. It was a hellhound.

Suddenly, I understood why they’d locked me in here.