Swamped

Walter looks thoughtful and starts pulling on the bars.

"Not that sturdy," he says. "Think we could loosen these if we found the right pressure points and all pulled on them at once. Enough for someone thin to slip through, anyhow. But, it'd probably mean some rough times for us if the Marshguards find out."

"Then I should go," Dean says. "None of you have been captured before. I know the layout well enough to get to the roost and back quickly." He starts pulling on the lower parts of the bars. "I think this might help?"

The bars start rattling.

"That's awful noisy," Jackson says. "And there's a lot of Marshguards out there who might hear it."

Indeed, you soon hear footsteps. Walter and Dean pull their hands away quickly.

"I'll hide," you say. "You can say I made a run for it. We can figure out what to do next after we see how they react."

You slip under a metal bench in a corner of the cell and wait. Two Marshguards soon arrive.

"One, two, three, four. Ringer, I thought we brought five prisoners in tonight, yes?"

The other one simply rings a small bell once.

"That's what I thought. Now, you didn't see one run down the corridor ahead of us, did you?"

Ringer rings their bell twice this time.

"I'm glad I have you to help me remember these things. So, keep an eye on them so we don't see any more slip out, all right? I'll see who else I can round up so we don't get foolishly outnumbered while we check their cell."

Ringer's bell rings once again.

"And, of course, if they try anything, you know what to do."

You watch as the one Marshguard wanders off. Your plan to surprise them isn't looking too great; you were planning to toss your boot at one if they came in, but you don't think you can toss it through the bars. Certainly not without Ringer noticing.

Mary leans back against the bench and whispers to you.

"Got any ideas?"

Well, do you?