Since being dragged to the damp, gloomy dungeon, the days had passed slowly for Moe Harkless. There had been no explanation for his arrest, only a group of thugs led by King Vaughn himself who had burst into his abode and beaten him into submission. When he regained consciousness, he was held by chains to the wall, with only the similarly-chained Andrew Nicholson to keep him company.
Moe’s brain was clouded with an impenetrable haze, and only rarely did moments of clarity break through the murk. During these moments, Moe knew that his sanity had slipped away like water down a drain. The despair he felt at these times was all-encompassing, and no matter how hard he tried to focus on the reality of the crypt around him, he could not stay cognizant for long, and countless days would disappear into the void of insanity.
The first few days had been marked by conversation, but when Moe had begun to lapse into periods of catatonia, Andrew’s attempts at talk had ceased. So when Moe came to himself and was met by total quiet, he did not immediately notice that anything had changed. It took him several minutes to realize that Andrew was not there anymore; when he become aware of this, he mourned, for he was sure that Andrew had been taken by the dungeon executioner.
It was only when Moe saw that his own chains had been removed that he came to the joyous conclusion: he had been freed! Whatever crime King Vaughn had decided to charge him with, the charges had been lifted! Immediately the cloudiness in his head began to recede, and he carefully lifted himself off the flagstone floor.
Ascending the stairs, the sunlight streaming through the windows made him squint. How long had it been since the sun had caressed his skin? Weeks? Months? The concept of time had meant nothing in that cold place, and Moe was left disoriented.
“Moe, is that you?” came Andrew’s voice from behind.
Moe turned around, glad to see the man. “Yes, friend, it is. Tell me, what has happened? Why was my sentence lifted?”
“King Vaughn has fallen, and is dead,” Andrew answered. “He was a fool; brash and arrogant in contradiction to his incompetent policy-making. King Borrego has ascended to the throne, and all prisoners were pardoned by his royal edict.”
So he was really free then. “I can only hope that Borrego’s reign will be just,” he said. “O, how sweet tastes the clean air! I am sure that freedom is all that a man yearns for.”