[Amanaduial the archer]

This time Callath was the first to come around and he opened his eyes very slightly, so as not to notify anyone who was watching. For a moment his senses were confused, as the darkess and silence seemed as complete as when he had been unconcious, but the pain in his head, a sudden sharp ache as he turned it, confirmed his conciousness. Gritting his teeth he widened his eyes, trying not to blink so his eyes would adjust more quickly to the dark.

After a few moments of sitting still, the stable-boy's eyesight was good enough to pick out silhouettes - the darkness was not total; although the lights were off and the curtains closed, and it was evidently dark outside, the light from a nearby streetlight shone in dimly through the thick material, and occasional passing lit carriages below would illuminate the room a little further. As this happened once, Callath took the moment to look around quickly and from the brief half-glimpse he could see they were apparently in the same place as before, a library, he reckoned. But the glimpse was too short to work out anything else. Leaning carefully to the left, he felt a table or desk top against his upper arm, about waist high if he was standing up. Doing the same to the right, he leaned as far as he dared without falling over, then pulled back quickly when rope around his chest would not let him go further without tipping right over: nothing immediately to his right then. But Calnan...Turning his head to the right, away from the window, he tried to make out the form of Calnan, who had been beside him...and his heart almost skipped a beat when he didn't see him. Suddenly a groan from behind and the feel of two somethings brushing against his fingers made Callath freeze, electrified by the touch when he was completely helpless, in the dark, unable to speak or move that much. The entity behind him was apparently just as surprised, as Callath heard a sharp but muffled intake of breath. Then..."Crhmph-?" a muffled sound started, then stopped. There was a pause. Then...

"Hmm."

Callath grinned against his gag, which was a piece of cloth secured by a hankerchief or bandana of some kind. In the brief time when Doran's full gloating attention had been focused on giving them his 'proposition', Callath had worked out a way of moving the bandana down simply by monotonous twisting of his chin in a small upward circle whilst keeping his neck still. After several minutes of unsure silence from behind, filled only with the faint rustling of the hankerchief and during which Callath's neck muscles began to ache, the cloth finally slid over the end of his chin and, forcing his mouth as wide as possible despite his chaffed lips, Callath spat out the gag in relief and disgust. Taking a moment to try to regain feeling over his tongue, the stable-boy then took a deep breath. "Calnan?" he whispered.

"Hmm?" His friend's response was still muffled, his gag apparently still on, but it was also slightly distracted - Calnan was working on it. Explaining in a whisper through painful lips how to get the gag off took only a minute and not long after that there came the sound of Calnan spitting out his gag. "Callath? Is there- ohh..." the attache emitted a groan, apparently having tried to turn his head too quickly and having been caught out by the pain. Confirming it was him and that, by his silence, Devon was apparently still unconcious (although they could both see his slumped form about two strides away from Calnan's chair), Callath pushed back against the knots tying his fingers so they came into contact with Calnan's, at which the latter youth gave a startled hiss.

"It's alright, I'm gonna try to work out your knots - its easier on someone else."

A pause in which Callath guessed Calnan to be nodding, before a reply came quickly, laced with a blush, causing Callath to grin. "Yes, yes...thanks."

Another carriage went past and both boys stiffened and nearby, Devon stirred slightly in his sleep. Then Callath continued, fumbling gently against the knots on Calnan's hands and fingers, his tongue slightly out in concentration. Then, "What do you make of Doran's proposal?"

Callath snorted. "Proposal? It's a chance for him to publicly show us up them finally get rid of us. Pirates Code my left foot." His fingers slipped in his anger and he muttered a curse under his breath as he tried to resume where he had been, with one of the several knots almost loose enough to pull undone.

"We may have a chance..." Calnan's voice was thoughtful. The stable-boy shook his head, then remembered the darkness and, feeling foolish, gave an vocal reply. "Against him? Against all the corsairs?"

Calnan sighed and leant his head back against his neck, looking reflectively upwards through the dark as Callath continued to work away. One knot undone, another just loose enough...yes!... Then he stopped suddenly, a thought striking him like a thunderbolt. Feeling this, Calnan looked around, although he could barely see his friend's expression. "What?"

"Adeline! Where is she?"