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"Morning" the guard grumbled. He had brought a bag with him and dropped it on the ground.
"Good to see you" gasped Miko. "I must say, it's a fine relief to have you here, a relief fine as water on a parched tongue which, incidentally, I just might have need of, well, in good time I should think; not that you yourself would deny me some water, though that other fellow might, nastier sort he is, eastern probably, and where-"
"Stop it!" the guard rather whined, in a feeble manner. "I'm having a bad day and I don't need your gibbering!"
"But sir, I have definite concerns. The other chap in here, I'm, well, I'm sure he's dead."
"He looks fine to me" said the guard, frowning at Éomeléo, who was watching proceedings eagerly.
"No, no, not that big chap, I refer to one of the others."
The guard nodded acknowledgement and peered over to the far side of the room. There was but a small flicker of light from the corridor, and Éomeléo had never seen the whole of his cell. "There's been a rat... gnawing all morning." Miko bared his teeth in an uncomfortable grimace.
The guard sighed, and departed, locking the door behind him. Back in the darkness, Éomeléo whispered to Miko: "Good job! Keep it up, and remember the most important part. And unless you have something very important to say right now, hush up!"
Now two guards came to the room, and the one who had seen them a few moments ago creeped through the room, past Miko, a candle in hand. The other guard peered after him. The hidden depths of the cell appeared before Éomeléo for the first time, and then came the critical moment.
"Aaaaaargh!!!!" screamed Miko, with a voice that was near enough to shattering the cell walls. The guard dropped the candle; Éomeléo leapt up with all the speed of a crebain straight out of Dunland, and hurled himself at the legs of the other guard, who had jumped and faced the vanishing light. There was a definite crack, as a bone in his leg broke. Éomeléo, with the fury of the captive he was, sent his foe into the unconscious realm with a fist to the nose.
The Gondorian leapt up, his eyes well-adjusted to the darkness. He found his remaining enemy and bellowed "Now Miko!" With great heroism, as Éomeléo began his run, Miko dived at the legs of the guard. He took a hefty punch in the back and yelped in pain, but then Éomeléo almost decapitated the guard with a flying elbow to the face. There was a horrible thud as the two bodies crashed onto the floor, but Éomeléo had landed on top of the wretched prison guard and was unhurt. He grabbed Miko, hauled him to his feet, and hurried through the doorway.
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