The king is now departing for the castle, the witch in tow. Is this truly a matter dealing with magic? What other explanation could there be? We'll just have to wait to find out. After all, this tale has quite a ways to go yet. The story progresses and so, we find ourselves again inside the castle, down in the lower levels of the prison.
The Silent Man awakes, the throbbing in his head has gone down and he sits upright. His hands still burn, but the pain is quite manageable, though he's not sure where he is nor where that woman had gone, but he knows he's not inclined to stay. He can only imagine that he must have been incarcerated by the principality that neighbors the graveyard, but it could have been worse.
Still, revelations of this nature do little to help in his current situation, but that is easily remedied. He creeps to the door and lays his hands upon the latch. Slowly, he pulls upon it, till it gives a loud click, which echoes throughout the expansive room, causing him to freeze in his tracks. Several tense moments pass by agonizingly slow, during which time he holds perfectly still as he stares down the open corridor.
After a fashion, he continues his escape as his mind filters through the scant information provided. One thing keeps cropping up: something isn't right and was the door to his cell unlocked? What kind of slipshod operation has he found himself in the middle of? With few answers, there is nothing more he can do but carry on and be doubly cautious.
The hall is much brighter than he would have liked and there are no walls to slink against, just an ever expanding walkway, sandwiched between two lines of prison cells, most of which contain a single occupant. They glare at the freed prisoner, who gives them a nod as though assuring them he would soon have them freed. A promise he doesn't intend to keep, he just requires their silence to keep from getting caught.
The walk is longer than the Silent Man anticipated and every step is another nerve frayed to the breaking point. He would have been more comfortable had he his blade, but none of his personal belongings, excepting his clothing, were made readily available, so he will have to make do without it. At length he comes to a set of stairs, he doesn't know where they lead, but given his lack of options, he has no other choice.
Slowly, he creeps up the stairs, making sure to keep low, halting near the top, where he yet remains obscured, but can still raise his eyes to peer over the top of the last step. He can just see two guards standing in front of a very solid looking door. The hall that separates them is long enough that with no obstructions to take advantage of, there's no way to cover that distance without being seen. There's only one thing to do: Wait for an opening and take it.