187

Senseless with exhaustion, you are dragged forcibly from the chamber, down long flights of stairs and into the darkness of the dungeons of the Hall of Correction. Your senses rail against the ominous and overpowering feeling of oppression that seems imbued into the walls of the place. A tortured scream fills the air, followed by the sound of brutal laughter. ‘What was that?’ you whisper, hoarsely.

‘You’ll find out soon enough,’ one of the Shadakine replies. ‘Gaoler! Lock this one up!’ A tattered cripple lurches towards you, a large bunch of keys rattling at his side.

‘Here, Master Turnkey. Lock him up nice and safe now.’

The gaoler limps forwards, a mad and joyous expression on his face. ‘Marvellous, simply marvellous,’ he giggles. ‘Another guest. How wonderful to meet you.’

An iron-shod door is unlocked and you are thrown into a dark and foul-smelling pit. You fall headlong down a flight of steps and lose consciousness before coming to rest on the straw-covered floor.

If you have been arrested at the Inn of the Laughing Moon, turn to 230.

If not, turn to 261.