Burt was in terrible shape. It was evident that he had suffered greatly during his time in that prison. And he hadn't even been there for very long!
William was truly relieved that he had found Burt before things took a turn for the worse. He slowly approached the cell, and when Burt saw him, he seemed to want to speak, but he didn't.
There were other prisoners nearby, and the bandits might overhear them. They couldn't let anyone realize they were friends.
They searched for the keychains to open Burt's cell. The keys were hanging on the wall, a large assortment of them. Each key opened a different cell, each one marked with a different number.
Just as William grabbed the key that would unlock Burt's cell, a bandit appeared, coming down the staircase they had just used.
It wasn't the same bandit who had been guarding the stairs earlier.
"Hey," the man said, "I've heard you're the torturer who came to get us the answers we need."
He was addressing William.
