“The assembled forces of the Hiss army have been spotted on the road to our great Bergem,” the warden shouted from the middle of the prison floor. “This city may be lost.”
Naturally, many of the prisoners wondered how this affected their daily lives. There were others, however, that merely laid across the floor of their cells recovering from the latest round of interrogation.
“Our city’s officials,” the warden continued, “have decided that before that happens, all of you should be free!”
What could best be described as “confused cheers” filled the building. The warden held up a hand and waited for the noises to die down.
It took several minutes.
“As you might understand,” he said, “this release is conditional.”
That remark caused a few boos, but most of the prisoners decided not to look into the mouth of this gift horse.
“We only ask that you don’t talk about your time here,” the warden stated.
“Here in Bergham?” asked a prisoner to his left.
“No, no. Just specifically here in the prison,” the warden clarified.
“My family knows I was in prison!” yelled a gruff voice.
“They can know you were in prison, just not the things that have happened in this prison,” the warden explained.
“Oh,” replied a creaky voiced prisoner towards the back. “He’s talking about the torture!”
“No torture talk! Got it!” yelled a young, excited voice.
“Also,” the warden concluded, “and I think this goes without saying: nobody here should practice any more witchcraft.”