A pair of footsteps returned quickly.
The captain and the sailor that went out to fetch him came in.
The captain's eye went straight to the cell to see what happened.
They took it in for a moment. There was no creature anymore, just a wounded man.
His grip tightened around the hilt of the sword on his side as if he thought that in this form, it was even more dangerous.
"That 'im?" he asked, without looking away.
"Aye," one of the sailors answered quietly. "Changed right in front of us."
The captain went closer to the cell, stopping just outside the reach of the bars.
The man inside didn't move much; only his eyes shifted.
The captain studied him, then he gave a short exhale through his nose.
"Ugly either way," he said. "Not so big now, eh?"
He looked at the guards, happier than before.
"You keep watch," he said. "Same as b'fore."
They nodded quickly.
The captain gave one last look at the man in the cell.
Then turned. He was already ready to leave. To him, a second look at the creature, even as a man, wasn't worth it.
But before he could leave, the man in the cell spoke."
"Don't you want to know?"
The captain went to the cell but stopped an arm's length away. "'Now what?" he asked.
The man shifted slightly against the bars.
"Why I'm here. Won't you listen to a poor creature's tale?"
"I'm not in the business of listenin' t' monsters explain themselves," he said.
"Call me what you like," the man said. "But you can't deny your curiosity."
"Yeah, no. Not interested," the captain said and told his men. "An' none of you dare aks him anything either."
He left.
Final and simple.
The man in the cell seemed to be genuinely surprised by that, almost shocked.
Under his breath, Sonder could hear him say "scoundrel."
After a moment, she told him, "If you want to, you could tell me. I think you're going to be in here for some time, and I know how boring it can be."
There was a pause.
It wasn't a command or a demand to the man, just conversation.
"I'll listen."
The sailors on guard asked themselves if they should tell her that she shouldn't or couldn't due to the captain's orders, but they thought better of it.
The man gave a dismissive grunt and a groan as he repositioned himself in the cell.
"Fine," he said. "If you want to hear, that's on you. And you may not like what you hear, sorceress."