[Child of the 7th Age]

A distant coyote sounded and, with a start, the prison guard awoke, stretching and yawning. Khanun cursed his bad luck for having fallen asleep. Half panicked, he peered down through the open grating into the murky darkness of the pit, and was relieved to see that the slave children were still bound in ropes and sleeping. Lucky for that, he grimly reflected. since Imak had little tolerence for mistakes.

Khanun scooped up his water flask, which had apparently slipped from his hand while he was asleep and rolled over to just outside the entrance of the pit. He had forgotten to give the prisoners water as Imak had ordered. Though not adverse to laying on the whip or threatening the captives within an inch of their lives, Imak repeatedly warned his men that the merchandise must arrive in usable condition. For a moment, the guard considered climbing down into the pit and helping the pair drink from the flask as he'd been told. But a moment's reflection dispelled that idea. It was too much effort to put forth, and one night without water surely wouldn't kill two captives, especially one as young and sassy as that confounded boy who'd put up such a fight. Khanun rubbed the spot on his arm where the imprint of the boy's teeth were still clearly impressed and decided that the two could go without water for a little while longer.

Still, it would be better to empty the flask so that Imak would think he had followed instructions. He wasn't particularly thirsty and at first considered pouring the contents onto the ground or perhaps into the pit itself to give the children a drenching. But water in these parts of Mordor was precious and, even to a cut-throat brigand, this seemed like an unnecessary waste. Khanun stretched and yawned for a second time and decided that the water could be put to much better use. It wouldn't do to fall asleep again. Undoing the stopper and rasing the flask upward, the guard began pouring the contents over his head.