Kidnapped Chapter 23 - Cluny’s Cage

In which our travellers reach the curious refuge known as Cluny’s Cage, a quaint yet contrived sanctuary high on the hillside where the fugitive chief Cluny Macpherson presides with a mixture of kingly air and anxious habit, amidst tales of princes and the struggles of exile. Amidst the smoky warmth and the turn of a card game, tensions rise and judgments are weighed, revealing the delicate dance of trust, honour, and weariness that accompanies life in hiding.