Also, I think (it's been quite a while) he's sometimes hard to see and you can't get in - you have to speak through the bars. You might try moving the curser around in the proper cell to see if a dialogue comes up.
Bwah ha ha! I live to disappoint Redbeard! Actually, I shouldn't talk since I haven't played the game yet and it'll be a while as I am currently in the Divinity series with several games to go but I've developed an attitude. I thought he'd be gone for good and a bit disappointed that he returns - so much could have been done game wise without him - but Avalon III will be my first purchase after I am through and I'm sure I'll have as much fun as I did in the first two.
Red face time: I'm always getting these two rather similar games confused: the game with the dice rolling I remembered wasn't a Spiderweb game at all - it was one of the Eschalon series.
I tried Avernum1 after playing Avadon 1 and 2 and simply could not get into the game. I think it was just too dated for me. Looking forward to the remade series (second - there's a more recent third, right?).
Can't believe they brought back Redbeard again; makes a mockery of the prior endings plus, I'm just tired of that old fool. So, what happened to the new bosses after he died/disappeared?
I hesitate to say this because it is just a guess pulled from my butt and I haven't played the game in a while but I recall that on a few occasions, one had to talk to Redbeard to trigger an event and it often wasn't exactly clear. Is it what is happening with you? I don't know but it is simple to try.
Hmmm, two crazy mages together, one male, one female. Now THAT could get interesting as they both like over kill.
EDIT: Nathalie and what's his name from II