Kinderling 8:

I stood staring at Garis, wondering what he would do.  I didn't know where this kinderling placed his loyalty.  I remembered seeing him with Uncle Zon in the forest, but that was didn't mean much about his current loyalties considering that he was guarding Uncle Zon and my father.  Apparently he noticed my hesitation.

"Worry not, my oath was to protect the village.  Not to blindly follow Militia command, or the council.  General Bout is a criminal who is trying to set himself up to be King.  The Kinderlings have never had a King, and we don't need one now."

"So you'll let Capitan Zon and my father go?"  I asked.

"Yes, although I don't know where you will go, or how you'll escape the mines.  Genetal Bout has set guards and Beso will be back soon.  Unfortunately, It looks like we are out of options.  Unless we kill him, this one will report that I talked to you rather than just seizing you and putting you in a cell.  Either Beso, or General Bout will see that as treason."  he aimed a kick at the other guard who wasn't unconscious, just unable to move.  I had carefully stuck the pin in the back of his neck.  It wouldn't kill him, it wouldn't even make it impossible for him to move.  It just made it so that he couldn't feel anything below his neck.  The fact that he wasn't getting up and screaming the alarm was simply because he didn't know that he could.  Not something we could rely upon for long.

"That's right, you are caught dead to rights!  Undo whatever you did to me witch, and perhaps I'll stop at just beating you before I throw you in a cage!"  The other guard sneered from his spot on the floor.
Garis was right, I had no idea how we would get out of the mines, or how we would deal with our prisoner.  That's when the prisoner started yelling.

"Help!  Help!  She is here!  Beso she is here!"  With a sickening crack, Garis struck the prisoner on the temple, and he was quiet.  Garis dragged the unconscious - or dead, I didn't know - soldier into one of the cells and started tossing weapons, keys, and any other equipment that he might use to escape.  That is, if he ever woke up.

As soon as I saw the keys fly out, I snatched them up and started looking in the cages for my father and Uncle Zon.  I finally found them in the last cage, deepest in the cavern.  I was a little surprised to find them together, but since they were both sentenced to death but General Bout, perhaps the General wanted them together.

"Father!  Uncle Zon!  I'm here to rescue you."  I smiled.  Both Kinderlings looked surprised to see me.

"Tandy!"  father said "You're here!"

"Tadius, did you really think Tandy wouldn't find us?"  Uncle Zon chuckled, "What took you so long girl?  I was beginning to get hungry."

Uncle Zon's joviality belied the two Kinderling's condition.  They were both covered in bruises and bloodied from what looked like multiple beatings.

"What happened to you?"

"It seems that Bout was unable to find the Seal of Office."  Uncle Zon explained.  "He's been claiming that it was the council who declared martial law, and that everything he's done was at their request.  I'm guessing he was relying on the council being unable to dispute that claim, but Tadius here survived, and has cleverly hidden the Seal.  Without the Seal, Bout will find it hard to forge the proclamation.  Beso has been trying to get the location of the Seal out of us since we were arrested.  Luckily for us, he doesn't have the stomach for it."

"Speak for yourself Zon.  If I knew where the Seal was, I would surely have told him."  My father looked bedraggled and far more depressed than I'd ever seen him.  "They are right, I'm a weakling and a failure.  Better someone stronger be in control."

"Tadius.  Cut that out.  You're one of the finest councilmen we Kinderlings have ever had.  In spite of what idiots like Beso think, not being able to withstand torture doesn't mean anything."

"I gave you up.  They wouldn't have even arrested you if I hadn't given you up."  It tore my heart in two to see my father doubt himself so much.

"Yes, and it gave them a much harder target.  I don't blame you one bit Tadius.  I've taken steps to ensure that the Seal is safe.  Now, lets look towards getting out of here."  Uncle Zon said.  "Corporal Garis, what's our status?"

I hadn't even heard Gaius walk up behind me.  I'm a fugitive now, I'll have to pay better attention!

"Well Captian, I think we're in trouble.  Beso came roaring in here yelling that Tandy was here, which she obviously wasn't, so he took everyone but me and Agron off to search for her.  Then next thing I know, there's Tandy and Agron is down.  I stripped him of anything dangerous and put him in a cell.  Oh, here.  I'm guessing this is yours."  Garis handed me my needle.  I wiped it off and re-stowed it with the others.  "Now we're down here, but we've got nearly a platoon between us and out of here."
Uncle Zon turned to me "Well Tandy, how did you get in?"

"I followed Beso down here, and when I heard him tell his men to come find me, I hid in a hole down a side passage, using my no-see-me to keep the guards from looking in the hole."

My father started to say "Tandy it's dangerous..." But Uncle Zon spoke over him.

"Excellent work!  And you've reminded me of something.  It's been a long time since I've been down here, but when I was a boy my father worked down here.  Let me get my bearings."

We followed Uncle Zon around the cavern until we got to a pile of rocks off to one side.
"You see, this is a natural cavern that was discovered when the original mine was being worked.  Not many people know it, but it originally continued down this way."  Uncle Zon started moving some of the big stones out of the way, revealing a rather small opening.  "Hmm... I remember it as being much bigger."

The hole was dark and not very inviting, although being woodland creatures who live in and amongst trees, what hole would be inviting to a Kinderling?  Inviting or not, the hole was big enough for even my father to squeeze through.  Uncle Zon and Garis, while they are bigger than my father had that trimness that soldiers get from constant training, as opposed to the plump-ness of my father.  So they would have no problem.

"This is all well and good Zon, but what would be the point to getting us lost in a cave under a mine?  We'll surely be lost, and there is no guarantee that there is a way out."  My father worried.
"Tadius my friend.  These are the caves I played in as a child.  There is a way through.  I promise you."  Uncle Zon reassured my father.

Don't judge my father too harshly.  He's never been the adventurous type.  He loves home, and the village.  And he is much more comfortable looking at numbers and reports than going out and exploring the wide world. My father and I are quite the exact opposites, and for a long time growing up, to my shame I was a little embarrassed by him.  Then we had one really harsh winter, and I kept hearing "Thank the trees for Tadius.  We all would have died without him."  Turns out, my father is an organizational genius, and had not only made sure that we would have enough food and water, but that Kinderlings were inspired to clear walkways, and even dig tunnels where the snow was too high.  He also organized the militia to ward off the Gorfs, who decidedly didn't plan for such a harsh winter.  It made me realize that father might not be like me, but that didn't make him useless.
"Smoke, is there anything dangerous down there?"  I asked.

*"careful, I smell enemies"*

"Uncle Zon, Smoke says she smells enemies down there."  I warned.

"Yes, we will probably come across some Gorf along the way.  At least there were a few when I was a child, but don't worry, we'll go quietly and mostly avoid them.  The Gorf down here in the caves will be Deep Gorf, they aren't aggressive like the Forest Gorf unless you rile them up."  Uncle Zon replied.  "I'll go first."

With that, Uncle Zon practically dove down the hole head-first, and soon his feet disappeared into the darkness.

"It's dark down here.  Wish we had candles."  We heard Uncle Zon say from down the hole.

I then noticed my father detaching the buttons from his waist coat.  I didn't understand at first, then with a little rub and a blow, each one lit up in turn.  Not a bright light or anything, about the level of a candle, but it was much better than no light at all.

"Zon, here you go."  father said as he tossed a lit up button down the hole.  Then, to my surprise, with a little smile my father said "I'm next."

It was a little comical watching father try to fit himself down a hole not quite bigger around than himself.  He had given me and Garis each a button, not even keeping one for himself. 
Once father was down, Garis said "You're next Tandy."

So I went.  I, of course being much smaller than either Uncle Zon or Father, had no problem shimmying down the hole.  Smoke quickly followed.  Once I was down, the last button light came falling through the hole.

"Capitan Zon, get the Elder to safety.  I'm going to put the rocks back and cover you escape as well as I can by providing a decoy."  Came Garis' voice from outside the hole, and I saw the rocks moved back in place.

"Damn that Corporal." Uncle Zon said, "I should have realized he would do something like that and made him go first."

"Is he abandoning us Zon?"  My father asked.

"No Tadius, the young fool is probably going to get himself killed covering our escape.  Nothing for it now, going back is only likelly to get us all caught.  Garis can take care of himself."

*"I smell air"*