-1

The two dwarves in the slave pen huddled together. The cavern was not exactly the warmest place. Both wore tattered remains of their clothes, no armor and, of course, no weapons. both had beards, though one's was much fuller, a possible indication of an elder.

"...gonna bite his..." grumbled one dwarf, which garnered a smack from the other.

"Patience. We be gittin' our chances soon."

"Shut up in there!" One of the guards yelled out, rather annoyed. He and his companion were sitting at a table, rolling dice. The annoyed one's pile of coins was diminishing as his fellow guardsman's was growing.

The two dwarves glared at the guard, who turned back to his dice game. As they played, the smaller of the two dwarves tapped the other one on the shoulder and pointed towards the wagon staging area. Waddling out from the wagons was a blond dwarf, wearing pristine white robes, multiple sizes too big, as he seemed to be holding them up with both hands to avoid tripping and falling on his face.

"Izzat a...? Began the dwarf with the fuller beard.

"Shhhh..." Replied the second dwarf, clamping a hand over the other's mouth and whispering. "It do look like one...sorta."

The blond dwarf ambled towards the guards, crossing the length of the cavern and stopping about thirty feet from the guards, who were engrossed in their dice game.

"Scooz?" Said the little dwarf with a grin.

The two guards stood up in a flash of movement, drawing their swords, falling into a ready stance instantly and looking around, before spotting the speaker. They both stared for a moment, before breaking into laughter, pointing their fingers at him.

"Oh! that's rich! Did Mikah put you up to that?" One asked between laughs.

The little dwarf shrugged and simply spoke a word. "Snooze!"

The two guards blinked, and collapsed in a heap, snoring blissfully. The two dwarves in the slave pens, along with the others simply stared. The little dwarf walked up and peered in through the bars. He blinked, eeped, and turn, running as fast as his little legs would carry him back to the wagons. The two dwarves in the cell looked at each other and shrugged, then looked back towards the direction the little one fled.

Armin and the others watched, perplexed, as the dwarf half fell and half rolled under the wagons, his eyes wide. He scrambled on hands and knees past Armin and the other two, and whispered into Rom's...well...eye, as the poor thing had his bucket helm on crooked again. Rom nodded as he listened, then looked at Armin.

"Womens" He said. "Da Klerk say womens with beards"

Kendrac nodded, his face a dark crimson. Armin looked at him, trying to hide his surprise. Dwarven women folk meant a clan in the area, and that meant possible reinforcements if needed.

"Yeah, yeah. did ye take care of th' guards?" Armin asked.

The blushing dwarf bobbed his head. "Sleepy sleepy!"

"Good, then lets go get em out" Strom said as Armin begin to crawl out from under the wagons.

In the pens, the two female dwarves waited.

"Ifen that be a dwarf, it had ta be th' weirdest one I ever saw." The shorter bearded one muttered.

The other shook her head, lifting her hand to point at the group emerging from the wagons. "If that'n was weird, whaddya make o th' one what has a...bucket on his head?"

The two stared in undisguised awe as the five dwarves quickly, and somewhat quietly ran across the cavern floor to the pens. The two female dwarves stood and held onto the bars, as did the other prisoners.

Armin looked in. "Are ye well?" He asked, speaking to all.

His response was a chorus of nods, and murmured replies in the affirmative.

"Good," he said. "Then we be lettin ye out, and yer free ta go."

Strom plucked the keys from the sleeping guards and quietly opened the slave pens. The humans and others streamed out, collecting whatever they could find for weapons, and ran up the tunnel and to freedom. The two female dwarves however, did not. They stood by as the others left, quietly speaking to each other. Finally, one spoke to Armin and his group.

"I be Freija Wilhemina Fleetaxe, and this be Haldis Brightaxe." She motioned to her younger companion. "Call me Wil. We be wonderin ifen yer gonna leave, er mebbe make these slavers pay fer what they done?"

Armin needed only a quick glance over his shoulder, to see the grins of his companions, save for Kendrac who was hiding behind Rom. He nodded and looked back at Wil and Haldis.

"Aye, that be our plan from th' beginnin. I be Armin Gedrin, That be Toren Stonesmasher, Strom Griftor, Rom, and Kendrac be the...one in the tent."

Rom wiggled his fingers, pointing at Kendrac. "Mu mu!"

Toren nodded his greeting while Strom glanced at the two loons, and then to the puzzled looks on the two female's faces. "Yer best off not askin. Now, where'd they stash yer stuff. ye dinna wan'ta be runnin' 'round without yer armor, eh?"

Within moments, Haldis and Wil were armed and armored. Scrounging through the piles of captured equipment, Wil favored a hefty warhammer, while Haldis cradled a battleaxe in her hands. As the seven dwarves were huddled together to plan their next action, a voice rang out through the cavern.

"What!? What in the Nine Hells? Feltan! Sound the alarm!"

As one, the dwarves turned towards the source of the voice. Two of the raiders had come back through a side tunnel and spotted them. One drew a sword and readied it as the other turned to run. He managed only two steps, before a hammer slammed into his head, dropping him. The other one dropped his sword and fled, just barely escaping a second hammer thrown by Strom.

"Stones!" cursed the braided dwarf.

"Yer aims a bit off, Strom." chided the baldheaded Toren as he shouldered his maul.

"Awright kiddies, we ain't got much time. We gonna have comp'ny here any moment. lets get ready.