Lazheros drew a rough sketch of the area below with the large crystal not quite in the center but more to the left. He then found two narrow rocks indicating who the main boss and the twisted gnome. "Over there and over there are where most of the gnomes are being forced to mine. Straight ahead and right below us. Oddly enough, perhaps splitting up would be a better idea here with one of Gimble's kin to partner with. That way, the overseer wouldn't be able to target all of us at any given time. Thoughts?"

"I say let's take out the overseer first and rescue the miners second," Irzen replied bluntly, "Cut the head off the snake while we have the element of surprise. If we take out the overseer, then the Bullywugs will be practically leaderless. Without his direction, we will be able to sweep the Bullywugs aside--at least those that do not flee first--and free the Gnomes quickly and with a minimal amount of bloodshed. Other thoughts?"

"I'm game for whatever happens." Alyson nodded.

Caliaphy hemmed and hawed, "Umm, maybe we should get the gnomes out first, so they don't caught in the middle, yeah."

Serna held her peace and listened to all of the suggestions the people were presenting.

Lazheros closed his eyes for a moment and then opened them, "The final decision is up to the shield maiden here and since we're all children as it were we should use that to our advantage."

"Cuz' kids are unpredictable?" The elementalist piled up a sizable collection of pebbles.

"Precisely." The bronze man winked.

"Okay! I thought it over," Serna replied, "Lazheros and Caliaphy are absolutely right! We need to get the Gnomes to safety first, then we can deal with the Bullywugs and the Overseer without anyone getting caught in the crossfire. Sorry, Irzen."

"No problem!" The Swordsman smiled, "So what's the plan."

"The plan is you, Alyson and one of the Gnomes sneak over to the Miners at the far end of the cavern and free them while Lazheros, Gimble and I free the Miners at this end of the cavern. Once everyone is out of here we take down those mean, nasty Bullywugs and that mean, nasty overseer too. Any questions?"

"Okay. Let's do this." The elementalist said when Nathosot volunteered to go with her and the swordsman.

"Remember to ask for 'Apple Cobbler' if something feels off." The Bronze Man said quietly watching them head down the rocky path.

"And keep your eyes open," Irzen cautioned as he went with Alyson, "For every Bullywug you see, there may be more lurking about that you don't see."

"Caliaphy, I want you to stay invisible but stay close," The Shield Maiden advised The Fairy, "And be careful."

The kurori gave Serna a thumbs up and vanished.

Gimble motioned quietly to Serna's group to follow him down the rocky path occasionally stopping to watch and time the guard patrol movement. When the coast was clear, he nodded and waved them onward into the area where his kinfolk were chained up and forced to mine the crystals jutting out of the rock face.

Serna crept forward quietly and whispered to the imprisoned Gnomes, "Hello, I'm Serna and this is Laz. We're friends. We're here to help you. Laz, can you cut them free?"

"I can do better than cut them free." Lazheros placed a hand on the manacles of one gnome and muttered something in draconic. Suddenly, all the chains that held the gnomes in their area unlocked and fell off.

"Nice!" Serna smiled at Laz, "Everyone follow Gimble he'll take you back the way we came."

Gimble motioned to his kin to follow him out and back up the path to safety.

The Shield Maiden turned to The Cleric, "We'll cover them as they leave. Once they are all gone, then we'll jump that mean, nasty overseer. Okay?"

Slowly but surely Alyson, Irzen and Nathosot crept around the farside of the mine and made their way almost to the entrance when the patrol on that was coming back.

"Crap!" Alyson muttered to herself. "What now? Irzen, any ideas?"

"Yeah!" Irzen seized Alyson and Nathosot by the arm and yanked them behind a nearby mine cart that was full of ore. The Swordsman held up a single finger against his lips to indicate that they should be quiet. All the while, he quietly slipped Evenflow from its sheath.

Alyson put a hand on the swordsman, "Wait for it."

Nathosot shook his head whispering, "Don't kill'em. The overseer will know."

Irzen nodded in agreement as he silently re-sheathed his weapon. Looking at the Elementalist, the Swordsman made a series of hand signals to indicate to her that they should jump the Bullywugs, put their hands over their mouths, yank them behind the cart and beat them senseless.

The Swordsman waited to see if The Elementalist understood his hand signals.