Kadler awoke with a gasp. His face was burning, his head was throbbing; soot lined his mouth. A deep cough released a black plume around his head. Kadler snapped his cloak up to cover his face. “Where am I?” Kadler groaned as he struggled to remember anything. The ringing in his ears faded and was replaced by the deafening sound of crackling fire. His head pounded. He stole a glance from under his cloak. As far as he could see there were cells. Empty cells. As Kadler scrambled to make sense of the situation his hand found the matted mass of blood and hair congealed around his right ear. He coughed again. He could feel his head pulse. “Why...why asleep...unconscious...” From his small window, which was too high up for Kadler to see anything, he could hear the sounds of a terrible commotion outside.

Something snapped in Kadler. He threw the cloak off his face, ignoring the heat. He ran to the corner of his cell and started screaming. Through the thick smoke he saw no one. He screamed louder. The floor creaked as flames licked through the boards. Kadler jumped and a chunk of one of the boards gave way. He climbed up on the cell bars and slammed on the ground as hard as he could. Although he barely weighed forty pounds, the burning boards grew weaker every moment. All the while yelling as loud as his soot-coated lungs would allow, he finally broke through and tumbled into the cell below. The fire was much more intense down here, and the door to this cell was locked as well. “Great Kad, just great,” he muttered to himself after spitting up a chunk of ash.

Kadler’s cloak had caught fire when he fell and for a moment tried to put it out before taking it off altogether. With all the Halfling had been through the past few years, he grew accustomed to tough situations. It wasn’t until then, with burns covering his body and none of his usual companions to aid him that Kadler felt disparaged. And it wasn’t until then that he thought of Ander and the wealth of memories that accompanied such a person. “Ander...”

Kadler began screaming once more—louder now, with a distinct ferocity. He picked up a piece of wood that had splintered from one of the floor boards and began banging it against the cell bars, yelling “Ander, Ander!”

Through the smoke ran a giant. Not a real giant, but close enough in Kadler’s eyes. Compared to the Halfling he was about twice as tall and at least five times as massive. His face and hair were covered in soot, but Kadler could still make out distinct human features. He bore an insignia on his chest—one that Kadler did not recognize. There had been so many mercenary armies moving into Castor recently and it was hard to keep track.

The man reeled his warhammer overhead and snapped the lock, kicking in the door all in stride. Before Kadler even had a chance to assess the situation he was picked up by the arm and slung over the human’s shoulder. The man kept running as if carrying Kadler was no burden at all.

“Can you get me out of the city?” the man asked with a rasp in his voice.

“Word has it the city’s been surrounded for quite some time...” Kadler was cut off.

“Can you get me out of the city?” the man shouted.

“Let’s get out if this sad excuse for a building, for starters!” Kadler shouted through the deafening sound of fire around him.

Both Kadler and the stranger struggled to see through the ever-thickening smoke, but Kadler knew his way around this prison, even in the pitch dark. Especially in the pitch dark. “Take the hall to your left! Stairs straight ahead from there!”

Running down the stairs as fast as possible, they eventually came upon the main entrance to the jail. The fire was non-existent down here, which would have confused Kadler if he had time to think about it. But just then the man stopped instead of running outside.

“That’s the castle courtyard out there, no?” the man asked.

“Aye, it is.”

“Is there another way out?” The man’s eyes narrowed. “A criminal’s way out?” The Halfling nodded. “Take me there.”

Kadler paused. “I’m not sure if that’s quite possible, you see...”

The man tightened his grip around Kadler’s arm and Kadler winced as it went numb. “I won’t be asking again. Take me there, and hurry.”

Kadler wrenched his arm free and jumped down from the man’s back. He ran to the other side of the prison entryway and grabbed an iron ring attached to a small hatch on the floor. He pulled with all his might but couldn’t budge the door. Close behind, the stranger threw the door back with one arm, revealing a narrow opening with a rope ladder that plunged into darkness.

“You won’t do well down there, mister. These tunnels were made in a time of smaller folk than yourself. Yer...may get stuck if ya catch my meaning. Not to mention lost.”

“Lead the way,” the man said without a thought.

“Yer mistake my meaning. I can’t come with you—lest not before I find my brother. He should be in the next cell block.”

“A family of criminals...” the man muttered. “I’ve been to every cell block. They’re in worse shape and just as abandoned.”

With no warning the stranger grabbed Kadler by the arm once again and lowered him into the hole. Kadler had no choice but to grab onto the ladder with his other arm and begin climbing down. As the man squeezed his body into the opening to follow, Kadler stopped.

“These systems weren’t made for a man of your size...er, your weight.”

“If I fall, I fall. What choice do I have?”

The ladder stretched under the weight. Kadler had a good point. Including the man himself and all his armor and weapons and such, he must have weighed as much as seven or eight of Kadler’s folk.

Yet the pair reached the bottom without trouble. Kadler took the liberty of removing a torch from the man’s pouch and lit it.

“So you’re a pick-pocket, eh?” the man said flatly.

“You’d find I’m many things if you took the chance...and least of all a thief.” The man had no reply.

It quickly became evident that Kadler was not exaggerating. Four rectangular tunnels split off in different directions, each only a couple feet wide and barely as tall. Kadler had to stoop, but the man would have to crawl. But as Kadler led the way down one of the tunnels he noticed the man was not behind him. Instead he was still where they had entered, his hands examining the rope ladder they had descended.

“This is exquisite handiwork,” the man said in a trance.

“Elvish make, least what everyone says. Reckon it’s as old as the city itself.”

“Help me cut it down,” he said to Kadler, whose face turned sour.

“Never in my life would I do such a thing. To ruin such an historic artifact...to betray the trust of those who frequent these parts...” Kadler was cut off.

“Thieves, you mean. Criminals.”

“Most of them good people. The fact that this priceless rope here yet is proof of these criminal’s quality.” Kadler paused. “Least ways this argument’s null. Ya can’t very well just cut it down. It’s elvish make after all, so we might as well keep moving.”

The man pulled a dagger from his belt and with one swift movement lopped the last foot of rope from the ladder. He tossed the rope to the Halfling. Kadler caught it for just a moment then flung it out of his hands as if it had burned him.

“How...” The man held up his dagger in the torchlight. Kadler was stunned. “Elvish blade... Remarkable... That doesn’t change the fact that this rope belongs to the city and to everyone in it. It’s...it’s a crime to mutilate something like this.”

“Boy, this city will barely exist in a few hours,” the man said curtly.

Kadler’s mind snapped back to Ander. “You said the other cell blocks were empty. Were you telling the truth? Are you sure?”

“I have no reason to lie to you. And yes, I’m quite sure.” With that said, the man began to climb back up the ladder. About halfway up, he severed one of the sides of the ladder. He slid down the other side of the ladder, cutting the cross pieces of rope as he went. When he reached the bottom he had a single unbroken piece of the finest rope in the world. He coiled it up and slung it over his back. Kadler scowled. “Lead the way, little one.”

As they wound their way through a series of turns, the tunnels took on a damp quality. It was very slow going, at least for the stranger.

“What is this place? Why does this exist?” he said after spitting up a mixture of soot and dirt. The question was meant to be rhetorical.

“Ahh now that’s an interesting question. Legend has it these tunnels were built during a war with the dragons. ‘Course there are many legends about this place. That one’s just me’ favorite.”

The man stopped crawling and stared ahead at Kadler with a grin, as if there was suddenly something amusing about this whole situation. “Tell me about yourself, Halfling. Have you lived in the city your whole life? How old are you, anyways?”

Kadler seemed reluctant to answer, but after several minutes of silence replied “I’m 39...”

“Me as well!” the man interjected, a bit too enthusiastically considering their current situation. Kadler’s mind was too preoccupied to be trifled with coincidence.

“My family didn’t come to Castor until I was fifteen. Before that we traveled around the southern merchant cities. Even made it to the dwarves a time or two.” Kadler’s stress seemed to wash away as his mind sank into the past. “The dwarves loved my clan, especially my grandfather. They used to visit every year. I always assumed my grandfather’s death was the reason the tradition dwindled.”

“I just visited Stonehaven a while back. Lovely city, really. Always assumed being underground would...”

Kadler barely noticed the stranger had said anything, and was too engrossed in his own memories to acknowledge him regardless. Kadler continued to talk about his grandfather and Kadler cut the man off if he ever tried to interject. He quickly stopped trying and politely listened as he struggled through the narrow tunnels.

“While traveling to the dwarves, we would always run into their scouts a day or two’s ride out. Before we knew it, a host of dwarves and fresh ponies would appear on the horizon to expedite the rest of our journey. It made little difference in the grand scheme of our travels—it got us there mere hours sooner—but it was the thought, you know? He loved us, the king did. It was like he couldn’t wait for us to arrive.”

The stranger grabbed Kadler’s arm and spun him around, knocking the Halfling out of his daydream. Kadler was vaguely aware now that he had ignored the man’s attempt at conversation and assumed he was angry. All the man did was stare intensely at Kadler’s face. “Did your grandfather know King Baldrick?”

“Why I should hope so! He was the chief of ceremony at King Baldrick’s wedding, I’ll have you know!” Kadler was too excited to boast that information to even wonder why such a question would be asked in such a time.

“Your grandfather’s portrait is in the hall in Stonehaven.”

“What, how...” It was Kadler’s turn to be cut off.

“My god, you two are identical. How didn’t I recognize you before?”

Kadler was beside himself. “You’ve been to Stonehaven? Inside the great hall?!”

“In a different life, yes.”

“What a small world. Did you ever...”

Just then they rounded a corner and could see light in the distance. At the end of the passage, they reached an opening above. Kadler scurried up first and then helped squeeze the man up through the hole. They had entered into a rather large cavern, considering it was all underground. Large nooks, some stretching back quite a ways, had been carved out periodically around the perimeter. Bed rolls and crates littered these areas.

Kadler sprinted to one of the nooks and the man had no choice but to follow him. He found Kadler rummaging through a pair of crates against the back wall. Kadler was still pulling out ornate weapons and sifting through coins. He put on a set of dark brown clothes and a large cloak. He carefully picked up several vials of liquid and stashed them inside his jacket. Kadler glanced over at the man. “You were right, my brothers been here. He got out, same as me.”

“How do you know?” the man furrowed his brow.

“His belongings are gone,” Kadler gestured. The man still wasn’t convinced. “It’s like I said, trust among my kin. If Ander’s stuff is gone, it means he was here. Now to find him.”

“I’m afraid there’s no time for that. The city is overrun.”

“First of all, you can’t stop me again from finding my brother. But relax, he’s at the exact place you want to go,” Kadler said confidently. He even seemed happy. He was on the trail to his brother, after all.

“And where is that, may I ask?”

“Where we always said we would go. Come on, let’s go.” In his proper clothes with a rapier at his side and a crossbow on his back, Kadler took on an entirely different persona. In a matter of minutes he transformed from an unassuming Halfling into a proper warrior. At a distance, if one could not judge his height, even a seasoned warrior would be intimidated.

Kadler led them down into another series of tunnels. This passage was slightly wider and straight as an arrow. There was no friendly conversation now—all that had been forgotten. The reality of the danger that faced them returned. The stone around them grew damper.

“This will bring us to the sea. Past the harbor wall. It’s nearing dark; we’ll be able to row north unseen. There’s a hideout there we can regroup with my brother...”

“Who else knows of this hideout?” the man asked skeptically.

“Only my friends.”