Caving in to each other PRIVATE

The female guard wrapped the ropes around Amaya's wrists while the male stood by, ready to stop the human if she tried anything. After tying her, the guard confiscated her daggers, and they escorted her to the group of human prisoners. Tamrie followed slowly afterwards, picking up her goose so it wouldn't be trampled in the small crowd.
"So what's the plan? Where do we go from here?" Tamrie asked, walking up to Rene.
"Well, we were going to make camp here. There's plenty of room, and enough wood can be scavenged from this old equipment to start a fire." the trailmaster said.
"If most of these tunnels lead to this room, perhaps more people will find us." Xephyros said.
"Would be nice if we could find a healer." Tamrie added, glancing to the wizard's arm. "You doing okay?"
"The bleeding's stopped, but I think one of the bones might be broken. Best not to risk using it for now." he replied.
"Maybe we could ask the humans. If they were prepared for an attack, surely they would have brought at least one healer." Tamrie said, prompting a snarl from Rene.
"Begging for help from those that attacked you is a stupid move." Rene snapped. "There is a reason the herders aren't in charge. Obviously you don't have the brains."
Tamrie opened her mouth to reply with a rather harsh truth, but thought better of it and bit her tongue. Instead, Xephyros spoke again "There are different skills for different jobs, Trailmaster. Everyone serves their purpose. Perhaps a deal could be made between us and the humans. Think about it: we outnumber them, and anything we offer could only benefit us all."
Rene thought it over, nodding after some time. "Very well." she said. "Since you two seem so eager, you will be the ones questioning them. I will oversee things and make sure you are keeping OUR best interests in mind."
The trailmaster left, finding an overturned cart to climb on ad said to the small crowd "We will camp here. If you plan to leave the group, clear it with me so we know where to look. We will resume travel..." she trailed off, looking at the ceiling of the mine and realizing there would be no way to tell the time except for guessing. "After everyone has had a good rest. I will notify you when I believe we are ready."
"I suppose we should get to it." Tamrie said, heading for middle of the room, where it seemed the guards had set up a sort of temporary blockade around one side of the main support, with the humans trapped in the center, their backs to the large stone pillar. Rene joined the two moments later, smirking as though she already knew the plan would fail horribly.

"Agreed. I won't be the one doing the begging. If it was up to me you'd all be searched for useful items and dumped in the nearest pit." Rene purred. "But you have to keep the people happy. Have at 'em." the trailmaster said, pushing Xephyros and Tamrie free, and watching from the opposite wall, a safe distance from any prisoners behind the line of guards.
Tamrie just gritted her teeth, not wanting to say anything she might regret later. They were pretty lucky Rene had agreed to this. The guards closed the line behind them, leaving the two elves enclosed along with the captives. Although they were all bound, it was very possible one of them could still attack. But Tamrie had faith the guards would step in. She made her way to Amaya first, seeing as she was probably the most trustworthy. Xephyros followed after her, keeping as close to the guards as possible.
"So... Do you know if any of these people is a healer?" Tamrie asked.
"Or any other skills?" Xephyros asked.

(I think I wanna make Xephyros a half-elf. He's just a nice old half-elf weather wizard. He'll probably help them for a while, and then I might kill him off. But I kind of like him as the old grandpa friend. Any input? Feel free to throw ideas out if you think of anything. I'm just kind of winging it for now, following the basic plan of "get at least Amaya free, and maybe some others, though somehow Tamrie and Amaya will probably end up alone eventually" so that I don't have to kind of railroad everything. I feel like I'm controlling things too much sometimes. Sorry.)

(Sorry, I just worry a lot.)

"I picked a few wildflowers this morning... Don't know if they have any special properties." Tamrie said, pulling the flowers out of a pouch on her belt. They were rather crumpled, though there were several types, including the stems and leaves. She tried not to tear up at the realization that she might never see her niece again. She had planned to use them to make flower jewelry for the young girl.
"There also may be some type of fungus growing here. I know there was a pool of water out there that we could purify." Xephyros said. "Someone might have brought other items we could use."

"Thank you, young lady." Xephyros said.
"Surely this will show them that you can be trusted. If Rene had doubts, this has to clear them." Tamrie said.
"I agree that it would probably be better to work together, but you must see it from another perspective. The humans attacked us, Tamrie."
"And we fought back. Now we're both trapped, so what good would it do to keep at this fighting? It will just waste energy that could be put towards getting out of here."
Rene was now watching them with rapt attention.

(Thanks.)

(SPent like a whole hour planning out this big speech and then realized "lowly to herself" RIP)

"Well, even if that is true, not everyone has the same mindset." Xephyros said quietly. "As nice as peaceful cooperation would be, it will be tricky and may not happen at all. But I am living proof that humans and elves can get along. So we will try."
Tamrie nodded, and turned to Amaya again. "Could you try to help us convince the other humans to make some sort of deal with Trailmaster Rene?" she asked.
"I'm curious, child. What is your opinion on all of this? You came with the force to attack us, after all." Xephyros said.

(I can't believe Tamrie hasn't noticed Amaya trying to get free this whole time. ha )

"If we could convince Rene that you don't have to stay tied up. We could probably get out of here much faster then." Tamrie told her, glancing warily at the Trailmaster, who was now talking to someone else, and looking rather annoyed about it.
"Well... These mines were made by your ancestors, yes?" Xephyros asked Rene. "Do you think anyone here would know something about them? That would certainly be a weighty bargaining chip. We know almost nothing about them."

"We only just got here a few months ago... Not much time to get to know the history, especially when people refuse to talk to you or even attack us." Tamrie said, then mulled over what Amaya had said. "Bats? Yikes. I once lost nearly the whole herd because one of the cows was bitten and got the foaming madness... Well, that's bad enough, but adding paralysis into the mix? That's a nightmare."
"But bats usually only dwell in caves and such part-time, and often fly out for food. So perhaps by observing the bats, one could find the way out of the cave." Xephyros pointed out.
"These bats sound pretty unusual, though. You said they would 'suck you dry'? Dry of what?" she asked, hoping that her suspicions were not correct.

"Oh..." Tamrie mumbled, not really knowing what else to say. "Well, I suppose it would be best to avoid those." she said. She looked over her shoulder when Xephyros began tapped on her arm, and saw that Rene had apparently concluded her business and was approaching the wall of guards. They broke temporarily to let her and three more guards through, and the trailmaster made her way over to them.
"So... Anything that could be useful?" Rene asked, as if she severely doubted it.
Tamrie rolled her eyes, biting her lip and deciding not to say anything. Instead, Xephyros spoke up.
"Yes, actually, this young lady has been very helpful." the weather wizard said. "And I'm sure if we took the time to speak with everyone here we could learn quite a bit."
"Is that so? Well, then, what are your demands? Surely you won't have given anything freely. Humans are always groping for whatever they can get their hands on." Rene said, looking Amaya over. Tamrie bristled, clenching her fist. Xephyros laid a hand on the beastmaster's shoulder, smiling carefully.

The presence of the elf guards and the trailmaster had certainly attracted attention from many of the other humans, and a few had started paying quite a bit of attention. The guards had reached for their blades, but not drawn them, instead standing ready at the first sign of danger.
"If I was in your position, I would take care to watch my mouth." Rene said. "You are lucky I'm even giving you a chance. Now, what is your price for information?"
"How about their freedom?" Xephyros spoke for her. "You set anyone who can give you information free."
Rene sneered, and spat "You've always been a slimey half-breed, haven't you?" The trailmaster crossed her arms, then added "But I suppose, if it will help us get out of this damned place. What say you, human? Would you be the first to go free? Tell me what you know, and I'll decide if it's worth your freedom."
"No." Tamrie said, not being able to stand staying silent anymore. "If they tell you what they know, then you will have what you want. You can't just decide not to free them. If you make a bargain, there needs to be a clear trade." Her only response from Rene was a rather annoyed nod.

"Lead?" Rene sneered. "Is that a challenge?"
Tamrie uncrossed her arms, standing a bit taller. "Maybe it is."
Xephyros shook his head, holding his hands up to placate the females. "I don't think that is what she meant. Sometimes a trailmaster needs help, you know that. The humans know the dangers of these caves better than us, Amaya has shown us that."
Rene grimaced, but nodded. "I suppose we could try it out. Where would you have us go, human?"
"Her name is Amaya." Tamrie said.