Hazamir stepped back as Druid got between him and the bookcase, watching bemused as the man simply pulled the bookcase open by force, revealing the cramped, dark tunnel behind. The elf took one step into the cave and the torches came to life. Sunshadow flapped up into the air and flew into the tunnel first. "See? I knew you were the right choice. My first mistake, thinking that these humans could construct something sophisticated." He took the invitation to take point through the cave, and after spending a moment listening for Sunshadow's scream marking immediate danger, he slipped into the tunnel and started forward.<br/><br/>"Elven?" Hazamir ran is hand along the direction etched into the stone, taking the time to read what they claimed each direction held. There must have been a possibility of this passage being discovered while the enemy scouted the battlefield, otherwise no human would take the time to write in Old Elven. There weren't even many elves that could read the ancient words. They've grown too accustomed to mixing common into it. Hazamir remembered, however. "This way." He nodded down the northern passage. Sunshadow came back from one of the other directions and perched back on the ranger's shoulder, feathers slightly ruffled. "Spiders, yes? Well, stay nearby until we surface."<br/><br/>He began down the northern tunnel. It was narrow, straight and uneventful, just as he expected. They were leaving the village, and now stood twenty feet below the surface. Nothing but a few layers of earth separating them from more than half of the kingdom's siege breakers along with hundreds more soldiers. Hazamir stopped when he heard Druid talk, something he had observed to be rare. He turned to the hunched man, and stroked Sunshadow underneath its beak. "Only what he has planned for me.<em>Us</em>now, rather." He glanced down the long path behind him. "This tunnel was made for just such an occasion, you see. The deadtalker spoke true when he said Whitewilllow was the site of many massacres. So they built an escape tunnel that goes far to the north. Why? Because the only way in or out of these lands is north. Any army worth its salt can close off that route, and then deal with the village however they like. In this case, they're going to try to crush us. Why wouldn't they? We are outnumbered five to one at least, and starving out a dead army is poor strategy. What does this have to do with us and the tunnel, though?" He gave half a smirk, and nodded down the tunnel before he began traveling down it again. "The dwarf's forces will be thrown at the village all at once. I have no idea how the deadtalker intends to survive that, but I do know it'll leave their base camp and supply line thinly guarded. Why wouldn't it be? As far as they know, we're trapped in the village."<br/><br/>The elf glanced back but did not stop when Druid shared his concerns about Streban. He gave a small nod in reply. "I'm certain he feels the same way about me. I nearly put an arrow between his eyes when we met, but I don't think he's a fool." Hazamir concluded. "But if he is, at least we're in the best position to leave this place once his throat's been cut."