Lise smiled faintly. Maybe they could unlock the chains.

The leader of the packrats had turned it on. They jabbered nonsense and tugged on their clothes, as if trying to drag them away. The pack rat with the tricycle stepped forward. He pointed at them, then at the back of the room. In the flashlight beam, the mouth of another tunnel was nearly invisible in the shadows. It was only partly formed, as if the miners had started digging only to abandon it. A way out? The pack rat jibbered impatiently and beckoned them forward.

She shook her head. " We can't. " She moved to show them the chains.

Isiea resumes trying to use the glamour.

No luck. Her concentration had already been broken.

He chattered at the rest of them, and they shuffled forward. One by one, they reached behind them, to the lumps of trash on their backs, and began pulling things out.

"What are they doing?" Ash muttered.

One of the pack rats produced an electric drill, showing it to the leader, who shook his head. Another pulled out a butterfly knife, but the leader declined that, too, as well as a lighter, a hammer, and a round alarm clock. Then one of the smaller pack rats chittered excitedly and stepped forward, holding something long and metallic.

A pair of bolt cutters.

The lead pack rat jabbered and pointed. But at the same time, the clank of steel boots coming down the tunnel, and the scuttling of thousands of claws on rock was suddenly audible. The knights were coming back, and so were the gremlins.

She tensed. " They're trying to free us. " She muttered back. They needed to hurry up or they most likely wouldn't have another chance.

Isiea keeps trying to do the glamour thing.

The pack rat waddled over and began sawing at the chain. Lights appeared in the distance, bobbing along the ground; gremlins with lanterns or flashlights. There was the snap of links as they parted, and she was free. Then they went to go work on Isiea's chains

She smiled, rubbing her wrists gently. But now they needed to escape.

Isiea stays patient.