Thwarted

"I can hear a stream," Rami said.

"Yes, Exotica told me there was one running through one corner of the cave, which the girls use for washing themselves."

"Let's have a look at it. If the water can come in and then flow out again, maybe its tunnel will provide us with an escape route."

They walked over to where the stream ran through the cave and scrutinised the points where it entered and left. An elf maiden was bathing in the cold water. She looked up at them. "I can guess what you're thinking," she said. "Did you not think that escaping that way would have occurred to us as well? As you can see, the water almost completely fills the tunnels, both in and out. You would need to hold your breath underwater for an unknown length of time. And it would be totally dark before you had gone very far. To try it would be an act of desperation - nay, madness."

"Maybe you're right," Rami said, sounding downcast.

"There's one other possibility," Amy told her. "Apparently there's a hole in the floor that they use as a toilet. We'll have a look at it."

The elf maiden overheard her and laughed. "Yes, you might escape that way, if your bodies were no more than one foot wide. For that is the diameter of our toilet hole. Also it seems to be a sheer drop for a great distance, for we have dropped pebbles down and listened for the sound of them hitting bottom, and it was many seconds before we heard anything."

1. Defeated, Amy and Rami give up thoughts of escape. Since the bread is all but inedible, after a few days even Rami begins eating orc. Before long, they feel stronger and fitter than they have ever done.
2. Defeated, Amy and Rami give up thoughts of escape. Rami, out of conviction, and Amy, out of sisterly solidarity, continue to refuse orcmeat. Since the bread is poor, they grow steadily weaker.
3. Amy and Rami don't give up hope of escape just yet.

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