The miners threw the Betrayer's body deep into the mine tunnel, dislodging a patch of gravel to make it look as though the tunnel had collapsed.
When the guards came in the next day, the miners acted as if they knew nothing.
The guards didn't care. A few deaths in a mine tunnel were nothing unusual. What cave didn't have a few ghosts of the wronged dead?
Smo wasted no time using the Betrayer to unite the slave miners. He led them to dig in the coal-rich tunnels, pooled what they extracted, then divided it equally.
To keep the guards from noticing, they turned in only a little more coal than usual. Taking advantage of his status as a newcomer, Smo even asked how he could get a look outside.
To his surprise, a guard glanced at him and said, "Go if you want."
"You won't stop us?"
The guard snapped, "You were the ones who begged to live in the caves because it was too cold outside. Now you want to... Oh, that lot of miners are all dead."
Between the harsh conditions and the food, the miners were clearly being treated as expendable.
Smo looked at the light spilling in from behind the guard. An idea began to form.
"Boss, let me try..." Rabbit whispered. Ever since Little Smo had promised to take him out and get his mother treated, he had become his most loyal Servants.
"Then we'll go together."
Several other miners came along. They had no desire to freeze outside; they were just afraid Little Smo would run off without them.
"What a pain... Just don't die out there." The guard waved them on, not even bothering to send anyone after them.
Once outside, Little Smo understood why. The Coal mine lay in a basin