So sorry to have taken so long here, but Carl's "save" has been filled in.
I was thinking that the children could possibly be rescued through a side route, making use of the side tunnel and brook mentioned in
Tevildo post for Azhar, perhaps reducing the number of slavers by picking them off as they happen to get too close to the excavation. That way the fellowship might be able to get back to their horses before being found out. But if the fellowships' hearts are keen on keeping above ground, I suppose that the tunnel might easy prove too small or be partially blocked.
Edit: Also,
Durelin or Child, just let me know if this post needs to be placed later in the stream of events.