When Meepo shines the light, Kuhl sees the kobolds in the back more clearly, even as they shade their eyes from the torch's illumination.
"Can you speak to them Meepo?" asks the tall man. "Are these the missing members of your clutch? Might they know where your dragon is?"
Eventually, Kuhl is satisfied that these prisoners mean no immediate harm, even if he is suspicious of the deep gnome, a species he has never before encountered except in fairy stories and history class.
He does what he can to help them out, cutting ropes and hoping that between them the kobolds know how to work locks. Anything they can't get, Kuhl will take and try to break with a swift, sharp strike with his quarterstaff, to the lock held in place by his feet.