Nada woke because Electra had stopped moving. She had become accustomed to the steady irregularity of the struggle through the jungle, so this abrupt stillness was alarming. She poked her head out of the pocket.
Ahead was a gulf like that of the Gap Chasm. No, it only seemed so; she had forgotten to allow for her small size. It was actually a cleft, a miniature Gap, too wide for a human being to hurdle and too deep to risk. The trees grew up to within a reasonable distance of the brink, but left a clear space at the edge, as if not trusting their roots too close to that emptiness. The moonlight wafted down, brightening the ground, but hesitating to plumb too deeply in the cleft.
Electra was hesitating, and Nada knew her well enough to know that something was on her mind. So she slithered out of the pocket. Electra felt the motion and put her hand up. Nada crawled onto it, and Electra set her on the ground. Then Nada assumed woman form. "What's up?" she inquired.
"This looks a lot like the Gap," Electra said.
"It's too small. The Gap is a hundred times this big."
"But could it be an offshoot of the Gap? A crack branching off?"
"I suppose. There are a lot of them. What about it?"
"Then one end must go to the Gap, and the other just gets smaller until it quits."
"Of course. What's your point?"
"It would be hard to cross, toward the Gap, but easy toward the end."
Nada was getting impatient. "So what, 'Lectra? Just walk along it until you find where you can cross."
"But if we rescue—when we rescue Che, the gobs'll be chasing us. So—"
"So we find a good crossing point first," Nada said. "Now I get your notion. Very well, I'll check one direction, you check the other, and we'll return here and compare notes."
"No," Electra said.
"Now look, I'm not going to jump in!" Nada said. "I promised, remember?"
" 'Snot that," Electra said. Nada shuddered; she would have to get the girl to stop using such expressions, even if she wasn't a princess. It conjured a vision of a leaky nose.
"Isn't there time? The moon's still out, so it's not dawn yet."
" 'Snot that either." Ouch! "If they're chasing us, we don't want an easy crossing."
"But we can't afford to be delayed, if—" Then Nada understood. "The goblins! To stop the goblins!"
"Yes. If we can get across, and they can't, we'll be safe or at least get a good head start. I thought with Godiva's wand—"
" 'Lectra, that's brilliant!" Nada exclaimed. "This cleft can be better than pineapple bombs! So we need to find a good wide section they can't cross, and then come to that."
"But they probably know this cleft pretty well, and maybe they have crossing places," Electra said. "So maybe we need to find those and get rid of them, so they can't cross."
"Yes indeed! Very well, we'll split up and explore, and see what we find. We have to move quickly, though, so we have time to get together with Godiva."
"Right." Electra headed off along the cleft, running, though she must have been tired. Nada assumed the form of a black racer and zoomed in the other direction.
As it turned out, she had the Gap side. Before long the cleft joined another cleft, and Nada had to detour around that until she found a place narrow enough for her human form to hurdle. Then she snaked on down until she came to the Gap itself. She had observed no suitable crossings; the goblins evidently didn't mess with this portion of it.
She zoomed back, hoping she hadn't delayed Electra. She was heartened by this discovery. She could lead Che to this cleft, and Godiva could loft him across, and the gobs would be stuck on the other side.
So would Nada.
She pondered that as she sped along. But then she realized that it should be no problem, because no goblin could keep up with this racing form. She could get clear. In fact, she might not need to; she could assume small snake form, and Che could hold her in his hand, and take her across with him.
Then she remembered the elf girl. The one who had tried to rescue Che before and gotten captured herself. What would happen to her?
Maybe there would be time to loft her across after Che was safe. Nada hoped so, because she wanted to know more about that elf.
But where would Electra be, at that point? She couldn't change form and slither away. So—she would have to remain on the other side of the cleft to help guide Che while Nada slithered around. That would have another advantage: if the gobliness turned out to be untrustworthy, someone would be there to protect Che.
Reassured, Nada zipped on to her rendezvous with Electra. Soon enough she made it, somewhat to this side of their point of separation. Electra had evidently completed her survey and come back to find Nada.
She slithered up and assumed girl form. "My end is the Gap," she said. "No crossing places. You found one?"
"Yes—just a little way up," Electra said breathlessly. "It gets very narrow, and the gobs have made a log bridge—a tree fallen across it. I looked beyond, but it's a good long hike before it peters out. So if we can take out that bridge—"
"Good enough! Let me look at it."
They went to it, and Nada studied the situation. It looked as if a person with a lever could wedge the log off the narrow place, so it would drop into the cleft. It would take the goblins a long time to get another log for the crossing. It looked very good. They might even be able to use the crossing themselves, then push off the log before the goblins reached it.
They resumed their progress toward the horde camp. Now the first signs of dawn were just beginning to think about starting to show.
They were going to be late. "They must be ahead of us," Nada said. "Maybe Idiot is whistling, and we can hear it."
They listened, and after a moment heard the conservative cadence of the bird in hand. They hurried toward that, hoping it wasn't a real bird.
It wasn't. Idiot was hiding against the trunk of a tree, and Godiva was nearby. "I was afraid you were—lost," the gobliness said, relieved.
"Or had run out on you?" Nada inquired.
"It is true I do not know you well, and our relations with the Naga folk are not ideal."
Nada was getting to like Godiva better. The woman seemed to be playing things straight. "We found an offshoot from the Gap Chasm that we think will balk the goblins—if we destroy their bridge after using it. So if we can get that far without being captured or killed ourselves—"
"Wonderful! We found nothing; the horde seems to have scoured the region clean. We have been here for an hour, observing, fearing that you would not come. We believe the horde has the foal and elf locked in a hut together; there is a guard pacing near it. There are other guards elsewhere in the camp; if we took out one, the others would hear the commotion and rouse the rest. So we have been unable to act, but we fear they mean to do their thing at dawn."
"I can go in and free them," Nada said. "But it won't do any good, if the whole camp is roused."
"Agreed. So I think I had better distract them. It's a faint chance, but all we have."
"Distract them?" Electra asked.
"With a dance."
"How could a dance distract goblins?" Electra asked. But Nada had a notion, and gave her a let-it-be signal.
"When I do it, you slither in quickly and rescue them," Godiva said. "Perhaps you will get away."
"But what happens to you?" Nada asked.
"Oh, they will no doubt have a great deal of fun with me, before they kill me. But once the foal is safe, perhaps I can be rescued."
Nada was chilled by her realism. "Maybe we should summon our help now."
"And set off the horde for sure! No, we had better try it this way. If I don't make it, you must bargain in good faith with my henchmen for the disposition of the foal."
Nada sighed. She feared disaster for them all, but they seemed to be stuck with it. She turned to Electra. "If I don't make it, you must be the one to bargain. Stay clear, and lead the party to the crossing. Che will follow you if he sees you."
> Tight-lipped, Electra nodded.
Godiva turned to the three males. "If I am lost, you support these two. If you win the foal, take him home."
The three nodded grimly.
Dawn was encroaching. But before Nada could go in, one who was evidently the goblin chief marched with a group of henchmen to the hut. The rescue effort was too late!
"We'll have to watch our chance," Nada said. "Maybe this isn't the end."
They watched as the two captives were led out. The gobliness was right: that was the biggest elf Nada had seen. Neither was tied, but the elf seemed to be gagged. That was curious. "Does she have spoken magic?" Nada asked.
"Not that I know of," Godiva replied.
The goblins clustered around the captives, but it wasn't clear what they were doing. Then Che reached out and yanked the elf's gag down. Immediately the chief drew back his fist and swung at her, but the elf ducked.
"She must have magic!" Godiva exclaimed. "See, most of the men are just standing around, not helping their chief. So we must not listen." As she spoke, she was stuffing hanks of hair into her ears, to dull her own hearing. "I'll distract them visually; you get in there and get them out."
Nada changed to small snake form and slithered toward the group. She saw Godiva step out into the camp clearing, dancing and swirling her hair around her body. She was good at it; that hair was like a living cloak, that allowed parts of her torso to flash into view briefly before disappearing.
A goblin spied Godiva. "Look at that!" he cried, staring.
Nada didn't look at that; she concentrated on Che and the elf girl. She would slither right in close, then assume human form, and tell the two to run. Then she would assume large serpent form and bite any goblins who looked dangerous. She might get killed, just as Godiva might, but between them they might indeed give Che his chance to escape.
An increasing number of the goblins were standing frozen, and not all of them were looking in Godiva's direction. Could it be true that the elf had some kind of spoken magic? If so, that made Nada's job easier. She continued to concentrate on the two captives, allowing nothing to distract her from her immediate mission.
The chief was still trying to punch the elf, but she was ducking out of the way, and the goblins who were holding her seemed to be in a daze. It must be magic, because normally goblins' first interest was in hurting others.
Nada reached the group. She assumed woman form. "Che!" she cried. "Run for the forest!" Then she became a monstrous huge-fanged serpent and reared up before the chief. If she took him out first, the others might be disorganized.
But the chief's face had also gone blank. There was no point in biting him if he wasn't functioning. She turned to look at the others, and found them all standing slackly, slight ungoblinish smiles on their ugly faces. What was going on?
Che and the elf girl ran, and the elf seemed to be singing. Nada could not distinguish notes very well in her serpent form, so judged by the girl's open mouth. Well, if that was doing it, good for her!
Che and the elf ran to the side, where Electra stepped out, calling something. They followed her into the forest.
Godiva stopped dancing. The goblins remained standing in place. Nada slithered after Che, and after a surprised moment Godiva wrapped her hair around her and followed.
Then the goblins came back to life. But for a moment they were confused. It was almost as if they had not seen the captives flee. Nada and Godiva hurried into the forest, in effect forming a rear guard.
The party kept moving. Evidently Electra was showing them the way, and Che trusted Electra, and the elf trusted Che. Good enough; if they stayed ahead of the horde long enough, they could cross the cleft, dump the tree down, and be safe while they signaled for help.
But now the goblins were getting organized. Godiva turned her head, evidently hearing them, and in a moment Nada heard it too, as a roaring noise.
They passed a narrow section of their path, where two great trees encroached from the sides. Nada whipped to the side, and curled around the tree, climbing in a spiral, while Godiva ran on.
In a moment the first of the goblins charged up. Nada struck out from the tree, hissing fiercely. She knocked him back with her snout. The goblin wasn't really hurt, but he was terrified. He screamed and scrambled back—just as the second one was arriving. The two collided and tumbled in the path—just in time for the next one to plow into them.
In a moment there was a sizable tangle of goblins. Satisfied, Nada assumed black racer form and shot along the trail, gaining on the others. She had bought them a little more time.
It seemed to be enough, for the party made it to the log crossing before the horde goblins caught up again. Godiva's henchmen were prying at the log, and it was nudging over. They paused, seeing Nada coming. But the log was too far over; it continued moving. They jumped on it and ran across just before it fell.
Nada pulled up at the brink, too late. Behind her was the noise of the horde.
Then she found herself floating in the air. She wriggled violently, afraid she was falling into the deep cleft. Then she saw Godiva, waving her wand. The gobliness was bringing her across!
She floated over the cleft and landed softly. She assumed her natural form, with her human head on her serpent body. "Thank you," she said. "I could have gone around, but it would have taken time."
"You helped me by slowing the pursuit," Godiva said.
Now the goblins of the horde charged up to the other side of the cleft. Moron, Idiot, and Imbecile stood at the edge and made faces at them, while the rest of the party got organized. "Maybe we had better exchange introductions," Nada said. "Che, I believe you know us all."
"Certainly," the centaur foal said. He looked somewhat worn, unsurprisingly, but retained his composure. "This is Jenny Elf, from the World of Two Moons. These are Princess Nada Naga and Electra. I gather you and Godiva have made each other's acquaintance."
Nada looked at Jenny. "You are not from Xanth?"
"No," the elf said. She held up a four-fingered hand.
"See, my fingers are different from yours and my ears. But, please, have you seen Sammy?"
"Who?"
"Her cat," Che said. "He finds things, magically."
"No, we have seen no cat of any kind," Nada said. "Look, Electra and I came to rescue you, but we have learned that Godiva did not mean to hurt you, Che. She wants you to be her daughter's companion. We made a bargain to work together to rescue you from the horde. Now we have to settle where you are to go."
"But you can't keep Che from his mother!" Jenny protested. She was indeed the foal's friend. She was goblin size, which was still only half human height.
"We had to compromise," Nada said. "The alternative was to let the horde keep you."
Che nodded. "I understand. I must abide by your compromise."
"But first we had better get away from here," Godiva said, "before the horde moves around the cleft."
Indeed, the horde goblins were already running to the side in the direction of the next available crossing. It would take them a while, but not long enough to be ignored.
"Then we had better travel down to the Gap," Nada said. "That's in the direction each party is going."
"I'm not sure of that," Godiva said. "See, some of them are going that way too. There must be a crossing you didn't see."
Nada saw that it was true. "Then north," she said.
They formed a line and started north, through the jungle. They were all tired, but it was no time to rest. Nada led the way, in large serpent form, because she was able to force a passage best.
Then suddenly there was a roar ahead. Nada drew back, alarmed. It was a huge fire-breathing dragon, and it was bearing right down on them!
Chapter 8. Dolph's Direction
Dolph in nighthawk form, flew west through the night toward the With-a-Cookee River. Unfortunately Metria had not told him exactly where along the river his Betrothees were. That left him somewhat at a loss.
&nbs
p; Well, all he could do was start at the source, assume fish form, and follow the river down until he found them. There must be a goblin tribe along it somewhere. Then he could assume dragon form or ogre form and smash the gobs to smithers and rescue the damsels. The notion had a certain appeal.
With his nighthawk eyes he could see clearly no matter how dark it was. But not only did he not know exactly where the girls were, he also did not know where the river was. Except that it was west of here. He almost wished the demoness was along, in case she could give him a better direction. But she would probably just give him the wrong direction, out of mischief.
In due course he spied the river. At least he thought it was the river. He flew down close and saw a clump of ginger cookies that snapped viciously at him; one had to be careful of ginger snaps. But this verified that it was the With-a-Cookee River, flowing generally north and west.
Maybe he could just fly over it, along its length, until he spied the girls and goblins. No, the jungle overhung it in places and was so dense that he could not see the ground. He would be better off as a fish—a big fierce one with sharp spines, which an allidile wouldn't attack. But first he had to find the river's source, so he didn't miss anything.
He followed it up until it reached a big messy morass. He knew what this was: the Half-Baked Bog, that had not yet ripened into a full-fledged swamp. When it did so, the products that grew along the river would be adult breadfruit and butter, instead of juvenile cookies, and they would have to change its name. He hoped it never grew up!
He came to land where the first trickle of river leaked from the bog. The bog didn't like giving up its water, but the river demanded it, so this was where the issue was fought. Dolph knew that when it rained, the bog sometimes wasn't quick enough to incorporate all the new water, and the river managed to suck more of it away. Sometimes the river got so full of it that it swelled up over its banks. That was the nature of juveniles: they had no restraint. Dolph was sorry he would not be a juvenile much longer.
Isle of View Page 16
