She kicked him on the ribs. "Those aren't on the list for showing. Only if you wanted to marry me."
"But I already have two Betrothees!" he protested.
"I was being facetious," she said. "Even though there is no boy of my kind. I was just making the point that age is no barrier to love. We're all children, according to the Adult Conspiracy, but we can love."
"Oh. I guess so." The Adult Conspiracy was the bane of his life, with its ridiculous tenets. "But Jenny Elf and Gwendolyn Goblin and Che Centaur don't—"
"They love their families, and maybe each other. Not all love relates to the stork, you know."
Dolph hadn't known, but let it pass. "So maybe they care about each other. But why would that make it so hard for Che to decide what to do?" "I don't know. That's what we're trying to figure out. If you don't marry Electra, she dies. Could there be something like that with Gwendolyn Goblin?"
"Did she seem ill to you?"
"No, she seemed perfectly healthy. And nice. I could see how well both Che and Jenny liked her. But there must be something odd about her, because that's the first time Godiva ever let me meet her. I'm sure we could have been friends, if we had met earlier."
"Well, as you said, your wings—"
"But Che has wings!" she said sharply.
"That's right! So it couldn't be the wings. Maybe it's that he's male?"
"Male? How could a male be better than a female?"
"Well, Electra had to be kissed awake by a prince. Maybe Gwendolyn Goblin has to have a male companion."
"But I'm sure there are plenty of male goblins who could have been her playmate."
"Would any of them have been as nice as Che?"
"Well, you don't expect a goblin male to be nice," she said reasonably. "All the niceness is in the females."
"So if she wanted a nice companion male, it couldn't be a goblin," he said. "Still, there must have been some other companion they could have gotten that wouldn't bring the winged monsters down to besiege their mountain. Why didn't they look for one of those?"
"That's the mystery," she agreed. "Or half of it. Why did they take Che—and why can't he make up his mind about it? All we know is that maybe it's like you and Electra in some devious way."
He sighed. "You know, if it was exactly like that, it wouldn't be easy to solve. I can't make up my mind which girl to marry. Maybe Che can't make up his mind which girl should be his companion."
"Maybe," she said doubtfully. "But I should think he would do it quickly enough, if he knew that goblins and monsters would be fighting and dying if he didn't. He's a centaur, after all; he has logical thought processes, unlike the rest of us."
"Maybe we should ask a centaur!" Dolph exclaimed.
But then a motion on the ground caught his eye. "Oops—there's a dragon!"
She peered down so avidly she almost fell off his back. It didn't matter, for she would merely spread her wings and fly back. "Oh, yes! A big smoker!"
"A smoker? I saw a steamer!"
In a moment and a half they had spied a whole slew of dragons. A slew was a measurement that applied only to big fearsome things, and was a standard unit for monsters. Normally it was sufficient for whatever purpose was intended; Dolph had never heard of a situation requiring two slews.
The dragons were tramping north from the land of the dragons, toward Goblin Mountain. There was no doubt about it: the goblins' claim was true.
"Aren't you flying rather low, Dolph?" Gloha asked.
Dolph discovered that he was. He flapped his wings harder, but continued to descend. "Oops—my lightness is running out!" he exclaimed, realizing.
Then Cheiron spied what was happening and swooped down. He flicked Dolph with his tail as he passed, and suddenly Dolph lurched up, light again. As he chased down his equilibrium, he saw tiny Grundy Golem clinging to Cheiron's mane. Grundy was serving as translator for the assorted monsters.
"So it was no bluff," Cheiron remarked, unsurprised. "Well, we had better consider what to do while we fly back to the mountain. Those dragons won't arrive until tomorrow, so we have some time to play with."
"We think there's something funny about Che's position," Dolph said. "That there's some reason he can't make a decision, maybe like the way I can't decide between Betrothees. If we knew that reason, maybe we'd be able to help him decide." "There is only one decision," Cheiron said. "He is not remaining captive in that mountain."
"Uh, we're not sure he is captive," Dolph said. "I mean, if he tells them no, they'll let him go."
Cheiron glanced sharply at him. "Then why doesn't he tell them no?"
"There's something, some reason—we thought maybe you would be able to figure it out."
"It seems like duress to me. Perhaps they have threatened to kill the elf girl if he says no."
Gloha made a horrified peep, and Dolph was taken severely aback. They had not thought of that!
"And so he told Jenny Elf to decide, because it affected her," Gloha said. "And she doesn't want to decide, because she doesn't want to die—but she doesn't want to make him prisoner either."
"And maybe they told her they would kill them both, if they told," Dolph said, his horror growing. "So she couldn't tell. But she asked Electra a question, and nobody knew what it meant, so the goblins didn't realize."
"What question was this?" Cheiron asked alertly.
"Why didn't Electra marry Dolph," Gloha said.
Chex, flying on the other side of them, nodded. "If Electra doesn't marry Dolph, she will die. If Che does not agree to be Gwendolyn's companion, Jenny Elf will die. It seems a reasonable parallel."
"The case is not tight," Cheiron said. "But it will do as a working hypothesis. If we proceed on that assumption, it is definitely a case of duress. In which case the reason they are not making the decision is to provide us time to free them. An agreement made under such duress would not be binding on Che, but perhaps he doesn't properly appreciate that, so believes that his choice is between slavery and the life of his friend. We shall have to act swiftly, reducing the mountain before the land dragons arrive."
"But if you attack, won't they kill them anyway?" Dolph asked.
"I think not. They will know that their only hope of reprieve is to return foal and elf unharmed. They will keep them as hostages, hoping in the end to bargain for their lives, if they are not able to hold out until the dragons come. As I judge it, it will be extremely close, but we can do it in time."
Dolph was bothered by the prospect of such a life and death struggle, but also by something else. He had gotten to know Godiva Goblin during their trek to Goblin Mountain by overhearing her conversations with others in the party. He remembered how she had honored the Adult Conspiracy, refusing to show Jenny a devastating gesture because she was a child. While he chafed at the Adult Conspiracy, it hardly seemed that a woman who honored it so carefully would be the kind to kill a girl just to make someone else do something. Adults, whatever other awful things might be said about them, usually tried to protect children, rather than hurt them. Godiva had seemed very much like a protective mother.
"Gloha, you saw Che and Jenny with Gwendolyn, didn't you?" he asked as they flew back, a little apart from the centaurs. "How did they seem to get along together?"
"Very well, actually," Gloha said. "In fact—" She paused, as if remembering something significant.
"Goblin girls are nice, aren't they? Was Gwendolyn nice?"
"Yes. And she—when Electra asked what happened if Che said no, Godiva said she hadn't decided, and Gwendolyn said 'Mother!' and then Godiva said she would release Che."
"Well, that could mean she would release him and kill Jenny," Dolph said. But Godiva had not seemed like that kind of person. She had been tough, but true to her word.
"I don't think so. Jenny didn't seem frightened, just undecided. And Gwendolyn liked her. I could tell. When Gwendolyn challenged her mother, Godiva backed down. I don't think Gwendolyn wanted Jenny killed, and I don't think she would be ki
lled if Gwendolyn didn't want it. She's in line to be chiefess, you know. She has power, even now, as a child. So it must be something else."
"What about Che? Was he frightened?"
"No. He liked Gwendolyn too. The three of them really seemed to be friends. In fact, he said he liked Gwenny, as he called her, and that he was being well treated."
"If he said it, it was true," Dolph said. "Even a young centaur would not tell an untruth. He might say nothing, but he wouldn't lie."
"That's what I thought. Dolph, I don't think anyone was threatened."
"Then why wouldn't they decide?"
She shrugged. "That baffles me."
"I think we haven't solved the mystery yet," Dolph said, "and I guess maybe we'd better, before there is bloodshed."
"Yes. But how?"
"I'll go in there and find out."
"But you're not a goblin, Dolph!"
"I can become one."
"But you don't know the mountain! You don't know the goblin ways."
She was right. He could get into deadly trouble, blundering around in there. "I could become an ant, or something, and sneak in."
"And somebody would step on you!"
Right again. "Then maybe as myself. Gloha, I've got to go there and find out what's going on, before horrible things happen, maybe from some misunderstanding."
"I'll go with you."
"But you've already risked it once!"
"I can take you right to Che and Jenny Elf."
He nodded. Then he angled his flight toward Cheiron. When he got close, he called "Can you hold off your attack a little longer? I think I should go in there and see if I can bring Che out. I think maybe there's something we don't understand."
Cheiron was grim. "There is too little time. I must commence the attack in time to complete the reduction of the mountain before the land dragons arrive or the siege will fail."
But Chex had closed on them. "Dear—"
"But we can hold back on the smoke and fire for an hour, to give you time," Cheiron said.
"See? Females rule," Gloha murmured with satisfaction.
They reached the mountain and came down in single file for the landing: Cheiron, Chex, and Dolph. Immediately Cheiron set about organizing the attack, while Dolph changed and approached Nada and Electra. "Cheiron's resuming the attack," he said tersely, "because land dragons are coming, and the mountain must be reduced before they get here. But we think there's something we don't know, and maybe I can get Che and Jenny out. So Gloha and I are going in, for an hour."
"I'll go with you!" Electra said immediately.
But Nada drew her back. "My turn, 'Lectra," she said with a dark glance.
"But it's dangerous," Gloha protested.
"We know," Nada and Electra said together.
"I guess you want to see your brother," Dolph said to Nada. She didn't want just to be with Dolph, he knew, though he delighted in the prospect of her company.
"That too," she said. "Let's go."
Now Dolph realized what they were doing. They were taking turns in danger, so if one died, the other could marry him. It was a grim business, but he couldn't fault it. Except, suppose the wrong one.?
The three of them advanced on the mountain. Already the rocs were taking off to seek more boulders to drop on the mountain, and the steamer dragons were warming up. They would steam the surface, so that it would soften and the boulders would break it down faster. Once more of the inner tunnels were exposed, the smokers could make the goblins retreat, choking, and the harpies could lay explosive eggs and set them rolling down the passages. But if those eggs started catching nagas—brother! Specifically, Nada's brother. Ouch! So Nada was coming along to see personally.
Gloha led the way. Nada changed to her natural form, a woman-headed serpent, which she found more comfortable for tunnels. Dolph considered, and matched her form. He remembered when they had first met, six years before, in this form. They had become betrothed, and kissed, banging noses before getting it right. He hadn't realized it, then, but he had fallen in love with her at the moment of that kiss. Of course he hadn't realized that she was five years older than he; she had seemed his age or even slightly younger. What times they had had, then!
They moved down into the mountain. A goblin appeared, challenging them. "We're coming to parlay again," Gloha called. "This is Prince Dolph and Princess Nada."
The goblins recognized those names. They made way. In half a dozen moments they were at the base level.
Godiva awaited them at the door to her daughter's chamber. "What is your mission, Prince Dolph?" she inquired, recognizing him.
"The winged monsters are going to reduce this mountain to rubble before dawn tomorrow," he replied. "Your land dragon allies won't get here before then, so you can't stop it. We want to take Che and Jenny out of here and stop this battle before anyone is hurt."
"You will not be able to reduce this mountain that fast," Godiva said. "Our other allies will see to that." She glanced at Nada. "You may verify this with your brother, if you wish."
"Maybe I'd better," Nada said.
Godiva snapped her fingers. In a moment handsome Naldo Naga slithered up. "Nada!" he exclaimed, surprised and delighted.
"Naldo!" she cried. They slithered up to each other and kissed. Dolph wished she would kiss him with similar joy.
"Oh, isn't he handsome!" Gloha whispered to Dolph. "I didn't see him in such good light, last time."
Naldo heard that. He looked at Gloha, who blushed almost black. "So glad to meet you again, lovely creature," he said handsomely. Gloha's blush assumed a purplish tinge, with heart-shaped squiggles of red.
Nada rolled up her eyes. She had remarked before that her brother could charm any female. She had not exaggerated. Dolph understood how it was; Nada herself could charm any male. How well he knew!
"Tell them of your efforts, Naldo," Godiva said.
Naldo nodded. "As you know, sis, we don't like this situation, but we are bound by the covenant and will acquit our obligation honorably. We brought a supply of pineapples, cherries, and popcorn, and will assume serpent form of the size required to carry these into key crevices by key tunnels. They will detonate when any invaders come, causing the tunnels to collapse on them. It will not be possible to penetrate to the base without collapsing all the tunnels—by which time the defensive forces will have exited with their captives to the nether world of the callicantzari. Assuming that proves necessary. More likely, this tactic will slow down the advance enough to allow the land dragons to arrive before the reduction is complete. So the chances of the winged monsters prevailing are remote."
"But the smokers can smoke you out," Nada said.
"Not if we collapse the tunnels before the smoke gets through. And of course you would not want the captives to get smoked, so I doubt it comes to that." Naldo shook his head. "Sis, you had better go back and tell Cheiron that his effort is hopeless. This stronghold will not be forced. The decision will be made by the foal or the elf, and then violence will be pointless."
Nada was silent. So was Dolph. Naldo's case was persuasive. It really did not look possible for Cheiron to rescue his foal by violence.
"We should talk to Che again," Gloha said.
"By all means," Godiva said. She opened the door.
Foal, elf, and goblin girl stood within, together. "Hello, Prince Dolph," Jenny said. "Hello, Princess Nada. Hello again, Gloha."
Why was she so formal? There was indeed something funny about this, but Dolph still couldn't fathom what it was. Well, he would just have to do what he could.
"Che, your sire is set to bring this mountain down into rabble," he said. "And the Nada are set to do the same, in defense of it. There's going to be a whole lot of trouble, and many creatures may die. You can't allow this to happen. You must decide."
Che nodded. "Yes, I must." He looked at Jenny. "What will it be?"
"Oh, Che, I'm sorry," Jenny said, looking as woebegone as an elf could, which was extremely s
o. "I don't see any other way. You must agree to be Gwenny's companion."
"I am relieved, not sorry," Che said. "I so agree."
"Oh, Che!" Gwendolyn exclaimed, hugging him. "Oh, thank you, thank you! It means so much to me!"
"But your sire will level the mountain!" Dolph protested. "He says a decision made under duress is not valid!"
"There is no duress," Che said.
"But—" Dolph started.
"Do not affront him," Naldo murmured behind him. "You know a centaur's word is inviolate."
"Uh, yes, of course," Dolph said, flustered. "But, Che, can you tell us why? I mean, after these goblins foal-napped you and kept you captive."
"No," the foal said firmly.
Dolph looked at Jenny Elf. "Then you, Jenny. You're his friend. Why—?"
"I'm sorry," Jenny said tearfully. "I can't tell you either. Just that it's best."
Dolph dreaded returning to tell Cheiron and Chex this, but saw nothing else to do. His mission had failed miserably.
Nada came to his rescue. "Che, your sire and dam will have trouble understanding this. They suspect you are too young to fully appreciate the ways of centaur honor. Could you come to the surface and tell them yourself?"
"Why, I don't know," Che said, confused. "I really should stay with Gwenny." He looked at Godiva.
"You are free to go where you will, Che," Godiva said.
"We accept your word, and your sire and dam should also, once they hear it from you directly."
Che turned to Gwendolyn. "Do you feel up to making the trip to the surface, Gwenny? I think you will not want to talk very much with others, in this confusion, but you could at least look outside."
"I'd love to, Che," the goblin girl said.
Che turned to Dolph. "Then go tell my sire and dam that I am coming," he said. "We will follow shortly."
Dolph was relieved. "I'll do that." What a pass this was!
Nada lingered to talk with her brother. Gloha and Dolph proceeded up the tunnel toward the surface. "Why do you think he's doing it?" Gloha asked when they were alone. "If there's no threat, why won't they tell?"
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