Whispers spread like lice, and Jig heard his name mentioned a number of times. Nobody moved. Didn’t they believe him? He waved his sword again. Riana swore at him and wiped off the dots of blood which had sprayed from his sword onto her sleeve.

“What did you say?” she asked.

He had forgotten she didn’t speak Goblin. “I told them the adventurers were coming, and you were going to help us.”

“Oh.” She chewed her lip for a second, then shouted, “They’ve rallied the hobgoblins and their tunnel cats. They’re coming to steal your women and children.”

“And our food!” Jig added.

That earned a much stronger response, at least from those who understood Human. Goblins everywhere scrambled for weapons or ran deeper into the warrens to hide. More the latter than the former, but at least they were moving. More importantly, nobody had tried to kill him.

The chief had a large room behind the kitchen, so that he could eat whenever he felt like it. Jig’s stomach grumbled at the thought.

“Come on.” He struggled through the crowd of goblins, toward the far side of the cavern. Riana followed close behind.

Strong fingers grabbed Jig’s wrist. The goblin’s grip was weak compared to the dragonchild’s, but it was still too powerful for Jig to break. “How do we know this isn’t a trick?” the goblin demanded.

Jig felt a moment of bizarre relief. At least we aren’t all gullible. The fact that it could cost him his life took some of the satisfaction away, though. The other goblin had Jig’s sword arm, and his fangs were almost an inch longer than Jig’s.

The goblin’s eyes widened. He looked down. Following his gaze, Jig saw a dagger sticking out of his side. Silently the goblin fell.

“You blindsided him,” Jig said, impressed.

“I’m a thief. We’re sneaky that way.”

A few other goblins had seen what happened, and Jig’s stomach tightened as a crowd began to form around him and Riana. They were close to the kitchen. All he needed was a few minutes with the chief. After that Jig would probably die, and Riana would go into the pot, but at least he would have warned them about Barius and the others.

He pulled out his sword and screamed. Compared to Darnak’s battle cry, Jig sounded more like a frightened rat than a warrior, but it worked. Goblins fell back, startled and uncertain. Jig dashed through the gap and into the kitchen, Riana stepping on his heels as she ran.

Golaka scowled at him as he entered. “What are you doing, barging in like that? It’s another hour before dinner.”

The noise dropped as he entered the kitchen. Nobody followed. Few goblins dared intrude when Golaka was cooking, which was most of the time.