Darnak gave Jig a strange look that mixed weariness and sadness. “Ryslind saw you run off with the girl. He was thinking you had betrayed us. I told him, goblin or no, you wouldn’t do such a thing. But perhaps I was mistaken.”

Four dead goblins lay at their feet. The rest stood at a distance, weapons ready. Clearly nobody knew what to do. No, that wasn’t right. Like Jig, everyone knew what they should do. But without someone to bully them, they simply couldn’t work up the courage to do it. Nobody wanted to fling themselves onto Barius’s sword or face Ryslind’s magic. Who said goblins were entirely stupid?

“I didn’t know for sure,” Jig said quietly. In the large, silent cavern, his voice sounded tiny. Hearing Darnak’s disappointment hurt more than he wanted to admit.

“It matters not.” Barius sheathed his sword and stepped forward, hand outstretched. “Give me the rod, goblin.”

Jig hesitated. “Will you leave once you have it?”

“Naturally,” Barius said. “What more could we possibly desire from goblins?”

“Don’t trust him.” Riana spoke so softly that only Jig heard.

He glanced back, saw her young, thin face wrinkle with anger. She’s probably right, but what else can I do? His gaze lowered, and he saw that the spoon had come loose. Probably when Golaka whacked me on the head.

Instead of a rivet to hold the spoon in place, a hammered cuff covered the last few inches of the rod. This had been pinched inward, with wire lashed around the upper part of the cuff for additional security. Placing the end on the ground, Jig stepped on the spoon and tugged the rod free.

Barius took another step. He moved like a hunter trying to close in on his prey without frightening it off. What would he do once he had the rod? Would he really depart in peace, leaving hundreds of angry goblins at his back? His honor might require him to wait until the first goblin came after him. But he would use that first attack as an excuse to kill every goblin without a second thought, since after all, the goblins would have been the ones who broke the peace.

Jig was starting to understand how this honor stuff worked. If the prince was allowed to leave in peace, his honor would force him to respect that peace. The problem was that goblins had no use for honor. Turning your back on an enemy was both an insult and an invitation for that enemy to stab you in the back. As soon as Barius appeared to retreat, the goblins would rediscover their courage and attack.

As far as he could see, there was only one way out. Jig would have to do something dumb again.