“I still don’t understand why they brought you along. Isn’t it dangerous for them to kidnap an elf? Won’t the other elves be angry?” Even as he asked, his thoughts wandered back to the goblin lair. Goblins vanished all the time, and nobody thought twice about it. To mount a rescue for a lost goblin would be ridiculous. But he had believed that elves and the other surface-dwellers were different. Maybe he was wrong.

Riana shook her head. “My parents died in a border war when I was a child. A human family brought me up and set me to work as a kitchen drudge. They had a large family: aunts, uncles, grandparents, and a herd of kids. I scrubbed pots and cooked for them for ten years before I ran away.

“I thought I could go back and be with my real family. Even if my parents were dead, at least I could live with other elves. But I couldn’t even speak the language. They were terribly kind, of course. They fed and sheltered me, all the while treating me like I was slow in the head. I was more of a pet than anything. So I ran away from them, too.”

She was crying, Jig realized. Her shoulders shook, but her voice remained steady. “They were so proud and confident and graceful. Even a crippled elf could make me feel like a clumsy fool. Their attitude didn’t help matters, either. They talked about me behind my back, called me a half-breed even though I was as elven as they were. But I wasn’t. I didn’t feel like an elf. I hadn’t grown up with elves. The simplest rituals of daily life left me confused and angry. Soon I was stealing from the other elves. I didn’t need to steal. I did it because I was so angry.

“I think everyone was happy when I left. Being on my own was no better, though. I robbed travelers so I would have enough money to eat. I slept in the streets. I thought about buying passage on a ship. Didn’t know where I’d go, but anywhere had to be an improvement. Only it wouldn’t have been. I think that’s why I never really tried. I could have stowed away, but I knew there was no place I belonged.”

Her voice trailed into silence. Jig waited, confused. Why was she telling him all of this? He felt like he should say something.

“You don’t belong here, either.” He ignored her disgusted glare and went on to ask his real question. “What did Ryslind want you to do for them? Down here, I mean.”