"That can't be helped," the gobliness said. "I will worry about it when we get to the mountain. Right now I have to figure out the best route."

"North," Metria said.

Godiva glared at her. "What do you care, demoness? What's your motive to help us at all?"

"She finds it entertaining," Dolph said. "So far she's told the truth."

"Why go north when Goblin Mountain is east?"

"Because the goblins of the horde are coming in from east and west, and there's more of them to the south."

Indeed, the noise was now almost deafeningly loud. "North it is," Godiva said curtly. "But we've been up all night and on our feet. We can't make good time."

"I could carry some of you," Dolph said. "If I assumed roc form, if I had clearance to fly. But I can't take off in this jungle."

"Turn sphinx, and we'll ride on your back," Nada said.

Anything she asked him made immediate sense. There were both winged and wingless sphinxes, as there were with the dragons, but the wingless ones were much larger. He changed to monstrous landbound sphinx form and lay slowly down, so that they could climb up on his back. Even so, it was a struggle. Nada finally assumed her largest serpent form, which was still much smaller than the sphinx, and coiled in such a way as to form a series of tiers that the others could climb until they stepped off on his back.

Che and Jenny went first, she carrying Sammy, followed by Godiva and her three henchmen. All of them stood about the same height, though they were centaur, elf, and goblins. Then Electra took hold of Nada's head and held it while Nada became a small snake in her hands. They were all aboard.

Just in time. The first of the horde goblins burst into view, screaming.

Dolph could not change, because he was carrying nine people, counting Sammy as a people; he didn't want to dump them. But it was no easy thing to get up suddenly, either, because he didn't want to cause them to slide off his back. So he labored slowly, and hoped that not too many goblins arrived too soon.

The first goblin charged right up to Dolph's haunch. "They're here!" he yelled. "Riding a stinks!"

"That's sphinx!" Dolph rumbled, annoyed.

"You heard me the first time, bulge-bottom!" the goblin said, holding his nose. Then the goblin flew into the air, waving his arms and legs. What was happening?

"Godiva's using her magic wand," Electra explained, evidently catching on to his confusion. "She can loft folk here and there."

A magic wand. That was interesting. How did a goblin come to have something like that?