Cheiron slept on his feet beside Chex, waiting out the day. Periodically reports came in. A roc arrived, the hugest of birds, and squawked in its deafening language. Grundy Golem woke from his nap on Chex's back, and took the message, for Grundy's talent was language.

"He says the sphinx passed through the realm of the birds, and Che was there with the others and seemed healthy."

"Thank you," Cheiron said, and Grundy emitted a loud squawk, translating. Actually Cheiron could understand bird language pretty well himself, from long association, but he preferred to let the golem feel useful.

Later a griffin arrived, a handsome creature with the body of a lion and the head of an eagle, whose hide was the color of shoe polish. Grundy translated again, and so they learned that the party had passed through that region safely. Che still seemed well, and friendly with the odd elf.

By this time Chex was awake, and Cheiron updated her on developments. "So Che is safe, but we have to allow him to be taken to Goblin Mountain," he concluded.

"Yes, of course," she agreed, appreciating the necessity of honoring the deal that had enabled Nada and Electra to save the foal from the horrendous clutches of the Goblinate of the Golden Horde. "Then when the party goes on, we must question that elf, who is obviously the one I encountered. I believe her cat located Che, but she was then made prisoner by the goblins along with Che, and they have been companions in adversity. I suspect she has been a mainstay of support for him, because he has evidently borne up surprisingly well. This would not have been the case had he been alone."

Cheiron agreed. Che was bright in the centaur way, but emotionally remained a foal, and could not have handled the horror of captivity by the horde by himself. But with a companion to shield him from the full impact, he could have survived, and evidently had. That spoke volumes for the elf girl. Perhaps she had no special virtues, but she had been there at the critical time, and that made all the difference.

In the afternoon, Dragon Net's posse was ready. It consisted of one flying sphinx, two chimaerae, three rocs, four griffins, five flying dragons, and a flock of harpies. There were hosts of tiny dragonflies and fireflies as a support group, and a cockatrice for close work.