One of the dragons was Draco of Mount Etamin, immediately to the south of Goblin Mountain. He was a fire-drake, not large for a dragon, but versatile, because he could traverse caves, even when they extended under water. He had attended Cheiron's nuptial ceremony, bringing Prince Dolph, who had assumed the form of a dragonfly for the occasion. Draco knew the region well, and would serve as a guide for the members of the posse who were from farther afield. Cheiron was glad to see him; there was no substitute for direct knowledge of the terrain.

Before they took off, Cheiron briefed them. "My foal, Che, will be the captive of the tribe of goblins residing at Goblin Mountain. We do not know why they abducted him, but the indication is that they do not plan to harm him. There is no present evidence that they intend to use him politically; apparently this is a private matter. It is possible that it relates to Che's identification by the supreme winged monster, the Simurgh, as one whose life will change the course of the history of Xanth. The goblins may believe that by controlling him, they control Xanth. We can not allow this, either in terms of the history of Xanth or as a personal matter, as he is my foal."

He glanced around the group a moment before continuing. All the members of the posse were grim as they received the information. He was speaking in the human language, which many of them did not understand perfectly, so Grundy Golem was translating. First the rocs and griffins listened to the squawks, and ruffed out their feathers and flexed their claws. Then the dragons listened to the growls, and puffed out slow jets of fire, smoke, or steam, depending on their species.

"I will not attack the mountain at the outset," Cheiron continued as the translations caught up. "I will deliver an ultimatum: they will have a set time in which to deliver Che to me, unharmed. If they do so, we will depart in peace." As the translations reached that point, the creatures showed disappointment. They preferred to fight. It was not that they didn't want to save Che, it was that it was more glorious to wrest him by battle than to have him handed over without struggle.

"If they do not do so, we will attack," Cheiron said, and at that point there were squawks of approval and fierce jets of fire, smoke, and steam. "We will take out their guards at the surface and smoke out the deeper denizens." Here the smokers exhaled, for a moment disappearing in a cloud of smoke. Some folk thought that smoke was not as effective as fire, but the fact was that in an enclosed space, smoke was more deadly than fire. Those goblins would come out coughing! "But we shall do so in an orderly manner, halting the moment they capitulate. This is a rescue mission, not a destruction mission."