Electra stiffened. She did have freckles. So did the elf girl; that was one of the things Electra liked about her. As far as she knew, there was nothing wrong with this. But the goblin made it sound as if it were a crime.

It was Gloha's turn to be annoyed. "Like Godiva, dimwit!"

"I'm not Dimwit, I'm Scrounge," the goblin replied.

"Then tell Godiva, Scrounge," Gloha called.

"Tell her yourself!"

"Is she coming here?"

"Naw! Har, har, har!"

Gloha looked at Electra. "They are my own kind, but sometimes they get so annoying," she said.

"Maybe we should go look for Godiva," Electra suggested, though the idea of going unguarded into the mountain frightened her.

"Maybe so," Gloha agreed. "I know my way around here pretty well, though they're always making new tunnels. I know where she lives."

"Let's do it!" Electra said, before she could freak herself out of it. She knew that if they did not succeed in negotiating, the attack would resume and there might be no turning back.

"All right. I'll tell Cheiron." Gloha spread her wings and flew quickly back. She flew like a bird, not like a bug; she moved quickly, because otherwise she would have fallen to the ground.

In a moment she was back. "He says it's better to take the chance if we're ready for it, knowing the risk."

Electra wished he hadn't phrased it quite that way, but she kept her doubt to herself. "Then let's go find Godiva!"

They entered the tunnel. There was a light in its dim reaches, which turned out to be one of the smoky torches the goblins used for light. Electra lifted it out of its socket, so that they could have light where they went. The smoke did its best to choke them, but soon gave it up as a bad job and wrestled its way along the tunnel ceiling, looking for someone else to suffocate.

"Hey, whatcha doing in here?" a goblin demanded, giving Gloha a good look and Electra a cursory one.

"We're going to tell Godiva ourselves, Scrounge," Electra said bravely, "just as you suggested."

Goblins weren't capable of looking disgruntled, but this one made the effort. "Well, see that you do," he mumbled, stepping back.

They went on, following the tunnel as it wound around and down. "We'll have to change passages at the base," Gloha said. "But any of these will take us to the base."

Electra was glad Gloha knew where she was going! Electra by herself would have been lost after the first turn.

"What are you up to?"

Electra turned, startled. There was the demoness Metria, surely looking for more interesting mischief. It was probably best to answer her question and hope she lost interest. "We're trying to negotiate to get Che and Jenny free. You know how the goblins got them."

"Yes, it would have been dull if you had won that game! No captivity, no siege of the mountain."