"And so he told Jenny Elf to decide, because it affected her," Gloha said. "And she doesn't want to decide, because she doesn't want to die—but she doesn't want to make him prisoner either."

"And maybe they told her they would kill them both, if they told," Dolph said, his horror growing. "So she couldn't tell. But she asked Electra a question, and nobody knew what it meant, so the goblins didn't realize."

"What question was this?" Cheiron asked alertly.

"Why didn't Electra marry Dolph," Gloha said.

Chex, flying on the other side of them, nodded. "If Electra doesn't marry Dolph, she will die. If Che does not agree to be Gwendolyn's companion, Jenny Elf will die. It seems a reasonable parallel."

"The case is not tight," Cheiron said. "But it will do as a working hypothesis. If we proceed on that assumption, it is definitely a case of duress. In which case the reason they are not making the decision is to provide us time to free them. An agreement made under such duress would not be binding on Che, but perhaps he doesn't properly appreciate that, so believes that his choice is between slavery and the life of his friend. We shall have to act swiftly, reducing the mountain before the land dragons arrive."

"But if you attack, won't they kill them anyway?" Dolph asked.

"I think not. They will know that their only hope of reprieve is to return foal and elf unharmed. They will keep them as hostages, hoping in the end to bargain for their lives, if they are not able to hold out until the dragons come. As I judge it, it will be extremely close, but we can do it in time."

Dolph was bothered by the prospect of such a life and death struggle, but also by something else. He had gotten to know Godiva Goblin during their trek to Goblin Mountain by overhearing her conversations with others in the party. He remembered how she had honored the Adult Conspiracy, refusing to show Jenny a devastating gesture because she was a child. While he chafed at the Adult Conspiracy, it hardly seemed that a woman who honored it so carefully would be the kind to kill a girl just to make someone else do something. Adults, whatever other awful things might be said about them, usually tried to protect children, rather than hurt them. Godiva had seemed very much like a protective mother.

"Gloha, you saw Che and Jenny with Gwendolyn, didn't you?" he asked as they flew back, a little apart from the centaurs. "How did they seem to get along together?"

"Very well, actually," Gloha said. "In fact—" She paused, as if remembering something significant.

"Goblin girls are nice, aren't they? Was Gwendolyn nice?"

"Yes. And she—when Electra asked what happened if Che said no, Godiva said she hadn't decided, and Gwendolyn said 'Mother!' and then Godiva said she would release Che."