"Naldo, we have resolved a crisis here, and I express my appreciation for the support of your folk. Your kind and ours are not normally allies, but you honored the covenant. We shall do the same, when the time comes. As goblins, we can not oppose our own kind in Mount Etamin, but when my daughter is grown and assumes power, we shall see what can be done politically to alleviate your situation."

Electra recognized the significance of that commitment. If Gwendolyn later became chief here, and married a chief there, she would be in a position to stop the goblin aggressions against the nada of Mount Etamin. It might indeed turn out to pay the naga well for their honoring of the covenant, because the goblins there were their worst nemesis. Indeed, it was the reason Nada had been betrothed to Dolph: to make an alliance with the human folk and gain power to push back the goblins.

"Thank you, lady," Naldo said. "I am glad to have come to know you."

"But you may be able to do something more immediate for your sister," Godiva said. "You know she doesn't want to marry Dolph, and not just because she doesn't want to void your alliance with the human folk. You know Electra must marry Dolph or die within the week, and furthermore, she loves him. Now you are an astute observer of creature nature. I want you to put your mind to this problem and come up with a devious solution that will serve all parties best."

"But—" he protested.

"Within the hour," she said. "While I dress Electra." She took Electra's arm and guided her into the tunnel. With her free hand she lifted a smoky torch from its holder to light their way. The funny thing was that Electra, being human, was about twice as tall as the gobliness, but she felt like a child with this adult.

"He can't solve the problem that no one else has solved in six years," Electra protested belatedly as they wound down into the depths. "There is no solution! I mean, even if I didn't die, he wouldn't love me, and I don't want him to be unhappy."

"There are ways to solve any problem," Godiva said. "It's just a matter of finding them. Naldo has a clever mind; I have seen it in action recently. He will find a way, though the rest of us may not properly understand it."

Electra did not argue. She knew this was an impossible dream. Unless the Good Magician had an Answer. That was her only real hope.

Godiva brought her to her nice suite. "I make my daughter's dresses myself," she said. "Because it isn't convenient to go out and harvest from clothes hangers or dress mannequins.

I get material and I cut and sew. I believe they suit her well enough."