"Well," Roberc asked as he peered through the shadows at the cave wall, "where have we gotten ourselves this time?"

Taen grunted at the question. Clearly they had stumbled into the wyverns' lair, that much was certain from the stench of rotting meat and the pile of splintered bones tossed around the cavern, but where exactly that might be was anybody's guess.

"I'm not sure," he admitted. "Something-or someone- interfered with the teleport spell."

"Then we could be anywhere," Marissa said. "There's no telling how far away we are from Citadel Rashemar." She sat down on a small outcropping of stone.

"Do not worry, little friends," Borovazk said, his voice echoing in the vast cavern. "We are not too far from the citadel."

"How do you know?" Taen asked the ranger. Perhaps there was hope for their quest after all.

"Listen," the ranger said, pointing his finger up toward the ceiling. "Do you hear that? Is the prydvya, the singing wind. It only blows that hard in the highest places of the Sunrise Mountains. Citadel Rashemar must be close."

Taen cocked his head and listened. Indeed, he could hear a high-pitched wail coming distantly from beyond the walls of the cavern. The wind's sharp wailing would need to be very strong for them to hear it deep within the cavern.

Something else registered in his sensitive half-elf ears as he listened to the shrieking of the wind-the sound of something, or someone, scurrying across rock. If he strained, he could also hear the creature's snuffling inhalations. It grew louder as he listened.

"We have company," Taen whispered softly, not wishing to alert whatever was drawing near them.

"I heard it too," Roberc whispered back. He quietly spoke a command to Cavan.

The animal cocked its head once then silently padded off into the darkness. Within moments, a high-pitched shriek filled the cavern, followed by the familiar low warning growl of the war-dog.

Taen and the others ran toward the sound, weapons already drawn to face whatever threat Cavan had uncovered. When they arrived, their light revealed the war-dog's powerful jaws clamped around the muddy wool cloak of an orange-skinned humanoid. The creature's wide mouth hung open, revealing a set of small, sharp fangs, and its deep-set eyes whirled and gleamed a sickly yellow in the arcane light. It gibbered and cried out in a harsh language that sounded to Taen like the retching and hacking of a plague-wracked human as it caught sight of the assembled companions.

"Goblin," Roberc said with obvious disgust. "They're like rodents. If you see one, there's bound to be more hiding under rocks nearby."

He then spat a series of unintelligible words at the frightened creature in what Taen reasoned must have been its own tongue. The goblin fell silent at the sound of its language streaming forth from the halfling's mouth.

Watching it cringe and cower at their presence, the half-elf felt a confused rush of pity and disgust for the goblin. Alone and even in small tribes, the creatures were usually nothing more than nuisances. Like orcs and others of their ilk, however, goblins were quite fecund and often bred like vermin. Roberc had spoken the truth-goblins very rarely ventured out by themselves, and once they gathered in significant numbers, they could present a real and powerful threat. What in the world would this one be doing skulking around a wyvern's cave?

"No hurt! No hurt!" the goblin shouted in broken, heavily accented Common, interrupting Taen's musings. "Yurz not meaning any harm to gr

… great lords," it stammered out.

"What are you doing here?" Taen asked harshly.

"Elfling call off monster wolf," Yurz cried in a piteous tone, "then I tell all." The creature cowered further against the uneven stone wall of the cave but stopped as Cavan growled deeply at his movement.

Taen frowned and looked at Roberc. The halfling cursed softly then barked a command at Cavan. Instantly, the war-dog released the goblin's cloak.

"Don't even try and run," Roberc said and spoke once more in the creature's tongue.

When he finished, he pointed at Borovazk. The hulking ranger had drawn his bow and now aimed a sharp-tipped arrow at Yurz.

The goblin gulped audibly and nodded his misshapen head.

"Now," Taen said, "tell us what you are doing here."

Yurz whined softly before answering. "Big Chief tell Yurz to bring dragons food." He answered finally. "Yurz gather other goblins and we come here with offering. Goblins hear dragons roar and hear the sound of fighting. They get scared and run off. Not Yurz," he explained. "He more scared of Big Chief."

"Other goblins," Marissa broke in with her question. "How many of these goblins are there?"

Yurz gazed at the half-elf for a moment, and Taen found himself growing uneasy at the look of sly calculation that passed over the goblin's face. He would have said something to the druid, but Yurz finally answered.

"Many goblins. Big army," he said, nearly cackling. "Big Chief run tribe in the man-castle. Partner with Ugly One," this last he uttered in a hissing whisper.

Whoever this Ugly One was, thought Taen, it clearly frightened the hapless goblin. "Where is this man-castle?" the half-elf asked, casting a knowing gaze at his companions. If they were close to the citadel, then perhaps Yurz could prove much more valuable to their quest than he had originally thought.

Yurz shook his head violently. "Yurz not tell," he said in an almost defiant tone, the rough orange skin of his sloped forehead wrinkling as he squinted his eyes. "Big Chief get mad. Hurt Yurz."

Roberc stepped forward and launched into a string of words in the goblin's tongue. Taen watched as the color drained from Yurz's face, but the creature stood firm.

"No!" he shouted in common. "Even if great lords kill Yurz, it still better than what Big Chief and Ugly One do!"

Taen sighed and was about to call his companions together to discuss this further when Marissa stepped forward. "Let me try," she whispered to Taen.

The half-elf nodded and accepted the druid's staff as she presented it to him with a smile and a wink. She began to chant softly before moving toward the defiant goblin, and as Taen heard the whispered prayer, he understood immediately what the druid was up to.

He watched as Marissa knelt before the goblin and saw Yurz's clear expression of distrust and fear begin to melt away at the druid's presence, replaced by a wide-eyed, almost worshipful stare.

"Yurz," Marissa said, "you know that we would never hurt you, don't you?"

The goblin nodded. "N… no," Yurz replied. "Pretty elfling not hurt Yurz."

"Good," the druid said, reaching out a thin hand to stroke the creature's bulging head. "We're your friends, Yurz, and friends help each other, right?"

"Oh yes," the goblin said. "Friends help each other."

"Do you want to help me and my friends, Yurz?" Marissa asked.

The bespelled goblin nodded once again.

"Good," the druid acknowledged. "Then will you take us to the man-castle to meet the Big Chief?"

Yurz gazed at the druid then out at the companions. Taen could see that the creature's former calculating stare had been replaced by a wide-mouthed smile, and the half-elf began to relax.

"Yes, Yurz take Pretty Elfling and friends to meet Big Chief. You like Big Chief and maybe he like you," the goblin said.

The druid stroked the goblin's head once more. "Thank you, Yurz," she said, and stood back up. "Well," she turned and said to her stunned companions. "It appears we've found our guide into the citadel."