Xanth 13 - Isle of View by Piers Anthony

Author:Piers Anthony
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Xanth (Imaginary Place), Science Fiction, Fantasy Fiction, Fiction, Fantasy, General
ISBN: 9780380759477
Publisher: Avon Books
Published: 1990-10-01T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter 10: Jenny's Jam.

Jenny followed Che down into Goblin Mountain, carrying Sammy. She had done what she felt she had to, but there was no doubt it frightened her. She was a creature of the woodland and of the holt; she hated the forbidding depths of caves. This was like a giant anthill, with passages branching out everywhere, all leading farther down. At every intersection was another goblin guard, glowering with his spear as if he'd like nothing better than to poke a hole in someone to see how much he hurt before his blood welled out. She felt as if she couldn't breathe.

But how could she have let poor Che go in here alone? She had known the foal only less than two days, but already she understood that he hated captivity and would be horribly tormented if there were not someone to shield him from it. So she had to remain with him so she could sing to him and make him feel better when his eyes started getting wild. There just wasn't any other way.

The goblins carried guttering torches, whose grudging flames seemed to issue more smoke than light. The smoke bumbled up along the ceiling, searching blindly for some way out. Jenny knew how it felt.

At last, when it seemed they couldn't go any deeper, they were rudely shoved into an empty chamber. The door was slammed behind them. They were alone.

At least they had light: a goblin had jammed a torch into a notch in the wall. Otherwise it would have been pitch black, for not only was it night, there were no windows. This was an ant nest, where sight wasn't all that important to the denizens.

Jenny wanted to collapse into a huddle of fear, but she didn't dare do that because of Che. So she pretended to be unconcerned. "Well, at least we have a room to ourselves," she said brightly. She set Sammy down, and he promptly settled by the wall and went into an orange snooze. If he was bothered by any recent developments, he did not deign to show it. "Let's see what's in it." She walked around the room, though she expected to find nothing.

She was surprised. There was an alcove with shiny stone that served as a mirror, and there was a crock full of clear water, a basin, and a sponge. "Why this is a washing chamber!" she exclaimed. "We can get cleaned up and look nice!" She did not bring up the subject of the seeming pointlessness of washing, in an awful covered pit like tills.

She poured some water into the basin and dipped the sponge into it. "Would you like to be first, Che?" she asked. "I can sponge you off, if you like. Your hide is pretty dirty."

"Yes; thank you," he said, evidently distracted by her positive attitude. It was hard to believe that anything was really wrong, when a person was doing something as routine as cleaning up.

" She sponged him off, and indeed his hide was dirty, through no fault of his own.

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