Wait here, Guen, " Catti-brie whispered to the panther, both of whom stared at the wider area, a chamber rela tively clear of stalagmites, that loomed up ahead. Many goblin voices came from that chamber. Catti-brie guessed that this was the main host, probably growing nervous since their scouting party hadn't returned. Those few surviving gob lins were likely coming fast behind her, the young woman knew. She and Guen had done a fine job in prodding them on their way, had sent them running in the opposite direction down the corridor, but they likely had already turned about. And that fight had occurred less than an hour's hike from this spot.
There was no other apparent way around the chamber, and Catti-brie understood without even seeing the goblin horde that there were simply too many of the wretches to fight or scare off. She looked down to her ebon skinned hands one last time, took some comfort in their accurate drow appearance, then straightened her thick hair, showing stark white now instead of its normal auburn, and plush robes, and defiantly strode forward.
The closest goblin sentries fell back in terror as the drow priest ess casually entered their lair. Numbers alone kept the group from running off altogether, for, as Catti-brie had guessed, more than a hundred goblins were camped here. A dozen spears came up, angled in her direction, but she continued to walk steadily toward the center of the cavern.
Goblins gathered all around the young woman, cutting off any retreat. Others crouched facing the tunnel from which Catti-brie had emerged, not knowing if other drow would come strolling through. Still, the sea of flesh parted before the unexpected visitor; Catti brie's bravado and disguise had apparently put the creatures off their collective guard.
She reached the chamber's halfway point, could see the corridor continuing on across the way, but the sea closed around her, giving ground more slowly and forcing the woman turned drow to slow her pace as well.
Then she was stopped, goblin spears pointing her way from every direction, goblin whispers filling the room. "Gund ha, moga moga, " she demanded. Her command of the Goblin tongue was rudimentary at best, and she wasn't quite sure if she had said, "move aside and let me pass, " or "move my mother into the ditch."
She hoped it was the former.
"Moga gund, geek ik moon'ga'woon'ga!" rasped one huge goblin, nearly as large as a man, and it shifted through the horde to stand right before Catti-brie. The young woman forced herself to remain calm, but a large part of her wanted to cry out for Guenhwyvar and run away, and a smaller part wanted to break out in laughter. This was obviously the goblin leader, or the tribe's shaman, at least.
But the creature needed a few fashion tips. It wore high black boots, like those of a nobleman, but with the sides cut out to allow for its wide, ducklike feet. A pair of women's pantaloons, ringed with wide frills, served as its breeches, and, though it was obviously male, the beast wore a woman's underpants and corset, as well, complete with cups for very ample breasts. Several mismatched necklaces, some gold, some silver, and one strand of pearls, circled its skinny neck, and a gaudy ring adorned every crooked finger. Catti-brie recognized the goblin's headdress as religious, though she wasn't quite certain of the sect. It resembled a sunburst trimmed with long gold ribbons, but Catti-brie was fairly sure that the goblin had it on backward, for it leaned forward over the ugly creature's sloping brow, one ribbon dangling annoyingly before the goblin's nose.
No doubt, the goblin thought itself the height of thieving fash ion, dressed in the clothing of its tribe's unfortunate victims. It con tinued to ramble in its high pitched voice, too fast for Catti-brie to make out more than a single word here or there. Then the creature stopped, abruptly, and pounded a fist against its chest.
"Do ye speak the surface tongue?" Catti-brie asked, trying to find some common ground. She fought hard to hold her nerve, but expected a spear to plunge into her back at any moment.
The goblin leader regarded her curiously, apparently not under standing a word she had said. It scanned the woman up and down, its red glowing eyes finally coming to rest on the locket that hung about Catti-brie's neck. "Nying so, wucka, " it remarked, and it pointed to the locket, then to Catti-brie, then swept its hand about to indicate the far exit.
Had the locket been a normal piece of jewelry, Catti-brie will ingly would have given it over in exchange for passage, but she needed the magic item if she was to have any chance of locating Drizzt. The goblin repeated its demand, its tone more urgent, and the young woman knew that she had to think fast.
On sudden inspiration, she smiled and stuck an upraised finger before her. "Nying, " she said, thinking that to be the goblin word for gift. She clapped her hands sharply twice before her and called out, "Guenhwyvar!" without looking back over her shoulder.
A startled cry from the goblins at the back end of the chamber told her that the panther was on its way.
"Come in with calm, Guen, " Catti-brie called. "Walk to me side without a fight."
The panther stalked slowly and steadily, head down and ears flattened. Every so often, Guenhwyvar let out a low growl, just to keep the closest goblins on their heels. The crowd parted widely, giving the magnificent cat a large open path to the drow priestess.
Then Guenhwyvar was at Catti-brie's side, nuzzling the woman's hip.
"Nying, " Catti-brie said again, pointing from the panther to the goblin. "Ye take the cat and I walk out the passage, " she added, motioning as best she could with her hands to convey the message. The ugly goblin fashion king scratched its head, shifting the head piece awkwardly to the side.
"Well, go over and make nice, " Catti-brie whispered to Guen hwyvar. She pushed the cat away with her leg. The panther looked up to her, seemed more than a little annoyed by it all, then padded over to the goblin leader and plopped down at its feet (and the blood drained from the monster's face!).
"Nying, " Catti-brie said again, motioning that the goblin should reach down and pet the cat. The creature eyed her incredulously, but gradually, with her coaxing, the goblin mustered the nerve to touch the cat's thick fur.
The goblin's pointy toothed smile widened, and it dared to touch the cat again, more solidly. Again it dipped, and again, and each stroke went more firmly over the panther's back. Through it all, Guenhwyvar leveled a withering stare at Catti-brie.
"Now, ye're to stay here with this friendly goblin, " Catti-brie instructed the cat, making sure that her tones did not give away her true meaning. She patted her belt pouch, the one holding the fig urine, and added, "I'll be calling ye, don't ye doubt."
Then Catti-brie straightened and faced the goblin leader squarely. She slapped a hand against her chest, then snapped it straight out and pointed to the far exit, her expression a scowl. "I go!" she declared and took a step forward.
At first, the goblin leader seemed as though it would move to hinder her, but a quick glance to the powerful cat at its feet changed the creature's mind. Catti-brie had played the game perfectly; she had allowed the overly proud goblin leader to retain its dignity, had kept herself appearing as a potentially dangerous enemy, and had strategically placed six hundred pounds of fighting ally right at the goblin leader's feet.
"Nying so, wucka, " the goblin said again, pointing to Guenhwy var, then to the far exit, and it gingerly stepped aside so that the drow could pass.
Catti-brie swept across the rest of the chamber, backhand slap ping one goblin that didn't get far enough out of her path. The crea ture came right back at her, sword raised, but Catti-brie didn't flinch, and a cry from the goblin leader, still with the panther curled about its ankles, stopped the goblin's response.
Catti-brie laughed in its ugly face, showed it that she held her own dagger, a magnificent, jeweled thing, ready under the folds of her beautiful robes.
She made it to the narrower tunnel and continued walking slowly for many steps. Then she stopped, glanced back, and pulled out the panther figurine.
Back in the chamber, the goblin leader was showing off its new acquisition to the tribe, explaining how it had outsmarted a "stupid drow female thing, " and had taken the cat as its own. It didn't mat ter that the other goblins had witnessed the whole affair; in goblin culture, history was recreated almost daily.
The leader's smug smile waned quickly when a gray mist rose up about the panther, and the cat's material form began to melt away.
The goblin wailed a stream of protests and curses and dropped to its knees to grab the fast fading cat.
A huge paw shot out of the mist, hooked around the leader's head, and yanked the wretch in. Then there was only mist, the sur prised and not too smart goblin leader going along with the pan ther on a ride to the Astral Plane.
The remaining goblins hooted and ran all about, bumping into and falling over each other. Some thought to take up the chase for the departing drow, but by the time they began to organize, Catti brie was long gone, running with all speed along the corridor and thinking herself positively clever.
The tunnels were familiar to him, too familiar. How many times had young Drizzt Do'Urden traveled these ways, usually serving as the point in a drow patrol? Then he had Guenhwyvar with him; now he was alone.
He limped slightly, one of his knees still a bit weak from the svirfneblin nooker.
He couldn't use that as an excuse to remain in Blingdenstone any longer, though. He knew that his business was pressing, and Belwar, though the parting stung the burrow warden, had not argued with Drizzt's decision to be on his way, an indication to Drizzt that the other svirfnebli wished him gone.