Part 25 (1/2)

”Anyway,” Hardy said, ”Hugo won my case--but the goblin chief. Glory's father, reneged, and set up to execute me--”

”And I joined him in the fire,” Glory continued, her eyes s.h.i.+ning. ”Ivy joined us, too--and suddenly we found our talent and were invisible. That made the difference, and in the confusion we were able to escape.”

”Ivy's talent,” Chem said. ”Much more potent than we knew! That combined harpy-goblin talent of invisibility must have been latent. The stress of the situation and Ivy's power of enhancement must have joined to bring it out. Who ever would have suspected that a joint interspecies talent could exist?”

”Well, if half souls exist,” Irene said, ”maybe half talents exist too.”

The centaur smiled. ”Surely so! There is much we have yet to learn about the magic of Xanth! And it seems that Hardy and Glory are well matched, since their half talents match.”

It occurred to Irene that it was possible that all goblins and all harpies had half talents of invisibility which could only be matched by the portion in the other species, so that this was not necessarily an indication of the compatibility of these two particular individuals. But there was no point in making that caveat; it would accomplish nothing.

”So we fled my father's band,” Glory concluded. ”And Ivy and Hugo and Stanley escaped, too, for the goblins were following our footprints. Hardy carried me part of the way, though I weigh as much as he does, and he couldn't lift me far. But when darkness came, we camped in a tree my father's band couldn't reach and got a good night's rest.” She paused to blush delicately. ”Part of the night, anyway.”

”We gave them the slip,” Hardy said. ”But they kept casting about, searching for us, so we couldn't really relax today.”

”We were getting pretty tired,” Glory said. ”But now, with the harpies--”

”We heard the commotion,” Hardy said. ”I recognized the screeching and thought I could rea.s.sure my people that the mouth organ's news was inoperative--”

”I believe I have enough of the picture now,” Chem said. ”But we can do nothing unless we get the leaders to negotiate.”

”I can get my father to come in here,” Glory said. ”But he won't listen to reason.”

”And I can get Haggy Harpy here,” Hardy said. ”All males are princes in Harpydom; she must come at my call. But she won't listen either.”

”Fetch them in and keep them from fighting,” Chem said, ”and I will try to get through to them. I may not be as eloquent as you say Hugo was, but we may yet abate this war.”

Goblin and harpy shrugged. Anything was worth trying. Then Glory climbed the south wall, flas.h.i.+ng some remarkably well-formed limbs, while Hardy flew into the sky. There had been little commotion from either side during this dialogue, perhaps because neither could be sure where the present advantage lay.

”Father,” Glory called from the wall. ”You must come in here and talk to the harpy leader, under truce.”

”Never!” Gorbage answered, his voice faint but ugly in the distance.

”Otherwise I just might throw myself to my doom,” Glory said, making as if to jump off the wall. It really wasn't high enough for the fall to be fatal, but the bluff worked; Gorbage agreed to come in.

Hardy had an easier time. ”Come down and negotiate,” he told Haggy, ”or I'll tell the Queen Harpy you suck eggs.”

That cowed the hen. ”I'm no egg-sucker!” she screeched, and flapped down to perch on the north wall.

Now both leaders were present, Haggy settling her blotchy feathers, Gorbage draping his k.n.o.bby legs astride the south wall. Both glared at each other, and at anyone else in range. It was obvious that neither cared to be reasonable.

”First,” Chem said, ”I ask each of you to explain to your people that we are armed with accurate arrows and the stare of the Gorgon. Anyone who tries to storm this bastion will face the consequence.” Gorbage and Haggy, knowing this was true, informed their parties. But neither showed any willingness to cease hostilities. Irene knew this was the main problem. Human folk would have wanted to find a way to avert bloodshed, but the goblins and harpies really did want to fight.

”For more than a thousand years, the goblins and the harpies have been at war,” Chem said. ”It started because of overcrowding and misunderstanding, and foul deeds were done on both sides. But King Roogna got things straightened away, and for eight hundred years the war has been quiescent. With the Gap Chasm and the Gap Dragon separating the parties, there has not been very much occasion for strife. But now it seems a romance has developed between the species--”

”I'll kill the fowl c.o.c.k!” Gorbage cried. ”Smirching my fair daughter!”

”That's 'smooch,' not 'smirch,' Father,” Glory murmured.

”Listen, bulbnose!” Haggy screeched. ”Your s.l.u.t of a whelp of a daughter tempted him with her obscene legs, just like in the old days! She should swallow an egg sidewise!”

”What's wrong with her legs?” Hardy demanded.

”I'll egg her right now!” Haggy screeched, rising into the air. But Chem's arrow tracked her progress, ready to zing from the bow, and the Gorgon turned to face the harpy, her hand tugging at the hood. Haggy settled back down, muttering.

”Do you folk really object to interspecies marriages?” Chem asked.

”Of course!” Gorbage cried. ”Why should we let miscegenation pollute our pure goblin breed? My daughter will marry a goblin chief!”

”Never!” Glory cried.

”We have enough trouble preserving our species,” Haggy screeched. ”We don't need goblin s.l.u.ts adulterating our stock! And most of all, we don't need goblins invading our territory and killing off our few precious males!”

”Well, keep those motley c.o.c.ks away from our unspoiled maidens!” Gorbage yelled back. ”You sure don't see our males going after your stinking hens!”

”They couldn't catch them!” Haggy shot back.

”Regardless,” Chem cut in loudly. ”We do have a cross-species romance here. And I think your objections are not well founded. Many of the creatures of Xanth are crossbreeds. The griffins, merfolk, chimerae, basilisks, manticora--and, of course, my own species, the centaurs. The harpies are an ancient crossbreed line; you should not object to further cross-breeding.”

”Not the goblins!” Gorbage said. ”We are of straight semi-humanoid stock.”

”As are the elves, gnomes, and ogres,” Chem agreed. ”I think there is as much variation in the humanoid variants as in the crossbreeds. Would you prefer to have your daughter marry an ogre?”

Gorbage spluttered, while Haggy burst out in raucous laughter. ”Marry an ogre!” she screeched. ”Breed some looks and intelligence into your stock!”

”Listen, rotten-egg-brain--”

”My point is,” Chem said, cutting their insults off again, ”crossbreeds and humanoid variants should not be ashamed to continue the traditions of Xanth. Maybe in drear Mundania the species don't mix much, but Xanth is not Mundane. That's why Xanth is so much better! We creatures of Xanth have much greater freedom to--”

”Would you breed with some other kind of crossbreed, not a centaur?” Haggy screeched challengingly.

”The old biddy's got you there, horsy!” Gorbage cried. ”Would you--?”

”Yes,” Chem said. ”If he were a worthwhile creature, and if there were mutual respect and appreciation.”

”Centaurs aren't supposed to fib!” Haggy cried.

”Yeah?” Gorbage asked at the same time. ”Like what?”

”Like a hippogryph,” she answered.

Irene watched her, wondering how far Chem would go to make her point. Centaurs were relatively open about some topics that human folk preferred to keep secret, but her liaison with Xap was really no business of these foul-minded creatures.

Both the old and the young harpies looked at the centaur, surprised, as did the young and old goblins. It was evident that no one had antic.i.p.ated this answer.

”Aw, she's making it up,” Gorbage said after a pause. ”There's no bird-horse to call her bluff.”

”But there is one!” Haggy screeched victoriously. ”He belongs to the witch's boy--”

”Xap,” Chem said. ”Who carries Xavier, son of Xanthippe.”