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was one reason dragons didn't like to lose them.
Stanley guided them to a place where a walkable path climbed up the north slope of the chasm. There
had been others, but the dragon had passed them by, perhaps knowing that they led only to caves or just
petered out, getting tired long before reaching the top. The dragon knew exactly which ones offered no
hope of escape, of course, because he caught and steamed and ate any creatures who tried to flee on
them.
"Thank you, Stanley," Gwenny said as they were ready to part. Then she did something daring and
naughty: she leaned down and kissed his ear, the way his memory daydream had shown Ivy doing. By
yet another unbelievable coincidence, a shy fly stung him at that very moment, and the dragon's scales
blushed burning red. Even his steam turned pinkish. But he did not look unhappy.
They started up. Sammy led the way, because he had been told to find the safest path, with Jenny
following.
Then Gwenny, and Che bringing up the rear again. That was because, as he explained, centaurs had
better rears than other folk did. Also, if one of the others slipped and fell, he would be better able to
catch and hold that one, making her light so that they did not both go tumbling down into the chasm.
Che himself retained most of his full weight now, because it gave him better traction.
The path did try to trick them by sending off occasional offshoots that led either to cliff brinks or
nowhere. One offshoot started out nicer than the true path, but they could see how it then turned and
tried to go straight up a cliff.
That was a mean-spirited path! But Sammy didn't even think about being fooled; he pattered right on up
the correct path every time.
It was a wearying climb, despite the way Che lightened them when they came to brief landings where
his tail could reach them. Then a cloud appeared and eyed them.
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"Oh, no," Gwenny breathed. "I hope that isn't-"
"Fracto! " Jenny finished, her dread echoing Gwenny's own.
"It isn't," Che said. "That's an ordinary cumulus humilis cloud. They don't mean any harm to anyone.
They're just curious about landbound activities."
"Fun loving?" Jenny asked. "I'm not sure we'd like a cloud's idea of a joke."
Che smiled. "That's humilis, as in humility, not humorous. No joke."
Gwenny felt her knees softening again with relief.
"Hey, stiffen up your knees," Jenny said warningly as she glanced back. "They look like bread dough."
"Noodle dough," Gwenny said.
"Pasta," Che corrected them.
"Past what?" Jenny asked.
"Past a bit of dough, but not beyond spaghetti," he explained.
Gwenny concentrated, stiffening them, and managed to maintain her pace.
As they neared the top, the day was fading. It was still bright above, but the depths of the Gap were in
deepening shadow, so that they could no longer see the bottom. Gwenny was glad they were going out
of it instead of into it; it was gloomy, though she knew that there was no longer much danger down there
for them. Unless they fell.
She shuddered, and kept her eyes on the path ahead.
At last they emerged. They walked a reasonable distance from the awesome brink, then dropped to the
ground, feeling faint with relief.
"I'm glad I'm not adult," Che said. "Because then I would have had to face that without being afraid."
"Actually, we may be adult," Gwenny reminded him.
"We were inducted into the Adult Conspiracy, remember."
Jenny laughed. "That's like the Gap Chasm! Deep and dark and wearisome, and not a lot down there
once you see it."
They all laughed, but there was too much truth in it to sustain the laugh for long.
Then they had Sammy find them the best place to camp for the night, and they dined on the wonderful
assortment of pies that grew in this region. They even found an old tent left by tent caterpillars; it made
a perfect place to sleep, because it was silken throughout, with a layer on the ground to shield them from
bugs, and silk hammocks hung from the branches of trees beside the tent.
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So they slept in fairly good comfort, and they really needed that after their arduous day's trek. Gwenny
didn't see any of the dreams of the others, because she fell asleep as fast as they did and sank down
almost as deep as the Gap Chasm. In fact she probably dropped below the dream realm, because she
didn't remember having any dreams.
In the morning they discovered that their tent was close to a village. "That would be the Gap Village,"
Che said, consulting his memory. "I believe there is also a goblin village to the east, if you wish to-"
"No, I think not, thank you all the same," Gwenny said quickly. "It would be run by goblin men, and you
know how they are."
"Unfortunately I do, no offense."
"But when Gwenny becomes chief, all that will change," Jenny said brightly. "Because they aren't so
bad, when they have proper leadership. In fact, Idiot, Moron, and Imbecile are sort of fun. Remember
how they brought us Tsoda Popka, and we had a squirt fight?"
Gwenny had to smile. "That was when joy came into my life, in the form of the two of you. I must
confess I am uneasy about returning to Goblin Mountain." That was the understatement of the year!
"We are here to make you less uneasy," Che said.
"Oh, you are doing it!" Gwenny exclaimed. "Let me hug you!" And she hugged each of them in turn,
just so glad to have them both with her.
"Meow," Sammy said.
"You too!" Gwenny agreed. She picked up the cat and hugged him carefully, and kissed his whiskers.
Then they wrapped up their business and proceeded to Gap Village. It was a small one, and the folk did
not seem to be unduly curious about them, though it was surely not every day that an elf, a goblin, and a
winged centaur passed through.
They caught a path in the center of town, and took it north toward Goblin Mountain and the regions
between.
But soon they reconsidered. "Do we really want to pass through dragon country?" Gwenny inquired.
"Even if the path is enchanted to be safe, I'm not sure how far it extends in that direction."
"We could cut across to the Sane Jaunts River," Che suggested. "And make another raft, and float down
toward Goblin Mountain."
Gwenny grimaced. "We did not have exactly the best experience the last time we made a raft," she said.
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