The Crying Pennant

Part 23

“So the top floor’s best, is it?” asked Lee.

  “Ooh, you can’t get up there, there’s too many guards,” the goblin wiggled his fingers and shook his head.

  Lee swam to the other two and waved to the goblin, “She’s on the top floor,” he whispered, “with another one as well.”

  “Good,” said Arthur, “now we know, we can make plans, get lost on purpose, etc.”

  “That goblin was quite nice actually,” said Lee.

  “So’s the devil, he’s a charming fellow as well,” reasoned Biggs.

  “Come on then,” said Arthur, “Let’s get changed and find this princess.” He swam to the end of the pool and got out.

At the end of the passage, Alf held Sid back, “Stop, there’s someone coming, quick, look like tourists.”

  Alf, Sid and With got some newspapers out, sat down and began to read. A troop of goblins, dressed in shell suits, jogged by.

  “This must be the hotel to come to if you’re a goblin,” said Sid.

  “I smell dwarf,” said one of the goblins.

  “It’s the horse,” said Alf.

  “Thanks,” said Fawh.

  A few goblins looked at each other, but carried on.

  “Whew, that was close. Can’t you shave your beard off, Sid? You’ll look like a midget then,” suggested Alf.

  “Don’t be so silly, it’s taken me fifty years to get this growth right,” admonished Sid.

  “Well, you’ve got to do something about the smell. I don’t mind, I’ve lived around dwarves before, but these goblins can smell you a mile off,” Alf held his nose.

  “Let’s find this pool, there must be some place to bathe here,” said With.

  “Oh, alright,” grumped Sid.

  “I’ve got this false chin in my rucksack,” offered Alf, “you can hide your beard with that.”

  “Thanks,” thanked Sid.

  They looked for signs for the way to the pool.

Arthur, Biggs and Lee had all got changed and were just leaving when they bumped into Sid, Alf, With and Fawh at the entrance to the pool.

  “You made it,” exclaimed an excited Biggs.

  “Aye, we did that, an’ we picked up a pansy elf as well,” said Sid the dwarf. Then, “This is Arthur of the Britons, Biggs (second in command) and Uncle Lee – children’s entertainer.” Then he introduced Alf, “And this is Alf, the pansy elf. We’ve just found out that our uncles were in the Goblin Wars together.”

  “What, the first Goblin War or the second?” asked Biggs.

  “The third,” said Alf wryly, then, “anyway, we have to wash Sid, the goblins can smell him a mile off and he needs some good deodorant as well.”

  “I’ll help him get washed,” said Biggs, “while you lot go back to the room.”

  So Sid and Biggs went to the showers while the others went to their room.