The goblin began to protest in Goblin, but then its face betrayed comprehension of the words of the woman who stood taller than its own former mount. It scowled, half-doubting, but too craven to care more for pride or dignity or a large cause than its own survival. "Aw, buckets o' brimstone!" It howled forlornly in heavily accented, pidgin Common. "Back tae Nessus with it all, they's nae worth it,<em>soitanly</em>not at the coin they spared!"<br/><br/>Aria interjected, "Get to the point.." she waved the kukri tip a little bit under the creature's chin, "...or miine shall get to you!"<br/><br/>"Does I look like a mastermind to ye! Flattered I be! But look ye - cap'n Bikke took aboard some armored fella-"<br/><br/>"Named...?" Aria raised a quizzical and impatient red eyebrow.<br/><br/>"A hume, mebbe a Prime berk even, Garlan', some shiny-shiny knighty-knight deserted from somewhere, I'll betcha, prolly diddled with the wrong hume-princess or just moonlighted fer the wrong 'secondary employer', or 'twer just too cowardly for some war or other fer king and country, aye? I swears Bikke, a Prime he'self, had known 'em afore, but never tole' us 'bout how!"<br/><br/>"So's they's a mind to grab some luck-lady about these parts or other, right? So Garlan' tells us, if he'ken win some simple sport-match, his muse'll thank him proper, prolly face to face, or at least he ken get some favor-scarf or thing of hers for a scryin' aid and a snatch later, aye?"<br/><br/>"So just a few minutes afore now, as were the plan, the knight gives Bikke some sending-speak-spell when 'is turn comes up at contest, ta let us know to come a'runnin'! Not to snatch her ourselves, mind 'ye, the hume don't trust us that far - and I nae blame him, haw haw! - but make it tae or nigh the stadium, while he draws out his own duel - he an' Bikke'd paced the timin' down pat, even,  but ye've reached me in a way we nae expected! -  and make distraction and jolly chaos enough around and in it, a right riot, and maybe amidst it all he could hie his hume-honey away!"