“Dizzy? What… How?” sputtered Egg Stealer as the five goblins surrounded him and his unknown friend.

“We’re the Rescue Squad, remember? Slugger assigned us to the job,” answered Dizzy. “What is going on?”

“Uh,” began Egg Stealer. He looked at the surrounding goblins. “What, uh, what’s going on about what?”

“Stormhoof, you idiot!” snapped Dizzy. Egg Stealer seemed to get a hold of himself after the shock of finding five unexpected goblins in the water-well room.

“Oh. Uh, Stormhoof has us as his prisoners. He has some ceremony planned for tonight. Me and Frump here were picked to be the cook’s assistants.” Egg Stealer gestured to the other goblin. She was an older goblin, wearing a sack dress. “The rest are in prison cells.”

“That’s a start. Where is Stormhoof right now?” asked Sergeant.

“Up in the temple. He’s there most of the time. We’re not allowed in there though. Just here, the kitchen, and our room. We can’t even go into the mess when there are orcs around.”

“How many orcs? How many goblin prisoners, and are you two the only ones allowed out of the cells?”

“There are four orcs with Stormhoof, one elf, and fourteen goblins,” answered Egg Stealer. “Not all of us goblins are workers.”

Frump finally spoke. “Four goblins are working, and ten in the cells. The only worker from your village is Egg Stealer here. The rest are from mine. We lived on Big Rock Island until Stormhoof and his pirates took over the place. That’s where the rest of your tribe is now.”

“Why did they bring the other ten goblins here then?” asked Kitty.

“I... I don’t know. Stormhoof doesn’t exactly confide in us you know.” Although Frump denied knowing Stormhoof’s plans, Dizzy felt she was holding something back, but decided not to press. He would rescue the goblins or die trying.

“How do we get to the cells?” he asked. “And is there any place for us to hide?”

Before Frump or Egg Stealer could answer, an orcish voice bellowed, “Where’s that water? You lazy louts, you better not be goofing off!”

“Oh, no! It’s Grimly!” said Egg Stealer. “He’s the cook, he sent us for more water. Hide!”

Dizzy looked around the room and saw no place to hide, except behind the door.

“Act like you’ve got water,” he whispered as he herded the other goblins behind the door. Gwen hopped down from the well onto a step several feet below. The warriors drew their weapons just before the cook burst through.

“I’ve been waiting for that water! Do you want to join the rest of your ilk tonight? What?”

The last word was uttered when Dizzy and Sergeant thrust their swords into the orc’s kidneys and spine. The cook went down onto his belly and tried to reach back at the swords. He gasped and tried to open his mouth to call for help. Dizzy stabbed once again, and Grimly was no more.

“So now three orcs left, plus Stormhoof,” said Kitty. She looked at Frump and Egg Stealer. “Or did you mean four orcs and Grimly?”

“I was counting Grimly among the orcs. Three left, but they are all warriors,” said Frump. “Grimly was pretty good in a fight himself, lucky he wasn’t expecting anything except to yell at us. Not sure if you can pull that same trick with the others.”

“Aren’t you just a ray of sunshine?” grumbled Sergeant. Sneak shook his head.

“Alright, let’s not worry about that,” said Dizzy. “We have three warrior orcs and Stormhoof himself. Can you draw us a map of this place? Where the cells are when Stormhoof and the other three orcs are likely to be?”

Frump tapped her lower lip in concentration. “Map? Not really. Besides not being able to move around very freely, you gotta realize there is a reason Stormhoof picked this place. It’s a maze, and he’s a minotaur.”

“It changes all the time,” added Egg Stealer. “I got lost once when the walls shifted.”

“Wait, the walls shift?” asked Kitty.

“Yeah. I was walking down a hallway when the floor started to rumble. When I looked back, there was a wall where I had just been, and a new door was in front. No idea how that happened,” said Egg Stealer.

Dizzy thought for a moment, then asked, “Does anything stay the same?”

“Some stay the same. Come with me and I’ll show you.” Egg Stealer led the way out of the small well room into a larger room just outside. The new room had a double door to the right, shelves on the wall opposite, and a blank wall to the left. Dizzy examined it closely and noticed horizontal scratches on the surface. The larger room was a storage room for food supplies. Onions and potatoes were on the shelves, and sacks of flour were on the floor. Gwen sniffed at a few but turned his nose up at the vegetables.

“What’s through there?” asked Kitty as she pointed to the double doors.

“The kitchen,” answered Frump. She moved to open the door, but Sergeant blocked her. Sneak moved to stand behind Frump, his hand near his dagger in a warning.

“I’ll do it,” he said in a threatening voice. Sergeant knelt before nudging the door open just slightly. Peering into the next room he saw that it was a kitchen, as Frump had said. He pushed the door open slowly. Dizzy had his hand on one of his swords, but there was nothing beyond the doors.

“Jumpy bunch, aren’t you?” chuckled Frump. “I’m a prisoner, just like the rest of you lot. I’d love to escape, but Stormhoof? He’s a mean one. I’m not doin’ anything to risk his ire.”

Kitty looked at the older goblin woman and shook her head. Frump was a survivor and probably had been one for as long as Stormhoof had her prisoner. She wouldn’t be changing any time soon.

“We’ll get you out with the rest of us. We just need to take out the orcs without Stormhoof getting wind of us. Does he eat with the orcs in the mess?” asked Kitty. She looked Frump in the eyes.

“I believe you would,” said the goblin. “No, his Lordship doesn’t eat with the orcs. He has an elf with him, named Battelle. The elf plans to be his Court Wizard. The other two goblins we mentioned serve them. Toady is the day servant, and Drudge is the night. Since it’s still daytime, Toady is around here somewhere. He serves the orcs as well since me and Egg Stealer aren’t allowed past the kitchen.”

“Sleep?” asked YDB, suddenly breaking his silence. Frump looked at him sharply.

“Ah, YDB doesn’t speak much,” explained Kitty. “Just one word at a time, most of the time.”

“That’s fine. Too much chatter. But if I understand your friend, he’s asking where Egg Stealer and myself sleep?” YDB nodded his head. “We sleep in the mess after the orcs go to their barracks. The chairs are more comfortable than the floor in the pantry.”

As the goblins talked, heavy footsteps could be heard coming from outside the kitchen. An orc voice rang out.

“Grimly! Where’s our dinner? We’re hungry!”

“That’s Gunag!” whispered Kitty. When Sergeant looked at her, she added, “One of the orcs that came with Stormhoof. He must have replaced Isaar with Gunag as the leader, Stormhoof’s new second-in-command.” Sergeant nodded in understanding.

“What should we do?” whispered Sergeant.

“Frump. You take them their food and tell them that Grimly is, ah, sick. Yeah, sick, and is in the latrine,” advised Dizzy. Frump nodded, then tapped Egg Stealer on the arm.

The two servant goblins quickly grabbed plates and bowls for the three orcs outside. Kitty handed Egg Stealer the big pot of stew Grimly had been toiling over before he met his untimely demise. “Coming, Masters,” said Frump as she bustled out into the mess. The orcs were seating themselves at one of several tables.

“You best get a move on, goblin,” growled Gunag. “We’re expecting more troops any day now. If they go hungry because of you, I promise I’ll feed you to them myself!”

“Yes, Master. Sorry, Master,” whined Frump. Egg Stealer set the plates and utensils on the table silently.

“Where’s Grimly? Why isn’t he eating with us?”

“Master Grimly is sick. Stomach pains, the stink. He gets that way now and then, Master,” explained Frump. Egg Stealer pinched his nose in agreement.

“That’s why he’s a cook!” snickered one of the other orcs. “No stomach! Can’t be losing your lunch on the battlefield!”

The orcs roared in laughter at their compatriot’s distress. Frump and Egg Beater grinned tightly, not wanting to upset the violent orc warriors.

“All right. Get your stinking selves back in that kitchen until we call for you,” ordered Gunag. Frump and Egg Stealer scurried away. By then, the other goblins were well hidden.

Frump and Egg Stealer were called back several times during the orc’s meal, to either refill the bowls and plates or to take dirty dishes away. Finally, the orcs finished and rose.

“Tell Grimly to come to see me once he’s done crapping himself,” said Gunag to Frump. She nodded and said, “Yes, Master.”

The orcs streamed out of the mess hall while Frump and Egg Stealer cleared the table and cleaned up. Dizzy and his friends began to help the servants, but Frump waved them away.

“We got this. Those orcs are going to be doing different jobs around the fortress. That’s what they meant about us feeding extra troops. They have to get barracks set up, training areas prepared, and all that. Grimly was expecting more food as well, but I don’t know where it was coming from,” she said.

Dizzy nodded. He turned to his friends and spoke. “We have to do this now. Gunag is busy for the moment, but he won’t miss Grimly not showing up as ordered.” He thought for a minute, then laid out his plan, or what there was of it.

“We need to take care of the three orcs, find our people, and stop whatever Stormhoof is planning. That gem he had us find is bad news for everyone, so we need to get that as well,” said Dizzy as he counted them off with his fingers. “We probably shouldn’t split up, since it’ll take all five of us to bring down any one of these orcs.” Gwen mewled up at him.

“Okay, all six of us,” said Dizzy. “We all heard what Egg Stealer said about the walls changing, so we need to keep our eyes open. Any suggestions?”

When none were forthcoming, Dizzy took point in leading the way. At the far end of the mess hall was another set of double doors. Dizzy crept along, trying to not make any noise. He had no idea where the orcs had gone. As he reached the doors with his friends closely in tow, he felt the ground suddenly shift beneath his feet. He stumbled and landed hard on his butt. When he looked back, he saw a wall blocking the way they had just come from.

“What was that?” asked Kitty as she pulled herself to her feet.

“It’s not the walls, it was the whole building!” Dizzy ran back to where the other half of the hall had been, but there was nothing but the scratched wall. He ran his hand over it slowly and carefully.

“It’s curved. Why is it curved?” he wondered aloud.

“I think I know,” said Kitty. “When I was a whelp, I found a human toy. A bunch of wooden rings or circles that fit one inside the other. You could turn one ring one way, and the bigger or smaller ones the other way.”

“I think I see,” said Dizzy. If the ring rotates, the hallways would change.”

“It would confuse any invaders. A wizard would use a trick like that or a minotaur,” suggested Sergeant. YDB and Sneak both nodded in agreement.

“Well, there’s nothing we can do about it, except try to stick close to one another,” said Dizzy. He stood and looked around again. A small door was to the left of the big double doors. Shrugging his shoulders, he opened the small door hoping that only a single orc had gone up that way.

Inside the room was a spiral staircase leading up. Dizzy crept in carefully glancing up the stairs to see if there were any orcs above. For now, the way was clear. His friends followed as he quietly mounted the steps and worked his way up, one of his curved swords in hand. Gwen darted ahead, entering the room above before Dizzy could stop him.

No orcs awaited at the top, but Dizzy wasn’t happy with the cat at that moment.

“Stay behind me, or I’ll feed you to the rats the first chance I get,” he growled. Gwen ignored him and peeped his nose into an archway that lead into another room. Dizzy crept over and saw several bunks lined up against the wall. It must be the barracks the orcs had mentioned. Seeing the rooms were clear, he gestured for the rest to join him.

Sergeant looked around the room and blew a low whistle. “We need to check the other rooms. They have bunks for six orcs in just this one room. They could end up with several hundred. No way they’d miss our tribe in the woods below.”

The goblins heard someone coming up the steps. With no other route available, they dove under the bunks and pushed themselves back against the wall, even Gwen.

“Alright Sisats, I’ll be needing you to put together barracks rooms for a while,” said Gunag’s voice. Two orcs entered the barracks where the goblins were hiding.

“Grimly will be joining you once he gets off the crapper. Lay out the rooms on the first floor just like this one. Bunks along the wall, footlockers at the ends. Understood?”

“Yes, Boss,” said Sisats.

“Good. I have some paperwork for Stormhoof to review. There are beds and lockers all over the place both down below and up here. Start with the stuff down there, and watch for the rotations. Lord Stormhoof wants his troops well taken care of.”

“Yes, Boss.”

The orcs left a moment later. Sisats could be heard heading down the spiral staircase while Gunag left through a door near the stairs.

“That was close!” whispered Sneak. “Which one first? Track down Sisats first, or go after Gunag?” He looked to Sergeant first, then Dizzy.

“Sisats,” said Dizzy, making a quick decision. “Gunag will be in an office, we’ll have a harder time getting the jump on him. If we can get to Sisats while his hands are full, he’ll be a lot easier.

Dizzy looked around, hoping he wasn’t making a mistake. There was one more or somewhere in the building and he had no idea where. Plus Stormhoof himself was a looming threat over everything. He also had no idea where the rest of his tribe was. Still, he could only take care of so many things at once.