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"You been to the surface before, Campsie?" I asked, more gently, given her reaction earlier. She shook her head, not trusting herself to say anything for the moment. I wasn't surprised. Goblins generally shun the surface world. For some, it is because the prospect of not having a solid rock ceiling over them fills them with terror. All Goblins dislike the daylight; the bright sunlight is painful to Goblin eyes. Others because they feel there is nothing up there that they are interested in; after all, the Goblins did retreat underground thousands of years ago. Few Goblins have much time for the humans, and almost all humans are unaware of the teeming society that lives beneath their feet. Nevertheless, a very few misfits and malcontents from the Goblin demesnes live up there, and there's even a specific agency to police Goblin activity on the surface. A slightly larger number of us at least visit regularly. I count myself amongst their number; I've even done a little light bounty-hunting up there. And, even now, I do have a few contacts and acquaintances amongst the humans; this was an position which I expected to take advantage of, later on. I realised this was probably a bit in-at-the-deep-end for Campsie. "Look, you don't have to come, you know," I said softly, "I can do this little trip on my own." "No, no," she said, "I'll come." "Are you sure?" "Yes," she said, gulping, "Look, one of the reasons that I accepted your offer of an apprenticeship was precisely because of your reputation." "My reputation?" I responded, aghast. She smiled wanly in response. "Your reputation as a Goblin at home amongst the humans," she said, "With human contacts, even friends. Didn't you have a human partner at one time?" I nodded slowly. She was quite right. "I've read ever so much about you, Mister Gask," she went on, "And I've always been just a little fascinated by the humans. It was just a bit of a shock, I guess. I just hadn't expected to be going up there on my first day." "Well, if you're sure," I said, reaching for my hat, "Let's go back to the office and fix up our disguises?" "Disguises?" "As humans!"
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Part 11