"Ah, quality is a whole other matter," Nuada agreed. "Some of the best goblin ale would make a human blind or kill them if not watered down. But it is so smooth and sweet one tends to forget until you wake up in... places you aren't supposed to be."

Mechanics and alcohol were the virtues of the goblin race. And in his youth, Nuada had found himself hauled out of more than one den or ally by Mr. Wink. He still had no idea how he got up that tree when he was two hundred or so. But getting out of it with a hangover and the grating diatribe of a cave troll had been an adventure he'd never forget. Luckily, he grew up. Especially as apparently Nuala also felt the effects of her brother's stupidity. He grinned hugely at the remembrance.

"If the machines do produce something acceptable the trick will be getting them to do it a second time," Nuada pointed out. Dependability was not one of the features of the food machines. "Last meal it gave me a live squid on the first try."