When they got back to the Council chamber, Elise learned why Bragi of all people had been chosen to listen at the door. He had a perfect memory, and a knack for vocal imitation, and was able to repeat the entire conversation back to the Council so they could hear it for themselves. As serious as the situation was, Elise caught a few of the Councilors, including Sindri, holding back laughter as Bragi tried to imitate Elise’s high helium voice.

“So, the ghouls are planning on killing us all,” said Josef. “It seems we’ll have to put our excavation plans on hold.”

“Not necessarily,” said Elise. “If the dwarves complete the excavation and leave the caves, the drow prophecy will be fulfilled, and no one will have to die.”

“You want us to turn our backs on them while they’re trying to wipe us out?” asked Josef. “I can’t tell if you’re trying to sabotage us, or if you’re just stupid.”

“If you made a treaty-”

“A treaty?! With the ghouls?!”

“Enough, Josef,” said Hallbjorn. “A treaty would indeed resolve the situation without bloodshed, but Josef has a point. The ghouls would never make a treaty with us.”

“They might if I brokered it,” said Elise.

The Councilors started muttering amongst themselves. Most of them didn’t seem particularly thrilled at the idea.

“And how are we supposed to trust you to negotiate such a deal?” asked Josef. “Just yesterday, you were trying to steal our maps.”

“I wasn’t stealing anything. I was just looking over them.”

“You’ve been planning your escape to the ghouls for some time now, haven’t you?” said Josef. “I bet you were waiting for this moment.”

“I haven’t.”

“Josef, that’s enough,” said Hallbjorn. “Elise has already proven herself to be trustworthy. She has been under constant surveillance, and there is no evidence that she was planning on betraying us to the ghouls.”

“One month isn’t enough to prove that,” said Josef. “And she was studying a map of the city. She was probably planning on taking that knowledge to them.”

“The drow already have that knowledge,” said Hallbjorn. “They’ve been sneaking around the city longer than we’ve been alive. Enough on that. Elise, are you saying that you wish to negotiate with the ghouls for peace?”

Elise hesitated. Did she really want to do this? She could just walk away. This really wasn’t any of her business. She had only been living with the dwarves for a month, and she had only spoken with two drow for a total of five minutes. But would she be able to live with herself knowing she could have done something, and ran away instead?

She thought back to the night of the warg attack, and the way she had watched helplessly as Sylvanna and Corwin died, and she shuddered. She didn’t want to experience anything like that again.

“I do,” she said.

“And do you think you can succeed?”

“I-I’m not sure. But I’ll try.”

“I think we should just march on them and wipe them out,” said Sindri. “I don’t like leaving things up to chance. We’re stronger than ever right now, and they don’t yet know that we know of their prophecy. If we launch an all-out attack on them right now, they won’t be expecting it. We can win.”

“At the cost of the lives of our men,” said Hallbjorn.

“Lives they would be happy to give,” said Sindri.

“Perhaps,” said Hallbjorn. “But if it could be resolved without losing any men, wouldn’t that be even better?”

“It would, but are we really going to gamble away such an opportunity for that? She’s not even confident that it will work, and as soon as she tries to negotiate with them, we’ll lose the element of surprise. If we march now, we’ll have a better chance of victory, and lose fewer men.”

“I would make that gamble,” said another Councilor.

It was Magnus, who, according to Hallbjorn, was her staunchest supporter on the Council. Elise had only ever seen him from a distance, as he lived on the opposite side of the city, and rarely came to the castle, but just that was enough to leave an impression. He was by far the biggest dwarf she had seen, and by every metric. He was half a head taller than Hallbjorn, who was the next tallest dwarf she knew, and he was twice as broad. His chair at the Council table had to be custom built because he didn’t fit in the ordinary ones.

“Even if we take the ghouls by surprise, what then?” he continued. “We won’t be able to wipe them out in one go. They know they can’t stand against our warriors, so they’ll retreat. We may take their cavern, but they will sneak around behind us and take ours. We take out their tunnels whenever we can, but who knows how many others they have that we’ve missed. If we send an army in, they will send their assassins to kill our families. No matter how the war starts, it will turn into a battle of attrition, and the ghouls will have the advantage there.”

“If it’s going to be a war of attrition, we need to kill as many of them as we can, and do it as soon as possible,” said Sindri. “They may be better at poison and stealth, but if we can outnumber them, we will still win.”

“But at what cost?” said Magnus. “Without a miracle, an all-out war with the ghouls would leave half our people or more dead, even if we win. And if we lose, we will all die. Given that, I’d rather gamble on the chance of no death, even if it’s a small chance.”

“And what if we lose the war because we made that gamble?” said Sindri. “I’m confident that we can win if we attack them now. It will be costly, but we’ll win. Without the element of surprise, I’m much less confident. If we try to negotiate and it fails, the war will start immediately, and we will lose our advantage, and possibly our lives.”

“You both are assuming that there’s a chance that thing succeeds,” said Josef. “I still don’t see any reason to trust her, but, on the off-chance that she would make a sincere attempt, when have the ghouls ever been reasonable? They’ve been killing us for centuries. You think they’ll suddenly stop just because one fey asks them to?”

“She is a fey,” said Magnus. “To them, the fey are divine.”

“And no doubt they have other ‘divine’ fey telling them to kill us all,” said Josef. “I agree with Sindri. We should attack immediately.”

“You all make good points,” said Hallbjorn. “As it stands now, I think that it’s too risky to gamble the kingdom on negotiation.”

Elise’s heart sank.

“However,” continued the king. “I don’t want to give up on the idea. Currently, we know too little about the possibility of negotiation. I think there is more to be learned from the two ghouls we have captive. For now that meeting is adjourned. We will reconvene in an hour. Elise, come with me. We’re going to the dungeon.”

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

“Your Majesty, you’re going to see them personally?” asked Josef.

“I am,” he said.

“Are you sure that’s a good idea?”

“I am.”

Josef glanced at Elise with a look of unhidden disgust, then bowed to the king. “Do not be swayed by their words. They may very well be lying.”

“I will take that into consideration,” said Hallbjorn. “Now go.”

As they approached the Dungeon, Elise could hear the drow whispering to each other in their language. Elise had no idea what they were saying, but she could guess what they were talking about. When the door to the dungeon opened, the whispers ceased in an instant, and both drow stared at her with looks of confusion.

“I am Hallbjorn, king of Dokkalfheimr,” said Hallbjorn. “I have come here to speak with you and discuss the possibility of peace.”

“There will be no peace, you filthy Envahi!” said Claudia.

“Claudia, please,” said Elise. “At least hear him out.”

“...As you command.”

“We are aware of your prophecy,” continued Hallbjorn. “It states that there will be no dwarves left in the cave within a year. We would love to make that prophecy come true. For centuries, our goal has been to leave this cave. If your… people can agree on non-aggression while we dig a tunnel out of the cave, your prophecy will be fulfilled, and no blood will be shed.”

“Why should we-?” started Claudia.

“I believe our queen would agree to zose terms,” interrupted Marie. “And some of ze Elders may as well. ‘Owever, I do not believe zat ze Great Fey would.”

“Does that mean that peace would be unachievable?”

“I do not know,” said Marie. “I think zat peace is achievable.”

“How likely do you think it is?”

“Not very.”

“What if Elise went to your queen to negotiate directly?”

“If she proposes ze idea, zen it is more likely. ‘Alf and ‘alf, maybe.”

“And what if I let you two leave safely as well? Would that increase the odds even more?”

Claudia’s eyes widened.

“Yes, I believe so,” said Marie.

“I see,” said Hallbjorn. “And how can I trust that you are telling the truth, and not just telling me what I want to hear to deceive me?”

“I would not lie to a fey.”

“But you would lie to a dwarf.”

Marie looked at Elise, then back at Hallbjorn, then back at Elise, the back at Hallbjorn.

“I do not understand ze situation ‘ere, but I am not lying.”

“Then I will take your testimony into account. Elise, do you have anything else you wish to say?”

“Do you really believe that we can have peace?” asked Elise.

“I do,” said Marie firmly.

“Claudia?”

“...Marie would know better than me. I think it sounds possible.”

“Then I think we should try,” said Elise.

“Let’s discuss elsewhere,” said Hallbjorn.

The king turned to leave the dungeon without another word. Elise stayed behind a few seconds longer to thank the drow, then followed behind. The castle’s corridors were deserted. The servants were all locked in their rooms, in case any drow remained, and the guards were all concentrated on the most important areas. They did not see another dwarf until they arrived at Hallbjorn’s office, which was guarded by a half dozen Royal Guards.

Inside the office, Hallbjorn trudged to his desk, flopped into his chair, and put his head in his hands. Elise didn’t say anything. She empathized with his position, and didn’t envy him at all. He needed to make a decision, and the outcome of that decision could result in the extinction of his people. Elise herself was feeling some of the stress as well. Although she had volunteered to do the negotiating, if he chose that route, then it would all depend on her. If she failed, it could mean total destruction for either, or both groups.

“Elise,” said Hallbjorn, raising his head. “Are you sure you are willing to try to negotiate peace for us?”

“I- I am.”

“And you will do your best to reach an outcome that saves as many lives as possible?”

“I will.”

“Then I am going to choose to trust you,” he said. “It’s a risk, and one that may end up getting my people killed. However, that risk still exists if I choose war. I want as many of my people to live as possible, even if that means making peace with the ghouls.”

Elise felt as if a massive weight was pressing down on her shoulders.

“I’ll do my best to-” She stopped herself. “No, I will negotiate peace with the drow. I won’t fail. Your trust in me won’t be in vain.”

“I hope so,” he said. “We’ll have to inform the Council, and discuss with them, but even if they advise me against it, I will use my authority as king to override it. You and the two gho- the two drow will be released by the end of the day. Time is of the essence. In fact, we should call them back right now. It hasn’t been an hour, but there’s no point in waiting.”

He stood up from his desk and marched out of the room. Five minutes later, the Council was once again gathered in the chamber. This time, the whole group was there. Those that were late had arrived, and between the extra people and the new tension, being in the room felt almost suffocating.

“After speaking to the prisoners, I have come to a decision,” announced Hallbjorn. “We will attempt to negotiate for peace.”

“Your Majesty, I think we would be making a huge mistake by doing this,” said Josef.

“Maybe,” said Hallbjorn. “But we have a chance of being able to leave the cave with no interference from the ghouls, and no dwarven casualties. If I choose war instead, there will be no preventing loss of life. I also believe in our warriors. We are not weak. If peace fails, we will simply have to win the war, which is the same as if we chose to forgo the chance at peace.”

“Hear hear,” said Magnus. “I think this is a wise decision, Your Majesty.”

“I think it is foolish,” said Josef. “We can’t trust the fey, and we certainly can’t trust the ghouls, and yet you are making a decision that could determine the fate of our people on their words alone?”

“I am well aware of what is at stake, and my decision is not based on their words alone,” said Hallbjorn. “I believe that this is the best decision I can make, given our current position, and I am using my power as king to force the decision through. May the gods forgive me if I’m wrong.”

“Sindri!” said Josef. “Surely you can see what a mistake we’re making.”

“The king has made his decision,” said Sindri. “I will go along with it. I wouldn’t have made the same choice, but I am not the king.”

Josef looked around, hoping to find more support, but aside from a few of the other Councilors sitting near him, no one met his eyes. He huffed, and leaned back in his chair.

“Good,” said Hallbjorn. “Now, we need to discuss logistics. In order to have the highest chance of success possible, I will be sending the two prisoners back alive with Elise.”

The Council chamber burst into conversation. Most of the Councilors seemed to be against this decision. Hallbjorn let them try to talk over each other for a few seconds before bringing his hand down on the table with a loud boom that made everyone else fall silent.

“We have chosen to try for peace,” he said. “We are not going to start that attempt by killing our hostages.”

“They won’t know,” said Josef. “We can just say they died trying to escape.”

“If we sent them back alive as a gesture of good will, that would make it more likely their leaders would agree to our offer.”

“We’re handing them back lost fighting power,” said Josef.

“Two drow aren’t going to make a difference,” said Hallbjorn. “Enough on this. We will be sending them back.”

“Your Majesty, I agree that sending them back is the best option, but we can’t just set them loose,” said Magnus. “I don’t think any of us would comfortable with drow running around the city unrestrained.”

“Of course,” said Hallbjorn. “They won’t be freed from their restraints until they are outside of the city.”

“How are we going to get them there?” asked Sindri. “I can’t imagine the people would be happy if they saw us escorting two drow to safety.”

“I’ve thought of a way,” said Hallbjorn. “It will be impossible to keep this deal secret from the people, and I would not want to do so, but in order to avoid potential issues, we will keep it secret until after the drow are gone. We will send them out hidden in an ordinary supply cart. I’ll have some of my Royal Guards in disguise going with the cart to smooth the journey over, and when they reach the wall, the ghouls will be freed and sent on their way.”

“Sounds good to me,” said Sindri.

There were murmurs of reluctant assent around the table. None of the dwarves looked happy about the prospect of letting the drow live, but none of them were willing to voice their grudges when the king had made it so clear what he planned to do. Josef was positively seething, but with no one else willing to speak up, he held his tongue too.

“Then it’s settled,” said Hallbjorn. “Does anyone have any final thoughts before we adjourn this meeting?”

No one spoke up.

“Then you are all dismissed. Elise, you’re with me again.”