Leaving a relatively defenseless rabbit alone in a room full of people who most likely wanted to kill her was not what Elise would have considered a good idea. She had no idea what Freddy was thinking. Was he thinking? Was he just completely oblivious as to what could happen if he left? Or did he do it on purpose? Did he want her dead, or was he just trying to perform some kind of sick, twisted experiment?

He said that this place was his Domain, which meant that he was probably aware of everything happening inside it, but even if he didn’t want her to die, would he be able to stop it? She had no idea. What even was a Domain? Whatever it was, she didn’t have time to figure it out. The dwarves were glaring at her, and she could almost smell their anger.

She prepared to use {Charm} and {Suggest} then stopped herself as Emilia’s voice echoed in her mind.

“You have potential. Use it!”

This is absurd, she told herself. This is survival. I could die if I don’t calm them down.

But she still couldn’t bring herself to do it. She knew it was foolish not to use the tools at her disposal when her life was at stake, but whenever she thought about using her mental skills, she heard Emilia’s voice egging her on.

“The Council is already on bad terms. If you just egg them on a little…”

“The vigilante is out of place. You can use that rift.”

“You need to try to put yourself in their position and think like them. What can you do that will make them hate each other more than you?”

Enough!

She gritted her teeth and resolved herself. She couldn’t use those skills. She couldn’t become dependent on them. She needed to figure a way to survive without resorting to tactics like that, at least for now. At least until Emilia’s voice went away.

“Please, let me explain,” she said. “I have not betrayed the Dwarves, nor have I ever even considered it.”

“A likely story,” said Josef.

She shot him a glare, but didn’t take the bait. She needed to keep them calm and stall for time until Freddy got back. If she went down to their level, there was no telling what they would do when they got riled up.

“I convinced the drow to stop their attacks for a full 44 days. I even got them to stop poisoning your water supply. That’s what was causing the epidemic, by the way. The drow were poisoning your water, and I stopped them.”

The dwarves scowled, and a couple cursed. But none attacked.

It’s working, thought Elise. I just need to stay calm and keep telling the truth.

“Typical,” muttered Ulfur, the Council member who oversaw the dwarven mining endeavors. “They couldn’t hurt our warriors so they went after our children instead.”

“But they stopped. And it was because I convinced them to. We had peace, and your tunnel construction was going well-”

“And then you tried to poison our king,” said Sindri.

“I saved Hallbjorn. He would still be poisoned right now if it weren’t for me. Surely the Royal Guards didn’t leave that out of their reports, right?”

“They said you were messing with their minds, and they can’t trust anything they saw,” said Josef.

“Ugh,” she said. “But Hallbjorn is alive, and poison-free, is he not? And none of the Guards were killed or injured, and no drow were killed, right? He was poisoned, but then cured, and no real long-term damage was done.”

“Your people dug a tunnel into the king’s bedchamber,” said Josef. “How are we to know you don’t have more? How do we know that you’re not trying to lull us into a false sense of security before attacking again?”

“First of all, they’re not ‘my people’,” she retorted. “Secondly, I stopped the last poisoning attempt, and we already killed Emilia! The one who caused all this is dead! There’s no reason for the drow to ever attack again unless you give them one.”

“I’ll give them one,” said Olvir from the back. “Just get me out of these fucking chains…”

“That’s exactly what Emilia wanted! She wanted you to fight. Every time a dwarf or drow died, she got experience points. She has been using this war for her own personal gain for centuries.”

Dammit, she thought. So much for staying calm.

“And we’re supposed to believe that?” asked Josef. “You think we’re just going to say ‘oh, well, I guess that solves everything. We forgive you!’ just because you got some ancient monster to come in here and back you up?”

“I have been around a while, but it’s still rude to call someone ancient,” came Freddy’s voice.

A split second later, he appeared between Elise and the dwarves with Naomi and six elderly drow women behind him. The dwarves put their hands to their weapons, and Naomi’s wooden arm started writhing, but a mana so dense it was suffocating fell over the room, and everyone stopped moving.

Ironically, while for everyone else, it was a restriction and a threat, to Elise, it brought relief. She had survived, and she did it using her own power. Maybe that wasn’t much of an accomplishment. Maybe they wouldn’t have attacked no matter what, since they were in Freddy’s domain, and the dwarves weren’t suicidal. Maybe she had gotten worked up over nothing. But it still felt satisfying to have navigated a stressful conversation without depending on her manipulative skills.

“Enough of that,” said Freddy. “It’s time to get down to business.”

No one said a word, but Elise could tell that everyone was glaring daggers at Freddy’s back as he walked to the head of the table and sat down.

“Please, take a seat,” he said.

Once they had all obliged, a golden scroll appeared in front of Freddy, and he smiled out over everyone.

“We are here today to negotiate a peace treaty between the dwarven city of Dokkalfheimr and the drow of Greenwood. Both sides have much to gain from this treaty, the most important being the survival of their people. Before we start, do we have any objections?”

At first no one spoke, but the dwarves kept glancing between each other and making slight head and hand motions until eventually, Sindri shrugged and spoke.

“Before we errr… get down to business, there’s something we’d like clarified,” he said, trying not to seem nervous. “Is there any evidence that things are as you claim? That the war really was started by a fey who is now… no longer with us? And quite conveniently no longer with us, if I may add.”

“Certainly!” said Freddy. “When making such a deal, it’s important for both sides to understand the whole background. I, unfortunately, was not present when this revelation was made, but we do have the one who was here with us, so I’ll give her a chance to speak. Elise?”

He nodded to her, but before she could say her piece, Josef interrupted.

“I’m sorry for interrupting,” he started.

Josef is apologizing for interrupting?! Elise thought.

“But how can we know that she is telling the truth?” he finished.

“Simple!” said Freddy with a wide smile. “It is impossible to lie in this room. You can try it if you don’t believe me.”

Josef frowned. “I- I am- I am not- I am not happy about this. I don’t like my words being controlled.”

“I know. but it’s a sacrifice that we all have to make for the sake of making a fair deal. Even I am not exempt from that rule when I'm here. Are you satisfied with that explanation?”

“No,” said Josef. “I don’t trust you. How do I know that this applies to everyone and not just us?”

Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

“Well, I could ask the drow to attempt to lie as well, but I don’t suppose that would satisfy you either, would it?”

“No, it wouldn’t,” said Josef.

“Then in that case, you’ll just have to take my word for it. Unless you wish to continue doubting me?”

Elise barely stopped herself from shivering when she heard the danger hidden behind his words. Josef noticed it as well, and his face paled. He shook his head, but didn’t say another word.

“Excellent. Elise, if you would?”

She took a deep breath to steady herself before speaking.

“Shortly after I stopped the poisoning of king Hallbjorn, we encountered Emilia again here in the Mother Tree cavern. She pretended to be concerned, but then she hid herself and me from view so she could interrogate me. I managed to trick her into agreeing to two deals with me, forcing her to tell the truth or else be cursed. While under those constraints, she revealed to me that she planned the whole conflict, and not just for the recent events. She claimed that she had been the origin of the entire dwarf-drow conflict in the first place. She said she did it for experience points, and for fun.”

“I know you don’t trust my words very much, but I have known Emilia for nearly two hundred years now, and I think this sounds quite plausible,” said Freddy. “She’s always had a keen eye for people. She knew exactly what she needed to do to get them to do what she wanted. And she has been consistently leveling up all that time.”

A few of the dwarves, including Josef and the vigilante scowled, but most seemed more troubled than angry. The drow looked even more troubled. Elise could empathize. She had been suspicious of Emilia from the beginning, so the betrayal was almost expected, but it still hurt to have that last bit of hope that she wasn’t pure evil be dashed so thoroughly. She couldn’t imagine what it would feel like to have trusted her completely to the point of practically worship, only for it to be revealed that she was killing her people for fun.

“If that’s all, then we can begin the discussion of terms,” said Freddy, grabbing the golden scroll in front of him. “Actually, I’ve already laid out a baseline for us. It’s fairly simple and straightforward, since there is no winner or loser, and neither side is at fault, so there are no concessions to be made. I used some more specific wording in the actual contract, but the gist of it is: neither side will attack the other in any way for fifty years. Anyone who breaks that contract dies.”

“Dies?!” exclaimed Josef and one of the drow elders simultaneously.

“Yes. I believe that’s a fair consequence. After all, this is war we’re talking about. Breaking this contract could lead to the deaths of many. And it’s not even that hard to keep, really. All you have to do is not attack each other.”

“I’ll sign it,” said Naomi. “I’m tired of the death and killing.”

“Wonderful!” said Freddy.

“But I have a condition,” she continued. “We want the antidote to the poison used on the Mother Tree.”

The other elders nodded in assent. Most of the dwarves frowned, but the only one who openly objected was Olvir.

“Fuck off,” he said.

“I think that sounds reasonable,” said Freddy, turning to the dwarf. “Do you have a problem with that?”

“If they want the antidote, they have to comply with my condition too.”

“And what condition would that be?”

“I want the head of the one who killed my son.”

Two of the drow started shouting at him, neither comprehensible as they both tried talking over the other, but their anger was obvious. None of the other drow looked happy either. Most of the dwarves were taken aback, but Josef’s eyes widened, almost in excitement.

“And I want the head of the one who killed my brother and his family,” said the old Council member.

A third drow joined in with the shouting, at which point, the vigilante and Josef started to shout back. Naomi and Sindri tried shouting over their companions to get them to calm down, raising the noise level yet again until Freddy released a wave of mana that silenced them all in an instant.

“As you can see, I don’t believe that’s a condition that we will be able to come to an agreement on,” he said.

“I don’t care,” said the vigilante. “I want that bitch dead or I’m not giving away the antidote.”

Freddy turned to the drow elders. “Is the life of one drow not worth the life of your Mother Tree?”

“It’s not just one,” said Beatrice, the youngest drow Elder. “That other dwarf wanted his own revenge, and if we grant them that, we’ll have to do the same for the rest. If we agree to this, they’ll have half our tribe dead by the end of the negotiations. We will not agree to this condition.”

Freddy turned back to the vigilante. “Is there any way that you can give up on this?”

“Never,” replied the gruff dwarf.

“The one who killed your son was manipulated by Emilia,” said Elise. “The true perpetrator is already dead.”

“I don’t give a fuck,” he replied. “I saw that bitch that killed my son. She was smiling. Manipulated or not, she enjoyed it. I won’t stop until either she’s dead, or I’m dead.”

“If you die, will the Mother Tree still be able to be cured?” asked Freddy.

“Yes,” said the vigilante. Then he frowned. “Fuck. Just kill me then. I’m not signing this stupid fucking treaty without that bitch’s head, and if you won’t give it to me, I’d rather die.”

“As you wish.”

Elise sensed nothing, but the dwarf’s head exploded. One moment, he was scowling at Freddy, the next, his head was gone. The blood and other bits hovered in a sphere around the stump of his neck as his body slumped over and slid to the ground. Elise was at an unfortunate angle, so she was able to witness the whole thing in full. When the body hit the ground, the sphere holding the remains of the head together collapsed, and the whole thing sank into floor until it had vanished without a trace.

The room was dead silent, and everyone’s faces had gone pale. Josef looked like he was about to pass out, and his breathing was getting fast and unsteady.

“Do you feel the same way?” asked Freddy, turning to the hyperventilating dwarf.

Josef shook his head frantically.

“Good. Can you dwarves commit to finding the antidote that man had?”

“I can,” said Sindri. “And I’ll sign the treaty too.”

Josef hadn’t finished catching his breath, but he shot Sindri a glare.

“I want to see the sun,” said Sindri in response. “Don’t you? Aren’t you tired of the constant fighting? If we go aboveground, the gho- the drow won’t even be a threat anymore.”

“But-” started Josef.

“I’ll sign too,” said Magnus. “My granddaughter is getting married soon. It would be nice to be out of this horrid cave by then.”

“I’ll sign,” said one of the drow elders. “But I want to read it over first.”

“Same here,” said another elder.

“That’s perfectly reasonable,” said Freddy. “Here, I’ll read out the full terms.”

He unfurled the scroll and started spouting off a long sequence of legalese that Elise had trouble following. It seemed like a lot for such a simple contract, but it was very, very specific about what acts did, and did not constitute breaking the contract. It handled every edge case Elise could think of, and some she never would have considered in a million years. By the end, most of the dwarves and drow were nodding along. Only one of the drow Elders and Josef were frowning.

“I can agree to those terms,” said Ulfur.

“I as well,” said another elder.

More dwarves and drow voiced their agreement with the treaty until, in the end, even Josef relented and agreed to sign.

“Good. Then it seems we have all come to an agreement.” A quill and ink bottle appeared in front of each person. “I’ll pass this around. If you can just sign it, then we can wrap this all up, nice and neat. I’ll go talk to the dwarven king shortly, and then, peace will be guaranteed.”

No one dared to raise any objections. As the scroll was passed around the table, the only sounds were the rustling of the parchment, the scratching of the quills, and the elevated heartbeats and erratic breathing of all the room’s occupants. Elise hesitated for a moment when the contract got passed to her

She wasn’t really on either side, and had no interest in furthering the conflict. She didn’t really need to. She couldn't really hold a quill either. But she also didn’t want to try to get out of signing it and end up like Olvir.

“Oh, you don’t need to sign,” said Freddy. “You’re a neutral party. You can just pass it along.”

Elise hid her sigh of relief as the drow to her left reached for the paper and quill. After another minute, the contract had made its way back to Freddy, and the room was filled with tense silence.

“Now that we’re done here, I suggest that you all stand up,” said Freddy. “You won’t want to be sitting down still when I dispel my Domain.”

They all hastily got to their feet and Elise took to the sky moments before the room around them vanished and they were once again back in the cave. Nothing seemed to have changed since they went into the room. Elise wasn’t even sure if any time had passed.

“Well, dwarves,” said Freddy. “Let’s go speak with your king. I know he’s anxiously awaiting the results.”

Elise watched the dwarves march back toward their tunnel, and as soon as their forms vanished, younger drow emerged from the trees to question the elders. They formed a crowd, clamoring around and speaking with so many voices it was impossible to make out a single word, but it was obvious what they were saying.

“Quiet, please!” announced Naomi. “Quiet. Thank you. After some… discussion… aided by that man with the golden hair, we have come to an agreement. There will be no war. The dwarves will leave the cave, and we will be able to reclaim our lost land. No one else will die for our grudges.”

Some drow cheered, while others looked sullen. They were probably looking forward to finally avenging their fallen brethren, but Elise knew they would get over it eventually. They would have to. They had managed to stay quiet until this point because of the prophecy, they could stay quiet another month until the dwarves left.

Not long after the crowd dispersed, Freddy returned again. Naomi and the elders were still waiting for him, so Elise stayed as well. All seemed resolved, so she could have left if she wanted, but she had to see it through, just in case something somehow went wrong.

“The king has signed the contract,” said Freddy happily. “I’ll be keeping the original, but I left a copy with the dwarves, and I’ll leave one with you as well.”

“Thank you,” said the oldest-looking elder. “Thank you for helping us stop the war.”

“Oh, I didn’t do it for free,” he said. “I trust I’ll be getting my side of the deal?”

“Of course,” said Naomi. “Right this way. You all can stay. There’s no need for you to see this.”

The elders nodded.

“Thank you, Naomi,” said one of them.

“I’ll see you soon.”

She turned back to the forest toward her hut, and Freddy strolled casually behind her.

“Wait!” called Elise after them. “Freddy!”

“Yes?” he asked.

“The dwarves are trying to get to the surface, but the warg-”

“I’ll make sure Walter knows not to cause any trouble,” said Freddy with a smile. “Is that all?”

“Y-yes. Thank you.”

He nodded and turned back toward Naomi to continue their journey back to his hut. As their forms shrunk in the distance, Elise started to turn away, only to hear Freddy’s voice in her head.

“Ostra looks forward to your return.”