From what I had read in my father's books the dwarves were tremendously skilled and hard working. They were particularly skilled at metalwork, metallurgy, engineering and masonry, skills that could be of enormous benefit to us if we were able to find a way to have the dwarves live in the kingdom without the rest of the citizens becoming resentful of them. I was interested in the dwarves' skills because economically Aseron had nothing special about it that set it apart from the other kingdoms. Erst was a coastal kingdom whose wealth came mostly from maritime trade and shipbuilding, Theran produced bountiful harvests and Grunheim was blessed with mineral wealth. For me to elevate Aseron as a kingdom I needed to make it a powerhouse at something and I believed the dwarves could help us with that, it was just a matter of making sure that demand for the dwarves' skills as artisans didn't negatively impact the ability of the citizens of the kingdom from continuing to make a living off of their skills as artisans. The answer that I arrived at after spending days thinking about the problem was to create new demand, to have the dwarves apply their knowledge and skills to creating goods and providing services that either complemented the work of the kingdom's artisans or did not compete directly with their work.

"What are these goods and services that the dwarves will be providing that will not cause the citizens to fear the loss of their livelihoods?" Alfred asked me.

"Once I've spent some time with the dwarves and learned what they are capable of we will know how to proceed."

"You are planning to bring all of the dwarves here with no plan for how they will be integrated into the kingdom?" Ferland asked.

"Yes."

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"Is that wise?"

"I think it is."

"Despite the risks?"

"I don't care about the risks! The dwarves had their home taken from them and have been shunted from place to place ever since; it's wrong! Now that I am queen and have the power to help those that are in need of help I will do so without my intentions being undermined by political concerns."

Of course Ferland was right to be concerned about the public reaction to my decision, but what the dwarves were being made to go through was horrible and I just couldn't do nothing when I had the power to do something. The Okwari had helped us when they could have easily left us to starve and freeze to death and the bond that I had formed with them continued to be more important to me than anything else, and with good reason. To help us fight off the Volstaff invasion Chief Kendor sent more than just the longbows I had asked him for. The party that Ferland had sent to the north to retrieve the bows returned accompanied by two thousand teewah riders. Uraia and I rode out on our teewahs to meet them outside the city. The person leading them was Uraia's older brother Bandor, Chief Kendor's direct successor.

"There is no need for you to fight in this battle, we've taken control of the army so we have the numbers we need to go to battle," I said to Bandor.

"Yes, but you are one of us and you have asked for our help, so we have come to help."

"This won't be like when we stormed the city, in this battle there will be many casualties."

"We do not fear battle, and we are proud to go to battle for our queen."

"Well, in that case, I look forward to seeing you on the battlefield."

The Okwari all set up camp outside the city while they waited to be called upon to leave for the battlefield. The unexpected arrival of the Okwari warriors necessitated a change in our tactics. I spoke with Uther and he was excited by the prospect of having the Okwari and their teewahs under his command.

"I think it would be best if Uraia led them, you know, since she speaks the language."

"Agreed."