When they arrived at the hall, they were told Hogarth would be there in a few minutes, and then left on their own just outside the door.

  “We have to wait?” Henry asked.

  “We made people wait,” Emily said. “It’s a privilege of being the host.”

  Henry grumbled in annoyance. Andrew agreed with the sentiment, but he was far more anxious than either royal appeared to be. His experience with Lady Thalia suggested that the more they had to wait on their host, the less cooperative he or she might be. He hoped Hogarth was different, but his gut told him that wouldn’t be the case.

  Hogarth’s messenger had been honest, though, as the Dwarven duke arrived after about two minutes. He took his seat and apologized for the delay, sounding very formal.

  “I have given a lot of thought to our discussion yesterday, and the situation you all find yourselves in,” he began. “I have come to a deep appreciation of your position, and I hope you are able to understand my own as well.”

  “That sounds like a rejection,” Peter whispered next to Andrew. It was quiet, and Hogarth didn’t seem to hear it, but it still took quite a bit of effort to resist turning to give his brother a dirty look.

  “I must make a decision on whether to agitate the one who occupies the throne of Grealand or not. We are not as independent of them as we like to think. There is no point in pretending that they will not discover you are with me if I keep you here, if they haven’t already. If Chancelor Daniel is after you, as you claim, I may be able to protect you from his wrath, but I cannot hide you. If that was your hope, then I’m afraid it is beyond my power.”

  “We don’t want to hide, we want to help,” Emily said.

  “Right!” Henry agreed. “But no one will listen to us at home because… because Dan…” his voice seemed to catch on Daniel’s name. He drew himself up and forced himself to continue. “Because Daniel says we’re possessed.”

  Hogarth nodded. Andrew wondered if he’d expected the interruption. “I’m glad you are not taking a cowardly route. But then, what are you actually intending to do?”

  “We’ll fight!” Henry said.

  “We need to learn,” Emily said at the same time. The pair glanced at each other, then turned to look back at Hogarth.

  “Those are very different things,” Hogarth said. His voice grew more grave as he went on. “I cannot help you go to war against Grealand, not on my own. You will need more allies for that. Even if you had them, I would not recommend it. As for learning, what would you be learning. What knowledge do I or my people have that you are seeking?”

  “The Wisps—” Emily began, but the duke cut her off.

  “We have no special knowledge of the Wisps here. Even less than you, most likely. As for the Wisp Steelers, I hardly know more than what you’ve told me. What aid could I give you in learning about them?”

  “Your resources would be a great aid to us,” Emily said.

  Hogarth shook his head. “If you are right about a conspiracy between them and Chancelor Daniel, then to lend you my resources would be much the same as moving against Grealand.”

  “You may not have to do so openly,” Andrew said. The idea was still forming in his mind, but he knew this would be his only opportunity to voice it.

  Hogarth glanced at him. “You think so, do you?”

  Andrew nodded. “You said you hoped we understood your position. Please, tell me if I misunderstand, but it sounds as though you believe we are in the right, but it is too risky for your people to oppose Woadrok and the rest of Grealand. You are too few and not equipped for conflict. In addition to all of that, you are surrounded on most sides by Grealish territory, and are therefore closer than any of the others considering war. If you join in, this takes you from the position of the least risk to the most very quickly.”

  Hogarth nodded. “You have most of it, young man. And, if I am to be blunt, there is no gain. I have no doubt you could offer substantial personal rewards,” he added to the king and queen, who both looked like they’d been about to protest, “but, welcome as such rewards might be, it must be something that makes the risk worthwhile for all my people who would be bearing it. And I’m sorry to say, but I don’t believe Grealand has anything that would be suitable for the Dwarves.”

  “We could give you land,” Henry said.

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  Hogarth waved the suggestion aside. “What land could you give me that I could use? My people don’t go too far from the mountains, most of the time. We occupy most of the valleys across this whole range. Valley’s you may technically claim, even though your people have never set foot in them. And any land you try and give me far enough from the mountains will lead to conflict with your people already living there. Would the people of Green Vale and the Iron Valley appreciate being made to abandon their home for us Dwarves? Or would you give me the people as well? People I have no interest in governing and no experience in ruling. No, land will not do.”

  “We already have highly favorable trade agreements with the Grealish,” Anna said. Andrew thought it was a nice touch, her speaking to remind him she was one of his subjects. “Surely that’s not what your after.”

  Hogarth smiled. “Your father is a guild master. Surely you know that no one is ever satisfied with such agreements. It would be too much to hope for a perfect one, but I would like to see those improved.”

  “Done,” Henry said.

  Hogarth raised an eyebrow at him. “You haven’t seen the one’s I’m thinking of.”

  “We don’t know what we can do, on that account,” Emily pointed out.

  “What’s more significant,” Andrew said, stepping in again, “is that we haven’t been very clear about what we’re asking for.” The Duke’s gaze swung back to him. He gestured for Andrew to go on. “We haven’t been all that sure ourselves. We needed time to rest and plan our next move.”

  “And such a move would depend very much on the kind of support I give you,” Hogarth said. But Andrew shook his head.

  “Maybe not. Which means you don’t need to openly support us,” Andrew said. Everyone in the room turned to him. “Our mission,” he gestured to include Anna and Peter, “is about the Wisps themselves, and keeping our hometowns safe from them. Now, that includes dealing with the Wisp Stealers who’ve taken over Grealand. Freeing Grealand may not mean going to war at all. If it does, you’re right. We’d need allies. Allies who understand that it is the Wisp Stealers, not the Grealish royal family, that is at fault.”

  “This sounds like you do want open support,” Hogarth said.

  Andrew shook his head. “Only if it really does come to war. By that time, the situation may change. Either way, our next move is the same. We need information. About the Wisps and the Wisp Stealers. If we can discover why they’re doing what they’re doing, we may be able to stop this before a real war starts.”

  “So what is your request of me?” Hogarth asked.

  “That you continue to be neutral toward us, in matters of travel,” Andrew said. “We’re just companions of one of your subjects, visiting her family. And, should you discover why Daniel and the others are behaving as they are, you share the information with us. I don’t believe, based on what Anna’s told me, that it’s some great secret. They seemed to think their reasons should have been obvious. Perhaps they were personal. But if you should find out before we do and pass the information along, it’s not worth a war to fight over.

  Hogarth nodded. “In other words, you request that I continue to do nothing. I don’t stop you, nor do I join Daniel. And, in exchange, renegotiations of our trade deals will be taken up once the young rulers are back on their thrones.”

  Andrew nodded.

  “So, the five of you shall continue to fly about the country, seeking the information you need?” Hogarth asked, his gaze piercing. Andrew wondered if he’d had someone following them and listening to the conversation he’d had with Anna earlier.

  “No,” he replied. “We were hoping to leave the king and queen in the care of Guild Master Tomlan, where they could avoid notice.”

  “What?” Henry burst.

  “That I cannot allow,” Hogarth said. “They would be in my jurisdiction constantly. If you think they could hide with merchants better than my court, you are mistaken. Master Tomlan may move them around, but he could not provide them with better security once they are inevitably discovered. And then I would certainly be declared an enemy of Grealand. Better, then, to simply send the children home.”

  “We have a say in this, too!” Henry said. “I don’t want to sit out the adventures! I want to go with you. It’s our home that’s been taken over, after all.”

  “Henry,” Anna began. “Do you really think you could bear more nights camping the way we do? Hard ground and hard food?”

  “I could,” Henry snapped.

  “It didn’t sound like that the other day,” Peter said. “You need a bit more practice roughing it.”

  “I can do it if I have to!” the king insisted.

  “Perhaps you don’t have to,” Andrew said.

  “He cannot stay here,” Hogarth pointed out.

  Andrew nodded. “I know. But there may be a way you and Emily can help without having to travel with us.”

  “I want to travel, though,” Henry said.

  “I think Peter’s right, Henry,” Emily said. “We’re not good at traveling like they do. And it’s a lot more dangerous if we go with them. They have to look out for us.”

  “We can look out for ourselves,” Henry said.

  “Even if we had our Scepters, we were never very good at using their powers,” Emily said. “And without those, we’re not able to fight if the group gets attacked. Remember how it was in the arena, with all of those guards getting hurt protecting us? Do you want that to be them?” Henry didn’t respond, so Emily turned to Andrew. “What is this way we can help?”

  “We can send you to Vulcuo,” Andrew said. “You can work with the monks there, translating the tome we found, and maybe find other information on the Wisps that can help us. Meanwhile, we travel as we have done, finding things out in the field.”

  “Vulcuo is a good place to send them,” Hogarth said. “It’s farther away than anywhere else, and with the Monastery’s reputation, it will be difficult for Daniel to harm them in any meaningful way while he’s dealing with the rest of the conflict.”

  “It’s your choice,” Andrew said, looking between the king and the queen. He doubted he’d be able to make them go against their will. Not without causing some sort of harm, which he was entirely unwilling to do. Still, it made him nervous how long they waited before agreeing it would be for the best. Andrew turned back to Hogarth. “Well?”

  The Dwarf stroked his beard for a few moments. Then he nodded. “Very well. I shall maintain my neutrality. Let us see if you can discover the source of all these troubles, shall we?”