Thank You

All eyes turned to stare curiously at the king of the gnomes. Lukoss withstood the fairies' skeptical gazes as he looked intently at Mairwen. 

The princess didn't seem to be judging him, but she did seem to be evaluating his words. "Please tell us your solution," she answered him.

"When the gnomes surrendered and I became king, one of the stipulations was that we close the tunnels that we made under the ice barrier that led into the human world. I wanted to be different than my predecessor, so I decided it was best that after we freed all our captives, we would leave our old home behind entirely. It would be far too easy in the familiar surroundings to fall into old habits. 

"So we moved beyond the fairies' land and dug out a new kingdom between the fairies and the wild lands. If your goal is to reach the mystic spires, then I offer you passage through the tunnels as far as they reach. It is not much, but it is all I have to give." Lukoss bowed his head.

The group remained silent. What he had suggested was no small thing, despite his humble presentation.

The humans could bypass a large swath of land by going under it. They would avoid countless dangerous creatures including the Speave.

"That is a most generous offer," Renat liked the proposition very much. "But you know there are quite a lot of us. A small army, in fact. We also have horses."

"The tunnels are more than wide enough to accommodate beasts of burden. As long as you have no unicorns among you, it should be fine." Lukoss pursed his lips.

"We have only the two belonging to the elves," the princess answered, motioning to Lilith and Nath.

"Two, hm? Without their magic, it should still be fine then...As for the humans," Lukoss continued, "if they do not mess with us, we will let them pass without any issue. I have already informed my people as such."

"It is a wonderful idea. And I am very thankful that you came to make this proposition. There is only one thing wrong with it." Mairwen glanced at her golden-skinned friends with a sigh. 

"What would that be?" Bolemir could see the significant looks pass between his guests.

"Uri," Lilith spoke the elf's name, her face grim.

"The elves sent a scout to check on the status of the Fates, but he did not return. We promised to search for him on our journey, but that will be rather difficult if we are below ground." Alaron summarized the point as neutrally as he could.

In truth his feelings were mixed. While he did want to find the missing scout, it was highly unlikely that they would. Either Uri was lost somewhere and they would never cross paths or—more reasonably—he was dead. There was also the possibility that the elf had found the Fates and stayed to help, but that would have gone against protocol.

Staying above ground would put the human army at unnecessary risk. Although he had never laid eyes on a Speave, Alaron had heard about their deadly nature. Half their army or more could easily be lost if the monster was not alone and lured them into an ambush.

But they had promised to look, and keeping their word to the elves also had long-term value if they survived this trial.

Fortunately, Lukoss pulled Alaron out of his fruitless reverie. "Ah, the elf scout? Yes, we know of him. He crossed overland toward the spires some time ago. We thought about questioning him, but he was alone and seemed to be in a hurry. He did not return as of yet when I left my kin, but I can confirm that if you come with me."

The twins turned to Nath and Lilith. The two were already having a hushed conversation based on the gnome king's news. Nath nodded and Lilith sighed.

Nath was the one who spoke. "If it is as you say, then I see no reason to remain above ground for however long the gnomes are able to shelter us. For either Uri is still beyond the gnome's border or he came back a different way. If either is the case then there is no reason to put ourselves in harm's way. My vote, if I have one, is to go with the gnomes."

Mairwen's face showed her immense relief. Like Alaron, the decision had been tearing her in two. "Is that acceptable to you, Lilith?" The princess watched the she-elf nod. 

"As Nath said, it makes more sense to take His Majesty's gesture of goodwill," Lilith's term of respect was surprising to Lukoss, but he managed to keep his face neutral. 

"I appreciate your consideration," he said to both of the elves. "It means a great deal to my people that we can truly begin to build trust between our groups." 

The comment was an obvious jab at the fairies' treatment of him, but if Lukoss were honest, he could not really blame them for being so unkind. Since many of the stolen wives of the gnomes were fairies, it would take many many years before anything like goodwill could be formed between them again. 

Rather than let the conversation devolve into a political debate, Mairwen quickly took charge. "It is settled then, we will head out shortly with King Lukoss and make use of the tunnels to speed our journey. I did have another question before we leave." 

Bolemir motioned for the princess to ask whatever her heart desired. 

"Fairy Reyan mentioned a stone that helps you travel to the Far South almost instantly..." 

"The Agate is our sacred stone," Bolemir filled in the words for Mairwen. 

The dark-haired woman nodded slowly. "Am I correct in my understanding that it is not working because the magic is gone?" 

"That is correct," the fairy answered sadly. "There will be no more seasons until the magic is restored." 

"But before the magic left, was it possible to travel the reverse path?" Mairwen's question caused a stunned silence among the fairies. 

They looked at each other and murmured softly. Bolemir cleared his throat. "As far as we know it is only one direction, but I am not sure. No one has ever tried to come back that way. The creatures guarding the other end would not allow that kind of experimentation." 

"Are there any other portals like the Agate? Ones that might give a fast transport, but without any magic required?" The princess pressed into her line of thought. 

"I have no idea; that would be a question for the Fates. Are you looking for a way for the Empress to return quickly with the seed?" Bolemir guessed at her aim. 

Mairwen nodded. "If she can avoid overland travel, Mother should be able to get here faster." 

"There are many portals and only the Maker understands them all." Hanna slowly entered the circle.

Alaron immediately gave up his stool to the Fate and moved to stand protectively behind her. 

"Even if we found a way for her to get to us quickly, we have no way to communicate that news with her." The lady's colorless eyes swirled restlessly.

Mairwen did have one of the twin mirrors, but that would not help them without magic. There was nothing she could do to let her mother know that she had made it to the Land of Magic or find out her mother's progress either. 

"I hope she can find her own portal then," the princess said as much to herself as the group. "Do you have anything to add to the meeting before we get ready to leave, Fate Hanna?"

Although Hanna had not been present, the Fate did not seem concerned. "I trust you gathered the information we needed to proceed. I am content to speak with you and the Guardian and ask any other questions I have privately." 

All attention instinctively shifted to Bolemir. He was neither a monarch nor even an official leader, but he had presided admirably over the gathering until this point, and it seemed only fitting that he should call it to a close. 

"Thank you for joining us and for your insight. I think I speak for all of us when we wish you well on your journey, especially that which will take place below the earth." Bolemir blessed them. 

"Below the earth?" Hanna raised one eyebrow as she turned the gnome king. "Are you willingly allowing a Fate to travel safely in your realm?"

Lukoss pursed his lips. Had he not known that Hanna was with them when he made the offer? "I am," the king answered at last. 

"Will wonders never cease!" Hanna looked visibly surprised. "We have not been welcome there since long before we revoked the Fate's chain of the gnomes. Praise be to the Maker." The last part was whispered, but clear. 

She looked at Lukoss with a complicated expression. 

"In response, I will utter words that the Fates have not said to the gnomes in thousands of years..." Hanna dipped her head.

"...thank you."