"I assure you, your highness, the queen is very much alive. She and the king have been quite ill, struck down by a harsh disease, but they are slowly recovering."
The queen showed resolve toward her own assertion.
"Recovering? I doubt that is possible. No, I am quite certain the queen has passed."
She then turned to the gathering crowd.
"Has anyone seen or even heard from the queen in the past season? No? The season before? No? When was the last time anyone here has actually seen the queen?"
The questions were growing stronger among the dwarf citizens of Sterling and the diplomat moved to quiet them.
"I saw the queen this very morning," he announced. "She is weak still, not ready to venture from the comforts of her room. Certainly, she would like to address her subjects, but we must, of course, focus on her health. When she is fully recovered, she will thank those that have shown concern for her."
"And would you allow me to visit the queen right now?" Therese questioned.
"I will check with her, but I believe she is resting."
"I won't disturb her. Let me simply look in upon her, and then I will return to the fine dwarves of Sterling and reassure them that the queen is in fact recovering."
"I'm afraid the queen had a relapse this morning," a voice called out from the palace doors.
Ulet Bulharp marched down the steps and bowed before Queen Therese. She directed her response to the Queen of Dunop but spoke loud enough for all the dwarves gathered to hear.
"She would have been pleased to see you. She knows you have had a difficult time in Dunop."
Therese knew that Ulet was referring to the uprising of the separatists that occurred in Dunop many seasons ago, an uprising that was fueled by the very same Strog Grandhammer who had secretly taken over the palace in Sterling.
"The difficult times are in the past. We have recovered well."
"And what of the king, Jon Folarok, has he also recovered?"
"I'm afraid he still has a long way to go."
"Then you can appreciate how long it will take for our queen to recover. The sickness was severe."
"What of your king?" the queen asked. "Perhaps I could speak with him?"
"The king and queen were struck by the same disease. He is also not quite ready to receive royal guests. I hope you can understand."
"But he is being cared for?"
"Of course."
Therese frowned and shook her head slightly.
"I find all of this very odd. I did hear the king and queen had taken ill, and yes, it was a strong sickness." Therese continued with a firmer voice as her stare bored into the face of the battle commander. "Disease cast by a draevol is very powerful indeed."
Ulet remained stone faced. If she was surprised by the revelation, she did not reveal it.
The queen was not deterred by the battle commander's stoic silence and pressed the issue for all to hear.
"Are you not going to deny the royal couple were struck down by the plague spell of a demon?"
"I am not a physician. I know they were ill, but from where they obtained the disease, I cannot say. I am somewhat concerned you seem to know so much about this." The dwarf battle commander then saw an opportunity to cast doubt upon the Queen of Dunop. "How is it that you have knowledge of our king and queen's health? You spoke of a draevol. How does a dwarf queen know the source of a mysterious sickness when the castle physicians are unable to identify the cause?"
"Are you making an accusation?"
The battle commander remained cool. She could only guess as to how the Queen of Dunop gained such knowledge, but it was in her interest to quell the storm Therese was creating. While Ulet would not make a direct allegation, she certainly did not hesitate to throw further suspicion on Dunop's queen.
"Accusations? Based on what? I have no knowledge of a draevol. It was you who brought it up. I find that… odd."
Therese decided to confront the battle commander with the complete truth.
"What I find odd is that you wish to deny certain events of the past. The King of Sterling is not being cared for at all. He is a prisoner and has been removed from the palace. The queen, as much as it pains me to say, has been murdered… murdered by the rebel separatist Strog Grandhammer, the same separatist who led the revolt in Dunop against my husband, Jon Folarok."
"I'm afraid your information is incorrect," Ulet answered swiftly, refusing to back down or show any sign of unease. "I do not wish to show disrespect to dwarf royalty. If it will serve you, I will accompany you to the king's quarters and you may see for yourself."
"And I'm afraid my royal guards would never let me put myself in such peril. We are quite aware that Strog Grandhammer has assumed control of the palace. This is why the king and queen have not been seen. Strog Grandhammer is a murderer, and you take your orders from him. You are as guilty as he."
Ulet remained unbroken in the face of such accusations.
"As I said, I am unwilling to show any disrespect, but if you are intent on making unfounded charges, I must ask that you return to Dunop. This incident must be dealt with through proper diplomatic channels."
"That is how you would leave it?" Therese demanded. "You wish that I would simply turn around and vanish while you harbor a wanted criminal of Dunop, a separatist dwarf guilty of many crimes?"
"Strog Grandhammer is not in Sterling," Ulet answered resolutely. "As for you, Sterling is not prepared to meet with royalty from Dunop. We ask that you respect our wishes and return home. That word comes directly from the queen."
It was not Therese who responded, but a familiar voice that rang out far behind Dunop's line of royal guards.
"How is that possible, since you are unable to speak with the dead?"
Holli Brances stepped out of the shadows as she let her cloaking spell dissolve. As it did, another figure recognizable to the battle commander came into Ulet's view.
"I can assure you that Strog Grandhammer is in Sterling and he is in the palace," Ryson Acumen announced. "I saw him there myself. He had me chained and ordered that I be killed."
Ulet fumed, but did not panic. Once more she spoke for the increasing crowd of dwarves to hear.
"Now I understand. The Queen of Dunop is obviously under a spell of deceit. She enters Sterling with an elf guard who practices sorcery and a delver who is wanted for killing three dwarf guards of Sterling."
"I am the one who killed those guards," Holli responded. "They were intent on handing Ryson Acumen over to goblins… a death sentence handed down by Strog Grandhammer."
"You admit you murdered three dwarf guards, and the delver stands by you. That is enough for me to doubt everything that has been said here."
One more voice called out from the far side of the wide street before the palace… away from the rest of the crowd.
"Very well played, but the charade is over."
Three figures stood previously unnoticed, but when the crowd turned, every dwarf recognized the face of the shortest individual. His face was gaunt and he trembled slightly, but there was no denying it was the King of Sterling.
Ulet stood frozen, staring at her king.
Enin called out again.
"Well commander? I thought the king was being well cared for. Is that why I found him imprisoned in desolate tunnels under a human town to the east? It was not an easy task to find him, dwarves are very resistant to magic, but my friend and I worked together and devised a spell that would call to a royal dwarf's ear. All he had to do was answer, and he did. He led us right to him."
The third figure, Jure, decided to remain quiet. He simply watched with growing satisfaction as Ulet failed to respond to Enin's revelations.