here and throughout Elven and Dwarven lands still bore the scars - both physical and mental - of those terrible wars. There was some question as to which type of scar was worse.
And forgetting, men didn’t change their ways but repeated the mistakes and habits of old.
The elder races might be empathic, but that didn’t guarantee a uniformity of opinion. Even among Elon’s own people, as dedicated to justice as they were - it being one of the tenets of Elven life and an integral part of Elven honor - there were some who weren’t comfortable with the Agreement, knowing men too well.
Among the less flexible, more conservative Dwarves, the conflict was more pronounced. It had taken much persuasion on Elon’s part to convince them to sign, binding them to the Contract that was the Agreement.
Given the circumstances, Jareth couldn’t defend himself against an attack - even unprovoked - and certainly not with magic, or risk open war, no matter the circumstances.
Something they all well knew.
Nor could Jareth best a Dwarf physically however tall he was. Even Elon and Colath would have been tried there. Jareth was at real risk.
That he knew it was evident by the slight paleness of his skin.
For all his youth, though, he wasn’t impetuous; he said nothing in his own defense, wisely leaving that to Elon. He sat his horse, his hands resting on the pommel of his saddle in plain sight of all, his gaze respectfully lowered.
Elon could only be grateful for that self-possession - although he found he hadn’t doubted it nor truly feared it. He was coming to like and trust the young wizard, despite everything he knew of men.
It wasn’t time to mention to Palic that the presence of a wizard had been in the Agreement the people of the Dwarves had signed. The Agreement was a Contract, and inviolable. Were he to present it now, though, he would give up his strongest point in the negotiations too soon.
Impassive as his own folk in the presence of a Wife and a Lore Master, it was difficult to tell if any of the males here bore Jareth any enmity for what he was.
“Do you stand surety for his behavior?” Palic demanded.
The moment Elon had accepted this mission it had been implicit that he would stand as guarantor for the behavior of those in his party. That acceptance had been tacit. Hence his concern at the beginning of their journey.
Now, though?
There was no question. Jareth had guarded their backs, his and Colath’s.
“Yes,” Elon said without hesitation.
Her amber eyes darkened.
“Your life on it, Elf,” she said.
It would be. Her magic was the match of his.
To any other those words might have given a moment’s pause.
Elon’s life? At just the thought, Jareth’s heart caught and he nearly cried out in protest but it was already too late, Elon was already nodding.
No one other than his Master and his foster parents had ever shown such faith in him. There was so much that could go wrong, no matter how hard you tried. No one knew that better than Jareth. He took a breath and let it out, all too aware of Colath’s eyes on him. It was his true-friend’s life in Jareth’s hands.
None of the others seemed to catch Jareth’s start.
That trust, though, pierced him to the core even as it made his heart leap and his spirit glow.
“This isn’t our way, Elf,” Palic said, sharply, “this marking of place.”
Elon nodded. “Nor ours but it must be if we are to live in peace with men.”
Foresight had told him as much, if it didn’t always speak clearly.
“He is wizard,” Palic said, “and not to be trusted.”
“I trust him, Palic,” Elon said, evenly.
Their eyes met.
“So be it,” Palic said. “It is on your head.”
Looking at her steadily, Elon said, “No, it is on yours, Palic. Your people signed the Agreement.”
“I didn’t,” she said, sharply, seeking a loophole to break it.
Keeping his voice even, Elon said, “Goras signed for you - for all Dwarves - binding all of you to it.”
The Dwarven representative on the High Council, Goras was one of the Three - along with Daran High King and Eliade of the Elves - who ruled over all the Kingdoms.
“As it does you, Elon of Aerilann,” she said, her eyes going abruptly dark.
Well he knew it.
A shiver of foresight went through him but of what it warned he didn’t know.
There was a saying men had…no good deed goes unpunished. That was for an unknown and unseen future.