"I have one assassin who sincerely believes herself to be serving the interests of this family, either because someone in it told her she was or because someone not in it but close enough to one of us that she'd find it plausible told her that she was."

"Yes. But you don't know how Sarpalarë was picked. She didn't have to be filtered for willingness to defy you, because the lie was plausible to her. If the lie becomes implausible you have inconvenienced whoever told her; but perhaps not prohibitively."

"So absent a way to catch that person, how do I deter them?"

"As you said earlier it may be a sufficient deterrent that the Fëanorians benefited from the process. I'm not sure you should be less than conservative about this unless something happens a second time and forms a pattern from which to draw more detailed conclusions than my wild guessing."

"If I wanted my brother dead," Nolofinwë says, "and I didn't care at all for playing honorably, I can think of three different ways to do it. I'm not sure I can be less than conservative, but I am also not sure I'll have much latitude after a second try."

"Well, you could consider an oath, if common knowledge of surety is more appealing than not swearing oaths," says Loki, "which like I said is your risk to take."

"I do not recommend that."

"I at one point considered it," Nolofinwë says. "If I challenged him I think he might accept. His message with the prisoners today was almost phrased to imply that. But it's unwise, we might need him and he seems to have gotten less reckless with one son's death, another's capture, and his own injuries."

...Loki didn't even know one of them was dead. Lot of sons, Fëanor must have really insistent Y-chromosomes.

"Also, we don't have Maitimo," Nolofinwë's sister says. "It's really better that he stay alive."

"Well, Maitimo is around but not in much condition to replace his father at this time."

"And that was always the consideration that made stopping Fëanor most appealing. Less so now that Maitimo's declared himself anyway."

Everyone at the table is appalled at the idea. Murdering Fëanor is only appealing in a fair duel, they assure her.

"My culture shares this distinction but it's always been a bit lost on me."

"In one case people are disrupted in their lives by the fear they'll be murdered; in the other they can entirely avoid the possibility by declining to participate in duels.The advantages seem fairly obvious."

"If they can realistically decline to participate, sure."

"Even if they can't it cuts down the window in which you need to be fearing for your life. And at least here, proposing it for any grievance short of mass murder would be horrifically inappropriate."

"All right, perhaps duels-as-locally-practiced are a substantial improvement."

"We're not having one, though," Nolofinwë says. "We're having a trial in which I assume that Sarpalarë is going to lie to us and claim to have hidden the bow in advance and then either we pretend to believe her and sentence her or reveal that we don't and then sentence her. I am dissatisfied, and want everyone to keep their eyes open, but don't see a better solution."

Nod.

This concludes the family dinner.

"Soundproofing to stay up here too?"

"Yes," he says, "if it's no effort for you."