"Yes. Recent immigrants."

"I believe I met them on the road. Interesting."

"Quite. Do you know anything of their origins?"

"I am afraid not. We met only briefly."

"They're bright, if odd."

"I see. But I wished to speak of something else."

"What of?"

"Are you aware of Sauron, and Mordor?"

"As history lessons."

"It is more than history. He has returned, and I intend to destroy him."

"A good goal," he says, clearly thinking. "Sauron is the enemy of all free peoples."

"Yes. I have spoken with Gondor, and they have recognized the threat as well. They are preparing their army for attack. I have come to ask if you will join us."

He pauses. "We're not inherently opposed, but war is always a great undertaking. We will give our expertise and support, if nothing else; whether an army could be raised would depend on other factors."

She nods. "Of course. What questions you have, I will answer."

He has some about Mordor's forces, and if the dragons and Gondor have other allies - though he also notes part of the problem is Khazad-dum can only, alone, commit so large a force; a full mustering would require the Seven Kingdoms to all join an alliance, and the bulk of the dwarven armies lie in the Eastern Kingdoms.

He also has some suggestions - such as that the dwarves of Khazad-dum, even lacking a full muster, should be able to provide engineering support. Roads, siege weapons, field repairs, and the like. Some of the inventions that've been rolling out have military applications, too, even if indirectly, and it's possible the Elric sisters might be able to turn their minds to war. However, new weapons would need to be trained with, and anything that radically alters battlefields might best be introduced only with great consideration...

A question worth exploring, at least. The possibilities must be known to be considered.

Considering things at exhaustive length is, apparently, the point of having Councils.

Does she need to bring this before them herself, or will he be doing that?

"I'll start the Council session, though I'd like either a more thorough accounting or for you to be there to answer questions."

"I will attend as well, then."

"I'll try to get our young inventors in attendance for at least part of it, too."

"As efficient as ever."

"I'd rather minimize how many of these meetings we have to have."

She laughs. "One can hardly blame you."

He smiles, a bit.

He has a few more preliminary questions, but after notes he won't be able to really call a Council session for a non-urgent emergency before tomorrow, especially if they want everyone relevant in attendance (the representatives of the Seven Kingdoms, as well as most of the Ministers).