Thank you, your majesty. Do you know if they're inclined to work against the Enemy?

As far as I can tell they are not altruistically inclined at all and have some self-interest in his destruction and regard the whole thing as a collective action problem.

That's actually pretty encouraging, if it means they think there are things they could usefully do.

You are welcome to discuss it with them. They're a very odd people.

It would be stranger still if everyone were similar enough to seem normal.

Go with our hopes for future cooperation, Amber first of Men.

She does. For a realistic definition of "future."

Well, that went about as well as could be expected.

Powerful, not awful, pretty useless. Maitimo's information was pretty good for him not having known Dwarves existed.

They did at least agree to send non-weaponizable supplies.

But yeah, I'd say Maitimo was uncannily well informed except that it's par for the course with him. Even if he had a way of spying on us, surely he doesn't have one of spying here?

(She feels the ring in her pocket. Off her finger as soon as it was clear that the invisible people weren't about to shoot, and currently wrapped in a sphere of liquid water rushing with tiny but quick currents to provide random noise. Just in case.)

It's not literally impossible that he can actually read peoples' private thoughts or something, but I'm guessing the palantiri have lots of capabilities my cousins didn't mention. 

If it were that–and if they could reach through the headache field, I guess–he could easily claim to have heard there were Dwarves the same way he heard about the isolationism. Wouldn't have given anything away. I think he really didn't know. So if it's the palantiri at least Elwe won't have to worry he's being constantly spied on.

Assuming he didn't have some reason not to mention Dwarves, of course.

Right. I can't imagine what that would be, but maybe something screamingly obvious will appear when we meet them.

Yeah. I'm used to guessing Maitimo's aims from whatever results, but there's enough in play I don't think that really works anymore.

Which in a way, is great! It means there's more going on than whatever Maitimo wants, and it's in principle possible to compete with him. Low bar, but still.

For now, Dwarves?

Dwarves! And dunno, 'whatever Maitimo wants' was clearly 'an empire in which he wields absolute power' but it'd probably be much nicer than the current situation. 

Yeah, having it be 'Maitimo and the Enemy, with competing plots' is strictly worse.

...I just realized, the local language probably didn't mean local on a scale of planets. Do you speak any Thindarin?

No. We've been here, like, three weeks.

Yeah, me neither. There's the phrase books from the Feanorians, but Findekáno has those.

I guess that means we're filtering everything through someone from Doriath.

Yeah. Should have thought about that. I'd say it's a shame we don't have the cousins along, but, um, no.

Yeah, no. Let's just leave it at bad luck that the telepathy isn't perfect, no need to regret that one.

So, anyone want to volunteer? Judging by how interesting they apparently were earlier they might not even need to ask the king to recommend someone.

Everyone's lip curls slightly at 'Dwarves' but they get a volunteer easily enough.

Everyone? Hooray for difference of opinion, or not.

Dwarves!

It's completely dark. The Elves are fine; Amber's not.

Do you think it would be impolite to come back with torches?

Probably not a question the Elves of Doriath have had to wonder about, but if everything's extremely flammable then it might be known anyway.