Andrew woke up before the other two. The sun had barely risen, but there was already a hum of activity. Most of the camp consisted of servants and guards who were necessary while the diplomatic parties traveled, but not as much during the meeting itself, which would be held in the palace. A few would be attending, but most had the day off, and they seemed to already be preparing to spend it on the local festivities.

  There were a few hours before the meeting was supposed to begin. Looked up and down the road, wondering if Henry and Emily would come to get the three of them before trying to interrogate Sheil, or if they would send someone. He’d been waiting since leaving the palace the previous day. His sleep had been restless. Now he was beginning to worry that the pair would try and interrogate her without any help. He hoped the Elven mage would only be able to feed them false information. But he wasn’t sure.

  No one came before Peter and Anna woke up themselves. Anna had dark rings under her eyes and her braid coming apart so Andrew was sure she hadn’t gotten much sleep either. Peter, though, was back to his normal, cheerful self, and he eagerly lead the group of them to the meal tent to get their breakfast. It wasn’t more than oatmeal sweetened with some local berries, but it was filling.

  “Alright,” Peter said, getting up from the table and stretching. “Imma go talk to Jarn. See you guys at the meeting in a few hours.”

  “I’ll go with you,” Andrew said. “Help you keep track of time.”

  “Oh, that’s alright,” Peter said, looking away. “We probably won’t chat for too long.”

  Andrew narrowed his eyes. “I’ll tag a long just to make sure you don’t lose track of time.” he repeated, rising.

  “No, that’s alright,” Peter said.

  “You’re not getting out of the meeting, Peter,” Andrew said.

  “I wasn’t—” Peter began.

  “You were,” Anna said, holding up her bracelet.

  “That… is not fair,” Peter said. In a considerably less cheerful mood, the pair of brothers left the camp. Jarnvaror was still lounging atop the great statue. Peter only talked to him for a few minutes, letting him know he would, in fact, be going to the meeting for most of the day. Jarnvaror replied that he would head off to hunt, and would probably sleep his kill off at the landing spot in the camp if they needed him. “I’ll let you know how the talking went when ever we make it out,” Peter said as they left the dragon.

  “It won’t be that bad,” Andrew said.

  Peter gave Andrew a sulky look. “It’s not like we’ll just be there to say ‘here’s what we’ve found out so far,’” Peter said. “This is going to be one of Lady Thalia’s lessons in courtesy, only for hours and hours. And now I don’t have anything fun to look forward to for when we’re done.”

  “That’s just how work… works,” Andrew said, shrugging.

  “Did you see the diplomat the Ryukyuujin king chose to send with Captain Yamada?” Peter asked. “He could teach Lady Thalia a thing or two about looking down his nose at people. And I remember Talitha’s attendants. Each of them is going to take a half hour speech just to introduce themselves and explain what’s going on in their countries, even though everyone knows by now it’s just the same everywhere.”

  Andrew shook his head, but didn’t say anything. The Ryukyuujin noble did seem a bit self absorbed, and he had no doubt courtesy as the nobles described it would make the event take longer than if everyone just spoke plainly. Half hour speeches seemed unlikely, but still. So long as they found a way to handle the Wisps safely, he didn’t mind that much.

  They met up with Anna at the entrance to the Palace. “Did the king or queen ever come?” Andrew asked.

  Anna shook her head, frowning. “No,” she said. “I hope they didn’t try interrogating Sheil on their own.” None of them were willing to bring the plan up with anyone else, though. So they made their way to the hall where the meeting would be held.

  The hall was wide, with a low ceiling and light streaming in from a row of tall windows at the back. A large, round table had been set up for the diplomats and royals to gather at. Henry and Emily, as the official hosts, took seats opposite the windows, where the head would have been on an ordinary table. To their right sat the Daniel and the Thornwoods, and to their left was their mother and Sol. The pair or royals seemed to be their usual selves, which Andrew took as a sign they hadn’t tried anything yet.

  The three of them were sat down to Sol’s left, starting with Anna, followed by Andrew, then Peter. On Peter’s left sat one of Captain Yamada’s lieutenants, followed by the captain himself, and then various other officials. The man in the center of their group was tall, with sleek black hair and a thin mustache and beard. A golden insignia pinned to his collar marked him as the leader of the Party.

  Each of the groups followed that same pattern, with the most significant figure or figures in the center of the group. Thus, off to Daniel’s right, past a few other Grealish officials Daniel didn’t know, Talitha sat flanked on both sides by her advisors. The only unfilled seat was the one opposite Henry and Emily. Four Nordarin’s sat flanking the seat, dressed far more formally than Andrew could imagine their warrior prince. Lief was, naturally, absent.

  There was a low murmur as the attendants talked with members of their own parties. It lasted for several minutes as members of the castle staff served sweet wine or fresh cider to those at the table. A few others brought around trays of little pastries with cheese and jam. Andrew wondered if any of the attendants had skipped breakfast. Hardly any of them accepted much of the food though. Henry did, and Peter followed suite, taking more than Andrew thought would be polite. He caught looks from the Ryukyuujin that seemed to confirm this. But no one commented aloud.

  Finally, Daniel rose from his seat and waited for the conversation to die down. He bowed to the table at large, and said, “Welcome, everyone. This is a momentous occasion. It is the first time in nearly two hundred years that leaders of all four of our nations have been gathered in one place. In that time, it was as enemies. However, our fervent wish is to be united together in common cause, that we may solve the issue before us peacefully, and to the good of all.”

  Andrew didn’t need either to look at his brother, nor have the powers of the Wisps to know Peter was seething. Daniel continued for several minutes, elaborating on the significance of their meeting. Anna was listening with a lot more interest, and Andrew wondered if she’d known about some of the historical facts Daniel was mentioning. He hadn’t. It hadn’t occurred to him how often the four nations fought one another over the centuries, how their alliances and borders had changed.

  Still, as Daniel went on, it seemed to Andrew like he was taking a very long time, and a lot of words just to say “it’s really impressive we’re all here right now and not fighting. Let’s keep it that way.”

  After another few minutes, he made another bow to the royal figures, then took his seat. The man sitting to Queen Talitha’s right rose a moment later. He was tall, with ornate robes that made him look bulkier than he was, and close cropped hair that still grew in tight curls. It took a moment for Andrew to recognize him as one of the advisors Talitha had had when they met her in Selasem. It took him a moment longer to recall the name Mado.

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  Mado imitated Daniel’s bow. “Thank you, Chancelor,” he said. “It falls to me, then to describe for us the purpose of our historic gathering. As I am sure it is now clear, nations such as ourselves do not gather without cause. Now is no different. Each of us have faced, in different places, and perhaps different ways, Wisps interfering with the lives of people. Many of these have been in the hands of bandits, of pirates, of robbers, and of rebels. Others swarm out of the wilds. It is our duty to put an end to this across the continent.”

  Andrew glanced at Peter, sure his brother wouldn’t be able to contain his frustration. He could tell Peter was making a valiant effort not to interrupt. “We already know the blasted reason,” Peter hissed, keeping his voice low enough that only Andrew could hear.

  He wasn’t the only one frustrated, though. The Nordarins seemed even less patient. Andrew couldn’t catch their mutterings, but he wouldn’t be surprised if they were saying exactly the same thing Peter had. None of them made their comments while Mado was looking their way, but the Selasi advisor seemed to get the picture.

  He cleared his throat and concluded, “Our goal is to work together to discover a method for dealing with any incident involving the Wisps. Whether they are related to these… Wisp Stealers, or not.” Mado nodded and sat back down.

  Andrew was sure the meeting proper was about to begin when the Ryukyuujin diplomat rose to his feet. It seemed each of the parties was to make an opening address. Andrew had to look past Peter to attend to the diplomat. For most of the opening speech, which was hardly more than a rehash of Daniel’s, Peter gave Andrew a look of utter frustration. All Andrew could do in response was shrug, and nod for Peter to pay more attention.

  Unlike his Selasi counterpart, though, the Ryukyuujin official either did not notice or did not care that his audience was not interested in the speech. King Henry made no effort to hide his distraction as he propped his chin up and staired out the windows. One of the Nordarin’s audibly groaned when the official was several minutes in. The diplomat didn’t react. He continued speaking for another few minutes, then sat back down.

  One of the Nordarins rose, then. Peter looked like he was holding back a scream. But the man tapped his knuckles on the table, looked around for a moment in silence, then said. “We’re hear to solve a problem, aren’t we? Let’s get started.”

  “Thank you!” Peter said. A few of the officials gave him a dirty look, but the Nordarins just gave him a curt nod and sat back down.

  “Beginning sounds like a wonderful idea,” Sol said. The Elf folded his hands and leaned forward. “Perhaps we should start with some of the discoveries of our Wisp Seekers, who brought us all together.”

  “Have they discovered more about the Wisp Stealers?” Mado asked. “Our prisoner was not the most cooperative.”

  The table turned to look to Andrew and the others. For a moment, he felt frozen. He straightened his back, opened his mouth, and managed a few words. “Our focus has usually been on dealing with any issue as it arises. We’ve encountered the Wisp Stealers, but we haven’t been able to investigate them ourselves.”

  He was disappointed he couldn’t say more. But the other officials seemed satisfied by the response. Daniel nodded, and took over. “Our investigation into the Wisp Stealers has told us very little. We know an old outlaw of ours who we had presumed dead is a member of the organization. Perhaps its leader. But we don’t know who else is a part of it or what their motivations are. When Sheil was captured, the rest of the trail went cold.”

  “Sheil is the Elven mage who dealt with the Wisps themselves, yes?” the Ryukyuujin diplomat asked. “So then both of the known members are Grealish outlaws?”

  Daniel nodded. “They are. And?”

  “I merely wish to confirm,” the man said.

  “It is interesting that all matters involving the Wisps seem to be coming out of your lands,” Mado said. “The Stealers and the Seekers, both. Andrew frowned. He got the sense there was a veiled accusation in those words. He thought it might have been present in the Ryukyuujin’s comment as well. Then he caught Talitha watching him, and he wondered if she agreed with her subordinate.   Sol nodded. “Yes. They seem to thrive off chaos. They foment rebellion and support banditry. We want to see them dealt with as much as anyone in this room. Unfortunately, we have had great issues tracking them down.” The Elf swept his gaze around the room, his expression friendly. The others waited for him to continue. He looked to the Nordarin. “I believe, however, that the outlaw, Zech, approached your people directly. Would you care to tell us about that?”

  One of the Nordarins, a stocky man with ruddy brown hair and a neatly trimmed beard, nodded. “I believe Prince Lief has explained this to some of you, but in case he left out details, here is what happened. About a year and a half ago, now, a man calling himself Zech came to the palace on Styorhown to speak with our king. I was there myself. He was a condescending git, but obviously a talented mage.”

  “He reminded us of our history with the continent, pointing out our blood relations to several of the peoples and races in Grealand specifically. Said some friends of his, some apparent relatives of ours, were trying to right a wrong and thought we were duty bound to help.” The man paused, glared at the different people at the table, then insisted, “He was no more specific than that, I assure you. We didn’t trust him.”

  “We did appreciate the fact that he personally didn’t seem to think such ties still held. Or maybe he didn’t believe Kin to be all that important. Either way, he offered payment for helping in his friends’ ‘cause’ in the form of weapons imbued with Wisps and spells that bound the Wisps to keep them from affecting our people.”

  “What exactly did he and his friends want you to do?” Queen Talitha asked.

  The Nordarin nodded to her and said, “In his own words, ‘Stir up the coasts. Make sure no one rests, and that the attention of everyone is drawn back and forth from one place to another, unable to assess anything anywhere else.’”

  Andrew felt the mood shift at the table. “And there was no mention of what this cause of theirs actually is?” the Selasi queen asked. The Nordarin spokesman shook his head.

  “The last time Zech did anything, he inflicted the country with plague,” King Henry said, his face scrunched in a snarl. “His cause doesn’t matter. We just need to find him.”

  Andrew turned to when he heard Captain Yamada’s voice. “I agree,” said the old soldier. “The question is how.”

  “And I’m afraid our northern neighbors have not given us much aide on that,” the diplomat sitting next to him added. Yamada gave the man a sour look, but didn’t say anything. The Nordarin’s only shrugged.

  “So then,” Talitha broke in. “We know the name of this mage, and I presume we have a description as well. Has a bounty been put out? We in Selasem would gladly help in the search on that, at least.”

  “It has,” Daniel said. “Posters with his name and image have been put up in the cities throughout Grealand. We’re happy to provide you with some for your own copyists to work with.”

  “That’s a good start,” said the Ryukyuujin diplomat. “But if that’s all we have, I’m afraid there’s not much point to meeting like this.”

  “At least we’re proposing actual solutions,” mumbled Mado across the table. “I’ve heard nothing of substance from your quarter.”

  “That’s enough, Mado,” Talitha said.

  Still, from that point, the conversation seemed to break down. Members of the different factions would agree on the basic problems, but there didn’t seem to be any solid proposals from any side. Comments pointing out the indecisiveness were met with condescension or hostility, and each break took longer to restore than the previous.

  “Perhaps we should all go and clear our heads for a few minutes,” Sol suggested after nearly another hour. “A walk and some fresh air do wonders for the mind.”

  The others agreed. As Andrew, Anna, and Peter made their way away from most of the group, Peter groaned. “That was pointless!”

  “I don’t understand why they didn’t begin by bringing Sheil out to interrogate her,” Anna said.

  “Maybe Henry and Emily have forbidden it,” Andrew suggested. “They weren’t able to get to her privately yet.”

  Anna shook her head. “They barely talked about the Wisps themselves,” she said. “The real solution is helping them.”

  “Kind of hard to help them while some are still with the Whisp Stealers,” Andrew pointed out. Anna nodded, conceding the point.

  “But they never called on us!” Peter said. “Or on Jermey and Hannah, for that matter,” he added. “It didn’t matter at all that we were here.”

  “Perhapse we should bring it up ourselves,” Anna said. “If they knew what the Wisps are, they might be more willing to search for a solution.”

  “Possibly,” Andrew agreed.

  “Great!” Peter said. “You guys don’t need me for that. You know, there might still be time for me to go join in the Martial Tournament.”

  “I doubt it, after how long we were in there,” Anna said.

  “I’d feel better if you were there with us anyway,” Andrew said.

  “You just want me to suffer,” Peter moaned.

  “You’re being immature,” Andrew said. “And no. I think your voice supporting us, however little you need to use it, helps when we do talk.” Peter groaned, but made no other reply.