“For a price,” said Thrang, nodding.
“One hundred gold coins each,” Thorson said. “I told Fivra if he would save half the money, I’d give him the other half, but I don’t think he has two coins to rub together.”
“But he still wants to go, and he still wants you to pay for it,” said Thrang, nodding once more.
“He says he’ll go if I pay or not,” said Thorson in a slightly worried tone. “Has his mind made up, and you know how stubborn he is.”
“Even if he gets to Vargland, there’s no promise the oracle will talk to him,” said Thrang, glancing quickly at Alex.
“No, there’s not,” said Thorson. “But I refuse to pay the entire price, and now he’s off sulking about it somewhere.”
“He always was a bit of a sulker,” Thrang said.
“And he’s never been any good with money,” Thorson added. “He’s got it in his mind that he’ll be an adventurer, like you and Halfdan. Seems to think adventures are an easy way to get rich quick.”
“I’ve told him a hundred times that being an adventurer is hard work,” said Thrang, shaking his head. “Even if he goes to Vargland, and even if the oracle speaks to him, odds are he won’t be chosen as an adventurer.”
“I know,” said Thorson, shaking his head as well. “I’ve tried to explain it to him, but he won’t listen. Now, with you and your friends here, I know he’ll be more determined than ever to go.”
“Perhaps we could talk to him,” offered Arconn. “We could tell him how hard adventures can be.”
“A kind gesture,” said Thrang, smiling at Arconn. “It might not hurt, but I hate to bring you all into family matters.”
“It is the least we can do,” said Nellus.
“But he mustn’t think we put you up to it,” Thorson warned. “If the subject comes up naturally, fine, but don’t bring it up.”
They all agreed, and Thorson thanked each of them individually. Just then, the midday meal arrived, and they were soon eating and talking about other things.
“So, an adventure in Thraxon,” Thorson said, glancing at Thrang. “Can you tell me anything about it?”
“You know I can’t,” said Thrang with half a smile. “But there is something you can help us with.”
“Anything, anything at all,” said Thorson.
“My friend, Alex, is carrying a lost bag. We need to find the heir and arrange for the bag’s return.”
“Do you know the heir’s name?” Thorson asked Alex.
“Haymar Glynn,” said Alex, pushing his plate away and leaning back in his chair. “The bag maker in Telous gave me the name.”
“Haymar Glynn,” Thorson repeated. “Yes, I think I know him. Nice fellow. I’ll send word this afternoon that you wish to speak with him.”
“Excellent,” said Thrang. “With any luck, we can take care of this task and be on our way. Oh, yes, I should ask one other thing.”
“Just the one?” said Thorson with a laugh.
“We need information about the Lost Mountains,” said Thrang. “Anything will be helpful, but we don’t want every dwarf in the city knowing that we’re going there.”
“Yes, of course,” said Thorson, looking more serious. “I’ll see what I can find out. Make it sound like business of my own, if that’s all right.”
“That would be wonderful,” said Thrang.
Later that afternoon, Alex was sitting in the garden talking with Kat and Arconn when Thrang and Thorson came looking for him.
“We’ve run into a bit of a problem,” said Thrang, a troubled look on his face. “It seems there is some dispute about the bag you want to return to Haymar Glynn.”
“What kind of dispute?” Alex questioned.
“Haymar’s half brother, Halbrek, is disputing Haymar’s claim as heir,” said Thorson. “He claims that their father was going to change his will and name him heir to his bag, but he died before he had the chance.”
“The bag maker gave me Haymar’s name,” said Alex. “As far as I know, Haymar is the heir and should receive the bag. If his half-brother wants to make a claim, he’ll have to do it some other way.”
“It’s not as simple as that,” said Thrang as he took a seat. “Halbrek has made a public claim, and now the claim has to be settled before you can return the bag. It’s a very old dwarf law, and I don’t think anyone has tried to enforce it for several hundred years.”
“Who decides the dispute?” Alex asked, looking from Thrang to Thorson.
“Well, there are two ways,” Thrang began. “The king can hear both sides of the story and then make a ruling, but that might take months, or even years.”
“And there’s no way to know if the king will choose the true heir or not,” Thorson added. “There is always a chance he might make a mistake.”
“Or that he or one of the officials hearing the claims will accept a bribe,” said Thrang in a troubled voice.
“And the second way?” Alex questioned, afraid that he already knew the answer.
“As a wizard, and the bag holder, youcan decide who the true heir is,” said Thorson, smiling weakly.
“How would I do that?” Alex asked.
“The ceremony to return the bag would be much the same as you’ve done before,” said Thrang quickly. “However, in this case, both Haymar and Halbrek would come forward to claim the bag. The simplest way would be to have them both tell you the passwords to the bag, and if they’re different, the one with the correct passwords would be the true heir.”
“And if they both know the correct passwords?” Alex questioned, feeling that he’d rather have the king resolve the dispute.
“Then you’ll have to come up with your own test,” Thorson answered.
“Oh,” said Alex, looking down at the ground. “What kind of test could I use?”
Thrang shrugged. “This law is very old, and there have been only a few cases like this in our history. Perhaps there is some magical way to find out who the owner of the bag wanted to be his heir.”
“There might be,” said Alex, not looking up. “Or I could use magic to force both Haymar and Halbrek to tell the truth. But, of course, if they both believe what they’re saying is the truth, that magic is useless.”
“It will be a difficult task, that is for sure,” Thorson agreed. “However, both Haymar and Halbrek have asked to speak with you. Perhaps you can find the truth some other way.”
“Did they both want to talk to me at the same time?” Alex asked.
“No, they each requested to speak to you alone,” said Thorson. “No doubt they each want to press their own case with you, hoping that you will decide in their favor.”
“When do they want to see me?” Alex asked, feeling a weight settle in his stomach.
“Haymar said he will come whenever you ask him to,” said Thorson. “Halbrek insisted on seeing you only after you have spoken to Haymar.”
“Very well,” Alex agreed reluctantly. “Ask Haymar to come tonight, and Halbrek can come tomorrow morning. I will listen to what they both have to say and see if I can find a solution to their dispute.”
“It will be as you request,” said Thorson with a bow.
“There must be some way to find out who’s telling the truth,” said Thrang after Thorson had gone.
“They both must believe what they’re saying is true or else they wouldn’t have invoked the ancient dwarf law,” Kat pointed out.
“That’s true,” Thrang agreed. “But even if they both believe in their claims, they are taking a huge risk. The one you decide against will lose a great deal of honor.”
“Yet Haymar’s claim is already the stronger,” said Alex thoughtfully. “His name was given as the heir.”
“What appears to be true is not always true,” Arconn said in a thoughtful tone.
Alex nodded but didn’t say anything more. He wasn’t happy about the turn of events. He thought that returning the lost bag would be a simple task and a happy event. Now he feared that returning the lost bag might tear a family apart. He wondered if perhaps he should refuse both Haymar and Halbrek, at least until they agreed on who the true heir should be.