Chapter Forty
Justin stood for a long moment staring down at Fred. There was a question resting at the edge of his mind that he couldn't quite put his finger on. As he thought back over their interaction, it finally hit him. "I thought Fred knew how to speak the language of humans. Why was our whole conversation done in Gnomish?"
Sigmund smiled and gestured toward the stoic gnome. "It took me many weeks to secure his trust enough for him to be willing to learn any of my language. He would not so easily speak it to someone he has just met. He must trust you first."
It made sense, but Justin wished he already had the type of relationship that Sigmund had with the gnome. Still, there was no better time to start building it than now. "How do I start talking to Fred about helping us build the unicorn enclosures?"
Sigmund stepped up beside Justin and placed his hand on Justin's shoulder. "This conversation will need to be handled delicately. I think it might be best if you explain exactly what needs to happen, and I will convey it to our friend here. A situation of this importance does not need to be messed up, even if it is unintentional."
As much as he knew Sigmund was right, Justin still felt frustration course through him at not being in the very center of the conversation with an actual gnome. But if he pushed to be the one to talk to him and he turned Fred off from helping, he would never be able to look at Maggie again. His growing friendship with her was more important than striking a bargain with a gnome.
"Very well. What you will need to convey to Fred is the critical need we have for his and his friends' help in building the unicorn enclosures. We can not use magic in the making of them, or the unicorns will be tipped off and won't do what we need them to do, which is mate. If Fred can secure not only his help but enough help from his fellow gnomes to get the job done within 3 days or so, then we will present each of the gnomes who work their very own gemstone."
Looking over at Art and the others, Justin was waiting for their confirmation or denial that what he said was right. When all 5 people nodded in agreement, Sigmund knelt before Fred and spoke quietly so only the gnome could hear. Justin had a moment of fear that Sigmund was working to trick Fred or backstab his brother in some way, and by not speaking loudly, the group would not be able to hear his deceit. However, Justin realized that even if that were the case no one would be able to know if he were speaking normally sense no one in the room, but Sigmund could speak gnome.
It all came down to whether or not Art really did trust his twin brother. From the look of peace on his face, it appeared that Art supported and trusted Art completely. Justin had no other choice but to do the same.
The conversation seemed to take half an hour, but Justin was sure that it was only his nerves that made it seem that long. He kept his eyes moving between Fred and Sigmund, hoping to notice any expressions that he could recognize to gauge where the conversation was going, but both parties kept their emotions masked. He wasn't sure whether that was just how they normally talked to each other or if they were deliberately trying to play their cards close to their chests.
Finally, Sigmund stood up and turned to face his brother. They shared a long look that was indecipherable to Justin. When Art and Sigmund faced him, they were both smiling, although their eyes looked a bit weary. "Well, what did he say? Did he agree to get his friends to help us?"
Sigmund and Art nodded once in unison. Justin was about to whoop in excitement, but Sigmund held up a hand. "He has agreed to get his friends to help us, but he says they will not do it unless they have 2 gemstones. They want one for each hand that will be working for us."
Justin thought that was very specific, but he also knew that the gnomes had them over a barrel. "How many gnomes will he need to get to help us in order to be done in 3 days? And could we take longer to get it done if we needed to use fewer gnomes?" Justin addressed this question to Sigmund, but Art answered. "3 days is the longest we can wait to get the work done. The king is being very patient with us on solving the unicorn problem, but soon his patience will wear out. The longer we take to finish the enclosure, the longer it will take for the unicorns to feel comfortable enough to mate. Ultimately, that means his wife and daughter will be sick that much longer. No, we need to complete the enclosures as soon as possible.
But to get 2 enclosures done in 3 days, the size that they will need to be, we will need 15 gnomes for each enclosure. So we will need 30 gnomes working together to get it done. If each gnome gets 2 gemstones, then you will need to take 60 gemstones from the dragon without him realizing they are gone. That, I am afraid, might be an impossibility."
Justin needed a moment to gather his thoughts. While he did, he looked at each person in the room for a long heartbeat. He could see the weight of this situation hanging around their necks. No more so than Maggie. Her mother and sister were the ones who were sick. As his eyes locked with hers, he knew that he would steal 10 times the number of gemstones needed if it meant helping her. The strength of his convictions startled him, but on closer inspection, he couldn't deny their truth.
Looking at Art and then at Sigmund, he nodded towards Fred and smiled. "Sigmund, please tell our friend that we would be grateful for him and 29 of his friends to help us build the unicorn enclosure. Assure him that everyone will be paid what he has asked for."