The Dwarf Great Elder sat upright in his stone chair, his deep gaze sweeping over the four dwarves before him.
After a moment of silence, he slowly spoke, his voice low and authoritative. "Did you make a deal with the outsiders?"
The four tensed up and exchanged slightly panicked looks.
Dialo hurriedly waved his hands. "There was no deal! Great Elder, we only drank their rum."
"You drank someone else's liquor, then voluntarily helped them with something?" The Great Elder narrowed his eyes slightly, his voice carrying an unquestionable challenge. "Is that not a deal?"
Toman scratched his head and explained somewhat awkwardly, "Great Elder, we dwarves keep our promises. Since we enjoyed the outsiders' liquor, we had to ask whether they needed anything. They said they wanted to meet more dwarves and asked us to pass along a message."
"Oh?" The Great Elder nodded lightly, his gaze sharpening. "Did you ask why they insisted on meeting dwarves?"
"They were looking for elves," Dialo added. "But we told them that we dwarves hadn't seen elves in a long time. So they asked whether other dwarves might know something."
"If they only wanted information, why didn't they leave directly? And why did they ask you to deliver a message?" The Great Elder lightly tapped the armrest of his stone chair with the metal scepter in his hand, his eyes unfathomable.
"Uh..." Toman hesitated before quietly saying, "They said that if we didn't help, we would have to repay the rum we drank with our own belongings..."
"Yes, Great Elder! They were only joking, but to avoid trouble, we still asked what they wanted." Another dwarf hurriedly added.
The Great Elder pondered for a moment, then asked, "How are that Minotaur and human related to the elf?"
Dialo thought carefully before saying,