The next morning, Diligent pulled the same trick, except he told Grumpy he would be going with them that day. There was a lot to get to prepare for the festival, and they'd need to go again. Grumpy didn't fight, only shrugged and nodded.

"Okay then, Dilly," Grumpy said then stepped away from the coffee line into the food line.

This morning, everybody was buzzing about the treasures they had gained back from the hideout. There were some exquisite pieces in amongst them, and Grumpy appreciated the craft from a distance. Honesty was so very happy, and she proudly wore her mother's necklace.

"It's been in the dark for so long, and I want to wear it anyhow," Honesty said when several tried to talk her out of it. "Besides, I'll be here at the house. Now you all get on."

So they bundled up in their coats and hats and headed out into the snow. Grumpy walked with his brothers, listening to the conversations around them. He knew Diligent was watching, and he didn't want to provoke him. The walk was pleasant, and Folkheim came into view. Grumpy had never been to this town. It had too many Dwarfs for him to be comfortable after all Calida had told him growing up. She had never sent him to towns populated by Dwarfs anyway. At least he knew why now.

Grumpy's eyes automatically scanned the streets and buildings as Diligent handed out shopping lists. He spotted a thief watching them, and he flashed a sign. The thief looked surprised and made another sign. Grumpy nodded and gestured with his head. The thief disappeared.

Doc touched him, and he glanced over. "Eh?"

"We've got to get these supplies," Sneezy said, then sneezed and shivered. "Work your magic."

"Gotta talk to somebody first," Grumpy said. "This way."

He ducked into an alley and along a side street until the thief came into view again. One look at seven instead of one, and the thief tensed to flee.

"Hang on there, girlie," Grumpy said.

She froze. "How do you know?"

"They called me Ivan when I was in the guild. I've seen more girls like you than most ever would."

The girl stared at him then nodded. "I've heard stories. Good and bad."

"What are you doing here?"

"I'm with my brothers."

"Hungry?" Grumpy asked.

"Desperately," she said.

Grumpy didn't hesitate to pull out some money and hand it over. "Here. You have a warm place to stay?"

"Den's not so bad, but we're running out of supplies."

"Ain't no more comin', girlie. Best for you and your brothers to take the queen's offer and find a place workin' somewhere."

"I'd like that, but my brothers aren't so sure we can trust her."

Grumpy scanned her up and down. "I'll vouch for her myself. Now you go and get some food for you and your brothers. I might see you again."

"Thank you, Ivan," the girl said fervently.

"Name's Grumpy now."

The girl hesitated. "I'm Kristina."

Grumpy nodded and waved her away then turned to Doc. "Now, what are we after?"

Completely unfazed by their unexpected detour, his brothers brought him to the vendors and Grumpy began to haggle prices. Doc had been given enough coins to buy all they needed, and as they walked between shops, his brothers explained how they always lost the haggling game. Their cousins had much more practice and always ended up with more left over for treats. Grumpy took the challenge in hand and managed to get some of the best deals they had ever gotten. They finished and headed for the inn, and when they got there, Grumpy noticed Kristina with a young man sitting and eating at one of the tables, and she nodded at him.

"How'd you do this time, Lock, uh, Doc?" Belligerent teased, holding up Diligent's offspring's sack. "We've got ten left."

"Seven," one of Charming's sons groused then brightened. "How bad did you do?"

Grumpy smirked and stepped forward tossing a half-full bag of coins. "Not bad, but not good enough," he mocked.

There was a shocked silence then Grumpy's brothers burst into cheers. "We won, we won!" Sneezy hollered.

Belligerent looked at the bag then leaned over. "Did you pay for everything you got?" he sneered.

Grumpy crossed his arms. "Yep. Just better at gettin' a bargain."

"How's it going, Belligerent?" Diligent asked as he came in with Charming and her husband, Rationality.

"The thief probably stole half of what they got," Belligerent accused.

"No, he didn't," Diligent said absently.

"How can you be sure?" Belligerent demanded.

"Because Doc wouldn't have let him," Diligent said. "Now, let's get everything sorted and packed. If you're gonna, get somethin' for yourselves.

The two groups of cousins hurried out to do some personal shopping, but Grumpy took the money he'd saved for his brothers and poured a few coins into his hands. "Here. Get somethin'," he said, then turned and walked over to talk to Kristina.

Doc glanced around then nodded. Surely Diligent would behave in public. "Let's go."

Diligent sat down and began to sort through the supplies with Charming and Rationality as Doc and the others left. He kept one eye on Grumpy, and he noticed a man watching him from the corner. Diligent had a bad feeling, so he nudged Rationality.

"Come with me," he muttered.

Without arguing, Rationality followed Diligent to the corner. The man turned his eyes to Diligent, and he scowled. "What do you want, dirt-eater?"

"Why are you staring at that Dwarf?"

"You know Ivan?" The man suddenly looked intrigued.

"Ivan?" Rationality asked, adjusting his spectacles. "Oh no, that's Grumpy."

"No, that's Ivan. I grew up with him."

Diligent leaned forward. "Did you now? What can you tell me about him?"

"He's nothing but trouble."

"In what way?"

"In every way."

Diligent grew irritated. "Look, I don't want that Dwarf nowhere near my family. If you know anything about him, I want to know it."

"You kin to those brothers he hangs around with?" the man asked.

"Why?"

"Because if you are, I can tell you where that diamond pocket watch went. And all the others."

Rationality frowned, and he touched Diligent's shoulder. He didn't like this man. There was something volatile about him, and he wasn't sure that they could trust the information. But Diligent, upon hearing about the pocket watch his brother had made for Doc, sank his teeth in.

"Where?" Diligent demanded. "What happened?"

"Ivan stole them right out from under their noses and sold them to a black market dealer."

Diligent stood very still as he stared at the man. Then he turned and stormed right for Grumpy.

"Diligent!" Rationality shouted, and Grumpy glanced over to see his uncle approaching, thunder in his eyes. He looked over to Rationality and froze when he saw who was sitting at the table. Emil smirked and gave a little wave and a rude gesture. Rationality looked between Emil and Grumpy, then he began to run over, but Diligent had already reached Grumpy. He took his coat in his hands and yanked him forward until they were nose to nose.

"You did steal them, didn't you?" Diligent snarled.

Grumpy couldn't take his eyes off of Emil. His shoulder was on fire, his legs felt like jelly, and he couldn't reach his magic, so when Diligent shook him and demanded an answer, he nodded vaguely. There was a pause then the next thing Grumpy saw was a flash of painful light as Diligent punched him in the eye. Grumpy yelped and tried to twist away, but Diligent grabbed him and dragged him to the door.

"If you ever come near my family again, you will regret it," Diligent snarled in his ear, then he threw him into the snow. Grumpy stood there for a moment before a hand clamped on his shoulder.

"Let's go for a little walk, Ivan," Emil said, and he pushed him forward.

Where was Doc? Where were his brothers? He passed Belligerent and gave him a pleading look, but he turned away. So did the other cousins. He was on his own. Grumpy went numb, his heart thundering in his ears as Emil pushed him toward the forest. He knew Emil was going to kill him this time, and as Folkheim disappeared from view, all hope left him.

Diligent, meanwhile, was arguing with Rationality. "I don't care! He admitted it! I can't wait to tell Mama I was right about him."

"I'm not so sure you were, Rationality said. "That man specifically wanted to hurt him, and he had you do his dirty work."

"What are you talking about Rationality?" Diligent demanded.

The door to the inn burst open and Doc barreled in. "Where's Grumpy?!" he shrieked at the top of his lungs. The rest of his brothers came panting behind him.

"He's not here!" Doc wailed. Then he saw Diligent and ran over. "Where's Grumpy?" he demanded.

"Gone and not coming back," Diligent declared.

"Of course he's taught, um, thought, ah, not! He's going to die!" Doc screeched. "We have to find him now!"

With that, Doc turned and ran out of the silent inn. Bashful groaned. "I'll stay, you go," he said.

The rest of them ran out after Doc, and Bashful plodded over and sat down, placing his face in his hands. "I'm gonna ask this once, Uncle," he said, a strange note in his voice. "What did you do?"

Diligent rolled his eyes. "It don't matter. He'll never bother you again."

"He never bothered us to begin with!" Bashful snapped. "Now what happened?"

"There was a man that we approached who seemed to know Grumpy by another name," Rationality said. "Ivan?"

"That's what the humans called him," Bashful said. "But what happened?"

"That Dwarf punched him in the face," a woman said close by.

Bashful looked up to see Kristina standing there with her younger brother. "What then?"

"Emil followed him out."

All the color drained out of Bashful's face and he suddenly looked ill. "Not him," he groaned. "He really is gonna kill Grumpy." Diligent, Rationality, and Charming stiffened, but Bashful focused on Kristina. "Is there a den?"

"Yep."

"Take me there."

"For Ivan? Sure," Kristina said.

"Grumpy. He ain't Ivan no more," Bashful said sternly, hopping to his feet. "Come on. Quick. We gotta find them."

Bashful followed Kristina and her brother out of the inn, and Rationality gazed after them, scratching his head.

"Do you think that man is really going to kill Grumpy?" Charming asked uneasily.

"I hate to say it," Rationality said. "But yes, I think he will."

"That's none of our concern. He ain't kin," Diligent said.

He summoned the rest of the family and separated the supplies so that they could carry it all then headed back home. Rationality and Charming murmured together as Diligent marched forward, determined not to care for that thief.

When they got home, Rationality went to speak to Honesty, and the others shrugged out of their packs and set aside the supplies. Diligent went outside and took a deep breath to steady his nerves. Then he sniffed again. The air was filled with smoke. He turned automatically to look toward the forges that were nestled in the woods where humankind couldn't find them easily. Somebody was there all right, as smoke billowed into the sky. The only problem was that nobody was supposed to be there today. Narrowing his eyes, Diligent got another bad feeling.

"Belligerent, we have a problem," he said, coming in.

"What's that, Papa?" he asked absently.

"Somebody's at the forges."

Everybody looked up. "Ain't nobody supposed to be there today," Belligerent said.

"I know. We need to take care of it. Because I'm pretty sure it ain't a Dwarf."

Without a word, all of the male Dwarfs set everything down and bundled up again. Nobody was allowed at their forges, especially humans. They only caused trouble, and the townsfolk knew to stay away. That Emil fellow wasn't from Folkheim. But it was only because he was human that he was going after him, Diligent told himself. Not because he was worried that Grumpy was in trouble. Doc's terrified face and Bashful's sickly one swam in front of his mind's eye. He shook the images away, and they marched off toward the forges.