"I know you're here somewhere," Hannah heard Ab dal'an say. "Don't worry- I'm alone."

Slowly, Hannah climbed down from the rafters of the kitchen, where she had been hiding.

"How did it go?"

"I, uh, didn't get a chance. There's someone here to see you."

"Who?"

"I don't know. He didn't give a name."

"What does he look like?"

"Not sure there either. Short. I couldn't see his face. He had some sort of keffiyah on."

"Was he, by chance, wearing green?"

"I think so... It might have been brown though... or grey..."

Hannah grinned. "Lead the way."

Ab dal'an led her through the passageways, leading up from the kitchen and into the main hall. Hannah expected him to turn and go up the stairs leading to the throne room, where Selethen greeted guests. Instead, he led her towards the guard tower. They climbed up the stairs to the top of the drawbridge, and Ab dal'an gestured for her to look down. In front of the bridge, a short man in a cowled cloak stood talking to the Emrikir.

"Crowley!" Hannah called down.

"Oh, hi!" he called to her. Then he glanced behind him. "Oh, where are my manners! I forgot to introduce the rest of the party!"

As he said that, men seemed to materialize out of thin air. Some came from the village, some from the dunes, others seemingly from the earth itself. They were all wearing green, and Hannah recognized every single one of them.

"I thought the saying was one riot, one ranger!" she called.

"Yes, well, we already had one ranger at this riot. Generally, when a problem is too big for one ranger, it takes the other 49 to get the job done."

"Where did you all come from?" Selethen asked, trying desperately to control his surprise.

"Araluen!" Crowley answered cheerfully. "If you would sign this, please, we'll be on our way back."

Scanning the document, Selethen nodded, obviously not trusting himself to speak.

"Looks like I might not need to say anything to him after all," Ab dal'an said quietly.

"No, I don't think you will. Good old Crowley," Hannah smiled.

"What are you doing up there?" Crowley called. "Get your horse! We need to be getting back! The couriers are quite competent, but I don't want to leave them in charge of national security for too long!"

The full volume of Crowley's words finally sunk in, and Selethen opened his mouth to protest. "Wait a moment. I don't think-"

"You're not ready to think," came a gruff voice from behind Crowley.

"I never-"

"Agreed to this? Yes you did!" Crowley said, waving the paper in front of him. "You signed it!"

"That was a trade agreement! You made me agree to never cut diplomatic relations or cease coffee trade with Araluen." Hannah laughed. Of course coffee would have been on the rangers' minds when writing that agreement.

"Oh! My bad! Come on, Halt, you should have said something! Your honor, I forgot to have you read the front!"

Selethen took the paper and began reading it, more carefully this time. Hannah saw his expression getting more and more desperate the further he got.

"I believe you will find it is legally binding and free of holes," said a woman's voice. Hannah glanced over to see Alyss Mainwaring riding out from behind a sand dune, wearing the robes of a courier. "After all, George and Nigel never wrote anything that wasn't."

"Well, I'm glad we're in agreement," Crowley said enthusiastically, rubbing his hand together. "I'll help our youngest Ranger get packed up!"