Heather Ale

The father told a lie for his son, he afraid, the boy will hurt by King and wanted a quick death for him. It was a strange decision, because he would save them, having told the secret of Ale. In a view of they were a last of the dwarfish folk, the King could give them a job for brewing Ale according to their recipe. Maybe the author wanted to show the readers that a "honest" death is better than to live without heroism. Such a strange love for the folk's traditions.