Song of Corruption Chapter 2

The antechamber was a small room illuminated by several oil lamps. The windows were all shuttered and locked to prevent prying eyes from catching even the slightest glimpse of the meeting about to take place. The walls were white, though looked pale yellow and orange with the glow of the fires cast on them. The marble floors were well polished, reflecting the images of the two dozen people, furniture, and fires. In the center of the room were two long oak tables pushed together and oak chairs with velvet red padding on the seat and back.

At each chair of the first table sat the representatives of the twelve nations of Mosskel. At the head of the table sat an empty seat with the two orc leaders at either side. Following the orcs were three human leaders, including James’ father. Beside them were the two Halfling leaders, followed by the three dwarven leaders. At the far end of the table were the elven leaders.

This was James’ first time seeing a Halfling or a dwarf. Dwarves were short in stature, with long wiry beards and dark hair. Their skin was almost a pale olive color and no matter how hard they had tried (if they had even tried) they could not get the dirt and stone from under their finger nails. Dwarves had an affinity for the mountains and underground. Most of them lived in caves, tinkering away at creating beautiful armors and shields.

Halflings were even shorter than the dwarves were. They were well known for their skills in farming and animal rearing. They were easily mistaken for human children by most races. The orcs somehow could always tell the difference between a human child and a Halfling though, which usually kept the peace between the two races.

The elves were a tall bunch, rivaling if not surpassing the orcs. They had fairer, pale skin and light shades of hair. Their ears were elongated and pointed, adapted to living in the quiet of the forest. They were some of the best marksmen and hunters in the known world, but had an affinity for the arts. By far they crafted the best jewelry and tapestries out of all the races. It helped they had access to higher quality material and the know how to make said material though. The materials alone supported the elven nation monetary wise.

Mimicking the same pattern on the second table were the heirs of the kingdoms, the prince or princess of each nation. Everyone in the room looked anxious and wary of their neighbors. They all had an opportunity to eliminate the leaders of their rival nations right now, and there was no telling if someone was bold enough to act on this fact. Many watched the orcs warily, expecting them to be the ones who would betray the rest to throw nations into chaos for their opportunity to swoop in and eliminate an entire kingdom.

James glanced at each person individually until his gaze landed on his cousin’s pale face. Elemir smiled at the sight of James and began to wave him over. Before he could move though, the orc who had picked him up brushed past him, flashing a soft smile as he moved swiftly to the head of the leader’s table. James exhaled slowly and took his seat next to Elemir.

Elemir was smaller than James with a thin wiry frame. His brown hair was kept cut back in a short and neat bowl cut. His face was littered with freckles that stood out on his pale skin. Though small and weak looking, he made up for it with the intelligence that reflected in his deep blue eyes. He was certainly not what any woman would call handsome, but many called him cute like a puppy or mouse.

Before Elemir could say anything to his cousin, the hushed chatter in the room was silenced by the pounding of a gavel against the table. The orc at the head of the table stood up and glanced down the rows with a sincere smile on his face. He cleared his throat and pushed his seat in, leaning on it to contain the excitement that was plastered all over his face.

The orc’s black hair was tied back in a rat’s tail, but hardly looked clean. Stray hairs still dangled into his dark face and stuck out every which way, illuminated by the light burning behind him. He dressed casually for a governor with only a white sea farer’s tunic and brown leather pants. He stood nearly six and a half feet tall with the sturdy build of a sailor. When he spoke his voice boomed like thunder in the silence, penetrating the sound of the rain beating on the roof.

“My friends, welcome to my home. Many of you know me, but the young ones in the back may not. My name is Gen’Kar, master of Risv Castle and governor of Risv. You have been summoned here today for a unique opportunity!” Gen’kar scanned the room with dark hazel eyes, the excitement spreading to the smile on his face.

“In our sea travels we have found a new continent further to the west. This continent holds creatures like we have only seen in our dreams and nightmares. Before our ships could land though, our fleet encountered a monstrous beast. A leviathan rose from the depths and easily cut through half of our fleet. Our cannon fire didn’t even dent the scales on its backside. We managed to break through this creature’s assault and land several blows to its belly. We slew the beast and lost many brave men in the process.”

He paused to let the news settle in to his audience. There were murmurs half heard of the governor going mad or smoking a little too much opium. He unnerved them more when they saw the smile on his face. It was the smile of a cat that had cornered its mouse and was now just toying with it. One of the other orc leaders stood and slammed his hands on the table, causing most of the men at the table to jump and scoot away some. “Nonsense, Gen’kar. Such beasts only exist in fairy tales and the dreams of opium addicts. Should we relieve you of your duty as governor?”

Gen’kar’s eyes lit up at the challenge. “I’m so glad you decided to speak up about this cousin.” Gen’kar snapped his fingers and yelled to his servants. “Bring it in!” The large wooden door slammed open. Everyone turned to face the door, watching four burly orc men bring in what appeared to be a large plate the size of a toddler. No one could get a decent enough look at it with its bearers in the way.

The large plate was placed on a table in the corner of the room. Several more lamps were hung up to allow a better view of the object. “Come, see the scale of the beast. Once it was down and towed to shore we managed to carve several from its flesh. It was hard work, but well worth the reward.”

One by one, men stood and walked over to inspect the scale. It was slightly curved with deep grooves etched into the convex top. Reds and purples flecked the pale blue-green surface. It was smooth as glass, reflecting the dancing flames of the lamps onto the walls in dazzling specks of light as water would. One of the dwarves cried out “This is nothin’ but a fancy crafted plate!” He brought his fist down onto the center of the scale, intended on shattering it and disproving Gen’kar’s claims.

As soon as the dwarf’s fist hit the scale there was a loud thud accompanied by a crack that was almost drowned out. The initial thought was the dwarf managed to crack the scale, but the howl of pain that echoed in the antechamber seconds after the crack proved otherwise. The dwarf’s hand was already swelling up as he held his wrist, swearing in pain. Gen’kar couldn’t help but chuckle as two of the orc men rushed the dwarf for medical attention.

“Anyone else want to try to prove me wrong? We haven’t found a way to break these scales, so do be careful or you may end up like our master dwarf there.” The rulers looked back and forth between each other, expecting someone else to step up and try to refute these claims, but no one dared to. Seeing a dwarf’s hand broken so easily by this scale was proof enough for them.

The crowd around the scale thinned as people returned to their seats. Elemir and James finally had a chance to get a good look themselves. Elemir ran his fingers over the scale slowly, savoring the smooth texture. “You got this off the beast your fleet killed? How did they kill it if you couldn’t break the scales?”

Gen’kar turned around to face the boys from behind his chair. “From what I was told, the scales on the belly were much softer than the ones on its back side. It took several cannon balls in the right spot and a harpoon to bring it down. We managed to get those scales by working our way out from the broken scales on its underbelly. There is a large amount of scales accumulated at the port. I’m told that the serpent doesn’t taste too good though.

This particular scale I gift to the dwarves. They are well known for their arts in shaping metals and materials. I’m quite confident that if any nation can figure out how to use these scales for something it will be the dwarves. And please, don’t say the obvious of using it as a shield. It’s far too heavy for such a thing. I tried that when I first saw it. Fell over on my arse with that thing pinning me to the ground. It took four strong men to get it off of me.”

There was a soft collective chuckle before the room fell silent again. Gen’kar’s smile slowly faded to a serious and stern expression as he eyed the nation leaders one by one again. “This is a gesture of good will toward the other nations. To further this good will, I propose a treaty between all our nations. Let peace reign between us for now, and together we will send an expedition to this new world. Before any of you object, think about it. Our resources are spreading thin are they not? Each of us has contemplated going to war for resources and land. There is now an opportunity for that on this new continent. We only have to work together to obtain it.”

The leaders cheered in agreement as Gen’kar sat back down. They began to go over the finer detail of the expedition plan as other heirs dispersed from the room to find something else to do or joined their relatives at the table to help with the planning. Elemir and James remained at the scale, one determined to examine it, the other just keeping his cousin company.

James boredly ran his fingers over the scale, exploring the cracks and grooves in it before Elemir interrupted him. “Hey, let’s flip it over to see the other side.”

James stared at his cousin for a moment before sighing and calling over two of the orc men who had brought the scale in. Elemir tried to help them flip it over, but he ended up being pushed aside by one of the other orcs. With some difficulty, they managed to flip the scale over to the concave side. The color was much darker inside with a natural sheen. The surface was much rougher with a sand paper like texture. The light that reflected from the lanterns broke on the walls into small dancing rainbows and speckled patterns.

James grew bored with the scale and left his cousin to examine it alone. He sat down at the table alone and drummed his fingers in boredom. After several moments he was interrupted by his father’s jolly voice. “James! My boy! There you are.” The king of Tordar was a portly fellow, though James swore he was a little less so prior to being here. It didn’t surprise him that his father would put on weight while on ‘vacation’ though.

He stood and bowed slightly before his father. “Good afternoon father. Is the planning over?”

The king nodded and sat beside James. “Yes yes. Wasn’t much to plan but who would lead the expedition for each nation.” There was a mischievous glint in his blue eyes that James knew meant trouble. “You and Erwon will be taking a little trip soon son! Who better to lead an expedition for our nation than the crown prince eh? And you’ll be the only one of the successors going! Everyone else was too much of a coward to have their son go. This will be a great opportunity to make a name for yourself!”

James forced a smile for his father and nodded. He wasn’t about to oppose the man when those who tended to ended up dead or disappearing. His father laughed loudly and slapped him enthusiastically on the back before wandering off with the rest of the leaders. James took the opportunity to slip out and return to his room. When he got there he flung the shutters open and sat in the window to stare out at the stormy sea with a frown on his face.

He couldn’t be excited or happy about this trip. He was sick of being away from home already. Two months in a strange land was more than enough for him, now he faced years of being away just for a little bit of glory in the history books. He knew his father had something else in mind too. Why else would he risk his son for such a dangerous task? With a sigh he slid out of the window and moved to his desk to spend the rest of the daylight hours writing home to his mother, fiancé, and Erwon to inform them of the decision and summon the bard for the expedition.