Doran
was forced to his knees, falling to the cold stone floor with a grunt. He
risked a glance upwards, and saw slender arms of shimmering stone that rose
from the floor and walls to support the golden dome above. At the top of the
dome hung a large glittering stone, which filled the entire chamber with a cool
white light. The dome itself was made up of large tapering panels, each
apparently inscribed with historic scenes, heavily stylised. The elven soldier
who had forced Doran to his knees grabbed him by the hair and roughly dragged
his head back down to stare at the floor, hissing something in Elven.
A
calm voice from directly ahead of Doran said, “What brings a human sea captain
to the territories of Illeth Moran?”
Doran
raised his eyes. The speaker was seated in a tall, slender throne. The seat
itself had high armrests, and the back rose high above the occupant’s head, and
was carved to look like the spreading branches of a tree, with small emeralds
hanging from the branches, glittering in the light. The occupant himself was a
slender elf in pale blue robes with a tall collar. His hair was a lustrous auburn
and cascaded down to his waist, which was cinched with a slender cord of
silver.
The
elf intertwined his fingers and said, “Well, speak.”
Doran
replied, “I come for the aid of the mighty elven fleet.”
The
elf looked genuinely intrigued, and leant forward in his throne, “Is that so? I
have always considered yours an arrogant race, yet here you are, asking for my
aid.” He chuckled, “Begging on your knees in fact.”
“Not
by choice, you might note.”
“Hmph,”
said the elf, “Very true. Guard, untie him and let him come forward.”
The
guard froze, “Your highness, he is Kormouthian, an enemy of Illeth Moran.”
The
elf on the throne chuckled once more, “I think I can handle myself with one
mortal. Do as I instruct.”
Begrudgingly,
the guard untied Doran’s hands and helped him to his feet. Doran made his way
slowly across the floor, looking down at it as he rubbed life back into his
hands. The floor was pitch black, and apparently seamless. It had been so well
polished that it was like a mirror. The light from above refracted in such a
way that it seemed to Doran that he was walking across a sea of stars. He
halted before the throne, and looked the elf in the eyes steadily.
“I,”
said the elf, “Am King Estaleth of Illeth Moran, fifteenth High King of the
Elves since the Cataclysm. And you are?”
“I
am Doran Highpeak, formerly of the Kormouthian Navy.”
“Ah,”
said Estaleth with a smile, “I have heard of you. A frequent thorn in the side
of my southern fleets, I am given to understand. Yet you say you are no longer
a servant of Kormouth.”
Doran
nodded.
“How
interesting. So what brings you here with such a strange request?”
“I
believe I am being haunted by a ghost vessel, and I think that only your kind
would have a chance of fending it off, let along destroying it.”
“And
why should I help you with this?” mused the King.
“Because,
my lord, half of that ship and its crew are made up of the Acdrenc Stefna.”
The
King frowned, “How is this possible?”
“I
sank her,” said Doran, “At the cost of my own ship. Now, both crews seek me
out, for I should have died with them, yet did not.”
“While
terrible, I am sure, I do not see what I would gain from helping you, Doran of
Kormouth.”
A
woman’s voice spoke from behind the throne, “Is it not obvious, my liege?”
Estaleth
turned his head and said, “Speak, Ellandra, what is your thought?”
A
thin elven woman made her way around the throne. She wore robes of green, and
her raven hair was pulled back in a simple ponytail that emphasised her pointed
ears and high cheekbones. When she spoke, delicate white teeth flashed, “Beyond
the matter of Elven dead being bound to this world, there is another concern
that comes to mind. While the ghost ship may haunt this man, surely it is a
danger to all on the sea – is that a risk we are willing to take?”
“Are
you sure, Ellandra?” the King looked concerned.
“Certain?
No,” she gave a Doran a long look, “But I do not think that taking a risk in
the hope that the ship will not be a problem would be unwise. Best that we nip
such a potential threat in the bud.”
The
King sat back in his throne, a thoughtful look on his face, “It would surely
not hurt to send the fleet out for an exercise anyway, would it?”
“No,
it would not.”
“Very
well, we shall assemble our captains, and see what we can plan.”
*
The
nine captains of the Illeth Moran navy stood around the table. Doran recognised
only their leader – Ildrin, captain of the Brimclifer
– who had spent the last few minutes watching Doran with cold hatred in his
eyes. Doran could sympathise, not only was the death of Ildrin’s brother Aldrid
on Doran’s hands, but so too was his spirit’s entrapment on the ghost ship.
Hell, if Doran was in Ildrin’s place, he would have killed Doran already. Doran
couldn’t help but admire the elf’s icy resolve.
“So,”
said Ildrin, tearing his eyes from Doran, “This haunted vessel was last sighted
far to the south, tearing through one of the finest vessels in the Kormouthian
navy.” Doran noted that the elf smirked at that remark.
Ellandra
spoke from outside the circle, “Given what Doran has told us, the ship is
likely to pursue him. Therefore it would be reasonable to expect that the ghost
vessel is now significantly closer to Illeth Moran.”
Ildrin
leaned over the charts on the table, and said, “Given the supposed size of this
vessel, it would be best if we could engage it on our terms. I doubt that ghost
ships are all that open to such a situation though.”
Doran
cleared his throat, “Actually, there might be a way.”
“It
speaks,” snarled Ildrin, “Well, human, what is your solution?”
“The
ghost ship hunts me, so if I were to act as bait in a location that was
tactically desirable, then once it appeared you could attack it.”
Another
captain, shorter than the others, with plain features said, “It could work. If
we could encircle it, surely even a vessel of such a mysterious nature would be
eager pickings.”
“It
is possible,” said Ildrin, “Ellandra?”
“I
cannot think of a better way to turn this to your advantage,” replied the
woman.
“Very
well,” said Ildrin, “Then all we need now is to choose a location, one that
will allow us to remain concealed until the enemy appears, and then to be able
to trap them.”
He
looked down at the charts once more and placed a black gloved finger on a
circle of small islands, “That should do nicely,” he said with a grim smile.
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