Chương 28: Chapter-28

The congress was held in the Kingdom of Ilsandi. As the host nation, and as the nation most concerned about undead invasion, being the on the eastern coast of Weqlan with a large number of seaside cities that would make defense against naval invasion difficult, the Ilsandese contingent had three votes to the two votes of the other major continental powers, and the single vote of the city states.

They had also successfully lobbied, in the days before the arrival of Empress Regina, for one of those delegates, Lord Marshal Corven Ilsen, to be speaker of the Congress. While he retained but a single vote, he was responsible for controlling the discussion on the floor according to congressional protocol, which had been arranged before hand. With the early arrival of Empress Regina, the timetable was thrown off.

The Congress had still not officially voted to receive Regina in the Ilsenese capital of Maura when she had arrived. The Lord Marshal had called an emergency vote to place her under house arrest in a guest house of the royal estate. The vote passed thirteen for and four against, with three abstaining. Matters swiftly devolved from there, as the minutes would show.

Lord Quent from Vessandria put it to the floor that Regina should be called to give testimony of her nation's guilt in unleashing the undead menace into the world. Dornaneck Varcheld from the Northern Dominion blocked the motion with a filibuster the congress paralyzed for three days. When his voice finally gave out, the motion to call Regina to account passed six to five, with nine abstaining. The discussion of what to do when a plurality vote passed without a majority lasted eight days.

On the ninth, the guard reported the sudden lack of rats and beggars in the streets. The discussion on how to investigate the matter lasted eight more days. On the ninth, the congress found out where those rats and beggars had gone. * Lord Marshal Corven Ilsen held his sword in one hand and a boot in the other. Both were covered in dry, rotted blood. The barricade had lasted for six hours, but he could still hear the scratching of claws and fingernails against the door. He was not afraid. He was resigned.

He had been right, and it wouldn't matter. History would know that he'd tried. No, he realized suddenly. It wouldn't. Because everyone would be dead. He sighed. Sitting down in the desk, searched the drawers. Finding a flask, he blinked in surprise. That had been better than he'd been hoping for, he'd been looking for another weapon. Instead he found anesthesia for his soul. He wondered if he was the only survivor of the congress. Likely not.

The cowards who had delayed and argued and delayed the matter would probably survive. And dig their heals in with their belief that the undead could be argued with. He drank, feeling the burn of alcohol as the spirits went down. It was strong stuff. Tasted terrible, but he relished the bite. It made him feel alive, and that was welcome in his final hours of life.

"Hello?" a voice called from outside the barricaded door.

"Is someone in there?" Corven blinked in surprise. A woman? Among the dead?

"I wish for this door to turn to dust," the woman's voice said. The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. And the door turned to dust. Corven gasped. He had heard rumors, but he hadn't given them credit. Witchcraft. Magic. She had come for him. Of course she was responsible. He would take her with him, at the very least. Pulling his sword and dropping the flask, he prepared to charge out to kill Regina du Tal and rid the world of the queen of evil.

"Don't kill him. Stop him but don't kill him," the voice said. A wave of force slammed into Corven. He could blink. He could breathe. And he could do almost nothing else.

"Corven Ilsen, I believe?" the witch said. She held her hand out, her wedding ring on it with the gemstone glowing violet. In her other hand she held a skull, with violet eyes and a rune on its forehead.

"Husband, I told you to be more judicious in your selection of the survivor. He was one of our most obstinate opponents."

"It only takes one to tell the tale of what happened here," the skull said in a flat affect that made Corven's blood run cold.

"I did not care which one it was."

"You realize that this massacre makes my job more difficult, do you not?" Regina said flatly.

"You can't deal with all of your problems by murder, husband. You must use diplomacy sometimes."

"This is diplomacy."

"Of a sort," she admitted. She sighed.

"If I put you down, will you try to run me through?" He found he could speak.

"No," he said.

"If this man attempts to harm me, may he die in fire," the witch said.

"Is that a valid spell, husband?"

"It suffices." Corven's skin began to tingle. It was an unpleasant sensation, like being too close to a bonfire. He looked up at her, nodded, then put the blade aside.

"I am in your power, witch. Kill me or bewitch me or leave me be. I am defeated."

"Yes, you are," she agreed.

"And you're quite reasonable about it."

"This is why you lead with force," the skull said patiently.

"Once they know that you are dangerous, they will hesitate to commit to an attack."

"Your massacre may give them something to rally around."

"You and this man will tell them this. I do not come in peace. Surrender to me and live to become Tal-sha-shenk, or you shall die and become Tal-sha-shenk. Those who stand in my way shall be flattened by the boots of my army and then take up the march." The husband and wife continued to squabble, and Corven came to a conclusion. They would lose this war if they did not unite as one. He'd known that before, that was why he had helped organize and run the congress. They would never unite. Not until it was too late.

Every moment they remained stagnant, the lich grew more powerful. They needed more than defense. They needed to launch a counter attack. The argument between the woman and the skull she held ended, and the eyes dimmed and went out. She sighed.

"Well, let's go," she said, motioning with her skull.

"You first, I don't want you stabbing me in the back." He preceded her down the corridor, and out to the congressional floor. The blood was everywhere. The entire city's worth of rats had swarmed in from every entrance, and the undead men and women had blocked the entrance. He didn't remember everything clearly. He just remembered standing in the office, with the door barred, and the screaming from the other side. The thud of fists against the door.

He'd never thought himself a coward, but hearing his fellow man being torn apart while he hid behind a locked door? He looked down at the blood on his hands. He had fought, the blood he'd shed was proof of that. Dead and rotted blood it was. But there was fresh blood on his blade too.

"What has your husband done here?" he asked finally.

"What does he hope to accomplish?"

"He wishes to cut off the head of the serpent," she answered bluntly.

"I'm uncertain this is the correct course, but he did not ask for my advice. I first learned of the attack when my guard defended me against a reprisal from the city guard. I'm afraid that my honor guard is dead, as they attempted to harm my person."

"You realize that this is a declaration of war, do you not?" he asked.

"I do," she agreed.

"And I am here to negotiate your surrender. The sooner you capitulate, the fewer who will die needlessly. I beg you to see reason, as I did after my father's death." Corven remained silent. He knew that if he said the wrong thing here, she might kill him with witchcraft. So he measured his words carefully.

"I do not have the authority to offer surrender of any nation," he said finally.

"Very well. But do tell the queen my words. The sooner you capitulate, the few who will die. Remember that." The visiting empress walked off through the gore, though the blood did not stick to her dress. Corven remained where he stood, surrounded in a gory mess, until the city guard came in and shook him alert. The undead that ambushed the congress had vanished into the city. But the city was not under further attack. Only the congress had been targeted. What game was Tal playing?