Birdsong - Chapter 11

"...old friend of mine, treasure hunter Matthew Monasson."

Matt looked up, ignoring the pain in his stomach. Friend? Sure. The last time I was here you tried to chop my head off. High Lord Matthew looked at him with those grey eyes. He hadn't changed much over the last ten years. A few more lines in his face was all.

"All of you know of the draught in the South", the High Lord continued, "and the seers have told us disturbing things. It will spread north."

The High Lord looked around at the men at the table. Some had the look of concern, others that of disbelief. A few even seemed to think it was some sort of joke. His eyes lingered at the only woman present. Her face didn't show any emotions and she met his eyes without hesitation. Matt wondered who she was.

"Nicolas."

Nicolas? Of Sundale?

The old man came forth once again, this time carrying pile of scrolls. He laid them on the table, picked one and opened it. It was a map over the Eastern Shore and half of the Mainland. He put weights on the corners to keep it flat and then opened a second. This showed the rest of the Mainland and then in the West a great forest and the beginning of a mountain range. When this map also was under weights the old man, Nicolas, stepped back again.

The High Lord looked at the maps for a moment. Then he begun to speak again.

"As you can see, there are a lot of smaller towns and farmlands in the south of the Mainland, and when the draught takes their land they will move. And they will go north. This brings two major issues. First, tens of thousands of people will be coming to the larger cities, without jobs or homes. Of course many will die. Some will manage to create a new life within the city. But the rest? They will become criminals. And as the draught draws north the people will move again and again. Our own cities will become home to millions of refugees.
"This brings me to the second problem, food. If we take it on us we might have to feed these millions. This will ruin our cities. And as the fields and farms are abandoned the food supply will vanish. Our world will fall."

They all stayed silent for a few second, and then everybody started talking at once. Matt felt uncomfortable.

Why am I here? What could I possibly do about a drought?

He felt some one watching him. He looked around. The woman met his eyes. She seemed oblivious to the arguments and speculations going on around her. Who are you? He was the first to break their eye contact.

The High Lord was whispering to Nicolas. The old man nodded and gave a short answer. Then he listened again with a flick of the High Lord's finger he stepped back and walked back in to the shadows. Matt followed him with his eyes and saw him disappear trough a second door in the room.

I want to know what's going on! Nervous and irritated crossed his arms. Everyone here is a noble and not one of them seems to understand what I'm doing here. What is Matthew planning? He's powerful enough to make decisions for himself. That means this has to be big. Something that will have consequences beyond the borders of the Eastern Shore... Well, the drought of course will. But if he just wanted to tell these men about that, why bring me? There is to much I don't know. What...

Matt's thoughts were interrupted as Nicolas re-entered the room and put down an old book in front of the High Lord. Everybody went silent. Carefully the old man opened it and turned page after page. When he finally found the page he was searching for he looked at the High Lord and received a nod back. He looked up at all the men (and the woman) in the room and spoke.

"There is a solution to this threat." His voice was soft and old but there was an undertone of strength in it. "All of you have heard the stories of the elves, living in the West. Their forests have always been green and growing. Long we thought the elves themselves did this with their magic, but for quite some time now we've been looking into this. And it was as we suspected. Their magic alone couldn't possibly take care of their vast forest.
"We searched long for the other source, and we've found it. This book tales stories told by the first men, and one of them is our answer. Of course we have more sources and been investigating this trough and trough so there is no need for doubt, but this is where it started."

Nicolas looked down at the text in the book.

"With the words of Jonatan Seafarer; 'And the bird sung, its song visible as threads of light. We all stood still and watched. The song wasn't of this world. And as it reached the grass, the flowers, the bushes and trees, everything came to life.' And that is the answer to our problem."

Nicolas stepped back and the High Lord spoke. "And this is why we need our guest." His smile at Matt was cold. "You have to find this bird and bring it to us."

Matt looked at him as if he was crazy, then realized what he did and shook his head.

"I'm a treasure hunter, I don't find animals."
"Oh, don't think of it as an animal. It's a treasure that can move on its own, that's all."

Matt felt uncomfortable. I don't have a choice. I'm as good as dead if I don't take it. He sighed.

"Very well. I'll do it."

The High Lord smiled. "You'll be richly rewarded." Then he nodded to the guards and Matt heard them leave their post at the entrance. One laid a hand on his shoulder and Matt stood up.

"I thank you, my Lord", he said and bowed.

As the door slammed shut behind him he heard the discussion continue. I hate this.