53 Streak of Ligh (1/2)
After the awkward opening, Prince Pacha began to introduce the companions to his side with a grand wave of his arm.
”Brother, you should still remember our uncle: Lord Divitius Ichilia.” Lord Ichilia, Governor of the West, Spuria's brother and not actually Corco's uncle, was much smaller and a lot less showy than his nephew. After his introduction, the unremarkable figure stepped out of Prince Pacha's shadow and in front of today's guest of honor.
”It is this governor's great pleasure to finally meet Prince Corco again. To his great misfortune, this lord only arrived in Arguna a short while ago. Thus, it was impossible to prepare a suitable gift for Prince's banquet.” His words were as smooth as his wide smile was open. At once, Corco could tell that this one was a much better actor than Pacha.
”Lord Ichilia, you could have just taken some stuff from the silver palace. Now that House Ichilia has moved into Pluritac Castle, it would have been easy to just take whatever you need, right?” Unlike with his brother, there was no reason for Corco to be polite with the Ichilia brood. Now was the time to get rid of his frustrations.
”Prince Corco jests. The empress mother stopped being a member of House Ichilia the moment she was wed to the late Emperor Titu.” With pinpoint precision, Divitius poked at Corco's wounds and seemed to gear up for a well-plannedprovocation, but any of his potential ploys were dismantled by an inconvenient outcry for justice.
”How dare you talk to uncle like that! Even if you are my brother, this hero will not stand for it!” Prince Pacha barged into the conversation. Even when he supported the most powerful Lord of Medala against a powerless prince's bullying, the self-proclaimed hero somehow managed to sound righteous. The fact that Corco was his own brother or that he was much weaker than the governor didn't seem to matter much for the hero's justice. Under a menacing stare, Corco saw his brother step closer. Rather than be intimidated, the first prince rolled his eyes and made half a step back. Hoping beyond hope, he was still trying to deescalate the conflict.
”Yeah, okay. Let's just get this over with. Tell me about your other lackey.” Despite his best efforts, Corco was just about done with his younger brother. This could not possibly be the same man his grandfather had called a 'good child'. Before the good child was about to further could puff up spread his feathers even more, Divitius grabbed the boy's arm and motioned towards the back. Meanwhile, the fat, pale man to Pacha's left stepped forward to introduce himself, a businesslike smile on his face.
”Prince Corco, it is my honor to make your acquaintance. My name is Borgarson. Steen Borgarson. I am a representative of the great empire of Cahlia.”
Right away Corco hated the man. As someone who had worked with the Cahlians before, he knew that Cahlia wasn't actually an empire, but a small kingdom instead. Even so, there was no way the Cahlian nobility would allow a common merchant to represent them. Even so, Corco overlooked the merchant's obvious lies. Any time spent with the slick trader was nothing but wasted effort. Plus, there was a far more fun issue for Corco to address.
”Cahlia, is it? You might not have heard, but I spent quite some time over in Arcavia. Cahlia was a place famous for its unique, red haired people, wasn't it?” Corco smiled as he pretended to make small talk.
”Prince is correct.” With faked enthusiasm, the merchant nodded, no doubt sure in the knowledge that he had his marked hooked.
”So, I was wondering,” the mark asked with a smile. ”Has Lord Kallas recently misplaced one of his guards? Red hair, pale skin, black cloak. He would be around my brother's height, I think. I remember seeing someone like that two nights ago,” Corco said, the harmless smile still plastered on his face. Meanwhile, he observed his own mark, to look for signs of recognition.
”That would not be possible. All my men are still with me.” Only for a moment, the merchant's eyes shook, before he returned to his business smile and calm attitude. Still, for Corco, it was enough. Now he knew who had supplied his would-be killer.
*I wonder what Margrave Hakon would think about this,* Corco wondered, with a thought back to his former accomplice from Cahlia.
”That's good then. Wouldn't wanna start our relationship on the wrong foot, would we?” he said instead.
Perhaps eager to change the topic, Steen brought out his own present.
”As a show of goodwill, our great empire of Cahlia will present Prince Corco with this quality wine. It is the best in our guild's selection,” the merchant said as he handed the prince more of his own brandy.
For a moment Corco was left speechless, so he passed the bottle back to Primus without a word. Although his actions were rude, the prince was too busy to care about the merchant's feelings. Rather, he tried to guess which Arcavian noble had stocked up on his brandy and then made a killing with resale. While Borgarson still waited on the first prince's reply,the third prince wasall gathered up again at last. Filled with confidence, the hero would not wait on anyone.
”Ah yes, brother. This hero will also present you with a gift to commemorate this meeting.” Pacha's attendant handed Corco his gift. Without any warning, the small object lay heavy in his hand. What Corco found sparkling in the evening light was a small, beautiful silver turtle. Corco's eyes grew large as a weight seemed to settle in his stomach and brain all at the same time. How could a single person have so little sense?
”What in the actual fuck are you doing?” he asked his brother in disbelief, his voice barely a whisper.
In Yaku culture, the giant turtle was considered a benevolent guide through the underworld. Thus, a turtle would only ever be gifted during a funeral. Receiving one at any other time was considered bad luck, even a curse. It implied that the one to give the gift wished the recipient a quick death.