Chapter 158 Pligh
To the east of Elfaven, there was a dilapidated building which was called by the locals as the "Sorrow's Knell".
Numerous trinkets were placed all around it and whenever a citizen trespassed on its grounds either by accident or on purpose, soldiers would immediately teleport over to take them away.
The area around it was empty save for a few commercial buildings which were also in a serious state of disrepair.
The reason for this strange occurrence was told in stories by the Elves and humans who lived in the areas nearest to this location which were still inhabitable.
Apparently, one night, a strange, multi-colored meteor had impacted the location without any warning.
Meteors weren't new in both Eldinor and Elfaven, and they were even sought after as the places where they impacted the earth often had abundant energy resources which could be plundered.
What was peculiar about this particular meteor was that it had evaded all the equipment which the capital had to track incoming projectiles which might cause harm to the city.
Also, although the impact caused the instant deaths of everyone in the area, the buildings had somehow been left only half-damaged.
In fact, from the testimony of an observer who was lucky to be outside the area of effect, the meteor had melted into the earth after impact and there hadn't even been any sound during its impact.
With the circumstances getting weirder and weirder, the government had chosen to cordon off the area before sending teams of researchers to investigate just what was happening.
This was when the occurrence which gave the location its name started to take place.
Every night, at precisely 9:00 pm, a loud scream would arise from the center of the impact which was a half-destroyed stone building.
For 12 hours, this scream would continuously be heard as if the person from whom it originated did not need to breathe or pause in order to continue screaming.
Moreover, the scream had some kind of special quality which made it so that anyone who was exposed to it for longer than a certain time would find themselves fainting where they stood.
No matter how much Elfaven tried to find out the reason behind all these bizarre occurrences, they hit a dead end as all indications showed that the area was normal except for the scream.
With no other option, the Elves gave up after cordoning off the whole area where the scream could be heard.
All over Angaria, there were certain unexplainable phenomena like this which baffled its inhabitants to no end. Thus, the government of Elfaven could only gradually forget about it after thanking the stars that it wasn't a fatal spot like some others.
As for the name: many felt that the scream sounded sorrowful, as if it emanated from someone who lost their loved ones.
After teleporting over to a secret location under the 3-storeyed building, Eldra nodded to the soldiers who were stationed there before walking inside to a room in which 4 chairs were present.
The soldiers were part of a special, secret troops known by the nickname "Silent Watchers". Using archaic spells which had been passed down since the founding of their Kingdom, the elves of Elfaven made it so that all kinds of communication would be forever closed off for the individuals who chose to join this troop in exchange for things such as having their families taken care of for the rest of their lives.
In essence, these soldiers could not communicate with anyone; they could only accept orders.
As the perfect solution to ensure that no information would be leaked out, they were deployed in sensitive locations like these where secrecy was warranted.
After entering the room and taking a seat, Eldra placed her face in her hands before brushing her hair back and taking a deep breath.
It was glossy and brown and had once reached her back before she had been 'advised' by her mother to cut it short because it might impede her in battle.
Although this was just one of the many ways in which her extremely controlling mother affected her life, it still made the top five of her list of which memories stung the most when she recalled them.
Putting aside these thoughts, she made a serious expression appear on her face before leaning back into the chair and rhythmically tapping on the table in the middle.
A few minutes later, three individuals entered the room together.
Two of them were elves, with one male and one female while the last was a human whose face was hidden by a velvet mask. Although his face was covered, his ears could still be seen which revealed his species.
The female elf had strong features, with a pointed nose and wide lips which were currently smiling. With frizzy red hair which almost reached her legs, she was definitely a head-turner.
As for the male, he had short army cut hair with a button nose and a square chin. Unlike the female who seemed to be in the spring of youth, he looked quite old due to his greying hair and hunched manner of walking.
Seeing them enter, Eldra only stared at them coldly without getting up.
Although the two elves smiled briefly on seeing her, their expressions turned neutral on seeing her cold welcome.
After they took their seats, a silence pervaded the room with only the sound of Eldra's fingers tapping the table audible to those who had just entered.
"Queen Eldara will win the election again. State your requests to make this possible."
It was the man with the mask who replied first.
"Hoho, it seems our Queen has gotten anxious see-"
BANG
Loudly slamming the table, Eldra got up and raised her hand in the air, making the man stop what he was saying.
"I don't want to hear anything. Remember, your throats are in my hand. If your demands go overboard or if you even think of revealing our dealings, you will be dead before you even realize it. The buying and selling of Elf-children is, after all, the crime which has the strictest punishment in our Kingdom."
Hearing her words, the slightly gloating expressions which had appeared on the two elves' faces disappeared and were replaced by ones of slight terror.
Sharing a glance between each other, the three individuals looked up at Eldra as one and said, 'Double the amount as last time."
Although Eldra wished that she could bash in their faces, all she did was nod and say, "OK. Not even one more."
As she saw the smiles appear on their faces, she felt sickened to the extent that she felt like throwing up.
After they got up and left together, she collapsed into her chair and closed her eyes as tears flowed down her cheeks.
Elf slavery. Although officially banned, it was the second most profitable business in Angaria after Giant slavery.
As those born naturally with good comprehension, elves were sure to become mages when they grew up, making their value skyrocket when compared with other species who might only amount to fighters.
After all, the weakest mage was more valuable in the battlefield than a fighter with medium potential.
These three individuals were the "influences" in the three big news organizations in Elfaven. As the largest stakeholders, they could either directly or indirectly influence the organizations to report whatever they wanted.
In exchange, the government would turn a blind eye to their businesses while also exempting them from taxes and paying them a huge amount which amounted to the equivalent of millions of Gold Lans.
The money, in fact, was funneled by Queen Eldara from the government by using bogus development projects which cost nowhere near the amount quoted in the records.
Although this was something to be frowned upon, it could be looked over as the projects did do good to the nation.
What made Eldra cry was the image of around 60 cute little faces looking at her and calling her "Sister Eldra!" after she saved them personally from a slave cargo.
In her life which was mostly filled with darkness, this had been the day of light which drove much of the darkness away and made her smile like the little happy child she had once been.
Now, those little elf girls and boys would definitely be taken away due to this deal.
While she tried to control her tears in order to get back to the palace, the communication trinket in her pocket glowed as an incoming message sounded in her ear.
"Miss, someone called 'Devon' has approached the palace saying he wants to meet with you. He says he has information which might help our Kingdom. Would you like us to drive him away?"