Legacy of Ruin, Chapter 14, Into The Storm (P1)

“Would you care to explain to me, captain, how you got two of my men killed?”

Llorrin frowned. “Two?”

Captain Willow took off his hat and started tapping it on his desk. “Two.” Small specks of blood still stained the hat, as well as his uniform.

“Allard succumbed to his injuries,” he told Llorrin flatly.

“Stars,” Llorrin cussed, very disappointed. He’d known the young marine only briefly, but he’d taken an instant liking to him. He’d never complained or hesitated to carry out orders, but all of that counted for little now. “I told Carekon to tend to him first.”

“There’s only so much a healer can do. We have many wounded,” Derek said, staring out through a window. Silence reigned, and after a few painful moments it hit Llorrin that Willow was still waiting for an explanation. His new captain’s cabin was far larger than the previous one, but felt no more comfortable for it. It was already quite clear Willow intended to drive him from it.

“Duke died in an ambush. More murlocs than we’d estimated had remained behind in the cave.”

“Cause?” Willow said briskly.

“No one saw him fall, but it looked like he’d been stabbed repeatedly in the back,” Llorrin said, somewhat confused by Willow’s need to know the details of Duke’s death.

“Hmm. It’s not like him to leave his back open,” Willow grimaced.

“Perhaps he wasn’t used to fighting in the dark. At least we got to save Jake,” Llorrin said.

“A good man, though a bit undisciplined at times,” Willow said with mild approval. “It was coincidence rather than design that saved his life, however.”

Llorrin was beginning to understand why Elena had such trouble putting up with this guy. He continued, eager to be done with this interrogation.  

“As for Allard, he got wounded when the murlocs were overwhelming us on the ship. That the murlocs would keep attacking us even after we’d left the cave was an… unforeseen circumstance.”

“Ah yes, the chink in the chain. Our dwarf friend made a good fool of us there,” Willow said, and for a moment his displeasure was directed away from Llorrin. Then he eyed him sharply.

“How do you intend to deal with his treason?”

The look in his eyes left little doubt on what kind of fate Willow had in mind for Borax.

“I’m going to have a word with him first, and then we’ll see,” Llorrin said, rising from his chair. This matter had to be attended to, and fast.

Willow put his hat back on, leaving the cabin with one last look at Llorrin.

“So we will,” he said, leaving the door open on his way out.


“I’m here to see the prisoner,” Llorrin announced. The brig guard – one of Captain Willow’s men, incidentally – took his key and opened the door for him. Llorrin quickly went inside.

“I told you he’d betray us,” Jeredan muttered on his way in. He’d insisted on coming with him, and Llorrin had neither the energy nor the will to tell him to leave. Jeredan was likely angry enough with him as it was. Forcing him to use his magic might have been a move he was going to regret in the end.

“Well, he was either going to betray us or prove you wrong. Either way you'd have something to be angry about,” Llorrin quipped as he walked into the brig. The size of the brig further convinced him that it was a floating fortress rather than a ship he’d commandeered. There were four separate cells, two in front of him and one to each side, as opposed to the one cell his frigate had had. Borax had been chucked into the cell directly to his left. To his surprise, Wheann was waiting in front of the cell, safely out of Borax’s reach (which, granted, wasn’t very long). Llorrin had demanded the half-elf's presence so he could hear both sides of the story, but he hadn’t expected Wheann to actually show.

The black eye he’d acquired since the last time he saw him made Wheann’s glare seem even more hateful. Llorrin tried to ignore it as he stopped in front of the cell, shaking his head like a disappointed father.

“Come ta take me head, ‘cap’n’?” the stout dwarf asked.

Why do people I put behind bars always make such a poor case for themselves? Llorrin thought, crossing his arms behind his back and looking at Wheann.

“We’ll take it from the top. What happened?”

“Shouldn’t we ask you the same question?” Wheann asked.

Llorrin ignored that, waiting for Wheann to tell his version of the events. The half-elf stared at the wall angrily while he spoke.

“After you did your magic… thing, Borax, Wyll and I made our way to the top of the ship. Modri and Lukjan were already there, but they hadn’t managed to get the ship moving again, hence why we were checking out the hold.”

“Wait, who?” Llorrin asked.

“Me mateys,” Borax butted in.

“We thought you’d killed yourself powering the stone, so don’t take us leaving you behind personally,” Wheann said, his unapologetic grin contradicting his words.

“Get on with it so we can lop his head off,” Jeredan warned the half-elf.

“Borax got the ship moving and maneuvered it out of the cave, but once outside he started steering it away from the coast,” Wheann said, giving Borax an angry look. “He said he was convinced Kurdran would deal with the remaining murlocs before they could get to us, but it’s more likely he just wanted to keep Captain Willow from reaching us so he could keep the ship for himself. I stopped him.”

Good job. You probably saved us all, Llorrin thought, but he didn’t say so. He was done dealing with Wheann’s attitude. There was one hole in his story, however.

“What about the two dwarves… What were they called again?”

“Modri and Lukjan.”

“Didn’t they interfere?”

Wheann scoffed. “Do you see them in jail with him? They were either too scared or smart enough to see Borax would’ve gotten us all killed.”

Llorrin sighed. How could Borax have been so short-sighted?

“Thank you,” he said flatly, shifting his attention to Borax, and with one last scowl Wheann left.

“You didn’t tell us about the mana stone or the naga. You knew the plan wouldn’t work, and then tried to take advantage of it! What do you have to say in your defense?” he asked the dwarf, barely containing his anger.

“This be my ship!” Borax argued. “I didn’t wanna get ye all killed… It be another scunner I be after. Tha bastard who sunk me ol’ beauty.”

Llorrin pinched the bridge of his nose and pressed his eyes shut.

The people I have to work with, he thought. Everyone seemed to be making their problems his own.

“From the top, again,” he sighed. “You couldn't have built this ship the way it is without the mana stone, and I expect it's going to cause us more trouble later, too. So where'd you find it?”

“On one of me travels. Mayhaps we ah… liberated it from a group of them fishheads.”

“So you did know why the murlocs attacked you!” Jeredan bellowed.

“Aye, no point in lyin’ now. I didn’t know about tha big fishhead though, nor that ‘e was sappin’ tha stone.”

“You didn't know a naga was leading them? That would explain why you didn’t expect it to have been drained… That you thought you’d be able to just sail out of here,” Llorrin said, putting the pieces together. We were extremely lucky I managed to power it up again, Llorrin thought, but he didn’t say so out loud, reluctant to recount his own role in the events.

“What’s Kurdran’s role in all this? Was he just going to let us die so you could sail off with the ship?”

“Look, I saved ‘is life once, while ‘e an’ ‘is beast were stranded on sum rock. Tha gryphon ‘ad been wounded by sum pirates an ‘e ‘ad nowhere ta go until me and me mateys picked ‘im up.”

“What was he doing flying a gryphon out in the middle of the sea?” Jeredan asked critically.

“’E was a freelancer, used ta guard people’s ships from pirates. That be not tha point though. Kurdran’s been loyal ta me ever since that day, but ‘e didn’t think o’ this himself, nor was ‘e aware, though I think ‘e woulda gone along with it, if asked. If ya want ta punish anyone, put tha blame on me an’ leave ‘im be.”

“If Kurdran is so loyal to this treacherous bastard, he might be trouble,” Jeredan remarked.

“I’d thought of that,” Llorrin said. It was his main concern dealing with Borax, even more so than how everyone was going to react to how he chose to deal with him. Antagonizing Kurdran and his mighty beast could spell serious trouble, and even if he just chose to turn his back on them it’d still mean the loss of a unique asset. Even in Admiral Proudmoore’s  assembled fleet gryphon riders had been rare.

“Borax, I’m assuming this ship is powered by the mana stone somehow?”

“Aye.”

“So it must run out of energy after a while.”

“Aye.”

“You can’t have expected to get very far, then. None of your men are mages.”

“Me plan was ta get as far as Theramore. A ship an’ ‘is cap’n, it be not too hard ta find sum salty sea rats, not with a beauty like this.”

“You were expecting to find a crew? You would’ve been more likely to be mistaken for an orc ship and killed as soon as you came in sight of the walls,” Jeredan scoffed. He frowned when he seemed to realize something.

“What was your original plan? You must’ve had a mage.”

Borax looked down. “Aye, I did. She died when tha fishheads first struck,” he said. He didn’t look up.

Llorrin and Jeredan shared a look. He thought it better not to press Borax on the issue.

“You understand my crew is rather angry with you,” Llorrin said after a couple of moments.

“Ya gotta do what ya gotta do sunneh, just don’t keep me waitin’. An’ promise me that when ya come across a ship with an ogre for a cap’n an’ two grinnin’ heads on thar sails that ye'll sink it for ol’ Borax.”

“I’m not going to execute you,” Llorrin said.

“What?!” Jeredan said.

“He’s no longer a threat. Four dwarves against the rest of the crew? I think we can handle those odds, should it come to that,” Llorrin said. He didn’t want to lose Kurdran’s help, and Borax and his dwarves knew this ship better than anyone else. Should it be damaged, he wanted to be able to rely on the expertise of the people who built it.

“You’re free to go.”


“I should inform you I’m quite unhappy with your decision, captain.”

“I’m getting used to that,” Llorrin told Willow, who immediately stopped to glare at him. What Llorrin didn’t tell him was that he’d let Borax go to gain his allegiance and that of the other dwarves. Every member of the crew that was on his side would make it more difficult for Willow to take control.

“Was that supposed to be funny? We need to discuss where we’re going to hit the Horde and how we’re going to deal with their blockade. I’m hoping you’ll keep those smart remarks to yourself when we do.”

That reminded Llorrin of the second pressing issue he had to deal with.

“You’re going to have to learn to work with me, Captain Willow, at least for a while,” he said, resting his elbows on the desk and joining his hands together.

“For a while?” Willow asked.

“There’s something I haven’t told you,” Llorrin said, motioning for Willow to take a seat. He poured some of the rum they’d found in the cave into a cup and silently wished the old captain was the kind that got more agreeable when he was drinking. Thinking about it, he realized there probably wasn’t much that could make the old captain less agreeable. Though hesitantly, Captain Willow sat down, experienced enough to know when someone had something important to say.

“I didn’t tell you the whole truth, back in Theramore… Part of the Third fleet still remains,” Llorrin said, rolling out a map. Borax had stocked his captain’s cabin with a lot of treasure maps and detailed maps of the islands around Kalimdor, but luckily he’d been able to find a map restricted to Kalimdor and the surrounding seas as well. “Here,” Llorrin said, tapping the island chain North of Theramore, East off the coast from Northwatch Hold, with his finger.

“That’s where Captain Adane awaits us. I’ve already plotted the course. Lieutenant Alverold is still missing, and a number of our ships were lost during the Sundering, but it is still a strong force. Stronger still, when we rejoin them.”

“You lied to me!”

Willow knocked over his chair as he jumped up and he slammed his hat on the desk, nearly spilling his rum. Llorrin just barely caught the cup before it would topple. Llorrin was getting used to people yelling and glaring at him and remained calm, placing his hands back together, though in a dark corner of his mind he imagined him using those hands to strangle the cantankerous Captain Willow and pop his head off his shoulders like a grape instead.

“It was too risky to tell anyone about the Third fleet’s existence while we were still on land. What if they didn’t agree to come with us and told Jaina about us? To carry out Admiral Proudmoore’s orders, we can’t risk our men falling to Jaina’s influence. We both know she’s not in favour of further war against the Horde.”

Captain Willow took his rum and emptied it in one swig. He took some time to take in everything Llorrin had just said and finally seemed to calm down. As the captain’s anger disappeared so did the violent thoughts clouding Llorrin’s mind.

“Not while we have Admiral Proudmoore’s orders to fall back on. They grant us the authority we need to act.”

“I agree with you, but it is a point of discussion for many. It didn’t stop Jaina from pacifying the remnants of the First fleet after her father’s death…”

Including you, Llorrin thought, but he thought it wise not to add that.

Willow grimaced, shaking his head slightly. “What were we to do? We came to this land hoping to drive the Horde from it, but we failed. In the final battle, at Theramore, victory actually seemed to be within our grasp… Even though Jaina held back her forces, we were pushing many of the invaders back towards the shore, until we heard that Daelin had fallen… Some orc ogre halfbreed, Light curse him, had fought his way through to our admiral and murdered him. We lost faith shortly afterward and the Horde… They simply made a deal with Jaina and left. It'd been better if they'd simply finished us off… Life under Jaina’s rule was no life at all. We were lifeless and frozen, just waiting for the hammer to fall, because we knew the Horde would be back one day. The future looks grim. Even with your fleet we lack the strength to fight the entire Horde. We need to unite all of Kul Tiras to even have a chance. I doubt the Alliance look favourably upon us if we simply attack them, too. King Varian has had his share of conflicts with the orcs, but still he’s playing far too nice with them. If we want to be sure we can make our move without him stopping us, we'd need a sovereign ruler to back us. Even King Varian won't risk scorning an entire kingdom. There's few enough of them left as it is.”

He'd never thought about it this way, but Willow was right. As grim a realization as it was, the destruction of so many of the Seven Kingdoms had shifted the balance of power favourably towards Kul Tiras. Alterac and Lordaeron were gone, Stromgarde was but a shadow of its former self, Dalaran had taken a serious blow and if Lieutenant Palliter's reports were accurate Gilneas was being ravaged by some sort of curse. The elves of Quel'Thalas had shattered as well: many had defected to the Horde. Everything considered, it was amazing the Alliance was holding together as it was. Kul Tiras might have lost much of their fleet but the island nation had otherwise remained largely untouched. As far as human kingdoms went, they were likely the most powerful remaining member of the Alliance apart from Stormwind itself. If a united Kul Tiras declared open war on the Horde, would King Varian choose placating the Horde at the cost of offending one of his few remaining allies? Llorrin didn't think so, but then for now all of this was premature at best. The forces of Kul Tiras were hardly united, and he had a very good reason to doubt they'd risk open war.

“Tandred rules Kul Tiras now,” he said with a weary sigh, his eyes trailing over the map in the direction of Kul Tiras, but the map cut off way before he could see it. He wouldn't say so in front of Willow, but he had serious doubts about Tandred's ability to fill his father's shoes. “We’ll discuss this issue with Captain Adane when we get to him. By now he’s probably been waiting around for us long enough to come up with some kind of plan,” he continued, smirking slightly, but inside he felt like screaming out his frustration about how everything always had to be so complicated.

“Fine,” Captain Willow said, picking his hat off the table. “I’d better go tell the men.”

For the first time Llorrin actually felt some sympathy for Captain Willow. Because of their differences, it was easy to forget that ultimately, they were on the same side.