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Legacy of Ruin, Chapter 9: Red Horizon (P2)

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The first to notice the hydromancess' fall was Eryck, an eager marine who’s place was at the wheel of the ship during battle, or whenever Llorrin and Flynt were needed elsewhere. While Eryck lacked the leadership qualities and experience required to truly become his first mate, he had a reputation for being fearless almost to the point of stupidity, and Llorrin trusted him to steer the ship in battle more than Flynt, who didn't have much of a stomach for battle. Llorrin knew this was actually supposed to be his own responsibility as a captain, but since he was almost entirely new to directing a ship in battle he preferred to leave it to someone who had at least a bit of experience. If it did come to a fight, he preferred to be in the thick of it himself, and he also wanted an experienced officer commanding the men at the cannons.

“Sir!” Eryck warned him, pointing down at Irewyth’s fallen form.

Llorrin turned sharply and held back a curse upon seeing her, crashed against the deck as she was. It made him suddenly see her earlier comment about exhausting her in an entirely different light. He walked over and knelt down next to Irewyth, putting two fingers against the side of her neck, and was relieved to feel her heartbeat. He hadn’t really expected her to die this easily, but the way things had been going lately, there wasn’t much that would still surprise him. Muttering under his breath, he slid his hands under her back and thighs and picked Irewyth up. She was heavier than he’d expected, or maybe he was simply weaker.

“Keep following this course,” Llorrin told Eryck.

“Sir?” Eryck, who didn’t really appear to see the use in checking out some wreckage, asked.

“We haven’t had word from the mainland in ages. We’re going to see whether there’s any survivors. If there are, they might have some useful information.”

“Sir.”

Llorrin started carrying Irewyth back to her bed personally. He didn’t want to trust her to anyone. As he passed through the ranks of his men he noticed Wheann, who still had his daggers drawn. The half-elf did little to hide his contempt as Llorrin passed him by. He clearly didn’t share in the joy the rest of the crew felt over seeing two ogre juggernaughts shattered before their eyes.

Putting Wheann out of his mind, Llorrin walked on and soon tucked Irewyth in. He ordered Bors to guard her and sent another marine to go fetch Carekon to check on her. When he returned to the deck they were very near to the rubble. Shattered wood, dead and dying orcs, sails and parts of the juggernaughts’ masts drifted on the surface of the water. Llorrin was surprised to see how many orcs were still fighting for their lives, holding on to whatever flotsam they could cling onto or swimming to try and reach a safe spot.

“Looks like what they say about orcs is true. They don’t kill easily,” Eryck, who had apparently switched positions with Flynt at the wheel again now that the threat of an impending battle had gone, said. He’d replaced Jeredan as his bodyguard, but Llorrin wasn’t sure whether that had been a very good choice on his part, because Eryck had the uncanny habit of disappearing and reappearing at his side without him noticing.

“Neither do we,” Llorrin reminded him. One thing he had in common with Eryck was that he was too young to have ever fought the Horde, unlike many other members of the crew.

As the frigate sailed along the wreckage the orcs stared at the crewmen with hateful eyes. The mere sight of them made his blood boil. Llorrin looked the warriors over one by one, trying to find one that looked like he was of higher rank. He saw an orc clad in thick black armour, with bronze brazers strapped to his forearms. As far as Llorrin could tell he was bigger and older than the others and had accumulated more tattoos on his arms and face than any of the other warriors. His face and arms were covered in scars.

“That one,” Llorrin said, pointing out the important-looking orc. “Take him aboard.”

The orc wasn’t about to let himself get caught so easily. He threw bits of flotsam and other debris at their heads and swum away whenever the ship got near to him, forcing Llorrin to sail right into the debris. Orcs willingly made way for their leader as he tried to stay ahead of the ship, sometimes drowning in the process. A hollow thunk went through the ship every time the hull made contact with an orc’s head. It was all for naught, however, because he was finally caught in a net that was otherwise used for fishing and pulled aboard with great effort. Llorrin was relieved to see he must have lost all of his weapons in the storm.

More wasted time, he thought as the orc struggled to break free from the net, cursing and growling and hurling obscenities and threats alike at his captors. From the water, other orcs shouted encouragements, and some even tried to reach the ship. Flynt sailed right over them, without compassion. They could have taken more prisoners, but after the grueling effort catching the captain had been, Llorrin really didn’t want to waste any more time. He walked up to the orc, who still managed to look defiant even with half a dozen muskets pointed at him.

“Are you the leader of this sad company of scallywags, whelp? You Kul Tiras dogs must truly be getting desperate, to have children fight your battles” the orc sneered in a voice that was not only powerful, but also surprisingly articulate, before Llorrin could say anything.

The insult stung, but it wasn’t entirely unexpected, and Llorrin had the feeling it wouldn’t be the last time he’d be faced with such a remark, either. Nevertheless, he gave a slight nod in Eryck's general direction. Eryck didn't hesitate to kick the orc in the teeth, but it only seemed to make him angrier. He spat on the deck and showed his bloodstained teeth in a soundless growl. One of his fangs was long broken, but the other was still sharp.

“Oh, you’re the type who lets others do the dirty work, are you? What a surprise,” the captive taunted.

“I don’t hit unarmed prisoners,” Llorrin proclaimed. Two could play this game. He didn’t need to come up with proper justifications to the orcs’ accusations.

That seemed to amuse him.

“Oh, it’s above you then, is that it? How about you free me from this net, whelp, so I can see how well you fare against an armed opponent? Or do you have a problem with that as well?”

“It still wouldn’t be fair. You’re exhausted from keeping your ass above the sea level, not to mention old,” Llorrin said, trying to appear calmer and more smug than he really felt.

“Where is that bastard who sunk my ships, I have a few things to say to him, as well” the orc demanded, once again struggling against the confines of the net.

“That bastard is a she. I’ll have you know your ship was sunk by a girl half your size,” Llorrin answered him. Though he could’ve used Irewyth’s wit in this conversation, he was glad she wasn’t here. He wasn’t sure he’d be able to contain himself if the orcs’ insults were aimed at her instead.

He sees the hatred in my eyes, and he’s trying to exploit it. He’s trying to get me to kill him, Llorrin thought. His men remained silent. This was a test, to show he wouldn’t let his inexperience get the best of him.

“My name is Gronbag, and that’s all you’ll get out of me, filthy human” the orc growled.

“That,” Llorrin said, immediately thinking of Jeredan, “remains to be seen. Take him to the brigg. I might just have a couple of questions for you,” Llorrin promised him. His insides were turning however. The presence of these ships suggested the orcish forces on the mainland were still strong, and at any rate it meant Admiral Daelin hadn't sunk them yet.

On the other hand, he didn't seem overly surprised to see us, so there might still be more of our ships around... Llorrin thought.

He'd never really believed the orc shaman and Elduin had both been lying about Admiral Proudmoore, but now that he was so close to having every last bit of uncertainty erased he felt he was once again surprisingly reluctant to accept what he already believed to be true. He'd have to make sure to speak to the orc in private, and not let anything he told him out to the rest of the crew. Llorrin was smart enough to know the hope of seeing their old friends and admiral again was what kept up the morale of most of his men. What was more was that if Daelin and his forces had truly fallen, they'd be hopelessly outnumbered against the Horde.

Jaina, we'll have to convince Jaina to help us, Llorrin thought, making a mental note to squeeze any information he could get on her out of Gronbag. Without her aid, they lacked the manpower, and their cause would be lost. He remembered he'd been over this with Adane and Elduin before, on the eve of his departure, and both of them had shouted 'no!'. Elduin had revealed the strangest things about Jaina, about her pacifist attitude towards the orcs, about how her men had stopped fighting the orcs once Daelin had fallen, and Captain Adane had been worried she'd steal part of the fleet they still had away.

Still, they have to realize that without her aid, our cause is lost Llorrin thought. He felt if they sailed back to Kul Tiras to pledge their loyalty to Tandred, they would never be allowed to leave again. Surely Captain Adane had to realize this as well. 'I will think of something else' the captain had promised him, but could he really trust him?

Of course you should trust him, you should follow his orders, a voice inside of him berated him, but he still had his doubts. If he could only speak to Jaina, maybe he could sway her... As long as he could avoid revealing the existence of the rest of the fleet, it would do no harm. Captain Adane probably wouldn't approve, but if he was successful in gaining Jaina's support, his captain would surely be grateful for it. On the other hand, it was possible Adane already had a plan that he simply hadn't told him about yet. Surely sailing all the way back to Kul Tiras for the slim chance Tandred would support their crusade against the orcs wasn't the best Adane could have come up with. Perhaps he should just stop worrying so much and trust his captain, follow his lead... All the doubt was making Llorrin's head spin.

He'd taken his eyes off the orc for the briefest of moments, which was enough. Gronbag shot forward, pulling the net with him as he extended his arm. Before Llorrin could move the orc's fist closed around his ankle like a vice, with so much force he feared it would snap. He lost his balance as the orc pulled, crashing into the deck, but then the marines reacted, cursing and swarming in on the orc. They beat him senseless with their muskets and kicked him until he stopped resisting them and only covered his head and eyes from taking more hits. Llorrin rubbed his ankle, feeling the painful skin beneath his fingertips. Just a little longer, and it would've been broken, he realized with awe. Llorrin scowled as he got up and dusted himself off, but he didn’t let rage overtake him. The orc would be worth more to them alive.

“Lock him up and see to his wounds,” he said, his voice trembling ever so slightly. “I want him alive.”

Half a dozen marines, including Eryck, went with Gronbag to carry him off and deliver him to his cell safely. Llorrin watched until he was out of sight before he moved to return to his cabin, suddenly feeling just how much his ankle really hurt.

“We sail on to Tiragarde. We’ll have to stay further away from the shore from now on, because I don't want to run into anymore ships. Irewyth won’t be able to save us every time” he announced to no one in particular.

“Captain, what about the others?” a sailor asked.

“Others? Oh, yeah,” Llorrin muttered, looking at the water, where many orcs were still fighting for their lives. The wind had begun to pick up again, and the waves were growing larger and larger. They didn’t have that many reliable cells on board, and they were already running short on food and water, so a bunch of useless mouths on board was the last thing he needed right now. He had a feeling Gronbag alone would cause enough trouble by himself. If they met another Horde juggernaught in battle, the orcs could become a liability, because he wouldn’t put it past them to be able to escape during the chaos of a fight. Llorrin looked over the deck, where two rows of musketeers awaited his orders. One word, and they’d fire a volley that would put an end to the stragglers and send their corpses sinking to the bottom of the ocean. He thought of the Naga, who some men said could smell blood through water even from miles away, but he also thought of his parents, faceless entities he'd never come to know because of orcs just like the ones drowning but a few feet away from his ship.

“Let them drown,” he finally said. “They’re not even worth the bullets.”
You might want to keep an eye on that orc...

To read on: teano.deviantart.com/art/Falle...

Gallery: teano.deviantart.com/gallery/3...

Summary: The orc captain in command of the juggernaughts, Gronbag, is pulled aboard to be questioned, the others are left to die. Now fully aware of how important she is and still harbouring feelings for her, Llorrin entrusts Irewyth to Carekon once again.
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Pedigri's avatar
Ah, the information was the McGuffin. For some reason I thought that when you wrote they haven't had any info from the mainland, they're going to the mainland to get it. It didn't occur to me he meant the orcs by "survivors" and that they're going to get the info on the mainland from them. I wonder if I'd be the only one who'd get this impression by glancing Llorrin's line over.

Nice part about Daelin. The thought of there being more ships is good too.

I said I like the exchange with the orc, but I like the lines with "fare against" and "a** above sea level" particularly much.

"I have a thousand questions for you" sounds wooden.
The sarcastic "a few questions" would work better here, especially if it was said in a maliciously playful voice.
Or "You better pray I don't run of questions for you, or else we'll have to let you go... right where we found you" (he said, pointing with a nod of his head at the ocean that was getting more and more restless)

Or "You see, I have this story here and it has as many gaps in it as (the holes) in the net you're struggling/entangled in, and I'm not letting you go until you fill every - single - one - of them."

The file ate up the text after "fallen".

Though the reused conflicts in the repetitions don't work nearly as strongly as the first time when they were used, they do work. I like the part about Tandred and never leaving again.

You wrote "orcs' fist". Should be "orc's first".

Nice part about increasing waves and useless mouths.

The chapter improved a lot.