And then there were orcs
Oct. 6th, 2012 08:48 pm![[personal profile]](/%20https://www.npmjs.com/package/ocr-https-www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jelleneth Bilgewater Port stretched like a reeking, infected sore across the coast of Azshara and Jelleneth Dawnsinger stood with her hands on the Sapphire’s wheel and tried not to breathe too deeply as she watched the last of the supplies for her final run being hauled aboard.
Her final run. It was a bittersweet thought. This ship had been her home, her heart and her life since the first day she was brought aboard it. Memories choked the decks and flooded the galley and crowded so thick in the Captain’s Quarters she could sometimes barely stand to be alone in them. Everywhere she looked, ghosts lingered. It was time to put them to rest. One last job for Revilgaz to clear her debts and then she could walk away. The ship would go to Jessian, a man as badly in need of a home and a purpose as she had been when the Sapphire had passed into her hands. She could only hope that Jessian’s path to those things would be less painful that her own had been.
From the deck below her future smiled up at her, brushing the dark memories of the past away. It was a quick moment, flash of a grin before he set back to carefully stowing the medical supplies and his own stock of alchemical necessities, but it was enough to solidify her resolve. The house in Feralas was still incomplete but it would keep the rain out and the warm in and that was enough for now. The rest of it; gardens, stables, the workshop for visiting magelets, the nursery and the smells of baking bread and fresh tilled earth, hippogryph dander and dragonhawk smoke, the laughter of children... all of that would come in its own time.
“That’s the last of it Cap’n,” Ilthus announced as he tromped up the stairs to stand beside her, throwing in a mocking little salute for good measure. “Now can we put out to sea already? M’dying for a smoke but I don’t want to risk lightin’ the ship on fire with all these fumes in the-” His complaint cut off short and his ears rose suddenly on full alert as he looked out over the docks. Jelleneth followed his gaze and drew in a sharp breath. Orcs. A squad of them in formation, heading straight for the Sapphire, and walking beside the lead orc, dressed in his full battle armor, was an all too familiar elven knight.
She vaulted the railing and was on the deck to meet them before they reached the ship, Ash falling in beside her a heartbeat later. She let her shoulder brush against his, drawing a bit of courage from the touch, as she pulled herself up to face the orcs, and Torian.
Her brother did not look happy. There was anger in the set of his shoulders and the lines on his brow but, for once, it did not seem to be directed at her. His first words as the column came to halt before the ship made that clear. “I am sorry, Jelleneth. I tried to stop this.”
“Enough from you, elf!” The orc beside him barked. Ilthus and Jessian stepped up to stand at her other side, both of them tense, hands resting on weapons. The orc’s eyes drifted across them, a cruel smile on his lips, daring them to draw. Jelleneth cleared her throat.
“Well Torian, I’ll assume, based on the guests you’ve brought along, that you’re not here for a friendly family chat. So what are you here for?”
It was the orc who answered. “By Hellscream’s orders. Every Horde ship is needed to engage the Alliance fleet. My men and I have been assigned to this vessel to bolster your numbers for the battle, Captain.” There was mockery in the title. The same patronizing tone she remembered from her earliest days in command, the word spat at her contemptuously by Varkaz’s trollish first mate. She’d let it get under her skin in those days, rattle her, make her doubt her choices. She’d learned.
At her side Ilthus’ daggers scraped in their sheaths, just a grin of steel visible. Jessian’s hand slid a bit closer to the stock of his rifle. Ash showed nothing, his eyes on the orc, but his attention was on her, waiting for orders. The mental calculations were as easy as they were hopeless; too many orcs, too many more in the city beyond, too much time for them to arrive while anchor was weighed and the ship was creaking out of port, too many warships in the surrounding waters and no place to run to even if some miracle let them escape. She wanted to scream. Instead she threw her head back and laughed.
“About time you boys invited us to the big party. I thought my brother was going to have us delivering tea sets and patrolling circles around perfectly secured islands for the whole of the war.” Uncertainty flashed across the orc’s eyes as he glanced over at Torian and then back to her, giving her a proper sizing up this time. She smirked down at him. “Glad to see someone in the upper ranks realizes that I’m not a child needing to be hidden behind my big brother’s skirts, hmm?”
The orc’s face split in a grin and he joined her in laughing, a grating guffaw that made her want to bloody her fist on his teeth. She pushed the impulse down and used the aggression to feed her performance instead. “Welcome to the Sapphire, boys. Let’s go be a thorn in the Lion’s paw, eh?” This was met with a shout from the gathered orcs and another approving grin from the orc commander.
“I have heard your name before, Jelleneth Dawnsinger. Heard you were a hard elf. And one with honor. I admit I had my doubts when I saw this dainty little boat you sail. But so far, I like what I’ve seen of its Captain.” The patronizing tone was gone from the title. A start, at least.
“She’s like an elf herself,” the Captain replied, stepping aside to let the orcs begin to file aboard. “Her strength is in her speed and ability to slip in between an enemy’s attacks. To sting without getting swatted. We’re a scout ship. Let us play to our strengths and I guarantee you we’ll lay those doubts to rest.” She eyed the orc up and down. “You say you’ve heard my name before. Why don’t you tell me yours?”
“Duruk Stonecrush.” He thumped his chest with his fist. The name hit hers with equal force.
“Adrak’s brother.” She nodded. “He mentioned you. Is he?” Her eyes moved to scan the faces of the orcs passing by, but Duruk shook his head.
“Cultists.” That one, flatly stated word was all the explanation needed. She turned her attention back to her own brother, still standing on the docks.
“Well Torian, thanks for the delivery. And send my love to Dori when you get back home, eh?”
“He’s coming with us.” The orc said with a bit of that old cruel enjoyment creeping back into his voice. “General’s orders. He was so very concerned with the fate of this vessel, the General thought it best he take a personal hand in seeing she completes her mission.”
“And remind me to thank the General for weighing us down with a bureaucrat who doesn’t know the capstan from the mizzen. That’s sure to be handy.” She sighed theatrically and then turned to shout over her shoulder. “Quel’wythar! Show His Lordship to his cot, if ya please.” Jessian looked for a moment as if he might protest, but a glance at her face silenced him and he simply nodded curtly and started for the galley, not even glancing behind to see if Torian was following.
“And my men?” Duruk asked.
“We’re a bit bunk shy, I fear. They’ll have to hang hammocks in the cargo hold.”
The orc nodded and then shouted the order over her head at the company milling about on the deck. “I’ll trust you to get us out of port, Captain. Then we can discuss strategy.” And with that he moved toward the hold, barking more orders at his men and he went.
“Torian...” Ilthus growled under his breath but she cut him off with a sharp, chopping gesture.
“Enough. This isn’t his fault.”
A sigh. “I know. But can I blame him anyway?”
“Frankly? No. You can’t.” She leaned in a bit, voice dropping. “We’ve all just been press-ganged onto our own ship. My time in command here is limited to how long I can continue to amuse Duruk. Hopefully I can keep it long enough to keep us all alive, but this ship just became enemy territory and we are going to need all the allies we can get. Tor is one. Whether you like that or not. So keep civil or keep quiet.”
His eyes narrowed a bit, and the bow he gave her was mocking. “I’ll just go set the sails then, shall I, Captain?”
“Please.” Whether he heard the plea in her voice or not, Ilthus made no further comment, just swung up into the rigging. She closed her eyes and took in a deep breath, letting it out slowly and then coughing a bit from the noxious burn of the air. Ash’s hand fell on her shoulder and she found a smile to give him. “M’ok. Thank you.” She brought her hand up to squeeze his before stepping away. “Could you go down and give our new ‘recruits’ a quick looking over? Make sure none of em are carrying some sick that might spread. ” A nod, and he was moving but paused again at her call. “And Ash? Apologize to Torian for me?”
He hesitated for just a flicker and then nodded again, expression slipping into an inscrutable mask. “As you wish, captain.” He, too, offered her a salute but there was no mockery in it. Then he was off, quick and silent, to do her bidding.
Her final run. It was a bittersweet thought. This ship had been her home, her heart and her life since the first day she was brought aboard it. Memories choked the decks and flooded the galley and crowded so thick in the Captain’s Quarters she could sometimes barely stand to be alone in them. Everywhere she looked, ghosts lingered. It was time to put them to rest. One last job for Revilgaz to clear her debts and then she could walk away. The ship would go to Jessian, a man as badly in need of a home and a purpose as she had been when the Sapphire had passed into her hands. She could only hope that Jessian’s path to those things would be less painful that her own had been.
From the deck below her future smiled up at her, brushing the dark memories of the past away. It was a quick moment, flash of a grin before he set back to carefully stowing the medical supplies and his own stock of alchemical necessities, but it was enough to solidify her resolve. The house in Feralas was still incomplete but it would keep the rain out and the warm in and that was enough for now. The rest of it; gardens, stables, the workshop for visiting magelets, the nursery and the smells of baking bread and fresh tilled earth, hippogryph dander and dragonhawk smoke, the laughter of children... all of that would come in its own time.
“That’s the last of it Cap’n,” Ilthus announced as he tromped up the stairs to stand beside her, throwing in a mocking little salute for good measure. “Now can we put out to sea already? M’dying for a smoke but I don’t want to risk lightin’ the ship on fire with all these fumes in the-” His complaint cut off short and his ears rose suddenly on full alert as he looked out over the docks. Jelleneth followed his gaze and drew in a sharp breath. Orcs. A squad of them in formation, heading straight for the Sapphire, and walking beside the lead orc, dressed in his full battle armor, was an all too familiar elven knight.
She vaulted the railing and was on the deck to meet them before they reached the ship, Ash falling in beside her a heartbeat later. She let her shoulder brush against his, drawing a bit of courage from the touch, as she pulled herself up to face the orcs, and Torian.
Her brother did not look happy. There was anger in the set of his shoulders and the lines on his brow but, for once, it did not seem to be directed at her. His first words as the column came to halt before the ship made that clear. “I am sorry, Jelleneth. I tried to stop this.”
“Enough from you, elf!” The orc beside him barked. Ilthus and Jessian stepped up to stand at her other side, both of them tense, hands resting on weapons. The orc’s eyes drifted across them, a cruel smile on his lips, daring them to draw. Jelleneth cleared her throat.
“Well Torian, I’ll assume, based on the guests you’ve brought along, that you’re not here for a friendly family chat. So what are you here for?”
It was the orc who answered. “By Hellscream’s orders. Every Horde ship is needed to engage the Alliance fleet. My men and I have been assigned to this vessel to bolster your numbers for the battle, Captain.” There was mockery in the title. The same patronizing tone she remembered from her earliest days in command, the word spat at her contemptuously by Varkaz’s trollish first mate. She’d let it get under her skin in those days, rattle her, make her doubt her choices. She’d learned.
At her side Ilthus’ daggers scraped in their sheaths, just a grin of steel visible. Jessian’s hand slid a bit closer to the stock of his rifle. Ash showed nothing, his eyes on the orc, but his attention was on her, waiting for orders. The mental calculations were as easy as they were hopeless; too many orcs, too many more in the city beyond, too much time for them to arrive while anchor was weighed and the ship was creaking out of port, too many warships in the surrounding waters and no place to run to even if some miracle let them escape. She wanted to scream. Instead she threw her head back and laughed.
“About time you boys invited us to the big party. I thought my brother was going to have us delivering tea sets and patrolling circles around perfectly secured islands for the whole of the war.” Uncertainty flashed across the orc’s eyes as he glanced over at Torian and then back to her, giving her a proper sizing up this time. She smirked down at him. “Glad to see someone in the upper ranks realizes that I’m not a child needing to be hidden behind my big brother’s skirts, hmm?”
The orc’s face split in a grin and he joined her in laughing, a grating guffaw that made her want to bloody her fist on his teeth. She pushed the impulse down and used the aggression to feed her performance instead. “Welcome to the Sapphire, boys. Let’s go be a thorn in the Lion’s paw, eh?” This was met with a shout from the gathered orcs and another approving grin from the orc commander.
“I have heard your name before, Jelleneth Dawnsinger. Heard you were a hard elf. And one with honor. I admit I had my doubts when I saw this dainty little boat you sail. But so far, I like what I’ve seen of its Captain.” The patronizing tone was gone from the title. A start, at least.
“She’s like an elf herself,” the Captain replied, stepping aside to let the orcs begin to file aboard. “Her strength is in her speed and ability to slip in between an enemy’s attacks. To sting without getting swatted. We’re a scout ship. Let us play to our strengths and I guarantee you we’ll lay those doubts to rest.” She eyed the orc up and down. “You say you’ve heard my name before. Why don’t you tell me yours?”
“Duruk Stonecrush.” He thumped his chest with his fist. The name hit hers with equal force.
“Adrak’s brother.” She nodded. “He mentioned you. Is he?” Her eyes moved to scan the faces of the orcs passing by, but Duruk shook his head.
“Cultists.” That one, flatly stated word was all the explanation needed. She turned her attention back to her own brother, still standing on the docks.
“Well Torian, thanks for the delivery. And send my love to Dori when you get back home, eh?”
“He’s coming with us.” The orc said with a bit of that old cruel enjoyment creeping back into his voice. “General’s orders. He was so very concerned with the fate of this vessel, the General thought it best he take a personal hand in seeing she completes her mission.”
“And remind me to thank the General for weighing us down with a bureaucrat who doesn’t know the capstan from the mizzen. That’s sure to be handy.” She sighed theatrically and then turned to shout over her shoulder. “Quel’wythar! Show His Lordship to his cot, if ya please.” Jessian looked for a moment as if he might protest, but a glance at her face silenced him and he simply nodded curtly and started for the galley, not even glancing behind to see if Torian was following.
“And my men?” Duruk asked.
“We’re a bit bunk shy, I fear. They’ll have to hang hammocks in the cargo hold.”
The orc nodded and then shouted the order over her head at the company milling about on the deck. “I’ll trust you to get us out of port, Captain. Then we can discuss strategy.” And with that he moved toward the hold, barking more orders at his men and he went.
“Torian...” Ilthus growled under his breath but she cut him off with a sharp, chopping gesture.
“Enough. This isn’t his fault.”
A sigh. “I know. But can I blame him anyway?”
“Frankly? No. You can’t.” She leaned in a bit, voice dropping. “We’ve all just been press-ganged onto our own ship. My time in command here is limited to how long I can continue to amuse Duruk. Hopefully I can keep it long enough to keep us all alive, but this ship just became enemy territory and we are going to need all the allies we can get. Tor is one. Whether you like that or not. So keep civil or keep quiet.”
His eyes narrowed a bit, and the bow he gave her was mocking. “I’ll just go set the sails then, shall I, Captain?”
“Please.” Whether he heard the plea in her voice or not, Ilthus made no further comment, just swung up into the rigging. She closed her eyes and took in a deep breath, letting it out slowly and then coughing a bit from the noxious burn of the air. Ash’s hand fell on her shoulder and she found a smile to give him. “M’ok. Thank you.” She brought her hand up to squeeze his before stepping away. “Could you go down and give our new ‘recruits’ a quick looking over? Make sure none of em are carrying some sick that might spread. ” A nod, and he was moving but paused again at her call. “And Ash? Apologize to Torian for me?”
He hesitated for just a flicker and then nodded again, expression slipping into an inscrutable mask. “As you wish, captain.” He, too, offered her a salute but there was no mockery in it. Then he was off, quick and silent, to do her bidding.
