The Burning

Chapter Sixteen

The three Blood Elves had found their way down the cliff face, and headed in the direction of the North Coast, doing their best to stay out of sight of the Scarlet Watch Post above them, and the Crusaders who patrolled the mountain path. The darkness of night had assisted in remaining hidden from those above, but they had nearly run right into a different group of Crusaders down at their level. While heading away from the cliffs, they had smelled the scent of smoke, and seen a number of campfires further north, with what appeared to be bodies scattered around them. They were headed towards Brightwater Lake, to put some distance between themselves and the Monastery, when they had heard the clanking of metal, and the sound of boots crushing the grass underfoot nearby. They found themselves out in the open, completely without anywhere to hide. If they had been nearer the cliffs, they could have ducked behind a boulder, but on the shore of the lake, they were exposed. They had a very short amount of time to decide what to do, before the Crusaders were close enough to be made aware of their presence. Arsika tapped her friends on the shoulders to get their attention, and then gestured for them to follow her, as she waded into the lake, trying to make as little noise as she could in the process, but not move too slowly. The others followed her, after only a moment's hesitation, and soon the three of them were treading water, and hoping the moon would stay behind the clouds for a little while longer.

Arsika tried to ignore how cold the water was, even as she began to shiver, and kept her eyes on the shadowy forms of what looked to be a medium-sized gathering of Crusaders, walking along the shore. She tried to count how many there were, but it was too dark to get an exact number. That had comforted her somewhat, for if she couldn't see them clearly, they most likely couldn't see her at all, since the water of the lake appeared to be practically black in the darkness, and the Crusaders did not appear to be carrying any torches. The only light came from the fires they had seen before, and the flickering flames did not extend their reach this far. Just as the Crusaders seemed to be about to pass by, they had stopped right in front of the three elves. "I thought I heard some splashing a few seconds ago," one of the men said. Arsika's heart sank. She thought they'd been quieter than that.
"Oh, indeed? You think some of our 'refugee' friends might have tried to hide in the water?" Another one asked, who seemed to be fairly tall, and spoke with a voice of authority, though it was also a somewhat younger voice than one might expect to come from a leader in the Scarlet Crusade. He sounded hopeful at the thought that there might be refugees swimming out here. Perhaps they were a rescue party?
"Perhaps, sir."
"Or Gnolls, sir." A third answered.
"Oh, please. Everyone knows Gnolls don't swim," the voice of the leader answered, sounding a bit disgusted. "No, it's probably as Holman over there says, if anything."
"It could have been a Lake Shark," offered an older-sounding man.
"Lake Sharks don't exist," the leader replied. "Hand me a lantern would you, Holman?"
"Yes, sir. How many do you think might be out there?" Holman asked as he started fiddling with something at his belt. Arsika was starting to panic, and she felt sure that the others were as well. Her mind raced for something she could do.
"None, if they were eaten by a Lake Shark," that older-voice piped up again.
"Look, shut up about the Lake Sharks. They're just a myth. They don't exist," the leader said, sounding irritated.
"They do so exist!" The older man protested.
"I've never seen one."
"That doesn't mean they don't exist, Jonas!"
"Stop being stupid. There is no way a shark of that size is going to be able to live in a lake this small. They need room to swim, and plenty to eat, and thanks to the Scourge I highly doubt there's going to be anything worth eating in there, nor enough of it if there was that it could support a beast reputed to be big enough to swallow an Ogre whole," the man named Jonas responded.
"I didn't know you were so knowledgeable about marine biology," Holman said, sounding impressed. "Oh, right, here's the lantern, sir." There was a brief clattering as the lantern was handed over.
"Well, you just have to know these things when you're a man in my position," Jonas had responded off-handedly, as he lifted the lantern and started fiddling with it. "Where the hell is the switch for turning this on?"
"If it was an Undead Lake Shark it wouldn't have to eat unless it wanted to..." The older-man said sullenly.
"Shut up!" Jonas yelled, and then his hand apparently found the switch he was looking for, because he said, "Finally. Now to see what's--" He broke off at a sudden loud noise.

Behind the three elves, and about a dozen feet off to the left, there was a loud sound of water erupting upwards in a spray, as something burst out of the lake. There were gasps and noises of astonishment from the Crusaders on the shore, and Arsika could feel the whooshing of displaced air as a very large object passed by, right over her head, seeming to almost hang there for a few seconds, before coming back down on the other side, with an enormous splash that sent a geyser high into the air, and sent waves rippling across the lake, causing the lake itself to slosh over its confines, and onto the shore. As the geyser came back down in the form of drops of water raining on everything in the vicinity, the Crusaders gaped for a few seconds before talking quickly and excitedly, voices overlapping.
"What the hell was that?"
"That must have been a Lake Shark!"
"Did you see the size of it?"
"It was huge!"
"I never thought anything could have so many teeth!"
Arsika felt paralyzed, only kicking her legs to tread water out of habit now, as her heart thudded rapidly in her chest, the chill of the lake inconsequential when compared to the icy fear that had descended upon her. She darted a glance off to her side, and saw that Arrwynn's eyes were wide as saucers, and her face was very pale. Arsika imagined she probably looked the same way. She turned her eyes forward again, and didn't dare turn her head to look behind her, or move at all beyond what was necessary to stay afloat.
"Well," Jonas spoke up, sounding surprised, but relatively calm, as he turned towards the older man. "It seems I owe you an apology, Ferguson. Lake Sharks really do exist. I'm sorry for doubting you."
"It's alright," Ferguson replied faintly. "I didn't really think they existed either."
"Well, regardless, if there had been anyone out there, I'm sure that monster would have gotten them by now. Let's head back to the Monastery. Oh, and here's your lantern back, Holman." With that said, the Crusaders departed, still chattering amongst themselves about the humongous Ogre-devouring beast they'd just seen.

Arsika and Arrwynn waited only until they were sure the Crusaders were out of earshot, and then they were out of the water so fast, they didn't even remember how they got back on shore. As the two of them put several feet between themselves and the water, and then turned to look at the lake, Arsika said, "I am never setting foot in the water again." Arrwynn nodded her head vigorously in agreement, eyes still wide and staring. Strangely, Aerai seemed to be less concerned, and took her time getting out of the water, with an impassive look on her face. As the three elves returned to their original course, and Arsika slowly calmed down, she remained horrified at how close she'd been to being eaten alive by a giant fish. "I still can't believe there was a Lake Shark in the water with us."
"Please, stop talking about it," Arrwynn said with a shudder.
"There wasn't a Lake Shark in the water with us," Aerai spoke up suddenly, breaking her silence.
"Yes, there was. You know? Great big fish? Lots of teeth?" Arsika inquired sarcastically.
"There's no such thing as Lake Sharks," Aerai responded with a completely unperturbed expression. Arsika whirled on the other elf, making her wet hair whip through the air. She pointed towards the lake.
"Then what the hell do you call that thing that almost--" Arsika paused when she saw Aerai was smiling, and then she took note of something in her friend's hand. It was an odd stick that Aerai had been carrying ever since they got out of the lake. "...Is that what I think it is?" Arsika asked, turning her hand from pointing at the lake, to pointing at the stick. Aerai held it up, as a little bit of moonlight shone through the clouds, revealing that the stick was what appeared to be a short branch, or rod of wood, with a yellow star on the end, made of some metal. Aerai's smile widened.
"What is it?" Arrwynn asked in confusion. Aerai grinned towards her.
"It's a Wand of Illusion," Aerai answered. As that sunk in, Arsika and Arrwynn just stared at her, and she walked on ahead of them, humming.

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Eventually the three women were shivering so much from the cold, that they realized they would have to do something about their wet clothes, so upon reaching a place they deemed near enough to the beach, and safe enough to stay for the night, they started a campfire with the equipment they had on hand, and then removed their robes and shoes and such to dry out. The trio sat around the fire, warming themselves, and drying off. They had eaten dinner, and decided a change of clothing was in order once they were dry, as they'd need travelling clothes once they reached the Barrens. Luckilly, their backpacks being built to seal against water getting into them, their spare clothes were perfectly dry. The momentary anger at Aerai for not telling them immediately that the Lake Shark had been a product of that Wand of hers had quickly faded, as had Aerai's smile. Arsika tried to make small talk with her and Arrwynn, but Aerai responded as little as possible, and mostly just sort of stared at the fire. Eventually, Arsika decided that whatever was bothering Aerai, she couldn't just let her friend sit there and be miserable. There had to be some way to cheer her up... Arsika looked around for something she could bring up in conversation, but nothing presented itself until her eyes alighted upon Arrwynn, sitting across from her.

The silver-maned elf was wearing a white bra and white panties, and while they were dry for the most part now -- somewhat to Arsika's disappointment, as they had revealed most interesting details about Arrwynn's anatomy when they were wet -- they still gave Arsika an idea. Arrwynn was sitting back, legs out and spread, propping herself up with her hands behind her. Her green eyes caught Arsika staring and looked questioningly at her. "Arrwynn, do you remember those guys in the Undercity, from when you'd just gotten your boots?" Arsika asked.
"Yes," Arrwynn replied with a scowl.
"Well, I think they were right."
"Eh?" Arrwynn asked confusedly.
"You know. About your panties," Arsika explained casually.
"EH!?" The other woman exclaimed.
"They really are very nice," purred the red-head as she looked at Arrwynn with half-lidded eyes. The other elf shot both hands down between her legs to cover her underwear and began rapidly stammering with her face bright red in embarassment. Then she noticed Arsika was grinning, and that Aerai had put her face against her knees as she hugged her legs to her chest, and was shaking with silent laughter. Arrwynn quickly realized that it was just a joke, and shook her head, with a smile of her own on her face, though her face was still red. Even knowing Arsika had been joking, Arrwynn made sure to put her spare outfit on as soon as possible after that. Just incase.

The next morning, they had awoken early, gathered their things, and destroyed all signs of a campfire that they could. Then they snuck over behind some rocks, and waited. They could see from where they were concealed that there were Murlocs on the beach, walking along, with webbed feet slapping on the sand, as well as swimming around among the waves. As the bizarre amphibious creatures hunted for fish, and mock-battled, or huddled together in a circle on the shore and played some incomprehensible game that involved picking up a handful of smooth rocks and dropping them in the sand, the Murlocs seemed almost peaceful. However, a couple hours later, a group of Crusaders showed up, walking down the shore, and the moment one of the Murlocs on watch spotted the men and women approaching, it let out the distinctive battle-cry of its species.
"Mwwrrllggghrrmggwwrrrgll!" Came the cry, and it was taken up by two others nearby, as they charged the Crusaders. The three Murlocs assaulted the Crusaders with spears, though one appeared to be wielding some sort of small blade, and the zealots fought back. It was a very short battle, as the Crusaders routinely battled the Murlocs each time the supply ship was scheduled to arrive, and had long ago perfected strategies for dealing with the amphibians. When the three Murloc guards were slain, and the rest saw this, they fled, further up the beach, towards some strange little huts on stilts that were apparently houses. Once the Murlocs were chased off, and the Crusaders were sure they would not be returning, they began fanning out, taking up positions around the area, to keep anyone from getting close enough to disrupt things. It was very well-organized, and they had clearly practiced this many times, as everyone knew where they were supposed to be, and what they were supposed to be doing, with barely any words spoken.

The three elves were glad they had chosen this spot, realizing that if they'd been a bit further south, they would have been outside the border of the circle, and they would have had little chance of getting past unnoticed. However, they were currently inside the circle, and no one seemed to be aware of their presence. The Crusaders stood ready, and waited. Arsika looked out to sea, scanning for a ship, but saw nothing on the horizon. There did not appear to be any ships coming, and it was only an hour or so before noon. The Crusaders seemed not to be concerned, and Arsika tried to remember what it was that Mint had said about the ship last night, while she observed a whale surfacing further out in the water, its sleek, black flesh shining with wetness as the sun shone down on it. The ship was "special". It was "a ship that swims". The red-head felt a bit annoyed that the human girl couldn't have been a bit more helpful about what to look for, but she was distracted when she noticed that the whale was swimming awfully close to the shore. If it got much closer it could beach itself. But the beast kept closing in, and as the water got shallower, more of its body became visible, until Arsika realized that this was no whale. The "flesh" was far too smooth, and far too reflective, and now that the black shape was above the waves a bit, she could see there were silver tubes and things built onto the surface, and three copper cylinders arose from the top, spraying steam or some kind of gas into the air.

Arsika became aware of a deep thumping noise, artificial in its regularity, and it became louder and louder as this bizarre machine came further out of the water, and then drove up onto the beach, sending a wave of sand spraying outwards from the force of the impact, and digging up a ditch as its bottom dragged on the ground. On either side of the contraption were bulky protrusions with spinning blades on them, moving quickly and creating a buzzing sound in the air, though they soon quieted as the blades slowed down, and then the loud thumping of the machine's engine also slowed, before stopping completely. The entire thing was oblong, with rounded ends that appeared to have hinges on them. The end that was currently hanging over the beach abruptly split in half, horizontally, as the bottom unfolded, and banged down on the sand, looking like a ramp, while the upper half folded upwards, revealing this machine was hollow. Inside the opening, there were crates, and boxes, and big burlap sacks, and various other containers. And as tiny, big-eared, green-fleshed humanoids began to emerge from the machine, and the Crusaders moved forward to assist with unloading the cargo into a few wagons they'd brought with them, Arsika, Aerai, and Arrwynn just stared.
"A ship that swims," Arsika said faintly.
"Crewed by Goblins," Aerai nodded.
"I don't like Goblins," Arrwynn scowled.
"How unfortunate. One second while I make a distraction," Aerai responded, seeming not too terribly concerned about Arrwynn's dislike. Just as Aerai was raising her Wand of Illusion, however, the guards called out, "Here they come!" And moments later, a small group of Rothide Gnolls charged the outer perimeter of the Crusaders' circle, running up from some dead-looking crop fields to the south. The elves looked to see if they could make it to the ship now while the Gnolls attacked, but the Crusaders had continued unloading the ship, not allowing themselves to be distracted from doing their jobs. The degree of their training was impressive, but also unfortunate, because it didn't look like any other opportunities were going to present themselves. Until Aerai pointed her Wand in the direction of the Gnolls, who were quickly being routed, and had already turned to flee, and suddenly there was a mighty yell of a male voice, that echoed over the entire beach. Crusaders and Gnolls both paused in what they were doing, and turned to look at the source of that yell.

In the distance, there was the dark outline of a man on a horse. The horse trotted forward, coming closer, until the man's features could be identified. He was tall, broad, and wore a suit of armor. He was astride a black steed, and the horse had glowing red eyes. The man had long, snowy white hair streaming from his head, the strands somewhat stringy-looking as the sea breeze blew them about. Held in one hand, as though its weight were nothing, was a huge, two-handed sword, that streamed icy mist, and was engraved with glowing runes on the blade. The man's eyes glowed an unholy green, visible even from this distance. One of the older Crusaders present, a Scarlet Protector, who had been directing the others before, was staring with wide eyes, his face having gone dead-white. His lips moved, but no words came out. He recognized the man on the horse. He had even met him once, years ago, when he was a boy training under Uther Lightbringer. Then he managed to get ahold of himself and yell, "That's Arthas Menethil!" Most of the Crusaders who turned to look at the old Protector did so with confusion on their faces, not comprehending his yell. The Protector took in a deep breath, and pointed a finger at the man on the horse, before letting out a scream as loud as he could, "THE LICH KING HIMSELF STANDS BEFORE US!" As if in response to the scream, Arthas raised his sword, Frostmourne, high above his head, as his horse reared up, whinnying, and the Lich King let out his own yell, as lightning flashed down from the sky, even without storm clouds. Behind him, pulling themselves out of the ground, an army of corpses arose, rotting, shambling, moaning, crying out for blood. And then the army of Undead charged the Crusaders, and the Gnolls who had been prepared to flee gained new courage from the leader of the Scourge appearing, and turned to face the warriors, attacking once more.

As the front line of Undead clashed with the seemingly pitiful guards that formed the outer ring, and the sound of battle began echoing out over the land, the elves behind the rock gaped at the spectacle, mouths hanging open, unable to comprehend what they were seeing. Then Arsika and Arrwynn were grabbed by the shoulder, making them jump and whirl around, and found Aerai trying to pull them away, towards the supply ship. "Come on! We have to go now!" The Crusaders who had been unloading crates had been ordered by the Protector in charge to reinforce the guards, and they had rushed to help, leaving the bizarre machine on the beach unwatched. Even the Goblins had vanished inside, unwilling to remain here and find out who won this fight.
"But what about--?" Arrwynn began, unable to tear her eyes away from the battle, until Aerai grabbed her by the front of her shirt, yanked her around, and yelled right in her face.
"NOW!" With that order, Arrwynn got her act together, and joined Aerai in running towards the ship, which Arsika had already reached. The two elves just managed to jump onto the cargo ramp as it started to fold back up, and moments after they were inside, the opening had closed up behind them, and some sort of black tube lining the edges of each half of the hatch had swollen up, filling with air or something else, probably to seal out any water. It also sealed out the sounds of battle outside. A few seconds later, the engine started up, slowly, but then building up speed and volume, until the deep thumping noise returned, even louder now that the elves were actually inside the ship. There was a mighty lurch, and they felt the weird vessel lifting up off the ground, as though it had suddenly sprouted legs, and then it rocked greatly for a time, before it slowed down, and the rocking stopped. They could hear the sound of water sloshing against the hull, and realized that they were now out in the ocean. They could feel themselves sinking lower at first, when the ship went beneath the waves, but eventually they couldn't tell anymore.

Arsika had whirled on Aerai, and grinned broadly for some reason that Arrwynn couldn't fathom. "That. Was. Pure. Genius!" Arsika exclaimed. Then Arrwynn got it.
"...The Wand again!?" She asked, shocked at the sheer enormity of what Aerai had just done. Arsika still grinned.
"Of course it was the Wand. What else could it have been? I highly doubt the Lich King would just show up out of nowhere, or that there was an entire army of Scourge buried so close to the surface. I swear, that was truly inspired, Aerai, you beautiful, beautiful woman!" Arsika proclaimed.
"Well, I--" Aerai began, before Arsika suddenly put her hands on the sides of Aerai's face, and then gave her a great big kiss on the lips. It only lasted for a few seconds, and then Arsika pulled away, smiling still. Until she saw the shocked look on Aerai's face, and realized what she'd just done. Arrwynn was also staring.
"Oh... Uhh... Oops. Sorry. Just sort of got carried away," Arsika apologized, as she let go of Aerai and backed away. Aerai just waved it off, though.
"It's fine, really."
"I had no idea those Wands of Illusion were so powerful!" Arrwynn said, impressed.
"Well, they usually aren't. I had to not only use both of the two remaining charges in the Wand -- they only come with three -- but also use a fair chunk of my own Mana." Aerai explained.
"Regardless, I'm glad you have such a great imagination," Arsika said, her smile returning. Aerai smiled back. Arrwynn took a seat on a crate that hadn't been unloaded back on the beach and let out a whoosh of air, as she relaxed.
"Well, guess we're finally on our way to Kalimdor, and no one is the wiser," Arrwynn said for no particular reason.
"Oh, most assuredly," said a scratchy high-pitched voice. "I highly doubt anyone knows you're here."
"Yup. I wonder how far away it is..." Arrwynn mused.
"A fair distance yet. We have a few hours before we arrive," the new voice replied.
"Really? It takes that long?"
"Well, we aren't going straight there, you know. Have to make a few other stops too."
"Like where--?" Arrwynn started to ask as she looked towards the source of the voice. Standing there was a Goblin, dressed in a black shirt, with a red vest, purple pants, and yellow shoes. Combined with his green skin, he was painful to look at. His long ears looked like they belonged on a bat, and were probably what allowed him to hear the three elves back in the cargo room. He had two other Goblins with him, one to the left, and one to the right, and both held unpleasant-looking weapons with lots of rotating blades, and electrified needles, and random knobs and protrusions. The weapons were aimed directly at the elves.
"You'll see soon enough," the Goblin replied in a sinister voice, and he smiled a wide smile, showing lots and lots of very sharp teeth. "Welcome to the Sub, my pretty little stow-aways."

-------------End Chapter Sixteen-------------