"I'm Li Li Stormstout. Who are you?"
My name is Lintharel," said the night elf. “I am a druid, and a kaldorei in service of the Alliance.”
The cabin door opened, and a grizzled human man stepped into the room, followed by another night elf woman. She looked almost identical to Lintharel, right down to the raindrop-shaped violet tattoos across her face. They were clearly sisters.
“I’m Marco Heller, the captain of this ship,” the man declared as soon as he had crossed the threshold. “I have some questions for you.”
“Already?” Lintharel said, brows creasing. “I thought you just wanted to know when she was awake. She is still injured!”
“Why don’t you step out and fetch some more bandages, then?” Captain Heller asked, though his tone conveyed the request as an order. “You may accompany her if you like, Atropa.”
“I am not going anywhere,” Atropa replied, crossing her arms. Lintharel threw a frustrated glance at the captain before leaving.
“I worked side by side with many members of the Horde in Mount Hyjal,” Lintharel said quietly. “Archdruid Hamuul Runetotem is a tauren, and one of the greatest leaders of the Cenarion Circle. You cannot judge an entire people by the actions of a few.”
Baenan shook his head. “Lass, I wish I could agree with ye. Th’ Cenarion Circle druids can be an exception, as can th’ shaman o’ th’ Earthen Ring. But look at yerself: ye came back from Hyjal an’ returned tae servin’ th’ Alliance. Yer Horde friends have done th’ same. They’re yer enemies now, and ye are theirs.”
Lintharel’s hands tightened around her cards. “I serve the Alliance because it is High Priestess Tyrande and Archdruid Malfurion’s will, and I am loyal to them.” She frowned. “But the divisions between the Horde and Alliance are false ones.”
“False divisions enforced with real guns an’ blades!” Baenan snorted. “Warchief Hellscream wants nae peace. Look at yer own home in Ashenvale! He’s a menace, an’ yer druid friends are complicit in his reign.” He slapped his cards down on the table; he was the winner this round. “Ain’t nothin’ an’ no one trustworthy in th’ Horde, an’ ye need tae accept that.”
“You’re certain you wish to risk it?” Aldrek evaluated his volunteer diplomat, none other than the druid Nita.
“I’ve worked with members of the Alliance as part of the Cenarion Circle,” Nita replied. “That history will put them at ease.”
Aldrek rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “Fine. Can you row yourself over?”
Nita could have taken the shape of a bird and flown herself over, but the Alliance was sending a boat, so it was better to reciprocate in kind.
“Yes,” she answered.
“Welcome aboard!” Captain Heller stated enthusiastically, extending his hand. Nita shook it warmly, and the gathered sailors inclined their heads in acknowledgement.
“Thank you, Captain,” she replied. “I hope that we can reach a mutually satisfying agreement.”
Nita faced Captain Heller in his quarters. Several naval officers, their hands clasped formally behind their backs, flanked the negotiators.
“Captain,” she began, “I’d like to offer a full explanation of our ship’s movements—”
“Nita,” Heller interrupted her, “I’m not interested in the how or why of the Horde’s movements. I just want your people to get out.”
“These waters are neutral,” she countered. “We have as much right to be here as you do.”
“That may be true,” Heller continued, unmoved, “but you pose a threat. I will not be satisfied that the threat is contained until your ship is back in Durotar, where it belongs.”
“I can relay that to my captain, if you wish,” Nita said tentatively.
“No, I think we will communicate with him directly,” said Heller. “You will stay here as collateral to make sure our message is properly heard.”
Nita’s mouth dropped open. “What? You are holding me prisoner?”
“I do what I must,” Captain Heller said. “Seize her.”
Four officers grabbed her arms. “This is outrageous!” she cried as she struggled against her captors. “I am a druid of the Cenarion Circle! I have worked alongside Malfurion Stormrage himself!”
“How nice,” Captain Heller replied. “If I ever meet him, I shall be sure to tell him that I know you.”
Nita’s great hands were bound behind her. The guards’ solemn expressions indicated a failure to come to terms.
Captain Heller brandished his sword.
“This creature,” he announced, pointing to Nita with the blade, “attacked me and my officers the moment we were isolated from the rest of the crew! We subdued her, and now she must be dealt with!”
“You lie! I did nothing of the sort!” Nita countered angrily, earning herself a backhand from one of the taller officers.
“Silence, Horde scum!” Heller ordered.
A series of sharp bangs and flashes interrupted the captain. Magic streaked from the deck of the Horde ship, the runes brightly illuminating the darkening sky.
A cry rose from one of the magi. “They’re demanding surrender, or Baenan dies!”
Heller let out a snarl of fury and cursed. “We will never surrender!” he yelled, as if the Warchief’s Fist could actually hear him.
Trialin covered her mouth with her hands, suppressing a sob. Li Li put her arm around the dwarf’s shoulders.
Heller faced Nita. “You.” He signaled to his men, who shoved the tauren forward. “If Baenan’s life is forfeit, then so is yours. Blood for blood.” He raised his sword.
Seeming to appear out of nowhere, Lintharel stepped between Nita and the captain, spreading her arms wide.
“No,” the night elf said.
Captain Heller’s face twisted in anger. He did not lower his sword.
“Lintharel?” Nita said softly. Li Li cocked her head to the side. How did this tauren know Lintharel’s name?
“Get out of the way, night elf,” Captain Heller said.
“At Mount Hyjal I fought by Nita’s side,” Lintharel declared. “I have known few comrades more honorable or courageous. She has done nothing wrong. Let her go.”
“Her people have taken Baenan prisoner,” Heller said through gritted teeth.
“As you have done to her,” Lintharel pointed out. “If the Horde intended to hold Baenan from the start, then they are willing to sacrifice her. They had to have known how you would react to their ultimatum. She is as much a victim as Baenan.”
“Stand down, night elf! That is an order!”
“Or did you also intend to detain the Horde messenger,” Lintharel continued, lifting her chin, “equally condemning Baenan to death?”
“Shut your mouth!” Heller roared. The tip of his sword quivered inches from her throat. “You owe the Alliance a debt of service. To disobey me is treason.”
“To betray a friend is an equal sin,” she said. “To which do I owe the greater debt, Captain: a political allegiance, or a personal one?”
The question lingered like the note of a gong. Li Li’s heart was in her mouth. The entire crew watched, still as death. No one even dared to breathe. Every sound was magnified: the waves slapping the wooden hull, the rigging jostling in a gust of wind. The gathering clouds had thickened, tingeing the dusk an eerie green.
All the fur on Li Li’s neck and arms stood straight on end. The very air was charged, tensed to some intangible limit.
And Li Li understood.
Lintharel, standing between Nita and those who would harm her, was not as vulnerable as she seemed. She had been stalling, buying time.
Casting a spell.
The first of the raindrops fell from the sky.
“Lintharel,” Captain Heller said in a voice deathly calm, “this is your last warning.”
Li Li grabbed Trialin’s wrist and took a step backward, away from the crowd. The dwarf, sensing Li Li’s urgency, followed her lead and did not make a sound.
“I will not stand down,” Lintharel said. Above her, the sky rumbled.
“So be it! Kill—”
The last half of Heller’s command was lost in a roar of wind gusting ferociously from behind Lintharel, sending everyone who faced her stumbling backward. In the same instant a bolt of lightning seared the sky, hitting the Elwynn’s main mast like a bomb, igniting the topsail in fireworks of sparks. Splinters of wood the size of daggers rained upon the deck. Li Li and Trialin dove behind a secured crate, the night illuminated in flames.
Lintharel stepped into the now-cleared space before her, open arms no longer a gesture of sacrifice, but of power. Her eyes glowed like stars, white as the summoned lightning. The impossible wind swirled around her, tossing her hair, pulling at her leather kilt, but she was otherwise impervious to it. Li Li watched in awe. Lintharel looked like a goddess.
“Free her,” she commanded a sailor cowering on the deck. He nodded, eyes wide with fear, and began to crawl toward Nita.
Another explosion rocked the entire ship. Everyone stumbled. Somewhere, people were screaming, calling for water, for healers.
The Warchief’s Fist had opened fire.
All descended into chaos. Rain poured from the clouds. Some of the crew lunged to attack Lintharel and Nita, while others rushed to defend the ship. Above it all Captain Heller shouted orders, desperately attempting to regain control.
A volley of cannon shot replied to the Horde ship’s blast, a few of the balls striking home. Li Li leaped from behind her hiding place, eyes fixed on the small crowd that battled the night elf and the tauren.
“Where are ye goin’?” Trialin called out.
“What they did to Nita is wrong,” Li Li said defiantly. “I’m going to help her and Lintharel.”
Li Li had feared that Trialin’s rage for her brother would make her side with the other crew, but to her relief, the dwarf nodded.
“Aye,” she said. “It’s th’ height o’ cowardice tae attack a diplomat.” She pulled a shortsword from her belt and tossed it to Li Li. “Ye’ll need a weapon.”
“Thanks,” Li Li said. With a cry, the two threw themselves into the fray.
The fire had spread to the Elwynn’s mainsail, the rain doing little to thwart it. A handful of sailors frantically worked a bucket brigade to contain the blaze, but their effort was futile. Eventually the entire ship would go up in flames.
“Nita,” Lintharel cried, “you need to get out of here! Take one of your forms and escape!”
“You saved my life,” the tauren replied. “I will not let you fight alone.”
“She’s not alone!” Li Li shouted, wedging herself between the two druids.
“Aye, we’re here tae help ye!” Trialin called, expertly swinging two axes. Lintharel hurled bolts of yellow magic; Li Li parried sailors’ weapons. The dwarf, night elf, and pandaren pushed their attackers aggressively, clearing a small space.
“Now’s your chance!” Li Li yelled to Nita.
“I am forever in your debt!” Nita called back. In a single massive stride, she broke the line of sailors and hurled herself overboard. Moments later, a sleek sea lion disappeared beneath the waves.
Li Li’s breath heaved. She gripped her sword tightly, standing shoulder to shoulder with Lintharel and Trialin. Rain pounded against her face and neck. Now that Nita was free, they too had to escape.
Trialin lifted an axe, nodding to the other two. One, she mouthed. Two—
A massive explosion rattled the Elwynn from bowsprit to stern. The ship shuddered violently, wooden hull groaning with the force of the blast. Every single person was thrown to the deck. A plume of black smoke ballooned into the air, while globs of burning pitch fell from the sky, adding to the flames that already burned in the sails.
“By Elune and Ysera!” Lintharel cursed. Li Li rolled to one side, trying to see what had happened. Smoke poured from a gaping hole in the Warchief’s Fist, where the explosion had taken place.
“Baenan,” Trialin whispered next to Li Li. “Oh, Light, please let him be alive…”
Lintharel was the first to her feet, offering her hand to Li Li. Li Li reached out to take it, and caught a blur of movement from the corner of her eye. Captain Heller had snuck behind Lintharel, his sword drawn.
“Look out!” Li Li cried, but the warning came too late. Lintharel’s body arched, her eyes widening with shock and pain, as the captain ran her clean through.
Lintharel hiccoughed, the corners of her mouth reddening with blood. Her knees cracked against the wooden deck as she fell onto them and slumped over, gasping.
Heller withdrew his sword, the red on its silver blade already running in the downpour.
“The penalty for treason is death,” he said quietly, and he raised his weapon to deal the final blow.
A shadow moved alongside him, unfolding into shape, and a curved, embossed blade pressed against Heller’s throat.
His face bloated with rage. “Traitors!”
“Shut up.” Atropa’s eyes blazed murderously, twins of Lintharel’s. “The penalty for harming my family is also death.”
As he pulled alongside the Alliance ship, a figure plummeted from the deck and crashed into the water, barely missing the small boat.
“That was Captain Heller!” Baenan exclaimed.
Chen eyed the body, which bobbed for a few moments before sinking beneath the waves. “His throat was cut.”
The rose-gold dawn illuminated only flotsam floating in the waves where the two ships had gone down. There was no one to see it; the survivors’ lifeboats had all dispersed.
One small craft held four passengers, three of whom were crowded into the bow and stern to make room for the fourth, draped at the bottom.
“I’ve done everything I can,” Baenan said miserably, shaking his head. Exhaustion made his face sag. “But I’m at me limit. I’m sorry.”
Trialin put her hand on her brother’s arm.
Atropa cradled Lintharel’s head in her lap, stroking strands of hair behind the druid’s long ears. She bowed her forehead to Lintharel’s, tears sliding silently down her face.
Lintharel’s eyes were closed, but she smiled weakly. She didn’t speak, just squeezed Atropa’s hand. All were silent, knowing it was only a matter of time.
None of them noticed the dark speck on the horizon, growing steadily larger as it approached, until a sharp cry startled them. A great brown bird circled above, its wingspan nearly as long as the lifeboat. It swooped down, alighting deftly on the wooden rim. With a glance around, it transformed.
It was Nita.
The tauren knelt beside Lintharel, careful not to upset the balance of the lifeboat. She spread her fingers over the night elf’s midsection, covering the wound. A green glow bloomed from her palms, wreathing Lintharel in light.
Lintharel inhaled violently, gasping and coughing, and attempted to sit up. Both Atropa and Nita gently restrained her.
“Peace, my friend,” the tauren said. “You will be well soon enough; there is no rush.”
Lintharel reached out to take Nita’s hand. “Thank you.”
Atropa gripped Nita’s broad forearm. Tears still gleamed in the night elf’s eyes. “And I, too, thank you, so very much.”
“It was the least I could do,” Nita answered. “I have been scouring the ocean all night. There are many survivors, both Alliance and Horde. I will do my best to guide everyone to land.”
“Once I have regained my strength, I will help,” Lintharel said. She gave Atropa a reassuring smile. “It will not take long.”
Before she left, Nita cast minor spells on Baenan, Trialin, and Atropa as well. Baenan sighed happily as the pain from his bruises melted away.
“Thank ye, Nita o’ th’ tauren,” he said. He rubbed his chest, noting how it no longer ached at the touch.
“Head north and west,” Nita said. “You’re not far from Tanaris. I will return as soon as possible to aid you, if you need it. May the Earth Mother be with you all.”
“And Elune with you,” Atropa replied.
Nita spread her arms and became a bird, wheeling into the sky.