Chapter 1
Over Dark Waters
Flickering shadows danced on the pitted and bloodstained walls of the dead city. Oily, thick smoke filled the air, incense for the harem of death in which the shadows languished. Music too was provided for the shadows in the form of screams, moans, crashing steel, tortured sobbing, and gasping last breaths. The flaming wreckage of what used to be a zeppelin warmed the shadows, while the bodies they were attached to fought for their lives.
"Regroup! Regroup!" a blue skinned troll with braided white hair was yelling. Dressed in form-fitting black leather and wielding two wicked looking daggers, the troll sprinted over to where he had seen a young orc fall moments earlier. Stabbing and slashing as he ran, the troll inflicted grievous wounds on his unarmored foes. If the lacerations and gouges distressed them however, they gave no indication. For after all, what was a knife wound to the living dead?
Grabbing the black armored orc by its collar, the troll slowly worked his way back to the line of weary and wounded defenders. Arrows and spells shot over his head, giving him some cover from the advancing mass of ghouls and skeletons.
Finally reaching the line, the troll turned his charge over to one of the healers waiting for him and turned to re-enter the fray. What he saw though froze him in his tracks and filled his stomach with dread. Pressing its way though the mob of undead was the largest abomination the troll had ever had the displeasure to meet.
Standing over twelve feet tall, the monstrosity had slabs of charred and rusted metal sewn on to its grey skin. One of the three arms carried a chain as thick as the troll's waist with a razor sharp meat hook at the end, while the other two ended in serrated claws. The head, comically small on the huge body, was tilted at an unnatural angle and had a sinister grin plastered on its face.
"LUZRAN CRUSH!" the beast bellowed before breaking into a lumbering run. Crushing lesser undead underfoot, it rushed straight at the troll.
"Vos'rin, how do ya always get in tah dese situations?" the troll asked himself as the meat hook whipped towards his head.
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Thirty minutes ago…
Vos'rin let out a sigh of content as the sun finally dipped below the horizon. While he may have preferred watching the sunset from the safety of the ground, the view from a thousand feet was simply spectacular. Stepping away from the banister, the troll rogue turned to gaze at the other adventurers loitering on the deck of the Unbreakable.
Assembled before him were dozens of soldiers from every horde race, with many more below decks. Dressed in armor colored black and grey, with the flamboyantly dressed spell casters proving the exception, every person on the deck had the look of a hardened warrior. As well as the relative uniformity of garb, each person also wore a broach in the shape of a gold lightening bolt on a bright blue background.
The broach marked them as member of the Black Brigade, one of the largest and strongest mercenary companies on Azaroth. A veritable army for hire, the Brigade boasted nearly six hundred trained soldiers, as well as hundreds of aids, scribes, investors, and other sympathizers both Alliance and Horde.
Looking again across the wooden railing, feeble protection from one falling to their death, he could make out the shapes of the ten other zeppelins carrying the rest of the Black Brigade forces. From the lead vessel, a dirigible twice the size of those flanking it, came a series of bright flashes. It was the signal Vos'rin had been waiting for.
"Alright ya meat-sacks, form up!" Vos'rin yelled, his loud voice cutting though the conversation being held across the deck. Instantly those nearest him fell into line, while the two closest to the hatch door went below to gather those resting. Once Vos'rin was sure everyone was on deck he continued.
"Okay, ya all know why we're here, so I'll make dis quick. We're coming up on da LZ, and we'll be landing soon. I want all ya personal affects stowed so dat we can be the first to hit da surf. If Fletcher and second company land 'for we do, ya know we'll never hear da end of it."
As one the assembled fourth company began to boo at the though of second showing them up. Vos'rin let the jeering at their rivals continue for a few more seconds before raising his hands to calm and quiet them. When the only sound was the creaking of the balloon over their heads and the squeaking of the goblins working to keep the death-machine afloat, he spoke.
"Anyway, once we land I want Raas and Arkhel to fan out and find da contingent from Tran-"
"Sir, what's that?" a mage in the back row asked, cutting the troll off mid-sentence. Turning his head, Vos spotted what had startled the mage, hundreds of black dots flying from the mainland toward the zeppelin flotilla.
"What da hell…" Vos muttered, squinting his eyes to get a better look in the growing dark. So intend was he on the approaching objects that it took him several seconds to realize the lead ship was again signaling its escorts. Cursing at his lack of attention, Vos glanced over just in time to be blinded as magical ordinance exploded off the ship and into the mass of shapes quickly approaching.
"GAH!" Vos cried as he shielded his eyes. "Battle stations! Mages open fire, take down what ever those things are." Vos continued to give orders as he backed away from the railing and tried to rub the spots out of his eyes. Soon enough the sound of chanting filled his ears and his own ship launched its volley of fire, ice, lightening, and whatever else his spell casters had conjured up.
Vos'rin regained his ability of sight as the first enemy landed on the deck. The beast stood five feet tall, with a wingspan of twice that, and light grey fur covering its entire body. Large bat like ears topped its canine face, and each of its long legs ended in brutal looking claws. A gargoyle, the scourge's flying shock troopers.
Shrieking a challenge at those before it, the gargoyle flared its wings and prepared to launch itself into the mass of warriors. Before it had a chance to move however, an arrow embedded itself in the creature's neck. The first arrow was followed by two more, finding homes in its chest, and the monster fell over dead. Before a cheer could go up though three more gargoyles landed on the deck and the battle began in earnest.
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All across the sky swarms of gargoyles attacked the flying invaders. Weaving and diving to avoid spells and arrows, they gradually overwhelmed the defenders. Though well equipped and well armed, the zeppelins were vulnerable in more places then swords could reach. It was no surprise then, when a gargoyle finally managed to tear a hole in the great balloon holding the Dusky Maiden aloft.
Panicking, a young mage on the deck of the falling ship cast a fireball to burn away the best before it could do any more harm. The fireball succeeded in burning the gargoyle, but it also ignited the flammable gas kept within the balloon. Before the mage even knew what he had done, the balloon exploded, incinerating those on the deck and dropping the flaming wreckage into the dark waters far, far below.
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Vos'rin didn't see the zeppelin explode, but he certainly heard it, a great boom that seemed to drown out the sounds of the battle around him. He felt it too; a sinking feeling deep in his gut, when he realized that no one onboard that ship could have survived. Scores of his friends were on that ship, and now were sinking below the tumultuous waves. His mourning though would have to wait.
Swearing, he dodged another attack before stabbing the creature in its neck. There were too damn many of them. Dusky Maiden had already slipped below the dark waves, and Vos felt his dread grow when he heard another boom echo across the sky. He knew that if he didn't find a way to repel the scourge, his own vessel would soon follow. Cursing loudly in trollish, he continued to hack and slash his way to the helm.
"Hey, goblin mon," Vos called as he neared the terrified captain, "how long till we reach the LZ?"
""Not sure," the goblin squeaked, though weather because of terror or his naturally high timber was hard to tell. "If we don't get torn out of the sky before then? Maybe five minutes."
Grunting , Vos turned his body and stabbed backward with bother daggers. Shrieking, the gargoyle that had been sneaking up on the distracted troll fell to the ground bleeding. Vos quickly silenced the monster by slitting its throat. Looking up, he felt hope return as he saw the faint line of land swiftly approaching. Soon they would be flying over ranks of blood elves that had secured the area and were waiting for the mercenaries. Blood elves who would wipe the gargoyles out of the sky. Vos'rin's hope was crushed when countless fireballs launched from the shore directly at the speeding zeppelins.
"Meat wagons!" someone from the fore-deck shouted.
Vos was frozen. His body wouldn't move and his mind had stopped. He didn't do a thing when the gargoyles fled. He didn't move when the first of the flaming ordinance began to shoot past the Unbreakable, miraculously missing each time. His stupor was finally broken when another explosion was heard across the sky; another zeppelin had fallen out of the sky.
Da blood elves, dey must have been routed. Or maybe dey never showed up, Vos thought to himself. Whatever happened, we're all gonna die if we don't land. But between da gargoyle swarm and dat wall of catapults we'll be shot down before we ever touch down. May as well jump now and end it. Wait! Jump…..
Vos felt himself grin as a crazy and desperate plan began to form. Ordering some of his men below deck to retrieve several crates, he then began to talk loudly and quickly to those assembled before him. There wasn't much time before the next salvo from the mainland, and Vos could only pray that their luck would hold. Explaining his plan, more than one soldier blanched at the clearly suicidal idea. There were no other options though, and Vos quickly distributed silvery cloaks from the three crates.
"Just remember to head west by south-west and y'all make it to Tranquillien in no time. Don't go looking for trouble, and don't be a hero. Get to Tranq, sit tight, and we'll figure it out from dere." With that he clasped the silver cloak around his neck and strode to the edge of the deck. "I'll see y'all on da other side."
Then, turning, he leapt off the rail and began to fall.