The ship in Ironclad cove was the culmination of the Defias efforts. It was a massive warship completely decked in the finest canons that could be bought, stolen or otherwise aquired.

From the faded Markings and the sheer size of the Vessel It seemed to be an originally Ogre vessel. Its primary Cannon was mounted on the front of the ship.

Considering the hatred the Defias had for Stormwind, it was likely to one day shell the city. It currently held around a Hundred workers all dedicating to restoring it to working condition, and upgrading it with more modern weaponry.

The leadership of the Defias Brotherhood exclusively resided on the vessel, including one Edwin VanCleef, the man I was after.

In my current skin it was easy to stroll past the workers and guard. Few asked what I was up to, and the same excuse I gave to the sentry.

I broke my nose, and needed a potion. They were expensive, and bandits didnt like to share.

Not much of a guess to assume most of it was kept on the vessel.

I stepped on the ship from a walkway of wood placed and connected to a small island in the cove. I passed several men and women working on moving a canon into place with a pulley and some rope.

I smiled as I walked past, the rope snapping with a small application of fire magic. In an instant the canon fell, crushing two men before plunging it into the water below.

Immediately people began to gather around, working to help where they could, and ignoring me as I passed them by up the walkway to the uppermost portion of the ship.

Who I assumed from his garb to be Edwin VanCleef was facing away from me, cursing as he looked at the damage below. He was alone.

I paused just behind him. The game had Vancleef as a low tier boss to a dungeon, even more dangerous than the lord of Deathholme was.

Somehow I doubted that to be true. Balancing doesnt exist in the real world. VanCleef got this far because he was clever, not because he was a certain level.

It was the same way I doubted every threat that emerged to the world carried a higher level of danger. The Panda people on a currently uncharted island did not have warriors that could go out and one shot Arthas.

With that truth in mind I called out to my prey.

"Edwin VanCleef."

The lord of the Defias turned back to me, a sneer on his face.

"What the fuck do you want boy, can't you see I-"' my hand shot out to his throat, crushing his airway.

I lifted him in the air for a moment, taking a little pleasure from the fear I could see growing in his eyes.

A knife found its way in my throat. I felt the body I was inhabiting begin to fail as poison rushed through its veins.

I smirked through the tickling pain at the man, before I left the random thugs body, and pushed into VanCleef's own.

I hadnt expected a fight.

It seems the man is an outlier.

The mans mind, even unprepared and untrained. pulled me into a struggle of will. He had the advantage of defending his own body, and sheer desperation.

I would have found myself trapped in the mans head, forced to watch as he went about his business for however long it took him to die, if I werent an outlier myself.

I had the strength of around five average specters behind me, and my own will was nothing to spit at either. If I didnt need us to be silent, to not attract the attention of the crew, I would have managed it with far less of a fight.

As it was we struggled for a couple minutes, stumbling about the ship, and twice the man almost managed to call out for help, only to sputter as I re-seized control of his vocal cords.

I managed to force us to stumble into the captains quarters, before I began to work in ernest. The bandit lord howled as I forced his mind down into his subconscious.

A man burst through the doors to my new quarters. "Boss! Theres a dead man outside, are you alright?"

I shook my head, clearing out the last of Edwins struggles. "No, Theres been an attempt on my life."

"What do you want to do?" The bandit had an angry look on his face. The people around here considered VanCleef their savior.

I stalked over to the man, grabbing a fistful of his tunic. "I can't have anyone know whats happened, but I have an idea of who might have tried to put me down."

I let go of the man, before I looked around warily.

"Bring me a bottle of wine, and tell no-one of what you've seen. I need to talk personally with every suspect."

The bandit seemed confused, but didn't argue. "Of course sir."

"Make a list of every one of those wizards, and every goblin Engineer we have. Once that's finished, give it to me."

I leaned in, whispering now.

"Don't give them any hints I might suspect whats going on, their just having a drink with the captain, discussing the future."

The man nodded seriously.

I looked behind me, to a large desk covered in papers, before I walked over and sat down.

"It'll be a long night. But I'll talk to every suspect. Share a bit of a drink, and come tomorrow we'll know who's with us, and who isn't."

"And what of the body?"

"Leave it with me, I'll make an example of it"