Chapter 17 - The Commodore

The next morning on their way back to the island, Giles received a quiet burial at sea. The crew remained nearly silent for the remainder of the short voyage, Lester remaining in his bunk under the captain's orders. Arrien knew that nothing would come of Giles's death, that Lester would get at the most a mild slap on the wrist from Duke Falrevere. The only person left now that she connected with in the Buccaneers was Tilanne, who also had remained very quiet, prowling near Arrien always, in case Lester decided that revenge was needed. Tilanne and Arrien helped the men work as they headed in to Plunder Isle, quietly discussing the previous evening's events.

"How come you never told me you could do things like that?" Arrien whispered softly as she helped adjust the rigging.

"Because I do not flaunt the powers granted to me," Tilanne replied with a soft sigh, "I know you revel in your powers quite a bit, not nearly as much as Lester, but to some extent... I prefer to use them when necessary, and never any other time."

"You could have helped us in battle more than once, though."

"My powers come from a divine being... it would be an abuse to use them in acts of piracy, especially against people who I'd far from consider evil, though they may not be good." the Night Elf let out a long sigh, "I fear that the powers of Cenarius and Elune will be needed again, though... and soon." Arrien remained quite silent after this, pondering the dark words. She didn't want to think that things were going to continue to get worse, but found the concept completely inevitable, especially with Lester's continually growing influence over Falrevere.

The ship made it into port with little incident, Lester emerging from his bunk finally and shooting a harsh glare at Tilanne and Arrien, though the mage swore she saw a bit of fear in his eyes when he set eyes upon the druid.

"Being struck by moonfire is not something many people forget easily," Tilanne said with a satisfied grin, "of course, neither is having the entire crew hear you yelp like an injured pup."

Arrien gave a small laugh at this, but the fact that she had lost yet another person was still stinging inside her gut. At dinner, she did little more than poke at the lovely piece of fresh fish, which Tilanne rather quickly claimed when she realized Arrien wasn't particularly hungry. Her mind was going over the list of people who she had held dear who were no longer in her life, whether because of death or circumstance. Her mother and father, Selessa, Giles... it wasn't a long list, but considering that she had lost them all in a span of time slightly larger than half a year, it hurt quite a bit. She had a very brief whispered conversation with Tilanne about this all, and the Night Elf comforted her gently, assuring her that all would eventually be well with the world, just given a little more time.

Arrien wished that she could believe this, but found little solace in the words. She was trapped on an island with only one friend, a good number of people who had no more interest in her than simply getting in her bed, and at least one person who most certainly wished to murder her. It was not comforting in the least.

The next few days went by rather uneventfully, although many noticed that the Duke and Lester had been together in chambers for quite some time, with visitors including every high-ranking member of the Duke's fleet. Word quickly spread that something very, very big was in the works, and this was met with subtle celebration, as many of the men were suffering from being idle too long, however, Tilanne and Arrien took this as a very ominous sign. It was nearly a week and a half before Duke Falrevere rose during dinner to make an announcement, interrupting Tilanne and Arrien's discussion about whether or not there was too much coconut in the basilisk stew.

"Attention, everyone," Falrevere started, getting most everyone's attention, except those who were far too involved in their drinks. Noting that not everyone was paying attention, Falrevere made a quick gesture to someone behind him. Arrien sneered as she saw Lester step up on stage, a superior smirk on his face, now clothed in robes the bore shining silver runes on them, which Tilanne quickly whispered were demonic in origin, though the young mage had little to no doubt about that anyway. Lester made a quick series of gestures and a large plume of green fire sprang to life, shooting forth from the warlock's hands and sweeping over the tables, giving Arrien quite an uneasy feeling as it passed over hers. Falrevere smiled slightly as he noted that he now had everyone's complete attention. Even the most drunken sailor looked completely sober now.

"It has come to my attention that many of you feel we have been stagnant too long...well, no longer, I say! It is time for us to make our first serious strike," he gave a brief pause and smiled, enjoying the slight buzz of excitement this caused, "we have a great task ahead of us, and Lester, the captains of my ships, and I have all been working on plans for what is to come..." Lester smirked and gave a slight bow, stepping into the shadows. Arrien thought she saw him whispering to someone, but her vision was obscured by the darkness, though she thought she made out a pair of glowing eyes.

"We will be taking a stab at the heart of the goblins... we will pillage and burn until there is nothing left!" A solid cheer emanated from his drunken audience. Tilanne and Arrien alone remained silent. "We will rid the world of their filthy kind... starting with the sacking of Booty Bay!" Another cheer, with some pirates even giving standing ovations, erupted, Falrevere looking quite pleased with himself, shouting above the din, "We plan to set out tomorrow and take the city... your ships will be lead by newly-appointed Commodore Zank." The cheering was interrupted briefly by sporadic whispers of what Arrien took to be doubt and skepticism.

"Commodore Zank has proven to me that he is far more ruthless than even my best leaders, and has more bloodlust than even I can begin to fathom," Falrevere continued, "and I think it shall serve you all well to listen to his commands carefully. Those who do not will find themselves severely punished." At these words, Arrien thought she saw the eyes near Lester glow brighter with delight. Arrien turned to Tilanne, only to find that her friend was not next to her, but making haste towards the beach. The mage quickly followed behind, calling out for her to wait.

"I am going to take one of the boats and row to Booty Bay if I have to!" Tilanne snapped, a desperate look in her eyes, "I am not going to let these beasts rape and murder the thousands of innocents that live in that city."

"Even if you set out tonight in one of the row boats, we would never make it to Booty Bay before the fleet does," Arrien said, "our best bet is to simply go with them and I can teleport us to the shore once we're in sight of land."

"Do you think you're strong enough to do that?" Tilanne asked, her eyebrow quirked as she contemplated this new plan, "you said that teleportation tends to tire you out."

"It's better than not trying," Arrien said, "tomorrow when the ships set sail... there will be two mutineers aboard it." The mage smiled darkly in the moonlight, plans already forming in her mind of ways to save Booty Bay.