Chapter 22: The Birth of the Mutineers
Arrien sat quietly in the tower in the mage district of Stormwind, half-reading the scroll that lay before her. Two years had passed since the affair at Booty Bay, and life had fallen into a dull rut. Every day she studied the works of wizards such as Khadgar and Medivh, but found their exploits far more exciting than the magical theories involved in them. Day after day, she was subjected to the odd look of the other mages, hearing their whispers about the odd red-haired mage who used to be a pirate. A few had been brave enough to ask her about it, but seemed rather disgusted by the barbarism involved.
The only mages she'd really managed to befriend were her new mentor, Archmage Fentonius, and a Gnome by the name of Lili, who generally went by the semi-pun nickname of "Lilibit." It was her mentor who broke her daydreaming of the seas this day.
"How are you doing today, Lady Arrien? Catching up on your homework?" His blue eyes sparkled with life, despite the fact that his body was slightly stooped by age.
"I'm well, Master Fentonius... how are you?"
"If I were any better, I'd have to be a twin," came his usual, rather curious, response, a grin forming on his mouth, "You been behaving yourself lately?"
"Yes," Arrien said with a sigh.
"Well, that's no good..." Fentonius scolded mildly, "Can't have any fun if you're behaving yourself all the time."
"Isn't that what the archmages expect of me? Study constantly until I am snooty and dull like the lot of them? They already give me difficulties because of the company I keep," she referred mainly to Heathcliff, who she had maintained a friendship with these past couple of years.
"Ah, the archmages wouldn't know a good time if it jumped up their robes," Fentonius laughed, "in fact, I seem to remember once when a good time did jump up Master Almnadeus's robes..."
"Do I want to hear the rest of this story?" Arrien grimaced, not wanting to picture what exactly kind of good time the archmage was referring to.
"No... no, probably not. Arrien, I can see you're not happy here, just like Selessa had been unhappy upon her return from the Plaguelands. The war was hard on her kind, of course... so many of my old High Elf students are succumbing to this arcane addiction, as they're calling it. Was a brave thing she did, becoming a paladin in light of it all," the elderly mage nodded his head matter-of-factly.
"I just don't want to spend the rest of my life couped up in a keep, studying text books," she sighed, flattening out her robes, which were far too flowing and not form-fitting enough for her tastes. Blasted mages and their extreme sense of modesty.
"So don't," Fentonius said flatly.
"I'm sure the archmages would be thrilled with me leaving my studies behind."
"I won't tell 'em if you don't," Fentonius grinned wickedly.
"What's going on in here?" A small voice came from the doorway, "Arrien, are you still studying? Your brain is going to explode if you put too much in it." The red-haired mage turned and smiled at Lili, the Gnome's large blue eyes looking back up at her curiously. Lili was also wearing her violet robes and was currently keeping her brown hair in braided buns on either side of her head.
"Actually, I was just finishing..." Arrien looked back up, catching Fentonius's meaningful look again before jumping up to hug him, murmuring, "I won't forget this." The elder mage patted her gently on the back as she rushed for the door, grabbing Lili's wrist and running down the halls with the Gnome in tow.
"Oof... Arrien, where are we going?!" Lili inquired, but didn't really struggle against the pull.
"Doing some scrying... I have a few old friends I need to visit."
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Two Weeks Later
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"You're a natural at this," Tilanne beamed as the Gnome beside her murmured a prayer softly. The seed they had planted began to grow at an alarming rate and was soon a small, flowering bush.
"I was raised by the druids," Lilabah said in return, "I should hope I'd gotten the knack of it all by now." She giggled softly. In Tilanne's travels, she'd never met a Gnome quite like this little one. Lilabah's parents had created a teleportation device when she was an infant and decided to test it out for a "family vacation," it had been found out later when the Night Elves finally made contact with the larger Gnomish community. The teleporter malfunctioned, as many of the Gnomes devices tend to, and sent her parents to their doom, presumedly, but the infant Lilabah had somehow managed to miraculously land, unharmed, in the Moonglade, and was subsequently raised by the druids in their footsteps. Odd twists of fate, indeed, Tilanne often thought to herself, but who was she to question the will of Cenarius?
Tilanne looked around her and took a deep breath. Ashenvale forest was still no where near its former glory, with much of the ground so corrupted by demons it was unsalvageable, and another considerable portion of it lost to the continued deforestation by the orcs. The druids, however, had managed to reclaim some of the forest back, re-beautifying it and making it liveable again.
"Who's that?" The Night Elf was drawn out of her reverie by Lilabah, who was pointing at a female figure, clad in a red shirt that clung tightly to her curvy body, with black pants to match. Upon further inspection, Tilanne saw that the woman's hair was nearly the color of her shirt and beamed brightly, jumping to her feet and shouting.
"Arrien!" She ran towards the mage and embraced her tightly, "You look well! How is everything? Are you still in contact with Heathcliff or Rozial? I've missed you so... it's been, what, two years now?" Arrien was laughing heartily at her friend's excitement and finally replied, cryptically.
"All in good time, Tilanne... well... not very much time," she smirked devilishly, nodding to the Gnome. Tilanne made quick introductions before turning back to Arrien.
"So, join us for a cup of tea? We can tell Lilah all about the old times!"
"Actually, we both have a business meeting to attend," Arrien said, the devlish smile still keeping her lips upturned.
"But... Arrien, I'm in the middle of a project here, we're trying to regain the forest----"
"Go with her," Lilabah chimed in from behind, "I can take care of the rest... I'll tell the others that you went to go help a wounded deer or something." Tilanne opened her mouth to protest, but saw that Arrien and the Gnome had caught each other's eyes and knew her decision had been made for her. Before she could even say anything else, she felt herself fall away from Ashenvale Forest, and the continent of Kalimdor disappeared before her eyes.
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Less than a second later, Tilanne felt her feet firmly on a wooden floor. She glanced about to see that she was in a small room, judging by the way the air felt and smelled, somewhere by the ocean.
"Welcome back to Booty Bay," Arrien grinned. Tilanne looked about the room and saw an odd assortment of people. Heathcliff, dressed in alarmingly purple robes, his beard trimmed neatly as always, sat on a plush couch nearby, stabbing his staff at his imp just to watch it duck out of the way and make rude gestures at him. Rozial was sitting near a small bar in the corner, knitting what looked to be a large pair of overalls; a Gnome in dark blue robes sat at a table with Crishna, giggling as she caused a miniature blizzard, which fell onto Crishna's wolf, much to the Night Elf's annoyance.
"Great, another elf," a voice grumped behind Tilanne, who turned to see a gray-bearded, balding Dwarf in what appeared to be priest's garb.
"Now, now, Gotren, let's all play nicely," Arrien soothed him, laughing softly.
"Fine... but if the lass pokes anyone's eyes out with those ears, I ain't gonna be the one who heals them," he snorted, taking a long drink from a mug.
"So... what are we all doing here?" Tilanne questioned, quirking an eyebrow curiously.
"We're here for the first official meeting of the Mutineers." Arrien said, matter-of-factly, nodding her head for emphasis.
"The--- wait, what?" The druid took a seat in a leather chair, which she found uncannily comfortable as she settled into it.
"I decided to use my favor with Baron Revilgaz to gain permission from him to found a privateer organization, provided that we give the goblins ten percent of any loot we may gather. I decided to give us the name to reflect our actions in leaving the Bloodsails," Arrien said cheerfully, moving to the table where Crishna and the Gnome sat, throwing one arm around the Night Elf huntress, "Crishna, here, is my first mate..." The huntress merely sighed and scratched at her wolf's ears.
"It was Silbyr's suggestion, given my experience in matters such as these," Crishna said, leaving many questions, but wearing a harsh look that indicated that, if asked, they'd go unanswered. Arrien lingered with her arm around Crishna for a moment before moving on, pointing at Tilanne.
"You... are going to head up recruitment," Arrien stated.
"But... I... I never said I'd have anything to do with this!" The druid protested, frowning.
"But you never said you wouldn't either," Arrien countered, and by the insane gleam in her eyes, Tilanne could tell that she'd already lost the argument with the mage, whether she tried to apply any sort of logic to the situation or not.
"So what is it that we're going to be doing?" Tilanne asked.
"Hunting pirates, stealing from the thieves," She replied gleefully, grabbing a large plumed hat from a nearby table and setting it on her head. Lilibit and Rozial giggled a bit, Heathcliff snorted amusedly, but Gotren and Crishna just shook their heads. Tilanne, still rather bewildered, decided to continue her line of questioning.
"Am I being shanghaied?"
"Effectively, yes... you have been drafted into service by the Mutineers," Arrien giggled, "And the only way for you to escape... is to walk the plank."
"Which, incidentally," Crishna finally piped up, "we don't have one of yet, so if you want to leave, you really can if you desire..." Arrien fixed a hot gaze on the huntress, who just shrugged, showing the slightest bit of amusement.
"Wait... don't have a plank, what is that supposed to mean?"
"Well, you see... in the charter, I had tried to push for certain provisions, which the Baron decided to decline---" Arrien began to explain, looking a bit flustered, her curls bouncing about as she wildly gesticulated, before being cut off by the monotone Crishna.
"We don't have a ship," the huntress said with a disdainful laugh.
Tilanne looked from Crishna to Arrien, who shrugged slightly. The druid closed her eyes for a moment, trying to let her mind catch up with all she was being told. She, apparently, had just been drafted into becoming a pirate hunter by one of her best friends whom she hadn't seen in two years. Apparently, this friend also decided that it would be possible to patrol for pirates with no means of transportation. The hare-brainedness and haphazardness were very much trademarks of Arrien, who had always preferred to improvise, though, with her next statement, she contradicted this train of thought.
"I have a plan, though..." Arrien said, pulling out a map and pointing to a spot on the coast of a small island where an X had been drawn.
"And that is?" Tilanne inquired.
"Quite simple... I tracked, using information provided to me by the Blackwater Raiders, a small group of Bloodsails who are trying to expand their territory... So, quite simply... we're going to steal one of their ships."
"And how are we going to get there without a boat of our own, O Masterful Captain?" Crishna asked, a note of sarcastic amusement in her voice.
"Oh, don't worry... I have a plan..." The spark in her eyes as she launched into the details was enough to terrify an entire fleet of pirates. The Bloodsails wouldn't stand a chance, no matter how mad a plan might be devised, against the Mutineers, and Captain Arrien the Pyromancer.
To Be Continued
Author's Note: Yes, this is the end of this particular story, but I will begin working on a sequel soon. I hope you enjoyed!