Chapter Six
The sun was already starting to hang low in the sky by the time Bixby was finally feeling up to going on a scouting mission at the wreckage Rogers had told them about. She'd grumbled in protest, saying she'd rather they waited just a bit longer, but Larraine pointed out they were going to completely lose daylight soon. She finally gave in, but only after she was told she could have an extra few minutes to prepare a potion for herself that she knew would help her recover more fully from the effects of her over-indulgence in the local cider that morning.
As the three of them made their way across the bride leading away from Paw'don Village, Larraine quietly took in the scenery. Pandaria was a beautiful place, and if it weren't for the situation she might have considered taking the time to fully explore the area and simply relax and enjoy her surroundings. Now was not the time to be waxing poetic about nature, however. They were on a mission, and as beautiful as the land surrounding them was Larraine knew that Anduin was somewhere trying to survive.
Bixby began to violently hack and cough behind her, and she turned around to find her half doubled-over with her face drawn into a pained expression. Tears filled her large eyes and one hand went to her throat, and Gardenia stepped closer to her sister and began patting her back.
"Is she okay?" Larraine asked, concerned.
"Fine," Bixby answered before her sister could. "Just..."
She held up her other hand as another coughing fit began, and Larraine saw a half-empty vial of bright purple liquid in it.
"It tastes like feet!" Bixby complained, then took a few deep, shaky breaths before holding her nose closed and downing the rest of the potion. Another round of coughing commenced – this time peppered with a few choice curses – and once she had finally calmed down a bit Gardenia gave her a canteen of water so she could at least wash the taste out of her mouth. She took several hearty swallows of the contents, then handed the canteen back and slapped herself in the face as she let out a high-pitched roar .
"Are you good to go now?" Larraine wondered with a raised eyebrow, and Bixby nodded as she began walking once more toward their destination, passing Larraine on the bridge.
"What do you think we'll run into?" she asked, unsheathing one of her twin swords from her hip in order to apply some poison to the blade. "Murlocs?"
"I'm not sure they have murlocs here," Larraine told her. "Gardenia, you read the report Rogers got from the scouts. What did it say?"
"There were no reports of any hostile entities at the crash site, just some local wildlife."
"Poo!" Bixby exclaimed, angrily shoving her sword back into its sheath. "Here I was, hoping we might get to have some excitement."
"Bixby," Gardenia said her sister's name, a warning tone in her voice.
"You're right," she said, turning to look at them and holding up her hands in surrender. "This isn't the time to be itching for a fight."
Larraine smiled a little at her and playfully mussed her hair as she walked past to take the lead once more, but her smile fell when she finally reached the top of the hill overlooking the wreckage that Gardenia had described from the scout's report. The deck of the ship seemed to be largely intact, but judging by the angle at which it was sitting in the shallows and the amount of debris littered along the rocky shoreline it appeared as though the lower decks had likely been destroyed when the vessel ran aground – if not before. As if that hadn't been disturbing enough, there were also at least a dozen large, ape-like creatures milling about what was left of the ship.
"The scout was wrong," she called back over her shoulder to Gardenia and Bixby, who had been talking quietly to one another. They joined her at the cliff's edge and surveyed the scene below, and Bixby let out a groan of disgust.
"Why did it have to be monkeys?" she protested. "They're just about as smelly as orcs! And they throw poo!"
"Those are not normal monkeys, Bixby," Larraine told her, shaking her head.
"They're not?" Gardenia asked, looking up at her.
"The report might have said we'd be facing harmless wildlife, but those things are far from harmless."
"How can you be so sure?" Bixby wondered.
"First, they're looting the ship. How many monkeys have you seen do that?" she asked them. "Secondly, they have weapons. I counted at least four of them with crude spears, and those who do have weapons seem to be guarding the others while they take anything of value they're finding on the ship."
"Are you sure they're actually looting, though?" Gardenia asked her, squinting a bit as she tried to see what the monkeys were carrying out of the cargo hold.
"If they were just stealing food, that would be expected of normal monkeys," Larraine told her. "I saw two of them carrying out a tapestry, though. I don't know about you, but I've never known of any wild animals who gave much care about decorative items."
"Then what's the plan?"
"Oh! Does this mean I get to fight something after all?" Bixby squealed excitedly, brandishing both of her swords.
"I suppose it does," Larraine told her, a small smile breaking through at the sight of her sheer enthusiasm. "But we should be smart about this. They know the land, we don't. We also don't know how strong these things are or what sort of combat skills they have."
With a sigh, she turned to her wolf. "Fang, I want you to go down with Bixby and protect her as best you can."
"Actually, if you don't mind," Gardenia interjected. "I think I have someone who would be better suited for taking the brunt of whatever damage these things could throw at the both of them."
Larraine was about to ask what she meant when Gardenia took a few steps away from them and pulled some white powder from a pouch hooked to her belt. She then proceeded to use the powder to draw a circle around herself on the ground and then drew some sort of large rune in the center of it.
"It's a summoning circle," Bixby quietly explained to her. "She's going to use it to pull one of the demons under her command from the Twisting Nether."
Larraine nodded silently and continued to watch as Gardenia finished with preparing her circle. She then stepped into the center of it and drew a small dagger from one of her boots, which she then used to cut open the palm of her hand. She barely winced, though the audible sound of the blade slicing through her flesh was enough to make Larraine squirm a little in discomfort.
"The blood is to help strengthen the bond between master and demon," Gardenia called over, holding her hand in a tight fist above the rune she had drawn and letting some of her very life essence drip down onto what Larraine now assumed was either chalk dust or ashes of some sort. The first few drops seemed to have no effect other than turning the white dust bright red, but after the seventh or eighth drop hit its mark the entire circle sparked to life and began emitting an eerie purple glow.
"I take back what I said previously," Bixby said to Larraine as her sister began to chant in a strange language. "She's not pulling from the Twisting Nether, she's calling her blueberry from the void."
"Blueberry?" Larraine echoed, confused and a little scared as she suddenly realized Gardenia must be speaking in the demonic tongue.
"You'll see," Bixby replied, and she patted Larraine on the hand. "There's no reason to be scared, though. He's big, but he and Gardenia have a strong bond that's been built over years of fighting alongside each other. She's fully in control of him."
"Right," Larraine said with a nod, though she still wasn't entirely sure what to think about the whole thing.
"Achor she-ki, Metathion!" Gardenia finally cried out, and the circle around her feet pulsed with power. A few seconds later the largest voidwalker Larraine had ever seen manifested before her very eyes, though it was also different from others she had seen in that it was a darker shade of blue, sported large, heavy-looking pauldrons, and had bolts of energy visibly pulsing throughout its body.
"That's the blueberry," Bixby informed her.
"I don't think I've ever heard anyone use that term before," Larraine said, shaking her head slowly as she continued to watch Gardenia, who was bowing respectfully to the creature she had just summoned.
"You must not hang out around any warlocks," Bixby said with a giggle, then wandered over to her sister and the voidwalker, waving at the large entity like they were old friends.
"Hey, Metty!" she called, and it turned its glowing white eyes toward her.
"I see you have the annoying one with you, again," it said in a deep, masculine voice which seemed to echo hollowly.
"Be nice, Metathion," Gardenia ordered, setting her pack down on the ground to search through it.
"Impressive voidwalker, Gardenia," Larraine called out as she joined them, still marveling at the size of it. It was several times the size of either of her companions, and probably even larger than the king, himself.
"I am a voidlord," Methation corrected her, sounding indignant that she would make such a mistake. "And who is this, Master?"
"This is Larraine," Gardenia introduced her as she began wrapping a bandage around her hand. "The reason I called upon you is because the three of us need your help."
"What do you want from me?" he asked, turning his attention back to his master.
"See those monkey-like creatures down below," Gardenia instructed, pointing over the edge of the cliff. "I need you to go down there with Bixby and protect her while she searches the area."
The voidlord glided over to get a better look at the area below where they were standing, then scoffed.
"Paltry creatures," he said, then turned back to Gardenia. "So I am to draw their attention from the annoying one while it gets to have all the fun?"
"By all means, fight as many of them as you wish," Gardenia replied with a welcoming gesture. "I would never dream of robbing you of any enjoyment while you're here."
"I'm still going to send Fang with them... if that's okay with you?" Larraine posed the question to the voidlord, who seemed to give her a curious look.
"This one shows respect," he thoughtfully intoned in his deep, hollow voice. "I like it much better than the annoying one."
Larraine forced a smile, not sure if she should be flattered or worried that the creature was taking a liking to her. After a moment, she cleared her throat and nodded in the direction of the wreckage on the beach. Bixby pulled her swords free from their sheaths and checked to make sure the one in her right hand was still sufficiently poisoned, then slipped into the shadows and quietly made her way down a nearby path to the beach. Rather than following her, though, Metathion remained with them – as if he was waiting for a sign from Gardenia to join her sister. Larraine nodded to Fang, and he slowly followed in Bixby's wake, though he remained out of sight of the creatures ransacking the ship's remains and kept low to the ground, waiting for just the right moment to pounce.
"We'll cover the three of them from up here," she said to Gardenia, who nodded in agreement. "Hopefully they don't call any reinforcements."
"You think they're that advanced?" Gardenia wondered, looking up at her.
"I don't know, but at this point I'm not going to rule it out. We don't know anything about this place or about those... things. For all we know, they may have already..."
She closed her eyes and swallowed down the words that had almost escaped her mouth, willing herself to remain positive. Not just for herself, but also for the king's sake. He and Anduin might have had their differences in recent years, but everyone in Stormwind knew just how important the prince was to his father. It would devastate King Varian beyond belief if anything happened to him.
"Bixby's in place," Gardenia informed her, and she opened her eyes. Looking down, she found one of the monkey creatures wavering on its feet, having been stunned by a well-placed knock to the back of its head by one of Bixby's sword hilts.
"Send down your voidlord," Larraine instructed. Gardenia gave the order to her minion and Larraine pulled an arrow from her quiver, then nocked it and aimed for another of the monkeys near to the one Bixby had stunned. Meanwhile, Gardenia began to call fire to her hands, her fingertips sparking a bit before igniting with the warm, orange glow of controlled flames.
As soon as the voidlord made it down to the beach it went for the stunned monkey – and then all hell broke loose. The monkey nearest Bixby's target let out a loud cry for help, and before she had a chance to silence it the others heard and quickly ran over to its defense, causing the rogue to quickly become outnumbered. Larraine let out a sharp whistle, calling Fang into action even as she let her readied arrow fly. It hit its mark square in the chest, and Fang leapt at another of the creatures, his powerful jaws catching it around its throat. With a shake of his head its neck was broken, and he dodged Bixby's blades as he went after another, attempting to pull it away from the fray. Meanwhile, Gardenia's voidlord succeeded in keeping the majority of the creatures focused on him, and he lured them out of Bixby's range so that his master could rain down fire upon them.
Larraine was impressed by both sisters. Bixby effortlessly jumped from the back of one monkey to the next, her blades slicing and stabbing so quickly that most people wouldn't even be able to see their movements clearly, while Gardenia calmly cast her spells, alternately burning her targets and sending bolts of chaotic fel energy at them. She did her best to match their efforts, loosing arrows as quickly as she could – occasionally pausing to infuse them with arcane energy the way one of her mentors had shown her – all the while signaling to Fang where he was most needed in the fight.
After several long minutes, one of the creatures broke from the fray and seemed to say something to the others. Those who could followed it and they ran off in the opposite direction of the path Bixby had taken to reach the shore, while the ones who were already wounded remained fighting in an attempt to give them the opportunity to escape.
"Should we go after them?" Gardenia wondered, and Larraine shook her head.
"We can't forget the reason we came here," she said, letting another arrow fly into the back of one of the creatures that was trying to escape. "We'll have to be quick, though. They could be going to get reinforcements, and we have no idea how close their settlement is."
Gardenia nodded and made her way toward the path, and Larraine followed her. By the time they reached Bixby, she was just finishing off the last of the ones who had remained to fight. Fang returned to Larraine, and she knelt down to praise him and gave him a piece of jerky while she ran her fingers through his fur checking for injuries. There were no wounds on him, but his fur was still spattered with blood and another substance which caused Larraine to gag a bit once she got a good smell of it and realized what it was.
"They threw poo at us!" Bixby complained, and Larraine looked up to find her attempting to brush some of the stick, brown substance from her armor.
"Why don't you two get cleaned up?" she suggested, going to the water's edge to wash off her hands in the surf. Fang happily charged into the water and began swimming around, but Bixby shook her head.
"I'm hoping it comes off while I check the ship," she said, sitting on a rock to remove her boots.
"I can do it," Larraine offered, but Bixby shook her head.
"I know you want to find Prince Anduin, and I know our best bet to finding a clue as to his whereabouts is on that ship," she said, getting up and going to the water's edge. "However, I also know I can hold my breath for a really long time and I can swim with my eyes open. So I'm volunteering to do the search. Okay?"
Larraine threw up her hands and took a step back, and Bixby took a couple of slow, deep breaths before audibly sucking in a final one and jumping into the water. Larraine followed her pink hair under the water until she finally entered the lower levels of the ship through one of the broken portholes, then she looked off in the direction the monkeys had run off to before turning her attention to the ones they had managed to take down during their brief skirmish. A second later, something caught her eye which gave her pause: Tied to the spear one of them had been carrying was piece of a violet-blue cloth trimmed with gold. She knelt next to the fallen creature to get a better look at it, but that only confirmed her fear – it was part of the royal sash Anduin often wore.
"Don't assume the worst just yet," she heard Gardenia say, and looked up to find her looking down at the same piece of fabric she'd been examining. Larraine nodded and stood, returning her attention to the wreckage as they continued to wait for Bixby's return, but her heart refused to stop racing.
It was another couple of minutes before Bixby resurfaced outside of the ship, and she swam back to them with a satisfied grin on her face.
"Well?" Larraine prompted once she reached the shore.
"I found Taylor's log," she told them, wringing the water from each of her pigtails. "It's coded, so we'll have to give it to Nodd to decipher before we'll know what it says, though."
"Anything else?" Gardenia asked before Larraine had a chance to.
"Here," Bixby said, pulling a book bound in dark brown leather from inside her tunic and handing it to Larraine. "This one isn't coded, and I thought if anyone should get to read what's in it, it's you."
Larraine took the book from her and looked at it curiously, then turned it over in her hands and gasped softly when she saw the letters 'A.L.W.' embossed in gold letters on the front cover.
"Thank you," she said even as she began flipping through the journal, but to her dismay the pages were almost completely waterlogged.
"The last entries weren't as badly effected by the water," Bixby told her, working her feet back into her boots.
"Either way, we should get back to the village before you start reading that," Gardenia pointed out. "Just in case."
"Good thinking," Larraine muttered, though she was still looking through the journal for any entries Anduin would have made around the time Taylor's ship had been attacked. She called for Fang and he fell into step at her side as they began the trek back to Paw'don Village.
The battle is more fearsome than I could have imagined.
Her steps slowed when she finally came to a page where the words hadn't been all but destroyed by the water flooding the ship's lower levels. Anduin's near-perfect script filled the page with his recounting of the events which took place as they were attacked by the Horde and subsequently ran aground, his words full of distress and frustration at being detained within his quarters while others aboard fought against the attacks. She swore she could hear his voice as she read, and she could feel his guilt and sense of failure when he talked about how he hadn't been able to save those who had suffered the worst injuries despite his best efforts. Her initial fear then returned as he began to describe the ship running aground and how he'd been locked in his quarters and stranded there as they filled up with water.
"Bixby," she quietly called to the rogue, and she stopped to look back at her. "Did you find anything which would suggest Anduin didn't make it out of his quarters?"
"On the contrary, I'm pretty sure he busted out one of the portholes himself. The topper was missing from one of the posts on his bed."
"And he would have been able to fit through there?"
"Absolutely!" Bixby assured her, nodding.
Larraine smiled weakly and turned to the last page, which only had a few lines of writing upon it.
If any Alliance soldier finds this, know that I, Prince Anduin Wrynn, am alive. I am going to travel inland and search for food and aid.
"Anduin," Larraine said his name, turning to look back where they'd just been. She mentally followed the path those monkey creatures had taken when they fled, into the surrounding forest. If he'd gone that way... it explained how the one would have gotten a hold of his sash. The question still remained, though, as to whether or not he was still alive. She had to believe that he was. No matter what, she knew she had to keep her faith that he was out there waiting for them to find him and take him back to the safety of Stormwind. For her sake, the sake of Rell and the others, the sake of the people of Stormwind who adored him... and for the sake of his father.
Swallowing thickly, she looked back down at the final words written upon the page.
Please tell my father that I am well.
"I will just as soon as I know you are," Laraine said to him even though she knew he wasn't there to hear her, tears starting to spring to her eyes in spite of the mental pep talk she's just given herself.
"Dammit, Anduin... Where are you?"