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| Details |
| Author: | inkie |
| Summary: | The Klaxxi once again call on White Squad to handle an infestation of "soft ones." White Squad is beginning to find their fellow soft ones as annoying as the mantid do. They are recruited (unwillingly) to the crew of a (shipwrecked) fishing boat. Estel and Colson feed the otters. Almeiria and Shine are both exasperated, mostly for different reasons but sometimes for the same reason. Anareline is willing to help if it's on the way. |
| Rating: | T for Teen |
Anareline is waiting by one of the incubators campfires at Klaxxi'vess, carefully adjusting her armor.
Estel bounces on her heels, looking restless.
Shine is pacing quietly at the foot of a ruined pillar nearby.
Colson looks stoic, as he gracefully exits his tent, and greets the others politely. "Everyone, good afternoon."
Shine seems to startle a little at the sound of Colson's voice — not obviously, because he's Shine, but there's an abruptness in the way he pauses and looks up.
"Hey." Estel waves lazily.
Shine moves to join the others in silence.
Almeiria sees everyone assembling and breaks off a conversation with one of the Paragons, moving to join the others.
"Good afternoon," Anarleine says. "The ambersmith wanted to speak with us — I don't know why, yet."
"I see," Colson says.
"Cool, something to do," Estel says cheerfully.
Ambersmith Zikk waits among the weapon racks. His antennae twitch in what is recognizably (to White Squad, after their weeks among the Klaxxi) irritated impatience. “You!” he says. “You handled the soft ones in the north. We have another intrusion you will see to.”
Estel gives him a thumbs-up. Maybe he's gotten used to that one by now, too.
"Another intrusion of non-mantid?" Anareline asks, her brow furrowing. "More pandaren?"
"Oh good, another one," Almeiria says. "It's as if this terribly gloomy place has become a destination for tourists."
“Along the coast to the south,” says the Ambersmith, “more soft ones have come. You will go and see if they might be of any use to us, like yourselves and the other soft ones in the north, before the Empress discovers them.”
Colson regards the Ambersmith with an Aspenwood Neutral expression.
"We should certainly be the first contact, I agree," Anareline inclines her head.
"Cool, we're on it." Estel waves.
"Txxch," says the Ambersmith dismissively. That is definitely a noise only a mantid could make.
"Hopefully not another brew situation," Anareline murmurs, as they head away.
Colson doesn't sigh — he just exhales slowly. And then, for good measure, murmurs a prayer to the Light.
"I am beginning to understand the frustration of the mantid," Almeiria says.
"As people who want to be left alone?" Anareline asks. "They might be more successful in that without the periodic slaughtering of others."
"You would think slaughtering would dissuade people from their incursions across the wall," Almeiria says.
"People aren't smart," Shine observes to Almeiria.
"Clearly," Almeiria mutters.
"War often begets war," Colson says.
"Holy shit look it's so fluffy," Estel says, pointing at a passing baby yak.
Anareline glances at the yak, and she smiles faintly. "Arric was good with yaks."
"I wonder if these have any particular scent of luck," Colson says.
"Like, I knew the adult ones got fluffy but I didn't know the kids got that fluffy too…" Estel smiles.
"The yaks are quite adorable," Anareline says solemnly.
Estel nods to Anareline. She gets it.
"Yes, they are," Colson agrees.
The road ahead slopes down toward the coast. It is marked by wooden fences and hanging lanterns that are clearly not of mantid make.
Anareline slows as they approach non-mantid habitation.
Estel picks up speed, starting to jog down the hill, and then pauses to wait for Anareline.
Ahead, built out from the water’s edge in a sheltered cove, is a wooden dock and a stilted dockhouse of thatch and woven bamboo. The floats of a seine net section off part of the makeshift harbor, and a couple of pandaren work on the beach, mending nets and a small fishing boat. Or drinking near nets and a fishing boat, anyway.
"This looks like… a coastal village, of sorts," Anareline frowns. "But what are they doing here?"
The partial hulk of a shipwreck is visible at the mouth of the cove.
"That, probably." Shine nods toward the shipwreck.
Anareline eyes the shipwreck, and its possible explanation.
Colson regards the enormous hanging shark with a neutral expression.
"How long have they been here?" Almeiria asks. "They seem set up."
"How did it take the mantid this long to notice them?" Estel mutters.
On one of the docks, a pandaren is crouched down posing with his arms in the air so that it appears from a distance that the hanging shark is about to devour him. Another pandaren is fiddling with a camera nearby. They don't seem worried about mantid.
"I suppose the Empress is preoccupied with the swarm, and the Klaxxi with the Empress…" Anareline trails off. "Maybe these people need help."
"Hey!" Estel calls.
Anareline follows Estel, waving to the nearest pandaren. "Do you realize you're in the Wastes? Where is your leader?"
"Hello!" says one of the drinkers workmen cheerfully to Estel. He blinks at Anareline. "Yes. We realize. Uh…" He looks around and then points. "Deck Boss is over there."
"Deck boss," Anareline says quietly. "Yes, let's speak with the Deck Boss."
"Bosun," Shine mutters.
"Do the pandaren have different words for it?" Estel asks Shine.
Shine shrugs.
A pandaren woman stands with her arms folded beneath a thatch lean-to. The sand around her is littered with nets and crab traps.
Anareline raises a hand in greeting to the so-called Deck Boss.
The Deck Boss looks the approaching group up and down. “You here to join Soggy’s crew? I warn you, you’re gonna start at the bottom like everyone else.”
Colson blinks at the pandaren woman. "Ah."
"Uh, no, we're absolutely not here to do that," Estel says. "Hi!"
Shine folds his arms.
"No, we're not here to join a crew," Anareline says. "We come on behalf of the mantid, the Klaxxi specifically. There's a risk they may kill you, if you remain."
The pandaren curls her lip derisively. “So the bugs have taken an interest in us? Well, if they want anything from us, they’re gonna have to put in the work like anybody else. Or you’re gonna have to, if you’re their middlemen.”
Almeiria groans.
"They want to kill you," Anareline repeats, staring at the Deck Boss. "We do not want them to kill you. In that sense, I suppose we want something from you."
"Good. So we understand each other." The woman nods.
"Well, they said 'go see if they might be of any use to us'…" Estel shrugs.
Anareline inclines her head to Estel. "I believe the threat was implicit."
“Okay, first things first,” the woman says. “I’m Deck Boss Arie. And this is Mazu’s Breath.” She kicks a crate at her foot. It’s full of clinking vials of blue-green fluid. “Before you get to work, you drink one of these. Helps you breathe underwater. Everyone takes a vial, and I wanna see ‘em empty before you dip a toe out there.” She folds her arms.
"Ah," Colson says again. He reaches for a vial, looking to Estel for an approval of the potion.
Estel picks up a vial, uncorks it, and compares it to one of the vials on her bandolier.
Anareline waits for the alchemist's say-so before she drinks anything.
Shine holds his vial impassively and waits for Estel.
"Hm." Estel drinks it. "Okay, yeah, we're good. I think they're using a local variant on the stranglekelp."
Anareline drinks the potion. She pauses before swallowing, a startled expression on her face.
Colson drinks his own potion, making no expression whatsoever at the taste.
Shine drinks as well, and then makes kind of a face. Which in Shine terms is a whole actual face.
Almeiria almost spits her potion, but manages.
“Tastes like seaweed and hot garbage, doesn’t it?” Deck Boss Arie grins. “You’ll thank me later. Now we get to business. First things first: We got a load of empty crab pots that need fresh bait. We could pull ‘em up one at a time and bait ‘em here in comfort. Maybe with a nice chair to sit on, nice hot cup of tea to keep you warm?” She spits. “Never gonna happen. Head out there to lonesome cove, kill yourselves some sea monarchs, and bait each pot with a couple of pieces. And by ‘pot’ I mean ‘trap.’ You wanna be part of the crew, you gotta learn the lingo.”
Shine regards Deck Boss Arie stonily.
"I do not want to be part of the crew," Anareline says levelly. "But we'll do the work, and then we can talk about your people, what use you might have for the Klaxxi, and how to leave this place."
“Great,” says Deck Boss Arie. “Also, you wanna know what happened to the bait in those pots before? Otters. That’s what happened. They prefer fresh clams, but they’ll pick our crab traps clean if they’re hungry enough.
“The otters in Lonesome Cove are protected by law and we run a legitimate operation here. As easy as it’d be to chum those little rats and call it a day, we just gotta make sure instead they’re not hungry enough to keep raiding our crab pots. Take one of those sacks of clams and toss ‘em a few to keep ‘em busy while you’re out there.”
"Aww, otters," Estel says.
Anareline seems to relax a little at the news that she will not be slaughtering otters.
"Law," Almeiria repeats. "There are laws out here."
Deck Boss Arie regards Almeiria flatly. "Yeah. I like otters. I'm the law. You got a problem with that?"
Colson raises his brows faintly.
Estel puts her goggles on. "Otters are great." She makes sure her bag is properly sealed.
"I prefer the feeding to the killing," Anareline confirms. "Otters are an important part of nature, and should not be culled arbitrarily for a fishing operation."
"Yeah," says Arie. "Oh, and watch out for that current. You don't want to get swept off the shelf."
"Ah, thank you for the warning," Colson says politely.
"We will take care," Anareline nods.
"On it, boss," Estel says cheerfully.
Estel drags a sack of clams out to the water.
Shine mutters something about a fucking marine.
"I hope this leads to an understanding," Anareline says. "And not a mis-sized sailor uniform."
Colson is startled into a laugh, brief but bright.
Anareline glances towards Colson at the sound, and smiles faintly.
Estel snorts.
"I am beginning to discover the limits of my altruism," Almeiria mutters (murderously?)
Estel feeds clams to otters with a delighted expression. This is the good part.
Anareline baits the traps with inexpert care.
Shine baits traps expertly but with visible irritation.
Almeiria takes out her anger on fish.
Colson gently feeds the otters with a faint smile.
"Deck Boss," Anareline says, when they return. "We have carried out your tasks. Now, may we speak of more serious things?"
Estel returns the empty sack.
Deck Boss Arie looks them over. “Not bad, swabbies. Okay, then. You put in some decent work, I’m willing to let you meet the captain now.” She nods at the network of docks ahead. “You go on up there to that hut. Captain Su-Dao’s in there. We call him ‘Soggy.’ He likes it. Introduce yourselves, see if he’s got anything a gang of green swabbies can handle.”
"Captain," Anareline says, and looks faintly puzzled. She glances to Shine, local expert on ship ranks.
Colson inclines his head politely.
Estel gives Deck Boss Arie a thumbs-up.
"They told us the Deck Boss was the leader," Anareline says quietly. "But there is also a Captain? Is that not higher?"
Shine shrugs at Anareline. "Ship's captain's a captain. Aye, he's highest. Maybe he doesn't like being bothered."
"Oh! Unless there's a bunch of ships and then it's the Admiral, right?" Estel snaps her fingers.
Shine actually smiles a little at Estel. "Aye."
Estel grins. She's learned because Captain Admiral Siamus Fallon has too many titles.
"These are fishermen, though. They don't have Admirals and the like." Shine shrugs.
"My son's team is led by a captain," Anareline says, still faintly puzzled. "Though they do not have a ship. A different kind of captain, I suppose."
Shine nods at Anareline. "Aye."
"Hey, Captain Soggy!" Estel calls.
Anareline raises a hand in greeting to the captain.
A grizzled, black-pawed pandaren man in a red vest waits inside the hut. He looks the group over. “You’re Arie’s new deckhands? We’ll see about that. I run a tight ship. Even if she is at the bottom of the sea right now.”
Shine makes a soft sound of objection.
The captain pauses and then rubs the back of his neck wearily. “Actually, I have a task that needs doing that I’d rather not ask any of my deckhands for.”
Colson regards the pandaren patiently.
Anareline raises one long eyebrow and waits for him to elaborate.
Soggy gazes mournfully west as though he can see through the hut’s walls. “My Mist-Hopper went down on the shelf to the west of here. Some of my crew’s been doing what they can to salvage bits and pieces of the wreck lately, and I’d… rather they didn’t get hold of some of the ship’s papers. If you can get to the wreck and find the documents case in my old cabin and bring it back to me, I’d be grateful.”
"JUST TAKE THE PICTURE ALREADY!" shouts the pandaren crouching by the hanging shark.
"Idiots," mutters Soggy wearily.
"Okay," Estel says. "Hi, I'm Estel, this is Anareline, Colson, Shine, Almeiria. We're here on behalf of the Klaxxi."
Colson's expression is Extremely Neutral as he waits for Anareline's judgement, and then he glances over his shoulder at the yelling.
"The Klaxxi? Don't know it," says Soggy. "That your ship?"
"Nope," Estel says. "They're the, uh, mantid that… y'know what? We'll explain it later."
"If we retrieve your papers," Anareline says, "Would you be willing to speak further about your business here in the Wastes, and what use it may be to the Klaxxi? Or your relocation?"
Soggy looks uneasy. "My… business in the Wastes? Uh. Sure." He swallows. "Just… get me those papers. Please?"
Shine folds his arms.
Colson doesn't sigh. He exhales in a controlled manner.
"Then we will retrieve them," Anareline says with a firm nod. "We already drank the underwater breathing potion, in any case."
"I do hope, if they are underwater, that they are in a watertight container," Almeiria says.
"They'll be watertight," Shine says quietly to Almeiria. "Captain's papers are always sealed."
Anareline glances at Shine. "I am not sure what I expect of this captain."
"Fair enough," Shine concedes. "Don't like the sound of what's in those papers of his, anyway. Mantid might not like it either."
Estel ducks out of the way of a deckhand carrying a giant fish.
Anareline carefully picks her way down to the shore from the haphazard dock, ready to swim.
“Hey,” Arie calls. “Captain give you a job?”
"Yep," Estel says.
Anareline pauses, and then simply says, "Yes. We are about to see to it."
Colson regards Arie with a mild non-expression.
“Great,” Arie says. “I’ve got a couple for you too, while you’re back out in the water. We dropped a string of pots yesterday and hit it big. The problem is, the rips are getting stronger, sweeping our markers around and carrying stuff off, and we’ve lost track of some of the pots. They’re just sitting out there, filled with spiky blue gold! Each of you grab one of those buoys, and when you find a trap out there, hook it up and send it to the surface.”
"If we see them, as we go," Anareline allows.
Estel collects a buoy.
Anareline collects a buoy as well.
Colson collects a buoy, and adjusts his gauntlets.
“Also,” Arie says, “the big money’s in crabbing, but we sell all kinds of goods back around the wall. Fish oils, seaweeds, even rare minerals — the sea’s a treasure trove for an enterprising crew. Right now, the big craze back home is thresher teeth. They’ve got some uses in traditional medicine, but I guess some folks decided they also make great necklaces? Having actually seen someone eaten by a thresher, I don’t know why anyone would willingly string their teeth around their neck, but whatever. The market’s spoken. There are longfin threshers all over the shelf to the west of here. Bring me whatever teeth you can get. And try not to get eaten. It’s rough.”
"Ah." Colson murmurs another prayer to the Light. A blessing.
Anareline nods. "If we kill threshers, we will return their teeth. Perhaps the habit of the necklaces is intended to portray them as a defeated foe."
Arie snorts skeptically. "People should defeat 'em themselves, then. But I'm not the boss of them I guess. And they pay."
Almeiria might be imagining stringing a pandaren up in a net and hanging them from a tree, but her smile is disgustingly sweet.
They set out into the waters to the west.
Shine points at the shipwreck. The other half of the shipwreck.
Anareline nods and swims towards it.
Colson's brows go way up at the sight of the "threshers" who look more like very dangerous sharks, rather than the threshers of Theramore.
There is a partially-buried strongbox in the mud near the ship's bow.
Estel goes to help dig it out.
Shine crouches to pick the lock once it's free of the mud. He lifts out a sealed document case.
Estel gives Shine a thumbs-up.
Anareline tries to hold her shield to block unhelpful water currents.
Colson keeps watch for the investigations of the thresher sharks.
Estel pries teeth out of a dead thresher shark’s jaw and puts them in a little bag.
Colson helps with the teeth, extracting them with a gentle, precise tool.
Anareline does her best to fight underwater against the sharks. She mutters, "Wish I could have brought the druids."
Colson brushes his hair back from his face as they emerge from the water.
Almeiria leaves hers as a damp curtain, giving her the appearance of a newly risen sea witch.
"Those threshers looked different than I expected," Anareline says, and she demonstrates the arc of a long neck with one hand.
"Florande would have liked the otters, I believe," Colson says to Ana.
Anareline nods to Colson, with a touch of a smile. "I can imagine them playing."
Shine is studying the documents case, his brow knit. "This seal's been… tampered with?" he says.
Estel peers over at Shine. "Huh. Really?"
Shine nods.
Colson frowns faintly as he looks at the container and Shine. "Ah. That does not bode well, does it."
"Well, hopefully he believes it was like that when we got it," Estel mutters.
Shine nods again grimly at Estel.
Anareline presses her lips together. "Yes, we will have to explain it was like that when we found it."
"If it's tampered with, we could… read it?" Almeiria suggests casually.
"He might not notice," Shine says. "It's pretty subtle."
"They use a lot of powders here," Estel says idly. "For medicinal reasons. Powdered horn, powdered tooth…"
Colson gets a quiet contemplative look on his face as Estel mentions powders. "Hm."
Estel discreetly pockets a couple of teeth into her regular bag before they reach Arie.
“We picked up the traps you marked,” Deck Boss Arie says. “Thanks for those. It’s all about those Emperor Crabs, you know. Sweet, blue gold, they are.” Arie rubs her paws together.
Anareline holds out a bag of collected thresher teeth to Arie.
“Ah, yeah, the sharks’ teeth.” Arie eyes them with distaste. “Great. You can set ‘em down over there. Creeps me out. But thanks.”
Estel tosses her bag of teeth over there.
Colson sets the teeth down gently.
Anareline sets her bag next to Colson's.
There is something vaguely threatening about the way Almeiria deposits her shark teeth.
Colson regards Almeiria with a mild expression.
"Cheers," Estel says to Arie, and heads back to Captain Soggy.
Anareline leads the way over to the Captain's Hut.
Shine fiddles subtly with the document case's seal. He might be making it look less tampered-with.
Soggy is waiting for them. He wilts a little at the sight of the charter case. “I sort of hoped a fish ate that thing,” he says glumly. “Though it might’ve just ended up here that way anyway.” He holds out a paw for it.
Shine hands it over impassively.
“I suppose you want to know what the fuss is about, eh?” Soggy lets out a long sigh as he un-caps the tube. “Might as well get it over with.”
Soggy draws out the rolled paper and then pauses, staring at it. “What — this ain't the charter!” He drops the tube and unrolls the document hastily. “It's a letter. In Arie's handwriting? Oh, no….”
Wide-eyed, the Captain reads aloud. “‘Dear Soggy, if you are reading this it means you finally worked up the guts to send someone after the old charter. Well, you're too late.’"
Anareline looks on with some curiosity.
Estel scratches her head.
Colson's brows raise again. "Hm."
“‘We know the Mist-Hopper wasn't hired to venture this far beyond the wall. We know it was supposed to be a routine job off the coast of Jade Forest. What should have been a week of easy fishing turned into a wild misadventure that ran us aground in the most dangerous place on the continent and nearly got us all killed, because you couldn't stop chasing your hunches.’”
Anareline raises a disapproving eyebrow.
“Oh, no….” groans Soggy. And then he keeps reading. “‘We just wanted to say: Thank you.’"
Anareline raises her other eyebrow. This one in surprise.
Soggy pauses, blinks uncertainly, and continues. “‘Thank you for chasing fortune on the distant horizon. Thank you for dreaming. And most of all, thank you for bringing us along. We'll always be your crew, Soggy. Ship or no ship. We'd follow you anywhere. Sincerely, all of us.’"
"Obviously, or they'd have killed you already," Almeiria says.
Shine looks extra impassive. He looks so impassive he might stop having a face altogether soon.
"Wow. They could've just told you that instead of stressing you out. I guess some people have trouble saying emotional stuff, though." Estel shrugs.
"Well, you have their loyalty," Anareline nods. "Now we can speak about where they might follow you next…?"
Soggy stares at the paper for a moment in silence. “Wow,” he says, and clears his throat. “Actually would you, uh, excuse me for a moment? I've, uh… I've got somethin' in both my eyes.”
Anareline stares at him for a long moment, and then nods and turns away.
"Aw, sure, okay," Estel says, and steps outside.
Colson offers Soggy a handkerchief.
Soggy takes the handkerchief and blows his nose loudly.
"Light be with you," Colson says as he leaves.
"I suppose we will wait for the feelings to pass, and then…" Anareline wanders over towards the shore.
“You finish Soggy’s job?” Deck Boss Arie asks, squinting hard.
"Yep," Estel says, grinning at her.
Anareline looks at her, a kind of questioning look, and nods. "I believe it worked out better than he hoped."
“Good.” Arie nods once. “I’ve got another job for you. Master Angler Ju Lien asked us for some help with his lines. Apparently the sea’s a little wild today and he can’t keep up. He’s fishing just south of here. Go see if you can give him a hand. Some hands.”
Colson is great with hands. He's a paladin.
"Sure," Estel says absently. "I dunno how to fish though."
"You just pull on a stick, do you not?" Almeiria asks.
Shine makes a seesaw hand at Almeiria. Kind of.
"I dunno. Ben did all the work." Estel shrugs.
"Ah," Colson says gently. "There is a little more to it than that."
"I have.. some familiarity," Anareline says. "Not quite. If the fish is strong enough, it can break your string, or even your stick. You must weary your prey before you land it."
"I learned some of it while in Theramore," Colson says. "I am no expert though."
On a broad rock south of the cove that juts into open water, a pandaren fisherman stands wielding an armload of fishing rods. To judge from the number of bobbers in the water, he is actually fishing with them. Somehow. More fishing rods are propped to either side of him.
"I may not be using the right words in Common," Anareline adds, as they approach the fisherman.
"Oh," Estel says. "An overachiever."
“Oh, hello!” Ju Lien greets them. “Come to see what the sea will bring us today?”
"Hey," Estel says. "The Deck Boss sent us to ask if you needed any help."
“All right,” says Ju Lien cheerfully. “Pick any of these fabulous rods and CAREFULLY tug the line. That should help set the hook into whatever's flailin' around at the other end.”
Almeiria tries to peer into the water to see anything that might be flailing so she can weaken it with magic.
Shine steps forward to pick up a fishing rod. He tests the reel for a moment and then draws back on it.
The line goes taut, and then slackens again as a moment later, with a weird warbling noise, a small tentacled creature — bearing an unfortunate resemblance to the squid-hats of Vashj’ir — bobs from the water and then up onto the rock.
Colson frowns faintly. Hmmm.
Almeiria jumps a little at the appearance of the squid creature, but relaxes fairly quickly.
“Well that's unusual!” says Ju Lien. “Take care of it, then tug another of these lines when you can.”
Shine drops the rod to go for the squid with a knife. It is taken care of.
"I will admit I was expecting a fish," Almeiria says.
Shine side-eye(s) Ju Lien at the instruction to try again.
Anareline steps towards another line, glancing to Shine as if for permission.
Shine shrugs dubiously at Anareline.
"Squid are basically fish," Estel says.
A second squid-critter flings itself from the water. Ju Lien is wrestling with his own fishing rod(s). ”Grrr… whatever I've got here is big. Keep up the good work on those lines while I land this baby!”
Estel takes several steps back.
Almeiria seems to be expecting the next one, and she assists in taking it down.
Colson holds back, the Light glowing faintly in his hands.
“What in… Mazu's… name…” growls Ju Lien, wrestling with a fishing rod.
Abruptly, the rod is yanked from his paws and goes flying out into the churning waters. “What the…!”
Colson readies a [Hand of Protection].
A dome like a small island begins to rise from the dark, roiling sea. As it continues rising, its true identity is revealed.
“LEVIATHAN!!” roars Ju Lien. “We gotta warn the others!”
Anareline backs up, raising her shield.
Colson encases each priestess in a [Hand of Protection].
Shine swears in an unintelligible Kul Tiran accent.
Almeiria curses under her breath. "Again?"
As Ju Lien turns to run, a massive tentacle whips from the water and seizes him. “Aaaaaaggghhhh!!” he yells, and then he is dragged from the rock and beneath the waves.
Estel throws a Shield around Ju Lien, which does not get the tentacle to let go. She curses loudly. "Oh shit!"
"That thing shouldn't be in the shallows," Shine says. His tone suggests this is somehow the fault of the Mist-Hopper's crew.
"What is something that large doing so close to — " Anareline nods to Shine.
"We goin' after him?" Estel asks.
"We must warn the others," Anareline says. "If they have not noticed already."
"Aye," says Shine.
"Better warn 'em fast," Estel says, and tosses out spectral feathers. "If we wanna save that guy."
The beach and the waters of the cove now team with the little leviathan spawn.
Almeiria notes all the little squid babies covering the docks and shakes her head.
Captain “Soggy” Su-Dao has left his hut, and he and Deck Boss Arie stand conferring by her lean-to. They look over as the group approaches.
“What happened?” calls Arie, stepping toward them. “I heard a scream and the next thing I knew, these nasty things came rolling in on the next wave!”
"A leviathan has attacked the shore," Anareline says shortly.
"We will need assistance if we are to rescue Ju Lien," Colson says calmly, but he hustles.
“A leviathan?” Soggy’s eyes bug with outrage. “I’m not gonna stand here while my crew gets devoured by a leviathan! Come with me — I got a dinghy set up at the southeastern dock. I call her the ‘Mist-Hopper Jr.’ Let’s go give that thing a case of harpoon fever!” He takes off at a run.
"Yes…" Anareline says. "That seems our best chance."
The dinghy moored at the dock proves to have an improbably large harpoon gun mounted in its bow. The gun was clearly salvaged from the ship and arranged in the dinghy with more enthusiasm than engineering know-how.
"Is it seaworthy?" Anareline asks, looking at Shine, not Soggy.
Shine does not look like he thinks it is seaworthy.
"He is mad," Almeiria decides.
Colson keeps pace with the pandaren captain, but he waits for Anareline's go sign before he hops in.
“Hop in!” calls Soggy.
Anareline closes her eyes for a moment, and then boards the dinghy.
Estel does not get in the boat. Instead, she levitates herself above the water, crouches down, and grabs on to the side of the boat.
“All right!” shouts Soggy. “Man that gun! You’re gonna aim for the bow, the port and starboard buoyancy sacs, and the stern. Err… sorry, let me put it another way. Shoot it in the face! And the sides! And the pooper! You know, the soft bits!”
Anareline tries her best to figure out where the soft spots are on the leviathan. She is not an experienced leviathan fighter.
Colson uses the Light, because he is more sure of that than a harpoon.
Shine throws a harpoon like he's not super happy about it. It strikes home anyway.
Anareline does not have any way to attack the creature other than the harpoons, so she does her best. It's reasonably accurate.
“That is some first-rate harpoonery!” cries Soggy.
Almeiria does not even bother firing the contraption, instead attacking the creature with her magic.
Colson trusts in the Light, both in his combat, and in keeping this boat safe.
Estel also uses magic about it.
Black blood begins to stream down the leviathan’s side. “Looks like he sprung a leak!” crows Soggy.
“Nice shooting! Keep it up!” yells Soggy.
Anareline tries to use the harpoon, but also she's trying to keep an eye out for signs of Ju Lien.
The leviathan thrashes in the black-clouded water, and then it sinks below the surface. The broad ripple of its movement shows where the wounded leviathan has been caught in one of the powerful currents and is being dragged out into the dark depths.
“That’s right!” shouts Soggy. “Back to the deeps with ya!” He settles heavily back onto a bench. “All right. Let’s get back to shore.” He sighs wistfully. “Feels good to get salt in the ol’ fur again.”
Colson's lips tighten, and he scans the water, looking for the pandaren.
"What about Ju Lien?" Estel dives into the water. "Lemme have a look."
"Maybe it will learn not to menace the coast," Anareline says, rubbing her temple with one hand. "Any sign of Ju Lien?"
There is no sign of Ju Lien.
"I do not see him," Colson says.
"Doesn't look good," Estel says as she surfaces.
"At least they have only lost one," Anareline says heavily. "Perhaps they will listen regarding the danger of this place."
"Perhaps someone will fish him up later," Almeiria says lightly. "They are fishermen."
Colson closes his eyes briefly, murmuring a prayer to the Light.
Soggy is humming a sea shanty cheerfully and does not seem to hear them grousing about his crew's idiocy.
Arie is waiting for them at the docks, pacing impatiently. She hurries down to meet them as Soggy clambers out of the boat. “Well?” she demands.
Soggy grins at her. “Never met anything that couldn’t be killed with enough harpoons,” he says.
"We didn't really kill — " Anareline sighs. "The leviathan is gone."
Colson's expression is Extremely Neutral.
Shine eye(s) Soggy malevolently.
Arie relaxes. “Pretty nice work,” she says, and turns to nod at the Cobalt team. “Lucky you joined the crew when you did. And Ju Lien survived, by the way! He swam ashore just after you and the captain set out. He was raving about some kind of gigantic egg or something that washed in with the leviathan. Maybe go check in with him?”
Colson sets a hand over his heart. "Thank the Light."
"Egg?" Almeiria frowns. "Do those things lay eggs?"
Shine nods slowly at Almeiria. He doesn't look thrilled.
"He survived?" Anareline seems pleasantly surprised. "We will have to speak with him about this egg, whatever it is."
"Oh, shit. He's okay?" Estel rubs her face. "That's great."
"Calling it now, big piece of amber," Estel says to the group.
“Hey!” beams Ju Lien. “Great to see you again!”
Colson inclines his head, as he murmurs a blessing for Ju Lien.
"Oh! Hey! You okay?" Estel grins at him.
“Oh, I’m fine. I’ve had worse spills than that after a night at the Chum Bucket. But would you have a look at this beauty? I spotted it peeking out of the sea floor when I went under. The leviathan’s thrashing around must have dredged it up. Figure we owe you some kind of reward for saving our hides, so here you go!”
He makes an open-armed gesture at the giant egg hanging in the net before him. The giant… amber… egg.
Colson's brows raise and he inclines his head to Prophet Estel.
"I am glad I did not bet against you, Estel," Anareline says quietly.
“So, do you want to just… roll it away, or something, I guess?” Ju Lien scratches his head. “Wait — is it moving?”
The amber splinters. From within it clambers a mantid.
“Tremble, fools!” the mantid rasps. “The Locust has awakened!” It sways on its feet, clinging to the ropes of the net, and then vomits amber fluid profusely.
“Oh, nasty,” says Ju Lien. “You okay up there, buddy?”
“The Locust…” The mantid coughs raspingly and tries again. “The Locust is fine! Release me, insolent crab!” It shakes off a crab caught in the net that has attempted to latch onto one of its wings. “The Klaxxi beckon….”
Its wings rattle and then buzz as it lifts from the net and flies away in the general direction of Klaxxi’vess.
“Well then,” says Ju Lien. He is silent for a long moment. “I’m going back to my lines,” he decides at last. He turns and trudges away down the beach.
Colson watches with a mild expression. "Ah."
"Oh," Estel says. "The Locust didn't want his sapflies, huh…"
"Or his crabs," Colson say in a dry voice.
Estel snorts.
Anareline stares at the net for a moment longer. "Well. I suppose we have our evidence that the fishermen here are a benefit to the Klaxxi. We can claim them as wakeners."
Colson inclines his head to Anareline with a faint smile.
"Well, I got some shark teeth for Niris and we freed a paragon, I'm willing to call it a win." Estel shrugs.
"What an awakening," Almeiria murmurs in sympathy. Sometimes your evil lines are ruined by circumstances.
Shine looks away from Almeiria but it's possible he's smiling.