In the setting sun, Yu Lin Bloodhawk watched the pirate ship approaching from afar with mixed feelings. He was delighted to finally have his first warship, but dismayed to hear that the ship behind it carried another 132 living pirates, including quite a few with injuries of varying severity.
He looked at the two squads of Dragonhawk Riders escorting the ships, seething with resentment. Those bastards! Why didn't they kill all the pirates? What did they keep them for? Didn't they know humans weren't allowed to settle in Quel'Thalas? They could have dumped them all into the sea to feed the fish while they were still out there! Why bring them to me?
What am I supposed to do with all these people? Put them to work mining? Gloomlight Mine is already packed with Trolls. Have them build a castle? I haven't even received my fucking fief yet. What the hell would they build? Kill them all? Fuck, you wouldn't kill them out there, but now you've brought them back and expect me to do it with everyone watching? That's over a hundred people, not a hundred bears or a hundred Dire Wolves.
If they were animals, this would be easy. People would be scrambling to take them. Failing that, I could leave them on Shalandis Isle to play with the Murlocs. But are they animals? No, they're over a hundred people. I can't just leave them there to catch fish for food.
These hundred-odd people are useless, and I'll have to assign guards to watch them and feed them too. How much is that going to cost? Do they really think I'm rich? I'm flat broke right now.
"Master, you seem very unhappy," Female Rogue 17 said.
"How could I be happy? What am I supposed to do with over a hundred people? Where would they live? Quel'Thalas doesn't allow humans to settle here. You lot are already giving me a headache, and I haven't even sorted out your arrangements yet. Now another hundred-odd people turn up. What am I supposed to do?" Yu Lin Bloodhawk said.
"Why don't we interrogate them, find out who's behind them, and make him pay a ransom?" Female Rogue 17 suggested.
"We can get money for them?" Yu Lin Bloodhawk's eyes lit up.
"If there are important people among them, we can," the female Rogue said hesitantly. "But probably not for the ordinary sailors and gunners. They were recruited or tricked into joining from among the displaced, or captured from merchant ships. They aren't worth ransoming."
"Then we'll take whatever we can get. I can't let these bastards eat me out of house and home," Yu Lin Bloodhawk said.
The Rogues froze. Even 17 opened her mouth and murmured, unable to find anything to say.
She couldn't understand this new master. One moment he was incredibly generous; the next, he was stingier than a miser. How much could a hundred-odd people eat? How could they possibly bankrupt him? It wasn't as though he had to serve them fine meat and good wine at every meal. Besides, these hundred people could work.
Just then, a soldier on the dock spotted Yu Lin Bloodhawk and ran over. "Greetings, sir!" He stood at attention and saluted.
"Huh? It's you? What are you doing here?" He was one of the five men left in Westfall to wait until they had enough battle pets for a second shipment before bringing them back. Yu Lin Bloodhawk returned his salute as he asked.
"Sir, we returned a week ago. Queen Sylvanas, the big boss, came to meet us. Seeing how exhausted we were, she had us set up an office at the docks to receive any battle pets shipped here," the soldier said.
"Oh? Are all five of you here?" Yu Lin Bloodhawk asked.
"Yes, sir! We thought we'd mistaken you for someone else at first," the soldier said.
"Call them over!" Yu Lin Bloodhawk said. "How did it go? What did you bring back?"
"Two hundred and seventy-two Giant Bloodfang Boars, a hundred Helm Bears, and five hundred Dire Wolves, sir," the soldier said.
"Another two hundred and seventy-odd boars? That's a lot of animals!" Yu Lin Bloodhawk was surprised.
"Yes, sir," the soldier said. "I'll call the others over."
Yu Lin Bloodhawk turned and saw four soldiers running toward him. He smiled. "No need. They're already coming." Suddenly remembering Lupos, he asked, "Did you see a very large white wolf?"
"Yes, sir. But Queen Sylvanas, the big boss, took that white wolf as soon as it came off the ship," the soldier said.
"What?" Yu Lin Bloodhawk cried. "How could you let her take it?"
Now Yu Lin Bloodhawk truly felt the loss. There was only one of that wolf in the entire world. Lupos, the wolf king, was one of the ideal pets for a Hunter, every bit as good as Humar. He had wanted it as his own battle pet. That woman Sylvanas had far too sharp an eye.
He had just been celebrating the acquisition of a warship, only to learn that the battle pet he had picked out was gone. Half his joy evaporated. Is this what they mean when they say good fortune never comes in pairs, but misfortune never comes alone?
"We didn't want to give it to her either, but Queen Boss said you'd already promised it to her. There was nothing we could do," the soldier said.
They had liked that huge white wolf too. The innkeeper had told them it was expensive, worth far more than the other Dire Wolves. They had assumed their officer had specifically requested it as his pet, so they hadn't dared entertain any ideas about it. Who could have known Sylvanas would snatch it away the moment it came ashore?
"When did I ever promise it to her?" Yu Lin Bloodhawk said angrily. "That woman is downright ruthless, stealing my prize before it even reaches me."
"Sir, we..." The soldier now realized Sylvanas must have lied. But even if they had known at the time, they couldn't have stopped her.
"Forget it. It wasn't your fault. Even I can't stop her from taking something she wants," Yu Lin Bloodhawk sighed. "Be smarter next time. If you see an unusual battle pet, hide it first, then notify me as quickly as possible. Don't let that bandit of a woman snatch it away again. Understood?"
"Yes, sir!" the soldier replied, thinking that from now on, they would have to watch out for Queen Boss as well.
"Greetings, sir!" The other four soldiers reached Yu Lin Bloodhawk and saluted.
"Thank you for your hard work," Yu Lin Bloodhawk said, returning their salute. "How are you doing? Recovered yet?"
"Long since recovered, sir!" the soldiers answered with smiles.
"Good. Come have a look at our warship!" Yu Lin Bloodhawk pointed proudly at the pirate ship entering the dock.
"Isn't that the pirate ship our brothers in the air force captured? How did it become ours?" a soldier asked in puzzlement.
"The air force captured it, and now it's ours!" Yu Lin Bloodhawk said.
"Our ship? But it's so ugly!" the soldier said.
Yu Lin Bloodhawk's face darkened. "What do you mean, ugly? You've got no taste!" he said irritably. "Besides, what are warships for? Fighting! What does it matter if it's a little ugly? Firepower is what counts."
Seeing his anger, the soldiers didn't dare answer.
The eleven of them and a Little Locust Tree Treant stood waiting on the dock.
After the ship entered the dock, a Dragonhawk broke away from the circling formation overhead and flew toward Yu Lin Bloodhawk.
It stopped in front of him, hovering in midair.
The Dragonhawk Rider saluted him. "Baron Bloodhawk, sir, our orders are to turn the ship over to you immediately upon reaching the dock, along with 132 human prisoners."
"I don't want the prisoners. Take them back and claim the military credit!" Yu Lin Bloodhawk said.
"Thank you, sir, but our orders are to hand over both, then proceed immediately to Shalandis Isle. The Ley Line surveillance has already recorded our military achievements. We don't need the prisoners," the Dragonhawk Rider said.
"You could take them back to feed the Dragonhawks!" Yu Lin Bloodhawk said.
"Dragonhawks eat fruit, not meat!" Alarmed, the Dragonhawk Rider hurried away. No wonder Lieutenant Colonel Glo told us not to waste words with Baron Bloodhawk. Better not say too much after all. Feeding humans to Dragonhawks? How did he even think of that?
"Hey, don't run away! I'll say it again! I don't want the prisoners! Take every last one of them away!" Yu Lin Bloodhawk shouted at the Dragonhawk Rider ascending into the sky.
The Dragonhawk Rider ignored him, climbed into the sky, circled once, and led the formation south toward Shalandis Isle.
Helpless, Yu Lin Bloodhawk could only take his people aboard the pirate ship first. After inspecting it inside and out, he found signs of explosions everywhere, though the damage was minor. Fragments of iron were embedded throughout the deck and the wooden planking. They were only as thick as his little finger, some square and some triangular, but none round. The second deck looked much the same.
He found it strange that not a single crate had exploded with so much gunpowder aboard. He walked up to a gunpowder crate and opened it. Only then did he discover that the crates had several layers and offered excellent protection. The iron fragments could penetrate only the first layer of wood, not the second.
On the lowest deck, there were few signs of fighting, just a little blood. Apart from food, fresh water, and miscellaneous supplies, there was some gunpowder and ammunition, but nothing else.
He returned to the deck and found the elf who had sailed the ship back to ask about its condition. The elf told him he was very lucky: this was a newly launched ship, and it was in excellent condition overall.
However, it had suffered some damage in battle and would need repairs. The tiny metal fragments embedded everywhere also needed removing, especially those on the deck. Left there, they would cut the sailors' feet.
Once those were removed, they could fill the small holes with resin mixed with sand or something similar, smooth them over, and finish with a coat of paint. Then it would be a brand-new medium-sized human warship.
Yu Lin Bloodhawk was overjoyed. He asked whether the elf could sail it to a shipyard for repairs.
The elf who had brought it back gave Yu Lin Bloodhawk a puzzled look and said that such minor problems didn't require a shipyard. Didn't he have plenty of human prisoners? He could just have them do it. It had been their ship to begin with, and many of them were experienced sailors. They knew this kind of work and would find it easy.
That's right. How did I forget about them? Yu Lin Bloodhawk thought. But he worried that the pirates would sail the ship away when no one was looking.
The elf laughed and said that a ship this large couldn't easily slip away unnoticed. Surely he would leave guards? If he was still worried, he could have the sails taken away and the rudder removed. Then they couldn't sail it away even if he told them to.
After thanking him profusely, Yu Lin Bloodhawk frowned again. He was troubled over how to accommodate the prisoners. After a while, he asked whether the elf could help sail the ship to Shalandis Isle.
The elf agreed.
Yu Lin Bloodhawk figured the food aboard should sustain the prisoners for a while. He gave the five Rogues instructions to take the ship and prisoners to Shalandis Isle, find somewhere to anchor the warship, then remove and store the rudder and sails.
Once the wounded pirates recovered, they were to find a place and build a simple dock. He remembered that a seagoing dock could be built there.
Without lodgings, they could stay aboard the ship or pitch tents on the island for now. He would ask their brothers in the air force to help guard them temporarily. The air force was catching Dire Wolves there anyway. Shalandis Isle wasn't particularly large, but catching over five hundred Dire Wolves wouldn't be easy. Surely it would take at least seven or eight days.
Having them keep an eye on the prisoners should be no problem. On further thought, though, he worried that sending only five human Rogues might cause trouble. After all, the air force personnel might not give those humans the time of day, even if they were his subordinates. So he ordered the five soldiers to accompany them and bring back the warship's sails and rudder on their return.
Finally, he repeatedly stressed that all dangerous goods aboard, including gunpowder and ammunition, had to be brought back to Sunsail Archorage for storage, without leaving a single item behind. Only then did he feel comfortable letting them leave.
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