The carriage stopped on a small road near Fairbreeze Village. Karin tossed three silver coins to the Goblin driver for the fare, then jumped down...
Another Elf got off with him. The other two Elves, along with the human and the dwarf, stayed aboard, apparently heading to the next stop-Sunsail Anchorage.
Karin was still turning that super-fireball plan over in his mind and failed to notice the carriage stop again a short distance behind him.
"Master Mage! Master Mage!" Two gruff shouts came from behind him.
Karin looked back. It was the human and the dwarf from the carriage!
The pair, one tall and one short, ran up panting and stopped him.
"What is it?" Karin stopped and asked calmly.
He sensed no hostility from either of them. Besides, they looked like ordinary merchants, hardly a match for a First Ring mage like him.
"Master Mage!" The plump dwarf lowered his voice and said conspiratorially, "I have a wonderful opportunity for you to make a fortune. I hope you won't miss out..."
The dwarf's expression reminded Karin of a famous line from his previous life-"Have you heard of Amway?"
Karin immediately labeled the pair "frauds," then walked straight past them and continued on his way.
Neither had expected a single sentence to send Karin walking off. They hurried after him again.
"Master Mage, please don't go!" the human said breathlessly. "We really do have something we need your help with!"
Karin stopped again and snapped impatiently, "Gentlemen, a mage's assistance doesn't come cheap!"
"I know, I know!" The human nodded repeatedly. "How about eight gold coins as payment... no, no, ten gold coins!"
When Karin's expression showed no sign of being moved by the money, he hastily raised his offer.
Karin couldn't help frowning. Ten gold coins weren't enough to tempt him, but it was no small sum, either-at least not for these foreign merchants doing business in Silvermoon City.
"What exactly would make you willing to pay that much?" Karin asked, a little curious.
Seeing that Karin was interested, the human and the dwarf exchanged smiles and hurried to explain:
"Master Mage, here's what happened..."
The human and the dwarf both belonged to a caravan from Eastern Lordaeron. Every so often, their caravan shipped a load of goods from Stratholme Harbor to Howling Fjord in Northrend... But a plague had recently broken out in Stratholme, temporarily closing the harbor and forbidding all ships from leaving. With no other choice, their caravan had transported the shipment through the Ghostlands to Sunsail Anchorage, where they planned to hire a cargo ship to take them to Howling Fjord!
Stratholme really does have a tradition of plague outbreaks, Karin quipped inwardly.
After the caravan reached Sunsail Anchorage, half its members had fallen ill from failing to adjust to the local conditions. Most had recovered quickly enough, but the caravan's only mage had been hit hardest and remained bedridden. That posed a serious problem... They depended entirely on that mage to operate their Arcane-Powered Cargo Ship. With him ill, the entire caravan was stuck in port.
Left with no alternative, the caravan's leader had sent these two to Silvermoon City, hoping to hire a temporary mage to operate the Arcane-Powered Cargo Ship for them.
But the Elven mages of Quel'Thalas were quite different from the human mages of Lordaeron and Dalaran... With generous allowances and benefits from the Royal Court and their families, even First Ring mages were not easily won over by the meager fee a caravan could offer. Accustomed to Silvermoon City's comfortable lifestyle, they were also deeply reluctant to spend months enduring the monotony of life at sea.
The pair had left their recruitment notice on Silvermoon City's noticeboard for an entire day without receiving a single inquiry. Just as they were slinking back to report their failure, they happened to encounter Karin in the carriage on their way back.
They had approached him on the off chance that he might agree.
"Master Mage, would you be willing?" the human asked softly, as though afraid of scaring Karin off. "Operating an Arcane-Powered Cargo Ship is very simple work. All you need to do is spend a quarter of an hour each day channeling mana into the boiler..."
"Your caravan is heading to Northrend, correct?" Karin asked evenly.
"Yes, yes!" Both nodded. "Howling Fjord in Northrend. The entire round trip won't take more than fifty days..."
Had the caravan been heading anywhere else, Karin would have refused outright. But since they were going to Northrend, he found himself wavering!
Northrend was the future stronghold of the Scourge, as well as the birthplace of the terrible plague that would one day sweep across the Eastern Kingdoms... But in Northrend as it stood now, Ner'zhul had yet to be sealed within the Frozen Throne, and the Scourge did not yet exist. Anub'arak was still king of Azjol-Nerub, ruling over the Nerubians. Yogg-Saron remained imprisoned by the keepers in Ulduar, and his seals had yet to develop any major weaknesses!
All in all, Northrend was relatively safe at present.
This was an excellent opportunity. Even if he did nothing once he arrived, scouting the place out in advance could only help.
Karin smiled. "Ten gold coins, was it? I'll accept the job!"
"What? Master Mage, you're not joking, are you?" the dwarf asked in disbelief. Clearly, their repeated setbacks in Silvermoon City had already battered his confidence!
The human hurriedly shot the dwarf a glare. "Why would an esteemed mage joke with us?"
"Of course not!" Karin smiled and waved a hand. "Do we need to sign a contract?"
The human merchant hastily produced a contract they had prepared in advance and handed it to Karin. After scanning it and finding nothing amiss, Karin signed his name at the bottom.
"Our caravan plans to leave Sunsail Anchorage on the morning three days from now... Berth sixteen, a silver cargo ship! Master Mage, please make sure you find the right one!" the human merchant helpfully reminded him.
"All right!" Karin nodded. Three days-it seemed he had enough time to prepare a few things for the long journey.