"Lion's Strength Potion, slightly increased strength..."
"Lesser Healing Potion, provided minor relief from injuries..."
"Lesser Mana Potion, restored a small amount of mana..."
"Lesser Troll's Blood Potion, increased recovery speed for a limited time..."
Karin packed the potions into his bag one bottle at a time. Over the past few days, he had spent most of his time brewing these potions and elixirs in Sunfury Spire... hopefully, they would prove useful on the journey ahead!
He had also bought a Random Teleportation Scroll from the Inscription Shop in Silvermoon City. Tearing it apart would teleport the user to a random location 2,000 yards away, making it a very useful lifesaving item. Still, considering that he would spend the next month or two aboard a ship, Karin did not pin much hope on it.
Oh, and he had made a point of bringing a few extra books borrowed from the Sunfury Library to pass the time when he got bored aboard ship.
Once everything was ready, Karin shouldered his bag and set off!
Sunsail Anchorage lay on the eastern side of Quel'Thalas and was the High Elves' largest port.
Towering ships lined the docks of Sunsail Anchorage! Sailors and crew members of every race formed lines to load and unload the cargo ships... Karin passed berth after berth, searching for Berth 16.
"It should be... over here?" Karin stopped.
"Master mage! Over here!" A familiar voice rang out ahead-Karin looked up and saw the plump Dwarf!
The Dwarf wore a white sailor's uniform that day... his flab had been squeezed into it with obvious difficulty, making the sight almost impossible not to laugh at.
Karin nodded to him, then walked over.
"Are you Mage Karin?" A deep voice came from behind the Dwarf.
The speaker was a middle-aged human man in his forties, with a sharp cutlass at his waist and a deep scar across his left cheek!
"This is Captain Leguli, the leader of our trading company!" The Dwarf hurried to introduce him to Karin.
"Hello, Captain Leguli!" Karin extended his right hand.
"Hello, Mage Karin!" Leguli shook Karin's hand. "I'm honored that you arrived so punctually!"
"Thank you. I'm honored to be joining you as well!" Karin replied warmly.
Karin could clearly sense that Captain Leguli gave off no magical fluctuations whatsoever and was an entirely ordinary person... yet neither his bearing nor the pressure he exuded fell short of the Second Ring or even Third Ring mages Karin had met before.
"His muscle density is roughly three times that of an average adult human, and his reaction speed is around two and a half times the average. This is despite some age-related decline in his physical capabilities... he has clearly undergone professional military training and was once an outstanding Warrior..." The All-Knowing Eye's voice sounded in Karin's ear.
"When I was young, I served as a Cavalry Second Lieutenant in Lordaeron!" Captain Leguli seemed to notice Karin's puzzlement and explained, "I was later discharged because of an injury. The need to make a living drove me to join this trading company."
It seemed Captain Leguli had a story of his own... a cavalryman, and a Cavalry Second Lieutenant at that. He had probably been one of Lordaeron's elite soldiers, so strength like this was only natural.
"Mage Karin, let me introduce you to the members of our trading company!" Captain Leguli took Karin's hand warmly.
"This is Kingsley, one of our sailors! You've met him before!" Captain Leguli pointed at the plump Dwarf Karin knew.
"And this is Duen, another sailor. You should know him too!" Standing beside Kingsley was the human Karin had met before.
"First Mate Hana..." The female Goblin standing behind Leguli doffed her hat to Karin.
"Musketeer Buck!" A Dwarf Musketeer who looked far more normal than Kingsley.
"Bowman Nathanos!" A young human of seventeen or eighteen, holding a longbow.
After introducing all twenty-odd members of the trading company, Captain Leguli pointed to the silver cargo ship behind him. "And, of course, the star of our journey-the Advance!"
Following Captain Leguli and the sailors, Karin boarded the Advance.
The Advance was not particularly large, with just enough room for the twenty-odd members of Karin's trading company. Once aboard, the sailors and crew quickly took up their duties, while Captain Leguli first led Karin to the Boiler Room!
Unlike the enormous, filthy coal furnace Karin had imagined, this place was surprisingly clean... a large, fireplace-like boiler stood in the middle, and Karin could just make out a number of gemlike objects inside.
"They're all mana crystals of the poorest quality! The kind that costs ten silver coins apiece!" Captain Leguli explained. "Still, we'll be relying on you and those crystals to power the whole ship, Mr. Karin!"
Karin nodded and walked over... this did not look complicated!
"Your job, Mr. Karin, is simply to restart the Arcane Boiler whenever it goes out. Leave everything else to us!" Captain Leguli's voice came from behind him.
About ten minutes later, Karin emerged from the Boiler Room.
As he had expected, powering the Arcane Boiler was not particularly complicated... he only needed to make the mana crystals resonate so they would slowly release their energy. Karin reckoned it did not even require a First Ring mage; apprentices trained in this sort of work could easily manage it.
He stepped onto the deck, where voices filled the air.
"The boiler's running! Everyone to your stations... hard to port... hold on tight, all of you!" The shrill voice of Hana, the Goblin first mate, rang out behind him.
Every sailor stood at his assigned station, and the Advance slowly began to move forward.
Karin had little to do and stood at ease on the deck, admiring the scenery.
"Hey, Elf!" The Bowman named Nathanos darted up beside Karin and patted his shoulder.
Truthfully, that was rather rude, but considering the boy's age, Karin did not voice any displeasure.
"Hello. What is it?"
"Do you know how Rangers train?" Nathanos asked curiously.
"Rangers... I'm sorry!" Karin waved a hand. "I'm only a mage. I don't know the first thing about what they do!"
"Oh, all right..." Nathanos looked visibly disappointed.
"Why? Are you interested in Rangers?" Karin asked curiously.
"Yes! My father once told me that the High Elf Rangers are the finest bowmen in the world!" Nathanos shook the longbow in his hand. "That's why I've always wanted to find an Elf Ranger to teach me..."
"Well, I hope you succeed..."
As the two chatted idly, a huge ship suddenly passed alongside the Advance and sailed into Sunsail Anchorage.
The enormous ship was golden from end to end and at least ten times the length of the Advance. It cut through wind and waves, looking unstoppable...
"That's the Three Sisters, one of the biggest ships in Sunsail Anchorage. I think it belongs to your Elves' Windrunner family!" Nathanos explained. "The whole ship is built from fir, and it's protected by high-level defensive spells... I bet even if Buck fired his beloved cannon at it from ten yards away, he wouldn't put so much as a scratch on the Three Sisters..."
Karin watched the Three Sisters recede into the distance, deep in thought!
"What, are you wondering when you'll own a ship that huge and luxurious?" Nathanos teased with a laugh.
"No!" Karin shook his head. "I'm wondering what level of Fireball it would take to sink that ship in one shot."