Through the sailors' efforts, the Advance gradually made her way out to sea!
Karin stood at the stern, watching the magnificent, glittering Sunsail Anchorage shrink into the distance until it became a tiny speck of light... Only the towering pillar of light farther away remained faintly visible. That was the Isle of Quel'Danas, and the source of its radiance was the Sunwell!
Once even the Sunwell's light had disappeared, Karin suddenly felt an inexplicable sense of relief...
For Karin Sunfury, this was the first time in his life that he had left Quel'Thalas.
"Master mage!" Nathanos asked softly beside him. "Shall we head below?"
"All right!" Karin nodded.
The Advance carried a total load of roughly ten tons, at least by Karin's estimate.
The hold contained all kinds of goods, including various tobaccos, spirits, cotton cloth, and more... According to Captain Leguli, these goods sold extremely well at the ports of Howling Fjord, and they could easily make fivefold returns on this trip...
But impressive as fivefold returns sounded, after deducting the voyage's expenses, losses, and bribes, the entire trading company would earn only one or two hundred gold coins over nearly two months... A magical trinket casually made by a high-level Enchanting specialist would fetch about the same price.
"Magic really is the greatest productive force!"
Although Karin had traveled by ship in his previous life, riding a massive steel vessel was clearly a different experience from sailing aboard a small wooden ship like this... Less than an hour after leaving land, the constant rocking had begun to make him seasick... Fortunately, he had come prepared. The moment he felt nauseous, he took out a small vial of Minor Healing Potion and sipped twice. His discomfort vanished instantly!
He continued taking a couple of sips whenever he felt seasick... After a few days, Karin gradually grew accustomed to this swaying life.
The crew members of other races all treated Karin with great respect... Hana, the Goblin first mate, solemnly took off her hat to salute him whenever she saw him. The female crew members responsible for cooking and washing would shyly move away at his approach. Even Captain Leguli spoke to him warmly and amiably whenever they met, never shouting as he did around the rest of the crew!
Partly, this was because he was a mage, and partly because he was a High Elf!
Whether in the eyes of humans, dwarves, or Goblins, Elves were a mysterious and noble race! Their handsome faces, long lives, and innate affinity for magic all marked them as different from the other races.
In fact, apart from Dalaran, Elves were rarely seen anywhere in the Eastern Kingdoms outside Quel'Thalas.
Perhaps this was the first time these sailors had ever been in such close contact with an Elf.
The young longbowman Nathanos showed it most clearly! Whenever he had some free time, he would come over to Karin and ask him about one thing after another. Even after Captain Leguli scolded him several times, his enthusiasm never waned... He seemed interested in anything to do with Quel'Thalas and the Elves.
With nothing else to do, Karin answered his questions one by one.
Unfortunately, what interested Nathanos most was information about the Elven Rangers, a subject Karin knew absolutely nothing about.
Life aboard the ship was leisurely. Apart from spending ten or fifteen minutes each day starting up the Arcane Power Boiler Room, he could use his time however he pleased! Although there was little room to move around, Karin saw this as an excellent opportunity to study.
In his cabin, under the All-Knowing Eye's guidance, he learned several First Ring and Second Ring spells: the First Ring abjuration spell Magic Shield, the First Ring evocation spell Magic Missile, and the Second Ring evocation spell Fireball... From time to time, he would also go to the stern to practice these spells, though this often drew a crowd of sailors!
One day, nearly half a month after leaving Sunsail Anchorage, Karin stood on deck holding the staff that had once belonged to Dune Morningwind.
Nathanos stood a short distance away with his longbow in hand... Karin had long since grown used to this.
Karin scattered some black powder around him. Before it could fall, it swiftly gathered at the tip of his staff-a fireball, slightly smaller but brighter than usual, shot toward the sea and raised a great splash.
"Very good. Twenty horsepower of impact, enough to blast an adult bull to death outright!" the All-Knowing Eye assessed in his mind. "It's already approaching the fireballs cast by ordinary Second Ring mages."
Karin nodded in satisfaction. Combining gunpowder with Fireball was an idea he had come up with some time ago. This was his first attempt at putting it into practice, and the results looked good!
He put away his staff and was about to return to his cabin to rest when a piercing voice suddenly rang out in his mind.
"Warning! A large group of dangerous creatures is approaching!"
"Dangerous creatures?" Karington jolted and looked up.
"Current distance: four thousand yards. Still approaching at high speed..."
Karin carefully scanned his surroundings. To the west, a green line resembling seaweed was steadily drawing closer to the Advance.
"Nathanos!" Karin called. "Look over there..."
"That's..." As a longbowman, Nathanos had much keener eyesight than Karin. "Oh, heavens, they're Murlocs!"
"All hands, alert! Murlocs incoming!"
Within just a few minutes, the entire crew of the Advance had gathered on deck. Captain Leguli stood at the bow, gripping his sharp cutlass!
"Current distance: one thousand yards!" the All-Knowing Eye reminded Karin.
Karin could now make out the attackers: a swarm of strange fish with four limbs... They looked nothing like the adorably goofy Blizzard mascots from his previous life. Instead, they were utterly disgusting!
Some of the Murlocs swam through the water, while others sat on wooden planks, all eyeing the Advance menacingly.
"Hana, can we go around them?" Captain Leguli asked grimly.
The Goblin first mate shook her head. "No. The Murlocs are much faster than we are. Whichever way we go, they'll catch up!"
It looked as though escape was impossible! Karin raised his staff, ready to fight... Once the Murlocs swam a little closer, they would enter his range.
"Wait, Mr. Mage, don't do anything rash!" Captain Leguli hurriedly stopped Karin.
"Kingsley!" he then shouted to the plump dwarf behind him. "Hurry down to the hold and bring that thing up!"