Welcome to Nazjatar - Part 4 up

[Lochton-argent-dawn (Lochton)]

Part One:

It was beautiful, breathtakingly beautiful - no matter of its core of deceit, destruction, terror and chaos, captain Simmons couldn’t help but feel awestruck. The light reflected across the deep blue walls of water, cascading along the aquatic life that was held back with just a barrier of unknown magic. The walls of water now and then shattered as what looked to be stingrays flew through the air but not towards the ground, gracefully gliding between the spires of dark stone and ruined buildings. The reef sunbathing under the rays of light as they among the ruins, were revealed to the wonders of day time - and not abyssal night.

With weary hazel eyes finally unhindered by the hues of blinding light that brought them here, the captain scoured the nearby surroundings without catching the glance of other than wrecked ships, ruins and the unknown. Cracked floorboards bending under him, creaking in release as Simmons moved away from the large gaping hole in his ship - where the bow would have stood proud but now hanging below by the ropes and sails of his poor ‘Dauntless’. Once a mighty battleship of the Alliance, wearing its golden lion in pride, now torn into two, cracked upon its middle like an egg - and their young spotter confirmed it also adorned the remnants of a Kul Tiran ship; lodged into the side as if skewered.

His attention turned away from the vast unknown and towards his men, not many as they used to but trust in his people no matter the number was what brought them forward. His eyes especially locked on the one in chains; a young tidesage apprentice, shivering and muttering in tongues of common and what could resemble liquid corruption.

“Nazjatar, you say? Are you able to leave the wreck or you going to be a problem for us?”

The captain spoke firmly, almost with a sneer at ‘Tidesage’ as his eyes were locked on the shuttering figure of what used to be a rowdy young apprentice of Kul Tiras, now huddled in his robes.

“I… hnnng… Don’t know, sir… I’m sorry… So much death… So much-… You’re all weak!”

His body convulsed and cramped as he struggled against the grips of two soldiers, muttering viciously and apologetic at the same time, as if he took the blame for the destruction that the voices might seemingly be part of but were looking from the window. Skin looking like withdrew and vacuumed tight to his bones, veins barely pumping blood and his limbs shaking. A tired hand grabbing at the pauldrons of a soldier holding him, pushing to get away but eyes pleading to keep him down.

“Secure him, soldiers. We’re going to leave ‘Dauntless’ behind. The Tidesage told us this is, ‘Nazjatar’, so let us not linger at the door for too long, the Queen of the Naga might get offended.”

The captain breathed out calmly as the muttering of the tidesage became ignorant panic as he was taken to the brig, the rattling of chains could be heard through the husk of the once mighty ship. Screams of frustration echoing out from time to time, hopefully not alerting too many. The voices of the sea could be deceitful too, Simmons knew as much. The seat could be a merciful goddess, or a treacherous hag.

Within a few quiet moments of the screams, the men started getting ready to evacuate the ‘Dauntless’, leaving the home on the sea behind in favor of sharp cliffs, even so, sharp edged reefs and the unknown below on the ground. Bags were dragged around and packed with as much useful equipment or belongings they could; ropes, source of light, tinder, rations, flask of water and more. Among the rustling men and boxes was one figure not the like.

Among the clattering armors of professionals preparing to leave ship were a refined man, even when having been through all the chaos, this man seemingly were calmly strapping himself in what people were informed to be his ‘field equipment’. The brown leather straps were pulled tight against his suit, on it small satchels and holsters as well as a pair of pistols and what looked like a short cannon hanging on his belt.

Captain Simmons brow raised at this peculiar sight of a civilian trying to prepare for an unknown threat. His eyes scanning along the small but defined man as he curled wire along his upper arm.

“Mr. Lochton? Wearing a suit even in the unknown? Where is your field equipment? I expected you to at least have some sort of protection in case of danger, and not some leather harness!”

Shorter than most his men on the ‘Dauntless’, the auburn haired man looked up at the captain with a winning smile, a glean in his eyes as he pouched a few pellets.

“The unknown is what sells, captain! I assure you that I am fully capable of handling and avoiding combat situations while wearing my selected equipment and attire. Do not fret, we are in my field of duty now - I will stand back once the fighting starts”

[Allanwilkes-argent-dawn]

Part Two:

The echoing sea winds graced across his face, embracing him in the chill of the deep blue. A soothing feeling for a sailor, taking him away from the troubles in life. Brandon breathed slowly in from the safety of the ‘Dauntless’ crow’s nest. For this short moment the massive walls of shimmering blue was forgotten. There was no feeling of imminent danger but more an inconvenience to his mind until he was torn from his calm, holding on to the edge of his nest as his startled heart galloped in his chest.

Rope burns was the least of his worries as the young spotter zipped down a loose rope to bring in his report to his captain; the rope burn still stung but he would admit it, clenching his fist in agony to keep check on his breath. In the distance the sounds of subtle explosions could be heard; each flash of deep blue light brought with it a rumbling ‘swoooosh’ sound before shattering a small area, or shuttering the ruins nearby.The first sign of nearby attention, and it wasn’t aimed towards them.

“S-sir! Bright sources of light on the sea bed, sir! Looks like flashes from magic use!”

Captain Simmons looked surprised before hurriedly stepping towards the cut-off of the ‘Dauntless’, giving him a free view that even with his old eyes couldn’t miss the clear use of combat magic down below between the reef and ruins. With a calculating mind that couldn’t find the result he wanted, his attention turned towards the civilian.

“Mr. Lochton, do we have any Gliders available?”

His inquiry was quite sudden but didn’t feel unexpected at all by the salvager, leaving the civilian to stand with a smirk before granting the captain his answer.

“Captain Simmons. We have five Glider packs available. Alas, that is not enough for us all, and too few to give us the right stand below if we are to carry rations as well.”

Darren Simmons never liked this ‘Director’ as he would always be granted the man’s opinion when it wasn’t needed, even when the suit wearing bastard was right. Tough decisions had to be made, and he was not happy about it. They had to find out if the light sources were friendlies, or a foe they needed to defend against as the rest started their descend down the wreckage of the ‘Dauntless’.

The migraine was back. Hammers striking the anvil just at the wrong angle to create the skittering sound that would creep along his mind for days. He was due a pension soon, and thought running supply runs would be a good way to cut down and let the young blood climb the ropes after him. Tired eyes went towards his people in the aft section of the ship.

“We’ll need to send down a scout and backup to either find out if we have friends down there, or to secure the perimeter as we proceed with our plan to climb down by ropes to the bow of ‘Dauntless’, hopefully secure a few rope ladders for an easier climb down.”

Reluctantly, this choice of his also meant he had to pick the people to send down, which just fueled his migraine even more. His choices were plentiful for the soldiers but the only scout available for easy traveling around was a damn ‘ASAP’ civilian as well.

His eyes went to the other young man working in the aft with scavenging what could be of use. A blond haired and sturdy built young man, already equipped like his employer; climbing ropes, hook and special claws - at least this boy wore ring mail and had one thing in common, age old enough for field conscription. The captain could choose to send Lochton down but had a feeling he would be more grateful to have him at the bow of the ship - just in case some of his toys could be salvaged.

“Young man, can you climb as well as your director? Trained in these Gliders? You want to serve the Alliance as a field scout?”

Sam looked up from the freshly coiled wire in his hand, an inquizical look on his face as his green eyes stared against the hazel of the captain. He couldn’t help but notice what looked like a throbbing vein in his forehead, pulsating with each critical moment he had to handle upon the wreckage of his jewel. Instead of directing him to the mender, he thought better to opt-in, giving the captain a few quick nods in reply to his questions.

“Yes, sir! Of course I can, and am! And yes, always wanted to be a soldier!”

Oh, the youth, he was just barely of age to serve under the Alliance banner, and now he were to be sent in to what could be the lion’s den. Darren saw the gleam in Sam’s eyes, if they were coming out of this safely, then this child would give his full service if permitted - he almost knew it. Should he have become a recruiter instead?

The pondering didn’t take long before his eyes turned towards four other soldiers, giving them a few strict hand signals; as if they were sent the command by telepathy, the four started suiting up in a glider pack each before assisting his new recruit as well.

Captain Simmons could feel the golden coated stare from the director of ‘Alliance Salvaging And Procurement’; his eyes felt like they could easily cut through diamond. He knew that this would be a topic that had to be taken up before this chaos could be completely solved, and Darren didn’t like the idea of having an enemy at the harbour when help is needed.

[Moothilda-aszune (Moothilda)]

I already like Lochton a lot

I feel the pain Captain Simmons must go through, it’s difficult being the one making decisions on behalf of everyone

[Lochton-argent-dawn (Lochton)]

Part Three:

“Hey! Welcome to the blue and gold, rookie!”

Sam was forcefully yanked against the bulk of a tall soldier, slowly being lead towards the huge opening in the ship; where the bow used to be. A hand carefully caressing the young boy’s shoulder in a reassuring manner as the floorboards slowly start to bent under their weight. The soldier’s armor clattering against Sam, making a great difference to his tanned leather armor. The soldier discarded his helmet carelessly as he accepted a pair of goggles from another, offering Sam a flirtatious smile of perfection as the goggles were pulled over his deep brown eyes, restraining the black locks of hair with its strap.

“Quit it Steve… “

A second soldier appeared from behind the first, clad in her own plate armor but shorter. The helmet was discarded just as carelessly as she offered Sam a friendly nod and a pair of goggles.

“… He’s too young for you anyways.”

She winked at Sam teasingly as he took her spare pair of goggles before she dragged on her own pair, limiting her long blond hair under a cowl, taking a few struggling moments to keep check on all the strands of hair before standing rank at attention towards Steve.

“Blabber blabber, Kate is right, shall we get going, eh?”

A rather large bulk of a soldier in dull mail armor slowly grunted his way towards the others as he hauled five gliders from the aft; the small pack of unfoldable wings were not too much of a burden on its own but dragging five of them were not an easy feat to do. Already having dragged his goggles over his bald head, they looked like they were kept up on his face by his stiff stubble of facial hair. With a light grunt, he took no break as he started to hand out glider packs.

“Aww, see, even Bjorn agrees with me… “

Kate wore a wide smile as she walked past the fourth soldier, slapping the helmet before offering the fourth form a glider pack. Body shape looked like it could be a woman but Sam could not be certain, the person did not offer to remove the helmet, and even with enough squinting, there seemed to already be some sort of filtered eye protection in the helmet.

Strap after strap, click after click, Sam took no more struggle trying to peer through the disguise of the fourth member and turned towards his glider pack. At second to nature, the pack straps were quickly sorted - not without snickering as muttering complaints from Steve disturbed Sam’s focus.

“Aaaarrgh… I swear you love to see men suffer, Rin!”

Steve squirmed as the beforehand unknown soldier, Rin, pulled at each strap to secure the gilder pack to his back. Steve’s eyes locked on to Sam.

“H-hey, gorgeous. Can’t you take Rin’s spot instead? You seem to know your way with this- hnng… “

Rin gave an aggressive pull on the harness to interrupt Steve’s flirting. Chuckling as she walked towards the ledge, hips swaying from side to side in a more athletic form than the hulk of Bjorn already standing there. Her weight hardly bending the boards unlike the rest of her team, even Sam, the young man.

The dancing walls of water welcomed the setting sun as the water reflected the new colours of orange, gold and red. The light show was surely a sight to remember they all agreed. Each of the scouting group stepped closer to the edge, looking out over the reefs, ruins and other shipwrecks. Kate’s hand sought Bjorn’s as her gaze was still locked at the beautiful sight. Soaring rays, a flight of mystery in this area but right now they were part of the scenery. Their moment before deployment was disrupted as Lochton hauled his way towards the edge, setting himself over the side with ropes and rope ladders.

“I am quite certain the captain is welcoming your departure as soon as you are ready. And Sam, do not fret, you have trained for these things. Once below, make sure to barricade yourself securely.”

Sam wasn’t certain but he could almost guess that Steve was rolling his eyes at his boss before tapping Kate’s and Rin’s shoulders to signal ready to get going. Sam was only given a laugh and a shrug before Steve leaped off the edge, closely followed by Kate, Rin and then Bjorn. The young man looked towards his boss with an apologetic look on this face, offering a respectful nod towards his mentor.

Director Jeremy Lochton smiled calmly as he was hanging off the side of the wreckage, returning the gesture towards Sam.

“Pleasant journeys, Mr. Walldren.”

With a few rapid strides and a leaping jolt from the ship, and Sam was now soaring through the sky, closing in on the rest of the group before deploying the glider. The frame unfolded out of the pack, stretching wide to the sides as the once loose fabric goes tort, stretching out to catch the cold gust of winds, putting his fall in to an abrupt stall before soaring among the rest of the group. Kept under stare of the others in formation, Sam could not help but laugh to himself as they descend down between the corals, rocks, ruins and the once pride of the Alliance.

Sam’s final glance of his director before reaching the seabed, is that of a rather dashing frame, masterfully climbing down the ropes towards the hanging bow section of the ship, slowly being followed by more insecure climbers of the Alliance sailors and troops. His eyes went up to the aft, light was still there, some were staying behind.

[Allanwilkes-argent-dawn]

Part Four:

Captain Simmons steadily climbed down the rope ladder towards the bow section of the ‘Dauntless’, the other half of the ship clinging for all its worth as the straining ropes kept the two halves still united. The middle mast still sticking out from the deck of the ship in one piece, less could be said by the front mast of the three masted vessel. A core of massive oak had given way to the loss of way, snapping almost at the base just to still hang from the bow of the ‘Dauntless’, the sail tattered down the rest of the bow. Simmons’ attention stopped the inspection of the once mighty ship in reaction to the swift sound of rope and leather as Lochton slid down a single line rope masterfully, almost putting a joke to another of the captain’s men wobbling down the rope ladder.

Black polished leather boots impacted to the slopped floorboards and sent the director in to a small slide before calmly putting himself to a half with a foot against the middle mast. The smug bastard even took a moment to adjust his suit underneath his harness before he averted his gaze to a small pocket watch. Simmons knew that the little man surely had already done a more thorough assessment of the damages and what he - yes - he could use from the wreckage of his poor ‘Dauntless’. He knew that the he was out of his element and now, forcefully flung into the element of the salvager.

“So, Mr. Lochton, what a damn mess we have for us here, eh?”

Lochton smiled calmly as his eyes move away from the watch. There were not even a sign that the unsteady ground they were on was an actual problem.

“Ah. My apologies, Mr. Simmons. I just needed to take a few notes. Alas, the ‘Dauntless’ will not see another Alliance port but perhaps we can utilize enough that we may secure ourselves.”

With an ignited gleam in his eyes, Jeremy calmly unhooked two sharp axes with a hammer on the other side of the head, tossing them underhanded towards two soldiers with a wink.

“First, let us secure the ropes that are currently not keeping us secure here, and make ready to haul what we may save, and lower them to the seabed. I suggest we move the barrels that are intact of the vessel first.”

The two soldiers discarded their helmets as their eyes went from the axe to the man in the black suit before towards their captain like two lost dogs, unsure who were to be in command now. The civilian were a contract for the Alliance command but the military and marines of the Alliance were part of the core. All they were given from their captain was a returned glare and a firm nod which prompted them to make salute before climbing further down the bow to secure ropes and barrels.

“Mr. Lochton, gon’ suggest we leave those two to theirs, and we each take a marine and divide the deck and hull amongst us, hmm?”

“Very well, Mr. Simmons. You assign a marine to the hull with you, and one with make the climb with me.”

Simmons nodded towards Lochton before a few hand gestures assigned the two idling marines to their job. A shaking hand went to his collar to unclasp his cloak, the old man’s hand shaking as he can feel the final flow of adrenaline rushing through him - it was just a matter of time, rather here where his footing was somewhat safe, than when climbing. The old man stumbled down on a chain spoole, rapid breaths as he reached for his flask - the salvager had already assigned himself to work. Figured.

The smell was a clear tattletail for the result Lochton was not wanting to see as he climbed along the snapped mast to see the glorious construction of his heavy-hauler pinned between the deck and mast; this machine was constructed for safe transport of heavy goods without having to lead too many people through unwanted terrain. A vehicle he had put more than enough time in to operating during his contract, now squashed like a fly. Pistons had either been forced up through the frame of the vehicle or down through the deck, leaving them more or less of no use.

The salvager sighed as his eyes disappeared behind a pair of black goggles, skillful hands reaching for various tools of need as he proceeded to dismantle the crushed vessel, claiming what he could use and forcing the assigned marine to question the various items that was handed to him; brass tubing, random lengths of wire, a few blocks that could look like batteries, and some smaller canisters that quickly followed with a warning from the man inside the wreck of the small vessel, something about keeping clear from open flames. He couldn’t help but being curious of what was going on in that man’s head when things like copper plating and bolts were given to him as well.

No more for now, he couldn’t keep himself to the flask for the rest of the time. Victory comes with a price and this price was the ‘Dauntless’, hopefully the price of the Horde vessels were worse than his. He was going to make sure that there was a mark of his people’s service against the Horde once he got out of here. Simmons struggled to the guide ropes that had been lining the bow as he was trying to get up but being stopped short by one of his; the marine had already discarded her helmet but she had a endearing smile as she offering her captain a hand towards a few broken floorboards. She must have cranked them open while he was trying to gather his mind, this was to at least make it easier.

“T-thank you, marine… Let’s see if we can find something that’ll make the director back there happy?”

They both chuckled a little as she offered her captain a secondary guide rope to help him down into the hull of the ‘Dauntless’ bow; it was a mess and it could not be described better. Barrels of fruit smashed, salted products scattered and cannon balls rolling over what was meant to be cotton designated to be shipped to Stormwind City. At least the small boxes that was tied up under the deck boards were intact, leaving them with more than enough ammunition, medical supplies and waterskins - maybe for the worse that the alcohol did not survive this incident, no one would want to remember the losses here in this watery grave.

[Moothilda-aszune (Moothilda)]

I love how you make room to describe the details in the surroundings

And Simmons persona begins to be very clear - I hope he won’t struggle to much in the up comming events

[Lochton-argent-dawn (Lochton)]

Thank you so much.

It is a story that currently holds no specific amount of chapters yet but I try to have a vision that not everyone had it easy.

[Moothilda-aszune (Moothilda)]

I like the pace your story have, so being bound by an amount of fixed chapters or settings might destroy the vision you have for it.

The personality traits your characters have already have a good foundation, so I can already imagine what every little strugle they will experince or have had, that can effect the events your writings will take us too