Drustvar Island.
"...It's so embarrassing," Trixie said, bringing up that same topic again, pressing her palms to cheeks reddened either from the cold or indeed from embarrassment, though most likely the latter—she was under the influence of a warming spell which, unlike the original flawed one, was doing a fine job of dealing exclusively with the low temperatures.
"I'm not apologizing anymore," the boy honestly warned the Gnome.
The pair had left their shelter early in the morning and headed toward the exit of the valley that had sheltered them. Given the depth of the snow cover, they had to walk under the drifts, imitating icy jormungars. Lin had only briefly tossed himself up with magic at the start to assess the situation above and plot a route. Now, the Mage used magic to blaze a trail through the drifts while his companion walked behind, pestering him with all sorts of questions, for some reason related to the former Archmage's personal life—apparently, not all of Trixie's actions yesterday were explained by the spell's side effect...
"...What's your girlfriend's name? How did you meet her? Is it hard being so tall? Have you kissed her yet? What does she do? Does it take long to learn magic? Did you fall in love with each other right away?.."
Of course, Jaina could be curious at times too, but her interests usually lay in areas related to magic one way or another, and thus were interesting to Lin himself. However, he answered calmly and held his ground under the barrage of questions, associating the "interrogation" with composure training and trying to imagine Trixie as an ordinary child. Although her height helped with the latter, it was still a difficult task—after all, you don't expect questions about intimate topics from children.
"...You don't hold a grudge against me, do you?"
"No," the Mage replied without slowing his pace. "I'm just as responsible for the collision as you are, and as for your arte... your device breaking and transporting us here—that's nobody's fault at all."
"Well, yeah, yeah, except for my clumsy younger sister," Trixie grumbled. "Couldn't that Balda have made the design more reliable?"
"No one is insured against accidents," he shrugged. "You have to take such moments more lightly, especially when they've already happened. These sayings like: 'Oh, if only I hadn't walked on the sidewalk but in the middle of the road, I wouldn't have been hit by a falling tile!' lead to nothing useful, because those who walked in the middle are exclaiming exactly the same: 'Oh, if only I hadn't walked in the middle of the road but on the sidewalk, I wouldn't have been hit by a horse!'" Lin changed his voice to a gruffer tone, clearly mimicking someone, but since they had no mutual acquaintances, the girl naturally didn't know who he was talking about.
"There are no tiles or horses in Ironforge or Gnomeregan," Trixie commented irrelevantly, lost in thought.
"But you have plenty of dangerous inventions and explosives there."
"That's true... Listen!" She finally caught the tail of a thought flickering on the periphery of her consciousness and shook off her pensive state. "You're a Mage! Can you make me a big ruby? Like, a really huge one! I'll pay!"
"Do I look like a jeweler to you? Or do you think any Mage can cut and enchant gemstones?"
"Oh, come on, don't play modest! It doesn't have to be cut or enchanted—just making it is enough, I can handle the rest myself."
"So you need an artificial gemstone, not a natural one?"
"Any kind. Doesn't even have to be a ruby; the main thing is the crystal must be red, as strong as possible, and transparent, obviously."
"In principle..." Lin thought for a moment and said: "It's possible. Using transmutation charms, one can create practically anything, but the effect will be temporary. The more experienced the Mage and the more Mana they invest, the longer the ruby will remain a ruby and not a river pebble. Or whatever crystals are usually transmuted from. Regardless, it doesn't matter. Alchemists could make the transmutation effect permanent, but that would cost you far more than the services of that jeweler from before."
"Temporary?.. Argh! Fine!" Trixie made a face as if she had been agonizing over whether to choose blue or green hair dye—and then was talked into red. "I agree, I only have a prototype for now anyway. So the main thing is that my brainchild actually works!"
"Works for what?" Lin showed curiosity this time: after all, he was very interested in Gnome inventions. "And you said something about payment..."
"Three hundred gold. That's all I have," the girl replied, ignoring the first question. The Gnome was from that cohort of engineers who observe superstitions, and therefore she didn't want to talk about the currently non-working "All-Destroying Red Mega-Beam of Death"... so as not to jinx it. "And I'd rather give it to you than to that greedy guy from Dalaran," she shook a fist into the distance.
"Do I look like a man who needs money?"
"No, you don't look like one, you are a Human, and as everyone knows, they like money."
"Who knows that? The Dwarves? Those greedy bearded shorties are the first in line for gold," he recalled a very unflattering description of Magni Bronzebeard's subjects from his Friend, as well as his own limited experience communicating with the residents of Ironforge.
"Argh!" she repeated. "Fine, if gold doesn't interest you, how about a barter? I can make something to order—I'm practically a master!" And without giving him time to answer, she immediately continued: "But still—do you really want me and my body in exchange for a gemstone? What about your Jaina? I thought you were in love. No, don't think—if you've fallen in love with me, I'll fully consider your candidacy, but for now..."
"Listen," the boy interrupted with a sigh, clearly not intending to turn around. "I understand that you Gnomes in general, and you in particular down there underground, have big problems with your personal lives. But bringing this topic up for the fifth time is beyond the pale. Especially considering it hasn't even been ten minutes since the first time."
"Oh, get lost! I don't have problems with my personal life!" Trixie took offense, clearly stung to the quick. "I just love engineering! Until I get my 'master' rank, I'm not interested in relationships!"
"You're 'practically a master' already," Lin teased her. It turned out that despite her hang-up on the subject of gender relations, this Gnome was easy to talk to, like an old friend.
"Well, not quite a master yet..." she grew embarrassed for a moment. "As an engineer, I can certainly be considered a master... formally, but in the context of starting a new family, let's just say I'm almost a master..."
Meanwhile, changes were appearing in their slow progress through the man-made tunnel: an ascent began, and instead of the usual snow, they began to encounter boulders and rocks sticking out of a thin, frozen layer of earth, which they also had to navigate around. At some point, the path blazed under the snow hit a dead wall, which, while not vertical, had a steep slope that clearly indicated they had reached the exit of the valley (or the entrance—depending on which side you looked from).
Having cleared an exit from the snowdrift, revealing a view of a blue morning sky with no trace of the night's blizzard, Lin turned around and began outlining the prospects.
"Well, we've arrived. Here's the plan. If we don't figure out where we are by the end of the day, we'll determine our approximate location by the stars tonight. In any case, if this place holds no interest for me, I'll create a portal and we'll return to Dalaran."
Trixie opened her mouth but immediately snapped it shut, then opened it again and returned her lower jaw to its place once more. On the third try, the shock passed, and Indignation crashed down upon her companion:
"You can take us back at any moment?! A-a-a-ah! In the name of what gear are we freezing in snowdrifts here then?! I want to go home!"
"Now, now, don't cry, dear. There, there!" He mimicked a kind smile and patted her on the head. "When Daddy finishes all his business here, we'll definitely go home and buy you the biggest lollipop on a stick."
The last action caused another stupor, but this time it ended not with a flash of indignation but with the opposite reaction—it was as if the girl had been pricked with a needle, releasing her excess emotions.
"Oh, get lost," Trixie waved him off weakly, making a futile attempt to duck out from under his hand—Lin's hand, which had enjoyed the stroking, involuntarily followed the movement of the Midget.
"Since you're still cold, I can 'warm you up' with the morning spell," the boy offered from the bounty of his soul and added with clearly fake enthusiasm: "Perhaps you'll even manage to seduce me!"
"Not funny," his traveling companion grumbled in response and hopped aside more briskly. "And no, thanks—I'm not cold."
"You're not the only one allowed to joke!" he shrugged in response and deigned to explain. "I could probably return you alone to Dalaran or even Ironforge, since I was in the latter recently, but first, I don't want to cast such a powerful spell in an unfamiliar place, especially one using Space magic, whose emanations all interested parties monitor particularly closely and which could be used to find us before it's finished. And second, I don't want to waste Mana—who knows where we've ended up."
"Paranoid," grumbled the offended Trixie again, who didn't like that she was nearly cuddled like some child just because of his height advantage! Those weren't the feelings she wanted to evoke in males. "As if anyone needs us in these mountains."
"Alright, sorry if I offended you," the adult Elf in a Human teenager didn't exactly know perfectly when to make concessions to girls, but he certainly had some experience in it. "But your indignation sounded very bold for someone who was just recently tearing her hair out and taking all the blame for our transport on herself."
"That was out of surprise!" The Gnome had already recovered and went on the offensive, for good girls—and Trixie was exactly that—cannot be at fault... for too long.
"Out of surprise you took the blame, or out of surprise you decided I'm your personal chauffeur?" He couldn't help but continue the bickering.
"Both at once. And you shouldn't drop news like that on me after several hours of wandering who knows where!"
"Yes, yes, it's my fault, of course. Who would doubt you girls. But since we've settled that, maybe we can finally go out into the fresh air?"
"Sorry," the Gnome sighed and was the first to scramble up the rocky slope.
"There might be hope for you yet," the Mage muttered loud enough for Trixie to hear, and followed after her.
The reconnaissance of the area didn't yield much. Having climbed the low slope, they left the snow-covered valley behind and found themselves before a steep descent ending in a relatively flat snowy surface. Everywhere they looked, there were mountains.
"Mda... We need to go down and get out of here. There seems to be a gap over there," Lin summarized his survey of the surroundings.
"On foot, right?" Trixie remembered his reluctance to perform powerful magic, but decided to clarify anyway—what if the Mage had a way to make their lives easier without strong spells?
Famous female intuition did not fail her—there was a way.
"Well, why 'on foot' right away? There's an option—I'll move down with a spell now, and then you jump, and I'll catch you near the ground with magic. How's the idea?"
"Lame," the frowning girl said, cutting him off. "I don't want to jump!"
"I can throw you down first, and then go down myself to catch you," he politely offered his help.
Trixie immediately jumped back from the edge and silently backed away from her insane companion, her frightened eyes never leaving him...
"Seems the joke went too far. Relax, give me your hand, and before you know it, we'll be down."
The Gnome didn't budge, continuing to bore into the joker with a gaze full of suspicion, while simultaneously wondering: "Is he a joker?"
"Oh, come on!" The boy rolled his eyes. "It's obvious I was joking."
Suddenly the Mage vanished into thin air, but before the astonished Gnome could blink, someone grabbed her from behind by the armpits, clasping hands over her stomach, lifting her and pressing her to someone's chest. No, Trixie, of course, guessed the identity of the molester later, but at that moment she could only squeak in response to such persistence. However, a couple of seconds later, as promised, the tensed girl found herself in a new place, where she was released from the uninvited embrace.
"You have to warn me!"
"I did warn you," Lin shrugged for the umpteenth time. "You just didn't listen, as usual."
"It's all your idiotic jokes!"
The complaints were justified, but mutual.
"Behave yourself and I'll stop joking like that. Deal?"
For the first time since they met, a smile appeared on the boy's face that was so sincere and filled with goodwill that Trixie immediately suspected a trap, and she reflexively refused before she could weigh the pros and cons. To which Lin merely chuckled and said:
"Your choice. Now I suggest we speed up," with these words he reached his hands toward her. "Turn around, we're going to jump again—we can't spend all day wandering the mountains."
"But... didn't you say that casting teleportation spells from that Space magic of yours means attracting attention? Maybe it's better on foot?" She made what she thought was a good, logic-based attempt to avoid another embrace, which caused her embarrassment and awkwardness, fueling her irritation.
"A jump like that to a visible distance only costs about sixty conventional units of Mana, which isn't considered a large amount. I doubt you know anything about specific energy density, so take my word for it—this amount isn't enough to stir up the natural flows of Mana, by the changes in which a caster's location is determined. And besides, this type of teleport doesn't create tears in space, so we're protected from detection on that front too."
"I see."
"Well, since you see, how much longer do I have to wait for you?" The boy frowned slightly, letting a bit of annoyance show on his face, and tried to prod her using a proven method. "Or maybe you want to change positions? Carry you in my arms, or have you not given up your attempts to seduce me and want to press your chest against me?"
"Argh! May a gear hit you!" Trixie stomped her foot in indignation. "I'm not like that! It's all your spell!"
"If you were 'not like that,' you wouldn't bring this topic up every five minutes," he countered fairly.
"The last few times, it's been you bringing it up!" Expressive hand gestures were added to the emotion in her words and the look of indignation on the girl's face.
"Let's not talk about why you're so interested in this topic—I've already voiced my guesses, but I just find it fun to tease you—you have a funny reaction," Lin admitted honestly. "So—have you decided on a position?"
"Oh, for the love of..." the frowning girl muttered, again perfectly hearing the vocal inflections that emphasized the same word, and gave in: "Fine, like before. I never thought I'd be carried and squeezed like a stuffed toy..."
Having cleared the discovered gorge in a couple of minutes, they hit—no, not a dead end, as one might think watching the approaching wall—but another ledge, atop which they soon found themselves. Now they faced a choice: after descending, go left or right; the road straight ahead was blocked by that very wall, which turned out to be the monolithic base of a high peak that the pair couldn't properly see because of the gorge walls.
"I think we need to scout," Lin said, assessing both directions but finding no solid reason for a correct choice, and immediately began Spellcasting without moving from the spot.
High in the sky, at the limit of visibility, a practically colorless magical construct appeared, looking like an ordinary eye. Its appearance went unnoticed by Trixie. Although she had the opportunity to find the manifestation of the far-sight spell using a spyglass, which, by the way, she had in one of her many pockets, she would have needed to know of the construct's existence and purposefully study the heights of the sky. Moreover, the magic screen that appeared before Lin, showing a view of the mountains from above, initially interested her far more than what was happening overhead. Later, being technically minded, the girl figured out how to correlate the image and, finding the target point in the sky, study it properly, but at first, the changing image hanging in the air completely captured her attention—devices with such an effect were still only in development for the Gnomes.
"Mountains, mountains, mountains—nothing but mountains everywhere," Lin summarized the scouting results while his companion examined the magic screen. "Nothing interesting. Then I suggest going east—it's closer to home."
"If it gets us closer to my ruby that you promised to make me, I'm all for it."
"Promised? Well, if you say so. Then you'll certainly give what we agreed upon for the work?"
"'Agreed upon'?"
"Yes. When I 'promised,' that's when we 'agreed.' Did you forget?"
After a few seconds of silence, Trixie finally said:
"How does your Jaina even put up with you?"
"Just fine. That's because we don't make up 'promises' for each other."
"How can I not make them up if you refused gold and barter, but you're silent and don't offer anything yourself?"
"I need your knowledge, your skills, your..."
"Stop, stop! Do you want to drive me into lifelong hard labor for one miserable little stone?! Why not just sexual slavery while you're at it?"
"Hmm..." Lin pretended to think, then shook his head. "An alluring idea, but I think Jaina would be against a harem—we're not centaurs, after all. And anyway, where do such debauched thoughts come from in that cute little head?"
"They live there," the Gnome declared with unexpected pride, causing a brief stupor. "What, got nothing to say?"
"An honest confession. But since you've brought up the question of service costs again, let's get down to business. I offer my magic, magical ingredients, and consumables in exchange for your knowledge and skills. From you, I need a few gadgets made to order and consultations on the art of engineering."
"Hey, it's a science, not an art! Don't confuse it with your 'I call upon the forces of wind, earth, and fire'! Everything for us obeys strict laws; there's no room for chance in our devices!"
"Oh, really?" It seemed the boy's voice had become an inexhaustible source of sarcasm.
"Working devices!" Trixie stomped her foot, emotional over the lack of trust shown toward her profession.
"So, what about the offer?"
"You probably want to cheat me! There's no trusting beanpoles! If you think I'm going to make you those same wormhole generators with my own money just to trade them for a handful of crystals that will then, by your own words, turn into useless junk, you can forget it! The contract must be equal!"
Lin, who had no intention of cheating a potential future partner, decided to approach from another angle and flatter her:
"You can't fool a master engineer. How could I try to cheat such a smart Gnome, a talented specialist, and such a cute and beautiful girl? I just didn't have time to finish," he took all the blame for the past incident upon himself like a man. "We'll sign a small contract where our orders have a higher priority than other clients'. Naturally, all services rendered to each other must be paid for: whether in gold or a reciprocal service—it doesn't matter. We'll even set the prices not at the cost of materials but at market value—in case one of us has more orders, so it won't be unfair. And the ruby... why, I'll make you a bag of them for free as a gesture of trust in a partner. Well, what do you say?"
"Mmm," blatant flattery mixed with truth did its dark work. "Agreed! And I don't need a bag, just one, but a big ruby!"
"Excellent!" Lin turned back to the screen, which continued to display the image of the mountains, hiding the truly demonic smile that slid across his face.
He had far too many questions for engineers, and here such an opportunity had presented itself—she wouldn't refuse to consult him on a "few" points, would she? "Maybe I should lead her around here for a week or two? Why not—mountains, fresh air, me suffering without answers... it's better than toiling in dungeons. Though, Jaina will be offended. She's probably very worried. By the way..." The last thoughts prompted him to remember something. Taking a small amulet from his chest, which hung there next to his academic medallion, he squeezed it in his fist and, closing his eyes, froze for half a minute. The aforementioned Bond artifact was a return gift from the princess for a similar medallion. And judging by the fact that Jaina was almost exactly to the east, and they were surrounded by snowy mountains, it meant they were likely on one of the islands of Kul Tiras. "I'll get to meet her parents at the same time."
"Well, have you seen everything there?" Trixie, dissatisfied with the lack of attention, decided to hurry her partner.
"Can't wait to be in my arms?" The boy couldn't help but tease the volatile girl.
"Pff... And what if I can't?" the Gnome replied with a challenge in her voice.
"How can I refuse your hugs if you ask so insistently?" The Mage reached his hands toward her, simultaneously dispelling the observation spell...
Half an hour later, they were admiring smoke rising from behind the next mountain that stood in their way.
"A little more and we'll be back to civilization," Lin commented on the obvious.
"It's about time, I'm as hungry as a pack of yetis! But at least we've made it out of the snows..."
"Well, sorry I didn't bring food for a shopping trip."
"And I heard that Mages can create food and water out of nothing," the hint that the Gnome was ready to settle for artificial food if it appeared here and now was quite thick.
"And I heard that engineers have a device that resurrects the dead."
"..." Trixie fell sadly silent, realizing her dreams had come to naught, but then, after a few seconds, she still replied: "Eh, they lied about that too..."
"I'm more concerned not by our lack of food, but by the fact that the locals seem to have decided to torch their entire village just for our arrival—there's an awful lot of thick smoke."
"You think there's trouble waiting for us there?" the Gnome realized. "Maybe we should teleport to Dalaran after all? There's nothing interesting here."
"We'll see," the boy replied vaguely and commanded: "Hold on! It won't be long now..."
After a few more kilometer-long jumps and five minutes of time, they reached their goal. The pair reached the seashore. From the height of the next descent, a beautiful view of the coast opened up. To the right, the blue of the sea blended smoothly into the sky's expanse, thanks to a blurred horizon line. Opposite, across the water, lay the haze of land. To the left, the outlines of a neighboring island with the vertical stroke of a lighthouse were clearly visible. Well, the most interesting thing was observed right beneath their feet, on the shore.
The fishing village of a hundred houses had ceased to exist. The remains of wooden buildings were smoldering, and their residents were gathering in a pile... or rather, their bodies were. Dozens of hideous monsters with tentacles, fish tails, scales, and fins were scurrying efficiently through the ashes and didn't turn their noses up at body parts or modest domestic livestock—all of this was being carried to a small wooden pier for some unknown purpose, where a sizable mountain of corpses had already accumulated.
The young Mage stood on the edge of the ledge with a proud posture, a confident look, and a calm face. The wind ruffled his hair and blew the edges of his cloak, giving the moment the necessary amount of pathos. Only everything was spoiled by the Gnome hiding behind the nearest rock, who, although quite frightened, had let her girlish curiosity overcome her fear, and now she, poking her head out from behind the cover, was, as they say, "horrified by the horrors happening below."
"Things are looking very bad for Jaina's subjects."
"Subjects?" Despite the traces of death visiting the shore, Trixie hadn't been a direct witness to the slaughter, and therefore wasn't "horrified" enough to miss her companion's intriguing words.
"Didn't I say? Jaina Proudmoore is the princess of these lands."
"Ooh... how is a modest and beautiful master engineer supposed to compete with a whole princess," the girl either truly grew sad or just pretended—against the backdrop of the ugliness happening below, you couldn't tell right away. "And what are those creatures down there anyway?"
"..."
The expression on his face could be described as: "Are you serious?"
"What?" Trixie didn't think to be embarrassed. "I've never seen such monsters before."
"You must have never left your workshop in your entire life! How can you know nothing about the world-scale situation with the sea?"
"What's so 'world-scale' about it?" she asked, squinting one eye at the shore. "Yes, I feel sorry for the residents, but monsters are monsters—there are plenty of them on land too."
"The fact that, first, they're attacking all along the coast—even the Elves are getting hit—and second, they have a leader—the Old God N'Zoth, whom even the Titans couldn't kill in their time. Surely you're at least aware of the Titans?"
"I know more than you do!" the girl huffed.
"Alright, I'll believe you... Do you want to see some high magic?" he suddenly changed the subject. "I just need to test something."
The boy had apparently made some decision, as he stopped looking at the chaos below and began clearing and leveling a small section of the ledge.
"I take it nothing depends on my answer?" Trixie looked away from the monsters.
"Well, you can turn away," he graciously allowed her to miss the most interesting moment of their entire adventure.
"Yeah, right! Don't even dream of it—I'm not taking my eyes off you," the girl threatened. To prove the seriousness of her intentions, she used her thumbs and index fingers to force her eyelids wide open, turning into a little ruffled owlet thanks to her somewhat drooping pigtails. "And anyway, if anything happens—I'm in! Tests are sacred."
At which Lin snorted:
"You'd better keep an eye on the surroundings. Who knows with these fish-like things—maybe they can fly or crawl up sheer walls."
"And why do you think they can't jump through space the same way you do?"
Lin started to open his mouth, but immediately closed it and, scratching the back of his head, snorted again, only this time without a hint of amusement, but rather in confusion.
"Actually, they might... theoretically. Anyway, fine, we'll manage. Now watch."
"Already?" The minute of preparation for a "strike of high magic" didn't exactly impress the girl—some lines, a couple of dull crystals inside the drawing, and that was it—it didn't look serious.
"Yep," the Mage smiled predatorily, pulled a wand from inside his tunic, and, squinting dangerously as he peered down, snapped it with a dry click.
For the first few seconds, nothing happened, and a thought crossed her mind, fueled by the expectation of a mega-spectacle, that the boasted spell had failed. Before the girl could voice her complaints to the spectacle organizer regarding the absence of the latter, Lin was the first to break the silence filled with anticipation.
"You're looking in the wrong place," the young Mage's voice held mockery again. "Look up."
Trixie immediately and obediently craned her head back and felt her mouth fall open in surprise: from a great height, something red was rapidly approaching the ground, growing swiftly in size. "A meteorite..." a lonely, frantic thought flickered in her empty mind. The air began to fill with a roar. And though Trixie didn't see it yet, enchanted by the arrival of the guest from the Twisting Nether, the monsters below began to stir, twitching and bolting one after another toward the water. However, an apparently indestructible Magical Barrier stood in their way, encompassing the entire territory of the settlement and even a little beyond. Lin wouldn't have had enough time for standard holding shields, but in this case, it wasn't required. The charms he used had a very short duration, measured literally in seconds, but this significant drawback was compensated for by the exceptional strength of the barrier, which currently prevented the monsters from leaving the impact zone.
Meanwhile, the "gift" from the heavens appeared in all its glory: a huge fiery rock was flying straight into the center of the settlement. Only a few moments remained until impact.
"Alright, time for us to go."
Trixie didn't have time to protest or react in any way before she was scooped up, and then the world before her eyes spun, then again and again. And now they were several kilometers away from the impending event. Barely had the girl managed to orient herself by the red streak stretching toward the ground when their previous location was engulfed by soaring flames; a deafening crash rang out, the earth shuddered, and the surrounding cliffs expressed their displeasure at the daring mortals by shaking off loose debris. A few stones bounced off the hemisphere that flared up around the two travelers, and everything went quiet. No, there, over the coast, the air was still filled with dust, ash, and debris, but the flames, explosions, and tremors of the earth were gone.
After a short silence, a stunned Trixie inquired in a lost voice:
"Isn't that a bit too cool? Bringing a meteor down to earth in a minute—I thought such powerful magic required an ocean of time and strength. And aren't you too young for that?!"
"It was an artifact, and everything else was needed for the barrier. I could have summoned the meteor immediately, without preparation, but then the monsters might have scattered," he replied, ignoring the last question.
The Mage, who had just toasted the backsides and more of N'Zoth's minions, could have been called composed if not for the malicious smirk frozen on his face. After a ten-thousand-year hiatus, he had opened a new score.
"Let's get out of here..."
The next time they emerged on the shore was several kilometers north of the former settlement of the avenged fishermen.
Lin surveyed the surroundings once more and stated:
"Everything I know about geography says we are in the southeast of Drustvar—one of the three largest islands of Kul Tiras."
"I'm afraid I'm slightly more than zero at geography: I can tell east from west, but that's where my successes end."
"Then you're lucky you dropped me of all people down the stairs. You won't get lost with me. We need to get there," he nodded toward the haze on the horizon. "Tiragarde Sound—the eastern archipelago of Kul Tiras."
"How about Dalaran instead?" Trixie suggested in a plaintive voice, making a cute face, though she didn't really believe her persuasion would succeed even with the use of girlish tricks—the Mage looked far too energized after the slaughter of the sea monsters.
"I have to help my father-in-law."
"Father-in-law?" For some reason, the stated reason spoiled her mood; the Gnome ignored the words about helping.
"There have been rumors for the last few months that the sea is very restless, and Kul Tiras is supposedly practically under siege. Apparently, they weren't exaggerating all that much. By the way, how did you get to Dalaran? By land the long way around, across the sea directly, or by teleport?"
"By teleport, obviously! I'm basically a master—making a wormhole generator is like spitting for me!" Trixie turned up her nose, omitting the fact that while she "spits" well enough, she had used someone else's generator, borrowing it from her older sister Belbi. "And on the way back, I wanted to use the services of Mages..." she immediately made an excuse, anticipating a possible question about returning to Ironforge.
"I see. Well, you'll use them again, don't worry."
"Oh, I've already used them: I've had enough impressions to last the rest of my life... which, I feel, won't be very long if we don't teleport somewhere far away soon!"
"Fine, you've convinced me," the guy gave in.
"We're going back?!" Trixie couldn't believe her ears and, generally speaking, she was right to be skeptical.
"You're going back," Lin corrected her and explained: "I'll open a portal for you. In principle, it's the right thing to do—it's getting too dangerous here."
"But... but..." Trixie abruptly changed her mind about leaving and was now looking for a reason to stay, not even thinking about the reasons that made her change her desire to the diametrically opposite. "I can't just leave my partner in danger!"
"It's nothing serious, I'm a big boy now and can look after myself."
"And you're just going to deprive me of an adventure? Possibly the first and only one in my entire life!" she invented another reason, and then caught an inspiration: "And anyway, I was worried about you and your girlfriend! You guys love sticking your noses where they do and don't belong, and then you make your girls worry! And besides—someone has to be near you to be the voice of reason!"
"So, you don't want to go to Dalaran anymore?" Lin wasn't even surprised, suspecting something of the sort thanks to past experience communicating with the female portion of Azeroth's population.
"Yep!"
"Then come into my arms," the guy smirked. "We need to get to that island with the lighthouse; from there we can cross to the main island of Tiragarde Sound, and from there the capital is within reach."
------------------//------------------
Boralus.
"Why are they hesitating?" someone asked from the crowd of courtiers huddling behind the Mages, who had come to the forefront because they were handling reconnaissance and operational communications.
"Why don't you go and ask," came the advice in response from the same crowd, but from a different spot.
Immediately, a short bickering broke out among the people trying to hide their fears. But the current guests cared little for the nerves of the hosts, and therefore, the leader of the Mage squad quickly formed a proposal that struck the chatterboxes with its "relevance":
"It seems to me that brave and experienced men like yourselves should definitely personally assess the situation on the walls. Screens are for Mages, and they don't suit you, warriors. I can practically feel the blood racing in your veins from the impatience to stain your blades with the blood of enemies!"
When Antonidas turned around and had only just begun to speak, the whispers died down, and then, when the crowd realized the unprecedented offer made to them, the "grateful" listeners became agitated in earnest. While the front rows still held their ground and only exchanged awkward glances, not daring, however, to meet the gaze of the gray-bearded elder, the back rows were protesting loudly, using the backs of their less fortunate comrades as cover. The grumbling grew louder and louder until, at one point, someone brave enough or simply foolish enough said loudly:
"Our place is here, beside His Majesty!"
"Yes, yes... we are needed here..." the "pioneer" immediately found support.
"Are you still here?" the Archmage frowned and was suddenly enveloped in a web of discharges; the air freshened and smelled of a storm, and the old man's voice became a couple of tones deeper. "Are you sure you want to make me angry?!"
To the credit of the officers being driven out of the room and the courtiers who had mingled with them, although they moved toward the door and cast wary glances at the suddenly rampaging Mage, they were in no hurry to follow the orders of what was essentially the ruler of a foreign country. It wasn't that it was difficult for them to comply with the Archmage's "request," or that they were afraid to go out onto the walls—no, certainly all of that was present—but the main restraining factor was the presence of the King. The attention of the bubbling crowd was fixed on Daelin. The famous Admiral, in the company of several trusted officers from his inner circle, was not offended by his ally's actions to bring order to the headquarters, but was even grateful—if Proudmoore had personally taken it upon himself to show these loafers the door, they would have immediately started a debate, and simply kicking them out would mean having resentful subjects... "Politics, damn it all!"—the King was usually visited by thoughts like these, only seasoned with sea-themed curses. And what infuriated him most was that even now, at such a difficult moment for the entire kingdom, he had to consider the moods of these gentlemen. "I'd hang half of them..."—his dark mood also affected his attitude toward the age-old problem of all kings—the relationship with the aristocracy; however, aloud Daelin said something else entirely:
"Go to your men."
At another time, people might have been outraged by such an order, but a frowning Archmage was not something to be ignored, and so after a couple of minutes spent maintaining dignity, the headquarters became noticeably emptier.
"Perhaps we should strike first?" Modera suggested once the incident was over and the responsible parties returned to a constructive discussion of the upcoming assault. "Everyone who wanted to has been evacuated, and there's no point in stalling further."
"Quel'Thalas definitely won't help us?" Antonidas turned to Anasterian. "Maybe..."
"No," the Elf shook his head. "The Queen said we'll have to manage with our own forces. The Elves will help only if things get truly bad."
A second attempt to carefully probe the reasons for the refusal was unsuccessful, but the head Mage of Dalaran, despite his concern over the situation with Kul Tiras and his simultaneous curiosity about what was happening in the Elven kingdom, was not going to make a third attempt: Azshara extremely disliked those who tried to stick their noses into her business.
"Then I support Modera's proposal—I suggest we attack first."
Although the Mages were the main striking force among those entrenched in defense, they were still on foreign soil, and besides, Antonidas didn't want to upset his old friend, so he caught the King's gaze with a questioning look, clearly leaving the fateful decision to him.
"I doubt we can avoid battle—not when barely a quarter of the kingdom is left. Since we're all ready, let's strike first."
"Very well," Antonidas nodded and turned to his assistant. "Tell our people to begin. We'll be there soon as well."
"Someone needs to stay," Anasterian added sensibly. "To monitor the situation and for communication."
"Yes, I wanted to leave a couple of Mages, but perhaps it would be better if one of us took charge... Modera, stay with Jaina and look after everything here."
"Of course."
"But, Teacher!"
Two voices, sounding simultaneously, expressed complete contradiction to each other in their intonation. Modera was a calm person, and therefore her interest in combat magic remained weak even in such a difficult time. It couldn't be said that she lacked the necessary knowledge and skills in killing and destruction, but she still preferred the study of peaceful branches of magic. That was why the young female Archmage did not strive for the front lines and was, in fact, quite ready to stay out of the future battle.
But the apprentice of the head of the Kirin Tor was made of entirely different stuff, not to mention that the plan was to protect her own home, and therefore Jaina's enthusiasm would have been enough for ten people. And if initially the desire to kick the Horde of monsters' butts had subsided due to the meeting with her father, then when Antonidas called everyone to the front, the flame of rage again scorched the Princess's thoughts.
"Jaina, stay," Antonidas ordered-requested, ignoring the King's grimacing face—he had his own reasons, even without his old friend's silent request, not to let the girl into battles with monsters. For not only was Jaina, in his opinion, too young, but she was also a gifted and talented Mage who had only a little way to go before fully realizing her potential and receiving the title of Archmage. In short, the Archmage had no intention of letting various monsters interfere with the "blooming" of this magical "flower."
"I can help too! I understand someone has to stay here, but Revered Modera will be enough..."
Knowing the girl's attachment to logical constructs and following rationality, the old Mage approached from another side:
"Look around, Jaina—we haven't taken any Mages under twenty. You are the exception, but only because you haven't seen your parents in a long time."
This argument was hard to beat, so the Princess hesitated, trying to find a loophole. But then her father joined in with his persuasions, which constantly broke the young sorceress's train of thought, and she resigned herself, nodding. Antonidas, satisfied with the resolution of the problem, switched to others.
"Is the evacuation of troops from Tiragarde Sound finished?"
"Not yet," replied one of his assistants responsible for the matter. "Tol Dagor is finished, Freehold is almost done. Sentinel Hill remains, and Bridgeport is lost."
"And what about Drustvar?"
"The fortresses have already been captured, we couldn't save anyone—the island is lost."
"I see... Modera, Jaina, I'm leaving everything to you! We're off."
A minute later, the number of people in the headquarters had decreased even further—to about fifteen people.
***
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