Deception (a World of Warcraft Fanfic)

The Voyage to Orgirimmar I

Saerah's P.O.V.

Th general's hand was cold, so I'm sure his side of the handshake was much more enjoyable. I had to resist jerking away from the icy thing. His men looked a little chilled, too. Sharing the land with Orcs meant he had adapted to the harsh elements the same. Tauren to a higher degree, because of our short fur. The hinterlands though warm, were cold to the both of us.

The villagers were still phased by the sudden events. Lard had even come outside to observe the chaos. They were frightened, of corse. Horde Zeppelins don't typically hover above them. Even the village guards seemed shaken. A few highland wolves peered down at us from the edge of a cliff.

Rope ladders fell to our feet with a swift downward motion. The General's men began to make their way up to the ship. I was hesitant, I have been on a zeppelin many times before, the most recent just days ago, but never have I had to climb onto one. It swayed as the airship hovered above us- me, the others were almost all aboard. The general looked at me reassuringly, as if I knew I feared falling off.

I waved to him to remind him I only had three fingers compared to his five. Not that it was a disadvantage, I could do anything he could do with his hand, I just used it as an excuse to possibly have the zeppelin landed in a field for more comfortable boarding.

The general shook his head. "I've seen you handle that bow, don't go all 'disabled' on me," the three finger sympathy trick had failed me. I took a deep breath and starred at the knotted ropes. This was stupid, I am a hunter, fearless!

If I remember right, it was the scariest ten seconds of my life. The men aboard laughed at me, I felt my face burning up. Grosh put an end to their giggles with a quick gesture. Something about him bothered me. he was very young for a general, but I couldn't judge, he was roughly Baine's age, and he's chieftain of the Bloodhoof Tribe. He wasn't well known or battle experienced or all would know his name, no, something about him was off.

Interrupting my thought he motioned towards me to meet him in the captain's quarters, I obeyed. It was a dusty room full of cobwebs. I didn't expect a new zeppelin to be sent to fetch me, or even a zeppelin at all, but this zeppelin may have seen war the way it looked.

"Saerah, this mission is for the Horde in the long run, but I wanted to thank you for saving my position in the process. I have a final favor to ask before we reach Orgrimmar, will you give your best when presented to Garrosh and Baine, they both want to see if my word is good and you are the warrior I told them about."

"Don't worry about Baine, he's a dear friend of mine. I'll hit a few hundred bulls-eyes, maybe destroy a few training dolls beyond recognition." I sounded cocky, perhaps I was, it was simple to please Baine, but Garrosh may be a tough crowd. I was up for the task, though.

"I want to go watch the view," I lied, "I'll discuss our plans if necessary later." I honestly just wanted out of that room. I don't need to be told how to fight and I didn't care if he was general or not, but he was my ride to Pandaria, therefore my friend- for now...

The Zeppelin's main deck was coated in goblins. The midgets were even more puny compared to my great height. Short for a Tauren, I still towered above many. A few of them looked up at me, annoyed I was in their way. I wriggled through the crowd to a less dense area on the ship's starboard side.

My lie became more of a reality as I found myself starring over the edge at the sapphire water. The late afternoon sun reflected off it. I counted the waves as they rolled past. It's not like there was anything else to do. The goblin crew would just ignore me if I offered to help and the grunts would make fun of me for my rope dilemma earlier today.

I could cleanse my armor, there was maybe a smudge or two on it, but it was something. Baine told me that when I wasn't hunting, I was absent minded, I guess he was right. "Hey, can I borrow one of those?" I asked a worker scrubbing the deck.

She held up a rag and gave me a questioning look. I nodded and she tossed it to me. A bit harder than necessary, it almost flew into the sea. In that moment I could have sworn the whole ship hated me. They had jobs, schedules, they were busy. I was a free spirit, going where I pleased, doing what I wanted. A typical nomad I guess, it's in my blood.

"Beets again, I'd rather have some slop!" a worker shrieked. Others joined in whispering agreement. "Don't you have a chef?" I asked the girl who gave me the rag. She squinted at me in a "are you done talking yet?" way.

I made my way to the goblin serving their meals, tossing the rag on the floor. The worker girl groaned and returned it to her bucket. The "chef" was cutting up the beets in creative ways, trying to lighten the mood.

"Are you the chef" I asked him. He looked up and smiled. It was possibly the kindest face I had seen on the zeppelin.

"No, we don't have one. The Warchief is loosing patients with General Goraff, so his resources are very low budget." He continued to chop the beets.

"Do you think you have a kettle?" I asked him. He nodded and pointed to a crate.

"Anything related to cooking is in there. Good luck opening it." I pried the top off effortlessly with one of my arrows. Sure enough was all the supplies I needed. A kettle, a canteen of water, and some salt. "And how are you going to cook without fire?

"Alright goblin! Want a hot meal? Hold this," I said, handing him the kettle. I stepped back and motioned the workers away. Half of them had taken their eyes of their jobs to watch. I loaded my bow, and with a simple command the arrow caught fire.

The crew gasped. "Whoa whoa! I'm not about to be burnt crisp am I?" he asked nervously

"Relax, if I had a bad shot would I bee here?" I asked. With that he shut up. I shot the arrow and the bottom of the kettle was set on fire. He placed it on a metal platter and I began to craft a meal.

Now the whole crew, even the rag girl watched, breathlessly, as I made them a stew. I had some turtle meat I had saved to treat fluffy in my bag, but he would live without it. I threw it in the pot.

"Hey," said the rag girl, "Sorry about earlier, the stew was amazing! my names Glea."

"I'm Saerah." things were beginning
to look up for me, and I was no farther than halfway to Orgrimmar.

By the time we reached Orgrimmar the goblins were all fed and were cheering my name, even the soldiers who had made fun of me had joined in the cheerful chants.

When the zeppelin docked, the general pulled me aside. "Listen Saerah, I've seen many leaders, but you have a natural gift. I watched you turn a hateful crew into your followers, like it was nothing! They don't even like me. I'm glad I picked you, and if I'm not making the voyage to Pandaria, remember, a cunning leader is more powerful than a merciless warrior."

"Thanks, Grosh. if it means anything, I hope you make the voyage."