Chapter 128: The Great Baladin Conqueror

At last, the day of departure arrived.

Jess had instructed the imp to watch his pocket watch and wake him at five. In fact, he woke a little after four. He'd gone to bed early the night before, and he had too much to do today to sleep in.

He carried his packed bags out, checked again and again that the door was locked, and even woke the landlord before leaving to remind him to look after the room. The man was not to rent it out to anyone else before Jess's paid period ended.

Only then did he head toward the harbor.

The sun was rising later and later. After five, the sky was still as dark blue as ink from a fountain pen. The streets were empty except for a few sleepy guards on duty.

But when he reached the docks, everything changed.

Even in the dim light before dawn, Stormwind Harbor was packed. No wonder the Alliance would need to expand the harbor before launching its northern campaign in the future.

Of course, Winter Veil was approaching too. That was probably part of the reason.

Even Jess, who rarely came to the harbor on business, had joined the crowd at this time of year.

Unlike the city streets, where almost everyone spoke with a Stormwind accent, the harbor rang with human voices from every part of the world. Most sounded like Lordaeron, but he even heard accents from Kul Tiras.

Another difference from the game's map was that Kul Tiras actually lay closer to Stormwind than Lordaeron did. Its island stood out beyond Baradin Bay. From here, a ship could reach Boralus in about a week.

Even so, Jess rarely saw Kul Tirans. Today he spotted several soldiers in green uniforms, golden anchor badges on their shoulders. They were tall and broad across the chest and shoulders, like a pack of hyenas, shouting to one another in a version of Common Jess could barely understand.

A number of large ships waited outside the harbor, unable to dock because nearly every berth was taken. Dock officials were urging sailors to depart quickly and make room for the arrivals.

Jess threaded his way through the crowd, looking for the so-called Great Baladin Conqueror. If Gred was right and it was a fairly large ship, it ought to stand out.

He was so busy looking into the distance that he forgot to watch where he was walking. He stepped on something slippery and nearly fell. Looking down, he thought he'd crushed a fish under his shoe. Somewhere nearby, a middle-aged man was cursing, but the crowd blocked Jess's view before he could tell who it was.

While he was checking his shoe for damage, a strong hand suddenly grabbed his cloak.

"What the hell!"

Jess caught his hood behind his neck. For a moment he'd thought a thief was trying to steal the most expensive thing he owned. But when he turned around, it was Gred.

A pirate site took this chapter from its author's official page. The writer, not the site, deserves your attention.

"Hey, lad. Lost, are you?"

The dwarf wore a dark-brown leather coat, with thick metal chains fastened around his arms, wrists, and waist. A faded yellow-green headband held back his dark brown, almost black hair, which was tied into a ponytail.

Jess had never seen him dressed like this. It was unlike anything Gred usually wore, or even anything Jess had seen on Stormwind's other dwarves.

He had almost failed to recognize him.

Gred saw his astonished expression. "Looks good, doesn't it? I brought these clothes from Aerie Peak, Jess. I may have left the knights, but they never took this outfit back. I'm going home to the Hinterlands wearing my Wildhammer battle clothes. Let them remember that I exist."

"It certainly makes you stand out," Jess said, nodding.

"Follow me. That Baladin ship is over there, not far."

He was right. The Great Baladin Conqueror was moored in a little inlet at the northern end of the harbor. It was a large, dark-brown ship. Its name had been carved across the bow in an ancient rune-like script, making it look almost like a magical inscription.

As Jess and Gred approached, several strong dockworkers were carrying an enormous crate wrapped in cloth and ropes up a boarding plank. More eye-catching than the crate, though, was the little creature shouting below them.

A goblin.

It was no exaggeration to say this was the first time Jess had ever seen a goblin from so close. The creature's appearance instantly gave the shabby, plain medieval dock a strong fantasy-world feel.

"For fuck's sake!" The goblin pointed at the panting workers and bellowed in fluent Common. "If your king didn't ban ogres from the city, do you think I'd pay to hire useless idiots like you? If you damage our customers' goods, you're dead! Stormwind law doesn't specifically ban trolls from entering. Trolls are stronger than you pink-skinned freaks, and they'll eat anything!"

The goblin was a little shorter than a gnome, but his head looked even more enormous in proportion to his body, mostly because of his long ears sticking high and back and his wildly puffed-up red hair.

His green skin was rough and dry. His dull-yellow eyes darted around constantly as though he couldn't sit still. Sticky spit flew from his mouth as he shouted, and his thin limbs twitched like those of a startled rat.

"Faster! Faster! Faster! Didn't you hear that bald bastard shouting? We're leaving in two hours and the guests' cargo still isn't aboard! I'm sick of you oversized idiots!"

Then Jess and Gred came closer. The goblin took one glance at the Wildhammer dwarf and gave an awkward cough.

"Ah! Are you two guests aboard the Great Baladin Conqueror?" He broke into a grin, squeezing his little eyes almost shut between the folds of his green face. "Just give me your names and you can board! I guarantee we'll leave within two hours, and not a single important guest's luggage will be left behind. Our service is famous from Booty Bay to Everlook!"

"Jess Seso."

"Oh, let me see. Mr. Jess Seso—welcome!"

"Gred."

"Gred... what?"

"Just Gred. What else?"

The goblin scratched his head. "Gred isn't an uncommon dwarf name, Mr. Gred. I need your family name. If you slip through without it and there's a mistake, I'll be the one responsible!"

Gred frowned. "Thunderfist. Gred Thunderfist."

"Lord Gred of the Thunderfist family—your name is right here!" The goblin pointed to the register. "I'm Gazik, the first mate. I handle all the damn things our captain is too lazy to bother with. We'll be spending the next half month together, so it's a pleasure to meet you! Please, come aboard!"

The two followed the dockworkers with the large crate onto the ship. Jess saw the goblin's smiling face darken the moment they passed, and he resumed shouting abuse at the workers.

Jess glanced at Gred, who was walking with his head down. "Even I've heard of the Thunderfist family of Aerie Peak. If we hadn't come on this trip, I might never have heard you mention it."

"There's nothing to mention." Gred stood on deck and looked around. "No matter how famous a family name is, it stops meaning so much when you've got hundreds of relatives scattered around the world. Especially when you're the most useless one among all those brothers and cousins you barely know."