Chapter 129: A Ship of Kul Tiras

The sun rose clear of the horizon, no longer hiding its face behind the sea. Its low light struck the sides of everything in the harbor, dividing people and ships into bright and dark halves.

The Great Baladin Conqueror was a black wooden sailing ship built in Lordaeron. It had clearly been modified in the goblin style, giving it a more aggressive look.

Jess knew nothing about sailing, but he could estimate that its deck was roughly 130 feet long—around forty yards, or a little more.

His previous-life self would never have considered a ship that length especially large. He'd heard of aircraft carriers two or three hundred yards long, after all.

But standing here and seeing it with his own eyes, he thought the ship was enormous, especially compared with the others at the dock.

Only one warship in Stormwind Harbor, flying a lion-king banner in the distance, appeared longer. Even that might have been because its forward bowsprit reached so far ahead of the hull, like a lance extended by a charging armored knight. It made that ship look much more imposing than this fat cargo vessel.

There were already thirty or forty people working on the deck. Jess felt the ship could carry as many as two hundred people without much difficulty, even with cargo filling part of it.

And since quite a few of the sailors were goblins, perhaps there was room for even more.

Jess sat near the edge of the deck and watched the shore. He noticed that unlike other ships, which were surrounded by people waving goodbye, almost nobody had come to see off the Great Baladin Conqueror.

"What sort of people do you think sail on a ship like this?" he asked Gred.

Gred was eating bread. He glanced reluctantly up at the raised helm platform, where a few goblins sat watching them in return.

"It's run by the Steamwheedle Cartel. Pay your money and anyone can come aboard, and they'll take any cargo too. So who knows? I imagine plenty of passengers are like us—booked too late and had no choice but this ship, Jess."

Jess could only hope the late-bookers made up most of the passengers. If the ship was full of thieves and bandits, spending the next half month at sea with them would be miserable.

He sighed.

Gred gave him a sideways look. "What's wrong? Think the passengers aren't good people?"

"Maybe the proportion of decent people is a little lower than on other ships," Jess said helplessly.

"You think you're such a decent fellow yourself?"

"Huh? Why wouldn't I be?"

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"Go ask these passengers whether they'd rather share a ship with a thief or a warlock."

"..."

Gred laughed at his expression. "People who travel with goblins often might even prefer an ogre for a fellow passenger over a warlock. You, my little Jess, find yourself somewhere quiet to lie down once we leave. Don't cause trouble. If you give yourself away and someone decides I'm a demon worshiper too, we could both end up tied up and thrown overboard to feed the fish."

Gred wasn't wrong. Warlocks had an even worse reputation these days than goblins or thieves. At best, they were only a little more welcome than actual pirates.

And Jess was a real warlock, through and through. He knew dark magic and belonged to an underground warlock society. It didn't get much more authentic than that.

With that thought, the people boarding around him suddenly looked rather more respectable.

So I'm the worst one here.

A while later, a goblin behind them shouted, "Is all the cargo aboard?"

"Just checked it! Nothing missing!" came a muffled answer from below.

"Then weigh anchor! Let's get moving!"

"What about the passengers? Is everybody aboard?"

"Look at the time! The cargo's here, and the sun's up! Anyone who can't be on time can pay for it!"

"Weigh anchor! Weigh anchor! The Great Baladin Conqueror is setting sail!"

"For fuck's sake, pull that gangplank away!"

"Yes!"

"Move!"

A huge crowd of goblins swarmed around the capstan and started turning it wildly. A job that should have needed two people now required an entire gang of goblins.

Jess's earlier idea that having more goblin sailors might leave extra space for passengers vanished on the spot.

The hull shuddered faintly. From below came a deep clanking as chains slid through their fittings.

"We're leaving," Gred said, looking off into the distance.

Jess followed his gaze and saw Stormwind Keep on the hillside. The enormous castle leaned against the slope like a shield, while farther away the Cathedral of Light rose into the sky like a silver spear.

Jess couldn't help thinking about the journey ahead, the troubles they might meet and the sights they might see. From Baradin Bay to the Alterac Mountains, his thoughts wandered farther and farther, and everything grew more uncertain.

"What are you thinking about?" Gred asked.

"What we'll be like when we come back here," Jess replied.

"Ah. I've wondered something like that myself." Gred turned a little. "Only I've already changed. I've spent so much time with you humans that I think I'm nearly becoming one."

"How do you mean?"

The dwarf pointed toward Stormwind's dense rows of buildings. "Leaving behind caves, carved gateways and corridors, rooms covered in runes... and moving into these towers and wooden houses, hiding behind stone walls. You change a little every day. Given enough time, you turn into something else. Sometimes when I'm walking through Stormwind, I feel like I'm just a very short, sturdy human."

"That reminds me of a story," Jess said.

"Tell it, Jess. I'm in the mood for a story."

"Long ago, when Kul Tiras was still part of the Empire of Arathor, they built an extraordinarily powerful warship. She survived decades of long, bitter war without ever being sunk. But by the time the wars ended, every single part of her had been replaced at least once.

"So was she still the same ship?"

"Of course she was," Gred said without hesitation. "Replace as many parts as you like. She still has the same name."

"Then there's your answer, Gred."

"So that's what you meant?" Gred finally understood. Leaning against the rail with his chin in his hand, he said, "It makes sense. But there's something about it that doesn't feel quite right."

Jess knew that his slightly altered version of the Ship of Theseus could only offer Gred a little comfort.

If every part of Jess's own body were gradually replaced by shadow or fel energy, he doubted he'd still count as the same Jess Seso.

Without either of them noticing, the Great Baladin Conqueror had carried them farther and farther from the harbor.

Stormwind grew smaller, the details on the docks blurred, and the sound of waves and shouting sailors slowly drowned out the bustle drifting over from the city.