LIGHTNOVELWORLD Chapter 108: Chapter 108
After securing some supplies and luxury goods, Varrus had set sail towards Gilneas.
In preparation for his infiltration, Varrus had assumed the identity of a minor noble House.
Sometime in the last few hundred years apparently, old man Vandercross had instructed his retainers to father children in all the major Human kingdoms. From what the Crossguard told him, these families were used as connections for information, trade, and influence.
As a result, a whole host of Van-style noble Houses came into existence, such as the: Vanshields, Vanbuilts, etc.
This naming scheme and low-key infiltration took place over the course of centuries.
Arranged marriages were held between the various cadet families, and after a few generations, the children of said families were almost indistinguishable from Humans in appearance. Although they had a stigma amongst both peoples, these families were some of the few allowed trade with Quel'Thalas.
Elves did not share their trinkets or luxury goods lightly, and the old man had finangled a way for the Highborn to discreetly 'dispose' of their half-blooded children into these minor Houses, bolstering their ranks. This action served the dual purpose of furthering his influence in Human lands whilst also being owed a favor from the prissy, horny immortals.
This long term strategy benefited Varrus, because it just so happened that the leader of the Gilnean branch, a Vanhook, was visiting Quel'Thalas for trade during the Scourge invasion, and had perished during the conflict.
Seizing his vessel, Varrus was pretending to be the cousin and heir to the Vanhook family.
He had set out with Syra, Rho'dan, Valanar, a complement of 100+ House Vandercross Elites, and one shanghaied musician.
Keeping the druid, Valanar under house arrest, Varrus had seen that the whimsical Prince was likely not a player in the game, and by bringing him along, he could be sure that he wouldn't be fucking things up in Silvermoon while Varrus was absent. But mostly, he brought Valanar along because of the Worgen issue.
What was the Worgen issue, one might ask?
During the outset of the Scourge invasion of the Eastern Kingdoms, Gilneas was set to be overrun. To save his country, King Greymane turned to a wizard for a solution. The wizard summoned a beast from another plane, a Worgen-basically a werewolf-to battle the Undead.
It worked in driving the zombies off, but the creature had also infected dozens of native Gilneans. This magical curse was uncontrollable for those infected, and had them turn upon their fellow man, and mindlessly slaughter any who got into their paths. Even their own families.
So whilst the civil war was at the forefront, this Worgen curse was lurking in the background.
In the original timeline, the Night Elves had felt responsible for the Worgen outbreak, and had taught the Gilneans how to control this transformation.
Varrus brought Valanar along primarily for this purpose.
Generic Worgen:
He had many levers and other soft power means to take Gilneas into the fold, but gaining control of this curse would be another tool in his toolbox. Plus, this werewolf-like transformation qualitatively boosted Gilneas, and transformed them from a minor power into a solid state worthy of respect. No matter the universe, werewolves were a step above Humans on the food chain, and could even the playing field against many an opponent.
When Humans couldn't beat monsters through faith or technology, they made monsters of their own in response.
But Valanar was one component among many that complicated Varrus's plan.
House Vandercross, and the image of a savvy merchant were also crucial to completing his objective.
The Elven force accompanying him had all been equipped with trinkets that altered appearance. To any casual observer, the men and women aboard the ship looked no different from your everyday, ordinary Human.
To help with his disguise, Varrus had stowed a few comically large chests in the hold. Within said storage, were tons of masterworked iron arms and armor.
The supply of iron from the Kobolds had been plentiful since he signed them up with the Covenant over a month ago, and had allowed Varrus to craft a large amount of gifts meant to gain the support of Gilneas's two warring factions.
There were also a few fine silks, rare spices, and other high end luxury goods that were meant to appeal to the nobles amongst the goods he had taken with him. Because if World of Warcraft was anything, it was incredibly stereotypical, and the nobility were no exception to this rule. Based upon that logic, Varrus could conclude that a generic noble would much rather have a fine dress for his wife than 10 loaves of bread for his subjects. In effect, every gift Varrus sent out would be free advertising. If he could make this Vanhook persona popular and we'll regarded, he could be in a position to effect real change in Gilneas without ever having to lift a sword or cast a spell in anger.
However, just because he was peddling influence with the upper crust, that didn't mean Varrus would skimp out on food for the commoners. While the nobles may occasionally produce Hero tiers within their ranks, and were Elite tier on average, that didn't mean Varrus would ignore the peasants or working class. Among this group were future taxpayers, adventurers, and citizens of the Covenant. If he could add them to his coalition, then perhaps once he began setting up the Adventurers Guild and other institutions, they could become his most ardent supporters.
During times of war, the lower class would be the ones affected the most. Feeding them was as important to advancing his goals as was arming the warring factions in Gilneas.
Thanks to his foresight to recruit farmers at the onset of the Scourge invasion, and Eversong's cleansing of tainted land, Quel'Thalas was experiencing a surplus so grand, they had to store food in magic bags so that it wouldn't rot by the roadside.
While he didn't consider himself altruistic, that didn't mean he wanted to see the average guy on the street suffer. It was one thing to profit from a civil war against generic nobles who kept literacy rates low on purpose, and a completely other mess to deliberately withhold food from starving peasants when his own supply of grain exceeded demand.
There were millions of people in Gilneas. Why would Varrus try to achieve a military victory with some sort of Elven invasion, when he could secure their loyalty through trade, and act as the lynch pin moderating force holding the two political factions together? He had a plan to replace the leadership with people sympathetic to Quel'Thalas, and to feed the masses. With such a strategy, no matter who won the civil war, Varrus would come out on top.
Essentially, his goal was to be like Palpatine in Star Wars, and play both sides. He just had to find himself an Anakin Skywalker to corrupt and champion his cause.
And so, not only had Varrus brought with him weapons of war, but he had also taken copious amounts of magically grown fruit, and grain for this trip.
These gifts served his goal to reach out, and influence the course of a nation. But he had to get their first.
The trip across the sea had been mostly calm, and they had only received a few showers up until this point.
Thankfully, Rho'dan and a few other members of his House had learnt how to sail over the course of their long lives, and so Varrus had appointed the red-headed stalwart guard to Captain the Gilnean vessel. Under his stewardship, their journey was nothing but smooth sailing.
The ship they rode upon, the Golden Loom was a galleon, and looked like the ships used in the Pirates of the Caribbean movies.
Equipped with dozens of heavy cannons and many more light guns, and possessing large white sails, they made good time.
The distance from Quel'Thalas to Gilneas by sea was roughly the same as from England to the Strait of Gibraltar, south of Spain.
Two days had passed since their departure from Sunsail Anchorage, and they should be arriving at their destination, Kael Harbor, sometime in the next few hours.
As one of the primary bases of operations for the Northgate Rebels, the walled city was Varrus's first stop before he headed for the capitol, Gilnean City.
At the moment, Varrus was calmly looking out to sea, and Syra was resting her head in his lap, sun bathing.
Stroking her soft blonde hair, and feeling the gentle breeze for the last two days was a relaxing experience that had taken his mind off of work.
As someone who had probably spent the majority of his life inside of a building-his house, school, and an office-he liked to get out every now and again and just breath in the air, look at the clouds, some trees, or admire a mountain.
He had only been on the open ocean twice in his life back on Earth, so it was a somewhat novel experience for him this time around.
Their musician was singing a bawdy sailors song, much to his crews ire, but Varrus was enjoying every second of it.
Sailing upon a galleon made him feel like a pirate, or conquistador of old. While he respected, and somewhat feared the awesome power of the ocean, and was weary of what lurked below, he was confident in his abilities.
The Ship:
Even if they met a hurricane, Varrus could fire back with his own wind spell, Twister, or freeze the sea should a giant wave come crashing down.
So while he had a healthy dose of respect for mother nature, and wasn't aiming to win a Darwin Award anytime soon, that did not mean he was quivering in his boots.
Syra glanced up at Varrus from her position on his lap, and stared at him lovingly. Her expression suddenly morphed, and she jumped to her feet, blade in hand.
Trusting her instincts, Varrus also jumped up, and scanned his surroundings.
He couldn't see much, but the direction they were headed in was covered in a thick blanket of fog.
"All hands on deck, we have company!" Rho'dan's deep voice rang across the galley.
Varrus heard it before he saw it.
The sound of muskets cracking, and deep bass explosions of cannon shells carried over the wind. Men shouting, and the groan of lumber bursting apart assaulted his keen Elf ears.
Sailing forth into the fog, Varrus beheld a sight of anarchy as a three way battle seemed to be underway.
Two ships were bombarding one another in a broadside barrage, meanwhile, a teal skinned Sea Giant was hurling large rocks at the dueling vessels.
Sea Giant:
On one of the ships, Varrus spotted the Gilnean flag flapping on the wind. The commander of the galleon must be a Hero, because she wielded an enchanted blade, and moved with a speed and precision that not even an Elven Elite could match.
With her sword, she cleaved apart an incoming cannonball, and with her pistol, she shot a magic bullet back at the other ship, sniping an enemy's head clean off.
Several shouts and cheers followed after her remarkable action.
"Lady Crowley!"
"Northgate!"
Varrus narrowed his eyes. He had almost forgotten that the leader of the rebel faction, Darius Crowley, had a daughter. Perhaps she could fill a position of leadership in his new Empire?
'Or even fulfill the role of 'Anakin Skywalker?' Varrus mused to himself.
His thoughts were interrupted as a return salvo boomed across the sky towards the Gilnean ship.
Glancing at the other ship, Varrus was startled to see it flying Lordaeron's colors, however, what really made him surprised was that the ship was crewed by the damned! Zombie sailors loaded guns, and were maniacally shooting everything they had!
When the smoke cleared, Varrus was surprised once more by the lack of damage done to the Gilnean vessel. It was largely unharmed between this exchange!
As if sensing his shock, Rho'dan stood beside him, and offered an explanation.
"Gilnean Ironwood, Highlord. It is durable, fire retardant, and very expensive." Rho'dan said from the side, and patted the railing with a confident expression.
Varrus nodded along, and turned his attention to the sea giant. He had confidence that the Hero aboard the Gilnean ship could handle both it and the Undead given time, but that didn't mean he couldn't make an entrance and secure some good will!
"Rho'dan, take us in, we are going to aid the Gilnean forces!" Varrus commanded.
"Aye aye, sir! You heard your Lord, man the cannons, arm yourselves, prepare for battle yee scallywags!" Rho'dan roared, and slammed his gauntleted hand on the railing.
The crew reacted to his words, and moved in a flurry of motion.
Varrus caught a wild grin on Rho'dan's face, and shook his head with a smile of his own.
His #2 had taken to the high seas better than he thought. Perhaps the red headed guard had spent more time in the open ocean than he had thought?
Shaking his head, Varrus prepared a Bolide spell in his hand.
He wanted to make an impression, that he was a competent mage, one who was well connected to Quel'Thalas. But he did not intend to show off with any of his Master tier spells. By limiting himself to the skills of a low-tier Hero, or high-end Elite, he would showcase himself as a valuable ally to be coveted, yet not one to be wary or feared should he overplay his hand and reveal his true power.
"Onward, let us show our new allies the might of the Golden Loom! Bard, play us a sea shanty!" Varrus roared in joy, somewhat taken up with Rho'dan's enthusiasm. As a boy, he had always wanted to fight like a pirate!
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