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THE TAINTED HAWK

Daros shook his head as he strutted along the hallways of the lower decks of Hawktalon. The leap through the upper decks all the way from the Lion's Bellow's steering wheel was an improvised stunt which only he from his group was capable of. His passage through these hallways was not authorized however, for the soldiers were alerted now, and he wasn't wearing a uniform. A pair of marines ran from around the corner. One of them opened his mouth.
"Halt! Surrender without resistance and we will... ARE YOU LISTENING?!"
The intimidations fell on deaph ears as Daros just kept walking. The marine made an irritated grunt and thrusted his sword towards Daros' chest. Daros replied by moving his metal plated arm against the sword and moving it aside, as he used the free hand to hit the marine in the head, knocking him out. The second one thought to have an opening and tried to strike from above, but Daros moved his palms in the way with incredible speed, afterwards, he bended over to hit the marine's legs with odd strength, tripping him on the wooden floor. The third marine was charging at him, hoping to get him off-guard, but Daros grabbed his chest plate and lifted from the stomach, lifting him into the air just to throw him on the floor with the same movement. He walked onwards, as he saw four more marines coming from behind the corner, but they had lost their will to fight completely.
"Other way!" one of them shouted at the sight of him and they all ran back, and to behind the other corner. Daros had two possibilities on what to expect, and for his luck, it was his group that came from behind the corner where the marines first came.
"You all made it through the jump and the impact." Daros said with a grin.
"Thas' the last time we're doin' sumthin' like tha'!" Arthur said. The dwarf was still breathing heavily and enraged by this highly improvised plan which didn't suit the physical traits of his kin very well.
"That was indeed a bit insane..." Sabrine told Daros. Her silk and satin made clothes were soaked from the splash of water caused by the impact of the two ships.
"Not to mention that this was a VERY brave idea." Meldrinn said when the group started running through the hallways to the navigation room. "Casualties were possible for one, but we also did severe hull damage to both ships. If we cannot put the blame on the enemy, our entire bounty will be consumed by the repairs." the nigh elf went on ranting.
"We can cover it up, besides it was your idea." Daros replied and looked at a force of marines assisted with a sorcerer came toward them from ahead.
"It was not!" Meldrinn shouted, drawing his mace.
"Remember, no Stormwind casualties." Daros said to the group as the marines rushed towards them with shields locked in front.
"Yes, sir!" they all said at the same time.

Moments later, Dereck, myself and three others of our platoon came to a corridor where the thing... whatever it was had landed through all the floors. With Dereck and I, were Jason, a black-haired boy who was the youngest in our platoon, barely of age, Mandy, a brave woman of 24 who left many of our people doubt their manliness with her fighting skills, and Barry, the smartest bookworm there can be. Many wondered why he didn't study magic instead. Barry removed his helmet to see more accurately. He had a brown, short hair and a keen look on his beardless face. He looked upwards to the holes and saw the twilight sky. All he saw on the floor we stood on was scarring on something big dropping on it.
"What do you think?" I asked him.
"Well, since there is only scarring left, and no object standing here, I must assume that whatever fell through was a living creature that walked away after landing on this spot rather crudely. Being so quick in doing so, I also estimate that it didn't get injuries from this. There is no blood on the floor at least." Barry pondered.
"Are we dealing with some sort of monster here?!" Mandy asked alerted, peering around.
"I doubt that, really." Barry said.
"Indeed... it would be a lot noisier if that were the case." I noted.
"Speaking of noise, there is at least some here. Listen!" Jason said, also removing his helmet to hear well. I did the same with Mandy and Dereck, and we heard it. We heard combat from far ahead.
"Have they not taken it down yet?" Mandy asked a bit concerned.
"If not, we have to help them!" I said and took steps forward, putting my helmet back on. When I heard no footsteps behind me, I took a look at my hesitating friends.
"It's what you've been waiting for, friends!" I said trying to encourage them and raised my sword up high.
"This is a chance for glory and a chance, to become closer to the heroes! These things invading our fleet as we speak can jeopardize the whole mission! For our nation, and Theramore's, we cannot let that happen! So raise your arms and show what you can do, marines of Stormwind!"
My speech seemed to get their spirits up and they all raised their swords up high, ready for battle. I went onwards leading my friends. For the minute of pursuing the sounds of battle it felt like I was there already, on a battlefield of the decisive struggle of the 4th war, as a hero, as a legend, a symbol to my people. I didn't completely return to reality even when we found the battle in the mess hall. Every single table and chair was wrecked or tripped. Food and dish were all over the floor and it looked less civilized than on a pirate ship. There was a group of 6, consisting of several alliance races by the looks of it. There were two humans, a man and a woman, two high elves, both women with the addition of a dwarf and a night elf. They all stood back to back in a ring, surrounded by the marines.
"Why is everyone just standing?" I asked out loud though I did not mean to.
"Shut your face, you little sod! You haven't seen what they're capable of!" an officer shouted back to me.
"Really, now..?" I asked with pure arrogance and pride, ashamed of the "cowardice" that veiled over the marines.
"Don't be an idiot! Their leader in particular beyond anyone's league!" another marine growled pointing his sword towards the tall human with a goatee and bright green eyes. For some reason, he wore armour only on his arms.
"We shall see..." I grunted and stepped through the lines. Every marine and every assassin that could move their face towards me looked at me like I was a complete idiot. And it could not have been further from the truth. Had I seen myself back then as I am now, I would have punched myself no matter how hard it would have hurt.
"I, Bradley Rockhill... challenge you to a duel!" I declared. I could hear the marines gasp and shout either shocked or angered at me. I even heard Mandy shout for me to come back, but I ignored them all.
"The victor of this duel will decide the loser's fate." I said.
I do not remember what I hoped to accomplish with duelling their leader, but I ignored the amused snorts of the dwarf and the confused looks of the rest. Finally, the leader said: "I accept."
"The first one on the ground loses. Prepare yourself!" I declared and pressed forward for my first thrust. Before I knew it however, the man had extended his metal fist and I was flying backwards. It was unbelievable and humiliating to see one fist putting me down like that before I managed to even strike. Additionally, my sword fell from my hand. I was lying by the feet of the other marines with my helmet fallen off embarrassed and infuriated.
"I win, and I declare your fate to be solved by your fellow marines around you." the man said to me sounding irritated. Two other marines grunted angrily as they lifted me up from my arms.
"You'll regret what you've done here!" an officer shouted to the assassins.
"I'm startin' to regret tha' we even made tha' contract..." the dwarf grunted.
Right afterwards we witnessed 8 flashes of light in the room. Suddenly, the assassins were blinded and surrounded by sorcerers who had portated themselves in a perfect formation. I was reminded of the genius that all mages had. The moment I noticed one of the mages to be Larry, they were already casting a beam of ice on the assassins. Every single skilled and powerful mage used every bit of their power to control the group and freeze them solid. After twenty or thirty seconds all the marines looked at the scenario amazed and then cheered for the mages. The blood boiling in my head had cooled down and I started to realize my foolishness. I also applauded, and particularly walked to congratulate Larry who was breathing heavily. That much freezing would strain out anybody.
"That was amazing, Larry. How impressive can you mages be?!" I praised him excitedly.
"I definitely deserve that." Larry said chuckling a bit. The other mages were getting an equal amount of congratulations, until the archmage leading them all lifted his hands up.
"Thank you, but we have not finished yet!" the old bald mage declared. The marines ceased with the celebrating and looked concerned now, like I did.
"What do you mean?" someone asked.
"The commodore has ordered these cretins to be executed immediately, getting rid of any risk that they would escape." the archmage said, "I mean look, they had the Lion's Bellow crash into Hawktalon and infiltrated through them both, with their covers failed, and with how many casualties?"
"None..." I heard Barry say further to the right. It caused the marines to murmur between each other. I thought that it was a ridiculous claim, but then it hit me... it was true. Every single fallen crewmember we had seen had a bone broken at most. Barry of course noticed it, but damn was I stupid for not seeing it myself. For some reason these assassins were to avoid any casualties. Were they assassins at all? Their arrival immediately woke up thoughts of the commodore being in danger, but what were they really after? I did not agree with the order of an immediate execution, but it was not my place to say against it.
"One casualty, to be exact." the archmage said. "The commodore's double, the man pretending to be him in case of any attack was killed, but apparently they somehow figured where the real commodore is."
It woke commotion within the marines, most were shocked like I was.
"The commodore is on Hawktalon?!" I shouted louder than I meant to.
"Yes. They all survived this far, even after their rather violent switch from the Bellow." Larry said.
"The crash..." I said looking down on the floor. "They crashed the Lion's Bellow to Hawktalon just to get a foothold here..."
By saying that, I remembered something, making a realization.
"Wait! There's one more!" I shouted.
"What are you talking about, marine?" the archmage asked.
"There's a monster of some kind on board! It made a huge leap and fell through the Hawktalon's decks. I saw it!" I shouted almost in panic, "When we found the spot where it fell-"
"No, marine..." the archmage replied. "It is a monster, true. I know it since I fought it first hand on the Lion's Bellow, but he's not on the loose. The monster is right there!" he said, pointing at the huge chunk of ice in the middle, right to the spot where the leader I challenged had frozen still. When I was looking at him in confusion, a large crack appeared in the ice. Before anyone inquired, another one appeared, and a third one... I realised that the chunk of ice was breaking.
"No, no, no, no... This can't be possible..." the archmage said backing up a bit. The marines readied their arms, and I readied my shield. The mages didn't manage to do anything when the chunk was destroyed, sending shards of ice everywhere. These were large and dangerous shards that wounded every soldier that got hit with them. Many, like me were wounded or knocked down by the ice, and the rest collapsed either due to impact of others, or the fact that the shards flew with such an overwhelming force. I got hit in my face hard. Not with a sharp end luckily, but a blunt side. I felt blood streaming from my nose and lips as the pain made my eyes blurry. I fell down on the floor again, seeing the archmage was the only one to resist the wave. Then I saw something black in front of him... but couldn't make what it was. It launched something that the archmage had to counter with fire. I felt hard hear on my face at once as the fire met the other fire and the flames blocked my sight on the assassins. I don't know how it was possible, but the enemy's fire overcame the archmage and threw him on the wall. The impact was not deadly, and he merely got stunned with the rest of us. The fire faded, and whatever had faced the archmage was gone. The assassins hurried away from the mess hall, without waiting for any of us to wake up, of course. My suspicion is that they just did not notice me actually seeing them leave. My lower face was wet with blood and every place hurt. I grunted hard while trying to get up due to the pain. It took me a couple of minutes to ensure nothing was broken and that I actually managed to stand up. I peered around me and noticed that I was the least hurt. Everyone else was alive, but still struggling to remain conscious. I looked for Larry with great haste, and found him. He was holding his forehead but he wasn't badly injured either.
"I would choose hangover over this shit..." Larry murmured still holding his head.
"We shall laugh about this later!" I said trying to help him on his feet, but his balance was still bad due to the concussion he suffered earlier. I couldn't wait anymore though.
"Larry, listen to me! I need you to get as many people up as you can, while I go after the assassins!" I said.
"What? No!" Larry said, "You saw what they're capable of! They'll slap you away like an annoying bug!"
"I know what they can do, and the commodore is their next target!" I shouted, "That's exactly why you must hurry!" I said and ran after the assassins, ignoring Larry's warnings. It was suicidal, but I had to do something. I would have sacrificed myself for someone I did not know personally. I ran and ran, never giving in to exhaustion. All the way to the deck with the "captain's" cabin where I presumed the commodore was. I ran among the hallways, shouting every single marine and armed crewman I saw. A few were panicking due to the commotion, not even knowing where to go.
"To me, soldier! The commodore is in danger on the Hawktalon!" I shouted.
"Follow me, this is an emergency!" I yelled, trying to make a swift explanation on the situation. I had two marines and a capable sailor with a dark brown ponytail hair, of age no higher than Jason's.
As we approached the captain's cabin, we wondered about the manner of entry. The door was undamaged and closed, so we had no clue on what to expect.
"Are you sure we have reinforcements on the way?" one soldier asked.
"I'm sure! We'll get help, hopefully before anyone gets hurt!" I said back.
"You've got yourself nerves forged out of steel!" the other one said. I did not reply. I did not want to think about the situation with the risk of changing my mind. As we reached the door, we wondered how to enter. I tried the handle, and miraculously, it wasn't locked. We just rushed in, all four of us. The first thing we saw was the human who shoved me, the night elf and the older high elf woman. Before I got a word out of my mouth, I realized that I couldn't move forward at all.
"Oh, tha' loudmouth seemed ta be fine enough ta follow us..." I heard the dwarf say from the top of the commodore's wardrobe. I looked to my legs, seeing all of us four frozen still. The redhead woman, actually younger than I was, stood left of us with frost energy in her fingers. She had frozen us to the point where we were unable to do anything about it no matter how hard we struggled.
"This was a bad idea..." a marine next to me said. I agreed, I embarrassed myself again and hated myself for it. I watched the man that knocked me over come at us. I thought he'd knock us out, but he struck his fingers in the ice block that had frozen us, though I couldn't believe seeing it. His fingers so tightly covered with some hard metal that it looked like a part of the arm. Then the thought started growing... The thought that it might have been so! An actual metal arm! All I could think was: What is he? He did something unnatural to take down the archmage on his own. Finally I got a proper glimpse on his eyes, and was lucky not to gasp for breath. His eyes were bright green, nearly glowing, and I could swear I saw the pupils being vertical stripes, like a snake's eye. Was he even a human? I thought...
"'tis a pain that we have to do this, but the opposition is too persistent." he said.
"We don't even know which one of them are enemies!" the younger high elf said from another corner. I looked around for a means to escape, though it was obvious there was none around. The navigation room was in a bad shape. It was far too messed with furniture and equipment all around to be so royal. Two 7th legion soldiers lay on the ground, lower bodies frozen so that they wouldn't do anything when they came to. But what I actually searched was the commodore, and I found him. I looked at a chair where he was tied down and beaten. Blood poured from his nose and mouth and he was not quite at home, so to say. Very stunned, struggling to keep awake.
"Commodore Dunham! Can you hear me, sir?!" I tried shouting, the only response being the dwarf's double-barrelled shotgun by my ear.
"Shut e', ya brat!" he shouted, "He ca' hear ya, an' ye making me head hurt!"
"Useless, Arthur..." the green-eyed man said, "The fake commodore broke that, remember?" he said while the night elf chuckled. The dwarf looked angry.
"'the hell?!" he shouted, "Who's side 'r ye on?! We tellin' our weaknesses to tha enemy now?!"

Despite that, I knew it did not help. We were trapped there with the commodore and the assailants, whatever their goal was, since commodore was not dead either... yet...