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20,000 Leagues Under the Sea	By : ShigeSato Category: +S through Z > World of Warcraft Views: 997 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: The locations and some of the spells and characters described herein belong to Activision Blizzard. I do not own World of Warcraft and I make no money from this work.

Chapter List
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Farlin awoke early the next morning. There was no outside light, so he couldn't be sure, but something felt off, like it does in the small hours before the sun really rises. These natural instincts told him it must be around dawn. Usually, Farlin did not rise until nearly eight, so this was a new experience for him. In reality, it was the first night in years he had slept well and deeply, without the aid of alcohol, and this made him refreshed and energized to begin trying to find a way out of this cave. Quickly glancing over to Tamri, and seeing the elf still slept peacefully, he soothed Jared with a wet cloth and whispered, "Today you will be healed, Jared."
Determinedly, he stripped off all his armour to remove extra weight, and slipped into the vaguely warm waters surrounding their cave. Taking a last look back, he grabbed his sword just in case he encountered something nasty, figuring that was probably worth a bit of extra effort. Then, he dived beneath the surface of the water and swam quickly out from under the cave's entrance.
Looking around him, all he could see was a vast expanse of empty seabed, punctuated by the odd rock or small sea crab. The water was murky and had small speckles floating in it, obscuring his vision more than a few yards ahead. He glanced up at the surface and saw it was a fair way above him – probably about thirty seconds swimming t full speed. He knew he could hold his breath for a maximum of three minutes, so he urged himself onwards, intending to cover as much ground as possible before he ran out of air. As he went, he pulled buttons off of his leather hunting pants and shirt that he wore under his plate armour and let them float to the bottom, a breadcrumb trail with which he could find his way back to the cave.
For a good while there was nothing to be seen in the gloom that pervaded the ocean's floor. He encountered no-one, not even a sea creature or naga. Farlin began to feel quite lonely under the sea, all by himself, and shivered at the atmosphere of silence and emptiness. The slightest movement began to unnerve him; he almost expected an ambush. When he ran out of buttons on his clothes, he began to tear off small strips of the leather, determined that he would find someone to help. Occasionally he would drift up to the surface for air, and he would see the island behind him, increasingly becoming further and further away, which served as a focal point for his navigation; at least he knew he was going in one direction.
After around an hour of swimming, Farlin was beginning to tire, and he knew that Tamri would soon wake and be concerned about his whereabouts. Sighing, he was about to turn back when, peering through the waters, he thought he could make out something moving ahead. Something tall and forbidding, it looked like, but he pushed onwards, energized by any sign of intelligent life. Even if it were a troll or a tauren, he would make them understand his plight. He would even turn to the Horde for help in his desperation for Jared's safety. Excitedly he saw whatever it was draw nearer, but his hopes were dashed as he saw it was just a large frond of kelp protruding from the sand and floating gently in the underwater currents. Farlin's face fell and he cursed himself for getting too excited, and began to swim upwards again, feeling pressure on his lungs. However, as he swam higher he found he could see past the frond of kelp – and there were many, many pieces. It was like a forest. The water was also much clearer past that point, and it looked bluer to the eye. Was this someone's domain? Or did something live here? Farlin's curiosity was peaked and he had to take a look at the new area. He couldn't dive too far back down, though, because he knew he could get lost easily in that expanse of weeds. He began to swim forward, just under the surface, scouting as far as he could see for signs of life.
As he progressed through the forest, he saw movement amongst the fronds. Small creatures flitted in between them, and Farlin thought to go and ask if they spoke Common, but when he got a close glance of one he saw they were similar in stature to goblins, but had gills and small fangs protruding from their reddish mouths, and they hissed at him and brandished small weapons if he got close. He tried crying out to them, but his words became bubbles which floated uselessly to the surface.
Then, he came upon what he had been looking for. The wreck of another ship lay on the seabed, its planks rotten and desecrated. He assumed that this was another vessel that had been caught by the monster, and began to edge his way over to it cautiously, aware that it may be a Horde ship or even the home of some terrifying new beast that had inhabited it. As he got closer, though, he could see that it was a fairly recent wreck, its sails still intact and its figurehead not at all worn. It was also an Alliance ship, he could tell from the craftsmanship – no Horde vessel was constructed with that much fervour. Only the gallant men of Stormwind could create such a thing.
He swam down near the hold under the capsized windows, and his head broke the surface of the water into a small airtight chamber formed by the hull of the ship. When he opened his eyes to peer inside it, he got the shock of his life. Three faces stared back at him. One was a commander he recognised as being a friend of his father, another a soldier who looked pale and recently recovered. He was lying on the floor some way back. The third was a Broken, a draenei from the Outlands. He looked like a shaman, and a powerful one at that, bearing the insignia of the Earthen Ring on his shoulders. They gaped at him, just as he stared back at them, unsure if this was a dream or if he had actually come across some real people.
"Farlin?" the commander asked incredulously.
"Sir," the paladin said respectfully, bowing his head, but relief showing in every line of his face. "I've been swimming for hours trying to find someone. I'm so relieved to actually see another person!" He hauled himself out of the water and sat against the wall of the ship, panting.
"Young man," the shaman said, bending over him, "did you come from the recent shipwreck off the coast of the island? Not a week ago?"
"Yes, that one," Farlin gasped, his sides heaving. "Two of my friends and I survived – we found a small cave to rest in. But one of them is very sick – he was poisoned by the monster and it's done something to him. I had to find a healer, or I knew he'd die...so I swam and swam to find someone and now I'm here. Please will you help us?" His eyes looked up at the Broken, pleading. The commander's eyes widened as he heard there were survivors, but he said nothing.
The shaman's face softened. "Of course. I am Erunak, of the Earthen Ring – I can heal your friend. But first, rest. And I will speed up our journey to your cave. Once your friend is healed, we can bring you three here, fix you up and wait for a rescue vessel. We sent up some flares over three weeks ago – soon we should have help."
Farlin's face fell. "Three weeks ago? I was in Stormwind then, and there was no word of a wreck. People knew the ships had been disappearing, but they thought they had been sunk by the Horde. Nobody knows about that...thing. I don't believe there was anyone around to see your flares," he said, hating to bring them bad news but feeling that it was unfair to keep them hoping. The soldier's face fell at the news and he turned away from them, slumping against the wall, his aura of hopelessness emanating all around him.
"I see," the shaman said, sighing. "Then we shall have to think of an alternative. But for now, sleep – I shall gather the necessary ingredients and wake you in an hour. Then we shall see if your friend can be healed."
Farlin was too tired to argue. Now he was safe, his exhaustion caught up with him as the adrenaline drained from his body. Within minutes he was asleep.
True to his word, Erunak woke him once he had returned with the gathered ingredients. He had with him a large conch shell and three small starfish, which he worked into a small totem in front of Farlin's amazed eyes. He then used the small idol to cast a spell on the paladin, who felt no different for it, but saw the item disappear from the shaman's hands. Erunak smiled.
"I have given you Sea Legs," he said. "They will enable you to run on the sea floor and breathe underwater as long as you need. Now, shall we go and find your friends?"
Farlin thanked him, standing up shakily. He looked around – the commander and the soldier were both asleep on opposite sides of the ship. Erunak seemed to read his thoughts. "Don't worry. They can take care of themselves."
He nodded and leapt into the small square of water that rippled at the bottom of the chamber. The shaman followed him and together they swam to the sea floor. Once he was in the water Farlin felt empowered massively – he knew it was from the totem the shaman had just made for him – and pushed himself forward, marvelling at the speed he could move, and at the way he could take water into his mouth and feel as though it was air. His lungs processed the oxygen just as easily. The run back would be a lot smoother than his journey here.
Using the ship as a focal point, he motioned to Erunak to follow, and ran the way he remembered coming from. Luckily, his sense of direction was not impaired, as he soon saw the kelp forest approaching, and drew his blade as he remembered the small goblins. The shaman understood his concern, clearly having also been here, and took a staff from his back, brandishing it, ready for battle.
The first few came upon them almost instantly. Snarling, aware that he still had no armour on, Farlin sliced at the creature with his sword, watching its expression of shock as it was batted away by the force of the blow, blood flowing steadily out of its stomach into the water around it, making a trail like red mist. Hissing at him, it dove away deeper into the forest. He turned to see Erunak fighting off three of them almost effortlessly, his staff weaving back and forth as he called upon the powers of the elements to beat the goblins into submission.
A noise near his right shoulder made Farlin jump, and he twisted around to see two of them behind him. Slashing out in surprise and fear, he caught the nearest one on the face, and it bared its fangs at him angrily. He called upon the Light to judge this creature for its sins, and he saw it struck down by the force of his will. The other was swimming rapidly towards him, and he prepared himself, beginning to charge up an exorcism of the creature's demons. Just as he cast the spell, the creature reached him and bit him hard on the arm, drawing blood. It was knocked back by the spell, though, and Farlin finished it off with a heavy strike from his sword. Cleaved in two, its body sank to the bottom of the sand.
There was a disturbance amongst the kelp, and the remaining few goblins drew back slowly towards their home, hissing at the pair of men, before diving away into the forest. Clearly they had decided that the intruders were too tough to bother fighting with. Erunak brushed himself down and looked over at Farlin, who motioned upwards and swam to the surface. The shaman followed his lead.
"We need to swim above this forest," Farlin said breathlessly. "I won't be able to find the way through it – we'll end up swimming in circles."
"Let us walk on the surface then," the shaman said, and Farlin suddenly felt himself elevated above the water, his feet resting on the waves.
Gingerly he took a step, expecting his foot to fall through, but the waves held firm beneath his weight, and he grinned. "This should be fun."
The pair sped off on the surface of the ocean, towards the island in the distance which Farlin knew marked the place where Tamri would be panicking about him and Jared would be fitfully resting, weak from the monster's venom. He picked up his pace at the thought, desperate that his friend should survive, now that he had come so far and come so close to saving him. Taking a look beneath his feet, he saw the forest was coming to an end, and motioned to Erunak. "We should probably go under again. I left a trail back to the cave."
The shaman nodded and they ploughed under the waves, swimming fast down to the bottom. Farlin marvelled again at the way his mouth automatically took in water as if he had been breathing it all his life.
It took them a good few minutes to locate the first checkpoint – Farlin found they had come out of the forest slightly south of the point where he had entered it before. Following the trail of leather scraps, which quickly turned into buttons, they ran along the seafloor, never tiring, Farlin pushing himself to his limits to reach Jared and the shaman never faltering, always keeping pace with him. Soon, they could see the island through the gloom, and Farlin spotted the small opening which betrayed the location of their hideout.
He made a beeline for the small cave, Erunak changing course beside him. They burst through the entrance and swam to break the surface of the water, and Farlin saw Tamri whip his head round, arms ready to cast an enchantment on the intruders. When he saw the paladin he dropped his hands and ran over to help him out of the water.
"Where in Azeroth have you been all morning?" he enquired. "And who is our guest?"
"I went to search for help," Farlin replied. "Search properly. And I found it – this is Erunak. There's a wreck about two hours' journey from here, it went down about two weeks before ours. He was part of the contingent sent with it. He's from the Earthen Ring, and he can save Jared."
Tamri slapped Erunak on the shoulder warmly. "Greetings, shaman. I am overjoyed to hear there are others in the same predicament – I was truly beginning to think we were alone out here."
"I understand entirely," Erunak sympathized, moving across the cave towards Jared. "We were in much the same situation until we found some survivors of the various ships the Alliance insist on sending. There are probably about ten of us in total. Once your friend is well, I will send someone to collect you, and we will all be together. That way, we will be stronger."
Tamri smiled. Then his face sobered slightly as he looked over at Farlin. "Jared's fever is deepening. This morning he was crying out – that was what woke me. He is very hot and will not lay still. I fear something may be happening to him."
"Indeed," Erunak interjected, "the monster's poisons are deadly. It is a miracle he was cleansed so well – you must be talented to be able to remove them so cleanly. However, they leave a deep imprint on the body, and that is what your friend is suffering from. They cause nightmares most heinous, and they trap the sufferer's body as well as his mind in a state of helplessness. Only by healing the mind may we bring his corporeal form to health. The shaking and the screaming means he is almost gone – the nightmares are taking him. But I will see what I can do to help him."
The elf and the paladin could only look on as the shaman bent over his patient, placing his hands on Jared's forehead and closing his eyes, chanting in a strange tongue, though Farlin recognised the tone and the passion with which he spoke. He was communing with the spirits in the same way he himself communed with the Light. Silently he watched the shaman's efforts. Time passed, and nothing visible happened – the two men were stationary in their relative positions, though the shaman was unnaturally still, and his skin was becoming paler and more drawn. After a considerable amount of time, he suddenly gasped and fell backwards, grasping the sand.
Farlin knelt beside him and helped him sit up. "What happened?"
"Your friend was in deep," Erunak replied, panting slightly. "He was lost. The spirits were not enough to guide him, and so I had to enter his nightmare myself. I found him and called him back, but I could not remain, for I felt myself slipping away. The rest is up to him – I know not if he has the strength to follow the call."
"I know he does," Farlin said, sounding more confident than he felt. All three of them glanced over at Jared, who was still immobile on the ground.
"Nevertheless, I have done all I can. All any healer could have done," Erunak continued. "As much as I feel for your plight, I must return to the men. That area is infested with naga and they have been growing in number – I am becoming increasingly worried for their safety."
"I will accompany you," Tamri said, surprising both of them. He looked at Farlin. "I know you will take much better care of Jared than I – and I am sure you will be able to take care of yourself. I will leave you with a week's worth of food and drink. I feel that my usefulness here has ended – I have saved more than one life." He stared right into Farlin's eyes as he said this. "I feel my duty lies with the soldiers who may need me."
"We could certainly use an extra pair of hands," murmured Erunak.
Farlin grinned at the mage. "Go on, then. But be sure to come back for us – once Jared recovers, we'll need transportation to the ship. If I haven't heard in a week, I'll depart by myself; but I hope it doesn't come to that. I wouldn't want to leave Jared alone."
Erunak nodded. "We will send for you in three days' time. If he hasn't come round by then..." he left the sentence unfinished, though they all knew what he was going to say. Then he won't come round at all. To fill the uncomfortable silence, Tamri began conjuring the food stocks and placing them on the ground at the back of the cave. When he was done, he turned to Erunak and nodded, and they began to wade out into the shallow water.
Farlin waved as the shaman and mage departed the cave, hoping that he would see them again. The elf had become a good friend to him. The sputtering fire was the only noise now in the small space, its heat gently beginning to flicker out – Farlin took a small piece of kindling from the rapidly diminishing pile and flicked it onto the pyre. Then he sat down, curled his knees up to his chest, and waited for Jared to wake up.
It was already deep into the night when Farlin fell asleep. His eyes began to close, and as much as he willed himself to stay awake, he could not fight his exhaustion any more. Slowly, he let himself drift off into slumber, his head falling forward, though he stayed in a sitting position by the crackling fire.
The crashing waves broke on the sultry white sand, forming a beautiful cascade of water and shimmering light. The entire surface of the sea glimmered in the scorching sunlight for miles around, causing Farlin to shield his eyes against the glare. Turning, he saw behind him a long strip of beach, bare and red hot from the heat of the unforgiving sunlight. A figure stood at the end of the island, his back to the paladin. Farlin began to walk slowly towards him, and as his feet burned on the sandy surface he realised he was wearing only his leather hunting pants. The figure turned towards him, and as he did so the sun began to set, so Farlin could not catch a glimpse of the other's face. He squinted, but the harder he tried to see, the lower the sun sank, and soon it was pitch black and he could not even see the outline of the figure. A voice called to him through the darkness, a voice he recognised. "Farlin..."
Frowning slightly, Farlin jerked awake, shaking his head. He was experiencing a strong sense of deja vu – he was sure he'd had a similar dream before. Maybe he was just going crazy. But then he heard the voice again. "Farlin..."
Confused, he looked around him, unsure of who could be calling him. His sleepy mind remembered that Tamri was gone – and Erunak was gone – it was only he and Jared left in the cave. Jared...Jared was supposed to wake up. Jared! He whipped around to look behind him and was greeted with the most wonderful sight he had ever laid eyes on. His friend had his eyes open, a faint frown marring his features, and his gaze unfocused. He was looking straight at Farlin.
"Jared!" Farlin cried, and ran over to him, kneeling beside him. "You're awake!"
"I feel weird," his friend answered. "But I don't think I'm sick anymore," he said with a weak smile.
Farlin couldn't help it. He was so grateful to Erunak, to the Light, to Tamri, to everyone who had taken part in Jared's survival. He knew now that his friend would live. He burst out in sobs, unbridled joy bursting forth, and gripped Jared to him in a warm and crushing embrace.
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20,000 Leagues Under the Sea