Chapter Text
As far as bad days went, Spymaster Shaw has had worse. Signing a death warrant for someone you loved came to mind. Or spending months in captivity of the Burning Legion, that could safely be considered the worst experience of his life. That said, with a bar that high, even less bad days were still rather miserable. With all his years of experience, he had still made a mistake that might have been avoidable if he had bothered to gather more second-hand information and as if that wasn’t enough he found his backup-plan not actionable. As a result he found himself tied to a (mostly decorative) mast in a small pirate town by means of the largest and most varied collection of ropes he had ever seen while getting bemusedly curious looks from an orcish wyvern handler. No one had recognized him yet, but that was only a matter of time. His disguise had necessitated not carrying many hidden knives, but even if he could have reached his last one, some of the ropes wrapped around the mast and him were thick enough that he suspected they were meant for heavy anchors and the like so he wouldn’t have been able to cut them anyway. His body was in fact completely covered in ropes from his chin to his ankles so moving was not really possible at all. They had really gone all out, aside the aforementioned hawsers there was everything from climbing and wrangling ropes to parcel strings and to top it off anything that was thin enough for it had been strung with an excessive and mismatched assortment of bells that was guaranteed to make an awful racket at any attempt to free him, made by himself or otherwise.
It had been known for a while that the Horde used Plunder Harbour as a base and seemed to have an understanding with the pirates there. With the only serious attempt to oust them from there failed it had been decided that for the time being, it was at least advantageous to know where they were and the harbour in question was too small for a large-scale staging ground anyway. Now that the king had set events in motion that could possibly end the war (at least for a while) it had presented an opportunity. The Fogsail Freebooters were a group of humans affiliated with the Horde. If someone could join them, they could gather information by directly speaking to Horde personnel in a friendly context, an option rarely available to SI:7. And with many of his senior agents lost to the Legion or, more recently, the Horde, and the potential danger and importance of this mission, he thought it best to undertake it himself. And it seemed to have gone well for a while. Shaw knew his Kul Tiran accent to be flawless and he even got himself a pair of cutlasses and left his daggers on the Wind’s Redemption. He had walked up to the little port town, had introduced himself as Eddie Tradewind who wanted to join the Fogsail, answered a few questions and accepted the welcome-grog they offered him. Only that the grog in question had a strange aftertaste and knocked him out almost instantly and he woke up wrapped in a nautical museum’s worth of ropes. His backup-plan had involved smoke bombs and a grappling hook and heavily relied on being awake. Worst of all, he had no idea what his mistake had been.
He was sure no one had recognized him. They would have handed him over to the Horde, for one, and the various Horde personnel seemed at least as confused about the over-the-top bindings on him as he was. More likely there was a sort of protocol to applying to a pirate group that he didn’t know about and had unwittingly breached. Or there was a tradition like this. He had absolutely no idea and it rankled him. He should have gathered more information about the Fogsail. He should have made inquiries. He could have talked to Captain Fairwind. If he was honest with himself, this was likely why he hadn’t done his research. The thought of involving Faiwind with his professional dealings unsettled him in a way he couldn’t quite make sense of, but he had given in to it and jeopardized his mission. And he couldn’t even be angry at the scoundrel because he only had himself to blame. He could only hope that his agents came looking for him (which they likely wouldn’t for days) before he was recognized or otherwise killed. If he had been prone to cursing, now would have certainly been the time.
Early in the afternoon the last bit of his luck seemed to run out. A Horde ship anchored in the harbour and off stepped a shadowhunter who cheerfully greeted the pirates he passed and made for the Inn. Trailing him at some distance and with no real intent was Lillian Voss. And extravagantly tied up as he was she naturally spotted him immediately. Shaw suspected that the incredulity with which she stared at him was the only thing that kept her from laughing.
“Someone you know?” A large, dark-skinned Kul Tiran woman in a coat and a hat that denoted high rank among the pirates had come up from the bridge that connected to the upper part of the port town.
Voss turned to her. “Ah, Captain Owings. No, I’ve never seen this man. I just wondered if this isn’t a bit… excessive?”
The pirate Captain grinned. “Maybe. But I’m not taking any chances with spies. Don’t have confirmation yet, but since there are few other groups beside us not affiliated with Ashvane’s ilk, he’s likely with them in some way.”
“Oh?” Voss was not only covering for him, but also fishing for information. An interesting turn of events, but Shaw knew better than to count on her being on his side.
“Yeah, walked in here with his back straight, talking way too smoothly for a newbie and having certainly used his knives to great effect before. I know an old seadog when I see one but he claimed to be new and wanting to join up. No doubt someone sent him to sniff around and maybe stab someone in the back. Probably the Irontide, they could afford an expert like this one.”
So his pirate disguise had been too good. That was hardly a comfort given that he should have considered this.
“I see. Why the bells then”, Voss asked.
“Well, with his silver tongue there is little point questioning him, but he’s likely valuable to whoever sent him and if they try to free him, we can catch ’em red-handed.”
Shaw had to hand it to this pirate captain, that was rather solid reasoning, and might even work in his case. It was becoming less hard to believe that the Fogsail might have negotiated something with the Horde that was largely beneficial to them.
“Ah, smart”, Voss said. “Ty’jin is waiting for you in the inn, captain.”
“What is it he wanted to see me about?”
“Oh, nothing immediately important, he just wants to keep you informed on some things.” Voss gestured dismissively in a way that made Shaw suspect she was downplaying whatever it was. “I’ll be going now, have some places to stake out.”
Captain Owings nodded and turned towards the inn. Voss shot Shaw an unreadable look before slinking away.
Being wrapped in rope beyond mobility upright with a large piece of wood against your back was an increasingly unpleasant disposition as time went on. Towards the evening a pirate came over to ungently pour some water down his throat and then leave without a word. As darkness fell Shaw was unbearably stiff but nonetheless craned his neck to assess the Port’s security. It seemed the Horde left this largely to the pirates as all soldiers he could see went off to sleep or drink somewhere. Guards where posted down by the ships and presumably up on the road into Tiragarde, but nowhere near his general vicinity. All the bells made that unnecessary anyway. The night lacked the rowdiness associated with one in a pirate town, but it was not hard to imagine that Captain Owings made sure drunken revelries only happened occasionally. With no actionable way of escaping Shaw allowed himself to slump into the ropes and doze off in the relative quiet. No point in forcing himself awake at the cost of his wits and strength.
Shaw awoke to someone poking him in the cheek, accompanied by a whispered “Shaw, hey Shaw!”
He had slept only lightly and his training kicked in swiftly, so it took him no time at all to remember where he was and to assess that the excessive rope collection was still intact and in place. It took a moment longer to put together the shadowed silhouette right in front of him and the familiar voice as Captain Flynn Fairwind. It was cloudy and the middle of the night and they were in a hostile pirate town. The realisation of Fairwind being here had an effect like being splashed with a bucket of ice-cold water.
“Hang in there mate, I’ll cut you loose”, Faiwind mumbled, taking a knife to the ropes.
“Stop it”, hissed someone Shaw didn’t immediately see or recognize, “they’re strung with bells!”
“What?” Fairwind shout-whispered.
The other person came into Shaw’s view and he came to the conclusion that this must be his worst day in a good long while. Yutar Shadereaver had white hair, almost-white skin and still white-glowing eyes so, despite her dark pirate-getup that she probably had donned just for this occasion, her face stood out against the darkness ominously like a wraith. Unlike Fairwind she would not tease him about this incident, but also unlike him she would use this against him for any given motive if she could.
“I can see in the dark, and I see that he is wrapped up completely in about 50 ropes of widely differing strengths, and the thinner ones are strung with bells”, she explained through her teeth.
“That seems a touch extreme”, Fairwind said, bewildered.
“If we had backup I’d say cause a distraction”, she said ignoring the comment, “but as it is I’d say keep an eye out and hope I can pry them off without making noise.”
Faiwind quietly assented and moved aside. And so Shaw found himself unable to move, with a grimly determined looking night elf looming over him with a knife. Knowing that she planned to help him was slightly offset by the knowledge that Shadereaver, despite the rapport they had, would not hesitate to stab him if it served her ends or if he annoyed her enough. He wondered how on Azeroth she had come to work together with Fairwind of all people, but then she did seem to have a soft spot for the guileless and intrepid.
She tried to grab a single rope to keep it still while cutting it, but with how tightly they were mushed together, that was only the start of the difficulty. After a bit of fumbling, she had cut the rope and tried to grab the other end, but didn’t manage to get hold of it and a number of mismatched bells clattered noisily to the ground.
“Blimey” Fairwind sighed. Shadereaver cursed under her breath. Footsteps and a door could be heard and Shaw had a sinking feeling as to why the night had been so quiet.
“We should…” Fairwind whispered but that was all he got out before a blend was removed from a lantern and they found himself surrounded by about 20 Fogsail Freebooters with Captain Owings herself shining a lamp directly at Fairwinds face. Shadereaver was nowhere in sight, having no doubt vanished or shadowmelded.
Owings eyebrows climbed under her hat. “Well, that is not who I expected to find here.”
Fairwind grinned nervously and strained to reach a chipper tone. “Owings! How good to see you, it has been ages. And…” His eyes darted across her hat and saber. “And you’re Captain now! Congratulations!”
The pirate rolled her eyes in a manner Shaw found painfully relatable. “Save the pleasantries Fairwind. Where is your accomplice?”
“Right here”
With a telltale clicking sound Shadereaver materialized right next to her, the barrel of her pistol pointed point-blank to the captain’s temple.
Fairwind seemed alarmed by this. “Now, now, let’s not…”
“He belongs to us”, Shadereaver hissed, ignoring him again. “You will let us leave with him and there will be no trouble for you.”
“Do you take me for the kind of woman who is afraid of a pistol girl?”
Normally Owings would make a fatal mistake calling a centuries-old Kaldorei combatant a girl as a human, but if Shadereaver had ever been prone to fits of racial pride, she had dropped the habit long ago. She simply grinned, exposing her fangs.
“Afraid? No. But I do take you for a smart one. Smart enough to realize it is better to let us go rather than lose half your crew to me before I drop.”
Shaw knew it was not an idle boast. These pirates were bold and resourceful, but not exactly well trained fighters. Shadereaver was all of the above, with centuries of experience besides. Captain Owings on the other hand didn’t appear particularly impressed, nor did her Freebooters. A fight would break out every moment now. But then Fairwind chimed in again.
“Ladies, ladies, this is really not necessary. Shady, if you would please put down that pistol.”
Both women looked at him affronted but if that intimidated him, he didn’t show it.
“Look, Owings, Mate, this is all a misunderstanding. I wouldn’t have snuck in here at night if I had known you’re in charge here now. Wouldn’t have been much use to try the reasonable approach with Rhenik and all that, but since I was wrong about that and I’m really sorry too, maybe we can parlay like civilized pirates? For old time’s sake?”
For what it was worth Owings’ expression was somewhat less hostile now. Shadereaver shot her a glance, then Fairwind. Finally she pointedly took a step back lowering her gun, communicating that she would let him handle the situation. Owings relaxed her posture somewhat, but still regarded Fairwind with suspicion.
“Alright Fairwind, I hope you can explain why this cur walked in here claiming he wanted to join up and why we should let him go with you. Is he with your crew? I thought you weren’t in the business anymore.”
Dread gathered in Shaw’s stomach. Fairwind was good at evading, but he was a terrible liar and whatever story he would come up with would no doubt be completely outrageous and undermine its purpose in any case as there was no denying Shaw had come here under pretence.
Fairwind took a deep breath. “Alright. Alright, I’ll tell you everything. But you need to promise me that you’ll hear me out.”
“Aye, that is acceptable.” Owings eyes narrowed. “So long as I don’t catch you lying.”
“Even if I was in the habit of lying” Fairwind sight, still lacking any of his usual bravado, “there is probably no convincing lie I could tell that looks better than the truth anyways.”
With that Shaw realized that he actually planned to tell the truth and try to capitalize on the impression of an honest broker. Despite himself he was impressed. While the odds weren’t good, it was likely their best bet.
The former pirate cleared his throat. “So, you know how I went legit, right? Too much trouble with Harlan, no use in freebooting if you can’t do it your way and all that. And the Harbourmaster of Boralus offering to vouch for you isn’t exactly an opportunity to pass up under the circumstances. I mean, that is basically why you have this agreement with the Horde, right? Oh, don’t look so surprised, I still hear a few things. You didn’t want to fall under Harlan and Ashvane’s influence and the Horde wanted to use your harbour so you told them they can if they protect you from takeover. That was the deal, right?”
“Aye”, said Owings cautiously, “though Rhenik wanted to sell us out to Ashvane. The Horde backed our mutiny too.”
“Ah. Okay. Nice of them. No judgement and all, I’m sure they’re not so bad when they’re not trying to stab you. Better than Ashvane anyhow.”
“Aye. Now get to the point.”
“Right. Yes. Well, at the time when old Cryrus Crestfall let the Alliance anchor in Boralus I was collecting evidence against Ashvane for him so I kinda ended up involved with that as well and…”
“Hold up”, exclaimed a man standing at 5 o’ clock from Owings, “this bilge rat is with the Alliance?!”
“Really now?” Owings looked annoyed. “Fairwind, I know a Kul Tiran pirate when I see one. And hear one for that matter.”
“Hear…? Mattie, have you been faking a Kul Tiran accent?” Fairwind fixed Shaw with a loom of mock-outrage.
The spymaster sighed. “Yes Fair…” His voice gave out as he had not spoken at all since his captivity and he needed to clear his throat. “Yes Faiwind, I faked a Kul Tiran accent”, he said, taking care to show both his exasperation and his native Stormwind accent.
The pirates stared at him in astonishment. More of them had trickled in to watch the show and by now most of the crew in port should be assembled. It was a nice change from all the nasty grins they had shot him during the day.
“Blimey”, Owings said, “and I was so sure he was a rat from another pirate crew.”
“Yeah”, Fairwind smiled shakily. “Mattie here is with SI:7 and he is very good at his job.”
There was another beat of silence. Then Owings spoke again.
“Well Fairwind, I promised to hear you out so here’s your chance to explain what an SI:7 spy wanted in my port and why I should let him go with you instead of handing him over to the Horde.”
Shaw noted Owings’ quick assessment of Fairwind’s earlier reasoning. She was not to be crossed lightly and a lesson in caution if Kul Tiran pirate captains tended to be similarly cunning. He made a mental not to ask Fairwind about this.
“Ah, yeah. You know they knew you’ve been here and allied with the Horde for a while, right? And they never really tried to squash you except that one time when they found out and that hasn’t changed, just so you know. They think it’s fine so long as they know where the Horde is. Especially since the Alliance king wants to make peace soon anyways if things work out.”
While he realized that angle might save them, Shaw did found himself annoyed at Fairwind talking so freely about this, but his glare was widely ignored. Owings on the other hand seemed rather interested and gestured for him to go on.
“Yeah, apparently there will be a civil war soon. Some Horde people think that their current Warchief makes to much war or whatever, so they want to overthrow her. And the Alliance will help them and make peace if they win.”
There was some disbelieving murmur among the pirates, but Owings just watched Fairwind intently.
“Go on” she said.
“Well, this is all well and good, but the Alliance doesn’t really know how widely supported or even known the rebellion is and it’s kinda difficult to ask what with still technically being at war, so they thought hey, there is a bunch of humans allied with the Horde. If we had someone there, then we could ask. And that really is all there is to it. It wasn’t against the Fogsail at all, Mattie just… couldn’t just walk up to you and say ‘hey, I’m with the Alliance, might I gather some intel here’, that would have been stupid, right?”
“This is ridiculous”, the man behind Owings muttered, “does he really expect us to believe…”
“It’s true Killian”, Owings interjected. “At least the part about the Warchief facing mutiny soon. It’s what Ty’jin wanted to talk to me about today.”
Killian’s mouth dropped open. “Oh.”
“As for this spy supporting the Horde mutineers” she continued, “I did think the undead woman was lying when she said she didn’t know him so it’s probably true as well.”
Once again the pirates were silent.
“Tell me one thing”, Owings asked finally, “how did you know your spy friend was in trouble? I don’t think he should be missed just yet.”
“Uh…” Fairwind blurted eloquently and glanced towards Shadereaver.
The night elf gave him a small smile.
“The undead woman. Her name is Lillian Voss. Until very recently, she was an independent contractor and both our dear agent here and I have worked with her before. She sent a message along our common contacts that he was in trouble.”
“To you?” Shaw couldn’t stop himself from asking. As far as he was aware, Shadereaver and Voss had met, but weren’t particularly involved with one another.
“Not to me specifically. More a number of people from a certain… circle. I am simply the first the message has reached.”
Shaw had a vague notion as to what that meant, and now wasn’t the time anyhow.
“And you went to Captain Fairwind with this?”
“Yes?” She seemed confused as to why that wasn’t the obvious choice. “I couldn’t go to the Alliance High Command, they would have asked where the information is from, and you know how they can get about fraternization.”
Shaw decided he didn’t want to discuss Fairwind’s questionable merits as a rescue operative with an unpredictable freelancer in a harbour full of hostile pirates while she and Fairwind were rescuing him.
“So.” Owings drew attention back to herself. “You’re saying since there will be mutiny soon, I should let him go like the mutineers would want. But that would mean openly throwing my hat in with the mutineers, and me crew will be in trouble if they don’t win. Don’t you think I should just turn him over and stay out of this so that we can be in good with whoever wins?”
“No!” There was genuine panic in Fairwinds voice. “They’ll do worse than just kill him!”
He rallied somewhat but couldn’t disguise the urgency in his tone as he said: “Name your price, Captain Owings. Whatever it is, I can get it for you. Or do it for you. Anything!”
Shaw would have slapped his forehead if he could. You didn’t give such a blanco check to someone as cunning as Captain Owings. Shadereaver’s expression indicated a similar line of thought.
“Is this spy really that important to you?” There were snares in Owing’s voice.
Fairwind opened his mouth but nothing came out. It was impossible to tell if he had no answer or if he had realized his mistake. Perhaps it was both.
The Pirate regarded him critically for another moment. Then she turned to her crew.
“Now me mateys. We’ve got a vote to hold. We can either turn the spy over to the Horde and keep our heads down, or we can side with the mutineers, let the spy go, and have someone working directly with the Boralus Harbourmaster and in good with both the Proudmoore Admirality and the Alliance owe us a massive favour. What say you?”
Murmuring accompanied the pirates considering this.
“I’d say” a haggard-looking woman began, “we’ve not become freebooters to avoid risks. Turning him over would be safe, but a favour from Captain Legit here might be worth the hazard. And the Horde doesn’t need to know about the spy.”
“Question Captain”, came from further back, “would mutineering against the Warchief entail mutineering against that red-eyed taskmaster who shows up here sometimes and sneers at everyone?”
“Aye, that’s her boyfriend”, replied Owings with a grin.
That seemed to inspire some further enthusiasm in favour of mutiny.
“That rotten cur, huh”, mused a burly cannoneer. “I never liked the Proudmoores, and Lady Katherine in particular, but I thought stringing her son’s corpse up over the port was a bit much.”
“I hear a lot of talk of mutiny”, Owings concluded, “all in favour?”
A vast majority of the pirates communicated assent via various gestures, murmurs and subdued yells. Chances were they didn’t want to wake the Horde personnel.
“You’re in luck Fairwind. My crew thinks a favour from you is worth the risk. You can take your spy and go. However…” She turned to Shaw and walked up to him until they were nose to nose. “No more spies in my port. If your Alliance wants something, they are to come parlay like civilized people. Do I make myself clear?”
Shaw swallowed his pride. They had been rather lucky, all things considered.
“Yes Captain.”
“Good. Back to your stations everyone.”
It took at least half an hour for Fairwind and Shadereaver to cut all those ropes off of him, especially since they needed four hands and quite a bit of patience to pry the bells off without making too much noise and waking the Horde. All the while Owings watched them with amusement, holding her lamp but making no other move to help them. When they were finally done, Shaw stretched against his considerable stiffness.
“I am grateful for your lenience, Captain Owings. We will be on our way now.”
She rolled her eyes. “Get out of my harbour, spy.”
Fairwind seemed in a hurry as well. He waved to her. “I’d love to catch up sometime, but I have to be underway. See ya Captain.”
“See ya Fairwind”, she answered indulgently. “Invite me to the wedding.”
Fairwind stopped to gape at her, but Shaw grabbed his coat and dragged him along.
It turned out Shadereaver and Fairwind had left two horses about five minutes out of town. Shadereaver had also brought her battle-trained Frostsaber, which made leaving the horses there considerably less risky. Especially since the horses seemed to have no fear of big cats. When they reached Boralus, she asked for the horses back, since she had apparently borrowed them from a friend who would literally rip her head off if she didn’t bring them back safely. The night elf disappeared into the night with their mounts so Shaw was left to walk back to the harbour through Mariner’s Row with Captain Fairwind. Who, true to form, couldn’t stay silent for long without a stabby night elf to loom over him.
“So, that was quite the adventure.”
“Please refrain from making any rope-related jokes”, Shaw said, preemtively giving up on silence.
“Don’t worry mate, I’ve had enough of them for a week myself. I was going to ask about that night elf. She an ex of yours?”
“Absolutely not!” Shaw was unable to hide his horror at that particular notion, or the notion of that rumour spreading.
“Okay, okay, I just thought. Since there seems to be some, uh, history.”
“She is an independent contractor whom I tried to hire for SI:7 several years ago. But she seemingly took that as a personal insult and I have since then found some indication that she might be hiding a few things.”
“Ah. A feud then?”
“It was. But we came to an understanding when we fought the Burning Legion together.”
Fairwind nodded. “Still a bit awkward though, huh?”
“We have developed some respect for each other. She is loyal, just not to the Alliance. And very skilled. But I cannot trust her completely.”
“So, what is this about a deal then?”
“A deal?”
“She says you’re not dying on her until she fulfilled her end of some deal she had with you.”
“Ah. We made sort of a deal when this war broke out. She was convinced that the war would herald the end of Azeroth if it went on for too long, but still refused to tell me what she is hiding. She said that if I stop trying to find out and if we both live to see a more, well, stable future, she would tell me then. While I do believe she is glad to see a potential peace on the horizon, I am surprised she is that eager to keep her end.”
“I see. And the undead woman?”
“We fought against the Legion together as well. That time saw a lot of unorthodox alliances.”
Shaw wondered idly why he felt so comfortable telling Fairwind all of this, but he was too tired and frustrated to feel overly worried about it right now. He decided to ask a few questions of his own.
“So why did Shadereaver ask you for help?”
“Because I’m a former pirate I suppose. She didn’t say.”
“And you decided to help her?”
“Of course! I couldn’t just leave you there.” Fairwind seemed genuinely astonished by the question, as if it was the most self-evident thing in the world for him to have done so.
“You didn’t inform the Alliance?”
“Shady said not to, and I wasn’t going to cross her.”
Probably smart, all things considered. Shadereaver preferred peaceful solutions when it came to dealings between her and the Alliance given that they were her most prominent employer, but she was as vicious as she felt she needed to be when it came to keeping her secrets safe.
“Hm. And Captain Owings?”
“Oh, she’s an old acquaintance you know. One of the few important pirates round here who don’t want my head for going legit or owing them money. Didn’t know the deal with the Horde came with a mutiny against ol’ Rhenik, the Fogsail have been a bit isolated this last year. But just as well, his greed often got the better of him. Owings is a good sort. Smart. Thinks ahead. Cares about her crew. Honours her deals. She’ll likely use her favour to bail some of hers out of trouble somewhere down the line, so don’t worry about that.”
“And the wedding?”
“You’d know as much about that as I do, mate. No idea what that was about.”
“Hm.” Shaw was vaguely reassured and fatigue was catching up to him. Further briefing could wait until the morning, now he needed to get back and report his failure to Wyrmbane. But Fairwind seemed to have something to say about that.
“You look dead on your feet, mate. You sure you wanna walk all the way back?”
“Have no choice I’m afraid.”
“Look, no one will be happy if you pass out. Why don’t you come over to my place for the night and catch a bit of sleep? You’re not expected to be back yet anyway, right?”
It was tempting. The shame over the whole affair stung and the fatigue made it worse and no one could be as non-judgemental as Captain Fairwind. His sense of duty compelled him to hesitate for a bit, but he gave in.
“Alright. Lead the way Captain.”
Fairwind broke into a wide grin and grabbed him by the wrist. Strangely, it didn’t bother Shaw. Something about this situation tugged at his attention, telling him that there was something he should notice about it. But it didn’t ring of danger and he was very tired. He would deal with it in the morning.