The Darkest Deed

The hammock swayed back and forth with the gentle tide as Celessarae stared out the window of her cabin. The place was a wreck, with Celessarae’s clothing, gold coins, maps, and other odds and ends strewn all over the floor, the small writing desk, and even strung up from the hammock’s cables. She spent little time caring for it since the crew wasn’t allowed in the captain’s quarters to see anyway. She shifted and watched the moon sparkle on the water of the harbor, her thoughts far away.

It had been years since she’d been home to Silvermoon, and as she feared the memories had begun to surface. Things she didn’t want to think about, didn’t care to remember. Ghosts haunted the ruins in the center of the city and the outlying towns that had been burned by the undead; ghosts out of a time that she no longer belonged to. Her eyes closed as the ghosts in her mind surged up to engulf her.

******

They had been running for what seemed like an eternity, hand in hand, blades drawn. They had fought back to back, surrounded by the seemingly endless tide of undead. Friends had fallen by the wayside, people had died only to rise again as new foes. Finally though their destination was in sight; Sunsail Anchorage.

Celessarae released her grip on Revothan’s hand, grinning and filled with a sense of relief. The Scourge were pushing behind them even now, overwhelming the few rangers that stood in their path and carving what would be known as the Dead Scar as their invasion pushed forward. Everything and everyone before them would be destroyed, die, and rise again to join their ranks. The two Quel’dorei had barely made it this far, and even then it had been a near thing.

Celessarae looked at Revothan with admiration. His bow was held firmly in his strong hands, an arrow ready to fire off at a moment’s notice. Her love had stood by her through thick and thin, even as they had witnessed horrors beyond imagining. Her ranger captain, her heart’s desire. Without him she didn’t know how she would have made it this far. She probably would have fallen with the many others they had left behind.

They would flee together with the other refugees. Several ships remained in the anchorage, and they would escape the tide of undeath that threatened to extinguish every single one of their people before the next few days were done. They would start a new life together, leaving behind her troublesome past and his unwanted military career. Though they faced a disaster, her heart was light knowing that soon they would be safe, and their new lives could begin.

As they approached the anchorage more closely, they could see it was in utter chaos. Civilians and rangers alike pushed and shoved, desperately attempting to board the few vessels tied to the piers before the first scourge reached this last refuge. They joined the mob, pushing and elbowing their way forward in an attempt to get to one of the ships, the Golden Blade. Revothan was able to clear them some space by ordering several of the rangers in the crowd to step aside, allowing them to get to the edge of the ship. It was much higher than the pier, and the refugees were forced to climb netting along its side to get to the deck. Without pausing to think, Celessarae kicked off her boots and scrambled up, Revothan close behind her.

The deck of the ship was equally in chaos, with sailors attempting to get the frightened civilians out of the way so that the ship could get off the pier once they had taken their fill of passengers. Celessarae barely had space to stand as she turned to help Revothan up, reaching out to grasp his hand.

It was then that she saw it. She paused in horror as she examined his outstretched arm. A bite. A foully infected ghoul bite, with lines of decay already starting to run up his arm. The plague. He was infected with the plague of undeath.

He saw it in her eyes. He knew that she knew, and he nodded almost imperceptibly.

“N-no. No!” She tried to deny it, but she knew the truth. She could see it in his look. “You can’t come. Y-you can’t come with us. You can’t board this ship.”

Again the slight nod. No words could possibly help the situation. Time seemed to stand still as she looked at him, trying to will the truth away. There was nothing she could do, nothing anyone could do. It was over.

Her magically enchanted cutlass took his head clean from his shoulders. She had acted without thinking, giving him the mercy that he deserved. Freeing him from what he was to become before it could spread. Her beloved Revothan, gone forever.

The crowd around her was stilled to horrified shock as the headless corpse tumbled into the water of the anchorage. Everyone stepped clear of her dripping blade, and shouts of alarm were taken up as they realized that some on the ship were infected. The captain rushed forward, pushing through the crowd and Celessarae turned to look at him.

“They all have to leave. Every single person who came from other than the anchorage has to be put off the ship,” she said, her face a cold mask. “Now.”

The captain looked at her, his eyes wide with horror, shaking his head slightly. Indecision played across his features as silence grew on the deck again. A minute went by. Two minutes. Time they didn’t have.

Her cutlass struck again, and a second body fell into the harbor. The ship had no captain.

She turned to face the stunned mob on the deck. “I’m captain now. Everyone who is not from Sunsail Anchorage is to be tossed overboard. Now! Do it or we will ALL die!”

Fear flickered across the features of those on the deck. They knew she spoke the truth. Infected people would turn into ghouls, attacking others. It would delay them and the undead would reach the anchorage before they could get free. The crew of the ship began to move. Screaming civilians fell into the water, some bloody as they struggled. There could be no mercy if any were to live.

Seeing what was happening, the angry mob on the shore surged towards the Golden Blade, climbing up the netting. Celessarae calmly picked up a crossbow from one of the ship’s weapon racks and shot the first person on the netting, knocking him down into those below him. A blacksmith. An innocent civilian.

Her face remained a cold mask as she reloaded the crossbow. Several of those on the netting faltered and flung themselves into the water as the sailors on the ship took up Celessarae’s example and began firing, clearing the netting and mooring lines. They hacked the ropes with axes as the last civilians were thrown overboard and the Golden Blade floated into the harbor.

Another ship, the Song of the Sun passed in front of their course. Everyone on the Golden Blade could see that the deck was swarming with civilians, several of whom were slowly turning into ghouls as the plague of undeath took them. Fighting had erupted here and there. Celessarae took the wheel of the Golden Blade, turning the ship slightly.

She grit her teeth and spoke in a deadly cold voice, “Brace for impact.”

The Song of the Sun reeled sideways as the Golden Blade rammed her amidships. A huge hole opened in her hull, and the water of the harbor poured in as the Golden Blade’s crew picked themselves up and used oars to pull free. Screams erupted from the Song of the Sun as the water slowly took it, sending the undead and the remaining survivors to the bottom of the harbor together.

The Golden Blade sailed away from the anchorage, the last ship to flee as the forces of the undead reached it and began to massacre the civilians. It’s sails filled with wind, and the sounds of screaming carried with it as it passed away down the river and out to sea.

Celessarae whispered over her shoulder as she steered the ship clear, the last thing she would ever say to him, and the last time she would ever care.

“Shorel'aran, my beloved.”

******

Celessarae woke with a start in her hammock, holding a hand to her head and groaning. Slowly she sat up and stood unsteadily on her feet, her hands reaching down to grab a bottle of rum. She upended it into her mouth only to find it empty, and she glared into the open hole of the bottle with an almost accusing stare before tossing it with a clatter against the far wall.

“Fel! The rum’s out now too! I’ve got to get the Fel OUT of here!”

With that she staggered through her door, searching for the crewmen responsible for seeing to the repairs on the ship. She’d speed them along or so help them someone else would end up in the harbor before too long!