Journeys - 4 (Expanded/Edited) (Patreon)

Ended up not liking Journeys 4 in hindsight, mostly just how it started, so I went back over it. Part of the reason for today's delay.
And probably tomorrow's as well.

First scene is entirely new, second and third have only minor continuity edits. Nothing changes about the scope or result of the chapter as a whole – just flow.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"So after finding Mama I dragged her back to Celestine, and along the way we stopped at Lord Crowley's manor. There I was offered employment and took ti – slowly earning his trust until he would listen to me." I smiled at the memory, the stark difference in our relationship from so long ago. "Not that it was his idea, Lorna pitched it to me without permission, I think."

Sorceress Golden– no, Klinar nodded. "And now you have a chance to look for your father."

She looked much better now at breakfast than she had last night. Giving her my mana had been a stop-gab measure at best, one that I'd quickly started fretting over in my head. What if doing that tipped her over into addiction? Pushed her towards becoming wretched?

Considering the state she was in there hadn't been much of a choice; I just had to trust that she had the willpower to resist the temptation.

"More to support Darius' attempts at diplomacy." Emphasis on attempts after yesterday's audience. "But that's more for when we reach Gnomeregan and Ironforge, where I will, hopefully, be getting a better reception than Daelin gave us. Gave me." I shook my head, I wasn't looking forward to meeting him later this morning. Not one bit.

"I can't believe he was like that." Vivi hissed under her breath, a fierce glower on her face as she glanced at our escorting guardswoman. "And even after you helped bring his family home!"

"Anyway!" I grabbed Vivi's hand under the table and squeezed it, showing I appreciated her defending me. For all that it was awkward, it was making me smile to see her so protective. "If there's time and I'm not needed, I might go looking for him. But it's less about him and the 'Wicker Men' that he should be part of – it's harder to miss a chance of finding other traditions of witchcraft and druidism than it is to miss smacking my miserable excuse of a father for what he did to Mama."

"But you should!" Finnall blurted out around a mouthful of bread. At an admonishing glance she swallowed hurriedly. "You should smack him, I'll even smack him for you. Uncle Tandred's been teaching me how!"

Klinar looked at her daughter and let out a soft sigh of exasperation. "I know Lady Katherine has made enquiries relating to your father which should be of assistance. I know little of the results, however." Her eyebrows drooped. "My... illness has prevented my participation."

I nodded my thanks regardless; It wasn't her fault she was suffering. "I'll keep it in mind. Is there anything else you'd like to hear about?"

"Dalaran. We have heard little more than–" Klinar started, only for her daughter to roll right over her.

"The fights!" Finnall yelled, a hand thrown into the air with her knife pointed at the sky. "Taelia was so excited she just kept babbling! Anything and everything about Sir Magroth and how you fought at the wall, rescued the princess, and saved people!"

Her sheer enthusiasm made it impossible not to smile. Even Klinar had to agree, despite the exasperated sigh that left her; she still had trouble trying to get her daughter to follow in her footsteps it seemed. "Sir Magroth is impressive," I posited, glancing at Klinar, "but why don't I tell you about some of Vivi's exploits? Leaping into the sky to cut down a gargoyle, dancing on water, or weaving through a horde of undead like the wind to stab the necromancer controlling them."

Vivi blushed, tightening our mutual grip.

"Your mother would appreciate it more too." I grinned as Finnall grew ever more excited. "Vivi uses elemental magic to help her fight, making her faster, more agile, and even setting her sword on fire at times."

"Yes!" Finnally yelled, literally jumping out of her seat. "Please, please, please!"

I laughed happily, grinning widely as Vivi got to experience the embarrassment of having stories told about her for once. "Where to start, where to start..."

After a while of telling Finnall of Vivi's exploits, our battles alongside Lorna and so many others against the Scourge, I started using illusions to make it more evocative and Klinar joined in, taking up roles where her figures would battle mine. It was a waste of magic for her, but the sheer joy Finnall expressed made all of us happy.

It wasn't something that could last forever, though. Eventually the bell tolled and our escort cleared their throat, drawing attention and warning us that my meeting with the Proudmoores awaited.

-oOoOo-

I nodded stiffly to the marine that had been escorting me, and took a deep breath as I eyed up the ornate door before me. I really hadn't wanted to have this meeting, to speak alone with Daelin and Katherine Proudmoore. If I hadn't run into Katherine last night and found her more agreeable I might not've agreed at all, sod the consequences. Not without Darius as well as Vivi with me.

Without any of the hesitation I felt, my escort knocked heavily on the door. "Lord Admiral, I have brought Witch Arevin as ordered."

"Enter."

As my escort opened the door, revealing Daelin's piercing stare aimed directly for me once again, I was relieved I had Vivi's reassuring presence by my side. She couldn't take the fore like Darius might, but at least she was here beside me.

"Lord Admiral." I greeted him with a curtsy as I stepped into his solar. "Lady Katherine. A good morning and fair tidings to you both on this day. May I ask what it is you wished to speak of?" We all knew what it was, likely even Daelin's guards knew, but there was a necessary pageantry to this.

"A good morning to you as well, Gwyneth." Lady Katherine smiled lightly in her seat.

Something her pacing husband didn't copy. "I will hear from you what you told my daughter. What reasoning you gave which had her tell me that I could not follow her," his eyes, already sharp as they were, narrowed further, "that I could not protect her as a father ought to protect their children."

I met his eyes as best I could, seeing the determination there. That was the crux of it: Daelin would not be satisfied, not even with the truth, unless he also believed that our decision was what was best for Jaina.

It wouldn't be hard to lie. To deceive or trick him, to speak in obfuscations or manipulate the truth such that he came to some conclusion I wanted. But how would that be different from how I treated Genn? If anything it would be worse, far worse than just leaving him ignorant – no. I'd come to the conclusion I should have at least tried with Genn... so, I had to try here too.

But even speaking truthfully, giving him a chance to understand, this would have to be handled delicately. If anything more so than if I was deceitful Walking into the room I stayed silent and in thought, waiting for the Lord Admiral to sit beside her wife so that I could sit opposite.

Vivi stood behind me, much as his guards did him and his wife. A servant moved to pour tea at Lady Katherine's request, but neither of us touched our cups.

Just as his patience seemed about to wear thin I spoke. "No matter what I tell you, no matter what I say or what anger you feel, it will not reflect upon Gilneas. You will deal with my nation fairly, for the sake of the Alliance and humanity as a whole."

"Agreed." Lady Katherine said immediately. "No matter the outcome of this dealing, our business with Lord Crowley will be conducted fairly." Daelin grunted, seemingly in agreement, which would have to be enough.

I took a deep breath, it was time to start. "First, you need to understand this is what could have been. Things have changed. What I have told people has changed things, events cannot follow the same path as they did." I looked down at the tea, the steam slowly wafting off of it. "There was no Kalimdor Expedition, not from Gilneas, in the future I saw. No great planned exodus across the sea, no unified force prepared for what they faced, just... a scared young woman and all they could save going to face the end of the world unknowingly."

"Am I meant to be glad for your manipulations?" Daelin grumbled darkly. "For preventing me from aiding her, from serving as commander of her armies and fleets as I would have done gladly? For failing to prevent this calamity as it began?"

Lady Katherine sipped at her tea. "You cannot deny that a mighty force was assembled and given to her command, Daelin. That much Gwyneth is owed in thanks."

He harrumphed loudly, but merely leaned back in his seat to wait for me to speak.

Though Daelin lacked the stoicism that Darius prided himself on, the stony facade that was all but unbreakable, he held his posture and expression firmly. His disapproval was plain, but his hands remained firmly in his lap, not thrown about in anger.

My own was less subtle, the sting of his accusation landing in guilt– misplaced, I knew – I didn't think I would ever stop feeling. "I tried." I snapped, my words clipped and short. "Light and keepers both, I tried. I sought out those who I could convince when I was twelve, I was expelled from Dalaran for trying! And, with your daughter-in-law and granddaughter in this very keep, you must know that too!"

Taking a harsh breath I closed my eyes to re-centre myself. "Do not accuse me of failing when others failed to listen to me until it was too late."

"I thank you once again for the warning you gave. For its part in saving the family we knew not that we had." Lady Katherine said, giving Daelin a sharp glance.

He met it, standing strong for a few moments before relenting. "My apologies. That was unbecoming of me." He grit out slowly, meeting my eyes as he gave a seemingly honest apology. "Yet, my other questions remain."

I snorted, shaking my head. He wasn't stopping, but he did more than Genn ever had in that one moment. "The consequences first." I held up my hand, preemptively forestalling any objections. "Of what you would have done, what would have happened as I knew it. First, Jaina would become estranged from her family, all of you, for a decade or more. Reviled and disparaged by all of Kul Tiras; 'Beware, beware, the daughter of the sea. Beware, I heard him cry.'"

Neither of them took that declaration terribly well, Daelin barely, but noticably, bristling while Katherine's eyes were downcast and tired. Yet at the same time neither of them were surprised; had Jaina told them that part already?

"When Kul Tiras called for aid after your expedition failed, to continue to follow what you had set as the course, and to seek revenge... they refused. Unable, unwilling, it hardly matters – Kul Tiras departed the Alliance. I never saw if you ever, if at all, rejoined."

"How?" Katherine whispered, her cup clinking as she lowered it to its saucer. "What events could lead to such a thing?"

"It is as preposterous as the day Jaina warned me away from following her." Daelin snapped, his temper beginning to show as he resumed pacing. I felt Vivi move behind me, ready to act – and though I tried to remain outwardly calm, after sodding Godfrey I couldn't help but pulse Life through my skin and veins, hardening myself against the threat he presented. "It is utter madness to believe Kul Tiras would turn against Jaina! My very daughter! Nor would any of my fellows turn against Terenas' legacy, not even with my death!"

She had definitely told them, just not all of it. "Not even if Jaina was complicit in your death?" I asked quietly. With how much had gone wrong with the Horde over the years it sometimes seemed her decision was the wrong one.

But I did not believe allowing Daelin free reign to commit genocide would have been right either.

"Upon reaching Kalimdor your actions began a war with Jaina's allies against the end of the world." I picked up my tea, using it as a shield as I drank from the cup. Touching on the orcs would have to be delicate, left to the very end if I could. "Not knowingly, you hadn't found her yet, but a war all the same. Refusing to back down, it became a war to the bitter end – either they died, to the very last, or... you did. And she stood aside, letting your death happen, even as she cried."

Lady Katherine realised the implications first, eyes shutting tight as she imagined it happening – and failed to find it unbelievable. "Jaina always had a soft heart, even for those who did not deserve her kindness." She said with mounting despair. "A contrast to her father's. Such a foolish girl..."

Daelin's fist clenched white. "What could I find in that accursed land that–" He cut himself off, his eyes widening as he made the same conclusion. "No."

I suppressed a wince; it wasn't hard to figure out. Not with the clues out there – the theft of Lordaeron's fleet in Hillsbrad by Thrall would have been news anywhere, but in Kul Tiras? No doubt it had spread like wildfire.

He stopped in place, towering over me where I sat with threat oozing from every part of his stance. "You cannot possibly mean that Jaina, my daughter, fought alongside orcs. That she would choose monsters over her own family. Over her own people."

Taking a long draught I drained my cup and set it down, the comforting pulse of Life coursing through me. "Would she stand with those who struggled alongside her against the undead, against demons, against the very end of the world itself? Would she stand with those who died alongside her soldiers, buried and burned by the thousands just to buy time for a desperate plan to succeed?" I looked up at her. "Would she? Now, with what has changed, I don't know. But what I do know is that, as things could have gone, she did. And you – you especially – one who so firmly believes in the Alliance, can you honestly say that ties forged in blood and honour are lesser than ones of family?"

Daelin had stood steadfast throughout my speech, disgust and anger warring on his face, right up until the very end. His countenance flickered too quickly to follow easily; horror and disgust, anger and revelation, disdain and sorrow.

It seemed like I had well and truly struck the nail on the head.

"I'm hardly going to tell you that orcs are good." I let out a laugh, though it was more of a miserable giggle. "I think both of us know there's no point to that, and Queen Menethil might gut me next time we meet if I tried." I dreaded to think what she was going to say about the Frostwolves when she found out. "Most of them are awful, carrying a legacy of misery and bloodshed that nothing, nothing they can do will make up for."

I leaned back – more slumped tiredly. "But not all of them. Not one born after the war, raised in the camps as a slave, and that is who leads the Horde now. The one who Jaina befriended."

"Not all orcs are monsters." Vivi said from behind me. "Like not all humans are good. Alterac was no better than them, and some of them are their..."

"Opposite. The inverse of Alterac, their Lord Uther to our... Prince Arthas." Lady Katherine grimaced, pain clear as she thought of Jaina's one-time paramour. A few moments passed in silence, Daelin seething to the side, before she shook her head. "I can belie–"

"Get out." Daelin spoke over her. "I will treat fairly with Gilneas as I have agreed, no matter that the dogs of the Greymanes deserve no such thing. I will even consider your words... but you are no longer welcome in my keep." He bared his teeth in a grimace. "Not because of what you have told me this day, but what you told my daughter months ago. Undoubtedly encouraging this action, this folly, to reach the future you desire.

Vivi jumped over my chair, standing protectively. "You can't–"

He snapped out an arm, cutting her off. "I can and have. Lorena, escort the prophet out of the keep. Her belongings will be returned to the Gilnean ship separately."

I glowered up at him as I stood. A man who I had wished would be better than this. "Very well, Lord Admiral." I glanced to the balcony and the doors leading outside. "I shall depart your keep–" Not Kul Tiras, he didn't order me out of Kul Tiras, "–but under my own power."

Reaching inside myself I touched on the fraction of myself that was Rokkri's, her feather, the empty void which swallowed all light into itself to glisten like the night sky, and twisted. A moment later a gust of wind tore open the balcony doors and I was cawing, flyout out over the cityscape of Boralus.

Damnable kings, admirals, and their arrogant pride.

-oOoOo-

"Hah! Noth'n' more'n a kiddo's fancy." Pike grumbled, shaking his head before taking a swig of his – honestly foul smelling – drink. "Grown girl like ya ain't got no reason to care 'bout that shit. Go find a man like's right and proper. Not chasing old wives' tales."

"I paid for your drink so you'd tell me what you knew." I growled, but he just looked amused. "Liar."

He chuckled. "Didn't lie. Told you what you needed to hear. Now go back to your ma' and get help finding a guy," he looked me up and down, starting to leer; "unless you're offering? Don't think I'd mind, ain't too foreign."

I dropped a few coins on the counter in front of the barman. "For the stool." I said blandly, standing and twisting the wood out from under his ignorant arse, sending him crashing to the floor as it no longer supported his weight – his drink following him down and spilling all over his fancy surcoat. I snorted at the sight; he was too well dressed to be an ignorant labourer, yet he was a pig of a human being all the same. "In Gilneas one is taught from a young age how to treat others with respect, be they men or women. I see Kul Tiras has no such expectations."

Light, this was getting nowhere. Drifting between the inns and pubs of Boralus trying to find someone who had any real knowledge of the 'Wicker Men' was proving to be an utter failure. Between those who dismissed me as Gilnean, those who just didn't care, and this bastard, I'd struck out a dozen times over.

"You little bitch!" Pike snapped, struggling to his feet.

Ignoring him – or at least appearing to do so – I turned away, making my way to the exit. Not a single person, not even the other women present, seemed to care about his behaviour; instead, they all looked at me with judgemental eyes.

I wasn't going to get a damn thing from here.

Pike lashed out at me as soon as he was upright, a telegraphed right hook I sidestepped easily – one I'd struggle not to see coming. He might have more than a foot on me, like so many of the gigantic Kul Tirans, but I wasn't at all threatened by him. A flick of my wrist saw the broken stool grow new shoots, branches stretching out to entangle his legs as I stepped around him.

"Bitch? Really?" I mocked him. "The correct word is 'witch' if you are referring to my profession, or 'vixen' if you want to speak of my heritage."

"Fucking heathen! What kind of sorcery is this?!" He spat at me as his tangled limbs took him down once more. There was a temptation to lash out physically and punch him, to get physical even if it wasn't my forte. Let out my frustrations with Daelin, Genn, and the Kul Tirans themselves all at once.

But with half the patrons of the bar standing up, staring at me the way they were, it'd be stupid. Angry or not, I couldn't without causing enough trouble bloody Daelin'd have an actual reason to throw me out of Kul Tiras.

"Witchcraft." I answered flatly, then looked at the barman. "I'm leaving unless someone else does something stupid."

He nodded sharply. "Get out."

"It appears to me that you are telling that to the wrong person, innkeeper." The near-sparkling tones of Sorceress Goldensword said from behind me. "One should punish a fraud and troublemaker, not one defrauded." She floated into the room, levitating herself as she did back in Dalaran – but alighted on the floor after a moment with faint disgust.

"He's a paying customer." The barman snapped. "She ain't."

"From what I saw, Jonas, she paid for Pike's drink. Then he stiffed her what she asked." Cyrus rumbled as he followed Klinar in. "Hard woman to track down, Lady Arevin. Been halfway across the city and back in the last few hours. Could have done with a break for my poor legs sometime."

I stared at them, then at Taelia and Finnall who were peering in through the doorway. "He didn't send you after me, did he?" Not with the kids here.

Cyrus waved a hand dismissively. "No, Lady Katherine did. For me at least, Lady Goldensword sent herself." He moved to an open table and sat, the chair creaking slightly under his seven-foot bulk as he propped his feet up on another. "Your fancy exit went around the keep faster than you left, you understand. Everyone heard about it, got a few folks from Drustvar crying 'witchcraft,' as if you weren't open about being one to begin with." He snorted mirthfully.

"I was displeased with my father-in-law's actions." Sorceress Goldensword said bluntly, her eyebrows twitching. "Once I was informed, I made clear my intentions to find you and brought my daughter with me. I had intended for your companion, Lady Mistmantle, to join us..."

"But she went and insulted the Lord Admiral, so she's on her way back to your ship." Cyrus sighed, propping his head up with one hand and giving me a wry look. "Under armed escort too. Maybe flying out the window and leaving your girl behind weren't the best of plans?"

"Girl?" Pike snorted from the floor. "She's a muff diver too?!"

"Shut up, idiot!" Someone hissed "That's Cyrus Crestfall!"

"Why are you even in these bars?" Finnall asked as she slipped in, she scrunched up her nose, then pinched it shut. "It stinks in here! They all do!"

I agreed with her, but compared to some of what I'd smelled while fighting the Scourge... it wasn't enough to bother me. "Looking for hints towards the 'Wicker Men'. I'd rather have more of a clue than 'somewhere in Drustvar' before I fly off into the distance." I sighed. "So far, no luck."

"Huh." Cyrus scratched his chin. "Yeah, can't say I know much myself, but I know one who does. Might help convincing him if I knew why you were looking for them."

"Lady Katherine began an investigation," Klinar said, reminding me of that – I never did get a chance to ask her; Bloody Daelin. "But circumstances being what they are, I assume that she did not have the chance to tell you."

"No, she didn't." I shook my head, then glanced around the tavern. The patrons were all carefully avoiding looking at us – even the barman was now fixated on polishing a clean glass further, only occasionally shooting furtive glances at Cyrus and Klinar. I might as well tell Cyrus, it wasn't like I cared about my father's reputation much. "One of the 'Wicker Men' did as sailors do, going to port and finding a girl to woo." I waved at myself. "I'm the result he left behind. That enough of a reason?"

Cyrus huffed, a frown forming. "Story as old as time, that. And a worthy cause as any." He lifted himself from his seat. "Arthur won't say no to that, especially if Lady Katherine were looking too. He'll know better than any how to find the truth of those rumours." He looked around, frown deepening, before nodding to Klinar. "You take her to the Snug Harbour, Lady Goldensword? They'll be less... rough than this lot to a foreign girl and I can meet you there later."

She nodded with a smile, floating into the air once more. "A stay at an inn and away from the keep will be good for Finnall. I believe she's growing too accustomed to the luxury of being a Proudmoore of late."

"Mom! They don't even have an ice chest, or ice cream, what luxuries?!" Finnall protested futilely, setting her mother's eyebrows twitching with amusement and Taelia giggling.