18 ADP, six years later
As the sun rose over the southern shores of Longshore, the Redfin village was already bustling with activity. The Tidehunters had left before dawn to search for aquatic prey further out to sea, and the remaining huntsmen occupied themselves with checking and resetting the traps that were set overnight, both communal and personal. The Tidehunters may occasionally bring in large hauls, creatures that are so big they could feed the whole village by themselves, but the smaller morsels found in nets and basket traps were a reliable and plentiful source of food.
While the hunters went to the ocean to find food, the less skilled members of the tribe ventured inland to forage for fruits and nuts, maybe a half-eaten carcass if they were lucky. Even the elderly, those who were too old to move very fast, did their part. With most of the adult population gone, it fell on them to take care of the young. Luckily, the youngest group, murloc tadpoles, were not the fastest bunch, unable to move easily on land and unwilling to venture past the shallow areas of the beach. Unluckily, they still had a lot of energy stored up in their tiny, brightly colored bodies. Energy they put towards mimicking the speech used around them, which often devolved into high-pitched babbling.
But for those young ones who could walk and talk properly, it would be a waste to have them just sit around. It was a tradition for the elders to share some of their wisdom every day so that each generation would build upon the last. None knew when the tradition started, but sharing stories was always a favored pastime, no matter which tribe you were a part of. It was Oracle Mrgglr’s turn to lead the lesson, and most of the kids were excited. When asked the previous day what he was going to teach, he said it was, “Something that has saved the most lives throughout our history.”
That had got Brgllgllrm’s attention, and she had spent a sleepless night fantasizing over what he was going to teach them. Everything had been so boring since she had woken up in this murloc body. She was carried around by her mother in a sling for the first year of her new existence, and even after that, she could barely move on her own until her third year. Although that was only on land, in the water she could swim better than in her previous life. That wasn’t saying much though. She had only gone into a pool twice before, and even then only in the shallow end.
But she could admit her newfangled swimming abilities were not being fully utilized. When she could move around in the water, most of her time was spent close to the beach, within the gaze of the elders. The deeper oceans held dangerous creatures. Sharks, giant crabs, and serpents so large a murloc tadpole would be dwarfed by its tooth. Now, those creatures may not have been present in their part of the shore, but the fact they existed at all sent shivers down her spine.
Even magic was scarce in this small village. The only time she heard anyone mention magic was when one of the foragers had come back with a basket of berries and a limp. They had called for the oracle and were taken into the chieftain’s abode, then come morning they were walking around as if nothing had happened. She was pretty sure magic was involved, and if the oracle was the one that cast it, maybe this lesson would be about magic. Healing magic did seem to fit the bill, it could definitely save people. If learning magic was even a distant possibility, she wanted to have a front-row seat.
~
After a night of anticipation, watching Mrgglr make his way over to the circle was infuriating. He must have been part turtle or something because he was moving slower than the tadpoles crawling around on the beach.
Once he finally arrived, he sat down on a flat stone and laid his staff across his lap. Looking around the circle, his eyes locked onto mine for a second then continued their sweep.
“Well, it seems like my comment from yesterday caught your attention. We have everyone in the circle today.”
Ah, that was probably directed at me. So maybe I had skipped a few classes, so what? They were teaching things I already knew. I don’t need to relearn how to shuck a clam (turns out those shells are worth something undamaged). If anything I could be teaching these classes. They wouldn’t be good lessons, most of my knowledge was focused on computers and helping the idiots that break them, but I had a few hobbies. I was even part of the girl scouts when I was younger.
“So I won’t keep you waiting any longer. I promised to teach you the most important technique you will learn, and I intend to deliver. Now, when I tell you what it is, remember that this is an ancient technique. It was used by your oldest ancestors, and it will be used for generations to come. In fact, when I was scarcely older than most of you, it saved my life.” He leaned in and paused between each word, “It is the ancient art of retreating.”
Retreating? Like, just running away?
After he finished talking, he leaned back and took another look around the circle. “Now, don’t look at me like that. Honestly, that is the most important thing for you to learn early on.”
You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.
Seriously, retreating? He just clickbaited me! He better have one hell of an explanation to back that claim up, or I might just start…. well I don’t know what I would do, but it would suck for him.
“What you all have to remember is that we are not the strongest bunch. None of you are invincible. Many of the creatures living further inland will be much bigger than you. It would be stupid and suicidal of you to try and fight them alone. On the other hand, what we do have is each other.” As he said that, Mrgglr motioned around the circle and towards the other elders milling about in the shallows. “When you are in trouble, you can always count on your tribe to help you. So if you ever run into anything taller than your waist, run back to the village for help. If you’re lucky, whatever you encounter will have given up on chasing you. But if not, get into the water as quickly as possible. You will be faster in the water, and any other murlocs in the village would have gotten in the water to ambush whatever was pursuing you. But remember, this tactic only works if others know you are coming. So when you start running, you should also start yelling this.” Mrgglr inhaled deeply and closed his eyes…
“Aaaaaughibbrgubugbugrguburgle!” and let loose a guttural scream, much louder than his frail frame suggested he could produce.
After a couple of minutes of heavy breathing, he started talking to the group again. “That is how everyone will know you are in trouble. And if you ever hear that noise, you stop whatever you are doing and get in the water. Even if you cannot fight, you need to get out of the way of whatever is chasing the unlucky fellow who just shouted.” He took a deep breath and leaned back, stretching a little. “That is all I can tell you today, unfortunately. I am afraid time has not been the kindest to me, and yelling like that tires me out very quickly. When you can, try to repeat what I did. Just do it quietly, we don’t want anyone rushing over to see what's wrong.”
As the circle broke up into smaller playgroups, I hurried over to where Mrgglr was sitting. That lesson was not what I expected, and I needed some answers or I wouldn’t get a wink of sleep.
“Oracle, I have a question.”
“And I may have an answer. What is your question Brgllgllrm?”
“Can you use magic? Can I use magic? Where do I learn magic?”
Mrgglr chuckled and planted his staff into the ground. “I believe that was three questions, young one. But yes, I can use magic. To hold the title of oracle you must know some form of magic, for that is where the greatest wisdom can be gleaned. As for yourself and the acquisition of magic, I cannot say. Perhaps you would be able to become my apprentice, but I am unable to say before you have lived through 10 winters. Come to me then, and we will see.”
I nodded and left to search the beach for seashells. So I might be able to use magic. That was the best news I had heard since coming here, and it wasn’t even a concrete answer. It sucked that I needed to wait a couple of years, but if Mrgglr said I couldn’t learn magic now, it was probably true. He was the oldest murloc in the village by far, and oracles supposedly knew everything our tribe has ever known. At least that was what my mother told me when I asked her.
From what I remembered about murlocs, they weren’t the most prolific users of magic. Most of the time they would just gang up and hit me to death with knives and spears. The ones that did use magic mainly used elemental spells, especially frost. Hopefully, I would be able to expand my repertoire of spells past the murloc standard, but I would cross that bridge when I got to it.
There were a lot of bridges I would have to cross eventually, especially if I wanted to leave the village eventually. The elders had mentioned other races that lived further inland before, so we weren’t on an uncharted island or anything. I’m fairly certain we are in the Eastern Kingdoms, as I saw a tattered Alliance tabard being used as a rug in the chieftain’s hut when I was officially named, so there should be humans around. The idea of meeting friendly people was encouraging, and seeing Stormwind or Ironforge would be amazing, but there was a problem with that plan. If this world was anything like the game, then more than a few unlucky travelers would have met their end at the hands of a murloc. I might be viewed as a threat and attacked on sight, especially if I can’t communicate with them.
So, I needed to learn how to speak with other races. Unfortunately, this village was murloc exclusive, and I wasn’t old enough to venture beyond the boundaries. My best hope was finding some sort of picture book, the ones meant to teach children really basic stuff. Even then, I don’t know how being able to write “apple” would help me with talking to a guard.
As I was thinking about my future plans, I heard a rustling noise coming from the forest past the cliff. Now that was something different. Most creatures stayed deeper in the forest, where most of the food was. The village would have collected anything edible in the immediate vicinity. It might be some deer that one of the foragers was chasing back to the village to trap. I remember that happened a couple of years ago, but that was unusual. The village had a ceremony and everything, followed by a feast of course.
But listening closer, I could hear multiple things moving in the bushes. That was even weirder, and a cause for alarm. The only animals I know of in the forest that move in packs are coyotes. Even for adult murlocs, a pack of those bastards would be a threat. Them stumbling upon a bunch of baby and elderly murlocs would be like finding a pile of burgers in the forest. No, not burgers, smaller and less filling, like a slider. Damn, now I’m hungry for burgers.
I’m snapped out of my food fantasy by another sound coming from the forest. But this one is distinct, and I suddenly know what is lurking in the forest. It sounded like a laugh, but high pitched and repeating. I take off as fast as my short murloc legs can take me towards Mrgglr.
While I played World of Warcraft, my preferred race to play was the human. Their starting zone of Elwynn Forest was my favorite place to be, with the capital city of Stormwind and the stream of new players to help out.
Mrgglr was resting on the ground, his staff laying beside him. When I saw he was unaware of the situation, I yelled out to him as loud as I could.
"Oracle! Oracle! We need to run!”
Sensing the urgent tone I used, Mrgglr immediately sat up and looked at me. “What is it, child? Did you see something?”
During my initial playthrough, while I was leveling my first human character, I remember finding a bounty board outside the Westbrook Garrison in Elwynn Forest. It had a wanted poster for a particularly nasty mob named Hogger. When I finally found him, he slaughtered me. When I tried to revive at my corpse, I was swarmed by many creatures that looked like him. Tall, bestial people with hyena fur and hunched backs. The laugh I heard in the woods was almost exactly the same as I remembered them sounding. If I was correct, we were currently being watched by a group of bloodthirsty…
“Gnolls, Oracle. I heard gnolls in the woods.”
As I spoke, a cry sounded from the forest. Turning around, I saw four gnolls rush toward the village, their crude axes drawn.
Mustering up all my courage and wits, I spoke the only words that fit the situation. “Fuck.”