Post by Chadness on Jun 12, 2006 10:26:27 GMT -5
An ominous mist settled over Lake Everstill and lingered until morning. Lakeshire, a quaint human town nestled in the foothills on the west side of the lake, began this morning just like every other. However, as Kellia looked outside the window of her room in the inn, she thought the mist had a hint of evil in it, something she couldn't quite put her finger on, but was there nonetheless. This wasn't the twisted evil that inhabited Duskwood to the south, no, this was something far more ancient, far grander, than anything the Scourge had to throw at the world.
As Kellia went through her morning rituals - bathing, straightening her hair and getting dressed - she couldn't help but constantly eye the note that was given to her the previous day by a Night Elf in the Burning Steppes. Something about that note - like the mist outside - seemed to herald death and destruction. This shouldn't have come as any surprise to her, since Azeroth was being hit from all sides by old and new enemies alike. There were even hints that the hideous forces behind the Scourge in the north were preparing an all-out attack on the nations of this world. Its times like this when she longed for the nature that surrounded her in her younger days in Teldrassil, and her frequent visits to her grandparents in Ashenvale. The world was much simpler back then.
Her pet, Kaelyn, had already wandered outdoors on this misty morning. Not too long after that, note in hand, Kellia emerged from the inn after purchasing some bread and cheese for breakfast.
Kaelyn looked at her as she ate, a longing look on her large feline face. "What?" Kellia replied as she saw the near pitifal look on her best friend's face. "Did you think I forgot about you?" She opened her backpack and pulled out a large chunk of cooked meat, wrapped in paper, and placed it on the ground next to Kaelyn. "Enjoy that while you can, we will most likely have a long day ahead of us." As Kaelyn dove in to her food, Kellia walked next door to the town hall.
Magistrate Solomon was an older man who had lived in Lakeshire his entire life. Kellia couldn't blame him for that. Dispite the recent movements of the orcs from the north, the area surrounding Lakeshire - the foothills of the Redridge Mountains - was a beautiful locale. In a small town like this, between certain hours of the day, the Magistrate was always open to seeing the townspeople. Today was no different. So, Kellia approached the rear room of the town hall, which appeared to double as the town library. There were dozens of bookcases lining the rear wall of the large room. On the far right side of the room from where Kellia entered, the Magistrate was at his desk, face burried in one of the books.
She approached him. "Excuse me, Magistrate Solomon?" she asked, although she knew who he was. She had delt with him a bit before in her younger days of adventuring, although it had been months and she doubted that the older man would remember her. She had been told by humans before that all Night Elves look the same, and she assumed this is what the Magistrate thought, as well.
"Y-yes?" he replied, a bit startled by her appearance.
"I'm sorry," Kellia replied, "I didn't mean to startle you."
He marked his page, then closed the book and placed it haphazardly on his desk. "Nonsense, I was just in deep thought, concentrating on what I was reading. Its no bother." He smiled very warmly, he was a pleasent old man, to say the least.
"Magistrate," Kellia continued, "As much as I'd like to have a leisurely visit, I have been tasked with a rather important assignment." She pulled the letter out of her backpack. The Magistrate's eyes moved toward the sealed note in her hand.
"This isn't more nonsense about the Van Cleef and his Defias gang, is it? I thought those rufians were taken care of...I'll have to..."
"No," she interrupted him. "This is far more important." She handed him the note. He carefully popped the seal, unfolded the paper and began to read to himself. The note appeared to be short and to the point, as it didn't take him long to finish.
"Are you privy to what was in this note, my friend?"
Kellia took a couple steps closer to him, and dropped the volume of her voice. "I have a pretty good idea."
"This is grim news, to discover that our mortal enemies are merely pawns of a much greater threat is disheartening. There is no possible way that Lakeshire could survive an attack from both the Blackrock orcs and the black dragonflight."
He looked very worried, as he should, for the safety of his town and the people in it.
"Should Lakeshire fall to this menace, Darkshire would fall next, then what? Goldshire? Stormwind itself?" He paused and looked Kellia strait in the eye. "My dear friend, you must take this information to Highlord Bolvar Fordragon in Stormwind Keep at once! If this does not merit the aid of Stormwind, nothing will and all is lost."
"I will go at once, Magistrate," Kellia replied when the elder man was finished. "Take care of yourself, these are troubling times."
The worried expression on his face turned to one of pride. In that moment, Kellia knew that he did remember her. "Kellia, you have helped us so much in the recent past. Always remember, the times may be troubling, but in those dark hours are when heroes, like yourself, are born."
It was a quick flight to Stormwind on a gryphon. The "big city" was as busy as ever. The gryphon deposited Kellia in the Trade District of the city - the busiest area. There were merchants wandering the cobblestone streets, new adventurers perusing the auction house and a rather large gathering of citizens at the bank puting items in storage. During her adventures on this side of the world, Kellia had rented a place in Ironforge, but that city did lack much of the flare and, most definately, the sunlight, that Stormwind had. The only reason she had made Ironforge her home was because of its more central location on the continent.
Stormwind Keep was located between Old Town and the Dwarven District of the human capital. Kellia and Kaelyn made their way through the narrow streets along the canals to that area of town. "Hang out here for a bit Kaelyn," Kellia told her pet. "I don't think they'd take very kindly to a big white tiger strolling through the castle." She winked at her pet as she entered the corridor. Kaelyn just sighed and wandered over to a nearby bridge over the canal to wait for her master to return.
Kellia ascended the ramp up to the Keep without trouble and approached the dias in the middle of the large, circular room where the King's son and his advisors stood. The true King of Stormwind had gone missing and, in his place, his eight year old son was ruling the kingdom. He wasn't alone in this task, however. Bolvar Fordragon and Lady Prestor were his closest and most trusted advisors, and, truth be told, the kingdom of Stormwind was really under their control.
However, for formal occasions, such as this, the King's son was indeed to be viewed as the king of Stormwind, so when Kellia approached, she kneeled down to show respect.
Highlord Bolvar Fordragon was a very respected knight of Stormwind, yet he had a kindness to him, as well. "Dear Kellia, please stand."
She followed his directions. They were apparently on a first name basis - or at least he was with her. She had done many deeds for the royalty of Stormwind in the past and those have not gone forgotten, it appears.
"Of what do we owe the pleasure?" Bolvar inquired. Before Kellia had the chance to respond, Anwyn, the young son of the true King, ran up to her and hugged her leg. "Where's Kaelyn?" he asked.
Kellia smiled. "He's waiting outside. Last time the guards didn't take kindly to me bringing a large tiger into the Keep."
"Go see her if you wish," Bolvar said to Anwyn. He then motioned to a couple of the royal guards to follow the boy and look after him, although it was only a short ways out to the bridge where Kaelyn had taken up position.
After Anwyn and the guards had left, Bolvar focused his attention back to Kellia. "As I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted, of what do we owe the pleasure of your visit, Kellia?"
Kellia launched right into an explanation of the transpired events so far. When she was finished, she handed the opened letter to Bolvar. After he read it, he spoke. "Solomon paints a dreary picture. Still, we cannot afford to send our thinly spread troops to the aid of Lakeshire on speculation. I will need proof of these claims before I can act."
He thought a brief moment, then continued. "Speak with Lady Prestor, Kellia. She is a learned woman and knows much of dragons and dragonkin. She may be able to shed some light on this situation."
He then turned and pointed across the room to a beautiful woman speaking with one of the guards. Kellia knew that to be Lady Prestor. While she had not had direct dealings with her in the past, she did know who she was.
Kellia approached her. Lady Prestor turned her head slightly and gave the Night Elf a cold, hard stare with her dark eyes that seemed to pierce directly to the heart. "What is it?!" she spat.
"Lady Prestor...I was directed to you by Bolvar, he seemed to believe you have more information concerning a growing threat that I've recently uncovered - the black dragonflight. Is there any inform--"
"Why do you want to know about that? Its an old legend, nothing more."
"From the information I've gathered, it seems to be a real threat, ma'am. Magistrate Solomon is quite worried."
Now Lady Prestor turned completely around to face Kellia. "Solomon is a foolish old man!" She wasn't yelling, but her tone and the way she spoke made Kellia not like the direction this conversation was heading. "All he's interested in is his sleepy little town and he expects US to send soldiers to his beck and call!"
"This doesn't just concern Lakeshire, ma'am, this concerns the whole world, from Darnassus to Tirisfal, from the jungles of Stranglethorn to the sands of Tanaris."
"Trust me, Night Elf. Don't worry about what doesn't concern you. Now leave me be, I have more pressing matters that need to be attended to." At that she walked away down the western hallway to the library and disappeared out of sight.
Bolvar approached Kellia, who was exasperated after only a few minutes alone with Lady Prestor. "She's something, isn't she?" he asked. Kellia didn't say a word, just gave Bolvar a slight smurk.
"Kellia," he said, serious once again, "I'm going to empower you as an acting deputy of Stormwind. Return to Magistrate Solomon in Lakeshire and deliver this decree." He handed her yet another sealed letter. She didn't have to read it to know what was inside.
Later that evening, her and Kaelyn had returned to Lakeshire. Magistrate Solomon was pleased to see her and, at the same time, was surprised she had returned so quickly. "Welcome back, my friend!" he called out as he saw her approach. "I trust the delivery of the note was a success?"
"Well, I wouldn't exactly call it that," Kellia replied, uneasily.
"I didn't exactly expect them to send in the cavalry. What did you find out?"
"I found out that Lady Prestor reminds me of an orc I once met in Ashenvale."
"Oh...?"
"I had to kill him."
He was silent, but she got a hint that he had agreed with her assessment of Lady Prestor. She continued, "Other than that, I feel that Bolvar is concerned about the threat of the black dragonflight, but Lady Prestor could care less. Also, Bolvar isn't completely convinced of a threat, but at least he's interested in finding out more information on the matter."
She handed him the decree that Bolvar had given her and read it throuroughly.
Finally, he looked up at her and said, "Kellia, you must return to the Burning Steppes. As a deputy of Stormwind, you will be required to report to Marshall Maxwell. He's stationed at Morgan's Vigil. Good luck."
She wasn't keen on going back to that area, but it had to be done. The road north out of Lakeshire would send her directly to the Burning Steppes, so that's the path she took. This whole time - from her clearing the dragonkin for Helindis to her meetings with Bolvar and Lady Prestor - she had the feeling she was being watched, but she knew for certain there was no one around. As her and Kaelyn neared the bridge over a molten lava pit that marked their entry into the Steppes, two orcs suddenly jumped out from behind the rocks on either side of the road and ambushed them. Kellia immediately grabbed her bow and, without even being told, Kaelyn rushed the orcs and grabbed both of their attention.
Kellia took a few steps back into firing distance and began to pelt arrows into he orcs.
"Long live the blackrock!" one of the orcs shouted. The orc that Kellia was pelting with arrows fell fairly fast, and just as he fell, his comrade came rushing right at her. Kaelyn did her best to catch the orc from behind, but wasn't fast enough. The orc slammed into Kellia and knocked her back a good ten feet onto the ground. She stood as quickly as possible and wielded her dual axes that she carried for close-range combat. She swung her left hand axe at the orc's leg, slowing him down considerably as she dodged the swinging of his huge two-hand axe.
The edge of the orc's axe caught her on the face and cut her cheek. That was a close one, she thought as she rolled out of the way. She was now laying on the ground, facing the orc looming over her. He was easily tripple her size. He raised his axe to deal the final blow. Suddenly, he let out a roar that was both deafening and pleasurable at the same time. Kellia knew what had happened. Kaelyn had jumped on the orc from behind, knocking him to the ground and finishing him off.
Kellia smurked as she lifted herself back to her feet. "I knew I brought you along for something," she said, teasing her pet. She ran her hands through Kaelyn's thick fur and caught the hint of a pur from the large cat. After bandaging both of them, they continued, albeit more cautiously, into the Burning Steppes. "Hidden eyes are on us, Kaelyn," Kellia said, "We must be more careful." The white tiger agreed with a low growl.
As Kellia went through her morning rituals - bathing, straightening her hair and getting dressed - she couldn't help but constantly eye the note that was given to her the previous day by a Night Elf in the Burning Steppes. Something about that note - like the mist outside - seemed to herald death and destruction. This shouldn't have come as any surprise to her, since Azeroth was being hit from all sides by old and new enemies alike. There were even hints that the hideous forces behind the Scourge in the north were preparing an all-out attack on the nations of this world. Its times like this when she longed for the nature that surrounded her in her younger days in Teldrassil, and her frequent visits to her grandparents in Ashenvale. The world was much simpler back then.
Her pet, Kaelyn, had already wandered outdoors on this misty morning. Not too long after that, note in hand, Kellia emerged from the inn after purchasing some bread and cheese for breakfast.
Kaelyn looked at her as she ate, a longing look on her large feline face. "What?" Kellia replied as she saw the near pitifal look on her best friend's face. "Did you think I forgot about you?" She opened her backpack and pulled out a large chunk of cooked meat, wrapped in paper, and placed it on the ground next to Kaelyn. "Enjoy that while you can, we will most likely have a long day ahead of us." As Kaelyn dove in to her food, Kellia walked next door to the town hall.
Magistrate Solomon was an older man who had lived in Lakeshire his entire life. Kellia couldn't blame him for that. Dispite the recent movements of the orcs from the north, the area surrounding Lakeshire - the foothills of the Redridge Mountains - was a beautiful locale. In a small town like this, between certain hours of the day, the Magistrate was always open to seeing the townspeople. Today was no different. So, Kellia approached the rear room of the town hall, which appeared to double as the town library. There were dozens of bookcases lining the rear wall of the large room. On the far right side of the room from where Kellia entered, the Magistrate was at his desk, face burried in one of the books.
She approached him. "Excuse me, Magistrate Solomon?" she asked, although she knew who he was. She had delt with him a bit before in her younger days of adventuring, although it had been months and she doubted that the older man would remember her. She had been told by humans before that all Night Elves look the same, and she assumed this is what the Magistrate thought, as well.
"Y-yes?" he replied, a bit startled by her appearance.
"I'm sorry," Kellia replied, "I didn't mean to startle you."
He marked his page, then closed the book and placed it haphazardly on his desk. "Nonsense, I was just in deep thought, concentrating on what I was reading. Its no bother." He smiled very warmly, he was a pleasent old man, to say the least.
"Magistrate," Kellia continued, "As much as I'd like to have a leisurely visit, I have been tasked with a rather important assignment." She pulled the letter out of her backpack. The Magistrate's eyes moved toward the sealed note in her hand.
"This isn't more nonsense about the Van Cleef and his Defias gang, is it? I thought those rufians were taken care of...I'll have to..."
"No," she interrupted him. "This is far more important." She handed him the note. He carefully popped the seal, unfolded the paper and began to read to himself. The note appeared to be short and to the point, as it didn't take him long to finish.
"Are you privy to what was in this note, my friend?"
Kellia took a couple steps closer to him, and dropped the volume of her voice. "I have a pretty good idea."
"This is grim news, to discover that our mortal enemies are merely pawns of a much greater threat is disheartening. There is no possible way that Lakeshire could survive an attack from both the Blackrock orcs and the black dragonflight."
He looked very worried, as he should, for the safety of his town and the people in it.
"Should Lakeshire fall to this menace, Darkshire would fall next, then what? Goldshire? Stormwind itself?" He paused and looked Kellia strait in the eye. "My dear friend, you must take this information to Highlord Bolvar Fordragon in Stormwind Keep at once! If this does not merit the aid of Stormwind, nothing will and all is lost."
"I will go at once, Magistrate," Kellia replied when the elder man was finished. "Take care of yourself, these are troubling times."
The worried expression on his face turned to one of pride. In that moment, Kellia knew that he did remember her. "Kellia, you have helped us so much in the recent past. Always remember, the times may be troubling, but in those dark hours are when heroes, like yourself, are born."
It was a quick flight to Stormwind on a gryphon. The "big city" was as busy as ever. The gryphon deposited Kellia in the Trade District of the city - the busiest area. There were merchants wandering the cobblestone streets, new adventurers perusing the auction house and a rather large gathering of citizens at the bank puting items in storage. During her adventures on this side of the world, Kellia had rented a place in Ironforge, but that city did lack much of the flare and, most definately, the sunlight, that Stormwind had. The only reason she had made Ironforge her home was because of its more central location on the continent.
Stormwind Keep was located between Old Town and the Dwarven District of the human capital. Kellia and Kaelyn made their way through the narrow streets along the canals to that area of town. "Hang out here for a bit Kaelyn," Kellia told her pet. "I don't think they'd take very kindly to a big white tiger strolling through the castle." She winked at her pet as she entered the corridor. Kaelyn just sighed and wandered over to a nearby bridge over the canal to wait for her master to return.
Kellia ascended the ramp up to the Keep without trouble and approached the dias in the middle of the large, circular room where the King's son and his advisors stood. The true King of Stormwind had gone missing and, in his place, his eight year old son was ruling the kingdom. He wasn't alone in this task, however. Bolvar Fordragon and Lady Prestor were his closest and most trusted advisors, and, truth be told, the kingdom of Stormwind was really under their control.
However, for formal occasions, such as this, the King's son was indeed to be viewed as the king of Stormwind, so when Kellia approached, she kneeled down to show respect.
Highlord Bolvar Fordragon was a very respected knight of Stormwind, yet he had a kindness to him, as well. "Dear Kellia, please stand."
She followed his directions. They were apparently on a first name basis - or at least he was with her. She had done many deeds for the royalty of Stormwind in the past and those have not gone forgotten, it appears.
"Of what do we owe the pleasure?" Bolvar inquired. Before Kellia had the chance to respond, Anwyn, the young son of the true King, ran up to her and hugged her leg. "Where's Kaelyn?" he asked.
Kellia smiled. "He's waiting outside. Last time the guards didn't take kindly to me bringing a large tiger into the Keep."
"Go see her if you wish," Bolvar said to Anwyn. He then motioned to a couple of the royal guards to follow the boy and look after him, although it was only a short ways out to the bridge where Kaelyn had taken up position.
After Anwyn and the guards had left, Bolvar focused his attention back to Kellia. "As I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted, of what do we owe the pleasure of your visit, Kellia?"
Kellia launched right into an explanation of the transpired events so far. When she was finished, she handed the opened letter to Bolvar. After he read it, he spoke. "Solomon paints a dreary picture. Still, we cannot afford to send our thinly spread troops to the aid of Lakeshire on speculation. I will need proof of these claims before I can act."
He thought a brief moment, then continued. "Speak with Lady Prestor, Kellia. She is a learned woman and knows much of dragons and dragonkin. She may be able to shed some light on this situation."
He then turned and pointed across the room to a beautiful woman speaking with one of the guards. Kellia knew that to be Lady Prestor. While she had not had direct dealings with her in the past, she did know who she was.
Kellia approached her. Lady Prestor turned her head slightly and gave the Night Elf a cold, hard stare with her dark eyes that seemed to pierce directly to the heart. "What is it?!" she spat.
"Lady Prestor...I was directed to you by Bolvar, he seemed to believe you have more information concerning a growing threat that I've recently uncovered - the black dragonflight. Is there any inform--"
"Why do you want to know about that? Its an old legend, nothing more."
"From the information I've gathered, it seems to be a real threat, ma'am. Magistrate Solomon is quite worried."
Now Lady Prestor turned completely around to face Kellia. "Solomon is a foolish old man!" She wasn't yelling, but her tone and the way she spoke made Kellia not like the direction this conversation was heading. "All he's interested in is his sleepy little town and he expects US to send soldiers to his beck and call!"
"This doesn't just concern Lakeshire, ma'am, this concerns the whole world, from Darnassus to Tirisfal, from the jungles of Stranglethorn to the sands of Tanaris."
"Trust me, Night Elf. Don't worry about what doesn't concern you. Now leave me be, I have more pressing matters that need to be attended to." At that she walked away down the western hallway to the library and disappeared out of sight.
Bolvar approached Kellia, who was exasperated after only a few minutes alone with Lady Prestor. "She's something, isn't she?" he asked. Kellia didn't say a word, just gave Bolvar a slight smurk.
"Kellia," he said, serious once again, "I'm going to empower you as an acting deputy of Stormwind. Return to Magistrate Solomon in Lakeshire and deliver this decree." He handed her yet another sealed letter. She didn't have to read it to know what was inside.
Later that evening, her and Kaelyn had returned to Lakeshire. Magistrate Solomon was pleased to see her and, at the same time, was surprised she had returned so quickly. "Welcome back, my friend!" he called out as he saw her approach. "I trust the delivery of the note was a success?"
"Well, I wouldn't exactly call it that," Kellia replied, uneasily.
"I didn't exactly expect them to send in the cavalry. What did you find out?"
"I found out that Lady Prestor reminds me of an orc I once met in Ashenvale."
"Oh...?"
"I had to kill him."
He was silent, but she got a hint that he had agreed with her assessment of Lady Prestor. She continued, "Other than that, I feel that Bolvar is concerned about the threat of the black dragonflight, but Lady Prestor could care less. Also, Bolvar isn't completely convinced of a threat, but at least he's interested in finding out more information on the matter."
She handed him the decree that Bolvar had given her and read it throuroughly.
Finally, he looked up at her and said, "Kellia, you must return to the Burning Steppes. As a deputy of Stormwind, you will be required to report to Marshall Maxwell. He's stationed at Morgan's Vigil. Good luck."
She wasn't keen on going back to that area, but it had to be done. The road north out of Lakeshire would send her directly to the Burning Steppes, so that's the path she took. This whole time - from her clearing the dragonkin for Helindis to her meetings with Bolvar and Lady Prestor - she had the feeling she was being watched, but she knew for certain there was no one around. As her and Kaelyn neared the bridge over a molten lava pit that marked their entry into the Steppes, two orcs suddenly jumped out from behind the rocks on either side of the road and ambushed them. Kellia immediately grabbed her bow and, without even being told, Kaelyn rushed the orcs and grabbed both of their attention.
Kellia took a few steps back into firing distance and began to pelt arrows into he orcs.
"Long live the blackrock!" one of the orcs shouted. The orc that Kellia was pelting with arrows fell fairly fast, and just as he fell, his comrade came rushing right at her. Kaelyn did her best to catch the orc from behind, but wasn't fast enough. The orc slammed into Kellia and knocked her back a good ten feet onto the ground. She stood as quickly as possible and wielded her dual axes that she carried for close-range combat. She swung her left hand axe at the orc's leg, slowing him down considerably as she dodged the swinging of his huge two-hand axe.
The edge of the orc's axe caught her on the face and cut her cheek. That was a close one, she thought as she rolled out of the way. She was now laying on the ground, facing the orc looming over her. He was easily tripple her size. He raised his axe to deal the final blow. Suddenly, he let out a roar that was both deafening and pleasurable at the same time. Kellia knew what had happened. Kaelyn had jumped on the orc from behind, knocking him to the ground and finishing him off.
Kellia smurked as she lifted herself back to her feet. "I knew I brought you along for something," she said, teasing her pet. She ran her hands through Kaelyn's thick fur and caught the hint of a pur from the large cat. After bandaging both of them, they continued, albeit more cautiously, into the Burning Steppes. "Hidden eyes are on us, Kaelyn," Kellia said, "We must be more careful." The white tiger agreed with a low growl.
