esotericist
A Weary Hand
- Location
- Lacey, WA
Eventually she'll get acclimated. I mean, it's not like it's long between incidents.
Making Connections
- Thread starter Hiver
- Start date
Eventually she'll get acclimated. I mean, it's not like it's long between incidents.
61
There had been a lot of hugging once I actually climbed on board.
Then came the tongue lashing.
"This is exactly why we always travel with you! You can't keep out of trouble if you tried! And you don't!"
Sheila was not happy.
I cringed. "Love... I know things didn't go quite as planned, but I couldn't just sink the ship when they had a prisoner."
"So you decided to take on a ship full of pirates on your own!?"
Ren didn't look much happier, standing next to Sheila with her arms crossed but she turned slightly towards her. "He does have some ability to handle some trouble on his own." she offered in slight defense before she gave me a glare. "But he does seem to have an even larger ability to end up in trouble."
...Thank you, Ren...
"So what was I supposed to do?" I asked in frustration, spreading my arms. "Leave her there to drown?"
Sheila sighed and shook her head. "...No. But you can't just..." She groaned in frustration and hugged me tight.
I smiled softly and hugged her in return as Ren joined in, causing me to put my arm around her as well. "I promise I will try not to get in trouble for at least a week."
Sheila shook her head again. "So why didn't you portal back?"
"The portal keystone was lost in the current. It must have fallen out of my pocket. I knew I should have made it a necklace but I never lost it before."
She looked up at me for a long moment. "...Does this mean we need to take the boat back too?"
I grinned and shook my head. "No. By the time we reach Pandaria, I will have made a new one."
They were technically a enchanting version of the portal spell so really, rather tricky to do, but... at least I thought it was easier than the actual spell which I didn't really have the skill to do and you didn't need to cast the hilariously difficult spell each time. The keystone did most of the heavy lifting.
"Oh, good." Ren sighed and let go, "I'm not sure I could handle going back the same way."
Captain Black crossed the deck to us. "I'm gratified to see you safe, Lord Atreus." he said and continued; "Lady Venir would likely have me skinned if you didn't return. We saw the smoke, the pirate ship is sunk?"
I nodded. "I believe so. Even if it's not, there are in no condition to bother anyone again."
"Good." the captain said with a nod. "Now if you will excuse me, I have to secure the prisoner."
What.
"What prisoner?" I asked and frowned.
"The blood elf. She is a member of the Horde and a enemy combatant." Black explained. "She may have been captured by pirates but that doesn't change matters. Once we arrive in Pandaria, we can turn her over to the local garrison."
"No."
"Lord Atreus?"
"I'm saying no. You are not to arrest her and you are not to turn her over to anyone. I take full responsibility."
He didn't seem happy but nodded. "...Very well. But if she causes trouble on my ship..."
"She won't, Captain."
Fucking politics.
Sighing, I shook my head after he turned and headed towards the aft of the ship and I looked over at Nalia where she was sitting by the railing.
She looked tired. Exhausted.
"Come on," Sheila said and gave me a small push in her direction. "Introduce us to the woman who almost got you killed."
...That's not quite fair, love.
Even so, I lead them over there.
"Nalia?" I said when we got closer and she quickly looked up at us before struggling onto her feet.
"I... expected to be locked up." She said, keeping a hand on the railing for support. Whatever she pulled on during the escape to keep standing seemed to have run out.
She looked like she would pass out at any moment.
"You are not a prisoner. I wouldn't allow it." I explained. "This is Sheila Stark." I then told her. "My fiancee. Next to her is Ren, she is her friend. Sheila, Ren, this is Nalia Dawnstar."
Thank the everything for these translation rings... even if I did actually speak her language. With my ability to learn languages really easily, it was one part Targos had insisted was part of my training. All known languages.
"Allow it?"
"I'm part owner of this ship." I said with a smile. "But you need to sit down before you fall over. You are safe now."
Sheila moved from my side and next to Nalia, taking her arm. "Come on, let's get you below decks and into some dry clothes. Get you something to eat and drink."
The elf didn't protest and even leaned against Sheila for support as she was guided away.
Ren looked after them for a second before she frowned up at me. "You should have left her. Her life was not worth risking yours for."
"I could not have left her there. You know me better than that, Ren."
The dragoness kept frowning before she finally sighed. "I know. Most of the time your nobility can be really attractive, but sometimes it's just frustrating." She stated before heading to follow Sheila.
AN// Buckets of thanks to Grey Rook for betaing this section.
Then came the tongue lashing.
"This is exactly why we always travel with you! You can't keep out of trouble if you tried! And you don't!"
Sheila was not happy.
I cringed. "Love... I know things didn't go quite as planned, but I couldn't just sink the ship when they had a prisoner."
"So you decided to take on a ship full of pirates on your own!?"
Ren didn't look much happier, standing next to Sheila with her arms crossed but she turned slightly towards her. "He does have some ability to handle some trouble on his own." she offered in slight defense before she gave me a glare. "But he does seem to have an even larger ability to end up in trouble."
...Thank you, Ren...
"So what was I supposed to do?" I asked in frustration, spreading my arms. "Leave her there to drown?"
Sheila sighed and shook her head. "...No. But you can't just..." She groaned in frustration and hugged me tight.
I smiled softly and hugged her in return as Ren joined in, causing me to put my arm around her as well. "I promise I will try not to get in trouble for at least a week."
Sheila shook her head again. "So why didn't you portal back?"
"The portal keystone was lost in the current. It must have fallen out of my pocket. I knew I should have made it a necklace but I never lost it before."
She looked up at me for a long moment. "...Does this mean we need to take the boat back too?"
I grinned and shook my head. "No. By the time we reach Pandaria, I will have made a new one."
They were technically a enchanting version of the portal spell so really, rather tricky to do, but... at least I thought it was easier than the actual spell which I didn't really have the skill to do and you didn't need to cast the hilariously difficult spell each time. The keystone did most of the heavy lifting.
"Oh, good." Ren sighed and let go, "I'm not sure I could handle going back the same way."
Captain Black crossed the deck to us. "I'm gratified to see you safe, Lord Atreus." he said and continued; "Lady Venir would likely have me skinned if you didn't return. We saw the smoke, the pirate ship is sunk?"
I nodded. "I believe so. Even if it's not, there are in no condition to bother anyone again."
"Good." the captain said with a nod. "Now if you will excuse me, I have to secure the prisoner."
What.
"What prisoner?" I asked and frowned.
"The blood elf. She is a member of the Horde and a enemy combatant." Black explained. "She may have been captured by pirates but that doesn't change matters. Once we arrive in Pandaria, we can turn her over to the local garrison."
"No."
"Lord Atreus?"
"I'm saying no. You are not to arrest her and you are not to turn her over to anyone. I take full responsibility."
He didn't seem happy but nodded. "...Very well. But if she causes trouble on my ship..."
"She won't, Captain."
Fucking politics.
Sighing, I shook my head after he turned and headed towards the aft of the ship and I looked over at Nalia where she was sitting by the railing.
She looked tired. Exhausted.
"Come on," Sheila said and gave me a small push in her direction. "Introduce us to the woman who almost got you killed."
...That's not quite fair, love.
Even so, I lead them over there.
"Nalia?" I said when we got closer and she quickly looked up at us before struggling onto her feet.
"I... expected to be locked up." She said, keeping a hand on the railing for support. Whatever she pulled on during the escape to keep standing seemed to have run out.
She looked like she would pass out at any moment.
"You are not a prisoner. I wouldn't allow it." I explained. "This is Sheila Stark." I then told her. "My fiancee. Next to her is Ren, she is her friend. Sheila, Ren, this is Nalia Dawnstar."
Thank the everything for these translation rings... even if I did actually speak her language. With my ability to learn languages really easily, it was one part Targos had insisted was part of my training. All known languages.
"Allow it?"
"I'm part owner of this ship." I said with a smile. "But you need to sit down before you fall over. You are safe now."
Sheila moved from my side and next to Nalia, taking her arm. "Come on, let's get you below decks and into some dry clothes. Get you something to eat and drink."
The elf didn't protest and even leaned against Sheila for support as she was guided away.
Ren looked after them for a second before she frowned up at me. "You should have left her. Her life was not worth risking yours for."
"I could not have left her there. You know me better than that, Ren."
The dragoness kept frowning before she finally sighed. "I know. Most of the time your nobility can be really attractive, but sometimes it's just frustrating." She stated before heading to follow Sheila.
AN// Buckets of thanks to Grey Rook for betaing this section.
Pensive Rumination
Praise me more?
- Location
- Australia
...You know I totally forgot about the whole Alliance/Horde thing going on at the moment. Despite the conflict being kinda the whole point of the franchise. 
- Location
- Software
...You know I totally forgot about the whole Alliance/Horde thing going on at the moment. Despite the conflict being kinda the whole point of the franchise.
In WCIII they are at ( a tense ) peace ... so not the entire franchise.
Gear
Set Moon to Ramming Speed!
They went to some stupid lengths to keep them opposed in WoW, so it really depends on how Hiver wants things to be in the story.In WCIII they are at ( a tense ) peace ... so not the entire franchise
Of course, you have to realize that we're seeing the world and it's politics through Atreus' eyes, and he seems to think that House of Cards is an accurate portrayal of politics and how politicians act. So, you know, grain of salt and everything.
Funnily enough, I never did watch that series.
Gear
Set Moon to Ramming Speed!
I never did either, but I did read the article about where the Penn. legislature was debating keeping a sizable tax credit for filmmakers, or going with a smaller one, and the House of Cards company tried to play politics like in their show. They thought that they were really good at politics.
But they weren't.
IIRC, Penn. politicians did not appreciate the attempt at political blackmail, and replied with a hearty 'FU' by eliminating the tax credit entirely. If House of Cards didn't like their generosity, then they could GTFO of Pennsylvania.
62
I stood at the deck by the front of the ship, leaning with my arms against the railing as I watched the mass of green far in the distance.
Pandaria.
"See it yet?" I asked Sheila with a smile where she was standing next to me.
She shook her head. "Barely. I think there is something just at the horizon, but I can't tell if it's land yet. You can really see it clearly?"
I shrugged. "I wouldn't say clearly, but I can tell that it's land with mountains and covered in green."
"Your eyes are very good then, Lord Atreus." Nalia said as she walked up next to me. "I can barely see it myself."
She was wearing one of Sheila's dresses. Mostly.
Even with Sheila having modified it, it was still clearly too large for her, but at least it didn't look massively oversized.
Not that Sheila was a large woman, she was actually on the small side... it was just rather difficult for a human woman to match an elf, especially a Blood Elf who were shorter than humans and not just more narrow like the Night Elves.
"You could say that." I answered before I sighed. "Nalia... it's time you make a choice."
"Of which kind?" The elf asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Of how we are going to get you back to your people." I explained. "As I see it, there are two options for you."
"Which is?"
I frowned, looking at the slowly approaching land in the distance for a second before I turned to her. "The first one is personally more difficult for you. When we get close to the land, we give you a map, a boat and supplies. There is a Horde outpost along the coast up North. You should be able to reach it in a week or two."
Nalia nodded. "And the second?"
"The second, " I said and crossed my arms; "The second is that we test exactly how much pull a merchant of my caliber can have with the local garrison. I have no idea how well it that would go. While we ship quite a lot of cargo through their port and quite a bit of their cargo... I am far from certain that we will be able to convince them to allow you transport to a Horde outpost. Add some gold and it might be possible to persuade them to let you past."
I didn't like the odds, though.
There were a few more alternatives.
Such as opening a portal for her somewhere, but I didn't know the 'code' for any of the portal stones in Kalimdor.
Which gave two alternatives.
Northrend or Stranglethorn. The one in Stranglethorn was days if not weeks on foot through jungle to Booty Bay and the neutral goblin tradeport. Through jungle infested with raptors, tigers, crocolisks and cannibal trolls.
Northrend... I knew of two portals there. The Nexus or Wyrmrest temple.
Either was a bad idea and would probably expose what I was.
Of those, Wyrmrest was the least horrible idea. From there she could be portaled somewhere else by the guards. Somewhere close to a Horde settlement.
"You could believe they would let me go on your word?"
I hesitated and then shook my head. "I don't know. If I don't have the pull needed, gold might. I did not risk my life for yours only to have you locked up somewhere. Seems like quite a waste to me."
And honestly, I was tired of getting called 'Lord' all the time by everyone who worked for me. It was annoying. I even preferred 'World Walker', at least that was somewhat accurate.
"Thank you, but I am forced to decline."
What.
"Decline?" Sheila asked in surprise. "Nalia, they will lock you up and ship you to Stormwind!"
She nodded. "Perhaps. But that does not change the fact that your fiancee saved my life, not only once, but twice. Once by saving me on the pirate ship and a second time saving me here, from his crew. I owe him my life twice over, even if he is a human. I will not leave until my debt of honor is repaid."
That's... I... what?
"Nalia... That's not going to..." I started to say before running my hand down my face. "You are Sin'dorei. Even if I wanted you around, you can't. You kind of stand out, especially in Stormwind!"
"Irrelevant."
Sheila moved around me and stood next to her. "Nalia... I admit I am not the most devout follower of the Light, but I have not heard about that kind of honor code of any Paladin order."
The elf shook her head. "It's not in the code of my Order, Lady Stark. It is mine. The Order of Blood was forged by falsehood and treachery, stealing the Light from an innocent being. We might have been forgiven, but we have not forgiven ourselves. Like all members of the Order of Blood, I strive to atone for what we did. I have resolved to do everything in my power to repay any kindness and good that happened to me tenfold."
"...That's impossible." Sheila said softly.
Nalia nodded. "I am aware, human. However, it is the path I have chosen to walk as a Paladin. It is not the goal that counts, it is the path." She declared before she turned to me. "I pledge myself and my life to your service, Lord Atreus."
I just stared at her for a long moment with growing dread. "Until you have saved my life ten times over?"
"Until I have repaid you for your actions ten times over." Nalia clarified. "And you saved mine twice, so it would be twenty times, if you wish for such a simplification."
Oh for fucks sake. I can't have a fucking Blood Elf following me around!
"Save his life twenty times." Sheila said faintly before she laughed. "That should take about a week."
"Be nice." I grumbled and leaned against the railing.
What the fuck do I do now!?
AN// Many thanks to Grey Rook for betaing this section.
Pandaria.
"See it yet?" I asked Sheila with a smile where she was standing next to me.
She shook her head. "Barely. I think there is something just at the horizon, but I can't tell if it's land yet. You can really see it clearly?"
I shrugged. "I wouldn't say clearly, but I can tell that it's land with mountains and covered in green."
"Your eyes are very good then, Lord Atreus." Nalia said as she walked up next to me. "I can barely see it myself."
She was wearing one of Sheila's dresses. Mostly.
Even with Sheila having modified it, it was still clearly too large for her, but at least it didn't look massively oversized.
Not that Sheila was a large woman, she was actually on the small side... it was just rather difficult for a human woman to match an elf, especially a Blood Elf who were shorter than humans and not just more narrow like the Night Elves.
"You could say that." I answered before I sighed. "Nalia... it's time you make a choice."
"Of which kind?" The elf asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Of how we are going to get you back to your people." I explained. "As I see it, there are two options for you."
"Which is?"
I frowned, looking at the slowly approaching land in the distance for a second before I turned to her. "The first one is personally more difficult for you. When we get close to the land, we give you a map, a boat and supplies. There is a Horde outpost along the coast up North. You should be able to reach it in a week or two."
Nalia nodded. "And the second?"
"The second, " I said and crossed my arms; "The second is that we test exactly how much pull a merchant of my caliber can have with the local garrison. I have no idea how well it that would go. While we ship quite a lot of cargo through their port and quite a bit of their cargo... I am far from certain that we will be able to convince them to allow you transport to a Horde outpost. Add some gold and it might be possible to persuade them to let you past."
I didn't like the odds, though.
There were a few more alternatives.
Such as opening a portal for her somewhere, but I didn't know the 'code' for any of the portal stones in Kalimdor.
Which gave two alternatives.
Northrend or Stranglethorn. The one in Stranglethorn was days if not weeks on foot through jungle to Booty Bay and the neutral goblin tradeport. Through jungle infested with raptors, tigers, crocolisks and cannibal trolls.
Northrend... I knew of two portals there. The Nexus or Wyrmrest temple.
Either was a bad idea and would probably expose what I was.
Of those, Wyrmrest was the least horrible idea. From there she could be portaled somewhere else by the guards. Somewhere close to a Horde settlement.
"You could believe they would let me go on your word?"
I hesitated and then shook my head. "I don't know. If I don't have the pull needed, gold might. I did not risk my life for yours only to have you locked up somewhere. Seems like quite a waste to me."
And honestly, I was tired of getting called 'Lord' all the time by everyone who worked for me. It was annoying. I even preferred 'World Walker', at least that was somewhat accurate.
"Thank you, but I am forced to decline."
What.
"Decline?" Sheila asked in surprise. "Nalia, they will lock you up and ship you to Stormwind!"
She nodded. "Perhaps. But that does not change the fact that your fiancee saved my life, not only once, but twice. Once by saving me on the pirate ship and a second time saving me here, from his crew. I owe him my life twice over, even if he is a human. I will not leave until my debt of honor is repaid."
That's... I... what?
"Nalia... That's not going to..." I started to say before running my hand down my face. "You are Sin'dorei. Even if I wanted you around, you can't. You kind of stand out, especially in Stormwind!"
"Irrelevant."
Sheila moved around me and stood next to her. "Nalia... I admit I am not the most devout follower of the Light, but I have not heard about that kind of honor code of any Paladin order."
The elf shook her head. "It's not in the code of my Order, Lady Stark. It is mine. The Order of Blood was forged by falsehood and treachery, stealing the Light from an innocent being. We might have been forgiven, but we have not forgiven ourselves. Like all members of the Order of Blood, I strive to atone for what we did. I have resolved to do everything in my power to repay any kindness and good that happened to me tenfold."
"...That's impossible." Sheila said softly.
Nalia nodded. "I am aware, human. However, it is the path I have chosen to walk as a Paladin. It is not the goal that counts, it is the path." She declared before she turned to me. "I pledge myself and my life to your service, Lord Atreus."
I just stared at her for a long moment with growing dread. "Until you have saved my life ten times over?"
"Until I have repaid you for your actions ten times over." Nalia clarified. "And you saved mine twice, so it would be twenty times, if you wish for such a simplification."
Oh for fucks sake. I can't have a fucking Blood Elf following me around!
"Save his life twenty times." Sheila said faintly before she laughed. "That should take about a week."
"Be nice." I grumbled and leaned against the railing.
What the fuck do I do now!?
AN// Many thanks to Grey Rook for betaing this section.
Krazyfan1
Worrying for the future.
- Location
- Australia
use her to carry your stuff....
Ren: "Really closer to six days, give or take three hours."
Go with the classics, "Blood elf? What Bloof elf? Mistress Bearington is my secretary Good Sir! She has a case of pink eye! I won't stand for such aspersions to her honor! The poor girl, when she was young, had her ears tugged so much they stretched out badly and stayed that way..... Lie, lie, lie."
Edit: On the other paw we could park her on Skyrim and stand waaaay back.
Last edited:
esotericist
A Weary Hand
- Location
- Lacey, WA
This is a wonderful idea and I back it with all the force of my bag of microwave popcorn.
63
"Okay, what the hell do we do now?" I asked.
We relocated to the quarters under deck I shared with Sheila and Ren. While small, it was the closest we had to privacy on ship, just barely enough for a bed and a couple chests.
It was a cargo hauler, not a pleasure cruiser. Most of the crew slept on the cargo crates or deck.
Sheila and Ren had sat down on the bed and I was leaning my back against the wooden bulkhead. Nalia had been left outside the door and I had woven an anti scrying and anti eavesdropping spell around the small room.
Not perfect, but more than enough to handle somebody trying to listen in from outside.
Sheila frowned, "I'm not sure we will be able to convince her to leave. I known some paladins before, they are among the most stubborn people on the planet. I don't know if that fit with elves, but..." she said and looked at Ren as she shrugged.
"So you get another mortal servant. What's the problem?"
Sheila looked at her in surprise, "Another servant?"
Rem nodded, "There are plenty of mortals serving the Dragonflight. Granted, most of them are worshipers, but still."
I found them rather creepy personally.
"I'm going to try talking her out of it. Unless I can though, at this point we are at either trust her or kill her." I sighed and walked to open the door, letting her inside before closing the door behind her and returning to my place by the wall.
The elf waited patiently until I spoke up, "Nalia Dawnstar... there are things here that you don't know anything about. You had better be sure about this because, because this is your last chance to back out without getting taken to somebody a lot better at mind magic than I am and having your memories erased."
Nalia raised a eyebrow, "I have already sworn service to you. It is not something I intend to go back on unless you actively force me to break the code of my order. There are acts I will not commit."
"Which is?"
"We follow the Light. Protect the innocent, fight evil. I have no problem with the minor evils a merchant mage like yourself might commit. I couldn't care less about who you price gouge and who you cheat. Unless you have a habit of committing mass murder, human, I do not see a conflict."
"Like I said, there are things here you do not know yet." I sighed and shook my head, "Last chance to back out Alice or you find out just how deep this rabbit hole goes..."
That earned me a strangle look from all three but Nalia was the one that spoke up.
"I have no idea what you are talking about."
I rubbed my forehead, trying to think of a way to explain all this before I turned towards the bed, "Sheila?" I asked hopefully.
She grinned and shook her head, "Oh no, It's your show. I'm just going to watch the spectacle."
Thanks a lot love...
Well, might as well start there.
"Let's start with something easy." I said and motioned towards the bed, "Let me introduce Sheila Stark, my fiancee and Ren, my girlfriend who would be my second fiancee if we could get away with it in public."
Nalia glanced at them before she shrugged, "Unconventional, however I have no problem with it."
"Okay then." I continued, nodding motioning towards Sheila, "Warlock."
That caused a raised eyebrow on the elf's part as she turned to Sheila, "Which kind?"
Sheila gave me a annoyed look before she looked back at the elf, "Light aligned Demonologist. But I have not bound a demon for years. I mostly use felfire for protection and I do a lot of work in a store enchanting fabric."
Nalia nodded and turned back to me, "I dislike the way of Warlocks, even Light aligned ones. I believe it is playing with fire. But I have fought next to them in the past and I have no problem with it."
I nodded again, "Very well. Let's try something harder then." I said slowly, "I'm not human."
The elf frowned, "Scourge? Your disguise is commendable."
"Not Scourge." I clarified, "Do I smell undead?"
"...No."
I grinned, "Dragon."
Nalia stared at me for a long time, her eyes flicking up to my hair, "Blue." she breathed.
"Indeed." I answered, grinning wider, "I am a member of the Blue Dragonflight."
"...Why are you here?" She very carefully asked, "What's your name?"
I slowly nodded, "My full name is Atregos. I am here traveling to Pandaria to inspect some land I and my consorts purchased to build a estate on. I'm not spying on The Alliance or anything like that, I really am a merchant of sorts, I do own half of Azure Imports even if most of my time is spent on private magical studies."
"The Blue Dragonflight declared war on all magic users. I know that ended, but..." The Elf said with a frown.
"Something I was not involved in. I was... not around for that." I explained, "And even if I had been, that madness died with Malygos. Kalecgos is now the Flightleader."
"I see." She slowly said and looked over at Sheila and Ren, "And you two knew about..."
Sheila nodded, "When I first met him, he couldn't take mortal form yet."
Nalia goggled at that, "And you still..."
"No! No, not yet!" Sheila giggled and quickly shook her head, "We didn't become more than friends until 'after' he learned to take mortal form."
"I on the other hand liked him from the start." Ren added and raised her hand, "Hello. Also blue dragon. I'm Rengosa."
The elf stared at her and then at me.
I shrugged, "What?"
"...If both you and Rengosa are dragons, why are you marrying the human?"
"Because I love her, she wants to as well and she is my first consort."
Nalia stared at me for a long moment before she nodded and slowly relaxed, "I understand." she finally said, crossing her arms, "Assuming everything you said is true, I see no conflict with the code of my order."
I gave her a nod, "Good. Then it's time to get you off this ship before we reach port. I will open a portal to The Nexus for you."
"I'll escort her so she isn't attacked." Ren said and got up, "I can join you again when the portal stone is unpacked again."
"I swore my service to you, Atregos. I can't do that if I'm in Northr..."
"You can't do that if you are locked up as a prisoner of war." I cut her off, "Until such time as I am able to craft you a artifact to disguise you as human... or at least night elf, having you following me around would simply cause you to be captured.... and I do not have the kind of pull needed to get you out of it."
Nalia looked unhappy but she finally nodded, "...Very well."
Shifting, I gave Ren a small soft kiss, "We should be able to reach the new plantation and have the portal stone set up in a couple of days if the map is accurate."
Ren nodded with a smile, "I'll be back then. At least this way, I get to stretch my wings some."
AN// Many thanks to Firethorn for betaing this section.
We relocated to the quarters under deck I shared with Sheila and Ren. While small, it was the closest we had to privacy on ship, just barely enough for a bed and a couple chests.
It was a cargo hauler, not a pleasure cruiser. Most of the crew slept on the cargo crates or deck.
Sheila and Ren had sat down on the bed and I was leaning my back against the wooden bulkhead. Nalia had been left outside the door and I had woven an anti scrying and anti eavesdropping spell around the small room.
Not perfect, but more than enough to handle somebody trying to listen in from outside.
Sheila frowned, "I'm not sure we will be able to convince her to leave. I known some paladins before, they are among the most stubborn people on the planet. I don't know if that fit with elves, but..." she said and looked at Ren as she shrugged.
"So you get another mortal servant. What's the problem?"
Sheila looked at her in surprise, "Another servant?"
Rem nodded, "There are plenty of mortals serving the Dragonflight. Granted, most of them are worshipers, but still."
I found them rather creepy personally.
"I'm going to try talking her out of it. Unless I can though, at this point we are at either trust her or kill her." I sighed and walked to open the door, letting her inside before closing the door behind her and returning to my place by the wall.
The elf waited patiently until I spoke up, "Nalia Dawnstar... there are things here that you don't know anything about. You had better be sure about this because, because this is your last chance to back out without getting taken to somebody a lot better at mind magic than I am and having your memories erased."
Nalia raised a eyebrow, "I have already sworn service to you. It is not something I intend to go back on unless you actively force me to break the code of my order. There are acts I will not commit."
"Which is?"
"We follow the Light. Protect the innocent, fight evil. I have no problem with the minor evils a merchant mage like yourself might commit. I couldn't care less about who you price gouge and who you cheat. Unless you have a habit of committing mass murder, human, I do not see a conflict."
"Like I said, there are things here you do not know yet." I sighed and shook my head, "Last chance to back out Alice or you find out just how deep this rabbit hole goes..."
That earned me a strangle look from all three but Nalia was the one that spoke up.
"I have no idea what you are talking about."
I rubbed my forehead, trying to think of a way to explain all this before I turned towards the bed, "Sheila?" I asked hopefully.
She grinned and shook her head, "Oh no, It's your show. I'm just going to watch the spectacle."
Thanks a lot love...
Well, might as well start there.
"Let's start with something easy." I said and motioned towards the bed, "Let me introduce Sheila Stark, my fiancee and Ren, my girlfriend who would be my second fiancee if we could get away with it in public."
Nalia glanced at them before she shrugged, "Unconventional, however I have no problem with it."
"Okay then." I continued, nodding motioning towards Sheila, "Warlock."
That caused a raised eyebrow on the elf's part as she turned to Sheila, "Which kind?"
Sheila gave me a annoyed look before she looked back at the elf, "Light aligned Demonologist. But I have not bound a demon for years. I mostly use felfire for protection and I do a lot of work in a store enchanting fabric."
Nalia nodded and turned back to me, "I dislike the way of Warlocks, even Light aligned ones. I believe it is playing with fire. But I have fought next to them in the past and I have no problem with it."
I nodded again, "Very well. Let's try something harder then." I said slowly, "I'm not human."
The elf frowned, "Scourge? Your disguise is commendable."
"Not Scourge." I clarified, "Do I smell undead?"
"...No."
I grinned, "Dragon."
Nalia stared at me for a long time, her eyes flicking up to my hair, "Blue." she breathed.
"Indeed." I answered, grinning wider, "I am a member of the Blue Dragonflight."
"...Why are you here?" She very carefully asked, "What's your name?"
I slowly nodded, "My full name is Atregos. I am here traveling to Pandaria to inspect some land I and my consorts purchased to build a estate on. I'm not spying on The Alliance or anything like that, I really am a merchant of sorts, I do own half of Azure Imports even if most of my time is spent on private magical studies."
"The Blue Dragonflight declared war on all magic users. I know that ended, but..." The Elf said with a frown.
"Something I was not involved in. I was... not around for that." I explained, "And even if I had been, that madness died with Malygos. Kalecgos is now the Flightleader."
"I see." She slowly said and looked over at Sheila and Ren, "And you two knew about..."
Sheila nodded, "When I first met him, he couldn't take mortal form yet."
Nalia goggled at that, "And you still..."
"No! No, not yet!" Sheila giggled and quickly shook her head, "We didn't become more than friends until 'after' he learned to take mortal form."
"I on the other hand liked him from the start." Ren added and raised her hand, "Hello. Also blue dragon. I'm Rengosa."
The elf stared at her and then at me.
I shrugged, "What?"
"...If both you and Rengosa are dragons, why are you marrying the human?"
"Because I love her, she wants to as well and she is my first consort."
Nalia stared at me for a long moment before she nodded and slowly relaxed, "I understand." she finally said, crossing her arms, "Assuming everything you said is true, I see no conflict with the code of my order."
I gave her a nod, "Good. Then it's time to get you off this ship before we reach port. I will open a portal to The Nexus for you."
"I'll escort her so she isn't attacked." Ren said and got up, "I can join you again when the portal stone is unpacked again."
"I swore my service to you, Atregos. I can't do that if I'm in Northr..."
"You can't do that if you are locked up as a prisoner of war." I cut her off, "Until such time as I am able to craft you a artifact to disguise you as human... or at least night elf, having you following me around would simply cause you to be captured.... and I do not have the kind of pull needed to get you out of it."
Nalia looked unhappy but she finally nodded, "...Very well."
Shifting, I gave Ren a small soft kiss, "We should be able to reach the new plantation and have the portal stone set up in a couple of days if the map is accurate."
Ren nodded with a smile, "I'll be back then. At least this way, I get to stretch my wings some."
AN// Many thanks to Firethorn for betaing this section.
esotericist
A Weary Hand
- Location
- Lacey, WA
This is a very practical and reasonable person. There has to be another shoe beyond her being a blood elf.
- Location
- Austrlia
Strange sort of Paladin. Reasonable? Weird, right?
esotericist
A Weary Hand
- Location
- Lacey, WA
It violates the natural order. An aberration.
Cyclone
Robotech Nerd
- Location
- Earth, Sol System
She's a polymorphed beholder?![/missing the point]
- Location
- Austrlia
Still a Paladin, though?
Ah, well, it doesn't quite break my Suspenders of Disbelief, so I'll watch Hiver run with it.
pheonix89
Wants to be Seven Of Nine
- Location
- North American Plaguelands
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Maybe she took lessons from Keldorn?
64
Taking a slow, deep breath, I looked around the square of the small town/village. While a lot of the general building construction was Pandaren, the fortifications were pure human. Lots of solid, square grey rock.
It's funny, really, how there were parallels between Earth and some parts of Azeroth. Pandaren almost looked like man-sized pandas and their construction was almost stereotypical Chinese.
The population of the village was a mix of all Alliance species, but was primarily Alliance-aligned Pandaren, maybe seventy percent Pandaren.
But what wierded me out more than convergent evolution in building styles was that Pandaren smelled good.
As in a 'that would be good eating' kind. Most likely because they smelled a quite bit like one of my favorite prey animals, a kind of deer that populated Sholazar Basin.
Now, I would never actually eat one. The thought of eating a thinking being turned my stomach a bit, actually.
Also, they were downright adorable.
Even the males looked huggable. Come on, they looked like Pandas. The females were even more so with their long, fluffy tails and their 'Red Panda' looks. A bit of a strange, sexual dimorphism there, they were almost half the size of the males.
But the...kids? Cubs? They took the cake.
They were like little balls of fluffy happiness, running around everywhere. No wonder nobody ever had anything bad to say about Pandaren.
Looking adorable and still being able to kick arse had to be the best diplomacy bonus ever.
All that made the way they smelled even stranger.
"There you are." Sheila said as she walked up to me with a smile. "They say the wagons will leave soon so we should make our way over there. Everything should be loaded already, the horses are just getting something to drink before we head out."
I nodded and pushed off the wall. "Good... the faster we get there, the faster we can get started."
"Anxious?" She asked as she took my hand.
"A bit." I answered with a frown. "I just... kind of want to get back on track. Get construction started. I have lots of ideas I want to get time to try out back at the lab before we need to head out again."
Sheila nodded slowly. "I have actually been thinking a bit." she said; "Where do you want to have the wedding?"
I shrugged. "Anywhere you want to would be fine, love." before I smiled and let go of her hand to put my arm around her. "As long as you are there, it will be perfect. Anything you want for it, you'll get."
"I was thinking... this place is beautiful. The flowers, the scent in the wind. I had originally been thinking of Stormwind, but... if the area of the Estate is going to be as beautiful as this, I want it there."
"We would have to portal all the guests over, but that should not be a problem." I said and smiled. "But we should inspect the site first before making up our minds about that. It would also delay things quite a bit. It will take a year or more to get everything built."
"I know." She said and smiled. "But we are not in a hurry. That said, we should tell my parents soon."
Sigh.
Omph!
Sheila gave me a small glare as she pulled her elbow from my side. "Stop that."
I rubbed my ribs in annoyance. "Sheila, your father dislikes me. I doubt he will be too happy about us getting married."
"They are still getting invited!" she said with frown. "... And they should know the truth too."
"...What truth?" I asked very carefully.
Sheila shook her head. "Not everything. But they should at least know that Ren is with us. They deserve to know that."
"Sheila... love... do you want your father to sell the family farm and use the money to hire assassins to kill me?" I asked slowly after a second. "Because he dislikes me at the best of times. If he found out about that... dislike will become attempted murder."
"That doesn't mean that it's right to hide such a large part of my life from them." Sheila sighed and stopped talking, turning to face me. "Atreus, they are my parents. They might not need to know what you and Ren are, but they have the right to get to know her, she is almost a big a part of my life as you are. They already like Ren, you know that."
I sighed and put my arms around her waist, pulling her slightly closer. "You know this is going to be a disaster, right?"
"It might. But we have time to figure out how to tell them. Discuss the matter with Ren first... we don't need to rush it."
Sighing again, I nodded and gave her a small kiss. "...Maybe talk with your mother alone first. She doesn't actively dislike me."
"My mother actually likes you." She admitted before she smiled reassuringly. "Don't worry, we will find a way to do this."
I was not quite as optimistic about the entire thing.
"...Well, you know them best." I finally said and let her go. "But for the record, I think this is a bad idea. Invite them to the wedding is one thing. Telling them about Ren is another."
She smiled and got up on her toes to give me a kiss on the cheek. "Come on, we are holding the wagons up. The faster we get there, the faster Ren can portal back."
XXXXXXXXXX
"This is amazing." Ren said with a grin as she looked around the area.
The plantation itself was slowly being constructed in the valley below, the ground set aside for the estate itself was on a hill above it.
The area itself was a valley between two steep mountains and covered with thick green forest, the closest thing to civilization was a narrow road and the village we came from four days' ride from here.
Plenty of privacy.
The workers currently building the plantation buildings below were actually not hired to run it, we would start to locate and bring in people for that as soon as we returned to the Nexus.
Not all servants of the Dragonflight were dragon worshipers. There should be plenty of people who wanted to make some cash and get away from the cold. Not everyone would be servants either, just people that could do the job and knew to keep their mouths shut.
If there was anything this place had, it was a comfortable climate and there would definitely be worse assignments for the overseers.
...Now when I thought about it, though, a lot of the manual work could be done by golems. The one I picked up in Divinity's Reach had provided a lot of insight into the subject and a better way to make them than what was known previously.
With golems overseen by mortals, there might only be a need for maybe ten people to run the entire plantation.
"I take it you approve, then?" I asked her with a grin of my own. "Looking forward to when we can laze around in the soft grass?"
"Not as nice as soft snow, but yes." She giggled and shook her head before turning to Sheila. "What do you think?"
"I think it's a rather nice location." Sheila sighed and smiled. "I'm thinking the house should be built in the local style." she continued as she looked around. "To fit into the landscape, you know?"
I shrugged, "Sure. Why not? No objections from me. Ren?"
She shook her head, "As long as it has enough room, it doesn't bother me."
Venir recommended an architect before we left. Now that we had seen the site, we could visit him and see what he thought, give him instructions on what he wanted and let him come up with a design after he have visited the location.
If we approved, he could hire a crew and get to work.
We already knew he did good work, he was the one who made Venir's Draenei style office and house.
Closing my eyes I took a deep breath, taking in the scent of the air. There was rain in the distance, the fresh scent of the forest and the herbs.
Some animal I couldn't identify.
Yes. This was the place.
Opening my eyes I nodded. "Let's head back."
This was were our home would be built.
AN// Many thanks to Grey Rook for betaing this section.
It's funny, really, how there were parallels between Earth and some parts of Azeroth. Pandaren almost looked like man-sized pandas and their construction was almost stereotypical Chinese.
The population of the village was a mix of all Alliance species, but was primarily Alliance-aligned Pandaren, maybe seventy percent Pandaren.
But what wierded me out more than convergent evolution in building styles was that Pandaren smelled good.
As in a 'that would be good eating' kind. Most likely because they smelled a quite bit like one of my favorite prey animals, a kind of deer that populated Sholazar Basin.
Now, I would never actually eat one. The thought of eating a thinking being turned my stomach a bit, actually.
Also, they were downright adorable.
Even the males looked huggable. Come on, they looked like Pandas. The females were even more so with their long, fluffy tails and their 'Red Panda' looks. A bit of a strange, sexual dimorphism there, they were almost half the size of the males.
But the...kids? Cubs? They took the cake.
They were like little balls of fluffy happiness, running around everywhere. No wonder nobody ever had anything bad to say about Pandaren.
Looking adorable and still being able to kick arse had to be the best diplomacy bonus ever.
All that made the way they smelled even stranger.
"There you are." Sheila said as she walked up to me with a smile. "They say the wagons will leave soon so we should make our way over there. Everything should be loaded already, the horses are just getting something to drink before we head out."
I nodded and pushed off the wall. "Good... the faster we get there, the faster we can get started."
"Anxious?" She asked as she took my hand.
"A bit." I answered with a frown. "I just... kind of want to get back on track. Get construction started. I have lots of ideas I want to get time to try out back at the lab before we need to head out again."
Sheila nodded slowly. "I have actually been thinking a bit." she said; "Where do you want to have the wedding?"
I shrugged. "Anywhere you want to would be fine, love." before I smiled and let go of her hand to put my arm around her. "As long as you are there, it will be perfect. Anything you want for it, you'll get."
"I was thinking... this place is beautiful. The flowers, the scent in the wind. I had originally been thinking of Stormwind, but... if the area of the Estate is going to be as beautiful as this, I want it there."
"We would have to portal all the guests over, but that should not be a problem." I said and smiled. "But we should inspect the site first before making up our minds about that. It would also delay things quite a bit. It will take a year or more to get everything built."
"I know." She said and smiled. "But we are not in a hurry. That said, we should tell my parents soon."
Sigh.
Omph!
Sheila gave me a small glare as she pulled her elbow from my side. "Stop that."
I rubbed my ribs in annoyance. "Sheila, your father dislikes me. I doubt he will be too happy about us getting married."
"They are still getting invited!" she said with frown. "... And they should know the truth too."
"...What truth?" I asked very carefully.
Sheila shook her head. "Not everything. But they should at least know that Ren is with us. They deserve to know that."
"Sheila... love... do you want your father to sell the family farm and use the money to hire assassins to kill me?" I asked slowly after a second. "Because he dislikes me at the best of times. If he found out about that... dislike will become attempted murder."
"That doesn't mean that it's right to hide such a large part of my life from them." Sheila sighed and stopped talking, turning to face me. "Atreus, they are my parents. They might not need to know what you and Ren are, but they have the right to get to know her, she is almost a big a part of my life as you are. They already like Ren, you know that."
I sighed and put my arms around her waist, pulling her slightly closer. "You know this is going to be a disaster, right?"
"It might. But we have time to figure out how to tell them. Discuss the matter with Ren first... we don't need to rush it."
Sighing again, I nodded and gave her a small kiss. "...Maybe talk with your mother alone first. She doesn't actively dislike me."
"My mother actually likes you." She admitted before she smiled reassuringly. "Don't worry, we will find a way to do this."
I was not quite as optimistic about the entire thing.
"...Well, you know them best." I finally said and let her go. "But for the record, I think this is a bad idea. Invite them to the wedding is one thing. Telling them about Ren is another."
She smiled and got up on her toes to give me a kiss on the cheek. "Come on, we are holding the wagons up. The faster we get there, the faster Ren can portal back."
XXXXXXXXXX
"This is amazing." Ren said with a grin as she looked around the area.
The plantation itself was slowly being constructed in the valley below, the ground set aside for the estate itself was on a hill above it.
The area itself was a valley between two steep mountains and covered with thick green forest, the closest thing to civilization was a narrow road and the village we came from four days' ride from here.
Plenty of privacy.
The workers currently building the plantation buildings below were actually not hired to run it, we would start to locate and bring in people for that as soon as we returned to the Nexus.
Not all servants of the Dragonflight were dragon worshipers. There should be plenty of people who wanted to make some cash and get away from the cold. Not everyone would be servants either, just people that could do the job and knew to keep their mouths shut.
If there was anything this place had, it was a comfortable climate and there would definitely be worse assignments for the overseers.
...Now when I thought about it, though, a lot of the manual work could be done by golems. The one I picked up in Divinity's Reach had provided a lot of insight into the subject and a better way to make them than what was known previously.
With golems overseen by mortals, there might only be a need for maybe ten people to run the entire plantation.
"I take it you approve, then?" I asked her with a grin of my own. "Looking forward to when we can laze around in the soft grass?"
"Not as nice as soft snow, but yes." She giggled and shook her head before turning to Sheila. "What do you think?"
"I think it's a rather nice location." Sheila sighed and smiled. "I'm thinking the house should be built in the local style." she continued as she looked around. "To fit into the landscape, you know?"
I shrugged, "Sure. Why not? No objections from me. Ren?"
She shook her head, "As long as it has enough room, it doesn't bother me."
Venir recommended an architect before we left. Now that we had seen the site, we could visit him and see what he thought, give him instructions on what he wanted and let him come up with a design after he have visited the location.
If we approved, he could hire a crew and get to work.
We already knew he did good work, he was the one who made Venir's Draenei style office and house.
Closing my eyes I took a deep breath, taking in the scent of the air. There was rain in the distance, the fresh scent of the forest and the herbs.
Some animal I couldn't identify.
Yes. This was the place.
Opening my eyes I nodded. "Let's head back."
This was were our home would be built.
AN// Many thanks to Grey Rook for betaing this section.
Last edited: