Malandrae sat in her
bedroom, pondering what she was going to do. In a nearby room, she could
again hear Professor Knox tossing and turning in her sleep, little
moans and gasps of terror coming from her throat as she relived
something in her dreams that she had never told Malandrae about. The elf
grimaced.
"That's not the effects of spicy tuna. Professor Knox is well and truly upset about something and her mind is letting it play out while she sleeps," the elf muttered to herself. She walked over to her writing desk, picking up her journal. Within it, she had written down word for word the letter that the Professor had received from the man named 'Tobies'.
"I don't know who you are, but I bet you have something to do with why she's so upset," Malandrae whispered. "I think it's time we find out!"
Mind made up, Malandrae quickly began chanting, opening a portal to a distant destination. Wards put in place by Ilhedith immediately began to activate at the presence of an unauthorized portal in her house. Malandrae bit her lip and began to desperately combat the ward, trying to disperse the magic before it made any noise and woke the professor up.
Minutes later, she stood before her open portal, her hair a little frizzy from magical feedback and the professor still sound asleep. On the bed nearby, Eldre'nor looked up from where she had been reading what looked to be Malandrae's diary, shoving a cracker into her mouth.
"Mmmmph...I wouldn't do it Malandrae, she's going to get mad..." Eldre'nor said.
Malandrae just rolled her eyes and bent down, scooping up and tossing a spare shoe at her friend. "Be quiet Eldre'nor. It has to be done! I need to make sure Professor Knox is going to be alright, and for that I need INFORMATION. It's research."
Eldre'nor, having dodged the shoe only to spill her crackers all over the bed, scowled at Malandrae as she slipped into the portal and disappeared. "You're going to get in troubleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee...."
*********************************
The Captain walked his rounds, as he had every night since being stationed at Light's Hope Chapel. Although the threat of the scourge had diminished, the Argent Dawn kept a close watch on the surrounding countryside, intent on removing the presence of the scourge entirely from the former territory of Lordaeron that was now known as the Eastern Plaguelands.
As the captain continued his foot patrol, he saw something that made him scowl in irritation. Several of the new recruits were lounging around by the forge, and the smith himself had stopped his work on the horseshoes they needed for the morning's patrol. As the captain got closer, laughter echoed from the group of men and intertwined with the sound was the lighter voice of a female. As he walked up to the group, the reason for the distraction had become clear; a cyan haired night elf wearing a rather low cut dress was standing amongst his men, laughing and giggling as the smith flexed his forge-hardened arms at her. Her laughter rang out again and she fake fanned herself to the uproar of the rest of the recruits.
*AHEM* "Excuse me, just WHAT do you men think you are doing?!" The captain thundered.
Immediately the men paled and snapped to attention, forming a line in front of him. All traces of laughter had died down as the captain stared each man down. "In case you've forgotten, we're still battling a very real and deadly threat from the scourge here. You men are on the night watch to prevent this camp from being overrun while the others sleep, NOT to engage in...frivolous behavior."
Malandrae stepped forward from behind the men, raising her hand. "Excuse me, Mister Captain sir? I'm sorry if I caused a distraction, I was simply trying to learn more about..."
Her words died down as the captain fixed his piercing gaze on her. "This is NOT a library miss. It is an outpost of war. A war against creatures so horrible that you cannot even imagine them."
"Well, I've got a pretty good imagin..." Malandrae began, tilting her head.
"This is NOT a place to socialize!" the captain cut her off. "These men need to learn discipline, and you are preventing that. Kindly either make yourself useful and leave miss Elf!"
Malandrae bit her lip and pouted, "Fine then! I WILL make myself useful. And then you will tell me what I want to know!"
Before anyone could say anything more, Malandrae stormed off, her chunky heels clattering against the paving stones as she made her way for the opening in the defensive wall. The captain stared at her with his mouth open in surprise for a moment before rolling his eyes. "Three of you are to follow her and make sure she doesn't get in trouble, the rest are digging a new latrine pit. Go. Now!"
The men groaned and looked at each other. They shrugged, drew straws and three quickly grabbed their weapons and trailed after the Highborne who had left the camp. The smith guiltily returned to his hammering at the forge, and all was right with the camp again. The captain gave a sigh of relief and continued on his way.
**********************************
"... and here are the patrol routes and schedules," a shadowy figure said to another. "They never change it, so this information will be good for several weeks at least." Malandrae and the three recruits that had followed her watched in disbelief as one of the forms passed a stack of papers to another. They had stumbled upon the two as Malandrae went 'ghost hunting' as she called it, and now they watched in silence from a nearby bush.
"Miss Malandrae, we should...go back," one of the recruits said.
"Nonsense! That's clearly one of your men! I'll go talk to him!" Malandrae said cheerfully. She rose from her hiding spot and walked towards the two men, waving happily. "Hello! I'm Grand Apprentice Malandrae Moonwhisper, Former Second Advisor to the Queen's Research Council! How do you do?"
The two figures, two humans, whirled and glared at the elf as she stepped closer. One was dressed in the trappings of the Argent Dawn, but the other's eyes glowed with a sinister blue light, marking him immediately as a death knight. Malandrae stepped closer, still smiling. "Oh! A Knight of the Ebon Blade! And another Dawn member! Hello you two! Are you hunting ghosts too?"
The two men looked at each other and the death knight nodded, "Kill her. She's seen us."
Even as Malandrae gasped in surprise, the traitorous Argent Dawn member drew his sword and charged her. A second later his sword clattered to the ground as his body became the shape of a sheep, 'bahing' near the ground. Malandrae giggled as she saw the cute animal, despite the danger. The polymorph spell had actually worked!
The death knight scowled, taking a step back. "Kill her! Do not let her return to the camp!"
Even as he withdrew, four humans rushed from the surrounding treeline. All were dressed in the garments of the Cult of the Damned, and immediately they began to cast spells even as more rustling and moans from the bushes signaled the presence of ghouls and zombies closing in quickly. Behind Malandrae, the three recruits that had come to find her froze in fear as she was rushed by a horde of scourge forces.
Spells flashed in the air and Malandrae looked on in wide eyed shock as Highborne wards flickered to life around her, absorbing deadly magic in ways the humans had not anticipated. One of the casters raised her staff high over her head, beginning to cast a deadly curse and Malandrae pointed. A ball of arcane energy flashed out, severing her staff in two. She watched in horror as the weapon overloaded with magic, throwing it down and trying to run. It was too late though, and the weapon detonated, throwing her into two of the other cultists with the sound of breaking bones.
With three of the cultists down, the fourth began to cast his own spells at the elf. Malandrae's face took on a look of determination as she pointed and counterspelled him. His magic failed, arcing in the air around him and he fell over, his body jerking from the magical feedback. Malandrae had little time to celebrate though as ghouls hurled themselves out of the trees and towards where she stood.
Arcs of glowing blue arcane energy flashed through the air, striking ghouls left and right and ripping them to shreds. Malandrae's magic, sung in ancient highborne lyrics, hung in the air around her, a beautiful counterpart to the destruction she was unleashing. Even with all of her magic though she could tell she'd be outnumbered and overrun soon.
In desperation, she shouted words in common. Words she had 'borrowed' from one of Professor Knox's spellbooks.
A huge orb of fire appeared in the air, burning ghouls down left and right. Unfortunately Malandrae had had to cast the spell in a non-native language, and she'd botched several key words. With each destructive outburst of flames, the orb grew larger, a miniature sun that began to consume the center of the clearing. Malandrae's eyes watched it in shock as it grew to the side of a small house in seconds.
She turned, throwing herself to the ground even as it rumbled. The three recruits in the bushes watched in horror as a huge abomination lumbered from the forest and towered over the prone elf. It raised a rusty and wickedly barbed chain, lashing down with all it's might to crush her.
Sadly, the flameorb chose that moment to detonate with the power of several hundred gnomish grenades.
The recruits winced and closed their eyes as the massive firewall consumed the entirety of the clearly with a thunderous roar. The abomination was completely consumed in the explosion, and bits of green goo flew everywhere, splattering down into the surrounding forest. When the light cleared and the men could see again, they looked to the clearing, fearing the worst.
There, kneeling on the scorched earth, they found Malandrae Moonwhisper, completely and utterly covered in green undead goo, looking as miserable as an elf possibly could.
It was a testament to their self-control that they managed to avoid laughing until after they checked her over for injuries.
*******************************
As the morning sun rose and began a new day, Malandrae waved goodbye to the men of Light's Hope Chapel. Riding a borrowed warhorse and wearing nothing but an Argent Dawn tabard and a pair of way-too-big pants they had found for her, the Highborne was still in pretty good spirits.
Although she had found out nothing about the man named Tobies, she HAD thwarted a traitor amongst the Argent Dawn and saved the encampment from a surprise attack. Even the captain had been impressed...after they'd dumped several buckets of water on her to wash the goo off.
Malandrae smiled to herself, heading down the road towards Ironforge. It would be a bit of a ride, but the day was young and her spirits were high. Surely more adventure would come her way, and she would learn so many new things by riding instead of flying.
It was good to be alive.
"That's not the effects of spicy tuna. Professor Knox is well and truly upset about something and her mind is letting it play out while she sleeps," the elf muttered to herself. She walked over to her writing desk, picking up her journal. Within it, she had written down word for word the letter that the Professor had received from the man named 'Tobies'.
"I don't know who you are, but I bet you have something to do with why she's so upset," Malandrae whispered. "I think it's time we find out!"
Mind made up, Malandrae quickly began chanting, opening a portal to a distant destination. Wards put in place by Ilhedith immediately began to activate at the presence of an unauthorized portal in her house. Malandrae bit her lip and began to desperately combat the ward, trying to disperse the magic before it made any noise and woke the professor up.
Minutes later, she stood before her open portal, her hair a little frizzy from magical feedback and the professor still sound asleep. On the bed nearby, Eldre'nor looked up from where she had been reading what looked to be Malandrae's diary, shoving a cracker into her mouth.
"Mmmmph...I wouldn't do it Malandrae, she's going to get mad..." Eldre'nor said.
Malandrae just rolled her eyes and bent down, scooping up and tossing a spare shoe at her friend. "Be quiet Eldre'nor. It has to be done! I need to make sure Professor Knox is going to be alright, and for that I need INFORMATION. It's research."
Eldre'nor, having dodged the shoe only to spill her crackers all over the bed, scowled at Malandrae as she slipped into the portal and disappeared. "You're going to get in troubleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee...."
*********************************
The Captain walked his rounds, as he had every night since being stationed at Light's Hope Chapel. Although the threat of the scourge had diminished, the Argent Dawn kept a close watch on the surrounding countryside, intent on removing the presence of the scourge entirely from the former territory of Lordaeron that was now known as the Eastern Plaguelands.
As the captain continued his foot patrol, he saw something that made him scowl in irritation. Several of the new recruits were lounging around by the forge, and the smith himself had stopped his work on the horseshoes they needed for the morning's patrol. As the captain got closer, laughter echoed from the group of men and intertwined with the sound was the lighter voice of a female. As he walked up to the group, the reason for the distraction had become clear; a cyan haired night elf wearing a rather low cut dress was standing amongst his men, laughing and giggling as the smith flexed his forge-hardened arms at her. Her laughter rang out again and she fake fanned herself to the uproar of the rest of the recruits.
*AHEM* "Excuse me, just WHAT do you men think you are doing?!" The captain thundered.
Immediately the men paled and snapped to attention, forming a line in front of him. All traces of laughter had died down as the captain stared each man down. "In case you've forgotten, we're still battling a very real and deadly threat from the scourge here. You men are on the night watch to prevent this camp from being overrun while the others sleep, NOT to engage in...frivolous behavior."
Malandrae stepped forward from behind the men, raising her hand. "Excuse me, Mister Captain sir? I'm sorry if I caused a distraction, I was simply trying to learn more about..."
Her words died down as the captain fixed his piercing gaze on her. "This is NOT a library miss. It is an outpost of war. A war against creatures so horrible that you cannot even imagine them."
"Well, I've got a pretty good imagin..." Malandrae began, tilting her head.
"This is NOT a place to socialize!" the captain cut her off. "These men need to learn discipline, and you are preventing that. Kindly either make yourself useful and leave miss Elf!"
Malandrae bit her lip and pouted, "Fine then! I WILL make myself useful. And then you will tell me what I want to know!"
Before anyone could say anything more, Malandrae stormed off, her chunky heels clattering against the paving stones as she made her way for the opening in the defensive wall. The captain stared at her with his mouth open in surprise for a moment before rolling his eyes. "Three of you are to follow her and make sure she doesn't get in trouble, the rest are digging a new latrine pit. Go. Now!"
The men groaned and looked at each other. They shrugged, drew straws and three quickly grabbed their weapons and trailed after the Highborne who had left the camp. The smith guiltily returned to his hammering at the forge, and all was right with the camp again. The captain gave a sigh of relief and continued on his way.
**********************************
"... and here are the patrol routes and schedules," a shadowy figure said to another. "They never change it, so this information will be good for several weeks at least." Malandrae and the three recruits that had followed her watched in disbelief as one of the forms passed a stack of papers to another. They had stumbled upon the two as Malandrae went 'ghost hunting' as she called it, and now they watched in silence from a nearby bush.
"Miss Malandrae, we should...go back," one of the recruits said.
"Nonsense! That's clearly one of your men! I'll go talk to him!" Malandrae said cheerfully. She rose from her hiding spot and walked towards the two men, waving happily. "Hello! I'm Grand Apprentice Malandrae Moonwhisper, Former Second Advisor to the Queen's Research Council! How do you do?"
The two figures, two humans, whirled and glared at the elf as she stepped closer. One was dressed in the trappings of the Argent Dawn, but the other's eyes glowed with a sinister blue light, marking him immediately as a death knight. Malandrae stepped closer, still smiling. "Oh! A Knight of the Ebon Blade! And another Dawn member! Hello you two! Are you hunting ghosts too?"
The two men looked at each other and the death knight nodded, "Kill her. She's seen us."
Even as Malandrae gasped in surprise, the traitorous Argent Dawn member drew his sword and charged her. A second later his sword clattered to the ground as his body became the shape of a sheep, 'bahing' near the ground. Malandrae giggled as she saw the cute animal, despite the danger. The polymorph spell had actually worked!
The death knight scowled, taking a step back. "Kill her! Do not let her return to the camp!"
Even as he withdrew, four humans rushed from the surrounding treeline. All were dressed in the garments of the Cult of the Damned, and immediately they began to cast spells even as more rustling and moans from the bushes signaled the presence of ghouls and zombies closing in quickly. Behind Malandrae, the three recruits that had come to find her froze in fear as she was rushed by a horde of scourge forces.
Spells flashed in the air and Malandrae looked on in wide eyed shock as Highborne wards flickered to life around her, absorbing deadly magic in ways the humans had not anticipated. One of the casters raised her staff high over her head, beginning to cast a deadly curse and Malandrae pointed. A ball of arcane energy flashed out, severing her staff in two. She watched in horror as the weapon overloaded with magic, throwing it down and trying to run. It was too late though, and the weapon detonated, throwing her into two of the other cultists with the sound of breaking bones.
With three of the cultists down, the fourth began to cast his own spells at the elf. Malandrae's face took on a look of determination as she pointed and counterspelled him. His magic failed, arcing in the air around him and he fell over, his body jerking from the magical feedback. Malandrae had little time to celebrate though as ghouls hurled themselves out of the trees and towards where she stood.
Arcs of glowing blue arcane energy flashed through the air, striking ghouls left and right and ripping them to shreds. Malandrae's magic, sung in ancient highborne lyrics, hung in the air around her, a beautiful counterpart to the destruction she was unleashing. Even with all of her magic though she could tell she'd be outnumbered and overrun soon.
In desperation, she shouted words in common. Words she had 'borrowed' from one of Professor Knox's spellbooks.
A huge orb of fire appeared in the air, burning ghouls down left and right. Unfortunately Malandrae had had to cast the spell in a non-native language, and she'd botched several key words. With each destructive outburst of flames, the orb grew larger, a miniature sun that began to consume the center of the clearing. Malandrae's eyes watched it in shock as it grew to the side of a small house in seconds.
She turned, throwing herself to the ground even as it rumbled. The three recruits in the bushes watched in horror as a huge abomination lumbered from the forest and towered over the prone elf. It raised a rusty and wickedly barbed chain, lashing down with all it's might to crush her.
Sadly, the flameorb chose that moment to detonate with the power of several hundred gnomish grenades.
The recruits winced and closed their eyes as the massive firewall consumed the entirety of the clearly with a thunderous roar. The abomination was completely consumed in the explosion, and bits of green goo flew everywhere, splattering down into the surrounding forest. When the light cleared and the men could see again, they looked to the clearing, fearing the worst.
There, kneeling on the scorched earth, they found Malandrae Moonwhisper, completely and utterly covered in green undead goo, looking as miserable as an elf possibly could.
It was a testament to their self-control that they managed to avoid laughing until after they checked her over for injuries.
*******************************
As the morning sun rose and began a new day, Malandrae waved goodbye to the men of Light's Hope Chapel. Riding a borrowed warhorse and wearing nothing but an Argent Dawn tabard and a pair of way-too-big pants they had found for her, the Highborne was still in pretty good spirits.
Although she had found out nothing about the man named Tobies, she HAD thwarted a traitor amongst the Argent Dawn and saved the encampment from a surprise attack. Even the captain had been impressed...after they'd dumped several buckets of water on her to wash the goo off.
Malandrae smiled to herself, heading down the road towards Ironforge. It would be a bit of a ride, but the day was young and her spirits were high. Surely more adventure would come her way, and she would learn so many new things by riding instead of flying.
It was good to be alive.
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