"…and that's how Lothar killed thirty six orcs with his bare hands!" enthused Justin, waving his arms dramatically as he finished his story.
"Oh yeah, I heard about that," said Brandon.
"You know why orc eyes glow red?" Justin continued. "It's because they drink blood!"
"Can you imagine?"
Roman shook his head, turning to the other boys. "I don't think there's any fish in these canals." The three had been there for two hours, but so far had caught nothing, and they'd been entertaining each other with tall tales to pass the time.
"They were probably eaten by the crocolisks," said Justin. "You know there are crocolisks in the canals. They were brought from the swamp as pets, but got thrown in the canals."
Brandon wasn't convinced. "Sounds kinda like one of Billy's fish stories to me."
"Let's go to Olivia's Pond," suggested Roman. "It's quieter, and there's fewer people around to scare the fish. We'll probably have better luck there."
The boys agreed that this was a better plan than staying where they were, so the three made their way from the canals to the Dwarven District and finally out the stone gateway closest to the pond. But as they approached the water, the little draenei girl Olivia Jayne waved to them, then put a finger to her lips.
She beckoned them closer, then pointed.
"Is that who I think it is?" Brandon whispered, as they all crouched down to hide behind some trees and long grass.
"It is!" she replied excitedly, trying to keep her voice as soft as possible.
"Lord Lothar?" Roman said in awe. The children all knew the fallen hero had been raised by the Ebon Blade and that he was the new leader of their Horsemen, but they hadn't realized he was still in Stormwind after his tour of the city with King Anduin. "What's he doing?"
"At first I thought he'd come here to fish," she said. "But then I saw he had a basket of food with him. I think he's going to have a picnic."
"People usually don't go on picnics alone," Brandon pointed out.
She nodded. "He hasn't started yet. I think he's waiting for someone."
"Maybe he's on a date," Justin said. At the rolled eyes from the others, he elaborated. "My brother and his girlfriend go on picnics here, and they come here sometimes when they want to be alone too," he declared.
"Lord Lothar's a death knight, death knights don't go on dates," said Roman. But before anyone could reply, Olivia pointed again, this time to something in the sky.
A large black bird was circling the pond, getting lower and lower with each pass, apparently homing in on Lothar's location. But just before it looked like it might crash into him, there was a swirl of light – a burst of arcane magic – which quickly resolved itself into the figure of a man.
"Archmage Khadgar," Olivia whispered.
Justin's eyes were wide. "They say he can turn into a raven sometimes." He'd heard of this; he'd just never seen it happen.
From their vantage point, the children were unable to hear what the two were saying…however, they were close enough to see the knight pull his friend into a bear hug, clapping him on the back a few times. And they definitely weren't too far away to miss the Archmage looking around surreptitiously before pressing a brief kiss to the other man's lips.
"Wow," Brandon murmured.
Justin grinned triumphantly. "I *told* you he was on a date."