Disclaimer: I do not own Blizzard's Warcraft or any of the races, objects, places etc. that come with it. I am making no money from this story and the only profit I gain from this is the fun of writing it.
With a loud thud the old man put his mug back on the bar. Jyona turned around and caught his meaningful glance. With a polite smile she refilled the mug with beer and returned it to the man. Without as much as a thanks the man turned back to his friend and resumed his one-sided conversation.
Jyona sighed; the customers seemed to be getting less polite by the day. She started to wish she had never taken it upon her to take over her husbands bar after he died. But she had felt responsible for the 'Last Mile', which had been in her husbands' family for centuries.
Obviously though, the pub had become less popular in the last few decades. This far to the north villages had grown smaller and smaller until only the most courageous were willing to live there. With the wilderness of Alterac so close, beasts and other creatures where commonly known to raid the fields and even come into the villages and trash around. The villagers where trying to defend themselves but lately this had come down more to hiding in their houses than trying to fight the numerous masses.
Jyona decided to go round the tables to see if the customers needed more to drink or eat. Just as she returned to the bar with the diverse orders, the door of the pub slammed open, making several customers flinch. Jyona spun around quickly, only to find that two dwarves, one male and one female, entered the bar. Confidently, the two strode to the back wall and sat down. The female dwarf placed a weighty looking gun against the closest wall as the other did the same with a huge axe and a fine-looking shield. Jyona gaped a few seconds at the new guests; she never had seen such heavily armed warriors in her small pub. Most people in town had a club or small axe to defend themselves but that was about it. The male looked most spectacular; he was wearing heavy armour all over his body. It was well kept and polished, so that it reflected the dim light in the bar. The dwarf with the gun seemed less armoured, but also looked as if she could stand her ground firmly. Jyona realised she wasn't the only one in the bar who was staring. Several people had turned their heads towards the table in the back until the male dwarf started to throw back threatening glances. As he caught her eye, Jyona remembered her duty and walked over to the table to ask if the two customers wished for anything. The female dwarf obviously had missed out on all the staring and was talking animatedly to her companion. As she approached the table, Jyona caught a few words.
'…and then they just threw me in the water! I mean, normally those Booty Bay Bruisers keep the order in town but now they just stood there and watched as those filthy Horde grabbed me and threw me of the pier! I was lucky to get back on shore at all!'
'Ye pro'lly deserved it.' the other dwarf said absentmindedly.
The female seemed to fill with indignation and started to sputter. Then she noticed Jyona standing nearby and seemed to force a grimace on her face.
'Two beers, if you would be so kind ma'am.' she ordered all too politely.
Ten minutes later Jyona had brought most customers their desired drinks and put the two beers on the dwarves' table. She was about to return to the bar when the male called her back.
'Scuse me ma'am?'
'Yes? Is anything wrong with your order?'
The dwarf shook his head in denial. 'No, ma'am. We were just wondering if you know this area a bit. See, we've come from a long way and we might wanna learn more about them mountains before we make our way through them.'
'You've sure come a long way if you came here all the way from Booty Bay.' Jyona mentioned thoughtlessly.
The dwarf looked at her oddly and Jyona realised he must find it quite impolite that she had been eavesdropping on their conversation. His female companion let out a small chuckle.
'Well of course I want to help you.' Jyona said hastily, 'What would you want to know?'
The dwarf leaned back in his chair, 'We've heard 'bout them ogres livin' there but could you tell us about any other creatures we might find there?'
Jyona thought about this for a moment. 'I've heard about Yeti's that live in the mountains, but I'm not sure if those stories are true. Of course there are also various kinds of beasts, like bears, wolves and lions.' she hesitated, 'But none of us has ever been heading far to the north to explore the area thoroughly, so we don't really know that much about them.'
The dwarf nodded, 'That's okay. Are there any humans such as yourself living there, that you know about?'
'There are some humans living there indeed, but I would keep away from them if I were you. They're not the friendliest type of persons.' she answered.
'What would I have to imagine of that?'
'They're some sort of armed tribe, calling themselves the Syndicate. Very hostile to any but their own.'
The two customers sipped their beers thoughtfully.
'May I ask what your purpose in those mountains might be?' Jyona asked carefully.
'We're supposed to supply the camp just north of the mountains, all the way in the area they call the Western Plaguelands.' the female dwarf answered. 'What? It's not like it's some kind of secret or something.' she responded to the glare she received from the other one. The male muttered something and took a huge pull at his beer.
The female dwarf sighed contently as she emptied her own mug and slammed it down, making nearby customers flinch for the second time that afternoon. 'A'right, I s'pose we better get searching for a meal and a room. Could you tell us of any inn in town?'
'There's one just down the street, can't miss it.' Jyona informed her.
'Thanks very much, dal.' She stood up and put some coins on the table. Then she stared down to her companion. He gave her another glare, gulped back the rest of his beer, grabbed his stuff and stood to walk to the door. The female shrugged and smiled at Jyona and walked after him.
Jyona saw the both of them exit and then walk past her window, in the direction of the inn. She gasped loudly as she saw a huge, black panther follow in their trail, making the customers flinch for the third time in a row.
A/N: Well, that was just the introduction of this story. Much more will happen of course! Please review so that I can improve my writing.
