Diary of a Death Knight
Prologue: In the Swamp Lands
The Deepwater Inn was one of Brunswick Sandstones favorite bars. It was a small, cramped tavern nestled between the river and the road in the center of the Wetlands. Rarely busy, it offered shelter to those traveling between Menethil Harbor and the mountain passes North of Loch Modan. The dwarf warrior had found the quiet nights slumped at the tavern bar much better than sloshing mead down his front in his mother's loud and rambunctious Inn at Ironforge.
Tonight, however, two human women had burst into the main room, their traveling cloaks soaked with rain, arguing in loud, hoarse voices. The shorter of the two stopped and kicked off her muddy boots by the door, yanking her hood down to reveal a short crop of blond hair and a long, dangling earring made of blue and red feathers. The taller woman kept her hood pulled down over her face and calmly toed off her booths, hissing at her companion to lower her voice. The few patrons – a pair of dwarves, a night elf, a trio of gnomes and Brunswick himself – turned to peer at the couple. The hooded woman crossed the crowded room to the bar and sat heavily on one of the stools. The bartender – a bat-eared goblin in an apron – hurried over to take her order. The girl took off her cloak and hung it on one of the pegs by the door. Reaching into one of the deep pockets she pulled out, of all things, a small rabbit with over-sized ears. Curling him up against her chest she stormed over to the table farthest from the bar and sat down in a huff. The rabbit made himself comfortable against her chest, licking rainwater off her hands.
Brunswick drained the rest of his mug, looking sideways along the bar at the woman. Gizuk the bartender nodded as he whispered to her before picking up a clean mug and filling it at the tap. He placed the frothing container of Thunder Ale in front of her and caught the silver she flipped him. Ignoring the rest of the bar, the woman picked up the drink and took a long, deep draught. Brunswick raised a brow as he watched her drain half the mug in one gulp – a human woman who could hold her ale. Interesting. He glanced at one of the fliers that lined the walls and tapped his chin. So that was it. Nodding himself, he stood and wandered along the bar, hopping up onto the stool beside the human woman.
"So what is one of your class doing this far North?" He asked casually, motioning for Gizuk to slide him another mug of mead. The woman stiffened and her head turned ever so slightly, revealing the slight profile of her face. He could faintly see the bright blue glow of her eyes beneath the hood. "I would think you'd want to stay as far away from the Lich King as possible."
"What makes you think I'm heading North?" She took a small sip of her remaining ale.
He smirked. "Where else would a Death Knight be heading?"
"West, to Menethil Harbor," she picked at her sleeve, "And from there to Theramore."
The dwarves eyes brightened. "To Kalimdor, then?" He asked eagerly. She glanced down at him with a frown.
"Yes, but why the curiosity?" She inquired, voice edging towards hostile as she finally faced him. "Why does the business of a Death Knight concern you?"
Brunswick pointed at the flyer that had caught his attention earlier. It had only been a month or two since the announcement that the Knights of the Ebon Blade were officially being accepted into the Alliance, and the kings of both Stormwind and Ironforge had immediately sent out couriers to deliver the news. "Just the way I am, lass," he examined her face – pale and round, with glowing blue eyes. Not a bad looker. "The way you 'n' your friend there burst into the place, sounds like you got a story to tell." He watched as she drained her mug and motioned for a refill.
She considered him closely for a moment, and he could see that the first ale had done nothing to dull her sense. She was a drinker. "You really wanna know how Princess," she thumbed at the girl, "and I have spent the last week? It's not a tail for the faint hearted."
"Spin away," Brunswick raised his glass in salute, "There's no better place for story tellin' than a warm tavern on a rainy evenin'."
She nodded and sipped at the foam of her new mug, "Alright, if you really want to hear. It started last week in Goldshire…"
Authors Note: My first WoW fanfic. I LOVE the game, and just now discovered that there was fanfiction for it. The idea started off as a comic, but then I realized I couldn't draw...PLEASE REVIEW if you like it, and please leave CONSTRUCTIVE COMMENTS and point out any grammatical or spelling mistakes. I'm trying to become a better writer. More to come soon!