Ch.2 Whereabouts undefined
A dozen heroes sat around a table in a restaurant. "Okay" said Raynor as he sipped an incredibly strong coffee "After a long talk, we've agreed that the best way to try and figure out some more about this place is by trying to do a few things. Li-ming, you've got the plan."
Li-ming set down her teacup. "Right. There are three routes of investigation we can follow. The first is magical analysis. Myself and Miss Proudmoore shall be looking for irregularities in the flow of magic at key places we know of, and looking at certain objects that should apparently be non-magical, such Nova's rifle which has inexplicably gained the ability to self-reload." She turned the page "The second route is technological analysis. I'm not an expert yet, but I understand you can measure things such as magnetism. Doctor Morales and Nova shall be looking at the same objects and areas as my team, but from a different angle. The last method we have is outside help. We're working on sending a message that can reach the lords of the battlegrounds, wherever they are. We have reason to believe they live in the battlefields, so we only need to work out how to travel backwards through a one-way portal. Simple enough."
Valla looked at Raynor with her burning eyes. "I have a suggestion… Why not ask those who live in the other areas? I doubt the insect-like ones will be willing to co-operate, but those who live in Nature's Garden are friendly, and all use magic that we are not familiar with."
There was a general murmur of agreement.
There were two settlements with heroes outside of Anchor. The first was known as 'The Black Circle' by the dramatic part of the populace, and 'That Zerg Place' by the rest. It was unpleasant there for most normal people, to say the least. It comprised a small collection of most major types of zerg structure, and was notable for having creep in a perfect circle one hundred meters in radius, expanding from Abathur who never moved, hence the fact the area didn't disappear. Any kind of drone that tried to leave said circle was quickly whisked into the infinite randomness of the nexus, and of the few thousand that had been sent out thus far, none had been seen by anyone else yet. The four inhabitants were still able to come and go as they pleased, even if one never moved. The only visitors were Anub'arak, who was still trying to forge an alliance, the Lost Vikings every few weeks, and Raynor once ended up going there to convince Kerrigan to come to a party. He was the first case of a hero dying outside a battlefield.
The other settlement was aptly named 'Nature's Gardens'. It had once been a grand temple, or perhaps a royal villa, made of marble with arching pillars and intricate decorations, mainly in the form of carvings and murals. It had overlooked a small forest of immaculately kept birch trees. But now, it was far beyond overgrown. A huge oak tree had sprouted in the centre of the villa where the roof had once collapsed, and all manner of vines and mosses caked the walls. The birch forest had diversified into a mass of otherworldly trees and plants, both mundane and fantastic. The interior once lit by coal torches, was now gently illuminated by enchanted crystals. The building should have crumbled to dust aeons ago, but the original masonry was imbued with protective wards, that even millennia later still managed to slow the erosion of the stones to a mere thousandth of the normal rate. It was here that the night elves and the inhabitants of the Emerald Dream could be found. They were visited a little more than The Black Circle, most frequently by those who were seeking peace. The monk Kharazim was a very frequent visitor, and could very often be found meditating near the ruins.
It was overcast and windy as the Nephalem walked up to the temple. You noticed the weather a lot more when it had changed five times in the last half an hour. Kharazim had gladly volunteered to go with Valla to ask their questions. As they approached, Kharazim suddenly stopped, and held up his palm to halt Valla as well. He tensed, and said firmly "Ambusher. Reveal yourself." Lunara cantered out from behind a particularly thick grove of trees, minus her javelin.
"Greetings. It's not often that I see anyone out of the ordinary here. I assume Valla can be trusted around our home?" Her words carried some distrust, but she made no action to conjure anything.
Valla stepped forward "Of course. I have no intention of interfering with your home. We're here to ask some questions. We need to know if you have any information about this place, the Nexus" She paused.
"well, I don't know much. I would ask Malfurion, but he's busy with other problems right now…"
This caught Kharazim's interest "It is far from normal for a matter to require Malfurion to intervene, especially here, where the land is of less meaning outside our homes."
"Yes, the main problem is that the three demons from your place attacked recently. We drove them off effortlessly, but both Tyrande and Brightwing are now missing…"
"A kidnapping? That seems unlikely if they were defeated as soundly as you say. Are you sure that she's not missing in the Nexus?"
"I don't think it's possible to kidnap Tyrande. Especially when she's in nearly perfect condition and you're dying of poison. And Brightwing would simply teleport herself out of holding. We're on the verge of calling in Illidan to track them down, despite his dislike of Malfurion."
"I have observed their behaviours during my meditation. Brightwing is liable to wander. Perhaps Tyrande set off after her wandering companion…"
"We'll investigate with you. The faster your problems are solved, the faster ours are." offered Valla.
"Good luck to you."
They set off, into the randomness.
In the field, Li-ming and Jaina were trying to gather any kind of data they could on the area's magic. They were getting nowhere.
"It's like this entire area is just completely normal. I'm beginning to suspect that the forces at play here are beyond regular magic." Li-ming commented, scribbling some notes down in a small pad of paper.
"And not only that, but from what I've heard the non-magic group is making just as much progress. I hope the realm lords have some useful information, because I don't want to rely on getting a lucky breakthrough." Jaina frowned. "Though I admit, I am enjoying the challenge."
A radio unit that had been pressed into Jaina's hands by Raynor just before they left began to crackle. "Nova here, reporting on behalf of the Tech team. We've turned up absolutely nothing on my rifle, and we've analysed it in every way we can. We're coming down to you." The radio shut off with a click.
In about a minute, the siege tank rolled into the field with a few people on top.
Finding Malfurion, Tyrande and by extension, Brightwing was actually quite easy for Valla. She just pictured the arch-druid and walked to him like any other location. And both he and a recently called Illidan had already done the same thing for Tyrande, who'd followed Brightwing as she wandered. The problem was exactly where she had wandered. Directly into The Black Circle. Creating the problem of how to get in and out of the most dangerous area in the dimension without dying. They looked at the circle from a distance, out of sight.
Valla stared at the mass of purple-ish constructs. "Well… This presents a problem. None of us are really suited to just cutting a path through them, and even if we could, your ally hasn't risen into our line of sight in almost twenty minutes. It seems reasonable to assume that she's been captured. But that's not possible"
Tyrande stood up. "I don't know what's happened to her, but with you three to back me up, I feel more confident in infiltrating. We should be able to get in, free her and escape, and they can't chase us outside of the circle. I'm going to use my power to conceal us from those who are not looking for us. Everyone, get ready." Everyone did indeed get ready, drawing their weapons, and preparing to move. Tyrande's strategies were very well-respected, if only for the fact she had so much experience that she would simply always know what to do.
The team moved in silently and secretly. They spread out a little, and approached the central cluster with calm speed. A quick look around located their target, talking to Dehaka. They walked a little closer, overhearing the conversation.
"The idea of inviting someone to our domain without special reason is new to me. However, it has not been an unwelcome change." Rumbled Dehaka.
"I am very happy that you think so! I do not manage to see you very often, friend!" There was Brightwing.
"You are permitted here at any time, as long as there is no reason to exclude you. You could come and visit more often, if you decided to."
"That would be nice, friend, but I cannot always be here, or my other friends would be sad. They do not like you…"
"That is unfortunate. Perhaps it would be easier if I visited you? I can remain hidden. And then we can hunt together?"
At this point, Tyrande signalled to get her team's attention, and pointed towards an exit. 'Go', she mouthed, and began to move towards the edge of the circle. Malfurion, realising that the spell would fade very soon, nodded and signalled the nephalem to retreat as well. They began to flicker into visibility about twenty meters into safety, when Malfurion was the first to speak.
"Hmm… As much as I dislike that race for what they do to the world around them, it would appear that Brightwing has become smitten with one of them. It seems I'll have to work on accepting them, and think of a good way to convince them not to alter our home without sabotaging their relationship…"
Valla raised an eyebrow. "You think they're falling for each other? What makes you say that? It looked like they were just good friends. And how are you taking it so calmly, she's like a daughter to you?"
Malfurion chuckled. "It's all in the body language. And I've known her for her entire life, she's normally happy to be near anyone. Actively seeking out someone? Who she knows most people dislike? That's some special affection. And I'm no expert in the Zerg, but I'm told that their emotions are rudimentary at best. Trusting an outsider with access to their most vulnerable place seems like a sign of something more." He paused for a bit, thinking about his next answer "And I think I've lived long enough to say that nothing good will come of me trying to split them apart."
Illidan spoke up "You know… If it makes it any easier, I know how to deal with things that you hate without slicing them apart. You just have to go and think about them until they seem perfectly normal and you accept them"
"Illidan, hatred must be tempered by discipline. And I'm not sure you're really one to talk about dealing with hatred." Valla interjected.
"Oh no, this worked for me when I was getting over Tyrande. I just don't want to get over Maiev. She can get sliced."
At the field, everyone was excited. There had been a breakthrough in the research, if only a small one. Li-ming had attempted to disrupt the area's magic, to check that Jaina was correctly sensing it. She had been surprised to find that the magic of the area had snapped back to normal bizarrely quickly. "Something is causing a forced normalisation around here! If I can just trace the arranging force, we can split this mystery wide open." She was practically jumping with excitement. "Okay Jaina, on the count of three, we're going to try and just make a mana vacuum in-between us. One.." They raised their staves and began channelling "Two… THREE!" There was a colossal SNAP and the colour of the grass changed a few times as the air rippled outwards, then inwards, and discharged a shockwave towards the mages. Li-ming vanished in an instant. Jaina was caught off-guard and prepared for getting blown away, but was surprised when Raynor's back gently thudded against her chest.
"Whew, got you darlin'." Raynor said, rolling his visor up. The crater in the field was rapidly self-repairing, as Li-ming looked at her crystal orb incredulously.
"I… I've manged to trace the source of the magic!"
Author's Notes (now in Bold!): Okay, then. Chapter two, a bit longer. You guys have until the next chapter to get your pairings in. Thanks to you two reviewers. Edit: Added actual linebreaks. For justice!
Lucario: Your pairings are in. I'm accepting them because you don't have an account though, so everyone else will need to PM. (Unless they don't have an account either)
Anon: Isn't that Incest? Even so, I'm currently not looking for an Auriel pairing. She and Tyreal can feature in the story though, I am trying to make everyone happy.
Update: Fixed some capitalisation, and slightly altered some speech to better fit the characters or have greater clarity.