Chapter One; Of Strangers Three
DISCLAIMER: I do not own anything of World of Warcraft, only the rights to the three characters based on two friend's characters and that of my own. Any others that have been mentioned, such as Gusthorn, are fictional characters brought in to further the story. If names coincide with a user's character, it was not intentioned in anyway but may have been inspired.
She landed on her front with a heavy smack, she could hear the thud even to her own ears. The thing was, she did not remember falling much less being anyway up high enough to allow for such the pain from a high fall. Her eyes were slow to open but her ears more or less encouraged it, for the sounds she heard was not something she would associate with the northern town she lived in. She could hear short, deep and heavy grunts and the cackles of some creature nearby followed quickly by an ill-tempered growl. Whilst the heavy grunt could be mistaken for a engine noise or construction work, the cackle and growl certainly could not.
She pried her eyes open and groaned slightly but did not yet move any of her battered limbs. She knew she was somewhere far from where she thought or knew she had been before. Her face was pressed into hard and baked ground and already she could feel the merciless heat of the sun. It was the second of many factors that would indicate that she was very, very far from home. She saw grasses ahead of her as her vision cleared. Carefully, she picked herself up and sat awkwardly.
Blinking, she stared at what was around her but it couldn't be, could it? The whole area seemed full of various creatures or landmarks that seemed all too familiar. She looked down at herself, her blonde hair falling about her face, as she saw what she was wearing. It certainly was as far from jeans and a shirt as you could get. The plate armour was easily recognisable in her eyes and she touched various parts, to make sure it wasn't some frightful hallucination. For that, it could very well be.
She knew then what her name would now be, for if this place was what she thought it was, then any inhabitant would think she had lost her mind completely. She carefully stood and lifted her head as she peered around her surroundings. The place was almost devoid of life; yet she had heard those sounds and logic dictated that if a sound existed, there had to be someone or something from whence it came. She searched her pockets but found small bags attached to her belt instead. Inside were various things, some she recognised and some she didn't. It seemed too far-fetched enough as it was. Had she been in her normal clothes, she would have believed she had somehow found her way into Africa. Though how she had managed the trip with no memory of getting on a plane or travelling in a car was beyond her.
The plate armour and the hearthstone she had found in the larger of the bags she had on her said otherwise. There seemed to be no rational explanation for this. She sighed and ran a hand down her face and then round the back of her neck where her wrist and forearm bumped into something. Frowning slightly but she looked almost expectant. Her hand gripped around the hilt of what was quite evidently a sword, but not your traditional sort as she unsheathed it. The motion didn't feel foreign to her as she may have expected it to. The blade was alight with what seemed to be blue fire, but Laura knew instantly that the blade was more than a blade. A runeblade no less.
Question was, how did she arrive in a world that was, at the basics, just a virtual reality that served to starve boredom, and why? She happened to look a certain way and saw a troll astride a vivid green raptor. If anything sealed the fact that this was indeed her beloved Warcraft, it was the raptor. Nothing of that sort could exist in the real world, or the real world as she remembered it, unless it was a very good animatronic. And they only really existed in Dinosaur films such as Jurassic Park and other such things.
She thought for a moment, wondering what Aimee and Richard would think of this if she ever got 'out' of this place. She wasn't even sure she could get out. A sound made her look left sharply and what appeared to be a giraffe walked past her. It didn't spare her a second glance as it strode in an elegant gait towards a gnarled tree with foliage on its crown. It stopped to lunch of the greenery and Laura watched it for a moment before she attempted to re-sheathe her weapon. It certainly wasn't as easy as it appeared but she managed it in the end.
"Suppose I'd better explore a bit," she muttered to herself, and perhaps a little to the herbivore close by, but typically and rightfully, said herbivore did not pay her a moment's notice. Course, exploring this place was a laugh in itself. She knew practically most of it already and the Barrens wasn't particularly much to look at. Unless you were in the Crossroads at the time of a raid. She started for a road, knowing that would be of some use to her with navigating the place. Whilst the Barrens was exactly that, it was still not a good place to get lost in. She walked a good half mile before coming to a halt again.
She frowned, knowing she could bring a mount to her but was uncertain to how that worked when you were put in the position she was in now. She stood there for a little while not wanting to stay in one place too long but she hated travelling. She knew she had one if one was to go on the level she currently was at. She thought about her deathcharger, her hawkstriders and then her talbuks but it seemed ludicrous for the same way of attaining the mount to work in this place, as it was now. She decided to walk till it came to her and she pressed on, the armour not providing any comfort against the heat.
~~~ & ~~~
The air smelt heavy, almost foul and something or someone was trying to rouse her from her slumber. "Go 'way, 'm sleepin'," she muttered back and snuggled deeper. However, whatever it was that kept nudging her did not halt its action. "It's Sunday, leave me 'lone," she clarified sleepily but something breathed heavily in her face and that smell was off. It was foul enough to make her open her eyes and blink back at the creature staring back at her.
She leapt back so fast and the creature made a sort of noise of indignation as it raised its huge head slightly, blinking its bright blue eyes. She stared at it believing she was in some horrid dream or was having one hell of an hallucination. She hoped it was a dream for dinosaurs certainly were extinct. Weren't they? But there it was, standing perfectly balanced on two stocky, well-built legs and its tail wavered side to side behind him. If it was even a him, that was. And yet, there was something familiar about all of this.
She rose unsteadily on her feet not taking much notice of how she looked, only to fall back down again. She winced as she sat on something. She peered up at the tyrannid, there was no mistaking the design. It was not of the right build to be anything but a tyrannid. Yes, it did have the same build as a tetanuran, which was the order that the Gigantosaur and Spinosaur belonged to but this relic bore two digits and not three on what stood for its hands, which made her deem it of the Tyrannosaur order.
The creature moved towards her, the ground shaking as it placed its weight on the earth below. She didn't dare move hoping it might go away. Alas, it seemed to have no intention of doing so and for a moment she thought it looked a little sad. Its head had dipped and the tail didn't seem to waver so much as before. She cocked her head to the side and sighed. She blinked, the sound of her own sigh didn't sound right. It was then she noted her hands that kept her propped up. Instead of the four fingers and one thumb as she was expecting but rather two large digits that were her finger plus the opposable thumb on each hand. She stared at them for a while before looking at the rest of her.
She was dressed in mail armour and she knew instinctively that she was now a lot taller than she originally was. "What in the hell...?" she muttered, wondering what had happened. She was basically a Minotaur now though she supposed that this was actually some odd representation of the game her friend had introduced and made her addicted to. She felt her face and sure enough, it was bovine in touch, her fur strange to feel and there was no mistaking the curves of her horns. She looked back to the dinosaur who looked back to her expectantly and she thought for a moment. She was a hunter on the game with a Ironhide Devilsaur that looked exactly like this. Except this relic was more realistic in nature than she had ever imagined.
Biting her lower lip slightly, and curiously she could feel canine teeth with her tongue, she decided to try something out. She rose again and tried to use her extra appendage that she realised was the thing she had sat on before. Her balance improved immensely and she smiled, her confidence boosted. She looked back to the waiting creature stood before her and she could hear how deep her voice was now. It was understandable but deep nonetheless.
"Zeus?"
The dinosaur seemed to react to the name she had called hers in the game itself. She was only trying this out as she was not sure of the predator's intentions. She could only guess that it was at least a little friendly cause it had not tried to attack or eat her. At least, not yet. His head bobbed slightly and made a soft growl in response. His tail too seemed to pick up more in excitement. Her heart beating thirty to the dozen, she extended her hand to his snout. He sniffed at it before rubbing his head into her touch, and he seemed to know exactly how much weight to exert without pushing her over.
"Well this is very peculiar," she said, deciding he was definitely a friend and not the foe she feared him to be. She rubbed his snout to indicate she was no longer uncertain of him. He seemed glad and moved to her side looking at the ready. "Very peculiar," she echoed herself and shook her head. At least her accent still sounded British, to the most part.
"Here now, yew look lost," the accent was strange and the voice masculine. Zeus turned and eyed the Troll male as if deciding whether he was food or not. She turned, a little unsteadily and used Zeus's calf to steady herself. "Are yew all right, mon?" he asked, noticing her unsteadiness.
"I'm fine, thank you," she replied, trying to sound friendly and polite. She took him in for a moment and if anything, his attire and voice seemed to her as if he'd been plucked right out of the Caribbean but his face was certainly not a friendly black face. His face was a little heavy, with skin that was of a deep blue. His hair was a fiery red, his nose was pierced in two places and he had two tusks jutting out from his jaw. His raptor was attired in armour that suited it strangely enough, the head-dress bearing feathers.
The two dinosaurs growled at each other slightly, both unsure of each other's intention but there was not a lot the raptor was going to risk. The Devilsaur was just too big for him to pit against. The raptor made a few noises of digression and the troll seemed to notice this and chuckled. "Will you be okay? I gots important letters to get to Durotar, eh,"
She nodded, "I'll... I'll be just fine. I got him to keep me safe," she gestured to Zeus's gaping jaws and the male grinned before hopping lightly on his mount.
"Beware of the voodoo," he said in parting and he steered the raptor onwards along the road. She scowled wondering what the hell that was supposed to mean. She shook her head in the end, wondering what to make out of all this. She went to scratch her thigh only to feel some rock hard surface. She peered down and saw the axe attached to her thick belt. She unattached it and held it in her alien-looking hand. It was perfectly balanced, she could feel it. The jagged edge of the blade made it look like a fearsome weapon and not something to be messed with. She reattached it and pondered. She reached behind her and sure enough, she felt the hilt of the blunderbuss in the special holster on her broad back. She didn't take it out, only went on to check the various bags attached to the belt as well.
"Curiouser and curiouser," she whispered to herself and leaned on what was now her loyal companion. She didn't think he'd mind or feel it too much. So much had happened in a short amount of time with no knowledge of how or why she was here. There had to be some scientifical spiel that would explain this. But then, regarding Zeus, she would probably be open to more weirder reasons. She wondered what to do now and knew she was going to be relying a lot on Zeus till she found her feet... hooves.
She peered about the place and knew that from how African it looked that she was somewhere in the Barrens in Kalimdor. Least her memory wasn't failing her. It was the last thing she needed right now. She was so confused and if she wasn't careful, her mood would decline rapidly and not even Zeus would keep her on track. She peered at the road, nothing more than level square bricks set in the hard soil. "Think we should follow this road, Zeus?" she said aloud knowing he couldn't reply in kind.
He only looked at her for a moment and she nodded, "I get it. I'm boss." Sighed, she began to head down the road absently going the opposite direction that the troll rider had gone. She didn't know what made her go south instead of north, but south she went with one Devilsaur sticking close by to his mistress, knowing that she wasn't quite right.
~~~ & ~~~
There was something not quite right in his world. He was still in slumber but his bed seemed to rock or move one way and than roll the other way. He made to sigh and got a mouthful of liquid for his trouble. He spluttered about for a quite a bit till he woke up at last and found himself offshore in clear blue water., floating. "What the?" he muttered and he didn't recognise himself.
He didn't have much of a chance to know or assert himself for something tugged at him from below. He peered down and noted something huge and menacing with its mouth clamped shut on his... he frowned. Was that even his foot... he didn't have feet that big. Blinking, he tried to get himself free from the creature, having to try and kick it off with the other... foot. Again, fate it seemed wanted to toy with him and the rocking motion that had stirred him partly from slumber rose with a new-found passion, as if to mimic some creature playing its prey.
For a while, he didn't know what was happening or where he was going but he soon realised. The wave made him crash into the shoreline, which did make whatever that had a bite on him let go. He groaned and slowly got up only to stare at his hands. If this was a dream, it was one hell of a weird one. He heard a weird and stumpy sounding laugh, though it was more of a cackle.
"Look 'ere, Tarrek. Look what the sea spit out," another goblin joined the first and nodded, laughing too now.
"A druid too by the looks of 'im. Come on, we'd best get him somethin'. He's probably the owner of that mad kodo too,"
"Only if he's payin'"
"Kodo had a bob on him, Dutzel." Terrek said as he moved to help the male tauren out, not realising that all was rather strange with him.
He blinked and shook his head before he sat up, peering at the pair with heavy thought. He only caught a few of the words as they were speaking so rapidly. He frowned and used the time to check himself over. He was definitely in his druid's form all right... though how was a mystery. He allowed them to push him up though he ended up doing most of the work anyway. They were barely any taller than Gnome's anyway, probably a head shorter of an average Dwarf.
He glanced about and saw the reason for what had made him go into the shore. A boat had docked and he saw various men offloading and loading various sizes of crated, sacks and barrels. A parrot flitted here and there and he scratched his jaw in wonder.
"I'm good now," he said, wringing the water out of the strange clothes he wore. They seemed a little moulded in nature but he wasn't going to complain. He could have been far worse. "Did you say Kodo?" he asked, having no idea if they would understand him.
The two goblins glanced at each other and one nodded, "Aye, Kodo! Came bolsterin' in and ruined everything. Had to get the bruisers to deal with the thing!" Terrek stated huffily before he waved at Richard to follow. "This way," Richard peered about, unsure and wondering why the place looked so familiar. Then it hit him right in the face. Ratchet, a neutral town run mostly by the profiteering goblins and it was the same with Booty Bay.
He followed Terrek to where the Kodo was being kept. The beast was large with armoured plating covering various parts of it frame that were evidently vulnerable and needed protection. The head was low to the ground with two horns jutting out from its head. It seemed to recognise him and swung its head with a low grunt, its feet shifting with the movement.
"Knows you, it does!" the Goblin said, "I hope you got enough to pay for the damage it did,"
Richard looked at him blankly, realising just how out of it he was. He checked his pockets, or bags and found a little in there. He looked on the Kodo and found a bit on him too though why the kodo had currency on him was strange in itself. That didn't happen in the game did it?
He sighed and handed the money to Terrek, "That enough?" he said, sounding gruff. The goblin counted and then nodded.
Terrek smiled, then grinned and waved at him, "Have a nice day!" The two goblins then left him to it, leaving him dumbfounded and confused. He wondered if what had happened to him had happened to Laura too. He hoped so, he looked at the Kodo and sighed.
It didn't help he didn't know how to ride the bloody thing.