Chapter 7: On the Road Again
Disclaimer: I do not own World of Warcraft. It is property of Blizzard Entertainment. The plot and Character's personalitys are mine though.
During the trek to Everlook, I had managed to organize most of my thoughts...Sort of. First of all, I made sure Thal kept his distance from me at all times. There would be no more physical contact between the two of us from here on out. Also, talking would be kept to a minimum. I had set my mind to the current task at had. There was no way I was going to be side tracked now. Eventually, we would have to go our separate ways, and once we had it would be good riddance. At least, that's what I hoped. Thinking it over as Thal and I made our way through the cold zone of Winterspring, me never shifting from my bear form as it was the only thing keeping me warm, I realized over the past few years I had been stationed in Northrend I had become a shell of my former care free self. My mind had become one big battle strategy, keeping me from showing my true self and over time I became just like many other's scared by death. I rarely showed any emotion and I tried to keep my feelings hidden from others. Getting to the point, I was almost like some sort of war machine. While before I wouldn't have cared much for the revelation, now it was a bit disturbing.
I realized I was now on the path to breaking the mask I had hid myself behind for so long. During the time I spent with Thal before I had regained my memories, I had gotten back in touch with nature. Now that that part of my formal self had surfaced, there was no use in trying to subdue it again. It was safe to say I was now half my former self and half the machine death had made me. Unfortunately, this lead to my druid instincts and my finely tuned warrior instincts to conflict with each other, making me see things from two different perspectives. Normally, this wouldn't be a bad thing. But when it came to the subject of the Death Knight who was proudly ridding his mount beside me it was a whole different story. Part of me couldn't bare to even breathe the same air he did, while the other part wanted to blush every time I caught him glancing my way. It was very confusing to say the least. While I had the two sides agreeing on most subjects, this was one neither side seemed to be able to let go of. No matter how much I persuaded, neither side would give an inch, so I was stuck like this for who knows how long! It was really aggravating.
"We're here," said Thal, bringing my mind back to reality.
Everlook was like Gadgetzan. There was a high wall surrounding the city protecting the inner residents, huts and buildings here and there, and your occasional goblin. The only difference was instead of sand blanketing the floor, there was snow. It was your average inland goblin settlement. The only thing I wanted to do with this place was buy supplies and take the fastest hippogryph out of here. I didn't really care for this place, but that was because of all the Yetis. Of course, I had forgotten I had no money of my own so Thal had to purchase all the supplies. I found it odd that he got so much stuff, but I just passed it off as him trying to impress me or something.
Finally, I deemed myself ready to continue on my mission. As I was headed toward the hippogryph keeper to schedule a ride from here to Darnassus, Thal intercepted me.
"What are you doing?" he asked.
"Purchasing a flight to Darnassus, why?"
Thal gave me a quizzical look. It was like the words that came out of my mouth were from a different language or something.
"You didn't believe we could actually travel together until Northrend, did you?"
"That's why I bought all those supplies."
Never in my life did I ever think I would find someone so...so...Ugh! Could Thal seriously be that naïve? Well, maybe this was my fault in some way, though I would never admit it out loud. I probably should have set Thal straight before we got here. He probably still believed I needed protecting. I inwardly sighed.
"Thal, listen. I know you might think that I still need protecting, but I have my memories back now. I'm a seasoned warrior, even if my strength lies in healing."
"You didn't think I knew that?" asked Thal. Well, really I didn't. "I know you don't need my protection anymore, but traveling together seems better than alone."
I sighed. He was beating around the bush. "Alright Thal, spit it out. What's on your mind?"
His eyes shifted around nervously for a few minutes. The wind picked up and I shivered. I didn't have an extra layer of fat to protected me like I did in my bear form, and my clothes weren't quite adequate for the weather.
"Okay okay. Now that the Lich King's looking for you, and since his shades saw the both of us, I'm pretty sure he's going to be coming after me as well. While I can handle the odd ghoul every now and then, if he sends enough to overwhelm me I'm a goner. The same could be said for you. You can fight so long, but how long will your strength last, Coria?"
"My real name is Seth, by the way." I could see he was about to ask questions, but I was sure they could wait for another time. "So, what's your point?"
"All I'm saying is I think it would be safer to travel together. That way, if he does decide to send a small army after us we'd at least stand a chance. I've got your back, Seth. Do you have mine?"
As much as part of me hated to admit, he did have a point. While I was a good fighter, there was no way I could swallow more than I could chew. For once, my two sides were in agreement. Thal would have to travel with us, but there was no way we would travel by foot. As the wind picked up again, I motioned for Thal to follow me into the inn so I could warm up and we could discuss our plan of action.
Since we were currently positioned at Everlook, the fastest way to Northrend would be via zeppelin. The problem with that was only Horde were aloud to use the zeppelins. While I was very good at sneaking around in cat form, there was no way I would be able to stay hidden aboard for very long. That plan wasn't totally out of the picture though. Thal had suggested I might be able to sneak on as a hunter's pet, but I was extremely skeptical about that. There really didn't seem to be a way we could both travel to Northrend together. It seemed like no matter what, we were going to be separated, and that wasn't a good thing. If we were a part to long, one of us could run into trouble and be delayed. If that were to happen, the other would have no way of knowing.
"Damn!" whispered Thal as he leaned back in the wooden chair that he was sitting in. "It looks like no matter what, we're going to have to go separate ways!"
"Yeah, I--" I stopped mid sentence as I realized something neither of us had ever thought of.
"What?" Asked Thal.
"Cultists," I whispered out. "We didn't even think of that! What if Arthas had placed cultists either on the boat or zeppelin? And if not there, maybe at the landing docks or around that general area?"
We sat in silence for a while, both of us trying to think of ideas around that little problem. I didn't think there was one, seeing as how the only means of transportation to Northrend was via Alliance boat or Horde zeppelin.
"I've got it!" That shouted, drawing attention to us. I wanted to whack him over the head, but that would have drawn the attention of the Everlook bruisers, and that wasn't something we needed right now.
"Quiet down!" I glared at him. "What's your idea?"
He smirked at me. "Pirates."
"Pirates?" I repeated.
"Sure! Pirates are neutral right? Most of them have boats, right? Well, with a little 'persuading' I bet we could get them to take us straight to Northrend no questions asked! The Lich King wouldn't even see it coming! We could step right onto the shores with out him even knowing we're there!
"Damn. That's a good plan. Why didn't I think of that?" I asked, not even realizing I had said it aloud.
"Because my dear, you have been trained to think like the enemy, while I on the other hand like to think out of the box. Now here," he said digging around in one of his bags, "take these gold coins and get yourself a room. It's getting dark, and I think the flight masters aren't taking any more riders."
I looked at the gold on the table and scooped it up. "What about you?" I asked.
"I'll get a separate room. It wouldn't seem right if a Night elf and a Blood elf were sharing a room, now would it? Although, if you wanted..."
I stood up slamming my fists onto the table attracting attention yet again. "No, separate rooms will be wonderful. I need some time away from you."
I could feel him smirking at me from behind. There were times when that guy really got on my nerves. I looked down at the coins in my hand as I walked to the innkeeper. And then there were other times when the things he did seemed too kind.
For the first time in two years I slept well. I even had a dream about being back home in Darnassus with my brother. After I freshened up, Thal and I went over our plan once again. The closest place where we might be able to find some pirates would be Rachet. Once we were ready, the two of us would take the flight path from here to there. Thal assumed it would be pretty late by then, so we would have to rent more rooms at the inn. I was going to ask Thal if money was going to be a problem, but from all the bags he was carrying, I guessed we could pawn a few things if we needed to. I wouldn't be against making some potions and selling those if I needed to either.
After talking to the flight master, I learned I would only need to stop once before I reached Rachet, and it would only take two or three hours. That would leave me with time to spare after I landed. I hoped Thal's flight would be just as fast.
Unfortunately for Thal, his flight wasn't as fast as he would have liked. His first stop was in Orgrimmar. Now, he knew there would be some air traffic, and it might take him half an hour or so to get onto another wyvern and get back on his way. Upon his arrival however, he learned that the city was even more crowded than he had expected. It would take two whole hours for another flight to be available for him. Thal sighed. He was stuck in this god awful city for another two whole hours. What the hell was he suppose to do?
Thal wondered around The Drag for awhile, looking at a few items vendors here and there were selling. As he passed various huts, the smell of leather hit his nose. It was really a nasty smell and he hurried out of that area as fast as he could. Thinking of leather made him think of Seth. While she did like the clothes he had made for her, even if he hadn't told her so, they wouldn't be appropriate for travel. As he skimmed through the merchants wares, he decided that they wouldn't quite be enough. He had a thought about skimming the Auction House, but things on there were usually way overpriced. Then again, he could always have a leather worker make them for him, but he didn't have the materials on him at the moment, and that lead him right back to the auction house. Maybe he would get lucky and run into one of his friends who was a leather worker. He mentally laughed. "What are the odds of that happening?"
Just at that moment, he managed to bump into someone, knocking himself down onto the ground.
"Ey! Watch where ya...Tal?"
Thal looked up. He only knew one troll, and the odds of him running into her right now were so low, he didn't even think it possible. By some random twist of fate, there she was standing in front of him in all her carrot-top glory.
"Hey Carrot-Top!" he greeted her with a smile, taking her extended hand and pulling himself up. "Where's snowball?" he asked.
"Her name be Scarlet, Tal, and mine ain't Carrot-Top neither!" replied the troll.
"Yeah, yeah, I know. I'm only teasing Hinter So, what are you doing in the big city? You were more of a country girl last I remember."
The troll crossed her arms. "Der be so much air traffic, I ain't been able to leave dis city for two days! So, I decided ta get some trainin' done while I'm 'ere," replied the troll mater-of-factly.
"Wait, Hinter, you're a leather worker right?" asked Thal.
The question was a bit off topic, but the hunter nodded her head anyway.
"I was wondering..."
"Where the hell is he?" I asked to no one in particular. I had landed over an hour ago and quite frankly, I was bored. Sure, I could have gone to scout for some pirates, but what if Thal had showed up while I was gone? Or what happened if I had found the pirates, but they wouldn't negotiate? If I had to be honest with myself, the main reason I was waiting for him was because pirates scared the living hell out of me. They were one of the only things that did. Growing up around Darkshore I had experienced my fair share of pirate raids. While usually small and warded off quickly, the pirates themselves were scary. Right now I didn't want to think about them.
Just when I had decided I was fed up with waiting and was about to go look for a few herbs, the lord himself finally arrived.
"It's about time! What took you so long?" I asked folding my arms. Without even looking at me, he began digging around in one of his larger bag and pulled out three boxes.
"What's all that?"
"There for you," he said handing them to me.
More stuff? Had I offended him in some way that he thought he needed to get me gifts to set things straight? Well, either way I suppose I wasn't complaining. Taking the first box and setting it down on the table in front of me I opened it up. Inside was a brown leather tunic that I could wear over the silk shirt Thal made me. Under the tunic were black leather pants. These would help a lot on our journey! The continuing boxes held brown leather braces, gloves, and black leather boots. These new clothes would be perfect! I couldn't believe Thal cared enough to buy these for me. As I put them on, I could feel the small boost to my powers. How much had he paid for these?
"Thal, how much did these cost?"
"After this is all over, I owe my friend...Big time."
That's all he said and I smiled. I felt a little better knowing he hadn't spend any of his money on me. I really didn't want to have to owe him anything, but at the rate things were progressing I was probably going to be working off my debt to him for years to come.
Seriously, who doesn't hate those Yetis? Okay, well maybe now a days the quest for the yeti furs and stuff is easier, but back in the few months after Bc's launch the drop rate for those items SUCKED! Me and my friend must have spent like three days on that cursed quest chain! BURN THE YETIS!!
~viv~ (Squiggles ~ are ftw)
