Disclaimer: I mostly don't own Naruto or World of Warcraft…mostly.
Here's the next installment of The Legend of Uzumaki Naruto!
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"Aw', come on! Can't you at least tell me where I am in relation to Ironforge? I need to get there! Hey, are you listening to me?"
An old dwarf cast a shrewd look back at the fuming, frustrated, and extremely travel worn boy, before answering simply,
"No."
Naruto ground his teeth in frustration. He had been traveling for three days since he had left the mining town of Margen, and it was only until halfway through his second day did he realize that he was completely and totally lost. Despite trying to follow Grundig's directions, he had quickly lost his way in a rather foolish attempt to travel during a rather heavy snowstorm, (he was still suffering taunts from the Kyuubi, even now). After a day more of traveling and dispensing of some small nuisances, mostly small, ragged looking wolves, sometimes the occasional wolverine, he had come across a small camp, an old dwarf sitting around a cozy fire, watching a rabbit sizzle and cook on a spit over it. A small tent, which had appeared to be made out of animal skins sat behind the dwarf. The dwarf himself was dressed in furs as well, had a grizzled beard that seemed to be prevalent in all dwarves, and a rather becoming scowl set on his wizened face. Naruto, hoping to at least get some directions, and maybe even a part of the rabbit, had asked him which direction Ironforge was. The dwarf had promptly told Naruto to leave, though not in such nice words. A little angry that he had been shot down, and no longer believing he would get some food, Naruto had persisted, even throughout the dwarf's meal.
Finally, after he had finished, the dwarf had gotten up, picked up a strange, metal and wood cylindrical object, that widened into a funnel shape at the end, with a hole in the middle. Near the other end of the shaft was a small, rounded piece of metal, forming a rough semi-circle around another, slightly curved metal piece. The end of the shaft was made of wood, and had widened considerably, forming a roughly triangular form, with a slightly curved bottom. Attached on the opposite side of the circular metal piece was another round piece with a cross-shaped marking in the middle. Naruto was puzzled by the strange object, but didn't ask about it, and continued to hound the dwarf about where Ironforge was. He had not stopped, even as they walked through the snow-covered landscape.
He was just about to give up, when the dwarf stopped, and cocked his head to the side, like a dog trying to figure out a sound. Naruto listened as well, and soon he could hear the slight padding sound of something moving through the fresh, powdery snow. The dwarf got down on one knee, and glared at Naruto to do the same, not speaking a word. Naruto did so, not understanding what the dwarf was doing. The dwarf raised the strange cylinder, pointing it towards a small hill, roughly six yards away.
A large, black, furry form suddenly appeared, lumbering softly over the hill. In the distance, Naruto's sharp eyes could clearly make out what it was, a bear. It was the largest bear Naruto had ever seen, with deep black fur, and it hulked through the snow, letting out small grunts as it did.
The dwarf held the cylinder up to his face, looking through the circular piece with the cross in the middle. He held it for several moments, which reminded Naruto of someone aiming a bow, and then pulled the curved piece of metal on the bottom of the shaft.
The cylinder emitted a loud, echoing boom, and fire erupted from the funnel-shaped end. Naruto nearly fell over in surprise, even more so when the bear suddenly dropped to the ground, not a second later, and lay still. The smell of blood mixed into the sharp, acrid smell that had filled the air when the cylinder had shot out fire. The dwarf got up, and without a word made his way towards the fallen bear.
Naruto, too shocked to speak, dumbly followed the dwarf. When he walked up next to the beast, which was a bit larger than Naruto had expected it to be, Naruto saw that the snow next to its head was stained red, and the bear's left eye had burst open, a steady stream of blood gushing from the wound. Naruto couldn't believe it, what kind of weapon shot out fire, that didn't even reach its target, and created small holes in the middle of eyes?
"What the hell was that?" Naruto said, recovering slightly from his stupefaction. The dwarf, for once, didn't scowl, but gave him an odd look.
"Yeh never heard of a rifle, boy?" Naruto blinked, turning the strange word over in his mind. The word was completely foreign to him, and was somewhat hard to pronounce to boot.
"No…what is it? How did you kill that bear? Why did you kill that bear?" The dwarf frowned, before producing a small, curved knife, before bending down, and opening the bear's mouth. Without a second thought, the dwarf slashed out the bear's tongue, placing it into a small, leather satchel at his side. He then began to skin it, and as he did, answered Naruto's final question.
"The missus wan's me ta bring 'er 'ome some bear tongues…She's makes a fine stew wit' em." The dwarf then looked at Naruto again, frowning a little.
"I'll tell yah what, boy. You get me some o' them tongues…a dozen should do it…and I'll tell yah how ta' get ta' Ironforge. I don' really trust others…had some bad experiences wit' other races…but yeh don' seem so bad…so do that fer me…an' I'll tell ya'." Naruto blinked, and grinned a bit.
"If that's what it takes…sure, I'll do it!" The dwarf nodded, grunting.
"Me name's Aldren, after yeh done, come back to the camp, and I'll tell ya' where ta' go." He tossed Naruto another curved knife, saying, "Use that ta' cut 'em out, the meets bad, and yeh' don' look like a skinner, so don' try ta' skin em, but try to remember where they are, so I can come back an' skin 'em meself."
Naruto nodded, slipping the curved, skinning knife into his kunai pouch, before turning and hurrying off into the snow forest.
He got nearly twenty yards away, before he realized that he still had no idea what a "rifle" was.
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It was dark by the time Naruto returned to the camp, his clothes reeking of blood and a musky animal smell. Aldren was sitting by the fire, roasting another rabbit, and scowling as usual. Naruto deposited the blood covered bear tongues in a heap next to the old dwarf, and sat down opposite him.
"Got 'em…so you going to tell me, or what, Aldren-shuju?" The dwarf gave Naruto a slight frown before pointing in to his right.
"There's a road 'bout a mile that way…heads straight to the great city, yeh'd have ta be a complete idiot not ta' notice it, boy."
Naruto flushed slightly, before standing up, and making to leave. He was about to, when he heard the dwarf say behind him,
"Yeh're gonna need some grub, 'fore yeh make the trek, boy."
Naruto blinked, then, grinning sat down opposite the dwarf once more, happily awaiting his share of the rabbit.
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It was dawn when Naruto saw it.
It had been several hours after Naruto had left Aldren's camp, the old dwarf giving him a rough goodbye, as well as letting Naruto keep the skinning knife. Aldren had spent most of the time talking about his trade as a trapper and skinner. He even showed Naruto several ways how to skin something, demonstrating on one of the bear carcasses that was closer to the camp. Naruto decided that it would be a useful thing to know in the future, and Aldren even let Naruto keep the skinning knife he had given him. In addition, he had explained to Naruto, (several times) what a rifle was. Naruto was amazed and mystified by the weapon, and only grew more confused as the dwarf spoke. It didn't use chakra, but rather a mixture of strange substances, combined with a small ball of metal, called a bullet, and some fire. The fire ignited the mixture, and it blasted the ball out of the end of the rifle, which then moved at nigh super-sonic speeds to strike an opponent far away. While Naruto was amazed by it, he still found it rather cheap, and didn't think he'd ever want to use one. Naruto was slightly amazed at how different people here were than Konoha.
Aldren had said that he didn't particularly like other races, and yet he had told Naruto the way to Ironforge, as well as teaching him skinning. It simply boggled his mind that people could be so friendly here.
THE FACT THAT THEY HAVE NO IDEA I EXIST HELPS I IMAGINE.
Probably.
Naruto had just stopped at the foot of a long, winding path up towards a mountain as he said that, and as his eyes adjusted to the sight of a brilliant rising sun, he saw something amazing in the shadows of a mountain ahead of him.
He gaped
And I thought Stormwind was impressive…Carved into the side of the massive mountain was a huge stone structure. It stretched up a good portion of the side of the mountain, and on either side of it, seeming to grow out of the mountain itself, where several towers. The central structure was decorated in blue and gold colors, and in the center, just above a massive door a huge symbol of an anvil was displayed in gold. Naruto's mouth hung agape at the sheer size, and more over the awesomeness of the structure. No one in Konoha, he guessed, could have created such an amazing structure.
He walked a little up the hill, still awed by the sight of the great city of Ironforge. As he started up the path, he heard a strange rumbling sound. The sound grew louder and as Naruto watched, a massive metallic vehicle rumbled down the mountain path towards him. It was larger than a horse, made of metal and bore strange looking wheels that just resembled large cylinders with grooves etched in. The front was shaped like a birds head, gripping the foremost cylinder-wheel in its mouth. Mounted atop the monstrous machine was a large cylindrical tube, which reminded Naruto of Aldren's rifle, only far, far bigger.
Definitely don't wanna find out how big the bullets are for that thing. He mused. He approached the doors wearily, when suddenly he heard a shout.
"Oi! Hald it righ' there!"
Naruto stopped immediately, and looking around for the source of the voice. The ground continued to shake as the vehicle made its way towards him, belching steam as it did, before it came to a stop a few feet in front of Naruto, and suddenly the top of the large rifle popped open, and a frazzled looking old dwarf emerged, his face scowling. His hair was a graying black, and he had only one eye, the other being covered with a small black patch.
The dwarf had a large cigar in his mouth, and, biting off a significant portion and spitting it to the side, he addressed the blonde.
"Wher' da' ye' thin' yeh're goin', bairn? Eh? Wher'? Huh? Huh?" The dwarf chewed on his cigar some more, and his speech became even more difficult to decipher for the young shinobi.
"Thi' place's off limi's fo' yeh' 'umans! Ge' it? Huh? Huh? Leave! If ya' don', then I'll blast yeh! Eh! Eh!"
Naruto, not really sure what exactly the old dwarf had said, but sensing that it wasn't good, shouted,
"Hey! I gotta reason for being here! Let me in! I need to see the king!"
The dwarf, however, just shouted back, after spitting some more of his cigar away.
"Yea' righ'! Yeh'r jus' tryin' ta' ge' passed meh! Yeh can' fool Groonda! Ah'm a veteran! Ah kno' all them tricks!"
"You're senile old man! Let me in!" Naruto roared back, tired of the man's ranting already.
The dwarf growled at the insult, for more reasons than one, and ducked back into the huge vehicle.
"Ah warn'd yah! Now ah'll blast yeh!"
Naruto took a few steps back as the massive cannon swiveled to point at his exact position. He immediately leapt out of the way as the end exploded, firing a massive black sphere of metal at the blonde. It struck the ground, and Naruto was blasted forwards from the force of the explosion, but managed to get back to his feet quickly. Already the huge rifle was turning towards his position once more.
Growling, Naruto rushed forwards, an explosive note in his hand. He leapt up in time to avoid another shot, and slapped it on the beak of the hawk-shaped front, jumping away as the fuse was lit. He landed a few yards away, not turning around as the telltale sound of a note going off filled his ears, accompanied by the screeching of metal being ripped apart forcefully.
When he finally did turn, he found to his horror that only a small portion of the front had been affected at all. The hawk now had a huge scorch-mark on its face, and the front wheel had portion of its front blown away. Unfortunately, even though the tank likely couldn't move anymore, its rifle barrel was already turning towards Naruto's position. It released another burst of fire, shooting the dark ball right at the blonde. Naruto quickly created a Kage Bunshin, who took the full force of the blow, while the real Naruto jumped clear. The clone, amazingly, managed to stop the flight of the ball, but the explosion that followed quickly removed it from battle, permanently.
The real Naruto charged directly at the back of the tank, gathering a Rasengan into his palm, he rammed it into the armor plated back, causing his hand to sink directly into the metal, and blast it away from the inside. The result was that the front of the tank suddenly erupted outwards, along with a frazzled looking Groonda. The dwarf landed hard on the ground a few yards in front of the tank, and the shards of metal scattering around him, some even imbedding themselves in the stone mountain wall.
Naruto exhaled, and leapt over the ruins of the machine, walking towards the gawking dwarf, who suddenly began to scramble away.
"Oi! Oi! Oi! Ye' can' 'arm meh! Ay'm a veter'n o' the army o' Ironforge! Yeh can' just break a dwarf's tan' lik' tha'!"
Naruto grit his teeth in annoyance, having enough of the old dwarf's ramblings.
"Just let me in! I have a reason, and proof that I'm allowed in! I'll even show you!" He began to take out the scroll, when a series of shouts and the heavy footfalls of metal on dirt making their way towards him. Groonda grinned, looking relieved, and backed away, ready to let the reinforcements deal with the blonde. Naruto groaned.
Nothing's ever easy, is it?WHERE WOULD THE FUN BE IN THAT?
As Naruto watched, a large group of dwarves ran down the path towards him, all bedecked in heavy-looking, metal armor. Some held rifles similar to Aldren's, albeit bigger, but most held large axes, who stood at the front, on either side of their fallen comrade. One such dwarf walked forwards, a distrustful scowl on his face, and his body ready to attack or defend if need be.
"What is going on here…hmmm?" The dwarf spoke in a much clearer accent than any the boy had heard before, and he was slightly relieved. He was about to speak, when Groonda yelped,
"He's a monster! He blow'd me tan' up an' try'd ta' kill meh!" He pointed accusingly at Naruto to prove his point. Most of the dwarfs raised eyebrows, observing the destruction with disbelieving eyes. Some, however, glared at Naruto accusingly, their weapons ready to fire if he made a move.
The lead dwarf frowned, and then spoke again.
"This true? Boy?"
"No," Naruto responded through gritted teeth, incredibly annoyed at the fallen dwarf for putting him in this situation. He then elaborated.
"I was trying to get in…I have a reason and proof that its important, but that crazy freak didn't listen…and tried to kill me!" He pointed at the dwarf, unconsciously mimicking Groonda's previous gesture.
The lead dwarf frowned again, but not taking his eyes off Naruto, asked.
"May I see it? The proof that yeh spoke of?" Naruto nodded, still glaring at Groonda, and handed the dwarf the scroll. He took it from the blonde, and unrolled it, his sharp eyes scanning the entirety of the document, widening slightly as they did. He looked at Naruto again, and then back at the scroll. Then, he spoke.
"The dwarf who wrote this…what color hair did he have?" Naruto blinked at the question, but answered nonetheless.
"Red," he said without a moment's hesitation. The dwarf blinked, looked at the scroll a final time, and then broke out into a huge grin. He suddenly shouted to the other dwarfs in the heavy language that he had first heard spoken in Margen, and at once they adopted looks of disbelief, before that melted away into broad grins matching the lead dwarf's. Groonda just looked stunned, as the first dwarf smacked Naruto's head in greeting, before saying,
"Well met, lad! You dinnae ken how happy we are to hear about this news! Yeh're a regular hero!" Naruto grinned back, glad that he had been believed. The other dwarfs began to move back inside the massive fortress, and the lead dwarf said to Naruto,
"Come with us, lad! We'll inform the king, an' give yeh' some time to rest and relax. Yeh're as welcome in Ironforge as any dwarf after what yeh did for us!" Naruto's grin was now nearly splitting his face in half. A feeling he had never once experienced in his life had welled up inside him, and refused to go down.
Acceptance.
Acknowledgement.
The very things he had been striving for in Konoha for so long he had achieved here in little under a minute. He had always wanted to be a hero, someone who could be relied upon, and recognized. His dream of becoming Hokage had been for that reason. So he could not only prove he was strong, but also that he could be trusted as someone who would always be there for the village.
He was that now, here.
Reveling in the feeling Naruto followed the dwarf inside, passing by the one-eyed dwarf who was still lying in shock on the ground. Naruto frowned.
"Who is that guy? Why'd he attack me before he even listened?" the dwarf sighed a little, before answering.
"His name's Groonda, and he was once a fine soldier, but over the years has gone to the infirmary one time too many, and has become a bit…unbalanced. The king didn' have the heart to discharge him…so he guards the gates a coupla' times a month, the rest spent drinkin' in pubs in the city. It's a shame. He doesn' trust anyone who isn't a dwarf…and even then only if they wear the Ironforge tabard," he tapped the symbol on his chest, a large hammer with the silouette of a red mountain in front, "does he trust them completely." The dwarf sighed again, looking back at the stunned dwarf, then back at the ruined tank.
"Yeh did quite a number on the tank, lad…wouldn' have thought it was possible unless yeh hadn't given me this letter."
Naruto scratched his head sheepishly, causing the old dwarf to laugh.
"Yeh needn't be embarrassed, lad, yeh're quite powerful. Wish we had more like yeh. My name's Undrig, by the way." Naruto grinned, saying.
"Naruto Uzumaki."
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They walked up the path towards the great looming entrance to Ironforge. They passed several different structures, all of which bore resemblance to a rifle in someway, though they were quite a bit bigger, and weren't mounted on tanks. Naruto couldn't keep his eyes off the amazing structures, and saw, with a bit of confusion, that the walls on both sides of the entrance, and adorning the cliff-faces that held the towers were a variety of what where clearly seals, though they were unlike any kind he had ever seen. Undrig must have sensed his puzzlement because he said,
"Those are runes, lad. They fill the entire city. The dwarves of old carved them in to make this place nearly impervious to damage, and to keep it from collapsing. Dunno what the mean, just what they do." Naruto nodded, wondering if there were seals in his world that could do similar things.
Ero-sennin had said to him once, about four months into his trip, that seals could do just about anything that jutsu couldn't. Seals were meant to store chakra, and use that stored chakra in a certain way. Jutsu used chakra instantly, burning it up on the fly. There were many things seals could already do, but there were likely many more that had yet to be discovered. His biggest example of this was the seal that adorned Naruto's stomach. It had been created specifically for the use of containing something as powerful as the Kyuubi.
If a seal can old an age-old demon fox…then I suppose it could hold stone and rock together for years and years.
They finally entered the massive building, and at once the slight cold that Naruto had felt disappeared, and he felt quite warm. The entrance hall was huge and wide, with many dazzling runes on the walls, and a massive statue at the end of the hall, which stood in a triumphant pose, clutching both axe and hammer in its hands. Naruto whistled at the craftsmanship, noticing how superior the sculpture was in comparison to its equivalent in Konoha, the Hokage monument. They crossed the room, Naruto following Undrig and he following the rest of the dwarfs. They reached the statue and then turned left down a hallway, before turning right at the end of it, and eventually coming to a massive chamber, which once again took the blonde's breath away.
Unbelievable…In front of him stood the biggest chamber he had ever seen. It was huge, the ceiling seeming to stretch to the heavens themselves, the walls tall and looming. In front of him a large canal had been place in the center, and gave off an intense heat. Across the canal a series of houses and buildings stood. A little to his right was a bridge, where dwarves were crossing in the dozens.
That was another thing; Naruto had never once seen so many dwarves. They littered the streets by the canal, walked in and out of buildings on both sides, talking, laughing, and doing things that were common in many large cities. Some stopped, looking curiously at Naruto, before continuing on with there daily lives. Naruto at first thought that they were surprisingly kind if they accepted him without a seconds glance, but then when he almost ran into one as they made for the bridge, he realized they probably only thought he was an underfed dwarf.
I'm not that short…YOU MAKE A MOUSE LOOK LARGE BY COMPARISON, BRAT.
Shut up, bastard! Not all of us are 50 feet tall and almost three times that long!WHICH IS PRECISELY WHAT IS WRONG WITH THIS WORLD.
Naruto growled softly at the demon's insult, but thankfully it was lost in the din. He followed Undrig and the dwarves across the bridge, peering over it slightly to see a river of what appeared to be liquid fire. He asked Undrig,
"What's that? Why do you have a river of fire in the middle of your city?" The dwarf grinned, answering swiftly.
"We dwarves are master craftsmen, lad, that there's a river of molten iron and rock, which is kept hot by massive bellows that are kept beneath the city. The river leads directly to the center o' the city, where the Great Forge stands. That's the throne of our king, it is, and is the center of crafting o' the city. I'll be going there in a bit, to tell his highness of yeh and what yeh've done. For now, yeh can stay in this inn over here," he pointed to a dark brown building a little down the canal, with a sign that read, The Red Donkey in deep red lettering. Naruto blinked, nodding but asked the dwarf something else that had been bothering him.
"Why isn't it really hot in here? You've gotta huge river of molten metal in the middle of the city…shouldn't that heat things up a bit?" The dwarf grinned and said,
"Runes lad, they're carved inta the side o' the walls, they keep the heat down, and double as protecting people from falling in. Someone falls down, the runes activate a bunch of machines, and they start rolling and afore the dwarf even hits the iron, a coupla' stone platforms come out and stop their falling. They were designed by the Gnomes, afore they left."
Naruto nodded, and having no more questions, stayed silent as they entered The Red Donkey. It was cozy inside, and Undrig walked right up to the innkeeper, a squat female with, (Naruto shuddered slightly) and the beginnings of a beard. Undrig spoke to her in rapid Dwarvish, pointed to Naruto once, and then nodded, handing her a few coins before returning to Naruto.
"Yeh've got a room for the night, lad, I'll be off to let the king know about yeh're presence, and yeh can meet him later tonight." Naruto shook his head,
"I need to meet him now! I've still got a lot to do, and I can't spend it sleeping or resting!" Undrig grinned a little.
"Yeh've got spirit, lad, I'll give yeh that. But don' push yerself. Whatever it is, you'll be able to wait a bit. Yeh need yer rest as well. Sides, the King's gonna need some time to think and plan, now that his Iron deposits are safe. He'll want to prepare a greeting fit fer the hero yeh are, boy." Naruto blushed a little, still not used to the "hero" thing. Undrig walked past him to the door, throwing over his shoulder as he went,
"Just rest lad, I'll come get yeh when its time."
Grudgingly, Naruto acquiesced, and followed the innkeeper up the stairs to his room.
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"Oi, lad! Get up, the King has sent fer yeh!"
Naruto jolted awake at the shout, nearly falling out of the somewhat stumpy bed. Grumbling, he got out and threw on his pants, boots, and t-shirt, leaving his cloak and long-sleeved shirt in a pile. He put on his weapon's pouch and kunai holster as well, before opening the door, nearly crashing into Undrig as he did, who had been about to open it as well.
"Sorry…" he said, grinning. Undrig grinned back.
"Not a problem lad. Yeh ready? The King's eager to meet you." Naruto nodded and followed the dwarf down the stairs and out of the inn.
In the street, there were far less people than before, but Naruto attributed that to it being nighttime. They walked down the street, sticking to the canal, and Naruto began to feel warmer as he walked. A great brilliant light pulsated in the distance, just around the corner from the street. As they neared the light, it began to get much hotter, but not unbearably so. Naruto guessed the seals could only do so much to contain heat.
They eventually came to a large arch on their right. Once again, Naruto was amazed by the sight of the great structure and said to Undrig.
"Why do you guys make everything so big? To compensate?" The dwarf glared at him, despite hearing the humor in his voice.
"You should talk, I'm taller than yeh, and yeh're still a human." Naruto twitched at the jibe, but bit off a retort as he witnessed yet another amazing sight.
In front of him, a huge stone building had been erected in the middle of a molten lake, where the canal flowed. On both sides of the building, many huge containers gathered up the fiery metal, carrying it on large chains upwards out of sight. In front of the building a huge anvil stood, and dozens of smaller buildings stood, smoke pouring out from their chimneys.
Undrig grinned at his reaction, saying,
"That's the Great Forge, lad, its where every Dwarven weapons is forged. The iron is scooped up and cooled in a chamber above, before it is taken down and refined into whatever type of weapon we want. Some of it goes to the machine factory, where tanks like the kind yeh destroyed are made. Before they left, a good portion was given to the Gnomes in Tinker Town, a small section of Ironforge. There ain't many left now, but there's a coupla Gnome merchants that still inhabit it, and use some o' the iron to make their fancy gizmos and gadgets. The center building is King Magni's home, where the throne room and King Magni's chambers exist. He himself is a master blacksmith, though he is too busy with matters of the Scourge to usually use his talents. That's were we're goin', lad."
They walked towards the King's chamber, and Naruto found it hard not to stop and look at every thing that was being made as they passed. He saw swords being forged, axes being cooled and tempered, bullets being molded, and arrowheads being created. It was all so amazing that the blonde literally had to be dragged away from watching some of the processes.
That girl…whatshername…Lee's teammate…she's a weapon master, right? She'd be in heaven here.
They passed the huge anvil, and Naruto wondered briefly what use such small creatures could have for the great thing. He didn't say anything to Undrig about it, though, too enraptured by his surroundings to have a second thought on the subject.
They entered the huge building, and Naruto saw that it had very few windows, relying on the light from the forge outside and some smaller torches that had been placed around the circular chamber. He looked across the room, and saw that on a throne that had been raised on a rectangular platform, a dwarf sat. But for Naruto, this dwarf was unlike any he had met before.
He carried an incredible presence, reminiscent of Kira's teacher, Benedictus, and Tsunade herself. His hair was a deep, rich red, his face lined with age and numerous battle scars. He wore robes of deep blue, with the symbol of Ironforge emblazoned on the front. Two, huge hammers lay on either side of the throne, within arms reach, and Naruto guessed those were his weapons. Undrig immediately bowed upon arriving at the foot of the raised platform, and glared at Naruto to do the same.
Naruto didn't.
He didn't bow for anyone.
The King seemed to realize this, and with a slight grin on his face, said,
"So…you're the boy who not only saved one of my greatest friends, but helped secure the safety of my people in the mountains, as well as the safety of the iron ore, correct?"
Naruto nodded. Magni grinned.
"I thank you, then."
Naruto blinked when several of the guards gasped slightly, and Naruto got the impression that that didn't happen very often.
"Uh…you're welcome." Magni let loose a great, booming laugh, which echoed throughout the chamber, and was surprisingly clear considering the din outside.
When he had finished, the King sat down again, and spoke.
"So, lad, I am told you have something to discuss with me, eh? Let me here it, then."
Naruto nodded, took a deep breath, and began.
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"Interesting…young Kira has entrusted you with a difficult task, lad, one that I myself think may be impossible. There is much history between the races of the former Horde and the former alliance, and most of it isn't good. But, I see her reason as well. We cannot be divided any longer, not if we want to stop the Lich King…" The dwarf sat, brooding. He had sent his other guards away, including Undrig, so the chamber was empty save for Naruto and the King.
Naruto spoke,
"Your highness-shuju, I wanted to ask…why did you break away from the Alliance, what did Kira's old man say?" The dwarf looked older than his years when Naruto finished, and spoke quietly.
"It is not so much what he said, lad…but they he said it, full of arrogance and contempt, that made me so angry. In hindsight, however, I do regret my actions. I cannot begin to explain how sorry I have felt for that. I acted rashly, yes, and I have paid for it, as we all have. But what I do not understand is why he refuses to listen. I have sent several messengers, all proclaiming my deepest apologies, and the wish for a meeting to settle our differences. He has not responded, and each of the messengers has returned, never having even given a chance to hand over their messages. It is puzzling how strange Anduin is acting, and I am beginning to fear that there may be more behind his refusal to listen than just sheer arrogance and pride. I fear this because the same thing is occurring with my great friend, Mekkatorque, King of the Gnomes, who rebuffs my offers to help him in taking his land back. For him, it may be just his pride, but he has always been sensible, and it worries me that years of friendship and trust could have gone to waste so quickly… I know not what to do.
"Young Kira's idea is not entirely impossible, as we have allied with members of the Horde in past times. But it will be immensely difficult, I assure you. Even the Night Elves will be hard to both contact and convince, as they have many problems to deal with on their own. The Forsaken, however, will be the most difficult, as the Banshee Queen is distrustful of humans, of all races in fact, and will not listen to reason so easily.
"I give you my blessing, and I will send word to young Kira and the Archbishop Benedictus of my willingness to partake in this plan. If she cannot convince her father, then I doubt anyone could. In the meantime, I will say that your next destination is Gnomeregan, where Mekkatorque and his allies, the Gnomeregan Exiles, do battle against the troggs, who are responsible for taking over the great city."
Naruto nodded, his brain buzzing with newly acquired information. He stood up, ready to return to the inn and get his things, when the King spoke again.
"There is still, however, the matter of your reward…" Naruto stopped, startled, and looked back at the smiling dwarf king with wide eyes.
"R-reward? You're giving me a reward? Why?" the dwarf laughed.
"Because you have helped my people with your actions more than you can imagine, child. You have also lifted a burden from me, and now I can concentrate on the fighting of the Scourge to the North, and the creation of more weapons and machines to aid our cause. I have prepared it, lad, and I hope that you use it well." He clapped his hands a couple of times, and a door to the right of his throne opened, and a dwarf carried a long object wrapped in cloth out. The King lifted it gingerly from the dwarf's hands, and then walked down the steps, until he was standing in front of Naruto, looking slightly down at him.
"This lad…most recent, most likely last, creation…it is my pride…" He unwrapped the object, and the cloth fell away, revealing an absolutely beautiful looking sword. It was the size and make of a kodachi, though Naruto guessed it was designed for a dwarf, so it could be full-size. It had a beautiful, black scabbard, etched with many golden designs and runes. The hilt and square-shaped guard were both black, though the hilt had little red designs emblazoned on it. Magni carefully lifted the blade from its scabbard, revealing a flawless, silvery, single-edged blade, with the symbol of Ironforge etched in near the hand guard. The dwarf held it up for Naruto's inspection, and though he was no weapon's expert, he could tell it was one of the most beautiful weapons he would ever lay eyes on.
Naruto was speechless.
"You're…giving this to me?" He asked, stunned. Only once had he received a gift of such magnitude, and that had been because he had one a bet. Magni grinned.
"Aye, lad. This blade is one of my finest creations. The blade is made from one of most powerful substances in this world, Adamantium. It is virtually indestructible, and it took me many years to acquire enough necessary to forge a weapon out of such an incredible powerful metal. It will never lose its edge, and requires very little maintenance. I would like you to have it. I have no use for it otherwise…as I do not use swords, and had planned to simply give it to a warrior who proved themselves on the field of battle, but I think it will do much better in your hands, lad."
Naruto just stared as the dwarf sheathed the blade, rewrapped it, and held it out to him. Naruto took it, his mind still not registering the honor that this must be, to be given the greatest weapon the King of the Dwarves had ever forged.
Naruto never bowed to anyone.
But he would have done so then, if something else hadn't surfaced in his mind, causing him to blurt out,
"I don't know how to use a sword!"
Magni blinked.
Then, he laughed, long and hard, the tenseness of the moment vanishing in an instant. Naruto guessed that if he had been anyone else he would have been on the floor laughing, but being a king, he needed to keep up his image.
When he finished, the dwarf looked at Naruto again, grinning broadly.
"Well then, lad, it looks like we're going to have to fix that, eh?"
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Naruto returned to the inn, the new blade hanging from his belt. His mind was trying to process what had just happened.
After Naruto's ignorance in the art of swords, the king had somehow managed to get Naruto to stay for at least a week in order to learn how to properly use the blade, so that he didn't kill himself when he tried to use it. He had been unwilling at first, and prepared to give the sword back, but the king wouldn't have it.
"Mekkatorque and his group won't disappear in a weak lad, you have plenty of time. They've been fighting for years, and I don't believe that they'll die off in the next week. That weapon is easy enough to use, and once you got the basics, you can forge a style all your own."
Naruto had finally given in, and they had made plans for Naruto to head to the Military quarters, so that the resident weapons master could give Naruto lessons on using the blade properly.
He figured that he would use the time to train in ninjutsu as well, and hone his abilities some more. It was only a week, and then he would be off to Gnomeregan.
So Naruto prepared.
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Well, yet
another chapter…which I hope is longer…done. This one was lacking
in the action of the previous one, I know, but the next few chapters
will make up.
I have a few things to address from your reviews, as well.
TigerWolf- About the tram…I had no idea it actually existed, to tell you the truth. I have been a strict Horde user up until I started writing this. But since you pointed it out, it has been shut down and blocked off by King Anduin. Hope that clears it up.
EvilP- Naruto doesn't want anyone to think he's crazy…and he hasn't really told anyone aside from Kira that he's from another world. The frogs will appear, most likely after the Gnomeregan arc, and as for Naruto meeting some rogues, he is already a rogue in terms of ability, but he will probably meet another (such as the Ravenholdt assassins).
As for Orsson, I don't know if he will be coming back…I like OC's, but I don't usually like them playing a huge role (with the exception of Kira). I don't know where to fit him in later on…but if the chance arises, I probably will.
Well, that's it, I think.
Next, Naruto trains to use his new weapon, and we receive our first inkling on how the trust of the Alliance was so easily shattered. Kira meets a woman in red, whom she believes will cause her great pain in the future.
Armory-Naruto:
8 remaining small daggers.
4 remaining explosive notes
2 smoke bombs
New items:
Magni's Pride- A powerful kodachi (which is a normal size for dwarves) that is made from adamantium. The runes on its scabbard make the whole blade light, and the scabbard very difficult to break. It is King Magni Bronzebeard's greatest creation, gifted to Naruto as a reward for destroying the demogryphon and helping his people out when they needed it most. Naruto has yet to learn how to properly wield it.
Bestiary-Black Bear (Beast)- Black bears are common in the snows of Dun Morogh, and they are a good source of fur for local trappers and hunters. They aren't particularly aggressive, but their tongues make a fine soup that all Dwarves find delicious.
