Chapter Ten -Taelus

Dun Morogh

Taelus had only been to Ironforge one time in his life; he mostly stayed somewhere in the provinces of Stormwind, which Stranglethorn Vale was technically a part of. It would come to no surprise then that he would get lost, coming off the Tram. Tinkertown was easy to get through, but somehow he ended up in the chamber of the Great Forge…which was easily the most impressive thing he had ever seen. Granted, everything the dwarves did was impressive, it left him in awe, just as it did when he last passed through, on his way to the Last free Human kingdom in the Eastern Kingdoms. That memory made his heart tighten up, as he remembered what he ran away from…

"-coward!" she screamed, as the tears streamed down her face. Tael grabbed her, before she could sprint after the horse that led the cultist away from her.

"Daddy" she wailed, shirking off Tael's grip to hold her dying father.

"You have to get away…my little flower…" his hand held her cheek.

"I can't abandon them" she sobbed "It's my duty" but the older elf was already gone.

That was the last time he ever saw her…and he got to safety.

Taelus had imagined, after that moment that Lilly had called him a coward instead of the Necromancer. It was always easy to burry your guilt when there was someone or something to distract you, and he made sure he stayed distracted. And somehow he forgot his guilt entirely after saving Mavare from that despicable Tauren. How things come full circle, all the time…

Taelus looked suddenly, and he was in a different wing…he sighed.

"Damn distractions" he went to turn around, but could not discern where he came from. Even if he could, much of his stay here was a blur, given the shock of what he had went through. Misty Pine Refuge could take days to find-and you could count on it snowing too.

"What do you mean I can't go!" a woman shouted.

"It's like I said lassy, yer dressed too poorly for the outdoors" was the gruff reply.

"You know as well as I do that I can handle it" she responded.

"Begging yer pardon, buy ye are dressed for a brothel-yer father won't approve"

"Excuse me!" she was exasperated "This is blessed armor! Approved by Valgar Highforge himself!"

"Sir Highforge is a pervert who's always tryin' ter get in yer pants" was the reply.

Taelus was curious enough to actually look at the womaa-what the heck?

"She is only wearing the armor…"

This woman was knowingly flaunting herself and yet at the same time wasn't…blessed armor could only mean one thing, she is a paladin.

Taelus tried to walk away from the situation, only to find himself in the middle of it.

"And what do ye think yer looking at?" he was obviously rich, or working for a rich family. And he was a really pissed off dwarf.

"Um, I was actually trying to get out of here" Taelus said, timidly.

"I don't think so, lad. Ye were looking a wee bit too long"

"Oh would you knock it off" the woman brushed passed the dwarf and held out a hand.

"My name is Aphrodite, nice to meet you" she smiled.

"Taelus, Lady Knight" he bowed slightly. She giggled. Taelus was drawn to the armor, which despite the revealing nature, was actually practical…If she bothered to actually wear something underneath.

"So it seems your attention is drawn elsewhere" she had a gleam in her eye…is that the point of being so erotic.

"Actually I was admiring your armor" Taelus blushed a little.

"And that is why ye can't wear it, yer drawing all the-

"That armor is Light Mail Armor, standard issue for lightweight travel, and speed" Taelus replied, startling them both "If I'm not mistaken, it's human make-nice iron chain links, very strong, doesn't impede movement very much…but it's practicality diminishes when you don't wear anything underneath. It wasn't built for a woman, as evidenced by your nipples showing, which won't really harm you-you can't even get an arrow through it without breaking the chain. It mostly just hugs you, and chainmail is supposed to be a little loose"

Her smile turned a little bit knowing, even as her color rose at his mention of her private parts.

"Well now, this is interesting" she said, ignoring the utter shock on her dwarven companion.

"I was a Paladin in training once, but I wasn't too good at calling on the light" Taelus smiled sadly "My magic got in the way"

"So you're a mage, then?" she asked.

"You could say that" was the reply.
"And what brings you to Ironforge?" she studied him as she asked.

"I need to get to Misty Pine Refuge" she lit up at that.

"What a coincidence, so am I-I'm meeting up with my old teacher" she said, and turned to the Dwarf "I'll be going with Tael now-um Tael is okay?" she asked Taelus, who nodded.

The shock was still on his face.

"Bye now" she waved, and grabbed Taelus' hand.

"Hey wait!" he said, but she had already summoned her Charger.

"Don't worry, we'll get there in no time, pretty boy" she laughed.

In no time, they were speeding out of Ironforge. Taelus could only watch wide-eyed as the gates sped farther away.

"Woo-Whoohoo!" she yelled with glee, through the snow.

Taelus could barely think, as the light filled horse galloped to their destination.

The snow didn't seem to bother her; despite the only thing covering her was chainmail. She seemed thrilled to just be riding.

Lilly…Mav…

Taelus

Dun Morogh – Misty Pine Refuge

Taelus got off the horse, and fell in the snow. The ride was really disorienting, which was really disconcerting all on its own. But he managed to stabilize himself, and searched the place, careful to keep his robes free of snow (Elsharin gave him Mages Robes). It was dwarven in design, and more than likely served as nothing more than a house. Chapel indeed.

"Countess Ainsworth, it's a pleasure to see you again" a man bowed to her, and she gave him a hug in return.

"Father Gavin" she said "It's been awhile"

This is the man that Elsharin asked me to find. Tael couldn't think about that though, the shock of being grabbed and 'escorted' by a Countess was really disconcerting.

"Father Gavin, this is Tael-Tael, Father Gavin" Aphrodite introduced us.

"You are the Mage I've been waiting for, then" he held only a cursory glance, and motioned Taelus to follow.

"Father?" she asked.

"It is interesting that you two should run into each other, but so the Light works in all of us" he said.

When they entered the house, Taelus stopped dead in his tracks.

"You" he said loudly.

There in the center of the place, stood someone Taelus had hoped to never see again.

"Still as arrogant as ever, boy" the Dwarf said.

"Sir, do you know Tael?" Aphrodite asked.

"Unfortunately I do, your Grace"

"You're goin' to have to do better than that, Tael" he said.

"I'm trying very hard!" Taelus responded.

"That's not good enough. Look at Lillia, how she does it" the dwarf looked proud at the elven girl. She was channeling the Light, letting it immerse her in its power. Taelus grew more frusturated.

"Of course she's better! She's an elf, better form, better effort, better everything!" he whined.

"And yet there are more Human Paladins, than there are Elf Paladins boy, yer just not showing it" he crossed his hands.

"Come on Tael, I know you can do it" Lillia encouraged.

"You say that, after you do it effortlessly! How many times am I telling you, I'm trying!" Taelus yelled.

"You need faith to do this sort of thing. If you don't improve by the end of this week, I got to let you go" he said.

"No, please don't do that" Taelus said.

"I'm sorry, if you can't do it, there's nothing more I can do" the dwarf walked away.

"Where were you when Lordaeron was in ashes?" Taelus accused, throwing away him memories.

"I don't have to answer to you, Mage" he said.

"You left Lilly to die!" Taelus spat.

"How dare you" the dwarf glared at Taelus "You tell me where you were, and night after night she screamed your name in the dark!"

It was like a fist punched him in the face.

"When?" he whispered.

"After her father died, you were nowhere to be found. She spent weeks lookin' for you, grievin', cryin'. It was all I could do to keep her goin'"

Taelus could've died, with how fast his heart was beating.

"You were nowhere when we were together, before and after-

"I was on a mission to Stormwind!" he cried aloud "Doing what MY king asked me to do"

"What happened?" Taelus dared to ask.

"She grew increasingly despondent, even after we formed the Argent Dawn, under the command of the great Tirion Fordring. She disappeared one day, and is still missing"

Taelus slid to the ground.

"I looked for her for days" he said "But the Cult was hounding for survivors. So I-

"Ran away like a coward, typical for a Mage. And now yer here for another lass, who has disappeared because of you" the Dwarf pointed his finger at Taelus "And you come in here, with yet another lass, and rail accusations against me when I came back and fought the bastards"

"Knight Gimlii, it is necessary that we at least point the boy in a direction, for Elsharin's sake" Father Gavin pointed out, writing on a piece of parchment.

Gimlii glared at Taelus, before sitting at the table.

"I'm taking you as far as Menethil Harbor, and then yer on yer own" he told Taelus flat out "While we are traveling together, you do what I say when I say it, you only talk to me when it's important, and you keep yer hands off the Countess. Disobey any of my instructions, and I'll knock you out and leave you-this is non-negotiable"

"But Sir Gimlii" Aphrodite started.

"It's more than the boy deserves, and I told Elsharin as much in my letter" he looked at Aphrodite "For yer own good, I suggest you don't talk to him. He needs no pity, and I would show him none-but I owe it to her" he looked sad at that last part.

"I didn't know you hated me so much" Taelus said at last.

"Get some sleep boy, we leave early tomorrow-I hope you brought yer own food-

"Knight Gimlii, it's my duty to remind you that you're obligated to serve those in need" Father Gavin's tone was forced "He can't go hungry"

"Yeah, I know" Gimlii said at last.

"Well, good night Tael" Aphrodite smiled, despite what happened.

Taelus found a corner, and conjured up a blanket. He thought about the confrontation, and that uneasiness kept him up awhile. But he finally found sleep.

"Taelus, you gotta catch me!" Lillia laughed as she ran. Taelus was almost there…and touch.

"Got you, Lilly" Taelus turned quite quickly the other way, running as if for dear life.

"Hey, you cheated!" Lillia ran right back to him, trying for all her might to catch the boy. Being an elf usually gave her better abilities, but everyone knew she was teasing the poor boy.

-Their supper was a goodly bit of goose, with some rye bread and potatoes, after which the little ones went back out by the lake and threw rocks, and otherwise just messed around.

"This was great" Lillia said, yawning.

"Tired?" Taelus asked.

"For today, I am" she said, and smiled, as Taelus threw a rock in the lake.

"I still want to play" he answered.

"We won't be able to forever" she said.

"What, are you growing up on me?" he teased her.

"My parents have been pressuring me on certain things, such as what I want to do when I come of age"

He threw another rock.

"I want to be a Paladin" He said "A hero like Uther the Light bringer, or Alexandros Mograine"

"Then I could be one too, we could do it together!" Lillia said.

"A little competition to see who becomes one first, then?" Taelus turned to her. She giggled.

"I bet I get there first" she said.

"Bring it on, Lilly" He threw another rock, and sat down beside her "But that is still a while away"

She leaned her head on him, in a sisterly fashion.

"Imagine the look on our parents' faces" she said.

"Yeah, my dad's going to be in shock. He expects me to take the farm one of these days" Taelus said.

They laughed…

"You ran away like a coward. And now yer here for another lass, who has disappeared because of you"

Lilly…no

"And you come in here, with yet another lass and rail accusations against me when I came back and fought the bastards"

I didn't-

"Coward!" she screamed, as the tears streamed down her face "You left me to die"

Please Lilly.

"You fucked that whore, and forgot about me" she yelled "I hope it was good, I hope you enjoyed it"

She appeared decaying, half skeletal.

"They raped me several times before my time; they stole what I would have given to you! Leecher"

"You loved her this whole time" Mavare appeared, destitute, ashamed "I gave everything to you, and you loved her"

Please don't!

"They ate my baby" Mavare said, cut in half "She would've grown strong and beautiful" And his parents came and pulled her down, feasting like ghouls.

"Your next, mage" an evil man dragged an elven girl by her hair, as she begged Taelus to save her. He threw her to Mavare and Lillia to eat her flesh.

"No mommy" she said to Lillia "Please no!"

"No!" Taelus shot up, and burst through the door, out to the snow. He threw up, as he sobbed convulsively.

"No" he moaned, shaking. He curled up in a ball, crying out in the snowfall, begging for that nightmare to never become reality.

"So yer consciousness has caught up to you, hasn't it?" Gimlii walked unhindered through the snow of his homeland.

"Lilly!" he screamed.

"You forgot about her, for the last four years, and now yer paying for it" the dwarf paladin stopped just a foot away.

"I didn't, oh Lilly-I didn't"

"You can deny it all you want, but who are you looking for?"

"Mav, I'm looking for Mav!" the crying got louder, and the wind picked up.

"Yer control of the elements surprises me, boy!" the paladin was almost mocking him.

"Ahhhg" Taelus' pain was severe.

"Mav! No! Lilly, forgive me!"

"You have to be louder, I don't think she can here you from here!"

"Bastard!" Taelus yelled to him "If you hate me this much, you should end it"

"You sound like you want the easy way out!" the storm was in full force now.
"They turned everyone I knew into Ghouls!" Taelus shouted to him "They fed children to the dead! Oh Lilly, please don't be dead!"

"Yer a little too late on the ball game!" the dwarf looked shocked at what he said. He sighed, and called upon the light.

"Sleep, boy, and be at ease-We've a long day ahead of us tomorrow"

Taelus blacked out.