CHAPTER 6: NOT A DULL PLACE, AT ALL
Part III
Author's Note: you thought i was not going to continue this story, well glad to disapoint, in reallity i have no excuse for having taken this long, i simply cannot believe that 4 months have already past, i don't feel like that time has passed at all, wharever is really hard for me to find the time to write, with my work, family and other stupid stuff, but i have given myself the task of trying to at least find the way to write for 1 hour every day, see how much can i advance this way.
in any case should any of you feel i'm taking to long to update this story feel free to send me messages to either my mail or profile demanding that i continue with this history, yes that's right you should demand from me not ask, that way this story should develop faster, is ok i don't mind, actually i found it quite exilarating, having a pressure on my shoulders forces me to redouble my efforts and forces me to think in ways to overcome any obstacle i may find, it's quite challenging, but i love that challenge.
Last, theres a very annoying problem with my laptop that unables me to use word or any office program, so i have to use the document manager of this site to write my chapters, that said ortographic errors are bound to happen, for this site lacks the option of detecting them, should you find any of them either be a misspeled word or bad sintaxis or wharever, feel free to notify me, so i may correct it promptly.
Disclaimer: As usual I don't own anything depicted in this fic (not even the oc's, although i do create them, but since blizzard owns warcraft).
The witcher walked through the streets of Dalaran with no particular direction in mind; he just wanted to acknowledge the vibe of the city during this hours, so instead of walking through the main streets (that he already had committed to memory thanks to Rhonin's tour) he used the alleyways and backstreets, that way he could expand his mental map of the city; it did not matter if he found himself sometimes in a dead-end and had to backtrack his steps, this helped him learn which streets could be used as a escape-valve, which could be used for an ambush or which could be used as shortcuts, better learn that now during times of calm instead of times of necessity; and besides while doing this he could avoid to startle any bystander that could be walking at this hours with his looks (a disadvantage of his predator nature, people tended to freak out when they saw him in that state and Geralt clearly didn't want any unpleasantly to occur while he was skulking around)
It is not that he expected that something wrong could happen while he was inside the city under the protection of Rhonin and the Kirin Tor but it was better to be prepared just in case; Yes, Geralt knew that he was being paranoid, he could still not get used to the idea that people was not harassing him or avoiding him (normally in this world people just stared at him as if he was some kind of oddity before continuing on their business, that is if they did not mistook him for something else entirely, in which case they outright ignored him), he was still expecting that an angry mob would appear and try to lynch him, Geralt knew that was not going to happen any time soon in this place, but old habits tend to die hard, besides it was still a sound idea to knew every inch and cranny of this city and even more so, because it is thanks to this habits of his, that he had manage to survived all this time.
Eventually the witcher arrived back into the Runeweaver square, and was curious about the alliance and horde districts whose entrances were at each side of the plaza and looking face to face of each other, during Rhonin's tour he had just told him that those were the enclaves of the Silver Covenant and the Sunreavers, but Rhonin did not elaborate beyond that, it looked like he was not particularly fond of speaking of that specific subject; So Geralt approached lady Proudmoore for information regarding those 2 districts.
What he got was a brief explanation of the political climate among the magisters of Dalaran; apparently Vereesa Windrunner (who is the head of the city's military forces) had formed a militant group of high elves who call themselves the Silver Covenant and oppose the inclusion in the Kirin Tor of his fallen kin, the blood elves who are led by a council member of the Kirin Tor; Aethas Sunreaver and in honor of his leader they call themselves the Sunreavers (Now that would explain why Rhonin did not want to talk about this subject)
That would clearly be a matter of distress for Rhonin, not only because he had to deal with a schism and feud among the lines of his magisters ruling body and the city military forces, but also because one of those main figures of opposition was his own wife, Geralt would have never guessed that and even though Rhonin had assured Geralt that Dalaran was a neutral city; that did not stop these 2 groups to take favoritism towards the alliance and horde, making their districts only accessible to the members of whatever faction that the groups hold their allegiances to.
The Silver Covenant only allows members of the alliance in their district and the Sunreavers only allow horde members in their own (How elitist, isn't it?) the feud between those groups was a cause of great commotion and headaches for Dalaran's ruling body, these puny grudges will also be a great cause of distress for the witcher in the near future, which is one of the main reasons why he will be constantly going during his stay in the city, to the Cantrips and Crows in the City's Underbelly and enter in a frenzy of mead and beer drinking, and spending time with women of….. Dubious reputation from the likes that dwell in places such as the Underbelly (and he will not necessarily have to spend money for managing to be in the company of those said ladies)
But that's getting way ahead in this tale, back to the matter at hand, despite knowing about the "exclusivity" to gain entrance in those compounds, the witcher decided to approach them just for the sake to see how the guards will react to his presence.
The witcher got close to the entrance to the Sunreavers enclave known as Sunreaver Sanctuary, the hooded guards stationed there where blood elves, they wore deep red toned robes with light armor on top that just consisted of crimson red breastplates and small flat pauldrons of the same color.
The hooded elven guards took a glimpse at the witcher approaching, they simply nodded their heads at him at greeted him.
"Welcome Forsaken" and did nothing to impede his way. (So much for tight security, it would seem)
So, Geralt merely returned the nod and kept walking, gaining entrance into the sunreaver sanctuary. Apparently the elves had mistook him for an undead forsaken (must have been because of his skin tonality, that's why he was not surprised when that gnome mistook him for a rogue, 2 days later in the Underbelly, he had already been through situations when people took a wrong idea about what he was)
Well, it would appear that the "sanctuary" was not such a bad place at all, it even had its own tavern; "The Filthy Animal" was its name, such a refined place it sounded! Nevertheless, Geralt could not deny that it had his own form of ring to it.
With nothing better to do, the witcher decided that it was a good idea to get a drink (Ahhh! dear Geralt and his vices, never fails to miss an oppportunity to indulge them); so Geralt entered in the establishment. Despite the late hour there were still a remarkable number of "decent" (eufemism of the year) patrons, "gracing" this place with their presence (What an Honor!), some of them had clearly drank until knocking themselves out.
Others…. Well; it would appear that there were on their way to drown themselves in their own vomit while lying face down on the floor; (How strange isn't it?) the witcher rolled his eyes, yes this place was as refined as he had imagine it would be; (Whoope do, what a surprise?) and unless his eyes were playing tricks on him (which he doubted 'cus he had an excellent vision thanks to his mutations) he recognized one of the people that were about to pass out due to alcohol overdose (or in this case already done it).
It was that troll that he had met back at the siege camps, what was his name?... Zungo! Yes that it was, Zungo was sitting close (sitting? more likely hanging from the chair, and about to fall down to the floor) to one of the tables, and he was not alone, because he was accompanied with a female of his species, a she-troll (mmmph, it would seem that zungo was simply having a good time).
Although one could not said that about Zungo's lady friend, she looked liked she was irritated (what an understatement?) by the atmosphere around her and was trying her best to endure it in the most dignified way possible; barely being able to do it, it would seemed (another understatement)
She had small blue hair arranged in braids, and small and delicate tusks at the sides of her mouth, unlike zungo's that were long and thick, she wore a garb and tunic made of the pelt and skin of several animals, very much like the rest of her clothes, that were made from little more than rags, she had short bushy blue hair covering her head and piercings and tribal tattoos on several parts of her face, she was smoking using a long pipe that was somewhat elegant and crude at the same time; she exuded an aura of mystery around her, Geralt suspected that this woman was no wench; his suspicions proved correct when he saw that she was carrying a long wooden staff with its tip adorned with strange charms made of bones same as the beads around her neck or the brecelets, rings and other charms that she was wearing. This made the witcher believe that the she-troll had knowledge in the magical arts.
His thoughts were interrupted however, because the she-troll took notice of how the witcher was looking at her.(Geralt what happened to your discretion?)
The she-troll pointed at him "Hey ya,' what is that ya'r lookin'a!"
The witcher raised his hands in an apologetic manner and replied.
"sorry if I insulted you, milady; it just that I found strange to find someone like you, in a place like this" (what's this? a cheap pick up line? damn, this guy is fast, but c'mon he can do better than this)
The she-troll too interpreted it like that and felt her patience grow thin, she puffed some smoke "Anotha' lusty drunk, ya' gonna need ta' learn sum respect mon'"
the witcher humphed at that, he half smiled and made a "hold on" sign with one of his hands.
"hold it, you are giving yourself to much credit, while it is true you are quite a good looking troll woman by even human standards (the she-troll bristled at this, Geralt did not paid attention to it) that was not the reason i was looking at you, it is because you do not look as part of the atmosphere around here"
this picked up the she-troll interest and started to look at geralt with a mesurement eye.
"wut da' ya' mean by dat'?" she asked.
the witcher crossed his arms "you don't look like a person who would dwell in a place like this, you are different from the rest of the patrons of this place, you carry yourself proudly and dignified unlike the rest of the people around here, you have the look in your eyes of someone who possess a great amount of knowledge and information about the secret workings of the world, and you look like you don't have patience for petty and superficial things like wasting oneself body and time by the means of alcohol ingestion".
The she-troll found the witcher answer amusing, she took a long drag from her pipe while studying Geralt at the same time; she chuckled.
"and ya' learned all da't by lookin'a me for a few seconds, am impressed" She took a long drag from her pipe before continuing.
"But it seems am not da' only one who dosn't belong in dis place, luk at ya' for ezample".
Geralt raised an eyebrow "uhh, what about me?" he asked.
the she-troll puffed more smoke and smiled "well let's see, at first glance ya' luk' no mor' different from da' rest of da' lou lifes around here, but in reality ya' simply are blending ya'self with da' enviroment to avoid atracting atenshion', ya' have da' eyes and looks of a predator on ya', muving unseen and secrely in order to surprise da' unzuspecting quarry, which makes me raise da' question, wut is such a devious creature like ya' looking fo' in dis' lowly place?"
Geralt chuckled at that, he was right in his suspicios about this woman "Actually i was merely trying to escape boredrom, when i saw dearly friend Zungo over here sitting close to you".
The she-troll scowled at the mention of the troll's name "Ya' nou' Zungo" she asked and then added "from where?".
the witcher was a little surprised by the she-troll reaction towards zungo's name but as usual he didn't show it
"Well yes, i met him a couple of days ago back at the siege camps at the wrathgate base, he provided me with some much useful and needed information, he proved a very nice fellow"
The she-troll bristled at that " nice fella', bah! he is a fool who oftens gets himself in mor' trobold' dan' he is worth"
"it seems you don't have a high opinion about him, why is that? he didn't seem as a bad person to me'".
"oh he is nut a bad fella' a'ight but he tends to screw tings up on a daily basis, stupid idiot haz get mah' in some serious crap mor' times dan' i can remember, all thanks to his addictions and bad habits, teik' wut his's doing 'ight now as an ezzample, moron likes to drink, 'cept he doesnt have much resisntans' to alcohol, wut' kind of trobold' would he get if im not here to keep him on a leash?.
a brief glimpse into Zungo's blissfully ignorant state thanks to his current trip into la-la-land was more than enough to prove the validity of that statement, but the Geralt was sometimes known for adding stress to a person particular grivance instead of giving help and support, so he decided to tease the she-troll.
"well it seems you are not complaning enough, since you are quite enjoying his company in his current state by sitting right next to him" Geralt replied.
that kind of pissed of the she-troll, but before she could make a witty coment comeback, the troll in question started to stirr in his drunkeness slumber and started to mumble something about inhaling 60 mountains of red spice (is that even physically possible?), that was more than Geralt wanted to know.
the she-troll sighed "dere' he goes again mei'king show of his supreme intellect, i think he has had enuff' fun alredy', gemme' a moment to weik' him up"
The she-troll immediatly put a hand inside her garb and after a few moments of rummaging, she pulled out a small leather flask, she uncorched it and immediatly a foul odor reached the witcher nosetrils, he didn't had to guess what she was going to do with, poor zungo he felt some pity for him, but not enough as to care of stoping the she-troll.
she took one moment to adress the witcher "dis' is mah' special bru', it will pull him out of his stupor in no taim'"
She grabbed zungo's head with one hand and in a single movement she pulled his head back, opened his mouth and tossed the contents of the flask inside of Zungo's, mouth forcing him to drank the contents, it is obvious what Zungo's reaction was.
"AAACKKK, AAAACK, BLEEEEGH, Agh DAMNIT IN DA' NAME OF ALL DA' SPIRITS, DRUJILLA, DA' FEL WITH YA' WOMAN, ya'know how i hate da' taste of ya' potions"
"dere' his's fine now" replied the she-troll whose name, the witcher supposed was Drujilla after being screamed by zungo in his fit, the troll in question proceed to make his discomfort aparent by trashing about.
"So much for introductions" he said ignoring zungo's wailing "since now i know your name is only appropiate that i tell you mine, i'm Geralt of Rivia"
"Drujilla, witch doctor of da' darkspear tribe, a pleasure to meet ya' Geralt of Rivia; Zungo told me about ya', didn't belive him of course, cuz' i thought 'twas anoder' of his outrageous stories"
hearing Geralt's name was enough to stop zungo's misfits cold "Geralt? da' witcher?" he grinned "Oi! how are ya' mon' its good to see ya' again, wut brings ya' here?" Zungo stopped cold in his thinking when his brain stated to asses that question "Vait' a minute how da' hell did ya' enter here, dis' is a place for only horde members?" he asked.
The witcher shrugged "the guards at the entrance thought i was an undead forsaken and allowed me enter here without question" he replied.
Drujilla chuckled, Zungo reacted with nervousness immediatly and grabed the witcher from the collar and pulled towards him; he spoked to him in a hushed tone.
"SHHHH, don't go 'round people of dis place' saying dose' dings' mon', dis' is horde territory and dey' don't like people entering uninvited in dey' turf"
"Is not my fault that the security of this place is so laxing" replied Geralt.
Zungo shook his head in irritation, he examined his surroundings to make sure no one was listening to their conversation, something wich he feared after his display of drunk behavior.
He didn't need to worry it would seem that his rantics were something usual in this place for no one was paying him or the witcher any attention, he breathed easily after that and adressed Geralt once more.
"Be as it may mon', is not safe fo' ya' to be wandering 'bout in dis' place, people here are suspicious of strangers, it raises to many flags, if ya' knou wut' i mean".
The witcher took a few seconds to weight his options, then he sighed "I didn't realize that it would be so hard for a man to get a drink in this place"
Zungo chuckled "Feh!, so dat' was it Oi! yes i knou da' feeling; cum' with me and Drujilla and i will show ya' to a place were ya' can drink until knocking ya'self out... well oder' dan' dis' place of course".
Drujilla did not like that nad would have none of it "Nou vait' a minute, why do ya' always have to include me in ya' stupid schemes, i alredy knou how does tend to turn out, and ya' knou how dat' pisses me off!".
Zungo had to plead with her "C'mon Druji, please"
"Don't ya' c'mon Druji me, ya' are quite aware of how i found distateful to be surranded' by alcoholized idiots, it's most unbecoming for someone of mah status"
"please druji, i promise noding' bad would happen, i'm just trying to prevent mah' frend Geralt ova' here from getting into troble'"
"like da' ones ya' usually get into'? and den' i have to go and save ya' arse from da' fire"
"Oh c'mon don' be da' like, ya' knou dat' i'm well versed 'bout dis' sort of dings', oder'wise i wouldn't be able to get ya' dat' special kind of tobacco ya' like too smoke to much"
Drujilla flinched "fahn', sumetimes stills boogles mah' mind how is dat' a shadowhunter knous too much 'bout smuggling?" she asked.
Zungo gave her a roguish smirk "I knou people and knou how to fand' and get dings done', remember i told ya' i was not always a shadowhunter, in mah youth i used to hang around of one of dem' goblins cartels, it vill ok Druji" he said.
Drujilla was still not much convinced "Aight', just so ya' knou mah patience fo' tonight has alredy ben spent, so if ya' start again with ya' little performans' of Mr. Alcohol Man, i vill give ya' a taste of mah' juju"
It was now Zungo's turn to flinch "ough i knou dis' will end bad for me alredy, (sigh) oh but how do' say no to a friend"
"Not to mention booze, i would add" mentioned Geralt.
"dat' too, c'mon let me show ya' to a nice place i knou, is right doun' here in da' Underbelly"
"Underbelly?" asked Geralt
"'Aight, i would assume since ya' niu' here. ya' wouldn't knou 'bout da place, so it vill be the polite ding' to do to show ya', ya' gonna like it, it is the most lively place in da' entire city"
"And filthy, if ya' fancie dat' too" added Drujilla.
And so thanks to Zungo's "appreciation" of the good drink, is that Geralt becamed acquainted with the Underbelly, this was just the beginning of a long night of alcohol ingestion, true to her word Drujilla made use of her magics on Zungo when he started to loose himself into the alcohol, causing him to spasm in the floor like a boneless fish, much to Geralt amusement.
In any case from now on, every night would Geralt came down here to lighten his mood, something that he indeed would require because having to deal with the mages and his politics, would be something that would proved more taxing than he had originally expected.
Yes, they were the reason why he would be in foul mood as of lately, those damn mages, Geralt felt he had been scamed in his deal with Jaina, she didn't mention anything of having to deal with the constants quarrels beetwen the silver covenant and the sunreavers, he didn't suspected of how much they were integrated in the Kirin Tor, what was he thinking when he had said yes, oh that's right he wasn't thinking, he was just simply trying to give lady Jaina a good impression, how often does a pretty face and pretty eyes be the cause of many grivances to a man; women! not the first time that he had gotten himself in trouble because of them, if his hazy memory was serving him right.
But let us backtrack a little and see how this came to be.
After spending the rest of the night in the Cantrips and Crows drinking and fooling around with the 2 trolls, the witcher returned to the violet citadel at early morning just a little past de firsts lights of dawn. Only to find Rhonin already up waiting for him, and he didn't look pleased in the slightest, it seems that the guards of the night shift had informed him of his little escapade into the city, leaving Rhonin with worry over his guest.
Rhonin tried to speak with all the calmness he could muster "you should have not got out into the city at night without escort, at least you should have told me or leaved a message as to where were you going"
"But I could not have do it even If I wanted to" replied the witcher "for I had no place in my mind where I wished to go, I just simply wanted to wander a little"
Rhonin was in disbelief by that answer "Wander a little? Didn't you had enough sightseeing with the trip in which we spend the entire yesterday afternoon"
"Yes, but those were just the places for tourists to visit, what I really wanted to see where the inner workings of the city, what the word in the streets are, it's secrets held in every inch and cranny, the places where the real fun is at, if you catch my meaning"
Rhonin facepalmed, that is the kind of explanation he was wishing that Geralt would not said "that's exactly what I was fearing you would tell me, you cannot simply go out snooping around out of simply curiosity, it will get you into trouble, especially with the strong presence we have in the city of alliance and horde members, they would not take kindly that someone unknown to them pries uninvited into their business"
"So I been told" replied the witcher.
That startled Rhonin "What? Who told you so?... What did you do? You didn't get into trouble, did you?".
"Relax everything is fine, I simple stumble with one of the troops I had became acquainted back at the wrathgate and he simply gave me a few advices and pointed me in the right direction"
"For the smell and the scent of alcohol, I daresay that such direction was the Underbelly"
Geralt grinned at that "well I wasn't going to pass the opportunity to taste a little of the local brewery and hospitality"
Rhonin shook his head in annoy "yeah right, in any case the other guests; and by that I mean the main leaders of the alliance and the horde factions. Are starting to wake up, so I have already gave orders for breakfast to be prepared and served…. I don't suppose you would want it to be served to you?"
"No thanks I already ate" replied geralt and quickly added "but I could offer to accompany them and you, it would be an opportunity to continue with our business"
"I suppose that has sense, but you will not go into the presence of the leaders reeking to alcohol, what kind of image would that be, nevermind of the fact that is so early to be drinking"
"Oh? But I didn't start early; in fact it was really late when I started".
"Somehow that doesn't reassure me in the slightest".
"well for you information I happen to possess a very high resistance to alcohol, another one of my perks, that's why I can be here speaking to you at full control of my capacities, all I would have to do is change my clothes and get rid of the scent and none would be the wiser."
Rhonin had to give him point "Fine! But do hurry, I don't want any of the others to suddenly walk around here and see you like this".
The witcher gave him a nod "As you wish, I think I would go and take a bath then"
"Ok, just give your clothes to one of the servants if you wish for them to be cleaned"
...
After a quick bath and a change of spare clothes that belonged to him not to the Kirin tor, which consisted in a simple set of white linen shirt and brown pants that shown his lean, well sculpt body and muscles although he was still using his boots and gloves but he had to leave his weapons behind in his quarters (coming fully armed to the summit's breakfast was indeed a god way to be in Rhonin's good graces) the witcher entered in the main dining room of the violet citadel, were breakfast was already served and the leaders were taking seats at opposite sides if the table.
At Rhonin's request they grudgingly accepted to take their meals in the presence of the other faction leaders, although it did not come without effort for several would have preferred to take them alone in their quarters, but some of the most sensitive leaders like Thrall or Jaina remind them how rude would that be towards Rhonin and his magister council, not to mention the backlash that such actions may cause to their diplomatical talks.
Rhonin gave a brief glance at Geralt when he entered in the room, and nodded in approval at his change of image.
Rhonin was sitting at the head of the table, of course his wife Veressa was at his right, at his left was archmage Modera, with the rest of the council taking places in the subsequent seats, then it was the turn of Jaina and Aegwynn who ended up facing each other at opposites sides of the table, Jaina at Rhonin's right, Aegwynn to the left, then were the leaders of the alliance and horde next, alliance at Rhonin's right, Horde at his left; In this order.
First were the main leaders, Thrall and Varian, and then they came their closest friends or advisors, Cairne, Vol'Jin, Varok and his son Dranosh, on the other side were King Magni, Mekkatorque and Tirion. Then it continued with the ones left, Sylvanas and Lor'themar, and Tyrande and Prophet Velen.
Seeing there were no other seats options the witcher had to take the one at the bottom (Go figure) the one that puts him facing Rhonin directy and having Velen and Lor'themar at his sides.
Jaina took notice of Geralt's choice of clothes and how they well to his body his figure and muscles, she forced herself to look away when she realized she was ogling him, this brought her a faint flush to her cheeks, her reaction did not go unnoticed to both Geralt and Aegwyn and brought them a smile to the two for the same reason.
"Good Morning" he greeted them.
Prophet Velen was the first to return the greeting "Mornings young one, you look very well rested this morning young master Geralt, sleep….. Oh sorry I forgot you' don't sleep, ...mmm… If that's the case then…. I assume your meditations were quite prolific"
"indeed, although I would said that I'm no young man at all, being that if I had managed to sire a descendancy, I would had grandchildren by now. I do have managed to reflect in the events of yesterday and now that I have a fully comprehension over them, I am ready for whatever new knowledge that this day may bring.
"That's really a good thing, Ahem… without the intent to offend you master Geralt, but I as the spiritual guide of my people since primordial times. I have managed to lead them through great perils over the ages, protecting and guiding them over millennia, so in my eyes you are a very young being compared with all I have seen in my time" spoke the ancient priest.
"Fair enough, I know that it is always a good thing to pay heed to the words of those who have come before you" replied the witcher.
Velen and others approved of the witcher answer "that is a very commendable attitude young master" Velen praised him "often does the youngsters tend to ignore the advices of their elders"
"Ha, wouldn't I know?" Commented Varok.
"At any rate, it seems your meditations have done you good, you look quite dashing this morning" said Velen.
"Thank you, since there is no immediate danger inside this city, I decided that it will be counterproductive to go around in full gear, after all it is just a breakfast"
"Indeed, well I assume that even a formidable fighter like yourself would require the need for nourishment from time to time, so… shall we?"
The witcher refused in a polite manner "No need but thank you very much anyway your holiness, since my meditations didn't took me the whole night, I been able to be walking around since very early, enough to take care of my needs of food and hygiene already; I just thought it would be a good idea to offer my company to all of you while tending your own needs" Rhonin rolled his eyes at the witcher explanation, something that was lost to all except his wife who had to silently scold him and to Geralt who simply ignored him.
"Well that's very thoughtful of you master Geralt, and it's good for you to be up since early, it allows you to make more of the day" Replied the Prophet.
"My thoughts exactly, besides this could be a nice opportunity to discuss some matters that I have concerning your world"
"Ah yes! I supposed it would, we could eat and help you in your inquiries at the same time, tell us young man what is it bothering you?" spoke Aegwynn.
Geralt laid himself comfortable in his seat while clutching his hands together and looked at Aegwynn "well first of all, I believe someone" he said while taking a brief glimpse at Rhonin "owes me an explanation about what is the issue with the dragons that dwell in this region"
A sigh escaped from Rhonin "That is a history that brings me great sorrow"
And so Rhonin told him, how he and his mages have more than their hands full with trouble, being at the front of two different wars that threatened the stability of the world; one against the vast undead army of the Lich King and his Scourge that threatened to consume all life in Azeroth, the other against the blue dragonflight (a special breed of dragons that can control magic, now that just nasty, the witcher really hated facing magic users) lead by the dragon aspect Malygos (the Patriarch of this dragon breed it would seem, really old, powerful too, no doubt), Malygos had grow mad and had turned all of his kin against the rest of the species of this world, believing that the recent catastrophes were the result of the reckless use of magic by the mortal races, the dragon threatened to sip all the magical energy of the world; causing rifts in the fabric of magic itself; a serious threat that one was, indeed (so this was the other reason why the Kirin Tor had moved the city, no wonder Rhonin didn't wanted to speak of it in the streets, don't want to unsettle the population with reminders of a lurking threat)
Worst of all many of the Kirin Tor have betrayed their fellow mages and joined Malygos in his mad schemes. One would thought that in such a dire situation the mages would do all in their power to confront the Dragon aspect in a unified front, but instead as the petty grudges between the silver covenant and the sunreavers can tell, the mages can give themselves the luxury of stand divided in their times of great need.
Well, maybe it is because they have the back up of the 4 remaining dragon breeds (Geralt supposed that even he could give himself the right of a little slack if he had the help of an entire dragon brood)
Alexstrasza (the main authority among the dragons of this world it appears) was horrified by the actions of his former kin, and so she commanded her and the rest of the dragonflights to bring an end to Malygos plan, they allied themselves the Kirin Tor in what it is known as the Wyrmrest accord.
Geralt took noticed of all of it, taking any detail of relevance; by the time that many of the other leaders were far through with their dishes, Rhonin had finished with his tale, so the witcher raised a question.
"Have your forces had any confrontations with the blue dragons already"
"Some, we have had a few run-ins with them from time to time, nothing major just a few skirmishes and ambushes" answered Rhonin.
"Does anyone of the troops that you have stationed here in the city, have been present during one of those skirmishes?" the witcher further inquired.
Rhonin wasn't expecting that, but nevertheless he answered him "Not many just a few of them, it is normally those that we sent on patrol who are attacked, but they do not always have to fight against the blues, with the lich king and all, you know".
"Do you know any of them?"
"Now where does he want to get with this?" thought Rhonin
"I do" answered Veressa for him.
"Could you please summon them here?" requested Geralt.
Some of the other leaders founded that odd "What exactly do you want to get from this, young one?" Asked Aegwyn.
"I wish to ask them about how they dealt with their attackers, I require an insight about the most proper way to face those creatures and since there are already people here that have faced them, what better way to learn that than from those who had succeeded in defeating them and survive".
"…mmm… that has a lot of sense, actually" mentioned Thrall.
And so it was not long before half a dozen soldiers of Dalaran were called to the archmagister presence, wearing the traditional violet uniform of the city military forces.
Most of them were slightly confused as to why they were summoned by the archmagister himself since their positions were not so important, being merely as they were just front line foot soldiers and scouts.
Rhonin reassured them that nothing serious was happening that required their services and proceed to explain them the witcher particular petition.
So the witcher heard the retelling of their past encounters with the blue dragonflight, and how they managed to survive the ordeal, the witcher was very thorough and questioned them about everything that could prove useful to him, he asked about the different types of creatures that composed the dragonflight, from the dragonkin to the dragonspawn up to the mighty blue dragons, and also about their specific characteristics, from their looks to their behaviors and tactics, continuing to the best strategies to employ when dealing with them and he also asked about their physiology from a strictly martial point of view. How did their circulatory system differed from the human, where was the best place to inflict wounds that would cut deep and bleed profusely, the exact place where you had to hit to snap or break a limb, anything that could be considered a strength or a weakness; especially the weakness.
Obviously not all the leaders were pleased about discussing how to effectively inflict different kinds of lacerations and bone fractures just right after they had ate their breakfasts. So it was not surprise that some of them would made their discomfort know.
"What a lovely conversation we are having" spoke Varian without lack of sarcasm "this talk about injuries, maiming, hurting, killing and what knot, makes some really great wonders for settling one's stomach right after eating, is it your objective to make us spill the contents of our stomachs or what?"
Sylvanas was not of that line of thinking for she founded the conversation quite entertaning.
"Actually I found this conversation to be quite pleasing, it soothes me somehow, I think I should demand my servants from now on to speak about torture and harm infliction every time that I finish I meal, do you find that odd?" she asked clearly with the intention of picking on Varian
"Your bizarre preferences are more that I wished to know, unholy creature; but that's beside the point" Varian addressed Geralt once more "seriously you couldn't pick another moment to ask your gruesome questions?"
"they are fair questions, I was assured that all my doubts would be answered after all; it matters not when to, better to deal with that now so I can continue with more important work later on, have to squish all i can from the day, after all" replied Geralt.
"I fail to see how this could be relevant somehow to the reason as to why we are here?" Varian asked.
"For you? Maybe nothing, but to us who have to do the ugly work, it is the difference between life and death, besides it is relevant, since this is the kind of information that I was promised from the lot of you when I agreed to that dealing with lady Jaina"
one of the troops, a female high elf, mentioned "i have to say this is proving to be quite the enlightning experience, i dindn't knew some of this things, now i can make sure to face the blues more effectively next time i go on patrol" she bumped her fists in excitement"i can wait to put his new notions into action, those blues are gona get some nasty surprises" there were grunts and nods of aprovall from the rest of her fellows comrades in arms "why didn't we did this before, we should exchange tactics more often".
"You see" said Geralt "not only do i managed to get the knowledge that i require, but also dalaran's troops are able to improve their effectivewness in combat, making sure that they are better prepared to face the enemy and ensuring the protection and defense of the city, it is a win-win situation, not only i benfit from this, but also Rhonin and his mages, the city military forces and the citizens of the city itself"
Varian was left a little stunned by the witcher explanation, the rest of the people gathered in the dining hall were pondering with inquisitives looks geralt's statement.
finally Varok saurfang was first to speak "it is really hard to find an argument against your particular way of thinking, mister Geralt".
Geralt smirked and chuckled at him.
Varin finally overcoming his inability to speak said "regardless of how beneficial this may proved to be, i still found it distresfull to having this kind of conversation right during breakfast, don't get me wrong even i had to implement my own kind of gruesome brutality from time to time in order to ensure my own safety and that of my kingdom, but i consider it to be quite impolite speaking of such things in the prescence of civilized and sensible people"
"Sensible people? who among us is sensible?" asked Dranosh Saurfang.
"Certanly not you" countered king Magni "why i'm not surprised"
Varok decided to intervene before his son felt himself insulted "Now my son don't speak without thinking, even tough many of us here are excepcionally fierce warriors, that doesn't mean we are not sensible in a way or another. You know i'm sensible about my past mistakes and how i want to atone for them, warchief Thrall is a great leader and warrior too, but he also is a sensible and fair person, Cairne is sensible too and nobody doubts his strenght"
"And many of the alliance leaders are sensible too, Prophet Velen due to his role of guide and fatherly figure is really sensible and dutiful in the leadership of his people, Priestess Tyrande is a great sensible and lovely woman, but i certanly do not wish to make her mad unless i want my butt turned into a pincushion by her arrows"
"dont you ever doubt it" said Tyrande with a playful smile.
"and even the king Varian is sensible in a way, otherwise he would not be loved by his people; so my son we could countinue to list traits that makes every single one of us sensible in one way or another"
"Even Sylvanas?" asked Dranosh.
Sylvanas narrowed her eyes really slowly and stared at dranosh bemusely, something that was not lost to anyone in the room.
"well my son, i think that is something that only her sister can vouch for, but since it is a matter that concers strictly to her family, i think it is nothing of our bussines to dwell in such affair, so let just leave it at that" (nice saving by Varok)
The witcher chuckled "nice one, old man"
"well i think this settles it then, now! what should be the next matter of the day to attent to?" asked Thrall.
"well!" said Rhonin "i would like for the Kirin Tor to start with the study of master Geralt particulary trend of alchemy, i would like a little demostration for the apprentices and the senior instructors so they may start familiarizing with this new knowledge"
Geralt tilted his head at a side "Very well, i think it should be easy enough for me to teach the basics to your students" he humped and smirked a bit "it will be a way to repaid the debt that we witchers have towards mages".
"What are you talking about mister Geralt? what debt?" asked Jaina.
"oh! is nothing, is just that, back in my world it was the mages who taught the first witchers how to cast our signs and the basics of alcnemy and other miscellaneous magical knowledge, now i a witcher find myself with the task of teaching a bunch of mages several aspects of magical lore; ah! the irony of life, quite excquisite indeed"
"huh! so it seems" said Aegwynn "well we shall better get on then, i am curious myself to see the limits of your alchemy master Geralt"
and so Rhonin bade goodbye to the troops he had called and ordered them to return to their posts, then he sent word to prepare one of the alchemy laboratories for his use and finally word to the senior staff, initiates and aprentices telling them to assist for a lesson, orders of the archmage not so uncommon since this is an institution for magical teachings.
the witcher thought that instructing this mages into his way of alchemy was going to be easy, how wrong did he was.
To Be Continued.
Note: well there you have it the long waited update and i'm not entirely satisfied with the result, and also i feel that the story is developing so slow well i will try to close this arc in dalaran in the next chapter and add a little action in it, for i'm about to start to enter in the quests of warcraft, if you have play the game you would recognize the quest that i'm going to put geralt through.
also that i finished this chapter just in time because tomorrow dragon age 2 is about to be released, don't worry i will not let it to distract me from writing this fic... much.
well see ya next chapter, i'm pretty confident it will not take that long. i will try to have it ended in less than a month.