Chapter 12: Late Night Visitor

*Insert Disclaimer Here*

Before we start, I just want to say that since my Testing is NOW OVER (WOOT) Things should go back to normal, meaning one chapter a week!Soon after the Zeppelin had departed from the dock, I went downstairs and found my cabin. While it wasn't what I'd been hopping for, I decided I would rather be down here then up on the deck constantly reminded why I hated heights, and now Zeppelins. The cabin was rather small, but I supposed if they had made it any bigger it would be the only one able to fit on the ship. There was a small bed in the far right hand corner with one pillow at the head and an empty night stand next to that. A small mirror hung on the wall next to the door and there was a chest at the end of the bed just as there had been back in the inn at the Crossroads. The whole left wall was seemingly empty. There wasn't even a window in sight, something I wasn't sure I was happy about or not. On the one hand, I wouldn't have to worry about accidentally looking outside and seeing how far above the ocean we were, but on the other hand I wouldn't be able to look outside to see... Well, the ocean. Since there wasn't much to see anyway, I guess it was a good thing there was no window.

I tossed my stuff onto the chest and plopped down onto the bed and looked at the ceiling. We were just a week away from Silvermoon, the city of the Blood Elves. What would it be like, living there? What would the city in general be like? I have neglected to ask Thal anything at all about it. I pondered getting up and asking him about it, but I decided against it. I wasn't that curious. He was probably busy doing something anyway. Besides, we were going to be there in a week. My curiosity could be sated then. A week. Man, I still couldn't believe that was all it was going to take! Before I could marvel at this some more, my stomach made a loud noise saying that it was time to eat. I hadn't noticed how hungry I really was. It was only to be expected since the last time I ate was when we had passed through Razor Hill. Just as I got out of bed, there was a knock on my door.

I walked over to the door pushing a stray strand of hair behind my ear. I turned the knob and pulled the door open to be greeted by Thal. More importantly, though, was that he had food with him! He held a loaf of bred in his hands along with some small purple berries.

"Though you might be hungry," he said handing them to me. I gratefully took them.

"Thanks," I replied, motioning for him to come in. I popped a berry into my mouth, rolled it on my tongue for a moment, and then bit into it. It was very sweet and juicy with a bit of a sour after taste. Very delicious in my opinion. I noticed that instead of taking a seat on my bed, Thal had opted for leaning against the wall. So I sat on the bed instead. I noticed a small sack hanging from his belt.

"What's that?" I asked plopping another berry into my mouth.

He looked down at it and then his face lit up. "Oh, this?" He unhooked it from his belt and tossed it to me, causing me to drop the food he had given to me onto the bed in order to catch it. "These are those Runes of Teleportation the mage trainer was talking about. I picked a few up from the vending machine on the way here."

I wasn't sure what a vending machine was, but I guessed it was that strange silver contraption down the hall near the stairs. There were two of them and they both sold many different items. I opened the bad and looked inside. There were roughly ten gray stones in it, each with an identical golden marking on them. I closed the bag up and placed it with my other belongings. "Thanks."

There was a strange awkward silence for the next few moments as I continued to eat the food Thal had brought me. He stayed leaned up against the wall and seemed to stare at me, as if waiting for me to do something. It made eating extremely hard. I felt like a scolded child who was sent to her room as a punishment and just to make sure I didn't try anything, my father had been sent in to watch me. Did that mean I saw Thal as a father figure? Besides Torn, he was the only father figure I knew, and even Torn had been more like a friend trying to guide me onto the right path. That made Thal the closest thing to a father I had. Did he even have any kids?

"What makes you ask?"

I was so shocked I jumped off the bed and dropped what little remained of my dinner. Oh my god, had I said that out loud? That's never happened to me before! One look at Thal's face and I knew I had. I mentally slapped myself.

"Nothing," I replied. I smacked myself again. This was my chance to find out a little more about Thal. He would be more open to it now than before right? Maybe that's why he hadn't left? I wasn't about to miss my chance. "Well, actually I was just thinking about you're the closest thing to a father figure I've ever had and that made me wonder if you had any children of your own...?"

He avoided looking at me for a moment before sighing. Turning back to me he spoke. "One. She's no longer...," he paused, "with us... anymore." I could tell by the tone in his voice it hurt him to speak of her, and I suddenly wished I hadn't asked.

"I'm sorry," I said, my voice just above a whisper. Thal turned to leave and I remembered something I had been meaning to ask him. "Before you go, where is the bathing area on this thing?"

He turned to me with an almost invisible smile on his face. "There isn't one," he replied in all seriousness.

My jaw almost fell to the floor. "What? Then, where am I suppose to take a bath or..."

He shrugged. "Eh, you'll manage. Why did you think I didn't bunk with the undead? He smells bad enough now, but in a week I'll be they'll need to fumigate this whole zeppelin." With that he was gone.

After a moment I laid back down on my bed and mentally screamed. One week seemed like an eternity now. This trip just went from great to FANTASTIC!

Occasionally through the extent of the week I would find my way up onto the deck where I would conjure up snow balls and toss them over the edge of the ship. Sometimes I would be able to see them hit the water while other times I couldn't. I once tried to do the same with a fireball, but the heat almost burned my hands and I ended up chucking it over the edge. Watching it fly, I noticed from the corner of my eye there was something flying in the air. At first I thought it was someone on a flying mount, but that theory was soon thrown out. The mount would be too tired to fly across the ocean and it looked too small to be wyvern or gryphon. The just left a bird, but a big one at that. It was really just a spec in the distance, but things tended to be smaller the farther away you were. I thought nothing of it at first, since birds tended to fly long distances all the time. By the third day I found it quite strange since birds usually flew in flocks, but this was the only bird I had seen. I went to sleep early that night, knowing once I woke up we would be in Undercity.

I woke up with a start that night. I sat up in bed and looked around my room. It was too dark to see anything, so I lit the candle next to my bed with a quick fire spell and looked around. Nothing. Then I heard it again; the sound of muffled footprints and a door closing down the hall. I got out of bed dressed in nothing but my black nightgown. I decided against taking the candle with me since if someone was out there doing something they shouldn't have been, the light from the candle might have given me away. Slowly I opened my door and peaked out, but found the hallway empty. I quietly slipped out of my room and carefully shut the door behind me as to not make a sound. Tiptoeing down the hall, I made my way around the corner and stopped in my tracks when I heard voices. I quietly made my way toward them. When I neared the back balcony, I could just make out what the voices were saying. Staying behind the wall so I wouldn't be seen and could make a quick escape down the hall if need be, I listened.

"What are you doing here!" the first one hissed. It sounded like Thal! What was he doing up this late at night and who was he talking to?

"I've found something!" the other one hissed back, clearly feminine. It was hard to tell the race just by a voice, but it sounded similar to a female Blood Elf.

"What?" Thal asked back earnestly.

There were sounds of a papers being unfolded and then the female voice said, "Look!" More sounds of paper rustling.

"What is it?"

"It's some sort of initiation papers. I can't make out the name, but look at the date! That can't be a coincidence! It's the same date that-"

"She was taken..," Thal finished. Who were they talking about? What was going on?

"Yes, and look down here. The death date is undated."

"How do you know you just didn't snatch it up before they could date it?"

"Thal, you and I both know Twilight's Hammer has strict policies about these things. Had she died, this would have been dated hours after her death. Yes, I know I still could have snatched it before they had a chance to date it, but the chances of that are slim."

Twilight's Hammer! What did they want with Twilight's Hammer? Who was this they were looking for? There were so many questions floating around in my head, I missed what was said next. Before I knew it, Thal was saying goodbye to the mysterious voice. My eyes widened in panic and I zipped back around the corner. There was a tugging pain at my head and I winced, but kept going. I rushed back to my room as quietly as possible and shut the door behind me. I took a few deep breaths before plopping onto my bed. There were so many questions going through my head I was hardly able to get a wink of sleep.

Thal stood there for a moment more and watched her figure disappear into the night sky. He sighed. While she had indeed found an important clue, it didn't give them much of a lead. She said she had thoroughly searched the camp she found the document in and others near it, but had seen no sign of Ashenta. Thal ran his hands through his hair and turned to return to his room. As he rounded the corner, something caught his eye. Caught in a nail that was barely sticking out, were several strands of rich blonde hair. What made his eyes widen considerably, though, was the tint of green he saw when he held all the strands together.

Dun DUN DUN! =D You love me, right? XD So naturally Thal's gana get curious, and Quen is going to have a mishap of her own in the next chapter. Ooooh I can't wait! Please review and remember Constructive Critisism is welcomed. Also, check out the poll on my page and V O T E!