I do not own the characters, ideas, and/or places from either Bleach or World of Warcraft and their respective universes. Tite Kubo and Blizzard® own them respectively. Any original characters in the story belong to me. Any comparisons to other fan fiction or series characters are entirely coincidental and not intentional.

Hello - Normal Speech

Hello – Normal Thought

Hello – Spells Cast/ Demons / Titans/ Inner Hollow/ Dragons / Arrancar Released Form

Hello – Thoughts of Demons / Titans/ Inner Hollow/ Dragons / Arrancar Released Form

I love reviews. To see that someone took the time to log in (or not) and criticize my work is fantastic. I don't care if the review is positive or negative as long as they give good reasons for their response I'm happy. I have gotten reviews that pointed out plot holes, questions I didn't answer, or simply things that I forgot.

PM or say in a review whether you prefer this method: One character per chapter or my earlier method. Depending on what is said I will go back and add material to the earlier sections (Chapters 9 – 11) in order to make them full-blown chapters.

AUTHOR NOTE #1: I may make a chapter containing all of my Original Characters in order to give more history about them. Do note, if I do that, that it would always be a work in progress. I will not give information about them that I have not already written in my story.

AUTHOR NOTE #2: Just so all you reviewers and readers know, this chapter is ENTIRELY NEW! No reused material here. It is all brand new with new characters and stuff.

...

Secret of the Dragonflights Arc

Chapter 14: The Symbol of Hastar

Chad had to duck slightly to fit through the corridor leading to Tinker Town. It was strange sight, when he set off to find this place he thought it would be somewhat difficult to find. Once he started getting closer, however, it became obvious that he was heading in the right direction. As he approached Tinker Town, more and more strange and overly complicated gadgets and machinery started lining the walls of the city as well as the various households and shops. In fact, the final tunnel leading to it was filling with rotating machines that seemed to have no purpose whatsoever.

Stretching his back out as he exited the corridor, Chad looked around to find his bearings. Walking around were dozens of small men and women with some of the strangest color hair. While he did see several such people when he entered the city earlier, the sheer quantity in front of him confused him for a moment.

He must have been standing around for longer than he thought because a slightly high-pitched but commanding voice spoke up from his right, "Is there something I can help you with sir? You are blocking the passageway into Tinker Town."

Chad glanced down at the Gnomeragan guard, who was doing his best to look intimidating. Easily shrugging off the glare, he moved to the side of the passageway and looked around, "Yes, perhaps you can help me. I'm looking for someone in particular."

The guard grumbled a little before he sighed, "While it would be easier to find a directory and simply look up the person's address, I will try and assist you."

"I think his name was Grazzle or something like that."

The gnome's face hardened before he, with a surprising amount of strength for such a small body, grabbed Chad's wrist and dragged him off to a isolated stretch of Tinker Town, "For what reason do you seek Grazzle? Speak truthfully or you might find yourself missing a hand."

Chad silently stared at the gnome as he made his threat. While he was sure the gnome wouldn't be able to do any real damage that he could avoid, he saw that even if he could disarm the guard, another gnome would probably see it. The last thing he wanted was to be on the run from an entire city's worth of guards, especially after just arriving on this world and all.

"I was sent by someone to find and talk to him."

"By whom?"

"A strange woman who called herself Gamara."

"Liar!" the gnome seethed, "If you did indeed talk to her, she would have left a calling card!"

"A calling card? Like a note or something?"

"No, nothing that can be as easily forged as that. I am referring to her unique method of authenticity. From what we know of her, she marks each and every person she sees so that those she trusts can verify their story."

"A mark?" Chad asked, "What kind of a mark?"

The guard lowered his voice as he walked around Chad as if he was searching for something, "Gamara is a fickle woman; always suspicious of those deals with. So she came up with a clever scheme befitting of a gnome of the high intellect. She marks those that she helps with a glowing sigil only visible to those not seeking her out. If you did indeed meet her, she would have touched you somewhere. A simple tap with a finger would have been all that is required to cast the spell."

As the gnome scrutinized him, Chad recalled the end of his encounter with Gamara when she was literally trying to shove him out the door. At the time it seemed sort of strange for her to do such a thing when he would have walked out on his own but with what the gnome said, that may have been when she marked him, "Could you check near my shoulders? I think that is what you are looking for."

The gnome nodded before putting on a pair of glowing red goggles, "Aha! Here it is, right above your left scapula. Sorry about the suspicion, can't be too careful when dealing with that woman."

"So will you help me now that you believe me?"

"Yes, I will help you just do not say her name again." The gnome looked around, focusing on several pedestrians intently before turning back to Chad, "There are those on Azeroth who will do anything to find her, and I mean anything. If you are going to talk about her, it would be simply to do so in the third person to avoid any…avoidable eavesdroppers."

"How do you know so much about her? Aren't you just a city guard?"

"I am," the gnome nodded, "But there are those in the Ironforge guard that she has personally entrusted with knowing about her. How do you think I found you so easily once you entered Tinker Town? Of course I saw the sigil as soon as I saw you. I played the part of a disbelieving guard in order to see how you would react and I must say, she did put her trust in the right person."

"Can you help me find Grazzle then?"

"I know where he lives so I can give you directions. Unfortunately I will not be able to bring you there myself since I now have bigger issues to deal with, which I think you are somehow involved in."

"How is that possible?"

"That is a good question but I don't know the answer to it. On a more important note, did you mention anything you and her talked about to anyone else?"

Cupping his chin, Chad thought back and remembered that night elf that he met almost as soon as he left Gamara's shop, "Yes, I do remember meeting someone."

"You did?" the gnome asked nervously, "When did you meet her? What questions did she ask?"

"I met her almost immediately after leaving her shop. At the time, I thought it was a coincidence, but now I am not so certain."

"What are you saying?"

Chad didn't answer the gnome's inquiry immediately as he tried to piece together what was going on, "At the time she simply seemed interested in meeting her. However, now that I think about it the questions she asked were rather specific."

"For the love of the Titans, did you tell her anything?"

"No, I managed to make up a believable story. At least I think I did."

Pulling out a handkerchief, the guard wiped the sweat off his brow. "Good, that's good. You will be able to find Grazzle's workshop about five minutes down the road on the left. If you will excuse me, I need to make haste to the guard barracks. The situation has to be contained as quickly as possible."

"Is it that serious?"

"Nothing ever good comes from people asking questions about her. The mysterious thing about it is that they always pop up almost immediately after she meets someone. Most of the time we catch and protect her clients before it occurs but every now and then…"

Chad nodded, fully understanding what the gnome was implying, "Don't worry, I'll be careful."

The gnome guard had already started to walk away before calling back, "If you ever need assistance just ask for me. I'm Dugnus Mithrilgear, acting commander of the Gnomeregan Exile guards."

Several minutes of walking and getting lost found Chad standing outside a mostly empty workshop filled with the sounds of tinkering and machines working. Letting out a sigh, he rapped his knuckles several times on the door. He did not have to wait long before the door opened with a hiss of steam and a short, pink-haired gnome appeared.

"Can I help you?"

"Are you Grazzle Arctwister?"

The gnome removed the glowing blue goggles from his eyes and perched them on his forehead. Stroking his pink beard, he let out a small chuckle, "Not many people, be they night elves, dwarves, or humans, comes to my shop these days. Since you are here and are looking for me by name, I can imply you are here for me and not for one of my inventions or products?"

"Gamara said you could help me."

Grazzle turned around and walked back into his shop. He started rummaging through a toolbox on the bench beside him before he responded, "Ah, so that is what this is all about. Did she say anything specific about what she wanted you to come to me for?"

"No."

The gnome stared up at Chad for a moment before shrugging and turning back to his workbench, "I suppose you are a man of few words. While you're here, could you do me a favor and hook up that machine over there to that cart? I need to have it ready to be moved to the shop across the road."

Grazzle turned back to his workbench and went back to work while he waited for Chad to finish hooking it up. When he heard sounds of metal groaning before quickly quieting down, he assumed it was simply random noise from one of the other workshops. When Chad walked over with the heavy machine held aloft with one hand on his shoulder, his goggles slid off his face in shock.

"Where would you like me to put this?"

Grazzle tried to come up with an answer but all that he came out was, "But…how…not possible…muscle density cannot…sheer weight should…"

Chad didn't move for a second before asking another question, "Perhaps it would be better if you could point to where you want it."

Grazzle Arctwister raised a hand and pointed to the workshop across the road filled with a dozen working gnomes. Nodding his head in thanks, Chad ducked his head as he left the shop and walked across the road to deliver the equipment. Along the way he was the subject of dozens of pairs of wide-eyed gnomes and dwarves with the former trying to calculate how Chad was doing what he was doing and the latter believing that they had a bit too much to drink.

As he put his package down in the workshop without any sign of fatigue, Chad turned to Grazzle, "Perhaps now is a good time to talk."

"Wha-?" Grazzle asked before he composed himself. He let out a cough in embarrassment before continuing, "Um…yes! Let us return to my workshop to continue our discussion."

The duo made their way back to the workshop where Grazzle proceeded to close and lock the door, "We can talk freely now that we have our privacy. What is it you are here for?"

"I'm not really sure. All Gamara said was that you would be able to help me."

"She said that?" Grazzle puzzled as he wrung his hands together. Suddenly his eyes lit up as he raced around his shop looking for something, "Could she have…no, not possible…but no other alternative…"

Chad watched as Grazzle climbed onto a desk, scattering papers everywhere. Grabbing a large rolled up parchment, he jumped back onto the ground and opened it, exposing a large map that covered nearly the entire desk. When Grazzle motioned with a hand to join him, Chad walked over and saw that the map was covered in many scribbles, words, pinholes, and a large amount of circled areas.

"What is this a map of?"

"This, my friend, is a map of my exploits or rather those of the association I belong to. Each circled area is a potential excavation sites based upon historical evidence that we found."

"If she sent you to me then she is as well informed as the rumors say," Grazzle said as he traced a path on the map. Stopping his finger over a section of the map to the east, he tapped it a few times before continuing, "Do you see Loch Modan here? A dwarf friend of mine by the name of Ironband recently acquired a small excavation site to the southeast in search of Titan artifacts that he soon expanded upon. Problems began with the site almost immediately afterwards."

"Problems?"

"It is quite hard to explain since it doesn't follow all logic. Soon after work started, Ironband's men found a large cylindrical door sealed tight and inscribed with a dialect unfamiliar to every linguist in the Alliance and several in the Horde. Several days later, workers started leaving in droves after claiming to hear voices and seeing shadows around the camp. They said they wouldn't return to work without proper protection."

"And that is what you want me to do?"

"Oh no! I wouldn't entrust the protection of an entire dig to a single human that looks as if he has never picked up a weapon in his entire life. Besides, how would you guard someone in just clothes? You would need armor…a large set of armor if my initial measurement of your size are accurate. You are to guard Ionbrand himself as he makes his way back to the dig. He's been in Ironforge for the last several days petitioning for protection and I think this is what Gamara wanted you to do."

Grazzle turned and rummaged through one of his cluttered cabinets before pulling out a sheet of paper. Quickly making several notes on it, he started to ask Chad several random questions.

"Can you perform any magic from the known schools?"

"Magic?"

"…Uh huh. I probably already know the answer to this but do you prefer to fight close-quarters or from far away?"

"Up close I guess."

"Good, good. What is your preferred style of weapon? Sword, mace, axe, or spear for example."

"My hands."

"Your hands?"

"Yes."

"Interesting choices. You can find Ironband in the Great Library in the Hall of Explorers. If you have trouble seeing him, just wait around and he will make himself known soon enough. Now if you will excuse me, I need to go see a client of mine, Craghelm's Plate and Chain. He owes me a few favors and I intend to have him make you a set of armor."

"I'm fine without armor."

"Nonsense. Either you get this armor or I will not help you."

"…Ok."

"Great! By the time you leave Ironforge, Craghelm will have it done and delivered to you."

"But I don't have any money."

Grazzle waved him off, "Don't worry about money. Like I said, Craghelm's shop owes me a couple of favors and thus this will be free. Once you get finished escorting Ironband, you will have enough gold for a short while. Now move along, we're wasting time."

Chad sighed in defeat as he exited Grazzle's shop in order to find his way to this Great Library or whatever it was called. While he could probably survive pretty well without armor, after seeing and hearing some of the things that existed on Azeroth, it was probably better to be on the safe side.

...

When he finally found the Hall of Explorers after several dead ends and a hilarious encounter with someone fishing in an underground pool, Chad saw that he was expected.

Several figures, sitting and standing outside the hall, looked up as he walked towards them. Two of them were familiar, since he met them only earlier that day but the others were new to him. One of the draenei seemed to be shocked to see him and exclaimed, "It's you!"

Chad pointed to himself, "Yes, it's me."

"No you idiot! What are you doing here?"

"I was sent here," he replied, "Why are you here?"

"It's my job," she huffed.

Sheepishly rubbing his head, he apologized, "Sorry about that…err…"

"My name is Kolona! How could you have forgotten in only a few hours?"

He simply shrugged, "Sorry."

"Come now Kolona," Dulir said as he placed his hand on her shoulder, "I'm sure he didn't do it on purpose."

"Besides he seems nice," the night elf in the blue robe sitting on the floor softely added.

"Move aside," a deep voice growled. Pushing past the draenei was a slightly nervous-looking dwarf. "You must be Chad. I got a letter from Grazzle an hour ago to expect you. Took your sweet time I see. What the hell took you so long? Did you get lost or something?"

"Yes."

"Now that everyone has arrived, follow me," Ironband said gruffly and turned to walk inside the Hall of Explorers. As the dwarf moved through and past several large fossils that resembled dinosaurs, Chad saw that besides the three people waiting outside with him there were now two more walking with the group. The first one caused Chad to double take to make sure he wasn't seeing things. She, or at least Chad thought she was a she, looked like a walking corpse and was draped in robes that shifted from light to dark purple. The second person was covered from head to toe in a black and dark red robe, spiked shoulder guards, and a hood that showed only two red pinpricks where his eyes would be.

The group of six followed Ironband as he entered the back of the hall and approached two Ironforge guards that were armed to the teeth. When they attempted to stop him, Ironband reached into his coat and pulled out a piece of paper. When the guards saw it they immediately straightened and turned and walked away from each other, allowing the group to pass.

Beyond the door was a stone hallway with several doors on each side. Ironband walked to one and pushed it open with an audible creak. Before he walked inside he turned and said, "What are you waiting for? We don't have all day you know?"

As Chad entered the room he saw that the only things inside was a large table and about a dozen chairs. As the last person walked inside Ironband turned and slammed the door shut before turning the several locks on the door.

Pocketing the keys, he turned and chuckled, "I'm sure more than one of you are curious as to the secrecy I am taking."

The forsaken walked over to one of the chairs and sat down, with the warlock silently sitting next to her. Putting her feet up on the table she asked, "As a matter of fact I am quite curious. I don't know many dwarves that would specifically ask for a forsaken's help."

Kolona leaned against the wall and folded her arms, her eyes never leaving the forsaken woman, "This secrecy is highly disturbing Ironband. Back rooms and soundproof walls indicate something that is either highly illegal or very dangerous. So…" she trailed off with narrowed glowing eyes shifting to the dwarf, "…which is it?"

"Calm down Kolona," Dulir said with a hearty laugh as he sat down across from the forsaken mage, "I'm sure this dwarf did not ask for us to come here just to commit a crime."

"You can calm down draenei. I'm only using this room because what needs to be said here is highly secret."

"If it's so secret," the forsaken mocked as she jerked a thumb to the warlock next to her, "Why did you invite him?"

Instead of responding, or saying anything really, the warlock turned his hooded red eyes to the mage, who simply smirked back at him.

The sole night elf in the group, a priest by the state of her armor, sat down next to Dulir. "I'm confused," she said timidly, "I was told that this was a simply routine escort mission. Aren't we just supposed to guard you until you reach your dig site in Loch Modan?"

"You're Lindariel right?" Kolona asked. When the night elf nodded in affirmation, the paladin looked around the room, "She brings up an excellent point. I know each and every one here by their reputation and skills except for the human. Having so many skilled warriors is overkill for an escort mission. What is really going on here Ironband?"

"Trust me," Ironband said, "Chad here comes highly recommended by an esteemed colleague for what I require. In fact, each and every one of you here was purposely told a lie in order to get you to come."

The warlock seemed to shift subtlety in his chair but the forsaken spoke, "My friend here has a point. Why should we help you if our contract was falsified to begin with?"

"I did lie, but it was for a extremely good reason. I needed you all to come here and if I told the truth I was uncertain you all would."

Kolona growled and pushed off the wall, "Come on Dulir, we are leaving. I will not work for a dishonorable employer."

"You can't do that!" Ironband demanded.

The draenei paladin walked to the dwarf until she was towering over him, "And why not?"

Ironband's seemed to be conflicted about something before he deflated, "You can't leave because your leaders are the ones that made the contracts."

"Bullshit!" the forsaken shouted, "Lady Sylvanas would never do this to me!"

"Why would Lady Tyrande lie and send me across the world?" Lindariel softly said to herself.

"I doubt," Kolona angrily said as she picked Ironband off the floor, "Velen would ever have done what you just said he did."

Ironband coughed harshly in paladin's steel grip, "If you let me explain your actual mission then you would understand all the secrecy."

Kolona stood there a few more seconds before reluctantly letting go of the dwarf. Turning she walked to the table and sat on the opposite side of Dulir.

Ironband let out a few more coughs as he got back onto his feet, "When my situation was explained to Magni Bronzebeard, he sent out couriers to each of your leaders detailing specifics about the danger I uncovered."

Speaking up for the first time since entering the room Chad said, "If these leaders felt the need to lie to get the job done then whatever you found must have been extremely dangerous."

"You have no idea, human, what I found there. But in order for you to fully understand my predicament I need to start at the beginning."

The forsaken clapped, "Such an excellent idea! We all know exactly why we were betrayed but let us hear the tale once more."

Ironband glared at the mage before scoffing, "It all began roughly three weeks ago. We were unearthing some ancient architecture when a large hole roughly thirty feet opened up. Eager to see what was down there, I sent several men on ropes with torches down the hole. It continued straight down about two hundred feet before opening up into a large antechamber with nothing written on the walls. There was one thing down there…a door."

"A door?" Dulir pondered.

He nodded, "The door was roughly fifty feet across and perfectly circular. After using a couple dozen torches to light up the entire chamber we saw that the circumference of the door was covered in a language I, nor anyone else there, was able to decipher."

For the first time since meeting her Chad saw the forsaken look serious. Leaning forward onto her exposed elbows, she asked, "What do you mean?"

Ironband gave an exasperated shrug, "I have no clue. It didn't resemble the titan language. I crossed checked it against all dwarven, human, troll, elf, tauren and about a dozen other languages and their dialects and found nothing. Whatever was written on that door either predates the titans or was written by something other than the titans."

At this point the dwarf seemed to shudder as he reached for something in his vest, "The language was bad enough but there was a feeling of wrongness about the whole door that wanted me to just bury the chamber and act as if I never found the place to begin with." He finished by pulling out a large folded up piece of paper and laying it on the table. As the group of six gathered as Ironband unfolded it, Chad let out an almost unnoticeable gasp.

There were no words on the paper, only a very familiar symbol that he saw but a few hours ago. On the paper were three lines connected at their ends. One was straight, the second curved, and the third resembled a question mark.

"A ten foot diameter version of this symbol was etched into the very center of the door. When I had it traced out in order to study it above ground, every bone in my body seemed to shiver as if something about this symbol repulsed it."

The reaction of every other person in the room varied. Dulir and Kolona seemed slightly interested. Lindariel was curious and traced it with one finger as she tried to decipher what it meant. The forsaken mage seemed to be deep in thought, as if she was trying to remember a barely hidden memory. The warlock showed the most emotion, even if Chad could not see it. He stood up so fast that his chair fell over as he stared intently at the symbol, as if he was trying to burn a hole through it.

"As you can see," Ironband stated, "Even if you all have never seen it before you each have varying reactions to it."

"Hastar."

The entire room turned to Chad. "What did you say?" Ironband asked.

"The symbol," Chad said as he recollected what Gamara's book showed him and motioned with a hand to the paper, "It is a symbol concerning something called Hastar."

"Hastar…" Ironband trailed off, "I don't believe I have ever heard of such a name or thing. Is there anything else you might know about it?"

"There is a name for it," Chad hesitantly said.

"Well, spit it out!" Kolona grumbled as Dulir attempted to calm her down.

"A little while ago I spoke with someone. They had a book that contained this symbol with Hastar written next to it. Before I left, she told me not to say its name and at the time I thought she meant Hastar, but I was mistaken."

"Mistaken?" the forsaken asked.

Chad nodded, "Yes. Below the symbol were two barely legible handwritten words. Since what she told me to do has led me here, I believe you all should know the name of that symbol. I believe it is called the 'Yellow Sign.'"

The well-lit room seemed to immediately darken at Chad's words. As the group looked around, the room became deathly silent and the candles lining the walls seemed to move in an impossible breeze, with several of them snuffing out entirely. The shadows around the room began to sway and flicker as if they were flames with some of them turning into impossible shapes.

"What is going on?" Kolona questioned as she stood up and started to draw her sword with Dulir copying her.

"This is wrong, very wrong," Lindariel said with fear in her voice.

"Something is tugging at my soul," the forsaken muttered loudly enough for everyone to hear, "I don't like it."

An unearthly glow from beneath the thick stone door stopped everyone's thoughts. The pale orange light from the candles in the hall was slowly replaced by a bright yellow light that seemed to come from down the hallway and was getting closer. The room started to vibrate and shake as it did so, causing the lights and shadows to flicker even more.

"What the hell is happening?" Ironband said as he quickly backed away from the door.

As every other person got ready to fight whatever was approaching, Chad's mind was attempting to figure out what was happening. "Whatever is coming is related to the symbol but it can't be since it didn't start until I mentioned the name…name…the name!"

"We have to destroy the symbol!" he shouted.

"Destroy it? Why?" Ironband asked.

"Talking is over. Time for action!" the forsaken said as she launched a miniature fireball at the paper, incinerating it.

Immediately after the last ashes disappeared the yellow light vanished and everything seemed to go back to normal. No one relaxed though as Kolona approached the door.

"Kolona what are you doing?" Dulir asked shocked.

"Ironband hand me the keys," she said ignoring her partner. As the dwarf threw the keys over the table from across the room, Kolona put unlocked each lock and prepared to open the door.

"Everyone move away from the entrance, Dulir come with me, Lindariel stay near the mage and warlock, who will provide fire support. Chad, I am going to open the door a small crack and when I do, peer through the slit and tell me what you see."

With everyone knowing his or her roles, Kolona nodded to Dulir, who leaned against the door as she opened it. As soon as it was possible Chad looked out into the hallway and found nothing out of the ordinary.

Grabbing the door and forcing it open even with Dulir leaning against it, Chad walking out into the hall and scratched his head in confusion. Whatever was out here was gone and what was stranger was the dwarf guard at the end of the hall seemed to have noticed nothing out of the ordinary.

"Did you see anything just now?" Chad asked the guard.

"Nope, just the normal nothing," he replied.

With the mystery deepening, Chad reentered the room and closed the door, which Kolona quickly relocked. "There was nothing strange out there. The guard in the hall even said nothing had happened."

"Bullshit," the forsaken said with her usually etiquette, "We all saw that light and rumbling in the hall."

"What if we saw it because Chad said that name?" Lindariel questioned.

Deciding enough was enough, the warlock finally spoke up, "If I may be so bold as to interrupt this line of questioning, there is one thing that the rest of you are missing and which Chad has only just graced the surface of." When he saw that he had everyone's attention he continued, "Let's look at the facts. We all saw that symbol and had different reactions to it. The draenei seemed only mildly interested in it, the night elf was curious about it, Erumal here felt as if she had a memory if it even if she never saw it before and as for me, I felt as if it was just wrong, as if its existence was an anathema to everything around it."

The warlock sat back down as he explained his line of thought, "However, besides causing a general feeling of unease in the room the symbol did nothing. It was not until Chad mentioned its true name that the effects started. So my hypothesis is that the symbol and name are a combination for a summoning ritual."

"For what?" Erumal asked.

"I do not know but what I do understand is that what we saw and felt was only an astral manifestation of the creature or being. Whatever its true form is, it is infinitely more powerful than what we experienced and I believe our dwarf friend here knows more than he has told us."

Seeing the entire room glare at him, Ironband groaned as he sat down, "After getting the etching of that symbol I left the antechamber and returned to my tent above ground to study it in the hopes of understanding what it meant. In the mean time I had the chamber vacated with about a dozen workers guarding it around the clock."

"Why would you need people guarding it if no one knew about it?" Kolona asked.

Ironband shook his head, "They thought it was to guard the chamber against looters but when I assigned them the job my purpose was for them to be a first alert in case anything comes out of the chamber."

"How could you have known something would come out?" Erumal wondered.

"There is something I did not tell you earlier. When I was looking at the door, I was the only one that seemed perturbed by it. Every single one of my workers was entranced by it, as if it was the discovery of the century. While it probably is, their amazement scared me and it took everything I had to get them to leave the chamber. The problems started that night."

Chad seemed to reach a conclusion about what Ironband was about to say and asked, "Was it similar to what we just experienced?"

"Similar and at the same time not. That night about a quarter of my two hundred workers had identical nightmares. The following night, half of my workers had the same nightmare and by the fourth night all but myself and a few of my overseers were having the same nightmare."

The warlock seemed to be hanging on every one of Ironband's words, "What were the nightmares about?"

Ironband shook his head, "They could not tell me. When they had the nightmares, they would wake up screaming and crying about something only to forget about it and act normal for the rest of the day."

"What did they scream?" Erumal asked, even though she really did not want to know the answer.

"I only got bits and pieces but the recurring elements were: the shepherd, the unspeakable one, and the one that scared me the most was the yellow king."

The lights only flickered for a second before returning to normal. When they did everyone let out a collective sigh of relief.

"I've experienced something vaguely similar to this a few decades ago," Lindariel said, "There was an extremely powerful satyr near Auberdine and every night he would use his abilities to give a family of three night elves identical nightmares in order to feed on their life energy, in order to grow stronger. The problem was that it needed to use almost all of its mana in an extremely complex ritual in order to do so. That almost two hundred people could be affected for more than four days fills me with dread."

"Once the nightmares started I knew that whatever was behind that door realized that there were people nearby and was trying to manipulate them." He sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose, "If only it ended at the nightmares."

For some reason Chad found a bead of nervous sweat trickled down his face, "It got worse?"

"That is the understatement of the year. If you mean worse as in my workers started disappearing than yes."

Dulir seemed confused, "How could they just disappear? Weren't you watching them?"

Ironband cringed as he replied, "Disappearing I could deal with. It was what we found afterwards that caused me to flee here for help. When the first few vanished I assumed that they left because they were unable to deal with what was going on and who could blame them, I would have left too. I started with over two hundred workers and when the twentieth vanished in two nights I got suspicious. For one night I ordered all my workers to sleep together and for twenty men to guard them. The next morning the guards were all fine but five more workers were gone, vanished from where they slept."

The warlock picked up on something and asked, "You mentioned that you found something afterwards. What was it?"

Ironband nervously gripped his hands together, "For each worker that disappeared and etching, tally mark, symbol, I don't know what the fuck it was would appear on the door. It was as if whatever was behind that door was counting down to something. Each of the marks was evenly spaced and one of my gnome overseers did some calculations and discovered that it would take a total of 549 marks to complete the circle. When I fled it was at 115.

Erumal groaned, "I think I see why you wanted us you bastard."

"We have to stop whatever is behind that door before it completes itself and we have to do it soon because I don't think there is only one door."

That last line got everyone's attention.

"You really shouldn't leave out important details dwarf," the warlock growled, "What did you forget to tell us this time?"

"I said the walls were bare but there was a diagram on the floor that showed another door. At least we don't have to worry about that other door."

"Why not?"

"Because if that door was close to opening, then whatever it is we're dealing with wouldn't be so intent on breaking through here."

This seemed to be the breaking point for Lindariel, who quickly got up and made for the door, "I didn't sign up for something like this!"

Ironband moved quicker than Chad expected and beat her to the door, "Look here. If I could I would not go back there but whatever is there is strong and getting stronger now that I've awoken it. You saw what just happened. If it is powerful enough to come after us sealed what will happen when it breaks out? If you leave now you will doom Azeroth. I set about these events and damn it I will fix my mistake!"

Once it was clear Lindariel was no longer about to leave, Ironband moved away from the door, "It is true that you have to escort me to my excavation site but your real job starts once you get there. You are to find a way to stop whatever is behind that door. While each of you is among the best of your professions, there are a few of you that I called here for a reason. Erumal, your superb expertise with the arcane allows you to feel the ebbs and flow of mana enabling you to see hidden spells and seals. Lindariel, your expertise concerning demonic abilities and effects will allow you to help counteract any spells this thing has. You are one of the best paladins when it comes to demon hunting, Kolona. That will allow you to sense whatever is there and hopefully track its movements."

"Ok," Kolona said as she clapped her hands together, "I think we can all leave now. I for one need some fresh air."

The warlock walked forward and out the now open door, "Agreed. Let's meet near the front of Ironforge in an hour to leave. But I must make a suggestion. If you do anything do so with other people around, who knows what awaits us that are found alone now that we know what we are dealing with. Let's go Erumal."

Kolona and Dulir left after the mage and warlock, leaving only Chad, Lindariel and Ironband. Extending a hand out to the night elf Chad said, "Would you like to come with me? I have to meet someone to pick up some armor and I believe you should not be alone right now."

"I would like that," she nodded and followed Chad out of the room.

Ironband left with them but before leaving turned around to lock the door. As he closed the door and began to lock it his short stature allowed him to look through one of the keyholes and what he saw caused him to immediately bolt after Chad and Lindariel in fright, totally forgetting about locking the door.

"Wait for me!"

Sitting in a chair facing the door was a figure wrapped entire in a yellow robe with a matching sash around its waist and a hood and cowl covering its face. As he ran past the bewildered guard after Chad, Ironband could have sworn the figure he saw was not its true form, that what he saw was only what his mind could comprehend.

And it was looking straight at him.

...

Chad stood near the entrance to Ironforge and for the life of him couldn't figure out where Lindariel was getting all her energy. As soon as they left the Hall of Explorers, she seemed to perk up immediately and started pestering him with questions. When he asked her why she was acting so hyper she replied that she was only 145 years old, a teenage by night elf standards.

"Where do your powers come from?"

"From my abuelo."

"Abuelo?"

"My grandfather."

She blinked, "I don't understand."

Clenching his fist, Chad explained, "My grandfather was a powerful man, but he was also very kind and compassionate. When I was a child I was unruly and violent. Eventually he showed me that true power comes not from strength or abilities but by using what you have to protect those precious to you. That is why I will never use my power for my own gain. They will only ever be used to protect those precious to me, like my friends."

"That is sweet," Lindariel replied with a sad smile, "If only my father was-"

"Mr. Chad! I'm looking for a Mr. Chad."

Chad stood up and looked around and saw a dwarf standing on a cart with a pile of boxes nearby. Raising an arm he said, "I'm Chad."

The dwarf noticed him and ordered the rams pulling the cart to move towards him, "Hello Mr. Chad. I am Craghelm and I am bringing you your special custom Onslaught Armor, mark 6."

"Mark 6?" Chad asked as he easily picked one of the boxes off the cart and started to open it.

"It's the sixth version of this particular armor model. Even six months or so we come out with a new and better model than the last, offering a little more protection each time. This here is our current pride and joy and I don't foresee a new model coming for at least a year, maybe more," Craghelm replied with pride.

As Craghelm explained about the armor, Chad looked it over. It was comprised mostly of a dark brown metal that he could tell without even putting it on would be very effective at defensive and with the spiked shoulder guards, he would look very intimidating indeed. As he put the armor on and finished tightening his gauntlets over his wrists, he felt the need to test out his abilities in the armor. Flexing his hand and making a fist he punched the ground, forming a small crater with large cracks radiating out from it.

"This will be fine," he muttered.

Craghelm was not as pleased as Chad and several of the nearby guards were not as well, "Hey don't go breaking the city just to make sure it works. I made this armor myself. I know it works." Reaching over for the helm, he attempted to give it to Chad who refused to take it.

"Sorry, but I don't wear hats."

"It's not a hat, it's a helm. It's made to protect your head."

Chad shook his head, "I don't wear hats."

Craghelm attempted to give him the helm one last time but when he saw that Chad was not going to back down, gave up. Tucking the helm under his arm, he climbed back onto the wagon and had his rams bring it back to his shop.

"Hello Chad and if it isn't Lindariel. I see we're not the first ones to arrive."

Chad turned and saw Erumal and the still unnamed warlock, "And you are?"

The warlock chuckled, "I see no need to give out my name at this time."

Chad shrugged before Erumal whistled, if that was even possible, "My day has been rotten, no pun intended, since arriving in Ironforge. Guards following me wherever I go, can't go near food stalls and we have an all-powerful being chasing after us like an obsessed boyfriend. But seeing you in that snazzy armor just makes my day seem so much better." Moving her thumb and finger so they made a picture frame she finished with, "You look absolutely hot."

Not liking the look she was giving him Chad turned to the warlock, who sighed and proceeded to slap the back of her head. Grumbling, she rubbed it and asked, "What the hell was that for?"

"You were being inappropriate."

"I'm undead. I'm surrounded by rotten corpses all day long so you can allow me to indulge myself in viewing the opposite sex every once in a while thank you very much!"

A loud boisterous laughter caused them to stop arguing. "There is nothing like a lover's quarrel," Dulir said. Before he could say anything else he was forced to dodge an arcane missile, courtesy of Erumal.

"Shut the fuck up," she said, "Or I won't miss next time!"

"Calm down," Kolona interjected. Erumal was about to argue when the paladin elbowed Dulir in the stomach, causing him to sputter and cough, "You need to think before you say anything Dulir. You somehow always say the most inappropriate comments."

"Sorry."

Half an hour passed for the six of them as they waited near the entrance. Eventually it was Lindariel that spoke up and asked the question that they were all wondering, "Where is Ironband? Wasn't he supposed to meet us here over an hour ago?"

"He was," Erumal agreed before turning to the warlock and adding, "Something's not right."

"I agree," he said, "Kolona, please be a dear and go inform one of the guards that Prospector Ironband is missing. Dulir accompany her and do not leave her side."

"What do you think happened?" she asked before leaving.

The warlock shook his head, "Hopefully he just got delayed but if the worst has come to pass than he is gone. Even if that is the case we still have to go and complete the mission. We all know what will happen if we don't."

When five heads nodded in agreement and the draenei left, the warlock pointed at Chad and said, "Do you mind talking with me for a second? Erumal watch Lindariel while we are gone."

At a far enough distance, the warlock looked around and quietly asked, "Between you and me what do you think happened to Ironband?"

As quietly as he was asked Chad shook his head and responded, "I don't think he is coming."

"We really shouldn't have gotten involved in this mess."

"The consequences of failing and letting it get loose would be worse," Chad added.

The warlock nodded and added before turning to walk back towards the mage and priest, "We wait for the draenei to return and then two hours for Ironband to show up. If he doesn't then we assume he is gone and we head out immediately. If he is truly gone, then whatever got him is in the city and therefore Ironforge is not longer safe."

As Chad followed the warlock he suddenly bumped into him, causing him to stumble back slightly in his armor. Before he could ask what was wrong, the warlock quietly motioned for Chad, the mage and the priest to come over.

"What's the matter?" Erumal asked, "What do you want with-"

"Look closely," he whispered, "Over the ridge directly out from the entrance and do not make any sign you see it."

It took the three of them a minute but when they finally saw it would have gasped if they did not remember what they were just told.

It was in the distance, about half a mile from the entrance to the city on a ridge overlooking the road that winds down the mountain. In a yellow robe that covered its entire body and head and facing them, the four knew that it was looking directly at them.

"It can't be…" Chad trailed off.

"What the fuck is that?" Erumal said with fear in her voice.

"How did it get out there?" Lindariel said, almost in tears.

"This is bad," the warlock said, "Very, very bad…"

...

Author's Note

Epic cliffhanger! For some reason, Chad's story just seems to write itself as a horror story with a lot of Lovecraftian themes and elements. But just so everyone is sated, Hastar will appear in other character's stories as well. With the way I have him set up, he is not just going to stick to one character. He is a being that likes to travel and see the world. Why would he stick around in cold Ironforge when there are two other continents to explore (and no Pandaria!)?

For those of you that have not read Lovecraft or similar authors, both Hastar and the symbol are based on the mythos. However I had fun and changed things around so it was interesting and followed my plot better.

Just to be clear so everyone knows what every character is wearing: Chad (Warrior Tier 6 without helmet), Erumal (Mage Tier 6), Lindariel (Priest Tier 6 with the hood down), Dulir (Warrior Tier 5), Kolona (Paladin Tier 5), and the Warlock (Warlock Tier 6)

Tell your friends about this story. Read and Review.

~Bahamut_Reishiki