Pushing past big leaves they got onto a bigger clearing and careened their head upwards. A 20 feet high, dull iron gate stood in front of them. Dense vegetation and vines curled around the pillars and the adjoining fencing. A large sign above the massive wooden doors read "DINO WORLD" in red letters. A large padlock secured the gates, while lush foliage concealed their view into the park.
Gortak moved up to the padlock and inspected it. "This has not been tampered with. If Calrin is inside, she took a different route. We could look for another entry point, but there are no tracks revealing she has been here at all."
"Or we could just enter here," Ka'la said, coming up next to Gortak. She placed her hand on the padlock, whispered a short incantation and immediately a blue light flickered into existence, forming an icy sheen over the lock.
"Fine with me," he said.
"What about Drip's words of minding collateral?" Tilani said, frowning.
As for an answer, Gortak butted his axe down on the padlock and it burst into pieces, leaving the chains dangling to the sides.
"Was already broken when we got here," he said with a shrug. He pushed against the heavy wooden doors, his muscles straining, they opened with a creak to let them pass inside.
A serene view presented itself to them, as they looked at the red bricked central plaza. Colorful food stalls and benches were rimming the perimeter, while four paths led off through the thick foliage. On the other side of the plaza was a large building boasting a central entrance, two tower-like structures to its sides. A sign above the entrance declared it the "Visitor Center".
"Hmm, it seems way too calm," Tilani said. She slowly approached the closest food cart, looking around. "It has been looted. There is nothing left in this disarray."
"Whateva still roams this park seems thorough. Maybe they won't have that many carnivores?" said Ka'la, looking hopeful.
"As far as I know goblins, they probably would not pass on an opportunity to show off a T-Rex. They'd add a couple cannons for good measure," said Gortak. He got closer to the ground searching for tracks in the fine layer of sand on the red bricks.
"Good thing a T-Rex at least doesn't sneak up on you," Tilani said. "Let's check out the visitor center. Maybe we can figure out where to go next from there."
Gortak stood up, let out a short high pitched whistle and advanced forward. A short while later Drisk joined them in front of the visitor center entrance. The park attendants must have closed up the center against random entries, as the doors were neatly barred up with two wooden boards nailed onto the doors. Gortak started prying off a nail with his axe, while Ka'la drew a dagger helping him. Tilani turned to observe their surroundings.
After some cracking and gnarling, Tilani said, "Hey guys, could you stop for a second? I think I heard something."
A group of smaller two legged dinosaurs appeared from the far side of the plaza. They immediately set out towards the visitor center in an encircling motion. As they came nearer the glinting row of small sharp teeth became visible, and while not as menacing as a full grown velociraptor, these clawfoot were a threat depending on the group size.
"We should be able to go up against these four with no problem!" Tilani drew her sword, fighting spirit igniting her eyes.
"It's no use, there are probably more than these four. They will swarm us from the side as soon as we focus on them. Mage, you can conjure food, correct?" Gortak said with a calm voice. Without answering him, Ka'la understood his idea chanting an incantation. Arcane symbols floated around her hands, as she held them up. Raw meat appeared in her hands and she started chugging it towards the sides of the visitor center. Tilani helped her and threw some of the meat to the other side. The group of clawfoot came to halt, chittering, looking at the food on the ground and apparently decided easy food was more worthwhile for the moment. As on queue, more members of the pack came out of the underbrush and joined their companions in fighting over the scraps of meat.
With a ripping noise Gortak yanked off the last board from the door and pushed it open. "Let's go in, before they decide they are still hungry. We should be safe inside. They aren't smart enough to open doors."
Tilani moved past Gortak and Ka'la followed. The orc closed the door and used one board to block them. The mage and paladin looked around cautiously. They were standing in a large hall, dimly lit by a skylight in the ceiling.
"I hope that over there is a statue of a dinosaur, heh," Tilani said and held up her sword, speaking a word of power. A bright light emanated from her sword illuminating their surroundings.
"It looks tidy in here, as if dey open up for business tomorrow. Even da souvenirs are fully stacked." Ka'la took a step towards the gift shop, when a raspy voice called from farther back, still shrouded in darkness.
"Not another step! I'll shoot! Who are you and why are you here?"
"Ah, dat stuffed dino looks nice. Just shopping…" Ka'la said, smirking.
"We were sent by the Horde and Steamwheedle Cartel to look for a missing agent called Calrin," Tilani said, frowning at Ka'la. "You don't happen to have seen said agent?"
Ka'la shrugged, but remained at her spot.
"I'm coming out, no rash movements," the hidden voice said. A smaller, hunched over figure hobbled from behind the Triceratops statue, bow drawn with one arm, an arrow at the ready. She lowered her bow and it became obvious her leg was broken, as she leaned on a makeshift crutch.
Tilani sucked in a breath, the light increased in intensity. "An undead. Stop right there. Identify yourself!" Tilani said, her voice strained.
"I am Calrin, member of the Kor'kron Guard and on the mission to bring Nalvir Gedry to justice."
"What do you know of justice," Tilani hissed. Gortak ignored the comment and stepped in front of the blood elf.
"An undead in the Honor Guard of Orgrimmar?"
"One of the first and few, in fact. When have you been to Orgrimmar the last time? Quite a few things have changed, since the Blood Elves joined the ranks of the Horde," Calrin said, her raspy voice thin with exhaustion.
Gortak realized parts of the customary uniform of the Kor'kron, now that he looked for it. It seemed so unexpected on a bony undead frame compared to the hulking mass of an orc.
"Fine. What happened to you? Did you encounter Gedry?" Gortak asked.
"Luckily, no. Otherwise I'd probably be another one of that gnomes sick experiments by now. I was surprised by a group of dinosaurs and injured in the fight. I dispatched them, but had to fall back to this position. I failed my mission," Calrin said, her voice bitter.
"Why would you come after him alone? If he is such a menace, how did you imagine to succeed?" Gortak asked.
"I had to. My squad got taken out by him and I had to act quickly before the trail got cold. The Horde seems… more deliberate to act nowadays. Actually, I wonder they send you that quickly.
But I guess you're not supposed to act against Gedry?" Calrin asked. She staggered over to a bench, sitting down.
"Me guessin we're fine on the shooting part, huh?" Ka'la said and went into the gift shop. "Uh, shiny!"
"Ugh, our main order is to locate and get you out. But, especially the Steamwheedle Cartel is interested in ridding Gedry from their park. How we do that is open to interpretation, unless we have to destroy their property in doing so." Gortak winked at the undead.
"Well, so what are you planning to do?"
"I'm not here for shopping, that much is clear. The honor of the Kor'kron Guard needs to be restored and Gedry defeated," Gortak said. He placed one fist over the scars on his left shoulder.
"Lady Liadrin and the Blood Knights are only interested in success to the fullest extent," Tilani said resolutely, but not looking at the undead soldier.
"Splendid, I wish I could help, but the mission is more important than my hurt ego," Calrin said.
"I could heal a member of the Horde…," Tilani said quietly.
"No, it's no use. You would have to expend too much energy on me and I'd still slow you down. I'll just wait here. But I can help you with information. I've been a bit useful while here," Calrin said. "Gedry "resides" in the maintenance hut to the north of here. Over there, these pamphlets show a map of this park."
Ka'la snatched a map from a stand on her way back to the group, a stuffed T-Rex under her arm.
They spread out the map on the floor. Calrin pointed a bony finger to a stylized depiction of a hut in the north of the park.
"I was unable to gain access into the hut. Turns out, the goblins installed a security system to make sure no visitors enter. You will have to find an employee access card," Calrin said.
"But how, there are no attendants in the park. Seems like a pointless endeavor. Do you have anything we can actually work with? Are these cards stashed somewhere else, maybe?" Tilani asked.
"I don't think so, but I have seen the remains of an unfortunate goblin. His corpse might still carry a card. Before I could check, I had to fight back the attacking dinosaurs. I had seen the corpse north west of here," she pointed to a spot on the map, along the western ridge line of the drawn volcano. "These crazy goblins build a rollercoaster inside the mountain! I fear the corpse might have been dragged away, but it's probably worth checking out."
"Or we could go east and bypass dese obviously aggressive dinos dat mangled your leg." Ka'la looked hopeful in the direction of her companions.
"It might, in fact, be prudent to check for an alternate route. If necessary, we could still check out this lead," Tilani said.
"Fine," Gortak grunted. "Let's go east then towards the Jungle Zone, but skipping the Oasis Pools. I prefer ground bound creatures."
"It's settled then. Make yourself comfortable, Undead. We will save your mission," Tilani said with a sneer, turning away.
Calrin glared at Tilani's back. "How gracious of you. But in earnest, I hope you'll succeed, even if that means I will lose my chance for revenge. Do not underestimate Gedry! His mind works… differently, expect the unexpected."
"Once again, very helpful." Tilani moved towards the main entrance, collecting another map for herself. Ka'la shrugged apologetically in Calrin's direction, starting to follow Tilani.
"There is an exit to the back, where I came in. You can cross to the pools without having to go over the plaza again," Calrin said.
"Thanks, might be better with the Clawfoots in front. The zeppelin we came in is waiting for us til tomorrow afternoon. Should we not be back by noon, you should try to get back to it on your own," Gortak said. He rummaged in a small pack, pulled out a small bandage and passed it to Calrin.
"Thank you, will do. With this I should be able to improve my condition," Calrin said, smiling. "Good luck."
Gortak nodded and walked towards the back.
"Hey Tilani, we'd be goin' outta back!" Ka'la shouted, waving.
Tilani stood for a moment, looking back and forth. Finally, she followed them slowly taking a path around the big statue.