"Welcome back Coira, I hope you didn't have much trouble getting back here..." Given the vast openness of Desolace, it hadn't been difficult for the guard on duty to spot the lone rider approaching on horseback, even with their attempts to remain relatively stealthy so as to avoid the attentions of the warring centaur groups.
Unsure of who it was, Harry and Nashala had both headed to the gate to greet them, despite the fact that Harry and the others could now use their translation charms to speak Azerothian the young Naga still insisted on accompanying him where ever possible to allow him to use the translation rune for such interactions. Given the Naga's insecurities and lack of other options, such determination and dedication was understandable even to Susan and his better halves, most of whom had struck up a decent friendship with Nashala over the portal device communicator.
"There is an Alliance outpost near here, and despite our past differences Blood Elves are still welcome in such areas..." The fact that such hospitality might change in the coming months, with the Blood Elves somewhat unofficial alignment with the Horde, went unsaid before Coira looked over his shoulder and whistled appreciatively.
"I like what you have done with the place, I'm surprised you don't have every centaur in Desolace sieging here." Given the Terrans magical abilities, as well as his own vaunted elemental powers, it had not taken them long to redesign the layout of the former cultist lair as well as expand it into a proper fortified base.
The original wall had been transfigured and reinforced so that it was almost 11 metres high and three metres thick, capable of withstanding the attentions of a giant like Grawp for at least a couple of minutes if need be, though Harry and the others still weren't quite sure of what sort of siege equipment the Azerothian races possessed and whether the wall by itself would be enough.
Which was why he had constructed the second wall outside the first, surrounding both walls with moats that were almost 10 feet deep and filling them with earthen spikes. Given the Terran's ability to apparate, they could easily fall back from the first wall to the second in a moment, so they hadn't bothered with connecting the two walls as that would only aid potential attackers.
"They tried at first, but when we vanished the causeway to the gate they really didn't have a good avenue of attack, and after 6 hours of us ignoring them they started infighting again." A few confundus charms thrown out over the wall may have assisted in the centaur force turning on themselves, but given what the Terran's had discovered about Centaur culture thus far, that tactic had only expedited the inevitable.
"Ignoring the centaur? I don't think I have ever heard of that tactic before, but I can see why it would work in the short term. Still, I know there were a few scouts tracking me, so perhaps we should continue our discussion inside?" Harry nodded, before turning to walk back across the causeway, Coira dismounting and leading her horse with practiced ease as her eyes took in the interior of the outer wall.
To the left hand side of the makeshift road the space had been flattened and turned into a training area, so that the strike teams could keep up their fitness whilst waiting for missions, complete with transfigured obstacle course and animated targets for spell practice. Harry saw Coira cast a calculated glance over the equipment before her attention was taken by the greenery that enveloped the interior on the right hand side.
"Like what we've done with the place?" Looking towards the rapidly growing plants that were littered across the once barren ground in what seemed to be a disorganised mess, Harry saw Coira allow a little bit of a shocked stare slip through her usual facade, even as the man referred to commonly as the 'plant lover' of the Phantoms approached with his usual cheerful smile on his face.
"But, but this was barren lands only a few weeks ago..." The slight stutter was Coira's equivalent of a normal person's shocked exclamation, Harry generously not ribbing her on it as he extended his right hand to grip Neville Longbottom's sole hand firmly.
"Coira, meet Neville Longbottom, our resident herbology expert and the sole reason we survived on Earth long enough to get here." The well tanned and much less doughy young man blushed slightly under the praise, but the loss of his left arm in one of the skirmishes around Manchester after 3 years experience fighting with the strike force had put some backbone in the once easily flustered boy.
Either that or it was his wife Hannah, but Harry was happy enough with the change not to try and find out how whipped his old friend actually was. Hannah was helping the others run things back on Earth for now, logistically there had been more vital members to bring across to Azeroth, even if Harry had felt guilty splitting the two of them up for the moment after they had only tied the knot 6 months before he used the portal.
"Well, not all of us can run around meeting ancient dragons and trying to emulate Dumbledore's best 'all knowing' look whilst coming up with half baked schemes, someone has to do the boring everyday things like farming now and again." The joke would have been great if it had just been amongst the phantoms, but Harry only just managed to suppress his wince as Coira looked in his direction, eyebrow raised in obvious question.
"Ancient dragons? You've met members of the five aspects already?" Neville realised his blunder but Harry managed to prevent him from making the situation worse with a single glance to shut him up whilst he ran damage control.
"Yes, a few drakes from the Black Dragonflight. We didn't get along and I sent them back to their master bloody and bruised." Coira didn't entirely buy his story, even if it was entirely true, but to her credit she didn't openly call him out on the matter despite her emotional urge to do so obvious to Harry's senses.
"Really? You are more powerful than I thought if you are capable of beating several dragons at once. I hope you will give me a proper demonstration of all your skills sometime." It was subtle, in comparison to some of the women he had dealt with in the past at least, but the tone of Coira's voice along with the subtle grasping on his arm made alarm bells start ringing in Harry's head.
Contrary to his girl's opinion he wasn't clueless when others were trying to seduce him, something he was glad about as it allowed him to tell if someone was trying to take advantage of him using their 'assets' as Daphne so politely termed it. But for the most part, Harry found playing the clueless man helped in all but the most overt of cases.
"I am sure from your descriptions of Silvermoon city and the surrounding area there will be enemies that I will need to go all out on soon enough Coira. Still, that is something for another time, I assume you will wish to rest before we hearthstone back to Silvermoon?" She cast him a barely noticeable pout at his 'obliviousness' before having to bite back a yawn.
"If I could Harry, though I think dinner would be better first given that I haven't eaten for at least 8 hours." She paused, looking uncertainly at him in a manner that was very much at odds with her usual antics, but she had done it enough times for Harry to know what she wanted.
"Here..." The woman caught the enchanted trinket with a smile so greedy he was surprised she didn't devour the bracelets magic there and then.
However, she seemed happy enough merely to have the item in her possession for the moment, slipping it into one of her hip pouches before slipping back to her usual saucy demeanour.
"Thanks Harry, I will make it up to you somehow..." The inflection was so heavy that Harry was surprised the air itself didn't shift under its weight, though he was saved the need to act oblivious again by a familiar voice speaking up from behind them.
"I would be more concerned with making sure you get to interact with Harry ever again first, and for that there are some other people who need to talk to you..." Susan was stood at the gate as her voice carried across to them, set in an angry stance and with wand drawn in Coira's direction.
Whilst Susan was the most promiscuous of his lovers by far, she also had a jealous protective streak where he was concerned that even Ginny was scared of at times. There had been more than one case of curses being thrown when a woman had gotten a little too close in flirting with Harry, which was why he was now regretting not expanding on his status before Coira had headed off to Silvermoon city. Given Kelanas was stood just behind Susan with an amused grin on her face, he assumed she had something to do with his other half's appearance at what was possibly the worst possible time.
"Coira, may I introduce you to Lady Susan Bones, one of my wives..." Despite her best attempt to maintain her sultry and cheerful manner, Harry couldn't help but notice that one of Coira's hands had slipped to her hip where she stored her hearthstone as she bowed in a very deferential manner to the irate redhead.
"Lady Bones, I don't suppose just grovelling is going to be enough here is it?" Normally Harry would have taken the statement as Coira's attempt to use humour to diffuse the situation, but there was an uncertainty in her tone that made it clear she was asking the question seriously as Susan eyed her up whilst clearly doing her best to reign in her temper.
"Susan, take her to see the others, I think I have an idea why you are angry and if that is the case the others should get the chance to talk to Coira as well before you decide what to do next..." Susan and the others knew that his cluelessness was somewhat an act now, so pretending to have not noticed Coira's actions would only have gotten him in trouble as well.
As Coira threw him a betrayed look, Harry rationalised that she would probably thank him for it later, the others were far more forgiving for first infractions than Susan was and would probably be able to calm the hot blooded witch down from cursing to something else.
"Damn, I suppose you're right Harry, I was looking forward to taking advantage of this a little longer by myself first. Coira was it?" At Coira's quick nod Susan gestured back towards the main body of the fortress with a wicked grin on her face.
"I'd get working on your best apologies now, and if you grovel enough to me by the time we get there I might even tell the truth about what I just saw happen instead of embellishing things..." Susan probably wouldn't have lied about things even if Coira didn't butter her up, she wasn't like that, but Harry got the suspicion that having a beautiful alien woman at her mercy was really exciting the bi-sexual even if she wouldn't admit it.
"Harry, is Coira going to be okay? I don't think I have ever seen Lady Bones so angry..." Nashala's comment in parseltongue made Harry chuckle even as he watched Coira follow Susan towards the main fortress whilst throwing him pleading looks over his shoulders, Nashala probably didn't remember that Susan had been similarly jealous when she had first understood quite how closely the Naga was sticking to 'her man'.
In Nashala's case though Harry had taken the time to explain the situation to his wife in detail before the two were formally introduced, meaning that he had taken the brunt of Susan's anger for 'leading the young girl on.' What she was talking about Harry had no idea, but the fact that Nashala was deferential to all four of his wives probably also helped in smoothing the introductions out.
"She will be fine, Susan never leaves lasting injuries..." Seeing that his comment had done nothing to reassure the young Naga, he instead focussed on something else Coira had mentioned that he could distract her with.
"Besides, she mentioned an Alliance outpost near here, so it would probably be diplomatically prudent for us to go and introduce ourselves..." The fact that such a distraction would mean he was unobtainable if Coira tried to drop him in it for her actions went unsaid, though given the look Neville shot him before turning away shaking his head it was understood by at least one of the people listening.
"It is only a short distance away to the North East, we might have difficulty reaching it on land without centaur interference. Would you like me to accompany you Harry?" Kelanas' offer was appreciated, as an alliance member would definitely help him deal with the potential hostility that came with Nashala's presence, and she also made a good point about the Centaur.
Luckily, given what else had arrived in the latest portal transfer, Harry had no intention of going anywhere via land right now...
!"£$%^&*()
"Dragon!" The call was met with silence for a few moments, everyone struggling to comprehend the warning that had been shouted before their instincts forced their brains into overdrive.
"Of all bloody days to get stuck in this death trap..." Storri Ironfist's reaction was a lot less panicked than the terrified flurries of activity from the people surrounding him, downing what was left of his tankard in a rapid gulp before slamming it into the table and jumping down from the human sized bar stool he had been forced to utilise.
He had been here as a favour to the outpost's commander, who had been having trouble with the local Quillboars and needed an experienced hunter to find their camp and thin their numbers a little. He'd managed to kill off their largest war party through a mixture of traps, poison and sniping with his trusty crossbow, and had collected his reward only to find out that there were no available Griffins for him to use as transport to get out of Nigel's point until the next day.
Hefting his crossbow from his back and shouldering past two of the civilians that were currently floundering like lost Murlocs during hunting season, Storri glanced out of one of the pubs small, murky windows to see if he could catch sight of the dreaded beast whose race were synonymous with death and bad news these days.
"No sign of the beast from here..." He mused as he turned away from the window and headed towards the door, staring down the civilians that were attempting to barricade the damn thing into letting him past. If the damn dragon was hostile, what did those idiots think a wooden barricade was going to do? It could breath fire! By the ancestors, he was glad he didn't have to deal with this idiocy all of the time.
Now he was outside he could see the actual competent people of the outpost readying weapons, and judging by the fact they were all moving towards the south entrance Storri assumed that was where the dragon had been sighted. It was tempting to head North, get out of the outpost in case the dragon did decide it wanted to roast the place, it would be easier to evade the damn thing amongst the mountain passes to the north of here rather than in the open plains of Desolace.
But... If he did that he wouldn't be able to make easy gold coming back here for hunting work until somebody built up the courage to repopulate the place again, and it would cost him one of the few people he could actually put up with on a regular basis in all likelihood.
"Bronzebeard damn it all..." Swivelling towards the south, Storri found himself looking at the amused expression of Captain Pentigast, the leader of Nijel's Point's Alliance military forces and the man that Storri begrudgingly called his friend.
"Glad to see you have something resembling honour in that golden greed filled heart of yours Ironfist..." Storri just about resisted the urge to growl, settling for a glare that promised pain if Pentigast carried on trying to irritate him.
"You better hope the dragon kills us Anduan, because if it doesn't I may do so for slighting my personal honour. Now, let's get to the walls, as much good as they will do us against such a beast." Given the scaly hide, foot long razor sharp teeth and fire breath, the chances of any of them walking away from this was small if it was even a moderately large drake.
If the beast was a full blown dragon... Storri's thoughts caught in his throat as he caught sight of the dragon for the first time, the thing flying down from the west and off to the south in the time it took for him to register its appearance, before chuckling to himself.
"It's fast, I give it that, but that thing is barely a young drake, hardly worth sending all the traders into a panic over..." Pentigast chuckled, in the age old manner of knowing something Storri didn't, the pair of them reaching the outposts main gate where half a dozen human guardsmen and a single night elf priestess were stood.
"The call wasn't for the actual Dragon, it was to ensure that the non-combatants stayed out of the way for this next part. As to the real reason, let me introduce Kelanas Windflower, envoy from High Priestess Tyrande and the one who has asked for this little exercise." The night elf, young for her station but otherwise combat ready, bowed slightly and smiled in the typical priestly manner.
"Apologies master Dwarf, I was originally here to arrange a meeting in neutral territory for Captain Pentigast, but he mentioned there was a close friend of the Dwarf King out here on a mission who he thought might also benefit from an introduction as well. I did not realise what his plan was until he instructed me to bring the dragon into land." It was at times like this Storri hated Dwarven politics, you save the King in battle ONE time...
"Wait, what do you mean 'called the dragon into land?' Are you next going to claim you have conversed with the damned black dragonflight and gotten them to admit all past faults as their own?" His annoyance at Anduan at revealing his unwanted connections to royalty, was overcome by the ludicrousness of the elfs statement, even as he felt a cold chill rise on the back of his neck.
The gates began to open, and Storri realised slightly belatedly that none of the guards were utilising the mechanism in place for such a task.
"Apologies Master Ironfist for the confusion, but I did not wish to ruin the surprise..." As the gate opened far enough to let a wagon in, Storri caught sight of the black scaled Dragon now perched less than 30 feet away from him, the things eyes meeting his own for a few seconds before dismissing him with a huff.
It was a small thing, probably not much larger than a hippogriff if you ignored the things barbed tail, definitely built for speed rather than toughness, as most the aspects leaned towards these days. His eyes very quickly shifted from the dragon however, as the human that was clearly riding the damn thing gave a cheeky wave before dismounting with a leap that somehow was efficient and flashy at the same time, extending his hand up to support a clearly terrified Naga sea witch from where she was clinging as best she could to the things back.
"May I introduce Lord Harry Potter and his assistant Nash'ala, exile of the Vash sect. I would introduce you to the dragon as well, but he doesn't seem interested in conversation right now..." Even as he did his best not to draw his crossbow at the sight of the usually murderous sea denizen, Storri knew there was only one sentiment that truly described his current feelings on the matter.
"I've definitely not had enough to drink yet for this..." Even as Captain Pentigast laughed at his plight, Storri did his best to ignore the urge to punch himself in the face, even if this was obviously one of those dreams induced by the shitty ale the inn claimed was 'alcohol'...
A/N: Another short one I know, but if I were to try and write a 10+k chapter for this story now I don't think I would ever really finish it, so sorry but it's better than nothing right? So we have had Coira return to the group, though her flirtations haven't gone over well with Susan at all (quite a lot of polyamorous stories seem to have all the girls being fine with other girl's flirting with their lovers/joining the group, not happening here if I can avoid it...)
However, for all her opposition, we will see if Coira can 'work' on Susan and 'improve her chances', especially if her source of lovely magic is on the line.
Regarding Storri, he is another OC I am afraid, heralding from another of my stories and will form Harry's initial contact with the Alliance other than the Night Elves. He will provide a rather more cynical view of things that Harry encounters, but is also something of an obvious effort to actually include some non-women in Harry's party... :P
Lastly, what did we think of Neville? I will expand somewhat further on events on Earth in the 'between years' in the coming chapter, but I like to think that despite some extra confidence he is still the same Neville we know and love.
So, next chapter we head off to Silvermoon, so if anyone knows any interesting lore/quests for the area I can have Harry wade into let me know (If you already have in previous PM's let me know and I will have a look back through them all.)
Hope you all enjoyed it, review and I will see you next time.