((Author's Note: This story was inspired by World of Warcraft. Izusa is my character from the Thorium Brotherhood server. This story, although using characters I've created personalities for, is copyright Blizzard Entertainment 2005, please don't sue, etc.
This story is rated M for some language, some adult themes and violence.))
Izusa Witch Doctor Extraordinaire
A World of Warcraft fanfic
By Heidi Cautrell
~Izusa Isn't All Bad~
"I'm in need of a cure for these warts on my hands. They make it almost impossible to work my trade as quick as I'd like," said a middle aged orc. He was tall and powerfully built, his dark brown skin marking him a Mag'har orc. His leather work clothes with burns and black smudges marked him a metal worker of some kind.
"Well den, Mistah, ya come to de right Witch Doctah. Izusa be knowin a special potion dat be fixin' ya right up and it onleh be costin' ya five gold!"
Izusa, Witch Doctor Extraordinaire, grinned widely. Small tusks poked from the corner of her mouth. Her smooth blue skin and sparkling sienna eyes gave her a youthful appearance that belied her real age of thirty. Her long fuschia braids tumbled to the middle of her shoulder blades and were littered with bones, beads, gems and feathers, though they were all clean and smelled of kingsblood.
The orc eyed her over carefully, taking in all the details of this strange female shaman. He'd been seeing an ever steady stream of travelers to his village and while he didn't like the reason they'd come, for the most part they seemed to be helping more than hindering what was left of their world which was now called Outland. This one in particular had shown up in his village just the day before and already she seemed to be showing her willingness to help a people that weren't her own.
"Five gold you say..." He eyed her thoughtfully, "You wouldn't be willing to take payment in the form of armor, would you?"
Quirking a dark blue eyebrow, Izusa said, "I bein' shoah dat your work be top notch dere, Mistah, but I don't be needin' no plate armor."
Rubbing his chin as he eyed her tall frame, he said, "I could make you a pair of chain mail boots."
Wild laughter burst from Izusa's lips. Picking up one foot, she stuck it almost in the orc's face. "Ya see dem feet?" The large bluish-purple toes, all two of them, wiggled. "Dere ain't nothin' dat can be made ta fit dem, nah."
Taking a step back, the orc nodded, "I see. Very well, then. I'll have the gold for you tomorrow."
Beaming brightly, Izusa nodded. "Dat sounds great, Mistah!"
The next day Izusa returned to the blacksmith's hut. Before she announced herself, she pulled an empty vial from the pouch on her hip. Slipping up next to rain barrel that was bursting from the previous night's rain, she submerged the vial, filling it to the brim.
From the same pouch on her hip, she pulled a pinch of dried up kingsblood from a small pieced of folded wax paper. Dropping the herb into the vial, she put a stopper in it, shook it vigorously, then held it up to the light. The water inside the glass container was now a pale lavender. Nodding in satisfaction, Izusa, knocked on the hut's door. "It's Izusa, de Witch Doctah, Mistah!"
"Come on round back," called a voice. Following the sound of a hammer she hadn't noticed earlier, Izusa walked to the back of the hut. There at a forge stood the large, brown orc, half dressed and pounding away at a piece of glowing red metal. Impressed with the way he looked wielding a hammer, Izusa hesitated a moment.
Pausing in his work, the orc looked up with a smile, "There you are. I'm glad you came back. I need to finish this work or I won't be able to feed my wife and children." Pulling a small pouch from his belt, he tossed it in Izusa's direction. Once caught, Izusa counted out five gold in silver and coppers.
A knot formed in her stomach. Glancing up, she said, "Ya had ta scrape dis togetha, ya?"
Grunting, the orc nodded, "It's all there though, every copper. And as long as this cure of yours works, it'll be worth using our savings to get it."
Emotions flickered across the shaman's face, including guilt, doubt and compassion. Sighing heavily, she took the vial she'd been clutching and shoved it into her pouch. From the coin pouch she extracted a gold's worth, mostly in silver. She tossed the pouch back to a very surprised orc.
"Lemme see dem hands, mon. Dis potion might not be strong enough if dey real bad," said Izusa, trying not to look the Orc in the eye.
Tucking the remaining currency into his pouch, the orc ambled over, pulling off his gloves as he went. He stopped a few fee from her, his brown gaze thoughtful. After a moment he stepped closer and held up his hands. They were large, work roughened and had the worse burn scars Izusa had ever seen on them. Along with the scars were dozens of warts, some even bleeding from the rough treatment required to used them while working metal.
Grunting softly, Izusa pressed her hands over his and began chanting softly in Zandali. Warm green light enveloped both their hands. The orc's eyes widened in surprise. After a few moments, Izusa ended her chant. The light faded as she did. She nodded at the orc, then turned and purposefully walked away.
The orc flexed his hands, then gingerly ran his fingers over his palms and the backs of his hands. Not only had she cured the warts, but she'd healedd the arthritis that had been starting to bother his joints and some of the worst scars, the ones that made his fingers stiff, they'd faded almost completely.
A warm smile touched the orc's face. Nodding slowly, he turned back to his forge. Soon the blacksmith found he could not only complete the one major order early, but was able to start on a back log of other orders.
~Izusa Is Really a Marshmallow~
"One, two, t'ree, foah, five, six, seveneightnineten! Readeh oah not, here I be comin'!"
Izusa jumped up, braids and trinkets flying every where as she spun on her heel. She hurried from her position near the hospice turned inn in Garadar. Her challenge belted from her in a fierce yell. Her brilliant sienna eyes flashed in the afternoon sun as she took off after the young orcs that scattered in her wake, squealing their mock terror.
"I be comin' ta get ya!" She chortled as she loped down the pathways that twisted through the village. She growled and snarled as she hunted down each of the squirming little ones.
"Ya can't hide from me, ya tasty likkle orcses!" Izusa crowed as she plucked two from the top of a canopy. The height might have been too tall for the orc adults, but Izusa towered at least a foot above most. Tucking one child under each arm, she grinned down at them. "Time ta find da fiah an' da cookin' pot!"
The pair squealed and squirmed and laughed, protesting their fate as Izusa's dinner. "No, no! Not the cook pot! We don't wannat be stew!" they wailed even as they giggled. As the trio trundled past, orc adults, parents and elders looked on in amusement before shaking their heads and going back to the chores that were interrupted by the gleeful screams of excited children. Setting the squirming pair down near the main fire in Garadar, Izusa winked at them, gave them each a piece of chocolate from a pouch on her waist, and then loped off to find more hiding orc children. The pair happily sat, stuffing their faces with the sweet confection they'd been rewarded with.
"I still bein' hungreh! Who's gonna feed me now!?" Izusa called across the village as she stomped around a hut.
She halted as she came around to the back side of the round hut she'd chosen to search. Nearby were four of the orc children she'd been chasing. They were all crouched down in a rough circle, solmenly staring down at something on the ground in between their dirty feet. Quietly edging closer, her bare feet making no sound on the rocks, Izusa peered over the children's heads. In the center lay a small bunny, hardly bigger than Izusa's wide palm. It lay on its side, panting shallowly, eyes rolled into the back of its head.
One of the children looked up then. A girl child with tiny pigtails, wide black eyes, and a pouty lower lip that just showed the start of tusks, pleaded, "Can ya fix it, Witch Lady?"
The other children glanced up, almost startled at her presence, their hearts in their eyes, begging her to do something. Blinking slowly, Izusa nodded slowly. "Okeh den. Let me have some room, I be seein' what I kin be doin', ya."
Shuffled to the side, the children sat or crouched in a half circle, watching Izusa gently pick up the bunny with her large hand. Izusa put her other wide hand gently over the bunny. Eyes closed, the self-proclaimed witchdoctor began chanting, her voice hypnotic with its sweet, alto sound. The harshly spoken words were softened by her voice. Warm, green light spilled from between her fingertips as she spoke.
The end of the chant was punctuated by a flash of yellow light. The bunny then began to struggle frantically. It finally squirmed its way from between Izusa's fingers and dashed to hide behind a nearby sack of grain. Izusa flashed a grin displaying the small tusks at the corner of her mouth, "Dere yas go. Dat likkle rabbit be jest fine."
Awe on their faces, the children lunged toward Izusa, knocking her off her feet. They hugged her and praised her. "That was great, Lady Witch!" crowed one. "I wanna be a shaman when I grow up too!" cried another. And then they began to argue, "I bet I'll be a better shaman than you." "Nuh-uh!" "Yeah huh!"
A shrill whistle halted the arguments and brought attention to Izusa. She grinned at them as she picked herself up and dusted off her robes. "Ai'right, chillins, dat be enough arguin', ya. Know what time it is now?"
Eyes wide, they slowly shook their heads in unison.
"Lunch time!" exclaimed Izusa, then lunged at the young orcs. Squeals went up and the children sped off in search of hiding spots. Cackling wildly, Izusa took off in pursuit. "De Witch Lady be hungreh! Come feed me, likkle orcses!"