Chapter 3: An Unusual Friendship

It was late afternoon, and Ladoreith was walking down to the docks of Booty Bay to fish. Her father had developed a limp in his age, and had trouble navigating the multiple layers of the city. So, it was up to the elf girl to keep the pantry stocked. When she got to the docks, Ladoreith got out her fishing pole, which was basically a large branch with line tied on the end, and a small container of night crawlers. She attached a fairly large worm to her hook and began the repetitive task.

After a few minutes, a young goblin walked up next to Ladoreith. He had long black hair that was kept in a ponytail, and he looked as if he had just begun training as a warlock. The goblin pulled out a very large and elaborate fishing pole. It was covered in gears and gauges, none of which had an obvious purpose, and it looked to be gas powered. The goblin smiled smugly at Ladoreith, before flipping a small lever on his contraption, causing the line and hook to shoot into the water. Ladoreith simply nodded back, and continued fishing.

A good while passed with the two sitting in silence, as Ladoreith felt a tug on her line. She reeled it back, pulling a medium-sized, healthy looking fish out of the water. The goblin looked at the fish, and then back at Ladoreith, with a confused look on his face. The girl added another worm to her hook and cast it back out in the water. About a half hour passed, and Ladoreith had caught two more large fish, one that was over half as big as the goblin next to her. The goblin had caught one small, sick-looking fish, but as he took it off of his hook to look at it, it wriggled out of his hands, hit him on the nose, and landed back in the water.

Ladoreith re-baited her hook and, seeing the goblin's dismay, set the container down between them, sliding it slightly in his direction. The goblin, upon seeing this signal, carefully picked a worm out of the container, eyeing it with slight distaste. He baited his hook in the manner he had seen Ladoreith do so, and cast it into the water. After about ten minutes, there was a tug on his line. So excited he could barely contain it, the goblin reeled his line back in. A fish that was about three feet long and exceptionally fat flopped onto the dock. It seemed as though this fish's life had been devoted to the sole purpose of eating himself silly.

Seeing this, Ladoreith collected her fishing supplies and catch, and prepared to go home. As she began to walk away, the goblin called, "Hey lady, wait a minute!" The elf turned and raised an eyebrow at the goblin inquisitively. "What's your name?" he asked.

"Ladoreith," she replied.

"The name's Lawrence. Thanks for the fishing bait."

Ladoreith inclined her head politely, and set off towards home.

Ladoreith walked through the door of the rickety house. Halkek sat in his rocking chair, squinting at his leatherwork. Without looking up, he said, "Mah knee's bothering me. I think it might rain tonight".

"It didn't look like it earlier," Ladoreith replied, "But your knee is usually right".

"Ya catch anything?" he asked. Ladoreith held up the three fish she caught that day. Halkek nodded, and the two began preparing dinner. Once the table was set, the two sat down and began to enjoy their meal.

Ladoreith shifted uncomfortably in her seat, as if wishing to broach a delicate topic. Halkek noticed, but didn't say anything, knowing that the young woman would decide to speak on her own time. "Papa?" she asked.

"Yes, little one?"

Ladoreith laughed, saying, "Papa, I'm 23."

"Yes, but you'll always be little to me. What did you want to ask?"

"Don't you think it's about time I start training?"

Halkek let out a heavy sigh. He knew this day would come eventually. It didn't stop him from hoping it wouldn't, though. He of all people could understand the desire for adventure. He looked at Ladoreith and said, "You understand why I be hesitant in this case."

"I do," she replied.

"You understand dat you couldn't allow da knowledge of our relationship to get out."

"Yes."

"And dat it would be best for you to work with neutral parties only."

"I've thought about this, father."

Halkek shook his head in frustration. "I don't really tink you have," he said exasperatedly. "Do you have any idea what could be done to you, me and everyone we know if anyone found out about our situation? Hopefully we would only be killed. What do you even want to train as?"

Ladoreith looked at her father, her jaw tight and said through her teeth, "A warrior. And I have thought about the consequences. I just don't want to spend da rest of mah life in Booty Bay."

Halkek leaned back in his chair and sighed again. "Calm down, Ladoreith. You only talk like me when yah angry. A warrior Huh? Dat sounds about right," he said "A Tauren would probably make a better rouge den you. And yah hot headed enough." Ladoreith chuckled a little, but was still tense. Halkek pinched the bridge of his nose and said "I'll tink about it."

He pressed his hands against the table, trying slowly to get up. Ladoreith went to his side, and helped him to his bed. "Goodnight, dear one," he called after her.

She turned back with a sad smile and said, "Goodnight, papa."

A couple of days later, Ladoreith went back to the docks to fish. Her father brought in some money by selling dried fish to travelers along with his leatherwork, but it was up to her to re-stock his supply. She sat down for some quiet reflection, when she heard a loud, high-pitched, goblin voice coming her way. Lawrence was answered by someone with a low, gravelly voice. Ladoreith looked over her shoulder to see the goblin followed by an orc hunter. At first, she wondered why he hadn't brought his own fishing equipment. Then she noticed how heavily he leaned on his wolf companion, and the red blindfold covering his eyes. The orc was blind.

When Lawrence saw her, he nudged his companion. "Hey Duruk," he said, "It's Ladoreith, the one I told you about."

"The elf?" asked the orc.

"Yeah, that's her. How you doin, miss?"

"Alright," Ladoreith replied. She smirked at him and said, "I see you have a new fishing pole."

Lawrence looked at the simple bamboo pole in his hand and laughed nervously. "I suppose I did… May we join you?" he asked.

"If you'd like," Ladoreith replied. Lawrence sat down to her left, and Duruk sat to her right. The three sat quietly for a while. As Ladoreith fished, she noticed that the orc tilted his head at even the smallest sounds, trying to make out his surroundings. After a while the massive orc leaned in close enough that she could feel the heat radiating from his body. He said quietly, in his low voice, "Just because I'm blind doesn't mean I can't tell that you're staring."

Ladoreith muttered a quiet apology, her face flushing. After a while longer of quiet fishing, she and Lawrence had each caught some sizeable fish. As the elf was packing her supplies and catch, Lawrence asked her, "You wanna head to the tavern and grab a drink with us before you head home?" Duruk said nothing, but stood with his face turned toward the setting sun.

Ladoreith looked in the direction of her house in contemplation. I won't be out that long, she thought to herself, What harm could it do? "Fine, but just a quick one."

Hey guys, I've been so busy at school that I've lost track of this story. College applications are hell. I'm hoping to keep this updated better in the future.