This chapter is dedicated to Tori on her 16th birthday.

"First things first," said Clint the next day as the group gathered for breakfast. "We all need to train. And to do that, we'll need some money." Before anyone could check their pockets, Clint stopped them. "Our American money is worthless here. We're going to need Azerothian copper, silver, and gold coins." "And how do you propose to get that money?" asked Tony. "Simple," replied Clint. "I wonder, how much did that watch of yours cost back home? A hundred dollars or so, maybe? I'd be willing to bet that just about any vendor would easily give you 20 silver for it." The other Avengers' eyes widened as they realized what Clint was suggesting. "I know, it sounds a bit crazy. Trust me, though, we'll need whatever we can get. At this moment, selling our belongings is the most reliable way of getting the money we'll need to survive here in Azeroth."

While no one was overly eager to do so, the others agreed that this was really their best option versus the alternative of risking their lives by rushing into battle unprepared. The items that they relinquished for the greater good included all of their wrist-watches and keys, as well as Natasha's earrings and necklace. When sold, their goods gave them a grand total of 65 silver and 14 copper coins. "This should be enough to hold us over until we start earning more," Clint assured his friends.

Later that afternoon, Clint gave the Avengers the grand tour of Goldshire, including where their class trainers were located. Now that Tony and Natasha had already been acquainted with their trainers back at the Inn, Clint was taking Steve to his. "After I get you all set up here, I've got to take Thor to Stormwind," he was telling Steve. "Do you think you'll be alright here without me?" "Uh, sure," replied Steve, who was still trying to wrap his head around everything that was going on.

"And now, Steve, I'd like you to meet Brother Wilhelm," said Clint, leading his friend to a brown-haired man standing behind the blacksmith building. Steve extended his hand to the paladin, and the Brother shook it. "Nice to meet you," said Steve. "The pleasure's all mine!" replied Wilhelm. "Now what can I help you with today?" "Uh, my friend here tells me you can help me become a paladin?" Steve asked, casting an unsure glance at Clint. Wilhelm's grin spread across his face. "Why, of course!" he exclaimed. "I'm happy to help anyone looking to seek the path of the Light!"

"The Light?" questioned Steve. This was the second time he had heard this term, and by now he was curious. "What is that, exactly?" "You- you've never heard of the Light?" asked the astonished Wilhelm. "He's not from around here," explained Clint. From here, the Brother launched into a long, detailed speech about the force known as the Light, and the countless crusades and principals of it as well. Clint took this opportunity to sneak away and take Thor to Stormwind.

The two talked as they walked down the cobblestone path towards the gates of the city. "If I may, my friend," said Thor, "I have a question regarding my current form...?" "You mean why you're a Dranei?" asked Clint. Thor nodded. Clint continued. "That's another thing I don't know. Maybe we'll figure it out when we know why we're here in the first place. My guess is that the game didn't know how to register you since you aren't exactly human. If that's the case, I don't know why you aren't a Titan, Aesir, or Vry'kul, but I guess that's a question for another day. Maybe it needed you to be an adventurer's race or something." Thor seemed satisfied with this answer, so he directed his attention to the scenery.

By now, they had reached the Valley of Heroes, and Clint told Thor about the five figures depicted in the form of massive statues. Throughout the city, they passed a group of schoolchildren, a baker selling bread and baked goods, a group of three mages discussing magical theory, several patrolling guards, and many other residents of Stormwind, until finally they reached the Dwarven District. Clint led his blue friend into a tavern, and the two of them went up the stairs to the balcony where a Dranei woman stood. Clint introduced the two in a similar manner to the way he introduced Steve to Wilhelm. Soon after, he left Thor with his trainer and went in search of his own in Old Town.

"Are you sure you are prepared to train in the art of magic? The Arcane burns the untrained mind." If you were considering to become a mage and this was the warning you received, chances are that you would probably go home and think about becoming a fisherman instead. However, Tony Stark was no quitter, especially when challenged. And this remark was practically an insult to his amazingly gifted and extremely humble mind. And his reply was as follows: "Are Dranei blue? Yeah, I'm pretty sure I'm capable of this!"

This was all Zaldimar Wefhellt needed to hear. "Very well. Let's get started right away. First of all, I need to know the extent of your knowledge of basic spell-casting and magic." "...Assume I was born yesterday."

Zaldimar let out a long, drawn out sigh. This was going to take longer than expected.

Keryn Sylvius was not easily impressed. As the go-to rogue trainer of Goldshire, she had seen dozens upon dozens of wanna-be assassins who hadn't the slightest idea of the differences between a lock-pick and a letter opener. That didn't mean that Keryn couldn't teach them, mind you. It just meant that she didn't waste her valuable time on people who had about as much natural talent as a sack of potatoes.

Today, however, Keryn was impressed by the young woman who stood before her. She was already comfortable with a variety of weapons, she had a good basic understanding of how poisons worked, and, to top it off, had managed to sneak up on Keryn upon entering the room. Anyone who is able to sneak up on a rogue trainer might as well be given their title right then. However, it doesn't work like that.

"I must say, Ms.-" "Call me Natasha," the Avenger told her. Keryn nodded, then continued. "Natasha, you are much more than meets the eye. And a heck of a lot more talented than the usual rogue-in-training that comes in here. Are you sure you're not some top-ranked adventurer just trying to pull my leg?" Natasha nodded. Keryn let out a long, drawn-out sigh. "Well, I guess that's all I can teach you, then. As standard procedure goes, I'm supposed to give you this book with different abilities and send you off to Northshire to help out with the Orc invasion. Still," she added, "I believe you've got too much potential to be reduced to bashing Blackrock skulls for copper. I'll give you some advice. I have a friend who works for SI:7. He's a recruiter, and he's looking for some new talents to add to their team. It would be good pay and an exciting job, and it's not an everyday opportunity. If you like," she added, leaning a tad closer to Natasha and lowering her voice, "I can get you the job."

Natasha took a moment to register everything she had just heard. On one hand, it could be a good way to show off her skills. On the other hand... "I appreciate the offer," she told Keryn, "but, no. I really can't leave my group. We're sort of... a team." Keryn Sylvius studied Natasha for a moment. Then, she simply shrugged it off. "Well," said the trainer, "it's your choice. If you change your mind anytime soon, I'll still be able to help you out." Natasha nodded in gratitude. "I'll think about it," she told the other as she prepared to leave.

Keryn watched her leave, still pondering what had happened. In her mind, there were only two kinds of people who would turn down an opportunity like Natasha had: a fool, and a person who was very dedicated to their team. Natasha didn't strike her as the foolish type, so Keryn decided that the latter must be the case. Whoever her friends are, she mused, they must be some special people...

The mood in Lion's Pride Inn was light and merry that evening. As the five had all returned from their individual escapades, they now enjoyed a good-sized dinner together as they recounted their day's adventures. Tony's tale of accidentally giving his trainer a haircut with a misplaced fireball spell aroused much laughter from the whole group, and Thor's explanation of how the elements worked was almost as informative as it was confusing. Natasha said nothing except that her day went fine; she refused to share any more details.

Steve just sat back in his chair and sighed. "I'm glad you all had a good day, at least. I'm... I'm not so sure about this whole paladin thing anymore..." "Don't worry," Clint reassured him. "You'll do great!" "Yeah," said Tony," and since when has Captain America ever shied away from a challenge?" "Well," said Steve simply, "we're not in America anymore..." Clint clapped him on the back. "Trust me, Cap, you'll do fine!"

"How about you, Clint?" asked Natasha. "Me?" asked the archer. She nodded. "Yeah. How are you faring here in Azerath, or whatever it's called." "It's Azeroth," he corrected her. "Anyways, I'm just glad they have bows here, or else I'd just be some guy who knows too much about video games." This evoked another bout of laughter from the others. "In all seriousness, though," he said, "I'm just glad that everything here is all sorted out; now that we've covered training, equipment, and our bill here at the inn, we can turn our attention to our next objective: quests.

"In order to get more experience, we need to complete a lot of quests. Of course, later on we'll be able to do dungeons, raids, and the like, but for now we have to do some quests. The best place to start is Northshire, so we'll head out there in the morning. I know it won't be an easy task, but I do know this: whatever we do, we'll do together, as a team. Whatever problem we face, we'll face it as one.

"And whatever happens tomorrow, we're ready for it!"

Author's Note:

Hey, everyone! Thank you for patiently waiting for eight whole months! I'm sorry about the unexpected hiatus, but this story is back from its winter slumber and should continue to get updates, especially with summer break coming up.

I know this chapter isn't great in some parts, but I figured it was about time that I publish something. This upcoming chapter should be a bit more exciting for you action-lovers out there.

Again, thank you everyone for the reviews, favorites, and continued support. I really don't think I would have gotten this far without your encouragement. :)

~Drago