Bunsenburger's lab coat was his comfort zone; it was his element. And even when he was overworked and underslept - for his retention of a digestive system meant that his body did require a minuscule amount of sleep - living inside of that lab coat was his sanctuary. Every tool he needed had its own pocket, every button was fastened and every wrinkle had been ironed out. All was prepared and as it should be...a world apart from unreliable peers who approached the future of their people like a casual game of backgammon.

Necrotic magic flickered in front of him, casting dark light onto his scowl as much as it did the rows of fallen warriors waiting for their second chance. His entire windowless laboratory was illuminated from within, and not simply from the lanterns suspended from the stone ceiling. Energy crackled and popped, competing for his attention against a bitterness that had festered for weeks. Even when bone and metal snapped into place, he continued to stare blankly into the chaos of magic and undeath on the electrified minion assembly tables he'd built himself without pause. Teeth gritting and gloves squeezing, he just stood with his arms folded behind his back like a displeased military commander - an analogy not entirely far from the truth. Only the cessation of the process pried him out of his shell.

"That makes twenty three more skeleton knights since we started this morning."

Ever subtle but serous, Bunsenburger's direct colleague at the lab, Barghash, stepped back from the assembly table. One of the few living humans to have joined the Forsaken, the necromancer was a man of application whereas Bunsenburger was a man of theory. As to be expected, Barghash required more breaks after the effort of raising soldiers to order for their faction's various area commanders; mana depleted more quickly than ideas. Even without the light of his magic, Barghash was a man as striking as many of his undead compatriots; his coffee-colored skin contrasted with the ruby red and jet black of his robes, and he bore the sort of presence that could command both the living and the undead. A slight haze in his otherwise expressionless face, however, told of his manaburn after a morning of hard work.

Knowing that their understanding was a strictly professional one, Bunsenburger relented from his brooding to avoid stepping on the toes of his right hand man. "Yes, I suppose lunch would be in order then; shall we meet back at half past one, then?" he asked, a courtesy he extended to precious few people under his employ.

With a cordial nod that was the closest to personal informalities that the two of them ever came, Barghash saluted before donning the goat skull he used as a mask outdoors. "I'll see you then," the still living human replied to the undead human, is battlemage armor clinking beneath his robes with every step. Bunsenburger listened until the sound disappeared, enjoying the relative quiet for as long as he could. In a laboratory as busy as his, those moments of solace were few and far between - a great detriment to his mood after a certain mishap a few weeks prior.

Knowing that his other partner would be expecting instruction, Bunsenburger gave a sideways glance toward the sound of beating wings and regarded the lesser val'kyr assigned to his operation politely. A stunning combination of beauty, power and misplaced priorities, Runa was a flying contradiction and a reminder of the political constraints he had to deal with. Physically, she was an awesome specimen, with a musculature that would make an orc jealous but without the gross vascularity that would have left her skin appearing rough and masculine; in combat, she'd been bested by Alliance and Legion enemies frequently and lacked the prowess to match her intimidation. Professionally, she possessed great abilities that should have meshed well with Bunsenburger's science and Barghash's magic, but she'd been assigned to their laboratory without any training given to her beforehand, and Bunsenburger frequently found himself teaching her on the job. Politically, she appeared to be an outward sign of the Forsaken government's respect for his work, whereas in reality her placement had been non-consensual on everybody's part and primarily induced by jealousy and inadequacy on the part of the Royal Apothecary Society. Runa was strong, capable and cooperative but more often than not would wait around for instructions if she either hadn't already been given any or hadn't found any interesting discussions of Bunsenburger's to spy on.

Since most of her face was covered by that infernal eyeless helmet, he had no idea what she was thinking when she just continued to float and stare at him, and tried to find something to occupy her with while he sought a few moments of his own to brood and seethe over words left unsaid.

"Runa, while we're on break, could you go check that the gargoyles have been fed?"

For a few seconds, her wings beat a little faster as if she was pleased but didn't realize that she was so easy to read. "I have already taken care of that, doctor," she replied flatly, though the faint smile at the corner of her black lips implied that she'd been waiting for him to ask just so she could answer so quicky.

"Have the plague hounds been taken for a walk?"

"Yes...they already have," she replied with a tone that was sincerely flat and without passion. "Could I please not have to do that anymore? It seems like a poor utilization of my skills."

"Yes, well, the ghouls were on loan today and couldn't handle it themselves...wait, have you tallied the ghouls yet? We need an accurate head count to ensure that our customers didn't try to skim any off of the top."

At thet, the val'kyr openly frowned. "You promised I wouldn't have to do that any more; it's such a menial task. You never ask Zulgha or Barghash to do it."

Wiping his glove across his forehead in exasperation, Bunsenburger tried to find more reasons for her not to follow him around, especially anywhere near his files. The fact that her appeals for avoiding the gopher work he'd previously assigned her we're all logical, reasonable and respectable made finding more tasks to busy her with all the more difficult. The longer she lingered at the laboratory with nothing official to do, the greater the risk of her uncovering secret techniques for raising more effective minions at a higher rate and then passing them on to his rivals among the apothecaries, who were already more ingratiated to the authorities than he despite poorer results.

Just when Bunsenburger worried he'd have to play the bad guy again and assign her to bone collection or abomination stitching, the corridor outside of the assembly room was filled with the sound of a single note of a pipe organ.

"Ah! Yes! The bell," Bunsenburger sighed in relief. "Runa, could you check who it is while I straighten up in here?"

Though the val'kyr displayed no outward reaction, the way she sort of just floated in front of him for a few seconds signified her disappointment at yet another paltry task. "As you wish, doctor," she sighed right back at him. Her ghostly wings carried her down the exceptionally wide corridors of his compound's main laboratory building, though he waited and listened just to ensure that she really was flying toward the front door and not sneaking off to his archives.

Once he heard the double doors actually open into the courtyard, Bunsenburger tried to organize his workspace to the best of his ability. There were still a dozen of the most recently raised minions standing idly about, examining every nook and cranny and counting the number of stone tiles on the walls. The advantages of his method were quite clear: his skeletons were lighter than gnomes, stronger than draenei, tougher than orcs and still retained enough sentience to alter and adjust their orders as logically needed. Unfortunately, the only orders he'd given them until then was to get out of the way while he raised more of them to keep his mind off of replaying the ad hoc committee meeting in his head over and over again. They looked completely disorganized and kind of stupid when they were simply staring at the electrodes lining the control panel as if they were lava lamps.

"Attention, deathguards!" Bunsenburger called out, and immediately all twelve skeleton knights fell into line, clicking their metal boots together in unison. "We might have visitors, so everyone remain stiff and serious looking! You could be seeing your future employers here?"

A round of rattles answered him as the skeletons all nodded in affirmation, their teeth and jawbones clacking together as they did so. Almost immediately, the sound was followed by a single pair of light footsteps as well as a second ghostly hum aside from that of Runa.

When Bunsenburger turned around to receive his guests, he was struck with a mixture of pleasant surprise as well as bitter remembrance. Filing in behind the val'kyr were the demon trainer from the proposal meeting and a banshee whom he recognized as one of Undercity's mage trainers.

"Miss Martha Strain...this is certainly unexpected. And I believe this is Kaelystia Hatebringer at your side?"

Knowing that the skeletons were now alert enough to track her machinations, Runa settled against the wall of the assembly room and remained silent. For her part, Martha appeared content to shoot Bunsenburger a contrite expression as her companion exchanged pleasantries.

"That is, indeed, who I am," Kaelystia replied, courtsying since her incorporeal form didn't allow her to shake hands. "I'm a trainer predominantly in frost magic."

"So I've heard, so I've heard; we haven't met, but I believe we have mutual friends. Now...what is it that brings you here today?"

"I believe Martha can explain," the banshee replied with a haunting echo.

A good few seconds passed as Martha and Bunsenburger exchanged awkward glances. Though they weren't friends, they respected each other as equals and he'd come to count on her judgment previously. That she'd attended the meeting without fully reading the proposal he'd sent let him down more than the other committee members, most of whom he knew to proverbially have their heads in the clouds like most spell casters. Her hesitation to begin even after a few more pleasantries implied that she knew how he felt.

"Well...doctor, I wanted to revisit this idea which you floated a few weeks ago...the one about turning demons to be undead."

What few remaining fine hairs on the back of Bunsenburger's neck stood up on end at the same exact moment that Runa's wings began to beat even faster. Worried at the exposure of both his previous failure and what he hoped was a potential second chance, he allowed himself to react rather than act.

"Why, what a pleasant surprise! I'm quite glad you wish to discuss such theories, and non-concrete ideas. Come now, let me show you both to my office while Runa here observes our newest knights in the drill yard."

Bunsenburger had already begun to usher his two guests into the corridor by the time the lesser val'kyr realized what she'd heard. "Wait, what? But..." Runa stopped herself mid-sentence when Bunsenburger shot her a firm stare over his shoulder, unbeknownst to his two oblivious guests. She'd been assigned to her current position spying on Bunsenburger as punishment from her superiors after losing a duel to an Argent Crusade commander in the Plaguelands, and was aware that the greater val'kyr could always replace her if they felt their spy was causing too many complaints from the good doctor. As much as he was monitored, she was indentured. "Right away, doctor," she sighed in defeat.

Down the hall, Bunsenburger made sure to lock the door to his archives before leading his two guests into the office area. The clean and orderly nature of Barghash's workspace contrasted with the royal mess that was his own, and he had to clear a stack of papers off of one of his chairs in order for Martha to sit (Kaelystia just floated).

Bunsenburger sat behind his desk and leaned forward, dropping any pretense of feigning disinterest given the topic at hand. "I'm curious as to why this dead horse has been reanimated once more," he said, making no effort to mask the weariness in his voice. "The impression I was given is that the proposal was never under serious consideration by the committee that your colleagues formed."

Martha frowned as if offended by his directness. "Be easy on us, Freidrich; most of us assumed your idea would be a shoe-in for support and hadn't anticipated Zanien's contrary arguments. Had he been sick that day or otherwise incapacitated, we would have approved. Of that, I have no doubt."

"Without truly knowing what the proposal entailed?" he asked, his usual acidity absent from his voice in front of two he could actually trust. "Of what value is uninformed consent?"

Pursing her lips and staring at him a little harder, she seemed to be choosing her words carefully. "I'm here now, Freidrich. Maybe it's too late for the committee, but I came. Can you not appreciate that?"

"I can," he confessed after realizing that she wasn't being sarcastic.

"Thank you. So if I may, there's a matter of importance to both Kaelystia and I, and I believe it's of importance to you and your endeavor as well."

Bunsenburger glanced at the banshee, noticing the frost crystals she generated in her hands when idle. Try as he might, he simply couldn't understand how she fit in to the picture; there really wasn't any need for magi to be involved in a specialist's job. Not one for awkward pauses, Kaelystia proceeded to explain her role.

"For quite a long time, the Forsaken have been trying to gain a foothold in central Kalimdor; if we want to secure our homeland here in Lordaeron, we need to branch out not only in politics but in soft power influence. And...well, I enjoy the scenery there. Rolling plains are more fascinating to me than the same pine forests we all grew up with here. I think I'd be happy there, but hopping on a boat on my own would be foolish."

Without skipping a beat, Martha spoke in an equally animated fashion. "I must concur with miss Hatebringer here in regard to the environment," the demon trainer added. "I did pass through the Barrens once on a safari, when I was positioned temporarily in Thunder Bluff. That didn't work out due to a lack of demand for my skills in Mulgore, but the Barrens...the Barrens are quite different. Everything one would need is available there, especially jobs and lodging. I have this coffee table book of paintings by tauren artists, and..." Bunsenburger shot her a confused expression, and Martha slowed down and redirected her train of thought. "Well, anyway, both of us are thinking about relocating to the Barrens."

"And it's quite ironic; not only would both of us prefer a roommate, but my talents would also help Martha to remain: my frost magic could preserve her bodily tissue and prevent the heat and humidity from ageing her flesh during the daylight hours," Kaelystia said quickly, flashing her fangs as she grinned wide. "The two of us would be quite the power couple."

Much less forward than her companion, Martha began to look down coyly. Not wanting to force a sympathetic peer into an awkward moment, Bunsenburger pushed for the connection to him again. "So the Barrens may have space for a new mage and warlock trainer...do you...are you implying that we can lure unsuspecting noob warlocks to-"

"No, no, nothing like that," Martha said, deftly correcting his understanding and becoming animated again once the focus was off of her. "I'd never victimize a newbie of my own class; it's completely unethical. Members of the Alliance, on the other hand..."

His interest immediately piqued, Bunsenburger leaned forward in his chair so quickly that Kaelystia let out a little echoing laugh. "Well, we know how to get your attention, doctor!" she chortled.

"Go on..."

Leaning back casually in a stark contrast to Bunsenburger, Martha appeared rather pleased that he'd taken to her idea so quickly. "In Ratchet, these two warlock trainers...they operate out of a hut in the neighborhoods of the far northwest. The two of them currently handle all the training for anybody in the Barrens regardless of affiliation, and they have the market cornered. But you know my class, doctor...we operate outside of legal authority and tend to have about as much honor as rogues. I doubt either the Alliance or Horde know that they're there..." She paused when Bunsenburger glanced up at her in concern.

"One of them might be difficult," added Kaelystia. "She's getting to that part."

"Anyway, neither faction knows that these two are there, and I seriously doubt that Steamwheedle has any record of them...they're in this back alley in the northwest of Ratchet, the second level of the city wedged against the bluffs."

"You've done quite a bit of research on this, Professor Strain."

"That I have, doctor. I know their schedules, I know their habits...and I know that they're the typical bookworms as our kind tends to be, without social circles to miss them. So, if they happened to be...removed from the picture, so to speak...none would be the wiser."

Bunsenburger raised a finger, but Kaelystia was one step ahead of him. "But that still doesn't explain how you fit in to the picture, does it?" the banshee asked excitedly.

"I believe it does...you want me to have these two rival warlock trainers removed so the two of you can set up shop as warlock and mage trainer of Ratchet; the benefit for me comes as two demon summoners whom I can kidnap with near impunity and force to cooperate with the testing of my hypothesis," he said after a moment of deduction. Kaelystia looked a bit disappointed that he'd figured it out before she could tell him, but he knew she'd get over it. Martha was quick to take command of the conversation, her yellow eyes glowing in delight.

"Here's the complication, doctor; one of them is a gnome, a certain Babagaya Shadowcleft. Abducting her poses little risk for you."

"Naturally."

"But the other one is Matero Zeshuwal...he's Sindorei. A citizen of the Horde, however tenuously."

Not skipping a beat either, Bunsenburger couldn't prevent the grim smile from spreading across his grey lips. "Not any more tenuously than we are," he chuckled deep in his throat.

Both of his guests relaxed once they saw that Bunsenburger was on the same page as they were, and Martha had to pull them all back on topic after a round of jokes at the expense of the living. "So doctor, Kaelystia can handle the transportation; she can port all of us there and send you and your agents back. The two of us need to tender our resignations in Undercity, which will be simple enough since our colleagues can cover the needs of the noobs for us and the deathguards are tacitly in support of inserting Forsaken as far and wide as possible. Can you be ready to leave in two days?"

"If you mean me personally, then I won't be able to attend; the same deathguards have put in another order for my semi-hollow troops in the Badlands. They've performed phenomenally well against the Iron Horde, you know."

"So we've heard; I don't suppose you could send some of them along with us, then, to extract the two packages?" Kaelystia asked.

"Absolutely. Look, you don't need to worry about my contribution at all. I'm behind this plan one hundred percent; those which benefit all are the most auspicious. So I'm thinking...Barghash and I must remain here, and if both he and I get to work to cover the difference, I can send the full dozen skeleton knights that you saw in my work room. Keep half of them there in Ratchet as your personal security force, while the other half will return with said 'packages.' Think of it as a parting gift."

"Really, doctor, you're too kind," Martha cooed.

Kaelystia appeared a bit more apprehensive. "Will the skeletons be intelligent enough to follow orders?"

"The deathguards think so, but just in case I'll send my assistant Zulgha with you. She hasn't had the opportunity to participate in any battles since we secured the Alterac Mountains as official Forsaken territory, so I'm sure she'll jump at the chance."

Martha rubbed her hands together, her ambitions seeming to come to fruition. To see one of the few peers he could trust moving forward was one of the few sights that could warm Bunsenburger's old heart; the fact that he was also winning in the situation was icing on the cake.

Unfortunately, Kaelystia proved to be noiser than her companion.

"What about that strapping winged lass who answered the door? A flying ally is always an asset to have on quests that involve chasing down targets that must be kept alive."

Bunsenburger's eyes widened as he realized that neither of his guests truly understood the problems with Runa. He couldn't just come out an tell them that she was spying on him for the apothecaries or that she'd been caught snooping in his office. Of course, they'd advise him to report her to the greater val'kyr if he had problems with her, but he couldn't prove anything, which would just make him appear to be vindictive and petty.

Unfortunately yet again, he didn't have time to consider the matter anymore before the eavesdropping lesser val'kyr made her presence known.

"I'd very much love to go," Runa stated flatly from the other side of the door.

"What the...Runa!" Bunsenburger shouted as he rose from his desk and strode across his office. "I told you not to listen in on my private conversations!"

He flung the wooden doors open, finding the massive Valkyrie floating back and bumping into the wall in surprise. For a second she tried to hold an innocent expression on the exposed lower half of her face, but quickly he saw the nervous frown she couldn't conceal and knew that she probably hadn't thought out her plan of action too much.

"Runa, need I remind you that I'll be reporting to the greater val'kyr for your quarterly evaluation soon-"

"Oh, I hadn't even considered this before!" Martha chirped in about as cheery a tone as her aged voice allowed. Sweeping right past Bunsenburger, she regarded the floating gothic warrior in awe. "I've heard of the work your kind does, miss...Runa, is it? I actually wouldn't mind a live demonstration."

"Martha, unfortunately Runa already has quite a few responsibilities here at the lab-"

Kaelystia mode next, literally floating through Bunsenburger's body in a rather disorienting, incorporeal manner. "Ten years with the Forsaken and I've never seen a specimen like this," the banshee said almost absentmindedly.

Flattered by the attention, Runa basked for a moment. "I can raise ghouls from the recently dead," she said in a low voice with a pleased grin that betrayed her feigned humility, entirely forgetting that her supervisor was glaring at her. "And I'd love to take a break from the lab for a while; this whole plan sounds fascinating."

"You listened to the whole..." After gritting his teeth for a moment, Bunsenburger stopped himself, both to save face in front of his peers and after a revelation. "You...would love...yes...yes! Runa, that's the perfect idea!"

Runa's jaw actually dropped open for a second. "Really?"

"Yes, I never considered it until now, but yes," Bunsenburger said nonchalantly at first. His face gradually darkened as fantasies of being able to perform work unobstructed for a whole flashed through his mind. "In fact, I think it's great that you get out of the lab for a while. Maybe take a good, long trip in the Barrens, too."

Partially distracted by the two guests enamored with her, Runa seemed to miss the subtle hints that Bunsenburger was dropping. "I won't let you down, doctor," she replied, only halfway paying attention to him.

Folding his arms behind his back again, Bunsenburger found himself a bit relaxed after having temporarily panicked at the thought of letting the val'kyr be involved. To be fair, he was getting what he wanted with very little difficulty, and had the support of mutually benefitting friends. The situation was turning out much better than he expected.