Chapter 6: Cold Front
There was something wrong about Northrend.
Any dwarf or gnome with a certain mental bent could ramble on for hours about the nature of the cold (considering where they lived, it was understandable they were experts). They could talk about how the sun (or the lack thereof) affected things, how winds could form and drive temperatures down, how the position of mountains and bodies of water could change details, and some of the smartest and/or most unhinged ones could ramble about how everything was made of tiny little objects all linked together whose movement created heat, and certain factors slowed the movement and created less heat and therefore cold, though not many people listened to such insane nonsense. Once, Northrend had been bound by those certainties.
The great darkness that had fallen over it the past several decades had changed all that. Any dwarf visiting the frozen wastes for the first time always felt a bit off-put, like there was something scratching at the back of their minds they couldn't put their finger on. Those that survived and stayed eventually realized it.
Northrend was not cold because, due to natural factors, it lacked heat. Northrend was cold because it seemed to devour heat. Like the plague of undeath that sought to consume all life, Northrend had seemingly been blighted into a twisted symbiosis to the creatures that ruled it, leeching temperature and warmth away like the land itself craved it. To the hardened adventurers that had stepped on its shores, there was nothing quite like it. There were other dangerous lands on Azeroth, like the shifting baking sands of Silithus, the toxic aberrations of the Plaguelands, and the fiery pits and chaotic planes that lay beyond the Dark Portal in Outland. And yet those who had traversed and survived all those perilous locations could feel it. Northrend was a bad land. Death ruled, and thrived there.
The continent had taken its fair share of souls. But for those who dared to stay, it could lift them to peaks few reached. And for all its endless ice and snow, there was life there. Life, and resources.
Those that fought over Lake Wintergrasp called it the Forest of Shadows. The wraith creatures that lurked there dropped unique crystals that served numerous purposes, and wood was always needed to fuel the efforts of war.
The troll death knight that quietly stalked through the darkened forest had an unclear goal. He could have been scouting, seeking a rare item, or just going for a walk. The motivation of the other side mattered little to the Alliance and Horde. Not since the Wrathgate. Not since the long-smoldering embers of a dark, terrible past had erupted back into open fire.
The bitter irony was, had history taken a different turn, the dwarf rogue that was sneaking up on the troll might have been accompanying him instead. It was true that dwarves and members of the Horde were hardly friends, but Northrend was commanded by a greater enemy that could force such divisions aside, at least for a time. Until the Wrathgate. And so things returned to how they had been.
It seemed that luck that time favored the death knight, as it turned and fired off a blast of green power. The dwarf rogue was caught completely off guard, certain it had not given the slightest trace of its presence, and was hurled into a tree. No sooner had the dwarf impacted then another blast of dark power erupted from the death knight's hand, seizing the rogue and pulling him through the air. The dwarf was probably not happy about getting smashed into the second tree, but it was likely a better option then the nastily-barbed bladed staff the troll had unsheathed.
"Deme pokurr." The troll chuckled, the eerie echo a death knight acquired in his creation unable to obliterate the unique accent all trolls spoke him. The rogue struggled to get up and slip away: fighting a death knight head on was a losing proposition for most. The troll knew it as well, as he stalked towards the rogue.
The knife glanced off the troll's blackened red armor. It succeeded in getting his attention regardless.
"Hey. Pigeon." Rielle said, a dozen feet away with axe in hand. "Forget the small fry. Real meat's over here."
The troll chuckled again, saying something in its native tongue Rielle didn't understand.
The trick came when the death knight stopped in mid-sentence and fired off the same black energy that had ensnared the dwarf.
This time, all it hit was snow. Rielle had dodged at the last second, going low and charging towards the Horde member.
"Wait wait. You ran towards it?"
"What did you expect me to do? Stand there and let it drag me over?"
"Well no but…well, I've heard of the abilities death knights have…"
"So you're one of THOSE people." Rielle growled.
"What people?"
"Ever since the Ebon Blade turned on the Lich King and sided with us, all anyone ever talks about half the time is how powerful and terrible death knights are. You didn't hear anything about their overwhelming greatness when they were all fighting us, but the second that group switched sides, it went through both camps like wildfire. People didn't want to do anything without a death knight or two by their side."
"They haven't exactly had it easy."
"Neither have WE." Rielle said. "My people suffered as well. And as you yourself said, we have the reputation of being pure and blessed. That seems to be better than something dragged back from death in a defiance of the natural laws of life and empowered with corrupting dark energies, but you don't, and you didn't, see everyone writing sonnets about how magnificent WE were."
"I think the Blood Elves covered that patch of egotism quite well."
"Don't remind me." Rielle said. "I'm not saying I'm ungrateful for their aid. Nor am I dismissing their torment. I just wish people would stop thinking that death knights will turn the tide in everything."
"New things tend to attract a lot of attention." Zackel said, sipping some conjured water. "I'm certain in the future the death knights will become just another aspect of the great struggle in Azeroth."
"Can't happen too soon." Rielle said. "Where was I? Oh yes, I ran towards it, because unlike what some people assume, I know what I'm doing…"
Death Knights did have many powerful abilities. They could boil an enemy's blood, or lay down a circle of searing poison around them. They could shackle an enemy with chains of ice, or raise corpses to serve as unthinking weapons. But if death knights had a weakness, it was that all such tactics required a few seconds to charge up and unleash.
Rielle knew that weakness very well. It was partly why she was still alive. And so she charged, and before the troll death knight could swing things in his favor, she was swinging her axe at his face.
The death knight was not so slow as to be defenseless though, and blocked Rielle's weapon with his own. Rielle spun off the deflect, her axe swinging low to slice at the enemy's legs. The troll leapt over the attack, and followed by ramming his shoulder into Rielle's form, knocking her to the ground.
"Ta'kaarr!" The troll declared, unholy energy ignited on his hand. Rielle met the hand with her boot, kicking the troll and knocking said hand up. The deflected blast set a nearby tree's branches on fire, even as Rielle pulled her leg back and thrust it into the troll's chest, sending him staggering backwards. No sooner had he recovered than Rielle had as well, getting right in his face and bringing her axe down. Sparks shot off the weapon as they clashed, again and again.
Death knights had another weakness, something they shared with Forsaken. Their risen bodies didn't (usually) handle sudden, intense stress well. It had something to do with the blood flow having ceased, and the dark energies that had replaced the body-animating/fueling process sometimes getting a little confused on where they were supposed to go. It was possible to be overcome, but it required training and experience, and it was clear to Rielle she had the edge in those two things here. The troll's blows were slowing down, just a bit. In seconds, she'd have an opening. One opening was all she needed. As long as she kept the death knight from tapping into his rune abilities, as long as she kept up the pressure…
As long as someone didn't throw a massive stream of destructive energies at them.
Rielle didn't hear the cast: she was too caught up in the fight. Her only warning was the faint twinge of motion in the corner of her eye, and that was too fast for even her to react to. The good news was, all Alliance spell casters attuned their spells to keep their companions from being harmed by friendly fire.
That was little consolation to Rielle as the blast exploded against the troll, tearing her out of her mortal duel with a curse. The troll cursed more, having been hurled a dozen feet away.
"FINNATE!" Came the yell, and another eruption of arcane energies slammed into the troll. It came to a rest several further feet away, and from its posture as it started getting up it was clear it had decided discretion was the better point of valor.
"No, damn it." Rielle cursed, as the troll began retreating. A fireball tried to cut the retreat off, but all said fireball encountered was a tree, the death knight slipping around it. Rielle whirled to the source of the attack.
She recognized that voice.
"SPARSE!" Rielle snapping, looking at the red and purple-roped figure, blazing green staff in his hand. Sparse Blazebolt was in his late 30's, possessing a very tall but also rather thin figure his robes helped cover somewhat. His intense eyes were somewhat undermined by a weak chin and stringy hair: Sparse had tried to cover this fact by growing a 'beard'. Since his hair was so thin, what might have been a nice Vandyke on a normal man looked like a glued on piece of collected horsehair on Sparse. Whether Sparse persisted in the attempted look out of obliviousness or stubbornness, who could say.
"No no, Draenei." Sparse said, spinning his staff once. "My name has two syllables. SPAR-REZE. SPAR-REZE. It's not complicated."
"I don't care if your name is pronounced Raymond Luxury-Yacht! What the fel are you doing?!"
"Aiding my companions. You're welcome by the way." Sparse said. Rielle stared, and then quickly jogged over to the fallen dwarf rogue, who had been resting against the second tree he'd been tossed into.
"How are you Sognus?"
"Oi. That's not an experience I'd be likin' to repeat." Sognus Fireclench said, blood dripping down his forehead and staining his blonde beard.
"That makes two of us." Rielle said, looking back at Sparse.
"See? I helped."
"…all right Sparse. Yes, you helped." Rielle said, standing up and helping Sognus as she did so. "You helped make a great big racket in a situation you poorly assessed, and as a result probably told every single Horde in a mile radius that hey, TROUBLE IS HERE."
"You were fighting for your life!"
"Yes. And you could have been quieter."
"I don't see why…"
The arrow embedded itself in the tree next to the mage. Rielle would have enjoyed the way his eyes bugged out more if two more arrows hadn't promptly impaled themselves in the tree she and Sognus was standing next to.
"And now we have to run." Rielle growled, and grabbed up Sognus and took off as the two Horde hunters, an Orc and a Blood Elf respectively, tried their best to turn them into pincushions.
As a small point of pride, Rielle noted that when she finally stopped running a mile later she was barely winded, while Sparse looked about ready to pass out. Sognus' complaints over being carried did little to take the edge off. She knew he was really thankful: he just couldn't show it in typical stubborn dwarf fashion.
"You did help, Sparse." Rielle said. "But as you can see, help is best if you don't have to end up expressing it audibly."
"…did you really say that?"
"…okay no. I just called him an asshole." Rielle said. "Thought of the better chastisement later. Made me sound better, rather than a pissed off bitch."
"…Er…"
"I'm not done, Zack." Rielle said. "I'm just telling you why I'm here. I don't plan to go into all the crap Sparse caused me. Not just me either. He wasn't a load, and he was powerful, but he was also in love with his own power. Followed instructions if given, but if a situation came up where he had to think to himself, he did the first thing that popped into his head, Whenever someone called him on it, he'd just say he did what he thought was best. That's fine, except he KEPT DOING IT. He refused to listen to any advice. Worse, he'd try and turn it around and make the complainer look bad, and believe me, with all the difference personalities thrown together in that place, that matters more than you'd realize. It wasn't getting anyone killed, I'll admit…but when you're trying to form a united front, you need to learn how to fill in cracks. You don't let them grow just because you think they look pretty."
"Still…"
"Zack, if it was just little incidents like that, I wouldn't be here." Rielle said. "I would have learned to tolerate him. No, this is where things get good. And when I say good, I mean…"
"Stupid bastard." Rielle said, crouched around one of the several campfires in the secondary right courtyard of Wintergrasp Fortress. The draenei took one last bite from her rack of ribs, and tossed the mostly bare bones into the fire. "I HAD that death knight. I KNOW I did. I'm not bragging here, I could have actually made a hole in the Horde's forces instead of sending him off with a few burns and some wounded pride."
The several Alliance members around the fire glanced at the Draenei, and then at Sognus, who was also sitting around the fire.
"Don't look at me lads. She certainly did better then me, I'll give her that." Sognus said, drinking his ale. "But for all we know, those reinforcements were heading our way before Sparse showed up."
"…yeah, maybe." Rielle said.
"Do not waste your anger on small things, my child." Colthan said. One of her fellow Draenei, a paladin in his case, he had played peacemaker between more than a few camp disputes. "Good intentions should receive their due reward."
"Key word due there, Colthan." Rielle said. "I know that Sparse protected our healers during that big assault last week. And I know he and Niraband and our other mages are vital in getting word to Dalaran and the other fronts swiftly. But I didn't come here for the vapors. I came here to fight, and I'm here because I CAN fight. That's a problem I've noticed with mages in general."
"What?" Said another campfire members, this one a dwarf hunter. Rielle believed his first name was Golir: she couldn't recall his last name.
"Well, they need us. They break easily and we don't. If we're not there, the monster is stepping on THEM." Rielle said. "Oh yes, we need them too. They possess great power and can do many things we can't. But I find too often too many of them don't realize the give and take of it. We take the blows so they can give them out. They seem to think half the time they could easily get the job done whether we were there or not. They're too enthused about their power. Think it substitutes for tactical thinking, and humility. Which isn't a good thing, you know."
"Aye." Golir and Sognus said at nearly the same time.
"It is true humans and the like tend to lose focus about the big picture." Colthan said, rubbing his face tendrils. "Mystical energies do possess great challenges to wield though. There are bound to be errors. We must show patience with these errors, and where we can, smooth them out."
"Hey, I'm perfectly happy to help." Rielle said. Several camp members burst out laughing. "Very funny. You know what I mean. Not the crux of the problem Colthan. The crux is they don't think they need help. And when they do what they do, they think it's all THEIR doing. It wears on my nerves. And I doubt I'm alone."
"You are not." Colthan said, standing up. "I shall try and be more observant of these points you have raised, Rielle. It may prove more exigent than I realize."
"Whatever." Rielle said, though her tone was friendly, and she held out her fist for Colthan to touch as he walked by.
"…hey Rielle can I ask you a question?" A gnome rogue said, blurting his words out in a rush. Rielle wasn't certain when he'd gotten there: she'd been caught up in her conversation.
"Yes….what was your name again?"
"Carullyn Slipwound, draenei lady!" The gnome said. "I have a bet! Are you with Colthan or Bladesong?"
"…wait, WHAT?"
"We have a small disagreement that we've decided to settle whether you're sharing tents with…"
That was all Carullyn got out as Rielle swiped her axe at the gnome. He yelped and ran for it, Rielle chasing him around the courtyard a bit before she lost him. She stalked back over to the campfire, muttering about rogue trickery, and sat back down.
"And there will be no more questions in THAT vein."
"Stupid question anyway."
"What?"
"Well Colthan was a Draenei, and Bladesong clearly sounds like a human, ergo even money would be…"
"That I'd be with Colthan?" Rielle said.
"Well, seems like…"
The forehead flick was no less painful the second time.
"OW!"
"Maybe if I do this enough, you'll stop making assumptions." Rielle said.
"Okay, sorry for assuming you were with Colthan."
"That's not it. I wasn't, though. He was noble and strong, but paladins tend to be long-term types first and foremost. Not really my thing." Rielle said. "The assumption was Colthan was a sure thing because he's one of my kind. I've been with human men you know."
"…really?"
"Yes."
"…does that even work?"
This time, Rielle didn't bother with a flick: she slapped Zackel lightly upside the head.
"Ow…I really have to stop talking." Zackel groaned.
"It might help."
"It's still a valid question."
"What, you've never seen mix and match relationships? You are deprived."
"Well no, I've seen night elves and dwarves and all that with humans, but…"
"We're a different species? Is that really any different from those long willowy reeds I've seen so many human men lust after?" Rielle said. Zackel assumed she was talking about night elves. "The Titans crafted us all from the same clay. We're more alike then many realize."
"…can I say something with the promise you won't hit me?"
"Perhaps."
"Okay maybe we're not so different…but still. There ARE differences. For all we know, cross-species intercourse could feel like sodomy to one or both species. That's even assuming the same parts do the OKAY I'M DONE DONE!" Zackel said, cowering back at Rielle raised her hand again. "I think it's a valid hypothesis."
"So noted." Rielle said. "For your conclusion, it works just fine. Well, the few men I've 'tested' it with had no complaints."
"Somehow I think we've gotten off track."
"We have. Just letting you know WHY I reacted the way I did…"
"You know lass, it was probably just a dare to come over here and needle you. You are a known hothead." Sognus said.
"I can live with that reputation. And I won't tolerate such questions regardless." Rielle said. "So, has anyone heard any new word on what's going on around Northrend?"
"I haven't heard anything…" One of the human warriors who had been quiet began saying.
Rielle stopped paying attention as she saw the second gnome approach. She actually knew this one, and she snatched up her axe again.
"Tell your friends, Callowwax, that I will have no problem punting them when they sleep."
"What?" Sunry Callowwax said. A gnome warlock, he had ridiculous-looking purple hair he somehow kept intact in the less-then-kind atmosphere of Northrend.
"You're NOT here inquiring about my sleeping arrangements?"
"Why would I care about that?" Sunry said. "I came here to tell you something. You have a run-in with Sparse today Rielle?"
"…yessssss?" Rielle said, suddenly very curious.
"Because I was just walking by Commander Zanneth's tent. He was in there complaining about someone. I'm pretty sure I heard your…"
Rielle almost knocked Sunry over when she dashed past him.
"One day your spying is going to get you in trouble Callowwax." Another of the humans, a priest, commented as the gnome regained his balance.
"Who's spying? I can't help it if I keep coming into interesting information…"
Captain Zanneth, a man who looked younger than his experiences (which were considerable, which is why he was in charge of the Alliance forces trying to consolidate Wintergrasp. Well that, and his metabolism was so insanely high that the intense cold barely bothered him, to the point where he rode around without a shirt, something that either mightily impressed his conscripts or made them think he was insane), heard Rielle coming. Whether he heard her in time to warn Sparse but didn't, or was simply alerted too late, who could say.
"In the manners of…" Sparse was saying, when the firm hand seized him and whirled him around.
"You got something to say, asshole? THEN SAY IT TO MY FACE." Rielle snarled, dragging Sparse around a moment before she found a tent pole to slam him into.
"UNHAND ME YOU CRAZY BITCH!" Sparse yelled, pulling his hand up as it glowed purple.
"Try it. Just. TRY." Rielle whispered.
"ENOUGH!" Zanneth yelled, slamming his sword down on the table that served as the primary strategizing aspect of Wintergrasp, though at the moment it just had a large map and a few papers on it. "Sparse, you tuck that power back into wherever you drew it from, and you…Rielle I assume? You put him down."
Rielle glared at her erstwhile commander: the fact he held her gaze and matched it made her listen, and she let Sparse go before stepping back. The wizard smoothed out his robe with exaggerated annoyance, and for a brief moment, Rielle fought against a powerful urge to punch him in the face.
"Now, about you charging in here like a felhound out of Outland…"
"I don't appreciate being lied about, sir." Rielle said, glaring at Sparse.
"And how do you know that's even the case, soldier?" Zanneth said, both hands planted firmly on the table.
"Does that really matter?"
"Considering you were the one who initiated violence at a drop of a hat, it doesn't exactly look good for you."
"…fine." Rielle said, crossing her arms, her axe shifting on her back. "What did he say?"
"Blazebolt was recounting the incident this afternoon, about how you engaged the death knight when the rogue could have taken care of it…"
"I ENGAGED that death knight because he heard Sognus coming! I don't know HOW, but he did! I saved Sognus' LIFE, possibly!"
"Yes, how did the death knight realize Sognus was coming?" Sparse said, stroking his chin. "You might have tipped the troll off that there was another presence there. You aren't exactly good at hiding…"
"Oh you are good." Rielle hissed. "I didn't give one indication I was there until Sognus got in trouble. I certainly didn't want to fight so bad that I blew my cover, even in a small, crucial way! Don't you see what Sparse is trying to pull with this crap, commander? He's mad that I yelled at him for being the REAL one who tipped off Horde that we were there!"
"He did mention that, yes. And apologized." Zanneth said. "Not being there, I cannot say exactly how it went down."
"Why don't you call Sognus? Better yet, why don't you call the other people Sparse has tried this little trick on? Because I'm not the first. Just the first where he decided he'd try and really screw someone over."
"He was not screwing you over in any sense, Rielle." Zanneth said, his tone cross. "When he was done, I was going to summon you and get your account of events. Except you came barging in first, because it's clear someone doesn't know when to give people privacy."
"I don't care…"
"LEARN!" Zanneth yelled, slamming his fist into the table. "We have ENOUGH problems, Rielle! The Horde isn't letting us have any peace, and don't forget that stone giant in the mine we have to pacify every now and then! It took over two dozen of us to do it the last time! If you can't address your problems without wasting my time, then I can offer you some STRONG reasons to do so. Otherwise, stay out of each other's way. That goes for you too, Sparse."
"Um sir, it's two syllables. SPA…"
"I DON'T CARE IF IT'S PRONOUCED THROATWOBBLER MANGROVE! Get out of my tent!" Zanneth said, pointing.
"Sir…" Rielle said.
"NOW!"
Sparse's attempt to slip away once he left the tent failed, as Rielle quickly got around in front of him.
"Oh you ARE good." Rielle said. "Tell me, did you improvise when you realized there was a spy? Or did you know he'd be there to begin with? Fel, maybe you paid him off."
"I have no idea what you're talking about."
"You're sitting pretty here, aren't we, SPARSE." Rielle said, purposely pronouncing his name wrong. "If I don't come along, you get to badmouth me. If I do come along, oh look, the hotheaded Draenei is overdoing it and yelling at the captain, surely I come off as more reasonable in my presentation. Or at least, the captain gets madder at the one who charged in and made a big racket, adding to his overall headache." Rielle said, spitting her words through gritted teeth. Her revelation didn't help her at all: by the time she'd had it (that being now) the damage was done.
"Do we have to do this draenei? You heard Commander Zanneth. There are more important things to be concerned about."
"What do you think I'm dealing with, wizard?" Rielle replied. "You're right, we don't have to like each other. We just have to work together. Normally I'd do just that, even IF you decided to pull this passive-aggressive smear job instead of confronting me right up. But you seem to think I haven't been paying attention to all the little nuggets of crap you've been dropping all over the place. I can see exactly what you're going to do. You won't stop with your little poison asides and pointed gossip. You'll keep talking to everyone you can, doing your best to undermine me, and whoever else isn't going to put up with your bullshit. You're SCUM, wizard. I might yell at some of my companions here, chase them around, but I'd never pull anything like what YOU'RE doing. You're quite willing to shoot holes through our entire effort just to salve your wounded ego. No, Sparse. Not on my watch."
"Your watch?" Sparse said, sliding his hand slightly up his staff. "And what precisely does that constitute? Last I checked, you had no authority over me."
"I'm not going to appeal to your better nature, because apparently you got rid of that at some point. But I know what you do like." Rielle said. "You like winning. Challenging you to a proper duel would screw our effort over though, so I'll improvise. I'll play that card game you and your wizard friends like so much. Multitudes, I believe it's called."
"Really?" Sparse said, and Rielle could swear she saw his thin chest puffing up. "Do you know how to play?"
"I know that the kind of game you like is called One-Shot. Anything else would be tipping my hand." Rielle said. "You just got paid, didn't you? We'll throw in both our purses. And before you say that's boring, I'm not done. You win, I'll stop harassing you. I'll do you one better. I'll give you an indentured clause in my Wintergrasp contract."
"…really?"
"Yeah." Rielle said. "But only if you match such an offer. I have a suggestion. You lose, you stop talking. You get caught talking, you forfeit wages and any share of any treasure or resources we find. What say you, Sparse?" Rielle said, actually pronouncing his name right this time. "You have anything resembling a set of testicles under that robe?"
"You should just be glad that your-soon-to-be master is explicitly forbidden doing anything with them." Sparse said. For a moment, Rielle almost forgot about doing anything reasonable and considered lopping Sparse's head off with her axe right then and there. "I'll meet you in an hour, draenei. The usual spot. Enjoy it. You likely won't have many enjoyable hours in the near-immediate future."
Rielle didn't say anything as she stalked away.
"Wait, indentured clause? Does that mean…?"
"Servitude." Rielle said. "I'd have to do just about anything he said, while we both operated under an Alliance banner towards Alliance matters. Carry things, clean his clothes, rub his feet, take his notes, anything…"
"You lost?"
Never let the enemy see you sweat, or bleed. That was part of the advice Rielle took to heart. It was why she had made such a strong, dangerous bet, against a very strong, dangerous opponent. Because Rielle knew Sparse was very good at Multitudes. She knew how the game was played, and that was that.
"I really don't know if this is a good idea Rielle." Colthan said. Rielle didn't look at her fellow Draenei: she kept her eyes ahead as she walked towards the 'duel site'. Word had quickly crossed the whole camp, and a fair crowd had gathered.
"You're not the one going through with it Colthan." Rielle said.
"Considering your dislike of him, I do not like the possibilities of what could occur if…"
"I don't either, Colthan." Rielle said, this time looking at her fellow, her glowing eyes smoldering with determination. "But what's better? Letting him whisper his nasty little lies into every willing ear he can find, until people aren't seeing me, but his version of me? Or getting a chance to put him in his place? If I lose, I'll lose knowing I made a decision believing it was the right thing to do. Quite frankly, if a Broken can turn out to be a herald of a brand new way to fight the Legion, I'm quite willing to accept that anything can happen." Rielle said. Colthan did not reply.
Sparse was already sitting at the table when Rielle arrived. His 'friends' backed him up, though they dispersed into the crowd after he indicated that was what he wanted. The crowd behind Rielle also moved away, a show of respect to indicate neither side had someone else looking at their cards.
"Would the lady like to shuffle?" Sparse said.
"Just deal, Sparse." Rielle said, tossing her money sack into the small basket used to hold bets, as she counted the wooden circles that Sparse and his friends used for playing pieces. Finding them all in place, she picked up the cards Sparse dealt her.
"Pardon me." Colthan said, sitting down between the pair. "Upon a moment's reflection, I have decided a neutral party would be useful here. I shall act as dealer of the cards."
"What? Are you kidding?" Sparse said. "You're gonna try and…"
"I swear on my honor, as a paladin, as a guest on your home, and on the principles of Uther the Lightbringer, that I will provide no advantage to EITHER side, on penalty of dishonor, death, and worse." Colthan said. There was little that carried more weight than a thrice-sworn vow of a paladin, and it was enough to quiet even Sparse.
"If I recall correctly, I deal cards once to either side that requests for them, between wagers. Once the second wager is concluded, the cards are laid down, and we repeat."
"Might as well start strong." Rielle said, and shoved a third of her chips to the center of the table. "I don't need any cards."
"I'll take two." Sparse said. He proved to make the better decision. He won.
"I really don't want to know if I want to hear the rest of this." Zackel murmured into his hand.
"Why? Don't you want to see the proud draenei get laid low by her assumption?" Rielle said. Her tone was oblique enough that Zackel couldn't tell if she was being serious or subtly sarcastic.
"In all honesty? No." Zackel said. Rielle cocked her head, her glowing eyes as ambiguous as her voice.
"Well, unless you get up and go back to bed, I'm continuing."
The mood in the crowd had dampened considerably in the twenty minutes since the game had started. Many had gathered for the same reason Rielle had made her challenge. That fact had soured, as by now most of Rielle's chips were now on Sparse's side of the table: the Draenei was losing at a rate of four hands to one. Colthan had tried his best to keep on a non-partisan front, but part of him wanted to step in and stop the game. Rielle was out of her league, and everyone knew it. On top of that, she did not have that good a game face to start with, and it had steadily deteriorated despite her best efforts, causing Sparse to pick up even more wins.
"Would you like to call it even and just settle for losing the purse?" Sparse asked.
"Screw you. One card please." Rielle said. It didn't help her, as she lost once more.
"Well, I'm tired of sitting around." Sparse said, taking the chips he had just won before pushing them and more back into the center. Rielle's eyes flickered down, doing a swift count. The only way she could match it was if she bet all her remaining chips.
"You know what? So am I." Rielle said, shoving what she had left to join Sparse's.
"Very good then. I'll take three cards." Sparse said. Colthan dealt them, taking Sparse's discarded cards in turn. Rielle barely noticed, as she stared at her hand. She did that for nearly a minute.
"Two cards." She finally said.
Colthan offered them. Rielle reached out.
And slashed her hand past Colthan's, seizing Sparse's sleeve and yanking it up. The wizard recoiled backwards at the sudden movement. It was not fast enough to keep the several cards hidden there from flying out of his sleeve.
"….ah ha." Rielle said, now standing. "Just a little too slow that time Sparse."
All the blood left Sparse's face as he realized how trapped he was. The shock of the crowd at this sudden action and what it had uncovered began to give way to angry murmurs.
"I was LOSING, ASSHOLE." Rielle said, throwing Sparse's arm down on the table in disgust. She had waited a long time for the precise-perfect moment to expose Sparse, and she was going to milk it. "You could have beat me fair, easy. But I knew. I KNOW your breed. I didn't have to win. All I had to do was make sure YOU didn't want to lose. And in that, I show why anything you claim isn't worth the air you use to express it."
"…you…you…" Sparse stammered.
"Eh eh. I'm not involved in this any more Sparse. You are. Time to man up." Rielle said, reaching over to the basket and withdrawing her money purse. "Fel, keep your money. It's probably as dirty as you."
"Now hold on people. Let's not forget the bigger picture here…" Colthan said, standing up to both protect Sparse and to keep him from running. Rielle strolled off, not paying much attention to the angry yells that Colthan was trying to quiet. Sparse had won a fair number of games, and with what Rielle had shown everyone, that fact was about to crash down on him with all the fury of the earth giant in the mine's fists.
When Rielle spoke as she headed back to her tent, it was to no one in particular.
"You should have listened to your own false flattery, Sparse. I'm no lady."
"…you clever girl."
"Why thank you." Rielle said, doing a little fake primping.
"…wait, one thing though." Zackel said. "What if he hadn't been cheating?"
"Then I would have lost, and I wouldn't be here. And you might be roasting over an ogre's cooking fire." Rielle said. "I went with my gut. I took how skilled he was, and how he acted, and made a calculated risk that he'd want the carrot so bad he'd try to get rid of the stick. I'm not wrong very often. Not when I don't want to be."
"You saw him hiding cards?"
"He was very good at it, that I will admit. Was pretty worried when I didn't see anything at all during the first half of the game." Rielle said. "But I've trained myself to catch arrows in mid-air. There's no small movement that doesn't escape my attention, sooner or later."
"………So wait, does that mean…"
"That I saw you tuck your little journal into your robes? Yes. I told you Zack. I'm very good at this." Rielle said, her eyes twinkling in mischievous joy at Zackel's stunned expression. "I figured if you were going to THAT much trouble to hide it, it really wasn't my business. That, or I read it when you were sleeping. Which is the truth? Will you ever know?"
Zackel was silent for a long while.
"…the story's not done." Rielle said. "I thought Sparse would learn his lesson. Turns out it wasn't HIM I should have considered foremost."