Chapter 8: Part of Your World
Writer's Note: To WeaselNinja, no, my name is not from a GWAR song. It actually came from me noticing how many major enemies in WOW had 'Gore' in their names (Goretusk, Goremaw, Goretooth, etc). Eventually I figure by the time we get to the final content a few years down the line, they'll probably end up naming a boss 'GoreGore' because they'll have run out of names (I also postulate that by the time we get to final weapons they'll be down to 'Nice Axe 4' in terms of how dry the well will have run for autonyms for them).
Also, while you don't have to worry about me getting writer's block (I think), I do like my reviews, the longer the better. The more I get, the more motivated I feel to write. So readers, you want more, make sure to review. Anyway, story.
Dry, stagnant air puffed into his face. Did he not remember it at the time, from the more pressing issues of his overtaxed muscles? The sense of cold?
It was not something he should have missed. He knew cold.
Searching within that room, hunting for something to wash his bedding in. How long had it been since light fell on that room?
…why had it been sealed to begin with?
Something there.
No.
Something that should have been there. It was now gone.
The sense of another presence, just outside the door.
It had been so long since the door was opened.
How long would it be before it opened again…
Zackel's eyes jerked open as he awoke. He blinked several times, reality fully settling back down on him. A dream. Not a very good one either, considering how tightly he was holding part of his furs in his hands. Even when he let go, red marks streaked his hands from the pressure.
"I think I need to get some food I didn't conjure out of the void." Zackel murmured quietly to himself, before pushing himself up and looking around the room. Rielle was absent, as was her weapon. Probably on her daily training run.
Zackel felt at his face, grimacing at the several days old stubble that had grown there. That, and Rielle's comment about his breath the previous night, made him go over and dig in his alchemical bags. Hygiene was a secondary concern in a situation like theirs, but cleanliness was still always next to godliness. And fortunately, Zackel had packed the several 'cleaning universal devices' he had managed to finagle from gnomes over his travels, and chemicals to aid in their tasks. Considering he had no idea when Rielle would be back, he quickly went to work mixing them up. He left one to settle as he whipped the other, and after finishing that task he left to check the roof, move any wind-carried snow, and fill up two buckets with some of the frozen mineral before coming back downstairs.
Rielle was still strangely absent. Zackel thought nothing of it, as he melted and boiled the water via the campfire and a touch of magic. Smearing the whipped concoction on his face, Zackel produced a small mirror and began to carefully shave. It was a slow, tricky process, but the end result was Zackel feeling less like a monkey's uncle when he was done.
His makeshift teeth-cleaner, use concurrently with another gnome device, was not so successful: it was so strong it burned. After a quick mouth rinsing, checking that he hadn't destroyed any of his teeth, and adding a neutralizing chemical to the mix, Zackel found the new result easier on the mouth and much, much harder on the tongue. The redone blend tasted wretched, but Zackel forced his way through it. He wasn't sure how his breath smelled afterward, but it was probably better. Maybe if he had time he could try mixing up a mouthwash.
The process of cleaning himself reminded Zackel, with a groan, what he had to clean now. Deciding not to put it off, Zackel headed to the pair's washroom to try and assess what he could do. After several long and highly unpleasant minutes, Zackel finally staggered back to the main room. He wondered if he had enough engineering skill to build a little robot to clean the bathroom for him.
Rielle was back in the room when he returned. In the back of his head, Zackel wondered why he'd felt mild concern at the possibility she wouldn't be. Where could she have GONE?
"Zackel." Rielle said, standing up from where she was putting more wood on the fire. Zackel, on force of habit, glanced to see how much wood was left (still quite a lot) before he did a double take at how Rielle was dressed.
He'd seen the Draenei out of armor before, but she'd had on leathers beneath that, in the form of pants, a shirt, and forearm padding. Now she'd removed THAT as well, leaving her in a tight laced-in-the-front brown undershirt and short-short underwear. While Rielle had always moved with a lithe, animalistic grace, it began REALLY evident when she wasn't wearing much clothing. Zackel arched an eyebrow at the sight.
"Did I seal the room TOO well? Are you too HOT now?"
"You wish." Rielle said, as she stepped onto the furs she slept on, which Zackel finally noticed she'd dragged to the center of the room. "Time to get to work, Zack. I can't keep everything top-notch by myself. I need a partner."
"Partner?"
"Sparring. Combat."
"…You want ME…"
"Oh no, I'd probably break all your bones in less time then you can pat yourself on the back." Rielle said with a one-sided smirk. "Just basic training. Actually, this is for as much your sake as mine. I can teach you to not be so soft and breakable."
"I'd like to think…"
"Blah blah blah. Get over here." Rielle said, gesturing.
"What about…"
"NOW." Rielle said with mock anger. Zackel sighed and walked over.
"So what, are we going to…"
Rielle stepped forward, and in a motion so swift Zackel barely saw it, grabbed Zackel by his front and shoved him over the hoof she'd stuck behind his legs. Zackel went down with a thud on the furs, which proved to be very beneficial in keeping him from feeling like he'd broken his back.
"Rule One. Always pay attention. No matter what." Rielle said, standing over Zackel. "I suggest you take your robe off. Probably constricting, and it might tear."
"I think I'll just lie here and think about deep, pressing issues."
"Shall I move right on to joint locks then?"
"You're not nice!" Zackel complained, semi-crawling over to his 'section' before he began removing his robe.
"Nice guys finish last. And no one likes a nice girl." Rielle said.
"Speak for yourself." Zackel said, heading back over in his shirt and pants. "Okay so what, do we start if…"
Rielle blurred over to Zackel, slammed her shoulder into his chest, grabbed his arm, and then yanked him over her body, slamming him firmly down onto the furs again.
"Rule 2. Shut up." Rielle said. "Just do what I tell you."
Shaking his head with a low groan, Zackel got up again.
"Rule 3. For now, no biting, hair pulling, or cheap shots. Believe me, you don't want to feel this…" Rielle said, indicating her hoof. "In THAT." Rielle said, indicating the usual 'worst target' of men. Zackel expected her to then insult whatever he had, but strangely she just assumed a combat stance. "Oh yes, one more thing. Do not touch these…" Rielle said, indicating the small tendrils behind her ears. "On purpose. If you do it accidentally, and believe me, I'LL KNOW, I'll try and live with it. Do it purposely, and I'll break your arm off and beat you with it."
"Right. What's next? The part where I hop on one foot? The part where I'm blindfolded? How about only being able to touch you with my teeth?"
Zackel never saw Rielle move, AGAIN. This time, she actually grabbed him, yanked him down into her hand, and tossed him up into the air, moving aside as he splatted down on the furs once more.
"Shall I reiterate Rule 2 again? I'm having a ball here."
"Bully…………for you." Zackel wheezed, getting up.
"Okay Zackel. To be serious. The primary defining force in a fight is leverage…"
What followed was nearly two hours of Zackel getting thrown, smacked, and tossed onto the ground, until his whole body felt like one big bruise. When Rielle wasn't dropping him like a bad habit, she was tying him up in knots.
"Are we done yet?" Zackel finally wheezed. "I'd like to crawl into a corner and die now."
"Just two more. Come on big man, you can handle it."
"I think I'm going to be pissing blood."
"Oh no, believe me, if I actually wanted to HURT you, I would, and can."
"What's this then?" Zackel said, gesturing before the act made him groan.
"Consider it like forging a sword."
"Right, of course I end up the metal." Zackel said. "What now?"
"Punch me."
None of the attempts at 'punching' Rielle had ended well. Neither did this one, as Rielle seized his arm and tossed him down onto the furs again. This time, she immediately surged down onto him, pressing her body down onto his prone form. Something she had NOT done before, much to Zackel's surprise.
"Now, this is dangerous. You have to get close." Rielle said. "What you do, as soon as they're pinned…is…knee up…" Rielle said, lifting herself up a bit as she arced her leg. "And WHAM, knee right into the solar plexus."
Rielle just tapped Zackel with her knee as a demonstration of the move. Zackel blinked a few times, before his focus came on a strand of hair dangling off Rielle's face. She normally wore part of her silver-black hair tied around her horns, but one strand had come loose and was dangling over her face. Zackel wasn't sure why he noticed it. Maybe it was because it was the only 'damage' he'd caused the Draenei at all.
"Then you can go for the face, the eyes, the throat, it's all good." Rielle said, pushing herself back up. Zackel got back up himself, running a hand through his sweaty hair as he did so.
"Okay, last one. Same thing."
This time, Zackel's punch got him forced to his knees with his left arm twisted behind him.
"Note how you use the person's own momentum to aid in the lock. Clinches it up tighter, gives you more control. Especially if you do this." Rielle said, before kneeling herself behind Zackel and twisting his arm even further behind his back.
"Ack, ow! I get it! I get it! Let me go!" Zackel said.
"What do you say?"
"PLEASE!"
"…beg me."
"What?"
"You heard me little man. Beg. Come on now, beg and…"
The elbow took Rielle completely by surprise, as Zackel somehow got his right arm around himself and smashed the point of it into the side of Rielle's face. Rielle recoiled, letting Zackel's arm go, standing up in mid-retreat and taking a step back, holding her face.
Zackel remained on his knees, breathing heavily for several seconds.
"…sorry." Zackel finally said. "I went too far. But so did you."
Rielle was about to say something when Zackel actually turned to face her, getting up in the process. His eyes were so intense that it actually gave her pause. She'd hit a nerve, and a big one.
"I owe you a lot. And I'm not done re-paying it. Especially after Sparse." Zackel said. "But don't ever ask me to beg. I'll do most anything, but I will not do that. Don't do it. Ever. Again." Zackel finished, his voice like ice. Rielle blinked, still holding her face.
The cold rage faded as quickly as it had arrived, and a worried, fearful look stole over Zackel's face.
"Oh crap. Please don't kill me." Zackel whispered. "I over-reacted, please I'll make it…"
"No no. I deserved that." Rielle said, taking her hand away from her face. "Hell, maybe I should be apologizing for taking too much advantage of you, actually."
"…you're not mad?"
"Zackel, Zackel. Know when the line is drawn. Even when it comes to me." Rielle said. "Besides, you're so concerned I'll want revenge…no need. You'll need me for that."
"For wha…" Zackel trailed off, as he finally became aware of his left arm lying limp in its socket. The anger, adrenaline, and fear had kept him from noticing it immediately. In delivering the elbow, he'd dislocated his left shoulder.
"…oh SHIT." Zackel said, as he realized what he'd done.
"Language, boy." Rielle said, walking up. "Don't worry. I know what I'm doing here as well. Just stand still, I'll fix it."
Rielle did. In one quick, precise motion that made Zackel feel like she'd pulled the limb off instead.
"YEEEEEEEOOOOOWWWWWWWWW!!!!"
"NOW we're even, Zacky boy."
"Ugh. Yeesh." Zackel said some time later, sitting on his bedding as he carefully uncorked one of his own healing potions. "Did you REALLY have to be so rough?"
"Life's rough, wizard. The quicker you start getting handed the hard knocks, the quicker you can learn to take them." Rielle said, now back in her normal leathers as she ran a sharpening stone along her axe. Her lone supplies left after the dire wolf had stolen her bags consisted of the healer potions she'd used, said stone, a few bandages, a badge proving who she was, and a few items she'd labeled as 'personal' and refused to tell Zackel about.
"Yeah, but really, if I wanted to fistfight…"
"Trust me. You'll end up better in the end."
"If you don't end me outright." Zackel said, before he dripped several drops of the panacea on his tongue. He leaned back and sighed as the magical concoction went to work, soothing his battered muscles and repairing the slight joint damage his dislocated shoulder had suffered. "…sorry about the elb-"
"It's fine. I mean that, Zackel." Rielle said. "If I had a problem, I'd say so. If you don't actually remember that, I WILL get angry. You seemed to actually understand me a bit. I'd rather that not be a limited notion."
"So noted." Zackel said.
"Your breath is better too. What did you do?"
"What? Oh I…mixed up some stuff. Alchemist tricks. Really?"
"Was rather disconcerting. I thought I'd ruptured something in you." Rielle said. "You DO know you'll be making some for me, right?"
"Should be doable. Now about the bathroom…"
"I'll help with that." Rielle said, resuming her sharpening. "You just better mix up something decent to clean with, Zack."
"Trust me that is a VERY high concern."
"And I get the nose plugs."
"Suddenly I think I'd be better off alone."
"Don't tempt me." Rielle said, putting her axe aside and producing her 'food pouch'. "Dinner's on."
Zackel stared.
"What, are you deaf? Come on, or I'll eat it all myself." Rielle said, as she took out one of Zackel's pheasants.
"You're not going to make me eat the bones to toughen up my stomach or something like that, are you?" Zackel asked as he walked over.
"Stick some food in your mouth, mage, or I'll feed you my fist instead."
Zackel didn't say anything else. He just conjured some drink and ate quietly with his erstwhile companion.
"I will admit." Rielle said when the meal was nearly done. "It WAS a nice elbow."
"Uh…good, I suppose."
"Well, in a broken clock is right twice a day style."
"Hardy har har." Zackel said, drinking from his canteen. "Is there ANYTHING I can do to impress you?"
"Stick your hand in the fire?"
Zackel looked at Rielle for several seconds, pretty sure she wasn't serious.
Then he lifted up his right hand while he waved his left hand around it, muttering under his breath. The appendage became encased in ice, which Zackel promptly shoved into the flames. Rielle stared, as Zackel quickly removed his hand from said flames, the ice having mostly cracked and fallen off, a few slushy remains dripping down his wrist.
"You did not say how long and in what fashion." Zackel smirked.
Rielle promptly delivered her becoming-trademark forehead flick, the blow as usual knocking him backwards.
"Be glad my response was of the same length and fashion, mage." Rielle said.
"Yeah…probably best."
"…where the heck did you get THAT?" Rielle said a short time later.
"What, this? From my bags." Zackel said, a small wooden table with a grid surface in front of him.
"How did you carry…"
"Magical carrying capacity. Very useful thing."
"Why would you waste the space on that?"
"You have your way of keeping sharp. This is mine." Zackel said.
"A small table."
"Actually it's a game. Ever played Thrust?"
"I'm not one for games…"
"Well then, please indulge in one of the many other entertainments available here." Zackel said, waving an arm around.
"You'd best watch it mage, or I'll make up a game that involves how many times I can hit you until you get knocked out." Rielle said, before she sat down. "What is this, that game where each piece is a different thing and can do different things?"
"No, that's Conquest. Or chess, as it's called in some places I believe." Zackel said. "This is Thrust. It's played with these." Zackel said, producing two small bags that he opened, dumping small black and white playing pieces on the board. "It's played by each player placing pieces down on the board. The object is to have more 'territory' then the other player: you get points based on that, and whoever has more points at the end wins."
"That doesn't sound very interesting."
"The key is, if a player surrounds another player's stones with his own, like this…" Zackel said, putting several black stones around two white stones. "Then the stones are 'captured', removed from the board, and no longer count. Ergo, it's very much the classic easy to learn/difficult to master game. You have to balance offensive and defensive moves, decide whether and when to branch out or stay in, think ahead of your opponent, etc etc. It's very much like a fight, actually."
"…..fine. I'll play black. If you cheat, I'll break the board over your head."
"Wait wait. First I'll play you a teaching game or two. Show you the more complicated rules." Zackel said. "I'll also give you a handicap, since you're new. Basically, the game will start as if you already have a certain number of 'un-capturable' stones. I think a 20 stone handicap is more than fair there."
"Are you calling me stupid, little boy?" Rielle said, though there was no venom in her tone.
"No Rielle." Zackel said. "I'm giving you my form of hard knocks. Get ready."
"And…done. That makes the score 62 me, 48 you. Not bad Rielle. You're closing the gap." Zackel said several hours later. Rielle glared at the board, as if willing Zackel's pieces to run away from her and concede her the win. Considering she hadn't won once in the dozen or so games they'd played, it was a pretty intense glare. The stones remained unimpressed despite it.
"You're a dirty cheater." Rielle said, gathering up her stones.
"You want a bigger handicap?"
"NO! I'm going to beat you. I'm getting you down, wizard boy. I'm figuring out your small little mind, and I'm going to stomp on it." Rielle said. "You don't have much in the way of moves, I found that out today! Just wait…just wait…"
One game later.
"Still waiting." Zackel said, turning a piece over in his fingers.
"You suck." Rielle said, drinking from her own canteen. "Next one's mine."
"Perhaps." Zackel said, as the pair began another game of Thrust. They played in silence for several minutes, before Zackel paused, staring at a stone.
"Oh come on, aren't you dominating me enough?" Rielle complained.
"Hmmmm? Oh, no…just thinking Rielle. Just thinking."
"Well, if you're going to sit there and think, can I ask you something?"
"What?"
"How long have you been at this?"
"Playing Thrust?"
"No, adventuring."
"Oh. I started two weeks after the Dark Portal incident."
"…why are you HERE there?"
"What?"
"Zackel, I might insult you, but even I realize you're not an idiot like Sparse. Sparse made it all the way to Northrend. I don't know how long he'd been doing his work, but still." Rielle said. "You clearly have talent. Yet you're wandering around the Alterac Mountains looking for Dalaran cast-offs. I wouldn't have been surprised if I'd met you at Northrend, though my opinion of you might be considerably lower. Yet you're here. What gives?"
"I'm just proceeding at my own pace. What's wrong with that?"
"In a perfect world? Nothing. In a perfect world my species wouldn't have been chased for thousands of years and you know that story. Azeroth needs elite adventurers. You could at least have a CHANCE at that, considering how you play this board game, how well you improvise stuff with what you have on your person, this damn blizzard, fel, you even take a beating pretty damn well. Yet in terms of advancing yourself, you're not doing much better than stagnating. Why?"
Zackel was silent, turning the piece over in his hand some more.
"…look, if it's personal…."
"It is. But that's all right." Zackel said. "You got wronged by mages, Rielle. Let's just say you're not exactly alone."
"What?"
"Magic's a troublesome business. It changes you, in so many ways." Zackel said. "Sometimes it's obvious, like Sparse."
Zackel stopped turning the piece around, staring at it as it stood suspended between two fingers, as firelight flickered on his face.
"Sometimes though…it just sneaks up on you." Zackel said. "Her name was Jasciona. Jasciona Core."