I know you haven't made your mind up yet,
But I will never do you wrong.
I've known it from the moment that we met,
No doubt in my mind where you belong.
~To Make You Feel My Love-Adele~
Jaaral had turned the meeting into a feast. The food that lay before them was nothing short of a banquet. He had introduced them to the mission specialists one by one, and Cordana had agreed not to wear the encounter suit. She was still uneasy in the company of strangers, but the mission specialists were to work closely with them and there was no sense in hiding from them forever. They were a good group of people, varied in skill and temperament, as dedicated as she was to the mission, and always at the ready.
"You draw many eyes your way, Cordana," said Khadgar to her quietly, standing behind her and resting his chin on her shoulder, his lips beside her ear.
"Yes, I see that and it makes me uncomfortable. And you better remove your lips from my ear as it is getting hard for me to concentrate on the task at hand, Archmage."
He kissed her ear instead, and whispered something to her that made her suddenly turn and stare at him. "How could you say something so inappropriate?"
"A man in love always behaves inappropriately, or so I would hazard a guess. So what do you think? Great idea, yes?"
"Khadgar!" Cordana exclaimed. "Bad idea, no!"
"Maybe later on then?"
She tried to hide a smile, but couldn't. His naughty, playful nature was something that she loved.
"Yes, definitely later on. Now forget about it, we have work to do."
Servants came and cleared away the feast, and the war room once more became what it was: a place to plan and strategize.
"Now," said Jaaral as they all sat down. "The Archmage has come to me with a request. I have asked you all here to see if any or all of you would be willing to take on his mission, as it is not something that he himself is willing to handle alone."
The Draenei gestured to Khadgar and invited him to speak. As always with the Archmage, he would not simply sit and tell...but give a demonstration with his magic that would bring his request to life. He stood up and cast a circle right on the table.
"As you are aware, I have been trying to locate the warlock Gul'Dan. It is imperative that he be stopped in any way possible and as soon as possible. I have employed many magical routes to this end, but the warlock is crafty, and since he has become aware of my search for him, he has taken to hiding."
An image of Gul'Dan appeared in the circle, as disgusting and vile in miniature as he would be in real and standing before them. Some of the mission specialists had never seen him, and gasped in revulsion. Even the image of the demon orc seethed Fel energy and darkness.
"My most recent attempts have failed once more, and I turned to deeper research. It turns out that there is an Ogre, a Sorcerer King called Imperator Mar'Gok. As the grand Imperator of Highmaul Fortress, Mar'gok is descended from a long line of sorcerers who have ruled the Gorian Empire. Equal parts cunning and brutality, Mar'gok recognized the rising tide of the Iron Horde and what it would mean to oppose them. He had acquiesced to an alliance with Garrosh, but now that Garrosh is dead, Mar'gok is searching for a way to tip the balance of power back into his favor. He has mastered magical techniques that we in the Kirin Tor consider to be on the fringe of arcane science. His felbreakers, among others, can actively dampen or nullify magic. Even fel magic!
If we're to locate Gul'Dan, we need to figure out how it's done. I need someone to acquire a felbreaker's tome from his felbreaker captain Ko'Ragh and acquire the sigil of the sorcerer king himself - I must know what he knows!
I need a team courageous enough to storm Highmaul and retrieve these items. You may be able to steal them, but there is a much higher chance that you must kill those in question for the artefacts."
As he spoke, the circle showed the ogres in question, Mar'Gok with his two heads, and Ko'Ragh with his one. The creatures were massive, shown in relation to Khadgar and Jaaral, magically projected in the image beside them.
A dwarven death knight stood up and slammed his fist on the table. "I will go! Who will stand with me?!" he shouted.
A Kaldorei druid, who spent most of her time in her feline form, stood up. "I shall lend you my power, Dwarf."
A Draenei paladin also stood. "We will need the power of the light to defeat these Ogres," he said. "I will go with you."
In the end, all of them signed up, except one, a human whose contribution was more as a tactician. He offered his services from the outside, but as fighting was not his strong suit, and he had a wife and a young child, he preferred to leave the combat to the others.
Cordana could see that Khadgar was pleased that so many were willing to assist him. He knew the dangers, and made sure that each and every one of them knew it as well. He briefed them on what to expect from the Ogres in battle if it came to that, but he gave the maps to the tactician and let him prepare the team.
"I hope we are not sending them to their deaths," said Toriona quietly as they stood outside.
"We cannot know that," said Cordana. "In war there is much uncertainty, and hard decisions must be made."
"That is true," responded Khadgar. "But it does weigh heavy on my heart to think that these good men and women may be volunteering for their own demise. But this mission means a lot to all of us, and stopping Gul'Dan will not be easy. If I could retrieve the items myself I would do so, but Cordana here isn't fond of me going into dark places alone, and she will not go on a suicide mission, as she calls it." His eyes were twinkling as he said the latter.
"You most certainly are correct on that, Archmage. You are not a one man army no matter how much you may believe it to be so. These people are specialists."
He placed an arm around her shoulder and she rested her head on his.
Toriona smiled at them. "It must be hard for the two of you. Neither one wants to see the other compromised. If Jaaral and I had to battle together I would have a hard time."
"It is very difficult indeed," said Khadgar. "Cordana is assigned to see to my safety, but at the same time my love for her has me on the same mission. I suppose it makes us more conscientious when we do need to fight. I can be reckless at times." He turned and kissed Cordana's head. "I make an effort to be less so, for her."
Toriona sighed happily at the two of them.
Jaaral emerged and joined them, letting them know that the preparations had begun, and the team would set out at first light.
Khadgar nodded, thinking.
"I can portal them to a location close by, but far enough to be safe. Perhaps we should also go, and set up a camp there. What do you think?"
Toriona shook her head. "I'm sorry but I can't leave the garrison. It is up to me to keep things running, but I do think Jaaral should go along."
Jaaral disagreed. "I cannot go this time, there are pressing matters of security I must attend to."
Cordana looked up at Khadgar with a smile. "I suppose it is just you and I then, Archmage," she said. "Someone must be there to meet them when they return with your artefacts. I don't mind being in the wilderness with you in a tent."
Toriona laughed. "The way you say that makes me want to shirk my responsibilities and drag Jaaral out there too!"
The tactician stepped outside. "Commander Jaaral," he said respectfully. "They are as ready as I can make them. Now all we can do is hope and pray they can succeed. It will not be easy for them. Highmaul is a large place with many hazards. It is times like these that I wish I were a fighter so I could join my friends."
"Your contribution to the team is valuable friend," said Jaaral kindly. "No one man is more important than another, each of us is needed in their own way. Please head home and rest. Tomorrow begins at sunup."
Khadgar teleported himself and Cordana back to the Tower. They prepared some dinner, but she just couldn't manage to eat all of it.
"Are you alright, Cordana?" asked Khadgar.
She looked up. "Hmm? Yes, why do you ask?"
"You normally eat quite a bit the night before a mission, and you have barely eaten what is on your plate."
She rolled her eyes. "Really Khadgar, must you observe my every move so closely at all times? Perhaps I am not as hungry today."
He smiled at her and gave her hand a squeeze. "I love you and care for you. I do observe you closely because you are beautiful and I am glad that you are my love. You look tired Cordana. Let us go and sit by the fire in our chambers."
He was right on that point. She was tired.
They curled up together on the plush sofa by the fire. It was not long before Cordana had her head in his lap and he was stroking her hair gently.
"Have you given any more thought on what we spoke of earlier?" he asked her.
"We spoke about many things this day Khadgar, what exactly are you referring to?"
"Our plans for after the war. I know you said you wished to speak with Jarrod, but that does not mean you cannot think on it yourself as well."
Cordana traced little designs on his knee and thigh. "I want to be with you, Khadgar. I would like you to be my mate. I will still speak to Jarrod but...you should know where my heart lies. If what you say about the changes in the world are true, then I see no reason not to declare my love for you at the World Tree."
"Sit up a moment Cordana," said Khadgar, a smile on his lips and his eyes bright.
She waited and watched while he brought his hands together. They glowed the pale purple of his arcane magic, with added tendrils of light blue swirling from his hands. When he was finished he picked something up from his palm. It was a softly glowing ring, inset with tiny clear stones.
He took her hand, and placed the beautiful ring on her finger. "This is a human custom," he said smiling. "A man gives this to the woman he loves when she agrees to marry him. It is a symbol of our promise to one another. So...to make it official...will you marry me Cordana?"
She smiled at him, her eyes curious but glowing brightly. "Yes," she said simply and lay back down in his lap, admiring the pretty trinket on her finger. "I have never had anything so lovely before, Khadgar. Thank you."
"Oh Cordana," he sighed. There wasn't a frivolous bone in her body, and that made him wish to give her even more trinkets and baubles.
Not long after, he gently picked up her sleeping form and carried her to bed, conjuring away her clothing and pulling the covers over her. Being careful not to disturb her, he crawled in and took her into his arms. She murmured something in her sleep that he did not hear, but settled again and they fell into a deep and dreamless sleep.