Disclaimer: The characters and settings created by Blizzard Entertainment Inc in this story are owned by their creators. I do not claim them as mine in any way, shape or form. I am not receiving monetary profit from this story and no copyright infringement is intended.
Note: We're gonna wrap this holiday story up by this holiday, dangit! I can't believe a whole year has gone by since I first started writing during the last holiday season. Only 4-5 more chapters, I think.
Chapter 21: No More Back-Sass!
Kael'thas sneered at me. Eversong Woods was all happy bluebirds around us compared to the nasty look and the very blue words coming out of Kael'thas' mouth before he settled on his final insult, "…You know what, Tauren? I don't care who in the Horde sent you here. You can just go straight to—"
I held a hand up for Kael'thas to stop.
"Enough. You know, I've had it up to here with you as well, but I just realized something. It's something Illidan pointed out to me, actually." I paced on my big hooves around the unusually well-dressed Blood Elf man. Don't ask me when or how Kael'thas changed out of his black phoenix pajamas with white socks. I guess an arrogant mage like him would. "Up until now, we've been doing this all your way. Yeah, I got to have my say about a few things, like being able to interview Lady Weaver, and Pyro, whatever his name is. But not once have I run this investigation the way I prefer. I've been living in your castle, and I'm damn near done sharing a wall with you and Saturna. Why the hell did you do that anyway? Which were you trying to sabotage, my investigation or your own marriage?"
Kael'thas flushed red, made a fist.
I got on with it, "No. No more. I want three things from you, Kael'thas. I want my gun back. And, I want supplies for living out here. You want to bug those supplies somehow, put magical crap in them so that you can overhear my every move? Fine. I could never stop you from doing that anyway. But know that I am fully capable of watching you back—I've used little tricks and traps against their Elven masters before, in Ashenvale."
He gestured angrily around us, "Does this look like some overgrown cesspot due to be chopped down for kindling? This is Quel'thalas! You are dealing with the sin'dorei."
"No, Kael'thas. Now, you are dealing with me." I huffed through both nostrils and lowered my horns. It at least gave him pause. Though, compared with a Bloodmage, my horns couldn't have been a real threat. However, even someone as powerful as him should realize—stabbed is stabbed, if you give me enough of an opening.
"The last thing I want from you? My privacy. Yeah, you'll try and send your spies up here. I'll go as far as saying that it's your right, since this is your kingdom. But I don't want any fake messages on silver trays from the palace, no more weird invitations to dinner so that I can be sidetracked by the whole Sunstrider family, no getting snookered into a bar crawl with your shady Bloodknights, only to get dumped in downtown Silvermoon—none of it!"
Kael'thas had calmed, somehow. I'm not sure how my yelling at him calmed him. Maybe it was simply more comfortable now that the gloves were off. Two men, at last. Nobody watching us argue, no immediate repercussions with wives or Bloodknight matriarchs (especially if they were the same thing). We could be ourselves.
"Kael, you may be furious about how things went with Anthene, and I admit, I did not want things to get out of hand with your daughter…" I let out an anxious breath, frightened to look a father in the eye, "But running into Anthene right at Saltheril's Haven? Where the real Blood Elf locals go? That was a place where my instincts led me. And then, getting deeper into your kingdom, seeing those Night Elves where you did not want me to go looking, those two big milestones were the first true progress I've made in this whole investigation. And I intend for it to keep going that way."
"I don't want you speaking to my daughter ever again."
"Kael'thas. All due respect, but I think that's up to her. We both know I don't mean the princess any real harm, and she's grown."
He stalked past me, then backed off a ways. Kael'thas wanted to go, but he was also unwilling to let me go. Funny now, looking back. Like a dog with a good soup-bone. He was so ready to leave me behind if there was really no meat left, but he couldn't be sure.
Ho, yes. Privacy in his own home, the illusion of this all being finally done… How tempting. It would have been easy to ignore the Tauren camped out somewhere in the woods, what a fantasy. And that's all I'd asked him for, for him to abandon me. But yet, I think it still didn't work with some secret plan of his, that had to be the hitch. Kael'thas sensed the danger in what I offered, even if he couldn't feel it. He was too much of a manipulator to keep an important play-piece like me beyond his reach.
"…Completely? Alone." His eyebrow edged up and I watched him try not to smile. Why did it remind me of two guys in a bar, leaning over drinks and smutty comments about the barmaid…
Oh.
Well, finally having a night to himself with his wife would have been the cincher. Damn him! I did not think he deserved it with Saturna, not in the least. And like I wanted to deal with reviewing that kind of session whenever I went through my marbles later. Well, Saturna's part in it wouldn't be that bad, if I'm honest. Yeah, I guess that's me being pretty damn honest.
I stood there, chewing. Kinda mad.
I huffed, "Saturna has an allure all her own, I'm sure. But Kael'thas, if you think putting on your tiny Sunfury underoos and sprinkling the sheets with arcane dust is gonna fix your marriage—"
He shoved me. I was defending myself from that, when he came in fast on the other side. Hit me.
Well, Kael'thas punched me.
Guess he figured that if I wasn't living in the castle anymore, he might just be able to get away with it. I've been in enough scuffles to get back on my feet immediately, whether it's a Bloodmage or some roughneck beating on me. I stuffed down panic that it was Kael'thas, Kael'thas Sunstrider, a once member of the Kirin Tor, hell—a once member of the Burning Legion—finally laying hands on me. And it hurt. He'd hit me clear in the mouth. Time to hit him back. Rules of the jungle…
Wait, how many world leaders am I going to beat up in this story? First Baine, now… Alright, maybe I admit to having a problem. Or, a kink. Who knows.
Kael'thas stood calmly however, as if he was entitled to clobber me and so expected no retaliation. That honestly made me hesitate.
He said, "My wife. Mine."
"Your ass. Mine!" That's my way of putting it.
"Make another comment like that about Saturna and I, and you may not have a face left. Maybe Sylvanas won't understand why an investigator from Thunderbluff got throttled, but Nathanos will. He'd have done the same in my place, with his woman. So, don't try that 'oh the warchief says' excuse on my again. I have a right to protect my own. And you just forced me to protect my honor, and my wife's, with you."
I really needed to hit him back, now that the floor was wide open to it. Hey, he started it!
Kael'thas continued to regard me with cool superiority.
I sighed and dropped my fist. Actually, I was remembering something else. It was stupid of me to forget it in the first place. Lives depended on it. Mine, especially.
"That rogue…" Well, ratting him out might get Alessandre killed again, if Kael'thas thought he'd already eliminated the threat back in Mulgore. But why should I be loyal to Al of all people?
Again. I'm calling him 'Al' again. For the love of…
"Kael'thas, you never killed him, did you? Alessandre is not dead."
He shrugged, "Sometimes you shoot an old dog. Sometimes you miss in the worst way."
"But you, Kael'thas Sunstrider, you never miss. Saturna said it. Illidan told me the same thing."
Kael'thas looked thoughtful. He wasn't about to lie to me, not this time. He looked academic. He was thinking through how to explain the principle.
"His superiors, the Kaldorei Rogue Network, they want answers. If he lives, then he can give them some. But killing Alessandre would have raised further questions. More questions, more rogues, more problems."
I gave a solemn nod to that.
Kael'thas felt his gloved fist, the one that hit me, "So now, the KRN is fat and satisfied. They may even think that they've won. They were able to save his life, they believe. They were able to outwit me too, or so they think."
"So you didn't shoot the dog." I tried not to think of Zoca, or his poor analogy, "Instead, you gave her a bone."
"Turaho, I'm sure he's around here somewhere. And I'm also sure my own army of spies and Bloodknights are onto him. I just didn't feel like telling you that."
"Gee, thanks."
"But Alessandre has plenty of toys and distractions to play with in the Ghostlands. I thought that was what you saw for yourself. You couldn't resist peeping at it, nor could Anthene… it'll be the same for him, just on the other side of the issue. I'm controlling the whole spectacle, you know."
Toys? Distractions? Had Kael'thas still not put two and two together? I prayed that without me at the palace, Anthene could hold her own. Her parents were about to be no help whatsoever. Perhaps it does take a Pathfinder, a rogue, a sort of seedy, roguish mind like mine or hers to notice certain things. I was starting to believe that Kael'thas' greatest flaw when it came to his family was that he held them all in such high regard. Not a crime to be a proud papa but… pretty soon, when the Night Elf shyte hit the fan, it was going to feel like one. And I felt bad for Kael'thas, at least on that. He was about to be walking around, feeling as betrayed as Illidan.
Kael'thas turned to finally go, but then he paused, "I have to ask, why does this theoretical dog have a gender? You said 'she'. 'You gave her a bone,' you said. "
I decided I was done having my first civil conversation with Kael'thas, in all this time. Before, on our way to the bar that time, it was just the lead up to some practical joke. When I was forced to interview him after that, it was all on his terms. Later, up in my bedroom, he'd threatened me. I hoped this first, business-like exchange would also be our last. Plus, my muzzle still hurt. Bastard.
"I'll send you everything." Kael'thas made a dismissive, aristocratic wave in his red-and-gold glove. He conjured a portal back to the castle for himself alone, "Your gun, supplies for camping in Eversong, I'll even send your kodo."
I've never heard someone say 'kodo' with such derision before. And they're such sweet creatures, everyone knows that. I'm sure it took an effort.
After Kael'thas left, I realized that I never told him where I was going to make camp. You don't just make camp any old place, and it would have been a further waste of my time to stay right on the spot whimpering with big sad eyes, like a lost puppy, and hope for him to come find me later. I decided to go for a long walk.
What does a good woodsman need? A source of clean water. Some protection from the elements. Downwind so my enemies can't scent me out easily. Kindling for fire was already all around me. It felt good to be doing this, searching for solutions my way, in my own element. Now that we were alone, there was another thing I'd been longing to do since seeing Illidan.
I whistled for Zoca.
She raced out of the spirit world, out of nothing it seemed, then licked my hand. I tousled the fur at the back of her head, then she charged ahead of me.
Oh, but I'm a few years older than when I was, when I first lost her. I wasn't going to play tag. She huffed at me, it was almost a bark, but she really wasn't so angry. She went dashing off to enjoy running through the world by herself.
Don't let Kael'thas or his Bloodknights ever see that dog.
It was what Illidan had said. Was me having a ghost wolf really such a big deal? In my family, we know about the spirits, we know how things really work. My mother was a shamaness, that stuff was never weird for me.
Then I thought about Illidan's other warning, that the Knights of the Blood Nexus would try to recruit me if they ever found out. Found out what? It's not like…
Nobody got to be a paladin and a shaman at the same time.
Right?
I just had… the ear of the spirits. A way to speak their language. I was more versed in it than most. It's not as if I could control the elements themselves. There was a big difference. Maybe to a Night Elf, even a prominent Night Elf like Illidan, shamanism amounted to about as much. A ghost dog here, a trip through the spirit world there… Even Illidan still had a lot to learn.
I found a good spot by the source of the brook that Anthene and I had enjoyed earlier. The Ghostlands was miles and miles downhill. From where I was, I could just see the deep green line of that plagued wood on the horizon. I looked at the golden trees all around, the wall of pale rock that sort of held back the wind, would hold in the warmth of the campfire once I built it.
"What do you think, Zoca girl? Can I still make us a good camp in the middle of nowhere?"
She circled me, wagging her transparent blue tail. But she was tired.
A ghost dog that could still get herself all sweet and tuckered out. Nice thing to see.
I dragged sticks together and made a fire. It gave me some time to think.
What did I know for sure? Kael'thas had Greatfather Winter, somewhere. I was convinced of it. He, and Saturna too, practically confessed during that session I listened in on, using my marble. He'd said, 'I know you want to handle this the legal way' something like that. They both wanted me to give up and go home, so they could get on with getting rid of the old Dwarf. I also felt sure Kael'thas was more than happy to handle Greatfather Winter the illegal way, but Saturna would never let him.
So. Where was Greatfather Winter?
And who exactly took him, if not Kael'thas?
I needed to know who actually put their hands on the old Dwarf. I needed evidence of it, too. Why? Well, frankly, I wanted to put Kael'thas in jail. I truly did. I hated Kael'thas, and everything he tried to get away with. I hated how he was with his wife, I felt Saturna could do better. I thought she ought to have a fling with me first if she couldn't out and settle down with a Tauren… Wait, I'm engaged, nevermind… But she didn't need Kael'thas, for crap's sake. Their marriage looked more to me like Kael'thas trying desperately to keep the woman, and Saturna always trying to convince herself that Kael'thas was a better man than he actually was. So she kept making excuses, clinging on… I was afraid to touch the issue of parentage, why she might have borne him children that weren't… And why he let her… anyway.
Sadly, if Saturna was covering for Kael'thas, then she would be facing jail time too.
I couldn't explain why, but I was also sure that one of these Bloodknights, with their oath of loyalty, their fancy country estate houses I heard about but never got to see… They were the ones keeping Greatfather Winter. He was holed up in someone's fancy basement, most like. I guess it was mainly because Kael'thas wanted to keep me in the Sunspire so badly. The real answer must have been in the countryside. Just minutes ago, Kael'thas had given the surest tell there ever was on the matter. He hated me being out in the country. And it wasn't about the trees and cute golden squirrels everywhere.
Last thing of all—which was sad, because it was the most important—was the old Dwarf still alive? I hoped so.
Anxiety about the state of him, this fear and nervousness coming from Kael'thas, his Bloodknights, his advisors… That most likely meant a very much alive Dwarf was around somewhere. Bodies rot, or they can be burned to ash. A living, breathing Dwarf was harder to keep under control. He had a scent to leave, for one.
I looked at Zoca who rested by the fire. She was lying up with one paw tucked beneath her translucent body. She looked more sage than she ever did in life.
"What do you know, girl? What do you think, hrm? Uncle Illidan give you anything else useful at all while you were with him?"
She twined an uneasy ear back. A faint admission that, while she was very interested in our latest adventure, she still didn't speak Tauren.
Ah, well.
Illidan was the third person to underscore how involved the Kal'dorei Rogue Network was in this thing. Alessandre still being around was grim proof of it. The Night Elves' mission was so critical that deaths needed to be faked. Spies needed to be stationed in the Ghostlands, on long term campaigns. A Blood Elf crown princess needed to be seduced.
And worse, they'd been there so long, that even Kael'thas had developed a blasé perspective on it. Like it was a fact of life, couldn't be helped. For as long as the Night Elves existed, they would be on his doorstep…
Meydiri had said that Greatfather Winter was helping the Night Elves with their tree, with Teldrassil. Well, then. I wish I knew more about magic. Something obvious was going on here, I could almost see it in front of my face, I wanted to strangle it, but I just didn't know enough about that end of things. Magical theorems and histories eluded me. Meydiri would have been so much better about that part. She was the one who turned me onto that line of inquiry in the first place. Teldrassil, the Twilight Cultists and their thing with Alessandre…
No matter. If you don't know the details, the truth is still out there. As they say in the profession, maybe you can't name the demon, but he still exists. He still needs to be avoided, and his evil works, stopped. I barely understood the Night Elves' magic out in Ashenvale, but I figured out enough to not get killed by it.
And, for this mission? I knew that the Night Elves needed Greatfather Winter to save their tree. I knew that the Blood Elves were never going to give him back alive. I knew that Kael'thas had ordered the whole thing done. The Legion thing about Kael'thas secretly having horns, and the Twilight Cultist connection, those two pieces were starting to feel like red herrings. Once, Kael'thas had been involved with the Legion and he was still battling an addiction to fel magic. Once, Alesandre had got revenge on the Twilight Culists… So what?
But, then again… why did the Legion and the Twilight's Hammer Cult still keep coming up? I wanted to forget about it, but nobody would let me. Circumstances, events, wouldn't let me.
I decided to see the flames of the fire now, not the trees around. I tried to remain focused on my mission. All that mattered now—there were now only days left until the holiday, and I was the only man capable of finding Greatfather Winter before someone finished him. If this conflict with the Blood Elves and the Night Elves finally erupted, then Greatfather Winter would be the one in the middle, getting squeezed.
I may not like the idea of the magical Dwarf, but I didn't want his magical blood on my hands, either.
I noted the sifting of grass and leaves. I had ignored it for a while because Zoca had been doing it, wagging her tail. She pointed her nose in the air and was really wagging it now.
I chose to go on pretending that it wasn't a thing, but my eyes scanned the trees and rocks around, trying to pick up a new presence.
That was when Zoca disappeared.
"Zoca!" I was up on my feet immediately.
What could do that? Who would be powerful enough? And they walked in the very shadows, whoever they were. Some instincts override others. Losing that dog again threw all my expert Pathfinder training out the window. I'd disarmed before bed. If it was that damn Alessandre again, he could very well finish me.
Then I heard Zoca's barking. It was hollow, and it kind of… whispered at points. It was all around me, inside my ears too. Both near and far away. It was coming from the spirit world.
I turned around and saw a shamaness standing before me. She was a white Tauren spirit wearing beads on her horns, and a thick garland of marigolds around her neck.
Marigolds light the way of the dead.
"…Mom?"
Zoca reappeared then, gleefully wagging her tail and dancing circles around her other family, now suddenly back for her to play with. I suppose Zoca had done the equivalent of run outside to say hello before anyone else, then follow the guest back into the house.
Mother was not happy to see me, however. She glided up, floating over the ground, as majestic as anything. It was enough to throw anyone off.
Then, she went right upside my head.
"Boy! What are you doing now?! You're hanging out with Illidan Stormrage, you're starting fights with Kael'thas Sunstrider—you got engaged to that Meydiri Ravenweld and you didn't even ask your mother's good opinion first. Then I came to see you in Mulgore, but you're aaaall the way over here, living it up with all these… she-Elves, in Eversong Woods?"
"Ma, I'm a grown man—"
She hit me again.
"OW!"
"Don't you sass me!"
Relatives. Oh, the joy of the season.
