Apologies everyone, yesterday was hectic and I forgot to post! But here is the Chapter, no worse for wear, and the fun can continue! please enjoy! ~F
Chapter Sixty Five
Notice
Teg'Ramm relished the sounds of battle and the sights of gore around him as the defenders of the Horde charged forth through the ranks of dwarves and their allies. Once he disrupted the arcane mages and their counterattacks, the forces of the Horde stormed over the weakening attackers. Wading forward, the massive ogre mage lord wielded his warlock staff in both hands, crushed armor and broke weapons with every swing as he joined in the bloodlust.
The dwarves, disheartened by the onslaught, were already falling back to the fortified entrance of the Gorge from their own lands, and Teg'Ramm was whipping their warriors into a frenzy, hoping to push back into their valley, and seal the entrance to their domain once and for all.
He knew that they were not ready yet to go on the offensive, as per Nobu'tan's orders, but he would do all that was required to protect their lands, and their forces, from outside intrusion until their master returned.
Only once they had taken the small gatehouse that separated the two lands did Teg'Ramm cease the spell of bloodlust over his forces, ordering them back to the mountain, and staring down the more boisterous members until he was obeyed.
That being done, he channeled all his devastating powers upon the hold under the northern mountains, obliterating the supports that kept the small tunnel open, and showering it in cascading stone and rubble, effectively sealing off this irritating route from their lands to the snowy mountains of Khaz Modan.
The battle had been a victory, but as Teg'Ramm and his guard of ogre magi picked their way back to Blackrock, he saw that they had suffered quite a number of losses in the process. He would be seeing to the training of their forces, as there had been a breakdown in tactics partway through their defense, which had allowed the dwarves to gain ground they ought not to have.
A sad reality of the art of war was that it had to be ever changing, and while they now held this land more securely, there was much that was still to be done before they were ready to push out for more. From what the orc chieftains reported, that had been Rend Blackhand's flaw, striving for more than they could retain.
Upon return to the mountain, Teg'Ramm was surprised to find word left for him that Draco Malfoy had returned, well in his orcish disguise, and was waiting for him at the top chambers of the mountain, where Lord Nobu'tan had set his place of power and personal chambers, as well as the secret tunnels that led into the black dragon rookery within the volcanic summit of the mountain.
Dismissing his guard to return to their other duties, fine tuning and honing more powerful rune stones to plant throughout the Searing Gorge and Burning Steppes, Teg'Ramm went directly to the side of his Master's closest ally, wondering what the other human wizard turned warlock desired of him.
"You called for me…" Teg asked, even as the massive Ogre entered the private side room off of the main throne hall with its wide balcony overlooking the burning Steppes.
"Yes," Draco replied, the younger human in orc disguise turning from Lord Nobu'tan's massive collection of tomes, scrolls, and other magic implements, gathered and horded from every source that the young human could find in order to better achieve their mutual goals. "I wanted to know when Nobu'tan is expected to return, as I have important information to deliver to him regarding the status of the other Horde."
"Any day, as he went to meet a group that your father had found in the human capitol," Ramm replied. "I expect he was delayed in making sure all the others are safely settled in the human lands."
Draco nodded, a thoughtful look crossing his face, and the ogre smirked. He knew, as did many of the other members of the Stormreavers that one of the young human females had struck a fancy with the youthful leader, and while they were not officially courting, it was apparent that they would do so at the earliest opportunity. It was likely thoughts of this female that had the young man so distracted.
"Well, I suppose it wouldn't hurt to make sure that you, as acting leader of the Stormreavers in Nobu'tan absence are aware of the details before he returns," Draco commented, and proceeded to inform Teg'Ramm of the status of their enemies across the sea, the methods of travel that they had, their numbers, and the power of their fortress Orgrimmar.
It was a lot to take in, to be sure, and Teg'Ramm was certain that their forces were not so numerous, and only the landscape and terrain of their territory would protect them if a sustained attack from such a force were to come at them.
"Luckily," Draco concluded, "it seems that this other Horde is unwilling to cross so close to the human lands in large numbers, or else they might provoke an attack from them as well, as this Alliance and Horde seems to be strongly at odds with each other."
"Which is good for us, for now," Teg'Ramm agreed, "meaning it is only the dwarves, their smaller allies, and possibly the humans that we must be concerned with."
"Yes, and a great deal of damage they have already attempted upon us it seems," Draco continued, and Teg'Ramm knew at that moment that the other Black Harvest member had seen the Searing Gorge as it currently stood.
"Our warriors need more training, and better leaders on the smaller levels," he assessed, and was pleased to find that the human agreed. "Yes, even the fools at the Ministry had a few good heads running them on the lowest levels. Perhaps when Nobu'tan returns we shall convince him to experiment on some of the smarter of the orcs, and see about shaping them into powerhouses that will command respect and obedience in their underlings."
"Why ought we to wait for Nobu'tan to return?" Teg'Ramm suggested, "We could always show the initiative of taking competent strides toward ensuring the survival of the Horde."
"We could…" Draco started in response, "But from what I recall Nobu'tan discussing regarding the orc's history, they've already partaken in the blood of demons before, and a powerful one at that. I do not feel comfortable summoning something of that magnitude without Nobu'tan here to aid us in controlling it to our ends."
Teg'Ramm deflated slightly, knowing that the other warlock was right. "Patience my large friend," Draco said, smirking, "There will be time enough for such exploits soon enough, it's still early in the game yet and there is much for us to do in preparation once Nobu'tan returns."
The ogre mage smirked in return, knowing that his idea, while not being immediately implemented, was not throw to the wayside either by those who were of higher ranking within the order than he.
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Voldemort started to grow uneasy as soon as night fell, as did the other Forsaken undead with him. The patrols had slowed as soon as darkness covered the ground under the thick trees, but the landscape was actually far eerier than he had expected it to become.
"All right," Jadyn said, rising to his feet and drawing his sword and shield, "let's move fast and get past the perimeter sentries. Once were inside the monastery proper it will be easier to take our time and eliminate as many of the Scarlet Crusaders as we can."
Voldemort rose slowly, allowing the misplaced joints and bones of his frame slide back into relative place, after sitting for hours unmoving. Clutching his scepter closely, he followed as the others led the way into the dark grove that led further up the ridge, keeping close watch on all sides for the possibility of enemies emerging from the shadows.
Those fears were unfounded, as the humans here carried lit torches, and were very easily visible from a long way off, and therefore were simple to avoid as they made their way to the monastery's entrance, which was guarded closely. Norward snuck forward as they waited and snuck around behind one of the pair of guards, striking one over the head with the back of his weapon, rendering the farther guard dazed and unable to react when Elden and Jadyn charged in with their weapons, assaulting the lone figure before he could cry out for aide.
Voldemort waited with Melody while the work of removing the outside sentries, and only advanced once the way was clear. "It almost seems too easy…" he commented as they ventured inside, only pausing once to check that they hadn't been seen entering.
"Yeah, almost too easy…" the priest agreed, and the other undead seemed to pause in their progress.
"It might be a trap…" Jadyn agreed, looking up the staircase that led to the main floor of the monastery.
"I'll go on ahead and check it out," Voldemort suggested, stepping forward before the three male undead stepped between him, "If it's a trap, you and Melody ought to be the last of all to go up there," Elden countered, putting a hand up.
Voldemort smirked, slowly pushing the hand out of the way, "I'm stronger than I appear," he said putting only a small amount of his strength behind moving the others out of his way. The others must have been surprised at the strength of his emaciated frame, and couldn't stop him as he marched up the steps toward what was clearly an ambush.
The former Dark Lord noted instantly that the candles in the main floor of the monastery had been quickly snuffed out, and the Death Knight stepped inside cautiously, allowing the magic of death to slowly seep from the truncheon he wielded. "You should not have come here, abomination…" said a voice from further within the rooms, separated from where Voldemort stood by several pillars of stone and iron.
"I've made no mistakes…" Voldemort replied, pinpointing several figures trying to hide in the shadowy alcoves all around him. Widening his stance, Voldemort gripped his weapon closely, waiting for the trap to spring so that he could find the source of the voice.
"Then you will forgive us as we banish you back to the grave you crawled out of…" the voice said with a false sense of piety, and the Dark Lord scoffed.
"You can try," he said, turning quickly and gesturing at one of the side alcoves, blasting the first figure to emerge with a curse of death, sending the armored and robed figure hurtling backward into a table covered in papers and wax.
Others converged on him, and Voldemort raised the truncheon to ward off a strike of a large, two-handed sword in the hands of one of his foes.
The look of surprise on the human quickly changed to dread as Voldemort used his heightened strength to throw him off easily, bringing the small scepter around to crack the fool in the head sharply. Blood burst from where he struck and the man fell away, staggered even as the Dark Lord turned to face his remaining foes.
Magic flared from the other end, and Voldemort caught the beam of light on a hastily raised shield of darkness, allowing his power over death to protect him. Knowing that he was indeed outnumbered, although not outmatched, Voldemort reached out; dragging the corpse of the man he killed back to the realm of the living to serve as his puppet, directing it to beset his foes on that side of the room while he faced off with the remainder, blocking physical strikes with his magically empowered implement.
Catching another attempted blow to his face, Voldemort darted around the fool that swung at him, wrenching the arm painfully behind the armored figure, relishing the snap of bone and cartilage as the limb removed painfully from its designed place.
Placing the head of his implement to the back of the man's head, another green flash caused the figure to crumble to the ground, only to rise once more in undeath and charge one of the mages, who screamed in fright as her once ally turned on her.
An arrow was shot from farther into the monastery, striking Voldemort but bouncing off the armor under his robes harmlessly, and the dead man still living turned to view as more soldiers appeared, before turning tail and fleeing in various directions, further into the monastery proper.
Once their work was done, the reanimated corpses slumped to the ground, Voldemort's power over them dissipated as he released control, and the other Forsaken arrived, weapons drawn and ready to fight, pausing in surprise to find the ambush completely defeated by Voldemort alone.
"I suppose you weren't kidding when you said you'd handle it…" Elden said, impressed, "but now they know we're here, so the fighting will be much more difficult."
"Then I suggest we pick a direction and go swiftly, to prevent at least some of them from preparing for our arrival." Voldemort stated, already moving past the corpses of his former foes toward the rear of the main chamber, where four different passages branched off. Two were set behind locked doors, but Voldemort suspected that he could single-handedly rip one of them off of its hinges.
"From what I can tell," Jadyn said, pulling some parchment from his pack, and studying it closely, "to our right leads to the library while the left passage goes out to the graveyard through the cellars."
"Well, I know which direction I'm inclined to head toward first…" Voldemort said, already turning toward the right side, and the passage that he actually had a personal investment regarding.
The others followed quickly, and Voldemort smirked at how easily he had taken charge of the group, just as he had done time and again in life.
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Narcissa started away from Sentinel Hill alone after a pair of days with Nobu'tan rounding out his series of visits with the people from earth that had settled in the farmlands of Westfall. The young warlock had been rather intrigued by the rumors of the Defias encampment in nearby Moonbrook, although what the leader of the Order of the Black Harvest had in store for the bandits and rogues she did not know, nor wished to.
Afterward, he promised that he would be returning quickly to Blackrock Mountain, and giving Narcissa's son permission to come and visit at his earliest opportunity, which made the Pureblood mother very pleased to learn. She looked forward to introducing her son to the young prince, who had eagerly awaited the arrival of the young man that Narcissa so often compared him to.
But even as she crossed into the lands of Elwynn forest, Narcissa found there to be a large commotion outside the gates of Stormwind. Some sort of precession was traveling in, with people of the city rushing in droves to see. Pulling up short just outside the massive gates of the capital, Narcissa watched from her vantage point on horseback as a large and rugged man strode up the road, bedecked in the blue and gold emblems of the kingdom, much to the appreciation of the people and the soldiers of the Alliance alike.
"Curious…" she muttered to herself, even as she overheard the talk of the people that their king had returned, freed from the Defias that held him ransom, and that the glory of Stormwind would at last return.
Turning her mount, she rode quickly through the Trade District; eager to consult with her husband and learn more of what was going on, deliberately ignoring the press of the crowd that surged in the opposite direction to see their king's return.
Call her insensitive, or perhaps just cautious, but through her senses as a witch, Narcissa could tell that there was something uncertain about the man declaring himself King of Stormwind, something off putting and just wrong.
But, being wiser than many, she would not draw attention to herself at this time and would wait for a better opportunity to confirm her suspicions, especially if she could get near to Anduin and ask the lad's opinion about his 'father's' return.
Unsurprisingly, Lucius was still at their home, nearly uncaring about the commotion outside as he sat peacefully in their sitting room.
"Back so soon my dear?" he asked as Narcissa entered the room, standing to embrace her.
"Yes, and not a moment too soon it seems," she replied glancing back at the door, where the sound of the people could still be heard.
"Oh yes, how odd that the King returns under such strange circumstances, and at just such a moment that the people were starting to grow concerned about their safety…" Lucius commented, raising only a single eyebrow in a knowing manner. Her husband was extremely observant, Narcissa knew, and had clearly been able to tell that she was planning to meddle and discover the truth of this matter.
"Just be safe my dear, Lady Prestor is not what she seems, I think…" Lucius added, having witnessed the woman once as they together had gone to visit the prince in the Keep. Narcissa suspected as well that her husband knew more of the woman than he let on, but he tried ever so hard to protect her from knowledge that he felt she didn't require. It was endearing, if not frustrating.
"I intend to." She said. Despite the seeming ill wind that was flowing around Stormwind, for once Narcissa was feeling somewhat certain that it only minutely had anything to do with the odd woman that was counselor to the Regent Lord. It was strange, however, that Narcissa had noticed the subtle tax that was spread around the Kingdom, and she felt strongly that the supposed ransom that he had heard in passing might be connected to that tax.
But without heading to the Keep and learning first hand from whomever would speak to her she would not learn anything more, so after a small luncheon, which Lucius had actually prepared himself, she changed into a nicer set of robes and cloak and set off toward the Keep on foot.
The roads were thronged with celebrating citizens of the Kingdoms, and even some of the former residents of earth were among them, having adapted quickly to the new society that they had found themselves in. As she walked, Narcissa thought of this phenomenon. The people they had brought, who had been primarily Purebloods and the other wizarding aristocracy from their old world, had long been kept separated from people who lacked their skill in magic, shunning them as lesser beings and possibly enemies if they were discovered.
Now however, when thrust into a world that not only acknowledged the existence of magic, but celebrated it and respected those who were gifted in wielding it alongside those who did not, there wasn't a single one of those former Purebloods who had not flourished or attempted to reach out to know their non-magical neighbors, and had grown happy with what they had found.
Despite the fact that their powers were different than the mages of the arcane, or even the warlocks of the Fel, none of the muggle-type citizens of Stormwind cared, and easily associated the wizards and witches with their mages, loving them just as much for whatever aid they freely gave, just like the mages, who willing went about to assist beautifying the city and offering their services at a price, which appealed to the wizarding people very much, that they could freely use their magic and even be paid to use it for others.
Narcissa had to pause in the canals just before the steps leading up to Stormwind Keep, as the way ahead was almost completely clogged with people of various races, including envoys from the nearby dwarven city of Ironforge. It was a beautiful sight that all were pleased by this event, but still problematic for her to approach efficiently. Still, slipping through what gaps she could find, Narcissa pressed forward steadily, smiling appreciatively when some of the citizen realized who she way and started to make way for her to proceed unhindered.
The people of Stormwind were indeed a delightful type to live with, and Narcissa partially hoped that Nobu'tan would reconsider his initial path of conquest over the entire continent. He had momentarily dwelled on an idea that Narcissa found massively enjoyable. If he was to use their faction, for lack of a better term, to cause both the Alliance and the Horde that existed across the ocean to come together and ally against them, only for them to disappear, either defeated or withdrawing to who-knew-where, before secret reintegrating into the new unified society that had sprung up would be something ideal.
Narcissa felt that peace was what this world needed, after reading and learning much of their recent history from the library of Stormwind Keep, and the constant state of war and battle that had dominated the last several decades.
Finally mounting the steps, and bypassing the guards that were keeping the people at a respectable distance from the entrance of the Keep, likely to allow the King to have a few moments of relative peace after the triumphal return.
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Amid the frozen halls of Naxxramas, Lich Lord Kel'Thuzad was watching the latest experiments of the construct abominations that were mass produced for the future war on the world, when he felt something odd, or a small twinge of remembrance, or some sort of connection reawakening after a long slumber.
Turning from the viewing before him, the Lich tried to determine what he sensed, and from where it was calling him. He had enchanted himself with many spells since his rebirth into undeath, and sifting through them took a long moment of introspection.
Once he found the spell, which tied him to the idea of his old apprentice, and the lord of Naxxramas froze in surprise. The boy, probably not a young man, was alive, and had returned to Azeroth.
Turning without speaking a word, Kel'Thuzad departed, retreating to his personal chambers in order to see if he could determine the location of his old apprentice, and whether it would be possible to send members of the Cult of the Damned to him, in order to determine how this had come to pass, where he had been, and what the current situation with the most powerful Mage the Lich had ever met was.
Thankfully, the Lich King allowed him a great deal of autonomy, and therefore Kel'Thuzad would have no pushback to ordering members of the Scourge to surveillance and tracking the young man wherever he went, and reporting back to the Lich what was going on.
Calling a pair of undead carrier birds, the Lich conjured several parchments with his instructions, before allowing the unerring puppets fly to the closest members of the Cult. However, even with all that he could actually do completed, he still considered taking all of Naxxramas and invading early, just for the excuse to go out and search for the boy himself, but that could not be, as the Lich King had been very direct about when and how they would recommence the Scourging of this world, and while it was very near, it was not the time yet.
However, Kel'Thuzad had cause to petition for Naxxramas to become the forefront of the invasion, as both a base and launching point for their forces through the cities of the Horde and the Alliance.
"Tobias… you will serve the Lich King…" Kel'Thuzad said to himself, conjuring an orb of remote viewing, and beginning to enchant it to follow the boy, if it could, "and soon we will be together once more, changing the world forever."
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Onyxia was not pleased with how quickly things were spiraling out of what she had designed. The submissive part of Varian Wyrnn's nature had returned, too soon for her taste, and had already caused the people within and without the Keep to start asking questions.
'Speaking of people asking questions,' she thought bitterly as she heard the specific click of the strange heeled shoes that belonged to none other than Lady Narcissa Malfoy, even as the woman strode into the audience hall of the Keep with an air of familiarity that ought not to have been.
The Brood Mother would have wanted to do something about such a figure disappearing, but she had spotted the woman's husband as one of those allied with the human warlock now in control of her brother's former fortress, and suddenly understood the woman's purpose. She was here to watch Onyxia in her human disguise and report on her activities.
Just how they had discovered who she was so quickly, the Black Dragon Matriarch had no idea, but still, it was an issue that paled in comparison to the weak willed and foolish half of the King that had been dropped into her domain before she was ready to alter her plans.
With the other half of Varian still missing and potentially dangerous, she was ill at ease to actually do what she had originally planned, in running the whole of Stormwind into the ground. But still, the weaker version of the King would listen to her alone with impunity, and she had to command him to do something in order to appease the populace.
"Ah, Lady Prestor," Lady Malfoy stated as she spotted the disguised Dragon, "I was hoping to have a few words with you, in light of the recent events."
Onyxia froze momentarily, wondering how much these strange people knew of her plans. "I was wondering how the King's return was affecting Anduin," the woman went on, and the dragon calmed somewhat. She was just growing paranoid.
"He is overjoyed," she said with a smile, "having his father here has truly cheered him from his usual behavior…"
"That's good," the other woman responded, "I don't wish to interrupt if they are together, but would it be possible for me to speak with the young Prince when he is available?"
As much as she did not want to permit this, knowing that Anduin was currently showing off his process in various skills to Varian, Onyxia also knew that if she didn't allow the woman to at least see the boy, Lady Malfoy would return again and again until she got her way.
"They are together, however we can go observe them at a distance I think, they are in a courtyard in the back," she said, gesturing for the woman to follow her.
Slowly the two females walked through the more secure parts of the keep, heading toward the expansive gardens that the former queen had requested planted to have the grounds offer more color.
Anduin and Varian were out at the very back of the grounds, where several straw archery targets were set up. The Prince was showcasing his improvement with the weapon, while Varian watched on with pride.
It was interesting for Onyxia to notice that even this more submissive side of the King was loyal to a fault to his son; a trait that she had thought would be separated into the more aggressive side alone, but that was clearly not the case.
Another terrible truth at how Onyxia had seriously misjudged her initial plan and even her fallback of holding the boy hostage now looked like a disaster waiting to happen. "He looks happy…" Lady Malfoy commented, "But doesn't something feel off to you regarding the King?"
Pausing in her thoughts, the black dragoness wondered just what it was that the mortal could sense. But just as quickly as the woman had said it, she shook her head, "Perhaps I am just overreacting because I have Anduin's best interests at heart."
"We all hold the prince dearly," Onyxia said, jumping at the chance to alleviate the dangerously close scrutiny of the perceptive woman, "it is only natural…"
"Yes, I'll allow them to be alone for a bit, but I would very much like to speak with both Anduin and the King at different times, just to ease my worry. Thank you Lady Prestor for allowing me to witness them together…" Lady Malfoy said, bowing slightly before taking her leave.
Onyxia's breathing steadied only after the woman had left. The incessant woman was growing too close to the truth, and the Brood Mother wasn't sure if her complacent puppet of a King would be up to Malfoy's scrutiny, let alone if Anduin could sense that something was different about his father.
If she was going to do anything to make her possible escape easier, it would have to be soon, or else deflect attention away from the newly returned King to something else. Perhaps it was time for Stormwind to start taking seriously the threat that the dwarves had presented them in regards to Blackrock Mountain. With Varian present, it would be easy for her to place blame on the newly restored King for the sudden attacks, and she could slowly funnel her children out of the mountain and to her secret hide-a-way on Kalimdor.
Anduin had just finished firing his last arrow, and the King was applauding his performance. Even as they embraced once more, Onyxia turned away, her own mind already plotting her next move. She might not be able to remain much longer in such a position of power here in Stormwind, partially due to the clever placement of Lady Malfoy by her supposed allies, but she had her ways of making sure that they would be focused on other matters.
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Nobu'tan rode toward the supposedly abandoned village of Moonbrook. He had heard from various villagers, both native to Azeroth and Earth, that the nefarious Defias Brotherhood, made up of disavowed humans that were against the Kingdom of Stormwind had made their main hideout and base somewhere around this location.
Surprisingly there were only a handful of peasants roaming about the outskirts of the village proper when he arrived, and each looked at him unpleasantly as he rode into the town, as though they suspected him of ill will just by his mere presence. Granted, if things didn't go particularly well, they might be right, although Nobu'tan knew they had no way of knowing his true intent with the Defias leadership.
Howbeit, it seemed that the grunts and underlings were well instructed to attack on sight, as he noted many of the commoners withdrew into the dilapidated homes and other buildings for safety, and he could sense the many extra eyes on him as he approached the center of the disused village.
Dismounting swiftly, and making a careful show of taking out his small gnarled staff, Nobu'tan led his horse toward what appeared to be an inn or tavern at the far side, hoping that even if there was no proprietor, he could at least tie up the beast there while he investigated.
Alas, the sentrys for the Defias wouldn't even allow that, and Nobu'tan spun as several tried sneaking up on him, unleashing a blast of Fel fire that startled the horse into galloping away. The orc-raised human released the reins, knowing that he could easily find another beast to carry him back, and in all reality the use of the horse had been for show only. He would simply open a portal back to Blackrock when he was finished here. The bandits leapt back, dodging out of the way of the demonic fire as it scorched the grass before them.
"I come peacefully…" Nobu'tan said, although his posture was purely on the defensive, "I wish to speak to whoever is in charge of your Brotherhood, and see if a deal can be struck to our mutual benefit."
If they were surprised by how easily he noticed their attempted ambush, the rogues were even more surprised at his pronouncement.
"Let him through…" another voice said from the direction of the inn, and Nobu'tan turned to see a larger man wielding a pitchfork, "We'll let VanCleef sort out what his business is. Even if we have to kill him later, it's only one man, magic or no magic."
Nobu'tan smirked in return, but made no more effort to resist as the rogues surrounded him, escorting him into the inn behind the larger leader and into a secret network of tunnels behind it.
"We'll have to blindfold him from here on," the large leader said, "We don't want anyone knowing the route to our base…"
"He is right here, and understands the need for secrecy…" Nobu'tan said lazily, doing his best impression of Draco and Lucius when they were annoyed at not being given the attention they deserved.
"Yes, quite…" the leader said, caught off guard by the sardonic comment, and produced a thick strip of black cloth. "If you'd be so kind…" he requested, offering it to Nobu'tan.
Taking it gingerly, Nobu'tan willingly tied it about his eyes, subtly casting an Eye of Kil'rogg as he did so, rendering their entire desire to blind him irrelevant. They set off once the man in charge was satisfied that Nobu'tan's physical eyes were shrouded, the warlock easily navigating over the various obstacles that hindered the way in the rough cave network.
It was an interesting trip, to say the least. The bandits were uncertain and clearly afraid of Nobu'tan, who time and again gracefully sidestepped various obstacles that they clearly had intended for him to hit, likely to further confuse and disorient him as they made their way through the secret mining, wood processing, and smelting operations of the caves, and finally onto the large dock with a massive ship being built and prepared, likely to actually attack Stormwind altogether.
Only when they were on board did the leader give Nobu'tan permission to remove the cloth, and they started to speak openly, as though they had the warlock in the grip and it didn't matter what they said anymore.
The leader of the Black Harvest however remained silent, observing everything he could as they bypassed the largest bovine creature he had ever seen, who was clearly dressed as some sort of pirate, cutlasses and all, and ascended the scaffolding around the ship to the top deck, where a human waited surrounded by his workers other followers.
"VanCleef," the leader from the inn said, hailing his leader as the man turned to address them," This one has come from outside, requesting to speak with you directly and making some rather, interesting proposals…"
Nobu'tan had done no such thing, but the unspoken signals that passed between the pirate leader and his subordinate were also not lost to him. "Bring him closer…" VanCleef stated, and the guards around Nobu'tan parted to allow him to approach.
"Edwin VanCleef I presume…" Nobu'tan started, offering his hand to the man. "I've heard such wondrous things regarding you; I admit that I was surprised that any of it was even true…"
The man chuckled as he shook the offered hand, "Yes, the folly of Stormwind sometimes is a marvel to hear about, let alone have confirmed… but speak you piece, so I can decide what is to be done about you…"
"Of course…" Nobu'tan replied, reaching into his robes and ignoring the weapons that were readied as he pulled a small scroll from within his garments.
"So jumpy…" he commented, unrolling the parchment and overlooking the contact that he had made. Addressing VanCleef once more, he continued, "I have recently come into possession of a great track of land, and I need stonemasons, if you are willing to have another means of income for your little rebellion…"
Passing the contract over, which contained the details regarding the project of reinforcing the great gates north of Redridge on the boarders of the Burning Steppes, as well as the mountain fortress of Blackrock, and the construction of similar stonework to block off the Searing gorge from the Badlands, Nobu'tan waited as the man read over the hastily made document, enjoying as the man's eyes shot up past his brow.
"You can't be serious," he said, looking up at Nobu'tan with something resembling fear and admiration.
"Deadly serious, Stonemaster VanCleef…" Nobu'tan affirmed, "I care nothing for your hatred and rebellion against Stormwind, but your skill is valuable, and I wish to make use of it, if you are agreeable…"
"The price of the materials alone would be…" he started.
"Money is no object…" Nobu'tan cut off, silencing the man's protest. The greed in his eyes was unmistakable, and the warlock knew that he had the other man quite well.
"I will need some sort of proof…" he countered, almost too predictably.
"I would think less of you if you did not ask for such a thing," Nobu'tan said, producing a solid bar of pure gold from his robes, plundered from the dwarven treasury, "take this with my compliments as a down payment for your services…" he said, letting the heavy bar of precious metal drop to the ground with a heavy thud.
The jaws of many of the pirates also hit the floor, albeit metaphorically, and the fact that they had allowed a man with such treasure on his person so close to their leader without taking it clearly struck them as foolishness on their part.
"So, do we have a bargain?" Nobu'tan asked once more, awaiting the answer of the man he hoped to help him build up his fortress nation.
VanCleef was silent for a long moment, rolling the bar of gold over in his hands after another pirate scooped it up and handed it to him.
Eventually, the man seemed to return to himself enough to look Nobu'tan in the eye, "let this man go, he is a client of our handiwork, and get us something to eat and some chairs, there is business to discuss in great detail."
