Elinel
"Addikus!" Elinel's voice booms across the Ring of Fates. Instead of a tall dark elf, her voice is coming from a bright blue wolfhawk. She sounds panicked as she gallops toward the Forsaken. "Addikus! Thank the Gods I found somebody. I have a problem. I need your help."
Addikus
Addikus turns away from the curiosity vendor, Acquirer Ta'Gosh, with whom he had been negotiating the price of a backpack full of teeth. The veteran Grim tilts his head at the panicking wolfhawk. At first he doesn't recognize the spectral form but then its voice registers in his mind. Addikus asks, "Elinel, is that ye? What is it?"
Elinel
Elinel takes a deep breath and blurts out “I had a bit of an accident in Torghast. I was able to track a target of mine to the tower, and long story short - he killed me. But just as he did I was able to use the gift the Night Fae gave me and now my body is lying in Torghast and my soul is stuck in this form. I can’t go back to my body even if I could. The Kirin Tor know about me and they’ve been watching me. The Grim would be in danger if the Kirin Tor found them through me. I...” She pauses and composes herself for a moment. “I need a new body. It has to be a mage. And I need help getting it.” Elinel pauses again. “From Dalaran. Please Addikus, can you help me?”
Addikus
Addikus listens to the flurry of words and then considers them for a moment, allowing the question to linger in the brief silence between he and Elinel's wolfhawk form. Then he sniffs, rolls his shoulders, and says "Aye Grim, I will help ye. One order fer a mage's body from Dalaran, coming up. Ye want it living or dead? Male or female, or don't it matter? Ye care if it has a few extra holes in it, or should I refrain from puttin me daggers in its hide?"
Elinel
Elinel lets out a sigh of relief. "Thank you, Addikus. I am truly in your debt." She thinks for a few moments, her canine eyes searching the ceiling.
"If you can find her, Audra Renn would be the perfect candidate. She is a half elf mage who has similar arcane talents to my own, so biologically our magics should be compatible. She works in the Illusion and Transformation Governance department so her daily tasks take her all over the world, but I do know that her personal quarters are located in the upper levels of the Magus Commerce Exchange. Please try to keep her as intact as possible. If you can get her to the Shadowlands as quickly as possible, she doesn't need to remain alive. Though I do hope that we have a warlock or a death knight who can reanimate the body long enough for me to...take over."
The wolfhawk opens up her backpack and roots her snout around for a while, then pulls out a scroll and nudges it into Addikus's hand. It appears to be a holiday newsletter. "Audra is the blonde with the very short ears in the Winter's Veil party photo ," she scoffs loudly, "wearing the antler hat. I hope that personality isn't genetic."
Addikus
Addikus takes the scroll and studies the image of Audra Renn for a moment before handing it back to the wolfhawk. "There be two ways te approach this, mum. First, there be the old smash-and-grab, which can make some noise but it'll get the job done quick. Second, I can keep it quiet, and maybe nobody will even notice she's gone. That can take a bit more time te set up, but if ye mean te take her place, it may be the wiser thing. How do ye want it, Elinel?"
Elinel
Elinel places the scroll back into her backpack. After struggling with the closure for an embarrassing amount of time, she gives up and sits down. "Let's make sure nobody notices she's gone. Then I can take her place without skipping a beat. The Kirin Tor won't notice that Renn is missing and I will be dead." Elinel chuckles at that. "In two ways, actually." Her voice betrays the sadness of the situation. She sighs and says quietly "I'm sure they've contacted my family by now. This is for the best." Elinel shakes her head and stands up, her tone suddenly changing to forced positivity. "Addikus, would you mind fastening my backpack's closure for me? I seem to be missing thumbs."
Addikus
The Forsaken nods and kneels and fastens the backpack's closure, saying, "Aye then. As fer the other bit, ye might ask the Coven whether any of them knows how te get in contact with the felmancer, Greebo. When it comes te moving a soul from one vessel te another, that Greebo thing might be yer mightiest help."
Addikus stands up and addresses Acquirer Ta'Gosh, "Yer discretion always be appreciated, Taggy. I know I can count on ye te keep me secrets as if yer life depended on it."
He returns his attention to the wolfhawk. "If ye can't get Greebo te aid ye, ye have other options. Trentil, Malkarris, Zitrom, Vellanoria, be just the first few te come te mind."
Finally, the Forsaken says, "I'll get te work right away. First thing is I need te track down some particular . . . flowers."
The Vessel
Re: The Vessel
Elinel
"Thank you, Addikus. Please let me know what I can do to help, but as of right now I don't have access to my usual magic...so I'm not sure how much help I can be."
Elinel departs from Addikus and walks around Oribos looking for other Grim. "I could be waiting for hours again," she says to herself. "Without the feeling of mana, I feel so...empty. Is this what normal people feel like all the time?"
Out of the corner of her eye, she sees a troll suddenly disappear in a cloud of green leaves. "My hearthstone!" she cries as she rips open her freshly fastened backpack. She digs around and . pulls out her Grim hall hearthstone. Holding it in her mouth she concentrates on the Grim hall and disappears in a cloud of blue.
When she arrives she places the hearthstone back into her backpack, picks it up with her mouth, and runs toward a group of Grims - one of which is Syreenna . Elinel stands among the group and tries to patiently wait for the previous conversation to finish."Shadowblade Sir. Er, Ma'am. It's me - Supplicant Elinel." Elinel continues without explaining her current wolfhawk state. "Addikus told me that the Coven may be able to help me get in contact with a felmancer named Greebo, or any other Grim who would be able to transfer a soul to an empty vessel. Do you know where I could find somebody with these talents?"
Syreenna
Syreena slowly turns to the beast with a raised brow. "Didn't your mother ever tell you if you kept swapping illusions, you might get stuck like that? Or is this your way of protecting your ears from me?" She grinned wickedly.
Elinel
"It's funny you say that. I am. Stuck that is. To be more specific, all that exists of me is my soul. Which is apparently a wolfhawk. Though I'm not sure you can actually eat these ears."
Syreenna
Syreena shook her head. "Too furry," she agreed. "So...Attie suggested Greebo could help you, and what? You want me to contact him for you?"
Elinel
Elinel sounds as if she is trying to hide her panic. "I would greatly appreciate it if you could. Addikus said Greebo may have the skills to help. If he is willing. Addikus has agreed to procure a body for me."
Syreenna
Her eyes narrowed as she considered something. "Yes, I'm sure he could. Our Grim warlocks are most trusted and revered," she said, hiding her sarcasm. Briefly, she wondered if Addicus was angry with Elinel, that he would subject her to a Grim felmancer. "I'm confused though....how did your soul fall out of your body? And how did you get it into this beast?"
Elinel
"I wish I understood, myself. I have forged a bond with the Night Fae and one of the gifts they have bestowed upon me is the ability for my soul to take animal form. I've discovered that using this ability allows me to blink away when I'm too exhausted to conjure the power to blink. Earlier today I finally tracked one of my Kirin Tor targets to Torghast, but it turns out he was also tracking me. As was the Kirin Tor, apparently. As we dueled inside the tower, I used this Night Fae ability to attempt to dodge his killing blow. But I didn't."
Elinel paused for a few moments. "He struck me down. But my soul remained in this form. I was able to gather my wits quickly enough to finish him off before he noticed me. He revealed to me that he managed to contact the Kirin Tor once the Alliance found him in The Maw and they've been looking for me. Which means they could use me to find you. Find us. So I left my body behind so they will think I'm dead."
Elinel begins to laugh, which looks strange coming from a wolf's head. "This sounds preposterous."
Syreenna
Unfortunately, it didn't sound as preposterous to Syreena as it might to some people, but she agreed anyway. "Yes, it does. And what a waste of such a perfect pair of ears," she said cruelly in her raspy voice. She took her hearthstone out and touched one of the runes on its surface. "Twice-made, can you hear me?" She didn't bother identifying herself, figuring she had a voice distinctive enough for any Grim to recognize.
Greebo
faint "Ma'am? It hasaaah beensometime I suspect. How mmm long?"
Syreenna
"Long," she confirmed, eyeing Elinel. "A Grim has need of your skills. Are you well?"
Greebo
"Uninjured. Uncorporeal. Where?"
Syreenna
Her brow furrowed, but she shook her head. "We have a new base in the Alterac Mountains. I'll send you the coordinates."
Greebo
"The tunnels. I haveaaa beenthere. If the seal on my quarters is mmm unbroken? I can return withinthehour." Greebo's voice is breathy/wheezy and the pacing isn't particularly normal, given an imperfect control over his lungs. Physical speech isn't his mother tongue and he's sometimes unsure of the right word.
Elinel
Elinel looks at Syreenna. "He sounds.....different?"
Greebo
(( a screeching sound of metal scraping on metal will be heard deep in the tunnels in 43 minutes ))
Syreenna
"He's Forsaken," Syreena said, as if that explained it all.
Elinel
"He doesn't sound like any Forsaken I've ever heard before, but I will take your word for it."
Greebo
"Mmmm and I've never ahhhh beenabletotellyourkindapaert either" says a tall, slightly stooped and creakiing form as it strides out from the depths of the Grim halls. He tilts his head from side to side, cracking his neck and removes his helm.
"Ma'am. Such a pleasure once mmm more. How may I be of service?"
in a whispered aside to Syreena he says "unless they're missing an ear mmm? thentheycanbeidentified"
Elinel
Instead of an elf, a bright blue wolfhawk stands before you, but speaks with the lyric voice of an elf. "It's a pleasure to meet you, thank you for answering Syreenna's call. Addikus tells me that you may have the unique talent of being able to transfer my soul into an empty body."
Syreenna
Syreena looks from Elinel to Greebo with half a shrug. "Missing both ears, actually. Along with the rest of her body.
"This is Elinel, a Grim Supplicant, who likes to take on illusions. She says this is something from Ardenweald, but I suspect she got a spell wrong. It would be amusing to see what Qabian would have to say about that." She grinned at the thought.
"Anyway, she wants you to help do something with her soul."
Greebo
His yellow eyes glow and flicker slightly. "Interesting. I mmmmm indeed have some familiaritywiththis" Looking at Syreena he asks "For future storage? Or does it ahhhhh have a body in mind?"
Syreenna
"She said Addikus would be providing a body."
Greebo
"Should I doitnow? We could ahhhhh pour it out later."
Elinel
Elinel's voice wavers. "Pour it out?"
Greebo
Looking at the hawk, he murmurs "I am told that ahhhh the pain is not unbearable."
Elinel
"I actually don't think I have nerve endings right now."
Greebo
"Well. Pouring ismerelyaword that ahhh provides a mental image."
"Leaking? A soul gem, crushed? in a properahhh vessel will release its contents. If mmm thebodyisprepared properly, it will settle."
"I warn you, however, that eachtransferenceweakens the ahhhh ability of the soul to tether."
Syreenna
Syreena raised a brow at that, storing that little tidbit away for possible later use.
Greebo
"After a mmmmm dozen or so? you may findyourselfwandering."
"Or , some say, you may find? a fellow travelerridingalong"
Elinel
"I hope to not make a habit of hopping bodies."
Greebo
His face gains a haughty appearance "I can't see a second soul settling? in one body. I myself don't believeawordofit"
"They always say that, and they're ahhhh back? inamonthortwo."
a pensive look crosses his features and he scuttles away, returning a few minutes later with a rattling trolley
Elinel
"Out of curiosity...how many of these have you done?"
Greebo
"A supplicant, is it?" he asks Syreena. His eyes narrow. "Several. Each aaahhh as successful as I desired? it to be."
"Further tales can be read in ahhhh theHarbingersHalls"
Syreenna
"A supplicant," Syreena confirmed, a grin tugging at her patchwork stitched face at his success rate.
Elinel
"The new body doesn't have to be alive, right?"
"Because if she does, I need to contact Addikus."
Greebo
"Livingisbetter ahhhh the hooks that hold your mmm soul? decay rapidly. A closerahhhh match to who you are gives a tighter? fit." Greebo begins to re-arrange the furniture in whatever room they find themselves in, clearing space on the ground for three circle that he draws in a silvery liquid that lets of a hissing smoke – acrid? sweet? indescribable? best-left-unscented? – as he pours it from a container much too small in volume for the amount currently staining the tiled floor. He asks servants to bring various pieces of equipment from storage of names unheard of in years, expressing somewhat painful displeasure when they claim ignorance of the name or the technology, but a copy of Khorviss' gem of seeing, and some of Bloodscream's old control panels at least are brought to supplement the technology he assembles from his own stockpiles. Runes are written, or are they electron waveform derivatives? Those attending do well not to listen too closely, or at least to see a priest, The Araun for healing or guidance if they do. "de Broglie's wave equation allows us to guide the soul, and condense the particle within the gem ... Hamilton was an ass."
A few interminable days or hours later he drops the last latch shut on the last obscenely sharp flensing arm and looks back at his handiwork, a pleased expression stretching the dry flesh almost to the point of ripping. Focusing arrays share space with bubbling alembics, processing banks crafted in arcane materials display measurements and calculations of cryptic but assumedly precise and correct values. He looks around for Syreenna and points at one circle. "It will stand there," and waving at another "and the ahhhh to-be-emptyvesselwill be mmmm held? there."
"Is Pincus still reachable? He at least ahhhhh knows how to drain to the edge of oblivion without mmm cuttingthethreadcompletely. We must superpose" "I of course will stand here, and extract."
No trace what-so-ever of any non-euclidean geometries or otherwise mentally corrosive influence can be seen at all.
Syreenna
Syreena glanced at the wolfhawk and gestured to the circle Greebo had indicated. Then she picked up her hearthstone again. “Addikus, we’re ready for the body.”
"Thank you, Addikus. Please let me know what I can do to help, but as of right now I don't have access to my usual magic...so I'm not sure how much help I can be."
Elinel departs from Addikus and walks around Oribos looking for other Grim. "I could be waiting for hours again," she says to herself. "Without the feeling of mana, I feel so...empty. Is this what normal people feel like all the time?"
Out of the corner of her eye, she sees a troll suddenly disappear in a cloud of green leaves. "My hearthstone!" she cries as she rips open her freshly fastened backpack. She digs around and . pulls out her Grim hall hearthstone. Holding it in her mouth she concentrates on the Grim hall and disappears in a cloud of blue.
When she arrives she places the hearthstone back into her backpack, picks it up with her mouth, and runs toward a group of Grims - one of which is Syreenna . Elinel stands among the group and tries to patiently wait for the previous conversation to finish."Shadowblade Sir. Er, Ma'am. It's me - Supplicant Elinel." Elinel continues without explaining her current wolfhawk state. "Addikus told me that the Coven may be able to help me get in contact with a felmancer named Greebo, or any other Grim who would be able to transfer a soul to an empty vessel. Do you know where I could find somebody with these talents?"
Syreenna
Syreena slowly turns to the beast with a raised brow. "Didn't your mother ever tell you if you kept swapping illusions, you might get stuck like that? Or is this your way of protecting your ears from me?" She grinned wickedly.
Elinel
"It's funny you say that. I am. Stuck that is. To be more specific, all that exists of me is my soul. Which is apparently a wolfhawk. Though I'm not sure you can actually eat these ears."
Syreenna
Syreena shook her head. "Too furry," she agreed. "So...Attie suggested Greebo could help you, and what? You want me to contact him for you?"
Elinel
Elinel sounds as if she is trying to hide her panic. "I would greatly appreciate it if you could. Addikus said Greebo may have the skills to help. If he is willing. Addikus has agreed to procure a body for me."
Syreenna
Her eyes narrowed as she considered something. "Yes, I'm sure he could. Our Grim warlocks are most trusted and revered," she said, hiding her sarcasm. Briefly, she wondered if Addicus was angry with Elinel, that he would subject her to a Grim felmancer. "I'm confused though....how did your soul fall out of your body? And how did you get it into this beast?"
Elinel
"I wish I understood, myself. I have forged a bond with the Night Fae and one of the gifts they have bestowed upon me is the ability for my soul to take animal form. I've discovered that using this ability allows me to blink away when I'm too exhausted to conjure the power to blink. Earlier today I finally tracked one of my Kirin Tor targets to Torghast, but it turns out he was also tracking me. As was the Kirin Tor, apparently. As we dueled inside the tower, I used this Night Fae ability to attempt to dodge his killing blow. But I didn't."
Elinel paused for a few moments. "He struck me down. But my soul remained in this form. I was able to gather my wits quickly enough to finish him off before he noticed me. He revealed to me that he managed to contact the Kirin Tor once the Alliance found him in The Maw and they've been looking for me. Which means they could use me to find you. Find us. So I left my body behind so they will think I'm dead."
Elinel begins to laugh, which looks strange coming from a wolf's head. "This sounds preposterous."
Syreenna
Unfortunately, it didn't sound as preposterous to Syreena as it might to some people, but she agreed anyway. "Yes, it does. And what a waste of such a perfect pair of ears," she said cruelly in her raspy voice. She took her hearthstone out and touched one of the runes on its surface. "Twice-made, can you hear me?" She didn't bother identifying herself, figuring she had a voice distinctive enough for any Grim to recognize.
Greebo
faint "Ma'am? It hasaaah beensometime I suspect. How mmm long?"
Syreenna
"Long," she confirmed, eyeing Elinel. "A Grim has need of your skills. Are you well?"
Greebo
"Uninjured. Uncorporeal. Where?"
Syreenna
Her brow furrowed, but she shook her head. "We have a new base in the Alterac Mountains. I'll send you the coordinates."
Greebo
"The tunnels. I haveaaa beenthere. If the seal on my quarters is mmm unbroken? I can return withinthehour." Greebo's voice is breathy/wheezy and the pacing isn't particularly normal, given an imperfect control over his lungs. Physical speech isn't his mother tongue and he's sometimes unsure of the right word.
Elinel
Elinel looks at Syreenna. "He sounds.....different?"
Greebo
(( a screeching sound of metal scraping on metal will be heard deep in the tunnels in 43 minutes ))
Syreenna
"He's Forsaken," Syreena said, as if that explained it all.
Elinel
"He doesn't sound like any Forsaken I've ever heard before, but I will take your word for it."
Greebo
"Mmmm and I've never ahhhh beenabletotellyourkindapaert either" says a tall, slightly stooped and creakiing form as it strides out from the depths of the Grim halls. He tilts his head from side to side, cracking his neck and removes his helm.
"Ma'am. Such a pleasure once mmm more. How may I be of service?"
in a whispered aside to Syreena he says "unless they're missing an ear mmm? thentheycanbeidentified"
Elinel
Instead of an elf, a bright blue wolfhawk stands before you, but speaks with the lyric voice of an elf. "It's a pleasure to meet you, thank you for answering Syreenna's call. Addikus tells me that you may have the unique talent of being able to transfer my soul into an empty body."
Syreenna
Syreena looks from Elinel to Greebo with half a shrug. "Missing both ears, actually. Along with the rest of her body.
"This is Elinel, a Grim Supplicant, who likes to take on illusions. She says this is something from Ardenweald, but I suspect she got a spell wrong. It would be amusing to see what Qabian would have to say about that." She grinned at the thought.
"Anyway, she wants you to help do something with her soul."
Greebo
His yellow eyes glow and flicker slightly. "Interesting. I mmmmm indeed have some familiaritywiththis" Looking at Syreena he asks "For future storage? Or does it ahhhhh have a body in mind?"
Syreenna
"She said Addikus would be providing a body."
Greebo
"Should I doitnow? We could ahhhhh pour it out later."
Elinel
Elinel's voice wavers. "Pour it out?"
Greebo
Looking at the hawk, he murmurs "I am told that ahhhh the pain is not unbearable."
Elinel
"I actually don't think I have nerve endings right now."
Greebo
"Well. Pouring ismerelyaword that ahhh provides a mental image."
"Leaking? A soul gem, crushed? in a properahhh vessel will release its contents. If mmm thebodyisprepared properly, it will settle."
"I warn you, however, that eachtransferenceweakens the ahhhh ability of the soul to tether."
Syreenna
Syreena raised a brow at that, storing that little tidbit away for possible later use.
Greebo
"After a mmmmm dozen or so? you may findyourselfwandering."
"Or , some say, you may find? a fellow travelerridingalong"
Elinel
"I hope to not make a habit of hopping bodies."
Greebo
His face gains a haughty appearance "I can't see a second soul settling? in one body. I myself don't believeawordofit"
"They always say that, and they're ahhhh back? inamonthortwo."
a pensive look crosses his features and he scuttles away, returning a few minutes later with a rattling trolley
Elinel
"Out of curiosity...how many of these have you done?"
Greebo
"A supplicant, is it?" he asks Syreena. His eyes narrow. "Several. Each aaahhh as successful as I desired? it to be."
"Further tales can be read in ahhhh theHarbingersHalls"
Syreenna
"A supplicant," Syreena confirmed, a grin tugging at her patchwork stitched face at his success rate.
Elinel
"The new body doesn't have to be alive, right?"
"Because if she does, I need to contact Addikus."
Greebo
"Livingisbetter ahhhh the hooks that hold your mmm soul? decay rapidly. A closerahhhh match to who you are gives a tighter? fit." Greebo begins to re-arrange the furniture in whatever room they find themselves in, clearing space on the ground for three circle that he draws in a silvery liquid that lets of a hissing smoke – acrid? sweet? indescribable? best-left-unscented? – as he pours it from a container much too small in volume for the amount currently staining the tiled floor. He asks servants to bring various pieces of equipment from storage of names unheard of in years, expressing somewhat painful displeasure when they claim ignorance of the name or the technology, but a copy of Khorviss' gem of seeing, and some of Bloodscream's old control panels at least are brought to supplement the technology he assembles from his own stockpiles. Runes are written, or are they electron waveform derivatives? Those attending do well not to listen too closely, or at least to see a priest, The Araun for healing or guidance if they do. "de Broglie's wave equation allows us to guide the soul, and condense the particle within the gem ... Hamilton was an ass."
A few interminable days or hours later he drops the last latch shut on the last obscenely sharp flensing arm and looks back at his handiwork, a pleased expression stretching the dry flesh almost to the point of ripping. Focusing arrays share space with bubbling alembics, processing banks crafted in arcane materials display measurements and calculations of cryptic but assumedly precise and correct values. He looks around for Syreenna and points at one circle. "It will stand there," and waving at another "and the ahhhh to-be-emptyvesselwill be mmmm held? there."
"Is Pincus still reachable? He at least ahhhhh knows how to drain to the edge of oblivion without mmm cuttingthethreadcompletely. We must superpose" "I of course will stand here, and extract."
No trace what-so-ever of any non-euclidean geometries or otherwise mentally corrosive influence can be seen at all.
Syreenna
Syreena glanced at the wolfhawk and gestured to the circle Greebo had indicated. Then she picked up her hearthstone again. “Addikus, we’re ready for the body.”
Re: The Vessel
Addikus
Night has fallen over Dalaran and the floating city sparkles in the darkness. Arcane lamps cast light through bedroom windows and down from streetlamps. Addikus moves through the spaces between those lights, a shadow among shadows. He doesn't breathe, doesn't suffer from the frigidness of the northern air, doesn't make a noise. The hearthstone that is tucked in his hip pocket flashes with heat and then with cold - a signal that a message is coming. Then, with a rapid sequence of subtle vibrations and temperature changes, an encoded message comes through: They are ready for the body. The Forsaken takes out the stone and traces a rune on its face, altering its mode so that he can speak and be spoken to through it. "Ay mum, Elinel said I had time te pull off the job quiet-wise. I haint quite done it. Barely finished getting me flowers all sorted."
He toys with a syrette of some deadly poison with his other hand. "Got something that should kill her stone-dead in a jiff. Perhaps the most painful jiff she ever felt, but she won't make no noise and her corpse will be fit fer Elinel te use right after. I just need a bit of time te sneak in and do the thing and sneak out without nobody seeing."
Elinel
This is forbidden magic in Dalaran. Elinel watches the preparations with excited academic interest, but also a feeling of dread. Many of her peers have speculated on the theory of what is about to happen - some have even attempted to theorize on alternate methods using different schools of magic. She never thought she would be able to see something like this and wishes she had fingers and thumbs to scribble notes.
The wolfhawk walks over to the indicated circle, sits down, and nods at Greebo. Her mind keeps going back to Addikus and fears for his safety. This was a dangerous request as Dalaran is a heavily fortified and bustling city. Thankfully many are away from the city visiting their families for Winter's Veil, so there couldn't have been a much better time than this.
Greebo
Greebo was standing corpse-still, staring at a console when, several moments later, Syreena's words trickled up from his subconscious. Leaning forward he murmured into his hearthstone "Body, Hand, not corpse. I remember your preference and how easily youaaaah can conflate? the two."
Addikus
Addikus is confused for a moment by the phrase, "body, Hand," thinking that the two words contradict - does Greebo want the body or just the hand? But then he recognizes that Greebo is calling him by his old title, The Hand of the Grim, which was an honorific traditionally reserved for the Grim officer who led the guild's efforts against the Alliance. He has not been called that for quite some time, nor has anyone, because the title fell out of use many years ago. It had been held by himself, and by Drinn, and by Cristok, and perhaps others. Addikus thought, then, of Riana, who did not currently bear the title, but who should be called Hand according to the old tradition. All these thoughts passed through his mind in a proverbial heartbeat, and he tucked the last one away for later.
They want the target to be taken alive.
"Ah, fell," he says into the hearthstone. "I ain't prepared fer that. Don't blame me if things get . . . messy."
He retraces the runes on the hearthstone, altering the way it functions so that whatever it does, it will do it without making a noise, then he slips the stone back into his pocket. He looks at the syrette in his hand, drops the viciously deadly thing to the cobblestone street, and crushes it beneath the heel of his boot. He takes a deep breath into his dead lungs and then expels some dead air. He looks upward toward the night sky, at the wavering bands of green and blue light over the horizon, and speaks to himself, saying, "Alright. New plan."
He applies mind-numbing poison to his main-hand dagger, crippling poison to the offhand. He sheathes the blades and retrieves something else from a hidden pocket - a small device that a member of the Royal Apothecary Society had called a "blight gernade."
He bounces the gernade in his palm. He recalls the instructions: pull the pin and throw it downwind. This would do for a diversion.
Addikus works out the details of his new plan while on the move. He thinks of something and briefly uses the stone again, saying, "Grim, I'll need a portal-maker te get me out of Dalaran. Wait fer me in Runeweaver Square - and let me warn ye, I'll be coming in hot, and with a passenger." Then he alters his course. Instead of moving toward the Magus Commerce Exchange, he moves toward the Silver Enclave, where members of the Alliance congregate. He wonders if the people there still remember the Wrath Gate.
Hidon
Hidon sets the final plate of his meal of the bar near 'his' stool. He takes a step back and smiles. Eight plates of all kinds of things he found in the guild hall's stores. He's not sure what all of it is, but it all looked appetizing to him. Some might of had the name of other guild members on them. Surely they won't mind.
He leisurely walks around the bar to his stool, steps up onto bottom rail and plops right onto it. The stool creaks in objection, but has no choice. Hidon begins doing his pre-eat stretches, stretching his arms for maximum mobility, his neck to prevent a strain, and... his belly?
He gazes upon the feast laid before him. He re-arranges them, in order of consumption. Dessert first, of course. He grabs what seems to be a stuffed danish. He remembers them being in a crusty bag, which is still on the bar. He happens to read it what is crudely written on it.
"It do be forbidden to eat this."
HIdon ponders a moment, where has he heard that strange grammar before...
Hidon shrugs, the danish was a rich brown, with an oozing red filling. It had littel green and white flecks on top. "The start to every great meal should an even better-"
Hidon robe starts crackling to life. A faint murmer, as if it were talking!
Hidon frowns and reaches into his garments, pulling his hearthstone out from under one of his generous folds.
"-portal-maker te get me out of Dalaran. Wait for me-" HIdon sighs. Pain flashes across his face as he comes to realization of what must be done.
He thinks a moment, beginning to point at eat plate rhythmically. "Eenie, meanie, miney-"
He grabs a leg of meat quickly, "GO!" He snaps his fingers, and is gone.
The guild's bar sits empty, with a hearty meal ready for the next person to walk in.
Dustfingur
With a pleasant aroma wafting the guild halls. Zalanjo follows his nose to what would surely be a wondrous sight. He peers into the room where the scent originated and there sat a lonely feast laid out before him on the bar, calling his name. As he walked into the room he notices there is no Grim in sight. No one enjoying the spread.
As the troll walks up to the food and very briefly wonders who would have left this alone. He changes his thoughts and begins to assume this is a test. One of the other Dread Coven must have set this up to test him. See if he would fall prey to the trap. Little did they know, he was onto them. He's too smart for his own good.
Zalanjo begins eating off the first plate. He only takes a few bites, not enough to finish what is left on the plate. With each new plate he would eat more or less than the last. After having his fill he lets out a soft belch that had crept up from within. With a satisfied smile he pulls out a parchment from his satchel along with a pointed stick and vial of ink. He pops the cork and dips the stick into the dark liquid and begins to write.
"Dis Loopy. I eat de food. No one else. Jus me. Tank you fo de food. I like it. Me. Loopy."
With a clever grin on his face he sets down the letter next to the scene and walks away with a little pep in his step.
Addikus
Drunken revelers spill out from one of the tap-houses in the Silver Enclave, largely oblivious to the cold of this night - which happens to be very close to Winter's Veil. The eggnog in their stomachs and the alcohol in their veins have dulled their senses. Slowed their thoughts. One of these revelers, a pink-mustached gnome, discovers a small, lidded box at the center of the open courtyard where they stand. Festive paper wraps the box, and a tag has been attached to it. The tag reads, "A gift for the alliance. - G." The gnome twirls his mustache while some thoughts drunkenly swim toward the surface of his consciousness. He says, "Wait a minute, m'lads. I am a alliance. Perhaps this present is for me!" The other revelers crowd around him. One of them says, "Go one then, Pinkwhistle, and open 'er up." The gnome asks, "But who or what do you figure this 'G' is?" "Why, Greatfather Winter, of course."
The gnome nods, satisfied with that answer, then unties the ribbon enclosing the box and lifts the lid.
Addikus lurks on a balcony attached to one of the largest buildings two districts away from the Silver Enclave - in the Magus Commerce Exchange. He peeks through a gap between a curtain and the wall, looking into the adjoining apartment. Therein a blonde, half-elven woman sits at an ornate writing desk, busily scribbling in a spell-book. The room has been furnished by someone with an eye for elegance and craftsmanship. Furthermore, this person has put a thought or two to their own personal security - for they have placed protective wards all around the door and windows that connect the apartment to the balcony. The Forsaken cannot discern the precise function of these wards. As far as he knows, they might do anything from sound an alarm to blast him into nothingness, which makes him grateful for the fact that his new plan does not involve him getting inside of the place. Rather, the plan is to get the woman to come out.
Hidon
Hidon pulled his robe close and lowered the rim of his reed cowl as a cold wind cut through Runeweaver Square. A gaggle of pinkskins had made their way into the enclosed area to sit by the fountain and continue their drinking and merriment. They laughed and began breaking the surface of the just-freezing water in the fountain and playfully splashed at each other. One of the dwarves wet their beard and let it frost up to be laughed at.
Hidon rolled his eyes staying out of sight, walking around the side of entry building to a small alley. The wind couldn't reach him hear and he could barely hear the slave-kind at the center of the square. Old empty crates lined the end of the alley.
Hidon took the unfinished leg of meat out from under his robe. It was already cold. He tossed it behind him into the middle of the alley, and began rubbing his massive paws together. He brought them up to his mouth and blew into them. Blue smoke poured from his hands and in moments was completely enveloped.
Out of the smoke a snow white vulpin pounced out of the smoke onto the crates in the alley. Slowly it rounded it's way up, hopping onto the upper wall closing off the alley. It looked upward to the roof of the entry building and nimbly ascended. The roof was beginning to ice and the vulpins feet slipped a few times before finding grip with its claws.
"Ugh, mah mead 'iz gettin cold!" said one of the dwarves to the rest of the group. "Aye, ya 'idnt drrink it faz enuff!" exclaimed the frozen bearded one, rocking back and forth on the fountain's edge. A green haired gnome laughed joyously at her own inebriation, closing her eyes and raising her chin to the sky, to let the cold air cool her blushed face. Slowly opening her eyes, her vision slowly refocused on a small white object sitting atop the northwest entry way of the square. "HEY! What's that up there?" she pointed, barely managing to keep herself upright. "Er-what? That? Uhhh, looks like a worg! How'd a worg get up here!" another said. "Shu-up, ya idgit. It's one of them vulpins." a dwaven lass said, seemingly more sober.
"How'd it get here? An' wuzzat round it's neck! Izzat a.. drinking flask?"
Addikus
In the Silver Enclave, in the courtyard, Pinkwhistle the gnome stares inside of the box. It contains only a spherical object made of some dull metal. A small dial on top of the sphere rotates counter-clockwise, making a low ratcheting noise as it does so. Now the gnome notices that something dangles from the inside of the lid - a pin attached to a string. "Um," he says.
In the Magus Exchange, in her apartment, Audra Renn sits back from her work and stares at the page. Her vision has gone somewhat blurry from the hours of intense concentration.
Something happens. A flicker of green light at the peripheral of her vision. She turns toward the window, frowning. The change had happened in a blink and then it was gone, but something about it reminded her of earlier days at the academy. Days when her professors had demonstrated the danger and destructive power of fel energy. "Um," she says.
Then comes the sound - a loud and dull thud that jostles the building itself. Then there are alarms. Sirens. Audra rushes out to the balcony, where she sees a cloud of orange and green, fire and gas, looming over the Silver Enclave. There is panic in the street below her. People screaming, some rushing toward the enclave.
Wasting no time, she moves to vault over the bannister and toward the fray while casting Feather Fall, but she is caught abruptly. A cold hand clamps over her mouth and wrenches her backward. Simultaneously, she feels something stab between her ribs. Her heart beats once, twice, and she feels the ability to form words falling away from her mind. The grip over her mouth is imperfect, and the numbing in her mind is not fast enough to stop her, so she manages to create a blast of arcane energy before she is rendered insensible. The attacker is flung backward away from her, through the protective wards and into the apartment. The wards activate, an alarm peals, the attacker is blasted by arcane energy a second time. He crashes into the writing desk, smoldering.
Addikus is dazed. swaths of skin curl up on his forearms while the thin layer of fat beneath them fries. If he were a living thing, the pain would be unbearable. He sits for a beat and then regains his bearings. The woman, Audra Renn, crouches on the balcony across from him. She clutches the dagger, still stuck in her torso, and struggles to form the words of another one of her spells. The Forsaken springs to his feet and rushes to close the gap between them. He kicks her in the stomach before she can finish the cast, so, instead, she tries to Blink away - but only manages to slam herself against the wall. She knocks herself unconscious.
The Forsaken looks down at her unconscious body. He pulls a smoking strop of skin off of his arm and flings it off the balcony. There are scorch marks on the walls. Blood on the floor. The door is off one of its hinges. "Messy," he says.
He kneels beside Audra and slips the other dagger, the one coated with crippling poison, from its sheath. "Sorry te damage the merchandise, Ellie, but this be fer me own safety," then he plunges the dagger near its twin. The wounds will leave significant scars, but neither have damaged any vital thing.
In the uncanny silence left in the aftermath of their brief struggle, Addikus listens for any sound that would indicate that they had aroused someone's attention. He waits. All that he hears comes from other parts of the city. From the streets below. He detects nobody in the hallway beyond the apartment door. "I guess the gernade did the trick," he said, "Now let's hope that there be a portal waiting fer us somewhere below."
And with that, he pulled the last part of his plan from his backpack: A goblin glider. These things weren't built to carry more than a single person, so he could only hope that the two of them together could still fall with some semblance of grace.
Hidon
Hidon was startled by from his meditations by the sound of a small detonation off in the distance. Listening to it, trying to place it, it sounded as if it came from the Enclave building. He glanced down into the square to see three of the pink skins on the ground, either asleep or passed out, two others singing quite poorly, and the last watching him. Luckily, the curious one hasn’t caught onto anything.
“Hmm, the time is near it seems,” Hidon says as he traverses the wall towards the roof of the largest building. The building was large enough that those from the streets could not have view of his location. It was here that Hidon dropped his weald form and began to concentrate. After a few intense moments a a portal materialized near the center of the roof.
Hidon breathed a sigh of relief. Portals were most definitely not his forte. He glanced around for any sign of whatever Addikus was up to. It was then he heard the faint noise. A bird? No, a whistle trying to sound like a bird. Looking the direction of the noise he saw the spread of wings open.
“A... glider? But t-there’s a passeng-o-oh dear.” The wings in the distance began swing to and fro. Hidon sprang back to vulpin form and blinked across rooftops in an attempt close in on the glider.
Losing altitude fast, Hidon ended on a small building underneath the gliders faulting trajectory. As it came closer, Hidon dropped form and raised his hands in preparation. He could see Addikus now, scorched, and an unconscious woman. Hidon uttered a short incantation and both hands pulsed a feint arcane energy. As they came into earshot Hidon shouted, “Objective ahead!” As the incantation took affect, the wings of the glider straightened out, seemingly capable of holding the two passengers with little problem.
Addikus
Addikus leaves a vapor trail of his own smoldering flesh in the sky as he and the half-elf ride down in the over-burdened and unbalanced glider. They fall toward Runeweaver Square. The Forsaken desperately tries to control their descent while fighting to keep his grip on the unconscious captive. He expects one of the city's flying guardsmen to spot them at any moment, but it looks as if all of them are busy circling the blight cloud in the adjacent district.
He spots the shimmering circle of a portal on a distant rooftop. Too far. The glider is falling so fast that, by his estimation, Addikus is moments away from becoming a greasy smear on the street below. Then he hears a familiar voice: Hidon's, calling out, "Objective ahead!"
"I seent it!" Addikus begins to shout, his voice lost in the wind, "but we won't-"
Then the flailing, crashing glider straightens out. The roar of air becomes a whisper. With sudden ease, the Forsaken is able to direct the glider toward the portal, passing through it with speed, grace, and style.
Just as Greebo finishes adding some last-minute touches to the space he's set up in Syreena's office, there comes a great clamor from the other end of the building. Several people rush to the foyer, where they find a goblin glider half-embedded in one of the walls. An unconscious half-elf gushes blood in the middle of the floor. Addikus, flesh smoking, stands in front of all those who have come to investigate. He has been unmasked, somehow, and the expression on his broken face speaks of equal parts amusement and annoyance. "Um," he says.
Night has fallen over Dalaran and the floating city sparkles in the darkness. Arcane lamps cast light through bedroom windows and down from streetlamps. Addikus moves through the spaces between those lights, a shadow among shadows. He doesn't breathe, doesn't suffer from the frigidness of the northern air, doesn't make a noise. The hearthstone that is tucked in his hip pocket flashes with heat and then with cold - a signal that a message is coming. Then, with a rapid sequence of subtle vibrations and temperature changes, an encoded message comes through: They are ready for the body. The Forsaken takes out the stone and traces a rune on its face, altering its mode so that he can speak and be spoken to through it. "Ay mum, Elinel said I had time te pull off the job quiet-wise. I haint quite done it. Barely finished getting me flowers all sorted."
He toys with a syrette of some deadly poison with his other hand. "Got something that should kill her stone-dead in a jiff. Perhaps the most painful jiff she ever felt, but she won't make no noise and her corpse will be fit fer Elinel te use right after. I just need a bit of time te sneak in and do the thing and sneak out without nobody seeing."
Elinel
This is forbidden magic in Dalaran. Elinel watches the preparations with excited academic interest, but also a feeling of dread. Many of her peers have speculated on the theory of what is about to happen - some have even attempted to theorize on alternate methods using different schools of magic. She never thought she would be able to see something like this and wishes she had fingers and thumbs to scribble notes.
The wolfhawk walks over to the indicated circle, sits down, and nods at Greebo. Her mind keeps going back to Addikus and fears for his safety. This was a dangerous request as Dalaran is a heavily fortified and bustling city. Thankfully many are away from the city visiting their families for Winter's Veil, so there couldn't have been a much better time than this.
Greebo
Greebo was standing corpse-still, staring at a console when, several moments later, Syreena's words trickled up from his subconscious. Leaning forward he murmured into his hearthstone "Body, Hand, not corpse. I remember your preference and how easily youaaaah can conflate? the two."
Addikus
Addikus is confused for a moment by the phrase, "body, Hand," thinking that the two words contradict - does Greebo want the body or just the hand? But then he recognizes that Greebo is calling him by his old title, The Hand of the Grim, which was an honorific traditionally reserved for the Grim officer who led the guild's efforts against the Alliance. He has not been called that for quite some time, nor has anyone, because the title fell out of use many years ago. It had been held by himself, and by Drinn, and by Cristok, and perhaps others. Addikus thought, then, of Riana, who did not currently bear the title, but who should be called Hand according to the old tradition. All these thoughts passed through his mind in a proverbial heartbeat, and he tucked the last one away for later.
They want the target to be taken alive.
"Ah, fell," he says into the hearthstone. "I ain't prepared fer that. Don't blame me if things get . . . messy."
He retraces the runes on the hearthstone, altering the way it functions so that whatever it does, it will do it without making a noise, then he slips the stone back into his pocket. He looks at the syrette in his hand, drops the viciously deadly thing to the cobblestone street, and crushes it beneath the heel of his boot. He takes a deep breath into his dead lungs and then expels some dead air. He looks upward toward the night sky, at the wavering bands of green and blue light over the horizon, and speaks to himself, saying, "Alright. New plan."
He applies mind-numbing poison to his main-hand dagger, crippling poison to the offhand. He sheathes the blades and retrieves something else from a hidden pocket - a small device that a member of the Royal Apothecary Society had called a "blight gernade."
He bounces the gernade in his palm. He recalls the instructions: pull the pin and throw it downwind. This would do for a diversion.
Addikus works out the details of his new plan while on the move. He thinks of something and briefly uses the stone again, saying, "Grim, I'll need a portal-maker te get me out of Dalaran. Wait fer me in Runeweaver Square - and let me warn ye, I'll be coming in hot, and with a passenger." Then he alters his course. Instead of moving toward the Magus Commerce Exchange, he moves toward the Silver Enclave, where members of the Alliance congregate. He wonders if the people there still remember the Wrath Gate.
Hidon
Hidon sets the final plate of his meal of the bar near 'his' stool. He takes a step back and smiles. Eight plates of all kinds of things he found in the guild hall's stores. He's not sure what all of it is, but it all looked appetizing to him. Some might of had the name of other guild members on them. Surely they won't mind.
He leisurely walks around the bar to his stool, steps up onto bottom rail and plops right onto it. The stool creaks in objection, but has no choice. Hidon begins doing his pre-eat stretches, stretching his arms for maximum mobility, his neck to prevent a strain, and... his belly?
He gazes upon the feast laid before him. He re-arranges them, in order of consumption. Dessert first, of course. He grabs what seems to be a stuffed danish. He remembers them being in a crusty bag, which is still on the bar. He happens to read it what is crudely written on it.
"It do be forbidden to eat this."
HIdon ponders a moment, where has he heard that strange grammar before...
Hidon shrugs, the danish was a rich brown, with an oozing red filling. It had littel green and white flecks on top. "The start to every great meal should an even better-"
Hidon robe starts crackling to life. A faint murmer, as if it were talking!
Hidon frowns and reaches into his garments, pulling his hearthstone out from under one of his generous folds.
"-portal-maker te get me out of Dalaran. Wait for me-" HIdon sighs. Pain flashes across his face as he comes to realization of what must be done.
He thinks a moment, beginning to point at eat plate rhythmically. "Eenie, meanie, miney-"
He grabs a leg of meat quickly, "GO!" He snaps his fingers, and is gone.
The guild's bar sits empty, with a hearty meal ready for the next person to walk in.
Dustfingur
With a pleasant aroma wafting the guild halls. Zalanjo follows his nose to what would surely be a wondrous sight. He peers into the room where the scent originated and there sat a lonely feast laid out before him on the bar, calling his name. As he walked into the room he notices there is no Grim in sight. No one enjoying the spread.
As the troll walks up to the food and very briefly wonders who would have left this alone. He changes his thoughts and begins to assume this is a test. One of the other Dread Coven must have set this up to test him. See if he would fall prey to the trap. Little did they know, he was onto them. He's too smart for his own good.
Zalanjo begins eating off the first plate. He only takes a few bites, not enough to finish what is left on the plate. With each new plate he would eat more or less than the last. After having his fill he lets out a soft belch that had crept up from within. With a satisfied smile he pulls out a parchment from his satchel along with a pointed stick and vial of ink. He pops the cork and dips the stick into the dark liquid and begins to write.
"Dis Loopy. I eat de food. No one else. Jus me. Tank you fo de food. I like it. Me. Loopy."
With a clever grin on his face he sets down the letter next to the scene and walks away with a little pep in his step.
Addikus
Drunken revelers spill out from one of the tap-houses in the Silver Enclave, largely oblivious to the cold of this night - which happens to be very close to Winter's Veil. The eggnog in their stomachs and the alcohol in their veins have dulled their senses. Slowed their thoughts. One of these revelers, a pink-mustached gnome, discovers a small, lidded box at the center of the open courtyard where they stand. Festive paper wraps the box, and a tag has been attached to it. The tag reads, "A gift for the alliance. - G." The gnome twirls his mustache while some thoughts drunkenly swim toward the surface of his consciousness. He says, "Wait a minute, m'lads. I am a alliance. Perhaps this present is for me!" The other revelers crowd around him. One of them says, "Go one then, Pinkwhistle, and open 'er up." The gnome asks, "But who or what do you figure this 'G' is?" "Why, Greatfather Winter, of course."
The gnome nods, satisfied with that answer, then unties the ribbon enclosing the box and lifts the lid.
Addikus lurks on a balcony attached to one of the largest buildings two districts away from the Silver Enclave - in the Magus Commerce Exchange. He peeks through a gap between a curtain and the wall, looking into the adjoining apartment. Therein a blonde, half-elven woman sits at an ornate writing desk, busily scribbling in a spell-book. The room has been furnished by someone with an eye for elegance and craftsmanship. Furthermore, this person has put a thought or two to their own personal security - for they have placed protective wards all around the door and windows that connect the apartment to the balcony. The Forsaken cannot discern the precise function of these wards. As far as he knows, they might do anything from sound an alarm to blast him into nothingness, which makes him grateful for the fact that his new plan does not involve him getting inside of the place. Rather, the plan is to get the woman to come out.
Hidon
Hidon pulled his robe close and lowered the rim of his reed cowl as a cold wind cut through Runeweaver Square. A gaggle of pinkskins had made their way into the enclosed area to sit by the fountain and continue their drinking and merriment. They laughed and began breaking the surface of the just-freezing water in the fountain and playfully splashed at each other. One of the dwarves wet their beard and let it frost up to be laughed at.
Hidon rolled his eyes staying out of sight, walking around the side of entry building to a small alley. The wind couldn't reach him hear and he could barely hear the slave-kind at the center of the square. Old empty crates lined the end of the alley.
Hidon took the unfinished leg of meat out from under his robe. It was already cold. He tossed it behind him into the middle of the alley, and began rubbing his massive paws together. He brought them up to his mouth and blew into them. Blue smoke poured from his hands and in moments was completely enveloped.
Out of the smoke a snow white vulpin pounced out of the smoke onto the crates in the alley. Slowly it rounded it's way up, hopping onto the upper wall closing off the alley. It looked upward to the roof of the entry building and nimbly ascended. The roof was beginning to ice and the vulpins feet slipped a few times before finding grip with its claws.
"Ugh, mah mead 'iz gettin cold!" said one of the dwarves to the rest of the group. "Aye, ya 'idnt drrink it faz enuff!" exclaimed the frozen bearded one, rocking back and forth on the fountain's edge. A green haired gnome laughed joyously at her own inebriation, closing her eyes and raising her chin to the sky, to let the cold air cool her blushed face. Slowly opening her eyes, her vision slowly refocused on a small white object sitting atop the northwest entry way of the square. "HEY! What's that up there?" she pointed, barely managing to keep herself upright. "Er-what? That? Uhhh, looks like a worg! How'd a worg get up here!" another said. "Shu-up, ya idgit. It's one of them vulpins." a dwaven lass said, seemingly more sober.
"How'd it get here? An' wuzzat round it's neck! Izzat a.. drinking flask?"
Addikus
In the Silver Enclave, in the courtyard, Pinkwhistle the gnome stares inside of the box. It contains only a spherical object made of some dull metal. A small dial on top of the sphere rotates counter-clockwise, making a low ratcheting noise as it does so. Now the gnome notices that something dangles from the inside of the lid - a pin attached to a string. "Um," he says.
In the Magus Exchange, in her apartment, Audra Renn sits back from her work and stares at the page. Her vision has gone somewhat blurry from the hours of intense concentration.
Something happens. A flicker of green light at the peripheral of her vision. She turns toward the window, frowning. The change had happened in a blink and then it was gone, but something about it reminded her of earlier days at the academy. Days when her professors had demonstrated the danger and destructive power of fel energy. "Um," she says.
Then comes the sound - a loud and dull thud that jostles the building itself. Then there are alarms. Sirens. Audra rushes out to the balcony, where she sees a cloud of orange and green, fire and gas, looming over the Silver Enclave. There is panic in the street below her. People screaming, some rushing toward the enclave.
Wasting no time, she moves to vault over the bannister and toward the fray while casting Feather Fall, but she is caught abruptly. A cold hand clamps over her mouth and wrenches her backward. Simultaneously, she feels something stab between her ribs. Her heart beats once, twice, and she feels the ability to form words falling away from her mind. The grip over her mouth is imperfect, and the numbing in her mind is not fast enough to stop her, so she manages to create a blast of arcane energy before she is rendered insensible. The attacker is flung backward away from her, through the protective wards and into the apartment. The wards activate, an alarm peals, the attacker is blasted by arcane energy a second time. He crashes into the writing desk, smoldering.
Addikus is dazed. swaths of skin curl up on his forearms while the thin layer of fat beneath them fries. If he were a living thing, the pain would be unbearable. He sits for a beat and then regains his bearings. The woman, Audra Renn, crouches on the balcony across from him. She clutches the dagger, still stuck in her torso, and struggles to form the words of another one of her spells. The Forsaken springs to his feet and rushes to close the gap between them. He kicks her in the stomach before she can finish the cast, so, instead, she tries to Blink away - but only manages to slam herself against the wall. She knocks herself unconscious.
The Forsaken looks down at her unconscious body. He pulls a smoking strop of skin off of his arm and flings it off the balcony. There are scorch marks on the walls. Blood on the floor. The door is off one of its hinges. "Messy," he says.
He kneels beside Audra and slips the other dagger, the one coated with crippling poison, from its sheath. "Sorry te damage the merchandise, Ellie, but this be fer me own safety," then he plunges the dagger near its twin. The wounds will leave significant scars, but neither have damaged any vital thing.
In the uncanny silence left in the aftermath of their brief struggle, Addikus listens for any sound that would indicate that they had aroused someone's attention. He waits. All that he hears comes from other parts of the city. From the streets below. He detects nobody in the hallway beyond the apartment door. "I guess the gernade did the trick," he said, "Now let's hope that there be a portal waiting fer us somewhere below."
And with that, he pulled the last part of his plan from his backpack: A goblin glider. These things weren't built to carry more than a single person, so he could only hope that the two of them together could still fall with some semblance of grace.
Hidon
Hidon was startled by from his meditations by the sound of a small detonation off in the distance. Listening to it, trying to place it, it sounded as if it came from the Enclave building. He glanced down into the square to see three of the pink skins on the ground, either asleep or passed out, two others singing quite poorly, and the last watching him. Luckily, the curious one hasn’t caught onto anything.
“Hmm, the time is near it seems,” Hidon says as he traverses the wall towards the roof of the largest building. The building was large enough that those from the streets could not have view of his location. It was here that Hidon dropped his weald form and began to concentrate. After a few intense moments a a portal materialized near the center of the roof.
Hidon breathed a sigh of relief. Portals were most definitely not his forte. He glanced around for any sign of whatever Addikus was up to. It was then he heard the faint noise. A bird? No, a whistle trying to sound like a bird. Looking the direction of the noise he saw the spread of wings open.
“A... glider? But t-there’s a passeng-o-oh dear.” The wings in the distance began swing to and fro. Hidon sprang back to vulpin form and blinked across rooftops in an attempt close in on the glider.
Losing altitude fast, Hidon ended on a small building underneath the gliders faulting trajectory. As it came closer, Hidon dropped form and raised his hands in preparation. He could see Addikus now, scorched, and an unconscious woman. Hidon uttered a short incantation and both hands pulsed a feint arcane energy. As they came into earshot Hidon shouted, “Objective ahead!” As the incantation took affect, the wings of the glider straightened out, seemingly capable of holding the two passengers with little problem.
Addikus
Addikus leaves a vapor trail of his own smoldering flesh in the sky as he and the half-elf ride down in the over-burdened and unbalanced glider. They fall toward Runeweaver Square. The Forsaken desperately tries to control their descent while fighting to keep his grip on the unconscious captive. He expects one of the city's flying guardsmen to spot them at any moment, but it looks as if all of them are busy circling the blight cloud in the adjacent district.
He spots the shimmering circle of a portal on a distant rooftop. Too far. The glider is falling so fast that, by his estimation, Addikus is moments away from becoming a greasy smear on the street below. Then he hears a familiar voice: Hidon's, calling out, "Objective ahead!"
"I seent it!" Addikus begins to shout, his voice lost in the wind, "but we won't-"
Then the flailing, crashing glider straightens out. The roar of air becomes a whisper. With sudden ease, the Forsaken is able to direct the glider toward the portal, passing through it with speed, grace, and style.
Just as Greebo finishes adding some last-minute touches to the space he's set up in Syreena's office, there comes a great clamor from the other end of the building. Several people rush to the foyer, where they find a goblin glider half-embedded in one of the walls. An unconscious half-elf gushes blood in the middle of the floor. Addikus, flesh smoking, stands in front of all those who have come to investigate. He has been unmasked, somehow, and the expression on his broken face speaks of equal parts amusement and annoyance. "Um," he says.
Re: The Vessel
Elinel
Elinel watches Greebo work while she sits in the circle he prepared for her. Suddenly a loud crashing sound comes from across the building. Elinel jumps up from the floor and takes off in the direction of the commotion. "I'm sorry!" she calls back to Greebo and Syreenna.
As she enters the room she sees Addikus smoldering on the floor, as well as Audra Renn bleeding profusely with daggers sticking out of her side. Her first instinct is to rush to Addikus to make sure he's OK, since he's in this position because of her. But then it occurs to her that this is supposed to be her new body laying on the floor. "We need to stop the bleeding!" she shouts and rushes to the half-elf. She throws up her...paws!? "Ah! Paws! Not hands!" The wolfhawk gently pulls the blades out of the half-elf's side with her teeth, being careful not to do too much more damage. She places them on the floor next to her and bunches up the hem of Audra Renn's robes in her mouth and attempts to put pressure on the wound.
Syreenna
Syreena raised a brow at the commotion, but only sighed. She stayed where she was, certain she would hear about what caused the noise if she needed to. She looked at Greebo with a helpless shrug, as if to say see what I have to deal with?
Elinel
With both front paws holding the cloth to the half-elf's side, Elinel places her ear against Renn's chest. The heartbeat was slow and unsteady, but it was there. Elinel calls down the hall Greebo the body is here! And she's alive!" She turns to Addikus, who looks as if he's been set on fire. With a concerned voice she says "I'm so sorry for putting you in this situation. Thank you. I don't know how to make this up to you."
Addikus
"Ferget it," the Forsaken says. He nods at Audra, "Them wounds aint the kind that'll bleed her out. Ye don't need te worry. She can't think and she can't move, but she ain't in no serious trouble. Not yet at least." Addikus gets up and looks at the portal. "Wonder where Hidon is. And, hey, where in fel is Greebo?"
Addikus says, "In any case, I need te attend te something. I'll be back to check on things later." Then he leaves.
Hidon
The door to the bar slams open as Hidon returns, yawning after an eventful evening. He approaches his feet hoping... no. The food he had laid out had been ravaged. Even more offending, it was unfinished! Hidon's stomach roared, and as if coming to the surface he groans in disappointment. Hidon notices the letter left with the food. He reads it carefully. "'Loopy' claiming he ate the food, yet it seems to have been written by a troll." He chuckles to himself, "A troll indeed." He laughs again as he returns to the food stores to have a proper meal.
Greebo
A small imp flies out of the corridor and lands on the half-elf's body. Peering around it sees Elinel and locking her gaze and screeches "Bring the container and put it where it belongs!" The creature then bends its back in ways a human skeleton cannot and brings its needle-filled mouth to one of the wounds and gingerly laps at the blood. It keeps a wary eye out for incoming pain, like a cat sitting on a counter gnawing at a gnome haunch, thawing for the evening's pie.
Elinel
Elinel grabs the back of the half-elf's robes with her teeth and drags her to Syreenna's office, the imp following along. She places Audra Renn's limp body on the spot Greebo prepared, and then took her own place as directed.
Syreenna
Syreena simply watched from where she sat at her desk with a stack of partially finished paperwork in front of her. "That's the new body, I guess," she said, stating the obvious. She looked at Greebo. "So you can really take someone's soul and stick it in another body? What would happen if you stuck only part of her soul in there? Could it live?"
Elinel
"Um.....part of my soul?"
The room thrummed with energy, but not the familiar thrumming of arcane energy Elinel was used to. It felt as if the air around her was thick, yet weightless. It rose and fell like calm waves. You could almost hear the low resonance of each peak and trough like the sound of distant thunder which made the hairs on the wolfhawk's back stand up. It was both hot and cold at the same time. No matter how Elinel shifted her stance, she remained uncomfortable. Unsettled.
Syreenna
Syreena merely gave the wolfhawk a sly look at her question. "Asking for a friend...."
Elinel
Elinel has heard tales of Syreenna's viciousness. I very much doubt that, she thinks to herself.
Greebo
Greebo stared at Syreenna for a long, long time. "Yes. I can. I have done so. Idonotrecommendit. Acherontiaahhhh disagrees. She is satisfied? with the result."
He tilts his head to one side and adds "Unless of course the subject isaaaa expendible? and we can make use of it." He glances coldly at the wolfhawk and flicks a switch. A pair of glimmering cages grow up over subject and object.
Elinel
"As I require the bleeding body over there to continue my existence, I would say that neither of our physical forms are expendable. But you can do what you wish with her soul. I have no use for it."
Syreenna
"Huh, well that explains it," she mutters after Greebo's explanation. Then she falls silent again to watch.
Greebo
Greebo smiles coldly at Elinel. "It doesn'tquiteunderstand ahhhh the intent of your question? ma'am. But your answer suffices. No ahhh further surgery."
His talons touch further controls, mist coalesces in two chambers before him along the vertices of a crystal matrix of discomforting shape that appears to extend in dimensions unseen. A violet orb extends from the cage containing the unconscious half-elf, and a companion surrounds his left hand. A thin pin-prick of energy leaps from the ball to the body and a bright torrent flows back through the various conduits, tubes, wires, substances, and nethers – as the chamber fills with a glowing light the body cavorts and bends helplessly, wracked and emptied growing grey and to the precipice of lifeless, but not beyond. "Any memory you have of the mmm pain? to come will be greatly-diminished -by-two-factors - a lack of ahhhh symmtery of body morphology. Your wing will have aaaah been wrenched but your-new-corpse-has-no-wings-and feel less wing pain. And of course your thoughts will no ahhhh longer-be-drenched-in-base-chemistry until you mmm settle?"
With that an orb appears in Elinel's cage beast within begins to howl as its soul is drained in a chill mechanical fashion – completely this time, leaving an empty husk of a corpse.
He picks up the two chambers, like a pair of lanterns. "You wish the task ahhh finished, ma'am?" he asks Syreena? A cold glare in response relates to him in no words the mess he has made of her chamber and the distraction from her work. "At once then. How I envy her this mmm first? taste-of-freedom." He shakes her soul playfully, and sockets it. With a strangely anticlimactic gesture the mechano-ritual begins again, in reverse, as light flows back into the still body of what was once Audra Renn. It is almost certain that the sha-woven cloth of his sleeve did not brush the dial enscribed Filter and certainly no one would have seen a talon disable the Isolation button. With one final gesture he shrinks the remaining soul cage, compressing it into a bauble suitable for a necklace or bracelet. "Clean this up," he commands his imp and strides out.
Elinel
Elinel lays on the floor unconscious, now alone with Syreenna . The imp has finished its work and departs with a loud pop. The air in the room has returned to its normal density and the resonant vibrations have ceased. With a whoosh the wolfhawk corpse suddenly vanishes in a cloud of swirling blue dust. The dust spirals through the air for a moment before shooting up through the ceiling.
Syreenna
Syreena moved from her desk and walked around it to examine where the ritual took place. The imp did a good enough job of cleaning up. Now only the elf with the pretty ears remained, laying unconscious on her floor.
The little rogue tilted her head as she regarded the now half elf. Her glowing yellow gaze roamed over the ears, now not quite as long or elegant as they were in the former body. A small, cruel grin twisted her patchwork stitched face as she knelt down next to the prone figure and drew one of her smaller daggers from her armor. "I told you I'd have your ears one day, elf," she whispered. Two quick, sharp slashes on each ear, and they were neatly trimmed. They still resembled the same shape they originally were; they were just a bit shorter now. The Shadowblade pocketed the severed bits of flesh and walked out, leaving Elinel alone in her office.
Elinel
Elinel wakes up with a start and backs herself into the corner and screams “Who are you and how did you find me, assassin?!” then looks around the room. Panicked she says “What? Where am I....” Suddenly her eyes glaze over, she stares straight ahead, and shudders. “That was weird.”
As she adjusts herself to stand up, sharp pain attacks her left side. Her hands rush to the site and realize this is where Addikus's blades were buried. “Oh that’s not going to heal right.” She also notices sharp pain around her ears. Her hands reach up to touch them - they are much shorter than she’s used to. Come to think of it, they are much shorter than they should be. Not finding Syreenna in the room, she calls loudly out the door “I’m pretty sure these ears were longer!” She chuckles to herself, “I guess I can’t really complain. She didn’t kill me.”
With a flick of her wrist, the remaining askew objects around the room rose into the air and gently settle back into their original places. She takes a pen and a blank sheet of paper from Syreenna’s desk and writes:
Thank you for your help.
I will not forget this.
~Elinel
Elinel positions the note on the desk so it will not be missed. She walks over to the corner of the room and retrieves her backpack. She pauses, looking into the void of the satchel. She digs around shoulder deep with both arms for a while and with a heavy melancholy sigh pulls out two long, elegant blue ears. She mournfully gazes at them for a few moments, then carefully places them on the note.
After composing herself, she says “OK. Apparently the last thing Audra saw before she passed out was a trashed apartment. That is going to raise suspicion, if it already hasn’t." She sighs "I guess I need to get to Dalaran. Let’s go learn a bit about who we are now.”
With the poof of a portal, Syreenna’s office was empty once again.
Elinel watches Greebo work while she sits in the circle he prepared for her. Suddenly a loud crashing sound comes from across the building. Elinel jumps up from the floor and takes off in the direction of the commotion. "I'm sorry!" she calls back to Greebo and Syreenna.
As she enters the room she sees Addikus smoldering on the floor, as well as Audra Renn bleeding profusely with daggers sticking out of her side. Her first instinct is to rush to Addikus to make sure he's OK, since he's in this position because of her. But then it occurs to her that this is supposed to be her new body laying on the floor. "We need to stop the bleeding!" she shouts and rushes to the half-elf. She throws up her...paws!? "Ah! Paws! Not hands!" The wolfhawk gently pulls the blades out of the half-elf's side with her teeth, being careful not to do too much more damage. She places them on the floor next to her and bunches up the hem of Audra Renn's robes in her mouth and attempts to put pressure on the wound.
Syreenna
Syreena raised a brow at the commotion, but only sighed. She stayed where she was, certain she would hear about what caused the noise if she needed to. She looked at Greebo with a helpless shrug, as if to say see what I have to deal with?
Elinel
With both front paws holding the cloth to the half-elf's side, Elinel places her ear against Renn's chest. The heartbeat was slow and unsteady, but it was there. Elinel calls down the hall Greebo the body is here! And she's alive!" She turns to Addikus, who looks as if he's been set on fire. With a concerned voice she says "I'm so sorry for putting you in this situation. Thank you. I don't know how to make this up to you."
Addikus
"Ferget it," the Forsaken says. He nods at Audra, "Them wounds aint the kind that'll bleed her out. Ye don't need te worry. She can't think and she can't move, but she ain't in no serious trouble. Not yet at least." Addikus gets up and looks at the portal. "Wonder where Hidon is. And, hey, where in fel is Greebo?"
Addikus says, "In any case, I need te attend te something. I'll be back to check on things later." Then he leaves.
Hidon
The door to the bar slams open as Hidon returns, yawning after an eventful evening. He approaches his feet hoping... no. The food he had laid out had been ravaged. Even more offending, it was unfinished! Hidon's stomach roared, and as if coming to the surface he groans in disappointment. Hidon notices the letter left with the food. He reads it carefully. "'Loopy' claiming he ate the food, yet it seems to have been written by a troll." He chuckles to himself, "A troll indeed." He laughs again as he returns to the food stores to have a proper meal.
Greebo
A small imp flies out of the corridor and lands on the half-elf's body. Peering around it sees Elinel and locking her gaze and screeches "Bring the container and put it where it belongs!" The creature then bends its back in ways a human skeleton cannot and brings its needle-filled mouth to one of the wounds and gingerly laps at the blood. It keeps a wary eye out for incoming pain, like a cat sitting on a counter gnawing at a gnome haunch, thawing for the evening's pie.
Elinel
Elinel grabs the back of the half-elf's robes with her teeth and drags her to Syreenna's office, the imp following along. She places Audra Renn's limp body on the spot Greebo prepared, and then took her own place as directed.
Syreenna
Syreena simply watched from where she sat at her desk with a stack of partially finished paperwork in front of her. "That's the new body, I guess," she said, stating the obvious. She looked at Greebo. "So you can really take someone's soul and stick it in another body? What would happen if you stuck only part of her soul in there? Could it live?"
Elinel
"Um.....part of my soul?"
The room thrummed with energy, but not the familiar thrumming of arcane energy Elinel was used to. It felt as if the air around her was thick, yet weightless. It rose and fell like calm waves. You could almost hear the low resonance of each peak and trough like the sound of distant thunder which made the hairs on the wolfhawk's back stand up. It was both hot and cold at the same time. No matter how Elinel shifted her stance, she remained uncomfortable. Unsettled.
Syreenna
Syreena merely gave the wolfhawk a sly look at her question. "Asking for a friend...."
Elinel
Elinel has heard tales of Syreenna's viciousness. I very much doubt that, she thinks to herself.
Greebo
Greebo stared at Syreenna for a long, long time. "Yes. I can. I have done so. Idonotrecommendit. Acherontiaahhhh disagrees. She is satisfied? with the result."
He tilts his head to one side and adds "Unless of course the subject isaaaa expendible? and we can make use of it." He glances coldly at the wolfhawk and flicks a switch. A pair of glimmering cages grow up over subject and object.
Elinel
"As I require the bleeding body over there to continue my existence, I would say that neither of our physical forms are expendable. But you can do what you wish with her soul. I have no use for it."
Syreenna
"Huh, well that explains it," she mutters after Greebo's explanation. Then she falls silent again to watch.
Greebo
Greebo smiles coldly at Elinel. "It doesn'tquiteunderstand ahhhh the intent of your question? ma'am. But your answer suffices. No ahhh further surgery."
His talons touch further controls, mist coalesces in two chambers before him along the vertices of a crystal matrix of discomforting shape that appears to extend in dimensions unseen. A violet orb extends from the cage containing the unconscious half-elf, and a companion surrounds his left hand. A thin pin-prick of energy leaps from the ball to the body and a bright torrent flows back through the various conduits, tubes, wires, substances, and nethers – as the chamber fills with a glowing light the body cavorts and bends helplessly, wracked and emptied growing grey and to the precipice of lifeless, but not beyond. "Any memory you have of the mmm pain? to come will be greatly-diminished -by-two-factors - a lack of ahhhh symmtery of body morphology. Your wing will have aaaah been wrenched but your-new-corpse-has-no-wings-and feel less wing pain. And of course your thoughts will no ahhhh longer-be-drenched-in-base-chemistry until you mmm settle?"
With that an orb appears in Elinel's cage beast within begins to howl as its soul is drained in a chill mechanical fashion – completely this time, leaving an empty husk of a corpse.
He picks up the two chambers, like a pair of lanterns. "You wish the task ahhh finished, ma'am?" he asks Syreena? A cold glare in response relates to him in no words the mess he has made of her chamber and the distraction from her work. "At once then. How I envy her this mmm first? taste-of-freedom." He shakes her soul playfully, and sockets it. With a strangely anticlimactic gesture the mechano-ritual begins again, in reverse, as light flows back into the still body of what was once Audra Renn. It is almost certain that the sha-woven cloth of his sleeve did not brush the dial enscribed Filter and certainly no one would have seen a talon disable the Isolation button. With one final gesture he shrinks the remaining soul cage, compressing it into a bauble suitable for a necklace or bracelet. "Clean this up," he commands his imp and strides out.
Elinel
Elinel lays on the floor unconscious, now alone with Syreenna . The imp has finished its work and departs with a loud pop. The air in the room has returned to its normal density and the resonant vibrations have ceased. With a whoosh the wolfhawk corpse suddenly vanishes in a cloud of swirling blue dust. The dust spirals through the air for a moment before shooting up through the ceiling.
Syreenna
Syreena moved from her desk and walked around it to examine where the ritual took place. The imp did a good enough job of cleaning up. Now only the elf with the pretty ears remained, laying unconscious on her floor.
The little rogue tilted her head as she regarded the now half elf. Her glowing yellow gaze roamed over the ears, now not quite as long or elegant as they were in the former body. A small, cruel grin twisted her patchwork stitched face as she knelt down next to the prone figure and drew one of her smaller daggers from her armor. "I told you I'd have your ears one day, elf," she whispered. Two quick, sharp slashes on each ear, and they were neatly trimmed. They still resembled the same shape they originally were; they were just a bit shorter now. The Shadowblade pocketed the severed bits of flesh and walked out, leaving Elinel alone in her office.
Elinel
Elinel wakes up with a start and backs herself into the corner and screams “Who are you and how did you find me, assassin?!” then looks around the room. Panicked she says “What? Where am I....” Suddenly her eyes glaze over, she stares straight ahead, and shudders. “That was weird.”
As she adjusts herself to stand up, sharp pain attacks her left side. Her hands rush to the site and realize this is where Addikus's blades were buried. “Oh that’s not going to heal right.” She also notices sharp pain around her ears. Her hands reach up to touch them - they are much shorter than she’s used to. Come to think of it, they are much shorter than they should be. Not finding Syreenna in the room, she calls loudly out the door “I’m pretty sure these ears were longer!” She chuckles to herself, “I guess I can’t really complain. She didn’t kill me.”
With a flick of her wrist, the remaining askew objects around the room rose into the air and gently settle back into their original places. She takes a pen and a blank sheet of paper from Syreenna’s desk and writes:
Thank you for your help.
I will not forget this.
~Elinel
Elinel positions the note on the desk so it will not be missed. She walks over to the corner of the room and retrieves her backpack. She pauses, looking into the void of the satchel. She digs around shoulder deep with both arms for a while and with a heavy melancholy sigh pulls out two long, elegant blue ears. She mournfully gazes at them for a few moments, then carefully places them on the note.
After composing herself, she says “OK. Apparently the last thing Audra saw before she passed out was a trashed apartment. That is going to raise suspicion, if it already hasn’t." She sighs "I guess I need to get to Dalaran. Let’s go learn a bit about who we are now.”
With the poof of a portal, Syreenna’s office was empty once again.