Grim Views

Mage,
The past months have been tumultuous in our ranks, the Cataclysm has sundered more than just the land and we Grim have been pulled in many directions. This is a reason, but no excuse. You have not yet been set upon the path of your inquisition and in this is a failure on our part that I intend to rectify and your unwavering and total devotion to the Mandate will be proof of this.

Your first task is simple - bring the me the blood of our foes that I may craft for you a tabard. For the red, a blend of the blood of each alliance race. For the black, the blood of a demon - Mannoroth. Bring me the blood and proof of each kill, as well as a bolt of embersilk cloth and one spool of eternium thread.

Your humble and obedient servant,
Greebo, Twice-Made, Wyrmrest.

Aureliya had been away for the past several weeks, but now she had recently returned, and was anxious to begin work on her task for her newly assigned Inquisitor. Although she was aware she could join her fellow Grim in battle to complete her task- her desire was to try and collect as much of the blood by herself as possible. The challenge would be finding her prey, alone and unaware- and hopefully unprotected by guards.

Her travels through Alliance territory came up empty, and a visit of Tol Barad Peninsula also came up empty. It seemed that most Alliance races didn't often venture outside their cities gates. An attempt was made to strike closer to their city walls. Aureliya tested the defenses on the borders of Stormwind, but even on the outskirts of the human city, the guards and reinforcements were quick to respond.



Finally the idea came to her of patrolling the Molten Front. After making her way to across the ruined and charred landscape, Aureliya was able to set up an ambush atop the pillars near the Forlorn Spire. After only a few minutes, a human paladin appeared below. Aureliya jumped down behind the pillar and summoned her images to her.. and then she struck. The human was felled within moments.



Wasting no time, Aureliya sliced open the neck of the paladin and gathered his blood in a vial. After carefully storing it away, she planted their banner on the corpse and departed.

One down.

Molten Front was proving to be a much better choice of hunting grounds. On Day Two, she had arrived at the Forlorn Spire only moments before spotting a dwarf nearby. Within less than three minutes after arriving, her second objective had been complete. The dwarf was half dead before even reaching Aureliya, only to succumb to her flames seconds later.



Two down.

The next few days proved fruitless for Aureliya. Still, she persisted in her hunt. Each day she would come back, waiting atop the pillars of the molten front for her prey to venture past. It was early one morning that she spotted another mage running past the stone pillars, down below. The female elf was oblivious to the danger above. Aureliya's hiding spot proved effective. As the night elf passed, Aureliya summoned her images and dropped down to the ground below, striking quickly.



The elf had fallen.

Three down.

During an excursion to Ironforge, Aureliya seized the opportunity to collect a vial of Dranei blood from one of the fallen. Although she didn't get the kill by herself, she at least had a hand in the death of the female.



Four down.

Several weeks passed by, with no luck in the hunt. With Deathwing defeated, spotting an Alliance outside their capital city was even more rare.

Every venture to the Molten Front came up empty, so eventually Aureliya was forced to explore other areas. Finally, she came across a gnome fighting some cultists in the Blasted Lands. The gnome appeared to be young and quite unskilled, so she took no pleasure from taking his life and then collecting his blood. Still, the Mandate demanded no discrimination based on age or experience. All Alliance must die, no exceptions.



Unsatisfied, she traveled to the nearby Stormwind and snuck into the mage tower in search of her final pray. No worgen showed themselves that night.. but she would remain close by, to claim her final vial.

Aureliya spent hours scouring the lands of Azaroth and beyond. From the jungles of Stranglethorn Vale through the cracked and ruined landscape of Hellfire Peninsula, and north again through Burning Steppes. This time though, she was determined not to give up her hunt until she had found and killed a worgen- no matter how long it took.

As she flew over the parched earth of the Burning Steppes, she finally spotted her prey below. Without hesitation, she urged her wind rider into a dive.. silently swooping down on the worgen below.



Her mount's feet had barely touched the ground when Aureliya was up and out of her saddle. She hit the ground running, coming up behind the worgen and felling him before he even had a chance to turn around.



Once the blood was collected, she left feeling pleased and satisfied. Only one objective of her task for Inquisitor Greebo remained..

After gathering with a small group and preparing to venture in to fight the demon Mannoroth. The fight lasted for what seemed an eternity, as the warrior that led the group lapsed into what appeared to be a daze for many minutes, becoming completely unresponsive. Their mender struggled to keep the remaining members of the party up and fighting until he eventually recovered and rejoined the fight.

In the end, though.. the beast had fallen. Aureliya stayed behind to collect the black blood of the demon into her final vial.. and then penned her letter to Greebo, letting him know her task was finally complete.



Inquisitor Greebo,

I apologize for the delay in the gathering of materials for my tabard. Rather than join my brothers and sisters of The Grim in the battlefields, I sought to make this a personal venture, and desired to make every kill my own, and accept no help. In doing so, my Task extended for far longer than you should have been kept waiting. I hope that you will still accept the tokens that you asked for.

Enclosed with this letter is the vials containing the blood of each Alliance race, as well as a vial of the black blood that belonged to the demon, Mannoroth. I am also sending the cloth and thread for the crafting of my tabard.

I hope that this is acceptable to you. I look forward to your response, and hopefully news of my next task- which I intend to complete much more promptly.

Peace Through Annihilation,

Aureliya

Greebo hummed atonally to himself as he prepared the contents of the vials. He read the labels of each one and rummaged through a collection of shimmering stones, picking out a match for each one. He crushed the shards into the vials, one by one and held them up to a clear retort that held a dancing green flame, fuelled by nothing. The crystals picked up the light from the flame and began to dance and glow in time, pulsing with a red light. He peered more closely at two that seemed to be weaker and fainter than the others. Taking a delicate sip of each he savoured the flavour ... "Tsk, tsk, tsk. Someone has been playing with children. This shall bear watching." Reaching for some additional crystals he began to quickly combine and transform the blood into a thick and vibrant paste. Reaching for the folded cloth, he pinned it to the work table in front of him. A series of precise strokes, cuts, sweeps, folds, nips, and tucks later he had the tabard almost completed. He swung the fel fire retort closer on a jointed arm and left it hovering over the cloth, bathing it in its rays.