Bloodstar Brewery [OPEN]

The stories and lives of the Grim. ((Roleplaying Stories and In Character Interactions))
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Khorvis
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Location: Lincroft, NJ

Bloodstar Brewery [OPEN]

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Khorvis dismounted from his armored kodo and landed with a thump and a dust cloud in the hot Durotar clearing. His boots rustled basking spiny lizards from their perches and sent them scurrying behind the festively decorated canvas tents of Brewfest. This would not be his first celebration of ale and, with luck, it would drown any possible vision of a future one. Marching up to Cort Gorestein and the stand of Drohn's Distillery, the orc commandeered a stool, ordererd a Long Stride Brew, and downed the beer with little relish.

"Tastes like my boots after a day's march through the Black Morass!" Khorvis glared at the brewmaster's apprentice with a fiery eye and demanded a refill.

"Uh... dabu, Sergeant Bloodstar," the peon croaked, clearly bored and lazy. Kalimdor's sun was beating down on the faire with its usual vigor, and no fewer than four goblin festival criers were taking refuge beneath sandstone arches, fanning themselves with their feathered fedoras. With a furtive gaze to his flanks, Khorvis returned to staring into the depths of his mug.

"Scummy brew," he thought. "Reeks of stale hops and rotting barley. The Cult of the Damned treated their grain better than this 'Drohn'!" The orc was working himself up into a lather and it was becoming quickly apparent to the Distillery's staff that their kegs and casks were in no little danger.

Then something happened which had not occured in many years. Khorvis's entire body began shaking, slightly at first, then faster and faster until he bore a remarkable resemblance to a boiling tea kettle. As quickly as it started, the tremors ceased with a click and the warrior stared dead ahead at the terrified peon with eyes cast in a wild red light.

Khorvis had an idea.

"I will brew my own ale!" he said in one booming outburst. A great bellow tore from his throat and he hurled his stein at the peon, whom it narrowly missed thanks to a spell of fainting which had already taken hold of the hapless apprentice. Stalking away from the tent towards the stables, Khorvis was a buzz of muttering and half-formed thoughts.

"A brewery of my own. The greatest ale in Kalimdor. No, Azeroth! Draenor? Maybe mushroom ale. Could be too mealy. Hrm ... but what to call it?" The orc paused while saddling his kodo.

"Bloodstar Brewery!" Khorvis whooped and raised a gauntleted fist! "Now, to find a location. And hire some help!"

(( OOC:

This is the start of a story I would like to develop with the aid of as many people as possible. What could be more entertaining than watching Khorvis struggle with a business venture that doesn't involve smashing things? He'll need all the help he can get.

Creating a non-combat institution like a brewery may not sound very 'Grim', but I do believe it could be a great touchstone for events and story hooks, like returning to old raid content for special 'ingredients,' or IC contests. I absolutely encourage anyone and everyone to join in find a way to get their character involved.

I'd like to start a little contest soon to find an in-game location for the brewery. For now, get in on the ground floor!

))
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Syreenna
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Re: Bloodstar Brewery [OPEN]

Unread post by Syreenna »

Syreena paused in the shade along a brewfest tent as she heard a familiar voice.

Khorvis is going to brew his own ale? She wondered what a Grim orc knew of brewing ale. She would keep an eye on this development, maybe even help him if she could, just to see what would happen.

The little rogue figured that either the ale would be horrible, which would bring amusing reactions, maybe even fights, from those who drank it, or the ale would be good. If it was good maybe Khorvis might make some gold at it, which she could help him hold if he got drunk enough.
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Alts: Lirsha Deathwhistle & Ayidda
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Khorvis
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Re: Bloodstar Brewery [OPEN]

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Nailed to a wall in the guild hall is a thick slab of stone the color of charred wood. Painted upon it with white paste is a message in blocky Orcish, which reads:

Bloodstar Brewery seeks staff for operations!

- Chief Engineer -

Responsible for the construction and maintenance of all brew vats, piping, boilers, and samophlanges. Experience with goblin engineering desired. All applicants will undergo psychological screenings against arson.

- Marketing Specialist -

Will conduct research of ale markets and distribution. Expect long hours at taverns and bars frequented by adventurers and Pandaren. Hangover herbs are not compensated.

- Taste Tester / Quality Control -

Full time position for ensuring that all products are untainted by fel essences, arcane anomalies, demonic possessions, Alliance sympathizers, and Tauren droppings. Forsaken applicants with spare livers given special consideration.

- Someone with a team of large Kodo and several carts -

Deliveries and waste hauling. Salary commensurate with Kodo mass.


Able-bodied candidates will send their applications to Harbinger Khorvis the Tempered. Brewery construction to begin before Hallow's End.
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Neevah
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Re: Bloodstar Brewery [OPEN]

Unread post by Neevah »

(Tauren droppings? LMAO)

Ruuki eyed the posting, a little surprised that Khorvis, of all people, would try to open and run his own brewery. Still, she made note of the taste tester and quality control opening, intending to inform Sunderpalm of its existence. No doubt his palate would come in handy, though he might also make Khorvis' brews a bit rare from overindulging.
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Aureilya
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Re: Bloodstar Brewery [OPEN]

Unread post by Aureilya »

Shaelie read the posted note with interest, her eyebrow lifting slightly. Khorvis, the loud mouth, short tempered orc.. was going to open a brewery? And better yet - was looking for someone skilled in engineering.

Kneeling down, she fished around in her satchel until she found a piece of paper and something to write with.

To Khorvis Bloodstar,

I am writing in response to your posting for the brewery operation. I have extensive experience in engineering of all types, and I'd be happy to help out. I would like to apply for the position of Chief Engineer.

-Shaelie Brightwing
Sunderpalm
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Re: Bloodstar Brewery [OPEN]

Unread post by Sunderpalm »

Sunderpalm wandered into the guild hall finishing the last bite of his meal. Lifting his favorite mug, easily the size of a human's head, he flooded his gullet with frog-venom brew. Upon lowering the mug he realized he stopped in front of a sign that was not previously here.

"...brewery seeks shtaff... maintenance of all brew vatsh... long hoursh..."

A loud hollow bang followed by a splash rang through the hall. Sunderpalm dropped his mug.

"...tashte tester? Quality control??"

He blinked his eyes. Then wiped them clean, thoroughly convinced he read it wrong. Without moving, he darted his eyes around looking for any onlookers. Eyes narrowed, he took a deep breath with a long exhale. Like lightning, Sunderpalm struck the wood with each hand. He stepped back, smiled, and held out his hand as a neat section of wood fell into his hand. It was the portion describing the taste testing position. He grabbed his mug with the other hand and walked out the guild hall, as if he had something to do.
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Neevah
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Re: Bloodstar Brewery [OPEN]

Unread post by Neevah »

Daisha had walked in just as Sunderpalm sauntered out, looking determined and rather pleased with himself. She shook her head, looking over the notice board for anything new, green eyes scanning the postings as she adjusted the braid at her right temple. She paused, peering at the wooden posting from Khorvis, intrigued at what he was suggesting.

"Let's see, engineer, market research, team of Kodo- why is there a chunk missing?"

She looked around on the floor, seeing the puddle of brew but no sign of what might have been a missing posting. She scowled, realizing that Sunderpalm must have taken it, which meant it was possibly something too good to pass up. She fished out some parchment and wrote her note on it before pinning it up alongside Shaelie's note.

I can help with marketing and drumming up business in the taverns, but if you hadn't thought of it, what of someone to handle the quality control, to make sure each batch is brewed to perfection? If this position is already filled, I will gladly lend my charm to marketing and sales.

-Daisha

She grinned, then turned to head out of the guild hall to hunt down Sunderpalm, wanting to see what he was plotting.
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Akorharil
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Re: Bloodstar Brewery [OPEN]

Unread post by Akorharil »

Azraelthalas perused the message board in abject boredom as he swept the debris left over from Sunderpalm's attack into a neat pile.

"Free of demonic possession? Hmmmm....."

The Baatezu smiled wickedly to himself and went about continuing his errands.
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Khorvis
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Re: Bloodstar Brewery [OPEN]

Unread post by Khorvis »

Khorvis rifled through his mail while hunched over in the cockpit of his newly constructed Sky Golem. He dropped a dirty handkerchief smeared with a red substance after absentmindedly wiping his chin. The autopilot system was tenuously reliable and the several hours of flight across the Great Sea from Tirisfal to Durotar would afford him the time to respond to applications regarding the Bloodstar Brewery. Tiny shafts light from the fading sunset streamed through a porthole onto a sheet of parchment.

"A priestess walks into a bar. Where have I heard those words before?" Khorvis chuckled to himself, nearly inaudible over the whine of the flying contraption. "Yet who is more trusthworthy than a prelate of the Light? Soldiers and villagefolk alike will take her word in my brew as sacred. Yes, she might do."

The warrior quickly jotted a reply upon the back of the letter in positive response to Daisha's inquiry. He hoped that the penmanship was legible considering the turbulence and his already disappointing skill with crayons. Sifting through the correspondence, Bloodstar recalled the vandalism to his sign. He harrumphed and grumbled with a mightily furrowed brow, muttering about youths and the need for true lovers of ale. The next letter opened easily and Khorvis scanned the Orcish formed with rounded letters, as an elf might write.

"Shaelie Brightwing. Hmm," the orc muttered. "Her interview was promising, but I have yet to receive the Dark Iron Bombs with which I tasked her to craft. I will send a small reminder."

Reaching down beneath the flight-chair, the warrior rummaged through a toolbox containing small brass parts, arcanite devices, and spares fuses. The vibrations from the twin rocket thrusters made dexterity no sure thing, but Khorvis finally whooped in victory and lifted a tiny grenade cased in Dark Iron.

Without warning, there came a great bang from the starboard engine! The Sky Golem began to make erratic loops in the sky as it quickly overshot Bladefist Bay and the blockade of Orgrimmar. Khorvis was bellowing in terror and the tall pines of Azshara whipped past beneath the hurtling contraption, the needled tips tickling the metal undercarriage. Harbinger Bloodstar looked up through the viewport and saw the Southfury River rapidly approaching and then all went dark with a titanic splash.
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Khorvis
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Re: Bloodstar Brewery [OPEN]

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"Gurglflarghblarphuggghhhh!"

Khorvis vomited the entire Southfury River onto the muddy embankment. Panting on all fours, his vision slowly returned from blurry unconsciousness and acclimated to the darkness of night. His savage leather and woolen flight clothes were soaked from the crash, clinging to his burly frame and smelling of wet dog. The chill of Azshara's twilight crept beneath the orc's skin and the howl of Ashenvale ghostpaws echoed from the other riverbank.

"Ugh, where did I land? There was an explosion ..." Khorvis struggled to his feet and turned to eye the western shore. Slowly sinking into the silt and muck of the riverbed was the smoldering wreckage of the Sky Golem, along with his armor and supplies. "Bloody hell!" Khorvis shouted and thrashed his way into the swift current until, up to his shoulders in water, fatigue and lack of skill forced him to retreat to land. Wheezing and coughing up more foamy Hyjal runoff, the warrior cursed and lamented as the Southfury sucked away the last pieces of the ruined flying machine.

"The spirits can take it! Curse that fel-raised goblin and his wretched schematics!" Khorvis's baying resounded off of the trunks of pines in their autumnal gold. Ghostpaw howlers answered in kind, and Khorvis quickly shut his jaw, his eyes darting from shadow to crescent moon. He shivered, unsheathed a long dagger from his bandolier, and stalked towards the treeline. "Talrendis scouts may have eyes on this bank," he muttered under his breath. "Best to find shelter for the night. And flame."

Coming to a massive fallen pine some distance into the forest, Khorvis discovered a sizable hollow in its freed mass of tangled roots. With the addition of a few nearby logs, the bedraggled orc fashioned a hidden enclave, replete with centipedes and skulking spiders. A flick of flint and steel. A small flame burst alight upon kindling of needles and sticks and filled the lean-to with the sweet scent of Northern Kalimdor. Khorvis hunched over the campfire and warmed his meaty fingers, the river's chill sloughing off the orc's thick hide like a discarded cape.

"A poor start to my grand brewery," Khorvis grumbled, trying to distract himself from the gnawing pit that was his stomach. "No doubt there is some fel trickery at work here. I followed those plans exactly!" The griping and snarly eventually faded into the dull crackling of flames and crickets, interrupted only by the sound of what may have been a giant wildthorn venomspitter feeding on captured prey.

The warrior paused in his morbid thoughts having caught sight of a strange growth upon one of the tree-shelter's roots. Atop an impossibly thin white stem perched a marvelous mushroom cap, perfectly round and the diameter of a gnome's eyeball. Purple and indigo hues painted the fungus, broken by tiny white dots that shimmered in the campfire's wavering light.

"Odd that I did not take note of it before," Khorvis mused. "I am reminded of the delicious http://www.wowhead.com/item=27859 of Draenor. A little spore from home." He casually plucked the cap from the root and twinkling dust dripped from the mushroom as Khorvis popped it into his mouth.

The campfire blinked out.
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Lilliana
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Re: Bloodstar Brewery [OPEN]

Unread post by Lilliana »

((I think this is VERY Grim! The Grim isn't just about being dark and emo, from my recollection! We had "storytime" back in the day, where we would get together in Brill and be all cutsey with someone leading a story and being friends! I love this!!!))


Bloodshine had been walking behind Ruuki when she saw the tauren stop to read something another Grim had put up for all to see. Bloodshine wasn't interested, but decided to see what had captivated Ruuki so much. She chuckled when she read the "news". If she could help with this, she would. But she'd be damned if she would take up a post like a mere barmaid in this new tavern of that well determined orc. Hmmm, just where was Khorvis right now, anyhow?
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Khorvis
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Re: Bloodstar Brewery [OPEN]

Unread post by Khorvis »

The crashing torrent of the Southfury's source upon the ancient rocks of Hyjal's roots drowned out most of the grinding of the goblin crane and its massive engine block. Plunging again into the river, a conscripted team of goblin workers painstakingly swam to the silty bottom and attached a series of iron cables to the wreckage of a Sky Golem. A high pitched whine and the clicking of a gearshaft and the crane began the task of hauling the ruined machine out of its watery grave of nearly two years.

Khorvis Bloodstar paced through the overgrowth that had choked and nearly obscured the decaying foundation of the Brewery that now lay in unfinished ruin. The loss of time and resources hardly bothered the veteran warrior, for in the grand scheme of things, this was simply a dabble in a fancy - a whim and a break after the destruction of the Thunder King. After the true Siege upon Orgrimmar began, the facility had been abandoned and the full focus of Khorvis's energy had been set upon Hellscream.

With the drama of Garrosh mostly complete upon Azeroth, and the Grim battalions knocking upon the very gates of Tanaan, the time had come to reclaim what useful equipment remained in Azshara for use in the greater war effort. A few specialty vats that would likely find a home in the Mandate's alchemical labs. A water pump of considerable size, meant for siphoning the Southfury into the brewery proper, might be added to the Frostfire garrison's firefighting apparatus. Heaps and piles of useless metallic scrap were being loaded into kodo-driven carts to be hauled into smelting furnaces back behind the walls of Orgrimmar.

The Inquisitor took some respite from the harsh afternoon sun and settled his considerable shoulders against an Azsharan pine with a fine view of the river and Ashenvale beyond. He unpacked his aging smoking pipe, carved from an Ogre ulna and adorned with the scrimshaw of the Second War, lit a twig aflame with the hidden fire of a shackled elemental spirit, and proceeded to puff a dense cloud of Khadgar's whisker (though his clan had named it 'Worg's muzzle' after crossing the portal). "A pleasant afternoon, seasoned with the honesty of hard labor. Well, the hard labor of others!"

Under the dappled shade, Khorvis thumbed through old reports and maps of the area. In particular, he set about reviewing Inquisition notes from before the Siege. High Inquisitor Aureliya Raindawn had been greatly estranged from the orc's circles even before her promotion, and the Supplicants under her tenure were all now full Reapers, riding at the behest of the Mandate. Never one to sneer at the wisdom of those who came before, Khorvis meant to glean what he could from the mage's mark upon the Inquisition.

"Hrmph, best to start at the beginning, aye? Zug zug, let us see here ... Akorharil ..."
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Cloudripper
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Re: Bloodstar Brewery [OPEN]

Unread post by Cloudripper »

Ropy tendrils of silk suspended a great cocoon from the canopy of Bough Shadow. Catching the light of phosphorescent spores drifting lazily upwards from a bed of pulsing blue mushrooms, the vessel shook and swayed in the shadows, hidden from any prying eyes upon the other shore of the Southfury. Slowly, almost timidly, an aperture dilated at the base of the silvery cocoon and, feather by jet feather, out sloppingly slid a wing. The entire scene assumed a surreal sublimity, as if there dwelled some cyclical logic in this phantasmagoria. Perhaps some symbiosis existed between the effervescent offal and the dripping silk scum. Without an audible sound, the rest of a massive raven hatched from its dangling cradle to hang inverted by two wicked talons. The creature spread its considerable wings to a span of ten feet and pivoted slowly in enraptured suspension. Sounds of machinery and the engines of industry arrested the spectacle, and the eyes of the raven followed invisible strands of silk, hidden within the Emerald Dream, that crossed the Southfury and clung to Azsharan pines …
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Khorvis
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Re: Bloodstar Brewery [OPEN]

Unread post by Khorvis »

Running through the ancient oaks of the Ashenvale, Khorvis had found true freedom. Wisps danced gaily over fallen logs and spun acrobatic feats through the damp air. The orc flashed each one a genuine grin as he too leapt from a rocky outcropping and plummeted whimsically into a tepid pool fed by a nearby spring. Such unfettered joy had been absent from his life, at least not since those idyllic summers on Zeth’kur’s shores. Splashing with wonton frolic, Khorvis leaned back and floated in the forest’s darkness, adrift, naked, and carefree.

Careless.

Unseen vines swam their way up beneath his green skin and tied themselves in knots around Khorvis’s limbs. He struggled against the bonds, but there were far too many. Their thorny flesh dug into their victim’s hide and the pool began to take on a reddish tint in Elune’s light. With one last gasp of forest air and an outstretched arm, Khorvis was dragged down into the black depths. Deeper. Colder…

He awoke with a start. The sun had set over Azshara and twilight draped her blanket over the river’s shore. Scattered all over the roots of his tree were the Inquisition’s papers and an uneaten meal of cold venison. The dream, had it been one, seemed so real, as if plucked from a memory. Shaking his bleary head, Khorvis groaned and stomped to his feet.
Something was off. The chirpings of the forest’s insects were not to be heard. The machines too were silent. Where were the work crews?

Marching carefully down the riverside path, Khorvis came to the worksite. The metal cranes had become entangled by dozens of thick vines which had seemingly erupted from the soil. Bent and twisted, the excavation equipment was completely ruined.

The lone orc explored further into the fresh foliage. Scattered in the campground were the corpses of the goblin crew. Each one lay with a razorthorn vine sprouting from his chest and a look of bliss on his face. And growing near the feet of each goblin was a familiar mushroom, thin of stalk with a round indigo cap. Many were half eaten, and some stems lay in the dirt.

“These again…,” Bloodstar mumbled as he plucked the fungus from the earth and held it up to the moonlight now creeping past Mount Hyjal. The dream flashed through his mind again, and the memory of his first night scouting the site for the brewery. “May be there do be something to these little snacks.”

He studied the corpses once more and nodded to himself. “Best not to stay here the night. I will not end up as food for some plant!” The orc began his moonlit march to the South, following the river. It would be a long walk to Orgrimmar, but he had his wits and his blade. Besides, a scrap with a Kaldorei patrol would be a welcome respite from this unknown forest magic.

Humming an old ogre battle prayer to himself as his boots squished in the silty shoreline, Khorvis patted the mushroom in his pouch. “If there do be one Grim who might know more, I do wager it be Reaper Akorharil. After all, he did aid in laying down the foundation of my poor cursed brewery.”
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