The Smugglers ((RP CHALLENGE))

[Doskious Steele]

Doskious hoped he wasn't too late. His unwilling captive in tow, he hurried through Shattrath searching for his Guildmistress. The Scryers had been warm and helpfully unhelpful. "No she is not in." "No we do not know when she will return." "No we cannot say for sure when last she was in her rooms." "Was there something else, Lord Doskious?" Mana-glutted Blood elves. I do hope I'm not too late...

There! Across the chamber, near the portals. Doskious hated shouting, but it was necessary. "DAELIRIA!" His voice echoed and reverberated, charged as he was with Eldritch Power. She paused. Mentally commanding his prisoner to stay behind, he dashed up to the startled night elf. He spoke quickly before she could begin to protest.

"I know the schedule is a tight one, but you must not go to Southshore. There is another assassin waiting." He mentally commanded the Eredar to his side. "Listen to my captive, quickly, before my control over him wanes." Doskious eyed the guards and the Naaru uneasily. He very much doubted that they would stop to ask questions before slaying the demon once it left his control. He mentally prodded the creature to divulge its story.

"There is indeed a team of assassins waiting for you at Southshore. A much more competent group than the lone orc. That was a ploy to provoke an incautious haste, which apparently ... almost ... succeeded. Certain elements were becoming impatient. A pity--" The Eredar's eyes flashed crimson briefly as it flexed its sinews and the encircling chains of command shattered. "-- I shall have to finish you myself!" The guards, much to the surprise of the two Eilon, lifted not a finger in aid. Nevertheless, the combat was swift and the demon slain. Doskious, however, was more than somewhat chagrined.

"My apologies, Guildmistress. I learned that another assassination attempt was scheduled against you in Southshore, timed to coincide with the shipment I can only presume you were planning to meet. I did manage to get a message to Valkrysi, who has tasks in Southshore at the moment anyway. She should be nicely inconspicuous. I also have Mesaana observing via Mechanical Squirrel remote. Then I hurried to find you, and warn you. You now have heard all that I have, from the demon. I apologize again for not obtaining more information from him - now that he no longer lives, we would seem to be as much in the dark as ever."

[Alt-Girl]

((Not all that baffling because Eredar look just like Draenei. The most logical reaction to seeing what appear to be Alliance members dueling within the city would be to separate and/or banish the combating parties. Or maybe A'dal would just kick your asses. That would be pretty awesome. ^_^ ))

[Daeliria]

Daeliria held perfectly still for a moment, her eyes shining dangerously, before a shudder of fury ran through her. "Lord Steele," she said, and her voice was quiet and gentle, "I would like very much to know what is happening. Organized crime of this great of a degree? Assassins? Eredar? This could be no work of the Eilon." I think. I hope. "How did this great mess land in my hands?"

Doskious' arrival raised far more questions than it answered. To the best of her knowledge no one else had gotten their hands on the reports that had just gone up in flames, or been present when Reycied had shown her the conspicuous pattern. Certainly her questions about the shipping schedules had had to be more forthright than she would have liked, but still, it was far too little time for anyone to piece together the information and parallel her thoughts. Even had Doskious obtained all the information from his captive, it seemed incredibly convenient that he had managed to subdue one who was in on the plot, but still know next to nothing about it himself.

Lord Steele was exceedingly powerful in his own right, and charismatic, and had never given her any reason before to doubt his loyalty, but Daeliria had precious little idea why she held it. And the easiest solution would be - to maintain a charade. Another shiver rippled down her spine. Demons. No.

Daeliria folded her arms.

[Reycied]

It was raining in Southshore. Falling thick from the cloudy gray skies, a torrent the likes of which Reycied hadn't seen in months. And at this time of the night, a hair past midnight, the streets leading up to the coastline were empty, and the lanterns hanging from the Inn's beams were flickering and dancing in the harsh winds.

He had declined to wear his armor--he wanted to look as inconspicuous as possible, and had instead worn plainclothes, a dark cloak with the hood pulled up to shield himself from the rain, and his sword. Bismarck, his powerful white steed, was also shorn of his Arcanite barding, with nothing but a leather saddle. He seemed oddly uncomfortable without the extra layers of protection.

Through the fog in his glasses, Reycied saw what looked like a team of cloaked men hauling a boat ashore at the docks. He checked the clock tower across the avenue--right on shedule. Checking to make sure his sword was loose in its sheath, he dismounted and made his way towards the men at the docks. His eyes glowed blue in the stormy night.

"Ho there!" he called out over the pounding rain. "Are you the shipment from Ironforge?"

"That's right," said one of the cloaked men. "Just came from Menethil Harbor. But...well, we were told there was a Night Elf woman to pick up the shipment. Where is she?"

Reycied scowled. They were waiting for Daeliria. Well, things may have gotten a little sour between the two of them, but she was still his friend--and if these men were here to harm one of his friends, well...

"As a representative of Eilon Kaerannis, and a Paladin of the Silver Hand, you men are under arrest for conspiracy to commit murder. You will be tried fairly, and will be offered a chance to plea your case--"

He stopped as white-hot pain lanced through him. Something sharp was stuck in his back, right in his kidney. Agony railed through him, threatened to make him black out.

"We'll keep you alive," a voice hissed in his ear. He recognized the odd hiss to the voice. It was a draenei--no--an Eredar. "Long enough for you to help us find the Night Elf..."

Reycied didn't bother with any more pleasantries. Launching one hand over his shoulder, he grabbed the face of whoever had stuck the knife in his back. Willing his holy energies to manifest, he sent a blast of exorcising holy power into the demon, turning it to ash in seconds. The excess holy light streamed into him, healing his wound as he tore the knife free from his back.

"Now--is anyone going to come quietly?"

The men produced weapons from their cloaks--high-quality weapons made of Felsteel. They hunkered into skillful fighting stances and began to advance as Rey drew his sword.

All at once, a terrible noise split the air, like thunder. One of the men fell with blood gushing from his neck.

Reycied craned his neck to see the source of the disturbance. A dwarf woman--it was Valkrysi--was holding a smoking rifle over her shoulder, grinning from ear to ear.

"Let's leave one of them alive, Paladin," she said. "So we can get some information."



(( Edited to correct the spelling of Eredar before 'Zani explodes. ))

[Alt-Girl]

(( ))

[Doskious Steele]

(( I suspect that the interaction between Dae and Dosk would be better played out in person, since I do *not* have a good enough grasp of Dae's character to put words in her mouth. Dae, thanks for not GodModeing Dosk's actions either ^__^ Dosk is the only character I really care about that with, btw, and to a lesser degree Mesaana, but the rest of my toons feel free to throw in for Flavor as necessary as Rey did with Val.))

[Alt-Girl]

((Storyage HO!))

“Red.... red.... RED!”

The mage, still wearing her red cloak, sighed heavily and sunk deeper into the large armchair. The fireplace in the small library crackled merrily and the brunette resignedly flicked to the next page. “Why can't anyone be bothered to learn my name?” she thought mournfully. Archmage Cedric addressed her as 'Vargoth's apprentice,' her new employer had settled in comfortably with 'mage,' and the incredibly obnoxious elf seemed to switch from nickname to nickname as often as most people changed their socks. Today's was 'Red,' most likely because 'Red Riding Hood' had too many syllables and was difficult to pronounce in a drunken stupor. She was so lost in her own thoughts that the small pointy eared figure slipping into the room completely escaped her notice.

“Sergeant Tierney?”

The heavy tome fell to the floor with a thud and the brunette whirled about to glare at the intruder, a short night elf with incredibly long aquamarine hair. The young druid clapped a hand over her mouth.

“I'm sorry. I didn't mean to startle you.” The mage's glare did not falter. “Oh of course. Surely you're at least a Sergeant Major.” She chuckled nervously and frowned at a golden badge. “I could never remember what the little bars or cloak knots mean. You'd think that would have been a pretty clear sign I wasn't cut out for the military, but try telling that to my mother. 'Long line of Sentinels' and blah blah blah.” The night elf paused briefly, both to breathe and check for a reaction.

The brunette walked over to retrieve her missing insignia and slipped it back in her pocket. “I'm a Master Sergeant, for your edification,” Green eyes stared off into space. “But I don't do much work for the military anymore, so the title is unnecessary.”

“Of course. But...” The elf paused. “I never caught your name. Unless of course, it actually is Red.”

“... Raewyn. Or just Rae if you prefer.”

“Raewyn works for me.” The aquamarine haired elf started. “By Elune, I've gone and forgotten to introduce myself. I'm Kyrianna Ambersky.” She gave a quick bow.

“It's... nice to meet you.” The duo paused and glanced up at the ceiling, which was vibrating with incredibly heavy footfalls. “Could you... do me a favor?”

“I'll try my best.”

“Could you... not tell her I'm in here?”

Kyrianna smiled. “Gladly.” The footsteps gradually faded. “If she keeps that up, she's going to wake Eldariel.”

“Who's Eldariel?”

“My younger sister, and Azani's cousin.” Raewyn blinked. “I know. Everyone's surprised.” Her ears perked as a shout of “'ZAAAAAANI!” emanated from the upstairs. “Yup, there it is. She's going to be busy for a while, but if she asks, you're in Stormwind, 'kay?”

“Thank you very much.” As the druid closed the door behind her, the mage nestled back into the chair. “Finally.”

((This can't be very good, but I had to introduce Raewyn at some point. More stuffs to come later.))

[Alt-Girl]

((Now that I've gone and introduced the mage, it's time for the good stuff))

Darkness had fallen over the city of Darnassus and magical orbs lighted the way for the patrolling sentinels. Despite this security, two figures cloaked in both shadow and cloth made it through the window of one of the houses. Landing neatly on the floor, they advanced down one of the hallways, an ever-present 'clop clop' echoing around them.

“Abduscius what in the Outland is that noise?” a gruff voice asked from behind a mask.

“... Those are my feet,” the leader sneered.

“Well... can you stop it?” The eredar rolled his eyes, then gestured his underling into one of the bedrooms. “Is this it?”

“I don't know. Is there a white haired elf in the bed?”

“Uh, I think so?”

The demon rolled his eyes once more. “Then you stab her and we get out of here.”

“Right.” The orc drew a dagger from his belt and plunged it into the blanketed lump. “FOR THE LEGION!” he shouted.

“... What was that?” Abduscius hissed.

“I... uh... sorry. Got a bit caught up in the moment there.” He scratched the back of his neck nervously.

“By Sargeras, I hate you so much.”

“Hey, at least the elf is – ” He trailed off as pieces of straw became apparent at the end of his poisoned blade. “What the?” The orc howled in pain as two knives bit deep into his heels. He crumpled to the ground and saw two glowing eyes staring back at him.

“Abdu -” he began, before a fist silenced him. Staying as low to the ground as she could, Azani crawled from beneath her bed and pressed up against one of the walls.

The eredar readied his blades. “You cannot hide from me, Stormwolf. I will find you, even if I have to burn all of Teldrassil to cinders.”

“By the time you pulled that one off, I'd be in Shattrath,” she thought, trying to decide on the best plan of attack. “At least the nitwit didn't wake - ”

“Azani?” a female voice called from outside the door. “Is everything all right?”

“Damn it. Two pairs of eyes glanced toward the door as Kyrianna walked in. Grinning maniacally, the eredar grabbed the night elf and held a blade to her neck.

"You have until the count of ten before I slit her throat." With both hands in the air. the rogue shifted back into visibility. "Yes... surrender like the defeated wretch you are." Azani only glared silently as Abduscius tossed the druid into a wall. Technically she was released but he could still finish her off at any moment and Stormwolf knew it.

"Now get down on your knees or I'll kill her." With almost painful movements, the rogue knelt before the intruder, who put a sword against her neck. "You're in over your head, little girl. Your petty thievery could never compete with our operation. Nevertheless, thanks to you and your guildmistress, our efforts have been endangered. So in order to end her investigations, I must end you." The night elf kept her eyes to the floor. "A shame that you did not possess the assets that I and my..." he glanced over to the unconscious lump on the floor, "... colleague do: Patience, an elaborate network of connections -"

"Vulnerable genitalia."

"What?" In one swift move, Azani grabbed her captor's dominant wrist and, using the hold to rise to her feet, brought her knee up between Abduscius's legs. The demon crumpled to the ground, writhing in agony.

No longer paralyzed with fear, Kyrianna blinked in surprise. "...Well done."

Azani grinned and brushed sweat-plastered hair from her forehead. "What else would you expect from a rogue extraordinaire?"

((There's more to this, but I think I've written too much already))

[Daeliria]

(( Dosk, then we should set up and encounter in-game after you're well again. Feel better soon! ))

[Doskious Steele]

Doskious could see that his information had only served to agitate Daeliria further. The Eredar, now dead, was not his only news, however, just the only news that could not have waited. "My Lady, you may be interested to know that I have been trying for some time now, practically since this entire mess began, to develop a powerful enough scrying device that would reveal the mastermind behind our woes. In that endeavour I have not been successful. I was, however, able to use it to locate this fellow after a brief interview with Valkrysi."

Daeliria clenched her fists, saying a touch dryly, "It never fails to astonish me what kind of things you accomplish. Wait, Valkrysi? She... has a part in this?"

Doskious elaborated, "The use of the device depends on one's focus or intent, you see. Naturally, my aim was to clear the Eilon in this matter..."

Daeliria interjected a murmured, "... naturally."

"... Valkrysi played the role of informant unwittingly. She thought that she was dealing with Nemene, when in fact it was this fellow in a clever, if rudimentary, discuise. Nemene has been in Ashenvale for some time, now, as you know. I believe he is with Vysarane. Val was met by the impostor and they chatted a bit, and he apparently got her curiosity up about your ... "sessions". She borrowed an invention of mine (ruined it by the way) to eavesdrop on your meetings with the Eilon."

Daeliria, who had been nodding periodically, blinked and her expression hardened at this news.

"Afterwards, they chatted again, and she was ... regrettably communicative. She can be gossipy, I suppose. Anyway, one thing led to another, and it was not until around the time that Konrad discovered the orc that Val realized that Nemene was in Ashenvale."

"... I see. And you are certain it is all of one piece."

"My Lady, I have scryed most of the progression in the device. I used an old, failed experiment on time travel for parts, and it seems that I can scry the past as well as the present, or rather, parts of it at least..."

Daeliria's gaze sharpened at that news, "Accurately?"

Doskious was mildly indignant. "Well of course accurately. As I said, though, it can be finnicky. What you see is accurate, but you still must have a target. Not everything comes through. There are segments of time I cannot scry in the past - I know not if it is a time-based phenominon or dependant on the scrying subject."

Daeliria murmured, "... I see."

Doskious continued, "Most of the progression involving the false-Nemene was viewable, though. Enough for me to trust Val's rendition of the few bits I could not see, and to trust her regarding what was said. I changed modes to try to locate him in the present, for questioning. I found him, travelled to his location (he was lurking in Felwood near Jaedenar), and bested him..."

"And ... you did not find information about his motives or superiors."

"My Lady, I began to question him regarding those things, but one of the first items he let slip was the assassination plot against you at Southshore. He was vexed that he would not be present to assist in the killing of 'the meddlesome Night Elf.' I knew him to be telling the truth as he saw it, and assumed that our opponents were competent in their information-gathering."

Daeliria pursed her lips. "So it would seem."

"Certainly I had no information one way or the other, save that you were using rooms on the Scryer's Tiers. I demanded a timeframe from him as I energized my hearthstone to shift to Shattrath. His indication of immediacy only gave me further cause for concern, especially after my inability to locate you at your rooms. I do apologize, but in the very little time I had, I did not discover anything about their hierarchy, no."

Daeliria paused. "... I wonder how long they had this planned out. Certainly I knew nothing of the Southshore shipment, nor had I planned to meet it, until a few scarce hours ago."

"Did you do anything that would have been noticable regarding the shipment, that could have tipped your hand, my Lady?"

"Not ... that I can think of..." She bit her lip in thought. "I had to be more forthright in my questionings than I would have liked, but still... And... all of my notes were burned."

"My Lady, there exists another possibility - I am not the most skilled member of the Engineer's Union, and there are many skilled engineers who remain un-affiliated. Someone else could have duplicated my scrying device. Were your notes encrypted?"

Daeliria's eyes widened at the possibility Doskious suggested. "... no. My notes were written in very clear, neat handwriting."

"Readable by a good eye from over your shoulder, perhaps?"

"I... am afraid so." Daeliria's gaze suddenly intensified. "Lord Steele, exactly how dangerous -are- you?"

Doskious smiled slowly. "That depends on who is asking the question, my Lady. My Engineering skills may not be top-notch, but my overall knowledge is not easily matched. And of course I have my small talents as a Master of the Fel."

Daeliria half smiled at the answer. "I am. Whom else?"

"To answer -you-, then, I am fantastically dangerous to my enemies, which are largely the enemies of the Eilon. Although I owe the Lich King and his minion-lackey Kel'Thuzad a great debt of pain." Doskious paused. "I sense, though, that there is more behind your question than a simple desire for information."

"...Very perceptive of you, yes." Daeliria paused, as though there might be something more, but remained silent.

"The more frank you are with me the more I can help you, Guildmistress." Can she really suspect me of being the orchestrating force behind all of this? I can see how it satisfies all of the motivational parameters to cast me as the Villain, but aside from being wrong, I haven't done anything to even hint at such a motivation. Am I that enigmatic?

Daeliria paused again. "And if someone were to scry this conversation?"

Aha, security. "No formulae for transmission of sound has ever occurred to me; in my research several times it is indicated that it is not possible using the techniques that I have."

"And as for more mundane methods of eavesdropping?"

"A change of venue can deal with that easily enough. My Lady, perhaps if we were to adjourn to my personal redoubt? It lies within a stable pocket of the trackless depths of the Twisting Nether itself; we should be safe from observation there..."

Daeliria narrowed her eyes briefly, then took a deep breath. "That would be wise."

Doskious manipulated a pocket device, and a small diamond-shaped lift platform phased into being next to them. Stepping on, the world around them became a touch mistier. The elevator rose, leaving the world behind. The trip was brief, just long enough to showcase the majestic beauty of the Twisting Nether. The skies above Hellfire Peninsula do not do it justice. With another mistyness, the lift halted.

The room was a ruin. Scorchmarks dotted the walls where they were thick enough to be seen. In other places, the walls were very misty, allowing the Nether to be seen again. The floor was charred with the remains of a fine carpet. Machinery was wrecked across the room, gouged in a most unsettling way. There were a few flecks of blood on the marble table in the center of the chamber. To the left, a set of double doors hung from the door frame at an uncomfortable angle, as though someone had been thrown through them to unlock them.

Doskious was momentarily stunned. Daeliria similarly, though there was also an expression of enlightenment on her face.

With a twitch, the lift moved again, and the world shifted to mists. "I have moved us into a sideways space, Guildmistress, and we must now separate. The Lift could be being watched. I cannot say for certain where on Azeroth you will appear, but nobody else can either. I can say that you will be safe in the instant of your arrival. Certainly safer than my fortress." The gnome was only somewhat bitter. "I must search for Mesaana, I left her there." They then faded from each other's view as the whole world became mist.

[Cloudspur]

((OMG! ))

[Alt-Girl]

((Sorry about the delay. I've been busy and I had trouble writing for Rey. Even now I'm not sure if I have it right.))

Reycied's eyes snapped open. He was lying on the floor of a room in the Shrine of Unending Light... completely naked. The crystal which he had called home for the past week was nowhere to be found, but it had fulfilled its purpose.

“Sir Moonblade?” a voice called, thick with a Draenic accent.

He sat up from his spot on the floor. “Yes?”

“There is a night elf woman here to see you. Shall I send her in?”

The paladin's heart skipped a beat. “Daeliria! But ... how? Perhaps she made arrangements with the Sha'tar...” He hurriedly donned the purple robe left out for him. “Yes, please.” The door opened and a tall figure cloaked in black walked into the room.

Turquoise eyes narrowed ever so slightly. “What are you doing here, Azani?”

The cloaked figure started. “What are you doing in a woman's robe?”

“Excuse me?”

Azani chuckled. “If it was a man's robe, you'd have escaped through the neck by now.” Reycied blushed ever so slightly.

“Is there something I can help you with?”

“... I heard Dae was in trouble and figured you could use my help.”

The black haired man started out of the room and Azani followed. “That's... very thoughtful of you,” He afforded a quick glance to the ring on his hand. “but I believe that Konradexius and I have the situation under control.”

“Ok.” The night elf noticed the acolytes eying her warily. “Why's everybody lookin' at me funny?”

“I can only assume it's because of your helm. It does make you look rather... demonic.”

“Oh.” Trembling hands reached up and pulled back the cloak's hood to reveal a haggard looking night elf female beneath. Even with her purple tinged skin, Rey could still make out the dark circles under her eyes. “Better?”

“Azani, are you all right?”

“ 'm fine. Just... a bit tired.”

“You should come back to the guild hall and get some rest. We can get this whole smuggling mess sorted out afterwards. If you can provide accurate information which leads to the capture of the eredar smugglers, perhaps the authorities will take some time off your sentence.”

“Sen...tence?”

“Well, of course. You committed a crime and – ” Azani had vanished. “I should have expected as much.” He walked into his room at the inn and donned his armor. Stepping outside, he whistled for [name of epic flappy] and dove towards the Terrace of Light, where he immediately ran into...

“Daeliria!”

The shadowpriestess held up a hand to silence him. “I have important news to convey and time is of the essence.”

“Do go on.”

“After being interrogated by Valkrysi and... Celuici, oddly enough, the Legion operative you captured has revealed some surprising information regarding the attempt on my life.”

Reycied gasped. “They are involved in this?”

Dae nodded. “The reason that the ambush was prepared in spite of my last-minute decision to meet the shipment was that I was not the primary target... They were expecting Azani.”

“By the Light...”

“If you should happen across her, try to convince her to come see me. Evasive as she may be, she cannot outrun the Legion forever.”

The paladin chewed on his lower lip. “About that...”

((This is totally up in the air. If Rey/Dae/Zani (wait, scratch that last one) feel like tearing me a new one for writing their character wrong, I can change stuff. *nodnod* Just wanted to have something written that vaguely resembled what I had in mind so we could get this moving along.))

[Daeliria]

Torus trudged wearily onto the docks at Menethil, pulling off his pauldrons and flexing his shoulders briefly. It was peak flight time again, and droves of adventurers much more experienced - and rich - than he, had commandeered all of the fastest gryphons available. They've all got their own birds already, can't they leave a few scraps to us lesser mortals? He paced up and down the dock briefly, just enjoying the smell of the salt breeze and its feel on his skin. When he could soar carefree over the world... but no, first he needed to prove himself worthy of a warhorse. And then...

A sudden buffeting of air directly above him interrupted his thoughts. He looked up to see a snowy white gryphon skimming extremely low along the length of the docks, and narrowed his eyes to see the rider. Beneath the billowing cloak, he thought he saw - is that? The Eilon tabard? Quickly stuffing his discarded pauldrons into one of his bags, he set off at a brisk trot down the mostly-empty dock, and had just enough time to realize the figure who dismounted was Azani before she vanished from sight.

Torus continued walking, but more slowly, squinting around the limited area of the docks with his keen human perception for the signs of a hidden person. There! He approached slowly, unthreateningly, and lowered his voice.

"There is justice and there is Justice, you know," he said quietly. "If you'd ever stop running for a moment, Stormwolf. This might help." He extended a hand towards her and opened it to reveal a single crimson lotus.

[konradexius]

(( Time for Konrad Badassery ))

Eredar, Orcs, assassination attempts on multiple members of the Eilon. This needs to end.

Konrad grunted as Fireguard ripped into the side of his foe. The Pit Lord was a fierce opponent, and Konrad had to exert every ounce of strength he could muster. A massive polearm, easily three times the size of Konrad himself, whirled through the air promising an untimely demise to those at the pointy end.

But the beast was slow, and ponderous. It was relatively simple, even in heavy plate, to weave through the attacks and land withering blows on the Pit Lord's body.

Both combatants quickly reached their limits. Konrad had taken a blow to the chest; his armor had held, but he knew that he had at least one broken rib. Fel fire rained down continuously, slowly roasting him through his armor, but fire was nothing to him. Even his sword was coated with flame, emitting a heat that a normal man could not withstand for long.

He felt so alive.

The final blow was awe-inspiring. With a brutal vertical slash, the Pit Lord was rent from stomach to chin. As it collapsed, Konrad's injuries caught up with him. Much of his body had gone from aching to numb and he could taste blood. Blindly rummaging in his pack, he found one of his powerful curative potions, giving a silent thanks to Reycied as he gulped it down.

The healing wasn't complete, but it was enough. Standing back up, he scanned the area for additional Legion guards, but saw none. He was standing at the peak of Legion Hold in Shadowmoon Vallley. Climbing up onto the ramparts, he could see the laboring Mo'arg and the guards roaming the outskirts of the base. He would've guessed it to be more of a challenge to fly to the highest point of the Hold and slay one of their leaders, but the demons must have assumed that no fool would possibly challenge a Pit Lord. Hah.

Pulling himself away from the view, he returned to the task at hand. Returning to the corpse of the dead Pit Lord, he examined the enormous glaive it had wielded. The weapon was truly massive and incredibly heavy, but Konrad was a massive man and a strong one at that. His muscles burning, he lifted the weapon over his head, and with a crunch, drove it vertically into the ground, where it rose easily 15 feet above him. Next, he removed the Pit Lord's head - slowly carving through a spinal cord easily a foot thick - and scanned the skies for his mount, Suraku. With a loud whistle, the Nether Drake can streaming through the air, wavering in and out of subsantiality as he came.

"I am here, Konradexius. I am glad to see you succeded."

"I need you to lift this," Konrad asked, indicating the head. "I can't get it up there by myself."

Suraku nodded silently and landed to allow Konrad onto his back. Then, grasping the head of the pit lord in his forward talons, rose into the sky.

---

There was turmoil amongst the minions of Legion hold. A general uproar was moving through the weaponsmiths and warriors, as Overseers struggled to keep order however necessary. Atop the keep of Legion Hold, a grisly totem had been erected. The severed head of the Pit Lord Morgroron was impaled upon his own weapon, openly visible over the ramparts. Less visible, but still apparent, was a black cloth hung below the head - The Tabard of the Eilon Kaerannis.

Let your masters know, wretches. You have crossed blades with the wrong guild. Know the wrath of the Eilon scorned!

[Alt-Girl]

((Ack. Sorry this took so long. Life was kicking my ass and I was busy getting my WoW on with my homies. ))

((... Now I has to gather my thoughts. >.>))