Sinerathin

"Shadows of the Past", a Warcraft Roleplay

I figured it was important to give Hester some friends to play with :D

"Shadows of the Past", a Warcraft Roleplay

Stepping out onto the balcony of one of the towers that loomed over the battlements of Honor's Watch was a man wearing some leather ringmail armor and clad in a white, slightly tattered white cloak that bore its fair share of bird poop, and donned a leather cap over his bald head. On each of his shoulders were two large eagles perched, one covered in a brown and white pattern on its feathers called Zullen; the other entirely black called and Zal. The birdmaster's right eye was missing, with no eyepatch to cover the scar. His right eyelids had been sewn directly shut with crude thread. His left eye however gazed out across the somber night harbor with great vigor. "A quiet evening, isn't it, my darlings?" He commented as he looked down towards the docks. The white in his remaining functional eye carried a green hue, and the blood vessels around his sickly yellow iris were protruding outwards enough to almost push his eyelids aside. "It was a nice necklace you found for me yesterday." He muttered as he clutched a silver chain hanging out from his pocket, while his odd eye which had been scanning the dock stopping to focus as he spotted a faint glimmer from the back pocket of one of the dock publicans doing a routine inspection of the ships along the pier. "Maybe tonight's catch will be no smaller." Stroking the wing of the eagle Zal, the birdmaster produced a rotting rat carcass from a pouch hanging from his belt. Throwing it up before him, both Zullen and Zal immediately reacted; shooting their beaks out to greedily snap at the rat which was promptly torn in half as their ravenous beaks clamped down on it simultaneously. The mauled remains of the decaying rodent were gluttonously gulped down by the two birds, who looked far more energized as their sharp gaze shifted between their master and the surrounding skyline in search for more food. "But perhaps it's mealtime first." The birdmaster muttered as he raised his arms, and both of the eagles suddenly took off to swoop down from the tower as they went to hunt for other rodents, vermin, lesser birds and other small prey around Honor's Watch, diving and soaring between the battlements and along the reef.

"Shadows of the Past", a Warcraft Roleplay

Rithrynn's willingness to put her butt between him and danger came hardly as a surprise to the High Elf. What did surprise him however was how lenient Liaena appeared to be towards Rithrynn about it. "Was there anything else, or do we get moving now?” "None." Sharon replied, looking a little distant as the High Elf mentally counted through all the things he had scheduled for the meeting. "If there was one thing I had forgotten by now, I probably won't remember it anyway!" But as Liaena and Bella left the entrance to the living room to walk out into the corridor, Alissah had suddenly began to follow them; quickly slipping out of the living room behind them. In fact, unless one had kept an eye on her the entire time, her movement through the room had been almost entirely unnoticable. "There is one thing." Alissah sounded as she catched up with Bella and Liaena in the corridor. Reaching a hand into her coat, she produced what seemed like a small, bronze tipped glass dart containing a white, slightly shimmering liquid that emanated a faint and yellow light. Holding it in the palm of her leather glove, she held it up Liaena. "I noticed the dart gun of yours, and I believe you can make use of this." She spoke in a quiet tone, her calm demeanor only broken by the intense stare from her eyes. "This dart contains a sample of holy water from a font in the Monestary of Tirisfal, its container blessed by one of the High Clerics of the Scarlet Crusade, and the needle is made out of almost complete pure trusilver metal." Alissah explained, taking a brief pause. "It may be unconventional, but can weaken or outright destroy even the mightiest creations of darkness, be it demon or undead. Consider it a gift from one marked to another." Back in the living room, Sharon had uncorked the antitode from Liaena. He was currently staring down at the top of the bottle, as if a sense of doubt and hesitation had gripped him. All around him were the big, silver eyes of the Night Elves looking down at him with utmost curiosity, to see what disasterous thing could happen to the High Elf. Swallowing hard, Sharon raised the bottle. "You only live once... " He muttered, taking a deep breath before closing his eyes and chugging down a solid sip! Slamming the bottle back down on the table, the first thing he noticed was how salty and acidic his mouth tasted, a vile sensation indeed. But beyond a slight groan from his stomach, he was still alive. "See? Not so bad?" Sharon smiled to the rest of the Night Elves, praying that his confident words would not invite instant karma in the form of a spontaneous explosion on the spot! Handing the opaque antitode over to the nearest Night Elf, Sharon looked back at Rithrynn. "I appreciate the support, Rithrynn." Sharon said, before his blue eyes drifted over to Serphia. "But I think the leaders of the group must stay close together." Although part of him would prefer to stay with Rithrynn, he knew that fast and direct communication with Serphia was essential for the success of the group. "Just... promise me you won't run off ahead into a danger zone like last time."

"Shadows of the Past", a Warcraft Roleplay

"The cliff-sides will not be an obstacle." Alissah commented dryly as she observed them from the corner of the room. Smokey, who was the one standing the closest to the enigmatic women, jerked on his shoulder before producing an odd wooden contraption featuring two pedal like levers on each side. "If ye would but carry a rope up with ye, it won't be an issue for me either." Smokey commented with a large smile as he held the contraption and a bundle of rope up to the stoic Alissah. "Of all here, I've probably got the biggest load to carry." The woman merely stared down at the rugged dwarf in return, her grey eyes narrowing as she observed the dwarf. Not receiving any answers, Smokey raised an arm. "Come on, lass; it's no big deal! I had better teamplayers in my last outfit, and they were all idiots!" Smokey began to complain, the dwarf raising the volume of his voice! Simply continuing to stare back at him for a moment, Alissah eventually extended a hand out from her coat to accept the rope. "Very well, dwarf... " Having observed the quarreling duo that was supposed to be his hired aide resolve their conflict on their own, Sharon returned his attention to Liaena and the Sentinels. Perhaps the first thing he noticed was the absolute suspicion that penetrated the eyes of the Night Elves as they stared down at the antitode that had been produced by Liaena as if it had been poison! Deciding to step in before any exaggerated accusations of conspiracy or trickery could be levied against Liaena by the zealous elves, Sharon picked up the bottle for all the Night Elves to see as he turned to Serphia. "Once we leave for the castle, I will take the first sip. Do not worry, the contents are entirely safe." Sharon assured the Night Elves, hosting his best smile while hoping that his confidence in Liaena would rub off on the Night Elves. "Then we each have our purpose. Liaena will take Bella with her through her airborne entry, while I will accompany Serphia's elves, Liam and our mercs on the climb." Sharon explained to the rest of the group, before turning to look back at Serphia. "I am no seasoned climber I'm afraid. But I can shrink myself down and accompany you that way." Sharon proposed, albeit a little bit hesitantly. Perhaps when it came to the risks of shrinking oneself around Night Elves, no one knew it better than Sharon; thanks in no small part to Rithrynn. He doubted he'd get Serphia to carry both a full sized Liam and Sharon, with all his fancy armor and gear. However, it was a compromise that he was willing to make. "What's the worst that could happne?"

"Shadows of the Past", a Warcraft Roleplay

Noticing Liaena as the smaller girl scurried up beside him as they entered the living room, Sharon threw her a soft smile. "No, with the arrival of the two mercs, I believe all of us should be accounted for." Sharon answered as he approached the table in the center of the room, where a large map that spanned the entire width of the table lay. The map seemed to be the blueprints of the ramparts of the castle, Honor's Watch, giving a hand written aerial view-illustration of the top of the castle. "Thanks to the help of Greymoon, I was able to requisition an old blueprint of the design of the castle that we are about to infiltrate." Sharon explained as he stopped next to the table. "Unfortunately, this is not an up-to-date version, and there may be slight modifications in the actual fortifications." Sharon motioned through the window, down at Honor's Watch which rested on its reef by the end of the harbor, looking quite peaceful and serene under moonlight. "Fran, is everything set?" The High Elf then asked, his attention turning to Fran who was standing with the rest of the crowd that had gathered in the living room. "Aye! We've got a mob of more than 100 well soaked, strong lads back at the alehouse, none of whom hold any great love for the bloody lillies. Soon we'll rally them, and then we'll trash their stupid offices in the Cathedral District!" Nodding, Sharon turned to look at the rest of the group as he pointed with an arm to Fran. "Indeed. As you may have heard, the Red Vanguard will provide the distraction while we infiltrate the fort. With any lucky, it will draw both the attention and a lot of White Hand mercenaries away from Honor's Watch while we search for Kathlin Lennox." Sharon smiled, the High Elf looking genuinely excited for the mission. He had been cramped up in his office for too long, and the thought of finally being able to throw himself into harms way in what would hopefully be an action-filled rescue mission made his adventurer blood tingle. "As for the infiltration, we will launch a two-pronged entrance to the fort, divided into two groups, lead by,-" Sharon suddenly paused for a moment, noticing the absolutely vile look that he was receiving from Serphia, and quickly readjusted his words. " ... centered around me and Liaena. Group one will be me, the Night Elves, Khel and Alissah. This will be the group that approaches from the sea, using the side of the reef to climb to the lowermost section of the fortifications. But we need at least one light wielder in each group. Liaena, how do you intend to deploy the church's finest on this mission?" Sharon asked at the end with a slightly amused tone, as his eyes drifted towards Priest Gray and Apprentice Bella.

"Shadows of the Past", a Warcraft Roleplay

“Do I know you?” Sensing no danger, the woman retracted her crossbow back beneath her coat when Liaena asked. Turning her head to look down at the slightly shorter, black haired girl, she simply stared at her for a moment. "No. You don't." The coated woman answered with a disaffected voice, gazing down at Liaena with a neutral expression. But even though her face was unmoving, her blue eyes were much more alive; looking like they were scanning every single part of Liaena's body with deadly curiosity. But it was a brief curiosity, as the woman turned her head around to look towards the front door, having seemingly lost any interest in Liaena already. That was when the door of the house opened, and the towering presence of Serphia then loomed over them like a dark cloud! Fran and Smokey immediately stopped when they saw the big Night Elf, with Smokey instinctively reaching down with a hand to protect his groin. "Do not worry, they are friends." Sharon's voice suddenly sounded behind Serphia, as the High Elf squeezed himself out between Serphia and one of her sentinels as they almost blocked off the doorway completely. Walking out into the garden, Sharon's eyes quickly fell on Fran. "This is Fran, a man who's hatred of the White Hand almost matches that of my love, Liaena Rune. And this is... " Turning to Smokey, Sharon hesitated for a moment. "Bart Khel, a... recent associate of mine. Qualified Dwarven demolition expert, assured to solve any physical obstructions that we might encounter." Finally, Sharon's eyes dawned on the quiet woman standing next to Liaena, who in return gazed at him from beneath her heavy leather hat. "And this is Specialist De'Roje Alissah, who... " "Could you please speak any louder, Sharon? I'm afraid that child can only hear half of what you are saying." The woman, supposedly named Alissah, said with a slightly irritated tone as she raised a hand to point with her thumb over her shoulder at one of the windows of the house on the opposite end of the street, in which one of the windows featured the face of a very curious blond haired kid glued to the frame, barely above seven, who stared down at the strange congregation that had gathered outside of Greymoon's house. " ... please?" "Ahem, yes, duly noted... " Sharon replied, slightly pulling in the metal collar of his breastplate before he turned to Serphia. "Let's continue inside, shall we?" The High Elf suggested, raising his arms to slightly push Serphia and the sentinel next to her back inside of the corridor, while secretly praying that she wouldn't kick him right out of the house. Serphia was just the kind of person that he imagined wouldn't be too averted to potentially occupying a house simply because she could. Indeed, he wasn't even sure if he could ever remove her warband from his own house without her own consent.

"Shadows of the Past", a Warcraft Roleplay

"Well... " Sharon said, biting his lower lips as he eyed the castle. "I have a general clue." "A 'general' clue?" Came the immediate response for the towering Night Elf next to him as Serphia's eyes narrowed down on him. Pulling on his collar a little bit, he gazed back up at her. "Dungeons, and any prisoners held within them; tend to be located at the base of most castles and citadels." Sharon reasoned, channeling the unimpressive architect within himself. Raising an arm, he pointed down at the reef that the castle was situated on top of. "It would not surprise me if they had corridors running down through the reef itself. I see no elevators leading down to their sea entrance, for instance. That means it has to be some kind of system of tunnels to transport goods and personnel from the bottom to the top." Sharon said as he pointed down at the large cove entrance at the toe of the reef, pointing out towards the seaway. He had seen at least one smaller merchant ship enter through that seaway, which convinced him that there must some kind of smaller dock or harbor inside the very reef itself. Although he couldn't help himself but think what poor impression all his assumptions and speculation made on Serphia. The lack of hard facts probably didn't help her confidence in his plan. -------------------------------------------- On the outside of Penance Street 27, a taller, slender figure appeared from the shadows of one of the alleyways. Eyes scanning the row of houses from beneath a large, black leather hat, the woman's eyes remained on Greymoon's resort, which was by far the most luxurious of all the already impressive houses on Penance street. The woman was wearing a long black leather coat, concealing her lower body. Slowly making her way towards the entrance to the garden, she suddenly paused. "Hey! Lassie! Do ye kno where Penance street 23 is?!" Sounded the groggy voice of a dwarf that came walking up behind her. The dwarf in question was none other than "Smokey" Bart Khel, the dwarven demolitions 'expert'. The dwarf carried a deep brown hair, although was completely bald on top of his head, and his beard played host to remnants of what looked like at least three different dinners that the dwarf had enjoyed. Smokey was wearing no more than a simple linen cloak and canvas pants, with a checkered woolen shirt. However, over his clothes he carried at least four different satchels strapped to a leather raiment over his torso, with a heavy backpack on his back. Although said containers were closed, it was still possible to see the occasional butt of a dynamite sticking out through the various containers to hint at his explosive cargo. And in his hands, he held a large, smooth-bore musket. "I'm looking for some fancy fella named Sharon Dei-something. He lives around here." At first, the woman did not answer the dwarf; merely staring at him with two deep blue eyes from beneath her hat. But eventually, she tilted her head slightly to the side, revealing her brown hair. "If you would but look up, you would see that this is Penance Street 27, not 23. And Sharon is here." "Oh? Really! I thought for sure it was... waitt'a, you're 'ere to meet the elf too?" Smokey suddenly exclaimed, increasing his grip around his smoothbore musket. "Yer' no poncy Night Elf! Are ye tryin' tha steal me contract?!" Smokey had begun to raise the bore of his musket up towards the woman, only to halt when she immediately produced a smaller and loaded crossbow from her coat which she pointed right down at the dwarf. "Don't." "What's going on here?!" Sounded the voice of Fran, the gold bearded and red caped dwarf appearing behind the couple. Fran barely had time to look at both of them before he suddenly found himself the target of both the woman's crossbow as well as Smokey's musket, all of which were aimed at the confused Red Vanguard. "Fran? The bloody hell are you doing here?" Smokey exclaimed! "Bart? Me ancestors... aren't you with the White Hand? What are ye doing here?" Fran asked, hands raised. "They skipped their last payment. I'm getting a new job!" "Then what are... " But Fran did not have time to ask his question as the attention of both Smokey and the mysterious woman immediately turned to the noise of a nightsaber rapidly approaching them at the gate!