Deception (a World of Warcraft Fanfic)

Dinner with the Warchief and Chieftan

On my way to my guest accommodations I pocketed a strange contraption. It was sold by a weary vendor, a traveler seeking to sell the rest of his haul to feed himself dinner.

"Do a refugee a favor and buy the last of my stock?" he asked, trying to hold the gadget eye level to me. "It can be very useful, if you know how to use it."

I studied the object. it resembled a hammer, only the handle was a container, it's content consisted of rivets, small gears, two springs, a chain and a few thin metal strips. Everything seemed downsized in comparison to my hand, but the hammer itself was small compared to the ragged looking goblin.

"How much?" I questioned, to see if I could do a little charity without splurging.

"Ah, for my last customer I'll charge no more than that nice hide 'ya got there. That'd make me a nice temporary shelter for the night. What creature is that massive?"

"Hinterlands giant turtles. Go ahead, save me a trip to an auctioneer." I handed him the hide, he smiled with great gratitude and traded the hammer contraption.

"Pleasure doing business with 'ya"

After the short detour I decided to head where I was told to be for my evening meal. It was a bit early, but I couldn't think of anything I really needed. My current armor would be fine, and a quick tuning of the bow and it would be a killing machine.

The nook was well hidden, and would be easily overlooked if it weren't for my detailed instructions. The door was but a narrow crack in the valley's wall. Perhaps purposed as a bunker for important figures in times of war.

To the untrained eye, it looked unguarded, but with my keen hunter's resolve, I could see at least four well hidden rouges keeping guard. Clever, I give Garrosh credit for such well thought out protection. I waved in acknowledgement to one and he stumbled back, surprised I could see him.

I entered to two heavily armed men blocking a stairway. They studied me, looked at one another, and nodded in agreement. One stepped aside and I was allowed passage up the winding stairs.

At the top I reached a spacious room carved into the valley wall. There sat a large table that servers were dressing. They, too, were armed, only less so. Perhaps mages or warlocks. Either or I assume that a job in this secluded fortress is a lifetime service to the cause of keeping Garrosh safe if was ever came to Durotar.

There was a kitchen, but it certainly wasn't recognizable. There was a top notch fire pit in the center, but as a member of the stronghold's engineer crew lit it, I could tell it was no ordinary fire. It was smokeless! how amazing! the designer had thought of everything. Smoke would have either made the air poor quality or show in the sky, where the location could be pin pointed.

Besides the fire, the kitchen walls were lined with hundreds, maybe thousands, of assorted preserves. Never have I seen such a vast collection. Chefs with ladders reached high up to gather the ingredients of tonight's feast.

The rest of the stronghold consisted of a sleeping area with tightly packed bunk beds in the corner. The majority of the space, however, was taken up by war strategy map tables, one for every continent. Each was so detailed gazing at it could take you to the very place. It was obviously the life work of several map makers and explorers. All were this detailed except for the newly discovered land, which was a basic ink outline.

It then struck me how very little was known about Pandaria, the land hidden in mist. I was truly walking into an unfamiliar place in the dark, and I loved it.

My eyes fell on Baine, who had also arrived early. He appeared to be starring at a wall, which was strange for him, or anyone in general. Baine would usually be conversing with one of the staff, learning all he could about everything. He was indeed mor social than I, but when it came time, I was bolder.