Part One -

"Okay, Blue. Here's the deal." A female's voice, relatively young and sweet, could barely be heard through the dark, evening streets of Stormwind. Her form was hidden safely in the shadows of an alley near Cathedral Square. A gloved hand pointed out across the Square itself. "We go into the Guildhouse through the second story window when the Cathedral's bell starts to ring midnight. The guards will be changing shifts then, and we should be able to slip through easily enough during it. Once we're... hey, Blue, you listenin'?"

"Ja, mon."

"Good. Okay, straight down the hall, to the left, is the room we want. You'll make some noise to distract the guards down the hall if needed, and I'll pick the locks. Inside, there shouldn't be... Blue. Did you just snore?"

"Ja, mon."

"You're asleep... aren't you?"

"Ja, mon."

THWACK. The woman's hand came down across her partner's snout, and the troll jerked out of his nap, "What was dat for, mon!?"

"Blue, focus here. Do you have any idea how much money we'll make off of this thing?"

The troll stretched out and laid himself across the ground. "Red, joo worrehin' too much, ya know? We can do dis ting, real easy. We go, we get da shiny, we get da money."

The woman shook her head, and pulled a black mask up across the lower half of her face. "If you say so."

"An' ah do. We gon' be rich, Red. How 'bout after dis, you 'n me retire, jes?"

"Retire? And do what?" The woman leaned back against a wall, eyes slowly closing.

The troll shrugged his shoulders. "Joo know. Fin' a nice place in de jungle, buil' a nice li'l hut. Wit' da money we makin', we nevah need ta work anudda day."

"And why would I retire with you, Blue?"

"Joo know joo want a piece o' dis meat, Red." The troll grinned, and gave a wink. "I sure you hear da stories o' troll stamina, jes?"

"I thought that was tauren."

"Sure, da tauren, too. But I don' tink you wan' da tauren in joo bed."

She chuckled, her still closed eyes perking into a smile. "About as much as I want a troll."

The troll grinned lecherously, sitting up onto his elbows. "Oooh, so joo're dat type. Dat's impressive, Red. Didn' 'tink you were dat kind o' girl."

Red held her head in her hands and curled over, as if sick to her stomach. She shook her head frantically, bright red hair flowing back and forth over her shoulders. "Oh, Light. That's disgusting. Blue... ew."

"Come on, joo know joo wan' me. Joo an' me, out in de vale." The troll sat up fully, his hands beating at the air in rhythm. The whispers were long gone. "I play de drums, see? I good wit' de drums, played 'em when I wuz a boy. And you do dat dance you always do in de mornings, see?"

"Blue," Red laughed aloud, her entire face shifting into a smile. Her mask slipped down off of her nose, resting around her neck. "You're ridiculous."

"No!" He jumped to his feet, arms spread wide. "Joo love it, I promise. We be on de beach, not anudda girly for miles, you see? And when we done playin' de music and dancin' de dance, we curl up under de sunset, joo see?"

Red shrugged, teeth showing through her smile. "I suppose it sounds pretty nice."

"Joo see!?" The troll leaned forward and placed his hand beneath Red's chin. He grinned, and ran his tongue lightly across the side of a tusk. "And when de sun go down... you an' me make like de animals."

"...Ewww." Red pulled away and scrunched up her face. "You're a TROLL, Blue!"

"Oh, come ahn, girly. Joo an' me be magic. Dat be fact." Blue shrugged.

"Well..." Her shoulders sagged, her hands resting on the daggers at her hips. She let a little sigh escape her lips. "If we can get rid of those tusks... well, we'll think about it, eh? But no promises. You're still a troll."

"An' a damn fine troll at dat, ya?"

"Don't push it, Bl--" Red's eyes, and the troll's, snapped toward the Cathedral Square as the bell began to toll. The two looked at eachother wordlessly, and exchanged a shrug of their shoulders. They slid back into the shadow, and crept toward the guildhouse ahead.

Not much was really known about the Northrend Commonwealth, or the alliances it had made. The only things clear to most was where they stood in the organization's eyes. Whether you were a friend or a foe, it was obvious. Friends knew the Commonwealth's kindness, enemies knew its wrath. Both knew the extent of its strength. That led to one ultimate truth about guard duty in the Commonwealth's guildhouse: It was boring.

Plated greaves chimed against a marble floor, feet moving far more gracefully than they should in their metal casing. A warrior strolled down the hall, narrow nose pointed ever so slightly toward the cieling. Straight black hair hung to just below his shoulders, contrasting the mirror-surfaced suit of armor he wore: Thorium, surfaced with Truesilver and etched with golden runes written in High Elven. On each hip a sword was slung, sleek and curved with the gentle white glow of the Crusader running along their length.

"They must be crazy. Absolutely insane." He shrugged his shoulders, speaking to the empty hall he travelled en route to his post. "Trevel, the Prince of Blades, staring at an empty hallway all night long?"

Trevel slowed his pace, not feeling a need to rush. His eyes drifted off, staring into nothing, and his head bopped to a silent beat, lips curling into a smirk. His daydream was cut terribly short, however, as he immediately tripped and stumbled a few steps. He recovered quickly enough, flourishing into a loose battle stance, just in case anybody was watching. A quick look around revealed no-one, so Trevel looked downwards.

"Huh? What's this?" On the marble floor and pushed against the wall sat a wooden crate, rising up to Trevel's knee. He bent over it for a closer look. "Hm... just a box." He shrugged. "Best case scenario, alcohol. Worst case scenario, it explodes when I open it. Either way, can't be helped."

Trevel stood up to his full height, and immediately collapsed to the ground with a clatter. A large, round, red and purple lump started to rise on his forehead. Above him was a troll, grinning victoriously.

----

Red squeezed one eye shut, focusing on the lock of a thick wooden door and sitting on the back of a very unconcious Draenei. She cursed under her breath, her words mostly obscured by the dark mask she wore over her face. With a shake of her head, she emptied the contents of a small leather sack onto the draenei's back beside her. Needles, wires, picks, keys. She dug through them, testing each in the lock one by one.

"Damn, not that one... damn, damn, damn!" She crossed her legs and set her elbows on her knees. "I knew I should've practiced picking locks instead of dreamfoil..."

"Jo, Red?"

She looked over her shoulder, and up at the troll. "Yeah, Blue?"

"De door be open."

"..." Red turned the knob, and pushed. The door swung open. "...oh."

Beyond the threshold, the rogue duo saw just one thing. One very simple. and very plentiful thing. Money. A lot of money. In reality, there was far more than that in the room. Within that door was treasures of all sorts. Paintings and tapestries line the walls, beautiful jewelry sat in glass-panelled cabinets, and statues and various other things sat atop stone pedestals all individually sculpted to fit a winter motif of ice and snow-topped mountains.

The two stepped inside, soft soles of leather boots making even less noise than the door. They both scanned the room, in awe of just how much this room held. Blue's eyes stopped first, settling on a statue near the back wall. He made his way toward it for a closer look. It stood no more than a foot tall, sculpted out of a softly glowing stone. It seemed to be the blackest of blacks, yet gave off a gentle red aura. It depicted a nude night elven woman, with a form unusually voluptuous for the race. Blue's hand moved toward the statue, and lifted it from its pedestal. Or rather, he would have. Red conked him on the head with the palm of her hand.

"Focus, you pervert."

Blue rubbed his head. "I'm jus' admirin' dis bayootiful piece o' art! Joo don' gots to hurt me, eh?"

"Lets just find the Eye and get out of here." Red turned away from the troll. "We don't have a lot of time."

"What's this?" A voice, small and quiet, came from across the room. The two rogues frantically scanned the room again, hoping to find the source. And they did. Sitting atop one of the pedestals, on the very edge facing them, was a gnome. A very, very small gnome, which would easily fit in the palm of either rogue's hand. He cleared his throat and his voice was just a little louder. "You're searching for an Eye of some sort? Maybe I can help."

The gnome dropped down to the floor with a thud. His form grew, taller and wider, until he reached that of a typical gnomish male. The rogues fell into battle stances and drew their weapons, the gnome simply waved them off. "Come, now. I'm a warlock, can't you see the robes? The brimstone swirling around my sword here?"

The gnome pulled a pair of goggles out of a satchel at his side and slipped them on his head. "You two wouldn't stand a chance against me. What with the fear, demons, and hellfire. The reality of things is, I really don't want to fight you two."

"You... don't?" Red remained in her stance, low and loose, but arched an eyebrow. The troll, directly beside her, had a much less curious expression, much more irritated.

"No, no. Absolutely not. I actually had a question for you. I heard the troll there speaking in Common." The gnome pointed at him. "Very few tribes learn that language! If he'll tell me what tribe he's from, I'll let you both go."

"An' why joo wan' to know dat?"

"Call it hobby." The gnome paced back and forth. His robe, composed of dark purples and a deathly black, just barely brushed the floor. "I hate not knowing things."

The gnome suddenly whirled, and faced the duo. He pointed past the two. "The statue. Interesting, isn't it?"

"Joo got dat right." Blue grinned. Red rolled her eyes.

"I thought so when we found it, too. In the name of science, I needed to know what made it glow like that!" The gnome held his hand out in front of him, palm up. "So I laid it on the ground like so."

"And?"

The warlock slammed his opposite hand, balled into a fist, into his palm. "I called an infernal down on it. Completely unharmed! I didn't give up, though! With the Prime Minister's permission, I continued my research. Our top alchemists attempted to figure out what materials were present within it, our enchanters attempted to unravel the magics upon it. Even the Prime Minister herself gave it a shot!"

Red leaned back on the pedestal that housed the statue, and the troll stooped over into a crouch as they listened. The gnome went on. "Nothing. I rallied a few other scientists to the cause, across many guilds and organizations. Eventually, the mage Gregil discovered a tome sealed away in a nearly destroyed library at the base of Hyjal."

"That sounds like a lot of work for some dumb statue."

"But it had to be done! We had to know." The gnome's hands moved quickly as he spoke, almost excitedly. "It turns out, the statue dates back to before Ysera sent the men of the Night Elves to the Emerald Dream! There was a woman, whom we only know as the Lifegiver, that was worshipped by a cult of sorts."

Neither of the rogues seemed especially interested, but listened despite that. After all, the gnome could easily bring their jobs to an end in seconds. It was best to cooperate. Again, the gnome went on. "She was revered as a goddess by quite a handful of people. A goddess of fertility, to be specific! She helped many men and women conceive children when they shouldn't have been able to. According to the tome, a man who had been castrated by a wild nightsaber and his wife were blessed with a child after speaking to this goddess.

"The Sisters of Elune were alright with it for awhile, but then some began calling this woman Elune in Flesh. The Temple didn't like that so much, and decided to put a stop to it. They would throw people openly worshipping her into prison, things of that sort."

"Dis story be borin', man."

"Its almost done!" The gnome adjusted his goggles. "There are two endings listed in this tome. The first says she was slain. There was a great Kaldoreian warrior, who married a noblewoman. The man had a problem, though. He couldn't have children no matter what he did! And his family wanted him to have children very, very badly. They were nobles, after all!

"So, he and his wife went to see the Lifegiver. She blessed them, and sent them on their way. Nine months later, that warrior was a father. A father of twelve, across eleven different women. The tome says that man went and killed the Lifegiver on the spot, and stole this statue from her home."

"An' de udda endin'?"

"She simply disappeared one day. Her home left in shambles. My theory? This woman was a member of the Red Dragonflight, masquerading as a goddess. She was probably young, and didn't like how much the Dragonflights need to reign in their power. The name 'Lifegiver' helps that theory, because Alexstraza is a role model to all of the Dragonflight. Alexstraza probably found out what this dragon was doing, hunted her down, and dealt with the problem. Or she sent one of her many consorts, either way." The gnome shrugged.

"Darkspear. I's da Darkspear."

The gnome gasped! "Really!? Wow! I didn't think the Horde would be capable of learning Common, or would even want to. Surprising! I'll need to look into that a little more."

"Can we leave now?" Red sighed.

The gnome walked over to one of the many pedestals and gave it a pat, "The Eye of Arash'Nahir is this one up here. If you can get past the dozen or so guards that just showed up in the hallway, you can leave."

"...what?"

"Yeah." The warlock shrugged his shoulders. "They got here while I was telling you that story. You really should have answered my question earlier. By the way, dimensional magic doesn't work within our vaults. I hope your hearthstones weren't your plan of escape."

"Shit."

The room was suddenly flooded, men and women pouring into the room, fanning out to surround the duo. With swords, stave and hammer raised, their eyes locked onto the rogues. The rogues' eyes were darting around the room in desperation... and snapped to the door.

Through the door, a massive golden hammer slung across his shoulder, came a paladin. Though he wasn't especially tall, barely standing as high as Red, his pauldrons nearly scraped the doorframe. He donned shades of black and orange, the armor of Judgement, and spoke low and flat from behind the black mask obscuring his face.

"In the name of the Light and the High Priestess La'mere, I have been sent to decide your fate. Explain yourselves."

The rogues looked at one another, then to the paladin. Neither spoke a word, their mouths hanging slightly agape, attempting to form words but not quite succeeding. The paladin took a step forward, his voice growing even colder. "You are running out of time. Have you nothing to say to your judge?"

Blue shrugged his shoulders, exaggerating the movement. "Dis not Ironforge? We wan' look at da museum. Thought dis wuz it."

Red smirked. The paladin gripped his hammer. "I have made my decision. You will both be brought to justice." He pointed a plated finger at the rogues. "Kill them."

All together, the guards moved. And all together, they reeled back as two explosions of light and smoke burst forth from the center of the room. A cloud of blue, and a cloud of red, filled the room. The paladin backed out of the doorway in a hurry and heaved his hammer from atop a pauldron. The guards shouted and hollered to one another, searching desperately through the dark clouds.

"Get out of there, you idiots!" The paladin shouted, though still muffled by his mask. "You'll NEVER see them in that!"

The smoke stirred and swirled with the guards' movements, becoming a purple mass. They rushed the door, stumbling over this and that, accompanied by the sound of shattered porcelain.

The Judge gave a sigh of frustration, "Stop, just STOP. Stay there, don't BREAK anything!"

Out of the purple mist burst two shapes, one troll, one human. The rogues together threw their weight into the paladin, and all three tumbled to the ground with a clatter. The two wasted no time in getting back to their feet, and took off at a sprint. Red to the left, Blue to the right. The paladin was up to his feet as well before they could get more than a few steps.

Pulling his hearthstone from his belt, the paladin took off at a run, chasing down the troll. "You will regret running, thieves! You will die breathless!"

Red ran aimlessly, as quickly as her legs could take her, without concern for stealth or subtlety. The flat soles of her leather boots clapped against the marble floor with each step, deep panting breaths echoing through the halls. She kept her eyes locked ahead, knowing death could be right behind her if she slowed even a step.

Unfortunately, salvation and sanctuary were not straight ahead, either. Red rounded a corner, nearly slamming into the opposite wall as she did, and came face to face with trouble.

"Ah HA!" Twin elven blades were raised, and Red slid to a stop, inches short of slicing her own throat open. The Prince of Blades stared hatefully at the rogue, and pointed to his forehead with a blade. "YOU are the one that gave me this lump, aren't you!?"

"...No, I'm n-" She shook her head, then gave a single nod. "Yes. Yes I am."

"You hesitated." Trevel glanced over the hall, hoping to catch any others that may have come in with the rogue. "What are you hiding?"

Red slumped her shoulders and hung her head. Her voice carried a tone of utter defeat, "Nothing. I was going to lie to you... maybe you'd let me go if it wasn't me that harmed that beautiful face of yours." She looked up, her lip quivering every so slightly. "But... I can tell, you're a wise man. You would see right through it."

Trevel straighted in his stance, tilting his nose higher. "Is that right? Well, of course. I AM a warrior of legend, after all."

"So, now what?" Red shook her head, a few locks of scarlet falling over her eyes. "That armor, those swords... I don't stand a chance, do I?"

"Not really." The warrior shrugged his shoulders, though it was barely noticeable beneath his sparkling pauldrons. "You could try, but I would beat you. If you put your hands in the air and come with me, you'll probably be thrown in the Stockades. Put up a fight, I would kill you."

Her stance wavered, she stumbled a step. Red fell to her knees, her legs giving out beneaht her, and caught herself with both hands so she didn't fall over entirely. "So that's it, then..." She sniffled, squeezing her eyes tight. "Its all over."

"Don't be ridiculous, rogue." Trevel tapped a boot against the marble floor. "You're a thief, and probably a murderer. You can't cry over this."

"You don't understand!" Red snapped back. She balled her hands into fists, "My husband, and my little girl..." Red's brief display of anger drifting into despair once more. "I'll never... they'll... will you do me a favor?"

"What."

"My husband... he never knew about this. When I leave the house, I never get to say 'goodbye.' " Red spoke softly, nearly curling up on the cold floor. "If I knew this would happen... I would have at least given him a final kiss. I don't want to die, never having that feeling on my lips again..."

Trevel paced a few steps to the right, then a few back to the left. His eyes never left the rogue. "Are you asking me to kiss your husband?"

"...no, no I'm not." Red looked up at Trevel, eyes sparkling with the smallest glimmer of hope. "I was hoping... you could kiss me. Just a small kiss, so I remember what it feels like when I'm sent to the gallows."

Trevel stopped his pacing. He leaned forward just a little with an eyebrow raised. His head slowly tilted to the side, and he looked the rogue up and down. Keeping a close eye on her, he circled around the girl, taking in everything he could with a calculating eye. He stopped behind her on his second pass, and tapped his boot on marble again. "Stand up. Remove your belt."

"I... only asked for a kiss."

"To get rid of your WEAPONS, not your PANTS." Trevel slipped one of his blades away, but kept the other firmly in hand. "Get to it."

"R-right..." Red unbuckled her belt, and dropped it to the floor, her swords clattering to the ground. She turned to face the warrior. He gave her a silent nod, a cue to continue, and she stepped forward. Red laid one hand upon Trevel's hip, opposite the sheathed blade, and leaned in. She slipped a hand beneath her mask, raising it just enough for their lips to meet. Trevel did not move his arms, leaving them calmly at his sides. He put little effort into the kiss himself, seeming to enjoy Red putting in all of the effort. Red moved in a bit further, pressing her leather-clad body against the plate-entombed warrior. Her arm slid tightly around his waist, and the two joined in a deeper kiss. The rogue laid a hand upon the warriors cheek.

Trevel broke the kiss early, and Red stepped away with sad eyes. Trevel looked upward, feeling around his own mouth with his tongue. He thought for a moment... then tilted his head. "Hm. The taste."

"Is... s-something wrong?" Red asked, her voice cracking with fear.

"It tastes like..." Trevel's face suddenly turned a deep shade of crimson, "...like BURNING."

The warrior doubled over, spitting onto the marble floor, tendrils of saliva running freely from his mouth, "By the LIGHT, what the HELL?" He dropped his sword and reached for his throat, coughing and sputtering.

Red bent over and picked up her belt, slipping it back around her waist. She buckled it, and let it rest casually upon her hips, "Pandaren Death Peppers." The warrior responded only by spitting onto the marble floor again. Red crouched down next to the warrior, who was too busy gagging to do much. She gave him a pat on the arm, "It isn't safe for human consumption. Your tongue will, most likely, shrivel and die in about fifteen minutes. If you cooperate, I can stop it."

Trevel gasped for air after another coughing fit, "What do you WANT!?"

"Tell me how to get out of here."

"Down the ha-" Trevel shook his head and bit down on his tongue, trying to hold in another coughing fit.

"Hurry up." Red stood upright, "I might have been lying about how long you have."

The warrior spit again, traces of blood spattering the floor. "Down the hall, stairs. Two flights down, the exit is nearby."

"Good boy. Here's your treat." Red flicked her wrist, and a small capsule appeared in the palm of her hand. She held it in front of Trevel's eyes, and he lunged for it with both hands. As the warrior desperately shoved it into his mouth, the rogue took off down the hall, "Hold it under your tongue. You'll be fine. Trust me."

"Run as long as you'd like, vermin. You'll not escape with your life!" Both the paladin and rogue ran as hard as they could through the guildhouse halls, gathering plenty of attention. Members of the Commonwealth joined the chase, only to be barrelled over, left behind, or lost in the many twists and turns the two took.

The troll looked back over his shoulder and flashed a grin. "Stick it where da sun don' shine, mon!"

Blue suddenly stopped pumping his legs, and instead planted them firmly on the ground. He hurled himself up and ahead, diving clear over an incredibly stunned dwarven warrior, axe and shield in hand. The rogue rolled over his shoulders, using the momentum to pick up running speed again. The paladin charged past the dwarf, tearing the shield from his arm on the way.

"Surprised ya can run dat fast in de armor, mon!" Blue cackled loudly. "Hate ta bring bad news an' all, but dis is just a little jog for me! How 'bout I-GAK"

Blue fell to the ground face first, his tusks scraping along the marble as he slid. A shield rolled down the hall on its side after bouncing off of his head. The troll groaned, and rolled hard to the side to avoid the downswing of a golden hammer.

"Sit still, damn you! You only delay the inevitable!"

Blue jumped to his feet, and backpedaled a few steps from the paladin. "I tink da girl had enough time to get away wit' da goods now, eh? Is been fun, 'n I appreciate da lump on da head an' all, but its time for me to go."

The paladin chuckled, echoing from within his helm. He brought his hammer to rest upon his shoulder. "You're a fool. Amongst all of your taunting, you didn't hear my hearthstone, did you? She's dead."

"Joo lie."

"I do not lie." The paladin shook his head. "She made her exit through the front door, where she was promptly gunned down by Lieutenant Quid Surehammer's marksmen."

Blue's eyes wandered the halls, desperately hoping for some sign that the paladin wasn't speaking truth. He shook his head, "Don' matta. Can't give myself up to ya now. Too deep, too late."

"Minister Zenyara and her huntresses prowl the guildhouse grounds right now. You cannot escape."

"I suppose dis is goodbye, den." The troll shrugged his shoulders. "Nuttin' left for me here."

The paladin raised his hammer. "I am glad to see that you've accepted your judgement. I will make your death as painless as possible."

The troll raised his arms and placed his hands behind his head. Blue closed his eyes, and leaned back on his heels. The paladin's hammer was heaved upwards.

"Was nice meetin' you, mon. So lon'." Blue tipped backwards, a smirk crossing his face. He fell to the ground and into his shadow, disappearing entirely. The hammer came down, crushing into nothing but marble.

Knock knock.

A goblin sighed in his seat, a heavy wooden chair beside a heavy wooden door. He looked up from his seat and out across the room. It was dark and not terribly large. The room was lit by only a few simple torches, the light filtering through the thick smoke of cigars, pipes, and the sort. The distinct smells of tobacco and alcohol flooded the room, dominating the keenest of senses. The crowd that night was fairly typical of the location; rogues, thieves and various other criminals of all sizes. All of the Alliance races were present, ranging from an exceptionally short green-haired gnome with a jeweled eyepatch covering one eye, to a massively muscled night elf leaning on the opposite wall, arms crossed over his bare chest. Two other goblins stood guard at opposite ends of the room, watching doors of their own.

Knock knock.

All eyes in the room wandered over to the door, then to the goblin. The greenskin gave nothing but a shrug, and all went back to their business. Few actually spoke to eachother, content to glare at the floor or cieling, chewing on a cigar or throwing back a drink. This included the goblins themselves, the small and rank room was hardly interesting, especially after you had spent a few days there.

Knock knock.

Groans and curses rolled through the room, weapons were slowly drawn and hands lit up with traces of the arcana. All eyes went to the goblin at the door again. The goblin hopped up from his chair, holding both hands out in front of him to calm to crowd. "Alright, alright. I got it, I got it. Don't get your undies in a bunch."

The goblin stood on his toes, and slid a panel open on the door. He peered out, and up, as best he could. "Hey, you. What's the password?"

"Password is 'blingbling.'"

The goblin cursed under his breath and rolled his eyes. He peered over his shoulder, searching for any open seats and coming up without. "They give that password out way too easily these days. Don't even charge 'em anymoer..."

"So... you gonna open up?"

"Cool it, cool it!" A few locks were unlocked, a few latches were unlatched. The slat in the door was closed again, and the door itself was pulled open. The dark olive of the goblin's skin suddenly shifted, leaning toward a pale and sickly shade of green. His jaw fell, his eyes went wide.

Beyond the door was a stairwell leading up, sounds of loud chatter and boistrous laughter carried down from above, mixed with sounds of glasses, mugs and tankards chiming against one another. Scents much more pleasant than the room before wafted down and into the goblin's nostrils, freshly cooked meats and breads, strong spices and even the sweet smell of fruits.

"Wassap, mon?" Blue waved a hand, and moved to step inside. The doorman jumped forward and held him back, closing the door enough that most inside wouldn't see him.

"No way, NO way! This is... How did you even..." The goblin boggled, his eyes going even wider. He did, however, manage to control his voice, which was kept rather quiet. "This is Stormwind. These guys are Alliance. Are you crazy!?"

Blue shrugged, and stuck a hand into a pack on his hip. From it he pulled a glowing white orb, which just fit in his large trollish hand. "I have dis here. Da girl s'pose ta bring it here, while I take a portal home ta Sen'jin."

The goblin stared at the object, his facial expression going wild. It could never quite settle on an emotion; horror, amusement, and the typical goblin greed all represented in one way or another. The troll went on, "Da girl is dead now, dey say. I don' believe dem, but I couldn't find her eitha."

The doorman held out his hand, "Well, well! You can just hand that to me, I'll take care of it for you. You can just run along back to Sen'jin or whatever, ya dig?"

"Do I look like an ogre to you, mon?" The troll tapped the side of his head with one finger, "You can't fool dis one into doin' such a stupid ting."

"Alright, alright..." The goblin looked back over his shoulder again, "Here's the thing. I can't let you in here, that's just how it is! You're gonna have to take off.

"No! I can't do dat, you-"

"For ONE, you're a Troll in the middle of Stormwind. You walk in this door, everyone in here will kill you. Then you know what they'll do? Kill me, for letting you in here." The green head hung. "Death is bad for business, ya dig? Two! We have no room. We'd have to keep ya in the closet or somethin' and that just ain't happening."

"Okay, let me explain da situation to you a little betta." The troll tossed the orb up and down in the air, catching and releasing in rhythm. "I stole dis from some pretty big men. Dey're tracking me. I've been told da Cartel's safehouses in Unnercity and Stormwin' been worked on by amazin' mages. Can't track ya in here by magical means, ya?

"Well, to make a quick escape, I took a potion dat does 'bout da same ting. Keep it for 'mergencies an' all that, ya?" Blue shrugged his shoulders. "Took it 'bout an hour ago. Should be wearin' off at any minute. And dis?"

The troll held the orb up, right in front of the goblin's eyes. "Leaves a trail o' da magic voodoo or whatever it is a mile wide. Soon as dat potion wears off, in 'bout a minute or two, they'll find me right ouside your door. They'll find me, an' every other criminal ya got down here."

"Well, what in the HELL are you doing standing out there!?" The goblin turned around and stepped back inside, "Get IN here, you moron!"

Blue put the orb back in his bag, and stepped inside, dragging his feet. The crossed his arms behind his back and hunched over, forcing an exhausted expression upon his face. The goblin gave him a funny look, face twisted in confusion, and the troll gave a simple, subtle nod. The goblin took a moment, but returned the nod with a slightly-less-subtle one of his own. Already people were jumping to their feet, ready to tear the troll in half.

The goblin slammed the door closed behind him, and gave a shout, "HEY! Cool it, all of you! I've got this under control!" He shoved Blue, who gave an exaggerated stumble back and forth on his feet. "I've got a prisoner from the Cartel here. He fled Booty Bay last night, we just caught the asshole, and we're waitin' to send him in the morning."

Unhappy cursing rolled through the crowd, and the goblin went on. "This guy is worth MILLIONS to the Cartel, alive. You touch a hair on his head, and every last one of you will feel the repercussions, ya dig!?"

Though unhappily, the room settled back down into its near-silent, lethargic smoking and drinking. The goblin led Blue through the room, and called out to one of the others on the side. "Yo, Rickie! Open the door up, we're stickin' the troll in there."

The two proceeded through the room, the door was opened and the doorman roughly pushed him through. The door was closed behind Blue, and the first of the goblins called out again. "Jonny Boy, get the troll some food, will ya? Can't have him starvin' on us. Get him some of the 'special' fish."

Blue stumbled, actually stumbled, into the new room the goblins shoved him into, and took in his surroundings when the door was slammed shut. The term 'closet' wasn't quite accurate in terms of use, it seemed, but certainly in terms of size. It was no bigger than a typical pantry in a large home, and completey barren aside from a small card table with a chair on each side. The chairs, when pulled out far enough to actually sit in, were pinned right up against the wall. At least, for the Alliance races, though even Night Elves would be pushing it. The races of the Horde, aside from the Forsaken and Blood Elves, would have a harder time.

"...how nice, dey're keepin' me in a dollhouse." Blue pushed the table, and the chairs, into the back corner to make a little more room on at least two of the walls. He pulled out a chair, and dropped down into it. The troll rubbed the back of his head, wincing along with it, attempting to soothe the lump that was forming. His eyes drifted toward the cieling, a crude wooden chandelier lit with misshapen, grey candles from a thin and shedding rope. "An' dat... dat'll kill me before I get out, I'm sure."

His hand went into his pack, and he pulled the orb from it once more. He set it down on the table and pulled his hand away. It quickly snapped back, as the ball began to roll quickly off of the apparently terribly uneven surface. He held it there with one hand, and stared into it. "So this is that Eye ting, eh? I'm gon' be rich when I get ta Ratchet, das' fa sure."

Blue eyes were locked on the orb for quite some time, waiting for the food the goblins were supposedly going to supply, according to their shouting on his way in. It shook.

"...did I hit da 'on' button? Gnomes didn' make dis, I hope."

The orb shook again. The bright white surface shimmered, cracks and splits began to form throughout it. It became cold in Blue's hand, and he shivered, but kept his grip upon it. He bit his lip, hoping and praying to the Loa he didn't simply break the trinket. The surface shattered entirely and exploded outwards in a spray of magic and mana. He dropped it then, reeling back and covering his eyes. The orb rolled to the floor, and hit the ground. Rather than sounding solid, or hard, it made the light thump of leather, or even rubber.

Blue opened one eye again, and look down to the floor at it. It was certainly still in one piece. It sat on the ground, a dark brown on the outside, with an empty black center, though it was a bit off center. The troll leaned forward and picked it back up, its cold glossy surface was gone. The sound it made when it hit the ground wa less confusing once he held it in his hand, it felt like very thin leather. He turned it over in his hand, shrugged, and gave it a solid jab with his finger. It gave just a little, a small dent forming in it that disappeared as soon as he moved his finger.

And after he did it, the black core swirled, and snapped into place closer to the surface nearest him. Blue tilted his head, shuddered, and threw it in his pack haphazardly. "Nasty. I don' like it. Glad I can get rid of it in da mornin'."

The room outside of the troll's 'closet' suddenly broke from its silence, filling with hoots and hollars, cheering and catcalls.The exact words couldn't quite be understood through the solid door, it seemed to do its job better than the troll expected from the shoddy chandelier above. The goblin's shouts rose again, muffled once more by the door, and the cheering eventually broke down, though not quite as suddenly as when Blue entered earlier.

Not long after, the closet door opened. Blue looked up just enough to see a plate of fish, and looked back down at the table to let the goblins do their work without irritation. Not one plate, but two, made their way onto the table. One in front of the troll, and the other at the seat beside him. A human, not a goblin, sat down in the open chair.

"Eat up, Blue." A weak and tired female voice spoke up, amusement dripping from the words despite it.

The troll looked up, and his face lit up with a smile, "Red! Joo're alive!"

She chuckled, and prodded at herself here and there with a finger, wincing each time. Her upper body was entirely nude. That is, if it weren't entirely wrapped in bandages. The base of her neck to just above her belly button and straight down her arms was pure white clinging to her body. The bottom half of her face remained covered with a mask, a pure white this time, to match the bandages. "Yeah. You could say that. I most got out without any problems too."

"What happen'?"

Red shrugged. "Ran into some guy you knocked out, dealt with him no problem. Pretty good kisser, though the guy needs to learn to get involved a bit. Yknow, just sayin'. Made it outside and halfway across Cathedral Square, sprinting as hard as I could, and a warlock found me."

"No rifles?"

"Huh? No, no rifles. Just the warlock. From the waist up I just burst into flames, talk about embarassing. Kept running though, managed to leave him behind." She gave another shrug. "Jumped in the canals to put out the fire. Found my way here after awhile."

"Das' good joo're alive, den."

"What, were you scared or something? Miss me that much?"

Red's eyes turned up into a grin. Blue shooked his head, and waved it off with his hand. "Nah, nottin' like dat. Joo're my partner, das all. Way too much work to do all dis myself, joo know?"

"Sure, Blue." She jabbed her fish with a fork. "Whatever you say."

"Ugh, this stuff is terrible." Red picked away at her platter, eyeing the flakey slab of fish.

Blue shrugged his shoulders, and swallowed a mouthful. "Might as well eat it, ya? Not gon' have much else to eat 'til we get ridda dat 'ting."

"It tastes like salt and oil."

"An' dirt. Don' forget dat part."

"And dirt."

Despite the complaints, both of the rogues ate the meal in front of them, Blue substantially faster than Red. One swallowing whole mouthfuls at a time, while the other picked away at it unhappily.

"So, Red, tell me..." The troll swallowed, and continued. "Everytin'."

"Everything... what? What everything?"

"About joo." He reclined as much as he could in his chair, in the tiny room. "We know eachudda a lon' time, ya? An' I don' know joo. Tell me everytin."

Red shook her head, and her eyes lit up with a smile. "I can't just tell you everything, sit here and tell my life story. You need to ask questions. Be specific!"

"Fine, fine, joo wan' questions..." Blue tapped a finger on the side of his head. "Lesse... where joo born?"

"Here."

"In dis room?" The troll whistled low. "Not a very pretteh place, ya?"

Red rolled her eyes and pushed away her plate, which was now empty. "No, not this craphole. Stormwind. Old Town. Born and raised, until I was fifteen."

"An' den what?"

"You're not going to let me not answer this, so I might as well." Red slumped over the table, and laid her head on her arms. "Daddy joined the Defias, talked a lot about Stormwind being full of fools, and things like that. Thought Van Cleef was the Light's gift to our family. We were gonna be somebody, instead of street rats."

"Ah, Defias. I know dem." Blue gave a nod.

Red closed her eyes, and let her head rest. "I think Daddy is still alive, I think. Who knows? But he's still with the gang. I started my 'career' there. Stealing, smuggling, sometimes I had to put knives in peoples' kidneys."

"Jus' a lil girlie, ya?" The troll said it with a bit of a smirk, almost amused at the thought.

"Yes. I had a lot of boyfriends back then. A lot of boyfriends. But... that doesn't matter. Point is, I bailed on the Defias, and managed to get out in one piece. The end."

"An' den what else?"

"Thats it." Red shook her head. "The end. That brings us to the here and now."

"Fine, fine." He shrugged again. "I won' ask joo anymore questions. 'Cept for dis last question."

She sat up and stretched her arms out. "Now what?"

"Whats joo're name? Da real one. Joo tell me yours, I tell joo mine."

"...Blue, if you fuck me over, I'll make sure you go down with me." Red opened her eyes again, slowly. "I don't have a family name anymore, I let Daddy take it to the Defias. My name, though? The name is Kay-bytheLIGHT what is WRONG with you!?"

The troll gave a tilt of his head. "Whatchoo mean?" In Blue's place was a much lighter skinned person, nearly a half-foot shorter than the troll, with blonde stubble growing upon his chin. The tusks had shrunk dramatically, seeming to withdraw into his mouth, and noticably so by the second.

"You're, uhh..." Red boggled. "Are you dying!? Did they poison the fish!?"

"...I don' feel nothin'."

"Look down, Blue. Your freaky ass teeth!"

The 'troll' reached up to his mouth, and whimpered pathetically when he discovered his withering, nearly entirely missing, tusks. His facial features as a whole were shrinking back, becoming much less feral and primal, forming more human-like shapes. He sat lower in his seat, rapidly losing inches of his height.

"...Blue, are you a human?"

"Damn Goblins!" Blue attempted to jumped to his feet, but wasn't quite able to make it in the space available. "Deviates! Das' what dat fish was!"

"...Deviates?" Red giggled, "They fed you Deviate Delight?"

"Damn damn damn!"

Red's giggling turned into full blown laughter, clutching her bandaged sides with both hands. Red hair, or formerly red hair, fell over her face as she did. The red color of her hair became a pitch black within seconds. Her skintone joined the transformation, her once light flesh settling on a light brown.

"Joo, too!" Blue pointed at the other rogue with a quite human finger. "They made joo eat it, too!"

"Yeah, but at least I'm st-" The closet door flew open, and the doorman stood in the threshold.

"Hey!" The goblin pointed from one rogue, to the other. "Sounds like ya ate the meal, eh? Good!"

He took a step out of the way. "Now get the hell out, will ya!?"

Red shook her head, an eyebrow arched high. "What do you mean? You're supposed to keep us here until morning, at LEAST!"

"Sorry, girly. You must not have read the contract, eh?" The goblin slipped a scroll out of his belt, and waved it in the air. "Well I got it right here. Nothin' in here about morning. All it says is we're supposed to give ya the means to reach the next checkpoint undetected, takin' your skills into consideration."

"So you give da troll an' da girl disguises. Das it?"

"Thats it, bub. Move it or lose it, that stuff doesn't last forever ya know."

With little further resistance, knowing it was goblins they were dealing with, the duo grabbed their things and were escorted out of the room. Through the inn upstairs they moved, quickly and silently despite the confused looks of the patrons. Together, they stepped back out into the streets of Stormwind.

"So, now what we do, eh Red?"

Red shook her head, and pointed down the road. "Might as well stick to the alleys, we can go in there and follow them to the Canals, and over to the Trade District. Lets take our time, we have a couple hours until sunrise."

"A better idea to slip out of town durin' da night if we're on our own, in't it?"

"No, actually." Red started her way down the road. "Coming in and out in the middle of the night? Looks a bit unusual It isn't unheard of, no, but there won't be many civilians around. Sunrise, Stormwind kicks into action, there'll be crowds aplenty. Even if we're spotted, they'll have a hard time catching us in the masses."

Blue followed along behind the other rogue, moving with a slouch that seemed natural on the body of a troll, but made a human man look injured, or ill. He stumbled a step now and then, growing accustomed to a new form. Red weaved in and out of dark alleyways, quickly and erratically enough that even her partner had no idea quite where they were, or where they were going. Both of them looked over their shoulders frequently, frowning each time they did so and saw nothing.

"Red, joo know..." He shook his head. "Dis place is kinda creepy."

She shrugged her shoulders, and ducked into yet another alley. Her soft leather boots made no noise as she crept through it, and she kept her voice low. "Its not usually this weird. Besides, its probably just a cat or something."

"...das no cat, Red." Blue pointed his finger ahead, the alley blackened. Dark and shadowed abruptly became black and empty, the other end nowhere near visible from where they stood. Red inched forward, driven by curiosity, with furrowed brows. She drew her blades, Blue following her lead. Dim red lights appeared in the blackness, the only thing that could be seen, and began to swirl in circles within the shadows. With each lap they came closer together, spinning faster.

"Red, 'dis isn' a Stormwin' ting, is it?"

"I... have no idea."

The lights closed in on eachother, and fused together into a single bright point of crimson. The shadows crawled forward along the sides of the alley, and parting in the center. It rolled around the rogues, who followed it with widened eyes. Their gaze snapped back upwards once the shadows had parted far enough, revealing more of the crimson light. Or rather, the woman it was a part of. Black hair was held back with a simple lenght of cord, with a single lock hanging in front of a brilliant green left eye. The right socket, quite nearly hollow, smoldered a brilliant red from deep within. Black leathers covered the entirety of her body from the neck down, and a navy blue compass rose was emblazoned upon her chest.

Red and Blue looked at one another, and shook their heads. Together, they fell into a low defensive stance, and began to back out of the alley, away from the woman. She gestured behind the pair, and shrugged her shoulders. Blue whirled around and raised his blades, coming face to face with with a night elven male, wearing a set matching the red-eyed woman. The black leathers were a stark contrast to the pure white hair that hung to the middle of the elf's back.

"You two have something that belongs to us," the elf spoke quietly. Two swords hung at his hips, and he made no motion to draw them. On the other side of them, the woman facing Red freely drew a pair of daggers, her face utterly emotionless. The elf continued, "Our superiors are kind and forgiving. Give me whats ours, and we'll let you leave. You'll never see us again."

Blue changed his stance, shifted the grip on his blades, preparing for an offensive. "An' if we don' gib it?"

"Then," the woman spoke up, her voice cold and cruel, "you die."

"In that case," Red drew her blades, and dug her toes into an offensive stance. "you'll have to take the Eye from our cold, dead hands!"

"Ah, Red..." The former troll looked back at the female rogue. "I don' know 'bout that. I don' tink I like da sound of it."

Red turned around, raising her arms in confusion. "What do you mean!? Just give it to them! You've gotta be kidding me, here."

"No, no, no. Nottin' like dat, see." He waved the idea away with his, dagger held loosely in it. "I jus' don' like that dyin' part. I mean, we can prolly just run 'way, joo know?" Blue looked around suddenly. "Hey, where dey go?"

"What do you mean, where did they..?" Red looked back to where the woman was, and saw nothing but shadows. She raised her blades, preparing for an ambush. Blue backed up a step, the two rogues pinning their backs against one another. The darkness around the two swirled, becoming thick and choking. A streak of white was barely seen before a mace came down across Blue's skull with a heavy thud. Red turned to meet the enemy, and suddenly felt pain sear through her eyes. She dropped her blades, and clutched at her face, rapidly blinking in hopes of clearing whatever was done t her. Her teeth clamped down on her lower lip, trying with all she had to prevent screaming.

Blue fell sideways, catching himself with one hand. He raised his other, dagger still in hand to parry an incoming sword. He rolled out of the way and lept to his feet, skillfully parrying another blow, and throwing his weight to the right to dodge a third. The figure in front of him, clearly able to be seen as the night elf now, continued his assault. Hammer and sword came in from all directions, Blue doing all he could to avoid each blow, praying to find an opening to start an offensive of his own.

Red dropped to her knees, entire face a deep crimson, her eyes freely streaming tears. Unable to stand it, a scream left her lips, and her fist came down into the flagstones of the alley time and time again in an attempt to distract herself. Blue, for just a moment, forgot his opponent. He snapped his head to the side to look at his fallen partner. In that moment, hammer and sword truck in hard and fast. The sword dug deep into his stomach, and the mace came down onto his head a second time.

Clutching his stomach, face bloodied and twisted in pain, Blue backed quickly away from the kaldorei. His heel caught a flagstone, and began to fall backwards. Before he got far, a pair of daggers slammed roughly into his back, on either side of his spine. A fiery glow lit up the side of Blue's face, and he found himself unable to move. He couldn't raise an arm, or find the strength to pull off of the metal imbedded in his back.

"Well, well." The woman whispered into Blue's ear, her eye blazing furiously. "Thats one. Now, the girl..."

 

Meanwhile, elsewhere...

A gryphon soared through the foggy evening sky over the Eastern Plaguelands, and more specifically, directly above the citadel of Naxxramas. The citadel, once home to the Lich King's right hand, Kel'thuzad, was laid in the center of Plaguewood, shattering the road into the everburning remains of Stratholme. Most of the citadel was, roughly, still intact, holding up amazingly against the impact of its fall upon Kel'thuzad's defeat and exorcism, and cleansing of the Cult of the Damned from its halls. Only one side of the citadel was shattered, the point of impact itself. The plagued and blighted waters and chemicals contained within Naxxramas spilled from the canals and pipeways of the structure and into the soil of Plaguewood. Twice blighted, even the twisted, mutant plantation and monstrous fungal mushrooms refused to grow.

Bones, broken and piled ten men high, littered the area around Naxxramas. The site of a great battle, the remaining ranks of the Scourge flooding from the citadel to defend thier mastar, pay a final service to Kel'thuzad, met the combined strength of the Alliance and the Horde. The Horsemen, the risen Spider Queen, the great bonewyrm Sapphiron, each granted one final chance to serve the Lich King, met the might of Azeroth's defenders. In front of the citadel, two weapons stood out of the ground, side by side. A great spear, a weapon once held by General of the Commonwealth, Legius Mercator. A mighty battleaxe, once in the hands of High Warlord of the Horde, Korica Riftaxe. They stood, now with four years of weather induced wear, side by side as a memory of another day the factions' war was set aside, a memory of another moment that the Horde and Alliance did not stand; Azeroth stood.

The Judge, atop that gryphon, gave a salute to the monument, and flew onward. His gryphon tore through the air, driven on by the paladin's riding crop and shouts. Past the scars and long since exorcised Corrin's Crossing, and past Light's Hope Chapel. Over the mountains encasing the Plaguelands, and a sharp dive over the other side. At the foot of the mountain, roughly made docks and many tents covered the coast, with two much larger tents roughly in the center of the encampment. A half-dozen ships sat just at the water's edge, in various stages of construction. Elven ballistas and dwarven cannons were placed throughout the camp as defense, with a massive mechanical contraption, which seemed to be not much more than a mass of cobbled together guns and cannons upon a solid metal foundation, sitting near the larger of the tents.

The paladin lept from his gryphon before even touching down, and ran for the first of the two command tents, roughly pushing aside the few people who happened to bed in his way. He kept his pace upon reaching it with the itnent of entering, but ran into a solid wall of draenei. A large man, quite nearly twice his size, stopped him at the entrance. The draenei, encased in plate much the same as the paladin, lacked the aura of Light of a paladin. Regardless, the 10-foot slab of metal and stone fashioned into a sword was enough to make the Judge think twice.

"With all due respect, Sir Dain," the draenei spoke calmly, a deep and rumbling voice. He shook his head, the twin tendrils hanging from his jaw shaking with it and reflecting torchlight off of the many polished obsidian rings upon them, "I cannot simply allow you into the Command Tent! There is important business taking place."

"To the Nether with whatever business is going on!" Dain pointed past the warrior, his platemail ringing with the movements. "There's an emergency at the guildhouse, the Ministry needs to know about it!"

"Sir Dain!" The draenei rose his voice, quite aware that doing so would disturb the many that were asleep at this time of night. "Who knows problems your interruption could cause! It took a very long time to gather all of these individuals! Since you found the time to come in person rather than contacting us through your hearthstone, you can find the time for this meeting to end."

Dain's arm snapped up, holding an open palm toward the warrior. The draenei's hand flew to his sword, but Dain's voice boomed through the camp.

"REPENT!"

The draenei's head lolled back where he stood, his eyes glazing over, twitching at random. Dain marched past him, and into the Command Tent.

Dain strode through the entryway and into the command tent, bursting into the main chamber. In the center sat a large round table, covered in maps and battleplans. Surrounding the table sat two dozen men and women of all races, wearing the tabards of their organization. Half of them donned the tabard of the Commonwealth itself, wearing badges of various ranks. Along with them sat elven druids of the Circle, orc and tauren shaman of the Earthen Ring, and a high elven magi with an arcane rune emblazoned upon his tabard.

At the head of the table sat Prime Minister Fellina La'mere, dressed in deep reds and bright golds. To her right sat General Legius Mercator and Sir Argat, the Grand Inquisitor. To her left, Archdruid of the Claw, Enabrin Swiftfeather and Morwen Gunnhildr, the Secretary of Information. Standing directly behind the Lady La'mere was Arna Leothir the Lionhearted, deputy to the Prime Minister and head of Commonwealth Security. All eyes locked on the judge, attention snapping quite suddenly from the topic at hand to Dain.

Fellina cocked her head at the paladin, and opened her mouth to speak. She was cut short, however, by Arna's stern voice. "Dain, your request for an audience is denied. Get on your feet, and leave."

Dain looked up, voice carrying a tinge of anger. "I will not! This meeting can-"

Arna made her way around the table before he could finish his sentence, and took a handful of his tabard in a plated gauntlet, heaving him to his feet. "Request denied." The Lionhearted shoved Dain backwards, and turned to face the table. "I apologize for this security breach. I'm sure my team felt the situation urgent enough to allow Sir Dain through. Please, continue, and I'll handle whatever this problem may be."

"Thank you, Miss Leothir." Fellina gave a nod with a smile, and immediately got back down to business. Her eyes went back to those around the table, and she slid a few tokens across the battlemap. "With the Earthen Ring working to cleanse the Riplash Ruins and gain favor with the elements there, Lieutenant Rormath and his team will lay siege to the nearby Spirit Towers are a distraction." She looked to the high elf. "If Aronus is willing to join our cause, the Ring's people should be easily defended..."

Dain was pulled backwards out of the tent, knowing full well that he wouldn't make any progress within. Arna stepped out of the tent, looking around for the draenei that was standing guard. He still stood beside the entryway, eyes glazed over and limps going weak. Arna hit him across the back of the head with an open, plated palm. The guard snapped out of his daze, immediately reaching for his sword again. The Lionhearted eyed the draenei, and he dropped his arms to his sides just as quickly as they went to his blade. She gave a nod, and moved further from the command tent with Dain's tabard firmly in hand.

Stopping beside the massive cluster of guns and cannons, Arna finally released the judge's tabard. She crossed her arms across her chest, and looked on at Dain in disgust. "What is so important that you had to interrupt the Ministry's one and only shot at recruiting Aronsus? Do you even realize how ridiculous you could have made us look?"

"The vaults were robbed."

Arna's eyebrow rose. "The armory. Correct? They took our leftover bows and guns and knives?"

"I'm afraid not. The Vault of Wonders was broken into."

"By the Light." Arna laid her forehead in the palm of her hand. "You're a bunch of damned fools."

Dain smoothed his tabard, and began unclasping his mask. "We took a fast inventory, and only one artifact was missing. The Eye of Arash'Nahir."

"They took what?" Arna raised her head, and balled her hand into a fist. Dain removed his mask, and Arna's fist came in to catch him across the jaw. He fell back, an imprint of her knuckles remaining on his face, long blonde hair being tossed every which way in the fall. Arna began to pace back and forth rapidly. "You promised me, Dain. You promised everyone. You told them your team could handle it!"

"Arna, I-"

"I knew we shouldn't have left the guildhouse that vulnerable... good impression on Aronsus be damned," Arna sighed. "We could've handled the defense of this place with half as many."

Dain rose to a knee, and bowed his head. "I'm sorry, Arna. It was my fault."

"My brother is a fool." The Lionhearted took a handful of Dain's tabard again, and heaved him up to his feet. "They have the Eye of Arash'Nahir. Did you take any steps to recover yet?"

"One of our scryers was able to identify the Eye's aura. Two ghosts are in pursuit." Dain kept his head low. "The two that took the Eye managed to slip from our clutches multiple times. I'm not sure what the ghosts chances are against the two."

"You underestimate the ghosts, but thats beside the point right now." Arna continued pacing. "What were they like? Were they desperate? Looking for anything? Did they want the Eye specifically?"

"They asked Gig for the Eye by name. They knew what they were doing."

Arna crossed her arms again. "Simple thieves looking for the Eye of Arash'Nahir. They're either trying to use it to make it big, or they were employed by someone else. It isn't just some trinket you hawk. Chances are they're attempting to rendevous with a contact, I doubt the ghosts have much time."

"What do you suggest?"

"I'll need to get Lady Gunnhildr on the case. Sir Audren will be angry." Arna rubbed her head.

"I'll take the blame. All of it."

"I know you will." Arna began walkin back toward the command tent."This isn't a security issue anymore, I can't handle launching a hunt. It has to wait until their meeting lets out."

"What do you suggest I do?"

"There are a few dedicated scryers around camp, remapping Northrend. They're likely asleep right now. Wake them. Beat them about the head if you need to."

It didn't take Dain long to locate the scryers on the campsite. The security on that particular shift was quick to give him the information he needed, hearing that he was under direct orders from the Lionhearted. The magi themselves, two human men and two human women, were awake, on their feet and beginning their work even faster.

The four mages, wearing identical black flowing robes covered in embroidered golden runes, moved in unison. Their fingers traced an unseen shape upon the soft soil, and where they had been, a lightly shining line appeared. Before long, the lines began to take shape, forming symbols of the arcane. Each symbol, four of them in total, faced a focal point in the center, invisible to any who were not trained to see them. The scryers stood upright, and stepped into the center of their own runes. Despite their feet disturbing the ground, the shining runes held, the light passing through their legs and feet as needed.

Together, they removed a violet pouch from their belts, sliding a few fingers within. A small amount of powder was taken and thrown toward the center. After returning the pouches to their belt, the mages each held one hand toward the focal point. The embroidering on their robes began to glow, dimly at first and quickly surging to a blinding light, the runes dotting the black material like stars in the night sky. The powder began to swirl about, taking on the same intensity, bright enough that each speck of dust could be easily pointed out.

Slowly, the glow of the dust began to fade, and faint shapes took form. A vague outline of a man in one place, a view of a frozen landscape elsewhere, the interior of a dining hall overlapping it all. The images swirled, bobbing about the area and twisting into other things. A naaru, a pool of molten rock, the gaping maw of a dragon. The pictures spread, encircling the magi and nearby tents and campfires. A giant fungal mushroom, an elemental of wind, a gently flowing stream.

Dain stepped into the swirling images, his mask tucked firmly under an arm. He turned slowly, examining all that he could see. A small frown appeared on his face. "I don't see the Eye anywhere, or the two that stole it."

"Unfortunately," a fifth mage stepped in as well, stopping alongside Dain. She spoke quietly, attempting to bother the scryers as little as possible, "it will take some time to find the exact location of the Eye. As far as I can tell, its been under the effect of a shrouding spell, or something similar. Its magical resonance was being supressed."

"And... what does that mean?"

The mage smiled, and ran a hand through her somewhat messy hair. Apparently, she had been woken up rather abruptly also. "Imagine your auras. You attune yourself to a certain aspect of the Light, and it washes over your allies."

Dain nodded.

"And when you change your auras, the first one ends before the second begins. There's a brief moment in which your allies have no aura at all. One fades, there is nothing, then another takes affect."

He nodded again.

"Except in this example, that aura wasn't simply changed. It was turned off for some time." She motioned to the various pictures, just in time for an intangible blade to come down across her elbow. She didn't seem to notice. "In addition to that, its most likely very far away from us. All of these images are places the Eye could be, or could have been. All we have right now is little wisps of power to grab onto."

Dain tapped his boot on the soft soil underfoot. "How long will this take, then?"

"We have some faint feeling of a direction, so the shrouding was lifted, or it faded on its own. Meaning... give us a few hours, at the most. We're doing our best."

"A few hours?" He shook his head. "Ridiculous. Here's hoping Tinuri and Shallon got them, then."

The mage smiled sweetly, and bowed her head. "I'm sorry we can't tell you more right now. We're doing our very best."

Fellina motioned to the tent exit, and General Mercator made his way toward it. The Prime Minister smiled widely, "Now, if you'll all follow the General, he'll take you to meet my sister, Raederelle. She'll show you around the camp, hopefully you'll meet more of our ranks. If you need something, let anyone wearing our tabard know. They'll take care of you immediately."

The crowd flowed out of the tent smoothly, leaving only the Prime Minister and Lady Gunnhildr. After the outward flow came to an end, two paladins slipped in. Arna followed behind a slightly taller human man, her head bowed. The man wore brilliant oranges and reds, covered with the tabard of the Commonwealth. A massive hammer, head crafted of pure violet crystal, rode upon his shoulder. His hair was short and black, and a well kempt goatee was on his face, it all showing faint signs of grey here and there.

Audren lowered the hammer from his shoulder, and let it rest on the ground, one hand on the pommel. "Has Arna told the two of you the news yet?"

"She hasn't, actually." Fellina smoothed her robes, and sat back down at the round table. She shuffled through a stack of papers. "The news came in during our council, I assume she was waiting until that let out."

"Yes, My Lady." Arna moved to the priestess's side, head still bowed respectfully.

"Good girl. Might have saved us Aronsus." Morwen leaned back in her chair, sliding two gleaming silver chopsticks out of her hair. Hair as dark as the void tumbled down around her face and shoulders. "He's a hard man to get ahold of, even harder to impress."

Fellina gave a nod. "If there's trouble, tis best he doesn't hear it quite yet. He'll think we're reckless and sloppy, likely."

"We saved Aronsus' favor, sure," Audren frowned, "But we likely lost the Consortium."

"What do you mean?" Morwen raised both hands behind her head, wrapping her hair expertly, effortlessly, around the two chopsticks. The lights of the tent reflecting off of the chopsticks seemed to dance through the air, or twinkle like starlight. "Were the ethereals caught up in it?"

Audren nodded his head toward Arna. "Arna can tell you what happened. Its her duty, after all."

Arna straightened her stance, and rose her head, "Thank you, sir." She turned to face the ministers. She repeated the story told to her by Dain, elaborating where possible, omitting nothing. Distress crossed Fellina's face, Morwen's remaining calm and collected. The Lionhearted bowed her head once more after completing the story and added, "Lady Gunnhildr, I believe it would be in our best interest to get the rest of the Ghosts in action immediately. The severity of this situation may require your personal involvement."

Morwen put a finger to her lips, tapping the twin cherries in thought. Audren heaved the hammer back onto his shoulder and spoke, "There's the problem. The situation warrants that sort of attention, but Morwen and I are expected in Stormspire in less than six hours."

Fellina looked to Arna, then Morwen. "What do you think?"

"We'll just need to find someone else to go with Audren, really." Morwen shrugged her shoulders and began loosening the tie around her neck. "I don't see how we have much choice here. If we have no idea where this thing is yet, we need as many eyes as possible looking around, right?"

"I suppose that's true..." The Prime Minister shuffled through her papers a little more.

Audren shifted his stance from one foot to the other. Morwen smiled fondly over at Audren, with the faintest disappointment in her eyes. She glanced back to Fellina, "It could be a good opportunity, really. Mix things up a little. Send another race with Audren, it'll make us look more diverse."

"How about..." Fellina considered, putting a hand to her cheek. She chewed on the inside of her lip for a moment, then her eyes lit up. "Oh! We could send Aislinana! She's always very diplomatic."

Morwen gave a firm nod, slipping off the jacket of her tuxedo. "Solid choice. I'm sure Audren will enjoy that, right?" She gave him a wink.

"...we'll make do."

The priestess took down some notes on one of her papers. "Its decided, then. Audren, you can break the news to her and Enabrin."

Audren gave a nod. Morwen's agile fingers undid the buttons of her pristine white shirt and that, too, was removed. She stood, kicked her shoes off, and did the same of her black slacks. She pushed her pile of clothing beneath her chair with the tabi sock-covered toes of her foot. Beneath her tuxedo she wore black leathers, clinging to every curve. It was treated and cured to reflect little light, but was streaked with reds the shade of blood, and a navy blue compass rose was emblazoned on her right breast. She drew two swords... from where, nobody quite saw, and set them on her hips. She adjusted her clothing here and there, straightening and tucking. She removed her chopsticks and simply bundled her hair with a length of string, her hands now mysteriously gloved. "I'll get the Ghosts ready to go. I'll keep a team behind in case the Eye is moving in this direction."

Fellina stood, and stepped over to the Ghost Commander. The two embraced in a friendly hug, and the priestess whispered a prayer of fortitude for Lady Gunnhildr. She smiled, despite being caught a little off guard by the high tech eyepatch that was suddenly covering Morwen's left eye. "Light guide, Morwen. Good luck, alright?"

"With your blessing, Fell," Morwen lifted a hood onto her head with one hand, and adjusted her chestpiece with the other, "I don't have a worry in the world."

Audren and Arna, too, spoke brief prayers that settled onto the Ghost Commander. Morwen smiled at Arna, then made her way to the exit. She looked back over her shoulder, and Audren met her gaze curiously. She winked, "Don't miss me too much, hon."

Audren rolled his eyes, and Fellina hid a giggle behind her hand.

"I'm sorry, Mu'shal." Enabrin lowered himself to a knee, verdant green hair rolling freely to his shoulders and laying upon the wolf pelts he wore. "I should have come to see you immediately, I know."

The gnomish woman before him waved her hand dismissively. "Ohh, no. You and your work, I know, I know. The Circle always needs you around. Light knows they'll simply fall apart without you."

Enabrin brushed the woman's cheek gently with his palm. "Aislinana, my love! You know how important you are to me!"

"Yes yes, I love you, too." Aislinana leaned her cheek into the druid's hand, and smile on her face. "You came back, that's what matters, Mu'shal."

Audren, standing beside the mage, cleared his throat. The druid looked up, a bit of a grin on his face. "Oh, my apologies, Audren! I didn't notice you there."

"I suppose you wouldn't, considering how low to the ground you need to be for this one." The paladin gave Aislinana a pat on the head. The mage stuck her tongue out at him.

Enabrin chuckled and shook his head. "She may be small, but she is as much a woman as any human or kaldorei."

"Not information I need to know."

"Oh, come on, Audren! A brave paladin like yourself shouldn't be scandalized by something like that!" Aislinana smirked up at him. Audren said nothing.

"What brings you out here tonight anyway?" Enabrin rose to his feet. "I'm sure you didn't need to come all the way out to our little tent to get the details of the council."

"Actually," Audren moved his hammer over to his left shoulder, and rotated the right to loosen it, "I'm here for Aislinana. We've had a scheduling change. The two of us need to make our way toward Stormspire."

Enabrin frowned, glancing down toward his love. "I thought you were going with Morwen."

"Something came up."

Aislinana held up a hand and shook her head. "It will be fine, love. Routine diplomatic such and such. I'll be back before you know it, and as long as the world doesn't come to an end, we'll get some time together.."

"I'll promise if you promise." The druid smiled, and lowered himself to a knee once again.

The mage grinned, and wrapper her arms about his neck. Audren quickly looked away, letting them share their loving kisses with some privacy. He cocked an eyebrow, his eyes drifting to the scryers light show in the center of the camp. Images danced and surged, spreading further through the camp and engulfing more of the tents and equipment within it.

"Hey," Audren looked to the gnome again, nearly regretting it when he saw the two still locked in a tight embrace. In an incredible act of courage, he pressed on. "Aislinana, does that look right to you?"

The gnome slipped away from her love, and looked toward the scryers. Unable to see as far as the human man, she jumped up atop a crate for added height. "Hmm... it looks pretty wild, to be honest. Loose arcane power. I mean, one of our archmages could have done that on purpose, they can handle it. But I don't know if the scryers could handle something that big."

As soon as Aislinana finished speaking, nervous shouts spread through the camp, starting at the center of the scrying, and spreading outwards as it gained attention. The images became dark, grim. The faint scenes of mountain tops and flowing streams were no more, replaced by fel waterfalls and piles of corpses. Alleys of Stormwind replaced with crypts.

Audren gave a tired sigh. "Lets go."

------

"What the hell is going on!?" Dain demanded, stepping back to leave the swirling images. No matter how quickly his feet moved, the scrying moved faster. His escape never quite happened.

"I... I'm not sure!" The blonde mage boggled, her eyes darting in every direction. Intangible ghouls lumbered through, seeming to move directly toward her. Skeletal arms broke through the ground, reaching for her ankles- and passing right through. She stumbled about, tripping away from the false ghouls. "Stop the scrying! Stop the spell, damn you!"

The four scryers stood silent, locked in position. Their eyes, emanating wisps of sickly green magicks, rolled back into their heads. Their mouths hung agape, tendrils of the same fel energy rolling forth like smoke from a pipe. In the center of the four, specks of arcane dust spun in a tight circle, and within formed an image of a massive death knight. His face, white as a ghost, was heavily scarred. He stepped out of the ring and toward the blonde mage. With each step, his heavy plate armor, a mockery of the Dreadnaught Battlegear, adorned with human skulls, creaked from wear and age. His hand went over his shoulder, and he drew a massive runeblade. As the blade was slowly revealed, screams of the damned filled the air, rising to a piercing howl when fully drawn.

Dain threw himself toward the death knight, an attempt to bring him to the ground, and passed right through. The knight didnt stop his pace toward the mage, but seemed to look at Dain from the corner of his eye. The mage shivered where she stood, eye wide. The death knight rose his blade high over his head, and brought it crashing down upon, and through, the mage. With a shuddering, exhausted breath, the woman fainted.

From two ends of the maelstrom, members of the Commonwealth rushed in. The scene was chaos, many trying to merely shoo away the images, or fight off the ethereal ghouls and skeletons. It wasn't long before mages appeared on the scene. Specifically, Aislinana and her escort from one end, and an equally respected member of the Archmagi from the other.

Audren and Enabrin roughly shoved people aside, allowing Aislinana passage to the center. And in the center, she immediately began shouting over the chaos to another.

"Wildesana, what is going on?"

"Looks like the scryers are being dominated somehow. By the Scourge, obviously." Wildesana motioned to the scryers with her heavy oaken staff, a massive sparkling jewel on the end. "We need to reinforce the circle. Start drawing yourself in!"

Aislinana gave a firm nod, and the two mages squeeze themselves in between a pair of scryers each. The draw their own runes, much as the mages did earlier, though connecting them together, and to the neighboring circles. Wildesana stood, and threw a handful of powder from her belt into the air. Aislinana followed suit, and the two joined the scyring circle.

Immediately, the images began to waver, becoming blurry and harder to distinguish. The death knight, however, remained clear for all to see, with a slight smirk on his face. Aislinana called out to the crowd, "Come on, someone jump in! We need a little more to break it! Finish the second circle!"

For awhile, no one responded, afraid to jump into such a horrific situation. A little more prodding from both Ladies Siwind and Whiztink lured a third mage from the crowd, but not a fourth. The maelstrom of Scourge had been mostly broken, and yet the Death Knight remained. He walked freely through the ranks of the Commonwealth, looking each man and woman over with a calculating eye. The original scryers remained in a trance, fel magic still seeping from their body.

"Please, allow me." The crowd parted, and immediately fell silent. The death knight turned to look at the new arrival. Joining the mages was Aronsus, arcane power visibly surging through his golden yellow hair, and arcing from the very tips of his fingers. He drew his circle, and joined the group to form an octagon. All at once, the remnants of the scrying shattered, the very weave of magic spitting before their very eyes. The death knight was unable to complete his frown before he was banished.

The original scryers collapsed to the ground, all four of them ending up atop one another in a mass of bodies. Aislinana and Wildesana both bowed low to the elven Aronsus, with everyone else soon after.

 

Back in Stormwind...

"Shallon," the elven rogue spoke in whispers, "watch your back. The girl is gone."

Eye blazing furiously, the woman withdrew her daggers from the troll-turned-human, who fell to the ground with a thud. She searched the alley, her one human eye darting this way and that, peering into every shadow. The two rogues turned together, placing themselves back to back.

Shallon grinned toothily, her entire face twisting in a cruel smile. "I bet the girl left this one to die. Coward."

"Oh, no, nothing like that." Red's voice echoed through the alley, seeming to come from every direction all at once. "I thought I would give you two some time."

"For?" The elven man questioned, a hint of worry in his voice. Shallon, however, stood unshaken, wicked smile still on her lips.

A loud clicking came from the north end of the passage, both rogues turned their head in its direction. Only seconds after, the clicking came from the opposite direction. Red's voice echoed through again. "You've put me in a pretty rough spot here. First, you want to take my retirement from me. Second, you probably just killed my partner."

The clicks began again, coming one after the other from varying directions. The two rogues slowly rotated in place, keeping their backs to eachother.

"I should probably be scared." Red's voice came from on high, directly above the ghosts of the Commonwealth. "You just manhandled us, and you had a stylish entrance to boot."

The two rogues dove away from eachother, and a heavy device, mostly shrouded in the darkness of the alley, crashed to the ground where they had been standing. The two got back to their feet, and eyed the device from a distance.

"For the most part, though?" Red's voice grew loud, clear and angry, no longer a faint echo. "You really pissed me off."

A final click, and the device in the center began to spin in place. The metallic surface began to split, revealing windows of glass. Shallon's eye flared, and the night elf turned his head away, shielding his face. The device's spinning come to a halt, and the panels burst with a brilliant white light. The darkness and shadows of the alleyway were completely gone now, revealing Red hanging upside down from a thick wire, high above the ground.

In Red's hand was a second wire, which split in all directions, threaded every which way throughout the alley. The ghosts followed the wires with their eyes, which slowly widened. Red dropped straight down from where she hung, pulling all of the threaded wires as she went. Dozens of loud clicks, immediately followed by twangs and whistling air, and the ghosts stood still in horror.

That didn't last long, as each cried out in pain when a rain of crossbow bolts hit them both from all directions where they stood. When the flurry of arrows ended, both fell to the ground. Shallon looked up at Red, standing victoriously above her. The fire in her eye had been all but extinguished, the blazing red a mere pin prick within an empty socket. Shallon reached to her belt, and clutched the hearthstone that hung there.

"Mission... aborted..."

Both rogues disappeared in an instant.

"Heeyyy, good job, kid!"

Red turned, and winked at the short goblin woman standing by an unconcious Blue. The goblin woman, her skin surprisingly smooth for a goblin, and a light shade of olive, bent over Blue's unmoving form. She wore robes, if they could be called such, slit up the sides to show off smooth green legs, revealing just a bit of her rear at the proper angle. The neckline was low, the robe stitched to accentuate and lift her bust, showing off a line of olive cleavage.

"Thanks, Frida." Red walked toward the goblin, adjusting the mask on her face. "Set the crossbows up a couple days ago, figured something like this would happen. Is troll-boy alright?"

"Ehh, nothin' a little goblin medication won't fix!"

"By 'medication' you don't mean your chest, right?"

Frida gave a pout, and crossed her arms beneath her chest, pushing her breasts even higher. "Little ol' me, suggest a thing like that? I'd NEVER!"

"Uh huh."

"Alright, alright." The goblin woman waved a hand in the air, and arcane power gathered around it. "Tell ya what, since we're friends and all, I'll make ya a portal straight to Ratchet. Take your boytoy over to my sis, she'll wrap him up while ya finish business with Lefty, eh?"

"I appreciate it, Frida. I owe you one."

 

Rolling waves lapped at the coast, and the sun beat down from above without remorse. The entirety of the Barrens shimmered in the sweltering heat, and Red was dressed to match. She walked barefoot through the center of Ratchet, wearing a blood red bikini and similarly colored swashbuckler's shirt hanging open, blown this way and that in the light ocean breeze.

Past the bank she walked, keep a watchful eye on the especially well-dressed men and women clamoring about the bankers. She continued, though, past the goblin housing dozens of merchants shouting prices to everyone who wandered through. She walked up to the inn, and winked at the crowd that stood beside the door.

There stood a half-dozen blood elves, one wearing massive, imposing plate armor, another wearing thin and wispy cloth robes, and others wearing thick leathers, despite the powerful heat. They shouted at one another, cursing in Thalassian at the top of their lungs. The heavily armored one did his best to calm everyone, whether it be with words or physically pulling them apart. Then, all at once, they stopped and turned, eyes narrowed and lips curled into angry sneers.

From behind the oranges and red of her mask, stolen from the corpse of a blood elven rogue, Red grinned widely. She shot a wink at the armored one, and went into the inn, immediately greeted by a pair of goblins in tuxedos.

-------------------------

"Does this hurt?" A goblin brought a wrench down across a bare, bloody, and blue back.

"WHAT IN DE NAME OF ZANZA BE WRONG WITCHU!?" Blue rolled over frantically, curling over in pain and falling off of the crude table he had been laid out on. He groaned, and laid on his stomach on the filthy floor instead, clutching his back where the daggers had been buried.

"Well," the goblin followed him around to the other side of the table, "you felt it alright. Guess it means you didn't die."

"Joo're not really a docta, is ya?" Blue rubbed his head, pleased to find his tusks back in full force. "Who da hell did Red leave me wit' dis time?"

"Ah, the real doctors are dealing with some mess a bunch of elves made." The goblin walked over to a cabinet on the far wall, throwing its doors wide open and digging through the multi-colored vials within. "Let me tell ya, Ratchet loves you Horde fellas, but those elfboys sure are a pain in our ass."

"Elfies, ja?" Blue laid limp. "What trouble dey be causin' now? Dey're hair git all fuzzy in da Barrens air 'gain?"

"Nahh, guess they got the shaft in some deal. Guess they don't understand business!" The goblin walked back over to Blue, holding a large red bottle in his hand. "Thats elves for ya. Here, drink you, then you can go. S'all ya need."

"If dis turns me inta somethin' silly, I'll kill joo." Blue uncorked the bottle, and downed the contents.

--------

Red was led up the stairs of the inn by one of the tuxedo-clad goblins, who was occasionally glancing back at the scantily clad woman behind him. The rogue, apparently, did not mind. Down a hall they went, and came to a closed door labelled with the room number '0'.

The goblin knocked, "Hey, boss. Li'l Red is back wit' the goods. Ya wanna see her?"

"Yeah, send 'er in." A deep, rough voice came from within the room. It sounded confident at first, but the tone became far more uncertain. "But, uh... not if them elves are around, a'ight?"

The human girl's escort turned to give her the word to enter, but she already had the door halfway open. She strode inside, and closed the door behind her, nealy slamming her escort's nose in it. She leaned on the doorframe, and folded her arms across her chest. "I'll show you the goods when you show me the money, Lefty."

"Nah, nah." The goblin sat behind a metal desk, stacks of gold and piles of gems strewn about its surface. He relaxed back in a plush chair, a cigar hanging from the corner of his mouth. "Change of plans, Red. We're not sellin' to the elves."

"...we're... not?" Red moved over to the desk, and sat in a chair across from Lefty. She leaned in, "Why aren't we selling to the elves?"

"Well, we got a better deal, for one." Lefty spun in his chair slowly, kicking his foot against his desk for momentum now and then. "For two, those guys are getting too big for their britches. They think the Cartel owes 'em somethin'."

"And you do, Lefty." Red furrowed her brow, and slumped back in her chair. "They practically made-"

"They made NOTHING!" Lefty slammed his fist down upon his desk, sending coins clattering. "They owe the CARTEL, Red. We made THEM."

"You're so full of it." The rogue rubbed her temples. "Those guys made the Gladiators a spectator sport. They made it profitable, Lefty. Do you realize they're the ONLY reason the Cartel holds out against the Consortiu-"

Lefty grabbed a chunk of jade off of his desk, and threw it at the woman across from him. It whizzed past her cheek. He shouted, rage in his eyes. "They're NOTHIN', Red. You hear me? NOTHIN'. They've got some muscles, and a way with swords. Thats it, Red. Thats not entertainment. WE are entertainment, Red. We book their matches. We play them up. I even named those chicken-shit, flower-lovin', fancy-haired, long-eared, boot-lickin', ogre-suckin' egomaniacs."

"Uh huh." Red slumped over in her chair again.

"The Light-damned Riskbreakers, Red." The goblin sighed, calming himself. "They called themselves the Riskbreakers. Can you believe that? Thats not a name fit for fame. I made them, Red. I nursed them from tiny, worthless husks of fighters, into the reigning champs they are now."

"Yeah, Lefty. I know."

"Reigning champs for the last year. Held the title on four seperate occasions before that. Nobody else has done it, Red." Lefty took a gem in hand, and squeezed it in his palm. "Nobody. And they come in here, thinkin' they own the place. Thinkin' the Cartel owes them a favor. No, none of that, Red. Not doin' them anymore favors. Business is business, thats the bottom line."

"Right, right. I get it, Lefty." The girl adjusted her mask. "Whats the plan, then? Who's the buyer? Whats my cut?"

"I like you, kid. So you 'n Blue get fitty percent of this one. You're going through a lot for me."

"...fifty?" Red's eyes bulged.

"Don't get too excited though, with the extra cash comes some extra work." Lefty tossed the gem up and down, catching and releasing. "Tonight at sundown, we meet the buyer down near Razorfen. We've got some goods headin' to Thousand Needles anyhow, so its just a stop on the way. Just means we need some more security."

"...Lefty, you know Blue and I are no good in a straight up fight. You tried to use us as Gladiators, remember?"

"No, no, I know. You've got that whole sneaky thing goin' on. Thats alright, thats alright. You stick to what you're good at. If we run into trouble, we'll have plenty o' bruisers around, and some other gladiators I've been trainin'. Big tauren fella, uses a tree trunk as a weapon. Body of adamantite, Korlan's got nothin' on him."

"Thats a big claim, Lefty. Your new guy could take out one of the reigning champs?"

"Just wait 'til you see him, Red."

"Yeah... yeah. Alright. I'll tell Blue the news. We'll be ready in a few hours."

--------

"This is Ghost Three. Did you catch all of that, Ghost Command?"

"Every word, Ghost Three. Pass the word to the Dark One. Operation Full Moon is a go."