World of Warcraft®

After the failed conversation with Azheira, Noikona sat on the dock letting the cool waters of the canal surround her aching leg. She hadn't expected Azheira to shove her down the stairs; she only wished she hadn't let her guard down. Her armor lay next to her and fishermen stood around telling stories of the one that go away. Her face was dark, anger clearly showed on her face. Old thoughts of revenge crept into her head which she quickly shook off. No she couldn't she grumbled. Oh but she wanted to. The sweet feelings of retaliation coursed through her veins.

She looked down at her shield. Her eyes caught site of the inscription that had been etched neatly by its leather straps. Her name and the words “There is no revenge so complete as forgiveness”. Her eyes narrowed, a sense of calm engulfed her as she closed her eyes. She would attempt it again; she knew she had to try.

The things she had done to Azheira were inexcusable she felt driven to make amends, but at what cost? Her feelings towards her had not changed. How do you make amends to someone you hate?

((Spriggel is glad to hear that Noikona is also getting assistance descending from high places. Noi's help was greatly appreciated on the mage tower, and it is good to know that karma found its way back to reward Noi for her kindness. *giggle*))

Gertha set the mug of mead on the tray next to the bowl full of stewed mutton. She smiled as she looked down at the lunch she had made. The recent loss of her left hand had made normal, everyday tasks exceptionally difficult to perform. Gertha was more than a little proud that she had overcome the obstacles the amputation had presented.

Carefully, she scooted the tray toward the edge of the counter with her stump. She slid her right hand under the tray and lifted slowly. Balancing the tray on her way to the table would be precarious at best.

She was a foot away from the table when the front door suddenly burst open. A tiny blur of pink barreled into the room at a high rate of speed. The small shape nearly crashed into Gertha but stopped short just in time. Nevertheless, the food tray fell to the table with a loud clatter. Mead sloshed out of the mug and onto the mutton. Gertha scowled.

“Ach! Nabbi! Fer cryin’ ou’ loud!”

“Gerty! I have a present for you and you’ll never guess who it’s from.” Lrigknab pulled a medium sized box out of her satchel and set it on the table. “Go on…guess!”

“Brann Bronzebeard.”

“Who?”

Gertha glowered at the tiny pink fuzz ball. “Jus' tell me who sent it while I open it.” She picked up the package with her right hand and placed it into the crook of her left arm. She was just about to pull off the lid when the gnome shouted.

“It’s from the GOAT!”

One moment the package had been neatly tucked near Gertha’s chest. One second later the package hit the wall on the opposite side of the room and Gertha was shoving the table with her right shoulder, tipping it onto its side in an effort to barricade herself. Her carefully prepared lunch was now decorating the floor.

Lrigknab just stood there staring at the swirls of mutton and mead mixing on the wooden boards.

“How did she manage ta send sometin' from beyond ta grave?” Gertha managed to rasp out.

“Gerty….I probably should have mentioned a few things first.” Lrigknab looked a bit chagrined. “Come on, get up. Let me explain.”

The stubborn dwarf didn’t move. “Get dat package out o' here first.”

Lrigknab scooted around the slowly spreading mess on the floor and picked up the box. She pulled off the lid as she walked back to Gertha’s hiding place. As she approached the hunkered down dwarf, she held out the box so that the inside was visible.

Gertha didn’t even look. Not wanting a repeat of her first amputation, she flung her stump at the box, knocking the contents to the floor. She scrambled to her feet and ran into the kitchen.

“Gerty!” A fretful sigh escaped the gnome’s lips. She picked up the item that was now covered in a disgusting mix of mead and mutton. Once in the kitchen she didn’t even look at Gertha. She just went to the sink and began cleaning the gift.

“Gerty…I should have told you…well, actually the boss-lady should have told you, but she’s been too busy hanging around that scary death knight lately…” Her voice trails off as she makes a disgusted face.

“Noikona is alive.”

Cowering in the corner, Gertha shifts uncomfortably.

“I don’t know all the details and I don’t think the boss-lady does either. It doesn’t matter. The goat is back and…well…she seems different.” Lrigknab plucked a towel from a nearby rack and began drying off the item in her hand. “Boss-lady still doesn’t trust her…can’t say I blame her…but Noikona gave this to her. She said it was for you.” Lrigknab holds up what appears to be a hand. “I promise you, Gerty, the boss-lady had it thoroughly checked out. It’s not a bomb.”

Gertha looked at the hand for a moment before moving forward. “Well, if da boss-lady tinks it’s okay, den it mus’ be.” Reaching out with her right hand she took the fake hand and set it on the counter, turning it over. “Ach! It not be a dwarven hand, but…it has claws…like a weapon.” This aspect of the hand seems to interest her very much and she pokes at the protrusions, testing their sharpness.

Lrigknab hesitates slightly but then quietly states, “I think…I think Noikona might be trying to say she is sorry.”

“Hmph!” Gertha picked up the hand and set it firmly on her stump. “Even fits.” She exited the kitchen and moved toward the tipped table. Using her good hand and the new one she was able to right the table. She twisted her wrist slowly, gazing at the false hand from all angles. “Works too.”

Gertha turned to look at Lrigknab who had followed her from the kitchen. “She still has ta answer fer what she did ta ya.” To emphasize her point, Gertha slammed her new hand onto the table. “And she nearly blew off da boss-lady’s leg! Dat goat had better do more dan dis if she wants ta apologize!”

Noikona cringed holding her leg as the trailer hit a pot hole. It was dark inside with only the company of three other prisoners. She had been ushered out of the stockades in the early daylight and made to enter a transport to an unknown location. Her leg ached something fierce, she knew she should have told someone but her stubbornness had gotten the better of her. She looked down at her fist and tried to suppress a grin. One of her knuckles was still sore. She bit her lip as she recalled how it felt to finally hit Azheira. She knew she connected well, as she hadn’t held back. It was sure to leave a mark.

After what seemed like hours the trailer finally came to a stop. The door opened flooding the tiny interior with light.

“Lieutenant Momlir! This is your stop. Hope you enjoy you five days in paradise” a voice outside barked with a hint of amusement.

Noikona stepped out of the trailer, still being careful with her leg. The ice cold breeze caught her off guard and her heart sank. As soon as her hooves hit the snow packed ground the horses pulling the trailer lurched forward leaving her alone.

A shovel was thrust into her chained hands “We still have a lot of clean up to do on the west side. Looks like you will become best friends with that shovel there”

Noikona glared angrily at the gnome, she cursed under her breath as her eyes looked over small village of New Tinkertown.

((Can’t say I have ever been arrested IC’ly before. I don’t think I will make a habit of this >.>. The Stormwind Union did a great job RP’ing this. as it was not planned and it just sort of exploded into fists and chairs flying.))

((New Tinkertown! Noikona must really hate Azheira now. :( I would have Ash apologize, but she was itching for a fight and Noikona was a convenient target. I'll have to remember to have Ash reimburse Alex for the chair though.))

The guard slowly approached the cell of the paladin brought in last night. She was laying on her back on the cot, hands on her abdomen, fingers interlaced. Her eyes were open and the guard suspected she hadn’t slept at all. He wasn’t quite sure what to make of her.

Most detainees brought in after a bar fight were drunk and belligerent. She was neither. In fact, when he had brought her dinner last night and breakfast this morning she had thanked him politely even though she had declined to eat. Besides the food, she had also refused medical treatment.

She had a small laceration on her upper left arm, but that wasn’t so bad. It probably didn’t even need stitches. He shifted his gaze to the right side of her face. Her right eye was barely swollen but underneath the eye was the real problem. She had a gash about an inch long on her cheekbone. The area surrounding the cut was swollen and deeply bruised. The guard suspected the bone underneath was broken. He had no way of knowing, however, with her repudiation of assistance of any kind.

He pulled his key ring off his belt. After finding the right one, he turned the key in the lock and opened her cell door.

“You’re free to go, miss.”

She blinked once as she unhurriedly swung her legs over the side of the cot and stood up. Her expression seemed to be blank or neutral at first, but as she approached him he saw a spark of something in her eyes. He thought it might be determination, but he couldn’t be sure. Her face was mostly a mask.

“Thank you,” she stated simply as she passed him.

The guard shook his head. “I don’t think that one is okay,” he muttered as he watched her walk out.

((hmmm this stinks))

((http://tinyurl.com/lnx57mm))

((Can’t say I have ever been arrested IC’ly before. I don’t think I will make a habit of this >.>. The Stormwind Union did a great job RP’ing this. as it was not planned and it just sort of exploded into fists and chairs flying.))

((Thanks for rolling with it and generally being reasonable. Both you and Az. :)

((If you ask nicely, Noikona, perhaps the Gnomes will allow you to push to several beds together to accommodate your frame.))

((Ash was sentenced to community service. As you can see from the following images, everyone at the AA meetings thought she was a perfect angel.))

((http://i.imgur.com/iDEURA0.jpg))

((http://i.imgur.com/dw0z4TU.jpg))

Noikona limped along the sludge pits. Kuina’s healing the night before helped to ease the pain but because of her stubbornness, she was now faced with a prolonged time of mending. The well-aimed hit from the chair had re-fractured the still tender bone. Shock had kept her going for the few hours after the conflict but now she was constantly reminded of the useless leg. Her shovel bit into the frozen ground as she started a new trench to divert the obnoxious green goo when she was alerted from behind.

“238 when you’re done here you need to start on trench on the east side”

Noikona’s eyes flared in anger at the number called out. Without thinking and no care for her leg she charged the gnome with her shovel held like a spear. Before she made five paces pain shot through her wrist. Agony shot up her arm and into her chest. Her probation bracelet glowed an angry red as she collapsed to the ground.

Gasping for breath she looked up. The gnome was gone.

Noikona returned to the stockades mere heartbeats before eleven bells began to chime. Had she dallied any longer at the inn, she would have been in lock-down for the next two days. A guard escorted her up the stairs to a peculiar cell dissimilar to the rest. He opened the large door, letting her enter and locked it securely behind her. The prison cell was not what was expected. Shields and swords of various types lay in one corner. Bursting book shelves lined two walls and a full sized bed lay neatly next to a reading desk covered with maps.

She sat on the bed and began the long and tedious routine of unclasping her armor. Her leg plates came off easily enough but her right leg was still sore. The leg had healed, but perpetual damage had been done to the bone causing her to walk with a slight limp, something that she would overcome but nevertheless a permanent reminder to never let her guard down.

She donned a robe and lay down on her bed. She stared at the ceiling with a furrowed brow. The words of Rour echoed in her head. “I am sorry for what those gnomes did to you.”

No gnome had ever issued those words to her. She had always been labeled a racist, a gnome hater or intolerant. Her mind raced at the thought of trusting them once again. It had been several years since the incident. Was it time to finally forgive? She closed her eyes and let sleep carry her away as her thoughts drifted with the possibilities.

Any moment now. Any moment and the goat would finally be dead.

The paladin had wanted to finish it yesterday while they were brawling outside the Recluse, but Noikona had taken off when she began losing too much blood.

“Chicken as well as goat.” Ash muttered.

Today, Azheira was waiting on top of a hill in southern Jade Forest with Slithengar. The message she had had brought to Noikona was sure to have been delivered and the draenei should be arriving soon. Azheira was almost giddy with anticipation. The goat would come alone and Azheira would kill her.

And they would all live happily ever after.

All except for Noikona, of course.

Noikona absently raised her hand to twirl a finger around one of her tentacles. Her finger met nothing. Panic once again rose inside her chest and unwelcome thoughts of what Azheira could be doing with her body caused her to tremble with fear. She swung her legs out of the bed and stared down at her feet. Fascination overtook her as she wiggled her toes. She stared at them for some time trying to understand their purpose. Having stubbed the little one on the left foot had caused her to think they were useless, a bad joke forced upon the humans by the titans.

She stood and walked to the mirror. Her lip curled in disgust as the person she wanted more than anything dead, stared back at her. She fought the urge to shatter the mirror, she had promised to take care of this body. The possibility of cutting herself stopped her from following through. Rubbing her shoulder she lowered her robe to inspect the wound. Her fingers lightly pressed against the healing scar, a scar in which she had created only a few days ago. Kuina’s healing had nearly repaired all the damage, but she was happy that there would always be a blemish to remind Azheira that no draenei is ever unarmed.

It was time she returned to Adrazel and find out if she had learned anything more to reverse the foul spell the demon had cast. She dressed quickly, remembering this time to wear shoes. She wasn’t going to stub her toe again.

Azheira shifted awkwardly on the bed. Finding a comfortable position to sleep in was exceptionally difficult these days. The horns on her head were bad enough - but that tail! She wished she could cut it off. She sat up and twisted her head to scowl at it. Many times over the past few days she had forgotten it was there and had shut a door behind herself only to wince as the tail was pinched yet again. The tip was bruised and sore.

She sighed as she realized she wasn’t going to be getting anymore sleep. She swung her legs over the side of the bed and her hooves clattered on the floor. She scowled at them too.

An aroma of cooked bacon drifted under the door and into the room. Her stomach growled. Azheira supposed it was time to go greet her employees. None of them had seen her when Slithengar had dropped her off at her place late last night. She wondered if he was outside. He seemed intent on making sure she was safe. She figured he probably just felt guilty for bringing her to the demon’s attention in the first place.

As she made her way downstairs she tried to walk as softly as she could – but those hooves! Such unwieldy walking devices they were.

The first person to see her was Vainaa. The stoic death knight just raised her brows. She wasn’t one for many words and she probably figured Azheira had hired Noikona to muck the stables.

The bacon smell grew stronger as Lrigknab came out of the kitchen holding a platter full of it. Of course, as soon as she saw Azheira the platter hit the floor.

“Boss! BOSS! The GOAT is in your HOUSE!” Lrigknab scurried around the table and hid behind Vainaa. Vainaa briefly considered pounding the gnome into the floor for the ‘goat’ reference, but decided the boss might not like that.

The sounds of cooking, spatulas scraping skillets and various foods sizzling, suddenly ceased. Gertha waddled out of the kitchen and came to an abrupt halt when she saw Azheira. She looked over at Vainaa and Lrigknab. Vainaa just shrugged. Lrigknab was making sawing motions across her neck with one hand and wildly flailing with the other.

“Ach, Nabbi! Ya’ll give yerself a ‘ernia wit’ all dat jerkin’ abou’.” Lrigknab quit floundering, but remained behind Vainaa. Only the tips of her pink pony tails could be seen sticking out on either side of Vainaa’s chair. Gertha gathered she would have to be the rational one.

“Well, Noikona, wha’ are ye doin’ ‘ere?”

“I’m not-“Azheira broke off as Lrigknab suddenly bolted for the door, screaming like a yak on fire as she ran.

Azheira sighed heavily. This was going to be harder than she thought.

“Bourbon please.” she spoke and then chimed in gain “Make it a double”.

The bartender looked at her strangely knowing this was not her normal behavior, but set the drink down in front of her.

Noikona sat down at the empty bar, staring at the glass. She bit her lip before emptying the entire contents down her throat. Her body convulsed and her eyes watered. Clenching her teeth she set the glass down hard, waiting for the burning to subside. She had only slept a few hours as she had been plagued with thoughts and images that were foreign and not her own. Memories she should not see as they were not hers to begin with. She ordered another double but nursed it as she let her mind wonder and prayed that she was the only one experiencing this affliction.

((Note: The Eredun language has always been described as a maddening language. Please don’t take my description of it as set in stone; it’s only my idea of how this complex language might work. It was just me having some fun with it))

Noikona set in the flickering candlelight, a tome was open in front of her, and its symbols looked back forebodingly. She methodically looked over the first three symbols on the marked page. These symbols were penned in ordinary ink but purposefully, for they held the key and were unchangeable. She cross referenced Lady Adrazel’s notes and smiled, seeing that she had already done much of the work on narrowing the correct variation.

All Eredun is written the same way. Many think it is written to hide or disguise its meaning. Some even go mad trying to decipher the language. It was never intended be so. She sighed as she started to pen, her notes. All Eredun manuscripts have one hundred and twenty seven sections, with seventy two subsections. Each subsection contains exactly nine hundred and twenty six symbols. The symbols have one hundred and eleven different variations in which they can be read. The variations show themselves by the one hundred and eleven known sources of light. The first three symbols tell how many variations are on the page and of what type. In this way one page written in Eredun could in fact contain a vast amount of material. A tome could contain a library.

Following Lady Adrazel’s notes, she lit a beeswax candle with a Fel infused wick. An eerie green light flooded the room. She watched the page as the symbols appeared to animate changing in front of her eyes. They weaved in the candlelight until the seemed to settle. Two seemed to dance as if drawing her attention to them. She noted them and would come to them later.

Most of her notes were obscure to her. Her face darkened at some of the references but her job was not to find understanding, only to interpret the symbols. She knew it was describing a ritual of transference but this was not something she had ever studied before. Her eyes finally fell to the first dancing symbol. Her fingers brushed lightly over its surface. Her eyes closed as a vision of an altar appeared. She relaxed letting her hand move on its own, sketching the image in vivid detail. She sighed looking at the drawing, it seemed strangely familiar. Her attention then went to the other active symbol. Once again she let her fingers brush over it. A flood of images flashed in front of her. The images repeated over and over signifying that this was a list. She hastily wrote down each item as they appeared making sure not to miss one.

Letting out a long breath she relaxed in her chair. The notes were complete, now she only needed to present the information to Lady Adrazel and hope that she could make sense of it all. She blew out the candle and watched the symbols return to their previous state.

Her steps were slow as she left the Recluse. Tiredness warred with confusion in her eyes. Noikona had been polite – kind even. This was so at odds with how everyone else, excepting Slithengar of course, was treating Azheira lately that it was giving her a headache just thinking about it.

She figured it must be the stress of being in someone else’s body. Why else would she be on the verge of tears so often lately? Feeling hurt over every little snide remark Noikona’s friends made was so unlike her. She was tougher than this. Wasn’t she?

Azheira stopped abruptly, nearly knocking over the idiot who was always yelling about free drinks at the Recluse. Damn straight she was tougher than this. She was Azheira Lautrec and she could handle anything life threw at her.

A determined look came over her face. She wouldn’t let them hurt her. Not anymore. They could hurl insults like bricks at her. From now on, she wouldn’t even flinch.

It didn’t matter what other people might say. Azheira and Noikona had a job to do. They had come to a sort of understanding while talking tonight. They would be cooperative. They would work together and get this thing done.

They had to. They just had to.

Azheira chose to stand at the head of the table rather than sit. She was using her recently acquired height to her full advantage.

“I will broker no arguments on this.”

Her words were firm and the look in her eyes silenced any objections the three seated around the table might have had to the plan the paladin had just told them. Vainaa was her typical indifferent self. She couldn’t care less. Gertha was doing her best to hide a smile, but the pride shining in her eyes was clearly evident. Lrigknab was the only one who appeared upset over the announcement. She was slouched way down in her seat. Azheira could only see the top of her pink head – even with her extreme stature.

“Lrigknab, you do not have to like my decision, but you will have to accept it.” Azheira moved away from the table being careful to not conk her head on the rafters. That had happened often enough in the last couple of weeks.

“I’m serious…Nabbi…are you listening?”

Lrigknab’s head bobbed and her pink pigtails bounced. “I do not want that goat living with us!”

“No more of this. She needs a place to stay and it will be with us.” Azheira’s expression changed from one of sternness to something like confusion. She wasn’t quite sure how it had happened but last night she had offered Noikona a home for a few days.

Shocking. Utterly shocking.

Noikona looked at the address again and then to the door. An uneasy sense of awkwardness threatened to suffocate her as she approached the entry. Her knuckles stopped short of knocking on the wood. Her hand fell limply to her side as she struggled to understand the events that had brought her here. She turned away, flirting with the idea of walking away, but couldn't seem to make her feet move. She knew better than to think she would be welcome.

Her mind flooded with memories of Lrigknab’s unmoving and beaten body. They were quickly replaced by Gertha and the ghastly wound she had inflicted on her. Even the body she now occupied bore scars caused by her. She could feel the blood rush to her face as one last image entered her thoughts; the eager eyes of Knabo, her imagination could only taunt her with what had befallen him.

Waves of guilt crashed into her. She trembled, crumpling to the ground. She sat unmoving on the walkway, not wanting to move, only to stare in the distance. Not even her conscience spoke to her. There was only the numb feeling of existence.

The door opened slowly, heat from the hearth billowing out into the cold night air surrounding the porch. Azheira let go of the doorknob and stood silently observing her own crumpled body out on the walkway. She walked outside and halted near Noikona. A heavy sigh of escaped her lips, the air shimmering from the warmth of her breath. She stood awkwardly for a moment before bending down and picking Noikona up under her shoulders. The warrior was obviously mentally and emotionally exhausted – they both were.

The paladin helped the other woman to her feet and moved towards the house. As they neared the door, Azheira could see out of the corner of her right eye the window curtains swing and a blur of pink quickly dashing away from the window. She squared her shoulders. Nabbi had better not put up a fuss.

Noikona was obviously lost in her own thoughts and made no objections when being led inside. Gertha walked up with a huge grin on her face and shut the door behind them. She informed Azheira that the guest room was ready and bid them both goodnight.

Lrigknab was nowhere to be seen. The mercenary death knight, Vainaa, was sitting on the sofa sorting through wanted posters, trying to figure out her next mark. She looked up and at Azheira’s inquisitive glance, Vainaa tilted her head toward the stairs, indicating the gnome had hightailed it up to her room. Ash mouthed the words ‘thank you’ and steered Noikona into the guest room that was just off main room on the first floor.

Noikona didn’t say a word. She immediately laid down on the bed and curled up into a tight ball. Once again, Azheira stood next to her own body looking down at it awkwardly. She picked up the blanket lying at the foot of the bed, unfolded it and threw it over Noikona.

After hastily exiting the room and closing the door, she nodded at Vainaa and headed upstairs to get some rest.

The death knight smirked and said aloud to the now empty room. “Nah…this isn’t weird. Not weird at all.”

Waking in the unfamiliar room was disorientating to say the least, but she soon familiarized herself with her surroundings. She took her time as she freshened up, all the while reflecting on last night. She was mortified that she had become so vulnerable. The last person she ever wanted to see her like that ended up being the one to help her. She squared her jaw has she brushed her hair regarding the woman looking back in the mirror. She sighed heavily as she placed the brush down on the dresser. Turning away she straightened her shoulders and held her head high and opened the door.

It was still quite early, the house was quiet. The sun had not yet started to rise as she made her way to the kitchen. The galley was well laid out and she was easily able to find what she was looking for. The stove was still warm and only took a little bit of coaxing to heat up nicely. She was pleasantly surprised to find some fresh picked apples and a multitude of spices and baking ingredients.

Noikona rolled her sleeves up and started to get to work. She carefully measured two cups of flower and a tablespoon of baking powder. Her eyes narrowed as she looked around the kitchen, but quickly found a lime hanging in a basket. She had gotten used to substituting lime juice for salt in many of her recipes. She carefully juiced it and put its peelings aside as they had other uses. She searched around and measured out the rest of her ingredients, a quarter cup of sugar, a pinch of ground cinnamon, a cup of brown sugar, a cup of milk, and more butter then what was probably needed. She then started to peel five apples, two of which she diced and put aside. The other three she began to mash with a mallet, pulverizing them into a sauce. She took all the ingredients and stirred them together in a large bowl insuring that the brown sugar was mixed well throughout. She poured the batter into a baking dish, sprinkling some flower, brown sugar, a little bit of butter and oats over the top.

Seeing that the oven was about the right temperature she carefully opened it and sat the pan inside. She turned and cleaned up the mess she had created and found a chair in the adjacent room to sit. It would only be a matter of time now before the aroma would wake the rest of the household.