It was shortly past midnight when Caer'ias Aeddan was woken up, sharply, by a sharp knock at the door.
"Go away!" the archaeologist-mage stammered, half-asleep, "Can't you see I need my...uh...my beauty rest?" Within seconds, the mage was snoring again.
The second knock at the door was not so much a knock as it was a kick. The kick happened to possess force enough to knock the door to Aeddan's room in the longhouse not only open, but cleanly off its hinges. A spiky, armor-clad figured stormed into the room, his visage frightful to behold since it was hidden behind a dark facemask.
"D-Deathwing - ?" Aeddan stammered, in horror, "N-now, if this is about that just slightly exaggerated tavern story I told a few months ago, uh, there might have been a few inaccuracies - ! Can't we just be reasonable about - ?"
Aeddan shrieked as a saronite-covered hand reached forward, yanking him sharply out of bed by his ear.
"HEY!" Aeddan shrieked, "That's sensitive! Who do you think you are? I am Assistant Professor Caer'ias Aeddan of the Silvermoon Reliquary! I have friends in high places! I'll...I'll turn you into a sheep!"
Bron "Drakehide" Emberwing dragged Aeddan, still by the ear, out into the dim light of the longhouse's common room, glaring at him. It took Aeddan's eyes a couple seconds to adjust, but he breathed a sigh of relief...sort of...when he realized it was only Drakehide.
"Now, look, you!" Aeddan snapped, indignantly, "Y-you can't just go around yanking on people's ears! It's rude! A fellow might take offense at - !"
"You are going on a little trip, Caer'ias," Drakehide interrupted, "Right now."
The warrior handed Aeddan a sheet of parchment, tied into a roll, and glared daggers at the archaeologist.
"Open this when you are at a safe distance. It will tell you your destination. If you tell a soul where you are going, I will kill you. If you bring anyone along other than Jennings, I will kill you. If you fail to arrive in a timely manner, I will kill you. If you do not follow the instructions in this letter TO the letter - "
"You'll kill me?" Aeddan gulped.
"Finally catching on," Drakehide smirked.
The saronite-clad warrior picked up Aeddan by the collar of his robes, grabbed Aeddan's flying carpet, stuffed both of them under an arm, and then stormed back into Aeddan's room and grabbed Jennings.
"Wh-what is the meaning of this, Drakehide-creature?" the clockwork gnome stammered, "When robot overlords rule the world, you will greatly regret your actions - !"
Drakehide stormed towards the entrance of the longhouse. He kicked this door, too, open - fortunately, not off its hinge - and hurled the bundle of elf, carpet, and gnome out onto the longhouse's lawn. Aeddan and Jennings, from where they landed, simply glanced up very stunned, and very confused.
"WELL?!?" Drakehide snarled, "What are you waiting for?!? GO!"
Aeddan hopped onto the carpet with a girlish shriek, snatching Jennings up from the ground and cradled the little clockwork creature in his arms as their rug began to ascend.
"It's okay, Jennings," Aeddan stammered, "I'll take care of you!"
Jennings grumbled, clearly unimpressed at being trapped in the archaeologist's grasp.
"Idiot flesh-creature," Jennings snarled.
After a few seconds hovering up, up, up, once the longhouse had disappeared, and the way seemed safe, Aeddan finally unfurled the parchment.
"I wonder what's got Drakey back there in such a - ?" Aeddan's jaw dropped as he read the message from Drake, in its entirety, which revealed not only a destination for Aeddan and Jennings, but...a plethora of new, horrible problems for Homeland and for Azeroth. "Oh, no...come, Jennings! We must find Keedriel! Quickly! Time is of the essence!"
Edited by Drakehide on 1/29/2012 10:19 AM PST