World of Warcraft®

((These stories are bite-sized tales written just for fun. I decided I want to write about Millindy's everyday adventures with her Worgen friend, Virumont. For those who read them - I hope that this makes you smile!))

"A Bear and his Gnome" http://us.battle.net/wow/en/forum/topic/4427668616?page=1#2

"A Bear and his Gnome"
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"Mr. Bear?"

"Yes, Mindy?"

"Where are we going?"

An especially tiny gnome and a very large bear, carrying the gnome on his back, lumbered down a winding forest path deep in the heart of Ashenvale. With each elven outpost they passed they attracted more and more curious stares.

The bear, whose name was really Virumont and not Mr. Bear, snuffled and continued moving ahead. "We are going to an elven ruin."

"Oh!" Millindy exclaimed. "Why?"

Virumont chuckled at the inquisitive gnome and simply said, "I'm looking for an artifact."

"Oh! Okay." Millindy dangled her feet off of the bear's shoulders, grasping his thick fur with her tiny fingers. "Are we there yet?"

Virumont sighed, keeping a steady pace. "Soon, Mindy."

It didn't take long for the travelers to find the Blackfathom Deeps, far below the surface of the shore. Millindy marveled at the masses of tangled roots, slowly trundling along behind Virumont as he forged ahead.

"Mr. Bear?"

"Yes, Mindy?" Virumont slammed an attacking naga against the wall of the cavern, crushing its skull with a powerful blow with his paw. Millindy didn't seem to notice the trail of defeated monsters behind them.

"What is that?" She pointed at a tiny light that circled one of the tangled roots.

Virumont paused to look up at it. "That is a wisp."

"What's a wisp?"

Virumont wiped his paws clean and continued moving ahead. "It's a spirit, Mindy. It lives here."

"Oh! Okay." She smiled and paused to wave at the wisp, then sprinted to catch up to Virumont as fast as her tiny legs would take her.

The pair continued on. As Virumont dispatched the monsters in the cave, Millindy stopped every few seconds to examine a rock, a plant, a shell, or any number of other things. This was why he normally carried her on his shoulders - if he didn't, they'd never make it anywhere in a timely fashion. Soon they had reached the deepest level of the cave, littered with bones of all shapes and sizes.

"Mr. Bear?"

"Yes, Mindy?"

"Where do you think all these bones came from?" Millindy poked her finger into the eye socket of a skull as large as she was tall. To tell the truth, it wasn't that big - Millindy was just small. But to such a tiny gnome, everything is big.

Virumont paused over the broken body of a satyr, deep claw marks drawn across its chest. He scanned the bones idly, then turned to Millindy. "Animals. Monsters. Adventurers."

Millindy gasped. She drew her hand away from the skull and ran over to hug Virumont's leg tightly. "Mr. Bear, they don't eat gnomes here, do they?" She looked up at him with wide eyes. Virumont picked Millindy up with a single sweep of his paw, bringing her up to the level of his shoulder. She climbed up to sit between his shoulder blades and hugged him, burying her cheek in his fur.

"I won't let anyone eat you, Mindy."

Millindy smiled brightly.

As Virumont moved along further into the cave, Millindy marveled at the delicately sculpted stone walls and fountains. At last they reached two massive doors of stone. Virumont placed Millindy on the ground, shifting into his Worgen form and tracing a claw along a single glyph etched into the door. The doors opened into a dark room filled with water.

An angry roar echoed through the cave.

"Mr. Bear?" Millindy looked up at at Virumont apprehensively.

"Yes, Mindy?"

"What was that?"

"I don't know. Stay close to me." Millindy nodded, clutching at a staff that was really too big for her tiny hands. Virumont shifted into a bear, charging ahead into the darkness with Millindy close behind. The room was empty, save for a large stone chest resting against the opposite wall. Virumont proceeded with caution, eyes warily searching the pool of water flooding the room. Nothing.

Virumont pushed aside the stone lid of the chest with his paws, mustering all of the strength of his ursine form. Resting in the bottom of the chest was a tiny idol in the shape of a sea lion, carved from bone. He shifted again, handling the delicate artifact with gentle hands. He wrapped it in a swatch of cloth, adding it to his pack.

A loud roar and the sound of scales sliding against the stone floor echoed through the room. A terrifyingly large hydra blocked the only exit, its frame filling the entire doorway. White scales as hard as bones glimmered, reflecting the low light over the water. Virumont turned, muscles and bones rapidly twisting to assume the shape of a bear, and charged with a fierce roar.

"Mr. Bear!"

Millindy rushed to defend Virumont. She closed her eyes, mustering all the strength she could, and a faintly glowing shell of light appeared around the bear's body. The battle went on for several minutes - the hydra's heads snapped at Virumont's neck, and Virumont tore at the hydra's armor with deadly claws. At last, the hydra lay defeated.

"Mr. Bear?"

"Yes, Mindy?"

"Are you all right?" Millindy stared at Virumont with wide eyes.

Virumont breathed heavily with the exertion of battle, but he was uninjured. The faintly glowing shield surrounding his body flickered and dissipated. Virumont licked the little gnome's cheek, picking her up to place her on his shoulders. "Yes, Mindy."

"Oh! Okay."

An especially tiny gnome and a very large bear, carrying the gnome on his back, lumbered down a winding forest path deep in the heart of Ashenvale. As they passed the elven outposts again, they attracted even more curious stares. The gnome held a small carved sea lion in her hands, examining it with fascination.

"Mr. Bear?"

"Yes, Mindy?"

"Now where are we going?"

Virumont chuckled. "You'll see, Mindy."

Millindy giggled. "Oh! Okay."
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((Wow, what a lovely voice. This is fantastic.))