World of Warcraft®

Alabron opened the door to the Salty Sailor with his hood over his face, he looked around eagerly and sat a few seats away from the sin'dorei woman. He payed her no mind. Instead, he just waited for the barmaid to get to him. He asked her for some mead along with some raw meat. Odd how a man would want something like that. But he also ordered a cooked seafood meal. "Anything will do." He smiled at her.

He looked over at the sin'dorei and raised a brow, not letting her see his face due to his hood covering it except his mouth and chin. He could see her even though his eyes hid from the woman. He muttered to himself. "Hmmm.."

Aldiran Drax rushed into the Command Center of Stormwind City, slamming his giant fist onto the table, cracking it a bit. "Captain Jenkins is dead?! How? Was it murder? I swear if it was, I will destroy the killer! My friends cannot keep dying!" The guards took hold of the man, another told him, "No disturbances are premitted inside the hold. Leave now." Aldiran growled and kicked the two guards who held him, he was released and gripped the one guard by the neck. "Tell me! How did he die?!" The guard panicked and told him, "A-a heart attack!!" Aldiran frowned as he growled lightly. "Liar!" Five guards came from behind Aldiran and ripped him away from the other guard, attacking him. He roared, getting them all off and running out of the keep. "I'm going to find Jenkins' murderer!" He yelled to himself.

After the slow and boring day she had, Amarlei glanced at the Night elf and dead panned, "Either you are a hunter or you like your steak bloody rare..." her voice a slow and bored drawl.

The other patrons of the bar were too busy with their drinking and telling tall tails. She had no reason to brag about her kills, in fact she knew she was most effective as an assassin if no one knew she was. The Night elf looked like he was trying to hide something or maybe he was just shy. Amarlei tilted her head and studied him a moment. Her meal arrived and she tipped the goblin waitress and dug in, turning her attention to the food and deciding to ignore the other elf for the time being.

A tall green haired troll entered the bar and looked around, he seemed to be looking for someone in particular. Spotting Amarlei and the Night elf, he strolled over and sat down at a table near them. He did not say anything to either of them and ordered rum from the waitress. She scurried off with a slight air of unease that was not lost on Amarlei.

It was not often that a troll would walk into a tavern and elicit respect bordering on fear. Amarlei watched him without looking directly at him. Her meal was finished and she sipped her mead. The chances that one of these were her contact made her alert and yet excited. Of course neither could be what she was expecting, and she needed to stay calm and cool. Doing nothing to attract attention to herself at all.

The troll laughed laconically and downed his rum. "Dis be the quietest party I eva see! Who be da baddest one in da tavern?" he looked around as if spoiling for a fight. The dwarves looked at him and scoffed, they were not afraid of one troll. There were three of them and all sported massive weapons and plate armor.

The bruisers at the door gave a silent signal to each other and fingered their weapons silently. They would not let anyone fight in the tavern, though they seemed to be a bit nervous around this particular troll.

The bartender yelled from his counter, "No fighting in the bar! Brag all ya wants to...but no fighting!" he made a lot of noise for such a small green goblin.

Amarlei smirked and sipped her mead, she had no reason to brag. She did notice however, that the troll had a long knife at his side, and many smaller sacks hanging from his belt. She wondered if he was a healer or one of those witch doctors she had encountered in Stranglethorn Vale. His beady eyes traveled around the bar and almost dared anyone to challenge him.

The hooded elf grinned as he saw the troll enter the bar and challenge anyone to fight him, he stood up, not saying a word. Obviously accepting the troll's challenge. He put an open palm up for him to wait. He then pointed near the exit, he didn't want to disturb the fun in the tavern. He waited for what the troll would do. The kaldorei didn't have any weapons on him or his dark attire, from what it seemed anyway.

He stood there, he gave no hint of nervousness or emotion. Just a grin to show off some confidence. Every once in awhile, anyone could see his bright yellow eyes from underneath his hood. He cracked his knuckles, along with his neck and back. "Mmm." he muttered as he cracked his bones. He saw his food had gotten there. He took the raw meat and ripped some off, and dropped it on the floor. From what people could see was the meat move, and then be stretched out and ripped in half and then it disappeared.

He chuckled lightly, only for himself to hear it. He opened a palm, lower to his side motioning to the troll, giving the signal of: "Shall we?"

Rhian walked through the streets, her mind working over one subject after another. She wasn’t paying much attention to where she was headed—the temperature was pleasant and she wasn’t ready to head back to her small quarters. The streets still held quite a few people as they moved about their business. Soon she found herself standing in front of a roped off house in a district that was far too expensive for one of her income. The house of the dead official… it was really rather morbid that she show up here to gawk. She didn’t need to be here, she needed to head onto the guard station and see if there was any work to be had.

Longshore perked up and put his nose to the ground as a variety of interesting smells greeted him. Rhian glanced at him as he trotted towards the house in a straight line, presumably following the trail of the body out of the house. She called him back before he reached the ropes as a gnome waved his hand furiously to ward off the large wolf.

“No animals! This is a crime scene!” he hollered.

Longshore ignored the gnome but stopped on Rhian’s command, whining. He glanced at her before putting his nose back to the ground. Despite his seemingly lazy nature, Longshore was actually well trained. It was rare that he would not come when called—it usually meant that he had found something that she needed to see. Rhian looked at the bare area where the wolf was standing. There wasn’t anything there but cobblestone and a scent trail.

“Longshore! Come!” she called him again and was rewarded with another whine. The wolf laid down and placed his head on his paws, giving the huntress a beseeching look. She marched over and looked at the ground again before giving the wolf a stern look. “There is nothing here and the body has already been removed,” she told the wolf. “They won’t let you sniff it. Now, let’s move!”

The wolf gave the house one last longing look before turning to following Rhian. His nose went back to the ground and he perked back up again. They were following the scent trail.

“People think you to be an ill-manner, poorly-trained mutt when you behave like that, you know,” Rhian admonished as they made their way to the watch station. “I really wish that you would get over your fascination with dead things.”

Longshore looked up at her, a slightly baleful look in his green eyes. Not dead—although dead things were always interesting—but alchemical, something that did not belong. The wolf whined again, unable to communicate the discrepancy, and went back to sniffing the ground.

The troll grinned as the kaldorei stood up to accept the challenge, he eyed him up, thinking he was weak. He then walked out of the exit, with the hooded man following behind him. As they got right outside the inn, they stood only a few feet away from each other. The troll grinned and quickly unsheathed his blade and swung at the man's neck. The hooded man arched his back and dodged the blade with ease, the bottom half of his body didn't even move.

After he dodged the attack, he quickly, yet carefully, sidestepped around the troll and took hold of the back of his head and put his hand in the center of his back for more support. He then spun around a bit and slammed the troll's head down on a table that was located nearby. The troll groaned lightly and picked himself up. He then pulled three sacks that were on his belt and threw them on the ground. Smoke formed from the sacks hitting the ground, surrounding both him and the hooded man. Cackling could be heard as the smoke was done spewing out of the smoke bombs.

The man didn't move so he could feel the movements of the smoke and the shifting within. He took out a little throwing knife and threw it at a spot he sensed the shifting happening. He heard small, 'Ow' and grinned lightly. He jumped up and pulled out a concealed bow and arrow. A wolf rushed into the smoke and roared lightly, clearing some of the smoke. The hooded man was still in the air, he then got a clear shot and fired an arrow at the troll, pinning him in the shoulder down into the wooden planks of Booty Bay.

The hooded kaldorei landed and slowly approached the troll who was stuck to the floor. He grinned as he approached it. He gasped lightly as the troll threw a small knife at the man, he dodged most of it. His hood got cut and fell off his face. He glared lightly at the troll and took another arrow out and quickly shot him again, pinning down his other shoulder. The troll groaned in pain. "Gah! Damn ya and ya damn arrows, mon!" The man cackled at the troll, "You swung first, I'll shoot last." He finally spoke out and taking out another arrow. The troll closed his eyes and began speaking in voodoo chanting. The kaldorei smirked at the troll. He shot an arrow quickly and very powerful, it grinned as it stuck into his chest, piercing his heart at the instant.

He then put his bow back in its concealed position. He also pulled another hood over his head. He then took the three arrows out of the troll corpse. He then used his foot to push the troll off the edge into the water. He then walked back into the tavern and sitting back down where he sat before. He looked around the tavern again. He sighed lightly and sipped the rest of his mead. "Mmm...you all hear that?? It's called 'Silence'." He smirked lightly to himself.

Aldiran ran and ran for hours, he was tired. He looked around to find himself in a pit, an arena in a forest. He was in the Gurubashi Arena. He saw multiple gladiator-type enemies heading his way, thinking if they grouped up on him, they could take him down. He sighed lightly, "Elune be damned, I don't have time for this." He looked at the one's coming for him, there were eight people coming for him. One of them was a gnome mage, another was a human paladin. He then looked farther to the right and saw an orc warrior, tauren hunter, troll shaman, and a blood elf warlock. He then looked to the far left and noticed a night elf rogue and a worgen druid. He sighed and shrugged lightly, "Whatever!"

He leaped into action, charging for the gnome mage first. He swung one of his giant axes to cut the little man in half, but the mage quickly reacted and shot an arcane bolt at his hand to release his axe. He took his other axe and swung for him, this time the gnome disappeared and reappeared behind him, pretty far behind him. The man growled and charged again, picking up his other axe in the process. He reached the gnome, swinging another axe, but the mage, yet again, disappeared and reappeared behind him. But Aldiran was ready, as he finished his swing, he quickly maneuvered himself, turning with momentum and threw his giant axe at the little gnome. He grinned at he saw his giant axe decapitate the little gnome. He then turned his attention to the sin'dorei warlock. He charged to where his enemy was, he swung, but the warlock's felguard countered the swing with it's own axe. Aldiran and the felguard went at it for a little until the kaldorei swung to chop off it's hands and kill it with slicing it in half. He then threw his axe at the sin'dorei, splitting the elf tendon by tendon.

He noticed the human paladin and orc warrior charging for him. He was still and waited, he dodged their first attacks. He jumped as the warrior went to slash at him with his sword and he cut into the flesh of the paladin. The human yelled in pain, calling a hammer of light to come down upon the orc. Aldiran snuck away from the two as they fought each other. He charged the troll shaman next, who sent a bolt of lightning at him. He stopped at the intense pain. He then proceeded and picked up an axe from the ground and swung for the shaman's stomach. He made contact, he then dragged the axe upward, cutting up into the troll's neck and face. He then found his two axes, quickly recovering them.

He saw as the paladin has smashed the orc into rubble, but the human charged at him again. Aldiran prepared himself and put his axes back on his back, and picking up a sword that was laying on the soil. He waited and waited, the paladin finally got to him and made a giant swing for him. But before the human could swing his hammer down, Aldiran stuck him in the gut with the sword, letting the man fall over. He then was knocked down by a big wolf tackling him and trying to bite his face. He grabbed the beast by the jaw and slowly turned it, he finally got it to where he could crack the wolf's jaw to kill it. He then was shot in the shoulder with an arrow. He coughed lightly and ripped it out, he then threw one of his axes at the tauren hunter who had shot him. The tauren was impaled by the axe. He bled slowly and walked even slower. Aldiran ran quickly at the tauren and cut off his head with his other axe. He grabbed his first axe out of the tauren's corpse. He looked around and is then hit by a ball of energy. He looked behind him and noticed a giant owlbeast. He growled lightly and charged at the beast, but before he could make it, he was rooted to the ground by large plant tenticles. He quickly cut them, but he then felt a dagger go into his back. "AHH!" He quickly turned around to see the kaldorei rogue stab him. he quickly responded to the stab and swung his axe at the rogue, decapitating him as well.

All who remained was the owlbeast, who shot more and more balls of energy at him. He then threw both of his axes at the owlman. One missing, but the other cut off it's leg. He noticed the beast go into his normal worgen form and healed his leg. He stood up on his good leg and went into the form of a bear, charging Aldiran. All the kaldorei could do was grin, "Come on then!" He shouted at he jumped and punched the bear in the jaw, harming it somewhat. The bear then clawed at the elf, scratching him pretty good. Blood dripped from Aldiran's face and body, he coughed and spit blood at the bear. He then took a larger sword off the ground and swung at the bear. The bear then morphed into a giant cat and pounced, all Aldiran could do was respond, jumped back with the blade pointing up and closed his eyes. Nothing had happened to him, he opened his eyes and saw the giant cat's head impaled on the sword's blade. He must've leaped into it.

((1/2))

Aldiran sighed and climbed out of the arena after collecting his axes. He then felt a sharp pain in his mind. He clentched his head in pain. "Ahhh! What's going on?!?!" On the other side of the arena, a hooded undead cloaked in shadows was chanting a spell. Aldiran saw him and growled, he then roared and got up and sent all of his strength to his one arm, and he threw his giant axe at the undead. He screamed in pain after he threw it as well. His mind may have been weak, but it was being attacked by words of hate, doubt, and anger. The words then stopped, he looked up at where the undead was. He grinned under his helmet as he saw the undead pinned against the wall, with the axe cutting into the undead's skull and the wall behind it.

He leaped over and grabbed his axe from the undead's body. He then latched his axes onto his back and began limping away. He called for his saber, Nightclaw. He then rode on for Booty Bay for supplies and medical attention. He thought to himself for a moment, "Dammit...must live....must find...Jenkins'.....killer."

((2/2))

"A prisoner? I suppose given the situation you're in and the steps I'll have to go to keep you safe, you kind of are. I believe that whoever killed Jenkins is going to be coming after you. You may not think you know much, but you know -something- and that's all the excuse one would ever need. Something is always better than nothing, Sylvia."

He made sure to keep his eyes on the papers set out before him, not even risking a glance in her direction. The first note he scribbled onto the paper was to bring her in another set of clothes for the sake of all his men and their sanity.

Malakai listened as she spoke of these "meetings" that Jenkins brought her along too. The way she described them, they couldn't possibly have had any connection to the military. The military had no need for secrecy and lookouts. No, this sounded like Jenkins was into something shady, something that would smear his reputation if anyone found out. When the girl spoke of a "strange language" he just shook his head slowly, scribbling it down on the paper. Was Jenkins connected to a cult? If so, which cult, what were they doing in these meetings and more importantly, what were they planning?

"I see, thank you Sylvia. Your information was vital to the investigation. We'll look into these meetings and see if we can't find out what's going on. It'll help if you could possibly remember anyone that you saw, I know you weren't allowed inside, but did they pass by you to get in? A name, maybe even something that they were wearing?"

As he finished writing, he folded the papers and stuffed them into his jacket pocket. He rose from the desk and turned to face her, nodding his head. "You've done well, Sylvia. I'm afraid that you'll have to stay here though, I can have whatever you want from your home delivered at some point, but I can't let you leave. I'm sure they'll come, so it's in your best interest just to stay. You must be tired though, I'll let you sleep. If you need something, there's a switch on the desk which will alert the men up front to check on you."

He nodded once more and headed for the door, glancing back towards her and stepped out. "Lock the door behind me." He called through the door before he started down the hall and back into the main office of the Watch. "Blackstone, get back on guard, take Robert and Matthew with you. No one in, no one out."

Malakai stopped at Fizzle's desk, watching the Gnome scribble out the last of his reports. "Did you send out the word for my tracker? There's so many scents in the city, if we don't start it now while it might be fresh, we're going to lose it." The Gnome just nodded and pointed towards the empty desk that used to be occupied by one of his underlings. "Sent him out when Blackstone came back up, he's a fast one, he'll be back in no time."

"Good, good. Let's hope so, I want to know where these people came from and if it's just one..or more." His eyes narrowed and he turned to head for his desk and the stack of reports that awaited him. It looked like no sleep was on the menu of the night..again.

--

Outside the Jenkins' house, Wizzle was just delivering relevant information to the watchmen assigned to look ove the crime scene. The sound of yelling caught his attention and he ran around to the front to find some woman and her dog intruding. "Hey you! Get that dog out of here! This is a crime scene! We can't allow you contaminating the area, let that dog sniff stuff out elsewhere!"

Wait a minute, tracker?! Wizzle blinked as he quickly approached Rhian and her companion. "You...wouldn't happen to be a tracker or a hunter would you? I mean, I suppose you could just be out walking your dog, but..that doesn't look like some house dog..and you don't exactly look like..nevermind." He brushed the front of his Watch uniform and sighed. "What I"m saying is, if you -are- of that skill set. I'm looking for one, well I'm not, my boss is. So, if you are what I need then come along, there's coins to be hand, I'm sure. We just need to borrow you for a day or two."

"If not, I need to get moving before I get my hide skinned for being late!" He stood, waiting to see if the woman would accompany him or not.

"You...wouldn't happen to be a tracker or a hunter would you? I mean, I suppose you could just be out walking your dog, but... that doesn't look like some house dog… and you don't exactly look like… never mind."

Rhian turned and looked down at the gnome who had suddenly done an about face concerning her being there.

"What I’m saying is, if you -are- of that skill set. I'm looking for one, well I'm not, my boss is. So, if you are what I need then come along, there's coin to be had, I'm sure. We just need to borrow you for a day or two." The gnome continued talking, rattling off words and not waiting for an answer. “I need to get moving before I get my hide skinned for being late!”

“I am a hunter,” she said. “In fact, I am looking for work. I was about to head to the guard house. I’ll follow you there.”

It was a stroke of luck, to be certain, Rhian thought, but she wasn’t about to question her good fortune. Usually, it was putting her name on a waiting list and when something came that they could use her for and they called her as long as there wasn’t another hunter’s name before hers—or druid, in fact there was one who had recently stepped up to take several jobs that she thought were going to be hers. She really wanted to give the worgan fellow a piece of her mind but she had no idea what he looked like.

As she followed the gnome, she put her dislike of the unknown worgan out of her mind in favor of guessing what this job would be. It couldn’t have anything to do with the man who just died the previous night. That was a heart attack, wasn’t it? Whatever it was, perhaps it would take her out of the city and Elwynn Forest for a few days, but if the job was only going to be a day or two, then probably not. It had been a while since she had crossed the borders of the human lands under King Varion and she found herself hoping that this would be more far reaching than just the border of the forest.

The fight outside was swift and brutal, the hunter knew his stuff well. Amarlei watched for a moment and then turned back to the tavern. A quiet dwarf with black hair and braided beard came close and sat at the table next to her.

"Ye look like a wee lass, all skin and bone...kin I buy ya an ale?" his voice gentle and not mocking. His hands were gloved and he wore nondescript brown leather armor. The waitress bounced up to him and smiled. He ordered a bowl of stew and some ale, looking at Amarlei with an inquisitive gaze.

The Sindorei smiled and lifted her mug to take a swallow. "No thanks, dwarf, I prefer mead. But do enjoy the stew, it's always good here." she looked him over carefully as the waitress scurried off to get his food and drink. He was agile and slightly built even for the burlyness of his race. She noticed he had a couple of daggers in his belt and no other visible weapon.

She glanced outside to see the hunter about ready to finish off the troll. "That hunter is good, I would not want to cross him anytime soon."

The dwarf chuckled and sipped his ale. "He is good at fighting, but whether he is good at anything else is hard to determine. You on the other hand, are quite good at your craft." he said the last bit very casually. His meal was ready and he dug into it with relish. "You were right! This is the best seafood stew I have ever had...I wonder if it is the shark fin adding to the flavor? Or it could be the lobster...hard to tell...I have seen both in the stewpot before."

His words did not make a lot of sense to her at first. He referred to her 'craft' as if he knew her work as a leathercrafter. But his allusion to sharks had tipped her off. She grinned at him then and tapped her mug to signal to the waitress for another round. Indicating to bring the dwarf another as well. "Aye, I have seen both in the pot as well. But you must admit, it's the spice that adds to the overall delight of the meal. There is just enough heat to make your eyes water, but not too much."

He let out a loud guffaw at that and accepted the new mug of ale with a nod. "Thank ye fer that, lass. I am sure ye will be going far with that attitude. Here be my card, I do engineerin' for me craft, and I might have some work for ye soon." he left her then with a business card stamped "Harley Graybeard-engineer" with a post office box and a hammer and pick crossed over the words.

She handed him a card with her name and craft as well. "Amarlei Falconwing-leathercrafter" with a symbol of a falcon on the front. She based her operations in Booty Bay to accommodate the neutrals that frequented the area. She kept a box at the bank as well, for inquiries into her line of work.

Aldiran walked into The Salty Sailor with deep cuts, he coughed up blood every now and then. He looked around the tavern, he would be kneeling, not able to stand on one of his legs. He called out, "Is there a healer here?!?" He coughed, he gripped a deep cut at his side. He looked around eyeing all the patrons of the bar, wondering if anyone would actually help him. "Please somebody.....anybody!" He coughed up more blood onto the wooden floor.

"Ugh, I hate being in severe pain." He spit some blood on the floor again and stood up, weakly, he walked over to the bartender and asked him, "Do you have any bandages on ya?" The bartender looked at the man and grinned. "Maybe, if you could spot me some cash." The kaldorei grew angry and picked the little goblin up and roared at him. "GIVE ME THE BANDAGES OR I'LL SPLIT YOUR SKULL IN HALF, LITTLE MAN!" The goblin, who was currently stunned with fear, reached in his pockets, giving the large elf some bandages.

The kaldorei set the goblin down and wrapped his major injuries with the bandages he had been given. "Hmm, much better. That should stop the bleeding, for the most part."

He sighed and cracked his neck. He looked around the Salty Sailor, not really looking for anyone in particular. He set his eyes on Amarlei, she seeemed like an interesting woman to say the least. He eyed her up and down, shrugging lightly. He just sipped his mead some more, acting like nothing has happened even though he just killed someone. He didn't care if he killed anyone, even if it was someone he was close to. If someone angered him enough, he'd end their life as easily as he could.

He sat only a few seats away from the sin'dorei woman. His two pets, Scar, the spirit beast, and Fang, the Blackrock Wolf, lied down underneath the table he was at. They looked fierce and hungry, how they always looked. He kept feeding them the raw meat he ordered. He looked over at Amarlei, his yellow eyes only shone through to her vision every once in awhile. He kept his face concealed, however, from any who tried to see it.

"Boss, I got us a hunter!"

Wizzle announced as soon as he threw open the door, rushing over to Fizzle's desk while gesturing behind him towards Rhian. "Bit of luck finding her outside that ol' Jenkins house, seemed like her dog there was picking up on something too!"

Fizzle barely looked up from the papers that he was reading, "That's good, Wizzle. The commander is in his office, go ahead and take her to him."

"Sure thing. This way, miss." Wizzle gestured towards the door at the backside of the room as he walked. He approached and gave a series of knocks to the oaken door and then waited for the answer from within.

"Come in."

"Sir, Wizzle here, found you that tracker you were looking for. Shall I send her in?" The Gnome peered through the doorway towards Malakai.

"Yes, yes, send her in. Thank you Wizzle, you may return to your work, I"ll take care of the rest." Malakai rose up from behind his desk, crossing the room in a few strides to meet Rhian at the door. "Thank you for stopping by, it's incredibly short notice but we've got some urgent matters to attend to and it could not wait." He pulled the door open further allowing the woman to step inside.

"My name is Malakai, Commander of the Old Town Watch Division. I haven't the time to sit twiddling my thumbs so I"m going to lay this out to you. I'm sure you've heard of Jenkins' death? It's been a hot topic around the city this past day. The official cause is a heart attack, that's what's written in the report and as far as anyone outside..a small circle are concerned, that's what it was. '

He spoke while he moved back towards his desk, gesturing towards one of the cushioned chairs in front of it. "We found evidence..of another presence in the house, someone that should not have been there. My forensic team tells me that the hair is of elven origin, Sin'dorei. So, that brings about the question of why a Sin'dorei would be in Jenkins house at the same time he's murdered. Thus, we concluded that whoever he or she is, they had a hand in it. We also managed to extract a very tricky poison from the blood stream, we don't know what it is yet, but it's potent, enough to kill in seconds. "

Malakai folded his hands across his desk, fixing his silver eyes on Rhian. "That leads to you, you're probably curious why I need a tracker for this. Jenkins wasn't the only one murdered. There was another, a bit later in the evening, but the same method. Two people, dead of what could only seem like "natural causes". A promising young city official and his wife, the Kristoff's. The only connection is that they both worked for the city though not in the same fields. "

He waited for a moment letting all the information sink in before he continued. "Anyway, there are other..matters at stake, but you'll have to understand I can't divulge that information to you. So to sum it all up, we need to know where these killers came from, their routes through the city if we can still find them and most importantly..if it's more than one person."

"If you're in, we'll need to get moving immediately. The scent could be lost if we tarry too long. My boys have both the scenes locked down to insure that not too many people will be walking through the area." As he spoke, he reached below into one of the drawers of his desk, grasping a small pouch of coin. He placed it on the desk in front of Rhian. "Payment for services rendered, there willll be more once we're finished." With the coin bag was also a silver lion badger which she could take on to her garments. "That's for clearance, you're temporarily deputized into the Watch."

"Now, if we're done here..." He let the last part answer for itself as he rose up from behind his desk, already heading towards the door which he pulled open for her. He called out to the Gnomes in the main room, "Fizzle, Wizzle, we're getting ready to move out, pack up your stuff and get ready."

The private quarters of a well connected official was just the kind of place that Sylvia liked. And she intended on staying here. Of course her mind was not really as devious as one might think. She took to heart Malakai's warning, her life was in danger if she left! She would settle in and enjoy it. He seemed very nice, though very serious. Being alone in his quarters was kind of boring, so she started snooping around.

She found a closet full of nice clothes. He dressed well, she thought. There was a private bath and she decided to get cleaned up. But she had no clean clothes...she would make do. The water running in the tub was hot and she found some soap and shampoo. Not exactly like what she was used to, but hey...she had not heard from the officers she had sent to get some of her personal things from the landlord of her little apartment.

She had written a short note telling Cathy what she needed, giving it to one of the men standing outside the door of the quarters. He had oogled her like she was some harlot, she smiled at him shyly and asked if he could have someone fetch these things for her. Obviously they were busy on the case. She hoped they would find the killer.

The bath was luxurious and she climbed out of the tub and toweled off. Wrapping the towel around her wet hair, she grabbed a robe that was hanging on the hook in the bathroom. Wandering into the other room she sat on the couch and started combing out her long blonde hair, trying to dry it. The robe was fairly short, it barely reached her knees, it opened in the front and was a bit baggy since it was made for the tall handsome Malakai. She had wrapped it as tight as she could and tied the belt. Rolling the sleeves up a bit so they did not bury her arms and hands.

As she dried her hair she tried to think of what it was that she needed to remember to tell Malakai. It was important, a clue...he had asked for names and descriptions of anyone she had seen. Her deep thoughts were interrupted by a sound outside the door. It was probably the officer who was assigned to keep her safe. Looking around she noticed there was not much of a kitchen. She decided she was hungry and went to the cupboards. Nothing interesting in there. Some stale bread and a some dried beans and rice. What did the man eat? Maybe he went out to eat..single men often did that, if they did not like to cook.

Wandering back to the front door she listened for a moment, then said loud enough for anyone on the other side of the door, "I am getting hungry, when do you feed your prisoners? At least something besides stale bread and water...I hope..." her voice plaintative.

Rhian followed the gnome to the commander’s office. She stood a respectful distance behind the gnome and waited until the watch commander bid her to enter the room. She had learned quickly that there was a pecking order in Stormwind. Casual entry into an official’s office was frowned upon in the capital city of the Alliance.

In Redridge, the door was always open and she could walk right in without being scolded for impropriety. Of course, in Redridge, it had to be. Attacks came swiftly and with little warning and they learned quickly not to stand on formality when gnolls were running across the bridge into the Lakeshire.

Longshore padded along behind her and upon entering the room, immediately looked for a hearth. Rhian gave him a short command to stay and with a sigh, he sat on his haunches and looked bored, accentuated his lack of interest with a wide, toothy yawn.

"My name is Malakai, Commander of the Old Town Watch Division. I haven't the time to sit twiddling my thumbs so I’m going to lay this out to you. I'm sure you've heard of Jenkins' death? It's been a hot topic around the city this past day. The official cause is a heart attack, that's what's written in the report and as far as anyone outside... a small circle are concerned, that's what it was.”

This was spoken as the man stood several sure strides back to his desk while waving his hand at a nearby chair. Rhian glanced at the chair and surreptitiously ran a hand to brush any debris off her backside before sitting down on the edge and placing her hands on her knees. The watch commander continued speaking crisply, explaining the situation. Several times, Rhian opened her mouth in an attempt to interject, but soon she abandoned any attempts at speech since she did not see any way she would get a word in edgewise.

‘A heart attack caused his death, but maybe not?’ Rhian gave a small frown. The concern that the man may not have died of natural causes made Longshore’s behavior at the house more interesting. ‘Evidence of a blood elf? Was that what Longshore smelled? But, he wouldn’t know a blood elf’s scent from anything else… what was he trying to allude to?’

Having wrapped up his speech, the watch commander was moving again. “If you are in, we’ll need to get moving immediately. The scent could be lost if we tarry too long.”

Rhian slowly shook her head at his words. Obviously, he was not used to dealing with wolves trained to track by scent. A bag of gold and a badge bearing a silver lion hit the table; apparently, he had decided that she was taking the job.

He rose from behind the desk and made for the door, “If we are done here…”

“As long as the scent isn’t more than a week or so old, we can follow it,” Rhian spoke as she rose from her chair. Her voice was soft and held a bit of a lilt. “However, can I bring Longshore to the body? He acted strangely at the house and his nose is very sensitive." She grabbed the bag and badge off the desk. "If there is something else there, I’d like him to be familiar with it. Also, if the person who killed the official took a trophy, being familiar with the scent will help Longshore track.

“Will Longshore and I be alone tracking or do you want to send someone with us?” She moved to stand by the door that Malakai was holding open. She gave a short command and Longshore stood and padded out the door, sparing the watch commander a curious look as he went.

The next day after the hit, Amarlei was in her leather shop, tanning some hides. The smell of leather and the tanning acids heavy in the air. A light tap on the door of the shop alerted her to a visitor. It was a messenger goblin who asked for a signature. It was that important that she signed for it, and she tossed him a silver for his trouble. He handed her a small package and left, tossing the silver into his pouch with a grin.

She turned and set the package down, taking a moment to shut the door to the shop and move the closed sign to the window. Locking the door was her last step and she took a small dagger to the bindings of the package. Opening it carefully she revealed a book and a hand written note inside on the first blank page. The book was a romance and titled "Swords and Sorcery" with a shapely blonde on the cover.

Amarlei smiled as she read the note. Another hit...and this one was going to be fun. So Jenkins had a girlfriend. And she was more than she appeared. A double agent perhaps? The Stormwind guard had her under protection. Making it difficult but not impossible to get to her.

Amarlei tapped her chin thoughtfully. This would require finesse. A job that would have to have many layers and intricate details to accomplish. Amarlei went to the basement of her shop and looked at her array of chemicals. Many were simply chemicals she used in her tanning and leatherworking, but some were especially potent. Acting on impulse she grabbed the one she knew would be almost impossible to detect. A small box contained a syringe and she packed it into her bag, along with the tiny vial of poison.

The trip to Stormwind took a few hours and she landed on the small ridge overlooking the harbor. She knew the wyvern would feed himself and come back here in a few hours when she would be ready to leave. She took off the saddle bags containing her disguise and got ready to go down to the small park area of the city. As a human mage she would go about her business and no one would even notice her.

Along the way she picked berries and filled the basket with them as she thought of her plan. First she had to locate where Miss Sylvia lived, shouldn't be too hard. She had contacts in the city who often helped her with her little deeds. And she knew exactly who would know. The canal sidewalks were always bustling and she was able to make her way along them with out much trouble.

She spotted Maggie the apple cart vendor as she rounded a corner and reached up to knock some apples off a tree. Amarlei moved towards her and cheerfully called out, "Maggie!! My old friend, how are you doing today?"

The joyful squeal as Maggie saw her friend was heartwarming. "Annie!! How nice to see you again, where ya been?" her smile and warm hug an indication of how much she enjoyed the comapny of the young girl.

"I have a surprise for you...your favorite berries!" Annie held out the basket to the older woman. Maggie took the basket and peered inside. Nestled under the berries were five golden coins. Maggie knew it was a job she was going to be asked to do.

"Ah I love these, indeed they are my favorite and I cannot get to them in the mountains much anymore. Thank you my dear and what can old Maggie do for you then in return?" she knew there woudl be a return favor.

"Ah, Maggie you don't have to do anything for me, I know how hard it is for you these days. I would love it though if you could tell me where Sylvia Graystone is living these days? I hear she is some kind of celebrity, her face on the cover of a romance novel no less!" she grinned at Maggie and giggled like a school girl.

"That hussy has been staying with Old man Jenkins, I know she was not exactly living there...I think she still has an apartment in the Mage District. She thinks she is smart and all haughty now. But she is caught up in some kind of trouble, old man Jenkins died and they must be trying to pin a murder on her! The Watch took her off and she has not been seen since. Cathy Bender has her apartment tied up yet and is not sure what to do. Maybe check with her and see if she knows anything?" Maggie was all wound up spouting her gossip.

"He's dead?! Oh my what happened ? Did you hear anything?" Amarlei being properly shocked at hearing the news. She made a mental note to get to the Mage District and locate the Bender apartments. Chatting with Maggie a few more minutes and then making her excuses to leave.

The Mage District in Stormwind was sparsely populated for a reason. It was high priced and fancy. Mages tended to be very snooty and rich. Not all of them of course, some were down to earth and easy to get along with.

Amarlei was not very comfortable here, as she was using a cover of being a mage, and having no ability to cast anything made it painfully obvious to a real mage. She was careful to stroll along non challantly and avoid any she thought were really mages. She reached the apartment building and went inside, looking for Cathy Bender.

It was a pleasant surprise to note the older woman was kindly and did not seem to be a mage, or did not know that Amarlei was using a magical hat to disguise herself. Amarlei smiled and asked about an apartment for rent.

"Oh my dear I only have one empty right now and I am not sure but I think the young gal who is renting it now may be in trouble. I am holding it for her and she has paid for this month, but she is in custody of the Watch and I do not know if she is coming back." the landlady was distraught. It cost her to have an apartment empty, and she needed the rent to pay her bills.

"Oh, is that right? I am sorry to hear about that. Can I maybe see the apartment? I have been told an old friend of mine is in this district, but I have not seen her in years. Do you happen to know Sylvia Graystone?" Amarlei was careful to be vague about how she knew Sylvia. She did not want to cause any suspicion.

Cathy brightened up immediately and grabbed her master keys. "Oh how convenient, that is the apartment I am holding! Sylvia does live here and she is in trouble! I wish I knew how to help her!" she led the way to the apartment and used her key.

"She was staying with that old man Jenkins, she has a thing for military men or anyone in uniform I think. She is a nice girl, I talk to her a lot, she has only been here a year or so now. I know next to nothing about her past." she hinted at wanting to know more. She was a gossip, that much Amarlei could tell.

Amarlei shrugged and chuckled, "She has always been like that, falls for the rich and handsome ones every time." she looked around the apartment and did a little mental calculating. She noted the apartment was small but elegantly furnished and had a private bath.

"Do you mind if I use the facilities? I had too much cafe to drink earlier...you know how it is.." she chuckled. Cathy waved her to the bathroom and chuckled herself.

As she closed the door to the bathroom, Amarlei looked around quickly. Several toiletries were stacked neatly on shelves and she checked out several before she noticed a well used bottle of perfume. It was almost empty, but a very expensive oil that she knew would have some of the same ingredients as the poison she had in her syringe. This would be easy, a few drops in the perfume bottle and then hope that whoever came for Sylvia's things would take it with them. She added a few drops to the shampoo and liquid soap as well. Not one to be over doing it, but making sure Sylvia came into contact with the poison one way or another.

All it needed was contact with the skin and the effects would be slowly leeched into her system. It was a brilliant and deadly scheme. Amarlei finished and flushed the toilet and washed her hands. After coming back out she chuckled to Cathy, "I am sure Sylvia wants her perfume and shampoo and soap, she was always fussy about that. Maybe you could find someone to take it to her? Some clothes might be nice too, she hates wearing stuff for more than a day."

Cathy rolled her eyes and laughed. "I know, she takes baths everyday. I will get some things together and send a courier to the Watch house."

Amarlei nodded and then decided to leave. "I must be going, I have an appointment later today." and they went downstairs. As Amarlei went out the door a young man with a Watch uniform came in and nodded pleasantly to her. She smiled at him and stepped outside to listen a moment. As she suspected, he asked for some things for Sylvia Grayson. The rogue wasted no more time and headed out of the city.

Korrzair walked into the Command Center and closed the book he had been reading. "So I hear Old Captain Jenkins is dead. Anyone know how? I saw the body, no injuries, at least to what it looks like." He looked around, he was an intellegent mage of the Stormwind Watch. He was a strategist for the guards to follow on how to arrest, kill, or defend against a criminal or multiple criminals. He pulled down his hood, looking around for the commander. "Hmm, where is he at?"

He thought about ways Jenkins could've died. There was a heart attack, stroke, any other organ failure. He then thought about any murder causes. Suffication? Poisoned food/beverage? There were many options. Maybe even I quiet suicide case. It was hard to tell and there was no evidence on the body, that anyone has seen, so no quick bloodshed and leaving the scene. Korrzair pondered the options.

The old and decrepit building in the ruins of an ancient city gave no indication of the bustle of activity deep underground. This was only one entrance into the headquarters of the Taipan. It was guarded by several wandering spirits and the entrance itself was well hidden in the bowels of the broken down house.

Deep underground, the tunnels and passageways would confuse anyone not familiar with them. The Master sat in his comfortable chair and sipped his brandy. The fire flickered in front of him, dancing light illuminating the figure prostrated on the floor to the side.

"There is no excuse for shoddy work, Sam. You got drunk and almost revealed our presence. We cannot afford to let any of the authorities know of us. Our methods are deadly and discreet. We handle cases that the faction leaders consider too politically volatile for them to deal with." the Master drawled with the quiet tones of an elder.

"I will allow you to live, but you will be confined to work inside the Warren. Where your skills will be used in other ways. Atonement is possible, but discipline will be swift and final if you are ever at fault again. Do I make myself clear?" the soft tones held an undercurrent of authority.

"Y-yes...Master! Thank you!! I will work hard...you will not regret allowing me to serve you longer..." his words cut off as the Master waved him to silence. He lay on the floor in total obedience.

His mistake had been brief, but he would never forgive himself for the fault. A Stormwind official had suspected Jenkins of dabbling in Cultist activities. Knowing the truth, Sam had been drunk at the Recluse that night and laughed along with everyone else. No one had any proof of Jenkins involvement with the Cult. It was rumor fed by his apparent fascination with the occult. Jenkins often flirted with warlock women, he had some idea they were hot. His house was sparsely furnished and he had an army of servants. The only thing that could possibly tie him to the Cult had been removed.

Sam had spouted off, "Jenkins is in over his head." and then had promptly shut up as the waitress spilled ale all over him. The resulting mess and laughter had made nearly everyone in the tavern forget his words. Except for one.

The note sent to the Master was discreet and to the point. Jenkins was to be removed if even one person had suspicions. The contract was sealed and now Jenkins was dead. Sam had not taken a drink since then. He knew he had been wrong in his words as soon as the waitress reminded him. The subsequent trip to Headquarters had been lost in a blur as he tried to leave the Recluse and had been captured by the rogues in the alley.

The official had been laughed out of the tavern himself. He was very distraught a few days later when Jenkins had fallen of an apparent heart attack. He never mentioned it again to anyone.