[Alliance] Chapter Five: Session Ninety-Two

Characters

December 8th

Elissa and Teemo had opted to stay back at Moonbrook to talk to some of the townfolk and ask around. They figured they could likely help them out in various ways, between livestock and water filtration. Teemo said if she saw any Blackfuse goons she could try to get a read on them.

Vel put her hood up, as the sky was mostly clear and she was left squinting in the sun.

Vel and Gil focused on following the trail while Luma kept their eyes open for danger. They found more marks that were leading them further and further west. They passed old farmsteads that seemed to have people living there, but others were quite abandoned. None of them were particularly fertile, as it was approaching the heart of winter. They heard the caw of a turkey vulture overhead as it flew in a wide circle.

After about two hours of traveling, Luma noted a pack of seven wolves about 150 feet off the path. They appeared to be surrounding something. Luma alerted the group, and it seemed the wolves were moving in to surround three chickens.

Vel and Gil looked back and noted the other four had started to meander. The wolves had yet to move in on the chickens. Luma pulled up their rifle to use the sight, and they noted one of the two chickens approached the wolf and pecked at it. The wolf chipped away, and the chicken started to eat it. Apparently they were statues.

Vel and Gil clarified they did to help in digestion, but suddenly one of the “chickens” looked at Luma and released a loud crow and flared out its wings. It started to charge at them.

Vel knew that cockatrices were omnivores, and there were larger varieties that hunted for more dangerous prey. Their bites could turn things into stone, and some of them even had a gaze similar to a basilisk that allowed them to petrify things. It was believed they originated from some sort of mage breeding, or they were just a strange halfway point between birds and reptiles, no one was sure.

They were extremely territorial.

The group opted to just leave, and as they left Vel cast [Sleet Storm] over the cockatrices, and Gil caused a burst of [Plant Growth] to erupt in the same area. The two lesser cockatrices started to slip and slide, but the greater one launched itself through the storm.

Luma deployed a small construct via a disc.

The construct started to fight the cockatrice, and it bought the group time to make enough distance away from the cocktrices.

Vanessa laughed quietly.

Vanessa sighed.

Vanessa crossed her arms.

The group continued on on their trek, and they had no more encounters of note. There were passing sightings of animals, as well as a defunct harvest golem. Some crows sat upon it, and there were a number of holes that seemed to belong to prairie dogs.

The group traveled for a total of 13 hours before they decided to call it around 10pm and look for a camping spot. Luma heard a chime in the night, almost like a harmonious bell. For a moment they thought it was a naaru, but then they realized it was more like a bell.

They squinted in the night, and they saw a glowing horse. There were bells dangling off it, and it was casting a bright crimson light. The horse was intangible, in a way.

It was staring at Luma with burning eyes.

Luma took a step to the right, and its eyes followed.

The group noticed Luma was taking too long and they went to go see them. The moment Vel saw the horse, her eyes widened.

Vel was able to identify that they were looking at the vengeful spirit of a horse.

While Gil and Luma were going back and forth, Vel stepped forward and reached her perception out to the spirit, where she was able to solidify a temporary bond of understanding given they were both undead creatures. The horse’s eyes turned toward her, and Vel asked it what it was looking for.

It simply replied “Him”.

Vel asked if it was someone that hurt her, and the horse whinied angrily as her answer. Vel asked who “he” was.

Vanessa’s eyes widened as she arrived and looked at the horse, getting context from Vel about what was happened. She confirmed that the Defias Brotherhood had taken one of the Dark Riders into their custody in the Deadmines. She said that she was pretty sure that the Defias had taken down the Rider’s horse when they captured the rider.

Context clues implied this vengeful spirit was likely that horse.

Vel confirmed, and looked back at the horse.

The horse stepped closer to her.

A connection forged between them, and the horse reared back on her hind legs with a whinny. She was silhouetted in the moonlight, and two black wings that looked as if they were drenched in blood erupted from her back. Thunder roiled through the sky, and a peal of crimson and black lightning collided with the horse, and it vanished. A single one of the bloody feathers fell into Vel’s hand and faded away, and she felt a profound bond between herself and the creature. She knew the creature’s name was Blanchy.

They started to head back to where Luma was to set up the magnificent mansion for the night.

December 9th

It was slightly warmer the next morning, and Gil got an unsettling feeling as he checked the weather using [Druidcraft], and he sensed a pretty bad storm would be coming in around noon.

They traveled for about four hours without issue as they traveled through the Dagger Hills. They started to see the great sea in the distance. However, about an hour previously they had found their last symbol and didn’t find anything else.

They continued to head in the same trajectory, which had put them near the coast. They saw endless water, save one thing. Maybe about 500 or 1000 feet out, there was a lighthouse with a dock.

Vel started to poke around the shore line on their side of the water. She saw what appeared to be drag marks, which matched what might have been a boat. On the far side, she saw a boat docked at the lighthouse.

She found a patch of leaves that seemed to be suspicious. She began to go through them, and she got the flash of something metallic. She carefully moved them aside, and she noted a very new and sophisticated bear trap. It was sharp, and it was smaller than the average bear trap.

Something was glistening on it. It was poisoned.

She tried to activate the bear trap using a mage hand, but it was not enough force to activate. Luma opted to resummon their construct, which toddled over and triggered the trap. The trap was moved aside, and the bear trap appeared to be chained to the lid of a strongbox.

Vel used [Knock] to open the box as it appeared to be locked with a powerful arcane lock. She found a collapsible boat inside along with a telescope, some repair tools, some well-made daggers, and two oil uniforms. They appeared to be goblin sized, and each one had a different symbol. One had a circular object with serrated teeth, like a saw blade, and the other one was a bomb with an unlit, smoldering fuse.

The thunder roiled in the distance, and Vel squinted out at the storm. It was somewhat strange what appeared to be supplies was trapped in such a way, and Luma suggested there might be a false bottom. Vel looked again, and she found a very thin false bottom.

Inside were some documents.

At that exact moment, they heard Vanessa scream. They looked over at her, and she had collapsed with a bleeding leg.

Sand sprayed into the air as another shot was fired. Vanessa had a deep bullet wound in her leg. They ducked behind a tree and it appeared the shots were coming from the top of the lighthouse.

Uther lifted his shield to give some additional cover.

Vel and Luma quickly looked at the wound, and it appeared the bullet had avoided any arteries. There was also the scent of poison on the bullet. Vel reached out to try and extract it, but she recoiled.

Luma nodded and set about extracting the bullet, and they realized the casing was delicate and it had shattered in the wound, sending poisoned glass shards in the surrounding flesh. Luma got the rest of the glass out, and it seemed Vanessa was stable. Luma put a patch over the wound with some healing magics.

Valeera nodded and both Vanessa and she withdrew her daggers. Gil conjured up a [Mirror Image] to give himself some defense.

Vel activated her bladesong and stepped out to get a clear shot of the light house. She summoned her magic but was immediately shot with a sniper blast in her arm, and she hissed in pain as her spell was completely disrupted.

Luma activated a [Time Stop] and she cast [Aura of Purity]. They then cast [Teleport]. However, there was some sort of disruption and Luma had to force their way through to reach the lighthouse. They appeared on the lighthouse balcony behind the assailant.

And as the figure looked up at them in shock, Luma realized it was Amber Kiernan. She grabbed the gun Luma had given her.

Luma pulled out the disruptor rifle and leveled it back at Amber.

Amber blinked.

Vel blinked, completely confused, but she lowered the illusion on Luma.

Amber looked at the rest of the group.

Amber raised an eyebrow.

Luma lowered their weapon.

Luma laughed.

Amber closed her eyes with a sigh as she leaned her head back.

Luma’s tail flicked sharply.

Amber smiled.

Amber noted and confirmed Anduin’s coronation had already taken place.

Voice: That brings us to a very interesting situation, doesn’t it?

They turned around and saw an unassuming goblin man. He was bald, and he had a mundane face, but he had a cunningness in his eyes.

Vel heard a rumor that, within the SI:7, was a goblin in the higher echelons. High enough he was second in command. There was virtually nothing known about them, but many say he was a dagger, a shiv, in the night.

Vel’s eyes narrowed. He was a hard man to read, and she had no reason to trust him. He had many years of undercover work. She couldn’t tell if he had a genuine bone in his body, nor if what he’s saying is actually true.

Renzik nodded.

Renzik’s eyes darted between them.

She looked back at Renzik.

Renzik’s brow raised.

Vel and the group engaged in another brief conversation, and they decided to hand over the real copy of Katrana Prestor’s ledger after Luma and Vel hastily made a copy of the book for Vel to keep to reference the data within.

Vel explained that the ledger has a number of blackmail notes against various nobles that Katrana was using to strong-arm them. It was all encoded, but she included the cipher for Renzik to break it, as she had successfully broken the code.

He opened a page in the ledger. It showed Colyn Clessington’s name with a large amount of blackmail.

Renzik shrugged.

Vel smirked.

Renzik laughed.

Vel nodded, and Luma looked over to Amber.

The group teleported away, and Amber looked at Renzik.

Renzik shrugged.

Renzik smiled.

The group returned to Vanessa and Valeera, who were a bit damp, but they had taken shelter under a tree. Valeera said she had been hoping for the best, and asked what they found. Vanessa piped up to demand who shot her.

Vanessa sneered.

Vel said the next step was to return to Moonbrook and talk to Varian, and she asked how different Varian had been acting since he took up the sword he had claimed from the Dark Rider. Vanessa admitted he was more tense and aggressive, but it wasn’t that surprising given how everything was going.

Vanessa agreed, and Valeera said they should get back on the road to Moonbrook. Vel said they wouldn’t be taking the road.

Valeeraa grinned at Vanessa.

The group teleported back to Moonbrook.

She produced a handful of red bandanas and handed them out and instructed them to wear them on their arms. She would introduce them as new recruits, and she offered to have her people give them a tour so they could keep their eyes off them.

They met back up with Elissa and Teemo and debriefed them on what happened. Elissa got teary eyed about Blanchy, and Vel promised her that she would introduce her later.

The group was sent with Gerget Hardhands to take a tour of the Deadmines. It was more than just an old abandoned mine. Other members of the Defias were casting looks at them, and they caught an interesting scent. It was very musky and strong.

They heard strange laughter, and they saw many gnolls. One of them was eating a large haunch of something, and he was a huge gnoll with deep brown fur and messy teeth. Gerget advised them not to make eye contact, as in the best case scenario, they would see it as a mating display. They were the Riverpaw.

The big gnoll looked at them and laughed.

Vel’s ears flicked, a trace of annoyance passing across her expression. She knew the name Hogger, but there was always a Hogger leading the Riverpaw. It was likely a hereditary name.

The fact gnolls and humans were working together was an actually unprecedented thing for Stormwind.

Gerget commented he didn’t see the Gearbreaker brothers, who were the leaders of the Blackfuse that were present with the Defias. But they did see a large goblin shredder carving through some lumber, and in it was a goblin operating the machine. They explained that was Sneed Copperplug, and he was the foreman of the Venture Co that was present.

Some of the goblins cat-called Teemo and she rolled her eyes. She grabbed Luma’s ass, who was still a harvest golem.

The goblins looked taken aback, and Vel saw them utter “oh, she’s a freak tho”.

They heard and smelled running water, and they emerged from an old mine shaft near an underground stream. There were wooden planks that made a dock inside the mine. There was a dining area and what appeared to be a kitchen. The cook that came out was revealed to be a murloc. He was pushing a pot of stew around that smelled very fishy, but people seemed to be enjoying it.

There were some small vessels in the cavern lake, but what dominated the cavern. It was some sort of orcish vessel, though heavily modified, and Vel had no idea how it got this far south.

Suddenly, they heard shouting.

They saw a man who was wearing some sailing leathers. From the looks of it, he was of a decent rank, as he had a hat that indicated him to be a captain or otherwise. But there was a distinctive Gilnean design to his outfit, and his accent followed suit. Hair started to grow on the back of his neck, yet the man he was arguing with dwarfed him, as he was a massive, black-furred tauren.

The worgen growled.

The worgen turned away in a huff, but he saw Vanessa, and his anger started to calm and he shifted back to his human form.

He had a bushy beard the same color as his fur, and wild hair that fell into a rough braid.

Vanessa explained and Ripsnarl growled.

Ripsnarl eyed them all up, and Vanessa explained she was going to go talk to Smite, and with luck, she’d get come get them to bring them to Varian later. The Gilnean worgen introduced himself as Admiral James Harrington, but he went by Ripsnarl.

This page was last edited on July 25, 2025, at 09:05 PM

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