Caelan's party

"A dwarf's nameday," Caelan was telling them as Alanon went to bring out the cake, "is a special day fer ev'ry dwarf. Yeh see, three days after a baby's born, the clan has a cel'bration, an' ev'ryone that wants ta gives the parents presents fer the baby. That's when the little blugger's given a name too, so that's why it's called a nameday."

It had been a long, but happy day. Caelan and Brewstein had been quite entertaining, as they alternated telling everyone tales about their clan and arguing enthusiastically about minor details. Pitch told them about his meeting with a devilsaur while he was in Un'goro, while Quae looked at him like she didn't quite believe him. They had an early supper which consisted of whatever each person wanted to get from the pantry, then as evening fell Alanon announced they had a cake for Caelan.



He brought it out now and set it on the table. Caelan admired it loudly for a few minutes, then blew out the candles on top and cut it up, serving everyone a slice. It was quite good, and Barraccus asked Quae if she had made it, since she did all the cooking while they were there. "No, Alanon did. He cooks even better than me, if you can believe it," she told him. He was surprised, it was one more thing about the druid that he hadn't known.

After the cake was gone, everyone sat up and talked more. Barraccus found himself telling the others about his work in Zangarmarsh. "You'll probably like it there, Rhokk," he said. "It's not particularly green, but it's still so full of life. And the druids are all good people." Jahira agreed, then started telling them stories of her own adventures there. Barraccus listened for awhile, then slipped outside when no one was looking.

Quae found him sitting on a fallen log, looking up at the stars through a break in the trees. She came up behind him silently, but he still looked over at her when she got close. He said nothing, however, so she sat next to him on the log and looked upward herself.

They sat there for a good while before Barraccus finally broke the silence. "I don't know when my birthday would be," he said, very softly. "I wonder if I'll ever know." Quae didn't know what to say to that, so she kept silent, just keeping him company. After a few minutes, she slipped an arm around his shoulders.

Barraccus: Meetings

Here it is finally. Sorry about the wait, but neither I or Crison was really sure how Rhokk would react to Barraccus, since he hates undead. So it took awhile to figure that out.

Pay close attention to what Alanon says to Rhokk. Maybe he knows something about Barraccus' past?....
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Barraccus woke up in the early hours just before dawn. He couldn't remember where he was at first and took a moment to get his bearings, then poked his head out of the blanket. In the gray light, he didn't see either of the two druids anywhere. He sat up and rubbed his eyes, then finally noticed a black huddle in Pitch's favorite corner of the room. He stared for a moment, then chuckled.

There were three black panthers all curled up together in a great ball. Barraccus guessed the third must be Jahira. One of them- he thought it was Pitch, as it was more muscular than the others- had his head resting on another one's- Alanon's?- back; the third one which lay in the back was noticeably smaller than the other two and was most likely Jahira. As he stared at the sleeping druid trio, Barraccus felt a rush of affection for his new family.



He heard a slight sound coming from the stairs, then Sabre came by, heading toward the front door. As he passed by the death knight he rubbed his entire length against Barraccus' legs, then padded outside.

Still sleepy, Barraccus stood and wrapped the blanket around himself, then followed the frostsaber outside. He stood at the door for a minute just enjoying the morning, then looked down and started in surprise. The bear Trèan was lying at the bottom of the porch steps, and cuddled against his side for warmth was Rhokk. Barraccus quickly realized that the draenei was still asleep. He debated for a moment if he could get past without waking either Rhokk or the bear, then decided against it and went back inside.

He went back to his couch and lay back down. He then realized he hadn't had his dream, which had come every single night since he had gone through the Dark Portal. The realization startled him, and he wondered if it meant anything. He thought about it until he fell back asleep.

He didn't sleep very long, and woke to the feeling of being watched. He glanced at the druids and noticed the foremost one was awake, the cat's golden eyes following him. He bowed his head slightly and said, "Good morning, Alanon." The cat's ears flicked in amusement, then he pulled himself out from under Pitch and stretched. An instant later the night elf was standing in the cat's place, and Alanon came over and smiled down at him. Barraccus nodded at the two remaining cats. "The third is Jahira?" he asked, and Alanon nodded. "She came in the middle of the night. She told me Rhokk was sleeping outside, but she didn't want to disturb him so she left him." "She's right," Barraccus replied. "He's sleeping with Trèan on the porch." Alanon looked him up and down. "Are you ready for this?" he asked. Barraccus nodded. "Alright, then," the druid said, then went over and woke up his siblings. "Jahira, can you go up and wake the others? Tell Kel to keep Caelan up there for a bit, and have Quae come down."

When they were all together in the main room, Alanon went out to get Rhokk. He found the shaman sitting up and rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, and sat down next to him on the steps. "Sleep well?" he asked the draenei. Rhokk nodded. "I got here late, and didn't want to disturb anyone," he said. "Did I miss the party?" "No, it will be this evening," Alanon told him. "I think there's a couple people you haven't met yet, Rhokk. Caelan is a rather late sleeper and isn't awake yet, but Barraccus is up and would like to meet you." Rhokk perked up at that, and nodded. They stood, but Alanon hesitated. "Rhokk, before we go in I want to tell you something. Everyone here right now is family, whether we are related by blood or not. Remember that some people's circumstances are beyond their control. And also keep in mind that some people have suffered far more than you could imagine." Rhokk looked puzzled now, but simply nodded and followed him inside.

Quae and Jahira both greeted Rhokk warmly, then he saw Barraccus sitting on the couch. The night elf looked up at him, and they studied each other for a minute before Barraccus offered a shy grin. "You must be Rhokk," he said. Rhokk nodded. "And you must be Barraccus. Nice to meet you," he said. Alanon cut in, saying, "Rhokk, Barraccus has lost his memory too. You two have quite a bit in common, actually." Rhokk's eyes widened. "Really? Hmm, have you found any way of getting it back yet?"



They started talking amicably for several minutes. Alanon was pleased that they hit it off so well, but also a bit confused. Rhokk usually wouldn't even acknowledge a death knight's presence, let alone talk to one. Then it hit him; Rhokk didn't realize that Barraccus was a death knight. After a brief internal debate, the druid leaned close to Quae, who was sitting next to him, and whispered, "Rhokk hasn't realized that Barraccus is a death knight. Let's not tell him yet; this gives them a chance to get to know each other. Maybe it will work out better this way." She nodded, and he proceeded to go to Jahira and Pitch and tell them the same thing.

They were suddenly interrupted by a loud crash, then a shout in Dwarvish, followed by something tumbling noisily down the stairs. They all jumped up to see what was going on, and were treated to a very strange sight. A black-haired male dwarf, apparently very drunk, was sitting at the bottom of the stairs with a confused expression. As they stared at him, Caelan came into view, and gave a weak grin. "Uh, this 'ere is Brewstein, ah kinda found 'im an brung 'im 'ere," she said sheepishly. Alanon raised an eyebrow as Kel came down, stepping carefully around the muddled dwarf. "I see," was all he said. "Wull, yerself is always bringin strays 'ome, ah figgered ah was allowed one too," she said defensively. Pitch started snickering at that, and soon they were all laughing.

Brewstein was soon settled on the couch, were he sat in a drunken haze. Caelan introduced him properly while Kel and Alanon prepared some breakfast. "'E's from mah clan, 'e's mah father's cousin's sister's nephew's second son," she said. "That makes us prac'ly brothers! Ah ran inta him at Ratchet on mah way 'ere, poor blugger look'd like 'e needed a place ta stay, so ah brung 'im with meh here." She lowered her voice to a whisper. "'E 'as a drinkin problem, yeh see." "I never would have guessed," Kel muttered, loud enough for them all to hear, and they all laughed again.

Breakfast seemed to help Brewstein regain his alertness, and he joined in the conversation soon enough. He didn't have much of an accent, unlike Caelan, which he explained was because he had been kicked out of Ironforge, where he had been raised, and had to make his living among humans. He refused to say why he had been kicked out, changing the subject whenever someone asked. Barraccus tried asking Caelan, quietly, but she just shrugged and said she didn't know either.

After breakfast Alanon shooed them all outside while he, Kel and Jahira readied the house for the party. Sabre was outside with Trèan and another bear, this one snowy white. Brewstein introduced him as his pet, named Ale. Pitch started a game of tag with the two bears, which Sabre was happy to join in.



They were obviously having so much fun that even Rhokk joined in, turning into a ghostly wolf and running after the others.


Finally Alanon called them all in and said that everything was ready.
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Next up, party time!!

I has been tagged!

Faulsey over at Master's Call has tagged me for the newest thing going around, which is to tell what your character's name means. Now, I have a LOT of characters, so this might be a really long post (tho I'm not going to do all of them).

Kaledain- He is named after an entire clan of people, in one of my favorite fantasy series by Mercedes Lackey. His pets are also named in the language of this clan, with the exception of Argus.







Gwynifar- This is a variation of Guinevere, I like historical fantasy almost as much as regular fantasy, and the story of Arthur and Guinevere is one of my favorites.







Taurros- He's a bull-man, what did you expect? Kidding, hehe. I did not name him after the Pokemon, this just popped into my head while creating him so I used it. Also, my warrior Taurron I made to kind of be Taurros' "twin" so that's why their names are so similar.




Alanon- I named him after one of my favorite characters by my favorite author, tho I had to mess with the spelling. :P








Pitchblack- I didn't name him after the movie, his name is actually a reference to his cat form, since I intended him to be feral right from the get-go. But the movie did give me the idea.







Quae- This was just something off the top of my head. I wanted to name her something else, which was taken, so this was my second choice. I thought it was hilarious when I discovered an NPC with the same name.






Caelàn- Her name, and all her pets' names, are Gaelic, just for kicks. Her name doesn't mean anything special, it's just a fairly common girl's name. Her pets' names all have meanings, though.







Khaotic- She was my twink on Gilneas, before I transferred my horde over to Durotan. I was getting pretty full over there, so I wound up deleting her, then remade her just recently. I wanted a good twink name, not like Ikillunoob but something more.... impressive. Since hunters usually rain destruction from a distance and such, this name suited her perfectly.




That's pretty much it, everyone else was named just with random stuff I thought of, or mashing the "random" button. I don't know who else has been tagged for this, so I'm just gonna tag my buddy Crison of Unholy Presence. Muahaha!

-Happy Hunting!

Kel'thuzad down!

After Wednesday's run we only had Construct wing, minus Patchwerk. So in we went and....

Thaddius fight. I thought it was hilarious that Mag was all the way out next to me and was still hitting the boss.


The start of Sapphiron. Got him on the first try, whooo!

Kel'thuzad pwned us at first, until on a whim I switched out Mageddon for Samurai. Got him down the next try. :)
After Kel was pounded into the floor, Boogga decided to see how comfy his throne was.

Best part was, Boo lived through all the boss kills. Even Grobbulus.

Boogga has now cleared Naxx! Whee!

(We went and killed Sartharion right after, and Boogga pulled 2310 dps for the entire raid, his best yet I think. :))

Delays...

I meant to have the next chapter in my story posted yesterday, but it's not finished yet. Reason: honestly, the last couple days I've been too tired to think straight. Daylight Savings Time has been pwning me big time, my brain keeps telling me that when I get up at 6am it's really 5. :P I've also been incapable of going to bed before 12:30/1:00am for the past week straight, which is not helping. I'm working on it though, should be done real soon.

Had a great raid tonight, Boogga got some new gear, including his t7 shoulders. That makes 3 pieces now, just one more for the 4-piece set bonus! He also got the Wraith Spear, which made him lose a ton of hit rating. After gems and enchants, he's almost back up to cap. I'll have to see if I can tweak something, or maybe respec and put a point into Focused Aim.

I've been leveling Barraccus the last few days. He's gone from level 63 to 66 in just 3 days, if I'm remembering correctly. He should be in Northrend by this weekend, and his story will be close to the end (sort of ;)).

Can't think of anything else right now, and I need to get to bed so I can have more than 5 hours of sleep. :P Til next time Happy Hunting!

Barraccus: Back home

I finally get to introduce my dwarf hunter, Caelàn. She's pretty fun, as you'll see. Rhokk might also make a guest appearance, if not here then in the next one.

And Caelàn just dinged 30 and got a ram to use until she gets her horse, which was the inspiration for this one.
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Barraccus stepped off the boat onto the Darkshore dock with a sigh of relief. It had been a long trip, but he was almost home. He decided to ride instead of flying to Astranaar, so he retrieved Oscor from the stable master and set out.

When he came in sight of the house, he pulled Oscor up short and stared. There were two bears in the yard! After a startled moment, he noticed the markings of Elune on the shoulders of one bear, and realized it was Pitch. The other, from what he could see as the two beasts wrestled with each other, was a plain black bear, fairly common in places such as Loch Modan. He wondered briefly what it was doing here, then he realized that the bear and Pitch were playing. He chuckled to himself and rode into the yard.

When the two bears saw him, Pitch broke away and rushed him with a roar of welcome. The other bear, however, took one look at Barraccus and ran into the house, whining. Barraccus fended off Pitch's enthusiastic greeting, then was alarmed to hear a commotion start in the house. He turned to look at Pitch, who had returned to his night elf form, with a raised eyebrow. Pitch just grinned and said, "Come on, I'll introduce you."



As they stepped into the house, Barraccus heard a voice with a strong, unfamiliar accent yelling, "Yagh, gerroffame yeh great blugger!" followed by more whines from the bear. In the main room they found the bear trying frantically to climb into the lap of a young female dwarf, who was almost buried by now. She gave one more yell, "Down, Trèan, afore ah skin yeh!" as she finally shoved the bear off. Then she looked up at the death knight, and her eyes went wide.

She yelped and grabbed for a gun sitting off to one side. Barraccus wondered if he should duck and hide, or try to defend himself. Before anything else happened, though, they all froze at a sharp command of "Hold!"

Alanon stepped into the room, his expression as close to anger as Barraccus had ever seen. He looked sternly at the dwarf. "Barraccus is a member of this family, Caelan, and was invited to your nameday party. I will have no more threats or fighting in my house." The dwarf, Caelan, gulped and set her gun back down. Alanon turned to Barraccus and held a hand out. "Welcome back, Barraccus," he said warmly, and the death knight shook his hand with relief. They were interrupted by a huge white cat who came bounding into the house and chuffed loudly at the bear, then spun and went bounding back out. Trèan followed the cat out, although he gave Barraccus a fearful glance as he went by. "Looks like Kel is here now," Alanon said. Intrigued by the snowy cat, Barraccus followed the animals outside.

The big cat was playing out in the yard with the bear, and Kelesaria was standing near the porch talking with Quae, who had apparently also just arrived. Jaxom, Quae's spotted riding saber, was watching the two animals with an expression that clearly said he'd like to join in.

Barraccus felt an unexpected little thrill when he saw Quae. Confused, he stopped and stood off to the side until Kel noticed him and waved him over. Quae looked him over as he joined them, then gave him a grin. "Been enjoying yourself in Outland? Looks like you've put on a bit of muscle," she said teasingly. He felt himself blushing, as usual, but tried to ignore it this time. Kel glanced at Quae with a frown, then turned to Barraccus. "I hear you've done well in Hellfire Peninsula. Let me know if you ever need help out there again, okay?" He nodded gratefully.

They made small talk until they were interrupted by the big white cat, who came over and began butting his broad head against Kel's hip. She smiled as she began rubbing his ears. "This is Sabre. You didn't get to meet him before. He came from Winterspring. He's my best buddy. I normally have him with me unless the situation is better suited to one of the others." Sabre let out a rumbling purr, then flopped down and rolled onto his back so his mistress could rub his belly. Up close, Barraccus could see that he wasn't pure white; he had pale lavender tiger-stripes all over. He held a hand out to Sabre which the cat sniffed thoroughly, then started rubbing his cheek on it.

Alanon came over to join them, with a contrite Caelan on his heels. Trèan went to his mistress' side, with another fearful glance at the death knight, and she gruffly whispered to him, "Yeh coward." He whined. Alanon pulled Barraccus aside just long enough to tell him, "I sent an invitation to Rhokk as well, but I'm not expecting him until tomorrow, which is when we'll have the party. I hope with us all here, he may take this better. And I do think you're rushing things a bit but, well, I'd like to get it over with too."

They rejoined the others and full introductions were made, then Caelan had to show everyone the riding ram that her clan had sent her for a nameday present. By the time they all had properly admired it, and Caelan had given it an extra handful of grain, it was almost dark. They all went back inside the house, all except for Trèan who was told to stay outside. He watched them go inside with a mournful look on his face.

Sabre jumped up on the couch, where he sat with a regal expression until Kel ordered him down. Quae and Alanon headed to the kitchen to find something for supper as the rest found places to sit and started talking and joking. Barraccus found himself next to Caelan, who apparently had decided he was all right after all, and was trying to make up for her earlier actions. She was quite happy to tell him of her clan, which lived in an isolated valley in the Alterac mountains and usually had no contact with outsiders, with the exception of the Stormpike clan whom they traded with regularly. Caelan was one of only a handful of dwarves that had left their valley. Barraccus found her quite interesting to talk to, although her accent made it hard to understand her at times.

Quae and Alanon came in with platters of food, and they all dug in. While they ate, Caelan began telling them all of her clan's rituals for celebrating namedays, most of which sounded uncomfortable at least. "Now fah sumthin important, like yer thirtieth which is what ah'm cel'bratin, one thing yeh cud do is go oot to the mountaintop, an' meditate there in yer skivvies," she said, and everyone burst out laughing. Quae caught Barraccus' eye and teased, "Sounds like it could be interesting, Barraccus. Ever thought of trying it?" He blushed furiously, but then surprised himself by replying, "No, but if you're going to go, I'd advise waiting until spring." That made everyone laugh even harder. Quae stared at him in surprise, then suddenly joined in.

After supper, Alanon announced that the girls would sleep upstairs while the guys would stay downstairs. Quae and Caelan went to bed soon after that, and Alanon found a blanket for Barraccus to roll up in on the couch. As he bedded down, Barraccus wondered what it would be like the next day, with everyone there. He also wondered what would happen when Rhokk arrived, if he did. He finally fell asleep listening to Pitch, Kel, and Alanon talking quietly nearby.

One thousand is a lot

Spirit Bond has reached 1000 views! Wow, I never thought there would be that many people looking at it when I started it. Thanks to everyone that's been reading it regularly (or even not-so-regularly) and hopefully you've all enjoyed it! :)

Got to run right now, see y'all later and Happy Hunting!

Barraccus: A Letter to Alanon

Alanon,

I promised to keep in touch, and realized that it's been awhile since I last wrote or spoke to any of you. So I thought I would let you know how I am doing now.

I am healthy and well-rested despite the demand for help everywhere out here. I have had some troubling dreams, but I 'd rather tell you about them face-to-face. Hopefully that will be soon.

I have taken your advice, and gotten myself a riding saber. He's a handsome fellow, and I'm calling him Oscor. He seems to like it. I had the strangest thing happen right after I bought him, though. I was riding him out of the city, and I had a strong sense of deja vu. I felt like I had ridden along the Darnassus streets on a regular basis, for a long time. Alanon, I believe I may have been a Sentinel before. This is making me hope that perhaps my memories are returning, and I will know more soon.

I have moved from Honor Hold to Cenarion Hold in Zangarmarsh. The druids here treat me very well, mostly because they know you and Jahira and hold you in the highest regard. That was quite a surprise for me. They keep me busy killing naga for now, the fish-people are making themselves a nuisance here.

Kelesaria helped me with my mission into the fel orcs' Hellfire Citadel, which I imagine she told you about. It was quite an experience. If you could, would you pass on my thanks for her help? It would mean alot to me.

One last thing, which you might not agree with. I think that Rhokk should know about me soon, even if we don't actually meet. I have taken the initiative, and sent him a letter, along with a small gift. I hope you won't be angry with me, but I really think this is for the best.

I can't think of anything else to add. I hope I will see you soon. I am actually thinking of returning to Ashenvale for a short break. I'll decide if and when I will go in the next couple days.

Your newest "brother",
Barraccus

Pitchblack: Un'Goro Crater

Pitch hung around the house for a few more days after the others had left. It was lonely, but he wasn’t quite ready to leave. He hunted in the surrounding woods to replenish their store of dried and smoked meat, and to make sure all was well before taking off. On the third day he was very glad that he had stayed longer, because Jahira stopped by for a day or two, to visit. Jahira was another druid, and his favorite sibling; she and Alanon had raised Pitch for several years when their mother was struck by a terrible illness.

Their father had returned to the Emerald Dream a few months before Pitch was born, and Kelesaria had already gone out on her own. Alanon had left as well, but he returned home when he heard of their mother’s illness. He and Jahira cared for Pitch while their mother went to the Temple of the Moon for healing, and they were his biggest influence when he made his choice to also become a druid. Once their mother had recovered, Alanon and Jahira both left again, but Pitch remained close to them both.

Now, as she rode her saber up to the front of the house, Pitch bounded out to meet her in his cat form. Once she dismounted he rubbed enthusiastically on her legs as she walked to the house, almost tripping her. “Pitch!” she laughed at him. “Let me get into the house please.” He backed off, then changed to his elven form and followed her inside, where she set her saddlebags down and wrapped Pitch in a hug. “It’s good to see you too, baby brother,” she said warmly.

They spent the next couple hours gossiping at the kitchen table. Pitch told Jahira about Barraccus, as Alanon had told him too, and she told him tales of what she had been doing. Jahira was very curious about Barraccus, and asked several questions, mostly about his memory loss. "Have you tried asking the priestesses at the Temple of the Moon?" she asked him, and he shook his head no. "Maybe I'll stop by and ask them when I leave," she said thoughtfully.

The next morning they just puttered around the house, but by noon Pitch was finally growing restless. Jahira noticed. "You're getting tired of being cooped up in the house?" she asked him with a smile. "Yea, I was going to go back to Un'Goro for awhile, before you got here," he replied, and she nodded. "I wasn't going to stay long at any rate. You go on, I'll probably be right on your tail. And Pitch, watch out for the devilsaurs while you're there."

Pitch needed no further encouragement. He hugged Jahira goodbye, then set out for Astranaar to get a hippogryph to ride south. He took it as far as the goblin town of Gadgetzan, then went to get Mikhail from the stable keeper. He didn't ride the black saber often, preferring his own feet, but for long trips he liked to save himself a bit, and he enjoyed the companionship. As he saddled his mount, the stable keeper asked him where he was heading. "Un'goro," Pitch replied. "Ah, nice green place, I've heard," said the goblin. "Just watch out for the devilsaurs."

Pitch rode south and found the entrance to the crater. As he went down the trail, the terrain quickly changed from a rocky desert to green rain forest. He reached the bottom of the path and reined in Mikhail to look around. The ground was marshy here, with streams of varying sizes criss-crossing everywhere. He could see shapes moving in the light mist a ways off. Then he spotted the tauren standing on a stone nearby. He went over to say hi.



The tauren greeted him politely, and they started up a conversation. The tauren, who was also a druid, was there mostly to direct new arrivals away from the dangerous areas of the crater, and he told Pitch of several points of interest, drawing a map in the dirt. After he was done, the druids shook hands, and Pitch released Mikhail to make his own way, then continued in his cheetah form. As he started off, the tauren called after him, "Be sure you watch out for the devilsaurs!"

As Pitch ran out towards the middle of the marsh, he wondered what a devilsaur was.

When he reached the marsh, he saw that the shapes he had seen were raptors, big ones. As he watched them, he realized he was hungry, so he decided to do some hunting. He changed to his cat form and slunk through the undergrowth toward a lone raptor. About ten yards away, he stopped, gathered himself, and sprang.

After a brief struggle, the raptor was down. Pitch shifted out and started looking for his flints, but couldn't find them in his pockets or belt pouch. He stared at the dead raptor, for a minute, then shrugged to himself, changed back to a cat, and dug in.

As he ate, he found something hard and lumpy in the raptor's stomach. Curious, he dug it out and discovered a battered journal. It was still fairly readable, and he paged through it a bit. The only clue he found as to its owner were initials scrawled inside the cover. He recalled the tauren mentioning a camp on the northern edge of the crater, and decided to take the journal there.

He reached the camp after skirting some tar pits full of elementals, and shifted out of his cheetah form so he wouldn't startle the people there. The first person he found was a goblin, who pointed him to the back of the camp where the leader was. Pitch found the human, who introduced himself as Williden Marshall. Pitch showed him the journal. "Yep, that's mine. Thanks a lot for bringing it back, I owe you one," Marshall said. He eyed Pitch for a moment. "Say, you wouldn't want to do us a big favor, would you? We lost a couple boxes of important equipment when some of the dinos overran our camps. Mind going out and fetching them for us?"

Pitch agreed to help, but as the man told him where to find the camps, he noticed several small, living plants to the side. He stared at them, entranced, for a good while, feeling his predatory instincts rise up a bit.

Marshall's eyes went very wide when the night elf he was talking to suddenly disappeared, and he found himself talking to a large black panther. To his credit, though, he didn't skip a beat, and when he finished telling Pitch where to find the camps, the cat pulled his attention away from the walking plants and rumbled at him, then turned and loped off. Marshall had just enough time to yell after him, "Be sure to look out for the devilsaurs!"

Pitch was getting really curious about those devilsaurs.

He found the first camp without difficulty, although he had to stalk and kill a diemetrodon that had taken over the remains of the tent as a den. He located the crate and returned it to the camp, then headed out to the second location.

As he approached, he thought he recalled the tauren near the entrance telling him that this was one of the areas to avoid. He became certain when he neared the tent and started seeing huge lizards, like the thunder lizards native to the Barrens. He quickly switched to his cat form and snuck through the ferns up to the abandoned camp. After finding the crate, he stuffed it into his backpack, then turned to leave. He froze.

Walking straight toward him was the biggest monster he had ever seen. It walked on two legs, with tiny arms and a humongous head. Its long tail was held out behind it for balance. And its huge jaws were full of very pointy-looking teeth.

Pitch had a feeling he had found one of the devilsaurs.

He quickly switched to his cat form, but before he could sneak into the undergrowth the devilsaur spotted him. It let out an earth-shaking roar and charged. Pitch turned and ran. The dino was gaining on him though, so he gathered himself and put all his energy into a mad sprint. He managed to gain some ground on the devilsaur, and changed to his cheetah form for added speed. Finally the dino gave up and slowed, then stopped. As he ran back toward Marshall's camp, Pitch looked back and saw it walk nonchalantly off into the mist. He couldn't help it, and stopped just long enough to let out a triumphant roar at the retreating devilsaur.



Back at the camp, Pitch handed over the second crate, to the many thanks of the humans and goblins there. Marshall asked him if he had had any trouble, and he replied, "No, not a bit."

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P.S. Pitch has dinged 53, only 5 levels to go until he heads to Outland!

Quae and the diary/Barraccus in Darnassus

Today you totally get a two-for-one deal. Woohoo! And for only 10 gold more, I'll throw in this lovely- er, nevermind. Got carried away for a bit. >.>

Crison and I are collaborating again, go check out his Chapter 10 & 11 to know what's going on in Quae's story.
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Quae closed the small book with a sigh of frustration. She glanced at the draenei in the bed next to hers to make sure he was still sleeping, then slid Rhokk's diary back into his pack on the floor. She had been reading it secretly whenever she could ever since she had met Rhokk. She knew she shouldn't, but he was so secretive about some things! So she just tried to make sure he didn't catch her.

His latest entry was especially worrying. She had thought he looked more tired than his trip would have made him, but she hadn't known he was injured. They had ran into each other here in Theramore earlier that day; she was on her way to Feathermoon Stronghold in Feralas, he wouldn't tell her where he was going. Now she knew why. Tanaris was a very long trip, and he was hurt, struck by a worgen while they passed through Silverpine a few days earlier. He hadn't told either her or Jahira, because of his Elune-curse-it pride. At least according to his diary, the humans at Southshore had patched him up, but she thought he still looked awfully weak.

She had subtly cast a quick spell on him earlier, to check for diseases, and had come up with nothing. So whatever was wrong with him was nothing she could cure. She wondered if she should try to hold him here while she sent for Jahira or Alanon, but they were far away in Northrend and she didn't want to worry them. Besides, she didn't think he would stay here longer than it took for the sun to come up. She briefly thought of her brother Pitch, and wondered if sitting on him would work.

She worried about him, and had since they had first met. He sometimes seemed too anxious to do things, especially if it was connected to his lost memories. And he seemed to think that he had to do everything by himself. She was beginning to think of him as a brother, like Pitch or Alanon, and didn't want anything bad to happen to him.

Quae looked over at Rhokk again, just as a shudder seemed to come over him, and his face twisted a bit in pain. She sighed again, then pulled her blanket up and settled into bed. She tried to fall asleep for several minutes, only to give up with a growl. She glanced over again to make sure Rhokk still slept- he did- and carefully dug out the diary again. Maybe there was some hint inside that would help her figure out what was wrong....


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Barraccus was extremely nervous as he stepped off the boat in Rut'theran Village. He had not been to his race's home city since, well, he didn't know when. Certainly not after he had become a death knight. He was afraid of the reaction he might get, after seeing how much death knights were feared and loathed in other areas. But Alanon had suggested, rather strongly in fact, that he get a saber mount of his own. The druid hoped that if he didn't have to ride his death charger everywhere, people might come to accept him easier, especially when he was ready to step into Northrend himself. So Barraccus found himself heading to the night elf capital. With a deep breath to steady his nerves, he stepped through the portal into Darnassus.

The night elf city was beautiful, even to the non-elves who visited. He stopped for a moment to just look around, then headed to the Cenarion Enclave, where they kept and sold the riding sabers.

He found them with no problems; all he had to do was follow the sound of their roars and growls. There were six of them stabled there now, and he looked them over carefully. He quickly narrowed it down to a white female and a dark male, and asked the handler about them. "The white one comes from Winterspring, the dark one is from Feralas. They are about the same age, and either one would be perfect for you. I'll let you know, though, the male has been specially bred for going long distances. If you travel a lot, he might be better." Barraccus considered for awhile, then chose the male.

He asked about a name while he paid and waited for the saber to be harnessed. "We call him Storm, it's just what we call every one that looks like him, though, so feel free to change it. They are smart, it won't take him long to learn a new name." He nodded, then took the reins from her and swung into the saddle.

He rode back toward the portal at a slow walk, so as not to run over any of the crowd near the bank. As his new mount paced along, however, he had a sudden flashback, so strong that he almost fell out of his saddle.

He had done something like this before! He had ridden these streets, on a mount much like his current one. But what for? His gaze settled on one of the Sentinels nearby, and his thoughts spun...

This is my cat when I get home.

He also acts like this a lot....





This totally random post brought to you by Icanhascheezburger.com, Buster the cat,


and the Association of I-can't-think-of-a-good-story-darnit.
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P.S. Naxx went real well tonight, and when we downed Heigan, I lived through it, woot! And kept Samurai alive, yay!
The drops have been completely blah tho, tonight was just plate and caster leather. But hey, we ended with 9 abyss crystals. :P

P.P.S. Alanon is 95% thru his level, only a few more quests and he'll be flying!! Yay!!!

Barraccus in Outlands

I apologize for the wait for this. I've had 2-3 stories bouncing around in my head, and they're finally sorting themselves out. I'm going to try and have one for Pitchblack done soon.
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Barraccus stepped through the Portal and looked around, his jaw dropping in amazement. Below him, masses of demons were attempting to assault the Portal, while pathetically small numbers of both Horde and Alliance forces held them off. Barraccus descended the steps leading down toward the chaos, but before he could join the fight he was waved over to an Alliance commander standing off to the side. The commander quickly sent him off on gryphon back to their stronghold, called Honor Hold.

During the next few weeks he was kept constantly busy, killing fel orcs, demons and the occasional nuisance wildlife; and the time passed quickly. He was glad to be actually doing something, and the fact he was needed there gave him a sense of importance he had not felt before. He would have been perfectly happy, in fact, if it weren’t for the dreams.

They started the first night he was there, as he slept in a bunk in the Honor Hold inn. At first it was just flashes of a female night elf, one that looked strangely familiar yet he couldn’t remember where he had seen her before. He thought perhaps he was just missing Quae and the others, but after a couple nights he was no longer sure. By the third night, he figured out that the fighting he was doing was causing the dreams, because after a day of resting at the Hold and running simple errands, the dream was shorter than before, more vague. But soon he was distracted from the puzzling dreams by the events going on in Hellfire Peninsula. The fel orcs were growing stronger, and after Barraccus had been there for about 3 weeks, he was summoned before Danath Trollbane and his council. They told him they wanted him to try and infiltrate Hellfire Citadel, find out what the orcs were planning and why they were getting stronger, and assassinate some of their commanders if possible. Barraccus’ hands were trembling with excitement as he wrote a short letter to Alanon, telling his “brother” of this new charge. He received a reply soon after, with the somewhat cryptic request to hold off his attempt at the Citadel, and to stay at Honor Hold for the next couple days. He obliged, but wondered what Alanon had planned.

It was only two days later that a female night elf hunter arrived at Honor Hold, and quickly found Barraccus inside the inn. “Barraccus?” she asked him. “I’m Alanon’s sister, Kelesaria. I’m here to help you out with your mission to Hellfire Citadel.” Barraccus’ jaw dropped for a moment. When he was able to speak, all he could think of to say was, “That’s awesome. When do we leave?”



They headed out the next day. By the time they reached the citadel, Barraccus was pretty sure he was smitten. However Kel, as she preferred to be called, was also rather intimidating, so he kept his thoughts to himself. Her pet was also quite fascinating. It was a creature she called a hydra, pure white, with three heads, and was almost transparent, though he felt real enough. His teeth and jaws were definitely solid, as he bit and tore his way through the orcs while Kel shot them full of arrows. It was almost all Barraccus could do to keep up. It was definitely not the most subtle approach, but they did kill a great many orcs, and also several of their commanders. When they returned to Honor Hold, the Alliance commanders were quite happy with the results.

Kel stayed for an early supper at the inn, where they talked quite a bit. Barraccus found out that Kel was the oldest, almost 10 years older than Alanon. She had actually seen the creation of the World Tree Nordrassil, although she had been far too young to join the fighting. She had her own home and didn’t live with the others, though she did visit now and then. She also told him of their two cousins, who lived in Stormwind. By the time she finally took her leave, Barraccus felt much more comfortable around her, and also felt that he knew his new family much better.

That night his dream came back again, much more detailed this time. He thought he was close to remembering who the strange night elf was, but couldn’t quite get there. It was beginning to consume his thoughts, whenever he wasn’t occupied by some errand or mission.

The commanders at Honor Hold sent him off after he had been there a month or so, giving him directions to a temple belonging to their recently-discovered allies, the Kurenai, and also warning him that he would have to earn their trust, as they were still suspicious of everyone they did not already know. He found them without much difficulty, and set out proving himself to them. They had some major reservations at first, because he was a death knight, but he overcame them and soon enough won their trust. The only problem he had while he was there was the dream, which became even stronger while he was with them. He was surprised one morning, after a rather rough night, by the temple’s high priest, who came into his room and without preamble asked him about his dream. He told the draenei what he knew and answered all the questions he could, then sat and waited while the priest thought. “I do not know what this could mean,” the priest said finally. “But I can perform rituals and spells that might make things clearer. Would you like for me to do this?” Barraccus thought hard for a minute. He had come so far already since the day he had given up on his memory returning; now it seemed that it was trying to come back on its own. After a long minute he said, “Yes. I didn’t care much about my memory before, but now I feel like this is important. Please, do what you can.” The priest nodded and left.

There were no noticeable results in the next few weeks; however he did receive a rather disturbing letter from Alanon. It seemed that events in Northrend were more out of control than anyone had thought. Barraccus found himself watching his back carefully for the next few days.

The Kurenai at the temple ran out of things for him to do shortly after, and after thanking him for his help, they told him of a place in the adjoining marshlands that was looking for volunteers. He eagerly agreed to go there; the marsh sounded like it would be a nice change of scenery from the blasted landscape of Hellfire Peninsula. But on his last night at the temple, he had a startling revelation regarding his dream. In the middle of the most realistic one he had had yet, he suddenly realized that whoever this person was, he had loved her once. He only wished he could remember when it had happened and who she was.
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I have finally figured out what happened to Barraccus to make him lose his memory. It's not going to come back all at once, you'll have to keep reading to find out everything. Muahaha.

Kaledain: Dark Alleys

Too Many Annas had a post a couple weeks back about a 500-word ficlet telling what would happen if your character was mugged. I couldn't think of anything then, but I've been itching to do something with Kaled for awhile now. So here's mine.

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Murder Row was appropriately named, and Kaled kept his hands close to his swords as he walked alone that night. Khaotic had stayed at their house while he ran his errands, and now he was hurrying home where she probably had supper waiting. His thoughts were elsewhere as he walked quickly down the dark, empty street, until he heard the hiss of a drawn blade and a sharp whisper behind him.

"Stop right there, hold your hands where I can see them, and hand over your gold," the voice said. Kaled did as he was told, holding his hands out wide as he carefully turned to face his adversary. The scrawny male blood elf behind him had the pinched look of a bloodthistle addict, and a very large dagger in his hand pointed at Kaled's gut. Kaled tried stalling for time.

"Look, fellow, why do you want to rob me? Surely you could get a job or something?" he said conversationally. The elf snarled, "Shut up. Don't want no job, want your money, now." "Please," Kaled continued. "Do you even know who, or rather what, I am?" The thief jabbed his dagger at Kaled's stomach, causing him to suck it in quickly. "No I don't, and don't care. Why?" he said. "I am a hunter," Kaled answered. "So you ought to know, it was a big mistake to try and rob me." The thief spat at his feet. "And why is that, hot shot?" he asked nastily, then suddenly froze, a look of panic and horror coming over his face as a low growl started from behind him. Kaled smiled grimly as he saw Ashkeyana come into view over the thief's shoulder. "Because, my young, stupid friend," he told the other elf. "Hunters never travel alone."

Oh. My. Golly...

A new spirit beast!!!!

Read about it on BRK's blog here or at Wowhead here.


Seriously, I'm not sure if I'll try to tame this one. I still like Loque's look better, and the growls he makes while attacking are just awesome. And, he was the first spirit beast so he's had more attention.

But, after circling the Basin every time I've thought about it ever since Boogga hit 76 (and that was how long ago?), I have just about given up on Loque. If I find him, you can bet I'll tame him in a heartbeat, but I am no longer actively looking for him. So this will probably be a matter of which one I find first.

And if I do find Gondria, I have a name picked out already, Spectre. (Loque's new name will be Naluu)


/sigh /love /want

Khaotic: no longer walking

She was sitting at level 28, so I took her to Thousand Needles and started questing. Little bit later and....



...she dinged level 30!! Woohoo!!

She and Alti solo'd the level 30 elite quest panther. At level 28. /flex

Going to try some instance runs for a while, see if I can't get her some better gear. Maybe SM graveyard/Library with Boogga or one of my sister's high-levels.

Not much else going on. Taurron is 71 now, specced back to prot, and has gotten all his Nexus/UK quests done, he looks mean and spiky now with all the new gear. Muahaha! Tomorrow night is Boogga's first raid with his regular group, my guild finally has enough people to run 2 10-Naxx groups. :D

Also, my kitty is incredibly silly. And he has a fascination with plastic bags.


He's so cute!

Going to go crash now, til next time Happy Hunting!

P.S. Working on a story for Pitch next, hopefully coming soon!

Umm...

Didn't do much today. Alanon got his first Violet Hold run, we steamrolled it with 3 level 80 guildies, Alanon, and a 75 DK guildie. Alanon is back to resto, boomkin is fun but I'm probably going to be healing instances alot as he finishes leveling to 80, so I figured why not. As for the rest of today's activities, I thought pictures would tell it better than words. ;)







Forgot to get a SS of the UC raid, it was so hectic that just staying alive and on Sylvanas' platform kept me too busy. This was the biggest reason why I went resto now- since at 75 he couldn't really do anything to the bosses, I figured healing was the best way to help out.

I have another 2-3 stories in my head, but haven't been able to finish any yet. I've been so tired lately that I'm kinda brain-dead. Hopefully I'll get one done sometime this week.


P.S. I find it extremely humorous right now that last Sunday we had an almost-blizzard, and exactly one week later it is 80 degrees outside. >.>

Bugs! (no, not that kind)

Okay, I know I haven't done any "regular" posts for a while now, just stories. So, what have I been doing in-game recently? Well,....

Khaotíc and Caelàn are both level 28, Caelàn is now working on leveling her pets 'cause they have fallen behind,
Working on starting a guild with Khlar, since I can't seem to find one that fits me on Moon Guard,
Alliance is fun again, I've been playing there alot the last couple days. Quae is up to 42, Pitch is close to 52 and I might level him tonight, and obviously from my last story Alanon has done the full Wrathgate quest line and is also almost leveled to 75.

The biggest thing I've been doing, though, is with Boogga. I took him to AQ40 to see if I could get any of the bug mounts. I found out he can kill the solo patrols easily, but the groups of 4 sentinels are a bit too much for Karda. I had been in there for a little while and gotten the blue mount when one of my guildies noticed what I was doing. Pretty soon we had a small group in there, and stuff was falling like crazy. By the time we were all bored, everyone had a blue, green, and yellow bug (the red one never dropped). Then someone wanted to go kill the world dragons. It took a while to find any of them, but shortly after Ysondre and Taerar were down. We had a blast.

I'm going to try farming Strat now for Rivendare's mount. If I can get it to drop, I'm thinking of going for the mount achievement on Boo, and getting him a pretty white drake.



















































Wheeee! I might go back and try for the red one again. Til next time, Happy Hunting!

Edit: Taurron just hit 70, wootzors! The only problem now is, after buying his level 70 skills and finally training up his jewelcrafting, he has less than 500g. I don't think I'm that worried about his flying training though, I'll probably just train it whenever he does have the money (he has until 77 before I'll really want it anyway).

Alanon and the Wrathgate

WARNING!!!

If you have not completed the Wrathgate quest chain, there are major spoilers in here. I tried to make it as vague as possible, but they're still there. If you want to do the questline without knowing what all happens, I'd say go do it, then come back and read this.

Don't say I didn't warn ya.

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The inn at Valiance Keep was doing a steady business, but no one paid much attention to the lone night elf sitting by himself in a corner. Alanon’s thoughts were in turmoil. It had been some weeks since his return to Northrend and the battle against Arthas, but the events of the past several days were enough to make him wish he had not come back.

He had gone straight to the Dragonblight, to Winterguard Keep, to give aid where he could. The members of the 7^th Legion posted there had actually needed his help badly and he was kept busy. When he was no longer needed, they sent him on to Fordragon Hold to speak with Highlord Bolvar, who had sent him on to Wyrmrest Temple, to speak with Alexstrasza the Life-Binder herself. As a healer who revered life in all its forms, Alanon was so awestruck by the Dragon Queen that it was all he could do to speak.

But the news she gave him had been unsettling. The Scourge were trying to dig up an immense dragon skeleton nearby. If they succeeded, and Arthas raised him, the resulting frostwyrm would be unstoppable. Alexstrasza sent him with one of her red dragons to stop the Scourge, and they were victorious. That was the last thing to go right for a long time, it seemed.



Alanon picked up his mug and stared inside it without drinking. Whatever answers he sought, however, weren’t there, and he placed it back on the table. He sighed heavily. After a minute, he got up and went to the barkeeper for some writing materials.

He sat back down and began writing a letter.

"You may or may not have heard of what has happened here in Northrend. Highlord Bolvar Fordragon has been killed by treachery. Our Alliance stands at the brink of war with the Horde once again. This could not have happened at a worse time. I fear that I must agree with some of the others here: if we go to war against the Horde, Arthas will simply destroy us all. King Varian Wrynn does not see it this way, however, and pushes for the extinction of the only possible allies we have against Arthas. I fear it is only a matter of time. Be careful, all of you. There's no telling what might happen next.

Alanon

He sat back and re-read it, then wrote out several copies and addressed them all. After a moment he pulled one out, and added a few lines.

Barraccus, watch your back at all times. There may be some willing to take revenge on any undead they come across, whether they are Forsaken or not.

He stepped outside and dropped the letters into the mailbox, wishing that his problems could be disposed of so easily. A freezing wind swept down the street, and Alanon had the disconcerting notion that it was the beginning of the winds of war.

Barraccus goes to Outland

The following day they started preparing to leave. After lunch Barraccus and Alanon wound up in the bedroom going through Pitch’s old clothing, trying to find things that would fit the death knight so he didn't have to wear his armor the whole trip. Barraccus had his ghoul again, using it as a clothes-hanger. Quae helped them by taking the things they chose and washing them, as Pitch was not very careful with his clothing. They had almost finished when suddenly Pitch, who was downstairs, called for Alanon. The older druid frowned, wondering out loud, “Now what does he want?” He went downstairs while Barraccus continued going through the last remaining pile.

He was startled by Alanon rushing back up after several minutes, his eyes wide. “Barraccus, Rhokk is here. I’ve sent him off with Pitch, but we have to get you out of here for a bit.” “But wait,” said Barraccus. “Wouldn’t it be better if we just met and got it over with?” Alanon shook his head. “I share your sentiments, but Rhokk isn’t ready for that yet. He might just attack you without waiting for an explanation, and I won’t have fighting in my house. It will be best for now if he just doesn’t see you yet.” Barraccus bowed his head in assent. “Alright. Where should I go?” Alanon thought for a moment, then answered, “Maestra’s Post. It’s nearby, and the night elves there already know about you, I told them shortly after your arrival. You can stay there until Rhokk leaves, then I’ll send Pitch to get you.”

Barraccus was on his way shortly. He had dismissed his ghoul upon Alanon’s request, and now rode his charger along the road alone. He found the outpost easily and was greeted politely and shown to a bunk. He spent the rest of that day checking out their small library, then went to bed as soon as darkness fell.

Early the next morning he was exploring the outbuildings when he saw Pitch, in his cheetah form, arrive at the Post. He was about to go out and meet him when he spotted a translucent wolf with him. Something told him that it was Rhokk, and he ducked inside the building again, peering out around the doorframe. The ghostly wolf changed into a tall, blue-skinned humanoid of a type he had never seen before, and he remembered that Alanon had said Rhokk was a draenei. He studied the shaman curiously for several long minutes before he began to grow bored. Thankfully they weren’t there long, and soon continued on their way.

Later that afternoon Pitch returned, and stopped at the Post to collect Barraccus. On their way home the young druid told Barraccus what had gone on during Rhokk’s visit, and explained that the shaman was now on his way to the Exodar, the home of his people here on Azeroth. Rhokk thought that he was close to regaining some of his memory and hoped that seeing others like him would help.

Once back home Barraccus found that Alanon had finished their preparations, and they would be leaving in the morning. He was surprised to find that Quae was also preparing to leave. “It’s time I was back out doing things,” she told him when he asked. “There are some of our people in Feralas that could use a hand, I’ve heard.” Then she smiled mischievously at him. “Why, are you going to miss me?” Barraccus blushed furiously and went to find something to do.

They left the next morning at dawn. As they secured the packs onto Barraccus’ death charger and Alanon’s riding saber, Pitch stood nearby with a mournful look on his face. Finished, Alanon turned to him with a grin. “You can always head out yourself, brother. There’s no reason for you to stay here by yourself.” Pitch brightened considerably at that. “That’s true,” he said thoughtfully. “I’ve been wanting to go back to Un’goro…” He wandered off, thinking to himself out loud. Alanon laughed and turned to Barraccus. “Ready?” he asked, and the death knight nodded. They mounted up and rode down the road toward Astranaar, where Alanon had arranged a couple of hippogriffs to carry them most of the way. “We could ride the whole way,” he explained while they rode, “But Myst would never forgive me. Besides, this way is faster.”

It was faster, and before Barraccus knew it they were riding through the Blasted Lands toward the Dark Portal. While they rode, Alanon told him some stories of his siblings. Barraccus eventually got up the nerve to ask something he had been wondering about for awhile. “Um, about Quae,” he began. “Is she really serious? You know, about the stuff she says?” Alanon laughed. “No, I don’t think she is. She just likes to tease people, and the fact that you react every time makes it more entertaining for her. She does like you, but I don’t think she’s decided how much yet.” Barraccus found himself blushing again, to his embarrassment. Alanon noticed and took pity on him. “She used to tease Pitch horribly, a few years ago. Everything from claiming he had fleas to telling him not to shed on the furniture, things like that,” he said. “Until he got her to stop, that is.” “Really?” Barraccus asked. “How did he manage that?” “Well, he got tired of it one day, so he sat on her.” Barraccus raised one eyebrow skeptically. “And that got her to stop?” “Oh yes,” Alanon replied. “He was in his bear form, you see.”

Barraccus almost fell off his charger, laughing.

They came in sight of the Portal soon after that, and pulled their mounts to a halt. Alanon turned to Barraccus and gave him a reassuring smile. “Well, this is it,” he told him. “Remember, Barraccus, you have a home whenever you need it. You’ll always be welcome with us.” Barraccus looked down at the ground. “Thank you all, for everything you’ve done for me,” he said softly. “Don’t mention it,” the druid replied. “It’s what families do.” As they turned their mounts in opposite directions, Barraccus said, “I’ll keep in touch with you all. Thanks again.” Then he spurred his death charger toward the Dark Portal and the Outlands beyond. Alanon watched him go before heading back to Nethergarde, his first stop on his way back to the cold wastes of Northrend.

Barraccus: Finding his place

After his talk with Alanon, Barraccus went back inside and watched Pitch for a bit as he finished preparing the rabbits. Pitch showed him how to cut them up for a stew, then left them in a covered pot for Quae to finish. “She makes a mean rabbit stew,” he told Barraccus as they stepped back outside. Barraccus paused as Pitch started off into the woods, until the druid turned back to him. “Come on, I’ll show you around,” he said, and Barraccus willingly followed him into the forest.

Pitch’s swift cheetah form was able to keep up with Barraccus’ death charger easily as he guided the death knight to his favorite haunts. He showed him the forest’s edge where the deer liked to graze, and the shore nearby, though they stayed clear of the small Horde outpost there. As they made their way away from the beach, both on foot now, Pitch watched Barraccus curiously. He finally said hesitantly, “Would you like to try to wake up some of your memories? I have a couple ideas.” Barraccus nodded eagerly. “Yes, please. That would be great,” he answered.

Pitch took him to a spot where several dozen wolves were scattered around, playing, fighting or sleeping. “This pack is getting too big, and is making it difficult for the prey animals and the other wolf packs in the area,” Pitch whispered to Barraccus. “We can thin their numbers without causing any harm to the balance.” So for the next few hours they carefully weeded out the pack, looking especially for sickened or deformed wolves so the rest of the pack would remain strong. Barraccus tried watching Pitch fight carefully, and followed all his suggestions, but nothing jogged his memory. They both were growing frustrated when Pitch declared they had done enough. He looked at Barraccus apologetically. “I don’t think you were a druid, before,” he said. “I’m not sure what to try next, let’s go check with my brother.”

Barraccus was rather dispirited during the trip back. When they got back to the house they tracked down Alanon, but he didn’t have any new ideas, though he promised he would think on it. “Don’t worry about it, Barraccus,” he said, gripping his shoulder reassuringly. “It will come back with time, I’m sure of it, but these things can’t be rushed.”

The afternoon was spent inside, where Barraccus tried reading some of Quae’s multitude of books to try and take his mind off things. Quae was curled up in a corner with a book of her own; every time he looked at her she would be watching him, and give him a little smile or a wink. He finally tried to stop looking at her. Alanon wandered all over the house looking at books and scrolls, trying to find something that would help Barraccus’ memory. Finally Quae stood up and went to check the stew she had cooking, which she pronounced to be finished. Alanon took his bowl and continued his search, leaving Barraccus alone with Quae in the kitchen. He kept his eyes on his supper, though he could feel her eyes on him and kept blushing despite himself. Once he was finished, he claimed exhaustion and went upstairs to bed.

He lay awake for a long time, long after he heard the others come up and go to their own beds. He was thinking about all he had experienced so far since regaining control of himself. Suddenly it came to him that his memories were irrelevant. He couldn’t go back to what he was before; he was an undead, a death knight, and nothing, nothing would change that. As that thought went through his head, he found he had tears running down his face. He tried to keep quiet, but soon he was sobbing uncontrollably, grieving for all he had lost and couldn’t remember. Then suddenly Quae was standing next to his bed. She looked at him wordlessly for a moment, then sat down and gathered him into her arms. She didn’t flirt or tease this time, but just held him like a sister would as he cried into her shoulder. He heard a small sound and saw Alanon come up too, and felt a rush of shame. They had treated him so well, and here he was bawling like a baby. But he couldn’t stop the tears any more than he could summon up his lost memories. The druid shared a look with his sister, and some wordless communication passed between them. Then Alanon turned and went downstairs, leaving the two of them.

Quae began talking to him quietly, her voice soothing in his ears. “No matter what you’ve done before,” she said softly. “It doesn’t matter anymore. This is your home for as long as you need it, and we are your family. No one here judges you. Everything will be okay, Barraccus. Just let it go.” He finally cried himself out and, exhausted, he fell back asleep, still in Quae’s arms.

He woke the next morning to find the others already up and gone. He got up and went downstairs to find Quae in the kitchen. She flashed a grin at him as he stood there working up his nerve. “Umm, thank you, for last night,” he said shyly. “Don’t mention it,” she replied. “Besides, I think I like the idea that you owe me one.” Barraccus blushed furiously as she winked at him, and he made his escape outside.

Once out under the trees, he stopped and thought back to his revelation the night before. It still hurt to think on it, but he was beginning to see what he had to do. Alanon had said that the Alliance needed people, and he did have some powerful skills. As he thought it all through, he suddenly focused his attention on a patch of ground and summoned some of his power. He spoke a command word, and the ground started to crumble and bulge upward. After just a few seconds an undead, a ghoul, crawled out of the ground and came to stand before him, its unfocused eyes on him as it waited for him to command it. Barraccus heard a gasp behind him and whirled. Pitch was standing several yards behind him, eyes wide as he stared at the ghoul. “What is that?” he asked disbelievingly. “It’s a ghoul, it’s under my control,” Barraccus replied as he turned back to his minion. “It’s a death knight ability I’ve always been good at. I have other skills, some even more powerful. I can use them to help now, instead of to hurt.” He turned back to Pitch, feeling a sense of peace come over him that he hadn’t felt before. “I know what I can do now. I don’t think my memories are that important anymore.” Pitch was still staring uncertainly at the ghoul, but then he looked up at Barraccus, and grinned back at him. “Excellent,” was all he said. Then he turned and disappeared into the forest, shifting to his cat form right before he went out of sight.

Barraccus dismissed his ghoul and returned to the house. He found Alanon poring over several scrolls again, but the druid looked up and smiled in welcome when the death knight approached. “Alanon, I really appreciate all your help, but I don’t think my memories matter much anymore. I believe I know my place now.” Alanon looked at him with approval and nodded. “Very well. I am leaving here in a few days. I can escort you to the Dark Portal if you’d like to head to Outland then.” Barraccus agreed, and felt a rush of excitement as he thought about his new life.
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Not all of this is going to be about Barraccus. Once he is in Outlands I will probably be doing stories about the others too. :)