Beisel's blog

Continued From Denryk's Part One

Growls echoed within the bear cave as our eyes adjusted to the darkness. Denryk called on a fire spirit, and his hammer seemed to burst into flames, illuminating the cave in firelight. A snowy bear the size of five dwarves loomed over us, sneezing twice and swatting her nose in annoyance. 

A baby bear had been sleeping in the back of the cave, but at the magnificent sneezes, he stood on his hind legs and started running towards us. He tripped and landed so that his head flopped back, revealing the baby bear to be no more than a grungy dwarf bundled in furs. “Och, farts!” The grungy dwarf tugged the bear head back over his face and started to pick himself up, but the huge bear loped over to him and nudged him back down with her nose. 

Some nights, I experience dreams that are not my own. 

… 

My mother's anxious hands smoothed her linen dress, searching for a loose thread. The orphanage had little in the way of fine cloth, but my mother had slaved over this dress until it was fit for a noble. There was no loose thread to be found, and she knew it. 

“Ma, tell me about the Shadows.” 

Continued from Echo's "Trail's End, Part 2"

“Thank the Light.” Echo took a deep breath and stood.  She motioned across the clearing to a dwarf in cultist robes.  “All yours.”  The dwarf cackled through her gag, and Echo walked into the trees to stand guard. 
 
I went to the dwarf and removed her gag.  She bit my fingers.  Pulling my hand away, I shouted in Dwarven, “Oiy, none of that!”  The bite was superficial, and I drew on the Light for healing while she laughed herself breathless.  “Tell me what you know about Hron Ironbelly.”
 
The question was too much for her, and she wheezed out another gleeful laugh.  “Dead!”

I lick foam from my lips. 

Continued from Sadie and preceding the search for Hron.

I tripped on the hem of the oversized cultist’s robe, and Elrin turned to hiss, “Shhh.” Lifting the hem off the ground, I jogged to catch up with the line of recruits winding their way through the bowels of Grim Batol. A strand of hair escaped Hron's hat to swing across my cheek, sprinkling sweat in its wake. The recruits followed a narrow path along the canal of lava, and the smoke made my eyes water. I pulled the robe up to cover my nose and continued walking.

Continued from:  Homeless (Part V)

After his first visit to Ulduar, the elf drove away on a motorcycle that was much more flashy than the one Sadie had restored.  I walked to Olivia's Pond and unpacked my bone fishing pole.

A preserved arm served as the handle, and flayed fingers clutched a small skull that served as decoration.  The morbidity of such an item might have once given me pause, but Icecrown Citadel had long since stripped away those sensitivities.  I cast my line and stared into in the skull's glowing eyes.

The eyes stared back, and a voice whispered, "You were thinking about her again, weren't you?"

“Get away from her!” 

Onyxia ignored me and approached Verisimi. 

((Edit: Had to fix meter twice))

Previous Entry

“Yes, Ma, I've been saying my prayers. Kelval's been teaching--” 

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I dared not breathe until a full minute had passed since every single one of Cho'gall's grotesque eyes had blinked its last.

“Let's take her to meet Cho'gall”  A cloying wave of suffocation passed over me as I remembered the cultists pulling the bag over my head.

The slapping sound of a high-five snapped me out of my memories. I could not bring myself to join in the celebration.

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Leaving the Citadel was less of a relief than I had been hoping. On the way to Stormwind, there were just as many hungry reborn shuffling through Icecrown. I'm told they are weaker now that Arthas has died-- and they do seem less of a threat. They just look lost, somehow more human.

In Stormwind, we wished the wise Nuadhu well as he settled to rest after so much struggle. He certainly earned it. I sat in the damp earth next to him as our little group dissipated-- everyone having their homes or families waiting for them. I fell asleep trying to decide where to go next.

My dreams took me back to the Citadel, and it felt like more of a home than the little cottage I had tended a year ago. I woke up and I wanted nothing more than to return to the Citadel, but I knew I would never go back there.

    The orc was crouched in an alcove, stringing a bow.  I studied him for a few moments from afar.  Confident that I was unnoticed, it came as a surprise when he sprang upwards and loosed an arrow aimed at my neck.  Before I could feel a sting as the arrow grazed my cheek, I took control of the orc's mind.

    He resisted like a child would struggle while being carried to bed.  I searched his mind.  He had spent several hours in hiding, after he faked his own death while Alliance soldiers exterminated his brothers and sisters in arms.  I could taste the bitter tears that had run down his green face.

    The putrid professor's dead eye was staring at me when I awoke under his table.  I had fallen asleep back at base camp, but I wasn't surprised to be here again.  I was a little surprised that I could no longer smell the stench.
    A quick search of the lab yielded a journal of sorts.  The first few pages were written by a steady hand, filled with terms I could not comprehend.  I skipped to the back.  Diagrams began taking over more and more of each page, the few comments became increasingly affectionate.  His monsters were his children and his friends.
    One page was a picture of a gift box, scaled to house Precious.  The following page was a picture of one of his flesh-monsters grinning with child-like glee as the monstrous dog chased his tail.
From the balcony, I could see that very same flesh-monster as little more than a broken down island on the cold stone.

I caught Tavlo fidgeting with the hem of her thick sweater. Although she was the most bundled of us, she didn't look any warmer for it. My breath was a cloud of ice, but my skin tingled. I was becoming familiar with the Citadel-- more familiar than I would have liked in the past. The place was seeming more and more like a home in this strange land.