Not So Fresh Fish

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Loreli
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Not So Fresh Fish

Postby Loreli » Mon Jul 23, 2012 9:40 pm

In the Northern Barrens, near the bridge that crosses the Southfury River and leads up to the back gates of Orgrimmar, loitered someone who didn't belong there. Lorelli would never understand why this contact continually insisted on meeting here, when Darnassus was a much more convenient, more pleasant trip. Yet, there she found herself perched on a high branch of one of the few trees sprinkled through the grasslands in the not quite early light of morning. It wasn't that she was afraid of being spotted she just preferred to conduct meetings after dark.

Perched in that tree was exactly where Lorelli was when she spotted the group leaving the city. There were five all told, three of them were slickears; one male, two female, one a tauren and the last a goblin. Her gaze slid over the group not noting too many details until she noticed the almost impossibly tall mass of blond hair on one of the Sindorei. She knew at least a few members of this expedition. She did another once over. The red haired male, companion to the blond. The second of the females had short cropped black hair and a pair of sharp knives. Judging from dress and mannerisms, the tauren was a Druid but the goblin gave far less clues as to her occupation, assuming she was anything other than a civilian. Hazarding a guess Lorelli figured magic user, owing to the robes.

The party continued to make their way at a casual pace down the dirt road, carrying them directly below Lore's position. They hadn't spotted her and would probably continue right on by. Lore was feeling restless and a little reckless. Dorri'tow's response to the rogue’s mocking comments sounded civil enough in words. However, only an idiot would have missed the sarcasm contained in every sound she uttered. When the orc hunter bounded up, followed closely by a large cat constantly nudging at the basket it's master carried, Dorri made doubly sure the newcomer was properly introduced to Lorelli. Lore picked up in Dorri's game easily enough when the orc, called Teevi, almost literally started trying to shove fish up the tree at her.

It became steadily obvious Teevi was somewhat touched and Lorelli found herself unable to be outright cruel to the hunter. She attempted to spin Teevi's attention to Dorri, suggesting the blood knight could use the nutrition the fish offered far more than herself. Teevi, however, was immune to her silver tongue. The hunter tossed the pack at her, which Lorelli caught on pure reflex. The rogue stared at the greasy, slimy package in her hands. Teevi headed merrily off towards the gates and the tauren reminded the remaining crew of the time and some prior commitment.

Lorelli still eyed the gift of fish wondering what in the name of Elune she was supposed to do with it. Looking up she caught Dorri's eye, the other woman was glancing over her shoulder as they walked away. Lorelli had an idea.

***

It had grown dark before the small band returned to the city. Lorelli had long since moved to a vantage point tucked high in the architecture of the gates. The group looked tired but in high spirits. The goblin and tauren singing some song that sounded vaguely like it could be a limerick. As they entered the gates, Lorelli cautiously made her way over the top of the wall and into the city proper. She waited for her quarry to make their way through the large gates, growing bolder as she met no city watch or resistance whatsoever. The rogue moved along rooftops and between shadowed nooks and crannies, continuing to track the small band as they crossed the city. She was waiting for them to round a corner when an unusual plaque caught her eye. It was hung high where no normal folk would ever see it and even more odd, it was written in common.

"Beware of roof trolls."

"Now that's just sill..." Her words were cut off by the sound of an arrow whistling past her ear and embedding itself into the wooden plank of the building behind her. "I suppose I should be thankful you don't see as well in the dark as I do." With that she was off and running. She chose a rooftop path that would take her deeper into the city. Hopefully it would momentarily confuse pursuit as most folks with any smarts would head for the gate after being shot at. She hadn't heard any alarm raised but that could mean any number of things. She could do the smart thing and head for the exit but the challenge called to her. This was what she did and it felt good to be exercising her skills again.

Once she was sure she was safe for a bit Lorelli doubled back trying to get eyes on the small party she had been chasing again. Three times she narrowly dodged a well armed guard obviously on the lookout for sneaks such as herself. It was the slickear rogue that almost spotted her the second time. In her haste to catch up to the group Lorelli had gotten too close and was pretty sure the other woman had heard her boot scrape. The blood elf paused looking around suspiciously, but shortly she turned and jogged back to her companions. They didn't even seem to notice she had fallen behind.

The tauren excused himself first, saying something about a portal to Thunder Bluff. Lorelli's suspicions about the goblin were confirmed when the latter conjured said portal. They all bid a sleepy farewell and the tauren was gone. Next the goblin parted ways and lastly their rogue slipped off into the night. Once Lorelli was sure she had gone she continued pursuit of the blood knights.

Dorri and Keltyr were seemingly unaware of their shadowy tail. When the slickears finally reached their own set of rooms it was almost the third hour of the morning. The drums to mark the passing of the hours still beat but were more muted after the end of the daylight hours. Lorelli made a note of her location as she was not going to hang around while they slept or whatever else they did. She would go get some rest herself and return later when they were gone. Exiting the city she found a small niche against the back wall and settled in for a nap.

***

The sound of something large splashing in the water awoke Lorelli in the early post dawn hours. She opened one eye to see the goblin from the night before watching her from across the river. Lore hadn't expected anyone to come this way, much less spot her tucked out of sight as she was.

"Good eye." The rogue said without moving. She wasn't even sure if the goblin would understand her, really.

The goblin took a startled step back holding a bolt of soaked cloth. “Why are you still hanging around?” She demanded in her somewhat high, squeaky voice.

“Getting a tan.” Lorelli replied with a grin, though she was completely in shade.

“Thought your kind didn’t like sun.” She put emphasis on ‘your kind’ like it was something filthy she would rather not speak of.

“Well, can’t say I’m overly fond of it. Harder to hide in, burns your skin, hurts my eyes. But, I make do.” The rogue shrugged, “Where are you friends this morning, little goblin?”

The goblin placed a hand on her hip, “I’m not that little and I have a name.”

Lorelli offered another grin, “Oh, well let’s have it then.”

The diminutive woman blinked, “Er, well, it’s Paxie. But you can’t call me that.”

“Well, I can’t call you ‘goblin’ and I can’t call you ‘Paxie’. What can I call you then?”

“Nothin’. We aint friends and you don’t belong here. Leave before I set you on fire!” Paxie brandished the still sopping cloth at Lorelli which started to emit tiny wisps of steam. The mage squeaked, dropped the cloth with a splash into the river and shook a tiny flame at the rogue sheepishly.

“Your cloth is getting away.” Lorelli said. For indeed the bolt of cloth was being carried downstream by the current, soon to be lost from view.

“Oh!” Paxie yelped and started running along the river bank but with her short legs it was quickly outpacing her.

With a sigh, Lorelli got up and sprinted down the shore line on her side of the river. She splashed into the running water, snatching the runaway cloth and climbed up the other side. The rogue wrung out her catch as best she could before handing it to Paxie who stood there dumbfounded.

“Um.. thanks.” Paxie said.

“No problem.”

There was a moment of slightly amiable silence.

“You should get lost.” The mage said, “Dorri’s supposed to meet me here when she wakes up. You shouldn’t be here then.”

Lorelli merely nodded and jogged off as if she were leaving the city behind. The rogue made sure she was well out of the goblin’s sight before turning around and finding a good vantage point of the river. Paxie was still alone pulling fabric bolts from a basket and rinsing them in the river. The sight of Dorri and Keltyr--the latter yawning constantly--coming around the riverbend assured she wouldn’t be alone for long.

Even if they immediately turned around and went home, Lorelli should still have plenty of time to pull this off. Giving the gathering on the river a wide berth, she made her way to the back gates of Orgrimmar again. Dodging the guards in broad daylight was a challenge she was easily up to, especially now that she was aware of the layout and her destination.

She reached the building the slickears were staying in without incident. The windows were unshuttered nor paned, merely covered by light curtains fluttered in the slight breeze. The room was comfortably appointed, not as lavish as she expected and immaculately clean. The bed was against the wall to her left, two crude wooden tables on either side. One was clear except a vase with a meager assortment of foliage, it’s tabletop polished to a high sheen. The other table was covered in a few coins but mostly springs, gears and other metal bits in a hodge podge mechanical collection. Judging from the amount of fuss Dorri’tow spent on her hair, the clean side must be hers.

Crossing the room, Lorelli pulled the package of fish from a small pouch. It was greasier than before and smelled far worse. Unwrapping the package she arranged the fish in a fan across the closest pillow.She wiped the fish stink on the bedspread before reaching into another pouch. From it she produced a single flower with petals the same color as her hair. To the stem she attached a note which only read ‘enjoy!’ in her slightly curving script. The rogue placed the flower alongside the fish and slipped back out the window. It was long past time to return to Stormwind but first to get out of Orgrimmar...
"A little extra DPS never killed anyon... Oh wait."
"Still alive, I see. Clearly you're not trying hard enough."

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