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Finished another chapter of my WoW 'fic, only... Three more to go. ;P Jadaar and Asric finally show up in the story (that's assuming you know who they are XD).
Usual disclaimers here, probably needs more editing, etc. (At least I'm somewhat content with how the mystery is progressing, so far. ;)
The previous chapter can be found here.
World of Warcraft: "Mystery of the Violet Citadel" by Avi
Chapter 1: "Prisoners of Our Own Device"
Later that morning, down at the underground inn of Cantrips and Crows, Jadaar sullenly nursed a mug of honey mead at his usual table.
Here he was, a former peacekeeper of Shattrath, stuck in a sewer of all places, in a foreign city where he didn't know anyone, except for one person... Who just happened to be the same person who cost him his job, in the first place.
The draenei narrowed his good eye and glared across the room at Asric, who was currently sitting at the bar. His only consolation was that the blood elf had lost his position as Investigator, as well...
As Jadaar turned his attention back to his drink, he overheard the innkeeper call out the elf's name.
"Hey Asric, you're going to love this," said the innkeeper, as he leaned over the bar.
"What is it, Ajay?" replied Asric, who was currently toying with a half-finished glass of Dalaran Red (though Jadaar knew for a fact that the blood elf would drink anything that was placed in front of him, these days).
As the two bent their heads in conversation, Jadaar found himself rolling his eyes. There wasn't much to do down here in the sewers, apart from drink (unless you were interested in the black market, or gladiatorial fights); although the more enterprising (or bored) adventurers would try to fish the murky waters for treasure.
However, it was a good place to hear gossip; somehow, all the dirty little secrets from the magical city above ended up down here... Kind of like this mead, mused Jadaar sourly, as he peered down at the dregs of his drink.
And if there was one thing Jadaar had learned from his reluctant exile with Asric, it was that the blood elf had developed a taste for gossip.
Despite himself, Jadaar leaned forward, in order to listen in on their conversation.
"Rumour has it that a rogue was caught breaking into an archmage's personal quarters, in the Violet Citadel," said the innkeeper, in a hushed voice.
Asric raised an eyebrow. "They must be a pretty terrible thief, if they got caught," he pointed out.
"Well, there were a bunch of mages in the room at the time, when the thief teleported in... That's what I call bad luck."
Asric blinked in surprise. "Teleported? That's an odd mode of entry, for a thief."
"From what I hear, the room was magically sealed; the only way to get in was by teleport spell." The innkeeper shook his head. "That's mages for you... Gotta make everything more complicated."
"But a teleport spell..." mused Asric. "I find it very hard to believe that some penny ante thief could get their hands on a spell that would actually take them into a mage's personal quarters."
"Oh, but it gets even better. The archmage who lives in that room? I've heard he's gone missing. Of course, all the mages assumed that the rogue had something to do with it; I hear they've got her locked up in one of their towers right now, for questioning."
"Her?"
"Yeah, the rogue is a woman. I heard it's Eliza Hawkeye; knew her back in Stormwind." The innkeeper shook his head. "Shame, really... I thought she had more sense than that."
"Is that so?" said Asric thoughtfully. "Thanks, Ajay." He paid the innkeeper for his drink, then strolled back to his usual table, where Jadaar was sitting.
"I assume you overheard all that?" he asked the draenei. "I could tell that you were eavesdropping."
Jadaar shrugged; there was no point in denying it. "So some rogue got caught sneaking around in the wizard's tower... Big deal." He took a gulp of his mead.
Asric raised an elegant eyebrow. "Big deal?" he repeated. "You must be drunk, draenei... Since when don't you care about the welfare of others?"
"And since when do you care?" retorted Jadaar, putting down his tankard with a thud. "Besides, this is a foreign city, not Shattrath... And even if it were Shattrath, it's not like we couldn't do a thing about it; we lost our jobs, remember?"
There was a crafty gleam in Asric's green eyes. Jadaar noticed this, and glared.
"You're up to something, blood elf." The draenei turned his attention back to his drink. "And I want no part of it."
"Even if it could get us our jobs back?"
The mug paused, halfway to Jadaar's lips. "How do you figure that?" he asked.
Asric pulled out a chair and sat next to him.
"Listen," began the elf, in a low voice. "This case has all the trappings of a classic locked-room mystery. If we managed to solve it, and find the missing archmage, our superiors in Shattrath would be sure to hear about it... Then they'd be so impressed, that they'd have to give us back our jobs!"
Jadaar looked skeptical. "I don't know, Asric... I am certain that the Kirin Tor would not like a couple of outsiders poking their noses into their personal business."
"I'm not saying that we should interfere with their investigation," soothed Asric. "Just that we make a few inquiries of our own; on the side, of course."
"Well... I suppose that would be all right..." said Jadaar slowly.
"I thought you would agree," said Asric, looking smug. "And to start off our investigation, I think we should dig up some information about the rogue who was caught during the break-in; I think her name was Eliza Hawkeye..."
Jadaar glared at Asric. "Why are you staring at me, elf? Oh, I get it... You want me to do a background check on her."
"Why not? You still have your contacts on the Alliance side, right?"
Jadaar looked taken aback. "Well... yes, but--"
"Then it's settled," said Asric, rising to his feet. "We'll meet back here at Cantrips and Crows in an hour, all right?"
"But wait, what are you going to--"
But the blood elf had already run off. Jadaar looked annoyed, but then shrugged.
Well, looks like I'm stuck running around for a while, he thought, with a sigh. Still... Looking for clues is far more interesting than drinking myself stupid in this sewer, I suppose...
***
It was over an hour later. Jadaar was sitting at his usual table at Cantrips and Crows, when Asric strolled into the inn.
"You're late," Jadaar growled.
"Sorry about that," said Asric pleasantly. "I had an errand to finish up. Well, what did you find out?"
Jadaar opened his mouth to complain, but then shut it, realizing that it was pointless. Reaching into his breastplate, he pulled out a small journal, and opened it.
"Let's see..." The draenei peered at the pages with his good eye. "Elizabeth Hawkeye, also known as Eliza. Human female rogue, formerly from Stormwind. Age, 28. Hair, blonde. Height--"
"Yes, yes, you can skip all the minor details," said Asric impatiently. "Any information relevant to the case?"
"Well..." began Jadaar slowly. "She does work for SI:7."
Asric raised an eyebrow. "You mean Stormwind Intelligence? Oh, the Kirin Tor is going love that; that'll tweak a few wizards' beards, if they think the Alliance is spying on them..."
"But she's not really a spy," explained Jadaar. "According to my contacts, she only works for SI:7 as a cryptographer; her specialty is deciphering coded documents."
"Ah, so she's more of a paper pusher."
Jadaar nodded. "Correct. She is trained as a thief, but I was told that this Eliza would much rather have her nose in a book, than a dagger in her hand."
"So the question is, how did this alleged bookworm get into a magically sealed room?" mused Asric. "Good work, Jadaar."
"Gee thanks, elf," said Jadaar sarcastically. "And what were you doing while I was running around Stormwind?"
"Actually, I was gathering information on the missing archmage," replied Asric. "Why? Did you think I'd be sitting here at the bar, while you were doing all the legwork?"
"Well... Yes, actually," confessed the draenei.
"You think so little of me," said Asric, sounding amused. "Anyways, about that archmage... Do you remember that haunted village in southeastern Netherstorm?"
"You mean the one crawling with mage ghosts? Say... Wasn't that village founded by an Alliance expedition led by the Kirin Tor?"
Asric nodded. "That's right. Well, it seems that our missing archmage was their leader."
Jadaar looked shocked. "He survived that massacre?"
"He was the only survivor," said Asric, in a grim tone. "It seems that Kael'thas himself magically imprisoned the archmage in the tower over there; it was only recently that this Vargoth was freed by passing adventurers."
"How did you find that out?" asked Jadaar, suspiciously.
"I travelled over to Netherstorm and had a talk with Archmage Vargoth's former apprentice, Ravandwyr," retorted the blood elf. "I also found out that Vargoth's experiences in Outland left him with an extreme case of agoraphobia; ever since he came back to Dalaran, Archmage Vargoth hasn't once left his room in the Violet Citadel."
"Until now," mused Jadaar. "So in other words, it's not likely that Vargoth left his room willingly..."
"Which makes the rogue's presence in his room even more suspicious," added Asric. "Or maybe it was just bad timing..."
"Well, now what?" asked the draenei, irritably. "There isn't much more that we can do, unless we can find out what actually happened up in that tower room."
"Not to worry," said Asric, sounding smug. "I did find out who Vargoth's current apprentice is; her name is Miki Nezumi. I heard that she was the first one to discover that he had gone missing, and was even in the room when the rogue appeared. If we can get her alone, we might be able to question her about what happened."
Jadaar snorted. "How are we supposed to do that? Won't the mages keep her isolated because of what she knows?"
"She's still an apprentice, and apprentices always have to run around doing menial tasks for elder wizards," Asric pointed out. "I got her description, so all we have to do is wait outside the Violet Citadel until she shows up."
Jadaar narrowed his good eye. "You don't mean--"
"Afraid so," Asric sighed. "We're going on a stake out."
The draenei groaned. "Great..."
Next chapter...
Usual disclaimers here, probably needs more editing, etc. (At least I'm somewhat content with how the mystery is progressing, so far. ;)
The previous chapter can be found here.
World of Warcraft: "Mystery of the Violet Citadel" by Avi
Chapter 1: "Prisoners of Our Own Device"
Later that morning, down at the underground inn of Cantrips and Crows, Jadaar sullenly nursed a mug of honey mead at his usual table.
Here he was, a former peacekeeper of Shattrath, stuck in a sewer of all places, in a foreign city where he didn't know anyone, except for one person... Who just happened to be the same person who cost him his job, in the first place.
The draenei narrowed his good eye and glared across the room at Asric, who was currently sitting at the bar. His only consolation was that the blood elf had lost his position as Investigator, as well...
As Jadaar turned his attention back to his drink, he overheard the innkeeper call out the elf's name.
"Hey Asric, you're going to love this," said the innkeeper, as he leaned over the bar.
"What is it, Ajay?" replied Asric, who was currently toying with a half-finished glass of Dalaran Red (though Jadaar knew for a fact that the blood elf would drink anything that was placed in front of him, these days).
As the two bent their heads in conversation, Jadaar found himself rolling his eyes. There wasn't much to do down here in the sewers, apart from drink (unless you were interested in the black market, or gladiatorial fights); although the more enterprising (or bored) adventurers would try to fish the murky waters for treasure.
However, it was a good place to hear gossip; somehow, all the dirty little secrets from the magical city above ended up down here... Kind of like this mead, mused Jadaar sourly, as he peered down at the dregs of his drink.
And if there was one thing Jadaar had learned from his reluctant exile with Asric, it was that the blood elf had developed a taste for gossip.
Despite himself, Jadaar leaned forward, in order to listen in on their conversation.
"Rumour has it that a rogue was caught breaking into an archmage's personal quarters, in the Violet Citadel," said the innkeeper, in a hushed voice.
Asric raised an eyebrow. "They must be a pretty terrible thief, if they got caught," he pointed out.
"Well, there were a bunch of mages in the room at the time, when the thief teleported in... That's what I call bad luck."
Asric blinked in surprise. "Teleported? That's an odd mode of entry, for a thief."
"From what I hear, the room was magically sealed; the only way to get in was by teleport spell." The innkeeper shook his head. "That's mages for you... Gotta make everything more complicated."
"But a teleport spell..." mused Asric. "I find it very hard to believe that some penny ante thief could get their hands on a spell that would actually take them into a mage's personal quarters."
"Oh, but it gets even better. The archmage who lives in that room? I've heard he's gone missing. Of course, all the mages assumed that the rogue had something to do with it; I hear they've got her locked up in one of their towers right now, for questioning."
"Her?"
"Yeah, the rogue is a woman. I heard it's Eliza Hawkeye; knew her back in Stormwind." The innkeeper shook his head. "Shame, really... I thought she had more sense than that."
"Is that so?" said Asric thoughtfully. "Thanks, Ajay." He paid the innkeeper for his drink, then strolled back to his usual table, where Jadaar was sitting.
"I assume you overheard all that?" he asked the draenei. "I could tell that you were eavesdropping."
Jadaar shrugged; there was no point in denying it. "So some rogue got caught sneaking around in the wizard's tower... Big deal." He took a gulp of his mead.
Asric raised an elegant eyebrow. "Big deal?" he repeated. "You must be drunk, draenei... Since when don't you care about the welfare of others?"
"And since when do you care?" retorted Jadaar, putting down his tankard with a thud. "Besides, this is a foreign city, not Shattrath... And even if it were Shattrath, it's not like we couldn't do a thing about it; we lost our jobs, remember?"
There was a crafty gleam in Asric's green eyes. Jadaar noticed this, and glared.
"You're up to something, blood elf." The draenei turned his attention back to his drink. "And I want no part of it."
"Even if it could get us our jobs back?"
The mug paused, halfway to Jadaar's lips. "How do you figure that?" he asked.
Asric pulled out a chair and sat next to him.
"Listen," began the elf, in a low voice. "This case has all the trappings of a classic locked-room mystery. If we managed to solve it, and find the missing archmage, our superiors in Shattrath would be sure to hear about it... Then they'd be so impressed, that they'd have to give us back our jobs!"
Jadaar looked skeptical. "I don't know, Asric... I am certain that the Kirin Tor would not like a couple of outsiders poking their noses into their personal business."
"I'm not saying that we should interfere with their investigation," soothed Asric. "Just that we make a few inquiries of our own; on the side, of course."
"Well... I suppose that would be all right..." said Jadaar slowly.
"I thought you would agree," said Asric, looking smug. "And to start off our investigation, I think we should dig up some information about the rogue who was caught during the break-in; I think her name was Eliza Hawkeye..."
Jadaar glared at Asric. "Why are you staring at me, elf? Oh, I get it... You want me to do a background check on her."
"Why not? You still have your contacts on the Alliance side, right?"
Jadaar looked taken aback. "Well... yes, but--"
"Then it's settled," said Asric, rising to his feet. "We'll meet back here at Cantrips and Crows in an hour, all right?"
"But wait, what are you going to--"
But the blood elf had already run off. Jadaar looked annoyed, but then shrugged.
Well, looks like I'm stuck running around for a while, he thought, with a sigh. Still... Looking for clues is far more interesting than drinking myself stupid in this sewer, I suppose...
***
It was over an hour later. Jadaar was sitting at his usual table at Cantrips and Crows, when Asric strolled into the inn.
"You're late," Jadaar growled.
"Sorry about that," said Asric pleasantly. "I had an errand to finish up. Well, what did you find out?"
Jadaar opened his mouth to complain, but then shut it, realizing that it was pointless. Reaching into his breastplate, he pulled out a small journal, and opened it.
"Let's see..." The draenei peered at the pages with his good eye. "Elizabeth Hawkeye, also known as Eliza. Human female rogue, formerly from Stormwind. Age, 28. Hair, blonde. Height--"
"Yes, yes, you can skip all the minor details," said Asric impatiently. "Any information relevant to the case?"
"Well..." began Jadaar slowly. "She does work for SI:7."
Asric raised an eyebrow. "You mean Stormwind Intelligence? Oh, the Kirin Tor is going love that; that'll tweak a few wizards' beards, if they think the Alliance is spying on them..."
"But she's not really a spy," explained Jadaar. "According to my contacts, she only works for SI:7 as a cryptographer; her specialty is deciphering coded documents."
"Ah, so she's more of a paper pusher."
Jadaar nodded. "Correct. She is trained as a thief, but I was told that this Eliza would much rather have her nose in a book, than a dagger in her hand."
"So the question is, how did this alleged bookworm get into a magically sealed room?" mused Asric. "Good work, Jadaar."
"Gee thanks, elf," said Jadaar sarcastically. "And what were you doing while I was running around Stormwind?"
"Actually, I was gathering information on the missing archmage," replied Asric. "Why? Did you think I'd be sitting here at the bar, while you were doing all the legwork?"
"Well... Yes, actually," confessed the draenei.
"You think so little of me," said Asric, sounding amused. "Anyways, about that archmage... Do you remember that haunted village in southeastern Netherstorm?"
"You mean the one crawling with mage ghosts? Say... Wasn't that village founded by an Alliance expedition led by the Kirin Tor?"
Asric nodded. "That's right. Well, it seems that our missing archmage was their leader."
Jadaar looked shocked. "He survived that massacre?"
"He was the only survivor," said Asric, in a grim tone. "It seems that Kael'thas himself magically imprisoned the archmage in the tower over there; it was only recently that this Vargoth was freed by passing adventurers."
"How did you find that out?" asked Jadaar, suspiciously.
"I travelled over to Netherstorm and had a talk with Archmage Vargoth's former apprentice, Ravandwyr," retorted the blood elf. "I also found out that Vargoth's experiences in Outland left him with an extreme case of agoraphobia; ever since he came back to Dalaran, Archmage Vargoth hasn't once left his room in the Violet Citadel."
"Until now," mused Jadaar. "So in other words, it's not likely that Vargoth left his room willingly..."
"Which makes the rogue's presence in his room even more suspicious," added Asric. "Or maybe it was just bad timing..."
"Well, now what?" asked the draenei, irritably. "There isn't much more that we can do, unless we can find out what actually happened up in that tower room."
"Not to worry," said Asric, sounding smug. "I did find out who Vargoth's current apprentice is; her name is Miki Nezumi. I heard that she was the first one to discover that he had gone missing, and was even in the room when the rogue appeared. If we can get her alone, we might be able to question her about what happened."
Jadaar snorted. "How are we supposed to do that? Won't the mages keep her isolated because of what she knows?"
"She's still an apprentice, and apprentices always have to run around doing menial tasks for elder wizards," Asric pointed out. "I got her description, so all we have to do is wait outside the Violet Citadel until she shows up."
Jadaar narrowed his good eye. "You don't mean--"
"Afraid so," Asric sighed. "We're going on a stake out."
The draenei groaned. "Great..."
Next chapter...
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