User:Akuyim/An (Ab)normal day at the Guild Hall (6)

An (Ab)normal day at the Guild hall 6
He saw Keishe shrug as he walked away. Tatimitzi was coming in from the rain yet again as he walked past her.

“Aku, your arm. Let me see it.” she said, she tried to have a demanding tone to her. She was failing, she was cold and wet and wanted nothing more then to sit down in front of the fireplace with Keishe.

“Not now Miss Tati. Tell you what, you can see it before the feast tonight. I have some rather important stuff to do right now” he said back to her and continued walking past. She opened her mouth in protest and even before a sound escaped. “Besides you are wet to the bones, you just need to make yourself all warm by the fire before you catch a cold. It is but a little scratch, I have lived through worse then this and will continue to do so. Now off with you.” his tone commandeering and he pointed to the fire roaring and crackling in the middle of the hall. It looked inviting to her nonetheless, but she shook her head, he would not win this round. She stomped her foot in defiance and turned to where he was standing, but he was already gone.

So much to do and so little time. With the feast fast approaching, everyone was busy and most people were inside to stay out of the rain storm. If luck were with him he could vanish and no one would really realize it until later tonight. That would give him, the hours he needed to start and hopefully complete his investigation in Booty Bay.

He went to his room first, gathered what he needed and changed his bandage. The scars still weren’t closing. He would eventually have to break down and ask someone to heal his arm, but not yet and not now. He took out a piece of paper and his quill and ink. He wrote a letter to Khandivya and folded it up and placed it in his pocket.

He made his way to the Warrior’s Lodge and up to her room. He briskly walked in and laid the letter lovingly on her pillow before walking out.

Caladi walked into the main guild hall, refreshed from her vacation. The main guild hall was a buzz with excitement for the feast. She met the waves and nods of her fellow guildmates with a renewed sense of vigor. She walked past a rather wet Tatimitzi and a rather busy Keishe sitting by the fire. She was able to hear part of their conversation, which dealt with Akuyim being an old, stubborn grump. The two young ladies seemed rather upset at this. She thought back to one of the events here at the guild hall before her vacation. She had found him in the herbalist’s garden completely out of it and upset about something, then later that same day he had an argument with Shahkra*.

Something was definetly not right with her friend, and she was bound and determined to figure it out. She wandered outside, back into the dreary rain determined to find Akuyim before the feast. She hadn’t unpacked all her bags from her vacation and some of them still lay tethered to the saddle of her kodo. While she was on vacation, she had picked up some purple lotus seeds from the trolls in Booty Bay. They would make a fine addition to the herbalist’s garden. She went to the stables first to process all the new information she had heard. Low and behold as she walked into the stables, there he was with Reggie diligently at his side, making final preparations on his wolf.

“Akuyim. How are you?” she cheerfully called to him.

He groaned slightly, and lowered his head as if to make it look the last strap needed extra attention. Taking a deep breath, he raised his head and looked at her. “Caladi, I am well. How was that vacation?” he asked back. Before letting her answer, he led his wolf out of it’s stable.

“Oh the vacation was fantastic, where are you going?” her tone became very serious when she asked her question.

“I have some important business to attend to. Would love to stay and chat, but alas I can not.” he stated back. He grunted as he swung himself into his saddle, his right arm was becoming more and more useless with each passing moment.

A slight smirk crossed her lips, as she swung the stable door to her kodo open. Leading her kodo out into the stables, she clambered into the saddle. “That is quite ok, Aku, we don’t need to stay here to chat. I’ll just follow you.” she said back.

He just stared at her in disbelief, that Caladi had every intention of going with him whether he wanted her around or not.

“Well, are we going? I mean if it’s so important, you are wasting time gawking at me.” she said back the smirk never leaving her face.

He was in no mood to argue, his arm hurt to much and he was indeed wasting valuable time. “Alright lets get this over with.” he shook his head at her, and rode off into the driving rain.

A few wyvern rides and a zeppelin ride to Grom’gol later. They were soon airborne once again this time for Booty Bay. The wyverns landed and deposited their patrons on the balcony above the inn. “What are we doing back here?” Caladi asked.

“Not on vacation, I assure you of that.” with that he turned from Caladi to the goblin bruiser, that stood guard over the horde side visitors.

He began to have a hushed discussion with the goblin, she tried to listen but couldn’t make out what was said. However it had the tell-tale sign of being a favorable conversation at least on the goblin’s end as he was given a few gold as compensation for having to talk.

Turning away abruptly he whistled for Reggie and began his descent into the bar. Caladi followed, “Well aren’t you going to tell me what that was about?” she asked.

“No, if I wanted to tell you, I would’ve told you already.” he said back as calmly as possible, his right arm was biting at him in pain.

“You know.” she sighed, “You don’t always have to do everything on your own, you have friends that are more then willing and capable of helping you.” she shot back.

“I know, and perhaps you will get the chance to help me. If things go poorly...” he stopped talking.

“If things go poorly. What?..why would they go poorly, what did you drag me into?” she asked back as they entered the main hall.

He held up one finger as he spun around to look at her. “Uh-uh. I didn’t drag you anywhere, you followed.” he shot back.

Spinning back around, he shoved his way thru a group of humans and walked outside and up by the fishmongers. He looked up to the mountainside, and sure enough he spied the house he was looking for. A small shack, that was jutting out from the side, it didn’t appear to be held on by much. The wonders of goblin engineering to be sure. Sighing he began to trudge up all the walkways, until he came to the small set of steps leading up to the shack. The stairs themselves weren’t big causing them all to walk single file. The staircase itself was quite long, it led them up to a near dizzying height.

Outside, the small porch the trio were on groaned once and settled. He rapped lightly on the door to the goblin’s shack, it swung open. Cautiously calling inside, they heard no response so they stepped in. The shack again groaned and settled. It had a small window on the left wall overlooking some palm trees. The shack itself was in shambles, there was engineering gadgets, gizmos, doodads, and thingamajigs all over the place. By the fine coat of dust that had settled here it was quite evident it hadn’t been used in months. Reggie sneezed.

Akuyim scratched the back of his head with his right arm, his arm hurt, and as he did so the evil sensation that they were no longer alone began to cause his neck to itch and form a knot in his stomach. Reggie sensed it to, he dropped low to the ground and spun around to face the door growling. Akuyim also spun around and sure enough there in the doorway, was the demon. Caladi turned around when she heard Reggie growl, “What is goin....” she stopped as her eyes gazed upon a mighty tauren warrior, flaming red eyes, fur the color of the blackest of night. He stood so tall he blocked the entire doorway. It appeared he even had to stoop just to see in the shack at them.

“Hunter!” the tauren nearly shouted jovially. “Imagine my surprise, when they told me you were coming here. And you came with a beautiful young lady” he continued as his flaming red eyes began to size up Caladi. “Well im glad to see your taste in women has finally improved some” He let out a hearty laugh.

Akuyim clenched his teeth but said nothing, he began running scenarios in his head, and how far disadvantaged he was.....again.

“Oh hunter, you know I would’ve thought you would’ve figured this all out by now. But apparently my “faith” in you is dwindling. I mean you were so clever back when we first met. Alas I suppose I shouldn’t be so hard on you though. I mean the mind is the first thing to go in old age” He chuckled again. He no longer looked at Akuyim, he stared at Caladi. “Maybe you are here to help him. Yes? I mean it would make sense, you having the brains and the beauty.” he winked at her.

“Tell you what hunter, as im such a nice guy. Here is what I am going to do. You tell me what I want, and I’ll fill you in on what you are missing out on. I mean the clue here in Booty Bay is months old. How do expect to play the game effectively if you are so far behind.” he chided.

“The answer now is the same as it always has been and will be.” Akuyim growled. With that Reggie inched forward. Normally that would cause the demon to recoil, but not now. Something wasn’t right. He held back on Reggie’s assault.

The demon shook his head, glanced down at Reggie, then turned his full attention to Caladi. “Listen sugar-lips, why don’t you help this old man here realize, he needs to step up and play the game. I am getting lonely. I mean if you had someone that wanted to play a game with you, you wouldn’t keep turning them down would you?”

Caladi, stammered for a response. “Leave her out of this. This is between you and me” Akuyim interjected.

“So what is your answer Hunter, some of us do have lives to get back to, just because you have a foot in the grave and the other on a banana peel, doesn’t justify you holding up the rest of us. Right bright-eyes?” he said back, not taking his eyes from Caladi.

Caladi began to feel flushed and uncomfortable, she shifted one of her hooves underneath her. She could no longer gaze at the man in the door, there was something about him, that was making her feel uneasy and all his attention on her was flattering yet disturbing and she didn’t know why.

“The answer is no.” Akuyim stated back emphatically.

The demon sighed heavily, and shook his massive head. His black horns scraping the shack walls as he did so. “I really hate it when it comes to this hunter, all I want is a simple game with a worthy opponent. Just one last game its all I ask. Is that too much for an old friend.”shrugging, he sighed again. “Very well hunter, you leave me little choice, the game is now changing, just remember you can’t be everywhere at once.” He turned part way, to leave.

Akuyim glared at him, still there was something not right in any of this. Reggie roared at the demon.

With a smirk he glanced back over his shoulder at the trio inside the shack. “Oh and hunter, Have a nice trip” with that he raised one of his massive hooves and slammed it into the porch.

The whole shack began to shake, and rocks that supported it began to tumble below. The shack began to pitch forward, as the demon leapt into the air. His wings slicing thru the fur on his back he took flight.

The shack began to pitch forward again, the junk began to tumble past Akuyim and out the door into the jagged rocks below. “Caladi follow Reggie” he bellowed. Reggie turned and charged and jumped out the window on to the mountainside. She looked at him a moment, her gaze wondering how he was getting out, but she changed to cat form and leapt to safety through the small window to Reggie’s side.

Calling on the cheetah spirits he sprinted out the door, turning as quickly as he could, he raced for the edge of the balcony. However he started to trip on the numerous little gizmos spilling out the doorway. Stumbling he still made his leap to safety, but he was nowhere near where he needed to be. The shack pitched and tumbled one last time before crashing into the rocks below.

He latched onto a palm tree that had grown out from the mountainside, dangling above the jagged rocks. He was too far out on the tree to get purchase on solid ground. His right arm was on fire, burning seething pain, stars began to cloud his eyes. He could no longer hold himself up on the tree with his right arm and it slipped off. He was now holding all his weight on his left arm, he could feel the bark of the tree sliding through his fingers. A second passed and a finger slipped, and another. He wished that he could be somewhere other then here. The next finger slipped and the rest of his hand. He began to fall towards the rocks below.

Two hands caught him about the wrist, Caladi slammed her hooves into the tree and began to lean all her weight back. Straining heavily, she hauled him back up to the tree. They made their way back to the mountainside and Reggie.

“Thanks Caladi I owe you one.” he said and nodded at her.

“My god. What in hell does Khan feed you anyways, you could use to lose a few pounds” she chuckled.

He smiled, genuinely and brightly for the first time in a couple days and chuckled right along with her.

( as a small side note * = a work in progress)