User:Khandivya/A Side Note

''((Uneditted because I'm lazy. I have another page written, but I figured I'd start tantalizing you early. Also I don't have time to finish it right now, have to work Tongue))''

It was another fine sunny day in the hive of villainy and scum known as Booty Bay. Already five altercations had occurred on the docks, from things as varied as “Where is my box of cigars?” to “DIE YOU PINKO ELVISH COMMIE NAZI!” Mairn walked off of the Maidens Fancy just as the latter was dying down, and upon seeing the pile of bodies scrapping with each other (no weapons, the goblin guards would be on them in a heartbeat) he moved on quickly.

Stopping just at the fork in the path, he thought he saw Keishe skipping happily down the right path and then quickly turn into a shop moments later.

“I would like to talk to her…” He thought, rubbing his bearded chin rhythmically “But I have an appointment. Ah well, another time.”

He took the left path. Forever did it dominate his destiny.

His appointment that day was with a well known, and well respected, undead member of the guild named Majdar. Maj had left him a note at the guild hall, saying:

“Mairn, you must meet me in Booty Bay as soon as possible. I have information of the utmost importance.”

Majdar’s goal of late had been the destruction of a particularly nasty daemon that could only be summoned from within the hellish confines of Blackrock Spire. Guild rumour said that Maj had attempted the feat ten times, each time narrowly escaping with his life and the lives of those around him. Mairn assumed that the meeting had something to do with that feat and had moved as quickly as possible. Once this daemon was vanquished, the undead sorcerer would become even more powerful, and helping a friend was something Mairn jumped to do whenever possible.

He walked up the path, past the goblins guarding the entrance to the wooden city, finally coming to an apparently underused building on the top deck. The city had so many transients that houses that hadn’t been used in years were not an uncommon occurrence. One simply needed to find one that didn’t contain some sailor and his prize for the night, or a squatter, or an undead mage – no, he wanted the one with the mage.

Mairn ducked down to get through the human-sized entrance to the building and found Majdar sitting on the floor in an entirely empty room. There was a book in front of him and he was bent over as far as he could, scanning the pages with his fingers. Mairn cleared his throat, announcing his presence.

“Ah! Mairn! Good! We have very important things to discuss! Come and sit down with me.” Majdar’s undead face was still whole enough to convey a sense of happiness at seeing his friends arrival.

Mairn walked in and sat down next to the mage. He strained to read the words on the page, but the writing was so small and sideways to him, so he couldn’t make out more than a couple words.

“I found this book yesterday…don’t ask where, you don’t want to know. But after having read through it, I think you will be interested in the contents…” Majdar swivelled the book so that Mairn could finally get a good look at the information contained. His curiosity peaked and he picked up the book to get a closer look at the words.

What he read there astounded him.

Wiki Note: The next section was written several days later, the original readers had to wait.

''((haha, no Brennie, not your diary Smiley. This is the end. Enjoy! Smiley))''

Several hours later Mairn left the building. Majdar had left him alone with the book shortly after he realized that Mairn was completely engrossed in the contents, about five minutes. He wobbled slightly as he walked, his head still focused on the new information that had come to light as a result of his readings. The back of his mind laughed gently at the thought of a wobbly tauren getting to close to the edge and falling to his doom. The front of his mind realized this wasn’t a joke and got a closer handle on his motor control.

He walked past the guards at the gate and down the ramp to the fork in the road again. The back of his mind thought about the last time he was here. The front of his mind started him walking down the right path and moments later into the building that he had seen Keishe walk into hours ago.

He felt out of place as soon as he entered. The sea was no place for a good, solid, earth loving tauren, and he had walked right into a small hole-in-the-wall sailing shop. Spools of rope, sails, knives, and various different types of solid food were on display across the walls, but they looked like they had been thrown there instead of carefully placed. This, and the low light, gave the place a dingy, unwholesome feel that gave the elderly and upright citizen Mairn a feeling of unease. This feeling was confirmed by the gaggle of gnomes that were crowding what looked like a goblin behind the counter. His eye’s caught those of the goblin, but neither made any overt action to acknowledge the other. The gnomes were talking.

“This girl you see? Where did she go? Hmmm?” The gnome that was talking wore a black suit, black top hat and black-lensed goggles. He leaned on a cane and flailed it around the room when he talked. The other gnomes had to back away several times while he spoke. A gnome of respect, Mairn assumed. The others three were larger, beefier…if Mairn hadn’t known that such things didn’t exist, he would have assumed that they were gnomish thugs.

“I don’t know! She came in here, bought some rope and then left! I’ve never seen her before!” The goblin seemed genuine, but if Mairns suspicions were correct it wouldn’t matter. He could see the three thugs tensing up; one of them cracked his knuckles.

“Honest!” The goblin added to his testimony, but it was no use. Mairn was forced to watch as the three gnomes moved closer to the goblin. One threw a punch and the goblin took it and went down. No stranger to brawls, the goblin stayed down as the gnomes proceeded to kick him repeatedly in the ribs, each taking a turn so they could all get a piece of the action. Before any of them could turn around, Mairn quickly left the building. He pressed his large body up against the outside of the doorway, straining to hear what was going on inside. If these gnomes were looking for Keishe, he probably didn’t want them to find her.

From inside the building he heard the scuffle stop. Then a voice, very raspy and quiet, interspersed with a hacking cough, spoke. He tilted his head closer to the doorway, desperately trying to figure out what the goblin was telling the thugs.

No luck. The next thing he heard was the clomping of tiny boots as they walked across the wooden planks that made up the city. He pulled himself away from the shop entrance and stood, innocently, on the side of the dock, peering out across the wide blue ocean. He heard the gnomes clomp outside the building and then continue down the path towards the Salty Sailor Tavern. Mairn waited long enough that he wouldn’t be noticed and then turned and followed them.

It wasn’t hard. As they walked down the wooden road, the thugs pushed people out of the way to make way for their boss. When they reached the Tavern, they walked inside. Mairn followed.

Inside it was almost empty. Being that it was mid-afternoon, the only people who had started their days drinking were a very old goblin sitting in the corner who looked like he was a fixture there, and a small group of younger orcs, each trying to out do the others in a adventure telling contest. The four gnomes were at the bar talking to the proprietor of the Tavern.

“We are looking for a young girl, a troll girl if you will. She has something of ours. We know she is staying here and we want you to tell us which room.” The gnome’s cane waved randomly through the air, and whenever he said “we” he used his left hand to touch his chest, obviously referring to himself in the third person. As he finished speaking, he nodded slightly and one of his cronies walked forward and placed an amount of money that Mairn couldn’t see on the counter. “You understand, of course, that we are willing to help those who help us.”

This goblin was used to being in a position to take bribes, and he did so once again. Leaning over the counter he whispered to the head gnome and pointed upstairs. The gnome in black nodded sagely and then started walking, motioning to his yes-men as he turned.

The situation was dire. Keishe had no idea she was being followed, and these gnomes looked like they could take her no problem. Professional thugs did their job and they did it well. Racing through his options in his brain, he decided upon the one that most people would think was the most foolhardy of them all. He knew something those people didn’t know.

“Hey! You! Your hat is ugly!” He stood in plain sight of the gnomes and pointed at the boss.

The gnome stopped for a moment and his thugs stopped just behind him. He looked stunned, as though most people knew better than to refer to him in such a disrespectful manner. Then he shook his head gravely, as if to say “You’ll learn someday” and brought up his left hand and motioned the other three gnomes forward. They were into a run before Mairn could react.

Thankfully they didn’t realize his plan either. They laughed on the inside, relishing the thought of getting to beat up another person in as many minutes.

Mairn turned and ran outside of the entrance to the Tavern. There wasn’t enough space inside it to enact what he wanted to do. As he got outside he tried to motion for everyone to get back, but it wasn’t until the three goons appeared running behind him that they realized what he meant. Mairn stopped. The three gnomes stopped just outside of his arm range, waiting to take stock of the situation. A circle of onlookers formed around the core of the fight. Mairn surveyed the crowd and judged that they were far enough back.

The three gnomes slowly walked forward, evil grins appearing on their tiny, grotesque faces. Mairn paused and started to chant, casting the spell that would save him from this situation and save Keishe as well. The gnomes got close enough and one of them threw a punch, aimed at Mairn’s stomach, a blow that was certain to interrupt his spellcasting. But just as the gnome started his motion, and giant sphere of arcane power erupted from inside Mairns body. The gnomes were forced backwards from the sheer power of the arcane explosion. Mairn cast it again, and again, and again until they were on the ground, writhing in similar agony to what they had inflicted on the goblin earlier.

Mairn looked up from the pile of gnomes to look at the boss. His face was stoic, but he nodded and turned, walking away from the Tavern. He knew when he was beaten. The crowd was mystified, someone asked whether the tauren had discovered how to be mages? They all looked at him, expecting him to have some sort of explanation for the phenomena they had just witness. But Mairn just brushed his hands together and started walking back towards the Tavern, smiling mischievously as he did so. He pushed his way through the crowd.

Inside the Tavern, he walked up the stairs towards the rooms that were for rent. He started to walk towards the only closed door on the floor, assuming that it would be where the young mage was staying for the night. But when he got to the door he could hear sounds, knowing sounds, sounds he shouldn’t interrupt, coming from inside the room. He laughed to himself and walked back down the stairs and ordered himself an ale. It had been a good day.

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