Long time no see

I recently met an old acquintance of mine, a human called Seiken. He has now joined an organization dat has risen from de ashes. De Shining Strand.

De Strand was known for deir war wit de Second Gurubashi Empire and deir war against de Forsaken. De strain of fightin' a war on two fronts was too much for dem dat time.

Dere had been some attacks against Forsaken positions at Bulwark, and my sources in Stormwind said dat propaganda pamphlets blaming de Forsaken for attackin' supply convoys. I personally had inspected de situation and actually found de Forsaken guarding de caravans, and de Scarlet Crusade attackin' dem.

And now de Shinin' Strand has reformed. De Plaguelands are relatively calm. De Necropolises are gone, and former enemies have joined together to strike back at de Scourge. Argent Dawn. De Brotherhood of Light. Even members of de Scarlet Crusade.

Dis could ruin everyting. If de Forsaken strike back at dese.. agitators, we could have a new full-blown war in Hillsbrad. It could strech back to de Plaguelands, distruptin' de important work dere. I had to find out wat de Strand was plannin'.

Durin' our leetle incursion into Goldshire, I had spotted an old acquaintance wearin' de Shining Strand tabard. Seiken Trollbane. Because we had worked together before in de Shadowsun organization, I contacted de human warlock Melnerag to see whether a meetin' could be arranged. He said dat him and Trollbane were not on friendly terms, but he would try.



Today I got a reply. Trollbane would meet us at a house near de lumber mills of Elwynn Forest. I arrived early, to check for ambushes. Some time later Melnerag arrived, wit one of his eyes gouged out. Apparently someone decided to take de tale of Kilrogg Deadeye a bit too literally. He did not say who gouged his eye out, and I dinna care dat much.

Finally, Trollbane arrived. He was wearin' full armor, but had taken 'is helmet off. Not good. I had decided to dress less threateningly dan usual, and now I seemed relatively underdressed for de occassion. Even Melnerag was wearin' armor.

I voiced my concerns and explained de situation, but he was bein' evasive. I could see and [i]smell[/i] dat he was uncomfortable under all dat metal on a hot summer day, but he still dinna make any attempts to switch to more comfortable clothin'. And.. I smelled sometin' else. Not a human but.. an elf.



I asked Trollbane to invite his companions inside, but he feigned ignorance. Dis was a trap. He was merely playin' time to allow de cage's door to gradually swing shut. But was de trap for me or Melnerag? I had leetle time to tink, wen de smell of an elf became stronger. A simple scrying spell on Trollbane revealed de truth. Dere was an elf nearby, strengthenin' him. Now dat de jig was up, de elf revealed himself. He was accompanied by an another human, both dressed in de Strand's colors. Suddenly, de odder human made an attempt to grab Melnerag, but de warlock apparently had anticipated dis. De elf turned into a bear and knocked de human over. Seiken drew his sword and lunged at Melnerag. But de small house was not a good place for fightin'. Seiken swung wildly, hittin' mostly thin air or de furniture. On one swing, he nearly hit me, so I had to create a barrier to protect me. Dis was between Seiken and Melnerag, not me.

Predictably, Seiken was no match for Melnerag. De warlock toyed around wit him, until Trollbane collapsed on de bottom floor of de buildin', exhausted. Poor foolish Trollbane. I had arrived wit a perfectly reasonable proposition, and he gets all agitated over some feud. We walked outside, where de elf had already subdued de warrior. De meetin' was obviously over, but I'd need to move somewhere else before someone came to see what de ruckus was..

Ouch. I woke up wit my face in de dirt and my own blood fillin' my mouth. My head ached like I was hit by..

Seiken.. Seiken! Dat treacherous fool. Fine. If he really wants to play dese old games.. Behind a tree, I opened my backpack and took out my combat clothes. I disliked de color of my new robes, but de enchantments on de fabric were undeniably useful. I attached my bracers, my cloak and my shoulderpads. I welcomed de familiar coolness of my gloves. Finally, I lowered de mask on my face.

Seiken. He was dere, outside de building, talkin' wit de elf like nothin' had happened. My hands tingled in anticipation. De first frostbolt smashed harmlessly to de back of his head, makin' him to turn. Just in time to see de bigger bolt headin' towards 'im. I could hear de metal of 'is breastplate makin' a disagreeable sound. He attempted to charge me, but it was cut short by de ice caressin' his feet. He almost lost balance, but recovered enough to see de final frostbolt fly towards 'im. He lurched over, 'is feet still held still by de ice. Surprisingly, de elf dinna like dis at all. He too charged me wit no success. It was time to forget havin' fun and to take a breather. And *cough* to bandage my wounds. I ran towards de river. De forests of Duskwood would provide enough cover. I used my whistle, and Windclaw ran towards me. Seiken was up again, and still had learnt nothin'. Right when he attempted to strike me, his feet were again imprisoned by ice. He could not catch me on foot. De elf followed me to de river, but realized dat he was headin' towards a trap. He wisely turned around and returned to de mill.

Mill. Melnerag.. Fortunately he had seen 'is chance, and had already fled. We met at a safer place. After a small discussion about his.. condition, he gave me a letter dat he had acquired from de Strand. Seiken had unknowingly revealed much of de Strand's plan, but dis letter revealed deir next target. Bold and utterly foolish one it was, wit no hope of success. My associates would be very interested in dis knowledge. Very interested indeed. After discussin' proper responses to dis incident, we left. Dere was much to do..