"Why in the bloody Fel can't the dwarves build a tramway to the top?" mumbled the detective Jon Chess as made his way up the sloped road to Ironforge. he had flown his griffon from Blackrock Mountain, the home of the Dark Iron Dwarves. Centuries ago, the Dark Iron Dwarf clans, under their leader Dagran Thaurissan, had claimed their home in the volcanic depths, worshipping the powerful Elemental demigod Ragnaros. Ironically, their current ruler was the daughter of Magni Bronzebeard.
Queen-Regent Moira Thaurissan (born Bronzebeard) was the daughter of King Magni Bronzebeard of Ironforge and the widow of Emperor Dagran Thaurissan of the Dark Iron clan. As such, she was both Princess of Ironforge as well as Empress of the Dark Irons. Her infant son Dagran Thaurissan II, for whom she was regent, was the current heir to both thrones. Moira was the Dark Iron representative of the Council of Three Hammers that had been set up to rule Ironforge following the petrification of her father, and Moira had personally led a force of Dark Iron dwarves against the Burning Legion.
It was this air of uncertainty about the future which had prompted this client, a Dwarf named Snorri Galdirborn to hire Chess. Snorri had lost a family heirloom to a Dark Iron thief and wanted Jon Chess to recover it from the Black Vault, the bank located inside Shadowforge City. the Dark Iron dwarven capital city.
Jon had done this and was now on his way to deliver the heirloom - a pair of Bronze Baby Booties - to his client. He had parked his griffon Silvermane in the town of Kharanos, at the base of the Ironforge mountain, as Jon was not sanguine about flying his griffon through the access tunnels of the mountain itself.
And so it was that Jon found himself trudging up the steep road. As he reached the blessedly-flat caravan marshaling yard, he saw a human woman with long red hair, dressed in the manner of Ironforge residents. A long leather blacksmith smock covered a voluptuous figure. She was sitting on a bench, away from the caravans of wagons. She was sobbing into her hands, clearly in distress.
Jon recognized the woman as the dancer from Stilettos he knew by the stage name of "Tootsie". Jon debated for a brief second on whether or not to approach her; she might well want to be alone, but his compassion, and he admitted, his nosiness won out, and he approached the woman, making plenty of noise upon his approach so as to not startle her.
"Miss Tootsie?" Jon asked, ready to pretend that he was mistaken if she declined to be recognized.
The woman looked up and nodded. Her eyes were red from crying. She nodded and said "Oh, Mister Chess... I hadnae expected to see you here!" her usual husky voice was heavy with the accent of a native Ironforger, something he had not remembered from Stilettos. Jon supposed that when performing, she had taken pains to minimize her charming accent.
"I see you are troubled, Tootsie," Jon said. "Is there anything i can do to help"
"Och, sit ye duin here," she said, indicating the bench. "It's... well, I am a-crying because one of thae patrons at Stilettos brought a business associate tae the place, a Dwarf."
Jon sat beside her as she continued.
"Well, thae long and thae short of the matter is that thae fellow recognized me, and told me... he told me thae I should be fair ashamed of myself, bringing disrepute on my clan for being,.. for acting like a human hoor!" Tootsie started crying again, and Jon reached over and pulled her to him, letting her - quite literally - cry on his shoulder.
Jon made soothing noises as he stroked the fine red hair and held her while her latest crying jag let itself out. Then he spoke gently to her as if she was a spooked animal. "Tootsie, do you trust me to tell you the truth?"
Tootsie pulled away and looked Jonathan in the face. Aye, I suppose so..." she said, bracing herself for more condemnation in her moment of doubt and pain.
"Good... now, you know I am a private detective, but what you don't know is that I also work for the Alliance military forces. And, like you, I have a secret, one that I'm about to tell you." Tootsie nodded. "Tootsie, the Alliance has me kill people. Not in honorable battle, but behind the front lines. I assassinate people, I sabotage as directed... i once released a captive beast in the Suramar Zoo, which killed hundreds of civilians to provide a distraction doe an Alliance operation."
Tootsie's eyes went wide, her own concerns forgotten for a moment.
"First of all, you are not a whore..." Chess said. "You are a dancer, which is quite another thing altogether, yes? The rules at Stilettos are very clear!"
Tootsie gives him a hesitant nod, acknowledging the point.
"Second, the idiot who said those things... he was there of his own free will. What kind of a patron goes to Stilettos, and then tries to shame the dancers? What a sanctimonious, hypocritical prick! Nothing he has to say has any value, Tootsie."
Tootsie took a moment to Ponder his words. "I suppose ye hae the right of it, Mister Chess. I shouldnae let his words hurt me so, but they did."
"Well, let me say one final word... Tootsie, you are a wonderful, talented woman, whose expression through dance brings happiness to your audiences. There is no shame in what you do; all you do is make people smile. Now, what I do? Slaughtering people? Even under orders, that is something to be ashamed of... not what you do. Not making people happy!"
"Ach, Mister Chess!" Tootsie exclaimed, beginning to cry again, but this time in relief. Jonathan hugged her to his other shoulder.
"You can call me Jon, you know... It seems ridiculous, you being formal after this, yes?" Jon stroked her hair, comforting the dancer.
Tears were sometimes the perfect water for the growth of a flower of friendship - in this case, between Jonathan Chess and Tootsie, the Mithril Rose of Ironforge.
Queen-Regent Moira Thaurissan (born Bronzebeard) was the daughter of King Magni Bronzebeard of Ironforge and the widow of Emperor Dagran Thaurissan of the Dark Iron clan. As such, she was both Princess of Ironforge as well as Empress of the Dark Irons. Her infant son Dagran Thaurissan II, for whom she was regent, was the current heir to both thrones. Moira was the Dark Iron representative of the Council of Three Hammers that had been set up to rule Ironforge following the petrification of her father, and Moira had personally led a force of Dark Iron dwarves against the Burning Legion.
It was this air of uncertainty about the future which had prompted this client, a Dwarf named Snorri Galdirborn to hire Chess. Snorri had lost a family heirloom to a Dark Iron thief and wanted Jon Chess to recover it from the Black Vault, the bank located inside Shadowforge City. the Dark Iron dwarven capital city.
Jon had done this and was now on his way to deliver the heirloom - a pair of Bronze Baby Booties - to his client. He had parked his griffon Silvermane in the town of Kharanos, at the base of the Ironforge mountain, as Jon was not sanguine about flying his griffon through the access tunnels of the mountain itself.
And so it was that Jon found himself trudging up the steep road. As he reached the blessedly-flat caravan marshaling yard, he saw a human woman with long red hair, dressed in the manner of Ironforge residents. A long leather blacksmith smock covered a voluptuous figure. She was sitting on a bench, away from the caravans of wagons. She was sobbing into her hands, clearly in distress.
Jon recognized the woman as the dancer from Stilettos he knew by the stage name of "Tootsie". Jon debated for a brief second on whether or not to approach her; she might well want to be alone, but his compassion, and he admitted, his nosiness won out, and he approached the woman, making plenty of noise upon his approach so as to not startle her.
"Miss Tootsie?" Jon asked, ready to pretend that he was mistaken if she declined to be recognized.
The woman looked up and nodded. Her eyes were red from crying. She nodded and said "Oh, Mister Chess... I hadnae expected to see you here!" her usual husky voice was heavy with the accent of a native Ironforger, something he had not remembered from Stilettos. Jon supposed that when performing, she had taken pains to minimize her charming accent.
"I see you are troubled, Tootsie," Jon said. "Is there anything i can do to help"
"Och, sit ye duin here," she said, indicating the bench. "It's... well, I am a-crying because one of thae patrons at Stilettos brought a business associate tae the place, a Dwarf."
Jon sat beside her as she continued.
"Well, thae long and thae short of the matter is that thae fellow recognized me, and told me... he told me thae I should be fair ashamed of myself, bringing disrepute on my clan for being,.. for acting like a human hoor!" Tootsie started crying again, and Jon reached over and pulled her to him, letting her - quite literally - cry on his shoulder.
Jon made soothing noises as he stroked the fine red hair and held her while her latest crying jag let itself out. Then he spoke gently to her as if she was a spooked animal. "Tootsie, do you trust me to tell you the truth?"
Tootsie pulled away and looked Jonathan in the face. Aye, I suppose so..." she said, bracing herself for more condemnation in her moment of doubt and pain.
"Good... now, you know I am a private detective, but what you don't know is that I also work for the Alliance military forces. And, like you, I have a secret, one that I'm about to tell you." Tootsie nodded. "Tootsie, the Alliance has me kill people. Not in honorable battle, but behind the front lines. I assassinate people, I sabotage as directed... i once released a captive beast in the Suramar Zoo, which killed hundreds of civilians to provide a distraction doe an Alliance operation."
Tootsie's eyes went wide, her own concerns forgotten for a moment.
"First of all, you are not a whore..." Chess said. "You are a dancer, which is quite another thing altogether, yes? The rules at Stilettos are very clear!"
Tootsie gives him a hesitant nod, acknowledging the point.
"Second, the idiot who said those things... he was there of his own free will. What kind of a patron goes to Stilettos, and then tries to shame the dancers? What a sanctimonious, hypocritical prick! Nothing he has to say has any value, Tootsie."
Tootsie took a moment to Ponder his words. "I suppose ye hae the right of it, Mister Chess. I shouldnae let his words hurt me so, but they did."
"Well, let me say one final word... Tootsie, you are a wonderful, talented woman, whose expression through dance brings happiness to your audiences. There is no shame in what you do; all you do is make people smile. Now, what I do? Slaughtering people? Even under orders, that is something to be ashamed of... not what you do. Not making people happy!"
"Ach, Mister Chess!" Tootsie exclaimed, beginning to cry again, but this time in relief. Jonathan hugged her to his other shoulder.
"You can call me Jon, you know... It seems ridiculous, you being formal after this, yes?" Jon stroked her hair, comforting the dancer.
Tears were sometimes the perfect water for the growth of a flower of friendship - in this case, between Jonathan Chess and Tootsie, the Mithril Rose of Ironforge.
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