"Master Chess, thank you for agreeing to meet with me," thanked the gnome warlock in a pleasing, almost seductive, well-modulated voice which belied her cute appearance.
"I was surprised to get a summons from a member of the Council of the Black Harvest; I was not aware that they were concerning themselves in lesser matters," replied Chess, bowing to the lady warlock. The Council of the Black Harvest was a coterie of the most powerful and skilled of the warlocks, and far above his social circle.
Chess had been hired by the hunter Riley Case to help her discover who had contaminated some bandages within the medical clinic ERU in Stormwind. Several deaths had resulted, and Riley's employees, for reasons of their own, wanted answers. Jon had asked a personal friend, Demisette Cloyse, to see if the warlock underground rumor circuit had any information; he had not for a minute expected Black harvest involvement.
He had been disconcerted when a light knock had come at the door of his inn room at the Legerdemain Lounge in Dalaran in the wee hours of the morning. He had been in the process of preparing breakfast for his client, with whom he had shared the inn room, and certain... nocturnal activities. He quickly finished the meal's preparation and scribbled a note to go on the serving tray, which he placed at the bedside. He leaned down and ghosted a kiss on the sleeping Draenei woman, doing his best not to disturb her, and silently closed their chamber door behind him.
The warlock who had sent him the note was a gnome known as Lulubelle Fizzlebang, the sister to the warlock in the employ of the Argent Crusade, who had perished while summoning a challenge for the participants in the fabled Trial of the Crusader. Lulubelle had light green hair and wore what Jon recognized as Gnomish Engineering goggles, which enhanced the wearer's natural vision. She had apparently ordered Jon some roasted barley tea, an import from Pandaria that Jon often drank in the morning. Jon wondered what he had done to earn enough interest that the warlock knew his preferred breakfast drink.
"Thank you for the tea...should I be worried that you know me well enough to have ordered it?" Jon asked with a smile; although early in the morning, his profession and lifestyle had accustomed him to early hours.
"Ah... the Lulu who ordered your drink was not the Lulu of the Black Harvest, so much as the Lulu who is a close friend of Phredaria, your associate. She was good enough to tell me what you might like in the morning... although I confess, I did tease her mercilessly about how she knew what beverage you like to drink first thing in the morning..." The warlock giggled, and Jon found himself relaxing. Phredaria was one of his oldest friends, his forensics mage, and if Phred liked the warlock, Jon was inclined to trust her... to a point.
"Well, it is an unlooked-for kindness nonetheless, Mistress Fizzlebang," Jon commented with a smile.
"You are quite welcome, master Chess," said Lulubelle. "The Black harvest is... sensitive to things that make warlocks as a whole look bad - using Fel magic in medical supplies to randomly kill patients is very bad public relations. I know you know how thin the acceptance of warlocks is in the Alliance; you've been a friend to innocent warlocks on several occasions. it has been noticed, and we are grateful."
Chess pondered this; if it was known to the warlocks, then it was doubtless known to those who persecuted warlocks. Jon made a note to remain vigilant - even paranoids had enemies, after all.
"And you have a personal interest in this case... although you do not know it. We have done our own investigating, and the Fel signature of the contaminated bandages indicates that the warlock who did this is known to you... Miss Belodria Masque."
Jon nodded, unsurprised. "It sounds like her methods, yes... how sure of your information is the Black Harvest?"
"Very sure," confirmed Lulubelle. "Obviously, nothing that would stand up in an Alliance courtroom... but we are certain. We think that the spellbound bandages were designed to kill patients because she is quite annoyed at the ERU for saving some of her victim's lives." All of the illusion of innocence faded from the gnome, leaving only a cold anger. "Stop her, Mister Chess. The Black Harvest considers her an embarrassment, but as she has not broken our covenants, we may do nothing... but neither will you bear any malice from us for ridding us of this annoyance."
"I was surprised to get a summons from a member of the Council of the Black Harvest; I was not aware that they were concerning themselves in lesser matters," replied Chess, bowing to the lady warlock. The Council of the Black Harvest was a coterie of the most powerful and skilled of the warlocks, and far above his social circle.
Chess had been hired by the hunter Riley Case to help her discover who had contaminated some bandages within the medical clinic ERU in Stormwind. Several deaths had resulted, and Riley's employees, for reasons of their own, wanted answers. Jon had asked a personal friend, Demisette Cloyse, to see if the warlock underground rumor circuit had any information; he had not for a minute expected Black harvest involvement.
He had been disconcerted when a light knock had come at the door of his inn room at the Legerdemain Lounge in Dalaran in the wee hours of the morning. He had been in the process of preparing breakfast for his client, with whom he had shared the inn room, and certain... nocturnal activities. He quickly finished the meal's preparation and scribbled a note to go on the serving tray, which he placed at the bedside. He leaned down and ghosted a kiss on the sleeping Draenei woman, doing his best not to disturb her, and silently closed their chamber door behind him.
The warlock who had sent him the note was a gnome known as Lulubelle Fizzlebang, the sister to the warlock in the employ of the Argent Crusade, who had perished while summoning a challenge for the participants in the fabled Trial of the Crusader. Lulubelle had light green hair and wore what Jon recognized as Gnomish Engineering goggles, which enhanced the wearer's natural vision. She had apparently ordered Jon some roasted barley tea, an import from Pandaria that Jon often drank in the morning. Jon wondered what he had done to earn enough interest that the warlock knew his preferred breakfast drink.
"Thank you for the tea...should I be worried that you know me well enough to have ordered it?" Jon asked with a smile; although early in the morning, his profession and lifestyle had accustomed him to early hours.
"Ah... the Lulu who ordered your drink was not the Lulu of the Black Harvest, so much as the Lulu who is a close friend of Phredaria, your associate. She was good enough to tell me what you might like in the morning... although I confess, I did tease her mercilessly about how she knew what beverage you like to drink first thing in the morning..." The warlock giggled, and Jon found himself relaxing. Phredaria was one of his oldest friends, his forensics mage, and if Phred liked the warlock, Jon was inclined to trust her... to a point.
"Well, it is an unlooked-for kindness nonetheless, Mistress Fizzlebang," Jon commented with a smile.
"You are quite welcome, master Chess," said Lulubelle. "The Black harvest is... sensitive to things that make warlocks as a whole look bad - using Fel magic in medical supplies to randomly kill patients is very bad public relations. I know you know how thin the acceptance of warlocks is in the Alliance; you've been a friend to innocent warlocks on several occasions. it has been noticed, and we are grateful."
Chess pondered this; if it was known to the warlocks, then it was doubtless known to those who persecuted warlocks. Jon made a note to remain vigilant - even paranoids had enemies, after all.
"And you have a personal interest in this case... although you do not know it. We have done our own investigating, and the Fel signature of the contaminated bandages indicates that the warlock who did this is known to you... Miss Belodria Masque."
Jon nodded, unsurprised. "It sounds like her methods, yes... how sure of your information is the Black Harvest?"
"Very sure," confirmed Lulubelle. "Obviously, nothing that would stand up in an Alliance courtroom... but we are certain. We think that the spellbound bandages were designed to kill patients because she is quite annoyed at the ERU for saving some of her victim's lives." All of the illusion of innocence faded from the gnome, leaving only a cold anger. "Stop her, Mister Chess. The Black Harvest considers her an embarrassment, but as she has not broken our covenants, we may do nothing... but neither will you bear any malice from us for ridding us of this annoyance."
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