Wednesday, July 31, 2019

Whispers in the Shadows

The fellow named Jon Chess had fallen asleep and dreamed, as he so often did, of the Void.

Telogrus had been destroyed long ago, leaving only the fragments of that shattering, still seeped in void energies and suspended in space. Jon had visited there as part of a case, a rescue mission to recover a bookseller Ren'dorei that had gifted Jon with several rare scrolls of Arakkoan shadow magic in his quest to learn to harness the Shadows.

Since that day, Jon had dreamed of standing on the rocky surface of a Telogrus shard, meditating on the Shadows. He often heard voices, whisperings, the skittering of eldritch creatures that he could feel pounding against the psychic walls Jon had learned to erect in the Temple of the White Tiger in Pandaria.

After visiting the dark Deepcoil Tunnels and the subterranean Shirakess Depository, hed begun hearing the whispering voices during his waking hours, as well.

"All alone in the depths..." he'd hear the unseen presence whisper. Jon was unsure of what the point of the commentary was; Jon was often alone. Often, Jon preferred being on his own, where any mistake he made would affect only himself.

"Such a heavy burden you carry. Soon you will be free of it"

Jon chuckled.  "Yes," he whispered back into the Shadows. "Poor Jon, a beast of burden... a sad life, and no doubt, a tragic death. Horrible... but at least it has a certain symmetry to it."

"Your crimes are terrible... numberless... glorious..."

"I don't know about numberless... I'm pretty sure that anyone who cared could count that high," Jon would chuckle.

"Your wakening draws near..."

"Anything would be preferable to listening to your blather," Jon mocked the voice.

"Thief. Renegade. Murderer. Servant."

"I see you've read my SI:7 file. Guilty as charged - so what?" Jon challenged. "I've been a thief and a criminal almost my whole life. Murderer? Many times over.  Servant?  We all serve something or someone - I am proud of my service to my Masters, and they are pleased with my service." He listed them in his head - Elling Trias, the spymaster who had molded a street rat into an Agent of Cheese.  Lady Jaina Proudmoore, to whom Trias had given him, who had used him as an agent in first Theramore until its destruction and then again in Kul Tiras.  Princess Tess Greymane, the member of the Unseen who sometimes made use of his talents. Duchess Elaianna Stalsworth, for whom he had worked as an agent when she was the Ambassador from Kul Tiras to Stormwind, and who he had kept faith with thereafter. Hinik and Raysse, the Lord and Lady of the House of Stewards. Jon had, over time, served many masters, and took pride ins serving each with distinction.

"Let go..."

"You first.  Do you think yours is the first voice in my head? The Rook used to tell me worse secrets about myself - and he knew them all, especially those he committed. The shadow priestess who tried to get me to slaughter the Ren'dorei with visions of hatred?  The sayaadi who tried to control me with fantasies of lust and domination? Please... whispers in the Shadows are nothing new to me - I haven't been alone in my head for years, not since the howls of Pyrewood."  Jon laughed, his mirth a booming shockwave in the silence of the Void. "You, whoever and whatever you are, are almost insultingly amateurish."

Jon woke upon the approach of Sina Darkshiv, one of his comrades in the House of Stewards. He sighed.  The whisperer had been correct about one thing - his wakening had drawn near, and it was time to get back to work.

Tuesday, July 30, 2019

Scouting in the Plaguelands

Jon watched Arrenda Webb, the Director of the House of Stewards Scouts division, signal for him to come in from the perimeter sweeps he had been doing since the House of Stewards force had arrived at the burned-out homestead which was being used as a makeshift camp at least for the night.

He was tired, he was sore, and he was lonely.

Jon was tired because he had been part of the scout patrol that had swept the path for the main force of the House of Stewards force. The House of Stewards had come to the Plaguelands to rescue three scouts captured by an enemy force - Jon didn't know anything about the enemy force, but it didn't really matter.  He had pledged himself to the House of Stewards and trusted the Lord and Lady Steward to know their business.  Jon went forward, shrouded in Shadow, with others of the scouting force, led by Arrenda.

The scouts were following a trail, about a score of others. They had trapped their backtrail with explosives and fire elementals; Jon had gotten a good scorching from their fire before the scouts had dispatched them.

They had set up camp near a dilapidated homestead. A score of mercenaries led by a Kul Tirasan commander, plus a pair of mechagnomes had encamped, with a wagon loaded with a device. They had the three scouts as prisoners.

Hinick had consulted and planned the rescue. He led the main force of the House of Stewards engaged the mercenaries while Lady Raysse and Lisana snatched the prisoners using their fel arts. The scouts had been assigned specific targets - Jon's target had been the mechagnome with the deadly-looking rifle.

His assignment had given him a chance to deploy a G99.99 Landshark, a land-based torpedo. The Landshark had locked on to the mechagnome gunner and blown him - with several of the mercenaries - to nothing but a red mist.

Jon had rejoined the scouts as ordered and helped in the fighting retreat. The device in the wagon had detonated, knocking out the arcane-based communication devices. The House of Stewards had sought the ruins of Arrenda's family to serve as a base while they tended their wounds; as Jon had only suffered some superficial burns from the elementals and a graze or two from the Kul Tiran commander's mace, he did the perimeter sweeps until relieved. Jon was too wound up and - to be honest - too paranoid to sleep, and so he sucked down one of this Crimson healing vials and let the alchemy work while he made himself useful.

He was sore from the Kul Tiras mace having scored two glancing blows - Jon was bruised, but nothing had been broken. His leather armor had served, even though the laminated leather pauldrons had been cracked and would need to be replaced.

He was lonely because he missed his wife. Alia Atherton and he had been married in Northshire Abbey just before she had responded to the call from Lady Proudmoore to help her reinforce the tenuous teleportation link between the sunken land of Nazjatar. Jon had been through the portal, carrying food supplies to the encampment at Mezzamere.

The Alliance had struck a potent blow to the Horde at the Battle of Dazar'alor, but not without cost. While pursuing the Horde fleet, Queen Azshara had utilized the power of the Tidestone of Golganneth to open the seas.  The two fleets had wrecked onto the reefs of Nazjatar. Many were lost, but the survivors found allies in the Waveblade Ankoans, fish-men similar to those found in Pandaria. Their base of Mezzamere, centered around a cluster of ancient Kaldorei ruins, was now the base of operations for the Alliance, striking Queen Azshara's naga armies.

The House of Stewards had other assignments for Jon, including a scouting mission to Mechagon, the island of the mechagnomes, newly discovered to the northwest of Kul Tiras.  Jon had not spent any significant time with his new wife since their marriage, but duty - for both of them - was a harsh mistress.

A harsh mistress indeed.


Saturday, July 20, 2019

Scouting Report - Mechagon

((Much RP goodness with Minnie and Cinn, for which they have my thanks!))

From:  Jon Chess
To Director Arrenda

Report: Mechanon Island Reconnaissance

Mechagon is an island located northwest of Kul Tiras and has a similar landscape and fauna as Stormsong Valley.

  • Rustbolt (home to the Rustbolt Resistance) is located on the northeast portion of the island.
  • Junkwatt Depot (the entrance to Mechagon City), is found in the southwestern hills. 
  • Scrapbone Den (inhabited by Troggs) is found in the north in a mountain area festooned with caves.
  • The Toothy Shallows (inhabited by murlocs and pirates) are a set of small cluster islands.
  • Prospectus Bay is near Rustbolt, and the port of entry to the island for the Horde.

History

Before becoming the home of the Mechagon gnomes (called by some "mechagnomes"), the islands were home to at least two other civilizations.

King Mechagon claimed the island, other civilizations once lived upon it. The history of these forgotten people was buried beneath the land.[6] Evidence of two different civilizations appears, with one having been vrykul (founded in the discovery of runestones) and the other tortollan (founded in the discovery of ancient tortollan writings).

Political Summary

King Mechagon was once the king of the Gnomeregan gnomes, who 400 years ago led his followers in search of a mystical land of technology. He left no clues where he was headed and over time his tale became a legend to the gnomes. 

Under the guidance of Walton Cogfrenzy, the underground city of Mechagon City was established. 

Inline with King Mechagon's vision of returning to the Titan ideal perverted by the "curse of flesh", the gnomes began to convert themselves into mechanical hybrids (called cyborgs).

Mechagon's son, Prince Erazmin leads the revolt against his father's planned forced conversion to mechanical life. Currently, the Rustbolt Rebellion welcomes the assistance of both the Alliance and the Horde.

Discovery

Tinkmaster Overspark is the chief architect for modern gnomish engineering principles within the Alliance. He was informed of the existence of a mysterious vault has been discovered in Tiragarde. He led a team into the Vault, and discovered the coordinates of the island, and led an expedition to make the first contact.  The expedition aided the Rustbolt Resistance, and established a welcome for the Alliance on the island as allies.

The Horde discovered the island when Shattered Hand spies brought Gazlowe word of the vault Tinkmaster Overspark had explored and took possession long enough to find the coordinates.  Traveling by submersible, the Horde landed in Prospectus Bay and assisted the Rustbolt Resistance as well.

Flora, Fauna, and Mechanical Analogs


  • Ionized Minnows strip the ocean floors of any food, making it difficult for other species to survive.
  • Sentry Fish surround the island, although it is not clear how they trigger alarms, and if so, to whom.
  • Mecha-Spiders of various sizes, which seem to use an injected venom to capture organic living creatures to drain them of bio-electricity.  These range in size from small rodent-sized creatures to a Mecharantula of enormous size.  The webs of these creatures are made from cables that are spun from recycled metals.
  • Upgraded Sentries are mechagnomes in the service of King Mechagon, and according to Minnie are 99% mechanical.
  • Murlocs occupy the Toothy Shallows chain islands.
  • The toxic pollutants from Mechagon City have created various sludge creatures.
  • Overflight 

Questions Outstanding

  • The Kul Tiras merchant fleet has explored the known world - and this island is almost in sight from Stormsong.  How they missed the existence of an island of this size and resources beggars belief.
  • What caused the vrykul to abandon the island?
  • What caused the tortollan to abandon the island?
  • How did the Horde discover the existence of the Vault in Kul Tiras?  Shattered Hand?  An informant in the gnome community?
  • In Drustvar, a Drust Stele in Highroad Pass depicts a battle between the Drust and small beings resembling gnomes in stature. Mechagnomes?






Friday, July 5, 2019

The song for the next Stormwind Academy Convocation.


They say Azeroth is bleeding
When a warlock soul is born!
The Burning Legion leaving ashes
Demon eyes are full of scorn.

Their armies are coming up the roadside
To the top of Mount Hyjal
We stand in defense of the living
For all will die if we do fall.

We are forty against hundreds
Dwarven shield and axes high
As they climb the narrow roadside
We must stand our ground or die.

Ironforge, I'm coming home
I can see your sides covered in snow
And halls all made of stone
The secrets of your ale that you never will disgorge!
I'm coming home to Ironforge!

Our dear Captain, she lays bleeding
I can hear her calling me!
"Thae men are now yours for the leading
With no hope of victory."

As I look up all around me
Seeing Paladin, Rogue and Priest
Delay the Legion is our mission
And buy them half a day at least.

Ironforge, I'm coming home
I can see your sides covered in snow
And halls all made of stone
The secrets of your ale that you never will disgorge!
I'm coming home to Ironforge!

The morning fog is deep and heavy
They are coming, land and air
Scarlet claws and fangs a-ready
The fear almost more than we can bear

There are no words to be spoken
Just a look to say good-bye.
The demons charge to our position
As we scream Dwarven battle cry!

Ironforge, I'm coming home
I can see your sides covered in snow
And halls all made of stone
The secrets of your ale that you never will disgorge!
I'm coming home to Ironforge!

Lobsterback (02)

  Elisabeta MacTavish The fellow most knew as Jon Chess settled into the comfortable over-stuffed leather chair in his wife's study in B...