The fellow many new as Jon Chess was up before the sun. Silently, he slid from the bed, careful not to disturb his mage bedfellow, who not only slept rather soundly but also lightly snored. "I don't know which of you Titans I must have pleased with my actions, but whichever of you are responsible... my gratitude," he said to himself as he covered his scarred and burned torso with mageweave and leather. It probably took him another five minutes to check and ensure that his usual sets of tools - smoke grenades, blinding powder, lockpicks, crimson healing vials, thin mithril wire garottes, and a plethora of envenomed throwing spikes were present and secured; he had undressed in somewhat of a hurry, eager to join his guest in the sleeping furs.
Some might say that he was paranoid. His instructors at Ravenholdt would have said "prepared".
When Miss D'Arque awoke from the scents in the air, she was alone. A tray on the side table next to the bed held an egg, Dalaran sharp cheese, and spinach scramble, with well-done rashers of bacon and fried slices of potato. A strong Kaldorei green tea had been prepared and sat waiting with fresh cream and sweet honey.
While Melissa enjoyed a lazy breakfast in Stormwind, Chess was himself strapped in the saddle of a griffon he had engaged for a long flight first to Thelsamar and then to Southshore. The area around Southshore was known as the Hillsbrad Foothills and was one of the few areas left in Lordaeron that had not already been over-run with the Forsaken. Several small farming communities yet flourished, supplying both Southshore and the remnants of Stromgarde in Arathi with produce and game meat. Jon was a regular visitor, delivering shipments of cheese as a cover for his regular visitations to the nearby mountain estate of Ravenholdt, where he had been trained in the arts of deception and assassination.
Southshore was also the last place that his compatriot and occasional lover Melissa D'Arque had reported as the likely best place to pick up the trail of her younger brother, Darren. The Syndicate had taken Melissa from the family home and recruited her to be trained as a mage for their criminal organization, promising that Melissa's mother and brother would be protected. Eventually, Melissa had left the Syndicate with Jon's help, and now she had again enlisted is assistance in locating her brother.
Jon had, with Melissa's help, created a sketch in charcoal of what a twenty-year-old Darren D'Arque would look like; whether or not it was an accurate likeness was, of course, highly suspect. He had also sketched Melissa's mother, but again, the source of his information was the memory of a much-younger Melissa. Melissa had been able to discover that she did not think that when Darren and their mother had left Alterac that they had gone to Hillsbrad and Arathi, but Jon would start at the beginning, and that meant finding their home just outside the mostly deserted ghost town of Strahnbrad, which served as a stronghold of the Syndicate.
Finding missing people was perhaps one of the hardest tasks for an investigator, especially in troubled times. With the destruction of Alterac and the rise of the Syndicate, and then the depredations of the Forsaken and the Horde, mass migrations of refugees were the rule and not the exception. Jon was armed only with a pair of sketches of dubious accuracy, and finding the D'Arques would involve what Ravenholdt referred to as bootwork; talking with people who might have seen them, helped them, sold them food or drink.
The long-cold flight to Southshore was the easy part and just the beginning.
Some might say that he was paranoid. His instructors at Ravenholdt would have said "prepared".
When Miss D'Arque awoke from the scents in the air, she was alone. A tray on the side table next to the bed held an egg, Dalaran sharp cheese, and spinach scramble, with well-done rashers of bacon and fried slices of potato. A strong Kaldorei green tea had been prepared and sat waiting with fresh cream and sweet honey.
While Melissa enjoyed a lazy breakfast in Stormwind, Chess was himself strapped in the saddle of a griffon he had engaged for a long flight first to Thelsamar and then to Southshore. The area around Southshore was known as the Hillsbrad Foothills and was one of the few areas left in Lordaeron that had not already been over-run with the Forsaken. Several small farming communities yet flourished, supplying both Southshore and the remnants of Stromgarde in Arathi with produce and game meat. Jon was a regular visitor, delivering shipments of cheese as a cover for his regular visitations to the nearby mountain estate of Ravenholdt, where he had been trained in the arts of deception and assassination.
Southshore was also the last place that his compatriot and occasional lover Melissa D'Arque had reported as the likely best place to pick up the trail of her younger brother, Darren. The Syndicate had taken Melissa from the family home and recruited her to be trained as a mage for their criminal organization, promising that Melissa's mother and brother would be protected. Eventually, Melissa had left the Syndicate with Jon's help, and now she had again enlisted is assistance in locating her brother.
Jon had, with Melissa's help, created a sketch in charcoal of what a twenty-year-old Darren D'Arque would look like; whether or not it was an accurate likeness was, of course, highly suspect. He had also sketched Melissa's mother, but again, the source of his information was the memory of a much-younger Melissa. Melissa had been able to discover that she did not think that when Darren and their mother had left Alterac that they had gone to Hillsbrad and Arathi, but Jon would start at the beginning, and that meant finding their home just outside the mostly deserted ghost town of Strahnbrad, which served as a stronghold of the Syndicate.
Finding missing people was perhaps one of the hardest tasks for an investigator, especially in troubled times. With the destruction of Alterac and the rise of the Syndicate, and then the depredations of the Forsaken and the Horde, mass migrations of refugees were the rule and not the exception. Jon was armed only with a pair of sketches of dubious accuracy, and finding the D'Arques would involve what Ravenholdt referred to as bootwork; talking with people who might have seen them, helped them, sold them food or drink.
The long-cold flight to Southshore was the easy part and just the beginning.
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