Into the Mountain

Fal has been pestering me about another story, or at least his way he keeps saying " human you started telling these tales might as well continue." Then he goes into that gruff laughter of his race, always reminds me of stones falling down a mountain side. So for this tale as my short friend calls these it was a time when the whole gang was together. We had been pursuing dragonkin and Orcs in and around what was once the redridge area but is now referred to as the burning steppes.

Just as a point of reference i will quickly go over the shy folks that help fill out the gang as brat boy named them. Brat boy my affectionate name for Carack, whom I have known the longest of any of these fine folks that share the road with me. We meet in a different time and place for both of us, and by mutual agreement we don't talk about what once was back when the Undercity was our beautiful home and we had a Prince and a King. Carack is a spy, assassin, and sometimes thief that can blend in to almost any situation and literally almost disappear. He is our main source of information about what is going on in the world. As a collector of magical items and rare cloth he seems somehow undangerous, so he gleans information for people that they didn't even know they let slip. Next I would like you to meet Padrad I'm never sure if he's a cousin of Fal's or not, what I can tell you is that he also is from Ironforge and apparently was according to Fal overly influenced by two major events in his life. The kings call to follow his brother Bran's explorations concerning the titans and the according to Fal the Gnome invasion of Ironforge. Somewhere he manage to get a pet gorilla just like Bran's and he loves to tinker with his devices sometimes they work wonderfully and sometimes not so much. Then we have Fanabb a nightelf one of the last ones to join us a man of deep mystery and subtle magics. He has words of healing and words of pain, he like all of his long lived race is still mostly a mystery to me but he is a fine companion none the less.

Now to more fully set the time frame for you folks, this was a time when the King of Stormwind was still missing and his son was the prince regent with his advisor Lady Prestor. Unsettled in the human lands barely begins to describe what it was like. So Carack hears some tale about a Marshall of the alliance army being held captive in the dark iron dwarf strong hold of Black Rock Mountain. Fal and Paddy start cursing in dwarven about something called ragnaros and the vile nature of the darks in general and how they wanted to usurp Ironforge and are ready to fly into the fortress right then even if was to save someone they had never meet. We decide that we need to free this man if he still lives simply to get him out of the clutches of people who will torture and kill him for the hope he has some useful information.

Now for anyone who hasn't ventured into that Mountain fortress it is a daunting place with great dark iron gates that one must pass first to even enter then a tight rope walk across a chain suspended over molten lava to the Island where you find passage and stairs. We first entered a crypt type room at the top of this suspended island and both Fanabb and I sensed a restless spirit, but that is a different tale and one best told in the full light of day. As you move through the fortress you enter the quarry where slaves toil to keep digging out building stone and the dark ore that seems only to be found here. Being only a small party and not a full fledged invading army we slowly made our way through the outer quarry. Carack,Fal and I using skillful blows to the heads to knock senseless these slaves made our way to the prison area.

The prison like the rest of this fortress is a honeycomb maze of tunnels and rooms dug out of this mountain. We didn't have to worry about being silent anymore as the pitiful wails and moans of the prisoners was near deafening. This might have been the one thing that helped us that we didn't plan on. Fal gave a soft chuckle and turned to Carack and said that he wouldn't need to slit as many throats today as he shrugged his shoulders to seat his armor and ready his massive weapons. Paddy tossed a snack to his gorilla, Fanabb said a prayer to his goddess and I strapped on my shield. We made our way carefully through this maze avoiding patrols when we could and trying to use doorways and outcroppings of rock to descend on our targets as fast as we could and leave the dead where they couldn't be found. Carack disappeared ahead looking for something that would lead us to the right area of this deadly maze when he over heard a gaurd address a troll as inquisitor or questioner and hoped he would have information we needed.

He came back to tell us what he had heard and also let us now what he intended to do. Looking at Fal with a evil gleam in his eye his said " I do have one throat to cut today. You wanna kill his buddies while I do it?" and quietly chuckled coldy. Fal didn't miss a beat he just a calm and coldy replied just make sure to be done when i start the steel whirling boy. Swinging two of these I sometimes don't look real close as to who I'm hitting as long as I'm hitting something. So we move our group into position Carack seemingly disappears only to almost instantly appear behind his target, a dead troll he just doesn't know it yet. Knowing what was coming I still didn't see it. Anything of value on the Inquisitor was gone, his throat slit and Carack back behind me. Then trolls companions turn and see me standing there and made there death mistake instead of running away they ran towards me. Feet set shield ready I took the charge of the group knowing that death was waiting on them Fal, Paddy and Carack each take a offensive position and in seconds the 4 are dead. It is scary what that dance of maces, daggers and bullets do so quickly to their targets.

We slowly approach the door and we hear sounds coming from inside. A man's voice claiming that he will unmask this foul dragon plot and see Stormwind free. Thinking we had found a mad man if nothing else we open the prison door and see a man talking to what appeared to be a floating dragon head, The dragon head slowly turned to us and laughed and said well maybe we will meet but I'm pretty sure it will take more than you 5 to kill me. The imagine then blinked out of existence. The man standing there had been beaten and the gods know what else done to him came to attention and stated. " I'm Mashall WIndsor and now we will get my armor and weapons and we will unmask the dragon plot in Stormwind."

Well the hour grows late and this tale will have to be finished another time.