((For anyone who wanted to read how this ended since we finished it ingame! I logged it all and then edited it together. Enjoy!))
Grim'un watches as the barmaid departs to take the orders of any other patrons that still might be in the tavern.
“So you were a red head at one time?” He shifts in his seat,
“I could only wonder what you would look like then.” He takes ahold of the handle of the tankard taking a moderate pull of liquor in his mouth
“I fancy polearms they serve a good deal when facing the larger of foes.” Shifting chair to the one beside Zay,
“We seem to be collecting quite a few bottles, I could no longer look into your exotic eyes”Zay smirked, shaking her head and chuckling quietly,
"Red hair and pale skin, it was the fancy of my people- at least once upon a time." She pushed her hand through her hair, clearing it from her face and watching as he moved to the seat closer to hers.
"You better be careful, the eyes can be a dangerous thing."
Grim'un smiles a bit as his emerald orbs from this vantage point take in her entire figure
“I had always wondered why the Sin'Dorei prefer to keep the skin so pale. I thought it had something with the magic they wield.”
Zay nodded,
“I guess you could say that, I believe we started to change from the Kaldorei's looks when we took up the Sunwell.”
Grim'un nods as she speaks
“I sometimes forget that the two elven cultures are...were connected at one point.”Zay chuckled and nodded her head, the hand that had been adjusting her hair moved back to her lap to rest with her other hand.
"Yes, at one point we were all the same. Then again at one point we were all a primitive race of trolls." Her chuckled died away,
"That was many, many thousands of years ago though. Much further in time than anyone alive now can hardly remember."
“Trolls? That I did not know.” He looks back to her face,
“I am sure glad you all do not look like trolls now, I might need a puking bucket next to me just to have this conversation.” Grim lets out a small laugh.
Zay smirked,
“Oh? So you are not just here for my award winning personality?" She smirked at him and laughed, looking back toward the barmaid, motioning her over for another glass of wine.
Grim blinks a bit
“Nah the good looks is a bonus” slips in a quick wink and motions to the barmaid he needed another tankard.
Zay takes the glass as the barmaid walks back and offers it to her. Taking a slow sip she frowned for a moment at the taste but moved past it.
"Nothing I have tasted in this city compares to the wine from Silvermoon, sadly trips there are little complicated." She set the glass back on the table, her hands moving back to her lap as she leaned back in her chair,
"So I do not think you ever told me what it is exactly you and your gang do for a living?"
Grim Leans forward a bit, looking at the female,
“Well we do all sorts of thing, we do not adhere to the rules others do. We pillage, plunder work for whoever pays the highest coin.”
Zay remained where she was as he leaned forward closer to her, her brow rising curiously as she listened to him,
"It sounds as though the guard would be just as fond of you as they are of me."
Grim smiles as she speaks,
“Eff the guards, We kind of pride ourselves not being tied down to the constraints of society. Basically we do what we want, how we want and don't care who gets eff'ed up in the process.”
Zay chuckled and nodded in agreement,
"I try to tell them a picture will last longer, they just adore watching me." She smirked and glanced down to the entrance of the establishment, noting the few who came and went along their way again.
"Seems like a very agreeable way of life, much like the way I have lived my life thus far." Chuckling quietly as she took a deep breath and sighed, picking up her glass once again and taking a longer drink. Keeping it in hand this time as she spoke,
"You seem quite unafraid to speak so freely about it though, do you not worry about who may be listening?”
“Let them listen, Let them confront.” He looks at her,
“They probably would not see light of day again. Now don't get me wrong at the current moment we are working for the kid king, cause a world in chaos is not necessarily profitable. That and if deadlady win we would become the prey.”“Well with any luck we are on the right side of this fight, though Sylvanas is quite the formidable woman to be facing." She chuckled softly, an almost defeated sound to it,
"We Ren’dorei should know, at least those of us who remember a different time for the Windrunner sisters." Her smirk faded as she took another sip of her wine slowly,
"Now here we are, fighting those we once called family and friend."
Grim takes his tankard near mimicking her movement in taking drink,
“I guess it is hard to be fighting one of your peoples former heroes. As was it when we put Arthas down.”Ashton waved down the bartender, smiling at him as he slid him a few copper pieces for a tankard of ale, taking his place at a table downstairs to look over maps.
Grim'un looks at Ashton.
Zay frowned heavily, falling silent for a moment as a gleam of anger flashed through her violet and sapphire eyes,
"There was nothing hard about putting down the Scourge and their king." Pausing for a moment, lifting her glass back to her lips,
"Because of him the entirety of my people were almost destroyed, I barely even survived. I hope he rots where ever he has gone now."
“I see your point, but if you watch what she is doing she is following the same path as he. Once Champion, then something else when they gain power.”
Zay 's brow furrowed as she held tightly to the glass in her hand, her knuckles paling slightly.
"She is easy to kill, the crimes she has committed are unforgivable this time. Ever since she was killed she has never been the same woman- or maybe she has been, I do not care." Lifting the glass to her lips she finished the rest of the wine and set the empty glass back on the table roughly.
"Killing the Sin'dorei who I used to know, although it is few I considered friend, is what is hard."
“Well I do not want to ruin our drink and conversation. Let us agree that both are horrid in their own way.”
Zay took a deep shaky breath and shook her head,
"The genocide commited by the Scourge is a tough topic for many of us who managed to survive through it, many of us did not." Bracing her hands against the table in front of her she leaned forward for a moment and looked at the floor before straightening back up and placing her hands back in her lap,
"Much as the actions of Sylvanas against the Kaldorei people is hard on them. My people had our revenge, and I have decided I will help the Kaldorei get the revenge they deserve." Taking a deep calming breath again,
"Is your group looking to aid the Kaldorei?"Grim tilts his head to the left, taking up the tankard once again taking a good pull,
“I would say we probably will since at this moment the majority of our crew are kaldorei.”“I see, what are their opinions on my people?”“I be honest do not know. Mayhaps one day you can meet with the rest of the family and see for yourself.”Zay nodded, leaning back against her chair and relaxing once again.
"Family?" A small smirk tugged familiarly back at the corners of her dark lips,
"So of what value are these people to you? What is your opinion of them?"Ashton picks up all of his maps and his tankard, seeing how things were getting busy downstairs, heading upstairs to a small table in the back so he could study easier.
Grim watches the other man come up stairs, noticing he was sitting downstairs earlier offers him a nod. Grim looks into her violet hued eyes,
“Do you not have any you can fully rely on?”Ashton smiled to the man sitting at the table, giving him a nod as well, speaking softly in his Kul'Tiran brogue,
"Do not mind me... it is getting busy down there and I need to look at these in peace."Zay glances in the direction of his gaze, noting the man who moved to sit behind her at an adjacent table. Looking back as she heard Grim's voice again,
"I have one or two people." Ashton tilted his head slightly, recognizing the woman possibly,
"Zay?"Zay looked back again and blinked, looking at the man for a moment,
"Ashton, surprised to see you here, I thought you were leaving for Northrend?"Ashton walked over,
"I only went for a slight scouting mission, the real excursion doesn't start for about a month. I was gone for a few days." Ashton leaned on the back of a chair.
Grim looks at Ashton. Grim looks at you.
“Okay I see you two know each other but,” He looks at the male,
“Who the eff are you”Ashton rubbed the back of his head a bit, laughing awkwardly then extending his hand out to the man,
"Ashton Valkor, Order of the Silver Hand... pleasure sir. I was not attempting to sabotage this in any way, mind you."Zay snickered under her breath and looks between Grim and Ashton,
"Please, gentleman, let us try not to be so awkwardly formal. I left formal behind long ago. Take a seat Ashton."Grim looks at the hand, slowly takes it into his on and shakes the man's hand,
“Sabotage what exactly?”Grim nods to Zay
Ashton went to take a seat, the chair making an awkward squeak noise as he pushed it out,
"I assume you two are here on some sort of dinner meeting."“Gotcha.” Ashton sipped a bit as his ale as he then sat it down, setting a couple of rolled parchment sheets on the table beside it.
“Well I was just sitting here minding my own business when this one,” She jabbed a finger playfully toward Grim,
“Decided he liked dangerous purple women and joined me.”“I like dangerous women period. The purple is a delighted bonus.” Grim cracks a smile.
Zay smirks slyly at Grim'un.
Ashton chuckled a bit,
"Being dangerous has its perks sometimes. I met Zay the other day as she was getting accosted by a rather unsightly gnome..."“Long story short, the gnome held me at gunpoint and then a few hours later ran up to me and snapped a few photos then ran off.”"I would like to get my hands on him..."Zay laughed and nodded,
"You and my partner both. I am sure that gnome is going to be found dead of poison before the week is over."“Gnomes are very strange beings.”"They are. But, to the other topic... Our scouting did bear fruit, and the incident we feared is happening. We of the Inquisitors that is."Zay looked back to Ashton,
"So how long until you leave to take care of business?""We leave at the beginning of the new year. We look to be done by the end of that month, into February..."“I see, and what exactly is it you have to do out there? I never thought to ask last we spoke.”Ashton looked at her, then looked at him,
"It's... classified... I am sorry, but if I give out that information, we could be in a lot of danger."Grim nods,
“I can understand that gotta keep things all hush hush.”"We are simply..." Ashton held his hands up in air quotes,
"Investigating a disturbance."Grim looks around
Zay frowned, nodding slowly before looking back to Grim,
"Maybe you can sate my need for answers," She smirked for a moment as she spoke,
"Who should I be looking for within your group to offer my services?" "If you're actually interested in the information Zay... I could tell you, but then I'd have to swear you to secrecy..."Zay waved her hand dismissively at the offer with a shake of her head,
"No, I have little interest in it unless it has to do with the Vykrl that still reside out there." Ashton took in a deep breath as he slowly slid one of the parchment rolls over to her,
"Might want to take a look at that then..."Zay's brow furrowed curiously as she looked at the rolled parchment he slid across the table toward her, opening it slowly to take a look at what he had given her. She observed the map he had handed her, her brow knitting in confusion as she read it over for a long moment in silence.
"What exactly is all of this?" Zay rolled the parchment back up she handed it back to him across the table.
Grim takes ahold the tankard once again finishes the remain drink, setting it back on the table
"As many people thought, they were thought to be wiped out after Arthas fell from his throne... but it seems that they are still active in the area and are on the move..."“What does this have to do with the Vrykul out there though?” "We have intelligence that leads us to believe they are recruiting Vrykul to stage an invasion of the entire continent."“What is there that is of any worth?”Zay frowned, her head tilted to the side curiously for a moment before straightening herself again and leaning forward against the table.
"I was about to ask the same."Ashton unrolled the other parchment, showing them spots all over the map: bluish yellow circles all around the continent,
"There is Azerite up north..."“Great minds think alike.” He shrugs.
Zay smirks slyly at Grim'un.
Ashton sat back down,
"And we think they are in league with Sylvanas to attempt to capture it for the Horde."Zay looked at the spots he pointed out, briefly nodding,
"Yes I suppose that would be valuable to them, as well as the Horde and Alliance." She paused for a moment as she leaned back in her chair again, her gaze disappearing into the distance thoughtfully for a long pause before snapping back to the group.
"I have been doing a great amount of research in Drustvar and I have found many of the Drust runes out there match the Vykul runes we found in Northrend years ago.”Grim looks between the two,
“Seems everyone is going crazy for that stuff.”Zay nods at Grim'un.
“It is a powerful resource.”Ashton nodded,
"That is why we are heading up north to attempt to stop it before it starts... And hopefully we can come back with good news instead of more body bags..."Zay looks at Ashton.
“We are all going to see death more than we care to until this war is ended.”Ashton rolled up both parchments and stuffed them into his bag, taking a long pull from his tankard,
"I fear this war may never end... what with the Banshee Queen pulling out all the stops as she has."Zay chuckled darkly and nodded,
"You may very well be right Ashton, this could be the war to end all wars- and life itself."Ashton nodded,
"Well, if we come to our conclusion during this war, we had a... run. Wouldn't call it good or bad... just a... well, a run."“It all depends on how you spent your time during that run. I have to say mine has not been that bad” Grim looks to Zay,
“And it seems to be picking up again, meeting new people.”Ashton nodded,
"It's been alright. I kind of wish I had become a sailor like my parents wanted me to, but I wanted to be a rebel." Ashton slowly made a fist pump motion with his hand, putting his hand back down.
“There is a lot I am not proud of, but at the end of the day I had fun.” Glancing over to Grim with a smirk,
“At the rate you are moving us purple people will be the death of you.”“Ah now you are flirting.”“I get told that a lot.” Zay smirks slyly at Grim'un.
Ashton looked between the two of them, taking a slow sip of his drink.
Zay waved the barmaid over again,
"Another glass." Watching as the woman wandered off to fetch it,
"This wine will truly be the death of me. A trip to Silvermoon is in order.”Ashton held up his tankard,
"Another for me please... thanks."Grim lets out a laugh a bit,
“Another Ale also.”Ashton sighed, rubbing his head,
"I know as soon as we get up there, we're going to lose our minds due to the cold..."Zay chuckled and nodded her head in agreement,
"I have never been one for the cold personally, Eversong was lovely year round."“It is not that cold, You should be fine.”“Not that cold? You are insane man.”"It's... QUITE frigid. Colder than a woman scorned."Zay crossed her arms against her chest and rubbed her hands against her biceps to warm herself at the thought.
"Even thinking about it is making me chilly." The barmaid came back with their drinks, she took her glass of wine and took a quick sip to warm herself,
"At this rate this wine is going to taste fantastic by the end of the night."Ashton took his ale, holding it up and out to them,
"How about a toast?"“To?”"To new chapters... new beginnings... and hopefully not the last time we will see each other."Zay nodded raising her glass,
"I can drink to that."“I can drink to that.” Grim looks at Zay.
Zay looked at Grim'un.
Ashton lightly tapped his tankard to her glass and his tankard.
“Jinx.”“The void allow you to read minds also.”“That is my little secret.”Grim'un laughs at Zay.
Zay tapped her glass to Ashton's with a chuckle.
Grim Raises his tankard up, he clinks it to theris
Ashton took a small sip of his ale, looking down at it, deep in thought.
Zay taps her drink to Grim's before taking a generous drink.
Ashton set his ale down, looking almost lost.
Zay held her glass in hand, swirling the ruby liquid inside the glass idly in her hand as she looked at Ashton,
"Something wrong?"“To new friends and endeavors” Grim takes a drink, setting the tankard on the table.
Ashton looked up as she said that,
"Huh? Oh... no. I was just thinking about how it's nice to meet such lovely people."Zay laughed, snorting a little as she did so,
"Lovely? I think you are the first person to ever pair that word with me." She smirks slyly at Ashton.
"Well you've not been rude to me, so I consider that lovely, yes."“Well I have to agree with him on the lovely...deadly lovely is more a better word.”Zay laughed again, looking to Grim with a devious smirk,
"Always deadly, I will take the addition to lovely to that." She looked back between the two as she took another sip of her drink,
"Trust me though, I am not always the best company to be kept. I can be quite selfish and blind to those around me. If I am to be brutally honest."Ashton shrugged slightly as he picked up his ale, taking another drink,
"To be perfectly honest, this is the first real conversation I've had with a group of people that were not in the Silver Hand in a bout.... oh I'd say ten years or so?"Zay looks at Ashton.
“That is almost impressive, and sad.”Ashton shook his head,
"I was very into my training."“I would say so.”“Ten years damn they lock you away in a monastery or something?”Zay snickered at Grim'un.
Ashton laughed a bit,
"Something of that sort. Training to become a paladin is hard work... plus after the Broken Shore, I delved into some deeper training and learned the craft I know today."Zay smirked and looked at Ashton,
"I challenge you and say monk training is much harder work, those Pandaren just love to leave you out there in the cold mountains to meditate and freeze to death.""Oh I will not say anything is less hard than what I went through. Everyone goes through their own trials and tribulations! I am sure your training was intense and savage."“The Pandaren have a sick sense of humor, but yet I chose to make Kun'Lai my home.” Ashton took a deep pull of his tankard, setting it back down, nodding as he listened to her story. Ashton looked at Grim'un,
"May I ask you a question?"Grim looks to Ashton,
“Fire away my good man.”Ashton turned to look at him,
"That tabard you are wearing... it's similar to the one a man I met the other day named Laz're wore... and another friend of mine named Celeste had... Are you all a part of the same cadre?"“Laz're and Celeste eh.....yes I do.” Zay glanced between the two with a small shrug, the tolling of the bells. Finish her glass she went to stand up, steadying herself for a moment.
"Seems I have forgotten the time and I have somewhere to be. You two gentlemen play nice while I am away." She smirked and chuckled.
Ashton looked at Zay with a nod, holding up his tankard.
Grim stands as she does, outstretched his hand asking for hers,
“I know you said no formalities. But my dead mother would turn in her grave if I do not.”Zay looked to Grim, taking his hand as he held it out.
"Hopefully we will see each other again soon, and we can not have the dead rising against us again." She chuckled and released his hand, looking to Ashton,
"Stay safe should I not see you again before you leave for Northrend."Ashton nodded,
"The same to you, madam."Grim raises her hand to his lips, he kisses the back of her fore and middle finger gently,
“Pleasure meeting you Deadly Lovely Purple Lady.”Zay smirked at Grim, before leaving the two.
"Stay safe you two."Grim'un whistles at Zay.