The Mistress' Scribe
Posts: 1
Joined: Thu Nov 01 2007, 02:41PM Registered Member #49
The Stonefire Tavern was a cacophony of voices of various travelers – some coming, some going, some waiting to be hired on as mercenaries for raids to plunder the treasures of recently discovered dungeons, others looking to fill slots in war parties to fight Horde encroachment in distant locales such as Warsong Gulch. Even more adventurers sought aid in quests to protect various kingdoms within the Alliance from internal threats. Ironforge itself was considered by many to be the de facto hub for travel, culture, and commerce in the Eastern Kingdom, and as such was often anything but quiet. And if there was any one part of the dwarven city that signified its own boisterous nature, Stonefire Tavern was indeed that place.
Quiet, peaceful locales may often be considered more productive for matters that require serious contemplation, but Nythyrra was so burdened by her current dilemma that she could be sipping her mug of moonberry juice in the middle of a war zone and the dissonance would have done very little to change her demeanor. Issues that involve politics did very little to lighten her mood, and her current situation was more political than anything else. Her current guild, Signum Incognitus, was formed less than a year ago by a band of like-minded adventurers under the premise that its membership would aid each other with various endeavors without the challenges (many of which being political) that beset so many adventuring guilds. Nythyrra couldn’t say that she was unhappy with her former guild as such, but many of her friends and adventuring companions were forming this new guild, and Nythyrra could never pass up the opportunity to take on a new challenge. When the guild formed, Nythyrra was more than happy to be just a member and do her share – but when there was a shake-up in the leadership and she was called upon to become an officer, she dutifully stepped up to the plate and did what she felt was expected of her – a decision that she was now coming to regret.
It wasn’t that she didn’t like the guild or performing her duties, but she did feel that there were some things in life that she was good at and some things she wasn’t – and Nythyrra was a great believer in the hunter’s axiom that matters that can’t be resolved by putting enough arrows through them are best left alone. It was at times like this that she was glad that she often didn’t endure many of her burdens or adventures alone. And if there was ever a time for her to lighten her mood by moving nimble elvish hand to flick a finger-full of juice into the face of her long-time traveling companion, it was now.
Khlindria (or “Kel” as she was often called by those close to her – and with a perverse sort of pleasure by Nythyrra) blinked with a mild flitter of frustration as she quickly scrambled to prevent several drops of the moonberry juice from falling onto her newly acquired codex. She had considered herself to have come a long way since her early days in the vineyard country by the Northshire Abbey were she grew up and eventually learned the ways of The Light before her home was overrun by The Defias Gang. As a Priestess of the Cathedral of Light, she had always been taught that she should provide comfort for those in need of The Light’s blessing, strength to those who challenged the darkness, and guidance for all those who might stray from the path of righteousness. While Khlindria never believed she had cause to doubt the precepts which defined the path she’d chosen to walk, she did, on occasion, feel justified in questioning the choice itself. In her estimation, Nythyrra had a good heart and a strong, kind spirit – a goodness and strength aided by her strong sword-arms and her pet Snowflake that had saved all their lives frequently during their various adventures. But in Khlindria’s eyes, Nythyrra also had a tendency more often than not to simultaneously fit all three requisites of those in need of the Priest’s calling. That to this point the only positive discernable influence that Kel believed she was having on Nythyrra was keeping the trio alive during their various adventures made her wonder if she was as truly devoted to The Path as she believed she should be. Or if she should have simply devoted her skills to studies in the ways of the arcane. Considering the expense to her person and resources she’d gone through to acquire her now freshly-stained codex from the dragon infested depths of the ruins of Temple of Atal'Hakkar, Kel felt that the ability to turn her long-time best friend into a sheep – even if just for a brief moment – would in some way be satisfying (if not beneficial) to at least one of them.
“I want to change the tabard”, Nythyrra said matter-of-factly once she was confident that she had the full attention of her favorite audience. “I never really cared for the blue and gold. And the thunderbolts are common and tacky – it seems like every second or third guild you see here in Ironforge has that crest. I know – how about an entirely new crest? And new colors too! Say… something in black and silver?”
“You want to change the tabard? You want to change the tabard?” Khlindria normally exuded the serenity that typified the demeanor held by most priests, but the fact that her already tenuous concentration had been shattered and her codex damaged (albeit minimally) before she could master it’s divine secrets had aroused her ire. “The truce between the Alliance and Horde is shattered. Open warfare has broken out in several areas. Remnants of the Burning Legion still roam unchallenged through The Plaguelands, The Argent Dawn is calling for new adventurers to stem the tide against the insurgencies in Scholomance and Stratholme. Something is definitely out of place with the political workings of Stormwind Keep, and your own people are still fighting to stem the corruption of Teldrassil. Add to that the fact that our own membership is either is scattered hither and yon or completely directionless between The Two Kingdoms – and the most important thing you can think of doing… is changing the tabard…?!?”
“Well… yes!”, Nythyrra replied enthusiastically. “You know, if you’d take a moment to lift your face out of those musty tomes of yours oh great and wise ‘Madame-Look-At-the-Big-Picture’, you’d realize that you and I are the only two active officers in the entire guild at the moment.”
Kel was taken aback by that bit of news. There comes a point in the career of every adventurer where they learn all that the trainers in their chosen paths are capable of teaching – and Kel and Nyth were both quickly approaching that point. Ever being one to strive to improve herself, Khlindria took the next logical step – the pursuit of adventures that would gain her items and knowledge beyond that which was available from mundane resources. But she had not realized that the situation with her guild had deteriorated so far in her absences. Signum Incognitus had close to a dozen officers when it initially formed. There were plans made, and plans un-kept, comings and goings, adventures had, help given – and disagreements – all of which Khlindria felt was common to most organizations of adventurers in Azeroth. All of which she thought she’d kept herself abreast of. But Khlindria hadn’t let it occur to her that not only was the guild lacking in leadership and structure, it was also lacking in numbers – particularly in comparison to many of the guilds who passed through or based their operations in Ironforge. Kel saw her role both in adventuring parties and in her guild as one of support and not necessarily initiative, the weight of the responsibility suddenly weighed more heavily on her soul than she ever thought it would. Certainly more heavily than the appearance of the guild crest.
“Don’t look at me like that. This situation isn’t my fault.” Kel carefully slid her foot out from under Snowflake’s tail – and while ignoring the low throaty growl of the white-on-white speckled snow leopard that she felt would be better kept in the local stable than under the bench upon which she was sitting – gave Nyth a sharp, knowing glance. “This situation isn’t my fault!” Snowflake purred softly as she slinked silently away from Kel’s ankle at the beckoning of her master. “Isabeau took over the guild when Stack abdicated. Then Isabeau decided to fall in love with Harlowe. Then Isabeau decided to marry Harlowe. Now Isabeau and Harlowe are gonna have a little narl. I think that’s great! I have a narl myself, though she’s not so little. So now Isabeau is at their place in Goldshire waiting to have the narl, and we get to make the decisions regarding the guild. If you feel the need to blame someone”, Nyth spoke with a wry smile, “blame Harlowe. I do.”
In spite of herself, Khlindria managed to smile as she closed the cover of the codex, ceding the point that if the surrounding din did not do more to break her concentration than a pitched life-or-death battle, Nythyrra’s constant interruption would certainly put and end to any spiritual enlightenment she planned to gain tonight. All to often Khlindria found Nythyrra’s rationale a bit challenging to follow, but this time decided to let it pass. She was happy for her friend – in fact, Isabeau had been the one who encouraged Khlindria to venture out and use her gifts beyond the borders of the Northshire Abbey, and showed her the ways of mining and smithing so that she could not only make money for herself, but contribute in a significant way to the guild by providing armor and superior crafted weapons – especially since the guild was short on blacksmiths in general and swordsmiths in particular. An odd choice of professions for a priest to be sure, but Kel appreciated the contribution to the greater whole that she was making – and so far her companions never failed to provide her with support whenever she needed it. And for good or ill, Isabeau had also been the one to introduce Khlindria to Nythyrra and set them out on their adventures together. While Kel had not decided whether to thank or blame Isabeau for that last, she was more than happy that the woman who was her friend and sometimes mentor had found love and happiness in these perilous times. Even if it did leave her in something of a predicament.
“I wonder what they’re doing for money?” Nythyrra pondered aloud. “Harlowe’s not exactly the farming type.”
Kel chuckled to herself at that. In her mind, a rogue’s idea of making money was picking a mark’s pockets, then stabbing them in the back and taking the rest. “In the last letter she wrote to me she said she was taking up skinning and leatherworking to make ends meet. I didn’t see Isabeau digging in Fargodeep or swinging a blacksmith’s hammer being as far along as she is.”
“Hee hee… Harlowe must be killing the wolves and goretusks and dragging their carcasses back into the house for her to skin,” Nyth mused.
“Or, Light forbid – she’s out nerfing them herself with Harlowe in tow. Isa always was one to take any challenge head on. That seems to be the Paladin’s preferred method for dealing with every situation. Besides – even retired adventurers can live like royalty for quite some time compared to commoners. And if Isa’s anything, she’s practical. Oh drat!”
“What now? Don’t tell me you’re worried that Isa and Harlowe are going to go broke? You worry too much – even for a human.”
“No, it’s not that,” Khlindria replied with a newfound sense of dread. I just realized that I’m the only active blacksmith in the guild.”
“You DO worry too much – even for a human. Instead of focusing on things you can’t change, can’t control, and don’t need to control – what you should do is relax and focus on something you can. I’ve got an appointment with the tabard vendor in the Ironforge Visitor’s Center in a few minutes. So what do you think – white or silver?”
“Sheep”, Khlindria murmured.
“Huh?”
“Nothing.”
“Fine. If you’re so bound and determined to dwell on politics, how do you propose we deal with the guild’s current problems?”
“Well,” Khlindria replied, “clearly the order of leadership needs some form of redundancy. Granted every guild needs a Guildmaster, but maybe we can augment that by having a council of members who’s task it will be to track the membership, be aware of their skills and training so that they can help one another gain skills and abilities more quickly. They would also be responsible for guild events.”
“Like dungeon raids and loot runs?”, Nyth asked.
“Well.. those too, Oh She Who is Perpetually Broke. But I was thinking more along the lines of gatherings where the council would tap the guild bank for mats, and members would bring mats from grinding and pool it like a pot luck. Then they would use their profession skills to make potions, armor, weapons or enchantments to either be used immediately or banked for future use. That would everyone productive more quickly and make the guild more productive as a whole.”
Khlindria went on. “The council would also make members aware of goings-on throughout Azeroth and form parties of appropriate experience and dispatch them to deal with relevant concerns in the various kingdoms – like the gnoll encroachment in Redridge for example. Members would learn the value of cooperation and teamwork without having to constantly rely on teaming up with another stray adventurer.”
Nythyrra pondered for a moment. “So the Guildmaster would just be a figurehead then? ” “No, not necessarily”, Khlindria replied. “In theory the Guildmaster would participate in and validate council activities. The organization just wouldn’t be dependent on one person doing everything it takes to make the guild run smoothly. Then perhaps as an added layer of stability, the council could have advisors – people in the field with varying levels of experience who didn’t participate in the political workings of the guild as such but instead participated in the activities I mentioned before and give a voice to the membership in council chambers.”
Nythyrra sipped the rest of her moonberry juice as she considered her friends words, and reminded herself that aside from her tremendous healing skills and her ability to call souls back from beyond the veil, these useful insights were among the numerous reasons she chose to align her destiny with this human’s. But there were still a few significant details to be worked out.
“Not a bad bit of thinking”, Nythyrra replied. “But a council of two leaves us with a lot of work. I know we eventually have to expand the membership to people we aren’t familiar with, but I’m not keen on the notion of total strangers on this ruling council.”
Khlindria paused and considered. “As it happens, I’ve been corresponding with several aspiring adventurers in Northshire that are showing a lot of promise. One in particular I’ve been mentoring shows the potential of being able to handle the challenges we’ve discussed. I’m confident I can convince all of them to join our guild, and my protégé to join sit on the council once she’s gained some more field experience.”
“That’s great! You know, I think I can convince Bugghoti to be on the council too. That way policy will be in the hands of people we know – us.”
Khlindria felt more than a little trepidation at this possibility. It wasn’t that she didn’t like the dwarf – quite the opposite – and as a fellow priest she had great respect for his abilities. But Khlindria suspected that whatever the extent of the relationship between Nythyrra and Bugghoti, it went beyond the scope of the shameless acts of mutual public flirtation the two were notorious for engaging in. For too long a moment she considered the anatomical discrepancies she suspected existed between Dwarf males and Night Elf females, shuddered, and decided to focus on how this dalliance would affect their political performance. She had to admit (if to no one but herself) that they worked well together in the field, and perhaps if given a chance they will perform equally as well together in matters of governance. Success, Kel thought, is often born out of diversity – and if this is truly so then she stood on the threshold of great things.
“I guess that will get us off to a good start. After all this time we still need to draft and ratify a charter. And there’s the logistics of open recruitment to consider. And we still have to run all this past Isabeau.”
Nythyrra stood up to leave, Snowflake attentively in tow. “I’m not worried about it Kel. I’m sure that after a few hours of poring over a couple of your musty tomes you’ll come up with something. After all,” Nythyrra said with a wry elvish grin, “it’s what you’re best at.”
Wishing briefly that turning elves into sheep was a talent she excelled at, Khlindria replied, “No… getting us out of messes that you get us into is what I’m best at.” She grabbed her codex and headed to the room she’d rented for the night and pondered on the possibilities that the future might bring. As she spied her friend heading towards the mailbox just outside the tavern, an epiphany hit Kel as strong as a burst of Holy Smite:
Remotoons inc.
Posts: 120
Joined: Sat Jun 23 2007, 08:22PM Registered Member #27
I forgot about this story
To All Non-Pet Owners Who Visit & Like to Complain About Our Pets
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