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A string of murders. All with an unsettling connection. What does it mean?
“Coffee, Horusen?”
“Ah, it would be a true pleasure.”
Elrizan stepped to their small kitchen, brewing two cups of coffee. For the past two weeks, him and his draenei companion were taking residence in Old Town, a small remnant of villages from historical old Stormwind. The House of Nobles insisted on keeping this area around, as sort of a boast to any orc that spied their city from on high that Stormwind would never be truly gone.
The Stormwind guard were informed by the Highlord of the Silver Hand paladins that they must treat his investigator with utmost respect and to provide a place of rest for him and his companion during their investigation. To be given a house in Old Town was surprising, but at the same time not. Even though the command center is just a few steps away, you also have cutthroats who couldn’t work in the rogue’s order, beggars, and those who would do anything to feed themselves for the next day. This isn’t exactly a place you raise a family.
As the coffee finished being prepared, Elrizan filled up two cups, put cream in one and both cream and sugar in the other, and walked over to Horusen. Still dressed in a strange assortment of cloth, though with gloves off, the paladin was busy examining multiple maps and logs, massaging his mustache as he poured himself into his work.
He was brought back to reality as he heard the cup be placed on the table. “Ah, coffee. A true pick-me-up in my frankly-exhausted state.” Horusen smiled as he took the cup in his hand.
“Not just any coffee.” Elrizan smirked, confidence brimming from his demeanor. “This came from the Pandaria region. I believe some yak-riders grow them. Supposedly it’s made specifically to dull alcohol in your blood. Makes it easier to drink more, I guess.”
Horusen took a drink and smiled. “Ah hah...I can feel my tension relaxing. This is good! I will need this boost for tonight as I pour my soul into these documents.”
“Yeah, I was...wanting to ask about that.”
“Hm?” Horusen took a look at his friend.
“Well...it’s been two weeks. We haven’t really found anything really solid in our investigation.”
“Ah, Elrizan! You are mistaken, we know everything!” Horusen leaned back, taking a sip of his coffee as he toyed with a quill pen in his hand. “Over the past month, a mysterious event takes place where multiple people are whisked away, never to be seen again. A common thread, barring one circumstance, is that draenei men are usually the ones taken. Our most recent lead is a draenei by the name of Mamail, only a more recent arrival to the city. We know from this that the criminal is not selecting based on past grievances with the victims, but are selecting based on draenei males themselves.”
Elrizan stared at his companion for a moment, his glowing eyes piercing the draenei. “Yes. That is exactly, word-for-word, what the captain told you two weeks ago. They’ve laid it all on us, and we have nothing to show for it.” He took a sip of his own coffee.
“Investigations take time, my friend.” Horusen grinned, almost uncomfortably. “It is key that we understand everything we can before jumping in all willy-nilly!”
“Yes, but we haven’t even considered possible motives or-” Elrizan took a look at the documents. There were a few books with bookmarks placed inside, but none looked like they were opened for a while. There was also a distinct lack of notes from the past few days. His roguish attention to detail was rewarded with a few fresh notes from Horusen plainly noting “escape”.
Elrizan narrowed his eyes, then looked at Horusen. “You intend on running away?” He took a sip of his coffee.
“W-what? Of course not!” Horusen shifted, his leg accidentally hitting the table, causing a few items to move. He was able to catch his drink before it fell on any notes. “I am surmising possible escape routes...for the culprit!”
“Hm.” Elrizan frowned. Horusen was many things, but a coward wasn’t one of them. He was wild for danger to the point that it had sometimes put a strain on their business ties. Still, something was definitely up with his esteemed colleague. “And yet I feel like you’ve been in this house for days without actually going out and securing said places.”
“I’ve been out!” Horusen shifted in his chair. “Why, just two days ago, I went over to the local weapons shop and purused their selection.”
“They have junk. They have always had junk and there was no reason to go there.” Elrizan stared at the draenei, taking a sip of his drink before speaking his next line coldly. “We had a deal, remember?”
“I...hmph...” Horusen sighed, knowing that the argument was already over.
Some 4 years back, when Horusen and Elrizan agreed to their mutually beneficial journey, they made it clear that rewards were split 50-50 and they were to keep an agreed promise among the two. For Elrizan, he made it clear that any method he may use to further their goals was not to be judged by Horusen’s principles. While for Horusen, he made Elrizan promise to always be forthcoming with troubles.
And while Horusen has repeatedly utilized Elrizan’s agreement against him by guiding the rogue into agreements that didn’t necessarily have his best interests in mind, Elrizan had never really had to do the same.
Horusen sighed. “Fine, yes, I may be...a little concerned.”
“About the killings being draenei men?”
“About how there’s nothing!” Horusen tapped the map. “You’ve told me you’ve looked everywhere and tried any connections you had for clues, but they’ve heard of nothing.” The draenei looked to the books beside him. “Even the tomes I’ve looked through regarding possible magics taking the draenei away have been fruitless.”
“We can’t also toss out the possibility of demons.”
“Demons are covert, yes, but they would sooner raze the city to the ground than single out draenei like this.”
“So you think this is more insidious.”
Horusen looked to the elf and nodded. “Yes. I don’t know how or what, but there’s something rotten in this city. And the fact that I don’t know vexes me!” He scattered some pages to the air, shouting once in frustration.
Elrizan studied the draenei, then grabbed one piece of paper from the air. On it was a few notes regarding one of the missing draenei. Looking on it, he saw the name Mamail. Ah, it’s the most recently missing one.
He studied the page for a moment, He saw that he had only recently gotten into town and took on an apprenticeship with one of the tailoring shops in town. Well, it was more of a class than anything, with multiple people in it.
He saw the name Ashe and frowned. He knew already that his cousin was involved in this situation. He hadn’t actually spoken to her yet, though. Horusen hadn’t left, and Elrizan was usually one to keep to the shadows. Then again, he also hadn’t talked to anyone in his family for many years.
“So you don’t want to leave this place because you don’t want to get tangled up in something you can’t fight. I get that.”
“Ah, if the Highlord knew of this trepidation, he would have never elected me to this sensitive investigation.” Horusen sighed in frustration, his hand absently toying with one of his face tentacles.
“I feel as though he knows you well enough that he trusts you in this.” Elrizan gave the draenei a signature forced smile. “Plus, helping Stormwind tends to net you a pretty sizeable reward.”
“I suppose.” The draenei looked to the ceiling, pouting. “But I still don’t understand what we’re missing.”
“Well, let’s think about this from our most recent disappearance.” Elrizan placed the piece of paper on the table. “We know that Mamail entered Stormwind about a week before his disappearance and took part in a class.”
“Yes. Stormwind’s guards have already talked to them in length. None of them had anything of substance to say.”
“Yes, but this is our most concrete lead. We have names of people Mamail had interacted with in-between the arrival and the disappearance. I say we take a look.”
The draenei studied the elf, then the note. He nodded. “Sure. It wouldn’t hurt for the investigators to keep up appearances, yes?”
The Next Day
Horusen and Elrizan stepped into the Mage’s Quarter, taking a look at their maps. The tailoring shop where the draenei first took a job, Duncan’s Textiles. It looked as though the apprentices in the shop were hard at work.
Elrizan didn’t seem keen on entering first, so he elected to allow Horusen to take the lead, which the draenei was glad to abide.
As he stepped in, the owner saw him and smiled. “Ah, welcome to Duncan’s. I’m Duncan Cullen. How can I help you?”
“Ah, yes, good day.” Horusen smiled. “I was hoping I could talk to you, Mr. Cullen.”
“Ah, of course!” Duncan smiled. “For what reason?”
“I am Horusen. This is my colleague. We have been elected as Stormwind’s investigators regarding a recent disappearance, which I believe was an apprentice at this establishment.” Horusen replied, sticking his chest out and attempting to look confident.
The confidence was slowly dissipated as he looked around. The apprentices had all stopped their work and were looking at him uncomfortably.
“Ah.” Duncan frowned. “All due respect, gentlemen, I believe myself and my team have discussed this enough with the guard. They should have notes.”
“Of course, of course.” The draenei smiled uncomfortably. “However, I wanted to confirm-”
As the draenei attempted to broker a chance for more questions, Elrizan took a look around. The shop looked very homey. There was clear care put into this establishment. As he peered over to the side, he saw the apprentices all paused. The gnome and worgen looked perturbed at the draenei and the pandaren was attempting to distract herself from the duo. However, it was Ashe that was looking straight at Elrizan, which caused him to look away. He frowned, figuring that he should have put a hood up over his face today.
“I understand your position. I truly do.” Duncan frowned. “We all have been put on the record. Please, leave us be so we can move on..”
The draenei sighed. “Fine, I understand. But please, this is the most recent event and it is important that we...” He took a passing glance at the apprentices, then smiled uncomfortably. “Oh, very well. You all have a good day. I apologize for intruding.”
“Well, that was a waste of time.”
Horusen stood at the entrance to the Mage’s Quarter, frowning. “Why would they not want to help us?“
Elrizan let out a deep breath. “It’s because they know what happened to him.”
“Ah!” Horusen pounded his fist into his palm. “Duncan did it!”
“No...no, Horusen.” Elrizan shook his head. Even though they couldn’t rule out the possibility, he still didn’t feel like this was the case. “What I mean is, they know what we suspect. That he was murdered. And they don’t want to be involved.”
Horusen sighed. “You may be right. If I knew there was murder involved, I would watch my step as well.”
“Which also means that they suspect there’s someone they know involved with it.” Elrizan nodded. “And now that we’ve watered that seed of doubt, we must wait for something to...sprout.”
Elrizan looked over to the gateway. There stood Ashe, her glowing eyes slightly brighter than usual, shining through her eyeglasses. She was looking at the elf with a mix of emotions that he could not really describe accurately. It felt like a bittersweet relief, in more ways than one.
“Elry....it is you, isn’t it?”
Horusen stifled a laugh. “’Elry’?” He smirked at the elf, who was still staring at the girl, not registering the remark. (or ignoring it) He turned back to the girl and cleared his throat. “Ehem...are you Ashe, ma’am?“
“Y-yes.” Ashe nodded to the draenei. “I am Ashe Ironbriar. Are you...here to solve Mamail’s...disappearance?”
“Yes.” Horusen said with a grin. “And to catch the person that did it!”
“Horusen.” Elrizan looked at the draenei. “What are you doing?”
“Oh come on, ‘Elry’.” He grinned at his partner-in-adventure. “Every Ironbriar I’ve met so far is a good egg as far as I know.”
“I’m the bad-” Elrizan frowned, then shook his head. “Regardless, we shouldn’t be talking about stuff like this out in the open.”
“I-I’ll come to you two!” Ashe stepped forward. “Tell me where you live and I’ll go there tonight.”
Horusen smiled. “Ah, of course. It’s at-”
Elrizan moved his hand to the draenei’s mouth. “We’ll go now. Are you busy?”
“No.” Ashe shook her head. “Not for this.”
“Very well. Horusen, take her there. Don’t say anything until you get to the house.”
Horusen beamed once the elf’s hand was removed, happy to get a lead going. “Very well. Come on, m’lady.” The draenei stepped forward, motiong for the girl to follow him.
Ashe looked at Elrizan for a moment. “Elry...” She whispered.
“Don’t worry.” He smirked. “I won’t be long.”
“Mm...sure.” Ashe sighed, then began to walk with the draenei.
Elrizan sighed. That was an awkward family reunion. He hadn’t seen Ashe in over 7 years, and he would probably be happy to have made that a few hundred more.
The rogue walked over to a nearby wall and threw a hook up to the top of the building. He walked slowly up the wall, then went into stealth. Hiding on the top of the wall, he looked down to the textile shop.
After about 30 minutes, the class seemed to disperse from the shop. He noted that the pandaren went right to the tavern in the district, while the gnome and worgen looked to move to the auction house after work. This seemed to be in-line with their testimonies.
He couldn’t tell anything different about them after this. He was hoping for some sort of different reaction, but the only one who had was Ashe.
He hoped that Ashe would give them some more information. If nothing else, part of him didn’t want her to be involved with anything until he figured out the situation.
Having a draenei for a partner in a murder case...having a cousin who could possibly be close to a murderer...Elune has a sick sense of humor sometimes.
Midnight, that very day
A draenei walked through the Dwarven district. A hammer in his hand and a nice shield in the other. A beautiful design, hoping to win the crowds at the auction house. A lot of adventurers like to look good.
“Hm?” He looked over to a nearby building and saw a shadowy figure in the alley. “Ah, I apologize, sir, but I do not have any money today. I hope you und-”
A tentacle flew out from the shadow and grabbed the draenei by the throat, choking him. “A-Ack!”
“Oh my God, I don’t care.”
SNAP
The draenei’s expression was dark, his neck bent in a direction it should not be. In a heap, the body fell to the ground, along with the ornate shield.
“Lessee...that’s...a pretty good distance away, I think.” Boskurz smirked, whispering to himself. “Maybe in a week, I’ll do a few in Ironforge. I’m sure there’s one or two of you jerks in there.”
Boskurz moved down, taking a grasp of the dead draenei’s cheeks. “Now, what do you say?”
The gnome began to move the draenei’s mouth, speaking in a horrible accent. “Ah, is not good. Not good. I am bad person. Very bad. All draenei bad, very very bad. Not like you, Lord Boskurz of Great Power!”
“Ahah, that’s right! I’m so glad you can finally admit that. You got a gold star.”
“Ah, gold stars. I like that, very good! Very very good!”
“Hehehe...but you know what really makes me upset, you idiot?”
“What? What is it that would make God Emperor Boskurz sad, says this idiot?”
“Oh, where to start? I finally get some peace and quiet, staying away from people to keep the heat off like usual, and what happens? Some bozo sends a draenei to stop me. A draenei! Who really thinks a draenei can stop me, I ask you?”
“Oh, is not good.” The gnome shook the draenei’s head. Surprising amount of resistance for something so broken. “You must eliminate all the draenei! You are Boskurz. Your motto is “Tentacle Beards Need Be Feared!” Also “Hooves Must Move”, or “Hooves Can’t Groove” if you ever try to be hip with the kids!”
“That’s right.” Boskurz’ expression darkened. “At least until I can finally find him.”
“Ah!” The gnome moved the head and let the expressionless, lifeless eyes stare at him as he stood up. “You don’t mean the infamous...the insidious...the merciless...........”
Boskurz leaned in. “Say it.”
“.....Nitteno-”
The body exploded.
Well, to just say it ‘exploded’ makes it seem a lot worse than it did. Really, what happened was a void of darkness surrounded the body beneath it, pulled it in, and it ‘exploded’ into pieces as whatever monster was inside gnawed away at it.
So yeah, not really ‘exploded’ at all.
Boskurz sighed, stepping back from the spectacle. Leave enough blood to get on the ground, but no blood on him. That would ruin his shirt.
He liked this shirt.
What he didn’t like, though, was some clowns coming in trying to hamper his goal. Yet he couldn’t do anything about it. If he takes out the foolish draenei now, he’d no doubt direct all attention to the Mage’s District. He’d be finished.
No, this is better. He just needs to keep his...urges in check and deal with it in other places. Make them start to investigate another location entirely. Then, and only then, will he kill this...’Horusen’ and be done with it.
“Horusen, you won’t survive the month.” The gnome gave out a small cackle as he walked into the alleyway. For a few seconds the alley seemed to be a pitch black, but then it dissipated, showing no one inside but the dead end.
TO BE CONTINUED